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FRONTISPIECE 
VOLUME  III 


A  HISTORY  OF 
WILKES-BARRE 


LUZERNE  COUNTY,   PENNSYLVANIA 

FROM    ITS    FIRST   BEGINNINGS   TO   THE    PRESENT   TIME  ;     INCLUDING 
CHAPTERS    OF  NEWLY-DISCOVERED 

EARLY  WYOMING  VALLEY  HISTORY 

TOGETHER  WITH  MANY  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  AND  MUCH 
GENEALOGICAL  MATERIAL 

BEGUN  BY 

OSCAR  JEWELL  HARVEY,  A.   M. 

Author  of  "A  History  of  Lodge;  No.  61,  F.  &  A.  M.".  "The  Harvey  Book", 
"A  History  of  Irem  Temple",  Etc. 

AND    COMPLETED  BY 

ERNEST   GRAY  SMITH,  M.S.,  LL.  B. 

President  and  Editor  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Times-Leader 

(At  the  time  of  Mr.  Harvey's  death,  March  26,  1922,  he  had  finished  the  manuscript 
of  the  first  eight  Chapters  included  in  this  volume.) 

Illustrated  With  Many  Portraits,  Maps,  Facsimiles,  Original 
Drawings  and  Contemporary  Views 


COMPLETE  IN  FOUR  VOLUMES 

VOLUME    III 
wilkes-barre;,  pa. 

1927 


V.3 


Copyright  1927,  by  Ernest  G.  Smith 


The  Raeder  Co. 
Wilkes-Barxe,  Penni 


^ 


Preface  To  Volume  III. 


The  death  of  Oscar  Jewell  Harvey,  March  26,  1922,  was  destined  to  secure 
what  had  not  been  accredited  him  in  life — recognition,  in  the  popular  mind,  of 
the  splendid  attainments  he  had  during  nearly  half  a  century,  brought  to  the 
study  of  the  history  of  a  community  he  so  dearly  loved. 

Mr.  Harvey  had  a  genius  for  painstaking  care,  a  persevering  patience 
which  overcame  physical  handicap,  a  mind  equipped  by  extensive  travel  and 
wide  reading  to  see  events  in  their  larger  relationships,  yet  disciplined  by  studious 
habit  to  accuracy  and  exactness,  a  memory  remarkable  for  its  orderly  record 
of  memoranda,  an  imagination  which  pictured  clearly  occurrences  of  the  past, 
and  a  pen  which  recorded  these  pictures  with  engaging  faithfulness. 

In  the  latter  years  of  his  residence  in  Wilkes-Barre,  he  led  a  life  of  reticence 
and  retirement.  His  family  and  friends  knew  that  he  suffered  much  from  phys- 
ical ailments.  But  no  complaint  escaped  him.  To  the  end,  he  maintained  a 
cheerful  outlook  on  life,   and  a  philosophical  attitude  in  all  his  relationships. 

It  is  violating  no  confidence  to  say  that  at  his  death  it  became  known 
why  his  history  had  not  been  completed.  For  nearly  a  score  of  years,  he  had 
devoted  all  his  leisure  hours,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  each  business  day, 
to  the  collection  and  preparation  of  the  data  of  his  first  two  volumes. 

These  were  published  in  1909,  with  a  promise  that  a  third  and  final  volume 
would  shortly  be  forthcoming.  The  historian,  however,  had  reckoned  without 
sufficient  thought  of  finances.  His  slender  means  were  almost  completely  ex- 
hausted before  the  work  was  off  the  press,  and  from  this  financial  blow  he  never 
recovered.  That  fact,  which  pride  forbade  him  to  disclose  to  others,  stood  in  the 
way  of  the  completion  of  his  life  work.  Returns  from  the  sale  of  his  two  volumes 
were  pitifully  small.  The  late  Abram  Nesbitt  contributed  liberally  to  the  de- 
ficit, but  to  few  others  were  these  circumstances  revealed.  The  remaining  volumes 
of  the  set,  stored  at  the  time  of  his  death,  were  mortgaged  to  the  printer. 

It  is  small  wonder  that  bitter  discouragement  was  his.  Had  men  of  means 
among  his  neighbors  and  friends  been  conversant  with  conditions,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  but  that  a  fund  suflRcient  to  have  endowed  the  work  would  quickly 
have  been  raised. 

It  was  with  a  sense  of  unfitness  for  a  task  that  has  grown  with  the  months, 
that  the  writer  accepted  from  the  family  of  Mr.  Harvey  the  data  he  had  collected, 
and  a  commission  to  finish  the  History  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  Wyoming  Valley 
J   which  he  had  so  auspiciously  begun. 

A  careful  inventory  of  the  manuscript  among  the  effects  of  the  dead  his- 
■-torian  disclosed  that  he  had  written  but  few  Chapters  to  the  third  volume.  These 
were,  in  all  probability,  completed  about  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  the  two 
volumes  in  print.     A  discouraged  pen  thereafter  made  copious  notes,  in  various 


note  books,  old  ledgers  and  upon  loose  folios,  but  no  effort  to  arrange  these  memo- 
randa in  sequence  had  followed. 

Some  three  months  were  required  to  assort,  in  chronological  order,  the 
contents  of  two  trunks,  a  vacant  home  serving  a  useful  purpose  of  providing 
sufficient  floor  and  other  surface  for  the  purpose.  The  six  Chapters  completed 
by  Mr.  Harvey  seemed  possible  of  subdivision  into  eight  and  these  form  Chapters 
XIX  to  XXVI  inclusive,  of  the  present  volume. 

From  notes  of  the  dead  historian.  Chapters  XXVII  to  XXX  inclusive, 
were  constructed,  the  balance  of  Volume  III  and  the  whole  of  Volume  IV  being 
based  on  the  writer's  own  research. 

Without  the  assistance  of  Wesley  E-  Woodruff,  Esq.,  upon  whom  has 
fallen  the  exacting  task  or  proof  reading  the  final  volumes  and  indexing  the 
entire  work,  the  completion  of  this  history  would  never  have  been  attempted. 

Nor  could  such  attempt  have  been  possible  without  the  generous  financial 
assistance  of: 


F.  M.  Kirby 
J.  N.  Conyngham, 
W.  H.  Conyngham, 
F.  J.  Weckesser, 
Percy  A.  Brown, 
Mrs.  Kate  P.  Dickson, 


Col.  Asher  Miner, 
H.  H.  Ashley, 
Chas.  S.  Forve, 
Richard  Sharpe, 
Abram  G.  Nesbitt, 
J.  W.  Hollenback, 
John  C.  Haddock 


Gilbert  S.  McClintock, 
H.  B.  Schooley, 
Col.  Dorrance  Reynolds, 
Isaac  ,S.  Thomas, 
William  MacWilliam 
The  Boston  Store. 


To  these  public  spirited  residents  of  the  community,  the  writer  submitted 
outline  plans  for  the  completion  of  the  work  and  its  probable  cost.  They  agreed 
at  once  that  the  undertaking  was  a  community  project  of  sufficient  importance 
to  engage  their  support  and  encouragement. 

Witli  these  measures  of  assistance  at  hand,  there  seemed  nothing  left  for 
the  writer  to  do  but  proceed  as  best  he  might.  The  task  of  completion  has  meant 
the  burning  of  midnight  oil,  feverish  activity  as  opportunity  presented,  and  a 
satisfaction  at  its  completion  which  can  be  little  understood,  excepting  by  one 
who  has  set  for  himself  a  season  of  five  years  of  over  work. 

That  the  completed  volumes  may  be  a  monument  to  Oscar  Jewell  Harvey, 
a  credit  to  those  who  have  aided  in  its  production,  and  a  source  of  authentic 
information  to  those  who  find  in  the  stirring  history  of  Wyoming  a  record  of 
achievement  peculiar  in  the  annals  of  America,  are  hopes  of  the  autlior. 


(QAaajulT  ^  ^^^<^. 


Contents  of  Volume  III 


CHAPTKR  XIX. 


Indian  Incursions  Upon  Westmoreland — Many  Residents  of  the  Town  Murdered, 
OR  Carried  Away  as  Prisoners,  by  the  Indians — The  Discovery  of  Harvey's 
Lake — Hard  Times ' 1 239 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  the  Westmoreland  Troops  Garrisoning  Fort  Wyoming 
Transferred  to  Other  Posts — Large  Losses  Sustained  by  the  Inhabitants  of 
Westmoreland  in  the  Years  177S-'81 — The  Last  Scalp  Taken  by  Indians  in  the 
Wyoming  Valley The  End  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution 1270 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Pennsylvania  Petitions  Congress  for  a  Hearing  of  Claims  Long  in  Dispute — 
Connecticut  Concurs — A  Distinguished  Court  of  Commissioners  Appointed — 
Sidelights  on  Sessions  of  the  Court — A  Summary  of  the  Conflicting  Claims — The 
Decree  of  Trenton — Dissatisfaction  With  the  Decree  in  Wyoming — Private 
Right  of  Soil  not  Adjudicated  and  Individual  Disputes  not  Settled  by  This 
Decree , 1293 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Inhabitants  of  Wyoming  Left  by  Connecticut  to  Fight  Single  Handed  Petition  the 
Legislature  of  New  York — The  Continental  Garrison  at  Wilkes-Barre  With- 
drawn AND  Companies  of  Pennsylvania  Militia  Substituted — Distrust  Aug- 
mented— Return  op  Quotas  of  Revolutionary  Troops  to  Wyoming 1308 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Pennsylvania  Commissioners  Reach  Wilkes-Barri^ — Much  Testimony  Taken 
as  to  the  Right  of  Soil — Compromise  Suggestions  Refused — Commission  Dep.'vrts 
After  Electing  Partisan  Office  Holders — Soldiers  Quartered  Upon  the  In- 
habitants and  Encouraged  to  Oppress  Settlers — Second  Pennamite-Yankee  W.\r 
Begun — Disastrous  Flood  at  Wyoming 1325 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Events  of  the  Second  Pennamitb- Yankee  War— Oppressions  of  Settlers  by  Pbnna- 
MiTEs  Multiply — The  Intervention  of  Congress  Again  Invoked — Yankees, 
Driven  From  Their  Homes,  Establish  Forts  Lillopee  and  Defense — Skirmishes 
Between  the  Contending  Parties  Cause  a  Disastrous  Fire — The  Fight  at  Locust 
Hill 1374 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Pennsylvania  Militia  Reach  Wilkes-Barre  From  Easton — A  Disastrous  Truce 
Arranged — Hostilities  Again  Provoked — Seventy-Two  Yankees  Sent  to  The 
Easton  and  Sunbury  Jails — The  Injustices  Done  Connecticut  Settlers  Excite 
General  Indignation — John  Franklin's  Oath — Fort  Dickinson  Evacuated  by 
THE  Hated  Armstrong  and  His  Militia,  Thus  Ending  the  Second  Pennamite- 
Yankee  War — Great  Rejoicing  as  the  Settlers  Raze  the  Fort 141 1 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Connecticut  Appeals  to  Congress  for  Justice  to  the  Settlers — Affairs  op  the 
Susquehanna  Company  Again  Revived  and  New  Settlers  Reach  Wyoming — Few 
Pennamites  Remain  in  Actual  Possession  of  Their  Claims — Delegation  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Assembly  Visits  Wilkes-Barrij — The  "Half  Share"  Men 145^ 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

General  Ethan  Allen  Espouses  the  Cause  of  the  Connecticut  Settlers  and  Comes 
TO  Wilkes-Barr6 — Unwarranted  Proceedings  of  the  Susquehanna  Company — 
Wyoming  Without  the  Benefits  of  Law,  Establishes  an  Experiment  in  Self 
Government — A  New  State  Proposed  by  Allen  and  Kindred  Spirits — The 
Settlers  Divide  on  the  Advisability  of  This  Scheme — Many  .Settlers  Subscribe 
to  Erection  of  a  New  County — Pennsylvania  Aroused 1479 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  "Western  Reserve" — General  Ethan  Allen  Returns  to  Vermont — Colonel 
Timothy  Pickering  Visits  Wilkes-Barr:6 — John  Franklin  and  John  Jenkins,  Jr. 
"Yankee  Outlaws,"  Plead  the  Settlers'  Cause  Before  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly — A  Law  Erecting  Luzerne  County  Follows  This  Visit 151! 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Legislative  Foundation  Upon  Which  the  County-  of  Luzerne  was  Erected — Anne 
Caesar,  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne — Baptism  of  the  County  by  the  Great  "Pump- 
kin Flood" — Col.  Timothy  Pickering  Arrives  as  Peace  Commissioner — His 
Many  Offices — The  Susquehanna  Company's  Last  Project — John  Franklin  and 
His  "  Irreconcilables"  Foment  Discord — Preparations  for  the  First  Election 
Under  Pennsylvania 1529 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Organization  of  the  County  of  Luzerne — A  List  of  the  Electors — Methods  and 
Events  of  the  First  Election — The  Confirming  Law  of  1787 — Hostilities  Again 
Aroused — Differences  Between  the  Settlers  Lead  to  a  Riot  at  Forty  Fort — • 
Older  Settlers,  Tired  of  Contests,  Declare  for  Compromise — The  First  Court 
■  of  Common  Pleas — Col.  Pickering's  Many  Duties — Four  Attorneys  Admitted 
TO  Practice — The  First  Fruits  of  Self  Government 1552 


CHAPTER  XXXr. 

Influences  of  the  Franklin  Party  in  Wyoming  Affairs — -Wild  Speculation  in 
Shakes  of  the  Susquehanna  Company — Hatching  the  Plot  for  P'ranklin's  Arrest 
— The  Story  of  His  Violent  Apprehension — Retaliatory  Measures  Against  Col- 
onel Pickering — Pickering's  Exile  and  Return  to  Wyoming — Suspension  of  the 
Confirming  Law — Pennsylvania's  Duplicity — The  Administration  Under  Pick- 
ering  1578 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Harsh  Treatment  of  Colonel  Franklin — Retaliatory  Measures  Threatened — The 
Abduction  of  Timothy  Pickering — Pennsylvania  Stirred  to  Activity — Congress 
Orders  Continental  Troops  to  His  Rescue — His  Voluntary  Release — Arrest  or 
Dispersion  of  his  Captors — Colonel  Franklin's  Pledge — Analysis  of  his  Case — 
The  Supreme  Court  at  Wilkes-Barre — Franklin  not  Tried — Sentences  of  Ab- 
ductors— The  "State  of  Westmoreland" — -"The  Sequel" 1598 


CHA-PTER  XXXIII. 

The  First  Court  House  of  Luzerne  County — Some  Unusual  Cases  Tried — The 
Militia  Problem — Early  Roads — Infant  Industries — The  New  Constitution 
of  Pennsylvania — Colonel  Pickering's  Conference  with  the  Six  Nations — He 
Becomes  Post  Master  General — Early  Agricultural  Difficulties — Pardon  of 
Col.  John  Franklin — Two  Heroic  Figures  Leave  Wyoming  Never  to  Return.  . . .  1627 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Aggressive  Leadership  at  Wyoming  is  Missing — Failure  of  the  "Confirming  Law" 
and  its  Repeal — The  "  Intrusion  Act"  A  Mockery — Revival  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company  with  Athens  as  a  Hub  of  Restless  Activities — The  "Compromise  Act 
of  1799" — Adverse  Court  Decisions — Ability  and  Sincerity  of  the  "Compromise 
Commission"  Inspire  Public  Confidence — Rights  of  Soil  Finally  Determined.  . .  1650 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Events  of  the  Last  Decade  of  the  Eighteenth  Century — Shad  Fisheries — Hunters 
and  Hunting  of  the  Period — Industry  of  the  Women — The  Whiskey  Insurrect- 
ion— Captain  Bowman's  Company — Beginning  of  the  Renaissance  in  Wyoming 
Affairs — Reapportionment  of  Townships — The  County's  Finances — Visit  of 
Jemima  Wilkenson — Early  Preachers  and  Doctors — Wilkes-Barre's  Earliest 
Newspapers 1674 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

The  Founding  of  Asylum  by  French  Refugees — Some  of  its  Distinguished  Residents^ 
Robert  Morris,  the  "Financier  of  the  Revolution"  Connected  with  the  Vent- 
ure— The  "Queen's  House"  Built  to  Receive  Marie  Antoinette — Its  Scenes  of 
Gayety  and  Brilliant  Receptions — Visits  op  Talleyrand  and  the  Duke  of 
Orleans,  Afterwards  Louis  Philippe,  King  of  France,  with  his  Two  Younger 
Brothers — ^Their  Stay  in  Wilkes-Barre — Financial  Reverses  op  the  Colony  and 
its  Final  Abandonment — Preparation  for  War  with  France — Captain  Bowman's 
Company  Again  Mustered  into  Service — War  Averted  by  a  Ch.\nge  of  French 
Policies 1697 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Beginnings  of  Susquehanna  River  Commerce — Warehouses  and  Boat  Yard  on  the 
River  Common — Launch  of  the  "John  Franklin" — Durham  Boats  and  Rafting- — • 
Early  Grist-Mills — History  op  the  Miner-Hillard  Mill — Erection  op  "The 

Meeting  House  on  the  Square" — Funds  to  Complete  the  Structure  Raised  by 
The  Wilkes-Barre  Meeting  House  and  Bank  Lottery — The  Lottery  Brings 
Financial  Disaster — Bell  of  "Old  Ship  Zion" — "Old  Michael"  The  Sexton 1719 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Events  of  the  Early  Years  of  the  Nineteenth  Century — Jefferson's  Election 
Celebrated — Partisanship  of  the  Period — Echoes  of  Land  Disputes — The  Idea 
OF  Permanence  of  the  Community  Gains  Ground — Building  of  the  Second  Court 
House — The  Stone  Jail — Easton  and  Wilkes-Barre  Turnpike — The  Borough 
of  Wilkes-Barre  Incorporated — First  Officers  of  the  Borough — The  Stone 
"Fire  Proof" — The  Wilkes-Barre  Academy — Various  Societies  Formed 1750 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Total  Eclipse  of  the  Sun  E.xcites  Wonder — First  Brick  Building  Erected — Ship 
Building  Company  Promoted — Launch  of  the  "Luzerne" — The  County  Loses  and 
Gains  Territory — Agricultural  Society  Organized— Wilkes-Barre's  First 
Bank — Financial  Reverses — Events  op  the  War  of  1812 — Military  Organiza- 
tions Participating — A  Visitor's  Impressions — End  of  Volume  III 1774 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

INDIAN   INCURSIONS   UPON  WESTMORELAND— MANY  RESIDENTS  OF  THE 

TOWN   MURDERED,  OR  CARRIED  AWAY  AS   PRISONERS,  BY 

THE  INDIANS— THE  DISCOVERY  OF  HARVEY'S 

LAKE— HARD  TIMES. 


"Oh!  wherefore  come  ye  forth 
In  triumph  from  the  North, 
With  your  hands  and  your  feet  and  your  raiment  all  red? 
And  wherefore  doth  your  rout 
Send  forth  a  joyous  shout? 
And  whence  be  the  grapes  of  the  wine-press  that  yc  tread?" 
— Lord  Macaulay,  in  "The  Battle  of  Naseby.' 


"In  the  dark,  they  dig  through  houses,  which  they  had  marked  for 
themselves  in  the  daytime.    They  know  not  the  light. 

"For  the  morning  is  to  them  even  as  the  shadow  of  Death.    If  one 
know  them,  they  are  in  the  terrors  of  the  shadow  of  Death." 

—Job,  XXIV:  16,  17. 


Colonel  Butler,  who  was  in  command  of  Fort  Wyoming  at  Wilkes-Barrd 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1780,  set  out  for  New  England  on  Februan-  7th, 
leaving  Captain  Schott  in  command  of  the  fort.  The  Wyoming  garrison  at 
this  time  was  composed  of  the  following  Continental  troops:  Schott's  Corps, 
Capt.  Simon  Spalding's  Westmoreland  Independent  Company,  and  a  small 
detachment  from  the  3rd  Connecticut  Regiment;  together  with  a  handful  of 


1240 

Westmoreland  militiamen  under  the  captaincy  of  Dr.  William  Hooker  vSmith 
of  Wilkes-Barre. 

There  were  at  this  time — as  shown  by  existing  fragmentary  records  of  the 
Wyoming  Post — "detached  guards",  or  scouting  parties,  from  the  garrison  on 
"command",  or  duty,  at  "Nanticoke",  "Shawnee,"  and  "the  Clock-house  over 
the  River." 

Colonel  Butler  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  March  22,  1780,  and  resumed 
command  of  the  Wyoming  garrison  three  days  later.  In  reporting  his  return 
to  General  Washington  he  wrote:* 

"I  arrived  at  this  post  after  a  tedious  journey,  being  obliged  to  travel  about  forty  miles  of 
the  last  of  it  on  foot,  the  snow  being  so  deep.  It  is  yet  too  deep  to  get  a  horse  through  the  woods. 
I  am  making  preparation  to  join  [my  regiment]  as  soon  as  possible." 

Within  two  or  three  days  after  the  return  of  Colonel  Butler,  the  members  of 
one  of  the  scouting  parties  from  the  fort  reported  that  they  had  discovered  traces 
of  Indians  in  the  woods  near  Wilkes-Barre. 

In  the  morning  of  March  27th  Thoinas  Bennett  and  his  sixteen-year-old  son 
Andrew  were  plowing  on  the  flats  above  Forty  Fort,  when  they  were  surprised 
and  steized  by  four  Indians,  who  hurried  them  off  to  a  gorge  in  the  Kingston 

*See  the  Rev.  Horace  E.  Hayden's  "The  Massacre  of  Wyoming"  (page  68) .  published  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  1895. 

TThomas  BennET,  whose  name  is  mentioned  on  pages  672  and  675.  Vol.  II.  and  on  various  other  pages  herein,  was 
one  of  the  "First  Forty"  settlers  at  Wyoming  to  whom  the  township  of  Kingston  was  allotted.  He  was  bom  in  1721 . 
either  in  eastern  Connecticut  or  in  Rhode  Island.  About  1750  he  was  married  to  Martha  Jackson,  and  they  settled  at 
that  time,  or  within  a  year  or  two  thereafter,  in  the  towq,  of  Scituate,  Providence  County.  Rhode  Island.  Here  they 
resided  until  the  Autumn  of  1763,  when,  with  their  two  children,  they  removed  to  the  Minisink  region.  Orange  County, 
Xew  York,  and  located  not  far  from  the  present  town  of  Port  Jervis. 

Scituate.  Rhode  Island,  adjoins  the  county  of  Windham.  Connecticut,  where  The  Susquehanna  Company  was 
organized  in  1753,  as  hereinbefore  related,  and  Thomas  Bennet,  having  become  a  shareholder  in  the  Company  about 
1763.  proposed  to  remove  to  Wyoming  Valley:  but.  about  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Orange  County,  the  settlement  at 
Wyoming  was  broken  up  and  devastated  by  the  Indians  (as  related  in  Chapter  VI),  and  so  Mr.  Bennet  aljandoned. 
for  the  time,  his  intention  of  settling  on  the  Susquehanna,  and  early  the  next  year  removed  to  a  farm  near  Goshen,  in 
Orange  County. 

Mr.  Bennet  cultivated  this  farm  until  February,  1 769,  when  he  accompanied  the  "First  Forty"  settlers  to  Wyoming. 
When,  in  the  Spring  of  1772.  the  lands  of  "the  Forty",  or  Kingston  Township,  were  allotted  to  the  proprietors  thereof, 
Thomas  Bennet  drew  his  share,  and  upon  his  "house-lot",  not  far  from  Forty  Fort,  erected  a  "double  log  house",  in 
which  he  and  his  family  took  up  their  residence.  When  the  24th  Regiment,  Connecticut  Militia,  was  organized  in 
Wyoming  in  1775,  Thomas  Bennet  was  fifty-four  years  old.  Nevertheless,  in  December,  1775,  Mr.  Bennet.  together 
with  his  eldest  son,  Solomon,  fought  in  the  ranks  of  the  regiment  at  the  battle  of  "Rampart  Rocks",  described  on  page 
861,  Vol.  II. 

Under  the  Connecticut  law  of  1776  Thomas  Bennet  became  an  enrolled  member  of  the  "Alarm  List"  of  the  24th 
Regiment,  and  in  July,  1778,  when  Wyoming  was  invaded  by  the  British  and  Indians,  he  was  called  into  service  with 
the  other  elderly  men  who  constituted  the  "List".  During  the  battle  of  July  3d  Mr.  Bennet  was  one  of  the  garrison  at 
Forty  Fort — in  which  place  were  also  his  wife  and  three  youngest  children;  Solomon,  the  eldest  child,  havin;  marched 
with  his  company  to  the  field  of  battle.     (See  note  on  page  1032.  Vol.  II.) 

Some  days  after  the  battle  and  massacre  the  Bennets  fled  from  Wyoming — Thomas,  the  husband  and  father, 
accompanying  his  wife  and  two  youngest  children,  and  proceeding  to  what  is  now  Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Martha, 
the  elder  daughter  of  Thomas  Bennet.  fled  mth  other  fugitives  from  Forty  Fort  to  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania,  and  sub- 
sequently to  Stroudsburg,  where  she  joined  her  mother  and  sister  Mary,  a  child  of  seven  or  eight  years  of  age. 

Earlyin  August,  1778,  Thomas. Bennet,  in  company  with  Matthias  HoUenback,  Benjamin  Harvey,  James  Nisbitt 
and  other  Wyoming  men,  set  out  for  Wilkes-Barre,  where  they  arrived  August  16th  and  joined  the  detachment  of  militia 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Butler.  (See  page  1096,  Vol.  II.)  About  that  time  Mrs.  Martha  Bennet 
and  her  two  daughters,  Martha  and  Mary,  journeyed  to  Goshen,  New  York,  where  they  remained  until  the  following 
Spring,  and  then  went  to  Litchfield  County,  Connecticut,  where  they  had  relatives.  Late  in  the  Autumn  of  1779  Mrs. 
Bennet.  accompanied  by  her  daughters,  rejoined  her  husband  and  their  two  sons,  Solomon  and  Andrew,  at  Wyoming . 

In  the  Spring  of  1780,  Thomas,  Solomon  and  Andrew  Bennet  (the  last  named  being  only  sixteen  years  of  age)  were 
enlisted  and  sworn  into  service  as  privates  in  Capt.  John  Franklin's  company  of  Connecticut  Militia.     (See  page  1229, 

It  is  said  that,  after  the  existence  of  Harvey's  Lake  became  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  Valley.  Thomas 
Bennet  cut  through  the  wilderness  the  first  bridle-path  from  Kingston  to  the  Lake — the  path  being  known  for  a  long 
time  as  "Bennet's  Path".    Andrew  Bennet.  the  younger  son  of  Thomas,  launched  the  first  canoe  upon  the    Lake,  in 

Thomas  Bennet  died  at  his  home  near  Fortv  Fort  in  the  Spring  of  1796,  aged  seventy-five  years,  and  his  widow 
Martha  (Jackson)  Bennet  died  in  May,  1811,  aged  eighty  years.  The  remains  of  both  are  interred  in  Forty  Fort  Cem- 
etery, and  upon  their  tombstone  the  death  of  Thomas  Bennet  is  recorded  as  having  taken  place  in  1798.  This  is  an 
error,  as  the  records  of  the  Orphans'  Coiul  of  Luzerne  County  show  that  letters  of  administration  upon  his  estate  were 
granted  in  May.  1796.  to  his  widow  Martha  and  to  Benjamin  Carpenter. 

Thomas   and   Martha  (Jackson)  Bennet  were  the  parents  of  four  children  who  grew  to  maturity,  as  follows:  (il 

Solomon,  bom  about  1751:  was  married  to  Mrs. (Slevens)  Upson,  the  ividow  of  Asa  Upson  is  supposed   to  have 

removed  to  Canada,  (ii)  Manila,  bom  January  15,  1763;  married  to  Philip  Myers:  died  January  3,  1851.  (See  below.) 
(iii)  Andrnt',  bom  in  1764;  died  November  20,  1821.  (See  below)  (iv)  Mary,  bom  August  15,  1772;  married  to  John 
Tuttie:  died .     (See   below.)  .  ,  .      „, 

(ii)  Mariha  Bennel,  bom  in  Scituate,  Rhode  Island,  January  15,  1763,  was  married  m  Kmgston  Township,  Wyo- 
ming Valley,  July  15,  1787,  to  Philip  Myers.  The  latter  was  born  in  Germany  in  1759.  and  in  1760  accompanied  his 
parents  and  brothers  Lawrence.  Henry  and  Michael  to  America,  and  settled  at  Frederick,  Maryland.  During  the 
early  part  of  the  Revolutionary  War  Lawrence  Myers  served  as  a  Lieutenant  and  Philip  Myers  as  a  private  in  the 
Maryland  Line  in  the  Continental  army,  and  they  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Germantown,  Pennsylvania. 

Lieut  Lawrence  Myers  having  settled  in  Wyoming  Valley,  as  described  on  page  837,  Vol.  II  (see  also  pages  1164 
and  1227,  Vol,  1 1 ),  was  followed  hither  by  his  brother  PhiHp  in  1785,  and  then  or  later  by  his  brother  Henry  (who  died 
in  Kmgston  March  4,  1816,  aged  59  years).  A  few  weeks  after  his  marriage  to  Martha  Bennet.  Philip  Myers  was  elected 
and  commissioned  Lieutenant  of  the  militia  company  in  the  "Upper  District  of  Kingston",  which  was  commanded  by 
Capt.  Benjamin  Smith  and  was  designated  as  the  7th  Company  in  the  "1st  Battalion  of  Luzerne  County  Militia", 
commanded   by   Lieut.    Col.   Matthias   HoUenback. 


1241 


The  Old  Myers  Hovse,  Forty  Fo 
From  a  drawing  made  in  1 


and  of  the  horrible  ; 
at  the  head  of  the  Provincials 
remarkably  vivid, 
ictorious  entrance  of  the 


Philip  Myers  received  from  his  father- 
in-law  a  house-lot  just  north  of  the  site  of  old 
Forty  Fort  (within  the  limits  of  the  present 
borough  of  Forty  Fort),  and  upon  this  he 
built  a  comfortable  house  of  hewed  yellow- 
pine  logs,  pointed  with  lime  mortar  and  plast- 
ered on  the  inside.  Here  Mr.  Myers  and  his 
wife  lived  for  a  number  of  years,  and  long 
after  their  respective  deaths  this  quaint 
house  stood  as  a  reminder  of  early  days, 
t  It  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  June.  1887.)  It 
being  located  near  an  eddy  in  the  Susque- 
hanna River.  Mr.  Myers  kept  there  for  a 
number  of  years  an  inn.  which  was  much 
resorted  to  by  raftsmen  from  the  upper  Sus- 
riuehanna  on  their  way  down  stream.  Politi- 
cally, Mr.  Myers  was  a  sterling  Democrat. 
and  in  early  days  the  Democrats  of  Luzerne 
County  frequently  held  their  nominating 
conventions  at  this  house,  Mr.  Myers  also 
owned  a  farm  of  140  acres,  extending  from 
Forty  Fort  to  the  top  of  the  Kingston  Moun- 
tain.the  larger  part  of  which  he  cultivated. 
Philip  Mvers  died  at  Forty  Fort  April 
2.  1835.  and  his  widow.  Martha  (Bennet) 
Myers,  died  there  Januarys.  1851.  within 

twelve  days  of  her  eighty-eighth  birthday.  ..  ,        .  .,„    .  ...  i.   j        -j  j        i  ■ 

Referring  to  her  death  The  Wilkes-Barre  Advocalf  said  at  the  time:  Perhaps  no  white  person  had  resided  so  long  in 
the  Valley  as  Mrs    Myers      She  was  an  authority  with  respect  to  many  details  concerning  early  events  here. 

William  L  Stone,  who  visited  Wyoming  Valley  in  18.?7.  prior  to  writing  his  "Poetry  and  History  of  Wyoming  , 
-ays  (on  page  242  of  his  book) :  "Forty  Fort  stood  upon  the  bank  of  the  nver,  and  the  spot  is  preserved  as  a  common 
—beautifully  carpeted  with  green,  but  bearing  no  distinctive  marks  denoting  the  purposes  for  which  the  ground  m 
those  troublous  times  was  occupied.  Near  the  site  of  the  fort  is  the  residence  of  ilrs.  Myers,  a  widow  lady  of  great 
age  but  of  clear  mind  and  excellent  memory,  who  is  a  survivor  of  the  Wyoming  i 
attending  it  *  *  *  She  was  in  Forty  Fort  when  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  marched  ou 
against  the  enemy.  Her  recollections  of  all  that  pa.ssed  beneath  her  eye  on  that 
»     *     *     Mrs.  Myers  was  present  at  the  capitulation  on  the  following  day,  and  saw 

enemv,  six  abreast,  with  drums  beating  and  colors  flying."       ,      ,„      .  .     ,.,,  r,\      r  i       ^r  i    „ 

Philip  and  Martha  (Beimel)  Myers  were  the  parents  of  the  following-named  children:  (I)  John  Myers  bom 
February  17,  1791:  married  by  Cornelius  Courtright.  Esq..  May  2,  1813,  to  Sarah;  (born  July  20  1  / 93,  died  May  9. 
1  868) ,  daughter  of  Maj.  Henry  Stark,  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  101  /  \  ol.  II;  had  children  Ehzabeth  Jane,  Law- 
rence (died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  June  14.  1905).  Martha.  Mary  S..  Harriet.  John  Williani,  Philip  Henry  (died  at JVilkes- 
Barre,  December  28,  1910)  Charies,  Sarah  J.,  James  M.  and  Ruth  Ann;  died  m  Wilkes-Barre  January  25  1850  (2) 
Lawrence  Myers  (3)  William  Mvers  who  removed  to  Sunbury.  Ohm,  where  he  d'ed  July  26,  1824.  (4)  Thomas 
Myers,  bom  in  1801 ;  Sheriff  of  Luzerne  County.  Pennsylvania.  1835-'38;  married  (1st)  to  Sarah   daughter  of  Thomas 

Borbidge  of  Kingston.  (2d)  to Vanderbilt;   had  children  Philip  (who  died  at  Chicago.  Illinois.  April  23    1891 

aged  61  years),  Fanny  and  George,  died  at  WiUiamsport,  Pa,  December  3,  188J-  (5)  ^""•>' J;'?'''"-  '?//"['■" 
Myers  born  in  1807;  married  to  her  cousin  Madison  F.  Myers  (bom  in  1810;  died  August  2,  859),  son  of  Michael 
Alvers'of  Frederick,  Maryland  (who  died  there  December  2,  1815);  had  children  Miranda  (who  married  Charles 
Steele),  Philip  Thomas,  IVIartha  A.  (who  married  Archibald  J.  Weaver).  Frederick  Benham  and  WiUiam  P.;  died  at 
Kingston  May  2,  1889.  (7)  Elizabeth  M\ers,  who  became  the  wife  of  Emmons  Locke.  (8)  Sarah  Myers  bora  Sept- 
ember 25,  1792;  married  November  12.  1812.  to  Abram  Goodwin  (bora  July  6  1/90;  died  May  15.  1880  .  son  of 
\braham  and  Catharine  (King)  Goodwin  of  Kingston;  had  children  Martha  (who  married  John  D.  Hoyt)  Phihp, 
lohn  Elizabeth  (who  became  the  second  wife  of  John  D.  Hoyt).  Abram  and  Sara  (who  became  the  wife  of  Abram 
Xesbitt  of  Kingston);  died  at  Kingston  March  4.  1867.  (9)  A/ary^Uyfrs.  bora  March  12,  1,98;  married  June  10  1819  . 
to  the  Rev.  George  Peck  (bom  August  8.  1797;  died  May  20,  18/6);  died  July  31,1881.  (For  a  sketA  of  the  life  of 
the  Rev  Dr  Peck  see  a  subsequent  chapter)  (10)  Marlha  Ann  Myers  (bora  in  1804;  died  July  9,  1828),  who  wa? 
married  at  Kingston  Febraarv  21.  1827.  to  the  Rev.  Joseph  Castle  of  Bethany,  Pennsylvania,  ^,       ,.     , 

(iii)  \ndreu'  Bennet,  youiger  son  of  Thomas  and  Martha  (Jackson)  Bennet.  was  bora  in  Orange  County.  New  \  orif , 
in  1764  He  was  married  first  December  18.  1787.  to  Mary  Miller  (bom  in  1759).  who  died  October  6.  1804,  Some- 
time later  Andrew  Bennet  was  married  to  Abigail  Kelly,  bora  January  13,  1776.  He  died  at  Kingston  November  2C. 
ISM  and  his  widow  Abigail  died  there  October  28.  1838,  The  eldest  chUd  of  Andrew  Bennet  by  his  first  wife  was 
.;.)/,.,  Bennel.  bora  April  25.  1790;  lived  in  Kingston  Township;  was  admi^tted  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  61  F.  and -\.  ^^. 
Wilkes-Barre,  August  2 , 1 8 1 3 ;  was  married  to  MatUda  (born  January  4 .  1  /  99 ;  died  August  11,18/9),  daughter  of  Thoms f 
and  Tryphena  (Hibbard)  Buckingham  of  Lebanon.  Connecticut;  had  one  child— Charles  Bennet  bora  February  28, 
1819  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Luzeroe  County  April  7.  1845,  admitted  to  Lodge  No  61,  F.  and  .V  M.  October  24.  lS.l4. 
married  to  Sarah  Sly  of  Franklin.  Michigan,  died  at  Wilkes-Barre  August  6,  1866,  and  his  widow  died  here  June  If, 

1.S87.    Jo/m  B«iiirt  died  in  Kingston  Febmary  10,  1863.  u         t  i     ,  o    i-ni     yi     ,u      i 

The  other  children  of  (iii)  Andreu'  Bennel  by  his  first  wife  were:  .Wowof  bora  July  IS.  , 9  ;  Marlha  bom 
Novembers  1799,  and  died  November  27,  1837;  Thomas,  bora  December  3,  1800.  and  died  m  1801.  The  children 
of  (iii)    ^M/iripu  Bfjine/ by  his  second  wife  were:    (1)    A ndrew.  bom  Maxdi  ~   ""^°- ■ 

helh.  bom  in   1811;  became  the  wife  of  Henry  Polen;  died  at  Wyoming  J  .    i,  ^^     j       u,       v  r.     •  i 

19  1837  (4)  Gror^f.bomatForty  Fort  December  25.  1813;  mamedFebruary  1.  1S44. to  Martha. daughterof  Daniel 
Strebeigh  of  Montoursville,  Pennsylvania;  was  a  farmer  near  MontoursviUe ;  had  sons  John  A.  George  and  Daniel  S. 
.horn  September  3,  1853;  died  at  Wilkes-Barre  September  16.  1884).  (4)  George  Bennet  died  at  his  home  near 
Montoursville.  March  11,  1887.  ,,     ,        ^  „  .      ,.  »  .     ■.  , 

(iv)  Maty  Bennel.  youngest  child  of  Thomas  and  Martha  (Jackson)  Bennet  who  grew  to  maturity,  was  born  m 
Kingston  Towiship,  Wyoming  Valley.  August  15.  1772.  She  was  married  January  11.  1/89.  to  John  TutOe  of  Kmgs- 
ton  Township  Henr>-  Tuttle.  a  native  of  Basking  Ridge.  Somerset  County.  New  Jersey  (where  he  was  born  November 
24  1733)  removed  thence  with  his  family  to  Kingston  Township.  Wyommg  Valley,  in  1,85.  and  settled  at  what  is 
now  Forty  Fort  In  June  1789  Nathan  Denison  conveyed  to  him  one  half  of  Meadow  Lot  No  10.  Kmgston.  Henry 
Tuttle  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  and  was  a  farmer  and  a  black-mith  He  died  at  Forty  Fort 
Tanuarv  3  18^0  His  children  were  (1)  Henry  Tuttle.  who  was  twice  married,  and  had  children  Henry.  John  and 
"Phebe  '  (2)  Abner  Tuttle,  who  was  married  to  Hannah,  daughter  of  Stephen  Harding  of  Exeter.  Luzerne  County  (see 
page  993,  Vol.  II).  and  who  died  September  20.  1820.  (3)  John  Tuttle.  born  April  3,  1767.  (See  below.)  (4)  Joseph 
Tuttle.  born  January  19.  1772. 

(For  further  references  to  Henry  and  Joseph  Tuttle  see  page  15 1.  \ol    11)  ,  ..      ,  u     r  u     . 

3)    John  TutUe  lived  for  many  years  in  a  small  frame  house  within  the  present  bounds  of  the  borough  of  Forty 
Fort,  on  the  westeriy  side  of  the  road  (now  Wyoming  Avenue)  near  where  the  "stone-arched  bridge     spans  Abraham  s 
Creek    as  noted  on  page  1006.  Vol  II      The  site  of  this  house  was  on  the  edge  of  the  large,  level  field  shown  m  the 
picture  facing  page  786.  Vol.  II,     (See.  also,  page  416  of  Peck's  'Wyoming;  Its  History  and  Romantic  Adventures 
In  November.  1791.  Thomas  Bennet  conveyed  to  John  Tuttle  Lot  No,  24.  Fourth  Division  of  Kingston^ 

The  children  of  (3)  John  and  Mary  (Bennel)  Tuttle  were:  (a)  Martha  Tuttle.  bom  February  3  1 ,90.  became  the 
wife  of  Holden  Tripp,  and  their  daughter.  Lucilla  S,  became  the  wife  of  Charles  H  Silkman  of  Scninton  Pennsylvania 
He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Luzerae  County  January  1 ,  1838.  (b)  Mary Juttle  bora  Apn  IS  1 , 9 1;  became  Uie 
wife  ol  Joseph  Orr  of  Dallas.  Luzerae  County,  and  theu-  youngest  child.  Albert  bkeer  Orr  d,ed  at  Wilkes-Barre. 
March  25.  1908,  aged  79  years),  was  at  one  time  postmaster  at  Wilkes-Barre.  (c)  Henrv;  Tuttle.  bom  in  Apnl.  1,93. 
married  to  Annie  Shoemaker,    (dj  Sarah  Tuttle,  bora  December  7,  1794;  married  to  Benjamin  Jenkins  (see  page  806 


1242 

mountain,  where  they  overtook  two  more  Indians,  having  charge  of  Lebbens 
Hammond*,  a  neighbor  of  the  Bennets,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  a  few  hours 
before.  That  night  the  six  Indians  and  their  three  captives  encamped  about 
twelve  miles  north  of  the  Valley. 

The  next  day,  March  28th,  having  crossed  the  .Susquehanna,  they  pushed  on 
towards  Meshoppen.  In  the  afternoon  of  this  day  they  met  a  party  of  about 
thirty  Indians  headed  by  a  Tory  named  Moses  Mount,  who  were  on  their  way 
to  pillage  and  devastate  some  of  the  frontier  settlements.  Mount  and  one  of  the 
Indians  were  known  to  Bennet  and  Hammond,  and  the  latter  were  eagerly 
questioned  by  them  as  to  the  state  of  the  garrison  at  Wyoming,  the  number  of 
inhabitants  in  the  Valley,  etc.  The  captives  informed  the  leaders  of  the  war- 
party  that  there  were  300  fighting  men  in  the  fort  at  Wilkes-Barre,  that  they 
were  well  armed  and  provisioned,  that  they  had  a  cannon,  and  that  the  settlers 
had  all  taken  refuge  there.  The  war-party  then  concluded  that  they  would  strike 
the  river  below  the  Valley,  and  they  went  on  their  way;  but  first  they  told 
Bennet  and  Hammond  that  there  were  500  Indians  from  Fort  Niagara  al- 
ready out  on  the  war-path,  and  that  a  party  equally  large,  or  even  larger, 
was  coming  on  after  them ;  that  Brant,  with  one  party,  had  gone  to  the  Mohawk 
River;  that  a  second  party  had  gone  to  the  Minisinks,  and  a  third  party  to  the 
West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna. j 

On  the  evening  of  March  28th,  the  party  of  Indians  with  the  three  captives 
from  Wyoming  built  a  fire  with  the  aid  of  Thomas  Bennet,  who,  being  an  elderly 
man  and  somewhat  afflicted  with  rheumatism,  was  least  feared,  and  was  per- 
mitted to  go  unbound.  From  a  few  words  dropped  by  one  of  the  Indians  Mr. 
Bennet  drew  the  inference  that  it  was  their  design  to  murder  him  and  his  fellow- 
captives.  Whispering  to  Hammond,  when  the  Indians  had  gone  to  a  nearby 
spring  to  slake  their  thirst,  a  plan  of  escape  was  concerted. 

Tired  with  their  heavy  march  the  Indians  lay  around  the  fire,  after  a  hearty 
supper  of  venison.  Hammond  and  Andrew  Bennet  were  pinioned  between  the 
Indians.  One  old  Indian  was  appointed  to  keep  the  first  watch,  and  he  sat  near 
the  fire  half  sleeping  and  nodding,  and  between  times  picking  the  scanty  flesh 
from  the  head  of  a  deer  he  had  been  roasting.  Having  gathered  wood  with  which 
to  keep  the  fire  going  during  the  night,  Thomas  Bennet  sat  down  near  the  Indian 
on  watch,  and  soon  afterwards  carelessly  took  up  the  latter's  spear  which  lay 
by  his  side,  and  began  to  play  with  it.  Watching  his  opportunity,  Mr.  Bennet, 
by  a  quick  and  powerful  thrust,  transfixed  the  savage  with  his  own  spear,  and  he 
fell  across  the  burning  logs  with  a  startling  groan.  Not  a  minute  was  lost  in 
cutting  loose  the  bound  limbs  of  Hammond  and  Andrew  Bennet.  Three  of  the 
other  Indians  were  tomahawked  before  they  could  rise  from  the  ground,  another 
was  wounded  and  escaped  and  the  sixth  fled  from  the  scene  unhurt.    On  the 


Vol.  II)  of  West  Pittston.  Luzerne  County,  who  was  born  December  26,  1792,  and  died  May  28,  1861,  leaving  to 
survive  him  his  wife  (who  died  February  26,  1872)  and  the  following-named  children:  Thomas,  Eleanor,  Rachel. 
Catherine,  John  S.,  Martha  Ann,  Mary,  Sarah  and  Ada  S.  (e)  Elizabeth  Tuttle,  bom  August  29,  1796.  (f)  John 
Tuttle.  bom  August  23,  1800.  (g)  Phebe  Tuttle,  born  Febmary  15,  1802.  (h)  William  Tuttle,  bom  July  30,  1805: 
married  to  Mary  Ingham,  (i)  Chester  Tuttle,  bom  December  22,  1806;  married  in  1844  to  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of 
Jacob  I.  shoemaker  of  Wyoming  and  widow  of  David  Baldwin.  He  was  admitted  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  61 ,  F.  and 
A.  M.,  Wilkes-Barre,  August  9,  1844,  and  was  Secretary  of  the  Lodge  in  1850.  He  was  at  one  time  Deputy  Sheriff  of 
Luzeme  County,  was  clerk  to  the  County  Commissioners  for  five  years,  and  from  1846  to  1852  was  editor  of  the 
Luzerne  Democrat,  a  weekly  newspaper  published  at  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  instrumental  in  raising  a  company  of 
volunteer  militia  which  became  known  as  the  Wyoming  Troop,  and  of  which  he  was  Captain.  For  some  fifteen  years 
from  about  1853  he  held  a  clerkship  in  the  Navy  Department  at  Washington.  He  died  at  Huntsville,  Luzeme  County, 
July  17,  1883,  and  was  survived  by  a  daughter. 

*Mentioned  on  pages  1019  and  1020,  Vol.  II.  According  to  information  recently  furnished  the  writer  by  the  Hon, 
Charles  Tubbs  of  Osceola,  Tioga  County,  Pa.,  Lebbens  Hammond  was  married  to  Lucy  Tubbs,  daughter  of  Lieut. 
Lebbens  Tubbs  previously  mentioned.  Lebbens  Hammond  died  July  13,  1826,  aged  72  years  and  his  widow  Lucy  died 
April  17,  1844,  aged  86  years  and  12  days.    The  remains  of  both  are  buried  about  two  miles  from  Elmira,  New  York. 

tSee  letter  from  Colonel  Butler  to  General  Washington,  Hayden's  "The  Wyoming  Massacre",  page  69. 


1243 

evening  of  March  30th,  the  escaped  captives  arrived  at  Fort  Wyoming,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  bringing  with  them  five  rifles,  a  silver  mounted  hanger,  and  seve  al  toma- 
hawks and  blankets  as  trophies  of  their  exploit.  The  silver  mounted  hanger,  or 
sword,  mentioned  above,  had  been  the  property  of  Lieut.  Thomas  Boyd  (see 
page  1215,  Vol.  II),  and  had  been  taken  from  him  by  one  of  his  Indian  captors 
previous  to  their  massacre  of  him.* 

Relative  to  the  capture  and  escape  of  the  3ennets  and  Hammond,  Col. 
(formerly  Maj.)  John  Butler,  commander  of  "Butler's  Rangers",  wrote  to  Gover- 
nor Haldimand  from  Fort  Niagara,  N.  Y.,  under  date  of  April  29,  1780,  in  part 
as    follows:! 

"Scouts  have  been  out  during  the  Winter.  One  party  returning  with  prisoners,  through 
carelessness  let  them  untie  themselves  at  night,  so  that  after  killing  five  Indians  they  escaped." 

On  the  day  following  that  upon  which  the  Bennets  and  Hammond  were 
seized  and  carried  away,  another  band  of  Indians — undoubtedly  Delawares 
from  Fort  Niagara — made  a  foray  into  the  Valley,  murdered  in  cold  blood  four 
unarmed  and  inoffensive  inhabitants,  wounded  two,  and  carried  five  others  into 
captivity.  One  of  these  captives  was  Jonah  Rogers  (mentioned  in  the  note  on 
page  1153,  Vol.  II), t  then  a  boy  fourteen  years  of  age.  He  wrote,  in  August, 
1833,  an  account  of  this  occurrence,  which  was  published  in  The  Wyoming  Re- 
publican (Kingston,  Pa.)  of  September  4,  1833.   It  reads  as  follows: 

"In  1780  I  was  engaged  with  Mr.  Asa  Upson  in  making  sugar,  on  what  was  then  called 
Stewart's  Flats,  now  owned  by  Frederick  Croup,  in  Plymouth,  Luzerne  County.  Before  sunrise 
on  the  2Sth  of  March  ten  Indians  came  upon  us,  and  shot,  tomahawked  and  scalped  Mr.  Upson 
as  he  lay  in  the  cabin,  to  which  I  was  an  eye  witness.  The  Indians  then  started  with  me  down 
the  river.  We  crossed  the  creek  at  Shickshinny  and  traveled  for  Big  Fishing  Creek,  which  we 
reached  about  sunset.  Here  we  discovered  some  white  people,  and  withdrew  to  a  solitary  place, 
where  we  lay  down  without  fire.    As  I  was  not  pinioned,  I  lay  in  an  Indian's  arms. 

"Before  sunrise  we  went  to  the  cabin  of  the  white  people  and  the  Indians  killed  one  and  took 
two  prisoners.  One  of  the  prisoners  was  a  man  of  the  name  of  Peter  Pencej! ;  the  other  a  boy  named 
Moses  \'an  Campen,  a  cousin  to  the  Major.  The  man  killed  was  Major  Van  Campen's  uncle. 
We  then  went  to  another  sugar  camp,  where  were  the  Major  [Moses  Van  Campen], i  and  his  father 
and  brother.  The  Indians  killed  his  father  and  brother  on  this  day.  the  29th  of  March.  Four  of 
the  Indians  were  left  with  the  prisoners,  and  the  other  six  went  into  Huntington,  where  they 
wounded  two  men  by  the  names  of  Thomas  Parker  and  Samuel  Ransom,  who  were  out  on  a 
scouting  expedition  with  Capt.  John  Franklin.    We  stayed  on  the  night  of  the  29th  at  the  Three 

»See  Peck's  ■Wyoming;  its  History  and  Romantic  Adventures",  page  296,  and  the  note  on  page  370  of  "JournaU 
of  the  Sullivan  Expedition." 

tSee  the  "Haldimand  Papers",  B.  M.  21,765 — CV:  208. 

JThe  present  writer  now  has  in  his  possession  an  original  deed  for  a  tract  of  land  in  Plymouth,  Wyoming  Valley, 
which  was  executed  at  Westmoreland  July  8,  1776,  by  Elisha  Richards,  conveying  the  said  tract  to  Jonah  and  Joiiah 
Rojcri,  then  of  Westmoreland,  but  "late  of  Ashford.  Windham  County,  Connecticut." 

SPetek  Pence,  or  more  probably,  Bentz,  was  a  Pennsylvania  German.  In  June,  1775,  he  enhsted  in  Capt  John 
Lowdon's  company  of  the  Pennsylvania  Battalion  of  Riflemen  commanded  by  Col.  Wm.  Thompson,  which  was  raised 
in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  Congress  adopted  Tune  14,  1 77.S.  The  privates  of  Captain  Lowdon's  company  were  from 
the  West  Branch  Valley,  around  and  north  of  Sunbury  and  were  enlisted  for  the  term  of  one  year.  .\mon;  the  officer- 
and  privates  were  Samuel  Brady,  Timothy  Murphv,  Tames  Parr,  James  Wilson,  William  Wilson,  David  Hammond 
Philip  Ginter,  and  others  who  as  well  as  Peter  Pence,  became  noted  in  the  annals  of  border  warfare.  (See  "Pennsyl 
vania  in  the  Revolution."  I:  27.) 

In  Meginness'  "Otzinachson.  a  History  of  the  West  Branch  Valley",  we  find  this  paragraph:  "There  was  another 
remarkable  hunter  and  Indian  killer  in  this  Valley  named  Peter  Pence,  of  whom  many  wonderful  stone;  are  related. 
He  is  described,  by  those  who  remember  him.  as  being  a  savage  looking  customer,  who  always  went  arm^d  with  his 
rifle,  tomahawk  and  knife,  even  years  after  peace  was  made." 

In  consideration  of  his  services  during  the  Revolutionary  War  the  Legislature  of  PenQsylvania  passed.  March 
10.  1810.  an  .\ct  granting  a  pension  of  forty  dollars  per  annum  to  Peter  Pence.  He  died  in  Crawford  Toivnihip.  Clm- 
ton  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1827 

Moses  Van  Campen  was  born  in  January.  1757  and  consequently  was  twenty-three  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
capture  by  the  Indians.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  War  he  resided  in  Northumberland  County.  Penn- 
sylvania, and  soon  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  proclaimed  he  enlisted  in  a  Pennsylvania  militia  regi- 
ment and  served  until  August.  1777  Then  he  joined  as  Orderly  Sergeant,  Captain  Gaskin's  company  in  the  regiment 
of  Pennsylvania  militia  commanded  by  Col.  John  Kelly  of  Northumberland  County,  which  was  stationed  at  Big  Island 
and  Bald  Eagle  Creek,  on  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  In  this  regimsnt  he  served  three  months.  In  1/  ,8 
he  had  attained  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  in  the  militia,  and  early  in  April  of  that  year  he  assisted  in  the  erection  of  hort 
Wheeler  on  Fishing  Creek,  about  three  miles  above  the  present  town  of  Bloomsburg,  Columbia  County,  Pa. 

During  the  Sullivan  Expedition  (see  Chapter  XVIII)  Lieutenant  Van  Campen  was  employed  in  the  quarter- 
master's  department  of  the  army.  After  his  escape  from  his  Indian  captors  in  .\pril,  1783.  he  assisted  in  stockading 
the  home  of  lames  McClure.  Sr.  (on  the  right  bank  of  the  Susquehanna,  about  one  mile  above  the  mouth  of  Fishing 
Creek,  in  what  was  then  the  township  of  Wyoming,  Northumberland  County,  and  vvithm  the  present  limits  of  the 
borough  of  Bloomsburg,  Columbia  County,  Pa  ),  which  thereafter  was  known  as  McClure's  Fort  In  April,  1.82. 
Van  Campen  then  an  officer  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia  company  known  as  "Robinson  s  Ra^ger5  ,  was 
partv  of  twcntv-five  men  up  the  \\"est  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  to  Bald  Eagle  Creek      There  they  fell 


1244 

Corner  Pond  in  Bedford.  On  the  30th  we  travelled  not  more  than  three  miles,  when  the  Indians 
took  Abraham  Pike  prisoner.     On  the  31st  we  crossed  the  river. 

"Abraham  Pike*  was  a  British  deserter,  and  death  was  his  portion  if  he  remained  with  the 
Indians.  He  urged  an  escape.  On  the  1st  of  April  we  had  an  opportunity  of  being  alone  and  we  all 
agreed  to  escape.  That  night  [being  encamped  near  the  Susquehanna,  about  fifteen  miles  below 
Tioga  Point]  the  prisoners  were  all  pinioned  but  myself,  and  it  was  agreed  that  I  should  procure  a 
knife  which  I  did.  Pike  cut  himself  loose,  and  while  the  Indians  were  sleeping,  he  took  away  their 
guns,  and  then  cut  the  other  men  loose.  One  Indian  awakened,  and  instantly  Peter  Pence  fired 
at  him.  Major  Van  Campen  took  an  a.\,  which  I  had  procured  for  him,  and  killed  two  Indians 
before  they  arose.  The  rest  ran  and  were  pursued  by  Van  Campen.  As  they  fled,  Peter  Pence 
fired  at  them  several  times.  I  have  reason  to  suppose  that  Pike  did  not  shed  one  drop  of  Indian 
blood  that  night,  only  in  scalping  the  two  dead  Indians.  Major  Van  Campen  was  the  principal 
executioner. 

"On  the  6th  of  April,  while  the  "go-to-bed  drum"  (as  it  was  called)  was  beating  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  Fort,  we  reached  the  block-house  in  Kingston,  having  suffered  much  with  hunger  durin.i; 
our  travel. "t 

In  the  diary  of  Lieut.  John  Jenkins,  Jr.,  who  was  at  Fort  Wyoming,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  in  the  Spring  of  1780  (see  page  806,  Vol.  II),  occurs  the  following  entry 
under  the  date  of  March  30,  1780. 

"Mrs.  [Abraham]  Pike  came  in  this  day,  and  informed  that  she  and  her  husband  were  in 
the  woods  making  sugar,  and  were  surrounded  by  a  party  of  about  thirty  |?]  Indians,  who  had 
several  prisoners  with  them,  and  two  horses.  They  took  her  husband  and  carried  him  off  with 
them,  and  painted  her  and  sent  her  in.  They  killed  the  horses  before  they  left  the  cabin  where 
she  was.  One  of  the  prisoners  told  her  that  the  Indians  had  killed  three  or  four  men  at  Fishing 
Creek." 

Concerning  the  escape  and  return  home  of  Pike  and  his  companions,  Lieu- 
tenant Jenkins  made  the  following  entry  in  his  diary,  under  the  date  of  April 
6,  1780. 

"Pike  and  two  men  from  Fishing  Creek  and  two  boys,  that  were  taken  by  the  Indians, 
made  their  escape  by  rising  on  their  guard  of  ten  Indians,  killed  three,  and  the  rest  took  to  the 
woods  naked,  and  left  the  prisoners  with  twelve  guns  and  about  thirty  blankets,  &c.  These  the 
prisoners  got  safe  to  the  fort." 

At  Fort  Niagara,  N.  Y.,  under  the  date  of  May  3,  1780,  Col.  Guy  Johnson 
(mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  300,  Vol.  II)  wrote  to  Governor  Haldimand 
concerning  preparations  which  had  been  made  by  Joseph  Brant  and  other  Indian 
chiefs  for  incursions  against  the  frontier  settlements.  He  stated  that  a  large 
expedition  had  set  out  about  the  middle  of  February,  1780,  which  was  followed 
by  several  smaller  parties;  that  one  of  the  latter,  composed  of  Delawares,  had 
killed  seven  white  people  and  taken  .six  prisoners  at  Wyoming;  that  three  of  the 
Indians  of  this  party  had  been  killed  in  the  night  time. 

A  small  party  of  Indians  came  to  Cooper's  plantation  at  Capouse  (now 
Scranton)  March  30,  1780,  and  captured  and  carried  away  three  men  named 
Avery,  Lyons  and  Jones. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  April  2,  1780,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  wrote 
to  General  Washington  and  also  to  the  Board  of  War  relative  to  the  recent  hap- 
in  with  a  considerable  body  of  Indians,  and  in  the  fight  which  ensued  nineteen  of  Van  Campen's  men  were  slain,  and 
he  and  five  of  the  remaining  mer  were  taken  prisoners  and  conveyed  to  Fort  Niagara,  New  York. 

Lieutenant  Van  Campen  was  detained  a^  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  British  at  Fort  Niagara.  Montreal  and  the 
Isle  of  Orleans  until  about  November  I.  1782.  when  he  was  exchanged  and  immediately  returned  to  Northumberland 
County,  where  he  rejoined  "Robinson's  Rangers".  In  March,  178."?,  he  came  with  his  company  to  Wilkes-Barre  to  assist 
in  garrisoning  Fort  Wyoming,  about  that  time  known  as  Fort  Dickinson. 

Lieutenant  Van  Campen  was  honorably  discharged  from  the  military  service  of  the  State  November  16,  1783.  and 
soon  thereafter  was  married  to  Margaret,  eldest  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  {E.ip.y)  McClure.  of  "McClure's  Fort", 
previously  mentioned.  There  he  lived  until  1  789.  when  he  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Briar  Creek.  Columbia  County.  Pa.  In  1  796  he  sold  his  Pennsylvania  lands  and  removed  to  Almond.  Allegany  County. 
N.  Y.  Thence  he  removed,  about  five  years  later,  to  Angelica  in  the  same  county,  where  he  died  October  15.  18+9. 
He   was   survived   by   five   daughters. 

.■^t  Dansville.  New  York,  in  1841.  there  was  published,  for  the  first  time,  a  12  mo.  book,  of  .'10  pagci.  entitled: 
"Sketches  of  the  Life  and  Adventures  of  Moses  Van  Campen.  a  Surviving  OflScer  of  the  Army  of  the  Revolution",  by 
lohn  N  Hubhard.  In  1913  the  price  of  a  copy  of  this  extremely  rare  book  (the  first  edition)  was  quoted  at  $45.01  in 
New  York. 

'Mentioned  on  pages  982,   1012  and  1014,  Vol.  II. 

t-At  different  times  during  the  past  eighty  years  various  accounts,  differing  very  materially  in  their  details,  have 
been  printed  relative  to  the  escape  of  Rogers,  the  Van  Campens.  Pike  and  Pence  from  their  Indian  captors.  We  have 
accepted  the  foregoing  account  of  Jonah  Rogers  as  undoubtedly  the  correct  one  of  the  occurrence.  For  other  i 
the  reader  is  referred  to  Hazard's  Register  of  Pennsylvania.  XII:  .18;  Stone's  "Poetry  and  Hi  tory  of  Wyoming" 
Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming  " .  p.  279;  Peck's  "Wyoming",  p.  304;  Wright's  "Historical  Sketches  of  Ply 
pp.  30  and  208. 


1245 

penings  at  Wyoming,  and  also  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  at  Fort  Wyoming.  These 
communications  were  entrusted  for  delivery  to  Capt.  Simon  Spalding,  who 
journeyed  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Philadelphia,  and  thence  to  Morristown,  New- 
Jersey.  A  copy  of  the  letter  to  General  Washington  is  printed  on  page  68  of 
Hayden's  "The  Wyoming  Massacre"  (previously  mentioned).  The  letter  to 
the  "President  of  the  Board  of  War"  was  as  follows: 

"Honored  Sir — The  last  letter  I  wrote  per  Captain  Spalding  was  of  the  .lOth  nil.,  of  the 
transactions  of  the  enemy  up  to  that  day.  On  the  same  day,  early  in  the  morning,  about  nine 
miles  west  of  the  river,  one  Pike,  his  wife  and  child,  that  were  out  making  sugar,  were  taken  by 
a  party  that  had  been  to  Fishing  Creek.  They  were  the  party  that  had  killed  and  scalped  unc 
man  and  taken  the  other  on  the  iSth  of  March,  about  eight  miles  down  the  river.  They  had  the 
prisoners  taken  at  said  time  with  them,  and  three  others,  who  told  Pike's  wife  that  they  |the 
Indians]  had  killed  three  at  Fishing  Creek.  They  dismissed  her  with  her  child,  and  ordered  her 
to  come  home.  She  brings  the  above  account,  and  says  their  number  was  above  thirty.  She  was 
two  hours  with  them  before  they  dismissed  her. 

"The  same  evening  the  three  men  |the  Bennets  and  Hammond]  mentioned  as  being  taken 
the  27th  of  March,  came  in  with  five  Indian  guns,  tomhacks,  &c.,  and  report  that  they  were  taken 
by  six  Indians  and  carried  near  forty  miles,  and  on  the  29th,  early  in  the  morning,  they  arose  on 
their  masters,  killed  three  dead  and  wounded  the  fourth  and  two  ran  off!  However,  so  much  is 
fact:  They  brought  in  five  guns,  one  silver  mounted  hanger,  tomhacks,  &c.  *  *  *  *  fhe 
three  men  likewise  say  that  by  the  appearance  of  the  snow-shoe  tracks  there  had  been  for  some 
months  large  numbers  of  Indians  in  these  parts,  which  was  less  than  forty  miles  above  this 
Garrison.     *     *     * 

"I  had  forgot  to  mention  that  on  the  29th  March — the  same  day  the  Indians  did  the  mis- 
chief at  Fishing  Creek — about  eighteen  miles  westward  of  this  settlement  they  wounded  two  men 
[Parker  and  Ransom]  that  went  out  with  Esquire  Franklin  to  give  notice  to  some  men  that  were 
making  sugar  there:  but  they  saved  themselves  by  taking  to  a  house,  and  have  all  got  in.  The 
two  wounded  men  are  likely  to  recover.     *     *     * 

"I  have  engaged  some  of  the  militia  to  do  duty,  and  give  them  rations  until  the  pleasure  of 
the  Board  is  known.  I  shall  be  glad  of  directions  respecting  their  rations  and  pay  while  I  continue 
at  this  Post,  and  any  other  orders. 

"I  am  Your  Honour's  most  Obdt.  Humble  Serv't,  [Signed]  "Zebn.  Butler,  Col.  " 

The  militia  mentioned  by  Colonel  Butler  as  being  in  service  at  Fort  Wyoming 
were  the  company  of  Westmorelanders  commanded  by  Capt.  Wm.  Hooker 
Smith,  and  the  recently  organized  company  of  Captain  Franklin,  mentioned  on 
page  1228,  \'ol.  11. 

The  members  of  these  companies  were  not  required  either  to  spend  all  thL-ir 
time  in  doing  military  duty,  or  even  to  remain  continuously  at  the  fort  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  The  enlisted  men  of  the  companies  were  divided  into  three  classes,  or 
details.  While  one  of  these  details  would  be  performing  a  tour  of  duty  in  and 
about  the  garrison,  a  second  detail  would  be  engaged  in  scouting,  or  in  guarding 
certain  important  places  in  the  valley — for  example,  a  grist-mill — at  some  dis- 
tance from  Wilkes-Barre.  The  other  members  of  the  companies,  not  on  duty 
with  either  of  these  details,  had  permission  and  were  expected  to  go  to  their 
respective  homes  to  engage  in  their  usual  vocations;  and  matters  were  so  arranged 
that  each  man  would  be  off  duty  three  or  four  days  every  fortnight.  Of  course, 
in  cases  of  emergency,  all  the  men  were  required  to  be  on  duty  simultaneously  at 
the  garrison,  or  wherever  needed. 

In  reply  to  his  communication  to  the  Board  of  VCar  Colonel  Butler  receised 

the  following:* 

"War  Office,  April  6th,  17^0, 

"Sir — The  Board  have  received  your  favor  of  the  2d  instant — the  one  referred  to  by  Capt. 
Spalding  is  not  yet  received.  With  respect  to  your  having  engaged  some  of  the  Militia  to  do  duty, 
the  Board  approve  of  your  conduct.  While  in  actual  service  they  should  receive  Continental 
pay  and  rations.  But  the  Board  rely  on  your  discretion,  that  you  will  keep  them  no  longer  in 
service  than  the  safety  of  your  Garrison  absolutely  requires:  and  indeed,  it  has  been  fountl  so 
very  expensive  to  maintain  the  Garrison  at  Wyoming,  and  the  Pulilic  Finances   are   now    so 

*From  a  copy  of  the  original  preserved  in  the  Connecticut  State  Library. 


1246 

much  exhausted  that,  unless  it  is  maintained  on  the  most  economic  principles,  it  must  be  given 
up  from  necessity. 

"From  circumstances  it  is  presumed  that  you  will  not  have  occasion  to  Employ  more  than 
30  militia,  and  these  must  not  be  kept  a  moment  longer  than  requisite.  The  Board  confide  in 
your  exertions  for  the  defence  of  the  Garrison,  and  protection  of  the  Inhabitants. 

"Be  pleased  to  furnish  the  Board  with  a  return  of  your  strength,  and  let  them  know  how 
many  militia  you   have  employed. 

"I  am.  Sir,  Yr.  very  Obedt.  Serv., 

"By  order  of  the  Board,  [Signed]  Ben  Stoddart,  Secy." 
"Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  Comdg.  at  Wyoming." 

In  reply  to  the  communication  received  by  General  Washington  from  Colonel 
Butler  the  former  wrote  a.s  follows:* 

"Head  Quarters  Morris 
Town  April  7th,  1780. 
"5;> 

"I  received  Yesterday  your  letter  of  the  :?d  instant;  and  1  am  extremely  sorry  to  find  that 
parties  of  the  Enemy  have  appeared  and  committed  hostilities  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wyoming. 
It  is  not  in  my  power  to  afford  any  Troops  from  the  army  and  I  should  hope  those  already  there 
and  the  Inhabitants  will  be  able  to  repel  at  least  incursions  by  light  parties.  It  was  my  intention 
as  I  informed  you  that  you  should  join  your  regiment  immediately  after  your  return;  however 
I  am  induced  from  the  face  of  things,  to  let  you  continue  where  you  are  for  the  present  and  you 
will  remain  till  further  orders.  Should  further  depredations  and  mischiefs  be  committed  by  the 
enemy — you  will  take  occasion  to  inform  me  of  them. 

"I  am  Sir 

"To  "Yr  Most  Obe't  Servant 

"Col.  Zebulon  Butler."  [Signed]         "G.  Washington" 

Some  of  the  Continental  soldiers  at  the  Wyoming  Garrison  were  clamoring 
in  the  Spring  of  1780  for  their  arrears  of  pay,  long  overdue,  and  early  in  April 
Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  went  down  to  Philadelphia  to  look  into  the  matter.  At 
Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  April  12,  1780,  Assistant  Paymaster  General 
Burrall  wrote  to  the  "Hon.  Board  of  Treasury",  in  part  as  follows: 

*  *  "Captain  Schott,  who  commands  an  Independent  Corps,  stationed  at  Wyoming,  is 
waiting  in  town  for  their  pay,  which  is  due  from  September  last,  and  amounts  to  more  than  I 
have  on  hand  *  *  *  j  should  be  glad  of  20,000  dollars,  which  will  be  suflScient  to  pay  him. 
I  hope  this  last  sum  at  least  may  be  obtained,  as  Captain  Schott's  returning  without  the  money 
would  occasion  much  uneasiness  in  the  Corps,  who  have  si.x  months'  pay  due;  and  the  expense 
of  another  journey  from  Wyoming  would  be  considerable."     *     *     * 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  April  10,  1780,  a  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Westmoreland  was  held,  Capt.  John  Franklin  being  chosen  Moderator  "for  the 
work  of  the  day".     "John  Hurlbut.f  Esq.,  was  chosen  to  negotiate  the  affairs  of 

'^The  ori^nal  letter  is  now  in  thp  possession  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  Historical  Society. 

tAccording  to  the  "Hurlbut  Geneology",  by  Henry  H.  Hurlbut,  published  at  Albany,  New  York,  in  1888,  John 
HuRLBuT.  mentioned  above,  was  the  great-grandson  of  Samuel  Hurlbut  (son  of  Lieut.  Thomas  Hurlbut,  of  Saybrook) . 

who  was  born  in  or  near  1644,  probably  at  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,     Samuel's  wife's  name  was  Mary ,  and 

they  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  Stephen  Hurlbut,  bom  at  Wethersfield,  December 
26,  1668.  The  last-named  settled  in  New  London,  Connecticut,  soon  after  1690.  .\boiit  1696  he  was  married  to 
Hannah  Douglas  of  New  London,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  seven  children,     Stephen  Hurlbut  died  October  7, 

The  fourth  child  of  Stephen  and  Hannah  {Douglas)  Hurlbut  was  John  Hurlbut,  who  was  born  at  New  London. 
He  settled  in  North  Groton  (afterwards  Ledyan) ,  New  London  County,  and  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Ralph  Stoddard. 
He  died  May  5,  1  761 ,  but  his  widow  Mary  was  still  living  in  1 782.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  the  third 
of  whom  was  John  Hurlbut,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  at  Groton,  March  12,  1730,  and  made  that 
place  his  residence  until  he  removed  to  Wyoming  Valley.  "He  was  a  man  of  considerable  prominence  in  his  neighbor- 
hood, having  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-townsmen.  He  was  a  Selectman,  a  school  teacher,  and  a  Deacon  of  the 
Congregational  Church,  and  as  a  citizen  was  active,  useful  and  patriotic," 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Revolutionary  War  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  Groton, 

Prior  to  1773,  "Deacon"  Hurlbut  acquired  a  share,  or  "right",  in  The  Delaware  Company's  Purchase  (mentioned 
on  page  293  Vol.  II.  and  in  February,  1773,  he  bought,  for  £5.  a  half-right  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase.  Earl.v  in 
May.  1773.  he  journeyed  from  Groton,  Connecticut,  to  what  is  now  Pike  County.  Pennsylvania,  where,  on  May' 20  , 
and  subsequent  days,  he  assisted  in  laying  out  and  allotting  the  lands  in  the  township  of  Parkbury.  as  described  on 
page  771 .  Vol.  H.  In  a  journal  which  he  kept  at  that  time  (see  Johnson's  "Historical  Record"  I:  213)  he  mentions. 
in  addition  to  the  names  of  the  original  drawers  of  lots  in  Parkbury  set  forth  on  page  771  of  this  work,  the  following 
named:  Elisha  Gifl'ord,  Kendrel  Edwards,  Elijah  Park,  Samuel  Hallett,  John  Westbrook,  Matthias  Button,  Reuben 
Jones,  Deliverance  Adams,  James  Adams,  James  Dye,  Abner  Newton,  Lebbens  Lathrop,  Ezra  Tracy,  Jeremiah 
Park  and  Deacon  Oriswold. 

On  May  24  "Deacon"  Hurlbut.  in  company  with  Capt.  Zebulon  Parrish  and  Benajah  Park,  set  out  from  Parkbury 
for  Wyoming  Valley,  They  travelled  thirty-two  miles  that  day,  arriving  at  the  junction  of  the  Lackawanna  River 
with  the  Susquehanna-  On  page  745,  Vol,  II  of  this  work  will  be  found  an  extract  from  the  journal  of  "Deacon" 
Hurlbut,  relating  to  his  doings  while  in  the  Valley.  He  returned  to  Parkbury  on  May  27,  and  two  days  later  set  off 
homeward.  (At  that  time  Stephen  Hurlbut,  eldest  brother  of  the  "Deacon",  was  in  the  Valley  engaged  in  surveying 
lands.     He  was  one  of  the  original  settlers  here  under  The  Susquehanna  Company.     See  pages  498  and  .509,  Vol,  I  ) 

.According  to  the  "Hurlbut  Genealogy"  "Deacon"  Hurlbut  visited  Wyoming  again  in  the  Autumn  of  1775  and 
again  in  November    1  777 — at  which  time  he  purchased  from  John  Hollenback  800  acres  of  land  in  Hanover  Township. 


'J 


l>py  of  uriginau  letter  general  u  ashingtio 
Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  at  Wilkss-Barre 


1247 

Selling  his  (Iroton  farm  in  the  Summer  of  1777  he.  about  the  beKinning  of  June.  1778,  with  his  wife  and  children  fex- 
cepting  Christopher  and  John,  Jr  .  who  had  gone  from  Ciroton  to  Wyoming  in  February,  1778) .  set  out  for  Wyoming 
After  crossing  the  Delaware  River  "Deacon"  Hurlbut  was  taken  sick.  and.  with  his  wife,  stopped  at  a  small  settlemen  t 
in  the  Minisinks  (see  page  189.  Vol.  I)  at  which  they  had  arrived,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  (including  John,  Jr..  who 
had  ju.'^t  come  on  from  Wyoming)  traveled  onward  to  Parkbury.  At  or  near  this  place,  on  June  .30.  Abigail,  the  seventh 
child  of  "Deacon"  Hurlbut,  aged  five  years  and  nine  months,  died  after  a  few  days'  illness. 

About  this  time  Christopher  Hurlbut,  the  eldest  son  of  the  "Deacon",  arrived  at  Parkbury  from  Wyoming  Valley, 
having  made  the  journey  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  his  relatives  and  escorting  them  to  their  destination  in  Hanover 
Township.  According  to  his  "Journal"  (more  fully  referred  to  hereinafter),  Christopher  and  the  other  members  of  his 
father's  family  remained  at  or  near  Parkbury  "until  the  result  of  the  battle  [of  Wyoming]  was  known,"  As  stated  on 
page  1020.  Vol.  H.  the  first  news  of  the  battle  was  received  in  Lackaway  District — which  included  Parkbury — in  the 
afternoon  of  July  4.  1778.     (Relative  to  Lackaway  District,  of  Westmoreland,  see  pages  771.  790  and  795,  Vol.  II.) 

The  Hurlbuts  fled  from  Lackaway  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  and  proceeded  to  Shawangunk.  near  the 
Wallkill  River  in  Ulster  County,  New  York.  There  they  (with  the  exception  of  Christopher)  remained  for  some  time, 
and  there  vStephen  Hurlbut.  sixth  child  of  "Deacon"  Hurlbut,  aged  nine  years,  died  February  28.  1779. 

Karly  in  the  Spring  of  1779  "Deacon"  Hurlbut  proceeded  to  Wyoming  Valley,  where,  on  April  12.  he  was  chosen 
[  ne  of  the  Representatives  from  Westmoreland  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut — as  noted  on  page  1 166.  Vol 
n.  ^\'ith  his  fellow  Representative.  Colonel  Denison,  "Deacon"  Hurlbut  attended  the  May  session  of  the  Assembly. 
\<y  which  body  he  was  appointed,  and  by  Governor  Trumbull  duly  commissioned,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for 
the  county  of  'Weftmoreland.  In  the  following  November,  having  erected  a  dwelling-house  on  the  land  in  Hanover 
Township  which  he  had  acquired,  he  brought  his  family  thither  from  Shawangunk.  (See  sketch  of  John  Hurlbut 
Jr  ,  hereinafter.) 

As  noted  on  page  1229.  Vol.  II,  "Deacon"  Hurlbut  was  a  private  in  Capt.  John  Franklin's  company  of  WcNtmore- 
lund  mihtia.  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  at  the  Wyoming  post  in  the  Spring  of  1780.  In  April.  1780.  he  was 
re-elected  a  Representative  from  Westmoreland  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  He  attended  the  meeting 
held  in  May.  and  was  at  that  time  appointed  and  duly  commissioned  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum  in  and  for 
Westmoreland-  He  was  again  re-elected  a  Representative  in  April.  1781,  and,  at  the  session  of  the  Assembly  held  in 
thf  following  month,  was  re-appointed  and  re-commissioned  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum.  He  was  one  of  the 
Selectmen  of  Westmoreland  in  1780  and   1781. 

Miner  (in  his  "History  of  Wyoming")  states  that  "Deacon"  Hurlbut.  during  the  absence  from  the  Valley  of  the 
Rev.  Jacob  Johnson,  frequently  preached  funeral  and  other  sermons.  Speaking  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Hurlbut  on  Sunday 
March  10,  1782.  Miner  says:  "The  good  "Deacon'  John  Hurlbut  departed  this  life — a  life  full  of  respect  and  usefulness 
The  confidence  reposed  in  him  is  attested  by  his  having  been — when,  from  the  distressed  state  of  the  country,  the 
•■age  t  men  for  wisdom  and  the  brightest  in  virtue  were  required  for  public  trusts — three  times  chosen  Member  of 
Assembly,  besides  fulfilling  other  offices  of  lesser  note." 

"Deacon"  Hurlbut  died  in  Hanover  Township,  and.  according  to  H.  B,  Plumb  (in  his  "History  of  Hanover  Town- 
sh  p")  "was  buried  on  his  farm,  near  an  orchard  he  had  set  out  with  his  own  hands."  His  widow  died  at  the  home  of 
her  son  Naphtali  in  Pittnon,  Pennsylvania,  November  29.  1805.      » 

"Deacon"  John  Hurlbut  was  married  in  17S6  to  Abigail  (born  April  1,  1735),  second  child  of  John  and  Anna  (Slan- 
ton)  Averv  of  Preston  Connecticut.  John  Avery  (born  October  26,  1705)  was  the  eldest  son  of  Christopher  Avery  and 
his  first  wife.  Abigail  Park  (married  December  19,  1704;  died  February  12,  1713). 

The  children  of  "Deacon"  John  and  Abigail  {Avery)  Hiu-lbut  were  as  follows  (all  born  at  Groton,  Connecticut): 
(i)  Chrisiopher.  born  May  30,  1757.  (See  hereinafter.)  (ii)  John,  bom  February  21,  1760.  (See  hereinafter)  (iii) 
Anna,  born  Januarv5,  1763;  married  January  10,  1788.  to  Elisha  Blackman,  Jr.  (Seepage  1067.  Vol.  H)  (iv)  Calherinf. 
born  March  18,  1765;  married  at  Hanover  in  1787  to  William  Hyde  (born  in  Canterbury,  Connecticut.  July  26,  1764. 
-•on  of  lohn  Hyde);  they  removed  in  1802  to  Arkport,  New  York,  where  she  died  September  24.  1804.  and  he  died 
October  9.  1822.  (v)  ^aphiali.  born  August  12,  1767.  (See  hereinafter.)  (vi)  Slephen.  bom  February  9.  1770;  died 
at  Shawangunk.  New  York,  February  28.  1779.  (vii)  Abigail,  bom  in  September,  1772;  died  at  Lackaway  June  30, 
1778.  (viii)  Lydia.  born  July  10,  1775;  married  at  Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  in  1798  to  John  Tiffany  of  North  Adams. 
Massachusett^;  died  at  Arkport,  New  York,  in   1852. 

(i)  Chrisiopher  Hurlbut,  born  May  30.  1757,  was  living  at  his  father's  home  near  Gales'  Ferry  (on  the  Thames 
River  some  fifteen  miles  west  of  the  Connecticut-Rhode  Island  boundary-line),  in  the  town  of  Groton.  New  London 
County,  Connecticut,  when  the  Revolutionary  War  broke  out.  In  April.  1776,  he  and  his  younger  brother.  John.  Jr.. 
enlisted  as  privates  under  Lieut.  Reuben  Hewitt  in  a  Rhode  Island  regiment  commanded  by  Col.  Christopher  Lippitt. 
In  the  following  May  they  were  at  Brenton's  Point  (a  few  miles  south-west  of  Newport)  engaged  in  building  a  fort. 
June  25  they  were  tran=ferred  to  Portsmouth  (ten  or  twelve  miles  north-east  of  Newport),  where,  and  at  Howland's 
Ferry,  forts  were  also  erected. 

On  September  15.  1776,  Lippitt's  regiment  set  out  from  Rhode  Island  for  New  York,  marching  by  way  of  Fairfield. 
Ccnnecticut.  and  arriving  at  Fort  Washington,  on  Manhattan  Island,  after  a  march  of  eighteen  days.  Two  weeks 
later  the  regiment  was  marched  to  White  Plains,  where  it  took  part  in  the  battle  of  October  28.  1776.  On  December 
4th  the  regiment  crossed  the  North  River,  and  a  week  later  was  at  Morristown,  New  Jersey.  On  Christmas-day  the 
regiment  was  at  Bristol  on  the  Delaware,  and  later  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton  (For  further 
information  relative  to  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  campaign — September,  1776,  to  January,  1777— see  page  485. 
Vol.  I,»  and  page  909.  Vol,  II. 

The  term  of  service  of  Lippitt's  regiment  having  expired  early  in  January,  1777,  the  men  were  discharged  on  the  19th 
of  the  month  at  Chatham.  New  Jersey,  Christopher  and  John  Hurlbut  immediately  set  out  for  their  home  in  Groton. 
arriving  there  on  January  28th.  In  the  following  May  Christopher  proceeded  to  Wyoming  Valley,  and,  as  shown  by  the 
Westmoreland  tax-lists  for  1777  and  1778  (see  pages  946  and  952.  Vol.  II),  became  a  resident  of  Kingston  DiUrict 
As  required  by  the  Connecticut  law  then  in  force  with  respect  to  the  militia  of  the  State.  Mr.  Hurlbut  was  enrolled  as  a 
private  in  the  2d  (or  Kingston)  Company  of  the  24th  (or  Westmoreland)  Regiment,  commanded  by  Capt.  Dethick 
Hewitt.  When,  in  November,  1777,  his  father  returned  from  Wyoming  to  Groton.  Christopher  accompanied  him.  and 
remained  there  until  February  10,  1778.  when,  accompanied  by  his  brother  John,  he  came  back  to  Wyoming. 

Dr.  George  Peck,  in  Chapter  XXI  of  his  "Wyoming"  (referred  toon  page  20,  Vol.  I),  prints  several  pages  of  extract  ^ 
from  the  "Journal  of  Christopher  Hurlbut."  He  prefaces  this  "brief  record  of  the  event;  of  the  wars  in  Wyomin.;" 
with  the  following  words:  "It  is  the  testimony  of  a  witness  and  an  actor  in  the  scene.  Mr.  Hurlbut  was  a  man  for  the 
times,  of  more  than  usual  education — a  good  mathematician  and  a  practical  surveyor.  His  plots  of  large  tract;  of 
lands  surveyed  by  him  in  the  County  of  Luzerne  are  acknowledged  data.  His  field-books,  plots,  bearings  and  distances 
are  all  executed  with  great  skill  and  accuracy." 

Quoting  from  the  above  mentioned  journal  we  have  the  following:  "Early  in  the  Spring  [of  1 778)  Colonel  Denison 
[sic],  with  about  150  men,  went  up  to  Wyalusing  to  assist  a  number  of  families  in  removing  from  the  place.  [See  pane 
956,  Vol.  II. I  I  was  in  the  company.  We  made  rafts  of  old  houses,  and  took  on  the  people  with  their  effects,  and  went 
down  the  river,      *     *     *     xhe  last  of  June  I  went  out  to  Lackawaxen  to  meet  my  father's  family." 

Having  accompanied  his  father's  family  to  Shawangunk — where  they  arrived  on  July  16 — Christopher  Hurlbut 
proceeded  thence  to  what  is  now  Stroudsburg.  Pennsylvania  where,  about  July  27,  he  joined  the  detachment  of  militia 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  and  marched  with  the  same  to  Wilkes-Barre  where  they  arrived  on  August 
4.  (see  pages  1080  and  1096.  Vol.  II.) 

At  a  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland  held  at  Wilkes-Barre  April  12,  1779.  Christopher  Hurlbut. 
being  then  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  life,  was  admitted  a  freeman,  and  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  State  of 
Connecticut  In  the  Spring  of  1780,  and  later,  he  was  a  Sergeant  in  Capt.  John  Franklin's  companv  of  Westmoreland 
militia  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  at  the  Wyoming  po.st.  (See  page  1229.  Vol,  II.)  In  Klay.  1780.  he  was 
a  ppointed  Surveyor  of  Lands  in  and  for  Westmoreland,  In  January.  1 782.  he  was  appointed  to  collect  the  taxes  levied 
against  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland  living  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna  River.  In  April.  1786.  he  became 
one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  township  of  Athens — referred  to  more  at  length  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

In  1788  and  '89  Christopher  Hurlbut  was  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  newly-erected  county  of  Luzerne 
August  5,  1789.  he  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  of  Luzeme  County;  and  on  the  10th  of  the  following  December  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania 
granted  him  a  license  to  keep  a  tavern  in  Hanover  Township  during  the  ensuing  year.  In  1  793  he  ov\Tied  and  operated 
a  grist-mill  and  a  saw-mill  on  Nanticoke  Creek,  which  flowed  through  his  property  in   Hanover  Township,     At  that 


1248 

period  he   was  largely  engaged  in  surveying  lands  in   many  localities  in  Luzerne  County.     (See  Johnson's  "Historical 
Record"    IV;  34,)     In  1796  he  was  Clerk  to  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Luzerne  County. 


Having  determined  to  emigrate  to  the  State  of  New  York  Christopher  Hurlbut,  at  some  time  in  1796,  made  a 
journey  to  Ontario  County,  and  in  that  part  of  it  which  in  March  1796,  became  Steuben  County,  he  purchased  637 
acres  of  land  lying  along  the  Canisteo  River.  Later,  in  the  same  locality,  he  purchased  627  acres  more.  In  the  Spring 
of  1797,  accompanied  by  his  eldest  son,  John  {then  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  life).  Mr.  Hurlbut  went  from  Hanover 
to  his  new  purchase,  where  he  made  a  clearing  and  erected  a  log  cabin.  He  then  returned  to  Hanover,  and  conducted 
his  family  thence  to  their  new  home  in  the  Autumn  of  1797.  (A  detailed  as  well  as  an  interesting,  account  of  this 
journey,  given  in  1866  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  {Hurlbul)  Shepard,  will  be  found  in  Johnson's  "Historical  Record",  IV:  34  ,' 

By  1 805  Christopher  Hurlbut  had  built  on  his  Canisteo  lands  a  large  frame  house,  a  saw-mill  and  a  store-house.  He 
called  the  new  settlement  "Arkport".  For  awhile  he  carried  on  there  a  tavern  and  a  store,  and  was  largely  engaged  in 
rafting  lumber  down  the  Canisteo.  Chemung  and  Susquehanna  Rivers.  He  constructed  the  first  arks  seen  on  the 
Canisteo.  and  in  them  conveyed  every  kind  of  salable  produce,  common  to  that  region,  to  markets  along  the  Chemung 
and  Susquehanna.  For  awhile  he  held  the  office  of  Associate  Judge,  or  Justice,  of  the  County  Court  of  Steuben  County 
Meanwhile — prior  to  1803 — he  had  sold,  from  his  large  tracts  of  land  in  Steuben  County,  farms  to  some  of  his  old 
Hanover  neighbors,  to  wit;  Nathan  Cary  his  brother-in-law  {see  page  1025,  Vol-  II).  William  and  Wyllis  Hyde.  John 
Harvey.  Joel  Atherton  and  Jo?eph  Corey,  all  of  whom  settled  at  or  near  Arkport  prior  to  1803.  (John  Harvey,  mentioned 
above,  was  a  nephew  of  Benjamin  Harvey,  mentioned  on  page  1260). 

Chri-topher  Hurlbut  was  married  at  either  Wilkes-Barre  or  Hanover  May  2.  1782.  to  Elizabeth  Mann,  born  in 
Delaware,  a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Sarah  (Johnson)  Mann,  said  to  have  been  natives  of  Londonberry,  Ireland.  Adam 
Mann  was  Hving  in  Wilkes-Barre  in  March,  1781.  when  he  purchased  land  from  Jonathan  Fitch.  August  13,  1791,  a^ 
noted  on  page  51,  Vol.  I.  he  acquired  title  to  the  island  then  known  as  Wilkes-Barre.  or  Johnson's,  Island.  Under  date 
of  December  12,  1791  (as  shown  by  original  records  in  the  Land  Office,  Department  of  Internal  Affairs,  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania).  Adam  Mann  of  Wilkes  Hanr  (  \(in(rd  a  deed  to  his  daughter  Nancy  Mann,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  for  "a 
certain  inland  in  the  Susquehanna  Rutr  .  .illn]  johri  on's  Island,  containing  about  eight  acres";  and  also  for  lots  40  and 
41  in  the  town-plot  of  Wilkes-Barre  ,\|i|Mr. mh  Mi  Mann  must  have  subsequently  re-acquired  the  title  to  the  island 
above  mentioned  for  we  find  that  on  Man  h  I  7 .  I  :•'<>,  he  sold  it  to  Putnam  Catlin  for  £45-  In  1795  Nancy  Mann  sold 
and  conveyed  lots  40  and  41  to  Capt  Samuel  Bowman  of  Wilkes-Barre.  In  1796  or  '97  Adam  Mann  and  his  family 
removed  to  Wysox,  in  what  is  now  Bradford  County.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died  in  1797  or  '98  aged  eighty-two  or 
eighty-three  vears.  He  had  at  lea-t  four  daughters,  as  follows;  Nancy.  Elizabeth  (Mrs.  Christopher  Hurlbut).  Sarah 
{Mrs. Gibson)  and  Jane  (Mrs.  Nathan  Cary).  ". 

Christopher  Hurlbut  died  at  Arkport  April  21.  1831,  and  his  wife  died  there  April  3.  1841.  About  a  year  before 
her  death  she  was  granted  a  pension  by  the  United  States  Oovernment  in  consideration  of  the  military  services 
performed  by  her  husband  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

The  children  of  Christopher  and  Elizabeth  ( Mann)  Hurlbut  were  as  follows:  (  i )  Abigail.  Ijorn  in  Hanover  Town- 
ship April  29.  1783;  died  at  Arkport.  unmarried.  April  18,  1850.  (2)  John,  born  at  Hanover  October  21.  1784.  (3) 
James,  bom  at  Hanover  April  12,  1787.  (4)  vSarah.  bom  at  Hanover  March  4.  1789.  (5)  Elizabeth,  bom  at  Hanover 
April  29.  179!.  (6)  Nancy,  born  at  Hanover  April  8,  1793.  (7)  Christopher,  born  at  Hanover  December  17,  1794. 
(8)    Edward,  born  at  Arkport  July  1.  1799;  died  August  22.  1800. 

(ii)  John  Hurlbut.  Jr.,  born  at  Groton,  Connecticut,  February  21.  1760.  was  living  at  his  father's  home  when  the 
Revolutionary  War  broke  out  April  3.  1776,  in  company  with  his  brother  Christopher,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Lippitt's  Rhode  Island  regiment.  His  mihtary  services  were  similar  to  those  of  his  brother,  and  continued  for  the  same 
length  of  time — he  being  discharged  from  the  service  at  Chatham,  New  Jersey.  January  19.  1777.  and  reaching  home 
nine  days  later,  about  three  weeks  before  his  seventeenth  birth-day.  Concerning  his  subsequent  movements  we  get 
the  following  information  from  a  diary,  or  journal,  which  he  wrote— extracts  from  which  are  printed  in  Johnson's 
"Historical    Record",    II:     71. 

*  The  Summer  following  [i.e.,  the  Summer  of  1777]  I  lived  at  home,  except  being  called  to  serve  in  the  militia  about, 
two  months.  *  *  *  Febmary  10,  1778.  Christopher  and  I  set  out  for  Susquehanna;  with  two  sleds  left  Groton 
and  with  a  long  and  tedious  journey  .got  through.  February  ye  23d,  A.  D.  1778.  arrived  at  Thomas  vStoddards  in 
Kingston  in  Westmoreland,  at  which  place  we  staid  till  April,  and  then  moved  to  Hanover,  about  nine  miles  down  the 
river  to  the  farm  that  father  had  bought.  We  boarded  at  Mr.  Corey's  until  the  28th  of  May;  then  I  set  out  to  meet 
father's  familv,  that  was  moving  to  Wvoming.  who  I  accordingly  met  at  HarwJnton  [in  eastern-central  Litchfield 
County!.  Connecticut,  and  then  I  drove  his  wagon  on  till  we  came  to  the  Minisinks.  There  father  was  taken  sick  about 
the  middle  of  June.  1778."  Mr.  Hurlbut  then  gives  an  account  of  some  of  the  events  hereinbefore  referred  to  in  the 
sketch  of  Christopher  Hurlbut.     Continuing,  he  states: 

"In  September,  1779.  I  came  to  Wyoming  to  provide  provisions  for  our  family,  and  after  a  fortnight's  visit  I  re- 
turned home  [to  Shawangunk).  and  was  immediately  taken  sick,  and  lay  helpless  until  the  8th  of  November,  on  which 
day  father  had  prepared  all  in  the  best  manner  for  a  journey,  and  set  out  with  four  oxen,  two  horse>.  four  cows,  fourteen 
hogs  and  six  sheep,  and  with  a  large  ox-cart  loaded  with  household  stuff  Father,  mother,  myself.  .\nna,  Catherine. 
Naphtali  and  Lydia  left  Shawangunk  with  full  intent  to  go  to  Susquehanna,  Christopher  being  there  already.  With 
good  success  we  arrived  at  our  own  house  at  Wyoming  the  16th  day  of  November,  1779.     God  grant  we  may  long  stay! 

"On  the  I4th  day  of  December,  1779.  I  engaged  to  teach  school  in  Hanover  for  three  months  *  *  *  PupiU 
to  March  ye  1 1th.  1780;  NaphtaU  Hurlbut.  71  davs;  Anna  Hurlbut.  18  days;  Catherine  Hurlbut.  29  days;  Lydia 
Hurlbut.  26  days;  Joseph  Corey.  52,'i-days;  Rebekah  Corey.  48  days;  Lucy  Corey,  52  days;  Benjamin  Corey  69  days; 
Olive  Franklin.  45  days;  Roasel  Franklin  65  days;  Susannah  Franklin.  70  days;  Alexander  Forsythe,  71  days;  Elisha 
Forsythe.  71  days." 

In  the  Spring  of  1 780  John  Hurlbut.  Jr. ,  was  a  private  in  the  company  of  Wyoming  militia  commanded  by  Capt. 
John  Franklin  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  at  Wilkes-Barre;  and  in  1781-82  he  was  a  Sergeant  in  the  company 
of  Connecticut  militia  commanded  by  Captain  Franklin.  (See  pages  1229  and  1230.  Vol.  II.)  During  the  Second 
Pennamite- Yankee  War  Mr  Hurlbut  was  actively  engaged  in  supporting,  vi  el  armis.  the  cause  of  the  Yankee  settlers. 
He  took  part  in  the  fight  at  Locust  Hill,  August  2.  1784,  and  was  one  of  the  several  participants  who  were  subsequently 
imprisoned  in  the  jail  at  Easton.  Pennsylvania,  as  fully  narrated  in  Chapter  XXII.  /jos/.  Under  the  resolution  adopted 
by  the  Susquehanna  Company — hereinbefore  referred  to  at  length — he  was.  on  October  1.  1785.  admitted  a  half- 
share  proprietor  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase.  In  1786.  in  company  with  his  brother  Christopher,  he  became  an 
original  proprietor  in  the  newly  erected  township  of  Athens. 

In  1795  John  Hurlbut,  Jr.,  went  to  that  part  of  Ontario  County.  New  York,  which  in  April,  1823.  became  Wayne 
County,  and  at  Palmyra  purchased  a  farm.  In  the  latter  part  of  1796  or  early  in  1797  having  sold  to  his  brother  Naph- 
tali his  land  in  Hanover,  he  removed  his  family  thence  to  Palmyra.  (His  name  appears  in  the  Hanover  tax-list  for 
1796.     See  Pearce's  "Annals  of  Luzerne  County",  page  547.) 

John  Hurlbut,  Jr.,  was  married  in  July,  1786.  to  Hannah  (born  November  18.  1768),  daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Jane  Millet,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  the  following-named  children;  Anna  (who  became  the  wife  of  Solomon 
TiceJ.  Rhoda,  Jeremiah.  Silas.  Julius.  Lydia.  John.  Francis,  Herman  and  Charles.  John  Hurlbut.  Jr..  died  at  Palmyra 
in  February.  1813,  and  his  widow  died  there  June  29.  1858. 

(v)  Naphtali  Hurlbut.  bom  at  Groton.  Connecticut,  August  12,  1767.  came  to  Hanover  in  Wyoming  Valley, 
with  the  other  members  of  his  father's  family  in  November,  1779.  In  the  Spring  of  1780 — as  shown  by  the  pay-roll 
printed  on  page  1229.  Vol.  II — he  was  a  private  in  the  same  company  with  his  father  and  brothers  Christopher  and  John, 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States  at  the  Wyoming  Post  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  then  only  twelve  years  and  eight 
months  of  age!  He  made  his  home  in  Hanover  Township  until  the  Summer  of  1799.  having  acquired  in  1795  and  '96 
in  addition  to  his  own  share  in  the  estate  of  his  deceased  father,  the  interest?  of  his  brothers  Christopher  and  John. 

September  17.  1799.  Naphtali  Hurlbut  adverti.^ed  in  ''The  Wilkes-Barrr  Gazelle"  that  he  had  removed  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  "taken  the  public-house  lately  occupied  by  John  Van  Home."  He  continued  to  keep  tavern  in  Wilke.s- 
Barre  until  1803.  when  he  removed  to  Pittston  and  engaged  in  the  same  business  there  until  1810.  In  1804  the  erection. 
of  the  frame  building  which  later,  for  many  years,  was  known  as  the  "Exchange  Hotel",  was  begun  on  what  is  now 
Wyoming  Avenue,  near  "Kingston  Comers".  James  Wheeler  carried  on  the  tavern  business  there  from  1807  till  1809, 
or  '10,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Naphtali  Hiu-lbut.  The  latter  conducted  the  hotel  for  several  years.  In  August,  1807 
he  was  elected,  and  duly  commissioned,  Lieiit.  Colonel  of  the  45th  Regiment.  2d  Brigade,  9th  Division,  of  the  Pennsyl- 


1 249 

this  town  before  the  General  Assembl}*  [of  Connecticut:,  to  be  holdcn  in  Hartford 
in  May  next.  Obadiah  Gore,  Esq.,  John  Franklin,  Esq  ,  and  Lieut.  Roasel  Frank- 
lin were  appointed  a  committee  to  assist  the  Agent  in  drawing  up  a  just  represen- 
tation of  our  circumstances,  to  lay  before  the  Honorable  the  General  Assembly 
in  May  next." 

At  a  largely  attended  town-meeting  held  at  Wilkes- Barre,  April  20,  1780, 
resolves  were  adopted  as  follows:* 

"Voted,  That  John  Franklin,  Esq.,  Lieut.  Roasel  Franklin  and  John  Comstock,  Esq..  Ik- 
appointed  a  committee  to  advise  with  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  about  contracting  their  improve- 
ments to  a  smaller  compass  and  more  defensible  situation  against  the  savages,  and  to  adopt  meas- 
ures for  the  security  of  their  stock,  and  make  their  report  to  the  commanding  officer  of  the  garrison 
as  soon  as  possible. 

"Voted.  That,  whereas  the  parish  of  Drysdalef,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  have  contributed 
and  sent  one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  for  the  support  of  the  distressed  inhabitants  of  this  town, 
the  Selectmen  be  directed  to  distribute  said  money  to  those  they  shall  judge  the  most  necessitated, 
and  report  to  the  town  at  some  future  meeting. 

"  Voted,  That  Col.  Nathan  Denison  return  the  thanks  of  this  town  to  the  parish  of  Drysdale, 
in  the  State  of  \^irginia,  for  their  charitable  disposition  in  presenting  the  distressed  inhabitants 
of  this  town  with  one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars." 
vania  Miiitia.     He  held  this  office  until  August.  1811.  when  he  was  succeeded  by  David  B.  Wheeler  of  Tunkhannock. 

In  1812  Colonel  Hurlbut  was  elected  one  of  the  County  Commissioners  of  Luzerne  County  for  the  term  of  one  year. 
In  August,  1816,  Colonel  Hurlbut.  then  living  in  Kingston,  offered  himself  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  SherilT  of 
Luzerne  County.  In  his  announcement  to  the  voters  he  declared  that  he  had  served  as  a  commissioned  officer  in  the 
militia  for  many  years,  and  had  then  "served  as  County  Commissioner  for  one  year,  and  received  ten  shillings  per  day 
for  services".  Capt.  Stephen  Van  Loon  of  Plymouth  and  Arnold  Colt  of  Wilke^-Barrc  were  also  candidat;^  for  the  office 
of  Sheriff  at  this  time,  and  at  the  election  held  in  October  Van  Loon  was  elected.  In  1825.  however.  Cilonel  Hurlbut 
was  elected  Sheriff  for  the  term  of  three  years — being  succeeded  in  the  office  in  the  Autumn  of  1828  by  Oliver  Helrae  of 
King  ton.  Colonel  Hurlbut  then  opened  a  general  store  "in  the  brick  storehouse  lately  occupied  by  Barnum  and  Carey" 
in  Wilkes- Barre;  but  in  1830,  and  for  some  years  thereafter,  he  was  again  keeping  tavern  in  Kingston  Township. 

Naphtali  Hurlbut  was  married  July  25,  1793.  to  OHve  (born  in  1775  or  '76),  daughter  of  WiHii.m  and  Margery  . 
(Kellogg)  Smith   and  step-daughter  of  Dr.   William  Hooker  Smith.      Colonel   Hurlbut  died  March   30,    1844,  at   the 
residence  of  his  son-in-law,  L.  P.  Kennedy,  in   Bums,   Allegany  County.   New  York,  and  his  wife  died  at  Arkport. 
New  York    March  1.  1846. 

The  children  of  Naphtali  and  OHve  (Swilh)  Hurlbut  were  as  follows:  (a)  Asenath  (married  at  Wilkes-Barre. 
October  30.  1813,  to  Annas  Newcomb,  formerly  of  Hardwick,  Massachusetts,  and  later  of  Dansville,  New  York);  (b) 
Lyman  (who  married  Caroline  Schofield.  and  had  the  following-named,  and  probablv  other  children.  Maria,  Caroline 
S.,  Esther,  John,  William  N.  and  Charles  S,);  (c)  Esther  Eliza  (married  September  14.  1820.  to  "Deacon"  Abel  Hovt. 
born  July  17.  1798.  son  of  Daniel  and  Ann  (Gunn)  Hoyt  of  Kingston,  Pennsylvania);  (d)  Mary  Ann  (born.  18f)3; 
married  at  Wilkes-Barre  February  27,  1822.  to  Luen  P.  Kennedy:  died.  1849);  (e)  Amo5  Avery  (bom  in  1805;  married 
to  Susan  Quick;  had  children.  Ellen,  Mary  and  George);  (f)  William  Hooker  (married  to  Mary  Ann  Carey);  (g)  John 
Randolph. 

(2)  John  Huribut  (son  of  Christopher),  born  at  Hanover  October  21.  1784.  removed  to  Arkport  in  1797  with  the 
other  members  of  his  father's  family.  He  was  married  at  Dansville.  New  York.  Sept.  13.  1814.  to  Priscilla  Sharp 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  sons  and  four  daughters.     John  Hurlbut  died  at  Arkport  June  19,  1831. 

(3)  James  Hurlbut,  born  at  Hanover  April  12.  1787.  was  married  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  September  2.  1824. 
to  Susan  Dorrance  of  Sterling,  Connecticut,  daughter  of  Archibald  and  Deborah  Dorrance.  Jame?  Hurlbut  lived  at 
Arkport  from  1797  till  1857,  when  he  removed  to  Rose  Hill,  New  York,  where  he  died  June  13.  1863.  He  had  one  son 
and  three  daughters. 

(4)  Sarah  Hurlbut.  bom  March  4.  1789,  was  married  at  Arkport  August  10.  1810.  to  James  Taggart.  a  native  of 
Northumberland,  Pennsylvania,  and  thev  became  the  parents  of  three  children.  Mrs.  Taggart  died  September  3. 
1837. 

(5)  Elizabeth  Hurlbut.  born  April  29,  1791,  was  married  at  Arkport  in  1817  to  Joshua  Shepard.  (born  in  1780) 
a  merchant  at  Dansville,  New  York.  He  died  in  September,  1829,  and  she  died  at  Dansville  April  24,  1870.  They 
had  one' son  and  four  daughters, 

(6)  Nancy  Hurlbut,  born  April  8.  1793,  was  married  at  Arkport  January  2^.  1815.  to  Maj.  Ziba  (born  at  Dan":iury. 
Connecticut.  September  8,  1788).  sixth  child  of  "Deacon"  Daniel  and  Anne  {Gunn)  Hoyt,  then  of  Danbury  but  later  of 
Kingston.  Pennsylvania.  They  made  their  home  in  Kingston,  where  Ziba  Hoyt  died  December  23,  1853,  and  Mrs. 
Nancy  Hoyt  died  February  26.  1872  Their  children  were  as  follows:  fi)  Anna  Hovt  (married  September  1.  1836.  ta 
the  Rev.  Charles  Chaplin  Corss);  (ii)  John  Dorrance  Hoyt;  (iii)  Edward  P.  Hoyt;  (iv)  James  Hoyt;  (v)  Henry 
Martyn  Hoyt  (sometime  Governor  of  Pennsylvania);  (vi)  Elizabeth  Shepard  Hoyt.  (For  a  fuller  sketch  of  the  Hoyt 
family  see  a  subsequent  chapter. ) 

(7)  Christopher  Hurlbut.  bom  December  14,  1794.  was  married  at  Arkport  June  4.  1823.  to  hi^  cou;in.  EUcn 
Tiffany  (bom  December  17,  1800)-  Their  children  were;  Myron.  Edmund.  Lydia  (married  to  William  Loveland), 
Nancv  (married  to  Henry  B.  Loveland)  and  Elizabeth  (married,  first  to  C.  C.  Horton.  and,  2d.  to  the  Rev.  George  N. 
Todd).     Christopher  Hurlbut  died  at  Arkport  in  1875. 

*See  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  p.  282,  and  the  Republican  Farmer  and  Democratic  Journal  (Wilke;- Barre). 
March    13,   1839. 

fDRYSDALE  Parish,  which  is  still  in  existence,  is  in  King  and  Queen  County,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Virginia.  In 
1780.  and  for  a  number  of  years  before  and  after  that  time,  the  Rector  of  thii  parish  was  the  Rev  Samuel  Shield. 
At  Louisville.  Kentucky,  under  the  date  of  April  29.  1856,  the  Rev.  Henry  M.  Denison  (mentioned  on  page  789,  Vol,  ID 
wrote  to  Bishop  Mead  (by  whom  he  had  been  ordained  to  the  ministry)  relative  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Shield  and  Drysdile 
Parish.  This  letter  was  subsequently  published  by  Bishop  Mead  in  his  book  on  the  old  Virginia  piriihe;.  It  readi  in 
part  as  follows:  "It  seems  to  me  you  have  not  given  all  the  credit  deserved  to  the  character  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Shield. 
He  was  a  clergyman  of  high  character,  and  was  a  competitor  with  Biihop  Madison  for  the  episcopat.;.  He  at  one  lime 
had  charge  of  Drysdale  Parish.  *  *  *  But  i  take  up  my  pen  to  mention  to  you  the  followina;  incident,  which  will 
not  be  uninteresting  to  you.  even  if  it  be  without  the  scope  of  your  published  reminiscence i. 

'After  the  massacre  by  British  and  Indians  of  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitant^  of  the  lovely  valley  of  Wyoming  in 
Pennsylvania,  the  parishioner.-;  of  Drysdale  through  their  Rector.  Mr  Shield,  a^  almoner,  sent  to  the  destitute  and 
helpless  women  and  children  of  the  valley  the  handsome  sum— for  those  day.s— of  S18J..  to  relieve  their  neceisiti;; 

"Some  four  or  five  years  ago.  when  I  was  at  Dr.  Samuel  Shield's  in  Hampton,  the  DD::tor  told  m?  he  had  discovered 
my  [family]  name  among  his  grandfather's  papers;  and  upon  examination  i.  found  the  original  letter  of  thank;  written 
by  my  grandfather.  Colonel  Denison.  to  his  grandfather.  Rev.  Mr.  Shield.  It  was  three  score  and  ten  year5  of  are, 
but  had  evidently  been  preserved  with  much  care,  and  I  sent  it  at  once  to  Mr.  [Charles]  Miner,  the  historian." 


1250 

The  committee  appointed  at  the  town-meeting  of  April  10th,  to  draw  up  a  me- 
morial to  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  duly  performed  the  duty  assigned 
them. 

The  original  document  prepared  by  them  is  "No.  114"  in  the  collection  of 
documents  now  in  the  State  Library  at  Hartford,  as  described  in  paragraph  "(3)," 
page  29,  Vol.  I.  It  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Obadiah  Gore,  Jr.,  is  dated  "West- 
moreland, April  20,  1780",  and  is  signed  by  Nathan  Denison,  John  Franklin  and 
John  Hurlbut,  '  Civil  Authority,"  and  by  John  Franklin,  Nathan  Denison, 
James  Nisbitt  and  Jabez  Sill,  "Selectmen,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  the  in- 
habitants". Reference  is  made  in  the  memorial  to  the  disasters  which  took 
place  at  Wyoming  in  July,  1778,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  inhabitants  had  been 
driven  out  of  the  Valley  at  that  time,  and  had  been  compelled,  by  necessity,  to 
depend  for  their  maintenance  upon  the  charity  of  the  people  at  large.  The 
concluding  paragraphs  of  the  memorial  read  as  follows: 

"Mere  necessity  obliged  many  of  us  to  repair  to  our  improvements  [at  Wyoming],  to  reap 
some  advantage  for  our  support  from  the  broken  crops  which  had  escaped  destruction;  where  we 
have  lived  to  this  time,  and  thereby  have  been  a  protection  and  safeguard  to  the  other  frontier 
for  100  miles  and  upward.  Nevertheless  [we]  have  suffered  by  frequent  alarms — scarcely  one 
month  has  passed  (unless  in  the  dead  of  Winter)  without  murders  being  committed,  horses  and 
cattle  stolen,  and  the  inhabitants  drove  from  their  labors,  &c.,  by  the  savages,  until  the  arrival  of 
the  army  under  General  Sullivan. 

"But  now,  the  Continental  troops  being  almost  all  called  from  this  Post,  the  Indians  renew 
their  attacks  upon  us,  and  have  killed  four  men  and  taken  eight  prisoners.  This  is  the  unhappy 
situation  your  petitioners  are  in  and  have  been  in  since  June  6,  1778! 

"We  would  beg  that  your  Honours  grant  [that]  a  committee  be  appointed  to  make  an 
estimation  of  our  losses,  as  in  cases  of  other  towns  that  have  been  sacked  and  burnt  by  the  enemy, 
that  we  may  have  such  compensation  for  our  losses  as  your  Honours  shall  think  just  and  reasonable. 
Also,  as  there  are  Warrants  issued  from  the  State  Treasury  against  this  town  [of  Westmoreland] 
for  taxes — which  rate-bills  were  taken  and  destroyed  by  the  enemy,  and  the  inhabitants  are  for 
the  greater  part  killed  or  dispersed  in  the  country,  and  their  goods  and  chattels  taken  from  them 
as  above  described.  We  would,  therefore,  request  that  those  taxes  may  be  abated  in  part  of  the 
compensation  for  the  above  losses;  or  in  such  way  to  grant  relief  as  you  shall  see  proper." 

Another  memorial,  or  petition,  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  was 

prepared  at  Westmoreland  on  the  same  date  as  the  foregoing  document.     It*  is 

signed  by  John  Hurlbut,  Nathan  Denison,  John  Franklin,  James  Nisbitt  and 

Jabez  Sill,  "Selectmen,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  the  inhabitants",  and  reads 

in  part  as  follows: 

"About  150  families  have,  through  mere  necessity  for  want  of  support,  returned  to  their 
improvements  in  this  town,  and  have  made  very  considerable  proficiency  in  husbandry;  where- 
fore, by  the  blessing  of  Providence  on  our  industry,  we  shall  have  a  plenty  and  to  spare. 

"Many  others  who  were  driven  from  the  settlement  have  become  burthensome  to  the  towns 
and  parishes  they  were  dispersed  to,  who  might  easily  provide  for  themselves  and  families  could 
they  with  safety  return  to  their  farms.  But  the  Continental  troops  being  almost  all  called 
from  this  Post,  the  Indians  have  renewed  their  attacks  upon  us;  whereby  it  becomes  dangerous 
to  laliour  in  our  improvements. 

"Therefore  we  beg  your  Honours  to  grant  that  about  200  State  troops  may  be  sent  for  the 
defense  of  this  frontier;  which  force,  together  with  that  of  the  inhabitants,  in  case  of  an  attack 
will,  we  conceive,  be  sufficient  to  repel  that  of  the  enemy,  and  thereby  not  only  secure  to  us  those 
promising  crops  of  grain,  but  also  be  productive  of  public  good  for  the  defense  and  safety  of  this 
State  and  the  frontier  in  general." 

The  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  convened  at  Hartford,  May  11,  1780, 
and  continued  in  session  until  the  23d  of  the  next  month.  John  Hurlbut  and 
Jonathan  Fitch,  Esqs.,  were  in  attendance  as  the  Representatives  from  the  town 
of  Westmoreland,  and  they  formally  presented  to  the  Assembly  the  two  foregoing 
memorials.  At  the  same  time  there  was  presented  a  petition!  in  the  handwriting 
of  Judge  John  Jenkins  (see  page  805,  Vol.11),  entitled:  "Petition  of  John  Jenkins, 
Esq.,  and  the  other  subscribers,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  themselves  and  the  rest 

*The  original,  which  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Obadiah  Gore,  Jr.,  is  "No.  1  19"  in  the  collection  of  documents  in  the 
State  Library  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  described  in  paragraph     (3)",  page  29,  \'oI    L 

tThe  original  is  "No.  1  18"  in  the  collection  of  document!  in  the  State  Library  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  described 
in  paragraph  "(^)".  page  29,  Vol    I 


1251 

of  the  people  llial  arc  driven  from  /heir  settlement  al  Westmoreland  by  the  Savages." 
This  document  is  dated  April  25,  1780,  and  is  signed  by  John  Jenkins,  Silas 
Park,  Richardson  Avery,  EHsha  Blackman,  Jabez  Fish,  William  Gallup,  .Solomon 
Avery,  John  Hutchins,  William  Hibbard,  Samuel  Howard  and  Hallet  Gallup, 
landholders  in  Westmoreland,  and,  prior  to  July,  1778,  residents  there,  but,  at 
the  time  of  signing  the  petition,  dwelling  in  New  London  County,  Connecticut, 
whence  they  had  originally  emigrated  to  Wyoming.  After  giving  a  brief 
history  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  The  Susquehanna  Company's  settlements  at 
Wyoming;  the  Pennamite- Yankee  troubles;  the  erection  of  the  Wyoming  territory 
into  the  county  of  Westmoreland  by  the  Connecticut  Assembly;  and  the  battle 
and  massacre  of  July  3,  1778,  this  petition  continues  as  follows: 

"And  the  women  and  children — some  fled  and  some  they  [the  Indians]  stripped  and  turned 
out  naked;  and  the  whole  settlement  was  utterly  broken  up,  burned  and  destroyed,  and  your 
petitioners  with  their  fellow  sufferers  in  general  arc  in  a  great  measure  dependent  on  the  charity 
of  strangers  among  whom  they  are  dispersed,  widows  and  fatherless;  and  but  very  few  have  been, 
or  yet  are,  able  to  return  to  their  settlements.     *     *     * 

"On  his  (General  Sullivan's]  return  he  left  only  a  small  garrison  of  about  fifty  [Sicf]  men  to 
guard  the  settlement;  which  settlement  and  garrison  have  now  become  very  unsafe  by  some  late 
movements  of  the  enemy.  Yet  on  application  to  the  Board  of  War  they  have  received  for  answer 
that  they  can  have  no  relief  from  that  quarter;  and  the  savages  are  continually  murdering  and 
destroying  the  settlers  that  are  there,  whenever  they  find  them  out  from  the  garrison. 

"Your  petitioners  beg  leave  to  observe  that  they  conceive  that  wherever  there  is  obedience 
due  on  the  one  side,  there  is  protection  on  the  other.  That  is,  wherever  there  is  obedience  due 
from  the  governed,  there  is  protection  expected  from  the  governor.  Your  petitioners  conceive 
they  have  a  right  to  protection  from  this  State,  or  that  they  cannot  be  bound  to  pay  any  obedience 
to  the  State  rightfully;  and  therefore  your  petitioners,  if  neglected,  must  look  on  themselves  as 
cast  off,  and  that  they  cease  to  be  a  part  of  this  State.     *     *     * 

"Your  petitioners  would  further  humbly  observe  that  this  Honorable  Assembly  has,  in 
sundry  instances  since  the  commencement  of  this  war,  granted  relief  to  people  suffering  by  the 
savages  of  the  enemy — granting  them  both  money  and  protection,  and,  in  some  instances,  to 
people  out  of  this  State,  and  so  not  under  their  immediate  care.  But  they  have  granted  nothing 
to  these  unhappy  sufferers  at  Susquehanna,  notwithstanding  there  is  no  place  nor  people  that 
have  been  destroyed  with  so  total  and  signal  a  destruction,  nor  none  stripped  so  bare,  nor  so  many 
left  widows  and  fatherless,  or  that  in  reahty  stood  so  much  in  need  of  their  charity  and  protection 
as  your  petitioners  and  their  fellow  sufferers,  or  that  need  the  verification  of  the  old  saying  that 
'Charity    begins    at    home!' 

"Your  petitioners  therefore  humbly  pray  that  you  will  grant  to  your  petitioners  money  for 
the  relief  of  the  necessities  of  your  petitioners,  and  to  enable  them  to  return  to  their  settlement ; 
and  also  grant  thein  four  companies  of  100  men  each,  properly  officered,  for  a  guard,  to  keep  a 
garrison,  and  to  defend  and  protect  the  settlers ;  and  also  grant  them  si.x  field  pieces  of  cannon  and 
ten  swivel-guns  to  be  put  into  one  general  fort,  or  garrison,  to  be  properly  built  by  the  said  guard, 
with  suitable  ammunition  for  the  same.    Or,  in  some  other  way,  grant  relief  to  your  petitioners.' ' 

These  three  memorials  were  referred  to   a  joint-committee,  for  consideration 

and  report,  and  later  in  the  session  the  committee  made  its  report;  whereupon 

the  Assembly  voted  the  following: 

"Resolved,  That  the  whole  of  the  State  taxes,  for  which  Warrants  have  already  been  issued 
against  the  inhabitants  of  said  Westmoreland,  that  are  not  paid  into  the  hands  of  the  State 
Treasurer,  be  and  are  hereby  abated,  to  be  considered  as  in  part  compensation  for  their  losses, 
whenever  ttie  United  Slates  sliati  order  and  direct  the  losses  sustained  by  the  citizens  of  said  State 
from  the  depredations  of  the  enemy  to  be  compensated;  and  John  Hurlbut*,  Zebulon  Butlerf 
and  Obadiah  GoreJ,  Esquires,  be  and  are  hereby  appointed  a  Committee  to  repair  to  said  West- 
moreland (first  giving  public  notice  in  the  several  newspapers  in  this  State  of  the  time  and  place 
of  their  meeting),  and  there  examine  into  the  damages,  injuries  and  losses  sustained  and  suffered 
by  the  present  or  late  inhabitants  of  said  town,  holding  under  this  State,  who  shall  by  themselves 
or  others  in  their  behalf,  being  duly  authorized,  make  application  to  said  Committee  during  their 
continuance  in  said  town;  and  report  make,  to  some  future  session  of  this  Assembly,  of  what 
they  shall  find  in  the  matters  aforesaid." 

The  Assembly  then  passed  a  preamble  and  resolution  wherein,  after  reciting 
the  Act  of  Assembly  passed  in  December,  1775  (see  page  865,  Vol.  II),  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs  were  embodied: 

"And  whereas,  since  that  many  of  the  persons  that  were  settled  on  said  lands,  in  the  town 
and  county  of  Westmoreland,  have  been  killed  or  driven  off  from  their  possessions  by  the  common 
enemies  of  this  [State]  and  the  United  States;     Resolved,   That  nothing  in  said  Act  contained 
*See  (t  note)  page  1246.  tSee  page  634,  Vol.  11.  tSee  page  833,  Vol.  II. 


1252 

ought  to  be  construed  to  hinder  any  persons  so  driven  off  from  returning  to  their  possessions, 
or  to  prohibit  any  other  persons  who  may  have  derived  a  right  to  the  said  former  possessions  by 
purchase,  descent  or  otherwise,  from  possessing  and  occupying  the  same." 

At  this  same  session  of  the  Assembly  it  was  resolved  "that  a  company  to 
consist  of  one  Captain,  one  Lieutenant,  one  Ensign,  and  ninety-seven  non-com- 
missioned officers  and  privates  be  raised  by  voluntary  inlistment  of  the  late  in- 
habitants of  the  town  of  Westmoreland,  for  the  defense  of  the  town;  to  serve 
until  the  first  day  of  January  next.  And  that  said  company  be  allowed  half  the 
pay  of  the  establishment  of  the  Continental  Army;  and  His  Excellency,  the 
Governor,  is  desired  to  apply  to  Congress  to  grant  rations  to  said  company. 

"Further,  this  Assembly  do  appoint  John  Franklin  to  be  Captain,  Asa 
Chapman  to  be  Lieutenant,  and  William  Hibbard  to  be  Ensign  of  a  company 
ordered  by  this  Assembly  to  be  raised  for  the  defense  of  the  town  of  Westmore- 
land, and  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  is  desired  to  commission  them  accord- 
ingly. 

"And  it  is  resolved  by  this  Assembly  that,  provided  the  number  who  shall 
inlist  into  said  company  by  the  first  day  of  September  shall  not  exceed  fifty  men, 
the  said  Captain  shall  be  discharged  from  his  command,  and  said  company  shall 
be  commanded  by  the  Lieutenant.  And  provided  the  number  who  shall  inlist 
by  the  first  of  September  shall  not  exceed  thirty  men,  the  said  Lieutenant  shall 
be  discharged  from  his  command  and  said  company  shall  be  commanded  by  the 
Ensign.  And  provided  thirty  men  shall  not  inlist  into  said  company  by  the 
first  of  September,  the  said  Ensign  shall  be  discharged  from  his  command  and  a 
pay-roll  shall  be  made  up  to  that  time  and  such  soldiers  who  then  are  inlisted 
shall  be  discharged." 

The  Assembly  also  made  the  following  appointments  of  Westmoreland 
County  civil  officers  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  in  due  time  they  were  regularly 
commissioned  by  Governor  Trumbull.  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  to  be  Judge  of  the 
County  Court;  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  Zerah  Beach  and  John  Hurlbut  to  be 
Justices  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum;  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  Maj.  William  Judd, 
Joseph  Hamilton,  Capt.  John  Franklin,  Zebulon  Marcy,  Obadiah  Gore,  Uriah 
Chapman  and  John  Jenkins,  Jr.,  to  be  Justices  of  the  Peace;  Christopher 
Hurlbut  to  be  Surveyor  of  Lands. 

The  Westmoreland  militia  company  authorized  by  the  Assembly,  as  afore- 
mentioned, was  duly  organized  at  Wilkes-Barre  by  Captain  Franklin  without 
delay.  It  took  the  place  of  the  provisional  militia  company  referred  to  on  pages 
1228  and  1229,  Vol.  IL  and  nearly  every  member  of  that  organization  enlisted  in 
the  new  company. 

On  May  17,  1780,  Serg't  Thomas  Baldwin  of  Captain  Spalding's  company 
marched  with  a  squad  of  soldiers  from  Fort  Wyoming  on  a  scout  to  Lackawanna 
where  they  found  a  man  who  had  been  a  prisoner  among  the  Indians  and  had 
just  escaped  from  them.  He  was  brought  down  to  the  fort,  where  he  informed 
the  commander  that  he  had  been  captured  near  Fort  Allen*  by  a  party  composed 
of  ten  Indians  and  one  Tory.  In  the  evening  of  the  17th,  William  Perry  came  to 
the  fort  and  stated  that  about  sunrise  on  that  day,  on  his  journey  thither  from 
the  Delaware  river,  he  saw  a  party  of  Indians  near  Laurel  Run,  and  several 
parties  between  that  locality  and  the  fort.  The  next  morning  several  recon- 
noitering  parties  were  sent  out  from  the  fort,  but  they  made  no  discoveries  except 
a  few  foot-prints  of  Indians  in  the  road  near  the  mountain, 

*See  page  339,  Vol.  I. 


1253 

Captain  Franklin  and  five  soldiers  from  Fort  Wyoming — one  of  whom  was 
Elisha  Harvey,  the  great  grandfather  of  the  writer  of  this — being  up  the  Sus- 
quehanna about  sixty  miles,  on  a  scouting  expedition,  captured  near  Wysox, 
Tune  6,  1780,  three  Tories — Adam  and  Jacob  Bowman*  and  Henry  Hover. t 
These  men,  in  company  with  Philip  Buckf — who  escaped  when  the  others  were 
taken- — were  all  members  of  "Butler's  Rangers",  and  had  previously  resided  in 
Westmoreland.  They  had  probably  come  down  from  Fort  Niagara  to  the  neigh- 
loorhood  of  their  old  homes  on  a  scout.  Miner  says  ("History  of  Wyoming", 
page  284)  that  with  the  men  was  taken  "a  fine  lot  of  plunder,  valued  at  £46,  1 8s. 
1  Id.  Captain  Franklin  and  Sergeant  Baldwin  each  shared  a  silver  watch,  several 
pocket  compasses,  silver  buttons  and  sleeve  buttons.  A  scarlet  broadcloth  coat, 
several  gold  pieces,  and  a  beautiful  spy-glass  attest  the  consequence  of  the  pris- 
oners. The  canoes  sold  for  £4,  10s.  *  *  Col.  Z.  Butler  purchased  the  spy- 
glass from  the  victors  for  three  guineas." 

These  prisoners  were  brought  in  their  own  canoes  down  the  river  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  where  they  arrived  June  1 0th,  and  were  locked  up  in  the  guardhouse  at 
Fort  Wyoming.  One  month  later  they  were  sent  under  guard  to  the  army  head- 
quarters at  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  for  trial  by  court-martial. §  With  them 
was  sent  Sergeant  Leaders,  or  Seiders,  a  Continental  soldier  of  the  Wyoming 
Garrison,  who  had  been  convicted  by  a  court-martial  of  falsifying  a  provision 
return,  breaking  open  the  magazine  of  the  fort,  and  conspiring  to  release  the 
Tor}'  prisoners  and  blow  up  the  garrison.  He  had  been  whipped  on  his  naked 
body  with  100  lashes,  in  pursuance  of  the  finding  of  the  court-martial,  and 
was  sent  to  headquarters  as  "incorrigible." 

Having  been  duly  tried,  and  convicted  of  the  charges  preferred  against  them 
the  two  Bowmans  and  Hover  were  subsequently  returned  to  Fort  \\'yoming, 
there  to  be  detained  as  prisoners  of  war. 

Miner,  in  referring  to  affairs  in  Westmoreland  at  this  period,  states  (see  his 
"History",  page  284) :  "In  the  midst  of  this  scene  of  general  distress  it  is  difficult 
to  suppress  a  smile,  when  we  contemplate  the  variety  of  character  sustained  and 
duties  performed  by  Captain  Franklin.  We  have  sieen  him  taking  an  active 
part  on  several  committees  in  town-meeting.  Indefatigable  in  the  command  of 
his  little  company,  during  all  this  time  he  w^as  farming  with  an  industry  that 
showed  his  reliance  for  subsistence  was  on  the  labour  of  his  hands.  A  hunter, 
scarce  a  week  passed  that  he  did  not,  in  the  proper  season,  bring  in  a  buck.  He 
was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  the  civil  laws  were  regularly  administered." 

From  Franklin's  journal  we  learn  that  at  a  court-martial  held  at  Fort  Wyo- 
ming July  12,  1780 — Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  being  President,  and  Captain 
Spalding,  Captain  Franklin,  and  Lieutenants  Gore,  Jenkins  and  Kingsley  being 
members — Martin  Brechell,  of  Philadelphia,  a  private  in  Schott's  Corps,  was 
found  guilty  of  intending  to  desert  to  the  Indians  and  take  with  him  the  Tory 

*Adam  and  Jacob  Bowman,  whose  names  are  mentioned  several  times  hereinbefore,  are  p^e^uraed  to  have  been 
the  sons  of  .Adam  Bowman.  Sr.  .As  early  as  1773  they  settled  under  a  grant  from  the  Pennsylvania  Proprietaries  in 
what  is  now  Wyoming  County,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna,  near  the  mouth  of  a  creek  to  which 
they  gave  their  name,  and  which  is  still  called  Bowman's  Creek.  When  the  Revolutionary  War  broke  out  they  took 
the  side  of  the  Loyalists,  and  in  17  76  or  1777  were  compelled  by  the  Yankee  authorities  down  the  river  to  leave  the  coun- 
try Craft,  in  his  "History  of  Bradford  County",  page  65,  says:  "Jacob  Bowman  came  from  about  the  mouth  of 
Bowman's  Creek  and  settled  about  1777  on  the  opposite  side  of  Towanda  Creek  from  Rudolph  Fox.  (See  note,  page 
917.  Vol.  II.]  He  was  too  young  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  [Revolutionary]  contest,  and  was  in  the  British  camp 
only  by  compulsion.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  his  old  home  on  Towanda  Creek  and  married  a  daughter  of  Rudolph 
Fox." 

tHENRy  Hover  (mentioned  on  pages  944,  945,  946,  and  950)  was  the  son  of  Casper  Hover,  mention  in  the  note 
on  page  1050,  Vol.  II. 

;See  pages  945,  946,  950  and  1049  (note).  Vol.  11. 

^See  Stone's  "Poetry  and  History  of  Wyoming",  page  259. 


1254 

prisoners  hereinbefore  mentioned,  and  of  threatening  to  scalp  one  Adam  Sypert, 
a  fellow  soldier.  The  judgment  of  the  court  was  that  Brechell  should  "run  the 
gauntlet  four  times  through  the  troops  of  the  garrison."  The  commanding 
officer  (Colonel  Butler)  approved  the  sentence,  and  it  was  executed  the  next 
afternoon.  That  evening,  records  Captain  Franklin,  a  singing  meeting  was 
held  at   Mr.    Forseman's. 

One  of  the  chief  difficulties  with  which  the  commander  of  the  Wyoming 
post  had  to  contend  at  this  time  was  the  procuring  of  a  proper  supply  of  certain 
provisions  for  the  use  of  the  garrison.  Nearly  all  supplies  had  to  be  brought  up 
the  Susquehanna  in  small  boats,  from  points  below  Sunbury,  and  the  work  of 
gathering  such  supplies  and  then  boating  them  up  to  Wilkes-Barre  was  slow  and 
tedious.  The  following  letter,*  now  published  for  the  first  time,  relates  to  this 
bus'ness. 

"Wyo.MiNG  16  July,  1780" 

"Sir — the  Bearer  Sergt.  Evelandf  is  Directed  to  find  you  and  Return  to  me  as  soon  as 
Possabel  Excepting  he  msets  the  Boat.  I  need  not  mention  the  necessity  of  stores  being  for- 
warded as  you  must  know  the  Flower  you  Left  on  hand  must  be  gone  eight  days  ago  I  desired 
Mr.  Forsman  to  muster  what  wheat  he  could  belonging  to  you  and  send  it  to  mill  and  He  did 
about  twenty  Bushels  and  the  Flower  is  Returned  and  spent  we  are  now  Intierly  Destitute. 
Desire  you  to  Forward  Flower  with  all  Possabel  Dispatch,  You'll  Please  to  Dismiss  the  Barrer 
and  let  him  return  to  me  as  soon  as  Possabel  and  let  me  know  what  is  doing  and  what  stores 
there  is  coming  on. 

"Relying  on  your  faithful  Performance  of  your  Duty  I  am  Sin.  your  Humble 

Serv't  [Signed]   "Zebn.  Butler,  Col.  Comd. 
"To  Mr.   |Wm.)  StewartJ" 

We  learn  from  the  journal  of  Captain  Franklin  that  on  July  20,  1780,  "a 
boat  arrived  from  down  the  river  with  the  welcome  cargo  of  twentv-three  barrels 
of  flour"  and  thaton  August  6th  "Benjamin  Clark,  with  others,  went  down  the  river 
to  mill,  while  on  the  same  day  Lieut.  Daniel  Gore  and  others  set  out  for  Colonel 
Stroud's  mill."  The  only  grist  mill  in  a  useable  condition  then  in  Wyoming 
Valley  was  the  small  one  at  Nanticoke,  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  1085,  Vol. 
II  (which  was  guarded  by  a  detachment  from  Captain  Franklin's  Company), 
all  the  other  mills  have  been  destroyed,  wholly  or  in  part,  by  the  invading  enemy. 
Colonel  Stroud's  mill  was  at  what  is  now  Stroudsburg,  some  fiftv  miles  distant 
from  Wilkes-Barre  by  the  Sullivan  Road. 

The  number  of  inhabitants,  or,  more  particularly,  property  holders,  in 
Westmoreland  at  this  time  was  very  small,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  document 
— the  original  of  which,  in  the  handwriting  of  Obadiah  Gore,  Jr.,  is  now  in  the 
collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

"A  true  List  of  the  Polls  and  Estate  of  the  Town  of  Westmoreland  ratable  by  law  on  the 
20th  of  Augt.  A.  D.  1780." 

£  s.  £  s. 

Ayres,  Saml 35  0               Hagerman,  Jos 24  0 

Atherton,  James 14  14               Hopkins,  Timothy 6  0 

Atherton,  James,  Jr 39  0               Inman,  Elijah 36  10 

Butler,  Col.  Zebn 72  4                Inman.  Richard 31  0 

Bidlack,  Mehitable 10  0               Ingersol,  Daniel 30  0 

Bailey,  Benjn 24  0                Jackson,  Wm 35  0 

Brockway,  Richard 33  0                Jemison,  John 53  10 

Bullock,  Nathan 28  0               Joslin,  Thos 21  0 

Burnham,  Asahel 9  0                Jenkins,  Jno 3  0 

Bennet,  Asa 51  0               Jones,  Crocker 29  0 

Bennet,  Isaac 39  0               McCluer,  Thos 4  0 

Buck,  Wm 27  0               Mateson,  Elisha 6  4 

Brown,  David 6  0               Nelson,  Wm 15  0 

*The  original  is  in  the  F.  J.  Dreer  Collection  of  MSS.  in  the  possession  of  The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

fFREDERiCK  EvELAND,  then,  OF  later,  of  Plymouth,  and  a  member  of  Captain  Spalding's  company. 

JSee  note  "§"  on  page  871.  and  the  last  paragraph  on  page  1 U 4  and  the  first  paragraph  on  page  1115,  Vol.  II. 


1255 


Bennet,  Solomon 42 

Bennet,  Ishmacl 24 

Blanchard,  Aiidw 21 

Cady,  Manasseh 58 

Corah,  Jonathan 46 

Cotnstock,  John 26 

Comstock,  Peleg 21 

Carv,  Nathan 35 

Cook,  Nathl IS 

Church,  Gideon 6 

Chapman,  Asa ...  18 

Denison,  Col.  Nathan 51 

Durkee,  Sarah 9 

Denton,  Daniel 5 

Elliot,  Joseph 40 

Fuller,  Capt.  Stephen      .  85 

Fitch,  Jonathan.  41 

Franklin,  John.  Esq 25 

Fitzgerald,  Derrick 18 

Fish,  Joannah 8 

Frisbie,  James 53 

Gore,  Lieut,  Obadh..  ,  .                     ,  IS 

Gore,  Daniel 45 

Gore,  Widw  Hannah.  25 

Gale,  Cornelius 24 

Gore,  Widw  Elizabeth 7 

Holenback,  Matthew 21 

Hagerman,  John 21 

Hurlbutt,  John,  Esq 62 

Hurlbutt,  Christr 26 

Hide,  John 24 

Harris,  Elisha 21 

Harding,  Henry 9 


0  Nisbitt,  JaniL'S 5.' 

0  Neill,  Thos 

0  O'Neal,  Jno 

0  Park,  Thos 

4  Pierce.    Phinehas 

0  Pell,  Josiah 

n  Pensyl,  Widw  Mary 

0  Pierce,  Widw  Hannah 

0  Ransom,  Widw  Esther 

n  Reed,  Thos 

0  Rogers,  Jonah 

n  Ross,  Wm 54 

n  Ross,  Widw  Marsey 11 

n  Ryon,  John 5 

0  Spalding,  Capt.  Simon .  .  15 

0  Slocum,  Giles '" 

1  n  Spencer,  Caleb 54 

4  Sanford,  David ^  1 

0  Sutton,  James IS 

n  Saterly,  Elisha 7 

0  Smith,  John Hi 

10  Smith,  Wm 5 

10  Sill,  Jabez 52 

0  Tilbury,  John ' .  .       .  .  47 

0  Thomas,  Joseph 27 

10  Trucks,  Wm V) 

0  Upson,  Widw  Sarah 27 

0  Underwood,  Isaac 21 

0  Williams,  Wm 21 

0  Warner,  Wm 28 

15  Williams.  Nathl 8 

0  Vcrington,  Abel                       21 

0  £2,555 


55 
54 

0 
0 

IS 

0 

IS 

0 

5 

0 

29 

5 

4 

0 

4 

10 

I') 

0 

IS 

0 

61 

0 

There  are  only  ninety-one  names  in  this  list.  For  some  unexplainable 
reason  we  find  missing  the  names  of  many  men  who  were  members  of  the  military 
companies  of  Captains  Simon  Spalding,  William  Hooker  Smith  and  John  Frank- 
lin, and  who  are  well  known  to  have  been  in  Wyoming  in  the  Summer  of  1780. 
Some  of  these  men  were  early  settlers  in  the  valley  under  The  Susquehanna 
Company,  were  land-owners,  and  were  active  participants  in  the  life  of  the 
community.  Among  them  were:  Roasel  Franklin,  Henry  Burney,  Prince 
Alden,  Asa  Budd,  Frederick  Budd,  Thomas  Bennet,  Jonathan  Corey,  Joseph 
Corey,  Henry  Elliott,  Jonathan  Frisbie,  John  Fuller,  Stephen  Gardner,  John 
Gore,  Benjamin  Harvey,  Naphtali  Hurlbut,  Robert  Hopkins,  Abraham  Nisbitt, 
Xoah  Pettebone,  Josiah  Rogers,  Walter  Spencer,  Abraham  Tillbury,  Jacob  Till- 
bury. 

It  will  be  noted,  as  an  indication  of  the  poverty  of  the  people  following  the 
destruction  of  their  homes  and  crops  by  the  enemy  in  1778,  that  in  the  foregoing 
tax-list  only  three  persons  are  "listed",  or  assessed,  above  £60,  while  fifty-eight 
persons  are  assessed  under  £30. 

A  large  body  of  Indians  and  "Rangers"  from  Fort  Niagara  attacked  Fort 
Rice,  in  what  is  now  Lewis  Township,  Northumberland  County,  Pa.,  September 
6,  1780.  At  that  time  Fort  Jenkins  (which  stood  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, about  midway  between  the  present  towns  of  Berwick  and  Blooms- 
burg)  was  garrisoned  by  a  detachment,  or  company,  of  the  "German  Regiment" 
mentioned  on  page  1162,  Vol.  II.  When  the  attack  on  Fort  Rice  was  made  the 
garrison  was  withdrawn  from  Fort  Jenkins  and  marched  to  the  support  of  Fort 
Rice,  and  of  Fort  Augusta  at  Sunbury. 

On  their  failure  to  capture  Fort  Rice  the  enemy  dispersed  in  small  parties, 
overran  the  neighboring  country,   and  did  considerable  damage.    One  party. 


1256 

composed  of  some  forty  "Rangers"  and  Seneca  Indians,  under  the  command  of 
Lieut.  William  Johnston  and  Roland  Montour*,  marched  against  Fort  Jenkins. 
Finding  it  abandoned  they  burned  and  destroyed  it,  as  well  as  the  buildings  in 
its  neighborhood.  They  also  rounded  up  a  few  head  of  cattle,  and  captured  two 
or  three  men;  whereupon  ten  members  of  the  marauding  party  were  detached 
to  conduct  these  prisoners  and  cattle  to  Niagara.  This  occurrence  took  place  on 
the  9th  of  September. 

On  the  preceding  day  a  companj^  of  Northampton  County  militia,  forty-one 
in  number  commanded  by  Capt.  Daniel  Klader,  with  Lieut.  John  Meyer  second 
in  command,  had  set  out  from  Fort  Allen,  on  the  Lehigh  (see  page  339,  Vol.  I), 
for  Scotch  Valley,  near  Nescopeck,  on  the  Susquehanna.  Complaints  had  been 
lodged  with  the  civil  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  effect  that  the  inhabitants 
of  Scotch  Valley  "have  lived  peaceably  in  the  most  dangerous  times;  negroes 
and  other  suspected  strangers  being  frequently  seen  amongst  them.  During 
every  incursion  the  enemy  have  made  into  this  country  all  the  disaffected  families 
[Tories]  fly  there  for  protection,  whilst  the  well-affected  are  obliged  to  evacuate 
the  country  or  shut  themselves  up  in  garrison." 

In  the  circumstances  it  was  deemed  necessary  by  the  civil  and  military 
authorities  of  the  counties  of  Northampton  and  Northumberland  to  either  dis- 
perse or  arrest  these  undesirable  citizens — these  Tories — of  Scotch  Valley. 
Thence  the  excursion  of  Captain  Klader  and  his  men. 

Unfortunatel3^  however,  news  of  Klader's  coming  reached  the  inhabitants 
of  the  doomed  settlement,  and  they  withdrew  in  haste  from  their  homes  to  the 
north  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  where  they  fell  in  with  the  band  of  Indians  headed 
by  Johnston  and  Montour.  The  latter,  being  informed  of  the  state  of  affairs, 
proceeded  up  to  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Berwick,  where  they  crossed  over 
the  river  and  followed  the  path  leading  from  the  Susquehanna  to  the  Lehigh — as 
described  on  page  237,  Vol.  I.  Proceeding  about  eight  or  nine  miles  they  dis- 
posed themselves  in  ambush  to  await  the  coming  of  the  Northampton  County 
militiamen. 

Near  noon  on  Sunday,  September  10th,  Captain  Klader  and  his  men  arrived 
at  a  point  in  Sugarloaf  Valleyf  about  one-half  mile  east  of  the  present  borough 
of  Conyngham  on  land  now  occupied  by  the  Hazleton  Country  Club,  in  Sugar- 
loaf  Township,  Luzerne  County.  "To  their  great  delight  they  saw  before  them 
open  and  cleared  fields,  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass.  Weary  as  they 
were  with  the  fatigue  and  hardships  of  their  long  march,  their  knapsacks  were 
immediately  unslung,  and  they  entered  upon  the  enjoyment  of  the  hour. 

"The  very  beauty  of  their  surroundings  lulled  to  rest  all  thoughts  of  danger, 
and  no  one  seemed  to  realize  the  necessity  of  watchful  care.  Fach  man  roamed 
about  as  best  suited  his  fancy.  Their  guns  were  scattered  here  and  there — some 
stacked,  some  leaning  against  stumps  and  logs,  others  lying  flat  on  the  ground. 
Suddenly  a  volley  of  musketrj'  was  poured  in  upon  them  from  an  unseen  foe, 
and  with  it  rang  out  the  terrible  war-whoop  of  the  Savages,  who,  in  a  moment 
more,  were  in  their  midst. "J 

Captain  Klader  and  thirteen  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  subsequently 
stripped  naked  and  scalped ;  Lieutenant  Meyer,  Fnsign  James  Scoby  and  Peter 
Tubal  Coons,  a  private  soldier,  were  taken  prisoners,  while  the  remaining  members 

*See  note  on  page  1028,  Vol.  11. 

TSee  the  illustration  facing  page  236,  Vol,  I. 

;H.  M.  M,  Richards,  in  Johnson's  •'Historical  Record",  VI:  l.'l.     . 


of  the  company  fled  and  escaped,  although  several  of  them  were  badly  wounded 
before  and  during  their  flight.  According  to  Crinkshank's  "Story  of  Butler's 
Rangers"  (page  82)  only  one  Indian  of  the  marauding  party  was  killed  at  this 
time,  "but  Roland  Montour,  long  known  as  a  brave  and  active  chief,  received  a 
wound  in  his  arm  from  which  he  died  a  week  later." 

The  enemy,  with  their  three  prisoners  and  such  booty  as  they  had  secured 
from  the  slain  militiamen,  returned  to  the  Susquehanna,  which  they  followed  to 
Harvey's  Creek.  There  they  burnt  the  saw-mill  of  Benjamin  Harvey  on  vSep- 
tember  13th,  and  that  night  Lieutenant  Meyer  escaped  from  his  captors  and 
made  his  way  the  next  day  to  Fort  Wyoming  at  Wilkes-Barre.  The  remainder 
of  the  party  crossed  the  Shawanese  Mountain,  took  a  north-east  course,  and 
struck  the  Susquehanna  again  some  distance  above  Wyoming. 

Miner,  in  giving  an  account  of  this  incursion,  says  ("History  of  Wyoming", 
page  287):  "The  Indians  hastened  their  retreat,  doing  what  mischief  they  could 
bv  burning  the  Shickshinny  mills,  and  all  the  grain  stacks  on  their  route."  This 
reference  to  mills  at  Shickshinny  was  undoubtedly  made  inadvertently,  for  there 
were  no  mills  at  that  point  then  or  for  years  afterwards.  Lieut.  John  Jenkins, 
Jr.,  who  was  at  Fort  Wyoming  in  September,  1780,  made  mention  in  his  diary 
of  the  burning  of  the  Harvey  mill.  He  wrote:  "Thursday,  Sept.  14th — This 
day  we  heard  that  Fort  Jenkins  and  Harvey's  mills  were  burnt."* 

At  Fort  Wyoming,  under  the  date  of  September  4,  1780,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler 
wrote    to    Col.    Fphraim    Blaine,    Commissary    General    of    Purchases    of    the 

Continental  army,  at  Philadelphia,  as  follows  :t 

"The  intent  of  this  is  to  apply  to  you  to  give  orders  to  Mr.  [William]  Stewart,  Commissary 
of  Issues  at  this  Post,  or  some  Purchasing  Commissary  that  will  furnish  him  beef  cattle  or  salt 
provision  for  the  use  of  this  garrison.  He  left  this  [place]  by  my  order  the  29th  of  last  June  to 
procure  provisions  for  this  garrison.  We  have  been  out  of  provisions  near  half  the  time  since,  and 
he  has  not  returned.  He  has  sent  some  flour,  but  no  meat.  He  writes  me  some  flour  is  coming, 
but  no  meat,  and  that  I  must  send  express  to  Colonel  Blaine  to  furnish  him  with  orders  or  money, 
as  he  cannot  procure  it. 

"This  express  waits  on  you  on  purpose  to  have  some  relief  for  this  garrison,  which  is  a  frontier, 
and  ought  to  have  at  least  three  months'  provisions  on  hand.  With  respect  to  flour,  I  think  a 
supply  may  soon  be  had  here,  as  there  is  a  quantity  of  wheat  to  be  sold  here,  and  a  mill  will  be 
ready  to  go  in  four  or  five  weeks;  but  at  present  no  person  is  authorized  to  purchase. 

"My  making  this  application  to  you  is  by  request  of  Mr.  Stewart,  Issuing  Commissaryat 
this  post.  If  it  should  be  out  of  the  rule  you'll  please  to  excuse  me;  but  so  much  is  fact — we  are 
out  of  provisions,  and  no  prospect  of  getting  meat.  An  answer  by  the  bearer  [Hugh  Forseman] 
who  waits  on  you  will  much  oblige  your  humble  servant",  &c. 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  September  18,  1780,  Colonel  Blaine 
wrote  to  Colonel  Butler,  in  part  as  follows :{ 

"I  delayed  your  Express  several  days,  expecting  to  obtain  money  or  some  other  means  to 
procure  supplies  of  provisions.  Under  the  present  system  the  States  are  to  furnish  the  supplies 
of  our  army.  They  have  been  so  exceedingly  dilatory  that  the  army  have  been  for  several  days, 
at  diff'erent  periods,  without  one  morsel  of  meat  of  any  kind,  and  are  now  in  the  most  disagreeable 
situation  for  want  of  that  article.  I  haven't  it  in  my  power,  for  the  present,  to  give  you  any 
assistance  but  that  of  flour."     *     *     * 

We  have  further  testimony  as  to  the  unhappy  conditions  respecting  food 
supplies  at  Fort  Wyoming,  at  this  period,  in  a  petition§  which  was  presented  to 
the  Connecticut  Assembly  by  Hugh  Forseman  (previously  mentioned)  in  October, 
1781.     He  stated  therein: 

"The  Garrison  at  Wyoming  was  in  August  and  September.  17S0.  much  straitened  and 
distressed  for  the  want  of  provisions,  by  reason  that  Governor  Reed,]  prohibited  its  being  bought 

"^For  fuller  information  concerning  the  Sugarloaf  massacre  see:  "Frontier  Forts  of  Pennsylyai 
"History  of  Wyoming",  p.  287;  Johnson's  '*Hijtorical  Record".  II:  125.  167.  and  VI;  131;  Stone's  ' 
of  Wyoming",  p.  259. 

tSee  Magazinr  of  American  History,  XXIV:  146. 

tSee  original  letter  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

iThe  original  is  "No.  145"  in  the  collection  of  documents  in  the  State  Library  Hartford,  Co 
in  paragraph  "(3)".  page  29.  Vol.  I. 

Gen.  Joseph  Reed,  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  PennsylvaTiia. 


1258 

from  the  Pennsylvania  Purchasing  Commissaries.  While  in  this  situation  Col.  Zebulon  Butler, 
who  commanded  the  garrison,  appointed  and  directed  me  to  purchase  provisions  for  the  use  of 
the  troops — which  appointment  I  received  September  20,  1780." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  October  19,  1780,  Hugh  Forseman  wrote 
to  Colonel  Butler  at  Wilkes-Barre  as  follows: 

"I  still  remain  in  this  City  waiting  on  Col.  Blaine  for  orders,  and  as  I  have  not  wrote  you 
before  I  shall  not  be  so  particular  in  this,  only  this  much  I  would  mention:  That  when  I  first 
went  to  Col.  Blaine  and  Delivered  your  letter  and  informed  him  the  situation  of  the  Post  he  told 
me  there  was  no  money,  nevertheless  some  methods  must  be  taken  to  furnish  us  with  Provision, 
and  he  had  the  matter  before  Congress  and  no  answer  he  hath  reed.  yet.  I  wate  upon  him  once 
and  twice  every  Day,  but  nothing  done,  nor  will  he  let  me  go  untill  he  gits  an  answer  from  Congress. 

"I  am  very  uneasy  staying  here,  but  Judge  it  will  not  do  now  to  go  away  untill  I  receive 
some  Orders.  I  suppose  your  situation  by  this  time  is  very  Bad  on  account  of  provisions,  and  it 
hath  been  out  of  my  power  to  do  anything  more  than  what  I  have.  I  have  no  reason  to  believe  but 
what  Col.  Blaine  doth  his  endeavour  to  dispatch  me.     Excuse  haste  from  your  very  humble  sert." 

At  Fort  Wyoming,  under  the  date  of  October  8,  1780,  Colonel  Butler  wrote 
to  William  vStewart,  hereinbefore  mentioned,  as  follows : 

"Yours  of  the  20  September  came  safe  to  hand  some  time  since.  The  boat  with  flour  came. 
The  meat  was  expended,  and  part  of  the  flour.  The  two  cattle  likewise  came,  but  we  are  entirely 
out  of  bread  and  meat.  We  live  on  eels*  and  corn,  and  the  eels  seem  to  be  most  done.  Should 
have  sent  the  boat  sooner,  but  Mr.  Jameson  told  me  you  would  not  have  flour  ready.  I  have  sent 
one  small  boat  and  twelve  men.  Hope  you  will  be  able  to  load  the  three  boats  with  flour  and  some 
liquor  and  let  them  return  immediately. 

"I  would  wish  likewise  you  would  send  on  some  cattle  by  the  same  party.  When  I  can 
hear  of  their  coming  I  shall  send  a  guard  to  meet  them.  When  Doctor  [William  Hooker]  Smith 
was  at  Philadelphia  Colonel  Blaine  gave  encouragement  for  cash.  Mr.  Forseman  has  gone  to 
him  and  to  see  what  he  can  do  about  cattle.  Expect  him  to  return  in  a  few  days.  As  to  sending 
hides,  it  cannot  be  done  by  this  boat  now,  the  water  is  so  shallow.  But  I  suppose  they  can  come 
by  Mr.  Buck's  boat  when  that  comes;  but  the  water  is  too  low  for  that  yet." 

Miner  states  (see  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  288)  that  on  October  24, 
1780,  "the  settlement  was  thrown  into  commotion  by  the  arrival  of  an  express 
stating  that  Colonel  [Samuel]  Hunter,t  at  Fort  Augusta  (Sunbury),  had  stopped 
the  boats  that  were  ascending  the  river  with  provisions  for  the  [Wyoming]  gar- 
rison. Grain  the  people  now  had,  but  they  were  obliged  to  go  to  Stroudsburg 
to  mill.  This  was  the  first  incident  which  had  occurred  for  three  years  exhibiting 
the  smothered,  but  by  no  means  extinguished,  jealousy  that  existed  on  the  part 
of  Pennsylvania  towards  the  Connecticut  garrison  and  settlement." 

A  few  weeks  after  this  occurrence  Hugh  Forseman  arrived  from  Philadelphia 
with  a  hundred  head  of  cattle  for  the  garrison.  "Thus  fear  of  absolute  famine 
was  removed.  The  comforts  of  life  were  not  looked  for,  but  all  were  satisfied 
with  sufficient  food  to  sustain  existence."! 

At  Fort  Wyoming,  September  19,  1780,  a  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Westmoreland  was  held,  John  Hurlbut,  Esq.,  acting  as  Moderator,  and  Oba- 

*"  Another  friend  which  had  often  cheered  and  sustained  the  people  [of  Wyoming]  also  came  nobly  to  the  rescue . 
The  Susquehanna  River,  after  furnishing  its  usual  supply  of  shad  in  the  Spring,  this  year  [1780]  doubled  its  efTorts  and 
produced  in  the  Fall  extraordinary  swarms  of  eels,  upwards  of  fourteen  thousand  of  these  wriggling  dainties  were  taken 
within  three  weeks — a  welcome  boon  to  the  hungry  people  which  they  did  not  allow  to  slip  through  their  fingers." 
— From  "Wyoming,  or  Connecticut's  East  India  Company",  by  Henry  T.  Blake,  1897. 

See  also  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  290. 

tSee  (t)  note  page  1274. 

tWith  respect  to  the  obtaining  of  a  sufficient  supply  of  food  for  the  American  army,  these  were,  indeed,  the  times 
that  tried  men's  souls — not  only  at  the  little  garrison  of  Wyoming,  but  at  the  headquarters  of  the  army.  The  .\utumn 
days  of  1 780  were  surely  the  darkest  days  in  the  outlook  for  American  autonomy.  In  proof  of  this  statement  we  offer 
the  following  extracts  from  a  letter  written  by  General  Washington  at  the  headquarters  of  the  army,  near  Hackensack 
Bridge,  New  Jersey.  September  12,  1780,  and  addressed  to  the  Executive  Council  of  Massachusetts.  This  letter  gives 
a  most  touching  and  appealing  glimpse  of  the  discouragements  that  were  turning  fervent  zeal  to  dull  despair  in  the 
hearts  of  many  American  patriots. 

"At  present,  unfortunately  for  us,  were  we  in  the  fullest  possession  of  a  naval  superiority  and  the  fairest  oppor- 
tunities were  to  present  themselves  for  striking  a  stroke,  we  could  not  transport  even  a  small  body  of  troops  to  any 
point,  however  interesting  and  certain  the  object. /or  ivanl  of  sail  prmisions  *  *  I  have  heard  that  a  very  consider- 
able quantity  of  beef  and  pork  was  captured  in  the  Quebec  fleet.  If  this  is  the  fact,  it  seems  to  be  the  only  source  from 
which  we  can  hope  to  obtain  a  supply — and  from  the  necessity  of  the  case  I  take  the  liberty  to  entreat  you  will  endeavor 
to  secure  it.     I  would  wish  at  least  4.000  barrels  to  be  provided,  if  it  be  by  any  means  practicable      *     *     * 

"I  am  pained  to  inform  your  Honorable  body  that  our  distresses  for  meat  still  continue  pressing  and  alarming 
The  supplies  we  have  received,  including  the  cattle  which  have  been  exacted  from  the  inhabitant;  of  this  State — and 
in  many  instances  to  their  entire  ruin — and  which  have  made  no  inconsiderable  part,  have  been  little  more  than  sufficient 
to  sati;  fy  a  third  of  our  necessary  demands.  The  troops  on  some  occasions  have  been  even  four  and  five  days  without 
a  mouthful  of  meat.  Complaints  and  murmurings — a  relaxation  of  discipline — marauding — robbery  and  desertion  are 
the  consequences;  and.  indeed,  it  is  to  be  wondered  at.  that  they  have  not  prevailed  to  a  much  greater  extent,  I  am 
satisfied  things  cannot  continue  long  in  their  present  situation."     *     * — From  The  Boston  Transcript,  February,    1900. 


1259 

diah  Gore  serving  as  "Town  Clerk."  Among  other  matters  the  meeting  resolved 
that  John  Hurlbut  and  Col.  Nathan  Denison  "be  appointed  Agents  to  negotiate 
a  petition  at  the  next  General  Assembly,  praying  for  an  abatenlent  of  taxes 
upon  the  present  list."  This  petition,  addressed  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
Connecticut,  and  dated  "Westmoreland,  28  September,  1780,"  was  duly  prepared, 
and  was  presented  to  the  Assembly  at  its  October  session  by  Colonel  Denison 
and  John  Hurlbut,  who  attended  as  representatives  from  Westmoreland.  It  is 
document  "No.  136"  in  the  collection  of  documents  in  the  State  l,ibrary  at 
Hartford,  described  in  paragraph  "(3)",  page  29,  Vol.  I.  It  is  in  the  handwriting 
of  Obadiah  Gore,  Jr.,  and  is  signed  by  John  Hurlbut,  John  Franklin,  Jabez  Sill 
and  James  Nisbitt,  "Selectmen,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  the  inhabitants." 
This  memorial  sets  forth  at  length  "the  disagreeable  situation"  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Westmoreland  "are  yet  in,  by  reason  of  the  unhappy  effects  of  the  war," 
and  then  contin'ues  as  follows: 

"The  settlement  being  contracted  to  a  very  narrow  compass,  just  under  cover  of  the  garrison 
— our  fields  very  much  in  common — our  famiUes  either  in  barracks  with  the  soldiery,  or  soldiers 
quartering  in  our  houses,  for  our  protection  and  safety.  Besides,  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
grinding — there  being  no  grist-mill  within  forty  or  fifty  miles  of  this  settlement.  These,  and 
many  other  difficulties  (which  are  tedious  to  mention),  induce  us  once  more  to  petition  for  an. 
abatement  of  taxes  upon  the  present  list;  or  in  some  other  way  to  grant  us  relief." 

A  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Abel  Yarington,  Wilkes-Barre,  on  Tuesday,  December  5,  1780.  John  Hurlbut, 
Esq.,  acted  as  Moderator,  and  he.  Colonel  Denison,  Capt.  John  Franklin,  James 
Xisbitt  and  Jabez  Sill  were  chosen  Selectmen  for  the  ensuing  year.  Also,  men 
were  chosen  to  fill  the  offices  of  Town  Clerk,  Treasurer,  Constable,  Surveyors  of 
Plighways,  Fence  Viewers,  leisters,  Collectors,  Leather  Sealers  and  Grand  Jury- 
men. "The  fewness  of  the  inhabitants",  says  Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming", 
page  289),  "may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  James  Nisbitt  and  Jabez  Sill  were 
each  chosen  to  three  offices,  and  several  others  were  voted  in  to  the  duties  and 
honors    of    two. 

"The  occasion  was  one  of  comparative  cheerfulness.  Winter  had  set  in* — • 
snow  had  fallen — the  enemy,  kept  at  a  respectful  distance  by  the  spirited  con- 
duct of  Hammond,  Bennet,  Van  Campen,  Rogers  and  Pike,  would  not  be  likely, 
it  was  thought,  soon  to  return.  With  frost,  sickness  had  ceased;  and  Forseman's 
arrival  with  a  supply  of  cattle  dissipated  all  fears  of  suffering  from  famine.  But 
these  pleasing  dreams  of  security  were  destined  to  be  of  brief  duration." 

On  November  19,  1780,  a  detachment  of  nineteen  "Rangers"  and  five  Indians 
had  set  out  from  Niagara,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  John  Turney,  Sr.,t  on 
a  marauding  expedition  to  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna.  In  due  time  the  party 
reached  the  river,  where  they  took  canoes  and  descended  as  far  as  Secord's,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river,  two  or  three  miles  above  the  present  borough  of  Tunk- 
hannock.  Leaving  their  canoes  here  they  marched  westward  through  a  gap  in 
the  mountains,  and  then  in  a  southerly  direction  towards  the  valley  of  Wyoming. 
They  arrived  on  the  Summit  of  Shawanese  Mountain,  overlooking  the  Plymouth 
Township  settlement,  in  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  December  6th,  twenty-two 
days  after  leaving  Niagara. 

*"Soon  the  dreadful  Winter  of  1780-'81  set  in — a  season  known  in  our  annals  as  'the  hard  Winter'  when  for  forty 
days,  not  an  icicle  was  disturbed  by  the  sun  in  all  the  region  from  the  .Arctic  Sea  to  Roanoke,  and  westward  to  the  Pacific. 
It  bore  with  mighty  force  upon  frontier  and  wilderness  life.  *  *  Many  cattle  perished.  Wild  beasts  and  birds 
were  frozen.  *  *  Scarcity  of  provisions  prevailed,  and  gaunt  Famine  looked  fiercely  in  at  the  windows  of  the 
cabins,"— Hari>frs  Magazine,  XIX:  593, 

tSee  note  on  page  965,  and  page  992   Vol.  II. 


1260 

On  the  evening  of  this  day  George  Palmer  Ransom*,  a  member  of  Capt. 
Simon  Spalding's  Westmoreland  Independent  Company,  in  the  Continental 
service  at  the  Wyoming  garrison,  Manasseh  Cady,  Jonathan  Frisbie,  James 
Frisbie,t  Nathan  Bullock, {  Benjamin  Harvey  and  his  son  EHsha,  all  privates 
in  Capt.  John  Franklin^s  militia  company,  previously  mentioned,  were  gathered 
together  at  the  home  of  Benjamin  Harvey§,  where,  also,  were  his  daughter,  Lucy 
Harvey  and  Lucy  Bullock,  a  daughter  or  sister  of  Nathan  Bullock.  Mr.  Harvey's 
home  was  in  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Plymouth,  on  the  north-west  side  of 
Main  Street,  about  midway  between  the  present  Center  and  Eno  Avenues. 

There  had  been  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  a  few  days  previously,  and  on  this 
Wednesday  night  the  weather  was   extremely  cold;   but,  within  the   deep   and 

*See  page  896,  Vol.  II. 

tjAMES  Frisbie,  of  Branford,  New  Haven  County,  Connecticut  became  a  member  of  The  Susquehanna  Company 
November  29,  1760,  when  he  bought  of  Timothy  Rose,  of  Woodbury.  Conn.,  for  £5.  one-quarter  of  an  original  right, 
or  share,  in  the  Company.  In  April.  1773,  James  Frisbie  was  living  in  Woodbury.  Litchfield  County,  Conn.,  but  within 
the  next  two  years  he  removed  to  Wyoming  and  settled  in  Plymouth.  James  Frisbie,  Jr.,  and  Jonathan  Frisbie  were 
undoubtedly  his  sons. 


JNaTHAN  Bullock,  mentioned  on  page  44,  Vol.  T,  and  pages  1039,  1161  and  1182,  Vol.  II,  was  of  Ashford,  Con- 
necticut, in  1773.  According  to  "The  Town  Book  of  Wilkes-Barre"  (page  1320)  "Anderson  Dana,  Surveyor,"  sur- 
veyed, March  23,  1774,  a  tract  of  land  for  Nathan  Bullock,  "one  of  ye  Susquehanna  Company,  on  ye  easterly  side  of 
said  Purchase,  near  ye  Long  Meadows,  so  called,  near  ye  Pennamites'  Path." 

•  §Benjamin  Harvey,  whose  name  is  frequently  mentioned  in  these  pages,  was  bom  at  Lyme,  New  London  County . 
Connecticut,  July  28,  1722,  the  seventh  and  youngest  child  of  John  and  Sarah  Harvey,  and  great-grandson  of  Thomas 
Harvey,  a  native  of  Somersetshire,  England,  who  immigrated  to  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  in  1636,  and  later  became 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Taunton,  Massachusetts.  (For  full  details  as  to  the  ancestry  of  Benjamin  Harvey,  see  "The 
Harvey  Book",  pubUshed  by  the  present  writer  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  1899.) 

John  Harvey,  above  mentioned,  was  bom  at  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  in  1676,  the  eldest  child  of  John  Harvey 
Sr.,  (bom  at  Taunton  in  1647;  died  at  Lyme,  Conn.,  January  18,  1705),  who  had  been  a  soldier  in  Maj.  Samuel  Apple- 
ton's  battalion  during  King  Philip's,  or  the  Narragansett,  War.  and  was  wounded  at  the  "Great  Swamp  Fight",  Decem- 
ber 19,  1675.  In  1681  he  removed  with  his  family  to  the  town  of  New  London,  Connecticut,  and  thence,  a  few  years 
later,  to  the  town  of  Lyme,  in  the  same  county. 

John  Harvey,  Jr.,  lived  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Lyme.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  the  owner  of  considerable 
property  in  the  North  Parish  of  Lyme.  He  held  various  town  offices  of  responsibility  for  a  number  of  years.  His  wife 
Sarah  died  at  North  Lyme  October  2,  1754,  and  he  died  there  December  23,  1767. 

Benjamin  Harvey,  like  his  father  owned  considerable  property  in  North  Lyme,  where  he  resided  for  the  first  fifty 
years  of  his  life,  and  was  engaged  for  a  good  part  of  that  period  in  farming  and  stock  raising.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  was  a  near  neighbor  and  intimate  friend  of  Zebulon  Butler,  as  noted  on  page  636,  Vol.  II. 

In  1744  war  was  declared  by  France  against  England,  and  by  England  against  France,  and  in  February,  1745,  500 
troops  were  raised  in  Connecticut,  who  were  organized  into  eight  companies  and  marched  forward  to  Boston.  For 
Connecticut's  contingent  New  London  County  furnished  quite  a  number  of  men,  some  of  whom  were  from  Lyme. 
Among  them  was  Benjamin  Harvey,  then  in  his  twenty-third  year.  These  Connecticut  troops,  as  part  of  the  Colonial 
forces,  sailed  for  Cape  Breton,  where,  on  June  8,  1745,  was  begun  the  seige  of  Louisbourg.  In  forty-nine  days  this 
"Gibraltar  of  America"  was  captured  by  the  English,  and  shortly  thereafter  the  Connecticut  troops  were  sent  home 
and  disbanded. 

Diu-ing  the  progress  of  the  second  French  and  English  War,  Benjamin  Harvey  served  in  J  759  as  a  Corporal  in  the 
9th  Company  of  the  4th  Regiment  of  Connecticut  troops,  commanded  by  Capt.  Zebulon  Butler.  (See  last  paragraph, 
page  635.  Vol.  II.)  During  the  "Stamp  Act"  troubles  of  1765  Benjamin  Harvey  was  an  active  member  of  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  in  Connecticut.     (See  page  482,  Vol.  I.) 

In  December.  1768,  The  Susquehanna  Company  appropriated  the  sum  of  £200  for  the  purpose  of  providing  pro- 
visions for  its  settlers  at  Wyoming.  .(See  page  466,  Vol.  I.)  Some  of  the  supplies  thus  provided  for  having  been  pur- 
chased at  Lyme,  Benjamin  Harvey  was  employed  to  transport  the  same  to  their  destination.  This  work  was  done  by 
making  two  trips — one  in  the  Summer  of  1769,  and  the  other  about  a  year  later — from  North  Lyme  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
with  three  carts  drawn  by  oxen  driven  by  Benjamin  Harvey  and  his  sons  Benjamin  and  Seth. 

Benjamin  Harvey's  wife  having  died  at  North  Lynie  December  3,  1771,  and  his  second  son,  Seth,  having  died 
there  a  week  later,  he  determined  early  in  1772  that  he  would  remove  to  W^yoming.  where  so  many  of  his  old  friends 
and  former  neighbors  were  already  settled.  Therefore.  April  14.  1772,  he  purchased  of  John  Starlin.  or  Sterling,  of 
Lyme,  for  £12,  a  half-share  or  " — right"  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase.  He  immediately  sent  his  eldest  son.  Benjamin, 
on  to  Wyoming  to  examine  into  the  situation  of  affairs  there,  and  to  look  out  for  his  interests.  As  shown  by  the  records 
of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  he  himself  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  May  7,  1772.  Having  been  admitted  a  proprietor 
in  Plymouth  Township  he  was  allotted  the  lands  therein  to  which  he  was  entitled  on  his  half-right,  and  before  the  close 
of  the  year  1772  he  was  joined  at  Plymouth  by  the  several  members  of  his  family  who  had  remained  behind  at  Ljnie. 

In  the  Summer  of  1773  Benjamin  Harvey  took  steps  to  acquire  a  "pitch  of  land",  consisting  of  some  754  acres, 
lying  along  the  Susquehanna  south-west  of  Plymouth  Township.  Two  streams  of  water  flowed  across  the  tract — 
one  near  the  eastern  and  the  other  near  the  western  boundary.  One  of  these  streams  was  the  creek  described  on  page 
54,  Vol.  I,  now  and  for  many  years  past,  known  as  Harvey's  Creek 

At  a  regular  meeting  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  held  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  May  24,  1774,  the  following 
communication  was  read:     (The  original  document  is  in  the  possession  of  the  writer  of  this.) 

"To  the  Susquehanna  Proprietors  to  be  Convened  at  Hartford  on  the  24th  of  May,  1774. 

"Gentlemen — There  is  a  Large  Tract  of  Land  Lying  and  adjoining  To  the  Township  of  Plymouth  that  Mr.  Benjn. 
Harvey  applyd.  for  by  way  of  Petition  at  the  Susqh.  meeting  Last  June  it  was  Refered  to  the  Committee  of  Setters 
and  they  Impowerd.  to  finally  Determine  that  matter — upon  Examination  we  found  that  Mr.  Harvey  as  a  sufferer  is 
already  made  good  in  Plymouth  and  that  he  now  challenges  it  as  a  part  of  his  Generall  Right — 

"In  my  Opinion  the  Land  Included  in  that  Survey  is  Greatly  Superior  to  any  Right  in  either  of  the  setUng  Towns — ■ 
therefore  upon  them  Principles  we  chose  that  the  Company  should  still  have  the  power  of  Disposing  of  the  same  as  they 
think  proper — Besides  I  would  Beg  Leave  to  Inform  you  Gentlemen  that  there  is  a  considerable  Stream  runs  through 
sd.  Tract,  I  believe  Large  enough  to  carry  an  Iron  works  the  whole  season,  and  a  very  Large  Quantity  of  Iron  Ore, 
Doubtless  enough  tq  last  to  tlie  end  of  Time,  which  is  said  to  be  very  rich  and  its  very  Near,  and  even  in  ye  Banks  of 
the  Brook — 

"Now  if  the  Company  could  adopt  some  measures  whereby  some  Gentlemen  might  be  Incouraged  to  set  up  a 
Bloomary  it  would  I  am  sure  be  a  matter  of  Great  Consequence  to  the  Company  in  Generall  and  the  settlers  in  particu- 
lar, and  a  Gentlemen  appearing  to  undertake  the  Business  would  Doubtless  meet  with  Great  Incouragement  from  the 
sellers  here — 


1261 

broad  fire-place  in  the  "living  room"  of  Benjamin  Harvey's  house,  there  blazed 
a  fire  of  pine-knots  and  chestnut  logs,  whose  genial  brightness  and  warmth  the 
little  company  seated  about  the  hearth  enjoyed  with  much  satisfaction,  heedless 
of  the  blustering  winds  and  drifting  snow  without.  At  the  same  time  the  men 
of  the  party  were  enjoying  also  plenteous  draughts  of  the  hardest  kind  of  hard 
cider,  which,  with  our  New  England  forefathers,  was  the  usual  drink  on  extra- 
ordinary occasions  during  the  Winter  season. 

The  hour  was  yet  early  when,  suddenly,  a  noise  was  heard  by  this  little 
group  of  friends  at  the  fireside,  which  hushed  their  conversation  and  caused  them 
to  look  at  one  another  with  apprehension.     The  noise  was  caused,  simply,  by 

"There  is  a  Large  Quantity  of  good  stone  Coals  on  sd.  Tract  which  is  valuable  and  the  very  best  I  have  seen  on 
Susquehanna,  as  I  profess  to  be  a  judge  of  Ihat — 

"Gentlemen  I  Communicate  this  that  you  might  not  be  Deceived  with  Regard  to  the  Quality  of  that  Tract  of 
Land — There  is  no  other  Stream  of  that  Bigness  for  many  miles  Distance  except  the  River — 

"Gentlemen  with   Esteem  I  subscribe  myself 
"Westmoreland  16th  of  May  1774."  "Your  Humbe.  Servt. 

[Signed]     "Obadiah  Gore,  Junr." 


^^O'^-^ry  ■•  /n^a^i^^j^Y 


Mr.  Gore  was,  without  doubt,  somewhat  of  an  expert  with  respect  to  water-courses  and  anthracite  coal,  but  on  the 
subject  of  iron  ore  he  was  apparently  "ofiE",  A\TiiIe  there  were  large  deposits  of  coal,  acres  of  valuable  timber,  and  a 
fine  stream  of  water  on  the  land  selected  by  Mr.  Harvey,  there  was  never  a  trace  of  iron  ore  there. 

What  action,  if  any,  was  taken  by  the  Susquehanna  Company  on  the  letter  of  Mr.  Gore  the  minutes  of  the  Company 
do  not  disclose.  The  records  do  show,  however,  that  the  land  in  question  was  duly  laid  out  and  confirmed  to  Mr.  Harvey, 
and  that  he  remained  the  owner  of  it  until  his  death. 

In  1774  Mr.  Har\'ey  opened  the  first  store  in  Plymouth,  which  was  managed  for  him  by  his  son  Benjamin,  Jr., 
while  he  busied  himself  about  other  matters.  He  continued  to  reside  in  PlyTnouth  until  his  death,  and  he  took  a  very 
active  part  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  community.    His  name  appears  frequently  in  the  following  pages. 

Benjamin  Harvey  was  married,  first,  in  1745,  to  Elizabeth  (bom  at  Lyme  in  1720),  fourth  daughter  and  ninth 
child  of  John  and  Jemima  Pelton.  Mrs.  Harvey  having  died  in  December.  1 77 1 .  as  previously  noted,  Benjamin  Harvey 
was  married,  second,  at  Plymouth,  between  1783  and  1786,  to  Catherine 
Draper,  widow  of  Maj.  Simeon  Draper.  Benjamin  Harvey  died  at  his 
home  in  Plymouth  Township,  near  what  is  now  West  Nauticoke,  November 
27,   1795;  and  his  widow  Catharine  died  there  May  6.  1800. 

The  children  of  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth  (Pellon)  Har\'ey  were  as  follows 
(all  bom  in  North  Lyme):  (i)  Mary,  bom  1746;  died  unmarried  October 
27,1767.  (ii)  Benjamin,  born  1747;  died  in  Febmary  or  March,  1777,  as 
Facsimile  of  signattire  written  in  1782.  noted  on  page  904,  Vol.  II.  (iii)  Seih.  bom  1749.  died  unmarried  December 
10,  1771.  (iv)  Abigail,  bom  1752;  died  unmarried  November  22.  1769.  (v) 
Silas,  bora  1754;  killed  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778.  (vi)  Lois,  bora  1756;  became  in  1779  the  wife  of  Elna- 
than  Sweet,  Jr.  (bora  at  Exeter,  Rhode  Island.  June  24,  1755;  died  at  Beekmanstown.  New  York,  in  1782),  of  Beek- 
manstown,  Duchess  Coimty,  New  York;  died  at  Halfmoon,  Saratoga  County,  New  York,  in  1808.  leaving  a  daughter. 
Abigail  {Sweet)  Deuel,  wife  of  Joseph  Merrit  Deuel,  of  Deerfield,  Oneida  Coimty,  N.  Y.  (vii)  EXisha,  bora  1758;  died 
March  14,  1800.    (viii)  Lucy,  born  1760;  became  the  wife  of  Abraham  Tillbury  of  Plymouth. 

(vii)  Elisha  Harvey  came  to  Wyoming  in  1772  with  the  other  members  of  his  father's  family,  and  with  them  took 
up  his  residence  in  Plymouth.  In  1775,  being  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  life  and  over  the  minimum  age  fixed  by  the 
laws  of  Connecticut  for  the  militia  service  of  the  Colony,  he  was  mustered  as  a  private  in  the  3d  Company  (.Capt. 
Samuel  Ransom  commanding)  of  the  24th  Regiment,  Connecticut  MiUtia,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year  fought 
mth  the  Wyoming  settlers  against  the  forces  of  Colonel  Plunket,  at  "Rampart  Rocks",  on  the  property  of  his  father  at 
West  Nanticoke.     (See  page  860,  Vol.  II.) 

In  1778  Elisha  Harvey  was  still  a  member  of  the  3d  Company,  then  commanded  by  Capt.  Asaph  Whittlesey  and 
with  it  took  part  in  the  battle  of  July  3d.  When  the  retreat  of  the  Americans  began.  Elisha  Har\-ey- escaped  from  the 
bloody  field  in  company  with  WQliam  Reynolds,  Sr.,  a  man  of  some  years,  who  was  an  old  friend,  and  for  a  time  had 
been  a  neighbor  in  Plymouth,  of  Benjamin  Harvey,  and,  like  tlie  latter,  was  an  enrolled  member  of  the  "Alarm  List" 
of  the  3d  Company,  Messrs.  Reynolds  and  Harvey  swam  across  the  river  near  Forty  Fort,  and  hastened  to  Fort 
Wjlkes-Barre.  Thence  they  fled  the  next  day,  taking,  with  many  other  Wyoming  refugees,  the  Ion g-un traveled 
"Warrior  Path",  which,  running  over  the  mountains  south-east  of  Wilkes-Barre,  led  to  Fort  Allen,  and  onward  through 
the  Lehigh  Water  Gap  to  Bethlehem. 

Having  tarried  at  the  last-named  place  a  few  days,  the  two  men  journeyed  to  Easton,  twelve  miles  distant  where 
they  joined  a  number  of  their  former  comrades-in-arms  and  set  off  up  the  Delaware  River.  Leaving  the  river  at  Lower 
Smithfield  they  proceeded  to  Fort  Penn  (now  Stroudsburg)  where.  July  26,  1778,  they  joined  a  detachment  of  the  24th 
Regiment  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Butler.  With  this  body  they  marched  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  they  arrived 
August  4,  and  where  they  were  on  the  1st  of  the  following  October — with  the  170  or  more  Continental  soldiers  and 
Westmoreland  militia  there  engaged  in  scouting,  etc.     (See  pages  1079,  1080  and  1096,  Vol.  II.) 

Owing  to  the  rigors  of  the  Canadian  climate,  and  the  severe  physical  strains  to  which  he  had  been  subjected 
during  his  captivity,  the  health  of  Elisha  Harvey  was  greatly  impaired,  during  the  two  years  following  his  return  to 
Wyoming;  and  so,  as  far  as  possible,  he  avoided  the  frays  and  commotions  incident  to  the  "Second  Pennamite- Yankee 
War."  He  remained  quietly  at  his  father's  home  engaged  in  farming — when  permitted  to  do  so  by  the  Pennamites. 
Shortly  after  his  father's  death  he  completed  at  the  easternmost  end  of  the  Plymouth  "plantation",  devised  to  him  by 
his  father,  a  substantial  stone  dweUing-house.  Here  he  resided  with  his  family  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Alarch 
14,  1800,  in  the  forty-second  year  of  his  age.  During  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  his  life  he  suffered  much  from  ill 
health,  caused  by  the  development  of  a  wasting  disease  which  had  been  implanted  in  his  system  while  he  was  undergo- 
ing the  cruel  hardships  and  severe  exposures  incident  to  his  captivity  in  Canada. 

Elisha  Harvey  was  married  November  27,  1786,  to  Rosanna  (bora  December  24,  1758)    daughter  of  Robert  and 
Agnes  (Dixon)  Jameson  of  Hanover  Township,  Luzerne  County,  Pennsylvania,  but  formerly  of  Voluntown,  Windham 
County,  Connecticut.     (See  in  the  following  chapter  a  sketch  of  the  Jame- 
son family.)    Mrs.  Rosanna  (Jameson)  Har\'ey  died  at  her  home  in  Ply- 
mouth Township  January  17,  1840,  in  the  eighty-second  year  of  her  age, 
The  children  of  Elisha  and  Rosanna  (Jameson)  Harvey  were  as  follow; 
— all  bora  m  Plymouth  Township:     (1)    Benjamin,  bora  August  10.  1787 
died  March  18,  1788.    (2)   Sarah,  bora  May  4.  1789;  married  to  the  Rev, 
George  Lane;  died  October  II,  1832.      (3)   Elizabeth,  bom  September  20, 
Facsimile  of  signature  written  in  1780.  1790;  married  to  Thomas  Pringle;  died  May  26,  1868.    (4)   Benjamin,  bora 

May  9,  1792,  married  to  Sarah  Nesbitt;  died  March  3,  1873.  (5)  Xancy, 
bom  March  19,  1794;  died  January  15,  1795.  (6)  Jameson,  bora  January  1,  1796;  married  to  Mary  Campbell;  died 
July  4,  1885.    (7)  Silas,  bora  December  17,  1797;  married  to  Rachel  Search;  died  May  10,  1824. 

For  a  fuller  account  of  the  Harvey  family  see  "The  Harvey  Book",  published  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  1899. 


{jt^ia'^himj. 


1262 

two  or  three  gentle  knocks  struck  on  the  outer  door  of  the  house;  but  there  was 
a  ringing  sound  to  them,  which,  to  the  experienced  ears  of  those  within  the  house, 
indicated  that  the  knocks  did  not  come  from  the  knuckles  of  a  closed  hand. 

After  a  few  moments  of  silence  the  knocking  was  renewed,  but  more  sharply 
than  before.  Benjamin  Harvey  then  went  forward  and  unbarred  the  door, 
whereupon  it  was  pushed  violently  open,  and  five  Indians,  in  full  war-paint, 
crossed  the  threshold.  Glancing  through  the  doorway,  Mr.  Harvey  discovered 
that  the  house  was  surrounded  by  a  number  of  armed  men,  which  fact  he  im- 
mediately made  known  to  his  companions.  Shortly  afterwards  the  commander 
of  the  band,  accompanied  by  two  or  three  of  his  men,  joined  the  savages  within 
doors,  and  demanded  food  and  drink  for  his  party. 

These  marauders,  it  will  be  understood,  were  Lieutenant  Turney  and  his 
detachment  from  Niagara,  who,  as  soon  as  the  shades  of  night  had  fallen  upon 
Wvoming,  had  passed,  as  quietly  and  rapidly  as  possible,  from  their  bivouac  on 
top  of  vShawanese  Mountain  down  into  the  valley. 

Having  satisfied  their  hunger  and  thirst  without  delay,  they  began  to  bind 
with  cords  the  arms  of  the  inmates  of  the  house,  who,  in  the  meantime,  had  been 
informed  by  Lieutenant  Turney  that  they  must  consider  themselves  prisoners  of 
war.  The  marauders  then  set  out  for  the  mountain  with  their  nine  captives,  and 
with  such  booty  as  they  could  easily  secure  and  carry.  Arriving  on  top  of  the 
mountain,  and  out  of  danger  of  immediate  pursuit,  the  party  halted  for  con- 
sultation. After  awhile  one  of  the  Indians,  who  was  past  middle  age,  and  was 
apparently  a  chief,  led  Lucy  Harvey  and  Lucy  Bullock  aside  from  the  other 
captives,  and,  by  the  dim  and  flickering  light  of  a  torch,  painted  their  faces  in 
true  Indian  style.  Then,  unloosing  the  cords  which  bound  the  young  women,  he 
told  them  his  name,*  and  added;    "Go,  tell  Colonel  Butler  I  put  on  this  paint!" 

Parting  from  their  relatives  and  friends,  whom  they  never  expected  to  see 
again,  Lucy  Harvey  and  Lucy  Bullock  made  their  way  down  into  the  valley, 
through  the  gloom}-  forest  and  over  the  rough,  snow-covered  ground.  Reaching 
the  Plymouth  highway  they  hastened  in  the  direction  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  ferry, 
which  they  reached  a  short  time  before  daylight.  Awakening  the  ferryman, 
they  were  rowed  across  the  river  by  him,  and  arrived  in  a  few  minutes  at  Fort 
Wyoming. 

One  of  the  sentries  on  duty  there  at  that  hour  was  a  young  man  named 
Charles  Harris,  who,  being  acquainted  with  the  Misses  Harvey  and  Bullock, 
recognized  their  voices  when  they  hailed  the  fort.  Being  admitted  within  the 
walls,  they  quickty  told  their  story  to  the  commander  of  the  garrison,  who  ordered 
the  alarm-gun  to  be  fired.  But  by  this  time  the  captors  and  the  captured  were 
far  on  their  journey,  and,  beyond  the  sound  even  of  the  signal,  which  fell  upon  the 
ears  of  the  people  of  the  valley  as  a  notification  that  some  one  in  the  community 
had  been  murdered  or  carried  into  captivity. 

An  hour  or  two  later  there  arrived  at  the  fort  a  young  Irishman  named 
Thomas  Connollyt,  w'ho  had  deserted  from  Lieutenant  Turney's  band  shortly 
after  the  Misses  Harvey  and  Bullock  had  been  released.     He  gave  information 

*It  was  learned  afterwards  that  this  Indian  was  a  Seneca  chief  of  some  importance,  and  that,  upon  two  or  three 
occasions  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  he  had  attended  Indian  conferences  held  with  the  white  settlers  at  Wyommg . 
He  had  also  taken  an  active  part  under  Butler  and  ^ayenQueraghla  in  the  battle  and  massacre  of  Wyommg,  July  3,  1778. 

tAt  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania,  December  30,  1780,  Col.  Matthew  Smith  (then  Prothonotary  of  Northumberland 
County)  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Joseph  Reed,  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia, 
in  part  as  follows:  "Inclosed  I  send  the  examination  of  Thomas  Conley  (taken  at  Wyoming  and  transmitted  to  me  by 
Thomas  Neil),  who  came  from  Niagara  with  a  party  of  twenty  whites  and  6ve  Indians.  They  carried  away  one  Har- 
vey's family  near  Wvoming,  six  [sic]  men  and  boys  in  number.     Harvey's  daughter  and  one  other  girl  they  sent  back 


1263 

as  to  the  route  the  party  had  traveled  in  approaching  the  valley,    and  stated 
that  they  expected  to  return  northward  the  same  way. 

As  soon  as  possible  that  morning  Captain  F'ranklin,  with  twenty-six  of  his 
men,  set  out  from  the  fort  in  pursuit  of  the  fleeing  enemy,  and  marched  up  the 
river  as  far  as  Secord's  (previously  mentioned),  where  the  pursuit  was  abandoned, 
being  considered  hopeless.  Finding  at  this  point  the  canoes  left  behind  by  the 
marauders,  as  heretofore  noted.  Captain  Franklin  and  his  men  entered  them  and 
floated  down. to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  they  arrived  after  an  absence  of  three  days. 

The  two  young  women  having  been  released,  in  the  manner  previously 
described,  the  marauders  and  their  remaining  captives  marched  away  from  the 
vallev  as  rapidly  as  the  snow,  the  darkness  of  the  night  and  the  tangled  wilderness 
would  permit.  They  traveled  all  that  night  and  the  next  day,  at  the  close  of 
which  they  arrived  at  the  headwaters  of  Mehoopany  Creek,  which  empties  into 
the  Susquehanna  a  dozen  or  fifteen  miles  above  vSecord's.  Apprehending  annoying 
consequences  from  the  desertion  of  Connolly,  Lieutenant  Turney  had  changed  his 
line  of  march,  and  had  forced  his  band  and  their  captives  to  cover  a  good  deal 
of  ground — some  of  which  was  remarkably  rough  and  rocky — in  a  comparatively 
short  space  of  time.  'The  captives,  in  addition  to  having  their  arms  bound,  were 
compelled  to  carry  upon  their  backs  the  plunder  which  had  been  seized  bv  their 
captors. 

Benjamin  Harvey  was  at  this  time  in  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  his  life,  and  al- 
though a  man  of  remarkable  physique  (he  was  six  feet  and  three  inches  in  height, 
and  solidly  built),  yet  he  nearly  collapsed  under  the  strain  of  this  forced  march. 
He  was  the  oldest  man  in  the  party,  and  when  the}'  reached  Mehoopany,  where 
they  purposed  to  encamp  for  the  night,  it  seemed  certain  that  Mr.  Harvey  would 
not  be  able  to  endure  the  hardships  of  the  march  on  the  morrow-.  George  Palmer 
Ransom,  one  of  Lieutenant  Turney's  captives,  who  lived  to  an  old  age,  years  ago 
told  the  present  writer's  grandfather,  who  was  the  grandson  and  namesake  of 
Benjamin  Harvey  that  the  latter,  during  the  march  from  Plymouth  to  Mehoopany, 
after  frequently  upbraiding  Turney  for  his  heartlessness,  would  berate  and  curse 
all  Indians  in  general,  and  those  in  particular  who  were  his  captors;  and  then, 
when  almost  out  of  breath,  would  call  down  a  variety  of  imprecations  upon  the 
"British  red-coats  and  red  devils"  who  had  so  often  made  his  life  miserable.  Ran- 
som said  that  Turney  was  very  much  annoyed  by  these  outbreaks,  but  managed 
to  make  a  show  of  holding  his  temper  in  check. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  December  8th  (which  was  Friday),  Turney  and  the 
Indian  chief  held  a  consultation,  which  resulted  in  Mr.  Harvey  being  placed  in 
the  custody  of  the  Indians — evidently  to  be  disposed  of  in  whatsoever  manner 
the  latter  should  determine  upon. 

Colonel  Wright,  in  his  "Historical  Sketches  of  Plymouth"  (page  222),  says: 
"After  spending  [at  Mehoopany]  the  cold  and  chilly  night  of  December  as  they 
best  could,  in  the  morning  the  Indians  held  a  council  of  war  as  to  what  was  to  be 

after  having  them  some  time  and-  eading  them  off  a  considerable  distance.     They  made  this  stroke  on  the  night  of  the 
6th  inst  and  that  same  night  Conley  deserted  from  them.      *     *     * 

Statement  enclosed. 

"Garrison,  Wyoming.  December  7,  1780.  This  day  came  to  this  Post  Thomas  Connelly,  a  deserter  from  a  party 
of  the  enemy  of  twenty  white  men  and  five  Indians,  who  left  Niagara  twenty-two  days  before  they  arrived  here.  He 
says  he  is  originally  from  Ireland,  is  twenty  years  of  age.  came  to  this  country  in  1772.  and  has  been  a  servant  to  one 
Thomas  Williams,  an  Indian  trader,  most  of  the  time  among  the  Indians,  .\bout  a  year  ago  he  engaged  in  the  'Rangers'  ' 
service  with  Tory  Butler.  That  the  Post  at  Niagara  is  commanded  by  Brig.  Gen.  H.  Watson  Powell,  who  took  the 
command  in  February  last.  The  number  of  white  troops  is  about  600,  including  the  'Rangers'.  Sometimes  there  are 
near  2,000  Indians  there — men ,  women  and  children — who  all  draw  rations,"     *     *     * 

— From  "Pennsylvania  .\rchives".  Old  Series,  VIII:  691. 


1264 

done  with  old  Mr.  Harvey.  The  value  of  his  scalp  in  the  British  market  pre- 
ponderated the  scale  against  his  life.  The  Savages  bound  him  to  a  tree  with  thongs, 
and  fastened  his  head  in  a  position  that  he  could  move  neither  to  the  right  nor 
to  the  left.  The  old  chief  then  measured  off  the  ground  some  three  rods,  called 
the  three  young  braves,  and,  placing  a  tomahawk  in  the  hand  of  each  and  stepping 
aside,  pointed  his  finger  to  the  head  of  the  old  man.  All  this  was  done  in  silence 
and  without  the  least  emotion  depicted  upon  their  stoic  countenances. 

"The  first  one  hurled  his  tomahawk — after  giving  two  or  three  flourishes  in 
the  air — with  a  piercing  whoop.  It  fastened  itself  in  the  tree,  five  or  six  inches 
above  the  old  man's  head.  The  second  and  third  made  the  same  effort,  but  with 
like  effect.  The  whole  Indian  party  now  became  furious;  the  young  warriors, 
for  their  want  of  skill  in  this,  probably,  their  first  effort,  and  the  older  ones  from 
some  other  impulse.  An  angry  scene  ensued,  and  they  came  nearly  to  blows. 
The  old  chief  approached  the  victim  and  unloosened  his  bonds.     ***** 

"The  old  gentleman,  in  giving  an  account  of  this  [episode]  said,  that  as  each 
tomahawk  came  whizzing  through  the  air  it  seemed  as  though  it  could  not  but 
split  his  head  in  two.  That  -so  far  as  he  could  understand  from  the  Indian  dis- 
pute— having  some  knowledge  of  their  language,  though  imperfect — the  old 
chief  took  the  ground  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  interfered  and  prevented  his 
death ;  while  the  others  imputed  it  wholly  to  the  unpractised  hands  of  the  young 
braves,  and  that  'the  Great  Spirit  had  no  hand  in  the  matter.'  The  stubborn  will 
of  the  old  sachem  prevailed,  however,  and  though  in  the  minority,  his  counsel 
in  the  affair  decided  the  issue." 

Very  soon  after  this  occurrence  the  party  moved  down  the  Mehoopany  to 
the  Susquehanna,  then  up  the  river  into  New  York,  and  on  to  Fort  Niagara  by 
the  most  expeditious  route.  Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming",  pages  25  and  51  of 
the  Appendix)  says:  "On  their  way  they  suffered  much  from  cold  and  hunger, 
but  at  Tioga  Point  they  killed  a  horse,  and  then  fared  sumptuously.  *  *  * 
It  is  wonderful  that  cold,  toil,  hunger,  and  anguish  of  mind  had  not  arrested 
the  current  of  life,  and  left  them  a  prey  to  the  wolves.  *  *  *  Their  suffer- 
ings in  that  inclement  season,  bound,  loaded,  and  driven  several  hundred  miles 
through  the  wilderness  to  Canada,  no  pen  can  describe." 

While  Ivieutenant  Turney  and  his  command  and  their  captives  were  in 
"Camp  forty  miles  from  Genesee,  December  14,  1780",  Turney  wrote  to  Brig. 
Gen.  H.  Watson  Powell  at  Fort  Niagara,  and  sent  to  him  by  an  express,  the 
following  letter*  (now  printed  for  the  first  time) : 

"I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  on  the  6th  inst.  I  arrived  near  Wilksbury  Fort,  situated 
at  ye  upper  end  of  the  Shawnese  Flats,  where  I  found  some  habitations  under  the  protection  of 
the  Fort.  On  the  first  night  after  my  arrival  I  ordered  my  men  to  surround  three  of  ye  houses ; 
who,  forcing  their  way  into  them,  brought  off  seven  prisoners,  and  I  was  lucky  enough  to  prevail 
upon  the  Indians  to  leave  the  women  and  children  behind  unhurt.  I  then  determined  upon 
securing  my  retreat  as  fast  as  possible,  for  ye  ground  being  covered  with  snow,  and  the  garrison 
consisting  of  300  men,  exclusive  of  30  more  in  another  Fort  on  the  opposite  side  of  ye  River,  I  was 
apprehensive  of  being  pursued  and,  perhaps,  obliged  to  leave  my  prisoners  behind.  Should  my 
proceedings  meet  with  your  approbation  I  shall  think  myself  amply  rewarded  for  any  little  trouble 
or  fatigue  I  may  have  had  in  ye  execution. 

"I  am  thus  far  on  my  return  to  Niagara,  and  as  I  have  now  no  resource  left  for  Provisions — 
having  killed  my  Horses — I  beg  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  send  a  fresh  supply  to  meet  me  on  the 
road.  My  Party,  in  other  respects — notwithstanding  their  fatigue — are  in  good  spirits,  and  I 
have  ye  pleasure  of  observing  to  you  that  they  have  shown  ye  greatest  zeal  for  His  Majesty's 
service;  and  indeed,  from  ye  whole  of  their  conduct,  have  prov'd  themselves  worthy  of  any 
assistance  you  may  think  proper  to  send  them." 

*See  the  Canadian  Archives,  Series  B.  Vol.  100,  page  501. 


1265 

At  Fort  Niagara,  under  the  date  of  December  27,  1780,  Col.  (formerly  Maj.) 
John  Butler  wrote  to  Captain  Mathews  as  follows* : 

"Lieutenants  Turney  and  Wimple  returned  from  the  Frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  on  the 
Susquehanna  a  few  days  ago,  where  they  had  been  on  a  scout  with  twenty  Rangers.  They  sur- 
prised a  Fortified  House  in  the  night  and  took  in  it  seven  men.  By  one  of  the  prisoners  having 
an  order  from  Colonel  Butler  of  the  Rebels  (which  was  found  on  him),  directing  that  he  should 
be  furnished  with  Horses,  &c.,  and  be  forwarded  with  all  dispatch,  I  am  led  to  believe  he  was 
intrusted  with  letters,  which  he  must  have  destroyed.  The  prisoners  inform  [us]  the  crops  were 
very  fine  the  last  season  in  that  part  of  the  country.  An  express  from  New  York  for  his  Excellency, 
General  Haldimand,  joined  them.    His  dispatches,  I  am  told,  go  with  this  opportunity." 

At  Fort  Niagara,  under  the  date  of  December  28,  1780,  Brig.  General  Powell 
wrote  to  General  Haldimand  the  following  letterf  (now  printed  for  the  first 
time) : 

"I  take  the  opportunity  of  transmitting  by  Mr.  Lando,  who  is  charged  with  Dispatches  to 
Your  Excellency,  the  report  of  Lieutenant  Turney's  scout.  As  Mr.  Turney's  Family  is  in  Canada, 
I  have  given  him  leave  to  pay  them  a  visit,  and  if  you  should  have  occasion  to  send  an  express  to 
these  Posts,  I  can  recommend  him  as  a  very  proper  [person]  to  be  entrusted  with  it.  He  will 
wait  at  Montreal  for  your  orders.  I  have  given  Mr.  Lando  Ten  Pounds  Halifax  to  defray  his 
own  and  his  companion's,  Mr.  Drake,  expenses  here,  and  to  carry  him  to  Montreal." 

The  seven  Plymouth  captives  were  detained  at  Niagara  during  the  remainder 
of  the  Winter  and  through  the  Spring  of  1781,  being  lodged  with  many  other 
American  prisoners,  from  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  in  barracks  just 
outside  the  walls  of  the  fort.  About  that  time  the  British  authorities  in  Canada 
had  begun  operations  to  reclaim  the  crown  lands  which  lay  on  the  south-west 
bank  of  Niagara  River,  opposite  Fort  Niagara.  Arrangements  had  been  made  to 
found  a  settlement^  there,  and  the  lands  were  to  be  cultivated  in  order  to  raise 
supplies  of  food  for  the  support  of  the  numerous  British  Loyalists  who,  driven 
from  their  homes  throughout  the  United  States,  had  taken  refuge  at  Niagara 
(as  described  on  pages  933  and  935,  Vol.  II).  In  the  Spring  of  1781  a  number  of 
the  prisoners  at  Fort  Niagara,  including  Benjamin  Harvey  and  his  companions, 
were  taken  across  the  river  and  made  to  work  on  these  new  lands. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May,  1781,  Benjamin  Harvey  was  released  on  parole 
by  the  military  authorities  at  Fort  Niagara,  who,  evidently,  were  of  the  opinion 
that  he  was  too  aged  either  to  be  made  much  use  of  as  a  prisoner  in  their  hands, 
or,  being  back  within  the  American  lines,  to  aid  the  cause  of  the  rebels.  After 
a  long  and  tedious  journey,  occupying  more  than  five  weeks,  during  much  of 
which  time  he  sufi'ered  from  hunger  and  exposure  to  the  elements,  Mr.  Harvey 
reached  Wilkes-Barre  on  July  4,  1781. 

It  was  in  the  course  of  this  journey  homeward  that  he  discovered  (as  fully 
related  in  "The  Harvey  Book",  published  in  1899)  the  large  lake — the  largest 
within  the  limits  of  Pennsylvania — which  has  continued,  from  at  least  the  year 
1795  to  the  present  time,  to  be  popularly  and  officially  known  as  Harvey's  Lake§, 

*This  letter,  now  printed  for  the  fir^t  time,  is  in  the  Canadian  Archives,  Series  B.  Vol.  105,  p.  251. 

tSee  the  Canadian  Archives,  Series  B.  Vol.  100,  page  509. 

JThis  settlement  was  the  beginning  of  the  present  town  of  Niagara-ou-the-Lafce,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara 
River  in  the  Province  of  Ontario. 

§Harvey's  L.4KE  lies  in  the  township  of  Lake,  Luzerne  County,  north-west  of  Wiltes-Barre,  from  which  it  is 
distant  twelve  miles  in  a  bee-line,  fourteen  by  highway,  and  seventeen  by  railway.  It  is  a  long,  narrow,  irregularly- 
shaped  body  of  water,  very  much  resembling  a  crutched  cross,  or  the  letter  T.  The  main,  or  south-eastern,  arm  of  the 
lake  measures  one  mile  and  three-quarters  from  north-west  to  south-east,  and  in  ^vidth  ranges  from  1600  feet  to  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile — the  greatest  width  being  at  the  lower  end,  where  there  is  an  abrupt  broadening  to  the  west.  The 
north-eastern  arm  is  one  and  one-quarter  miles  in  length,  and  from  1400  to  1800  feet  in  width,  while  the  south-western 
arm  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length  and  averages  about  1600  feet  in  width.  The  shore  line  measures  nine  miles, 
and  the  surface  of  the  lake  lies  720  feet  above  the  low-water  level  of  tlie  Susquehanna  River  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  1226 
feet  above  mean  sea-level.    The  area  of  the  lake  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  65 1  acres. 

The  pure,  clear,  always  cold  water  of  the  lake  comes  almost  entirely  from  springs  below  its  surface,  there  being  no 
marked  inlet.  The  outlet  is  at  the  west  comer  of  the  main,  or  south-eastern  arm  of  the  lake,  and  the  outflow  forms 
Harvey's  Creek,  described  on  page  54,  Vol.  I. 

No  evidences  of  remote  or  recent  human  habitation  were  found  near  the  lake  at  the  time  of  its  discovery  by  Ben- 
jamin Harvey,  or  a  few  years  later  when  the  territory  in  its  vicinity  was  thoroughly  explored.  It  is  very  certain  that, 
until  Mr.  Harvey's  discovery  was  made,  the  existence  of  the  lake  was  quite  unknown,  not  only  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Wyoming  in  general,  but  to  the  official  explorers  and  surveyors  of  the  Pennsylvania  Proprietaries  and  of  The  Susque- 


1266 

and  to  be  so  designated — particularly  on  maps  and  in  public  documents  pub- 
lished by,  or  under  the  auspices  of  Luzerne  County  and  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  from  the  time  of  its  discovery  up  to 
the  year  1795  (the  year  of  the  discoverer's  death),  the  people  generally  through- 
out Wyoming  were  accustomed  to  call  the  lake  "Harvey*s." 

Shortly  after  Benjamin  Harvey  was  released  on  parole  at  Fort  Niagara, 
Elisha  Harvey,  George  P.  Ransom  and  young  Frisbie  of  the  Plymouth  party  of 
prisoners  were  removed  to  Montreal,  Canada.  From  there  Ransom,  known  to 
be  a  Continental  soldier,  was  sent  to  Prisoners'  Island,  forty-five  miles  up  the 
St.  Lawrence  River,  where  there  were  167  American  captives,  guarded  by  Loyal- 
ist refugees  who  belonged  to  Sir  John  Johnson's  regiment. 

About  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  EHsha  Harvey  and  his  comrades  at  Montreal, 
the  British  authorities  there  settled,  according  to  custom,  for  the  services  of  the 
Indians  who  had  aided  to  capture  the  Plymouth  people  and  convey  them  prisoners 
to  Fort  Niagara.  The  old  Seneca  chief,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  marauding 
party,  determined,  however,  that,  instead  of  accepting  a  money  consideration  for 
his  services,  he  would  take  possession  of  EHsha  Harvey.  This  was  in  accordance 
with  a  custom  which,  at  this  period,  was  much  in  vogue  among  the  Indian  allies 
of  the  British,  and  was  unquestionably  recognized  and  countenanced  by  the 
latter.* 

In  the  latter  years  of  the  Revolutionary  War  many  of  the  Six  Nation 
Indians  who,  as  allies  of  the  British,  went  out  on  the  war-path  in  the  Winter 
and  Spring  months,  spent  the  Summer  and  Autumn  in  the  western  and  north- 
western regions  of  British  American  territory  shooting  and  trapping  fur-bearing 

hanna  Company,  who  had  laid  out  manors  and  townships  in  the  Wyoming  region  during,'  the  period  from  1768  to  1775, 
as  hereinbefore  related. 

Harvey's  Lake  was  probably  known  to  the  Indians  who  at  one  time  dwelt  along  the  Susquehanna  River,  but  that 
'it  was  a  famous  resort  of  the  Indians  when  they  inhabited  Wyoming  Valley" — ^as  has  been  stated  by  a  writer^ — is 
very  doubtful.  At  the  period  when  Indians  lived  in  the  Valley  the  Susquehanna  contained  an  abundance  of  various 
kinds  of  fish,  and  it  is  hardly  to  be  believed  that  any  Indian  would  travel  uphill  twelve  miles,  through  dense  and  un- 
broken forests,  for  the  purpose  of  fishing  in  a  lake,  when  within  an  arrow's  flight  of  his  wigwam  he  might  easily  catch 
in  the  river  all  the  fish  he  needed.  In  the  year  1893  an  attempt  was  made  to  change  the  name  of  Harvey's  Lake 

the  well-known  Indian  name  ".Shawanese"  being  selected  for  christening  purposes.  Thi-^  attempted  change  was  based 
on  the  following  grounds;  A  rare  map  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  was  brought  to  light  in  the  Spring  of  1893. 
Published  at  London.  England,  in  June.  1775.  this  map  purported  that  it  had  been  "laid  down  from  actual  surveys 
and  chiefly  from  the  late  map  of  W.  Scull,  published  in  1770."  (The  "W.  Scull"  mentioned  was  William  ScuU,  some 
time  Deputy  Surveyor  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1775  and  1776  Sheriff  of  the  County  of  Northumber- 
land.) Upon  this  map,  approximately  near  the  spot  where  Harvey's  Lake  would  naturally  be  looked  for,  is  depicted  a 
large,  oval-shaped  body  of  water,  which  is  named  ■'Shawanese  Lake."  It  lies  north-east  and  south-west,  and  is  rep- 
resented as  the  source  of  "'Fishing. Creek",  which  stream,  thu  ;  marked  and  plainly  defined,  is  indicated  as  issuing  from 
the  south-west  end  of  the  lake  and  running  a  zigzag  south-westerly  course  to  the  Susquehanna  River.  Issuing  from 
"Shawanese  Lake"  at  a  point  near  its  north-east  end  a  second  stream  (to  which  no  name  is  attached)  is  shown.  Its 
course  is  nearly  south  and  it  flows  into  the  Susquehanna  at  "Wyoming  Falls"  (Nanticoke  Falls). 

As  was  to  be  expected  this  map  attracted  considerable  attention,  and  the  interest  manifested  in  it  by  those  who 
desire  to  possess  whatever  may  be  published  relating  to  the  history  and  geography  of  Pennsylvania  and  of  the  Wyom- 
ing region  was  so  marked  that,  through  the  enterprise  of  Charles  Bowman  Dougherty  and  C,  E.  Butler  of  WilkesBarre. 
the  map  was  reproduced  and  republished.  (Through  the  kindness  of  C7eneral  Dougherty  we  are  enabled  to  present 
herewith  a  reduced  photo-engraving  of  the  map). 

A  few  writers  for  the  press,  and  some  talkers,  decided  without  hesitation  in  1893  upon  a  casual  inspection  of  this 
old-time  map.  that  the  lake  thereon  noted  as  "Shawanese  Lake"  was  undoubtedly  the  one  then  and  now  known  as 
"Harvey's"  and  that  the  unnamed  stream  noted  as  flowing  from  it  was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  Harvey's  creek — 
described  more  fully  on  page  54,  Vol  I.  of  this  present  work.  However,  the  present  writer  has  conclusively,  and  at 
some  length,  proved  in  "The  Harvey  Book"  (published  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  1899)  that  the  lake  in  question  is  no  other  than 
the  beautiful.  ovaUshaped  sheet  of  water  now  known  as  Lake  Ganoga,  and  referred  to  on  page  46,  Vol.  I,  of  this  work. 

It  may  be  stated  here  that  Scull's  map  of  1770,  hereinbefore  referred  to,  was  "laid  down"  from  data  obtained  by 
him  in  1768,  1769  and  prior  years.  To  any  one  who  may  carefully  examine  a  copy  of  that  map,  and  the  map  of  1775 
(herewith  reproduced),  it  will  be  very  evident  that  the  latter  is  largely  a  detailed  reproduction  of  the  former,  with  the 
addition  of  some  new  matter  relating  to  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  Province.  Also,  it  will  be  apparent  that  both 
maps  were  constructed,  not  wholly  upon  actual  surveys  carefully  carried  out,  but  largely  upon  superficial  explorations, 
which  had  been  made  by  various  persons,  the  majority  of  whom,  without  doubt,  were  unskilled  in  topographical  and 
cartographical  arts. 

*In  this  connection  see  pages  150  and  375  Vol.  I.  Two  cases  somewhat  similar  to  the  case  of  Elisha  Harvey  may 
be  briefly  referred  to  here.  At  Ballston,  Saratoga  Co.,  New  York,  in  October,  1780,  Capt.  Elisha  Benedict  and  his  three 
sons.  Caleb,  EUas  and  Felix  together  with  other  persons,  were  surprised  in  their  beds  and  taken  prisoners  by  a  band  of 
British  and  Indians  under  Major  Monroe.  The  four  prisoners  named  above  fell  to  the  lot  of  "Captain  John",  the 
leader  of  the  Indians,  and  were  carried  to  Canada.     They  were  kept  prisoners  two  and  a-half  years. 

At  Mahoning  Creek,  near  Fort  Allen,  in  Northampton  County.  Pennsylvania  in  April.  1780,  Benjamin  Gilbert 
and  his  family,  twelve  persons  in  all,  were  taken  prisoners  by  a  band  of  Indians  and  dragged  to  Canada.  Some  members 
of  the  family  "were  given  over  to  Indians  to  be  adopted,  others  were  hired  out  by  their  Indian  owners  to  service  in 
white  families,  and  others  were  sent  down  the  lake  to  Montreal."  In  August,  1782,  all  of  the  family  who  were  still 
living  were  redeemed  and  collected  at  Montreal,  whence  they  were  returned  to  their  former  home.  In  1 790  "a  narrative 
of  the  captivity  and  sufferings  of  Benjamin  Gilbert  and  his  family"  was  published  in  book  form.  See  "Pennsylvania 
Archives",  .Second  Series,  III:  421. 


:#oV  )R-£l?'i 


Map  of   1775  Based  on  Shull's  Earlier  Map  of  1770. 

showing  that  "Shawanese  Lake"  is  not  Harvey's  Lake,  but  Lake  Ganog 


1267 

animals.  In  1665  a  Jesuit  mission  was  founded  on  the  shore  of  Green  Bay,  ii 
what  is  now  Wisconsin,  and  French  fur-traders  soon  established  in  that  locality 
trading-posts  which  continued  to  prosper  for  many  years.  Upon  the  conquest 
of  Canada  in  1763  the  Wisconsin  region  passed  under  British  control,  which 
lasted  practically  until    1815. 

Immediately  upon  gaining  possession  of  Elisha  Harvey,  the  Seneca  chief 
set  out  with  a  large  party  of  Indian  hunters  and  trappers  for  Green  Bay,  distant 
more  than  700  miles  west  by  south  from  Montreal.  Of  course,  the  young  American 
prisoner  was  compelled  to  accompany  the  party,  and  to  bear  more  than  his  share 
of  the  toils  and  hardships  incident  to  the  expedition.  Starvation  and  plenty 
alternated.  Then,  too,  the  fur  trade  often  meant  fighting  with  hostile  Indians 
and  out  manoeuvering  rivals.  Many  natural  obstacles  had  to  be  met  and  over- 
come, also. 

An  Indian  would  kill  600  beavers  in  a  season,  but  owing  to  difficulties  of 
carriage  he  could  dispose  of  only  one-sixth  of  them.  When  sold  for  money  to 
Europeans  beaver-skins  brought  6s.  2d.  per  pound;  wolf-skins,  15s.;  bear-skins, 
16s.;  and  deer-skins,  2s.  2d.  per  pound.  A  current  account  of  the  standard  of 
barter  shows  that  one  and  a-half  pounds  of  gunpowder,  or  five  pounds  of  shot,  or 
twelve  dozen  buttons,  or  two  red  feathers,  or  twenty  fish-hooks,  or  a  pair  of 
shoes,  or  a  blue  and  white  check  shirt  could  be  exchanged  with  an  Indian  for  one 
beaver-skin.  Blackfeet  Indians  would  sell  a  woman  for  one  gun,  but  for  a  horse 
ten  guns  were  demanded. 

All  these  things  and  much  more  EHsha  Harvey  learned  before  he  got  back 
to  the  habitations  of  civilized  men,  which  was  not  until  the  close  of  the  year  1781. 
The  expedition  had  been  a  very  successful  one,  and  when  the  party  returned  to 
Montreal  the  Indians  had  a  large  quantity  of  furs  and  pelts  which  they  soon  sold ; 
"but",  says  Colonel  Wright  in  his  "Historical  Sketches  of  Plymouth,"  "in  the 
course  of  a  month  they  had  used  up  the  proceeds  in  riot  and  dissipation.  Our 
Seneca  brave  then  began  casting  about  for  a  market  for  his  prisoner,  which  he 
found  became  necessary,  as  he  had  not  the  means  of  subsistence  for  himself, 
much  less  for  poor  Harve}'.  He  finally  stumbled  on  a  Scotchman,  who  was  a 
small  dealer  in  Indian  commodities,  and,  after  a  half  day's  bantering  and  talk,  in 
which  the  good  qualities  of  Harvey  were  highly  extolled  by  the  old  chief, they  at  last 
settled  upon  the  price  to  be  paid  for  Elisha,  which  was  a  half-barrel  of  rum  .'* 

"He  now  went  behind  the  counter  of  his  new  master,  and  was  duly  installed 
in  the  mysteries  and  secrets  of  an  Indian  trader.  Among  the  first  lessons  he 
learned  the  important  fact  that  the  hand  weighed  two  pounds  and  the  foot  four  I 
Under  this  sj^stem  of  avoirdupois  there  never  occurred  any  fractions.  The  weight 
always  came  out  in  even  pounds.  Our  prisoner  became  a  great  favorite  with  his 
new  master,  who  was  a  bachelor,  and  promised  to  make  him  the  heir  of  his  estate 
if  he  would  assume  his  name  and  become  his  child  by  adoption.  Elisha  openly 
favored  the  idea,  but  his  secret  thoughts  were  centered  on  old  Shawnee." 

In  the  Spring  of  1782,  Elisha  Harvey  managed  to  communicate  with  his 
father  at  Plymouth,  and  the  latter  being  thus  informed  as  to  his  son's  where- 
abouts, immediately  took  steps  to  have  him  restored  to  liberty  and  permitted  to 
return  home. 

The  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown  in  October,  1781,  was  vir- 
tually the  end  of  the  war  between  England  and  America,  and  during  the  Spring 

*.As  to  the  sale  by  Indians  of  their  captives,  see  page  375.  Vol.  I 


1268 

and  Summer  of  1782  the  main  part  of  the  American  army  lay  along  the  Hudson 
River  from  Peekskill  to  Newburg  (where  Washington  had  his  headquarters) 
watching  Sir  Guy  Carleton  and  his  British  forces  still  in  the  occupancy  of  the 
city  of  New  York  and  its  vicinity. 

Early  in  May,  1782,  Maj.  Gen.  Henry  Knox,  Chief  of  Artillery  on  the  staff 
of  General  Washington,  and  Gouverneur  Morris,  some  years  later  United  States 
Minister  to  France,  were  appointed  Commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  to  arrange  a  general  exchange  of  prisoners;  but  the  difficulties  in  the  way 
were  so  great  that  no  satisfactory  arrangements  could  be  effected.  In  May, 
1782,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  then  in  command  of  the  4th  Regiment,  Connecticut 
Line,  stationed  at  "Camp  Highlands",  near  West  Point,  on  the  Hudson,  paid  a 
visit  to  his  family  at  Wilkes-Barre.  Benjamin  Harvey  immediately  consulted 
him  with  reference  to  procuring  the  release  of  Elisha  Harvey,  and  the  following 
plan  was  finally  determined  upon  : 

Capt.  Alexander  Mitchell  of  the  New  Jersey  Line  being  at  this  time  in  com- 
mand of  Fort  Wyoming,  and  Adam  Bowman  being  still  held  a  prisoner  there 
under  the  sentence  imposed  by  the  court-martial  in  1780  (see  page  1253)  it 
was  agreed  by  Colonel  Butler  and  Captain  Mitchell  that  Bowman  should  be 
delivered  into  the  custody  of  Benjamin  Harvey.  He,  carrying  certain  documents 
to  be  furnished  by  Colonel  Butler,  would  convey  the  prisoner  to  Montreal  and 
exchange  him  for  Elisha  Harvey — who,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  been  one  of 
the  militiamen  who  captured  Bowman. 

What  authority  these  officers  had  for  making  this  arrangement  is  not  now 
known,  but  the  fact  remains  that  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1782,  Benjamin 
Harvey  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  on  horseback,  having  in  custody,  mounted 
upon  a  second  horse  belonging  to  himself,  the  prisoner  Adam  Bowman.  They 
journeyed  over  the  mountains  to  the  Delaware,  and  thence  to  Esopus  (now 
Kingston)  on  the  Hudson.  Here  they  turned  northward,  designing  to  travel 
the  direct  route  to  Montreal,  via  Lakes  George  and  Champlain. 

In  due  time  the  travelers  reached  Saratoga,  which  was  one  of  the  American 
outposts.  Here  they  were  stopped  by  the  officer  in  command  of  the  post,  who 
took  Bowman  away  from  Mr.  Harvey  and  sent  him  in  charge  of  guards  down  to 
West  Point,  a  distance  of  about  120  miles.  The  officer  claimed  that  the  authority 
by  which  the  prisoner  was  being  conducted  to  Canada  was  either  too  informal 
and  insufficient,  or  was  wholly  illegal. 

Benjamin  Harvey  accompanied  Bowman  and  his  guards  to  West  Point, 
and  then  crossing  the  Hudson  went  in  hot  haste  to  the  Connecticut  camp,  a 
mile  and  a-half  distant,  to  inform  Colonel  Butler  as  to  the  condition  of  affairs. 
Arriving  at  the  camp  of  the  4th  Regiment  he  found  that  the  Colonel  had  set  out 
for  Wilkes-Barre  the  day  before,  on  leave  of  absence.  As  soon  as  possible  Mr. 
Harvey  started  for  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  arrived  on  vSunday,  July  21st.  Colonel 
Butler  had  arrived  there  on  the  19th  (see  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  IX:  622). 

Mr.  Harvey  attended  to  some  necessary  matters  at  his  home,  and  on  July 
29th  left  Wilkes-Barre  for  West  Point,  bearing  a  certificate  from  Colonel  Butler 
reading  as  follows:* 

"These  certify  that  Adam  Bowm.an  now  a  prisoner  of  War  to  the  United  States  of  America 
was  taken  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Westmoreland  and  brought  to  this  Garrison  sometime  in  1780 
when  I  commanded  this  post  and  upon  application  made  to  me  by  Mr.  Benjamin  Harvey 
for  the  prisoner  to  send  him  to  Montreal  and  exchange  for  his  son  then  and  yet  is  in  captivity — 
!  ^till  in  existence,  in  the  possession  of  a  descendent  of   Benjamin   Harvey.     A  photo-re- 


1269 


which  request  I  granted  and  Mr.  Harvey  at  his  own  expense  did  take  the  prisoner  from  this 
place  to  Saratoga  for  the  above  purpose  and  I  have  been  informed  that  he  has  for  some  reason  been 
sent  from  there  down  to  Westpoint  or  its  vicinity — and  should  yet  request  that  Mr.  Harvev 
may  be  indulged  with  the  prisoner  for  the  purpose  of  redeeming  his  son. 

[Signed]     "Zebn.  Butler, 
•■Wyoming  July  29th  1782  Col.,  4th  Connect.  Regt." 

"To  the  Officer  in  Whose  custody  the  Prisoner  may  be." 


it"'''-"     '•    ^  '  ..;    '   y      ■'.-*. '.'./ ^ ,    ,„ 


/ 


Reduced  photo. reproduction  of  the  certificate  delivered  to  Benja 


■  by  Colonel  Butler. 


When  Mr.  Harvey  was  nearing  West  Point,  he  determined  that  he  would 
.s:o  on  up  the  river  to  Newburg  and  present  his  case  to  General  Washington. 
The  General,  after  reading  Colonel  Butler's  "certificate",  and  asking  for  fuller 
information  concerning  the  case,  sent  Mr.  Harvey  in  charge  of  an  orderly  with  a 
note  to  General  Knox.  The  latter  ordered  that  Adam  Bowman  should  be  re- 
delivered into  the  custody  of  Mr.  Harvey,  who,  the  next  day  started  for  Canada 
provided  with  proper  passports.  The  journey  was  made  by  the  two  men  without 
further  interruption,  and,  Montreal  having  been  reached,  the  exchange  of  EHsha 
Harvey  was  effected — not,  however,  without  some  unpleasant  experiences  and 
annoying  delays.  Father  and  son  set  out  on  their  homeward  journey  as  soon  as 
possible,  EHsha  riding  the  horse  which  had  been  used  by  Adam  Bowman. 

Capt.  John  Franklin,  at  his  home  in  Wilkes-Barre,  recorded  in  his  diary 
under  the  date  of  September  10,  1782:  'Mr.  Harvey  returned  from  captivity. 
Sent  home  on  parole."* 

"^With  respect  to  prisoners  from  Westmoreland  in  the  hand^  of  the  British,  the  present  writer  has  ju^t  reid  in  the 
'Public  Papers  of  George  Clinton."  V:523,  a  letter  from  certain  Commissioners  at  Johnstown.  N  V  ,  to  Governor  Clin- 
tun.  under  the  date  of  March  7,  1780,  transmitting  a  "list  of  people  taken  on  the  Susquehanna."  The  Commissioners 
-u^'fiest  that  the  Governor  may  have  it  in  his  power  "to  relieve  them."  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  list: 
'  \  list  of  prisoners  taken  from  W'voming — lames  Bidlacfc.  Jo'h  Church.  Tonathan  Smith.  Jacob  Van  Gorder. — Case. 
Slocum  child  [Frances  Slocum].  Kjngsley  cliild.  Stephen  Parriih.  Mrs.  Hageman.  Leonora  Hageman,  Bubben  Jones. 
Zehulon  Parrish.  Jasper  Parrish,  Stephen  Kimball.  *  +  *  From  the  Susquehanna — Sarah  Lester  and  Hannah 
Le-ter.  children  belonging  to  the  widow  Lester,  prisoners  at  Genesee:  Ebenezer  Williams,  belonging  to  the  same  family." 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing,  see  page  1045  and  note  on  page  1 106,  Vol.  IL 


CHAPTER    XX 

COL.    ZEBULON    BUTLER    AND    THE    WESTMORELAND    TROOPS    GARRISONING 

FORT   WYOMING   TRANSFERRED    TO     OTHER     POSTS— LARGE     LOSSES 

SUSTAINED    BY    THE     INHABITANTS    OF    WESTMORELAND     IN 

THE     YEARS      1778-'81— THE     LAST    SCALP    TAKEN     BY 

■    INDIANS    IN  THE  WYOMING  VALLEY— THE   END 

OF  THE  WAR    OF  THE    REVOLUTION 


"The  highways  lie  waste,  the  wayfaring  man  ccascth       *     ' 
The  earth  motirncth  and  languishcth."     — Isaiah.  XXXIII:  S,  0, 


"By  reason  of  the  multitude  of  oppressions  they  make  the  oppressed  to  ery;  they  cry  out 
by  reason  of  the  arm  of  the  mighty  "     — Job,  XXX  I';  '). 


"They  all  hold  swords   being  expert  in  war;  every  man  hath  his  sword  uijon  his  thi^rh  be- 
cause of  fear  in  the  night  "     — The  Sont^  of  Solomon.  Ill    S . 


About  this  time  the  Pennamite-Yankee  controversy,  concerning  the  title 
to  the  Wyoming  lands,'  which  had  remained  so  quiescent  since  the  close  of  the 
year  1775  that  it  seemed  hardly  to  exist,  was  beginning  to  take  on  new  vigor. 
The  State  of  Pennsylvania,  considering  that  she  was  supplying  provisions  to 
what  was  practically  a  hostile  camp,  had  stopped  the  shipment  of  stores  in  Octo- 
Vjer,  1780,  and  the  situation  at  Fort  Wyoming  at  the  beginning  of  the  Winter  of 
17SO-'81  was  really  critical. 

As  a  result  of  the  urgent  efforts  made  by  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith  and 
Hugh  Forseman  at  Philadelphia  in  the  Autumn  of  1780  (in  behalf  of  Colonel 
Butler,  commanding  the  Wyoming  post),  to  secure  from  the  Continental  Board 
of  War  and  the  Commissary  General  of  Purchases,  money  and  provisions  for  the 
troops  at  Wilkes-Barre,  the  Board  of  War  sent  a  communication  on  the  subject 
to  Congress,  under  the  date  of  November  28,  1780.  This  was  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee, who  on  December  12,  1780,  made  a  report  to  Congress  as  follows:* 

"That  in  their  opinion  the  causes  of  the  distress  under  which  the  Garrison  of  Wyoming 
now  labors,  and  has  labored  for  some  time  past,  originate  from  a  jealousy  subsisting  between  the 
States  of  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut  on  account  of  a  territorial  claim.  They  find  however, 
that  the  Post  of  Wyoming  was  originally  established  by  Congress  as  a  necessary  means  for  the 

*See  ■Journak  of  the  Continental  Congress"'.  XVIII:  1147. 


No.  I.    WELL    .  ^^  .„r- 

No.  z  0rFict/aOi>MT^'<s20*40firr. 
No.  S.CoLoMfisquAHTOislS'dOfffr. 
No.  4  BWfiA<:taiS*30F£ET 
No.  S.Bahhacks-*'-    •■ 

Ao.  6 X"    ' 

A/0.  7    ••     ••   .    ••*•■    • 
No  8  SoLDliK5BAfV{/VJ^ZS'30f££T. 
Mo.9  BAfi/iWKSZf'30r££T. 
Ao.  /o.Macazine. 


Plan  of  Fort  Augusta  at  Sunbury 


1271 

defense  of  a  frontier  and  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  inhabitants  of  that  Quarter  from  the 
encroachments  of  the  Savages.  That  ever  since  its  estabhshment  it  has  been  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Congress,  the  Board  of  War,  or  the  Commander-in-chief;  has  been  garrisoned  by  Conti- 
riental  officers  and  soldiers,  and  supplied  with  provisions  from  the  Continental  stores. 

"They  do  not,  therefore,  think  it  advisable  that  this  post  should  be  discontinued  by  Con- 
gress until  they  are  informed  by  the  Commander-in-chief  that  it  is  unnecessary  for  the  general 
defense.  But  your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  becoming  the  wisdom  of  Congress,  at  the 
same  time  that  they  carefully  guard  the  citizens  of  these  States  against  the  attacks  of  the  common 
enemy,  to  remove,  as  far  as  is  in  their  power,  every  caust  of  jealousy  or  discontent  between  States 
which  might  endanger  the  harmony  of  the  general  Union." 

This  report  having  first  been  fully  discussed,  Congress  proceeded  the  same 
day  to  adopt  the  following  resolutions: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Commander-in-chief  be  directed,  if  he  shall  judge  the  post  at  Wyom- 
ing necessary,  to  relieve  the  garrison  there,  as  soon  as  may  be,  by  troops  from  the  Continental 
army  not  belonging  to  the  lines  of  Pennsylvania  or  Connecticut,  or  citizens  of  either  of  the  said 
States;  and  that  the  present  and  future  garrison  continue  to  be  supplied  by  the  Commissary 
General  from  the  magazines  of  the  Continent,  by  purchase,  or  out  of  the  quota  of  provisions 
raised  by  any  State  for  the  use  of  the  Continent. 

"Resolved,  That  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  be  informed  of  the  steps  Congress  have  taken 
to  remove  every  subject  of  jealousy  or  discontent,  and  that  they  be  requested  to  order  the 
supplies  which  were  stopped  by  Lieutenant*  Hunter,  on  their  progress  to  Wyoming,  to  be  imme- 
diately forwarded  to  that  garrison,  to  relieve  its  present  urgent  distresses." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  December  18,  1780,  Colonel  Butler 
wrote  to  Col.  Ephraim  Blaine  (previously  mentioned)  in  part  as  follows  :t 

"The  Commissary  of  this  Post  waited  on  you  and  you  ordered  him  100  head  of  cattle, 
which  arrived  safe.  His  order  for  flour  and  liquor  was  refused.  As  soon  as  possible  I  sent  an 
Express  to  have  the  flour,  &c.,  ready,  and  a  letter  to  Col.  [Samuel]  Hunter  to  know  if  his  orders 
continued  in  force  respecting  the  stopping  of  provisions  coming  to  this  Post.  He  informed  me 
they  did;  but  if  I  could  produce  him  an  order  from  Congress  it  would  be  all  right." 

When  he  wrote  this  letter,  Colonel  Butler  had  not  yet  learned  that  six  days 
previously  Congress  had  voted  to  request  the  Pennsylvania  authorities  to  order 
that  the  supplies  detained  at  Sunbury  should  be  forwarded  to  Fort  Wyoming, 
and  had  directed  General  Washington  to  relieve  the  garrison  at  the  Wyoming 
post  by  Continental  troops,  not  from  either  Pennsylvania  or  Connecticut. 

At  his  headquarters  at  New  Windsor,  on  the  Hudson,  under  the  date  of 
December  29,  1780,  General  Washington  wrote  to  Colonel  Butler  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  in  part  as  follows :{ 

"Congress  having,  in  order  to  remove  all  cause  of  jealousy  and  discontent  between  the 
States  of  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut,  directed  me  to  withdraw  the  present  garrison  of  Wyoming 
and  to  replace  them  with  troops  from  the  Continental  army  not  belonging  to  the  Line  of  Penn- 
sylvania or  Connecticut,  or  citizens  of  either  of  the  said  States,  I  have  for  that  purpose  ordered 
Captain  Mitchell;!,  of  the  Jersey  Line,  to  relieve  you.  You  will,  therefore,  upon  his  arrival, 
deliver  up  the  post  to  him,  and  march  with  all  the  men  at  present  under  your  command,  and  join 
the  army  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  place. 

"I  am  well  aware  of  the  difficulty  which  there  will  be  of  bringing  away  the  men  of  Ransom's!| 
company,  but  I  trust  and  shall  expect,  that  you  will  exert  yourself  to  do  it  effectually;  because, 
if  they  remain  behind  in  any  numbers,  it  would  seem  like  an  intention  to  evade  the  Resolve  above 
cited.  You  will,  before  you  march,  give  Captain  Mitchell  every  necessary  information  respecting 
the  situation  of  the  country,  and  make  him  acquainted  with  those  characters  upon  whom  he  can 
depend  for  advice  and  intelligence  in  case  of  an  incursion  of  the  enemy." 

The  order  for  the  removal  from  the  Wyoming  post  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler, 
the  company  of  Capt.  Simon  Spalding  (which  was  wholly  composed  of  West- 
moreland, or  Wyoming  men),  and  the  few  other  soldiers — both  Continentals 
and  militia — who  claimed  Westmoreland  as  their  home,  shows  the  influence 
which  was  exercised  by  the  Pennsylvania  party  to  the  Wyoming  controversv  at 

*Lieutenant  of  the  County  of  Northumberland.  Pennsylvania. 

tXhe  original  draft  of  this  letter  is  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 
ISee  Upham's  "Life  of  Timothy  Pickering",  II:  231. 

§Ai.EX.«Jl>ER  Mitchell.     He  was  a  Captain  in  the  1st  New  Jersey  Regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Matthias  Ogden, 
and  took  part  with  his  regiment  in  the  Sullivan  Expedition. 

nd   and   was  referring   to,   the 


1272 

the  end  of  the  year  1780,  and  to  which  the  General  Government  had  to  yield. 

At  Wyoming,  January  3,    1781,   Hugh  Forseman,   previously  mentioned, 

wrote   to   Col.    David    Deshler,    Commissioner   of   Purchases   in    Northampton 

County,  Pennsylvania,  in  part  as  follows:* 

"By  virtue  of  a  late  Resolve  of  Congress  respecting  furnishing  this  garrison  with  provisions 
the  Commanding  Officer  hath  directed  me  to  apply  to  you  'or  some  flour  and  liquor,  of  which  I 
hope  you  will  forward  about  twenty  barrels  of  flour  and  four  or  five  barrels  of  liquor;  and  let  me 
know  by  the  bearer,  Captain  (Anthony]  Selin,  when  it  will  be  on  the  way,  that  a  guard  may  be 
sent  to  escort  it.  The  necessity  for  flour  is  great,  as  the  troops  have  had  neither  flour  nor  liquor 
this  three  months  past,  and  been  obliged  to  live  on  Indian  meal."     *     *     * 

At   Allentown,   in   Northampton   County,   January   8,    1781,    Col.    David 

Deshler,  above  mentioned,  wrote  to  Col.  Jacob  Morgan,  State  Commissary,  at 

Philadelphia,  in  part  as  follows  if 

"Colonel  Butler  at  Wyoming  has  applied  to  me  for  flour  and  liquor,  as  the  navigation  down 
the  Susquehanna  at  this  time  is  stopped  by  the  frost.  I  purpose  to  send  him  two  loads  of  flour 
and  one  load  of  whiskey  against  the  13th  inst.  Colonel  Butler  informs  me  if  there  was  cash  sent 
up  to  Wyoming  there  is  grain  enough  to  be  purchased  there  to  supply  that  Post.  If  I  had  orders 
and  money,  the  carriage  of  provisions  to  that  place  might  be  saved." 

Notwithstanding  the  "hard  times"  prevailing  at  and  about  Wilkes-Barre, 
in  the  Winter  of  1780-'81,  some  attention  was  given  by  the  inhabitants  to  the 
social  affairs  of  life.  Singing  meetings,  called  in  the  language  of  the  day  "Cho- 
ruses", "were  the  amusements  of  the  evening"  says  Miner;  who  also  records  that 
"on  Sunday,  January  18th,  Joseph  KinneyJ  and  Sarah  Spalding  were  called  off, 
that  is,  their  banns  were  published;  and  on  Thursday  the  22d  they  were  married- 
It  was  an  occasion  of  unusual  festivity  and  joy.  The  bride  was  the  eldest  daughter 
of  Capt.  Simon  Spalding."     (See  note,  page  981,  Vol.  II.) 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  in  January,  1781,  on  receipt  of  the  news  that  the  West- 
moreland soldiers  of  the  Wyoming  garrison  were  to  be  relieved  by  New  Jersey 
troops,  the  following  document§  was  prepared. 

To  the  Honourable  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  or  in  their  Recess 
to  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  and  Council  of  Safety  for  said  State — 

"Humbly  Sheweth  that  your  Humble  Pititioners  whose  Names  are  hereafter  Subscribed 
Humbly  Beg  leave  to  lay  before  your  Honours  this  our  present  state  and  situation. 

"Your  Pititioners  in  the  year  1776  Inlisted  in  the  Contl.  Service  under  the  command  of 
Captains  Durkee  and  Ransom  by  special  order  of  the  Continental  Congress,  for  the  defence  of 
this  Place  and  the  fronteers,  but  Contrary  to  our  expectations  were  in  a  few  months  after  our 
engagements  call'd  away  to  join  the  Contl.  Army  under  his  Excellency  General  Washington, 
where  we  continued  almost  two  years,  which  was  so  great  a  trouble  to  us  in  leaving  our  families 
exposed  to  be  ravaged  by  the  Savages  that  one  half  of  our  companies  died  in  the  service. 

"In  the  time  of  our  being  in  the  Contl.  Army  the  enemy  made  an  incursion,  and  in  a  most 
barbarous  and  inhuman  manner  kill'd  numbers  of  our  parents  and  friends,  and  destroyed  all  our 
eflfects  and  left  our  wives,  families,  friends,  and  parents  in  the  most  distressed  situation.  His 
Excellency  General  Washington,  Knowing  of  the  Indians  being  on  the  fronteers,  ordered  us  back 
to  this  Place,  where  the  enemy  were  in  actual  possession.  When  we  marched  in  on  the  3d  of 
August,  1778  (same  time  we  could  get  no  other  troops  to  assist  us)  attacked  the  enemy  and  drove 
them  off — where  we  have  continued  since  through  a  series  of  troubles  on  account  of  different 
incursions  from  the  Indians — where  we  have  with  our  wages  and  some  little  help  from  the  Con- 
tinent supported  our  families. 

"If  we  could  stay  here  we  might  support  them  without  any  expences  to  this  State;  but  we 
are  again  ordered  to  march  out,  and  the  garrison  to  be  relieved  with  other  troops.  Yet  what 
relief  can  we  expect,  as  we  must  leave  our  families  exposed  to  be  again  Ravaged  by  the  Indians 
and  probably  all  murdered. 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  VIII:  697. 
tSee  ibid,  page  702. 

t"Mr.  Kinney,"  says  Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming",  page  293),  "was  a  learned  and  accomplished  gentleman,  of 
a  peculiarly  philosophic  turn  of  mind.  He  settled  at  Sheshequin.  and  had  a  large  family.  One  of  his  sons  represented 
Bradford  County  for  several  years  in  the  Assembly.  I  well  remember  the  ingenuity  with  which  he  [the  father]  used  to 
controvert  the  theory  that  the  Sun  was  a  ball  of  fire.  He  was  a  brother  of  Newcome  Kinney,  known  in  1785  as  the 
popular  writing  and  schoolmaster  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  and  afterwards  member  of  the  Connecticut  Assembly." 

§The  original  is  to  be  found  in  the  collections  of  the  State  Library  at  Hartford   Connecticut. 


1273 


"Therefore  your  Humble  Pititioners  humbly  pray  a  discharge  from  the  service,  or  pray 
\our  Honours  through  your  great  wisdom  to  advise  some  other  way  to  support  them.  Which 
vour  Pititioners  is  ever  bound  to  pray — 

Dated  Westmoreland  ye  23d  Jany.  A.  D.  1781.* 


Elisha  Satterlee 
John  Swift 
Jeams  Brown 
William  Carral 
Nathaniel  Church 
Gideon  Church 
Israel  Harding 
Richard  Woodcock 
James  Wells 
William  Kellogg 
William  Terry 
Ira  Stephens 
Asa  Burnham 
James  Bagley 
William  McClure 
John  Carey 
Lawrence  Kinney 

"We  the  subscribers  do  certify  that  the  [facts  set  forth  in  the]  foregoing  memorial  are  truly 
represented.     Certified  by  us — 

[Signed]  "Zebn.  Butler,  Col. 

"Simon  Spalding,  Capt. 
"John  Jenkins,  Lieut. 


Thomas  McClure 
Frederick  Eveland 
Thomas  Baldwin 
Thomas  Niell 
Mason  F.  Alden 
Benj'n  Cole 
Azel  Hyde 
Daniel  Denton 
Elisha  Matthewson 
Benjamin  Clark 
John  Halstead 
Richard  Halstead 
Rufus  Bennet 
Moses  Brown 
Oliver  Bennet 
Elijah  Walker 
Nathaniel  Evans 


Elisha  Garrett 
Waterman  Baldwin 
Amos  Ormsby 
William  French 
Benjamin  Cole,  Jr. 
Henry  Harding 
Nathaniel  WilHams 
Isaac  Benjamin 
David  Brown 
Obadiah  Walker 
Constant  Searle 
William  Smith 
Wm.  Cornelius 
Ambrose  Gaylord 
Justus  Gaylord 


"The  inhabitants  togather  with  the  authority  and  Selectmen  of  the  town  of  Westmoreland 
humbly  beg  leave  to  request  that  the  foregoing  Pitition  may  be  granted,  as  these  men  are  Inhabi- 
tants of  this  town  and  make  a  considerable  part  of  our  present  strength.  Being  acquainted  with 
the  country  and  able  to  meet  the  enemy  in  their  own  way,  and  many  of  them  having  families  and 
helpless  parents  whose  dependence  are  on  them  for  their  support — which  must  be  burthensome 
to  the  few  Inhabitants  that  are  left  if  these  men  be  called  out. 

"And  as  these  men  were  not  raised  at  the  expence  of  the  State,  so  they  cannot  be  recon'd 
to  the  credit  of  any  town  except  Westmoreland. 

"As  in  duty  bound — do  pray. 

"We  the  Selectmen  sign  for  our  Selves  and  in  behalf  of  the  Inhabitants  at  their  Request 
[Signed]  "John  Hurlbut,  ) 

"James  NiSBiTT,   '^  Select  Men." 
"Westmoreland  Jany,  23d  A.  D.  1781.  "Jabez  Sill,  J 

At  the  same  time  that  the  foregoing  document  was  prepared  the  foUowingf, 
addressed  to  the  General  Assembh^  of  Connecticut,  was  also  prepared  and  signed 
at  Wilkes-Barre. 

"The  memorial  of  the  subscribers  sheweth.  That  your  Honors'  memorialists  enlisted  into 
the  service  of  this  State,  in  ye  Continental  array,  under  Captains'  [Solomon]  Strong  and  [WiUiam] 
Judd,  in  ye  year  1777;  that  we  cheerfully  went  out  into  ye  service  of  our  country,  leaving  our 
families  in  this  town;  that  in  ye  year  1778  the  enemy  destroyed  this  place,  as  your  Honors  well 
know,  but  by  special  favor  of  his  Excellency,  General  Washington,  we  have  since  that  time  been 
continued  here,  where  we  have  done  duty  under  ye  command  of  Captain  Simon  Spalding,  who  is 
now,  by  a  late  Resolve  of  ye  Continental  Congress,  ordered  to  leave  this  garrison,  where  some  of 
our  families  are,  and  all  of  us  are  inhabitants  of  this  town,  which  is  a  frontier,  and  are  daily  ex- 
posed to  ye  ravages  of  ye  enemy,  where  our  families  must  either  be  left  or  removed  out  into  ye 
country  or  Camp. 

"Wherefore  your  Honors'  memorialists  humbly  beg  leave  to  lay  this  our  state  and  condition 
Ijefore  your  Honors,  that  your  Honors,  in  your  great  goodness,  will  order  that  we  may  be  dis- 
charged from  our  enlistment,  that  we  may,  without  expense  to  the  State,  support  ourselves  and 
families,  and  that  in  wisdom  your  Honors  interpose  in  our  behalf,  or  some  way  grant  relief;  and 
we,  as  in  duty  bound,  will  ever  pray.  [Signed] 

"John  Ryon,  John  Oakley, 

"Lemuel  Whitman,  John  Platmore, 

"John  Jackson,  John  Pencill." 

"Westmoreland,  ye  23d  day  of  January,  1781. 


"The  within  is  a  true  representation  of  facts,  and  we,  the  subscribers,  beg  leave  to  request 
your  Honors  that  this  memorial  may  be  granted,  as  these  men  are  good  inhabitants,  being  in- 
dustrious men  and  much  wanted  in  this  exposed  part  of  ye  country,  and  serve  to  strengthen  ye 
particular  interest  of  this  State;  for  if  this  town  be  not  again  destroyed  by  ye  enemy,  we  hope,  in 

*Judging  by  the  handwriting  and  the  spelling  of  some  of  the  names  attached  to  this  memorial,  these  names  were 
not  written  by  the  men  themselves,  but  by  some  one  for  them. 

tThe  original  is  in  the  collections  of  the  State  Library  at  Hartford  Connecticut. 


1274 

a  few  years,  to  be  able  to  throw  a  considerable  sum  of  cash  into  ye  treasury  of  this  State,  and  make 
some  returns  for  your  Honors  great  goodness  in  granting  so  many  of  our  requests.  And  your 
petitioners,  as  in  duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray. 

"Signed  at  the  particular  request  of  ye  inhabitants. 

[Signed]  "John  Hurlbut,  ^ 

"James  Nisbitt,   y  Select  Men" 
"Westmoreland,  23d  January,  1781.  "JabEz  SiLL,  J 

The  two  foregoing  memorials  were  presented  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
Connecticut  at  a  special  session  held  in  February,  1781;  whereupon  a  joint- 
committee,  consisting  of  Col.  Eliphalet  Dyer,  General  Hart,  Major  Bray  and 
Captain  Stanley,  was  appointed  by  the  Assembly  to  consider  the  prayers  of  the 
memorialists.  In  due  time  the  committee  reported  that,  in  their  opinion,  "the 
memorialists  ought  to  be  discharged  from  the  service;  and  that  the  Governor 
be  requested  to  write  to  the  Delegates  of  the  State  in  Congress  to  represent 
the  state  of  the  case  and  apply  for  their  discharge;  and  if  they  cannot  obtain 
their  discharge,  that  they  obtain  liberty  for  them  to  be  continued  in  service  at 
said  Westmoreland;  and  that  the  Governor  be  requested  to  write  to  General 
Washington,  informing  him  of  the  application  and  requesting  him  to  give  liberty 
to  them  to  remain  at  Westmoreland  under  the  command  of  Captain  Mitchell, 
until  the  pleasure  of  Congress  may  be  known." 

At  this  same  session  the  Assembly  resolved  "that  all  the  State  taxes  arising 
on  the  list  of  the  year  1780,  in  the  town  of  Westmoreland,  be  and  the  same  are 
hereby  abated." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  January  26,  1781,  the  Hon.  Joseph  Reed, 
President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  wrote  to  Capt. 
Alexander  Mitchell  in  part  as  follows:* 

"It  is  with  great  satisfaction  we  have  heard  that,  agreeable  to  a  resolution  of  Congress 
General  Washington  has  appointed  you  to  the  command  of  the  garrison  at  Wyoming.  As  a  dis- 
puted territory  between  two  States,  we  have  no  doubt  you  will  observe  an  impartial  and  disinter- 
ested attention  to  your  trust,  and  rectify  the  abuses  which  have  long  prevailed  at  that  place 
while  under  an  interested  Commander.  These  were  principally  encouraging  settlers  of  all  characters 
and  denominations  to  occupy  the  disputed  lands  contrary  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  enclosed 
Resolution  of  Congress.  And  secondly,  distributing  supplies,  ostensibly  for  the  garrison,  to  such 
settlers  under  the  denomination  of  officers  and  soldiers. 

"You  and  your  people  will  doubtless  be  tempted  by  offers  of  land,  and  other  artifices,  to 
engage  you  in  their  interests  and  favor  their  views,  which  are  to  strengthen  themselves  in  number 
and  possession,  so  as  when  occasion  serves  to  substitute  force  instead  of  Right.     *     *     * 

"Sensible  of  the  abuses  practised  at  the  Post,  we  refused  to  permit  supplies  to  pass  until 
they  were  rectified;  but  as  we  are  now  fuUy  satisfied  with  the  arrangement  made,  I  enclose  you  a 
letter  to  Colonel  Hunterf,  Lieutenant  of  Northumberland  County,  and  to  our  Commissioner 
there,  directing  them  to  forward  all  necessary  supplies  to  that  Post  as  heretofore."     *     *     *     * 

On  the  same  day  President  Reed  wrote  to  Colonel  Hunter  (mentioned 
above)  at  Sunbury,  in  part  as  follows  tj 

"The  Congress  having  lately,  on  our  representations,  passed  a  Resolve  directing  General 
Washington  to  garrison  the  Post  at  Wyoming  with  troops  of  a  State  indifferent  to  the  dispute 
subsisting  between  this  State  and  Connecticut;  and  his  Excellency  having,  agreeable  thereto, 
ordered  a  detachment  of  the  Jersey  Line  under  Captain  Mitchell  to  occupy  that  Post,  we  now 
think  it  our  duty  to  revoke  the  order  formerly  given  you  to  stay  the  passing  of  provisions  and 
supplies  from  this  State,  and  request  you  to  give  Captain  Mitchell — who  is  a  gentlemen  of  fair 
character  and  a  good  officer — all  the  assistance  and  civility  in  your  power. 

"As  we  are  informed  that  there  are  quantities  of  provisions  in  that  country,  we  request 
you  to  consult  Captain  Mitchell  on  the  appointment  of  some  person  to  act  as  Purchaser  at  Wyo- 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  VIII:  716. 

ISamuel  Hunter,  a  brief  sketch  of  whom  will  be  found  on  page  664,  Vol  II,  and  whose  name  is  mentioned  on 
pages  724,  849,  979.  1054,  1094,  1146.  and  elsewhere,  began  his  miUtary  career  in  1760,  when,  on  May  2,  he  was 
commissioned  Lieutenant  of  Capt.  Joseph  Scott's  company  in  the  battaUon  of  the  Pennsylvania  Regiment  commanded 
by  Lieut.  Col.  Hugh  Mercer,  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  361 ,  Vol.  I.  March  24.  1772,  he  was  commissioned  one  of 
the  first  Justices  of  Northumberland  County.  From  1772  till  1775  he  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly, 
and  in  1775  and  '76  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Northumberland  County.  Upon  his  death  he  was 
succeeded  in  the  office  of  County  Lieutenant  by  Capt.  William  Wilson  of  Northumberland. 

Colonel  Hunter  was  married  to  Susanna  Scott,  a  sister  of  Maj.  Abraham  Scott  of  Northumberland  County,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  two  daughters — Nancy,  who  became  the  wife  of  her  cousin,  Alexander  Hunter,  of  Sunbury, 
and  Mary,  w'ho  became  the  wife  of  ,Samuel  Scott  of  Sunbury. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  VIII:  717. 


1275 

ming  and  its  vicinity  on  behalf  of  the  State.    As  he  is  to  act  under  the  State  it  is  needless  to  add 
that  he  must  be  a  person  well  affected  lo  its  interests,  as  well  as  trustworthy  in  other  respects." 

It  does  not  require  a  magnifying-glass  to  see,  on  reading  these  letters,  that 
President  Reed  was  not  only  unfriendly  to  the  Wyoming  settlers,  but  that  he 
was  unjust  to  some  of  them  to  charge — in  the  manner  he  does — that  the  militar}^ 
authorities  at  Fort  Wyoming  had  distributed  government  supplies  to  Wyoming 
settlers  "under  the  denomination  of  officer  and  soldiers."  He  seems  either  to 
have  lost  sight  or  been  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of  Wyoming,  or 
\\'estmoreland,  men  were  formally  and  regularly  in  military  service,  under  pay 
and  subsistence,  at  Fort  Wyoming;  and  that  the  wives  and  children  of  some  of 
these  soldiers  were,  as  the  customs  of  the  time  permitted,  housed  and  main- 
tained in  the  garrison. 

The  following  copy  of  a  report*  made  by  Captain  Mitchell  to  President 
Reed  indicates  what  was  the  strength  of  the  Wyoming  garrison,  and  how  it  was 
made  up,  at  the  time  Colonel  Butler  was  relieved  of  his  command. 

"Return  of  rations  drawn  per  day  by  the  troops  under  the  command  of  Col.  Zebulon 
Butler  at  Wyoming,  when  Captain  Mitchell  took  command  February  22,  1781. 


"Names  of  Comp.\nies 

1 

.a 

i 

1 

i 

Si 

3 

=3 

a  3 
^1 

." 

3 

Field  Officer 

Capt.  Simon  Spalding's  Company, 
Capt   John  Paul  Schott's  Company 
Staff  Department, 

1 

1 

1 

1 

-, 

1 

7 
4 

5  + 
19 
1 

52 
8 
3 

4 

1 

116 

34 

12 

ToT.^LS. 

1 

3 

It 

2 

1 

ir 

74 

63 

4 

163" 

With  his  company  Captain  Mitchell  marched  from  the  camp  of  the  1st 
New  Jersey  Regiment  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  took  command  of  Fort  Wyoming 
on  Washington's  birthday,  1781. J  Three  days  later  Captains  Schott  and  Spald- 
ing§  marched  with  their  companies  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  join  Washington's 
army  on  the  Hudson,  encamping  the  first  night,  according  to  the  journal  of 
Lieut.  John  Jenkins,  Jr.,  "at  the  Spring  House."  About  the  same  time  Colonel 
Butler  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  join,  as  its  Colonel,  the  new  4th  Regiment 
of  the  Connecticut  Line,  then  at  Camp  "Connecticut  Village",  on  the  Hudson. 
At  Fort  Wyoming,  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  May  25,  1781,  Captain 
Mitchell  wrote  to  President  Reed  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  part  as  follows:!! 

"By  the  return  of  stores  on  hand,  and  the  number  of  troops  that  draws  rations  at  this  Post 
you  may  easily  judge  how  the  garrison  is  supplied.  The  bearer  is  Mr.  [Thomas]  Hamilton,  who 
I  have  appointed  Issuing  Commissary  at  this  Post.     *     *     * 

"In  answer  to  your  letter  of  26  January  last,  you  may  depend  I  shall  make  it  my  study  to 
carefully  abide  by  the  Resolutions  of  Congress  and  the  orders  of  his  Excellency,  General  Wash- 
ington.    You  may  rest  assured,  whilst  this  place  continues  disputed  between  two  States,  that 

"See  "Pennsylvania  .Archives".  Old  Series.  IX:  166. 

tDr.  William  Hooker  Smith 

{See  "The  Frontier  Forts  of  Pennsylvania".  I:  465, 

§Captain  Spalding's  company  became  a  part  of  the  new  1st  Regiment  of  the  Connecticut  Line  (under  the  formation 
of  January  1 ,  1  781 ,  continuing  to  January  1 ,  1783).  Col.  John  Durkee,  the  founder  and  namer  of  Wilkes-Barre.  com- 
manded this  regiment  until  his  death  in  May.  1782.  The  following  roster  of  Spalding's  company  is  taken  from  "Conn- 
ecticut in  the  Revolution",  pages  315  and  318.  The  roster  represents  "the  state  of  the  command  on  January  1.  1782"; 
and  nearly  all  the  men  named  therein  were  paid  for  service  "from  January  1,  1781 .  to  December  31 ,  1781." 

Captain,  Simon  Spalding,  retired  by  consolidation.  January  1.  1783;  served  from  1776.  Lieutenants.  Reuben 
Pride  (Norwich)  and  Andrew  Griswold  (Norwich).  Ensign,  Phineas  Beckwith  (Lvme)  Sergeants,  Henry  Booth. 
Joshua  Williams.  Josiah  Steele,  Thomas  Baldwin  and  Peregrine  Gardner.  Corforals.  Benjamin  Clark.  Daniel  Denton. 
James  Shields.  Benjamin  Grover,  John  Hutchinson.  Amos  Sheppard  and  Samuel  Fox  Drummer.  Ezra  Downer. 
Fiffr,  Joseph  Teal.  Privates.  Jsnik  Antony,  James  Brown,  Richard  Becwith.  Esau  Carter.  William  Cornelius.  David 
Crouch.  Gideon  Church.  Edward  Carter.  Jack  Demming.  William  French.  Elisha  Garrett.  Israel  Harding.  lohn  Hal- 
stead,  Richard  Halstead,  Andrew  Harrington,  Daniel  Harrington,  Harris  Jones,  Joseph  Johnson.  Seth  Kellogg.  Titus 
Kent,  Josiah  Knight,  David  Lewis,  Nathan  Lester,  Amos  Ormsby,  Lebbens  Qui,  William  Roch,  Richard  Reed.  Samuel 
Simons,  Caesar  Smith,  Nathan  Smith,  Isaac  Smith,  Jesse  Sheppard.  Peter  Thayers,  Obadiah  Walker,  Jabez  Whitte- 


;  and  Solomon  Woodruff. 
!See  "Pennsylvania  Archii 


,  Old  Series,  IX:  165,  166. 


1276 

I  will  not  suffer  any  person  under  my  command  to  join  in  partie  on  either  side ;  nor  shall  I  suffer 
any  stores  or  provisions  belonging  to  the  public  to  be  given  to  any  person  as  an  inducement  for 
them  to  continue  here,  unless  those  entitled  by  the  Resolves  of  Congress  to  it. 

"I  have  got  my  Fort  almost  completed,  and  have  built  a  magazine,  which  the  place  was  in 
great  want  of,  as  there  was  no  place  to  hold  the  ammunition  but  the  boxes — covered  with  snow 
and  exposed  to  any  storm  that  might  approach — when  I  arrived  here  to  take  command.  I  should 
have  wrote  you  Sooner,  but  it  has  drawn  all  my  attention  to  put  the  Fort  in  a  cituation  of  defense. 

"Return  of  stores  on  hand  in  the  Commissary  Department  at  Wyoming  Post  May  25, 
1781:— 

"65  bbls.  of  flour,  13,975  lbs.  net  weight;  4  bbls.  salt-shad,  containing  400;  3,489  lbs.  of 
dried  beef,  which  has  been  condemned;  10  bushels  of  potatoes;  120  lbs.  bisquet;  1  hogshead,  5  bbls 
and  9  kegs  of  salt;  5  bbls.  of  whiskey,  containing  152  gallons;  2  bbls.  of  soft  soap;  160  lbs.  of  candles' 

The  regular  semi-annual  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut 
was  held  at  Hartford  in  May,  1781,  and  was  attended  by  John  Hurlbut*  and 
Jonathan  Fitch,  as  the  Representatives  from  Westmoreland.  Early  in  the  session 
Zerah  Beach,  John  Hurlbut  and  Capt.  John  Franklin  were  appointed  Justices  of 
the  Peace  and  Quorum  in  and  for  the  county  of  Westmoreland.  Later  in  the 
session,  after  Representative  Hurlbut  had  left  Hartford  for  home,  the  following 
appointments  were  made:  Col.  Nathan  Denison  to  be  Judge  of  the  County 
Court  of  Westmoreland  for  the  ensuing  year;  Nathan  Denison,  Obadiah  Gore 
and  Hugh  Forseman  to  be  Justices  of  the  Peace ;  Nathan  Denison  to  be  Judge  of 
Probate;  William  Stewart  to  be  Assistant  Commissary  of  Purchases  for  the 
county  of  Westmoreland.  In  due  time  these  officers  were  commissioned  by 
Governor  Trumbull,  and  entered  upon  the  performance  of  their  several  duties. 

At  "Camp  High  Lands,"  June  7,  1781,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  wrote  in  part 
as  followst  to  Col.  Fliphalet  Dyer,  a  Representative  in  the  Continental  Congress 
from  Connecticut  (see  page  393,  Vol.  I.),  but  then  at  Hartford. 

"I  understand  by  Esquire  Hurlbut  that  when  he  left  the  Assembly  there  was  no  Court 
nor  Authority  appointed  at  Westmoreland  that  had  gone  through  both  Houses.  Only  himself 
had  taken  the  oath  of  Justice,  and  said  he  did  not  know  whether  it  would  go  through  till  October. 
I  would  beg  to  have  it  go  through  this  session.  There  has  been  so  much  said  in  the  Assembly 
they  are  not  able  to  judge  of  the  matter  if  our  Deputies  are  absent.  I  have  no  names  to  mention, 
but  must  beg  to  have  the  Court,  &c.,  appointed  this  Assembly  and  the  appointments  sent  on  to 
me.    I   can   forward  them   to   Westmoreland. 

"My  reason  for  urging  this  is  our  settlers  have  been  very  much  distressed  with  fears  from 
the  Pennsylvania  enemies  since  our  men  were  called  away,  but  finally  concluded  the  Civil  Law 
was  sufficient  to  keep  out  Pennsylvania  settlers.  But  now,  to  have  no  Court,  it  will  shock  them 
and  the  opposite  party  will  take  the  advantage  of  it."     *     *     * 

Miner  says  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  296)  that  on  Sunday,  June  9, 
1781,  "a  party  of  twelve  Indians  made  an  attack  on  a  block-house  at  Button- 
wood,  in  Hanover,  three  miles  below  the  Wilkes-Barre  fort.  They  met  with 
a  warm  reception.  The  house  was  gallantly  defended,  the  women  aiding  the 
men  with  alacrity  and  spirit.  A  party  from  the  fort,  on  receiving  the  alarm, 
hastened  down,  and  found  pools  of  blood  where  Lieut.  Roasel  Franklin  had  wound- 
ed, probably  killed,  an  Indian.  *  *  The  Rev.  Jacob  JohnsonJ  now  returned 
with  his  family  from  their  exile  to  Connecticut.  Glowing  with  ardor  for  religion, 
liberty  and  the  Connecticut  claim,  the  return  was  welcomed  by  his  flock,  indeed 
by  the  whole  settlement,   with  cordial  congratulations." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  June  17,  1781,  Lord  Butler  wrote  to  his  father,  Col. 
Zebulon  Butler,  in  part  as  follows  :§ 

"The  Indians  came  a  few  days  ago  to  Buttonwood,  and  about  break  of  day  came  to  the 
doors  and  struck  their  tomahawks  into  the  doors;  but  the  men  hearing  that,  leaped  out  of  bed 
and  fired  upon  them  at  the  upper  houses  first,  and  that  disturbed  the  lower  houses.    Lieutenant 

*See  (t)  note,  page  1246. 

tThe  original  letter  is  document  "No.  140"  in  the  collection  of  MSS.  described  in  paragraph  "(3)",  page  29,  Vol.  I, 

JSee  last  paragraph  on  page  746.  Vol,  II. 

§Th.e  original  letter  is  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  .Society. 


1277 


Franklin,  opening  his  door,  saw  three  Indians  standing  about  three  rods  off.  He  iired  and  wounded 
one,  who  they  afterwards  followed  by  the  blood  some  distance;  but  they  killed  none  dead  nor 
took  any  prisoners.  Our  people  sustained  not  any  loss.  *  *  *  Mr.  Johnson's  family  arrived 
safe  here.  *  *  I  have  looked  for  the  coat-of-arms  in  the  old  desk,  but  can't  find  it  as  yet; 
but  I  shall  look  until  I  find  it,  and  send  it  as  soon  as  possible." 

On  the  same  day  that  the  foregoing  was  written,  Capt.  John  Paul  vSchott, 
who  was  then  in  Wilkes-Barre,  wrote  to  Colonel  Butler  in  part  as  follows: 

"Mr.  Johnston  and  family  are  safe  arrived  here.  We  have  hath  several  allarms  of  Indians 
but  no  damage.  *  *  Your  presence  is  much  wanding  here  and  I  hope  you  will  pay  us  a  visit 
before  long."     *     * 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  July  27,  1781,  Obadiah  Gore  wrote  to 
Colonel   Butler  in  part  as  follows:* 

"The  dispensation  of  Providence  towards  you  in  taking  away  the  partner  of  your  lifef 
shows~the  uncertainty  of  all  earthly  enjoyments.  *  *  *  'Necessity'!  has  again  gone  to 
Sunbury,  which  is  the  second  time  since  his  appointment  in  the  Commissary  Department.  Cap- 
tain Mitchell  keeps  up  a  correspondence  from  below  [i.  e.  Sunbury],  which  is  kept  to  himself. 
He  threatens  Mr.  [William]  Stewart  that  if  ever  he  comes  here  he  will  make  this  place  too  hot 
for  him — alleging  that  Stewart  has  made  free  with  his  character  below.  *  *  *  We  have 
nothing  new  turned  up  in  our  Cabinet  of  politics.  *  *  i  believe  that  if  the  Devil  had  his  own 
we  should  not  have  either  Mitchell  or  Hamilton  here." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  August  1,  1781,  Dr.  William  Hooker 
Smith  (whose  name  is  several  times  mentioned  hereinbefore)  wrote§  to  Colonel 
Butler,  giving  him  an  account  of  "an  ominous  dream"  which  he  had  had.  De- 
claring that  he  feared  plans  were  being  laid  for  enabling  the  Pennamites  to  gain 
possession  of  Wyoming,  he  continued  as  follows: 

"Congress  was  wearied  out  with  complaints  against  you  and  Captain  Spalding's  company 
and  at  length  you  was  removed  from  this  Post — I  think  by  the  suggestion  and  influence  of  the 
Pennamite  claimers.  The  second  step  was,  troops  sent  from  the  Jersies  to  this  Post — and  in  that 
State  a  great  part  of  the  claimers  live.  These  troops  are  commanded  by  Captain  Mitchell,  who. 
to  ray  satisfaction,  is  a  party  man.  *  *  *  If  we  are  betrayed  the  Lord  only  knows  what  will 
become  of  us.  We  have  killed  the  last  Continental  beef.  There  is  nothing  left  but  flour.  *  *  * 
Did  not  the  Pennamite  claimers  rejoice  when  we  were  cut  off  in  the  day  of  the  bloody  battle,  and 
the  country  laid  waste?"     *     *     * 

In  the  Summer  of  1781,  Capt.  John  Franklin,  Christopher  Hurlbut  and 
Jonah  Rogers,  the  regularly  elected  Listers  of  Westmoreland,  made  up  "A  true 
list  of  the  polls  and  estate  of  the  town  of  Westmoreland,  ratable  by  law  the 
20th  of  August,  1781."  Under  the  laws  of  Connecticut  then  in  force  a  poll  tax 
was  laid  on  the  male  inhabitants — those  from  sixteen  to  twenty-one  years  of 
age  being  "rated",  or  assessed,  at  £9;  those  from  twenty-one  to  seventy  years  of 
age  being  rated  at  £l8.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  and  a  few  others  were  exempt 
from  taxation.  A  full  and  complete  copy  of  the  1781  tax-list  referred  to  above 
is  printed  in  Hayden's  "The  Massacre  of  Wyoming"  (pages  78-83),  published  by 
The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society  in  1895,  and  from  it  the  present 
writer  has  carefully  compiled  the  following  table : 


Xames 

ai 

o 

1 

% 

ti 

Names 

„ 

o 

1 

1 

i  1 

S 

s 

M 

« 

1 

S 

ns 

CJ 

£ 

Atherton.  James 

1 

2 

5 

53-16 

Bailey,  Benjamin 

1 

2 

25-00 

Alden,  Prince 

1 

2 

1 

2 

54-on 

Burnham,  Asa 

2 

11-20 

Ayers,  Samuel 

1 

2 

+o-ns 

Barnum,  Richard-* 

Avery,  William 

1 

1 

1 

40-16 

and  Gregory 

1 

1 

2 

33-00 

Butler,  Col.  Z. 

1 

2 

4 

59-OS 

Buck,  William 

1 

27-00 

Bidlack,  Capt.  James 

1 

2 

21-12 

Brown,  Thomas 

1 

2 

16-00 

Brink,  William 

1 

2 

2 

42-10 

Brown,  David 

1 

3 

2 

34-00 

Brink,  James 

1 

2 

1 

34-00 

Borlain,  John 

1 

2 

2 

33-00 

*The  original  letter  is  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 
tThe  wife  of  Colonel  Butler  had  died  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  the  previous  day,  as  noted  on  page  638,  Vol. 
JUndoubtedly  Thomas  Hamilton,  "Issuing  Commissary"  at  the  Wyoming  post,  is  here  referred  to. 
§The  original  letter  is  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 


1278 


Brink,  Nicholas 
Brokaw,  Abraham 
Blanchard,  Andrew 
Blanchard,  John 
Burney,  Henry 
Bennet,  Solomon 
Bennett,  Ishmael 
Bennett,  Asa 
Bennett,  Isaac 
Comstock,  John 
Comstock.  Peleg 
Corey,  Jonathan 
Corey,  Jenks 
Cary,  Nathan 
Church,  Gideon 
Denison,  Col.  Nathan 
Disberry,  Joseph 
Durkee,  Sarah 
Eveland,  Frederick 
Elliot,  Joseph 
Elliot,  Henry 
Franklin,  Capt.  John 
Franklin  Roasel 
Forsyth,  Jonathan 
Fitzgerald,  Richard 
Fish,  Joanna 
Fish,  William 
Fuller,  Capt.  Stephen 
Forseman,  Hugh 
Fitch,  Jonathan 
Gore,  Obadiah 
Gore,  Elizabeth 
Gore,  Hannah 
Gore,  Daniel 
Gale,  Cornelius 
Grimes,  James 
Lantamon,  John 
McClure,  Thomas 
Mann,  Adam 
Nelson.  WiUiam 
Nesbitt,  James 
Nash,  Phineas 
Neal,  Thomas 
O'Neal   John 
Park.  Thomas 
Pettebone,  Lucy 
Pierce,  Hannah 
Pell,  Josiah 
Plainer,  John 
Racer,  Benjamin 
Rice,  James 
Ransom.  Samuel 
Roberts.  John 
Ryon,  John 
Ross.  William 
Reed,  Thomas 
Rogers,  Jonah 
Sullivan,  Daniel 
Stoddart,  Thomas 
Stevens  Uriah* 
Spencer,  Caleb 
Spencer,  Walter 

"Poll,  ahatert. 


43-00 
05 
24-00 
28-00 
46-00 
75-00 
,37-00 
46-1 
36-00 
36-00 
27-00 
62-10 
1-04 
51-00 
11-00 
27-00 
29-00 
17-10 
3-00 
51-12 
21-00 
31-05 
53-00 
30-00 
22-00 
8-00 
29-00 
85- 
22-00 
5  1-00 
50-00 
7-00 
27-10 
55-14 
30-00 
24-00 
44-15 
22-15 
47-00 
36-00 
54-10 
24-15 
9-00 
l,S-00 
24-00 
2-10 
5-00 
21- 

6-00 
27-00 
9-00 
26-00 
45-12 
16-08 
64-06 
35-00 
56-04 
21-00 
31-00 
48-00 
48-08 
27-00 


Brewster,  David 
Cook,     Nathaniel 
Cook,  Reuben 
Cooley,  Preserved 
Chapman,  Asa 
Cady,  Manasseh 
Cole.  Benjamin 
Cole    Benjamin,  Jr. 
Hopkins,  Timothy 
Hammond,  Lebbens 
Heberd,  Ebenezer 
Heberd,  William 
Hurlbut,  Christopher 
Hurlbut,  John 
Hallet   Samuel 
Hyde,  John 
Harris,  Elijah 
Hageman,  John     \ 
Hiilenback.  Matthias  J 
Harding.  Henry 
Halstead,  Richard 
Ingersoll  Daniel 
Inman,  Elijah 
Inman,  Richard 
Jones.  Crocker 
Jameson,  John 
Johnson,  Turner 
Joslin,  Thomas 
Jackson,  William 
Kenny,  Lawrence 
Kingsley,  Lieut.  N. 
Kellogg,  Josiah 
Kelsey,  Abner 
Landon,  Capt.  Nath 
Lummis,  John 
Stewart,  Martha 
Stewart,  Dorcas 
Spalding,  Capt.  Sim' 
Smith,  Dr.  Wm.  H. 
Smith,  John 
Sanford,  David 
Sill,  Jabez 
Sutton,  James 
Taylor,  Silas 
Thomas,  Joseph 
Tuttle,  Benjamin 
Terry,  Jonathan 
Tubbs,  Lieut.  Lebbens 
Trucks,  William 
Tripp,  Job 
Travis,  Nicod 
Tyler,  Ephraim 
Tillbury,  John  V. 
Llnderwood,  Isaac 
Van  Orraan,  Joseph 
Washburn,  Jonathan 
Warner,  William 
Williams,  William,  Jr 
Wilhams,  Nathaniel 
Williams,  William 
Westbrook,  Abraham 
Westbrook,  Leonard 
Yarington,  Abel 


1279 

■RECAPITULATION 

114  male  polls,  from  21  to  70',  not  especially  exempted,  at  £18  each, £2,052-00 

26  male  polls,  from  16  to  21,  at  £9 ' 2,34-00 

45  oxen,  four  years  old  and  upwards,  at  £4 180-00 

20S  Cows,  three  years  old  and  upwards,  at  £3 624-00 

14  steers,  three  years  old.  at  £3 42-00 

1 5  steers  and  heifers,  two  years  old,  at  £2   36-00 

57  steers  and  heifers,  one  year  old,  at  £  1 57-00 

173       horses,  three  years  old  and  upwards,  at  £3 519-00 

4      horses,  two  years  old,  at  £2 8-00 

7      horses,  one  year  old,  at  £  1 7-00 

127      swine,  one  year  old  and  upwards,  at  £l 127-00 

989 '2  acres  of  plough  land,  at  10s 494-15 

191  '2  acres  of  upland  mowing  and  clear  pasture,  at  8s.  6d., 76-12 

91     acres  of  bush  pasture,  at  2s 9-10 

2     silver  watches,  at  £  1 ,  10s 3-00 

Assessments — traders  .\nd  tr.\desmen,  &c.  : 

John  Hageman  and  Matthias  HoUenback 50-00 

Benjamin  Bailey,   blacksmith 15-00 

Capt.  John  Franklin,  1  silver  watch • 1-10 

Sarah  Durkee,  1  silver  watch 1-10 

Tolat  amount  of  ratable  polls,  properly  and  assessments, £4,534-17" 

This  tax-list  indicates  that  there  were  in  Westmoreland,  in  August,  1781, 
161  male  inhabitants  from  sixteen  to  seventy  years  of  age.  However,  some  of 
the  men  thus  listed  were  Continental  soldiers,  as  for  example  :  Col.  Zebulon 
Butler,  Capt.  Simon  Spalding,  Asa  Burnham,  Benjamin  Cole,  Gideon  Church, 
Frederick  Eveland,  Thomas  Niell,  John  Platner,  or  Platmore,  John  Ryon  and 
Nathaniel  Williams.  Undoubtedly  some  of  these  men  were  at  home  on  furlough 
in  August,  1781,  while  others  were  with  their  commands  "at  the  front." 

On  the  other  hand,  we  miss  from  the  list  the  names  of  a  number  of  men 
who,  it  is  well  ascertained,  were  inhabitants  of  and  property  owners  in  Westmore- 
land in  1781,  as  well  as  for  several  years  previously  and  subsequently.  As  for 
example:  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson,  the  gospel  minister  of  the  settlement;  Ben- 
jamin Harvey,  who  had  returned  from  captivity  among  the  Indians  on  July  4, 
1781,  as  previously  narrated;  Capt.  Solomon  Strong,  Lieut.  John  Jenkins,  Jr., 
Justus  Gaylord,  Ambrose  Gaylord,  Mason  F.  Alden,  John  Swift,  Waterman 
Baldwin  and  Zerah  Beach.  For  various  reasons  these  men  were  not  considered 
by  the  Listers  as  "ratable  by  law"  in  August,  1781. 

On  the  whole,  this  tax-list  clearly  demonstrates  the  paucity  and  the  poverty 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland,  in  the  Summer  of  1781. 

Miner  states  ("Histors-  of  Wyoming,"  page  301)  that  on  Friday,  September 
7.  1781,  a  band  of  Indians  made  an  attack  on  the  settlement  in  Hanover 
Township,  not  far  from  Wilkes-Barre,  and  took  off  Arnold  Franklin  and  Roasel 
Franklin,  Jr.,  the  foster  son  (nephew)  and  son  of  Lieut.  Roasel  Franklin.  Several 
horses  were  stolen,  and  much  grain,  in  stack,  was  consumed  by  fire.  Captain 
^litchell,  with  a  detachment  of  soldiers  from  Fort  Wyoming,  went  in  pursuit, 
but  the  enemy  eluded  his  vigilance.  The  captives,  who  were  aged  sixteen  and 
thirteen  years  respectively,  were  taken  to  Niagara,  where  they  were  detained 
till  the  end  of  the  war,  when  they  returned  to  their  home  in  safety. 

At  a  town-meeting  "legally  warned  and  held  in  Westmoreland,"  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  September  8,  1781,  John  Hurlbut,  Esq.,  serving  as  Moderator,  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  were  adopted. 

"  Voted,  That  a  tax  be  granted  of  four  pence  on  the  pound,  as  soon  as  the  list  can  be  com- 
pleted, to  be  paid*  either  in  hard  money,  or  in  produce  at  the  following  prices:  flax,  lOd.  per  pound; 
wheat,  3s.  6d.  per  bushel;  rye,  2s.  6d.;  and  corn,  at  2s.  per  bushel. 


*At  a  subsequent  town-meeting  the  time  for  paying  the  tax  in  flax  and  grain  was  extended  to  January  1.   17f 
and  the  constables  were  instructed  "to  conform  themselves  accordingly." 


12S0 

"  Voted,  That  Obadiah  Gore  and  John  Franklin  be  agents  to  negotiate  a  petition,  praying 
for  an  abatement  of  taxes  for  the  present  list  of  1781,  at  the  General  Assembly  in  October  next." 

In  pursuance  of  the  last-mentioned  vote,  a  memorial*  addressed  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  was  duly  prepared  and  was  signed  by  Col. 
Nathan  Denison,  John  Hurlbut  and  Capt.  John  Franklin,  "Authority,"  and 
Capt.  John  Franklin,  James  Nisbitt  and  Jabez  Sill,  "Selectmen."  Requesting 
an  abatement  of  taxes,  the  memorial  set  forth,  among  other  reasons  for  the  re- 
quest, the  following:  "We  are  exposed  to  the  enemy  in  such  manner  as  to  render 
it  unsafe  to  labour  but  in  companies  together  under  the  protection  of  a  guard  at 
our  own  expense.  Also,  we  have  been  frequently  called  upon  to  scout  after  the 
enemy — all  without  any  expense  to  the  public." 

Messrs.  Gore  and  Franklin  attended,  as  Representatives  from  Westmore- 
land, the  regular  semi-annual  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut, 
held  at  Hartford,  in  October,  1781,  and  early  in  the  session  presented  the  above- 
mentioned  memorial  to  the  Assembly. 

At  Yorktown,  Virginia,  on  October  19,  1781,  Lord  Cornwallis  surrendered 
his  army,  "together  with  all  the  officers  and  seamen  of  the  British  ships  in  the-^ 
Chesapeake,  prisoners  of  war  to  the  combined  forces  of  America  and  France," 
under  General  Washington.  This  act  caused  a  practical  suspension  of  hostilities 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  and  was  virtually  the  end  of  the 
War  of  the  Revolution. 

When,  some  days  later,  the  news  of  this  surrender  became  known  in  the 
principal  cities  of  the  country,  there  was  great  rejoicing;  and  just  about  that 
time  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  being  undoubtedly 
in  a  generous  and  joyous  state  of  mind,  unanimously  voted  to  grant  the  prayer 
of  the  Westmoreland  petitioners. 

At  this  same  session  of  the  Assembly  there  was  presented  to  it  a  very  full 
and  detailed  report  on  losses  sustained  by  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland, 
which  had  been  carefully  compiled  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution  adopted  by  the 
Assembly  in  May,  1780 — as  set  forth  on  page  1251.  In  the  Lower  House 
it  was  ordered  that  this  "report  be  lodged  on  file  in  the  Secretary's  office."  This 
action  was  duly  concurred  in  by  the  Upper  House — and  the  report  still  "lodges" 
in  the  State  Capitol  at  Hartford,  without  any  further  action  upon  it  ever  hav- 
ing been  taken  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  or  any  other  legislative 
body.  The  document  in  question  will  be  found  in  the  collection  of  MSS.  re- 
ferred to  in  paragraph  "(3)",  page  29,  Vol.  I,  and  it  reads  as  follows: 

"A  Bill  of  Losses  sustained  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Westmoreland  from  the 
3d  Day  of  July,  1 778,  to  May,  1780,  taken  and  carefully  examined  by  the  Select  Men  of  sd.  Town, 
Pursuant  to  a  Resolve  of  the  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  holden  at  Hartford  the  second 
Thursday  of  May,  1780.    And  is  as  foUoweth; — 

£  s.  £  s. 

Samll.  Andross   26  15  Ishmael  Bennet 96  17 

Isaac  Adams 103  64  Isaac  Bennet 61  / 

Richardson  Avery 155  0  Asa  Bennet    199  12 

Alice  Abbot 173  6  Henry  Burney 71  15 

Prince  Alden 83  17  Moses  Brown 13  8 

Mason  F.  Alden 5  13  Andrew  Blanchard         49  15 

Noah  Adams 83  5  John  Blanchard 23  S 

Cornelus  Atherton 103  0  Joseph  Blanchard 54  9 

Samll.   Ayers 100  10  Margaret  Blanchard 79  2 

James  Atherton 120  9  Lucretia  Buck 90  14 

Richardson  Avery  Jnr 137  13  James  Benedict 228  13 

Eber  Andross 120  9  Capt.  Jeremiah  Blanchard 215  14 

Col.  Zebulon  Butler 429  4  Benjamin  Baily 134  17 

Zerah  Beach,  Esq 67  13  Asahel  Bumham 35  6 

*The  original  is  "No.  14.5"  in  the  collection  of  documents  described  in  paragraph  "(3)",  page  29,  Vol.  I. 


Fort  Rice  at  Montgomery's  Northumberland  County 


1281 


Isaac  Benjamin 9  0 

Thomas  Brown 61  0 

Thomas  Bennet 507  0 

James  Brown 165  4 

Capt.  James  Bidlack 65  19 

Sarah  Brockway 205  7 

Joseph  Baker 124  13 

Elisha  Blackman 137  1 

Elizabeth  Benedict 144  13 

Bether  Bixby 36  13 

James  Bagley 95  15 

Mary  Bixby 74  8 

Capt.  Caleb  Bates   285  4 

Wm.  Buck 245  5 

Elijah  Buck 103  18 

Abigail  Bidlack 63  10 

David  Brown 28  16 

Richard  Brockway 163  17 

Mchitabel  Bigford 202  1 

Uriah  Chapman,  Esq 53  10 

Samll.  Cummins 151  5 

John  Gary 93  10 

Wm.  Churchill 178  16 

Anne  Campbell 100  5 

Nathan  Cary 166  4 

Benjamin  Cole,  Jr 165  0 

James  Cole 207  3 

Peleg  Comstock 40  13 

Mary  Crooker 51  1 

John  Comstock 219-  7 

Jonathan  Cory 173  11 

Jinks  Cory 83  0 

Barnabas  Cary 88  17 

Samll.  Cole 89  6 

Preserved  Cooly 95  19 

Col.  Nathan  Dennison 209  15 

Samll.  Downer 22  19 

Daniel  Downing 107  0 

David  Darling 13  0 

Sarah  Durkee 240  18 

Amos  Draper 68  18 

Samll.  Dart 124  4 

Anderson  Dana,  Esq 194  15 

Frederick  Eveland 90  6 

Samll.  Ensign 38  10 

Joseph  Elliott 33  7 

Henry  Elliott 40  14 

Benjamin  Eaton 369  10 

Nathaniel  Evans 61  19 

Capt.  Stephen  Fuller 288  4 

Roswell  Franklin 104  0 

Charles  Foresythe 15  3 

Capt.  John  Franklin 21  4 

Benj.  Follet 118  17 

Jabez  Fish 223  0 

John  Ferre,  Jr 61  11 

John  Ferre 61  18 

Hugh  Foresman 193  1 1 

Sarah  Fuller 101  13 

Esther  Follet 221  7 

James  Finn 221  11 

Elizabeth  Follet 212  3 

Richard  Fitz  Jarold 245  2 

Jonathan  Forsythe 138  16 

Jonathan  Fitch,  Esq 46  10 

Capt.  Eliab  Farnham 27  11 

Joanna  Fish 30  17 

Major  John  Caret 309  11 

Hannah  Gore 

John  Garret,  Jr 59  16 

Daniel  Gore 273  13 

Cornelius  Gale 7  14 


Daniel  Lawrence 37  0 

George  Liquors .- .  .  ■ 1^6  18 

Abigail  Leech 82  0 

Joseph  Leonard 79  19 

John  Lassley 53  2 

David  Linsey 78  7 

Edward  Lester 109  11 

Samll.  Morgan 135  8 

Thomas  McClure 66  4 

John  Murphy 86  3 

Benj.  Merry 7S  2 

Ebenezer  Marcy IIS  12 

Uzania  Manvill 46  17 

Thos.  Neil 4  0 

James  Nisbitt 74  19 

Phinehas  Nash 70  0 

John  O'Neil IS  2 

Daniel  Owen 24  0 

Amos  Ormsby 7  1 

Anning  Owen 174  12 

Josiah  Pell 73  10 

Lucy  Pettibon 79  7 

Hannah  Parish 44  12 

Thos.   Picket,  Jr 66  0 

Hannah  Peirce  [Widow  of  Timothy] .  151  6 

Thos.  Picket Ill  11 

Ichabod  Phelps 9  ;  2 

Thos.  Porter 200  0 

Josiah  Parks 49  19 

Noah  Pettibone 216  1 

Jonathan  Prichard ■    30  15 

Jonth.'  Parker 54  12 

Silas  Parks,  Esq 91  10 

Elijah  Phelps 550  10 

Sarah  Pixlev 26  19 

John  Ryon IS  3 

Wm.  Ross 320  0 

John  Ross 65  17 

Susanna  Reyno'ds   2S  10 

Reran  Ross    233  9 

Abigail  Richards    135  3 

David  Reynolds 94  2 

Capt.  Samll.  Ransom 259  0 

Capt.  Daniel  Rosecrant 175  10 

James  Roberts 83'  IS 

Jonah  Rogers 16S  17 

Amasa  Roberts 92  10 

Timothy  Rose US  11 

Caleb  Spencer 182  17 

Margaret  Smith 155  10 

James  Stark 547  15 

Lazarus  Stuart,  Jr 172  12 

Isaac  Smith 67  10 

Joseph  Staples 223  0 

Esther  Spencer 135  0 

David  Sanford 193  12 

Elizabeth  St   John 162  0 

Elisha  Scovel 712  4 

Jonth  Scovel 72  0 

Ebenezer  Skinner 89  4 

Wm.  Shav 114  15 

Josiah  Smith 83  19 

Obadiah  Scott 72  15 

Jedidiah  Stevens 285  0 

Joshua  Stevens 119  11 

Zacharias  Squire 66  16 

James  Sutton 176  17 

David  Shoemaker 50  0 

Daniel  Sherwood 40  4 

Edward  Spencer,  Jr 85  7 

Thos.  Stoddard 200  8 

David  Smith 202  15 


1282 


Wm.  Gallop 200 

Solomon  Goss 31 

Justus  Gaylord 134 

Keziah  Gore 89 

Obadiah  Gore,  Esq 306 

Elisha  Garret 29 

Catherine  Gaylord  [Widow  of  Lieut. 

Aaron  Gaylord] 158 

Joseph  Gaylord 69 

Stephen  Gardner 176 

Nathaniel  Gates 66 

James  Gardiner 180 

Elizabeth  Gore 240 

Wait  Garret 108 

Bezaleel   Gurnev 59 

John  Hurlbut,  Esq 85 

Peter  Harris 149 

Lehbeas  Hammond 84 

Richard  Halsted 177 

Joseph  Hagaman 19 

Henry  Harding 55 

Matthew  Holonback 671 

Doct.  Joseph  Hamilton 284 

James  Hopkins 90 

Capt.  Robert  Hopkins 28 

Samll.  Huchinson 163 

.Simeon  Hide 117 

Widow  Hasen  and  son 182 

Samll.  Howard 27 

Mary  Howard 50 

Benjn   Harvey 186 

Mary  Hktch 62 

John  Hutchins    57 

Capt,  Stephen  Harding 181 

Stutley  Harding 73 

James  Headsall 210 

Thos.  Heath 190 

Cyprian  Hybert 119 

Daniel  IngersoU 208 

Sarah  Inman 161 

Richard   Inman 41 

Edward  Inman 84 

Revd.  Jacob  Johnson 459 

John  Jemison 88 

Crocker  Jones 9 

Wm.  Jackson 106 

Robert  Jameson 183 

Capt.  Wm.  Judd 19 

John  Jenkins.  Esq 598 

Josiah  Kellogg 146 

Michael  Kelly 21 

Benj.  Kilburn 92 

Hannah  Keys   178 

Alexander  McKay 277 

Sarah  Lee 236 

Thos.  Leavensworth 122 

Sarah  Leonard 75 

Rufus  Lawrence 189 


Jane  Shoemaker 329  12 

Benj.  Skiff 98  7 

Doct.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith 168  7 

Wm.  Stuart 57  17 

Giles  Slocum 205  19 

Asa  Stevens : 185  11 

John  Scott 217  3 

James  Staples 80  19 

Martha  Stuart 48 1  12 

JabezSill 351  19 

John  Staples 224  12 

John  Stafford 36  6 

Josiah  Stanberry 603  14 

Luke  Sweatland 200  0 

Joseph  Thomas 120  18 

Mary  Thomas 25  0 

Ephraim  Tyler 14  19 

Parshall  Terrv 216  12 

Marv  Thompson 30  19 

Job  Tripp 113  1 

Isaac  Tripp 74  10 

Lebens  Tubbs 1 80  5 

John  Taylor 61  14 

Preserved  Tavlor 18  2 

Mehitabcl  Truks 159  4 

Moses  Thomas 68  3 

Bezaleel  Tyler 35  17 

Elisabeth  tuttle 67  10 

James  Towser 36  0 

Isaac  Van  Orman 122  0 

John  Van  Tilberry 84  9 

Rev.  Noah  Wadhams 193  6 

Amy  Willcox.-. 116  12 

Elisabeth  Willson 87  15 

EnosWooddard 30  19 

Enos  Wooddard,  Jr 16  7 

EliezerWest 53  10 

Nathl.  Williams 30  0 

Abigail  Weeks.  ..  .• 129  16 

Mary  Walker 42  5 

Eunice  Whiton 26  7 

Daniel  Welling 44  17 

Tho-.  Wigton 175  6 

Isabel  Wigton 130  1 

Wm.  Warner 68  16 

Wm.  Williams 148  18 

Jonath.  Weeks 239  11 

Flavins  Waterman 90  0 

Elihu  Williams 197  10 

Richard  West 65  17 

Amy  Williams :  .  .  130  0 

Daniel  Whitney 363  14 

Abraham  Westbrook 380  2 

.James  Wells 92  12 

Lucretia  York       221  13 

Jemima  Yale 130  3 

Jacob  Zuvalt 42  11 

|286  Names],      Total  Amount  ..  £38,308  13 


"The  foregoing  Bill  was  carefully  examined  in  each  single  account,  and  estimated  in  lawful 
money  equal  to  money  in  1774.*     Certified  by  us: 

"John  Hurlbut,  v 
"Westmoreland  Oct.                                                                  "Nathan  Denison,  f 

the  2d  1781.  "John  Franklin,  Select  Men" 

"James  Nisbitt,  i 

"Jabez  Sill.  ) 

*Previous  to  the  Revolutionary  War  paper  money  was  issued  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  by  each  one  of  the  thirteen 
Colonies.  ■  Originally  the  issues  were  authorized  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  Colonial  treasuries.  Many  of  the  Col- 
onies, therefore,  went  into  the  Revolutionary  War  with  paper  already  in  circulation .  and  with  all  of  the  Colonies  making 
issues   for   the    expenses   of    military   preparations. 

_  In  the  year  1774,  and  earlier,  six  shillings  in  the  "lawful  money"  of  Connecticut  were  equivalent  to  one  Spanish 
milled  dollar,  which  was  valued  at  4s.  6d.,  sterling;  equal  to  $1.09 — in  American  money  of  to-day  as  stated  in  the 
note  on  page  252,  Vol.  I. 

.After  the  Revolutionary  War  was  well  under  way  "hard  money"  became  very  scarce  in  the  country.  But  inas- 
much as  money  of  some  kind  had  to  be  had  by  the  Government,  and  as  the  Continental  Congress  had  no  power  to 


1283 


After  the  capitulation  of  Cornwallis,  Washington  sent  2,000  troops  to 
reinforce  the  army  under  General  Greene,  and  then  dispatched  the  balance  of 
his  army,  including  the  soldiers  from  Westmoreland,  to  Winter  cantonment 
along  the  Hudson,  north  of  the  city  of  New  York.  Washington  himself  went 
to  Philadelphia,  to  "endeavor  to  stimulate  Congress  to  the  best  improvement 
of  the  late  successes  of  the  army,  by  taking  the  most  vigorous  and  effective 
measures  to  be  ready  for  an  early  and  decisive  campaign  the  next  year."  In  a 
letter  to  General  Greene,  about  that  time,  Washington  wrote  that  he  feared  the 
Congress  might  "too  much  magnify"  the  importance  of  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis, and  "may  think  our  work  too  nearly  closed,  and  fall  into  a  state  of  languor 
and    relaxation." 

To  the  soldiers,  leading  a  life  of  inactivity  in  the  Winter  camp  along  the 
Hudson,  there  soon  came  a  feeling  that  the  war  was  really  over,  and  that  ere 
long  peace  would  be  declared.  Consequently  many  of  the  men — particularly  those 
who  were  husbands  and  fathers — applied  for  their  discharges.  Among  these  men 
were  a  number  of  the  Westmorelanders  in  Captain  Spalding's  company. 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  January  3,  1782,  Washington  wrote  to 
Maj.  Gen.  William  Heath  (in  command  of  the  Continental  posts  on  the  Hudson, 
with  his  headquarters  at  West  Point)  in  part  as  follows:* 

"Every  proper  indulgence  has  been  granted  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Connecticut  company 
raised  at  Wyoming.  When  they  were  removed  from  thence  last  Spring,  by  order  of  Congress, 
Colonel  Butler  had  liberty  to  grant  furloughs  to  those  whose  families  would  be  most  distressed 
by  their  absence;  and  he  did  so.  If  there  are  others  under  the  same  circumstances,  I  should  have 
no  objection  to  their  being  allowed  the  same  indulgence,  a  like  number  of  those  upon  furlough 
being  called  in.  But  I  cannot  consent  to  the  interference  of  the  State  [of  Connecticut]  in  giving 
discharges.  That  is  a  matter  altogether  foreign  to  their  power." 
tax  the  people  or  the  States,  and  as  the  members  of  the 
Congress  were  accustomed  to  paper  issues  as  the  ordi- 
nary  form  of  public  finance,  the  Congress  began  to  issue 
bills  on  the  faith  of  the  "Continent",  to  be  used  as  a 
circulating  medium.  These  bills,  denominated  "Conti- 
nental Currency"  (as  explained  on  page  898,  Vol  II). 
were  payable  in  Spanish  milled  dollars,  "or  llie  value 
thereof  in  gold  or  silver.". 

The  first  issue — made  in  August.  1775 — wasfor300, 
000  dollars,  redeemable  in  three  years.  Bills  for  9,000, 
000  dollars  were  issued  before  any  depreciation  began. 
Undoubtedly  their  value  must  have  been  affected  by 
the  bills  issued  by  the  separate  Colonies,  for  these,  too. 
depreciated  in  value  as  the  War  went  on.  At  the  end 
of  the  year  1778  the  Continental  paper  dollar  was  worth 
sixteen  cents  in  the  northern  States  and  tw-elve  cents 
in  the  south.  Early  in  1780  its  value  had  fallen  to  two 
cents,  and  before  the  end  of  the  year  it  took  ten  paper 
dollars  to  make  a  cent.  As  Washington  said,  it  took  a 
wagon-load  of  money  to  buy  a  wagon-load  of  provi- 
sions. In  October,  1780.  Indian  com  sold  wholesale  in 
Boston  for  ?150.  per  bushel;  butter  was  SI2.  a  pound, 
tea  $90..  sugar  SIO.,  coffee  $12.,  while  a  barrel  of  flour 
cost  SI. 575.  Samuel  Adams  paid  $3,000  for  a  hat  and 
a  suit  of  clothes.  The  present  writer  has  in  his  posses- 
sion an  original  receipt  given  to  Zebulon  Butler  by  Ben- 
jamin Harvey,  at  Wyoming,  February  7,  1780,  for  "one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  dollars  for  a  sow  and  two 
pigs."  (See  the  last  paragraph  in  the  note  on  page 
1225.  Vol.  II.  relative  to  the  value  of  certain  articles  in 
Connecticut  in  1780.) 

The  Continental  Currency  soon  ceased  to  circulate 
freely,  being  no  longer  a  legal  tender  or  receivable  in 
payment  of  taxes.  Debts  could  not  be  collected,  and 
there  was  a  general  prostration  of  credit.  The  early 
issues  of  the  money  were  so  worthless  that  barber-shops 
were  papered  with  it.  To  say  that  a  thing  was  "not 
worth  a  Continental"  became  the  strongest  possible  ex- 
pression of  contempt.  By  the  close  of  the  year  1 780  the 
Currency  had  ceased  to  have  currency.  "Like  an  aged 
man.  expiring  by  the  decays  of  nature,  without  a  sigh 
or  a  groan,  it  fell  asleep  in  the  hands  of  its  last  posses- 
sors. *  *  *  The  money  had.  in  a  great  measure, 
got  out  of  the  hands  of  the  original  proprietors,  and  it 
was  in  the  possession  of  others,  who  had  obtained  it  at  a  rate  of  value  not  exceeding  what  was  fixed  upon  it  by  the 
scale  of  depreciation."    Attempts  were  subsequently  made  to  have  it  funded  or  redeemed,  but  without  success. 

Concemmg  the  Continental  Currency  Pelatiah  Webster  (see  note  in  Chapter  XXII.  posi)  ivrote:  "We  have  suffered 
"^  "^    1  from  every  other  cause  of  calamity.     It  has  killed  more  men .  pervaded  and  corrupted  the  choicest 


■^--a-iji-HE  Poflerrjr  of  ihis  BILL, 
■f-T''?"  fliall  be  paid  by  the  Tiea- 
■^"■¥"^  furer  of  the  Colony  ofCsn- 
laenicut.  One  Shilling  &  Six- pence. 
Lawful  Mocey,  by  thsfirfiDay  of| 
J  .noary,  A.D. 
br,c  Thouland, 
Seven  Hundred, 
and  Eighty-two. 
Bj  Order  of 
Affembly.Dated 
Hartford,  Junej 
igth,— AID 
I  776.     i/T 


U/^ 


Facsimile  of  Connecticut  Currency 

Issued   in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  the  General  .As- 
sembly of  the  Colony  passed  June  19,  1776. 


:  from  th 
Qterests  of  our  country  more,  and  done  more  injustice  than 

*See  "Massachusetts  Historical  Collections",  Fifth  Series,  IV 


the  : 


nd  artifices  of  < 


235. 


1284 

At  Fort  Wyoming,  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  January  4,  1782,  Lieut. 
Samuel  Shippard,*  an  officer  under  Captain  Mitchell  at  the  Wyoming  post, 
wrote  to  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  at  "Camp  Connecticut  Huts,"  in  part  as  follows: 

"The  troops  at  this  Post  are  supplied  agreeable  to  the  new  mode.  I  have  requested  to  be 
relieved,  and  expect  the  matter  will  be  gone  through  with  in  three  or  four  weeks.  *  *  Mrs. 
Shippard  joins  with  me  in  our  compliments  to  Colonel  Butler,  as  also  to  Captain  Spalding." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  January  8,  1782,  Lord  Butler  wrote  to 
his  father:  "I  believe  there  never  was  known  to  be  such  weather  [here]  at  this 
time  of  the  year  since  this  place  was  settled.  The  river  is  banks  full — as  high  a 
freshet  as  almost  ever  has  been  seen  at  any  time  of  the  year." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  January  9,  1 782,  Hugh  Forseman  wrote  to  Colonel  Butler 
in  part  as  follows:! 

"With  respect  .to  the  particulars  of  the  affair  between  Captain  Mitchell  and  his  men: 
They  have  laid  six  different  complaints  against  him,  *  *  *  (1)  for  selling  their  shoes  to 
the  inhabitants;  (2)  for  giving  them,  or  ordering  them  to  get,  condemned  beef  for  five  weeks; 
(3)  for  making  them  receipt  in  full  for  their  rations,  when  they  received  only  part;  (4)  for  selling 
or  lending  three  barrels  of  whisky  to  some  of  the  inhabitants;  (5)  for  punishing  [soldiers]  without 
their  first  being  tried  or  examined;  (6)  for  ordering  men  on  fatigue  [duty]  to  work  for  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  not  getting  any  pay  for  their  labor." 

In  Hanover  Township,  only  a  few  miles  below  Fort  Wyoming,  on  Sunday, 
April  7,  1782,  there  occurred  an  Indian  outrage,  concerning  which  Miner  ("His- 
tory of  Wyoming,"  page  301)  declares:  "A  more  distressing  tragedy  scarcely 
crimsons  the  page  of  history!"  A  very  detailed  and  interesting  account  of  this 
outrage,  written  by  the  late  Rev.  David  Craft,  D.  D.,  and  read  before  The 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  in  October,  1907,  is  printed  in  Vol. 
X  of  the  Society's  "Proceedings  and  Collections  "  under  the  title:  "The  Capture 
and  Rescue  of  the  Family  of  Rosewell  Franklin  "  The  following  facts  have 
been  gleaned  from  Dr  Craft's  article  and  from  "Historical  Sketches  of  Roswell 
Franklin  and  Family,"  by  Robert  Hubbard,  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  1839;  and  "Sketch 
of  the  Life  of  Rosewell  Franklin,"  by  the  Rev.  Charles  Hawley,  D.  D.,  read 
before  the  Cayuga  County  (New  York)  Historical  Society,  January  14,  1879. 
and  published  in  Vol.  VII  of  the  Society's  Collections. 

About  the  beginning  of  April,  a  band  of  thirteen  Indian  warriors,  bent  on 
murder  and  plunder,  quietly  stole  into  the  valley.  Before  reaching  the  settle- 
ments they  separated  into  two  bands,  five  of  the  Indians  going  in  one  direction, 
while  the  other  eight  made  their  way  to  the  locality  where  Lieut.  Roasel  Frank- 
linj  lived — in  the  block-house  mentioned  on  page  925,  Vol.  II.  In  the  morning 
of  the  7th  Lieutenant  Franklin  went  into  the  woods  in  search  of  some  of  his 
hogs  which  were  missing.  The  various  members  of  his  family  were  busy  about 
their  home,  when  the  eight  Indians  previously  mentioned  suddenly  entered  the 

*In  1779  he  was  First  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant  of  the  3d  New  Jersey  Regiment,  and  took  part  in  the  Sullivan 
Expedition. 

tThe  original  letter  is  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

JRoASEL  Franklin,  whose  name  appears  frequently  in  these  pages,  was  a  man  of  activity  and  prominence  in 
Wyoming,  almost  from  the  first  days  of  the  settlements  here  under  the  Susquehanna  Company.  In  the  various  Wyo- 
ing  histories  his  Christian  name  is  commonly  spelled  "Roswell"  or  "Rosewell";  but  it  was  undoubtedly  "Roasel".  as 
is  evidenced  by  his  signature  attached  to  several  original  documents  now  preserved  in  the  collections  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

He  was  bom  about  1732  or  '33  undoubtedly  in  Woodbury,  Litchfield  County,  Connecticut,  and  was  the  brother 
or  son  of  Jehiel  Franklin  of  Woodbury,  who,  at  Westmoreland,  May  3,  1774,  conveyed  land  in  Hanover  Township 
to  Thaddeus  Braughton  of  Woodbury, — Roasel  Franklin  having  conveyed  to  the  same  man,  in  the  preceding  March, 
certain  land  which  he  owned  in  Hanover. 

In  1755  and  '56  Roasel  Franklin  served  as  a  soldier  in  a  Connecticut  regiment  in  the  French  and  English  War, 
and  in  1762,  as  a  Connecticut  soldier,  took  part  in  the  expedition  against  Havana^-described  on  page  482,  Vol.  I.  of 
this  work.  He  was  married  (first)  September  22,  1760,  at  Southbury,  Connecticut,  to  Jerusha  (bom  August  17,  1740) , 
daughter  of  Stephen  Hickok. 

Roasel  Franklin  came  to  Wyoming  in  the  Summer  of  1769,  having  been  preceded  here  a  few  months  by  his  brother 
John.  (See  first  paragraph  of  note  "t"  on  page  1,227,  Vol.  II.)  The  latter  waa  married  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Elisha  and  Susanna  {Higley)  Blackman,  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  1,067,  Vol.  II,  and  one  of  their  children  was 
Arnold  Franklin,  who,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  became  a  member  oi^his  uncle  Roasel's  family,  and  later  was  carried 
i  nto  captivity  by  Indians,  as  narrated  heretofore.    John  Franklin  was  slain  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  and  Decern- 


1285 

house.  Painting  the  faces  of  Mrs.  Franklin  and  her  four  children,  they  quickly 
ransacked  the  house,  set  fire  to  it,  and  beat  a  hasty  retreat  to  the  woods  with 
their  plunder,  and  the  mother  and  her  children  as  their  captives. 

Soon  after  the  marauders  had  left  the  scene  Lieutenant  Franklin  returned 
to  find  his  house  ablaze  and  his  family  gone,  he  knew  not  whither.  With  the 
direful  news  he  hastened  to  Fort  Wyoming,  where  the  alarm-gun  was  fired, 
giving  notice  to  the  people  of  the  valley  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy.  A  party 
was  immediately  organized  to  pursue  the  Indians  and,  if  possible,  rescue  the 
captives.  Sergeant  Thomas  Baldwin  led  the  party,  and  the  other  members  of 
it  were:  Joseph  Elliott,  John  Swift,  Oliver  Bennett,  Waterman  Baldwin,  Gideon 
Dudley, Cook    and   Taylor. 

The  same  day  the  pursuers  set  off  up  the  Susquehanna,  and  several  days 
later  interrupted  the  retreat  of  the  pursued  near  the  mouth  of  Wyalusing  Creek. 
A  sharp  fight  ensued,  at  the  beginning  of  which  Mrs.  Franklin  and  her  children 
who  had  been  left  between  the  lines  of  the  opposing  parties,  and  could  hear  the 
singing  of  the  bullets  as  they  sped  from  both  directions,  stood  up  in  order  to 
attract  the  attention  of  their  friends.  Mrs.  Franklin  being  slightly  wounded 
by  one  of  the  bullets,  she  and  the  children  were  ordered  by  the  Indians  to  lie 
down  close  together  behind  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree,  and  to  keep  still  or  they 
would  be  killed. 

Hearing  voices  up  the  hill  in  the  direction  whence  the  pursuing  party  had 
come,  Mrs.  Franklin  raised  her  head  and  looked  that  way.  Instantly  one  of  the 
savages  shot  her,  and  she  died  almost  immediately.  The  Indians  then  fled,  one 
of  them  carrying  off  on  his  shoulder  Mrs.  Franklin's  infant,  Ichabod,  who  was 
never  seen  or  heard  of  again.  The  bodies  of  two  or  three  dead  Indians  together 
with  several  tomahawks  and  guns,  remained  upon  the  field,  while  during  the 
encounter  Gideon  Dudley  had  been  wounded  in  one  of  his  hands,  and  Oliver 
Bennett  had  been  badly  wounded  in  one  of  his  arms.  The  body  of  Mrs.  Franklin 
haviftg  been  buried  on  the  spot,  in  as  decent  a  manner  as  circumstances  would 

ber  31,  1782.  Roasel  Franklin  was  appointed  administrator  of  his  estate  by  the  Probate  Court  of  Westmoreland;  Leb- 
bens  Tubbs  being  surety  in  the  sum  of  £100. 

In  1771  Roasel  Franklin  was  a  lot-holder  and  settler  in  Wilkes-Barre.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  town  of 
Westmoreland  in  1774  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  Selectmen  of  the  town.  In  1777  he  was  Lieutenant  of  the  5tll  Company 
of  the  24th  Regiment.  Connecticut  Militia,  and  the  next  year  took  part  with  his  company  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming. 
In  1780  and  '81  he  was  a  Lieutenant  of  Capt.  John  Franklin's  company  of  Westmoreland  militia.  (See  pages  1.229 
and  1,230,  Vol.  II.)  After  the  murder  of  his  wife  Lieutenant  Franklin  was  married  (second)  June  22,  1783,  to  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Lester,  widow  of  Edward  Lester,  mentioned  on  pages  1 ,106  and  1,107. 

(The  two  daughters  of  Mrs.  Lester,  upon  their  release  from  Indian  captivity,  made  their  home  with  their  mother 

and  step-father  until  their  respective  marriages.     The  younger  daughter  married Benedict,  and  in  1839  was 

living  near  Brockport,  New  York — her  widowed  mother,  then  in  the  ninety-eighth  year  of  her  life,  residing  with  her.) 

On  the  renewal  of  the  land  controversies  in  Wyoming  Lieutenant  Franklin  and  his  family  removed  (about  1784 
or  "85)  to  Choconut,  now  Union,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Later  he  moved  to  Wysox,  in  what  is  now  Bradford  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  in  March,  1789,  accompanied  by  his  family  and  that  of  his  son-in-law,  Ebenezer  White,  moved  to 
what  is  now  Aurora,  New  York,  where  he  built  the  first  house  occupied  by  a  white  man  in  Cayuga  County.  There . 
in  the  Spring  of  1 792,  through  stress  of  trouble  and  the  loss  of  property,  he  committed  suicide. 

.^t  Aurora,  on  February  22,  1861,  at  the  request  of  the  citizens  of  the  village,  an  historical  address  was  delivered 
in  memory  of  Lieut.  Roasel  Franklin,  by  his  grandson,  the  Rev.  William  S.  Franklin,  then  of  Genoa  and  later  of 
Syracuse,  New  York.  On  September  24,  1879,  the  people  of  -'Aurora  celebrated  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the 
destruction  of  some  Indian  villages  near  there  by  the  Sullivan  Expedition.  The  celebration  in  part  was  held  at  "the 
old  foundation"  of  Roasel  Franklin's  first  log  house,  which  was  well  decorated  with  flags  and  bunting.  A  grass-covered 
mound,  at  the  northern  end  of  the  village  of  Aurora,  about  twelve  rods  east  of  Lake  Cayuga,  marks  "the  old  founda- 
tion"— a  slight  elevation  the  place  of  the  chimney,  and  a  depression  the  location  of  the  door-place. 

The  children  of  Lieut.  Roasel  and  Jerusha  (Hickok)  Franklin  were  as  follows:  (I)  Joseph,  bom  about  1765;  killed 
by  Indians  in  Wyoming  Valley  in  1779.     (2)   Roasel,  or  Roswell,  bom  June  22,  1768.     (3)    Olive,  bora  in  1769;  became 

the  wife  of Stevens  of  Dansville,  New  York.    (4)  Susanna,  bom  in  1771.     (5)    Thankful,  bom  in  1774;  died 

in  1779.     (6)    5/e/>;ieK,  bora  in  1776.     (7)    Ichabod,  bom  in  17S0. 

( 2)  Roswell  Franklin  was  married  December  5 ,  1 794,  to  Pamela  Goodrich  (bora  Febraary  1 1 ,  1 775) ,  and  they  settled 
at  .\urora.  New  York,  where  both  of  them  died  in  March,  1843.  For  six  years  prior  to  his  death  he  had  been  a  Deacon 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Aurora,  and  in  honor  of  him  and  his  father,  memorial  windows  were  placed  in  the  new 
church  erected  in  1861.     The  children  of  Roswell  and  Pamela  (Goodrich)  Franklin  were  as  follows:    (a)   Elizabeth,  bora 

-August  28,  1795;  married  May  6,  1813,  to ;  died  September  8,  1863,  at  Five  Coraers,  N.  Y.     (b)   Xaomi. 

bora  February  12,  1797;  died  March  17,  1823.     (c)   Almira,  bora  Febmary  21,  1799;  married  September  7.  1819.  to 

Hovey:  died  in  Iowa  October  5,  1889.     (d)   Caroline  M.,  born  December  28,  1800;  married  June  2i,  1822, 

to .    (e)  Ann  Eliza,  born  September  21,  1803;  married  October  2,  1827   to WTiite;  died  July 

5.  1893.  (f)  John  H.  bora  June  29,  1805;  twice  marred  and  died  at  Canandaigua,  New  York,  May  1,  1873.  (g) 
Pamela,  bora  October  22,  1808;  died  November  9,  1810.  (h)  William  S.,  born  October  22.  1811;  married  twice,  and 
died  at  Syracuse.  New  York.  March  6.  1882.     He  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel,     (i)   Samuel  Xearll,  bom  May  28.  1817; 

married  January  14,  1816,  to  ;  died  September  5,  1896.     (j)   Pamela  G.    bora  Tanuarv  4,  1821;  married 

September  8,  18471  to Brady;  died  in  Ohio  August  9,  1904. 


1286 

permit,  the  Wilkes-Barre  party  proceeded  homeward  with  the  three  Franklin 
children  as  expeditiously  as  possible.  On  Tuesday,  April  16th,  they  arrived  at 
Fort  Wyoming,  where  the  children  were  restored  to  the  arms  of  their  father.  He 
took  them  to  the  family  of  a  neighbor,  Jonathan  Forsythe,  where  they  remained 
until  their  own  home  could  be  rebuilt. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  April  8,  1782 — the  day  following  that  upon  which  the 
Franklins  had  been  carried  off  and  the  rescuing  party  had  set  out  in  pursuit  of 
them — a  town-meeting  was  held,  at  which  arrangements  were  made  "for  the 
distribution  of  the  public  powder  to  the  settlements."  It  was  also  "voted,  that 
those  men  now  in  service  on  a  scout  with  Sergeant  Thomas  Baldwin  shall  be 
entitled  to  receive  from  the  Treasurer  of  this  town  [of  Westmoreland]  the  sum  of 
five  shillings  per  day  for  each  day  in  service;  and  that  Sergeant  Baldwin  shall  be 
entitled  to  six  shillings  per  day  for  said  term."  Also,  the  Town  Treasurer  was 
directed  to  have  ground  "so  much  of  the  public  wheat  [received  in  payment  of 
taxes]  as  to  make  200  pounds  of  biscuit,  and  keep  it  made  and  so  deposited  that 
the  scouts  may  be  instantly  supplied  from  time  to  time  as  occasion  requires." 

At  Chenussio*,  New  York,  April  20,  1782,  Ebenezer  Allent  wrote  to  Col. 
John  Butler,  commander  of  the  "Rangers",  at  Fort  Niagara:  "To-morrow  a 
party  of  Senecas  sets  off,  intending  to  strike  at  Wyoming.  If  anything  particular 
happens,  I  will  write  you."  The  next  day  he  wrote  again  from  the  same  place, 
as  follows: J 

"This  day  a  Tuscarora  runner  arrived  here,  who  says  the  party  to  which  he  belonged  had 
been  at  Wioming,  where  they  took  five  prisoners.  The  Rebels  pursued  them  to  Wylosyn  [Wya- 
lusing],  and  wounded  one  of  the  chiefs  through  the  body,  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  run  and  lose 
the  prisoners,  except  one  of  which  [Mrs.  Franklin]  they  killed  and  scalped.  They  were  informed 
by  the  prisoners  that  600  men  were  killed  at  Wioming." 

At  the  regular  semi-annual  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut, 
held  at  Hartford  in  May,  1782,  Westmoreland  was  represented  by  Obadiah  Gore 
and  Jonathan  Fitch. 

About  this  time  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland,  who  had  fled 
from  their  homes  after  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  were  returning  to  the  Valley  with 
their  families;  while  those  men  of  family  who  were  already  on  the  ground  without 
their  families,  began  to  bring  the  latter  back  from  their  temporary  homes  in 
New  York,  Connecticut  and  elsewhere. 

A  little  light  is  thrown  on  some  of  the  conditions  existing  here  at  that  time 
by  a  depositions  which  was  made  June  24,  1782,  by  John  Seel3^  Esq.,  of  North- 
ampton County,  Pennsylvania,  who  had  been  making  inquiries  "as  to  the  strength, 
intentions,  &c.,  of  the  settlers  at  Wyoming."  He  deposed:  "There  are  about 
300  men  fit  to  bear  arms — one-fourth,  or  not  exceeding  one-third,  of  them  being 
from  the  State  of  Connecticut.  They  expect  a  large  body  from  Connecticut 
this  Fall  and  next  Spring.  *  *  *  jf  they  should  fail  in  their  Charter  claims, 
they  are  determined  to  push  for  its  being  a  new  State." 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  at  Wilkes-Barre,  June  10 
1782,  to  the  Hon.  Roger  Sherman  (see  page  839,  Vol.  II)  by  his  second  son. 


*Now  Geneseo,  in  Livingston  County.     Sir  William  Johnson  always  wrote  the  name  of  this  place  ' 
its  Indian  name;  but  in  Iroquois  dialects  "J"  and  "Ch"  are  interchangeable,  as  are  also  "G"  and  "K",  "D"  and  "T",  &c. 

tEsENEZER  Allen  was  a  Tory  who  fled  from  Pennsylvania  and  joined  the  Seneca  Indians.  He  had  several 
successive  Indian  wives  (by  one  of  whom  he  had  two  daughters),  and  after  the  war  married  a  white  woman.  He  was 
a  monster  of  iniquity,  according  to  Mary  Jemison,  "the  White  Woman",  whose  "Life"  contains  a  chapter  devoted  to 
him.  He  once  drowned  a  Dutch  trader,  and  committed  many  other  enormitiej.  He  built  the  first  mill  at  the  Genesee 
Falls  (now  Rochester).  New  York,  under  the  authority  of  Phelps  and  Gorham.  He  was  living  in  New  York  in  1791, 
hut  ultimately  fled  the  country  and  died  at  Grand  River. 

tSee  Canadian  Archives.  Series  B,  Vol.  CII:  26. 

§See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  .Series,  IX:  622, 


i***'' 
•"     '^>^ 


Monument  to  William  Jameson, 
Killed  October  14.  1778. 

This  formerly  stood  near  the  Hanover  Cemetery,  but  is  now  in  possession  of  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 


1287 

William  Sherman,  who  had  come  to  Wyoming  from  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
with  the  intention  of  teaching  school.  (He  remained  here  until,  at  least,  April, 
1783,  but  whether  or  not  he  was  employed  then  or  at  any  other  time  in  teaching 
school,  cannot  now  be  learned.  William  Sherman,  born  in  1751,  was  graduated 
at  Yale  College  in  1770.  He  was  a  paymaster,  with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant,  in 
the  Continental  army  from  January,  1777,  to  January,  1781.  He  died  at  New 
Haven  in  June,  1789): 

"Honored  Sir  : — I  arrived  here  the  5th  inst.  after  a  very  fatiguing  journey,  especially  the 
last  day.  I  rode  from  Colonel  Stroud's  Fort  Penn,  being  forty-seven  miles — thirty-eight  miles 
being  an  intire  wilderness — without  any  company.  Two  days  before  I  arrived  at  Fort  Penn 
Indians  had  killed  one  boy  and  one  horse,  and  speared  two  others,  which  I  saw  nine  miles  this 
side  of  Fort  Penn.  Three  days  ago  I  was  informed  by  some  gentlemen  that  came  through  the 
woods  that  they  had  burnt  a  house  and  killed  a  horse,  but  no  other  damage  done. 

"The  committee  sits  this  day  to  determine  what  wages  they  will  give  and  what  kind  of 
pay.  My  proposals  are,  half  money  and  the  other  half  in  produce.  If  we  don't  agree  I  shall  go  to 
the  place  about  eight  miles  above,  where  I  have  got  a  call  on  my  proposals.  The  situation  of 
this  town  is  by  far  the  most  pleasant.  The  whole  country  between  the  two  mountains  is  as  level 
as  any  part  of  our  [New  Haven]  Green,  for  several  miles  in  length  and  four  or  five  in  breadth.  *  *  * 

In  a  deposition*  made  by  Silas  Taylor  before  John  Van  Campen,  Esq.,  of 

Northampton  County,  August  2?,  1782,  the  deponent  declared: 

"That  he  was  at  Wyoming  [Wilkes-Barre]  on  or  about  July  20,  1782.  Col,  Zebulon  Butler 
arrived  at  that  place  the  day  preceding.  After  the  arrival  of  Butler  he  sent  to  all  the  Proprietors 
of  the  Connecticut  claim  then  at  that  place,  to  meet  the  next  day  to  consult  on  business  of  impor- 
tance. The  next  morning  after  the  meeting  this  deponent  asked  sundry  of  these  Proprietors 
what  the  business  was,  and  learned  that  Colonel  Butler  had  given  them  instructions  to  go  down 
the  river  to  Wapwallopen.  build  a  strong  block-housfe,  and  take  possession  of  that  country.  The 
trial  between  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut  will  be  kept  off  this  seven  years."     *     *     * 

On  Monday,  July  8,  1782,  John  Jamesonf  and  his  youngest  brother,  Ben- 
jamin (who  was  not  quite  fourteen  years  of  age),  brothers  of  William  Jameson, 
mentioned  on  page  1100,  Vol.  II,  accompanied  by  Asa  Chapman,  a  neighbor, 
were  traveling  horseback  from  Hanover  to  Wilkes-Barre.     As  they  came  near 

tJOHN  Jameson  was  born  in  Voluntown.  Windham  County,  Connecticut,  June  17,1  749.  the  eldest  child  of  Robert 
and  Agnes  { Dixon)  Jameson.  The  father  of  Robert  and  the  grandfather  of  John  Jameson  was  John  Jameson,  Sr.,  a 
native  of  Scotland,  where  he  was  bom  about  1680.  .\t  about  the  age  of  five  years  he  accompanied  the  other  members 
of  his  father's  family  to  the  North  of  Ireland.  About  the  year  1685.  shortly  after  the  accession  of  King  James  II,  when 
the  persecution  of  the  Covenanters  was  vigorously  renewed,  many  .Scots  emigrated  to  the  province  of  Ulster,  in  the 
North  of  Ireland.  The  family  of  John  Jameson,  Sr..  settled  at  Omagh,  in  the  county  of  Tyrone,  Ulster,  and  there,  in 
1705,  John  Jameson,  Sr  ,  was  married  to  Rosanna  Irwin,  or  Irvine,  a  native  of  Omagh. 

John  Jameson,  Sr,.  learned  the  trade  of  a  linen-weaver,  and  in  connection  with  one  or  more  of  his  brothers  carried 
on  in  a  small  way  the  manufacture  of  linen  at  Omagh  until  the  year  1718.  Under  the  date  of  March  26,  1718,  a  large 
number  of  persons  residing  in  the  North  of  Ireland  signed  and  sent  across  the  Atlantic  to  Samuel  Shute,  the  royal 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  a  memorial,  which,  in  part,  read  as  follows: 

"We,  Inhabitants  of  the  North  of  Ireland,  Doe,  in  our  own  names  and  in-the  names  of  many  others  our  neighbours 
— Gentlemen.  Ministers.  Farmers  and  Tradesmen — coramissionate  and  appoint  our  trusty  and  well-beloved  Friend 
the  Reverend  Mr.  William  Boyd  of  Macasky  to  His  Excellency  the  Rt.  Hon.  Col.  Samuel  Suitte,  Govemour  of  New 
England,  and  to  assure  His  Excellency  of  our  sincere  and  hearty  Inclination  to  Transport  ourselves  to  that  very  ex- 
cellent and  renowned  Plantation  upon  our  obtaining  from  his  Excellency  suitable  incom-agement.  And  further,  to 
act  and  Do  in  our  names  as  his  Prudence  shall  direct. '"     *     * 

Among  the  320  signatures  appended  to  this  document  were  those  of  John  Jameson,  Sr.,  and  his  brother  William. 

To  the  aforementioned  memorial,  delivered  into  his  hands  by  the  Rev.  William  Boyd,  Governor  Shute  returned 
a  favorable  answer,  and  accordingly,  early  in  June,  I7I8,  a  company  of  120  families,  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  MacGregor 
at  their  head,  sailed  from  the  North  of  Ireland  in  five  vessels,  and  landed  safely  at  Boston.  Massachusetts,  August  4, 
1718.  William  and  John  Jameson,  with  their  wives  and  children,  were  of  this  company  of  immigrants,  concerning 
whom  it  is  stated  (in  Bryant's  "History  of  the  United  States".  Ill:  138) :  "These  people,  who  undertook  to  better  their 
condition  in  America,  were  descendants,  [many  of  them),  of  the  colonists  who  had  been  transferred  by  James  I  to  the 
North  of  Ireland,  where  their  condition,  from  penal  laws  against  Protestants,  and  from  local  taxation,  had  become 
intolerable." 

John  Jameson  remained  at  Boston  for  a  time,  but  in  1719  removed  with  his  family  to  Milton,  Norfolk  County, 
Massachusetts,  distant  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  Boston.  In  October,  1725,  Robert  Lord  of  Fairfield  sold  to  John 
Jameson  142  acres  of  land  in  the  new  town  of  Voluntown,  Windham  County,  Connecticut.  This  land  lay  in  that  part 
of  Voluntown  which  is  now  Sterling,  and  was  on  the  Plainfield  and  Providence  highway,  near  where  it  cro.sses  Mossup 
River,  Thither  John  Jameson  removed.  He  was  admitted  an  inhabitant  of  the  town  December  23.  1728,  and  was 
chosen   grand-juryman    December    14.    1730. 

John  Jameson  died  at  his  home  in  Volunto\vn  in  April.  1734,  his  wife.  Rosanna,  having  died  there  a  short  time 
previously.  Their  children  were  as  follows:  (i)  William,  born  in  Omagh,  Ireland,  about  1706;  died  at  Voluntown 
about  1727.  (ii)  Mary,  born  in  Omagh  about  1708;  was  living  in  Voluntoivn,  unmarried,  in  1735.  (iii)  Sarah,  born 
m  Omagh  about  1710;  married  at  Voluntown  May  27,  1735,  to  Joseph  Parke  of  Plainfield,  Connecticut,  (iv)  Joan, 
horn  in  Omagh  about  1712;  married  at  Voluntown  August  16.  1739,  to  Latham  Clark,  (v)  Robert,  born  at  Omagh 
December  24,  1714;  died  May  I,  1786,  (See  hereinafter)  (vi)  Elizabelh.  married  at  Voluntown  February  11,  1742, 
to  Thomas  Clark  of  Voluntown.  (vii)  Hannah,  married  at  Stonington.  Connecticut,  May  19.  1747.  to  Elisha  Chese- 
borough.  (viii)  Esther,  bom  at  Voluntown  May  29,  1726;  married  at  Stonington  October  25,  1748,  to  Joseph  (born 
January  22.  1718),  sixth  child  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Brown)  York  of  Stonington,  and  great-grandson  of  James  York, 
Sr.,  an  early  settler  in  Stonington. 

(v)  Robert  Jameson  came  to  New  England  with  the  other  members  of  his  father's  family,  and  was  living  in  Volun 
town  when  his  father  died  there  in  the  Spring  of  1 734.     In  1 744  and  again  in  1 745  lie  was  chosen  Lister  of  the  town" 


1288 

in  1745,  Surveyor  of  Highways,  and  in  1745,  '46  and  "47,  Fenceviewer.  He  was  duly  sworn  and  admitted  a  freeman 
April  7.  1746.  In  December,  1749,  he  was  chosen  Constable  of  Voluntown,  and  re-chosen  in  December,  1750.  In 
July,   1753.  he  became  an  original  member  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  subscribing  and  paying  for  one  "right." 

Robert  Jameson  attended  as  a  duly  qualified  Representative  from  Voluntown  the  following  sessions  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Connecticut:  May  and  September,  1756;  May,  1759;  May  and  October.  1763;  January,  March  and  Octo- 
ber. 1 764.  As  a  Representative  he  was  present  in  the  Council  Chamber  at  Hartford.  May  28-30,  1 763 ,  when  the  Gover- 
nor, Council  and  Assembly  of  Connecticut  held  a  conference  with  certain  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  of  Indians,  as  narrated 
on  page  415,  Vol  I.  From  1754  to  1763,  inclusive,  Robert  Jameson  was  annually  chosen  by  his  fellow-freemen  of  Volun 
town  to  the  offices  of  Fence-viewer,  Constable  and  Collector  of  Colony  Rates.  In  May,  1764,  he  was  appointed  agent 
of  the  town,  to  appear  at  ye  General  Assembly  to  answer  ye  memorial  of  Moses  Fish  and  others,  and  show  why  the  same 
should  not  be  granted.  In  December,  1764,  he  was  chosen  Selectman  and  Fence-viewer  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  in 
December,  1767,  was  chosen  Fence-viewer  and  Surveyor  of  Highways. 

In  November,  1776.  Robert  Jameson  removed  vrith  his  wife,  six  of  his  sons  and  five  of  his  daughters  to  Wyoming 
Valley,  where  his  eldest  son,  John,  had  already  settled.  In  compliance  with  a  law  which  was  rigorously  enforced  during 
the  Revolutionary  War,  it  was  necessary  for  a  person  removing  from  one  State  to  another  to  be  provided  with  a  pass- 
port, issued  by  a  duly  authorized  public  ofHcial.     The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  document  furnished  Mr.  Jameson: 

"Windham.  Nov,  4,  1776. 

"The  bearer  hereof,  Mr.  Robert  Jameson,  has  been  for  many  years  an  inhabitant  in  the  town  of  Voluntown  in 
the  county  of  Windham  and  State  of  Connecticut,  and  is  now  on  his  journey  with  his  wife  and  family  and  family  fur- 
niture to  remove  to  the  town  of  Hanover  on  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  is  a  friend  to  the  United  States  of  America 
and  has  a  right  to  remove  himself  and  family  as  above."  TSigned]  Samurl  Gray." 

"Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  one  of  the  Committee  of  said  Windham  " 

Stewart  Pearce.  referring  in  his  "Jameson  Memoir"  to  the  removal  of  Robert  Jameson  and  his  family  to  Wyoming, 
says;  "They  brought  with  them  a  few  articles  of  household  furniture,  and  an  agricultural  implement  or  two.  which  they 
conveyed  on  a  large  cart  drawn  by  three  yoke  of  oxen.  The  sons  walked  alongside,  driving  the  oxen  and  helping  the  cart 
over  newly-and  badly-opened  roads.  The  daughters,  clothed  in  homespun,  also  traveled  afoot,  and  drove  fourty 
head  of  sheep.  The  journey  was  performed  in  about  three  tedious  weeks.  John  Jameson  met  his  father  and  mother 
and  the  other  members  of  the  family  at  the  mouth  of  Lackawaxen  Creek,  on  the  Delaware,  and  conducted  them  to 
their  homely  dwelling  in  Hanover  Township,  below  the  present  town  of  Wilkes-Barre." 

In  the  Spring  of  1773  the  tov\Tiship  of  Salem  was  laid  out  and  alloted,  as  described  on  page  771 .  Vol.  II.  By  virtue 
of  his  ownership  of  a  "right"  in  The  Susquehanna  Company's  Purchase,  Robert  Jameson  was  declared  a  proprietor  in 
Salem  Township;  and,  in  the  distribution  of  lots  which  soon  took  place,  "Lot  No.  30  in  the  First  Division"  fell  to  his 
share  This  was  a  fine  tract  of  fifty  acres.  lying  partly  on  the  river  flats  and  partly  on  the  upland  to  the  north,  some 
six  miles  below  the  present  borough  of  Shickshinny,  and  one  and  one-half  miles  east  of  what  is  now  Beach  Haven.  In 
subsequent  divisions  of  Salem  lands  Robert  Jameson  was  allotted  one  tract  of  100  acres  and  another  tract  of  150  acres. 
He  never  personally  occupied  any  of  these  lands,  however,  but  lived  until  his  death  on  the  property  of  his  son  John, 
previously  mentioned,  where,  within  a  year  after  his  arrival  from  Connecticut,  he  had  erected  a  substantial  log  house 
and  other  improvements  for  the  use  of  himself,  wife  and  unmarried  children. 

Owing  to  his  age  in  1778  (he  was  in  his  sixty-fourth  year)  Robert  Jameson  was  excused  from  serving  in  the  West- 
moreland militia;  and  so  at  the  time  of  the  battle  and  massacre  of  Wyoming,  he  was  one  of  the  men  who  garrisoned 
Shawnee  Fort,  in  Plymouth,  to  which  the  women  and  children  of  his  family  had  repaired  for  safety.  Four  of  his  sons 
were  in  the  battle,  and  one  of  them — Robert,  Jr.^ — was  slain.  The  three  who  escaped  joined  their  parents  and  the  other 
members  of  the  family  at  the  Fort  in  Plymouth,  and  the  next  day  they  fled  down  the  Susquehanna  to  Fort  Augusta, 
at  Sunbury.  The  oldest  and  the  youngest  members  of  the  family  floated  down  the  river  in  a  couple  of  small  boats, 
taking  with  them  such  of  their  belongings  as  they  were  able  to  carry;  while  the  others  made  the  journey  of  some  sixty 
miles  on  foot.  They  undertook  to  drive  some  of  their  cattle  before  them,  but,  owing  to  the  haste  in  which  they  had  to 
make  the  journey,  the  almost  impassable  roads  or  paths,  and  the  thick  undergrowth  along  the  roads,  nearly  all  the  cattle 
were  lost,     One  yoke  of  oxen  strayed  into  Northampton  County,  and  was  subsequently  recovered, 

The  Jameson  refugees,  after  spending  a  few  days  at  Fort  Augusta,  went  to  Hanover  Township.  Lancaster  County. 
Pennsylvania,  where  they  had  friends  and  relatives.  Two  of  the  sons  returned  to  Wyoming  within  a  short  time,  and 
two  more  within  the  next  year  and  a-half,  but  the  other  members  of  the  family  remained  in  Lancaster  County  until 
the  early  Autumn  of  1781.  when  they  also  returned.  Their  houses  and  other  buildings  together  with  the  contents 
thereof,  had  been  burned  by  the  enemy  in  1778,  but  in  1780  and  '81  John  Jameson,  with  the  assistance  of  his  brothers, 
had  erected  a  log  house  on  the  site  of  their  ruined  homes,  and  this  the  family  occupied  upon  their  arrival. 

During  the  Second  Pennamite- Yankee  War  Robert  Jameson  and  his  family  suffered  much  in  common  with  the 
other  Connecticut  settlers.  On  account  of  his  age  and  ill  health.  Mr.  Jameson  did  not  take  an  active  part  in  resisting 
the  oppressions  and  outrages  perpetrated  by  the  representatives  of  the  Pennsylvania  Government  and  the  Pennamite 
land-claimers  in  Wyoming.  Nevertheless  he  and  his  family  were  among  those  who  were  dispoissessed  of  their  homes 
under  color  of  law  and  driven  summarily  into  the  wilderness  in  May.  1784 — -as  more  fully  related  in  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

Robert  Jameson  died  at  his  home  in  Hanover  Township  May  1 ,  1786.  and  was  buried  in  the  grave-yard  of  the  old 
Presbyterian  meeting-house  in  Hanover.  Letters  of  Administration  upon  his  estate  were  granted  to  his  two  surviving 
sons  Joseph  and  Alexander— January  4.  1788.  by  the  Orphan's  Court  of  Luzerne  County. 

Robert  Jameson  was  married  November  24,  1748.  by  the  minister  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  North  Stoning- 
ton.  New  London  County.  Connecticut,  to  Agnes  (born  in  1723).  daughter  of  Capt.  Robert  Dixon  mentioned  in  note 
"•'"  on  page  251.  Vol.  I.  After  the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Jameson  resided  in  Hanover  until  1793.  when  she  and 
four  of  her  surviving  children  removed  to  Salem  Township,  Luzerne  County,  and  occupied  the  property  there  whicli 
Robert  Jameson  had  owned  for  thirteen  years  prior  to  his  death.  Their  dwelling-house  stood  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Susquehanna,  on  the  elevated  ground  west  of  the  river  flat^,  four  miles  south  of  the  present  borough  of  Shickshinny. 
It  was  in  the  settlement,  or  hamlet,  which  subsequently  was  named  Beach  Grove.  There  Mrs.  Agnes  (Dixon)  Jameson 
lived  until  her  death,  which  occurred  September  24,  1804,  in  the  eighty-second  year  of  her  age. 

The  children  of  Robert  and  Agnes  (Dixon)  Jameson,  all  bom  at  Voluntown,  Connecticut,  were  as  follows:  (i) 
John,  bom  June  17.  1749;  murdered  July  8.  1782.  (See  below)  (ii)  Mary,  bom  March  12,  1751;  died  at  Salem.  Sept- 
ember 19,  1834.  unmarried,  (iii)  Anne,  bom  April  26.  1752;  married  about  1775  to  George  Gordon,  bom  May  10. 
1755;  she  died  January  25,  1808.  (iv)  William,  bom  December  19,  1753;  murdered  October  16,  1778,  as  narrated  on 
page  1100.  Vol.  II.  (v)  Robert,  bora  June  10.  1755;  killed  at  the  battle  of4Wyoming.  July  3,  1778.  (vi)  Elizabeth. 
bom  August  5,  1757;  died  at  Salem,  April  23,  1818.  unmarried,  (vii)  Rosanna,  born  December  24.  1758;  became  the 
wife  of  Klisha  Harvey  (see  footnote,  p.  1261).  died  January  17,  1840.  (viii)  Samuel,  bom  March  13,  1760;  took  part  in 
the  battle  of  Wyoming;  was  accidently  drowned  in  the  Susquehanna  River  near  his  home  in  1787.  (ixt  Hannah,  born 
December  29.  1761:  married  in  Pennsylvania  to  William  Reed,  and  died  about  eight  weeks  later  at  Hanover,  (x) 
Joseph,  born  May  23,  1763;  died  April  7  1854.  (See  below.)  (xi)  Alexander,  born  September.  10,  1764;  died  February 
17.  1789.  (See  below.)  (xii)  .-l^jifs,  born  April  25,  1766;married  about  1790,  as  his  first  wife,  to  John  Alden,  mentioned 
in  the  note  on  page  500,  Vol,  I;  died  about  1791.  (xiii)  Benjamin,  bom  August  15.  1768;  died  at  Hanover  in  1789. 
unmarried. 

I  xi)  Alexander  Jameson  accompanied  the  other  members  of  his  father's  family  to  Wyoming  in  1  776,  being  then  in  t^e 
thirteenth  year  of  his  life.  At  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Wyoming  he  was  in  the  fort  at  Plymouth.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  the  proprietors  of  the  township  of  Plymouth  foreseeing  danger,  and  being  desirous  that 
their  rich  flat  lands  along  the  river  should  not  be  neglected,  made  an  agreement  with  a  number  of  persons  to  give  them, 
during  the  war,  the  use  of  all  these  lands  that  they  could  cultivate,  on  condition  that  they  should  maintain  the  lessors' 
possession,  and  keep  in  repair  the  newly-erected  stockade,  or  fort,  on  Garrison  Hill.  {See  page  886,  Vol.  II.)  Among 
those  asEO-iated  for  this  purpose  were  Capt.  Prince  Alden,  James  Nisbitt.  Robert  Jameson  and  Capt-  Samuel  Ransom. 
The  sons  of  these  associators  tilled  the  soil,  and  performed  the  other  duties  required  by  the  terms  of  the  lease,  and  while 
doing  so  occupied  the  fort. 

Except  at  the  general  expulsion  after  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  and  for  about  two  years  following  that  event,  the 
lessees  and  their  representatives  held  their  ground — "attacked,  defending  themselves,  fighting,  suffering,  they  still 
maintained  their  position."  Joseph  and  Alexander  Jameson  represented  their  father  in  this  work,  Shawnee  Fort 
was  partly  destroyed  by  the  savages  after  its  evacuation  and  surrender  by  the  patriots  on  July  4.  1778;  but  the  following 
Autumn  it  was  repaired,  and  was  garrisoned  by  a  small  company  of  men  during  the  Winter. 


1289 

Alexander  Jameson  returned  to  Wyoming  in  1780,  and  he  and  his  brother  Joseph  (when  the  latter  was  not  in 
service  with  the  militia)  lived  in  Shawnee  Fort  with  a  number  of  other  young  men  and  farmed  a  small  portion  of  the 
flats.     Less  than  200  acres  of  land  in  the  whole  valley  were  cultivated  in  1781. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1787.  upon  the  organization  of  the  militia  establishment  in  the  new  County  of  Luzerne. 
Alexander  Jameson  became  a  member  of  the  First  (Hanover  and  Newport)  Company  of  the  1st  Battalion,  and  within  a 
short  time  thereafter  was  appointed  First  Sergeant  of  the  Company.  Mason  F.  Alden  was  Captain  of  this  company, 
but  Lieut,  Shubal  Bidlack  was  in  command  from  November  17.  1  787,  to  February  8.  I  789,  owing  to  the  delay  in  issuing 
Captain  Alden's  Commission  Sergeant  Jameson  was  elected  Ensign  of  this  company  May  10.  1791,  and  having 
been  duly  commissioned  he  held  the  oflfice  until  his  removal  from  Hanover  to  Salem  Townshp,  early  in  1793.  He  was 
elected  August  17.  1793.  and  commissioned  in  January,  1794.  Lieutenant  of  the  Second,  or  Salem.  Company  (Nathan 
Beach.  Captain)  in  the  Third  Regiment,  Luzerne  County  Militia,  commanded  bv  Lieut.  Col.  Matthias  Hollenback. 
In  1793  and  '94  he  was  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  Luzerne  County,  and  from  181 1  to  1815.  inclusive,  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace  in  Salem  Township. 

Alexander  Jameson  was  married  May  5,  1796.  to  Elizabeth  born  1777.  (fourth  daughter  and  sixth  child  of  Capt. 
Lazarus  and  Martha  (Espy)  Stewart,  mentioned  on  page  644,  Vol.  II.  Mrs.  Stewart  died  at  Salem  August  20.  1806. 
and  Alexander  Jameson  died  there  February  17,  1859,  in  the  ninety-fifth  year  of  his  age — the  last  male  member  of  the 
Jameson  family  of  Wyoming  Valley. 

The  children  of  Alexander  and  Elizabeth  (S/nvarl)  Jameson  were:  (1)  William,  born  in  1797;  married  to  Mar- 
garet Henry  of  Salem,  and  had  children  Mary,  John  W.  and  Alexander;  died  September  21,  1853.  (2)  Martha,  born 
in  1799:  died  March  8,  1881,  unmarried.  (3)  Robert,  born  in  1801  ;  graduated  at  Vale  College  in  1823;  died  July  25 
1838.  unmarried.  (4)  Minerva,  born  in  1803;  married  in  1823  to  Dr.  Ashbel  B.  Wilson  (bom  June  II,  1797,  in  Madison, 
County,  Virginia;  died  in  Berwick,  Pa.,  January  7.  1856);  had  children  Caroline.  Mary  Camilla,  Edward  and  Minerva; 
died  in  1831.  (5)  Elizabelh.  born  in  1805;  married  May  2.  1827.  to  the  Rev.  Francis  McCartney,  a  native  of  Ireland, 
but  at  that  time  a  minister  in  Viriginia;  had  children  Mary.  Elizabeth  and  Francis  A,  The  last  named  became,  in 
1859.  Editor  of  The  Scranlun  Republican.  Scranton.  Pa.  Later,  for  many  years,  he  was  a  lawyer  and  journalist  in 
Washington.  D.  C. 

(xt  Joseph  Jameson  fled  from  Wyoming  after  the  battle  of  July  3.  1778.  but  returned  in  the  Summer  of  1  779  with 
his  brother  John.  In  March,  !7S0  (two  months  before  his  seventeenth  birthday),  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Capt 
John  Franklin's  company  (see  page  1229.  Vol.  II).  and  did  duty  with  it  for  about  a  year.  During  this  period  he.  like 
the  other  members  of  _the  company,  engaged  in  farming  and  other  necessary  work  whenever  the  condition  of  affairs  in 
the  settlement  permitted  attention  to  such  matters. 

Charles  Miner,  in  the  Appendix  (page  42)  to  his  "History  of  Wyoming",  says,  speaking  of  Joseph  and  Alexander 
Jameson;  "They  have  resided  on  their  beautiful  plantation  in  Salem,  having  at  their  command  and  hospitably 
enjoj-ing  all  the  good  things  that  could  make  life  pass  agreeably.  Joseph,  one  of  the  pleasantest  and  most  intelligent 
men  of  our  early  acquaintance,  chose  to  live  a  bachelor;  the  more  unaccountable,  as  his  pleasing  manners,  cheerful 
di  position,  and  inexhaustible  fund  of  anecdote,  rendered  him  everywhere  an  agreeable  companion.  *  *  «  Both 
thise  brothers,  besides  the  deep,  deep  sufferings,  of  their  family,  were  themselves  participators  in  the  active  scene;  of 
the  war,  and  endured  hardships  that  the  present  inhabitants  can  form  no  true  conception  of."  Joseph  Jameson  died 
of  palsy  at  Salem  April  7.  1854.  in  the  ninety-first  year  of  his  age.  and  his  remains  lie  near  those  of  his  mother  and 
1  rothers  in  the  Beach  Grove  Cemetery,  on  the  hill  back  of  their  old  home. 

I  v)  Robert  Jatneson.  bom  at  Voluntown  June  10,  1755,  lived  at  home,  attending  school  and  working  on  his  father's 
farm,  until  July,  1775.  At  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  held  in  July,  1775  it  was  ordered  that 
there  should  be  raised  a  regiment  of  infantry  to  be  called  the  "Eight",  to  be  commanded  by  Col.  Jedidiah  Huntington . 
and  to  remain  in  service  until  December.  1775.  The  regiment  was  recruited  mainly  in  the  counties  of  New  London. 
Hartford  and  Windham.  The  Second  Company  was  commanded  by  Capt.  John  Douglas  of  Plainfield,  and  Moses 
Campbell  of  Voluntown  was  Lieutenant  of  the  Company.  Robert  Jameson  enlisted  as  a  private  in  this  company. 
July  10.  and  was  honorably  discharged  December  16.  1775.  The  regiment  was  stationed  on  Long  Island  Sound  until 
September  14,  when,  on  requisition  from  General  Washington,  it  was  ordered  to  the  Boston  camps,  and  took  post  at 
Roxbury  in  General  Spencer's  brigade.     There  it  remained  until  the  expiration  of  its  term  of  service. 

In  1776  Robert  Jameson  accompanied  the  other  members  of  his  father's  family  to  Wyoming  Valley.  As  a  private 
in  the  Fifth  Company,  24th  Regiment.  Connecticut  Militia,  he  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming.  He  fell  early  in 
the  action.  ■  -  -  »  • 

(i)  John  Jameson,  born  June  17,  1749.  in  Voluntown.  Connecticut,  hved  there  until  March.  1770.  when,  havlji^ 
become  a  member  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  he  repaired  to  Wyoming  Valley  with  a  small  body  of  New  Engla^clers 
under  the  leadership  of  Maj.  John  Durkee — as  related  on  page  646.  Vol.  II.  In  October.  1772.  he  purchased  for  £4^! 
fr  )m  William  Young — who  was  the  original  owner — "Lot  No.  22  in  the  First  Division  of  Hanover  Township."  ,  «Xhi^ 
lot  comprised  305  acres  in  the  southern  end  of  the  township,  near  the  present  borough  of  Nanticoke.  In  the  following 
November  John  Jameson  went  to  Voluntown,  where  he  spent  the  Winter  with  his  father's  family — returning  to 
Hanover  early  in  the  Spring  of  1773.  -  -  »  . - 

According  to  Stewart  Pearce,  in  his  "Jameson  Memoir",  John  Jameson  "cleared  several  acres,  and  erected,  a 
comfortable  log  house  containing  two  rooms  and  a  half-story  loft  accessible  by  means  of  a  ladder.  The  fire-pbce.was 
constructed  without  jambr.  The  windows  were  of  small  size,  and  the  sash  had  six  openings,  which,  instead  of'betng 
fi  led  with  panes  of  glass,  were  covered  with  oiled  paper.  This  structure  compared  favorably  with  the  dwellinij'-p^rfces 
of  neighboring  settlers,  and.  indeed,  as  the  logs  of  which  it  was  built  were  hewn,  the  edifice  was  considered  supngorlo 
any  other  in  the  neighborhood.  Here  John  Jameson  lived  and  farmed  a  few  of  his  most  fertile  acres,  but  speyt  ^the 
greater  part  of  his  time  working  at  his  trade — that  of  a  wheelwright — chieflv  in  making  spinning-wheels  for  the*women 
of  the  settlement.     It  was  to  this  home  that  he  welcomed  his  father's  family  in  the  Autumn  of  1776."  "-  •  - 

John  Jameson  remained  in  Wyoming  from  the  Spring  of  1773  until  the  Summer  of  1774.  when  he  made  atipther   ; 
brief  visit  to  his  parents   home  in  Voluntown.  and.  under  date  of  July  12,  1774,  purchased  of  Amos  Spaulding  wPEl^ln-  ] 
field.  Connecticut,  one-quarter  of  a  "right"  in  The  Susquehanna  Purchase.      The  same  day  he  bought  of,  James 
McGonegal  of  Voluntown  another  quarter  of  a  "right".     Shortly  afterwards,  when  the  lands  of  Newport  were»ayot%ed   ' 
to  the  proprietors  of  that  Township  John  Jameson  drew  one  "right"  in  each  of  the  three  divisions  of  the  township: 

In  December.  1775,  John  Jameson  was  a  private  in  the  24th  Regiment,  Connecticut  Militia,  and  took  p;ftt,-ia£he 
battle  of  "Rampart  Rocks",  hereinbefore  described.     In  1776  he  was  one  of  the  Selectmen  of  Westmoreland.     TliJi^en--* 
era!  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  at  its  session  in  October,  1776  (see  page  907.  Vol.  II),  passed  various  laws  relating  to  the  ^ 
military  establishment  of  the  State,  and  among  other  things  voted  that  John  Jameson  be  appointed  "Ensi;irB  jri  j^ne 
of  the  eight  battalions  to  be  raised"  in  the  State.     January  1,  1777.  he  was  commissioned  Ensign  in  the  5th  ijegiment. 
Connecticut  Line  (Phihp  B,  Bradley,  Colonel),  which  was  then  being  organized,  and  was  assigned  to  the  coav^an^-  to. , 
be  commanded  by  Capt.  Solomon  Strong,  then  a  resident  of  Wyoming  Valley.     This  regiment  was  recruit'jci  Ja'r_gely 
in  the  counties  of  Fairfield  and  Litchfield.     (See  page  915.  Vol.  II.) 

Ensign  Jameson  resigned  his  commission  July  22,  1777.  and  returned  to  his  home  in  Wyoming.  In  1778'heKv-as  ^• 
n-ember  of  the  5th  Company,  24th  Regiment.  Connecticut  Mihtia.  and  with  his  company' took  part  in  the  ftd«t4e  of* 
July  3.  1778.  His  name  is  in  the  list  (incomplete)  of  survivors  of  the  battle  inscribed  on  the  monument •sfe'^jJd  af^ 
A\'yoraing  to  commemorate  the  battle  and  massacre.  Escaping  from  the  bloody  field  John  Jameson  joinod,  his  wife 
and  infant  son.  his  parents,  and  others  at  Shawnee  Fort,  and  fled  with  them  down  the  Susquehanna.  Aftej'h^pinp 
to  get  his  people  settled  in  Lancaster  County,  he  returned  to  Wyoming,  where  he  arrived  August  16.  1778,  .aiiJjoined 
Lieut.  Colonel  Butler's  detachment  of  militia.  In  the  early  Summer  of  1779  he  paid  his  exiled  family  and  Relatives  a 
visit,  and  upon  his  return  to  Wyoming  was  accompanied  by  his  brother  Joseph.  '•'  '  * 

John  Jameson  was  married  in  Newport  Township,  in  what  is  now  Luzerne  County.  Pennsylvania,  in  trte  AMtumn 
of  1776  to  Abigail  (born  Augun  1 1.  1753),  third  child  of  Capt.  Prince  and  Mary  (Fitch)  Alden.  mentioned  on  pagit  500. 
\'ol.  I.  Letters  of  administration  upon  the  estate  of  John  Jameson,  deceased,  w^ere  granted  bv  the  Probate  Court  of 
Westmoreland  to  Robert  Jameson,  the  father,  and  Abigail  Jameson,  the  widow,  of  the  decedent.  Julv  27.  1782;"Capt. 
Prince  Alden  being  surety  on  their  bond  for  £500. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  inventory  of  the  decendent's  estate  (the  original  document  being  now  in  the  present 
^\riters  possession) , which  was  made  December  31.  1782,  by  Capt.  James  Bidlack  and  Jara?s  Nisbitt. 

"To  The  Honble.  the  Court  of  probate  for  the  Distrect  of  Westmoreland  in  the  State  of  Connecticut.  &c.  We 
The  Subscribers  Being  appointed  and  Chosen   apprisers  To  apprise  The   Estate  of  Mr.   John  Jameson  Late  of  sd. 


1290 

the  Hanover  meeting-house,  about  three  miles  below  the  village  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
John  Jameson  exclaimed,  "There  are  Indians!"  Before  he  could  turn  his  horse  he 
was  shot  by  three  rifle-balls,  and  fell  to  the  ground  dead.  Chapman  was  wounded, 
but  clinging  to  his  horse  escaped  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  died  the  next  day. 
Benjamin  Jameson's  horse,  wheeling  suddenly  about,  carried  him  back  in  safety 
to  his  home.  The  scalp  of  John  Jameson  was  taken  by  the  Indians,  who  hastily 
retreated  from  the  valley,  leaving  his  dead  body  in  the  road. 

Thus  was  the  last  blood  shed  and  the  last  scalp  taken  by  Indians  within  the 
present  limits  of  Luzerne  County.  Some  3'ears  ago  this  tragedy  was  made  the 
subject  of  an  historical  painting  entitled  "The  Last  Scalp",  which  now  hangs 
in  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society's  building.  In  1879  the  Hon. 
Stewart  Pearce,  a  grandson  of  John  Jameson,  erected  alongside  the  main  high- 

Westmoreland  Deed  and  being  Engaged  as  the  law  Directs  have  apprised  said  Estate  as  Shewen  to  us  in  the  follow- 
ing manner  viz  : 

•To  two  cows 8  —  00  —  0 

To  Blue  Coat  and  jacket  40s  ,  old  Coat  &  j  acket  8s 2—9—0 

To  one  Lining  [linen]  Coat  &  jacket  12s..  one  Corded  jacket  and  britches  10s  1   —     2-0 

To  one  Holland  shirt  18s.,  one  pair  leather  Britches  24s  2  —     2   —  0 

To  old  Stockings  4s.,  iH  yds.  all  wool  Cloath  12s,  pr.  yd, .  2  —     4  —  fi 

To  one  pair  Shoebuckles  and  one  pair  Knee  ditto  . .  0  —     5  —  0 

To  one  Silver  stock  buckel 

To  old  Turning  Tools  6s.,  to  one  vise  24s 

To  one  pair  Boots  1 8s.,  To  one  Calf  18s 

To  Earthen  Ware  5s..  one  old  side  sadle  25s 

To  one  old  man's  Ditto  6s-,  To  curried   Lether  9^  . 
To  sole  lether  lOs.,  To  i  water  pails  5s. .  0  —   15  —  0 

To  four  old  Casks  7s    6d  ,  one  Ditto  3s      .  0—10  —  6 

To  3  old  Tarces  (tierces]  9s.,  To  one  Bed  and  Beding  TO  s  3  —   19  —  0 

To  stocking  yam  2s.,  To  one  book  of  Law  15s.    .  .  0-17-0 

One  Count  book  Is.  one  Bell  ,1s, ..  ,  0-4-0 

To  one  yoke  of  oxen 15-0-0 

To  The  Brown  mare  ....  12-0-0 

To  the  Black  mare 13-0-0 

To  Live  Swine 7-4-0 

To  Labour  on  Washes  Hou  e  .  ,  1-10-0 

Land  in  Hanover .  250-0-0 

Ditto  Newport  100-0-0 

[Signed]        "James  Biduack 
'■James  Nisbitt" 
Mrs.  Abigail  (Alden}  Jameson  continued,  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  to  reside  in  Hanover,  and,  although  a 
•v/y\ow  and  the  mother  of  three  very  young  children,  was  made  the  victim  of  many  persecutions  and   hardships  by  the 
Pennamites  during  the  years  1783  and  '84. 

'  'In  1787  Mrs.  Abigail  Jameson  was  married  (second)  to  Shubal  Bidlack,  as  mentioned  on  page  1000,  Vol.  II.  She 
died,  in  Hanover  Township  June  8,  1795. 

The  children  of  John  and  Abigail  (.4 Mck)  Jameson  were  as  follows r    (I)   Samuel    Jamf5n«,  born  in  Hanover  Augu-t 

29.  1777.     He  studied  medicine,  and  began  its  practice  in  Hanover  in  1799,     He  was  admitted  a  member  of  Lodge  No. 

er,  F.  and  A,  M.,  Wilkes-Barre,  August  11,  1800.     In  1818  and  '19  he  was  Assessor  of  Hanover  Township,    and  from 

1823  until  his  death  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace.     He  was  married  September  30.  1 800,  to  Hannah  (born  July  11,  1 779) 

daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Margaret  Hunlock,  and  their  children  were:     Maria,   Eliza  and  Anne  Jameson,     Samuel 

J*a^neson  died  at  Hanover  March  27,  1843,  and  his  widow — died   there  March  6,   1851.     (2)    Mary  Jameson,  second 

child  of  John  and  Abigail  {Aldeu)  Jameson,  was  bom  in    1780  in  Lancaster  County.   Pennsylvania,  during  the  tem- 

por9''v  residence  there  of  her  mother,  as  previously  related.     She  was  married  in  Hanover  Township.  Wyoming  \'allev 

OcioKer  1.  1800,  to  Jonathan  Hunlock,  Jr.     The  Hunloke.  or  Hunlocke.  family  was  early  in  New  Jersey.     The  will  of 

John  "Kunlocke  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  was  proved  December  4.  1745,  and  the  will  of  Thomas  Hunloke  was  proved 

Au^^st  24,  1746.     About  the  time  (1757-'60)  that  the  north-eastern  section  of  Northampton  County,  Pennsylvania, 

-    along -the  Delaware  River,  began  to  be  settled  by  emigrants  from  Connecticut,  New  'V'ork  and  New  Jersey  under  the 

'    auspices  of  The  Delaware  Company,  a  branch  of  the  Hunlock  family  (presumably  from  New  Jersey)  settled  in  the  town- 

■'    ship  of  Lower  Smithfield,  in  that  part  of  Northampton  County  which  is  now  Monroe  County. 

'  "Jtir.athan  Hunlock  was  one  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lower  Smithfield  who  addressed  a  petition  to  the 

Gover,flor  of  Pennsylvania   in   September,   1763.     About  that  time  he  was  married  to  Lee,  at  or  near 

'  what  i.s.now  the  borough  of  .Stroudsburg,  Monroe  County,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Abigail.  The 
latter,  some  twenty  or  more  years  later  was  married  to  one  David  Wheeler,  by  whom  she  had  several  children. 

'  Tri  1773.  .some  time  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  Jonathan  Hunlock  removed  from  Northampton  County  and  settled 
'  on  a  tract  of  land  lying  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  about  three  miles  below  Wyoming  Valley,  and  near 
the  mouth  of  a  good-sized  creek  flowing  from  the  northwest-  The  Indian  name  of  this  stream  was  "Mossacota"  (see 
F.  C.  Jbhnson's  "Historical  Record",  I:  73),  but  after  Jonathan  Hunlock  had  settled  there  it  became  known  as 
"Htirtfbck's  Creek" — which  name  it  still  bears.  Mr.  Hunlock  was  well  settled  there  by  December,  1775,  when  the 
Plunkef  invasion  took  place,  and  he  was  plundered  of  most  of  his  movable  property  by  the  invaders.     He  was  married 

(2d)  about  1775  or  '76  to  Margaret .     He  died  in  the  Spring  or  .Summer  of  1779.  and  letters  of  administration 

upon. hie  estate  were  granted  October  2^,  1779,  by  the  Probate  Court  of  Westmoreland  to  his  widow  Margaret — John 
TilllSury  being  her  surety  on  a  bond  for  £500.     The  children  of  Jonathan  and  Margaret  Hunlock  were;     (i)   Jonathan 
„    born  Jun^23,  1777.  who  became  the  husband  of  Mary  Jameson,  as  previously  noted,  and  died  in  October,  1861.     (ii) 
KannaH;  bom  July  U,  1779,  and  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Samuel  Jameson,  as  previously  noted. 

^3).  -Hannah  Jameson,  the  third  child  of  John  and  Abigail  <.Alden)  Jameson,  was  bora  in  Plymouth  Township, 
Wyoming  Valley,  September  17,  1782,  a  little  more  than  two  months  subsequent  to  the  murder  of  her  father  by  the 
Indians  '  She  was  married  June  20,  1799,  to  James  (born  in  1768),  eldest  child  of  Capt.  Lazarus  and  Martha  (Espy) 
Stewart  mentioned  on  page  644,  Vol.  II.  James  Stewart  died  February  15.  1808.  being  survived  by  his  wife  Hannah 
and  the  following-named  children:     Martha,  Abigail  Alden,  Caroline,  Marv,  Lazarus  and  Francis  R. 

Mrs:  'Hannah  (Jameson)  .Stewart  was  married  (2d)  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  November,  1819,  as  his  second  wife,  to  the 
Rev.  Marmaduke  Pearce  (bom  August  18,1 776) ,  son  of  Cromwell  and  Margaret  (Soggs)  Pearce  of  Willistown,  Chester 
County,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Pearce  died  at  Berwick.  Pennsylvania,  September  11,  1852,  and  was  survived  by  his 
wife  (who  died  at  Wilkes-Barre-,  October  21,  1859)  and  the  following-named  children;  Stewart,  Cromwell  and  John 
Jameson. 

For  further  mention  of  the  Pearce  family  see  a  subsequent  chapter:  and  for  fuller  details  concerning  the  Ja 
and  allied  families  see   "The  Harvey  Book",  published  at  Wilkes-Barr^  in  1899. 


1291 

wav,  near  the  old  Hanover  Church,  a  marble  pillar  hearing  this  inscription: 
"Near  this  Spot,  8  July,  1782,  Lieut.  John  Jameson,  Benjamin  Jameson  and  Asa 
Chapman,  going  to  Wilkes-Barre,  were  attacked  by  a  band  of  Six  Nation  Indians 
Iving  in  ambush.  Lieut.  Jameson  was  killed  and  scalped.  Chapman  was  mor- 
tally wounded,  and  Benjamin  escaped.  They  were  the  last  men  killed  by  Indians 
in  Wyoming  Valley."  Within  recent  years  the  fence  bounding  Hanover  Green 
Cemetery  on  the  side  next  the  highway  has  been  moved  outward,  so  as  to  include 
within  the  bounds  of  the  cemetery  the  above  mentioned  memorial  pillar.* 

At  a  Westmoreland  town-meeting  "legally  warned  and  held"  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  September  10,  1782,  the  following  business  was  transacted: 

"  Voted,  That  Maj.  Prince  Alden  be  Moderator  of  this  meeting. 

"  Voted,  That  Col.  Nathan  Denison  be  desired  to  send  scouts  up  the  river,  as  often  and  as 
far  as  he  shall  think  it  necessary  to  discover  the  enemy;  they  receiving  his  instructions  from 
time  to  time,  and  to  make  immediate  returns  to  him  as  soon  as  they  shall  return  back,  and  to  be 
subject  to  be  examined  under  oath  touching  their  faithfulness.  They  to  be  found  bread  and 
ammunition,  and  to  be  paid  six  shillings  per  day  while  in  actual  service,  by  this  town.  The 
Selectmen  to  draw  an  order  on  the  Town  Treasurer  for  such  sums,  to  be  paid  in  produce  at  the 
market  price,  as  shall  by  them  be  found  due ;  who  is  likewise  hereby  directed  to  pay  such  orders  as 
soon  as  he  shall  be  enabled  to  do  it.  Said  scouts  shall  be  continued  from  this  time  to  the  1st 
day  of  December  next;  and  those  two  scouts  that  have  been  sent  by  Colonel  Denison,  to  be  paid 
as  above — provided  they  give  a  satisfactory  account  with  regard  to  their  faithfulness." 

Miner  records  ("Histor}'  of  Wyoming,"  page  305)  that,  two  days  after  the 
above-mentioned  meeting  was  held,  "Daniel  Mc Dowel  was  taken  prisoner  at 
.Shawnee  [Plymouth]  and  carried  to  Niagara.  He  was  a  son  of  the  benevolent 
vScotch  gentlemanf  at  Stroudsburg,  who,  as  we  have  previously  seen,  befriended 
with  such  disinterested  and  untiring  perseverance  the  Yankee  settlers  in  their 
first  efforts  to  establish  themselves  at  Wyoming.  He  was  the  father  of  the  wife 
of  Gen.  Samuel  McKean  of  Bradford  County,  [Pennsylvania]  recently  United 
States  Senator." 

Let  us  now  take  a  hurried  look  at  the  general  situation  of  affairs  in  this 
country,  in  the  Autumn  of  1782. 

"The  repeated  defeats  of  the  British  in  America  had  caused  amazement 
and  consternation  in  England."  The  first  successes  of  the  War  for  Independence 
had  elated  the  British  Ministry,  and  it  was  believed  in  the  mother  country  that 
the  war  would  be  of  short  duration.  But  Cornwallis'  surrender  had  convinced 
the  Ministry  "that  the  United  States  could  not  be  subdued  by  force,  and  that 
the  Americans  were  bound  to  secure  independence  no  matter  how  long  it  required." 
Nevertheless,  not  long  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  vSir  Henry  Clinton,  who 
was  in  command  of  all  the  British  forces  in  the  L^nited  States — assured  the 
Government  that  "with  a  reinforcement  of  only  10,000  men  he  would  be  respon- 
sible for  the  conquest  of  America." 

Parliament  convened  November  27,  1781,  and  in  his  speech  from  the  throne 
the  King  urged  that  the  war  be  prosecuted  with  renewed  vigor.  However,  on 
February  27,  1782,  General  Conway  moved  in  the  House  of  Commons  "that  it 
is  the  opinion  of  this  House  that  a  further  prosecution  of  offensive  war  against 
America  would,  under  present  circumstances,  be  the  means  of  weakening  the 
efforts  of  this  country  against  her  European  enemies,  and  tend  to  increase  the 
mutual  enmity  so  fatal  to  the  interests  both  of  Great  Britain  and  America." 

*The  pillar  set  up  by  Mr.  Pearce  to  mark  the  spot  where  William  Jameson  was  mortally  womided — as  noted  on. 
page  1 100.  Vol.  II — is  still  standing.  In  recent  years  a  blacksmith  shop  has  been  erected  in  close  proximity  to  the  pillar 
and  the  latter  has  been  so  hacked  and  mutilated  by  vandals  that  the  inscription  upon  it  is  almost  illegible.  The  in- 
scription was  originally  as  follows:  "Near  this  spot.  October  14.  1778,  William  Jameson,  who  had  been  wounded  ia 
the  battle  of  Wyoming,  was  mortally  wounded  and  scalped  by  a  band  of  Six  Nation  Indians,  lying  in  ambush.  He 
was  going  from  Wilkes-Barre  on  horseback  to  his  home  near  Nanticoke.     His  remains  are  buried  in  Hanover  Cemetery.' ' 

tSee  page  730,  Vol.  II, 


1292 


At  this  time  both  France  and  Holland  had  recognized  the  independence 
of    the    United    States. 

Conway's  resolution  was  carried,  and  an  address  to  the  King,  in  the  words 
of  the  resolution,  was  immediately  voted,  and  was  presented  by  the  whole  House. 
The  answer  of  the  Crown  being  deemed  inexplicit  it  was,  on  March  4,  1782, 
resolved  by  the  Commons  "that  the  House  will  consider  as  enemies  to  His  Majestv 
and  the  country  all  those  who  should  advise  or  attempt  a  further  prosecution  of 
offensive  war  on  the  continent  of  North  America. 

The  foregoing  votes  were  very  soon  followed  by  a  change  of  the  Ministr\', 
as  narrated  on  page  610,  Vol.  I,  and  by  instructions  to  the  commanding  officers 
of  His  Brittanic  Majesty's  forces  in  America  which  conformed  to  the  resolutions 
of  the  House  of  Commons.  A  few  weeks  later  Sir  Guy  Carleton  was  appointed 
to  succeed  Sir  Henry  Clinton  as  commander-in-chief  in  America,  as  narrated  on 
page  927,  Vol.   II. 

In  October,  1782,  Washington  wrote:  "The  long  sufferance  of  the  armj^  is 
almost  exhausted.  It  is  high  time  for  peace."  In  fact,  the  army  demanded  with 
importunity  their  arrears  of  pay;  the  Treasury  was  empty,  and  no  adequate 
means  of  filling  it  presented  itself;  all  the  people  panted  for  peace.  At  this  time 
(the  Autumn  of  1782)  the  whole  force  of  the  British  Crown  in  America  was  con- 
centrated at  New  York  and  in  Canada. 

Meanwhile  the  Continental  Congress  had  made  preparations  for  peace. 
First,  John  Adams  was  appointed  Commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
and  later  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Jay,  Henry  Laurens  and  Thomas  Jefferson 
were  appointed  additional  Commissioners;  but  upon  the  shoulders  of  Franklin 
and  Jay  rested  the  chief  responsibility  of  negotiating  a  peace  treaty.  The  Ameri- 
can and  British  negotiators  met  at  Paris,  and  after  much  correspondence,  long-, 
continued  discussion  and  wise  compromise,  preliminary,  or  provisional,  articles 
were  agreed  to  and  signed  by  the  Commissioners,  at  Paris,  November  30,  1782. 
Intrigue  was  used  by  British  agents  to  prevail  on  the  American  Commissioners 
to  accept  a  twenty  years'  truce  instead  of  an  open  acknowledgment  of  indepen- 
dence, but  their  efforts  were  of  no  avail.  The  treaty,  however,  was  not  to  take 
effect,  otherwise  than  by  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  until  terms  of  peace  should 
be  agreed  upon  between  England  and  France.  This  occurred  in  the  following 
January.* 

With  the  cessation  of  hostilities  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  following  the  surrender  of  CornwalHs,  and  with  the  disappearance  of 
danger  from  Indians  on  the  frontier,  Connecticut  and  some  other  New  England 
States  began  to  send  forward  to  Wyoming  considerable  numbers  of  emigrants^- 
men  of  character  and  experience  and  some  of  means.  Unfortunately  for  Wyom- 
ing, however,  its  troubles  did  not  all  come  to  an  end  with  the  cessation  of  British- 
American  hostilities. 

*See  W.  E.  H.  Lecky's  "History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century",  Chapter  15;  Wilcv  and  Rines'  "The 
United  States"    Vol.  Ill,  Chapter  33;  Marshall's  "Life  of  Washington",  Vol.  IV,  Chapter  U. 


CHAPTER  XXr 

PENNSYLVANIA  PETITIONS  CONGRESS  FOR  A  HEARING  OF  CLAIMS  LONG  IN 
DISPUTE— CONNECTICUT  CONCURS— A  DISTINGUISHED  COURT  OF  COM- 
MISSIONERS APPOINTED— SIDELIGHTS  ON  SESSIONS  OF  THE  COURT 
—A  SUMMARY  OF  THE  CONFLICTING  CLAIMS— THE  DECREE 
OF  TRENTON— DISSATISFACTION    WITH    THE    DECREE 
IN  WYOMING— PRIVATE  RIGHT   OF  SOIL  NOT  AD- 
JUDICATED AND  INDIVIDUAL  DISPUTES  NOT 
SETTLED  BY  THIS  DECREE. 


"You  little  know  what  a  ticklish  thing  it  is  to  go  to  law." — Plaiiius. 


'The  strictest  law  sometimes  becomes  the  severest  injustice." — Terence. 


'He  that  will  have  a  cake  out  of  the  wheat,  must  needs  tarry  the  grinding.' 
— Troilus  and  Cressida  Act  J,  Scene  1. 


During  the  progress  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1776  until  the  close  of  1781,  both  parties  to  the  Pennamite- Yankee  contro- 
versy had  refrained  as  well  from  a  discussion  of  their  difficulties  as  from  inimical 
activities;  but  promptly  on  the  appearance  of  the  Angel  of  Peace  above  the 
horizon,  the  Yankees  in  Wyoming  began  to  experience  gloom  and  darkness 
instead  of  clearing  skies,  and  disquietude  instead  of  tranquility. 

Fifteen  days  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  to  wit,  on  November  3, 
1781,  a  petition  was  presented  to  Congress  "from  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
of  Pennsylvania,  stating  a  matter  in  dispute  between  the  said  State  and  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  respecting  sundry  lands  lying  on  the  East  Branch  of  the 
Susquehanna,  and  praying  a  hearing  in  the  premises,  agreeable  to  the  IXth  Article 
of  the  Confederation."  The  .State  of  Connecticut,  through  its  Representatives 
in  Congress,  concurred  in  the  application,  but  subsequently  asked  for  delav 
"because  that  sundry  papers  of  importance  in  the  case  are  in  the  hands  of  counsel 
in  England,  and  cannot  be  procured  during  the  war." 

During  the  ensuing  Winter  and  Spring  both  parties  made  preparations 
for  the  proposed  hearing,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Representatives  in  Congress 
from  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut,  held  April  20,  1782,  at  the  house  of  Attorney 
General  Bradford  in  Philadelphia,  a  list  was  prepared  containing  the  names  of 
sixty-three  gentlemen,  drawn  from  the  thirteen  States  of  the  Union,  from  whom, 
after  due  consideration,  Judges  to  try  the  cause  were  selected. 


1294 

Finally,  on  August  1 2,  1782,  the  Representatives  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Connecticut  entered  into  a  written  agreement  submitting  to  a  Court  of  Com- 
missioners, amicably  chosen  by  themselves,  but  to  be  appointed  and  commissioned 
by  Congress,  "all  the  rights,  claims  and  possessions"  of  the  two  States  in  and  to 
the  Wyoming  lands.  The  gentlemen  who  were  mutually  agreed  upon  to  con- 
stitute the  Court  were  as  follows:  Brig.  Gen.  William  Whipple  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, Ex-Gov.  John  Rutledge  of  South  Carolina,  Maj.  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene 
of  Rhode  Island,  Lieut.  Col.  David  Brearley  and  Prof.  William  Churchill  Houston 
of  New  Jersey,  Judge  Cyrus  Griffin  and  Joseph  Jones  of  Virginia. 

The  names  of  these  gentlemen  (together  with  a  full  report  of  the  action 
taken  by  the  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut  Representatives)  were  duly  sub- 
mitted to  Congress;  but  a  few  days  later  a  supplementary  report  was  presented, 
setting  forth  that  General  Greene  and  Governor  Rutledge  would  be  unable 
to  act  as  Commissioners,  and  substituting  in  their  stead  the  Hon.  Welcome 
Arnold  of    Providence,   Rhode    Island,   and  Thomas  Nelson,   Esq.,   of  Virginia. 

Congress,  therefore,  on  August  28,  1782,  issued  commissions  to  William 
Whipple,*  Welcome  Arnold, f  David  Brearley, J  Prof.  William  Churchill  Houston. § 
CATUsGrffin,^!  Joseph  Jones  and  Thomas  Nelson,  authorizing  and  empowering 
anv  five  or  more  of  them  to  be  a  Court  of  Commissioners,  with  all  the  powers, 

*WiLLlAM  Whipple  was  born  at  Kittery,  Maine.  January  14.  !  730.  He  was  in  command  of  a  vessel  in  foreign 
trade  before  he  was  of  age;  and,  when  nearly  thirty  years  old.  left  the  sea  to  engage  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Ports- 
mouth. New  Hampshire.  He  was  a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire  Committee  of  Safety  in  1775;  was  elected  a  Delegate 
to  the  Continental  Congress  in  1775,  '76  and  '78,  and  was  one  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Writ- 
ing from  Philadelphia  June  24.  1776,  to  a  friend  in  New  Hampshire,  Colonel  Whipple  said:  "Next  Monday  being  July 
1  ihe  grand  question  is  to  be  debated,  and  I  believe  will  be  determined  unanimously.  May  God  unite  our  hearts  in  all 
things  that  tend  to  the  well-being  of  the  rising  Empire." 

He  was  a  Colonel  of  militia  prior  to  1  776,  was  made  a  Brigadier  General  in  1  777.  and  commanded  a  brigade  at  the 
battles  of  Saratoga  and  Stillwater.  The  next  year  he  participated  in  the  siege  of  Newport  conducted  by  General 
Sullivan.  In  1780-'84  he  was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  New  Hampshire;  in  1782-'84  he  was  State 
Superintendent  of  Finances,  and  also  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire  From  1784  until  his  death  he 
was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum  It  is  noteworthy  that  he  emancipated  his  slaves,  although  earlier  in  life  he 
had  been  a  slave  trader.     He  died  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  November  28,    1785- 

tWEi.coME  Arnold  was  bom  at  Smithfield,  Rhode  Island.  February  5,  1745,  the  son  of  Jonathan  and  Abigail 
Arnold.  He  entered  upon  a  business  career  at  an  early  age,  and  in  the  Spring  of  1773  became  the  partner  of  Caleb 
Green.  With  him  Mr.  Arnold  continued  in  business  until  February,  1776,  when  he  embarked  alone  in  mercantile 
business,  and  soon  became  extensively  concerned  in  maritime  trade.  It  is  said  that  of  thirty  vessels  and  their  cargoes 
which  were  captured  by  the  enemy,  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  Mr.  Arnold  was  part  owner  of  each  of  them. 
Notwithstanding  these  heavy  losses  and  reverses  he  accumulated  considerable  wealth,  especially  from  his  connection 
with  the  West  India  trade. 

In  1778  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  and  by  successive  re-elections  was 
continued  in  that  capacity  for  a  number  of  years.  During  the  years  1780-'95  he  served  as  Speaker  of  the  House  five 
terms.  He  also  took  an  active  part  in  the  State  conventions  held  for  the  adoption  of  the  State  and  Federal  Consti- 
tutions. He  was  a  Trustee  of  Brown  University  from  1  783  till  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island , 
September  30,  1798. 

JDavid  Brearley  was  born  near  Trenton,  New.  Jersey.  June  11.1  745.  Admitted  to  the  Bar  of  New  Jersey  in 
1767  he  practiced  law  at  Allentown,  New  Jersey,  and  shortly  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  War  was 
arrested  for  high  treason  against  the  King.  A  mob  of  his  patriotic  fellow-townsmen  rescued  him,  however,  from  the 
hands  of  the  authorities.  He  joined  the  Revolutionary  Army  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  Lieut.  Colonel  in  the  1st  New- 
Jersey  Regiment,  as  noted  on  page  1175,  Vol.  II;  but  having  been  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  New  Jersey  June  10. 
1779,  he  resigned  his  military  commission  while  in  camp  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  repaired  to  Trenton  soon  thereafter,  as 
noted  on  page  1 189,  Vol.  II.  (Since  that  page  was  printed  the  writer  has  seen  two  or  three  original  signatures  of  Judge 
Brearley,  and  has  learned  that  his  surname  was  spelled  "Brearley".)  Maj .  Joseph  Brearley,  a  brother  of  Judge  Brear- 
ley served  during  the  Revolutionary  War  as  an  aide  on  the  staff  of  General  Washington  without  pay. 

With  William  Livingston.  WiUiam  Paterson  and  William  Churchill  Houston,  all  men  of  renown,  Judge  Brearley 
represented  New  Jersey  in  the  Federal  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787.  Later  he  presided  over  the  New  Jersey 
State  Convention  which  ratified  the  Federal  Constitution.  In  1788  he  was  a  Presidential  Elector,  and  in  1789  was 
appointed  Judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court  of  New  Jersey,  which  office  he  held  till  his  death.  He  was  one  of 
the  compilers  of  the  prayer-book  published  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  America  in  1785.  He  was  elected 
the  first  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  New  Jersey  December  18,  1786,  and  served 
as  such  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  August  16,  1790. 

§Wn,LiAM  Churchill  Houston  was  bom  in  Cabarrus  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1740,  his  father  being  a  native 
of  Ireland.  He  was  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  (Princeton)  in  1768,  and  was  forthwith  appointed  a  tutor 
in  the  institution.  In  1771  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  at  Princeton,  which 
position  he  held  till  1783,  when  he  resigned.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  War  he  and  Dr.  Witherspoon 
were  the  only  Professors  in  the  College,  and  when  Princeton  was  invaded  in  1776,  and  the  students  scattered.  Pro- 
fessor Houston  commanded  a  scouting-party  organized  at  Plemington,  New  Jersey,  and  rendered  important  services 
in  the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset.  He  was  commissioned  Captain  in  the  2d  Battalion  of  vSomerset  County 
February  28,    1776. 

In  1777,  while  still  connected  with  the  College,  Professor  Houston  was  elected  a  Representative  from  Somerset 
County  to  the  General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey.  In  1779  he  was  sent  to  the  Continental  Congress  from  Middlesex 
County,  New  Jersey,  and  served  in  1779,  1780  and  1781.  In  1783,  after  retiring  from  his  professorship,  he  located  at 
Trenton,  was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  and  immediately  entered  on  an  extensive  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1784  he 
was  again  sent  to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  in  1787,  with  David  Brearley,  he  was  a  Representative  from  New 
Jersey  in  the  Federal  Constitutional  Convention.     He  died  at  Frankford,  Pennsylvania.  August  12,  1788. 

liCvRUS  Griffin  was  bom  in  Virginia  in  1749.  He  was  educated  in  England,  where  he  married  a  lady  of  noble 
family.  Soon  afterward  he  returned  to  Virginia  and  began  the  practice  of  law.  He  gave  early  adhesion  to  the  patriot 
cause  and  became  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature.     Early  in  1778  he  was  sent  as  a  Delegate    from  Virginia  to 


1295 

prerogatives  and  privileges  incident  or  belonging  to  a  court;  "to  meet  at  Trenton, 
in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  on  Tuesday,  the  12th  day  of  November  next,  to  hear 
and  finally  determine  the  controversy  between  the  said  State  of  Pennsylvania 
and  State  of  Connecticut,  so  always  as  a  major  part  of  said  Commissioners, 
who  shall  hear  the  cause,  shall  agree  in  the  determination." 

Returning  now  to  Wilkes-Barr6,  we  find  that  early  in  October,  1782,  a 
town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland  was  held  here,  and  that 
(Jbadiah  Gore  and  Jonathan  Fitch  were  duly  elected  to  represent  Westmoreland 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  at  its  semi-annual  session,  to  be  held  in 
Hartford,  on  the  second  Thursday  of  October.  These  gentlemen  attended  the 
meetings  of  the  Assembly  and  were  present  when  an  Act  was  passed  to  enable 
The  Susquehanna  Company  and  The  Delaware  Company  to  collect  certain 
taxes,  or  assessments,  which  had  been  laid  on  the  proprietors,  or  shareholders, 
of  those  companies. 

The  Act  in  question  set  forth  "that  the  purchasers  of  the  native  rights  to 
a  large  tract  of  land  within  the  limits  of  this  State  [Connecticut],  and  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Delaware  River,  under  the  name  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  and 
The  Delaware  Company,  have,  by  the  consent  of  this  State,  made  their  respective 
purchases."  The  Act  then  declaring  that  "the  proprietors  of  said  rights  in  said 
purchases  are  scattered  at  great  distances  from  each  other,  and  it  becoming 
necessary  to  raise  monies  on  said  rights  for  defraying  the  necessary  expenses 
about  the  same,  and  no  way  being  provided  for  enforcing  the  collection  thereof," 
authorized  and  empowered  the  companies  to  sell,  for  unpaid  ta.ves,  the  lands  of 
the  delinquent  proprietors. 

At  this  time  the  Continental  Congress  was  in  session  at  Philadelphia,  and 
on  October  1 8th  it  passed  the  following:! 

"Resolved,  That  the  post  at  Wyoming  be  retained  or  withdrawn  by  the  commander-in- 
chief,  as  he  shall  think  it  most  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States,  any  former  resolution  of 
Congress  notwithstanding." 

As  noted  on  page  811,  Vol.  II,  no  meetings  of  The  Susquehanna  Company 

were  held  from  May  24,  1774,  till  November  13,  1782 — so  far  as  can  be  learned 

now.    On  the  last-mentioned  date  a  considerable  number  of  the  proprietors  of 

the  Company,  having  been  "legally  warned"  and  duly  notified,  assembled  at 

Hartford.    Col.  EHzur  Talcott  of  Glastonbury,  Connecticut,  served  as  Moder 

ator  of  the  meeting,  and  Samuel  Graz,  Esq.,  was  Clerk.  The  meeting  continued 

throughout  two  days,  and  the  business  transacted  was  as  follows  :J 

"  Voted,  That  Eliphalet  Dyer,  Esq.,  William  Samuel  Johnson,  Esq.,  Jesse  Root,  Esq., 
Samuel  Gray  and  William  Judd  be  chosen  Agents  for  this  Company,  jointly  and  severally  to 
act  and  to  make  all  preparations  that  are  yet  necessary  to  be  made,  and  do  any  other  thing  necess- 
ary for  the  benefit  of  said  Company. 

"Voted,  That  Elizur  Talcott,  Esq.,  and  Phineas  Lewis  be  Collectors  for  the  County  of 
Hartford,  Daniel  Lyman,  Esq.,  for  the  County  of  New  Haven.  Thomas  Morgan  of  Killingworth 
and  John  Owen  of  New  London  for  the  County  of  New  London,  Nehemiah  Depew  for  the  County 
of  Fairfield,  Samuel  Gray  for  the  County  of  Windham,  Abraham  Bradley.  Esq.,  and  Jonas  Law- 
rence, Collectors  for  the  County  of  Litchfield,  and  Obadiah  Gore,  Esq.,  Collector  of  Westmore- 
land County. 

"Voted,  That  Col.  Elizur  Talcott  shall  have  one  full  right  in  said  Purchase  for  his  extra 
services. 

"  Voted,  That  the  Committee  of  this  Company,  or  either  three  of  them,  be  and  they  are 
hereby  appointed  and  fully  authorized  and  empowered  to  make  out  proper  and  authentic  Power 

the  Continental  Congress,  and  served  in  that  position  till  1781.  In  1780  he  was  elected  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
of  Virginia,  and  in  1787  and  1788  he  was  again  a  member  of  Congre-ss — serving  as  President  of  that  body  in  the  last- 
mentioned  year.  In  1  789  he  was  United  States  Commissioner  to  the  Creek  Nation  of  Indians.  He  was  President  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Admiralty  so  long  as  it  existed,  and  in  December.  1789.  he  became  Judge  of  the  United  States 
Court  for  the  District  of  Virginia.  This  oiUce  he  held  till  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Vorktown,  \'irginia.  December 
14,  1810. 

TSee  "Journals  of  Congress",  IV:  97. 

{See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series.  XVIII:  102. 


1296 

of  Attorney,  or  Commission,  to  the  Agents  appointed  at  this  meeting,  namely,  the  Hon.  Eliphalet 
Dyer,  Esq.,  William  Samuel  Johnson  and  Jesse  Root,  Esq.,  jointly  and  severally,  or  any  number 
of  them,  to  manage  and  transact  all  manner  of  business  to  be  done  and  transacted  on  behalf  of 
the  said  Company  before  the  Commissioners  appointed  to  hear  and  determine  the  right,  title 
and  jurisdiction,  and  such  like,  between  the  State  of  Connecticut  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
as  to  the  lands  west  of  the  Delaware  River  (part  of  which  land  is  claimed  by  this  Company),  and 
seal  and  authenticate  such  Power,  or  Commission,  on  behalf  of  this  Company.* 

"Whereas,  The  trial  of  the  right  of  the  State  to  the  Western  lands  is  soon  to  be  decided, 
and  the  interest  of  this  Company  is  concerned  therein,  and  it  is  uncertain  whether  the  taxes  al- 
ready laid  by  this  Company  will  raise  monies  sufficient  to  defray  their  proportion  of  the  expense 
of  the  trial  in  season, 

"Therefore,  Voted  and  Resolved,  That  the  Committee  of  this  Company  be,  and  they  are 
hereby,  empowered  to  sell  rights  in  said  Company,  not  exceeding  fifty  shares,  at  such  prices  as 
they  shall  judge  fit — in  case  in  their  opinion  it  becomes  necessary  to  raise  further  sums  of  money 
than  are  already  granted,  or  the  taxes  shall  not  be  raised  in  season,  to  answer  the  necessary  ex- 
lienses  in  carrying  on  the  trial  of  the  Cause. 

"  Voted,  That  the  Collectors  appointed  at  this  meeting  [be  empowered]  to  collect  of  the 
proprietors  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  the  4  dollars  tax  granted  in  March,  1774;  and  the  said 
Collectors  are  hereby  directed  to  collect  the  said  tax,  and  to  account  with  the  Treasurer  of  the 
said  Company  for  the  same  by  the  30th  day  of  December,  1782;  and  that  the  rights  of  all  prop- 
rietors that  neglect  to  pay  their  respective  taxes  by  the  20th  of  December  aforesaid  to  the  Collectors 
appointed  in  the  County  where  the  said  proprietors  reside,  will  be  sold  in  pursuance  of  an  Act 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  passed  in  October  last ;  and  that  all  Collec- 
tors, heretofore  appointed  to  receive  the  taxes  granted  by  The  Susquehanna  Company,  be,  and 
they  are  hereby,  called  upon  to  settle  immediately  with  the  Treasurer  of  said  Company;  and 
that  all  proprietors  who  have  not  paid  their  former  taxes  be  directed  to  pay  the  same  to  the 
Collectors  named  in  their  vote,  and  that  this  vote  be  published  in  all  the  newspapers  in  this 
State  as  soon  as  may  be. 

"  Voted,  That  this  Company  do  give  and  grant  to  the  Hon.  Eliphalet  Dyer.  William  Samuel 
Johnson  and  Jesse  Root,  Esq.,  to  each  of  them,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  one  whole  right,  or  share, 
in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase  of  Land,  as  a  gratuity  to  them;  and  that  Samuel  Gray,  Clerk  to 
this  Company,  give  to  each  of  said  gentlemen  a  proper  certificate  therefor. 

"  Voted,  That  a  triangular  tract,  or  piece,  of  land  situate  on  the  mountain  on  the  west  side 
of  the  East  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  abutting  on  the  towns  of  Kingston,  Plymouth, 
Bedford  and  Northmoreland.f  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  appointed  and  set  out  to  Maj.  William 
Judd,  for  such  proportion  of  land  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase  as  the  Committee  of  Settlers,  or 
either  two  of  them,  shall  judge  the  same  to  be  equal  in  value  to,  compared  with  the  Susquehanna 
Purchase  at  large ;  and  that  the  said  Judd  be  debarred  from  any  claim  for  such  rights  or  parts  of 
rights,  belonging  to  him  the  said  Judd  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  that  may  be  esteemed  equal 
to  the  grant  aforesaid,  and  considered  as  laid  upon  the  land  aforesaid.  That  the  said  granted 
premises  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  fully  apparted  from  the  general  interests  of  the  Company, 
and  to  be  enjoyed  by  him  the  said  Judd  and  his  heirs,  in  severalty. 

"Voted,  That  the  Committee,  Samuel  Gray,  Esq.,  and  Major  Judd,  be  desired  to  address 
the  Governor  and  Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  desiring  them  to  furnish 
such  documents  and  papers,  to  be  found  in  the  records  and  files  of  that  State,  which  will  reflect 
any  light  on  the  cause  depending  between  the  States  of  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  and  The 
Susquehanna  Company;  and  inform  them  that,  if  the  Commonwealth,  on  their  behalf,  should 
see  fit,  at  their  expense,  to  appoint  any  person  to  attend  that  trial,  the  Company  have  directed 
their  Committee  to  furnish  him  with  a  Power  of  Attorney  in  behalf  of  the  Company,  and  the 
Committee  are  empowered  to  do  the  same." 

Two  of  the  seven  Commissioners  appointed  by  Congress  to  hear  and  de- 
termine the  Pennsylvania-Connecticut  controversy,  to  wit:  Messrs.  Brearley 
and  Houston,  met  at  Trenton  November  12,  1782.  Their  commissions  being 
formally  read,  they  were  duly  sworn,  and  then  adjourned  from  day  to  day  till 
November  18th.  On  that  day  Messrs.  Whipple,  Arnold  and  Griffin  appeared, 
when,  they  having  been  duly  sworn,  the  Court  was  declared  to  be  lawfully  con- 
stituted, and  General  Whipple  was  elected  President,  and  Col.  John  NelsonJ 
of  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  was  appointed  Clerk,  of  the  Court. 

*The  Power  of  Attorney  thus  authorized  was  executed  at  Hartford  November  !5.  1782,  by  Samuel  Talcott.  .Samuel 
Gray  and  William  Judd.  "a  Committee  of  The  Susquehanna  Company",  and  constituted  and  appointed  Eliphalet 
Dyer,  William  Samuel  Johnson  and  Jesse  Root  "Agents  and  Attorneys  for  the  Company  before  the  Commissioners  at 
Trenton."    The  original  document  is  now  among  the  "Trumbull  Papers",  mentioned  on  page  29,  Vol.  I. 

tSee  the  map  facing  page  468,  Vol.  I. 

JJOHN  Neilson  was  bom  at  New  Brunswick  March  11.  174.'i.  He  was  educated  in  Philadelphia,  and  became  a 
merchant  in  his  native  town.  In  August,  1776.  he  was  appointed  and  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  2d  Regiment  of 
Middles  ij  County  (New  Jersey)  Militia.  He  was  a  delegate  from  New  Jersey  to  the  Continental  Congress  in  1778 
and  '79  In  1800  and  1801  he  represented  New  Brunswick  in  the  State  Legislature.  He  died  at  New  Brunswick, 
March  3,  1833. 


1297 

Henry  Osbourne,*  Esq.,  appeared  as  "solicitor",  and  Col.   William  Brad- 
ford,   Jr.,t    Joseph    Reed, J    James    Wilson, §    and    Jonathan     Dickinson    Ser- 

*Henrv  OsbournE  was  a  Philadelphia  lawyer  of  peculiar  ability,  who  gathered  together  the  documentary  evi- 
dence and  marshaled  the  general  facts  for  use  in  the  case.  He  was  a  Notary  Public  in  1781  and  later  years,  and  in 
1780  was  Judge  Advocate  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia. 

tWiLLiAM  Bradford,  Jr.,  was  bom  in  Philadelphia  September  14,  1755.  the  son  of  Col.  William  Bradford, 
printer  and  soldier,  who  established  at  Philadelphia  in  1742  the  Pennsylvania  Journal.  He  assailed  the  pretensions 
of  the  British  Government  with  respect  to  the  American  Colonies,  and  inveighed  against  the  Stamp  Act.  (See  page 
588.  el  seq.  Vol.  I.)  When  the  Revolutionary  War  began  he  joined,  as  Major,  the  Pennsylvania  militia,  later  being 
promoted  Colonel.     He  fought  at  the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  being  wounded  at  Princeton. 

William  Bradford.  Jr.,  was  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1772;  then  studied  law  with  Edward  Shippen.  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania  in  1779.  During  the  war  he  served  two  years  as  Deputy 
Muster-master  General,  with  the  rank  of  Lieut.  Colonel.  In  1780  he  was  appointed  Attorney  General  of  Pennsylvania. 
In  1784  he  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  Elias  Boudinot  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  appointed  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Pennsylvania  August  22,  1791.  and  by  appointment  of  President  Washington.  January  8.  1794  he  succeeded 
Edmund  Randolph  as  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States.     He  died  August  23,  1795. 

JJosEPH  Reed  was  bom  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  August  27.  1741.  He  was  graduated  at  Princeton  College  in 
1757,  and  then,  having  studied  law  with  Robert  Stockton,  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  New  Jersey  in  1763.  Later  he 
went  to  London,  where  he  spent  two  years  as  a  law  student  in  the  Middle  Temple.  On  his  return  to  this  country  he 
practiced  his  profession  at  Trenton,  but  in  the  Fall  of  1770  removed  to  Philadelphia.  In  January.  1775,  he  was  elected 
President  of   the  Second   Provincial   Congress. 

On  the  appointment  of  Washington  to  command  the  American  forces  (see  page  821,  Vol.  II).  Joseph  Reed  became 
his  Military  Secretary,  and  served  as  such  until  October.  1775.  In  January,  1776,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  and  June  5.  1776,  was  appointed  Adjutant  General  of  the  American  army,  with  the 
rank  of  Colonel.  He  was  exceedingly  active  in  the  campaign  that  terminated  with  the  battle  of  Long  Island.  Early 
in  1777  he  was  appointed  Brigadier  General,  and  was  tendered  the  command  of  all  the  American  cavalry;  while  on 
March  20.  1777.  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania— the  first  under  the  new  constitution  of  the  State. 
He  declined  both  these  appointments,  preferring  to  be  attached  to  Washington's  headquarters  as  a  volunteer  aide 
without  rank  or  pay. 

In  December,  1778.  Colonel  Reed  was  chosen  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  (see 
page  881,  Vol.  II),  and  held  the  office  for  three  years.  During  his  term  of  office  he  aided  in  founding  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia,  and  favored  the  gradual  abolishing  of  slavery  in  the  State,  and  the  doing  away  of  the 
Proprietary  powers  of  the  Penn  family.  In  1781  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Philadelphia  He  died 
there  March  5,  1785. 

§JamES  Wilson  was  bom  near  St.  Andrews,  Scotland,  September  14.  1742.  After  receiving  an  education  at  the 
Universities  of  St.  Andrews,  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh,  he  emigrated  to  this  country  about  1763.  For  some  time  he  re- 
mained in  New  York  City,  and  then,  in  1766.  removed  to  Philadelphia.  There  he  studied  law  with  John  Dickinson 
(see  a  sketch  of  hira  in  the  ensuing  chapter) .  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Pennsylvania  in  1 767.  He  began  to  practice 
his  profession  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  but  soon  removed  to  York  (see  page  725,  Vol.  II).  and  later  to  Carlisle,  where 
he  made  a  reputation  as  a  lawyer  before  the  War  for  Independence  began. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Provincial  Convention  which  met  at  Philadelphia  January  23.  1775.  .\n 
extract  from  an  interesting  speech  on  "Loyalty  to  Law",  which  Mr.  Wilson  delivered  in  that  Convention,  in  vindication 
of  the  Colonies,  will  be  found  in  the  "Library  of  American  Literature."  Ill;  260.  In  November.  1775.  in  July,  1776, 
and  again  in  March.  1777.  he  was  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress.  He.  John  Morton  and  Benjamin  Franklin 
were  the  only  members  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  in  the  Congress  who  voted  for  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration 
of    Independence    on    July    4 ,     1776. 

When  hostiUties  between  the  mother  country  and  the  Colonies  began,  James  Wilson  was  elected  Colonel  of  a 
battalion  of  militia  raised  in  Cumberland  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  took  part  in  the  New  Jersey  campaign  of  1776 
In  1779  he  was  living  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  south-west  comer  of  Third  and  Walnut  Streets,  in  a  large  stone  house 
which  was  subsequently  known  as  "Fort  Wilson" — for  reasons  fully  set  forth  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  Hisiorv 
XXV:  24.  el  seq.  He  was  appointed  Advocate  General  for  the  French  Government  in  the  United  States  June  5.  1779,' 
and  December  31.  1781,  was  appointed  by  Congress  a  Director  of  the  newly-created  Bank  of  North  America.  He  was 
appointed  a  Brigadier  General  of  militia  May  23,  1782.  and  on  the  12th  of  November  of  the  same  year  (on  the  day 
fixed  for  the  meeting  of  the  Court  of  Commissioners  at  Trenton)  he  was  re-elected  to  Congress — taking  his  seat  therein 
January  2,  1783.  He  was  not  a  member  of  Congress  in  1784,  but  was  returned  in  1785,  and  continued  to  be  a  member 
until  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

He  became  a  leader  of  the  Federal  political  party  in  1 787,  and  being  elected  a  member  of  the  Federal  Constitutional 
Convention  held  in  that  year  he  took  a  very  active  and  prominent  part  in  its  doings — making,  in  the  course  of  the 
debates,  168  speeches.  Concerning  him  McMaster  (in  his  "History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States".  I:  421)  states: 
"Of  the  fifty-five  delegates  he  was  undoubtedly  the  best  prepared,  by  deep  and  systematic  study  of  the  histor>-  and 
science  of  government,  for  the  work  that  lay  before  him.  The  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  himself  a  no  mean  student,  had 
been  struck  with  the  wide  range  of  his  erudition,  and  had  spoken  in  high  terms  of  his  hbrary.  "There.'  said  he  [in  his 
■'Travels  in  North  America  in  the  Years  I780-'82"],  'are  all  our  best  authors  on  law  and  jiurisprudence.  The  works  of 
President  Montesquieu  and  the  Chancellor  D'Aguesseau  hold  the  first  rank  among  them,  and  he  makes  them  his  daily 
study.'  This  learning  WUson  had  in  times  past  turned  to  excellent  use,  and  he  now  became  one  of  the  most  active  mem- 
bers of  the  Convention.  None,  with  the  exception  of  Gouvemeur  Morris,  was  so  often  on  his  feet  during  the  debates,  or 
spoke  more  to  the  purpose." 

Mr.  Wilson  was  also  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Convention  which  ratified  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  the 
Hon.  James  Bryce.  the  author  of  "The  American  Commonwealth"  and  other  works,  has  declared,  in  writing  of  the 
speeches  delivered  by  Mr.  Wilson  in  the  Federal  Constitutional  Convention  and  in  the  Pennsylvania  Convention, 
that  "they  display  an  amphtude  and  profundity  of  view  in  matters  of  constitutional  theory  which  place  him  in  the  front 
ranks  of  political  thinkers  of  his  age." 

In  October.  1789.  Washington  appointed  Mr.  Wilson  an  Associate  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
and  he  remained  in  that  office  till  his  death.  In  1 790  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Law  in  Philadelphia  College,  which 
conferred  on  him  in  that  year  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsvlvania  Constitutional  Convention 
which  framed  a  new  Constitution  for  the  State  in  1790.  and  he  was  joint-author  with  the  Hon.  Thomas  McKean  of 
"Commentaries  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States",  published  in  1792.  William  Rawle,  a  great  leader  of  the 
Philadelphia  Bar  a  hundred  years  ago.  in  an  address  before  the  Associated  Members  of  the  Bar  in  1823.  said,  referring 
to  James  Wilson:  "It  must,  however,  be  confessed,  that  Mr.  Wilson  on  the  Bench  was  not  equal  to  Mr.  \\'ilson  at  the 
Bar;  nor  did  his  law  lectures  entirely  meet  the  expectation  that  had  been  formed." 

Prior  to  the  year  1795.  Mr.  Wilson,  like  so  many  Pennsylvanians  of  his  time,  speculated  widely  and  deeply  in  the 
lands  of  the  State — as  noted  on  page  653,  Vol.  II.  He  became  in  consequence,  indebted  in  large  amounts  to  a  number 
of  men;  among  others,  to  Pierce  Butler,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  was  a  Representative  from  South  Carolina  in  the 
Federal  Constitutional  Convention,  and  was  a  United  States  Senator  from  South  Carolina  from  1789  to  1796. 

At  that  time  the  infamous  rule  of  the  Common  law,  giving  to  a  creditor  the  right  to  cause  the  imprisonment 
of  his  debtor,  was  enforced  by  the  courts  of  this  country.  Of  this  inhuman  remedy  Pierce  Butler  availed  himself, 
and  Mr.  Wilson  was  thrown  into  prison  at  Edenton,  North  Carolina — not  because  he  had  committed  any  crime,  but 
because,  through  unfortunate  speculations,  he  could  not  pay  his  debts.  To  the  grief  and  humiliation  caused  by  this 
imprisonment  was  due  the  despair  which  led  him  to  commit  suicide  on  August  28.  1 798  (nol  1 797,  as  erroneously  printed 
on  page  653).  while  still  in  confinement  at  Edenton.  In  1906  the  remains  of  Mr.  Wilson  were  dis-interred  at  Edenton 
and  conveyed  to  Philadelphia,  where,  on  November  22  (having  first  lain  in  state  in  Independence  Hall,  where,  130 
years  before,  Mr.  Wilson  had  voted  for  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence),  they  were  reinterred  with  signal 
honors  and  impressive  ceremonies  in  the  yard  of  old  Christ  Church,  on  North  Second  Street, 

The  Rev.  Bird  Wilson.  D.  D..  for  some  years  a  minister  of  the  gospel  in  New  York  City. 'was  a  son  of  James  Wilson. 


1298 

geant  *    appeared    as    "counsellors    and    agents,"  for  Pennsylvania;  while   Col. 

Eliphalet  Dyer,t  Dr.    William    Samuel  JohnsonJ  and    Jesse  Root,§  Esq.,   were 

present  as  counsel  and  agents  for  Connecticut. 

At   Trenton,   under   the   date   of   November   18,    1782,  Attorney  General 

Bradford  wrote  to  the  Hon.  John  Dickinson,  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive 

Council  of  Pennsylvania,  in  part  as  follows  :jj 

"They  [the  Commissioners]  have  adjourned  until  to-morrow  at  ten  o'clock,  at  which  time 
we  apprehend  that  the  Agents  for  Connecticut  will  move  that  the  trial  be  postponed  until  the 
settlers  (who  will  be  affected  by  the  determination)  can  have  notice.  This  strange  idea  seems 
to  be  suggested  merely  for  the  purpose  of  delay,  and  we  conceive  will  not  be  adopted  by  the 
Court.  Under  this  circumstance  it  is  impossible  for  us  at  present  to  say  when  the  witnesses  will 
be  wanted.  We  should,  however,  be  extremely  glad  if  the  original  Charter  and  the  Indian  deeds 
could  be  forwarded  with  all  despatch.  Some  circumstances  may  occur  that  will  render  it  necessary 
for  us  to  be  armed  at  all  points,  and  to  rely  as  little  as  possible  on  the  hopes  of  indulgence."     *     •   * 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  Court  on  November  19th  the  counsel  for  Connec- 
ticut presented  for  consideration  a  document  in  the  following  words  :^ 

"The  Agents  of  the  State  of.  Connecticut,  saving  to  themselves  all  advantages  of  other 
and  further  defense  in  said  cause,  beg  leave  to  suggest,  inform,  and  give  the  Court  to  understand, 
that  there  are  many  persons  who  are  tenants  in  possession  of  the  lands  in  controversy,  holding, 
improving  and  claiming  large  quantities  of  said  lands  under  titles  from  the  States  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Connecticut  respectively  (particularly  the  two  large  companies  of  Delaware  and  Susquehanna, 
consisting  of  more  than  2,000  persons,  many  of  whose  people  are  in  possession,  improving  and 
holding  large  tracts  of  said  land  in  controversy,  under  title  from  the  State  of  Connecticut) ;  whose 
titles  under  said  States,  respectively,  will  be  materially  affected  by  the  decision  in  this  case,  yet 
have  not  been  cited  or  in  any  way  legally  notified  to  be  present  at  said  trial  to  defend  their  titles 
respectively — which,  by  the  rules  of  proceeding  in  a  court  of  justice,  ought  to  be  done  before 
any  further  proceedings  are  had  in  said  case. 

"And  thereupon  the  said  Agents  move  this  honorable  Court  to  cause  said  companies  of 
Delaware  and  Susquehanna,  and  other  tenants  in  possession,  holding  under  title  from  either  of 
said  States,  to  be  duly  cited,  in  some  proper  and  reasonable  manner,  to  appear  and  defend  at  said 
trial,  if  they  see  cause,  before  any  further  proceedings  are  had  in  said  cause.  And  of  this  they 
pray  the  opinion  of  this  honorable  Court." 

After  listening  to  arguments  by  counsel  on  the  questions  raised  by  the 
foregoing  motion,  the  Court  adjourned  until  the  next  day,  at  which  time  the 
motion  was  overruled,  on  the  ground  that  the  same  could  "not  be  admitted 
according  to  the  construction  of  the  IXth  Article  of  the  Confederation",  or 
compatibly  with  the  tenor  and  design  of  the  commission  under  which  the  Court 
was  acting.    This  commission,  it  should  be  explained,  was  founded  on  the  second 

♦Jonathan  Dickinson  Sergeant  was  born  at  Newark.  New  Jersey,  in  1  746.  He  was  a  grandson  of  Jonathan 
Dickinson,  the  first  President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey  (Princeton).  He  was  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1762. 
then  studied  law.  and  began  its  practice  in  New  Jersey.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  Continental  Congress  a  few  days  after 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed.  He  sat  as  a  Delegate  in  Congress  in  1776  and  1777,  and  in  July,  1777, 
became  Attorney  General  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1778,  Congress  having  ordered  a  Court  Martial  for  the  trial  of 
Gen.  Arthur  .St.  Clair,  and  other  officers,  in  relation  to  the  evacuation  of  Ticonderoga.  Mr.  Sergeant  was  appointed 
by  that  body,  with  William  Patterson  of  New  Jersey,  to  assist  the  Judge  Advocate  in  the  conduct  of  the  trial.  In 
1780  Mr   Sergeant  resigned  the  office  of  Attorney  General,  and  settled  in  practice  in  Philadelphia. 

When  the  yellow  fever  visited  Philadelphia  in  1793  Mr.  Sergeant  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  City  Health 
Committee,  and  in  consequence  refrained  from  leaving  the  city.  He  distributed  large  sums  of  money  among  the  poor, 
nursed  the  sick,  and  was  active  in  promoting  and  carrying  out  general  sanitary  measures.  Unfortunately  he  fell  a 
victim  to  the  epidemic,  and  died  at  Philadelphia  October  8.  1793 

Two  of  the  sons  of  Jonathan  Dickinson  Sergeant  were:  John,  bom  at  Philadelphia,  December  5,  1779,  and  attained 
prominence  as  a  lawyer.     Thomas,  bom  at  Philadelphia,  January  14,  1782,  and  became  Attorney  General  of  Pennsyl- 

tFor  a  sketch  and  portrait  of  Colonel  Dyer  see  page  393,  Vol.  I. 
JFor  a  sketch  of  Dr.  Johnson  see  page  478.  Vol.  I. 

§JESSE  Root  was  born  at  Coventry.  Tolland  County,  Connecticut,  December  28,  1736,  and  was  graduated  at 
Princeton  College  in  1756.  For  several  years  following  his  graduation  he  served  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  but  hav- 
ing studied  law  meanwhile  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Connecticut  in  1763,  and  settled  at  Hartford  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  In  the  year  1766  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred  upon  him  by  both  Yale  and 
Princeton  Colleges. 

Early  in  1777  he  raised,  and  took  command  of,  a  company  of  Connecticut  men,  with  which  he  joined  Washing- 
ton's army  at  Peekskill.  Shortly  afterwards  he  was  appointed  and  commissioned  Lieilt.  Colonel.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Continental  Congress  from  Connecticut  in  1779-'80,  1780-'81,  178I-'82,  1782-'83,  and  1788-'89.  In  1789  he 
was  appointed  a  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Connecticut,  and  held  the  office  till  1793.  He  became  Chief  Judge  in 
1798,  and  continued  as  such  till  1807.  Subsequently  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Assembly.  In  1800 
Yale  College  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.  D.  He  was  a  member  of  the  American  and  Connecticut 
Academies  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  edited  and  published  "Reports  of  Cases  Adjudged  in  the  Courts  of  Errors  in  Conn- 
ecticut" (2  Vols.),  Hartford.  1789-1802.     He  died  at  Coventry  March  29,  1822. 

llSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Old  Series,  XI:  331. 

IfSee  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  444. 


1299 

paragraph,  or  section,  of  the  IXth  Article.  The  determination  by  the  Court  of 
the  claims  of  private  property,  or  right  in  the  soil,  would  have  been  coram  von 
jndice — jurisdiction  over  such  claims  being  derived  from  the  third  paragraph 
of  Article  IX.*    The  two  jurisdictions  could  not  be  blended. 

Having  failed  in  this  matter  the  next  move  of  the  Connecticut  counsel 
was  to  suggest  that  they  might  find  it  necessary  to  ask  for  an  adjournment  or 
postponement  of  the  hearing,  in  order — as  they  set  forth  in  writing — to  pro- 
secute their  efforts  to  obtain  possession  of  (1)  "a  certain  original  deed  from  the 
Indians  for  a  large  parcel  of  the  lands  in  dispute,  obtained  from  their  Chiefs  and 
Sachems  at  their  Council  Fire  in  Onondaga,  in  the  year  1763,  which  is  now  in 
England,  having  been  left  there  before  the  commencement  of  the  present  un- 
happy war,  and  which  we  have  never  since  been  able  to  obtain;  and  (2)  other 
necessars'  evidence  and  proofs  which,  on  examination,  we  find  we  are  not  at 
present  possessed  of,  and  which  may  be  wanted  in  said  trial." 

To  this  "suggestion"  the  counsel  for  Pennsylvania  declared  that  they  would 
oppose  any  postponement  or  adjournment  after  the  introduction  of  evidence 
had  been  begun.  The  Court  took  the  papers  submitted  by  counsel,  and  the 
matter  rested  there — not  being  brought  up  again  during  the  progress  of  the  case. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  hearing  (November  20,  1782)  Attorney  General 
Bradford  wrote  from  Trenton  to  President  Dickinson  of  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia,  as  follows  if 

"I  beg  leave  to  inform  your  E.xcellency  and  the  Council  that  the  Court  of  Commissioners 
have  at  length  proceeded  to  business.  We,  however,  are  still  upon  the  threshold  of  the  Cause, 
and  whether  we  shall  proceed  any  farther  is  still  undetermined.  The  Agents  for  Connecticut 
seem  determined  to  use  every  endeavor  to  prevent  a  decision  of  the  Cause.  First,  they  demanded 
that  the  original  petition  which  was  presented  to  Congress  should  be  produced;  an  argument 
ensued,  and  they  were  overruled.  Next,  they  objected  to  the  validity  of  our  agency,  and  contended 
that  we  had  no  authority  to  appear  before  thai  Court.  After  argument  the  Court  held  our  powers 
to  be  sufficient.  After  this,  they  contended  that  the  Court  could  not  proceed  unless  the  terre- 
leimiils.  or  others  claiming  lands  in  the  contested  territory,  were  summoned  and  made  parties  in 
the  suit.    This  they  warmly  contended  for,  but  were  as  unsuccessful  as  before. 

"At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Court  we  moved  that  the  Court  would  proceed  to  hear  the 
Cause.  The  Agents  prayed  for  time  to  have  a  conference  with  us,  which  they  alleged  might 
prevent  any  further  motions  to  delay  the  Cause.  It  was  granted  to  them,  and  their  proposal  to 
us  has  been,  that  we  will  admit  ex-parte  depositions,  and  concede  that  there  is  in  England  a  certain 
Indian  deed,  of  part  of  the  lands  in  question,  fairly  executed,  made  to  The  Susquehanna  Company, 
and  of  which  they  have  no  copy.  These  proposals  met  with  the  answer  that  might  have  been 
expected,  and,  in  consequence  of  our  refusal,  they  propose  to  move  that  the  Cause  shall  not  be 
heard  till  they  can  procure  the  witnesses  and  the  deed.  We  trust  that  they  will  not  be  gratified 
in  this  unreasonable  request.  If  they  can  prove  such  a  deed  to  have  existed,  and  that  it  is  in 
possession  of  the  enemy,  no  doubt  its  contents  may  be  given  in  evidence. 

"The  spirit,  however,  which  has  been  discovered  on  these  occasions,  induces  us  to  wish 
for  evidence  the  most  legal  and  unexceptionable.  If  the  Charter  and  Indian  deeds  cannot  be 
procured,  we  could  wish  that  the  records  of  them  were  brought  forward."     *     *     * 

*The  second  and  third  paragraph.s  of  Article  IX  of  the  ■■,\rticles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  l^ion"  betwVL-ii 
the  thirteen  .\merican  States,  adopted  at  Philadelphia  November  15.  1777,  read  in  part  as  follows; 

■"2 — "The  L^nited  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also  be  the  last  resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences 
now  subsisting  or  that  hereafter  may  arise  between  two  or  more  States  concerning  boundary,  jurisdiction,  or  any  other 
cause  whatever;  which  authority  shall  always  be  e-xercised  in  the  manner  following.  Whenever  tlie  legislative  or 
executive  authority  or  lawful  agent  of  any  State  in  controversy  with  another  shall  present  a  petition  to  Congress, 
stating  the  matter  in  question  and  praying  for  a  hearing,  notice  thereof  shall  be  given  by  order  of  Congress  to  the  legis- 
lative or  executive  authority  of  the  other  State  in  controversy  and  a  day  assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties  by 
their  lawful  agents,  who  shall  then  be  directed  to  appoint,  by  joint  consent,  commissioners,  or  judges,  to  constitute 
a  court  for  hearing  and  determining  the  matter  in  question;  but  if  they  cannot  agree.  Congress  shall  name  three  persons 
out  of  each  of  the  United  States,  and  from  the  list  of  such  persons  each  party  shall  alternately  strike  out  one,  the  peti- 
tioners beginning,  until  the  number  shall  be  reduced  to  thirteen;  and  from  that  number  not  less  than  seven,  nor  more 
than  nine,  names  as  Congress  shall  direct,  shall,  in  the  presence  of  Congress,  be  drawn  out  by  lot,  and  the  persons 
whose  names  shall  be  drawn,  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  commissioners,  or  judges,  to  hear  and  finally  determine  the 
controversy;  *  *  *  *  and  the  judgment  and  sentence  of  the  court  to  be  appointed  in  the  manner  before  prescribed 
shall  be  final  and  conclusive;  *  *  the  judgment  or  sentence,  and  other  proceedings,  being  in  either  case  transmitted 
to  Congress  and  lodged  among  the  .\cts  of  Congress  for  the  security  of  the  parties  concerned       *     *     * 

?3 — "All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil  claimed  under  different  .grants  of  two  or  more  States, 
whose  jurisdictions  (as  they  may  respect  such  lands,  and  the  States  which  passed  such  grants)  are  adjusted — the 
said  grants,  or  either  of  them,  being  at  the  same  time  claimed  to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such  settlement  of 
juri.sdiction — shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  be  finally  determined  as  near 
as  may  be  in  the  same  manner  as  is  before  prescribed  for  deciding  disputes  respecting  territorial  jurisdiction  between 
different  States." 

tSee  Hoyt's  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  the  County  of  Luzerne",  page  4.'. 


1300 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  November  23,  1782,  Joseph  Reed,  of 
the  counsel  for  Pennsylvania  at  Trenton,  wrote  to  Vice  President  Moore  of  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  as  follows:* 

*  *  *  "I  arrived  this  evening  from  Trenton,  and  am  sorry  to  inform  you  that  the 
proceedings  of  the  Agents  on  the  part  of  Connecticut  manifest  the  utmost  intentions  to  postpone 
the  hearing  of  the  cause  and  break  up  the  Court  without  a  decision  on  the  merits.  After  object- 
ing to  our  powers,  to  the  non-production  of  the  original  petition,  and  want  of  notice  to  the  settlers 
— in  all  which,  after  long  arguments,  they  were  overruled — they  prayed  that  the  Cause  might 
proceed  with  a  reservation  of  moving  an  adjournment  of  the  Cause  at  any  stage  of  it;  at  the  same 
time  adding  that  they  had  left  sundry  papers  in  England,  essential  to  the  merits,  of  which  they 
gave  a  verbal  detail.  *  *  *  Among  the  papers  said  to  be  in  England,  they  lay  great  stress 
on  the  Indian  deeds,  which  they  allege  to  have  been  left  in  that  Kingdom."     *     *     * 

At  Trenton,  under  the  date  of  December  3,  1782,  Joseph  Reed  wrote  to  the 

Hon.  George  Bryan,  a  former  Vice  President  of  the  vSupreme  Executive  Council 

of  Pennsylvania,  in  part  as  follows  :t 

"The  Agents  of  Connecticut  have  brought  their  testimony  down  to  their  Indian  deeds; 
but  here  is  a  lamentable  failure.  Their  best  deed  was  carried  to  England,  and  a  Welsh  attorney 
carried  it  down  with  him  to  that  country,  and  there  it  stands  pledged  for  a  Counsellor  Gardiner's 
debts.  The  other  was  brought  here,  and  has  been  lost  since  their  arrival.  Dyer  having  told  us  it 
was  much  blurred  and  blotted,  but  that  they  had  a  fair  copy.  We,  you  may  be  sure,  have  our 
suspicions.  Sergeant  just  now  asked  him  [Dyer]  if  he  had  looked  in  his  breeches.  I  suppose  you 
have  heard  the  anecdote  of  the  stockings. 

"Yesterday  they  attempted  to  read  the  proceedings  of  The  Delaware  Company  on  the 
Susquehanna  [sk],  that  is,  the  work  of  the  adventurers  on  the  land  in  dispute.  This  point  is 
now  before  the  Court  for  consideration.  Our  cause  at  present  stands  fair  enough,  but  I  foresee 
it  will  be  very  tedious.  Colonel  Dyer  will  submit  to  no  order;  he  speaks  twenty  times  a  day,  and 
scarcely  ever  finishes  one  sentence  completely.  Dr.  Johnson  is  the  ablest  man  in  the  agency; 
he  is  a  good  speaker,  and  is  a  man  of  candor.  Our  Court,  pretty  well  as  courts  go.  When  you 
write,  be  careful  as  to  opportunities.     I  mean,  don't  trust  suspicious  hands. 

"P.  S. — Since  writing  the  above,  the  Court  determined  not  to  admit  the  copy,  and  soon 
after  the  miserable  original  [Indian  deed]  was  found.    What  can  we  think  of  these  folks!" 

At  Trenton,  under  the  date  of  December  13,  1782,  Joseph  Reed  wrote  again 
to  George  Bryan,  in  part  as  follows :{ 

"We  have  now  got  to  summing  up  the  cause,  and  I  think,  without  being  too  sanguine,  we 
may  justly  expect  a  full  decree  in  our  favor.  It  was  agreed  to  speak  alternately.  Mr.  Root 
began,  making  use  chiefly  of  [the  Rev.  Benjamin]  Trumbull's  Pamphleti!  as  a  brief.  It  was  very 
dull,  and  much  said  of  the  policy  of  taking  off  this  grant  for  a  new  Colony,  &c.,  &c.  We  expected 
that  each  would  take  up  two  days,  as  the  evidence  is  multifarious  and  prolix,  but  he  finished  in 
two  hours,  or  a  little  more.  Mr.  Sergeant  followed  him,  and  though  he  evidently  abbreviated, 
he  took  up  Wednesday  and  Thursday. 

"Mr.  Wharton  came  up  here  to  give  evidence  of  the  disclaimer  of  the  Indians  at  Fort 
Stanwix,  but  the  fear  of  offending  the  Delegates  from  Connecticut  was  remarkably  visible  the 
whole  time  he  was  here. 

"To-day  Colonel  Dyer  goes  on,  and  we  expect  much  amusement,  though  little  information. 
Perhaps  we  may  be  surprised;  as,  indeed,  we  shall  be.  if  he  argues  with  ability  or  judgment.  Thus 
we  stand  at  present,  and  have  now  a  reasonable  prospect  of  dismission  next  week,  which  is  the 
least  time  that  has  ever  been  spent  on  such  a  cause.  The  dispute  between  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  took  up  three  months.  We  all  grow  impatient,  but  I  do  not  mean  to  leave  this  [place] 
till  we  have  finished." 

It  will  not  be  possible,  in  these  pages,  to  give  more  than  a  brief  account  of 
the  proceedings  before  the  Trenton  Court  of  Commissioners.  For  many  of  the 
details  of  the  hearing — the  "briefs",  or  "notes",  of  some  of  the  counsel,  certain 
of  the  official  minutes  recorded  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Court,  and  for  interesting 
data  of  a  technical  and  legal  character — the  reader  is  referred  to  "Pennsylvania 
Archives",  Old  Series,  IX:  679-724,  and  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Town- 
ships in  the  County  of  Luzerne",  by  the  Hon.  Henry  M.  Hoyt,  LL.  D.,  sometime 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  claim  of  Pennsylvania,  set  forth  in  the  "Statement  and  Representation" 
filed  with  the  Court  by  the  counsel  for  the  State,  is  printed  in  Miner's  "History 

*See  Hoyt's  "Brief",  previously  mentioned,  page  44.  ' 
tSee  William  B.  Reed's  "Life  of  Joseph  Reed".  II:  388.  389. 
ISee  William  B.   Reed's  "Life  of  Joseph  Reed",  II:  389. 
.^Mentioned  on  page  803,  Vol.  II. 


1301 

of  Wyoming",  page  70-72.  In  support  of  their  claim  the  Pennsylvanians 
attacked  the  Connecticut  charters,  patents  and  deeds,  so  far  as  their  alleged 
application  or  reference  to  lands  within  the  claimed  bounds  of  Pennsylvania  was 
concerned.     In  brief,  the  Pennsylvanians  held: 

I.  That  in  the  time  of  Charles  II,  the  geography  of  this  country  was  little 
understood,  and  the  breadth  of  the  continent  unknown;  and  that  the  King  was 
mistaken  and  deceived  when  he  used  such  general  words  in  his  charter  to  Con- 
necticut as,  if  literally  construed,  would  convey  an  extent  of  3,000  miles.* 

II.  That  it  was  not  the  understanding,  as  appears  from  the  state  of  the 
Colony  when  the  charter  was  granted,  that  the  boundaries  of  Connecticut  ex- 
tended westward  far  beyond  the  Connecticut  River. 

III.  That  Connecticut,  on  several  occasions,  had  waived  or,  by  admis- 
sions, estopped  herself  from  asserting,  her  title  to  lands  west  of  New  York. 

IV.  That  the  long  silence  and  non-claim  of  Connecticut,  as  to  the  west- 
ern lands,  had  acted  as  a  waiver  of  her  charter  right,  or,  rather,  as  an  evidence 
of  her  want  of  such  right. 

y.  That  the  charter  ought  not  to  be  so  construed  as  to  include  the  land 
in  question,  because  of  the  immensity  of  the  country  which  would  be  embraced 
within  the  charter  limits. 

\^I.  That  the  charter  gave  no  title  west  of  New  York,  because  of  the  in- 
terjacency  of  another  Province. 

\TI  That  the  title  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  was  defective  on  these 
grounds:  (i)  The  Company  never  had  a  formal  grant  from  the  Colony  of  Con- 
necticut; (ii)  Acts  of  Parliament  are  never  used  to  grant  lands — the  alienation  of 
lands  being  executive,  not  legislative;  (iii)  the  Colony  of  Connecticut  received 
nothing  from  the  Company  as  a  consideration  for  those  lands;  (iv)  Connecti- 
cut never  passed  any  law  granting  lands  to  the  Company  in  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania ;  (v)  the  Company  made  its  purchase  from  the  Indians,  contrary 
to  the  laws  of  Connecticut;  (vi)  Connecticut  never  granted  the  land  by  any 
formal  grant;     (vii)  the  Company  never  had  a  sealed  patent. 

\'III.     That  the  King,  in  1763,  forbade  the  settling  of  this  territory.! 

IX.  That  the  Indian  deed  of  July  1 1,  1754,  to  The  Susquehanna  Company 
was  null  and  void — in  fact,  absolutely  worthless — on  these  grounds:  (i)  the 
description  of  the  land,  and  other  material  parts,  being  written  on  erasures,  and 
in  ink  different  from  that  used  in  the  major  part  of  the  deed;  (ii)  the  deed 
having  been  executed  at  different  times  and  before  different  subscribing  wit- 
nesses: (iii)  it  not  having  been  executed  in  the  open,  public,  national  manner  in 
which  the  Indians  were  accustomed  to  sell  and  transfer  their  lands;  (iv)  it 
being  clandestine,  and  deceptive  in  that  the  amount  of  the  consideration  is 
stated  as  £2,000,  when  it  was  only  2,000  dollars;  (v)  it  being  denied  by  the 
Six  Nation  Indians  as  an  act  of  their  confederacy. 

Particular  stress  was  laid  by  the  Pennsylvanians  on  the  slovenly  and  de- 
fective character  of  the  last-mentioned  deed, J  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  it 

^^See  pages  242-244.  Vol.  I. 

tin  reply  to  this  point  the  Connecticut  agents  averred  that  the  order  of  the  Kin<  referred  to  was  procured  upon 
tx-parle  representations  made  by  the  Proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that  the  King  himself,  having  granted  the 
lands  by  charter,  had  no  authority  reserved  to  forbid  the  settlement.     In  this  connection  sec  pages  414  and  415.  Vol    I 

+This  deed,  the  manner  in  which  it  was  executed,  and  the  opposition  early  made  to  it  on  account  of  its  alleged 
spunousness  and  mvalidity,  etc. ,  are  described  at  considerable  length  on  pages  269-292,  ,^00,  301 .  302,  ,W3,  304,  30.'i.  .TO7, 
332.  396,  400.  410,  411,  416,  and  830. 

In  this  connection  we  desire  to  correct  an  erroneous  statement  made  on  pa.iji 


only  one  woman  appears  in  the  list  of  grantees  in  the  deed.     The  names  of  two 
of    'Rachel  Millner",  to  he  found  in  the  third  column  on  page  273,  ant 


1302 

bears  on  its  face  every  evidence  of  having  been  written  and  executed  in  a  bung- 
ling and  ship-shod  manner.  The  names  of  the  grantors  in  the  body  of  the  deed, 
the  amount  of  the  consideration  money,  the  description  of  the  territory  granted 
and  the  date  of  the  execution  of  the  document  are  all  in  a  different  handwriting 
from,  and  written  with  blacker  ink  than,  the  major  part  of  the  deed.  In  the 
list  of  grantees  the  name  of  John  Henry  Lydins  has  been  carelessly  erased,  and 
that  of  Abraham  Lansing  substituted.  The  descriptive  part  of  the  deed  begins 
at  the  top  of  page  "H"  of  the  document  (see  the  photo-reproduction  of  the  same 
facing  page  276,  Vol.  I),  and  the  lines  from  the  third  to  the  sixth,  inclusive,  are 
written   on   an  erasure. 

Undoubtedly  the  principal  proprietors  of  The  Susquehanna  Company 
early  conceived  the  desirability — yea,  the  necessity — of  having  a  more  complete 
and  perfect  deed  for  their  Purchase,  and  so,  in  the  Summer  of  1763,  they  obtained, 
from  a  number  of  the  chief  men  of  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations,  a  brand- 
new  deed  for  the  Wyoming  lands — as  narrated  on  page  417,  Vol.  I. 

This  deed  (with  other  important  papers  relating  to  The  Susquehanna 
Company)  was  carried  to  London,  in  August,  1763,  by  Colonel  Dyer,  and  when  he 
returned  to  America,  in  October,  1764,  he  left  the  papers  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company  in  the  hands  of  John  Gardiner,  Esq.,  of  the  Inner  Temple.  The 
latter  gentleman,  it  seems,  later  got  into  some  kind  of  trouble,  and  "ran  away 
from  London  without  first  turning  over  to  a  representative  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company,  the  deed  and  other  papers  belonging  to  the  Company  which  were  in 
his  hands."*  Colonel  Dyer  subsequently  made  several  attempts  to  regain 
possession  of  these  papers — particularly  the  Indian  deed — but  without  success. 

The  common  belief  of  the  chief  men  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  circa 
1782,  seems  to  have  been  that  Gardiner  had  sent  the  papers  to  Colonel  Dyer, 
but  that  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  certain  agent  of  the  Pennsylvania  land- 
claimers.  This  belief  was  plainly  set  forth  years  later  by  Col.  John  Franklin 
(see  page  1227,  Vol.  II),  in  a  communication  printed  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gazette 
of  September  23,  1800,  and  reading  in  part  as  follows: 

"The  papers  alluded  to  were  left  with  Col.  John  Gardiner,  of  London,  agent  for  the. Sus- 
quehanna and  Delaware  Companies.  Col.  E.  Dyer,  who  had  left  the  papers  with  said  Gardiner, 
sent  for  them  a  short  time  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  He  received  a  letter  from  said  Gardiner 
— or,  at  least,  the  cover  of  a  packet — that  had  been  gutted  of  its  contents,  except  a  few  papers  of 
little  consequence.  It  is  since  in  proof  that  the  aforesaid  Indian  deed  and  many  other  important 
papers,  by  some  means  unknown  to  the  Connecticut  agents  or  The  Susquehanna  Company,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  John  Rome  of  New  York  some  time  in  1774,  who  delivered  them  to  Col.  Cor- 
nelius Co.x.t  who  then  lived,  and  still  lives,  near  Harrisburgh;  that   the  said  Co.x,  sometime  in 

1776,    sent  said  papers  to  Col.  [Turbutt]  Francist  and Lukens.S  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia 

— the  said  Francis  and  Lukens  being  principally  concerned  for  the  Pennsylvania  Proprietaries; 
that  after  the  decease  of  Colonel  Francis  in  [1777]  said  papers  fell  into  the  hands  of  Tench  Coxe. 
then  of  Philadelphia  and  now  of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania  [and  Secretary  of  the  Land  Office  of 
Pennsylvania],  It  is  also  in  proof  that  the  said  Tench  Coxe  has  said  that  he  'delivered  the  said 
papers  to  one  of  the  Pennsylvania  agents  (to  wit:  the  late  Judge  Wilson)  a  short  time  before  the 
Trenton  trial.'  Neither  th;  State  of  Connecticut  nor  The  Susquehanna  Company  has  ever  yet 
been   able    to   procure    them." 

Further,  with  respect  to  the  Indian  deeds  of  1754  and  1763,  we  have  the 
testimony  of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson  (see  page  744,  Vol.  II),  given  in  January, 
1787,  to  Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  and  recorded  by  him  at  that  time  in  his  diary, l| 
as  follows: 

*See  pages  440.  443,  and  .i04.  Vol.  I 

tSee  note,  page  1192,  Vol.  II. 

t.See  page  489,  Vol.  I,  and  664,  Vol,  II. 

§JoHN  Lukens,  sometime  Surveyor  General  of  Pennsylvania,     See  notes  on  pages  654  and  861,  Vol.  II. 

llSee  the  original  MS.  diary  of  Colonel  Pickering  among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII;  39),  mentioned  on  pagre 


1303 

"He  [Johnson]  believed  the  Charter  of  Connecticut  was  better  than  that  of  Pennsylvania; 
that  the  Indian  deed  was  a  good  one ;  that  the  original  produced  at  Trenton  was  not  the  fair  one, 
and  was  only  kept  by  the  Company,  but  not  intended  to  be  used.  That  after  receiving  that  [one] 
of  the  Indians,  the  Company  got  another,  in  a  fuller  assembly  of  the  Indians,  and  this  was  per- 
fectly fair.  That  this  had  been  sent  to  England.  That  it  had  been  returned,  and  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Pennsylvanians,  who  kept  it  and  would  not  produce  it  at  the  Federal  Court,  and  they 
still  had  it." 

Still  further,  w^ith  respect  to  the  disappearance  of  the  deed  of  1763,  we  have 
the  following,  to  be  found  in  a  memorial*  presented  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  Connecticut,  at  Hartford,  May  10,  1787,  by  Col.  John  Franklin,  "in  behalf  of 
himself  and  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  settled  upon  the  rivers  Delaware  and 
Susquehanna." 

"That  the  Penns,  by  their  agents  having  by  mere  accident  possessed  themselves  of  the 
Indian  Deed  to  the  purchasers,  and  many  other  important  papers — evidences  of  the  title  of  this 
State  to  the  lands  aforesaid — applyed  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  for  the  constituting 
of  a  Federal  Court  for  the  settlement  of  the  jurisdiction,  &c.  *  *  *  Your  memorialists  are  now 
able  to  prove  beyond  contradiction  that  the  aforesaid  deed  and  evidences  of  title  were  actually 
in  the  hands  of  the  agents  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  before  that  State  made  their  applica- 
tion to  Congress  for  the  establishment  of  said  Federal  Court,  and  that  they  secreted  them  until 
after  the  aforesaid  decree,  and  now  have  them  in  their  power  and  custody." 

With  respect  to  the  missing  deed  of  1763,  Miner  says  ("History  of  Wyom- 
ing," page  101): 

"The  deed  was  left  by  Colonel  Dyer  in  the  hands  of  an  agent  in  England,  from  whom  it 
was,  as  is  alleged,  unfairly  obtained  by  the  opposite  party,  who  had  it  in  possession  ia  Philadelphia 
in  1782,  and  could  and  would  have  produced  it  at  the  Trenton  trial  if  it  had  been  vitiated  by 
interlineation;  and  as  they  did  not,  the  presumptions  were  all  in  favor  of  its  fairness." 

What  ultimately  became  of  the  missing  Indian  deed  of  1763,  we  are  unable 
now  to  learn. t 

The  counsel  for  Connecticut  were  well  convinced,  some  time  before  the 
trial  at  Trenton  began,  that,  in  the  absence  of  the  deed  of  1763,  they  would  have 
to  rely  on  their  deed  of  July  11,  1754;  and  so,  in  the  Summer  of  1782,  they  had 
this  deed  duly  recorded  among  the  archives  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  at 
Windham,  Connecticut,  and  then,  on  October  26,  1782,  in  the  ofiBce  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  of  Connecticut — as  related  on  page  289,  Vol.  I.  At  the  same  time 
the  deed  from  the  Indians  to  The  Delaware  Company  was  recorded  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State — as  mentioned  on  page  294,  Vol.  I. 

Also,  in  preparation  for  the  trial  at  Trenton,  the  agents  of  Connecticut 
obtained  in  October,  1782,  the  affidavits  of  the  Hon. 'Stephen  Hopkins,  Lieut. 
Col.  Thomas  Dyer,  Capt.  Vine  Elderkin,  Allen  Wightman,  Cyprian  Lothrop 
and  Capt.  William  Gallup>  hereinbefore  printed. J  But  whether  or  not  these 
affidavits,  as  well  as  the  deposition  of  the  Earl  of  Stirling!  (taken  at  the  instance 
of  the  agents  for  Pennsylvania),  were  admitted  as  evidence  by  the  Trenton 
Court,  we  are  not  able  now  certainly  to  determine;  but  presumably  and  undoubt- 
edly they  were. 

The  hearing  of  the  cause,  including  the  arguments  of  counsel,  continued 
until  December  24,  1782,  when  the  closing  argument  was  made  by  Mr.  Root. 
The  Court  then  took  possession  of  the  various  briefs,  records  and  exhibits  which 
had  been  filed  in  the  case,  and  proceeded  to  consider  them  in  secret.    On  Monday, 

*The  original  is  "No.  172"  in  the  collection  of  documents  mentioned  in  paragraph  "(3)",  page  29,  Vol.  I. 

tAt  Wilkes-Barr6,  under  the  date  of  July  13,  1801,  Judge  Thomas  Cooper  and  Gen.  John  Steele,  Commissioners 
under  the  "Compromise  Act"  of  .April  4,  1799,  and  its  supplements,  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Tench  Coxe.  Secretary  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Land  Office,  in  part  as  follows:  "You  are  also  of  opinion  that,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether 
the  seventeen  townships  are  all  within  the  bounds  of  the  purchase  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  we  ought  to  demand 
inspection  of  the  Indian  Deed.  We  believe  that  Mr.  [John]  Franklin  has  lately  [within  these  two  months]  procured 
from  a  Mr.  Pepoom,  of  Albany,  the  original  deed;  but  we  are  persuaded  he  would  not  entrust  us  with  it,  nor  do  we 
know  upon  what  fair  plea  to  insist  upon  it." — "Pennsylvania  Archives'* ,  Second  Series,  XVIII:  455. 

}See  pages  291 ,  475  and  477,  Vol.  I,  and  page  630,  Vol.  II. 

ISee  pages  288  and  289.  Vol.  I. 


1304 

December  30,  1782,  the  Court  reconvened,  and  pronounced  the  following  decree*; 
"This  Cause  has  been  well  argued  by  the  Learned  Council  on  both  sides. 
"The  Court  are  now  to  pronounce  their  Sentence  or  Judgment. 

"We  are  unanimously  of  Opinion  that  the  State  of  Connecticut  has  no  right  to  the  Lands 
in  Controversy. — 

"We  are  also  unanimously  of  Opinion  that  the  Jurisdiction  and  Pre-emption  of  all  the 
Territory  lying  within  the  Charter  boundary  of  Pennsylvania  and  now  claimed  by  the  State  of 
Connecticut  do  of  Right  belong  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. — 

[Signed]  "Wm.  Whipple 

"Welcome  Arnold 
"Dav'd  Brearley 
"Trenton,  30th  Dec'r,  1782.  "Cyrus  Griffin 

"William  C.  Houston." 

In  forwarding  to  the  Hon.  John  Dickinson,  President  of  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  a  copy  of  their  Decree,  the  Commissioners 
sent  a  letterf  (written  by  President  Whipple)  reading  as  follows: 

"Trenton,  31st  December,  1782. 

"Sir:  We  take  the  liberty  to  address  your  Excellency,  as  private  citizens  lately  honored 
with  a  Commission  to  hear  and  determine  the  controversy  between  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Connecticut,  relative  to  disputed  Territory. 

"In  the  course  of  executing  this  Commission  we  have  found  that  many  Persons  are,  or 
lately  have  been,  settled  on  the  lands  in  Question.  Their  individual  claims  could,  in  no  Instance, 
come  before  us,  not  being  within  the  line  of  our  appointment.  We  beg  leave  to  declare  to  your 
Excellency  that  we  think  the  situation  of  these  People  well  deserves  the  notice  of  Government.  The 
dispute  has  long  subsisted.  It  may  have  produced  Heats  and  Animosities  among  those  living 
in  or  near  the  Country  in  Contest,  and  some  Imprudences  may  take  place  and  draw  after  them 
the  most  unfavorable  consequences. 

"With  all  deference,  therefore,  we  would  suggest  to  your  Excellency  and  the  Council, 
whether  it  would  not  be  best  to  adopt  some  reasonable  measures  to  prevent  any,  the  least.  Violence, 
Disorder  or  misunderstanding  among  them;  and  to  continue  things  in  the  present  peaceable  pos- 
ture until  proper  steps  can  be  taken  to  decide  the  Controversies  respecting  the  private  right  of  soil,  in 
the  mode  prescribed  by  the  Confederation.  We  doubt  not  an  early  Proclamation  from  the  Ex- 
ecutive of  Pennsylvania  would  have  all  necessary  good  Effects,  and  we  feel  ourselves  happy  in 
the  fullest  confidence  that  every  means  will  be  adopted,  or  acquiesced  in,  by  the  State  to  render 
the  settlement  of  this  dispute  complete  and  satisfactory,  as  far  as  may  be,  to  all  concerned. 

"We  have  the  Honour  to  be,  with  great  respect, 

"Your  E.\;cellency's  most  obedient, 

"And  very  humble  Servants. 

"To  His  Excellency  John  Dickinson,  Esqr." 

[Signed]  "Wm.  Whipple 

"Welcome  Arnold 
"W.  C.  Houston 
"C.  Griffin 
"David  Brearley 

The  foregoing  letter  was  received  by  President  Dickinson,  and  was  filed 
by  him  with  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  January  2,  1783,  but  no  publicity 
was  given  to  it.  Subsequently  the  letter  passed  into  the  possession  of  President 
DickinsonJ  himself.  On  February  18,  1790,  Col.  Timothy  Pickering  (then  living 
in  Wilkes-Barre),  having  heard  that  such  a  letter  had  been  written  and  signed 
by  the  Commissioners,  wrote  to  Judge  Brearley,  inquiring  about  it  and  asking 
for  a  copy  of  it.  At  Trenton,  under  the  date  of  March  4,  1790,  Judge  Brearley 
wrote  to  Colonel  Pickering  as  follows  :§ 

"My  first  letter  to  Colonel  Neilsonl]  by  some  means  miscarried.  However,  I  have  now 
got  his  answer,which  is,  he  has  'not  got  a  copy  of  the  letter  which  is  wanted.'  I  am  apprehensive 
it  is  not  to  be  found.  We  had  very  strong  reasons  for  writing  to  the  President  of  Pennsylvania. 
We  were  fully  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  New  England  settlers.  We 
knew  that  many  of  them  had  honestly  paid  for  their  possessions;  that  they  verily  believed  the 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  XVIII:  629. 

tSee  Hoyt's  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  Luzerne  County",  page  45. 

JSurmising  that  Mr.  Dickinson  had  this  letter  in  his  possession.  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  concerning  it  to  him  at 
Wilmington.  Delaware,  March  25,  1793,  and  a  few  days  later  received  a  reply,  in  part  as  follows:  "It  gives  Me  very 
particular  Pleasure,  that  I  have  found  the  Letter  from  the  Commissioners.  Confiding  that  it  will  be  immediately 
delivered  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  it  is  enclosed."  According  to  Mrs.  Murray's  "Old 
Tioga  Point  and  Early  Athens"  (page  228)  the  letter  in  question  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  heirs  of  Edward 
Herrick,  Jr.  at  Athens,  Pa. 

§See  Hoyfs  "Brief",  page  103. 

liCol.  John  Neilson,  who  had  been  Clerk  of  the  Trenton  Court.     See  (t)  note  page  1296. 


1305 

title,  under  which  they  claimed,  to  be  perfectly  good;  that  they  had  cleared,  built  upon  and  im- 
proved the  lands;  that  in  doing  this  they  had  encountered  many  dangers  and  suffered  innumerable 
hardships;  and  beyond  all  these  things — and  what  cannot  be  estimated — many  of  their  nearest 
connections  had  spilt  their  blood  in  defense  of  their  possessions. 

"Thus  circumstanced,  it  was  manifest  that  they  had  become  enthusiasts  for  the  land;  that 
the  reasoning  of  legislators  and  statesmen  would  have  but  little  weight  with  them;  that  if  the 
State  should  attempt  to  dispossess  them,  they  would  become  desperate,  and  a  civil  war  would 
be  the  consequence.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  State  should  quiet  them  in  their  possessions,  they 
would  become  peaceable,  good  citizens,  and  that  the  State  would  compensate  those  who  held 
under  Pennsylvania  title  by  giving  them  an  equivalent  in  lands  or  money  at  a  less  expense  than 
that  of  dispossessing  the  New  England  settlers.  That,  therefore,  the  interest  of  humanity  and  the 
jiolicy  of  the  State  would  be  to  lead  them  to  adopt  the  measures  that  we  recommended. 

"The  letter  bore  no  official  authority.  We  subscribed  it  as  private  citizens.  Neverthe- 
less we  did  conceive  that  it  would  have  some  weight,  as  it  would  be  apparent  that  our  means  of 
information  had  been  better  than  those  of  any  other  persons  who  were  disinterested." 

The  following  brief  but  cogent  statement  of  The  Susquehanna  Company's 
case,  as  developed  at  the  Trenton  trial,  is  from  a  letter*  written  at  New  York, 
March  6,  1790,  to  Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  by  Dr.  William  vSamuel  Johnson, 
previously  mentioned. 

"I  have  just  now  received  your  favor  of  the  3d  inst.,  and  as  I  shall  have  no  time  season- 
ably to  answer  it,  except  a  few  minutes  this  evening,  I  instantly  sit  down  to  acquaint  you  that 
the  Susquehanna  settlers  had  no  formal  grant  from  Connecticut.  The  reason  for  which  was  that 
their  original  plan  was  to  establish  a  new  Government  or  Colony  in  that  part  of  the  country,  under 
the  Crown  of  Great  Britain.  They,  therefore,  with  the  approbation  of  the  then  Governor  of 
Connecticut,  first  purchased  of  the  Indians,  and  then  obtained  from  the  General  Assembly  of 
Connecticut  an  approbation  of  their  proceedings  and  a  recommendation  of  them  to  the  Crown, 
for  the  purpose  of  their  being  created  into  a  Government. 

"Application  was  accordingly  made  to  the  Crown  for  that  purpose.  But,  meeting  with 
many  delays  at  the  Court  of  Great  Britain,  they  again  applied  to  the  Assembly  of  Connecticut, 
who  having,  by  that  time,  determined  to  vindicate  their  claim  to  the  whole  western  part  of  their 
Patent,  they,  by  several  Acts  of  the  Legislature,  took  the  Susquehanna  settlers  under  their  pro- 
tection, extended  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Colony  over  them,  and  established  government  amongst 
them. 

"This  was  considered  by  the  Colony  and  the  settlers  as  so  full  a  ratification  of  all  their 
proceedings,  and  expecially  of  their  Indian  purchase,  as  rendered  any  formal  grant  (which  at 
most  could  amount  only  to  a  right  of  pre-emption,  or  a  liberty  to  purchase  of  the  natives)  al- 
together unnecessary,  and  therefore  none  was  ever  applied  for — those  Legislative  approbations 
being  considered  as  securing  their  titles  under  the  Colony  more  effectually  than  any  grant  or  deed 
could  do.  In  fact,  by  the  law  of  Connecticut  the  Susquehanna  settlers  were  (previous  to  the  Tren- 
ton trial),  in  holding  those  lands,  regularly  under  the  Colony  of  Connecticut;  and  had  she  been 
able,  at  that  trial,  to  have  established  her  title,  no  question  would  or  could  ever  have  been  made 
but  that  the  said  settlers  had  as  good  a  title  to  their  lands  as  any  settlers  in  North  America." 

Concerning  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  Judge  Cyrus  Griffin  (who  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Trenton  Court)  wrote  under  the  date  of  September  15,  1796,t 
to  Barnabas  Bidwell,  Esq.,  of  Massachusetts,  sometime  counsel  for  The  Susque- 
hanna   Company,    as    follows  :J 

"Being  upon  a  tour  of  duty  in  the  line  of  my  office,  I  had  not  the  pleasure  of  reading  your 
letter    until    yesterday. 

"Before  the  Commissioners  determined  that  important  contest  between  Pennsylvania  and 
Connecticut,  it  was  agreed: 

"1st.     That  the  reasons  for  the  determination  should  never  be  given. 

"2d.  That  the  minority  should  concede  the  determination  as  the  unanimous  opinion  of 
the  Com-t. 

"No  doubt  sufficient  reasons  appeared  to  us  to  adopt  these  preliminary  points.  Whether 
strictly  justifiable,  or  at  present  would  be  adopted,  I  wiU  not  undertake  to  say.  Perhaps  a  different 
course  might  be  pursued;  but  this  I  will  undertake  to  say,  that  no  Court  ever  met  and  decided  a 
great  question  less  subject  to  partiality  or  corruption,  or  in  which  more  candor  and  freedom  of 
debate    were    exercised. 

"As  you  seem  to  suppose,  I  do  not  know  in  what  manner  the  jurisdiction  might  be  consider- 
ed if  tried  again;  and  especially  since  a  number  of  important  discoveries  have  been  made,  and  a 
mass  of  evidence  can  now  be  produced  which  was  not  known  at  that  time.  But  I  can  assure  you, 
Sir,  that  the  Commissioners  were  unanimously  of  opinion  that  the  private  right  of  soil  should  not 
be  affected  by  the  decision.    The  decision  was  not  to  reach  the  question  of  property  in  the  soil. 

"We  recommended,  very  strongly — derived  from'  legal  and  pohtical  grounds — that  the 
settlers  should  be  quieted  in  all  their  claims  by  an  Act  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly;  and  that  the 
*See  the  "Pickering  Papers",  LVIII:  221. 

tAt  this  time  Judge  Griffin  and  Welcome  Arnold  were  the  only  surviving  members  of  the  Court. 
tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers",  LVIII:  350,  and  Hoyt's  "Brief",  page  46. 


1306 

right  of  soil  (if  I  recollect  truly),  as  derived  from  Connecticut,  should  be  held  sacred.    Such,  how- 
ever,   I  am  certain,  was  the  opinion  of  the  individuals  who  composed  that  Court." 

The  people  of  Wyoming,  generally,  viewed  the  proceedings  of  the  Trenton 
Court  with  comparative  indifference  at  first,  assuming  that  the  question  at 
issue  before  the  Court  was  as  to  political  jurisdiction  only.  But,  very  quickly 
after  the  decree  had  been  extensively  promulgated  and  thoroughly  discu-S2d 
by  the  people,  there  came  a  change  of  opinion.  Colonel  Pickering  recorded  in 
his  diary*,  under  the  date  of  January  24,  1787,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  that  he  had 
often  heard,  previous  to  that  time,  that  the  judges  of  the  Trenton  Court  had 
been  bribed;  and  that  it  was  then  charged  "that  Colonel  Dyer  (the  most  zealous 
agent  on  behalf  of  Connecticut,  and  one  deeply  interested  in  The  Susquehanna 
Company)  was  also  bribed  by  Pennsylvania  to  betray  the  cause  of  Connecticut 
and  the  Company." 

Charles  W.  Upham,  in  his  "Life  of  Timothy  Pickering"  (II:  232),  says, 
referring  to  the  Decree  of  Trenton: 

"Thus  ended  the  Wyoming  controversy  between  the  two  States.  It  ought  to  have  ended 
strife,  and  given  peace  at  once  and  for  ever  to  the  unhappy  valley;  but  it  did  not.  The  Govern- 
ment of  Peimsylvania  ought  instantly  to  have  quieted  the  Connecticut  settlers  in  the  possession 
of  their  farms  with  their  improvements.  The  affections  and  allegiance  of  such  a  people  would  have 
been  worth  more  than  all  their  lands.  But  other  counsels  prevailed,  and  a  new  chapter  of  dis- 
orders and  troubles  was  opened." 

The  following  editorial,  printed  in  the  Wyomitig  Republican  and  Farmer's 
Herald  (Kingston,  Pennsylvania),  August  23,  1837,  sets  forth  briefly  an  opinion 
with  reference  to  the  Decree  of  Trenton  which  early  found  lodgment  in  the 
minds  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  in  Wyoming,  and  which  continued  to 
strengthen  as  time  went  on: — 

"The  fact  is  notorious.  I  need  not  argue  it  now.  If  called  on  I  will,  however,  do  it,  and 
show  conclusively  that  Wyoming  and  this  western  part  of  Connecticut  was,  by  the  Trenton 
Decree,  transferred  to  Pennsylvania,  not  on  legal  principles,  but  on  grounds  of  National  and 
State  policy,  to  which  Connecticut  made  only  a  seeming,  not  a  real,  objection;  that  it  was  done 
to  consolidate  the  union  of  the  State — to  promote  harmony — to  conciliate  Pennsylvania." 

Miner,  in  his  "History  of  Wyoming,"  page  448,  commenting  upon  the 
letter  of  Judge  Griffin  to  Barnabas  Bidwell   (previously  mentioned),  declares: 

"I  assume  again  with  the  utmost  confidence,  that  my  proposition  is  well  established,  viz.: 
That  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  adjudging  the  jurisdiction  to  Pennsylvania,  was  a  decision  of  policy 
and  not  of  right;  that  it  could  not,  and  did  not,  affect  the  right  of  soil." 

The  following  paragraphs,  relating  to  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  are  from  an 
addressf  entitled  "Wyoming;  or  Connecticut's  East  India  Company,"  delivered 
before  the  Fairfield  County  Historical  Society,  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  April 
21,  1893,  by  Henry  T.  Blake,  Esq.,  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut: — 

"There  are  grounds  to  believe  that  this  decision  was  not  entirely  unexpected,  or  even  dis- 
agreeable, to  Connecticut,  for  reasons  which  do  not  appear  on  the  surface.  So  many  States  had 
conflicting  claims  to  western  territory  that  there  was  every  prospect  of  inextricable  confusion 
and  controversy,  and  possibly  a  disruption  of  the  Confederacy,  unless  there  could  be  mutual 
■adjustment  and  compromise  on  this  subject.  That  there  was  some  secret  understanding  between 
Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that,  immediately  after  the  Trenton  Decree 
Connecticut  ceded  to  Congress  all  her  lands  lying  west  of  Pennsylvania — reserving,  however,  a 
certain  tract  in  Ohio,  since  known  as  the  Western  Reserve. 

"These  Ohio  lands  were  also  claimed  by  Virginia,  and  if  the  title  of  Connecticut  w-as  bad 
to  the  Wyoming  Valley,  it  was  bad,  for  the  same  reasons,  to  all  land  west  of  it.  Yet,  on  the  ques- 
tion whether  Congress  would  accept  the  cession  and  recognize  the  right  of  Connecticut  to  keep 
the  Western  Reserve  (a  question  which  gave  rise  to  much  debate),  Pennsylvania  always  voted 
with  Connecticut,  and,  in  one  instance,  in  opposition  to  all  the  other  States." 

The  Hon.  Henry  M.  Hoyt,  in  his  scholarly  and  admirable  "Brief  of  a 
Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  Luzerne  County,"  makes  some  "personal 

*See  the  "Pickering  Papers",  LVII:  39. 

tSee  "Reports  and  Papers,  Fairfield  County  Historical  Society,  1896-'97,"  page  45. 


1307 

reflections"  on  the  facts  relating  to  the  trial  at  Trenton,  and  the  "Decree",  in 
part  as  follows: 

"The  Connecticut  Charter  of  1662  fairly  included  the  territory  described  in  its  limits,  as 
contended  for  by  its  partizans. 

"No  action  was  ever  taken  by  the  Crown  to  vacate  it  or  modify  its  bounds. 

"No  legal  necessity  existed  to  purchase  the  Indian  title;  and  what  is  called  'the  right  of 
preemption'  is  unmeaning  and  insignificant  as  between  Colonies.  The  Indian  title  and  possession 
was  a  lien,  or  incumbrance,  which  was  to  be  extinguished  or  not,  at  the  option  of  grantees.  The 
charters  were  not  granted  subject  to  Indian  titles. 

"One  cannot  well  escajje  a  sort  of  general  intuitive  conviction  that  the  Court  at  Trenton 
worked  out  the  correct  result.  There  is,  it  is  true,  no  defect  in  the  technical  legal  title  of  the  Col- 
ony of  Connecticut.  The  difficulty  is,  therefore,  to  account  for  this  instinctive  conclusion  against 
it.  Throwing  the  settlors  and  their  private  rights  out  of  the  case,  I  think  the  weak  link  in  the 
chain  lies  here:  From  the  date  of  Penn's  charter,  in  1681,  to  the  year  1773,  Connecticut  had  not 
definitely  'asserted  title,'  either  by  legislative  enactment  or  popular  movement.  Neither  the  Col- 
onial authorities  nor  the  leading  men  had,  evidently,  set  any  great  store  by,  or  taken  any  action 
based  on,  their  possessions  west  of  New  York.     *     *     * 

"The  movement  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  was  in  accordance  with  the  genius  of  the 
whole  northern  colonization  scheme. 

"In  CarkufT  vs.  Anderson,  3  Binn.,  10,  Justice  Brackenridge  said:  'The  appearance  of 
right  which  The  Susquehanna  Company,  a  people  of  Connecticut,  had  to  advance  a  claim  to  this 
district  of  country,  is  in  my  mind  in  considering  the  case  before  me.  I  do  not  view  them  in  the 
light  of  trespassers,  with  a  full  knowledge  of  their  want  of  title.  At  all  events,  the  bulk  of  them 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  apprised  of  their  want  of  title,  and  I  make  a  great  distinction  between 
trespassers  knowing,  or  having  good  reason  to  know,  their  defect  of  title,  and  such  as  may  reason- 
ably be  supposed  to  be  ignorant  of  what  they  are  about.  Before  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  the  most 
intelligent  and  the  best  informed  might  have  been  led  to  believe  that  the  part  of  the  country  in  ques- 
tion was  settled  under  a  good  title  from  the  State  of  Connecticut.  But,  in  favor  of  those  who  had 
settled  under  the  idea  of  a  good  title,  and  with  an  expectation  of  enjoying  the  land  which  they 
were  improving  and  defending,  at  a  great  risk  and  with  much  loss,  from  the  common  enemy  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  War,  there  is  a  claim  which  ought  not  wholly  to  be  disregarded.  I  do  not 
call  it  a  right,  but  a  claim  on  the  ground  of  moral  obligation.' 

"Connecticut,  at  Trenton,  did  not  insist  on  her  historical  claim  to  all  lands  in  Pennsylvania 
north  of  Latitude  41  North,  nor  even  to  all  the  lands  comprised  within  the  Indians'  deed  of  1754 
to  The  Susquehanna  Company.  Her  final  stand  was  made  on  the  settlements  and  improvements 
made  in  the  county  of  Westmoreland.  There  would  seem  to  be  no  doubt  that  proof  was  offered, 
and  successfully,  before  the  Court,  of  actual  settlements  under  Pennsylvania,  and  under  rights  de- 
rived from  the  Proprietaries  in  1730,  1732  and  1740— thus  prior  to  any  others.     *     *     * 

"At  the  time  of  the  Decree  of  Trenton  the  Colonies,  grown  into  States,  had  hardened  and 
settled  into  definite  and  reasonable  municipal  limits,  and  that  Decree  was  correct,  both  in  right  and 
policy;  saving,  as  it  did,  'the  private  right  of  soil.'  The  problem  came  now  between  them  and  the 
actual  bona  fid:  warrantees  of  a  Pennsylvania  title.  It  was  a  question  of  real  difficulty  and  deli- 
cacy. The  land  speculators,  not  numerous,  but  influential,  were  reckless  and  clamorous.  The 
people,  the  best  publicists  and  the  ablest  lawyers  .gave  long  and  anxious  consideration  over  some 
device  by  which  a  sovereign  State  might  protect  its  own  grantees,  and  deal  justly  with  the 
claimants  under  another  sovereignty. 

"The  Connecticut  settlers  had,  unquestionably,  the  sympathy  and  best  wishes  of  the  real 
population  of  Pennsylvania.  Of  late  years  they  had  felt  no  great  interest  in  the  Proprietaries. 
The  Yankees  had  borne  themselves  patiently,  defiantly  it  maybe,  but  heroically,  without  the 
assertion  of  any  title  except  to  the  land  under  their  feet,  which  they  had  dug  out  of  the  forests 
and  wilderness.  They  had  been  a  sober,  steady  people,  attending  faithfully  to  the  serious  affairs  of 
life;  they  had  been  efficient  promoters  of  churches  and  schools;  they  were  no  bandits  or  border 
ruffians;  they  brought  with  them  as  high  views  and  lofty  purpos2S  in  American  citizenship  as  the 
most  chivalrous  and  scholarly  entertained. 

"There  were,  doubtless,  adventurers  among  them;  but,  in  war  or  peace,  they  illustrated 
the  best  results  of  the  bold,  free  tendencies  of  Am^ricans.  They  were  a  brave,  hardy  and  proud 
community.  They  had,  of  their  own  resources,  defended  themselves  and  the  frontier  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania.  The  overruling  supreme  equity  of  the  case,  enforced  by  the  unyielding  attitude 
of  the  settlers,  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  final  legal  device,  and  the  acquiescence  of  all  in  it — open, 
as  it  may  be,  to  some  constitutional  criticism. 

"It  will  surprise  us  to  find  that,  in  fact  as  finally  adjusted,  no  fully  litigated  case  ever  arose 
out  of  the  whole  unhappy  business.  There  were  bluster,  threats,  vexation  and  outrage,  but  the 
heart  of  the  settler's  titU  was  never  pierced.  Of  the  men  sent  to  execute  the  unsettled  and  un- 
steady purposes  of  Pennsylvania,  it  may  be  said  that,  notwithstanding  the  estimate,  in  which 
they  and  their  memories  are  held,  deservedly  or  not,  they  must  be  credited  with  the  sup- 
position that  they  were  acting  in  the  line  of  duty." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

INHABITANTS  OF  WYOMING  LEFT  BY  CONNECTICUT  TO  FIGHT  SINGLE  HAND- 
ED   PETITION   THE   LEGISLATURE    OF  NEW  YORK— THE    CONTINENTAL 
GARRISON   AT  WILKES-BARRE   WITHDRAWN   AND    COMPANIES    OF 
PENNSYLVANIA     MILITIA     SUBSTITUTED  —  DISTRUST     AUG- 
MENTED —  END    OF   THE    REVOLUTIONARY    WAR   AND 
RETURN    OF   QUOTAS    OF    TROOPS    TO    WYOMING 


"Ah!  what  a  mighty  treasury  of  ills 
Is  open'd  here,  a  copious  source  of  tears." 

— Euripides,  "Ion. 


"Men,  who  once  praised  one  another, 
Jawed  and  clawed  upon  the  run; 
Brother  aimed  a  blow  at  brother. 

Father  took  a  crack  at  son; 
Epithets  were  flung  at  random, 
Men,  with  grievances  to  air. 
Did  not  hesitate  to  hand  'em 
On  to  others  then  and  there." 

— Anon. 


With  the  advent  of  the  year  1783  "Peace,  which  waved  its  cheering  olive 
branch  over  every  other  part  of  the  Union,  healing  the  wounds  inflicted  by  ruth- 
less War,  soothing  the  sorrows  of  innumerable  children  of  affliction,  and  kind- 
ling the  lamp  of  Hope  in  the  dark  chamber  of  Despair,  came  not  to  the  broken- 
hearted   people    of    Wyoming." 

By  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  Wilkes-Barre  and  W^yoming  Valley,  as  part 
of  the  territory  which  had  been  in  controversy  between  Pennsylvania  and  Conn- 
ecticut, were — for  the  first  time  since  Wilkes-Barre  was  founded,  more  than 
thirteen  years  before — formally  declared  by  unbiased  competent  authority 
to  be  actually  and  legally  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania.  Further- 
more, as  a  result  of  this  Decree  the  settlers  in  Wyoming,  under  the  auspices  of 
The  Susquehanna  Company,  were  left,  single-handed,  to  manage  their  own  case. 
"The  State  of  Connecticut  had  never,  in  fact,  done  anything  for  the  Wyoming 
settlers.    They  'recognized'  them,  but  in  a  way  that  the  'recognition'  cost  noth- 


1309 

ing.     They  levied  large  taxes  upon   them,  but  they  returned  nothing  for  their 

defense.     They  dropped  them,  incontinently,  after  the  Decree  of  Trenton" .* 

Immediately  upon  the  receipt  at  Wyoming  of  definite  information  as  to 

the  decision  of  the  Trenton  Court,  the  Yankee  settlers  here  got  busy — as  we 

learn  from  the  following  paragraph  gleaned  from  the  unpublished  "Historical 

Sketches  of  Wyoming"!,  by  Col.  John  Franklin: 

"On  the  4th  January,  1 783,  an  E.xpress  arrived  at  Wyoming  from  Trenton,  by  whom  we  had 
information  that  the  Court  of  Commissioners,  appointed  by  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  the  territory  of  country  then  in  controversy  between  the  States  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut,  had  determined  the  same  in  favor  of  Pennsylvania.  January 
6th  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  was  held  at  Wilkes-Barre  to  advise  on  measures 
necessary  to  be  taken.  Capt.  John  P.  Schottt  was  appointed  Agent  for  the  settlers,  with  direc- 
tions to  repair  immediately  to  Philadelphia  to  consult  with  the  Agents  from  Connecticut  [Messrs. 
Dyer,  Johnson  and  Root],  supposed  to  be  at  that  place,  and  to  petition  the  Assembly,  then  sitting 
at  Philadelphia,  in  such  manner  as  should  be  thought  most  proper  and  beneficial  for  the  inhabi- 
tants at  Wyoming." 

On  the  same  day  that  the  town-meeting  of  Wyoming  Yankees  was  held 
at  Wilkes-Barre  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  convened  at 
Philadelphia.  The  Decree  of  Trenton,  and  the  accompanj-ing  documents  for- 
warded by  the  late  Court  of  Commissioners,  having  been  duly  filed,  the  Council 
resolved  "that  a  proclamation  be  issued  giving  notice  of  the  said  Decree,  and 
also  for  preserving  peace  and  quieting  the  minds  of  the  people  settled  on  the 
lands  lately  disputed  between  this  State  and  Connecticut,  and  requiring  the 
settlers  to  pay  their  obedience  to  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth. "§  Where- 
upon, the  same  day,  a  proclamation,  signed  by  John  Dickinson,  President,  and 
attested  by  Timothy  Matlack,  Secretary,  was  duly  prepared,  and,  a  few  days 
later,  having  been  printed,  was  carefully  disseminated. 

This  proclamation] I ,  setting  forth,  first,  the  "judgment"  of  the  Trenton 

Court  of  Commissioners,   continued  as  follows: 

"We  have  thought  fit  to  make  known  and  proclaim,  and  do  hereby  make  known  and  pro- 
claim, the  same;  and  we  do  hereby  charge,  enjoin  and  require  all  persons  whatsoever,  and  more 
especially  such  person  and  persons  who,  under  the  authority  or  countenance  of  the  late  Colony, 
now  State  of  Connecticut,  either  before  or  since  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  have  entered 
upon  and  settled  lands  within  the  bounds  of  this  State,  to  take  notice  of  the  said  judgment,  and 
pay  due  obedience  to  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth. 

"And  Whereas,  There  is  reason  to  fear  that  the  animosities  and  resentments  which  may 
have  arisen  between  the  people  who,  under  the  authority  or  countenance  of  the  said  late  Colony, 
now  State,  of  Connecticut,  as  aforesaid,  have  made  settlements  within  the  bounds  of  this  State, 
and  the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  who  claim  the  lands  whereon  such  settlements  have  been  made, 
may  induce  some  of  the  latter  to  endeavor  to  gain  possession  of  the  said  lands  by  force  and  violence, 
contrary  to  law,  whereby  the  peace  of  the  State  may  be  endangered  and  individuals  greatly  in- 
jured, we  do  hereby  strictly  charge  and  enjoin  all  persons  whatsoever  to  forbear  molesting,  or 
in  any  wise  disturbing,  any  person  or  persons  who,  under  the  authority  or  countenance  of  the 
late  Colony,  now  State,  of  Connecticut,  as  aforesaid,  have  settled  lands  within  the  bounds  of 
this  State,  until  the  Legislature  or  courts  of  justice  shall  have  made  laws  or  passed  judgment  in 
such  case,  as  to  right  and  justice  may  appear  to  belong,  as  such  person  offending  therein  shall 
answer  the  contrary  at  their  peril. 

"And  we  do  hereby  charge,  enjoin  and  require  all  judges,  justices,  sheriffs,  and  other  peace 
officers,  to  use  their  authority  to  prevent  offenses  and  to  punish,  according  to  law,  all  offenses 
committed,  or  to  be  committed,  against  any  of  the  people  so,  as  aforesaid  settled  under  the  au- 
thority or  countenance  of  the  said  late  Colony,  now  State,  of  Connecticut,  as  aforesaid,  on  lands 
within  this  State,  and  who  pay  due  obedience  to  the  laws  thereof,  as  in  case  of  like  offenses 
against  any  of  the  citizens  of  this  State." 

Captain  Schott,  who,  as  previously  related,  had  been  appointed  one  of  the 
"Agents"  for  the  Wyoming  settlers,  repaired  to  Philadelphia  as  soon  thereafter 

*The  Hon.  Henry  M    Hoyt  in  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Ton-nships  in  the  County  of  Luzerne",  page  ,ij. 

tThe  original  MS.  of  these  "Sketches"  was.  in  1874,  in  the  possession  of  O.  N.  Worden. 

Jin  fact,  the  settlers  appointed  at  this  time  Col.  Nathan  Denison.  Hugh  Forseman.  Obadiah  Gore.  Samuel 
Shippard  and  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  to  act  as  their  agents;  and  it  was  voted  that  one  or  more  of  the^e  agents 
should  repair  to  Philadelphia  without  delay  to  "consult",  "petition".  &c.  Captain  Schott.  was  subsequently  selected 
by  his  co-agents  as  the  one  to  perform  this  service.  (For  a  sicetch  of  the  life  of  Captain  Schott.  and  his  portrait, 
see  page  1163,  Vol.  II.) 

§See  "Pennsylvania  Colonial  Record,"  XIII:  474. 

iJSee  "Pennsylvania  .Archives",  4th  Series,  III:  873. 


1310 

as  possible.  Whether  or  not  he  found  there  the  "Agents  from  Connecticut," 
we  are  unable  to  state;  but  he  found  some  one  of  ability,  and  with  fair  command 
of  the  English  language  (which  he  had  not),  who  prepared  a  petition,  or  memorial, 
to  the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Representatives,  which  was  signed  by  Captain 
Schott,  at  Philadelphia,  January  18,  1783,  and  was  presented  to  the  House, 
the  same  day. 

This  document*,  deserving  of  the  reader's  special  attention,  was  worded 
as  follows: 

"To  the  Honorable  the  Representatives  of  the  freemen  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  General  Aassembly  met: 

"The  memorial  and  address  of  Nathan  Denison,  Hugh  Forseman,  Obadiah  Gore,  Samuel 
Shippard  and  John  Paul  Schott,  inhabitants,  settlers  and  proprietors  of  a  territory  of  country 
situated  on  the  waters  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  under  the  claim  of  the  State  of  Connecticut, 
on  behalf  of  themselves  and  others  of  the  inhabitants,  settlers,  etc.,  of  the  said  country — 

"Most  respectfully  sheweth:  That  in  the  year  1754  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Connec- 
ticut, finding  all  the  lands  eastward  of  the  line  of  the  State  of  New  York  settled  and  appropriated, 
proceeded  to  purchase  of  the  Six  Nations  a  large  territory  of  country,  extending  from  the  Dela- 
ware westward  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  and  in  breadth  the  whole  forty-[secondI  de- 
gree of  North  latitude;  and  gave  a  valuable  consideration,  supposing  that,  without  dispute,  the 
aforesaid  territory  was  included  in  the  Charter  granted  them  by  King  Charles  II,  April  3,  1662; 
and  formed  themselves  into  a  company  of  proprietors,  by  the  consent  of  the  Legislature,  and 
regulated  by  the  laws  of  said  State,  and  proceeded  to  locate  the  valuable  lands  situated  on  the 
Eastern  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  the  full  breadth  of  the  forty-second  degree,  extend- 
ing six  miles  east  and  twenty-miles  west  of  said  river. 

"Having  no  apprehension  that  any  royal  grant  covered  the  same,  either  previous  or  sub- 
sequent to  the  aforesaid  Charter  of  Connecticut,  they  proceeded  to  plant  themselves  through 
said  territory  and  cultivate  the  same  (among  which  number  of  settlers  are  your  petitioners,  and 
those  whom  they  represent),  in  full  confidence  of  the  justice  of  our  title  under  Connecticut.  With 
the  most  honest  intentions  we  uniformly  maintained  our  supposed  right,  by  opposing  persons 
claiming  under  the  Pennsylvania  Proprietary,  who  frequently  interrupted  us  in  what  we  esteemed 
our  lawful  business. 

"Constantly  wishing  for  an  absolute  decision  between  the  two  States,  concerning  juris- 
diction, we  used  every  efTort  to  expedite  such  decision,  resolutely  determined  to  maintain  the  title 
which  we  had  acquired,  until  a  more  equitable  one  could  be  established.  In  the  year  1763,  and  a 
number  of  successive  years,  appeals  were  made  to  the  Crown  by  one  and  the  other  State,  for  a 
final  decision,  which  were  yet  depending  when  the  commencement  of  the  present  war  put  a  period 
to  all  appeals  to  the  Crown.  In  the  course  of  which  appeals  the  opinion  of  counsel,  most  eminent 
and  learned  in  the  law,  was  taken,  who  advised  (as  we  apprehended)  fully  in  favor  of  the  claim 
of  Connecticut.  This  greatly  encouraged  your  memorialists  that  they  were  right  in  supporting 
their   claim. 

"In  1774  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  asserted  their  claim,  and  erected 
civil  jurisdiction  and  complete  civil  and  military  establishments  according  to  the  laws  and  usages 
of  said  State ;  which  led  your  memorialists  into  a  greater  confidence  of  their  security  under  said 
State,  and  induced  them  to  build  houses  and  mills  for  their  convenience,  and  to  cultivate  a  country 
which  we  esteemed  our  own.  Since  that  time  attempts  have  been  made  to  dispossess  us  in  a 
hostile  manner,  which  the  law  of  self-preservation  obliged  us  to  oppose — in  the  course  of  which 
there  were  faults  on  both  sides,  which  we  hope  may  be  canceled,  and  buried  in  oblivion. 

"The  right  of  jurisdiction  was  always  esteemed  important  to  the  claiming  State,  and  more 
especially  to  the  settlers  and  tenants  who  have  ventured  their  all  there,  and  who  were  combatting 
difficulties  and  dangers  in  every  shape. 

"After  recourse  to  Great  Britain  was  cut  off,  it  was  provided  that,  in  all  disputes  concern 
ing  boundaries,  jurisdiction,  etc.,  the  United  States,  in  Congress,  should  be  the  last  resort  an 
appeal.  That  judges  be  appointed  to  hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question;  and  that  the 
sentence  of  the  Court  be  decisive  between  the  parties.  And  also  in  all  controversies — the  private 
right  of  soil  being  claimed  under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  States,  etc., — said  grants,  etc., 
shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  be  finally  determined, 
as  near  as  may  be,  pursuant  to  this  provision. 

"The  Honorable  Congress  established  a  Court;  both  States  were  cited,  and  appeared;  the 
cause  was  heard  for  more  than  forty  days;  the  grounds  were  stated  on  which  each  State  asserted 

*See  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  311.  Commenting  on  this  memorial  Miner  says:  "The  style  is  marked- 
ly peculiar.  We  pronounce  with  great  confidence,  from  internal  evidence,  that  it  could  not  have  been  written  in  Wyo- 
ming. It  exhibits  in  no  particular  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  style  either  of  [John]  Franklin  or  [John]  Jenkins, 
the  ready  writers  of  the  settlers.  From  all  which  we  infer  that  the  petition  was  prepared  below  the  mountains,  prob- 
ably by  the  Connecticut  Agents  at  Trenton," 

Concerning  this  document  the  late  Steuben  Jenkins.  Esq,,  in  an  address  delivered  before  The  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society,  February  11.  1881.  and  published  in  the  "Proceedings"  of  the  Society  for  1881  (Vol,  I.  page 
^2).  said:  "John  Paul  Schott,  who  signed  the  memorial  of  submission  for  the  settlers,  had  permitted  the  friends  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Government  to  draw  the  memorial;  and  they  had  injected  into  it  such  a  display  of  weakness  and  pusil- 
lanimity that  the  Pennsylvania  land-sharks  thought  they  had  the  settlers  fully  in  their  toils,  and  could  play  with  thecn 
at  their  pleasure,  as  cats  frequently  play  with  their  victims  before  putting  them  to  death  and  devouring  them," 


1311 

their  right  of  jurisdiction.  On  which  the  Court  finally  adjudged  in  favor  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, by  which  the  jurisdiction  of  the  disputed  territory,  on  which  your  memorialists  live,  is 
adjudged  yours.  By  this  adjudication  we  are  under  your  jurisdiction  and  protection.  We  are 
subjects  and  free  citizens  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  have  to  look  up  to  your  Honours  as 
our  fathers,  guardians  and  protectors,  entitled  to  every  tender  regard  and  respect  as  to  justice, 
equity,  liberty  and  protection,  on  which  we  depend,  and  which  we  are  warranted  to  do  by  the 
impartial  treatment  that  all,  even  strangers,  have  received  when  once  they  became  inhabitants 
and  citizens  of  this  great  and  flourishing  State. 

"Thus  have  we  stated  the  grounds  on  which  our  title  was  established;  which,  though 
determined  to  be  ill-grounded  by  the  Honorable  Court,  appeared  to  be  founded  in  the  highest 
reason,  and  we  verily  thought  it  our  duty  to  do  as  we  did.  If  we  have  committed  faults,  we  pray 
for  mercy  and  forgiveness.  If  we  have  deserved  anything,  we  hope  for  something  from  the  grati- 
tude of  our  country. 

"We  have  settled  a  country,  in  its  original  state  but  of  little  value;  but  now,  cultivated  by 
your  memorialists,  is  to  them  of  the  greatest  importance,  being  their  all.  \Vc  are  yet  alive,  but 
the  richest  blood  of  our  neighbors  and  friends — children,  husbands  and  fathers — has  been  spilt 
in  the  general  cause  of  their  country,  and  we  have  suffered  every  danger  this  side  death!  We  supplied 
the  Continental  army  with  many  valuable  officers  and  soldiers,  and  left  ourselves  weak,  and  un- 
guarded against  the  attacks  of  the  savages  and  others  of  a  more  savage  nature.  Our  houses  are 
desolate — many  mothers  childless — widows  and  orphans  multiplied — our  habitations  destroyed — 
and  many  families  reduced  to  beggary — which  exhibits  a  scene  most  pitiful  and  deserving  of  mercy. 

"If  the  greatest  misfortunes  can  demand  pity  and  mercy,  we  greatly  deserve  them.  That 
the  country,  twenty-six  miles  in  breadth  and  the  length  aforesaid,  when  compared  with  the  ex- 
tended territory  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  is  trifling  indeed.  That  the  present  population  is 
of  far  more  consequence  to  this  State  than  the  [Wyoming]  country  could  have  been  in  an  uncul- 
tivated state.  We  are  yet  entitled  to  another  trial  for  our  particular  possessions,  according  to 
the  IXth  Article  of  the  Confederation ;  but,  reduced  in  every  respect,  we  are  unable  to  maintain 
a  trial  against  an  opulent  State.  We  therefore  present  a  request,  which  the  laws  of  justice  and 
policy  suggest,  and  which  the  dictates  of  humanity  demand. 

"That  your  Honours,  of  your  abundant  goodness  and  clemency,  would  be  pleased  to  grant 
and  confirm  to  your  memorialists,  and  those  whom  they  represent,  the  inconsiderable  part  of  the 
claim  contested,  extended  as  above,  to  be  appurted  [held?]  as  they  were  before  the  decision.  Thus 
will  you  increase  the  inhabitants  of  this  flourishing  State,  will  add  to  its  wealth  and  strength, 
will  give  joy  to  the  widow  and  fatherless.  Sure  these  must  be  irresistible  motives  to  a  just,  generous 
and  merciful  Assembly.  Our  only  resource  is  in  your  decision.  If  that  is  unfavorable,  we  are 
reduced  to  desperation.  Unable  to  purchase  the  soil,  we  must  leave  our  cultivations  and  possess- 
ions, and  be  thrown  into  the  wide  world,  our  children  crying  for  bread  which  we  shall  be  unable 
to  give  them. 

"It  is  impossible  that  the  magnanimity  of  a  powerful  ^nd  opulent  State  will  ever  conde- 
scend to  distress  an  innocent  and  brave  people  that  have  unsuccessfully  struggled  against  the 
ills  of  fortune.  We  care  not  under  what  State  we  live,  if  we  can  be  protected  and  happy.  We  will 
serve  you — we  will  promote  your  interests — will  fight  your  battles;  but  in  mercy,  goodness,  wis- 
dom, justice  and  every  great  and  generous  principle,  do  leave  us  our  possessions,  the  dearest 
Iiledge  of  our  brothers,  children  and  fathers,  which  their  hands  have  cultivated  and  their  blood 
spilt  in  the  cause  of  their  country — has  enriched. 

"We  further  pray,  that  a  general  Act  of  oblivion  and  indemnity  may  be  passed,  and  that 
Courts  of  Judicature  be  established  according  to  the  usages  and  customs  of  this  State,  that  we 
may  be  not  only  a  happy  but  a  well-organized  and  regulated  people;  and  that  all  judicial  pro- 
ceedings of  the  prerogative  courts  and  the  common  law  courts,  held  by  and  under  the  authority 
of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  be  ratified  and  fully  confirmed.  And  they,  as  in  duty  bound,  will 
ever    pray,    &c." 

About  the  time  the  foregoing  memorial  was  presented  to  the  Pennsylvania 
House  of  Representatives,  a  petition  was  presented  to  it  signed  by  Simon  Spald- 
ing, Stephen  Fuller,  Nathaniel  Davenport,  Daniel  Whitney,  Solomon  Perkins, 
Isaac  Baldwin,  the  heirs  of  Christopher  Cartwright,  Joseph  Elliott,  Joseph 
Hageman,  Asahel  Burnham,  Conrad  Lyons,  Preser\-ed  Cooley,  William  Stark, 
Lawrence  Myers,  Samuel  Shippard*,  and  others,  inhabitants  of  Wyoming, 
praying  for  a  grant  of  lands  in  lieu  of  those  they  had  lost  (?)  by  the  Decree  of 
Trenton.    This  petition  was  duly  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  House. 

On  January  23,  1783,  President  Dickinson  of  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  of  Pennsylvania  formally  addressed  the  House  of  Representatives  on 

"Col  John  Franklin,  in  a  "Plain  Truth"  article  printed  in  The  Luzerne  Federalist  (Wilkes-Barre).  September  21, 
1  S  -M  ,  referred  to  this  petition  in  the^e  words:  "A.  petition  was  started  by  Samuel  Shippard.  a  New  Jersey  man.  a  Lieu- 
tenant in  the  Jersey  Line,  in  Captain  Mitchell's  company,  which  company  had  been  stationed  at  Wyoming  some  time 
in  the  beerinning  of  the  year  1  78 1  (as  near  as  I  can  recollect  > .  and  continued  there  until  after  the  Trenton  Decree.  Lieu- 
tenant Shippard  resigned  hi^  commission  when  the  company  was  called  out  to  join  the  army.  Shipoard  remained  at 
Wyoming  some  time  after.     He  never  owned  a  foot  of  land  at  Wyoming  under  the  Connecticut  title." 


1312 


"various  matters  of  State  policy."  The  second  matter  to  which  he  referred  in 
his  address  was  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  and  concerning  it  he  said:* 

"The  second  is  highly  interesting  in  every  point  of  view.  The  peaceable  and  conclusive 
settlement  of  a  dispute  between  two  such  powerful  sovereign  States,  concerning  a  large  and  valu- 
able territory,  and  the  jurisdiction  over  it,  casts  a  light  upon  the  American  character  (the  martial 
spirit  of  which  has  been  fully  and  recently  displayed)  that  must  attract  the  attention  and  esteem 
of  the  world. 

"This  uncommon  occurrence  will  furnish  to  the  good  and  wise  a  pleasing  page  in  the 
mournful  history  of  human  discords;  and  we  fervently  wish,  for  the  repose  of  mankind,  it  may 
be  deemed  worthy  of  imitation.  It  reflects  great  honor,  also,  on  the  Confederation,  by  yielding  a 
memorable  proof  of  its  political  energy — having  been  accomplished  in  the  mode  thereby  pre- 
cribed — and  strengthens  the  bands  of  the  Union,  by  evincing  that  it  is  the  best  protection 
against  internal  mischiefs,  as  well  as  against  external  dangers.  Thus  the  fears  of  the  apprehen- 
sive who  expected,  and  the  hopes  of  the  disaffected  who  wished  for,  confusions,  are  dissipated, 
and  an  agreeable  presage  is  formed  of  the  like  salutary  effects  attending  similar  contests  in  the 
future,  which  cannot  fail  of  giving  the  firmest  stability  to  the  whole  system  of  our  affairs.     *     * 

"This  determination  will  be  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  prosperity  of  Pennsylvania, 
if  all  the  benefits  are  derived  from  it  that  probably  may  be  obtained  by  a  prudent  management. 
We  have  issued  a  proclamation  for  preserving  peace  and  for  quieting  the  minds  of  the  people 
on  the  lands  lately  disputed,  a  copy  of  which,  together  with  other  papers  relating  to  the  affair, 
shall  be  immediately  sent  to  you.  We  rely  on  the  Legislature  that  such  further  measures 
will  be  adopted  as  shall  be  most  advisable  for  improving  to  the  best  advantage  the  decision 
that  has  been  made." 

A  large  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  who  had  come  hither 
among  the  earliest  settlers  under  the  auspices  of  The  Susquehanna  Company, 
were  discouraged  and  disheartened  by  the  Decree  of  Trenton.  In  consequence, 
after  a  considerable  discussion  of  the  situation  of  affairs,  the  following  agreement! 
was  drawn  up  and  signed  at  Wilkes-Barre. 

"We  the  subscribers  hereby  covenant  and  agree  to  and  with  each  other,  and  jointly 
petition  the  Assembly  of  the  State  of  New  York  for  a  tract  of  land  situate  on  the  waters  of  the 
Susquehanna  and  within  the  limits  of  said  State,  sufficient  for  us  the  subscribers,  our  familys, 
and  those  who  were  Distressed  and  Drove  from  here  by  the  savages  in  1778;  and  also  do  hereby 
appoint  Obadiah  Gore  our  agent,  with  full  power  and  authority  to  apply  to  the  Governor  and 
Senate  of  said  State,  or  to  the  General  Assembly,  or  to  any  Board  within  and  for  said  State, 
proper  to  make  applycation  to  for  lands  as  aforesaid;  and  in  our  names  and  behalf  to  petition, 
&.C.,  according  to  his  best  Descretion. 

"In  Testimony  whereof  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  at  Westmoreland,  this  12th  day 
of  February,  1783. 

Fish,  heirs,  (Jehn  or  John) 
Fry,  heirs,  Nathaniel 
Fuller,  John 
xFuller,  Reuben 
Fitzgerald,  Robert 
Frisbie,  James 
xFrisbie,  Jonathan 
Forseman,  Alexander 
Forseman,  Hugh 
Gore,  Obadiah 
Gore,  Silas,  heirs 
Gore,  Asa,  heirs 
Gore,  Daniel 
Gore,  Samuel 
Gore,  John 
Gore,  Avery 
xGore,  Welthy 
xGore,  Annah 
xGore,  Sarah 
xGore,  Asa 
xGore,  Daniel,  Junr. 
xGore,  George 
xGore,  Hannah  2d 
Gardner,  Benjn. 
Gardner,  Peregrine 
Goss,  Nathl. 
Goss,  Solomon 
Gibson,  Alexander 

Fourth  Series,  III:  876. 


"Armstrong,  Sarah 

Andrews,  Samuel 

Aylsworth,  Philip 

Aiden,  Prince 

Alden,  Prince,  Jr. 

Alden,  Andrew  S. 

Alden,  Mason  F. 

Alden,  Lydia 

Ayres,  Samuel 

Ayres,  Wm. 

Atherton,  James 

Atherton,  James,  Junr. 

Atherton,  Asel 

Atherton,  Wm. 

Atherton,  Cornelius 

Avery,  Wm. 

Avery,  Jonathan 

Avery,  Solomon 

Avery,  Richardson 

Avery,  Richardson,  Junr 

Avery,  Christopher 

Allington,  Thos. 

Annis,  Charles 
xAlden,  John 
xAlden,  Daniel 
xAyres,  Dan'l 

Bullock,  Nathan 

Bullock,  Ehas 

*See  "Pennsylvania  .\rchi\ 


Nobells,  Jedediah 

Neill,  Thos. 

O'Neal,  John 

Pell,  Josiah 

Phillips,  John 

Phillips,  Francis 

Pike,  Abraham 

Prichard  heirs,  Jonathan 
xPrichet,  Abel 

Pierce,  Pelatiah 

Pierce,  Phinehas 

Pierce,  Chester 

Pierce,  Timothy,  heirs 

Pettebone,  Phebe 

Pettebone,  Noah 

Phelps,  Joel 

Park.  Darius 

Park,  Ebenezer 
xPark,  Benjn. 

Perkins,  Solomon 
xPreston,  Joseph 

Ryon.  John 

Ransom,  Sam'l,  Junr. 

Ransom,  Sam'l,  heirs 

Roath.  Robert 

Randall,  Joseph 

Reed,  Thos. 

Reed,  Widow 


tThe  original  agreement 


.vritten  by  Obadiah  G< 


nged  alphabetically  by  Mr.  Go 


into  the  possession  of  Mr.  Samuel  N.  Rhoad^  of  Philadelphli 


1313 


Burnham  Asel 

Barnum,  Richd. 

Bcnne-t,  Solomon 

Bennet,  Andrew 

Bcnnet,  Sarah 

Bennet,  Thomas 

Bennet,  Asa 

Bennet,  Ishmael 

Bennet,  Ishmael,  Junr 

Benjamin,  Isaac 

Brockway,  Sarah 

Bark,  Thomas, (?  Buck) 

Beach.  Zerah 

Blanchard,  Mary 

Blanchard,  John 

Blanchard,  Peggy 

Blanchard,  Andrew 

Bidlack,  James 

Bidlack,  Benjn. 

Bidlack,  James,  heirs 

Bidlack,  Shubael 

Bingham,  Augustus 

Billings,  Matthew 

Brockway,  Richd. 

Baldwin,  Isaac 

Baldwin,  Waterman 

Baldwin,  Thomas 

Baldwin,  Isaac,  Junr. 

Budel,  Frederick 

Bigelow,  Oliver 

Bickford,  Jeremiah,  heirs 

Buck,  William 

Buck,  Elijah 
xBuck,  Asahel 

Brown,  Moses 

Brown,  Thomas 
xBrown,  Ezekiel 

Bailey,  Benjn. 

Butler,  Lord 

Butler,  Zebulon 

Bates.  Caleb 

Brokaw,  Abraham 

Coe,  Samuel 

Corey,  Joseph 

Corey,  Gabriel 

Corey,  Jonathan 

Corey,  Jenks,  heirs 

Cary,  Elnathan 

Cary,  Barnabas 

Cary,  John 
xCary,  John 

Cary,  Nathan 

Cary,  Elihu 

Cary,  John 
xCary,  Baranabas,  Junr. 
xCary,  Comfort 
xCary,  Benjn. 

Cooper,  Price 

Cook,  Reuben 

Cooke,  Nathaniel 

Cady,  Manasseh 

Cooley,  Preserved 

Cole,  Benjn. 

Cole,  James 

Cole,  John 

Comstock,  John 

Clark,  Benjn. 

Clark,  Joseph 

Clark,  Elias 

Carpenter,  Benjn. 

Cuysar,  Benjn.  (or  Cussar) 

Carr,  John 

Crow,  Roger 


Gibson,  Thomas 

Gallup,  Thomas 

Gordon,  Samuel 

Gregory,  Jehiel 

Grimes,  James 
xGrimes,  Shawne 
xGreen,  Willard 

Hollenback,  Math. 

HoUenback,  John 

Harris,  Elijah 
xHarris,  Charles 
xHopkins,  Joseph 

Hopkins,  Timothy 

Hawks,  Thos. 

Houk,  Wm. 

Heberd,  Ebenezer 

Hamilton,  Gurden 

HartsofT,  Zechariah 

Hurlbutt,  John 

Hurlbutt,  Christopher 

Hurlbutt,  Napthah 

Hover,  Samuel 

Hallet,  Samuel 

Hewlet,  Samuel 

Holister,  Samuel 

Halstead,  Richard 

Halstead,  Richard.  Junr. 

Harding,  Henry 

Harding,  Thos. 

Harvey,  Benjn. 

Harvey,  Elisha 

Harvey,  Lucy 

Hammond,  John 

Hammond,  Joseph 

Hammond,  Issac 

Hammond,  Lebbens 

Hammond,  Oliver 

Hammond,  Josiah 

IngersoU,  Daniel 
xlngersoU.  Francis 

Inman,  Richard 

Inman,  Elijah 
xinman,  Edward 
xinman,  Elijah,  heirs 

Johnson,  Rev.  Jacob 
xjohnson,  Jehoida 

Johnson,  Wm. 

Johnson,  Turner 

Johnson,  Sabin 

Johnson,  Saml.  Wm. 
xjohnson,  Jacob,  Junr. 
xjohnson,  Nehemiah 
xjohnson,  Wm. 

Jameson,  Alexander 

Jameson.  Abigail 

Jacobs,  John 

Jfewel,  Joshua 

Jackson,  Frederick 

Joslan,  Thos. 
xjoslan,  Thos.,  Junr. 

Jenkins,  John 

Jenkins,  Benjn. 

Judd,  Wm. 

Kelsey,  Abner 

Kingsley,  Nathan 

Kingsley,  Wareham 
xKingsley,  Roswell 
xKingsley,  Chester 

Kinne,  Joseph 

Kerney,  Samuel 

Kenedy,  John 
xLane,  Daniel 

Lane,  Nathan 


Roads,  Isaac 

Roases,  Dan'l 

Reynolds,  Eli 

Reynolds.  P^li.  Junr, 

Richard,  Henry 

Richard,  Casper 

Rogers,  Jonah 

Rogers,  Josiah 
xRogers,  Jonah,  Junr 
xRogers,  Joseph,  Junr. 
xRogers,  Joze 
xRogers,  Elihu 
xRogers,  Joel 

Ross,  Wm. 

Root,  Jesse 

Stark,  Henry 
xStark,  Wra.  Junr. 
xStark,  Nathan 

Stark,  James 
xSlocum,  Ebenezer 
xSlocum,  Benjn. 

Slocum,  Wm. 

Slocum,  Jonathan,  heirs 

Smith,  Benjn. 

Smith,  Abel 

Smith,  Frederick 

Smith,  Oliver 

Smith,  Oliver,  Junr. 

Smith,  Lockwood 

Sutton,  James 

Stevens,  ITriah 

Stevens,  Uriah,  Junr. 

Stevens,  John 

Stevens,  Phinehas 

Stoddard,  Thomas 

Sweet,  Lois  Harvey 

Sheldon,  Stephen 

Satterlee,  John 

Satterlee,  Elisha 

Sullivan,  Dan'l 

Sawyer,  Thos.  heirs 

Sheppard,  Stephen 

Shippard,  Sam'l. 

Stewart,  George 

Spencer,  Edward 

Spencer,  Walter 

Spencer,  Caleb 

Sprague,  Joseph 

Sanford,  David 

Sanford,  Ephraim 

Stanbury,  Josiah 

Spalding,  Simon 

Spalding,  John 

Stafford,  John 

Smith,  James 

Smith,  John 

Smith,  Wm. 

Terry,  Parshal 

Tilbury,  Abraham 

Tyler,  Ephraim 

Tyler,  Joseph 

Thomas,  Joseph 

Tubbs,  Samuel 

Tubbs,  Lebbens 

Tubbs.  John 

Tuttle,  Benjn. 

Terril,  Matthew 

Treadway,  Sam'l 

Travis,  Absalom 

Tripp,  Job 
xTripp,  John 
xTripp,  Wm. 

Trucks,  Wm. 


1314 


Chapman,  Abigail 

Church,  Gideon 

Church,  Jonathan 
xChurch,  Joseph 
xChurch,  Almon 

Drake,  Ehsha 

Denison,  Nathan 
xDenison,  Lazarus 
xDrake,  Eliphalet 

Decker,  Henry 

Decker,  Andrew 

Draper,  Amos 

Draper,  Simeon 

Draper,  Simeon,  heirs 

Dorrance,  John 

Dorrance,  Widow  Betty 

Durkee,  Robert,  heirs 

Dyer,  Eliphalet 

Eveland,  Frederick 
xEveland,  Frederick,  Junr. 

Evans,  Nathaniel 
xEvans,  Luke 

Elliott,  Joseph 

Elliott,  Henry 

Franklin,  Roasel 

Franklin,  Sam'l. 

Franklin,  John 

Fairchild,  Ebenezer 

Forsyth,  Jonathan 

Fish,  Jabez 

Fitch,  Elnathan 


xLane,  Nathan,  Junr. 
xLane,  David 

Landon,  Nathaniel 

Leonard,  Joseph 

Lewis,  Benjn. 

Lester,  Betty 

Louterman,  John 

Lewis,  Mary 

Leffingwell,  Elisha 

Leffingwell,  Andrew 

McClure,  Thomas 
xMcClure,  Thomas,  Junr. 

McClure,  Wm. 
xMcClure,  John 

Minor,  John 

Myers,  Lawrence 

McDaniel,  James 

McDowel,  Robert 

McDowel,  Dan'l. 

Marcy,  Zeljulon 

Marcy,  Ebenezer 

Murphy,  John,  heirs 

Northrop,  Nathan 

Nelson,  William 

Nash,  Phinehas 

Nash,  Asel 

Nisbitt,  James 

Nisbitt,  Abraham 

Nobells,  James 

Nobells,  John 

Nobells.  Timothy  B. 


Upson,  Asa,  heirs 
xUpson,  Dan'l. 
trtley,  Oliver 
Underwood,  Isaac 
Underwood,  Timothy 
Van  Campen,  Isaac 
Van  Norman,  Isaac 
Van  Norman,  Ephraim 
Van  Gordcn,  Jeremiah 
Woodward,  Park 
Woodworth,  Jonathan 
Williams,  Nath'l. 
Williams,  Asher 
Williams,  Wm. 
Walker,  Ed.,  heirs 
Walter,  Ashbel 
Waller,  Nathan 
Westbrook,  Abraham 
Westbrook,  Richard 
Westbrook,  James 
Westbrook,  Leonard 
Watrous,  Walter 
Winship,  Jabez 
West,  Eleazer 
West,  Clement 
West,  Richard 
Warner,  William 
Whitney,  James 
Young,  John 
Young,  Robt. 
Yarrington,  Abel" 

[Total,  396.] 

With  thi,s  document  in  his  possession  Mr.  Gore*  proceeded  to  Kingston, 
Ulster  County,  New  York,  where  the  New  York  State  lyCgislature  was  then  sit- 
ing. (Kingston  is  some  thirty  miles  up  the  Hudson  from  Newburgh,  where, 
from  April,  1782,  until  August,  1783,  General  Washington  had  his  headquarters.) 
There  Mr.  Gore  drew  up  the  following  petitionf: 

"To  the  Honble.  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York.     In  Senate  and  Assembly  met: 

"The  petition  of  Obadiah  Gore,  in  behalf  of  himself  and  a  number  of  Inhabitants  of 
Wyoming  on  the  Susqh.  river,  humbly  Sheweth  that  your  honoitrs  memorialist  and  those  he 
represents  have  been  at  Great  Expense  and  Trouble  in  settling  an  Extent  of  Territory  on  sd. 
Susquh.  under  the  claim  of  Connecticut  with  the  most  honest  Intentions,  &c.,  but  being  a  Frontier 
and  upward  of  Two  hundred  of  our  ablest  men  Engaged  in  the  Service  of  the  United  States, 
either  for  During  the  war  or  three  years,  whereby  our  settlements  were  left  weak  against  the 
Unexpected  attacks  of  the  Savages  and  Others  of  more  Savage  Natures.  Whereby  we  have 
suffered  almost  a  Total  loss  of  our  property  by  the  calamity  of  War,  and  the  Hon'ble  board  of 
commissioners  appointed  to  Settle  the  Controvercy  between  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania 
have  given  their  Opinions  in  favour  of  the  latter,  which  renders  us  still  more  miserable,  having 
to  leave  the  premises  in  about  one  year. 

"And  Whereas  there  is  an  Extent  of  Territory  lying  on  the  waters  of  the  said  Susqh.  river 
and  within  the  limits  of  the  .State  of  New  York  the  most  Easy  of  access  to  us,  which  is  not  yet 
appropriated  or  located; 

"These  are  therefore  to  pray  your  honours  of  your  abundant  goodness  to  take  the  matters 
aforesaid  into  consideration,  and  grant  that  the  lands  on  the  Susqh.  river  beginning  near  the  mouth 
of  Owego  Creek,  or  where  the  Pennsylvania  line  crosses  the  said  Susqh.  river,  and  extending  up 
said  river  (and  including  the  waters  of  the  same)  to  OnoquagaJ,  be  appropriated  and  surveyed, 
and  a  grant  thereof  of  five  hundred  acres  to  each  of  your  honours  memorialists  for  an  Encourage- 
ment to  make  an  Immediate  settlement  so  soon  as  the  situation  of  the  times  will  permit  (with 
restrictions  of  the  like  nature  to  enforce  complyance  on  the  part  of  your  honours  memorialists) 
as  an  Immediate  settlement  of  those  lands  will  open  a  Door  for  a  large  Increase  of  Inhabitants 
into  this  flourishing  State.  It  will  add  to  its  wealth  and  strength,  and  Inhance  the  value  of  the 
other  Unappropriated  lands,  fkc. 

"Or,  we  pray  that  land  may  be  granted  us  in  such  Quantitys  and  on  such  Terras  as  your 
honours  in  your  wisdom  shall  think  fit. 

"And  your  memorialist  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  ever  pray. 

(Signed} 
"Dated  at  Kingstown,  March  lOth,  17S3." 

Clerk  of  the  County  Court  of  Westmon 
ppointed  Clerk  pro  lent.,  "and  sworn   to  s 


*.\t  this  time  Obadiah  Gore 

for  Kingston  John  Jenkins.  Sr. ,  v. 

Gore,  who  is  now  absent." 

tThe  original  became  the  property  of  .Sa 
tOghwaga.  See  pages  257  and  667. 


'Obadh.  Gore,  in  behalf  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Wyoming." 

iland.  and   shortly  after  his  departure 
erve  only  until  the  Return  of  Ooadiah 


el  N,  Rhoadi  of  Philadelphia 


ch.  1907 


1315 

This  petition  and  the  agreement  signed  by  the  Wyoming  inhabitants 
(as  previously  mentioned)  were  presented  to  the  Senate  of  New  York  on  March 
12,  1783,  and,  having  been  read,  were  referred  to  a  committee  composed  of 
Senators  Scott,  Schuyler  and  Duane.  Friday  morning,  March  21,  1783,  the  Sen- 
ate met  pursuant  to  adjournment,  when  Senator  Scott,  from  "the  Committee 
on  the  petition  of  Obadiah  Gore  and  others,  delivered  a  report,  which  was  read 
etc.,  and  then  the  Senate  resolved": 

"Whereas,  It  appears  that  the  tract  of  country  on  which  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming 
are  settled  has  furnished  a  quota  of  fighting  men,  who  have  served  in  the  United  States  Army; 
that  they  suffered  a  great  loss  of  property  during  the  war;  that  their  settlement  was  made  under 
the  government  of  Connecticut  Colony ;  that  it  now  appears  the  land  is  not  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  Connecticut;  that  the  inhabitants  are  directed  to  remove  from  the  land  within  one  year. 

"And  Whereas  the  said  settlers  have  asked  for  the  grant  of  a  suitable  tract  of  land  to  which 
they  may  remove,  and  have  pointed  out  the  desirability  of  the  waste  and  unappropriated  lands 
north  of  the  division  line  between  New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 

"Resolved,  That  Obadiah  Gore  and  his  associates  shall  be  permitted  to  locate  on  any  of 
the  waste  and  unappropriated  lands  within  this  State  on  the  like  terms  and  conditions  as  the 
immediate  citizens  of  this  State  may  be  entitled  to,  whenever  the  Legislature  shall  determine  to  grant 
the  lands;  and  that  in  the  meantime  O.  Gore  and  his  associates,  or  any  of  them,  may  explore  the 
said  lands  in  order  to  determine  their  future  choice. 

"Ordered,  That  Mr.  Duane  carry  a  copy  of  the  preceding  resolution  to  the  House  of 
Assembly,  and  request  their  concurrence." 

The  same  day  the  Assembly  resolved  to  "concur  with  the  Honorable  the 
Senate"  in  its  action  on  the  Gore  petition. 

At  Philadelphia,  February  20,  1783,  the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, acting  upon  the  petition  which  had  been  presented  a  month  previously 
by  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott,  in  behalf  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  passed 
the  following  preamble  and  resolutions*: 

*  *  *  "That  the  persons  now  settled  at  or  near  Wyoming,  yielding  due  obedience  to 
the  laws,  are  undoubtedly  entitled,  in  common  with  other  citizens  of  the  State,  to  the  protection 
and  the  benefits  of  civil  government.  That  the  new  and  extraordinary  circumstances  in  which 
they  stand,  renders  it  expedient  for  this  House  to  take  proper  measures  therein,  without  loss  of 
time.  And  they  having  declared  the  appeal  which  they  have  made  to  this  House  their  only 
resource,  it  becomes  the  dignity  of  this  House  to  be  very  circumspect  in  its  conduct  towards 
them,  and  to  act  upon  the  best  information. 

"Therefore,  Resolved,  That  Commissioners  be  appointed  to  make  full  inquiries  into  the 
cases  respectively,  and  report  to  the  House. 

"Resolved,  That  in  order  to  make  the  inquiry  effectual,  the  Commissioners  have  authority 
to  send  for  persons,  papers  and  records. 

"Resolved,  That  they  be  instructed  to  confer  with  all  or  any  of  the  claimants  under  Penn- 
sylvania of  any  land  now  in  the  possession  of,  or  claimed  under,  the  State  of  Connecticut,  by 
persons  now  being  actual  settlers,  as  well  as  with  the  said  settlers,  or  any  of  them;  and  to  endeavor, 
as  much  as  possible,  by  reasonable  and  friendly  compromises  between  the  parties  claiming  (and 
where  this  cannot  be  done,  to  consider  of  and  report  such  plans  of  accommodation  as  may  be 
most  advisable),  for  accomplishing  an  equitable  and  final  adjustment  of  all  difficulties. 

"Resolved,  That  as  soon  as  may  be,  after  the  Commissioners  shall  report,  an  Act  be  passed 
providing  fuUy  for  the  cases  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  country — more  especially  for  the  ex- 
tending to  them  of  the  advantages  of  civil  government;  for  authorizing  and  directing  the  choice 
of  Justices  of  the  Peace;  for  appointing  places  for  holding  their  annual  elections;  for  giving  time 
for  entering  their  slaves,  if  any,  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  Act  of  Assembly  for  the  gradual 
abolition  of  slavery;  for  consigning  to  oblivion  all  tumults  and  breaches  of  the  peace — by  whatso- 
ever name  they  may  be  called — which  have  arisen  out  of  the  controversy  between  the  Colony, 
or  State,  of  Connecticut  and  the  settlers,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  Province,  or  State,  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  inhabitants  thereof,  or  any  of  them,  on  the  other  part;  and  for  such  other 
purposes  as  circumstances  shall  appear  to  require. 

"Resolved,  That  an  Act  be  immediately  passed  for  staying  proceedings  at  law,  during 
said  inquiry,  against  the  settlers,  for  dispossessing  them  by  writ  of  ejectment  or  otherwise,  until 
this  House  shall  decide  upon  the  report  so  to  be  made  by  the  said  Commissioners. 

"And  as  the  guard  of  Continental  troops,  which  has  been  stationed  at  Wyoming,  is  about 
to  be  withdrawn,  it  is  necessary,  for  the  protection  of  the  said  settlement  against  the  savages,  to 
replace  the  guard  immediately  with  the  two  companies  of  Rangers  commanded  by  Captains 
Robinson  and  Shrawder." 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives"  Old  Series,  IX:  754. 


1316 

Two  days  later,  (to  wit;  February  25,  1783)  the  House  elected  by  ballot 
William  Montgomery.*  Moses  McCleanf  and  Joseph  Montgomery^  to  serve  as 
Commissioners  under  the  foregoing  resolutions. 

*WiLLiAM  Montgomi;ry  was  born  in  Londonderry  Township,  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania.  August  3,  1736, 
the  third  child  of  Alexander  and  Mary  (.V«7h)  Montgomery,  Alexander  Monti;omery  (born  about  1700  and  died  in 
1  746)  was  a  descendent  of  Alexander  Montgomery  (bom  in  1666)  who  was  an  officer  under  William  of  Orange,  and  who, 
for  bravery  displayed  at  the  battle  of  the  Boyne.  was  promoted  a  Major  in  the  British  army. 

William  Monttjomery  was  between  ten  and  eleven  years  of  age  when  both  his  parent?  died.  He  grew  to  manhood 
on  the  family  plantation  in  Londonderry,  and  soon  came  to  be  recognized  as  a  man  of  character  and  ability.  When 
the  difficulties  with  the  mother  country  became  serious.  Mr.  Montgomery  was  at  a  large  county  meeting  held  at  Chester 
December  20,  1774.  appointed  a  member  of  a  committee  "to  aid  in  organizing  an  acceptable  Government"  to  super- 
sede the  old  provincial  establishment- 
January  23>.  1775.  he  was  one  of  the  ten  delegates  from  Chester  County  in  the  convention  which  assembled  at 
Philadelphia,  which  substantially  took  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  Province,  and  which  in  the  Spring  of  1776  appointed 
members  of  Congress  from  Pennsylvania  who  had  nerve  enough  to  vote  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  In 
June.  I  776.  Mr.  Montgomery  was  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  4th  Battalion  of  Chester  County  Associators,  composed 
of  about  450  men,  rank  and  file.  During  his  absence  in  the  field  his  place  in  the  Convention  was  filled  by  his  brother- 
in-law,  Thomas  Strawbridge.  After  the  battle  of  Long  Island — in  which  Colonel  Montgomery's  battalion  participat- 
ed^the  battalion  was  attached  to  the  "Flying  Camp". 

Early  in  1773  Colonel  Montgomery  had  been  induced  to  visit  Northumberland  County,  Pennsylvania,  to  look 
over  some  land  concerning  which  he  had  heard  favorable  reports.  He  purchased  180  acres  of  this  land  from  J.  Simp- 
son, November  26.  1774.  It  lay  along  Mahoning  Creek,  on  the  north  side,  or  right  bank,  of  the  North  Branch  of  the 
Susquehanna  River,  some  twelve  and  a-half  miles  north-east  of  the  village  of  Northumberland.  (For  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  location  of  these  lands,  see  page  1090.  Vol.  II.  and  the  "Map  of  Luzerne  County"  in  Chapter  XXIII, 
post.)  Having  disposed  of  his  property  in  Chester  County.  Colonel  Montgomery  removed  with  his  family  in  1777  to 
his  Northumberland  lands;  but  about  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Wyoming  he  was  obliged,  owing  to  fear  of  Indian  in- 
cursions, to  seek  refuge  with  his  family  at  Fort  Augusta,  Sunbury. 

As  soon  as  he  deemed  it  safe  to  return  to  his  home  at  Mahoning  Creek,  he  did  so,  and  immediately  began  to  clear 
more  land  and  make  various  improvements.  Other  people  settled  near  him,  and,  as  early  at  least  as  1778,  the  settle- 
ment was  known  as  "Montgomery's  Landing"  and  as  "Montgomery's." 

Colonel  Montgomery  soon  became  known  in  Northumberland  County  as  an  enterprising  and  energetic  man, 
and  ere  long  became  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the  County.  In  1779  and  1780  he  represented  the  county  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Assembly.  In  September,  1783,  the  Assembly  appointed  William  Maclay,  Gen.  James  Wilkinson  (Ad- 
jutant General  of  the  State)  and  William  Montgomery,  Commissioners,  to  examine  the  navigation  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, and  also  ascertain  where  the  northern  boundary  of  Pennsylvania  would  fall,  and  "particularly  whether  any 
part  of  Lake  Erie  is  within  the  State" — as  noted  on  page  759.  Vol.  11.  In  October,  1783,  Colonel  Montgomery  was 
elected  a  member  of  Pennsylvania  Council  of  Censors,  and  in  November,  1784,  he  was  elected  by  the  Assembly  a 
delegate  to  the  Continents  Congress,  in  which  body  he  served  until  February  7,  1785  when  he  resigned.  He  wa^  at 
once  appointed  President  Judge  of  the  Courts  of  Northumberland  County. 

In  1787  Colonel  Montgomery  was  appointed  by  the  Assembly  one  of  the  commissioners  to  carry  into  effect  the 
Confirming  Law — ^referred  to  at  length  in  Chapter  XXV,  Post.  In  1791  he  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and 
for  Northumberland  County,  and  in  the  Autumn  of  the  same  year  was  elected  a  State  Senator  from  the  county,  under 
the  new  constitution  of  the  State.  In  1792  he  was  elected  a  Representative  to  the  3d  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  served  in  that  capacity  for  two  years.  April  17,  1793,  he  was  commissioned  Major  General  of  the  Division  of 
Pennsylvania  Militia  composed  of  the  militia  of  the  counties  of  Northumberland,  Northampton  and  Luzerne.  His 
commission  expired  in  1800,  whereupon  he  was  recomraissioned  for  a  further  term  of  seven  years. 

The  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucault-Liancourt,  in  the  journal  of  his  travels  through  the  United  States  in  1795,  '96  and 
'97.  states  under  the  date  of  Monday.  May  18,  1795:  "We  halted  at  Mr.  Montgomery's,  twelve  miles  from  Northum- 
berland. Mr.  Montgomery  is  a  surveyor.  He  does  not  keep  an  inn,  but  supplies  both  men  and  horses  with  food  and 
provender    for    money. ' ' 

In  1801  General  Montgomery  was  appointed  and  commissioned  by  Governor  McKean  an  Associate  Judge  of  the 
Courts  of  Northumberland  County,  and  this  office  he  held  until  1813.  In  1808  he  was  a  Presidential  Elector  on  the 
Republican  ticket  in  Pennsylvania,  When,  in  1806,  the  first  Post  Office  was  established  at  Danville,  Pennsylvania 
(see  below).  General  Montgomery  was  made  Postmaster,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  his  son  Daniel,  conducted  the 
office  until  1813.     He  was  the  first  man  at  Danville  to  use  anthracite  coal.     This  was  as  early  as  the  year  1813. 

General  Montgomery  died  at  Danville  May  1,  1816,  in  his  eightieth  year.  He  had  been  married  three  time?, 
and  had  eleven  children.  His  sixth  child  and  third  son  was  Daniel  Montgomo'y,  born  in  Londonderry  Township, 
Chester  Co.,  Pennsylvania,  in  1765.  In  1790  General  Montgomery  started  a  store  at  his  "Landing",  which  was 
managed  for  a  number  of  years  by  his  son  Daniel. 

In  1792  Daniel  Montgomery  laid  out  on  his  father's  lands  at  "Montgomery's"  a  town-plot,  which  was  named, 
after  him,  "Danville"  (now  the  county-seat  of  Montour  County,  Pennsylvania). 

In  1800  Daniel  Montgomery  was  sent  to  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  as  one  of  the  Representatives  from  North- 
umberland County.  He  was  commissioned  Lieut.  Colonel  in  the  Pennsylvania  Militia  in  1805,  and  July  27,  1809, 
was  commissioned  Major  General  of  the  9th  Division,  Pennsylvania  Militia  (comprising  the  militia  of  the  counties  of 
Northumberland  and  Luzerne),  to  succeed  his  father.  His  commission  was  renewed  July  4,  1814,  and,  in  the  re-arrange- 
m  nt  of  the  State  militia,  his  Division  became  the  8th — comprising  the  militia  of  the  counties  of  Northumberland, 
Union,  Luzerne,  Columbia,  Susquehanna  and  Wayne.  In  1807  Daniel  Montgomery  was  elected  a  Representative  to 
Congress  from  the  District  which  comprised  the  counties  of  Northumberland  and  Luzerne. 

Daniel  Montgomery  was  married  November  27,  1791,  to  Christiana  Strawbridge  (bom  in  1770)  of  Chester  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  nine  children.  General  Montgomery  died  at  Danville,  December 
30,  1831. 

tMosEs  McClean  was  bom  in  Upper  Dublin  Township,  Philadelphia  County,  Pennsylvania,  January  10,  1737, 
the  son  of  Wilham  and  Elizabeth  McClean.  He  was  elected  Major  of  the  2d  Battalion,  York  County  (Pennsylvania) 
Associators,  July  28,  1775.  Under  authority  of  a  resolution  of  Congress  passed  January  4,  1776,  the  6th  Pennsylvania 
Battalion  was  raised  in  the  counties  of  Cumberland  and  York.  William  Irvine  of  Carlisle  was  commissioned  Colonel 
January  9,  1776.  and  the  same  day  Moses  McClean  was  commissioned  Captain  of  the  6th  Company.  Thomas  Hart- 
ley (see  pages  1 107  and  1 108,  Vol.  II)  was  the  original  Lieut.  Colonel  of  this  battalion. 

In  May.  1776,  the  6th  Battalion  was  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  forming  a  part  of  the  forces  commanded  by  General  Sullivan; 
and,  as  stated  in  the  note  on  page  1 108,  it  took  part  in  the  attack  on  Three  Rivers,  June  8,  1776.  Eleven  days  later  the 
"6th"  was  encamped  with  other  Pennsylvania  battalions  on  the  east  side  of  Isle  Aux  Noix.  at  the  upper  end  of  Lake 
Champlain.  On  June  21,  Captain  McClean,  seven  other  officers  and  four  privates  of  the  "6th",  went  over  from  the 
island  to  the  western  shore  of  the  Lake,  about  a  mUe  from  camp,  to  fish.  Captain  McClean  prudently  proposed  that 
they  should  take  arms  with  them,  but  was  over-ruled  by  the  others  of  the  party.  Some  Indians  observed  their 
movements,  and.  while  they  were  at  a  house  drinking  some  beer,  the  savages  surrounded  them,  killed  two  of  the 
officers  and  two  of  the  privates,  and  carried  off  as  prisoners  Captain  McClean  and  the  other  members  of  the  party. 

Captain  McClean  was  held  by  the  enemy  until  March  20,  1777,  when  he  was  paroled,  and  a  week  later  was  ex- 
changed. Meanwhile,  the  6th  Battalion  had  been  re-enlisted  for  three  years,  or  the  war.  as  the  7th  Pennsylvania 
Regiment  of  the  Continental  Line. 

Captain  McClean  was  elected  and  commissioned  Lieut.  Colonel  of  the  2d  Battalion  of  York  County  (Pennsylvania) 
Militia,  June  17,  1779.  During  the  years  1780,  '81,  '82  and  '83  he  represented  his  county  in  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly. 
He  was  married  to  Sarah  Charlesworth,  and  their  daughter,  Margaret  McClean,  became  the  wife  of  Abram  Scott, 
the  son  of  Hugh  Scott,  who  was  bom  in  Ireland  in  1726  and  came  to  America  in  1730  with  his  parents,  who  settled  in 
Donegal,  Lancaster  County,  Pa.     Colonel  McClean  died  at  Chillicothe.  Ohio,  August  25,  1810. 

JJosEPH  Montgomery  was  bom  in  Paxtang  Township,  in  what  was  then  Lancaster,  but  later  became  Dauphin, 
County,  Pennsylvania.  October  3,  1733.     He  was  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  (Princeton)  in  1765,  and  then 


1317 

Miner,  referring  to  the  matters  covered  by  these  resolutions,  says  ("Histor\' 
of  Wyoming",  page  318):  "Notwithstanding  the  recall  of  the  Continental 
guard,  and  the  doubtful  measure  of  sending  the  companies  of  Robinson  and 
Shrawder  to  Wilkes  Barre,  the  proceedings  were  received  at  Wyoming  by  many 
with  no  little  satisfaction;  by  the  sanguine,  with  joy;  by  a  few,  with  misgivings 
and  distrust,  for  the  two  military  companies — as  the  war  with  Great  Britain 
was  regarded  at  an  end,  and  the  danger  of  Indian  incursions  no  longer  existed — 
awakened  the  jealousy  of  the  more  sagacious  old  men,  who  remembered  the  in- 
vasion of  Plunket,  and  who  saw,  or  thought  they  saw,  in  this  array,  not  pro- 
tectors, but  agents  of  a  hostile  interest  experience  had  shown  them  they  had 
great  reason  to  dread.  But  the  highly  respectable  names  of  the  Montgomerys 
were  pledges  of  honor  and  fairness,  that  on  the  whole  inspired  confidence,  and 
hope   of  an  honorable   adjustment." 

Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  commenting  on  the  sending  of  the  companies  of 
Robinson  and  Shrawder  to  Wilkes-Barre,  wrote*:  "Early  in  the  year  1783 
Council  ordered  two  companies  of  Rangers  to  repair  to  Wyoming  Whether 
realty  to  protect  that  country  against  the  Indians,  or  to  curb  the  Connecticut 
settlers,  may  perhaps  admit  of  a  question.  If  for  the  latter  purpose,  it  will  not 
be  difficult  to  guess  at  whose  instance  those  troops  were  sent  thither.  Certain 
it  is  that  the  Connecticut  settlers  did  not  send  for  them  for  one  purpose  or  the  other. 
But  these  Rangers  were  enlisted  only  during  the  Indian  war." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  March  4,  1 783,  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  wrote  to  Capt.  Philip  Shrawder  and  Capt.  Thomas  Robinson,  in  part  as 
follows  :t 

"As  the  Continental  troops  have  lately  been  withdrawn  from  Wyoming,  *  *  you  will 
each  of  you,  directly  march  with  your  respective  companies  to  that  Fort,  and  take  every  proper 
measure  for  maintaining  the  Post  there,  and  for  protecting  the  settlements.     *     *     * 

"As  we  confide  very  much  in  your  prudence,  we  trust  that  your  conduct  will  enforce  our 
wishes  on  a  point  of  great  importance.  It  is  our  earnest  desire  that  the  inhabitants  settled  at  or 
near  Wyoming  should  be  in  all  respects  treated  with  kindness.  This  we  know  to  be  the  desire 
also  of  the  Legislature — it  being  the  unanimous  sense  of  both  Branches  of  the  Government  that 
all  differences  should  be  equitably  and  finally  adjusted.  We  therefore  expect  that  you  will  separ- 
ately and  together  employ  your  best  exertions  to  prevent  any  injury  being  done  to  the  inhabitants 
before  mentioned,  and  even  any  quarrels  being  entered  into  with  them  by  the  officers  and  soldiers 
under  your  command,  and  that  you  may  convince  them  by  your  care  and  attention  to  them  that 
they  are  regarded  as  fellow  citizens  whose  welfare  and  happiness  you  sincerely  and  affectionately 
desire  to  promote.'"     *     *     * 

At  this  time  Captain  Shrawder  and  his  company  were  on  duty  in  North- 
ampton County,  Pennsylvania,  while  Captain  Robinson  and  his  company  were 
stationed  at  Northumberland,  Pennsylvania  (as  mentioned  in  [||]  note  on  pages 
1243  and  1244).  As  soon  as  possible  both  companies  were  marched  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  where  they  took  possession  of  Fort  Wyoming  and  re-named  it  "Fort 
Dickinson",  in  honor  of  the  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of 

became  Master  of  the  grammar  school  connected  with  that  college.  Meanwhile  he  studied  theology,  and  was  licensed 
to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  in  1760.  The  same  year  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of 
.\rts  from  his  Alma  Mater,  Yale  College,  and  the  college  of  Philadelphia  (afterwards  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.) 
Mr.  Montgomery  held  various  pastorates  in  Pennsylvania  until  1769,  in  which  year  he  was  installed  pastor  of  the 
congregations  of  Christiana  Bridge  and  New  Castle.  Delaware,  where  he  remained  until  1777.  Subsequently  he  served 
as  Chaplain  of  Colonel  Sraallwood's  regiment  of  Maryland  troops  in  the  Continental  Line.  In  1  780  he  was  chosen 
by  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Pennsylvania  as  one  of  the  State's  Representatives  in  the  Continental  Congress , 
and  in  this  office  he  served  two  terms.  He  was  elected  to  the  State  Assembly  in  1782,  and  was  a  member  of  that  body 
when  elected  to  serve  as  a  Commissioner  to  conduct  the  investigations  at  Wyoming.  .A.s  stated  in  the  note  on  page 
759,  Vol.  II,  he  succeeded  WiUiam  Montgomery  in  1784  as  a  member  of  the  New  York-Pennsylvania  boundary-line 


In  March,  1785,  when  the  county  of  Dauphin,  Pennsylvania,  was  erected,  Joseph  Montgomery  was  appointed 
and  commissioned  Recorder  of  Deeds  and  Register  of  Wills  in  and  for  the  new  county;  and  these  offices  he  held  until 
his  death,  which  occmred  at  Harrisburg  October  14,   1794. 

*See  Hoyt's  "Brief"  (previously  mentioned),  note  on  page  56. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania   Archives",  Old  Series,  IX:   761. 


1318 


Pennsylvania.*  Meanwhile,  on  March  11,  1783,  the  Pennsylvania  Assemblv 
resolved  that  the  Commissioners  appointed  on  the  25th  of  February  should  attend 
at  Wyoming  on  April  15,  1783;  and  that  Surveyor  General  John  Lukens,  or  a 
Deputy  under  him,  "be  directed  to  attend  the  Commissioners  with  the  necessary 

*JoHN  Dickinson,  known  as  the  "Penman  of  the  Revolution,"  was  bom  in  Talbot  County,  Maryland.  November 
13,  1732.  Gen.  Philemon  Dickinson,  mentioned  on  page  90.?,  Vol.  II,  was  his  younger  brother,  having  been  born  in 
Talbot  County,  April  5,  1739,  and  dying  near  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  February  4,  1809.   Their  parents  were  Samuel  D.  and 

Mary  {Cadivalader)  Dickinson — 
Samuel  D.  Dickinson  having  lo- 
cated in  1740  in  Delaware,  where 
he  became  Chief  Justice  of  Kent 
County,  and  died  July  6,  1760. 
aged  seventv-one  years. 

John  Dickinson  studied  law  in 
Philadelphia  from  1750  to  1753, 
and  then  went  to  London,  where 
he  entered  the  Middle  Temple 
and  spent  three  years.  On  his 
return  to  America  in  1757,  he 
began  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  Philadelphia.  In  1 760  he 
became  a  member  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Delaware ,  and  in 
1762,  at  the  age  of  thirty  years, 
was  elected  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly,  where  he  served  with 
great  distinction  until  1765. 

The  imposition  of  the  Stamp 
Act  on  the  American  Colonies  in 
1765,  as  related  on  pages  584  and 
585.  Vol.  I,  produced  great  ac- 
tivity on  the  part  of  the  press. 
The  chief  writer  was  John  Dickin- 
son, who  acquired  great  distinc- 
tion at  this  period  in  his  published 
articles  against  the  policy  of  the 
British  Government.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1765  Cas  noted  on  pages  587 
and  589,  Vol.  I),  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  delegate  to  the  Stamp 
Act  Congress,  and,  as  a  member 
of  that  body,  formulated  what 
was  a  genuine  Bill  of  Rights. 

The  Stamp  Act  having  been 
repealed  in  March,  1766  (see  page 
592.  Vol.  I),  a  new  measure, 
respecting  impost  duties  in  the 
American  Colonies,  was  passed  by 
Parliament  in  the  Spring  of  1767. 
as  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page 
596,  Vol.  I;  about  which  time 
John  Dickinson  issued  an  "Ad- 
dress to  the  British  Colonists", 
containing  the  following  para- 
graphs: 

"What  have  these  Colonists  to 
ask  while  they  continue  free?  Or 
what  have  they  to  dread  but  in- 
sidious attempts  to  subvert  their 
freedom?  Their  prosperity  does 
not  depend  on  ministerial  favours 
doled  out  to  particular  Provinces. 
;  political  body,  of  which  each  Colony  is  a  member.  *  *  *  We  have  all  the  rights  requisite  for  our 
The  legal  authority  of  Great  Britain  may  indeed  lay  hard  restrictions  upon  us;  but,  like  the  spear  of  Tele- 
phus,  it  will  cm-e  as  well  as  wound.  Her  unkindness  will  instruct  and  compel  us,  after  some  time,  to  discover  in  our 
industry  and  frugality  surprising  remedies — if  our  rights  continue  unviolated;  for,  as  long  as  the  products  of  oiir  labour 
and  the  rewards  of  our  care  can  properly  be  called  our  own,  so  long  it  will  be  worth  our  while  to  be  industrious  and 
frugal.     *     *     * 

"Let  us  take  care  of  our  rights,  and  we  therein  take  care  of  our  prosperity.  'Slavery  is  ever  preceded  by  Sleep!' 
Individuals  may  be  dependent  on  Ministers,  if  they  please.  *  *  *  But,  if  we  have  already  forgotten  the  reason 
that  urged  us,  with  unexampled  unanimity,  to  exert  ourselves  two  years  ago — if  our  zeal  for  the  public  good  is  worn  out 
before  the  homespun  clothes  which  it  caused  us  to  have  made — if  oiu*  resolutions  are  so  faint  as,  by  our  present  conduct, 
to  condemn  our  own  late  successful  example — if  we  are  not  affected  by  any  reverence  for  the  memory  of  our  ancestors, 
who  transmitted  to  us  that  freedom  in  which  they  had  been  blessed — if  we  are  not  animated  by  any  regard  for  posterity, 
to  whom,  by  the  most  sacred  obligations,  we  are  bound  to  deliver  down  the  invaluable  inheritance — then,  indeed,  any 
Minister,  or  any  tool  of  a  Minister,  or  any  creature  of  a  tool  of  Minister,  or  any  lower  instrument  of  administration  (if 
lower  there  be),  is  a  personage  whom  it  may  be  dangerous  to  offend." 

The  Act  respecting  impost  duties  met  at  once  with  opposition  in  the  Colonies,  and  late  in  October,  1767,  was  de- 
nounced by  a  public  meeting  in  Boston,  which  suggested  a  non-importation  agreement  as  the  best  means  of  rendering 
its  operations  ineffective.  "While  the  leaders  of  the  opposition  throughout  the  country  were  doubtful  and  hesitating", 
says  Charles  J.  Stille,  LL.  D..  in  his  'Life  and  Times  of  John  Dickinson",  there  appeared  in  the  Pennsylvania  Chronicle 
(Philadelphia)  for  the  2d  of  December.  1767,  the  first  of  a  series  of  letters  on  the  political  situation,  afterwards  known 
as  the  'Farmer's  Letters'.  The  letters,  fourteen  in  number,  followed  one  another  in  quick  succession,  and  they  were 
read  by  men  of  all  classes  and  opinions  throughout  the  continent  as  no  other  work  of  a  pohtical  kind  had  been  hitherto 
read  in  America.     It  was,  of  course,  soon  known  that  John  Dickinson  was  their  author." 

In  the  first  of  these  "Letters"  Mr.  Dickinson  wrote:  "Benevolence  towards  mankind  excites  wishes  for  their 
welfare,  and  such  wishes  endear  the  means  of  fulfilhng  them.  These  can  be  found  in  liberty  only,  and  therefore  her 
sacred  cause  ought  to  be  espoused  by  every  man  on  every  occasion,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power."  These  "Letters" 
were  collected  together  and  published  in  book  form  (80  pages,  size  3Kx6  inches)  at  Boston  in  1768,  under  the  title 
"Letters  from  a  Farmer  in  Pennsylvania  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  British  Colonies."  A  second  edition  of  the  pamphlet 
was  published  by  Hall  &  Sellers  at  Philadelphia  in  1768,  and  a  third  edition  was  printed  by  William  and  Thomas 
Bradford  at  Philadelphia  in  1769.  From  that  time  to  the  present,  various  editions  of  the  "Letters"  have  been  publish- 
ed both  in  this  country  and  England — one  of  the  latest  editions  being  the  one  published  by  The  Outlook  Company, 
New  York,  in    1903. 


^^^^t^^^^*^^'^ 


They  form  < 
prosperity. 


1319 

The  "Farmer's  Letters"  had  a  wide  circulation,  both  in  the  Colonies  and  in  England,  and  they  plainly  fore- 
shadowed trouble  if  the  British  did  not  make  an  attempt  to  understand  what  the  Americans  desired  and  what  they 
would  not  suffer.  One  of  the  earliest  copies  of  the  "Letters"  sent  to  the  mother  country  was  the  one  sent  to  tohn 
Wilkes,  as  related  on  page  .S48.  Vol.  I, 

The  "Letters"  produced  such  an  effect  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  that  their  appearance  has  been  regarded  as 
"the  most  brilliant  event  in  the  literary  history  of  the  Revolution."  Ramsay,  in  his  "History  of  the  American  Rev- 
olution", declares  that  Dickinson,  in  his  "Letters",  "may  be  said  to  have  sown  the  seeds  of  the  Revolution,"  The 
following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  London,  published  in  the  iVfw  York  Journal  of  April  LS,  1769 
"Mr.  Dickinson's  'Farmer's  Letters'  have  carried  his  name  and  reputation  all  over  the  British  Dominions,  I  was  a 
few  days  ago  in  a  large  company  of  patriots  and  advocates  of  liberty,  where  I  heard  a  thousand  fine  encomiums  passed 
upon  them.  It  is  a  general  remark  here  that  all  the  State  papers  which  come  from  America  are  wrote  in  a  style  not  to 
be  equalled  in  any  part  of  the  British  dominions." 

At  a  largely-attended  meeting  of  the  merchants  of  Philadelphia,  held  in  that  city  on  April  25.  I  768,  Mr.  Dickinson 
delivered  a  long  and  carefully-prepared  address,  the  opening  (1)  and  closing  (2)  paragraphs  of  which  were  as  follows- 
(1)  "You  are  called  together  to  give  your  advice  and  opinions  as  to  what  answer  shall  be  returned  to  our  Brethren  of 
Boston  and  New  York,  who  desire  to  know  whether  we  will  unite  with  them  in  stopping  the  importation  of  goods 
from  Great  Britain  until  certain  Acts  of  Parliament  are  repealed,  which  are  thought  to  be  injurious  to  our  rights  as 
freemen  and  British  subjects.  ****(?)  I  hope,  my  Brethern,  there  is  not  a  man  among  us  who  will  not  cheer- 
fully join  in  the  measure  proposed,  and,  with  our  Brethren  of  Boston  and  New  York,  freely  forego  a  present  advantage, 
nay.  even  submit  to  a  present  inconvenience*  for  the  sake  of  Liberty,  on  which  our  happiness,  lives  and  properties' 
depend.  Let  us  never  forget  that  our  strength  depends  on  our  union,  and  our  liberty  on  our  strength.  United  wc 
conquer — divided  we  die!" 

In  1768  William  Goddard  of  Philadelphia  published  a  tract  of  eight  pages  written  by  Mr,  Dickinson  and  entitled 
"To  the  Public,"  It  dealt  with  the  Stamp  Act  and  the  renewal  of  the  Non-Importation  Agreement.  In  this  same 
year  a  "Liberty  Song"  written  by  Mr.  Dickinson  was  widely  disseminated  and  sung.  It  was  set  to  the  air  of  "Hearts 
of  Oak",  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  American  patrotic  song,  produced  in  this  country.  It  first  appeared  in  God- 
dard's  Fennsylzvma  Chronicle,  and  was  soon  copied  into  newspapers  throughout  the  Colonies.  It  had  a  great  vogue 
In  it  were  the  lines; 

"Then  join  hand  in  hand,  brave  Americans  all! 
By  uniting  we  stand,  by  dividing  we  fall." 

This  phrase  was  freely  quoted  during  the  American  Revolution.  It  was  the  pith  of  all  Mr.  Dickinson's  public 
writings;  it  was  the  motto  of  the  times;  it  was  the  slogan  which  eventually  was  to  lead  the  patriots  to  victory. 

In  1774  Mr,  Dickinson  wrote,  and  William  and  Thomas  Bradford  of  Philadelphia  published,  "An  Essay  on  the 
Constitutional  Powers  of  Great  Britain  over  the  Colonies  in  America." 

As  narrated  on  pages  354  and  602,  the  First  Continental  Congress  convened  in  Carpenter's  Hall,  Philadelphia 
September  5,  1774.  In  general  the  Delegates — fifty-five  in  number — were  men  of  uncommon  ability,  who  had  taken 
a  prominent  part  in  the  political  action  of  their  several  localities.  Among  the  Delegates  from  Pennsylvania  were 
Joseph  Galloway  (mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  781,  Vol,  II),  some  time  later  attainted  of  high  treason  in  pursuance 
of  the  treason  laws  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  John  Dickinson,  The  latter  was  the  author  of  a  series  of  State 
papers  put  forth  by  the  Congress,  which  won  for  him  a  glorious  tribute  from  Lord  Chatham.  Among  them  was  the 
"Petition  to  the  Kmg",  referred  to  on  pages  557  and  603,  It  has  been  said  that  "it  will  remain  an  imperishable  monu- 
ment to  the  glory  of  its  author  and  of  the  Congress  of  which  he  was  a  member,  so  long  as  feri'id  and  manly  eloquence 
and  chaste  and  elegant  composition  shall  be  appreciated." 

On  the  adjournment  of  the  Congress  in  October,  1774,  a  public  entertainment  was  given  to  the  Delegates  by  more 
than  503  citizens  of  Philadelphia;  and  it  was  manifest  that  the  union  of  the  Colonies  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the 
ties  not  only  of  public  interest,  but  of  private  friendship.  Independence,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  was  still  not  yet  the 
object  aimed  at.  Redress  of  grievances  and  the  repeal  of  obnoxious  statutes  were  to  be  accomplished,  if  possible,  by 
means  compatible  with  colonial  allegiance.     If  blood  was  to  be  shed,  it  was  to  be  in  defense  against  aggression. 

To  carry  into  effect  the  measures  determined  on  by  the  Congress,  a  committee  of  sixty  persons  was  elected  in  Phila- 
delphia in  November,  1774.  John  Dickinson.  Joseph  Reed.  Charles  Thomson.  George  Clymer  and  Thomas  Mifflin 
were  members  of  it.     The  committee  proceeded  with  great  energy  to  the  discharge  of  its  dutie  i. 

The  following  paragraph  is  from  a  letter  written  in  Philadelphia  relative  to  the  First  Continental  Congress  and 
printed  in  the  London  Chronicle  of  January  5.  1775.  "The  cordiality  and  affection  which  the  American  puffers  and 
scribblers  say  prevailed  at  the  General  Congress  are  known  by  every  honest  Philadelphian  to  be  falsehoods.  The 
celebrated  Mr.  Dickinson,  the  second-named  Delegate  from  Pennsylvania,  cannot  have  forgotten  the  thorough  caning 
which  he  received  from  Mr.  Galloway,  the  first-named  Delegate;  nor  can  Mr.  Galloway  have  forgiven  the  scurrilous 
falsities  which  provoked  him  to  discipline  the  celebrated  Gentleman  Parmer,  Lawyer  and  Patriot.  The  public  may 
guess  what  sort  of  affection  subsisted  between  the  well-drubbed  patriot  and  his  corrector." 

As  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  859,  Vol.  II,  John  Dickinson  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Convention  which 
assembled  at  Philadelphia  in  January,  1775,  The  Second  Continental  Congress  convened  at  Philadelphia  May  10 
1 775,  and  Mr,  Dickinson  attended  as  one  of  the  Delegates  from  Pennsylvania.  On  the  23d  of  the  same  month  he  was 
appointed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  and  duly  commissioned.  Colonel  of  the  1st  Battalion  of  Associators  (MiUtia) 
in  the  City  and  Liberties  of  Philadelphia.  Early  in  the  Second  Congress  a  second  "humble  and  dutiful"  petition  to 
the  King  was  moved.  John  Dickinson  had  the  chief  part  in  framing  it,  but  it  met  with  strong  opposition.  John  Adams 
condemned  it  as  an  imbecile  measure,  calculated  to  embarrass  the  proceedings  of  the  Congress,  He  was  for  prompt 
and  vigorous  action,  and  other  members  concurred  with  him.  The  petition  was  finally  adopted,  however,  on  July  8 
1775.  and  the  same  day  a  committee,  that  had  previously  been  appointed,  presented  through  John  Dickinson!  its 
author,  a  "Declaration  of  the  Causes  of  taking  up  Arms  against  England."  This  "Declaration",  which  was  duly 
adopted,  contained   the   following  paragraphs: 

"We  are  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  choosing  an  unconditional  submission  to  the  tyrrany  of  irritated  Ministers 
or  resistance  by  force.  The  latter  is  our  choice.  We  have  counted  the  cost  of  this  contest,  and  find  nothing  so  dread- 
ful as  voluntary  slavery.  Honor,  justice  and  humanity  forbid  us  tamely  to  surrender  that  freedom  which  we  received 
from  our  gallant  ancestors,  and  which  our  innocent  posterity  have  a  right  to  receive  from  us. 

"We  cannot  endure  the  infamy  and  guilt  of  resigning  succeeding  generations  to  that  wretchedness  which  inevitably 
awaits  them  if  we  basely  entail  hereditary  bondage  upon  them.  Our  cause  is  just!  Our  union  is  perfect!  Our  internal 
resources  are  great,  and,  if  necessary,  foreign  assistance  is  undoubtedly  available," 

As  noted  on  pages  847  and  849  Colonel  Dickinson  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  in  1 775  and  served 
on  committees  having  to  do  with  the  state  of  affairs  in  Wyoming. 

As  an  important  means  of  prosecuting  the  rebellion  of  the  Colonies  against  the  Roval  Government,  a  "Committee 
of  Secret  Correspondence"  was  appointed  by  the  Continental  Congress  November  29,  1775,  composed  of  John  Dickin- 
son, Benjamin  Franklin,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Thomas  Johnson  and  John  Jay.  This  was  actually  a  Committee  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  whose  negotiations  resulted,  two  years  later,  in  an  alliance  with  France. 

In  June,  1776,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  Colonel  Dickinson  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, because  he  doubted  the  wisdom  of  the  measure.  When  the  question  came  to  be  voted  on  he  absented  himself 
intentionally  from  the  Hall  of  Congress;  but  subsequently  he  proved  that  his  patriotism  was  not  inferior  to  that  of 
those  who  differed  with  him  by  enlisting  as  a  private  in  the  American  armv.  In  October,  1  777,  he  was  commissioned  a 
Brigadier  General  of  the  Delaware  militia.  In  April.  1779.  he  returned  "to  Congress  as  a  Representative  from  Dela- 
ware, and  wrote  the  "Address  to  the  States"  of  May  26,  He  was  Governor  of  Delaware  in  1781-82.  and  November 
7.  1782.  succeeded  William  Moore  as  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania. 

But.  says  Dr.  Stille.  in  his  "Life  and  Times  of  John  Dickinson",  previously  quoted  from,  "Mr.  Dickinson  was  not 
permitted  to  assume  office  until  after  he  had  been  exposed  to  a  most  violent  and  scurrilous  attack  in  the  newspapers 
by  an  anonymous  writer,  who  signed  himself  •\'alerius\  The  attack  began  by  a  letter  in  the  Freeman's  Journal  of 
October  3,  1782,  and  was  followed  up,  after  Mr.  Dickinson's  election  as  President,  by  several  other  letters  from  the 
same  source,  in  which  the  bitterness  and  malignity  of  the  writer  were  more  conspicuous,  if  possible,  than  in  the  first. 


1320 

papers  on  that  day."     On  March  13th,  the  Assembly  passed  an  Act  which,  after 
first  referring  to  the   Decree  of  Trenton,   contained  the  following  paragraphs: 

"/nd  Whereas,  This  House,  taking  into  consideration  the  situation  of  the  present  settlers 
under  the  late  claim  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  at  that  part  of  Wyoming  eastward  and  north- 
ward of  Nescopeck  Falls,  on  the  East  Branch  of  Susquehanna,  have  agreed  to  send  Commissioners 
to  make  inquiry  into  the  cases  of  the  said  settlers,  and  to  encourage,  as  much  as  possible,  reason- 
able and  friendly  compromises  between  the  parties  claiming,  and,  therefore  it  is  highly  improper 
that  any  proceedings  at  law  shall  be  had  for  the  recovery  of  any  lands  or  tenements  during  the  said 
inquiry ; 

"Be  it  therefore  enacted,  That  every  writ  and  process  whatever,  granted  or  issued,  or  which 
may  hereafter  be  granted  or  issued  for  any  owner  or  owners,  claimant  or  claimants,  against  any 
person  being  now  an  inhabitant  on  said  lands  at  Wyoming,  in  order  to  dispossess  any  of  the  said 
inhabitants  or  settlers  of  the  lands  or  tenements  in  his,  her,  or  their  occupancy,  shall  be  and  the 
same  are  hereby  declared  to  be  stayed;  and  on  motion,  all,  further  proceedings  thereon  shall  be 
quashed  by  the  Court  to  which  such  writ  shall  be  returnable,  until  the  report  of  the  said  commis- 
sioners shall  be  laid  before  this  House,  and  order  shall  be  taken  thereupon. 

"  '^ind  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  this  Act  shall  be  and  continue  in 
force  until  the  end  of  the  next  sitting  of  General  Assembly,  and  no  longer." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  March  26,  1783,  Capt.  Thomas  Robin- 
son* wrote  to  President  Dickinson  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  in  part 

as  followsf: 

"Your  orders  of  the  4th  inst.  I  received  on  the  13th,  but  such  was  the  state  of  the  weather, 
the  roads,  and  the  freshets  inthe  creeks  and  rivers,  as  rendered  it  impracticable  for  me  to  march 
before  the  19th;  and  on  the  23d  I  arrived  here,  with  much  difficulty,  where  I  met  Capt.  Philip 
Shrawder.  I  immediately  took  possession  of  the  garrison,  with  everything  belonging  thereunto. 
I  also  met  at  the  same  place  Capt.  Peter  Summers,  late  of  the  4th   Pennsylvania  Regiment,  who 

remarkable  for  boldness  of  invective  and  unscrupulous  ascription  of  bad  motives  than  for  any  influence  or  irapressio 
which  they  made  upon  the  public  mind  at  the  period  when  they  were  written.  These  letters  are  the  source  from  whic 
posterity  has  drawn  the  materials  for  the  libels  which  have  done  so  much  to  misjudge  and  injure,  in  the  eyes  of  posterity 
the  man  who  had  the  moral  courage  to  refuse  to  vote  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence  because  he  thought  i*: 
inopportune." 

Dr.  Stille  then  refers  to  the  diary  of  Mrs.  Deborah  Logan,  and  quotes  an  extract  from  it  which  shows  that  the 
family  tradition  is  that  Gen.  John  Armstrong,  Jr..  was  'Valerius' ."  "It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however",  sa.ys  Dr. 
Stille,  "that  Armstrong  was  Secretary  of  the  [Supreme  Executive]  Council  before  Dickinson  was  elected  President." 
Dr.  Stille  is  in  error  here,  for,  as  shown  in  the  sketch  of  Armstrong,  hereinafter,  he  was  not  elected  Secretary  of  the 
Council  until  March.  1783.  The  extract  from  Mrs.  Logan's  diary,  quoted  by  Dr.  Stille,  reads  as  follows:  "Here  let 
me  mention  an  anecdote  of  Armstrong,  given  on  the  best  authority  as  true.  He  has  always  displayed  a  love  of  intrigue, 
a  dereliction  of  principle  and  a  baseness  of  deceit  which  should  draw  on  him  the  scorn  of  every  honest  mind,  from  his 
first  appearance  in  public  life  until  this  time  [August  30.  1814].  He  read  law.  when  a  young  man,  under  my  honored 
cousin,  John  Dickinson,  and  had  received  from  him  polite  and  kind  attentions.  When  Armstrong  was  Secretary  of 
Council  he  was,  of  course,  much  in  John  Dickinson's  family,  receiving  daily  proofs  of  his  confidence  and  friendship; 
yet  at  this  period  he  was  actually  the  writer  of  all  those  ill-natured  and  detestable  paragraphs  in  some  of  the  public 
prints  which  wounded  the  mind  of  his  patron  but  too  sensibly." 

In  1783  Dickinson  College  was  established  at  Carlisle.  Pennsylvania,  and  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  the 
State.  It  was  named  for  John  Dickinson,  in  commemoration  of  the  great  and  important  services  rendered  by  him  to 
his  country,  and  in  acknowledgment  of  his  very  liberal  donations  to  the  institution.  The  same  year  he  was  made  an 
honorary  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

General  Dickinson  served  as  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  by  successive  elections, 
until  October  18.  1785.  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Benjamin  Franklin.  After  his  retirement  from  the  Council  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  His  influence  had  waned  somewhat  after 
1776,  on  account  of  his  opposition  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  but  a  series  of  papers  written  by  him  in  1787- 
'88.  and  published  over  the  pseudonym  of  "Fabius".  were  widely  read,  and  contributed  much  towards  inducing  Penn- 
sylvania and  Delaware  to  ratify  the  Federal  Constitution.  General  Dickinson  sat  in  the  Constitutional  Convention 
(May-September,  1787)  as  one  of  the  five  delegates  from  Delaware,  and  took  a  prominent  part   in  the  debates. 

'In  1796  General  Dickinson  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.  D.  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey  (Princeton), 
and  in  1801  his  "Political  Writings"  were  published  in  two  volumes,  8vo,  by  Bonsai  and  Niles  at  Wilmington.  He 
died  at  Wilmington  February  14,  1808. 

The  following  concerning  John  Dickinson  is  taken  from  Sharf  and  We^tcott's  "Hi.^tory  of  Philadelphia"  (page 
273):  "  'Truly  he  lives  in  my  memory',  said  William  T.  Reed,  'as  a  realization  of  my  beau-ideal  of  a  gentleman.' 
That  was  apparent  to  all.  and  it  may  have  been  the  reason  John  Adams  did  not  like  him,  and  wrote  of  him.  'A  certain 
great  fortune  and  piddling  genius,  whose  fame  has  been  trumpeted  loudly,  has  given  a  cast  of  folly  to  our  whole  doings.' 
John  Dickinson  had  the  misfortune  to  be  zin  homme  incompris.  He  was  sensitive,  proud,  haughty;  disappointed,  too. 
perhaps,  that  he  could  not  persuade  the  Revolution  to  move  on  as  he  would  have  had  it  do,  and,  perhaps  thought  his 
pen  and  voice  could  make  it  do,  hke  a  gentleman's  chaise  and  pair  over  a  smooth  lawn.  He  was  too  precise,  courtly  and 
formal,  perhaps,  to  suit  his  business-like  colleagues,  who  could  not  conceive  so  much  grace  and  polish  to  be  compatible 
with  earnestness."  ,         . 

tTHOMAS  Robinson  was  commissioned  February  10.  1781,  Captain  of  a  company  of  Pennsylvania  mihtia  raised 
in  Northumberland  County,  and  known  as  "Rangers".  Moses  Van  Campen  (mentioned  in  [||]  note  on  page  1243)  was 
Lieutenant  of  this  company  (having  been  commissioned  February  10,  1 78 1 ) .  and  when  it  came  to  Wilkes- Barre  Thomas 
Chambers  was  its  Ensign. 

During  the  Winter  of  1781-'82  Robinson's  "Rangers"  were  stationed  at  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  assistmg  to  guard 
the  British  prisoners  detained  there.  In  the  latter  part  of  February.  1782.  the  "Rangers"  were  ordered  to  Northum- 
berland, whence,  under  orders  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  issued  March  6.  1782.  they  marched  up  the  valley 
of  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  to  a  point  near  the  present  town  of  Muncy.  Lycoming  County.  Pennsylvania, 
where  they  began  preparations  to  rebuild  Fort  Muncy — which  had  been  originally  built  in  1778  by  soldiers  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Thomas  Hartley,  and  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Indians  in  1779  or  '80.  The  fort  stood  near  the 
stone  mansion  of  Samuel  Walhs.  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  653.  Vol.  II.  It  was  while  this  fort  was  being  rebuilt 
that  Lieutenant  Van  Campen  was  sent  in  command  of  a  detachment  of  "Rangers"  up  to  Bald  Eagle  Creek,  where  he 
was  captured  by  Indians,  as  hereinbefore  narrated. 

About  the  time  Captain  Robinson  was  ordered  to  Fort  Muncy.  Samuel  Hunter,  Lieutenant  of  the  county  of  North- 
umberland, wrote  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  that  "it  would  require  at  least  100  men  to  keep  proper  out-scouts 
and  repair  the  garrison"  at  Fort  Muncy.  In  reply  the  County  Lieutenant  was  directed  to  have  the  necessary  repairs 
to  the  fort  made,  "having  due  regard  to  frugality."  Under  the  date  of  April  17,  1782.  the  County  Lieutenant  wrote 
to  the  Council:     "Agreeable  to  your  letter  Captain  Robinson'r  headquarters  is  at  Fort  Muncy,  and  I  am  certain  he  does 


•S  >• 

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1321 

had  been  sent  here  to  collect  and  carry  away  the  remainder  of  the  Continental  military  and  other 
stores  from  this  Post.  As  I  had  carried  no  military  stores  to  this  Post,  *  *  *  j  retained 
some  part  of  the  military  stores — shot,  grape  and  canister,  powder  and  lead." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  three  days  later  (March  29,    1783),  Captain  Shrawder* 

wrote  to  President  Dickinson  in  part  as  follows:! 

"In  obedience  to  your  E.xcellency's  orders  I  took  possession  of  this  Fort  the  21st  vist., 
and  Captain  Robinson  arrived  the  24th.  From  Captain  Summers,  who  had  been  sent  here  by 
Mr.  ISamuel]  Hodgdon  for  the  military  stores  belonging  to  the  United  States,  we  received  some 
necessary  ammunition  for  the  artillery  at  this  Post,  hoping  to  meet  with  your  Excellency's 
approbation,  as  the  ordnance  otherwise  would  have  been  entirely  useless.  Powder,  lead  and 
flints  for  rifles  and  muskets  we  stand  very  much  in  need  of.     *     *     * 

"The  conduct  and  behavior  of  the  inhabitants  resemble  that  of  a  conquered  nation  very 
much.  They  had  several  meetings  concerning  their  public  affairs  this  week,  keeping  the  result 
thereof  a  secret.  Yesterday  morning  they  sent  one  Mr.  |Benjamin]  Harvey  to  Connecticut  to  a 
Recording  office  for  copies  of  the  names  of  the  first  settlers  on  the  Susquehanna,  and  when  they 
took  possession  of  the  land.  By  another  gentlemen  I  was  informed  they  had  wrote  to  the  State 
of  Connecticut  to  bring  on  another  trial. 

"Last  Tuesday  they  held  Court,  but  adjourned  again  the  same  day.  As  the  law  of  Penn- 
sylvania is  not  established  yet,  and  that  of  Connecticut  abolished  (the  body  of  the  people  a  con- 
course from  different  States,  among  whom  there  is  a  number  of  the  bad  kind,  who,  by  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  times,  would  be  willing  to  defraud  the  better  sort),  I  would  therefore  entreat  your 
E.xceUency  and  the  Honorable  Council  for  instructions  how  to  conduct  in  case  people  come  of 
their  own  accord,  or  are  brought  before  [me].  I  would  further  beg  your  Excellency's  orders  what 
to  do  when  some  of  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  should  come  up  to  plant  a  little  Summer  grain, 
as  those  new  acquired  peoply  say  they  will  not  suffer  the  Pennsylvania  landholders  to  plant  any- 
thing; neither  will  they  permit  some  of  those  Connecticut  Pennsylvanians  to  raise  any  grain  on 
the  ground,  who  had  done  so  last  year  under  Connecticut  claim. 

"Mr.  [Obadiah]  Gore  of  this  place,  who  had  been  sent  some  time  ago  to  the  Assembly  of 
the  State  of  New  York  with  a  petition  for  a  grant  of  land  thirty  miles  square  at  Aghquague  on 
this  side  of  the  Lake  near  the  head  of  the  Susquehanna,  returned  last  night,  and  brought  the  news 
that  the  petition  of  the  Wyoming  settlers  had  been  granted,  and  that  he  was  to  go  up  and  choose 
the  place." 

On  Monday,  March  24,  1783,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre 
from  the  camp  of  his  regiment  on  the  Hudson,  for  a  few  days  visit.    The  same 

all  he  can  in  the  ranging  way  for  the  good  of  the  county;  but  as  for  doing  much  towards  the  repairing  of  the  fort,  it  is 
not  in  his  power  at  present,  as  the  enemy  has  made  their  appearance  once  more  on  our  frontiers." 

After  rebuilding  Fort  Muncy,  and  conducting  other  operations  along  the  West  Branch.  Robinson's  "Rangers" 
returned  to  Northumberland,  where  they  were  stationed  until  ordered  to  Wilkes-Barre.  Here  they  remained  until 
discharged  from  and  mustered  out  of  service  in  November.  1783.  Shortly  after  this.  Captain  Robinson  settled  at  Rob- 
inson's Island,  in  Pine  Creek,  about  one-half  mile  from  where  the  creek  empties  into  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, in  Lycoming  County.     He  soon  became  extensively  engaged  in  the  land  business. 

In  the  Summer  of  1 792,  while  on  a  business  trip  up  the  North  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  he  was  taken  ill.  Com- 
ing down  the  river  in  an  open  boat,  exposed  to  the  sun,  his  disease  was  aggravated,  and  shortly  after  reaching  Wilkes- 
Barre,  in  August,  he  died  and  was  buried  here.  He  had  a  daughter  Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  John  Cook  (of  Ly- 
coming County?). 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  14. 

*Phii.ip  Shrawder,  or  PHn.lP  Christian  Schrader  as  he  was  christened,  was  bom  December  16,  1745.  at 
Frankenthal.  in  Bavaria,  now  one  of  the  States  of  the  German  Empire.  He  was  the  eldest  of  five  children— two  sons 
and  three  daughters — who  grew  to  maturity.  At  the  beginning  of  the  American  Revolution  he  came  to  this  country, 
and.  proceeding  to  Philadelphia,  offered  his  services,  in  a  military  capacity,  to  the  Pennsylvania  Council  of  Safety. 
By  the  Council  he  was  recommended  to  the  Continental  Congress  for  a  commission.  August  9,  1776,  and  three  days 
later,  by  a  resolution  of  Congress,  he  was  commissioned  "Second  Lieutenant  of  the  5th  Company  of  Germans  to  be 
raised  in  Pennsylvania"  This  company  formed  part  of  the  "German  Regiment"  referred  to  at  length  in  the  note  on 
page  1 162,  Vol.  II.  and  Philip  Shrawder  served  with  the  regiment  in  all  its  campaigns  and  battles  until  its  reduction, 
January  1.  1781.  He  was  promoted  First  Lieutenant.  May  13,  1777;  promoted  Captain-Lieutenant,  February  8,  1778, 
and  retired  January  1.   1781. 

While  stationed  with  his  regiment  at  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  Winter  of  1779-'80  (see  page  1224,  Vol  II), 
Captain  Shrawder,  who  for  some  time  had  been  a  member  of  Military  Lodge,  No.  19,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
mentioned  on  page  1  184,  Vol  II.  presented  his  petition  to  Lodge  No.  22.  at  Sunbury.  He  was  admitted  to  member- 
ship in  this  Lodge  February  19.  1780.  and  at  the  same  meeting  Dr.  Peter  Peres.  Surgeon,  and  Bernard  Hubley.  a  Cap- 
tain of  the  German  Regiment  (see  note,  page  I  162.  Vol.  II).  late  members  of  Military  Lodge.  No.  19.  were  also  admitted 
members  of  Lodge  No.  22.  (.See  F.  A.  Godcharles'  "Free  Masonry  in  Northumberland  and  Snvder  Counties.  Penn- 
svlvania".   I:    15.    16.) 

.  ■  In  .August.  1782.  Captain  Shrawder  was  one  of  several  petitioners  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  .\ncient 
York  Masons,  for  a  warrant  for  a  Lodge  (No.  38)  to  be  held  at  Easton.  Pennsylvania.  (See  "Old  Masonic  Lodges  of 
Pennsylvania",     II:     141.) 

Upon  his  retirement  from  the  Continental  army  Captain  Shrawder  raised  a  company  of  Pennsylvania  "Rangers", 
which  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  State,  as  a  part  of  its  militia.  February  10.  1781,  to  be  stationed  in  North- 
ampton County.  A  pay-roll  of  this  company,  covering  the  period  from  February  10,  1781.toJune  1.  1782.  is  printed  in 
"Pennsvlvania  Archives".  Second  Series.  XIV:  581.  It  contains  the  names  of  Philip  Shrawder.  Cafilain  (commis- 
sioned February  10.  1781);  Jacob  Cramer.  LieMenatil:  Lawrence  Erb,  Ensign:  .\dolf  Creselius  and  John  Beissel. 
Sergeants:  D.  St.  Clair.  Drummer:  and  the  names  of  twenty-nine  privates. 

Mav  1,  1781.  Joseph  Reed.  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  wrote  as  follows  to  the  Hon.  John  \'an 
Campen.  of  Lower  Smithfield.  Northampton  County,  who  at  that  time  was  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Coun- 
cil— having  been  elected  October  14,  1780.  "Captain  Shrawder  has  orders  to  procure  ammunition,  which  will  be 
sent  up  by  the  wagons.  Our  advice  i^.  and  we  wish  you  to  impress  it  upon  the  leading  men  of  the  County,  that  Captain 
Shrawder's  company  should  be  recruited  as  soon  as  possible,  "The  next  relief  is  money,  of  which  we  have  sent  .£1.000 
by  the  bearer,  which  you  will  appropriate  with  prudence  and  discretion  for  immediate  relief,  employing  it  in  hiring 
men  on  this  emergency.  We  must  now  recommend  to  you  vigorous  exertions  of  yourselves,  stockading  the  strong 
houses,  and.  if  possible,  promoting  scouting  parties — offering  the  reicard  for  scalps  and  prisoners  agreeable  to  our  proc- 
lamation of  last  year."     (See  "Pennsylvania  .\rchives".  Second  Series.  Ill:  478.) 

In  September.  1  781 .  Shrawder's  "Rangers"  were  stationed  at  Lower  Smithfield.  Northampton  County,  and  on  the 
6th  of  the  month  the  Captain  wrote  to  President  Reed  in  part  as  follows  (See  "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Old  Series. 


1322 

day  a  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland  was  held  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  adjourned  meetings  were  held  on  the  26th  and  27th  of  the  month. 
As  stated  in  the  letters  of  Captain  Shrawder,  it  was  voted  to  send  Benjamin 
Harvey  to  Connecticut  for  the  following  purposes:  (1)  To  get  from  the  records 
of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  at  Windham,  a  full  and  complete  "list  of  the 
first  settlers  on  the  Susquehanna"  under  the  auspices  of  the  Company,  and  a 
statement  as  to  when  they  took  possession  of  the  land;  (2)  to  present  to  the 
General  Assembly  at  Hartford,  a  petition  urging  that  steps  be  taken  to  have 
"another  trial  for  the  soil,  if  not  for  jurisdiction,"  of  the  Wyoming  region. 

On  Friday,  March  28th  (the  same  day  on  which  Obadiah  Gore  returned  to 
Wilkes-Barre  from  his  mission  to  the  Legislature  of  New  York),  Benjamin 
Harvey  set  out  on  horseback  from  his  home  in  Plymouth  for  Windham,  a  journe}' 
of  235  miles,  which  at  that  time  occupied  from  twelve  to  fourteen  days.  The 
General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  was  to  hold  its  regular  semi-annual  session 
early  in  May;  so,  having  completed  at  Windham  the  business  of  the  Wyoming 
settlers,  Mr.  Harvey  journeyed  next  to  his  former  home  in  Lyme,  Connecticut, 
to  visit  his  brothers  and  look  after  some  private  affairs  there. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  Sunday,  March  30,  1783,  Captain 
Shrawder  wrote  to  John  Van  Campen,  Esq.,  previously  mentioned,  as  follows*  ■. 

"At  and  since  my  arrival  at  this  place  the  inhabitants  are  exceedingly  reserved,  and,  to 
judge  by  appearances,  the  generality  of  them  does  not  like  the  Pennsylvanians  to  an  excess. 
Last  Monday  they  had  a  town-meeting,  to  sound  their  purses  whether  they  can  muster  as  much  as 
would  pay  for  a  trial;  but,  not  coming  to  a  determination,  they  adjourned  till  Wednesday,  for 
it  seems  that  some  part  is  for  Pennsylvania  and  others  not. 

"On  Tuesday  they  held  Court.  As  far  as  I  could  hear  nothing  was  done,  so  they  adjourned 
again,  for  the  defendants  will  call  their  authority  in  question,  and  the  Court  cannot  support  their 
authority  by  force.  Mr.  Justice  below  the  mountain,  near  the  Delaware  (whom  you  know,  and 
I  do  not),  continues  to  issue  warrants  or  precepts,  but  Mr.  Yarington,  the  Constable  [at  Wilkes- 
Barre],  swears  he'll  not  serve  any  more  warrants,  as  the  Justice  can  do  nothing  after  a  man  is 
taken. 

"On  Monday  Colonel  Butler  arrived  here,  and  the  day  following  he  and  several  of  the 
principal  inhabitants  were  over  the  river  to  Shawnee;  but  whether  on  private  (as  they  would 
fain  make  me  believe)  or  on  public  [business]  I  cannot  tell.    On  Thursday  they  had  a  town- 

IX:  388):  Vour  Excellency's  request,  to  turn  my  men  either  to  the  Pennsylvania  Line  or  to  Captain  [Thomas]  Robin 
son's  company,  I  have  endeavored  to  put  into  execution,  but  was  disappointed,  as  the  men,  amounting  now  to  twelve' 
had.  previous  to  their  engagements,  assurances  that  they  should  not  be  taken  off,  but  employed  for  the  defense  of  this 
County,  There  is  the  greatest  probability  for  raising  the  company  in  a  very  short  time  if  clothing  and  the  first  bounty 
in  hard  money  could  be  tendered  to  recruits."     *     *     * 

In  the  Summer  of  1782  Shrawder's  "Rangers"  were  stationed  at  Chestnut  Hill,  Northampton  County,  and  under 
the  date  of  June  19.  Captain  Shrawder  wrote  to  John  Van  Campen.  Esq..  previously  mentioned,  in  part  as  follow^: 
"The  men  are  all  very  anxious  for  their  pay,  and  myself  should  be  very  happy  to  be  enabled  to  procure  some  clothing 
for  myself,  and  to  pay  my  debts.  *  *  *  j  have  always  parties  out  scouting  the  woods  from  my  post  to  Zawitz' ,  itc  , 
and  again  from  my  post  to  Fort  Allen.  Those  at  Fort  Allen  take  their  tour  down  to  Berks  County,  and  al^o  up  to  my 
quarters  again.  Mr.  [Jacob]  Cramer,  who.  agreeable  to  his  information,  sent  his  resignation  [as  Lieutenant]  to  Council 
in  March  la^t,  is  with  me  since  the  2d  of  May  as  volunteer — scouts  the  woods  with  my  parties.  Mr.  Lawrence  Erb 
begs  to  be  remembered  by  Council,  to  be  promoted  to  Lieutenant,"  {"Zawitz'  "  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  letter  was 
undoubtedly  the  locality  referred  to  as  "Sebitz'  "  in  the  journal  of  Dr.  .Schopf.     See  page  1339) 

In  September  and  early  in  October.  1782.  Captain  Shrawder  was  stationed  at  Fort  Allen  (mentioned  on  page  339. 
Vol.  I) ,  and  in  the  following  November  he  was  again  at  Cliestnut  Hill-  There,  under  the  date  of  November  4th.  he  wrote 
to  John  Van  Campen,  Esq.,  (temporarily  in  Philadelphia),  to  the  effect  that  "in  September  last  our  late  President 
(Moore)  mentioned  to  have  my  company  recruited  during  the  Winter  to  about  100  men,  with  the  addition  of  another 
officer;  by  which  means  the  militia  might  be  spared,  and  the  State  saved  a  good  deal  of  expense." 

After  his  retirement  from  the  military  service  of  Pennsylvania  in  November.  1783.  Captain  Shrawder  settled  in 
Lower  Smithfield  Township,  Northampton  County.  Pennsylvania.  In  December,  1783,  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  He  was  married  at  Lower  Smithfield.  February  19.  1793.  b\- 
the  Rev.  William  Francis  Poppard.  to  "the  widow  Rachael  Van  Campen."  She  died  September  29,  1805.  Captain 
Shrawder  was  commissioned  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  Northampton  County  April  1,  1806. 

In  1818  Captain  Shrawder  paid  a  visit  to  his  relatives  in  Bavaria,  and  while  at  Frankenthal  acted  in  the  capacitx- 
of  godfather  at  the  christening  of  his  grand-nephew.  George  Philip  Christian  Friederich  Schrader,  born  at  Frankenthal. 
December  23,  1818,  the  fourth  child  of  John  Nicholas  and  Albertine  (Sclluck)  Schrader.  G.  P.  C.  F.  Schrader.  or.  a< 
he  was  commonly  called  and  known  "Frederick  Schrader",  immigrated  to  America  in  1833,  and  settled  in  Wilkes-Barre. 
Later  he  removed  to  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died.  October  17,   1893, 

Capt.  Philip  Shrawder  died  in  Northampton  County,  March  17,  1820.  leaving  no  children.  According  to  the 
"Genealogical  and  Family  History  of  the  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  Valleys",  11:200,  "Captain  Shrawder  left  a 
large  estate,  principally  in  land-,  in  Pennsylvania.  *  *  His  name  is  commemorated  in  Shrader's  Creek.  He  was 
an  ardent  American  in  spirit,  and  provided  that,  in  order  to  obtain  inheritance  in  his  estate,  his  kindred  in  Germany 
should  come  to  the  United  .States,  establish  a  residence  here,  and  assume  the  obligations  of  citizenship.  As  a  further 
inducement  to  his  heirs  to  come  to  this  country,  he  offered  a  large  sum  of  money  to  the  first  child  born  in  the  United 
States  to  such  immigrants,"  (See  sketch  of  the  Hon,  John  Reichard  in  a  subsequent  chapter  )  In  May,  1832,  the 
Trustees  named  in  the  will  of  Captain  Shrawder.  "late  of  Smithfield  Township,  Northampton  County",  were  author- 
ized to  make  sale  of  certain  real  estate  of  the  testator  in  the  counties  of  Luzerne  and  Wayne,  Pennsylvania, 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  23, 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  24. 


1323 

iTn.eting  here,  when  they  agreed,  according  to  Capt.  [Simon]  Spalding's  information  to  me,  to 
send  Mr.  (Benjamin]  Harvey  to  a  certain  place  in  Connecticut  for  a  copy  of  records,  &c. ;  and 
accordingly  Mr.  Harvey  set  off  yesterday  morning.  But  by  the  way  of  another  information 
I  heard  they  had  wrote  to  the  Governor  and  Assembly  of  Connecticut  about  having  another  trial 
for  the  soil,  if  not  for  jurisdiction;  for  the  people  are  divided — some  for  one,  some  for  the  other 
and  some  for  both, 

"They  have  also  appointed  a  committee  last  Thursday  to  confer  with  the  committee 
appointed  by  the  [Pennsylvania]  Assembly.  Captain  Spalding  is  one  of  those  for  Wyoming.  He 
is  the  truest  of  any  I  have  seen  yet.  His  interest  doth  not  lie  here  at  all,  he  claiming  only  a  certain 
place  near  Standing  Stone,  on  which  he  formerly  lived.*  Other  gentlemen  pretend  ignorance  of 
Court  and  town-meetings,  although  I  am  very  certain  of  the  contrary,  and  it  is  very  likely  they 
are  absent  in  person  but  present  by  proxy  at  those  meetings. 

"Notwithstanding  the  assurances  you  have  had,  the  conduct  and  deportment  of  the  people 
indicates  a  great  dissatisfaction  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Before  I  could  be  up  I  had  wrote  a 
letter  to  Colonel  Denison  and  Captain  Schott  setting  forth  the  sentiments  of  both  branches  of 
the  Government  concerning  the  dispute;  but  during  the  whole  time  of  my  presence  here  I  have 
not  seen  Mr.  Denison  yet.  Captain  Robinson,  who  came  up  on  Monday  last  and  went  off  again 
on  Tuesday  last,  informed  me  there  was  no  knapsacks  at  all  at  Northumberland." 

Let  US,  at  this  point,  turn  aside  for  a  brief  space  to  acquaint  ourselves  with 
certain  important  happenings  which  occurred  about  this  time  at  some  distance 
from  Wilkes-Barre. 

Provisional  articles  of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
having  been  signed  at  Paris,  November  30,  1782  (as  mentioned  on  page  1292), 
King  George  III  issued  his  royal  proclamation  February  14,  1783,  "declaring 
the  cessation  of  arms,  as  well  by  sea  as  land",  agreed  upon  between  His  Majesty 
and  the  United  States  of  America,  and  enjoining  the  observance  thereof  upon  all 
his  "loving  subjects,"  under  the  penalty  of  incurring  his  "highest  displeasure." 
wSome  weeks  later  official  information  concerning  the  King's  act  was  conveyed 
to  the  Continental  Congress,  then  sitting  at  Philadelphia;  whereupon  that  body 
on  April  11,  1783,  declared  it  to  be  their  will  and  pleasure  that  hostilities  should 
cease.  Five  days  later  President  Dickinson,  in  behalf  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Government,  issued  a  proclamation  announcing  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 

The  return  of  peace  was  celebrated  everywhere  with  bonfires,  with  rockets, 
with  speeches,  and  with  thanksgiving  on  April  19th,  the  eighth  anniversary  of  the 
fight  at  Lexington.  The  columns  of  the  few  newspapers  and  periodicals  which 
were  published  in  this  country  at  that  period  overflowed  with  articles  and  edi- 
torials,, both  in  poetry  and  prose,  on  the  all-absorbing  topic — Peace  and  a  return 
of  Prosperity.  One  of  the  most  widely  printed  and  read  articles  was  Thomas 
Paines'    "The  Birth-day  of  the  Republic"t,  in  which  appeared  these  sentences: 

"The  times  that  tried  men's  soiilsX  are  over,  and  the  greatest  and  completest  revolution 
the  world  ever  knew  gloriously  and  happily  accomplished!  *  *  *  fg  ggg  jt  Jq  our  power  to 
make  a  world  happy — to  teach  mankind  the  art  of  being  so — to  exhibit,  on  the  theater  of  the 
universe,  a  character  hitherto  unknown — and  to  have,  as  it  were,  a  new  creation  intrusted  to  our 
hands,  are  honors  that  command  reflection,  and  can  neither  be  too  highly  estimated,  nor  too 
gratefully  received.  *  *  In  this  pause,  then,  of  recollection — while  the  storm  is  ceasing,  and 
the  long  agitated  mind  vibrating  to  a  rest — let  us  look  back  on  the  scenes  we  have  passed,  and 
learn  from  experience  what  is  yet  to  be  done." 

The  following  stanzas  are  from  a  popular  song  of  the  period — a  parody  on 
"God  Save  the  King." 

"Fame,  let  thy  trumpet  sound,  "The  bloody  George  in  vain 
Tell  all  the  world  around.  May  forge  a  stronger  chain, 

Columbia's  free!  The  deed  is  done! 

Tell  Germaine,  North  and  Bute,  A  greater  George  than  he 

And  every  other  brute  Hath  set  Columbia  free. 

Tyrannic  George  won't  suit  Immortalized  shall  be 

Her  Liberty.  George  Washington!" 

^According  to  C  F.  Heverly's  "History  of  Sheshequin",  page  56.  "the  fir>t  settlement  in  Sheshequin  [in  what  i? 
now  Bradford  County.  Pennsylvania]  dates  from  May  30,  1783,  when  G^;n.  Simon  Spalding  and  his  little  band  arrived 
from  Wyoming."     The  party  consisted  of  General  Spalding  and  the  persons  named  in  the  note  on  page  980,  Vol.  11 

iSee  "Library  of  American  Literature",  III;  222. 

{See  page  875,  Vol.  II. 


1324 


By  the  soldiers  of  the  Continental  Line,  encamped  along  the  Hudson 
River,  the  news  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  (announced  in  general  orders  from 
headquarters)  was  received  with  almost  extravagant  demonstrations  of  joy. 
All  were  anxious  to  return  to  their  homes  and  their  former  occupations  and  call- 
ings; but  there  were  to  be  months  of  weary  delay  before  actual  peace  should  be 
declared  -and  all  the  worn-out  soldiers  permitted  to  return  to  the  walks  of  civil 
life.  Many  were  discharged  during  the  following  Summer  and  Autumn,  but  the 
whole  army  was  not  disbanded  till  early  in  November,  1783. 

The  following  certificates,  relating  to  soldiers  from  Wyoming  Valley  in 
service  on  the  Hudson  in  April,  1783,  and  now  printed  for  the  first  time,  are 
copies  of  originals  which,  in  November,  1879,  were  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  M.  M. 
Jones,  Secretary  of  the  Historical  Society  at  Utica,  New  York. 

"April  17,  1783. 
"This  certifies  that  the  underwritten  names  belong  to  the  First  Connecticut  regiment, 
and  enlisted  during  the  War. 


Private 


"Mason  F.  Aldcn,  Serg't. 
Thomas  Neal,  " 

Asahel     Hide,    Corp'l 
Benjn.  Clark, 
Elisha  Mattison,   " 
Daniel  Denton, 
John  Swift, 
Isaac  Smith, 
Elisha  Satterlee, 
William  Loomis, 
Oliver  Bennett, 
Benjamin  Cole, 
Gideon  Church, 
William  McClure, 


Elisha    Garrett.    Private 
Ambrose  Gay  lord, 
Rufus  Bennett, 
Ira  Stevens, 
John  Oakley, 
David  Brown, 
Amos  Ormsby, 
William  Smith, 
Israel  Harding, 
John  Halstead, 
Asa  Smith, 
Obadiah  Walker, 
Abiel  Farnam 
John  Platner 
[Signed]  "E.  Ells,  Capt.  1st  Conn.  Regt. 
"The  above  mentioned  soldiers  are  now  in  service,  and  belong  to  Westmoreland  upon  the 
Susquehanna  River,    [name  of  place  illegible]  17  Apl.  1783, 

[Signed]      "John  P.  Wyllys,  Major, 
and  commanding  1st  Conn.  Regt." 

"This  certifies  that  the  underwritten  names  belong  to  Susquehanna,  and  ware  Inlisted 
Dureing  the  war,  and  are  now  in  actual  service  in  the  2d  Connecticut  Regiment. 
"John   Ryon,    Serg't. 

Ebenezer  Bostwick,  "  Certified  per 

John  Jackson,  Private  "Heman  Swift,  Colo. 

William  Jackways  "  2d  Connt.  Regt." 

Philetus  Swift, 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE   PENNSYLVANIA  COMMISSIONERS   REACH  WILKES-BARRK— MUCH  TESTI- 
MONY TAKEN  AS  TO  THE  RIGHT  OF  SOIL— COMPROMISE   SUGGESTIONS 
REFUSED— COMMISSION    DEPARTS    AFTER     ELECTING     PARTISAN 
OFFICE    HOLDERS  —  SOLDIERS    QUARTERED   UPON   THE     IN- 
HABITANTS AND  ENCOURAGED  TO  OPPRESS  SETTLERS 
—SECOND    PENNAMITE-YANKEE   WAR   BEGUN— 
DISASTROUS    FLOOD    AT    WYOMING 


"There's  some  ill  planet  reigns; 
I  must  be  patient,  till  the  heavens  look 
With  an  aspect  more  favorable." 

.4  Winter's  Tale.    Act  11,  Scene  1. 


"But  strong  of  limb 
And  swift  of  foot  misfortune  is,  and,  far 
Outstripping  all,  comes  first  to  every  land. 
And  there  wreaks  evil  on  mankind 
Which  prayers  do  afterward  redress." 

Homer's  Iliad. 


"See  how  the  noble  river's  swelling  tide. 
Augmented  by  the  mountains  melting  snows. 
Breaks  from  its  banks,  and  o'er  the  region  flows." 

Blackmore. 


Returnng  now  to  Wilkes-Barre  we  find  that  the  Pennsylvania  Commis- 
sioners, Joseph  and  William  Montgomery  and  Moses  McCIean  (see  [f]  note,  page 
1316),  with  their  assistants,  arrived  here  on  Tuesday,  April  15,  1783,  bringing  to  the 
inhabitants  their  first  news  of  the  proclamation  of  King  George  and  the  resolve 
of  Congress  with  respect  to  the  ending  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Concerning  the  coming  of  the  Commissioners,  Col.  John  Franklin  wrote*, 
some  twelve  years  later,  as  follows : 

"The  settlers  having  had  previous  notice  had  appointed  a  Committee  [Judge  John  Jenkins, 
Sr.,  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  Lieut  Obadiah  Gore  and  Lieut  Samuel  Shippard]  to  transact  the  business 
in  behalf  of  the  whole  [people] .  Immediately  after  the  arrival  of  the  Commissioners  they  re- 
quested a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants,  which  was  complied  with.  The  Commissioners  stated  the 
business  of  their  mission,  the  Resolves  of  the  Assembly  were  read,  and  they  informed  the  people 
that  they  should  proceed  according  to  their  instructions  from  the  Assembly;  and  particularly  in- 
formed the  people  that  after  they  had  made  their  report  to  the  Assembly — which  would  be  in 

♦About  the  year  1794  or  "95  Col.  Franklin  wrote  a  very  full  and  extended  "Brief"  of  The  Susquehanna  Company's 
case.  It  has  never  been  printed,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Societ.v. 
It  comprises  106  pages,  in  the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Franklin,  and  contains  e.vtracts  from  the  records  of  Connecticut 
and  The  Susquehanna  Company,  and  a  brief  statement  of  the  doings  at  Wyoming  from  1762  to  1787.  This  MS.  was 
prepared  by  Colonel  Franklin  for  the  information  of  the  Hon.  William  I^wis,  of  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  counsel  for 
the  defendent  in  the  notable  case  of  Vanhome's  lessee  vs.  Dorrance  tried  in  .\pril.  1795  and  more  fully  referred  to, 
hereinafter. 


1326 

August  next  coming — an  Act  would  be  passed  authorizing  and  directing  the  choice  of  Justices 
of  the  Peace ;  and  that  the  settlers  would  have  the  privilege  of  electing  their  own  Justices,  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  and  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  proposed  to  the  Commissioners  to 
transact  the  business  of  their  mission  with  the  Committee  of  Settlers  in  writing,  which  was 
agreed  to." 

Contemporaneously  with  the  coming  of  the  Commissioners,  there  arrived 
at  Wilkes-Barre  a  committee  representing  the  Pennsylvania  land-claimers,  or 
Pennamites,  among  whom  the  Yankee  settlers  recognized  some  of  their  oldest 
and  bitterest  antagonists.  The  chairman  of  this  Pennamite  committee  was 
Capt.  Alexander  Patterson*,   of  Northampton  County.     Miner  says    ("History 

*Alexander  Patterson,  whose  name  is  frequently  mentioned  in  these  pages,  appeared  for  the  first  time  as  a 
participant  in  Wyoming  affairs  during  the  months  of  January,  February  and  March,  1769,  as  narrated  on  pages  475 
and  476.  Vol.  I.  He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  bom  about  1738,  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  He  came  to 
Pennsylvania  prior  to  1763,  and  settled  in  Northampton  County.  According  to  his  "Petition  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Legislature",  referred  to  on  pages  626.  703,  868  and  1064,  Vol.  II.  "as  early  as  the  year  1763  he  commanded  a  post 
on  the  frontier  against  the  Indians;  and  in  the  memorable  campaign  of  1764  to  Oswego,  Niagara  and  Detroit,  he  was 
an  active  officer.  In  1769  he  was  solicited  by  John  Penn  (the  Proprietary  of  Pennsylvania)  and  Chief  Justice  Allen, 
to  take  an  active  part  against  the  Connecticut  intruders,  who  were  pursuing  an  unfounded  claim.  In  the  month  of 
February,  in  the  same  year,  he  proceeded  with  John  Jennings.  Sheriff  of  Northampton,  and  others,  and  brought  to 
Easton  gaol  the  first  forty  of  the  intruders,  who  had  attempted  to  seat  themselves  at  Wyoming.  They  were  liberated 
upon  their  parole,  promising  to  give  no  further  trouble  to  Pennsylvania,  They,  however,  with  many  others,  returned 
the  March  following  and  pitched  at  Lackawanna,  ten  miles  above  Wyoming  [Wllkes-Barrel.  from  whence  he.  with 
others,  again  brought  them  off,  at  a  distance  of  seventy-five  miles." 

From  that  time  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution  Alexander  Patterson  was  active  in  supporting 
the  claims  and  furthering  the  interests  of  the  Pennsylvania  land-claimers  to  and  in  the  Wyoming  lands;  and,  as  here- 
inbefore noted ,  various  tracts  of  those  lands  were  either  leased  or  warranted  to  him  by  the  Proprietaries  or  their  re- 
presentatives. Among  them  was  a  large  tract  in  the  Manor  of  Stoke,  that  lay  within  the  limits  of  either  the  township 
of  Wilke'-Barre  or  Hanover-     Also  a  large  tract  at  Bear  Creek,  including  the  "mill  pond." 

By  resolution  of  Congress  in  September.  1776.  the  12th  Pennsylvania  Regiment  of  Foot,  for  the  Continental 
service,  was  authorized  to  be  raised  in  the  counties  of  Northampton  and  Northumberland-  William  Cook  of  North- 
umberland (see  page  818,  Vol.  II),  who  was  a  delegate  to  the  Convention  (July  15— September  28,  1776)  to  formulate 
and  adopt  a  Constitution  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  was  chosen  and  commissioned  Colonel  of  this  regiment;  and 
on  October  16,  1776,  Alexander  Patterson  was  appointed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Council  of  Safety  one  of  the  Captains 
of  the  regiment,  and  was  duly  commissioned  as  such,  (Dr,  Andrew  Ledlie,  of  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  whose  name 
is  several  times  mentioned  in  these  pages,  was  Surgeon  of  this  regiment  from  January  1.  1777  to  June  30,  1779.) 

The  greater  part  of  the  12th  Regiment  was  recruited  in  the  valley  of  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  and 
December  18.  1776,  the  regiment  left  Sunbury  in  boats  for  Middletown  on  the  Susquehanna,  and  thence  across  country, 
through  the  counties  of  Lancaster  and  Chester,  for  the  battle-fields  of  New  Jersey.  Being  composed  of  good  riflemen 
and  scouts,  it  was  detailed  on  picket  and  skirmish  duty.  It.  with  the  3d.  6th  and  9th  Pennsylvania  Regiments,  was 
in  the  brigade  commanded  by  Brig.  Gen.  Thomas  Conway. 

The  "i:ti"  was  engaged  in  various  skirmishes  in  New  Jersey  in  April.  May  and  June.  1777.  One  of  them  occurred 
at  Bonham  Town,  April  15,  and  was  described  in  a  letter  from  there  of  that  date  published  in  the  Pennsylvania  Evening 
Post  (Philadelphia)  of  April  22.  1777,  as  follows:  "A  detachment  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Alexander  Patterson 
of  the  Pennsylvania  12th  Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Cook,  attacked  the  picquet-guard  of  the  enemy  at  two 
o'clock  this  morning,  about  400  yards  from  Bonham  Town.  and.  after  a  short  but  obstinate  engagement,  the  whole 
of  the  guard — twenty-five  in  number — were  killed  and  taken  prisoners.  Lieutenant  Frazier  of  the  75th  Regiment 
was  killed  on  the  spot  The  enemy,  though  advantageously  posted,  did  not  attempt  to  support  their  guards,  but  retired 
with  precipitation  to  their  works.  Our  officers  and  soldiers  behaved  with  the  greatest  coolness  and  courage  on  this 
occasion.     Their  conduct  would  do  honor  to  the  best  disciplined  troops." 

In  the  battle  of  the  Brandywine  (September  11.  1777)  the  "12th"  was  engaged  under  Sulhvan  at  Birmingham 
Meeting-house,  losing  heavily.  At  the  battle  of  Germantown  (October  4,  1777)  Conway's  brigade  led  the  attack 
on  the  left  wing  of  the  British,  being  in  front  of  the  troops  that  composed  the  right  wing  of  the  American  army,  and 
losing  heavily. 

The  "12th"  wintered  with  the  rest  of  the  army  at  Valley  Forge,  and  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth  (June  28.  1778} 
the  remnant  of  it  was  nearly  destroyed.  Meanwhile,  early  in  April,  1778,  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  had  appointed 
a  committee  to  confer  upon  the  best  means  of  reducing  three  of  the  Pennsylvania  regiments,  and  finally  it  was  ordered 
that  the  "12th"  should  be  incorporated  with  the  "3d" — which  arrangement  went  into  effect  July  1.  1778. 

Some  time  in  the  Spring  of  1 778  Captain  Patterson  was  detailed  on  recruiting  service,  and  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania, 
under  the  date  of  April  22,  1778,  he  wrote  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  as  follows:  "I  beg  leave 
to  transmit  to  you  an  account  of  my  bad  success  in  the  recruiting  service.  I  have  used  every  means  in  my  power  to 
engage  men  for  the  service,  and  have  spent  a  great  deal  of  money  in  traveling  through  the  County  [of  Northampton] 
to  little  purpose.  I  have  only  enlisted  eight  men.  five  of  whom  I  have  sent  to  camp.  The  other  three  are  deserted!  I 
have  no  hopes  of  doing  any  good  for  my  country  in  this  service ;  therefore  would  beg  your  Honours,  if  it  be  your  pleasure, 
to  order  me  to  camp,  where  perhaps  I  may  be  of  some  [good]."     ("Pennsylvania  Archives."  Old  Series,  VI:  432.) 

Upon  the  consolidation  of  the  3d  and  12th  regiments,  July  1.  1778.  Captain  Patterson  became  supernumerary, 
and  about  that  time  was  detailed  to  the  Quartermaster  General's  department  and  assigned  to  duty  in  Northampton 
County,  with  headquarters  at  Brinker's  Mills,  later  known  as  Sullivan's  Stores,  and  still  later  as  Saylorsburg. 
(See  pages  1167  and  1169.  Vol.  II.) 

In  his  "Petition  to  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature",  previously  mentioned.  Captain  Patterson  gives  a  brief  narrative 
of  his  services  in  the  army.  He  states  that  he  "had  often  had  the  honor  of  commanding  the  I2th  Regiment  by  reason 
of  the  indisposition  of  the  Colonel  and  incapacity  of  other  field  officers.  After  the  battle  of  Trenton  [December  26. 
1776],  he  was  stationed  diu-ingthe  remainder  of  the  Winter  and  Spring  on  the  most  advanced  post  of  the  American  army, 
and  was  in  several  fights  and  skirmishes.  He  had  general  thanks  on  the  public  parade  for  signal  address  in  the  battle 
of  Brandywine.  In  Germantown  he  lost  his  Lieutenant  and  many  brave  soldiers;  and  at  Whitemarsh  his  superior 
knowledge  in  discipline  was  esteemed  by  General  Conway — who  possessed  a  greater  knowledge  of  tactics  than  any 
man  in  America."  Captain  Patterson  does  not  state  in  his  "Petition"  the  date  of  his  discharge  from  the  Continental 
military  service;  but  it  was  probably  in  the  latter  part  of  1779  or  early  in  1780  (when  the  reduction  of  the  army  was 
begun),  inasmuch  as,  when  he  apphed  in  April,  1818.  for  a  United  States  pension,  "his  apphcation  was  allowed  for 
three  years'  actual  service  as  a  Captain  in  the  Pennsylvania  troops  in  the  Revolutionary  War." 

At  Easton.  Pennsylvania,  in  August.  1782,  Capt.  Alexander  Patterson.  Capt.  Philip  Shrawder  (see  [*]  note  on 
page  1321),  John  Dick  (whose  name  appears  several  times  in  earlier  chapters  of  this  History).  William  Moore 
Smith  and  several  other  Free  Masons  petitioned  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons  of  Pennsylvania  for  a 
warrant  for  a  Lodge  to  be  held  at  Easton.  The  Rev.  Dr.  William  Smith  (see  note,  page  872.  Vol.  II),  at  that  time 
Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  recommended  the  petitioners  "in  the  warmest  manner,  both  as 
men  and  Masons."  William  Moore  Smith  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smith,  and  it  was  provided  that  he  was  to  be 
Master  of  the  new  Lodge  (which  was  to  be  "No.  38"),  and  Captain  Patterson  was  to  be  its  Senior  Warden.  (See 
"Old  Masonic  Lodges  of  Pennsylvania",  II:  141.) 

In  1783  Captain  Patterson  b'ecame  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

Almost  immediately  upon  the  pronouncement  of  the  Decree  of  Trenton  Captain  Patterson  came  to  the  front 
as  one  of  the  most  active  and  aggressive  leaders  in  the  ranks  of  the  Pennamite  land-claimers;  and  he  continued  at  the 


1327 

forefront  of  these  assailants  of  the  characters,  persons  and  homes  of  the  Wyoming  settlers  up  to  and  beyond  the  close 
of  the  Second  Pennamite-Yankee  War— as  the  reader  will  learn  from  a  perusal  of  the  subsequent  pages  of  this  chapter. 
The  prize — the  rich  and  wide-extended  acres  of  Wyoming — for  which  the  Pennamites  and  Yankees  were  contend- 
ini;,  was  a  very  valuable  one.  Moreover,  Captain  Patterson  was.  undoubtedly,  a  plain-spoken  man  of  much  physical 
courage  and  bravery;  and  so,  as  he  belonged  to  that  straightforward  and.  at  times,  cold-hearted,  race,  the  Scotch- 
Irish,  it  was  to  be  expected  that,  in  his  unbounded  zeal  for  the  Pennamite  cause,  and  because  of  his  acquired  rights 
in  Wyoming  lands  under  Pennsylvania  title,  he  would  say  and  do  many  things  calculated  to  embitter,  in  overflowing 
measure,  his  Yankee  adversaries.  It  is  certain  that  they  abominated  him  to  a  degree  equal  to  his  detestation  and 
despisement  of  them. 

That  Captain  Patterson  was  held  in  high  regard  by  some  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey 
who  were  his  contemporaries,  is  evidenced  by  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Hon.  Thomas  Mifflin,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
under  the  date  of  October  22.  1798,  and  reading  as  follows;  "The  subscribers  understanding  that  there  will  probably 
be  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Prothonotary  of  Northampton  County,  and  that  Alexander  Patterson,  Esq..  designs  to 
solicit  the  appointment  to  the  said  of!ice  in  the  event  of  the  vacancy  thereof,  beg  leave  to  recommend  him  to  his  Ex- 
cellency the  Governor  for  the  said  appointment. 

"To  a  Chief  Magistrate  who  unites  in  his  own  person  the  talents  and  the  experience  of  a  General  and  Statesman, 
and  in  a  country  whose  liberty  has  been  achieved  by  the  martial  prowess  of  its  citizens,  and  whose  Independence  must 
lie  preserved  by  a  combination  of  the  military  with  the  civil  virtues,  we  deem  it  no  slight  recommendation  of  a  candidate 
for  an  office — even  in  the  civil  department — that  he  served  with  courage  and  reputation  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

"The  emoluments  of  public  offices  cannot  te  more  honorably  appropriated  than  to  the  comfort  and  support  of  the 
old  soldier  in  the  evening  of  his  days;  and.  independently  of  his  service  in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Patterson's 
sacrifices  on  the  part  of  this  State,  in  the  most  hazardous  periods  of  the  Wyoming  controversy,  under  the  orders  of 
the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  seem  to  give  him  a  peculiar  claim  to  remuneration  from  the  Government  of  Penn- 
sylvania. When  to  these  considerations  of  former  usefulness  are  superadded  his  undeviating  attachment  to  the  General 
and  State  Constitutions,  his  unvarying  zeal  for  the  true  interests  of  his  country,  the  actual  respectability  and  integrity 
of  his  character,  and  his  fitness  and  ability  to  execute  the  duties  of  the  office  he  solicits — with  advantage  to  the  public 
— we  venture  to  express  our  opinion  that  he  applies  with  the  strongest  claims  to  the  confidence  and  patronage  of  the 
Executive. 

[Signed!  "Francis  Murray,  George  Campbell.  J.  M.  Nesbitt.  Charles  Stewart,  Isaac  Smith,  Aaron  Dunham. 
Mark  Thomson,  Thomas  Sinnickson.  Samuel  Miles,  John  Ewing." 

Notwithstanding  the  high  praise  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  signers  of  the  foregoing  document.  Captain  Patterson 
failed  to  receive  the  appointment  he  sought. 

From  the  published  "Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Pennsylvania  for  1803-'04".  page  187,  we  glean 
the  following:  "Tuesday,  January  10.  1804 — Mr.  Coolbaugh  presented  a  petition  signed  by  Alexander  Patterson, 
containing  a  lengthy  narrative  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Wyoming  controversy,  and  the  many  atrocities  committed 
by  the  Connecticut  intruders,  and  praying  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  to  the  numerous  and  important  services 
rendered  to  the  State  by  the  petitioner,  and  an  equitable  compensation  for  such  services;  and  said  petition  was  read 
and  referred  (with  sundry  documents)  to  the  committee  appointed  the  12th  idlimo  on  the  subject  of  the  Wyoming 
Controversy." 

The  petition  thus  mentioned  was  the  one  referred  to  on  pages  626,  703.  868,  1064,  etc..  hereinbefore. 
On  January  16,  1804.  Mr.  Maclay  (see  note  on  page  759.  Vol.  II).  from  the  Committee  on  the  Wyoming  Contro- 
versy, aforementioned,  reported  to  the  House,  in  behalf  of  the  committee,  with  respect  to  Captain  Patterson's  petition, 
as  follows:  "That  they  have  examined  the  same  with  attention,  and  are  fully  satisfied  with  respect  to  the  meritorious 
conduct  of  the  said  Alexander  Patterson,  not  only  with  regard  to  the  United  States,  but  in  a  particular  manner  as  the 
•^ame  respects  the  State  of  Pennsylvania;  and  have  also  considered  the  circumstances  of  his  private  affairs,  which  call 
for  immediate  relief  and  support.     They  therefore  offer  the  following:     'Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed 

to  bring  in  a  Bill  granting  to  Alexander  Patterson  an  annuity  of  dollars  for  life,  payable  half-yearly.      *     * 

Said  annuity  to  commence  January  1.  1800'."  This  report  was  duly  adopted,  and  referred  to  a  committee;  and  upon 
the  report  of  this  committee,  the  Legislature  passed  and  the  Governor  approved,  February  10.  1804,  an  Act  granting 
to  Captain  Patterson  "a  pension  of  $400.,  and  an  annuity  of  $100.  to  be  paid  serai-annully  during  his  life,  for 
services  rendered." 

Col.  John  Franklin  and  John  Jenkins,  Jr..  were  the  Representatives  from  Luzerne  County  at  this  session  of  the 
Legislature,  and  upon  the  return  home  of  Colonel  Franklin  he  wrote,  and  had  published  in  The  Luzerne  Federalist 
(Wilkes  Barre)  of  April  21.  1804,  the  following  "Communication": 

"At  the  late  session  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State  a  petition  was  presented  by  Alexander  Patterson,  stating  the 
services  which  he  professes  to  have  rendered  the  State  in  destroying  the  settlements  of  the  Connecticut  claimants  at 
Wyoming,  previous  to  and  during  the  War,  and  praying  a  compensation  therefor.  In  this  petition  he  pretends  to  give  a 
general  hi  tory  of  the  proceedings  of  both  parties  before  the  Decree  of  Trenton.  The  Legislature,  in  their  wisdom, 
have  thought  proper  to  grant  him  a  gratuity  of  3400.,  and  a  pension  of  SI 00.  a  year  during  life. 

"The  dirty  pages  of  blackguardism,  falsehood  and  scurrihty  would  be  searched  in  vain  for  a  mate  to  the  petition 
of  Patterson;  and  if  our  Legislature  had  felt  one  spark  of  that  manly  pride  which  the  Representatives  of  Pennsylvania 
ought  to  feel,  they  would  have  thrown  it  under  the  table  as  an  insult  upon  the  House.  The  petition  has  been  published 
[an  8vo  pamphlet,  printed  by  Robert  Bailey.  South  Queen  Street.  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania),  and,  it  is  said,  by  the  order 
and  at  the  expense  of  the  Committee  of  Landholders.  The  general  character  of  the  gentlemen  who  compose  that 
committee  forbids  the  idea.  They  would  not  disgrace  themselves  by  sending  into  the  world  so  indecent  a  production, 
even  if  they  knew  it  would  entirely  destroy  the  Connecticut  claims.  It  is  hoped  the  committee  will  free  themselves 
from  this  disgraceful  imputation." 

Captain  Patterson's  "Petition"  was  printed  in  full  in  The  Luzerne  Federalist  (Wilkes- Barre)  May  26.  1804.  In 
the  Federalist  of  June  30,  1804,  there  was  printed  a  communication  from  Colonel  Franklin,  over  the  worn  de  plume 
"Plain  Truth",  in  which  Captain  Patterson  and  his  "Petition"  were  severely  assailed;  and  from  time  to  time  in  sub- 
sequent issues  of  the  Federalist,  up  till  February,  1805.  there  were  printed  other  "Plain  Truth"  articles,  in  which  Captain 
Patterson  was  handled  without  gloves,  and  his  doings  in  and  near  Wilkes- Barre  during  the  years  1783  and  '84  were 
fully  and  freely  ventilated.  These  articles  caused  considerable  annoyance  to  Captain  Patterson  and  his  friends,  and 
they  replied,  hotly  and  indignantly,  through  the  columns  of  other  newspapers,  to  some  of  "Plain  Truths"  attacks. 
The  following  paragraphs  are  from  one  of  those  replies,  published  in  The  American  Eagle  (Easton,  Pennsylvania) 
September  1.  1804. 

"In  the  perspicacious  and  rapid  depravity  of  the  times,  and  among  other  predominant  evils,  we  are  constrained 
to  observe  that  certain  envious,  churlish,  assuming  and  paltry  malignants  are  perpetually  endeavoring  to  stigmatize 
and  load  with  obloquy  all  the  ancient  Revolutionary  characters.  These  black  detracting  ingrates  sicken  at  the  idea 
of  such  vast  superior  merit,  and  vomit  their  bitterness  against,  and  endeavor  to  lessen,  illustrious  achievements  such 
as  they  never  had  nor  will  have  virtue,  capacity  or  courage  to  imitate  or  perform.  Among  these  herds  are  the  fair- 
weather,  chimney-comer,  defamatory,  gin-shop  Jacks,  vrith  certain  infamous  place-men,  confederated  with  the  Conn- 
ecticut intrusive  vagrants  at  Wyoming,  who,  in  The  Luzerne  Federalist — that  vehicle  of  filth,  and  fag-end  of  all  informa- 
tion— under  the  direction  of  that  perfidious  scapegallows,  John  Franklin,  continue  to  insinuate  that  our  old  veteran. 
Alexander  Patterson,  was  not  a  conspicuous  character  in  the  army  of  the  United  States  in  the  eventful  but  glorious 
establishment  of  our  Independence.      *     *     * 

"His  public  character  is  summed  up  in  his  fidelity,  enterprise  and  dignified  opposition  to  that  abandoned  den  of 
miscreants,  the  Connecticut  intruders,  which  alone  has  endeared  him  to  all  men  of  respectability,  and  inspired  the 
gratitude  of  his  country.  The  honorary  law  passed  in  his  favor  February  10.  1804.  announces  that  he.  as  a  Captain 
in  the  army  of  the  LTnited  States,  rendered  essential  service  to  this  State  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  This  grateful 
acknowledgment  will  ever  remain  on  record,  an  indelible  testimony  to  his  worth  and  a  refutation  of  groveling  calumny." 
Surely  the  editors  and  publishers  of  some  of  the  newspapers  printed  in  Pennsylvania  in  1 804  believed  in  the  doctrine 
of  give  and  take! 

Candid  and  unbiased  readers  of  the  "Petition"  of  Captain  Patterson  must  admit  that  it  served  him  as  a  medium 
through  which  he  poured  out  a  vitriolic  torrent  of  epithet  and  abuse  upon  the  heads  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  at 
Wyoming.  He  refers  to  them  as  "a  set  of  abandoned  desperadoes,  excluded  from  society  in  every  part  of  the  L'nion. 
and  whose  practise  has  long  been  to  bully  the  State  and  pillage  its  citizens."     In  another  paragraph  he  describes  them 


1328 

of  Wyoming",  page  318)  that  the  coming  of  the  Commissioners  and  the  committee 
of  land-claimers  caused  "a  moment  of  intense,  of  painful,  anxiety." 

The  land-claimers  lost  no  time  in  formally  bringing  themselves  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Commissioners — which  they  did  by  means  of  the  following  letter*: 

"Wyoming,  17th  April,  17So. 
"Gentlemen, 

"The  Committee  appointed  to  Represent  the  Claimants  under  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
beg  leave  to  address  you  and  bid  you  welcome  to  Wyoming,  as  the  Representatives  of  the  Honor- 
able Assembly  of  this  State.  Your  appointment  and  appearance  here  will  we  hope  answer  the 
good  Purposes  intended  in  the  attainment  whereof  we  assure  that  every  proper  Indeavour  shall 
be  on  our  part  so  far  as  our  Interest  or  personal  influence  extends.  We  wish  as  much  as  Possible 
to  bury  in  Oblivion  the  Treatment  our  Associates  and  fellow  Citizens  have  received  on  those 
Lands,  on  which  we  first  entered  peaceably  and  quietly  under  the  Lawful  Authority  of  this  Govern- 
ment. But  cannot  help  Observing  that  some  of  the  fairest  Characters  and  most  worthy  Citizens 
have  lost  their  lives,  by  men  who  forced  us  and  others  from  our  Possessions,  even  without  the 
pretention  of  authority  from  any  Government  Whatever;  and  for  years  have  bid  defyance  to  the 
laws  &  Powers  of  Pennsylvania. 

"We  find  by  the  list  of  injured  Purchasers,  that  we  are  Called  to  Represent  the  Widows  and 
Orphans  of  Mai»y  brave  men  who  have  fallen  in  the  Common  cause  of  their  Country,  as  well  as 
ourselves,  and  others,  who  have  impowered  us  to  Appear  for  them.  Our  Grait  and  only  aim  is 
to  set  forth  facts  that  are  incontestably  True;  To  Wit;  that  we  were  in  quiet  and  Peacable  Posses- 
sion of  those  Lands  before  the  intruders  from  Connecticut  came  here;  that  they  took  Possession 
by  force.  Plundered  us  of  our  property  and  Effects,  and  Compelled  us  to  abandon  our  Settlement 
fairly  Purchased  from  the  lawful  owners. 

"But  we  trust  the  day  is  now  Come,  or  near  at  hand,  when  civil  Government  will  be  restored 
and  the  laws  Executed,  so  as  to  protect  us  and  our  Associates  from  any  further  insults;  That  the 
State  of  which  we  deem  it  an  Honour  to  be  called  Citizens  will  extend  its  Wholesome  Laws  to 
this  quarter,  and  that  in  future  we  shall  enjoy  the  Blessings  of  Civil  Government,  and  Re-possess 
the  Property  Wrested  from  us  by  lawless  Force. 

"The  unanamous  and  impartial  decision  of  the  Court,  which  lately  decided  upon  the  Juris- 
diction and  Preemption  of  this  Country,  Opens  the  way  for  a  fair  and  full  enquiry  into  the  Justice 
of  our  Claims  as  individuals,  the  foundation  of  which  will  doubtless  be  laid  before  you  by  the  Proper 
Officers.  We  have  only  to  assure  you  that  we  shall  patiently  wate  your  deliberations,  and  pursue 
the  steps  that  your  prudence  shall  point  out  for  Recovering  of  our  Rights,  as  we  deem  it  our  duty 
to  be  directed  by  your  Opinions,  and  to  Recommend  them  as  a  present  Law  here.  We  must  beg 
your  Honours  will  be  Patient  in  hearing  the  Complaints  of  our  Constitutents,  which  we  shall 
lay  before  you  from  time  to  time.  By  this  mode  we  shall  fully  inform  you  of  the  situation  of  the 
sufferers  and  your  Wisdom  will  lead  to  the  most  Effectual  Measures  of  Certain  Redress. 

"We  are,  in  behalf  of  the  Claimants  under  Pennsylvania,  now  assembled  at  Wyoming 
and  by  order  of  the  Committee.  [Signed]     "Alexr.  Patterson,  "Chairman." 

"To  the  Honorable  the  Commissioners,  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Penna.  for 
certain  purposes.    Now  at  Wyoming." 

as  "the  most  infamous  set  of  wretches  ever  collected  in  any  part  of  the  terraqueous  globe!"  He  refers  to  Connecticut 
as  a  "seditious  State,  which  extended  her  blue-laws  to  the  Susquehanna,  and  poured  in  there  her  jailbirds." 

One  of  the  most  striking  paragraphs  in  this  "Petition"  is  the  following:  "Your  petitioner  begs  the  honorable 
Legislature  to  believe  that  he  is  not  actuated  by  caprice  in  giving  epithets  of  infamy  to  the  Connecticut  claimants,  for 
it  is  a  fact  of  notoriety  that  by  far  the  greatest  part  of  them  were  cropt  or  branded — that  being  the  insignia  of  punish- 
ment in  the  penal  laws  of  that  inventive  State.  Such  were  and  are  the  people  improperly  cherished  by  the  Government 
of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  ruin  of  her  faithful,  brave,  legitimate  citizens!" 

The  concluding  paragraph  of  the  "Petition"  reads  as  follows:  "Your  petitioner  conceives  that  few  persons  have 
rendered  more  beneficial  services  to  the  State,  He  prays  that  the  Legislature,  now  that  he  is  old.  will  make  such  pro- 
vision for  him  as  may  render  the  residue  of  his  days  comfortable.  It  will  be  no  morfe  than  honestly  compensating  him 
out  of  his  own  earnings.  *  *  *  H^  was  three  months  waylaid  by  the  Yankee  desperadoes,  who  avowed  their 
purpose  of  assassinating  him.  They  set  fire  to  the  house,  in  the  night,  over  his  head;  murdered  Capt.  Samuel  Read 
in  the  bed  with  him.  and  cruelly  wounded  Capt.  Andrew  Henderson.  He  was  twice  severely  wounded  by  them." 
(For  further  extracts  from  Captain  Patterson's  "Petition"  the  reader  is  referred  to  pages  626,  703,  868  and  1064, 
hereinbefore,   and    various   pages   hereinafter.) 

The  following  extracts  are  from  the  "Journal  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature."  "December  16,  1807 — Mr. 
Barnet  presented  a  petition,  accompanied  with  documents,  from  Alexander  Patterson  of  I^ower  Smithfield,  Northamp- 
ton County,  praying,  for  a  variety  of  reasons  therein  stated,  for  additional  relief  to  that  already  granted  him.  .Said 
petition  and  documents  were  read  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Claims.  *  *  *  January  19.  1808— Mr.  Ogle, 
from  the  Committee  on  Claims,  to  whom  was  referred  the  petition  of  Alexander  Patterson,  made  report,  which  was 
read,  as  follows:  'That  there  was  a  law  passed  in  favor  of  the  petitioner  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1804.  granting  him 
the  sum  of  $400..  and  also  an  annuity  of  SIOO.  a  year  during  his  life;  which  appears  to  be  an  ample  reward  for  the 
services  he  renderd  his  country.  Therefore  we  offer  the  following:  Resolved,  That  the  petitioner  have  leave  to  with- 
draw his  petition.'     On  motion,  said  report  was  read  a  second  time,  considered,  and  adopted." 

Alexander  Patterson  was  marrigd  about  1764  to  Margaret  Patterson  (bom  1748),  a  niece  of  William  Patterson, 
of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  children,  only  one  of  whom — William  A.  Patterson — 
grew  to  maturity.  Captain  Patterson  died  at  Easton.  Pennsylvania.  April  11.  1822.  after  a  lingering  illness,  and 
January  4.  1823.  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  passed  an  Act  for  the  relief  of  his  widow  Margaret.  She  died  in  the 
borough  of  Easton  January  4.  1837,  in  the  eighty-ninth  year  of  her  age. 

William  A.  Patterson,  mentioned  above,  was  born  in  Northampton  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1767.  He  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  Giltner.  born  at  Heidelberg  (now  Cherryville.)  Pennsylvania,  in  1781,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  four  sons  and  three  daughters.  Three  of  the  sons  died  without  issue.  The  fourth  son  was  Michael  Patterson', 
bom  at  Easton.  Pennsylvania,  March  11,  1804:  died  at  Westham  Locks,  Virginia.  April  17.  1877:  married  November 
29,  1832,  to  Frances  Wright,  who  was  born  at  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  February  24,  1813,  and  died  at  Tecumseh. 
Michigan,  September  28,  1860.  The  three  daughters  of  William  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Giltner)  Patterson  were  Margaret, 
who  married  John  Sminck;  Mary,  who  married  Jacob  Reese;  Martha,  who  married  John  Opdyke.  William  A.  Patterson 
died  January  19,  1815.  and  his  widow  Elizabeth  died  at  Easton  February  8,  1851. 

*See,  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  .Series,  X;  30. 


1329 

Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  this  communication,  on  April  18th,  Joseph 
Montgomery,  Chairman  of  the  Commissioners,  wrote  to  Alexander  Patterson, 
in  part  as  follows*: 

"The  Commissioners  *  *  beg  leave  to  return  you  their  sincere  thanks  for  the  Polite  Wel- 
come you  give  them,  as  the  Representatives  of  this  State,  to  Wyoming.  The  sentiments  you  ex- 
press of  using  your  endeavours  and  Personal  Influence  to  promote  the  ends  of  our  Mission  in  this 
County,  vis. ,  the  Peace  and  Happiness  of  its  Inhabitants,  by  burying  in  Oblivion  the  former  ill  treat- 
ment you,  your  associates,  or  fellow  citizens  might  have  received,  are  perfectly  agreeable  to  us. 

"AUow  us  to  assure  you  that,  as  our  duty  dictates,  so  our  inclination  will  prompt  us  to  hear 
with  patience  and  pleasure  what  you  may  think  proper  to  offer  on  this  subject,  and  afterwards  to 
determine  with  Candour  and  Impartiality  on  such  Measures  as  may  have  a  tendency  to  estab- 
lish Justice,  Peace,  and  the  regular  exercise  of  Good  Government  in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  April  19,  1783,  Messrs.  Jenkins,  Denison,  Gore  and  Ship- 
pard,  the  Committee  of  Yankee  settlers,  wrote  to  the  Commissioners  as  followst: 

"We  are  happy  to  find  that  the  Legislative  body  of  the  State  have  condescended  to  treat 
our  late  petition,  lying  before  them,  with  that  coolness  and  candour  as  to  appoint  Commissioners 
to  come  and  make  full  inquiry  into  our  cases,  and  make  report  to  the  House.  And  as  we  shall 
think  it  our  duty  straitly,  strictly  and  truly  to  adhere  to  our  petition,  we  shall  think  ourselves 
happy  to  give  every  true  information  to  any  inquiries  that  shall  be  thought  necessary  further  to 
be  made  respecting  our  settlements,  etc." 

The  same  day  Chairman  Montgomery  replied  to  this    letter  as  folIows| : 

"As  it  is  our  duty,  so  we  will  with  pleasure  pay  attention  to  every  piece  of  necessary  in- 
formation with  respect  to  your  settlements  at  this  place.  Although  it  cannot  be  supposed  that 
Pennsylvania  will — nor  can  she,  consistent  with  her  Constitution — by  any  ex-post-facto  law 
deprive  her  citizens  of  any  part  of  their  property  legally  obtained;  yet,  willing  to  do  everything  in 
her  power  to  promote  the  Peace  and  Happiness  of  her  citizens,  [she]  wishes  to  be  informed  fully 
of  your  case,  that  if  your  peaceable  demeanour  and  ready  submission  to  Government  render  you 
the  proper  objects  of  clemency  and  generosity,  she  may  be  prepared  to  extend  them  to  you. 

"Therefore,  we  wish  you  to  communicate  to  us,  as  speedily  as  possible,  the  names  and 
numbers  of  those  who  first  settled  at  Wyoming,  who  are  now  alive,  and  by  whom  those  that  are  dead 
are  represented;  the  names  and  numbers  of  those  now  actual  settlers  here,  the  quantity  of  land 
they  respectively  occupy,  and  the  time  they  last  came  and  settled  at  this  place." 

On  Sunday,  April  20th,  John  Jenkins,  in  behalf  of  the  Committee  of  Yankee 
Settlers,  wrote  to  the  Commissioners  in  part  as  follows§: 

"It  is  with  pleasure  we  observe  in  yours  of  the  19th  your  readiness  to  attend  to  every  piece 
of  necessary  information  we  shall  be  able  to  give  in  respect  to  our  settlement  in  this  place.  How 
far  the  State  can  or  will,  by  virtue  of  any  ex-post-facto  law,  undertake  to  deprive  any  of  the  citizens 
of  this  State  of  any  part  of  their  property  legally  obtained  by  any  of  the  claimants  under  their 
different  claims,  we  shall  not  undertake  to  say  or  determine,  as  we  suppose  that,  in  general,  Com- 
mon Law  is  to  determine  in  such  cases.  Yet  we  are  happy  to  hear  that  this  State  is  willing  to  do 
everything  in  their  power  to  promote  the  peace  and  happiness  of  her  citizens. 

"We  take  notice  that,  if  our  peaceable  demeanor  and  ready  submission  to  Government 
render  us  proper  objects  of  clemency  and  generosity,  we  may  probably  expect  to  be  made  the 
happy  partakers  of  such  generous  gratuities  as  they,  in  their  abundant  goodness,  shall  be  pleased 
to  bestow.  *  *  As  to  our  peaceable  demeanor  and  ready  submission  to  Government,  our 
petition  now  before  the  Honorable  the  Legislature  of  this  State  suggests  to  them  that  we  are 
under  their  jurisdiction  and  protection,  from  which  we  have  no  disposition  to  recede.  However, 
we  would  request  to  have  a  tender  regard  paid  to  the  new  and  extraordinary  circumstances  in 
which  we  stand  with  regard  to  law  matters.  We  have  made  continuance  of  our  actions  com- 
menced, with  a  view  to  have  them  taken  up  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania,  agreeable  to 
our  aforesaid  petition,  and  have  neglected  to  pay  any  attention  to  the  appointment  of  Represent- 
atives or  Government  officers,  under  the  Connecticut  jurisdiction;  which  facts  evidence  our  in- 
tentions better  than  protestations. 

"With  regard  to  the  next  requisition,  the  calamities  of  war  have  so  put  it  out  of  our  power 
to  give  you  that  concise  account  we  could  wish  at  present,  as  most  of  our  papers  and  records  were 
thereby  destroyed.  But  the  Susquehanna  Purchase  was  made  in  the  year  1754  *  *  by  up- 
wards of  1400  adventurers,  who  were  joint  tenants  in  common,  one  with  another.  *  *  In 
the  year  1762,  one  hundred  and  nineteen  of  the  aforesaid  proprietors  were  here  to  possess  them- 
selves of  the  said  lands,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  fellows ;  of  which  number  John  Jenkins,  William 
Buck,  etc.,  are  contained  in  a  list  herewith  exhibited,  marked  'No.  J.'  In  October,  1763,  we  were 
dispossessed  by  the  savages  with  the  loss  of  many  lives  and  much  property. 

"In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1769  we  again  resumed  our  possessions  and  improvements 
(which  we  had  made,  before  with  great  labour  and  expense)  with  the  number  of  about  400,  being 
partly  of  the  aforesaid  U9,  or  their  representatives,  whose  names,  according  to  our  best  recollec- 
tion, are  herewith  annexed,  and  marked  'No.  2.'  *  *  From  that  [time]  our  numbers  were  in- 
*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  31.  tSee  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  3 18.'  {Seeii>iU.  page  319. 
§See  the  "Trumbull  Papers",  mentioned  on  page  29,  Vol.  I,  for  the  original  draft  of  this  letter. 


1330 

creasing  *  *  *  until  the  fatal  3d  day  of  July,  177S,  when  great  numbers  of  our  friends  and 
most  valuable  inhabitants  were  slain  by  the  savages  and  those  of  a  more  savage  nature,  and  the 
whole  country  laid  waste,  our  houses  and  buildings  consumed  by  fire,  our  household  goods  and 
large  stocks  of  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  hogs,  with  our  farming  and  other  utensils, destroyed 
and  carried  off  by  the  enemy,  and  we,  in  a  most  savage  and  inhuman  manner,  drove  out  into  the 
the  country  in  a  state  of  desperation  and  distress — a  scene  which  must  astonish  all  human  nature 
to  describe,  and  we  are  not  able  to  paint  it.  Our  old  men,  women,  widows  and  children  were 
dispersed  into  all  parts  of  the  country,  destitute  of  bread,  clothing,  or  anything  to  subsist  on. 

"But  a  large  number  of  the  yet  remaining  and  living  inhabitants,  being  fired  with  a  fervent 
zeal  for  the  cause  of  their  country,  were  determined,  instead  of  throwing  themselves  on  the 
leraency  of  their  friends  and  fellovz-citizens  of  the  world,  to  surmount  all  danger,  collected  them- 
selves together,  and,  on  or  about  the  4th  day  of  August  then  next,  resolved  to  come  into  this 
place,  with  the  assistance  of  the  company  of  brave  Continental  troops  raised  here  and  then  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Simon  Spalding;  retook  the  country,  drove  off  the  savages,  regained  some 
trifling  part  of  our  effects,  and  the  possession  of  our  lands.being  our  aU. 

"Since  which  we  have,  by  many  hard  and  hazardous  skirmishes,  attended  with  the  loss  of 
many  lives  and  considerable  of  the  effects  acquired  by  our  industry,  held  the  same  to  this  time; 
which  has  afforded  great  comfort  to  the  widow  and  the  fatherless  children,  the  destitute  and  the 
naked — not  only  to  those  at  present  improving  here,  but,  by  the  people  who  improve  here 
paying  rent  for  the  lands  that  belong  to  the  widow  and  fatherless  (that  are  dispersed  in  the  wide 
world),  they  are  greatly  relieved  and  comforted.  The  most,  or  all,  of  this,  has  been  done  at  our 
expense  and  charge,  and  been  a  safeguard  to  the  frontiers  of  our  good  neighbours  and  friends 
with  whom  we  wish  to  live  in  peace. 

"We  herewith  transmit  a  list  of  the  names  of  part  of  the  first  settlers,  in  1762  and  '63,  as 
far  as  we  can  at  present  recollect.    Also  a  list  of  the  widows  and  orphans." 

With  respect  to  the  "Hsts"  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  letter,  Col.  John 
FrankHn,  in  his  "Brief"  (mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  1325),  makes  the 
following  statement:  "The  Committee  of  Settlers  returned  a  list  of  the  first 
settlers,  as  far  as  could  be  recollected;  a  list  of  the  then  present  settlers,  and  the 
number  of  the  widows  and  fatherless.  The  number  of  widows  was  144,  and  of 
the  fatherless  children,  565 — whose  husbands  and  fathers  had  fell  as  a  sacrifice 
in  defense  of  the  cause  of  America." 

A  contemporaneous  copy  of  the  list  of  "first  settlers"  referred  to  by  the 
Committee  and  Colonel  Franklin,  as  above,  was  discovered  among  the  "Trumbull 
Papers"  a  few  years  ago  by  the  present  writer,  and  is  fully  described  on  page 
403,  Vol.  I.  of  this  work.*  At  the  same  time  early  copies,  or  duplicates,  of  two 
other  lists  were  discovered  among  the  "Trumbull  Papers"  (Vol.  VIII,  document 
290),  the  originals,  or  duplicates,  of  which  were  undoubtedly  the  other  lists 
referred  to  in  the  communication  of  the  Committee  of  Settlers  and  in  Colonel 
Franklin's  "Brief."  These  two  last  mentioned  lists  follow,  being  now  printed 
for  the  first  time. 

"A  Catalogue  of  those  that  were  killed  in  the  Battle  of  3d  of  July,  1778,  and  left  Families, 
with  the  Number  of  Childrenf.    Those  marked  x  are  now  present. 

"Col.  Dorrance x     8  Lieut.  Asa  Stevens x     8 

Major  Garret 10  Lieut.  Waterman 4 

Capt.  Durkee x     4  Lieut.    Shoemaker x     3 

Capt.  Ransom x     8  Lieut.  Gaylord 3 

Capt.  Bedlock  [Bidlack] x     4  Lieut.  Steward  [Stewart] x     1 

Capt.  Buck 1  Lieut.  Atherton 

Capt.  Whittlesey 3  Ensign  Asa  Gore x     1 

Capt.  McKerican Silas  Gore 3 

Capt.  Geers, 6  Wm.  White x     4 

Capt.  Steward  [Stewart] x  10  Jeremiah  Bickford 

Capt.  Wigton x     4  Titus  Hinman 6 

Lieut.  Wells 9  Anderson  Dana 8 

Lieut  Pierce x     2  Darius  SpafFord 1 

Lieut.  Ross 5  Peter  Wheeler 3 

*Smce  page  403  was  printed  tlie  writer  has  learned  that  Elkanah  and  Rodolphus  Fuller,  whose  names  appear 
in  the  list  of  settlers  of  1762,  were  brothers — sons  of  Samuel  Fuller  of  Preston  and  Mansfield,  Connecticut. 

tUnquestionably  the  makers  of  this  "Catalogue"  either  drew  on  their  imaginations  or  indulged  in  some  wild  guess- 
work when  they  set  down  "the  number  of  children" — at  least  in  several  instances.  For  example:  It  has  been  well 
ascertained  that  Major  Garrett  was  the  father  of  only  four  children;  Capt.  Samuel  Ransom  was  sur\'ived  by  nine 
children;  Capt.  l.azarus  Stewart  was  the  father  of  only  seven  children;  Jonathan  Slocum  was  survived  by  ten 
children  (including  Francis,  who.  in  178.?,  was  held  in  captivity  by  the  Indians);  Charles  Gaylord  had  only  one  child; 
Nathaniel  Johnson  was  survived  by  two  sons  and  one  daughter — Oliver,  Charles  and  Anna — so  we  have  been  in- 
formed by  a  descendant. 


1331 


Jona.  Weeks 

Philip  Weeks x 

Silas  Benedict 

Jabez  Beers, 

Joseph  Ogden. 


3 

No.  of  children, 136 

John  Williams 4 

Joseph  Crookes I 

Abel  Palmer 7 

Jos.  Staples 5 

Jabez  Dading 4 

Aaron  Start 8 

Wm,  Dunn 6 

John  Brown 4 

Henry  Pencil x  6 

Francis  Leopard 

Noah  Pettebone 2 

James  Hopkins 2 

Elisha  Richards 7 

Gilbert  Danthorn  [Denton] x  6 

Danl.  Lawrence 

John  Cartwright 

Wm.  Parker 1 

Wm.  Woodringer 6 

Tchad.  Tuttlc 3 

Rufus  Williams x  3 

Nicholas  Manvil 6 

Parker  Wilson 3 

David  Bixby 2 

Jos'  Shaw 6 

Jno.  Van  Wye 5 

Stephen  Fuller 1 

Jno.  Finch 6 

Dan'l  Finch 7 

Constant  Searls S 

Elipht.  Follet 6 

Jno.  Murphy x  3 

Thos.  Foren 4 

Henry  Bush x  3 

George  Downing 6 

James  Locke .  .  .  • 2 

Wm.  Crookes 1 

Benj.  Hatch 1 

145 

Elias    Roberts 7 

Timothy    Rose 4 

Isaac     Campbell 10 

7 

3 


John     Franklin. 
Jenks  Coser  |Corey?] 
Cyprian    Hibbard . . . 

Elijah     Inman 

Nathl.     Howard 


"TV.  B. — Killed  by  the  Salvages  in  Skirmishes : 

Jonathan  Slocum x  7 

John  Perkins 2 

John  Jemerson  (Jameson] x  3 

Asa  Chapman x  4 

Elihu  Williams 2 

Asahel  Buck x  2 

Jz.  Abbott 8 

Edward  Lester x  4 

Timothy  Keyes 5 

Samuel  Jackson x  6 

Asa  LTpson x  3 

"This  copy  is  signed  in  behalf  of  the 


Eaton  Jones 

Lemuel  Fitch 

Benj.  Leach 1 

Danl,  St.  John 2 

David  Goss I 

Japhet  Utley 4 

Amos  York 6 

Jos.  Blanchard x     6 

John  Gardner 4 

Harding 3 

Harding 2 

James  Headsall 

Miner  Robins 


1 

116 
"Killed  by  Salvages: 
Nathan  Wade 

"The    following*    belonged    to  the   Conti- 
nental service,  &  left  widows,  &c. : 

David  Walker x     5 

Ezekiel  Hamilton 3 

Constant  Matthewson 1 

Nathl.  Johnson . 5 

Charles  Gaylord 6 

Ebenr.  Roberts 2 

Robert  Spencer 5 

Baker 4 

John  Vangorder x     2 

Asahel  Jearoms 6 

Seth  Marvin 2 

Peter  Ousterhout 2 

Saml.  Bellamy 4 

Michael  Rood 3 

Wm.  Davidson I 

Nathl.  Fry x     3 

Joseph  Dewey 3 

Jesse  Coleman 2 

Jeremiah  Coleman 1 

Saml.  Roberts 

Saml.  Williams 


6 

8 

74 

"The  following  died  of  sickness  since  the 

commencet.    of    the    War    &    left    Families 

whose    dependence    is    on    their   interest  to 

these  lands. 

Benj.  Cele x     2 

Elisha  Swift 6 

Wm.  Kellogg 7 

Winchett  Matterson 9 

7             Benedict  Satterlee 5 

J             Jonathan  Hunstock  [Hunlock] x     3 

David  Marvin 2 

Ezekiel  Pierce l 

Joshua  Bennet x     S 

Gad  Marshall 7 

Jacob  Sly 4 

Wm.  Smith x     7 

Uriah  Marvin 2 

Jonathan  Pritchard x     9 

Thos.  Sawyer ,  .  x     3 

Saml.  Roberts 6 

Obadiah  Gore x     2 

John  Hurlbut x     6 

John  Comstock x     8 

Coratee. 


[Signed] 


'Wm.  Sherman,  "t 


'John  Jenkins, 
''Nathan  Denison, 
•'Obadh.  Gore, 
•'Sam'l  Shippard, 


Commiltet\ 


*Of  the  twenty-one  names  appearing  in  this  list  of  Continental  soldiers  onlv  twelve  are  found  in  existing   .\rii 
rolls.     This  list,  therefore,  is  the  only  known  authentic  record  showing  that  David  Walker   Ezekiel  Hamilton    Nathan 

Johnson,  Baker,  Samuel   Bellamy,   Michael  Rood,  Joseph   Dewey,  Samuel   Roberts  and   Samuel  VVilliar 

served  their  country  m  the  Contmental  Army.  tA  son  of  the  Hon    Roger  Sherman  of  Connectici 


1332 


"A  list  of  settlers*  who  are  actually  settlers  now  Present  and  claimers  of  the  land. 


"Wm.  Avery 
Solomon  Averv 
Joel  Abbott 
Sam'l  Ayres 
Prince  Alden 
Prince  Alden,  Jr. 
Asel  Atherton 
James  Atherton 
James  Atherton.  Jr. 
Col.  Zebn.  Butler 
Benj.  Bailey 
Thos.  Baldwin 
Lord  Butler 
Moses  Brown 
Asa  Bennet 
Isaac    Bennet 
Charles  Bennet 
Wm.  Buck 
Oliver  Bigelow 
Thos.  Brown 
Ishmael  Bennet 
Elisha  Bennet 
Richard  Barnum 
Ishmael  Bennet,  Jr. 
Caleb  Bates 
James  Brown 
John  Budd 
David  Brown 
Charles  Bowen 
James  Bidlack 
Isaac  Benjamin 
Nathan  Bullock 
Asel  Burnham 
Isaac  Baldwin 
Henry  Burney 
John  Blanchard 
Elijah  Buck 
Matthew  Billings 
Thos.  Bennet 
Solomon  Bennet 
Richard  Brockway 
Ebenezer  Beeman 
Chester  Bingham 
Andrew  Blanchard 
Nathan  Beach 
Nathan  Cary 
John  Cary 
Barnabas  Cary 
Preserved  Cooley 
Manasseh  Cadv 
Nathl.  Cook 
Reuben  Cook 
James  Cole 
Benj,  Cole 
Jonathan  Corey 
Elias  Church 
Peleg  Comstock 
Sam'l  Cummings 
Jedidiah  Cummings 
Col.  Nathan  Denison 

Dudley 

Elisha  Drake 
Robert  Davenport 
Stephen  Davenport 
John  Dorranco 
Amos  Draper 
James  Dodson 
John  Dodson,  Jr. 
Richard  Didson 
Joseph  Elliott 

*It  will  be  noticed  that  n( 
man  under  twenty-one  year.s 


Henry  Elliott 
Frederick  Eveland 
John  Earl 
Richard  Fitzgerald 
Jonathan  Fitch 
Stephen  Fuller 
John  Fuller 
Hugh  Forseman 
Jabez  Fish 
Solomon  French 
John  Franklin 
James  Frisbie 
Roasel  Franklin 
Jonathan  Forsythe 
Samuel  Gore 
Obadiah  Gore 
Cornelius  Gale 
Willard  Green 
John  Garnsay 
Daniel  Gore 
Solomon  Goss 
Nathaniel  Goss 
Philip  Goss 
Benjamin  Gardner 
Stephen  Gardner 
William  Gardner 
Lemuel  Gustine 
Justus  Gaylord 
Reuben  Herrington 
Joseph  Hageman 
John  Hageman 
Matthias  Hollenhack 
John  Hollenback 
John  Hyde 
Elijah  Harris 
Robert  Hopkins 
Samuel  Hover 
Richard  Halstead 
Abraham  Harding 
Henry  Harding 
Thomas  Harding 
Benjamin  Harvey 
Elisha  Harvey 
Thomas  Heath 
Timothy  Hopkins 
John  Heath 
William  Heberd 
Ebenezer  Heberd 
Christopher  Hurlbut 
John  Hurlbut,  [Jr.] 
Samuel  Hallet 
John  Hammond 
Lebbens  Hammond 
Josiah  Hammond 
Isaac  Hammond 
Isaac  Hammond,  Jr. 
Peter  Harager 
Andrew  Harager 
George  Harager 
Daniel  IngersoU 
Elijah   Inman 
Rev.  Jacob  Johnson 
Sabin  Johnson 
lustus  Jones  ■ 
Tho-nas  Joslyn 
William  Jackson 
Joshua  Jewell 
Turner  Johnson 
Crocker  Jones 
Robert  Jameson 

s  name  appears  in  this  list:  and. 


Benjamin  Jones 
Johii  Jenkins 
Benjamin  Jenkins 
John  Jenkins,  Jr. 
Joseph  Kinne 
Abner  Kelsey 
Abner  Kelsey,  Jr. 
Nathan  Kingsley 
Lawrence  Kinne 
Joseph  Leonard 
Nathaniel  Landon 
Elisha  Lefhngwell 
Lawrence  Myers 
Thomas  McClure 
William  Miller 
Ebenezer  Marcy 
Robert  McDowel 
John  McMillan 
Thomas  Neill 
James  Nesbitt 
William  Nelson 
Phineas  Nash 
Asel  Nash 
James  Nobles 
Jedidiah  Nobles 
John  Nobles 
John  O'Neal 
John  Phillips 
Thomas  Park 
Abraham  Pike 
Josiah  Pell 
Daniel  Pierce 
Abel  Peirce 
Phineas  Peirce 
Giles  Purman 
William  Ross 
Thomas  Reed 
Josiah  Rogers 
Jonah  Rogers 
Henry  Richards 
Samuel  Ransom 
Geo.  Palmer  Ransom 
John  Roberts 
Robert  Roth 
William  Stark 
William  Slocum 
Wm.  Hooker  Smith 
Simon  Spalding 
James  Sutton 
Joseph  Sprague 
Josiah  Stanburrough 
Giles  Slocum 
Jabez  Sill 
John  Paul  Schott 
Samuel  Shippard 
William  Stewart 
George  Stewart 
John  Smith 
James  Smith 
John  Scott 
David  Sanford 
Obadiah  Scott 
Solomon  Squire 
Caleb  Spencer 
Edward  Spencer 
Daniel  Sherwood 
William  Stage 
Uriah  Stevens 
Thomas  Stoddard 
Benjamin  Smith 

s  can  be  ascertained,  the  na 


1333 

Oliver  Smith  .     Joseph  Tyler  Richard  Westbrook 

Oliver  Smith,  Jr.  Benjamin  Tuttle  William  Williams 

Jacob  Smith  Lebbens  Tubbs  Nathaniel  Williams 

Peter  Smith  Samuel  Tubbs  '  Jabcz  Winship 

Frederick  Shove  Samuel  Treadway  Jonathan  Woodworth  or  Woodward 

Jacob  Smither  Isaac  Underwood  Walter  Watrous 

William  Trucks  James  Whitney  Asher  Williams 

Job  Tripp  Elcazar  W  est  Abel  Yarington 

Ephraim  Tvler  Caleb  Whitford  Robert  Young 

Joseph  Thomas  Richard  W  oodcock  William  Young 

Parshal  Terrv  William  Warner  John  Young." 

Jonathan  Terrv  Nathan  Waller  (Total,  246.] 

Abraham  Westbrook 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  April  22,  1783,  Alexander  Patterson, 
in  behalf  of  the  Committee  of  land-claimers,  sent  to  the  Commissioners  the  follow- 
ing letter* : 

"The  Committee  are  honoured  by  your  answer  to  their  address.  The  Assurance  you  are 
pleased  to  give  them  of  attention  to  the  rights  of  the  Citizens  of  this  State,  calls  for  their  Grateful 
Acknowledgments,  and  so  perfectly  harmonizes  with  the  Sentiments  of  the  Committee  That  we 
are  instructed  to  Commit  ourselves  wholly  to  your  Direction  in  future;  and  in  doing  this  are 
Confident  that  our  rights  are  in  the  Hands  of  those  who  will  have  a  watchful  eye  over  them. 

"We  are  Sorry  to  Observe  so  much  of  the  Old  leaven  Remaining  in  the  Sentiments  of  the 
People  of  Connecticut  &:  E-\pressed  in  their  last  Conference  with  your  Honours.  Their  Humanity 
would,  it  seems,  permit  us  and  our  Assosiates  to  Gow  any  where  over  the  wide  world,  no  matter 
where.  Provided  they  may  enjoy  our  Lands.  They  Cannot  Conveniently  spare  us  one  foot  for 
the  Support  of  our  Families.  We  think  this  an  ungrateful  return  to  the  good  People  of  this  State, 
and  so  far  short  of  the  Expectations  of  the  Legislature  whose  Humanity  and  Pity  Consigned  to 
Oblivion  all  Past  Offences  by  a  Law'  for  the  Purpose:  And  whose  wisdom  pointed  out  the  only  way 
of  information  to  the  House  of  Assembly  of  the  Real  dispositions  of  the  Contending  Parties.  We 
beg  leave  only  to  Suggest  to  your  honours  that  we  have  reason  to  think  the  Obedience  to  the 
laws  of  this  state  by  many  of  those  people  will  not  be  durable — Unless  such  Pledges  are  taken  by 
your  Honours  as  cannot  admit  of  any  evasion  or  denial  hereafter.  If  that  Assurance  be  once 
given,  and  the  Pretended  Claim  under  Connecticut  Relinquished  in  writing  Publickly,  Planely  and 
unequivically,  we  wish  them  Afterwards  every  Indulgence  that  your  Honours  may  Judge  Gener- 
ous in  us,  and  worthy  of  the  Approbation  of  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  and  all  the  World. 

"We  propose  to  give  them  leave,  with  Covenants  of  Warrant,  for  holding  their  Possessions 
one  year  from  the  first  day  of  March  next,  at  the  end  of  which  they  shall  deliver  up  full  Possession 
of  the  whole.  They  shall  occupy  half  the  Lands,  Mow  half  the  Meadows,  Dwell  in  the  Houses 
they  now  Possess,  and  Cultivate  their  present  Gardens;  and  if  they  have  any  opportunity  of 
disposing  of  their  Hutts,  Barns  or  other  Buildings,  they  shall  do  it,  and  remove  them  off  at  any 
time  between  the  present  day  and  the  first  of  May,  1784.  The  other  Moiety  or  half  of  the  Cleared 
Lands  and  Meadows  to  be  possessed  by  us  and  our  Associates,  and  no  Impediment  be  thrown 
in  our  way  to  enjoy.  The  Revd.  Mr.  Johnson  to  have  the  full  use  of  all  the  grounds  he  Tilled  for 
two  years,  ending  the  first  of  May,  1785.  The  Widows  of  all  those  whose  Husbands  were  killed 
by  the  Savages  to  have  a  further  indulgence  of  one  year  after  1st  May,  1 784.  for  half  their  posses- 
sions, &  a  square  in  the  Town  to  be  set  apart  for  their  use,  to  which  they  may  remove  their  houses; 
and  at  the  end  of  the  term  sell  them  to  the  best  advantage  for  their  own  use. 

"We  think  a  refusal  of  these  terms  hardly  possible:  but  if  Stubbornness  and  Disaffection 
to  the  laws  of  this  State  are  yet  to  continue,  we  trust  your  Honours  W'ill  be  convinced  that  on  our 
parts  we  have  not  had  in  view  merely  our  own  private  interest,  but  that  our  offer  will  appear 
Just  and  Charitable  before  God  and  Alan." 

Having  duly  considered  the  foregoing  communication,  the  Commissioners 
transmitted  a  copy  of  it,  accompanied  by  the  following  letterf,  to  the  Committee 
of  Settlers  the  same  day. 

"We  herewith  transmit  to  you  a  copy  of  an  address  of  the  committee  representing  the  land- 
holders under  this  State  handed  to  us  this  morning  containing  terms  on  which  they  declare 
themselves  willing  to  compromise  the  dispute  now  unhappily  subsisting  between  you  and  them 
and  which  it  is  our  duty  to  endeavour  to  have  adjusted  and  settled  in  an  amicable  manner. 

"Therefore,  we  wish  you,  with  all  calmness  and  despatch,  to  consider  of  and  duly  weigh 
the  said  proposals,  and  to  furnish  us  with  a  clear  and  explicit  answer  to  the  same,  which  will 
enable  us  to  transact  the  business  committed  to  us  by  the  General  Assembly  with  more  precision, 
and  to  take  such  measures  as  may  effectually  answer  the  ends  of  our  mission.  We  have  only 
further  to  add,  that  should  we  be  so  happy  as  to  find  that  these  terms  are  agreed  to,  and  ratified 
by  the  contending  parties,  we  shall  think  it  our  duty  to  recommend  your  distressed  situation  to 
the  notice  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State." 

On  April  23d,  John  Jenkins,  in  behalf  of  the  Committee  of  Settlers,  wrote 
signed  and  delivered  to  the  Commissioners,  the  following  communication! : 

*See  •■  Pennsylvania  .Archives".  Old  Series,  X:  32.  tSee   Miner's    "History  of  Wyomini;".  page  3JJ. 

l.See  "Pennsylvania   .Archives",   Old  Series,  X:  .'^,^. 


1334 

"We  duly  Reed,  yours  of  the  22nd  inst.,  inclosing  the  address  and  Proposals  of  the 
Landholders  of  this  State  by  their  Committee;  and  altho  we  must  Confess  that  their  Elegant 
manner  of  Address  is  far  beyond  us,  yet  we  hope  our  Plain  Country  way  of  Communicating  our 
Ideals  will  be  forgiven.  But  we  cannot  help  taking  Notice,  that  in  their  Address  they  Complain 
of  a  proposal  that  was  made  by  us  before  your  Honors  being  Very  ungrateful,  which  to  the  best  of 
our  Remembrance  was,  that  it  had  been  intimated  by  some,  that  it  was  Probal^le  this  State  would 
out  of  Courtesy  bestow  some  thing  in  the  land  way  on  the  Settlers  and  Claimc-rs  of  the  Lands 
here  under  Connecticut.  They  were  only  Ask'd  that  if  that  was  Granted  out  of  Courtesy,  whether 
they  would  not  Exchange  and  Suffer  us  to  enjoy  our  Peaceable  Possession  here  by  way  of  Com- 
promise.    Their  answer  was  that  they  were  able  to  Apply  for  Lands  as  well  as  we. 

"We  are  Extreamly  sorry  to  entertain  the  Idea  that  in  a  Compromise  we  or  they  should, 
instead  of  looking  at  the  designed  and  desired  Object,  be  .forming  Mountains  out  of  Mole  Hills. 
We  do  not  think  the  lawful  defence  of  what  we  Esteem  to  be  Our  own  can  with  any  Justice  be 
Termed  a  disaffection  to  Government.  We  would  add,  the  Petition  we  laid  in  before  the  Legis- 
lative body  of  this  State  we  was  in  hopes  would  be  Considered  of,  as  we  find  it  is;  and  if  that  is 
Granted,  or  any  other  Satisfactory  Measure  Can  be  come  into  by  way  of  Compromise,  we  would 
first  take  all  Lenitive  Measures;  and  if  nothing  is  Effected  by  this  Method  of  Treating,  we  must 
have  recourse  to  the  Ninth  Article  of  confederation  as  that  is  the  only  way  Pointed  out  for  the 
Tryal  of  those  Lands  Claimed  under  different  States.  Altho  we  mean  to  pay  due  Obedience  to 
the  Constitutional  laws  of  Pennsyla.,  yet  we  do  not  mean  to  become  Abject  Slaves,  as  the 
Committee  of  Landholders  Suggest  in  their  Address  to  your  Honors. 

"The  proposals  made  by  the  landholders  under  Pennsylva.,  by  their  Committee,  through 
you  as  Mediaters  between  us,  seem  to  Appear  to  our  View  to  be  far  from  even  retaining  their  own 
Ideas,  or  rather  Contracted  from  those  presented  before  your  Honors.  *  *  *  What  their 
Claims  are  we  know  not,  only  they  say  they  are  under  Pennsylvania.  We  Expect  they  are  made 
Acquainted  with  ours.  *  *  *  We  cannot,  as  we  are  Joint  tenants  with  a  much  Greater 
body  of  Joint  Propriators  than  is  here,  without  their  Joint  Consent  give  up  our  Claims  to  those 
Lands  in  dispute.  Nor  yet  do  we  think  that  the  proposals  by  them  made  would  tend  to  peace. 
And  as  they  are  so  far  from  what  we  should  Call  Reasonable,  that  in  short  we  Cannot  Comply 
with  any  part  of  their  Proposals — without  doing  the  Greatest  Injustice  to  our  Joint  Claimants, 
ourselves,  the  Widows  and  Orphans.  And  as  we  seem  to  be  verry  far  devided  in  our  Ideas,  are 
sorry  to  say  we  have  no  Expectation  of  Coming  to  any  Amicable  Compromise,  Yet  we  would 
wish  for  their  Patience,  to  see  if  the  Legislative  body  of  this  State  cannot  devise  some  Measures 
in  their  Wisdom  for  the  Mutual  Benefit  of  the  Whole.  If  they  shall  not  be  able,  we  would  on  our 
part  wish  that  a  Happy  End  might  be  put  to  the  dispute  by  a  Speedy  Tryal  agreeable  to  the  IXth 
Article  of  Confederation,  which  will  fully  satisfy  us,  and  we  will  fully  comply  with." 

A  copy  of  the  foregoing  letter  was  transmitted  to  the  Pennamite  Committee, 
by  the  Commissioners,  who,  at  the  same  time  (on  April  23d),  wrote  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  Settlers   as  follows*:  ' 

"We  are  now  possessed  of  your  answer  to  the  proposals  of  the  Committee  of  Landholders 
under  Pennsylvania.  We  are  sorry  that  there  does  not  appear  any  prospect  of  accommodation 
between  you.  Therefore,  we  must  beg  the  favour  of  you  to  notify  your  people  to  meet  with  us 
to-morrow  morning  [Thursday,  April  24,  17is3]  at  eight  o'clock,  when  we  shall  take  the  liberty  to 
lay  the  whole  proceedings  before  them,  and  take  our  leave  of  them  and  you.  We  shall  be  glad 
to  have  a  friendly  interview  with  you  this  afternoon  at  four  o'clock." 

In  the  morning  of  April  24th.  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson  (see  page  744,  Vol.  II), 
who  had  been  pa  rticularly  mentioned  by  the  Pennamite  Committee  in  their 
letter  of  April  22d,  to  the  Commissioners,  wrote  and  delivered  to  the  committee 
the  following  letterf: 

"I  thank  you  for  your  distinguished  Favor  shewed  to  me,  the  widows.  &c..  in  a  proposal 
of  Indulgence — permitting  us  to  reside  in  our  present  Possessions  and  Improvements  for  the  present 
&  succeeding  Year.  Altho  I  cannot  consistently  accept  the  offer — having  chosen  a  Committee 
for  that  purpose,  who  are  not  disposed  to  accept  of  or  comply  with  your  proposals — however.  I 
will,  for  myself,  as  an  Individual,  make  you  a  proposal  agreeable  to  that  Royal  President! 
[described  in  the  Second  Book  of]  Samuel,  9th,  16th  &  19th  Chapters.  If  that  don't  suit  you 
and  no  Compromise  can  be  made,  or  Tryal  be  had,  according  to  the  law  of  the  States,  I  will  say 
as  Mephibosheth,  Jonathan's  son  (who  was  lame  in  both  his  feet),  said  to  King  David,  Samuel, 
19,  30§:  'Yea,  let  him  take  all.'  So  I  say  to  you  Gentlemen,  if  there  be  no  resource — neither  by 
our  Petition  to  the  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  or  otherwise — let  the  Landholders 
take   all. 

"I  have  only  this  to  add  for  my  Consolation  and  you  Gentlemen's  serious  Consideration, 
viz.:  That  however  the  Cause  may  be  determined,  for  or  against  me  (in  this  present  uncertain 
state  of  things),  there  is  an  Inheritance  in  the  Heavens — sure  &  certain,  that  fadeth  not  away — 
reserved  for  me  and  all  that  love  the  Saviour  Jesus  Christ's  appearing. 

"It  is  my  Serious  Opinion,  if  we  proceed  to  a  Compromise  according  to  the  Will  of  heaven, 
that  the  lands  (as  to  the  Right  of  soil)  be  equally  divided  between  the  two  Parties  claiming;  and 

*See  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  327. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X;  34.  JKing  David. 

§11  Samuel.  XIX:  30 — "And  Mephibosheth  said  unto  the  king,  Vea.  let  him  take  all,  forasmuch  as  my  lord  the 
king  is  come  again  in  peace  unto  his  own  house." 


1335 

I  am  fully  satisfied  this  Opinion  of  mine  may  be  proved  even  to  a  demonstration  out  of  the  Sacred 
Oracles.  I  would  wish  you  Gentlemen  would  turn  your  thoughts  and  enquiries  to  those  3  Chapters 
above  referred  to,  and  see  if  my  Opinion  is  not  well  grounded;  &  if  so,  I  doubt  not  but  we  can 
compromise  in  Love  and  Peace,  and  save  the  Cost  and  Trouble  of  a  Tryal  at  Law." 

About  the  same  time  in  the  morning  of  April  24th  that  the  Pennamite  com- 
mittee received  the  foregong  communication  from  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson, 
Alexander  Patterson  delivered  to  the  Commissioners  a  letter,  written  and  signed 
by  himself  as  chairman  of  his  committee,  and  reading  as  follows*: 

"By  the  Reply  of  the  Committee  of  Connecticut  to  our  Proposals  (a  Copy  of  which  w^e  were 
favoured  with  by  you),  we  find  those  Gentlemen  have  thrown  off  the  Mask  at  last,  and  in  their 
own  Plain  Country  way  tell  you  they  are  Sorry  to  say  they  have  no  Expectation  of  Coming  to  any 
Amicable  Compromise.  They  might  have  added  with  equal  Truth  that  they  never  Intended  to 
do  any  thing  but  what  dire  Necessity  obliged  them.  The  forming  mountains  out  of  Mole  Hills 
never  Originated  in  the  minds  of  the  Peaceable  Citizens  of  Pennsylvania.  Unhappy  for  our  quiet 
that  it  entered  into  the  Restless  imagination  of  the  .Susquehannah  Adventurers.  Their  designed 
&  desired  Object  is  to  hold  by  force  the  Lands  which  we  have  fairly  purchased  and  possessed  in 
quiet,  under  the  lawful  Authority  of  this  State. 

"It  Cannot  be  Possible  that  Ideas  of  holding  our  Property,  otherways  than  by  force,  could 
enter  the  minds  of  even  the  least  informed  of  them.  Petitions  may  be  w-rote  and  Committees 
Appointed  to  talk  with  you  and  us,  to  Lull  the  State,  but  actions  speak  louder  than  words,  and 
proofs  as  Clear  as  demonstrations  is  in  our  power  to  Shew  their  insults  to  this  State  and  Contempt 
of  its  laws.  They  try  to  pervert  the  meaning  of  words  and  the  offer  generous  to  an  Extreeme. 
They  Reply  that  they  mean  not  to  become  Abject  Slaves,  as  the  Committee  of  Landholders 
Suggest  in  their  address  to  your  Honours.  To  Refute  this  we  only  have  to  appeal  to  you  for  the 
Recititude  of  our  measures  and  endeavours  to  do  good.  That  we  required  a  full  explisite  and 
unequivocal  disclaim  of  their  Right  to  our  Lands  is  True,  for  we  can  rely  no  longer  on  Promises 
made  only  to  amuse  us.  Fatal  Experience  has  Convinced  us  that  we  have  been  too  Credulous. 
Whether  they  know  our  Claims  or  not  is  of  little  Avail.  Your  Honors  know  them  well.  They  have 
been  laid  before  you.  We  are  not  acquainted  with  theirs,  and  the  Judgement  of  the  Greatest 
Court  in  the  United  States  assures  us  that  their  rights  are  not  to  be  understood  any  more  than  the 
Application  of  the  Ninth  Article  of  the  Confederation  in  the  Case  between  them  and  us. 

"We  leave  the  Explanation  of  Joint  Tenants  and  Joint  Proprietors  to  those  Gentlemen 
learned  in  the  Law  Jointly  and  Severally  to  form  their  Ideas  from,  and  ParccU  it  out  amongst 
the  Joint  Claimants  in  Grants  of  six  miles  Square  to  the  South  seas.  We  shall,  however,  follow 
the  advice  of  those  Gentlemen  in  every  Prudent  Act,  and  patiently  wait  for  the  decision  of  our 
Assembly;  and  have  to  lament  that  the  Generosity  of  this  State,  and  your  Zealous  Endeavours 
to  Accomplish  the  laudable  ends  of  your  Mission,  have  been  fruitless  in  this  Instance.  Be  Assured, 
Gentlemen,  that  our  Constituents  and  ourselves  are  Impressed  with  the  Highest  sense  of  your 
good  intentions  to  Promote  Peace,  Order  and  good  Government  in  this  Country,  and  W"e  flatter 
ourselves  that  through  your  means  &  Just  representations  of  our  Situations,  we  shall  obtain  such 
Speedy  Redress  as  the  Wisdom  of  the  Legislature  shall  think  adequate  to  our  wants,  and  the  laws 
of  the  State  be  extended  and  Supported  so  as  to  protect  the  innocent  and  Punish  the  Transgressor 
of  every  Denomination ;  in  the  Ready  Execution  of  which  we  beg  your  honors  will  assure  the 
Legislature  that  we  shall  behave  like  faithful  Citizens.  Please  to  accept  our  warmest  Wishes  for 
a  Safe  Journey  home  to  each  of  you." 

Governor  Hoyt,  in  his  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships," 
hereinbefore  referred  to,  states,  with  reference  to  the  proceedings  at  Wilkes-Barr^ 
by  and  with  the  Commissioners:  "The  Commissioners,  against  the  spirit  of 
their  instructions,  alarmed  the  settlers  and  closed  the  door  to  'conciliation'  by 
the  declaration  that  Pennsylvania  would  not  and  could  not  deprive  her  citizens 
of  their  property.  The  Landholders  reached  the  climax,  when  they  put  forward 
their  unfeeling  'compromise'  that  the  settlers  might  remain  one  year;  the  ividoics 
of  those  who  had  fallen  by  the  savages,  a  year  longer. 

"The  Connecticut  settlers  placed  themselves  in  a  position  of  contending 
for  other  claims  than  their  own,  when  they  refused  the  offer — ungenerous  as  it 
was — on  the  ground  that  'we  cannot,  as  we  are  joint- tenants  with  a  much  greater 
body  of  joint-proprietors  than  are  here,  without  their  consent  give  up  our  claims 
to  those  lands  in  dispute.'  The  impediments,  all  the  way  through,  arose  from 
blending  the  case  of  those  who  settled  before  the  Decree  [of  Trenton]  with  non- 
residents and  others  who  came  afterwards  under  The  Susquehanna  Companv. 
In  point  of  justice  the  cases  were  absolutely  different." 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  35. 


1336 

The  Commissioners  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  on  their  homeward  journey 
on  Friday,  April  25th,  having  accomplished  very  little  of  consequence.  However, 
the  most  important  (and,  to  the  Yankee  settlers,  the  most  obnoxious)  matter 
of  business  which  was  transacted  by  the  Commissioners  during  their  brief  stay 
here  is  not  referred  to  in  any  manner  in  the  foregoing  correspondence.  Concern- 
ing this  matter  we  glean  the  following  information  from  the  "Plain  Truth" 
articles  written  by  Col.  John  Franklin  and  published  in  The  Luzerne  Federalist 
at  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  Summer  of  1804 — as  hereinbefore  mentioned. 

Colonel  Franklin  states,  first,  "that  at  about  the  time  of  the  meeting  of  the 
Commissioners  a  number  of  persons  from  different  parts  of  the  State  [of  Penn- 
sylvania], and  from  the  States  of  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  calling  themselves 
Pennsylvania  land-holders,  assembled  at  Wilkes-Barre  and  appointed  a  committee 
of  which  Alexander  Patterson  was  Chairman.     *     * 

"On  the  22d  of  April",  continues  Franklin,  "the  day  on  which  the  benevolent 
offers  (as  they  are  termed  by  Patterson)  were  made  to  the  Committee  of  Settlers, 
the  Commissioners,  departing  from  the  business  of  their  mission,  undertook  to 
create  and  establish  new  townships  by  a  subdivision  of  the  township  of  Wyom- 
ing* into  two  additional  townships,  to  wit:  All  that  part  of  the  said  township 
of  Wyoming,  from  the  mouth  of  Shickshinny  Creek,  thence  up  the  same  to  the 
head  thereof,  and  from  thence  by  a  north-west  line  to  the  northern  boundry  of 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  East  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  thence 
down  the  same  to  the  place  of  beginning,  to  be  thenceforth  known  and  called 
bv  the  name  of  Shawanese  Township. 

"One  other  division;  beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Shickshinny  Creek  afore- 
said, thence  extending  across  the  East  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  by  a  south- 
east line  to  the  line  of  Northampton  County,  thence  northerly,  by  the  line  of 
said  county,  to  the  northern  boundary  by  the  State  [of  Pennsylvania],  thence 
west,  by  the  said  boundry,  to  the  East  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  thence 
down  [the  said  river] — and  including  the  same — to  the  place  of  beginning;  to  be 
thereafter  known  and  called  by  the  name  of  Stoke  Township." 

By  this  arrangement  the  Connecticut  townships  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Hanover 
and  Pittston  were  comprehended  within  the  bounds  of  Stoke  Township;  and  it 
will  be  seen,  by  a  reference  to  page  725,  Vol.  II,  that,  by  the  erection  of  these 
townships  of  Shawanese  and  Stoke,  the  Pennsylvania  township  of  Wyoming 
was  reduced  in  extent  to  only  a  small  portion  of  its  original  territory,  to  wit: 
the  country  lying  along  the  Susquehanna  River  between  Shickshinny  Creek 
and  the  main  branch  of  Fishing  Creek. 

Quoting  further  from  Colonel  Franklin  we  have  the  following:  "The  Com- 
missioners, on  the  same  22d  day  of  April,  did  also  proceed  to  erect  the  said 
townships  of  Shawanese  and  Stoke  into  two  distinct  districts  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  Justices  of  the  Peace;  and  on  the  23d  day  of  April  a  number  of  persons 
from  New  Jersey  and  from  different  counties  of  Pennsylvania — not  inhabitants 
or  freeholders  of  the  new  districts  of  vShawanese  and  Stoke — having  convened 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Hollenback  (an  innkeeper  in  Wilkes-Barre),  and  the 
place  where  the  said  Commissioners  lodged,  over  a  bottle  of  whisky  held  an 
election  for  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  two  new  districts." 

Miner  records  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  328)  that  David  Mead,  Robert 
Martin,  John  Chambers  and  Col.  Nathan  Denison  were  chosen  for  the  north- 

*Wyoniing  Township,  in  the  county  of  Northumberland — fully  described  on  page  725,  Vol.  II. 


1337 

western  district,  and  Alexander  Patterson,  John  vSeely,  Luke  Brodhead  and 
Henry  Shoemaker  for  the  south-eastern  district.  "The  inhabitants"  (that  is, 
the  Yankee  settlers),  says  Miner,  "were  equally  unconscious  of  the  division  of 
the  townships  and  of  the  election  of  magistrates — Colonel  Denison's  name 
being  used  without  his  knowledge.  None  of  the  others  [elected]  were,  or  had 
been  for  years,  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland.  David  Mead,  formerly  an  active 
Connecticut  partisan,  and  the  surveyor  of  Wilkes-Barre  Township*,  had  resided 
during  the  war  at  Northumberland.  *  *  *  No  proceeding  could  possibly 
have  been  more  illegal,  arbitrary  and  unjust." 

In  the  Luzerne  Federalist  of  August  11,  1804,  Colonel  Franklin  stated:  "It 
was  said  that  notice  of  the  proposed  election  was  posted  up  at  the  place  of  election 
on  the  same  day — some  two  hours  before — the  election  took  place.  In  this 
manner  the  settlers  were  imposed  on,  notwithstanding  it  was  the  express 
direction  of  the  Legislature  that,  after  the  Commissioners  should  make  their 
report,  an  Act  should  be  passed  for  extending  to  the  inhabitants  the  advantages 
of  civil  government,  and  particularhr  for  authorizing  and  directing  the  choice 
of  Justices  of  the  Peace." 

The  election  was  conducted  by  John  Van  Campen,  Esq.,  under  the  directions 
of  the  Commissioners.  Colonel  Franklin  (in  The  Luzerne  Federalist,  August  11, 
1804)  says:  "It  is  a  fact  well  known  that  John  Van  Campen  was  at  that  time 
and  ever  has  been,  a  resident  and  inhabitant  of  the  county  of  Northampton, 
yet  the  election  was  notified  and  conducted  by  him.  He  might  as  well  have  held 
an  election  in  any  other  county  in  the  State,  or  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 
David  Mead  and  Robert  Martin  were  at  that  time  residing  at  or  near  [the  town 
of]  Northumberland,  and,  although  inhabitants  of  the  county,  they  were  neither 
of  them  inhabitants  of  the  district  for  which  they  were  elected.  Alexander 
Patterson,  if  entitled  to  a  residence  in  any  part  of  God's  world,  it  was  in  North- 
ampton County.  John  Chambers,  John  vSeely,  Luke  Brodhead  and  Henry 
Shoemaker  were  inhabitants  of  the  same  County,  and  they  were  entitled  neither 
to  elect  nor  to  be  elected  in  the  county  of  Northumberland.  Nathan  Denison 
was  the  only  person  elected  who  was  an  inhabitant  of  either  of  the  districts  for 
which  the  election  was  held." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  May  5,  1783,  Secretary  Armstrong,  of  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council,  wrote  to  Captain  Robinson  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  part 
as  followsf : 

"Your  letter  of  March  14  was  received  by  Council.  *  *  Among  other  steps  which  have 
lieen  thought  necessary  for  the  defence  of  the  Wyoming  settlement,  a  further  supply  of  ammunition 
is  now  forwarded.  It  consists  of  two  boxes  of  muskets,  cartridges,  and  300  flints.  As  one  expedient 
to  quiet  that  restless,  discontended  spirit  which  seems  still  to  exist  among  the  Connecticut  claim- 
ants, Council  have  thought  proper  to  send  you  a  few  additional  copies  of  the  late  proclamation 
upon  that  subject.  You  will  find  some  means  to  spread  them  abroad  among  the  people,  and.  as 
far  as  your  influence  will  go,  to  second  their  operation  by  securing  Peace  and  promoting  Justice." 

To  this  communication  Captain  Robinson  replied  in  part  as  followsj,  under 

date  of  June  8,  1783,  at  Northumberland,  Pa. — addressing  his  reply  to  President 

John  Dickinson,  at  Philadelphia : 

"The  Instructions  of  Coimcill  Dated  may  5th,  I  Reed,  this  4th  June,  Inst,  on  my  way 
from  Wyoming  to  this  town,  the  Amunition  Mentioned  was  then  on  its  way  to  Wyoming. 
Hitherto,  Every  Measure  has  been  Taken  to  preserve  a  friendly  Intercourse  Between  the  Soldiery 
&  the  Inhabitants,  &  I  have  the  Pleasure  to  Inform  your  Excellencie  that  the  Measures  I  Have 
Made  Use  of  Has  had  the  Desired  Effect. 

*See  page  515,  Vol.  I,  and  page  652.  third  paragraph.    For  a  sketch  of  David  Mead  see  hereinafter. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI:  432. 

JSee  "Pennsylvania  .Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  4». 


1338 

"With  Respect  to  the  Inhabitants,  there  are  a  great  Many  Wrangling  Disputes  Chiefly- 
owing  to  a  pelfering  as  well  as  Letegious  Spirit  which  Seems  very  Natural  to  some  of  them. 

"In  all  such  Cases  they  have  Immediate  recourse  to  us  as  there  are  no  Civel  Officer  in  the 
place,  and  many  of  them  thought  To  avail  themselves  of  the  Opportunity,  Imajining  no  Law 
was  to  take  Hold  of  them;  they  Proceeded  to  take  and  Make  use  of  their  Neighbours  Property 
at  Pleasure  And  even  to  Disposess  others. 

"Upon  which  I  Immediately  Interposed,  Choosing  such  as  I  thought  freeist  of  that  Letigous 
Disposition  &  who  best  knew  the  affairs  of  the  Place  for  Information,  and  have  so  Far  Prevailed 
in  that  Respect  as  to  preserve  (by  their  own  Accounts)  a  beter  Regulation  than  has  ever  been 
Among  them  before. 

"But  Notwithstanding  their  Seeming  Compliance  There  is  Still  a  refactory  Spirit  among 
them,  though  they  Wish  to  keep  up  a  good  appearance — of  these  affairs  I  am  well  aware  and  am 
Very  Careful  to  keep  them  at  A  proper  Distance. 

"And  Your  Excellency  may  be  assured  that  no  Endavour  Shall  be  wanting  on  my  part  to 
keep  Good  order  Among  them  Till  Civel  Authority  takes  place,  and  I  have  no  Doubt  of  proceeding 
therein.  From  Some  Encouragement  they  Have  Received  from  the  Assembly  of  York  State, 
a  party  have  been  Choosen  to  View  some  Land  Assigned  them  for  a  settlement;  Which  Party  is 
now  Returned,  But  I  am  not  able  to  Learn  the  Intentions  of  the  people  on  the  Report  of  their 
Commissioners." 

As  previously  Stated  (see  page  1322),  Benjamin  Harvey  visited  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  early  in  May,  1783,  in  the  performance  of  certain  duties  in  behalf 
of  the  Connecticut  settlers  at  Wyoming.  Having  delivered  to  the  proper  persons 
the  "memorial  of  the  inhabitants  of  Westmoreland"  addressed  to  the  Connecticut 
Assembly,  Mr.  Harvey  began  his  homeward  journey  some  days  later,  bearing 
with  him  a  document  which  had  been  delivered  to  him  by  the  Secretary  of  State 
of  Connecticut,  and  which  read  as  follows:* 

"At  a  General  Assembly  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  holden 
at  Hartford  on  the  second  Thursday  of  May,  1783 — 

"Resolved  by  This  Assembly  That  Eliphalet  Dyer,  Esqr.,  Col.  Jesse  Root  and  Nathaniel 
Wales,  Esqr.,  be  and  they  are  hereby  appointed  a  Committee  to  Consider  what  measures  may  be 
proper  to  be  taken  by  this  State  to  obtain  relief  for  the  people  settle'd  on  the  lands  west  of  Delaware 
River  under  the  Claim  of  this  State  and  for  Quieting  their  possessions — 

"And  whether  some  redress  cannot  be  obtained  against  the  judgment  given  by  the  Commis- 
sioners in  the  Case  between  this  State  and  the  State  of  Pensylvania — And  also  what  is  proper 
to  be  done  to  secure  to  this  State  the  benefit  of  the  lands  Contained  in  our  antient  Charter  west  of 
the  Susquehanna  purchase  so  called,  and  make  report  to  this  assembly  att  their  next  session. 

"A  true  Copy  of  Record.    Examind. 

[Signed]        "By  George;  Wyllys,  Secrety." 

Mr.  Harvey  also  brought  to  Wyoming  a  copy  of  the  official  record  of  some 
of  the  proceedings  which  took  place  at  a  meeting  of  The  Susquehanna  Company, 
"legally  warned  and  held  at  Hartford,  May  21,  1783" — Eleazar  Talcott,  Esq., 
being  Moderator  and  Samuel  Gray,  Esq.,  being  Clerk  of  the  meeting.  The 
record  in  question  reads  as  followsf: 

"Colonel  Talcott,  General  Parsons  and  Samuel  Gray  are  appointed  a  Committee  to  lay  in 
a  Memorial  to  the  General  Assembly,  now  Sitting  at  Hartford,  in  behalf  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company,  that  said  Assembly  would  desire  Doctor  Johnson  and  Colonel  Root,  Agents  for  this 
State,  to  give  said  Assembly  an  account  of  the  trial  of  the  Cause  between  this  State  and  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  at  the  Court  holden  at  Trenton  in  November,  1782. 

"Voted,  That  this  Company  are  determined  to  pursue  their  just  Claims  to  the  lands  Con- 
tained in  our  Deed  from  the  Indian  Native  proprietors  of  the  Susquehanna  lands,  and  make 
application  to  the  Hon.  Continental  Congress  for  a  proper  Court  or  Commission  to  hear  and  de- 
termine the  same  according  to  the  9th  Article  of  the  Confederation  of  the  United  States;  and 
that  they  will  use  all  lawful  means  in  their  power  to  maintain  the  present  settlers  in  their  possessions 
until  the  Congress  appoint  a  Court,  and  that  Court  determine  the  right  of  Soil  between  this 
Company  and  Pennsylvania. 

"And  that  the  Standing  Committee,  or  any  three  of  them,  be  desired  to  warn  a  Meeting 
of  The  Susquehanna  Company  to  meet  at  Hartford  as  soon  as  it  is  Convenient,  giving  three 
weeks'  notice  in  the  public  papers  of  the  time  and  place  of  said  meeting  to  choose  an  agent  or 
agents  to  represent  said  Company  at  said  Congress  and  Court  and  to  make  all  necessary  prepara- 
tion therefore.  And  the  proprietors  are  desired  to  be  present  at  said  meeting  by  themselves  or 
their  agents." 

*The  original  paper  was  preserved  by  Benjamin  Harvey,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  writer  of  this.  To 
the  action  of  the  Connecticut  Assembly  therein  recited,  no  reference  is  made  by  either  Chapman,  Stone  or  Miner 
in  their  respective  histories  of  Wyoming,  or  by  Governor  Hoyt  in  his  "Brief":  or  by  Colonel  Wright  in  his  "Historical 
Sketches  of  Plymouth" — although  he  makes  mention  of  Benjamin  Harvey's  mission  to  Connecticut. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  XVIII:  104. 


1339 

The  information  brought  to  Wyoming  by  Mr.  Harvey  greatly  encouraged 
the  Connecticut  settlers  here  in  the  belief  that  ere  long  something  would  be 
accomplished  in  their  behalf  by  the  vState  of  Connecticut  and  by  The  Susque- 
hanna Company. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  have  a  clearer  and  more  complete  understand- 
ing with  respect  to  some  of  the  conditions  which  existed  at  and  near  Wilkes- 
Barre  in  1783,  we  will  at  this  point  introduce  some  interesting  extracts  from  the 
.  journal  of  Dr.  Johann  David  Schopf,  a  German  traveler  who  spent  a  few  days  in 
Wyoming,  in  August,  1783. 

Dr.  Schopf*  came  to  America  in  the  Summer  of  1777,  as  Surgeon-in-chief 
of  the  Ansbach  troops,  who,  with  the  troops  from  Brunswick,  Hesse-Cassel, 
and  other  petty  German  States  and  Principalities,  composed  the  mercenaries 
— commonly  spoken  of  as  "Hessians" — in  the  employ  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  its  warfare  against  the  American  States.  The  Doctor  was  with  the 
Ansbach  troops  at  Yorktown,  in  October,  1781,  and  was  among  those  who  capitu- 
lated to  the  Americans  at  that  time.  He  was  released  on  parole,  and  subse- 
quently set  out  on  a  tour  of  observation  of  certain  parts  of  the  country.  On  his 
journey  to  Wilkes-Barre  he  was  accompanied  by  an  Englishman,  a  Mr.  Hairs. 
They  traveled  on  horseback.  Here  follow  the  extracts  from  the  Doctor's  journal 
— which  is  referred  to  more  fully  in  the  note  below. 

"Left  Philadelphia  August  6,  1783,  intending  to  visit  Bethlehem  and  thence  proceed  to  the 
mountains.  From  Bethlehem  we  went  to  Heller'sf,  a  lonesome  tavern  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue, 
or  Kittatinny.  Mountains.  Already  a  good  many  settlers,  especially  Germans,  have  come  to  live 
here,  in  a  narrow  but  pleasant  valley.  *  *  *  It  was  Sunday,  and  we  found  assembled  at  the 
tavern  (according  to  the  traditional  German  custom)  a  numerous  company  of  German  farmers  of 
the  neighborhood,  who  were  making  good  cheer  with  their  cider  and  cider-oil.  Cider-oil  is  a  pretty 
strong  drink.  It  consists  of  the  combustible  spirits  of  cider  mi.xed  again,  in  various  proportions, 
with  cider  of  the  best  grade.  *  *  *  Beyond  Heller's  a  mile  to  the  north,  is  a  natural  mountain- 
pass,  from  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  a  mile  wide — the  so-called  Wind  Gap.  *  *  *  Through 
the  Wind  Gap  to  Eckardt's  house,  some  three  or  four  miles  from  Heller's.  Then  to  Brinker's 
Mill,  three  and  a-half  miles  from  Eckardt's.  *  "■  Three  more  miles  to  Dieter's,  who  settled 
here  in  177,5.  He  was  at  that  time  quite  alone,  and  had  around  him  many  Indians,  who  at  first 
caused  him  great  uneasiness.     *     *     * 

"We  staid  this  night  at  Sebitz'sj,  whose  house  is  the  last,  absolutely,  on  the  road  to  Wyoming, 
a  distance 'reconed  at  37^-2  miles  from  here.  Sebitz,  therefore,  regards  the  'Great  Swamp'  as  his 
best  friend,  because  all  travelers,  coming  or  going,  are  compelled  to  stop  with  him.  The  enter- 
tainment in  taverns  of  this  stamp,  in  lonesome  and  remote  spots  throughout  America,  consists 
generally  of  bacon,  ham  and  eggs,  fresh  or  dried  venison,  coffee,  tea,  butter,  milk,  cheese,  rum, 
corn  whisky  or  brandy,  and  cider — and  everything  clean.  Sebitz,  a  German  Anabaptist,  settled 
here  some  nine  years  ago,  and  two  or  three  neighbors  about  the  same  time.  For  fear  of  the  Indians 
all  his  neighbors  left  him  during  the  war.  He  alone  had  the  courage  to  stay,  notwithstanding  a 
whole  family  was  murdered  a  mile  from  the  house.  Often  he  was  surrounded  by  Indians,  who 
simply  lurked  around  waiting  for  somebody  to  open  the  door  of  the  house  and  come  outside  (for 
it  is  not  their  way  to  enter  a  house  forcibly),  and  they  shot  down  his  horses  and  cattle.  To  be 
sure  he  had  with  him  a  militia  guard,  because  this  place  was  looked  upon  as  an  outpost;  but  they 
lived  all  together  behind  closed  and  barricaded  doors,  in  continued  fear  of  death.     *     *     * 

"We  met  a  troop  of  carpenters  here  who  were  likewise  on  the  way  to  Wyoming,  to  rebuild 
a  mill  that  had  been  burned  down  by  the  Indians.  We  were  very  glad  of  their  company,  because 
we  had  37?^  miles  to  go,  through  a  wilderness,  the  road  bad  and  several  streams  to  cross,  and 
must  ride  that  distance  if  we  were  to  avoid  spending  the  night  in  the  woods.  We  got  early  upon 
the  road  (on  August  12),  but  did  not  reach  our  destination  until  after  sunset. 

"That  part  of  the  mountains  beyond  the  Kittatinny  and  between  the  Delaware  River  and 
the  North,  or  East,  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  is  noted  on  several  maps  as  'St.  Anthony's  Wilder- 
ness.'§    The  region  is  better  known  by  the  name  of  the  Great  Swamp,  which  designation  applies 

*,ToHANN  David  Schopf  was  born  March  8.  17.52.  in  the  principality  of  Bayreuth,  He  pursued  a  course  in 
medicine  and  natural  sciences  at  the  University  of  Erlangen.  Bavaria — receiving  his  degree  in  1776.  He  returned  to 
Europe  from  America  in  1784,  and  later  became  President  of  the  LTnited  Medical  Colleges  of  .\nsbach  and  Bayreuth. 
This  office  he  held  until  his  death,  which  occurred  September  10.  1800.  The  journal  of  his  travels  in  this  country 
— which  he  had  kept  with  great  care — was  published  at  Erlangen  in  1788.  under  the  title:  "Reise  Durch  Einige  der 
MUllfrn  iind  Sudliiheii  \'ereimglen  Nord  Amerikattischen  Slaaleii.  *  *  *  in  den  Jahren  1783  und  1TS4"  This  was 
edited  and  translated  into  Engli.sh.  a  few  years  ago  by  A.  J.  Morrison,  and  was  published  at  Philadelphia  in  1911,  by 
William  Campbell.  tSee  page  1172.  Vol.  II. 

iThis  was  undoubtedly  the  locality  generally  known  as  "Learn's".  and  fully  described  on  pages  1167  and  1172, 
Vol.  II.  Captain  Shrawder  (see  note  page  1322)  refer's  to  this  place  in  1782  as  "Zawitz'  "  In  October.  1787,  Col. 
Timothy  Pickering  writing  to  his  wife  from  there  refers  to  it  as  "Zawits  (that  is.  Savage's)." 

jSee  maps  on  pages   188  and   191,  Vol.  I. 


1340 

in  strictness  only  to  a  part.  The  entrance  to  this  unpeopled  waste  is,  at  one  point,  through  a 
gap  in  the  Pocono  Mountain,  pretty  high  but  not  steep.  Then  Pocono  Creek  is  passed,  and  the 
road  lies  up  that  stream  six  miles  to  White  Oak  Run — a  frightful  and  narrow  path  over  stumps 
and  stones.  Then  follow  uplands,  with  a  few  smaller  hills.  The  whole  way  the  road  is  grown  up 
on  both  sides  in  bushes,  notwithstanding  that  fire  has  often  passed  over  and  left  standing  great 
numbers  of  fine  tree-trunks,  half  burnt.  These  fires  in  the  woods  spread  at  times  accidentally 
from  the  camp-fires  of  travelers;  and  again  the  woods  are  purposely  burned  by  hunters  who  post 
themselves  behind  the  wind  and  wait  for  the  game  frightened  out  by  the  fire  and  smoke. 

"Further  on  we  got  into  the  veritable  Great  Swamp,  so  called,  which  extends  only  fifteen 
miles  across,  but  no  one  knows  how  far  it  lies  to  the  north  and  to  the  south.  Really,  the  whole 
of  this  region  is  not  what  is  commonly  called  swamp,  several  mountains  and  valleys  being  included 
under  the  name.  The  road*  cut  through  is  nowhere  more  than  six  feet  wide,  and  is  full  of  every- 
thing which  can  make  trouble  for  the  traveler.  On  both  sides  the  forest  is  so  thick  that  the  trees 
almost  touch,  and  by  their  height  and  their  matted  branches  making  a  deep  shade  which  is  cold 
and  fearful  even  at  noon  of  the  clearest  day.  AH  beneath  is  grown  up  in  green  and  impenetrable 
bush.  Everywhere  lie  fallen  trees,  or  those  half-fallen — despite  their  weight,  not  reaching  the 
ground.  Thousands  of  rotten  and  rotting  trunks  cover  the  ground  and  make  every  step  un- 
certain, while  between  lies  a  fat  bed  of  the  richest  mould,  that  sucks  up,  like  a  sponge,  all  the 
moisture,  and  so  becomes  swampy  almost  everywhere. 

"One  can  with  difficulty,  penetrate  this  growth,  even  a  little  way,  and  not  be  in  danger  of 
coming  too  near  this  or  that  sort  of  snake,  lying  hidden  from  the  sharpest  eye  in  the  waste  of 
stones,  leaves  and  roots.  *  *  *  ^^  particularly  deep  and  narrow  valley  in  this  great  swamp 
is  the  'Shades  of  Death.'  Its  steep  mountain  sides  are  distinguished  by  a  great  number  of  the  ' 
tallest  and  slimmest  pines,  with  white  spruce  and  hemlock;  and  these  are  mixed  below  with  a 
profuse  and  beautiful  growth  of  rhododendrons  and  kalmias.f  *  *  Our  fellow-travelers  were 
of  the  opinion  that  all  these  hills  and  valleys  would  never  be  used  for  anything,  because  they 
thought  cultivation  would  be  impossible  or  certainly  too  troublesome.     *     *     * 

"The  numerous  strearns  which  traverse  the  region,  and  in  the  Spring  and  Fall  become 
greatly  swollen,  will  later  offer  a  profitable  trade  in  timber  and  masts,  for  these  trees  would  make 
ship  and  other  timber.  But  the  people  here  already  are  all  the  time  dreaming  of  mines  and  sudden 
wealth;  and  many  of  our  German  countrymen  still  help  to  keep  strange  hopes  alive.  The  farmers 
about  Heller's  mostly  Germans  have  brought  with  them  their  stories  of  kobolds  and  mountain- 
sprites;  they  still  hear  the  hill  homunculus  working  and  knocking,  see  the  tell-tale  flames  but, 
unluckily,  can  never  find  the  spot. 

"Without  wasting  time  on  the  road  now  near  being  .swamped  and  again  almost  breaking  our 
necks  we  hastened  forward  as  fast  as  our  horses  could  go  and  all  the  more  because  we  were 
threatened  by  storm  clouds.  We  stayed  half  an  hour  at  Locust  Hill  and  in  the  evening  half  an 
hour  at  Bullock's  place — our  friends  sharing  with  us  their  store  of  provisions,  without  which  we 
and  our  horses  should  have  had  a  hungry  day's  journey,  for  besides  grass  and  water  there  was 
nothing  to  eat.  We  were  pretty  thoroughly  wetted  in  the  swamp,  and  coming  over  the  last  hill 
were  obliged  to  stop  in  black  darkness  on  account  of  a  thunder-storm — reaching  Wyoming  [Wilkes- 
Barre]  after  eight  o'clock,  tired,  wet  and  hungry. 

"Wyoming — the  settlement  of  this  name,  the  chief  place  of  which  is  really  Wilksbnry — 
lies  in  an  extraordinarly  fertile  valley  west  of  the  Blue  Mountains  and  on  the  Eastern  Branch  of 
the  Susquehanna.  Some  twenty  years  ago  a  few  New  Englanders  came  hither,  followed  shortly 
after  by  people  from  anywhere,  so  that  in  a  brief  space  ninet>  families  had  come  in  who  would  or 
could  not  live  elsewhere.  Fear  of  the  law  drove  some  of  them,  and  the  goodness  of  the  land 
tempted  others,  to  settle  in  this  remote  wilderness,  cut  off  from  the  inhabited  parts  by  rugged 
and  pathless  mountains;  but  their  numbers  rapidly  increasing,  the  country  was  soon  changed 
to  a  region  of  beautiful  open  fields.     *     *     * 

"Thus  it  has  happened  that  the  first  settlements  at  Wyoming  were  made  by  New  Englanders; 
and  these  have  kept  their  hold  there  in  matters  of  government.  Pennsylvania  on  the  other 
hand  shows  by  its  grant  that  the  Wyoming  region  with  other  districts  in  dispute  lies  in  the  midst 
of  Pennsylvania's  original  territory  as  fixed  by  England.  These  claims  and  assertions  on  the  one 
side  and  the  other  have  been  the  cause  of  many  difficulties.  Pennsylvania  as  well  as  Connecticut 
sold  and  made  over  lands  there,  so  that  of  the  landowners  of  Wyoming,  one  held  his  land  under 
the  one  State   and  another  under  the  other. 

"With  such  dispositions  animosities  were  inevitable,  and  thus,  even  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  Revolution  there  was  a  continual  private  war  between  the  Pennsylvania  and  New  England 
parties  in  Wyoming.  People  fought  over  the  right  to  the  land.  If  a  Pennsylvanian  came  with 
a  deed  to  so  much  land,  he  must  first  see  if  it  was  already  taken  up  by  a  New  Englander.  If  so, 
he  must  attempt  to  gain  possession  by  force;  failing,  he  reserved  his  right  for  the  time,  and  chose 
an  unsettled  place  in  the  neighborhood,  from  which  after  a  few  years,  and  imfrovcment  begun. 
he  might  very  probably  be  dispossessed  by  another  New  Englander  coming  with  a  Connecticut 
deed.     The  New  Englanders  were  always  the  stronger  party. 

"In  the  early  seventies  bloody  fights  took  place  between  the  colonists,  when  several  lives  were 
lost.  Since  the  Peace  these  dissensions  have  been  again  renewed,  and  both  States  recently  laid 
their  claims  before  the  Congress.  A  committee  decided  for  Pennsylvania.  The  New  England 
party  is  altogether  dissatisfied  with  this  judgment,  because  in  this  case  they  must  lose  their  gains — 
Pennsylvania  having  long  since  granted  to  its  own  subjects  much  of  the  land  in  dispute.     »     *     * 


*This  w 

as  what  wa 

,s  known  as  the  "SulHvan  Road. 

■'     See  page  1176.  Vol.  II. 

iKalmi, 
no  doubt,  w; 
high  polish. 

2  Lati folia. 
as  given  to 

or  mountain  laurel— pecuHarly  a 
it  because  the  Indians  made  it  ii 

I  Pennsylvania  shrub.     Its  con 
ito  spoons.     The  grain  of  the  ' 

wood  i 

s  fin( 

;  is  spoon  wood. 
;,  and  will  take 

1341 

The  orders  of  Congress  arc  not  regarded  here  if  not  pleasing  or  if  unsupported  by  force.  So  far 
the  outbreak  of  further  hostilities  has  been  controlled  by  the  little  garrison  which  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  maintains  here  against  the  Indians,  until  a  treaty  with  these  nations  is  drawn  up. 

"Wyoming,  according  to  the  New  England  claim,  lies  in  Westmoreland  County;  but  in 
Pennsylvania  it  forms  part  of  Northumberland  County.  The  colony  consists  of  Wilkslniry 
|Wilkes-Barre|,  thj  chief  place,  and  a  few  smaller  villages,  as  Nanticoke,  Hanover,  Abraham's 
[Plains],  Jacob's  Plains  and  Shawanese,  in  all  of  which  there  are  probably  400  familiL-'S.  Wilkes- 
bury  had  a  court-house*  once,  where  the  laws  were  administered  after  the  manner  of  Connecticut, 
whence  the  Justices  were  sent.  But  during  the  disturbances  of  the  war  they  lived  some  years  in 
complete  anarchy,  without  law,  magistrates,  taxes  or  priests.  'We  act  on  our  sense  of  honor, 
and  depend  pretty  much  on  that',  said  the  miller  of  the  place;  'nothing  can  be  gained  by  law  and 
nobody  punished.     Our  only  rule  is.  trust  or  distrust!' 

"Since  a  garrison  was  placed  here,  however,  the  commanding  officer  has  at  the  same  time 
acted  as  a  Justice,  without  any  recourse  to  military  law.  The  inhabitants  hear  his  opinion  and 
adjust  their  dealings  thereby,  if  that  seems  good  to  them.  But  the  people  of  Wyoming,  with  all 
their  freedom,  and  living  on  the  most  productive  lands,  are  pauper-poor.  The  war  was  something 
of  a  set-back,  but  their  sloth  is  still  more  so.  They  live  in  miserable  block-houses,  are  badly 
clothed,  farm  carelessly,  and  love  easeful  days.  Last  Winter  [1782-'83]  most  of  them  sent  all  their 
corn  and  wheat  over  the  mountains,  turned  it  into  cider  and  brandy  (for  they  have  not  yet  planted 
orchards  themselves),  so  as  to  drink  and  dance  away  the  tedium;  and  so,  in  the  Spring,  they  had 
neither  seedcorn  nor  bread,  living  meanwhile  on  milk  and  blackberries,  or  by  hunting — and  many 
of  them  on  less — in  expectation  of  the  harvest,  which  has  turned  out  well ;  and  now  they  are 
preparing  for  fresh  quickenings.  With  all  their  negligence  they  had  before  the  war  a  fine  store  of 
cattle,  hogs,  hemp,  flax,  etc,  the  superfluity  of  which  being  sold  brought  them  what  they  need  ed. 
Of  their  mills,  one  was  burnt  by  the  Indians,  and  there  was  no  water  for  the  other.  They  must, 
therefore,  send  their  corn  fifty  miles  over  the  mountains ;  or,  whoever  could  not  do  this,  was  obliged 
to  pound  it  in  wooden  troughs,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Indians. 

"Of  what  religious  faith  they  are.  no  man  knows.  An  old  Anabaptistf  lives  among  them, 
and  preaches  to  whomsoever  has  a  mind  to  hear.  We  came  a  day  too  late  to  see  the  solemn 
baptism  of  a  young  girl  twenty  years  old,  who  was  baptised  in  the  Susquehanna.      *     *     » 

"At  one  place  in  this  region,  near  the  river,  there  comes  to  the  surface  a  vein  of  ore  thick 
as  a  man's  leg,  blackish  and  micaceous,  which  from  its  look  might  be  lead-ore.  For  a  long  time 
this  was  thought  to  be  silver,  until  experiments  were  made  at  Philadelphia,  showing  that  there 
was  no  ground  for  the  belief,  but  not  determining  what  the  ore  was.  Beyond  the  river  there  are 
said  to  be  ores  at  one  or  two  places,  which  have  been  found  on  experiment  really  to  contain  silver. 
These  localities,  I  am  told,  were  once  pointed  out  to  certain  persons  by  the  Indians  and  are  at  pr  esent 
known  to  a  few,  who  speak  of  them  mysteriously.  It  appears,  also,  that  a  long  time  ago  Europeans 
may  have  worked  there ;  at  least  the  first  New  Englanders  who  came  hither  said  that  they  found 
remains  there  of  horse-trapings  and  smelting  tools.     *     *     * 

"Several  miles  down  the  river  I  had  myself  taken  to  a  place  where  an  outcrop  of  saltpetre 
is  scraped  from  the  cliffs,  which,  with  the  addition  of  lye,  is  made  into  good  saltpetre.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  war  many  hundred-weight  of  saltpetre  was  prepared  here  and  farther  up  the  river. 
*  "*  *  Taking  a  turn  to  Nanticoke  we  passed  by  the  ruins  of  a  primitive  iron-foundry.  Much 
bog-ore  is  found  thereabouts,  which  is  probably  what  was  used;  besides,  there  is  iron-stone  in  the 
neighboring  mountain.  The  reopening  of  this  works  will  mean  a  considerable  gain  to  the  region, 
since  the  distance  and  the  bad  roads  over  which  the  iron  needed  here  must  be  fetched,  vastly 
heightens  the  cost  to  the  farmer.      *     *     * 

"After  a  stay  of  five  days,  delayed  by  the  weather,  we  left  this  country  Monday,  August  IS, 
178,^,  in  the  afternoon,  and  made  seven  miles  to  Long  Meadows  [Bullock's  place],  where  we  spent 
the  night  in  a  half-ruined  cabin  and  on  the  bare  earth.  We  found  a  small  boy  there,  whose  parents 
were  intending  to  settle  there,  but  they  had  been  several  days  absent  looking  for  provisions,  and 
had  quite  carelessly  left  the  youngster  by  himself  in  the  woods.  He  was  extremely  happy  when 
we  gave  him  some  bread  and  meat.  Very  early  we  left  our  dreary  quarters,  but  were  several 
hours  delayed  when  we  came  to  Bear  Creek.  Since  our  passing  that  way  a  family  had  appeared, 
and  within  the  few  days  had  made  their  block-house  nearly  ready.  *  *  Farther  on,  in  that 
half  of  the  road  lying  through  this  wilderness,  we  happened  on  still  a  third  family,  who  likewise 
had  just  come  to  settle  there.  These  people  expected  to  make  a  temporary  support  by  selling 
brandy  to  travelers,  until  they  had  gradually  brought  enough  land  under  cultivation  to  supply 
their  needs.  *  "*  All  these  poor  families  chose  this  region  because  there  they  can  at  no  outlay 
have  the  use  of  land  taken  up  by  nobody  else. 

"Going  back  we  followed  the  road  we  had  come,  as  the  only  passable  one  through  this  com- 
fortless region,  and  about  sunset  reached  White  Oak  Run.  The  last  eight  miles  we  had  to  go 
a-foot,  for  there  was  now  thick  darkness  among  the  high,  close-standing  trees,  obscuring  the 
friendly  light  of  the  moon,  which  shone  clear,  but  not  for  us.  It  would  have  been  neck-breaking 
work  to  keep  on  horseback.  At  nine  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Sebitz's  house,  tired  and  wet.  *  * 
From  Sebitz's  to  Heller's  the  road  is  for  the  most  part  down  grade,  through  a  multitude  of  sand- 
stones. Th'  Pocono  Creek  is  again  crossed  several  times.  It  winds  through  very  pleasing  low- 
grounds.  Near  Brinker's  Mill  there  is  a  rarity — a  beautiful  prospect  of  the  Delaware  Water 
Gap  to  the  left,  and  in  front  (over  a  lower  ridge  of  hills),  the  range  of  the  Blue,  or  Kittatinny, 
Mountains,  running  straight  away.  Quite  at  the  top  of  a  hill,  between  Brinker's  and  Eckhardt's 
we  came  upon  a  little  lake,  in  which  there  should  be  fish.  There  is  also  s  ich  a  clear  little  separate 
lake  to  be  found  on  a  higher  hill  near  Sebitz's,  and  another  on  Locust  Hill" 

♦Reference  is  here  made  to  Fort  Wilkes- Barre.  mentioned  on  page  887,  Vot  II. 

tUndoubtedly  the  Rev.  James  Finn,  who  at  that  time  resided  in  the  upper  end  of  Pittstjn  Township. 


1342 

The  severity  of  Dr.  Schopf's  comments  upon  the  habits  of  life  and  the 
characteristics  of  the  New  Englanders  in  Wyoming  was  undoubtedly  prompted 
by  groundless  and  unjust  tales  told  to  him  by  the  Pennamites  and  their  adherents, 
who,  at  the  time  of  his  visit  to  Wilkes-Barre,  were  very  much  in  evidence  in  the 
settlement,  and  were  probably  met  by  him  at  every  turn. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter*  written  by  Capt.  Philip  Shrawder 
(previously  mentioned)  to  the  Hon.  Stephen  Balliet  give  a  brief  account  of 
some  of  the  conditions  existing  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  Summer  of  1783. 

"Mr.  Weitzel'sf  Issuing  Commissary  left  Wyoming  the  29th  or  30th  of  June  [1783].  He 
had  nothing  but  a  little  flour  on  hand  then.  He  therefore  spoke  before  his  departure  to  one 
Abel  Yarington,  an  inhabitant  of  Wyoming,  to  procure  provisions  until  Mr.  Weitzel  would  send 
him  up  again  with  a  fresh  supply,  which  would  be  very  shortly.  Yarington  tried  to  purchase 
[provisions],  but  got  none  for  want  of  money.    In  this  dilemma  he  came  to  me. 

"The  President's  orders  of  March,  1783, J  commanded  me  to  maintain  the  Wyoming  post, 
and  when  I  came  to  Philadelphia  in  May  following  I  represented  to  Council  that  the  soldiers  were 
unruly  and  claimed  their  discharges,  as  they  heard  and  saw  those  of  the  Continental  Army  return 
home.  General  Irvine  and  some  other  members  [of  the  Council]  desired  me  then  to  try  to  keep 
the  men  together.  I  therefore  looked  upon  myself  as  in  duty  bound  to  e.xer.t  myself  in  procuring 
provisions,  and  purchased  them  on  my  own  account;  but  as  my  troublesome  and  precarious 
situation  would  not  permit  me  to  leave  my  post  to  purchase  to  the  best  advantage,  I  had  to  paj- 
a  high  price  for  them.  I  had  to  get  superfine  flour,  for  want  of  other,  in  Northampton  County, 
and  paid  £20  for  the  transportation  of  two  loads. 

"In  August  [1783]  I  went  to  Sunbury  to  urge  Mr.  [John]  Weitzel  to  forward  provisions 
with  the  greatest  expedition  to  Wyoming,  and  showed  him  my  account  of  purchases.  He  then 
informed  me  that  there  was  at  that  time  a  boat  on  the  way  up  with  some  flour  for  the  Garrison, 
but  as  my  purchases  came  high  he  said  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  contractorship. 
So  circumstanced  I  felt  much  perplexed,  and  knew  not  what  to  do;  but  meeting  Frederick  Antes. 
Esq.,  of  Northumberland,  he  kindly  advanced  me  a  sum  of  money,  and  on  my  return  to  Wyoming 
I  despatched  Lieutenant  Erb  to  Philadelphia,  acquainting  His  E.xcellency,  the  President,  with  my 
situation.    I  then  received  £300  from  the  Council." 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  held  at  Philadelphia, 
August  19,  1783,  the  Commissioners,  who  had  investigated  affairs  at  Wyoming 
in  the  preceding  April,  made  their  report,  which  read  in  part  as  follows§ : 

"You  will  observe  [in  the  accompanying  papers  submitted]  the  peaceable  disposition  of 
the  settlers  at  Wyoming,  and  their  readiness  to  submit  to  the  Jurisdiction  of  this  State,  except 
only  in  the  instance  of  their  jjossessions,  which  they  refuse  to  deliver  up,  notwithstanding  the 
generous  oiler  of  the  citizens  of  this  State. 

"Convinced  of  the  policy  and  propriety  of  taking  the  most  immediate  measures  of  intro- 
ducing civil  government  into  that  part  of  the  country,  we  have  agreed  upon  a  plan  relative  thereto 
which  we  herewith  submit  for  your  concurrence  and  approbation;  lists  of  the  early  settlers  and 
greatest  sufferers  at  that  place  we  also  lay  before  you,  as  also  a  state  of  their  civil  policy  under 
the  Government  of  Connecticut,    A  few  negro  and  mulatto  slaves!]  we  find  are  in  their  possession. 

"We  offer  the  following  resolutions:  (1)  That  the  law  pas.sed  at  the  last  session  of  this 
House,  prohibiting  ejectments  being  brought  against  the  people  from  Connecticut  settled  at 
Wyoming,  be  repealed.  (2)  That  all  that  part  of  the  State  generally  known  by  the  name  of 
Wyoming  be  divided  into  two  townships  [here  follows  a  description  of  their  metes  and  bounds, 
as  printed  on  page  1336],  and  that  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  be  requested  to  com- 
mission immediately  four  of  the  persons  elected  by  the  freeholders  of  said  Districts  on  April  23 
last  to  serve  as  magistrates — two  in  each  District,  or  Township.  (3)  That  these  two  Townships 
form  one  District  for  the  purpose  of  voting  for  Assemblymen,  Sheriffs,  etc.,  and  that  the  place 
of  holding  such  elections  be  at  the  town  of  Pennsbury.^  (4)  That  in  consideration  of  the  great 
sufferings  of  the  settlers  from  Connecticut  at  Wyoming  and  the  noble  defence  they  have  made 
against  the  Common  Enemy,  a  Reasonable  compensation  in  land  within  the  Boundary  of  this 
State  and  upon  Easy  Terms  shall  be  made  to  the  Families  of  those  who  have  fallen  fighting  in 
Defence  of  the  Country;  anel  to  such  others  as  actually  have  a  Title  from  the  Government  of 
Connecticut  to  lands  at  or  near  Wyoming,  and  did  actually  reside  on  the  ground  when  the  Decree 
was  given  in  favour  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  by  the  Continental  Court  at  Trenton — Provided 
they  immediately  Relinquish  all  claim  to  the  soil  where  they  now  inhabit,  and  enter  into  contracts 
*See  "Pennsylvania  .A.rchives",  Second  .Series.  XVIII:  655. 

tJoHN  Weitzei.  of  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania.  In  178.^  he  was  "Contractor  of  provisions  in  Northumberland  County", 
for  the  State  Government. 

JSee  page  1317.  §See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Old  Series,  XII:  73. 

I]. Slavery  had  been  abolished  by  law  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  year  1780. 

IWithout  much  doubt  Pennsborough  is  here  referred  to.  It  was,  in  1783,  a  small  settlement  on  the  West  Branch 
of  the  Susquehanna  in  Northumberland  County,  about  fourteen  miles  below  the  present  city  of  Williamsport,  twenty- 
four  miles  north  of  Sunbury,  and  fifty-one  miles  due  west  from  W'ilkes-Barre ;  although,  by  way  of  the  river,  it  was 
distant  about  ninety  miles  from  Wilkes-Barrd.  Ft.  Muncy  stood  between  Pennsborough  and  the  mouth  of  Muncy 
Creek,  and  in  1 783  there  was  a  considerable  population  in  that  section  of  Northumberland  County.  Upon  the  erection 
of  Lycoming  County  in  1795  Pennsborough  was  included  within  its  bounds,  and  in  1827  the  village  was  incorporated 
as  the  borough  of  Muncy. 


1343 

to  deliver  up  a  full  and  quiet  possession  of  their  present  Tenures  to  the  rightful  owners  under 
Pennsylvania  by  the  First  day  of  April  next.  (5)  That  a  law  be  passed  under  proper  Restrictions 
to  enable  such  of  the  above  settlers  at  Wyoming  as  shall  become  Citizens  of  this  State  to  retain 
their  Negroes  and  Mulattoes,  in  servitude,  and  continue  actions  brought  in  their  Court  and  Pro- 
ceedings in  their  Register's  office,  and  to  remove  them  into  the  Court  and  Register's  office  for 
the  County  of  Northumberland — there  to  be  determined  according  to  the  Laws  of  the  State." 

This  report,  together  with  a  letter  from  Captain  Shrawder  concerning  affairs 
at  Wyoming,  which  had  been  received  by  President  Dickinson  a  few  days  pre- 
viously, were  referred  to  a  committee.  Under  the  date  of  .September  2,  1783,  the 
committee  reported  to  the  Assembly  in  part  as  follows*: 

"The  Committee  have  examined  the  several  papers  committed  to  them  with  care  &  attention, 
and  are  fully  satisfied  of  the  laudable  Zeal  and  industry  used  by  your  Commissioners  to  effect 
the  purposes  of  their  Mission,  and  likewise  with  the  generous  offers  made  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Land  holders  to  the  settlers  at  Wioming.  Your  Committee  are,  however,  sorry  to  find  that  the 
endeavours  of  your  Commissioners  and  the  offers  of  the  proprietors  of  Lands  at  Wyoming  have 
been  rendered  abortive  by  the  interference  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  and  the  Susquehanna 
Company,  so  that  our  hopes  of  a  friendly  compromise  seem  now  vanished.  Your  committee 
submit  the  following  resolutions  to  the  Honorable  House. 

"Resolved,  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  and  bring  in  a  Bill  for  repealing  the 
Law  of  this  State  entitled  'An  Act  to  prevent  and  stay  suits  from  being  brought  against  the  in- 
habitants of  Wioming,  during  the  time  therein  mentioned,  passed  March  13th,  last,  and  for  con- 
firming the  Township  of  Wyoming  into  three  Distinct  Townships,  as  laid  out  and  divided  by  your 
Commissioners  on  the  22d  day  of  April  last  past. 

"Resolved,  That  as  well  to  discover  the  moderation  and  Equitable  disposition  of  this  House 
as  in  consideration  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Settlers  at  Wioming  from  the  Common  Enemy,  a 
reasonable  compensation  in  Lands  within  the  Boundaries  of  this  State  upon  easy  Terms  be  made 
to  the  families  of  those  who  have  fallen  fighting  against  the  Savages,  and  to  such  others  as  did 
actually  reside  on  the  Lands  at  Wyoming  when  the  late  Decree  was  given  at  Trenton. 

"Resolved,  That  no  such  settler  be  intitled  to  the  benefits  of  this  Resolution  unless  upon 
demand  made  he  gives  ui5  possession  to  the  Claimant  or  Claimants  under  Pennsylvania." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  September  5,  1783,  President  Dickinson 
wrote  to  Captains  Robinson  and  Shrawder  at  Wilkes-Barre,  in  part  as  follows:! 

"In  consequence  of  a  Conference  with  a  committee  of  the  General  Assembly,  it  is  judged 
proper  that  you  should  be  reminded  in  a  particular  manner  constantly  to  employ  the  utmost 
vigilance  and  alertness  for  the  security  of  the  Fort  at  Wioming,  and  for  maintaining  the  post 
where  you  are  now  stationed. 

"It  is  expected  that  you  will  be  in  perfect  preparation  at  every  moment  to  resist  any  hostile 
attempt,  whether  openly  or  insidiously  made.  Among  other  attentions,  it  will  be  indispensably 
necessary  for  this  purpose,  that  great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  suffer  the  Soldiers,  on  any 
pretence  whatever,  to  absent  themselves  from  the  Garrison,  either  in  an  indefensible  situation, 
or  beyond  the  reach  of  your  immediate  recall. 

"It  is  thought  absolutely  necessary  by  Council,  that  a  supply  of  two  Months'  provisions 
for  both  companies,  calculating  upon  the  compleat  establishment  of  sixty  privates  to  each 
company,  be  immediately  conveyed  into  the  Fort;  so  that  the  Garrison  may  not  in  any  manner 
depend  upon  the  provisions  from  without  during  that  period. 

"That  a  single  moment  may  not  be  lost,  the  important  charge  of  procuring  this  supply  is 
principally  committed  to  you;  for  tho',  to  guard  against  the  expence  of  a  double  purchase,  it  may 
be  highly  necessary  to  consult  Mr.  Weitzel,  and  learn  from  him  what  stock  of  provisions  he  has 
now  on  hand,  and  what  additional  quantity  he  may  engage  to  procure,  yet  it  is  intirely  the  sense 
of  Council,  that  should  he  discover  the  least  indifference  in  accepting  the  business,  or  delay  in  the 
execution  of  it,  you  will  yourselves  proceed  to  compleat  his  purchases,  should  they  be  deficient, 
and  contract  for  their  transportation.     Money  shall  not  be  wanting  to  fulfill  these  engagements. 

"It  is  also  our  desire  that,  as  long  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  keep  up  the  Garrison,  after 
the  expiration  of  the  two  Months  provided  for  by  this  order,  it  shall  at  no  future  time  be  left 
without  a  supply  of  one  Month's  provision  in  stock.    This  you  will  regard  as  a  standing  order." 

Under  the  same  date  as  the  foregoing,  President  Dickinson  wrote  to  John 
Weitzel,  Esq.,  at  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania,  in  part  as  follows: 

"It  is  the  sense  of  Council  that  a  stock  of  eight  weeks'  provisions  for  the  complete  companies 
of  sixty  privates  each  be  immediately  laid  in  for  Wyoming,  for  the  subsistence  of  that  Garrison. 
To  this  purpose  Council  have  written  to  Captains  Robinson  and  Shrawder — with  directions  to 
consult  you  upon  the  subject." 

September  9,  1783,  the  Assembly  repealed  the  Act  passed  March  13,  1783, 
"to  prevent  and  stay  suits  from  being  brought  against  the  inhabitants  of  Wyom- 
ing" (see  page  1320);  confirmed  the  division  of  Wyoming  into  three  Districts, 
or  Townships,  as  made  by  the  Commissioners ;  confirmed  the  election  of  Justices 
of  the  Peace  held  at  Wyoming  by  direction  of  the  Commissioners,  and  instructed 

■»See  "Pennsylvania  .'Archives."  Old  Series,  X:  552.  tSec  "Pennsylvania  .-irchives".  Old  Series,  X:  99. 


1344 


the  Supreme  Executive  Council  to  commission  four  of  the  persons  so  elected.  The 
next  day  the  Council  met,  and,  in  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  action,  Alexander 
Patterson,  John  Seely,  David  Mead  and  Robert  Martin*  were  commissioned  Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  county  of  Northumberland.  "Alexander  Patterson 
appearing  before  the  Coiincil  the  same  day,  took  the  oath  prescribed,  and  a  dedi- 
mus  potestatem  was  issued  to  Alexander  Patterson  and  Samuel  Hunterf,  or  either 
of  them,  to  administer  the  oaths  to  the  other  Justices  this  day  appointed." 

At  Fort  Dickinson,  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  September  17,  1783, 
Captain  vShrawder  sent  to  President  Dickinson  the  following-  communication!: 

"In  obedience  to  your  Excellency's  Order.s  I  have  the  Honor  to  transmit  a  Return  of  the 
Companies,  arms  and  ammunition.  Your  E.xcellency's  Letter  to  Mr.  Weitzel  I  have  forwarded 
to  Capt.  Robinson  who  is  at  present  in  Northumberland,  to  be  delivered  by  him;  but  as  we  received 
no  supply  since  June  last,  it  is  not  probable  Mr.  Weitzel  can  have  a  stock  on  Hand. 

"I  would  beg  Leave  to  inform  your  E-xcellency  that  to  maintain  this  Post  I  have  for  better 
than  two  Months  past  extended  my  Credit  as  far  as  possible  in  purchasing  Provisions  for  the 
Garrison  and  in  order  to  be  enabled  to  see  the  Troops  supplied.  I  would  beg  your  Excellency 
and  the  Honble.  Board  would  be  pleased  to  order  £,^00  to  be  forwarded  to  me  by  Lieut.  Erb, 
whom  the  utmost  Necessity  obliged  me  to  send. 

Return  of  Captain  Robinson's  and  Captain  Shrawder's  Companies  of  Pennsylvania  Ran- 
gers stationed  at  Wyoming,  Septr.   17,  17.S3. 


« 

£ 

'C. 

m 

w 

^• 

g 

» 

=« 

£ 

•  £ 

.^ 

'^ 

-^ 

^ 

a 

§ 

§ 

c3 

s 

1 

1 

1 

1 

o 

Q 

CL, 

^ 

Capt'n  Robinson's  Comp'y  Fit  for  Duty, 

Sick, 

2 

2 

's 

Capt'n  Schrawder's  Comp'v  Fit  for  Duty, 

1 

1 

2 

2 

20 

1 

Sick, 

4 

Total 

: 

1 

1 

1 

6 

": 

''" 

1 

One  Box  of  Cartridges,  66  Muskets 

[Signed]  Phil.   Shrawder,   Captn.  P.  R. 

Justice  Patterson  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  about  September  20,  1783.  bearing- 
his  new  commission,  as  well  as  documents  accrediting  him  as  agent  for  a  very 
considerable  number  of  Pennsylvanians  claiming  lands  in  Wyoming.  Justices 
Seely  and  Mead  soon  followed  Patterson,  and  it  was  not  long  until  Wyoming 
"began  to  swarm  with  Pennsylvania  land-claimants."  Taking  up  his  quarters 
in  a  house  near  Fort  Dickinson,  the  first  act  of  importance  which  the  over-zealous 
Justice  Patterson  performed  was  the  changing  of  the  name  of  Wilkes-Barre 
to  'Xondonderry"!  Then,  fully  armed  with  legal  and  illegal  powers,  he  forth- 
with began  to  exercise  them§. 

*RoBERT  Martin,  who  came  to  Pennsylvania  in  early  manhood,  is  said  to  have  been  a  native  of  New  Jersey.  He 
was  the  first  settler  where  the  town  of  Northumberland  now  stands,  having  built  a  house  there  as  early  as  1 767.  He  kept 
,  which  was  a  place  of  much  resort.  He  became  a  man  of  some  prominence  and  considerable  influence,  and  in 
'as  a, member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Provincial  Conference.  He  was  paymaster  of  the  Pennsylvania  militia  in 
in  the  campaign  of  1776.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention  to  frame  the  constitution  of  1776,  and 
was  a  Representative  in  the  State  Legislature  in  1778  and  '79.  Under  the  Pennsylvania  Constitution  of  1790  he  held 
the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  manv  years.  Colonel  Franklin,  in  his  "Brief",  mentioned  herein  before,  says 
that  "Robert  Martin  had  too  much  humanity  to  act  under  his  commission  [of  September,  1783]  with  the  other  new- 
fangled Justices." 

Mr.  Martin  died  at  Northumberland  about  the  year  1813.  He  had  two  daughters^ — one  married  to  Dr.  James 
Davidson  of  New  Jersey  and  later  of  Lycoming  County.  Pennsylvania,  and  the  other  married  to  Capt.  Thomas  Grant 
of  Northumberland  County,  a  brief  sketch  of  whom  will  be  found  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

tSee  (t)  note,  page  1274. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  104. 

§Captain   Patterson,  in   his   "Petition",   mentioned 
ing  statement  with  respect  to  the  work  of  the  Pennsylv 


1776 


I  election  by  the  freeholders  for  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  that  hot-bed  of  sedition.  The  election 
was  held,  and  your  petitioner  was  elected  a  Justice,  and  a  special  Act  was  passed  at  the  ensuing  Legislature  to  confirm 
it.  He  attended  the  whole  of  the  session  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  commissioned  the  first  magistrate  for  that  refractory 
country  [Wyoming],  He  proceeded  to  Wyoming,  having  a  warrant-of-attorney  from  the  owners  of  the  land  to  lease 
or  dispose  of  it  on  easy  and  moderate  terms.  Sundry  of  the  intruders  came  under  lease,  but  the  undue  influence  of 
Franklin,  Butler.  Denison,  Gore.  Spalding  and  other  evil-disposed  persons,  induced  the  lessees  to  forego  their  contracts. 
"On  your  petitioner's  arrival  at  Wyoming  as  a  Justice  he  found  numbers  very  obstinate,  in  crowd-;,  with  Butler, 
breathing  defiance  to  Pennsylvania  and  her  laws.  He  was  not  intimidated,  but  committed  their  Colonel  Butler  to 
Sunbury  jail,  at  the  distance  of  sixty-five  miles,  where  he  was  held  in  £5.000  hail," 


134.S 

During  the  Spring  and  Summer  of  1783,  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  was  acknowledged  by  several  of  the  principal  European  powers,  and  on 
the  3d  of  September  of  that  year,  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  was  signed  at  Paris  by  the  representatives  of  the 
two  powers.  As  those  were  the  days  of  stage-coaches  and  sailing  vessels,  and 
not  of  steamboats  and  telegraphs,  several  weeks  elapsed  before  news  of  the  signing 
of  the  treaty  was  disseminated  in  this  country.  Meanwhile  there  was  abroad 
in  the  land  a  sincere  belief  that  the  long  and  burdensome  war  was  actually  ended, 
and  that  ver)^  soon  the  armies  of  the  United  States  would  be  disbanded.  About 
the  middle  of  September,  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  began  to  take  steps 
tending  toward  the  disbandment  of  the  States'  troops  of  the  line,  and  on  October 
18th  Congress  issued  a  proclamation  disbanding  the  Continental  army.  After 
November  3d  the  army  was  entirely  discharged  from  service. 

At  Philadelphia,  September  22,    1783,  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  passed 

the  following: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  are  hereby  empowered  and  required  to  take 
into  the  service  of  this  State  one  Major,  two  Captains  and  four  subalterns  of  the  officers  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Line,  who  are  forthwith  to  be  instructed  to  enlist  two  full  companies  of  the  soldiers 
who  have  served  in  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  to  serve  such  times  as  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council, 
the  succeeding  Assembly,  shall  seem  meet;  and  that  one  month's  pay  shall  be  advanced  to  the 
said  officers  and  soldiers,  who  shall  be  armed  and  accoutered  at  the  expense  of  the  State."      +     *     * 

Miner  states  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  330)  that  "this  resolution  was 
passed  with  closed  doors,  in  secret  session,  and  recorded  on  the  secret  journals 
of  the  House;  and  was  regarded,  when  known,  as  a  direct  infraction  of  the  Articles 
of  Confederation." 

The  Supreme  Executive  Council  met  on  September  25th,  and  without  delay 
elected,  and  immediately  commissioned,  the  following-named  officers:  James 
Moore*,  Major;  James  Chrystief  and  Philip  Shrawderf,  Captains;  Blackall 
WilHam   Ball§,   John   Armstrong||,   Samuel   Read^   and   Andrew    Henderson**, 

♦James  Moore  was  a  son — probably  the  second — of  James  Moore.  Sr..  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  {]\'hilehill)  Moore, 
of  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania.  James  Moore,  Sr.,  was  possessed  of  considerable  property  in  Chester  County, 
bordering  on  the  manors  of  Springton  and  Brandywine.  May  23,  1770.  he  was  appointed  by  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  of  Pennsylvania  a  Justice  of  the  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and  of  the  Court  of  Common  Plea-^ 
of  Chester  County. 

In  company  with  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne,  Thomas  Hockley  and  others  Judge  Moore  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Public  Safety  of  Chester  County  in  December.  1774.  He  was  made  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  March  .M . 
1777,  hut  resigned  the  office  in  November,  1  781 ,  to  take  his  seat  as  a  Representative  from  Chester  County  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  to  which  office  he  was  re-elected  in  1784,  '85.  '86.  '87  and  '88.  He  was  reappointed  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace  in  November,  1782.  and  December  13.  1783.  he  was,  with  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne.- elected  a  member  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Council  of  Censors.  He  was  elected  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Chester  County  in 
October.  1785,  and  August  17.  1791,  was  appointed  an  Associate  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  a  zealous  patriot  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  and  was  active  in  enlisting  men  for  the  Flying  Camp  and  the 
Pennsylvania  Line. 

Judge  Moore  lived  in  a  fine,  large  stone  mansion,  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  overlooking  the  Brandywine.  near  the  present 
village  of  Glen  Moore,  Chester  County.  He  died  there  March  31,  1802.  and  his  wife  died  there  June  25.  1815.  aged 
82  years- 

In  June,  1773,  Judge  Moore  purchased  the  rights  of  eight  or  ten  men.  under  Pennsylvania  grants,  to  lands  in 
the  Wyoming  region.     In  1802  David  Moore,  a  son  of  Judge  !Moore,  claimed  these  lands. 

James  Moore,  Jr..  was  bom  in  Chester  County  about  1756.  He  received  a  preparatory  training  in  classical  and 
scientific  studies,  and  then,  it  is  believed,  attended  lectures  for  a  short  time  at  the  College  of  Philadelphia.  At  the 
call  to  arms  in  1775  he  quickly  responded,  and,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  was  com- 
missioned January  5,  1776,  Captain  of  the  7th  Company  in  the  4th  Pennsylvania  Battalion,  commanded  by  Col.  (later 
Gen.)  Anthony  Wayne.  In  the  Summer  and  early  Autumn  of  1776  certain  companies  of  this  battalion,  including 
Captain  Moore's  were  at  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga.  The  term  of  enli-^tment  of  the  battalion  expired  January 
5,  1777.  but  the  officers  and  men  remained  in  service  until  January  24,  in  order  to  allow  troops  to  come  in  and  take 
the  battalion's  place. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  men  of  the  4th  Battalion  reenlisted  for  three  years  in  the  5th  Pennsylvania  Regiment. 
Continental  Line,  which  was  organized  in  January  and  February,  1  777.  Captain  Moore  was  recommissioned  Captain, 
and  given  command  of  a  company  in  this  regiment.  In  May,  1777,  the  ■■5th"  joined  the  main  army  at  Morristown. 
New  Jersey,  and  on  the  1 1th  of  the  following  September  participated  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine  in  Captain  Moore's 
native  County.  He  was  promoted  Major  September  20,  1777,  and  transferred  to  the  1st  Pennsylvania  Regiment. 
Continental  Line.  The  battle  of  Germantown  soon  followed,  and  then  came  Valley  Forge,  where  the  1st  Regiment 
spent  the  Winter  of  1777-'78.  At  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  New  Jersey.  June  28,  1778,  the  1st  Regiment  carried  off 
the  honors. 

In  September.  1780,  the  "1st"  was  in  camp  at  New  Bridge,  near  Hackensacfc,  New  Jersey,  and  later  it  went  South 
with  Washington's  army  and  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Yorktown.  After  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  (October,  1781  i 
Major  Moore  went  with  his  regiment  to  South  Carolina.  January  1,  1783,  he  was  transferred  to  the  2d  Pennsylvania 
Regiment.  Continental  Line.  Early  in  the  following  July  he  was  with  his  regiment  at  the  barracks  in  Philadelphia, 
and  soon  thereafter  was  transferred  to  the  First  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  in  which  he  held  the  rank  of  Major  until 
his  discharge  from  the  service  November  3 ,  1  783,  About  that  time  he  became  an  original  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati, 


1346 

Major  Moore  was  made  a  Free  Mason  prior  to  June,  1780,  in  which  month  he  and  forty-seven  other  Brethren  of 
the  Craft  (among  whom  were  Capt.  James  Chrystie,  Lieut.  Erkuries  Beatty,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Sullivan 
expedition,  Col.  Caleb  North.  Col.  Walter  Stewart,  Col.  Josiah  Harmer,  Col.  Francis  Johnson.  Col.  Adam  Hubley. 
Capt.  John  Boyd,  Lieut.  Benjamin  Lodge,  who  had  been  Geographer  of  the  Sullivan  Expedition,  Col.  Thomas  Craig, 
mentioned  on  page  1401  Col.  Richard  Butler  and  !Maj.  Thomas  Church),  all  officers  "in  the  Pennsylvania  Line 
of  the  American  Army",  petitioned  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  Ancient  York  Mason?,  for  a  warrant  for  a 
Military,  or  TraveHng,  Lodge  "to  be  styled  Pennsylvania-Union  Lodge."  Major  Moore  was  nominated  by  the  peti- 
tioners to  be  Master  of  the  proposed  Lodge.  Surgeon  John  Rogers  to  be  Senior  Warden,  and  Surgeon  John  Pratt  to 
be  Junior  Warden.  The  petition  was  recommended  and  "countersigned"  June  2.  1780,  by  Col.  Thoma^  Procter, 
Worshipful  Master  of  Military  Lodge  No.  19  (see  page  1184,  Vol.  11),  and  July  20,  1780,  the  Grand  Lodge  granted 
to  the  Brethren  named  in  the  petition  a  warrant  for  a  Lodge  to  be  known  as  "Pennsylvania-Union  Lodge,  No,  29, 
A.  Y.  M.,  in  the  Pennsylvania  Line"  Soon  thereafter  the  Lodge  was  duly  constituted,  and  its  officers  were  installed 
by  Colonel  Procter,  who  made  his  report  to  the  Grand  Lodge  December  18,  1 780. 

Under  the  date  of  December  26.  1783.  at  Philadelphia,  four  members  of  Lodge  No.  29,  "in  behalf  of  eighteen 
raiembers  of  the  Lodge  (all  that  could  be  collected)",  presented  a  petition  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  which  appeared  the 
following  paragraph:  "On  the  return  of  the  warrant  and  Brethren  to  this  place,  a  Lodge  has  never  been  called,  and 
Major  ]\ioore.  who  was  continued  Master,  has  taken  the  warrant  with  him,  and  the  jewels,  books  and  papers  belonging 
to  the  Lodge,  to  his  command  at  Wyoming,  where  there  is  but  one  member  [Captain.  James  Chrystie]  with  him."  +  *  * 
December  27.  1783,  the  Grand  Lodge  voted  "that  all  traveling  warrants  heretofore  granted  by  this  Grand  Lodge 
be  called  in  by  the  Grand.Secretary."    [See  "Old  Masonic  Lodges  of  Pennsylvania",  II:  66-77.] 

(The  following  paragraphs  are  from  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  Maj.  James  Moore  by  W.  S.  Long,  M.  D. ,  published 
in  The  Pennsylvania  Magazine.  XII:  470.) 

"After  his  experiences  at  Wyoming  Major  Moore  went  to  Philadelphia  and  entered  the  drug  business.  He  moved 
in  fashionable  circles  in  society,  and  exhibited  a  taste  for  high  living  and  the  expensive  refinements,  whether  of  art 
or  pleasure,  which  in  the  end  resulted  unfortunately  both  for  himself  and  hiy  family.  October  17,  1787,  in  Christ 
Church,  he  was  married  to  Sarah,  eldest  daughter  of  Col.  Sharp  and  Margaret  Delany,  [For  further  references  to 
Colonel  Delany  see  a  subsequent  chapter]  She  was  one  of  the  belles  of  Philadelphia,  and  ably  seconded  the  bent  of 
his  inclination  for  extravagant  living.  When  they  visited  Judge  and  Mrs.  Moore  at  their  home  near  Springton  Manor, 
Chester  County,  they  rode  in  a  handsome  carriage  drawn  by  fine  horses,  with  everything  to  correspond  in  style,  and 
were  apt  to  astonish  their  neighbors,  who  lived  in  a  plainer,  though  respectable  provincial  manner. 

"As  a  business  man  he  was  unsuccessful.  January  2,  1798,  the  partnership  of  Goldthwaite  &  Moore  was  dissolved, 
their  store  being  at  the  comer  of  Second  and  Walnut  Streets,  and  Jame^  Moore,  Jr.,  advertised  the  stock  for  sale,  as 
he  proposed  retiring  from  business.  His  father  assisted  him  on  several  occasions — on  the  last  one,  parting  with  most 
of  his  land  rather  than  permit  his  son's  name  to  be  dishonored. 

"About  1800  Major  Moore  removed  with  his  family  to  the  neighborhood  of  Jamestown,  Virginia,  preferring  the 
severing  of  family  and  social  ties,  and  a  life  among  strangers,  to  meeting  in  the  walks  of  daily  life  those  who  had  known 
him  in  more  prosperous  times.  Only  once — on  the  occasion  of  his  son  Sharp's  visit  to  the  home  of  his  father's  boyhood, 
about  1810 — has  the  veil  which  hid  his  further  career  from  us  been  lifted." 

According  to  the  "Decennial  Register  of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  Sons  of  the  Revolution",  Philadelphia, 
1898,  Major  Moore  died  in  1813. 

i  James  Christie  was  bom  near  Edinburg,  Scotland,  in  1750.  and  came  to  Pennsylvania  in  1775.  Under  a  resolu- 
tion of  Congress  passed  December  9.  1775,  the  Second  Pennsylvania  Battalion  was  raised,  and  on  January  3,  1776, 
Col.  Arthur  St.  Clair  was  elected  and  commissioned  by  Congress  to  command  this  battalion.  Two  days  later  James 
Christie  was  commissioned  First  Lieutenant  of  Capt.  Stephen  Bayard's  company  of  the  2d  Battalion,  and  on  the  11th 
of  the  following  November  he  was  commissioned  Captain  (to  rank  from  August  9,  1776)  and  transferred  to  the  command 
of  the  company  in  the  same  battalion  which  had  been  formerly  commanded  by  Capt  William  Butler,  who  had  been 
promoted  Major. 

The  Second  Battalion  was  in  service  at  Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga,  and  other  points  in  the  north-eastern  corner 
of  New  York  nearer  the  Canadian  border,  during  the  Summer,  Autumn  and  early  part  of  the  Winter  of  1776,  leaving 
Ticonderoga  for  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  January  24,  1777— their  term  of  service  having  then  expired. 

The  Third  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line,  was  formed  in  January  and  February,  1777,  on  the  basis 
of  the  Second  Battalion,  Pennsylvania  and  was  "arranged"  in  the  Continental  service  March  12,  1777.  Captain 
Chrystie  was  commissioned  a  Captain  in  this  regiment,  to  rank  from  August  9,  1776  The  Third  Pennsylvania  was 
in  camp  with  the  army  near  White  Plains,  New  York,  in  July  1  778,  on  or  about  the  first  of  which  month  the  Twelfth 
Pennsylvania  Regiment,  which  had  been  reduced  to  a  skeleton  regiment  by  heavy  los,>-es,  was  incorporated  with  the 
"Third".  Just  about  the  time  this  consolidation  took  place  Captain  Chrystie  and  other  officers  of  the  "Third"  were 
tried  by  court-martial.  The  findings  of  the  court,  promulgated  in  a  General  Order  issued  from  the  headquarters  of 
the  army  at  White  Plains,  under  the  date  of  August  1.  1778,  are  printed  in  "Pennsylvania  in  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion", II:  294,  and  they  read  in  part  as  follows: 

"At  a  Division  General  Court  Martial,  held  at  Peekskill  July  16,  1778,  *  *  Lieut.  John  Armstrong,  of  the 
3d  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  tried  for  behaving  in  a  scandalous  manner  in  beating  a  number  of  persons,  breaking  windows 
and  being  guilty  of  other  abusive  treatment.  After  due  consideration  the  Court  are  of  opinion  that  Lieutenant 
Armstrong  was  guilty  of  beating  Quartermaster  Bradford,  but  think  that  the  provocation  was,  in  some  degree,  equal 
to  the  offense;  that  he  was  guilty  of  breaking  cellar  windows,  and  of  other  abusive  treatment:  but,  upon  the  whole, 
cannot  pronounce  his  behavior  scandalous,  though  unjustifiable;  and,  notwithstanding  his  good  character  as  an  officer 
and  soldier,  he  is  sentenced  to  be  reprimanded  in  General  Orders. 

"At  the  same  Court  Captains  James  Christy  and  Thomas  Moore  of  said  regiment  was  tryed  for  said  crime.  The 
Court  are  of  opinion  that  they  are  not  guilty  of  behaving  in  a  scandalous  manner  in  beating  a  number  of  persons  and 
breaking  windows,  but  find  them  guilty  of  abusive  treatment,  and  sentence  them  to  be  reprimanded  iiy  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  Brigade. 

"The  Commander-in-chief  [General  Washington]  is  sorry  he  has  a  reason  to  declare  that  Captains  Christy 
and  Moore  and  Lieutenant  Armstrong  were,  through  the  whole  of  this  affair,  in  circumstances  that  did  them  very 
little  honor.  He  laments  that  they  should  suffer  themselves  so  far  to  deviate  from  that  line  of  delicacy  and  decorum 
which  they  owe  to  their  own  character,  as  to  Engage  in  riot  and  tumult  of  singular  complexion;  especially  as  it  rather 
appears  by  their  own  defense  that  they  left  their  regiment  without  leave." 

It  is  stated  in  "Pennsylvania  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution",  I:  446.  that  in  September,  1780.  on  the  discovery 
of  Benedict  Arnold's  plot  at  West  Point,  Captain  Chrystie  "was  detailed  specially  by  General  Washington  to  visit 
all  the  [American]  posts." 

Under  the  "arrangement"  of  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  in  the  Continental  Line,  January  1,  1781,  Captain 
Chrystie  continued  in  command  of  a  company  in  the  Third  Regiment.  January  17,  1781,  the  Third  was  reorganized 
under  Col.  Thomas  Craig  (see  page  670,  Vol.  II).  and,  after  recruiting  at  Easton.  Pennsylvania,  accompanied  Gen. 
Anthony  Wayne  on  his  southern  campaign — or,  at  least,  the  larger  part  of  the  regiment  was  detached  for  that  purpose. 

Prior  to  January  I,  1783,  Captain  Chrystie  was  transferred  to  the  Second  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  his  retirement  from  the  service,  June  3,  1783 — about  which  time  he  was  brevetted  Major,  and  also 
became  an  original  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

As  stated  in  the  preceding  foot-note  Captain  Chrystie  was  a  charter,  or  warrant,  member  of  Pennsylvania-Union 
Lodge.  No.  29.  Ancient  York  Masons  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  the  father  of  Lieut.  Col.  James  Chrystie  of  the  15th 
United  States  Infantry,  who  distinguished  himself  at  Queenstown  in  the  War  of  1812.  Both  father  and  son  were  dead 
in    1824. 

JSee  (*)  note,  page  1321. 

§Blackall  William  Ball  was  commissioned  October  16.  1776  (to  rank  from  October -1),  an  Ensign  in  the  12th 
Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line,  which  was  organized  in  the  Autumn  of  1776,  as  related  on  page  1329 
May  20,  1777,  he  was  promoted  Second  Lieutenant,  and  July  1,  1778.  was  transferred  to  the  Third  Pennsylvania 
Regiment,  Continental  Line.  He  was  promoted  First  Lieutenant  September  11,  1778.  In  the  "arrangement"  of 
of  the  3d  Regiment  January  1 ,  1 78! ,  he  was  continued  as  First  Lieutenant,  but  prior  to  January  1 .  1 783,  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  First  Pennsylvania.  In  1783  he  became  an  original  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the  Society 
of  the  Cincinnati      Prior  to  September  2Z,  1783,  he  had  retired  from  the  military  service.     December  13,  1783.  he  was 


1347  • 

Lieutenants.  Major  Moore  was  appointed  to  command  the  battalion,  or  corps 
of  two  companies  that  was  to  be  organized,  and  under  the  date  of  September 
26th  the  Council  issued  to  him  the  following  instructions*: 

"Agreeably  to  our  Communications  of  yesterday,  you  will  proceed  immediately  to  inlist 
and  embody  two  Companies  of  Infantry  consisting  of  one  Serjeant  Major,  one  Quarter  Master 
Serjeant,  eight  Serjeants,  eight  Corporals,  Two  Drummers,  Two  Fifers,  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  privates, 

"In  performing  this  service  you  will  please  to  conform  strictly  to  the  following  rules: 

"First,  To  guard  against  imposition,  every  Recruit,  before  his  attestation  be  signed,  is  to  be 
carefully  examined,  lest  he  should  have  a  rupture,  fits,  or  some  other  disease  which  may  render 
hira  incapable  of  performing  the  more  active  duties  of  the  Soldier.  All  such  are  to  be  absolutely 
rejected,  and  those  of  the  best  Character,  both  as  Soldiers  and  Men,  to  be  selected. 

"Secondly,  When  an  unexceptionable  Recruit  shall  be  engaged,  you  are  to  take  or  send 
him  to  some  Justice  of  the  Peace,  who,  finding  him  to  be  sober,  and  having  read  to  him  the  form 
of  the  inlistment  receipt  and  attestation,  is  to  cause  such  Recruit  to  sign  the  said  inlistment  and 
receipt,  and  then  to  administer  to  him  the  oath  herewith  inclosed;  duplicates  of  which  attestation, 
inlistment  and  receipt  the  Justice  shall  witness.  Of  these  one  copy  is  to  be  transmitted  to  this 
Board;  The  other  you  will  retain  in  your  own  hands. 

"Thirdly,  The  inclosed  form  of  Enlistment  receipt  and  attestation  is  to  be  invariably  observed. 

"Fourthly,  As  an  encouragement  to  such  Recruit  immediately  to  inlist,  you  are  authorized 
to  offer  on  the  part  of  the  State  the  following  Ration;  One  pound  of  flour,  one  pound  of  beef,  or 
three  quarters  of  a  pound  of  Pork,  &  one  gill  of  whiskey  per  man  per  Day ;  one  quart  of  Salt  &  two 
quarts  of  Vinegar  to  every  hundred  rations;  Eight  pounds  of  Soap  &  three  pounds  of  Candles  to 
every  seven  hundred  rations;  one  suit  of  Regimental  Cloaths  annually,  consisting  of  one 
Regimental  Coat,  one  woollen  Vest,  one  pair  of  woollen  Overalls,  one  blanket,  two  Shirts,  two  pair 
of  Shoes,  two  pair  of  Socks,  one  Hat,  and  ten  Watch  Coats  to  each  Company,  and  the  following 
Monthly  pay,  to  wit:  Serjeant  Major  &  Quarter  Master  Serjeant,  each  eight  dollars;  Serjeants, 
seven  dollars;  Corporals,  five  dollars;   Drums  and  Fifes  and  Privates,  four  dollars. 

"Fifthly,  As  an  additional  encouragement  to  the  service,  you  are  at  Liberty  to  give  any 
sum  not  exceeding  four  dollars  for  every  sufficient  stand  of  arms  and  accoutrements  furnished 
by  the  Recruit  whom  you  may  engage. 

"Sixthly,  No  furloughs  to  be  given  to  any  Recruit  till  the  farther  order  of  Council." 

The  oath  of  enlistment  prescribed  by  the  Council  to  be  taken  by  the  recruits, 
was  in  the  following  formf : 

"I  do  swear  to  be  true  and  faithful  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania;  that  I  will 
faithfully  serve  it  in  the  corps  of  foot  commanded  by  Maj.  James  Moore,  for  the  space  of  two 

initiated  into  Lodge  No.  22,  Ancient  York  Masons,  at  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  still  living  in  1811,  but  when 
or  where  he  died  we  are  unable  to  state. 

ilJoHN  Armstrong  was  a  Sergeant  in  Capt.  John  Brady's  company  (enlisted  along  the  West  Branch  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna in  September  and  October.  1776),  of  the  12th  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  previously  mentioned.  May  20, 
1777,  he  was  promoted  Ensign,  and  December  11  of  the  same  year  was  promoted  Second  Lieutenant.  July  1.  1778, 
he  was  transferred  to  the  3d  Pennsylvania  Regiment.  Continental  Line,  upon  the  consolidation  of  the  "12th'  with 
it.     (See  note  "t"  above,  for  reference  to  Lieutenant  Armstrong's  trial  by  Court  martial  in  1778) 

Lieutenant  Armstrong  was  promoted  First  Lieutenant  May  12,  1779,  and  upon  the  "arrangement"  of  the  3d 
Pennsylvania  January  17.  1781,  and  again  on  January  1,  1783,  he  was  continued  as  Lieutenant.  Sometime  later  he 
was  promoted  Captain  by  brevet.     He  retired  from  the  service  in  the  vSummer  of  1783. 

Under  a  resolution  of  Congress  adopted  June  3,  1784,  the  several  States  of  the  Union  were  required  to  furnish 
quotas  of  troops  for  service  under  the  orders  of  Congress  for  the  space  of  one  year.  About  the  middle  of  August,  1784, 
the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  commissioned  Lieut.  Col.  Josiah  Harmar  to  raise  and  command  a 
battaUon  of  troops,  in  compliance  with  the  call  of  Congress.  Among  those  selected  as  commissioned  officers  for  this 
"Continental  Regiment"  was  John  Armstrong,  who,  at  Sunbury,  August  24.  1784,  wrote  to  President  Dickinson  as 
follows:  "By  a  letter  from  Colonel  Harmar  I  find  your  Excellency  and  Council  have  been  pleased  to  honor  me  with 
an  appointment  in  the  Continental  Regiment  under  his  command.  After  acknowledgements  to  your  Excellency 
and  Council  for  their  confidence,  I  beg  leave  to  obser^-e  that  I  feel  myself  hurt  in  being  only  appointed  Ensign  after 
having  served  as  Lieutenant  in  the  Continental  Army  since  September  11,  1777,  and  lately  honored  by  Congress  with 
a  Captain's  commission  by  brevet.  While  I  accept  my  present  appointment,  I  hope  your  Excellency'  and  Council 
will  give  me  that  rank  I  held  in  the  Continental  Army." 

At  the  beginning  of  December.  1784,  Harmar's  battalion  was  in  camp  near  Fort  Pitt  (the  present  Pittsburgh, 
Pa.),  and  Ensign  Armstrong  was  reported  "sick,  absent  in  Philadelphia."  On  December 5th,  the  battalion  marched  to 
Fort  Mcintosh  as  a  guard  to  the  Commissioners  appointed  to  hold  a  treaty  with  certain  western  Indians.  January 
1,  1785,  Ensign  Armstrong  was  present  at  Fort  Mcintosh,  "sick."  April  1,  1785,  he  was  "on  command  down  the  Ohio 
River,  about  eighty  miles  from  Fort  Mcintosh."  On  the  returns  of  July  1  and  August  I,  1785,  made  out  at  Fort 
Mcintosh,  he  was  noted  as  being  "on  furlough."    ■ 

USamuEl  Re-U>  was  commissioned  Ensign  of  the  5th  Company  in  the  "New  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Regiment" 
(referred  to  more  at  length  in  the  notes  on  pages  1 108  and  1 179,  Vol.  II),  and  was  with  his  regiment  at  Wyoming  and 
on  the  Sullivan  Expedition  in  the  Summer  of  1779.  He  was  promoted  Lieutenant  October  2,  17S0.  and  on  or  about 
January  17,  1781,  was  transferred  to  the  3d  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line.  Under  the  "arrangement" 
of  this  regiment  January  1,  1783,  he  was  continued  as  Lieutenant.  Prior  to  September  23,  1783,  he  was  transferred 
to  the  First  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  and  continued  as  a  Lieutenant  thereof  until  the  regiment  was  disbanded, 
November  3,  1783.  He  died  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  September,  1784,  of  wounds  received  during  one  of  the  Pennamite- 
Yaiikee  conflicts. 


**Andrew  Henderson  was  appointed  an  Ensign  in  the  Fourth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line, 
at  Wilkes- Barre,  October  9.  1  779,  by  order  of  General  Sullivan,  to  rank  from  July  4,  1779,  and  was  duly  commissioned 
as  such.  He  was  promoted  Lieutenant  July  29,  1781,  to  rank  from  January  29,  1781.  He  was  transferred  as  Lieuten- 
ant to  the  Second  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line,  January  1,  1783,  and  continued  as  a  Lieutenant  of  that 
regiment  until  its  disbandment.  November  3,  1 783.  About  that  time  he  became  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Branch 
of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  In  1799  Lieutenant  Henderson  was  residing  in  Huntingdon  County,  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  Prothonotary  of  the  County. 

♦See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  127. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  128. 


1348 

years  from  the  date  of  this  attestation,  unless  sooner  discharged;  and  that  I  will  be  obedient  to 
the  orders  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  and  the  officers  by  them 
set  over  me,  according  to  the  Continental  Articles  of  War,  or  such  other  Articles  as  some  future 
Assembly  of  the  State  may  establish  for  the  government  of  the  corps  to  which  I  belong.  So  help 
me  God!" 

At  Philadelphia,  September  27,  1783,  John  Armstrong,  Jr.,  wSecretary  of  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council,  wrote  to  Capt.  Philip  Shrawder  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
in  part  as  follows*: 

"You  have  been  appointed  to  the  command  of  one  of  the  two  companies  to  be  raised  for 
the  further  defense  of  this  Commonwealth.  The  recruiting  of  this  corps  is  specially  committed  to 
the  commanding  officer,  Mai.  James  Moore  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  whose  orders  you  will  here- 
after obey.  Council  conceive  it  necessary  that  you  should  continue  at  the  Post,  and  proceed  to 
act  in  that  line  of  diligence  and  industry  which  has  already  so  well  deserved  their  approbation. 
Many  reasons  make  it  prudent,  if  not  necessary,  that  this  appointment  should  be  concealed  from 
the  garrison.  Among  others,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  if  they  were  acquainted  with  it  they  might 
relax  in  their  obedience." 

As  noted  on  page  638,  Vol.  II,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  returned  from  the  army 

to  Wilkes-Barre,  August  20,   1783.    Miner,  referring  to  the  condition  of  affairs 

in  Wyoming  about  that  time,  states  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  331): 

"Thelicentious  soldiery,  freed  from  the  restraints  of  discipline,  which  the  presence  of  an 
enemy  tends  to  enforce,  and  encouraged  by  the  civil  authority  [that  is,  the  newly-commissioned 
Pennsylvania  Justices  of  the  Peace],  became  extremely  rude  and  oppressive.  They  took  without 
leave  whatever  they  fancied.  Several  persons  had  been  arrested  and  brought  before  Captain 
Shrawder.  Colonel  Butler,  indignant  at  the  treatment  the  inhabitants  suffered,  expressed  his 
opinions  freely.  It  was  enough.  A  writ  was  issued,  and  Colonel  Butler  was  arrested  on  the  24th 
of  September  for  high  treason,  as  it  was  said.  Surrounded  by  a  guard  of  soldiers  he  was  conveyed 
to  the  fort  [Dickinson],  and  was  treated  with  great  indignity." 

Colonel  Franklin  states  that  Colonel  Butler  was  kept  under  guard  in  the 
fort  for  thirty-six  hours,  and  then,  "put  under  a  guard  of  ruffian  soldiers,  in 
command  of  Ensign  Chambers  was  sent  on  board  of  a  canoe  to  Sunbury  to  be 
committed  to  gaol;  and  that  he  was  thus  sent  without  any  civil  officer,  writ  or 
mittimus."  Col.  John  Henry  Antest,  was  at  that  time  vSheriff  of  Northumber- 
land County,  and  he  not  only  refused  to  receive  Colonel  Butler  into  his  custody, 
but  directed  him  to  return  to  Wilkes-Barre.  A  few  days  later  Colonel  Butler 
was  again  arrested,  and  was  ordered  to  be  committed  to  the  jail  at  Sunbury.  The 
original  mittimusj,  issued  in  pursuance  of  this  mandate  of  the  Justices,  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and  reads 
as  follows: 

"Northumberland  County,  ss: 
[L.  S.] 

To  the  Sheriff,  Under  Sheriff  or  Gaoler.  These  are  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania  to  require  and  command  you  that  you  receive  into  your  custody  in  the  gaol  of  said 
County  the  body  of  Zebulon  Butler,  charged  of  Treason,  and  extremely  dangerous,  as  appears 
to  us  the  subscribers — Justices  assigned  to  keep  the  peace  for  said  County — from  sundry  deposi. 

'''See  ihid.,  page  131. 

tJoHN  Henry  Antes,  commonly  known  as  Henry  Antes,  was  bom  near  what  is  now  Pottstown,  Montgomery 
County,  Pennsylvania,  October  8.  1736.  In  early  manhood  he  removed  to  the  Susquehanna  region  and  settled  near 
the  present  town  of  Jersey  Shore,  in  what  later  became  Northumberland  County,  and  is  now  Lycoming  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. July  29,  1 775.  he  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Quarter  Sessions  of  Northumberland  County.  In  December. 
1775,  he  is  said  to  have  commanded  a  company  in  the  Piunket  Expedition,  a  full  account  of  which  is  given  on  page 
859,  et  seq-.  Vol.  II.  January  34,  1776,  he  was  commissioned  Captain  of  a  company  in  the  Pennsylvania  Battalion 
of  militia  commanded  by  Col.  James  Potter.  In  May,  1777,  he  was  commissioned  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
of  Pennsylvania  Lieut.  Colonel  of  the  4th  Battalion  of  Northumberland  County  militia.  In  1779  he  was  "Conductor 
of  Boats",  with  the  rank  of  Colonel,  on  the  staff  of  General  Sullivan  during  the  Sullivan  Expedition— described  in 
Chapter  XVIII,  Vol.  II.  In  1782  he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  Northumberland  County.  He  was  re-elected  in  1783  and 
again  in  1784. 

In  1778  Colonel  Antes  erected  near  his  home,  for  the  occupancy  of  his  family  and  his  neighbors,  a  rude  stockade, 
which  became  known  as  Fort  Antes.  It  was  located  on  a  high  bluff  overlooking  the  river,  in  what  is  now  Nippenose 
Township,  Lycoming  County.  Colonel  Antes  became  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  22,  Ancient  York  Masons,  at  Sunbury, 
Pa.,  February  8,  1781,  and  in  1784  was  vSenior  Warden  of  the  Lodge.  He  died  at  his  home  near  the  ruins  of  Fort 
Antes,  May  13,  1820.     "No  name  on  the  frontier  shines  with  brighter  luster  than  that  of  Henry  Antes." 

For  further  and  more  detailed  particulars  concerning  the  life  of  Henry  Antes,  see  "Frontier  Forts  of  Penn- 
sylvania", I:  394,  and  Godcharles'  "Free  Masonry  in  Northumberland  and  Snyder  Counties,  Pennsylvania",  I:  23. 

tA  copy  of  the  document  was  transmitted  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  by  Alexander  Patterson,  and  was 
received  by  that  body  December  1,  1783. 


1349 

tioni  and  informations  before  us.    And  that  you  safely  keep  said  Zeliulon  Butler  in  said  gaol, 
until  he  is  discharged  therefrom  by  law,  &c. 

"Given  under  our  hands  and  seals  October  9,  1783. 

ISigned]  "Alkxaxder  Patterson, 

"John  Seely 
"David  Mead." 

Relative  to  his  re-arrest,  Colonel  Butler  wrote  from  Wilkes-Barre  under  the 
date  of  October  11,  1783,  to  Col.  E.  Dyer  and  Jesse  Root,  Esq.,  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  in  part  as  follows: 

"Yours  of  September  12  I  received  yesterday.  I  was  a  prisoner,  sent  to  gaol  about  seventy 
miles,  when  the  letter  came,  I  was  taken  on  a  writ  for  treason  against  the  State.  The  Sheriflf 
gave  me  a  writing  to  return  or  go  where  I  chose,  only  to  come  again  to  court.  Immediately  on 
my  arrival  at  home  I  was  taken  by  an  under  Sheriff  for  the  same  thing,  and  the  Sheriff  is  now 
waiting  to  take  me  away.  *  *  *  The  inhabitants  are  in  the  most  distressed  situation. 
Clairaers  for  lands  under  Pennsylvania  are  demanding  and  taking  part  of  their  crops  of  corn,  &c. 
The  inhabitants  are  almost  drove  to  despair.    God  knows  what  will  be  the  event." 

Once  more,  then,  Colonel  Butler  was  conveyed  down  the  river  to  Sunbury, 
where,  upon  his  arrival,  he  was  bound  over  for  his  appearance  at  the  next  term 
of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer — Messers.  Shaw,  Bonham  and  Espy  becoming 
his  sureties  in  the  sum  of  £5,000.  Returning  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Colonel  Butler 
was  again,  early  in  November,  1783,  conveyed  to  Sunbur>'  by  a  supposed  process 
of  law.  The  following,  copied  from  originals  now  in  the  possession  of  The  Wyom- 
ing Historical  and  Geological  Society,  will  explain,  in  a  measure,  the  why  and 
wherefore  of  this  third  excursion  to  the  county-seat  of  Northumberland  County. 

"Northumberland,  Nov.  II,  1783. 

"Sir: — Upon  reconsideration  of  the  note  I  have  wrote  you  by  Mr.  John  Mead,*  I  do  not 
wish  you  to  consider  it  in  any  manner  as  a  summons  to  come  to  Sunbury,  and  I  hereby  order 
John  Mead,  or  any  other  messenger  of  mine  who  may  have  you  in  custody,  immediately  to  enlarge 
you  and  suffer  you  to  go  home  or  elsewhere  in  the  County  of  Northumberland  until  Court,  or 
further  orders  from  me.    Witness  my  hand  and  seal  the  day  and  year  above. 

"To  Col.  Zebn.  BuUer.  [Signed]         "Henry  Antes,  Sheriff. 


"Northumberland,  County,  ss: — 
"John  Mead,  being  at  this  time  the  gaoler  of  the  County  aforesaid,  saith,  That  on  the  Sth 
November,  iiist.,  being  sent  up  to  Wyoming  by  Henry  Antes,  High  Sheriff  of  the  County,  the  said 
Sheriff  delivered  him  a  paper  directing  him  to  apprehend  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  bring  him  to 
Sunbury  gaol  and  to  keep  him  safely,  agreeably  to  a  mittimus  which  the  Sheriff  ackno%vledged 
to  be  in  his  hands.  This  deponent  accordingly  apprehended  the  said  Butler  at  Wyoming,  and 
brought  him  down  with  him  to  Northumberland  town,  where  he  was  met  by  the  Sheriff,  General 
Potter,  William  Shaw,  Esq.,  WLUiam  Bonham  and  Captain  Robinson.  The  Sheriff  then  took 
the  said  Butler  from  him  [the  said  Mead],  desiring  him  to  let  said  Butler  go,  and  he  [Antes] 
would  clear  him  [Mead]  for  so  doing.  The  Sheriff  afterwards  delivered  a  paper  to  this  deponent, 
by  way  of  indemnifying  the  deponent  for  letting  said  Butler  go.  It  seems  to  be  a  copy  of  an 
original  given  by  the  Sheriff  to  said  Butler,  but  was  signed  by  the  Sheriff  himself. 

[Signed]  "John  Mead" 

"Sworn  and  subscribed  this  13  November,  1783,  before  John  Buyers  and  Chn.  Gettig,  Esqs." 
On  October  14,  1783,  an  election  was  held  in  Northumberland  County  for 
one  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  the  State,  two  Representatives 
to  the  General  Assembly,  and  a  High  Sheriff  in  and  for  the  County.  The  voting 
took  place  at  Pennsbury  (see  page  1342),  and  thither  journej'ed  Capt.  Simon 
Spalding  and  twent^^-three  other  Yankee  settlers  of  Wyoming  to  cast  their 
ballots.  After  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Pennsylvania  they  were  permitted 
to  vote,  but  their  ballots  were  placed  in  boxes  separate  from  those  in  which  the 
ballots  of  the  other  voters  were  deposited — the  reason  for  this  being  that 
there  was  some  question  in  the  minds  of  the  election  officers  as  to  the  validity 
of  these  ballots,  because  those  who  cast  them  had  not  resided  a  year  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  Constitution  of  the  State  required  a  year's  residence  in  the  State 
as  one  of  the  necessarv-  qualifications  to  vote  at  elections;  and  tip  to  the  Decree 
of  Trenton,  W^'oming  had  been  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut. 

*.\  younger  brother  of  David  Mead. 


1350 

When  the  returns  of  this  election  were  made  to  the  General  Assembly,  that 
body  rejected  the  ballots  of  the  twenty-four  Wyoming  voters,  whereupon  twenty 
members  of  the  Assembly  protested  against  such  action,  assigning,  among  other 
reasons,  the  following*: 

"We  whose  names  are  hereto  subscribed,  considering  the  security  of  elections  the  only 
safeguard  of  public  liberty  and  the  peace  of  the  State,  do  protest  against  the  determination  of 
the  House  on  the  Northumberland  election,  for  the  following  reasons: 

"We  conceive  the  twenty-four  votes  set  aside  as  illegal  were  given  by  legal  voters,  inasmuch 
as  the  persons  giving  them  were  in  fact  in  the  Government  (though  not  in  the  territory/  of 
Connecticut,  which  exercised  full  jurisdiction  over  them  until  the  Decree  at  Trenton. 

"We  observe  that,  allowing  it  to  be  Connecticut  (as  was  contended)  until  the  Decree  at 
Trenton,  then  they  may  be  deemed  persons  coming  from  another  State,  who,  producing  certificates 
of  their  having  taken  the  oath  to  this  State,  became  by  law  entitled  to  vote.  This,  it  was  fully 
proved,  they  had  done.     *     *     * 

"We  cannot  but  lament  the  fatal  policy  by  which,  instead  of  conciliating  these  people  and 
adopting  them  as  our  subjects  and  citizens  and  endearing  them  to  us  in  political  bands,  we  are 
straining  the  laws  against  them;  *  *  *  which  in  our  judgment  has  a  strong  tendency  to 
revive  the  dispute  (which  they  may  yet  do  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation)  and  drive  them 
back  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut,  which  will  be  more  ready  to  receive  them  and  renew  the 
old  claim  when  they  find  the  actual  settlers  excluded  from  the  common  privileges  of  the  citizens 
of  this  State." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  October  18,  1783,  President  Dickinson 
wrote  to  Maj.  James  Moore,  then  in  Philadelphia,  as  follows! : 

"Council,  fully  confiding  in  your  Integrity,  Ability  &  Industry,  commits  to  you  the  important 
charge,  the  Fort  and  Post  at  Wyoming,  and  wishes  you  and  the  other  officers  now  in  town  [Phila- 
delphia] to  repair  to  that  place  as  soon  as  possible  with  the  men  that  are  inlisted.  We  do  not 
doubt  but  the  utmost  care  will  be  taken  that  the  troops  behave  themselves  regularly,  and  that 
not  the  least  injury  be  done  to  any  of  the  citizens  of  the  State. 

"Upon  your  arrival  there  you  will  endeavor  to  complete  the  companies  by  enlisting  such  of 
the  soldiers  in  the  Garrison  as  may  be  approved,  and  agreeable  to  the  instructions  we  have 
given,  and  who  have  no  improper  connection  in  the  neighborhood.  If  a  sufficient  number  of  such 
men  cannot  be  procured  in  the  Garrison,  we  would  desire  that  an  officer  may  be  sent  down  to  this 
city  to  make  up  the-complement.  As  you  go  by  Harris'  Ferryj  you  will  take  with  you  such  of  the 
military  stores  at  that  place  as  may  be  necessary. 

"Peculiar  circumstances  strongly  point  out  the  propriety  of  desiring  you,  in  a  very  particular 
manner,  constantly  to  employ  the  utmost  vigilance  and  alertness  for  the  security  of  the  fort  and 
the  maintenance  of  the  station.  It  is  expected  that  you  will  be  in  perfect  preparation  at  every 
moment  to  resist  any  hostile  attempt,  whether  openly  or  insidiouslymade.  Among  other  atten- 
tions it  will  be  indispensably  necessary  for  this  purpose  that  great  care  should  be  taken  not  to 
suffer  the  soldiers,  on  any  pretense  whatever,  to  absent  themselves  from  the  Garrison,  either  in 
an  indefensible  situation,  or  beyond  the  reach  of  your  immediate  recall. 

"It  is  our  desire  that  as  long  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  keep  up  the  Garrison  it  shall  at  no 
time  be  left  without  a  supply  of  one  month's  provisions  in  stock  for  the  complete  establishment 
of  the  two  companies.  We  should  be  glad  to  have  a  return  of  all  the  military  stores,  and  early, 
frequent  and  exact  intelligence  of  your  proceedings  and  of  every  circumstance  that  may  concern 
the  interest  of  the  State. 

"On  your  arrival  at  Wyoming  you  will  please  to  muster  and  inspect  the  troops  now  there, 
making  exact  returns  to  us.  You  will  then  express  to  the  officers  and  soldiers§  the  grateful  sense 
we  entertain  of  their  services,  and  discharge  them." 

Under  the  date  of  October  20,  1783,  at  "Londonderry"  (Wilkes-Barre) 
Alexander  Patterson  wrote  to  President  Dickinson  as  follows : 

"Since  Mr.  Mead  and  I  wrote  you  last  (the  purport  of  which  was  informing  you  of  the 
measures  taken  to  have  in  confinement  that  flagrant  offender.  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  who  has 
threatened  the  dissolution  of  the  citizens  of  this  State  and  its  laws),  notwithstanding  Colonel 
Butler  was  committed  from  under  the  hands  and  seals  of  three  Justices  of  Peace  for  treason,  he 
has  found  securitv,  and  is  sent  back  to  this  place  to  the  terror  of  the  good  citizens  in  this  neighbor- 
hood. The  Sheriff  has  not  done  his  duty,  nor  do  I  believe  he  intends  it — being  a  party  man, 
among  which  I  am  sorry  to  see  so  little  principles  of  humanity  and  honour,  men  who  wish  for 
popularity  at  the  expense  of  the  property,  and  perhaps  blood,  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

"Strange  as  it  may  appear,  it  is  alDsolutely  true  that  the  banditti  at  Wyoming  have  been 
solicited  for  their  votes  at  the  election||,  caressed  and  patronized  in  their  villainy,  and  encouraged 
in  their  claims  to  land  which  they  now  withhold,  in  violation  of  all  law,  from  men  who  have 

*See  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming,"  Page  341. 

tSce  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  132. 

JNow  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania. 

§The  officers  and  men  of  Captain  Shrawder's  and  Captain  Robinson's  companies  of   "Pennsylvania  Rangers." 

I]  The  election  held  at  Pennsbury. 


1351 

distinguished  themselves  and  taken  a  very  decided  part  in  the  late  Revolution.  Sure  I  am  that 
it  would  be  an  act  of  justice  not  to  commissionatc  [as  Sheriff]  Antes* — the  other  person  on  the 
return  I  do  not  know,  but  worse  he  cannot  be. 

"Pardon  this  freedom.  Nothing  but  a  wish  for  the  peace  of  the  citizens  would  have  induced 
me  to  have  said  so  much  upon  this  head.  I  have  wrote  the  Chief  Justice  concerning  Butler,  and 
have  prevailed  upon  Ihe  bearer  hereof,  Capt.  John  Dickf  to  carry  these  despatches.  He  will 
return  to  this  place,  and  may  he  depended  on.  I  am  very  uneasy  having  heard  nothing  of  Major 
Moore.  I  wish  he  was  here.  I  hope  your  E.'^ccUency  will  think  it  right  to  order  the  troops  for- 
ward as  soon  as  possible." 

()f  the  two  military  companies  which  were  to  be  stationed  at  Wilkes-Barre 
by  direction  of  the  vState  Government,  Captain  Chrystie  enlisted  his  men  at 
and  near  Philadelphia,  while  Captain  vShrawder  enlisted  his  from  the  "Rangers" 
of  his  former  command  and  that  of  Captain  Robinson,  who  were  discharged 
from  the  service  of  the  State  upon  the  arrival  of  Major  Moore,  at  Wilkes-Barre 
early  in  November,  1783.  Captain  Chrystie,  in  command  of  his  company,  set 
out  from  Philadelphia  for  Wyoming,  October  19,  1783.  On  October  22d,  Easton 
was  reached,  when  and  where  Captain  Chr\'stie  wrote  to  President  Dickinson  as 
f  ollowsj : 

"I  have  arrived  here  this  morning  at  9  o'Clock,  the  Detachment  in  good  order,  only  two  of 
the  soldiers  which  I  shall  take  the  liberty  to  discharge  as  unfit  for  service.  The  one  has  fits  & 
the  other  is  in  such  a  situation  from  his  own  faults  that  he  will  be  on  the  Doctor's  list  during 
the   term  of  his  inlistment. 

"Your  Excellency  will  see  the  reason  for  the  waggons  being  allovveji  for  six  days.  The  two 
first  days  owing  to  the  badness  of  the  weather  we  got  no  further  than  Flower  Town  about  twelve 
miles  from  Phila.  &  he  is  allowed  two  days  to  return.  I  expect  to  have  everything  ready  to  march 
this  evening  &  will  set  out  to  morrow  morning." 

Captain  Chrystie  and  his  men  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  (or  "Londonderry", 
as  they  called  it,  in  view  of  the  rebaptism  of  the  town  by  Alexander  Patterson) 
on  Wednesday,  October  29,  1783.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  proper  quarters  at  Fort 
Dickinson,  Chrystie's  men  were,  according  to  Colonel  Franklin§,  "turned  in 
upon  the  inhabitants,  ten  soldiers  with  a  family,  in  some  small  houses.  Some 
families  were  dispossessed  for  the  reception  of  the  troops,  there  being  at  the  same 
time  convenient  public  buildings,  which  had  been  built  [for  barracks,  etc.]  in 
the  time  of  the  war,  sufficient  to  have  accommodated  the  whole  of  them  without 
molesting  a  single  family.  Alexander  Patterson  was  particularly  active  in  this 
business  of  oppressing  the  inhabitants  to  accommodate  the  troops." 

Miner  says  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  332)  that  Col.  Zebulon  Butler — 
who  lived  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of  the  fort — "yvas  particularly  distinguished 
(?)  by  having  twenty  [soldiers]  billeted  upon  him.  The  houses  being  small, 
hastily  erected  after  the  conflagration  of  the  savages,  the  people  poor,  and  the 
soldiers  insolent,  their  sufferings  were  exceedingly  severe — too  great  for  human 
nature  patiently  to  endure.  But,  seeing  it  was  the  purpose  to  drive  them  to 
soine  act  of  desperation,  the  injuries  and  insults  were  borne  with  forbearaace 
and  fortitude."  Sheldon  Reynolds,  Esq.,  in  "The  Frontier  Forts  of  Pennsyl- 
vania," I:  465,  says:  "The  soldiery,  having  no  enemy  to  engage,  either  Indian, 
Tory  or  British,  became  rude,  licentious  and  insolent,  and  were  used  almost 
exclusively  for  the  oppression  of  the  Connecticut  settlers,  in  the  hope  of  driving 
them  to  acts  of  violence  wliich  could  be  construed  into  resistance  to  the  State 
Government." 

Miner  making  further  reference  to  occurrences  which  took  place  in  Wyom- 
ing almost  immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  Captain  Chrystie's  soldiers,  says 

*Col.  John  Henry  Antes,  mentioned  on  page  l.HS. 

tA  resident  of  Northampton  County,  at  or  near  Easton.    His  name  is  mentioned  0:1  pigei  626.  65^,  6'>->.  6S3. 
814,  of  volume  U. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Old  Series,  X:  l.Vi. 

§"Plain  Truth"  article  in  The  Luzerne  FederalisI,  October  21.  1804. 


1352 

("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  332):  "His  strength  being  now  equal  to  any 
probable  emergency,  Justice  Patterson  proceeded  to  adopt  measures  of  greater 
energy.  October  31st,  [1783],  the  settlement  of  Shawnee*  was  invaded  by  the 
military',  headed  by  the  Justice  in  person,  and  eleven  respectable  citizens  were 
arrested  and  sent  under  guard  to  the  fort.  Among  the  prisoners  was  Maj.  Prince 
Alden.t  sixty-five  years  old,  feeble  from  age  and  suffering  from  disease.  Com- 
passion yielded  nothing  to  alleviate  his  sufferings. 

"Capt.  James  BidlackJ  was  also  arrested.  He  was  between  sixty  and  seventy. 
His  son  of  the  same  name  had  fallen  at  the  head  of  his  company  in  the  Indian 
battle;  another  son,  Benjamin,  had  served  in  the  army  through  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  Mr.  Bidlack  himself  had  been  taken  by  the  savages,  and  suffered 
a  tedious  captivity  in  Canada.  All  this  availed  him  nothing.  Benjamin  Harvey§, 
who  had  been  a  prisoner  to  the  Indians,  was  also  arrested.  Samuel  Ransom[|, 
son  of  Captain  Ransom,  who  fell  in  the  massacre,  was  most  rudely  treated  on 
being  taken.  'Ah!  ha!'  cried  Patterson,  'you  are  the  jockey  we  want;  away 
with  him  to  the  guard-house  with  old  Harvey,  another  damned  rascal!' 

"Eleven  in  all  were  taken,  and  driven  to  the  fort,  where  they  were  confined 
in  a  room  with  a  mud  floor,  wet  and  comfortless,  with  no  food  and  little  fire. 
As  they  were  sitting,  around  the  fire  Captain  Chrystie  came  in,  ordered  them  to 
lie  down  on  the  ground,  and  bade  the  guard  blow  out  the  brains  of  any  one  who 
should  attempt  to  rise.  Even  the  staff  of  the  aged  Mr.  Allen  was  taken  from  him. 
On  demanding  what  was  their  offense,  and  if  it  was  intended  to  starve  them, 
Patterson  tauntingly  replied:  'Perhaps  in  two  or  three  months  we  shall  be  at 
leisure,  and  you  may  be  set  at  liberty.' 

"At  the  intercession  of  D.  Mead,  Esq.,  three  of  the  elder  prisoners  the  next 
day  were  liberated;  the  remaining  eight  being  kept  in  their  loathsome  prison — 
some  a  week,  others  ten  days — and  then  dismissed  without  arraignment  or  trial. 
But  the  object  had  been  accomplished;  their  several  families  had  been  turned 
out  of  their  houses,  and  creatures  of  Patterson  put  in  possession. 

"It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  the  insolence  of  manner  assumed  by 
Justice  Patterson.  Meeting  by  accident  with  Capt.  Caleb  Bates^,  and  learning 
his  name,  he  demanded:  'Why  have  you  not  been  to  see  me.  Sir.'  Captain 
Bates  answered  that  he  did  not  know  him.  'Well,  I  will  recommend  myself  to 
you,  Sir — I  am  Esquire  Patterson  of  Pennsylvania',  and  almost  instantly  ordered 
a  Sergeant  to  take  him  [Bates]  to  the  guard-house." 

Col.  John  Franklin,  who  was  in  Wyoming  Valley  in  1783,  and  was  thoroughly 
familiar  with  all  the  occurrences  which  took  place  here  then,  dealt  with  them  at 
considerable  length  in  his  "Plain  Truth"  articles  published  in  The  Luzerne  Fed- 
eralist at  Wilkes-Barre,  in  October  and  November,  1804.  The  following  para- 
graphs have  been  taken  from  those  articles. 

"Robert  McDowel**,  being  sworn,  deposedft  that  in  October  last  [1783]  he  was  standing 
at  the  Wilkes-Barre  Garrison;  was  taken  by  Elisha  Courtright  and  taken  before  Esquire  Seely. 
When  deponent  came  there  he  was  told  that  a  complaint  had  been  made  against  him  by  Ezekiel 
Schoonover  and  Lieut.  [Moses]  Van  Campen  that  deponent  had  said  that  the  authorities  here 
had  no  authority  to  act.  The  constable  took  deponent  to  the  fort  by  Seely's  orders.  Captain 
Shrawder  told  deponent  that  for  his  conduct  the  corporal  should  take  care  of  him  until  he  could 

^Plymouth.     tSee  page  500,  Vol.  I.     JSee  page  999,  Vol,  11.       §See  (§)  note  page  1260.       ||See  page  895,  Vol.  II 

•;C.4LEB  Bates,  of  Connecticut,  was  one  of  the  grantees  named  in  the  Indian  deed  of  1754  (see  page  271,  Vol.  l) 
to  The  Susquehanna  Company-  In  August,  1757,  he  was  living  at  Coventry,  Kent  County.  Rhode  Island.  He  came 
to  Wyoming  first  in  .August,  1771,  and  in  1783  was  living  at  Laclca wanna,  in  Pittston  Township,  some  ten  miles  from 
Wilkes-Barre. 

**See  note,  page  730,  Vol.  II. 

ft  Before  a  Committee  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  December,  1783,  as  more  fully 
related  on  page  1358. 


1353 

be  sent  to  Sunbury.  Deponent  was  sent  by  a  corporal  to  Sunbury,  to  be  committed  by  a  mittimus 
from  Seely.    He  (McDowel]  got  bail  at  Sunbury  and  returned  home. 

"After  being  at  home  a  day  or  two  Constable  Courtright  came  to  deponent  and  told  him 
that  Esquire  Patterson  wanted  to  see  him.  Deponent  went  to  John  HoUenback's  |inn] ,  went 
into  the  room  where  Patterson  was  and  sat  down.  Patterson  told  deponent  to  stand  up,  which  he 
did.  Deponent  was  asked  who  was  his  bail  at  Northumberland.  Patterson  said,  'the  authorities 
at  Xorthumberland  laugh  at  our  authority  here,  therefore  I  will  have  you  put  in  irons  and  will 
send  you  back  again.'  Upon  which  Patterson  called  the  Sheriff  a  number  of  times,  when  the 
Under  Sheriff,  .Simms,  came.  Says  Patterson,  '  I  command  you  in  the  name  of  the  United  States 
to  take  this  man  and  put  him  in  irons,  and  take  him  down  to  Sunbury. 

"The  Sheriff  took  deponent  into  custody.  On  their  way  to  Yarington's  (at  the  Garrison) 
they  met  Captain  Robinson,  who  told  deponent  to  stay  at  Yarington's  until  next  morning,  and 
he  would  try  to  settle  the  matter.  He  advised  deponent  to  take  a  lease  of  his  house,  or  of  a  piece 
of  land,  and  said  that  would  settle  the  whole — the  old  and  new  affair.  Deponent  declined  taking 
a  lease,  and  then  walked  to  HoUenback's  with  Captain  Robinson;  stayed  there  .some  time  with 
him  and  the  Sheriff.  After  some  conversation  Captain  Robinson  and  the  Sheriff  said  to  de- 
jjonent,  'You  may  go  home  and  not  meddle  yourself  any  more  with  the  affair;  you  may  go  and 
stay  at  home  in  peace.'    Deponent  went  home. 

"Afterwards  he  was  on  his  way  from  home  to  attend  Court  at  Northumberland.  He  called 
at  a  public  house  in  Salem;  went  in  where  there  were  a  number  of  people  drinking,  and  among 
them  deponent  saw  Esquire  Patterson,  who,  casting  his  eyes  upon  him  said:  'So!  So!  McDowel, 
you  are  here.  Will  you  sit  in  company  with  a  tinker.'  (Patterson  was  a  tinker  by  occupation;. 
Deponent  said:  'A  body  will  do  anything  at  times.'  At  that  Patterson  .said:  'You  rascal,  begone 
out  of  the  house  this  minute',  and  at  the  same  instant  arose,  and  did  not  give  deponent  time  to  go 
out  before  he  knocked  off  deponents  hat,  and  then  struck  him  twice  on  the  side  of  his  head,  and 
then  shoved  him  out  of  the  house.  Deponent  went  to  Sunbury  court,  stayed  there  about  three 
days,  and  then  was  discharged  without  any  trial. 

"James  Logan*,  the  Northampton  mulatto  and  associate  of  Patterson,  informed  deponent 
that  he  had  interceded  with  Esquires  Patterson  and  Ssely  and  the  States'  Attorney,  who  had 
discharged  the  deponent. 

"Maj.  Prince  Alden,  Sr.,  being  sworn,  deposed  that  on  the  3Ist  day  of  October,  1783,  he 
went  from  his  own  house  in  Shawnee  to  the  house  of  Preserved  Cooley  in  company  with  James 
Logan,  having  some  business  with  him,  and  had  invited  Logan  to  dine  with  him.  When  they 
came  to  Cooley's  house  they  found  Esquire  Patterson,  Esquire  Seely,  Lieutenant  Ball,  Lieutenant 
Erb,  Ensign  Chambers,  and  about  twenty-five  soldiers.  Esquire  Patterson  came  to  the  door 
and  asked  the  deponent  if  he  had  any  business  there,  and  deponent  replied  that  he  had  business 
with  James  Logan. 

"They  went  into  the  house  and  drank  some  liquor,  and  as  deponent  and  Logan  stepped  out 
of  the  door  to  go  to  their  dinner  Esquire  Patterson  ordered  a  Sergeant  to  take  deponent  under 
,i;uard.  Deponent  asked  what  he  had  been  guilty  "of,  and  said  that  he  knew  of  no  crime.  Esquire 
Patterson  said:  'Damn  him,  take  him  along!'  Deponent  begged  the  liberty  of  going  home  to 
dinner,  as  he  had  invited  Logan  to  dine  with  him.  By  the  mediation  of  Logan  deponent  got 
permission  to  .go,  and  after  dinner  he  returned.  Esquire  Patterson  ordered  him  into  the  guard- 
house [in  Plymouth] ,  where  he  went  and  continued  with  about  ten  of  the  inhabitants ;  was  kept  there 
about  an  hour,  when  they  were  ordered  out  of  the  guard-house  to  the  guard  at  the  fort  [Dickinson] , 
about  five  miles.  Deponent  objected,  said  he  had  been  in  poor  health  for  about  two  months,  and 
was  not  able  to  walk  so  far,  and  desired  that  he  might  provide  a  horse  for  himself.  Esquire 
Patterson  answered,  'Damn  him.  let  him  go  along!' 

"After  they  marched  off  deponent's  son  overtook  them  with  a  horse  and  greatcoat.  Deponent 
took  the  other  sick  man  behind  him  on  the  horse,  and  then  marched  on  to  the  guard-house.  There 
they  had  but  little  fire  and  no  fuel.  The  guard  helped  them  to  some  fuel.  They  tarried  there 
some  time.  The  prisoners  were  talking  civilly  among  themselves,  when  Captain  Chrystie  and 
Lieutenant  Ball  came  in  and  told  them  not  to  say  a  word,  and  ordered  them  to  lie  down  on  the 
ground,  which  was  a  very  unwholesome  place.  They  immediately  obeyed,  and  there  they  tarried 
until  the  ne.\t  morning,  at  which  time  Esquire  Patterson  came  to  the  guard-house.  Deponent 
told  Patterson  he  should  be  glad  to  know  what  their  crimes  were,  and  asked  when  they  would 
come  to  their  trial.    Esquire  Patterson   answered:    'You  may  find  that  out  by  your  learning.' 

"Deponent  was  denied  provisions  and  drink  the  night  he  was  confined.  He  never  suffered 
more  in  his  life.  The  guard-house  was  so  open  that  a  man  might  have  crept  through  between 
the  logs.  Deponent  sent  his  son  to  Esquire  Mead,  and  got  permission  to  go  to  a  private  house, 
where  he  tarried  three  or  four  nights,  and  then  went  home  without  leave  or  license,  and  no  crime 
alleged  against  him. 

"Capt.  James  Bidlack,  being  sworn,  deposed  that  he  was  taken  at  Shawnee  by  some  of 
the  soldiers  by  Esquire  Patterson's  orders;  that  he  was  drove  in  haste  to  the  Garrison  with  other 

'Mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  647,  Vol.  II  Colonel  Franklin,  in  one  of  his  "Plain  Truth  "  articles,  printed 
in  The  Luzerne  Federalist.  December  39.  1804,  describes  Logan  as  "a  mulatto  of  .\frican  blood."  .\s  indicated  in  earlier 
pages  he  was  active  in  behalf  of  the  Pennamites  in  Wyoming  affairs  during  the  First  Pennamite- Yankee  War,  In 
178.^-'84  he  seems  to  have  been  acting  at  Wyoming  as  a  sub-or  deputy-sherifT  under  Pennsylvania  authority.  The 
writer  of  this  has  in  hi-;  possession  an  original  petition  made  to  the  Hon,  John  Penn.  "Proprietary  and  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania",  dated  at  Philadelphia.  November  26.  1773.  and  signed  by  James  Logan,  "of  Lower  Smithfield  Town- 
ship. Northampton  County.  Pennsylvania."    It  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

Your  petitioner,  since  the  year  1769  till  in  the  Summer  of  1772.  has  been  employed  in  the  Proprietaries'  service 
again-t  the  Connecticut  People  at  Wajomick,  and  has,  at  the  end  of  this  expedition,  rendered  his  account  of  particular 
services  and  disbursements  to  Mr.  Secretary  Tilghman.  who  paid  him  £19  in  part  thereof:  but  there  is  still  upwards 
of  £100  due  thereon,  for  the  receiving  of  which  balance  your  petitioner  is  now  the  sixth  time  come  to  Philadelphia. 
*  *  That  he  has  on  all  occasions  shown  his  zeal  for  the  Proprietaries's  service,  and  readily  ventured  his  life  in  the 
same  whenever  it  was  required  of  him."     *     *     * 


1354 

prisoners;  that  they  were  confined  in  the  guard-hous:^,  where  he  continued  four  nights  and  three 
days;  that  the  first  night  was  much  as  represented  by  Major  Alden.  The  next  day  after 
their  confinement  Esquire  Patterson  came,  and  was  asked  by  one  of  the  prisoners  how  long  they 
were  to  stay  there  and  when  they  should  have  their  trial.  Esquire  Patterson  replied  (as  deponent 
thinks),  'in  two  or  three  months'.  He  (deponent!  then  asked  what  they  should  do  for  provisions. 
Esquire  Patterson  answered  that  he  could  find  them  only  bread  and  water,  and  they  must  pay  for  it. 
"Benjamin  Harvey  deposed  that  he  was  taken  at  his  own  house,  at  the  lower  end  of  Shawnee, 
by  Lieutenant  Ball,  Lieutenant  Erb,  Ensign  Chambers  and  Ezekiel  Schoonover.  (Here  deponent 
described  the  rough  treatment  he  met  with.)  When  deponent  came  to  Cooley's  house  (this 
being  the  place  of  rendezvous),  there  stood  Esquire  Patterson,  who  ordered  deponent  into  the 
house,  where  he  tarried  a  little  while.  Then  Esquire  Patterson  ordered  him  into  the  guard  house 
with  a  file  of  men,  where  he  tarried  two  hours.  Then  deponent  and  the  other  prisoners  were  ordered 
to  march  in  a  body  to  the  Garrison  at  Wilkes-Barre,  where  they  were  put  into  a  guard-house  in 
the  Garrison.  Deponent  was  kept  there  eight  days.  He  applied  to  Esquire  Mead  to  know  his 
crime.  Mead  sent  for  deponent  and  took  him  from  the  guard-house;  said  he  did  not  know,  but 
there  might  be  a  crime  alleged  against  him.  Then  deponent  entered  into  a  recognizance  in  the 
sum  of  £30,  for  his  appearance  at  Court. 

"When  Esquire  Mead  was  going  to  Court,  deponent  saw  him  at  Shawnee,  at  Cooley's. 
Deponent  was  dismissed,  Mead  telling  him  that  he  had  not  found  anything  against  him.  After 
deponent  was  taken  prisoner  a  family  was  put  into  his  house  by  Esquire  Patterson's  orders.  The 
three  officers  who  took  deponent  told  him  that  Patterson  ordered  the  family  into  the  house. 

"Samuel  Ransom  deposed  that  he  was  taken  at  Shawnee  the  last  of  October  1783,  by  Lieu- 
tenant Ball  and  Ezekiel  Schoonover,  and  was  roughly  treated.  When  deponent  came  to  Cooley's 
Esquire  Patterson  was  there  and  asked  deponent  his  name.  Then  says  Patterson:  'Ahl  ha! 
you  are  the  jockey  we  want ;  away  with  him  to  the  guard-house  with  old  Harvey,  another  damned 
rascal.'  Deponent  was  there  two  hours;  was  then  taken  to  the  Garrison  with  the  other  prisoners. 
Deponent  was  then  sick,  and  had  been  sick  thiee  months.  After  marching  a  little  way  deponent 
and  Major  Alden  had  liberty  to  ride  on  a  horse.  They  were  roughly  treated  on  the  way,  were 
often  called  damned  rascals,  and  were  threatened  by  the  officers  to  be  horsewhipped,  etc. 

"When  they  came  to  the  Fort  [Dickinson]  they  were  conveyed  into  a  guard-house  which 
was  open  and  cold,  without  any  floor,  and  the  ground  very  wet.  They  were  kept  there  that  night 
without  any  wood  allowed  them,  or  anything  to  eat  or  drink.  The  next  day,  about  ten  or  eleven 
o'clock.  Esquire  Patterson  came  along.  One  of  the  prisoners  says  to  him:  'Are  you  going  to  keep 
us  here  to  starve,  choke  and  freeze?'  Esquire  Patterson  replied:  'Perhaps  we  shall  be  at  leisure 
in  about  three  months,  and  perhaps  you  may  then  be  set  at  liberty.'  Further,  Patterson  said 
they  would  be  allowed  bread  and  water. 

"That  about  11  or  12  o'clock  the  next  day  after  they- were  confined,  they  received  some 
flour  for  their  support ;  and  some  time  the  next  day  after  this  they  received  the  bread  they  gave 
the  flour  for.  While  they  were  in  the  guard-house  Captain  Chrystie  came  and  ordered  every 
man  to  lie  flat  on  the  ground,  and  ordered  the  sentinel,  that  if  any  man  should  raise  his  head,  to 
blow  out  his  brains.  Deponent  was  confined  five  days  and  nights,  and  had  no  crime  alleged  nor 
any  authority  shown  him  as  to  why  he  was  taken.  When  deponent  was  taken  his  family  was 
turned  out  of  his  house  by  force,  and  kept  out  to  the  time  of  taking  this  testimony. 

"It  was  proved  by  the  testimony  of  James  Mitchell,  Abram  Nesbitt  and  others  that  Samuel 
Ransom's  family  were  turned  out  of  their  house  while  Patterson  and  his  gang  were  present. 
Abram  Nesbitt  [twenty  years  of  age],  for  speaking  in  favor  of  Mrs.  Ransom,  who  was  his  sister, 
and  endea\'oring  to  assist  her,  was  taken  prisoner,  boimd  with  cords,  and  drove  to  the  Garrison 
at  Wilkes-Barre  with  the  other  prisoners,  and  confined  in  the  guard-house  twenty-four  hours, 
and  then  turned  out  without  any  examination.  He  heard  the  order  given  to  the  prisoners  to 
lie  down,  with  orders  to  the  sentinels  to  blow  any  prisoner  through  that  should  speak  or  make 
any  rout. 

"In  the  month  of  October,  1783,  a  man  of  the  name  of  Woodcock — as  ordinary  a  fellow  as 
any  to  be  found — called  on  Solomon  Cole,  a  respectable  inhabitant  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  took 
him  a  prisoner,  saying  he  had  a  writ  from  Esquire  Patterson.  Mr.  Cole  refused  to  go  with  him, 
and  disputed  his  being  a  proper  officer.  Woodcock  returned,  but  shortly  came  a  second  time 
and  informed  Mr.  Cole  that  Esquire  Patterson  wanted  to  see  him. 

"He  went  to  see  Patterson;  was  going  into  the  room  where  he  was.  'Stop!'  says  the  haughty 
magistrate,  'until  I  call  for  you.'  He  was  soon  after  called  in,  when  Patterson  charged  him  of 
speaking  slightingly  of  his  authority.  Cole  denied  it.  The  wife  of  Woodcock  (more  ordinary, 
if  possible,  than  her  husband)  was  called  and  sworn  by  Patterson  to  give  testimony.  She  swore 
that  she  had  heard  Cole  tell  a  man  that  Patterson  was  no  more  fit  for  an  Esquire  than  the  Devil. 
The  witness  could  not  tell  who  the  man  was,  nor  the  time  she  heard  the  expression;  however, 
the  evidence  was  sufficient,  for  the  lordly  judge  pronounced  sentence  against  Mr.  Cole,  saying 
to  Woodcock  (his  Constable),  'take  this  fellow  and  put  him  in  the  stocks  for  two  hours!'  Cole 
was  ordered  to  go  to  the  stocks  with  Woodcock,  but  after  leaving  Patterson  he  refused  to  go  into 
the  stocks,  and  went  home. 

"In  about  half  an  hour  Woodcock  came  again,  with  a  Corporal  and  three  soldiers.  Mr. 
Cole  was  taken  again  before  Patterson,  and  the  guards  were  ordered  to  put  him  in  the  stocks  for 
two  hours.  He  was  taken  to  the  stocks,  but  the  guards  having  more  humanity  than  the  Justice, 
refused  to  do  the  duty  they  were  directed  to  do,  saying  that  they  were  not  Constables.  Others 
were  ordered  to  assist,  but  refused.  Cole  was  then  taken  back  to  the  guard-house,  confined 
an  hour  and  a-half,  when  Patterson  came  to  the  guard-house  and,  after  some  conversation  on 
the  subject  of  the  accusation.  Cole  was  told  by  Patterson  that  if  he  would  behave  as  a  good  in- 


1355 

habitant,  he  (Patterson)  would  use  him  as  such,  upon  his  paying  three  shillings.  Cole  accordingly 
paid  the  amount  to  Esquire  Seely,  by  orders  from  Patterson,  and  was  dismissed  and  returned 
home." 

Colonel  Franklin,  in  his  "Brief,"  referred  to  in  the  note  on  page  1325,  de- 
scribes at  some  length  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Wyoming  during  the  Autumn 
of  1783.     He  states,  among  other  things: 

"After  the  return  of  Colonel  Butler  [from  Sunbury,  where  he  had  been  under  arrest,  as 
hereinbefore  related]  the  soldiers  were  removed  from  his  house  on  the  condition  of  his  giving  up 
the  house — except  a  small  room — to  David  Mead,  Esq.,  for  the  reception  of  Mead's  family — 
which  Butler  sulimitted  to.  Of  two  evils  he  chose  the  least.  *  *  *  Landlords  warrants  were 
often  issued  by  the  Pennsylvania  claimants ;  the  property  of  the  settlers  taken  and  .sold  on  pretense 
of  rents  due;  warrants  issued  by  the  Justices  in  favor  of  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  against  the 
settlers  on  pretense  of  debt;  the  settlers  dragged  before  the  Justices  and  not  allowed  to  make 
any  defense  or  even  to  exhibit  a  just  account;  judgments  rendered  against  them,  and  their  property 
taken  and  sold  by  executions. 

"Patterson  and  Seely  were  the  most  active  in  granting  writs  and  judging  causes  of  this 
kind.  The  Connecticut  settlers  were  not  allowed  to  convene  together  on  any  occasion.  Any 
three  found  in  company  were  immediately  arrested  as  rioters!  In  a  word — to  enumerate  the 
sufferings  of  the  settlers  under  the  administration  of  the  Justices  and  the  officers  of  the  Garrison 
would  fill  a  volume. 

"The  settlers,  about  November  I,  1783,  stated  their  grievances  in  a  letter  directed  to  the 
Representatives  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  from  Northumberland  County,  request- 
ing that  the  same  should  be  laid  before  the  Assembly.  But  the  Wyoming  votes  having  been 
rejected*,  thos;  to  whom  the  letter  was  directed  were  excluded  from  their  seats  [in  the  Assembly] 
which  were  filled  by  others,  the  next  highest  on  the  election  returns.  The  agent  for  the  settlers 
(Mr.  Hugh  Forseman)t  endeavored  to  have  the  letter  stating  the  grievances  taken  up  by  the 
Assembly,  but  the  same  was  rejected  as  not  being  brought  forward  in  the  proper  mode.  Mr. 
Forseman  returned  to  Wyoming  without  any  relief  for  the  settlers.  On  his  return  a  'petition, 
address  and  remonstrance'  was  prepared  and  signed  by  upwards  of  sixty  of  the  settlers  (which 
they  were  obliged  to  do  privately),  dated  November  IS,  1 783,  and  sent  to  the  Assembly  by  their 
agent,    Mr.    [John]   Franklin." 

The  above-mentioned  petition,  which  appears  to  have  been  written  by  John 
Jenkins,  St.,  and  was  signed  by  him.  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  a  number  of  others, 
"in  behalf  of  themselves  and  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,"  read  in 
part  as  follows: 

"Since  the  D.;cree  of  Trenton  we  have  considered  ourselves  as  citizens  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  have  at  all  times,  by  ojr  peaceable  demeanor  and  ready  submission  to  Government,  duly 
submitted  ourselve.s  to  th;  laws  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania;  and  not  only  so.  but  as  we  were 
not  made  duly  acquainted  with  the  laws  of  the  State,  we  have  tamely  submitted  to  every 
requisition  of  the  executive  and  military  authorities,  although  the  same  appeared  to  us  in  many 
instances  to  be  unconstitutional  and  unlawful. 

"We  beg  leave  to  observe  that  nothing  special  happened  until  the  Resolve  of  the  Assembly 
appointing  Commissioners,  in  which  we  observed  that,  after  the  report  of  those  Commissioners 
so  appointed,  we  were  to  have  a  time  and  place  appointed  for  the  choosing  of  authority,  holding 
elections,  etc.  But  to  our  great  surprise  and  grief  it  seems  that  there  was  a  choice  made  (by  those 
that  call  themselves  landholders — some  from  one  part  of  the  State  and  some  from  other  parts; 
some  from  New  Jersey  and  elsewhere,  and  principally  not  inhabitants  of  this  County  I  of  a  number 
of  persons  to  be  commissioned  in  authority,  all  without  our  knowledge,  and  before  the  report 
of  the  Commissioners  or  the  appointment  of  a  time  and  place  for  that  purpose;  and  a  return  of 
those  persons  was,  by  some  way  or  means  to  us  unknown,  made  to  the  Honorable  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State,  and  the  same  have  since  been  commissioned,  which  has  produced  the 
following  facts,  viz.: 

"Some  time  in  September,  1783,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  was  met  at  the  ferry  boat  by  a  man 
that  is  called  a  Constable — but  how  he  came  by  his  authority  we  know  not;  however,  this  man. 
Brink  by  name,  seized  his  (Butler's)  horse  by  the  bridle,  told  him  he  was  his  prisoner,  took  him 
into  the  fort  and  delivered  him  up  to  the  martial  department.  He.  the  said  Butler,  was  kept 
there  twenty-four  hours  under  guard;  was  then  sent  off  under  a  strong  guard  of  soldiers  to  North- 
umberland, without  either  civil  officer  or  writ,  and  was  not  made  acquainted  with  any  crime  for 
which  he  was  taken.  He  has  been  taken  three  times  since  by  different  officers  under  pretenses 
of  the  same  crime,  and  yet  knows  not  what  it  is.  although  he  got  bail  for  his  appearance  at  Court. 

"Since  this  the  property  of  sundry  persons  has  been  taken  by  force,  under  a  pretense,  and 
the  persons  that  take  it  say  [they  take  it]  by  the  advice  of  the  authorities;  and  upon  application 
to  the  authorities  no  redress  can  be  had.  That  persons  taken  for  pretended  crimes  have  been 
told  by  the  Justices  that  if  they  would  take  a  lease,  they  should  be  set  at  liberty;  and  have,  in 
fact,  been  obliged  to  comply,  or  suffer  in  prison  in  a  guard-house.  Widows  and  fatherless  children, 
in  a  sickly  condition,  [have  been]  turned  out  of  their  houses  and  sick  beds  and  drove  off  in  a  tedious 
storm — and  this  said  to  be  done  by  the  advice  of  the  authorities ;  and  no  redress  could  be  obtained 

*See   page    1350. 

tSee   first  paragraph,  page    Ills,  \'ol.   II. 


1356 

from  the  authorities,  though  apphcation  was  made.  Some  were  taken  under  pretense  of  some 
crime,  and,  when  confined,  their  wives  were  told  [by  soldiers]  that  if  they  would  submit  to  their 
carnal  desires  their  husbands  should  be  set  at  liberty.  Some  taken  by  a  guard  of  armed  soldiers, 
in  presence  Of  the  Justices,  and  their  wives  and  families  turned  out  of  doors.  The  possession  of 
a  grist-mill  was  taken  away  by  force  and  given  to  another  man,  and  although  frequent  application 
has  been  made  to  the  Justices  for  redress,  none  can  be  had.      *     *     * 

"That  persons,  when  taken  and  brought  before  the  Justices,  have  not  been  suffered  to  speak 
a  word  in  their  own  defense,  or  to  hear  a  witness,  although  (it  was]  requested.  That  writs  are 
given  out  for  sixpence  against  children  fifteen  years  of  age,  although  it  was  for  one  gill  of  whisky, 
and  parents,  guardians  or  masters  never  notified.  *  *  *  That  one  of  the  inhabitants  having 
business  with  Captain  Schott,  Esquire  Patterson  being  present  asked  his  name.  He  informed 
him  and  then  said,  'Patterson,  I  do  not  know  you.'  [To  which  Patterson  replied] :  'I  am  Alexander 
Patterson,  Esq.,  of  Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  magistrates  of  this  place.  God  damn  you,  I  will 
make  you  know  me!'  He  then  called  a  guard  of  soldiers,  took  the  man  to  the  guard-house,  confined 
him  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  then  dismissed  him  without  any  ceremony — all  which  facts  we 
conceive  to  be  done  without  law  or  right,  and  merely  to  distress  the  poor  distressed  inhabitants 
of  this  place,  and  is  an  infringement  on  the  rights,  liberties  and  privileges  of  free  citizens  of  this 
State. 

"Therefore,  we,  as  sincere  friends  to  the  rights,  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  United  States, 
and  citizens  of  this  State,  under  our  distressed  circumstances  gratefully  request  your  Honorable 
body  to  take  our  distressed  case  under  your  wise  and  serious  consideration,  and  in  some  way 
grant  relief,  as  may  appear  most  just  and  reasonable  to  your  Honors ;  hoping  that  every  uncon- 
stitutional and  unlawful  act  may  be  redressed  and  removed  into  oblivion." 

Relative  to  the  foregoing  petition,  and  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Wyoming 
in  the  Summer  and  Autumn  of  1783,  we  find  the  following  information  in  the 
journal  of  Christopher  Hurlbut*,  extracts  from  which  are  printed  in  Peck's 
"Wyoming;  Its  History,  Stirring  Incidents  and  Romantic  Adventures." 

"All  was  peace  that  Summer  [1783],  and  numbers  of  people  moved  in  from  Pennsylvania 
and  New  Jersey — mostly  persons  of  no  property  or  respectability.  Toward  Fall  it  appeared  that 
a  number  of  Pennsylvanians  met  secretly  in  the  settlement  and  proceeded  to  elect  Justices  of 
the  Peace ;  and  in  September  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  passed  a  law  authorizing  the  President 
and  Council  to  commission  those  persons  so  unlawfully  electedf,  and  they  soon  began  to  execute 
tie  laws  by  suing  every  Yankee  that  they  could  by  any  means  bring  a  charge  against,  and  very 
soon  the  most  violent  proceedings  took  place.  Men  were  imprisoned  by  the  aid  of  the  military, 
and  sundry  persons  whipped  with  gun-rods,  and  otherwise  most  shamefully  abused.  A  number 
of  respectable  men  were  confined  in  an  old  house  without  a  floor,  and  mud  shoe  deep.  In  cold 
weather,  in  the  Winter,  they  were  obliged  to  lie  down  in  the  mud  on  pain  of  being  shot.  If  three 
Yankees  were  seen  together  they  were  sure  to  be  imprisoned  and  otherwise  abused. 

"At  last,  as  our  situation  was  no  longer  to  be  borne,  a  number  of  us  determined  to  draw  up 
a  petition  to  the  Legislature,  then  in  session,  stating  our  usage  and  begging  for  protection.  As 
not  more  than  two  of  us  dare  be  seen  together,  the  difficulty  was  to  confer  together.  Our  object 
was  effected  by  going  around  notifying  a  meeting  in  the  evening;  and,  in  order  to  prevent  suspicion, 
the  meeting  was  appointed  within  forty  rods  of  the  fort,  where  a  number  got  together  and  darkened 
the  windows,  and  then  drew  and  signed  a  petition  and  engaged  a  man  to  carry  it  to  Philadelphia." 

At  the  time  the  aforementioned  petition  was  prepared  the  State  troops 
stationed  at  Fort  Dickinson — as  shown  by  an  official  "return" J  made  under 
the  date  of  November  20,  1783,  by  Maj.  James  Moore,  commanding  the  Garrison, 
aggregated  110  officers  and  men;  Captain  Chrystie's  company,  numbering 
fifty-six,  and  Captain  Shrawder's  numbering  fifty-four. 

As  related  on  page  1338,  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  at  its 
semi-annual  session  in  May,  1783,  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  affairs 
at  Wyoming,  and  report  thereon  at  the  next  session  of  the  Assembly.  The 
report  of  this  committee  was  "made,  accepted  and  approved"  at  the  regular 
semi-annual  session  of  the  Assembly  held  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  beginning 
on  Thursday,  October  9,  1783;  and  thereupon  the  following  preamble  and  resolu- 
tion were  adopted  by  the  Assembly. 

"Whereas  a  large  number  of  Inhabitants  West  of  Delaware  River,  and  within  the  Charter 
limits  of  this  State,  settled  there  under  the  Claim  and  Jurisdiction  of  the  said  State,  having  first, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  General  Assembly  thereof,  purchased  the  native  right  of  soil,  &  for 
many  years  past  have  been  incorporated  and  in  the  exercise  of  Government  under  the  Laws  of 
this  State.    And  whereas,  by  a  late  decree  of  Commissioners  appointed  for  settling  a  dispute 
■  *See  page  1246. 
tSee  page  1344. 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  X:  301. 


1357 

relative  to  Jurisdiction  between  this  State  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  the  tract  of  Land 
possessed  by  the  sd.  settlers  is  unexpectedly  declared  to  be  within  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Latter. 

"The  said  settlers,  as  it  is  represented,  notwithstanding  their  having  acquired  the  native 
&  possessing  right  as  aforesaid,  and  corroborated  their  title  by  vast  Labor  &  expence  in  reducing 
the  said  Lands  from  a  wilderness  state,  and  stood  as  a  Barrier  to  Pennsylvania  and  other  interior 
settlements,  thro'  a  long  distressing  war,  in  which  most  of  their  males,  capable  of  labor  or  defence 
have  been  slain,  (Circumstances  which  entitled  them  to  expect  as  well  from  the  Justice  as  clemency 
of  that  great  and  opulent  State  the  fullest  Protection  for  their  Persons,  &  to  be  forever  quiet  in 
their  Possessions;  and  for  which  they  lost  no  time  in  applying  to  its  legislature  by  humble 
Petitions) ;  yet,  notwithstanding,  to  their  great  astonishment  and  distress,  they  find  themselves 
left  to  the  mercy  of  men,  who,  claiming  under  the  Proprietory  Title  of  that  State,  are  prosecuting 
against  them  suits  of  Ejectment,  and  in  some  Cases  entering  into  their  Possessions  &  Labors  by 
Force;  Whereupon, 

"Resolved  by  this  Assembly,  That  it  will  in  their  opinion  be  expedient  for  the  said  settlers 
as  the  only  Remedy  left  them,  to  apply  to  the  Hon'ble  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  for  a 
Court  to  be  instituted  to  try  their  right  of  soil  and  possession,  pursuant  to  the  9th  of  the  Articles 
of  Confederation.  That  it  will  be  the  Duty  of  this  State  to  countenance  and  patronize  them  in 
such  application;  and  that  the  Delegates  of  the  State,  that  shall  be  in  Congress,  be  directed  to 
give  them  all  necessary  aid  therein — ^And  that  His  Excellency  the  Governor  be  desired  to  address 
a  full  State  of  their  Claims  &  sufferings  to  Congress,  and  solicit  the  Protection  of  tht.  Honl.  Body, 
in  their  Behalf,  untiU  a  final  adjudication  of  the  sd.  Cause  shall  be  had." 

Later  in  the  same  session  the  following  was  adopted:* 

"This  Assembly  being  informed,  since  the  Trial  had  in  December  last  between  this  State 
and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  of  some  Evidence  material  to  said  Cause,  then  concealed  and 
suppressed  from  the  knowledge  of  this  State  or  its  agents,  and  that  there  is  a  probability  of  ascer- 
taining other  facts  on  which  to  ground  a  revision  of  said  Cause — 

"Resolved,  That  Eliphalet  Dyer,  William  Saml.  Johnson  &  Jesse  Root,  Esquires,  hereto- 
fore appointed,  be  &  they  are  hereby  continued  Agents  for  this  State  in  the  matter  aforesaid  & 
that  they  pursue  their  Enquiries  after  Evidence,  &  make  report  to  this  or  some  future  Assembly." 

Certified  copies  of  these  Acts  were  delivered  by  Gov.  Jonathan  Trumbull 
to  the  Hon.  Roger  Shermanf  (one  of  the  Representatives  in  Congress  from 
Connecticut),  to  be  by  him  delivered  to  the  Hon.  John  Dickinson,  President 
of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  together  with  the  following 
letterl  from  Governor  Trumbull,  written  at  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  under  the 
date   of   November    15,    1783. 

"The  enclosed  Acts  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  passed  in  October  last,  will  show  the 
disposition  of  this  State  towards  their  friends  and  Brethem  who  are  settled  on  the  territor  y 
of  the  Susquehanna,  so  long  disputed  between  this  State  and  that  of  Pennsylvania ;  whose  sufferings 
and  condition  under  your  State,  since  the  Decree  of  the  late  Board  of  Commissioners,  appear — • 
if  truly  represented  to  us — lo  be  very  singular  and  extraordinary,  and  have  tended  to  excite  the 
commiseration  of  their  friends,  as  well  as  to  produce  a  determination  in  the  Legislature  to  give 
them  all  the  aid  and  support  in  their  power. 

"Mr.  Sherman,  who  does  me  the  favor  of  conveying  this  to  yoiu"  Excellency,  and  who  is 
going  on  to  Congress  (with  whom  he  is  instructed  to  give  to  these  unhappy  people  all  the  aid  in 
his  power),  being  fully  possessed  of  the  subject,  as  well  as  of  the  views  and  determinations  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  this  State  respecting  the  same,  will,  if  you  please,  confer  with  you  fully 
on  the  matter.     *     *     * 

"The  Decision  in  the  Case  of  the  disputed  Territory  between  this  State  and  that  of 
Pennsylvania,  was  not  only  very  unexpected  to  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  but  from  some 
circumstances  appears  to  them  very  singular  indeed,  and  such  as  calls  for  their  further  prosecution 
and  in  which  they  hope  to  produce  such  Documents  as  shall  obtain  the  further  interposition  of 
Congress.     *     *     * 

"The  Delegates  from  this  State,  who  will  attend  in  Congress  this  Winter,  having  been 
present  in  our  General  Assembly  when  the  inclosed  Resolutions  were  passed,  are  therefore  fully 
possessed  of  the  Subject;  and  as  they  are  directed  to  agitate  the  flatter  in  Congress,  it  is 
urmecessary  for  me  to  enter  into  the  details;  leaving  the  subject  therefore  to  their  management 
and  submitting  it  to  the  wise  &  judicious  determination  of  Congress." 

Early  in  December,  1783,  the  foregoing  documents  were  delivered  by  Mr. 

Sherman  to  President  Dickinson,  at  Philadelphia,  and  a  few  days  later  Col. 

John  Franklin   arrived  there  with  the   "petition,   address  and  remonstrance" 

which  had  been  signed  by  John  Jenkins,  Esq.,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  other 

Yankee  settlers  at  Wyoming.    This  document  was  presented  to  and  read  in  the 

Assembly  December  8,  1783,  whereupon  it  was  ordered  to  be  laid  on  the  table. 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X;  116.  117. 

tSee  page  839,  Vol.  II. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  147,  148. 


1358 

The  next  day,  it  having  been  taken  up  and  read  the  second  time,  the  following* 
was  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Members  from  Northampton  County,  or  a  majority  of  them,  be  a 
committee  to  enquire  into  the  charges  contained  in  a  petition  from  a  number  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Wyoming  in  the  County  of  Northumberland,  and  report  to  this  House  at  their  next  meeting; 
and  that  the  said  petition,  and  other  papers  accompanying  it,  be  put  into  their  hands." 

The  Representatives  from  Northampton  County  at  that  time  were  Jacob 
Arndt,  Col.  Jacob  Stroudf,  Jonas  Hartzel  and  Robert  Brown,  and  at  Philadelphia, 
on  December  9th,  they  issued  a  notice  to  the  effect  that  the  committee,  or  a  ma- 
iority  of  its  members,  would  be  at  the  house  of  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  "in  the 
township  of  Stoke  (Wilkes-Barre)",  on  December  29,  1783,  in  order  to  inquire 
into  the  charges  set  forth  in  the  petition  of  the  Wyoming  inhabitants.  Copies 
of  this  notice  they  sent  to  John  Jenkins,  Esq.,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  Alexander 
Patterson  and  the  military  officers  at  Fort  Dickinson,  Wilkes-Barre. 

At  Fort  Dickinson,  under  the  date  of  December  29,  1783,  Maj.  James  Moore 
wrote  to  President  Dickinson  as  followsj : 

"By  Mr.  Shepardj  I  do  myself  the  pleasure  to  write  your  E-xcellency,  and  as  he  has  for  some 
time  Past  been  an  inhabitant  of  this  Place,  and  Possessed  of  a  great  share  of  the  Confidence  of 
Connecticut  claimants,  we  will  be  able  to  give  your  Excellency  just  information  of  their  Proceed- 
ings and  intentions. 

"He  is  charged  with  the  Petition||  I  Hinted  to  you  was  in  hands  for  the  Hon'ble  Assembly. 
It  is  signed  by  a  few  of  the  claimants,  who  disaprove  of  the  measures  laterly  adopted  by  many 
of  the  People  here.  They  are  anxious  to  have  the  Benefits  of  former  Resolves  of  the  Hon'ble 
House  extended  to  them'.  How  far  they  have  complied  with  the  intentions  of  the  Assembly 
(altho  at  a  late  Hour)  their  Petition  will  evince. 

"The  committee  of  Assembly  appointed  to  Enquire  into  the  Unconstitutional  Proceedings 
of  the  judicial  officers  of  this  Place  are  arrived,  and  will  Proceed  to  business  this  day.  I  trust 
their  conduct  will  appear  very  different  from  what  it  has  been  Represented.  _        _    ■ 

"How  far  the  Military  force  may  be  Necessary  to  support  the  authority  of  the  state  in  this 
Place,  Mr.  Shepard  will  be  able  to  inform  you." 

Three  members — Messrs.  Stroud,  Hartzel  and  Brown — of  the  Committee 
of  Inquiry  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  Monday, 
December  29,  1783,  as  stated  by  Major  Moore  in  the  foregoing  letter.  They 
were  accompanied,  at  their  request,  by  Robert  Martin,  Esq.,  (see  note,  page 
1344),  of  Northumberland,  whose  services  they  desired  to  make  use  of  in 
the  ta'king  of  testimony. 

The  committee  immediately  began  its  labors,  which  were  continued  for 
about  ten  days.  The  Connecticut  settlers  had  previously  appointed  a  committee 
to  bring  forward  witnesses  whose  testimony  would  support  their  complaints. 
Testimony  was  produced  on  both  sides  of  the  case,  but  the  Connecticut  men 
were  satisfied,  when  the  work  of  the  committee  was  completed,  that  the  complaints 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,   X:  557. 

tFor  prior  references  to  Colonel  Stroud  see  Vol.  II,  pages  IM.  850.  851    1038,  1055  and  1148. 

According  to  an  article  in  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  IV:  368.  Jacob  Stroud  was  bom  January  15.  1735,  at  Amwell 
Hunterdon  County.  New  Jersey,  of  English  parentage,  his  father  subsequently  settling  in  Northampton  County, 
Pennsylvania.  Jacob  remained  on  the  paternal  farm  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  when 
he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  English  army,  and  was  at  the  storming  and  capture  of  Quebec  under  General  Wolfe, 
Serving  until  the  close  of  1760  he  returned  home.  Subsequently,  in  1763,  he  accompanied  Bouquet  as  a  wagoner  to 
Fort  Pitt.  In  1769  he  acquired  title  to  three  parcels  of  land,  aggregating  about  300  acres,  and  including  a  frame  grist- 
mill driven  by  fine  waterpower  at  what  is  now  Stroudsburg. 

As  noted  on  page  258.  Vol.  I,  Dansbury  was  the  original  name  of  the  settlement  in  and  around  which  Jacob  Stroud 
founded  Stroudsburg  in  1769.  Fort  Penn  was  built,  during  the  early  days  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  on  a  hill  near 
the  eastern  part  of  Stroudsburg,  and  it  was  the  home  of  Colonel  Stroud  until  his  death. 

Colonel  Stroud  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Convention  of  July  15,  1776,  and  in  1777  was  appointed  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  meet  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  prices  of  commodities  in  the 
Colonies.  From  December,  1777,  until  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  Colonel  Stroud  was  in  active  service  on  the  frontiers 
of  Northampton  County,  watching  the  Indian  marauders  from  the  North.  In  1781.  and  again  in  1782  and  1783,  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly. 

In  July,  1787,  a  traveler  journeying  through  that  part  of  Northampton  County  which  is  now  Monroe  County, 
Pennsylvania,  wrote  as  follows  concerning  Colonel  Stroud:  "He  keeps  a  store  and  a  tavern  and  runs  a  grist-mill  and 
a  saw-mill,  and  keeps  several  boats,  besides  cultivating  a  large  farm.  He  has  between  200  and  300  acres  of  wheat  no%v 
growing,  from  which  fine  crops  are  about  to  be  harvested.  He  has  the  most  hands  I  ever  saw  employed  at  one  place. 
Colonel  Stroud's  house  is  a  very  large  house,  and  stands  on  the  very  spot  where  Fort  Penn  formerly  stood  " 

Colonel  Stroud  was  married  April  6,  1761,  to  Elizabeth  McDowel,  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  730,  Vol.  II. 
He  died  July  14,  1806. 

XSee   Ibid.,    183.  §Lieut,  S.1MUEI.  Shipp.\rd,  see  (*)  page  1283.  [Mentioned  on  page  H6 1. 


1359 

of  the  settlers  under  'I'he  Susquehanna  Company  had  been  fully  supported  by 
competent  testimony.  Colonel  Franklin  declared — in  his  "Brief,"  previously 
mentioned — "to  the  honour  of  this  committee  of  Assembly,  their  inquiries  were 
held  with  the  strictest  justice  and  impartiality."  Christopher  Hurlbut — in  his 
journal,  mentioned  on  page  1356 — states:  "The  committee  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  by  testimony  we  established  all  that  we  set  forth  in  our  petition, 
and  much  more.  The  committee  returned  and  reported,  but  nothing  was  done 
to  afford  us  redress." 

The  committee  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  for  Philadelphia  on  Friday, 
January  9,  1784,  on  which  day,  at  Fort  Dickinson,  Major  Moore  wrote  to 
President  Dickinson  in  part  as  follows* : 

"How  far  the  testimony  adduced  [before  the  committee  of  the  Assembly)  in  support  of  the 
charges  may  appear  to  criminate  the  Civil  and  Military  officers,  in  takeing  decisive  Measures 
to  diffuse  &  support  the  laws,  we  must  leave  the  Hon'ble  House  to  judge;  but  when  they  duly 
Consider  the  Testimony  on  Our  part,  evidently  tending  to  discover  that  a  dangerous  insurrection 
was  intended,  I  trust  their  Conduct  will  merit  some  applause. 

"As  I  am  not  charged  with  even  the  shadow  of  an  offence  (the  measures  complained  of 
being  done  Previous  to  my  arrival),  I  conceive  myself  the  more  at  liberty  to  appear  in  their  Behalf 

"By  what  I  can  learn  from  the  Committee  that  was  here  it  appears  to  be  the  intention  of 
the  House  to  dismiss  the  Troops  at  this  place.  It  is  observed  by  those  who  wish  the  dissolution 
of  the  Corps  'that  the  expence  is  great,  and  that  there  is  no  Necessity  for  keeping  it  up,  as  the 
People  claiming  under  Connecticut  disclaim  a  conduct  inconsistent  with  the  true  interests  of  the 
State." 

"The  expence  in  keeping  up  the  corps  for  a  few  months,  must  be  small,  the  men  being  already 
raised,  clothed,  and  Provisions,  agreeably  to  Contract,  laid  in  for  some  months  to  Come.  And 
should  it  be  the  intention  of  the  Hon'ble  the  Assembly  to  invest  the  Proprietors  under  Penna. 
with  the  lands  they  have  long  since  purchased,  I  must  beg  leave  to  Represent  the  Imediate 
Necessity  of  Troops  being  kept  here  to  support  the  civil  Jurisdiction,  untill  the  Owners  Can  be 
put  in  Possession  of  their  property — and  to  prevent  Insurrections  and  Quarrels,  which  are  much 
to  be  dreaded  in  the  Spring,  about  who  shall  Cultivate  the  land. 

"Since  the  decision  of  the  Commissioners  at  Trenton,  and  since  the  Garrison  has  been 
here,  all  the  Pennsylvania  landholders  have  been  looking  forward  to  the  Happy  Period  that  now 
offers  of  Giving  them  Quiet  Possession  of  that  Property  which  has,  with  equal  injustice,  been  taken 
and  kept  from  them  this  many  years.  They  wish  to  avail  themselves  of  the  support  of  this 
Garrison,  untill  they  get  Possession  and  Grow  numerous.  Should  it  be  deemed  too  expensive  to 
support  the  present  number  of  officers  and  men  allotted  for  this  Garrison,  let  it  be  reduced  to  a 
Capt.,  2  Subs.,  and  75  men.  That  will  be  a  force,  not  sufficient  to  supress  Insurrections  (should 
they  be  attempted),  it  will,  at  least,  be  sufficient  to  support  the  Garrison  untill  succor  can  be 
Had.  It  will  also  Give  the  Highest  Confidence  to  the  Pennsylvania  Land  holders,  who  will 
generally  take  Measures  for  Obtaining  Possession  of  their  Property  in  the  spring  (While  they 
Otherways  Would  Not),  and  remove  the  Great  object  of  Controversy,  and  Put  the  land  under 
such  Cultivation  as  would  add  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  State. 

"To  facilitate  the  Improvement  of  this  Country,  and  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  Hundreds 
already  born  down  with  the  oppression  of  those  people,  Might  it  Not  be  proper  to  recommend  a 
Law  making  it  Justifyable  in  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  where  an  ample  Title  is  produced,  to  put 
the  Owner  in  Possession  of  his  land  without  the  slow  and  expensive  process  of  the  laws  now  in 
force,  which  many  good  citizens,  from  being  so  long  debarred  the  use  of  their  lands,  are  unable 
to  support.  A  measure  of  this  kind  would  most  amply  settle  all  disputes  early  in  the  Spring, 
when  the  troops  might  be  dismissed  and  the  country  put  under  such  improvement  and  cultivation 
as  would  enable  the  possessors  to  bear  a  proportion  of  the  public  debts. 

"Alexander  Patterson,  Esq.,  has  made  me  acquainted  with  a  petition  presented  to  your 
E.xcellency  and  Council  by  Abel  Yarington,  respecting  a  house  he  formerly  possessed  in  this 
Garrison,  although  he  was  ordered  to  remove  to  a  house  provided  and  put  in  repair  by  the  troops 
for  his  reception  before  I  arrived  at  this  place.  I  must  acknowledge  it  met  with  my  warmest 
approbation,  and  I  trust  it  will  appear  consistent  with  the  verbal  instructions  not  only  delivered 
to  me  by  Council,  but  those  which  Captain  Shrawder  had  previously  received.  Those  officers 
who  directed  his  removal  have  made  Esquire  Patterson  fully  acquainted  with  their  reasons. 
I     must  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  his  report. 

"Inclosed  your  Excellency  will  find  a  monthly  return  of  the  Corps.  The  muster  and  pay- 
rolls and  the  inspection  return  for  the  month  of  December  I  shall  have  finished  and  forwarded 
as  early  as  possible.  The  situation  of  the  sick  has  made  it  necessary  for  me  to  apply  to  a  phys- 
icianf  in  the  neighborhood;  and  as  it  will  be  attended  with  less  expense  to  the  State  to  furnish 
the  medicines  necessary  in  the  cases  that  may  appear,  I  have  procured  the  inclosed  list,  which 
the  physician  says  is  necessary  and  immediately  wanted." 
»Sce  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  187,  189. 

tDR.   WiLLUM   Hooker  Smith  of  Wilkes-Baire     May  1,^.  1784.    Dr.   Smith  was   paid  £27. 14s,  by  the  State. 
'In  full  for  his  account  for  medicine  and  attendance  upon  Major  Moore'.s  troops  at  Wyoming." — "Colonial  Records 


1360 

The  "return"  of  jSIajor  Moore's  corps,  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  letter, 
showed  a  total  of  ninety-one  officers  and  men  on  duty  at  Fort  Dickinson — 
Captain  Chrystie  being  temporarily  absent  "on  command,"  while  two  men  had 
died  and  seven  had  deserted  since  the  last  return  was  made.  Included  in  the 
total  mentioned  above  were  four  subalterns,  one  sergeant  major,  one  quarter- 
master sergeant,  four  sergeants,  two  drummers,  two  fifers,  and  six  waiters  to 
attend  on  the  officers  and  the  sick. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  November  11,  1783,  a  "petition,  remon- 
strance and  address,  to  the  Honorable  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,"  had 
been  drawn  up  and  signed  by  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  a  considerable  number 
of  the  most  prominent  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  who  had  settled  here  during 
the  period  that  Connecticut  exercised  jurisdiction  over  this  region.  This  docu- 
ment, which  was  presented  to  Congress  (then  sitting  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey), 
early  in  January,  1784,  set  forth,  briefly,  that  the  petitioners  claimed  "private 
right  of  soil,  under  the  State  of  Connecticut  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  territory  westward  of  the  Delaware 
River  which  was  formerly  in  controversy  between  the  said  States  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Connecticut;  that  they  were  being  disturbed  in  their  rights  by  persons 
claiming  under  Pennsylvania,  and  therefore  prayed  that  a  Court  might  be  in- 
stituted, under  the  IXth  Article  of  the  Confederation  of  States,  for  de  termining 
the  said  right  of  soil." 

The  petition  was  referred  to  a  committee  composed  of  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  Arthur  Lee  of  Virginia  and  Hugh  Williamson  of  North  Carolina,  who,  on 
January  23,  1784,  made  a  report,  in  pursuance  of  which  Congress  adopted  the 
following:* 

"Resolved,  That  a  Court  be  instituted,  according  to  the  IXth  Article  of  the  Confederation, 
for  determining  the  private  right  of  soil  within  the  said  territory,  so  far  as  the  same  is  by  the 
said  Article  submitted  to  the  determination  of  such  a  Coiurt;  that  the  fourth  Monday  in  June 
next  [1784]  be  assigned  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties,  by  their  lawful  agents,  before  Congress, 
or  the  Committee  of  States,  wheresoever  they  shall  be  then  sitting ;  that  notice  of  the  assignment 
of  the  said  day  be  transmitted  by  the  Secretary  of  Congress  to  the  Governors  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Connecticut,  with  a  request  that  they  take  proper  measures  for  having  the  same  served  on 
the  parties  interested  under  their  States  respectively." 

Reference  is  made  on  page  1311  to  a  petition  signed  by  certain  Wyoming 
inhabitants  which  was  presented  to  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  about  the  middle 
of  January,  1783,  and  was  formally  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  House. 
Apparently  nothing  further  resulted,  for  we  find  that  a  somewhat  similar  petition, 
signed  by  the  same  people,  together  with  a  considerable  number  of  others,  was 
carried  down  to  Philadelphia  from  Wyoming  by  Lieut.  Samuel  Shippardf  and 
presented  to  the  Assembly,  January  21,  1784;  and  having  been  read  a  second 
time  on  January  23d,  was  referred  to  a  committee  composed  of  Messrs.  Jacob 
Rush,  Moses  McClean,  Frederick  Watts,  Robert  Brown  and  William  Maclay. 
This  committee  reported  to  the  House  on  January  29th,  and  the  next  day  it  was 
voted  by  the  House,  "by  a  considerable  majority!,"  that  Samuel  Shippard, 
Simon  Spalding,  Stephen  Fuller  and  certain  others  named,  who  had  signed  the 
petition  in  question,  were  "within  the  description  of  persons  entitled  to  a  reason- 
able compensation  in  lands  within  the  boundaries  of  this  State,  agreeable  to  a 
resolve  of  the  Assembly"  of  September  2,  1783 — as  noted  on  page  1343. 

Thereupon  the  House  resolved  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Land  Office  be 
authorized  to  deliver  to  Samuel  Shippard,  Simon  Spalding,  Stephen  Fuller,  and 

*See  "Journals  of  Congress",  IV:  331.      tSee  page  1358. 
+See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series.  XVIII:  635. 


1361 

each  of  the  other  persons  named,  certificates  "importing  that  each  of  them  is 
entitled  to  300  acres  of  land,  to  be  located  anywhere  within  the  purchased  and 
unappropriated  parts  of  the  counties  of  Northampton  and  Northumberland." 
With  reference  to  the  aforementioned  Shippard  petition  and  the  action  of 
the  General  Assembly  thereon,  Col.  John  Franklin  made  the  following  state- 
ment in  one  of  his  "Plain  Truth"  articles,  published  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  .September, 

1801. 

"A  petition  was  started  by  Samuel  Shippard,  a  New  Jersey  man,  who  never  owned  a  foot 
of  land  at  Wyoming  under  the  Connecticut  title.  However,  a  meeting  of  the  settlers  was  held  at 
Wilkes-Barre  to  consult  on  the  plan  of  Shippard's  petition.  It  was  unanimously  rejected,  [as] 
they  had  a  petition  then  pending  in  Congress.  Yet,  by  the  industry  of  the  said  Shippard,  aided 
by  others  opposed  to  the  claim  of  the  settlers,  he  procured  near  fifty  names  to  his  petition,  mostly 
of  foreigners  who  were  not  settlers  at  Wyoming  at  or  before  the  Decree  of  Trenton. 

"Among  others  in  Shippard's  petition  were  the  names  of  Simon  Spalding  and  Stephen 
Fuller,  but  it  is  well  known  that  Simon  Spalding  was  absent  from  Wyoming,  in  the  eastern  part 
of  Connecticut,  at  the  time  the  petition  was  in  circulation  in  Wyoming.  He  has  ever  declared 
and  still  solemnly  swears,  that  he  never  signed  the  petition,  or  even  saw  it.  Stephen  Fuller  also 
declares  that  he  never  signed  it.  Daniel  Whitney  and  Preserved  Cooley  were  Pennsylvania 
claimants — or,  at  least,  pretended  to  be — who  were  active  in  expelling  the  Connecticut  settlers 
from  Wyoming  after  the  Trenton  Decree.     *     *     * 

"Samuel  Shippard,  in  the  character  of  an  agent,  went  off  with  his  petition  to  the  Legisla- 
ture some  time  about  the  last  of  the  year  1783.  The  petition  was  presented  to  the  Legislature, 
and  a  majority  of  the  petitioners  were  rejected  as  not  coming  within  the  resolution  proposing 
compensation.  This  was  a  speculating  scheme.  It  was  originated  by  persons  opposed  to  the 
interest  of  the  Connecticut  claimants,  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  the  petition  of  the  settlers 
then  pending  at  Congress.  Certificates  were  issued  [by  the  Land  Office]  and,  as  it  was  said, 
were  delivered  to  Samuel  Shippard  for  the  persons  concerned.  Mr.  Shippard  left  Philadelphia 
and  returned  to  his  place  of  residence  in  New  Jersey,  and  has  not  been  at  Wyoming  from  that  day  to 
this  time  [1801].  A  small  part  of  the  certificates  were  sent  by  Shippard  to  some  of  the  persons  con- 
cerned, at  Wyoming.    The  others,  it  is  supposed,  he  speculated  upon  to  such  use  as  suited  himself." 

On  January  19th  and  21,  1784,  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  received  messages 
from  President  Dickinson  conveying  information  relative  to  the  action  taken  by 
the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  with  respect  to  Wyoming  affairs  (see  page 
1357),  and  also  information  concerning  the  petition  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler 
and  others  that  had  been  presented  to  Congress,  at  Princeton.  These  messages 
were  referred  to  a  committee,  and  upon  a  partial  report  of  this  committee  made 
January  29,  1784,  the  House  adopted  the  following:* 

"It  appears  that  the  Government  of  our  Sister  State  of  Connecticut  have  not  duly  informed 
themselves  of  the  resolutions  and  acts  of  this  Commonwealth  respecting  the  settlers  at  Wyoming; 

"Whereupon,  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  President  in  Council  to  furnish  the 
Governor  and  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  and 
Assembly  of  this  Commonwealth  respecting  the  settlers  at  Wyoming  since  the  judgment  at  Trenton. 

"On  the  petition,  remonstrance  and  address  of  Zebulon  Butler,  and  others,  to  the  Hon- 
orable the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  dated  November  U,  1783,  your  Committee  would 
observe  that  it  contains  representations  different  from  what  appears  on  the  files  of  this  House 
from  some  of  the  subscribers,  and  other  matters,  neither  founded  in  fact,  supported  by  justice 
or  by  the  spirit  of  the  Confederation.  On  which  your  Committee  offer  the  following  resolution: 
Resolved,  That  the  absolute  right  of  preemption  of  the  soil  and  lands  at  Wyoming,  claimed  by 
Zebulon  Butler  and  others,  as  well  as  the  right  of  jurisdiction,  is  vested  in  this  Commonwealth ; 
and  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  draft  instructions  to  our  Delegates  in  Congress  on  those 
heads;  setting  forth,  also,  the  humane  proceedings  and  conduct  of  the  State  in  protecting,  and 
resolving  to  grant  lands  to,  the  actual  settlers  on  the  lands  aforesaid  at  the  time  judgment  was 
given  respecting  the  claims  of  Connecticut." 

Subsequently  the  aforementioned  committee  made  a  further  report  on  the 
matters  set  forth  in  President  Dickinson's  messages,  and  thereupon,  on  Februarj^ 
14,  1784,  the  House  adopted  several  resolutions,  in  part  as  follows:! 

"Resolved,  That  the  Delegates  of  this  State  be  instructed  to  apply  immediately  to  Congress 
for  an  explanation  of  their  Act  of  the  23d  of  last  month  [January,  1784],  it  appearing  to  be  un- 
certain whether  the  fourth  Monday  of  June  next  is  fixed  for  the  purpose  of  appointing  Com- 
missioners, or  Judges,  to  constitute  a  Court,  or  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  how  far  the  same  is, 
by  the  IXth  Article  of  the  Confederation,  submitted  to  the  determination  of  such  a  Court. 
*     *     That  by  the  said  Article  of  Confederation  a  Court  is  to  be  established  for  the  trial  of  the 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  559. 

fSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:559. 


1362 

private  right  of  soil  only  where  it  is  claimed  under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  Stales;  so  that 
Zebulon  Butler  and  the  other  claimants  cannot  be  entitled  to  such  a  Court  unless  they  come 
within  the  description  aforesaid — which  it  is  apprehended  they  do  not.     *     *     * 

"That  two  Agents  be  appointed  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  for  managing,  under 
their  direction,  the  controversy  concerning  claims  of  private  right  of  soil  in  the  territory  hereto- 
fore in  dispute  between  this  State  and  Connecticut.  And  that  the  said  Agents  be  instructed 
to  prepare  themselves  for  maintaining  the  right  of  soil  within  the  territory  aforesaid,  to  be  vested 
in  Pennsylvania  and  persons  claiming  under  Pennsylvania;  for  justifying  the  conduct  of  this 
State  from  the  charges  contained  in  the  Act  of  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  of  the 
second  Thursday  of  October  last;  and  for  opposing  the  attempt  of  the  said  State  to  obtain  a 
revision  of  the  cause  lately  determined  at  Trenton." 

On   February   16,    1784,    President   Dickinson  wrote    to    the   Pennsylvania 

Delegates  in  Congress,  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  and  stating:* 

"The  attempts  of  Connecticut  are  very  e.\traordinary,  and  are  to  be  opposed  with  the  most 
persevering  vigilance!  We  wish  you  by  all  means  to  prevent  any  step  being  taken  by  Congress 
that  may,  in  the  smallest  degree,  lead  towards  a  revision  of  the  cause  determined  by  the  Court 
at  Trenton.  That  business  is  complicated  with  such  a  variety  of  consideration  and  circumstances, 
arising  from  a  multiplicity  of  sources,  that  it  is  incapable  of  being  properly  managed  without 
diligent  and  long  continued  study  and  application  to  it. 

"Mr.  Wilson,  by  his  professional  knowledge,  and  laborious  preparation  for  the  late  trial 
between  this  State  and  Connecticut,  has  acquired  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  whole  tran- 
sactions preceding  your  appointment.  To  you,  Gentlemen,  the  subsequent  [transactions]  are  well 
known.  He  is  now  nominated  a  Delegate,  and  will  join  you  as  soon  as  possible.  With  the  mutual 
information  and  assistance  which  you  will  give  each  other,  we  do  not  question  but  that  the 
designs  of  our  opponents  will  be  properly  encountered.  We  shall  be  obliged  to  you  if  you  will, 
by  an  early  opportunity,  send  us  a  copy  of  any  Remonstrance,  Address  or  Petition  to  Congress 
by  Zebulon  Butler  and  his  associates." 

On  the  same  date.  President  Dickinson  wrote  to  the  Hon.  George  Clinton, 

Governor  of  New  York,  in  part  as  follows: 

"This  letter  will  be  delivered  to  your  Excellency  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Wilson,  one  of  our 
Delegates,  and  Agents  in  the  controversy  for  the  territory  of  which  the  jurisdiction  and  pre- 
emption were,  in  December,  1782,  adjudged  unanimously  by  the  Court  at  Trenton  to  be  the  right 
of  this  Commonwealth.  We  flattered  our.selves  that  so  truly  respectable  a  determination  would 
have  put  an  end  to  all  contests,  and  that  the  affair  would  have  given  us  no  further  trouble  than 
to  settle  private  claims  of  soil  upon  equitable  terms,  which  this  State  was  resolved  to  do.  But 
with  regret  we  find  that  the  Dispute  is  reviving  in  a  variety  of  forms,  and  it  becomes  our  duty 
to  be  prepared  in  the  best  manner  we  can  for  opposing  attempts  that  threaten  the  Honor,  the 
Peace  and  the  Welfare  of  Pennsylvania.  We  therefore  beg  leave  to  request,  and  shall  with  just 
acknowledgments  receive,  any  assistance  which  your  State  can  afford  to  Mr.  Wilson  by  access 
to  your  records  and   other   Sources  of  information."     *     *     * 

Early  in  January,  1784,  Obadiah  Gore  and  the  other  Wyoming  inhabitants 
who,  in  March,  1 783,  had  petitioned  the  Legislature  of  New  York  for  a  grant  of 
land,  and  had  been  voted  certain  privileges  (see  pages  1314,  1315),  arranged 
to  renew  their  efforts  and  push  their  project  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  Con- 
sequently Mr.  Gore  journeyed  to  the  seat  of  the  New  York  Government,  where, 
on  January  26,   1784,  he  presented    the  following  petition  to  the  Legislature.! 

"To  the  Hon'ble  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  Senate  and  Assembly  met: 

"In  Pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  both  branches  of  the  Legislature  passed  the  21st  day 
of  March  last,  granting  liberty  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Wyoming  to  explore  a  Tract  of  Country 
of  the  waste  and  unappropriated  lands  of  this  State,  to  form  a  settlement,  I  have,  with  a  number 
of  said  Inhabitants,  surveyed  and  Designated  six  towns  of  six  miles  square — as  laid  down  by  a 
Sketch  herewith  Exhibited;  and  would  point  out  a  suitable  Tract  of  land  on  the  East  side  of 
the  Cayuga  Lake  (at  or  near  the  Cayuga  Town),  to  extend  southerly  by  said  Lake,  to  accom- 
modate the  rest  of  said  Inhabitants. 

"These  are  therefore  to  pray  the  Hon'ble  the  Legislature  to  grant  and  confirm  the  above 
described  Land  to  said  Inhabitants,  on  such  Terras,  Conditions  and  restrictions  as  shall  seem 
meet,  and  your  memorialist,  as  in  Duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray,  &c. 

"Dated  New  York,  January  26,  1784.  [Signed]  "Obadiah  Gore, 

in  behalf  of  said  Inhabitants." 

This  petition  was  read  in  the  Assembly  on  January  27th,  and  was  duly  referred 
to  a  committee  composed  of  Messrs.  Lansing,  Rutgers  and  L  Smith,  who,  on 
February  23,   1784,  reported  in  part  as  follows: 

"That  on  examining  the  joint-resolution  of  March  21,  1783,  it  appears  that  O.  Gore  and 
partners  were  permitted  to  locate  on  any  waste  and  unappropriated  lands  of  the  State,  etc.    That 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series.  X;  204. 

1The  original  document  was  in  the  pos.session  of  M.  M.  .Tones,  Utica,  N.  Y.  in  March,  1880. 


1363 

as  by  said  resolution  the  faith  of  the  State  is  pledged  to  O.  Gore  and  partners,  the  Comtee.  are 
of  opinion  that  provision  for  that  purpose  ought  to  be  made  in  the  bill  now  before  the  House 
for  the  encouragement  of  the  settlement  of  waste  and  unappropriated  lands  in  the  State."* 

At  Fort  Dickinson,  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  February  1,  1784, 
Maj.  James  Moore  wrote  to  President  Dickinson,  Philadelphia,  in  part  as  follows :t 

"The  Snow  is  so  deep  in  this  Country  that  our  Communication  with  the  City  has  been 
totaly  stop'd  this  sometime,  Lieut.  Armstrong  is  now  willing  to  attempt  the  journey.  Should 
he  be  able  to  perform  it,  he  will  deliver  your  Excellency  this  Letter  with  the  several  Inclosures. 
As  Lieut.  Armstrong  goes  to  Philada.  on  Public  Business,  he  wishes  to  know  if  he  cannot  obtain 
Pay  for  his  expenses. 

"In  my  accounts  I  have  charged  the  State  with  22  Commissions  on  all  the  moneys  I  have 
Laid  out,  deducting  my  Month's  Pay  and  Subsistence,  which  I  trust  your  Excellency  &  Councill 
will  not  disapprove.  It  is  a  small  compensation  for  the  trouble  I  have  had.  Wood  is  now  the 
only  article  of  expence  I  shall  be  exposed  to  during  the  Winter.  The  severity  of  the  weather 
will  require  200  cords;  that  quantity  is  already  cut  and  set  up  by  the  troops,  but  so  remote  from 
the  Garrison  that  I  am  obliged  to  allow  four  shillings  a  cord  for  cartage. 

"Inclosed  your  Excellency  will  find  a  Coppy  of  Martin  Tidd's  deposition,  respecting  the 
opinion  and  advice  of  Colo.  Strowd  to  those  people,  when  here  on  the  Committee.  This  testi- 
mony is  corroborated  daily  by  Information  from  the  Pena  Settlers.  Since  the  Committee  left 
this  Iplace]  those  who  had  relinquished  their  Claims  in  favour  of  the  Pena  Landholders  are  now- 
attempting  to  regain  possession;  others  who  had  engaged  to  deliver  Quiet  Possession  in  the  Spring 
have  determined  otherwise,  and  from  what  I  can  learn  every  Person  who  has  the  leasf  Preten- 
tions to  lands  in  this  Country  under  the  Connecticut  claim,  are  expected  with  all  their  Connec- 
tions in  the  Spring.  Many  of  the  Pena  Settlers  who  had  some  time  ago  obtained  Possession 
by  consent,  arc  now  forbid  cutting  fire  wood  on  their  Land.  These  and  many  other  Reasons 
which  Lt.  Armstrong  will  be  able  to  Inform  you,  point  out  the  necessity  of  Continuing  a  Military 
force  in  this  place.  Should  the  Garrison  be  Dismissed  in  the  Present  Situation  of  afTairs,  danger- 
ous consequences  are  to  be  dreaded. 

"Should  Major  Christie  be  in  Philadelphia,  Lieut.  Armstrong  will  return  Immediately  to 
this  place,  but  .should  Lt.  Armstrong  find  Major  Christie  out  of  town,  I  have  directed  him  to 
wait  on  Council  for  the  two  months  pay  agreeably  to  the  Inclosed  Muster  &  Pay  rolls." 

This  communication  was  duly  received  by  President  Dickinson,  and  was 
"read  and  approved"  in  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  February  6,  1784.  The 
deposition  of  Martin  Tidd,  which  accompanied  Major  Moore's  letter,  had  been 
made  before  Esquire  Mead,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  January  30,  1784.  It  related  to 
Col.  Jacob  Stroud,  one  of  the  Committee  of  inquiry  from  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly,  and  Tidd  deposed  that,  while  this  committee  was  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
he  "heard  Colonel  Stroud  tell  Edward  Spencer  that  all  the  people  settled  under 
Connecticut  claims  in  Wyoming  were  fools  for  taking  leases  from  the  Pennsyl- 
vania landholders,  as  that  was  [equivalent  to]  relinquishing  their  claims;  that 
those  that  had  not  taken  leases  should  hold  their  possessions,  and  not  give  up 
by  any  means.  The  Pennsylvania  landholders  may  try  to  alarm  you,"  said 
Stroud,  "but  they  cannot  bring  any  ejectments  against  you,  or  dispossess  you, 
until  you  have  a  Continental  Court  called  for  the  trial  of  the  right  of  soil.     *     *     * 

*The  House  agreed  to  this  report,  and  the  .\ct  "to  encourage  the  settlement  of  waste  and  unappropriated  lands' 
was  passed  by  the  House  March  4.  1784,  and  by  the  Senate,  April  .1.  1784,  March  I.  1788.  the  Legislature  of  New 
York  adopted  the  following:  "Whereas  the  Senate  and  .Assembly  in  March.  1783,  adopted  a  concurrent  resolution: 
*  *  *  Whereas  O  Gore  and  his  several  hundred  associates  have  chosen  lands  between  the  Oswego  and  Susquehanna 
Rivers  on  the  east  and  south-east,  the  boundary  line  between  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  on  the  south,  and  the  partition 
line  between  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  of  the  lands  by  them  respectively  ceded  to  each  other,  on  the  we  t;  .\nd 
Whereas  the  Indian  title  still  remains  to  be  extinguished;  and  whereas  I^ebbens  Hammond  and  others,  petitioners 
with  Robert  Conat — who  were  also  of  the  original  associates  of  O.  Gore  and  John  Fuller  and  others — are  either  already 
settled  on  the  above  lands,  or  are  about  to  remove  there:  and  whereas  the  State  has  expended  SI 600.  for  exploring 
the  land  and  conciliating  the  Indians — and  further  expenses  will  be  incurred  in  purchasing  the  land  from  the  Indians — • 

"Therefore.  Resolved,  That  intruders  shall  be  expelled  and  punished:  that  treaties  be  made  with  the  Indians  for 
the  purchase  of  160.000  acres  of  land;  that  13,000  acres  be  reserved  and  granted  to  Lebbens  Hammond,  and  others, 
on  the  payment  of  3s.  and  6d-  per  acre;  and  the  residue  so  to  be  purchased  be  granted  to  Obadiah  Gore  and  his  associ- 
ates at  the  rate  of  Is.  and  3d,  per  acre." 

Under  the  aforementioned  -•ict  of  March  4.  1784.  Obadiah  Gore.  Matthias  Hollenback.  William  Buck  and  .\very 
Gore  bought  .3,8.50  acres.  Lot  142.  Town  of  Chemung  (later  Big  Flats.  Chemung  County,  New  YorkV  The 
certificate  of  survey  was  filed  November  5,  1788,  and  February  29.  17,89,  O.  Gore  paid  £294.  14i.  7d-  in  three  per  cent, 
stock  to  the  Treasurer,  at  Is,  and  6d.  per  acre,  ."knother  certificate  of  survey,  for  7,680  acres.  Lot  139  (Baldwin.  Che- 
mung County),  was  filed  the  same  day  for  Samuel  Gore,  .-Varon  Dean.  Thomas  Foster.  Jacob  Snell.  Lockwood  Smith 
Timothy  Tarring,  Thomas  Bennett  and  Tobias  Wynkoop  (of  Gore's  partvK  and  was  paid  for  February  10.  1792.  with 
£576, 

The  emigrants  from  Wyoming  under  the  "Gore  project"  settled  mostly  in  the  intervales  of  the  Susquehanna 
in  Tioga  and  Chemung  Counties.  New  York,  before  the  Indian  title  to  the  land  had  been  extinguished.  Big  FLits, 
where  Obadiah  Gore  and  his  partners  bought  their  land,  w-as  already  a  settlement,  Christian  Miner,  a  Pennsylvanian, 
having  established  himself  there  in  1787.  and  being  followed  in  1788  by  Caleb  C.ardner.  Henry  .Starell  and  George 
Gardner,  arid  in   1 789  by  Clark  Winans — all  from  Pennsylvania. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  .Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  197. 


1364 

You  will  have  a  trial,  and  no  one  can  dispossess  you  until  that  happens,  and  that 
Court  cannot  be  called  for  this  long  time."* 

About  the  time  that  Major  Moore  wrote  to  President  Dickinson  the  letter 
just  set  forth,  the  following  document!  was  drawn  up  at  Wilkes-Barre  and  signed 
by  a  number  of  the  Yankee  settlers  living  in  the  upper  end  of  the  township — in 
what  is  now  Plains  Township : 

"To  the  Hon.  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  at  their  present 
Cession : 

"A  Petition  for  Redress  of  Grievances  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Jacobs  Plains,  in  Wyoming, 
representing  the  ill  treatment  they  have  received  from  one  Daniel  Whitney. 

"Sometime  in  the  month  of  April,  1783,  this  Daniel  Whitney  came  into  this  Place,  &  in- 
formed the  inhalMtants  that  he  had  bought  a  certain  tract  of  Land,  lying  in  the  said  Jacobs  Plains, 
from  one  Mr.  [John  Maxweh]  Nesbitt  of  Philadelphia.  And  he  the  said  Daniel  Whitney  further 
informed  the  inhabitants  on  said  lands  that  he  was  to  take  possession  of  said  lands,  according 
to  a  certain  bargain  made  between  him  and  the  said  Mr.  Nesbitt,  by  the  15th  or  20th  of  last 
April ;  but  finding  a  Proclamation  and  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  passed 
in  March,  1 783,  prohibiting  such  a  procedure,  he  the  said  Whitney  told  us  it  was  not  in  his  power 
to  obtain  possession  agreeable  to  the  said  Proclamation  and  Act,  neither  could  he  until  the  next 
setting  of  the  Assembly;  and  he  hoped  that  the  inhabitants  of  Jacobs  Plains  would  oppose  him, 
and  thereby  prevent  his  getting  possession,  so  that  he  might  come  upon  his  bondsman. 

"Upon  these  considerations  he  the  said  Daniel  Whitney  never  warned  any  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Jacobs  Plains  off  said  lands,  or  brought  any  writs  of  ejectment  against  any  of  the 
inhabitants  of  said  lands.  Yet  some  time  in  December  last  [1783]  the  said  Daniel  Whitney  came 
into  this  place  again  and,  without  any  ceremony,  took  all  our  hay,  grain  and  creatures,  viz.: 
Neat  Cattle,  Horses  &  hoggs;  and  he  the  said  Daniel  Whitney,  when  asked  by  what  authority 
he  thus  distressed  the  Inhabitants  of  Jacobs  Plains,  replied  it  was  by  a  Landlord's  warrent — 
altho  he  never  produced  any  Landlord's  Warrent,  or  any  other  Lord's  Warrent,  to  justify  his 
Conduct. 

"And  he  the  said  Daniel  Whitney  did  likewise  proceed  so  far  as  to  sell  them  at  vandue, 
in  seven  Days,  without  so  much  as  ever  putting  up  any  Advertisement;  so  that  our  Property 
was  sold  for  little  or  Nothing  in  regard  to  the  real  value  thereof.  After  some  time  we  the  In- 
habitants of  Jacobs  Plains  thought  it  expedient,  yea!  the  only  Alternative  left  us,  to  procure 
Writs  of  Replevin,  and  get  back  what  we  could;  but  alass!  before  we  were  able  to  obtain  writs 
a  great  quantity  of  our  grain  was  threshed  out  &  conveyed  away,  so  that  we  could  not  get  that 
which  was  taken  away  by  the  said  Daniel  Whitney  or  by  his  orders.  So  that;  if  the  said  Daniel 
Whitney  had  carried  his  avaricious  &  inhuman  Plan  into  Execution,  there  must  have  inevitably 
perished  upward  of  forty  Persons,  chiefly  women  &  children. 

"These  are  Facts,  Gentlemen,  which  we  are  able  to  support  before  the  Impartial  World; 
altho  at  the  same  time  we  think  they  are  shocking  to  the  feelings  of  Humanity,  and  we  would 
not  wish  to  dwell  long  upon  them.  But  we  would,  with  the  utmost  submission  and  Alacrity  of 
Soul  consign  over  our  distressed  situation  to  your  Honors  candid  and  impartial  consideration ; 
praying  that  your  Honors  would  in  your  wisdom  point  out  a  Modus  of  Redress  for  our  grievances ; 
and  we  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray,  &c. 

"A'.  B. — We  would  beg  leave  to  represent  to  the  Honorable  House  a  few  Instances  of  the 
procedure  of  the  said  Daniel  Whitney  in  the  taking  of  grain  and  cattle,  &  the  appraisal  of  the  same, 
in  a  few  particulars,  in  order  for  a  further  illustration  of  the  affair: — A  barrack  of  wheat  con- 
taining 100  bushels,  belonging  to  Mr.  Abraham  Westbrook,  appraised  at  £7,  10s.,  and  sold  for 
fifteen  dollars;  a  barrack  of  wheat  and  rye  containing  110  bushels,  taken  from  Joshua  Jewell, 
appraised  at  £5,  and  two  stacks  of  oats  containing  200  bushels,  appraised  at  £5 — &  all  sold  for 
£8,  1 5s.  A  stack  of  wheat  taken  from  Mr.  Leonard  Westbrook,  containing  forty  bushels,  ap- 
praised at  £3 — and  many  more  such  flagrant  instances  of  cruelty  we  could  produce,  but  for 
brevity's  sake  we  omit. 

"We,  the  subscribers,  were  originally  proprietors  under  Connecticut. 

[Signed]  "Abraham  Westbrook,  "Joshua  Jewell, 

"Daniel  Gore,  "George  Cooper, 

"Leonard  Westbrook,  "John  Smith 

"Ephraim  Tyler,  "Henry  Starke. 

"John  Kennedy,  "Price  Cooper, 

*Alexander  Patterson,  in  his  'Petition"  mentioned  on  page  626.  Vol,  II,  and  pages  1327,  1.328,  made  the  following 
statement  concerning  Colonel  Stroud  "In  this  phrensv  of  the  Legislature  they  sent  Jonas  Hartzel,  Robert  Brown 
and  Jacob  Stroud,  Members  from  Northampton,  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  the  Pennsylvania  officers,  in  consequence 
of  a  mock  petition  from  the  insurgents,  Stroud  had  always  been  notoriously  favorable  to  the  intruders,  and  discovered 
great  partiality  in  the  investigation.  Your  petitioner,  therefore,  had  him  arraigned  in  the  House  the  ensuing  session, 
and  substantiated  by  his  colleagues  the  facts  in  this  simple  business.  No  blame  did  or  could  attach  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania officers,  whose  duty  it  was  to  rid  the  country  of  a  most  infamous  set  of  wretches, 

"Stroud  haying  clandestinely  furnished  the  intruders  with  public  arms  and  ammunition,  and  having  acknowledged 
a  variance  subsisting  for  fourteen  years  betwixt  him  and  your  petitioner,  he  was  emphatically  told  by  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  that  he  was  an  unfit  person  for  a  Commissioner  in  this  instance.  Your  petitioner's  duty  demanding  his 
attendence  at  Wyoming,  further  inquiry  as  to  Stroud's  guilt  was  postponed,  or  he  would  have  been  expelled  with  his 
usual    infamy." 

tXhe  original  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  and  it  is  now  printed  for  the  first  time. 


1365 

This  document  was  taken  to  Philadelphia  by  Col.  John  Franklin,  the  agent 
of  the  Yankee  settlers  at  Wyoming,  and  was  duly  presented  to  the  Assembly, 
where  it  was  "read  the  first  time  February  12,  1784."  A  few  days  later  President 
Dickinson  wrote  to  Maj.  James  Moore,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  as  follows:* 

"Havingconfi-Tred  with  Alexander  Patterson  &  David  Mead,  Esquires,  &  Captain  Armstrong, 
concerning  the  Behaviour  of  the  Settlers  at  Wioming  not  claiming  under  this  State,  we  think 
it  proper  to  observe,  that  a  very  vigilant  attention  must  be  had  to  the  Conduct  of  that  People, 
and  every  Measure  taken  to  guard  against  any  hostile  Enterprises. 

"At  the  same  time,  it  is  the  Intention  &  Desire  of  Government  that  if  they  behave  peaceably 
&  inoffensively,  they  are  to  be  in  all  Respects  treated  kindly,  as  persons  whom  we  wish  to  become 
affectionate  &  faithful  Citizens  of  this  Commonwealth." 

On  the  same  day  President  Dickinson  wrote  as  follows  to  Alexander 
Patterson,  David  Mead,  John  Seely  and  Henry  Shoemakerf,  Esquires,  Pennsyl- 
vania Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  Northumberland  County,  who  were  just 
at  that  time  exercising  their  justicial  fimctions  at  Wilkes-Barre. 

"Having  conferred  with  two  of  you  concerning  the  Behaviour  of  the  Settlers  at  Wioming 
not  claiming  under  this  State,  we  judge  it  proper  to  observe,  that  as  it  is  the  Duty  of  persons 
in  such  offices  as  you  hold,  to  render  justice  to  all  persons  without  Distinction  as  far  as  your 
Authority  extends,  and  to  preserve  the  Peace,  the  peculiar  Situation  of  affairs  in  your  neighbor- 
hood requires  a  particular  attention  to  the  Conduct  of  those  who  are  disaffected  to  Pennsylvania, 
and  that  the  earliest  Intelligence  should  be  communicated  to  us  of  any  proceeding  that  threatens 
Injury  to  the  Commonwealth. 

"But,  if  the  said  Settlers  behave  peaceably  and  inoffensively,  it  is  the  Intention  &  Desire 
of  Government  that  they  should  be  in  all  Respects  treated  with  kindness,  as  persons  whom  we 
wish  to  become  affectionate  and  faithful  Citizens  of  Pennsylvania." 

The  committee  which  had  been  sent  to  Wjsoming  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly  (see  page  1358)  to  investigate  affairs  here,  made  its  report  to  the 
House  February  3,  1784;  and  the  same  having  been  read  the  first  time  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee  composed  of  Joseph  Work,  Henry  Miller,  James  Johnston, 
Nicholas  Lutz  and  John  Carothers. 

At  that  time  Col.  John  Franklin  was  still  in  Philadelphia,  authorized,  as 
the  agent  of  the  Yankee  settlers  at  Wyoming,  to  look  after  their  interests  so  far  as 
possible.  Therefore,  on  February  23,  1784|,  he  prepared  and  presented  to  the 
General  Assembly  the  following  petition§ : 

"To  the  Honorable  the  Representatives  of  the  Freeman  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  General  Assembly  met: — 

"The  petition  and  address  of  John  Jenkins,  Nathan  Denison,  Obadiah  Gore,  Hugh 
FoRSE.MAN  and  John  Franklin,  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  others 
inhabitants  of  said  place,  most  respectfully  sheweth, 

"That  Whereas,  upon  a  petition  and  remonstrancejl  from  divers  inhabitants  of  Wyoming, 
bearing  date  November  IS,  17S3,  complaining  of  certain  illegal  proceedings  had  against  them  by 
Alexander  Patterson,  Esq.,  and  others,  your  Honours,  of  your  abundant  goodness,  by  a  resolution 
appointed  a  committee  from  your  Honorable  House  to  inquire  into  the  charges  contained  in  said 
petition. 

"That  timely  notice  being  given  to  the  said  Alexander  Patterson,  Esq.,  and  others  concerned, 
as  well  as  to  the  petitioners,  an  inquiry  was  held  at  Wyoming  by  your  committee  [for]  near  ten 
days.  Witnesses  [were]  called  for  and  fairly  heard,  and  depositions  [were]  taken,  as  well  on  the  part 
of  those  complained  of,  as  on  the  part  of  the  petitioners.  Liberty  of  questioning  the  witnesses 
when  under  examination  in  support  of  the  petition  was  granted  to  the  defending  party,  and  a 
fair  and  legal  hearing  of  all  such  witnesses  as  they  saw  fit  to  make  use  of. 

"That  since  the  return  of  your  committee  from  Wyoming  we  understand  that  sundry 
private  letters,  and  a   number  of  ex  parte  depositions   taken  since  the  inquiry   aforesaid,  have 
*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  207. 

tMentioned  on  page  1337.  He  was  an  inhabitant  of  Northampton  County,  ana  ;ii  1780  and  '81  was 
Captain  of  a  company  of  Northampton  County  militia  ("Rangers")  in  ijie  ser\'ice  of  the  United  State>,  (See  "Pro- 
ceedings and  Collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society".  X:  118.)  February  7.  1784.  he  was 
commissioned  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  Northumberland 
County.     He  was  dismissed  from  office  by  the  Council  December  24,  1784. 

JOn  this  same  day,  at  Philadelphia,  Maj,  James  Chrystie  filed  with  President  Dickinson  a  paper  reading  as 
follows:  "I  am  ordered  by  Major  Moore,  commanding  at  Fort  Dickinson,  to  apply  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
for  some  money  on  account,  for  the  discharge  of  debts  necessarily  contracted  for  the  use  of  the  Fort — for  the  laying  in 
of  too  cords  of  wood,  for  the  payment  of  intrenching  tools,  and  for  hauling  necessary  for  the  repairing  of  the  works. 
£101  will  answer  for  the  present." 

§See  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  336. 
See  page  13.S.S. 


1366 

been  presented  to  your  House;  reporting,  or  representing,  to  your  Honours  that  the  inhabitants 
of  Wyoming  who  settled  that  territory  under  the  Connecticut  claim,  do  not  manifest  submission 
to  the  laws  and  authority  of  this  State,  but  appear  [to  be]  designing  against  the  same,  and  that 
there  is  danger  of  ill  consequences  proceeding  from  the  opposition  of  said  inhabitants. 

"Conscious  that  no  opposition  from  us  has  been  made  to  the  laws  and  authority  aforesaid, 
and  that  no  such  designs  are  existing,  we  humbly  conceive  that  such  reports  must  have  originated 
through  misinformation  or  mistake.  Wc  have  the  highest  esteem  for  the  Constitution  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  and  are  well  satisfied  with  the  laws  of  this  state.  We  are  under 
your  jurisdiction  and  protection — are  subjects  and  free  citizens  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 
We  have  voluntarily  taken  and  subscribed  the  oaths  and  affirmations  of  allegiance  and  fidelity, 
as  directed  by  a  supplement  to  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State ;  and  it  is  our  will 
and  pleasure  to  serve  you  in  doing  our  duty  as  good  and  faithful  subjects  of  this  State,  in  support- 
ing the  rights,  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  same.  We  have  to  look  up  to  your  Honours  for 
protection,  for  justice,  equity  and  liberty,  on  which  we  depend. 

"We  have  the  greatest  confidence  that  upon  the  examination  of  the  depositions  taken  by 
your  committee  in  their  inquiry  at  Wyoming,  your  House  will  be  satisfied  that  the  charges  con- 
tained in  the  aforesaid  petition  are  fully  supported,  and  that  no  opposition  has  been  made  on  oui 
part.  That  by  our  peaceable  demeanor  and  ready  submission  to  Government,  we  have  duly 
submitted  to  every  requisition,  whether  civil  or  military,  and  that  the  proceedings  had  against 
us — and  which  we  complained  of — were  unconstitutional  and  unlawful,  and  that  we  had  the 
greatest  reason  to  appeal  to  your  Honours  for  redress. 

"Relying  on  the  justice  and  impartiality  of  your  Honorable  House,  we  are  assured  that 
reports  by  private  letters,  and  ex  parte  evidence,  will  not  avail  against  legal  and  well-grounded 
testimony,  either  to  condemn  an  innocent  iieople,  or  screen  the  guilty  from  Justice.  We  humbly 
request  to  be  protected  and  continued  quiet  and  unmolested  in  our  possessions — which  is  our 
all — until  a  legal  decision  shall  be  had  thereon,  with  which  we  are  ready  to  comply,  and  shall 
quietly  resign  to  any  claimant  or  claimants  whose  title  shall  be  adjudged  preferable  to  ours. 
We  press  your  Honours  to  grant  us  protection  and  redress,  and  that  the  liberties  and  privileges, 
which  subjects  and  free  citizens  of  this  State  are  entitled  to,  may  not  be  denied  to  us.  And  your 
petitioners,  as  in  duty  bound,  will  ever  pray. 

,  [Signed]  "John  Franklin, 

"Philadelphia,  February  23.  17S4,  "Agent  for  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming." 

This  petition  having  been  read  in  the  House  the  first  time  Februan"  25, 
1784,  was  referred  to  the  committee  which  had  in  hand  the  report  of  the 
Assembly  Committee  of  Inquiry  into  Wyoming  affairs. 

There  were  other  petitions  prepared  at  Wyoming  about  this  time,  some  of 
which  were  presented  to  the  Legislature,  and  others  of  which  failed  to  reach 
that  body — as  we  learn  from  one  of  Colonel  Franklin's  "Plain  Truth"  articles, 
printed  in  The  Luzerne  Federalist,  (Wilkes-Barre)  September  21,  1801.  The 
following  paragraphs  have  been  extracted  from  the  article  in  question: — 

"The  Legislature  [of  Pennsylvania]  was  in  session  from  about  the  13th  of  January. 
1784,  until  some  time  in  April,  during  which  time  several  petitions,  represented  to  be  the  petitions 
of  the  Connecticut  settlers  at  Wyoming,  were  set  on  foot,  circulated,  and  signed  with  several 
hundred  names,  and  sent  to  Philadelphia.  Some  were  presented  to  the  Legislature:  others, 
after  they  had  reached  Philadelphia,  were  prevented  (by  the  agent  [Colonel  Franklin]  of  the 
settlers  who  then  attended  the  Legislature)  from  being  presented.  In  these  petitions  it  was 
set  forth  that  the  petitioners  expected  they  had  lost  their  lands  by  the  decree  at  Trenton,  and  pray- 
ing for  lands  as  a  compensation  for  their  sufferings  by  the  calamities  of  war,  etc. 

"These  petitions  were  first  set  on  foot,  not  by  Connecticut  claimants — they  had  petitioned 
Congress — but  by  persons  opposed  to  the  Connecticut  claimants  and  to  the  .settlers  under  their 
claim.  Some  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace,  who  were  Pennsylvania  claimants,  and  had  been  forced 
upon  the  settlers,  were  particularly  active  in  this  business.  Several  of  the  petitions,  if  not  all, 
were  sent  to  Philadelphia  by  a  Pennsylvania  claimant.  Dr.  Joseph  ,Sprague  was  the  bearer  of 
several  of  them. 

"A  very  small  number  of  the  Connecticut  fathers  being  unwary,  and  off  their  guard,  were 
deceived,  and.  not  knowing  the  contents  of  the  petition,  placed  their  names  thereto.  The  whole 
number  did  not  exceed  twenty — several  of  whom  were  minors,  widows  and  children.  The  names 
of  several  others  who  were  absent  were  affixed  without  their  knowledge  or  consent.  Those  settlers 
who  did  sign,  found  they  had  been  deceived,  and  expressed  it  in  a  remonstrance  and  petition 
directed  to  the  Legislature.  The  petitions  were  signed  by  many  of  those  persons  who.  in  May 
following,  assisted  the  troops  in  driving  off  and  expelling  the  settlers  from  Wyoming.  They  were 
signed  with  the  names  of  persons  belonging  in  other  Counties  and  States.  The  names  of  children 
and  even  of  infants,  and  the  names  of  many  yet  unborn,  were  inserted."     *     *     * 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  March  6,  1784,  President  Dickinson 
wrote  with  great  care  a  very  full  and  detailed  reply  to  the  communication  which 
he  had  received  from  Governor  Trumbull  of  Connecticut,  in  December,   1783. 


1367 

(See  page  1357.)  He  began  by  expressing  the  hope  that  the  Government 
of  Connecticut,  "upon  being  well  informed"  with  respect  to  the  proceedings 
on  the  part  of  Pennsylvania  towards  the  Wyoming  settlers,  would  "not  persist 
in  a  conduct  so  extraordinary  as  that  lately  adopted."  He  then  declared: 
"Whether  this  Hope  be  well  founded  or  not,  we  shall  enjoy  the  Satisfaction  of 
having  affectionately  endeavoured  to  remove  the  prejudices  of  a  sister  State, 
&  to  prevent  the  Evils  that  must  result  from  such  a  Revival  of  the  late  Contro- 
vers}'."     He  then  continued,  in  part  as  follows*: 

"The  Acts  of  the  Legislature  of  Connecticut  of  October,  1783,  and  your  Excellency's  letters- 
contain  two  charges  against  this  State:  first,  of  suppression  of  evidence,  &  secondly,  of  cruelty 
towards  the  settlers  of  Wyoming.  *  *  *  However  severe  these  Charges  are,  they  meet  on 
our  part  with  a  Consciousness  that  they  are  not  merited.  As  to  the  former,  it  is  so  indefinite 
that  we  cannot  imagine  to  what  Evidence  it  alludes.  As  to  the  latter,  the  inclosed  Papers  & 
some  corresponding  Circumstances  will  evince  how  much  it  was  undeserved. 

"It  has  been  the  constant  Determination  of  this  Government  to  treat  with  Benevolence 
&  Generosity  the  Settlers  at  Wioming  whose  Cases  were  recommended  by  equitable  Considera- 
tions; and  we  are  persuaded  that  all  who  are  described  in  the  Resolutions  of  the  second  of  last 
Septembcrf  would  have  had  their  Possessions  immediately  confirmed  to  them,  if  it  could  be  done 
without  a  Violation  of  the  Rights  of  Property  in  a  Multitude  of  Instances — those  Lands  having 
been  heretofore  granted  by  Pennsylvania  to  many  Individuals  who  insisted  on  their  Titles, 
and  pleaded  the  sanction  of  Laws. 

"This  Difficulty  opposed  itself  to  the  kind  Intentions  of  Government.  In  order  to  remove 
it  Commissioners,  who  were  Members  of  the  Legislature,  were  appointed  to  repair  to  Wioming. 
Proposals  of  Accommodation  were  made,  but  not  concluded.  Several  Papers  were  addresttothe 
Commissioners  by  the  Claimants  on  each  side.  That  from  the  settlers  at  Wioming,  dated  23d 
April,  17S3t,  and  signed  on  Behalf  of  the  rest  by  John  Jenkins,  put  an  End  to  all  further  Ex- 
pectation of  Compromises,  &  the  Commissioners  soon  after  returned  Home.      *     *     *     * 

"Upon  the  Report  of  the  Commissioners,  our  General  Assembly  formed  their  Resolutions 
of  the  second  of  September;  and  tho'  their  'Hopes  of  a  friendly  Compromise  seemed  then  van- 
ished', yet  still  influenced  by  the  same  Equity  that  suggested  the  appointment  of  the  Commis- 
sioners, &  to  encourage  the  Settlers  to  assent  to  Terms  compatible  with  the  legal  Claim  under 
Pennsylvania  which  had  occasioned  the  before-mentioned  Difficulty,  they  resolved  that 
'a  reasonable  Compensation  in  Lands  within  the  Boundaries  of  this  State,  upon  easy  Terms, 
be  made  to  the  Families  of  those  who  have  fallen  fighting  against  the  Savages,  &  to  such  others 
as  actually  did  reside  on  the  Lands  at  Wioming  when  the  late  Decree  was  given  at  Trenton.' 

"The  Good  Faith  &  Liberality  with  which  the  present  Assembly  have  adhered  to  this 
Engagement,  wiU  appear  from  the  Resolutions  of  the  30th  of  last  January§,  by  which  three 
hundred  Acres  of  Land  are  granted  clear  of -purchase  Money  to  each  of  the  fifteen  Settlers  therein 
mentioned.     *     *     * 

"It  is  also  evident  from  the  recited  Declaration  of  'the  Settlers'  at  Wyoming,  that  they 
are  contending  for  other  Claims  than  their  own.  Such  Ideas  have  been  successfully  infused 
into  their  Minds,  that  their  Contest  extends  to  the  Claims  of  'a  much  greater  Body  of  Joint 
proprietors  than  is  there." 

"Thus,  by  their  own  Acknowledgement,  the  Question  does  not  relate  to  the  persons  ex- 
pressly designated  by  your  Legislature  in  these  &  several  other  words — 'whose  suflerings  & 
Condition  under  Pennsylvania  have  excited  the  Commiseration  of  their  Friends,'  but  to  the 
Claims  that  may  be  made  by  that 'much  greater  Body  of  Joint  proprietors.'     *     *     * 

"It  is  too  plain  what  the  Consequences  will  be,  when  a  considerable  Body  of  Men  who  have 
fixed  themselves  in  a  State  in  Defiance  of  her  Authority,  making  common  Cause  with  'a  much 
greater  Body'  residing  in  another  State,  tempting  bold  &  needy  Adventurers  from  every  Quarter 
to  join  them  (which  we  aver  to  be  their  practice)  and  meditating  hostile  Enterprise  against  us 
(which  we  know  to  be  their  Design),  are  taught  to  expect  from  that  other  State  (and  a  very 
respectable  one)  'all  the  aid  and  support  in  her  power,'  and  see  her  making  every  Exertion  to 
acquire  for  them  the  Jurisdiction  over  the  Lands  where  they  have  fixed  themselves.     *     *     * 

"We  ardently  wish  that  the  Citizens  of  a  State  united  to  us  by  so  many  strong  Ties,  would 
be  pleased  to  afford  some  further  Consideration  to  the  Arguments  of  the  Advocates  for  these 
Measures,  and,  with  a  serious  and  consciencious  Attention,  to  weigh  how  far  such  proceedings 
are  reconcileable  with  the  Maxims  of  Reason  and  Justice,  the  Laws  of  Nature  and  Nations,  the 
true  interests  of  the  State,  the  uniform  and  solemn  declarations  of  their  own  ancestors  repeated 
in  their  legislative  and  executive  Acts  of  Government  from  Generation  to  Generation  (without 
a  dissenting  Voice),  the  unanimous  Determination  of  the  most  dignified  Judges  chosen  by 
themselves,  upon  a  Trial  long  prepared  for  and  deliberately  entered  into,  or,  in  brief,  with  the 
Principles  upon  which  the  Peace  and  Repose  of  Mankind  are  established. 

*  *  *  "If  any  violent  actions  have  been  committed  by  Individuals,  they  have  pro- 
ceeded from  minds  alarmed  by  apprehension  of  imminent  Danger,  or  irritated  by  severe  Injuries. 
We  mean  not  to  recriminate,  but  only  to  recall  some  past  events  into  Remembrance;  for,  we  are 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X;  213, 

tSee  page  1343. 

JSee   page  1334.  §Sce  page  1360. 


1368 

assured,  that  the  Citizens  of  your  State  will  not  impute  any  peculiar  want  of  'mercy'  to  the  people 
of  this,  when  they  reflect  that  the  Emigrants  from  Connecticut  seized  by  violence  the  Lands 
which  are  now  claimed — at  a  time,  too,  when  Pennsylvania  was  actually  invaded  by  a  formidable 
Enemy — 'entered  by  Force  into  the  Possessions  &  Labors'  of  Pennsylvanians,  plundered  them 
of  all  their  property,  &  drove  them  out  of  that  part  of  the  Country. 

"And  when  they  reflect,  also,  that,  at  the  Commencement  of  those  Disturbances,  the 
Government  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  most  friendly  and  strenuous  manner,  cautioned  Connecticut, 
by  sending  an  Agent  of  Distinction  and  an  official  Letter,  against  countenancing  the  attempt, 
as  leading  (to  use  the  words  of  the  Letter)  into,  'an  endless  scene  of  Trouble  and  Confusion', 
that  might  be  very  generally  'prejudicial'. 

"To  conclude;  let  the  whole  series  of  transactions  relating  to  the  Intrusion  upon  these 
Lands  be  impartially  considered,  and  we  are  perfectly  convinced  the  People  of  this  State  will 
be  regarded  as  much  more  trespassed  against  than  trespassing.  We  shall  not  uselessly  engage 
in  the  detail,  nor  in  any  Dispute  upon  the  subject.  Our  sincere  wishes  are,  that  this  unhappy 
affair  may  be  closed  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  as  little  Distress  as  possible  to  Individuals,  and  as 
little  Detriment  as  possible  to  our  Common  Country." 

Major  Moore,  in  writing  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  President  Dickinson,  at  the 
beginning  of  February,  1784,  referred  to  the  severity  of  the  weather,  and  the 
unusual  quantity  of  snow  which  had  then  for  some  time  covered  the  face  of  the 
country  in  north-eastern  Pennsylvania.  (See  page  1364.)  The  Winter  of  1783- 
'84  was,  unquestionably,  noted  for  its  severity,  as  we  learn  from  the  writings 
of  various  persons  of  that  period.  About  the  middle  of  January,  1784,  snow 
fell  in  Wyoming  Valley  and  the  surrounding  country  to  the  depth  of  four  feet, 
cutting  off  all  communication  between  the  State  authorities  at  Philadelphia  and 
the  Pennamite  garrison  in  Wilkes-Barre.  The  inmates  of  Fort  Dickinson  were 
compelled  to  keep  close  quarters,  and  for  some  time  were  unable  to  visit  the  near- 
by forests  for  fuel.  The  scattered  inhabitants  of  the  valley  were  barricaded  in 
their  dwellings,  and  could  not  call  upon  or  be  called  upon  by  their  neighbors. 

In  November,  1786,  there  was  published  in  the  Columbian  Magazine  an 
interesting  article  concerning  a  flood  in  the  Susquehanna  River  in  March,  1784, 
written  by  the  noted  Dr. Benjamin  Rush  of  Philadelphia,  Professor  of  Chemistry 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  After  commenting  at  some  length  on  the 
extremely  cold  weather  of  the  Winter  of  1779-80,  Dr.  Rush  continued  as  follows: 

"The  Winter  of  1783-'84  was  uncommonly  cold,  insomuch  that  the  mercury  in  Farenheit's 
thermometer  stood  several  times  at  5°  below  0.  The  cold  was  as  intense  but  not  so  steady  as  it 
was  in  the  Winter  [1779-'80]  that  has  been  described.  The  snows  were  frequent,  and  in  many 
places  from  two  to  three  feet  deep,  during  the  greatest  part  of  the  Winter.  All  the  rivers  in. 
Pennsylvania  were  frozen  so  as  to  bear  waggons  and  sleds  with  immense  weights. 

"The  Winter  of  1783-'84  differed  materially  from  that  of  1779-'80  in  one  particular,  viz.: 
there  was  a  thaw  in  the  month  of  January,  1784,  which  came  on  suddenly  and  opened  our  rivers 
so  as  to  set  the  ice  a-driving — to  use  the  phrase  of  the  country.  In  the  course  of  one  night  during 
the  January  thaw  the  wind  shifted  suddenly  to  the  north-west,  and  the  weather  became  intensely 
cold.  The  ice,  which  had  floated  the  day  before,  was  suddenly  obstructed,  and  in  the  Susque- 
hanna the  obstructions  were  formed  in  those  places  where  the  water  was  most  shallow,  or  where 
it  had  been  accustomed  to  fall.  *  *  *  The  ice  in  many  places,  especially  where  there  were 
falls,  formed  a  kind  of  dam,  of  a  most  stupendous  height. 

"About  the  middle  of  March  our  weather  moderated,  and  a  thaw  became  general.  The 
effects  of  it  were  remarkable  in  all  our  rivers,  but  in  none  so  much  as  in  the  Susquehanna. 
*  *  *  Unfortunately  the  dams  of  ice  did  not  give  way  all  at  once,  nor  those  which  lay  nearest 
the  mouth  of  the  river  first.  While  the  upper  dams  were  set  afloat  by  the  warm  weather,  the 
lower  ones,  which  were  the  largest,  and  in  which,  of  course,  the  ice  was  most  impacted,  remained 
fixed.  In  consequence  of  this  the  river  rose  in  a  few  hours — in  many  places  above  thirty  feet. 
Rolling  upon  its  surface  were  large  lumps  of  ice,  from  ten  to  forty  cubic  feet  in  size. 

"The  effects  of  this  sudden  inundation  were  terrible.  Whole  farms  were  laid  under  water. 
Barns,  stables,  horses,  cattle,  fences,  mills  of  every  kind,  and,  in  one  instance,  a  large  stone  house, 
40  X  30  feet  in  size,  were  carried  down  the  stream.  Large  trees  were  torn  up  by  the  roots;  several 
small  islands,  covered  with  woods,  were  swept  away,  and  not  a  vestige  of  them  was  left  behind. 
On  the  barns  which  preserved  their  shape — in  some  instances,  for  many  miles — were  to  be  seen 
living  fowls;  and,  in  one  dwelling-house,  a  candle  was  seen  to  burn  for  some  time  after  the  house 

♦S^'e  the  references  thereto  on  pages  1225  and  1226,  Vol.  II. 


1369 

was  swept  from  its  foundations.    Where  the  shore  was  level  the  lumps  of  ice  and  the  ruins  of 
houses  and  barns  were  thrown  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  ordinary  height  of  the  river. 

"In  some  instances  farms  were  ruined  by  the  mould  being  swept  from  them  by  the  cakes 
of  ice,  or  by  depositions  of  sand;  while  others  were  enriched  by  large  depositions  of  mud.  The 
damage,  upon  the  whole,  done  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  by  this  freshet,  was  very  great.  In 
most  places  it  happened  in  the  day  time,  or  the  consequences  must  have  been  fatal  to  many 
thousands." 

Isaac  A.  Chapman  of  Wilkes- Barre,  wrote  his  "JSketch  of  the  History  of 
Wyoming"  (see  page  19,  Vol.  I)  in  the  year  1818.  There  were  then  living  in 
Wyoming  Valley  many  persons  who  were  inhabitants  of  the  valley  in  1784  and 
earlier,  and  from  them  Mr.  Chapman  derived  most  of  the  information  used  by 
him  in  the  writing  of  his  history.  Concerning  the  flood  of  1784,  Mr.  Chapman 
wrote : 

"About  the  middle  of  March  the  weather  became  suddenly  warm,  and  on  the  13th  and  14th 
the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  melting  the  deep  snows  throughout  all  the  hills  and  valleys  in  the  upper 
regions  watered  by  the  Susquehanna.  The  following  day  the  ice  in  the  river  began  to  break  up, 
and  the  streams  rose  with  great  rapidity.  The  ice  first  gave  way  at  the  different  rapids,  and, 
floating  down  in  great  masses,  lodged  against  the  frozen  surface  of  the  more  gentle  parts  of  the 
river,  where  it  remained  firm.  In  this  manner  several  large  dams  were  formed,  which  caused 
such  an  accumulation  of  water  that  the  river  overflowed  all  its  banks,  and  one  general  inunda- 
tion overspread  the  extensive  plains  of  Wyoming. 

"The  inhabitants  took  refuge  on  the  hills  and  surrounding  heights,  and  saw  their  property 
exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  waters.  At  length  the  upper  dam  gave  way,  and  huge  masses  of  ice 
were  scattered  in  every  direction.  The  deluge  bore  down  upon  the  dams  below,  which  success- 
sively  yielded  to  the  insupportable  burden,  and  the  whole  went  off  with  the  noise  of  contending 
storms.  Houses,  barns,  stacks  of  hay  and  grain,  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  were  swept  off  in  the 
general  destruction,  to  be  seen  no  more.  The  plain  on  which  the  village  of  Wilkesbarre  is  built 
was  covered  with  heaps  of  ice,  which  continued  a  great  portion  of  the  following  Summer." 

Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  342),  writing  about  the  year  1843, 
and  commenting  upon  Chapman's  account  of  the  1784  flood  said: 

"To  this  admirable  and  graphic  description  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  add  several  instan- 
ces of  special  adventure  and  loss.  Abel  Peirce*,  Esq.,  had  his  residence  on  Kingston  flats,  opposite 
Wilkesbarre.  Suddenly  in  the  night  the  family  was  aroused  by  a  rushing  sound  and  mighty 
convulsions,  which  shook  the  house,  when  the  waters — a  dam  having  broken  above — flowed  in 
upon  the  floor,  giving  them  scarcely  time  to  ascend  for  safety  to  an  upper  chamber,  rescuing  a 
few  things  from  destruction. 

"Huge  masses  of  ice,  one  following  another,  struck  against  the  side  of  the  house,  seeming 
to  be  rending  it  from  its  foundations,  while  the  water  had  already  risen  nearly  to  the  upper  floor. 
A  craft  which  they  had  secured  the  day  before,  tied  to  a  tree  close  by  the  window,  now  afforded 
them  the  only  ray  of  hope  and  shelter,  as  they  were  almost  certain  the  building  must  be  swept 
away.  Passing  through  the  chamber  window  into  the  boat,  the  family  waited  in  intense  anxiety 
the  subsiding  of  the  deluge  and  the  break  of  morning.  The  waters  suddenly  fell,  so  that  when 
light  appeared  aid  arrived,  and  the  family  were  saved;  but  their  stock  of  cattle  and  horses  were 
all  lost  in  the  deluge. 

"In  Fish's  Eddyt,  at  the  lower  point  of  the  town,  forty  head  of  cattle  were  seen  floating 
at  one  time.  But  one  life,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  was  lost,  namely,  that  of  Asa|  Jackson,  in  the 
the  upper  part  of  Wilkesbarre  (Jacob's  Plains).  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  William  Jackson,  killed 
by  the  savages  in  1778§.  His  fate  was  peculiar.  Daniel  Gore  and  Mr.  Jackson  were  standing 
on  the  river  bank  observing  the  ice  break  up.  when  suddenly  there  came  a  rush  of  waters  deluging 
the  flats,  and  pouring  in  huge  masses  between  them  and  the  hill.  Jackson  sprang  on  a  horse  he 
had  beside  him  and  rode  for  life  to  reach  the  high  lands,  but,  becoming  entangled  in  the  ice.  he 
was  borne  away  by  the  flood.  Mr.  Gore  stood  still;  flight  for  him  seemed  impossible,  when, 
providentially,  a  canoe  of  his  own,  broken  from  its  moorings,  floated  near  him,  and  he  contrived 
by  skill  and  care  to  reach  the  shore  in  safety." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Peck,  in  his  "Wyoming"  (see  page  20,  Vol.  I),  gives  an  account 
of  the  flood  of  1 784,  based  on  facts  related  to  him  in  1841  by  Mrs.  Martha  {Bennet) 
Myers||,  who,  as  a  young  woman  of  twenty-one  years,  had  either  witnessed  or 
participated  in  some  of  the  overwhelming  and  disheartening  occurrences  of 
March,  1784.     Dr.  Peck  says: 

"At  about  two  o'clock  P.  M.  Colonel  Denison  and  Esquire  Meyers  came  riding  down  the 
river  on  horseback.    Seeing  the  three  families  [of  Thomas  Bennet,  Solomon  Bennet  and Stevens 

*See  page  71!.  Vol.    II.  tAt  the  bend  of  the  river,  at  the  foot  of  Ross  Street.    See  page  59,  Vol.  I. 

tFrederic,  not  Asal.     See  page  1371. 

§See   page    1106,   Vol.    II.         [| See  page  1241. 


1370 

at  what  is  now  Forty  Port]  apparently  unapprised  of  their  danger,  one  of  them  cried  out,  'Bennet, 
what  are  you  about?  The  ice  will  soon  be  upon  you  in  mountains.'  Mrs.  [Thomas]  Bennet 
had  previously  been  urging  her  husband  to  take  the  family  to  the  high  bank  across  the  creek. 
He,  however,  relied  securely  upon  the  tradition  communicated  to  him  from  'the  oldest  Indians,' 
that  the  water  had  'never  been  over  these  flats.' 

"After  the  warning  given  by  Colonel  Denison  and  Esquire  Myers,  however,  the  old  gentle- 
man gave  up  his  policy  of  inaction,  and  'began  to  stir  about.'  The  big  canoe  was  loaded,  and  went 
off  carrying  the  old  people  and  the  children.  The  boys  drove  the  cattle  to  Swetland's  Hill,  taking 
along  the  wagon  and  horses.  They  barely  escaped,  the  water  rising  so  rapidly  that  it  came  into 
the  wagon-box  just  before  they  reached  the  hill.  Martha  [Bennet]  staid  at  the  house  and  assisted 
in  loading  the  canoe,  which  Solomon  Bennet  and  Uriah  Stevens  ran  back  and  forth  between  the 
house  and  the  bank. 

"As  they  were  engaged  in  packing  up,  the  ice  above  gave  way  with  a  tremendous  roar 
Martha  cried  out,'  Boys,  we  are  gone!'  She  says,  'In  an  instant  we  were  in  the  canoe— I  cannot 
tell  how — and  were  lifted  up  among  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  surrounded  by  cakes  of  strong 
ice.  The  boys  rowed,  and  I  pulled  by  the  limbs  of  the  trees,  but  in  spite  of  all  we  could  do  we 
were  driven  down  stream  rapidly.  It  was  now  dark,  and  our  people,  with  lighted  torches,  came 
along  the  bank  in  the  greatest  anxiety  of  mind,  frequently  calling  out,  'Where  are  you.'  As  we 
were  swept  along  by  the  terrible  current,  and  unable  to  make  much  headway  in  consequence  of 
the  obstructions  occasioned  by  the  ice,  we  saw  the  lights  following  along  the  bank,  and  occasion- 
ally heard  our  friends  shout  out,  'Keep  up  good  courage,  you  will  soon  reach  the  shore." 

"We  struggled  for  life,  and  at  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock  at  night  we  reached  the  shore.  Uriah 
Stevens  sprang  upon  a  log  which  lay  by  the  shore,  and  thence  upon  the  ground.  I  followed 
him,  but  the  moment  I  struck  the  log  it  rolled,  and  I  was  plunged  into  the  water.  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  rise  within  reach  of  the  young  man,  and  he  pulled  me  out.  Solomon,  in  the  canoe, 
was  then  driven  out  among  the  ice,  and  it  was  an  hour  or  more  before  he  reached  the  shore." 

At  Fort  Dickinson,  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  March  20,   1784  (five 

days  after  the  great  flood),  Maj.  James  Moore  wrote  to  President  Dickinson,  at 

Philadelphia,  in  part   as   follows*: 

"The  people  in  this  Country  have  suffered  Exceedingly  by  the  late  fresh;  not  less  than  150 
Houses  have  been  carried  away.  The  Grain  is  Principally  lost,  and  a  very  considerable  part 
of  the  Cattle  drowned.  The  Water  was  thirty  feet  above  Low  Water  Mark.  *  *  *  The 
water  was  so  High  in  the  Garrison  that  some  of  the  ammunition  was  injured." 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  garrison,  or  Fort  Dickinson,  stood  on  the  River 
Common,  near  the  foot  of  Northampton  Street. 

At  "Wyoming,  on  Susquehanna,  March  24,  1784,"  the  following  letter  was 
written  and  forwarded  to  Col.  John  Franklin,  then  in  Philadelphia  as  the  agent 
of   the   Wyoming   Yankees: — 

"The  late  breaking  up  of  the  River  Susquehanna  (on  the  15th  inst.)  has  been  the  most 
uncommon,  and  attended  with  the  most  extraordinary  effects,  beyond  what  has  been  known 
in  the  memory  of  any  man  now  living  in  this  country. 

"The  uncommon  severity  of  the  cold,  congealing  the  ice  to  such  an  incredible  thickness, 
and  depth  of  the  snow,  together  with  the  sudden  thaws  and  rain,  with  a  variety  of  other  causes, 
contributed  to  the  late  uncommon  inundation  and  swell  of  the  stream,  which  came  down  in 
mountains  of  ice,  and  overwhelmed  almost  the  whole  country.  The  consternation  of  the  inhab- 
itants was  not  more  amazing  than  their  salvation  surprising,  of  which  we  cannot  give  a  particular 
account,  only  observe  to  the  public  that  their  houses,  most  of  them  (where  the  flood  came), 
were  driven  some  of  them  one  mile,  some  two,  others  five  and  seven  miles,  and  some  heard  of  no 
more. 

"In  one  settlement  (within  a  mile  square)  containing  twenty-seven  houses  and  172  inhabi- 
tants, there  were  lost  by  the  flood  90  head  of  horned  cattle  (most  of  them  oxen  and  cows), 
27  horses,  65  sheep,  and  108  swine,  with  almost  all  their  other  effects.  Five  other  settlements 
suffered  much  the  same,  excepting  in  live  stock.  And  although  the  inhabitants  were  in  the 
utmost  danger  of  being  swallowed  up,  some  being  in  and  some  on  their  houses,  some  climbing  the 
trees,  some  on  floating  islands  of  ice,  and  some  saved  the  Lord  knows  how,  yet  none  of  them  were 
lost,  neither  man,  woman  nor  child,  and  one  only  missing,  viz.  Frederick  Jackson.  Thus,  not 
unlike  St.  Paul's  shipwrecked  company — some  on  boards,  and  some  on  broken  pieces  of  their 
houses — all  came  safe  to  land.    A  salvation  never  to  be  forgotten! 

"But  alas!  for  the  suffering  inhabitants,  the  ruin  of  their  houses,  and  loss  of  all  their  move- 
able substance,  and  support  of  life  for  themselves  and  families  for  this  and  the  current  year; 
for  that  the  Flats  (their  chief  improvement)  are  covered  with  ice  to  an  incredible  depth,  that 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X  :222. 


1371 

to  appearance  will  forbid  a  former,  if  not  even  prevent  a  latter,  harvest.  The  state  of  the  in- 
habitants is  very  deplorable  (at  least  a  very  considerable  part  of  them),  and  calls  for  the  help 
of  all  who  can  afford  them  any.  The  narrators  were  present,  and  eye-witnesses  of  this  amazing 
catastrophe,  which  is,  in  very  deed,  beyond  description.  It  bears  no  faint  resemblance  to  Xoah's 
flood,  or  to  the  appearance  of  the  frozen  seas  of  Greenland.  The  ice  went  mountains  high,  and 
bore  down  all  before  it.  The  aboriginal  natives  tell  us  that  once  in  about  seventy  years  there  is 
such  a  flood — that  the  mountains  and  hills  only  are  seen. 
The  above  certified  per 

[Signed]  (Rev.)  "Jacob  Johnson, 

"John  Jenkins, 
"Daniel  Gore, 
"Inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  on  Susquehanna,  in  behalf  of  many  other  sufferers  there." 

This  letter  was  placed  by  Colonel  Franklin  in  the  hands  of  President  Dickin- 
son on  March  31st,  and  the  latter,  on  the  same  day,  transmitted  it  to  the  General 
Assembly  with  the  following  message: 

"The  late  inundation  having  reduced  many  of  the  inhabitants  at  Wyoming  to  great  distress, 
we  should  be  glad  if  your  honorable  House  would  be  pleased  to  make  some  immediate  provision 
for  their  relief." 

The  House  ordered  that  the  message  be  laid  on  the  table,  and,  so  far  as  we  can 
now  learn,  there  it  still  lies!  On  April  1st  the  Assembly  adjourned,  and  did  not 
convene  again  until  the  latter  part  of  July  or  the  beginning  of  August,  following. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  March  24,  1784,  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson 
wrote  to  a  friend  in  Philadelphia,  in  part  as  follows:* 

*  *  *  "The  vast  depth  of  snow  in  the  open  ground  and  woods  together  with  the  sudden 
thaw  and  rain,  contributed  to  the  late  amazing  inundation  and  swell  of  the  streams,  the  which, 
upon  the  breaking  up  came  down  in  huge  bodies,  even  mountains  of  ice,  which  being  wedged  up 
in  the  straits  and  narrows,  caused  a  most  extraordinary  swell  above  and  below  us  in  the  day  time ; 
and  about  1 1  o'clock  at  night  all  the  waters  confined  by  the  amazing  bodies  of  ice  gave  way  in 
an  instant,  with  the  most  alarming  omens  of  destruction,  devastation,  and  an  entire  depopu- 
lation of  this  country,  and  caused  such  an  overflowing  as  might  fitly  be  termed  a  deluge  of  waters 
and  ice  which  covered  the  earth  almost  from  mountain  to  mountain,  to  a  most  surprising  breadth 
and  depth,  and  the  whole  country  became  like  the  frozen  seas  of  Greenland. 

"The  rushing  in  of  the  waters  and  enormous  loads  of  ice  were  so  sudden,  rapacious  and  un- 
expected that  few  could  make  their  escape,  which  threw  the  inhabitants  into  the  utmost  con- 
sternation, amazement  and  anxiety  of  soul  for  their  preservation.  Such  of  them  as  could  fled 
to  the  mountains  and  hills  in  a  most  confused  and  hasty  manner,  before  the  flood  had  surrounded 
them;  but  Oh  alas!  for  the  greatest  part  of  the  inhabitants,  their  retreat  was  cut  off,  and  nothing 
but  immediate  death  and  watery  graves  before  their  eyes,  occasioned  by  the  rapidity  and 
unexpected  rise  of  the  waters  which  were  all  around  them  'ere  they  were  aware  of  their  danger; 
so  that  the  distressed  and  almost  despairing  inhabitants  had  no  other  alternative  but  to  implore 
the  interposition  of  Almighty  God  for  their  deliverance  and  salvation,  for  they  could  make  no 
escape  either  on  foot,  by  horse,  or  boat,  and  were  therefore  under  the  fatal  necessity  to  abide 
the  consequence  of  the  awful  catastrophe,  be  it  what  it  might. 

"Such  a  night  never  was  known  here!  Oh!  the  cries  and  screeches  of  mothers  and  children, 
together  with  the  beasts  groaning  and  bellowing — yea,  every  creature  crying  out  with  fear; 
while  the  people's  houses,  and  all  their  substance,  were  enveloped  with  mountains  of  ice  and  , 
a  deluge  of  waters,  all  in  motion  and  convulsion,  sweeping  all  before  them  like  a  second  Noah's 
flood.  Some  were  in  their  houses,  racking  and  tumbling  in  pieces  around  them;  others  in  their 
houses  and  on  the  roofs,  hurrying  along  with  the  impetuous  torrent;  some  in  boats  and  canoes, 
wedged  up  and  driving  with  the  ice ;  some  climbing  and  hanging  on  the  limbs  of  trees  in  utmost 
jeopardy;  others  on  islands  of  ice,  driving  in  hideous  commotion.  In  short,  keen  despair  brooded 
upon  every  brow,  for  all  human  assistance  was  denied  the  people,  and  nothing  but  immediate 
death  appeared  to  be  their  portion. 

"In  this  important  crisis  it  pleased  God  to  rebuke  and  stay  the  proud  waters  in  almost 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye!  The  whole  body  of  ice  stopped,  and  removed  no  more,  which  finally 
proved  the  salvation  of  many  hundreds  of  the  people ;  for  had  the  waters  and  ice  made  a  second 
movement,  the  people  must  have  all  perished.  This  great  salvation,  we  trust,  God  was  pleased 
to  grant  in  answer  to  the  prayers  and  cries  of  the  distressed,  otherwise,  to  all  appearance,  every 
soul  must  have  perished,  excepting  those  who  had  made  their  escape  to  the  mountains  in  season. 
But  Oh!  who  is  able  to  delineate,  to  point  out,  the  horrors  of  that  never-to-be-forgotten  night, 
or  even  realize  them,  though  present,  much  less  such  as  were  absent,  or  believe  one-half  when 
told  them!  God  was  pleased  in  the  midst  of  wrath  to  remember  mercy.  For  ever  blessed  be 
His  name! 

"We  expected  that  the  greatest  part,  if  not  all,  who  had  not  made  their  escape  in  season 
has  perished;  but  to  our  great  surprise  and  joy  there  was  but  one  person  lost,  who  is  since  found 

"This  letter  was  printed  in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet,  Philadelphia,  May  27,  1784. 


1372 

dead;  but  the  situation  of  hundreds  was  indeed  tremendous.  Some  were  taken  from  their  houses 
all  in  ruins;  numbers  of  families  were  taken  from  their  houses  after  being  driven  and  hurried 
along  the  impetuous  torrent,  some  one  mile  and  others  two  miles,  and  their  houses  all  broken 
in  pieces;  some  from  limbs  of  trees,  others  off  islands  of  ice,  and  some  the  Lord  knows  how.  Some 
were  24  and  others  48  hours  in  the  wrecks  of  houses  (wedged  up  in  the  ice  and  water)  before 
they  could  be  relieved,  and  were  almost  perished, 

"But  to  behold  the  desolation  made — houses  and  effects  mostly  swept  off  and  destroyed — 
cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  swine  mostly  drowned — clothing,  household  furniture,  provisions, 
flax,  farming  utensils,  and  other  necessaries  of  life,  mostly  driven  down  the  torrent  and  forever 
lost — our  fences  all  gone — our  fields  of  winter  grain  and  grass  loaded  with  ice  from  10  to  30  feet 
thick,  which  threatens  the  loss  of  our  former  harvest,  if  not  even  forbid  the  later.  Upon  the  whole, 
at  a  moderate  computation,  there  are  not  half  the  necessaries  of  life  to  support  the  inhabitants. 
However,  we  trust  in  the  mercies  of  God,  that  He  who  hath  in  a  wonderful,  if  not  even  in  a 
miraculous  manner,  saved  so  many  lives  from  such  apparent  awful  death,  will  still  in  mercy 
provide  for  them. 

"The  inhabitants  were  settled  in  several  small  districts  up  and  down  the  River,  extending 
in  the  whole  about  fifteen  miles  in  length,  and  had  built  houses  on  the  low-lands  near  the  river, 
and  in  compact  bodies,  for  better  defense  against  the  savages.  The  uppermost  district  is 
Lackawanack*,  and  consisted  of  about  20  families.  Their  houses  all  swept  off  and  destroyed 
except  four;  the  principal  part  of  their  cattle,  horses,  and  other  effects  lost.  The  settlement 
known  by  the  name  of  Wintermoot's  Fortf  consisted  of  about  20  houses,  and  contained  up- 
wards of  20  families,  every  house  gone,  their  goods,  provisions  and  other  effects  almost  totally 
lost,  except  cattle  and  horses,  a  considerable  number  of  which  were  driven  to  the  hills  when  the 
flood  was  coming  on. 

"In  the  neighborhood  of  Jacob's  Plains  were  about  30  families,  every  house  gone  and 
destroyed  except  three,  and  they  much  damaged;  the  greatest  part  of  their  cattle,  horses,  and 
other  effects  lost  and  destroyed.  In  the  lower  part  of  Kingston  were  27  houses  and  upwards  of 
30  families;  every  house  carried  off  and  laid  in  ruins;  their  cattle,  horses  and  other  l^easts  totally 
drowned  even  to  a  single  creature  (except  the  cattle  and  horses  belonging  to  three  families) ; 
all  other  of  their  effects  almost  totally  lost.  At  Shawanese  district  (Plymouth]  were  upwards 
of  40  families,  living  in  30  houses,  on  the  lowlands,  20  of  which  houses  were  swept  off  and  destroyed, 
and  the  others  much  damaged;  cattle  and  horses  almost  totally  drowned,  and  the  greatest  part 
of  their  other  effects  lost  and  destroyed. 

Wilksbarrel  district  is  the  largest  neighborhood,  and  is  built  on  high  lands,  was  about 
five  feet  under  water,  several  houses  damaged,  and  some  cattle  and  horses  and  other  effects 
drowned  and  lost.  A  number  of  houses  in  other  parts  of  the  settlement  were  swept  off  and  torn 
in  pieces,  cattle,  horses,  goods,  provisions,  and  other  effects  lost.  The  greatest  part  of  the  sheep 
and  swine,  in  all  our  settlements,  are  drowned.  In  the  whole  settlements  there  are  at  least  150 
dwelling  houses  swept  off  and  rendered  unfit  to  live  in,  besides  all  other  buildings;  numbers  of 
houses  driven  a  mile,  others  seven  miles,  and  there  left  in  ruins;  others  lying  in  pieces  all  over  the 
lowlands,  and  some  not  heard  of  yet. 

"The  distresses  of  the  war  obliged  us  to  build  on  our  lowlands,  yet  few  or  none  were  ever 
exposed  to  danger  before  this  time — the  water  and  ice  have  risen  12  or  15  feet  higher  than  ever 
was  known  in  our  days,  and  in  .some  turns  of  the  river  25  feet  higher  than  what  it  usually  raised 
in  former  freshes,  and  was  so  sudden  that,  after  the  banks  were  overflowed,  and  the  water  had 
begun  to  be  in  the  houses,  it  raised  10  feel  perpendicular  in  15  minutes,  and  almost  from  mountain 
to   mountain! 

"This  is  the  distressed  and  unhappy  situation  of  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  of  Wyoming, 
who  have  suffered  every  danger  this  side  death  during  the  distresses  of  the  war,  many  of  their 
most  near  and  tender  connections  having  bled  and  fallen,  and  their  whole  country  laid  waste  by 
the  relentless  fury  of  the  savages." 

At  Philadelphia,  April  5,  1784,  Col.  John  Franklin  and  Robert  Martin, 
Esq.  (see  page  1344),  addressed  the  following  memorial§  to  the  Supreme  Execu- 
tive  Council   of  Pennsylvania. 

"The  Memorial  of  Robert  Martin  and  John  Franklin  on  behalf  of  the  distressed  People 
of  Wyoming  humbly  sheweth: 

"That  on  the  15th  of  March  last  the  River  Susquehanna  rose  into  a  flood  exceeding  all 
Degrees  ever  before  known;  that  its  rise  was  so  sudden  as  to  give  no  time  to  guard  against  its 
Mischief;  that  it  swept  away  about  150  Houses,  with  all  the  piovisions.  House  furniture,  farming 
Tools  and  Cattle  of  the  Owners,  and  gave  but  just  opportunity  for  the  Inhabitants  to  fly  for 
their  lives  to  the  high  Ground;  that  by  this  dreadful  Calamity  1000  Persons  are  left  destitute 
of  Provisions,  Cloathing  and  every  means  of  Life;  and  to  add  to  the  Calamity,  the  Winter  Crop 
of  Grain  on  the  Ground  is  so  harrowed  up  l)y  the  Ice  as  to  be  nearly  ruined.     Their  deplorable 

*Now  the  city  of  Pittston. 

tSee  page  1013.  Vol.  II,  and  other  references  in  Vol.  11.  as  to  the  location  of  Wintermute's  Fort 
JThe  principal  part  of  the  villat;e  of  Wilkes-Barre  at  that  time  lay  between  the  present  Market  and  South  Streets 
and  the  River  Common  and  Washington  Street. 

§.See  "Penn.sylvania  .Archives".  Second  Scries.  XVIII:  636. 


1373 


Case  was  laid  before  the  late  Assembly  for  their  consideration,  but  Ihey  Adjourned  without  taking 
.any  resolution  thereon. 

"Your  Memorialists  therefore  pray  that  these  suffering  People  may  be  recommended  to 
publick  Charity,  or  such  other  method  for  their  relief  may  be  adopted  as  your  wisdom  shall  devise; 
and  your  Memorialists  shall  ever  pray." 

Concerning  the  foregoing  memorial,  Pelatiah  Webster*  wrote  as  follows, 
from  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  April  20,  1 784,  to  the  Hon.  Roger  Sherman, 
Delegate  from  Connecticut  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  then  sitting 
at  Annapolis,  Maryland.  (Some  years  ago  the  original  letter  was  in  the  possession 
of  the  late  Hon.  George  F.  Hoar  of  Massachusetts,  who  furnished  the  present 
writer  with  a  copy  of  the  same.) 

*  *  *  "The  Wyoming  people  have  been  Dreadfully  ruined  by  the  Inundation  of  the 
River,  as  you  have  doubtless  heard.  150  houses,  with  all  the  stock,  farming  Tools,  Furniture 
&:  provisions  were  swept  away,  and  the  people  are  left  in  the  most  Distressed  Condition,  and 
the  humanity  of  our  people  toward  them  I  think  somewhat  Sparing.  Their  Case  was  Laid  before 
the  Assembly  by  ye  President  &  Council,  but  they  adjourned  without  Taking  the  matter  up 
or  forming  any  resolution. 

■^Peuatiah  Webster  was  bora  in  Lebanon.  Connecticut,  in  1  725 ;  was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1 746;  studied 
theology,  and  preached  for  a  time  in  1748-'49  at  Greenwich.  Massachusetts.  About  1755  he  removed  to  Philadelpha 
where  he  engaged  in  business  and  soon  accumulated  a  small  fortune.  At  the  same  time  he  devoted  himself  to  study 
and  literary  work.  In  1767.  as  noted  on  page  446.  Vol.  I.  he  was  voted  by  The  Susquehanna  Company  one  share  in 
the  Company's  Purchase.  During  the  Revolutionary  War  Mr,  Webster  was  an  active  patriot,  aiding  the  .\merican 
cause  with  pen  and  purse,  which  resulted  in  his  being  seized  by  the  British  in  February,  1778.  and  imprisoned  in  the 
Philadelphia  city  jail,  where  he  was  confined  for  132  days.  In  addition,  part  of  his  property  was  confiscated  by  the 
British 

Mr  Webster  gave  much  time  to  the  study  of  the  currency,  finance,  and  the  resources  of  the  country,  and  was  often 
consulted  on  these  matters  by  the  members  of  Congress,  His  "Dissertation  on  the  Political  Union  and  Constitution 
of  the  Thirteen  United  States  of  North  -America",  published  at  Philadelphia  in  178.3.  is  mentioned  by  President  James 
Madison  as  having  an  influence  in  directing  the  public  mind  to  the  necessity  of  a  better  form  of  Government.  By 
more  than  one  writer  he  has  been  given  priority  in  inventing  "the  idea  of  the  Supreme  federal  Government,  strictly 
organized,  and  operating  directly  on  the  citizens  and  not  on  the  States  composing  the  federation," 

In  the  Spring  of  1784  Mr,  Webster  retired  from  business,  leasing  his  house,  stores  and  wharf  in  Philadelphia  to 
Major  Lockwood,  Thereafter  he  devoted  himself  to  writing  and  publishing.  He  published  essays  on  Public  Credit. 
Public  Finances,  Money,  etc.  He  died  at  Philadelphia  in  September.  1795,  He  had  a  daughter  Sophia,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Thaddeus    Point, 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

EVENTS    OF    THE    SECOND    PENNAMITE-YANKEE    WAR  —  OPPRESSIONS    OF 
SETTLERS  BY  PENNAMITES   MULTIPLY— THE   INTERVENTION    OF  CON- 
GRESS AGAIN  INVOKED— YANKEES,  DRIVEN  FROM  THEIR  HOMES, 
ESTABLISH    FORTS    LILLOPEE   AND    DEFENSE  — SKIRMISHES 
BETWEEN   THE    CONTENDING  PARTIES   CAUSE  A   DIS- 
ASTROUS FIRE  — THE   FIGHT   AT   LOCUST   HILL. 


"They  drive  away  the  ass  of  the  fatherless,  they  take  the  widow's  ox  for  a  pledge.  They 
turn  the  needy  out  of  the  way;  the  poor  of  the  earth  hide  themselves  together.  *  *  * 
They  cause  the  naked  to  lodge  without  clothing,  that  they  have  no  covering  in  the  cold." 

—Job,  XXIV:  3,  4,  7. 


"They  were  driven  forth  from  among  men,  *  *  to  dwell  in  the  cliffs  of  the  valleys,  in 
caves  of  the  earth,  and  in  the  rocks.  Among  the  bushes  they  brayed;  under  the  nettles  the>; 
were  gathered  together."  — joj_  XXX:  5,  6,  7 . 


And  ye  shall  chase  your  enemies,  and  they  shall  fall  before  you  by  the  sword." 

— Leviticus,  XXVI:7. 


Early  in  March,  1784,  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  appointed 
a  committee  of  its  members  to  confer  with  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of 
the  vState  respecting  the  proper  time  for  withdrawing  the  troops  stationed  at 
Wyoming.  On  M^rch  25th  the  committee  reported  in  part  as  follows:  "That 
they  have  performed  that  service,  and  find  Council  unanimously  of  opinion 
that  it  would  be  highly  improper  to  remove  the  troops  before  the  first  day  of 
December  next;  but  notwithstanding  the  opinion  of  that  honorable  body,  which 
seems  to  be  founded  upon  no  other  reasons  than  those  already  mentioned,  and 
fully  debated  by  this  House,  your  committee  beg  leave  to  offer  the  following 
resolution:  Resolved,  That  the  blank  in  the  resolution  of  the  11th  instant,  re- 
specting the  discharge  of  the  troops  now  stationed  at  Wyoming,  be  filled  up 
with  'the  first  day  of  June  next.'  " 

This  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  House,  and  the  fact  was  duly  communi- 
cated to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council;  which  body,  under  the  date  of  March 
30th,  informed  Major  Moore  (who  about  that  time  had  been  promoted  Lieut. 
Colonel)  and  John  Weitzel,  (contractor  for  provisions  at  Fort  Dickinson)  that 
the  garrison  at  Fort  Dickinson  would  be  discharged  on  June  1,  1784,  and  that 

1374 


1375 

it  was  the  sense  of  the  Council  that  no  provisions  should  be  furnished  "to  the 
troops  stationed  at  that  place  after  that  day." 

The  committee  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  to  which  had  been  referred 
the  report  of  the  Committee  of  Inquiry  into  Wyoming  affairs,  and  certain  letters 
and  memorials  relating  to  the  same  subject  made  its  report  to  the  House  on 
March  19,  1784.  Having  been  read,  it  was  laid  on  the  table  till  March  31st, 
when  it  was  read  the  second  time  and  the  resolution  attached  to  it  was  adopted 
by  the  House — but  not  unanimously.  The  report  and  the  resolution  read  as  ' 
follows* : 

"The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  report  of  the  committee  on  the  charges  contained 
in  the  petition  from  divers  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  the  letter  from  Alexander  Patterson,  Esq., 
and  two  petitions  from  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  beg  leave  to  report: 

"That  after  examining  the  different  depositions  accompanying  the  report  of  the  committee 
on  the  charges  contained  in  the  petition  from  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  they  do  not  find  that 
the  same  contain  any  matter  of  complaint  but  such  as,  if  true,  the  laws  of  this  State  are  fully 
sut^cient  to  redress,  and  that,  therefore,  an  application  to  this  House  was  unnecessary  and  im- 
proper. A  greater  part  of  the  irregularities  alleged  against  Alexander  Patterson,  Esq.,  appear 
to  have  been  done  by  people  in  his  name;  but  no  order  or  warrant  appears  to  have  been  given 
by  him  for  any  such  acts.    Your  committee  therefore  offer  the  following  resolution  to  the  House: 

"Resolved.  That  the  petition  from  divers  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  presented  to  this  House 
on  the  Sth  day  of  December  last,  be  dismissed,  and  that  the  parties  be  referred  to  common 
law  for  redress  of  any  injuries  they  may  have  sustained." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  House  on  the  same 
day  that  it  ordered  the  message  of  President  Dickinson,  concerning  the  inunda- 
tion of  Wyoming,  to  be  laid  on  the  table. 

The  foregoing  report  and  resolution  provoked  considerable  discussion  in 
the  House,  some  members  being  in  favor  of  indefinitely  postponing  the  subject 
under  discussion;  but  this  was  objected  to  by  a  number  of  the  members,  who 
called  for  a  reading  of  the  depositions  which  had  been  taken  at  Wyoming  by 
the  Committee  of  Inquiry.  Col.  Daniel  Ctymer,  a  Representative  from  Berks 
County,  took  up  the  deposition  of  Robert  McDowel,  which  he  read  in  his  place, 
and  then  declared:  "There  is  evidence  enough  in  that  alone  to  show  that  Alexan- 
der Patterson  ought  to  be  removed  from  his  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace!" 
Colonel  Clymer  insisted  that  all  of  the  depositions  should  be  read,  but  this  was 
opposed  by  several,  especially  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House. 

Gen.  Robert  Brown,  of  Northampton  County,  then  arose  and  said  he  was 
certain  that  no  member  of  the  House  could  imagine  him  to  be  in  the  interest 
of  the  people  of  Wyoming  beyond  the  bounds  of  truth  and  a  desire  to  do  justice. 
He  reminded  the  House  that  he  had  visited  Wyoming  as  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Inquir}',  and  had  heard  all  the  evidence  on  both  sides.  "The  wrongs 
and  sufferings  of  the  people  of  Wyoming,"  he  emphatically  declared,  "are  in- 
tolerable! If  there  ever  on  earth  was  a  people  deserving  redress,  it  is  those  people. 
Let  the  depositions  lying  on  the  table  be  read,  and  the  House  afforded  an  op- 
portunity to  judge."  Speaker  Gray,  somewhat  irregularly,  stated  from  the 
chair  that  Justice  Patterson  had  returned  to  Wyoming  from  Philadelphia,  that 
he  could  not  be  prosecuted  without  being  present,  and  that  the  session  was 
drawing  to  a  close  and  important  business  was  pressing,  which  would  have  to 
be  laid  over  if  the  Wyoming  aflfair  was  taken  up  by  the  House. f 

"See  "Penn.sylvania  Archives"    Old  Series   X:  557    558. 

tThe  following  interesting  account  of  the  manner  in  which  business  was  transacted  in  the  General  .\ssembly  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1  784.  as  observed  by  Dr.  Johann  David  Schopf,  is  taken  from  the  journal  of  his  travels; 

"The  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  which,  as  I  have  mentioned,  was  at  this  time  in  sessioUj  held  its  sittings  in  a  large 
room  in  the  State  House  Th^  doors  are  open  to  everybody,  and  I  had  thus  the  pleastu-e  of  bemg  several  times  in  attend- 
ance; but  I  cannot  say  that,  in  the  strict  sense,  I  saw  them  sitting. 

"At  the  upper  end  of  the  room  the  Speaker,  or  President,  of  the  .\ssembly  sits  at  a  table,  in  a  rather  high 
chair.  He  brings  forward  the  subjects  to  be  considered,  and  to  him  and  towards  him  the  speakers  direct  themselves 
when  they  open  their  minds  regarding  questions  pending.     He  calls  the  .\ssembly  to  order  when  he  observes  inattention 


1376 

Col.  John  Franklin,  in  his  "Brief,"  heretofore  mentioned,  states  that  while 
the  petitions  of  the  Wyoming  settlers  and  the  report  of  the  Assembly  Committee 
of  Inquiry  were  in  the  hands  of  the  special  committee  of  the  House,  the  Yankees 
at  Wyoming  enjoyed  a  fair  degree  of  peace  and  quiet.  This  condition  of  affairs 
continued  until  about  April  10,  1784,  when,  as  Franklin  states,  "the  neglect 
of  the  Legislature  to  hear  or  redress  the  grieyances  of  the  settlers,  encouraged 
the  Pennsylyania  claimants,  as  well  as  the  Justices  and  the  officers  of  the  Garrison, _ 
to  take  the  most  cruel  measures  to  distress  the  settlers. 

"The  soldiers  were  set  at  work  remoying  the  fences  from  the  inclosures 
of  the  inhabitants,  laying  fields  of  grain  open  to  be  devoured  [by  stray  cattle]; 
fencing  up  the  highways,  and  between  the  houses  of  the  settlers  and  their  wells 
of  water,  so  that  they  were  not  suffered  to  procure  water  from  their  wells,  or  to 
travel  on  their  usual  highways.  The  greatest  part  of  the  settlers  were  in  the  most 
distressed  situation,  numbers  having  had  their  houses  and  property  swept  away 
by  the  uncommon  overflowing  of  the  river  Susquehanna  in  March;  numbers 
were  without  shelter,  and  in  a  starving  condition,  but  they  were  not  suffered  to 
cut  a  stick  of  timber  or  make  any  shelter  for  their  families.  They  were  forbid 
to  draw  their  nets  for  fish,  and  their  nets  were  taken  away  from  them  by  the 
officers  of  the  Garrison.  Settlers  were  often  dragged  out  of  their  beds  in  the 
night  season  by  ruffians,  and  beaten  in  a  cruel  manner." 

We  learn  something  further  concerning  the  condition  of  affairs  at  Wyoming 
at  this  period  from  a  letter  written  here  April  27,  1784,  by  a  Yankee  settler, 
addressed  to  a  friend  in  Connecticut,  and  published  in  The  Connecticut  Journal 
June  2,  1784,  in  The  Boston  Gazette  of  June  7,  1784,  and  in  other  New  England 
newspapers.     The  letter  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

"I  sit  down  to  give  you  a  description  of  the  distresses  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  place,  tho 
they  are  beyond  expression.  The  late  flood  was  such  as  stripped  the  greatest  part  of  them  o 
houses,  clothing,  provisions  and  stock;  but  it  being  at  this  season  of  the  year,  and  hopes  of  the 
produce  of  the  earth,  kept  them  in  some  spirits  until  about  ten  days  ago.  They  are  forbid  making 
any  improvements,  even  in  their  own  gardens,  and  the  soldiers  have  sent  and  took  away  the 
garden  fences,  and  have  fenced  in  the  town-plot  [of  Wilkes-Barre]  into  large  fields,  and  have 
forbid  any  inhabitants  going  into  them  on  their  peril.  Sentries  are  placed  with  such  orders  that 
no  one  dare  to  go  into  where  their  own  gardens  were.  It  is  the  same  in  general  through  the  fields 
— the  people  all  at  a  stand. 

"In  several  instances,  where  the  inhabitants' went  to  get  some  logs  to  make  them  a  hut 
to  cover  their  poor  distressed  wives  and  children  after  their  houses  and  cattle  were  driven  away 
by  the  flood,  have  been  sued  for  trespass,  and  are  bound  over  to  Court.  Patterson  has  forbid 
any  one  hauling  a  seine  to  catch  fish,  upon  their  peril,  so  that  people  will  fall  short  of  their  support 
which  God  and  Nature  allows  them;  and  at  this  time,  when  they  have  lost  their  meat  by  the 
flood,  it  is  most  shocking. 

"The  soldiers  made  a  fence  on  the  well-sweep  that  supplies  the  most  of  the  inhabitants 
near  the  fort  with  water,  and  swore  that  if  any  one  moved  a  rail  of  the  fence  the  sentry  would 
shoot  them,  which  made  some  obliged  to  make  use  of  the  muddy  water  in  the  river.  Two  young 
men,  passing  by  the  fort  the  other  day,  were  taken  up  and  carried  into  the  fort  and  whipped, 
for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  had  some  feathers,  or  a  cocade,  in  their  hats.  In  short,  I  do 
not  think  that  history  or  the  memory  of  man  can  afford  another  such  scene  (except  the  taking 
of  life)  of  barbarous  and  cruel  treatment  as  the  poor,  distressed  inhabitants  of  this  place  have 
daily. 

"And  their  daily  insults  are  beyond  anything  that  could  be  believed.  The  soldiers  walk 
about  with  what  they  call  shillalahs,  and  say  they  have  orders  that  if  any  inhabitant  gives  them 
a  wry  word,  to  knock  him  down  and  beat  him  as  they  please.  The  insults  and  abuses  are  too 
numerous  to  repeat;  and  these  abuses  are  all  done  by  order  and  under  the  eyes  of  the  military 
officers  and  some  of  the  civil." 

or  talk  that  is  disturbing,  and  he  puts  the  question  when  the  matter  before  the  House  has  been  sufficiently  discussed 
pro  and  contra,  and  is  now  to  be  decided  by  a  majority  of  the  votes. 

"The  members  sit  in  chairs  at  both  sides  of  the  [Speaker's]  table  and  of  the  room,  but  seldom  gmelty,  and  m  all 
manner  of  postures;  some  are  going,  some  are  standing,  and  the  most  part  seem  pretty  indifferent  as  to  what  is  being 
said  if  it  is  not  of  particular  importance  or  is  for  any  reason  uninteresting  to  them.  When  the  votes  are  to  be  taken 
those  in  the  affirmative  arise,  and  those  in  the  negative  remain  sitting.  The  members  of  German  descent  (if.  as  is 
sometimes  the  case,  from  a  lack  of  thorough  readiness  in  the  English  language  they  do  not  properly  grasp  the  matter 
under  discussion,  or  for  any  other  reason  cannot  reach  a  conclusion)  are  excused  for  sitting  doubtful  until  they  see 
whether  the  greater  number  sits  or  stands,  and  then  they  do  the  same,  so  as  always  to  keep  with  the  larger  side,  or  the 
majority." 


1377 

Chapman,  speaking  of  conditions  in  Wyoming  Valley  in  March  and  April, 
1784,  says,  in  his  "History  of  Wyoming":  "The  freshet  created  so  great  a 
scarcity  of  provisions  that  the  prospect  of  approaching  want  produced  the  most 
gloomy  apprehensions  among  the  inhabitants ;  and  the  soldiers,  in  order  to  provide 
sufficient  stores  for  themselves,  became  more  ungovernable  than  before  in  their 
acts  of  indiscriminate  plunder  upon  such  property  as  the  more  merciful  elements 
had   neglected   to  destroy." 

On  April  20,  1 784,  President  Dickinson  wrote  to  Colonel  Moore,  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  directing  him,  in  pursuance  of  the  resolutions  of  the  General  Assembly 
(hereinbefore  mentioned),  to  make  such  arrangements  that  the  garrison  could 
be  "entirely  withdrawn  from  Wyoming  on  or  before  June  1,  1784."  Continuing, 
President  Dickinson  said:  "The  cannon,  arms  and  military  stores  we  wish  to 
have  deposited  at  Sunbury,  in  some  proper  place  and  under  the  care  of  some 
suitable  person.  It  may  be  advisable  to  consult  General  Potter  and  William 
Maclay,  Esq.,  on  this  subject.  *  *  The  removal  should  begin  so  early  that 
the  troops,  after  being  discharged,  may  reach  the  respective  places  of  their 
residence  by  the  first  day  of  June,  to  which  time  they  are  to  be  supplied  with 
rations,  and  their  pay  to  be  continued." 

Congress  was  in  session  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  in  April,  1784,  and  on  the 
24th  of  that  month  resolutions  were  introduced  by  Brig.  Gen.  Edward  Hand, 
one  of  the  Delegates  from  Pennsylvania,  which  read  in  part  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  That  the  resolution  of  the  23d  day  of  January  last,  directing  the  institution 
of  a  Court  for  determining  the  private  right  of  soil  within  the  territory  formerly  in  controversy 
between  the  States  of  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania,  and  appointing  the  fourth  Monday  in 
June  next  for  the  appearance  of  the  parties  before  Congress,  or  a  Committee  of  the  States,  be, 
and  it  is  hereby,  suspended,  until  Zebulon  Butler  and  the  other  petitioners,  claimants  as  afore- 
said, exhibit  to  Congress,  or  a  Committee  of  the  States,  schedules  particularizing  their  claims. 

"Resoked,  That  the  parties,  claimants  as  aforesaid,  be  informed  that  their  appearance 
by  agents  before  Congress,  or  a  Committee  of  the  States,  as  specified  by  the  resolution  of  Congress 
of  the  23d  of  January  last,  will  not  be  necessary  until  the  further  determinations  of  Congress, 
or  a  Committee  of  States,  in  the  premises,  be  made  known  to  them." 

After  some  discussion  a  motion  was  made  that  these  resolutions  be  "com- 
mitted," and,  a  vote  being  taken,  the  motion  was  carried  by  twenty-one  ayes  to 
four  noes.* 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  April  29,  1784,  Alexander  Patterson 
wrote  to  President  Dickinson,  in  part  as  followsf : 

"The  settlements  upon  the  River  have  suffered  much  by  an  Innundation  of  Ice,  which 
has  swept  away  the  Greatest  part  of  the  grain  and  stock  of  all  kinds,  so  that  the  Inhabitants 
are  Generally  very  poor. 

"Upon  my  arrival  at  this  Place  the  fifteenth  Inst.  I  found  the  People  for  the  most  part 
Disposed  to  give  up  their  Pretentions  to  the  Lands  Claimed  under  Connecticut.  Having  a 
Pretty  General  Agency  from  the  Land-holders  of  Pennsylvania.  I  have  availed  myself  of  this 
Period,  and  have  Possessed  in  behalf  of  my  Constituents  the  Chief  part  of  all  the  Lands  occupied 
by  the  above  Claimants.  Numbers  of  them  are  going  up  the  River  to  settle.  In  this  I  give 
every  Incouragement  in  my  power,  and  Take  care  to  fill  up  their  Vacancy  with  well  Disposed 
Pennsylvanians.  I  think  it  is  right  to  Dispose  of  the  others  in  such  a  manner  as  will  be  most 
Conducive  to  the  Peace  of  the  state,  by  granting  them  Leases  and  settling  them  remote  from 
each  other;  yet,  notwithstanding  this  situation  of  affairs,  I  am  not  out  of  apprehension  of  Trouble 
and  Danger  arising  from  the  ring-leaders  of  the  old  offenders,  who  still  stand  out  and  are  coun- 
tenanced and  Incouraged  by  their  friends  down  the  River. 

"They  are  waiting  untill  the  troops  are  discharged,  when  they  expect  to  have  recourse  to 
their  former  factious  practices.  In  the  mean  time  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  they  will  Endeavour 
to  spread  every  Vileanous  report  that  Malice  can  Suggest,  to  Endeavour  to  prepossess  the  minds 

*It  may  be  stated  in  this  connection  that,  when  the  fourth  Monday  in  June.  1784,  came  around.  James  Wilson 
and  Winiam  Bradford,  Jr.,  Esquires  (who  had  represented  Pennsylvania  in  the  trial  before  the  Court  of  Commissioners 
at  Trenton,  in  November  and  December,  1782),  appeared  at  Annapolis  as  agent ■;  and  counsellors  for  Pennsylvania 
Finding  that  Congress  had  adjourned  on  the  3d  of  June,  that  a  quorum  of  the  Committee  of  the  States  was  not 
present,  and  that  neither  the  petitioning  settlers  at  Wyoming  nor  the  authorities  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  were 
present  in  person  or  by  agents,  Messrs,  Wilson  and  Bradford  returned  to  their  homes.  In  consequence,  the  "Wyoming 
case"  lay  in  a  quiescent  state — so  far  as  either  Connecticut  or  Congress  was  concerned. 

TSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  .S74, 


1378 

of  the  Publick  against  our  Proceedings.  Experience  has  taught  us  that  they  are  but  too  apt  to 
succeed  in  those  cases;  but  I  hope  their  Base  designs  will  appear  so  Conspicuous  to  all  public 
Bodies  and  the  People  in  General,  that  they  will  no  longer  become  Dupes  to  their  Artifice. 

"My  Coadjutors,  with  myself,  have  no  new  Claim  to  a  Citizenship  in  this  State,  I  there- 
fore Humbly  hope  (if  any  Dangerous  or  S;dicious  Commotion  should  arise  in  this  Country  so 
Remote  from  the  seat  of  Government)  that  it  may  not  be  Construed  a  Want  of  Zeal  or  Love 
for  the  Commonwealth  if  we  should,  through  dire  Necessity,  be  obliged  to  do  some  tilings  not  strictly 
consonant  -witli  the  Letter  of  the  La^a!  I  call  Heaven  to  wittness  that  nothing  shall  Induce  me  to  do 
one  single  Act  but  what  I  conceive  will  tend  to  the  good  of  the  State  and  the  Happiness  of  its 
faithful  Citizens;  and  it  shall  be  my  study  to  have  all  my  actions  to  harmonize  with  its  Peace 
and  safety,  so  as  to  Merit  the  aprobation  of  Government. 

"If  the  Troops  were  to  be  settled  with  and  Discharged  here  it  would  answer  a  Valuable 
Purpose,  as  a  good  many  of  them  would  incline  to  stay  at  this  place." 

Two  days  after  the  foregoing  letter  was  written,  a  petition  to  Coagress  was 
prepared*  and  signed  at  Wilkes-Barre  by  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  Col.  Nathan 
Denison,  John  Jenkins,  Sr.,  Obadiah  Gore,  Hugh  Forseman,  Jamj3  Sutton, 
Phineas  Pierce,  Benjamin  Bailey  and  Ebenezer  Johnson — -all  early  and  prominent 
settlers  at  Wyoming  under  the  auspices  of  The  Susquehanna  Company.  With 
a  considerable  number  of  changes  in  spelling  and  punctuation,  the  petition 
reads  in  part  as  follows: 

*  *  *  "We  would  crave  leave  to  say  that  in  the  Fall  of  the  last  year,  and  soon  after  th  e 
Justices,  who  were  appointed  and  commissioned  and  set  over  as  without  our  choice  or  knowledge, 
had  come  to  this  place,  we,  by  our  peaceable  demeanor  and  ready  submission  to  Government,  duly 
submitted  to  every  requisition,  whether  civil  or  military;  yet  the  most  tyrannical  and  arbitrary 
proceedings  were  introduced  by  the  said  authority  to  add  to  our  distress,  so  that  numbers  of 
families  were  forcibly  turned  out  of  their  houses  and  possessions  without  the  least  regard  to  age 
or  sex,  widows  or  fatherless  children,  in  sickness  and  distress.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  had  their 
grain  and  other  effects  forced  from  them;  others  were  taken  in  numbers  by  a  military  force,  drove 
to  the  fort  by  the  soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  accompanied  by  Justices  Patterson  and  Seely, 
when  and  where  the  said  inhabitants,  by  order  of  the  said  authority,  were  forced  into  a  guard- 
house in  the  fort,  where  they  were  confined  in  a  dismal  prison  unfit  for  Human  creatures  to  lay 
down  in — some  confined  six  and  others  nine  days,  when  they  were  turned  out  without  any  crime 
being  laid  to  their  charge. 

"That  while  in  Confinement  they  received  the  greatest  abuse  and  insults  from  the  Justices, 
officers  and  soldiers;  and  in  the  meantine  their  families  were  turned  out  of  doors  and  their  property 
forced  from  them  and  never  returned.  Others  were  taken  by  orders  of  the  authority  under  the 
pretense  of  some  crime  (though  none  was  alleged  against  them)  and  confined  in  the  said  guard- 
house; from  thence  sent  to  Sunbury  to  be  committed  (to  jail],  and,  laid  under  large  bonds,  per- 
mitted to  return  home ;  taken  a  second  time  by  the  said  authority  for  the  same  pretended  crime, 
and  confined  in  the  said  guard-house,  when  offers  were  made  them  by  the  Justices,  that,  if  they 
would  take  leases  [from  the  Pennsylvania  land-claimers  for  the  Wyoming  lands  they  were  occupy- 
ing and  tilling],  they  should  be  released  from  their  bonds  and  confinement.  Some  were  actually 
forced  to  take  a  lease  in  order  to  gain  their  liberty — and  all  this  barbarous  treatment  was  inflicted 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  this  settlement  without  Law  or  even  the  colour  of  Law  or  Justice. 

"In  order  to  obtain  some  redress  and  respite  from  their  tyrannical  proceedings,  we  petitioned 
the  Honorable  Assembly  of  this  State  for,  and  in  hopes  of,  some  mitigation  of  our  intolerable 
sufferings  and  insupportable  insults  which  we  the  inhabitants  were  continuahy  receiving  from 
the  authority  aforesaid,  as  well  as  from  the  Pennsylvania  land-claimers;  and  the  Assembly,  by 
a  resolve  passed  the  9th  of  December  last,  appointed  the  Members  from  Northampton  County 
a  committee  to  enquire  into  the  facts  as  stated  in  our  petition,  who  met  about  the  29th  of  the 
same  month  at  the  house  of  Capt.  John  P.  Schott,  innkeeper  in  this  place.  To  the  immortal 
honor  of  that  committee  we  can  with  Justice  say  that  their  enquiry  was  made  with  the  strictest 
Justice  and  impartiality;  but  alas!  to  our  great  surprise  and  mortification,  after  keeping  an  agent 
at  the  Assembly  near  three  months,  the  Petition  was  shuffled  from  committee  to  committee, 
and  finally  was  postponed  to  the  next  session,  and  nothing  done  for  our  relief. 

"After  the  Resolve  of  Congress  our  agent  petitioned  the  Assembly  of  this  State  to  be  quieted 
in  our  possessions  until  the  trial  of  the  right  of  soil  should  be  determined;  but  alas!  all  to  no  purpose. 
Our  prayers  and  intreaties  were  rejected  and  contemned,  and  we  are  now  left  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  the  wanton  and  avaricious  wills  of  the  land-claimants,  whose  tender  mercies  are  cruelty  in  the 
abstract.  And  we  would  further  observe,  that  the  civil  and  military  authority  who  are  set  over 
us  here  lay  claim  to  large  interests  in  lands  in  this  place  under  the  Pennsylvania  claim,  and  those 
[who  compose]  the  civil  authority  were  our  most  vindictive  enemies. 

"The  land-claimants  still  say  that  the  whole  was  determined  by  the  Decree  of  Trenton, 
and  they  are  at  this  present  time  introducing  a  Banditti  of  men,  together  with  the  Soldiers  (who 
have  no  right  or  claim  to  any  land  here  under  any  State),  to  take  our  lands  and  possessions  by 
force;  and  the  said  banditti  and  Soldiery  are  now  wantonly,  without  either  law  or  right,  pulling 
down  our  fences,  laying  our  fields  and  grain  open  to  the  wide  world,  fencing  across  our  highways, 

in  the  possession  of  The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.     It  i-s  in  the  hand' 


1379 

securing  our  wells  of  water  from  our  houses,  inclosing  our  gardens  and  home  lots  for  their  own 
use,  so  that  we  are  deprived  the  privilege  of  passing  in  our  publick  highways;  the  privilege  of 
taking  water  from  our  wells,  improving  our  gardens  and  home  lots  and  other  lands,  is  also  denied 
us;  and  that  upon  our  peril  many  of  our  inhabitants,  that  have  attempted  to  improve  in  our 
gardens,  have  been  drove  out  by  a  band  of  Soldiers  armed  with  clubs. 

"And  we  are  not  only  threatened  of  being  beat  and  abused  with  Clubs,  but  are  often  threat- 
ened to  be  shot  and  put  to  immediate  Death.  Many  of  our  houses,  lots,  wells  and  gardens  lie 
near  the  Garrison  and  under  cover  of  their  cannon;  by  which  means  we  are  continually  receiving 
the  greatest  abuses  and  insults  from  some  of  the  Justices  as  well  as  from  the  officers  and  soldiers. 
The  said  soldiers  are  continually  walking  the  streets,  and  through  every  part  of  our  settlement 
that  is  any  way  near  the  Garrison,  as  well  by  night  as  by  day — some  armed  with  Guns  and  Bay- 
onets, and  others  with  Clubs,  insulting  and  assaulting  whomsoever  they  please.  Some  of  the 
inhabitants  have  been  met  in  the  street  by  this  Banditti,  and  been  beaten  with  Clubs  until  their 
lives  were  despaired  of.  Others  have  been  taken  and  carried  into  the  fort,  and  there  beat  with 
Clubs  by  the  officers  and  Soldiers  in  a  most  Cruel  manner,  and  then  dismissed. 

"One  of  the  inhabitants,  of  a  respectable  character,  a  few  days  since  made  application  to 
one  of  the  Justices  for  a  warrant  against  Alexander  Patterson  Esq.,  in  order  to  get  redress  in  law 
for  an  assault  and  Battery  made  upon  him  by  the  said  Patterson.  The  Justice  to  whom  applica- 
tion was  made,  living  near  the  Garrison,  a  party  of  soldiers,  armed  with  Clubs  and  other  weapons, 
were  immediately  sent  in  pursuit  of  this  Inhabitant.  Their  pursuit  continued  for  two  days, 
waylaying  his  house,  field  and  the  highways,  &c.,  and  on  the  night  of  the  30th  of  April  a  party 
of  armed  soldiers,  waylaying  the  house,  took  him  by  force  and  carried  him  near  the  Garrison, 
when  they  beat  him  severely  with  clubs.  This  man  made  immediate  application  for  redress  to 
one  of  the  Justices,  but  was  referred  to  the  commanding  officer  (Lieut.  Col.  James  Moore],  to 
whom  he  also  made  the  same  application — but  not  any  redress  could  be  obtained. 

"Some  of  the  Justices,  together  with  the  officers  and  soldiers,  and  others  of  their  banditti 
of  men,  are  threatening  to  pull  down  our  houses  and  turn  our  distressed  families  out  of  doors. 
The  inhabitants  who  ha\'e  lost  their  houses  and  all  their  effects  by  the  late  inundation  of  the  waters, 
are  forbid  cutting  a  stick  of  timber  in  order  to  make  a  shelter  for  their  families,  oi  even  to  repair 
their  houses  that  were  wracked  in  pieces  by  the  water  and  Ice.  Some  have  been  taken  before 
the  Justices  by  a  warrant,  and  laid  under  large  Bonds,  for  cutting  timber  on  their  own  possessions 
for  the  purpose  of  Building.  Others  are  laid  under  Bond  for  cutting  a  stick  of  fire-wood.  We 
are  also  forbid  to  draw  our  seines  in  the  river  for  fish,  which  will  add  greatly  to  our  Distresses — 
having  lost  most  of  our  provisions  by  the  inundation  of  water ;  and  to  add  to  all  our  distresses  the 
soldiers  are  Continually  Plundering  the  inhabitants,  taking  from  them  the  little  provisions  they 
had  left  them,  and  killing  our  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  which  escaped  the  flood. 

"Repeated  application  has  been  made  by  the  inhabitants  to  the  authority  here,  in  hopes 
to  obtain  redress  for  the  abuses  and  insults  which  we  are  daily  receiving,  but  we  can  get  no  redress. 
*  *  *  Yet  notwithstanding  all  this  these  Barbarous  men  still  'oppress  the  afflicted  in  the 
gate.'  Our  blood  and  treasure  has  been  Expended  in  our  Country's  cause — we  have  stepped  forth 
&  fought  for  the  golden  tree  of  Liberty,  which,  as  a  Country,  we  have  obtained.  We  have  suffered 
every  Danger  this  side  of  Death;  many  of  our  nearest  and  tenderest  Connections  have  bled  and 
fallen. 

"It  fills  our  hearts  with  grief  when  we  take  a  serious  view  of  our  unhappy  situation — that 
we,  who  have  stood  forth  in  our  country's  cause,  must  now  continue  under  the  Iron  Rod  of  Tyranny 
and  Oppression,  and  by  those  who  should  have  been  first  to  step  forth  for  our  protection  and  safe- 
guard; and  now — while  others  are  enjoying  the  inconceivable  Blessings  of  peace  and  plenty, 
and  set  under  their  own  fig  tree,  and  have  none  to  make  them  afraid,  but  are  singing  a  Quietum 
to  all  their  troubles — we  are  under  the  galling  yoke  of  Despotism,  and  the  cruel,  malicious  and 
tyrannical  proceedings  had  against  us,  and  which  we  are  continually  receiving  from  the  Civil 
and  Military  authority  as  well  as  from  the  common  soldiers. 

"The  merciless  and  mercenary  Land  Claimants  have  drove  us  almost  to  Desperation, 
and  unless  we  can  have  some  speedy  relief  we  are  inevitably  ruined,  and  we  must  fly  from  this 
place  with  our  Distressed  families,  leaving  our  all  behind  us,  our  children  crying  for  bread,  and  we 
shall  have  none  to  give  them. 

"We  would  further  observe,  that  whUe  this  was  being  written,  and  but  a  few  minutes  since, 
a  number  of  the  inhabitants  have  been  Drove  from  their  labours  by  the  soldiers  and  beat  with 
clubs  from  house  to  house  in  a  most  cruel  manner. 

"Therefore,  we  do,  with  deference  and  humility,  lay  this  our  distressed  situation  before 
your  Honorable  Body,  praying  your  Honors  seriously  to  take  our  unhappy  circumstances  into 
your  wise  and  equitable  Consideration,  and  weigh  the  Justice  of  our  Complaints,  and  grant  us 
relief  or  mitigation;  and  that  we  may  be  quieted  in  our  possessions  until  we  can  have  a  fair  and 
impartial  trial  for  the  right  of  soil.     *     *     * 

"N.  B.; — This  day  the  only  grist-mill  in  the  settlement  was  taken  by  force  from  the  in- 
habitants by  the  Soldiers,  with  Large  Clubs." 

This  petition  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Col.  John  Franklin,  and  the  next 
day,  (Sunday,  May  2,  1 784)  he  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  for  Annapolis,  Mary- 
land, where  the  Congress  was  then  sitting*.     Having  been  formally  presented 

*From  the  following  extracts  from  Colonel  Franklin's  "Journal"  we  leam  something  about  the  route  he  traveled, 
and  the  amount  of  time  occupied  by  him,  in  journeying  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Annapolis. 

May  2,  1784,  I  set  out  for  Annapolis  with  a  petition  to  Congress;  May  3d.  went  to  Middletown;  4th,  left  my 
canoe  at  Conewago  Falls,  and  traveled  by  land  afoot  twelve  miles  below  Little  York  [the  present  city  of  York,  York 
County,  Pennsylvania]:  5th   went  within  six  miles  of  Baltimore:  6th,  went  on  board  a  schooner  at  Baltimore;  7th,  arrived 


1380 

to  that  body  by  the  Hon.  Roger  Sherman,  one  of  the  Delegates  from  Connecticut, 
the  petition  was  duly  referred  to  a  committee  of  which  the  Hon.  Thomas  Jefferson 
of  Virginia,   was  Chairman. 

Chapman,  writing  about  the  occurrences  in  Wyoming,  in  March  and  April, 
1784,  says  (in  his  "Sketch  of  the  History  of  Wyoming")  that  "the  inhabitants 
finding  at  length  that  the  burden  of  their  calamities  was  too  great  to  be  borne, 
began  to  resist  the  illegal  proceedings  of  their  new  masters,  and  refused  to  comply 
with  the  decisions  of  the  mock  tribunals  which  had  been  established.  Their 
resistance  enraged  the  magistrates,  and  on  May  12th  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison 
were  sent  to  disarm  them,  and  under  this  pretense  150  families  were  turned  out 
of  their  dwellings,  many  of  which  were  burnt,  and  all  ages  and  sexes  were  reduced 
to  the  same  destitute  condition." 

Capt.  (formerly  Lieutenant)  John  Armstrong  and  Lieut.  Samuel  Read  of 
Lieut.  Colonel  Moore's  corps,  were  sent  out  from  Fort  Dickinson  early  in  the 
morning  of  May  12th,  in  command  of  detachments  of  troops,  to  round  up  certain 
of  the  Yankee  settlers.  Later  in  the  day  Lieutenant  Read  reported  to  Colonel 
Moore,  in  part  as  follows*: 

"Agreeably  to  your  Orders  I  marched  with  the  detachment  under  my  command  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Abraham's  plains.  Upon  entering  that  settlement  (which  was  before  day  light  i 
I  found  two  men  in  arms,  with  their  horses  saddled,  and  supposing  them  to  be  belonging  to  the 
party  said  to  be  in  arms,  I  marched  them  under  guard  in  order  to  prevent  as  far  as  possible  my 
being  discovered.  Shortly  after  I  perceived  some  men  running  to  the  mountain,  with  whom  I 
exchanged  a  few  shots,  without  receiving  any  damage. 

"The  men  were  in  general  absent  with  their  arms,  and,  from  Reports,  I  had  reason  to  expect 
opposition. 

"I  proceeded  with  great  caution  to  take  the  Locks  off  all  the  arms  I  could  find,  until  I 
joined  Capt.  Armstrong.  Our  numbers  was  then  respectable,  which  I  firmly  believe  was  the  only 
Reason  that  prevented  them  from  commencing  Hostilities."     *     * 

The  same  day  Captain  Armstrong  reported  to  Colonel  Moore  in  writing, 

in  part  as  follows : 

"Agreeably  to  your  Instructions,  I  proceeded  with  the  party  under  my  command  to 
Abraham's  Plains,  &  from  thence  through  the  settlement  to  execute  my  orders.  I  found  the  men 
generally  absent  with  their  arms,  and  had  frequent  Reports  they  were  assembled  on  the  Hills, 
and  that  they  intended  opposition.  I  was  shortly  after  joined  by  the  party  commanded  by 
Lieut.  Read,  Our  formidable  conjunction  I  conceive  to  be  the  Reason  why  we  were  not  attacked 
by  the  Connecticut  Settlers,  who,  I  presume,  were  perfectly  disposed  to  do  us  every  injury." 

Turning  again  to  Chapman,  we  find  the  following — with  respect  to  the  goings 
on  in  Wyoming  on  May  12th,  13th  and  14th: 

"After  being  plundered  of  their  little  remaining  property,  they  [the  Yankee 
settlers]  were  driven  from  the  valley  and  compelled  to  proceed  on  foot  through 
the  wilderness,  by  way  of  the  Lackawaxen,  to  the  Delaware,  a  distance  of  about 
eighty  miles,  j  During  this  journey  the  unhappy  fugitives  suffered  all  the  miseries 
which  human  nature  appears  to  be  capable  of  enduring.  Old  men,  whose  children 
had  been  slain  in  battle,  widows  with  their  infant  children,  and  children  with- 
out parents  to  protect  them,  were  here  companions  in  exile  and  sorrow.  One 
shocking  instance  of  suffering  is  related  by  a  survivor  of  this  scene  of  death. 
It  is  the  case  of  a  mother,  whose  infant  having  died,  roasted  it  by  piecemeal 
for  the  daily  subsistence  of  her  remaining  children." 

at  Annapolis,  I  found  Esquire  [Roger]  Sherman  and  General  Wadsworth;  gave  my  petition  to  Esquire  Sherman,  which 
was  laid  before  Congress  and  referred  to  a  committee.  The  lOlh,  wrote  a  letter  to  His  Excellency  the  Governor  of 
Connecticut,  in  which  I  gave  an  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  toward  us  from  the  Decree 
of  Trenton  to  this  time.  10th,  left  Annapolis  and  set  off  for  Sunbury.  Pennsylvania.  /  got  no  business  completed  in 
Congress!    May  25th,  I  arrived  at  Sunbury.    The  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  Northumberland  County  being  held.', 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI:  435,  436. 

tThe  old  and  then  little-used  "Upper  Road  to  the  Delaware",  mentioned  on  page  646,  Vol.  II. 


1381 

Miner,  referring  to  those  unhappy  May  days  of  1784,  says  ("History  of 
Wyoming,"  page  344): 

"On  the  13th  and  14th  of  May  the  soldiery  were  sent  forth,  and,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
with  the  most  high-handed  arrogance,  dispossessed  150  families;  in  many  instances  set  fire  to 
their  dwellings,  avowing  the  intention  utterly  to  expel  them  from  the  country.  Unable  to  make 
any  effectual  resistance,  the  people  implored  for  leave  to  remove  either  up  or  down  the  river, 
in  boats,  as  with  their  wives  and  children  it  would  be  impossible,  in  the  then  state  of  the  roads, 
to  travel.  A  stern  refusal  met  this  seemingly  reasonable  request,  and  they  were  directed  to  take 
the  Lackawaxen  road,  as  leading  the  most  directly  to  Connecticut.  But  this  way  consisted  of 
sixty  miles  of  wilderness,  with  scarce  a  house — the  road  wholly  neglected  during  the  war. 

"They  then  begged  leave  to  take  the  Easton  or  Stroudsburg  road  [the  Sullivan  Road], 
where  bridges  spanned  the  larger  streams,  still  swollen  with  recent  rains.  All  importunities 
were  in  vain,  and  the  people  fled  towards  the  Delaware,  objects  of  destitution  and  pity  that 
should  have  moved  a  heart  of  marble.  About  500  men,  women  and  children,  with  scarce  pro- 
visions to  sustain  life,  plodded  their  weary  way,  mostly  on  foot,  the  road  being  impassable  for 
wagons.  Mothers  carrying  their  infants,  and  pregnant  women,  literally  waded  streams,  the 
water  reaching  to  their  armpits,  and  at  night  slept  on  the  naked  earth,  the  heavens  their  canopy, 
with  scarce  clothes  to  cover  them. 

"A  Mr.  Gardner  and  John  Jenkins,  Esq.,  (who  had  been  a  Representative  in  the  Connecti- 
cut Assembly,  and  was  chairman  of  the  town-meeting  which,  in  1775,  had  adopted  those  noble  reso- 
lutions in  favor  of  liberty ) ,  both  aged  men  and  lame,  sought  their  way  on  crutches.  Little  children, 
tired  with  traveling,  crying  to  their  mothers  for  bread,  which  they  had  not  to  give  them,  sank 
from  exhaustion  into  stillness  and  slumber,  while  the  mothers  could  only  shed  tears  of  sorrow  and 
compassion,  till  in  sleep  they  forgot  their  cares  and  griefs.  Several  of  the  unhappy  sufferers 
died  in  the  wilderness;  others  were  taken  sick  from  excessive  fatigue,  and  expired  soon  after 
reaching  the  (Delaware  River]  settlements.  A  widow,  with  a  numerous  family  of  childern.  whose 
husband  had  been  slain  in  the  war,  endured  inexpressible  hardships.  One  child  died,  and  she 
buried  it  as  best  she  could  beneath  a  hemlock  log — probably  to  be  disinterred  from  its  shallow 
covering  and  be  devoured  by  wolves. 

"Wherever  the  news  extended  of  this  outrage,  not  ou  the  Wyoming  settlers  alone,  but  on 
the  common  rights  of  humanity  and  justice,  feelings  of  indignation  were  awakened  and  expressed, 
too  emphatic  to  be  disregarded.  In  no  part  of  the  Union  were  the  sympathies  of  the  people  more 
generously  aroused  than  among  the  just  and  good  people  of  Pennsylvania." 

Elisha  Harding  (mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  993,  Vol.  II)  returned 
from  Connecticut  to  Wyoming  about  May  12,  1784,  and  in  a  letter  which  he 
wrote  some  years  later  he  made  the  following  statement  relative  to  the  expulsion 
of  the  Yankee  settlers  from  Wyoming : 

"When  I  arrived  at  Pittston  I  there  found  that  the  Pennsylvania  party,  so  called,  had 
raised  an  armed  force  and  turned  out  men,  women  and  children  into  the  streets — many  widows 
(whose  husbands  had  fallen  at  the  hands  of  the  Savages)  with  their  helpless  children — old  men 
and  women — all  in  a  drove,  compelled  to  leave  their  all  behind  and  travel  on,  followed  up  by 
the  bayonets,  and  so  drove  through  the  wilderness  to  the  Delaware  River,  a  distance  of  sixty 
miles.  It  was  a  solemn  scene — parents,  their  children  crying  for  hunger — aged  men  on  crutches 
— all  urged  forward  by  an  armed  force  at  our  heels. 

"I  asked  for  permission  to  stay  a  few  days,  and  I  would  then  leave  the  settlement.  The 
answer  was.  'You  shall  go  now!'  which  went  down  heavy.  Resistance  was  in  vain,  and  I  had  to  go. 
I  thought  it  was  well  for  me  that  I  had  no  one  to  provide  for.  I  had  a  horse,  and  I  saw  an  old 
man  on  crutches  making  the  best  of  his  way.  I  put  my  horse  to  a  wagon  where  there  were  three 
families.  The  old  man  and  his  wife  got  into  the  wagon  and  I  on  foot,  and  so  continued  to  do  until 
we  arrived  in  Orange  County  in  the  State  of  New  York.  The  first  night  we  encamped  at  Capouse 
[within  the  present  limits  of  the  city  of  Scranton];  the  second,  at  Cobb's;  the  third,  at  Little 
Meadows,  so  called.  Cold,  hungry  and  drenched  with  rain,  the  poor  women  and  children  suffered 
much.  The  fourth  night  at  Lackawack;  the  fifth,  at  Blooming-grove;  the  sixth,  at  Shohola; 
on  the  seventh,  arrived  at  the  Delaware,  wheic  the  people  dispersed — some  going  up  and  some 
down  the  river." 

Colonel  Franklin,  who  was  nothing  if  not  bitter  in  his  feelings  and  sentiments 
with  respect  to  the  Pennamites,  wrote  as  follows  concerning  the  expulsion  of 
the  Yankees. 

"The  demons'  disorder  having  come  to  its  full  height  in  the  tools  of  Government  placed 
at  Wyoming,  and  in  their  regiment  of  assassins,  actuated  by  the  overbearing  influence  of  their 
Luciferian  Master  [Alexander  Patterson,]  they  proceeded  to  the  most  cruel  inhuman  and  bar- 
barous acts  ever  committed  by  a  set  of  beings  in  God's  creation — acts  which  drew  sackcloth 
over  the  face  of  human  nature,  and  would  have  distorted  the  countenance  of  an  Algerian  pirate, 
or  the  most  barbarous  savage.  A  bloody  flag  being  hoisted  in  the  Garrison,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler 
was  first  taken  bail-prisoner  and  confined  in  his  own  house  with  eleven  others  of  the  inhabitants, 
under  a  guard  of  assassins,  and  treated  in  an  inhuman  manner.  Small  parties  were  sent  through 
the  different  parts  of  the  settlements,  who  disarmed  the  settlers  before  they  could  be  apprised 
of  what  was  going  on.  A  small  number,  about  twenty,  of  the  settlers  made  their  escape  to  the 
mountains  with  their  arms." 


1382 

At  Fort  Dickinson,  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  Saturday,  May  15, 
1784,  Lieut.  Col.  James  Moore  wrote  to  President  John  Dickinson,  at  Philadel- 
phia, in  part  as  follows* : 

"In  consequence  of  various  Reports,  corroborated  by  the  inclosed  depositions  of  two  men, 
that  a  number  of  Connecticut  Claimants  were  in  arms  at  Abraham's  Plains,  six  miles  distant 
from  the  Garrison;  that  they  had  in  a  very  hostile  manner  surrounded  several  peaceable 
Citizens  (who  were  pursuing  their  Industry)  to  the  great  Terror  of  their  persons ;  and  that  numbers 
from  the  other  settlements  were  to  assemble  there  with  their  arms,  in  the  night  (which  the  General 
Commotion  of  the  Connecticut  Faction  give  grgat  Reason  to  suspect),  I  conceived  it  necessary 
to  detach  Captain  Armstrong  and  Lieutenant  Read,  (each  with  a  detachment  of  fifteen  men) 
silently  in  the  night,  to  guard  the  Roads,  and  Ferries,  to  prevent  any  dangerous  combination 
that  might  be  intended;  and  in  the  morning  to  proceed  through  the  settlement  and  secure  the 
locks  of  all  arms  they  could  find,  until  some  inquiry  could  be  made  into  their  conduct  and  designs. 

"The  officers  made  use  of  every  precaution  to  prevent  their  parties  being  discovered,  and 
a  little  before  day  made  prisoners  of  two  men  in  arms,  with  their  horses  saddled,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood where  it  was  said  the  Rioters  lay,  which  they  conceived  were  acting  as  Centinels.  Although 
no  intelligence  could  be  obtained  from  the  men  they  had  taken,  they  shortly  after  had  information 
that  the  men  in  that  country  were  principally  assembled  on  the  mountain  very  contiguous,  with 
their  arms.  This  information  they  found  too  true,  as  they  marched  through  the  settlement 
to  execute  their  instructions;  some  parties  were  discovered  marching  to  the  Hills,  and  a  few 
shots  were  exchanged,  but  at  so  great  a  distance  that  no  injury  was  done  on  either  side.  The 
officers  were  anxious  to  take  some  of  the  men  they  discovered  making  to  the  Hills  that  they  might 
obtain  some  certain  accounts  of  the  number  that  were  in  arms  and  where  they  lay. 

"One  of  the  party  [from  the  Garrison]  some  time  after  was  made  a  prisoner  and  disarmed 
by  a  party  of  the  Rioters  in  arms.  He  was  told  by  his  Captors  that  a  very  considerable  party 
was  assembled  and  that  serious  consequences  might  be  expected. 

"Permit  me  to  refer  your  Excellency  to  the  inclosed  Reports  of  the  officers  ordered  on  this 
service,  for  further  information  on  the  subject.  I  am  happy  to  inform  you,  that  by  their  prudence 
the  effusion  of  Blood,  which  from  my  information  I  much  dreaded,  has  been  happily  prevented. 

"As  your  Excellency  and  Council  have  a  just  claim  upon  me  for  every  information  respect- 
ing the  situation  of  this  country,  I  have  made  it  my  Business  to  obtain  as  perfect  an  accouilt  of 
the  late  Revolution  that  took  place  here  as  was  possible  to  collect  from  the  number  of  people 
engaged  in  executing. 

"I  anticipate  the  intention  of  the  Citizens,  in  laying  [before  you]  this  short  detail  of  the 
circumstances  and  motives  that  induced  them  to  adopt  the  measures.  The  hostile  appearance 
of  the  Connecticut  Claimants  in  the  neighborhood  of  Abraham's  Plains  already  mentioned, 
their  repeated  Jhreats,  and  the  frequent  Reports  of  the  support  that  was  expected  from  their 
State,  filled  the  minds  of  the  Pennsylvania  Land-holders  and  settlers  with  serious  apprehensions 
of  being  forcibly  dispossessed,  if  not  before,  immediately  after,  the  dismission  of  my  corps. 

"Their  alarming  situation  became  the  subject  of  serious  consideration,  when  the  former 
cruelties  of  those  people  occurred  to  their  minds.  They  found,  however  anxiously  they  wished  to 
cultivate  that  Cordiality  and  Friendship,  so  necessary  to  promote  the  benefits  of  society,  there  was 
not  the  least  probability  of  its  subsisting  during  the  stay  of  those  factious  people  among  them.  And 
now,  that  they  were  about  to  be  denied  that  support  they  humbly  conceived  they  had  a  claim 
to  from  Government,  until  the  controversy  was  finally  determined,  they  found  themselves  drove 
to  the  painful  alternative  of  taking  measures  to  remove  the  more  dangerous  part  of  the  claimants 
out  of  the  country,  or  bring  them  to  explicit  declarations  of  their  Intentions.  This  determination, 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  Landholders  and  settlers  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  State,  was 
immediately  made  known  to  the  claimants  under  Connecticut,  with  an  earnest  entreaty  that  they 
should  avail  themselves  of  the  time  (some  days  being  allowed)  given  them  in  which  to  either 
remove  their  families  and  property  or  accede  to  such  measurers  as  would  fully  convince  them 
[the  Pennsylvanians]  of  their  [the  Connecticut  claimants]  attachment  to  the  State  and  its  citizens. 
The  well-disposed  availed  themselves  of  this  notice,  and  either  removed  up  the  River,  at  some 
distance,  or  made  such  explicit  declarations  of  their  intentions  to  adhere  to  the  interests  of  the 
State  as  entitled  them  to  every  indulgence. 

"A  number  of  those  who  were  concerned  in  promoting  the  first  Troubles  in  this  country, 
and  were  still  fanning  the  Embers  of  Contention,  were  conceived  too  dangerous  to  be  permitted 
to  remain,  and  the  Landholders  and  settlers  [under  Pennsylvania)  were  compelled  to  adopt  the 
measures  they  had  previously  conceived  necessary  to  promote  the  Peace  and  Tranquility  of 
this  country  and  the  Happiness  of  the  State.  *  *  *  The  Business  is  effected,  and  from  every 
information  I  have  been  able  to  obtain,  their  conduct  [i.  e.  the  conduct  of  the  Peimamites]  has 
been  peculiarly  marked  with  the  highest  degree  of  Lenity. 

"The  above  is  the  only  circumstance  I  have  been  able  to  collect  respecting  the  late  Revolu- 
tion, which  I  conceive  it  to  be  my  duty  to  forward  to  the  Council." 

On  the  same  day  that  the  foregoing  letter  was  written,  Alexander  Patterson, 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  wrote  out  his  resignation  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  a  Justice 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  of  the  Orphans'  Court  of  Northumberland 
County.    Undoubtedly  Patterson  resigned  these  commissions  so  that  he  might 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI:  436. 


1383 

devote  himself,  untrammeled  and  with  all  his  vigor,  to  the  interests  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania land-claimers  in  Wyoming. 

The  letter  of  Colonel  Moore  and  the  resignation  of  Alexander  Patterson 
were  carried  to  Philadelphia  by  Capt.  John  Armstrong  and  delivered  to  President 
Dickinson,  by  whom,  they  were  placed  before  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
on  May  24th,  when  Patterson's  resignation  was  immediately  accepted. 

At  Wyoming,  under  the  date  of  May  20,  1784,  some  one  (presumably 
Colonel  Moore,  judging  by  the  contents  as  well  as  the  phraseology  of  the  letter) 
wrote  to  a  friend  in  Philadelphia  relative  to  Wyoming  affairs.  Extended  extracts 
from  this  letter  were  printed  in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  (Philadelphia)  of  May 
27,  1784,  and  also  in  the  Connecticut  Journal  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  vSome 
of  the  extracts  were  as  follows : 

"The  dangerous  disposition  of  the  Connecticut  faction  in  this  country  has  lately  been 
very  alarming.  On  the  1 1th  insl.  a  number  of  them,  armed  for  the  purpose,  dispossessed  some 
of  th.^  Pennsylvania  settlers  who  were  peaceably  cultivating  their  farms  at  Abraham's  Plains, 
offering  gr^at  violence  to  their  persons,  and  repeatedly  venting  threats  against  the  officers  of 
Government  acting  in  this  country.  This,  and  many  other  instances  of  outrage,  which  have 
mirked  the  .general  conduct  of  this  factious  people,  tilled  the  minds  of  our  good  citizens  with 
just  apprehensions  of  being  forcibly  driven  from  this  country  as  soon  as  our  only  support  (Colonel 
Moore's  corps]  should  be  removed — the  time  for  the  removal  of  which  being  fixed  and  at  hand 
— brought  their  former  measures  and  repeated  cruelties  with  fresh  horror  to  our  minds. 

"In  this  alarming  situation  of  affairs  it  was  conceived  necessary  to  adopt  some  measures 
to  avoid  dangers  so  justly  to  be  apprehended.  Although  we  ardently  wished  to  cultivate  cordi- 
ality and  friendship,  we  found,  upon  mature  deliberation,  such  blessings  could  find  no  existence 
while  we  permitted  thos;  pests  lo  society  to  remain  amongst  us.  We  therefore  conceived — how- 
ever painful  the  alternative — that  the  removal  of  the  most  dangerous  part  of  this  faction  would 
be  the  only  resource  which  could  lead  to  the  establishment  of  that  peace  and  good  order  we  so 
anxiously  wish  for.  This  opinion  being  unanimously  adopted  by  us  (who  pride  ourselves  upon 
ever  being  faithful  subjects  of  this  State),  we  proceeded  to  take  such  measures  as  we  thought 
alisolutely  necessary  to  our  safety.  Some  days  were  given  to  the  Connecticut  settlers 
in  which  to  move  off,  with  their  families  and  property,  or  to  produce  such  proofs  of  their  peaceable 
intentions  towards  this  State  and  its  citizens  as  would  quiet  our  apprehensions,  and  accordingly 
qualify  them  to  remain  peaceably  in  their  habitations. 

"Those  whose  designs  were  good  readily  complied  with  one  or  the  other  of  these  reasonable 
proposals;  many  moved  up  the  river,  whilst  others,  from  explicit  declarations  of  their  good  in- 
tentions, received  every  indulgence.  However,  many  old  offenders,  notorious  for  the  part  they 
had  ever  taken  in  the  many  unjustifiable  acts  of  violence  committed  upon  the  persons  and  pro- 
perty of  the  Pennsylvania  settlers  in  this  country,  and  who,  from  their  obstinately  persisting  to 
stay,  we  strongly  suspected  of  promoting  further  disturbances — these  circumstances  marking 
them  out  as  persons  too  dangerous  to  remain — we  found  ourselves  drove  to  the  necessity  of 
expelling  them  out  of  this  place. 

"This  disagreeable  business  is  now  effected — a  measure  deemed  necessary  by  the  unanimous 
voice  of  the  citizens,  and  carried  into  execution  by  them  with  great  spirit  and  decision.  At  the  same 
time  the  highest  degree  of  lenity  marked  their  proceedings — treating  the  widou'S  and  the  intinn 
'<i.'ilh  tenderness  and  attention! 

"I  flatter  myself  that  this  revolution,  so  long  and  so  devoutly  wished  for.  will  entitle  those 
who  brought  it  about  to  much  merit  and  applause.  It  met  with  my  approbation  so  heartily  as 
to  make  m?  take  a  part  in  it.  Official  characters  may  be  deemed  reprehensible  for  this  late  revolu- 
tion. I  assure  you  that  they  are  in  no  instance  culpal)le.  They  were  never  consulted  or  con- 
cerned  in    the   measure." 

In  the  same  issue  of  the  Packet  was  printed  the  following  "Extract  from  a 
letter  from  a  gentleman  at  Wyoming  to  his  friend  in  this  city  [Philadelphia]." 

"The  contests  between  the  Pennsylvania  settlers  and  Connecticut  claimants  have  at  length 
grown  to  such  a  height  that  there  was  no  medium  whereby  both  parties  could  exist  in  this  country. 
Nothing  but  mutual  contentions  have  subsisted  for  some  time  past.  The  Connecticut  people 
betook  themselves  to  arms,  being  alarmed  at  such  great  numbers  of  Pennsylvanians  arriving 
with  implements  of  husbandry,  so  that  they  became  by  far  the  most  numerous. 

"Many  threats  were  thrown  out,  and  outrages  committed,  by  the  Connecticut  people — 
such  as  their  lying  in  ambush  to  murder  some  of  the  officers,  S:c.  This  induced  the  Pennsyl- 
vanians to  avail  themselves  of  a  favorable  opportunity  and  disarm  most  of  their  opponents:  and 
as  they  justly  conceived  that  peace  was  not  to  be  expected  whilst  such  outrages  and  restless  men 
remained  in  their  neighborhood,  they  therefore  gave  them  notice  to  move  off  their  families  with 
all  their  property.  *  *  *  When  the  Connecticut  people  saw  they  were  in  earnest,  numbers  of 
those  who  had  their  arms  remaining  betook  themselves  to  the  woods,  and  left  their  families  to 


1384 

be  disposed  of  by  a  people  justly  enraged  and  provoked  at  the  murderous  massacres  and  cruel- 
ties of  every  species,  commilted  by  those  rioters  for  more  than  fifteen  years  past! 

"Notwithstanding  all  this  they  proceeded  in  an  orderly  and  humane  manner,  and  moved 
off  all  those  from  whom  danger  was  to  be  apprehended  ;  gave  them  every  assistance  in  their  power, 
and  have  cleared  this  country  of  a  set  of  men  who  have  long  troubled  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of 
this  State  by  abusing  its  laws  and  citizens  in  every  shape.  It  would  be  doing  the  Pennsylvanians 
great  injustice  not  to  mention  the  very  particular  marks  of  attention  and  lenity  shown  to  the  widows 
of  every  denomination.  They  have  continued  them  in  their  habitations,  and  are  giving  them  every 
support  in  their  power — three  widows  only  excepted,  who  were  no  objects  of  charity,  and  too  haughty 
to  ask  favors. 

"Thus  is  the  country  once  more  clear  of  those  pests  to  society,  and  now  inhabited  by  citizens' 
numbers  of  whom  have  held  honorable  commissions  in  the  Continental  Array  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war,  and  all  of  them  distinguished  patriots  in  their  country's  cause.  It  is  more  than 
probable  that  those  wretches  so  justly  expelled,  with  their  unprincipled  patrons — of  whom  there 
are  but  too  many  in  this  State — will,  to  satisfy  their  vindictive  dispositions,  use  every  endeavor 
to  misrepresent  and  villify  the  needful  measures  taken  as  above.  But  Truth  alone  will  bear  the 
test!  They  expect  but  little  credit  will  be  given  to  their  calumny  as  far  as  they  are  known — 
and  I  am  willing  to  believe  that  is  pretty  far;  for  the  trouble  they  have  so  long  given  this  State 
is  undoubtedly  conspicious  to  all  in  the  Union. 

"I  hope  the  expulsion  of  those  disturbers  of  the  peace  will  be  a  warning  to  the  country  not 
to  suffer  bodies  of  men  to  associate  and  live,  as  they  have  done,  for  four  years  without  govern- 
ment and  in  contempt  of  all  law  and  authority;  but  that  when  any  such  flagrant  breaches  of  the 
Confederation  appear,  they  may  be  taken  in  the  bud  and  corrected." 

The  Hon.  Charles  Biddle,  a  prominent  Philadelphian,  who,  in  October, 
1785,  was  elected  Vice  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  wrote  his 
autobiography  about  the  year  1804.  Some  years  later  it  was  published.  In  it, 
after  referring  to  the  Pennamite-Yankee  contests  of  1783-'84,  the  writer  says: 

"In  order  to  give  the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  quiet  possession  of  their  lands,  the  Legislature 
passed  an  Act  for  raising  two  companies  of  infantry.  The  command  of  these  men  was  given  to 
Col.  James  Moore.  Shortly  before  the  time  for  which  they  were  enlisted  expired,  they  marched 
a  number  of  Connecticut  families  (said  by  Colonel  Moore  to  be  very  turbulent)  out  of  the  settle- 
ment, and  a  few  were  sent  to  Easton  (?)  gaol.  *  *  *  These  people  complained  of  being  treated 
with  great  barbarity.  From  my  knowledge  of  Colonel  Moore  I  do  not  believe  he  would  have 
suffered  them  to  be  treated  with  cruelty.  When  the  troops  were  disbanded  [about  June  1,  1784] 
the  Connecticut  people  returned  to  their  former  habitations,  and  fresh  disturbances  soon  ensued. 

In  their  flight  from  Wyoming  towards  the  Delaware  River,  on  May  13th  and 
14th,  several  of  the  bolder  men  in  the  body  of  exiles  left  their  companions  in  misery 
and  made  their  way  to  Sunbury,  where  they  arrived  on  Sunday,  May  16th. 
Among  these  was  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  who,  as  previously  related,  had  been  put 
under  bonds  to  appear  at  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  of  Northumberland 
County, which  was  to  sit  at  Sunbury  on  Monday,  May  31st.*  As  noted  by 
Colonel  Franklin  in  his  "Journal"  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  Northumber- 
land County  was  sitting  when  he  arrived  at  Sunbury,  on  May  25th. 

Upon  the  arrival  at  Sunbury,  on  May  16th,  of  the  Yankee  refugees  from 
Wyoming,  they  sought  out  their  friends  who  resided  in  that  locality,  and  com- 
municated to  them  a  detailed  account  of  the  direful  doings  of  their  Pennamite 
oppressors.     Whereupon,   at    Sunbury,  on  May   17th,  John    Buyers,   Frederick 

*In  preparation  for  his  expected  trial  at  Sunbury.  Colonel  Butler,  at  Wilkes- Barre.  April  28,  1784.  wrote  to  Col. 
Jonathan  Trumbull.  Jr.,  who.  during  the  last  two  years  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  had  been  the  private  secretary  of 
General  Washington — as  stated  in  the  note  on  page  471.  Vol,  I.  The  original  draft  of  Colonel  Butler's  letter — which 
is  now  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society — reads  in  part  as  follows:  "I  ha\e  to 
ask  a  favor  of  you.  I  have  a  cause  to  be  tried  at  the  Supreme  Court  in  this  State,  either  for  misdemeanor  or  treason 
(as  they  say),  and  my  attorney  tells  me  that  my  character  as  a  friend  to  my  country  and  an  officer  in  the  army.  &c., 
will  be  of  service  to  me  on  tryal.  if  I  should  come  to  tryal  I  have  taken  one  [certificate  of  character)  from  Generals 
Parsons  and  Huntington,  which  will  accompany  this.  If  His  Excellency.  CTcneral  Washington,  would  sign  one  for  me 
it  will  be  of  great  service  to  me  before  a  Whig  jury,  which  I  hope  it  will  be  if  the  case  should  come  to  tryal  Vour 
attention  to  this  will  greatly  oblige  me.  and.  if  obtained  and  delivered  to  Mr,  HoUenback — who  will  wait  on  you — 
will  be  gratefully  acknowledged," 

The  "Mr  HoUenback"  referred  to  above  was  Matthias  HoUenback.  later  Colonel  and  Judge,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
He  journeyed  to  Philadelphia  where  Washington  and  Trumbull  then  were,  temporarily,  and  later  returned  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  bearing  a  letter  reading  as  follows:  "To  Whom  il  may  Concern — I  do  certify  that  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler, 
the  bearer  hereof,  hath  served  as  Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Colonel  in  the  Connecticut  Line  of  the  Continental  Army, 
from  January.  1  777.  to  the  close  of  the  war.  In  which  capacities  he  discharged  his  duty,  so  far  as  came  to  my  knowledge 
with  honor  as  a  brave  officer  and  with  esteem  for  his  attention  to  decency  and  good  order. 

"Dated  at  Philadelphia,  this  10th  day  of  May.  A.  D.  1784. 

[Signed)         "Go.  Washington." 


r^ 


i 


.^ 


<'*3^*-"    — r- 


^  f^P.e/'C^-^^^^^'T-^ 


Honorable  Discharge  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  [I7i>4] 

(Original  in  possession  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society) 


1385 

Antes*,  Christian  Gettigt  and  Robert  Martainlj,  all  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and 
for  Northumberland  County,  prepared  and  sent  to  Philadelphia,  by  an  express, 
a  letter  addressed  to  President  Dickinson,  and  reading  in  part  as  follows§: 

"We  arc  exceedingly  sorry  that  there  is  occasion  to  transmit  to  Council  evidence  of  so  dis- 
agreeable a  nature  as  they  will  be  furnished  with  by  the  enclosed  letters  and  depositions;  but 
conceiving  it  to  be  of  the  first  moment  to  Government,  and  being  called  on  officially  for  the  pur- 
pose, it  becomes  our  indispensable  duty.  *  *  *  Wg  are  altogether  at  a  loss  to  account  for 
this  outrageous  conSuct  of  the  soldiery  [at  Wyoming] — the  civil  officers  being  intimidated,  and  con- 
fined under  a  close  military  guard,  for  serving  the  processes  of  the  Commonwealth.  The  Garrison, 
instead  of  aiding  the  Civil  Authority,  set  it  at  defiance,  and  place  themselves  above  the  Laws. 

"Lawrence  Myers||,  from  whom  two  letters  have  been  received  by  the  High  Sheriff  and 
herewith  forwarded,  is  the  Sub-Sherifi'.  The  complexion  of  those  letters  will  (independent  of 
anything  else)  enable  Council  to  form  an  idea  how  far  the  Civil  Officers  can  act  with  efTect  in 
their  several  departments,  *  *  *  jn  order  that  a  timely  provision  may  be  made  for  the 
injured  and  oppressed  citizens  in  that  part  of  the  State,  and  the  dignity  of  the  Government 
supported  and  maintained." 

Colonel  Franklin,  in  his  "Brief"  and  in  his  "Plain  Truth"  articles,  (both 
frequently  referred  to  hereinbefore)  states  that  formal  complaint  was  made  to 
the  civil  authorities  at  Sunbury,  by  the  Wyoming  refugees,  "against  Alexander 
Patterson  and  others,  for  their  violent  conduct  in  dispossessing  the  inhabitants, 
and  the  Justices  at  Sunbury  pledged  thems.^lves  that  the  laws  of  the  Common- 
wealth should  be  immeiiately  executed;  that  those  who  had  been  violently 
dispossessed  should  be  reinstated  in  their  possessions,  and  that  the  perpetrators 
of  the  violent  acts  should  be  brought  to  justice." 

Colonel  Franklin  further  states  that  a  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  for  Xorth- 
umberland  County  was  to  be  held  during  the  week  beginning  May  24,  1784,  at 
Sunbury,  but  as  a  term  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  Court  was  to  be  held  there  by  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Commonwealth  during  the  ensuing  week, 
"it  was  thought  advisable  that  the  complaints  against  the  rioters  should  be 
made  to  the  highest  Court." 

On  May  29th,  Sheriff  Henry  Antes  despatched  an  express  from  Sunbury  to 
Wyoming,  with  a  message  to  a  number  of  the  Yankee  inhabitants  who,  with  their 
arms,  had  fled  to  the  mountains,  as  hereinbefore  related.  The  Sheriff  called 
upon  these  men  to  "desist  from  any  hostile  measures",  so  that  there  might  be 
a  full  and  free  operation  of  the  law — advising  them  of  "the  intention  of  the  civil 

*Philip  Frederick  Antes,  or  Frederick  Antes,  as  he  was  commonly  known,  was  an  elder  brother  of  Col.  Henry 
.\ntes  (See  [tl  note,  page  1348).  and  was  born  July  2.  1730,  in  what  was  later  Frederictown.  Montgomery  County 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  delegate  from  Philadelphia  to  the  Provincial  Conference  of  June  18.  I  775,  held  at  Carpenter's 
Hall,  and  also  to  the  Pennsylvania  Constitutional  Convention  of  July  15.  1776.  He  was  Lieut.  Colonel  in  1776,  of  the 
battalion  of  Philadelphia  County  Militia  commanded  by  Colonel  Pott,  and  at  the  same  time  was  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Safety  of  Philadelphia  County.  May  6.  1777.  he  was  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Sixth  Battalion. 
Philadelphia  Associators. 

Soon  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  Frederick  Antes  "was  induced  to  undertake  the  task  of 
providing  cannon  for  the  American  army,  and  it  was  but  a  short  time  before  he  succeeded  in  casting  an  efficient  four- 
pounder  at  Valley  Furnace.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  manufacture  of  cannon  in  the  United  States.  "  .\bout 
I  778,  Colonel  Antes  disposed  of  his  farm  and  mill  near  Valley  Forge  and  removed  to  the  village  of  Northumberland, 
near  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania.  November  18.  1780.  he  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  Northumberland  County,  and  later 
was  made  President  of  the  County  Courts.  In  July.  1784.  having  been  elected  a  Representative  to  the  Pennsylvania 
.\ssembly ,  he  resigned  his  commissions  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  as  a  "Justice  and  President  of  the  County  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  the  Court  of  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and  of  the  Orphans'  Court  of  Northumtierland 
County."  He  was  Treasurer  of  the  County  from  February.  1782.  to  December,  1784.  and  from  1788  till  1801.  He 
was  elected  a  Representative  from  Northumberland  County  to  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  in  1  784.  '85  and  '86, 

Frederick  Antes  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  Lodge  No.  22.  Ancient  York  Masons,  at  Sunbury.  and  was 
Worshipful  Master  of  the  Lodge  from  June,  1780.  to  December.  1784.  For  several  years  the  meetings  of  the  Lodge 
were  held  in  his  house  in  Northumberland. 

He  was  twice  married,  and  his  only  daughter  by  his  second  wife  became  the  wife  of  Simon  Snyder,  who  was  three 
times  Governor  of  Pennsylvania.  Colonel  Antes  died  September  20,  1801.  at  Columbia.  Pennsylvania,  while  there 
on  business.     His  widow.  Mrs.  Catherine  Antes,  died  at  Selinsgrove.  December  15.  1816.  aged  71  years. 

.For  fuller  details  concerning  the  life  of  Colonel  .\ntes  see  "On  the  Frontier  With  Colonel  Antes",  by  Edwin  Mac- 
Minn,  and  Godcharles'  "Free  Masonry  in  Northumberland  and  Snyder  Counties",  II:  545. 

tCHRISTlAN  GetTIG  was  au  innkeeper  in  Sunbury.  in  I  784.  and  later  years,  as  well  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  He 
had  been  a  First  Lieutenant  (commissioned  October  14.  1776)  in  the  12th  Pennsylvania  Regiment.  Continental  Line; 
was  wounded  in  one  of  his  legs  in  a  skirmish  May  1 1 .  1 777.  in  New  Jersey;  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British,  and  while 
in  their  hands  had  his  leg  amputated.  Upon  his  discharge  from  the  military  service  he  returned  to  Sunbury.  where 
he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death.  July  2,, 1790. 

JSee  (*)  note,  page  1344. 

§See   "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI:  438. 

!!See  page  837,  Vol.  II  and  bottom  of  page  1240. 


1386 

authorities  to  reinstate  them  in  their  possessions  and  grant  them  complete 
redress." 

A  few  days  later,  the  Sheriff  also  sent  an  express  (Robert  McDowel)  to  the 
Delaware,  to  give  notice  to  the  Wyoming  refugees  in  that  locality  that  they  might 
prepare  to  return  to  their  homes,  inasmuch  as  "the  law  relative  to  forcible  entry 
and  detainer  would  be  immediately  put  in  execution  at  Wyoming." 

Barnabas  Cary,  aged  fifty-one  j^ears,  in  1 784,  in  a  deposition  which  he  made 
before  Jlistice  Seely  at  Wyoming,  August  14,  1784,  declared  that  toward  the 
latter  end  of  May,  1784,  he  had  seen  a  letter  sent  by  Lawrence  Myers,  then  a 
Deputy  Sheriflf  under  Sheriff  Antes,  "inviting  the  people  that  were  dispossessed 
by  the  Pennsylvanians  to  return  back  to  Wyoming;  that  Sheriff  Antes  would 
be  on  the  ground  about  the  middle  of  June,  with  two  magistrates,  and  would 
give  them  all  possession  again;  that  this  statement  induced  the  deponent  to 
return  to  Wyoming  again ;  that  the  letter  [referred  to]  was  handed  about  by  one 
John   Jenkins." 

The  communication  from  Justices  Buyers,  Antes,  Gettig  and  Martin  was 
received  by  President  Dickinson,  at  Philadelphia,  on  Saturday,  May  22d,  and  was 
immediately  laid  before  the  Supreme  Executive  Council.  Judge  George  Bryan 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  being  then  in  Philadelphia,  was  conferred  with  by  the 
Council,  and  the  same  dav  President  Dickinson  wrote  to  Messrs.  Buyers,  Antes, 
Gettig  and  Martin,  that  it  was  the  joint  opinion  of  Judge  Bryan  and  the  Council 
"that  the  steps  proper  to  be  taken  would  be  that  the  Magistrates  and  the  .Sheriff 
of  the  county  should  exercise  the  authority  vested  in  them  by  law  for  preserving 
the  peace  and  apprehending,  committing  and  punishing  those  who  break  the 
same." 

The  same  day  President  Dickinson  wrote  "to  the  Magistrates  at  and  near 
Wyoming,  in  Northumberland  County",  as  follows*: 

"We  have  this  day  received  a  letter  from  Messrs.  Buyers,  Gettig,  Antes  and  Martin  of 
your  County,  complaining  of  great  disturbances  at  Wyoming. 

"The  magistrates  near  that  place  ought  to  have  given  us  intelligence  of  these  proceedings, 
and  we  now  enjoin  you  to  make  every  exertion  in  your  power  for  restoring  the  peace  of  the  County, 
and  for  preserving  the  same.  Any  neglect  on  this  head  will  not  only  be  a  failure  in  the  Duty 
you  owe  to  the  State,  but  will  most  certainly  be  attended  by  consequences  that  will  too  plainly 
evince  the  extreme  Imprudence  of  such  conduct." 

To  Chief  Justice  Thomas  McKean,   and  Judges  William  Augustus  Atlee 

and  Jacob  Rush,   of  the  Supreme  Court,  President  Dickinson  wrote,  on  May 

2 2d,  as  follows: 

"We  have  this  day  received  a  letter  from  Messrs.  Buyers,  Gettig.  Antes  and  Martin,  of 
Northumberland  County,  informing  us  of  a  very  alarming  disturbance  of  the  peace,  which  may 
be  attended  with  unhappy  consequences  if  prudent  steps  are  not  immediately  taken  for  prevent- 
ing further  mischief.  As  you  gentlemen  will  be  at  Sunbury,  we  understand,  the  week  after  next 
we  desire  that  you  will  make  use  of  the  opportunity  of  being  there  to  make  all  due  inquiries 
and  thereupon  to  direct  the  most  effectual  legal  measures  to  be  pursued  for  restoring  and  pre- 
serving the  peace  of  the  County." 

President  Dickinson  and  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  having  received 
on  May  24th,  Lieut.  Colonel  Moore's  report  of  May  1 5th,  the  President  wrote  to 
Lieut.  Colonel  Moore,  on  May  25th,  in  part  as  followsf : 

"We  have  received  your  despatches  by  Captain  Armstrong.  The  Honorable  the  Chief 
Justice,  Mr.  Justice  Atlee  and  Mr.  Justice  Rush  will  be  at  Sunbury  the  31st  of  this  month,  and 
we  have  desired  them  'to  use  the  opportunity  of  being  there  to  make  all  due  enquiries.  &  there- 
upon to  direct  the  most  effectual  legal  measures  to  be  pursued  for  restoring  and  preserving  the 
peace  of  the  County.'  We  therefore  would  have  you  to  give  notice  of  these  circumstances  to  the 
Persons  concerned  in  the  late  disturbances  at  Wyoming,  so  that  they,  or  some  of  them,  may  at- 
tend at  the  time  and  place  before  mentioned,  to  give  all  proper  information  to  the  Judges." 

*See  "Pennsylva 
tSee  "Pennsylva 


1387 

On  the  same  day,  President  Dickinson  wrote  to  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  in  part  as  follows*: 

"Last  Saturday  we  wrote  to  you  conccrniiii;  the  Disturbances  in  Northumberland  Co. 
We  have  since  received  information  from  Colonel  Moore  and  Captain  Armstrong,  by  which  it 
is  confirmed  that  those  disturbances  have  been  occasioned  by  the  fears  &  jealousies  entertained 
on  account  of  interfering  claims  of  persons  under  Pennsylvania  Rights  and  of  Connecticut  settlers. 
We  have  written  to  Col.  Moore,  informing  him  that  we  had  desired  you  to  make  all  due  enquiries, 
and  thereupon  to  diri.>ct  the  most  effectual  legal  measures  to  be  pursued  for  restoring  and  pre- 
serving the  Peace  of  the  County,  and  we  have  required  him  to  give  notice  to  the  persons  concerned, 
that  they  or  some  of  them  may  attend  at  Sunbury  on  this  business. 

"We  rely  much  upon  your  prudence  in  advising  such  proceedings  as  will  have  the  most 
happy  tendency  to  promote  the  public  tranquillity." 

At  Philadelphia,  on  May  28,  1784,  Ebenezer  Johnson,  one  of  the  Yankee 
settlers  who  had  been  driven  out  of  Wyoming,  presented  to  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council,  a  petition  signed  by  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  others,  "in  behalf  of  the 
Connecticut  people  lately  driven  from  Wyoming,  stating  their  grievances  and 
praying  protection  from  the  vState."  This  petition  having  been  read,  the  Council 
directed  that  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  at  Sunbury, 
"desiring  them  to  take  the  most  efTectual  legal  measures  for  restoring  and 
preserving  the  peace  of  the  county." 

This  letter  was  immediately  written  by  President  Dickinson,  as  well  as  one 
of  a  similar  character  addressed  to  Justices  Martin,  Buyers,  Antes  and  Gettig. 
In  the  letter  to  the  Judges,  the  President  said:  "This  letter  will  be  delivered  to 
you  by  Mr.  Johnson,  and  express  sent  to  us  by  the  persons  lately  removed  from 
Wyoming,  As  he  can  himself  give  a  good  deal  of  information,  and  can  be  service- 
able in  obtaining  it  from  others,  we  have  wished  hirh  to  attend  at  Sunbury," 
Mr.  Johnson  was  paid  by  the  Council  £10,  to  remunerate  him  for  going  with  the 
aforementioned  letters  from  Philadelphia  to  Sunbury. f 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  Sunday,  May  30,  1784,  Alexander 
Patterson  addressed  a  long  communication  to  the  Judges  of  the  vSupreme  Court, 
which  he  sent  to  Sunbury  by  the  hands  of  Capt.  John  Armstrong,  who  had 
just  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  his  mission  to  Philadelphia.  This  com- 
munication, expurgated  in  .spots,  and  improved  somewhat  in  grammar,  punctu- 
ation and  spelling,  reads  as  follows| : 

"Whereas  your  Duty  to  the  State,  and  attention  to  the  Rights  and  Privileges  of  its  Citizens, 
demands  your  attention  in  this  country  at  a  period  when  a  great  part  thereof  is  in  inevitable 
trouble,  it  will  no  doubt  be  necessary  for  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  Commonwealth  for  your 
Honours  to  make  every  enquiry  from  what  source  such  troubles  flow.  The  origin,  rise  and  pro- 
gress thereof  have  hitherto  been  so  conspicious  as  to  want  no  illustration. 

"It  now  only  remains  that  your  Honours  do  obtain  the  proper  information  and  causes 
which  have  produced  the  present  commotions,  and  that  prudent  and  wise  measures  be  adopted 
to  stop  the  impending  calamities  that  threaten  this  large  tract  of  country.  You  will  no  doubt 
hear  that  great  Outrages  have  been  committed  by  the  Pennsylvanians  against  the  Connecticut 
claimants,  in  violation  of  law  and  good  government;  but  I  trust  it  will  be  made  to  appear  that 
the  measures  taken,  llwiigh  not  strictly  consonant  with  the  letter  of  the  Law,  were  the  result  of  absolute 
Necessity,  and  dictated  solely  by  the  principles  of  self-preservation. 

"Certain  it  is  that  no  human  policy  could  govern  or  reconcile  both  parties  to  remain  peace- 
ably in  this  country.  The  rancorous  dispositions  of  the  contending  parties  but  too  well  evince 
the  catastrophe  that  must  have  happened,  had  not  the  measures  been  adopted  that  have  been 
taken  by  the  Pennsylvanians     There  was  no  medium  to  save  the  Effusion  of  much  Blood. 

"The  Pennsylvanians  who  had  come  into  this  Country  in  great  Numbers,  found  that  the 
Lands  they  had  so  long  since  bought  and  suffered  for  were  Generally  Clear  of  hou.ses  or  fences 
They  therefore  fell  to  work  to  Improve,  and  in  a  Peaceable  manner  Endeavoured  to  Repossess 
themselves  of  their  Property,  which  was  wrested  from  them  many  years  ago  by  Lawless  Banditti 
The  malcontents  betook  themselves  to  their  ancient  Resources  (that  of  armst  and  Threatened 
the  Pennsylvanians  in  a  Daring  and  Outrageous  manner.  All  hopes  of  peace  being  vanished, 
it  was  adjudged  the  m.ost  Prudent  step  to  seize  a  favourable  moment  and  Disarm  the  most  violent 

»See  ibid..  442. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Colonial  Record",  XIV:  120,  and     Pennsylvania  .\rchives".  Old  Series.  XI:  472. 

JSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Old  Series,  X:  617 


1388 

of  the  Intradcrs;  upon  which  Notice  was  given  them  tcrmove  off  th.ir  Effects  &  Famili.s.  The 
siason  being  so  far  advanced  that  there  was  no  danger  of  their  Cattle  suffering  by  the  way,  this 
and  every  other  prtcauticn  was  taken  to  prevent  the  Idea  of  Cruelty:  though  in  similar  cases 
the  Pennsylvanians  had  n^ver  Rcc-iveel  any  thing  like  similar  Treatment.  On  the  Contrary, 
they  have  been  Robbed  &  murdered,  and  have  suffered  every  species  of  Cruelty  by  those  Troublers 
of  the  state  and  their  Quiet — who  now  would  wish  to  have  Government  believe  that  they  are 
Inoffensive  Citizens  and  strict  Conformists  to  the  Laws  of  this  State,  which  they  have  held  in 
the  greatest  Contempt  for  upwards  of  fifteen  years.  Had  they  an  alternative  they  would  Trample 
it  as  usual. 

"Your  Honours  will  please  to  view  the  Difference  between  the  Parties — the  one  having 
Troubled  the  Happiness  of  the  State  for  such  a  series  of  years,  and  Committing  every  outrage 
that  malice  could  suggest  against  its  faithful  Inhabitants;  the  other  supporting  the  Dignity  of 
the  Statj  and  Rights  of  the  Peoijle.  having  at  all  times  Evinced  their  Zeal  for  its  Wellfare.  The 
Pennsylvanians  who  have  been  active  in  the  late  movements  are  aware  of  the  situation  in  which 
th;y  are  Placed,  having  a  strong  Party  in  Northumberland  against  them,  who  have  taken  part 
with  those  restless  people.  Had  it  not  been  for  their  Interposition,  actuated.  I  fear,  by  bad  Prin- 
ciples, there  would  have  been  no  trouble  in  settling  this  Country  with  the  Rightful  owners;  and 
it  is  more  than  Probable  (their  views  of  Popularity  being  now  at  an  End  by  Losing  their  Darling 
object,  the  votes  of  those  Exiles  at  Elections)  that  they  will  use  Every  Endeavour  to  stimulate 
your  Honours,  together  with  the  Government,  to  measures  that  will  Perhaps  Terminate  in  our 
ruin.  We  hope  you  will  be  aware  of  those  Incendiaries,  whose  wish  is  to  Irritate  instead  of 
salving  the  sore. 

"If  the  views  of  the  New  settlers  of  this  country  have  in  an>  wise  been  mistaken,  they  will 
be  very  unhappy,  for  I  am  well  Convinced  that  there  are  no  People  on  Earth  who  have  a  greater 
veneration  for  the  Weal  of  this  Commonwealth,  of  which  they  deem  it  their  Greatest  Honour 
to  be  Citizens.  Business  of  such  a  Complicated  Nature  could  never  have  been  effected  with  more 
caution;  there  is  no  Blood  spilt,  and  it  will  not  be  the  blame  of  the  Present  Inhabitants  if  there 
ever  is  upon  any  occasion. 

"As  few,  or  Perhaps  none,  of  the  Inhabitants  from  hence  may  be  Down  at  Sunbury,  and 
Numerous  Complaints  will  be  exhibited,  I  am  solicited  to  make  this  representation  of  facts — 
which  I  pledge  my.self  deviates  nothing  therefrom — in  order  that  your  Honours  may  be  aware 
of  the  cunning  of  designing  men.  The  matter  is  rested  entirely  with  you,  that  from  a  perfect 
knowledge,  and  dependence  on  your  abilities,  such  measures  will  be  taken  by  Government  as  will 
tend  to  the  tranquillity  of  its  people.  The  present  settlers  beg  that  no  harsh  step  may  be  taken, 
and  that  the  Sheriff  and  some  of  the  Justices  in  his  vicinty  may  not  drive  to  extremes,  and  cause 
mutual  dissensions  to  arise  among  a  people  whose  strength  and  welfare  depend  on  unanimity. 

"I  know  that  it  will  be  said  that  I  have  given  my  sanction  to  the  measures  adopted.  It 
would  be  uncandid  to  say  that  they  had  it  not.  However,  /  have  done  loathing  officially,  having 
some  time  since  resigned  my  commission  of  the  Peace*.  But,  having  some  consequence  among 
the  people,  I  have  frequently  given  them  permits  and  papers  that  have  generally  answered  the 
purposes  intended,  viz.  the  accommodations  of  persons  apparently  in  distress. 

"You  will  please  to  observe  that  the  Pennsylvanians  conceive  that  the  determination  of 
the  Congressional  Court  at  Trenton,  touching  the  jurisdiction  and  preemption  of  this  country, 
was  final  and  decisive,  and  that  further  pretentions  to  tryal  upon  the  subject  was  in  too  great  a 
degree  tampering  with  their  Patience  and  Property;  and  they  are  determined  to  defend  it  against 
any  pretentions  or  people  claiming  under  the  State  of  Connecticut,  should  they  be  so  unjust  as 
to  persevere  in  so  iniquitous  a  measure." 

Chief  Justice  McKean  and  Judges  Atlee  and  Rush,  with  Edward  Burd, 
Esq.,  as  Clerk,  opened  a  "Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and  General  Gaol  Delivery, 
in  and  for  the  county  of  Northumberland  "  at  Sunbury,  on  Monday,  May  31, 
1784.  The  sittings  of  the  Court  continued  until  Friday,  June  4th,  and  the  Judges, 
in  making  a  report  to  President  Dickinson  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Court,  made 
the  following  statementt: 

"Among  a  variety  of  other  Prisoners  at  Sunbury,  forty-five  persons  were  indicted  for  a  riot, 
assault  and  false  imprisonment  of  divers  Inhabitants  formerly  of  Connecticut,  and  five  oflSeers  of 
the  Garrison  at  Wyoming  for  a  Rescue.  We  wish  most  sincerely  there  was  no  cause  of  censure 
of  the  officers  there,  both  civil  and  military.  Every  thing  has  been  done  by  us  for  preserving  the 
public  Tranquillity  in  that  county  that  we  could  think  of,  and  we  are  induced  to  believe  that  the 
measures  pursued  will  answer  the  Ends  designed.      *     *     * 

"In  addition,  we  would  mention  that  Lieutenant  Col.  James  Moore  has  entered  into  a 
Recognizance  with  good  bail  before  the  Chief  Justice,  to  answer  to  the  Indictment  found  against 
him  and  44  others  for  a  Riot  and  false  imprisonment  of  divers  Inhabitants  at  Wyoming,  in  the 
County  of  Northumberland.  In  the  Case  of  all  the  rest  of  the  persons  indicted  for  the  same 
offense,  as  well  as  those  indicted  for  the  rescue  from  the  under-sheriff,  we  have  instructed  David 
Mead,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace,  &c.,  residing  at  Wyoming,  to  take  the  recogniz- 
ances from  them  severally  in  five  hundred  pounds,  with  at  least  one  good  surety  in  Two  hun- 

*He  had  written  out  his  resignation  just  fifteen  days  previously  to  the  writing  of  this  letter,  as  hereinbefore  noted. 
This,  of  course,  was  subsequently  to  the  wholesale  expulsion  of  the  Yankees  from  Wyoming;  while  his  resignation  had 
been  accepted  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  only  six  days  prior  to  the  writing  of  this  letter. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  .Archives".  Old  Series.  XI:  414.  484. 


1389 

dred  and  fifty  pounds,  to  appear  and  answer,  &c.,  at  the  next  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and 
General  Gaol  delivery,  to  be  held  at  Sunbury,  for  the  County  of  Northumberland.  We  have 
reason  to  believe  that  most,  if  not  all,  the  parties  will  comply  with  this  measure,  and  that  Peace 
and  Tranquillity  may  be  restored  to  that  part  of  the  State. 

"As  Judges,  we  cannot  determine  who  have  been  the  first  or  the  greatest  aggressors  in  this 
E.vtraordinary  violation  of  order  and  good  Government  until  after  the  Trial,  but  we  conceive 
it  will  be  necessary  to  be  very  attentive  to  the  conduct  of  the  people  in  this  part  of  the  State  for 
some  time,  and  we  beg  leave  to  assure  you  that  nothing  shall  be  wanting  on  our  part  to  protect 
the  innocent  and  obedient,  and  to  discountenance  the  Refractory,  and  to  punish  the  Transgressors 
of  the  Law." 

The  names  of  forty-seven  (all  that  can  now  be  ascertained)  of  the  persons 
indicted  as  aforementioned  were  as  follows:  Lieut.  Col.  James  Moore,  Capt. 
John  Armstrong,  Ivieut.  Blackall  William  Ball,  Lieut.  Samuel  Read,  Lieut. 
Andrew  Henderson,  Alexander  Patterson,  Esq.,  John  Seely,  Esq.,  Henr\^  Shoe- 
maker, Esq.,  Ebenezer  Taylor,  Silas  Taylor,  Peter  Taylor,  Joseph  Montanye, 
Samuel  Van  Gorden,  Wilhelmus  Van  Gorden,  James  Brink,  Nicholas  Brink, 
Henry  Brink,  William  Brink,  John  Cortright,  Benjamin  Hillman,  Martin  Tidd, 
Daniel  Swartz,  Nicodemus  Tarvis,  James  Culver,  Isaiah  Culver,  Isaac  Clinkefoos, 
Joseph  Solomon,  Obadiah  Walker,  Ezekiel  Schoonover,  James  Grimes,  James 
Covert,  John  Borland,  Abraham  Van  Cortright,  EHsha  Cortright,  Beniah  Mun- 
day,  Jacob  Tillbury,  Luke  Brodhead,  Lawrence  Kinney,  Preserved  Cooley, 
Robert  Biggers,  Gabriel  Ogden,  David  Ogden,  Garrett  Shoemaker,  Jr.,  Jacob 
KHne,  Rudolph  Litz,  William  McDonald  and  Isaac  Van  Norman. 

About  the  first  of  June,  1784,  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution  adopted  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Assembly  in  the  previous  March,  the  soldiers  composing  the  gar- 
rison at  Wilkes-Barre  were  paid  off  and  discharged  from  the  service  of  the  State. 
A  considerable  number  of  them,  however,  were  immediately  employed  by  Alex- 
ander Patterson,  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  Pennamite  land  claimers.  They  re- 
mained on  the  ground,  in  possession  of  Fort  Dickinson,  and  according  to  Miner, 
"set  at  once  the  settlers  and  the  Commonwealth  at  defiance."  Patterson,  himself, 
referring  to  this  matter  in  his  "Petition"  to  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature,  pre- 
viously mentioned,  declared:  "In  that  season  [the  Summer  of  1784]  your  peti- 
tioner supported  upwards  of  120  men  at  his  own  expense,  in  defence  of  the  rights 
of  Pennsylvania,  for  more  than  four  months,  besides  exposing  his  life  and  expend- 
ing his  time  and  property  against  a  set  of  abandoned  desperadoes,  excluded  from 
vSociety  in  every  part  of  the  Union,  whose  practice  had  long  been  to  bully  the 
State  and  pillage  its  citizens"! 

It  is  doubtful  if  Captain  Patterson  had  as  many  as  120  men  in  his  pay  and 
under  his  orders  at  any  one  time  during  the  Summer  of  1784,  as  the  foregoing 
statement  would  lead  one  to  believe.  During  a  period  of  four  months  he  may 
have  had  altogether  120  Pennamite  myrmidons  under  his  control,  but  never 
at  one  time.  In  a  letter  to  President  Dickinson,  dated  July  12,  1784,  he  stated 
that  he  then  had  "a.  guard  of  near  fifty  men",  which  he  had  kept  "ever  since 
Colonel  Moore  left  this  place"  (Wilkes-Barre). 

It  may  be  stated  here  that  Lieut.  Colonel  Moore  went  from  Wilkes-Barre 
to  Sunbury  in  the  first  week  of  June,  1784,  when  and  where  he  was  indicted 
and  then  entered  bail  for  his  appearance  at  the  next  term  of  Court,  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  ever  again  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre. 

Colonel  Franklin  states  that  about  June  13,  1784,  some  thirty  men  of  the 
Yankee  settlers  who  had  been  driven  out  of  Wyoming,  left  their  families  at 
the  Delaware  and  returned  to  Wyoming  Valley,  in  pursuance  of  the  information 
which  had  been  sent  to  them  by  Sheriff  Antes.     "Finding,"  says  Franklin,  "that 


1390 

they  could  not  take  possession  of  their  houses  and  farms  without  having  re- 
course to  hostile  measures,  which  they  were  desirous,  if  possible,  to  avoid,  this 
vanguard  of  Wyoming  Yankees  repaired  to  the  [Wilkes-Barre]  mountain,  about 
three  miles  from  Wilkes-Barre  Garrison,  where  they  took  possession  of  the  rocks 
— a  natural  fortification — to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Fort  Lillopee,  a  place 
well  known  in  this  dav  (1805)." 


The  Site  of  Fort  Liulopee 

(As  it  appeared  in  \82'l\ 

The  place  thus  referred  to  was  exactly  two  miles  east  of  Fort  Dickinson 
in  an  air-line ;  or,  by  way  of  the  road  leading  to  it,  was  nearly  three  miles  distant 
from  the  fort.  At  that  period  the  locality  in  question  was  known  to  the  people 
of  Wilkes-Barre  as  the  "coil-beds".  It  was  a  small  rocky  ravine  in  the  foot-hills 
extending  along  the  base  of  Wilkes-Barre  Mountain,  and  through  it  ran  a  small 
stream  of  water,  in  later  years  known  as  Coal  Run  and  Coal  Brook.  In  the 
western  wall  of  this  ravine  there  was  an  out-cropping  of  a  very  thick  stratum, 
or  vein,  of  coal,  from  which,  during  several  years  prior  to  1784,  a  considerable 
amount  of  coal  had  been  dug  for  the  use  of  the  blacksmiths  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

These  primitive  mining  operations  had  resulted  in  a  good  sized  cave  being 
«xcavated  in  the  coal  vein.  Years  later,  when  mining  operations  of  a  somewhat 
■extensive  character  were  carried  on  in  that  section  of  the  township  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  the  old  cave  of  1784  was  converted  into  a  tunnel,  or  slope,  while  other 
openings  of  a  similar  sort  were  made  adjoining  and  connected  with  it.  These 
"openings,"  as  they  appeared  in  1867,  are  shown  in  the  picture  on  page  457, 
Vol.  1.  Since  about  the  year  1880,  however,  the  physical  conditions  at  the  "Old 
Opening"  have  been  very  much  changed,  owing  to  the  cutting  down  of  nearly 
all  the  trees  thereabouts,  mine-cavings  and  fires,  in  and  about  the  mines. 

Pearce,  in  his  "Annals  of  Luzerne  County,"  referring  to  the  return  of  the 
Yankees  from  the  Delaware,  says:  "After  an  absence  of  several  weeks  the 
Yankees  returned,  and  fortified  themselves  under  a  cliff  of  rock  on  the  Eastern 
or  Wilkes-Barre  Mountain.  This,  Mr.  Miner  says  [in  his  'History  of  Wyoming'], 
they  called  Fort  Lillopee,  but  we  have  in  our  possession  several  orders  sent  by 


1391 

John  Franklin,  John  Jenkins  and  ot'iers  fro  n  this  cave-fortress  to  Matthias 
Hollenback,  in  Wilkesbarre,  for  rum,  tea,  sugar,  etc.,  and  these  orders  are  dated 
at  Fort  Defence."  In  making  this  statement  Mr.  Pearce  fell  into  an  error,  for 
the  reason  that  "Fort  Defence"  was  the  name  given  to  a  group  of  houses  in 
Kingston  Township,  which  the  Yankees  took  possession  of  and  fortified  at  the 
beginning  of  July,  1784 — as  related  on  page  1394. 

Elisha  Harding,  in  his  letter  referred  to  on  page  1381,  makes  mention 
of  the  fortified  encampment  at  Coal  Brook  in  these  words:  "We  went  into  the 
woods  to  a  place  called  the  coal-beds,  back  of  Wilkesbarre,  where  we  continued 
about  three  weeks.  Our  living  was  not  of  the  best.  It  consisted  of  chopped 
rye  (about  as  fine  as  is  ground  for  horse-feed),  without  salt.  Our  appetites  were 
good,  and  when  we  drank  our  slop  we  did  it  in  hopes  of  better  fare.  We  were 
waiting  for  orders  from  the  authorities  to  arrest  those  who  had  drove  us  ofi"  and 
taken  possession  of  our  houses  and  lands." 

The  men  at  Fort  Lillopee  were  well  armed  and  provided  with  a  plentiful 
supply  of  ammunition,  and  were  commanded  by  duly  chosen  officers  who  main- 
tained  a  quasi-military   discipline. 

Relative  to  conditions  in  Wyoming  Valley  in  May  and  June,  1  784,  Christo- 
pher Hurlbut  states  in  his  journal — mentioned  on  page  13,56: 

"In  May,  after  the  ice  had  melted  away  and  the  people  had  begun  to  put  up  their  fences, 
the  Pennamites,  with  the  soldiers,  went  through  the  settlement  in  considerable  bodies  and  took 
all  the  good  guns,  and  the  locks  from  others,  from  every  Yankee  who  had  one;  and  directly  after 
this  they  turned  all  Yankee  families  into  the  street,  taking  them  under  guard.  A  few  only  were 
aljle  to  flee  up  or  down  the  river;  all  the  rest  were  forced  to  go  out  East  by  the  Lackawaxen. 
Thus  the  Pennamites  got  full  possession  of  the  country.  Shortly  after  this  the  soldiers  were 
discharged,  but  many  of  them  continued  in  the  country,  and  the  Pennamites  kept  up  a  garrison 
in  the  fort. 

"The  first  of  June  |17S4]  the  Yankees  began  to  assemble  in  the  woods,  in  order,  if  possible, 
to  regain  their  possessions.  It  should  be  remembered  that  all  along,  from  the  first  beginning 
of  the  outrages,  applications  had  been  made  to  the  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  authorities 
of  the  State  for  protection  and  redress,  but  none  was  obtained.  Also,  let  it  be  understood,  that 
those  pretended  Justices,  before  referred  to  as  having  been  unlawfully  appointed.  Iheaded  by 
Alexander  Patterson,  a  man  of  considerable  abilities,  but  bold,  daring  and  completely  unprin- 
cipled; aided  by  David  Mead,  insinuating,  plausible  and  flattering  covering  his  enmity  by  pre- 
tended friendship — a  most  designing  enemy  to  the  Yankees;  and  John  Seely,  with  just  information 
enough  to  act  out  the  villain  without  disguise),  had  no  idea  of  doing  justice  to  the  Yankees; 
but  their  object  was  to  compel  them  to  leave  the  country." 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer 
at  Sunbury  on  June  4th,  SheriflF  Antes  started  for  Wilkes-Barre,  having  in  his 
possession  warrants  of  arrest  issued  by  the  Court  against  all  the  men  (save 
Lieut.  Colonel  Moore,  who  had  appeared  at  Sunbury  and  entered  bail)  who  had 
been  indicted  for  rioting,  etc.,  as  related  on  page  1388.  It  was  the  intention 
of  the  Sheriff,  in  pursuance  of  directions  given  to  him  by  Chief  Justice  McKean, 
to  serve  these  warrants  upon  the  several  defendants,  who  would  then  be  expected 
to  go  before  Justice  Mead,  at  Wyoming,  and  enter  bail  for  their  respective  appear- 
ances at  the  next  term  of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer. 

Colonel  Franklin  says  that  upon  the  arrival  of  Sheriff  Antes  at  Wyoming 
'  to  take  the  rioters,  he  found  them  in  their  stronghold,  the  Garrison  [Fort  Dick- 
inson] at  Wilkesbarre,  where  he  was  refused  admittance,  and  th^-  refused  to 
be  taken.  Alexander'  Patterson  would  not  suffer  the  Sheriff  to  execute  his 
warrants,  and  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  Sunbury  without  having  it  in  his 
power  to  arrest  one  of  the  rioters." 

The  Sheriff  made  a  second  visit  to  Wyoming  on  June  14th,  accompanied  by 
the  Coroner  of  the  county,  and  made  another  attempt  to  serve  his  warrants, 
but  was  prevented  in  the  same  manner  as  before.     At  this  time  some  of  the 


1392 

Yankees  at  Fort  Lillopee  joined  the  vSheriff  and  the  Coroner  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
at  their  request,  and  accompanied  them  to  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Dickinson. 
Benjamin  Harvey — then  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  sixty-second  birthday; — was 
unfortunately  for  himself,  one  of  those  who  thus  ventured  into  the  village. 
Notwithstanding  the  presence  of  the  Sheriff  and  the  Coroner,  he  was  seized 
before  their  very  eyes  "by  the  hired  myrmidons  of  Patterson,  dragged  to  the 
Garrison,  and  beaten  and  abused  in  the  most  cruel  manner." 

The  Sheriff  and  the  Coroner,  being  thus  set  at  defiance  by  the  lawless  Penn- 
amites  in  Fort  Dickinson,  returned  to  Sunbury,  while  Mr.  Harvey  returned 
to  Fort  Lillopee  smarting  in  mind  and  in  body,  and  bearing  to  his  fellow-cave- 
dwellers  a  cheerless  message  from  Sheriff  Antes,  which,  according  to  Colonel 
Franklin  (who  was  there  on  the  ground),  was  to  this  effect:  That  he,  the  Sheriff, 
could  not  take  the  Pennamites  at  Fort  Dickinson  at  that  time  without  the  assist- 
ance of  the  posse  comitatus;  that  the  Yankees  gathered  at  Fort  Lillopee  should 
remain  quiet  for  about  twelve  days,  by  which  time  he,  the  Sheriff,  hoped  to 
receive  "orders  from  the  Government  to  enable  him  to  call  assistance  to  execute 
the  laws  at  Wyoming." 

Colonel  Franklin,  writing  about  the  events  of  this  particular  period,  stated, 
in  a  "Plain  Truth"  article  printed  in  The  Luzerne  Federalist  of  June  5,  1805, 
that  "the  unhappy  sufferers  continued  on  the  mountain  without  shelter  except 
the  heavens  to  cover  them;  without  blankets,  and  thinl}'  clothed,  and  almost 
destitute  of  every  necessary  to  support  life.  Several  had  taken  up  their  residence 
in  the  woods  from  about  the  14th  of  May — their  families  being  at  the  same  time 
at  and  near  the  Delaware  River,  suffering  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  while  the 
rioters  lived  at  ease  in  the  dwellings  of  the  Yankees." 

During  this  time  the  Pennamites  on  the  ground  were  busy  locating  tracts 
of  land  in  the  Wyoming  region,  either  for  themselves  or  their  friends  and  principals, 
in  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere.  Having  made  applications  to  the  State  Land 
Office,  and  paid  the  small  fees  required,  land  warrants  were  issued  to  the 
applicants,  and  on  these  warrants  surveys  were  made.  The  following  is  a  list 
of  some  of  the  tracts  which  were  surveyed  (either  in  1784  or  in  later  years)  on 
warrants  dated  July  1,  1784.  Five  tracts  lying  along  the  Lackawanna  River, 
as  follows:  To  Lieut.  Andrew  Henderson,  499  acres;  Sarah  Delany,  400  acres; 
James  Moore,  Sr.,  419  acres;  William  Henderson,  425  acres;  James  Denney, 
402  acres.  One  tract  of  301  acres  "on  Sullivan's  Road,  at  Bear  Creek",  to 
Alexander  Patterson.  Nine  tracts,  of  400  acres  each,  on  the  waters  of  Toby's 
and  Bowman's  Creeks,  to  the  following-named:  Jacob  S.  Howell,  Edward 
Duffield,  Lieut.  Lawrence  Erb,  Patrick  Moore,  Samuel  Nichols,  Samuel  Morris, 
William  Sims,  Margaret  Delany  and  William  Nichols.  One  tract  of  427  acres 
and  70  perches  (on  the  Lehigh  River,  below  the  mouth  of  Choke  Creek,  in  Buck 
Township,  Luzerne  County)  to  George  Shaw;  surveyed  November  2,  1789. 
One  tract  of  424  acres  and  102  perches  (on  the  Lehigh  River,  at  and  including 
"the  great  falls"  where  the  village  of  Stoddartsville  is  now  located)  to  James 
Shaw,  surveyed  May  9,  1790.  One  tract  of  401  acres  and  28  perches  (west  of 
the  Lehigh  River — in  what  is  now  Buck  Township — "and  nearly  two  miles  north 
of  the  mouth  of  Tobyhanna  Creek")  to  David  Thomas,  surveyed  August  9,  1785. 

According  to  the  custom  of  that  period,  distinctive  names*  were  given  to 
the  aforementioned  tracts  of  land  when  they  were  warranted  and  surveyed. 

*.See  pages  690  and  776,  Vol.  II. 


1393 

The  following  were  some  of  the  names  used:  "Bethlehem",  "Astronomy", 
"Common  Sense",  "Pulpit",  "Priesthood",  "Roguery",  "Rich  Soil",  "Widow's 
Provision",  "Widow's  Assistance",  "Good  Plan",  "Charitable  Scheme"  and 
"Orphans'   Relief."" 

Franklin  says  that  about  the  20th  of  June,  Alexander  Patterson,  at  P'ort 
Dickinson,  sent  to  the  Yankees  at  Fort  Lillopee  "proposals  to  have  them  return 
lo  their  dwellings  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Garrison,  with  the  condition  that 
they  should  return  unarmed,  and  he  pledged  himself,  sacredly,  that  the  persons 
so  returning  should  not  be  molested,  but  should  remain  in  quiet  possession  of 
their  homes  until  the  pleasure  of  the  Government  at  Philadelphia  should  be  known. 

"Two  persons — Capt.  Jabez  Fish,  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  Mr.  John  Gore,  of 
Kingston — whose  families  were  at  that  time  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Garrison, 
being  too  credulous  in  relying  on  the  honor  of  Patterson",  declares  Franklin, 
left  their  friends  at  Fort  Lillopee  to  visit  their  families.  The  honor  of  Patterson 
proved  a  cheat,  as  it  ever  had  done  before,  for  they  had  no  sooner  arrived  in 
sight  of  the  Garrison  than  they  were  seized  by  ruffians,  by  Patterson's  orders, 
tied  up,  flogged  severely  with  ramrods,  and  then  banished  from  the  town." 

About  that  time  the  number  of  Yankees  at  Fort  Lillopee  had  increased 
to  si.xty  or  more  able-bodied  men,  well  armed  and  equipped.  Chafing  at  their 
uncomfortable  situation,  incensed  at  the  indignities  which  had  been  laid  upon 
Messrs.  Harvey,  Fish  and  Gore,  and  disappointed  at  the  failure  of  Sheriff 
Antes  to  appear  on  the  ground  with  the  posse  comitatus,  they  unanimouslv 
concluded  that  the  time  had  arrived  for  them  to  be  up  and  doing;  and  so,  during 
the  latter  days  of  June,  they  made  forays  into  the  valley,  in  detachments  of 
twenty  or  more  men,  and  harrassed  the  Pennamites  outside  Fort  Dickinson 
who  were  get-at-able.  We  get  some  idea  of  their  doings  during  those  davs  from 
a  deposition  made  by  Garret  Shoemaker,  a  man  fifty  years  of  age,  who  was  one 
of  the  Pennamites  who  had  been  indicted  at  Sunbury,  but  had  not  yet  entered 
bail  for  his  appearance  at  the  next  term  of  Court.  Mr.  Shoemaker  deposed 
belore  Justice  Seely,  August  12,  1784,  as  follows  :t 

"That  some  time  in  June  [1784],  after  the  Supreme  Court  at  Sunbury,  the  deponent  was 
going  to  Shawnee  to  get  two  bushels  of  rye  to  carry  to  mill,  when  John  Inman  and  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Corey  took  him  prisoner  and  carried  him  down  below  Nanticoke  Falls.  Some 
time  after  he  was  taken  John  Swift  joined  the  party.  The  deponent  heard  Swift,  Inman  and  Corey 
threaten  that  they  would  be  the  death  of  every  Pennamite  on  the  ground.  They  particularly 
mentioned  Captain  (Blackall  William]  Ball,  Henry  Shoemaker,  Esq.,  and  Alexander  Patterson, 
Ksq.,  whom  they  threatened  not  only  lo  murder,  but  to  roast  into  the  bargain! 

"Below  Nanticoke  Falls  near  forty  well-armed  men,  who  had  been  out  in  different  parties, 
came  together.  John  Swift  (who  is  a  deputy  of  Sheriff  Antes)  and  John  Franklin  had  the  command 
of  the  men.  One  [Lawrence]  Myers,  another  deputy  of  Sheriff  Antes,  was  also  there,  and  joined 
in  threatening  with  the  others.  Myers  seemed  exceedingly  intimate  and  friendly  with  the  Con- 
necticut men,  and  abused  the  deponent  and  two  other  prisoners  very  much.  Swift,  Inman  and 
Corey  beat  the  deponent  with  their  iron  ramrods,  then  knocked  him  down  with  their  guns,  mashed 
his  foot,  and  broke  one  of  his  thumbs  and  two  of  his  ribs.  The  deponent  demanded  their  authority 
for  using  him  in  the  manner  they  did,  but  they  could  show  none.  Then  they  carried  him  to 
Sunbury  Gaol,  but  he  was  soon  released.  A  man  who  is  a  stranger  to  this  deponent  was  his 
security. 

"After  the  deponent  returned  home  one  Burnham  came  to  the  deponent's  house  and  threat- 
ened that  if  the  deponent  did  not  instantly  remove  his  family  he  would  kill  him  and  bum  his  house. 
The  deponent  was  forced  to  remove,  and  came  up  to  the  fort  as  the  only  place  of  safety,  where 
he  has  remained  ever  since.  The  party  of  Connecticut  people  have  robbed  him  of  everything 
he  had  in  the  world,  and  destroyed  his  garden  and  crops  in  the  ground." 

Another  affidavit,  made  by  Jonathan  Marsh  about  the  same  time  as   the 

foregoing  one,  set  forth  the  following  facts: 

*Some  years  later  the  titles  to  nearly  all  the  aboveni 
son.  a  noted  land  speculator  of  Philadelphia,  who  was 
Escheator-General  from  1787  to  1795. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Old  Series,  X:  64.^. 


1394 

"That  the  deponent  has  repeatedly  seen  the  people  called  Connecticut  settlers  drive  away 
his  neighbors'  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep  and  kill  them.  That  some  time  in  June  |17S4]  he  was  at 
the  house  of  Jacob  Stroud  in  Northampton  County,  where  he  saw  one  Stoddart  and  one  Peirce 
with  about  eight  or  ten  other  Connecticut  people.  The  deponent  was  then  driving  up  some  cattle, 
sheep  and  hogs,  and  they  asked  him  where  he  was  going  with  them.  He  answered,  'To  the  Sus- 
quehanna.' Then  some  of  them  said,  'Get  along  with  them;  we  wish  you  had  ten  times  as  many, 
for  we  design  to  have  them  all  soon.'    The  deponent  then  came  along. 

"After  his  arrival  at  the  Susquehanna,  in  conversation  with  one  Chester  Peirce,  the  de- 
ponent asked  him  how  he  thought  matters  would  go.  He  answered:  'By  God,  the  woods  will 
be  as  full  of  white  Indians  this  Summer  as  ever  they  were  of  red  ones.  We  intend  to  lie  out  in 
the  woods,  if  nothing  else  will  do,  and  shoot  the  heads  off  the  Pennamites.'  The  deponent  about 
two  weeks  ago  heard  Benjamin  Harvey  say:  'God  damn  the  laws  of  this  State  and  all  those 
who  made  them!' 

About  July  1,  1784,  according  to  Colonel  Franklin,  "Benjamin  Harvey 
was  sent  express  by  the  Yankees  at  Fort  Lillopee  to  the  Sheriff  and  authorities 
at  vSunbury,  with  orders  not  to  return  until  he  should  receive  a  positive  answer 
whether  the  laws  would  protect  the  Connecticut  settlers  or  not,  so  that  they 
might  know  what  to  depend  upon."  From  Sunbury,  Mr.  Harvey  was  sent  by 
the  vSherifT  to  Philadelphia,  with  letters  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  and 
to  Chief  Justice  McKean,  for  directions  and  advice — "stating  the  complaints  of 
the  Wj'oming  settlers,  and  that  he  [the  Sheriif]  could  neither  grant  relief  nor 
execute  his  warrants  against  the  rioters  without  the  assistance  of  the  posse 
comitatHS." 

Franklin  states  that  the  weather  being  wet  and  unfavorable,  and  the  campers 
at  Fort  Lillopee  being  without  adequate  shelter,  and  suffering  for  lack  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  "some  of  the  party  grew  sickly  and  all  grew  weary  of  their 
solitary  and  cheerless  habitation."  In  consequence,  they  resolved  to  evacuate 
Fort  Lillopee,  which  they  did  on  the  night  of  Saturday,  July  3d. 

Quietly  marching  to  the  river,  to  a  point  above  the  mouth  of  Mill  Creek, 
they  crossed  over  into  Kingston  Township  and  established  themselves  at  a  point 
three  and  a-half  miles  northwest  of  Fort  Lillopee,  in  a  bee-line,  and  about  three 
miles,  in  a  bee-line,  north  of  Fort  Dickinson.  Here,  on  a  level  plot  of  ground, 
slightly  elevated,  yithin  the  present  bounds  of  the  borough  of  Forty  Fort,  near 
where  the  highway  (Wyoming  Avenue)  crosses  Abraham's,  or  Tuttle's,  Creek, 
stood  four  unoccupied  log  houses  in  a  group.  These  the  Yankees  fortified  and 
occupied  as  a  garrison — naming  the  same  "Fort  Defence."*  Within  a  short 
time  the  defenders  of  this  new  fort  were  increased  in  number  by  the  arrival  of 
a  few  other  men  who  had  been  evicted  from  their  homes  in  May. 

At  Fort  Dickinson,  under  the  date  of  July  12,  1784,  Alexander  Patterson, 
wrote  to  President  Dickinson  as  followsf : 

"Whereas  I  have,  for  some  fifteen  years  past,  been  interested  in  the  affairs  of  Wyoming 
— and  more  particularly  so  since  the  late  Commotions  became  serious — I  therefore  humbly 
hope  that  it  will  not  be  deemed  Impertinent  if  I  assume  the  freedom  to  state  some  facts  relative 
to  the  situation  of  this  country  as  it  now  stands. 

"What  Happened  before  Colonel  Moore  left  this  place,  he  has  undoubtedly  faithfully  rep- 
resented to  your  Excellency  and  Council;  since  which  we  have  been  continually  surrounded  by  a 
Body  of  armed  men,  who  say  that  they  are  under  the  Direction  of  the  sheriff  of  this  County. 
There  has  not  one  day  passed  that  they  have  not  Committed  some  outrage  upon  the  peaceable 
and  Industrious  Inhabitants,  by  Beating,  Robbing  and  Plundering  them  of  their  property.  They 
have  stolen  Thirty-one  Horses  out  of  the  settlement,  besides  a  Number  of  Cattle  &  sheep.  This 
day  they  took  Mr.  Shoemaker,  one  of  our  Justices  who  had  just  returned  from  Sunbury  and  Enter'd 
into  recognizance,  and  beat  him  in  a  Cruel  and  Barbarous  manner.  We  have  born  with  every 
Species  of  Insult. 

"Their  Horrid  Threats  to  murder  me  and  several  Gentlemen  at  this  place,  has  Induced  me 
to  keep  a  Guard  of  Near  fifty  men  ever  since  Colonel  Moore  left  this  place,  for  the  safety  of  our 
lives.  We  have  carefully  avoided  all  acts  of  Hostilities,  and  thereby,  I  hope,  Evinced  to  the  world 
our  good  Intentions.  God  knows  that  we  wish  to  get  Clear  of  those  Runegadoes  without  Blood- 
shed, but  I  fear  it  is  not  Possible.  They  will  commit  some  Crueltys  that  will  Eventually  bring 
*Fort  Defence  stood  on  the  level  plot  shown  in  the  foreground  of  the  picture  facing  page  786,  Vol  II, 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Old  Series.  X    619 


1395 

on  Bloodshed.  There  is  nothing  more  they  wish  than  to  act  the  Part  of  the  savage.  They  have 
Blacked  their  faces,  and  abused  our  People  with  Towmehacks;  they  have  had  recourse  to  the 
Law,  but  find  its  Operations  too  slow  to  answer  their  purpose;  they  are  Determined  to  repossess 
themselves  tho'  at  the  risk  of  Life;  they  have  Duped  the  state  in  their  Pretence  of  applying  to 
the  Laws;  they  never  Intended  the  least  good  to  the  state;  they  ought  to  be  exploded  from  Citizen- 
ship— their  actions  has  always  shewn  it. 

"Your  Excellency  will  Easily  Perceive  that  this  Business  has  cost  me  a  large  sum  of  money. 
and  if  effected  will  doubtless  cost  something  Considerable.  We  have  Various  Reports  of  a  Body 
of  men  coming  from  Connecticut.  It  will  Doubtless  be  Necessary  for  this  State  to  Interpose. 
I  have,  besides  the  support  of  the  Guards  alluded  to,  supported  the  familys  of  our  People  who 
hold  Possession,  with  Bread  to  a  Considerable  amount. 

"Permit  me  to  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  Government  ought  to  Interpose  in  our  behalf, 
and  give  an  Immediate  support  to  our  Possessions — the  malcontents  having  done  Flagrant  offences 
sufficient  to  warrant  such  interposition  for  the  safety  of  the  Commonwealth.  A  small  support 
now  may  Save  the  State  a  world  of  Trouble  and  Expence." 

Shortly  after  Capt.  John  Armstrong  retired,  or  was  discharged,  from  the 
miHtary  service  of  the  State,  at  Fort  Dickinson,  about  June  1,  1784,  he  went  up 
the  Susquehanna  to  Tioga  Point  to  see  about  certain  lands  in  that  locality  in 
which  he  was  interested  under  Pennsylvania  claims.  Returning  down  the  river, 
he  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  July  1 2th — the  same  day  on  which  Alexander  Patter- 
son wrote  to  President  Dickinson,  as  above  noted.  In  a  deposition*  which 
Captain  Armstrong  made  before  Chief  Justice  McKean,  at  Philadelphia,  July 
28,  1784,  he  testified  as  follows  respecting  affairs  at  Wyoming: 

"On  the  12th  day  of  this  present  month,  as  he  was  traveling  from  Tioga  to  Sunbury,  he 
was  obliged  by  indisposition  of  health  to  stop  at  Wyoming  |Wilkes-BarreJ,  where  he  found  the 
inhabitants  in  great  commotion,  a  camp  being  formed  by  a  number  of  people  who,  he  under- 
stood, had  arrived  there  from  the  State  of  Connecticut  and  other  parts,  at  a  place  called  Forty 
Fort.  That  he  was  there  told  that  the  said  party  had  committed  various  acts  of  outrage  on  the 
inhabitants  of  that  neighborhood,  such  as  insulting  and  beating  them,  stealing  their  horses  & 
cattle,  &c. 

"That  this  deponent  having  recovered  a  little,  he  went  to  Forty  Fort  by  water,  and  on  his 
landing  there  he  was  met  by  Giles  Slocum,  Waterman  Baldwin,  William  Smith,  John  Inman, 
Edward  Inman,  Richard  Inman.  Ishmael  Bennett,  Sr.,  John  Jenkins,  Phineas  Stevens,  Daniel 
Peirce  and  others,  in  all  about  thirty  or  forty,  armed  with  rifles,  muskets,  &c.  After  his  being 
among  them  some  time  he  found,  by  their  general  conversation,  that  they  were  determined  to 
drive  off  all  the  people  who  had  possessed  themselves  of  lands  in  that  country  under  titles  from 
the  Government  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that  they  only  waited  for  reinforcements  to  enable  them 
to  execute  this  purpose.  That  he  apprehends,  from  the  conversation  he  then  had  with  them, 
that  their  party  at  that  time  consisted  of  about  sixty  men.  This  deponent  further  saith,  that 
he  returned  afterwards  to  his  quarters  [in  Wilkes-Barre]  contiguous  to  the  late  Garrison,  and 
remained  there  a  few  days." 

Occtirrences  of  more  than  ordinary  importance  were  now  happening  nearly 
every  day  in  Wyoming  Valley.  The  Pennamites  under  Patterson,  hoping  for 
substantial  aid  from  the  Government  at  Philadelphia,  pretty  generally  confined 
their  activities  to  the  village  of  Wilkes-Barre  where,  if  necessity  demanded, 
they  could  easily  and  quickly  avail  themselves  of  the  protection  afforded  by  Fort 
Dickinson.  The  Yankees  rendezvoused  at  Fort  Defence  (which  they  made  as 
comfortable  and  secure  as  their  limited  facilities  and  conveniences  would  permit) 
and  from  it  small  parties  of  armed  men  were  sent  forth  nearly  everj'  day  to  recon- 
noitre, and  to  spy  upon  and  harass  the  Pennamites — especially  those  living  at 
some  distance  from  Fort  Dickinson. 

Concerning  the  doings  of  the  Yankees  in  Wyoming,  from  about  the  middle 
of  July  till  the  24th  or  25th  of  the  month,  we  learn  something  from  certain 
affidavits,  which  were  sworn  to  by  a  considerable  number  of  Pennamites  before 
Justice  of  the  Peace  John  Seely,  at  Wyoming,  on  and  about  August  10,  1784.t 

Abraham  Goodwin,  thirtj'-four  years  of  age,  who,  with  his  wife  Catherine 
(daughter  of  John  and  Lois  King),  had  settled  in  the  upper  end  of  Kingston 
Township  in  the  Spring  of  1784,  on  lands  which  he  had  either  leased  or  purchased 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  623. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  639.  et  sf(j. 


1396 

from  certain  Pennsylvania  claimants,  deposed  as  follows: 

"About  the  middle  of  July  Giles  Slocum,  Gideon  Church  &:  eight  others  came  to  the  house 
of  the  Deponent  about  Noon  and  Plundered  the  house  of  two  Rifles  and  some  Ammunition., 
and  went  off.  About  a  week  afterwards  Came  one  Phelps  and  seven  others,  and  Demanded 
of  the  Deponent's  wife  the  keys  of  the  Chest.  Mrs.  Goodwin  being  Terrified  by  their  talk  and 
appearance,  opened  the  Chest,  out  of  which  they  took  some  Ammunition.  The  Deponent  also 
heard  one  Tyler  swear  they  would  storm  the  Fort  and  put  every  one  to  Death;  the  Children 
they  would  Tawmehack.  The  Deponent  asked  Timothy  Underwood  August  11,  1784,  for  his 
(Goodwin's)  Rifle,  and  said  Underwood  cocked  his  Rifle  to  shoot  the  Deponent." 

Mrs.  Lois  King,  who,  with  her  husband,  John  King,  had  settled  in  Wyoming 
Valley  in  the  Spring  of  1 784,  deposed : 

"Her  husband's  house  is  just  above  Forty  Fort.  Some  time  in  the  middle  of  July  Phineas 
Stevens,  Edward  Inraan,  Elisha  Satterlee  and  Ishmael  Bennett,  Jr.,  came  to  her  house  and  threat- 
ened to  set  fire  to  it,  with  many  other  threats  to  throw  her  into  the  river.  Being  afraid  of  her 
life  if  she  staid,  the  deponent  came  down  to  the  town  of  Wyoming  |Wilkes-Barre]  to  ask  advice 
as  to  what  she  should  do.  When  she  went  back  to  her  hou.se  she  found  the  roof  tore  off  and  the 
house  plundered.  Benjamin  Jenkins,  Gideon  Church  and  William  Jacques  were  in  her  house 
when  she  returned  from  the  fort. 

"The  deponent,  when  she  went  back,  collected  what  few  things  she  could  find,  and  came 
down  about  half  a  mile  below  her  home  to  the  house  of  the  Widow  Harris.  When  she  came  to 
the  Widow  Harris'  she  saw  Gideon  Church,  who  had  come  on  before  her,  and  Waterman  Baldwin. 
When  she  had  passed  a  little  distance  from  Harris'  house  Waterman  Baldwin  shot  at  her.  The 
ball  missed  her,  but  went  through  the  thigh  of  her  dog  that  was  walking  close  by  her  side.  She 
knows  Baldwin  fired  at  her,  for  she  turned  around  instantly  and  saw  him  with  his  gun  in  his 
hand  and  the  smoke  of  the  powder  over  his  head." 

Pamelia  Taylor  deposed: 

"About  the  16th  of  July  came  one  Stevens  and  several  others  to  the  house  of  deponents' 
father,  and  threatened  to  kill  the  old  man — that  they  would  cut  him  into  inch  pieces  and  burn 
him;  any  other  death  would  be  too  good  for  him.  Further,  they  said  they  would  drive  every 
one  to  the  fort,  and  they  would  put  men,  women  and  children  to  death;  that  they  disregarded 
the  laws — there  were  none  for  them  or  against  them;  that  they  had  kept  the  ground  by  the  point 
of  the  sword,  and  were  determined  to  keep  it  so  still." 

Colonel  Franklin  states  that  on  July  18th,  Benjamin  Harvey  returned  from 
his  mission  to  Sunbury  and  Philadelphia,  bearing  a  letter  from  Sheriff  Antes  to 
Colonel  Franklin,  "giving  information  that  he  could  grant  the  Yankees  at  Wyo- 
ming, no  relief  without  assistance,  which  he  could  not  then  obtain ;  that  he  had  not 
been  able  to  obtain  orders  to  raise  a  military  force — without  which  it  was  in  vain 
for  him  to  attempt  to  execute  his  warrants  against  the  rioters  at  Wyoming,  or 
to  grant  relief  to  the  unhappy  sufferers;  that  he  (the  vSheriff)  had  received  no 
answer  in  writing  to  the  letters  which  he  had  sent  by  the  hands  of  Mr.  Harvey 
to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  and  to  Chief  Justice  McKean."  Colonel 
Franklin  further  states,  in  his  "Historical  Sketches":  "Mr.  Harvey  also  in- 
formed us  that  the  Chief  Justice  sent  directions  verbally  to  the  Sheriff  to  do 
his  duty,  and  not  to  send  to  him  for  orders." 

According  to  Colonel  Franklin  (who  seems  to  have  been  in  command  of 
the  Yankees  at  Wyoming  at  this  time),  Maj.  Joel  Abbott,  commanding  a 
detail  of  twenty-three  armed  men,  was  sent  out  from  Fort  Defence  on  Tuesday, 
July  20,  1784,  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  the  growing  grain  on  the  "Shawnee", 
or  Plymouth  fiats,  which  had  been  sowed  by  the  Yankees  in  the  Autumn  of  17S3, 
was  now  believed  to  be  nearing  maturity,  and  which  they  purposed  harvesting. 
News  of  the  movements  of  this  reconnoitering  party  having,  by  some  means, 
reached  Fort  Dickinson,  Alexander  Patterson  despatched  about  forty  of  his 
henchmen,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Henry  Shoemaker  (one  of  the  North- 
umberland County  Justices  of  the  Peace),  to  intercept  the  Yankees.  This  they 
did  by  going  into  ambush  alongside  the  highway  near  Ross  Hill*,  not  far  from 
Shupp's  Creek,  in  the  eastern  end  of  Plymouth  Township. 

Major  Abbott's  party,  unsuspicious  of  danger  at  that  point,  were  marching 
quietly  along,  when,   without  warning,  they  were  fired  upon  by  their  hidden 

♦See  pictures  facinK  pages  52.  72  and  208.  Vol.  I,  and  1090,  Vol    II. 


1397 

foes.  Two  young  men  of  the  party  were  shot — EHsha  Garrett  being  instantly 
killed,  and  Chester  Peirce*  being  so  severely  wounded  that  he  died  the  next 
morning.  The  Yankees  immediately  fired  into  the  bushes,  whereupon  the 
Pennamites,  without  returning  the  fire,  fled  with  precipitation  and  returned 
by  devious  ways  across  the  river  to  Fort  Dickinson.  However,  they  left  behind 
them  at  the  scene  of  action  two  of  their  band — Henry  Brink  and  Wilhelmus 
Von  Gordenf — who  had  been  badly  wounded  by  the  fire  of  the  Yankees,  while 
a  third  member  of  the  band  returned  to  the  fort  with  one  of  his  arms  broken 
and    swinging    at    his    side. 

Franklin  says  that  "the  Yankees  were  by  this  time  convinced  that  they  musr 
either  be  massacred,  quit  the  country  or,  like  Yankees,  defend  themselves.  They 
resolved  on  the  latter.  The  first  law  of  Nature — the  law  of  self-preservation — 
called  them  to  arms!"  Therefore,  on  July  22d,  they  first  sent  a  messenger  from 
Fort  Defence  to  Fort  Dickinson,  to  inform  Patterson  and  his  adherents  that  all 
the  Pennamites  who  had  families  in  the  valley  were  at  liberty  to  leave  the  fort 
and,  without  interference,  remove  their  families  and  take  all  their  movables 
out  of  the  valley.  "Their  families,"  says  Franklin,  "were  at  that  time  living 
in  every  part  of  Wyoming,  and  a  number  of  the  men  came  to  Shawnee  from  Fort 
Dickinson  on  the  22d,  took  off  their  families  and  furniture,  and  promised  to  leave 
the  settlement.  However,  they  removed  no  farther  than  the  Garrison  at  Wilkes- 
Barre." 

Then,  the  same  day,  sixty-two  Yankees  in  command  of  Colonel  Franklin, 
marched  forth  from  Fort  Defence  and  proceeded  down  the  west  side  of  the  river 
to  Plymouth,  dispossessing  every  Pennamite  family — excepting,  on  the  score  of 
humanity,  the  families  of  Henry  Brink  and  Wilhelmas  Van  Gorden,  who  had 
been  wounded  two  days  previously,  as  related,  and  were  then  lying  at  their 
respective  homes.  Crossing  over  to  Nanticoke,  Colonel  Franklin  and  his  men 
marched  up  towards  Wilkes-Barre,  turning  out  every  settler  who  did  not  hold 
under  a  Connecticut  claim.  The  majoritv  of  the  people  thus  dispossessed  made 
their  way  to  Fort  Dickinson. 

Referring  again  to  the  affidavits  of  the  Pennamites,  we  find  the  following: 

"William  Brink,  one  of  the  Constables  near  Wyoming,  and  particularly  for  the  Shawanese 
Township,  in  the  County  of  Northumberland,  personally  appeared  before  the  Hon.  Thomas 
McKean,  at  Philadelphia.  July  27,  17S4,  and  made  oath  that  on  Tuesday,  July  20,  he  and  divers 
other  inhabitants  of  the  aforesaid  Shawanese  Township  were  informed  that  divers  persons  from 
Connecticut  and  Vermont  were  coming  to  Wyoming  armed,  and  under  the  command  of  a  certain 
Maj.  Joel  Abbott;  and  that  a  certain  John  Franklin  was  also  coming  there  with  another  party 
of  armed  men. 

"That  he,  this  deponent,  and  between  twenty  and  thirty  of  his  neighbors,  assembled  together 
in  the  township  aforesaid,  armed  with  their  muskets  and  bayonets,  and  staid  in  a  body  until 
about  three  o'clock,  when  they  concluded  that  the  Connecticut  and  \"ermont  party  were  not  com- 
ing, and  they  thereupon  set  out  for  Fort  Dickinson.  Having  marched  about  half  a  mile  beyond 
the  flat  lands,  commonly  called  the  Shawnee  Flats,  and  were  got  into  a  wood  vcr>'  thick  with 
brush,  they  were  fired  upon  by  a  party  of  men  who  lay  in  ambush,  and  three  of  them  were  wounded 
two  mortally  and  one  slightly.  That  some  of  the  party  with  this  deponent  returned  the  lire, 
and  then  they  all  retreated  back  across  the  Susquehanna  River  and  up  to  the  Fort  [Dickinsonl, 
where  they  all — or  at  least  the  greater  part — remained,  until  Thursday,  July  22d,  when  this  de- 
ponent's wife  sent  his  son,  about  twelve  years  of  age,  with  a  horse  for  him  to  ride  home;  but  he 
left  his  horse  at  the  Fort  and  returned  home  by  water  in  a  canoe. 

"At  the  river's  side  he  found  his  wife  and  family,  also  Ezekiel  Schoonover's,  Joseph  Alon- 
tanye's,  James  Grimes's,  Peter  Taylor's.  Preserved  Cooley's.  John  Cortwright's  and  Nicholas 
Brink's  families,  and  some  others,  standing  there,  women  and  children,  under  the  guard  of  John 
Swift,  Giles  Slocum,  Waterman  Baldwin,  Elisha  Satterlee.  John  Inman  and  some  others,  armed 
with  rifles  and  guns,  who  had  driven  them  from  their  habitations,  w  ithout  suffering  them  to  bring 
*See  page  711,  Vol.  II. 

tSome  years  later  Wilhelmus  Van  Gorden  applied  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  for  an  annuity,  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  been  wounded  in  the  hip  "in  an  action  with  the  Connecticut  settlers  at  Wyoming  July  20.  1784.  while 
serving  under  Capt.  Henry  .Shoemaker." — See  "Pennsyhattiii  Arclliirs".  Second  Sfrie!;.  X\':  770.  ~ 


1398 

anything  with  them  except  the  Clothes  they  wore,  and  a  few  bed  clothes  for  two  or  three  of  them- 
That  this  deponent  then  spoke  to  John  Swift,  and  the  others,  and  told  them  they  had  had  recourse 
to  the  Law,  and  did  they  now  mean  to  act  arbitrarily  and  by  force.  He  thought  they  had  been 
contented;  but  they  severally  replied  that  they  expected  no  satisfaction  from  the  Law,  and  were 
therefore  resolved  to  take  their  own  satisfaction;  that  they  meant  to  kill  every  man  they  saw 
carrying  arms. 

"They  then  asked  the  deponent  whether  he  intended  to  take  his  wife  and  family  into  the 
Fort,  to  which  he  answered  that  he  did  not,  but  to  take  them  out  into  the  country  down  to  the 
Delaware.  They  then  told  him  they  meant  to  take  the  Fort,  and  to  show  no  quarter  to  those 
whom  they  should  find  in  it,  men  women  or  children.  That  this  deponent  thereupon  went  with 
his  family  to  Justice  Seeley's,  about  four  or  five  miles  from  that  place,  where  they  remained  all 
night,  and  the  next  morning  proceeded  with  his  family,  cattle,  and  a  little  provisions,  together 
with  a  blanket  and  coverlid,  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Tillbury,  near  the  Delaware  River,  in  Northamp- 
ton County,  where  he  left  them  while  he  set  oiH  for  Philadelphia— which  was  ycstcrdav  morning 
[Monday,  July  26,  1784]."      *     *     * 

Hen^y  Brink,  aged  twenty-two  years,  deposed  as  follows: 

"That  on  July  20  as  he  the  said  deponent  was  marching  in  company  with  one  Wilhelmus 
\'an  Gordtn  from  Shawnee  towards  Kingstown  flats,  being  about  100  yeards  in  front  of  Squire 
.Shoemaker  and  some  others,  near  two  miles  from  Shawnee  Garrison*,  the  deponent  spied  a  dog 
in  the  road  before  him.  He  then  turned  to  Van  Gorden  and  asked  what  was  the  meaning  of  that 
dog  being  in  the  road.  Van  Gorden  said  he  did  not  know,  but  believed  it  belonged  to  the  house 
above.  The  dog  then  turned  into  the  bushes,  and  the  deponent  looking  at  the  bushes  saw  them 
shake.  He  told  Van  Gorden  he  believed  there  were  Yankees  there,  but  Van  Gorden  said  it 
was  nothing  but  calves.  Immediately  on  mentioning  this  the  second  or  third  time  there  were 
eight  or  nine  guns  fired  at  the  said  deponent  and  Van  Gorden,  four  shots  of  which  hit  and 
wounded  the  deponent — two  through  the  left  arm,  one  in  the  breast  and  one  through  the  right 
arm,  and  one  shot  wounded  Wilhelmus  Van  Gorden. 

"The  deponent  further  saith,  that  after  the  first  eight  or  nine  guns  were  fired  the  Yankees 
raised  the  Indian  yell,  and  fired  about  fifteen  guns  before  any  of  the  Pennsylvanians  fired  a  gun. 
The  deponent  further  .says  that  he  and  Van  Gorden  never  discharged  their  guns.  Van  Gorden's 
rifle  fell  off  his  shoulder  when  he  dropped." 

Pamelia  Taylor  deposed : 

"That  on  July  20  she  went  to  [the  house  of  Frederick  Eveland]  to  see  Wilhelmus  Van  Gorden, 
a  man  that  was  wounded  by  the  Connecticut  party.  Among  some  discourse  she  heard  the  wounded 
man  say  to  one  Thomas  Heath,  Jr.,  that  the  Yankees  fired  first.  Further,  he  said  that  as  they 
were  walking  along  the  road  he  |Van  Gorden)  spied  a  dog  in  the  bushes,  anci  was  turning  towards 
Henry  Brink,  who  was  next  to  him,  to  tell  him  he  believed  it  was  a  Yankee  dog;  that,  just  as  he 
was  going  to  speak,  he  and  Brink  were  shot;  and,  looking  towards  Heath,  who  was  sitting  on  the 
bedside,  he  said;  'You  are  the  person  that  was  going  to  blow  out  my  brains  as  I  was  lying  there 
wounded;  and  you  would  have  done  it  had  it  not  been  for  one  of  your  party  that  struck  away 
your  gun  and  reprimanded  you.'  " 

Catherine  Courtright,  aged  twenty-two  years,  deposed : 

"On  July  20th  I  was  at  the  house  my  mother  lived  in.  Thomas  Heath,  Jr.,  and  Phineas 
Stevens,  with  four  others,  came  into  the  house,  while  there  was  a  great  body  of  men  out  about 
the  street.  This  was  just  at  dark.  The  party  ordered  me  out  of  the  house,  immediately,  when 
one  of  said  party  took  a  chunk  of  fire  and  tried  to  kindle  a  blaze  in  one  corner  of  the  house,  but 
could  not.  Stevens  at  the  same  time  ordered  him  to  burn  it  down,  and  then  went  off.  Soon  after 
Leonard  Cole  came,  and  swore  he  would  have  satisfaction  if  he  killed  every  Pennamite  on  the 
ground.  Then  he  went  off.  Then  one  Thomas  Heath,  Jr.,  came  and  told  about  the  shooting 
of  Brink  and  Van  Gorden.  Heath  said  he  drew  his  tomahawk  and  ran  up  to  Van  Gorden  to 
tomahawk  him,  but  Van  Gorden  begged  for  quarter.  Heath  .said  he  then  drew  back  into  the 
bushes  to  load  his  gun  again.     Then  guns  began  to  be  fired  from  all  quarters. 

"John  Franklin,  who  was  commander  of  said  party,  came  to  the  door  and  ordered  my  mother 
and  myself  to  be  off  by  daylight,  or  be  prepared  for  what  would  follow.  One  of  the  party  said: 
'Damn  their  souls,  nail  them  up  in  the  house  and  burn  them  all  up  alive!'  " 

Mary  Cooley  (the  wife,  undoubtedly,  of  Preserved  Cooley),  being  duly 
sworn,  deposed: 

"About  the  20th  or  21st  of  July,  as  I  was  dressing  the  wounds  of  Henry  Brink  who  had 
been  shot  in  four  places  by  a  party  of  the  Connecticut  settlers,  John  Swift,  William  Slocum, 
Wm.  Smith,  Mason  Fitch  Alden  &  a  number  of  other  men,  to  the  number  of  fifteen,  came  to 
my  house.  Swift  ordered  me  to  be  out  of  the  house  by  the  next  morning;  I  told  him  I  could 
not  go  &  leave  the  wounded  man,  &  likewise  ask'd  him  by  what  authority  he  ordered  me  out. 
.Swift  damn'd  me  and  said  it  was  by  his  own.  Further,  he  said  with  a  Severe  oath,  if  I  was  not 
out  by  Nine  o'clock  to  morrow  he  would  burn  i.he  house  over  my  head,  I  said  I  had  but  one  life 
to  lose;  if  it  was  my  fate  to  be  kill'd  by  him.  I  could  not  help  it.  Swift  then  ask'd  where  Mr. 
Cooley  was;  I  told  him  I  did  not  know  but  that  he  had  kill'd  him.  Swift  said,  let  him  be  where 
he  would,  if  he  could  find  him  arm'd  or  unarm'd  he  would  kill  him — and  then  went  off. 

"The  second  Day  after.  Prince  Alden,  William  Jones,  Waterman  Baldwin.  Daniel  Peirce, 
Phineas  Stephens  and  one  Bennet  came  to  my  house.    Wat.  Baldwin  told  me  the  half  hour  was 

*Thi»  was  Shawnee  Fort,  niJntioned  on  page    886,  Vol.  11.      It  was  undoubtedly  not  much  more  than  a  ruin  in  1784. 


1399 

Expired  &  I  must  march.  I  begged  for  time  to  move  my  things  off.  Peircc  &  Baldwin  told  me 
I  should  have  none,  &  Immediately  Threw  my  things  out  of  the  house  and  marched  me  off  with  a 
Guard  to  the  River,  1  begged  of  them  to  let  me  have  my  cows,  which  they  utterly  Refus'd.  I 
ask'd  Phineas  Stephens  &  William  Jones  how  they  Expected  to  hold  the  Lands.  They  said  no 
other  way  than  by  the  Point  of  the  Sword.  Before  I  cross'd  the  River  I  saw  William  Smith, 
one  Brown  S:  Ishmael  Bennet  Plunder  &  carry  off  my  meal,  &c.  I  then  Crossed  the  River  and 
came  to  the  fort  for  my  further  Safety." 

Charles  Manrow,  aged  thirty-five  years,  deposed: 

"That  on  July  22,  1784,  about  100  of  the  New  England  party,  among  whom  were  John 
Franklin,  Giles  Slocum,  John  Hollenback,  John  Ryon,  one  Bumham  and  Abraham  Westbrook 
came  to  the  house  of  this  deponent,  living  in  Stoke  Township,  near  Nanticoke,  in  said  County 
of  Northumberland,  all  with  arms.  That  John  Franklin,  when  he  came  up  to  this  deponent's 
house,  spoke  to  him  and  ordered  him  to  march;  upon  which  the  deponent  replied  that  it  was  just 
night,  and  that  he  could  not  get  his  creatures  so  that  he  could  get  away.  Giles  Slocum  immediate- 
ly says:  'March  away  with  your  family  up  to  the  fort!'  The  deponent  still  desired  to  remain 
until  morning,  and  go  down  the  river,  but  Giles  Slocum  insisted  that  if  he  did  not  go  that  night, 
and  should  remain  there  till  morning,  he  would  make  a  corpse  of  him — and  afterwards  went  away 
towards  the  fort.  That  this  deponent,  not  thinking  himself  safe  to  stay  in  his  house,  left  it  and 
his  family  in  it,  and  returned  to  his  family  about  a  week  after." 

Hannah  Schoonover  deposed  as  follows : 

"On  July  22nd,  about  sunrise,  I  saw  Waterman  Baldwin,  Doctor  [George]  Minard,  and  a 
number  of  others  belonging  to  the  Connecticut  party,  coming  towards  my  house.  I  stepped 
out  of  the  door  and  ordered  my  sister-in-law  to  stay  in  the  house  and  bar  the  door  with  an  iron 
bar  which  was  used  for  that  purpose,  and  by  no  means  to  open  the  door  for  them.  When  they 
came  up  Waterman  Baldwin  asked  me  if  there  were  any  men  in  the  house  or  about  it.  I  told 
him  there  were  not.  He  then  asked  me  to  open  the  door.  I  told  him  I  would  not.  He  then  said 
he  would  soon  find  a  way  to  open  it,  and  he  broke  it  open.  Said  Baldwin  then  asked  me  to  open 
the  chests,  and  I  told  him  I  would  open  none  for  him  nor  no  other  person.  He  then  broke  open 
the  chests  and  plundered  them  of  all  the  most  valuable  effects. 

"Baldwin  with  his  party  then  went  off,  and  in  about  an  hour  after  returned  with  a  number 
more;  then  ordered  me  to  take  my  effects  and  march  off  to  the  fort,  or  through  the  Swamp.  I 
refused  to  do  either;  upon  which  they  took  and  threw  aU  my  goods  out  of  the  house,  and  went 
off.  Immediately  afterwards  one  Inman  came  with  three  or  four  others,  and  ordered  me  to  go 
with  them  to  Shawnee  Garrison.  I  refused,  and  they  told  me  that  if  I  did  not  I  should  fare 
worse.  When  I  saw  there  was  no  help  for  me  I  went  with  them  down  to  the  Garrison,  where  I 
saw  John  Franklin  with  about  forty  men.  Said  Franklin  commanded  the  party,  and  told  me 
to  march  through  the  Swamp  or  to  the  fort.    If  I  did  not,  I  would  be  abused." 

,        William  Hartman  deposed  as  follows: 

"About  July  22d  Josiah  Pell,  three  of  the  Inmans,  one  William  Jones,  and  a  number  of  others 
of  the  Connecticut  claimants,  came  to  the  house  of  the  deponent  with  John  Franklin  their  com- 
mander, who  ordered  him  to  move  off  immediately.  The  deponent  heard  numbers  of  the  party 
say  they  intended  to  drive  all  the  inhabitants  into  the  fort,  and  after  they  had  done  that  they 
intended  to  storm  the  fort  and  kill  every  man,  woman  and  child.  The  deponent  further  heard 
Elijah  Harris  say  that  a  number  of  them  lay  in  ambush  to  shoot  the  Pennsylvanians  who  were 
coming  up  that  way,  and  would  have  killed  them  all,  but  were  discovered  by  a  dog,  which  caused 
them  to  fire  sooner  than  they  would  have  done;  and  that  their  party  had  the  first  fire,  and  shot 
down  but  two — Wilhelmus  Van  Gorden  and  Henry  Brink." 

In  the  morning  of  Friday,  July  23,  1784,  Colonel  Franklin  and  his  command 
marched  into  the  village  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  prepared  to  lay  siege  to  Fort 
Dickinson.  Franklin,  in  one  of  his  "Plain  Truth"  articles  and  in  his  "Brief," 
previously  mentioned,  states:  That  when  the  Yankees  entered  the  village  the 
Pennamites  fired  upon  them  several  times  with  the  field-pieces  in  the  fort,  but 
they  received  no  injury;  that  the  fort  was  equipped  with  two  4-pounder  cannon 
(field-pieces)  two  swivel-guns  and  one  wall-piece;  that  four  small  block-houses 
on  the  River  Common,  occupied  as  outposts,  formed  part  of  the  defenses  of 
the  fort;  that  these  outposts  and  the  fort  contained  in  the  aggregate  about 
100  men. 

The  only  firearms  possessed  by  the  Yankees  were  muskets,  rifles  and  pistols, 
but  nevertheless  they  surrounded  the  fort  and  its  outposts.  The  same  day  thev 
took  possession  of  a  grist-mill,  about  a  mile  from  the  fort,  at  Mill  Creek,  and 
the  only  one  then  in  the  valley  that  was  in  condition  to  be  operated.  Thev 
also  took  possession  of  several  houses  in  the  village,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
fort,  which  they  occupied  as  places  of  defense.     In  order  to  dislodge  the  Yankees 


1400 

from  these  houses,  the  Pennamites  made  a  sortie  from  Fort  Dickinson  on 
July  24th,  and,  setting  fire  to  one  or  two  houses  adjacent  to  those  occupied 
by  the  Yankees,  a  general  conflagration  took  place,  in  which  twenty-three  houses 
were  burnt  to  the  ground. 

Franklin  says;  "This  did  not  intimidate,  but  exasperated,  the  Yankees, 
and  on  the  same  day,  July  24th,  Capt.  John  vSwift  was  detached  with  twenty-six 
Yankees  to  take  post  on  the  west  of  the  garrison  to  annoy  the  enemy  in  their 
block-houses  on  that  quarter,  when  he  attacked  two  of  the  block-houses  near 
the  bank  of  the  riv^er,  thirty-five  rods  from  the  garrison,  guarded  by  ten  men 
in  each.  The  enemy  were  compelled  to  retire  to  the  garrison,  when  Swift  took 
possession  of  their  posts.  We  surrounded  them  on  every  quarter,  and  we  en- 
trenched so  near  their  garrison  that  we  silenced  their  field-pieces  and  compelled 
them  to  block  up  their  port-holes.  By  this  time  the  wheels  of  Government  begayi 
to  move!" 

On  Sunday,  July  25th,  William  Smith,  a  son  of  William  and  Margery  (Kellogg) 
Smith  (early  Connecticut  settlers  in  Wyoming  Valley),  and  one  of  the  Yankees 
in  the  detachment  commanded  by  Captain  Swift,  was  killed  by  a  shot  from  Fort 
Dickinson.* 

The  investment  of  Fort  Dickinson  by  the  Yankees  was  still  eff'ective  on 
July  27th,  when  a  letter  was  sent  to  the  occupants  of  the  fort,  reading  as  follows! ; 
•■Guntlemen,  "Wyoming,  July  27th,  1784. 

In  the  name  and  behalf  of  the  Inhabitants  of  this  place,  who  held  their  Lands  under  the 
Connecticut  Claim,  and  were  lately,  without  Law,  or  even  the  Colour  of  Law,  drove  off  from  their 
Possessions  and  Property  in  a  hostile  and  uncon.stitutional  manner — we,  therefore,  in  the  name 
of  those  injur'd  and  incens'd  Inhabitants,  demand  an  immediate  Surrender  of  your  Garrison  into 
our  hands,  together  with  our  Possessions  and  Property;  which,  if  Compli'd  with,  you  shall  be 
treated  with  Humanity  and  Commiseration;  otherwise  the  Consequences  will  prove  fatal  and 
bloody  to  every  person  found  in  the  Garrison.  We  give  you  two  Hours  for  a  decisive  answer, 
and  will  receive  the  same  at  Mr.  Bailey 's.j 

[Signed]         "John  Franklin,  in  behalf  of  the  injured." 
"To  the  Officers  at  the  Garrison  in  Wyoming.    By  the  hands  of  M.  Hollenback." 

Referring  once  more  to  the  aflSdavits  mentioned,  we  learn  that  at  Philadel- 
phia, under  the  date  of  July  28,  1784,  Capt.  John  Armstrong,  who  had  just 
returned  from  Wilkes-Barre,  deposed  before  Chief  Justice  McKean  as  follows: 

"The  party  from  Connecticut  fired  upon  the  fort,  where  some  of  the  settlers  under  Penn- 
sylvania, whose  lives  had  been  threatened,  were  assembled  for  safety.  That  on  Thursday  last, 
the  twenty-second  day  of  this  present  month,  a  number  of  men,  women  and  children  flew  into 
the  Fort  for  protection,  who  reported  that  they  were  expelled  their  houses  by  an  armed  force, 
plundered  of  every  species  of  property,  and  that  their  lives  were  threatened  by  the  settlers  under 
the  State  of  Connecticut  and  a  party  lately  from  Vermont.  That  on  the  twenty-third  of  this 
month  a  large  party  appeared  embodied  near  Fort  Dickinson,  and  soon  after  fired  upon  the 
inhabitants,  who  had  fled  there  for  safety. 

"This  deponent  further  saith,  that  reflecting  on  the  unhappy  situation  of  the  women  and 
children  who  lived  near  to  the  Fort,  in  being  e.vposed  to  the  fire  of  both  parties,  he  begged  of  a 
widow,  that  had  two  sons  with  the  aforesaid  party,  to  desire  that  they  would  cease  firing,  until 
she  and  some  more  in  a  similar  situation  could  be  removed  to  a  place  of  safety,  which  she  accord- 
ingly did;  and  thereupon  they  sent  her  word  that  there  should  be  no  firing  for  two  hours.     He 


;re  interred  the  same  day  in  the  old  grave-yard  on  East  Market  Street.  Wilkes-Barre.  and  a  gre  y 
Hagslone  bearing  the  following  in.scription  was  subsequently  erected  at  his  grave:  "1784  1  HERE  lies  the  Body  of  | 
Wll.i.i.AM  Smith  [  Mortals  attend  he  was  (  call'd  forthwith  |  He  left  the  world  at —  |  twenty-five  I  A  warning  to  all  I 
that's  yet  alive  j  His  zeal  for  justice  tho  |  hard  to  relate  |  It  caus'd  his  flight  from  I  his  mortal  state." 

About  1867  the  remains  of  William  Smith,  and  the  old  gravestone  above  mentioned,  were  transferred  to  the  new 
Wilkes-Barre  cemetery — now  known  as  the  "City  Cemetery" — on  North  River  Street,  where,  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years  ago,  the  present  writer  copied  from  the  original  stone — which  was  then  standing  there,  and  may  be  still — the 
inscription  as  herein  printed. 

Miner  states  in  his  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  360.  that  William  Smith  (known  as  "Big  William")  was  shot 
through  the  body  while  attempting  to  obtain  water  from  the  river,  during  the  investment  of  Fort  Dickinson  by  the 
Yankees  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  1784.  Undoubtedly  Mr,  Miner  fell  into  an  error  in  stating  that  September 
was  the  month  in  which  the  death  of  this  man  occurred,  inasnuich  as  Colonel  Franklin  recorded  the  incident  in  his 
journal  at  the  time  it  took  place — !■/:..  July  25.  1784. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Old  Series,  X:  621, 

|Mr,  Benjamin  Bailey  is  here  referred  to.  His  house,  at  that  time,  was  at  the  corner  of  North  Main  Street  and 
Public  .Square 


1401 

tlKii  went  to  assist  a  certain  Mrs.  Spaulding,  a  lone  woman,  to  remove  her  family  and  property, 
but  he  had  scarce  left  the  gate  of  the  Fort  when  he  was  fired  upon  by  the  aforesaid  Connecticut 
party.  That  they  continued  to  fire  upon  the  inhabitants,  wounded  a  boy  of  about  twelve  years 
old,  an  old  man  above  sixty-five  years  of  age,  and  shot  at  a  very  young  boy  riding  on  a  horse, 
and  wounded  the  horse;  and  that  Hostilities  had  not  ceased  on  Sunday  morning,  the  twenty- 
fifth  instant,   when  he  left  the  place." 

Samuel  Kerr  deposed  as  follows : 

"On  July  23rd  Lord  Butler  took  him,  the  deponent,  prisoner  to  John  Franklin  where  he 
received  considerable  abuse  and  was  ordered  to  turn  off  from  his  premises.  Likewise  Ishmael 
Bennet  threatened  to  blow  out  his  brains  if  ever  he,  the  deponent,  was  seen  on  the  ground  again." 

Mrs.  Catherine  Sims,  aged  thirty  years,  a  resident  of  the  village  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  undoubtedly,  the  wife  of  William  Sims,  who  was  an  inmate  of  Fort 
Dickinson  during  its  investment,  deposed  as  follows: 

"In  the  forenoon  of  the  twenty-third  of  July  last,  the  deponent  saw  a  number  of  the  Conn- 
ecticut settlers  coming  from  the  Woods  southward  of  the  house  in  which  the  deponent  lived  in 
Wyoming  [Wilkes-Barre].  As  they  directed  their  course  towards  the  house,  the  deponent  fastened 
the  door.  When  they  came  up  they  ordered  her  to  open  the  door  &  let  them  in;  she  refused, 
and  then  they  attempted  to  force  the  door  open,  but  failing  in  that,  they  burst  open  &  broke  a 
Window,  at  which  one  entered  &  opened  the  door  inside  &  let  the  rest  in.  William  Slocum  burst 
open  the  Window.  When  the  party  came  in  they  turned  her  out,  &  ordered  her  to  go  into  the 
Fort,  which  she  said  she  would  not  do,  as  she  had  rather  stay  in  her  own  house. 

"They  then  went  to  the  Window  and  began  to  fire  upon  the  Fort.  They  fired  several  guns 
upon  the  fort  before  one  shot  was  returned.  W'illiam  Slocum  and  William  Ross  were  the  only 
two  of  the  party  that  Deponent  knew.  After  firing  pretty  briskly  for  about  half  an  hour  they  went 
otT,  leaving  the  Deponent  and  her  children  in  her  house.  The  next  morning  Giles  Slocum  and 
Phineas  Pearce  came  to  the  Deponent's  about  breakfast  time,  and  asked  for  Deponent's  Hus- 
liand.  She  informed  them  that  he  was  not  at  home.  Giles  Slocum  looked  about  the  house, 
and  observed  to  the  Deponent  that  she  had  removed  some  of  her  Effects;  she  answered  no,  that 
she  had  taken  her  Bed  &  slept  with  her  children  in  the  Cellar,  as  she  was  afraid  to  stay  up  stairs. 
Giles  Slocum  and  Phineas  Pearce,  who  both  had  fire-arms,  went  into  the  Garden  and  crept  through 
the  potatoes  up  to  the  head  of  the  Garden  toward  the  fort,  and  laid  down  under  the  fence. 

"While  Slocum  &  Pearce  lay  in  the  Garden,  Phineas  Stephens  and  two  others  came  to  the 
door  and,  seeing  the  Deponent's  two  Cows  at  the  door,  Stephens  ordered  the  other  two  that 
were  with  him  to  take  oiT  the  Cows.  The  Deponent  entreated  them  at  least  to  leave  her  one  Cow, 
but  they  would  not.  The  deponent  took  hold  of  the  Rope  of  one  of  the  Cows,  but  Stephens 
struck  her  away,  &  ordered  her  to  remove  with  her  children,  for  if  he  caught  her  in  the  house 
again  it  would  be  worse  for  her.  The  deponent  was  forced  to  remove.  While  she  was  trying 
to  get  a  few  of  her  things  out  of  the  house,  Nathan  Carey,  Richard  Inman,  one  Hibbard,  one 
Gore,  Wm.  Ross,  Nathan  Walker  &  many  others  came  up  to  the  house.  A  short  time  after  she 
removed  into  the  fort.    A  smart  firing  begun  soon  after. 

"The  Deponent  before  she  went  to  the  fort  went  to  John  Franklin  who  commanded 
the  Connecticut  party  to  endeavour  to  get  her  Cows.  He  gave  her  no  satisfaction.  Every 
thing  the  Deponent  left  in  her  house  was  plundered  and  her  garden  destroyed." 

Elizabeth  Van  Norman  deposed  as  follows: 

"On  Saturday,  the  34th  of  July,  as  I  was  helping  Mrs.  Sims  to  move  her  effects  to  the  fort. 
I  heard  Richard  Inman  &  William  Hibbard,  in  Company  with  a  Number  of  others.  Declare  that 
as  long  as  there  was  six  of  them  Living  they  would  lay  in  the  woods  and  would  kill  and  Destroy 
all  they  could.  At  the  same  time  Richard  Inman  told  me  to  move  away,  for  there  was  one  of 
their  men  gone  to  John  Swift  for  orders  to  shoot  at  Women  &  Children.  During  this  time  the 
Connecticut  People  kept  up  a  constant  fire  towards  the  fort.  The  Tuesday  following,  as  I  was 
fetching  a  Pail  of  Water,  there  was  Eight  guns  fired  at  me  by  the  aforesaid  Connecticut  Party." 

The  Supreme  Executive  Council  met  at  Philadelphia,  on  Saturday,  July 
24,  1784,  when  several  letters  from  Northumberland  County  were  read.  They 
had  been  brought  to  the  city  by  Justice  David  Mead,  were  addressed  to  Lieut. 
Col.  James  Moore,  and  gave  accounts  of  the  recent  disturbances  at  Wyoming 
— dwelling  in  particular  on  the  skirmish  at  Ross  Hill,  on  July  20th.  The  Council 
immediately  ordered  that  the  Sheriff  and  magistrates  of  Northumberland  County 
"be  directed  and  required  to  exert  every  legal  means  in  their  power  to  suppress 
these  or  any  future  outrages,  and  if  possible,  bring  the  authors  of  them  to  im- 
mediate punishment."  The  Council  also  ordered  that  Col.  Thomas  Craig*, 
Lieutenant  of  the  county  of  Northampton,  be  instructed  "to  hold  some  part 
of  the  militia  of  the  said  county  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's  warning, 

'»Sse  note,  pajje  6711.  Vol.  11 


1402 

should  the  temper  of  the  malcontents  at  Wyoming  make  a  military  interference 
necessary." 

The  same  day  Lieut.  Col.  John  Armstrong,  Jr.,  Secretary  of  the  Council, 
wrote  to  the  magistrates  and  the  Sheriff  of  Northumberland  County  as  follows;* 

"We  are  sorry  to  learn  that  the  disturbances  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wyoming  have  within 
these  few  days  revived  under  so  serious  a  form  &  that  the  two  parties  have  proceeded  to  actual 
hostilities.  In  this  situation  it  becomes  the  duty  of  Council  to  require  you,  by  every  legal  means 
in  your  power,  thoroughly  to  investigate  the  facts  &  to  proceed  with  the  utmost  vigor  &  impar- 
tiality so  that  every  Person  committing  an  outrage  upon  the  peace  of  the  County  &  the  dignity 
of  the  State  may  be  duly  punished.  The  more  effectually  to  countenance  these  proceedings 
Council  have  thought  proper  to  direct  the  Lieutenant  of  Northampton  County  to  hold  a  militia 
detachment  in  immediate  readiness  to  proceed  to  your  aid,  should  any  assistance  of  this  kind  be 
thought  necessary." 

This  letter  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  David  Mead,  who,  without  delay, 
set  off  for  Sunbury.  Meanwhile  Capt.  John  Armstrong  and  Constable  William 
Brink  were  hastening  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Philadelphia,  where  Brink  arrived 
July  26th,  and  the  next  day  went  before  Chief  Justice  McKean  and  made  the 
affidavit  printed  on  page  1398.  Armstrong  having  left  Wilkes-Barre  on  July 
25th,  reached  the  city  on  the  28th,  and  the  same  day  made  the  affidavit  printed 
on  pages  1395  and  1400. 

When  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  met  on  July  29th,  a  number  of  papers 
including  the  depositions  of  Armstrong  and  Brink — relating  to  the  disturbances 
at  Wyoming,  were  laid  before  it.  Chief  Justice  AIcKean  (having  just  been  re- 
appointed to  his  office)  attended  in  Council,  and  was  instructed  to  issue  writs 
forthwith  upon  the  depositions  of  Armstrong  and  Brink.  The  Council  then  adop- 
ted the  following  preamble  and  resolutions:! 

"The  Council  taking  into  consideration  the  evidence  before  them,  and  the  emergency 
not  permitting  to  wait  any  longer  for  the  sense  of  the  Honorable  the  General  Assembly — 

"Resolved,  That  the  peace  and  good  order  of  Government  are  interrupted  by  sudden  and 
dangerous  tumults  and  riots  near  Wioming  in  the  county  of  Northumberland  for  the  suppression 
of  which  the  immediate  aid  of  the  militia  is  expedient  and  necessary. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Lieutenant  of  the  county  of  Northampton  be  directed  immediately 
to  draw  forth  a  detachment  of  300  infantry  and  twelve  or  fifteen  light  dragoons,  properly  officered 
and  equipped,  from  the  militia  of  the  said  county. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Sheriff  of  the  county  of  Northumberland  immediately  raise  the  posse 
of  that  county,  and  that  the  Lieutenant  thereof  add  his  authority  to  that  of  the  Sheriff,  so  that 
the  aid  of  the  militia  of  the  said  county  may  be  forthwith  and  effectually  obtained,  as  the  exigency 
requires. 

"Resolved,  That  the  militia  and  posse  aforesaid  act  under  the  direction  of  the  Commissioners 
hereinafter  appointed  for  suppressing  the  tumults  and  riots  aforesaid,  and  in  duly  executing 
the  laws  of  the  State. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Hon.  John  Boyd|  and  Lieut.  Col.  John  Armstrong,  Jr.,§  be  appointed 
Commissioners  for  carrying  into  execution  such  measures  as  shall  be  judged  necessary  and  ex- 
*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  295. 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records".  XIV-  167. 

tJoHN  Boyd.  Jr.,  who,  at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  was  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  was 
bom  in  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  February  22,  1750,  the  third  son  of  John  and  Sarah  Boyd,  who  had  immigrated 
to  America  from  the  North  of  Ireland,  in  1744.  Some  time  prior  to  the  erection  of  the  county  of  Northumberland, 
the  Boyd  family  removed  from  Chester  County  to  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Northumberland.  William  Boyd, 
who  was  a  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  12th  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Brandywine,  September  11,  1777,  and  Lieut.  Thomas  Boyd,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  Sullivan  Expedition,  and  was 
taken  prisoner  and  put  to  death  by  the  enemy  (as  related  on  page  1215,  Vol.  II),  were  sons  of  John  and  Sarah  Boyd. 
John  Boyd  Jr  was  commissioned  a  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  12th  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line, 
October  16,  1776.  Col.  WiUiam  Cooke  {not  "Cook",  as  erroneously  printed  in  the  note  on  page  818,  Vol.  II)  command- 
ed the  "12th"  at  that  time,  and  among  its  hne  officers  were  Capt.  Alexander  Patterson  and  Lieutenants  Blackall  William 
Ball,  Christian  Gettig  and  John  Armstrong,  mentioned  hereinbefore.  Lieutenant  Boyd  was  promoted  First  Lieu- 
tenant and  transferred  to  the  3d  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line,  in  July,  1778,  and  was  promoted  Captain- 
Lieutenant,  August  13,  1779.  During  his  connection  with  the  12th  and  3d  Regiments,  Captain  Boyd  took  part  in  the 
battles  of  White  Plains,  Germantown,  Brandywine  and  Stony  Point.  At  the  last-mentioned  place  he  was  one  of  the 
fifty  men  who  composed  the  "forlorn  hope"  led  by  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne.  January  17,  1781,  Captain  Boyd  was  re- 
tired from  the  3d  Regiment  and  appointed  Captain  of  a  company  of  Pennsylvania  Rangers  raised  in  Bedford  County. 
Linn,  in  his  "Annals  of  Buffalo  Valley",  Pennsylvania,  says  that  some  time  in  1781  Captam  Boyd  marched  with 
his  Rangers  numbering  about  forty  men,  on  an  expedition  to  the  Juniata  River.  Near  Raystown  they  were  surprised 
by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  who,  after  a  sharp  fight,  compelled  the  Rangers  to  flee  in  disorder,  leaving  Captam  Boyd, 
sev  erely  wounded  in  his  head,  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  savages.  He  was  placed  in  charge  of  an  old  Oneida  squaw, 
who  dressed  his  wounds  and  attended  him  with  care  during  the  march  of  the  war  party  back  to  Canada.  She  accom- 
panied him  to  Quebec,  where  he  gained  admission  to  a  hospital,  and,  attended  by  a  British  surgeon,  soon  regained  his 
health.     He  remained  at  Quebec  until  he  was  exchanged."  . 

Captain  Boyd  was  retired  from  the  military  service  of  the  State  in  the  latter  part  of  1783,  and  about  that  time 
became  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  In  1 784  and  later  years  he  was  fre- 
quently referred  to  as  "Major"  Boyd.    He  was  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  in  1784, 


1403 

pedieiit  for  the  support  of  the  civil  authority,  by  establishing  peace  and  good  order  in  the  county 
of  Northumberland. 

"Resolved,  That  John  Van  Campen*,  Esq.,  be  appointed  Commissary  to  furnish  provisions 
to  said  troops." 

Immediately  upon  the  adoption  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  Colonel  Arm- 
strong sent  a  copy  of  the  same  to  the  Lieutenant  of  Northampton  County, 
Col.  Thomas  Craig,  at  Easton,  together  with  a  letter  reading  as  foUowsf: 

"Captain  Boyd  and  myself  have  already  directed  a  supply  of  ammunition  to  be  forwarded 
to  you.  We  shall  exert  ourselves  to  procure  an  immediate  conveyance  for  it.  The  resolutions 
which  regard  the  county  of  Northumberland  are  dispatched  thither  by  Express,  &  we  hope  that 
an  immediate  co-operation  may  be  brought  about.  I  have  now  to  request,  from  personal  as  well 
as  public  motives,  that  you  will  make  choice  of  such  officers  as,  from  your  acquaintance  with 
them,  will  best  merit  your  nomination  &  the  confidence  of  the  State.  *  *  *  We  propose 
to  set  off  to-morrow  [Thursday,  July  30th]  or  next  day,  at  farthest,  and  hope  to  find  ourselves 
enabled  to  proceed  without  any  great  delay. 

On  the  same  day  (July  29th)  Colonel  Armstrong  wrote  to  the  Sheriff  at  Sun- 
bury,  and  sent  with  the  letter,  several  writs  to  be  executed  at  Wyoming.  He  also 
wrote  to  Capt.  William  Wilson,  Lieutenant  of  the  county  of  Northumberland, 
as  followsj: 

"Enclosed  you  have  a  copy  of  some  resolutions  of  Council  of  this  day.  They  are  of  such 
a  nature  as  to  require  your  greatest  possible  industry  &  attention. 

"In  addition  to  them  I  have  to  tell  you — that  Council,  from  the  confidence  they  have  in 
your  capacity  &  Attachment,  wish  you  to  engage  for  the  supply  of  the  Troops  which  may  be  called 
forth  by  your  Order.  The  price  they  propose  to  give  is  lOi  pence  per  Ration.  The  quantity  to  be 
procured  must  depend  upon  your  own  Calculations — for  as  this  business  will  be  subject  to  much 
Contingency,  it  is  impossible  for  Council  to  hazard  a  single  conjecture  on  that  score. 

"I  have  also  to  communicate  their  wishes  that  you  will  not  only  pay  the  greatest  attention 
to  the  Character  of  the  Officers  nominated  to  the  Command  of  the  men  (&  by  all  m^ans  avoid 
such  as  have  been  distinguished  by  their  predilections  to  either  side  of  the  Question),  but  that 
j'ou  will  also  come  on  with  the  troops  yourself  to  the  ground  opposite  to  ye  mouth  of  Nescopeck 
Creek,  where  we  will  endeavour  to  meet  you  with  the  Northampton  Detachment.  As  it  is  im- 
possible to  calculate  with  much  precision  upon  the  movements  of  Militia,  we  cannot  venture  to 
name  the  day  on  which  we  shall  be  there,  but  the  probability  is  that  we  shall  reach  it  before  you; 
as  it  is  our  intention  to  move  as  expeditiously  as  possible.  If  so,  we  will  communicate  with  you 
by  letter,  or  otherwise,  &  direct  to  what  other  point  you  are  to  shape  your  movements. 

"The  Sheriff  of  your  County  will  receive  the  Orders  of  Council  to  co-operate  with  us,  & 
under  the  countenance  we  shall  afford,  be  prepared  to  execute  the  writs  which  have  been  issued 
by  the  Judicial  authority. 

"You  will  remember,  also,  to  bring  with  you  whatever  ammunition  or  other  public  stores 
that  may  be  deposited  at  Sunbury.  If  you  should  have  no  powder,  you  will  make  a  purchase 
of  such  quantity  as  will  be  necessary  for  your  party,  as  it  might  be  imprudent  to  come  forward 
without  it. 

"I  have  only  to  add,  yt.  if  you  should  be  at  the  place  of  Rendezvous  before  us,  you  will 
take  such  steps  as  will  best  secure  you  against  disasters  of  any  kind.  All  this  command,  however, 
you  are  to  exercise  with  great  address,  &  let  it  appear  to  be  rather  the  effect  of  advice  &  persuasion, 
than  the  result  of  authority." 

At  Philadelphia,  on  July  29th,  President  Dickinson,  of  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council,  issued  a  letter  of  instructions  to  Commissioners  Boyd  and  Armstrong, 
reading  as  follows§: 

,  "You  are  so  well  acquainted  with  the  intentions  of  Council  in  appointing  you  Commissioners, 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  much  to  you  upon  the  subject.  You  will  use  the  utmost  diligence 
to  forward  the  embodying  and  equipping  of  the  Militia,  so  that  they  may  march  with  all  possible 
expedition.    We  doubt  not  but  you  will  so  effectually  guard,  that,  in  their  movements,  the  Troops 

'85  and  '86,  and  in  December,  1787,  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  convention  which  ratified  the  Federal  constitu- 
tion. He  was  a  Presidential  Elector  in  1792,  and  was  appointed  by  President  Washington  an  Inspector  of  Internal 
Revenue  for  Pennsylvania.  He  was  Register  of  Wills  and  Recorder  of  Deeds  for  Northumberland  County  from  Decem- 
ber. 1805  to  January  18,  1809.  At  the  cloie  of  the  war.  Captain  Boyd  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  Northumber- 
land in  partnership  with  Capt.  William  Wilson.  They  also  built  at  Chilisquaque,  in  1791,  a  mill  which  they  operated 
for  a  number  of  years. 

Captain  Boyd  was  initiated  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  22,  Ancient  York  Masons,  at  Sunburv-.  Pennsylvania,  January 
27.  1780,  being  the  first  person  made  a  Free  Mason  in  this  Lodge.  In  the  following  July  he  became  one  of  the  original 
members  of  Pennsylvania-Union  Lodge.  No.  29.  A,  Y.  M  ,  referred  to  in  first  paragraph  on  page  1346.  He  was  re-admit- 
ted to  member  hip  in  Lodge  No.  22.  May  2,  1787,  and  was  Worshipful  Ma.ster  of  the  Lodge  in  1789.  1799.  1800  and  1801, 

Captain  Boyd  was  married  May  13,  1794.  to  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Col,  John  Bull,  of  N'ortham'jerland.  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  five  daughters  and  two  §ons.     Captain  Boyd  died  at  Northumberland.  February  23,  1831. 

^Colonel  Armstrong  was  at  this  time  Secretary  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council. 

*.\  resident  of  Northampton  County,  Pennsylvania,  whose  name  is  several  time;  mentioned  in  these  pajes.  He 
a.greed  to  furnish  rations  to  the  troops  for  the  sum  of  ten  and  one  half  pence  per  ration. 

tSee  "Penn  sylvan  is  Archives".  Old  Series,  X:  303.  {See  ibid.  304. 

§See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series.  X  591. 


1404 

are  not  exposed  to  any  surprizal;  and  that  the  Mihtia  of  the  Counties  of  Northampton  and  North- 
umberland may  support  each  other. 

"You  will  act  in  such  manner  as  to  convince  the  Insurgents  that  while  we  are  determined 
to  have  Justice  rendered  to  all  persons  without  distinction,  we  are  also  resolved  to  preserve  peace 
and  good  order  within  the  Commonwealth.  If  this  end  cannot  be  attained  without  employing 
force,  you  will  give  such  orders  as  shall  appear  to  you  most  advisable  for  executing  the  laws  of 
the  State  and  impressing  a  just  Respect  for  them." 

Returning  now  to  Wilkes-Barre,  we  find  that  on  July  29th,  the  following- 
named  persons  arrived  here  from  Sunbury,  to  wit:  John  vScott,  Coronor  of 
Northumberland  County ;  Thomas  Hewitt,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  ;and  William  Mc- 
Cord,  an  influential  citizen  of  the  county.  From  the  headquarters  of  the  Yankees 
(by  whom  they  were  well  received)  these  gentlemen,  on  July  30th,  addressed  a 
Communication  to  Alexander  Patterson,  Blackall  W.  Ball  and  Samuel  Read, 
at  Fort  Dickinson,  in  which  they  set  forth  that,  at  a  recently-held  meeting  of 
the  magistrates,  county  officers  and  a  number  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Northum- 
berland County,  the  "distressed  situation"  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming 
— "both  New  Englanders  and  Pennsylvanians" — had  been  taken  into  consider- 
ation, and  Messrs.  Scott,  Hewitt  and  McCord  had  been  appointed  a  committee 
to  repair  to  Wj^oming  and  "request  both  parties  to  cease  hostilities  until  the 
further  mind  of  the  Council  and  Assembly  be  known." 

In  conclusion  the  committee  wrote:  "In  pursuance  of  the  above,  we,  the 
subscribers,  are  arrived  for  that  purpose,  and  do  crave  a  conference  with  you, 
either  by  committee — to  meet  a  committee  from  the  other  party — or  otherwise, 
as  you  shall  think  most  proper.  We  would  wish  you  to  be  as  expeditious  as 
possible,  as  we  are  under  an  obligation  to  make  our  return  as  soon  as  possible." 

To  this  communication  Messrs.  Patterson,  Ball  and  Read  responded  im- 
mediately, as  follows*: 

"We  are  honored  by  yours  of  this  date,  and  conceive  ourselves  much  obliged  by  the  trouble 
you  and  the  magistrates  of  this  county  have  taken  in  this  instance.  There  will  be  no  hostilities 
commenced  on  our  parts,  and  we  shall  be  happy  to  see  you  al  lite  Garrison  when  you  think  proper 
to  honor  us  with  a  visit.  Everything  that  may  tend  to  the  good  of  this  Government,  and  the 
safety  of  the  lives  of  the  citizens,  shall  be  strictly  observed  on  our  part.  We  wish  a  conference 
with  you,  as  soon  as  may  be,  at  this  place.  Capt.  [Andrew]  Henderson  waits  upon  you  for  an 
answer,  or  to  accompany  you  to  the  Garrison." 

To  this  the  committee  sent  a  reply  by  the  hands  of  Captain  Henderson, 

to  the  effect  that  they  would  like  to  meet  the  representatives  of  the  Pennamite 

party  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day  at  the  inn  of  John  Hollenback; 

and  stating,  further,  that  the  committee  had  "the  utmost  assurance  from  Mr. 

John  Franklin,   Mr.   John  Swift,   Mr.    Phineas   Peirce  and  others"   that  those 

persons  who  should  represent  the  Pennamites  at  that  meeting  would  be  "treated 

with  the  utmost  civility."    To  this  Captain  Patterson  and  his  associates  answered: 

"We  would  be  happy  to  meet  you  at  Mr.  Hollenback's,  But  we  wish  first  to  know  wheth'er 
yoH  are  the  only  Persons  thai  we  are  to  meet:  and  whether  you,  as  an  Embassy  from  the  Magistrates 
of  this  County,  are  restricted  from  having  Egress  and  Regress  to  any  part  of  said  County.  Per- 
mit us  to  observe,  that  we  cannot  conceive  it  consistent  with  our  duty  to  meet  at  the  place  apiioint- 
ed,  being  at  too  Great  a  distance  from  the  Garrison." 

In  reply  to  this  the  Sunbury  Committee  of  Mediation  sent  to  the  fort  a 
messenger  carrying  a  flag  of  truce  and  a  brief  communication  to  the  effect  that, 
inasmuch  as  the  committee  was  "not  permitted  to  enter  the  Garrison,"  and  as 
the  house  of  Mr.  Hollenback  was  declared  "to  be  too  far  from  the  Garrison," 
the  occupants  of  the  garrison  were  desired  to  send. a  committee  as  soon  as  possible 
under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Slocum,  to  meet  the  Sunbury  Committee. 
To  this  a  reply  was  sent  the  same  day  (Friday,  July  30th),  signed  by  Alexander 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  625 


1405 

Patterson,  B.W.  Ball,  Samuel  Read  and  Andrew  Henderson,  and  reading  as  follows: 
"We  received  your  last,  per  Flag.    We  will  meet  you  instantly  at  the  place  appointed. 
In  the  interim  we  expect  all  hostilities  to  cease.     It  shall  be  strictly  observed  on  our  part,  Ijut  we 
are  sorry  to  inform  you  that  this  instant  our  people  were  fired  upon." 

Colonel  Franklin  states,  in  one  of  his  "Plain  Truth"  articles,  that  the  meeting 
arranged  for  through  the  foregoing  correspondence  duly  took  place,  and  "a 
cessation  of  arms  was  agreed  on  between  the  Yankees  and  the  party  in  the  Garri- 
son." Two  da)^s  later  (Sunday,  August  1st),  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
the  same  parties  met  again  by  agreement,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  at  the  house  of 
Giles  vSlocum,  (on  River  Street,  just  north  of  South  Street),  and  later  in  the  day 
the  Sunbury  Committee  set  out  on  their  homeward  journey. 

As  noted  on  page  1401,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Moore  was  in  Philadelphia, 
when,  on  July  24th,  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  resoH^ed  that  the  County 
Lieutenant  of  Northampton  should  be  instructed  "to  hold  some  part  of  the 
militia  of  the  said  County  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's  warning,"  etc. 
The  resolves  of  the  Council  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Colonel  Moore,  and  he 
immediately  repaired  to  Easton. 

I'pon  his  arrival  there  he  received  some  fresh  news  from  the  seat  of  war 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  brought  by  Isaac  Van  Norman;  whereupon  Colonel  Craig 
(the  County  Lieutenant)  and  Colonel  Moore,  conceiving  that  in  all  probability 
it  would  soon  be  necessary  to  send  a  force  of  militia  to  Wyoming,  resolved  to 
immediately  embody  some  twenty  or  twenty-five  volunteers,  place  them  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  William  McDonald*,  and  send  them  forward  to  some 
point  of  vantage  on  the  Sullivan  Road,  there  to  go  into  camp,  guard  the  only 
approach  to  Wyoming  Valley  from  Easton  and  the  lower  end  of  Northampton 
County,  and  await  further  orders. 

Captain  McDonald  and  his  party  (several  of  whom  were  New  Jerseymen), 
accompanied  by  Isaac  Van  Norman,  marched  from  Easton  on  Wednesday, 
July  28,  1784,  and  following  the  Sullivan  Road,  proceeded  to  a  point  on  the  road 
about  one-half  mile  from  the  south-eastern  end  of  Locust  Hillf,  in  what  is  now 
Tobyhanna  Township,  Monroe  County,  Pennsylvania.  Here  there  was  a  clearing 
of  some  size — made  about  a  year  before  J — in  which  there  stood  a  small  log  house, 
occupied  then  or  later  by  a  man  named  Brown.  This  place  was  forty-three 
miles  from  Easton  and  twenty-two  and  three-quarters  miles  from  Fort  Dickinson, 
at  Wilkes-Barre.  About  the  time  the  party  reached  this  point — which  was  in 
the  afternoon  of  Friday,  July  30th — they  were  joined  by  Colonel  Moore. 

Leaving  this  vanguard  of  Northampton  County  Pennamites  at  Locust 
Hill,  let  us  turn  our  attention  again  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where,  on  July  30th,  as  before 
stated,  repre.sentatives  of  the  Pennamites  in  Fort  Dickinson,  under  the  command 
of  ,\lexander  Patterson,  and  of  the  Yankees  garrisoned  in  certain  houses  in  the 
village  of  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  command  of  John  Franklin,  held  a  conference 
with  the  Committee  of  Mediation  from  Sunburv. 

From  Colonel  Franklin's  "Brief"  and  "Plain  Truth"  articles  we  learn  that 
late  in  the  evening  of  July  29th  an  express  from  Easton  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre, 

*Colonel  Franklin,  in  his  "Brief",  refers  to  McDonald  as  "a  noted  villain  from  New  Jersey  who  had  been  active 
in  driving  off  [from  Wyoming]  the  Yankee  women  and  children,  and  had  made  his  escape  from  the  valley  the  morning 
the  Yankees  surrounded  the  Garrison." 


tLocusT  HlLl,.  sometimes  erroneously  called  Locust  Ridge,  is  referred  to  hereinbefore  on  pages  1172  and  1175. 
It  is  a  distinct  hill,  having  a  base  of  about  a  mile  in  diameter  and  an  elevation  of  600  or  700  feet  above  the  surrounding 
count.-y.  It  was  originally  covered  mostly  with  locust  trees,  but  to-day  there  are  ver>'  few  growing  there  On  its 
■^outh-easterly  face  it  is  free  from  rocks  and  ledges.  The  old  Sullivan  Road,  still  a  traveled  highway  at  that  point, 
runs  along  the  face  of  the  hill  near  its  base.  The  hill  is  about  four  milei  east  by  south  from  the  village  of  Thornhurst. 
on  the  Lehigh  River. 

iUndoubtedly  by  one  of  the  settlers  mentioned  by  Dr.  Schiipf. 


1406 


with  a  letter  for  the  Pennamites  in  Fort  Dickinson,  informing  them  that  Captain 
McDonald's  company  of  volunteers  had  set  out  from  Easton  on  July  28th,  and 
would -probably  march  to  Wilkes-Barre.  Before  the  express  was  able  to  reach 
the  fort  he  was  intercepted  by  some  Yankee  scouts  in  the  outskirts  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  the  letter  which  he  carried  being  secured  and  read,  the  leaders  of 
of  the  Yankees  were  aroused  to  immediate  activity.  It  was  soon  agreed  that 
a  company  of  forty  or  more  men,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  John  Swift*, 
should  march  forth  from  Wilkes-Barre  "to  view  and  watch  the  movements"  of  the 

*JoHN  Swift  was  the  third  child  and  second  son  of  EUsha  and  Mary  (Ransom)  Swift.  EHsha  Swift  who  was  the 
eldest  child  of  Jabez  and  Abigail  Swift,  was  born  at  Sandwich,  Massachusetts,  May  16.  1731. 

Heman  Swift  (bom  at  Sandwich  in  1733;  died  at  Cornwall,  Connecticut,  November  14.  1814)  was  a  brother  of 
Elisha  Swift,  At  an  early  age  he  became  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Provincial  forces  during  the  French  and  English  War, 
serving  on  the  northern  frontier.  During  the  Revolutionary  War  he  served  as  Colonel  of  a  Connecticut  regiment 
in  the  Continental  Line.  After  the  war  he  resided  in  Cornwall,  Connecticut,  where  he  held  various  civil  oflSces.  For 
twelve  years  in  succession  he  was  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council,  and  at  the  same  time,  or  later,  was  a  Judge  of 
the  Litchfield  County  Court. 

About  1735  Jabez  Swift  removed  with  his  family  from  Sandwich  to  Kent.  Litchfield  County.  Connecticut.  He 
was  a  Representative  from  Klent  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  in  1757,  '58.  '59  and  '60,  while  his  son  EUsha 
held  the  same  office  in  1768.  '69  and   70. 

Elisha  Swift  was  married  at  Kent  December  13,  1756,  to  Mary  Ransom,  (born  December  4,  1737),  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  the  folio  wing- named  children:  (i)  Heman;  (ii)  Roxalana;  (iii)  John;  (iv)  Phileius;  (v)  Alice;  (vi) 
Philea;  (vii)  Jabez;  (viii)  Severus;  (ix)  Lewis;  (x)  Elisha- 

Elisha  Swift,  Sr.,  made  his  first  appearance  in  Wyoming,  so  far  as  existing  records  show,  in  June,  1772,  when 
he  came  as  a  settler  under  the  auspices  of  The  Susquehanna  Company.  At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  October  2,  1772,  he  and 
his  sons  Heman  and  John  signed  the  memorial  to  the  Connecticut  Assembly  printed  on  page  751,  Vol.  II.  Shortly 
afterwards  the  family  took  up  their  residence  in  Kingston  Township,  where  on  July  20.  1772,  Elisha  Swift  had  pur- 
chased from  John  Jenkins,  Sr.,  an  original  proprietor.  "House  Lot  No.  14",  containing  upwards  of  four  acres  and 
lying  near  the  bend  of  the  river,  in  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Forty  Fort.  In  February,  1773,  he  bought  for  £100 
certain  lands  in  Wilkes-Barre  which  originally  had  been  allotted  to  Thomas  Stephens. 

In  1773.  Elisha  Swift  presided  as  Moderator  at  several  town-meetings,  and  when  the  town  of  Westmoreland  was 
organized  in  March,  1774,  he  was  elected  to  several  offices.  In  December,  1774,  he  was  a  member  of  the  School  Com- 
mittee of  the  town,  and  in  the  Summer  of  1  776,  was  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Committee  of  Inspection.  He  died 
at  his  home  in  Kingston  Township  in  the  Winter  of  1776-'77.  His  widow  continued  to  reside  in  Kingston  until  after 
the  battle  of  Wyoming,  when,  it  is  presumed,  she  returned  to  her  old  home  in  Connecticut,  accompanied  by  her  younger 
children — at  all  events  their  names  do  not  appear  in  later  Wyoming  records. 

(i)  Heman  Swift  first  came  to  Wyoming  in  1772.  In  March,  1776.  he  was  one  of  the  Westraorelanders  who  offered 
their  services  as  soldiers  to  the  Continental  Congress,  as  related  on  page  870,  Vol,  II.  In  the  following  August  (being 
then  in  his  twentieth  year)  he  was  appointed  by  Congress  and  duly  commissioned  Ensign  of  the  "First  Westmoreland 
Independent  Company",  commanded  by  Capt  Robert  Durkee.  (See  page  892,  Vol.  II.)  How  long  he  continued 
in  the  military  service,  or  what  ultimately  became  of  him,  the  present  writer  has  been  unable  to  ascertain. 

(iv)  Phileius  Swifl.  next  younger  brother  of  John  Swift,  was  a  private  in  the  2d  Connecticut  Regiment,  Contin- 
ental Line,  commanded  by  his  uncle.  Col.  Heman  Swift,  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  In  later  years  he  became  a  Briga- 
dier General  of    militia. 

(iii)  John  Swift,  son  of  Elisha  and  Mary  (Ransom)  Swift,  was  born  June  17,  1761,  at  Kent.  Litchfield  County. 
Connecticut,  and  accompanied  the  other  members  of  his  father's  family  to  Wyoming  Valley,  when  they  removed 
hither  in  the  Summer  of  1  772 — he  being  then  eleven  years  of  age.  Four  years  and  three  months  later  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  "Second  Westmoreland  Independent  Company" 
(see  page  894.  Vol.  II).  commanded  by  Capt.  Samuel  Ransom 
— who  was  in  some  wise  related  to  his  mother.  He  served  in 
this  company  up  to  the  time  it  was  united  with  Captain  Dur- 
kee's  company  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Simon 
Spalding,  as  narrated  on  page  978,  and  then  he  served  under 
Spalding  at  Wilkes-Barre  until  January  1  781 . 

Upon  the  reorganization  of  the  Connecticut  Line  in  Janu- 
ary. 1781.  John  Swift  became  a  private  in  the  company  com- 
manded by  Capt.  John  Durkee.  Jr.,  in  the  1st  Regiment,  Con- 
necticut Line,  commanded  by  Col,  John  Durkee,  the  founder 
and  namer  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  continued  in  this  regiment  (see 
page  1329)  until  it  was  mustered  out  of  the  Continental  service 
in  the  Summer  or  early  Autumn  of  1783. 

Upon  leaving  the  army  John  Swift  went  to  his  old  home 
(Kent)  in  Connecticut,  where,  undoubtedly,  his  mother  and 
his  younger  brothers  and  sisters  were  then  living  There  he  was 
married  to  Rhoda  Sawyer,  March  6,  1784.  About  that  time 
the  people  of  Connecticut  were  beginning  to  hear  a  good  deal  ] 
concerning  the  pernicious  activities  of  the  Pennamites  at  Wyo- 
ming, and  soon  thereafter  John  Swift  determined  to  take  a  trip 
to  the  valley,  ally  himself  with  the  distressed  Yankees,  and  aid 
their  cause  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  He  joined  them  while  they 
were  occupying  "Fort  Lillopee",  and  in  a  very  short  time,  by 
reason  of  his  bravery,  earnestness,  good  judgment,  and  loyalty 
to  his  associates  and  their  cause,  he  became  one  of  the  Yankee 
leaders  in  Wyoming,  and  was  dubbled  "Captain".  He  was  at 
that  time  only  twenty-three  years  old. 

During  the  next  few  years  Captain  Swift  took  a  very  ac- 
tive part  in  Wyoming  affairs,  and  his  name  appears  often  on 
the  pages  hereinafter.  He  made  his  home  in  Kingston  Town- 
ship, whither  he  had  brought  his  wife  after  the  close  of  the 
Second  Pennamite-Yankee  War.  In  April,  1788,  he  sold  his 
land  in  Kingston  to  John  Pierce,  and  removed  with  his  family 
to  Athens.  Pennsylvania,  where  he  owned  several  lots  of  land 
As  noted  on  page  806,  Vol.  II.  John  Jenkins,  Jr.,  and  John  Swift 
purchased  a  township  of  land  in  Ontario  County.  New  York, 
the  same  now  being  Palmyra,  Wayne  County,  New  York,  on  the 
southern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario 

During  the  Summer  of  1 789,  Captain  Sw-ift  moved  into  this 
township,  erecting  the  first  house — which   was  of  logs — and  a 

store  house,  at  what  i^  now  the  corner  of  Main  and  Canal  streets,  Palmyra.  The  district  of  Tolland  (which  embraced 
what  is  now  Palmyra)  held  iti  first  town-meeting  in  April,  1 796,  and  Captain  Swift  was  chosen  Supervisor.       The  dis- 


(Photo-reproduction  of  a  portrait  in  oils,) 


1407 

"band  of  ruffians  from  New  Jersey  and  elsewhere"— as  Colonel  Franklin  puts  it. 

The  party  chosen  for  this  reconnoissance  was  composed  of  the  following- 
named  tried,  true  and  ''effective"  Yankees:  Capt.  John  Swift  (Commander). 
Maj.  Joel  Abbott,  Prince  Alden,  Jr.,  Waterman  Baldwin,  Lord  Butler,  Ishmael 
Bennet,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Burwell,  Leonard  Cole,  Gideon  Church,  Reuben  Cook, 
Nathaniel  Cook,  Joseph  Corey,  John  Fuller,  John  Gore,  Justus  Gaylord,  Elisha 
Harding,  Thomas  Heath,  Jr.,  Elisha  Harris,  John  Hurlbut,  Richard  Hallstead, 
William  Hyde,  Edward  Inman,  William  Jenkins,  Benjamin  Jenkins,  William 
Jackson,  Dr.  George  Minard,  William  McClure,  Abram  Nesbitt,  Abraham  Pike, 
John  P^atner,  WiUiam  Ross,  Thomas  Read,  Elisha  Satterlee,  William  vSlocum, 
Walter  Spencer,  Phineas  Stephens,  Thomas  Stoddard,  Daniel  SulHvan,  William 
Smith,  Jr.,  Moses  Sill,  Jeremiah  White  and  Nathaniel  Walker^forty-two  in  all. 

Late  in  the  night  of  July  29th,  or  early  in  the  morning  of  the  30th,  Captain 

Swift   detached   from   his   party    Gideon    Church,    Jonathan    Burwell, 

Jenkins,  and  eight  or  ten  others,  with  Waterman  Baldwin*  in  command,  and 
sent  them  out  on  the  Sullivan  Road  as  scouts.  Some  time  during  the  morning 
of  Friday,  the  30th,  this  detachment  arrived  at  the  house  of  Eliphalet  Emmons, 
at  Bear  Creek,  ten  miles  from  Wilkes-Barre.  Emmons,  and  his  wife  Silence, 
occupied  a  small  log  house  and  kept  a  tavern — undoubtedly  one  of  the  places 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Schopf  in  his  journal.  Making  inquiries  there  relative  to 
the  Easton  part}'-,  and  learning  nothing,  Baldwin  and  his  men  proceeded  on  their 
way.    They  went  as  far  as  the  Lehigh  River,  without  making  any  discoveries, 

trict  assumed  the  name  of  Palmj-ra  in  1 797.  In  1  799,  John  Swift  was  Superintendent  of  Highways.  The  first  saw-mill 
in  the  place  was  erected  by  him.  and  for  a  few  years  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  John  Swift's  wife  was 
the  first  woman  who  ventured  a  residence  in  this  then  unbroken  wilderness.  There  were  still  many  Indians  wander- 
ing through  that  section  of  New  York. 

John  Swift  gave  lands  for  the  first  saw-mill,  the  first  graveyard,  the  first  school-house  and  the  first  church  edifice 
in  Palmyra.  From  1790  till  1812,  he  was  connected  with  every  enterprise  of  consequence— pecuniary,  political  and 
religious — which  had  its  being  in  Palmyra.  When  the  militia  system  of  New  York  was  reorganized  John  Swift  wa^ 
commissioned  Captain,  and  at  his  house  the  first  '"training"  of  the  company  which  he  commanded  took  place.  He  was 
promoted  through  the  various  grades  of  military  rank  in  Ontario  County  until,  at  least  as  early  as  October,  1808,  he 
became  Brigadier  General  commanding  the  Ontario  County  Brigade  in  the  5th  Division  of  the  New  York  Militia 

In  the  War  with  Great  Britain  (1S12-'I4)  General  Swift  was  commissioned  a  Brigadier  General  of  New  York 
Volunteers.  During  the  campaign  on  the  Niagara  frontier  in  the  Summer  of  1814.  he  led  a  detachment  of  troops  on 
a  reconnoitering  expedition  to  Fort  Greene.  They  surrounded  and  captured  a  picket-guard  of  sixty  men.  and  while 
in  the  act  of  receiving  the  arms  of  the  prisoners  one  of  them  shot  General  Swift  through  his  breast.  An  attack  from 
a  superior  British  force  occurred  about  this  time,  but  General  Swift  rallied  his  men  and  began  what  proved  to  be  a 
successful  engagement,  but  he  soon  fell  to  the  ground  exhausted.  He  was  borne  to  a  nearby  house,  where  he  died 
July  13.  1814.  aged  fifty-three  years  and  twenty-five  days.  '■Never",  declared  a  writer  of  the  day,  "was  the  country 
called  upon  to  lament  the  loss  of  a  firmer  patriot  or  braver  man  "  He  was  buried  near  where  he  died,  but  after  the  war 
the  citizens  of  Palmyra  disinterred  his  remains  and  deposited  them  m  the  old  cemetery  of  their  village.  The  Legisla- 
ture of  New  York  voted  a  sword  to  his  oldest  male  heir,  and  also  directed  that  a  full-length  portrait  of  General  Swift 
should  be  hung  up  in  the  City  Hall  of  New  York.  The  sword  was  handed  over  to  Asa  Ransom  Swift,  General  Swift's 
third  child  and  eldest  son.  who  was  the  first  male  child  born  in  Palmyra.  Upon  his  death  the  sword  passed  into  the 
possession  of  his  son,  Henry  C.  Swift,  a  resident  of  Phelps.  New  York. 

At  Washington,  D.  C.  under  date  of  April  7.  1814,  the  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering,  then  a  Representative  in  Congress 
from  Massachusetts,  but  who,  when  he  lived  at  Wilkes-Barre.  had  known  John  Swift  very  well,  wrote  to  him  as  follows: 
enclosing  a  copy  of  his  (Pickering's)  speech  on  the  "Loan  Bill."  "I  learn  from  my  friend  Mr,  Howell  of  Canandaigua 
that  you  live  in  his  neighborhood,  and  that  you  entertain  those  political  opinions  which,  had  they  generally  prevailed 
for  the  last  seven  years,  would  have  saved  our  country  from  the  oppressions  of  embargoes  and  other  measures  destruc- 
tive of  its  best  interests,  and  from  the  calamities  of  war." 

General  Swift  and  his  wife  Rhoda  (Sawver)  Swift,  were  the  parents  of  the  following-named  children:  Sally.  Polly. 
Asa  Ransom,  Marcus  G.  B.  (died  at  Fall  River.  Massachusetts.  February  22,  1902),  and  Orson  Ross.  After  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Rhoda  (Sazvyer)  Swift,  which  occurred  subsequently  to  1 794,  General  Swift  was  married  to  Hepzibeth  Treat 
Davidson,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  the  following-named  children:  Alexander  Hamilton,  Elizabeth  Martha, 
and  John  Leonardus. 

The  following  article  was  printed  in  The  Susquehanna  Democrat,  Wilkes-Barre,  February  22,  1823  "Drowned, 
in  October  last,  in  Sodus  Bay,  Lake  Ontario,  Asa  Ransom  Swift  and  Ashley  Van  Duzer,  Esquires,  of  Palra>Ta.  Ontario 
County,  New  York.  A  long  communication  on  this  subject  was  handed  to  us  soon  after  this  event  took  place,  but  a 
press  of  other  matters  has  hitherto  excluded  it  from  our  columns.  We  have  concluded  to  abridge  the  article  and 
insert  merely  the  substance,  without  going  into  all  the  particulars. 

"Capt.  Asa  R.  Swift,  one  of  the  persons  drowned,  was  the  eldest  son  of  Gen.  John  Swift,  formerly  of  Luzerne  County, 
whose  gallantry  as  a  soldier  and  virtues  as  a  citizen  will  long  be  remembered  by  his  fellow  citizens.  General  Sw4ft 
was  treacherously  killed  during  the  late  war  by  a  British  prisoner  after  his  siurender  to  a  detachment  of  Americans 
commanded  by  General  Swift, 

"His  son.  Asa  R.  Swift,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  memoir,  served  as  a  First  Lieutenant  of  cavalry  in  a  twelve 
months'  campaign  during  the  late  war,  and  was  in  service  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death.  He  was  afterwards  promoted 
to  a  captaincy,  and.  as  well  for  his  own  gallantry  and  -good  conduct  as  from  respect  to  the  memory  of  his  father,  the 
Legislature  of  New  York  presented  him  with  an  elegant  sword,  as  a  testimonal  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  they 
held  his  character  and  services.  As  a  private  citizen  he  was  much  esteemed,  and  as  a  faithful,  brave  and  meritorious 
officer  he  was  much  respected  and  highly  valued," 

*Waterman  Baldwin,  as  noted  on  page  902.  Vol.  II,  was  bom  at  Norwich.  New  London  County.  Connecticut 
January  8.  1758.  the  third  child  of  Isaac  and  Patience  (Ralhhun)  Baldwin.  Isaac  Baldwin,  bom  June  12.  1730.  was 
a  descendant  in  the  fourth  generation  of  Henry  Baldwin,  who  was  a  freeman  in  1652  at  Woburn.  Massachusetts.  Patience 


1408 

and  then  retraced  their  steps  to  Emmons',  where  they  arrived  shortly  after 
sunrise  on  Saturday  the  31st. 

About  a  half-hour  later  who  should  walk  up  to  the  tavern  but  Isaac  \'an 
Norman,  on  his  way  from  the  Pennamite  camp  at  Locust  Hill  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
presumably  for  the  purpose  of  notifying  the  occupants  of  Fort  Dickinson  of  the 
presence  at  Locust  Hill  of  a  body  of  men  friendly  to  their  interests.  Van  Norman 
being  known  to  the  Yankee  scouts  as  a  Pennamite  who,  only  a  short  time  before 
had  been  living  in  Wyoming,  they  questioned  him  sharply  and  learned  that  a 
force  of  twenty-five  Pennamites  was  stationed  at  Locust  Hill.  They  learned, 
also,  "that  there  was  a  dispute  among  the  men  at  the  Hill  as  to  whether  or  not 
they  should  then  advance  towards  Wyoming,  or  remain  where  they  were." 

Captain  Swift,  with  all  the  members  of  his  command  (except  the  scouts,  who 
were  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bear  Creek),  left  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  afternoon  of 
Saturday,  July  31st.  The  men  departed  quietly  and  without  any  display,  in 
order  not  to  attract  the  attention  or  arouse  the  suspicions  of  the  Sunbury  Com- 
mittee of  Mediation,  still  on  the  ground.  Marching  to  the  western  border  of 
Bear  Swamp,  about  nine  and  a-half  miles  from  Wilkes-Barre,  Swift  and  his  men 
bivouacked  there.  The  next  day,  (Sunday,  August  1st)  they  were  joined  by 
Waterman  Baldwin  and  his  scouting  party,  and  were  informed  of  the  presence 
of  the  Pennamites  at  Locust  Hill.  Thereupon  a  discussion  arose  as  to  whether 
the  party  should  wait  there  at  Bear  Swamp,  the  coming  of  the  Pennamites 
return  to  Wyoming,  or  "advance  to  Locust  Hill  and  attack  and  disperse  such 
men  as  were  there  collected."*    It  was   unanimously    voted    to    advance,    and 

Rathhun.  who  became  the  wife  of  Isaac  Baldwhi.  was  of  Exeter.  Rhode  Island,  where  she  was  born  September  13, 
1734.  Isaac  and  Patience  (Rathbun)  Baldwin  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children.  They  lived  for  some  time  at  Can- 
terbury, Windham  County,  Connecticut,  whence  they  removed  to  Wyoming  Valley  in  1772  or  73  and  settled  in  Pittston 
Township.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  town  of  Westmoreland  in  March,  1774,  Isaac  Baldwin  was  elected  one  of 
the  Surveyors  of  Highways.  He  was  living  in  Pittston  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  and  with  other  survivors 
he  and  his  family  fled  from  the  valley  after  the  surrender  of  the  various  forts. 

Inasmuch  as  the  name  of  Isaac  Baldwin  does  not  appear  in  the  existing  Wyoming  records  of  1779 — 1782  it  is 
quite  probable  that  he  did  not  return  to  the  valley  until  early  in  the  year  1783.  He  and  his  sons  Thomas,  Waterman 
and  Isaac,  Jr..  signed  in  February,  1783,  the  petition  to  the  New  York  Legislature  before  mentioned.  Isaac  Baldwin 
removed  to  Newtown  (now  Elmira).  Tioga  Co..  New  York,  prior  to  1791.  in  which  year  he  died  there,  on  June  9th. 
His  wife  died  there  July  24,  1823. 

Rufits  Baldwin,  eldest  child  of  Isaac  and  Patience  (Rathbun)  Baldwin,  came  to  Wyoming  with  the  other  members 
of  his  father's  family.  His  name  appears  in  the  Pittston  tax  lists  of  1776.  1777  and  1778.  In  March.  1776.  he  was  one 
of  the  Westmorelanders  who  offered  their  services  as  soldiers  to  the  Continental  Congress,  as  related  on  page  870, 
Vol,  II. 

Thomas  Baldwin,  second  child  of  Isaac  and  Patience,  was  born  in  1756.  He,  also,  was  among  those  who  offered 
their  services  as  soldiers,  as  mentioned  above.  Upon  the  organization  of  Captain  Durkee's  Westmoreland  Independ- 
ent Company  (see  page  892),  Thomas  Baldwin  enlisted  and  was  appointed  3d  Sergeant.  He  served  with  this  company 
until  it  was  united  with  Ransom's  company  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Captain  Spalding,  and  then  he  continued 
in  the  Continental  service  as  a  Sergeant  under  Spalding  until  some  time  in  1782  He  took  part  in  numerous  battles, 
including  the  battle  of  Wyoming.  He  settled  in  Sheshequin,  in  what  is  now  Bradford  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  May. 
1783;  but  he  did  not  remain  there  very  long.  While  there  a  son— Vine- — was  born  to  him,  who  was  said  to  be  the  first 
white  child  bom  in  the  Sheshequin  Valley  after  the  Revolution.  Later  Thomas  Baldwin  removed  with  his  family 
to  a  farm  near  the  present  town  of  Ashland.  Chemung  County,  New  York,  where  he  lived  until  his  death. 

Isaac  Baldwin.  Jr..  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Patience,  was  living  in  Newtown,  New  York,  in  1795,  in  which  year  he  sold 
to  Elisha  Satterlee  100  acres  of  land  in  Pittston.  Wyoming  Valley.  In  July.  1802,  at  Newtown,  he  sold  to  Isaac  Dow 
Tripp  "Town  Lot  No.  47",  in  Wilkes-Barre.  His  wife  was  Alice,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Anna  Haskill  of  Wvoming 
Valley. 

AJfa  Baldwin,  fourth  child  of  Isaac  and  Patience,  was  married  (first)  to  Benjamin  Jenkins,  and  (second)  to  John 
Harding.     See  pages  805  and  993.  Vol.  II. 

Ada  Baldw'in.  fifth  child  of  Isaac  and  Patience,  was  born  in  Connecticut  September  30,  1763.  She  became  the 
wife  of  William  Jenkins  of  Southport.  New  York,  and  died  March  1.  1845. 

Waterman  Baldwin,  third  child  of  Isaac  and  Patience,  came  with  his  parents  and  the  other  members  of  their 
family  to  Pitt.-ton,  he  being  then  about  fifteen  years  of  age  In  1776  he  served  a  short  term  of  enlistment  in  a  Con- 
necticut regiment  in  the  Continental  army,  and  January  7.  1777,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Westmoreland  Inde- 
pendent Company  commanded  by  Capt  Robert  Durkee  (See  pages  894  and  902,  Vol.  II.)  With  this  company 
he  served — participating  in  the  several  battles  and  the  various  hardships  which  it  experienced — -until  it  was  consolidated 
with  Captain  Ransom's  company  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Captain  Spalding. 

He  was  still  a  member  of  Spalding's  company  when  it  was  at  Fort  Wyoming,  Wilkes-Barre.  in  January,  1781, 
but  upon  the  reorganization  of  the  Connecticut  regiments  of  the  Continental  Line,  in  January.  1781.  Waterman  Baldwin 
was  assigned  to  the  company  of  Capt  John  Durkee.  Jr..  in  the  1st  Connecticut  Regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  John 
Durkee.  With  this  regiment  he  remained  until  its  term  of  service  expired,  in  1782.  when  he  returned  to  Wyoming 
Valley.  In  February.  1783.  he  was  one  of  the  Signers  of  the  petition  to  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  previously 
mentioned.  He  was  married  to  Celinda  Hazen,  and  they  had  two  daughters  and  two  sons.  John,  the  elder  son.  was 
married  to  Mary  Jenkins,  and  Henry,  the  younger  son,  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  Wilkes  Jenkins. 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  656. 


1409 

so,  after  nightfall,  the  party  marched  to  within  about  a  mile  and  a-half  of  the 
camping-place  of  the  Pennamites,  and  bivouacked. 

The  next  morning,  (Monday,  August  2d),  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock, 
Captain  Swift  advanced  with  his  men  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  camping- 
place  of  the  Pennamites,  unobserved  by  the  latter,  and  shortly  afterwards, 
without  warning,  began  an  attack  upon  them.  As  to  the  character  and  results 
of  the  fight  which  ensued,  the  following  extracts,  from  depositions*  made  about 
the  time  the  affair  occurred,  will  best  tell  the  story. 

Abraham  Pike,  one  of  Swift's  party,  deposed  as  follows:  "Finding  the  party 
lying  and  sitting  in  a  dispersed  manner  under  the  trees  and  bushes,  they  [the 
Yankees]  fired  upon  and  drove  some  of  them  into  the  house  of  one  Brown,  and 
others  into  the  woods,  from  whence  they  began  to  return  the  fire;  that  this 
engagement  lasted  for  some  considerable  length  of  time;  that  John  Swift  then 
called  off  his  party,  and  returned  with  them  to  Wyoming." 

Lieut.  Col.  James  Moore  deposed  as  follows: 

"That  being  at  Locust  Ridge,  in  the  county  of  Northampton,  with  a  small  party  of  men 
there  stationed  in  consequence  of  the  directions  of  Commissioners  John  Boyd  and  John  Arm- 
strong. Jr.,  Esquires,  on  Monday,  the  2d  day  of  August  last,  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
he,  the  deponent,  was  alarmed  by  the  discharge  of  fire-arms;  that  upon  seeking  the  cause  of  it 
he  discovered  the  men  of  McDonald's  party  running  toward  the  house  without  arms,  and  followed 
by  others  who  were  firing  upon  them  as  they  Red:  that  among  the  number  of  those  who  took 
refuge  in  the  cabin,  in  which  the  deponent  was,  came  Jacob  Everett, t  who  soon  afterwards  received 
a  ball  in  his  forehead,  by  which  he  expired  in  about  half  an  hour;  that  the  firing  continued  after 
this  for  some  time,  by  which  two  men  were  wounded;  that  after  it  had  ceased,  the  body  of  the 
abovementioned  Everett  was  interred  near  the  hut  in  which  he  was  killed." 

Harmon  Brink  deposed  as  follows: 

"On  Monday,  the  2d  day  of  August  |17S4|,  he  was  in  a  house  at  a  place  called  Locust  Hill, 
in  Northampton  County,  where  Col.  James  Moore  lay  sick  at  that  time;  there  were  several  others 
lying  under  the  trees,  and  under  the  shade  before  the  door.  The  deponent  heard  two  or  three 
guns  fired,  and  immediately  heard  one  Michael  i\IcCartley  (who  was  under  the  shade  before  the 
door)  call  to  the  deponent  to  come  and  carry  him  away,  for  he  was  wounded  and  was  not  able  to 
get  into  the  house.  The  deponent  went  to  help  him  in,  and  asked  him  how  he  came  to  be  wounded, 
not  suspecting  any  evil-minded  persons  being  around.  As  he  spoke  to  the  wounded  man  there 
were  thirty  or  forty  guns  fired  towards  the  house,  which  the  deponent  supposed  to  be  chiefly 
at  him.  He  then  called  to  the  rest  that  were  around  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  into  the  house. 
After  the  people  were  got  into  the  house  one  Jacob  Everett,  standing  opposite  a  window,  was 
shot  through  the  head,  and  died  in  a  few  minutes.  Two  others,  besides  the  first-mentioned 
were  wounded.  After  the  Connecticut  claimants  (which  I  afterwards  found  then  to  be)  had 
continued  their  firing  on  us  about  two  hours,  they  retreated  back  towards  Wyoming." 

John  Stickafoos  deposed  as  follows : 

"On  the  2d  day  of  August  last  he  was  at  a  place  known  by  the  name  of  Locust  Hill,  in  the 
County  of  Northampton,  in  company  with  several  people.  That  in  the  forenoon  of  said  day  the 
deponent  was  asleep  under  the  shade  of  a  tree,  and  was  alarmed  by  the  firing  of  musquetry ;  upon 
which  he  fled  to  a  small  log  cabin  which  was  near.  That  the  persons  who  fired  killed  a  certain  Jacob 
Everett,  by  shooting  him  through  the  head,  and  wounded  three  others,  viz.:  Michael  McCartley. 
John  Shuboy  and  David  Morris.  That  the  persons  so  surrounding  continued  to  fire  one  hour 
and  a-half  longer.  That  he  supposed  they  consisted  of  twenty  or  thirty  men,  some  of  whom  he 
knew,  !■/;.;  Jonathan  Burwell  and  'W'illiam  Slocum.  That  he  has  good  reason  to  believe  that  said 
Burwell  and  Slocum.  with  their  associates,  who  perpetrated  this  unprovoked  murder,  were  all 
of  the  party  called  the  Connecticut  claimants." 

Col.  John  Armstrong,  Jr.,  and  Capt.  John  Boyd,  writing  to  President 
Dickinson  from  "Learns,"  under  the  date  of  August  7,  1784,  had  the  following 
to  say  about  the  fight  at  Locust  Hill.f 

"The  late  affair  at  Locust  Hill  was  one  of  the  most  impudent  and  improvoked  attacks  that 
has  yet  been  made,  and  shall  become  an  early  object  of  our  enquiries.  The  circumstances  were 
as  follows: 

"Colonel  Moore,  agreeably  to  a  plan  which  we  had  concerted  in  Philadelphia,  had  collected 
about  twenty  volunteers,  with  whom  he  had  taken  possession  of  a  little  height  about  midway  in 
the  Swamp,  merely  to  command  the  avenue  by  which  we  proposed  to  march.    The  Colonel 

"See    'Pennsylvania  .■\rchives,"  656,  657.  661.  667,  632. 
tColonel  Franklin  states  that  Everett  was  a  New  Jerseyman. 
JSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives,  Old  Series,  X:  633. 


1410 

had  lain  there  some  hours,  believing  himself  to  be  perfectly  secure  (as  they  were  still  in  North- 
ampton County),  when,  without  any  provocation  on  his  part  or  previous  notice  on  theirs,  he 
was  fired  upon  by  the  insurgents,  driven  into  a  little  hut,  and  there  obliged  to  sustain  a  two  hours' 
attack  of  great  violence,  in  which  three  of  his  men  were  wounded  and  one  killed.  The  assailants 
then  withdrew  into  the  Swamp,  and  the  Colonel  retired  hither. 

"This  little  rencounter  would  have  been  much  more  equal  had  not  Moore  himself  been  ill 
of  a  fever,  and  his  party  so  much  dispersed." 

Upon  reading  the  foregoing  depositions  of  Colonel  Moore,  Harmon  Brink 
and  John  Stickafoos,  and  the  letter  of  Commissioners  Armstrong  and  Boyd, 
one  could  easily  conceive  that  the  Pennamites  gathered  at  Locust  Hill  were  on 
a  Sunday  School  excursion,  for  no  mention  is  made  in  those  documents  of  the 
fact  that  McDonald  and  his  men  were  supplied  with  fire-arms  and  ammunition, 
which  they  used  against  the  Yankees  as  effectively  as  the  circumstances  permitted. 
It  was  their  use  of  fire-arms  that  caused  the  fight  to  last  for  about  an  hour  and 
a-half.  They  defended  themselves  well,  and  the  Yankees  were  unable  either  to 
dislodge  them  from  Brown's  log  house,  or  to  force  them  to  surrender.  However, 
only  one  of  the  Yankee  party  was  wounded — Dr.  George  Minard*  being  shot 
in  one  of  his  legs. 

About  noon,  Captain  Swift  and  his  men  ceased  firing  at  the  Pennamites 
in  the  log  house  and  in  the  woods  beyond  (to  which  some  had  retreated),  and 
without  further  ceremony  marched  off  in  the  direction  of  Wyoming.  About 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  they  arrived  at  Emmons'  house  at  Bear  Creek, 
where  they  partook  of  food  which  had  been  prepared  for  them  in  advance  of 
their  coming.  Two  hours  later  they  again  took  up  their  line  of  march,  and  upon 
reaching  the  place  where  the}'  had  spent  the  preceding  Sunday,  they  bivouacked 
for  the  night.  Bright  and  early  the  next  morning  (August  3d)  they  set  off  for 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  they  arrived  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  hours. 

*His  name  frequently  appears  in  the  early  Wyoming  records  as  "Doctor  Minor"  and  "George  Minor."  His  sur" 
name  was  Minard.  and  he  was  probably  originally  of  New  London.  Connecticut,  a  descendant  of  William  and  Lydia 
(Richards)  Mynard-  (See  Caulkin's  "New  London",  page  354.)  In  1787  he  was  living  at  Manville,  Connecticut, 
and  through  his  son  Lemuel  he  lodged  with  the  Confirming  Commissioners,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  a  claim  for  certain  "original 
proprietor's"  rights  in  the  township  of  Newport, 

At  Wilkes-Barre.  under  the  date  of  June  12,  1793.  Col  Zebulon  Butler,  of  a  Committee  representing  The  Sus- 
quehanna Company,  certified  that  "George  Minard  was  one  of  the  first  200  settlers  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase, 
and  had  his  right  in  Wilkes-Barre;  but.  by  reason  of  absence,  lost  that  right  But,  by  order  of  the  Company,  he  is 
entitled  to  a  suffering  right,  to  be  taken  up  in  any  of  the  Proprietors'  townships"     (See  page  713,  Vol.  11.) 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

PENNSYLVANIA    MILITIA    REACH    WILKES-BARRK    FROM    EASTON— A    DISAS, 
TROUS  TRUCE  ARRANGED— HOSTILITIES  AGAIN  PROVOKED— SEVENTY- 
TWO  YANKEES  SENT  TO  THE  EASTON  AND  SUNBURY  JAILS— THE 
INJUSTICES  DONE  CONNECTICUT  SETTLERS  EXCITE  GENERAL 
INDIGNATION— JOHN  FRANKLIN'S  OATH— FORT  DICKIN- 
SON EVACUATED  BY  THE  HATED  ARMSTRONG  AND 
HIS    MILITIA,    THUS    ENDING    THE    SECOND 
PENNAMITE- YANKEE  WAR— GREAT  RE- 
JOICING AS  THE   SETTLERS  RAZE 
THE   FORT. 


"On  roUs  the  stream  with  a  perpetual  sigh ; 

The  rocks  moan  wildly  as  it  passes  by ; 

Hyssop  and  wormwood  border  all  the  strand. 
And  not  a  flower  adorns  the  dreary  land." 

Bryant. 


'This  hand,  to  tyrants  ever  sworn  the  foe. 
For  freedom  only  deals  the  deadly  blow ; 
Then  sheaths  in  calm  repose  the  vengeful  blade, 
For  gentle  peace  in  freedom's  hallowed  shade." 

Adams. 


Upon  the  departure  of  the  Yankees  from  Locust  Hill,  August  3,  1784, 
Colonel  Moore,  Captain  McDonald  and  their  Pennamite  associates  made  pre- 
parations to  march  back  to  Easton.  However,  upon  arriving  at  Sebitz's,  or 
Leam's,  they  ascertained  that  the  Northampton  County  militia,  who  were  to 


1412 

proceed  to  Wyoming  under  the  direction  of  Commissioners  Boyd  and  Armstrong, 
were  about  to  rendezvous  at  Sebitz's,  whence  they  would  begin  their  march  to 
Wilkes-Barre.  Whereupon  Colonel  Moore  decided  that  he  and  McDonald's 
band  would  remain  at  that  point  until  the  arrival  of  Boyd  and  Armstrong. 

The  reader  will  recall  that  the  Sunbur)'  Committee  of  Mediation  set  out 
from  Wilkes-Barre,  on  their  homeward  journey,  in  the  afternoon  of  August  1st. 
Thev  had  accomplished  about  half  their  journey,  when  they  met  David  Mead, 
Robert  Martin  and  Christian  Gettig,  Esquires,  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and  Col. 
Henrv  Antes,  Sheriff,  of  Northumberland  County,  on  their  way  to  Wilkes- 
Barre.  The  Committee  of  Mediation  retraced  their  way  and  journeyed  with 
Justice  Mead  and  his  party  hither,  where  they  all  arrived  late  in  the  afternoon 
of  August  2d.  The  next  day,  to  their  amazement,  they  learned  of  the  Locust 
Hill  fight,  which  had  taken  place  only  a  few  hours  before  their  arrival  at  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

After  looking  the  ground  over,  Justices  Hewitt,  Mead  and  Martin  served, 
on  August  5th,  the  following  notice  on  John  Franklin,  Phineas  Peirce,  Giles  vSlocum 
and  John  Swift,  as  representatives  of  the  Yankees.* 

"lu  obedience  to  our  instructions  from  the  Supreme  E.xecutive  Council  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  we  have  repaired  to  this  place,  and  find  two  parties  in  actual  hostilities.  There- 
fore, in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth,  we  command  you — and  that  without  delay — to  deliver 
to  us  the  arms  of  your  party,  together  with  such  a  number  of  your  men  as  we  shall  think  proper, 
to  put  in  charge  of  the  High  Sheriff  of  the  county  until  the  pleasure  of  the  Chief  Justice  in  this 
case  shall  be  known;  and  if  required,  those  that  remain,  to  be  bound  to  the  peace  and  good  be- 
havior, with  sufficient  security." 

Without  dela}'  Franklin  and  his  associates  replied  to  this  communication 
in  the  following  words: 

"We  received  yours  of  the  present  date  as  Magistrates,  and  as  such  we  revere  you  in  your 
exalted  sphere;  and  as  you  have,  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  made  a 
demand  for  our  arms,  we  declare  our  prompitude  to  comply  with  your  requisition.  We  shall 
rely,  Gentlemen,  upon  your  honors,  that  we  shall  have  the  benefits  of  the  laws  of  this  State  in 
all  respects  for  the  future — at  the  same  time  lamenting  the  neglect  of  the  law  in  times  past, 
which  has  been  the  occasion  of  all  the  hostilities  with  which  we  are  charged." 

The  same  day.  Justices  Martin,  Hewitt  and  Mead  sent  to  Fort  Dickinson, 
addressed  to  Alexander  Patterson,  B.  W.  Ball,  vSamuel  Read  and  Andrew  Hender- 
son, a  communication  reading  as  follows: 

"In  consequence  of  our  instructions  from  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  we  have  demanded  of  the  Connecticut  party  their  arms,  and  such  a  number  of 
their  men,  as  we  think  proper,  to  be  put  in  charge  of  the  High  Sheriff  of  the  County  until  the 
pleasure  of  the  Chief  Justice  in  the  case  shall  be  known;  and  those  that  remain  to  be  bound  to  the 
the  peace.  &c. — which  they  have  complied  with.  Therefore,  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth, 
we  demand  the  same  of  you  and  your  party;  also,  the  delivery  to  us  of  all  State  property,  and 
your  flag  lo  be  taken  down!" 

Colonel  Franklin,  in  his  "Brief",  makes  the  following  reference  to  the 
occurrences  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  August  5-7,  1784.  "The  Justices  informed 
us  that  they  were  clothed  with  authority  to  execute  the  laws  and  to  quell  all 
hostilities.  That  as  they  had  found  us  under  arms,  they  required  us  to  give 
up  our  arms  and  surrender  our  persons  submissive  to  the  laws  of  the  State,  and 
they  engaged  that  they  would  also  disarm  Patterson  and  the  Pennsylvania 
party  at  the  garrison,  and  that  our  possessions  should  be  restored  to  us  according 
to  law.  That  they  had  come  to  Wyoming  for  that  purpose.  We  complied 
with  their  requisitions  on  August  5th — gave  up  our  arms  and  surrendered  our 
persons. 

"The  Justices  proceeded  to  the  garrison,  accompanied  by  the  Sheriff  and 
the  Coroner.    They  returned  in  a  short  time  and  informed  us  that  Patterson 

*.See    Pennsylvania  Archives".  Old  Series.  X:  529. 


1413 

and  his  party  were  obstinate,  had  refused  to  surrender  themselves  to  the  .Sheriff 
(he  having  warrants  against  many  of  them),  or  to  give  up  their  arms.  We  de- 
manded protection  of  the  Justices,  offered  to  give  bail  for  our  appearance  at 
Court,  or  remain  in  the  custody  of  the  Sheriff,  if  required.  The  Justices  told  us 
that  we  had  complied  on  our  part;  that  the}'  were  fully  satisfied  with  our  peace- 
able disposition.  They  also  requested  us  to  cease  all  hostile  measures,  to  with- 
draw from  the  neighborhood  of  the  garrison  and  repair  to  our  several  houses, 
farms  and  possessions,  secure  the  grain  then  on  the  ground,  and  prepare  to  bring 
back  our  families. 

"They  also  informed  us  that  about  400  Northampton  militia  were  on  their 
march — or,  at  least,  had  collected  to  come — to  Wyoming  to  quell  the  disturb- 
ances, and  that  they,  the  said  Justices,  should  send  an  express  to  have  the  militia 
proceed  immediately;  that  Patterson  and  his  party  would  positively  be  taken 
and  dispersed  from  Wyoming;  that  when  the  militia  should  arrive  they  would 
undoubtedly  call  upon  us  to  assist  in  putting  the  laws  into  execution.  They 
also  advised  us  to  send  for  our  families  to  return  to  our  possessions,  &c.  We 
accordingly  dispersed  to  our  former  sei'eral  places  of  abode,  and  proceeded  seciirina 
the  '^rain,    dfc,   in  peace." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  August  6,  1784,  Justices  Hewitt,  Mead  and  Martin 
prepared  and  signed  a  communication  to  the  Supreme  E.xecutive  Council,  which 
read  as  follows:* 

"In  obedience  to  the  Instructions  of  Council  of  24th  July,  we  Repaired  to  this  Place  and 
found  the  Two  Parties  in  actual  Hostilities,  and  yesterday  made  a  Demand  of  the  Connecticut 
Party  a  Surrender  of  their  arms  and  submission  to  the  Laws  of  this  State,  which  they  Complyed 
with,  reference  being  had  to  the  Inclo.sed  papers. 

"We  also  made  a  Demand  of  the  same  nature  of  the  Party  in  the  Garrison,  but  have  Re- 
cei\ed  no  direct,  but  evasive,  answers — at  the  same  time  expressing  fear  of  their  lives;  in  reply 
to  which  they  were  promised  Protection  agreeable  to  Law  in  every  respect,  but  they  still  hold  the 
Garrison  and  have  not  Dispersed. 

"We  Believe  that  a  Due  execution  of  the  Laws  will  be  the  most  effectual  measure  to  Quiet 
the  Country.  As  to  the  Pretended  Claim  or  Title  of  the  Connecticut  Party,  we  have  nothing 
to  fear,  and  are  Convinced  that,  had  it  not  been  through  the  cruel  and  Irregular  Conduct  of  our 
Own  People,  the  peace  might  have  been  established  long  since,  and  the  Honor  and  Dignity  of 
Government  supported  as  well." 

This  document  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  who  immediate!}'  set  out  for  Philadelphia  by  way  of  the  Sullivan  Road 
and  Easton. 

The  next  day  (August  7th),  the  Justices  made  further  efforts  to  get  at  the 
Pennamites  in  Fort  Dickinson,  but  with  no  more  success  than  before — as  is 
shown  by  the  following  affidavits,  sworn  to  before  Justices  Mead  and  Martin, 
at   Wilkes-Barre,   August   7,    1784. 

"Charles  Manrow,  Constable,  doth  depose  and  say,  that  he  this  day  went  to  the  Garrison 
at  Wyoming,  or  as  near  as  he  could,  and  was  ordered  to  stand  by  Elisha  Cortright,  who  asked 
him  his  business.  When  this  deponent  replied  that  he  wanted  admission  to  the  Garrison  in  order  to 
serve  civil  processes  for  debt,  said  Cortright  replied  that  he  would  inform  Captain  Patterson  of 
his  business  that  he  might  have  an  answer.  He  (Manrow)  stood  there  a  few  minutes,  and  then 
received  orders  to  be  gone.  Delaying  a  little,  he  received  a  second  order  to  be  gone  immediately. 
He  accordingly  went,  being  afraid  to  make  any  further  attempt  to  serve  the  processes." 

"Samuel  Kerr  doth  depose  and  say,  that  this  day,  .soon  after  the  Constable  attempted  to 
serve  processes,  and  could  not  on  any  person  in  the  Garrison,  considering  himself  a  friend  of  theirs, 
at  the  request  of  the  Justices  went  to  the  Garrison  in  order  to  persuade  them  to  submission  to 
the  law,  and  to  admit  the  civil  officer  to  serve  process  therein;  and  after  using  many  arguments 
with  sundry  of  the  principal  men,  received  for  answer  by  Captain  [Preserved]  Cooley  that  Captain 
Patterson  desired  him  to  inform  this  deponent  to  go  home  about  his  business — if  any  he  had- 
that  no  person  should  be  admitted  into  the  Garrison." 
*See  "Pennsylvania  .Archives",  Old  .Series,  X:  6,^(1. 


1414 

Without  further  ado,  Justices  Mead  and  Martin  wrote  the  following  letter 
to  Commissioners  Boyd  and  Armstrong,  which  they  placed  in  the  hands  of  an 
express,  who,  the  same  day  (August  7th),  hurried  off  to  Easton. 

"We  are  sorry  to  have  occasion  to  write  to  you  on  so  disagreeable  a  subject  as  the  hostilities 
of  this  place.  We  have  dispersed  the  Connecticut  party,  but  our  own  people  we  cannot  [disperse]. 
Yesterday,  when  we  despatched  a  message  to  Council,  we  had  some  expectation  of  introducing 
the  laws  of  Government  here;  but  this  day,  when  a  civil  officer  attempted  the  service  of  legal 
process  on  persons  in  the  Garrison,  admission  and  service  were  denied — the  proper  depositions 
of  which  we  have  taken  in  order  to  transmit  them  to  the  Chief  Justice.  Therefore,  we  think 
it  our  indispensable  duty  to  request  you  to  come  forward  with  the  militia,  with  as  much  despatch 
as  possible!" 

Upon  the  refusal  of  the  Pennmites  in  Fort  Dickinson  to  yield  obedience 
to  the  demands  of  the  law,  the  Northumberland  magistrates  permitted  the 
Yankees  to  resume  their  arms  for  self  defence. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  Commissioners  Armstrong  and  Boyd. 
On  Sunday,  August  1,  1784,  they  arrived  from  Philadelphia  at  Easton,  where 
they  found  that  Colonel  Craig,  the  County  Lieutenant,  was  carrying  on,  under 
somewhat  discouraging  circumstances,  the  work  of  enlisting  the  Northampton 
militia  for  the  Wyoming  expedition.*  On  August  2d,  at  Easton,  the  Commissioners 
wrote  to  President  Dickinson,  as  follows: 

"In  our  haste  to  accomplish  some  part  of  the  preparatory  business  which  we  h.ave  taken 
upon  ourselves  we  have  only  time  to  inform  your  Excellency  &  Council  that  we  got  to  this  place 
early  on  yesterday  &  that  we  purpose  to  leave  it  early  on  to-morrow. 

"There  has  a  late  Account  been  received  from  Wyoming  which  left  them  in  almost  the  same 
situation  as  those  Accounts  we  saw  in  Philadelphia.  A  2d  summons  has  been  sent  to  Patterson, 
offering  Money  to  Him  &  his  followers,  if  they  surrender,  &  threatening  them  all  with  the  sword 
if  they  do  not.    Some  Women  &  one  Child  have  been  wounded  within  a  few  days. 

"We  propose  to  write  you  again  in  a  day  or  two — when  we  shall  be  better  able  to  determine 
the  temper  as  well  as  preparation  of  the  Troops  with  whom  we  are  to  act,  &  of  whom  our  accounts 
(at  this  moment)  are  not  the  most  promising." 

The  Commissioners  arrived  in  the  morning  of  August  4th,  at  Sebitz's,  where 
they  found  Colonel  Moore  and  his  party,  and  also  some  of  the  militia  who  had 
been  summoned  to  take  part  in  the  Wyoming  expedition.  During  that  day 
and  the  next  two  days  other  militia  arrived  at  the  rendezvous,  so  that  by  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  August  7th,  a  force  of  nearly  400  had  assembled.  On  the 
7th  Captain  Schott  arrived  at  Sebitz's,  en  route  to  Philadelphia  from  Wilkes- 
Barre,  with  the  letter  from  the  magistrates  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council, 
to  which  reference  has  heretofore  been  made.  The  Commissioners  opened  and 
read  this  letter,  and  then  prepared  the  following  letter  to  President  Dickinson, 
which  Captain  Schott  agreed  to  deliver  with  the  letter  which  he  had  brought 
from  Wyoming,  upon  his  arrival  at  Philadelphia. 

"Till  to-day  we  have  had  no  easy  mode  of  communicating  with  your  Excellency  nor  was 
our  intelligence  such  as  would  have  authorized  the  trouble  and  expense  of  employing  an  Express. 
We  are  this  morning  however  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  with  Captain  Schott  by  whom  we  must 
beg  leave  to  state  in  a  very  hasty  way  the  proceedings  which  have  already  been  taken  &  those 
we  have  it  in  contemplation  yet  to  take. 

"Upon  our  arrival  at  Easton  we  found  neither  the  temper  nor  preparation  of  the  militia 
such'  as  we  had  expected  to  find  them.    The  first  (to  which  no  service  would  be  very  acceptable) 

*Muster-rolls  of  two  of  the  companies  that  took  part  in  this  expedition  have  been  preserved.  (See  "Pennsylvania 
Archives",  Second  Series,  XIV.  589,  590  ) 

(1)  "Muster  RoU  of  Capt.  John  Van  Etten's  company  of  the  5th  BattaUon  of  Northampton  County  MiHtia, 
commanded  by  Col.  Nicholas  Kern,  on  the  expedition  to  Wyoming,  1784.  Captain,  Johannes  Van  Etten;  Lieutenant, 
ComeUus  Decker:  Sergeants,  Jacob  Decker,  Adam  Shenk  and  Jasper  Edwards;  Corporals.  Lodwick  Hover  and  Abraham 
Decker;  Privates  [twenty-one  in  number,  among  whom  were],  Andrew  Dingman,  James  Van  Etten,  Gideon,  Levi, 
David  and  Cornelius  Cortright,  Benjamin  and  Ehjah  Decker,  Gilbert,  Moses  and  Alexander  Van  Gorden,  David  and 
James  Vanaken,  and  Peter  Quick."     All  the  officers  and  men  of  this  company  were  enlisted  for  service  July  31,  1784. 

(2)  "Muster  Roll  of  Capt.  Lewis  Stecher's  company  of  the  6th  Battalion  of  Northampton  County  Militia,  now 
in  the  service  at  Wyoming,  commanded  by  Col.  Nicholas  Kern,  commandant.  Captain.  Lewis  Stecher;  Ensign,  George 
Gross;  Sergeants,  John  Knouss  and  George  Neighhard;  Corporal,  John  Deets;  Privates  [twenty-eight  in  number,  and, 
judging  by  their  names,  all  Pennsylvania  Germans]. 

"August  20,  1784.  Mustered  then  Capt.  Lewis  Stecher's  company  of  Northampton  County  Militia,  as  specified 
in  the  above  roll.  [Signed]         "Philip  Shkawder,  Deputy  Muster  Master." 

All  the  officers  and  men  of  Stecher's  company  were  enlisted  for  service  on  either  July  30  or  31 ,  1784. 


141,5 

had  been  particularly  set  against  this  by  the  agency  of  some  fellows  who,  with  influence  enough 
to  mislead  the  people,  have  had  wickedness  enough  to  misrepresent  the  object  &  intentions  of 
Government.  We  everywhere  met  the  following  objections:  'That  it  was  the  quarrel  of  a  sett 
of  Land  jobbers;  that  the  whole  Country  was  not  worth  the  life  of  a  single  man,  or  the  labor  of 
the  many  who  were  now  called  out  to  quiet  it;  &  that  they  were  drawn  forth  not  merely  to  supi)ort 
the  laws,  but  to  extirpate  the  whole  race  of  Connecticut  claimants  &c.  &c.' 

"Idle  and  absurd  as  these  objections  were,  &  much  as  Colonel  Craig  &  others  had  exerted 
themselves  to  obviate  them,  yet  such  was  their  effect  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  that  not 
more  than  one-third  of  the  number  warned  appeared  at  the  place  of  Rendezvous — &  among 
these  but  very  few  declared  themselves  to  be  perfectly  willing  to  go  farther.  Disagreeable  as 
we  felt  this  want  of  disposition,  it  was  not  however  more  unpromising  than  their  almost  total 
want  of  preparation.  Out  of  70  men  who  came  from  the  6th  Northampton  Battalion,  there 
were  but  40  who  had  brought  their  arms — accoutrements,  kettles,  &c.,  &c.,  there  were  none. 

"This  must  have  necessarily  produced  a  delay,  had  one  not  arisen  from  another  source. 
Colonel  Craig,  having  in  the  first  instance  counted  upon  a  more  exact  compliance  with  his  orders 
than  they  afterwards  met,  had  made  a  vgry  extensive  arangement  of  three  detachments,  which 
were  to  move  by  different  routes  very  widely  apart  &  entirely  out  of  reach  of  each  other.  This 
supposed  that  each  would  be  equal  if  not  superior  to  the  whole  force  of  the  insurgents,  which 
your  Excellency  will  find  generally  stated  at  250  or  300  men.  We  need,  therefore,  enter  into 
the  reasoning  which  induced  us  to  alter  this  plan,  &  instead  of  committing  ourselves  by  detail, 
to  bring  the  whole  force  to  some  advanced  point,  from  which  we  might  operate  as  contingency 
would  direct.  This  place,  which  entirely  commands  the  entrance  of  the  Swamp,  was  thought 
the  most  proper  for  this  purpose,  &  we  have  accordingly  drawn  them  hither. 

"In  this  situation  an  account  of  the  half  finished  negotiation  of  the  Northumberland  Magis- 
trates has  found  us.  We  could  wish  it  had  been  more  compleat.  but  from  some  private  evidence 
which  we  shall  soon  be  at  liberty  to  communicate,  we  are  led  to  apprehend  that  the  principles 
upon  which  it  has  been  conducted  were  neither  very  fair  to  individuals  nor  honorable  to  the 
State,  &  cannot,  therefore,  be  either  very  lasting  or  satisfactory.  Some  part  of  this  opinion  we 
have  formed  upon  the  magistrates  own  letter  to  your  Excellency,  which  we  took  the  liberty  to 
open  and  which  we  again  enclose.  We  propose,  therefore,  to  proceed  immediately  and  endeavor 
to  execute  the  further  intentions  of  Council.  We  shall  move  the  troops  at  sunset,  and  hope  to 
get  through  the  Swamp  at  daybreak  to-morrow." 

About  sunset,  on  Saturday,  August  7th,  the  Pennamite  forces,  headed  by 
Commissioners  Armstrong  and  Boyd,  began  their  march  for  Wyoming  from 
Sebitz's.  INIacDonald's  Locust  Hill  party  formed  part  of  the  command,  but 
Lieut,  Colonel  Moore  proceeded  to  Philadelphia  in  company  with  Captain  Schott. 

As  the  Commissioners  set  off  on  their  march,  they  sent  forward  an  express, 
bearing  letters  addressed  to  the  Pennamites  in  Fort  Dickinson  and  the  Con- 
necticut settlers  in  Wyoming,  and  stating  (according  to  Colonel  Franklin,  in 
his  "Brief")  "that  thej^  (the  Commissioners)  were  on  their  way  to  Wyoming 
clothed  with  authority  from  Government  as  Commissioners  of  Peace,  to  quell 
disturbances,  repress  violence  from  whatever  quarter,  establish  order,  and  restore 
the  reign  of  Law;  that  they  should  do  the  most  perfect  and  impartial  justice; 
that  the  innocent  should  meet  with  protection,  and  the  guilty  be  brought  to  punish- 
ment. They  demanded  an  immediate  cessation  of  hostilities  and  the  surrender 
of  the  arms  of  both  parties." 

On  their  way  through  the  Great  Swamp,  the  Commissioners  were  met  bv 
the  express  from  Wilkes- Barre  bearing  the  request  from  Justices  Mead  and  Martin 
to  the  Commissioners  "to  come  forward  with  the  militia,  with  as  much  despatch 
as  possible."  In  consequence,  the  march  of  the  little  army  was  quickened, 
and  it  reached  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  of  Sundav,  August 
8th.  Proceeding  down  Northampton  Street  to  the  River  Common,  it  deployed 
before  the  wooden  walls  of  Fort  Dickinson. 

A  formal  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort  being  made  bv  the  Commis- 
sioners, it  was  complied  with  forthwith,  and  thereupon  detachments  of  the 
Northampton  militia  were  put  in  possession  of  the  fort  and  the  neighboring 
block-houses.    The  same  day  the  Commissioners,  at  their  request,  were  furnished 


1416 


by  Alexander  Patterson  and  his  lieutenants  with  a  document  reading  as  follows:* 
"List  of  the  Men  who  have  been  shut  up  in  the  Garrison  at  Wyoming  with  the  Subscribers 

and  the  Numbers  of  Arms  &  ammunition  Public  &  private  property. 

Luke     Brodhead,  Gabriel  Ogden  William  McKinney 

James  Melvin  George  Tanner,  Junr.  William  Miller 

Daniel  McLaskey  Joseph  Montanye  Alex.  Hoover 

Joseph  Cavana  James  Covert  Abm.  Hammond 

Joseph  Marshall  John  Potman  Alex.  Strickland 

Abm.  Courtright  James  Johnson  Jacob  Van  Horn 

Elisha  Courtright  Ehpm.  Van  Norman  George  Yoman 

John  Courtright  Isaac  Van  Norman  John  Pinsell 

Ezekiel  Schoonover  John  Van  Norman  Daniel  Swartz 

Peter  Cousan  Henry  Wynn  Joseph  Biggers 

Saml.  Vangorden  Obadiah  Walker  John  Boreland 

Enos  Randle  Jacob  Woodcock  George  Tanner 

Laurence  Kinney  Richard  Woodcock  Edward  Cavana 

Garrett  Shoemaker,  Jun.  James  Culver  Garrett  Shoemaker 

Jacob  Tillbury  Isaiah  Culver  James  Stagg 

Abraham  Tillbury  Preserved  Cooley  Richard  Savage 

Peter  Stagg  Peter  Taylor  Laurence  Osbourne 

Jacob  Cramer  Silas  Taylor  Patrick  Dunlevey 

Jacob  Klyne  Ebenezer  Taylor  Joseph  King 

David  McCartney  Benj.  Hillman  Nicholas  Brink 

John  Lasley  John  Hillman  Juba 

Robert  Clark  William  Sims 

"2  Kour-Pounders State  Property. 

1  Swivel ditto 

1  Wall  Piece Private  property. 

98  stand  of  arms Public  property. 

33  stand  of  Arms Private  property. 

1  Box  of  Cartridges State  property. 

"We  the  subscribers  do  Certify  upon  our  Honor,  that  the  above  is  an  exact  and  true  Return 

of  the  Men,  arms  &  ammunition  that  were  in  Fort  Dickinson  on  the  arrival  of  the  Commissioners 

from  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  at  this  place. 

[Signed]  "Alexander  Patterson 

"Blackall  W.  Ball 
"Samuel  Read 

"Wyoming,  August  8,  1784.  "Andrew  Henderson." 

The  attention  of  the  reader  is  drawn  to  the  fact  that  several  of  the  men 
whose  names  appear  in  the  foregoing  list  of  Pennamites  had  served  during  the 
Revolutionary  War,  as  privates  either  in  Captain  Spalding's  Westmoreland 
Independent  Company  (see  page  980,  Vol.  II)  or  in  Capt.  John  Franklin's 
company  of  Connecticut  Militia,  stationed  at  Wilkes-Barre  (see  pages  1229 
and  1230,  Vol.  II) — some  of  them  being  as  follows:  John  Borelen  or  Boreland, 
Preserved  Cooley,  Abraham  Tillbury,  Jacob  Tillbury,  Isaac  Van  Norman, 
Obadiah  Walker  and  Richard  Woodcock. 

Colonel  Franklin,  writing  about  the  surrender  of  Fort  Dickinson,  said: 
"It  was  reported  to  us  that  Patterson  and  the  other  rioters  at  the  Garrison  were 
all  made  prisoners;  that  they  would  either  be  committed  to  gaol,  or  required 
to  give  security  for  their  appearance  at  Court;  that  they  were  to  be  sent  from 
Wyoming,  and  that  the  Yankees  who  had  been  forcibly  dispossessed  of  their 
property  were  to  be  reinstated  in  their  possessions.  I  suspect  that  at  this  time 
Patterson  and  his  host  of  rioters  entered  bail  for  their  appearance  at  Court  to 
answer  the  indictments  for  'riot,  assault  and  false  imprisonment'  of  sundry 
inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  which  indictments  had  been  found  at  the  Court  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer,  held  at  Sunbury  in  June,  1784t. 

"The  next  day"  [to  wit,  August  9th],  continues  Colonel  Franklin,  "Messrs. 
Armstrong  and  Boyd,  through  the  medium  of  Robert  Martin  and  David  Mead, 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series.  X:  321, 

t-^t  Wilke.s-BarTe,  August  12.1 784.  in  pursuance  of  written  direction  that  day  received  from  Chief  Justice  McKean- 
Justice  John  Seely  delivered  to  Sheriff  Henry  Antes  of  Northumberland  County  a  list  of  all  the  indicted  Pennamites 
(thirty-eight  in  number)  who  had  entered  bail  before  him  the  said  Seely. 


1417 

Esquires,  requested  me  to  call  all  the  Connecticut  party  to  assemble  under  arms.  I 
wished  to  know  the  occasion  for  this,  and  Messrs.  Giles  Slocum  and  Simon  Spalding 
had  an  interview  on  the  subject  with  Mead  and  Martin,  who  stated  that  Arm- 
strong and  Boyd  had  communicated  to  them  that  they  were  clothed  with  au- 
thority from  Government,  and  had  instructions  to  disarm  both  parties  who  had 
been  under  arms  at  Wyoming;  that  they  had  already  disarmed  Patterson  and 
his  part}^  and  laid  them  under  sufficient  security  to  answer  for  the  crimes  alleged 
against  them;  that  they  were  fully  satisfied  with  our  good  conduct  and  peaceable 
disposition  in  laying  down  our  arms  and  showing  our  submission  to  the  Justices 
on  August  5;  that  they' (Armstrong  and  Boyd),  however,  wished  for  an  ocular 
demonstration  of  our  submission,  that  they  might  make  a  favorable  report  to 
Government,  and  had  pledged  their  honor  that  not  any  advantage  should  be 
taken  of  our  assembling;  that  they  should  require  us  to  lay  down  our  arms; 
that  some  of  our  leading  characters  who  had  warrants  against  them  would  be 
required  to  give  bail  for  their  appearance  at  Court — in  which  case  they  should 
not  have  any  difficulty  with  respect  to  securing  bail ;  that  our  arms  would  posi- 
tively be  restored  to  us  within  ten  days;  that  we  should  be  reinstated  in  our 
possessions  according  to  law,"  &c. 

Captain  Spalding  and  Giles  Slocum  having  reported  to  John  Franklin 
the  result  of  their  interview  with  Justices  Mead  and  Martin,  Franklin  and  the 
other  Yankee  leaders  held  a  conference,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  Yankees 
should  assemble  with  their  arms  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  morning  of  August  10th. 
"I  gave  notice  to  Armstrong  and  Boyd",  writes  Colonel  Franklin,  "that  we 
should  meet  at  a  certain  place  named  at  ten  o'clock  the  same  da}',  to  comply 
with  their  requisition,  but  I  wished  an  interview  with  them  previous  to  laying 
down  our  arms.  This  was  granted,  and  I  waited  on  them  at  the  Garrison  and 
requested  to  know  the  reason  for  their  requisition.  They  gave  the  same  in- 
formation that  Mead  and  Martin  had  given — that  no  advantage  would  be  taken 
of  our  resigning  our  arms,  &c.,  that  there  were  warrants  against  four  of  our 
leading  characters,  who  would  be  required  to  give  bail  for  their  appearance  at 
Court;  that  the  others  would  be  set  at  liberty,  our  arms  would  be  restored  to 
us  within  ten  days,  and  that  the  Justices  of  the  County  would  proceed  to  execute 
the  laws  for  forcible  entry  and  detainer,  and  restore  us  to  our  possessions." 
At  this  interview,  Franklin  delivered  to  Commissioners  Armstrong  and  Boyd 
a  list  of  the  Yankees  in  Wyoming  who  had  borne  arms  during  "the  late  outrages." 
This  list  is  printed  in  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  638,  and  with 
some  corrections  in  spelling,  and  a  change  to  an  alphabetical  arrangement, 
it  reads  as  follows: 

Abbott,  Joel  Cook,  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  Robert 

Alden.  Mason,  Fitch  Cook,  Reuben  Hurlbut,  John 

Alden,  Prince,  Jr.  Corey,  Joseph  Hebard.  William 

Baldwin,  Waterman  Cole,  Leonard  Halstead.  Richard 

Butler,  Lord  Cary,  Nathan  Hyde,  William 

Budd,  Frederick  Cary.  Samuel  Inman,  Edward 

Blanchard,  Benjamin  Comstock,  Peleg  Inman,  John 

Blanchard,  Laban  Drake,  Elisha  Inman,  Richard 

Bennett,  Ishmael  Franklin,  John  Johnson,  Ebenezer 

Bennett,  Elisha  Fuller,  John  Jenkins,  John,   Jr. 

Burnham.  Asahel  Gore,  Avery  Jacques,  William 

Bennett,  Ishmael,    Jr.  Gore,  John  Jenkins,  William 

Brown,  Cornelius  Gaylord,  Justus  Jackson,  William 

Brown,  James  Harding.  Elisha  Jones,  William 

Burwell,  Jonathan  Heath,  Thomas,  Jr.  Jenkins,  Benjamin 

Church,  Gideon  Harris,  Elisha  McClure,  William 


1418 

Minard,  George  Roberts,  Sale  Stoddard,  Thomas 

Nesbitt,  Abram  Rosecrance, Sullivan,  Daniel 

Neill,  Thomas  Read,  Thomas  Stiles.  Joseph 

O'Neal,  John  Ryon,  John  Sill,  Moses 

Peirce,  Phineas  Swift,  John  Tyler,  Joseph 

Peirce,  Daniel  Slocum,  Giles  Underwood,  Timothy 

Phelps,  Joel  Slocum,  William  Wade,  Nathan 

Phelps,  Noah  Satterlee,  Elisha  Westbrook,  Abraham 

Pell,  Josiah  Stephens,  Phineas  White,  Jeremiah 

Pike,  Abraham  Smith,  Benjamin  Walker,  Nathaniel 

Platner,  John  Smith,  William,  Jr.  (Total    S^) 

Ross,  William  Spencer,  Walter  '     " 

Again  taking  up  Colonel  Franklin's  narrative  of  the  occurrences  of  August 
10th,  we  have  the  following:  "I  returned  from  my  interview  with  Messrs.  Arm- 
strong and  Boyd  and  informed  our  party  as  to  what  had  taken  place.  They 
were  fully  satisfied.  We  met  at  the  hour  and  place  appointed.  Armstrong  and 
Boyd,  accompanied  by  about  400  militia,  appeared  a  short  distance  from  us. 
We  marched  into  an  open  field*  and  grounded  our  arms,  then  marched  from 
them  a  small  distance,  paraded  in  form,  and  halted.  The  militia  surrounded  us, 
and  Colonel  Armstrong  ordered  them  to  advance  and  take  up  our  arms.  Then 
Colonel  Armstrong  addressed  himself  to  us  in  a  sovereign  manner,  to  the  effect 
that  we  must  consider  ourselves  his  prisoners.  Upon  viewing  the  militia  I 
found  that  the  party  [of  Pennamites]  from  the  Garrison,  who  had  driven  oif 
our  families,  and  who  we  expected  were  prisoners,  were  paraded  under  arms  to 
guard  us.  We  were  soon  after  marched  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Garrison,  to  the 
tune  of  'Yankee  Doodle',  played  by  the  drummers  and  filers  of  the  militia." 

Colonel  Armstrong,  on  horseback,  took  up  his  position  "in  imposing  state," 
facing  the  Yankee  prisoners,  and  then  ordered  his  Adjutant  to.  call  oS  the  names 
composing  the  list  of  those  who  had  borne  arms  during  "the  late  outrages;" 
which  list,  as  previously  mentioned,  had  been  delivered  to  Colonel  Armstrong 
by  Colonel  Franklin.  When  the  Adjutant  called  the  name  of  a  man  who  was 
known  to  Armstrong  as  having  been  a  member  of  the  Locust  Hill  party,  Arm- 
strong nodded  his  head  towards  Giles  Slocum's  housef,  whither  the  man  was 
immediately  sent  under  guard;  and  when  the  name  was  called  of  one  who  had 
not  been  at  the  Hill — so  far  as  known  to  the  Pennamites — Armstrong  nodded 
towards  Col.  Zebulon  Butler's  housej,  whither  the  man  was  sent — and  so  on, 
imtil  all  the  names  had  been  called  and  the  men  who  responded  had  been  duly 
divided  off. 

Colonel  Franklin  had  not  designated  the  men  of  the  Locust  Hill  party  on 
his  list,  and  their  names  were  not  all  known  to  the  Pennamites.  Moreover,  sev- 
eral of  the  party  who  were  known  to  the  Pennamites  as  having  been  at  the  Hill, 
did  not  put  in  an  appearance  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  August  10th — their  names 
being  as  follows:  John  Swift,  Ishmael  Bennett,  Jr.,  FHsha  Satterlee,  Phineas 
Stephens,  Moses  Sill  and  George  Minard  (who  was  still  disabled  by  the 
wound  which  he  had  received).  In  consequence,  it  came  about  that  only  thirty 
of  the  "Hill"  party  were  consigned  to  the  Slocum  house,  their  names  being: 
Joel  Abbott,  Prince  Alden,  Jr.,  Waterman  Baldwin,  Lord  Butler,  Jonathan 
Burwell,  Gideon  Church,  Nathaniel  Cook,  Joseph  Corey,  John  Gor< ,  Justus 
Gaylord,  Elisha  Harding,  Thomas  Heath,  Jr.,  Elisha  Harris,  John  Hurlbut, 
Richard  Hallstead,  Edward  Inman,  William  Jenkins,  Benjamin  Jenkins,  William 

*The  place  was  a  large  level  field  lying  between  Old  River  Road  and  Careytown  Road  (now  Carey  Avenue)  in 
the  present  Twelfth  Ward  of  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre.  This  locality  was  chosen — undoubtedly  by  the  YanJjeeS — 
because  it  was  somewhat  remote  from  Fort  Dickinson. 

tOn  River  Street,  just  above  South  Street.     A  few  years  later  it  was  the  home  of  William  Slocum. 

t.^t  the  comer  of  River  and  Northampton  Streets. 


1419 

Jackson,  Abram  Nesbitt,  Abraham  Pike,  John  Plainer,  William  Ross,  Thomas 
Read,  William  Slocum,  Walter  Spencer,  Thomas  vStoddard,  Daniel  Sullivan, 
Jeremiah  White  and  Nathaniel  Walker. 

So  far  as  the  present  writer  knows,  the  names  of  only  a  few  of  the  forty- six 
men  who  were  consigned  to  the  Butler  house  have  been  preserved.  They  are: 
John  Franklin,  Giles  Slocum,  Phineas  Peirce,  John  Jenkins,  Jr.,  Ebenezer  Johnson, 
John  Inman,  Richard  Inman,  Nathan  Can,',  Samuel  CarA^  Josiah  Pell  and  Robert 
Hopkins. 

Colonel  Franklin,  writing  about  the  imprisonment  of  the  Yankees  on  this 
occasion,  stated:  "Thirty,  who  had  been  in  the  action  at  Locust  Hill,  were 
confined  in  a  house  owned  by  Mr.  Slocum;  while  myself  and  some  forty  others 
were  confined  in  the  house  of  Colonel  Butler — both  of  which  had  been  occupied 
as  part  of  the  Garrison.  We  were  all  robbed  of  our  knives,  while  the  Locust 
Hill  party — so  called — were  immediately  put  in  irons.  The  house  of  Colonel 
Butler,  in  which  more  than  forty  were  confined,  was  full  of  human  excrement 
and  all  manner  of  filth,  having  been  occupied  by  a  large  number  of  Patterson's 
party  as  a  block-house  during  the  siege.* 

"Yet  however  numerous,  we  were  compelled  to  lie  down  in  the  filth,  with 
sentinels  set  over  us,  and  suffered  to  rise  during  the  night  only  under  penalty 
of  death.  The  doors  and  windows  were  made  fast,  and  there  was  no  avenue 
for  fresh  air.  We  were  kept  without  food  for  twenty-four  hours,  our  friends 
not  being  suffered  to  bring  us  either  food,  drink  or  clothing.  In  a  word,  during 
the  confinement  of  the  prisoners  at  Wyoming  they  were  treated  in  the  most 
cruel  and  barbarous  manner.  They  suffered  with  hunger  and  were  suffocated 
in  a  nauseous  prison  for  the  want  of  fresh  air,  and  were  insulted  by  a  banditti 
of  ruflSans.  The  prisoners  [in  the  Butler  house]  were  not  even  suffered 
to  go  out  of  their  house  for  the  term  of  nine  days  to  perform  the  most  necessary 
calls  of  Nature. 

"The  first  night  of  our  confinement  small  parties  of  militia  were  sent  through 
the  settlement,  who  made  prisoners  of  all  the  Connecticut  party  they  could 
find,  whether  they  had  been  under  arms  or  not.  Armstrong  and  Boyd  had  also 
pledged  their  honors  that  those  who  were  our  enemies  should  not  be  set  to  guard 
us;  but  their  honor  proved  a  cheat  in  that  case,  for  our  enemies  were  set  over 
us  with  our  own  rifles,  to  guard  and  insult  us.  The  second  day  (August  II th) 
of  our  confinement,  near  night,  we  were  furnished  with  a  scant  half  meal  of 
bread  and  beef.  The  next  day  following,  John  Franklin,  Ebenezer  Johnsonf, 
Phineas  Peirce  and  Giles  Slocum  were  admitted  to  bail  (entering  security  for 
their  appearance  at  the  next  term  of  Court  at  Sunbury),  and  were  released  from 
confinement.  They  (Armstrong  and  the  others  in  authority)  refused  to  take 
bail  for  any  of  the  other  prisoners." 

It  may  be  stated,  on  the  testimony  of  FUsha  Harding  and  others  of  the 
Locust  Hill  party,  that  the  men  who  were  confined  in  the  Slocum  house  were 
treated  with  the  same  degree  of  severity  as  the  men  in  the  Butler  house,  with 
the  exception  that  their  imprisonment  lasted  for  a  shorter  time. 

During  the  9th,  10th,  11th  and  12th  days  of  August,  Justices  John  Seely 
and  Henry  Shoemaker  were  kept  busy  at  Wilkes-Barre  taking  the  depositions, 
under  oath,  of  twenty-five  or  more  Pennamites,  relative  to  certain  alleged  seditious 

♦From  about  the  middle  of  May  until  late  in  November,  or  early  in  December,  1 784,  Colonel  Butler  was  absent 
from  Wyoming  Valley — for  the  greater  part  of  the  time  being  with  his  wife  at  her  former  home  in  New  York  State. 
t-Vo/  Jehoiada  Pitt  Johnson,  as  stated  by  Miner  in  his  "Historj'  of  Wyoming",  page  356. 


1420 

language  and  acts  of  a  number  of  Wyoming  Yankees.  These  depositions  are 
printed  in  full  in  Vol.  X  of  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  and  the 
following  extrabts  from  some  of  them  will  give  the  reader  a  good  view — at  least 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  Pennamites — of  some  of  the  goings  on  here  at  that 
period. 

James  Landon,  aged  thirty-four  years,  deposed  as  follows: 

"That  John  Franklin  and  John  Jenkins  several  times  lately,  with  Joel  Phelps,  had  ordered 
this  deponent  to  move  out  of  the  house  he  lived  in  since  last  Spring  in  Shawanese  Township, 
for  that  they  would  suffer  no  one  to  live  in  this  country  who  would  not  join  them.  That 
Elijah  Phelps  and  one  [Frederick]  Budd,  about  three  weeks  ago  (July  20,  1784],  came  to 
deponents  house  and  took  away  his  rifle  gun  (threatening  that  if  he  did  not  let  them  have  it 
they  would  taken  ten  times  the  value  of  it),  and  also  his  powder-horn  and  about  one-half  pound 
of  powder  and  ten  or  twelve  bullets;  and  they  said  they  intended  to  disarm  the  Pennamites. 
"That  about  an  hour  afterwards  deponent  went  to  John  Franklin  and  told  him  about  his 
gun  being  taken  from  him.  With  Franklin  there  was  one  Richard  Inman,  who  .said  to  deponent: 
'If  you  will  join  us  you  shall  have  your  gun.'  That  Franklin  told  him  (the  deponent)  he  should 
not  have  his  gun — neither  did  he  ever  get  it  again — and  said  he  must  either  go  and  join  those  at 
the  Fort  [Dickinson],  or  get  out  into  the  country,  and  added:  'By  the  eternal  God!  if  we  have  to 
storm  the  Garrison  we  will  sacrifice  every  man  we  find  therein  that  has  taken  up  arms  against 
us.'  *  *  *  That  whilst  the  Fort  was  being  besieged  deponent  heard  Caleb  Forsythe  say  that 
if  the  Pennsylvanians  were  so  stubborn,  and  would  not  deliver  up  the  Fort,  they  would  be  put 
to  the  sword,  and  he  did  not  know  whether  they  would  spare  women  and  children.  And  deponent 
heard  Waterman  Baldwin  say  that  if  they  could  not  hold  the  lands  at  Wyoming  by  law,  they 
would  by  force  of  arms." 

John  King,  of  Kingston  Township,  deposed  as  follows: 

"That  on  August  6,  1784,  William  Jacques  came  to  the  house  of  deponent  with  John  Swift, 
William  Slocum  and  Elisha  Satterlee,  and  gave  him  notice  that  he  should  move  out  of  his  house 
and  begone  off  the  premises  and  leave  the  place  in  two  days,  or  that  they  would  burn  the  house 
down,  or  words  to  that  effect;  and  then  they  gave  a  great  shout  and  rode  off.  That  on  this  Uth 
day  of  August,  deponent,  with  Abraham  Goodwin  [his  son-in-law],  was  riding  along  the  road 
coming  to  Wyoming,  when  a  man,  whose  name  deponent  has  since  been  informed  is  Timothy 
Underwood,  was  standing  by  a  house  where  one  Woodworth  lives.  He  was  armed,  having  a 
rifle  with  him  belonging  to  Abraham  Goodwin,  Upon  Goodwin  calling  to  Underwood  to  bring 
to  him  the  rifle — which  Goodwin  said  was  his — Underwood  made  no  answer,  but  put  the  rifle 
to  his  shoulder  and  presented  [aimed]  it  at  Goodwin  and  this  deponent;  whereupon  they  put 
themselves  on  the  defence,  and  Underwood  perceiving  it,  went  behind  the  house  and  ran  off." 

Henry  Birney,  aged  forty-four  years,  deposed  as  follows: 

"About  the  beginning  of  July  [1784]  deponent,  living  in  Shawanese  Township  in  said  county, 
saw  John  Swift,  Elisha  Satterlee,  William  Jacques,  and  a  number  of  other  persons,  and  at  different 
other  times,  pass  along  the  road  near  where  this  deponent  lives,  with  arms  in  their  hands,  .to  and 
fro  to  what  they  called  headquarters,  about  a  mile  distant  from  his  house.  That  this  deponent 
had  frequent  conversation  with  Swift  and  Satterlee  and  one  Joel  Phelps,  who  had  ordered  him 
often  to  go  out  of  his  house,  and  threatened  that  if  he  did  not  go  away  and  move  into  the  Fort 
they  would  abuse  him  by  beating  him,  &c. — insomuch  that  he  was  afraid  of  his  life. 

"That  Daniel  Peirce  and  others  frequently  told  deponent  that  they  intended  to  storm  the 
Fort  where  the  Pennsylvanians  were,  if  they  did  not  deliver  it  up  in  a  few  days;  and  that  the  Penn- 
sylvanians in  the  Fort  must  abide  by  the  consequences  if  they  were  stormed  therein.  That 
Daniel  Peirce,  Elisha  Satterlee  and  others  swore  that  they  were  determined  to  clear  the  ground 
at  Wyoming  [Wilkes-Barre].  and  the  other  settlements  in  the  vicinity,  of  the  Pennsylvanians, 
for  they  would  not  suffer  any  of  them  to  remain  thereon." 

Isaac  Taylor,  deposed  as  follows: 

"That  on  August  S,  1784,  he  heard  Phineas  Stephens  say  that  if  the  Connecticut  claimants 
could  not  now  obtain  their  lands  they  would  lie  in  ambush  and  fight  as  long  as  they  lived.  I 
likewise  heard  one  Abraham  Pike  swear  by  his  Maker  (on  hearing  of  Ezekiel  Schoonover  coming 
into  Shawnee)  that  he  would  shoot  said  Schoonover.  I  told  Mr.  Schoonover  of  said  Pike's  design, 
and  he  kept  out  of  his  way.    This  was  done  by  Pike  this  day — August  10." 

Mary  Long  deposed: 

"That  on  August  4,  1784,  Benjamin  Harvey  said  I  should  move  out  of  my  house.  If  I 
did  not,  the  Yankees  would  set  it  on  fire.  I  likewise  heard  a  number  of  the  Connecticut  people 
say  that  if  the  lands  at  Wyoming  were  not  given  back  to  them,  they  would  fight  as  long  as  there 
were  three  of  them  living." 

John  Kraun,  deposed  as  follows : 

"On  Saturday,  August  7,  he  heard  Leonard  Cole  say  they  had  sought  for  law  these  nine 
months,  but  could  find  none,  and  were  now  determined  to  find  law ;  also,  that  it  was  against  the 
orders  of  Government  to  keep  a  fortification,  and,  if  it  [Fort  Dickinson]  was  not  demolished, 


1421 

they  would  demolish  it  and  would  likewise  take  Alexander  Patterson,  for  he  deserved  to  be  torn 
to  pieces  by  horses.  On  Monday  following  deponent  heard  Nathaniel  and  Reuben  Cook  say  they 
had  killed  but  few,  and  would  give  them  another  Indian  blast." 

Thomas  Brink,  deposed  as  follows: 

"That  about  July  30,  1784,  he  was  at  the  house  of  Lucy  Harvey,  at  the  lower  end  of  Shaw- 
anese  Flats,  in  company  with  Jonathan  Marsh,  where  also  was  one  Benjamin  Harvey;  and  said 
Harvey,  speaking  of  the  laws  of  Connecticut  Government  and  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
comparing  them  with  one  another,  got  up  in  a  rage  and  damned  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  and  them 
that  made  them.  That  four  or  five  days  ago  (August  7  or  8)  a  certain  Reuben  Cook,  in  this 
deponents  house  at  Shawanese,  told  him  that  the  houses  standing  near  the  hill  on  the  Shawanese 
Flats  must  be  pulled  down,  for  they  should  not  stand  there — and  in  particular,  James  Benscoter's 
house,  for  neither  he  nor  his  family  should  stay  there. 

"That  some  time  last  week  (August  6  or  7]  the  High  Sheriff  of  said  County,  Henry  Antes, 
Esq.,  having  three  other  persons  in  company  with  him,  passing  by  this  deponent's  house  stopped 
there  to  feed  his  horse.  Deponent,  desirous  to  know  how  matters  were  like  to  go  on,  asked 
a  few  questions  of  Sheriff  Antes,  who  informed  deponent  that  he  had  ordered  the  New  England 
people  to  take  their  arms  and  go  to  their  possessions,  and  take  care  of  their  grain  and  grass,  for 
that  people  were  not  to  stand  still  and  be  killed;  that  there  was  to  be  no  more  turning  out  of 
houses  by  either  party,  but  matters  wer-  to  be  decided  by  Law.  The  Sheriff  said  that  the  people 
here  (and  the  deponent  apprehended  that  by  'the  people'  he  meant  those  in  the  Fortj  had  a 
wrong  apprehension  of  the  militia  that  were  coming  up  to  their  assistance,  for  that  they  (the 
militia)  were  coming  up  to  put  the  Law  in  force;  that  two  Justices  had  been  left  at  Wyoming, 
and  another  would  be  sent  immediately,  and  that  would  make  a  Quorum." 

Jonathan  Marsh,  deposed  as  follows : 

"That  about  August  7,  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Brink,  in  Shawanese  Township,  he  heard 
Henry  Antes  say  that  he  had  ordered  the  Yankees  to  come  home  and  take  their  respective  pos- 
sessions as  heretofore,  and  ordering  them  to  go  to  harvesting  the  grain  and  cutting  the  hay;  and 
further,  he  said  he  had  ordered  the  Yankees  to  take  their  arms,  for  men  were  not  to  stand  still 
and  be  killed.  That  a  short  time  after  the  scrummage  of  Locust  Hill,  in  Northampton  County, 
deponent  heard  Thomas  Heath,  Jr.,  and  Ishmael  Bennet,  Jr.,  boasting  and  laughing,  and  said 
that  they  were  there  themselves;  that  they  came  on  the  Pennsylvauians  in  three  parties,  and 
approached  very  nigh  them  before  the  Pennamites  saw  them,  and  fired  on  them  and  left  eight 
of  the  Pennsylvanians  on  the  ground  to  keep  possession." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  August  10,  1784,  President  Dickinson 
wrote  to  Commissioners  Armstrong  and  Boyd,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  as  follows*: 

"We  have  received  your  Letter  by  Captain  Schott,  and  are  in  Hopes  that,  when  the  In- 
surgents are  convinced  of  the  determined  Resolution  of  the  Government  to  insist  upon  a  due 
submission  to  the  authority  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  they  will  desist  from  further  violences. 

"As  soon  as  they  are  in  that  Disposition,  you  will  please  to  have  the  proper  legal  steps 
taken,  that  those  who  have  disturbed  the  Peace  (of  whatever  party  they  are)  may  be  rendered 
answerable  for  their  Conduct.  It  shall  be  our  Endeavour,  as  it  is  our  Duty,  to  impress  this 
Principle,  that  it  is  extreme  folly  for  men  to  expect,  they  shall  promote  their  real  Interests  by  a 
Contempt  for  the  Laws  of  their  Country. 

"The  Fortifications  at  Wyoming  we  would  have  leveled  and  'otally  destroyed,  &  the  Cannon 
and  arms  removed  to  Sunbury,  &  there  safely  deposited." 

This  letter  was  brought  to  Wilkes-Barre  bj^  an  express,  who  reached  here 
on  Saturday,  August  14,  1784.  On  that  day,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Robert  ^Martin, 
Esq.,  one  of  the  Northumberland  County  Justices  of  the  Peace,  hereinbefore 
mentioned,  wrote  the  following  letterf  to  Gen.  James  Potter  and  Col.  William 
Montgomery,  the  two  Northumberland  County  members  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Council  of  CensorsJ.  Justice  Martin  forwarded  the  letter  to  Messrs.  Potter 
and  Montgomery,  then  at  Philadelphia,  by  the  hands  of  Ebenezer  Johnson. 
"I  beg  leave  to  give  you  a  detail  of  matters  at  this  place.  I  must  confess  I  am  much  dis- 
appointed as  to  the  conduct  of  the  Commissioners,  to  wit:  Captain  Boyd  and  Colonel  Armstrong. 
Esquire  Mead  and  myself  repaired  to  this  place  in  obedience  to  our  instructions  from  the  CouncU. 
*  *  ■*  At  our  arrival  we  found  that  both  the  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut  parties  had  actual- 
ly proceeded  to  hostilities,  which  we  are  well  assured  began  a  few  mUes  from  the  Garrison  on 
Shawnee  Plains  about  July  20  last.  Which  party  first  began  the  fire  at  that  time  we  cannot  with 
certainty  say;  but  we  view  both  parties  guilty  of  hostilities.  It  can  be  proved  that  previous 
to  this  numbers  of  the  Connecticut  party  had  been  fired  upon  by  the  other  party,  when  they 
were  about  their  lawful  business. 

"Soon  after  we  came  to  this  placfe  we  called  on  the  Cormecticut  party,  in  the  name  of  the 
Commonwealth,  to  lay  down  their  arms  and  submit  themselves  to  the  laws;  which  they  accord- 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  307. 

tSee  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  357. 

JSee  later  mention  for  fuller  references  to  this  body. 


1422 

iiigly  did,  and  at  the  same  time  declaring  their  willingness  at  all  times  to  be  law  abiding.  We 
accordingly  made  a  demand  of  the  like  nature  on  Patterson  and  his  party.  Their  answer  was 
that  they  would  comply,  but  said  they  would  every  one  be  murdered  by  the  Connecticut  party. 
We,  in  answer  to  them,  said  we  did  not  apprehend  the  least  danger  from  their  opponents,  as  they 
had  solemnly  engaged  to  us  they  would  not  molest  or  hurt  one  of  them  on  any  pretense  whatever. 
We  further  assured  them  that  we  would  not  ask  them  to  deliver  their  arms  to  us  before  we  put 
the  arms  of  the  Connecticut  party  on  board  the  boat*,  within  sight  of  the  Garrison — but  all 
our  arguments  and  proposals  were  to  no  purpose. 

"Then,  as  we  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  would  not  be  prudent  to  disarm  one  party  and  not 
the  other,  we  returned  to  the  Connecticut  party  and  informed  them  that  they  were  at  liberty 
to  take  up  their  arms  and  disperse,  and  go  to  their  habitations  about  their  lawful  business;  which 
we  believe  they  did.  Our  proposals  to  both  parties  were,  that  if  they  would  submit  to  the  laws 
and  deliver  up  their  arms  to  us,  we  would  put  as  many  of  the  leading  men  of  both  parties,  as 
we  should  see  proper,  in  custody  of  the  Sheriff,  to  be  taken  to  Sunbury. 

"Had  these  proposals  been  complied  with  by  Patterson  and  his  party,  we  should  have  had 
no  use  for  the  Commissioners  or  the  militia — which  plan  we  thought  most  likely  to  answer  the 
objects  of  Government  and  quiet  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  at  the  same  time  we  would'  be 
acting  up  to  our  instructions  from  Council. 

"We  had  solemnly  engaged  to  the  Connecticut  party  that,  on  their  submission,  they  should 
have  equal  justice  with  the  other  party,  and  the  benefit  of  the  Law — which  engagement  we  made 
known  to  the  Commissioners  on  their  arrival,  who  approved  of  our  conduct,  and  assured  us 
that  they  had  been  sent  here  to  do  complete  justice,  without  distinction  of  parties.  This  gave 
us  the  highest  expectations  that  matters  would  soon  be  settled  in  such  a  manner  as  would  do 
honour  to  Government;  but  to  our  astonishment,  no  sooner  had  the  Connecticut  party  yielded 
themselves  prisoners  and  laid  down  their  arms  to  the  Commissioners,  than  they  were  marched 
under  a  strong  guard,  and  crowded  into  two  small  houses,  unfit  for  the  reception  of  any  human 
being.  At  the  same  time,  to  the  great  mortification  of  those  prisoners,  and  contrary,  as  they  say, 
to  the  promise  of  the  Commissioners,  they  were  insulted  by  the  other  party,  with  their  arms  in 
their  hands — which  we  think  by  no  means  accords  with  the  declaration  of  the  Commissioners, 
that  they  were  sent  here  to  do  complete  justice. 

"It  appears  very  clear  to  us  that  the  proceedings  now  at  this  place  are  carried  on  in  so  unfair, 
partial  and  unlawful  a  manner,  that  we  despair  of  establishing  peace  and  good  order  in  this  part 
of  the  country;  therefore,  for  my  own  part,  I  think  it  not  prudent  to  act  for  the  future  in  my  office 
unless  properly  supported,  as  we  are  very  sure  nothing  short  of  law,  impartially  distributed 
without  distinction,  will  restore  peace  and  quiet  the  minds  of  the  people  in  this  place. 

"Sorry  we  are,  and  with  reluctance  we  mention  the  partial  proceedings  here  by  the  officers 
of  Government;  but  at  the  same  time  we  think  it  our  indispensable  duty  to  bear  testimony  against 
them.  We  are  much  alarmed  at  the  horrid  abuse  of  power  lodged  in  the  hands  of  designing  and 
biased  men.  We  fear  eventually  it  may  bring  on  an  intestine  war  between  the  States — to  pre- 
vent which  we  hope  the  authority  of  Pennsylvania  will  execute  justice  to  every  citizen  thereof. 
The  Connecticut  party  have  generally  declared  themselves  as  such  by  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  this  State,  as  directed  by  law. 

"God  forbid  that  I  should  have  any  desire  or  inclination  to  favor  the  Connecticut  party  or  their 
claims!  I  can  honestly  declare  that  I  should  be  as  well  pleased  to  see  them  legally  removed 
from  this  place  as  any  man  in  the  State,  as  my  interest  here  is  under  the  Pennsylvania  right.  It 
must  appear,  to  every  one  acquainted  with  this  circumstance,  that  it  is  much  to  my  interest  to 
have  them  dispossessed. 

"I  again  say,  that  I  have  nothing  in  view  respecting  the  unhappy  disputes  here  but  to  do 
equal  justice  to  every  person,  as  I  hope  my  conduct  will  at  all  times  stand  the  test,  and  I  be 
esteemed  a  faithful  servant  to  the  Government.  Gentlemen,  you  may  make  what  use  you  please 
of  this  letter,  either  public  or  private." 

On  the  same  day  that  the  foregoing  letter  was  written,  preparations  were 
completed  at  Wilkes-Barre  to  march  the  thirty  Locust  Hill  men  to  the  jail  of 
Northampton  County,  at  Easton,  distant  sixty-five  miles,  via  the  Sullivan  Road. 
The  prisoners,  still  handcuffed,  were  formed  in  column  of  twos,  and  between 
each  two  were  placed  the  same  number  of  militia  men.  All  were  bound  together 
by  a  long  rope  running  from  the  head  to  the  rear  of  the  column,  and  they  were 
flanked  on  both  sides  by  a  strong  guard  of  armed  militia,  with  bayonets  fixed. 

When  they  were  ready  to  take  up  the  line  of  march,  Colonel  Armstrong 
gave  orders  to  the  guards  that,  if  any  one  prisoner  should  attempt  to  make  his 
escape,  the  whole  body  of  prisoners  should  be  put  to  death  immediately,  and  the 
Government  would  "indemnify"  the  guards  for  such  procedure.  Notwith- 
standing these  orders,  and  all  the  precautions  taken  by  the  guards,  three  of 
the  captives  escaped  while  en  route  to  Easton,  and  were  not  recaptured — Joel 

*To  be  taken  down  the  river  to  Sunbury. 


Thu  Start  of  the  Yankee  Prisoners  to  Easton,  (17S-)) 


1423 

Abbott  and  Waterman  Baldwin,  by  superior  activity,  escaping  at  .Sebitz's, 
or  Learn's,  and  William  Ross  taking  French  leave  at  Heller's. 

The  remaining  twenty-seven  unfortunates  were  safely  conducted  to  their 
destination  and  lodged  in  jail,  where  they  were  confined  together  in  two  small 
rooms.  The  Easton  jail  of  that  period  was  a  two-story  stone  structure,  which 
had  been  erected  about  1753,  and  stood  on  the  east  side  of  South  Third  vStreet, 
near  the  present  Pine  Street.  The  daily  rations  of  the  Yankee  prisoners  were 
limited  to  one  pound  of  bread  per  man,  and  a  modicum  of  water;  "but",  wrote 
(in  1838)  EHsha  Harding,  who  was  one  of  the  prisoners,  "I  must  record  the 
generosity  of  a  Jew,  Michael  Hart  by  name,  who,  by  Jewish  custom,  was  taught 
to  feed  the  poor.  Every  Friday  he  sent  two  young  women  to  the  jail  with  two 
wooden  vessels  filled  with  fresh  beef  soup  and  with  beef  and  bread — a  very 
comfortable  meal.  He  has  been  long  dead,  but  his  memory  will  live  with  me 
while  I  have  life." 

On  August  19th,  the  forty-two  Yankees  who  had  been  confined  in  the  house 
of  Colonel  Butler  for  nine  Gays  were  taken  out,  bound  together  with  ropes,  in 
a  team,  and  marched  off  down  the  river  to  Sunbury  jail,  under  a  strong  guard 
of  militia,  commanded  by  Col.  Nicholas  Kern,  of  Northampton  County.  Lieut. 
John  Armstrong  (see  page  1347)  was  one  of  the  subordinate  officers  of  this 
military  escort. 

Colonel  Franklin  states  that  vSheriff  Antes  proposed  at  Wyoming  to  take 
charge  of  all  the  prisoners  who  were  to  be  sent  to  Sunbury,  and  be  accountable 
for  them,  but  was  not  permitted  to  do  so. 

At  Sunbury,  under  the  date  of  Sunday,  August  22,  1784,  Colonel  Kern 
wrote  to  Colonel  Armstrong,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  as  follows*: 

"I  have  to  inform  you  of  my  arrival  at  this  place  with  the  prisoners  under  my  command. 
Yesterday  morning  Josiah  Pell  and  another  made  their  escape;  the  remainder  I  delivered  to 
Sheriff  Antes,  called  the  roll,  and  saw  them  put  in  prison.  The  Sheriff  said  the  prisoners  were 
now  under  his  care.  A  few  minutes  after  I  saw  many  of  the  prisoners  at  liberty,  and  this  morning 
when  I  went  to  the  gaol  I  found  eleven  of  the  number  I  delivered  absent.  Inclosed  you  have 
their  names.  You  have  much  to  fear  from  those  men,  as  I  presume  they  are  gone  to  Wyoming. 
I  march  to-morrow  for  Northampton." 

At  Sunbury,  on  August  23,  1784,  Capt.  William  Wilson,  Lieutenant  of 
Northumberland  County,  wrote  to  Colonel  Armstrong,  as  follows: 

"The  prisoners  arrived  here  yesterday,  and  after  they  were  delivered  into  the  Sheriff's 
custody  he  gave  them  permission  to  go  at  large,  which  alarmed  the  inhabitants  exceedingly. 
One  of  the  magistrates  last  evening  ordered  them  to  be  closely  confined,  and  ten  of  them  are 
missing  this  morning.  There  are  a  number  of  the  prisoners  now  at  the  Sheriff's  house,  and  I 
have  the  greatest  reason  to  imagine  that  he  has  paroled  some  of  them.  In  consequence  of  an 
application  from  the  most  respectable  people  here,  I  have  ordered  a  Sergeant's  guard  to  be  mount- 
ed at  the  gaol.  This  step  I  hope  will  meet  with  your  approbation,  as  the  present  condition  of  the 
gaol  is  such  that  it  renders  a  measure  of  that  nature  indispensably  necessary." 

Immediately  upon  receipt  of  the  two  foregoing  letters.  Colonel  Armstrong 
despatched  them  to  President  Dickinson,  accompanied  by  a  letter  reading  as 
f  ollowst : 

"The  enclosed  letters  contain  some  intelligence  very  closely  connected  with  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  this  unfortunate  country;  and  which,  if  I  may  hazard  an  opinion,  will  deserve 
the  immediate  attention  of  Government.  I  have,  therefore,  despatched  them  to  your  Excellency 
by  express. 

"The  whole  of  the  militia  has  been  dismissed  some  days  since,  and  your  Excellency's 
orders  concerning  the  zi'orks,  arnjs  &c.,  executed.  These  events,  you  will  readily  conceive,  have 
left  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  in  a  very  disagreeable  situation;  which,  joined  to  the  conduct, 
will  induce,  I'm  afraid,  to  a  very  general  desertion  of  the  countrj-,  or,  what  is  perhaps  more  to  be 
dreaded,  an  immediate  appeal  to  arms.  I  would  only  further  observe  to  your  Excellency  that 
*S€e  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  654. 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  653. 


1424 

the  hands  which  have  been  already  loosed  by  the  vSheriff  are  among  the  most  dangerous  of  the 
whole  number;  and  that  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  they  will  be  joined  to  those  of  [John] 
Swift  and  [Joel]  Abbott  before  this  letter  can  reach  Philadelphia. 

"Enclosed  is  a  list  of  those  persons  who  have  attached  themselves  to  the  fortunes  of  those 
two  desperate  villains  [Swift  and  Abbott],  and  are  now  collected  at  Bowman's  Creek." 

With  respect  to  two  of  the  matters  treated  of  in  the  foregoing  letter,  we  would 
say:  (1)  Although  President  Dickinson,  in  pursuance  of  a  vote  of  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council,  had  ordered  that  Fort  Dickinson  and  the  block-houses  ad- 
joining it  should  be  "leveled  and  totally  destroyed",  yet  Commissioners  Arm- 
strong and  Boyd  had  not  strictly  carried  out  those  orders,  but  had  ef- 
fected the  demolition  only  of  the  block-houses  and  a  small  part  of  the  fort. 
(2)  About  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Commissioners  Armstrong  and  Boyd,  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  John  Swift,  Ishmael  Bennett,  Jr.,  IJlisha  Satterlee,  Phineas  Steph- 
ens, Moses  Sill,  George  IMinard,  William  McClure  and  one  or  two  others,  who  had 
been  members  of  the  Locust  Hill  party,  retired  up  the  Susquehanna  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Bowman's  Creek,  twenty-six  miles  from  Wilkes-Barre.  There 
they  were  joined,  later,  by  Joel  Abbott,  Waterman  Baldwin  and  William  Ross, 
upon  their  escape  from  the  custody  of  the  Northampton  militia  while  en  route 
to  Easton.  Some  days  later  other  Yankees,  who  had  been  active  in  the  hostil- 
ities against  the  Pennamites,  attached  themselves  to  the  Bowman's  Creek  partv. 

Captain  Boyd  was  temporarily  in  Philadelphia  when  Colonel  Armstrong 
wrote  the  last-mentioned  letter  to  President  Dickinson,  and  on  August  27th  the 
latter,  before  he  had  received  the  letter  in  question,  wrote  to  Colonel  Armstrong 
that  it  was  the  sense  of  the  Council  that,  until  further  measures  could  be  pursued, 
"the  wheat  lately  reaped  on  the  disputed  lands  should  be  secured  for  the  use 
of  the  persons  who  sowed  the  same";  and  Colonel  Armstrong  was  directed  to 
"immediately  give  strict  directions  for  this  purpose." 

Three  days  later,  having  received  Colonel  Armstrong's  letter  and  enclosures. 
President  Dickinson  wrote  to  him,  as  follows: 

"We  have  received  your  Letter  of  the  24th  Instant  with  the  inclosures,  &  have  this  Day 
put  them  into  the  Hands  of  a  Committee  of  the  General  Assembly. 

"That  Committee  is  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  in  a  Bill  to  prevent  any  In- 
terruption by  suit  of  Certiorari,  or  other  writ,  to  legal  proceedings  for  restoring  forthwith  to  the 
persons  who  w-ere  violently  dispossessed  in  May  last  the  Lands  &  Tenements  which  they  then 
occupied. 

"This  Measure  is  adopted  in  Conformity  to  the  sentiments  of  the  Board  &  the  Chief  Justice, 
as  well  as  of  the  Legislative  Branch  of  government,  and  the  Insurgents  may  be  convinced,  by 
considering  the  circumstances  existing  at  the  Time  when  it  was  adopted,  that  nothing  but  a 
Regard  for  Equity  has  prompted  it.  If  they  repeat  their  violences,  they  will  at  length  render 
themselves  answerable  to  public  Justice  for  so  many  oiTences,  that  they  must  expect  a  very  different 
Treatment,  which  it  is  in  the  Power  of  this  Commonwealth  to  inflict  at  the  Instant  when  it  is 
in  her  Inclination. 

"We  therefore  desire  that  you  will  order  the  men  who  are  collected  at  Bowman's  Creek 
immediately  to  disperse;  &  to  inform  them  and  others  what  will  be  the  Consequences  to  them- 
selves if  they  continue  to  disturb  the  Peace  of  the  State. 

"Captain  Boyd  proposes  to  set  off  for  Wyoming  in  a  Day  or  two,  who  will  bring  more  particu- 
lar Intelligence." 

On  the  same  day  (August  30,  1784)  that  this  letter  was  written,  the  Yankee 
prisoners  in  the  jail  at  Sunbury  were  released  under  bail,  and  they  returned 
to  Wyoming  Valley  as  expeditiously  as  possible.  Colonel  Franklin  states  that 
several  of  them  upon  arriving  here  "were  fired  upon  by  the  Pennsylvania  party, 
and  were  obliged  to    fly  from    Wyoming" — undoubtedly  to  Bowman's  Creek. 

At  Philadelphia,  September  7,  1784,  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  considered 
"the  subject  of  reinsta^ting  those  tenants  in  Northumberland  County  who" 
had  been  forcibly  dispossessed  of  their  lands;  whereupon  it  was  resolved  that 
"the  President  and  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  be  requested  to  appoint 


1425 


Commissioners  to  obtain  the  most  exact  Jcnowledge  they  can  get  of  the  names 
of  the  widows  and  children  of  such  persons  as  were  lately  settled  at  or  near 
Wyoming,  and  who  have  fallen  fighting  against  the  savages;  and  also  of  all 
such  others  as  did  actually  reside  on  the  lands  at  or  nea'r  Wyoming  when  the 
Trenton   Decree  was  given."     *     *     * 

On  September  9th  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  "took  into  consideration 
the  resolutions  of  the  General  Assembly, 
authorizing  them  to  appoint  Commis- 
sioners to  proceed  to  Wyoming  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  the  most  exact 
knowledge  possible  of  the  claims  of  the 
people,"  and  resolved  that  the  Hon. 
John  Boyd,  Lieut.  Col.  John  Armstrong, 
Jr.,*  Lieut.  Col.  James  Read,  and  John 
Okely,  Esq.,  be  appointed  Commis- 
sioners for  carrying  into  execution  the 
said  resolutions — any  two  of  the  Com- 
missioners being  empowered  to  act  in  the 
premises.  On  September  10th  President 
Dickinson  wrote  to  these  gentlemen  as 

follows : 

"You  will  perceive  by  the  resolutions  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  7th  instant,  and  our  .\ct 
of  yesterday,  inclosed,  that  you  are  appointed 
Commissioners  for  executing  a  Trust  of  Great  Im- 
portance. Relying  on  your  Integrity,  Prudence 
&  Zeal  for  the  public  interest,  we  shall  only  say 
that  we  wish  the  business  may  be  soon  completed. 
It  may  be  of  considerable  use  if  you  could  obtain 
a  list  of  the  names  of  those  persons  not  claiming 
under  Pennsylvania  who  have  settled  at  or  near  Wyoming  since  the  Decree  made  at  Trenton."  *  *  * 

*JoHN  Armstrong,  Jr.,  was  bom  at  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  November  25,  1758,  the  youngest  son  of  John  .Arm- 
strong, Sr.  The  latter  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1725,  and,  coming  to  this  country  prior  to  1748,  settled  in  that  part  of 
Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  which  in  January,  1750,  became  Cumberland  County.  His  name  first  appears  in 
the  annals  of  Cumberland  County  as  that  of  a  surveyor  under  the  Proprietary  Government.  As  noted  on  page  259 
Vol.  I,  he  was  not  only  a  surveyor,  but  a  member  of  the  Provincial  .Assembly,  in  1 754.  He  was  also,  about  that  period, 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  an  IJlder  in  the  first  Presbyterian  Church  organized  in  Carlisle.  The  town  of  Carlisle,  the 
county-seat  of  Cumberland  County,  having  been  laid  out  in  1751,  was,  together  with  its  adjacent  lands,  resurveyed  in 
1  762  by  John  .Armstrong. 

As  early  as  the  Spring  of  1756  John  Armstrong,  Sr.,  held  a  Commission  as  Lieut.  Colonel  of  the  First  Battalion 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  and  in  August,  1756,  he  was  selected  to  command  an  expedition  against  the  Indian 
town  of  Kittanning,  in  what  is  now  Armstrong  County,  Pennsylvania — which  county  was  erected  in  March,  1800, 
and  named  for  John  .Armstrong,  Sr.  Kittanning  was  the  headquarters  of  "King"  Shingas  and  "Captain  Jacobs"  of 
the  western  Delawares,  and  the  Indians  who  resorted  there  were  chiefly  Delawares  and  Shawanese  who  were  friendly 
to  the  French.     (See  note  "J"  on  page  ."526,  Vol.  I.) 

Armstrong's  expedition  marched  from  Fort  Shirley,  in  what  is  now  Huntington  County,  .August  30,  1756,  and 
consisted  of  307  men.  .Among  the  Captains  in  command  of  companies  was  Hugh  Mercer,  mentioned  in  the  note  on 
page  361,  Vol.  I.  Early  in  the  action  at  Kittanning  Mercer  was  wounded  in  the  arm,  but  was  carried  off  by  some  of 
his  men  to  a  point  of  safety:  while  later  in  the  day  Colonel  .Armstrong  was  wounded  in  his  shoulder  "by  a  large 
mu3ket-ball."  The  Indians  were  defeated,  and  those  who  were  not  killed  were  dispersed,  while  their  town  was 
destroyed.  Colonel  .Armstrong's  official  report  concerning  this  expedition  is  printed  in  full  in  "Frontier  Forts  of 
Pennsylvania",  II:  453,  and  is  complete  and  interesting. 

On  account  of  this  victory,  the  Common  Council  of  Philadelphia,  on  January  5.  1757.  addressed  a  complimentary 
letter  to  Colonel  Armstrong,  thanking  him  and  his  officers  for  their  gallant  conduct,  and  in  addition  presented  him 
with  a  piece  of  plate.  .A  silver  medal  was  also  struck  by  order  of  the  Council,  bearing  on  the  obverse,  in  addition  to 
an  appropriate  sculptured  design,  the  legend:  "Kittanning  destroyed  by  Colonel  Armstrong,  September  8,  1756." 
On  the  reverse  of  the  medal  the  arms  of  the  corporation  were  shown,  with  this  inscription;  "The  gift  of  tile  corporation 
of  Philadelphia."  These  medals  were  presented  to  Armstrong  and  all  the  commissioned  officers  of  his  expedition. 
A  small  sum  of  money  was  also  presented  to  each  officer.  In  June,  1779,  a  stockaded  fort  was  erected  at  Kittanning 
by  order  of  the  Continental  authorities,  and  was  named  Fort  .Armstrong  in  honor  of  Colonel  (then  Brig.  General) 
Armstrong. 

Lieut.  Colonel  Armstrong  was  promoted  and  commissioned  "Colonel  commanding"  the  "First  Battalion  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Regiment",  December  2,  1757,  and  the  same  day  Capt.  Hugh  Mercer  was  promoted  Lieut.  Colonel  of 
the  battalion.  As  to  some  of  the  military  activities  of  Colonel  Armstrong  in  1  763,  see  pages  426  and  427,  Vol.  I.  He 
appears  to  have  been  always  ready,  in  those  perilous  times  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  to  go  on  the  war-path 
against  the  inimical  Indians.  That  he  had  no  particular  love  for  them  is  shown  by  a  letter  to  Governor  Penn  of  Penn- 
sylvania, which  he  wrote  at  Carlisle  in  February,  1768.  It  was  undoubtedly  called  forth  by  the  .Act  of  Assembly  men- 
tioned on  page  447,  Vol  I,  and  it  read  in  part  as  follows:  "They  [the  inhabitants!  tell  us  that  the  Government  always 
manifest  a  greater  concern  at  the  killing  or  death  of  an  Indian  than  at  the  deatli  or  killing  of  any  of  them  [the  in- 
habitants]; tJjat  the  Indians  first  break  the  peace,  and  have,  since  the  last  establishment  thereof,  kUled  a  considerable 


Brig.  Gen.  John  Armstrong,  Jr. 

From  a  portrait  in  oils  in  the  War  Department, 
Washington,  D.  C. 


1426 

number  of  Pennsylvanians  at  different  times  and  places,  and  that  no  lamentation  has  been  made,  nor  exertion  of  the 
power  of  Government  to  bring  those  savage  butchers  td  account." 

Colonel  Armstrong  was,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Corres- 
pondence of  Cumberland  County.  He  was  commissioned  a  Brigadier  General  by  the  Continental  Congress.  March 
1,  1776,  being  the  first  officer  of  that  rank  to  be  commissioned  by  the  Congress.  It  having  been  resolved  by  Congress 
in  the  Summer  of  1775  that  a  certain  number  of  Brigadier  Generals  for  the  Continental  army  should  be  appointed  and 
commissioned,  Washington,  at  his  headquarters  in  Cambridge.  Massachusetts,  wrote  to  the  Congress  on  August  23, 
1775,  relative  to  the  appointment  of  these  officers,  as  follows:  "Col.  John  Armstrong  of  Pennsylvania  *  *  *  served 
during  the  last  war  in  most  of  the  campaigns  to  the  southward,  was  honoured  with  the  command  of  the  Pennsylvania 
forces,  and  his  general  military  conduct  and  spirit  [were  ]  much  approved  by  all  who  served  with  him;  besides  which 
his  character  was  distinguished  by  an  enterprise  against  the  Indians  which  he  planned  with  great  judgment  and  ex- 
ecuted with  equal  courage  and  success.  It  was  not  till  lately  that  I  had  reason  to  believe  he  would  enter  again  on 
publick  service." 

Colonel  Armstrong  was  in  Philadelphia  when  he  was  appointed  and  comm  ssioned  Brigadier  General,  and  having 
accepted  the  appointment  and  received  his  commission  on  March  2nd  he  was  directed  by  the  President  of  Congress 
to  repair  immediately  to  South  Carolina  to  take  command  of  the  Continental  troops  there.  In  August,  1776,  General 
.\rrastrong  was  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  He  resigned  his  commission  April  4,  1777,  and  the  next  day  was  ap- 
pointed a  Brig-  General  of  the  Pennsylvania  militia.  In  the  following  October  he  commanded  the  Pennsylvania  militia 
engaged  in  the  battle  of  the  Brandyvvine.  He  also  commanded  them  at  the  battle  of  Germantown.  At  this  time 
he  also  heM  the  office  of  Lieutenant  of  Cumberland  County.  January  9,  1778,  he  was  promoted  Major  General  of 
the  Pennsylvania  mihtia,  and  served  in  that  rank  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  a  Delegate  from  Pennsylvania 
in  the  Continental  Congress  in  the  years  1778-'80.     He  died  at  Carlisle,  March  9,  1795. 

John  Armstrong,  Jr..  in  the  Summer  of  1775.  being  then  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  his  life  and  a  student  at  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  (Princeton),  enlisted  in  the  regiment  of  Pennsylvania  militia  commanded  by  Col.  James  Potter 
of  Northumberland  County.  Later  in  the  same  year  he  served  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Canada  Expedition  and  at  Quebec. 
The  next  year — in  June  or  July — he  became  an  aide-de-camp  to  Brig.  Gen.  Hugh  Mercer  (see  page  361.  Vol.  1),  with 
the  rank  of  Major,  and  served  as  such  until  Mercer's  death,  January  3,  1777.  He  was  then — ^about  March,  1777 — 
made  an  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Horatio  Gates,  and  was  with  him  until  the  close  of  the  campaign  against 
Burgoyne  (which  ended  at  Saratoga.  October  17,  1777),  and  during  the  ensuing  Winter  and  the  next  Spring. 

When  in  the  Summer  of  1780,  General  Gates  was  appointed  by  Congress  to  the  command  of  the  Southern  army. 
Armstrong  accompanied  him  as  his  Adjutant  General  and  served  in  that  capacity  until,  by  reason  of  the  ignominious 
defeat  of  Gates  by  Comwallis  near  Camden,  South  Carolina.  August  15,  1780,  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene  was  appointed 
to  supersede  Gates.  Armstrong  then  became  Greene's  Adjutant  General,  with  the  rank  of  Major.  Gates  lost  his 
laiu-els  by  his  defeat,  and  was  compelled  to  undergo  a  trial  by  court-martial;  but,  having  been  acquitted  in  1782  of  the 
charges  upon  which  he  had  been  tried,  he  was  given  a  command  suitable  to  his  rank,  and  Armstrong  again  became  a 
member  of  his  staff,  still  with  the  rank  of  Major. 

Under  the  date  of  October  15.  1782.  Major  Armstrong,  being  then  in  Philadelphia,  applied  to  the  Supreme  Execu- 
tive Council  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Council,  In  his  application  (see  "Pennsylvania  Archives", 
Old  Series,  IX:  650)  appeared  the  following  paragraph:  "I  am  sufficiently  aware  that  I  stand  unsupported  by  any 
claim  which  another  applicant  may  not  urge  with  equal  propriety.  My  pretensions  rest  chiefly  upon  my  attachment 
to  the  State  and  my  reverence  for  the  Government.  To  these  I  may  add  (and  perhaps  to  some  effect)  a  long,  unre- 
warded service  in  the  field — convinced  that  to  a  patriotic  Council  the  claims  of  a  soldier  can  neither  be  offensive  nor 
indifferent." 

At  that  time  the  main  body  of  the  American  army  was  encamped  along  the  Hudson  in  the  neighborhood  of  New- 
burgh,  New  York,  at  which  place  Washington  maintained  his  headquarters  until  the  army  was  disbanded  in  November, 
1783.  Throughout  the  Winter  of  1782-'83  the  conditions  in  the  country  were  full  of  danger.  There  was  no  assurance 
that  the  war  would  not  be  renewed,  and  it  was  necessary  still  to  maintain  the  army.  The  patience  of  the  soldiers  had 
been  marvelous;  but  now  that  peace  was  believed  to  be  at  hand  they  were  growing  weary  of  want  and  penury.  The 
officers  had  been  promised  half-pay  for  life,  by  a  resolution  of  Congress  passed  in  1780,  but  no  move  had  been  made 
to  carry  out  the  pledge.  In  fact,  Congress  had  done  nothing  for  the  claims  of  the  army,  and  it  seemed  highly  probable 
that  it  would  be  disbanded  without  even  a  settlement  of  the  accounts  of  the  officers. 

Alarmed  and  irritated  by  the  neglect  of  Congress;  destitute  of  money  and  credit,  and  of  the  means  of  living  from 
day  to  day,  and  oppressed  with  debts,  the  Continental  officers  presented  a  memorial  to  Congress,  in  December,  1782, 
in  which  they  urged  an  immediate  adjustment  of  their  dues.  The  friends  of  the  army  in  Congress  did  the  best  they 
could  in  the  proposed  adjustment  of  arrears  of  pay  and  the  question  of  future  pensions,  "but  party  politics  had  too  much 
weight  even  upon  a  question  which  should  have  been  settled  upon  the  single  principle  of  common  justice."  While 
Congress  was  discussing  the  subject  and  lamenting  its  inability  to  do  the  proper  thing,  affairs  at  Newburgh  put  on  a 
more  threatening  aspect  than  ever.  The  almost  universal  judgment  of  the  officers  was  that  Congress  would  disband 
the  army,  and  what,  in  that  event,  would  become  of  their  hardeamed  pay,  so  long  overdue..  In  their  opinion  it  was 
clearly  the  policy  of  Congress  to  postpone  all  action  in  the  matter  till  after  the  peace,  and  then  turn  the  soldiers  adrift 
to  starve,  or  live  as  best  they  could  on  the  charity  of  the  country. 

At  no  time  during  the  Revolution  was  the  American  cause  in  a  more  desperate  situation  than  in  the  early  part 
of  1783.  "The  camp  at  Newburgh  was  a  powder-magazine,  which  needed  only  a  torch,  applied  at  the  right  place 
and  the  right  moment,  to  produce  a  terrible  explosion."  The  torch  was  lighted,  but  fortunately  there  was  a  strong 
hand  ready  to  extinguish  it  on  the  instant. 

On  March  10,  1783,  an  anonymous  address  was  circulated  among  the  officers  at  Newburgh,  calling  a  meeting  of 
the  general  and  field  officers  and  of  one  officer  from  each  company  and  one  from  the  medical  staff,  to  consider  the  late 
letter  from  their  representatives  at  Philadelphia,  and  to  determine  what  measures,  if  any,  should  be  adopted  to  obtain 
that  redress  of  grievances  which  they  seemed  to  have  solicited  in  vain.  It  was  written  with  very  unusual  skill  and  in 
language  calculated  to  excite  the  anger  and  awaken  still  further  the  resentment  of  the  officers  of  the  army,  who  with 
much  justice  felt  that  they  had  sacrificed  their  comfort  and  were  now  treated  with  scorn  and  contumely.  "Can  you, 
then,  consent  to  be  the  only  sufferers  by  this  Revolution",  was  the  language  of  the  address,  "and,  retiring  from  the 
field  grow  old  in  poverty,  wretchedness  and  contempt.  Can  you  consent  to  wade  through  the  vile  mire  of  dependency, 
and  owe  the  miserable  remnant  of  that  life  to  charity,  which  has  hitherto  been  spent  in  honour.  * 

"If  you  can.  go!  and  carry  with  you  the  jest  of  Tories  and  the  scorn  of  Whigs;  the  ridicule  and  (what  is  worse) 
the  pity  of  the  world.  Go.  starve,  and  be  forgotten!  But  if  your  spirit  should  revolt  at  this — if  you  have  sense  enough 
to  discover,  and  spirit  enough  to  oppose,  tyrrany  under  whatever  garb  it  may  assume  (whether  it  be  the  plain  coat 
of  republicanism  or  the  splendid  robe  of  royalty) — if  you  have  not  yet  learned  to  discriminate  between  a  people  and 
a  cause,  between  men  and  principles — awake!  Attend  to  your  situation,  and  redress  yourselves!  If  the  present  moment 
be  lost,  every  future  effort  is  in  vain;  and  your  threats  then  will  be  as  empty  as  your  intreaties  now.  I  would  advise 
you,  therefore,  to  come  to  some  final  opinion  on  what  you  can  bear  and  what  you  will  suffer.  If  your  determination 
be  in  any  proportion  to  your  wTongs,  carr>'  your  appeal  from  the  justice  to  the  fears  of  Government." 

This  document  was  read  by  the  officers  with  strong  manifestations  of  approval.  But  Washington  met  the  crisis 
with  firmness,  although  with  a  spirit  of  conciliation,  and  on  the  day  following  dissemination  of  the  address  he  issued 
a  general  order  forbidding  an  assemblage  of  his  officers  at  the  call  of  the  writer  of  an  anonymous  circular,  and  directing 
the  representatives  of  the  officers  to  assemble  on  March  15,  to  deliberate  upon  what  further  measures  ought  to  be  adopt- 
ed as  most  rational  and  best  calculated  to  obtain  the  just  and  important  object  in  view.  On  the  day  after  this  order 
was  issued,  a  second  anonymous  address  from  the  same  writer  appeared.  In  this  paper  he  affected  to  consider  Wash- 
ington's order  as  a  sanction  of  the  whole  proceeding  which  he,  the  anonymous  writer,  had  proposed.  But,  to  learn 
the  truth,  the  army  had  to  wait  only  until  Saturday  the  15th. 

On  that  day  the  officers  assembled  in  the  "temple"  at  Newburgh.  and  General  Gates  was  called  upon  to  preside 
at  the  meeting,  At  the  appointed  hour  Washington  appeared.  "The  scene  is  one  of  the  most  dramatic  in  our  his- 
tory", says  A.  C.  McLaughlin  in  his  "The  Confederation  and  the  Constitution".  "As  he  [Washington]  took  his  place 
at  the  desk  he  drew  his  written  address  from  his  coat  pocket,  and  his  spectacles,  with  his  other  hand,  from  his  waist- 


1427 


coat  pocket,  and  then  addressed  the  officers  in  the  following  manner:  'Gentlemen 
spectacles,  for  I  have  not  only  grown  gray,  but  almost  blind,  in  the  service  of  my 
the  mode  and  manner  of  delivering  it.  drew  tears  from  many  of  the  officers." 

The  paper  which  Washington  then  proceeded  to  read  was  a  manly,  eloquent,  telling  appeal  to  the  patriotism, 
judgment  and  patient  generosity  of  the  officers.  It  was  a  stinging  rebuke  for  the  cowardly  conspirators  who  were 
plotting  to  disgrace  the  army  and  ruin  the  country. 

"My  God!"  exclaimed  Washington,  "what  can  this  writer  have  in  view  by  recommending  such  measures?  Can 
he  be  a  friend  to  the  army?  Can  he  be  a  friend  to  this  country?  Rather,  is  he  not  an  insidious  foe — some  emmissary. 
perhaps,  from  New  York — plotting  the  ruin  of  both,  by  sowing  the  seeds  of  discord  and  separation  between  the  civil 
and  military  powers  of  the  Continent?  And  what  a  compliment  does  he  pay  our  understandings,  when  he  recommends 
measures,  in  either  alternative,  impracticable  in  their  nature?  *  *  *  Let  me  conjure  you,  in  the  name  of  our 
common  country,  as  you  value  your  own  sacred  honor,  as  you  respect  the  rights  of  humanity,  and  as  you  regard 
the  military  and  national  character  of  America,  to  express  your  utmost  horror  and  detestation  of  the  man  who  wishe;, 
under  any  specious  pretences,  to  overturn  the  hberties  of  our  country,  and  who  wickedly  attempts  to  open  the  flood- 
gates of  civil  discord  and  deluge  our  rising  Empire  in  blood!" 

"Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  address."  says  McLaughlin,  "the  whole  assembly  was  in  tears.  Washington  with- 
drew, and  resolutions  were  then  adopted  expressing  unshaken  confidence  in  the  justice  of  Congress  and  the  country, 
declaring  that  the  officers  of  the  American  array  received  %vith  abhorrence  and  rejected  with  disdain  the  infamous 
proposals  of  the  anonyynous  circular,  and  respectfully  requesting  Washington  to  urge  upon  Congress  the  prompt  atten- 
tion to  their  claims.  And  thus  that  body  of  officers,  in  a  moment,  damned  with  infamy  two  publications  which,  during 
the  four  preceding  days,  most  of  them  had  read  with  admiration  and  talked  of  with  rapture." 

These  two  circulars  were  soon  referred  to  and  are  still  known  as  the  "Newburgh  Addresses."  McMaster.  in 
his  "History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States",  says:  "Who  wrote  the  Newburgh  Addresses  was  long  as  much  in 
dispute  as  who  wrote  the  Letters  of  Junius.  Gordon,  whose  "History  of  the  American  Revolution",  came  out  a  few 
months  later,  says  that  they  were  known  to  be  the  work  of  Maj.  John  Armstrong,  Jr.  But  Johnson,  the  author  of 
a  life  of  General  Greene,  many  years  later  attributed  them  to  the  last  man  who  would  have  written  them— Gouvemeur 
Morris.  This  was  too  much  for  Armstrong,  and.  in  a  review  of  the  book  that  pame  out  in  the  United  Stales  Magazine 
for  January-,  1823.  he  labored  hard  to  prove  a  claim  to  the  authorship  of  the  Addresses.  He  was  successful.  But  he 
gained  small  credit.  There  is  now  no  doubt  that  Armstrong  wrote  them,  that  Gates  set  him  on,  and  that  Barbar. 
the  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  copied  and  distributed  them  through  the  army." 

At  Salem.  Massachusetts,  under  the  date  of  May  6,  1823  (see  the  "Pickering  Papers",  XV^  303,  mentioned  on 
page  29,  Vol.  I.  of  this  work),  Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  who  was  Quartermaster  General  of  the  American  army  in  1783. 
and  was  present  in  the  "temple"  at  Newburgh  on  March  15,  wrote  to  Gen.  John  Brooks,  Governor  of  Massachusetts, 
as  follows:  "You  will  have  seen  that  Judge  Johnson,  in  his  'Life  of  General  Greene."  has  ascribed  the  Xewbiu-gh  an- 
onymous letters  to  Gouvemeur  Morris  as  the  author.  His  reasoning  on  the  subject  is  absurd  in  the  extreme.  A  review 
of  his  work  has  appeared  in  the  United  Stales  Magazine  (New  York)  for  January  last;  of  which  review  General  Arm- 
strong is  the  reputed,  and  doubtless  the  real,  author.  The  review  pronounces  that  those  letters  were  written  by  Arm- 
strong. I  had  never  a  doubt  of  it;  nor  do  I  suppose  that  a  single  officer  in  the  army  ever  doubted  it.  About  a  month 
ago.  in  transferring  some  pamphlets  and  papers  from  a  trunk  to  a  closet.  I  met  with  the  manuscript  copy  of  the  letters 
taken  at  the  time  by  one  of  my  clerks  from  the  copies  circulating  among  the  officers.  On  the  cover  of  my  copies  it  is 
noted,  in  my  own  hand,  tha*.  the  letters  were  'written  by  John  Armstrong,  Jr."  But  the  reviewer,  at  his  43d  and  44th 
pages,  gives  a  letter  from  General  Washington,  dated  at  Philadelphia.  February  25.  1793,  in  which  Washington  states 
that,  at  the  time  of  writing  his  address  [of  March  15.  1783],  he  "did  not  regard  Armstrong  as  the    author  of  the  letters." 

The  letter  written  by  Washington  to  Armstrong,  as  stated  above,  contained,  among  other  matters,  the  following 
(see  the  "Pickering  Papers",  XLI:  318) :  "I  do  hereby  declare  that  I  did  not.  at  the  time  of  writing  my  address,  regard 
you  as  the  author  of  said  letters.  *  *  *  j  have  since  had  sufficient  reason  for  beUeving  that  the  object  of  the  author 
was  just,  honorable  and  friendly  to  the  country,  though  the  means  suggested  by  him  were  certainly  liable  to  much 
misunderstanding  and  abuse." 

Upon  reading  the  foregoing  extract  it  is  easy  to  conclude  that  Washington  did  not,  in  1793.  know  who  had  written 
the  "Newburgh  Addresses";  and  as  he  died  nearly  seven  years  later  it  is  quite  probable  that  he  never  learned  the  name 
of  the  author. 

"O  Jove,  why  hast  thou  given  us  certain  proof 
To  know  adulterate  gold,  but  stamp 'd  no  mark — 
Where  it  is  needed  most — on  man's  base  metal?" 

— Euripides,  "Medea",  533. 

In  his  "Autobiography",  written  some  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  before  his  death,  in  1821,  the  Hon  Charles  Biddle 
(mentioned  on  page  1384.  and  in  a  biographical  note  in  the  ensuing  chapter;,  makes  the  following  reference  to  John 
Armstrong,  Jr.,  whom  he  succeeded  as  Secretary  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  in  1787,  "Arm- 
strong wrote  the  anonymous  letters  addressed  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war.  He  showed 
me  others  he  had  written,  which  were  not  pubUshed.  Armstrong  has  very  superior  talents,  but  they  are  almost  useless, 
he  is  so  extremely  indolent." 

The  ink  was  not  much  more  than  dry  on  the  Newburgh  Addresses  when  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Penn- 
sylvania took  up  the  application  of  Major  Armstrong  for  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Council,  and  on  March  25,  1783, 
elected  him  to  tJie  office.  It  must  have  been  about  that  time  that  he  began  the  study  of  law  under  the  direction  of  the 
Hon.  John  Dickinson  (as  mentioned  on  page  1320);  later  in  the  same  year  he  became  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 
branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati;  about  that  same  time  the  brevet  rank  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  Congress,  and,  as  noted  on  page  I44I,  he  was  appointed  (in  October,  1784)  a  Brigadier  General  of 
the  Pennsylvania  militia.  General  Armstrong  served  continuously  as  Secretary  of  the  Council  until  1787.  when, 
being  elected  by  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  on  March  24th  a  Delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress  (then  meeting  in 
the  city  of  New  York),  he.  on  April  10th,  prayed  the  Council  to  ''grant  him  such  occasional  leaves  of  absence  from  the 
Board  as  might  be  proper  and  necessary  to  the  discharge  of  his  new  trust."  The  Council  granted  the  requisite  per- 
mission, but  on  October  23,  1787,  elected  the  Hon.  Charles  Biddle.  previously  mentioned  herein.  Secretary  in  the 
place  and  stead  of  Armstrong. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1787  Armstrong  was  appointed  by  Congress  one  of  the  Judges  for  the  Northwestern  Terri- 
tory, but  he  declined  the  office.  He  served  in  Congress  as  a  Delegate  from  Pennsylvania  until  the  Old.  or  Continental, 
Congress  held  its  last  meeting  in  October,  1788.  The  Federal  Constitution  having  been  ratified  by  the  several  States 
of  the  Union.  Washington  was  inaugurated  as  the  First  President  of  the  United  States,  at  the  City  of  Xew  York  on 
April  30,  1789.  the  oath  of  office  being  administered  by  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
Near  that  date.  General  Armstrong  was  married  to  Alida  Livingston,  youngest  sister  of  the  Chancellor,  and  soon  there- 
after he  purchased  a  farm  in  the  northwestern  comer  of  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  a  short  distance  below  Barry- 
town,  on  the  Hudson,  and  near  what  is  now  Red  Hook,  within  the  precincts  of  the  old  Livingston  Manor.  He  called 
his  place  "Rokeby".  and  there  he  established  his  home,  devoting  himself  to  agriculture. 

In  1799.  General  Armstrong  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  from  New  York,  as  successor  to  John 
Laurance.  who  had  resigned  Armstrong  held  this  office  until  1801.  when  he  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  De 
Witt  Clinton,  some  years  later.  Governor  of  New  York.  Clinton  resigned  in  1803.  and  Armstrong  again  took  the 
senatorial  seat,  only  to  give  it  up  the  next  year  in  order  to  succeed  his  brother-in-law  Robert  R,  Livingston  (the 
former  Chancellor)  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  to  France,  his  appointment  being  made  by 
President  Jeff^erson,  June  30.  1804.  Soon  thereafter,  accompanied  by  his  secretary.  Nicholas  Biddle  of  Philadelphia, 
General  Armstrong  sailed  for  France.  At  the  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  Paris.  December  2.  1804.  Armstrong  and 
his  secretary  were  present  (officially  representing  the  United  States) .  to  see  Napoleon  Bonaparte  crown  himself  and  his 
wife,  Josephine,  "Emperor  and  Empress  of  the  French." 

General  Armstrong  held  the  office  of  Minister  for  six  years,  and  from  1806  to  1810  he  also  acted  as  United  States 
Minister  to  Spain,  Returning  to  this  country  in  I8J0.  or  early  in  181 1.  he  was.  on  July  6.  1812.  appointed  by  President 
Madison  a  Brigadier  General  in  the  Imited  States  Army.     He  accepted  the  appointment  nine  days  later,  received  his 


1428 

1  and  was  placed  in  command  of  the  forces  defending  the  city  of  New  Yort,  Four  days  later  war  was  de- 
clared by  the  United  States  against  Great  Britain. 

About  the  time  of  the  return  of  Armstrong  to  the  United  States,  the  foHowing  item  was  printed  in  The  Gleaner 
(Wilkes-Barre.  July  5,  181 1).  written  by  its  editor,  the  Hon.  Charles  Miner.  "General  Armstrong,  the  reputed  author 
of  the  incendiary  address  to  the  army — so  justly  celebrated  for  iti  manner,  and  so  righteously  execrated  for  its  matter 
— shrunk  from  the  patriotic  eye  of  Washington  and  remained  in  the  shade  until  the  terror  of  that  great  man  ceased 
to  awe  him  to  silence.  In  the  twilight  that  succeeded,  he  came  forth.  *  *  An  embassy  to  France  rewarded  his  early 
defection  from  the  principles  of  our  Chief.  Like  Roderick  Dhu.  some  vigorous  and  noble  traits  of  character  have 
shot  forth  amid  the  wild  luxuriance  of  his  vices.  His  restless  spirit  will  never  be  still.  We  claim  no  merit  for  the  pre- 
diction, but  mark  it:  We  have  only  introduced  the  prelude  to  the  history  of  the  revolution  of  his  [Armstrong's] 
ortunes!" 

Armstrong  served  as  Brigadier  General — acceptably,  so  far  as  we  can  now  learn— until  January  13.  1813.  when 
he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War  by  President  Madison,  who.  less  than  two  months  later,  was  to  enter  on  his  second 
term  as  President.  "Hardly  had  Armstrong  entered  the  Cabinet",  state  Wiley  and  Rines  in  their  history  of  the  United 
States.  V:  385,  "when  he  set  the  members  of  the  Administration  at  odds,  *  *  *  and  the  President  found  the 
task  of  maintaining  discipline  in  the  Cabinet  as  great  as  it  was  in  the  army.  Armstrong  quarreled  with  Monroe  [then 
Secretary  of  State  and  later  Madison's  successor  in  the  Presidency]  regarding  the  appointment  of  the  latter  to  the 
chief  command  of  the  army  [as  Secretary  of  War],  to  which  Monroe  thought  himself  entitled,  Armstrong  then  offended 
[Albert]  Gallatin  [of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury),  who  of  all  men  was  the  mo;t  important  to  the  Admin- 
istration in  this  crisis.  Armstrong  represented  everything  antagonistic  to  Gallatin.  His  methods  were  arbitrary 
and  underhanded;  he  was  needlessly  lavish  in  his  expenditures,  and  used  his  patronage  for  only  one  possible  purpose." 

Dr.  K.  C.  Babcock,  in  his  "The  Rise  of  American  Nationality",  says,  referring  to  the  appointment  of  Armstrong 
as  Secretary  of  War:  "Monroe  desired  the  War  port-foHo,  since  the  State  Department  did  not  furnish  sufficient  scope 
for  his  talents  while  the  most  active  field  of  diplomacy  was  closed  by  the  war.  Although  for  political  reasons  Madison 
did  not  comply,  jealousy  and  suspicion  between  Monroe  and  Armstrong  had  a  detrimental  effect  upon  the  military 
service."  Madison  knew  Armstrong  well;  his  record  and  personality  were  not  closed  books.  He  admitted  that  he 
hoped  for,  rather  than  expected,  satisfactory  results  from  the  appointment.  From  the  start  however,  he  gave  him 
neither  respect  nor  confidence. 

Within  two  months  after  Armstrong  became  Secretary,  Brig.  Gen.  James  Wilkinson  (mentioned  in  the  (§)  note 
on  page  1440)  was  promoted  Major  General,  and  a  few  months  later  he  succeeded  Maj.  Gen.  Henry  Dearborn  in 
command  of  the  United  States  forces  in  northern  and  western  New  York.  Dr.  Babcock,  in  his  book  hereinbefore 
referred  to.  says  that  "Wilkinson,  who  was  about  all  that  an  officer  should  not  be.  was  perhaps  the  scurviest  knave 
who  ever  wore  the  straps  of  a  General  in  the  United  States  Army;  a  man  of  low  morality  and  shady  reputation,  con- 
ceited, insubordinate  and  untrustworthy,  who  happened  to  have  been  friendly  with  Armstrong  in  the  Revolutionary 
army.     Gen.  Winfield  Scott  in  later  years  referred  to  him  as  an  'unprincipled  imbecile.'  " 

Wilkinson  established  his  headquarters  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  but  early  in 
September,  he  went  to  Fort  Niagara,  mentioned  on  page  298.  Vol.  I.  On  his  return  from  there,  a  month  later  he  found 
that  Secretary  Armstrong  had  arrived  at  Sackett's  Harbor  on  September  5th,  and  established  a  war  department  on  the 
frontier.  This  aroused  the  jealous  rage  of  Wilkinson,  and  soon  the  trouble  between  the  two  men  became  serious. 
Neither  believed  that  Montreal  could  be  taken,  and  each  attempted  to  shift  on  the  other  the  responsibiHty  for  the  future. 
"Whatever  Armstrong  suggested.  Wilkinson  opposed,"  On  December  18.  1813.  the  British  captured  Fort  Niagara 
(which  they  held  until  the  end  of  the  war),  and,  having  increased  their  force  and  let  loose  their  auxiliary  Indians  on 
Lewiston  and  the  adjacent  country,  they  laid  waste  the  Niagara  frontier  with  fire  and  sword.  Other  disasters  and 
defeats  which  followed,  soon  weakened  the  numbers  as  well  as  the  spirit  of  the  American  forces.  Wilkinson  considered 
Armstrong  responsible  for  the  failure  of  the  campaign,  and  believed  that  the  Secretary  had  secretly  attempted  to  ruin 
him.  Determined  to  fasten  the  guilt  upon  the  Secretary  in  the  most  public  manner,  he  wrote  a  letter  at  Plattsburg, 
New  York,  and,  with  great  effrontery,  demanded  a  trial  by  court-martial.  On  March  24.  1814,  orders  were  received 
by  Wilkinson  relieving  him  from  duty  under  the  form  of  granting  his  request  for  a  count  of  inquiry, 

At  this  time  the  British  fleet  had  been  in  full  command  of  Chesapeake  Bay  for  nearly  a  year  and  a-half ,  yet  there 
was  neither  fortification  of  consequence  nor  army  of  appreciable  size  or  efficiency  for  the  protection  of  Washington, 
the  fourteen- year-old  capital-city  of  the  country.  Secretary  Armstrong  seemed  to  think  that  since  there  was  no  strategy 
impelling  the  British  to  capture  Washington,  they  would  not  make  the  attempt.  However,  aware  of  a  threatened 
invasion.  President  Madison  began  to  press  Armstrong  early  in  May  to  take  precautionary  measures,  and  the  matter 
was  discussed  by  the  Cabinet;  neverthless,  by  the  first  of  July  there  was  not  in  the  whole  region  thereabout  a  fort, 
a  breastwork,  a  trench  or  a  battery,  even  on  paper,  save  old  Fort  Washington,  some  eight  or  ten  miles  south  of  Alex- 
andria,  on  the   Potomac. 

In  the  Xeic  York  Evening  Post  of  August  8.  1814,  a  letter  from  the  city  of  Washington  was  printed,  in  which  the 
following  paragraph  appeared:  "The  citizens  complain  loudly  of  the  defenceless  state  of  the  District,  Armstrong  is 
suspected  and  cursed  by  almost  every  person  here.  Deputations  have  been  sent  to  the  President,  both  from  this 
city  and  Georgetown.  They  have  declared  to  the  President  their  total  want  of  confidence  in  Armstrong,  and  demanded 
in  strong  terms  that  steps  be  immediately  taken  to  place  the  District  in  a  state  of  defence,  Armstrong  and  some  others 
in  power  will  be  well  watched.  If  any  disaster  befall  the  District  through  their  neglect  or  disaffection  to  the  seat  of 
Government,  they  may  not,  from  the  present  temper  of  the  people,  find  it  easy  to  escape," 

Eleven  days  after  the  publication  of  these  comments  on  the  Secretary  of  War,  a  British  force  of  some  4,000  veteran 
soldiers,  under  the  command  of  Maj.  Gen.  Robert  Ross,  late  of  the  Peninsular  army,  landed  from  a  fleet  of  transports 
at  Benedict.  Maryland,  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Patuxent  River,  Marching  thence  to  Bladensburg.  some  five  or 
six  miles  north-east  of  Washington,  on  the  East  Branch  of  the  Potomac,  they  encountered  an  improvised  army  of 
Americans,  composed  of  about  1.400  regular  soldiers  and  sailors  and  1.200  raw  militiamen — "a  mass  of  men  suddenly- 
assembled  without  organization,  discipline  or  officers  of  any,  the  least,  knowledge  of  service."  The  battle  of  Bladens- 
burg was  fought  in  the  afternoon  of  August  24,  and  of  course  the  Americans  were  defeated,  and  their  retreat  towards 
Georgetown  and  the  woods  of  Virginia  across  the  Potomac  was  that  of  "a  panic-stricken  mob,"  In  the  early  evening 
of  the  same  day  the  enemy  encamped  just  outside  the  city  of  Washington,  while  President  Madison  and  his  Cabinet 
and  more  than  half  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  fled  to  Virginia.  Shortly  afterwards  a  detachment  of  the  enemy,  headed 
by  General  Ross  and  Admiral  George  Cockburn,  marched  into  the  city.  The  Capitol,  the  White  House,  the  Treasury 
Building,  the  Navy  Yard  buildings  and  other  structures  were  burned  either  on  that  day  or  the  next.  In  fact,  the  only 
public  building  that  escaped  the  fury  of  the  invaders  was  the  wooden  structure  used  for  the  Po^t  Ofiice  and  the  Patent 
Office. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  one  of  the  severest  wind  storms  in  the  history  of  Washington  broke  over  the  city. 
Trees  were  uprooted,  roofs  were  ripped  off  houses,  and  other  damage  was  done.  After  the  storm  was  over  Ross  and 
Cockburn  decided  to  depart,  and  by  nightfall  were  well  on  their  way  to  Benedict,  where  they  re-embarked  on  their 
ships  on  August  30th,  Although  they  had  been  in  Washington  less  than  twenty-four  hours  they  destroyed  public  prop- 
erty estimated  to  have  been  worth  more  than  SI  .500.000,  As  they  left  the  city  they  set  fire  to  the  long  wooden  bridge 
across  the   Potomac  at   that   point 

Philip  Freneau,  the  "poet  of  the  Revolution",  summed  up  the  Washington  campaign  in  the  following  verses: 

"A  veteran  host,  bv  veterans  led. 
With  Ross  and  Cockburn  at  their  head. 
They  came— they  saw — they  burned — they  fled! 
They  left  our  Congress  naked  walls — 
Farewell  to  towers  and  Capitols, 
To  lofty  roofs  and  splendid  halls!" 

News  of  the  capture  and  sacking  of  Washington  did  not  reach  New  York  City  until  August  27th.  when  the  event 
was  referred  to  by  an  afternooon  paper  of  that  date  in  these  word^:  "Six  months  ago  no  one  could  have  thought  such 
an  event  could  possibly  have  taken  place.  But  this  is  an  age  of  wonders!  Is  it  possible  that,  after  being  two  years 
at  war,  our  capital,  the' seat  of  our  General  Government,  should  have  been  left  so  defenceless?      In  less  than  one  month 


1429 

At  Philadelphia,  on  the  same  day  that  the  foregoing  letter  was  written, 
the  Pennsylvania  Council  of  Censors*  met  and  issued  the  following  mandate: 

"The  Council  of  Censors,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania, 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  Send  Greeting: 

"We  demand  of  you  that  you,  without  delay  or  excuse,  forthwith  send  into  this  Council 
of  Censors  the  documents  and  papers  hereunder  mentioned,  now.  as  it  is  said,  in  your  keeping. 
That  is  to  say,  the  report  of  the  committee  appointed  the  9th  of  December  last  to  inquire  into 

from  the  sailing  of  the  expedition  from  Bermuda  the  British  general  has  fixed  his  headquarters  in  the  heart  of  our 
nation.     Wliere  have  our  men  of  aflfairs  been  all  this  time?" 

During  the  occupancy  of  Washington  by  the  enemy,  President  Madison  and  his  Secretaries  had  been  traveling 
around  hunting  for  each  other  and  seeking  safety.  Finally,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  Madison  returned  to  Wash- 
ington, and.  summoning  his  Secretaries,  began  the  work  of  restoring  government.  Armstrong  had  not  yet  returned, 
and  Monroe  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim.  About  that  time  the  militia  held  a  meeting  and  declared 
they  would  no  longer  serve  under  Armstrong.  Soon  thereafter  the  latter  rode  into  Washington  from  Frederick.  Mary- 
land, when  Madison  proposed,  as  a  compromise,  that  Armstrong  should  retire  temporarily,  until  the  storm  of  criticism 
of  the  President  and  his  Secretary  of  War.  on  account  of  the  mismanagement  of  the  war  should  blow  over.  But  Arm- 
strong declined  this  arrangement,  resigned  his  portfolio  on  September  27.  1814,  and  published  the  reasons  for  his  act 
in  a  plain-speaking  letter  in  the  Baltimore  Patriot. 

In  April,  1843.  the  following  estimate  of  General  Armstrong  was  printed  in  the  United  States  Gazelle,  apropos 
of  his  death.  "General  Armstrong  distinguished  himself  as  Minister  at  Paris,  but  he  lost  nearly  all  his  credit  by  the 
loss  of  Washington  City,  when  he  was  Secretary  of  War,  where  he  was  charged  with  total  neglect  to  defend  the  capital 
of  the  nation  after  he  had  been  earnestly  solicited  to  supply  the  means.  That  was  the  end  of  Armstrong's  public  career. 
He  appeared  to  lose  no  opportunity-  to  assail,  and  he  was  a  vigorous  writer,  evidently  more  skilled  in  theory  than  in 
the  practice  of  war;  understanding  better  what  an  officer  should  do  than  how  to  do  it  himself." 

Henry  Adams,  the  historian,  wrote  of  him  a  considerable  number  of  years  ago;     "Whatever  were  Armstrong's 

faults,  he  was  the  strongest  Secretary  of  War  the  Government  has  yet  j        ~ 

ary  of  the  United  States"  it  is  stated  "that  the  energy  he  [Armstrong) 
a  centurj'." 

It  is  an  interesting  coincidence  that,  on  the  very  day  that  General  Armstrong  resigned  his  office  of  Secretary  of 
War.  an  American  privateer,  the  brig  General  Armstrong  of  New  York,  in  command  of  Capt-  Samuel  Chester  Reid, 
after  a  severe  and  long-drawn-out  battle  with  three  British  war-ships,  was  destroyed  in  the  harbor  of  Fayal,  one  of 
the  Azores,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

General  Armstrong  retired  to  his  farm  near  Red  Hook  and  spent  his  remaining  years  in  literary  work.  His  pub- 
hshed  works  include:  "Letters  of  Versus,  addressed  to  a  Native  American"  (1797);  "A  Biographical  Sketch  of  the  late 
Robert  R.  Livmgston"  (1820);  "Notices  of  the  War  of  1813"  (two  volumes.  1836);  the  lives  of  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne 
and  Gen.  Richard  Montgomery  (Armstrong's  brother-in-law),  published  in  Jared  Spark's  "Library  of  American  Biog- 
raphy"; a  review  of  General  Wilkinson's  "Memoirs";  treatises  on  agriculture,  gardening  and  other  subjects.  He 
had  also  completed  a  military  history  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  when  the  manuscript  was  accidentally  destroyed 
by  tire. 

General  Armstrong  died  at  "Rokeby".  near  Red  Hook.  April  1 ,  1843,  and  his  remains  lie  in  the  cemetery  at  Rhioe- 
beck.  Dutchess  County,  marked  by  a  mausoleum  erected  by  two  of  his  grandsons  in  1903. 

t  J  AMES  Read  was  born  in  Newcastle  County.  Delaware,  in  1743,  the  third  son  of  John  Read.  The  latter  was  born 
in  Dublin.  Ireland,  in  1688.  the  son  of  an  English  gentleman  of  large  fortune.  Emigrating  to  this  country  he  became 
one  of  the  founders  of  Charlestown,  Cecil  County,  Maryland,  on  the  headwaters  of  Chesapeake  Bay  This  was  about 
twelve  years  after  the  settlement  at  Baltimore  had  been  begun.  John  Read  held  various  military  offices  during  his 
life.  He  died  June  17,  1756.  on  his  plantation  in  Newcastle  County,  where  he  had  resided  for  some  years  His  eldest 
son,  George  Read,  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence- 
James  Read  was  a  merchant  in  the  South  Ward  of  Philadelphia  in  1774.  and  became  City  Lieutenant  of  Philadel- 
phia April  10.  1777.  The  same  year  he  became  Captain  of  the  "South  Ward"  Company  in  Col.  William  Bradford's 
battalion  of  Philadelphia  militia,  and  in  July.  1777.  was  promoted  Major  of  this  battalion,  August  2.  1777.  he  was 
transferred  as  Major,  to  Col.  Jonathan  Bayard  Smith's  battalion.  He  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Trenton.  Princeton. 
Brandywine  and  Germantown.  He  was  appointed  by  Congress.  November  4.  1778.  one  of  the  three  Commissioners 
of  the  Navy  for  the  middle  States,  and  on  January  1 1 .  I  781 ,  was  invested  by  the  same  body  with  sole  power  to  conduct 
the  affairs  of  the  Navy  Board.  Early  in  1780  he  was  Lieutenant  Colonel  commanding  the  First  Battalion.  Philadel- 
phia Mihtia,  but  later  in  the  year  was  transferred  to  the  command  of  the  Second  Battalion.  He  was  appointed  to 
the  office  of  flour  inspector  in  Philadelphia,  April  22.  1785,  and  by  successive  reappointments  held  this  office  until  1796. 
or  later.  (For  an  interesting  account  of  his  duties  and  responsibilities  as  Flour  Inspector,  see  "Pennsylvania  Archives". 
Old  Series,  XI;  755.)  Colonel  Read  died  in  Philadelphia.  December  31.  1822  His  grandson,  the  Rev.  James  Read 
Eckard,  D.  D.  (born  in  Philadelphia.  November  22,  1  805).  was  Professor  of  Rhetoric  at  Lafayette  College  during  the 
present  writer's  student  days  there. 

iJOHN  Okely  was  born  in  Bradford,  England.  March  22.  1721,  He  sailed  from  London.  March  15,  1742.  as 
a  member  of  the  "Sea  Congregation",  mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  216,  Vol.  I.  This  colony  of  Moravian  Brethren 
arrived  in  Philadelphia  June  7,  1742,  and  after  some  days  spent  there  proceeded  to  Bethlehem,  where  they  arrived 
June  21st.  John  Okely  helped  to  found  the  Moravian  Church  there,  and  also  the  girls'  college.  Bishop  Spangenberg 
(see  page  217,  Vol.  I,  and  other  pages)  regarded  him  with  great  affection,  and  spoke  of  him  as  his  son. 

For  many  years  Okley  was  scrivener  and  land  agent  of  the  Moravian  estates  in  Pennsylvania,  but  when  the  troubles 
between  the  American  Colonies  and  the  mother  counti^  began  he  left  the  Brethren  and  joined  the  Episcopal  Church. 
In  1774  he  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  by  Gov.  John  Penn,  and  in  1775  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of 
Correspondence  of  Northampton  County,  Pennsylvania,  composed  of  six  citizens  chosen  by  the  electors  of  the  County. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  the  County,  and  with  three  other  men  represented  the  County  in 
the  Provincial  Congress  which  convened  at  Philadelphia,  January  23.  1775.  He  is  on  record  as  having,  on  May  6. 
177,S.  in  conjunction  with  his  fellow  members  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  directed  the  formation  of  militia  companies 
in  Northampton  County,  and  advising  that  each  man  "be  provided  w»th  one  good  fire-lock,  one  pound  of  powder,  four 
pounds  of  lead,  a  sufficient  number  of  flints,  and  a  cartridge-box."  At  Bethlehem  he  had  charge  of  the  prisoners 
who  were  held  there  by  the  Continental  authorities,  and  as  a  Deputy  Quartermaster  in  the  Continental  service  he 
had  charge  of  the  procuring  and  purchasing  of  supplies  of  food  for  the  prisoners  as  well  as  for  the  troops 

In  1788  Mr,  Okely  removed  from  Bethlehem  to  Lancaster  County.  Pennsvlvania,  where  he  engaged  in  farming. 
He  was  married  (1st)  in  Philadelphia.  March  9.  1743,  to  Johanna  Robbins.  who  died  March  3.  1745'^  On  the  7th  of 
the  following  October  he  was  married  (2d)  to  Elizabeth  Home,  a  Moravian.  She  died  at  Bethlehem  December  23, 
1775,  and  on  February  8.  1780.  Mr  Okely  was  married  (3d)  to  Margaret,  daughter  of  George  Moore  of  Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania,  She  died  April  3,  1789.  leaving  two  children:  (i)  Elizabeth,  bom  in  1782.  and  (ii)  John  M..  bom  in  1785. 
Mr.  Okely  died  on  his  farm  May  15,  1792. 

^The  first  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  adopted  in  September.  1776  (see  page  881  .  Vol.  II).  provided 
that  a  Council  of  Censors,  consisting  of  two  persons  from  each  city  and  county,  was  to  be  elected  in  1783  and  in 
ever>'  seventh  year  thereafter,  whose  duty  it  would  be  to  make  inquiry  as  to  whether  the  Constitution  had  been  pre- 
served inviolate  during  the  last  septenary,  and  whether  the  executi\e  and  legislative  branches  of  the  Government 
had  performed  their  duties  as  guardians  of  the  people,  or  had  assumed  to  themselves,  or  exercised,  other  or  greater 
powers  than  they  were  entitled  to  by  the  Constitution.  For  these  purposes  the  Council  was  empowered  to  send  for 
persons,  papers  and  records,  and  was  authorized  to  pass  public  censures,  order  impeachments  and  recommend  to  the 
Legislature  the  repeal  of  such  laws  as  appeared  to  have  been  enacted  contrary  to  the  principles  of   the  Constitution. 


1430 

the  charges  contained  in  a  petition  from  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  and  the  papers 
and  affidavits  accompanying  the  same ;  and  the  letter  from  Zebulon  Butler  and  others  of  Wyoming, 
read  in  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  May  28,  1784,  and  which  was  by  them  transmitted  to 
the  House, 

"Signed  by  order  of  the  Council  of  Censors,  now  sitting  in  the  State  House,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  oii  this  10th  day  of  September,  A.  D.   1784. 

[Signed]        "Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg, 
"Attest:     Samuel  Bryan,  Secretary.  "President  of  the  Council  of  Censors." 

The  General  Assembly  cooly  and  deliberately  disregarded  and  ignored  these 
demands  of  the  Censors,  whereupon  the  latter,  on  September  1 1th,  delivered 
the  following  solemn  and  scathing  denunciation  of  the  measures  pursued  against 
the  Wyoming  settlers,  and  ordered  that  the  same  "be  printed*  by  Francis 
Bailey,  with  the  report  concerning  the  deviations  of  the  I^egislative  branch  of 
the    Government." 

"It  is  the  opinion  of  this  Council  that  the  decision  made  at  Trenton  early  in  1783  [Deer., 
1782],  between  the  State  of  Connecticut  and  this  Commonwealth,  concerning  the  territorial 
rights  of  both,  was  favorable  for  Pennsylvania.  It  likewise  promised  the  happiest  consequences 
to  the  Confederacy,  as  an  example  was  thereby  set  of  two  contending  sovereignties  adjusting 
their  differences  in  a  Court  of  Justice,  instead  of  involving  themselves,  and  perhaps  their  con- 
federates, in  war  and  bloodshed. 

"It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  this  happy  event  was  not  improved  on  the  part  of  this 
State,  as  it  might  have  been;  that  the  persons  claiming  the  lands  at  and  near  Wyoming,  occupied 
by  emigrants  from  Connecticut,  now  become  subjects  of  Pennsylvania,  were  not  left  to  prosecute 
their  claims  in  the  proper  course,  without  the  intervention  of  the  Legislature;  that  a  body  of 
troops  was  enlisted  (after  the  Indian  war  had  ceased  and  the  civil  government  had  been  establish- 
ed) and  stationed  at  Wyoming  for  no  other  apparent  purpose  than  that  of  promoting  the  interests 
of  the  claimants  under  the  former  grants  of  Pennsylvania;  that  these  troops  were  kept  up  and 
continued  there  without  the  license  of  Congress,  in  violation  of  the  Confederation;  that  they 
were  suffered  without  restraint  to  injure  and  oppress  the  neighboring  inhabitants  during  the  course 
of  the  last  Winter;  that  the  injuries  done  to  these  people  excited  the  compassion  and  interposition 
of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  which  thereupon  demanded  of  Congress  another  hearing  and  inquiry 
in  order  to  investigate  the  private  claims  of  the  settlers  at  Wyoming  (formerly  inhabitants  of 
New  England),  who,  from  this  instance  of  partiality  in  our  rulers,  might  have  been  led  to  distrust 
the  justice  of  the  State,  when,  in  the  meantime,  numbers  of  these  soldiers  and  other  disorderly 
persons,  in  a  most  riotous  and  inhuman  manner,  expelled  the  New  England  settlers  before  men- 
tioned from  their  habitations,  &  drove  them  towards  the  Delaware,  through  unsettled  and  almost 
impassable  ways,  leaving  these  unhappy  outcasts  to  suffer  every  species  of  distress;  that  this 
armed  force,  stationed  as  aforesaid  at  Wyoming  (as  far  as  we  can  see  without  any  public  advantage 
in  view),  has  cost  the  Commonwealth  the  sum  of  £4,460  and  upwards  for  the  bare  levying,  pro- 
viding and  paying  of  them,  besides  other  expenditures  of  public  money;  that  the  authority  for 
embodying  these  troops  was  given  privately,  and  unknown  to  the  good  people  of  Pennsylvania, 
the  same  being  directed  by  a  mere  Resolve  of  the  late  House  of  Assembly,  brought  in  and  read 
the  first  time  on  Monday,  22d  September,  1783,  when,  on  motion  and  by  special  order,  the  same 
was  read  the  second  time  and  adopted;  that  the  putting  of  this  Resolve  on  the  secret  journal 
of  the  House,  and  concealing  it  from  the  people,  after  the  war  with  the  savages  had  ceased  and 
the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  had  submitted  to  the  government  of  the  State,  sufficiently  marks 
and  fixes  the  clandestine  and  partial  intent  of  the  armament — no  such  caution  having  been 
thought  necessary  in  the  defence  of  the  Northern  and  Western  frontiers  during  the  late  war; 
and  lastly,  we  regret  the  fatal  example  which  this  transaction  has  set,  of  private  persons,  at  least 

The  powers  of  the  Council  were  to  continue  one  year,  and  included  the  right  to  call  a  convention  to  meet  within  two 
years,  if  deemed  absolutely  necessary,  for  amending  any  Article  of  the  Constitution  that  might  appear  defective,  or 
for  addin g  such  Articles  as  might  appear  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  rights  and  happiness  of  the  people. 

At  the  general  election  in  October.  1783.  members  of  the  Council  of  Censors  were  chosen  conformably  with  the 
Constitution,  as  follows;  From  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  George  Bryan  and  Thomas  Fitzsimons;  Philadelphia  County. 
Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg  and  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair;  Bucks  County.  Joseph  Hart  and  Samuel  Smith;  Bedford  County. 
Daniel  Espy  and  Samuel  Davidson;  Chester  County.  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne  and  James  Moore;  Lancaster  County, 
John  Whitehill  and  Stephen  Chambers;  York  County.  Col.  Thomas  Hartley  and  Richard  McAllister;  Westmoreland 
County.  John  Smilie  and  William  Findley ;  Cumberland  County.  James  McLene  and  Gen.  William  Irvine:  Berks  County, 
James  Read  and  Baltzer  Gehr;  Northampton  County,  Capt.  John  Amdt  and  Simon  Driesbach;  Washington  County, 
James  Edgar  and  John  McDowell;  Northumberland  County,  Col.  William  Montgomery  and  Col.  Samuel  Hunter 
(who.  dying  April  10,  1784,  was  succeeded  on  July  7th  by  Gen.  James  Potter). 

The  Council  of  Censors  met  at  Philadelphia  at  various  times  during  the  year  1784,  adjourning  finally  on  September 
25th.  at  which  time  it  issued  a  lengthy  address  to  the  freemen  of  the  Commonwealth,  which  was  published  in  full  in 
The  Pennsylvania  Packet  (Philadelphia).  October  7.  1784.  and  read  in  part  as  follows:  "Having  finished  the  period 
of  our  appointment,  and  having  completed,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  the  new  and  important  business  assigned  to  us  by 
the  terms  of  the  Constitution  and  the  choice  of  the  people,  we  are  about  to  return  to  our  private  employments. 
*  *  *  If  with  heart  and  hand  united  we  will  all  combine  to  support  the  Constitution,  and  apply  its  injunctions  to 
the  best  use  of  society,  we  shall  find  it  a  source  of  the  richest  blessings.  We  would  earnestly  recommend  this  to  you. 
Give  it  a  fair  and  honest  trial,  and  if,  after  all.  at  the  end  of  another  seven  years,  it  shall  be  found  necessary  or  proper 
to  introduce  any  changes,  they  may  then  be  brought  in  and  establi-^hed  upon  a  full  conviction  of  their  usefulness, 
with  harmony  and  good  temper  and  without  noise,  tumult  or  violence." 

*It  was  published  in  full  in  The  Pennsylvania  Packet.  Philadelphia,  September  24,  1784.  5,000  copies  of  the  docu- 
ment were  also  printed  in  the  form  of  a  broadside,  for  free  dissemination  among  the  people  of  the  Co  "^ 


1431 

equally  able  with  their  opponents  to  maintain  their  own  cause,  procuring  the  influence  of  the 
Commonwealth  in  their  behalf,  and  the  aid  of  the  public  treasury. 

"We  deplore  the  opprobrium  which  from  hence  has  resulted  to  this  State,  and  the  disaffection 
and  prospect  of  dissension  now  existing  with  one  of  our  sister  States.  We  deplore  the  violation 
of  the  Confederation,  and  the  injury  thereby  done  to  such  of  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  of  lands 
at  Wyoming,  occupied  as  aforesaid,  as  have  given  no  countenance  to,  but  on  the  contrary  have 
disavowed,  these  extravagant  proceedings.  In  short,  we  lament  that  our  Government  have  in 
this  business  manifested  little  wisdom  and  foresight;  nor  have  acted  as  the  guardians  of  the  rights 
of  the  people  committed  to  their  case. 

"Impressed  with  the  multiplied  evils  which  have  sprung  from  the  imprudent  management 
of  this  business,  we  hold  it  up  to  censure,  to  prevent,  if  possible,  further  instances  of  bad  govern- 
ment, which  might  convulse  and  distract  our  new-formed  Nation!" 

At  a  meeting  held  at  the  State  House  September  21,  1784,  the  Censors 
gave  further  formal  expression  of  their  sentiments  with  respect  to  the  General 
Assembly,  and  a  minute  of  the  action  then  taken  (which  was  ordered  to  be 
entered  in  full  on  the  records  of  the  Council)  was  published  in  The  Pennsylvania 
Packet  (Philadelphia)  of  September  28,  1784.    It  read  in  part,  as  follows: 

"One  of  the  principal  duties  of  the  Council  of  Censors  being  to  enquire  into  and  investigate 
the  acts  and  proceedings  of  the  legislative  and  executive  branches  of  Government,  in  order  to 
ascertain  whether  they  have  performed  their  duty  as  guardians  of  the  people;  and  a  glaring 
abuse  of  great  magnitude  having  presented  itself  to  our  view,  viz.:  The  proceedings  of  the  Legis- 
lative body  with  respect  to  the  settlers  from  New  England  at  Wyoming.     *     *     * 

"In  the  course  of  this  enquiry,  and  in  order  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  high-toned  com- 
plaints of  these  people  to  Congress,  we  requested  the  present  General  Assembly  to  transmit 
to  this  Council  certain  specified  documents,  particularly  divers  affidavits  taken  at  Wi'oming 
last  Winter  by  a  committee  of  their  own  body,  in  consequence  of  a  petition  presented  to  the  House 
December  8,  1783,  by  Zebulon  Butler  and  others,  setting  forth  the  injuries  and  oppressions  they 
had  suffered;  to  which  request  no  answer  being  received  by  this  Council  at  noon  the  next  day, 
we  thereupon,  in  proper  and  firm  terms,  in  writing,  signed  by  our  President,  demanded  of  the 
General  Assembly  the  papers  which  had  been  the  day  before  requested  of  the  House.  The  General 
Assembly  by  vote  refused  the  same;  and  as  to  the  peremptory  demand,  they  did  not  suffer  it 
to  lie  on  their  table. 

"This  Council  is  not  so  ignorant  of  human  nature  as  not  to  suggest  to  itself  why  a  person 
accused  should  be  backward  to  furnish  evidence  against  himself;  but  that  the  Representatives 
of  the  State  in  Assembly  should  thus  keep  back  from  the  Council  of  Censors,  fully  authorized 
by  the  Constitution  'to  send  for  persons,  papers  and  records',  public  documents  in  their  possession, 
is  a  conduct  that  their  constituents  must  hear  with  surprise  and  indignation.  But  suppression 
of  evidence  has  not  availed  in  this  case.  This  unwarrantable  concealment  by  the  wrongdoers 
themselves  has  but  the  more  decidedly  convinced  this  Council  of  the  truth  of  the  complaints  of 
the  settlers  at  Wyoming,  and  of  the  utter  neglect  of  the  Government  to  protect  the  oppressed 
settlers.     *     *     * 

"We  hold  up  to  the  censure  of  the  community  at  large  this  obstruction  against  the  pro- 
ceedings of  this  Council,  as  tending  to  render  the  Council  of  Censors  not  only  useless  hvA  con- 
temptible, and  as  tending  to  conceal  from  their  constituents  public  abuses,  however  enormous 
or  wasteful  of  the  public  treasure  and  dishonorable  to  the  Commonwealth." 

On  the  same  day  that  the  foregoing  accusation  was  published,  the  General 
Assembly  broke  up  without  adjournment.  The  unconstitutional  introduction 
of  a  bill  for  enfranchising  non-jurors  was  carried  by  the  Speakers  vote,  and  led 
about  twenty  of  the  members  (among  whom  were  Col.  Frederick  Antes,  of  North- 
umberland County  and  Col.  Jacob  Stroud  and  Robert  Brown  of  Northampton 
County)  to  rise,  break  up  the  session  and  deliver  to  the  Speaker  a  \vritten  dissent 
with  respect  to  the  action  of  the  House.  On  the  12th  of  the  ensuing  October, 
a  general  election  took  place  in  the  State,  and,  on  October  25th,  according  to  tlie 
terms  of  the  Constitution,  the  new  Assembly  met  and  organized,  John  Bayard 
being  elected  Speaker. 

We  will  here  state  that  on  September  15th,  the  Assembly  passed  an  "Act  for 
the  more  speedy  restoring  the  possession  of  certain  messuages,  lands  and  tenements 
in  Northumberland  County  to  the  persons  who  lately  held  the  same."  The 
principal  provisions  of  the  Act  were  as  follows: 

"Whereas  a  eral  persons  at  or  near  Wyoming,  in  the  County  of  Northumberland,  were, 
in  the  month  of  May  last,  violently  dispossessed  of  the  messuages,  lands  and  tenements 
which  they  then  occupied,  and  which  are  still  detained  from  them  by  force;  and  the  peculiar 


1432 

circumstances  of  these  cases  require  that  the  possession  of  the  premises,  so  forcibly  entered  and 
detained,  should  be  without  delay  restored  to  the  persons  who  occupied  them  as  aforesaid;  Be 
it  therefore  enacted  *  »  *  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  President  and  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council  to  direct  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  County  of  Northumberland  to 
proceed  forthwith  in  executing  the  laws  relating  to  forcible  entries  and  detainers;  and  that  their 
proceedings  therein  *  *  *  shall  not  be  in  any  manner  whatever  superceded,  impeded  or 
delayed  by  writ  of  certiorari  or  other  writ  issued  by  the  Supreme  Court,  or  any  Judge  thereof, 
or  by  any  other  Court  whatever.  That  this  Act  shall  continue  in  force  until  the  end  of  the 
next  session  of  the  General  Assembly  (beginning  in  October,  1784),  and  no  longer." 

Returning  now  to  Wilkes-Barre,  we  find  that  Col.  John  Armstrong,  Jr., 
left  here  on  Saturday,  September  11,  1784,  for  Easton,  where,  on  September 
14th,  he  wrote  to  President  Dickinson,  as  follows:* 

"Before  your  Excellency's  last  letter  reached  Wyoming  I  had  taken  some  measures  for 
dispersing  such  part  of  the  insurgents  as  remained  in  arms  about  the  mouth  of  Tunkhannock 
Creekf;  and  though  my  intentions  were  far  from  being  fulfilled,  yet  I  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  a  discovery  of  them  has  not  been  without  its  effect,  as  they  have  since  removed  themselves 
much  higher  up  the  river.  Colonel  Moore  will  have  the  honour  to  inform  your  Excellency  of  the 
steps  which  were  taken  to  bring  about  this  purpose. 

"The  fears  which  I  expressed  in  a  former  letter  to  Council  (and  which  had  grown  entirely 
out  of  the  Sheriff's  conduct  at  Sunbury )  have  been  in  some  degree  justified  by  the  conduct  of  the 
people  then  released.  They  have  in  some  instances  taken  up  their  arms  and  retired  into  the  neigh- 
boring hills;  in  others,  they  have  threatened  the  civil  officers  and  refused  to  submit  to  the  laws. 
But  in  no  instance  has  any  real  violence  been  committed,  excepting  one — the  offender  in  which 
case  was  brought  to  immediate  justice.  In  this  situation  I  left  the  settlement  on  Saturday  last, 
and  proposed  to  have  returned  immediately  to  Philadelphia,  but  meeting  Captain  Boyd  at  this 
place  I  have  at  least  suspended  my  intentions  for  a  day  or  two.  *  *  *  j  have  forwarded 
some  depositions  upon  the  affair  of  Locust  Ridge  to  the  Chief  Justice." 

Being  now  in  Easton,  let  us  look  in  on  the  twenty-seven  Wyoming  Yankees 
imprisoned  in  the  old  stone  jail.  We  find  them  still  in  irons  and  confined  to 
two  small  second-story  rooms;  and  we  learn  that,  early  in  September,  chafing 
under  the  restraints  and  burdens  imposed  upon  them,  they  addressed  to  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council    the  following  communication :{ 

"Gentlemen:  Suffer  us,  your  humble  Petitioners,  to  lay  before  your  Honourable  Body 
our  distress'd  Situation;  on  account  of  our  Confinement,  in  this  sultry  season  of  the  year,  about 
thirty  of  us  confined  in  two  small  Rooms,  in  Irons,  and  nothing  to  live  upon  but  one  pound  of 
bread  a  Day,  which  has  impair'd  our  health  to  that  degree  that  we  are  able  just  to  walk  our 
Room  at  present.  But  one  week  more  such  cruel  Treatment  will  most  certainly  reduce  us  to 
the  shades  of  Death,  and  land  us  in  the  world  of  Spirits.  This,  Gentlemen,  is  no  chimera,  but 
God's  Truth;  for  our  animal  spirits,  together  with  our  flesh,  are  almost  exhausted  by  the 
severities  which  we  undergo  in  our  imprisonment,  and  no  one  to  administer  any  consolation  to  us. 
"If  we  have  done  anything  worthy  of  Bonds,  Imprisonment  or  Death,  we  refuse  neither; 
but  to  be  confined  here  in  this  dismal  place  and  not  suffered  to  have  the  fresh  air  which  God  has 
made  free  for  all  His  creation — and  not  only  deprived  of  this  great  and  inconceivable  blessing, 
but  denied  the  necessaries  of  life,  as  tho  it  was  the  determination  of  those  who  put  us  here  to 
destroy  us  by  a  lingering  Death,  and  make  that  as  ghastly  and  formidable  as  possible. 

"We  cannot  possibly  think  but  that  we  have  stood  up  for  the  Honor  and  Dignity  of  this 
State  in  what  we  have  done,  and  that  the  allegation  laid  to  our  charge  originated  in  malice  and 
revenge ;  and  we  are  not  alone  in  our  judgment.  Therefore,  we  your  humble  and  injured  petitioners 
would  most  humbly  pray  that  your  honorable  Body  would  exert  yourselves  to  do  us  Justice, 
and  consequently  emancipate  us  from  this  intolerable  and,  as  we  think,  unjust  confinement,  or 
we  must  soon  be  beyond  your  help  or  any  finite  being's.  And  if  your  Honorable  Body  can  see 
fit  in  your  wisdom  &  goodness  to  grant  our  humble  prayer,  we  will,  as  in  duty  bound,  ever  pray,  &c. 

"Joseph  Corey  William  Slocum 

Gideon  Church  Nathaniel  Walker 

Nathaniel  Cook  Thomas  Read 

Benjamin  Jenkins  Elisha  Harding 

William  Jenkins  Walter  Spencer 

Abraham  Pike  John  Gore 

Lord  Butler  Jonathan  Burwell 

John  Hurlbut  Jeremiah  White 

Daniel  Sullivan  Prince  Alden,  Jr. 

William  Jackson  Thomas  Stoddard 

Richard  Hallstead  Elisha  Harris 

Edward  Inman  Justus  Gaylord 

Thomas  Heath,  Jr.  John  Platner 

Abram  Nesbitt." 
*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  658. 

tTuBkhannock  Creek  empties  into  the  Susquehanna  almost  apposite  the  mouth  of  Bowman's  Creek. 
+See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:690. 


1433 

Some  time  having  elapsed  after  the  transmission  of  this  petition  to  the 
Council,  and  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners  not  being  changed  for  the  better, 
they  determined  to  resort  to  desperate  measures.  They  pur'sued  a  course  of 
"watchful  waiting,"  and  finally  there  came  to  them  an  opportunity  for  accom- 
plishing something — something  requiring  quick  and  vigorous  action. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  September  17,  1784,  Frederick 
Barthold,  the  assistant  jailer,  unlocked  the  doors  of  the  rooms  in  which  the 
Wyoming  prisoners  were  confined,  in  order  to  allow  two  from  each  room, 
according  to  custom,  to  go  down  stairs  to  fetch  a  supply  of  bread  and  water 
for  the  party.  Immediately  Edward  Inman*,  a  man  of  great  strength  and 
personal  courage,  pounced  upon  Barthold,  choked  him,  and,  wrenching  from 
his  hand  the  bunch  of  keys  which  he  carried,  beat  him  over  his  head  with  them 
until  he  became  senseless.  Inman  then  unlocked  the  doors  of  the  two  rooms 
occupied  by  the  Wyoming  men,  and  the  iron  gate  at  the  foot  of  the  stairway, 
and  the  whole  party  hurried  down  stairs  and  through  the  gate,  where  they 
were  met  by  Peter  Ealer,  the  jailer  (who  in  November,  1784,  became  Sheriff 
of  Northampton  County),  and  his  wife.  Ealer  attempted  to  shut  the  gate, 
at  the  same  time  calling  to  his  wife  to  shut  and  lock  the  front,  or  street  door 
of  the  jail.  Failing  in  his  efforts  to  close  the  gate,  Ealer  himself  ran  to  the  front 
door,  but  he  could  not  fasten  it,  as  the  key  was  not  in  the  lock. 

The  escaping  prisoners  swarmed  into  the  lobby,  or  main  corridor,  where, 
from  a  pile  of  fire- wood,  many  of  them  secured  stout  billets  for  weapons  of  defense. 
Thrusting  Ealer  aside,  in  no  gentle  manner,  the  whole  party,  including  Edward 
Inman,  still  holding  on  to  the  jail  keys,  escaped  from  the  building,  scooted 
down  an  adjoining  alley,  and  then  scattered  in  various  directions.  A  citizen 
living  opposite  the  jail,  who  witnessed  this  somewhat  informal  general  jail  delivery 
ran  into  the  street,  alarmed  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood  and  called  them 
to  arms,  "but  as  it  was  a  rainy  day  they  did  not  come  timely  to  assistance. "t 
However,  a  hot  pursuit  was  soon  begun,  and  before  nightfall  the  pursuing  party 
had  retaken  and  returned  to  the  jail  eleven  of  the  fugitives,  as  follows :  Edward 
Inman,  Benjamin  Jenkins,  Lord  Butler,  John  Hurlbut,  William  Slocum,  Thomas 
Read,  Walter  Spencer,  Jonathan  Burwell,  Jeremiah  White,  Prince  Alden,  Jr., 
and  John  Platner. 

The  sixteen  other  fugitives  made  their  way  with  great  difficulty  to  Wyoming, 
where  they  joined  Captain  Swift  and  his  party,  who,  about  that  time,  had  left 
their  retreat  at  the  mouth  of  Bowman's  Creek  and  taken  possession  of  the  four 
log  houses  known  as  Fort  Defence,  near  Brockway's,  in  Kingston  Township. 
(See  page  1394.) 

Colonel  Armstrong  and  Captain  Boyd,  two  of  the  Wyoming  Commissioners, 
were  in  Easton  when  the  Wyoming  Yankees  broke  jail,  and  the  next  day  they 
were  joined  there  by  the  other  two  Commissioners — Colonel  Read  and  John 
Okely,  Esq.  On  the  same  day  the  four  set  out  for  Wilkes-Barre,  where  they 
arrived  in  the  morning  of  Monday,  September  20th. 

Some  hours  after  their  arrival,  three  of  the  Commissioners  were  subjected 
to  an  unpleasant  experience  on  Northampton  Street,  while  returning  to  the 
inn   of  John    HoUenback  from    a   visit  to  Fort    Dickinson.   From  depositionsj 

*See  note,  page  1110,  Vol.  II. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  665-667. 

ISee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  659. 


1434 

made  two  days  later  by  Messrs.  Read  and  Okely,  we  learn  that  they,  accompanied 
by  Captain  Boyd,  were  proceeding  along  the  street  when  two  armed  men — one 
of  whom  was  Waterman  Baldwin* — came  rushing  out  of  a  house  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  way  and  ordered  Captain  Boyd  to  halt.  Baldwin,  holding  a  stick 
over  the  head  of  Boyd,  said:  "You  are  Captain  Boyd,  ain't  you?  And  you 
were  one  of  the  Commissioners  who  pulled  off  your  hats  to  us  when  we  laid  down 
our  arms."t  Boyd  replied  that  he  was,  whereupon  Baldwin  said,  "Now  I  order 
you  to  pull  off  your  hat  to  me;"  at  the  same  time  violently  striking  Boyd  three 
or  four  times  with  his  stick.  Then  with  dire  threats  of  a  lambasting,  Baldwin 
invited  Boyd  to  go  into  the  woods  with  him.  Boyd  refused,  saying,  "If  you 
have  any  business  with  me,  come  to  my  quarters."  Baldwin  then  asked,  "How 
long  do  you  intend  to  stay  here?"  "As  long  as  my  business  calls  me,"  replied 
Boyd.    Baldwin  and  his  companion  then  walked  off. 

That  considerable  turbulence  and  disorder  prevailed  in  Wyoming  Valley 
at  this  time,  we  learn  from  a  number  of  depositions!  which  were  made  before 
Justices  Henry  Shoemaker  and  John  Seety,  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  latter  part  of 
September,  1784.    Joseph  King,  of  the  township  of  Shawanese,  deposed: 

"That  on  Sunday,  September  19,  while  he  and  another  man,  with  his  wife,  sat  in  his  own 
house  he  was  fired  upon  from  without  by  some  person,  then  unseen;  that  going  to  the  door  to 
enquire  the  cause  of  it,  he  was  instantly  surrounded  by  about  a  dozen  armed  men,  who  began  to 
beat  this  deponent  with  great  violence;  that,  breaking  from  them,  he  retired  within  the  door  of 
his  house,  and  with  the  assistance  of  his  wife  endeavored  to  keep  the  assailants  out;  that  they 
shut  and  latched  the  door  for  this  purpose,  when  the  assailants  broke  it  open  and  began  again 
to  beat  this  deponent  with  the  butts  of  their  guns,  and  otherwise  much  abuse  him  and  his  wife; 
that  they  then  extorted  a  promise  from  him,  under  pain  of  death,  that  he  would  not  make  any 
information  against  them,  and  that  they  then  withdrew;  that  some  of  the  persons  thus  assailing 
him  he  knew,  viz.:  John  Swift,  EHsha  Satterlee,  Waterman  Baldwin,  Frederick  Budd  and  Phineas 
Stephens." 

William  Lantarman  deposed,  as  follows: 

"That  on  Monday,  September  20,  being  in  his  father's  corn  field,  in  the  township  of  Stoke, 
he  there  met  Waterman  Baldwin,  who  asked  him  where  his  father  was,  and  told  him  that  if  he 
caught  him  taking  any  corn  out  of  that  field  he  (Baldwin)  would  scalp  him.  This  deponent  then 
told  him  that  he  had  come  to  get  some  com,  and  added:  'You  will  not  shoot  me,  will  you?'  Upon 
which  Baldwin  replied  that  he  would.  The  deponent  then  told  him  that  such  conduct  would 
be  contrary  to  law,  when  Baldwin  answered  that  there  was  no  law  here;  that  he  had  tried  it  long 
enough,  and  that  Swift  and  he  and  thirty  others  had  come  down  to  take  the  corn  by  force  and 
keep  it.    That  he  (Baldwin)  was  armed  with  a  rifle  gun  and  two  pistols." 

Obadiah  Walker,  deposed  as  follows : 

"That  on  September  21,  being  at  the  house  of Trucks,  in  the  township  of  Shawanese 

John  Swift,  Elisha  Satterlee,  Waterman  Baldwin  and  Phineas  Stephens  came  into  the  aforesaid 
house,  and,  after  boasting  of  having  beaten  Major  Boyd,  one  of  the  Commissioners,  John  Swift 
drew  the  wiper  from  the  rifle  with  which  he  was  armed  and  struck  this  deponent  with  it  about 
fifty  times,  with  all  his  force,  and  then  departed  from  the  house." 

Nicodemus  Travis,  deposed  as  follows: 

"On  September  20,  being  at  his  labor  on  Jacob's  Plains,  Daniel  Gore  came  up  to  him  with 
three  stones  in  one  hand  and  a  club  in  the  other,  and  declaring  that  he  would  sacrifice  him  if  he 
did  not  leave  the  oats  which  he  had  in  his  wagon.  He  further  declared  that  he  (Travis)  should 
have  none  of  his  crops,  and  at  length  obliged  the  deponent  to  unload  and  leave  the  oats  on  the 
ground.  The  deponent  says  that  he  sowed  these  oats  in  peace;  and  further  saith  that  he  is  afraid 
his  life  will  be  taken  should  he  return  again  to  look  after  his  property." 

On  September  22nd,  the  Commissioners  at  Wilkes-Barre  sent  a  formal  inquiry 
to  Justices  John  Seely,  Henry  Shoemaker  and  David  Mead,  as  to  whether  or 
not,  in  their  opinion,  the  Commissioners  could  "proceed  in  the  execution  of 
their  trust  with  security  to  their  persons;   and  what  security,  if  any,"  the  mag- 

*The  other  was  undoubtedly  Phineas  Stephens. 
fSeepage  1418. 
tSee"PennsyIvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  659-668. 


1435 

istrates  could  give  them.    To  this  inquiry  the  magistrates  replied  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  in  part  as  follows;* 

"We  offer  it  as  our  joint  opinion  that  you  cannot  proceed  to  the  execution  of  the  trust  com- 
mitted to  you,  with  security  to  your  persons  or  to  the  dignity  of  the  State  which  is  so  inseparably 
connected  with  it.  We  have  also  contemplated  every  means  in  our  power  to  give  you  the  pro- 
tection you  wish  for,  and  can  find-it  only  in  the  interposition  of  an  armed  force.  We  are  therefore 
induced  to  propose  to  your  own  consideration  the  propriety  of  applying  to  this  alternative;  while 
we  cannot  (in  justice  to  what  we  believe  to  be  the  sentiments  of  a  very  respectable  part  of  this 
community)  but  declare  that  a  force  very  adequate  to  your  protection  can  be  immediately  obtained." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  September  24th,  the  Commissioners  wrote  to  President 
Dickinson  as  follows: 

"Wyoming,  24th  September,  1784. 

'Sir,  The  papers  enclosed  will  explain  to  your  Excellency  and  Council  the  interruptions 
we  have  met  in  executing  the  trust  reposed  in  us.  The  spirit  of  violence  which  presented  itself 
upon  our  arrival  at  this  place  &  the  daring  outrage  upon  the  person  of  Major  Boyd,  which  imme- 
mediately  followed,  were  so  alarming  in  themselves  and  connected  with  so  many  exagg;erating 
circumstances  as  to  produce  the  inclosed  application  to  the  Magistracy  (mark'd  No.  7);  their 
reply  I  No.  S) ;  while  it  confirmed  our  apprehensions  of  farther  violence,  left  us  however  a  good 
deal  embarras'd,  &  has  made  this  communication  immediately  necessary.  Your  Excellency 
will  observe  that  while  they  give  us  assurances  that  'a  force  adequate  to  our  protection  may  be 
immediately  obtained',  they  leave  it  to  'our  own  determination,  whether  an  application  to  this 
alternative  be  necessary  or  expedient.'  Upon  this  point  we  have  some  doubts;  which  have  grown 
out  of  a  belief  that  a  step  of  this  kind  in  us  would  induce  to  hostilities  &  precipitate  this  unfortunate 
country  again  into  bloodshed.  We  therefore  commit  ourselves  in  this  instance  to  the  wisdom 
of  Council,  &  hope  from  that  for  such  a  decision  as  will  best  promote  the  intentions  of  Govern- 
ment &  the  interest  of  the  public. 

"As  we  feel  ourselves  oblig'd  to  offer  matters  of  opinion  as  well  as  fact  to  your  Honorable 
l5oard  we  cannot  suppress  our  apprehensions  that  the  grain  now  on  the  ground  will  begin  some 
immediate  violence.  It  has  already  been  the  subject  of  dispute,  and  we  have  been  press'd  by 
some  of  the  Connecticut  claimants  to  an  immediate  decision  upon  it,  as  the  great  point  upon  w-hich 
the  peace  of  this  country  depended.  We  have  been  told  that  unless  this  decision  was  in  their 
favor,  an  appeal  to  arms  would  be  the  consequence.  We  are  here  led  to  one  observation  which 
cannot  but  make  Council  as  unhappy  as  the  cause  of  it  has  made  us,  viz.:  that  the  lenity  of  Govern- 
ment so  explicitly  shown  by  their  late  laws  &  resolutions  in  favor  of  this  description  of  people, 
do  not  seem  to  have  yet  had  all  the  effect  upon  their  disposition  which  was  to  have  been  expected 
from  it;  while  on  the  other  hand  we  cannot  but  declare  our  happiness  in  finding  the  Pennsylvania 
claimants,  in  every  instance  which  has  fallen  under  our  observations,  accommodating  themselves 
to  the  acknowledged  principles  of  order  and  good  government. 

"We  are,  sir,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient  &  very  humble 
Servants, 

[Signed]  "Jno.  Boyd, 

"John  Armstrong,  Jr. 
"James  Read 
"J.  Okely." 

'P.  S.    From  motives  of  a  very  obvious  policy  we  have  yet  declined  giving  any  opinion 
respecting  the  grain.    The  bearerf  is  an  intelligent  &  very  confidential  person." 
"Directed, 

To  His  Excellency  John  Dickinson,  Esq." 

This  letter  was  received  at  Philadelphia,  by  President  Dickinson,  and  read 
in  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  on  September  28th. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  September  25th,  the  Commissioners  issued  the  follow- 
ing  advertisement,    which   was   posted   in   several   public   places. 

"Whereas  the  Honorable  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  have  by  their  resolution  of  the 
9th  inst.  appointed  us,  the  subscribers,  to  carry  into  effect  a  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly, 
taken  on- the  7th  of  the  same  month  for  the  following  purposes,  viz.: 

"1st,  To  obtain  the  most  exact  knowledge  they  can  get  of  the  names  of  the  Widows  & 
Children  of  such  persons  as  were  lately  settled  at  or  near  Wyoming,  and  have  fallen  fighting 
against  the  Savages. 

^"2dly,  Of  all  such  others  as  did  actually  reside  on  the  Lands  at  or  near  Wyoming  when 
the  late  Decree  was  given  at  Trenton,  30th  Dec'r,  1782. 

"3dly,    Of  the  Widows  &  Children  of  such  of  them  as  have  since  died. 

"4thly,  Of  the  quantity  of  Land  possessed  by  each  of  the  persons  before  described  at  the 
tim;  of  his  Death,  or  of  the  said  Decree,  respectively. 

"5thly,    Of  the  Improvements  on  each  of  the  said  parcels  of  Land. 

"See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  663. 
+\\-illiani  Sims 


1436 


"6thly. 
was  founded. 
"7thly, 
"Sthly, 
"9thly, 


Of  the  nature  of  the  Claim  on  which  the  possessions  of  each  parcel  as  aforesaid 


Of  the  Evidences  in  support  of  such  Claim. 

Of  what  parts  of  such  Lands  are  claimed  under  Pennsylvania,  &c. 

By  whom. 

"We  do  therefore  give  this  public  notice  to  all  concerned  that  on  Monday  next  [September 
27]  we  will  begin  to  receive  all  such  information  upon  the  preceding  subjects  [excepting  the  5th 
article]  as  may  be  laid  before  us;  and  for  this  purpose  we  have  thought  it  proper  to  direct  that 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  Township  of  Stoke  will  attend  on  Monday,  Tuesday  &  Wednesday  next, 
and  the  Inhabitants  of  Shawnee  Township  on  Thursday,  Friday  &  Saturday  following,  at  the 
House  of  John  Hollenback  in  the  Township  of  Stoke." 

The   same   day   that   the   foregoing   advertisement   was  issued,    a   petition 

or  remonstrance,  was  prepared  at  Wyoming,  addressed  to  Commissioners  Read 

and  Okley,  which  was  signed  by  eighty-four  of  the  New  England  settlers.     The 

document  read  as  follows:* 

"Wyoming,  Sept.  25th,  1784. 
"The  Hons.  James  Read  and  John  Okely,  Commissioners. 

"Gentlemen,  We  can't  but  observe  the  good  Intention  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  behalf  of  the  Connecticut  Claimants,  in  the  late  Resolve  of  that  Honorable  House; 
which  reflects  much  Honor  upon  them,  and  will  terminate  much  in  Favor  of  the  Connecticut 
Claimants.  And  also  the  Resolve  of  the  General  Assembly,  authorizing  the  President  and  Council 
to  appoint  Commissioners  to  repair  to  Wyoming  in  order  to  ascertain  the  Names  of  those  brave 
men  who  fought,  bled  and  expired  in  the  glorious  Cause  of  liberty  and  Property. 

"And  what  quantity  of  Lands  they  occupied  and  possess'd;  and  also  the  names  of  the 
Widdows  and  Fatherless  Children ;  that  the  General  Assembly  might  be  in  a  Capacity  to  make 
a  just  Discrimination,  and  extend  their  Humanity  and  Commiseration  to  those  Persons  who  had 
been  the  greatest  sufferers  by  the  Depredations  of  the  Savages;  And  also  the  names  of  those  who 
liv'd  here  at  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  the  Quantity  of  Lands  they  possessed  at  that  Time,  their 
Title,  etc. 

"The  above  Resolve  we  can't  but  take  the  greatest  Notice  of,  and  assure  you.  Gentlemen, 
that  our  Hearts  glow  with  Gratitude  and  high  Esteem  for  that  Honorable  House;  yet  at  the 
same  time  let  us  tell  you,  that  we  are  sorry  to  say  that  we  have  just  Reason  to  suspect  that  Iwo 
of  the  Commissioners  are  so  prejudiced  against  the  Connecticut  Claimants  that  it's  impossible 
for  them  to  do  Justice,  and  therefore  very  unfit  persons  to  act  in  that  Capacity. 

"The  Gentlemen  whom  we  refer  to  are  Lt.  Col.  John  Armstrong  and  John  Boyd.  Esqr., 
who  have  once  deceived  us  by  forfeiting  their  word  and  Honour;  especially  Col.  John  Armstrong, 
who  now  appears  to  be  replete  with  Prejudice,  and  we  may  say  Malice,  against  us;  for  when  the 
civil  Question  was  ask'd  Esqr.  Boyd,  'Is  Col.  Armstrong  one  of  the  Commissioners?'  the  said 
Col.  spoke  and  said,  'Yes  I  am,  and  I  will  make  you  know  it,  too!' 

"Now,  Gentlemen,  we  leave  you  to  judge  whether  a  man  who  is  capable  of  giving  such 
an  answer  to  Gentlemen,  and  at  the  same  Time  show'd  such  Prejudice,  is  fit  for  a  Commissioner. 
We  have  reason  to  believe  that  no  justice  can  come  from  Men  who  have  such  Prepossessions 
and  Prejudices  against  us  as  those  Gentlemen  appear  to  have,  together  with  the  111  Treatment 
the  Connecticut  Claimants  have  already  received  from  the  above  mentioned  Gentlemen. 

"Therefore,  we  the  Subscribers  do  most  solemnly,  and  in  the  name  of  everything  that  is 
sacred  and  dear  to  us  as  Christians,  throw  in  our  Protestations  against  John  Boyd,  Esqr.,  and 
Lt.  Col.  John  Armstrong  acting  in  the  capacity  of  Commissioners,  especially  the  latter. 

"We  are.  Gentlemen,  with  suitable  Respects,  your  most  obed't  and  most  humble  servants, 


Samuel  Ayres 
Richard  Brockway 
Andw.  Blanchard 
Wm.  Buck 
.  Elijah  Buck 
James  Bidlack 
Josh.  Bennet 
John  Budd 
Fred.  Budd 
James  Brown 
James  Brown,  Jr. 
James  Benedict 
Ishmael  Bennet 
Reuben  Cook 
Ralph  Compter 
John  Carey 
Elias  Church 
Nathl.  Cook 
Manassah  Cady 
Jeremiah  Colman 
Benj.  Cole 

*See  "Pennsylvania  .Archives", 


Jonathan  Center 
James  Cole 
Barnabas  Carey 
Jonathan  Corey 
John  Dorrance 
Jon.  Davis 
Elisha  Drake 
Amos  Egleston 
Frederick  Eveland 
John  Franklin 
Solomon  Finch 
Samuel  Gore 
Joseph  Gaylord 
Ambrose  Gaylord 
Stephen  Gardner 
Daniel  Gore 
Benjamin  Harvey 
Elisha  Harvey 
Timothy  Hopkins 
Samuel  Hallet 
Abraham  Harding 

Old  Series,  X:  670. 


Henry  Harding 
Thomas  Heath 
Danl.  Holly 
Richard  Inman 
Ebenezer  Johnson 
Wm.  Jacques 
Eldad  Kellogg 
Joseph  Leonard 
Eph.  Lewis 
David  Mitchel 
Samuel  Miller 
William  Miller 
Phineas  Nash 
James  Nisbitt 
Thomas  Neill 
John  O'Neal 
Phineas  Peirce 
Daniel  Peirce 
Abel  Peirce 
Noah  Pettebone 
Thomas  Park 


Aaron  Perkins 
Darius  Parke 
Samuel  Ransom 
Josiah  Rogers 
Hezekiah  Roberts 
John  Rosecrance 
Fra.  Stevens 
John  Scott 
David  Sanford 
John  Staples 
Wm.  Hooker  Smith 
Samuel  Tubbs 
Joseph  Thomas 
Jonah  Woodworth 
Jabez  Winship 
Wm.  Williams 
Abraham  Westbrook 
Leonard  Westbrook 
Richard  Westbrook 
James  Westbrook 
John  Wright 


14,S7 

Concerning  the  visit  of  Colonel  Armstrong  and  his  fellow  Commissioners  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  in  September,  1784,  Col.  John  Franklin  wrote  as  follows,  in  his 
"Brief,"  several  times  referred  to  hereinbefore. 

"The  said  Commissioners  arrived  at  Wyoming  September  20.  Previous  to  this  Council 
had  been  well  informed  of  the  cruel  treatment  of  Armstrong  and  Boyd  towards  the  Connecticut 
settlers  |in  August.  17S4|.  On  their  arrival  Messrs.  John  Franklin,  Ebenezer  Johnson,  Phineas 
Peirce  and  Giles  Slocum  were  requested  to  meet  the  Commissioners.  They  were  also  requested 
(as  the  leading  men  among  the  settlers)  to  transact  the  business  with  the  Commissioners  in  be- 
half of  the  said  settlers,  which  was  agreed  to.  However,  the  day  following  the  Commissioners 
informed  us  that  they  had  appointed  other  persons  to  transact  the  business  in  behalf  of  the  Con- 
necticut settlers,  and  [they  were]  three  persons  who  were  entirely  unacquainted  with  business  of 
that  kind. 

"The  Commissioners  continued  at  Wyoming,  about  six  days,  and  appeared  to  transact 
their  business  principally  with  Alexander  Patterson  and  his  party  at  the  Garrison.  A  remon- 
strance was  drawn  up  against  Messrs.  Armstrong  and  Boyd  proceeding  in  the  capacity  of  Com- 
missioners, as  being  persons  replete  with  prejudice  against  the  Connecticut  settlers,  and  that 
we  could  not  expect  any  justice  at  their  hands.  This  remonstrance  was  addressed  to  Messrs. 
Read  and  Okely,  to  be  by  them  transmitted  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council;  but  before  it 
was  conveyed  to  them  the  Commissioners  had  absconded,  in  this  manner: 

"Mr.  Armstrong  had  taken  his  lodgings  in  the  Garrison  with  his  friend  Patterson;  the  other 
three  lodged  at  the  house  of  Mr.  [John]  Hollenback,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Garrison.  In 
the  night  season  of  Sunday,  September  26,  an  alarm  was  made,  the  Garrison  and  the  house  of 
Mr.  Hollenback  (where  the  Commissioners  lodged)  were  fired  upon,  and  the  Commissioners 
ran  off,  and  shortly  afterwards  made  their  report  to  Council  that  they  were  fired  upon  by  the 
Connecticut  people  and  were  obliged  to  flee  for  their  lives.  However,  their  report  was  false! 
The  Connecticut  party  were  innocent,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  attack  until  it  was  over.  The 
fact  is,  the  attack  was  made  by  the  people  of  the  Garrison,  and  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  but 
that  Armstrong  and  Boyd,  with  their  friend  Patterson,  were  the  inventors  of  the  plan.  Messrs. 
Read  and  Okely  might  probably  be  innocent.  It  may  be  remarked  that,  though  'a  severe  attack 
was  made',  there  was  not  any  person  hurt." 

As  previously  mentioned,  the  letter  from  the  Commissioners  written  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  on  September  24th,  was  read  in  Council  on  September  28th,  and 
the  same  day,  by  direction  of  Council,  President  Dickinson  wrote  to  the  Commis- 
sioners as  follows* : 

"We  have  received  your  Letter  of  the  24th  Instant,  &  are  concerned,  that  such  a  spirit 
of  violence  prevails  among  the  settlers. 

"As  Captain  Boyd  &  Colonel  Armstrong  have  had  opportunities  of  acquainting  themselves 
with  many  Circumstances  relating  to  the  late  Disturbances,  it  is  our  wish  that  they  may  im- 
mediately repair  to  Philadelphia,  that  we  may  receive  from  them  all  necessary  Information. 

"Messrs.  Read  &  Okely  are  impowered  to  proceed  in  the  Execution  of  the  Commission; 
and  we  hope  that  when  the  nature  of  it  is  fully  made  known  to  the  deluded  People  who  have 
been  so  troublesome,  they  will  perceive  that  it  is  dictated  by  a  Desire  to  treat  them  with  Equity. 

"If  such  interruptions  shall  be  given  to  the  proceedings  of  these  two  Commissioners,  that 
they  cannot  with  safety  discharge  the  trust  delegated  to  them,  their  presence  at  Wioming  will 
be  useless,  for  the  Business  is  of  such  a  kind  that  it  cannot  be  accomplished  but  in  free  Conference 
with  the  settlers.  An  armed  force  would  not  promote  it;  and  besides,  such  a  measure  would  not 
be  agreeable  to  the  sense  of  the  Legislature.  We  rely  upon  the  Prudence  &  firmness  of  the  Com- 
missioners, that  they  will  make  every  possible  effort  before  they  relinquish  an  affair  of  so  much 
importance. 

"With  Respect  to  Grain  raised  on  disputed  Lands,  it  appears  to  us  equitable,  upon  a  Con- 
sideration of  all  Circumstances  that  it  should  be  divided  among  the  Claimants  in  an  amicable 
manner,  so  that  their  present  necessities  may  be  as  much  as  possible  relieved,  &  those  that  may 
reasonably  be  apprehended  in  the  approaching  winter  be  prevented. 

"We  should  be  glad  to  know  in  particular  the  names  of  those  settlers  who  were  expelled 
last  spring,  &  of  such  of  them  as  are  now  again  repossessed  of  their  Houses,  Lots  or  Lands." 

This  letter  was  delivered  to  William  Sims,  the  Commissioners'  express, 
who  immediately  set  out  for  Wilkes-Barre;  but  before  he  had  covered  half  his 
journey,  he  met  the  Commissioners  en  route  to  Philadelphia.  Delivering  the 
Council's  letter  to  them,  Sims  proceeded  on  to  Wilkes-Barre. 

At  Philadelphia,  October  1,  1784,  the  four  Commissioners  signed,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  Council    the  following  report! : 

"We  beg  leave  to  take  up  the  report  of  our  proceedings  under  the  late  appointment  of 
Council,  where  our  letter  of  the  24th  left  it. 

"The  disposition  to  violence  discovered  by  the  Connecticut  claimants,  while  it  gives  us 
room  to  apprehend  an  immediate  outrage  of  the  public  peace,  could  not  entirely  suspend  our 

*See  "Pennsylvania  .'Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  M9         tSee  ibid.,  page  676. 


1438 

endeavors  to  execute  the  intentions  of  Government;  &  tho  we  regretted  that  want  of  confidence 
which  the  resolutions  of  the  Assembly  supposed,  and  which,  at  first  view,  we  considered  as  in- 
separable from  the  service  we  were  instructed  to  perform,  yet  we  could  not  feel  ourselves  justified 
in  omitting  anything  which  but  tended  to  remove  such  ill-founded  prejudice,  and  reconcile  the 
minds  of  this  deluded  people  to  the  admission  of  a  service  so  evidently  calculated  to  promote 
their  exclusive  interest. 

"To  elTect  this  desirable  purpose,  the  first  step  which  presented  itself  to  us  as  necessary 
and  proper  was  the  promulgation  of  the  objects  for  which  we  came.  This  was  made  in  a  manner 
which,  of  all  others,  we  flattered  ourselves  would  most  contribute  to  a  cheerful  reception  of  it. 
It  was  put  into  the  hands  of  one  of  their  very  confidential  men,  who  engaged  to  second  it  with 
all  his  professional  as  well  as  personal  influence.  This  was  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson.  With  these 
dispositions,  and  in  this  manner,  did  we  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  our  trust,  when  a  very  serious 
interruption  was  given  to  our  further  proceedings. 

"About  12  o'clock  at  night,  on  Sunday  the  26th  iilt.,  a  party  of  Connecticut  claimants, 
whose  number  is  yet  undetermined,  attempted  to  break  open  the  store-house  in  which  the  public 
and  other  arms  were  deposited.  It  is  probable  that  their  original  design  upon  this  occasion 
went  no  farther,  and  that  if  thej'  had  been  able  to  succeed  in  the  robbery  no  other  excess  would 
have  immediately  followed;  but  having  been  early  discovered  from  a  neighboring  house  (the 
quarters  of  Colonel  Armstrong),  and  meeting  with  some  opposition  from  thence,  they  soon  turned 
their  arms  thither,  and  exchanged  several  shots  with  that  gentleman  and  three  or  four  others  who 
were  with  him.  Retiring,  however,  from  this  resistance,  they  carried  their  attack  to  the  house 
of  Mr.  John  HoUenback,  where  the  remaining  part  of  us  lodged,  and  after  discharging  several 
guns  upon  it  (from  the  effects  of  which  Messrs.  Boyd  and  Okely  narrowly  escaped),  they  then 
withdrew  in  to  the  bushes  and  disappeared. 

"We  now  saw  an  end  to  our  business  with  the  utmost  regret,  and  that  it  was  improper  for  us 
to  remain  longer  in  a  country  where  every  moment  threatened  us  with  the  dangers  of  assassination. 

"Under  the  influence  of  this  opinion,  we  called  upon  the  magistrates  and  some  other 
principal  Pennsylvania  claimants,  and  left  with  them  a  paper  of  acknowledgments,  for  the  support 
which  they  had  in  every  instance  discovered  an  inclination  to  give  us;  of  advice  to  keep  themselves 
in  as  defensible  state  as  possible,  and  of  assurance  that  as  we  believed  the  late  attack  upon  us  to 
be  introductory  to  other  mischief,  we  would  exert  every  nerve  in  our  power  to  bring  Government 
into  some  decisive  measures  for  their  relief.  Under  these  assurances  we  left  them  about  3 
o'clock  on  Monday,  the  27th  ult. 

"The  events  which  have  since  happened,  and  have  been  brought  forward  by  express, 
which  are  truly  lamentable,  and  serve  to  confirm  the  opinions  we  have  already  expressed  of  the 
intended  violence  of  the  Connecticut  claimants,  and  the  distress  and  suffering  which  we  are  afraid 
the  better  subjects  of  the  State  are  fated  to  undergo. 

"Captain  Patterson's  letter  of  the  28th  September  and  the  deposition  of  Captain  Shoemaker 
of  the  same  date  are  submitted  as  a  part  of  this  report. 

"We  beg  leave  to  close  this  representation  by  offering  to  Council  the  result  of  our  enquiries 
into  the  character  of  the  people  called  Connecticut  Claimants.  With  very  few  exceptions  they 
appear  to  be  a  Banditti,  who,  having  fled  from  the  operation  of  other  laws,  are  very  unwilling  to 
submit  to  the  restraint  of  ours,  and  who  are  without  any  well-founded  pretentions  to  either  prop- 
erty or  reputation." 

The  letter  of  Captain  Patterson  and  the  deposition  of  Captain  Shoemaker 
referred  to  in  the  foregoing  report,  read  as  follows* : 

"Wyoming,  September  2S,  1784. 

"Sir:  Eleven  hours  after  you  Left  this  place  We  were  Surrounded  by  the  Connecticut 
Band.  They  kept  up  a  hot  and  Incessant  fire  for  the  Space  of  Two  hours;  you  know  that  our 
House  is  not  proof  against  Shot;  poor  Lieuts.  Reed  &  Henderson  are  boath  Mortally  Wounded. 
Mr.  Reed  is  Shot  from  the  Back  and  into  the  Guts;  Henderson  is  Shot  in  five  places,  one  of  which 
is  in  his  Breast;  that  is  the  Dangerous  one.  Capt.  Shoemaker  and  Henderson  attempted  to  gain 
the  Blockhouse;  poor  Henderson  fell  at  the  Door;  Capt.  Shoemaker  Gained  the  Blockhouse, 
to  whose  Exertions  we  owe  our  Lives  who  remain.  The  Enemy  put  a  burning  Toarch  to  our 
House,  which  struck  me  with  the  utmost  Horror.  I  stript  myself  naked  and  went  out  at  the 
window  and  Pushed  the  fire  off  with  my  Gun.  Soon  after,  Capt.  Shoemaker,  as  we  Suppose, 
Killed  or  Mortally  wounded  one  of  the  Villians;  we  heard  his  Groans.  This  morning  Discovered 
Much  Blood  and  found  his  Rifle. 

"From  the  Time  you  left  us  we  had  only  Time  to  remove  the  Arms  and  ammunition  into 
Shrawder's  Room,  where  they  are  safe.  The  Justices,  with  myself,  purpose  calling  in  the  Coun- 
try, and  will  Endeavor  to  Make  a  stand  untill  we  hear  from  Government,  which  I  pray  God  may 
be  soon. 

"There  is  no  Doubt  but  that  Johnson,  Franklin  and  Pierce  were  among  the  Murderers. 

"Oh!  for  Pitty's  sake  stimulate  Government  to  Grant  us  Imediate  and  Effectual  relief; 
it  is  not  Possible  to  Describe  my  Mortification  for  my  two  Brave  Gentlemanly  Bosom  friends. 
I  have  no  more  Time.    Adieu." 

"Deposition  of  Captain  Shoemaker. 

"Before  me,  John  Seely,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  County  of 
Northumberland,  appeared  Henry  Shoemaker,  Esq.,  and  being  duly  sworn  doth  depose  and  say: 

*.See  "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Old  Series.  X:  674,  675. 


1439 

That  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  Tuesday,  the  28th  insl.,  came  to  the  house  where  the 
fort  was  a  number  of  people  known  by  the  name  of  Connecticut  Claimants,  and  after  giving  a 
number  of  Indian  yells  they,  the  said  enemies,  began  a  very  heavy  fire  on  the  house  with  rifles 
and  musquetry.  The  deponent  and  the  other  gentlemen  were  in  bed.  Mr.  Samuel  Read*,  as 
he  was  rising  from  his  bed,  received  a  mortal  wound  through  the  back  and  in  the  guts.  Mr. 
Andrew  Henderson*,  striving  to  gain  another  house,  was  wounded  in  five  different  places,  one  of 
which,  in  the  breast,  is  supposed  to  be  mortal.  The  enemy,  during  the  fire,  made  several  attempts 
to  fire  the  dwelling-house  and  burn  up  alive  all  that  was  in  it.  They  continued  firing  about  two 
hours,  broke  open  the  public  store-house,  carried  off  some  arms  and  a  quantity  of  ammunition." 

[Signed]         "HENRY  Shoemaker." 

"Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  at  Wyoming,  September  28,  1784. 

[Signed]  "John  Seelv." 

"At  the  same  time  appeared  Alexander  Patterson,  and  being  duly  sworn  declares  that  the 
within  deposition  is  just  and  true. 

"At  the  same  time  appeared  Dr.  Francis  Smith,  and  being  duly  sworn  declares  that  the 
within  deposition  is  just  and  true." 

[Signed]  "John  Seely." 

The  foregoing  letter  of  Captain  Patterson  and  the  larger  part  of  the  report 
of  the  Wjoming  Commissioners  to  the  Council,  were  published  early  in  October 
in  The  Pennsylvania  Packet,  Philadelphia,  and  were  reprinted  in  The  Connect- 
■iciit  Coinant  (Hartford)  of  October  13,  1784,  anA  in  the  Boston  Gazette  oi  October 
25,  1784,  as  well  as  in  certain  New  York  papers. 

Colonel  Franklin,  referring  in  his  "Brief"  to  this  night  attack  upon  the 
Pennamites,  states  that  it  was  made  by  "a  small  party  of  the  Connecticut  people," 
the  greater  number  of  whom  were  the  men  who  had  escaped  from  the  Easton 
jail  some  days  previously.  They  were  under  the  command  of  Capt.  John  Swift, 
who,  in  the  course  of  the  conflict,  received  a  severe  wound  in  his  throat.  Lieut. 
Samuel  Read,  one  of  the  Pennamites  who  was  wounded,  died  a  day  or  two  later. 

During  the  assault  the  Yankees  broke  into  one  of  the  store-houses  and  secured 
a  quantity  of  ammunition  and  some  of  the  rifles  which  had  been  taken  from  them 
in  the  preceding  August.  With  this  addition  to  their  stock  of  munitions,  the 
besiegers  were  enabled  to  arm  other  settlers  and  thus  increase  their  force.  The 
garrison  was  now  closely  invested,  the  Yankees  occupying  two  houses  from  which 
the  Pennamites  had  been  driven.  The  siege  lasted  for  two  or  three  days,  when 
Captain  Franklin  and  two  or  three  others  of  their  party  having  been  wounded, 
and  two  having  been  killed,  the  Yankees  retired  to  Fort  Defence,  in  Kingston 
Township. 

At  Philadelphia,  October  1,  1784,  Colonel  Armstrong,  as  Secretary  of  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council,  and  by  direction  of  the  Council,  addressed  to 
Francis  Murray,  Esq.,  Lieutenant  of  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  the  following 
communicationf : 

"It  is  the  direction  of  Council  that  Fifty  Men,  properly  arm'd,  accoutred  &  Officered,  be 
immediately  drawn  forth  from  the  Battalion  of  Bucks  County  Militia,  &  mov'd  with  all  possible 
expedition  to  George  Kline's,  in  Lower  Milford  Township. 

"You  will  be  pleased  to  accompany  them  thither,  &  remain  with  them  until!  the  farther 
Orders  of  Council;  &  As  the  emergency  upon  which  this  detachment  is  called  out  will  admit  of 
no  delay,  it  is  expected  that  you  will  take  some  means  to  furnish  them  with  provisions  for  a  day 
or  two  after  they  reach  the  place  above-mentioned,  when  some  other  mode  of  supply  will  be 
adopted.  All  possible  Care  is  to  be  taken  that  the  troops  come  out  properly  prepar'd  for  the 
most  active  service ;  &  it  is  the  express  order  of  Government  that  you  call  upon  the  whole  Regt. 
until  you  get  the  aforesaid  Number  so  prepar'd. 

"Ammunition  shall  meet  them  at  the  place  of  rendezvous." 

On  the  same  day,  Secretary  Armstrong  wrote  a  letter  similar  to  the  fore- 
going, to  Valentine  Eckert,  Esq.,  Lieutenant  of  Berks  County;  and  also  wrote 

"^See  (H)  note,  page  1347. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series.  X:  .145. 


1440 

to  John  Weitzel,    Esq.,    "State   Contractor  for   Provisions  in   Northumberland 
County",  as  follows*: 

"It  is  the  desire  of  Council  that  you  will  procure  and  transport  a  quantity  of  provisions, 
!';:..■  flour,  beef,  salt  and  rum,  as  immediately  as  possible  to  Wyoming,  there  to  be  deposited 
under  the  care  of  such  person  as  you  may  appoint  to  receive  it.  You  ma>  calculate  upon  100 
men  for  a  fortnight.  The  emergency,  which  makes  this  business  so  extremely  interesting  to  Coun- 
cil and  important  to  the  State,  will  not  admit  of  a  moment's  delay,  and  makes  it  necessary  again 
to  engage  your  industry  and  management  in  the  service  of  the  public." 

On  the  same  day,  the  Secretary  wrote  to  the  magistrates  of  Northumberland 
County,  as  follows: 

"The  late  Violations  of  the  Peace  at  Wyoming  &  abuse  of  the  Commissioners  sent  thither 
to  promote  the  designs  of  the  Legislature  will  call  for  every  exertion  in  your  power.  A  spirit 
so  alarming  to  the  honour  of  the  State  &  the  Tranquility  of  its  Inhabitants  will  deserve  the  most 
e.xemplary  punishment.  The  orders  of  Council  will  be  found  more  explicitly  declared  in  their 
letter  to  the  Sheriff  of  your  Co.,  &  point  out  the  immediate  necessit>  for  your  personal  attendance 
on  this  business." 

The  letter  to  Henry  Antes,  Esq.,  Sheriff  of  Northumberland  County,  re- 
ferred to  in  the  foregoing  letter,  read  as  followsf : 

"You  are  hereby  directed  to  proceed  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  this  to  raise  the 
Posse  Commitattis  of  the  Co.  of  Northumberland  and  with  them  proceed  under  the  direction  of 
the  Magistracy  to  apprehend  &  secure  the  persons  concerned  in  the  late  Violation  of  the 
Peace  at  Wyoming,  &  more  particularly  the  persons  whose  names  are  hereafter  mentioned: — 
John  Swift,  John  Franklin,  Ebenezer  Johnson,  Phineas  Peirce.  Elisha  Satterlee,  Joel  Abbot, 
Waterman  Baldwin,  Phineas  Stevens.  William  Jacques,  Ishmael  Bennet,  jr.,  Benjn.  Sill,  Wm. 
McClure,  Daniel  Gore,  Abraham  Westbrook,  Abraham  Pike,  Wm.  Ross.  Gideon  Church  & 
Richard  Halstead." 

Also,  on  October  1st,  Secretary  Armstrong  wrote  to  Maj.  Robert  Traill  (a 
member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  residing  at  Easton),  sayingj: 

"It  is  the  sense  of  Council  that  the  utmost  vigilance  be  exerted  in  securing  the  remaining 
part  of  the  prisoners  in  Easton  Gaol,  as  there  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  some  early  attempt 
will  be  made  to  rescue  them  from  their  present  situation.  To  effect  this  it  is  thought  absokitely 
necessary  that  none  but  people  whom  you  know  and  can  trust  be  permitted  to  communicate 
with  them  on  any  pretence  whatever." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council  held  on  Saturday,   October  2,    1784,  it  was 

"ordered  that  John  Armstrong,  Jr.,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  Council,  be  appointed 

and  commissioned  to  be  Adjutant  General  of  the  militia  of  this  State,  in  the 

room  of  James  Wilkinson§,  Esq.,  who  has  gone  from  the  State."    It  was  also 

ordered  that  a  detachment  of  fifty  men,  properly  officered  and  equipped,  "be 

immediately  drawn  forth  from  the  militia  of  the  county  of  Bucks,"  and  a  like 

*See    Pennsylvania  Archives"  X  :  343. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X;  344. 

+See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI:  446. 

§JAMES  Wilkinson  was  bom  at  Benedict,  Maryland,  in  1757,  and  died  in  Mexico  December  28,  1825.  He  was 
studying  medicine  in  Philadelphia  in  1775.  and  in  September  of  that  year  joined  the  American  army  before  Boston 
and  was  appointed  by  Washington  a  volunteer  subaltern  in  Col.  William  Thompson's  Battalion  of  Pennsylvania 
Riflemen.  Early  in  1776  he  was  promoted  Captain,  and  in  May,  1776,  was  in  service  at  LaChine,  twelve  miles  from 
Montreal.  In  1777  (being  then  only  twenty  years  of  age)  he  served,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel,  as  Adjutant  General 
on  the  staff  of  General  Gates,  in  the  army  of  the  Northern  Department.  He  served  with  some  distinction  through 
the  Saratoga  campaign  (see  note,  page  1426),  and  was  brevetted  Brig.  General  in  November,  1777. 

From  January  to  March,  1  778.  he  was  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  War,  and  then  was  appointed  Major  of  "Hartley's 
Regiment"  of  the  Continental  Line,  mentioned  at  length  in  a  note  on  page  1108,  Vol.  II .  of  this  work.  Soon  thereafter 
he  was  promoted  Lieut.  Colonel  ot  the  same  regiment.  In  July,  1779.  he  was  made  Clothier  General  of  the  Continenta  1 
Army,  holding  the  position  until  some  time  in  1781 ,  when  he  resigned.  Shortly  afterwards  he  was  appointed  by  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  Adjutant  General  of  the  militia  of  the  State,  and  May  23,  1782,  was  elected 
and  commissioned  a  Brigadier  General  by  the  Council.  In  September,  1784,  he  emigrated  to  Kentucky,  which  led 
to  the  appointment  of  Colonel  Armstrong  to  succeed  him  as  Adjutant  General  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  not  until 
early  in  November,  however,  that  Wilkinson  formally  resigned  his  commissions  as  Brigadier  General  and  Adjutant 
General  in  the  State  mihtia.     (See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  510) 

From  that  period  onward,  for  many  years — as  stated  in  the  principal..  American  encyclopaedias  and  biographical 
dictionaries — General  Wilkinsons  "career  was  marked  by  a  degree  of  perfidy  and  double-deahng  almost  unparalleled 
in  American  history"  Throughout  the  "Burr  Conspiracy",  a  period  marked  by  threatened  hostihties  with  Spain, 
"his  conduct  was  marked  by  the  utmost  duplicity",  although  at  the  time  he  was  the  commanding  general  of  the  United 
States  Army,  In  1811  he  was  tried  by  court-martial  on  a  charge  of  treason,  but  was  acquitted.  In  1812,  at  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  war  with  Great  Britainl^he  was  the  senior  Brigadier  General  of  the  army,  but  in  March,  1813.  he  became 
a  Major  General,  and  from  August.  1813,  to  March,  1814.  held  the  chief  command  of  the  United  States  forces  in  the 
Northern  Department,  but  was  inefficient,  and  was  declared  to  be  "the  most  infamous  person  wearing  the  uniform 
of  the  United  States."  Early  in  1815  he  was  tried  by  court-martial  on  a  charge  of  drunkenness  and  conduct  unbecom- 
ing an  officer,  but  was  acquitted.  He  was  honorably  discharged  from  the  army  in  June,  1815,  and  subsequently,  until 
his  death,  resided  in  Mexico.  In  1816  he  wrote  and  published,  in  three  volumes,  "Memoirs  of  My  Own  Times",  referred 
to  by  some  reviewers  a.i  "a  tedious,  disgusting,  but  necessary  book,  for  its  author  was  one  of  the  leading  generals; 
probably  the  most  inve.tigated  and  court-martialed  of  them  all," 


1441 

number  from  the  county  of  Berks,  "to  be  sent  to  Wyoming  for  quieting  the  dis- 
turbances and  supporting  the  civil  authority  in  that  district." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  held  on  October  4th,  when  Vice  President  James 
Ewing  presided,  and  there  were  only  five  members  present — two  of  whom  were 
Capt.  John  Boyd  and  Col.  Stephen  Balliet — the  matter  of  "the  appointment 
of  a  person  to  take  the  direction  of  the  troops  provided  by  the  resolution  of 
Saturday"  was  taken  into  consideration,  upon  which  Adjutant  General  Arm- 
strong was  appointed.  It  was  also  ordered  that  £60  be  paid  John  Weitzel, 
to  be  applied  to  the  purchase  of  provisions  for  the  militia  to  be  sent  to  Wyoming. 
£50  was  voted  to  Armstrong  towards  defraying  his  expenses  to  Wyoming,  and 
an  order  was  drawn  for  £20  in  favor  of  John  Okley,  Esq.,  "in  full  for  his  wages 
and  expenses  as  a  Commissioner  to  Wyoming."  The  next  day  (October  5th) 
the  Council  resolved  that  Adjutant  General  Armstrong  "shall  take  rank  as  a 
Brigadier  General  of  the  militia  of  this  Commonwealth." 

Owing  to  illness.  President  Dickinson  was  unable  to  attend  the  meetings 
of  the  Council,  held  on  October  1st,  2nd,  4th,  and  5th,  but  at  the  meeting  held  on 
the  last-mentioned  date,  the  following  communication*  from  him  was  read. 

"Gentlemen:  Being  still  much  indisposed,  and  unable  to  attend  in  Council  to-day,  I  think 
it  my  duty,  nothwithstanding  what  has  been  already  offered,  to  request  that  you  will  be  pleased 
further  to  consider  the  propriety  of  calling  a  body  of  militia  into  actual  service,  on  the  intelligence 
yet  received,  and  in  the  manner  proposed.  The  objects  suitable  for  the  operations  of  militia 
do  not  appear.  Heinous  offences,  it  is  true,  have  been  lately  committed,  whether  by  many  or 
few  is  not  ascertained,  but  it  cannot  be  expected  that  the  militia  should  apprehend  the  crim- 
inals. E.xertion  by  the  magistracy  of  the  county,  with  the  aid  of  the  posse  comitatus,  would  be 
the  proper  remedy. 

"No  advice  is  come  of  such  an  attack  upon  the  Pennsylvania  Claimants  as  required  the 
late  call;  and  I  believe  that  one  reason  why  Council  ordered  the  fort  [Dickinson]  to  be  leveled 
was  that  the  peace  of  the  State  might  not  be  disturbed  by  another  siege.  The  present  call  will 
unnecessarily  e.xpose  the  lives  of  our  fellow-citizens.  If  the  militia  is  to  act  for  the  protection 
of  the  inhabitants  in  general,  and  can  be  collected  and  brought  into  the  neighborhood,  it  is  highly 
improbable  that  they  can  be  kept  there  for  any  length  of  time.  A  rotation  of  service  will  be 
exceedingly  inconvenient  and  expensive,  and  I  presume  no  person  thinks  of  expelling  the  settlers 
in  order  to  prevent  the  rotation. 

"If  the  intention  is  that  the  militia  should  assist  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  in  securing 
the  corn  planted  on  the  lands  from  which  the  settlers  were  expelled  last  Spring,  such  a  procedure 
will  drive  those  settlers  into  absolute  despair.  They  will  have  no  alternative  but  to  tight  for  the 
corn,  or  suffer,  perhaps  to  perish,  for  want  of  it  in  the  coming  Winter.  They  will  regard  this 
step  as  the  commencement  of  a  war  against  them;  and  perhaps  others — whose  sentiments  are 
of  vastly  more  importance — may  be  of  the  same  opinion. 

"I  am  perfectly  convinced  of  the  uncommon  merit  of  Colonel  Armstrong,  but  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  Adjutant  General  upon  this  occasion,  and  bestowing  that  appointment  on  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Council  when  it  is  well  known  that  the  settlers  view  him  in  the  light  of  an  enemy  are 
circumstances  that  may  promote  unfavorable  constructions  of  the  conduct  of  Government. 
The  public  bodiesf  which  have  lately  assembled  in  this  city  have  fully  testified  their  disapproba- 
tion of  hostilities  on  account  of  the  disputes  at  Wyoming;  and  upon  the  whole  there  is  too  much 
reason  to  be  persuaded  that  the  plan  now  meditated  will,  if  carried  into  execution,  produce  very 
unhappy  consequences. 

"Knowing  the  uprightness  of  your  intentions.  Gentlemen,  I  feel  great  pain  in  dissenting 
from  your  judgment;  and  if  the  measure  is  pursued,  from  esteem  for  you  and  affection  for  the 
Commonwealth  I  have  only  to  wish,  as  I  most  heartily  do,  that  I  may  be  proved  by  the  event 
to  have  been  mistaken." 

Referring  to  the  foregoing  communication,  and  to  the  troublous  and  parlous 
conditions  which  for  some  time  then  had  prevailed  in  the  Wyoming  region, 
Charles  J.  Stille,  LL.  D.,  in  his  "Life  and  Times  of  John  Dickinson,"  states: 
"The  year  1784  is  marked  in  the  annals  of  Pennsylvania  by  the  disgraceful  and  iniquitous 
proceedings  of  parties  professing  to  act  under  the  authority  of  the  State  in  their  attempt  to  dis- 
possess by  force  the  claimants  of  lands  which  were  held  in  the  Wyoming  \'alley  under  Connecti- 
cut title.  *  *  *  To  reconcile  the  sovereignty  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  Valley  of  Wyoming 
with  an  equitable  treatment  of  the  actual  settlers,  who  suddenly  found  that  they  had  bought 
a  bad  title  and  made  costly  improvements  on  the  lands  in  good  faith,  was  a  task  which  required 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Fourth  Series,  HI:  973. 

IThe  Council  of  Censors  and  the  General  Assembly. 


1442 

the  exercise  of  the  utmost  skill,  patience,  comprehension  of  view  and  humane  consideration  on 
the  part  of  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania.  The  task  was  all  the  more  difficult  because  the 
executive  department  of  the  State  could  not  agree  upon  any  plan  of  settUng  the  question. 

"The  President,  in  this  matter,  stood  alone,  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  which  shared 
his  powers,  and  the  Assembly,  which  had  all  the  legislative  authority,  being  united  against  him. 
Hence  his  voice  of  remonstrance,  joined  to  that  of  another  governmental  body  called  the  Council 
of  Censors,  was  utterly  unheeded  by  the  agents  of  the  Pennsylvania  landholders,  who  set  to  work 
to  drive  away  from  this  region  the  Connecticut  settlers  as  intruders.  The  whole  controversy 
is  perhaps  best  explained  in  the  report  of  these  Censors,  from  which  it  will  appear  how 
difficult  it  must  have  been  to  act  justly  and  at  the  same  time  to  deal  mercifully  with  the  actual 
settlers.  *  *  *  This  humane  remonstrance  of  the  Council  of  Censors*  produced  no  effect 
whatever  upon  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  or  upon  the  Assembly,  and  they  both  seem  to 
have  been  wholly  under  the  influence  of  the  Pennsylvania  land-claimants. 

"President  Dickinson,  whose  humanity  had  been  shown  on  a  previous  occasion  by  his  efiorts 
to  supply  the  wretched  inhabitants  of  the  valley  with  food  when  they  had  suffered  the  loss  of 
everything  by  an  ice-flood,  and  whose  sense  of  justice  and  ideas  of  policy  were  both  shocked 
by  the  violence  committed  on  these  people,  now  interposed  once  more  for  their  relief.  He  sent 
a  message  to  the  Council  on  October  5  [1784].  *  *  *  Xhis  impressive  protest,  like  that 
which  preceded  it,  produced  no  change  in  the  legislation  of  the  State  or  in  the  action  of  the  militia 
who  were  sent  to  Wyoming.  But  the  prophecies  of  Mr.  Dickinson  as  to  the  result  of  this  policy 
were  all  fulfilled,  and  there  was  no  peace  at  Wyoming  until  justice,  as  urged  by  him,  was  done 
to  the  settlers." 

The  Council  received,  and  listened  to  the  reading,  of  the  letter  from  President 
Dickinson,  and  then  resolved  "that  the  measures  adopted  on  the  2d  inst.  be 
pursued."  The  same  day.  the  Council  adopted  and  issued  a  proclamation,  reading 
in  part  as  f oUowsf : 

"Whereas,  It  hath  always  been  the  intention  of  this  State  to  treat  with  equity,  humanity 
and  generosity  the  persons  settled  at  or  near  Wyoming,  though  not  claiming  under  Pennsyl- 
vania; and,  influenced  by  these  sentiments,  the  General  Assembly  did,  immediately  after  the 
Decree  of  Trenton,  appoint  William  Montgomery,  Moses  McClean  and  Joseph  Montgomery 
Commissioners  to  make  full  inquiries,!  Etc.  *  *  *  Tjjg  settlers  not  claiming  under  Penn- 
sylvania assembled  in  arms  and  acted  in  a  riotous  and  tumultuous  manner,  and  on  the  20th 
day  of  last  July,  lying  in  ambush  in  the  town  of  Shawana,  fired  upon  some  claimants  under  Penn- 
sylvania and  grievously  wounded  Henry  Brink  and  Wilhelmus  Van  Gorden;  and  proceeding 
in  their  outrages  drove  the  claimants  under  Pennsylvania  from  their  habitations  into  the  fort, 
and,  besieging  them  therein,  reduced  them  to  great  distress,  and  into  imminent  danger  of  their 
lives. 

"And  Whereas,  We  being  informed  of  these  aggressions,  *  *  *  ^jkJ  having  called 
into  service  a  body  of  militia  from  the  County  of  Northampton,  the  said  settlers,  in  open  defiance 
of  the  authority  of  this  State,  and  to  prevent  their  being  interrupted  in  the  vengeance  designed 
by  them  against  the  besieged,  marched  from  the  County  of  Northumberland — in  which  the  said 
Fort  [Dickinson]  is  situate — into  the  County  of  Northampton,  and,  at  Locust  Hill,  in  the  same 
County,  on  the  2d  day  of  August  last,  attacked  a  party  of  the  militia  then  sleeping  and  resting, 
wounding  several  and  killing  and  murdering  Jacob  IJverett,  one  of  the  party. 

[Reference  is  here  made  in  the  proclamation  to  the  appointment  of  Messrs.  Boyd,  Armstrong. 
Read  and  Okely  as  Commissioners,  and  the  fact  that  they  had  proceeded  to  Wyoming.] 

"On  the  night  of  Sunday,  September  28,  the  settlers  aforesaid  attacked  the  houses  in  which 
the  said  Commissioners  were  lodged,  firing  several  balls  into  the  same,  whereby  the  said  Commis- 
sioners were  in  great  danger  of  being  killed;  and  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives  were  obliged 
the  next  day  to  leave  the  place  without  being  able  to  perform  the  trust  committed  to  them  for 
the  immediate  benefit  of  the  said  settlers.  And  in  the  next  succeeding  night  the  said  settlers 
again  attacked  one  of  the  said  houses,  when  the  people  therein  were  asleep,  and  wounded  Cap- 
tains Samuel  Read  and  Andrew  Henderson,  late  officers  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line. 

"And  Whereas,  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  lives  and  welfare  of  the  good  people 
of  this  State  that  the  perpetrators  of  such  atrocious  offenses  should  be  brought  to  condign  and 
exemplary  punishment,  we  have  thought  proper  to  issue  this  Proclamation,  hereby  engaging  that 
the  public  reward  of  £25  in  specie  shall  be  paid  to  any  person  or  persons  who  shall  discover  and 
apprehend  the  offenders,  or  any  of  them,  who  wounded  the  said  Henry  Brink  and  Wilhelmus 
Van  Gorden,  or  who  fired  into  the  houses  in  which  the  Commissioners  of  this  State  were  lodged 
at  Wyoming  as  aforesaid;  and  that  the  public  reward  of  £50  in  specie  shall  be  paid  to  any 
person  or  persons  who  shall  apprehend  and  secure  John  Swift,  Elisha  SatterlEE,  Ishmael 
Bennet,  Jr.,  Joel  Abbott  and  Waterman  Baldwin;  and  that  the  public  reward  of  £25  in 
specie  shall  be  paid  to  any  person  or  persons  who  shall  apprehend  and  secure  William  Ross, 
Moses  Sill,  William  McClure,  George  Minor,  Abraham  Nesbitt,  Eliiiah  Harris,  John 
Gore,  Justus  Gaylord,  Thomas  Stoddert,  Elisha  Harding,  Gideon  Church,  William 
Jackson,    Richard    Halstead,    Phineas    Stephens,    Daniel    Sulli\an,    Abraham    Pike, 

*See  pages  1 430  and  1 43  1 .  for  this  remonstrance- 

5.     An  original  broadside  copy  of  this  proclamation  is  now 


1443 

Nathaniel  Walker,  and  William  Jenkins,  or  any  of  them — who  are  charged  with  being  the 
murderers  of  the  said  Jacob  Everett — or  who  shall  discover  the  offenders,  or  any  of  them,  who  were 
guilty  of  wounding  the  said  Samuel  Read  or  Andrew  Henderson."     »     *     * 

Returning  now  to  Wyoming,  we  find  gathered  at  Fort  Defence,  near  Brock- 
ays's,  a  considerable  number  of  Yankees — chiefly  unmarried  men  and  menw 
whose  families  were  sojourning  in  New  England  or  elsewhere,  because  of 
the  unsettled  conditions  in  Wyoming.  John  Franklin  was  the  leader  and 
trusted  commander  of  this  company,  and  on  October  5th,  he,  Ebenezer  Johnson 
and  Phineas  Peirce,  in  behalf  of  the  Yankee  settlers  assembled  at  Fort  Defence, 
wrote  and  signed  a  lengthy  communication*,  which,  together  with  the  remon- 
strance that  had  been  prepared  on  September  25th  for  presentation  to  Commis- 
sioners Read  and  Okely,  was  immediately  forwarded  to  Philadelphia  by  an 
express. 

In  concluding  this  communication,  the  three  petitioners  voiced  sentiments 
of  the  settlers  in  no  uncertain  tones : — 

"The  report  is  that  the  Commissioners  said  their  mission  was  to  find  out  the  objects  of 
Charity,  and  then  make  them  Liberal  Donations.  It  is  Protection  and  the  Benefits  of  Law  we 
have  been  long  asking  for.  The  Restoration  of  our  Property  and  our  just  liights  is  what  we  have 
been  pleading  for.  It  is  our  most  invaluable  privileges  we  are  contending  for,  and  noljor  Charitable 
Donations! 

"Our  Petitions,  Remonstrances  and  addresses  have  been  Repeated  to  your  Honourable 
Body  and  the  House  of  Assembly  until  our  Patience  is  worn  out,  and  no  Relief  is  granted  us. 
We  have  asked  for  Justice,  and  we  Declare  to  God — who  knows  our  hearts — that  Justice  is  all 
we  wish  for.  Our  Prayers  and  Intreaties  appear  finally  to  be  Rejected  and  Contemn'd,  and  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  there  is  no  good  Designed  for  us  from  this  State. 

"Wishing  your  Honourable  Body  to  be  under  the  Guidance  and  Benediction  of  Almightj- 
God,  we  say  Amen!" 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  October  6j   1784,  President  Dickinson 

issued  the  following  circular,  addressed  to  John  Buyers,  Christian  Gettig,  Andrew 

Culberson,  John  Seely  and  David  Mead,  Esquires,  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and 

for  the  County  of  Northumberland. 

"In  pursuance  of  the  Actf  of  which  a  copy  is  enclosed,  it  becomes  my  duty  immediately 
to  direct  that  some  two  or  more  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  County  of  Northum- 
berland proceed  forthwith  in  executing  the  laws  relating  to  forcible  Entries  &  Detainers,  in  order 
that  the  several  persons  who  in  the  month  of  May  last  were  violently  dispossessed  of  their  Mes- 
suages, Lands  and  Tenements  at  or  near  Wioming,  which  they  then  occupied,  may  be  restored 
to  the  Possession  of  the  same.  Confiding  in  your  Zeal  for  Justice,  Peace  &  good  order,  I  desire 
that  you  will  proceed  accordingly." 

This  document  was  given  by  President  Dickinson  into  the  hands  of  General, 
formerly  Colonel,  Armstrong  (who  was  then  in  Philadelphia),  to  be  by  him 
delivered  to  the  Northumberland  Magistrate.  Colonel  Franklin,  referring  to  the 
matter  in  his  "Brief,"  states:  "Council  sent' the  orders  by  Armstrong,  directed 
to  David  Mead  and  John  Seely,  Esquires,  who  were  at  the  same  time  holding 
large  possessions  themselves  [Wj^oming],  that  had  been  taken  by  force.  Arm- 
strong delivered  the  orders  to  Esquire  Mead  on  October  19th,  and  Mead  re- 
paired immediately  to  Sunbury  without  giving  notice  to  us  of  his  orders  from 
the  Government.  It  appears  that  they  were  determined  to  expel  us  all  from 
the  country,  instead  of  reinstating  us." 

At  Bishop's  Tavern,  under  the  date  of  Sunda3%  October  10,  1784,  Francis 
Murray,  Esq.,  Lieutenant  of  Bucks  County,  wrote  to  Adjutant  General  Arm- 
strong as  follows! : 

"I  am  sorry  to  be  under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  informing  you  that  I  have  in  the  first 
instance  failed  in  being  able  to  furnish  you  with  men,  agreeable  to  my  orders  of  the  1st  inst.. 
received  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council.    I  issued  orders  to  Col.  John  Keller,  commanding 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  672. 

tPassed  by  the  General  Assembly  September  15,  1784. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  679. 


1444 

the  1st  Battalion  of  Bucks  County  militia,  to  have  four  companies  of  his  battalion  paraded  at 
Bishop's  Tavern,  viz.:  Captains  Skinner's.  Friece's,  Bishop's  and  Kechline's  (they  being  the  com- 
panies of  said  Battalion  nearest  to  said  Bishop's),  at  nine  o'clock  this  morning,  with  their  arms 
and  accoutrements,  and  ready  to  march  from  said  place  on  a  tour  of  duty;  intending,  when  the 
men  ordered  here  arrived,  if  there  was  more  men  than  the  exigency  required,  to  take  as  many 
more  out  of  the  classes  that  stood  next  for  duty  as  would  answer  the  purpose,  except  there  appeared 
to  be  a  sufficient  number  willing  to  turn  out  as  volunteers — which  latter  I  had  some  expectation  of. 

"But  when  the  companies  arrived  I  found  it  dangerous  for  a)iy  man  to  say  he  was  ■willing 
to  turn  out,  either  in  his  own  company  or  as  a  volunteer;  that  any  man  that  did  so  was  in  danger 
of  being  beat  by  the  others.  I  then  gave  orders  to  the  different  Captains  before  mentioned  to 
call  forth  and  parade  as  many  men  as  I  then  named  to  them  out  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  classes  of 
their  companies,  as  amounted  to  the  number  wanted.  The  Captains  obeyed  the  orders  so  far  as 
they  were  able,  called  for  the  persons  by  name,  but  was  not  able  to  parade  one  manl 

"Finding  it  was  impossible  to  get  men  to-day,  and  numbers  of  them  complaining  that 
the  time  was  too  short  (and  having  some  reason  to  believe  that  some  of  them  would  turn  out  if 
allowed  a  little  time  to  prepare),  I  gave  a  further  order  to  the  Captains  aforesaid  to  have  the  men 
that  were  now  called  upon  paraded  on  Thursday  next  [October  14],  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
ready  to  march  on  a  Tour  of  Duty  from  the  parade.  I  was  chiefly  induced  to  adopt  this  second 
order  as  I  knew  I  would  not  be  able,  out  of  the  number  called,  to  get  as  many  men  at  an  earlier 
period  as  would  be  worth  a  marching;  and,  as  I  found  I  would  be  under  the  necessity  of  calling 
on  the  Colonel  for  a  supply  of  men  from  the  other  four  companies,  any  further  attempts  to  get 
men  out  of  these  four  companies  already  called  I  looked  upon  as  useless. 

"I  have  now  issued  orders  to  Colonel  Keller,  directing  him  to  draw  forth  the  6th  class  out 
of  the  remaining  companies  of  his  battalion,  and  have  them  paraded  at  the  same  time  and  place 
that  I  have  directed  the  others  before  mentioned,  to  parade  ready  to  march  from  said  place  on 
a  tour  of  duty.  You  may  depend,  Sir,  I  shall  use  every  exertion  in  my  power  to  march  the  men 
on  Thursday  next;  but  at  the  same  time  I  am  sorry  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  informing  you 
that,  from  what  I  have  already  experienced,  I  have  but  small  expectation  of  effecting  it,  chiefly 
owing  to  wrong  ideas  that  the  more  leading  part  of  the  people  have  formed  of  the  expedition." 

Miner,  referring  to  the  efforts  of  Armstrong  to  raise  troops  for  this  proposed 
expedition  to  Wyoming,  states  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  366)  that  "the 
influences  which  had  operated  with  such  effect  on  the  Council  of  Censors  and 
upon  President  Dickinson  ajso  pervaded  the  people,  and  the  militia  generally 
declined  obedience  to  orders." 

News  was  received  in  Wyoming,  on  Sunday,  October  10,  1784,  relative 
to  the  proclamation  which  had  been  issued  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
five  days  previously,  and  later  in  the  day  a  considerable  number  of  the  Yankee 
settlers  gathered  at  Fort  Defence  to  discuss  the  situation  of  affairs.  It  was  soon 
resolved  that  Capt.  John  Franklin,  Ebenezer  Johnson  and  Phineas  Peirce  should 
prepare  and  present  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  (which  was  to 
convene  at  New  Haven,  on  October  14th)  a  memorial  on  the  subject  of  the  unhappy 
situation  of  the  Connecticut- Wyoming  settlers. 

Captain  Franklin,  owing  to  the  wound  which  he  had  received  a  few  days 
previously,  was  unable  to  make  the  long  journey  to  Connecticut,  and  therefore 
he  arranged  to  have  Benjamin  Harvey  go  in  his  behalf.  In  his  diary,  under  the 
date  of  October  11,  1784,  Captain  Franklin  recorded:  "Wrote  letter  to  Samuel 
Gray  and  Eliphalet  Dyer*,  Esquires.  Sent  it  by  Mr.  Harvey  and  Johnson, 
as  they  set  off  this  evening  for  New  Haven."  Phineas  Peirce  followed  on  a  day 
or  two  later,  and  at  New  Haven,  on  October  20,  1784,  Ebenezer  Johnson  wrote 
a  carefully  worded  petition — covering  four  foolscap  pages — and  having  attached 
to  it  the  signature  of  himself  and  the  name  of  Captain  Franklin,  and  Phineas 
Peirce  having  also  signed  the  document,  presented  it  to  the  Assembly. 

The  original  petition  is  now  preserved  in  the  Connecticut  State  Library, 
Hartford,  being  "No.  167"  in  the  collection  of  manuscripts  entitled  "Susque- 
hanna Settlers,  1755-1796,  Vol.  I,"  mentioned  on  page  29,  Vol.  I,  of  this  history. 
The  document  sets  forth,  first,  that  the  signers  petition  in  behalf  of  them- 
selves   and    others,    inhabitants    and    settlers    at    Wyoming.     Then    follows    a 

*.\ctive  members  and  officers  of  The  Susquehanna  Company.     See  pages  292  and  393,  Vol.  I. 


1445 

brief  history  of  the  purchase  and  settlement  of  the  Wyoming  region,  the  erection 
of  the  town  and  county  of  Westmoreland,  and  the  disasters  incident  to  the 
Re^"olutionary  War.    The  petition  then  continues  in  part  as  follows: 

"That  for  nearly  four  years  after  [August,  1778]  your  memorialists  were  compelled  to  confine 
themselves  within  narrow  limits,  and  were  constantly  under  arms  for  their  safety  and  defense — 
during  which  time  little  more  could  be  done  in  cultivating  the  lands  than  sufficient  to  sustain 
themselves.  *  *  *  That  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  male  Inhabitants  capable  of  bearing  arms 
at  the  Commencement  of  the  war  have  fallen  by  the  hands  of  the  Enemy,  and  their  widows  and 
fatherless  children  were  left  in  the  country. 

"That  after  the  Decree  of  Trenton  your  Memorialists  were  made  to  believe  that  the  Juris- 
diction of  their  country  was  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  applied  to  the  Legislature  of  said 
State  for  the  benefits  of  Civil  Government  under  that  Jurisdiction,  and  for  the  obliteration  of 
all  former  supposed  offences,  together  with  a  Confirmation  of  the  Title  to  their  Lands. 

"That  the  Memorialists  have  from  Time  to  Time  been  flattered  with  assurances  from  the 
Legislature  and  E.xecutive  authority  of  Pennsylvania,  that  their  Persons  and  properties  should 
be  secured  to  them,  yet  officers  Civil  and  military  have  been  sent  among  them  of  the  most  desperate 
Characters.  That  they  have  been  oppressed  with  vexatious  suits  commenced  against  them  by 
the  opposing  Claimers  and  their  Creatures,  and  no  legal  Justice  ever  has  been,  or  could  be,  obtained 
against  any  of  their  oppressors. 

"That  an  armed  Force  has  been  kept  up  in  the  Country,  and  Garrisoned  in  the  midst  of 
their  Settlements,  who  have  from  Time  to  Time,  in  the  most  wanton  and  unjustifiable  manner, 
abused,  imprisoned,  beat,  wounded  and  Insulted  the  memorialists;  at  other  Times  have  robbed 
the  Inhabitants  of  their  property,  and  on  the  14th  day  of  May  last  past  one  Alexander  Patterson, 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  one  Major  Moore,  commanding  the  Troops  stationed  at  Wyoming 
by  order  of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  by  artifice  disarmed  the  Inhabitants,  and  then 
Collected  them  together,  men.  Women  and  Children,  without  distinction,  and  drove  them  out 
of  the  Country  three  days  Journey  into  the  Wilderness,  destitute  of  Provisions;  having  previously 
denied  them  the  privilege  of  collecting  and  carrying  with  them  any  considerable  part  of  their 
personal  property.  That  representations  were  immediately  made  to  the  Executive  authority 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  soon  after  to  the  Legislature  thereof,  and  no  Relief  hath  been 
given  to  them. 

"That  soon  after,  your  memorialists  having  made  the  best  provision  in  their  power  for  the 
support  of  their  FamiUes,  returned  to  Wyoming  with  design  to  secure  their  Grain  then  nearly 
ripened.  That  the  said  Moore  and  Patterson  gave  orders  to  their  Party  to  Fire  upon,  kill  and 
destroy  your  memorialists  when  ever  thej'  could  be  found.  That  Jive  of  their  youth  have  been 
Cruelly  slain  by  them,  others  taken  and  imprisoned,  loaded  with  Shackels  of  Iron — Eleven  of 
which  are  still  in  the  Common  Gaol  at  Easton,  in  the  County  of  Northampton,  and  are  to  be 
tryed  this  Week  for  their  Lives;  for  no  other  Reason  than  defending  themselves  against  the 
barbarous  Conduct  of  their  avowed  and  implacable  Enemies. 

"That  your  memorialists  have  been  seduced,  betrayed  and  ruined  by  the  spurious  pretences 
held  out  to  them  as  from  Government,  which  they  are  now  fully  ascertained  of.  That  no  Faith- 
fullness,  Honor,  Justice  or  ordinary  Civility  is  expectable  by  them — those  that  are  disposed  to 
assist  us  being  overawed  by  the  apparent  Influence  of  our  adversaries  with  Government,  are 
afraid  to  grant  us  any  Relief. 

"And  your  memorialists  beg  leave  farther  to  observe  that  they  humbly  conceive  the  Decree 
at  Trenton  was  unduly  obtained  by  Imposition,  and  ought  to  be  reviewed  and  reconsidered  by 
the  Honorable  Congress  as  unfounded  and  wrong. 

"That  your  memorialists  are  now  reduced  to  about  2,000  souls  (notwithstanding  the  usual 
Increase  expectable  in  a  new  Country),  the  principal  part  of  which  are  Women  and  Children, 
now  scattered  in  the  Woods,  with  only  Hutts  of  Bark  and  Thatch  to  cover  them  from 
the  Inclemency  of  the  approaching  Winter,  and  their  Enemys  in  fuU  possession  of  their  Houses, 
Farms,  Crops  and  other  property  and  they  starving  with  Hunger  and  Cold  and  have  no  where 
to  look  for  protection  [but]  to  their  parent  State.  And  may  they  not  be  permitted  to  say 
the  State  of  Connecticut  has  been  deprived  of  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  aforesaid  Country'  in  so 
injurious  a  manner,  and  your  memorialists  so  maltreated,  that  their  Honor,  Interest  and  future 
respectability  as  a  sovereign  State  are  highly  concerned,  and  demands  speedy  and  ample  satis- 
faction. 

"Wherefore,  we  humbly  pray  your  Honours  to  take  our  distressed  Case  into  your  wise 
and  benign  Consideration,  and  extend  to  us  your  aid,  Countenance  and  patronage  in  seeking 
restitution  and  establishment  of  our  Just  Rights  and  properties  against  our  adversaries,  who  have 
exercised  towards  us  every  species  of  Fraud,  Seduction  and  Cruelty,  and  the  memorialists  as  in 
duty  bound  will  ever  pray." 

Having  been  read  to  the  Assembly,  the  foregoing  petition,  or  memorial, 
was  referred  to  a  committee  of  which  the  Hon.  Roger  Sherman  was  chairman. 
Later  in  the  session  the  committee  made  a  full  report,  to  which  was  appended  the 
following  resolution,  which  was  forthwith  adopted  by  the  Assembly. 

"Resolved  by  this  Assembly,  That  it  is  expedient  for  the  memorialists  to  persue  their  applica- 
tion to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  for  a  tryal  of  their  Right  of  soil  and  Possession,  agreeable 
to  the  9th  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation;  and  that  this  State  will  Countenance  and  patronize 


1446 

them  in  such  application  and  tryal,  in  order  to  obtain  for  them  that  Justice  this  State  apprehends 
the  memorialists  are  intitled  to.  And  the  Delegates  from  this  State  in  Congress  are  directed 
to  give  them  all  necessary  assistance  in  the  preraesis,  and  his  Excellency  the  Governor  is  requested 
to  adress  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  on  the  subject  of  their  sftuation  and  sufferings,  and 
also  address  a  full  state  of  their  Claims,  &c.,  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  remonstrating  against 
the  Barbarities  and  Cruelties  exercised  towards  the  memorialists,  and  requesting  a  Redress  of 
their  Grievances  and  a  Restoration  of  their  Rights,  Properties  and  possessions  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Laws  and  Government  of  said  State  of  Pennsylvania." 

Messrs.  Gray  and  Dyer  were  both  in  New  Haven  at  this  time,  and  to  them 
Benjamin  Harvey  delivered  the  letters  which  he  had  brought  from  John  Franklin. 
After  his  return  to  his  home  in  Windham,  Mr.  Gray  wrote  the  following  letter 
under  the  date  of  November  8,  1784,  to  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  at  Fishkill,  New 
York,  where  he  had  been  sojourning  for  softie  time. 

"Dear  Sir: — I  have  spent  a  fortnight  att  New  Haven  soliciting  the  assistance  of  our  assembly 
for  their  assistance  in  procuring  protection  and  assistance  for  our  poor  afflicted  &  distress'd 
friends  at  Wyoming.  We  have  obtained  the  same  assistance  which  the  Gen.  Assembly  granted 
us  in  October,  1783,  and  also  a  perticular  address  from  the  assembly  To  Congress  for  protection 
for  the  settlers  att  Wyoming  and  also  a  Remonstrance  to  the  Genl.  Assembly  of  Pensilvania. 

"You  may  expect  Dr.  Johnson  Deligate  for  Congress  with  Col.  Plat  Cook.  Our  Deligates 
are  directed  to  afford  all  their  interest  and  Influence  with  Congress  for  Protection  for  our  People, 
and  for  a  Tryal  of  the  right  of  soil.  You  may  depend  on  Dr.  Johnsons  utmost  exertions  in  favior 
of  our  people,  and  also  the  other  Gentn.,  for  ought  I  know. 

"If  we  obtain  an  order  of  Congress  for  a  Court,  as  I  expect  we  shall,  a  meeting  to  make 
the  necessary  preparations  for  the  Tryal  must  be  held.    We  shall  exert  ourselves  to  our  utmost. 

"I  dont  think  off  anything  further  to  write  now,  only  it  is  said  that  Judge  Brearleys  Brother 
was  att  the  time  of  the  Tryal  att  Trenton  deeply  interested  in  the  Wyoming  lauds.  If  that  can 
be  properly  evidenced,  that  together  with  the  evidence  we  have  of  Wilson's  haveing  our  deeds, 
will  procure  a  reversion  of  the  Judgment  att  Trenton. 

From  your  friend  &  Humble  Sert. 

[Signed]  "Saml.  Gray." 

"Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  Fishkill." 

On  Sunday,  October  17,  1784,  Brig.  General  Armstrong  marched  into  Wilkes- 
Barre  at  the  head  of  forty  of  the  Berks  County  militia,  they  being  the  only  ones 
who  had  responded  to  the  call  to  rendezvous  on  October  14th.  at  Bishop's  Tavern. 
A  day  or  two  prior  to  this  the  Yankees  at  Fort  Defence  had  been  reenforced 
by  a  number  of  their  compatriots  who  had  come  down  the  river  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Bowman's  Creek.  Also  at  Gaylord's  Stockade  (see  page  997,  Vol. 
II)  in  Plymouth,  a  number  of  Yankees  were  gathered  in  arms. 

Almost  immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Armstrong  received 
additions  to  his  force  from  the  Pennamites  who,  under  the  leadership  of  Alexander 
Patterson,  were  occupying  Fort  Dickinson  and  near-by  buildings;  and  Colonel 
Franklin  states  in  his  "Brief"  that  forthwith  '!the  poor  Connecticut  people 
again  felt  the  weight  of  his  [Armstrong's]  cruel  hand.  About  thirty — several 
of  whom  were  very  aged  and  infirm — were  made  prisoners  and  confined  in  a 
guard-house.  Others  were  fired  upon  and  wounded.  Families  were  again 
turned  out  of  doors.  A  number  of  families  of  very  aged  people,  who  had  been 
permitted  to  remain  in  the  settlement,  were  ousted  at  this  time  and  ordered  to 
leave  Wyoming."  In  the  diary  of  Colonel  Franklin  we  find  it  recorded  that 
"on  Sunday,  October  1^,  1784,  Robert  Jameson  was  haled  from  his  house  in 
Hanover  Township  to  the  fort  at  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  was  confined  in  the 
gU9,rd-house,  and  was  kept  bound  and  closely  confined  a  number  of  days;  and 
during  his  imprisonment,  his  wife,  who  had  been  long  confined  to  a  sick  bed, 
and  not  able  to  raise  herself  therefrom,  was  hove  out  of  the  house  in  her  bed 
by  a  party  of  assassins  by  Colonel  Armstrong's  orders." 

With  the  coming  of  Armstrong  to  Wyoming,  the  belligerents  among  the 
Yankees  also  got  busy,  as  we  learn  from  an  affidavit  sworn  to  by  Matthew 


1447 

Terrel  before  Justice  vSeely  at  Wilkes-Barre,  on  October  28,    1784 — the  affiant 
deposing  as  follows*: 

"That  in  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  the  17th  inst.,  being  at  the  house  of  the  Widow  Harris, 
in  company  with  Elisha  Duke  and  John  Kennedy,  there  came  up  Phineas  Stephens  and  Gideon 
Church,  who  enquired  whether  he,  the  deponent,  and  those  with  him  had  heard  of  the  arrival 
of  the  militia  [the  Connecticut  men  from  up  the  river];  asking  also  whether  they  intended  to  join 
them,  and  swearing  that  all  such  as  did  not  should  be  burnt  out;  and  that  they  (the  Yankees] 
would  hold  the  country  or  lose  their  lives.  That  under  these  threatenings  the  deponent  joined 
them  on  the  morning  following,  where  he  found  them  collected  at  one  Brockway's,  to  the  number 
of  forty.  At  one  Gaylord's  the  deponent  understood  that  there  was  another  party  of  them,  and 
that  the  above  seemed  to  be  their  general  language  &  temper.  *  *  *  Their  leaders  were 
John  Franklin,  Elisha  Satterlee  and  Phineas  Stephens." 

On  IVIonday,  October  18th,  General  Armstrong,  at  the  head  of  about  130 
Pennamites  (including  the  Berks  County  militia),  marched  up  to  Fort  Defence, 
surrounded  it  and  kept  up  a  heavy  firing  for  two  hours.  The  Yankees  vigorously 
maintained  their  position,  and  after  one  officer  of  the  militia  had  been  killed 
and  three  or  four  privates  wounded,  Armstrong  withdrew  to  Wilkes-Barre. 
Franklin,  referring  to  this  affair  in  his  "Brief,"  states:  "They  [the  Pennamites] 
being  about  130  in  number  commenced  a  heavy  fire  upon  us,  which  w-e  returned 
with  a  small  number  of  arms  we  had  in  possession;  and  after  an  attack  of  two  hours 
forced  them  to  run  off,  leaving  one  of  their  party  dead  on  the  place  of  action. 
Others    were    wounded." 

Miner,  describing  the  action  at  Fort  Defence  (in  his  "History  of  Wvoming", 
page  366),  states:  "[Armstrong]  put  his  forces  in  motion,  and  made  an  attack 
on  Brockway's,  above  Abraham's  Creek,  where  William  Jackson  of  the  Yankees 
was  severely  wounded,  Captain  Bolin  of  Armstrong's  men  killed  and  left  on 
the  field  of  battle,  and  three  or  four  of  his  men  being  wounded,  who  were  borne 
off  in  the  retreat.  This  action  was  sharply  contested  on  both  sides  for  an  hour. 
The  Yankees  occupied  four  log  houses  placed  in  the  form  of  a  diamond.  *  *  * 
After  the  attacking  party  had  retired,  Captain  Franklin  seized  the  rifle  of  his 
friend  William  Jackson,  bloody  from  his  wound,  and  calling  his  companions 
in  suffering  around,  swore  thereon  a  solemn  oath  that  'he  would  never  lay  down 
his  ari^s  until  death  should  arrest  his  hand,  or  Patterson  and  Armstrong  be 
expelled  from  Wyoming  and  the  people  be  restored  to  their  rights  of  possession, 
and  a  legal  trial  guaranteed  to  ever}'  citizen  by  the  Constitution,  bv  Justice 
and  by  Law.'  " 

Miner  further  states,  relative  to  the  events  of  this  period,  that  "General 
Armstrong  the  next  day  [October  19th]  dispossessed  thirty  families  who  had  been 
restored  or  returned  to  their  farms.  In  a  skirmish  which  ensued  Jonathan  Terry 
was  severely  wounded.  The  flats  of  Kingston  opposite  the  fort  [Dickinson 
had  been  extensively  sowed  with  buckwheat,  and  General  Armstrong's  men 
were  now  engaged  in  threshing  out  the  abundant  produce.  A  body  of  Yankees 
under  Major  [Joel]  Abbott  approached  the  laborers  undiscovered,  and  rushing 
forward,  surrounded  them  before  they  could  seize  their  arms,  and  took  all  the 
grain — wagons  having  been  prepared  to  transport  it  to  headquarters.  Mean- 
while the  alarmed  garrison  paraded  the  cannon,  but  the  Yankees  placed  their 
prisoners  as  a  shield,  and  thus  prevented  firing.  More  than  a  hundred  bushels 
rewarded  the  enterprise." 

Realizing  that  John  Franklin  was  now  the  leader  of  the  Wyoming  Yankees 
and  the  chief  director  of  their  affairs,  General  Armstrong  sent  to  Justice  John 
Seely,  on  October  20,  1784,  the  following  communication!: 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  688.  tSee  "Pennsylvania  .Archives",  Old  Series.  X:  677. 


1448 

"I  have  no  other  object  in  wishing  you  to  come  to  an  interview  with  John  Franklin  but  that 
you  may  have  an  opportunity  of  learning  from  himself  why  so  many  of  the  Connecticut  claimants 
have  thus  wantonly  run  into  an  armed  opposition  to  the  laws  of  the  State ;  why  they  have  com- 
mitted so  many  depredations  upon  the  peaceable  and  unoffending;  &  whether  they  yet  continue 
even  to  profess  an  allegiance  to  this  Commonwealth.  If  to  the  last  question  he  should  answer 
in  the  affirmative  you  will  then  explain  what  that  allegiance  requires,  and  what  it  forbids;  the 
necessity  there  is  for  immediately  laying  down  his  arms  and  submitting  himself  and  his  followers 
to  the  operation  of  justice,  and  the  penalty  should  he  neglect  or  refuse  to  comply. 

"Draw  from  him  an  acknowledgment  that  he  has  seen  the  proclamation*,  and  knows  the 
penalty  incurred  by  abetting,  comforting  and  associating  with  the  culprits  mentioned  therein." 

Seely  came  to  an  interview  with  Franklin  the  same  day,  and  subsequently 
reported  the  results  thereof  to  Armstrong  in  writing,  as  follows: 

"That  he  ye  said  Franklin  made  ye  following  answers  to  the  preceding  questions:  To  the 
1st  he  replied,  'for  his  own  safety.'  To  the  2d  he  made  no  other  answer  but  that  'it  was  against 
his  incHnation  yt.  any  outrage  upon  person's  property  should  be  committed.'  And  to  ye  last  he 
answered  in  the  affirmative. 

"When  Mr.  Seely  asked  how  he  could  reconcile  to  these  professions  his  carrying  arms  and 
fitting  himself  in  opposition  to  the  laws,  he  replied  yt.  his  own  defence  made  it  necessary.  Mr. 
Seely  then  declared  his  conduct  to  be  contrary  to  the  law,  &  pointed  out  the  necessity  of  their 
immediately  dispersing.  To  yt.  he  made  no  other  reply  as  to  himself,  but  that  if  he  should,  he 
was  apprehensive  of  abuse,  adding:  'ti<hat  -would  then  become  of  the  people  mentioned  in  the  Procla- 
mation, for  whom  rewards  are  offered.' 

"In  the  course  of  conversation  Franklin  acknowledged  that  he  had  sent  a  state  of  facts 
to  the  Government  of  Connecticut,  and  the  Susquehanna  Company,  and  expected  support  from 
them." 

On  October  20th,  at  Fort  Dickinson,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  General  Armstrong 
issued  an  address  to  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  to  which  he  attached  a  copy 
of  the  vSupreme  Executive  Council's  proclamation  of  October  5th.  The  address 
read  as  followsf: 

"Whereas,  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  this  Commonwealth  have  by  their  resolution 
of  the  1st  day  of  October  last,  directed  that  a  body  of  Militia  be  immediately  called  into  service 
and  moved  with  the  utmost  expedition  to  the  townships  of  Shawana  and  Stoke,  in  the  County 
of  Northumberland  for  the  purpose  of  'protecting  the  more  peaceable  inhabitants  of  the  said 
townships  against  the  violence  of  the  Banditti  now  infesting  those  settlements,  and  for  the  better 
support  of  the  civil  authority  there. 

"And  whereas,  by  the  resolution  of  the  same  date,  the  direction  of  these  troops  is  committed 
to  me,  this  is  therefore  to  require  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  aforesaid  districts,  well  affected 
to  the  Government  of  this  Commonwealth,  do  immediately  repair  to  this  place.  &  by  so  doing 
give  evidence  of  their  allegiance  and  submission  to  the  laws ;  that  they  also  renounce  all  connection 
with  the  Culprits  whose  names  are  mentioned  in  the  Proclamation  annexed,  and  that  they  not 
only  deny  them  all  comfort  and  protection,  but  that  they  exert  themselves  in  apprehending 
and  bringing  to  justice  all  and  every  of  the  abovementioned  Culprits,  their  associates  and  abettors. 

"And  -whereas,  it  is  and  ever  has  been  the  object  of  Government  to  extend  mercy  as  well  as 
to  render  justice  to  all  its  subjects,  this  is  also  to  assure  such  as  may  have  been  deluded  into  a  hasty 
and  mistaken  opposition  to  its  laws — and  who,  under  the  influence  of  this  delusion,  have  left 
their  places  of  usual  abode  and  assembled  themselves  in  arms  for  the  very  unlawful  purpose  of 
defending  a  description  of  men  who  have  rendered  themselves  obnoxious  to  the  severest  punish- 
ment— that  if  they  will  immediately  return  to  their  allegiance  and  their  industry,  every  possible 
representation  in  their  favor  shall  be  made  to  Government,  and  that  no  effort  in  my  power  shall 
be  wanting  to  procure  forgiveness. 

"Such,  however,  as,  lost  to  their  own  interest,  shall,  in  neglect  to  this  warning,  continue  to 
give  their  support  to  the  insurgents,  and  oppose  in  arms  the  progress  of  the  Laws  and  those 
who  are  sent  hither  to  establish  &  preserve  them,  must  look  for  that  punishment  only  which  it 
is  ever  in  the  power  of  the  State  to  inflict,  should  it  become  either  her  duty  or  inclination." 

Relative  to  the  treatment  which  some  of  the  Yankees  in  Wyoming  were 
experiencing  at  the  hands  of  the  Pennamites  at  and  about  October  20,  1784, 
we  learn  something  from  the  actions  of  a  courageous  woman. 

Mrs.  Abigail  (Alden)  Jameson,  daughter  of  Maj.  Prince  Alden  and  widow 
of  Lieut.  John  Jameson  (see  page  500,  Vol.  I,)  having,  with  other  members  of 
the  Jameson  and  Alden  families,  suffered  outrages  of  a  more  than  ordinary 
character  on  this  date,  journeyed  to  Easton  to  lodge  a  complaint  against  her 
persecutors.    The  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  were  at  that  time 

^Issued  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  October  S,  1  784      .See  page  1442- 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Seriei.  X;  685. 


1449 

holding  a  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  there,  and  Mrs.  Jameson  went  before 
the  Hon.  George  Bryan,  one  of  the  Justices,  and  swore  out  an  information, 
drawn  up  in  part  as  follows*: 

"On  Friday,  October  29,  17S4,  before  me,  George  Bryan,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  at  Easton,  in  the  County  of  Northampton,  personally  came  Abigail  Jameson  of  the 
township  of  Stoke,  in  the  county  of  Northumberland,  widow,  aged  thirty-one  years,  who,  being 
duly  sworn  on  the  holy  Gospels,  deposeth  &  saith:  That  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  May  last  past 
this  deponent  was  turned  out  of  her  house  in  Stoke  aforesaid,  &  driven  thence  to  New  Jersey, 
by  divers  persons  armed  with  Guns  &  other  Weapons;  that  in  the  month  of  June  last  this  depon- 
ent returned  again  to  her  dwelling-house  in  Stoke  aforesaid,  &  there  found  Agnes  Jameson,  mother- 
in-law  of  this  deponent,  inhabiting  the  said  house;  that  this  deponent  continued  at  Stoke  afore- 
said, &,  together  with  said  Agnes,  lived  &  dwelt  in  said  house;  that  in  the  month  of  August  last 
this  deponent  went  to  New  Jersey,  &  after  some  stay  there  with  her  children,  returned  towards 
Stoke,  aforesaid,  last  Sunday  week  [October  17,  17S4],  having  with  her  this  deponent's  daughter 
Hannah,  of  the  age  of  two  years  or  thereabouts,  &  passing  by  Bear  Creek,  twenty  [sic]  miles  on 
this  side  of  Stoke  aforesaid,  this  deponent  was  stopped  by  Henry  Shoemaker,  Esq..  who  said 
that  this  deponent  could  not  get  through,  and  that  Jacob  Cline  led  this  deponent  two 
miles  back  towards  Colonel  Stroud's;  that  after  night,  this  deponent  being  left  alone, 
proceeded  again  towards  her  house  aforesaid  at  Stoke,  &  arrived  there  safely;  that  this 
deponent,  upon  returning  to  her  habitation  at  Stoke  as  aforesaid,  found  her  Mother-in-law  pos- 
sessed of  her  house  there,  &  that  this  deponent  took  possession  of  said  house  &  dwelled  there  in 
peace  untill  Wednesday,  the  twentieth  day  of  this  present  mouth  of  October,  when  going  towards 
the  fort  to  carry  food  for  Robert  Jameson,  then  prisoner  there,  this  deponent  was  stopped  by 
Ale.\ander  Patterson,  Esquire,  &  taken  back  to  her  own  house,  being  five  miles  distant;  that  on 
the  way  the  said  Patterson  &  his  men  stopped  at  the  Widdow  Abigail  Holliwood's  &  turned  her 
out  of  possession  of  her  dwelling. 

"That  about  an  hour  after,  the  said  Alexander  Patterson  &  his  party,  about  ten  in  all, 
came  near  to  this  deponent's  dwelling,  Patterson  stopping  at  about  twenty  rods  therefrom; 
that  about  ten  men  came  up  to  this  deponent's  house  &  forcibly  turned  this  deponent,  the  said 
Agnes  Jameson,  Rosanna  Jameson  &  the  said  Hannah  Jameson  out  of  the  same,  &  threw  out 
at  the  same  time  this  deponent's  household  &  other  goods;  that  one  of  the  men  who  thus  ousted 
this  deponent  as  aforesaid,  shut  the  doors  &  nailed  them  up;  that  the  said  Alexander  Patterson, 
who  acted  as  the  director  of  the  said  party  of  men  coming  to  the  said  House,  threatened  this 
deponent  that  her  said  house  would  be  demolished  over  her  head  in  case  she  went  into  it  &  lived 
there  again,  &  ordered  this  deponent  to  look  for  other  quarters;  that  the  said  Agnes  Jameson 
was  at  the  time,  when  the  said  forcible  dispossession  was  made,  very  sick  &  a-bed,  &,  by  the  terror 
of  the  riotous  proceedings  aforesaid,  was  driven  into  an  hysteric  fit;  &  that  the  said  Agnes,  in  this 
distressed  condition,  was  carried  out  of  the  said  house,  &  placed  in  the  dwelling-house  of  John 
Cress3  ,  whose  abode  was  near  to  this  deponent's;  that  this  deponent,  the  next  day  after  the  dis- 
possession aforesaid,  complained  thereof  to  General  Armstrong,  who  denied  that  the  same  had 
been  done  by  his  orders,  or  that  his  men  had  done  it,  but  did  not  interfere  or  do  anything  to  relieve 
this  deponent." 


[Signed)      .y^^iz^/^^^^^^i^cy-^^t 


Upon  the  foregoing  information  a  warrant  was  issued  for  the  arrest  of  Captain 
Patterson,  and  a  few  days  later  he  was  arraigned  for  a  preliminary  hearing  before 
Justice  Bryan  at  Easton.  Abigail  Jameson,  who  was  present  in  Court  as  pro- 
secutrix, was  asked  by  the  Judge:  "Who  is  your  lawyer?"  "May  it  please 
your  Honor,"  she  answered,  "the  Aldens  are  all  lawyers.  I  will  attend  to  my 
own  case."  She  did  so,  and  as  a  result  of  the  hearing  Alexander  Patterson 
was  held  in  £250,  and  William  Smith,  Jr.,  and  James  Moore  were  each  held  in 
£125,  under  the  condition  "that  Alexander  Patterson  keep  the  peace  and  behave, 
and  appear  at  the  next  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  to  be  holden  in  Easton." 
Abigail  Jameson  was  held  in  the  sum  of  £50  "to  appear  and  give  evidence." 
At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  October  25,  1784,  General  Armstrong 
wrote  to  President  Dickinson  as  followsf: 

"The  enclosed  letter  from  Lieut.  Colonel  Murrayt  will  inform  your  E.xcellency  and  Council 
of  the  very  shameful  delinquency  of  the  Bucks  County  militia.  Those  of  Berks,  though  more 
obedient,  were  late  in  coming,  and  brought  it  down  to  the  14th  iiist.  before  I  could  take  a  single  step 
from  the  place  of  rendezvous.  I  then  found  myself  at  the  head  only  of  forty  men.  With  these, 
however,  I  got  into  march,  and  arrived  at  this  place  on  Sunday  following,  without  any  other 
injury  or  interruption  than  such  as  arose  from  the  difficulty  of  the  route  by  which  we  moved. 

"See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  688. 

tSee  ■■Pennsylvania  Archives^',  Old  Series,  X:686.         JSee  page   1443. 


1450 

"I  must  now  beg  leave  to  state  some  of  the  circumstances  which  followed  the  assault  of 
September  28;  the  situation  in  which  I  found  the  country,  and  the  more  important  facts  which 
have  since  happened. 

"The  first  event  was  immediately  succeeded  by  the  expulsion  of  such  of  the  Pennsylvania 
claimants  as  were  settled  on  the  west  side  of  the  river — some  of  whom,  quitting  the  country 
entirely,  fell  down  the  river  as  low  as  Shickshinny,  where  they  have  been  since  pursued  and 
stript  of  the  little  which,  in  the  first  instance,  they  were  permitted  to  carry  with  them.  The 
others  found  a  more  secure  refuge  in  the  remains  of  what  was  the  Fort  [Dickinson]. 

"During  these  transactions  the  magistrates  (Messrs.  Seely,  Mead  and  Shoemaker)  were 
not  idle,  and  did  everything  in  their  power  to  call  forth  a  spirit  of  exertion  among  the  neighbor- 
ing people;  but.  such  was  their  distrust  of  themselves  and  each  other,  that  few,  if  any,  could 
be  assembled.  They  wrote  also  to  the  Lieutenant  of  the  County,  entreating  the  immediate 
interposition  of  such  an  armed  force  as  he  could  afford  them;  but  volunteers  could  not  be  found, 
and  in  the  present  unorganized  state  of  the  militia  no  order  of  his  could  reach  them. 

,  "Witnesses  of  this  immediate  inefficiency  of  the  Government,  and  becoming  stronger  in 
the  assurance  of  a  growing  superiority,  the  insurgents  began  now  to  extend  their  outrages  to  this 
side  of  the  river,  and  obliged  the  greater  part  of  its  inhabitants  to  such  a  division  of  the  grain  as 
gratified  at  once  their  licentiousness  and  their  wants.  What  the  latter  spared,  the  former,  in 
many  instances,  destroyed,  and  nothing  was  to  be  seen  upon  my  arrival  but  insolence  and  ra- 
pacity, wretchedness  and  submission. 

"Small  as  my  party  was,  it  produced  a  temporary  change  in  the  conduct  of  both.  The 
insurgents  were  obliged  to  circumscribe  their  limits,  and  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  were  en- 
abled to  gather  in  some  part  of  their  scattered  harvest.  It  is,  however,  to  be  regretted  that  its 
influence  upon  both  has  been  less  permanent  than  I  could  wish,  for  the  moment  that  my  force 
was  found  to  be  unequal  to  offensive  operations,  that  moment  I  was  attacked  by  the  one  and, 
in  a  great  degree,  deserted  by  the  other. 

"In  a  little  recounter  which  took  place  a  day  or  two  ago  [October  18],  and  which  was  brought 
on  by  an  attempt  to  cover  the  labors  of  some  poor  people  (who  had  been  much  and  early  distressed 
in  this  late  disturbance),  the  insurgents  sustained  some  loss,  and  were  driven  into  a  cluster  of  log 
houses,  which  my  leading  platoon — mistaking  their  orders — attempted  to  storm,  but  without 
effect.    In  this  affair  I  had  two  men  slightly  wounded. 

"I  need  scarcely  observe  to  your  Excellency  that  four  log  houses,  so  constructed  as  to 
flank  each  other,  became  a  very  formidable  post,  and  set  all  attempts  of  near  musquetry  at  de- 
fiance. I  had  no  cannon,  and  the  only  alternative  left  me — a  close  investment — became  iinprac- 
ticable  from  a  want  of  numbers.  I  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  relinquish  the  position  I  had  taken, 
and  with  it  the  happy  prospect  of  exterminating  this  banditti  at  once.  Their  whole  force  was 
stated  at  this  point  of  time  at  seventy  men. 

"Among  my  informers  on  this  subject  is  Matthew  Terrel,  whose  deposition  is  enclosed, 
and  who,  with  some  others  of  a  more  timid  or  peaceable  disposition,  have  come  and  thrown 
themselves  upon  me  for  protection.  This  I  have  extended  to  all  such  without  exception,  and  have 
only  to  regret  that  there  are  so  few  of  them.  This,  however,  cannot  be  either  new  or  surprising 
to  your  Excellency  after  the  frequent  evidence  which  the  people  called  Connecticut  Claimants 
have  given  of  intended  violence,  and  can  only  beget  a  further  assurance  in  the  Government 
that  they  have  long  since  ceased  to  deserve  anything  of  it  but  its  resentment. 

"Whatever  reluctancy  I  may  feel  in  becoming  the  minister  of  these,  I  cannot  but  offer  it 
as  my  most  serious  opinion  that  they  should  be  soon  and  vigorously  e.xerted.  The  detachment 
now  here,  completed  to  its  original  number  with  100  additional  troops,  would  be  very  sufficient 
for  this  purpose.    A  less  number  would  be  much  exposed  to  disaster,  if  not  to  defeat." 

The  next  day,  (October  26th).  General  Armstrong  sent  the  following  informa- 
tion to  President  Dickinson  by  an  express: 

"I  must  beg  leave  to  refer  your  Excellency  to  Captain  Armstrong  for  a  relation  of  some  facts 
which  have  taken  place  here  to-day.  They  seem  to  be  a  consequence  of  a  reinforcement  brought 
down  the  river  by  [Capt.  John]  Swift.  The  treatment  of  the  Lackawanna  people  has  been  ex- 
cessively cruel.  Since  my  packet  of  yesterday  was  made  up,  I  have  heard  that  there  are  a  few 
men  upon  their  march  from  Bucks  County.  Should  they  join  me  my  whole  number  will  not 
exceed  fifty;  and  to  suppose  that  half  of  these  are  to  be  depended  upon  in  a  moment  of  trial,  would 
be  a  great  stretch  of  credulity."* 

The  Rev.  George  Peck,  D.  D.,  in  his  Wyoming  sketches,  gives  an  interesting 
account  of  some  of  the  doings  of  Armstrong  and  his  men  during  their  stay  in 
Wyoming,  in  October  and  November,  1784.  Mrs.  Deborah  {Sutton)  Bedford, 
who,  as  a  young  girl  of  eleven  years,  was  in  Wyoming  at  that  time,  narrated 
to  Dr.  Peck,  many  years  later,  the  following: 

"Armstrong  and  Patterson  commenced  a  series  of  efforts  to  drive  the  Yankees  out  of  the 
country.  One  of  their  schemes  was  to  burden  the  settlers  with  their  men.  They  quartered  their 
.soldiers  around  among  the  people,  and  gave  some  one  of  them  charge  of  the  house.    Six  of  Arm- 

*At  a  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  held  February  17,  1785.  the  pay-roll  of  Captain  Friece's  company 
of  Bucks  County  militia  (see  letter  of  County  Lieutenant  Murray  on  page  1444,)  from  October  14,  to  December 
5,  1784,  was  read  and  approved,  and  an  order  was  drawn  on  the  Treasury  for  the  pay — it  being  for  services  in  the 
Wyoming  campaign,     (See  ""Pennsj'lvania  Colonial  Records",  XIV:  .^61-) 


1451 

strong's  men  were  quartered  upon  us,  and  the  meanest  one  of  the  lot  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
house.  He  swelled  and  swaggered,  and  gave  out  orders  with  the  authority  of  an  absolute  mon- 
arch. *  *  *  Armstrong  had  a  very  bad  felon,  and  applied  to  Dr.  [William  Hooker]  Smith 
for  medical  treatment.  The  Doctor  told  him  that  he  would  not  go  into  the  fort  to  attend  to  his 
case,  but  that  if  he  would  take  board  among  the  citizens  he  would  do  what  he  could  for  him. 
It  was  finally  arranged  that  he  should  meet  the  Doctor  at  our  house.  We  gave  him  all  the  com- 
forts which  the  house  afforded,  and  his  felon  was  soon  cured. 

"When  the  Yankees  were  all  ordered  off,  Armstrong  came  to  our  house  and  said  to  my 
mother:  'Mrs.  Sutton,  you  will  not  like  to  go  with  the  rabble;  you  may  stay  a  day  or  two,  and 
then  go  at  your  leisure.'  *  *  *  Mother  was  about  to  be  confined,  and  father  was  gone  up 
the  river,  and  she  told  Armstrong  she  could  not  go.  'Oh!'  said  he,  'you  must  go;  but  we  will  make 
it  as  agreeable  for  you  as  possible.'  Soon  after  a  file  of  armed  men  came  in  and  ordered  mother 
to  clear  out.  When  they  left  they  said  she  might  have  fifteen  minutes  to  leave  in.  She  told  them 
she  could  not  go  at  all.  Soon  after  they  returned,  and  found  mother  lying  on  a  bed  on  the  floor. 
They  told  her  to  get  up  and  be  off  immediately.  She  flung  the  bed-clothing  off,  and  rising  up, 
said,  'Here  I  am,  take  my  life  as  soon  as  you  please!'  A  ruffian  pointed  his  bayonet  at  her  and 
swore  he  would  kill  her,  taking  a  step  toward  her  as  though  he  would  execute  his  threat, 
when  one  of  them  stepped  up  and  turned  his  gun  away,  saying,  'Come  along,  and  let  the  woman 
alone.'  " 

The  following  extracts  from  affidavits*  made  before  Justice  John  Seely 
at  Wyoming  early  in  November,  1784,  by  a  couple  of  Pennamites,  will  give 
the  reader  an  idea  as  to  the  manner  in  which  some  of  the  Yankees  here  were 
conducting  themselves  about  that  time. 

"Joseph  King,  being  duly  sworn,  doth  depose  and  say  that  on  Wednesday,  the  3d  iiist., 
being  at  his  labor  in  Shawina  [Shawanee]  Township  with  four  others  threshing  buckwheat,  they 
were  surrounded  by  a  number  of  armed  men  and  made  prisoners.  Benjamin  Bidlack  and  Elisha 
Satterlee  commanded  the  party  of  robbers.  They  marched  the  said  deponent  with  the  others 
up  to  their  place  of  rendezvous,  and  on  the  road  abused  the  said  deponent  very  much  by  jabbing 
their  guns  in  his  sides.  When  they  arrived  near  their  quarters  they  tied  a  rope  around  the  de- 
ponent's neck,  and  beat  and  abused  the  said  deponent  without  mercy.  John  Franklin,  commander 
of  said  body  of  robbers,  made  the  deponent  promise  to  quit  the  country  and  never  lift  arms  again; 
which  if  he  did,  and  they  could  lay  their  hands  on  him,  they  would  take  his  life.  Upon  these 
promises  they  let  him  go.  The  deponent  says  that  he  is  not  yet  able  to  lift  a  pail  of  water  on 
account  of  the  bruises  he  received  of  the  said  robbers." 

"Hannah  Hillman,  Spinster,   of  the  said  County,  being   duly  sworn,  doth  depose  &  say: 

That  on  Thursday,  the instant,  being  at  the  house  of  Cornelius  Van  Horn,  in  the  Township 

of  Shawana,  she  there  saw  John  Franklin  &  a  number  of  other  armed  men — she  supposes  about 
forty — who,  approaching  the  house  on  different  sides,  surrounded  it,  with  an  intention  (as  they 
said)  of  cutting  off  a  party  of  the  militia  which  had  been  stationed  there,  &  which  had  been  that 
morning  withdrawn  to  the  Fort.  That  Franklin,  swearing  in  a  most  profane  manner,  declared 
that  he  would  be  revenged  of  some  of  them,  &  particularly  of  Wm.  Simms  who  was  with  the  said 
party;  adding  that  within  a  night  or  two  he  would  set  fire  to  his  (Simms)  house  &  burn  him  up 
alive.    He  talked  a  great  deal,  &  much  of  his  language  was  to  the  same  purpose." 

During  the  week  of  October  25-30,  1784,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Pennsylvania  were  holding  a  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  at  Easton,  as  here- 
inbefore noted,  and  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  (who  had  come  on  from  Fishkill,  New 
York),  Robert  McDowel  and  other  influential  members  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company  were  there  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  eleven  Wyoming  men 
who  were  in  the  Easton  jail  awaiting  the  action  of  the  Court  in  their  case.  A 
bill  of  indictment  charging  them  with  the  murder  of  Jacob  Everett,  at  Locust 
Hill,  August  2,  1784,  was  framed  and  laid  before  the  Grand  Jur)',  but  on  October 
29th,  the  bill  was  returned  "ignoramus."  Thereupon  the  Court  directed  that  the 
prisoners  should  be  discharged  upon  the  payment  of  certain  jail  fees  and  costs 
(amounting  to  the  sum  of  £6,  16s.  4d.  for  each),  and  upon  entering  into  a  recog- 
nizance, with  one  surety  for  each  individual,  to  keep  the  peace  for  one  year. 

The  prisoners  were  without  money,  but  Messrs.  Butler  and  IMcDowel  and 
Samuel  Decker  furnished  the  full  amount  needed,  receiving  from  the  eleven 
men,  respectively,  their  notes,  or  due-bills,t  payable  on  or  before  March  1,  1785. 
On  October  30th,  having  entered  into  their  recognizances  and  received  "passes," 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Scries,  X:  691,  694. 

tThe  due-bills  of  Benjamin  Jenkins,  John  Platner,  Thomas  Read  and  John  Hurlbut.  at  that  time  given  each 
for  £6,  16s.  4d.,  and  dated  at  Easton,  October  29,  1784,  are  now  preserved  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society. 


1452 

or  permits,  enabling  them  to  return  to  Wyoming  without  let  or  hindrance,  they 

set  off  for  home.    One  of  the  passes  given  at  that  time  has  been  preserved*, 

and  it  reads  as  follows: 

"Northampton  County,  ss: 

"Upon  application  to  Robert  Levers,  Esquire,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the 
said  County,  by  John  Hurlbut  (who  hath  this  day  entered  into  recognizance,  with  one  surety, 
for  his  peaceable  behaviour  towards  all  the  subjects  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  for 
one  year  from  the  date  hereof),  for  a  pass,  that  he  may  have  liberty  to  go  to  Wyoming  on  his 
Lawful  Business;  These  are  to  permit  the  said  John  Hurlbut  to  pass  from  hence  to  Wyoming, 
^nd  it  is  recommended  to  all  whom  it  may  concern  not  to  molest  the  said  John  Hurlbut  on  his 
passing  and  repassing  as  lawful  business  may  occasion — he  behaving  himself  as  becometh  a  good 
citizen  of  Pennsylvania. 

"Give  under  my  hand  and  seal  the  thirtieth  day  of  October,  1784. 

[Signed]  "Robert  Levers."         [L.  S.] 

At  Sunbury,  during  the  week  of  November  8-13,  1784,  Chief  Justice  Thomas 
McKean  and  Justices  William  Augustus  Atlee  and  George  Bryan  held  a  Court 
of  Oyer  and  Terminer.  Bills  of  indictment  against  the  forty-two  Yankees^^  who 
had  been  arrested  at  Wyoming  and  jailed  at  Sunbury  in  August,  1784  (see  pages 
1423  and  1424),  were  framed  and  laid  before  the  Grand  Jury,  but  the  several 
bills  were  retiu'ned  "ignoramus"  by  the  Jur}^  Colonel  Franklin,  in  his  "Brief," 
states:  "Large  bills  of  costs  were  made  out  against  each  of  said  persons,  viz.: 
£2,  4s.  on  each  bill;  dnd  not  any  one  had  less  than  two  bills  laid  against  him, 
and  several  had  three  or  four." 

At  this  same  term  of  Court  Lieut.  Col.  James  Moore  a:nd  the  various  other 
Pennamites  who  had  been  indicted  in  June,  1784,  and  bound  over  for  their 
appearance  at  this  term,  were  tried,  with  the  following  results:  Andrew  Hen- 
derson and  BlackaU  William  Ball,  "gentlemen,"  were  tried  for  an  assault  and 
rescue,  and  were  acquitted;  Hamilton  (?)  Armstrong  and  Andrew  Henderson, 
"gentlemen,"  were  tried  for  an  assault  and  battery,  and  were  acquitted;  Blackall 
William  Ball,  gentleman,  indicted  for  assault  and  battery,  "submitted,"  and 
was  fined  twenty  shillings. 

The  several  persons  whose  names  follow  were  tried  on  an  indictment  for 
riot,  and  were  convicted.  Whereupon  the  Court  passed  the  following  sentences, 
to  wit:  Lieut.  Col.  James  Moore  and  Capt.  Henry  Shoemaker,  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  were  each  fined  £lOO,  and  were  required  to  pa}^  the  costs  of  prosecution 
and  give  security  in  the  sum  of  £500  each  for  their  peace  and  good  behavior 
for  twelve  months.  Capt.  William  McDonald  was  fined  £75,  and  was  ordered 
to  pay  the  costs  and  give  security,  as  in  the  cases  of  Moore  and  Shoemaker. 
Blackall  William  Ball  was  fined  £25,  and  was  ordered  to  pay  the  costs  and  give 
a  bond  in  the  sum  of  £200.  Ezekiel  Schoonover  and  EHsha  Cortright  were 
each  fined  £l5  and  the  costs,  and  were  required  to  give  bonds  in  the  sum  of 
£50  each.  Abraham  Van  Cortright  and  Samuel  Va;n  Gorden  were  each  fined 
£10  and  the  costs,  and  required  to  give  bonds  of  £50  each.  Ebenezer  Taylor, 
Preserved  Cooley,  William  Brink,  Beniah  Munday,  Nicodemus  Travis  and 
Obadiah  Walker  were  each  fined  £5  and  the  costs,  and  required  to  give  bonds 
in  the  sum  of  £50  each.  Peter  Taylor,  Lawrence  Kinney,  Daniel  Swartz,  Ben- 
jamin Hillman,  Joseph  Solomon  and  James  Grimes  were  each  fined  £3  and  the 
costs,  and  required  to  give  bonds  in  the  sum  of  £25  each.  Jacob  Tillbury  was 
fined  twenty  shillings,  and  was  required  to  give  a  bond  in  the  sum  of  £50. 

Miner,  referring  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  348)  to  the  trials  of  these 
men,  states:     "The  majesty  of  the  laws  was  nobly  vindicated.    The  charge  of 

*See  F.  C.  Johnson's  "Historical  Record."  Ill:  9. 


1453 

the  Judge  was  long  remembered  for  its  just  sentiments,  its  deep  feeling,  and 
the  impressive  manner  in  which  it  was  delivered." 

On  December  23,  1784,  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  having 
received  from  Edward  Burd,  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and  General 
Gaol  Delivery  of  the  Commonwealth,  a  certificate  to  the  effect  that  Henry  vShoe- 
maker,  Esq.,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  County  of  Northumberland, 
had  been  convicted  of  a  riot  committed  by  him  and  many  others  on  May  13, 
1784,  the  Assembly  resolved  "that  the  said  Henry  Shoemaker,  for  his  mis- 
conduct as  aforesaid,  be  removed  from  his  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace." 

January  10,  1785,  Lieut.  Colonel  Moore,  for  himself  and  the  several  other 
convicted  Pennamites  named  hereinbefore,  petitioned  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  and  prayed  for  "a  respite  of  the  collection  of  the  fines  imposed"  as  afore- 
mentioned. The  Council,  by  resolution,  "suspended"  the  collection  for  a  period 
of  six  months,  but  before  the  six  months  had  expired  Moore  and  his  associates 
petitioned  for  a  further  extension  of  time.  Finally,  on  January  12,  1786,  the 
Council  remitted  the  fines  entirely. 

A  few  days  before  the  convening  of  the  Court  at  Sunbury,  General  Armstrong 
proceeded  thither  from  Wilkes-Barre,  and  on  November  8th,  Justice  John  Seely 
wrote  to  him  from  Wilkes-Barre  as  follows*: 

"Yesterday  I  had  a  conference  with  the  three  persons  mentioned  to  you;  this  day  at  11 
o'clock  I  received  their  answer.  They  have  agreed  that  upon  sufficient  assurances  from  under 
your  hand  &  seal  that  all  processes  for  their  former  transactions  being  stopt,  and  that  they  may 
have  free  Liberty  of  passing  through  the  country  unmolested,  they  will  lay  down  their  arms  and 
never  take  them  up  again  in  opposition  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  They  Likewise  say  they 
must  have  one  hundred  Guineas  to  purchase  themselves  clothes,  &c. 

"Your  Proposition  of  an  act  of  Government  to  stop  aU  suits  ag't  them  I  have  promise 
should  be  done.  The  Guineas  I  have  not  yet  engaged  them,  but  think  it  will  save  great  Expence 
to  the  State  to  let  them  have  them. 

"Also  agreed  that  all  Hostilities  shall  cease,  &  no  more  Distresses  made  on  the  Inhabitants 
until!  they  have  a  meeting  with  you,  which  they  request  may  be  as  soon  as  possible;  and  desire  the 
same  may  be  kept  a  profound  secret  from  both  parties,  which  if  known  may  occasion  them  to 
take  up  arms  again — I  mean  untill  the  matter  is  properly  settled  between  you  &  them.  They 
also  say  they  will  occasion  the  whole  party  to  Disperse." 

Who  "the  three  persons"  were  who  are  referred  to  in  this  letter  we  have 
no  means  of  knowing,  and  it  would  be  a  very  difficult  matter  to  imagine,  with 
any  sort  of  satisfaction,  who  they  were. 

At  Sunbury,  under  the  date  of  November  15,  1784,  General  .Armstrong 
wrote  to  President  Dickinson,  at  Philadelphia,  as  foUowsf : 

"I  had  some  time  since  the  honor  of  stating  to  your  Excellency  &  Council  the  situation 
in  which  I  found  the  insurrection  at  Wyoming,  and  some  of  the  more  important  facts  which  had 
taken  place  upon  my  arrival.     *     *     * 

"Unable  to  attempt  anything  offensive  I  therefore  took  a  resolution  to  come  hither  & 
consult  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  upon  the  further  measures  which  in  this  situation  ought 
to  be  taken.  It  was  their  opinion  that  a  line  of  mere  defensive  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  State 
held  out  a  promise  of  sooner  bringing  about  the  objects  of  Government  than  one  of  a  more  active 
nature.  This,  however  reluctantly,  I  was  obliged  to  observe  from  the  first  moment  I  enter'd 
the  Country,  and  am  not  sanguine  in  expecting  any  better  consequence  than  we  have  already 
seen  &  felt  from  an  adherauce  to  it.  Every  measure  which  supposes  that  farther  LTnity  will 
produce  better  conduct,  will  be  found  unavailing;  but  untill  Government  be  so  well  assured  of 
this  truth  as  I  ever  have  been,  the  milder  expedients  of  forgiving  &  forgetting  may  be  pursued. 

"Col.  Johnstonel  who  has  been  at  Wyoming  since  I  left  it,  will  explain  the  appearances 
which  presented  themselves  to  him.  They  were  such  as  begat  but  few  hopes  of  being  able  by 
gentle  methods  to  extinguish  a  flame  which  has  extended  itself  to  a  whole  people,  composed  as 
they  are  of  vagrants  &  desperadoes. 

*S€e  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  692.    tSee  ibid.,  page  694. 

tCoL.  Francis  Johnston.    He  was  commissioned  January  4,  1776,  Lieut.  Colonel  of  the  Fourth  Pe 


4.V.-UI..  PHANCis  JOHNSTON,  xie  was  commissionco  January  4-,  i//o,  i^ieut.  ^.Jolonel  ol  the  rourth  Peunsvivama 
BattaUon,  commanded  by  Col.  (later  General)  Anthony  Wayne,  and  September  27,  1776,  was  promoted  Colonel  of  the 
Fifth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Continental  Line.  He  was  retired  from  the  ser\-ice  January  1 .  1781 .  and  in  the  following 
April  was  appointed  Receiver  General  of  Pennsylvania,  which  office  he  held  for  a  number  of  years — nine  or  ten.  at  least. 

In  September.  1783.  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  resolved  unanimously  that  the  Supreme  E.xecutive  Council  be 
authorized  and  empowered  to  appoint  Commissioners  to  hold  a  meeting  with  the  Indians  claiming  "the  unpurchased 
territory  within  the  acknowledged  limits  of  the  State,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  the  same,  agreeable  to  ancient 
usage."    In  pursuance  of  this  resolution  the  Council,  in  February,  1784,  appointed  as  Commissioners  Col.  Francis 


1454 

"I  shall  remain  here  for  a  few  days,  untill  I  find  myself  better  able  to  encounter  the  rough- 
ness of  the  roads  &  the  season,  &  shall  then  sett  out  for  Philad'a,  after  directing  such  a  disposition 
of  the  few  troops  which  desertion  has  left  me,  as  will  best  promote  the  objects  for  which  they  were 
sent." 

Instead  of  going  to  Philadelphia  from  Sunbury,  General  Armstrong  returned 
to  Wilkes-Barre. 

At  Philadelphia,  on  Saturday,  November  27,  1784,  President  Dickinson 
wrote  to  General  Armstrong  as  follows : 

"We  should  be  glad  that  you  would  return  to  Philadelphia  as  soon  as  will  be  convenient, 
in  order  that,  upon  the  fullest  information,  we  may  take  such  ulterior  Measures  as  the  situation 
of  the  affairs  in  Northumberland  County  may  render  proper." 

But  before  this  message  could  be  conveyed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Armstrong 
had  set  off  for  Philadelphia,  he  and  Captain  Patterson  and  their  militia  and 
a  majority  of  their  myrmidons,  with  bag  and  baggage,  having  evacuated  Fort 
Dickinson  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  27th  and  marched  out  over  the 
Sullivan  Road  in  the  direction  of  Easton.  Thus  the  Pennamitish  horde  vamosed 
from  Wyoming,  never  again  to  return  with  force  and  arms!  Three  days  later 
nearly  all  the  Yankees  in  Wyoming  assembled  on  the  River  Common  at  the  foot 
of  Northampton  Street,  Wilkes-Barre,  and,  roused  and  incited  by  spontaneous 
enthusiasm  and  pervaded  by  a  spirit  of  grim  earnestness,  promptly  razed  Fort 
Dickinson  to  the  ground. 

The  destruction  of  the  Fort  (which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Yankee  inhabitants 
of  Westmoreland,  had  stood  for  some  time  then  only  to  harbor  a  horde  of  myr- 

Johnston.  WUIiara  Maclay,  Esq.  (see  note,  page  759,  Vol.  I),  and  Col.  Samuel  John  Atlee  of  Pequea,  Lancaster  County, 
who.  in  March,  1780,  had  been  elected  County  Lieutenant  of  Lancaster,  and,  in  October,  1783,  had  been  elected  a 
member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  from  Lancaster. 

As  noted  on  page  164.  Vol.  I,  Congress  had  appointed  Commissioners  to  hold  a  treaty  with  the  SL\  Nation  Ind  ians 
at  Fort  Stanwix.  New  York,  in  October,  1784,  and  at  that  time  the  Pennsylvania  Commissioners  named  above  repa/red 
thither.  On  October  23rd,  at  Fort  Stanwix,  the  representatives  of  the  Six  Nations,  by  a  deed  under  their  hands  and 
seals,  or  totems,  conveyed  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  the  territory  desired  by  the  State — the  bounds  of  which 
extended  from  Tioga  Point  to  the  western  boundary  of  Pennsylvania,  and  from  the  New  York  State  line  to  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  the  lower  Allegheny  and  the  Ohio,  In  consideration  of  this  conveyance  the  Commissioners 
agreed  to  deliver  to  the  representatives  of  the  Si.x  Nations  '"goods,  wares  and  merchandise  to  the  amount  of  one 
thousand  dollars",  the  same  to  be  turned  over  to  them  at  Tioga  Point.  The  Commissioners  also  agreed  to  present 
to  Capt  .\aron  Hill  of  the  Mohawk  tribe  and  Capt.  John  O'Bail  ("Cornplanter")  of  the  Seneca  tribe  "two  good 
rifles  of  neat  workmanship,  one  for  each  of  them.     *     *     *     in  consideration  of  their  services  at  the  late  purchase." 

Returning  from  Fort  Stanwi.x  the  Commissioners  came  down  the  Susquehanna  from  Tioga  Point  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
reaching  here  about  the  1st  or  2d  of  November,  and  remaining  here  until  the  12th  or  13th,  when  they  departed,  for 
Sunbury.     From  there,  on  November  KSth.  they  reported  to  President  Dickinson  their  return  from  Fort  Stanwix,  and 


P 


/77^ 


A  copy  of  a  charge  against  Queen  Esther  in  Col.  Mathias  Hollenback's  Account  Book      ^1774.) 

then  separated  to  their  respective  homes.  Early  in  December  following  they  repaired  to  Fort  Mcintosh  on  the  Ohio 
River,  ^vhere  the  town  of  Beaver.  Beaver  County.  Pennsylvania,  is  now  located,  and  there  at  a  treaty  held  on  January 
21,  1785.  procured  from  certain  Wyandot  and  Delaware  Indians  a  deed  confirming  and  ratifying  the  deed  executed 
by  the  Six  Nations  at  Fort  Stanwix. 

Colonel  Johnston  was  elected  High  Sheriff  of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia  October  25.  1810,  and  he  died 
in  that  city  February  22,  1815,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  Pennsyl- 
vania-Union Lodge,  No.  29,  Ancient  York  Masons  (referred  to  on  page  1346),  and  was  an  original  member  of  the 
State  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  Pennsylvania — being  succeeded  therein  by  his  son,  Alexander  W.  Johnston,  in  1816. 


1455 

midons  whose  unjust  and  hateful  acts  had  made  the  lives  of  the  Yankees  un- 
happy and  their  property  unsafe)  marked,  in  fact,  the  close  of  the  "Second 
Pennamite- Yankee  War." 

Colonel  Franklin,  in  his  "Brief",  referring  to  the  evacuation  and  destruction 
of  Fort  Dickinson,  stated:  "Consequently  the  possession  of  Wyoming  fell  into 
our  hands  without  any  assistance  under  the  authority  of  Government.  A  number 
of  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  still  remained  at  Wyoming  with  their  families, 
in  possession  of  our  houses  and  lands.  They  wished  to  remain  quiet  until  the 
title  should  be  decided  by  la,w. 

"December  10th  the  Sheriff  of  Northumberland,  with  two  Justices  of  the 
Peace  and  a  Grand  Jury  of  twelve  men,  came  to  Wyoming  to  execute  the  law 
relative  to  forcible  entry  and  detainer.  Two  or  three  complaints  were  exhibited, 
and  bills  were  found,  but  were  traversed  by  the  defendants.  The  Justices  in- 
formed us  that  the  traverse  could  not  be  tried  until  another  jury  could  be  brought 
from  Northumberland.  We  also  found  that  they  could  remove  the  traverse  to 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  in  this  way  keep  us  out  of  our  possessions  by  law,  and 
compel  us  to  quit  the  country  to  procure  subsistence  for  ourselves  and  families. 
We  informed  the  Justices  that  we  had  not  any  further  business  for  them.  The}' 
retired  with  the  jury,  and  we  took  possesssion  for  ourselves  and  proceeded  to 
bringing  back  our  families,  who  had  been  dispersed  for  the  term  of  seven  months." 

Miner  commenting  on  the  close  of  the  war  and  the  return  to  Wyoming 

of  the  New  England  settlers,  sanys: 

"The  New  England  people  were  repossessed  of  their  farms;  but  a  Summer  of  exile  and  war 
had  left  them  no  harvest  to  reap,  and  they  returned  to  their  empty  granaries  and  desolate  homes, 
crushed  by  the  miseries  of  the  Indian  invasion  [of  1778],  mourners  over  fields  of  more  recent 
slaughter,  destitute  of  food,  with  scarce  clothing  to  cover  them  through  the  rigors  of  a  northern 
Winter,  while  clouds  and  darkness  shrouded  all  the  future.  Assuredly  the  people  of  Wyoming 
were  objects  of  the  deepest  commiseration,  and  the  heart  must  be  harder  and  colder  than  marble 
that  could  look  upon  their  suffering  and  not  drop  a  tear  of  tenderest  pity." 

We  may  appropriately  introduce  here,  in  closing  this  Chapter,  interesting 
extracts  from  the  writings  of  two  well-known  American  authors,  commenting 
upon  the  Second  Pennamite- Yankee  War  in  Wyoming. 

John  Fiske,  LL.  B.,  in  his  "The  Critical  Period  of  American  History-" 
(published  in  1889),  says: 

"A  force  of  militia  was  sent  to  Wyoming,  commanded  by  a  truculent  creature  named 
Patterson.  The  ostensible  purpose  was  to  assist  in  restoring  order  in  the  valley,  but  the  behavior 
of  the  soldiers  was  such  as  would  have  disgraced  a  horde  of  barbarians.  They  stole  what  they 
could  find,  dealt  out  blows  to  the  men  and  insults  to  the  women,  until  their  violence  was  met 
with  violence  in  return. 

"Then  Patterson  sent  a  letter  to  President  Dickinson,  accusing  the  farmers  of  sedition, 
and  hinting  that  extreme  measures  were  necessary.  Having  thus,  as  he  thought,  prepared  the 
way,  he  attacked  the  settlement,  turned  some  500  people  out  of  doors,  and  burned  their  houses 
to  the  ground.  The  wretched  victims,  many  of  them  tender  women,  or  infirm  old  men,  or  little 
children,  were  driven  into  the  wilderness  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  and  told  to  find  their  way 
to  Connecticut  without  further  delay.  *  *  *  Great  was  the  indignation  in  New  England 
when  these  deeds  were  heard  of.  The  matter  had  become  very  serious.  A  war  between  Penn- 
sylvania and  Connecticut  might  easily  grow  out  of  it.  But  the  danger  was  averted  through  a 
singular  feature  in  the  Pennsylvania  Constitution. 

"In  order  to  hold  its  Legislature  in  check,  Pennsylvania  had  a  Council  of  Censors,  which 
was  assembled  once  in  seven  years  in  order  to  inquire  whether  the  State  had  been  properly  governed 
during  the  interval.  Soon  after  the  trouble  in  Wyoming  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Censors  was 
held,  and  the  conduct  of  Armstrong  and  Patterson  was  unreser\'edly  condemned.  A  hot  con- 
troversy ensued  between  the  Legislature  and  the  Censors,  and  as  the  people  set  great  store  by 
the  latter  peculiar  institution,  public  sympathy  was  gradually  awakened  for  the  sufferers. 
The  wickedness  of  the  affair  began  to  dawn  upon  people's  minds,  and  they  were  ashamed  of 
what  had  been  done.     Patterson  and  Armstrong  were  frowned  down,  the  Legislature  disavowed 


1456 

their  acts,  and  it  was  ordered  that  full  reparation  should  be  made  to  the  persecuted  settlers  of 
Wyoming." 

Charles  W.  Upham,  in  his  "Life  of  Timothy  Pickering"  (published  in  1873), 
says  (Volume  II:  page  234): 

"Pennsylvania  has  been  sometimes  blamed  for  not  having  used  more  decisive  and  violent 
measures  to  demolish  and  exterminate  the  intruders  upon  her  soil.  It  is  said  that  she  ought  to 
have  sent  a  force  at  the  beginning  to  crush  them  out,  and  by  stem  and  exemplary  punishment 
have  intimidated  them  from  ever  again  coming  within  her  boundaries.  But,  taking  into  view 
the  state  of  the  country,  the  difficulty  of  reaching  Wyoming  with  a  large  force,  and  the  then  exist- 
ing embarrassments  in  the  political  organization  of  Pennsylvania,  it  must  be  concluded  that 
she  did  as  much  as  could  have  been  expected  of  her;  and,  considering  the  character  of  the  people 
against  whom  she  was  acting,  it  is  to  be  doubted  whether  they  could  have  been  awed  by  any 
vindictiveness  practised  upon  those  of  them  falling  into  her  hands.  What  might  have  frightened 
some  men  would  only  have  exasperated  them.  No  bloody  revenge  would  have  answered  the 
purpose.     *     *     * 

"The  lenient  course  of  Pennsylvania  during  the  several  stages  of  the  controversy  with 
Connecticut  reflects  honor  upon  her  wisdom,  as  well  as  humanity.  At  different  times  she  took 
many  of  the  settlers  in  battle  or  skirmish,  and  held  them  as  prisoners  in  her  jails  at  Easton,  or 
elsewhere,  among  them  several  of  their  leaders.  She  did  not  execute  upon  them  any  military 
or  judicial  penalties.  She  treated  them  not  as  wicked,  but  as  misguided,  men,  allowing  them  to 
be  discharged.  Such  a  course  may  have  been  called  'imbecility'  by  some,  but  is  entitled,  in  the 
judgment  of  enlightened  statesmen  and  philanthropists — and  will  be  more  and  more  so  as  the  world 
advances — to  commendation  and  honor,  reflecting  the  truest  glory  on  the  character  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Upon  the  whole,  no  conflict  in  arms,  protracted  through  such  a  period  of  years  and 
accompanied  by  so  much  provocation,  is  so  little  stained  by  cruelty  and  vindictiveness,  or  has 
a  better  record  for  bravery,  resolution  or  endurance,  than  the  very  fight  for  jurisdiction  over  the 
Wyoming  lands.     *     *     * 

"Persons  living  in  a  wilderness  far  remote  from  organized  communities,  without  means  of 
communication  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  are  apt  to  acquire  a  spirit  of  independence  making 
them  disregardful  of  the  artificial  restraints  that  have  to  be  recognized  in  more  crowded  states 
of  society.  They  know  nothing  of  the  tribunals,  and  care  nothing  for  the  technicalities,  of  law. 
He  who,  by  his  own  ax  and  plough,  has  transformed  the  acres  (within  which  his  daily  and  yearly 
life  is  bounded)  from  a  pathless,  worthless  forest  into  a  cultivated  and  productive  inclosure, 
feels  that  he  owns  it  by  a  title  better  than  all  written  documents  or  recorded  deeds.  His  farm, 
his  house,  his  barns — all  that  he  has,  thinks  of  or  cares  about — is  literally  the  work  of  his 
own  hands,  his  sole  creation.  No  other  man  has  contributed  to  it,  and  it  is  hard  to  make  him 
understand  that  any  other  man,  be  he  called  what  he  may — Governor,  proprietor,  legislator. 
Judge  or  Sheriff' — has  a  right  to  take  his  land  from  under  his  feet.  He  will  hold  to  it  as  his  life, 
and  fight  for  it  against  the  world.     *     *     * 

"Such  were  the  Connecticut  settlers.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  they  had  bid  defiance 
to  the  Pennsylvania  proprietors  and  to  Pennsylvania.  In  the  meantime  those  lands  had  become 
more  and  more  endeared  to  them  by  every  principle  of  association,  every  habit  of  homely  life, 
every  trial  and  every  peril.  By  their  toil  and  energy  they  had  been  reclaimed  from  the  rugged 
wilderness  of  nature,  and  converted  into  smooth  lawns  and  verdant  meadows  of  marvelous  beauty 
and  loveliness.  Adventurers  from  other  Colonies  and  other  lands  had,  one  by  one,  been  drawn 
into  their  company,  attracted  by  tales  of  world-wide  currency,  portraying  the  charming  aspect 
of  the  country,  the  excellence  of  its  soil  for  the  culture  of  grains  and  fruits,  and  every  attribute 
that  can  adorn  a  landscape  and  give  reward  to  industry.  It  was  not  only  endeared  to  its  occupants 
by  the  attachments  now  mentioned,  but  was  consecrated  by  special  experiences  of  blood  and  woe, 
that  have  riveted  on  them  the  sympathies  of  mankind,  perpetuated  in  the  hearts  of  all  coming 
generations  by  verses  of  foreign  and  native  bards  that  wiU  never  die.  The  devastations  of  their 
fields,  the  conflagrations  of  their  dwellings  and  barns,  and  the  repeated  massacres  of  their  people 
— men,  women  and  children — by  savage  hordes,  all  these  combined  could  not  destroy  or  weaken 
the  tenacity  with  which  they  clung  to  their  lands.  Those  who  escaped  the  tomahawk  and  scalp- 
ing-knife  had  come  back  over  and  over  again  from  their  places  of  refuge.  The  invincible,  in- 
destructible community  persevered  in  its  contest  against  all  odds,  and  no  power,  civilized  or 
barbarian,  could  root  it  out.     *     *     * 

"Finally,  in  this  brief  review  of  the  Wyoming  controversy  between  two  States,  upon  balanc- 
ing the  facts  and  evidence,  we  are  brought,  not  to  the  conclusion  usually  the  result  of  a  fair  con- 
sideration of  the  whole  subject  in  like  cases,  that  both  parties  were  in  the  wrong,  but  that  both 
parties  were  substantially  in  the  righll" 


1457 

Concerning  the  Pennsylvania-Connecticut  controversy  a  Pennsylvania 
writer  has  recently  (July,  1916)  said: 

"But  the  saddest  events  connected  with  the  history  of  this  beautiful  valley  [of  Wyoming] 
are  those  which  were  not  necessary  and  were,  therefore,  all  the  more  deplorable.  I  refer  to  the 
treatment  bestowed  upon  the  Connecticut  settlers  in  this  section  by  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania  and  citizens  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  particularly  after  ques- 
tions of  title  and  jurisdiction  had  been  legally  decided  in  favor  of  Pennsylvania.  This  story  of 
the  cruel  treatment  of  the  ancestors  of  many  who  to-day  are  among  the  best  citizens  of  Penn- 
sylvania is  enough  to  cause  the  most  loyal  Pennsylvanian  to  hang  his  head  in  shame.     *     * 

"We  believe  that  the  Pennsylvanians  were  right  in  maintaining  their  claim  of  title.  We 
believe  that  legally  they  had  the  best  of  the  argument.  But  where  they  were  wrong,  and  are 
properly  open  to  the  most  severe  criticism,  is  in  their  treatment  of  the  settlers  from  Connecticut 
in  Wyoming  Valley." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

CONNECTICUT    APPEALS    TO    CONGRESS    FOR    JUSTICE   TO   THE    SETTLERS- 
AFFAIRS   OF  THE  SUSQUEHANNA  COMPANY  AGAIN  REVIVED  AND  NEW 
SETTLERS    REACH    WYOMING— FEW   PENNAMITES  REMAIN   IN 
ACTUAL  POSSESSION   OF  THEIR  CLAIMS  — DELEGATION 
OF    THE    PENNSYLVANIA    ASSEMBLY   VISITS 
WILKES-BARRE— THE  "HALF  SHARE" 
MEN. 


'With  them  came  a  spirit  not  for  peace.     They  were  hard-shell  irreconcilables." 


"Blessed  be  the  Lord  my  strength,  which  teacheth  my  hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to 
fight,"— Pm/«j  CXLIV:1. 

"You  call  these  men  a  mob — desperate,  dangerous  and  ignorant;  and  seem  to  think  that 
the  only  way  to  quiet  the  mob  is  to  lop  off  a  few  of  its  superfluous  heads.  But  even  a  mob  may 
be  better  reduced  to  reason  by  a  mixture  of  conciliation  and  firmness,  than  by  additional  irritation 
and  redoubled  penalties." — Lord  Byron,  1812. 


At  Lyme,  New  London  County,  Connecticut,  under  the  date  of  December 
20,  1784,  the  Hon.  Matthew  Griswold*,  who,  a  few  weeks  previously,  had 
succeeded  Jonathan  Trumbull  as  Governor  of  Connecticut,  wrote  to  President 
Dickinson  of  Pennsylvania,  with  respect  to  the  action  taken  by  the  Connecticut 

*Matthew  Griswold.  descendant  of  an  old  and  reputable  family,  was  bom  in  Lyme,  Connecticut,  March  25, 
1714.  His  first  public  office  was  that  of  King's  Attorney,  which  he  held  for  some  years.  In  1 766.  he  was  chosen  a  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut,  and  three  years  later  was  elected  Lieutenant  Governor  and  Chief  Justice.  He 
held  the  office  of  Lieutenant  Governor  for  6fteen  years.  When  he  retired  from  the  office  of  Governor  in  1786,  he  prac- 
tically withdrew  from  public  life.  In  1779,  Yale  College  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  He  died  at  his  home 
in  Lyme  April  28,  1799.    His  son,  Roger  Griswold,  was  Governor  of  Connecticut  in  1811-12. 


1458 


1459 

Assembly  in  October,  1784,  as  noted  hereinbefore.     The  letter  read  as  follows:* 

"I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  to  your  Excellency  a  Resolve  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut  upon  the  memorial  of  John  Franklin  and  other  settlers.  Inhabitants  and 
Claimants  of  certain  lands  at  &  near  Wyoming,  upon  the  River  Susquehanna;  by  which  you  will 
observe  I  am  requested  to  address  Congress  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  on  the  subject  of 
their  memorial.  « 

"We  do  highly  approve  of  the  Justice  and  Humanity  of  your  State  towards  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  those  who  have  fallen  in  the  late  war,  &  cannot  but  hope  and  trust  those  eminent 
virtues  will  yet  be  rendered  as  conspicuous  towards  others,  equally  meritorious,  who  have  sur- 
vived, altho  they  now  complain  loudly  of  a  contrary  treatment. 

"You  will  not  think  it  strange.  Sir,  who  are  acquainted  with  the  feelings  of  human  nature, 
that  the  calamities  and  sufferings  of  the  settlers  at  Wyoming  and  parts  adjacent  should  excite 
the  compassion  and  even  the  Resentment  of  their  friends  and  brethren  in  other  parts;  nor  that 
the  State  of  Connecticut — under  whose.  Countenance  and  title  thousands  were  induced  to  become 
Adventurers,  to  purchase  of  the  Indians  the  native  Right  of  Soil,  to  dispose  of  their  property 
here  and  remove  into  that  Wilderness  Country — should  feel  herself  interested  in  the  Calamities 
and  distresses  of  those  people,  and  endeavour  in  a  legal  and  Constitutional  method  to  obtain 
for  them  a  Redress  of  their  Grievances;  especially  as  they  were  encouraged  from  hence,  after 
the  opinion  given  at  Trenton  (however  unexpected  and  surprizing  to  us),  to  submit  to  the  Juris- 
diction of  Pennsylvania,  put  themselves  under  the  protection  of  your  Government,  and  have 
confidence  in  the  justice  and  Humanity  of  your  State  for  a  Confirmation  of  their  just  Rights  and 
possessions. 

"The  settlers  say  they  were  at  first  greatly  flattered  in  their  Hope  and  Confidence  by  the 
measures  adopted  by  Government;  but  to  their  great  Mortification  all  those  flattering  Prospects 
are  vanished,  and  every  measure  which  appeared  favourable  to  them  hath  been  perverted  by 
their  Enemies,  to  seduce,  disarm,  ruin,  and  distress  them — which  they  have  endured  without 
being  able  to  obtain  any  Relief  from  your  Government  of  Pennsylvania;  that  their  sufferings  are 
rendered  intolerable  and  their  case  become  desperate. 

"This  State,  from  their  confidence  in  the  humanity  of  yours,  admitted  these  complaints 
with  Caution  and  Reluctance,  until  the  Justice  of  them  was  confirmed  by  repeated  Testimonies 
to  be  such  that  your  own  Censors,  from  principles  of  great  impartiality  and  justice,  were  induced  to 
remark  with  much  severity  on  these  measures  of  your  State  which  have  been  the  occasion  of  them. 

"Every  State  is  answerable  in  some  Respects  for  the  Conduct  of  its  Citizens,  and  whether 
the  sufferings  of  the  settlers  at  Wyoming  have  been  with  or  without  the  privity  of  your  Govern- 
ment, or  whether  they  are  what  Government  cannot  or  will  not  prevent  or  redress,  is  equally 
the  same  to  the  sufferers.  The  Rights  of  Citizens  are  sacred  and  of  those  the  most  important 
is  that  they  be  not  deprived  of  their  lives,  their  liberties  or  their  properties  but  by  the  judgment 
of  their  Peers  and  the  laws  of  the  Land. 

"Those  Settlers  are  undoubtedly  entitled  to  the  Rights  of  Citizens,  and  have  the  feehngs 
of  free  men  who  may  be  easily  led  with  reason,  but  hardly  driven  by  oppression.  Any  violation 
of  the  Rights  in  these  points  infringes  the  general  Rights  of  all;  and  is  there  not  danger  that  this 
may  induce  others  to  make  a  common  cause  of  their  abuse? 

"As  this  State  never  meant  to,  so  I  am  well  assured  they  never  will,  in  any  unconstitutional 
way  oppose  the  sentence  passed  at  Trenton  between  this  State  and  Pennsylvania;  nor  will  they 
do  any  thing  that  shall  be  a  just  cause  of  interrupting  the  peace  and  Harmony  of  the  Union. 
Yet  as  a  member  of  the  Empire  they  ought  to  endeavor  to  preserve  and  maintain  those  constitu- 
tional Rights  which  are  common  to  all  citizens. 

"Those  settlers  have  purchased  those  lands,  under  the  Countenance  and  Title  of  Conn- 
ecticut, from  the  native  proprietors  for  just  and  valuable  considerations;  they  have  settled  and 
built  upon  them,  have  inclosed  and  cleared  them,  and  for  many  years  have  defended  them  against 
the  Common  Enemy,  and  been  a  most  important  Barrier  of  defence  to  the  interior  country  against 
the  Savages.  Ought  they,  then,  nay,  more,  shall  they,  be  deprived  of  their  property  and  possessions 
by  a  military  force,  without  Trial,  and  while  their  cause  is  in  fact  depending  before  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States?  Humanity  will  not  permit  us  to  view  with  indifference  even  the  suffering 
of  an  enemy  much  less  that  of  a  Friend  and  neighbour.  It  operates  beyond  the  reach  of  human 
laws  to  restrain,  when  excited  by  real  objects  of  distress. 

"What  I  have  to  request  in  behalf  of  those  settlers,  and  what  this  State  expects  from  the 
Justice  and  Humanity  of  your  State,  is  that  they  be  restored  to  their  rightful  properties  and  pos- 
sessions, of  which  they  have  been  forcibly  deprived  without  a  legal  Trial,  and  be  allowed  to  enjoy 
the  Rights  of  Citizens.  Whether  their  claims  will  eventually  be  judged  to  be  well  or  ill-founded 
is  not  so  much  to  the  present  question,  so  long  as  they  have  a  claim  of  right  which  they  i  sist 
to  have  tried  in  a  legal  manner.  Certainly  it  is  a  point  of  high  importance  and  of  general  concern 
that  they  be  not  deprived  of  their  Rights  and  claims  without  a  legal  and  constitutional  Trial 
and  decision." 

At  Lyme,  under  the  date  of  December  24,  1784,  Governor  Griswold  uTote 
to  the  President  of  Congress,  at  the  city  of  New  York  (where  Congress  was  then 
in  session),  in  part  as  follows :t 

"I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  your  Excellency  a  Resolve  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  State  of  Connecticut  upon  the  memorial  of  John  Franklin  and  others.     *     *     *     It  is  not 

,*See  "Pennsylvania  Arc 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  .\rc 


1460 

for  me — and,  indeed,  it  would  be  improper — to  give  any  opinion  with  Respect  to  the  merits  of 
their  claim  in  the  stage  of  it  while  depending  before  your  Honors;  but  this  much  is  evident:  That 
they  ground  their  title  upon  a  purchase  made  from  the  Indians.  *  *  *  And  in  this  confidence 
— which  was  supported  and  encouraged  by  this  State  (then  a  Colony),  then  asserting  their 
Right  to  the  said  Territory,  in  pursuance  of  advice  from  the  ablest  Counsel  in  England,  and 
actually  extending  and  exercising  Jurisdiction  over  it  for  many  years — the  settlers  parted  with 
their  property  here  and  removed  with  their  families  into  that  country,  then  a  wilderness,  where 
they  have  at  vast  Expense  built  themselves  houses,  and  extended  their  improvements,  suffered 
every  imaginable  hardship,  and  braved  innumerable  dangers,  have  been  an  important  barrier 
to  the  interior  country,  and  in  other  ways  rendered  most  essential  services  to  these  States  in  the 
late  bloody  contest  with  Great  Britain.  To  deprive  them  of  their  properties  and  the  fruits  of 
their  labors  without  a  hearing  or  Trial,  in  consequence  of  the  decree  of  Trenton,  would  be  un- 
precedented and  injurious  when  that  court  specially  saved  to  them  the  Right  of  having  a  trial 
on  the  merits  of  their  Title,  notwithstanding  their  determination  between  the  States. 

"Congress  have  been  pleased,  upon  their  application,  to  assign  a  day  for  the  appearance 
of  the  parties,  for  the  purpose  of  constituting  a  court  agreeable  to  the  ninth  Article  of  Confedera- 
tion; which  day  happened  as  I  am  informed  in  the  recess  of  Congress  and  the  Committee  of  the 
States,  and  so  nothing  further  was  done*. 

"The  unhappy  distressed  situation  of  the  claimers,  the  illiberal  and  impolitic  (I  might 
have  said  cruel  and  barbarous)  treatments  they  complain  to  have  received  from  the  State  and 
people  of  Pennsylvania,  must  excite  the  compassion  and  Justice  of  every  human  breast,  and  are 
fresh  and  cogent  Reasons  for  bringing  this  unhappy  controversy  to  a  constitutional  and  speedy 
decision,  and  that  they  should  be  restored  to  their  Rights,  properties  and  Possessions  of  which 
they  have  been  forcibly  deprived  (and  that,  even,  while  their  suit  has  been  depending  in  Congress) 
and  that  all  proceedings  against  them  be  prohibited  until  their  claim  shall  be  finally  determined. 

"These  claimers,  most  assuredly,  are  freemen  and  citizens;  and,  without  regarding  their 
merits  and  sufferings,  intitled  to  have  their  claims  tried  in  a  legal  and  constitutional  manner — 
all  which  is  submitted  to  the  wisdom  and  Justice  of  Congress;  not  doubting  but  such  constitutional 
measures  will  be  adopted  and  pursued  as  shall  be  necessary  for  the  promotion  of  Justice  and  for 
the  relief  of  the  oppressed  and  for  the  preservation  of  Peace  and  Harmony." 

The  foregoing  letter  was  received  in  New  York  and  laid  before  Congress 
on  January  13,  1785,  and  the  next  day  Hugh  Williamson,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
but  at  that  time  a  citizen  of  North  Carolina  and  a  Delegate  from  that  State 
in  the  Congress,  wrote  to  President  Dickinson  of  Pennsylvania  relative  to  the 
matter,  stating,  among  other  things,  that  the  memorialists  had  brought  com- 
plaints against  the  Executive  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  "sufficiently  pointed 
and  bitter."  He  stated  further  that  the  case  had  been  referred  to  "a  committee 
of  the  whole  House,"  which  was  to  sit  on  January  24th.     He  concluded  his  letter 

with  these  words:! 

"If  there  had  been  any  member  present  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  it  would  have 
been  their  duty  to  inform  your  Excellency  of  the  Train  in  which  this  unpleasing  but  very  serious 
business  is  placed;  and  they  would  doubtless,  in  a  more  clear  and  pointed  manner  than  I  have 
been  able  to  do  it,  have  justified  the  State  in  shewing  that  her  late  conduct  on  this  very  head 
is  a  full  proof  that  she  is  by  no  means  inattentive  to  the  cries  of  those  who  complain. 

"As  you  may  probably  wish  to  be  represented  in  Congress  when  the  Letter  and  other  papers 
from  Connecticut  are  to  be  considered,  or  may  at  least  wish  that  Congress  be  fully  informed  of 
the  late  as  well  as  the  former  proceedings  of  the  Executive  and  Legislative  of  Pennsylvania  respect- 
ing those  Susquehanna  claimants,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  giving  you  the  above  information, 
as  I  cannot  cease  to  feel  myself  interested  in  the  Peace  and  Reputation  of  a  State  which  gave  me 
Birth." 

On  receipt  of  this  letter,  President  Dickinson,  under  the  date  of  January 
18,  1785,  wrote  to  Joseph  Gardner  and  William  Henry  (of  Lancaster),  the 
Pennsylvania  Delegates  in  Congress,  in  part  as  follows:" 

"We  rely  on  your  prudence  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  intelligence  now  communicated  to 
you.  The  first  point  is  to  prevent  any  step  being  taken  by  Congress  in  the  matter,  until  the  senti- 
ments of  the  Legislative  branch  can  be  known.  If  this  delay  cannot  be  obtained,  we  desire  you 
to  give  us  the  earliest  notice  of  the  Day  fixed  by  Congress  for  appointing  a  Court,  that  we  may 
prevail  upon  Messrs.  Wilson  &  Bradford,  if  it  be  possible,  for  them  to  attend. 

"Duty  to  ourselves  requires  us  to  shew,  and  candour  will  induce  even  the  State  of  Connecti- 
cut to  acknowledge,  that,  tho  several  violent  and  outrageous  acts  have  been  committed  by  in- 
dividuals of  this  State,  yet,  that  such  acts  were  not  more  opposed  to  Justice  and  humanity 
than  to  the  spirit  and  meaning  of  the  Authority  and  Laws  of  this  Commonwealth. 

"The  inclosed  paper  will  shew  the  uniform  Lenity  of  this  Government,  and  in  many  instances 
their  extreme  anxiety,  to  bring  the  Connecticut  Claimants  into  an  affectionate  confidence  upon 

*See  {*)  note,  page  1377. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Old  .Series.  XI:  450. 

JSee  ibid.,  X:  399. 


1451 

its  dispositions  and  its  laws.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  these  endeavours  have  been  so 
uniformly  treated  with  insolence  and  neglect  by  the  People  they  were  intended  to  relieve  and 
attach,  and  that  wc  should  have  it  in  our  power  to  oppose  so  many  facts,  authenticated  in  the 
most  solemn  manner,  to  their  feeble,  unsupported  professions  of  Loyalty  and  obedience. 

"A  late  outrage  mentioned  in  the  depositions*  inclosed,  from  which  it  appears  that  they 
[the  Yankees  at  Wyoming]  have  plundered  Men,  Women  and  Children  indiscriminately,  and 
obliged  near  600  people  to  fly  from  their  homes  and  seek  a  precarious  subsistence  in  the  Neigh- 
bouring Counties,  is  so  alarming  and  unaccountable  in  its  nature  as  to  induce  a  belief  in  this  Board 
that  the  system  of  Lenity  which  they  [the  Supreme  E-xecutive  Council]  have  hitherto  pursued  is  no 
longer  calculated  to  promote  either  the  honor  or  happiness  of  Pennsylvania." 

James  Wilson  and  Col.  William  Bradford,  Jr.,  having  been  appointed  by 
the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  Agents  and  Counsellors  to  represent,  as  upon 
previous  occasions,  the  interests  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  Wyoming  controversy. 
President  Dickinson  wrote  to  Mr.  Wilson  under  date  of  January  20,  1785,  in 
part  as  follows  .f 

"LTnderstanding  that  you  propose  to  be  at  New  York  in  the  course  of  the  next  week,  we 
desire  that  you  will  employ  all  the  Means  in  your  Power  to  prevent  any  step  being  taken  in  the 
business  until  the  General  Assembly  meet  on  the  first  of  ne.\t  month,  and  they  can  be  consulted 
upon  it.  *  *  *  The  late  Assembly  were  clearly  of  opinion  that  the  Claimants  were  not  entitled 
to  such  a  Court  as  has  been  mentioned,  and  we  apprehend  no  appointment  ought  to  be  made  nor 
any  Decision  given  upon  the  Question  of  Right  till  the  sense  of  the  present  Assembly  can  be 
known."     *     *     * 

About  this  time  the  Delegates  in  Congress  from  Pennsylvania  wrote  President 

Dickinson  that  they  had  got  the  case  postponed,  "and  we  hope,"  they  declared, 

"that  it  will  not  be  revived  at  an  early  day"J;  but  at  New  York,  under  the  date 

of  February  26,   1785,  Councellor  James  Wilson  wTote  to  President  Dickinson 

in    part    as   follows  :§ 

"The  Controversy  respecting  the  settlements  at  Wyoming  depends  before  Congress  in 
a  very  disadvantageous  state  of  suspence.  I  think  that  both  the  Interest  and  the  Honor  of 
Pennsylvania  require  that  a  speedy  and  explicit  decision  should  be  had  upon  the  complaints  and 
and  representations  which  have  been  made  against  her.  As  far  as  I  can  learn  those  who  style 
themselve  s  Claimants  under  the  State  of  Connecticut  have  not  appointed  nor  instructed  any 
person  to  advocate  or  support  their  pretensions;  and  no  attempts  have  been  lately  made 
to  bring  them  forward.  While  matters  continue  in  this  undetermined  situation,  those  people* 
may  flatter  themselves  and  represent  to  others  that  the  complaints  laid  before  Congress  stand 
uncontradicted,  and  that  there  may  still  be  a  favorable  adjudication  upon  them.  It  is  easy 
to  see  what  a  pernicious  effect  such  sentiments  will  have  upon  the  settlements  in  that  part  Of 
the  country.  For  these  reasons  I  beg  leave  to  express  my  opinion  that  y^o  time  should  he  los 
by  the  Slate  in  instructing  its  Delegates  to  press  Congress  for  a  decision  on  the  complaints  and 
the  Memorial  now  before  them." 

At  New  York,  on  March  9,   1785,  the  Pennsylvania  Delegates  in  Congress 

wrote  to  President  Dickinson: 

"No  moves  have  been  made  by  the  Connecticut  Gentlemen  upon  the  Wyoming  business, 
and  we  remain  in  the  dark  as  to  what  the  wish  of  the  State  [of  Pennsylvania]  is  in  that  affair. 
If  any  determinations  of  the  House  take  place,  we  will  be  much  obliged  by  your  E-xcellency's 
communication  upon  that  subject." 

*Frora  the  minutes  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  (see  "Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records".  XIV:  315,  320),  we 
leam  that  on  January  14,  1785,  "a  member  of  people  [Pennamites],  late  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  attending  at  the 
door  of  Council,  were  admitted,  and  their  complaints  heard.  Ordered.  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  take  the 
depositions  of  these  complaints,  and  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  be  authorized  to  pay  each  of  them  two  dollars 
for  the  purpose  of  subsisting  them  while  here,  and  in  returning  to  their  respective  families."  On  January  18th  the 
committee  reported  that  they  had  taken  the  depositions  of  the  following-named  (sixteen  in  number)  and  begged  leave 
to  lay  the  same  before  the  Council.  William  Miller,  Enos  Randle,  Henry  Brink,  William  Brink.  Obadiah  Walker, 
Joseph  Montanye.  James  Johnston,  Catherine  Bowerlane.  Preserved  Cooley.  John  Tillbury.  Lena  Tillbury,  William 
Voung,  Ezekiel  Schoonover,  Daniel  Haines,  Benjamin  Hillman  and  Susanna  Lanterman.  It  was  the  depositions  of 
these  persons  that  President  Dickinson  forwarded  to  New  York  and  referred  to  in  the  letter  printed  above. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X;  399. 

JUnder  the  date  of  February  7,  1785,  at  New  York.  Delegates  Henry  and  Gardner  wrote  to  the  Hon.  John  Bay 
ard.  Speaker  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  in  part  as  follows  (see  "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Second  Series' 
XVIII:  643) :  "A  few  days  after  the  arrival  of  ^Ir.  Henry  this  matter  [the  Wyoming  dispute]  was  taken  up  as  the  order 
of  the  day,  when  we.  without  diiBculty,  had  it  postponed  sine  die,  and  hope  it  will  give  time  to  the  Legislature  to  delib- 
erate in  such  a  manner  as  will  give  mutual  satisfaction  to  the  parties,  and  so  complete  justice.  By  all  that  we  can 
leam  from  the  Delegates  of  Connecticut  she  has  no  serious  intentions  of  prosecuting  tliis  dispute  as  a  t:)tate.  any  more 
than  merely  to  patronize  her  citizens  (the  Wyoming  settlers)  in  their  claim  of  soil,  and  even  that  feebly,  as  Dr.  [William 
Samuel)  Johnson  has  told  us  that  he  neither  wishes  to  nor  can  proceed  in  the  dispute  till  he  receives  further  instructions, 
and  that  he  expects  an  agent  or  agents /row  tlie  settlers,  and  not  the  State. 

"How  far  the  Decree  of  Trenton  has  decided  the  right  of  soil,  as  well  as  jurisdiction,  is  a  question  that  professional 
lawyers  may  differ  in  very  much.  We  think  that  both  have  been  determined  fully.  *  *  +  if  this  matter  comes 
to  be  seriously  debated  in  Congress,  you  must  see  the  necessity  of  having  an  agent  or  agents  of  professional  knowledge 
of  Law  to  combat  Dr.  Johnson."     *     *     * 

JSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI:  453, 


1462 

On  or  about  February  20,  1785,  the  ever-busy  John  Franklin,  despairing 
of  any  action  on  the  part  of  Congress  favorable  to  The  Susquehanna  Company's 
settlers  at  Wyoming,  wended  his  way  to  Connecticut,  where,  traveling  about 
the  State  and  mingling  with  his  old  friends  and  the  members  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company,  he  told  of  the  woes  of  his  fellow-settlers  on  the  Susquehanna  and 
suggested,  proposed  and  urged  plans  for  the  alleviation  and  abatement  of  the 
same,  as  well  as  for  the  general  improvement  and  advancement  of  the  settlement. 

Miner,  referring  to  this  "campaign  of  education"  conducted  by  Franklin, 
says  ("History  of  Wyoming",  page  380):  "Pennsylvania,  all  branches  of  her 
Government  united,  and  with  a  military  force  upon  the  ground,  had  not  been 
able  to  dispossess  a  handful  of  settlers  in  the  Wyoming  Valle3^  The  wrongs 
suffered  by  those  people  had  awakened  universal  sympathy.  Public  sentiment, 
a  host  in  itself,  was  in  favor  of  the  Connecticut  claim.  What  could  Pennsyl- 
vania do  if  the  Susquehanna  and  Delaware  Companies  resumed  the  making 
of  grants,  and  New  England  poured  on  a  stream  of  hardy  adventurers  and  took 
possession  of  the  land?  By  the  Hampshire  grants  Vermont  had  been  success- 
fully settled  and  defended  in  spite  of  all  the  power  of  New  York,  close  neighbors ; 
whereas  the  settlements  of  Pennsylvania  were  separated  from  those  of  Wyoming 
by  mountains  and  forests  extremely  difficult  to  penetrate.  A  chord  was  struck 
that  vibrated  through  all  New  England.  Franklin,  in  the  spirit  of  his  oath, 
infused  his  own  soul,  glowing  with  resentment  and  ambition,  into  the  people 
with  whom  he  conversed,  from  which  most  important  consequences  resulted.  ' 

Colonel  Franklin  states  in  his  "Brief"  that  the  Wyoming  Yankees,  shortly 
after  their  destruction  of  Fort  Dickinson,  "regulated  the  militia,  and  governed 
the  settlement  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose."  Miner  (in  his 
"History  of  Wyoming,"  page  371)  says:  "Immediately  after  the  garrison  was 
withdrawn  and  the  people  [were]  restored  to  their  possessions,  committees 
were  appointed  in  the  interregnum  of  law  to  regulate  affairs  in  the  settlement, 
adjust  controversies,  punish  offenders  and  preserve  order.  Town-meetings, 
not  'legally  warned,'  but  informally  called  together,  were  holden,  and  taxes 
collected;  while  the  militia  were  organized  with  a  good  deal  of  care,  and  led  to 
a  choice  of  officers.  At  a  general  parade  in  Shawney  Capt.  [Johnl  Franklin 
was  elected  to  the  command  of  the  regiment,  and  thenceforward  was  called 
through  life  by  the  well-known  appellation  of  Colonel." 

The  regimental  formation  thus  referred  to  was  very  primitive  and  informal 
in  its  character,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  number  of  male  Yankees  of  military 
age  in  Wyoming  at  that  time  was  small.  These  Yankees  realized,  of  course, 
that  they  were  no  longer  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut;  but  on  the  other 
hand  they  disdained  the  idea,  and  declined  to  recognize  the  fact,  that  they  were 
a  part  of  the  county  of  Northumberland,  Pennsylvania.  In  fact,  they  purposed 
governing  themselves  in  their  own  way — although  nominally  under  the  laws 
of  Pennsylvania — and  this  "way"  comprehended  the  methods  and  forms  of 
law  which  they  had  previously  recognized  and  enforced  when  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Connecticut. 

With  the  voluntary  departure  from  Wyoming  of  Armstrong  and  Patterson 
and  a  majority  of  their  adherents  and  followers,  and  the  subsequent  enforced 
exodus  of  others,  there  was  not  a  complete  abandonment  of  the  valley  by  the 
Pennamites,  inasmuch  as  a  considerable  number  of  them  still  remained  on  the 
ground.    But  as  nearly  all  these  people  appeared  to  the  Yankees  to  be  peaceably 


1463 

inclined,  inoffensive  and  industrious,  they  were  not  disturbed  by  the  latter. 
Probably  the  most  prominent  man  among  those  who  thus  remained  was 
David  Mead*,  Esq.,  whose  name  frequently  appears  in  connection  with  the 
Wyoming  events  of  1783  and  '84,  herein  recorded.  As  a  settler  under  the  auspices 
of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  he  had  come  to  Wyoming  Valley  from  New 
York  early  in  the  Summer  of  1769 — being  then  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his 
life — and  in  September  of  the  same  year  (as  stated  on  page  515,  Vol.  I)  he  served 
as  surveyor  in  "laying  out  and  pitching"  the  five  "settling"  townships  in  the 
Susquehanna  Purchase.    In  the  Summer  of  1773,  together  with  his  father  and 

*David  Mead,  whose  name  is  frequently  mentioned  hereinbefore,  was  bom  at  Hudson,  Columbia  County,  New 
York,  January  17,  17S2,  the  son  of  Darius  and  Ruth  (Curtis)  Mead.  Darius  Mead,  who  was  bom  at  Horseneck, 
(Greenwich).  Connecticut.  March  8.  1728.  and  died  in  what  is  now  Crawford  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1791,  was  a 
great-grandson  of  John  Mead,  who.  with  his  brother  Joseph,  were  among  the  twenty-seven  original  proprietors  who 
settled  Horseneck, 'in  1672.  The  children  of  Darius  and  Ruth  (Cjirlis)  Mead  were  as  follows:  (i)  David,  (n)  Asahel, 
bom  August  9.  1754.  It  is  stated  in  the  "History  and  Genealogy  of  the  Mead  Family  that  he  was  killed  in  the  battle 
of  Wyoming.  July  3.  1778:  but  this  is  undoubtedly  an  error,  as  he  was  not  a  resident  of  the  Valley  at  that  time,  (iii) 
John,  bom  July  22,  1756;  died  in  Pennsylvania  in  1819.  (iv)  Ric/h.  bom  April  16,  1761.  (v)  Darius,  bom  December 
9,  1764.     (vi)  Belsey,  bora  June  1,  1769.     (vii)  Joseph,  bom  June  25,  1772, 

David  Mead  and  his  father  Darius  were  in  Wyoming  in  1769  and  1770,  accompanied  by  the  latter's  brother  EH. 
When  the  first  distribution  of  lots  in  the  town-plot  of  Wilkes- Barre  took  place,  June  29,  1770,  Eli  Mead  drew  Lot 
No.  26,  and  David  Mead  drew  Lot  No.  31.  (See  page  662.  Vol.  II.)  Follomng  the  Pennamite-Yankee  troubles  at 
Wyoming  in  the  Summer  of  1770  (see.  particularly,  page  668,  Vol.  II).  and  the  unsettled  conditions  ensuing,  the  Meads 
returned  to  their  former  home  in  New  York.  As  previously  stated,  they  returned  to  Pennsylvania  in  the  Summer  of 
1773  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  land  in  Northumberland  County,  some  sixty  miles  down  the  Susquehanna  from  Wilkes- 
Barre.  There.  November  4.  1773.  Darius  Mead  conveyed  to  William  Holland  of  Wilkes-Barr^  his  "half  right  in  the 
Susquehanna  Purchase"  which  had  originally  been  the  property  of  Robert  Wincol,  or  Wincot.  (See  page  1289,  "Town 
Book  of  Wilkes-Barrt^".) 

(EH  Mead,  brother  of  Darius  and  uncle  of  David  Mead.  Esq.,  was  bom  about  1730.  In  1770,  as  a  shareholder 
in  The  Susquehanna  Company  he  came  into  possession  of  a  tract  of  land  known  as  Quilutimack  (see  page  1205, 
Vol.  II).  in  what  was  afterwards  the  township  of  Exeter.  This  tract  was  in  addition  to  his  holdings,  or  allotments, 
in  the  township  of  Wilkes- Barre.  Two  or  three  years  later  he  disposed  of  the  Quilutimack  tract  to  Benjamin  Jones,  of 
the  South  Precinct  of  Dutchess  County,  New  York.  Having  located  in  Northumberland  County,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1773.  as  previously  mentioned,  EH  Mead  was,  on  July  14.  1786,  elected  and  commissioned  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
in  and  for  the  district  of  Wyoming.  Northumberland  County;  and  was  also  appointed  and  commissioned  a  Justice 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  that  County.  In  1789,  he  emigrated  to  Painted  Post.  Steuben  County.  New  York, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death  on  July  19.  1825.     His  children  were:  Eldad,  Desire.  EH,  Peggy  and  Jane.) 

When  the  Revolutionary  War  broke  out  David  Mead  removed  from  his  location  on  the  Susquehanna  above  North- 
umberland to  the  village  of  Sunbury,  where  he  engaged  in  business  as  an  inn-keeper,  and  also  as  a  distiller.  March 
25,  1776.  he  was  commissioned  Ensign  of  the  7th  Company  (Capt.  John  Simpson)  of  the  1st  Battalion  of  Northumber- 
land County  (Col.  Samuel  Hunter,  commanding),  of  the  "Pennsylvania  Associated  Battalions".  (See  "Pennsylvania 
Archives".    Second    Series,    XIV;    317.) 

In  1783,  when  the  Pennamites  began  to  get  the  upper  hand  in  Wyoming  affairs,  David  Mead  i^emoved  from  Sun- 
bury  to  the  township  of  Wilkes-Barr^  and  there  he  remained  until  his  final  departure  from  the  valley  in  August,  1785. 

Charles  Miner,  commenting  (in  his  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  381)  on  David  Mead  in  connection  with  the  events 
of  1783-'85,  says':  "His  conduct  as  a  magistrate  seems  to  have  been  marked  by  forbearance,  and.  as  a  man, 
often  by  kindness.  The  Yankees  frequently  appealed  to  him,  when  in  distress,  and  he  yielded  his  good  offices  in 
their  favor.  Tall,  slender,  bent  a  little  forward,  with  a  countenance  mild,  and  of  a  grave  deportment,  Justice  Mead 
was  calculated,  under  other  circumstances,  and  in  less  boisterous  times,  to  have  been  a  favorite.  But  it  could  illy 
be  brooked  that  one  of  Patterson's  Justices  should  hold  possession  under  a  Pennamite  claim — on  the  rich  bottom 
lands  of  Wilkes-Barre,  too — and  be  a  renegade  and  traitor  from  the  Yankees  ranks.  Moreover,  and  probably  with 
justice,  he  was  regarded  as  still  the  agent  of  the  land-claimants,  and  a  spy  on  the  conduct  of  the  Connecticut  people." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  September  12,  1787,  Col.  Nathan  Denison  wrote  to  Col.  Timothy  Pickering 
at  Wilkes-Barre  as  follows:  "Esquire  Mead  has  been  in  this  town  considerable  time  past  interceding  with  the  Board 
of  Property  to  get  his  equivalent  confirmed  to  him  in  lands  at  the  western  part  of  the  State  for  the  lands  he  claims 
in  Luzerne  County.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  Board  go  into  the  measure  with  almost  as  great  reluctance  as  the  Com- 
missioners went  into  the  business  of  inquiring  into  the  claims  of  the  Connecticut  claimants  at  Wyoming. 

"If  the  Commissioners  at  Wyoming  [under  the  Confirming  Law,  fuUy  referred  to  in  a  subsequent  Chapter]  can 
put  the  matter  on  such  a  footing  that  Mr.  Mead  can  have  justice  done  him,  it  may  induce  others  of  the  Pennsylvania 
claimants   to   follow   the   same   example." 

About  this  time  Esquire  Mead  filed  with  the  Commissioners  under  the  Confirming  Law  a  declaration  of  owner- 
ship in  and  to  "Lots  32  and  33,  lying  together  below  the  town-plot  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  containing  40  acres  of  meadow- 
land.  180  acres  of  tillage  and  50  acres  of  pasture  and  wood-land." 

In  the  Spring  of  1788,  David  Mead,  accompanied  by  his  brothers  John  Darius  and  Joseph,  and  some  six  or  seven 
other  men,  proceeded  from  Northumberland  County  to  what  is  now  Crawford  County,  in  the  northwestern  corner  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  at  the  junction  of  Cussewago  and  French  Creeks,  some  seven  miles  east  of  Conneaut  Lake,  pro- 
ceeded to  establish  a  settlement.  In  the  following  Autumn  they  brought  on  their  wives  and  other  members  of  their 
families  from  Northumberland  County,  and  soon  thereafter  the  little  community  became  known  as  "Mead's 
settlement." 

Previous  to  1793,  David  Mead  laid  out  on  his  land  at  that  point  the  nucleus  of  what  is  now  Meadville,  named  as 
the  county-seat  of  Crawford  County  in  1800  and  incorporated  as  a  city  in  1866.  In  1796,  Mead  received  from  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  a  patent  for  his  tract  of  land,  containing  439  acres  and  156  perches  and  called  "Mead 
Ville".  The  consideration  for  the  same,  paid  to  the  Commonwealth,  amounted  to  £42,  1 7s.  9d.  Soon  thereafter 
Mead  built  a  substantial  residence,  which  is  still  standing,  and  in  it,  in  the  Winter  of  l798-'99.  the  first  school  in  Craw- 
ford County  was  opened.  In  May,  1902.  the  Colonel  Cra\vford  Chapter.  Daughters  of  the  .\raerican  Revolution, 
erected  in  front  of  this  house  a  memorial  stone  bearing  a  tablet  \vith  the  following  inscription:  "This  house  was  erected 
in  Mav.  1797.  by  Gen.  David  Mead,  founder  of  Meadville:  Ensign  in  the  War  of  the  American  Revolution;  Major 
General  of  the  I4th  and  15th  Divisions,  Pennsylvania  MiHtia;  rendered  signal  service  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  was 
an  Associate  Judge  at  the  time  of  his  death." 

Upon  the  organization  of  Crawford  County  in  March,  1800,  David  Mead  was  appointed  and  commissioned  one 
of  the  Associate  Judges  of  the  Courts  of  the  County,  but  he  resigned  his  office  in  the  following  December.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1803,  he  was  again  commissioned,  and  served  continuously  until  his  death,  which  occured  at  MeadviUe  August 
23,  1816. 

General  Mead  was  married  (first)  about  1774  to  Agnes,  daughter  of  John  and  Janet  Wilson  of  Northumberland 
County,  by  whom  he  had  eisht  children,  some  of  whom  were:  Darius.  WilHam,  Sarah  (who  became  the  wife  of  the 
Rev.  James  Satterfield)  and  Elizabeth  (who  became  the  wife  of  Patrick  Fannelly).  General  Mead  was  married  (second) 
in  1797  to  Janet,  daughter  of  Robert  Finney,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children,  some  of  whom  were:  David,  Robert, 
Catherine,  Jane,  Maria  and  Alexander. 


1464  * 

the  other  members  of  the  latter's  family,  he  settled  on  a  tract  of  land,  under  a 
Pennsylvania  title,  located  on  the  North  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River, 
about  six  miles  north-east  of  the  village  of  Northumberland.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1785,  David  Mead  was  occupying  a  tract  of  land  located  about  a 
mile  west  by  south  from  Public  Square,  on  what  is  now  Carey  Avenue,  Wilkes- 
Barre — which  land  he  claimed  under  a  Pennsylvania  title. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  February  6,  1785,  David  Mead  wrote 
to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  as  follows  :* 

"I  lament  that  I  have  occasion  to  address  you  on  the  affair  of  this  unhappy  part  of  the  State. 
I  have  delayed  writing  until  all  hopes  of  establishing  any  kind  of  order  is  vanished.  It  is  true 
that  irregularities  have  been  committed  by  many  of  the  Pennsylvanians  against  the  Connecticut 
Claimants,  but  great  Care  has  been  taken  that  the  Offenders  are  generally  prosecuted  with  se- 
verity, and  the  Courts  of  Justice  are  yet  open;  and  unwearied  pains  have  been  taken  to  convince 
those  Claimants  of  the  determined  Honor  and  Justice  of  the  State  to  afford  them  every  restitution 
in  the  reach  of  the  Law.  But  all  to  no  purpose — who  have  descended  to  commit  almost  every 
kind  of  disorder,  and  bid  defiance  to  Government,  so  that  the  e.xercise  of  the  Civil  authority  is 
altogether  impracticable;  they  have  appointed  two  or  three  Committees  to  transact  different 
kinds  of  business  for  the  promotion  of  their  designs;  they  have  formed  their  Militia,  appointed 
Field  and  other  Officers  in  contempt  of  the  State.  Many  inoffensive  families  are  now  under 
orders  immediately  to  move  away,  or  their  effects  to  be  made  a  Reprisal  of.  Therefore,  as  a 
Citizen  and  Servant  of  Government,  I  am  obliged  to  claim  your  protection  and  support.     *     *     * 

N.  B. — The  inclosed  deposition  of  the  Shawnese  Township  Constable,  who  was  Elected  by 
the  Inhabitants  of  said  Township  in  consequence  of  an  order  issued  by  Mr.  Martin  and  myself, 
which  was  [thought]  most  likely  to  take  with  the.  People,  and  remove  doubts  than  otherwise; 
so  that  every  Endeavour  seems  fruitless.  The  constable  of  Stoke  Township  is  now  out  of  the 
place,  who  made  report  some  days  ago  nearly  corroborating  with  this  deposition,  but  not  taken 
in  form;  therefore  Omitted.  However,  the  Express,  who  is  a  Gentleman  of  Candor  and  deliber- 
ation, can  give  some  Information." 

"Deposition  of  Constable  P.\rk." 

"Northumberland  County,  ss:  Personally  appeared  before  me  the  subscriber,  one  of  the 
Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  said  County,  Thomas  Parks,  Constable  of  Shawanea  Town- 
ship, who,  being  duly  sworn,  doth  depose  and  say  that  on  the  1st  day  of  February,  iust.,  in  the 
execution  of  his  office  he  attempted  to  seize  two  men,  viz.:  Daniel  Earl  and  Henry  Vost,  for  having 
stolen  goods  in  their  possession;  and  he  called  upon  a  house  full  of  People  for  his  assistance,  but 
instead  thereof  was  much  beat  and  abused,  and  the  authority  of  the  State,  without  respect,  Dam- 
ned. That  after  telling  the  people  he  was  a  sworn  Constable  and  must  do  his  duty,  and  that 
their  contempt  of  authority  would  be  attended  with  bad  Consequences,  they  repeated  their  dis- 
respectful Language  of  the  State  and  its  Laws,  damning  both.  That  this  present  day  he  attempted 
to  disperse  a  Riot  and  Robbery,  and  seize  the  Offenders,  but  was  not  able.  That  his  Brains 
has  repeatedly  been  threatened  to  be  blowed  out  if  he  served  Processes,  so  that  he  is  not  able  to 
do  his  duty — and  further  sayth  not. 

"Sworn  and  subscribed  before  [Signed]     "Thomas  Park." 

me  February  5,   17S5.  David  Mead." 

At  "Wyoming,"  under  the  date  of  February  20,  1785,  a  petition  was  drawn 
up  addressed  to  "the  Honble.  the  Representatives  of  the  Freemen  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  in  General  Assembly  met."  This  document, 
which  was  signed  by  ninetj^-two  men  and  four  women,  settled  in  Wyoming  under 
rights  acquired  from  The  Susquehanna  Company,  was  duly  forwarded  to  the 
Legislature  at  Philadelphia.  It  read  in  part  as  follows, f  except  that  the  names 
of  the  signers  have  been  arranged  in  alphabetical  order  by  the  present  writer: 

"Gentlemen: — We  your  humble  petitioners  would  take  the  earliest  opportunity  to  lay  be- 
fore your  Honble.  House  the  deplorable  situation  in  which  we  have  been  enveloped  since  the 
decree  of  Trenton,  which  chang'd  the  jurisdiction  in  favor  of  Pennsylvania.  From  that  date 
we  have  been  deny'd  the  due  administration  of  the  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,  or  in  other  words 
Common  Justice,  which  the  greatest  criminals  are  entitled  to:  *  *  *  altho  we  have  made 
incessant  application  to  the  Legislative  Body  of  this  State  for  justice  to  be  administered  without 
any  discrimination  of  persons,  yet  to  no  purpose,  altho  fair  promises  were  made;  and  we  had 
finally  concluded  there  was  no  justice  in  reversion  for  us,  either  from  the  Legislative  or  Executive 
Bodies  of  this  State. 

"But  being  creditably  informed  that  the  present  Assembly  were  composed  of  such  persons 
who  feared  God,  and  regarded  man,  and  consequently  had  a  promptitude  to  do  justice  to  all  their 
fellow  creatures,  this  served  as  a  stimulus  to  us  to  make  one  prayer  more  to  the  Honble.  Assembly 
for  justice  to  be  administered  without  partiality — believing  that  your  Honble.  Body  will  do  all 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Arc 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  Arc 


1465 


in  your  power  to  redress  our  grievances,  and  put  us  upon  the  same  footing  with  the  common 
citizens  of  this  State,  which  is  all  we  ask.     *     *     « 

"We  have  been  often  trapanned  by  our  passive  obedience  and  non-resistance  and  confiding 
in  some  of  the  first  men  in  office  in  the  State.  To  mention  one  instance  of  Lt.  Col.  John  Armstrong 
and  John  Boyd,  Esq.,  who  by  forfeiting  their  word  and  honors  and  every  thing  that  is  near  to 
gentlemen,  made  us  prisoners,  abus'd  us  with  more  than  savage  treatment,  and  robbed  us  of  up- 
wards of  one  hundred  rifles  and  valuable  fire  arms,  and  many  other  effects,  even  to  our  smallest 
pen-knives;  and  we  may  say  with  propriety  that  we  have  been  robbed  of  upwards  of  200  rifles 
and  valuable  fire-arms  by  officers  of  Government  since  the  first  of  last  May,  which  have  never 
been  returned  to  this  day.     *     *     * 

"Until  your  honors  shall  condescend  to  draw  a  line  for  our  future  conduct  it  is  impossible 
for  us  to  know  what  course  to  steer.  We  are  at  present  destitute  of  any  civil  authority  in  this 
place.  Esquire  Mead  has  refused  to  grant  any  precept  these  six  weeks  past.  Therefore  the  sooner 
we  can  have  the  privilege  of  electing  our  own  officers,  civil  and  military,  agreeable  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  this  State,  the  sooner  happiness,  peace  and  good  order  will  be  restored  to  this  set- 
tlement. *  *  *  And  in  the  intermediate  space,  while  we  have  no  authority  in  this  place, 
we  have  thought  it  most  advisable  to  form  ourselves  in  some  order  for  our  mutual  defence  and 
safety,  and  to  act  as  near  the  laws  of  this  State  as  possible,  until  we  shall  have  a  constitutional 
establishment  of  the  same. 

"And  we  most  heartily  pray  for  your  Honors'  exertions  to  establish  peace  and  good  order 
in  this  distracted  and  infatuated  place ;  for  we  think  that  the  political  salvation  of  this  settlement 
depends  upon  your  assiduity  and  exertions  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  the  happiness  and  safety 
of  this  State,  which,  we  insist  on,  we  have  always  strove  for  since  the  decree  at  Trenton,  and  have 
endeavored  to  demean  ourselves  in  such  an  equitable  line  of  conduct  that  we  are  justly  intitled  to 
all  the  immunities  of  Free  Citizens  &  Freeholders.  And  we  will  pray  that  the  benedictions  of 
Almighty  God  may  rest  upon  your  Honorable  Body,  and  that  your  Honors  may  have  wisdom  as 
the  angels  of  God,  to  direct  you  at  all  times.  And  that  your  Honors  may  be  enabled  at  all  times 
to  consult  the  happiness  of  this  State  in  such  manner  that  your  names  may  be  sacred  in  the  an- 
nals of  history,  and  generations  yet  unborn,  when  they  come  on  the  stage  of  action,  may  call  you 
blessed — is  the  sincere  prayer  of  your  humble  Petitioners.  And  we  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray. 


'Alden,  Mason  F. 
Ayres,  Samuel 
Alden,  Prince 
Bennet,  Ishmael 
Bidlack,  Bcnj. 
Brockway,  Richard 
Bennet,  Thos. 
Bailey,  Benj. 
Butler,  Zebulon 
Burnham,  Asel 
Baldwin,  Thos. 
Corey,  Jonathan 
Campbell,  Obadiah 
Cook,  Reuben 
Corey,  Jos. 
Cady,  Manasseh 
Corey,  Gabriel 
Cook,  Nathaniel 
Drake.  Elisha 
Devenport,  Nathan'] 
Elliott,  Jos. 
Eveland,  Fredk. 
Franklin,  John 
Frisbie,  James 
Fuller,  Stephen 
Gore,  Daniel 
Gaylord,  Justus 
Kingsley,  Nathan 
Kellogg,  Josiah 
Kenny,  Joseph 
Lee,  Sarah 
Lines,  Conrad 


McDowell,  Robert 
Minor,  John 
McClure,  Thos. 
Northrop,  Nehemiah 
Nash,  Phineas 
Parrish,  Ebenezer 
Peirce,  Phineas 
Pierce,  Daniel 
Park,  Thomas 
Atherton,  James 
Atherton,  Asaliel 
Gaylord,  Ambrose 
Hurlbut,  John 
Hibberd,  Wm. 
Harvey,  Benjamin 
Harvey,  Elisha 
HoUy,  Dan'l. 
Hover,  Saml. 
Hover,  Henry 
Hurlbut,  Christopher 
Hurlbut,  Naphtali 
Harding,  Abraham 
Hyde,  John 
Inman,  Richard 
Inman,  John 
Inman,  Elijah 
Jenkins,  John 
Jameson,  Abigail 
Jones,  William 
Jameson,  Alex. 
Jameson,  Robert 
Jackson.  Wm. 


Johnson,  Jacob  (Rev.) 
Johnson,  Ebenezer 
Jenkinson,  Danl. 
Kellog,  Eldad 
Pierce,  Abel 
Pell,  Josiah 
Platner,  John 
Roberts,  Hezekiah 
Read,  Thos. 
Stewart,  Martha 
Spencer,  Walter 
Slocum,  Giles 
Spalding,  Simon 
Smith,  Silas 
Smith,  Wm.  Hooker 
Slocum,  Wm. 
Shoemaker,  Jean 
Styles,  Job 
Tubbs,  Lebbens 
Tubbs,  Saml. 
Terry,  Jonathan 
Thomas.  Joel 
Van  Fleet,  Josh. 
Wade,  Nathan 
Wcstbrook,  Abm. 
White,  Jeremiah 
Westbrook,  Leonard 
Woodworth.  Jonathan 
WooUey,  Jon. 
Wcstbrook.  Richd. 
Warner,  Wm. 
Yarington,  Abel" 

[Total,  96.] 


Just  about  the  time  that  the  foregoing  petition  was  prepared,  forty-five 
Pennamites  residing  in  the  neighborhood  of  Easton,  in  Northampton  County, 
signed  a  petition  addressed  to  the  General  Assembly  and  reading  in  part  as 
follows  :* 

"Your  memorialists  can't  see  without  anxiety  the  present  Anarchy  prevailing  in  Wyoming, 
as  they  become  daily  sufferers  by  it.     The  cruelties  exercised  by  one  styling  himself  Colonel 
*See  Johnson's  "Historical  Record",  II:  88. 


1466 

[Ebenezer]  Johnson — leader  of  a  banditti  in  Wyoming* — upon  the  loyal  people  of  Pennsylvania 
are  of  a  nature  no  longer  to  be  suffered  by  a  free  and  independent  people.  The  cries  of  the  help- 
less and  naked  families  that  are  daily  drove  out  of  Wyoming  by  the  above  villains — destitute 
of  every  support  for  life,  and  with  whom  we  are  encumbered  unless  we  suffer  them  to  perish  by 
mere  want — claim  our  commiseration,  and  soon  must  claim  our  interposition  if  your  Honorable 
House  doth  not  take  proper  measures  to  suppress  the  growing  evil. 

"We  imagine  it  needless  to  state  before  your  Honorable  House  the  unwarrantable  conduct 
of  those  rioters.  Fully  convinced  that  it  has  been  already  exposed,  we  shall  confine  ourselves 
in  informing  you  that  there  is  not  a  day  going  by  that  some  Pennsylvania  families  are  not  enter- 
ing our  settlements,  stripped  and  lobbed  of  every  property.  *  *  *  Praying  that  you  will 
take  such  proper  and  effectual  measures  as  will  restore  civil  government  to  that  part  of  the  State 
by  smothering  the  fire  of  Anarchy  in  its  birth,  your  humble  petitioners  will  ever  pray,  &c." 

This  memorial  was  forwarded  to  Philadelphia,  and  was  read  in  the  House 
of  Assembly,  March  4,  1785. 

Of  course  Justice  David  Mead  soon  learned  about  the  petition  of  the  Wyom- 
ing Yankees  dated  February  20th ;  and  in  order,  if  possible,  to  counter-balance 
in  some  measure  any  weight  that  the  document  might  have  with  the  authorities 
at  Philadelphia,  and  in  order  also,  to  bolster  up  the  petition  of  the  Northampton 
County  Pennamites,  he  procured  the  depositions  of  several  Wyoming  Penna- 
mites,  the  same  being  sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  him,  as  "one  of  the  Justices 
of  the  Peace  in  and  for  Northumberland  County",  at  his  home  in  Wyoming 
Valley,  on  March  25,  1785. 

On  March  30th,  Justice  Mead  forwarded  to  President  Dickinson,  by  an  express, 
the  foregoing  depositions  accompanied  by  a  letter  from  himself  reading  as  follows  :t 
"Inclosed  I  transmit  a  few  Depositions  for  your  Perusal,  relative  to  the  most  deplorable 
situation  of  this  part  of  the  State.  Council  I  suppose  are  so  well  informed  that  I  need  say  nothing 
on  the  subject,  but  I  am  more  and  more  surprised  at  the  Tardyness  of  Government.  Time  is 
Precious!  However,  if  it's  possible  to  suppose  that  the  want  of  Energy  in  Pennsylvania  is  such 
as  not  to  support  its  Dignity,  I  must  beg  for  immediate  Information,  in  order  to  remove  from  a 
Stale  of  Anarchyl" 

These  papers  were  duly  received  in  Philadelphia,  and  were  read  in  Council 
April  4,  1785 ;  whereupon  it  was  ordered  "that  they  be  transmitted  to  the  Honor- 
able the  General  Assembly."  By  that  body  the  matter  was  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee, which  reported  to  the  House  without  delay;  whereupon,  on  April  8th, 
after  due  consideration  of  the  report,  the  House  took  the  following  action: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Hon.  John  Bayard,}:  Esq.,  Col.  Persifor  Frazer§  and  George  Smith, !| 
Esq.,  be  and  they  are  hereby  appointed  a  committee,  instructed  to  proceed  to  Wyoming  as  soon 
as  may  be  and  there  make  such  inquiry  as  to  them,  or  any  two  of  them,  shall  appear  necessary 
for  the  peace  and  good  order  of  the  people  and  the  regular  administration  of  justice,  and  report 
thereon  to  this  House  in  their  next  session;  and  that  the  said  commiittee,  before  they  proceed 
to  Wyoming,  confer  with  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  and,  in  the  meantime,  as  early  as  may 
be,  report  to  the  Council  the  state  of  the  inhabitants  respecting  the  disputes  and  disorders  ex- 
isting there." 

*CoIonel  Franklin  was  at  this  time  in  Connecticut,  as  narrated  on  page  1462. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  707. 

JJoHN  Bayard  was  a  descendant,  in  the  fourth  generation,  of  Petrus  Bayard,  who  was  the  eldest  son  of  Samuel 
Bayard  (of  French  Huguenot  extraction)  and  his  wife  Anne  Stuyvesant.  a  sister  of  the  noted  Peter  Stuyvesant,  director- 
general,  or  Governor,  of  New  Netherland,  later  New  York,  Petrus  Bayard  came  with  his  mother,  two  brothers  and  a 
sister,  in  May,  1647,  to  New  Orange  (now  New  York),  and  he  died  there  in  1699.  Samuel  Bayard,  eldest  son  of  Petrus 
was  bom  in  1675  at  what  is  now  the  comer  of  Exchange  Place  and  Broadway,  New  York  City.  About  1698  he  was 
married  to  Susanna  Bouchelle,  and  they  removed  to  Bohemia  Manor,  Cecil  County,  Maryland.  His  wife  Susanna 
dying  some  years  later,  Samuel  Bayard  was  married  (second)  to  Elizabeth  Sluyter.  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
(i)  James,  (ii)  Samuel,  (iii)  Peter  and  (iv)  Mar\  Ann  Bayard.  Samuel  Bayard,  the  father,  died  in  Cecil  County  Nov- 
ember 23,  1721. 

(i)  James  Bayard  was  married  to  Mary  .Asheton,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  twin  sons — ^John  Rubenheim 
and  James  Asheton  Bayard,  bom  at  Bohemia  Manor  August  11,  1738 — and  a  daughter. 

(The  first-named  of  James  Bayard's  twin  sons,  altho  baptized  "John  Rubenheim",  seems  to  have  completely 
discarded  his  "middle"  name  after  reaching  man's  estate,  and  was  kno^vn  thereafter  simply  as  "John  Bayard.") 

Having  completed  his  studies.  John  Bayard  went  to  Philadelphia  in  1756  and  entered  upon  a  commercial  career. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  years  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  prosperous  and  leading  merchants  of  the  city.  He  early 
became  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty  (see  page  585,  Vol.  II,  and  subsequent  pages),  and  was  among  the  first  to 
raise  his  voice  in  opposition  to  the  attempt  of  Great  Britain  to  unjustly  tax  and  oppress  the  American  Colonies. 

He  was  a  Deputy  to  the  Provincial  Convention  of  Pennsylvania,  July  15,  1  774,  and  a  Delegate  to  the  Convention 
held  January  23,  1775.  In  the  Spring  of  1775,  he  became  Chairman  of  the  Inspection  Committee  of  the  county  of 
Philadelphia,  and  in  June.  1776,  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Conference  held  at  Carpenters'  Hall.  Bancroft 
in  his  "History  of  the  United  States",  refers  to  him  as  being  at  that  period  "a  patriot  of  singular  purity  of  character 
and  disinterestedness:  personally  brave,  earnest  and  devout." 

After  the  fights  at  Lexington  and  Concord  John  Bayard  was  elected  and  commissioned  Major,  and  later  was 
promoted  Colonel,  of  the  Second  Battalion  of  infantry  organized  in  Philadelphia.    He  was  in  active  service  at  the 


1467 

According  to  Miner,  Colonel  Franklin  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  Conn- 
ecticut, after  an  absence  of  about  two  months,  on  Sunday,  April  24,  1785,  and 
two  or  three  days  later,  a  town-meeting  was  held,  and  the  people  who  attended  ' 
it  were  given  to  understand  that  movements  in  behalf  of  the  Wyoming  Yankees 
might  "be  expected  from  abroad."  On  April  30th  Franklin,  in  company  with 
Ebenezer  Johnson  and  Phineas  Peirce,  warned  Van  Gorden,  one  of 

battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown,  Trenton  and  Princeton;  and  his  battalion  was  a  part  of  the  force  led  by  Washing- 
ton in  person  at  Princeton  to  resist  the  attack  on  General  Mercer's  demoralized  brigade. 

Colonel  Bayard  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of  War  in  March,  1777.  at  which  time 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly.  He  was  made  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  November  6,  1778.  In 
1779.  he  commanded  the  Fourth  Battalion  of  Philadelphia  militia.  At  that  period,  and  for  some  year;  later,  his  home 
was  on  a  farm  in  Plymouth  Township,  on  the  Schuylkill  River,  about  eighteen  miles  from  Philadelphia.  In  October. 
1781 .  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  and  on  October  25.  1784,  wa^  elected 
Speaker  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  to  succeed  George  Gray.  In  the  Autumn  of  1785,  he  was  elected  a 
Delegate  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  United  State;  Congress. 

in  1788.  Colonel  Bayard  removed  to  New  Brunswick.  New  Jersey,  where  he  built  a  handsome  residence.  He 
entertained  there,  at  various  times,  Washington,  Kosciusko,  Talleyrand,  Elias  Boudinot.  Gilbert  Stuart,  and  other 
persons  of  note  and  distinction.  He  occupied  a  high  social  position,  and  was  "a  consistent  Federali;t  and  somewhat 
of  an  aristocrat."  In  1778,  he  was  elected  a  Trustee  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey  (Princeton),  and  continued  as 
such  for  thirty  years.  For  nearly  forty  years  he  regularly  attended,  as  a  delegate,  the  meetings  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  In  1790.  he  was  elected  Mayor  of  New  Brunswick,  and  a  few  years  later  was 
appointed  Presiding  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Somerset  County.  New  Jersey. 

In  1759,  at  the  ape  of  twentv-one  years.  John  Bayard  was  married  to  Margaret  Hodge,  eldest  child  of  Andrew 
and  Jane  {McCulloch)  Hodge  of  Philadelphia,  and  an  aunt  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Hodge.  S.  T.  D  .  LL  D,.  for  many  years 
a  professor  in  the  theological  seminary  at  Princeton.  She  died  in  1780.  and  the  next  year  Colonel  Bayard  was  married 
to  Mary,  widow  of  John  Hodgden  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  She  died  in  17Ht.  and  two  or  three  years  later 
Colonel  Bayard  was  married  (third)  to  Johanna  White,  a  sister  of  Gen.  A.  W.  White  of  New  Brunswick. 

Colonel  Bayard  had  five  sons  and  three  daughters— all  by  his  first  wife — who  grew  to  maturity.  The  second 
child  was  Andreiv  Bayard,  who  for  many  years  was  President  of  the  Commercial  Bank  of  Philadelphia.  The  fourth 
child  was  Samuel  Bayard  (born  January  II,  1767),  who  in  1791  was  appointed  Clerk  of  the  United  State;  Supreme 
Court.  In  1794,  he  was  appointed  Agent  of  the  United  States  in  prosecuting  American  claims  before  the  British  Ad- 
miralty courts,  and  in  that  capacity  lived  for  four  years  in  London.  He  was  the  author  of  various  legal  and  other 
works. 

Colonel  Bayard  died  January  7.  1807,  and  was  buried  in  the  yard  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Bruns- 
wick The  following  is  a  portion  of  the  inscription  on  his  tombstone.  "Benevolent,  Liberal.  Patriotic.  He  was  chosen 
by  his  countr>'  to  fill  her  first  offices.  His  integrity  and  zeal  justified  the  choice.  Generous  in  hi;  temper,  sincere  in 
his  friendship,  eminent  for  every  social  virtue,  he  possessed  the  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  *  *  *  Devoted  to 
the  religion  of  Christ,  he  was  long  a  distinguished  member  of  his  Church."     *     * 

§Persifor  Frazer,  was  bora  August  9.  1736,  near  Newtown  Square,  Chester  (now  Delaware)  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, the  son  of  John  Frazer,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  of  Scottish  parents  and  came  to  Philadelphia  in  1735,  A 
few  years  after  the  birth  of  Persifor  the  family  located  in  Philadelphia,  where  John  Frazer  became  a  West  India  ship- 
ping merchant.  When  Persifor  grew  up  he  settled  in  Thornburj'-  To^vnship.  Chester  County,  and  became  an  iron  manu- 
facturer. In  January,  1765.  he  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  convention  which  protested  against  the  further  im- 
portation of  negro  slaves;  and  in  the  following  October  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  non-impDrtatlon  resolution^  adopted 
at  Philadelphia,  He  was  one  of  the  ten  delegates  from  Chester  County  to  the  Provincial  convention  which  met  in 
Philadelphia  January  18,  1775. 

By  authority  of  a  resolution  of  Congress,  passed  December  9.  1775,  the  Fourth  Pennsylvania  Battalion  was  re- 
cruited, principally  in  Che-ter  County.  Anthony  W'ayne  was  commissioned  Colonel.  January  3,  1776.  and  two  days 
later  Persifor  Frazer  was  commissioned  Captain  of  the  first  of  the  eight  companies  which  composed  the  battalion. 
WTiile  in  service  at  Ticonderoga,  September  24,  1776,  Captain  Frazer  was  promoted  Major  of  the  "4th".  The  term 
of  service  of  this  battalion  expired  in  January.  1  777,  and  in  that  month  the  Fifth  Penn;ylvana  Regiment.  Continental 
Line,  was  organized.     Persifor  Frazer  was  commissioned  Leutenant  Colonel  of  this  regiment  March  12,  1777. 

In  the  retreat  of  his  regiment  from  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  in  September,  1777,  Colonel  Frazer  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  British,  conveyed  to  Philadelphia  and  confined  in  the  city  jail.  He  escaped  from  confinement  March  17.  1778 
and  returned  to  his  regiment.  At  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  New  Jersey,  he  was  in  command  of  a  brigade.  During  the 
Sullivan  Expedition  f-^ee  Chapter  XVIII,  Vol.  II  )  he  served  as  Deputy  Commissary  General,  with  the  rank  of  Lieut. 
Colonel,  on  the  staff  of  General  Sullivan.  He  resigned  from  the  service  October  9,  1  779.  was  appointed  Commissioner 
for  the  purchase  of  armv  clothing  for  Chester  County  April  1.  1780.  and  was  commissioned  Brigadier  General  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Mihtia  May  25.  1782,  In  1781.  '82  and  '84  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania. April  7.  1 786,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Assembly  Register  of  Wills  and  Recorder  of  Deeds  in  and  for  Chester 
County,  and  in  1790,  he  was  reappointed  to  this  office  for  a  second  term. 

Colonel  Frazer  was  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  8,  Ancient  York  Masons,  which  was  warranted  by  the  Provincial 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  Tune  24,  1766.  to  meet  in  the  vicinity  of  Vallev  Forge.  This  Lodge  was  disbanded  in 
1789  or  '90.  and  in  December,  1790.  Colonel  Frazer  and  seven  other  Brethren  who  had  been  members  of  "No.  8"  peti- 
tioned the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  for  a  warrant  for  a  Lodge  (No.  50)  to  be  held  at  'the  sign  of  the  Wliite  Horse^j 
in  Chester  County.  The  warrant  was  duly  granted,  and  the  Lodge  thus  constituted  was  located  at  the  "White  Horse" 
tavera  until  1807.  when  it  was  removed  to  West  Chester. 

Persifor  Frazer  was  married  October  27,  1766,  to  Mary,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (Worrall)  Taylor  of  Chester 
County.  Colonel  Frazer  died  April  24.  1792.  being  survived  by  his  wife.  Their  son  Robert  was  a  lawyer  and  in  1795 
a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  from  Chester  County.  His  son.  John  Fries  Frazer,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.,  (born 
July  8.  1812;  died  October  12.  1872)  was  for  twenty-eight  years  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Chemistry  in 
the  L^niversity  of  Pennsylvania,  and  for  thirteen  years  of  that  period  was  Vice  Provo;t  of  the  University.  Upon  his 
death  he  was  succeeded  in  his  professorship  by  his  son  Persifor  (bom  in  Philadelphia  July  24,  1844),  noted  as  a  scientist 
and  an  author. 

Gen.  Persifor  Frazer  Smith,  U-  S.  A.,  and  the  Hon.  Persifor  Frazer  Smith  of  West  Chester,  Pennsylvania  (who 
was  for  many  years  the  official  reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania) .  were  grandsons  of  Col.  Persifor  Frazer. 

JIGeorge  Smith  was  appointed  Captain  of  one  of  the  companies  of  the  "Flying  Camp"  voted  to  be  raised  by  the 
Philadelphia  County  Committee  July  15,  1776;  he  was  appointed  and  commissioned  Sub  Lieutenant  of  Philadelphia 
March  12.  1777,  and  July  23,  1778,  was  appointed  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  one  of  the  three 
agents  "for  the  seizing  and  disposing  of  the  forfeited  estates,  according  to  law."  Between  the  last-mentioned  date 
and  October  28,  1778,  he  seems  to  have  attained  the  rank,  or  acquired  the  title,  of  "Colonel."  In  December,  1779. 
he  still  held  the  office  of  "Agent  for  Forfeited  Estates."  In  1780  he  was  Lieutenant  Colonel  commanding  the  First 
Battalion.  Philadelphia  County  Militia. 

In  1784  Colonel  Smith  was  elected  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  At  that  period  he  was 
probably  a  resident  of  the  section  of  Philadelphia  County  which  the  Legislature  in  September,  1784,  erected  into  the 
county  of  Montgomery.  By  the  .\ct  creating  the  new  county.  Colonel  Smith  and  four  others,  named,  were  authorized 
to  purchase  a  tract  of  land  and  erect  thereon  a  court-house  and  a  prison  for  the  county.  Colonel  Smith  was  named 
as  Master  in  the  warrant  issued  December  14,  1 789.  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania.  Ancient  York  Ma-sons, 
for  Lodge  No.  31,  to  be  located  at  Norristown.  Montgomery  Countv.  He  was  still  a  member  of  this  Lodge  in  March 
1793 


1468 

the  few  Pennamite  settlers  remaining  in  Wyoming  Valle}',  to  "quit  the  land." 
On  Monday,  May  2nd,  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  the  township  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  was  held,  and  on  the  second  day  following,  according  to  the  "Brief"  of 
Colonel  Franklin,  Messrs.  Bayard,  Frazer  and  Smith,  the  Committee  of  the 
Assembly,  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  and  took  up  their  quarters  at  the  inn  of 
Capt.  John  Paul  Schott,  on  River  Street  above  South  Street. 

On  May  5th  the  Committee  sent  a  message  to  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  (who 
only  a  few  months  previously  had  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  New  York), 
requesting  him  to  call  upon  them.  This  he  did,  without  delay,  and  informed 
them  that  he,  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott,  Ebenezer  Johnson,  Lieut.  John  Jenkins, 
Jr.,  Capt.  John  Franklin  and  Christopher  Hurlbut  had  been  selected  by  the 
Wyoming  Yankees  to  represent  them  before  the  Committee.  Later  in  the  day 
these  men  and  the  Assemblymen  met  together  at  Captain  Schott's,  and  after 
a  lengthy  conference  it  was  agreed  that  the  business  in  hand  should  be  trans- 
acted in  writing.  In  the  morning  of  May  6th,  therefore,  the  Assemblymen  trans- 
mitted to  the  Committee  of  Settlers,  a  letter  reading  as  follows:* 

"Wyoming,  May  6th,  1785. 

"Gentlemen: — In  conformity  to  our  promise  made  to  you  in  the  Conference  held  yesterday 
afternoon.  We  now  propose  to  you  the  following  Queries,  which  we  wish  you  seriously  to  consider 
&  favor  us  with  your  answer  as  soon  as  convenient. 

"1st. — Is  it  the  Wish  &  determination  of  the  People  you  represent,  called  the  Connecticutt 
Claimants,  to  submit  to  &  support  the  Laws  &  Constitution  of  this  State.  2d. — Will  they 
support  &  countenance  the  civil  Officers  in  the  regular  administration  of  Justice  &  oppose  all 
Illegal  &  unconstitutional  measures  that  may  be  taken  by  any  persons  contrary  thereto.  3dly. 
— As  the  Legislature  have  fully  evinced  their  determination  to  protect  the  Citizens  in  every 
Part  of  the  State  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  Life,  Liberty  &  Property — and  as  you  are  well  acquainted 
with  the  measures  that  have  been  taken  to  punish  those  who  in  a  Lawless  manner  dispossessed 
a  number  of  Settlers  last  May — We  wish  to  be  informed  by  what  authority  a  number  of  People 
who  were  peaceable  Inhabitants  have,  during  the  Course  of  the  Winter  &  Spring,  been  dispos- 
sessed of  their  Property  &  ordered  to  remove  from  this  place;  and  whether  the  persons  assuming 
and  Executing  such  authority  are  supported  &  Countenanced  by  the  people  you  represent. 

"We  sincerely  wish  for  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  above  Queries,  which  may  tend  to  the 

restoration  of  Peace  &  good  Order  to  all  the  Inhabitants  of  this  unhappy  settlement. 

"We  are,  Gentlemen,  your  very  Humble  servants,         ,o-       ji  «t-   ..  t.  ., 

•  ^  ^  [Signed]  John  Bayard, 

"Messrs.  Zebulon  Butler  "Persr.  Frazer, 

&  Others,  a  Committee  appointed  "GEO.  Smith." 

to  Confer  with  the  Committee  of  Assembly." 

To  this  letter  Colonel  Butler  and  his  colleagues  responded  the  same  day, 
in  part  as  follows  if 

"Answer  to  Question  1st. — 'Tis  the  wish  and  desire  of  us,  and  the  people  whom  we  represent, 
to  support  the  Constitutional  laws  and  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  has 
been  ever  since  the  Decree  at  Trenton. 

"In  answer  to  your  second  question;  We  assert,  and  are  able  to  maintain,  that  there  have 
never  been  any  civil  officers  according  to  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  elected 
in  this  settlement  since  the  Decree  of  Trenton.  Let  us  have  constitutional  civil  officers — that 
is,  men  elected  by  us  at  an  open  and  general  election,  warned  according  to  the  laws  of  this  State. 
Such  civil  officers  we  will  support  in  the  fuU  and  regular  administration  of  justice  with  our  lives 
and  fortunes. 

"In  compliance  with  your  wish  of  information  by  what  authority  a  number  of  peaceable 
inhabitants  have,  during  the  covirse  of  the  Winter  and  Spring,  been  dispossessed  of  their  property 
and  ordered  to  remove  from  this  settlement,  we  answer  in  the  categorical  style,  and  affirm,  that 
no  peaceable  inhabitants — as  you  call  them — in  this  settlement  have  ever  been  ordered  to  remove 
off,  or  been  dispossessed  of  their  property  in  any  respect  whatever  by  us  or  those  whom  we  repre- 
sent; and  we,  the  Committee,  never  countenanced  the  ordering  of  any  peaceable  inhabitant 
off  their  settlement.  Gentlemen,  if  you  have  had  any  complaints  of  such  a  nature  as  you  represent 
in  your  billet,  we  would  wish  to  know  the  complainants  of  such  falsehoods,  and  that  they  should 
be  brought  before  you  and  this  committee. 

"Gentlemen,  we  would  wish  to  ask  the  following  questions,  and  desire  your  solution.    Ques- 
tion:   Whether  those  persons  who  came  into  this  settlement  under  the  patronage  of  Alexander 
Patterson  a  year  ago  last  Fall,  and  took  violent  possession  of  lands  and  houses,  and  still  retain 
*The  original  draft  of  the  letter  is  in  the  possession  of  the  present  writer. 
tSee  Johnson's  "Historical  Record",  II:  87. 


1469 

the  same  (which  were  justly  held  by  the  Connecticut  claimants,  who  were  in  the  peaceable  posses- 
sion of  those  houses  and  lands) — whether  those  rioters,  if  now  in  possession  of  those  lands  and 
houses,  can,  according  to  the  laws  and  Constitution  of  this  State,  be  called  peaceable  inhabitants? 
Question  2d:    In  what  point  of  light  do  the  Legislative  body  of  this  State  view  us?" 

The  Assembly  Committee  replied  to  this  commimication  the  same  day, 
in  part  as  follows  :* 

"We  have  just  received  your  answer  to  ours  of  this  morning,  and  were  pleased  in  reading 
the  first  paragraph,  wherein  you  consider  an  amicable  compromise  as  near  at  hand.  We  assure 
you  we  shall  esteem  ourselves  happy  in  accomplishing  so  important  and  salutary  a  measure. 

"Your  answer  to  our  first  Query  is  somewhat  satisfactory,  but  to  the  others,  not  so.  Your 
answer  to  the  second  is  that  there  never  has  been  any  Civil  Officers,  'according  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania',  elected  in  this  settlement  since  the  Decree  of  Trenton.  We  are 
sorry  to  differ  from  you  on  this  head,  and  although  we  believe  that  many  who  were  not  Free- 
holders did  vote,  yet  we  must  contend  that  there  were  Freeholders  who  did  vote,  and  that 
the  said  election  was  in  conformity  to  the  Constitution,  as  appears  by  the  proceedings  of  the 
committee  who  were  with  you  at  that  time  and  reported  to  the  Assembly ;  which  (body),  therefore, 
established  the  election  by  a  Law  passed  September  9,  17  S3,  in  which  the  Justices  of  the  Peace 
are  particularly  named.  We  therefore  think  you  are  bound,  as  citizens  of  this  State,  to  support 
them  in  the  due  e.xercise  of  their  authority  until  you  can  make  it  appear,  by  a  regular  proc-S3 
before   the   proper  tribunal,   that  their  appointment  is  contrary  to  the   Constitution.     *     *     * 

"Your  answer  to  our  third  inquiry  is  also  unsatisfactory.  You  assert  that  no  peaceable 
inhabitant  has  been  dispossessed  of  property  or  obliged  to  leave  the  settlement.  In  order  to  under- 
stand each  other  properly  we  wish  to  give  you  our  idea  of  a  peaceable  Inhabitant,  viz.:  All  those 
who  held  and  were  in  possession  of  lands  and  tenements  on  May  10,  1784,  or  the  time  you  were 
violently  dispossessed — these  people,  whatever  right  they  held  under,  were  in  the  peaceable 
enjoyment  of  Property,  and,  we  contend,  ought  not  to  be  dispoiled  and  dispossessed  but  by  a 
regular  process  of  Law.  You,  Gentlemen,  complained  of  the  injuries  you  received  by  violence 
and  illegal  conduct,  and  will  you,  the  moment  you  are  restored  by  the  laws  of  the  Land,  counten- 
ance the  same  arbitrary  and  unconstitutional  measures  against  another  class  of  citizens  whom 
you  deem  intruders?    This  must  be  considered  as  an  opposition  to  Law  and  good  Government. 

"We  are  possessed  of  a  petition!  signed  by  a  number  of  respectable  citizens,  complaining 
I'n  the  most  spirited  manner  of  the  arbitrary  and  cruel  conduct  of  certain  persons  here  in  plunder- 
ing and  banishing  the  inhabitants  claiming  under  Pennsylvania — and  this  without  any  appli- 
cation to  civil  authority.    We  beg  you  seriously  to  consider  where  this  will  issue  if  persisted  in. 

"Your  letter  concluded  with  asking  us  two  questions.  To  the  first  we  answer  that,  however 
those  people  got  possessed  of  houses  or  Lands,  they  ought  not  to  be  dispossessed  of  them  but 
agreeably  to  Law.  Had  the  Connecticut  claimants  prosecuted  them  for  taking  violent  possession, 
we  doubt  not  that  the  Laws  would  have  determined  the  controversy  in  a  proper  manner.  To  the 
second  we  answer :  That  the  Legislative  body  look  upon  all  persons  residing  within  the  chartered 
bounds  of  the  State  as  citizens  thereof,  who  are  bound  to  yield  obedience  to  the  Laws,  and  who 
are  entitled,  while  so  doing,  to  the  immunities  and  privileges  granted  them  by  the  Constitution. 

"We  have  now,  Gentlemen,  only  to  repeat  our  sincere  wishes  that  you  will  each  one  join 
heart  and  hand  to  put  a  stop  to  further  irregularities  and  disorders,  and  that  you  will  give  us 
proper  assurances  of  your  determination  to  support  the  Laws  and  Government  of  this  State. 
This,  in  our  opinion,  is  the  only  method  left  to  restore  peace  and  good  order  to  this  unhappy 
settlement.  And  we  doubt  not  that  upon  your  so  doing  you  will  not  only  experience  immediate 
benefits  yourselves,  but  afford  real  happiness  to  many  who  are  now  suffering  under  former  oppres- 
sions.   We  pray  God  to  direct  you." 

Upon  receiving  and  reading  the  foregoing  letter,  the  Committee  of  Settlers 
despatched  to  the  Committee  of  Assembly,  a  letter  reading  as  follows: 

Wyoming  May  7th,  1785. 

"Gentlemen — After  the  Committee's  Best  Complyments  to  your  Honors  this  Morning, 
hoping  that  you  are  in  Perfect  health.  Gentlemen,  with  Submission  we  would  Desire  of  your 
Honors  a  Coppy  of  a  Petition  you  mentioned  in  your  Letter,  and  also  a  Copy  of  the  Act  of  Assemb- 
ly Establishing  the  Election  of  Majestrates  at  Wyoming  in  1783,  and  also  a  Copy  of  a  Letter 
from  the  Governor  of  Connecticut  to  His  Excellency  the  President  of  this  State. 

"We  are.  Gentlemen,  with  Suitable  Respects,  Your  Most  Obedt.  and  Humble  Ser'ts, 
"Honno'bles  John  Bayard  [Signed]         "Zebn.  Butler, 

"Persfr.  Frazer,  "John  P.  Schott, 

"George  Smith,  "Ebenezer  Johnson, 

Committee  of  Assembly."  "Jno.  Jenkins 

"John  Franklin, 
"Christopher  Hurlbut" 

Immediately  on  receipt  of  this  request  on  May  7th  the  Committee  of  Assembly 
forwarded  to  Colonel  Butler  and  his  colleagues   the  documents  asked  for.    On 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  XVIII:  645. 
+See  pages  1465  and  1466. 


1470 

Monday,   May  9th,   Mr.   Bayard,  in  behalf  of  his  committee,  wrote  to  Colonel 
Butler  as  follows: 

"We  returned  an  answer  to  yours  of  May  6  on  Saturday  morning,  and  are  not  a  little  dis- 
appointed to  be  yet  without  your  reply,  especially  as  we  informed  you  of  our  wish  to  return  as 
soon  as  possible.  We  expect  to  leave  this  place  to-morrow,  and  request  you  would,  by  the 
bearer,  send  us  the  letter  from  the  Governor  of  Connecticut;  and  if  you  have  anything  further 
to  communicate  to  us  we  shall  be  glad  to  receive  it  this  evening." 

To  this  the  Committee  of  Settlers  immediateh-  replied  as  follows: 

"We  have  just  received  your  billet  by  your  servant,  in  which  you  complain  that  you  are 
disappointed  that  we  have  not  sent  you  an  answer  to  yours  of  the  6th  of  May,  and  desire  one  this 
evening.  Gentlemen,  we  have  been  so  incumbered  with  viewing  the  Constitution,  Acts  of  Asemb- 
ly,  petitions,  remonstrances,  the  Governor's  letter,  etc.,  that  they  have  taken  up  our  time  in- 
sensibly; therefore  the  time  has  elapsed,  but  we  shall  send  you  an  answer  to  your  request  this 
evening." 

On  this  same  day,  (May  9th)  Justice  David  Mead,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  wrote 
and  delivered  to  the  Committee  of  the  Assembly  a  letter  reading  as  follows:* 

"Most  deplorable  indeed  is  the  present  situation  of  this  part  of  the  State,  when  120  miles 
up  and  down  the  River,  as  it  runs,  and  as  far  west  in  this  valuable  part  of  the  country,  in  the  very 
bosom  of  the  State,  is  now  in  such  rebellion.  That  the  Connecticut  claimants,  I  make  no  doubt, 
before  you  have  this,  will  at  last  throw  off  the  mask  and  tell  you  they  are  the  Proprietaries  of 
this  country  (most  capable  of  making  laws  for  themselves),  and  will  bid  defyance  to  the  Laws 
of  Pennsylvania  and  tell  you  to  go  about  your  business.  The  most  cautious  intelligence  of  these 
Designs  I  sent  to  Government  early  in  February  last,  which  were  scarcely  credited,  when  this 
Tumult  could  have  been  easily  quashed.  But  now.  Gentlemen,  if  it's  the  intention  of  the  State 
to  support  its  dignity,  I  fancy  you'll  believe  it  a  serious  business — high  time  to  clip  the  growing 
evil — which  alone  depends  on  the  immediate  and  spirited  interposition  of  the  State. 

"I  beg  you  to  think  of  my  situation,  that  I  have  long  since  regularly  appropriated  my  lands 
here  agreeable  to  the  Laws  and  Customs  of  the  country,  and  peaceably  possessed  myself  of  the 
same.  The  Connecticut  claim  to  a  considerable  part  of  my  lands  was  relinquished  most  formally 
in  consequence  of  a  resolution  of  the  Legislature,  and  lands  were  actually  granted  in  here  by 
the  State;  and  the  very  same  lands  were  taken  by  the  Committee  of  the  People  (with  whom 
you  are  now  treating)  and  rented  to  tenants,  who  came  and  ordered  my  plowmen  to  stop  [plow- 
ing] or  e.xpect  to  lose  their  labors — which  has  happened  since  your  enquiry  began. 

"I  have  made  very  considerable  improvements,  and  have  a  large  Winter  crop  now  on  the 
ground.  As  a  Citizen  and  Servant  of  Government  I  have  claimed  its  Protection  and  Support, 
as  yet  in  Vain.  I  have  made  a  stand — as  yet  at  the  risk  of  my  life  and  property— rather  than 
flinch,  and  am  now  under  the  severest  threats  of  being  expulsed.  *  *  *  A  considerable  num- 
ber of  Pennsylvania  families  are  now  here  in  a  most  distressed  situation — some  that  have  plan- 
tations up  the  River  near  Wyalusing  are  this  far  on  their  way,  but  are  not  permitted  to  go  up 
the  River  on  any  pretense  whatever,  but  must  all  instantly  remove  from  here.  *  *  *  Upon 
the  whole.  Gentlemen,  I  hope  you'll  now  be  satisfactorily  convinced  that  the  Honour  and  Dignity 
of  Pennsylvania  are  at  stake." 

In  the  evening  of  May  9th,  the  Committee  of  Settlers  delivered  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Assembly  what  they  denominated  their  "final  answer"  to  the  various 
queries  and  averments  which  had  been  submitted  to  them  by  the  Committee 
of  Assembly.  This  "answer"  is  printed  in  full  in  "Pennsylvania  Archives," 
Second  Series,  XVIII :  647-650,  and  from  jt  the  following  paragraphs  have 
been  taken: 

"You  observe  that,  if  you  are  rightly  informed,  many  of  the  Connecticut  claimants  availed 
themselves  of  the  authority  of  those  magistrates,!  or  some  of  them,  in  order  to  claim  the  reposses- 
sion of  their  houses  and  lots  agreeably  to  the  Law  passed  September  15,  17S4|.  In  reply  we  say 
we  were  laid  under  the  necessity  of  so  doing,  because  they  were  appointed  by  the  authority  of 
this  State;  and  if  we  had  not  improved  that  opportunity  we  might  have  been  kept  out  of  our 
just  possessions  another  vear.  Therefore,  there  was  no  other  alternative  left  us  but  either  to  do 
this  or  suffer  greater  evils  and  misfortunes.  *  *  *  You,  Gentlemen,  observe  in  the  same 
paragraph  that  we  were  thankful  to  those  magistrates  for  the  part  they  acted  therein.  We  answer : 
We  are  bound  to  be  thankful  to  Benefactors,  but  we  ought  first  to  view  those  Justices  as  Bene- 
factors before  we  can  be  thankful  to  them.  We  never  did  view  them  as  Benefactors,  and  there- 
fore no  thankfulness  is  due  from  us  to  them  in  that  respect. 

"Gentlemen,  you  sav  our  answer  to  your  third  query  is  also  unsatisfactory,  because  we 
assert  that  no  peaceable  inhabitants  have  ever  been  dispossessed  of  their  property  and  obliged 
to  leave  their  settlement.  We  imagine  there  is  a  great  difference  betwixt  peaceable  inhabitants 
and  rioters,  who,  in  a  most  violent  manner,  by  force  and  arms,  dispossessed  the  Connecticut 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  XVIII:  650. 

tElected  and  commissioned  in  September,  1783.  as  narrated  on  page  1344. 

tSee  page  1431. 


1471 

claimants  of  their  property;  and  the  Authority  of  this  State  have  dispossessed  those  rioters 
by  a  special  Act  for  that  purpose,  and  now  those  rioters  say  the  Connecticut  people  have  dis- 
possessed and  spoiled  them  of  their  property — which  we  deny  in  full.     *     »     * 

"We  say  and  declare  that  there  have  been  a  great  number  of  inhabitants,  or,  rather,  intruders, 
who  pretended  to  claim  under  Pennsylvania  title;  and  who,  t>y  force  of  arms,  in  a  most  violent 
manner,  contrary  to  all  law  and  Constitution  of  all  Christianized  people,  dispossessed  the  New 
England  settlers  and  took  possession  of  their  houses,  lands  and  property  in  an  hostile  manner; 
and  those  settlers,  so  forcibly  dispossessed  and  plundered,  made  repeated  application  to  the 
legislative,  executive,  judicial  and  civil  Authority  of  this  State,  praying  for  the  restoration  of 
their  rights,  property  and  possessions,  agreeably  to  the  Laws  and  Constitution  of  this  State, 
and  that  the  Legislative  body,  on  the  15th  of  September  last,  did  resolve  that  those  settlers  so 
forcibly  dispossessed  should  be  reinstated. 

"And  we  further  declare  that  we  do  not  know  of  any  such  persons  in  this  settlement,  who 
pretended  a  claim  under  the  possession  title,  who  have  had  any  possessions  except  such  as  were 
obtained  by  force  of  arms;  and  we  would  further  say  that  we  are  informed  by  the  best  authority, 
and  know  it  to  be  a  truth,  that  a  great  number — if  not  all — of  those  persons  who  complain  of 
being  plundered  and  banished  by  the  Connecticut  settlers,  are  those  same  persons  who  expelled 
us  from  our  possessions,  robbed  us  of  our  property,  Sfc,  and  then,  finding  that  the  Laws  of  the  State 
relative  to  forcible  entry  and  detainer  were  likely  to  operate  against  them,  fled  from  the  Laws 
of  their  country,  taking  off  their  own  property  and  a  considerable  portion  of  ours.  What  part 
of  our  property  they  were  obliged  to  leave  behind,  has  since  fallen  into  our  hands,  and  yet  those 
villains  say  we  have  robbed  and  plundered  them  of  their  property — which  allegations  we  challenge 
them  to  support.     *     *     * 

"Gentlemen,  you  conclude  your  letter  with  a  requisition  that  we  would  join  heart  and  hand 
to  put  a  stop  to  further  irregularities  and  disorders.  *  *  *  Gentlemen,  we  assure  you  it  is 
our  determination  to  support  the  Laws  and  Constitution  of  this  State.  We  believe  that  it  is 
the  sincere  effort  of  the  State  and  of  you  gentlemen  to  promote  Peace  and  Harmony  in  this  settle- 
ment; yet  we  can't  but  think  it  Extraordinary  that  you  should  think  it's  consistent  with  sound 
policy  or  the  happiness  of  this  settlement  to  continue  in  office  those  Magistrates  who  were  imposed 
on  the  people  without  their  consent  and  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the  State 
and  who  are  daily  making  inroads  thereon  by  violently  taking  possession  of  land  and  property, 
and  detaining  the  same  from  the  rightful  owners,  in  open  violation  of  all  Law,  and  consequently 
doing  great  injustice  to  the  widow,  fatherless  and  distressed — of  whom  David  Mead  is  and  was 
the  fullest  aggressor  and  distressor  of  the  widow  and  fatherless  and  orphan. 

"Gentlemen,  we  hope  you  will  voluntarily  give  us  our  request,  which  is  the  Constitution 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  thereby  restore  Peace  and  Tranquillity  to  this  settlement 
and  Joy  and  Myrth  to  this  State.  We  pray  God  to  give  you  hearts  susceptible  of  all  the  feelings 
of  humanity." 

In  the  morning  of  May  10th,  the  Committee  of  the  Assembly  sent  the  follow- 
ing reply  to  the  foregoing  communication  :* 

"Last  evening  we  received  yours  of  the  9th  inst.  in  answer  to  ours  of  the  6th.  We  are  sorry 
to  inform  you  that  it  is  entirely  unsatisfactory  to  us,  as  we  have,  in  a  plain  and  candid  manner, 
not  only  in  our  letters  but  in  conversation,  informed  you  what  we  think  the  State  requires  of 
you  as  citizens,  viz.:  obedience  to  the  laws  and  those  who  are  appointed  to  execute  them.  We 
think  it  unnecessary  to  go  into  a  particular  answer  to  your  last,  and  having,  to  the  best  of  our 
abilities,  discharged  our  duty  to  you  and  our  country,  we  must  now  take  our  leave  of  you,  after 
thanking  you  for  any  personal  civilities  shown  us,  and  earnestly  exhorting  you  to  a  strict  obedience 
to  the  authority  and  laws  of  the  State,  which  alone  will  prove  your  declarations  sincere.  A 
contrary  conduct,  be  assured.  Gentlemen,  will  end  in  anarchy,  confusion  and  distress.  We  shall 
advise  those  claiming  under  Pennsylvania  to  refrain  from  all  illegal  methods  for  obtaining 
satisfaction  for  injuries  they  complain  of,  and  shall  direct  them  to  apply  to  the  laws  of  their 
country  for  redress." 

The  same  day,  the  Committee  of  the  Assembly  sent  to  the  Hon.  John  Van 
Campen,   of  Northampton  County,   the  following  letter: 

"Agreeably  to  your  request  to  be  informed  of  what  we  have  done  at  this  place,  we  would 
just  tell  you  that  after  frequent  messages  passing  between  us  and  the  committee  appointed  to 
transact  with  us.  as  well  as  verbal  conferences,  they  have  declared  their  intentions  of  submitting 
to  the  Laws  and  Government  of  the  State.  We  are  sorry  to  say  that  we  have  not  that  satisfaction 
which  we  expected,  but  we  hope  that  upon  seriously  considering  their  situation  they  will  submit. 
The  matter  will  soon  be  brought  to  issue.  In  the  meantime,  we  earnestly  recommend  to  aU  the 
Pennsylvanians  who  have  been  driven  off  to  cease  from  all  illegal  measures,  and  to  pursue,  im- 
mediately, those  that  are  agreeable  to  Law  for  redress  of  their  grievances;  and  we  doubt  not  in 
so  doing  they  will  have  the  firm  support  of  Government.  We  are  just  setting  off  for  Northum- 
berland, and  expect  to  return  to  Philadelphia  in  six  or  seven  days." 

It  seems  that,  almost  immediately  upon  the  departure  of  the  Committee 

of  Assembly  from  Wilkes-Barre,  in  the  afternoon  of  May    10th,   Justice   Da\'id 

Mead  issued  certain  writs  or  precepts  against  some  of  the  Wyoming  Yankees; 

*See  Johnson's  "Historical  Record",  II:  91. 


1472 

at  the  same  time  addressing  a  letter  to  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  Capt.  John 
Paul  Schott,  in  which  he  called  upon  them  for  their  countenance  and  support 
with  respect  to  his  justicial  procedure.  In  reply  these  gentlemen  sent  Justice 
Mead  a  note  reading  as  follows: 

"Yours  of  the  present  date  came  to  hand.  Observed  the  contents.  Find  our  influence 
is  lost,  as  the  people  deny  you  have  any  legal  authority  to  act  until  it  is  proved  that  you  were 
legally  elected." 

Upon  receipt  of  this,  Justice  Mead,  the  same  day  (May  11th),  forwarded  it 
by  an  express  to  the  Committee  of  the  Assembly  (who  were  then  on  their  way 
down  along  the  Susquehanna  to  Northumberland).  With  it  he  sent  the  following 
letter:* 

"From  a  multitude  of  applications  this  morning  I  issued  a  precept  against  Ebenezer  Johnson 
and  John  Gansy,  in  a  case  so  plain  I  thought  it  most  likely  to  take,  on  complaint  of  a  woman 
whose  cow  was  lately  taken  by  violence.  An  act  like  that  I  expected  the  people  would  be  most 
ready  to  bear  their  testimony  against.  On  the  other  hand,  great  declarations  of  dislike  have  been 
made  against  the  glaring  conduct  of  this  Johnson.  Enclosed  I  transmit  you  a  note  to  Colonel 
Butler  and  Captain  Schott,  in  particular,  for  support;  by  which,  and  their  answer,  you  will  be 
fully  satisfyed.    For  excuse,  they  doubt  my  authority. 

"I  believe  I  mentioned  to  you  that  numbers  of  precepts  are  now  here,  issued  by  magistrates 
in  Sunbury  and  Northumberland  Town,  not  complyed  with.  *  *  *  j  have  just  received 
information  that  a  party  is  now  collecting  to  drive  and  distress  the  few  Pennsylvanians  left. 
I  propose  sending  Mrs.  Mead  and  the  children  instantly  out  of  the  way,  and  stand  [here]  myself 
as  long  as  any  kind  of  prudence  will  dictate.  In  the  meantime  by  your  answer  I  expect  to  find 
whether  I  am  to  be  protected  or  not  in  any  reasonable  time.  If  not,  I  beg  that  on  your  arrival 
at  Philadelphia  this  letter  be  presented  to  Council  as  a  token  of  my  resignation,  and  that  I  request 
the  same  may  be  received.     *     *     * 

"N.  B.^-Since  the  conclusion  of  this  letter  I  this  minute  received  the  most  dreadful  accounts 
of  disorder,  commencing  by  the  most  horrid  distress  of  the  few  families  yet  here,  and  I  am  in 
fear  of  bloodshed  soon,  though  you  may  rest  assured  that  I  shall  spare  no  pains  to  convince  the 
people  to  seek  no  other  than  legal  redress.  The  Constable  of  Stoke  this  instant  reported  to  me 
that  Ebenezer  Johnson  and  John  Gansy  are  his  regular  prisoners  on  a  charge  of  robbery;  that 
they  have  rescued  themselves  in  the  most  violent  manner,  to  wit:  by  a  Cocked  pistol  at  his  breast, 
with  the  most  severe  threats,  and  he  is  now  under  the  necessity  of  support." 

The  express  bearing  the  foregoing  communication  overtook  the  Committee 
of  the  Assembly  about  midway  between  Wilkes-Barre  and  Northumberland, 
and  they  returned  an  answer  to  Justice  Mead.  They  also  sent  by  the  express 
a  letter  to  Ebenezer  Johnson.  As  to  the  nature  of  the  letter  sent  to  the  Justice 
we  know  nothing,  but  the  letter  to  Johnson  (written  by  Mr.  Bayard  on  May 
12,  1785)  read  as  follows: 

"It  is  not  without  surprise  that  I  have  heard  of  the  imprudence  of  Esquire  Mead  in  granting 
warrants  yesterday;  but  it  is  more  surprising  to  me  to  hear  that  you  should  (after  we,  the  Com- 
mittee, had  made  so  public  a  promise  to  discountenance  any  break  of  law)  so  quick  break  that 
promise  by  burning  any  of  the  settlements,  or  threatening  any  person  who  offered  no  abuse  to 
you.  Perhaps  I  have  been  misinformed.  If  I  have,  I  shall  be  glad,  as  I,  on  the  one  hand,  would 
not  relinquish  any  right  or  privilege  that  I  was  entitled  to,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  I  would  be  as 
far  from  countenancing  any  breach  of  public  faith  or  good  conduct." 

Miner  states  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  380)  that  on  May  14,  1785, 
Colonel  Franklin  "again  set  off  for  Connecticut,  to  attend  an  expected  meeting 
of  The  Susquehanna  Company  at  Hartford.  The  inert  mass  was  not  yet 
sufficiently  warmed  to  be  moved  to  his  wishes.  Doubts  and  fears  seem  to  have 
hung  around  and  retarded  the  action  of  the  prudent  Yankees.  No  meeting 
had  been  called;  the  committee,  still  slumbering,  had  neglected  to  give  the  proper 
notice.  Supported  especially  by  Maj.  William  Juddj,  of  Farmington,  Colonel 
Franklin  went  from  town  to  town — to  Windham,  to  Hartford,  to  Watertown, 
to  Colchester,  and  again  to  Hartford,  where,  from  the  public  records,  he  took 
copies  of  papers  to  aid  him  in  sustaining  the  Connecticut  claim,  which  he  every- 
where preached  with  apostolic  zeal.    Having  now  made  arrangements  for  a  meet- 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  XVIII;  652. 
tSee  page  824,  Vol.  II. 


1473 

ing  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  in  July,  he  hastened  back  to  Wyoming, 
where  he  arrived  on  June  29th.  Immediately  a  town-meeting  was  called,  [whereat] 
the  people  were  addressed  and  encouraged  to  be  firm  in  defence  of  their  rights." 

During  the  absence  of  Colonel  Franklin,  aifairs  in  Wyoming  were  rather 
quiet,  at  least  so  far  as  the  Yankee  settlers  were  concerned.  Justice  Mead, 
however,  and  some  of  the  authorities  of  Northumberland  County,  seem  to  have 
been  more  or  less  active,  as  we  learn  from  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  John  Bayard, 
written  by  Mead  at  Wilkes-Barre,  June  10,  1785,  and  reading  in  part  as  follows:* 

"I  had  the  pleasure  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  3d  iiist.,  in  which  you  mention  your  hopes 
that  the  Supreme  Court  sitting  in  this  County  [at  Sunbury]  may  have  a  good  effect.  In  answer 
to  which  I  can  at  present  only  make  a  few  remarks,  and  leave  you  to  guess  the  event.  Not  one 
of  the  Connecticut  claimants  who  were  under  recognizances  for  their  appearance  at  our  Supreme 
Court  have  appeared  to  save  their  bail ;  neither  have  any  of  those  against  whom  process  was  issued 
by  our  Supreme  Judges  surrendered  themselves  to  the  Sheriff.     *     *     * 

"The  few  Pennsylvania  families  that  were  not  ousted  when  you  were  here  were  obliged  to 
Fly  about  the  time  of  my  last  letter  to  you  at  Northumberland.  The  Sheriff  is  now  here  in  order 
to  apprehend  those  who  he  has  Process  against,  but  I  understand  they  are  Goan  to  the  Bushf, 
and  the  others  pretend  submission,  so  that  most  Deplorable  is  the  present  aspect.  However, 
I  shall  write  to  you  again  in  a  few  days,  and  in  the  meantime  hope  you'll  inform  me  of  the  senti- 
ment of  the  Government  on  this  occasion,  with  your  advice  in  my  difficult  situation.     »     *     * 

"N.  B. — Since  the  close  of  this  Letter  I  have  had  the  pleasure  to  see  the  Sheriff  with  four 
of  those  Offenders  in  custody." 

After  the  return  of  Colonel  Franklinto  Wyoming  on  June  29th,  and  the  holding 
of  the  town-meeting  at  Wilkes-Barre,  as  previously  related,  the  Yankees  seem 
to  have  resumed  their  offensive  acti^'^ties  with  respect  to  the  few  Pennamites 
still  remaining  in  the  valley.  This  we  learn  from  the  two  lettersj  following, 
respectively  written  on  July  6  and  7,  1 785,  at  Wyoming,  by  David  Mead,  addressed 
to  President  Dickinson  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  at  Philadelphia, 
and   forwarded    by   expresses: 

"The  most  deplorable  situation  of  this  part  of  the  State  once  more  induces  me  to  address 
you  on  the  subject,  I  dread  to  think  of  an  idea  of  the  want  of  energy  in  Pennsylvania,  so  great 
and  reputable  a  State,  to  permit  all  manner  of  disorder  so  long  to  be  continued,  without  support- 
ing their  Laws.  For  my  part  I  consider  myself  a  member  of  the  Society,  and  that  I  have  a  right 
to  claim  your  protection  as  such.  My  life  is  now  every  minute  in  danger,  and  has  been  for  some 
time;  my  property  is  much  of  it  taken  from  me  by  violence,  and  the  remainder  every  minute 
at  stake.  I  have  claimed  the  protection  of  Government  as  yet  in  vain.  I  have  taken  process, 
though  to  no  purpose.    The  Sheriff  neither  will  nor  can  do  his  duty,  but  acts  the  part  of  a  \'illain. 

"That  instead  of  being  able  to  execute  my  office,  I  am  obliged  to  keep  a  number  of  armed 
men  around  about  my  house  for  its  protection.  I  really  cannot,  as  yet,  be  reconciled  to  evacuate 
for  the  villains  without  your  advice,  though  the  expence  of  standing  in  this  manner  is  too  much 
for  me  to  bear.  A  notorious  Riot  was  committed  yesterday  by  about  a  dozen  men,  armed,  &c., 
and  when  I  called  on  Deputy  Sheriff  (Lawrence)  Myers  to  take  aid  and  apprehend  the  offenders, 
who  [Myers]  appeared  and  made  a  faint  attempt,  without  success.  The  disorder  continued.  This 
day,  while  I  am  writing,  about  twenty  armed  men  are  now  before  my  door  mowing  my  meadow, 
removing  my  fences,  &c.,  [meanwhile]  keeping  up  the  Indian  yell.  My  hands  were  beaten 
and  abused  with  many  stripes  before  they  could  escape. 

"A  general  meeting  of  the  [Yankee]  Inhabitants  was  held  on  Saturday  last  [July  2,  1785], 
when  it  was  resolved  by  them,  without  one  dissenting  voice,  that  the  Laws  of  Pennsylvania  could 
not  be  submitted  to;  that  myself  and  the  other  few  inhabitants  who  are  in  any  way  attached  to 
the  State  must  be  expelled — some  information  of  which  I  have  with  difficulty  obtained  and 
transmitted  to  the  honorable  Chief  Justice. 

"My  Harvest,  hay  and  Grains  of  every  sort  I  expect  will  be  destroyed  though  my  possessions 
were  all  legally  olitained  in  the  year  17'83.  A  considerable  part  was  relinquished  in  the  most 
formal  manner,  and  Lands  were  granted  in  lieu  [thereof]  by  the  State. 

"My  dog  has  been  shot  down  at  the  door,  just  while  I  conclude  this  letter.  I  write  in 
haste."     *     *     *  

"I  am  now  obliged  to  beg  the  immediate  interposition  of  Government  for  my  relief.  I  am 
now  besieged  by  those  desperate  villains,  K'ith  their  cannon  drawn  np,  &c.  I  have  only  foiir 
men  besides  my  own  family — though  all  are  brave  and  determined  not  to  fall  a  sacrifice  at  their 
[the  Yankees]  hands  while  we  have  life.  Therefore,  in  expectation  of  your  immediate  relief 
we  have  spirit  to  act  on  the  defensive  order  until  either  that  arrives  or  we  lose  our  lives.    My 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  XVIII:  653. 

tGone,  or  fled,  to  the  woods. 

{See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI:454-455. 


1474 

other  dog  was  shot  last  night  after  the  other  Express  left  this  place.    I  am  in  haste.    You  will 
please  to  examine  the  Express,  and  reimburse  him  his  expences." 

Miner,  from  the  standpoint  and  with  the  sympathies  of  a  New  Englander, 
gives  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  38l)  the  following  account  of  the  doings 
touched  upon  by  Justice  Mead  in  the  foregoing  letters.  "It  could  illy  be  brooked 
[by  the  Yankees]  that  one  of  Patterson's  Justices  should  hold  possession  under 
the  Pennamite  claim,  as  it  was  termed — on  the  rich  bottom-lands  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  too — and  he  a  renegade  and  traitor  from  the  Yankee  ranks;  moreover, 
and  probably  with  justice,  he  was  Regarded  as  still  the  agent  of  the  land  claimants 
and  a  spy  on  the  conduct  of  the  Connecticut  people.  His  explusion,  therefore, 
under  the  new  spirit  awakened  by  Colonel  Franklin  on  his  return  [from  Conn- 
ecticut], was  determined  on. 

"Rising  one  morning,  Mr.  Mead  beheld  a  dozen  men  mowing  his  meadow, 
and  all  orders  to  desist  or  requests  for  explanation  were  equally  disregarded. 
They  went  on  openly  and  carted  off  the  hay.  A  warrant  was  forthwith  issued, 
and  several  were  arrested  on  a  charge  of  riot  and  brought  before  Justice  Mead. 
Evasive  answers  to  his  questions  were  given  by  those  whom  he  knew  and  first 
interrogated.  'And  who  are  you.  Sir,'  said  he  to  one  whom  he  was  not  acquainted 
with,  'and  what  have  you  to  say  for  yourself?'  'My  name,'  said  the  fellow  with 
affected  simplicity,  'is  Oliver  Harmless,  and  if  I  ever  did  you  any  good  in  the 
world  I  am  sorry  for  it.'  A  burst  of  laughter  followed  this  sally,  when  Mason 
F.  Alden  spoke  up  and  said:  'Squire  Mead,  it  is  you  or  us;  Pennamites  and  Yan- 
kees can't  live  together  in  Wyoming.  Our  lines  don't  agree.  We  give  you  fair 
notice  to  quit,  and  that  shortly.'  Mead  immediately  called  to  his  aid  thirty 
or  forty  men,  and,  having  garrisoned  his  house,  resolved  to  defend  himself." 

Justice  Mead's  letters  were  read  in  Counc  1  Saturday,  July  9,  1785  and 
on  the  following  Monday  the  members  of  the  Council  and  the  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State  held  a  conference,  after  which  the  Council  took 
the  following  action:* 

"Resolved,  That  the  Judges  be  requested  forthwith  to  take  the  deposition  of  William  Wilson.f 
the  person  sent  down  by  David  Mead;  to  issue  warrants  against  the  rioters,  and  to  proceed  by 
way  of    attachment  against  the  Sheriff  of  Northumberland  County  for  misbehavior." 

On  July  12th  an  order  on  the  State  Treasury  for  £6  was  drawn  in  favor  of 
William  Wilson,  and  one  for  £3,  15s.  in  favor  of  Joseph  Van  Norman,  "for  de- 
fraying their  expenses  from  Northumberland  County  and  return,  on  public 
business."  The  same  day  President  Dickinson  wrote  to  John  Henry  Antes, 
Esq.,  Sheriff  of  Northumberland  County,  as  follows :t 

"At  a  Conference  yesterday  with  the  Honorable  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  they 
produced  several  Depositions  representing  your  Conduct  as  very  extraordinary  &  detrimental 
to  the  Peace  of  your  County.  We  therefore  think  it  our  duty  immediately,  &  in  the  strongest 
manner,  to  enjoin  your  instant  &  effectual  Execution  of  any  process  against  offenders  at  or  near 
Wyoming  that  has  or  shall  come  to  your  hands;  &  that  for  this  purpose,  and  also  to  enforce  due 
Obedience  to  the  Laws  of  the  State,  you  forthwith  repair  to  that  Place,  where.  We  understand, 
many  persons  are  collected  in  a  riotous  manner,  having  injured  several  peaceable  Citizens  & 
threatened  further  to  injure  them. 

"Your  own  prudence  will  dictate  to  you  how  interesting  your  Behaviour  on  this  occasion 
must  necessarily  be  to  yourself  as  well  as  to  the  State." 

On  the  same  day  (July  12,  1785)  President  Dickinson  wrote  to  Justice  Mead 
as  follows: 

"We  have  received  your  Letters  of  the  sixth  &  seventh  Instant,  &  have  examined  William 
Wilson  the  person  by  whom  you  sent  the  last.    Yesterday  a  Conference  was  held  with  the  Judges 

*See  "Penn5ylvania  Colonial  Records".  XIV:  497-499. 
tLieutenant  of  the  County  of  Northumberland. 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  X:  482. 


1475 
of  the.Supreme  Court,  and  thereupon  every  Measure  has  been  adopted  that  was  thought  most 
proper  for  enforcing  a  due  Obedience  to  the  Laws." 

On  the  day  following  the  writing  of  the  foregoing  letters,  The  Susquehanna 
Company  held  a  meeting  at  the  City  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  Colonel  Franklin 
being  present  to  represent  the  Wyoming  share-,  or  right-,  holders  and  settlers. 
The  proceedings  at  this  meeting  were  significant,  and  embraced  a  substantial 
declaration  of  war  against  all  opponents  of  the  Company  and  its  claims.  The 
minutes  of  this  meeting  read  in  part  as  follows; 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Proprietors,  Purchasers  and  Settlers  of  the  land  on  the  Susquehanna 
River  under  ye  countenance  and  title  of  ye  State  of  Connecticut,  legally  warned  and  held  at 
Hartford  July  13,  17S5,  the  meeting  taking  into  consideration  the  situation  of  their  claims, 
the  large  sums  of  money  expended  in  the  purchase,  settlement  and  defense  of  the  same,  and  the 
justice  of  their  claim  to  said  lands,  do  Resolve: 

'"(1)  That  the  purchase  they  made  of  the  Indian  native  proprietors  of  said  land  was  fair, 
bona  fide,  and  for  a  valuable  consideration  paid  previous  to  any  other  purchase  of  said  land  from 
said  Indians. 

"(2)  That  at  the  time  of  making  said  purchase  there  was  not,  nor  ought  there  ever  to  have 
been,  a  doubt  respecting  the  right  of  Connecticut  to  the  jurisdiction  and  preemption  of  that 
Territory — the  Charter  and  Letters-patent  of  Connecticut  being  in  fact  eighteen  years  prior 
to  the  patent  to  Sir  William  Penn,  and  which  in  terms  most  Explicit  did  cover  said  land. 

"(3)  That  in  Confidence  in  the  Charter  of  Connecticut  (which  they  judged  to  be  sure  and 
sacred  as  the  Solemn  acts  of  any  public  body  can  be),  and  with  the  Countenance  and  approbation 
of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  they  made  the  purchase  and  Settlement  aforesaid,  and  have,  at 
vast  Expense  of  blood  and  treasure,  purchased  and  defended  their  possessions  against  the  Common 
enemy,  to  the  great  emolument  and  Security  of  the  United  States. 

"(4)  That  although  the  Court,  constituted  to  determine  the  right  of  jurisdiction  between 
the  States  of  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania,  have  astonished  the  world  with  the  decision  in  favor 
of  Pennsylvania,  yet  our  right  to  those  lauds  in  possession  is  founded  in  law  and  Justice,  is  Clear 
and  unquestionable,  and  we  cannot  and  will  not  give  it  tip. 

"(5)  That  the  Conduct  of  the  State  and  people  of  Permsylvania  towards  the  proprietors  of 
the  lands  on  the  river  Susquehanna,  in  consequence  of  the  Decree  of  Trenton  in  A.  D.  1782, 
was  impolitic;  unjust  and  tyrannical,  and  has  a  tendency  to  interrupt  the  harmony  of  the  States. 

"  Voted,  That  this  Company  will  support  their  claim  and  right  of  soil  to  all  lands  lying  on 
the  waters  of  the  river  Susquehanna  included  in  their  deed  of  purchase  from  the  Six  Nations 
of  Indians,  native  owners  and  proprietors  thereof,  and  confirmed  to  said  Company  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  said  State;  and  that  the  Committee 
of  said  Company  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  authorized  to  dispose  of  the  rights  of  all  non-resident 
delinquent  proprietors  who  have  neglected  or  shall  neglect  to  pay  their  taxes  agreeably  to  the 
votes  of  said  Company — taking  the  previous  steps  pointed  out  in  the  Act  of  Assembly  [of  Conn- 
ecticut] regulating  the  same. 

"  Voted,  That  this  Company  will  support  the  proprietors,  owners.  Settlers  and  Claimants 
of  the  Country  aforesaid  in  their  new  application  to  Congress*  for  a  trial  of  the  right  of  Soil, 
agreeably  to  the  2d  paragraph  of  the  IXth  Article  of  the  Confederation  of  the  United  States 
of  America;  and  that  we  will  protect  our  Settlers  in  said  country  from  all  lawless  outrage,  unjusti- 
fiable and  wanton  depredations  of  property,  or  personal  abuse  whatsoever,  under  countenance 
of  Law  or  otherwise,  until  such  right  [of  soil]  is  judicially  determined. 

"Voted,  That  every  able-bodied  and  effective  man  (not  being  a  proprietor),  approved  by 
any  one  of  the  Company's  Committee,  that  will  repair  to  Wyoming,  submit  himself  to  the  orders 
of  this  Company  and  their  Committee  at  this  place,  shall  become  a  half-share  proprietor  in  said  Com- 
pany, entitled  to  all  the  benefits  of  any  proprietor  thereof  that  has  paid  his  full  taxes  to  this  time; 
provided  he  remains  in  said  Country  for  the  Space  of  three  years,  and  does  not  depart  therefrom 
without  the  permission  of  such  Committee;  and  also  pro\'ided  that  such  half-share  proprietors 
do  not  exceed  400;  and  provided  they  arrive  by  the  first  day  of  October  next. 

"Voted,  That  Col.  Ebenezer  Gray,  Col.  Thomas  Dyer,  Ralph  Pomeroy,  Esq.,  Timothy 
Edwards,  Esq.,  Mr.  Moses  Sherrard,  Joseph  Hamilton,  Esq.,  Zerah  Beach,  Esq.,  Col.  Zebulon 
Butler,  John  Franklin,  Esq.,  Ludwig  Updike,  Esq.,  Obadiah  Gore,  Esq.,  and  Capt.  Samuel  Street 
be,  and  they  are  hereby,  appointed  a  Committee  in  addition  to  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
Company. 

"Voted,  That  the  standing  Committee  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  fully  authorized  to  dispose 
of  600  rights  in  said  general  tract  of  country,  for  the  use  of  said  Company.     *     *     * 

"  Voted,  That  this  Company  will  circumspectly  conform  themselves  to  all  decisions  on  their 
claim  constitutionally  had;  but  at  the  same  time  cannot  omit  despising  the  treatment  this  State 
met  with  upon  a  former  trial — the  secretion  of  material  papers  by  our  opponents  until  after  the 
trial  was  over.     *     *     * 

"  Voted,^  That  the  Hon.  William  Samuel  Johnsonf  and  William  Juddf,  Esq.,  be  and  they  are 
hereby  appointed  agents  in  behalf  of  this  Company  in  all  matters  wherein  this  Company  is  in- 

*See  page  1460.    tSee  page  478,  Vol.  I.    :tSee  page  824,  Vol.  II. 


1476 

terested,  before  Congress  or  elsewhere;  and  that  the  Clerk  of  this  Company  be  and  he  is  hereby- 
authorized  to  make  out  a  proper  power  of  attorney,  fully  authorizing  the  said  William  Samuel 
Johnson  and  William  Judd,  Esq.,  for  the  purpose  aforesaid.     *     *     * 

"Voted,  That  the  Clerk  of  this  Company  advertise  in  the  public  prints  that  any  person 
claiming  a  right  in  this  Purchase  shall  send  in  the  evidence  of  his  title  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Company 
by  the  first  of  November  next,  or  be  forever  excluded  from  any  right  in  the  purchase. 

"Voted,  That  any  three  of  the  Standing  Committee  here  have  authority  to  call  a  meeting 
of  the  Company  whenever  the  exigency  of  the  case  may  require  the  same. 

"  Voted,  That  a  tax  of  one  dollar  or  each  whole  share,  and  half  a  dollar  on  each  half-share, 
be  immediately  paid  to  the  Treasurer  of  this  Company,  or  to  any  of  the  Standing  Committee." 

Miner  states  that,  as  a  result  of  the  complaints  made  by  Justice  Mead 
to  the  State  authorities  at  Philadelphia,  Mead  and  Sheriff  Antes  of  Northum- 
berland County  were  cited  before  the  authorities  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  1785, 
and  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  was  summoned  to  appear  at  the  same  time  and 
place  as  a  witness.  At  Philadelphia,  August  1,  1785,  Mead  presented  the  fol- 
lowing memorial*  to  the  President  and  Supreme  Executive  Council: 

"Gentlemen:  The  address  and  Petition  of  the  subscriber,  a  Citizen,  a  Member  of  the  Society, 
and  servant  of  the  Commonwealth,  most  respectfully  sheweth: 

"That  his  singular  situation  is  such  that  in  the  fullest  Confidence  of  the  Benefit  and  Pro- 
tection of  the  Laws  of  the  State  he  has  legally  Possessed  himself  of  and  cultivated  his  Property 
under  the  Authority,  Title  and  Protection  of  your  Government.  Much  of  his  goods  is  taken 
from  him  by  Violence,  his  House  reduced  to  the  nature  of  a  Garrison  by  a  Lawless  Banditty. 
He  has  taken  Process  against  many  of  the  Offenders,  tho  to  no  purpose,  and  has  applyed  for  the 
Relief  and  support  of  Government — as  yet  without  success. 

"Therefore  your  Petitioner,  a  Member  of  the  Community  always  ready  to  contribute  his 
Proportion  towards  the  expense  of  Government  or  yield  Personal  service  when  required,  once 
more  Begs  your  immediate  Interposition  for  his  relief,  agreeable  to  the  Laws  of  the  Land;  or 
devise  such  other  Measures  as  in  your  Wisdom  may  be  thought  most  Proper  to  put  him  on  a 
footing  with  your  other  Citizens,  save  his  house  from  becoming  a  Sacrifise  to  Villins,  reimburse 
him  for  his  expenses  [in]  furnishing  entelligence,  sending  expresses,  &c. 

"And  your  Petitioner  as  in  Duty  bound  will  Pray.  [Signed]  "David  Mbad." 

On  the  return  of  Justice  Mead  to  Wilkes-Barre,  states  Miner,  "the  cannon* 
that  terrible  four-pounder,  was  paraded  before  his  house,  and  on  Monday, 
August  8th,  he  retired  with  his  men  from  the  valley,  leaving,  it  is  believed,  no 
Pennsylvania  claimant  on  the  Wyoming  lands."  Miner  further  states  that  a 
considerable  tract  of  land  in  what  is  now  Crawford  County,  Pennsylvania, 
was  allotted  to  Justice  Mead  "as  an  indemnity  for  his  losses  at  Wj^oming." 
On  September  22,  1785,  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  passed  an  Act,  providing, 
"in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  David  Mead,  Esq.,  was  requested  to  continue 
there  at  Wyoming  as  long  as  possible — by  which  means  he  was  subjected  to 
heavy  expenses  in  giving  information  to  the  Government,  and  in  other  matters 
— that  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  authorized 
to  draw  an  order  on  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  for  the  sum  of  £67,  3d.,  the  balance 
due  him." 

Immediately  on  the  return  of  Colonel  Franklin  to  Wyoming,  from  Hartford, 
some  days  after  the  close  of  the  meeting  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  he 
called  the  inhabitants  of  Wilkes-Barre  together  and  explained  to  them,  in  detail, 
what  had  been  done  at  Hartford.  Then  he  crossed  over  into  Kingston  Township, 
and  at  Forty  Fort  addressed  on  the  same  subject  a  gathering  of  Kingstonians. 
"Proceeding  to  Plymouth,"  says  Miner,  "the  settlers  were  there  called  together; 
from  thence  he  [Franklin]  crossed  over  to  Nanticoke,  or  Hanover,  and  thus 
journeying  from  town  to  town,  public  meetings  were  holden,  contemplated 
measures,  as  far  as  politic,  explained,  and  the  people  prepared  for  action.  Ad- 
venturers were  invited  to  enlist,  or  accept  half-share  rights,  on  the  terms  pro- 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  XVIII:  654. 


1477 

posed,  and  numbers  received  the  bounty,  Colonel  Franklin  being  engaged  several 
days  in  issuing  certificates." 

About  this  period,  or  probably  six  months  earlier,  a  number  of  men  who 
were  not  residents  of  the  Wyoming  region  acquired  "rights,"  or  shares,  in  The 
Susquehanna  Companj'.  These  men  were  unquestionably  land  speculators, 
and  under  their  "rights"  large  bodies  of  land  were  allotted  to  them  by  the  officials 
of  the  Company.  Chief  among  these  speculators  were  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton 
and  Dr.  Caleb  Benton  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  records  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  show  that  a  very  considerable 
number  of  half-share  certificates  were  issued  by  the  representatives  of  the  Com- 
pany— chiefl}^  b}^  Colonel  Franklin — in  the  Autumn  of  1785  and  during  a  number 
of  the  ensuing  months.  Many  certificates  were  issued  to  men  who  were  not  only 
on  the  ground,  but  had  been  living  in  Wyoming  for  several  years.  Not  a  few 
of  these  men  were  the  sons  or  brothers  of  some  of  the  earliest  land-owners  and 
settlers  under  The  Susquehanna  Company.  Half-share  certificates  were  issued, 
also,  to  numbers  of  people  who  were  induced  to  emigrate  from  New  England, 
New  York,  New  Jersey  and  elsewhere  and  settle  throughout  the  Wyoming 
region,   with  full  faith  in  the  validity  of  The  Susquehanna  Company's  title. 

The  following  copies  of  originals  indicate  the  several  forms  in  which  half- 
share  certificates  were  issued. 

(1)  "I  hereby  certify  that  Samuel  Gore  is  admitted  a  half-share  proprietor  in  the  Sus- 
quehanna Purchase,  entitled  to  all  the  benefits  of  any  half-share  proprietor  in  said  Company, 
agreeable  to  a  vote  of  the  Company  at  their  meeting  held  at  Hartford  July  13th,  1785 — Pro\-ided 
that  he  remains  in  said  country  for  the  sijace  of  three  years,  and  conforms  himself  as  is  directed 

y  said  Resolve. 

"Given  under  my  hand  at  Wyoming  September  10th,  17S5. 

[Signed]     "John  Franklin 
Comtee." 

(2)  "Certificate  No.  109.  These,  witnesseth  that  Martin  Smith  of  Colchester  is  intitled 
to  one-half  right  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  on  condition  that  he  doth,  by  the  1st  of  October 
ne.\t,  repair  to  Wyoming,  submit  himself  to  the  orders  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  and  their 
Committee  at  that  place,  and  shall  remain  there  for  the  space  of  three  years  and  not  depart 
therefrom  without  the  permission  of  said  Committee — agreeable  to  a  vote  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company  at  their  meeting  at  Hartford  July  13th,  1785. 

"Windham,  August  25th,  17S6.  [Signed]     "S.-vmuel  Gray,  one  of  the  Committee." 

(3)  "No.  264.  These  certify  all  Persons  whom  it  may  concern,  that  Matthias  Holon- 
BACK  of  Wyoming,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  is  intitled  in  one  half  share  in  the  Susquehanna 
Purchase  of  Lands,  according  to  the  vote  of  said  Company  for  the  disposal  of  Rights  in  said 
Purchase,  at  their  meeting  held  at  Hartford  July  13th,  1785.    Certified 

[Signed]  "Sam'l  Gray,  Clerk." 

The  names  of  some  of  the  Wyoming  Yankees  and  a  few  of  the  outsiders 
to  whom  Colonel  Franklin  issued  half-share  certificates  in  September  and 
October,  1785,  and  early  in  1786,  were  as  follows:  Avery  Gore,  "Capt.  Stephen 
Tuttle  (of  Fishkill,  N.  Y.),"  Abram  Nesbitt,  Nathan  Carey  (certificate  "No.  1"), 
Waterman  Baldwin,  Ishmael  Bennet,  Jr.,  EHsha  jMatthewson,  Ira  Stephens, 
Eldad  Kellogg,  Richard  Halstead,  Isaac  Baldwin  ("of  Shohola"),  John  Swift, 
Justus  Gaylord,  Jr.,  Prince  Alden,  Jr.,  Moses  Roberts,  William  Ransom,  John 
Wooley,  Jehoiada  Johnson,  Jeremiah  Shaw,  Capt.  EHsha  Satterlee,  Nathaniel 
Allen  (of  Catskill,  Albany  County,  N.  Y.),  Jehiel  Franklin,  Nathan  Abbott, 
Thomas  Allington,  Daniel  Ayers,  Moses  Atherton,  "Capt.  Thomas  Baldwin 
(Sheshequin),"  Abner  Beach,  Alexander  Beach,  Joseph  Beach,  Oliver  Bigelow, 
Zebulon  Cady,  Thomas  Coleman,  Jepthah  Earl,  Joseph  Earl,  Daniel  Earl, 
Sr.,  Thomas  Heath,  John  Hurlbut,  "John  HoUenback  (of  Wyoming),"  "Capt. 


1478 

Benjamin  Jenkins,"  Joseph  Kenney,  "Capt.  Peter  Loop,  Columbia  County, 
N.  Y.,"  John  Platner,  Enos  Tubbs,  Joshua  Van  Fleet  and  William  Williams,  Jr. 

"Half-share  rights  were  issued  in  great  numbers",  declares  Governor  Hoyt 
in  his  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships,"  "and  new  faces — strangers 
to  the  'old  settlers' — began  swarming  into  the  valley.  The  old-time  residents 
had  no  sympathy  with  all  this.  They  knew  it  prolonged  the  unhappy  situation, 
and  they  deprecated  its  effects.  *  *  *  The  half-share  men  and  the  old 
settlers  (with  some  exceptions)  formed  two  distinct  parties,  and  were  as  much 
opposed  to  each  other  as  to  the  Pennsylvanians. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that  in  the  course  of  a  short  time  the  grantees,  or 
holders,  of  the  half-share  certificates  issued  by  the  representatives  of  The  Sus- 
quehanna Company  under  the  resolution  of  July  13,  1785,  began  to  be  character- 
ized by  the  Pennsylvania  land-claimers  and  their  friends  as  "Half-share  Men," 
"Wild  Boys"  and  "Wild  Yankees." 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

GENERAL  ETHAN  ALLEN  ESPOUSES  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  CONNECTICUT  SET- 
TLERS  AND    COMES  TO  WILKES-BARRE— UNWARRANTED    PROCEEDINGS 
OF    THE    SUSQUEHANNA    COMPANY  —  WYOMING,    WITHOUT    THE 
BENEFITS  OF  LAW,  ESTABLISHES  AN   EXPERIMENT  IN  SELF 
GOVERNMENT— A  NEW  STATE  PROPOSED  BY  ALLEN  AND 
KINDRED  SPIRITS— THE  SETTLERS  DIVIDE  ON  THE 
ADVISABILITY  OF  THIS  SCHEME— MANY  SET- 
TLERS SUBSCRIBE  TO   ERECTION   OF  A 
NEW   COUNTY—  PENNSYLVANIA 
AROUSED. 


"So  here,  beneath  this  old  gray  stone. 
Lies  hid  the  light  that  brightest  shone 
Upon  our  green  clad  mountains,  when 
Were  'tried  the  souls'  of  patriot  men. 
Beneath  this  soil,  from  tyrants  won, 
Repose  the  ashes  of  her  son. 

The  hero  of  her  day  of  gloom, 
Who  made  the  land  (a  dreary  waste 
While  under  Slavery's  minions  placed) 

Like  Eden's  garden  bloom. 

Sir  Guy'*  said  tomb  would  never  hold 
A  chief  so  restless  and  so  bold 

As  thou  full  oft  didst  prove  thyself! 
That  thou  wouldst  make  its  cerements  start 
By  some  infernal  Yankee  art, 

And  spurn  the  bonds  of  Death  himself." 


Rufus  W.  Griswold  (1815-1857), 
grave  of  Allen  in  1840. 


editor  and  author  of  note,  wrote  the  above  lines  on  visiting  the 


Immediately  upon  the  adjournment  of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  in 
July,  1785,  a  number  of  its  most  radical  members,  particularly  those  who  had 
only  recently  become  shareholders  in  the  Company,  conceived  the  idea  of  calling 

*Sir  Guy  Carleton 


1480 


upon  Gen.  Ethen  Allen,*  of  Vermont,  to  aid  them  in  their  contest  against  Penn- 
sylvania. General  Allen  had  been  very  active  in  organizing  the  State  of  Vermont, 
and  at  that  period  was  laboring  with  others  of  his  fellow  citizens  to  have  Ver- 
mont admitted  to  the  Union  of  States,  notwithstanding  the  strenuous  oppo- 
sition of  the  State  of  New  York.  In  the  latter  part  of 
July,  1785,  therefore,  a  committee  of  Susquehanna 
proprietors  repaired  to  Bennington,  Vermont,  where 
they  interviewed  General  Allen  on  the  subject  of  Wyo- 
ming affairs.  In  consequence,  under  the  date  of  August 
15,  1785,  at  Bennington,  General  Allen  wrote  to  Dr. 
William  Samuel  Johnson  (see  note,  page  478,  Vol.  I) 
at  Stratford,  Connecticut — he  being  at  that  time  a 
Delegate  from  Connecticut  in  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, and  also  one  of  the  regularly  appointed  agents 
and  legal  advisers  of  the  Susquehanna  Company.  The 
original  letter  of  General  Allen  is  preserved  among  the 
"Dr.  William  Samuel  Johnson  Papers"  in  the  collections 
of  The  Connecticut  Historical  Societj',  and  it  reads  as 
follows : 

"Sir — I  have  agreed  with  the  Committee  of  the  Sisquehanna 
Proprietors  to  spedily  repair  to  Wyoming  with  a  small  detachment 
of  green  Mountain  Boys  to  vindicate  (if  it  appears  to  me  practicable) 
the  right  of  soil  of  those  proprietors  to  that  teritory  whatever  may 
be  the  legal  decision  relative  to  the  jurisdiction,  and  shall  be  very 
glad  of  your  intelligence  Concerning  the  interested  connection  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  as  such  to  defeat  the  title  of  the  said  proprie- 
tors in  order  to  establish  their  own,  or  whether  the  quarrel  (amit- 
ting  the  late  decision  of  jurisdiction)  relative  to  the  property  of  those 
lands  does  not  lie  between  certain  gentlemen  of  wealth  and  influence 
in  that  State  and  the  said  proprietors  and  if  so,  how  far  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  State  will  interfere  in  the  quarrel,  or  whether  at  all. 
"Whether  at  the  public  expense  they  will  raise  troops  to  dis- 
possess the  Connecticut  settlers  and  if  not,  how  far  it  is  probable  that  the  land  jobbers  will  be 
able  to  carry  their  influence  in  the  legeslature  and  what  number  of  men  they  can  bring  into  the 
field  at  their  own  expence,  in  fine,  I  wish  to  know  your  Judgment  what  the  State  would  do 
respecting  the  raising  and  supporting  troops  to  dispossess  the  Connecticut  settlers,  and  if  they 
do  nothing  in  this  matter  at  the  public  expence  what  it  is  probable  that  the  land  scheming  Fra- 
ternity would  be  able  to  do  in  the  hostile  way  against  me. 

"My  policy  will  be  to  publish  propositions  of  amity  with  the  government  provided  the 
Legeslature  will  guarentee  to  the  settlers  and  proprietors  of  the  Sisquehannah  purchaise  their 
right  of  soil  to  the  disputed  teritory  which  I  know  they  will  not  do,  good  offers  is  apt  to  make 
friends  in  Pensylvenia  and  divide  them  and  give  me  a  better  plea  in  the  Eyes  of  the  world  to  op- 
pose the  exercise  of  their  oppresive  government  in  dispossessing  the  settlers  with  the  sword. 
"Mr.  Levi  Allen  will  receive  your  answer  which  I  wish  to  be  in  writing. 
"I  am  Sir  with  due  respect  your  humble  sert." 

General  Allen  was  unable  to  visit  Wyoming  as  soon  as  he  had  promised 
and  purposed.  Meanwhile,  however,  the  Executive,  or  Managing  Committee  of 
The  Susquehanna  Company  allotted  to  him  certain  shares,  or  rights,  in  the 
Susquehanna  Purchase.     The  fact  that  Allen  had  espoused  the  cause  of  the 

*Ethan  Allen,  who  has  been  styled  "the  Robin  Hood  of  Vermont",  and  who  was  certainly  one  of  the  conspic- 
uous and  noteworthy  historical  characters  of  the  period  of  the  American  Revolution,  was  the  eldest  child  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  {Baker)  Allen,  of  that  section  of  Connecticut  which,  in  1751,  was  erected  into  the  county  of  Litchfield, 

Joseph  Allen  (who  was  a  descendant  in  the  fourth  generation  of  Samuel  Alien  of  Braintree,  England.  1588.  who 
emigrated  to  New  England  in  1632)  wa';  mriT-ried  to  Mary  Baker,  at  Woodbury,  Connecticut,  March  11,  1736.  Im- 
mediately, or  very  soon  thereafter,  they  located  in  the  comparatively  new  town  of  Litchfield,  some  fourteen  or  fifteen 
miles  north  of  Woodbury.  The  town  of  Cornwall,  about  ten  miles  north-west  of  Litchfield,  was  incorporated  in  1740. 
and  in  that  year,  or  the  previous  year,  J^^eph  Allen  removed  thither  from  Litchfield  with  his  little  family,  and  contin- 
ued to  reside  there  imtil  his  death,  in   1755.     He  was  survived  by  his  wife,  six  sons  and  one  daughter. 

At  that  time  Levi  and  Ira  Allen,  brothers  of  Joseph,  were  residing  in  Salisbury  (incorporated  as  a  town  in  1741, 
in  the  northwest  corner  of  Connecticut,  in  what,  ten  years  later,  became  Litchfield  County),  and  at  some  time  between 
April,  1763.  and  December,  1771,  the  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary  Allen  removed  from  Cornwall  to  Salisbury — at 
which  time,  undoubtedly,  their  mother  was  dead. 

Joseph  Allen  was  an  original  member  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  his  name  appearing  in  the  list  of  grantees 
in  the  Indian  deed  of  1754,  printed  on  page  271,  Vol.  I.  The  right,  or  share,  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase  standing 
in  his  name  was  conveyed  by  his  children  to  Ephraira  Baker  of  Woodbury,  Connecticut,  January  13,  1772,  for  £15. 


Gen.  Ethan  Allen 

photo-reproduction  of  the 
marble  statue  erected  by  au- 
thority of  the  Legislature  of 
Vermont  in  Statuary  Hall,  in 
the  Capital,  at  Washington. 


1481 

The  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Baker)  AUen  were  as  follows:  (ij  Ethan,  (ii)  Heman,  (iii)  Heber.  (iv)  Levi, 
(v)  Zimri,  (vi)  Ira,  (vii)  Lucy.  Ethan,  having  once  boastingly  observed  of  himself,  his  brothers  and  sister,  that  "there 
were  never  seven  other  such  born  of  any  woman",  was  told:    "Mary  Magdalene  was  delivered  of  seven  just  like  them!" 

(ii)  Heman  Allen,  second  child  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Baker)  Allen,  was  bom  at  Cornwall,  Connecticut,  October 
15,  1740.  He  was  a  merchant  in  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  as  early  as  1772,  and  was  still  in  busine;s  there  when  the 
Revolutionary  War  broke  out.  He  commanded  a  company  in  the  regiment  of  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  in  their  ex- 
pedition to  Canada;  was  a  delegate  from  Rutland,  Vermont,  to  the  convention  of  January,  1777.  that  declared  for 
freedom,  and  in  August,  1777,  took  part  under  Gen.  John  Stark  in  the  battle  of  Bennington,  Vermont.  He  died  in 
May.  1778. 

liii)  Hcber  Allen  was  living  in  Salisbury.  Connecticut,  in  1772.  but  later  settled  in  Chittenden  County.  Vermont, 
He  had  a  son,  Heman.  who  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1795.  and  became  a  lawyer;  was  Chief  Judge  of 
the  courts  of  Chittenden  County  from  1811  to  1814,  and  from  1812  to  1817,  was  a  member  of  the  Vermont  State  Leg- 
islature. From  1823  to  1828  he  was  Minister  from  the  United  States  to  Chili.  He  died  at  Highgate,  Vermont,  April 
9,1852. 

(iv)  Lcui  Allen  was  living  in  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  as  early,  at  least,  as  January,  1772.  At  Salisbury,  in  Nov- 
ember, 1774,  he  advertised  in  certain  Connecticut  newspapers  that  be  had  "for  sale  a  tract  of  land  six  miles  square  on 
the  east  side  of  Lake  Champlain,  north  of  Onion  River  [in  the  Xew  Hampshire  Grants,  later  the  State  of  Vermont). 
Some  farmers  have  already  bought  tracts  thereon,  and  are  settled.  Ready  cash  given  for  .Susquehanna  Rights."  At 
that  time,  as  shown  by  the  records  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  Levi  AUen  was  the  owner,  by  purchase,  of  several 
right=;.  or  shares,  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase. 

(vi)  Ira  Allen  was  born  at  Cornwall.  Connecticut,  April  21,  1751.  As  early,  at  least,  as  January,  1772,  he  was 
living  at  Salisbury,  and  was  by  occupation  a  surveyor  of  lands.  In  1771  or  '72,  in  connection  with  his  brothers,  he 
took  up  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  "New  Hampshire  Grants",  and  in  November.  1774.  was  living  in  what  was  later 
Chittenden  County,  Vermont.  At  that  time  he  had  acquired  several  rights  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase.  In  the 
campaign  against  Canada  Ira  Allen  was  a  Lieutenant  in  the  regiment  commanded  by  Col.  Seth  Warner — a  native  of 
Roxbury,  Litchfield  County.  Connecticut,  where  he  died,  December  26,   1784.  aged  forty-two  years. 

On  the  formation,  in  1777,  of  the  new  State  of  Vermont,  Ira  Allen  became  a  member  of  its  Council  and  also  its 
Secretary.  He  served  as  Treasurer  of  \'ermont  for  nine  years,  and  was  Surveyor  General  for  several  years  previous 
to  and  including  1786.  He  was  also  a  Colonel,  and  later  Major  General,  in  the  State  militia.  In  1786.  in  connection 
with  his  brother  Levi,  he  wa^  commissioned  to  negotiate,  in  behalf  of  Vermont,  a  treaty  of  Commerce  with  Canada. 
In  November.  1790.  he  was  active  in  inducing  the  Legislature  of  the  State  to  charter  and  establish  the  University 
of  Vermont,  and  contributed  £4,000  to  the  fund  raised  for  the  support  of  the  institution.  His  official  relations  with 
Vermont  came  to  an  end  in  1790,  with  the  settlement  of  the  State's  long-standing  controversy  with  New  York. 

In  1 795  General  Allen  sailed  for  Europe  with  a  commission  from  the  Governor  of  Vermont  to  purchase  arms  for  the 
State.  He  went  to  France,  where  he  purchased  twenty-four  cannon  and  20.000  muskets.  Setting  sail  for  home  his  ship 
was  overhauled  by  a  British  cruiser,  and,  on  inspection  of  its  cargo,  was  seized  as  a  prize,  the  British  officers  claiming  that 
the  arms  were  intended  for  the  insurrectory  and  rebellious  Irish  who  at  that  period  were  turning  things  upside  down 
on  the  Emerald  Isle,  preliminary  to  the  '"rising  of  '98." 

Relative  to  the  seizure  of  General  Allen  and  his  property  we  are  able  to  print,  for  the  first  time  extracts  from  cer- 
tain letters  wTitten  in  1797  by  Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  then  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States.  Under  the  date 
of  April  1 ,  1797,  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  a  friend  as  follows:  "A  vessel  laden  with  arms  and  other  miHtary  appara- 
tus has  been  taken  and  carried  into  England,  with  Gen.  Ira  Allen  on  board.  It  was  said  that  these  arm?,  cannon,  &c.. 
were  for  the  State  of  Vermont.     General  Alien  has  applied  to  our  Minister  in  London  for  his  interference. 

L'nder  the  date  of  April  6th,  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Rufus  King,  United  States  Minister  to  England, 
in  part  as  follows:  "I  have  written  to  Vermont  for  information  about  the  arms  and  cannon  captured  in  the  Olive 
Branch  with  Gen.  Ira  Alien  and  carried  into  England.  *  *  *  There  appears  to  be  little  room  to  doubt  of  their  real 
destination — such  as  you  mention  to  be  suggested  in  London.  It  is  incredible  that  General  Allen  should  undertake 
to  purchase  20,000  muskets  and  twenty-four  brass  cannon,  with  their  appendages  for  the  militia  of  Vermont,  at  the 
request  of  Governor  Chittenden.  Nothing  but  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  would  warrant  the  measure  or  provide  the 
funds." 

Under  the  date  of  June  16th  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  Minister  King  concerning  Allen's  case  to  the  effect  that  the 
Senators  from  Vermont  had  informed  him  (Pickering)  that  Allen  had  been  embarrassed  in  his  pecuniary  affairs,  through 
land  speculations,  to  the  amount  of  about  5200,000.;  that  Governor  Chittenden  had  advised  him  to  speculate  in  arms, 
for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  militia  of  Vermont,  who.  by  the  law  of  the  State,  were  required  to  furnish  themselves 
with  arms,  or,  if  paupers,  that  their  respective  towns  should  supply  the  needed  arms;  that  General  Allen  having 
been  succesful  in  obtaining  arms  in  France  gave  notice  of  the  fact  to  Governor  Chittenden,  who  formally  commun- 
icated the  information  to  the  Vermont  Legislature;  that  these  arms  had  cost  General  Allen  twenty-five  livres  (S4.78) 
each,  but  that  he  would  readily  be  able  to  sell  them  to  the  militia  for  fifty  livres,  to  the  number  of  10.000  or  15.000 
in  Vermont,  and  the  residue  to  the  militia  of  neighboring  States. 

"The  Senators  from  Vermont  assure  me",  wrote  Pickering,  "that  the  most  friendly  intercourse  has  taken  place, 
and  is  increasing  between  the  inhabitants  of  Vermont  and  those  of  Canada;  and  nothing  would  be  more  impractic- 
able than  to  induce  the  former  to  aid  an  insurrection  against  the  British  Government  in  that  Province.  Upon  the 
whole,  it  is  the  real  wish  of  the  Executive  of  the  United  States  that  the  arms  and  military  stores  in  question  may  be 
restored  to  General  Allen,  to  be  brought  to  the  United  States,  where  the\  are  much  wanted."  (Seethe  "Pickering  Papers", 
XXXVII:  91.  103.  187— mentioned  on  page  29.  Vol.  I.) 

It  took  General  Allen  eight  years  in  the  English  Courts  to  prove  his  claim,  and  during  his  stay  in  Kurope 
(1795-1803J  he  wrote,  largely  from  memor>-,  his  "History  of  Vermont." 

Ira  Allen  has  been  compared  with  Alexander  Hamilton  in  likeness,  intellectual  precocity,  statesmanship,  personal 
honor,  imposing  presence  and  pleasing  address.  His  wife  was  Jerusha  Hayden  (bom  February  6,  1764),  daughter  of 
Maj.  Gen.  Roger  and  Jerusha  (Hayden)  Enos  of  Connecticut.  General  Allen  spent  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  in 
Philadelphia,  where  he  died  January  7,   1814.      His  wife  died  May   16,   1838. 

(i)  Ethan  Allen  was  bom  January  10,  1737.  William  Cothrem.  in  his  history  of  Woodbury,  Connecticut,  pub- 
lished a  considerable  number  of  years  ago,  says:  "Litchfield,  Cornwall  and  Salisbury  compete  for  the  honor  of  being 
the  birthplace  of  Ethan  Allen.  Woodbury,  however,  was  his  birthplace  without  much  doubt"  Most  of  the  American 
encyclopedias  and  biographical  dictionaries  however  give  Litchfield  as  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  the  inscription  on 
the  monument  erected  over  his  grave  in  Burlington,  Vermont,  states  that  he  was  bom  in  Litchfield.  In  the  New  York 
Tribune  of  September  17.  1911,  a  correspondent  said:  "In  June  of  this  year  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  birthplace  of  Ethan 
Allen,  in  the  beautiful  little  village  of  Litchfield.  Connecticut.  The  quaint  old  Colonial  house,  which  impressed  me 
very  much,     *     *     *     is  in  a  good  state  of  preser\-ation," 

As  shown  by  original  authentic  records,  which  the  present  writer  has  examined.  Ethan  Allen  and  other  members 
of  his  father's  family  were  living  at  Cornwall.  Connecticut,  in  March,  1763;  and  in  January.  1772,  they  were  all  living 
at  Salisbury,  Connecticut.  At  some  rime  between  1763  and  1770  or  '71  Ethan  and  two  or  three  of  his  brothers  took 
up  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  "New  Hampshire  Grants" — territory  lying  west  of  the  Connecticut  River,  north  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  bounded  on  its  western  limits  chiefly  by  Lake  Champlain,  and  which  in  1775,  was  given  the  name  of 
Vermont — from  the  lofty  and  richly-timbered  range  of  mountains,  knowm  as  the  Green  Mountains,  which  dominates 
that  region  of  country. 

Early  in  1772.  Ethan  Allen  removed  from  Salisbury  to  Bennington  in  the  south-western  comer  of  the  "New  Hamp- 
shire Grants"  and  not  far  from  the  Massachusetts  and  New  York  State  borders.  At  once  he  became  deeply  interested 
in  the  New  York-New  Hampshire  imbroglio. 

The  original  actual  settlers  on  the  land  covered  by  or  included  in  the  "New  Hampshire  Grants"  had  purchased 
their  holdings  from  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire,  and,  basing  their  reliance  upon  the  royal  charters  and  the  faith 
of  the  Government  of  the  Colony,  had  cultivated  the  land  and  made  improvements  thereon.  In  1764.  by  order  of 
the  British  Crown,  the  territory  in  question  was  annexed  to  New  York;  whereupon  certain  mercenar>-  and  litigious 
c'tizens  of  this  Province  procmed  from  the  authorities  of  the  Province  patents  covering  sundry  townships  that  had 


1482 

already  been  located    laid  out  and  named  by  the  New  Hampshire  grantees.     Many  vexatious  lawsuits  followed,  and 
oppressive  Crown  prosecutions— ' "designed  to  overawe,  abuse,  terrify  and  impoverish  the  settlers." 

Lossing  in  his  "Life  and  Times  of  Philip  Schuyler",  says:  "Orders  were  issued  [by  New  York  authorities]  for 
the  survey  and  sale  of  farms  in  the  possession  of  actual  settlers  [on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants],  who  had  bought  and 
paid  for  them  and.  in  many  instances,  had  made  great  progress  in  improvements.  In  this,  New  York  acted  not  only 
unjustly  but  very  unwisely.  This  oppression — ^for  oppression  it  was — was  a  fatal  mistake.  It  was  like  sowing  drag- 
on's teeth  to  see  them  produce  a  crop  of  full-armed  men.  The  settlers  were  disposed  to  be  quiet,  loyal  subjects  of  New 
York.  They  cared  not  who  was  their  political  master,  so  long  as  their  private  rights  were  respected.  But  this  act 
of  injustice  converted  them  into  rebellious  foes,  determined  and  defiant." 

The  settlers  being  practically  abandoned  by  New  Hampshire  after  the  adverse  decisions  of  the  courts  in  1770 
and  '71.  mutually  agreed  "to  take  every  requisite  lawful  and  effectual  method  to  defend"  their  property  and  to  oppose 
the  New  York  officers  in  their  attempts  to  arrest  the  rioters^ — so  characterized.  Ethan  Allen  advocated  armed  resis- 
tance whereupon  the  settlers  were  organized  into  a  regiment,  of  which  Allen  was  elected  Colonel,  and  which  became 
known  as  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys."  Seth  Warner,  previously  mentioned  in  this  note,  commanded  a  company 
in  this  regiment,  Allen,  in  hU  capacity  as  Colonel,  made  it  his  duty  to  defend  the  settlers  from  the  Sheriff  of  Albany 
County,  New  York,  who  came  repeatedly  with  from  300  to  700  men  to  dispossess  and  eject  the  settlers  from  the  ter- 
ritory, which  was  now  without  government,  except  that  administered  by  the  militia. 

At  Bennington,  under  the  date  of  June  5,  1772.  Allen,  Seth  Warner  and  other  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  addressed 
an  open  letter  to  Sir  William  Tryon,  who,  in  July.  1771 .  had  become  the  royal  Governor  of  the  Province  of  New  York 
(in  fact,  was  the  last  person  to  hold  that  office).  This  letter  was  published  in  the  Connecticut  Courant  of  July  14.  1772, 
and  in  other  newspapers  of  the  time.  The  writers  referred  to  the  fact  that  Governor  Tryon  had  refused  to  give  them 
a  safe  conduct  to  New  York,  in  order  to  lay  before  him  what  he  denominated  their  "illegal  business."  They  then  de- 
clared: 

"It  is  His  Majesty's  will  and  pleasure  that  we  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York,  and  we  not  only  now  assent 
to  if.  but  have  ever  done  the  same.  *  *  *  A  certain  number  of  designing  gentlemen  in  New  York  and  elsewhere 
procured  patents  under  the  great  seal  of  that  Province;  and  the  New  York  grantees  being  non-residents  brought 
sundry  writs  of  ejectment  against  the  New  Hampshire  grantees  and  actual  settlers  on  the  same  land,  covered  by  both 
patents  as  aforesaid.  *  *  *  We  would  acquaint  your  Excellency  that  since  our  misfortune  of  being  annexed  to  New 
York,  law  has  been  rather  used  as  a  tool  (than  a  rule  of  equity)  to  cheat  us  out  of  the  country  we  have  made  vastly 
valuable  by  our  labor.  *  *  *  The  alteration  of  jurisdiction,  in  1764,  could  not  affect  private  property,  *  *  * 
In  the  time  of  Sir  Henry  Moore's  administration  [as  royal  Governor  of  New  York,  1765-'69]  His  Majesty  was  pleased 
[in  1767]  to  lay  the  government  of  New  York  under  absolute  prohibition  not  to  grant  or  patent  any  of  the  lands  ante- 
cedently granted  under  the  great  seal  of  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire;  and,  furthermore,  forbade  the  Government 
to  disturb  or  molest  the  settlers.  *  *  *  Wg  are  informed  your  Excellency  has  lately  made  application  to  the 
Assembly  to  raise  an  armed  force  to  subdue  us.  We  apprehend  you  view  us  as  opposing  your  jurisdiction,  and  that 
the  late  violent  acts  by  us  done  were  in  rebellion  to  His  Majesty's  authority.  We  are  sure  we  can  convince  you  that 
this  is  not  so;  but  that  on  the  other  hand  Mr.  Duane,  Mr.  Kemp  and  their  associates  are  the  aggressors." 

Allen  was  declared  an  outlaw  by  New  York,  and  Governor  Tryon  offered  a  reward  of  £150  for  his  capture.  He 
evaded  arrest,  although  on  one  occasion  he  actually  rode  into  Albany,  alighted  at  the  principal  tavern,  where  he  was 
well  known,  and  called  for  and  drank  a  bowl  of  punch.  The  news  soon  spread  that  he  was  in  the  town,  and  a  throng 
of  people — ^including  the  Sheriff  of  Albany  County — gathered  at  the  tavern.  Allen,  wholly  unmoved,  finished  his 
punch,  remoimted  his  horse  and  safely  rode  away  with  a  parting  "Huzza  for  the  Green  Mountains!"  A  chronicler 
of  that  period  wrote:  "Those  who  were  disposed  to  arrest  him  drew  back  with  caution,  feeling  the  enterprise  would 
be  accompanied  with  much  danger." 

Allen  was  one  of  the  first  to  openly  espouse  the  cause  of  the  American  Colonists  against  Great  Britain,  and  at 
Sheffield,  in  the  south-western  comer  of  Massachusetts,  on  March  1,  1775  (only  a  few  days  before  the  occurrence  of 
the  events  narrated  on  page  820,  Vol.  II).  he  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Oliver  Wolcott  (see  page  284,  Vol.  I.)  at  Litchfield, 
Connecticut,  in  part  as  follows  "Provided  the  controversy  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  should  terminate 
in  a  war,  the  regiment  of  Green  Mountain  Boys  will,  I  dare  engage,  assist  their  American  brethren  in  the  capacity  of 
rangers."  (See  the  original  letter  among  the  unpublished  papers  of  the  Hon.  Oliver  Wolcott,  in  the  possessio.i  of  The 
Connecticut  Historical  Society.) 

Shortly  after  the  foregoing  letter  was  written,  John  Brown,  of  Pittsfield.  Massachusetts,  passing  through  the 
New  Hampshire  Grants  district,  on  his  way  to  Montreal,  wrote  to  Samuel  Adams  and  Joseph  Warren,  at  Boston, 
that,  "should  hostilities  be  committed  by  the  King's  troops,  the  people  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  would  seize 
the  fort  at  Ticonderoga"— in  the  south-eastern  comer  of  Essex  County,  New  York,  on  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Champ- 
lain,  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  George. 

As  noted  on  page  484.  Vol.  I..  Lieut.  Col.  (afterwards  Major  General)  Benedict  Arnold  proposed,  eight  days  after 
the  fight  at  Lexington,  that  a  force  of  Americans  should  be  sent  northward  for  the  capture  of  Fort  Ticonderoga.  and 
early  in  May,  he  went  forward  as  the  leader  of  such  a  force — a  small  body  of  Massachusetts  Militia.  Ethan  Allen, 
in  a  personal  "Narrative"  which  he  wrote  and  published  in  1779,  stated,  with  reference  to  the  expedition  against 
Fort  Ticonderoga:  "While  I  was  wishing  for  an  opportunity  to  signalize  myself  in  behalf  of  my  country,  directions 
were  privately  sent  to  me  from  the  then  Colony  of  Connecticut  to  raise  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  and  if  possible, 
with  them  to  surprise  and  take  the  fortress  of  Ticonderoga." 

About  the  3rd  or  4th  of  May,  1 775.  Colonel  Allen  and  some  230  men  set  out  from  Bennington.  On  May  7th.  they 
reached  Castleton,  where  they  were  joined  by  Arnold  and  his  men.  The  combined  force,  with  Allen  as  chief  in  command 
then  moved  forward,  and  "by  a  forced  march  arrived  at  the  shore  of  the  lake  opposite  Ticonderoga  on  the  evening 
of  May  9."  With  difficulty  some  boats  were  procured,  and  with  eighty-three  men,  Allen  crossed  over  to  the  western 
shore  of  the  lake.  Later  some  sixty  or  seventy  more  of  his  force  crossed  over  and  joined  him.  As  the  night  was  wan- 
ing, it  was  decided  to  attack  the  fort  without  waiting  for  more  men;  whereupon  Allen,  at  the  head  of  his  men,  with 
Arnold  by  his  side,  boldly  advanced  to  the  sally  port.  The  surprised  sentinel  posted  there  challenged  the  party,  and 
then  attempted  to  fire  his  piece;  but  there  was  only  a  flash  in  the  pan,  and  so  he  turned  and  ran  to  the  parade-ground 
within  the  fortification,  followed  by  Allen  and  his  men,  who,  raising  an  Indian  war-whoop,  formed  in  a  hollow  square 
so  as  to  command  the  entrances  to  the  barracks. 

"I  then  repaired,"  stated  Allen  in  his  "Narrative"  previously  mentioned,  "to  the  room  occupied  by  the  comman- 
dant. Captain  De  La  Place,  and  ordered  him  to  come  out.  He  came  to  the  door  with  his  breeches  in  his  hand,  when 
I  ordered  him  to  deliver  up  the  fort  instantly.  He  asked  me  by  what  authority  I  demanded  it.  I  answered  him,  'In 
the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress!'  *  *  *  Jt  was  then  the  gray  of  the  morning  of 
May  10."     *     *     * 

When  Allen  climbed  the  stairs  to  the  second  story  of  the  west  barracks,  and  walked  along  the  balcony  to  the  door 
of  the  commandant's  bed-room,  he  was  accompanied  by  three  of  his  trusty  men.  They  declared,  years  later,  that  Allen 
did  not  use  at  that  time  the  language  which  he  said  he  used,  and  with  which  he  has  been  credited.  They  claimed 
that  what  he  did  do,  and  what  he  did  say.  was  this:  He  beat  upon  the  door  with  the  hilt  of  his  sword,  and  thundered 
forth.  "Surrender  in  the  name  of  the  Continental  Congress;  and  if  you  don't  by  God  I'll  make  vou." 

At  Ticonderoga,  under  the  date  of  May  11,  1775,  Allen,  describing  himself  as  "Colonel  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys."  wrote  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  at  Albany,  New  York,  in  part  as  follows:  "I  have  the  inexpressable  satis- 
faction to  acquaint  you  that  at  day-break  of  the  1 0th  insi..  pursuant  to  my  directions  from  sundfy  leading  gentlemen 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  Connecticut,  I  took  the  fortress  of  Ticonderoga  with  about  130  Green  Mountain  Boys. 
Colonel  Easton.  with  about  forty-seven  valiant  soldiers,  distinguished  themselves  in  the  action.  Col.  [Benedict] 
Arnold  entered  the  fortress  with  me,  side  by  side.  The  guard  was  so  surprised  that,  contrary  to  expectation,  they 
did  not  fire  on  us,  but  fled  with  precipitancy.  We  immediately  entered  the  fortress  and  took  the  garrison  prisoners — 
one  Captain,  one  Lieutenant  and  forty-two  men." 

It  is  said  that  when  Fort  Ticonderoga  was  taken  there  was  captured  the  first  British  flag  that  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Americans  in  the  Revolutionary  contest. 

The  Second  Continental  Congress  convened  at  Philadelphia  on  the  same  day  that  Allen  captured  Ticonderoga, 
and  when  news  of  this  event  reached  Philadelphia,  the  Congress  passed  a  formal  vote  of  thanks  to  Allen  for  his  exploit. 


1483 

An  amusing  but  authentic  anecdote  has  been  told  with  respect  to  Allen  and  the  fall  of  Ticonderoga.  Special 
thanksgiving  services  were  being  held  at  Bennington,  at  which  the  officiating  clergymen  ascribed  to  Heaven  all  the 
praise  for  the  cheering  success  of  the  American  arms  at  Ticonderoga.  Allen,  who  was  present  in  the  congregation! 
listened  to  this  line  of  talk  until  it  became  unbearable  to  him,  and  then  he  arose  in  his  pew  and  roared;  "Parson  Dewey, 
Parson  Dewey!     Would  you  mind  mentioning  that  Ethan  Allen  was  there?" 

In  June,  1775,  Congress  resolved  upon  the  invasion  of  Canada,  and  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler  was  ordered  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  expedition.  His  chief  subordinate  officer  was  Gen,  Richard  Montgomery  (mentioned  on  page  1929;  , 
and  upon  him  the  command  shortly  fell,  Schuyler  being  disabled  by  illness.  While  the  expedition  was  being  organized 
Ethan  Allen  was  at  Ticonderoga.  In  his  "Narrative"  he  states:  "The  generals  [Schuyler  and  Montgomery],  with 
most  of  the  field  officers,  requested  me  to  attend  them  in  the  expedition.  Though  at  that  time  I  had  no  commission 
from  Congress,  yet  they  engaged  me  that  I  should  be  considered  as  an  officer  the  same  as  though  I  had  a  commission, 
and  1  advanced  with  the  army  to  Isle-aux-Nobc." 

From  this  point,  on  September  10,  1775,  the  expedition  advanced  to  and  invested  St.  John's,  the  first  military 
post  within  the  Canadian  border.  About  the  same  time  Allen  was  requested  by  the  American  officers  to  venture 
out  among  the  Canadians  in  order  to  observe  "their  disposition,  designs  and  movements."  This  he  did,  and.  as  shown 
by  a  letter  from  Samuel  Mott  to  Governor  Trumbull  of  Connecticut  (written  October  6.  1775,  at  "the  camp  before  St. 
John's";,  was  "very  serviceable  in  bringing  in  the  Canadians  and  Indians;  but,  being  encouraged  by  others,  he,  con- 
trary to  his  own  judgment,  crossed  the  river  below  Montreal  with  a  party  of  New  Englanders  and  Canadians,  intending 
to  augment  the  number  of  Canadians  and  get  possession  of  Montreal." 

According  to  Allen's  "Narrative"  this  raiding  party  consisted  of  about  1 10  men,  "near  80  of  whom  were  Canadians." 
In  the  morning  of  September  24,  they  crossed  over  the  St.  LawTence  from  Longueuil.  a  village  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river,  some  two  or  three  miles  from  Montreal,  on  the  left  bank.  Brig.  General  Prescott,  getting  news  of  Allen's  foray, 
gathered  together  a  force  of  nearly  500  men,  consisting  of  regular  troops  from  the  Montreal  garrison,  Canadians  and 
Indiana,  and  marched  forth  from  Montreal  to  intercept  the  invaders.  They  met  about  two  miles  from  the  town  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  when  a  smart  engagement  took  place,  in  which  Colonel  Allen  and  two  or  three  of  his  men 
were  taken  prisoners,  about  the  same  number  were  wounded,  while  the  rest  retreated.  Allen  was  immediately  put  in 
irons  and  thrown  into  the  Montreal  prison,  from  which  place,  on  September  25th.  he  wrote  to  General  Prescott,  saying: 
"I  expect  an  honorable  and  humane  treatment,"  It  is  related  that  Prescott  replied:  "You  shall  grace  a  halter  at 
Tybum.  in  England,  damn  you!"  Within  a  short  time  thereafter.  Allen  still  in  irons,  was  transferred  with  Major  Hazen, 
Captain  Turner  and  other  American  prisoners,  to  the  Gaspee,  an  armed  British  vessel  lying  in  the  St.  Lawrence. 

At  Philadelphia,  on  November  30,  1775,  the  Continental  Congress  having  been  "informed  that  Mr.  Ethan 
Allen,  who  was  taken  a  prisoner  near  Montreal,  is  [was]  confined  in  irons  on  board  a  vessel  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence 
ordered  that  General  Washington  be  directed  to  apply  to  General  Howe  on  this  matter,  and  desire  that  he  [Allen] 
may  be  exchanged."  In  the  meantime,  however.  Allen  had  been  conveyed  to  Quebec,  where,  on  November  9,  1775, 
he  was  transferred  to  the  British  ship  Adamant,  which,  a  few  days  later,  set  sail  for  England.  On  board  this  ship  as 
fellow  passengers  of  Allen  were  other  American  prisoners,  as  well  as  Joseph  Brant,  the  noted  Mohawk  Indian  chief 
(see  page  299.  Vol.  I),  and  other  Indians  of  prominence,  who  were  being  escorted  to  England  by  Col.  Guy  Johnson, 
the  Royal  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  the  northern  department  of  America. 

At  Cambridge.  Massachusetts,  under  the  date  of  December  18,  1775.  General  Washington  wrote  to  the  British 
General.  William  Howe,  in  part  as  follows:  "We  have  just  been  informed  of  a  circumstance  which,  were  it  not  so  well 
authenticated,  I  should  scarcely  think  credible.  It  is  that  Colonel  Allen,  who,  with  his  small  party,  was  defeated 
and  taken  prisoner  near  Montreal,  has  been  treated  without  regard  to  decency,  humanity  or  the  rules  of  war;  and  that 
he  has  been  thrown  into  irons,  and  suffers  all  the  hardships  inflicted  upon  common  felons.  *  *  *  Whatever  treat- 
ment Colonel  Allen  receives — whatever  fate  he  undergoes — such  exactly  shall  be  the  treatment  and  fate  of  Brig.  General 
Prescott  now  in  our  hands.  [Washington  had  been  informed  by  Generals  Schuyler  and  Montgomery  that  Prescott 
was  the  cause  of  Allen's  ignominous  treatment  and  sufifering]  The  law  of  retaliation  is  not  only  justifiable  in  the  eyes 
of  God  and  man,  but  absolutely  a  duty  which,  in  our  present  circumstances,  we  owe  to  our  relatives,  friends  and  fellow- 
citizens." 

The  Adamant  arrived  at  Falmouth,  in  Cornwall  (the  southernmost  County  of  England),  on  December  22,  1775 
and  the  American  prisoners  were  immediately  transferred  to  Pendennis  Castle,  one  of  the  defenses  of  the  seaport 
situated  on  a  rock    198  feet  above  the  town. 

At  London,  under  the  date  of  December  27,  1775,  Alexander  Wedderburn  (see  pages  441,  603  and  605,  Vol.  I), 
SoUcitor  General  of  England,  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Wilhara  Eden  (later  Lord  Auckland).  Under-Secretary  of  State,  ad- 
vising against  "Ethan  Allen  and  his  people"  being  kept  in  England,  The  original  of  this  letter  is  preserved  among 
the  "Auckland  MSS."  at  King's  College,  Cambridge,  and,  so  far  as  the  present  writer  is  aware,  has  never  been  printed 
— either  wholly  or  in  part — untU  now.     It  reads  in  part,  as  follows: 

"It  must  be  understood  that  Government  does  not  expect  to  execute  them.  *  *  *  i  V70uld  send  them  back: 
but  I  think  something  more  might  be  done  than  merely  to  return  thera  as  prisoners  to  America.  Allen,  by  the  account 
of  Kay  [WilUam  Kay,  Secret  IntelUgence  Agent  of  the  British  Government  at  Montreal],  took  up  arms  because  he 
was  dispossessed  of  land  he  had  settled  between  New  Hampshire  and  New  York,  in  consequence  of  an  order  of  Council 
settling  the  boundary  of  these  two  Provinces,  and  had  balanced  for  some  time  whether  to  have  recourse  to  the  rebels 
or  to  [Gen.  Guy]  Carleton.  The  doubt  of  being  well  received  by  the  latter  determined  him  to  join  the  former,  and 
Kay  adds  that  he  is  a  bold,  active  fellow.     *     *     * 

"I  would,  then,  send  to  him  a  person  of  confidence  with  this  proposal:  That  his  case  had  been  favorably  represented 
to  Government,  that  the  injury  he  had  suffered  was  some  extenuation  for  his  crime,  and  that  it  arose  from  the 
abuse  of  an  order  of  Council  which  was  never  meant  to  dispossess  the  settlers  on  the  lands  in  debate  between  the  two 
Provinces.  If  he  has  a  mind  to  return  to  his  duty,  he  may  not  only  have  his  pardon  from  General  Howe,  but  a  company 
of  Rangers,  and,  in  the  event  if  he  behaves  well,  his  lands  restored, 

"On  these  terms  he  and  his  men  shall  be  sent  back  to  Boston,  at  liberty.  If  he  does  not  accept  them,  he  and 
they  must  be  disposed  of  as  the  law  directs.  If  he  behaves  well,  it  is  an  acquisition.  If  not,  there  is  still  an  advantage 
in  fin  i  ng  a  decent  reason  for  not  immediately  proceeding  against  him  as  a  rebel.  Some  of  the  people  who  came  over 
in  the  ship  with  him.  or  perhaps  Kay  himself,  might  easily  settle  this  bargain,  if  it  is  set  about  directly." 

At  London,  on  the  same  dav  that  the  foregoing  letter  was  written  and  delivered.  Lord  George  Germain.  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  Colonies,  wTOte'to  the  Admiralty  that  it  was  the  King's  pleasure  that  Allen  and  his  fellow  prisoners 
should  be  "forthwith  sent  to  Boston." 

On  December  29,  1775.  Col,  (later  Lieut.  General)  the  Earl  of  Cornwallis  and  Sir  Peter  Parker  .  Admiral  of  the 
Fleet,  with  three  British  war  vessels  (one  of  which  was  the  Bristol,  of  fifty  guns),  sailed  from  Portsmouth.  England, 
for  Cork.  Ireland,  to  convoy  from  that  part  to  America  certain  troop-ships.  One  of  these  war  vessels — the  Achron — 
put  in  at  Falmouth  and  took  on  board  Colonel  Allen  and  his  fellow-prisoners,  who.  on  January  5,  1776,  were  transferred 
to  His  Majesty's  Ship  Solebay:  about  which  time  the  leg-irons  and  handcuffs,  with  which  Allen  had  been  encumbered 
and  harra^sL-d  continuously  from  the  day  of  his  capture,  were  removed.  In  due  time  the  Solebay  and  her  consorts  an- 
chored in  the  harbor  of  Cork,  and  a  few  days  later  a  gentleman  in  Cork  writing  to  a  friend  in  America  said:  "When  Col. 
Ethan  Allen,  with  about  fifty  other  prisoners,  arrived  in  the  Solebay  two  gentlemen  went  on  bca.-d  to  inquire  into  their 
situation.  Allen's  treatment  on  the  Solebay  is  far  different  from  the  barbarous  and  cruel  usage  he  experienced  in  his 
passage  from  Quebec,     A  subscription  was  begun  this  morning  to  buy  clothes  and  necessaries  for  Allen." 

At  Salisbury.  Connecticut,  under  the  date  of  January  27,  1776,  Levi  Allen  (previously  mentioned)  wrote  to  Gen- 
eral Washington  as  follows:  "I  have  rode  some  100  miles  in  consequence  of  my  brother,  Ethan  Allen  (commonly  called 
Colonel  Allen),  being  taken  prisoner  near  Montreal.  *  *  *  i  have  some  thoughts  of  going  to  England  incognito 
after  my  brother.  *  *  *  Your  Excellency  may  think  at  first  thought  I  can  do  nothing  by  going  to  England.  I 
feel  as  if  I  could  do  a  great  deal  by  raising  a  mob  in  London,  bribing  the  jailor,  or  by  getting  into  some  servile  employ- 
ment with  the  jailor  and,  by  overfaithfulness,  make  myself  master  of  the  key!  Your  Excellency  must  know  Allen 
was  not  only  a  brother,  but  a  real  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother.  I  have  two  brothers  in  the  Cantinental 
army — one  a  Captain,  the  other  a  Lieutenant," 

Congress,  on  Tuly  22,  1776.  resolved  that  "the  several  commanders-in-chief  in  each  department  be  du-ected 
to  exchange  for  Col.  Ethan  Allen  any  officer  in  the  British  service,  of  or  under  the  rank  of  Colonel,  now  [then]  a  prisoner 
n  any  of  the. States." 


1484 

It  was  not  until  February  10,  1776,  that  the  war  vessels  and  troop-ships  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Parker 
set  sail  from  Cork.  Ethan  Allen  and  the  other  American  prisoners  were  on  board  one  of  the  vessels,  and  on  the  troop- 
ships were  seven  British  regiments  under  the  command  of  Comwallis.  Owing  to  bad  weather  the  fleet  did  not  reach 
the  shores  of  America  until  earlv  in  May,  when  the  vessels  came  to  anchor  at  Cape  Fear.  North  Carolina.  There 
Parker  and  Comwallis  learned  that  on  March  17,  1776,  the  British  troops  under  Howe  had  evacuated  Boston  and 
set  sail  for  Halifax.  Nova  Scotia.  Detained  at  Cape  Fear  until  June  28th,  the  troops  of  Comwallis  and  the  American 
prisoners  sailed  on  that  (i!ate  for  Hahfax.  Colonel  Allen  was  detained  on  shipboard  until  August  5th,  when  he  was 
transferred  to  the  Halifax  jail.  Within  the  next  few  days  he  wrote  two  communications  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  Connecticut  which  are  printed  in  "American  Archives",  fifth  series,  I:  860,  928.  In  the  following  October  the  As- 
sembly adopted  the  following  preamble  and  resolution: 

"It  being  represented  to  this  Assembly  that  Col.  Ethan  Allen,  together  with  about  eighteen  other  natives  or  in- 
habitants of  this  State,  having  been  captivated  in  the  service  of  this  [State]  and  the  United  States  of  America  by  a 
party  of  armed  forces  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain  near  Montreal.  *  *  *  have  suffered  great  hardships  during 
their  captivity,  and  are  now  confined  in  a  suffering  condition  promiscuously  in  a  common  jail  at  Halifax;  and  Mr. 
Levi  Allen  of  Salisbury  is  now  about  to  attempt  a  visit  to  his  brother  the  said  Ethan,  by  whom  a  supply  [of  money] 
may  be  transmitted  to  said  prisoners,  to  whom  considerable  wages  are  due.  Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  desired 
to  write  on  the  subject  to  General  Washington,  the  Continental  Congress,  or  the  commanding  officer  at  Boston,  re- 
questing such  seasonable  and  friendly  interposition  as  may  be  necessary  and  most  likely  to  procure  a  speedy  exchange 
of  said  prisoners;  and  that  an  order  on  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  be  drawn  for  £120  to  Levi  Allen,  to  be  paid  to  the 
prisoners  on  account  of  their  wages." 

Meanwhile  all  sorts  of  inducements  were  being  offered  by  British  emissaries  to  the  leader  of  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys  to  get  him  to  desert  the  cause  of  the  Colonists,  but  he  stoutly  refused.  Finally,  early  in  1777,  he  was  transferred 
from  Halifax  to  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  was  incarcerated  in  the  city  prison  presided  over  by  the  infamous 
Provost  Marshal  Cunningham. 

This  prison  was  a  handsome  and  strongly  constructed  building,  was  known  for  some  years  as  the  "Debtors'  Gaol", 
and  later  as  the  "Provost  Prison".  Beneath  the  marble  floor  of  the  first  story  were  six  dark  and  damp  dungeons 
with  walls  three  feet  thick.  The  prison  itself  was  horrible,  but  it  had  a  greater  horror  in  these  dungeons,  crowded 
with  murderers  and  the  worst  criminals,  and  to  which  the  prisoners  in  the  stories  above  were  consigned  at  the  will 
of  the  Provost.  During  the  occupation  of  New  York  by  the  British,  this  prison — which  could  accommodate  about  800 
inmates — was  crowded  promiscuously  with  felons  of  the  worst  character,  prisoners  of  war,  and  others  who  had  incurred 
the  enmity  of  the  British  authorities.  Although  not  exposed  to  the  disease  and  pestilence  which  prevailed  in  the  holds 
of  the  prisonships  in  Wallabout  Bay.  at  Brooklyn,  nevertheless  the  inmates  of  "the  Provost"  are  said  to  have  suf- 
fered worse  things  from  the  insolence  and  unmixed  cruelty  of  their  tyrant,  Cunningham.  Among  some  of  the  instm- 
ments  of  torture  which  he  utilized  in  "breaking  the  wills  of  the  stubborn  Yankees"  were  searing  irons,  the  cat-o"-nine- 
lails,  and  a  "slow"  gallows.  The  northern  half  of  the  second  floor  of  the  prison  was  ironically  termed  "Congress  Hall" 
by  the  Provost,  because  he  herded  together  the  bulk  of  his  prisoners  in  this  part  of  the  building.  Here  they  were  said 
to  lie  so  close  together  on  the  floor  when  sleeping  that  when  one  wished  to  turn  over  he  had  to  awaken  all  the  others 
and  give  the  word  of  command  for  all  to  turn  at  once. 

The  Provost  Prison  stood  in  the  northern  part  of  what,  since  about  1803,  has  been  called  City  Hall  Park,  and  for 
a  considerable  number  of  years  prior  to  its  demolition  in  the  Spring  of  1903,  it  was  known  as  the  Hall  of  Records. 

In  November.  1777,  Colonel  Allen  was  released  from  "the  Provost"  on  parole,  and  allowed  the  liberty  of  the  town; 
but,  some  months  later,  it  being  alleged  that  he  had  attempted  to  break  his  parole,  he  was  again  placed  in  confinement. 
Finally,  on  May  8,  1778.  he  regained  his  liberty,  being  exchanged  for  Col.  Alexander  Campbell,  He  immediately 
crossed  over  to  EHzabethtown  Point.  New  Jersey  and,  to  use  his  own  words,  "in  a  transport  of  joy  set  his  foot  on  Liber- 
ty's ground."  As  he  advanced  across  the  State  he  everywhere  received  the  enthusiastic  acclamations  of  the  people. 
As  expeditiously  as  possible  he  made  his  way  to  Valley  Forge,  where  Washington  then  had  his  headquarters,  and  there 
he'met  Putnam,  Gates,  La  Fayette  and  other  general  officers.  Congress  was  then  in  session  at  York,  Pennsylvania, 
distant  about  seventy  miles  from  Vallev  Forge,  and  as  soon  as  the  news  of  Allen's  release  became  known  at  York,  the 
Congress  conferred  upon  him  the  rank  of  Brevet  Colonel.  Taking  leave  of  Washington,  Allen  set  out  for  Bennington, 
Vermont,  where  he  arrived  on  the  last  day  of  May,  1778,  some  days  subsequently  to  the  death  of  his  brother  Heman. 
His  unexpected  and  unheralded  appearance  there  was  greeted  with  joy  mingled  with  surprise,  for  by  his  old  friends 
and  followers,  he  had  been  given  up  as  dead. 

At  Philadelphia,  in  1806,  the  following  verses  were  printed  in  The  Portfolio,  referring  in  part  to_  Ethan  Allen. 
and  being  based  on  the  story  that,  while  he  was  confined  by  the  British,  he  one  day,  in  a  fit  of  rage,  bit  off  the  head 

"Whose  were  those  brave  and  warlike  sons, 
Who  at  the  field  of  Bennington 
The  vict'ry  of  the  battle  won? 

Green  Mountains'! 
When  Britons  did  our  land  assail, 
Our  brethren  snatch'd  and  put  to  jail, 
Whose  son,  in  rage,  bit  off  a  nail? 

Green  Mountains'! 

Having  soon  recovered  his  health,  which  had  been  somewhat  shattered  by  his  long  imprisonment.  Allen  began 
to  renew  his  opposition  to  the  jurisdiction  and  authority  which  the  State  of  New  York  was  endeavoring  to  exercise 
over  Vermont.  In  August,  1778.  some  of  his  friends  in  Congress  endeavored  to  have  issued  to  him  a  commission  as 
Colonel  in  the  Continental  establishment,  but  their  effort,  were  defeated.  Relative  to  this  matter  Gouvemeur  Morris, 
at  that  time  a  Delegate  in  the  Congress  from  New  York,  wrote  from  Philadelphia  under  the  date  of  September  27, 
1778,  to  Governor  George  Clinton  of  New  York,  in  part  as  follows:  "Application  was  made  for  a  commission  of  Colonel 
to  Ethan  Allen,  which  I  opposed.  When  he  was  redeemed  [from  captivity]  I  moved  a  brevet  rank  for  him,  which  was 
granted,  and  he  would  certainly  have  had  a  commission  [of  Colonel]  if  I  had  not  leamt  that  he  hath  lately  interfered 
in  opposition  to  the  authority  of  the  State  of  New  York."     (See  the  "Public  Papers  of  George  Clinton",  IV:  100.) 

At  Dresden,  (near  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Champlain)  New  York,  under  the  date  of  November  27,  1778,  Ira  Allen 
previously  mentioned)  issued  a  printed  address  "to  the  inhabitants  of  the  State  of  Vermont",  in  which  he  set  forth 
reasons  and  arguments  for  the  establishing  of  Vermont  as  an  independent  Commonwealth.  At  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  under  the  date  of  December  17,  1778,  Governor  Clinton  forwarded  a  copy  of  Allen's  "Address"  to  the  Delegates 
from  New  York  in  Congress,  and  wrote  concerning  the  same  as  follows:  *  *  *  "The  enclosed  publication  of  Ira 
Allen.  Treasurer  of  the  pretended  State  of  Vermont.  Copies  of  it  are  now  circulating  through  the  towns  on  the  [New 
Hampshire]  Grants.  This  paper  is  calculated  to  incourage  the  inhabitants  in  then:  revolt  from  this  State  and  to  persist 
in  their  plan  of  forming  a  separate  Government." 

About  this  time  the  Legislature  of  Vermont  appointed,  and  the  Governor  commissioned,  Ethan  Allen  as  Brigadier 
General  of  the  militia  of  Vermont.  In  this  capacity  Allen  redoubled  his  activities  with  respect  to  the  controversy 
with  New  York,  and  in  the  Spring  of  1779,  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force  of  armed  men,  made  a  raid  across  the 
Green  Mountains  into  the  south-eastern  end  of  Vermont.  The  following  letter  (see  the  "Public  Papers  of  George 
Clinton",  IV:  846).  written  at  Brattleboro.  Vermont.  May  25.  1779.  by  the  local  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  and  for- 
warded to  Governor  Clinton  of  New  York,  gives  a  partial  account  of  this  raid. 

"Being  now  met  for  the  purpose  of  opposing  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  we  take  this  opportunity 
to  inform  your  Excellency  that  Col.  Ethan  Allen,  with  a  number  of  Green  Mountain  Boys,  made  his  appearance  in 
this  county  yesterday  well  armed  and  equipped,  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  this  County 
to  a  submission  to  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  and  made  prisoners  of  Colonel  Patterson.  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Sergeant,  and  all  the  militia  officers  except  one  in  Brattleboro.  They  have  also  taken  the  militia  officers  in  Putney 
and  Westminister,  with  others.  Colonel  Allen  declared  that  he  had  500  Green  Mountain  Boys  with  him.  We  are  not 
a  bl<  to  ascertain  the  number,  but  believe  there  is  not  quite  so  many  who  are  come  from  the  west  side  of  the  Mountains. 
T  hey  are  assisted  by  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  county.     WTiere  they  will  carry  the  prisoners  we  cannot  tell. 

"Colonel  Ul^n  treated  the  people  her  ewith  the  most  insulting  language;  assaulted  and  wounded  several  persons 
rith  his  sword ,  withou  t  the  least  provocat  on,  and  bids  defiance  to  the  State  of  New  York;    declares  they  will  establish 


1485 

their  State  by  the  sword,  and  will  fight  all  who  shall  attempt  to  oppose  them.  Nothing  but  the  reluctance  the  people 
here  have  to  the  shedding  of  human  blood  could  hinder  them  from  attempting  to  rescue  the  prisoners.  They  had  every 
insult  which  the  humane  mind  is  able  to  conceive  of  to  prompt  them  to  it.  Our  situation  is  truly  critical  and  distress- 
ing We  therefore  most  humbly  beseech  your  Excellency  to  take  the  most  speedy  and  effectual  measures  for  our 
relief-  otherwise  our  persons  and  properties  must  be  at  the  disposal  of  Ethan  AUen.  which  is  more  lo  he  dreaded  than 
Dealh.  wilh  all  its  TcrrorsV 

It  was  during  this  raid  into  south-eastern  Vermont  that  Allen,  with  about  100  of  his  "Boys",  arrived  at  the  small 
town  of  Guilford,  a  few  miles  from  Brattleboro.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  place  had  manifested  opposition  to 
Allen's  views  and  methods,  and  to  them  he  issued  the  following  unique  proclamation:  "I,  Ethan  AUen,  declare  that, 
unless  the  people  of  Guilford  peaceably  submit  to  the  authority  of  Vermont.  I  will  make  the  town  as  desolate  as  were 
the  Cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  by  GodI"     It  is  needless  to  say  that  submission  was  soon  promised. 

Under  the  date  of  June  7,  1779,  Governor  Clinton  of  New  York  wrote  to  General  Washington  in  part  as  follows: 
"It  is  with  infinite  regret  I  inform  your  E.\cellency  that  in  consequence  of  some  violent  outrages  lately  committed 
in  the  County  of  Cumberland  (later,  and  now,  the  County  of  Windham,  Vermont],  and  which  the  resolutions  of  Congress 
do  not  in  my  opinion  tend  to  remedy,  the  duty  I  owe  to  the  State  will  soon  constrain  me  to  quit  the  field  in  order 
to  convene  the  Legislature  [of  New  York]  and  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  vindicating  the  authority  of  this 
Government.  t  i^  i 

"1  had  flattered  myself  that  in  consequence  of  my  representation  (that  Ethan  Allen,  having  the  rank  of  Colonel 
under  Congress,  had,  with  his  associates,  seized  and  imprisoned  the  principal  civil  and  military  officers  of  this  State 
in  the  County  of  Cumberland) ,  the  justice  and  wisdom  of  Congress  would  have  adopted  such  measures  as  might  have 
prevented  this  State  from  the  cruel  necessity  that  it  will  probably  be  reduced  to  in  a  short  time,  of  opposing  force 
to  force.  *  *  *  I  have,  therefore,  to  request  that  your  Excellency  will  give  the  necessary  directions  for  returning 
within  the  State  the  six  brass  6-pounders,  together  with  their  apparatus,  which  the  State  lent  for  the  use  of  the  army 
in  1776." 

On  June  23.  1779,  the  Hon.  John  Witherspoon  and  Colonel  Samuel  John  Atlee  arrived  at  Bennington  as  mem- 
bers of  a  committee  sent  by  Congress  "for  the  express  purpose  of  endeavoring  to  bring  about  an  amicable  settlement 
of  the  differences  between  the  State  of  New  York  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  who  have  [had] 
formed  themselves  into  a  State  called  by  them  the  State  of  Vermont." 

At  Norwich,  Vermont,  under  the  date  of  July  13,  1779,  Ira  Allen,  in  a  clear  and  exhaustive  printed  address  of 
considerable  length,  presented  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  State  "Vermont's  Claim  to  Statehood.".  The  document 
(see  the  "Public  Papers  of  George  Clinton".  V:  132)  contained  the  following  paragraph:  "The  State  of  Vermont 
is  at  this  time  formidable  against  its  old  adversary.  New  York,  and  has  Uttle  or  nothing  to  fear  from  her  power  in  arms 
or  influence  at  Congress.  *  *  *  All  governmental  power  was  given  by  God  Himself  to  the  people;  therefore 
the  inhabitants  of  the  now  State  of  Vermont  did  associate  together  and  assume  to  themselves  that  inestimable  bles- 
ing  of  Heaven.  Civil  Government.  This  they  did  on  the  same  grand  original  basis,  or  great  rule  of  eternal  Right, 
on  which  the  United  States  of  America  revolted  from  Great  Britain.  The  inhabitants  of  Vermont,  for  more  than  ten 
years  last  past,  have  noblv  exerted  themselves  for  the  defence  of  their  Uberties  and  property,  and  in  the  present  Revo- 
lution did  most  heartily  join  their  brethren  for  the  joint  defence  of  the  hberties  and  property  of  the  Americans  in 
general." 

On  October  30,  1779,  the  General  Assembly  of  Vermont,  in  session  at  Manchester,  chose  General  Allen  and  four 
other  gentlemen,  as  "agents  in  behalf  of  the  freemen  of  the  State,  to  appear  at  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  in 
February,  1780,  authorized  and  empowered  to  vindicate  Vermont's  right  to  independence  and  to  settle  Articles  of 
Union  and  Confederation  in  behalf  of  Vermont  with  the  United  States." 

At  Bennington.  Vermont,  July  25,  1780,  Thomas  Chittenden,  Governor  of  the  State,  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Samuel 
Huntington  of  Windham,  Connecticut,  President  of  the  Continental  Congress,  denying  the  right  of  Congress  to  deter- 
mine the  claims  of  jurisdiction,  set  up  by  the  inhabitants  of  Vermont;  and  warning  Congress  that  the  State  would 
■•resist  by  force  of  arms,  and  hold  itself  at  liberty  lo  offer  or  accept  terms  for  the  cessation  of  hostilities  with  Great  Britain' 
without  the  approbation  of  any  other  man  or  body  of  men. 

"Inasmuch",  declared  Governor  Chittenden,  "as  neither  Congress  nor  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  which  they 
[the  Delegates  in  Congress]  represent  will  support  Vermont  in  her  independence,  but  devote  her  to  the  usurped  Govern- 
ment of  any  other  power,  she  has  not  the  most  distant  motives  to  continue  hostilities  with  Great  Britain  and  maintain 
an  important  frontier  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States,  and  for  no  other  reward  than  the  ungrateful  one  of  being 
enslaved  by  them."  Further  the  Governor  set  forth  the  services  of  Vermont,  and  argued  at  some  length  on  the  in- 
validity of  the  claims  of  Massachusetts.  New  Hampshire  and  New  York  to  the  territory  occupied  by  Vermont. 

Reference  is  made  hereinbefore  to  the  efforts  made,  or  suggested  to  be  made,  to  win  Ethan  Allen  over  to  the  side 
of  Great  Britain.  It  seemed  to  be  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  British  military  officers  that,  owing  to  the  dissensions 
existing  with  respect  to  jurisdiction  over  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  tempt  Allen 
and  his  adherents  to  desert  the  cause  of  the  Colonies  and  establish  Vermont  as  a  British  Province-  According  to  a 
"Report  on  Canadian  -Archives,"  issued  at  Ottawa,  in  1887,  by  the  Dominion  Government,  "negotiations  with  Vermont 
were  begun  [by  certain  British  authorities]  in  March.  1779,  and  in  the  course  of  that  year  Ethan  Allen  promised  Sir 
Henr\-  Clinton  [commander-m-chief  of  the  British  forces  in  North  America]  that  he  would  raise  a  body  of  4,000  men 
to  attack  the  Americans,  and  that  his  magazines  were  ready. 

"In  consequence  of  his  [Allen's]  nearer  vicinity,  CHnton  advised  Allen  to  fall  back  on  Canada  and  cooperate  with 
and  act  under  Sir  Frederick  Haldimand  [mentioned  in  the  note  on  page  963.  Vol  II].  Instructions  to  that  effect  had 
previously  been  received  by  the  latter  from  Lord  George  Germain  in  a  letter  dated  April  10th.  in  which  (referring  to  a 
letter  of  March  3rd  to  Clinton  authorizing  him  to  hold  out  encouragement  'to  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  they  styled 
Vermont,  to  induce  them  to  return  to  their  allegiance')  he  suggests  that  Haldimand's  situation  might  enable  him  to 
have  a  more  ready  access  to  them;  that  agents  were  to  be  employed,  and  that  he  (Haldimand)  and  Clinton  were  to 
act  in  concert.  From  the  first,  the  strongest  suspicions  were  entertained  by  these  two  officers  [Clinton  and  Haldimand] 
of  the  sincerity  of  the  Vermont  leaders — those  who  were  most  prominent  being  Governor  Chittenden,  Gen,  Ethan  Allen 
Col.  Ira  Allen  and  Colonel  Fay." 

At  the  City  of  New  York,  March  30,  1780,  Col.  Beverly  Robinson  (a  native  of  Virginia,  but  a  resident  of  New 
York,  who  had  raised  and  become  Colonel  of  a  regiment  of  Loyalists,  or  Tories,  was  prominent  in  diplomatic  efforts 
to  uphold  the  royal  cause,  and  was  closely  connected  with  the  treason  of  Benedict  Arnold)  sent  by  the  hands  of  a  con- 
fidential messengera  letter  to  Ethan  Allen,  the  substance  of  the  same  being  as  follows:  That  he  (Robinson)  had  been 
informed  that  Allen  and  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  Vermont  were  "opposed  to  the  wild  and  chimerical  scheme  of  the 
Americans  to  separate  from  Great  Britain  and  set  up  an  independent  State",  and  that  he  (Allen)  would  willingly  assist 
in  uniting  .\merica  to  Great  Britain.  That  if  he  (Robinson)  had  been  rightly  informed,  he  begged  that  Allen  would 
communicate  the  proposal  he  would  wish  to  make  to  the  British  commander-in-chief.  That  he  (Robinson)  could  make 
no  proposals  till  he  should  know  Allen's  sentiments;  but  he  thought  that,  by  taking  an  active  part  and  embodying 
the  inhabitants  of  \'ermont  in  favor  of  the  Crown — to  act  as  the  commander-in-chief  should  direct — Allen  might 
obtain  a  separate  Government,  and  the  men  raised  would  be  formed  into  regiments,  with  such  officers  as  Allen  would 
recommend,  to  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  other  Provincial  corps.  That,  being  an  -American  himself,  and  feeling 
for  the  distressed  condition  of  his  poor  countr\-.  he  had  ventured  to  write  to  .Allen,  and  he  hoped  that  Allen  would  be 
as  candid  as  he  had  been.  That  the  reason  for  the  long  continuance  of  the  war  was  that  those  who  wished  for  an  equit- 
able connection  with  Great  Britain  did  not  communicate  their  sentiments  to  each  other.  That,  should  these  hints 
be  disapproved  of  by  AUen.  he  hoped  no  insult  would  be  offered  to  the  bearer  of  his  (Robinson's)  letter  to  Allen. 

To  this  letter  Allen  made  no  answer,  whereupon,  at  New  York,  under  the  date  of  February  2,  1781,  Colonel  Rob- 
inson wrote  to  him  again,  to  this  effect:  BeUeving  from  what  he  had  heard  that  AUen  was  stUl  inclined  to  join  the 
Kmg's  cause  "he  [Robinson]  makes  another  trial,  especially  as  he  can  now  state  with  authority  that  Vermont  can  get 
the  terms  mentioned,  provided  the  people  take  a  decided  and  active  part  in  favor  of  Great  Britain." 

Meanwhile,  between  the  receipt  by  .\llen  of  this  letter  and  Robinson's  former  letter,  the  treason  of  Benedict  .Arnold 

had  been  uncovered  (in  September,  1780)  and  he  had  fled  to  the  British  Unes,  whUe  Major  Andre  had  been  hanged. 

At  Sunderland,  Vermont  under  the  date  of  March  9,   1781,  -AUen  forwarded  to  the  Hon.  Samuel     Huntington 

President  of  Congress,  the  two  letters  which  he  had  received  from  Colonel  Robinson  as  aforementioned,  accompanying 

them  by  a  communication  in  which  he  stated  that  he  desired  to  have  the  letters  laid  before  Congress.    He  declared 


1486 

hat  they  were  the  only  letters  he  had  received  from  Robinson,  and  that  to  them  no  answer  had  been  sent.  That  they 
had  been  laid  by  him  (Allen)  before  Governor  Chittenden,  and  others  of  the  principal  men  of  Vermont,  and  it  had 
been  thought  best  to  take  no  notice  of  Robinson's  propo:ial.  He  stated  that  he  believed  Congress  would  not  dispute 
his  (Allen's)  sincere  attachment  to  the  cause  of  his  country;  though  he  did  not  hesitate  to  say  he  was  fully  grounded 
in  the  opinion  that  the  Stale  of  Vermont  had  a  right  to  agree  on  a  cessation  of  hostilities  with  Great  Britain,  provided  the 
United  States  persisted  in  rejecting  her  (Vermont's)  application  for  a  union  with  them. 

<t  Fort  Niagara,  under  the  date  of  May  30.  1781,  Capt.  Walter  N.  Butler  (-ee  page  929,  Vol.  II)  wrote  to  the  British 
Adjutant  General  at  Quebec,  stating  that,  "should  Allen  and  his  Green  Mountain  Lads  return  to  their  duty",  he  would 
like  it  if  a  few  companies  of  "Butler's  Rangers  "  could  be  sent  to  join  them — if  it  would  be  for  the  good  of  the  service. 
At  Niagara,  on  July  2.  1781,  Captain  Butler  wrote  again  to  the  Adjutant  General  at  Quebec,  saying;  "A  large  number 
of  royalists  are  daily  going  to  join  Ethan  Allen." 

On  August  2,  1781,  Sir  Frederick  Haldimand,  at  Quebec,  writing  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  relative  to  the  condition 
of  affairs  in  Vermont,  said:  "If  this  [the  Revolutionary]  contest  should  eventually  point  to  a  favorable  termination 
for  Great  Britain,  Vermont  will  become  loyal  and  offer  assistance  we  shall  not  stand  in  need  of;  but  if,  unhappily 
the  contrary,  she  will  declare  for  Congress,  iileven  weeks  later,  on  October  19,  1781),  the  surrender  of  Lord  Comwallis 
at  Yorktown,  virtually  put  an  end  to  the  Revolutionary  War. 

In  October,  1782,  a  British  fpy.  writing  to  headquarters  at  Quebec  relative  to  "the  situation,  plans  and  feelings 
in  Vermont",  stated  that  a  change  in  conditions  and  sentiments  there  had  taken  place,  "created  by  the  capitulation 
of  Cornwallis";  that  the  Vermonters  dreaded  Washington,  who  was.  "under  the  curtain,  their  avowed  enemy".  Con- 
tinuing, the  writer  said:  "I  am  now  in  the  State  of  Vermont,  and  have  publicly  assumed  the  character  of  an  American 
officer.  In  private  I  have  let  my  name,  &c,,  be  known,  by  which  means  I  have  possessed  myself  of  the  political 
situation  of  this  Republic  [of  Vermont]." 

As  stated,  the  independence  of  Vermont  was  acknowledged  by  Great  Britain  in  September.  1783,  and  the  next 
year  New  York  abandoned  her  claims  to  the  "Green  Mountain  State."  Of  course,  with  the  actual  ending  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  and  the  establishment  of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  there  was  no 
longer  any  talk  among  the  persistent  Vermonters  with  respect  to  the  annexing  of  their  State  to  the  Dominion  of 
Canada.  All  the  energies  of  Allen  and  his  adherents  were  now  directed  towards  the  admission  of  Vermont  to  the 
Union  of  States. 

At  this  point  we  may  appropriately  introduce  the  following  paragraph  concerning  Allen,  extracted  from  one  of 
his  biographies:  "He  had  the  confidence  of  Washington,  and  whatever  lengths  he  went  in  the  way  of  deceiving  the  British 
with  promises  made  to  be  broken,  his  whole  life —  and  especially  his  refusals  to  be  bribed  by  the  British — ^fully  dis- 
prove any  taint  of  treason." 

At  Bennington,  Vermont,  in  1784,  there  was  published  an  8vo  book  of  477  pages  w^ritten  by  Ethan  Allen  and  bear- 
ing the  following  title:  "Reasonl  The  only  1  Oracle  of  Man.  |  Or  a  1  Compenduous  System  1  of  |  Natural  Religion. 
Alternately  Adorned  With  Conversations  |  of  a  variety  of  Doctranes  |  incompatible  to  it;  ]  Deduced  from  The  most 
exalted  j  ideas  Which  We  are  able  to  form  |  of  the  Divine  and  Human  Characters  |  and  from  the  |  Universe  in  General. 
By  Ethan  Allen,  Esqr,  ]  Bennington.  |  State  of  Vermont,  |  Published  by  Haswell  &  Russell,  |  M.  DCC.  LXXXIV." 
This  book  is  said  to  be.  according  to  competent  authority,  the  first  work  published  in  America  in  direct  oppos- 
ition to  the  Christian  religion  "  Copies  of  the  original  edition  of  the  book  are  now  scarce,  and  are  the  rarest  of  Allen's 
publications.  At  a  public  sale  in  1897  (at  Philadelphia)  a  copy  of  the  original  edition  sold  for  S16..  while  at  a  sale  in 
Boston,  in  1901.  three  copies  of  the  book  sold  for  SIO,  S28,  and  S20,  respectively, 

Allen  subsequently  prepared  an  essay  on  "The  Universal  Plenitude  of  Being,  and  On  the  Nature  and  Immortality 
of  the  Human  Soul."  which  he  intended  to  publish  as  an  appendix  to  his"Oracles",  in  order  to  correct  certain  of  his 
errors  in  that  work.  It  was  never  printed  by  him,  however,  but  about  1873  it  was  printed  in  Dawson's  Historical 
Magazine.  In  a  note  prefixed  to  it  the  editor  said  that  it  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  few  men  in  the  United  States  to 
have  been  more  seriously  misrepresented  as  a  man  and  citizen,  and  ^  regard  to  his  opinions  on  religious  subjects 
than  was  Ethan  Allen. 

About  1793,  Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut  (1750-1801).  having  read  Allen's  "Oracles,"  wrote 
the  following  poem: 

"Lo!    Allen  'scaped  from  British  jails. 

His  tushes  broke  by  biting  nails. 

Appears  in  Hyperborean  skies 

To  tell  the  world  the  Bible  lies. 

See  him,  on  green  hills  north  afar. 

Glow  like  a  self -enkindled  star; 

Prepar'd  (with  mob-collecting  club 

Black  from  the  forge  Beelzebub. 

And  grim  with  metaphysic  scowl. 

With  quill  just  plucked  from  wing  of  owl), 

As  Rage  and  Reason  rise  or  sink. 

To  shed  his  blood  or  shed  his  ink. 

Behold!  inspired  from  Vermont  dens, 

The  seer  of  Antichrist  descends 

To  feed  new  mobs  with  hell-born  manna 

In  Gentile  lands  of  Susquehanna. 

And  teach  the  Pennsylvania  Quaker 

High  blasphemies  again  t  hii  Maker 

Behold  him  move,  ye  stanch  divines! 

Hi^  tall  head  bristling  thro  the  pines. 

..■\II  front  he  seems.  like  wall  of  brass. 

And  bray^  tremendous  as  an  ass. 

One  hand  Is  clenched,  to  batter  noses. 

While  t'other  scrawls  'gain  t  Paul  and  Moes." 

Ethan  Allen  was  married  (fir.-t)  in  1762  to  Mary,  daughter  of  Cornelius  and  Abigail  (Jackson)  Brownson  of  Wood- 
bury. Connecticut,  who  bore  him  one  son  and  four  daughters,  and  died  about  1783.  He  was  married  (second)  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1784.  to  Mrs.  Frances  Buchanan,  who  bore  him  one  daughter  and  two  sons.  This  daughter  died  in  a  nunnery 
at  Montreal,  and  the  sons— Hannibal  and  Ethan  A.— became  officers  in  the  United  States  Naw,  and  died  at  Norfolk 
Virgmia. 

Ethan  Allen  died  February  12.  1789— a  little  less  than  three  years  after  his  pilgrimage  to  Wyoming  Valley  (as 
heremafter  related),  and  a  trifle  more  than  two  years  before  the  admission  of  Vermont  to  the  Union.  His  remains 
were  mterred  m  Winooski  Falls  Cemetery.  Buriington.  Vermont,  and  over  them  was  erected  a  simple  marble  slab 
bearmg  this  mscnption:  "Beneath  this  stone  lies  the  corporeal  part  of  Col.  Ethan  Allen,  while  his  spirit  has  returned 
to  his  God.  in  whom  he  believed  and  firmly  trusted," 

In  1873  Allen's  remains,  together  with  the  la-^t  fra.gment  of  his  old  gravestone  saved  from  the  ravages  of  relic 
hunters,  were  removed  to  Green  Mount  Cemeterv,  Burlington,  where  they  were  reinterred.  and  where,  by  authority 
of  the  Legislature  of  Vermont,  a  monument  of  Barre  granite  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  S3 .000.  To  the  shaft  of  the  mon- 
ument are  affixed  four  white  marble  tablets,  bearing  the  following  inscriptions:  (1)  "Vermont  to  Ethan  Allen  born 
m  Litchtiekl.  Connecticut,  10  January,  1737,  O.  S.  Died  in  Burlington,  Vermont.  12  February,  1789.  and  buried  near 
the  site  of  this  monument  "  (2)  "Wielding  the  Pen  as  well  as  the  Sword,  he  was  the  sagacious  and  intrepid  Defender 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  Ma-^ter  Spirit  in  the  arduous  struggle  which  resulted  in  the  Sovereignty  and  In- 
dependence of  this  State"  (3)  "The  Leader  of  the  Green  Mountain  Povs  in  the  Surprise  and  Capture  of  Ticonderoga 
which  he  demanded  m  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress."  (4)  "Taken  prisoner  in  a 
daring  attack  on  Montreal,  and  tran^^portcd  to  England,  he  disarmed  the  purpose  of  his  enemv  by'the  respect  which 
he  in^pu-ed  for  the  Rebellion  and  the  Rebel."  On  the  caD-til  of  the  shift,  upon  a  base  bearin  j  the  word  "Ticonderoga" 
stands  a  heroic  statue  of  Allen  in  Carrara  marble.  The  left  hand  of  the  figure  is  lifted  as  in  the  act  of  summoning 
the  commander  of  Ticonderoga  to  surrender.    The  right  hand  grasps  a  sword,  while  at  the  feet  of  the  figure  lies  a  mortar 


1487 

Wyoming  Yankees,  and  that  he  and  some  of  his  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  were 
soon  coming  to  Wyoming,  did  not  long  remain  a  secret  in  this  locality,  and  in 
consequence  the  active  opposition  of  the  Wyoming  Yankees  against  the  few  Pen- 
namites  who  still  remained  in  the  region  became  more  strenuous  and,  in  some 
instances,  extremely  violent. 

The  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  metat  Philadelphia,  Aug- 
ust 30,  1785.  President  John  Dickinson,  Charles  Biddle,  John  Boyd,  .Stephen 
Balliet  and  other  members  being  in  attendance.  A  petition  was  read  from  the 
magistracy  of  Northumberland  County,  stating  that,  "under  the  outrages  of  the 
people  known  by  the  name  of  the  Connecticut  claimants,  a  number  of  the  good 
citizens  have  been  put  into  great  fear  and  sulTering;"  and  praying  that  the  Govern- 
ment might  "take  such  speedy,  judicious  and  effectual  measures  as  may  at  once 
convince  the  deluded  and  lawless  of  the  power  of  the  State,  and  give  effectual 
and  permanent  security  and  protection  to  those  who  have  always  acknowledged 
its  jurisdiction  and  submitted  to  its  laws."  The  Council  ordered  that  this  peti- 
tion should  be  referred  to  the  Assembly. 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  September  3,  1785,  the  Hon.  John 
Bayard  wrote  as  follows*  to  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  at  Wilkes  Barr',  concerning 
the  prevailing  disorder. here  and  hereabouts. 

"Sir — I  am  greatly  distressed  and  disapointed  to  find  that  your  people  are  conducting 
matters  at  Wyoming  with  such  high  handed  violence  and  disorder  by  seising  the  Effects  and 
banishing  the  persons  of  all  those  claiming  under  Pennsylvania  at  the  very  time  that  We  are 
applying  to  Congress  to  determine  whether  your  Claims  shall  be  submitted  to  a  Federal  Court 
— Yea  or  Nay — this  I  am  sure  is  not  the  Way  to  secure  Success  in  the  Decision  &  you  must  be 
certain  will  Justly  irritate  this  Government,  The  Legislature  cannot  tamely  look  on  such  Insults 
&  suffer  them  to  continue  and  altho  they  are  extreemely  averse  to  Hostile  Measures,  Yet  I  think 
they  will  unanimously  and  at  every  hazard  support  the  Honor  &  Dignity  of  the  State  by  bring- 
ing to  condign  punishment  such  Lawless  &  disorderly  men. 

"Squire  Mead  informs  me  these  people  have  seised  all  His  Grain,  farming  utensils,  part 
of  his  Stock,  &c. — is  this  Conduct  sufferable  in  a  civihzed  Country?  &  will  it  not  sooner  or  later 
bring  down  deserved  Vengeance  on  the  Heads  of  the  perpetrators?  I  beseech  you  Sir  if  you 
have  any  Influence  with  those  people,  at  least  prevail  with  them  either  to  restore  the  property 
so  unjustly  taken  away  or  pay  a  reasonable  consideration  for  it — but  if  you  caimot  or  will  not 
interfere  I  would  advise  you  to  withdraw  from  those  desperate  Freebooters  &  be  not  a  partaker 
in  their  Wicked  proceedings. 

"I  cant  but  entertain  a  good  Opinion  of  you  both  from  your  former  Character  &  The 
assurances  you  gave  me  of  your  Determination  to  submit  to  &  support  the  Constitution  &  Laws 
of  this  State — &  I  shall  be  extreemly  sorry  to  have  any  Just  cause  to  alter  my  sentiments  on  this 
Head,  pray  let  me  have  a  line  from  you  touching  these  matters.  In  the  meantime,  I  am  Sir 
your  very  Hble.  Servt." 

As  noticed  in  the  foregoing  letter,  Mr.  Bayard  referred  to  the  question 
pending  before  Congress,  as  to  whether  or  not  the  claims  of  the  Connecticut 
settlers  in'  Wyoming  should  be  submitted  to  a  Federal  Court.  Apparently 
the  Pennsylvania  authorities  had  allowed  this  matter  to  rest  for  a  number  of 
months,  thereby  disregarding  the  advice  given  to  them  by  Mr.  Wilson,  one  of 
their  agents  and  counsel,  in  his  letter  of  February  26,  1785,  printed  on  page 
1461,  ante. 

The  records  of  Congress  show  that,  for  one  reason  and  another,  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Wyoming  controversy  was  not  formally  taken  up  by  Congress  for 
final  disposition  until  September,  1785,  when  Col.  John  Franklin,  Ebenezer 
Johnson,  Phineas  Peirce  and  Lord  Butler,  repaired  to  New  York  from  \Mlkes- 
Barre,  in  behalf  of  the  Wyoming  Yankees.  On  September  21st,  after  considerable 
discussion,  the  following  was  adopted  by  Congress  (see  "Journals  of  Congress," 

*The  original  letter  is  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  CeoloRical  Society. 


1488 

IV:  574) :  "Whereas,  the  petition  of  Zebulon  Butler  and  others,  claiming  private 
right  of  soil  under  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  doth  not  describe  with  sufficient  certainty 
the  tract  of  land  claimed  by  the  said  Zebulon  Butler  and  others,  nor  particu- 
larly name  the  private  adverse  claims  under  grants  from  the  Commonwealth 
of  Pennsylvania,  Resolved,  That  the  resolutions  of  Congress,  of  January  23, 
1784,  relative  to  the  claim  of  Zebulon  Butler  and  others,  be,  and  hereby  are, 
repealed." 

Colonel  Franklin  states  in  his  "Journal"  that  on  the  day  following  the 
adoption  of  this  resolution,  he  and  his  fellow  committeemen  presented  a  peti- 
tion to  the  Congress,  in  which  they  set  forth  their  desire  "to  know  the  grounds 
and  reasons  of  the  resolve  of  Congress  of  September  21st,  and  also  urged  that  the 
Wyoming  settlers  should  be  quieted  in  their  possessions  until  a  memorial  could 
be  brought  in  and  a  decision  had  thereon. 

This  petition  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  three  delegates,  who,  on 
September  28th,  reported  in  favor  of  the  petition,  declaring  that  "the  repeal  of 
the  resolution  of  Congress  was  fbunded  in  the  insufficiency  of  the  allegations 
and  defective  description  of  the  lands  in  controversy,  and  was  not  intended 
to  foreclose  the  proprietors — settlers  and  claimants  of  lands  at  and  near  Wyo- 
ming— from  the  appointment  of  a  Federal  Court  to  try  their  rights  of  soil, 
*  *  *  when  a  petition  shall  be  brought  describing  the  land  and  naming  the 
adverse  claimants  with  a  due  degree  of  certainty." 

This  report  was  not  approved  by  the  Congress,  and  on  September  30th 
and  again  on  October  3rd;  it  was  reconsidered,  but  in  each  instance  the  resolution 
to  approve  and  adopt  the  report  was  voted  down.  Colonel  Franklin  and  Messrs. 
Johnson  and  Peirce  remained  in  New  York  until  October  7,  1785,  endeavoring 
to  accomplish  the  objects  of  their  mission. 

At  Bennington,  Vermont,  under  the  date  of  October  27,  1785,  Ethan  Allen 
wrote  to  "Colonel  Butler  and  Mr.  Franklin  and  such  others  as  they  see  fit  to 
communicate  to,  at  Wyoming."  Some  time  subsequently,  a  copy  of  this  letter 
came  into  the  hands  of  Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  and  is  preserved  among  the 
"Pickering  Papers,"*  Vol.  LVII,  page  28.  The  letter  reads  as  follows,  (and  is 
now  published  for  the  first  time,  so  far  as  the  present  writer  is  aware.) 

"You  have  undoubtedly  previous  to  this  date,  been  informed  that  I  have  aspoused  your 
cause,  against  Pensylvauia.  I  purposed  in  August  last  to  have  made  a  visit  to  Wyoming,  and 
to  have  consulted  with  your  principle  men,  on  the  best  measures  of  defence,  but  urgent  business 
would  not  admit  it.  Extraordinaries  excepted,  I  purpose  to  make  a  tour  to  your  hostile  ground 
next  Spring. 

"My  father  was  an  original  proprietor  in  the  Sisquehannah  purchaise,  and  besides  that 
I  have  since  been  considerably  interested.  Furthermore  I  am  very  sensible,  that  our  cause  is 
just,  and  our  title  to  the  fee  of  the  land  indefeasible ;  add  to  this,  you  have  been  greatly  oppressed 
by  the  land  schemers  of  Pennsylvania,  more  so  than  any  district  of  country  in  English  America. 
It  is  my  opinion,  that  those  schemers  were  instrumental  in  bringing  the  common  enemy  against 
Wyomitig;  and  consequently  [guilty]  of  their  destruction.  Avaricious  men  make  interest  their 
God,  and  plot  against  the  lives  of  thousands  to  accomplish  their  mercenary  designs. 

"What  a  lawyer  may  suppose  to  be  law,  in  this  case,  I  will  not  determine,  but  I  think 
that  as  the  Connecticut  charter  which  expressely  covers  the  disputed  territory,  is  eighteen  years 
older  than  that  to  Sir  William  Penn ;  and  as  we  have  a  bona  fida  purchaise  from  the  Indian  or- 
iginal proprietors,  and  been  in  the  possession  of  it  twenty-five  years  last  past,  and  thro  the  late 
revolution  been  an  outpost  and  guard  to  Pennsylvania,  the  right  of  soil,  of  right,  belongs  to  The 
Susquehannah  Company.  If  this  is  not  a  sufficiently  authentic  &  legal  title,  it  is  in  vain  for 
mankind  ever  to  acquire  one  to  any  lands  whatever. 

"Probably  the  justice  of  our  claim  will  have  but  little  or  no  effect  on  our  haughty  antag- 
onists, who  seek  our  lands  and  labours,  it  may  nevertheless  inspire  us  to  defend  our  rights  with 

*See  page  29,  Vol.  I,  of  this  work. 


1489 

great  zeal  and  fortitude  and  serve  to  make  us  friends  abroade,  particularly  in  Congress,  &  justifie 
our  opposition,  even  to  blood. 

"I  hope  that  Congress  will  finally  adjudge  the  right  of  soil  to  the  Susquehannah  Company, 
but  whether  they  do  or  not,  it  is  good  policy  to  soliset  for  it,  and  in  the  meantime  crowd  your 
settlements,  add  to  your  numbers  and  strength,  procure  fire  arras  and  ammunition,  be  united 
among  yourselves.  I  hope  to  see  you  face  to  face  next  Spring,  nor  will  I  give  up  my  interest  to 
usurpers,  without  trying  it  out  by  force  of  arms;  if  we  have  not  fortitude  enough  to  face  danger 
in  a  good  cause,  we  are  cowards  indeed,  and  must  in  consequence  of  it  be  slaves,  and  our  pos- 
terity, to  Penemitish  land  thieves.  Liberty  &  Property,  or  Slavery  &  Poverty,  are  now  before 
us,  and  our  Wisdom  and  fortitude,  or  Timidity  and  folly,  must  terminate  the  matter. 

"I  am  gentlemen  your  friend  and  humble  servt." 

Colonel  Franklin,  referring  in  his  "Brief"  to  the  distribution  of  shares 
and  half-shares  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  in  pursuance  of  the  action  taken 
by  The  Susquehanna  Company,  at  its  meeting  on  July  13,  1785,  says:  "A  large 
number  of  new  settlers  were  accordingly  admitted.  In  the  month  of  November, 
[1785]  the  settlers  had  got  to  be  numerous.  A  meeting  was  called — about  400 
being  present.  A  regiment  was  formed  and  officers  were  appointed.  A  form  of 
government  was  also  established  by  the  authority  of  the  people,  to  remain  in 
force  until  law  should  be  established  on  constitutional  principles.  A  committee 
of  directors  was  also  appointed  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  settlement  agree- 
ably to  the  form  of  government  then  adopted.  Upwards  of  400  subscribed 
their  names  to  support  the  committee,  or  directors,  in  the  execution  of  the 
important  trust  reposed  in  them." 

The  town-meeting  thus  briefly  referred  to  by  Colonel  Franklin  was  held 
at  Forty  Fort,  in  Kingston  Township,  Tuesday,  November  15,  1785,  and  John 
Franklin  was  elected  Colonel,  and  John  Jenkins,  Jr.,  Major,  of  the  regiment 
which  was  formed  at  that  time.  So  far  as  now  known,  the  fullest  contemporary 
account  of  that  meeting  is  contained  in  a  letter  which  was  written  at  Wyoming, 
February  1,  1786,  and  was  published  in  several  Connecticut  newspapers.  It 
was  reprinted  in  The  Pennsylvania  Packet,  at  Philadelphia,  March  21,  1786, 
and  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  and  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  held  in  Kingston 
November  15,  1785,  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith  being  chosen  chairman,  the  following  regulations 
and  resolves  were  unanimously  agreed  upon  and  voted. 

"Whereas,  The  Connecticut  settlers  of  Wyoming  and  the  lands  adjacent  became  proprie- 
tors of  the  soil  from  an  original,  fair  and  hoyia  fide  purchase  of  the  natives,  and  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  then  Colony,  now  State  of  Connecticut,  which  claims — and  we  think  justly  claims — 
by  charter  grant  a  large  territory  of  the  western  lands,  of  which  these  settlements  are  a  part. 

"And  Whereas,  We  have  experienced  every  kind  of  calamity  from  the  blood  thirsty  sav- 
ages on  the  one  side,  and  the  more  cruel  Pennsylvania  land-jobbers  on  the  other;  from  destroying 
floods  and  a  mortal  pestilence;  and  in  addition  to  all  these,  from  the  time  the  jurisdiction  of  these 
settlements  was  Congressionally  decreed  in  favour  of  Pennsylvania,  we  have  ever  had  to  regret 
the  want  of  Government  and  the  fruits  of  anarchy.  The  Legislature  of  that  State — by  adhering 
to  wicked  and  false  representations  against  us — have  withheld  from  us  the  rights  of  free  citizens 
and  the  benefits  of  civil  government  and  participation  of  their  laws  on  constitutional  principles, 
though  solemnly  plighted  to  us  by  a  resolve  of  the  legislative  body  of  February  20,  1783.  That 
troops  have  been  raised  and  quartered  among  us  in  time  of  peace.  That  they  have  been  suffered, 
without  constraint,  to  assist  the  land-jobbers  of  the  State  in  driving  us  from  our  justly  acquired 
habitations  and  property-^all  which  they  affected  in  a  most  cruel  and  barbarous  manner,  with- 
out any  apparent  discrimination  of  health,  age  or  sex,  as  by  sufficient  testimony  can  be  abun- 
dantly proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  impartial  world. 

"And  Whereas,  The  depravity  of  mankind  renders  government  necessar\'  to  the  end  that 
each  member  of  society  may  peaceably  possess,  enjoy  and  be  protected  in  his  life,  liberty  and  prop- 
erty— so  far  forth  as  he  shall  be  found  not  to  encroach  upon  the  similar  blessings  which  belong 
equally  to  others. 

Therefore,  Resolved,  That,  in  order  to  prevent  as  much  as  possible  that  disorder  and  licen- 
tiousness which  are  inseparable  from  a  state  of  anarchy,  we  find  it  indispensably  necessary  to 
agree  upon  and  adopt  some  concise  mode  of  Government,  whereby  to  regulate  our  conduct  to- 
wards each  other  and  towards  all  men  until  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  can  operate  in  these  settle- 
ments, and  be  administered  on  constitutional  principles. 

"Therefore,  Resolved,  First,  That  a  committee  of  five  of  the  most  wise  and  judicious  men 
be  appointed  to  regulate  the  internal  police  of  thia  settlement,  according  to  justice  and  equity 


1490 

(to  be  chosen  by  votes  to  be  given  in  to  a  clerk  appointed  for  that  purpose),  until  we  shall  have 
laws  established  in  this  settlement.  Second,  That  the  committee  who  shall  be  elected  as  above 
shall  have  full  power  to  regulate  the  police  of  this  settlement,  so  far  as  respects  the  peace,  safety 
and  welfare  of  the  whole,  according  to  justice  and  equity.  Third,  That  we  the  subscribers,  being 
convinced  of  the  necessity  of  order  and  regulation  in  this  settlement,  do  pledge  our  faith  to  each  ^ 
other,  our  interests,  if  necessary,  and  our  personal  aid  when  called  for,  to  support  the  committee 
in  the  execution  of  the  important  trust  reposed  in  them.  Fourth,  That  the  committee  shall  be 
removable  by  the  people  for  maladministration,'  and  others  be  selected  to  fill  any  such  vacancies 
"In  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  resolves,  it  was  voted  that  Messieurs  John  Franklin, 
Ebenezer  Johnson,  William  Hooker  Smith,  John  Jenkins  [Jr.]  and  John  Paul  Schott  be 
a  committee  to  put  said  resolves  in  execution." 

The  members  of  this  committee  became  known  as  "Directors,"  and  were 
so  styled  by  themselves  and  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  generally. 

The  foregoing  plans  and  specifications  for  the  government  of  the  people 
of  Wyoming — both  by  their  nature  and  the  method  of  their  adoption — remind 
one  somewhat  of  the  rules  and  regulations  put  in  force  by  the  vigilantes  of  San 
Francisco  and  other  western  frontier  towns  of  the  United  States,  in  the  early 
days  of  their  existence. 

Governor  Hoyt,  in  his  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in 
the  County  of  Luzerne"  having  in  mind  the  proceedings  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company,  and  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  at  Wyoming 
during  the  period  of  1783  to  1787,  declares:  "The  action  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company,  after  1782,  was  inexcusably  mischievous  and  wholly  unjustifiable. 
The  power  and  pride  of  Pennsylvania  were  sure  to  be  successfully  arrayed 
against  them,  and  it  was  certain  that  its  authority  must  finally  prevail.  *  *  * 
During  the  years  1 785-86,  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Connecticut 
people,  under  the  reckless  proceedings  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  were 
simply  insurrectionary.  Pennsylvania  was  then  pursuing  no  hostile  measures 
towards  them,  but,  on  the  contrary,  able  advocates  were  springing  up  in  Penn- 
sylvania in  their  behalf,  and  had  already  made  a  deep  impression  in  the  councils 
of  the  State." 

Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  386),  referring  to  the  proceedings 
which  took  place  in  Wyoming  in  November,  1785,  and  during  the  two  or  three 
previous  months,  says;  "It  would  be  an  imputation  on  the  vigilance  and  sag- 
acity of  Pennsylvania  to  suppose  that  these  proceedings  were  not  known  to 
and  watched  by  her  with  jealous  solicitude.  What  could  she  do  to  avert  the 
threatened  evil?" 

A  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  was  held  at  Philadelphia, 
November  17,  1785,  Vice  President  Charles  Biddle,  John  Boyd,  Peter  Muhlen- 
berg and  other  members  being  present.  On  motion,  the  following  was  adoptedf ; 
*  *  *  "It  is  the  sense  of  this  Board  that  a  law  should  be  passed  [by  the 
House  of  Representatives]  as  early  in  this  session  as  possible,  requiring  the 
insurgents  at  Wyoming  or  elsewhere  in  the  county  of  Nprthumberland  to  sub- 
mit to  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  give  clear  and  unequivocal  evidence 
of  such  their  submission  on  or  before  the  ISth  day  of  January  next,  in  such  manner 
as  the  House  will  be  pleased  to  prescribe;  and  that  such  of  them  as  shall  neg- 
lect or  refuse  to  comply  with  this  requisition  should  be  deemed  outlaivs  and  made 
liable  to  be  proceeded  against  as  such." 

On  December  24,  1785,  the  House  of  Representatives  passed  "An  Act 
for  quieting  disturbances  at  Wyoming,  for  pardoning  certain  offenders,  and  for 
other  purposes."     After  reciting  that  "a  spirit  of  licentiousness,  and  disobedience 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records".  XIV:  .S79. 


1491 

to  the  laws,"  prevailed  in  the  counties  of  Northumberland  and  Northampton, 
in  consequence  of  the  controversies  between  the  Connecticut  claimants  and  other 
citizens  of  the  State;  and  that,  "to  strengthen  the  hands  of  Government  and 
quiet  the  disturbances,"  it  was  fit  "that  lenient  means  be  tried,  before  the  most 
coercive  ones"  should  be  used,  the  Act  provided  that  all  offenses  committed 
before  "the  1st  of  November,  1785,  be  pardoned  and  put  in  oblivion",  provided 
the  persons  having  so  offended  should  surrender  themselves  to  the  authorities 
before  April  15,  1786,  and  enter  into  bonds  to  keep  the  peace.  The  Act  also 
authorized  the  calling  out  of  the  militia,  and  repealed  the  Act  of  Assembly 
passed  September  9,  1 783,  confirming  the  division  of  the  townships  of  vShawanese, 
Stoke  and  Wyoming  into  two  districts  for  the  election  of  Justices  of  the  Peace 
and  "annulled  and  made  void"  the  commissions  granted  in  pursuance  of  the  elec- 
tion of  said  Justices. 

The  3^ear  1786  was  a  year  of  disturbances  and  unsettled  conditions  through- 
out the  majoritA^  of  the  thirteen  United  States — which,  however,  were  not  then 
either  very  heartily  or  very  firmly  united  together,  for  the  Federal  Constitution 
had  not  yet  been  framed,  adopted  and  ratified. 

The  State  of  Franklin  (later  to  become  the  State  of  Te  nnessee) 
which  had  been  forcibly  carved  out  of  the  territory  of  North  Carolinain  1784, 
had  a  semblance  of  State  Government  established  in  1785,  but  in  1786  was  in 
a  state  of  turmoil  and  chaos.  Vermont,  as  previously  related,  was  in  a  state 
of  eruption  and  rebellion,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  State  armed  bands  of  "Reg- 
ulators" menaced  the  lives  and  the  property  of  certain  of  their  fellow  citizens. 
In  New  York,  Governor  Clinton,  who  had  been  "toiling  persistently  to  make 
his  State  the  most  powerful  member  of  the  Union",  was  now  attempting  to 
pull  down  the  rivals  that  struggled  at  her  side — in  other  words,  he  was  steadily 
laboring  to  either  thwart  or  disregard  the  wishes  and  the  resolves  of  Congress, 
and  break  down  the  Union.  New  Jersey — chiefly  owing  to  a  controversy  with 
New  York — stoutly  refused  to  pay  her  share  of  the  taxes  apportioned  among 
the  State  by  Congress  for  the  support  of  the  Confederation. 

In  Massachusetts,  "Shay's  Rebellion"  broke  out  in  August,  1786,  and 
during  the  remainder  of  the  year,  and  for  several  months  in  1787,  a  large  body 
of  malcontents — who  called  themselves  "Regulators",  but  who  were  in  reality 
"persons  of  small  abilities,  of  little  or  no  property,  embarrassed  in  their  circum- 
stances, and  of  no  great  integrity" — made  life  a  burden  to  the  respectable, 
law-abiding  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth. 

At  Philadelphia,  on  January  6,  1786,  there  was  laid  before  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council,  a  communication  from  the  Hons.  John  Bayard  and  Charles 
Pettit,  Delegates  from  Pennsylvania  in  the  Continental  Congress,  then  meeting 
in  New  York  City.  This  communication  was  dated  December  31,  1785,  and 
read  in  part  as  follows:* 

"We  think  it  our  duty  to  communicate  to  your  Excellency  &  the  Honorable  Coimcil  the 
intelligence  we  have  this  day  received  from  his  Excellency,  Governor  Clinton,  which  is: 

"That  he  has  been  informed,  on  undoubted  authority,  that  a  large  quantity  of  powder 
and  lead  has  lately  been  purchased  and  lodged  at  Fishkiln  with  a  view  of  transporting  it  to  the 
Susquehanna. 

"That  the  quantity  vastly  exceeds  what  is  necessary  for  the  peaceable  and  ordinary  con- 
sumption of  the  countrj',  and  that  there  remains  no  doubt  of  its  being  intended  during  the  course 
of  this  winter  to  be  transported  to  Wyoming.  The  Governor  is  not  at  liberty  to  give  us  the  name 
of  his  informant,  but  assures  us  we  may  depend  upon  the  truth  of  his  information,  and  added — 
"Pennsylvania  *     Se      e.Archives",   45X-I6. 


1492 

had  we  not  been  here  as  Representatives  of  the  State,  he  should  have  thought  it  his  duty  to  have 
given  Your  Excellency  the  above  information. 

"We  have  not  yet  been  favoured  with  the  act  passed  by  our  Assembly  respecting  the  set- 
tlers at  Wyoming,  but  doubt  not  of  the  wisdom  and  propriety  of  it. 

"We  wish  only  to  suggest  the  necessity  of  the  state  being  well  informed  with  respect  to 
the  views  of  these  deluded  people,  and  suggest  the  propriety  of  Council  directing  us  to  employ 
a  proper  person  or  persons  to  watch  the  movements  of  these  stores,  and  give  the  earliest  intelli- 
gence thereof  to  Government." 

Vice  President  Biddle  replied  immediately  in  behalf  of  the  Council,  re- 
questing Delegates  Ba3'ard  and  Pettit  "to  take  such  steps  for  watching  the 
progress  of  the  stores  through  the  States  of  New  York  and  the  Jerseys,  and 
for  their  eventual  seizure  in  Pennsylvania",  as  they  deemed  most  proper.  "We 
should,  on  our  part,"  continued  Mr.  Biddle,  "have  taken  some  measures  for  ex- 
ecuting the  latter  part  of  this  object  could  we  have  ascertained,  with  any  degree 
of  precision,  the  time  or  place  of  their  arrival  in  this  State;  but  as  both  are 
rendered  so  extremely  uncertain  from  the  various  routes  by  which  they  may 
be  moved,  and  other  circumstances,  we  have  upon  the  whole  thought  it  most 
proper  to  commit  the  business  entirely  to  you." 

Six  days  later  Secretary  Armstrong  of  the  Council  wrote  to  Alexander 
Patterson,  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  in  part  as  follows:* 

"Council  has  received  ad\'ice  that  the  Connecticut  Claimants  at  Wyoming  have  now  in 
store  at  Fishkill,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  a  large  quantity  of  miUtary  stores,  which  it  is  pre- 
sumed they  mean  to  convey  as  early  as  possible  to  the  Susquehanna,  in  prosecution  of  their 
absurd  and  iniquitous  system  of  opposition  to  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth.  Under  these 
circumstances  Council  has  thought  proper  to  authorize  you  to  take  such  steps  for  seizing 
these  stores  in  their  progress  through  Northampton  County  as  your  own  prudence  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  country  may  suggest.  I  need  scarcely  observe  that  the  most  profound  secrecy  will 
be  necessary  to  the  success  of  this  design,  and  that  if,  from  the  variety  of  routes  by  which  they 
may  be  carried,  the  communication  of  it  to  some  second  person  should  become  unavoidable,  you 
will  make  choice  of  one  in  whose  secrecy  and  understanding  you  can  safely  confide.  When  seized 
you  will  take  measures  for  carrying  them  to  Easton,  or  some  other  place  of  security,  where  they 
will  remain  subject  to  the  future  directions  of  this  Board. 

"In  executing  this  Trust  it  may  be  necessary  for  you  to  engage  the  assistance  of  some 
few  hands  at  a  moderate  daily  pay.  You  must  take  care  that  they  be  as  few  in  number  as  may 
be  consistent  with  the  nature  of  the  Business.  This  and  such  other  expence  as  will  attend  it, 
shall  be  discharged  on  your  presenting  an  account  of  them." 

Speaking  of  the  Act  passed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  December 
24,  1785,  "for  quieting  disturbances  at  Wyoming,"  Miner  (History  of  Wyoming, 
page  386)  says:  "To  suppose  the  whole  people — for  all  were  concerned — would 
go  forward,  acknowledge  their  guilt,  and  sue  for  pardon  by  entering  into  bonds 
for  their  good  behavior,  was  a  presumption  founded  elsewhere  than  in  reason. 
No  notice  was  taken  of  the  law!"  In  making  this  last  assertion,  Miner  was  in 
error,  for  we  find  that  early  in  1786,  after  the  people  at  Wyoming  had  become 
pretty  familiar  with  the  language  of  this  Act  of  Assembly,  Col.  John  Franklin 
prepared  a  petition  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  which,  having  been  signed 
by  "408  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  and  vicinity",  was  dated  February  21,  1786, 
and  forwarded  by  the  hands  of  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott,  as  an  express,  to  the 
Supreme    Executive   Council   at  Philadelphia.     This   petition  read  as  follows:! 

"To  the  Hon.  the  Representatives  of  the  Freemen,  etc. — 

"The  petition  of  the  freeholders  at  and  near  Wyoming  on  the  Northwest  {sic)  Branch 
of  the  Susquehanna  River,  most  respectfully  sheweth: 

"That  your  petitioners  have  endeavoured  to  take  due  notice  of  the  act  of  Assembly  passed 
last  session,  entitled  'An  Act  for  quieting  the  disturbances  at  Wyoming',  etc.,  but  how  far  it  re- 
spects us,  your  petitioners,  we  are  unable  fully  to  determine;  wherefore  we  pray  for  an  explan- 
ation of  such  parts  thereof  as  we  do  not  so  readily  understand. 

"Does  the  act  relative  to  the  pardon  of  offences,  misdemeanors,  etc.,  mean  such  only  as 
have  been  found  guilty  upon  trial?     Or  does  it  extend  to  all  who  stand  indicted  for  supposed 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  XI:  457. 

tA  copy  of  the  original  petition,  in  the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Franklin,  is  now  preserved  among  the  "Dr.    Wra. 
Samuel  Johnson  Papers",  mentioned  on  page  29,  Vol.  I. 


1493 

offences?  Or,  still  further,  does  it  comprehend  and  mean  all  who  have  acted  defensively  as  well 
as  offensively  in  the  dispute  alluded  to  in  the  act?  An  explanatory  answer  to  these  questions 
will  enable  your  petitioners  to  act  consistently  in  the  matter,  and  supercede  the  necessity  of  sending 

the  militia  hither  to  execute  the  laws  among  us. 

"Your  petitioners  view  with  pleasure  that  paragraph  of  the  Act  that  disannuls  that  estab- 
lishment of  districts  and  magistracy  here,  which  we  have  always  esteemed  grievous  and  uncon- 
stitutional; by  the  making  void  of  which  your  petitioners  would  fondly  hope  that  your  Honors 
mean  to  open  a  door  for  us  to  proceed  as  the  30th  Section  of  the  Constitution*  encourages.  Pur- 
suant thereto  we  would  humbly  request  that  we  might  be  divided  at  present  into  two  districts, 
one  on  each  side  the  aforesaid  river,  and  as  extensive  as  your  honors  may  think  best,  with  the 
power  and  privilege  of  electing  magistrates,  etc.,  as  the  Constitution  directs. 

"Your  petitioners  would  furthermore  most  earnestly  request  that  this  settlement  might 
be  set  off  as  a  district  county.  The  arguments  we  would  humbly  urge  for  such  a  measure  are,  the 
oblong  and  incommodious  extension  of  the  present  county[of  Northumberland],  our  local  distance 
from  the  seat  thereof,  the  great  disadvantage  we  are  subject  to  on  account  of  travel,  time  and 
expences  in  attending  the  courts,  and  above  all,  the  habitual  and  mutual  prejudices  which  subsist 
between  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  the  county  wc  now  stand  annexed  to,  occasioned  by  the  disputes 
respecting  lands,  etc., — putting  us  under  the  disadvantage  of  each  trial  by  jury  as  is  inconsistent 
with  that  impartiality  which  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  intends. 

"Your  honors  will  permit  us  just  to  observe  that  prior  to  the  Decree  of  Trenton  we  lived 
happy  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  and  the  enjoyment  of  her  laws.  We 
now  wish  to  be  received  as  good  citizens  of  the  Slate  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to  enjoy  the  blessings 
of  your  glorious  Constitution!  Be  pleased  most  graciously  to  take  this  our  petition  into  your 
wise  and  candid  consideration.     And  we,  as  in  duty  bound,  will  ever  pray,  etc." 

Captain  Schott  left  Wilkes-Barre,  for  Philadelphia,  on  Tuesday,  February 
28,  1786,  and,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing  petition,  carried  with  him  the  fol- 
lowing letter*  addressed  to  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  had  become  President 
of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  in  October,  1785: 

"May  it  please  your  Excellency : 

"On  your  Election  to  the  Elevated  office  of  President  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
of  this  Common  Wealth,  every  soul  here  acquainted  with  your  Excellencies  Character,  and  cap- 
able of  sentiment  and  reflection,  exulted  on  the  joyous  occasion,  from  a  conception  that  some- 
thing favorable  to  this  settlement  might  yet  be  hoped  through  the  instrumentality  of  such  a  known 
friend  to  the  sacred  rights  of  mankind,  whose  election  wrought  in  our  imaginations  the  affectionate 
epithet  of  a  political  Father,  who  would  impartially  consider  and  weigh  the  opposite  claims 
of  his  Children,  dispensing  his  smiles  or  his  frowns,  according  to  their  adherence  or  non-adherence 
to  those  pure,  original  Laws  which  can  neither  be  superceded  nor  abrogated    y  human  Tribunals. 

"In  the  character  of  a  Father,  then,  would  we  address  your  Excellency  and  complain  of 
our  grievances.  We  know  your  attention  has  for  many  years  been  occupied  with  greater  and  more 
national  concerns,  which  renders  it  possible,  if  not  probable,  that  you  may  not  be  duely  apprized 
of  our  many  and  complicated  sufferings. 

"The  dispute  which  has  for  a  number  of  years  subsisted  betwixt  this  State  and  that  of 
Connecticut  respecting  territory,  the  arguments  which  have  been  urged  on  both  sides  of  the  ques- 
tion, and  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  are  matters  well  known  to  your  Excellency.  We  would  humbly 
crave  your  attention,  therefore,  only  to  such  facts  as  you  may  not  have  been  duly  apprized  of, 
which  have  rendered  our  situation  nearly  wretched  and  desperate. 

"We  have  no  hopes  from  the  avaricious  land  schemers  of  this  State  (who  have  been  seek- 
ing to  sheath  the  sword  in  our  bosoms,  and  have  stripped  us  nearly  of  our  all,  and  whom  we 
have  reason  to  think  wish  our  utter  extirpation),  through  whose  insinuations  the  Legislature 
have  been  made  to  believe  that  we  are  a  People  who  desire  no  Law  and  deserve  little  Mercy. 

"Our  anarchal  and  local  situation  have,  indeed,  brought  hither  from  the  different  States 
some  licentious  Characters,  by  which  we  have  been  denominated  a  bad  People  by  our  enemies, 
who  have  had  the  advantage  of  us  in  Representation  and  ex-parte  hearings  before  Council  and 
Assembly,  and  who  wish  to  mislead,  to  our  prejudice,  those  Honorable  Bodies  as  well  as  the  good 
people  of  this  State  at  large. 

"'Tis  true  that  the  most  unexceptionable  Characters  amongst  us — influenced  by  the  Law 
of  self-preservation — have  fought  in  defence  of  their  lives,  their  Families  and  their  all,  when 
attacked  by  merciless  Assailants.  Such  defence  has  been  judg'd  highly  criminal  by  those  who 
judge  the  actions  of  others  good  or  bad  as  they  feed  or  oppose  their  own  avarice.  With  such 
Characters  revenge  stands  for  justice!  Accordingly  we  find  that  the  most  innocent  Persons 
among  us  who  have  occasion  to  travel  through  the  State,  if  they  have  been  defensive  actors, 
must  be  loaded  with  vexatious  suits  under  pretence  of  Debt  or  Criminality;  but  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  add  a  pecuniary  distress  to  the  already  distressed. 

"Could  we,  free  from  such  vexatious  but  expensive  prosecutions,  send  an  Agent  who  could 
be  honoiir'd  with  an  intervieio  with  your  Excellency,  we  could  be  able  to  exhibit  such  incontestible 
facts  relative  to  our  sufferings,  both  from  the  land-jobbers  and  a  former  Assembly  (influenced 
by  them),  as  your  Excellency  would  hardly  imagine.  And  could  your  Excellency  in  some  way 
furnish  a  protection  for  such  an  Agent,  we  shall  duly  acknowledge  the  Favour,  and  readily  embrace 

*See  note,  page  881,  Vol.  II. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  XII:296.    This  letter  was  printed,  also,  in  The  Pennsylvania  Packet.  Philadelphia  , 
August  24,  1786,  together  with  President  Franklin's  reply. 


1494 

the  opportunity;  and  we  would  hope  by  this  means  to  furnish  your  Excellency  with  such  kind 
of  knowledge  as  may  through  your  wise  and  paternal  influence,  terminate  in  a  just  and  amicable 
settlement  of  these  unhappy  and  ruinous  disputes. 

"We  would  beg  leave  to  mention  to  your  Excellency  that  we  have  noticed  a  late  Act  of 
Assembly  Entitled  'An  Act  for  quieting  the  disturbances  at  Wioming,  &c.,'  but  how  far  it  respects 
us  we  are  unable  fully  to  determine.  We  send  a  petition  to  the  Hon'ble  Assembly  accompanied 
with  this,  praying  for  an  explanation,  &c. 

"We  wish  to  have  an  existence  in  the  world  above  that  of  Slaves  or  beggars,  and  we  ar- 
dently wish  as  good  Citizens  to  injoy  the  blessings  of  the  glorious  Constitution  of  this  State, 
and  to  have  the  Laws  operate  among  us  and  administered  on  Constitutional  principles.  These  are 
the  ideas,  may  it  please  your  Excellency,  we  have  ever  expressed  in  our  Addresses,  Petitions  and  Re- 
monstrances to  the  Hon'ble  Council  and  General  Assembly  since  the  Decree  of  Trenton;  conform- 
able to  which  has  been  the  general  tenor  of  our  conduct,  however  misconstrued  by  our  Enemies. 

"We  submit  to  your  Excellency  the  propriety  of  the  above  requests. 

"Our  best  wishes  attend  your  Excellency  in  all  your  important  trusts.  May  no  faction 
in  the  State  over  which  you  Preside  disturb  your  tranquillity  at  the  eve  of  life,  which  we  hope 
will  be  crowned  with  every  reward  which  a  long  and  most  useful  life  has  merited. 

"We  are,  may  it  please  your  Excellency,  with  due  esteem  and  respect  your  Excellency's 
Most  obedient.  Humble  Servants,  jgjg^^^j  ..j^^^  Franklin, 

"Wm.  Hooker  Smith, 
"To  "Jno.  Jenkins, 

"His  Excellency,  Benjamin  Franklin,         ^  in  behalf  of  the  People. 

"Wioming,  25  February,  1786." 

On  February  28,  1786,  Vice  President  Biddle,  in  behalf  of  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council,  sent  to  the  General  Assembly  "a  message  respecting  the 
disturbances  at  Wyoming,"  together  with  the  letter  from  Messrs.  Bayard  and 
Pettit  printed  on  page  1492,  ante,  and  certain  other  communications  re- 
lating to  the  same  subject.  The  same  day  the  Assembly  resolved  that  these 
documents  be  referred  to  a  committee  composed  of  Representatives  Irvine, 
Clymer,  and  others,  with  directions  to  report  thereon  at  an  early  date.  The 
committee's  report  was  made  to  the  Assembly  on  March  6,  1786,  whereupon 
it  was  ordered  "to  be  laid  over"  until  March  9th.  The  petition  of  the  408  in- 
habitants of  Wyoming,  previously  mentioned,  was,  on  March  6th,  "presented 
to  the  Chair  and  read,  and  was  ordered  by  the  Assembly  to  be  laid  on  the  table." 

On  March  9th  the  aforementioned  report  of  the  Assembly's  committee 
was  taken  up  and  read,  as  follows:  "That  in  the  opinion  of  this  committee 
the  intelligence  communicated  by  Council  affords  little  room  to  doubt  but  the 
people  at  Wyoming  are  meditating  a  serious  opposition  to  the  authority  of 
Government,  and  it  appears  to  them  highly  expedient  further  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  Council,  to  enable  them  effectually  to  carry  into  execution  the 
Act  passed  at  the  last  Session.  They  therefore  submit  the  following:  Resolved, 
That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to  authorize  the  Supreme 

Executive   Council  to  raise  and  equip *  volunteers,   in  addition  to  the 

provisional  measures  directed  by  an  Art  entitled  'An  Act  for  quieting  the  dis- 
turbances at  Wyoming,  for  pardoning  certain  offenders,  and  for  other  purposes 
therein  mentioned.'  "  On  motion  the  Assembly  ordered  that  this  "Bill,"  or 
report,  should  "be  recommitted,  and  the  committee  instructed  to  confer  thereon 
with  the  Supreme  Executive  Council." 

At  Philadelphia,  on  the  same  day  that  the  foregoing  action  was  taken 

by  the  Assembly,   Col.  Timothy  Pickering  wrote  to  his  friend  John  Gardner, 

in  Massachusetts,  as  follows  :t 

"The  Wyoming  dispute  is  revived.  Some  are  for  expelling  those  settlers  by  the  sword; 
but  I  believe  rather  that  such  violence  will  be  avoided.  They  can  muster  800  fighting  men, 
and  have  resolved  to  stand  by  one  another.  The  late  Council  of  Censors  of  this  State,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1784,  pronounced  all  the  measures  of  Government  respecting  those  people  to  have  been 

*A  motion  was  made  to  fill  this  blank  with  ''300",  but  the  motion  was  voted  down. 
tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers",  XXXV:  3,  mentioned  on  page  29,  Vol.  I. 


1495 

'destitute  of  wisdom  and  foresight'*     I  think  so  too.     Those   measures   were  taken  during  the 
feeble  administration  of  President  Dickinson." 

Just  about  that  time  Secretary  Armstrong  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Coun- 
cil, sent  to  Robert  Levers,  Esq.,  Prothonotary  of  Northampton  County,  and 
Lawrence  Keene,  Esq.,  Prothonotary  of  Northumberland  County,  a  letter 
reading  as  follows: 

"By  the  Law  relating  to  the  business  of  Wyoming,  herein  inclosed,  you  will  find  what  is 
required  from  the  offenders  before  the  pardon  provided  by  the  Act  [of  December  24,  1785]  can 
take  effect.  To  ascertain,  therefore,  how  far  these  requisitions  have  been  complied  with  (&,  of 
course,  in  what  instances  the  pardon  will  operate),  Council  have  thought  proper  to  direct  that 
the  Justices  of  the  peace  of  Northumberland  Co.  shall  respectively  make  return  to  you  of  the  names 
&  first  names  of  all  such  offenders  as  have  given  security  agreeably  to  the  Act  aforesaid  on  or 
before  ye  20th  day  of  April  next — which  returns,  certified  by  you  as  original,  you  will  be  pleased 
to  transmit  as  early  as  possible  to  this  office." 

At  Wyoming,  under  the  date  of  February  1,  1786,  some  one  who  signed 
himself  "A  Settler  at  Wyoming,"  wrote  a  letter  "To  the  Proprietors  of  The 
Susquehanna  Company,  and  other  friends  of  Justice  and  fair  Dealing".  This 
letter  was  published  in  a  Connecticut  newspaper  March  14,  1786,  and  was  re- 
printed in  The  Pen?isylvania  Packet,  Philadelphia,  a  week  later.  The  writer 
gave  a  brief  history  of  the  purchase  and  settlement  of  the  Wj^oming  region  by 
The  Susquehanna  Company,  and  referred  to  the  loss  of  life  and  property  sus- 
tained by  the  Connecticut  settlers  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  then 
proceeded  as  follows: 

"Taking  advantage  of  the  debilitated  state  of  that  settlement,  certain  persons — inhab- 
itants of  Pennsylvania  (some  of  whom  early  took  a  decided  part  w-ith  the  enemy),  not  contented 
with  the  distresses  of  that  infant  country — having  by  mere  accident  possessed  themselves  of  the 
papers,  evidences,  deeds  and  documents  necessary  to  establish  the  right  of  the  State  of  Connecticut 
to  the  lands  in  question,  did  induce  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  petition  the  United  States 
in  Congress  assembled,  for  the  establishment  of  a  Federal  Court  to  try  the  question  of  jurisdiction 
between  the  contending  States. 

"And  notwithstanding  it  was  objected  on  the  part  of  Connecticut  that  she  was  deprived 
of  all  her  deeds,  evidences,  papers,  documents,  &c.,  necessary  to  evince  her  claim  to  the  juris- 
diction of  the  country  aforesaid — supposing  the  same  to  be  in  Great  Britain,  where  they  were 
deposited  while  the  same  question  was  depending  before  the  King  in  Council,  and  could  not  be 
obtained  at  that  time,  the  war  between  Great  Britain  and  this  Country  being  then  undetermined. 
Nevertheless,  the  objection  was  overruled  (by  means  of  what  secret  and  unjustifiable  influence 
is  unknown  to  Connecticut),  and  a  trial  was  had  at  Trenton  in  November  17S2 — two  of  the  Judges 
most  relied  on  by  Connecticut  being  absent — and  a  decision  was  had  in  favor  of  Penusylvaniat 
by  the  opinion  of  three  Judges  against  two the  majority  being  at  best  but  doubtful. 

"Whereupon  the  settlers  made  an  early  proposal  of  submission  to  the  Government  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  claimed  the  lands  purchased  of  the  natives,  which  had  been  settled  and  cul- 
tivated only  at  the  expense  and  endeavours  of  themselves  and  their  associates.  But  instead  of 
that  protection  expectable  from  a  great  and  respectable  Commonwealth,  the  inhabitants  have 
been  seized,  their  persons  dragged  to  prison,  loaded  with  irons,  their  loose  property  plundered 
by  mercenery  troops  assembled  by  order  of  Government  for  the  destruction  of  the  settlers;  their 
old  men,  women  and  children  driven  out  of  the  country  like  brute  beasts,  without  respect  to  age, 
sex  or  condition,  and  the  rights  of  citizenship  denied  them  on  all  occasions. 

"Roused  by  such  cruel  treatment  the  settlement  is  regained  by  its  inhabitants,  and  now 
increased  to  more  than  1,000  able-bodied  and  effective  men,  sufficiently  exasperated  and  des- 
perate, who  have  been  compelled,  for  their  own  security,  to  adopt  a  temporary  system  of  policy 
(until  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  shall  extend  to  them  the  rights  of  citizenship,  and  the  protection 
of  law  and  civil  government),  which  is  in  the  words  following.  [Here  the  writer  gave  an  account 
of  the  proceedings,  and  the  resolutions  adopted,  at  the  meeting  held  November  15,  17S5,  ante, 
and  then  continued  as  follows:] 

"And  now  we  are  credibly  informed  that  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  are  aiming  for  the 
destruction  of  that  settlement,  and  the  last  dreadful  appeal  to  arms  is  soon  expected.  Confident 
of  the  justice  of  our  cause,  we  dare  rely  on  Pro\4dence,  the  sovereign  arbiter,  for  the  issue.  The 
Susquehanna  Company,  whose  associates  we  are,  will  do  well  to  remember  that  their  fate  depends 
upon  the  issue  of  our  cause.  Numerous  as. you  are,  and  opulent  as  you  may  be,  no  benefit  can 
accrue  to  us  or  you  without  your  speedy  exertion.  \\'ill  you  suffer  your  brethren  to  be  murdered 
and  their  families  turned  again  naked  upon  the  wide  world,  and  not  lift  your  finger  in  our  behalf? 
Surely  not!  We  too  well  know  your  interest,  and  your  honor  is  concerned  in  our  welfare. 
*See  page  1431. 
tSee  page  1304. 


1496 

On  April  3,  1786,  in  the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Assembly,  Represen- 
tative Robert  Morris*  moved,  and  the  House  adopted,  the  following:! 

"Resolved,  That  the  message  from  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  respecting  the  disturb- 
ances at  Wyoming,  the  report  of  the  committee  read  March  9  on  that  subject,  the  petition  of 
the  settlers  at  Wyoming,  and,  gerjerally,  such  other  papers  as  are  before  this  House  respecting 
that  business,  be  referred  to  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  in  a  Bill  to  comply  so  far 
with  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  as  respects  a  division  of  the  county  of  Northumberland  and  ap- 
pointing districts  for  the  election  of  magistrates;  and  that  said  committee  do  also  report  such 
other  measures  for  the  consideration  of  the  House  as  they  shall  think  necessary  for  quieting  the 
said  disturbances. 

In  pursuance  of  this  resolution  Representatives  Robert  Morris  and  George 
ClymerJ  of  Philadelphia,  Robert  Whitehill§  of  Cumberland  County,  Frederick 
Antes  of  Northumberland  County  and  John  Smilie||  of  Fayette  County,  were 
appointed  "a  committee  for  the  purposes  contained  in  the  foregoing  resolution." 
The  next  day  this  committee  made  a  partial  report  to  the  House  and  presented 
a  Bill  for  dividing  the  county  of  Northumberland,  which  was  read  and  ordered 
to  be  laid  on  the  table.  Four  days  later,  without  taking  any  further  action 
with  respect  to  Wyoming  matters,  the  Assembly  adjourned  until  Tuesday, 
August  22,  1786. 


*The  "Financier  of  the  Revolution".  He  was  bom  in  Liverpool,  England,  January  20,  1734,  and  came  to  Phila- 
delphia with  his  father  in  1 747.  From  1 754  till  1 793 .  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Willing  and  Morris.  The  Stamp 
Act  was  opposed  by  Morris,  and  in  1765  he  signed  the  non-importation  agreement — although  this  action  was  against 
his  financial  interest.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  1775;  voted  against  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence July  1,  1776,  and  on  July  4.  declined  to  vote,  but  when  the  instrument  was  formally  adopted  he  attached  his 
signature  to  it,  He  was  re-elected  to  Congress  in  1777  and  again  in  1 778.  He  was  one  of  the  originators  in  1 780  of  the 
Bank  of  North  America,  established  at  Philadelphia  under  a  charter  granted  by  Congress  in  1782,  and  from  1781 
to  1784  he  was  Superintendent  of  the  national  finances — freely  using  his  personal  means  and  credit  to  advance  the 
public  interests.  In  1783  he  was  made  an  honorary  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati. He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  in  1786,  and  the  next  year  was  one  of  Pennsylvania's  rep- 
resentatives in  the  convention  which  framed  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Prior  to  1790  Mr.  Morris  erected  on  the  south  side  of  Market  Street,  between  Fifth  and  Sixth  Streets.  Philadelphia, 
"one  of  the  finest  and  most  centrally  located  residences  in  the  city  "  It  was  "the  best  single  house  in  Philadelphia", 
and  from  December.  1790.  until  March,  1797.  was  occupied  by  President  Washington  as  the  Executive  Mansion. 
Subsequently  it  was  occupied  by  President  Adams  until  the  seat  of  Government  was  removed  to  the  City  of  Washington. 

In  1788  Robert  Morris  was  elected  to  the  first  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  served  in  that  body  until  1795. 
About  that  time  he  engaged  in  some  extensive  speculations  in  land,  which  resulted  in  his  financial  ruin.  In  1798  he 
was  confined  in  the  debtors'  prison,  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  held  until  the  national  bankrupt  law  of  1802  opened 
a  way  for  his  release.     He  died  at  Philadelphia,  May  8,   1806. 

Morris,  quite  as  much  as  Washington  or  Franklin,  saved  the  country  in  the  Revolution.  Washington  relied 
much  upon  his  political  and  financial  advice,  and  they  were  intimately  associated  in  working  out  public  policies  during 
the  first  few  years  of  our  Republic's  history.  On  account  of  the  more  romantic  and  conspicuous  individualties  of  his 
famous  contemporaries,  Morris  has  been  long  neglected  by  the  American  people. 

tSee  The  Pennsylvania  Packet,  Philadelphia,  April  8,  1786. 

JGeorge  Clymer  was  bom  in  Philadelphia  in  1739.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Counc  il  of  Safety, 
was  one  of  the  first  Continental  treasurers  (1775),  and,  a^  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  in  1776  and  '77.  was 
a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  was  re-elected  to  Congress  in  1 780,  and  served  6n  numerous  committees 
and  commissions.  In  June  of  that  year  he  contributed  ±:5,000  towards  paying  the  expense  of  carrying  on  the  war. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers,  in  1780,  at  Philadelphia,  of  the  Bank  of  North  America,  chartered  by  Congress  in  1782. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  in  1784.  and  1786.  and  in  1787  was  a  member  of  the  convention 
which  framed  the  Federal  Constitution.  He  was  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  Pennsylvania  during  the  years 
1789-1793,  and  in  1791,  was  Collector  of  the  tax  on  spirits. 

The  first  President  of  The  Philadelphia  Bank  (now  The  Philadelphia  National  Bank)— which  began  business 
September  19,  1803,  and  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  in  March,  1804 — was  George  Clymer 
who  served  continuously  in  that  office  until  his  death.  He  was  President  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Fine  Arts, 
and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  Society.  He  was  married  at  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia 
March  18,  1  765.  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Reese  and  Martha  (Carpenter)  Meredith.  Reese  Meredith  was  a  wealthy 
Quaker  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  and  one  of  the  founders  and  original  trustees  of  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital.  His 
son  Samuel  (born  in  Philadelphia,  in  1741)  was  a  Brigadier  General  in  the  Continental  army,  a  member  of  Congress 
and  in  1789  became  the  first  Treasurer  of  the  United  States — holding  the  office  continuously  for  twelve  years. 

George  Clymer  died  at  his  home  in  Morrisville.  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  January  23,  1813.  His  son  Henry, 
(the  only  one  of  his  children  who  grew  to  maturity)  resided  in  Wilkes-Barre  from  about  1815  till  1818  or  1819.  and 
during  that  period  was  one  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy.  His  wife  was  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Willing,  of  Philadelphia,  and  they  had  the  following  named  children;  Eliza,  Francis,  William,  Bingham.  George.  Mary, 
and  one  other  who^e  name  is  unknown  to  the  present  writer.  The  first  named  of  these  was  married  at  Wilkes-Barre. 
May  13.  1818.  to  Edward  Overton  (bom  in  England.  December  30.  1795;  died  at  Towanda.  Pennsylvania.  October 
17.  1878),  who  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Luzerne  County,  August  5.  1818.  and  resided  in  Wilkes-Barre  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  for  a  number  of  years.  George  Clymer,  son  of  Henry,  became  a  Surgeon  in  the  United 
States  Navy. 

§RoEERT  Whitehill  was  born  July  24.  1738,  in  the  Pequea  settlement,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  the  son 
of  James  and  Rachel  Whitehill.  In  the  Spring  of  1771 ,  he  removed  to  a  farm  in  Cumberland  County,  about  two  miles 
west  of  Harrisburg.  In  1774  and  '75.  he  was  a  member  of  the  Cumberland  County  Committee.  In  1776  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  Pennsylvania  Convention,  which  assembled  at  Philadelphia  on  July  15th  to  frame  and  adopt  a  Consti- 
tution for  the  State.  Mr  Whitehill  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  the  Frame  of  Government.  The  Convention 
completed  it^  labors  and  adjourned  in  September,  1776,  and  a  month  later  Mr,  Whitehill  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  State  As^enitily  from  Cumberland  County  under  the  new  Constitution.  He  was  re-elected  to  this  office  in  October, 
1777.  at  which  time  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Cumberland  County. 

Mr  Whitehill  was  elected  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council.  December  28.  1779.  and  served  as  a  member  of 
that  body  until  November  30.  1781.  From  1784  to  1787.  inclusive,  he  was  a  Representative  in  the  General  Assembly. 
With  Gen,  William  Irvine  he  represented  Cumberland  County  in  the  convention  which  met  in  1789  and  "90  and  framed 
a  new  Constitution  for  Pennsylvania;  and  under  this  new  Constitution  Mr.  Whitehill  served  as  a  member  of  the  State 


1497 

On  April  9,  1786,  William  Shaw,  Esq.,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the 
County  of  Northumberland,  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  the  invitation  of  Capt. 
John  Paul  Schott,  acting  as  agent  for  a  considerable  number  of  the  Wyoming 
inhabitants.  Justice  Shaw's  visit  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  re- 
cognizances of  the  Connecticut  settlers  who  were  willing  to  comply  with  the 
terms  of  the  Act  of  Assembly  of  December  24,  1785,  by  surrendering  themselves 
to  the  civil  authorities  before  April  15,  1786,  and  entering  into  bonds  to  keep 
the  peace.  In  a  report  subsequently  made  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council, 
Justice  Shaw  stated*  that  "178  of  said  settlers  entered  into  recognizance  on 
and  before  the  15th  of  April,  agreeable  to  law;  and  afterwards  a  number  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  State,  and  the  inhabitants  in  general  then  ap- 
peared very  desirous  of  being  citizens." 

At  this  time,  as  we  learn  from  some  fragmentary  records  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company,!  the  Company's  "Committee,  appointed  to  order  and  direct  the  lay- 
ing out  of  towns,"  was  busy  at  Wyoming.  Among  other  doings  at  Wyoming, 
April  17,  1786,  Zebulon  Butler,  Nathan  Denison  and  Obadiah  Gore,  members 
of  the  above  mentioned  committee,  accepted  and  approved  of  the  survey  of 
the  township  of  Putnam,  and  granted  the  same  to  its  proprietors.  As  shown 
by  the  map  facing  page  468,  Vol.  I,  of  this  History,  Putnam  was  located  on  both 
sides  of  the  Susquehanna  at  the  mouth  of  Tunkhannock  Creek,  about  thirty 
miles  up  the  river  from  Wilkes-Barre.  The  principal  proprietors  of  the  town- 
ship were  Zebulon  Marcy,  Capt.  Caleb  Bates,  Gideon  Osterhout,  Elijah  Shoe- 
maker, Jonathan  Slocum,  Increase  Billings,  Isaac  Tripp,  Jr.,  John  Paul  Schott, 
Nathaniel  Goodspeed,  John  Platner,  John  Car}',  Barnabas  Cary,  Frederick 
Budd  and  Reuben  Taylor. 

At  the  "city  of  Hudson,  New  York,  April  19,  1786,"  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton, 
previously  mentioned,  wrote  a  long  letter  addressed  "To*  Col.  Zebulon  Butler, 
Col.  John  Franklin,  Col.  Nathan  Denison  or  Dr.  William  H.  Smith."  This 
letter  was  sent  from  Hudson  to  Wilkes-Barre  by  the  hands  of  a  messenger, 
and  was  probably  delivered  to  one  of  the  above  named  addressees.  Ultimately, 
however,  the  letter  came  into  the  hands  of  Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  and  is  now 

House  of  Representatives  from  1797  to  1801.  and  as  a  State  Senator  from  1801  to  1804.  During  a  portion  of  his  term 
in  the  Senate,  he  was  Speaker  of  that  body,  and  presided  at  the  celebrated  impeachment  trial  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  elected  to  the  IXth,  Xth,  Xlth  and  Xllth  Congresses  (March.  1805 — March,  1813) 
as  a   Representative  from  Pennsylvania,  and  served  acceptably  as  such, 

Mr.  Whitehill  was  married,  in  1  765,  to  Eleanor  (bora  1 734) ,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Mary  Reed  of  Hanover.  Lancaster 
County.  She  died  in  1785,  and  Mr.  Whitehill  died  at  Lauther  Manor,  Cumberland  County,  April  7,  1813.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  the  Presbyterian  graveyard  at  Silver's  Spring. 

J.  Q,  A.  Ward  (bom  1830;  died  1910),  the  eminent  American  sculptor,  was  a  great-grandson  of  Robert  Whitehill. 


IJoHN  SmiliE  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1741,  He  emigrated  to  America  in  1760  and  settled  in  Lancaster  County, 
Pennsylvania.  In  1776,  he  was  a  Lancaster  County  ".\ssociator,'"  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Conference 
which  met  in  Carpenter's  Hall,  Philadelphia,  from  June  ISth  to  June  24th.  On  the  last  mentioned  date  the  Conference 
adopted  "A  Declaration  on  the  subject  of  the  Independence  of  this  [Pennsylvania)  Colony  of  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain,"  and  unanimously  declared  their  "willingness  to  concur  in  a  vote  of  Congress  declaring  the  Ignited  Colonies 
free  and  independent  States."  In  1776,  Mr.  Smilie  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Lancaster  County, 
and  in  1778  and  again  in  1779,  was  a  Representative  from  that  county  in  the  Pennsylvania  .\ssembly. 

In  1780  or  '81,  John  Smilie  removed  to  Westmoreland  County.  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  about  five  miles  below 
the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Connellsville,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  He  and  William  Findley  were  elected 
October  20,  1783,  to  represent  Westmoreland  Countj-  in  the  Pennsylvania  Council  of  Censors.  In  February,  1784. 
that  part  of  Westmoreland  County  where  Mr.  Smilie  was  located  (including  the  site  of  Connellsville,  was  annexed  to 
and  made  a  part  of  Fayette  County  which  had  been  erected  out  of  Westmoreland  County  in  September,  1783.  In 
October,  1784,  Mr.  .Smilie  was  elected  one  of  the  Representatives  from  Fayette  County  to  the  Pennsylvania  .Assembly, 
and  was  re-elected  in  October,  1  785.  He  was  elected  to  the  Supreme  E.xecutive  Council,  from  Fayette  County,  Novem- 
ber 2,  1786.  In  1789-90  he  and  Albert  Gallatin  represented  Fayette  County  in  the  convention  which  framed  a  new 
Constitution  for  the  State;  and  in  October    1790,  Mr.  Smilie  was  elected  a  St.ite  Senator  under  the  new  Constitution. 

In  1792,  he  was  elected  a  Representative  to  the  Hid  Congress  of  the  United  States  I  March  1793 — March,  17S5). 
In  1796,  he  was  a  Presidential  Elector.  In  1798,  he  was  elected  a  Representative  to  the  VI th  Congress  (March,  1799 — 
March,  1801),  and  was  re-elected  to  the  six  succeeding  Congresses  During  a  part  of  the  time  that  he  was  in  Congress 
he  served  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations.  He  died  in  \\'ashington,  D.  C  December  29,  1812. 
and  was  buried  in  the  Congressional  Cemetery  there — a  monument  being  erected  over  his  grave  by  order  of  Congress. 

The  wife  of  John  Smilie  was  Janet,  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Porter  of  Druraore,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania. 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  O.  S..  X  :  764, 

tSee  "Proceedings  and  Collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society."  \'n  :  161. 


1498 

to  be  found  among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII:  29,  30),  mentioned  on  page 

29,  Vol.  I.    The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  same: 

*  *  *  *'Gen.  Ethan  Allen,  having  a  large  interest  in  that  country  [Wyoming,  or  the 
Susquehanna  Purchase],  proposes  to  take  up  his  future  abode  among  you;  and  as  he  appears 
to  be  a  great  lover  of  peace  and  good  neighbourhood,  I  conclude  you  may  like  him  as  a  neighbour. 
As  it  was  not  previously  known  at  what  time  his  appearance  in  that  quarter  would  be  most 
political  and  to  the  best  advantage,  he,  on  my  positive  requisition  now  makes  this  move,  and 
is,  therefore  {by  what  I  can  learn),  unprovided  for  as  to  personal  support.  Therefore  I  desire 
that  such  provision  as  you  think  proper  may  be  made  (even  on  public  cost,  if  necessary);  for  I 
could  wish  that  his  circumstances  while  among  you  may  be  rendered  as  easy  as  possible,  that 
he  may  be  the  most  free  and  liberal  in  his  counsels  and  plans.'*     *     *     * 

Ethan  Allen  paid  his  long  promised  visit  to  Wyoming  in  April,  1786.  He 
arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  Thursday,  the  27th  of  the  month,  and  during  his 
stay  here  of  about  two  weeks  was  entertained  at  the  home  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler, 
at  the  south-east  corner  of  River  and  Northampton  Streets.*  Col.  John  Frank- 
lin, in  his  "Brief" — frequently  referred  to  hereinbefore — states,  with  reference 
to  this  occurrence:  "In  April,  1786,  Gen.  Ethan  Allen  paid  us  a  visit  at  Wyo- 
ming, and  proposed  to  settle  amongst  us,  and  to  bring  on  with  him  a  number 
of  his  'Green  Mountain  Boys'  and  assist  us  in  supporting  and  defending  our 
rights  against  the  Penns^dvania  claimants.  A  large  number  of  Proprietors' 
Rights  were  given  to  General  Allen  to  induce  him  to  espouse  our  cause." 

*In  a  letter  to  Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  written  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  October.  1787,  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith  stated 
that  it  was  Capt.  Solomon  Strong  who  went  to  Vermont  to  escort  General  Allen  to  Wyoming;  and  that  while  the  latter 
was  here  "he  lodged  with  Zebulon  Butler."  (See  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII  :  331,) 

Capt.  Solomon  Strong  mentioned  above  settled,  in  Wyoming,  in  the  Autumn  of  1773.  and  soon  began  to  take  an 
active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  community.  Judging  by  the  original  documents  in  his  handwriting  which  the  present 
writer  has  seen,  he  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  education.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith  and  James  Sutton  conveyed  to 
him  May  11,1 774,  about  300  acres  of  land  in  Exeter  Township  (being  a  lot  surveyed  to  John  Depew) .  "in  consideration 
of  a  certain  lot  of  land  in  Exeter,  surveyed  to  James  FHnt,  with  a  saw-mill  thereon,  belonging  to  said  Strong."  Pearce 
in  his  "Annals  of  Luzerne  County,"  says:  "The  first  saw  and  grist-mills  in  Lackawanna  Township  were  built  by  the 
town  (then  Pittston)  at  the  falls  on  the  Lackawanna  River  in  the  year  of  1774.  The  next  year  they  passed  into  the 
possession  of  Solomon  Strong,  and  soon  after  were  swept  away  by  a  flood.  In  a  deed  executed  subsequently  to  1787 
(see  Luzerne  County  Deed  Book  III,  page  249)  a  reference  is  made  to  "a  forge  mill-seat  on  the  Lackawanna  Creek 
at  Pittston,  opposite  to  the  place  where  Solomon  Strong's  grist-mill  was  formerly  built— said  forge  being  on  the  south 
side  of  the  said  creek." 

About  1774,  Solomon  Strong  became  a  lot  owner  in  Providence  Township.  Shortly  thereafter  he  sold  300  acres 
of  woodland  in  Providence  to  Benjamin  Bailey  for  "a.  few  furs  and  a  flint  gun." 

In  1776,  and  probably  in  1775.  Solomon  Strong  was  a  tax  payer  in  Pittston  Township,  and  in  1776  was  one  of 
the  Selectmen  of  Westmoreland  and  also  one  of  the  Representatives  from  the  town  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Con- 
necticut. In  October,  1775.  he  was  established  and  commissioned  Captain  of  the  Fourth,  or  Pittston,  Company  of 
the  24th  Regiment.  Connecticut  Militia.     (See"  page  857,  Vol.  II.) 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Connecticut  Assembly  in  October.  1776.  .Solomon  Strong  was  appointed  Captain,  to  serve 
in  one  of  the  eight  battalions  then  ordered  to  be  raised  in  Connecticut.  A  couple  of  months  later,  in  pursuance  of 
the  Assembly's  orders,  the  5th  Regiment,  Connecticut  Line,  was  organized,  to  continue  in  the  Continental  service 
until  the  end  of  the  war.  The  regiment  was  recruited  largely  in  Fairfield  and  Litchfield  Counties,  with  men  from  all 
parts  of  the  State,  and  its  Colonel  was  Philip  B.  Bradley.  Captain  Strong  was  duly  commissioned  and  assigned  to 
this  regiment,  January  1 .  1777.  The  regiment  rendezvoused  at  Danbury,  Connecticut,  and  went  into  camp  at  Peeks- 
kill.  New  York,  in  the  Spring  of  1777.  In  the  following  September,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Pennsylvania  as  a  part 
of  McDougall's  Brigade.  It  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Germantown,  October  4,  1777,  and  later  went  into  winter  quar- 
ters at  Valley  Forge.  The  regiment  participated  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  June  28.  1778,  and  then  went  into  camp 
at  White  Plains.      Captain  Strong  resigned  his  commission  August  25,  1778. 

In  the  winter  of  1780-'81,  Captain  Strong  was  residing  at  Sheffield.  Berkshire  County,  Massachusetts,  where, 
on  February  19,  1781.  describing  himself  as  "gentleman",  he  conveyed  to  Jeremiah  Hogeboom  of  Claverack,  Albany 
(now  Columbia)  County,  New  York,  for  £20,  one-half  right  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase  which  he  had  bought  from 
Abraham  Harding;  also  all  his  right  "in  the  two  ten-mile  tracts  of  land  given  to  the  200  proprietors  that  should  first  set- 
tle on  the  Susquehanna  Purchase."  About  the  time  of  making  this  conveyance,  Captain  Strong  removed  to  Clave- 
rack, where,  on  May  27,  1782,  Abra'aam  Bradley  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  conveyed  to  him  two  half-rights  in  the 
Susquehanna  Purchase. 

At  Claverack,  New  York,  on  November  4,  1783.  Captain  Strong  conveyed  to  Peter  Hogeboom  of  Claverack, 
for  £200,  three  half-rights  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  together  with  all  his  right,  title  and  interest  in  "the  town 
of  Claverack  on  the  Susquehanna  River."  This  town  had  been  laid  out  by  Jeremiah  Hogeboom  and  Solomon  Strong 
at  what  is  now  Towanda,  Bradford  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  Summer  or  Autumn  of  1 774,  in  pursuance  of  author- 
ity received  from  the  Committee  of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  empowered  to  supervise  and  control  the  laying  out 
of  towns  or  townships,  Jeremiah  Hogeboom  reported  to  this  committee  in  June,  1778.  that,  "at  the  request  of  Col. 
John  H.  Lydius,  Balthazar  Lydius,  Capt.  Abraham  Lansing,  Peter  Hogeboom,  and  others,  their  associates,  proprie- 
tors in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  he  had  surveyed  a  township  containing  twenty-five  square  miles  of  land,  lying  partly 
upon  each  side  of  the  river."  This  survey  was  duly  approved  by  Zebulon  Butler  and  Obadiah  Gore  of  the  committee 
above  referred  to.     (For  other  references  to  Lydius  and  Lansing  mentioned  above,  see  pages  270  and  280,  Vol.  I.) 

Under  the  date  of  December  IS.  1785,  Zebulon  Butler  and  Obadiah  Gore,  of  the  committee  for  laying  out  town- 
ships, issued  the  following  certificate:  "This  is  to  certify  that  Col.  Jeremiah  Hogeboom  and  Capt.  Solomon  Strong- 
laid  out  and  located  a  township  on  the  Susquehanna  River,  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  agreeably  to  the  rules  and 
orders  of  The  Susquehanna  Company;  and  it  was  granted  to  them  by  the  Committee  appointed  for  that  purpose, 
and  they  are  still  entitled  to  it — provided  they  Proceed  to  settle  it  by  the  first  of  May  next." 

Although  this  township  was  formally  named  Claverack,  it  was  commonly  called  (circa  1785  and  '86)  "Strong 
and  Hogeboom's  town",  for  the  reason  that  Messrs.  Strong  and  Hogeboom  owned  one-third  of  the  whole  number 
of  "rights"  in  the  town.  In  the  Autumn  of  1800,  Benjamin  Dorrance  of  Kingston  and  Col,  John  Franklin,  by  convey- 
ances from  former  claimants,  became  the  joint-owners  of  over  12,000  acres  of  land  in  Claverack,  which  they  subsequent- 
ly leased  and  sold  to  settlers. 

Captain  Strong,  so  far  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  continued  to  make  his  home  at  Claverack,  New  York,  until 
the  Autumn  of  1785,  when  he  returned  to  Wyoming.  He  was  living  in  the  upper  end  of  Luzerne  County  (probably 
in  what  is  now  Bradford  County)  in  1794. 


1499 

General  Allen's  presence  here  aroused  a  good  deal  of  curiosity  and  comment 
and  the  news  soon  leakedoutthat General  Allen,  Colonel  Franklinand  John  Jenkins, 
Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton  and  Dr.  Caleb  Benton*  of  New  York  vState,  and  Maj. 
William  Judd  of  Farmington  and  the  Hon.  Oliver  Wolcott  of  Litchfield,  Con- 
necticut, and  other  radical  and  ardent  enthusiasts  who  were  members  of  The 
vSusquehanna  Company,  were  determined  to  take  steps  to  erect  a  new  State 
out  of  the  Wyoming  region. 

Of  course  there  were  more  than  a  few  of  the  conservative  settlers  under 
The  vSusquehanna  Company  who  were  strongly  opposed  to  a  move  of  this  kind, 
and  as  a  result  discussions  concerning  the  matter  were  many  and  frequent  in 
the  community  and  sometimes  hot,  while  divers  letters  written  by  the  oppon- 
ents of  the  scheme  were  sent  hence  to  Pennamite  land-claimers  and  State  auth- 
orities at  Sunbury,  Easton  and  Philadelphia.  Up  to  this  time  the  settlers 
under  The  Susquehanna  Company  had  been  singularly  united  and  harmonious 
in  their  policies  and  aims,  but  dissensions  and  jealousies,  and  divergent  views 
as  to  what  was  best  for  the  community,  now  divided  the  inhabitants  into  two 
parties,  and  the  line  of  demarcation  was  sharply  drawn.  Those  who  were  op- 
posed to  any  attempt  being  made  to  erect  a  new  State  out  of  the  Wyoming 
region  saw  that,  in  the  event  of  such  a  procedure,  all  their  hopes  for  an  early 
and  peaceful  solution  of  their  long-standing  difficulty  would  go  a-glimmering. 

Two  or  three  days  before  the  arrival  of  General  Allen  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith  and  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott,  two  of  the  "Directors" 
who  had  been  chosen  by  the  inhabitants  at  their  town-meeting  on  November 
15,    1785,   notified  the  inhabitants  to  attend  a  town-meeting  at  Kingston,   on 

*Caleb  Benton  became  interested  in  WyominL;  affair:^  in  the  Autumn  of  1785.  At  that  time  (according  to  a  mem- 
orandum under  the  date  of  September,  1787.  found  among  the  papers  of  Col,  Timothy  Pickering)  he  resided  af'Hills- 
dale.  Columbia  County.  New  York,  adjoining  Eii^remont,  Berkshire  County,  Ma5sachu5etts,"  In  November.  1786, 
the  town  of  "Hamilton",  five  miles  square,  located  near  the  eighty-ninth  mile-stone  in  the  Pennsylvania — New  York 
boundary-line,  was  "surveyed  for  and  granted  to  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton,  Gen.  Ethan  Allen  and  Dr.  Caleb  Benton, 
and  others  their  associates  to  the  number  of  fifty  half-share  proprietors.  This  survey  was  approved  -November  24, 
1786.  by  John  Franklin  and  John  Jenkins,  "Committee  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  to  order  and  direct  the  layiog 
out  of  towns."  At  the  same  time  the  towns  of  "Goresburgh"  and  "Benton^burgh",  adjoining  "Hamilton",  were  sur- 
veyed, laid  out  and  granted  for  and  to  the  same  proprietors.  Th:?  town  of  Hamilton  was  lo::ated  at  the  junction  of 
the  Cowanesque  and  Tioga  Rivers,  in  what  is  now  Tioga  County,  Pennsylvania.  (See  "Map  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company's  Survey",  facing  page  468.  Vol.  I.) 

In  the  Winter  of  1787-88  the  "New  York  Genesee  Land  Company"  was  organized.  It  was  composed  of  some 
eighty  or  ninety  individuals,  mostly  residing  along  the  Hudson  River,  in  New  York,  and  many  of  whom  were  wealthy 
and  influential.  Dr.  Caleb  Benton,  John  Livingston  of  Livingston  Manor  and  Jared  Coffin  were  the  principal  managers 
of  the  company. 

In  September,  1788,  an  important  council  wa>  held  at  Fort  Schyler  with  the  Six  Nation  Indians  by  Commissioners 
representing  the  State  of  New  York.  Governor  Clinton  was  one  of  the  Commissioners,  and  thousands  of  Indians 
were  present.  During  this  council  careful  inquiry  was  made — by  affidavits,  oral  testimony,  etc. — relative  to  certain 
long  leases  of  land  which  had  been  made  by  land-grabbers  with  the  Indians.  These  leases  were  largely  for  999  years, 
and  covered  all  the  lands  of  the  Six  Nations  in  New  York  except  some  small  reservations.  The  consideration  was 
2000  Spanish  milled  dollars  per  annum.  The  inquiry  conducted  at  the  Fort  Schyuler  Council  exposed  the  fact  that 
a  connected  scheme  of  deception,  bribery  and  threats  had  been  practised  upon  the  Indians. 

The  Commissioners  who  were  conducting  the  Council  finding  that  the  Senecas  were  holding  back  from  a  partici- 
pation in  the  council,  that  many  headmen  of  the  Cayugas  and  Onondagas  were  absent,  and  that  a  counter  gathering 
was  being  held  at  Kanadesaga  (see  page  967,  Vol.  II),  sent  messengers  to  that  town.  Arriving  there  they  found  Dr. 
Caleb  Benton  surrounded  by  Indians  and  his  agents,  dealing  out  liquor  and  goods,  and  delivering  speeches  in  which 
he  assured  the  Indians  that  if  they  went  to  Fort  Schuyler  the  Governor  of  New  York  would  cheat  them  out  of  their 
lands,  etc.  Many  of  these  Indians  were  undeceived,  and  finally  were  induced  to  proceed  to  Fort  Schuyler  when  they 
had  recovered  from  the  beastly  state  of  intoxication  in  which  they  had  been  kept  by  Benton  and  the  other  agents 
of  the  land-grabbing  lessees.  Such  had  been  the  excesses  into  which  they  were  led.  to  keep  them  from  the  council 
at  Fort  vSchuyler.  that  many  of  them,  upon  becoming  sober,  were  too  sick  to  be  able  to  get  to  the  fort;  and  one  of 
the  Cayuga  chiefs  died  on  the  road  thither. 

According  to  the  testimony  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland  (see  page  1190,  Vol.  II)  two  of  the  principal  lessees 
and  their  agents,  in  order  to  hold  the  Cayugas  back  from  the  Fort  Schuyler  council,  had  kept  them  in  a  continual 

state  of  intoxication  for  three  weeks;  and  Dr.  Caleb  Benton  and  Colonel  M had  between  twenty  and  thirty 

riflemen  in  arms  for  twenty-four  hours.  It  may  be  remarked  here,  that  in  1789  the  lessees  were  compelled  to  give  up 
the  long  leases  that  had  occasioned  so  much  trouble.  (See  the  "History  of  the  Pioneer  Settlement  of  Phelps  and  Gor- 
ham's  Purchase;"  by  O.  Turner.  Rochester.  New  York,  1852. 

In  1  795.  at  least  eight  or  ten  townships,  of  16,000  acres  each,  within  the  limits  of  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  were 
granted  by  John  Franklin,  Simon  Spalding  and  John  Jenkins,  Commissioners  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  to  "Dr. 
Caleb  Benton  of  Columbia  County,  New  York",  who  had  bought  up  the  rights  of  a  large  number  of  proprietors.  One 
of  the  townships  thus  granted  was  named  "Savannah,"  and  lay  next  to  Wilkes-Barre  on  the  east — the  metes  and  bounds 
of  the  same  beginning  at  the  south  east  corner  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  north-east  comer  of  Hanover. 

In  1797  and  '98.  Dr.  Benton  was  a  Representative  in  the  New  York  Assembly  from  Columbia  Countj'.  In  1802, 
one  of  the  earliest  and  most  important  turnpikes  in  the  State  of  New  York — the  CatskiU  and  Susquehanna  Turnpike — 
was  completed,  and  soon  became  a  famous  highway  to  Central  New  York  and  the  navigable  Susquehanna,  and  so 
remained  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  centur\-.  In  1804,  Dr.  Benton,  then  living  at  Catskill,  was  President  of  the  cor- 
poration which  owned  and  operated  this  road — he.  his  brother  Stephen  and  John  Livingstone  having  been  among 
the  original  incorporators  of  the  turnpike  company.  Stephen  Benton,  brother  of  Caleb  Benton,  was  a  well-to-do 
merchant  for  many  years  at  Unadilla,  New  York,  having  come  there  from  Sheffield,  Massachusetts,  in  1804. 


1500 

April  28;  but  only  seven  or  eight  persons  responded  to  the  notice.    Consequently 
on  May  4,   1786,  Dr.  Smith  wrote  and  issued  the  following:* 

"A  Serious  Address  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Wyoming." 

"Gentlemen: — Two  reasons  induced  me  to  address  you  in  the  following  manner,  viz.: 
The  first  Reason  is  because  my  interest  is  connected  with  yours.  The  second  Reason  is  my  ap- 
pointment by  you  in  a  public  character. 

Gentlemen  and  neighbors,  what  have  we  been  doing  ever  since  the  Decree  of  Trenton, 
which  determined  the  Jurisdiction  in  favor  of  Pennsylvania?  I  answer,  petitioning  repeatedly 
the  Legislature  for  their  Laws  in  a  Constitutional  line,  and  to  admit  us  as  free  Citizens  of  the 
State — which  is  now  about  to  be  done.  Our  former  conduct  has  the  approbation  of  every  good 
man  in  this  and  neighboring  States.  Pennsylvania  has  fixed  to  us  Terms  of  admittance,  namely, 
that  we  shall  take  the  Oath  of  fidelity  to  the  State,  and  some  of  us  be  recognized. 

"Does  not  Pennsylvania  now  hold  out  to  us  their  Constitution,  and  desire  us  to  take  hold 
of  it?  I  answer.  Yes!  They  have  marked  out  a  Road  for  us  to  walk  in,  in  order  to  a  full  admit- 
tance. They  have  sent  to  us  a  magistrate,  who  attended  to  recognize  the  people ;  who  recommends 
it  to  the  people  to  apply  for  a  free  election.  That  is  now  the  thing  wanting,  namely,  application, 
as  there  is  a  necessity  of  Constables  to  be  elected  in  the  first  place — for  when  a  warrant  is  granted 
for  an  election  it  must  be  directed  to  a  Constable,  who  must  warn,  attend  and  direct  the  Election. 

"As  Captain  Schott  and  myself  are  the  only  Directors  that  are  willing  to  act  at  this  time,  we 
did  warn  a  meeting  for  the  twenty-eight  ult.  at  Kingstown,  which  was  attended  only  by  seven  or 
eight  persons.  What  can  be  the  reason  of  this  conduct?  Do  you  intend  to  prove  to  the  world 
that  you  have  been  hypocritical  from  first  to  last?  God  forbid!  It  has  ever  since  the  Trenton 
Decree,  been  my  sincere  desire  to  embrace  the  Laws  and  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania,  if  I  could 
have  them  on  honorable  Terms.  This  I  also  expected  was  the  desire  of  the  people — a  few  excepted. 
Nothing  but  a  sincere  desire  to  do  good  to  the  people  and  myself  in  this  line  induced  me  to  act 
in  a  public  capacity.  If  I  have  misunderstood  the  people,  I  am  sorry.  This  is  a  critical  hour. 
Pray  rouse,  act  judiciously,  candidly  and  consistently!  and  as  a  warning  will  be  put  up  for  a  meet- 
ing on  the  West  side  of  the  River,  I  do  earnestly  desire  the  people  to  consider  whether  it  is  not 
for  their  interest  to  attend. 

[Signed]     "William  Hooker  SMiTH*'t 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  First  Series,  XI  :  105. 

tWiLLiAM  Hooker  Smith  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  March  23,  1725,  the  eldest  child  of  the  Rev.  John 
and  Mehitabel  (Hooker)  Smith.  The  Rev.  John  Smith  was  the  third  of  the  four  sons  of  Thomas  and  Susannah  {Odell) 
Smith,  and  was  bom  at  Newport-Pa^ell,  Buckinghamshire,  England,  May  5.  1702. 

Thomas  Smith  bom  at  Newport-Pagnell,  September  19,  1675,  was  the  sixth  and  youngest  child  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  (Harlly)  Smith.  William  Smith,  who  had  been  a  soldier  under  Oliver  Cromwell,  was  married,  September 
4,  16(S1,  to  Elfzabeth  Hartly,  and  they  settled  at  Newport-Pagnell. 

Thomas  and  Susannah  (Odell)  Smith  and  their  family  of  three  sons  (the  fourth  and  youngest  had  died  in  infancy) 
sailed  from  London  for  America  May  24,  1715,  and  landed  at  New  York  the  17th  of  the  following  August.  They 
located  in  New  York  City  but  some  years  later  removed  to  Smith's,  or  Woodbury  Cove,  in  Orange  County,  New 
York,  a  few  miles  down  the  Hudson  River  from  West  Point.  There  Thomas  Smith,  the  father,  resided  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  November  17.  1745.  at  the  age  of  70  years,  1  month  and  28  days.  The  date  of  the  death  of  his  wife 
has  not  been  recorded. 

William  Smith,  the  eldest  child  of  Thomas  and  Susannah  (Odell)  Smith,  entered  Yale  College,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1719 — subsequently  becoming  a  tutor  in  the  institution.  Later  he  located  in  New  York  City,  where 
he  became  a  lawyer  of  prominence,  and  served  as  a  member  of  the  King's  Council  of  the  Province  and  as  a  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench.     He  died  at  New  York,  leaving  a  numerous  family. 

Thomas,  the  second  child  of  Thomas  and  Susannah  Smith,  was  a  farmer  at  Woodbury  Cove,  where  he  died,  leav- 
ing a  large  family. 

In  the  winter  of  1722-'23,  while  Jonathan  Edwards  was  preachiqg  in  New  York  City,  he  is  reported  to  have  been 
on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  Smith  family  and  to  have  made  their  house  his  home.  This  intimate  friendship  un- 
doubtedly influenced  John  Smith  to  enter  the  ministry  some  twenty  years  later.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  College 
in  1727,  and  subsequently  practised  medicine  in  New  York  and  in  Guilford,  Connecticut. 

According  to  Dexter's  "Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Graduates  of  Yale  College".  I:  359.  the  history  of  John  Smith 
"for  some  years  after  his  graduation  is  obscure;  he  studied  medicine  as  well  as  theology,  and  the  record  of  his  children 
shows  that  one  died  in  New  York  in  September,  1729,  and  another  in  Guilford  a  few  weeks  later.  He  probably  prac- 
tised medicine  in  both  places."  According  to  an  original  manuscript  written  by  William  Hooker  Smith  about  the 
year  1796,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society.  John  Smith  practiced  his 
profession  at  Milford.  New  Haven  County.  Connecticut,  from  1739  till  1742.  when  he  "got  a  license  to  preach  the 
gospel  as  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  had  a  call  to  Rye  and  there  settled  as  minister." 

At  the  desire  of  the  people  of  Rye.  Westchester  County,  New  York,  the  Eastern  Convocation  of  Ministers  of 
Fairfield  County,  Connecticut,  met  at  Rye  December  30,  1742.  according  to  Dexter,  and  ordained  John  Smith  to  the 
gospel  ministry  and  installed  him  as  pastor  of  the  Church  at  Rye,  Here  Mr,  Smith  for  Dr.  Smith,  as  he  was  commonly 
called,  in  recognition  of  his  useful  labors  as  a  physician)  continued  to  preach  until  the  close  of  his  life.  In  1 752  he  join- 
ed the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  After  a  residence  of  some  years  in  Rye  he  removed  to  White  Plains,  distant  six  or 
seven  miles,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  same  township;  but  he  continued  to  preach  at  Rye  on  alternate  Sabbaths — ■ 
riding  to  and  fro  on  horseback.  In  1763.  he  added  to  his  other  labors  the  care  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Ossining, 
eight  or  ten  miles  distant,  where  he  occasionally  preached  during  the  next  five  years. 

The  Rev.  John  Smith  was  married  May  6,  1724,  to  Mehitabel  (bom  May  1,  1704)  daughter  of  Judge  James  and 
Mary  (Leete)  Hooker  of  Guilford.  Connecticut.  Judge  Hooker  (born  in  Farraington.  Connecticut.  October  27,  1666) 
was  the  first  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Probate  of  Guilford.  He  was  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Hooker,  the  great  Puritan 
reformer  and  founder  of  Hartford.  Connecticut,  Mrs.  Mary  (Leete)  Hooker  was  the  daughter  of  William  Leete,  who 
was  a  signer  of  the  Plantation  Covenant,  1639;  Assistant  of  New  Haven  Colony,  I643-'58;  Deputy  Governor  of 
the  Colony  1658-'61;  Governor,  1676-"83,  and  original  founder  of  New  Haven  Colony. 

The  Rev.  John  and  Mehitabel  (Hooker)  Smith  were  the  parents  of  four  sons  and  eight  daughters.  The  second 
daughter  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Tallmadge,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  in  1747.  The  Rev.  John  Smith 
died  at  White  Plains,  February  26,  1771,  and  was  buried  in  the  chiu-chyard  adjoining  the  church  in  which  he  had  labored. 
The  inscription  on  his  tombstone  refers  to  him  as  the  '  'first  ordained  Minister  of  the  Presbyterian  persuasion  in  Rye 


1501 

and  the  White  Plains,"  and  states  that,  "worn  out  with  variou? 
lived  at  White  Plains  was  still  standing  in  1885,  ab( 
wife  died  September  5,  1775. 

William  Hooker  Smith,  the  eldest  child  of  the  Rev.  John  and  Mehitabel  (Hooker)  Smith,  ai  previously  noted, 
came  with  his  parents  to  Rye.  Westchester  County,  in  1742.  According  to  tha  Histiricil  SDriety  manuscript,  pre- 
viously mentioned,  he  had  gone  from  New  York  City  to  Guilford,  Connecticut,  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  and  lived 
there  with  his  mother's  father,  James  Hooker,  until  he  was  fourteen  yeari  of  age.  when  he  joined  his  parent;  at  Mil- 
ford  and  lived  there  until  the  family  removed  to  Rye.  During  all  that  period — 17.?4  to  1742 — he  declares  he  "never 
had  one  day's  schooling,"  "After  I  came  to  Rye",  he  states.  "I  studied  Physick  undi^r  my  father,  who  was  a  practical 
physician."  In  1748  or  "49  William  Hooker  Smith  removed  to  White  Plains.  In  February,  176^  (according  to  an 
official  record  on  file  in  the  Court  House  at  White  Plains),  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  busineis  in  Rye.  In  1768 
he  was  residing  at  White  Plains,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  as  is  indicated  by  the  following  advertisement 
which  appeared  in  The  Ne^c   York  Jour.nal  of  March  2.  1769.  and  in  previous  issues: 

"Whereas,  the  Rev.  John  Smith.  Minister  of  the  Gospel  in  Rye  and  White  Plains,  is  possessed  of  a  Piece  of  Skill 
for  the  help  of  distracted  Persons,  and  has  been  for  many  years  successful  in  the  cure  of  them — but  being  advanced 
in  years  and  very  infirm — hasthcrefore  communicated  his  Skill  to  his  son,  Wii,li.\m  Hooker  Smith,  who  hereby  informs 
the  Public  that  he  lives  at  the  White  Plains,  and  is  ready  to  serve  in  such  cases,  on  reasonable  terms;  any  Persons  whose 
Friends  or  Relations  may  stand  in  need  of  his  Relief  and  Help  in  so  deplorable  a  Case,  either  at  his  own  House  or 
elsewhere.  And  as  my  Father  has  relieved  a  Number  of  persons  who  have  been  given  up  as  incurable,  who  have  been  • 
under  the  Direction  of  the  ablest  Physicians  in  New  York  and  elsewhere,  and  as  this  is  a  peculiar  Piece  of  Skill,  beside 
the  common  practice;  shall  be  obliged  to  any  Person  of  the  Faculty  that  will  recommend. 

"I  would  further  inform  the  Public  that  I  can  almost  infallibly  determine  the  curable  Persons  by  an  examination 
of  the  Age,  Inclination,  Constitution,  Shape  and  Make  of  the  head,  &c.  For  particulars,  any  Person  desirous  may 
inquire  of  Mr.  Isaac  Rykeman,  in  New  York.  "William  Hooker  Smith  " 

"White  Plains.  September  29,  1768." 

Dr.  Smith  came  from  North  Castle,  Westchester  County,  New  York,  to  Wyoming  in  1772,  joining  here  his  son- 
in-law.  James  Sutton,  who  had  come  hither  from  North  Castle  only  a  short  time  previously.  At  Wyoming,  October 
4,  1771,  James  Sutton  paid  to  Zebulon  Butler,  of  the  Committee  of  Settlers  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  "un- 
lawful money  of  Connecticut,  for  one  Right  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase."  (See  page  1257,  "The  Town  Book  of 
Wilkes-Barre.")  Smith  and  Sutton  acquired  lands  under  a  Susquehanna  Company  title  in  Exeter  Township — which 
as  mentioned  on  page  467.  Vol,  I,  was  laid  out  by  The  Susquehanna  Company  in  November.  1  772.  On  May  1 1 .  1774, 
William  Hooker  Smith  and  James  Sutton  conveyed  to  Solomon  Strong  about  300  acres  in  Exeter — "being  a  lot  sur- 
veyed to  John  Depew" — in  consideration  of  a  lot  of  land  in  Exeter  surveyed  to  James  Flint,  "with  a  saw-mill  thereon, 
belonging  to  said  Solomon  Strong".  (See  "The  Town  Book  of  Wilkes-Barre",  page  1321.)  On  the  28th  of  the  follow- 
ing July  Dr.  Smith  purchased  of  Joseph  Sprague.  for  £100.  "Meadow  hot  No,  46  on  Jacob's  Plains,  in  the  First  Division 
of  Wilkes-Barre",  which  lot  had  been  originally  drawn  by  said  Sprague. 

In  1776,  Dr,  Smith  was  a  taxpayer  in  Kingston  Township,  and  in  1777  and  "78  in  Wilkes-Barre — living  in  what 
is  now  Plains  Township.  In  May,  1777  (as  mentioned  on  page  922)  he  was  established,  and  was  subsequently  com- 
missioned. Captain  of  the  "2d  Alarm  List  Company"  of  the  24th  (Westmoreland)  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Militia. 

On  page  1650.  Vol  III.  of  "Colonial  and  Revolutionary  Families  of  Pennsylvania",  published  in  1911,  the  fol- 
lowing paragraphs  will  be  found:  "Dr,  WiUliam  Hooker  Smith  enli^^ted  at  Wyoming  May  15,  1775,  in  the  Third  Com- 
pany of  the  I'^t  Regiment  of  Connecticut,  raised  hi  Ihe  JVyoming  ]'alley  at  ihe  first  call  for  troops,  and  ser\'ed  with  it 
at  the  siege  of  Boston.  He  marched  with  this  regiment  from  Boston  to  New  York  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  where 
they  were  encamped  until  September  at  Harlem.  About  September  28,  1775,  the  regiment,  under  General  Szhuyler, 
marched  to  the  Northern  Department.  New  York,  and  took  part  in  the  campaign  along  Lakes  Champlain  and  George 
and  assisted  in  the  reduction  of  St.  John  in  October. 

"Doctor  Smith  left  this  regiment  in  December,  1775.  and  enlisted  in  the  10th  Continental  Regiment  of  Connecticut 
under  Colonel  Parsons  in  1776,  and  marched  under  General  Washington  to  New  York  City,  taking  part  in  the  battle 
of  Long  Island  August  27.  1776.  In  1777  Doctor  Smith  was  commissioned  Captain  in  the  24th  Connecticut  Regi- 
ment. May  27,  1778,  he  was  commissioned  Surgeon  of  the  regiment  and  served  in  this  capacity  during  the  remainder 
of  the  Re-i-ohitionary  struggle.  He  assisted  in  the  building  of  Forty  Fort,  but  was  away  with  the  army  at  the  time  of  the 
[Wyoming)  Massacre." 

There  is  very  much  more  of  fiction  than  of  truth  in  the  two  foregoing  paragraphs.  No  enlistments  whatever 
took  place  at  Wyoming  in  May.  1775,  "at  the  first  call  for  troops".  Moreover,  at  that  time  Doctor  Smith  was  not 
only  beyond  the  military  age,  as  fixed  by  Connecticut  statute  law  (see  pages  826  and  827,  Vol.  II),  but  was  exempt 
from  military  service  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  he  was  a  practising  physician. 

The  writer  of  the  paragraphs  in  question  undoubtedly  consulted,  before  writing  them,  the  book  entitled  "Con- 
necticut in  the  Revolution",  which  was  compiled  by  authority  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  and  published 
at  Hartford  in  1889.  Therein  will  be  found  the  records  of  service  and,  so  far  as  they  have  been  preserved,  the  rosters 
of  certain  companies  of  the  Ist  and  10th  Connecticut  Regiments.  The  name  "William  Smith",  appears  in  the  roster 
of  private  soldiers  of  the  Third  Company  of  the  1st  Regiment  in  1775.  and  in  1776  the  same  name  appears  in  the  roster 
of  Captain  Gallup's  company  of  the  lOth  Continental  Regiment  of  the  Connecticut  Line.  But  this  "William  Smith" 
■icas  not  William  Hooker  Smith.  The  latter,  as  shown  by  existing  legal  documents  and  other  manuscripts,  always — 
from  as  early  at  lea^t.  as  the  year  1765,  until  his  death— =was  particular  to  use  his  full  name  when  he  had  occasion  to 
write  it  in  business  and  other  transactions.  In  consequence,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  had  he  enli;tid  as  a  soldier  he 
would  have  seen  to  it  that  his  correct  name  should  appear  in  the    records  of  his  Company. 

Furthermore.  Doctor  Smith  was  in  Wyoming  during  the  years  1775.  1776  and  1777,  as  is  evidenced  by  authentic 
records  of  that  period  which  have  been  preserved;  and.  what  is  an  equally  interesting  fact,  there  is  not  in  the  rosters 
of  the  two  Connecticut  Companies  mentioned  above  the  name  of  a  single  Wyoming  man! 

When,  in  May,  1777.  Doctor  Smith  was  appointed  and  commissioned  Captain  of  one  of  the  "Alarm  List"  Com- 
panies of  the  Westmoreland  Regiment,  he  was  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  life,  and  could  not.  therefore,  under  the 
then  law  of  Connecticut  (see  page  91 1 ,  Vol.  II).  be  "included  in  that  part  of  the  militia  called  the  train-band". 

The  writer  of  the  paragraphs,  which  we  have  extracted  from  "Colonial  and  Revolutionary  Families"  states  that 
on  May  27.  1778,  Doctor  Smith"  was  commissioned  Surgeon  of  the  [24th]  Regiment,  and  served  in  this  capacity  during 
the  remainder  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  He  assisted  in  the  building  of  Forty  Fort,  but  was  away  with  the  army 
at  the  time  of  the  [Wyoming]  massacre." 

Forty  Fort  was  built  in  1772.  before  Doctor  Smith  came  to  Wyoming. 

The  present  writer  has  been  unable  to  find  anywhere  any  authentic  record  to  the  effect  that  Doctor  Smith  was 
ever  appointed,  or  ever  served  as.  Surgeon  of  the  24th  Regiment.  The  existence  of  the  regiment  ended,  practically, 
with  its  defeat  and  rout  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  July  3.  1778.  At  the  time  of  that  battle  and  the  subsequent  mass- 
acre Doctor,  or  Captain  Smith  was  not  "away  with  the  army",  but  was  at  Fort  Wilkes-Barre  in  command  of  the  slen- 
der garrison. 

After  the  surrender  of  this  fort  to  the  enemy  and  their  destruction  of  it.  Captain  Smith  repaired  to  Fortv  Fort, 
where  he  remained  until  about  July  1 8th,  when  he  set  out  for  Fort  Penn.  He  seems  to  have  been  at  Catawissa  (on  the 
Susquehanna,  about  forty  miles  south-west  of  Wilke-s-Barre)  at  some  time  between  July  22nd  and  July  30th.  He  was 
atFort  Pennon  July  30,  (as  noted  on  page  1060),  but  a  few  days  later  returned  to  Wilke.-Barre  in  the  detachment  of 
mihtia  commanded  by  Colonel  Butler.  (See  page  1095)  From  that  time  until  the  Summer  of  1780  he  was  in  the  mil- 
itary service  at  the  Wyoming  Po^t.  Wilkes-Barre.  in  command  of  a  small  company  of  Wyoming  militiamen,  except 
during  a  brief  period  in  1779,  when  he  accompanied  the  Sullivan  Expedition  in  the  capacity  of  an  Assistant  Surgeon 
or  Surgeon's  Mate. 

In  the  Summer  of  1  780,  Doctor  Smith  was  appointed  a  Surgeon's  Mate  in  the  Pennsvlvania  Line,  and  was  stationed 
at  Fort  Wyoming,  Wilkes-Barre,  in  the  performance  of  his  duty  until  the  close  of  the  war.  With  reference  to  his  ser- 
vices at  this  period  the  following  paragraphs  have  been  extracted  from  an  offi::ial  document  entitled  "Revolutionary 
Claims",  issued  by  the  United  States  Government  in   1838. 

"December  22,  1837.  The  Committee  on  Revolutionary  Claims  [of  the  House  of  Representatives],  to  which  was 
referred  the  petition  of  the  heirs  of  William  Hooker  Smith,  report:  It  appears  from  the  tetimony  in  this  case  that 
William  Hooker  Smith  was  appointed  a  Surgeon's  Mate  in  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  on  the  Continental  Establishment, 


1502 

at  an  early  period  of  the  Revolutionary  Contest,  and  continued  in  service  to  the  end  of  the  war.  It  further  appears 
from  the  depositions  of  Thomas  Williams,  George  P.  Ransom,  Rufus  Bennet.  Elisha  Blackman  and  Gen.  WilUam 
Ross  that,  from  July  3,  1778,  until  the  close  of  the  war,  Doctor  Smith  acted  as  surgeon  at  the  post  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
Wyoming  Valley,  and  that  he  was  the  only  officer  of  the  medical  staff  attached  to  that  post  during  that  period.  The 
garrison  consisted  of  two  companies  of  regulars,  and  the  militia  of  the  Valley. 

"These  facts  sustain,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  the  claim  of  the  petitioners  to  commutation  on  account 
of  the  services  of  the  said  Doctor  Smith,  and  a  Bill  is  accordingly  reported." 

"Act  of  Congress  allowing  commutation  to  representatives  of  William  Hooker  Smith  passed  during  the  Second 
Session  of  the  XXVth  Congress.     Approved  July  7,  1838." 

The  amount  of  money  appropriated,  and  subsequently  paid,  to  the  heirs  of  Doctor  Smith,  under  this  Act  of  Con- 
gress, was  S2,400. 

Relative  to  the  aforementioned  grant  by  Congress  the  Wyoming  Republican  and  Farmer's  Herald  (Wilkes-Barre) 
of  June  6,  1838,  printed  the  following:  "By  the  proceedings  of  Congress  we  see  that  a  Bill  has  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  granting  to  the  heirs  of  the  late  Wm.  Hooker  Smith  compensation  for  his  services  at  Wyoming  in 
the  Revolutionary  War.  Dr.  Smith  acted  in  the  capacity  of  Surgeon  and  Captain.  The  grant  is  just.  His  services 
were  of  a  highly  meritorious  character.  We  are  glad  to  see  claims  for  Wyoming  Services  and  sufferings  recognized 
at  Washington." 

Upon  the  organization  of  Luzerne  County,  early  in  1787,  Doctor  Smith  was  elected  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and 
for  the  First  District  of  the  new  County,  and  was  also  commissioned  one  of  the  seven  "Justices  of  the  County  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  in  and  for  said  Count/".  His  commission,  dated  May  27,  1787,  was  signed  by  Benjamin  Franklin, 
President  of  the  State.  Judge  Smith  took  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  of  office  at  Wilkes-Barre  May  39,  1787.  and  ex- 
ercised the  duties  of  his  office  until  1  791 .  when  the  new  Cons^titutionof  Pennsylvania,  adopted  in  1790,  effected  general 
and  important  charges  in  the  Courts  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Dr.  Horace  Hollister,  in  his  "History  of  the  Lackawanna  Valley.  Pennsylvania"  (the  first  edition  of  which  was 
published  in  1857),  makes  the  following  references  to  Doctor  Smith.  "One  of  those  unusual  characters,  who  give 
color  and  shape  in  a  great  measture  to  the  community  around  them,  was  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith.  Having  a  win- 
ning and  superior  tact,  he  was  enabled  to  take  hold  of  the  affections  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  Valley,  which 
he  retained  as  the  chief  physician  for  a  long  period  of  years.  He  was  a  citizen  of  influence  and  property.  *  *  * 
His  remarkable  acuteness  of  perception  is  exhibited  nowhere  so  boldly  as  upon  the  Luzerne  County  records,  where 
are  recorded  his  purchases  of  the  right  'to  dig  iron  ore  and  the  mineral  called  stone-coal,  or  any  other  mineral,  as  he 
the  said  Smith  may  think  proper  to  dig  or  raise.' 

"These  purchases,  considered  then  so  visionary  by  the  inhabitants  who  knew  nothing  of  the  nature  nor  the  ex- 
istence of  coal,  were  made  between  the  years  1791  and  1798,  in  the  townships  of  Exeter,  Plvmouth,  Pittston.  Provi- 
dence and  Wilkes-Barre.  The  first  was  made  July  4,  1791,  of  John  Scott  of  Pitt>ton,  who,  for  the  sum  of  five  shill- 
ings. Pennsylvania  money,  sold  one-half  of  any  mineral,  or  ore  of  iron,  or  other  metal,  which  he  the  said  Smith,  or 
his  heirs  or  assigns,  may  discover  on  the  hilly  land  of  Ihe  said  John  Scott  by  the  red  spring,  or  adjacent,  with  free 
liberty  to  dig  and  raise  any  ore  on  said  lands,  to  dig  and  carry  off  any  ore  or  mineral,  without  interruption. 

[Some  of  the  other  grantors  to  Dr.  Smith,  of  rights  and  privileges  similar  to  the  foregoing,  were:  Isaac  Benjamin, 
Plymouth.    1794;   Martin   Smith,   Newport,    1792;   Luther  Jones,   Wilkes-Barre,    1799.] 

"While  these  purchases  were  the  result  of  the  superior  foresight  of  Smith,  stone-coal  and  iron-ore  lands  possessed 
so  little  value  here  that  their  owners  were  glad  to  exchange  them  for  a  mere  nothing.  In  1850  these  old  claims  passed 
into  the  hands  of  George  P.  Steele  [of  W'ilkes-Barrej.  and  the  same  vear  to  their  present  owner,  T.  Ross  Snowden  of 
Philadelphia. 

"After  the  Sullivan  Expedition  Doctor  Smith  located  on  the  Lackawanna  River  near  the  place  subsequently 
designated  as  Old  Forge  [then  in  Pitt  lown  Township],  where  first  in  the  valley  [of  Lackawanna]  the  trip-hammer 
sound  reverberated  along  its  banks.  The  forge  stood  immediately  below  the  rapids,  or  falls,  in  the  Lackawanna,  and 
was  erected  (upon  the  site  of  the  griM-mill  spoken  of  before)  by  Doctor  Smith  and  James  Sutton  in  the  Spring  of  1789. 
Two  fires  and  one  trip-hammer  furnished  about  400  pounds  of  iron  in  twelve  hours,  from  ore  procured  from  the  neigh- 
boring hills." 

Relative  to  the  mineral  rights  acquired  by  Dr.  Smith,  a^  mentioned  above,  the  following  paragraphs  appeared 
in  The  Record  of  the  Tifnes,  Wilkes-Barre.  in  the  Summer  of  1859.  "J.  R.  Snowden  vs.  The  North  Pennsylvania  Coal 
Co.  In  Special  June  Court,  1859.  Colonel  Snowden  claims,  under  one  of  the  old  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith  reservations, 
some  200  acres  of  land  purchased  by  and  in  the  possession  of  the  Company.  This  is  a  pioneer  suit  in  the  Smith  claims, 
which,  if  successful,  will  cause  considerable  trouble  among  purchasers  of  coal  lands,  the  Doctor  having  obtained 
reservations  of  all  the  minerals  under  ^  great  portion  of  the  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  Valleys." 

At  some  time  between  1788  and  1795  Dr.  Smith  removed  from  Jacob's  Plains  in  Wilkes-Barre  Township  to  Old 
Forge,  previously  mentioned.  In  1796,  he  was  still  residing  in  Pittston  Township.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  the 
north-western  comer  of  Luzerne  County,  in  what  is  now  Windham  Township.  Wyoming  County.  A  few  years  later 
he  removed  thence  to  Tunkhannock  Township,  in  what  is  now  Wyoming  County,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until 
his  death. 

Peck,  in  his  "Wyoming"  (edition  of  1872,  page  206).  says:  "Dr.  Smith,  during  his  latter  years,  vvas  known  to  be 
somewhat  skeptically  inclined.  The  idea  of  a  warning  from  the  spirit  of  his  departed  wife  proves  that  at  the  time 
he  had  strong  convictions  of  the  existence  of  disembodied  spirits.  Whether  the  serious  circumstances  by  which  he 
was  then  surrounded  for  the  time  dissipated  his  doubts,  or  the  sense  of  personal  security  which  super\'ened  in  after 
years  overcame  the  convictions  of  earlier  life,  we  are  not  prepared  to  saJ^"    He  was  undoubtedly  a  beUever  in  dreams. 

Prior  to  1809  Dr.  Smith  WTote  a  treatise  on  alchemy.  Under  the  date  of  September  1,  1809.  he  enclosed  the  MS 
of  this  treatise,  together  with  other  MSS,  (all  in  his  own  handwriting),  in  an  envelope,  upon  which  he  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing directions:  "Let  the  papers  which  are  wrapped  up  with  this  book  be  kept  with  this  book  until  Isaac  Smith 
Osterhout,  son  of  Isaac  Osterhout  and  my  daughter  Suzannah  Osterhout.  comes  of  age.  Then  the  papers  and  this 
book  I  wish  to  be  delivered  to  him.  I  am  very  sick,  and  expect  to  dye  in  a  few  days,  &  I  dye  in  the  full  belief  of  the 
art  of  Transmutation.      [Signed]     Wm.   Hooker  Smith." 

The  original  envelope  above  mentioned,  as  well  as  some  of  the  MSS.  which  it  contained,  are  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  present  writer.  One  of  the  manuscripts  relates  to  a  process  by  which  the  writer  declared  it  was  possible  to  trans- 
mute copper  into  silver.  Appended  to  the  "receipt"  is  this  statement:  "This  discovery  is  worth  £500.  It  i^  my  own 
entirely.     March  8.   1809.  [Signed]  "Wm.  Hooker  Smith." 

Although  Dr.  Smith  was  then  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  life  he  did  not  "dye  in  a  few  days,"  but  lived  several 
years  longer.  In  1812  his  treatise  on  alchemy  was  printed  and  published  in  pamphlet  form,  bearing  the  following 
title:  "Alchymy  Explained,  and  made  Familiar;  or  a  Drop  of  Honey,  for  a  Despairing  Alchymist:  Collected  from 
the  Alchymistic  Rock,  or  Philosopher's  Stone.  By  William  Hooker  Smith,  M.  D.  Putnam  Township,  Luzerne  County 
Pennsylvania,  January  1,  1813.     Printed  for  the  Author." 

What  was  then  Tunkhannock  Township  had  been  originally  Putnam  Township  (see  page  1497);  but  although 
the  name  had  been  changed  in  1790  many  residents  of  the  township  and  County  continued  to  refer  to  the  township 
by  its  early  name. 

Kulp,  in  his  "Families  of  the  W^yoming  Valley."  Ill  :  222.  says:  "In  religious  belief  Dr.  Smith  was  a  predestin- 
arian  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word.  In  his  will,  written  by  his  own  hand  and  dated  March  19.  1810,  he  uses  the 
following  language:  'I  recommend  my  soul  to  Almighty  God  that  gave  it  to  me,  nothing  doubting  but  that  I  shall 
be  finally  happy.  My  destiny  I  believe  was  determined  unalterably  before  I  had  existence.  God  does  not  leave  any 
of  His  works  at  random,  subject  to  chance;  but  in  what  place,  where  or  how  I  shall  be  happy,  I  know  not.'  And  at 
the  close  of  his  will  the  following:  'Now,  to  the  sacred  spring  of  all  mercies,  and  original  fountain  of  all  goodness 
to  the  Infinite  and  Eternal  Being  whose  purpose  is  unalterable,  whose  power  and  dominion  is  without  end.  whose 
compassion  fails  not,  to  the  High  and  Lofty  One  Who  inhabits  eternity  and  dwells  in  light,  be  glory,  majesty,  dominion 
and  power,  now  and  forevermore.  Amen!'  " 

Dr,  Smith  died  at  his  home  in  Tunkhannock  July  17,  1815.  aged  90  years,  3  months  and  24  days. 

William  Hooker  vSmith  was  married,  first,  in  1743.  to  Sarah  (born  March  13,  1725),  daughter  of  Jonathan  Brown 
of  Rye.  New  York.  As  stated  in  the  note  on  page  1056,  Vol.  II,  Mrs.  Smith  died  at  Wyoming  in  the  Summer  of  1778. 
According  to  the  record  made  by  Dr.  Smith  in  his  family  Bible,  she  died  on  Friday,  June  12.  1778.  about  9  o'clock  at 


1503 

night,  and  was  buried  June  14,  on  Dr.  Smith's  land  at  Jacob's  Plains.  Concerning  her  Dr.  Smith  wrote  in  his  Bible 
the  following  paragraph:  "My  first  wife,  Sarah,  was  in  some  part  of  her  time — until  she  was  changed  by  the  power 
of  God  from  a  State  of  Nature  to  a  State  of  Grace — of  an  uneasy,  worldly  disposition,  but  after  her  change,  perfectly 
Easy.  She  was  Modest,  Chaste,  Honest,  Sober  and  Religious.  She  told  me  in  her  last  hours  she  had  made  her  peace 
with  God.    She  said  she  knew  in  whom  she  had  trusted,  and  that  she  would  not  be  deceived." 

At  W'ilkes-Barre,  November  2,  1779,  Dr.  Smith  was  married  (2nd)  to  Mrs.  Margery  (Kellogg)  Smith,  mentioned 
on  page  1400.  Mrs.  Smith  was  a  widow  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  and  with  her  children — one  of  them 
a  daughter  named  Olive,  aged  between  two  and  three  years,  and  another  a  daughter  named  Esther,  aged  about  one 
year — escaped  down  the  river.     A  few  months  later  they  returned  to  Wyoming. 

By  his  first  marriage  Dr.  Smith  was  the  father  of  the  following  named  childreu^the  first  two  of  whom  were  born 

at  Rve,  and  all  the  others  of  White  Plains.  New  York,     (i)  Mary,  bom  March  13.  1744;  became  the  wife  of 

Baker  of  New  York  City,  (ii)  Sarah,  born  January  19.  1747,  died  in  Exeter.  Pennsylvania.  August  20,  1834.  (iii) 
Susannah,  born  November  17,  1750;  died  in  Wyoming  Valley  June  12.  1778.  (iv)  John,  bom  January  29,1752.  (v) 
Marlha,  bom  March  27.  1754.     (vi)  James,  bom   May  1.  1757.     (vii)  Elizabeth,  bom  June  4,    1759:  became  the  wife 

of Bailey,  and  lived  and  died  in  "the  lake  country,"  New  York,     (viii)  Deborah,  bom  August  22,  1761.     (ix) 

William,  bom  October  7,  1762.     (x)  Jonathan,  born  August  27,  1764. 

(ii)  Sarah  Smith,  bom  January  18,  1747,  was  married  in  Westchester  County,  New  York,  June  2,  1769,  to  James 
Sutton  (bora  March  7,  1744),  who  at  that  time,  and  for  some  years  later,  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  North 
Castle,  We:?tchester  County.  He  belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  "Quakers".  As  noted  hereinbefore  (page 
15011  Mr.  Sutton  came  to  Wyoming  and  purchased  lands  in  the  Autumn  of  1771,  but  he  did  not  bring  his  family 
with  him  then  nor  did  he  himself  remain  here  long.  Just  at  that  period  the  times  in  Wyoming  were  somewhat  dis- 
jointed and  unsettled- 

Inasmuch  as  his  third  child  (Deborah)  was  bom  in  North  Castle,  in  1773.  and  as  his  name  does  not  appear  in  the 
Westmoreland  tax-list  for  1776  (i^ee  page  877,  Vol.  II.),  it  is  quite  probable  that  he  and  his  family  did  not  locate  here 
until  late  in  1775  or  early  in  1776.  They  took  up  their  residence  on  Jacobs  Flams  in  Wilkes-Barre  Township, 
but  shortly  afterwards  removed  to  Exeter  Township,  where,  as  stated  in  the  note  on  page  989,  Vol,  II.  he  and  James 
Hadsall  built  and  operated  the  first  grist-mill  and  saw-mill  in  Exeter  Township,  near  the  mouth  of  the  stream  which 
soon  became  known  as  Sutton's  Creek.  The  name  of  James  Sutton  appears  as  a  tax-payer  in  Exeter  Township  in 
the  Westmoreland  tax-lists  of  1777  and  1778.  (See  pages  947  and  952.) 

In  1778  Air.  Sutton  leased  his  interest  in  the  Exeter  mills,  purchased  a  mill-seat  at  what  was  afterwards  known 
as  Mill  Hollow,  within  the  present  limits  of  the  borough  of  Luzeme,  and  removed  his  family  thither.  When  the  British 
and  Indians  made  their  incursion  into  Wyoming  in  July.  1778.  the  Suttons  repaired  to  Forty  Fort  and  were  there 
when  the  fort  was  surrendered  to  the  enemy  on  July  4th.  The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs  Sutton  at  that  time  consisted  of 
their  daughters  Polly  and  Deborah  and  son  William.  Their  daughter  Sarah  C.  (the  youngest  child)  had  died  in  May, 
1778.  aged  about  eleven  months.  (It  is  erroneously  stated  on  page  1056.  Vol.  II.  that  in  July,  1778,  the  family  con- 
sisted of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sutton,  "their  daughter  Deborah,  and  a  younger  daughter.") 

As  narrated  on  page  1056  the  Suttons  fled  from  Wyoming  about  the  20th  of  July.  1778.  floating  do\vn  the  Sus- 
quehanna on  a  raft  to  Middletown,  below  Harrisburg.  There  they  remained  for  nearly  two  years,  when  they  returned 
to  Wyoming.  The  name  of  James  Sutton  appears  in  the  Westmoreland  tax-lists  for  1780  and  1781.  and  in  the  roster 
of  Capt.  John  Franklin's  militia  company  for  April.  1780.  (see  page  1229,  Vol.  II.)  In  1781-'82  he  was  a  private 
in  the  First  Company  of  the  5th  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Militia,  commanded  by  Captain  Franklin  at  Wyoming 
(See  page  1230.  Vol.  II.) 

For  tome  time  after  the  return  of  the  Suttons  to  Wyoming  they  lived  on  River  Street,  between  Market  and  North- 
ampton Streetf,  Wilkes-Barre.  Their  home  was  burned  down  in  1784,  during  the  Second  Pennamite-Vankee  War, 
and  then  they  returned  to  their  former  home  in  Mill  Hollow.  A  few  years  later  they  moved  up  to  Exeter.  July  4 
1808,  James  Sutton  was  commissioned  a  Ju>tice  of  the  Peace,  and  the  ?ame  day  was  appointed  Sealer  of  Weights, 
and  Mea^^urer  for  Luzerne  County.  At  this  time  he  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  James 
Sutton  died  at  his  home  in  Exeter  July  19.  1824.  and  his  wife  died  there  August  20,  1834.  Their  children,  who  grew 
to  maturity  were  as  follows:  (I)  Mary  {■'Polly")  5m//o??.  bom  September  30.  17^70.  She  became  the  wife  of  Putnam  Cat- 
lin  a  member  of  the  Bar  of  Luzeme  County,  who  died  at  Great  Bend.  Pennsylvania,  in  1842.  (For  a  sketch  of  his  Hfe 
see  a  subsequent  chapter  )  She  died  at  Delta.  New  York.  July  15.  1844.  (2)  Deborah  Sullon.  bom  at  North  Castle. 
Westchester  County.  New  York.  Febmary  8.  1773.  She  was  married  May  16.  1799.  as  his  second  wife,  to  Jacob  Bedford 
(bom  in  1762.  son  of  Stephen  Bedford),  who  came  from  New  York  to  Wyoming  Valley  in  1792,  and  settled  in  Kingston 
To\vnship.  (The  firtt  wife  of  Jacob  Bedford  was  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Carpenter  of  Kingston  Township,  of  whom 
a  biographical  note  will  be  found  hereinafter.)  Jacob  Bedford  was  commissioned  Coroner  of  Luzeme  County  November 
3.  1804.  In  October.  1810,  he  and  Jabez  Hvde  were  cho'-en  by  the  votes  of  the  electors  of  Luzeme  County  as  can- 
didates for  the  office  of  Sheriff.  The  Govem'or  of  the  Commonwealth  selected  Mr.  Hyde  for  the  office  and  duly  com- 
missioned him.  Jacob  Bedford  died  at  Waverly,  Lackawanna  County,  Pennsylvania,  August  23.  1849.  and  his  wife 
Deborah  died  there  April  3,    1869. 

Dr.  Feck,  in  his  "Wyoming",  devotes  a  chapter  to  Mrs.  Deborah  Bedford.  Writing  in  1858.  he  says  of  her:  "From 
early  childhood  she  has  maintained  a  character  not  only  without  reproach,  but  above  suspicion.  She  is  the  oracle  of 
her  family  circle,  and  is  universally  loved.  She  is  one  of  the  few  instances  which  are  seen  in  a  century,  of  a  contented 
happy,  hopeful  mind,  which  has  home  the  friction  and  sustained  the  hardships  of  eighty-five  years.  She  joined  the 
first  I^Iethodi;t  Society  which  was  formed  in  Wyoming.  Her  memory  of  the  events  of  the  olden  time  is  still  quite 
perfect,  and  her  relations  are  given  with  more  emotion  than  is  common  to  those  of  her  years." 

Andrew  Bedford,  bom  in  Kingston  Township.  Luzeme  County,  April  IJ-.  1800,  was  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Deborah 
(Sultou)  Bedford.  In  1824  he  pursued  a  course  of  medicine  in  the  Medical  School  of  Yale  College,  and  soon  thereafter 
began  to  practice  his  profession  at  Abington  Center.  Luzerne  County  (now  the  borough  of  Waverly.  Lackawanna 
County).  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Constitutional  Convention  of  1837-'38  and  in  October. 
1840.  was  elected  (on  the  Democratic  ticket)  Prothonotary.  Clerk  of  the  Courts  of  Quarter  Sessions  and  Oyer  and  Ter- 
miner, and  Clerk  of  the  Orphan's  Court  of  Luzeme  County.  At  that  period  these  several  oflices  were  held  by  one  per- 
son. Dr.  Bedford  entered  upon  the  duties  of  these  offices  in  Januar\',  1841,  for  a  term  of  three  vears.  at  the  end  of 
which  he  was  re-elected  to  serve  a  second  term.  He  was  the  first  Burgess  of  the  borough  of  Waverly  (incorporated 
in  January,  1854),  holding  the  office  continuously,  by  successive  elections,  until  1871.  He  also  held  the  offices  of 
Postmaster  and  School  Director  at  different  times,  and  in  1840  was  one  of  the  corporators  of  the  Madison  Academy 
at  Waverly. 

Dr.  Bedford  was  twice  married.  First,  Febmarv  18.  1827,  to  Hannah  (bora  October  22,  1806K  third  child  of 
Benjamin  and  Lydia  (Fuller)  Reynolds  of  Plymouth.  Pennsylvania;  second,  in  1853,  to  Mrs,  Marv  M.  (Porter)  Burtiss. 
widow  of  John  M.  Burtiss  and  daughter  of  Maj.  Orlando  Porter,  at  one  time  a  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre.  By  his  first 
marriage  Dr.  Bedford  had  seven  sons,  and  by  his  second  marriage  one  son  and  one  daughter.  George  Rejiiolds  Bedford 
(born  November  22,  1840),  a  prominent  citizen  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  a  member  of  the  Bar  of  Luzerne  Countv.  is  the 
sLxth  child  of  Dr.  Andrew  and  Hannah  (Reynolds)  Bedford.   Dr.  Bedford  died  at  his  home  in  Waverlv  September  3.1889. 

(3)  William  Sullon.  bora  Febmar>'  20.  1775;  died  January  30.  1828,  was  the  fourth  child  of  James  and  Sarah 
(Smith)  Sutton.  (4)  Ja7nes  Sultan,  born  September  10,  1779:  died  July  27,  1827,  was  the  sLxth  child  of  Tames  and 
Sarah.  His  wife  was  Nancy  Smith,  and  they  had  a  son,  James  H.  (bora  in  April.  1817).  who  was  living  in  Honesdale. 
Pennsylvania,  in  1898.  (5)  Sarah  Sutton,  bora  Tuly  4,  1782.  was  the  seventh  child  of  Tames  and  Sarah.  She  was  married 
at  Exeter  November  17.  1800.  to  Daniel  Sterling,  and  died  June  12.  1812.  (6)  John  Suttou.  bora  October  9.  1786. 
was  the  ninth  child  of  James  and  Sarah.  He  became  an  Indian  trader  in  early  manhood,  and  in  time  his  family  lost 
track  of  him.  (7)  Samuel  Sutton,  bora  November  2,  1788,  was  the  tenth  and  yoimgest  child  of  James  and  Sarah. 
He  was  married  November  14,  1822,  to  Mary  Dorrance  (born  January  26,  1799).  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Mary  (Dor- 
rance)  Buckingham  of  Kingston.  Samuel  Sutton  died  March  25,  1842,  and  his  wife,  Mary  D.  died  March  13,  1882. 
They  were  the  parents  of  (a)  Nancy  Anne,  (b)  James,  (c)  Stephen  B.,  (d)  Samuel  and  (e)  Charles  B.  (twinsl.  and  C^) 
Benjamin  D.  (e)  Charles  B.  Sutton  (bora,  July  9,  1830;  died  September  6.  1897)  was  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  from  Febraary.  1886.  to  April.  1892.  (b)  James  Sutton  (bora  December  22,  1825).  the  last  survivor  of  the 
family  of  James  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Sutton.  Mr.  Sutton  died  in  Wilkes-Barre.  June  15,  1917.  establishing  by  his  will 
the  Sutton  Home  for  Men. 

(iii)  Susattfiah  Smith,  bom  November  17,  1750.  was  married  in  1774  to  Lemuel  Gustine.  Jr..  bom  at  Saybrook, 
Connecticut,  in  1749,  the  son  of  Lemuel  Gustine,  Sr.,  and  grandson  of  Samuel  Gustine  of  Stonington,  Connecticut. 


1504 

On  the  same  day  that  he  wrote  the  foregoing  address  Dr.  Smith  wrote 
to  Jonathan  Corey  and  James  Lasley  of  Hanover,  in  part  as  follows:* 

"I  am  as  fond  of  my  proprietors  Right  as  any  man.  Perhaps  I  wish  to  obtain  it  in  a  sure 
way.  I  urged  Colonel  Franklin  many  times  last  Winter  to  make  provision  for  the  half-share 
men.  I  am  convinced  that  Pennsylvania  will  give  us  some  lands — whether  it  will  be  only  the 
Towns  which  were  laid  out  and  confirmed  whilst  we  were  under  Connecticut,  or  whether  they 
will  give  us  a  certain  right  on  each  side  the  River,  is  to  me  unknown.  I  wish  from  my  heart  that 
those  of  the  half-share  men  which  are  honest,  well-disposed  men  would  get  into  the  Towns  which 
are  laid  out,  or  plant  themselves  on  vacant  lands  as  near  the  River  as  possible,  so  that  they  may 
be  included  with  us  who  are  settlers. 

"Pray,  Gentlemen,  have  we  not  told  Pennsylvanians,  and  the  whole  World,  that  we  wished 
to  be  owned  by  them  in  a  constitutional  way,  and  that  then  we  would  submit  to  their  Govern- 
ment? They  have  at  last  held  out  to  us  terms  of  admittance.  We  have  complied  to  every  Re- 
quisition— conditionally  that  they  do  us  Justice.  Are  not  most  of  us  under  the  Tie  of  an  Oath 
to  the  State?  Have  we  not  voted  that  we  will  take  their  Laws?  Pray  Sirs,  if  we  shall  now  refuse 
to  take  their  laws,  or  act  in  violation  [of  them],  what  can  we  expect  but  to  be  despised  by  all 
men,  expect  the  severe  resentment  of  the  State,  and  to  be  treated  as  Rebels  and  Traitors? 
*     *     *     For  my  part,  I  should  not  expect  pity  either  from  God  or  Man." 

The  name  of  Lemuel  Gustine.  Jr..  is  mentioned  several  times  in  Volume  II  of  this  History,  but  his  surname  is  err- 
oneously spelled  "Gustin".  He  came  to  Wyoming  either  in  1773  or  1774,  and  was  a  settler  and  tax-payer  in  Kingston 
Township  in  1776.  '77  and  '78.  He  is  said  to  have  studied  medicine  with  his  father-in-law,  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith, 
and  thereafter  to  have  practised  as  a  physician  in  the  Wyoming  settlements. 

In  May.  1776.  Dr.  Gustine  was  appointed  by  the  General  -Assembly  of  Connecticut  a  Surveyor  of  Lands  in  and 
for  Litchfield  County — which  County  then  included  Westmoreland,  or  Wyoming.  He  was  a  member  of  the  24th 
Regiment.  Connecticut  Militia,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  and  following  it.  »vas  at  Forty  Fort  with 
Colonel  Denison  and  other  survivors.  He  signed,  as  one  of  the  witnesses,  the  articles  of  capitulation  executed  at  Forty 
Fort  July  4.  1778.  (See  pages  1031-1034.  Vol.  II.)  Some  two  weeks  later— as  narrated  on  page  1056.  Vol.  II— Dr. 
Gustine  and  his  young  daughter,  Sarah  (born  in  Kingston  Township,  in  1775).  removed  to  Carlisle.  Pennsylvania. 
Mrs.  Susannah  (Smilh)  Gustine  had  died  at  her  home  in  Kingston  Township  June  12.  1778.  Her  remains  are  interred 
in  Forty  Fort  Cemetery. 

A  few  years  after  locating  at  Carlisle  Dr.  Gustine  was  married  (2d)  to  Mary  Parker,  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  several  sons  and  daughters.     Dr.  Gustine  practised  medicine  at  Carlisle  until  his  death  there  in  1807. 

Sarah,  the  only  child  of  Dr.  Lemuel  and  Susannah  (Smilh)  Gustine,  was  married  at  Carlisle  in  1792  to  the  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Randolph  Snowden.  bom  at  Philadelphia  in  1770,  the  son  of  Isaac  Snowden  (1732-1809),  a  Revolutionary 
soldier.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Nathaniel  R.  Snowden  was  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  bat 
had  been  for  some  time  residing  at  Carlisle  as  a  student  of  divinity  under  the  eminent  Rev.  Charles  Nesbit.  D.  D. 
The  Rev.  Nathaniel  R,  and  Sarah  {Gustine)  Snowden  became  the  parents  of  several  children.  TThree  of  their  sons 
were  as  follows:    m  Dr.  Nathaniel  Duffidd  Snoii'den,     (2)   Dr.  Isaac  Wayne  Snowdenand     [i)  James  Ross  Snowden. 

(1)     Dr.    Nathaniel  Duffield  Snowden  was  married  to McClelland,    and   Gen.    George    Randolph    Snowden 

of  Philadelphia  (bom  at  Franklin.  Venango  County,  Pennsylvania,  February  12,  1841)  is  their  son.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  Bar  in  April.  1862.  Later  he  enHsted  as  a  private  in  the  142d  Regiment.  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  in  the  Civil 
War.  He  was  promoted  Lieutenant  and  subsequently  Captain.  In  1874  he  located  in  Philadelphia  as  a  law.'er.  In 
1877  he  was  Colonel  of  the  3d  Regiment.  Pennsylvania  Militia.  In  1878  he  was  commissioned  Brigadier  General  of 
the  1st  Brigade.  National  Guard  of  Pennsvlvania.  and  in  1890  succeeded  Major  Gen.  John  F.  Hartranft  as  Divi-ion 
Commander  (with  the  rank  of  Major  General)  of  the  N.  G.  I'. 

(2)  Dr.  Isaac  Wayne  Snowden  (bom  in  1794)  was  married  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Archibald  Louden  of  Cum- 
berland County,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  Archibald  Loudon  Snowden,  who  was  born  in  Cum- 
berland County,  August  11,  1837.  He  became  Register  of  the  United  States  Mint  at  Philadelphia  in  1857.  and  in  1861 
was  commissioned  Lieut.  Colonel  in  a  regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  in  the  Union  Army.  Some  years  later 
he  was  elected  Captain  of  the  First  City  Troop,  Philadelphia.  In  1866  he  became  Chief  Coiner  in  the  Philadelphia 
Mint;  from  December  II,  1876,  till  Febmary  17,  1879,  he  was  Postmaster  at  Philadelphia,  and  then,  until  1885.  he 
was  Superintendent  of  the  Mint.  In  188,5  he  became  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  Fairmount  Park,  being  elected 
President  of  the  Board  in  1902.  He  was  United  States  Minister  to  Greece,  Roumania  and  Servia,  1889-'91 ,  and  Minister 
to  Spain,  1891-'93. 

(3)  James  Ross  Snowden  was  bom  near  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  December  9,  1809.  He  was  graduated  at  Dick- 
inson College.  Carlisle,  studied  law.  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  In  1842  and  '44  he  was  Speaker  of  the  Pennsylvania 
House  of  Representatives,  and  in  1845  and  '46  State  Treasurer.  He  was  Treasurer  of  the  U.  S.  Mint  at  Philadelphia 
from  1848  to  1850.  and  Director  of  the  Mint  from  1853  till  1861.  In  1861  he  was  appointed  Prothonotary  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Pennsylvania,  and  held  the  office  continuously  until  1874.  He  was  a  Trustee  of  Lafayette  College 
from  1861  till  1877.  At  one  time  he  was  Solicitor  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
held  the  rank  of  Colonel  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia.  He  was  the  author  of  several  books  and  pamphlets  on  coins 
and  medals.  Colonel  Snowden  was  married  September  13,  1848,  to  Susan  Engle,  daughter  of  Maj.  Gen.  Robert  and 
Sarah  (Engle)   Patterson  of  Philadelphia.     He  died   at  his  home  in  Bucks  County.   Pennsylvania,  March  21,   1878. 

In  May,  1846,  Colonel  Snowden  was  invited  to  participate  in  the  ceremonies  to  be  held  at  Wyoming  on  July  3, 
1846.  to  celebrate  the  completion  of  the  Wyoming  Monument.  In  replying  to  the  letter  of  the  committee  having 
charge  of  the  arrangements  for  the  occasion  Colonel  Snowden  wrote:  "As  a  descendent  of  the  first  settlers  of  your 
beautiful  valley,  who  participated  in  the  stirring  scenes  which  have  marked  its  early  history,  the  occasion  will  be  one 
of  great  interest  to  me.  I  shall,  therefore,  endeavor  to  accept  your  kind  invitation;  and  in  the  event  of  my  doing  so 
I  will  take  with  me  to  Wyoming  my  mother,  who  was  in  one  o.f  the  forts  on  the  day  o.f  the  battle." 

(iv)  John  Smith,  fourth  child  of  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith  by  his  first  marria;e,  was  born  January  29,  1752,  and 
undoubtedly  came  to  Wyoming  about  1 774  or  '75.  In  1  776  and  '77  he  was  living  in  Kingston  Township  and  was  a  tax- 
payer there,  and  in  1778  was  living  at  Jacob's  Plains  in  Wilkes-Barre  Township.  In  December.  1781,  he  conveyed 
to  his  father  certain  lands  on  Jacob's  Plains.  In  October,  1787.  being  then  a  resident  of  New  York  State,  he  conveyed 
to  his  father  certain  lands  in  Luzerne  County,  Pennsylvania.  Thomas  and  William  Smith  were  witnesses  to  the  deed 
of  conveyance. 

By  his  second  wife  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith  became  the  father  of  a  daui^hter — Susannah — who  was  born  March 
22,  1782,  at  what  is  now  the  south-west  corner  of  Franklin  and  Northampton  Streets,  Wilkes-Barre.  About  1802 
she  became  the  wife  of  Isaac  Osterhout.  son  of  Jeremiah  Osterhout  of  Tunkhannock  Township,  in  what  is  now  Wyoming 
County.  Pennsylvania.  (For  a  sketch  of  the  Osterhout  family  see  a  subsequent  chapter)  Isaac  Osterhout  died  near 
Tunkhannock  June  27.  1824.  and  in  1828  his  widow  was  married,  as  his  second  wife,  to  Fisher  Gay.  mentioned  on  page 
1151,  Vol.  II.  (Fisher  Gay  was  not  "one  of  the  two  brothers"  of  Mrs.  Eleanor  (Gay)  Pettebone.  as  stated  on  page 
1151,  but  was  her  uncle  Also,  Mrs.  Eleanor  (Gay)  Pettebone  was  married  to  her  husband  Joshua  July  27.  1809.  and 
not  "in  February,  1810",  as  stated  on  page  1151)  The  first  wife  of  Fisher  Gay  was  Elizabeth  Mygatt  of  Amenia, 
Dutchess  County,  New  York,  to  whom  he  was  married  February  8,  1801.  They  removed  to  Wyoming  Valley  and 
settled  in  Kingston  Township  in  May.  1807.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Myqatt)  Gay 
died  February  16.  1827,  aged  45  years,  1 1  months  and  2  days,  and  her  remains  are  iiiterred  in  Forty  Fort  Cemetery. 
Mrs.  Susannah  (Smilh)  Gay  bore  her  husband  one  child,  Ann,  who  died  February  14,  1830.  Mrs.  Gay  died  at  her 
home  in  New  Troy,  now  the  borough  of  Wyoming  November  2,  1852,  and  was  buried  in  Forty  Fort  Cemetery. 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  XI  :  104. 


1505 

In  the  latter  part  of  April,  1786,  a  number  of  full  and  half-share  proprie- 
tors of  The  Susquehanna  Company  determined  upon  having  a  new  township 
laid  out  in  their  behalf.  Whereupon  Colonel  Franklin  and  Major  Jenkins, 
assisted  by  Elisha  Satterlee,  located,  and  surveyed  the  boundaries  of,  a  town- 
ship at  Tioga  Point,  to  which  the  name  of  "Athens"  was  given.  This  made 
the  eighteenth  township  to  be  laid  out  under  the  authority  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company  within  the  bounds  of  The  Susquehanna  Purchase.  The  seventeen 
others  were:  Wilkes-Barre,  Kingston,  Plymouth,  Hanover,  Pittston,  Exeter, 
Providence,  Newport,  Huntington,  Salem,  Bedford,  Northmoreland,  Braintrim, 
Springfield,  Claverack,  Ulster  and  Putnam. 

Some  of  the  fifty  original  proprietors  of  Athens  were:  Gen.  Ethan  Allen, 
Col.  Nathan  Denison,  Col.  John  Franklin,  Maj.  John  Jenkins,  Capt.  John  Swift, 
Mathias  Hollenback,  Christopher  Hurlbut,  William  Slocum,  Abram  Nisbitt, 
John  Hurlbut,  Prince  Alden,  Jr.,  Justus  Gaylord,  Elisha  Satterlee,  Uriah  Stephens, 
Waterman  Baldwin,  Mason  F.  Alden,  Ira  Stephens,  Elisha  Harding,  Benjamin 
Allen,  William  Hyde,  Ebenezer  Slocum,  Thomas  McClure,  Reuben  Cook, 
Richard  Halstead,  Ishmael  Bennett  and  Solomon  Bennett.  Colonel  Franklin 
entered  for  himself  two  whole  rights  in  the  township,  based  on  certificates  which 
had  been  issued  to  him  on  May  1,  1786,  under  the  resolution  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company,  passed  July  13,  1785. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  May  9,  1786,  agreeably  to  the  request  of  Messrs.  Frank- 
lin and  Jenkins,  agents,  Messrs.  Butler,  Gore  and  Denison,  the  "Committee 
for  the  Granting  of  Townships",  granted  and  confirmed  the  township  of  Athens 
to  the  fifty  proprietors  thereof  "as  a  part  of  their  general  right  in  the  Purchase". 

Three  or  four  days  subsequently  to  the  issuing  of  this  grant,  General  Allen 
and  Colonel  Franklin  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  for  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
for  the  purpose  of  attending  a  meeting  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  to  be 
held  there  on  May  1 7th.  Colonel  Franklin  carried  with  him  the  certificate  of 
the  Athens  grant,  which,  on  May  22nd,  he  turned  over  to  the  Secretary,  or  Clerk 
of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  by  whom  it  was  duly  recorded. 

At  New  York  City,  May  7,  1786,  the  Hon.  Charles  Pettit,  one  of  the  Dele- 
gates from  Pennsylvania  in  Congress,  wrote,  on  behalf  of  himself  and  his  col- 
leagues, to  President  Benjamin  Franklin  at  Philadelphia,  in  part  as  follows:* 

"We  transmit  the  report  of  a  committee  on  a  proposal  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  to  cede 
part  of  the  claim  of  that  State  to  lands  lying  westward  of  Pennsylvania.  If  the  proposal  had 
been  to  cede  the  whole  of  the  claim  of  that  State  to  the  Western  Territon,',  there  would  scarcely 
have  been  any  hesitation  in  accepting  it,  without  enquiring  how  far  the  claim  was  well  founded. 
But  an  apprehension  that  the  acceptance  of  a  part,  as  such,  may  be  construed  as  an  admission 
of  their  claim  to  the  residue,  creates  some  diflficulty.  The  Delegates  of  Connecticut  urge  warmly, 
for  an  acceptance  of  this  cession.  *  *  *  They  urge,  as  a  special  motive  for  our  agreeing  to 
it,  that  it  will  induce  the  State  of  Connecticut  to  discountenance  the  further  pretensions  of  The 
Delaware  and  The  Susquehanna  Companies  to  lands  in  Pennsylvania,  and  tend  to  detach  the  real 
settlers  at  Wyoming  from  the  more  disorderly  partizans  of  those  Companies. 

"Permit  us  also  to  mention  that  an  advertisement  has  appeared  in  the  Connecticut  papers 
calling  a  meeting  of  those  Companies  on  the  1 7th  of  this  month,  for  certain  purposes — amongst 
others,  to  take  measures  tor  counteracting  the  machinations  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania!" 

On  May  14,  1786,  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith,  Samuel  Hover  and  Abraham 
Westbrook,  residents  of  that  part  of  the  township  of  Wilkes-Barre  which  is 
now  the  township  of  Plains,  wrote  to  Col.  William  Montgomery  at  Northum- 
berland, as  follows  :t 

"My  conscience  and  my  oath  to  the  State  bind  me  to  inform  you  that  I  wrote  to  Esquire 
[William]  Shaw  on  the  subject  of  a  design  of  forming  a  itew  Slate,  which  is  to  include  Wioniing, 
and  also  to  include  the  Genesee  and  territory  of  lands  claimed  by  New  York.  The  principal 
*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  XI  :  106.  tSee  "Pennsylvania  .\rchives",  First  Series.  X  :  760. 


1506 

agents  live  in  the  States  of  New  York  and  Connecticut.  I  am  become  acquainted  not  only  with 
those  agents,  but  their  whole  plan  of  proceedings,  by  means  of  letters  which  I  have  intercepted! 
I  have  neither  money  nor  horse  fit  to  ride,  or  I  would  have  gone  to  the  Governor  (sic.)  and  Council 
myself.  Col.  John  Franklin  and  Capt.  Solomon  Strong  are  the  principal  actors.  Strong  lives 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  is  now  gone  up  to  Wysox,  where  he  pretends  to  have  a  large  share 
in  a  town  [Claverack]  which  was  laid  out  under  Connecticut.  Strong  has  told  me  and  a  number 
of  others  that  he  went  twice  to  Varmount  before  he  could  prevale  with  General  Allen  to  come 
to  Wioming.     *     *     * 

"Esquire  [William]  Shaw  informed  me  that  he  expected  to  send  fifty  men  here  to  take, 
if  possible,  Allen  and  many  others  whom  I  described.  Yesterday  Franklin  and  Allen  left  and  set 
out  to  go  to  Connecticut,  in  order  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Susquehanna  Proprietors.  Pray 
stop  the  intended  force.  If  they  are  set  out,  send  after  them  and  call  them  back.  I  wish  that 
this  matter  may  lie  still  &  my  proceedings  remain  a  Secret  until  the  minds  of  the  Governor  & 
Council  are  made  manifest  to  me  and  the  undersigners  (who  are  the  only  Persons  in  the  settle- 
ment acquainted  with  my  discoveries),  who  are  hearty  in  the  Cause.  Whenever  we  shall  get 
orders  from  authority  we  will  take  and  deliver  to  the  authority  at  Sunbury  the  following  per- 
sons: Ethan  Allen,  John  Franklin,  Solomon  Strong,  James  Finn,  John  Jenkins,  and  Christopher 
Hurlbut. 

"Their  Designs  is,  if  possible,  to  persuade  the  people  on  the  West  Branch  to  joyn  them. 
Franklin  &  Jenkins  did  engage  James  Finn*,  a  Baptist  minister,  some  time  back  to  make  a  visit 
to  the  West  Branch  and  to  preach  about  amongst  the  people  there,  and  feel  out  their  minds  in 
regard  to  a  new  State.  If  Allen,  Franklin  &  Strong  were  removed  the  others  would  do  but  a 
Little.  The  longer  the  matter  is  delayed,  the  stronger  they  get.  They  have  some  ammunition 
stored,  and  some  provision  in  store.  A  timely  exertion  would  perhaps  prevent  a  deal  of  trouble 
and  bloodshed.  Allen  and  Franklin  and  Strong  have  used  many  arguments  &  strategems  to  seduce 
the  People  and  prejudice  them  against  Pennsylvania;  but  to  little  purpose. 

"I  have  put  up  many  advertisementsf  urging  the  people  to  attend  to  their  Duty  agreeable 
to  their  Ingagements.  Allen  and  Franklin  and  Strong  made  it  their  business  to  go  from  district 
to  district  and  pull  down  my  papers  which  were  put  up,  and  repeatedly  threatened  my  life — 
which  I  disregard.  I  expect  Captain  Schott,  &  we  will  soon  call  the  people  together.  The  people 
in  general  are  determined  to  adhere  to  Pennsylvania.  I  have,  with  unwearied  labor  &  argument 
got  the  people  to  believe  that  Pennsylvania  will  do  us  Justice.  If  we  were  properly  organized 
with  authority  we  would  Exert  ourselves  when  the  above  men  arrive.  If  they  should  have  force, 
and  we  think  it  not  prudent  to  attempt  taking  them,  we  shall  call  on  you  for  assistance. 

"I  send  you  copies  of  the  papers  which  I  had  put  up  in  each  District." 

Dr.  Smith  forwarded  to  Colonel  Montgomery  by  an  express  the  foregoing 

letter,  accompanied  by  a  second  letter,  reading  in  part  as  follows: 

"There  will  be  no  danger  of  letters  being  intercepted.  The  Bearer  is  unsuspected.  Strong 
and  his  associates  say  that  you  are  leading  us  wrong;  that  districts  must  be  first  set  off  by  the 
Assembly  before  we  can  with  propriety  elect,  and  that  we  ought  to  wait  until  the  next  sitting  of 
the  Assembly  and  insist  that  we  ought  to  have  security  from  the  State  that  they  will  do  us 
justice.     *     *     *     In  the  greatest  Hurry — my  hand,  head  and  mind  is  confused!" 

Immediately  on  receipt  of  these  letters  Colonel  Montgomery,  on  May 
17th,  at  Northumberland,  wrote  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  a  sensible 
lucid  and  forceful  letter  reading  as  follows: J 

"As  a  citizen  of  Pennsylvania,  &  much  more  as  a  civil  officer, §  I  consider  myself  under  the 
strongest  obligation  to  lay  before  you  the  information  I  have  received  respecting  the  state  of  things, 
&  the  measures  now  pursuing,  at  that  part  of  the  Country  called  Wyoming. 

"As  you  will  perceive  by  the  letters  inclosed,  Col.  Ethan  Allen  from  Vermont,  at  the  sol- 
icitation of  a  certain  Capt.  Solomon  Strong  of  the  State  of  New  York,  has  arrived  there,  who, 
with  Col.  John  Franklin,  a  liver  at  Wyoming,  has  been  endeavoring  to  take  off  &  divert  the  people 
(who  had  entered  into  recognizances  before  Esquire  Shaw)  from  their  allegiance  to  this  State, 
&  to  go  into  measures  for  erecting  a  new  State — which  is  to  include  a  part  of  this  and  part  of 
New  York  State.  However  wild  the  scheme,  I  believe  they  have  made  many  converts  at  Wyo- 
ming, particularly  among  the  late-comers  and  half-share  men,  as  they  are  called;  who,  having 
no  chance  of  pleading  an  early  occupancy,  or  regular  settlement  [of  the  land],  of  course  cannot 
flatter  themselves  with  having  any  plea  to  hold  their  improvements  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
this  State. 

"Besides  the  above  letters  sent  me  by  an  Express.  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  being 
more  fully  informed  of  the  same  things  by  William  Shaw,  Esq.,  and  Thomas  Grant,  Esq.,  who 

*The  name  of  James  Finn  first  appears  in  the  records  of  Westmoreland,  or  Wyoming,  in  the  year  1777,  at  which 
time  he  was  a  taxpayer  in  the  "North  District"  (Exeter  and  Providence)  of  Westmoreland.  In  1787  he  resided  near 
the  confluence  of  the  Lackawanna  and  Susquehanna  Rivers.  Pearce,  in  his  "Annals  of  Luzerne  County"  (page  301) 
says:  "In  1786  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gray  made  special  efforts  in  Pittstown  Township,  and  in  the  Fall  of  that  year  a  con- 
gregation [of  Baptists]  was  organized  there  by  the  Rev.  James  Benedict.  In  1787  this  congregation  was  attached 
to  the  Philadelphia  Association.  Mr.  Benedict  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  James  Finn,  and  he  by  the  Rev.  William 
BLshop.  who  settled  in  Luzerne  County  in  1794.  The  Rev.  James  Finn  died  at  Tunkhannock,  Pennsylvania,  in  1797, 
prior  to  December  2,  and  Solomon  Finn  of  Pittston  became  E.xecutor  of  his  estate. 

tUndoubtedly  the  "Serious  Address"  printed  on  page  1500. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  First  Series,  XI  :  108. 

§At  this  time  Colonel  Montgomery  was  President  Judge  of  the  Com-ts  of  Northumberland  County. 


1507 

are  just  arrived  from  there;  so  that,  with  me,  the  matter  is  beyond  all  doubt  that  a  new  Independ- 
ent State  is  intended,  and  that  speedily.  Col.  Ethen  Allen  and  Franklin  are  'now  gone  to  meet 
The  Susquehanna  Company  in  Connecticut,  &  are  expected  to  return  in  four  or  five  weeks.  What 
the  consequences  will  be  or  where  it  will  end  is  not  easy  to  foresee;  but  I  conceive  it  would  be 
sound  policy,  &  will  be  found  absolutely  necessary,  to  take  the  most  speedy  &  effectual  measures 
to  send  up  there  such  a  body  of  troops  as  would  support  &  give  countenance  to  all  who  would 
desire  to  continue  in  their  allegiance  to  this  State,  confirm  the  wavering,  &  check  the  giddy  in 
their  mad  career. 

"If  this  could  be  done,  so  that  the  world  would  see  the  State  only  meant  to  support  the 
peaceable  Inhabitants  having  title  &  property  to  be  disposed  of  in  Courts  of  Law,  it  would  prob- 
ably divide  those  people  among  themselves,  &  facilitate  a  full  establishment  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  State  there.  If  our  General  Assembly,  at  their  ne.xt  meeting,  go  on  to  set  that  district  off 
as  a  separate  County,  I  believe  it  would  tend  to  the  same  happy  purpose,  as  it  will  open  the  way  to 
some  of  the  honors  &  emoluments  of  a  County,  which  will  operate  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  honors 
and  emoluments  expected  in  a  New  State.  And,  indeed,  submission  to  Government,  circum- 
stanced &  situated  as  they  are — subject  to  a  great  number  of  petty  suits,  &  no  Justice  of  the 
Peace  nearer  than  fifty  miles — is  a  real  difficulty,  &  should  be  removed  as  soon  as  possible. 

"What  troops  (if  any)  will  be  raised  is  not  for  me  to  determine,  but  I  sincerely  believe 
none  can  be  more  unfit  for  this  business  than  militia — for  a  variety  of  reasons  which  I  need  not  men- 
tion. But,  convinced  I  am,  that  unless  something  is  done — and  that  speedily  and  effectually 
— a  new  State  will  be  attempted  to  be  created  within  a  very  short  time;  while  a  vigorous  and  timely 
opposition,  on  liberal  principles,  may  crush  the  whole  scheme  &  establish  Peace  in  that  unhappy 
district. 

"William  Shaw,  Esq.,  who  also  writes  you  on  this  business,  sends  you  a  copy  of  an  inter- 
cepted letter,  properly  authenticated,  which  lays  open  their  whole  scheme.  The  letters  and  papers 
inclosed  [herewith]  will  also  shew  their  design,  &  the  pains  taken  by  the  Signers  to  prevent  the 
people  being  mislead.  They  sent  them  to  me  by  a  special  Express,  and  wished  that  it  might 
not  be  generally  known  how  they  came  by  some  part  of  their  information  that  they  had  communi- 
cated so  fully,  as  it  would  render  their  situation  very  insecure  unless  they  received  timely  and 
effectual  support. 

"I  hope  his  Excellency,  the  President,  &  the  Honorable  the  Supreme  Executive  Council, 
will  pardon  my  plainness  on  this  occasion,  as  I  look  upon  the  affair  to  be  of  so  much  importance 
&  of  so  serious  a  nature  as  to  render  a  scrupulous  attention  to  ceremony  improper." 

Justice  William  Shaw,  of  Northumberland,  who  had  come  to  Wilkes-Barre 
on  official  business  early  in  April,  1786,  returned  to  his  home  about  May  1st. 
He  came  again  to  Wyoming,  arriving  here  on  May  14th  and  leaving  three  days 
later  for  the  home  of  Colonel  Montgomery,  near  Northumberland,  where,  on 
May  18th,  he  wrote  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  in  part  as  follows:* 

*  *  *  "Unluckily  on  the  27th  [of  April]  Col.  Ethan  Allen  came  to  Wyoming,  who 
alarmed  them  by  telling  them  he  despised  their  treating  with  Pennsylvania ;  that  he  had  formed 
one  new  State,  and  with  one  hundred  Green  Mountain  Boys  and  two  hundred  Riflemen  he  could 
make  that  a  new  State  in  defiance  of  Pennsylvania.  On  the  10th  Instant  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  settler  there  nearly  to  the  same  purport  of  one  inclosed  by  Col.  Wm.  JNIontgornery,  Esqr., 
which  I  shewed  to  a  few,  who  advised  I  should  again  go  up  to  Wyoming,  which  I  did,  and  the 
14th  arrived  there.  I  found  a  number  that  did  not  seem  to  be  so  familiar  as  formerly.  I  also  meet 
with  a  number  who  appeared  to  be  much  in  favor  of,  and  wished  to  comply  with,  the  Laws  of  the 
State — one  of  whom  produced  to  me  the  copy  of  a  letter  he  had  intercepted  and  taken,  which  he 
made  oath  before  me  was  a  true  one,  a  copy  of  which  I  inclose.  The  man  is  a  person  who  may 
be  rehed  on,  but  wished  his  name  might  not  be  made  known,  lest  some  of  the  enernies  of  the 
state  would  take  away  his  life  for  it.  On  the  evening  of  the  14th  the  Sheriff  of  this^  County 
[Thomas  Grant]  f  arrived  at  Wioming,  and  on  the  three  following  days  served  several  Writs,  but 
most  of  them  on  whom  they  were  served  refused  to  give  bail  bonds,  and  on  the  17th  a  number  of 
them  collected  and  ordered  the  sheriff  to  leave  the  place  in  two  hours,  or  they  would  abuse  him. 
On  the  same  evening  we  left  the  place. 

"The  schemes  of  the  Proprietors  of  The  Susquehannah  Company  is  discovered  by  the 
inclosed  copy  of  a  letter  from  Joseph  Hamilton  to  John  Franklin,  which  perhaps  it  might  be  good 
policy  in  the  Government  to  endeavour  to  prevent  by  raising  and  sending  some  men  there ;  which 
would  be  a  means  of  encouraging  those  that  are  friendly  to  the  Government  and  Laws  of  this 
State,  and  a  discouragement  to  those  who  are  wavering.  Much  will  depend  on  the  firmness 
of  the  soldiery  and  the  disinterestedness  of  the  OSicers." 

A  "legally  warned"  meeting  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  was  held  at 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  Wednesday  May  17,  1786,  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  State  being  then  in  session  at  Hartford.  Ethan  Allen  and  John  Franklin 
attended  the  meeting  of  the  Company  which  was  presided  over  by  Col.  Gad 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  X:  7  64. 
tSee  {*)  note  page  1509. 


1508 

Stanley  as  Moderator;    Samuel  Gray,  Esq.,  filling  the  office  of  Clerk.     Among 
other  transactions  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted:* 

(1)  "Then  Voted,  That  all  persons  settled  under  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  now  actually  inhabiting  upon  that  tract  of  Country  situate  upon  the  westerly  waters  of  the  Sus- 
quehannah  River,  and  purchased  of  the  natives  by  the  company  called  The  Susquehannah  Com- 
pany, be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  fully  established  and  confirmed  in  their  full  and  absolute 
possession  of  the  lands  by  them  actually  possessed  under  the  said  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

(2)  "Voted.  That  this  Company,  conscious  of  the  equity  of  their  title  to  the  lands  bona 
fide  purchased  of  the  natives,  and  situate  upon  the  waters  of  the  River  Susquehannah,  wilt  support 
and  maintain  their  Claims  to  the  lands  aforesaid,  and  effectually  justify  and  support  their  settlers  therein. 

(X)  "Voted,  That  Samuel  Gray,  Esq.,  Col.  Thomas  Dyer  and  Col.  Ebenezer  Gray,  be 
and  they  are  hereby,  appointed  a  Committee,  with  full  power  and  authority  to  make  out  a  list 
of  all  such  persons  as  are  proprietors  of  the  said  Company,  and  have  paid  their  taxes  agreeably 
to  the  votes  of  the  said  Company;  and  that  all  persons  that  have  neglected  to  pay  their  taxes 
and  shall  neglect  to  pay  the  same  by  the  first  day  of  September  next,  shall  be,  and  the  same  are 
hereby,  excluded  from  any  right,  interest  or  property  within  the  Territory  aforesaid.  Said  list 
of.  proprietors  to  be  completed  by  the  first  day  of  September  next. 

(4)  Voted,  That  the  Committee  of  the  said  Company  be,  and  hereby  are.  fully  authorized 
to  apply  to  the  Honorable  General  Assembly  of  this  State  for  such  justice  as  shall  be  due  to  said 
Company,  and  for  such  other  advantages,  benefits  and  emoluments  as  said  Assembly  may  see 
cause  to  grant  to  the  said  Company;  and  further,  to  do  and  transact  other  matters  necessary  to 
be  done  for  the  benefit  of  said  Company,  according  to  their  best  discretion. 

(5)  "Voted,  That  Col.  John  Franklin,  Gen.  Ethan  Allen,  Maj.  John  Jenkins  and  Col. 
Zebulon  Butler  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  appointed  a  Committee  with  full  power  to  locate  town- 
ships within  the  territory  aforesaid  (agreeable  to  the  votes  of  the  said  Company),  in  the  room 
and  stead  of  the  former  Committee  appointed  for  that  purpose;  and  the  said  Committee  are  also 
hereby  fully  authorized  and  empowered  to  inquire  into  the  claims  of  all  persons  now  settled  at 
Wyoming,  and  such  as  shall  make  out  their  claims  in  pursuance  of  the  votes  of  said  Company. 
Said  Committee  are  hereby  authorized  to  quiet  them  in  such  lands  as  they  shall  find  them  justly  en- 
titled to,  agreeable  to  the  votes  of  said  Company.  And  that  Col.  John  Franklin  be,  and  is  hereby, 
appointed  Clerk  of  said  Committee,  and  directed  to  keep  fair  records  of  the  proceedings  of  the  said 
Committee,  and  the  transfers  of  all  property  in  said  settlement.  And  that  said  Clerk  transmit, 
from  time  to  time,  fair  copies  to  the  Clerk  of  this  Company  of  all  such  locations  of  townships, 
and  the  names  of  such  as  shall  be  admitted  proprietors  by  such  Committee  in  virtue  of  the  auth- 
ority aforesaid. 

"Col.  John  Franklin  was  then  duly  sworn  before  Samuel  Gray,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  faith- 
fully to  execute  the  office  of  Clerk  of  said  Committee,  according  to  the  above  vote." 

Of  the  foregoing  votes,  or  resolutions,  the  first  three  were  given  out  to 
the  public  and  were  printed  in  certain  Connecticut  newspapers  in  May,  1786, 
and  soon  thereafter  were  reprinted  in  a  few  newspapers  in  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia and  elsewhere.  The  fourth  and  fifth  votes  were  not  made  public  until  a  con- 
siderable number  of  years  later. 

Miner,  commenting  on  the  foregoing  votes,  states  (in  his  "History  of 
Wyoming,"  page  388)  that  "it  was  doubtless  politic,  as  well  as  liberal,  to  quiet 
the  Pennsylvania  settlers  [on  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna]  in  their 
possessions;  although  the  formal  resolve  to  do  so  may  now  excite  a  smile.  A 
declaration  that  the  Company  would  'effectually  justify  and  support  their  settlers,' 
shows  the  boldness  and  earnestness  of  their  proceedings.  Wyoming  was  in  a 
state  of  comparative  repose.  Hundreds  of  scattered  settlers,  who  had  been 
expelled  by  the  war — many  of  them  boys,  now  grown  up  to  manhood — returned 
to  claim  their  own  or  their  fallen  fathers'  possessions.  New  adventurers,  at- 
tracted by  the  wonderful  tales  of  [Wyoming's]  richness  and  beauty,  came  in  to  pur- 
chase; while  a  productive  year,  diffusing  plenty,  restored  cheerfulness  and  in- 
vigorated industry.     Frame  buildings  began  to  take  the  places  of  log  huts." 

Colonel  Franklin,  referring  to  local  conditions  at  this  period,  states  in 
his  "Brief":  "We  in  a  short  time  increased  our  numbers  to  upwards  of  600 
effective  men,  and  were  determined  to  support  our  claims  and  interest,  until 
decided  by  a  legal  course  of  law.  We  were  also  determined  to  oppose  any  auth- 
ority from  Pennsylvania  residing  among  us,  until  we  could  have  a  regular  es- 

*See  Miner's  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  387;    "Pennsylvania  Archives".  Second  Series,  XVIII  :  108.  659. 


1509 

tablishment  on  Constitutional  principles,  and  our  lands  be  in  some  way  secured 
to  us.  *  *  *  I  will  remark  that  a  large  number  [of  settlers]  on  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River  had  proposed  to  join  us  and  extend  the  claims 
of  The  Susquehanna  Company  into  that  part  of  the  country.  A  committee 
[of  those  settlers]  was  appointed  in  1786,  and  sent  to  Wyoming  for  that  purpose." 

Miner,  referring  to  the  above  statement  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page 
389),  says:  "It  will  be  admitted  that,  in  the  actual  posture  of  public  affairs — 
the  promised  Green  Mountain  Boys,  with  Ethan  Allen  to  head  them,  the  Wolcotts, 
and  Barlow  and  Hosmer  and  Judd  to  back  them,  by  aid  from  Connecticut,  the 
proposed  auxiliaries  from  the  West  Branch,  and  600  enrolled,  effective  men 
on  the  ground,  with  a  civil  government  in  operation,  and  a  military  organiz- 
ation complete — it  was  time  for  Pennsylvania  to  throw  aside  such  agents  as 
Patterson  and  Armstrong,  and  to  exercise  her  utmost  wisdom  and  vigilance." 

At  Northumberland,  May  20,  1786,  Thomas  Grant*,  Sheriff  of  North- 
umberland County,  wrote  to  President  Benjamin  Franklin,  at  Philadelphia, 
in  part  as  follows:! 

"As  an  officer  of  Government  I  think  it  ray  indispensible  duty  to  inform  Council  of  the 
Treatment  which  I  lately  received  at  Wyoming.  Declarations  of  Ejectment,  &  sundry  other 
processes,  were  put  into  my  hands  against  People  living  at  &  near  Wyoming  in  order  to  the  Ex- 
ecutry  of  which  I  arrived  at  that  place  on  the  fourteenth  instant.  The  fifteenth  I  spent  mostly 
in  making  Enquiries  respecting  the  disposition  of  the  Inhabitants,  the  next  day  I  arrested  John 
Paul  Schott,  who  declared  he  would  not  submit  nor  pay  any  respect  whatever,  to  my  arrest. 
This  he  did  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Shaw,  before  whom  he  had  not  long  before  entered  into  Recog- 
nizance. Sundry  others  whom  I  had  arrested  behaved  in  the  same  manner  as  Schott,  &  de- 
clared against  any  submission 

"I  had  information  at  sundry  times  of  persons  who  had  declared  they  would  take  my  life, 
but  on  the  next  day  (the  Seventeenth)  I  observed  some  people  collecting  at  one  Yarington's. 
&  soon  after  a  greater  number  appeared  at  Schott's.  Being  told  that  their  Intentions  were  against 
me,  I  went  towards  my  lodgings,  but  was  overtaken  by  them  on  the  way.  They  accosted  me 
with  the  most  insulting  language  &  concluded  by  saying  the  orders  of  the  settlement  were,  that 
I  should  leave  the  place  in  two  hours  with  my  damned  writs  or  abide  by  the  consequences.  One 
of  them  struck  with  a  stick  William  Wilson,  the  man  who  accompanied  me.  &  made  towards  me ; 
but,  having  pistols,  I  declared  I  would  blow  his  Brains  out  if  he  advanced.  I  however  made  to 
my  lodging.  &  posting  myself  in  the  door,  declared  I  would  shoot  the  first  man  that  advanced. 

"After  some  time  one  of  them  sired  to  speak  to  me  in  private.  I  agreed  on  condition 
that  the  Rest  would  retire.  They  retired  a  little,  but  while  I  was  in  Conversation  with  the  one 
who  came  in.  they  returned  &  order'd  the  Landlady  to  turn  out  the  damned  Pennamite  Rascal 
or  they  would  shoot  through  every  door  &  window  of  the  house.  Much  insulting  and  abusive 
language  was  used  by  them,  &,  as  they  were  armed  with  Clubs  and  pistols,  I  was  obliged  as  well 
for  my  own  safety  as  for  the  protection  of  the  woman  and  poor  children,  to  submit  to  their  terms 
viz.:  That  I  would  execute  no  process  whatever,  and  would  leave  the  place  in  two  hours.  On 
my  giving  them  my  honor  that  I  would  comply,  they  returned  to  Yarington's  to  see  that  I  complied. 
I  cannot  help  observing  that  I  have  every  reason  to  iDelieve  that  my  life  depended  on  my  compliance. 

"To  mention  every  insult  &  contempt  that  was  showed  me  during  the  time  I  was  there, 
would  far  exceed  the  bounds  of  a  letter.  It  was  impossible  to  execute  the  Laws  of  Pennsylvania 
in  those  parts  without  armed  force  to  support  the  officers.  It  is  now  knowing  publickly  that  their 
intentions  are  to  form  a  new  State.  Ethan  Allen,  with  a  great  number  of  new  adventurers,  are 
at  the  head  of  this  business,  and  since  their  arrival  every  idea  of  submission  to  the  laws  of  Penn- 
sylvania has  vanished." 

At  Northumberland,  also  on  May  20th,  Col.  William  Montgomery  wrote 

to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  in  part  as  follows  :t 

"Since  the  letter  of  the  1 7th  a  meeting  was  had  of  the  Justices,  the  Sheriff,  the  Lieutenant 
of  the  County,  &  a  number  of  other  principal  Gentlemen,  where,  upon  consideration  of  the  In- 
telligence from  Wyoming,  they  intirely  concur  in  sentiment    (respecting  the  danger)  with  the 

♦Thomas  Grant  was  bom  November  20.  1758.  near  Fort  .Augusta,  in  what  subsequently  became  the  towTl  of 
Sunbury.  His  father  was  Alexander  Grant,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  emigrated  to  Pennsylvania  and  settled  near 
the  Susquehanna  River,  opposite  Shamokin  Island,  prior  to  the  erection  of  Northumberland  County.  Thomai  Grant 
was  elected  Sheriff  of  Northumberland  County  in  1 785 ,  and  again  in  1 788.  He  was  a  member  of  the  General  .\ssembly 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1796  and  1814.  and  was  at  one  time  a  Captain  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia.  His  wife  was  a  dau,i;hter 
of  Robert  Martin.  Esq..  of  Northumberland,  referred  to  on  page  309,  Thomas  Grant  was  initiated  into  Lodge  No. 
22. '.Ancient  York  Masons,  at  Sunburv,  September  8,  1786,  and  was  Treasurer  of  the  Lodge  in  1792  and  Junior  Warden 
in  1800.  He  died  lune  16,  1815.  His  son,  Thomas  Grant.  Jr..  was  Worshipful  Master  of  Lodge  No.  .22  in  1821,  and 
his  grandson,  William  Thomas  Grant,  held  the  same  office  in  1857. 

tSec  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  First  Series.  XI  :  1 10.  tSe?  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  X  :  765. 


1510 

representation  in  my  letter  &  that  of  William  Shaw,  Esq.,  and  are  clearly  &  decidedly  of  opinion: 
That  no  time — not  a  moment — should  be  lost;  that  there  is  the  greatest  &  most  eminent  danger 
of  a  dismemberment  of  the  State;  that  the  party  under  Ethan  Allen,  John  Franklin  &  Solomon 
Strong  increase  daily;  that,  from  the  nature  of  their  views,  they  will  be  a  combined  force  acting 
constantly  and  in  concert — as  their  encroachments,  like  the  feudal  system  of  old,  will  furnish 
the  reward  of  their  adherents  and  followers;  and  no  person  in  The  State,  however  remote  from 
the  present  scene  (if  within  the  above  limit — the  42°  of  Latitude)  can  hope  to  continue  a  Penn- 
sylvanian,  without  the  most  speedy,  effectual  and  vigorous  exertion  of  Government  in  suppressing 
this  dangerous  insurrection. 

"There  appear  still  a  number  of  people  at  Wioming  who  talk  in  a  favorable  strain.  Whether 
they  are  sincere,  God  knows;  but  if  there  are  any  sincere  friends  there  they  should  not  be  lost. 
Their  timely  support  might  have  a  powerful  tendency  to  divide  the  party  and  the  more  readily 
crush  the  scheme.  It  is  also  the  opinion  of  all  present  that  it  is  extremely  proper  to  give  you  this 
timely  information  by  a  person  of  Intelligence,  and  for  that  purpose  [we]  have  unanimously 
appointed  Gen.  John  Bull*,  Esq.,  to  carry  these  dispatches — to  whom  they  beg  leave  to  refer  you 
for  more  minute  and  particular  information." 

The  same  day  Colonel  Montgomery  wrote  to  the  Hon.  Thomas  McKean, 
Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania,  who  was  then  holding  court  in  one  of  the  counties 
at  some  distance  from  Philadelphia.  This  letter  (printed  in  "Pennsylvania 
Archives",  First  Series,  X  :  766)  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

"I  do  myself  the  honor  of  inclosing  you  a  copy  of  an  intercepted  letter,  which  placeth 
the  designs  of  a  Number  of  People  at  Wioming  in  a  clear  and  decided  point  of  view.  Therein 
we  are  informed  of  some  of  the  active  persons  in  the  scheme  of  a  new  and  Independent  State; 
of  the  best  mode  of  carrying  it  on,  and  of  the  then  expected  arrival  of  Col.  Ethan  Allen  from 
Vermont — since  the  writing  of  which  Allen  has  arrived,  talks  freely  of  a  new  State,  Reprobates 
the  idea  of  submission  to  Pennsylvania,  and  he,  in  conjuction  with  a  Col.  John  Franklin  of  that 
place  and  a  Capt.  Solomon  Strong  of  New  York  State,  are  gone  about  a  week  ago  to  meet 
the  Susquehannah  Company  to  consult  what  measures  are  next  to  be  pursued. 

"We  find  they  have  some  ammunition  &  stores  laid  up,  so  that  the  upon  the  whole  it  ap- 
pears to  us  beyond  a  doubt  that  a  dismemberment  of  the  State  will  take  place  unless  immediate 
force  prevent,  for  we  find  that  no  overtures  can  be  made  that  will  satisfy  all  parties  there.  The  most 
limited  claim  of  the  Schemers  is  the  whole  of  the  42d  Degree  of  Latitude  throughout  Pennsylvania. 
Can  she  submit  to  this?  She  cannot!  Surely  our  yeoraenry  will  not  longer  say.  It  is  a  Land 
Jobbing  Quarrel.  The  Bill  for  striking  them  off  as  a  separate  County  eventually  seems  to  put 
that  out  of  Question.  It  is  no  longer  a  private  Quarrel;  it  is  now  become  a  serious  Governmental 
concern,  and  I  hope  Pennsylvania  will  support  as  dignified  a  Character  in  this  affair,  and  assert 
her  supremacy  as  fully,  as  she  did  her  Independence  in  the  late  Revolution.  It  is  wished  here, 
by  a  meeting  of  the  most  respectable  Characters  at  this  place,  that  you  might  be  informed  of 
the  state  of  things  here,  as  you  will  have  an  opportunity  on  the  circuit  to  communicate  the  in- 
formation and  remove  the  scruples  of  Gentlemen  about  interesting  themselves  in  the  controversy, 
as  supposing  it  rather  a  debate  about  private  property  than  otherwise. 

"William  Maclayf  will  hand  you  this,  from  whom  you  will  hear  everything  more  partic- 
ularly on  this  subject." 

*JOHN  Bull  was  born  June  1.  1731  in  Montgomery  County.  Pennsylvania,  and  removed  to  Northumberland 
in  1785.  In  1775  he  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  1st  Pennsylvania  Battalion;  June  17,  1777,  he  was  appointed  Ad- 
jutant General  of  Pennsylvania:  in  1780  he  was  Commissary  of  Purchases  at  Philadelphia.  He  was  a  member  of  Lodge 
No.  22,  Ancient  York  Masons,  at  Sunbury.  and  an  interesting  sketch  of  his  life  will  be  found  in  Godcharles'  "Free 
Masonry  in  Northumberland  and  Snyder  Counties,  Pennsylvania,"  1:45.  General  Bull  died  at  Northumberland, 
August  9,  1824. 

tSee  page  759  Vol.  II 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  ■■WESTERN  RESERVE"— GENER.\L  ETHAN  ALLEN  RETURNS  TO  VERMONT- 
COLONEL  TIMOTHY  PICKERING  VISITS  WILKES-BARRE— JOHN  FRANK- 
LHSr  AND  JOHN  JENKINS,  Jr.  ■■YANKEE  OUTLAWS",  PLEAD  THE 
SETTLERS'  CAUSE  BEFORE  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  ASSEM- 
BLY—A LAW  ERECTING  LUZERNE  COUNTY 
FOLLOWS  THIS  VISIT. 


'To  suffer  woes  which  hope  thinks  infinite; 
To  forgive  wrongs  darker  than  the  death  of  night; 
To  defy  power  which  seems  omnipotent ; 
To  love  and  bear;  to  hope  till  hope  creates 
From  its  own  wreck  the  thing  it  contemplates; 
Neither  to  change,  to  falter,  nor  repent; 
This,  like  thy  glory,  Titan,  is  to  be 
Good,  great  and  joyous,  beautiful  and  free; 
This  alone  is  life,  joy,  empire  and  victory." 

Skellev. 


At  this  point  we  will  digress,  because  of  its  connection  with  the  Wyoming 
claims,  in  order  to  bring  in  the  fact  that  on  May  26,  1786,  Congress,  after  a 
severe  struggle,  accepted  the  offer  of  Connecticut  to  cede  its  claims  to  certain 
western  lands,  covering  portions  of  what  are  now  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois  and  Michigan.  This  matter  had  been  brought  before  Congress  by  the 
Connecticut  delegates  some  weeks  earlier — but  as  the  cession  authorized  by 
Connecticut  was  not  complete,  its  acceptance  met  with  considerable  opposition 
in  Congress — the  delegates  of  Maryland,  in  particular,  voting  against  it  to  the 
last.  Instead  of  beginning  at  the  western  boundary-line  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
offer  of  Connecticut  was  to  convey  lands  lying  beyond  a  line  120  miles  west  of 
Pennsylvania's  western  boundary,  whereby  she  would  retain  her  claim  to  a  large 
tract  of  land  contiguous  to  Pennsylvania. 

The  vote  of  acceptance  of  Connecticut's  offer  was  passed  in  these  unqualified 
terms:     "Resolved,  That  Congress  accept  the  said  deed  of  cession,  and  that  the 


1512 

same  be  recorded  and  enrolled  among  the  Acts  of  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled."  In  the  following  September,  (1786)  the  actual  deed  of  cession  was 
executed  by  Connecticut,  by  which  she  granted  "all  right,  title,  interest,  juris- 
diction and  claim  to  certain  western  lands,  beginning  at  the  completion  'of  the 
forty-first  degree  of  North  latitude,  120  miles  west  of  the  western  boundary  line 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  as  now  [then]  claimed  by  the  said  Common-' 
wealth;  and  frofn  thence  by  a  line  drawn  north,  parallel  to  and  120  miles  wesf  of 
said  west  line  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to  continue  north  until  it  comes  to  42°  2' 
of  North  latitude,"  &c. 

The  reservation,  or  rather,  the  tract  not  ceded,  by  Connecticut,  was  (bounding 
it  easterly  by  the  west  line  of  Pennsylvania)  120  miles  east  and  west,  and  1°  2' 
wide  north,  and  south,  and  contained  several  millions  of  acres.  It  was  sub- 
sequently known  as  "New  Connecticut"  or  the  "Western  Reserve — a  goodly 
part  of  what  is  now  north-eastern  Ohio.  At  the  time,  this  territory  was  sup- 
posed to  be  equal  in  extent  to  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  or  the  Wyoming 
region,  which  had  been  lost  to  Connecticut  by  the  Decree  of  Trenton.* 


Benjamin  Franklin. 


The  digression  is  concluded.  Let  us,  then,  return  to  the  main  thread  of 
our  narrative,  which  leads  us  directly  to  Philadelphia.  There,  on  May  27,  1786 — 
the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  having  received  and  considered  the  communi- 

*Governor  Hoyt,  in  his  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  the  County  of  Luzerne",  referring  to  the 
above-described  dicker  between  Connecticut  and  Congress,  says:  "This  still  left  the  Connecticut  claim  in  Pennsylvania 
unaffected.  The  claim  was  finally  and  literally  torn  out  by  the  roots  in  tllis  wise:  In  1800  Congress  passed  an  Act 
authorizing  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  convey  to  the  Governor  of  Connecticut,  for  the  benefit  of  all  persons 
holding  under  Connecticut,  all  the  territorial  right  of  the  LTnited  States  to  said  Western  Reserve;  Provided  Ihal  within 
eight  months  the  State  of  Connecticut  should,  by  legislative  act,  renounce  forever ,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  United 
States  and  the  several  individual  States  who  might  be  therein  concerned,  respectively,  and  all  those  deriving  claims 
or  title  from  them,  or  any  of  them,  'all  territorial  and  jurisdictional  claims  whatever,  under  any  grant,  charter  or  chart- 
ers whatever,  to  the  soil  or  jurisdiction  of  any  and  all  lands  whatever  lying  westward,  northwestward  and  south-west- 
ward of  the  counties  in  the  State  of  Connecticut  which  are  bounded  we-twardly  by  the  eastern  line  of  the  State  of 


1513 

cations  from  Judge  Montgomery,  Sheriff  Grant  and  Justice  vShaw,  brought  from 
Northumberland  by  General  Ball — President  Benjamin  Franklin,  the  shrewd  dip- 
lomatist and  wise  counselor,  wrote  to  Judge  Montgomery  as  follows:* 

"The  Council  have  received  your  Letters  of  the  17th  and  20th  instant,  by  Gen'l  Bull,  con- 
taining the  important  Intelligence  of  fresh  Disturbances  at  Wyoming,  which  will  be  taken  into 
Consideration. 

"We  are  sensible  of  your  attention  to  the  Public  Welfare,  manifested  in  these  Dispatches, 
and  desire  you  would  continue  to  send  us  what  farther  Information  you  may  from  time  to  time 
obtain  of  the  Proceedings  in  that  part  of  the  Country;  using  in  the  meanwhile  what  Influence 
you  have  to  quiet  the  minds  of  the  unhappy  Settlers  there,  by  assuring  them  that  there  is  the 
best  Disposition  in  the  Government  to  treat  them  equitably  and  even  with  kindness,  and  to  take 
them  under  its  Protection,  and  extend  to  them  all  the  Privileges  of  our  free  &  happy  Constitution, 
on  their  demonstrating — by  their  peaceable  and  orderly  Behaviour — that  the  Sentiments  ex- 
pressed in  their  late  Petition  to  the  Gen.  Assembly  are  sincere,  and  that  they  are  truly  dispos'd  to 
become  good  Citizens.  We  hope  they  will  wisely  pursue  this  Conduct,  and  thereby  render  all 
thought  of  taking  compulsive  Measures  unnecessary." 

On  the  same  day,  President  Franklin  wrote  to  Justice  vShaw  as  follows: 
"We  have  received  your  Letter  of  the  18th  Inst,  by  General  Bull,  with  the  important  In- 
telligence of  the  Steps  taken  by  some  restless  Men  to  raise  fresh  Disturbance  among  the  Settlers 
at  Wyoming,  after  the  good  Disposition  you  had  so  lately  left  those  People  in  when  you  had  been 
among  them  taking  their  Recognizance  &  Oath  of  Allegiance.  We  still  hope  that  the  Pains  you 
took  in  that  serviceable  Journey  will  not  be  lost,  but  continue  to  have  a  good  Effect  in  disappoint- 
ing the  Projects  of  those  who  aim  at  continuing  a  Discord  that  cannot  possibly  produce  any  Good. 
"You  may  be  assured  that  no  imprudent  use  will  be  made  of  the  Letter  you  communicated. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  when  Measures  were  in  Meditation  by  the  Government  to  accommodate 
the  Difference,  fresh  Occasion  of  Tumult  should  be  afforded  by  the  Sheriff's  going  up  to  serve 

New  York;'  which  Act  was  accepted  in  1800  by  the  Assembly  of  Connecticut,  and  the  cession  made  accordingly — 
Connecticut  releasing  to  the  United  States  M  jurisdidional  lille  to  the  Reserve." 

Soon  thereafter  the  State  of  Ohio  was  organized,  being  admitted  to  the  Union  February  19.  1803. 

In  May,  1792,  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  quit-claimed  to  the  inhabitants  of  several  Connecticut  towns, 
(Fairfield,  New  London,  Danbury,  Groton.  Norwalk,  etc.)  who  had  lost  property  in  consequence  of  the  incursions 
into  the  State  made  by  the  British  troops  in  the  Revolution — or  to  their  legal  representatives  when  they  were  dead — 
and  to  their  heirs  and  assigns,  forever.  500.000  acres  of  land  lying  across  the  western  end  of  the  Reserve,  bounded 
north  by  the  southern  shore  of  1  ake  Erie.  The  total  number  of  sufferers,  as  reported,  was  1 ,870,  and  their  aggregate 
losses  amounted  to  £161.548.  lis.  6'jd.  The  grant  by  Connecticut  to  these  Connecticut  sufferers  was  of  the  soil 
only.  (It  is  proper  to  state  here  that  none  of  the  Wyoming  sufferers  were  in  any  particular  considered,  recognized, 
or  permitted  to  participate,  in  this  donation  of  lands!) 

The  lands  thus  granted  are  known  in  Connecticut  history  as  "The  Sufferers'  Lands",  and  in  Ohio  history  as  "The 
Fire  Lands  "  In  1  796.  the  Sufferers  were  incorporated  in  Connecticut,  and  in  1803  in  Ohio,  under  the  title  "The  Pro- 
prietors of  the  Half-million  Acres  of  Land  Lying  South  of  Lake  Erie."  In  May,  1793,  the  Connecticut  Assembly 
offered  the  remaining  part  of  the  Reserve  for  sale,  and  in  September,  1795,  the  whole  tract  was  sold — without  survey 
or  mea-urement — for  SI, 200, 000.  'The  Connecticut  State  School  Fund,  which  now  amounts  to  something  more  than 
S2.000.000.,  consi  ts  wholly  of  the  proceeds  of  that  sale,  with  capitalized  interest.  The  purchasers  of  the  Reserve — 
most  of  them  belonging  to  Connecticut,  but  some  to  Afassachusetts  and  New  York  were  men  desirous  of  trying  to 
make  their  fortunes  in  Western  lands.    Oliver  Phelps,  perhaps  the  greatest  land  speculator  of  the  time,  was  at  their  head. 

In  May,  1839,  the  Hon.  Charles  Miner  of  W'ilkes-Barre  prepared  an  address  entitled  "A  Plea  for  Wyoming". 
to  be  delivered  before  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  Subsequently  the  address  was  published  in  full,  and  from 
it  the  following  paragraphs  relating  to  the  W'e^tem  Reserve  have  been  extracted: 

"Every  one  who  Will  go  patiently  through  the  motions  and  votes  found  in  the  old  Congressional  Journal,  cannot 
fail  to  be  convinced  that  there  was  an  understanding  among  the  wise  heads  of  that  day  that  Conne;ticut  should  have 
an  indemnification  for  the  loss  of  land  claimed  by  her  in  Pennsylvania.  Though  her  Charter  rights  were  denied  within 
Pennsylvania,  there  was  an  eager  alacrity  to  acknowledge  those  same  Charter  rights  we?t  of  that  State.     *     *     * 

"Was  it  not  owing  to  the  settlement  at  Wyoming  having  been  kept  up,  under  the  Connecticut  Patent,  that  Con- 
necticut's western  claim  was  finally  admitted  ? '  Was  it  not  owing  to  the  great  efforts,  the  efficient  services,  the  dread- 
ful sufferings,  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  on  the  Susquehanna — creating  admiration  and  pity  throughout  the  civilized 
world — that  the  public  mind  was  turned  to  the  subject  of  your  claim,  and  all  heart;  were  moved  with  effective  kindness? 
Is  it  too  much  to  affirm  that  the  noble  Reserve  of  five  million  acres — the  source  to  you  of  so  many  blessings— was 
finally  confirmed  to  the  State  in  a  great  degree  by  the  efforts,  the  tears  and  the  blood  of  your  settlement  at  Wyoming? 
And  would  it  not  be  the  extreme  of  inju>.tice  that  they  should  not  only  be  denied  any  participation  in  your  prosperity, 
but  receive  no  one  mark  of  your  consideration,  remembrance  or  favor? 

"Allow  me  to  trace  this  matter  one  step  farther.  To  your  severest  judgment  I  put  this  question:  If  the  five 
million  acres  belonged  to  Connecticut  originally,  as  the  \^'e?tmoreland  settlers  did  not  emigrate  from  the  Stale,  but  were 
still  citizens — part  and  parcel  of  the  State — were  they  not  justly  entitled  to  a  part  of  the  land  in  proportion  to  their 
numbers'  All  Connecticut  was  estimated  at  the  Revolution  to  contain  230,000  inhabitants;  Westmoreland.  3,000. 
Now,  by  Root  and  DaboU,  as  330,000  is  to  5.000,000,  so  is  3,000  to  65,000  acre;!  Again,  suppose  the  Reserve  a  grant 
for  Revolutionary  services  and  sufferings,  how  would  the  matter  stand?  Connecticut,  in  1776,  was  called  on  by  Congress 
for  3,238  men  as  her  quota,  or  about  1.4  men  to  every  100  person;.  Thus  the  portion  of  Westmoreland  would  have 
been  43  men:  but  there  were  about  20  with  Gore,  160  with  Durkee  and  Ransom,  besides  individual  enlistments.  Add 
the  company  of  Hewitt — annihilated  as  soon  as  raised — say  40.  we  furnished  at  least  220  men — more  than  five  times 
our  rightful  share;  and  when,  in  truth,  from  the  exposed  situation  of  Wyoming,  there  ought  not  a  single  man  to  have 
been  drawn  away.     [In  this  connection  see  pages  915,  916,  and  957,  Vol,  II,  of  this  History.] 

"If  the  State  had  furnished  troops  in  equal  proportion,  she  would  have  sent  out  at  one  time  above  16,000  men. 
If  the  whole  United  Colonies  had  done  the  same,  Washington's  army  instead  of  containing  from  10,000  to  20.000  men 
would  have  consisted  of  more  than  170.000 — enough  to  have  eaten  up  the  whole  British  army!  *  *  *  It.  therefore, 
the  Reserve  was  confirmed  to  the  State  for  her  military  services,  losses  and  sufferings,  would  it  not  follow  that  Wyoming 
should  receive  a  still  greater  share? 

"I  defy  the  shrewdest  casui't,  the  acutest  logician,  to  suggest  a  plausible  reason  why  those  towns  [Fairfield,  New 
London,  Danbury,  Groton,  Norwalk,  etc.]  should  be  the  recipients  of  your  bounty,  which  would  not  apply  with  equal 
or  greater  force  to  this,  Westmoreland  2ias  as  obedient .  as  faithful:  did  as  miieh,  paid  as  much,  fought  as  much,  and  suf- 
fered more!  True,  before  the  State  was  in  a  condition  to  appropriate  those  lands  to  their  relief,  the  Decree  of  Trenton 
had  separated  Westmoreland  from  your  jurisdiction.  Could  that  make  the  slightest  difference'  Was  it  the  act  of 
the  people  of  Wyoming?  And  if  it  had  been,  would  it  have  affected  their  claim?  If  any  citizen  of  New  London  or 
Groton.  or  either  of  the  other  towns,  whose  house  was  burnt,  had,  after  the  Peace,  removed  to  any  other  part  of  the 
State,  or  to  the  West,  would  not  he  have  been  indemnified  as  fully  and  as  cheerfulh-  as  i*"  he  had  remained  at  his 
original  place  of  residence?"  *See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  X  :  767. 


1514 

W^its  of  Ejectment  there,  which  might  possibly,  by  those  Measures,  have  been  rendered  un- 
necessary." 

Shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting  of  The  Susquehanna  Company, 

held  at  Hartford,  on  May  17,  1786,  Ethan  Allen  returned  to  his  home  in  Vermont, 

while  John  Franklin  visited  various  places  in   Connecticut  and  eastern   New 

York,  and  then  started  for  Wyoming.     While  en  route,  at  Amenia,   Dutchess 

County,  New  York,  on  Thursday,  June  8,  1786,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton, 

at  Hudson,  in  part  as  follows:* 

"I  left  Hartford  last  Week  on  Wednesday  evening,  [May  31),  and  am  now  on  my  Journey 
to  Wyoming.  I  expect  you  have  received  my  Letter  of  the  3d  Inst.,  in  which  I  informed  you 
that  Congress  have  Accepted  the  Cessions  from  Connecticut.  I  expect  that  to  be  a  Confirmation 
of  our  Title.  Nothing  farther  Done  in  Assembly  respecting  Wyoming  affairs.  It's  thought 
best  by  friends  to  rest  quiet  at  Present — to  hold  fast  to  our  Purchase,  &c. 

"I  have  been  to  Windham.  Exquire  Gray  had  no  Blank  Certificates.  I  send  you  ten  full 
Shares,  from  No.  140  to  149  Included.  I  took  a  receipt  from  Esquire  Beach,  and  expect  he  will 
take  one  from  you;  he  will  also  send  you  15  shares,  to  make  25  in  the  whole.  Esquire  Gray 
thinks  best  to  issue  no  more  Certificates  at  Present,  as  300  have  already  been  Delivered  to  the 
Com'tee.  Should  it  be  necessary,  others  may  be  Issued  hereafter.  It's  best  to  take  Care  how 
Lands  are  Disposed  of. 

"I  expect  that  many  Certificates  have  been  given  out  that  will  answer  but  a  small  Purpose 
to  the  Company.  I  find  that  Esquire  Gray  has  given  out  near  50  half  Shares  to  Persons  to  repair 
to  Wyoming  and  Continue  three  years;  that  no  Condition  is  mentioned  in  the  Certificate;  that 
not  more  than  7  of  those  Persons  are  in  that  Country — which  I  Conceive  to  be  an  argument  that 
it's  best  to  be  careful.  The  400  half  Shares  are  not  all  taken  up.  It's  thought  best  to  fill  them. 
Let  those  that  are  disposed  to  become  Adventurers,  have  a  recommendation,  to  repair  to  Wyoming, 
to  receive  Certificates  from  the  Com'tee  on  the  Spot — which  may  prevent  trouble  hereafter. 
I  would  wish  to  have  every  Plan  put  in  Execution  to  get  on  Settlers. 

"/  hope  you  will  Procure  the  Physick  and  Pills  you  talked  of  at  Hartford,  and  send  the  same 
on.  I  can  administer  them  if  Necessary,  Though  I  have  not  the  Theory  of  Physick,  I  Profess 
to  know  something  of  Practice.  By  late  Accounts  from  Wyoming  I  hear  that  a  Justice  of  Peace, 
a  Sheriff,  and  one  other  Person  as  Assistant,  all  from  Sunberry,  have  lately  been  in  the  Settlement 
to  Execute  Warrants  against  those  that  neglected  to  give  Bail  for  good  Behaviour,  but  met  with 
Poor  Success.  That,  attempting  to  take  one  of  our  Party,  the  Sheriff's  Bully  Presented  a  Pistol 
and  Demanded  a  Surrender;  but  the  Bully  received  a  flogging,  and  the  whole  have  returned  to 
Sunberry  to  make  report.    As  I  had  the  news  from  a  Second  hand,  I  cannot  give  the  Particulars. 

"I  expect  they  will  use  every  Plan  to  execute  their  Laws.  They  appear  more  fond  of  fighting 
us  with  their  Law  Books  than  with  Rifles,  though  they  appear  fond  of  the  latter  as  often  as  they 
can  find  us  in  a  Defenceless  Situation;  and  more  especially  when  they  have  only  Women  and 
Children  to  oppose  them.  I  shall  make  a  List  of  those  that  have  taken  Certificates  for  Rights 
as  soon  as  may  be  after  I  return,  and  shall  endeavor  to  let  you  know  the  number  of  those  that 
have  taken  Certificates  from  \'OU,  and  are  on  the  Spot." 

At  New  York,  on  June  9,  1786,  Messrs.  Charles  Pettit  and  John  Bayard, 

Pennsylvania  Delegates  in  Congress,  wrote  to  President  Benjamin  Franklin  in 

part  as  follows  if 

"The  Delegates  from  Connecticut  being  absent  from  Congress,  we  have  transmitted  to  Mr. 
Mitchell,  one  of  those  Delegates  (who  we  understand  to  be  also  a  Member  of  the  Legislature, 
and  now  at  Hartford)  a  Copy  of  your  Excellency's  Letter  of  the  4th  Instant,  except  the  caution- 
ary Part  respecting  the  intercepted  Letter;  also  a  Copy  of  Mr.  Shaw's  Letter  to  your  Excellency, 
leaving  out  the  name  of  the  writer  of  the  intercepted  Letter,  and  the  name  of  the  Person  to  whom 
it  was  directed. 

"This  morning  Dr.  [Wm.  Samuel]  JohnsonJ  has  resumed  his  Seat  in  Congress.  We  have 
communicated  to  him  the  Contents  of  your  E-xcellency's  Letter  &  Inclosures.  He  expresses 
great  Concern  that  the  Distractions  in  Pennsylvania  are  thus  Continued,  but  seems  very  confident 
that  the  State  of  Connecticut  will  discountenance  it's  Citizens  in  all  farther  pursuit  of  Claims  in 
Pennsylvania  other  than  such  as  the  Laws  and  Policy  of  the  latter  shall  warrant.  He  has  not 
lately  been  at  Hartford,  where  the  Legislature  are  now  sitting,  but  says  he  is  well  informed  that 
the  Act  of  Congress  respecting  their  proposed  Cession  [of  western  lands]  will  enable  the  State  to 
induce  the  Susquehanna  Company  to  transfer  their  views  from  Pennsylvania  to  a  more  western 
Country.     This  done,  the  Insurgency  in  Pennsylvania  will  probably  subside." 

At  Philadelphia,  under  the  date  of  June  11,  1786,  President  Benjamin 
Franklin  wrote  to  Col.  John  Franklin,  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith  and  Maj.  John 
Jenkins,  at  Wyoming,  in  part  as  follows  :§ 

"I  received  in  its  time  your  Letter  of  the  25th  of  February  last,||  written  in  behalf  of  the 
People  settled  at  Wyoming,  and  requesting  a  Protection  of  Government  for  an  Agent  who  might 
*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  XI  :  3.  tSee,  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  First  Series,  XI  :  5. 

tSee  page  1480.         §See,  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  XI  :  14.         |[See  pages  1494  and  1495. 


1515 

be  sent  hither  to  explain  your  Grievances,  &c.  The  Request  appear'd  to  us  to  be  reasonable, 
and  such  a  Protection  would  have  been  immediately  sent,  but  that  we  were  told  the  Gentleman 
who  brought  your  Letter  (Captain  Schott)  being  in  Town,  and  well  acquainted  with  your  AfTairs, 
the  giving  him  a  Hearing  might  possibly  answer  your  purpose  as  well,  and  spare  you  the  Expence 
&  Trouble  of  sending  a  special  Agent.  He  was  accordingly  heard  before  the  Council,  and  had  an 
opportunity  of  conversing  separately  with  several  of  the  Members,  as  well  as  with  the  Members 
of  Assembly,  and  gave  so  clear  and  so  affecting  an  Account  of  the  situation  of  your  People,  their 
present  Disposition  and  former  Sufferings,  as  enclined  the  Government  in  general  to  show  them 
every  kind  of  reasonable  Favour. 

"The  Assembly  accordingly  took  the  necessary  previous  steps  for  a  Compliance  with  your 
Request  respecting  a  separate  County*  which  will  probably  be  compleated  at  their  next  Sesssion. 
But  as  there  may  be  other  Matters  necessary  to  be  consider'd  and  discuss'd — in  order  to  establish 
solid  and  lasting  Quiet — the  Council  have  since  judged  that  it  might  still  be  useful  if  your  first 
Proposal  of  sending  an  Agent  hither  were  agreed  to  and  if  one  or  more,  chosen  &  appointed  by 
the  People,  should  accordingly  be  here  about  the  beginning  of  the  Session,  which  was  fixt  for  the 
22d  of  August  next.  You  may  therefore,  now  acquaint  the  Settlers  that,  upon  Information  of 
such  Appointment,  a  Passport  or  Safe  Conduct,  under  the  great  Seal,  for  the  Person  or  Persons 
so  appointed  shall  be  sent  to  you,  giving  him  or  them  perfect  security  in  coming,  residing  here, 
and  returning,  from  all  Arrests  or  suits  of  any  kind,  and  full  Freedom  &  Protection  from  every 
Hindrance,  Restraint  or  Molestation  whatsoever. 

"Be  assured.  Gentlemen,  that  it  will  be  a  great  Pleasure  to  the  whole  Council,  as  well  as  to 
myself  in  particular,  if  we  can  be  instrumental,  by  just  &  reasonable  Measures,  in  promoting  the 
Happiness  of  so  great  a  Body  of  our  People  as  the  Settlers  at  Wyoming  consist  of." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  June  26,  1786,  Col.  John  Franklin  wrote 
to  Co'.onel  and  Judge  William  Montgomery,  in  part  as  follows:! 

"I  have  had  the  perusal  of  your  letter  to  Mr.  [Lawrence]  Meyers  of  the  22d  inst.  As  you 
made  mention  of  ray  name  with  great  reflections  I  think  proper  to  return  you  an  answer.  I  think 
your  letter  very  Extraordinary.  You  undertake  to  tell  us  what  Congress  have  done,  what  The 
Susquehanna  Company  has  consented  to,  &c.,  and  what  his  Excellency  the  President  of  Penn- 
sylvania] has  authorized  you  to  inform  us  of.  *  *  *  I  must  tell  you  Sir,  that  we  are  not  un- 
acquainted with  the  resolutions  of  Congress  or  the  proceedings  of  The  Susquehanna  Company. 
Your  representations  are  inconsistent  with  truth.  The  votes  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  of 
the  17th  of  May  last  may  convince  you  of  their  intentions.    A  copy  of  said  votes  I  send  enclosed. 

"You  tell  us  that  you  expect  the  Wise  and  Virtuous  amongst  us  will  avail  themselves  of  the 
kind  intentions  of  Government,  and  thereby  secure  the  benefits  of  your  free,  equal  and  happy 
Constitution.  I  would  wish  to  be  informed  whether  the  removal  of  6,000  souls  from  their  justly 
acquired  habitation  at  Wyoming,  to  be  fixed  among  the  Natives  at  Lake  Erie,  is  to  such  Emi- 
grants the  enjoying  of  the  benefits  of  your  free  and  happy  Constitution?  Or  whether  your  Consti- 
tution and  right  of  Government  extend  to  a  territory  northward  of  your  State  and  westward  of 
New  York? 

"You  query  whether  it  will  satisfy  Allen  and  Franklin  and  their  adherents  to  give  up  their 
farms,  which  they  have  justly  acquired  and  cultivated  at  Wyoming,  to  Pennsylvania  Land  Schem- 
ers, and  run  the  chance  of  having  wild  lands  on  the  hunting-grounds  at  Lake  Erie.  Be  assured. 
Sir,  it's  no  query  in  my  mind.  I  expect  to  enjoy  my  Lands  here,  unless  legally  removed  by  a  reg- 
ular course  of  Law  had  before  a  proper  tribunal. 

"You  query  whether,  after  all  that  the  wisdom  and  forbearance  of  Government  can  do  for  us, 
we  must  be  a  people  devoted  to  hard-ships,  danger  and  devastation.  I  wish  you  had  explained 
yourself  more  fully  on  that  head — whether  you  mean  the  forbearance  whereby  you  saved  some 
l^art  of  our  women  and  children  alive  at  the  time  you  expelled  us  from  this  Country  by  an  armed 
force  in  the  year  1784;  or  whether,  by  giving  us  Liberty  to  have  a  being  in  that  part  of  Gods' 
world  on  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie.  Wonderful  forbearance,  indeed!  You  threaten  us  with  devas- 
tation in  case  of  our  non-compliance;  but  let  me  tell  you  Sir,  that  we  disregard  your  threats. 

"You  tell  us  you  are  authorized  by  a  letter  from  his  Excellency,  the  President,  to  inform  us 
of  the  resolution  of  Congress,  and  the  assurances  of  protection  from  the  Government.  *  *  * 
You  also  recommend  that  we  demean  ourselves  as  good  citizens,  and  not  be  drawn  from  our  al- 
legiance by  the  wild  schemes  of  men  who  live  by  fishing  in  troubled  waters;  that  these  men,  when 
distress  ariseth,  will  leave  us  to  shift  for  ourselves,  and  hunt  out  a  new  scene  in  which  to  exercise 
their  unhappy  talent.  To  which  I  answer:  It  ever  has  been,  and  still  is,  our  desire  to  demean 
ourselves  as  good  Citizens;  and  we  would  wish  to  be  protected  as  such,  though  we  are  sorry  to 
say  we  have  never  yet  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  your  Constitution,  though  solemnly  plighted  to  us. 

"You  pretend  to  be  afraid  that  the  people  here  will  be  drawn  from  their  allegiance  by  the 
wild  schemes  of  men  who  live  by  fishing  in  troubled  waters.  Had  j'ou  been  honest  you  would 
have  said  you  was  afraid  that  the  exhortations  of  the  wise,  righteous  and  just  will  have  such  a 
deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  good  people  at  Wyoming  as  will  induce  them  to  stand  forth 
in  their  defence  in  a  just  and  righteous  cause,  and  overthrow  the  hellish  schemes  of  the  Land 
monopolizers,  who  wish  to  destroy  the  Yankees  from  the  face  of  the  Earth,  that  they  may  enjoy 
the  Lands  our  hands  have  cultivated  and  our  blood  enriched. 

"You  further  pretend  to  be  afraid  that  the  wild  schemers  (as  you  term  them)  will  leave  the 
people  at  Wyoming  when  danger  ariseth.    I  believe.  Sir,  it's  your  sincere  wish  that  the  wise  and 
*See  page  1496. 
tSee,  "Pennsylvania  .\rchives",  Second  Series.  XVIII  ;  656. 


1516 

virtuous  should  withdraw,  that  you  might  thereby  have  a  better  opportunity  of  drawing  the  more 
ignorant  and  innocent  people  into  a  snare,  and  persuade  them  to  give  up  their  all  for  a  Rattle 
Box.  I  then  query  whether  you  would  not  cheat  that  from  them — provided  the  honor  of  land 
schemers  only  could  be  pledged  for  the  delivery  thereof.  But  be  assured.  Sir,  the  wise  and  vir- 
tuous will  not  withdraw.  We  have  been  inured  to  dangers,  hardships  and  devastations;  we  have 
been  too  often  deceived  by  your  people,  the  land  schemers,  as  well  as  by  some  of  the  officers  of 
the  Government,  who  made  great  pretension  of  Honesty,  Justice  and  Friendship,  and  whose 
fair  words  and  flattering  speeches  are  not  to  be  believed;  for  thus  saith  the  Lord — 'Their  hearts 
are  full  of  all  manner  of  abominations.'     *     *     * 

"Let  me  tell  you,  Sir,  that  we  esteem  ourselves  capable  of  transacting  our  own  business, 
and  I  would  advise  you  to  avail  yourself  of  the  late  votes  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  and 
thereby  secure  your  land.     I  wish  for  Peace  on  just  and  honorable  terms. 

"N.  B. — The  benevolent  intention  of  the  Company  to  your  settlers,  and  particularly  to 
yourself,  is  to  the  disadvantage  of  my  honored  Father,  who  is  the  sole  owner  of  those  lands  you 
claim  at  Mahoning  [Creek]." 

At  Smithfield,  Northampton  County,  Pennsylvania,  on  June  27,  1786,  the 
Hon.  John  Van  Campen  (previously  mentioned  hereinbefore)  wrote  to  General 
Armstrong,  Secretary  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  in  part  as  follows:* 

"It  Remains  no  Longer  a  Doubt  with  me  that  this  Bandity  at  Wioming  is  determined 
not  to  Subordinate  to  the  Laws  of  this  State.  You  will  observe  by  the  inclosed  paper,  Sign'd 
Franklin,  his  assuming  authority  at  that  place.  The  woman  he  mentioned  was  Legally  Removed 
to  that  place  agreeable  to  the  Law  provided  for  that  purpose. 

"Franklin  is  Lately  arriv'd  at  Wioming  from  the  State  of  Connecticut,  from  the  meeting 
of  the  Susquehanna  Company.  Ethan  Allen  is  Expected  Soon.  Franklin  assumes  more  authority 
and  more  positively  Dispises  the  Laws  of  this  State,  with  more  Contempt  than  formerly.  To  be 
particular  in  Regard  to  this  Bandity,  time  will  not  admit.  From  many  Circumstances,  I  am  now 
Convinced  that  the  people  will  Declare  a  New  State,  or  pretend  the  Laws  and  Regulations  of 
the  State  of  Connecticut.  The  old  proverb  is  worthy  of  observing  in  this  Case — nip  the  Bud 
when  young.    I  fear  it  has  been  Neglected  in  this  Case." 

On  July   15,    1786,   Dr.  Wm.   Hooker  Smith,   one  of  the  five   "Directors" 

chosen  by  the  people  of  Wyoming  in  November,  1785,  to  regulate  the  affairs  of 

the  settlement,  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  for  New  Jersey,  expecting  to  be  gone 

about  eight  days.     According  to  a  statement  in  writing  subsequently  made  by 

him,  he  had  a  talk  with  Col.  John  Franklin — one  of  his  Co- Directors — on  the 

morning  of  his  departure,  and  was  told  by  Franklin  that  he  had  prepared  "a 

number  of  advertisements  to  call  the  people  together  some  day  on  the  last  of 

the  month."     Dr.  Smith  further  declared  that  as  soon  as  he  had  left  the  Valley 

"Franklin  altered  the  advertisements,  calling  on  the  people  to  meet  on  the  20th" 

of  July;  that  the  meeting  was  held  on  that  day  at  the  house  of  Abel  Yarington 

in  Wilkes-Barre,  but  that,  owing  to  the  short  notice  given,  only  a  few  of  the 

inhabitants  attended.     The  Rev.  James  Finn  (see  [*]  note  page  1505)  presided  as 

Moderator.    The  following  account  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  was  written 

at  the  time  by  a  friend  of  Dr.  Smith,  and  subsequently  reached  the  Supreme 

Executive  Council. f 

"In  the  first  place  Franklin  read  the  doings  of  the  meeting  lately  held  at  Hartford  by  The 
Susquehanna  Company,  at  which  said  Company  voted  that  all  that  was  settled  on  the  West 
Branch  under  Pennsylvania  should  hold  their  lands,  *  *  *  and  said  Company  would  sup- 
port said  settlers  to  hold  said  lands  for  the  Connecticut  claimants.  Franklin  and  [Zerah]  Beach 
then  did  solemnly  declare  that  Congress  had  not  settled  anything  in  regard  to  the  right  of  soil, 
as  some  had  reported,  but  quite  the  reverse;  for  Connecticut  was  determined  to  have  another 
trial  for  jurisdiction.     *     *     * 

"Obadiah  Gore  had  a  number  of  votes  done,  ready  for  the  people  to  vote  to  in  said  meeting, 
which  were  [to  the  effect]  that  the  people  had  good  right  to  their  lands,  and  that  the  Connecticut 
(sic)  Purchase  was  good  ardiuthsntic.  Franklin  said  *  *  *  that  the  agents  that  should  be 
chosen  at  said  meeting  should  have  their  instructions  not  to  take  up  with  anything  short  of  the 
whole  Purchase.  This  was  voted  in  the  meeting  by  about  twenty  or  thirty  [persons],  and  they 
mostly  half-share  men,  and  perhaps  but  few  of  them  who  had  ever  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity 
[to  Pennsylvania].  Gore,  Franklin  and  Beach  told  the  meeting  that  in  case  they  gave  up  their 
Indian  Deed  they  would  all  be  turned  off  [the  land]  immediately. 

"John  Jenkins  then  swore,  in  the  most  sacred  manner,  that  in  case  that  the  people  should 
constitute  or  appoint  any  other  agent  but  those  that  should  be  chosen  by  that  meeting  that  day, 

*See,  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  XI  :  26. 
tSee,  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  XI  :  47. 


1517 

he  would  send  Ihem  to  the  Eternal  Shades  of  Darkness;  and  that  he  knew  he  could  raise  a  party 
to  assist  him  at  any  time  he  wanted;  and  that  he  would  destroy  both  man,  woman  and  children 
of  all  such  persons — he  would  not  spare  the  life  of  one,  either  small  or  great,  and  would  take  their 
effects  to  himself! 

"The  Agents  chosen  at  said  meeting  to  represent  this  settlement  at  the  August  Session 
[of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly]  were  John  Franklin  and  John  Jenkins;  and  Giles  .Slocum  was 
chosen  a  'Director?'  " 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  the  day  following  the  above-described  meeting,  Col. 
Zebulon  Butler  and  Col.  John  Franklin,  members  of  The  Susquehanna  Company's 
Committee  for  ordering  and  directing  the  laying  out  of  towns,  "accepted  and 
approved"  a  township  called  "Ulster",  which  had  been  located  and  surveyed  a 
short  time  previously  by  Obadiah  Gore,  agent  for  the  following-named  proprie- 
tors: Capt.  Simon  Spalding,  William  Buck,  Maj.  William  Judd,  Timothy  Hosmer, 
Obadiah  Gore,  Elijah  Buck,  Thomas  Baldwin,  Henry  Baldwin,  Joseph  Kinney, 
Joseph  Kinney,  Jr.,  Joseph  Spalding,  John  Spalding,  Reuben  Fuller,  Widow 
Hannah  Gore,  Samuel  Gore,  Abraham  Brokaw,  Avery  Gore,  Joseph  Eaton, 
Joshua  Dunlap,  Lockwood  Smith,  Aholiab  Buck's  heirs,  John  Shephard,  Stephen 
Shephard,  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  Joshua  Jewel's  heirs,  Hugh  Forseman,  Isaac 
Baldwin,  Chester  Bingham,  Adviel  Simons,  Zerah  Beach,  Lebbens  Hammond, 
Benjamin  Bailey,  Lawrence  and  Sarah  Myers,  Nehemiah  Defries,  Abner  Kelley 
and  Benjamin  Clark. 

The  bounds  of  this  new  township,  as  set  forth  in  the  "return"  of  Obadiah 
Gore,  were  as  follows:*  "Beginning  at  a  point  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
opposite  to  the  head  of  an  island,  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  below  the  mouth 
.of  the  Tioga  River;  thence  west,  two  miles;  thence  south,  five  miles;  thence 
east,  five  miles — crossing  the  Susquehanna  to  a  bound;  thence  north,  five  miles, 
to  a  bound;  thence  west,  three  miles  to  the  first-mentioned  bound."  This 
newest  township  adjoined,  on  the  south,  the  township  of  Athens,  which  had  been 
"granted  and  confirmed"  in  May,  1786.  There  had  been  an  earlier  township 
of  Ulster,  located  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  as  shown  on  the  map 
facing  page  468,  Vol.  I.  This  earlier  township  had  undoubtedly  been  located 
and  granted  in  the  year  1775,  but,  on  account  of  the  war,  and  the  dispersal  of 
the  settlers  along  the  Susquehanna  above  Wyoming  Valley,  had  not  been  sur- 
veyed or  allotted.  The  new  Ulster  was  intended,  therefore,  to  take  the  place  of 
old  Ulster. 

At  his  home  near  Northumberland,  on  July  21,  1786,  Judge  William  Mont- 
gomery forwarded  to  President  Benjamin  Franklin,  at  Philadelphia,  the  letter  of 
Col.  John  Franklin  (pirinted  on  page  1515)  accompanying  it  with  a  letter  read- 
ing in  part  as  follows:! 

"I  lately  received  a  letter  from  Wioming,  signed  'John  Franklin',  which  I  beg  leave  to 
inclose  for  the  perusal  of  the  Council;  and  also  an  inclosed  bit  of  a  newspaper  printed  (I  suppose) 
in  Connecticut — the  contents  of  both  of  which  I  think  a  little  extraordinary. 

"In  order  to  inform  your  Excellency  &  Council  of  the  occasion  of  this  letter,  I  beg  leave  to 
trouble  you  with  a  very  short  sketch  of  a  letter  I  had  written  to  a  certain  [Lawrence]  Myers  living 
at  that  place.  The  letter  was  entirely  of  a  public  nature,  and  was  sent  there  to  inform  them  of 
what  I  had  been  informed  by  Gen.  John  Bull  had  been  lately  done  in  Congress  respecting  the 
Susquehanna  claimants — suspecting  that  art  is  often  used  to  keep  the  true  state  of  things  from 
the  common  people.  I  also,  therein  (agreeable  to  the  request  of  the  Honorable  Council,  in  the 
letter  I  had  the  Honor  to  receive  in  answer  to  the  dispatches  sent  by  General  Bull),  expressed 
the  assurances  of  Council  that  the  virtuous  and  peaceable  should  have  protection ;  and  I  earnestly 
pressed  them  not  to  follow  the  wild  schemes  of  Men  not  satisfied  or  easy  under  the  established 
forms  of  Government. 

"I  hinted  how  much  better  i^  was  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  our  Constitution  and  Laws 
than  to  subject  themselves  to  all  the  distress  which  must  follow  a  contention  with  us  and  a  Rebel- 

*See  the  original  records  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  Book  "I",  page  25. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  First  Series,  XI  :  35.        I 


1518 

lion  against  Government;  and — what  probably  irritated  Franklin  most — I  gave  it  clearly  as  my 
opinion  that,  when  distress  arose,  those  men — now  the  most  active  and  uneasy — would  leave  them 
to  shift  for  themselves.  There  is  much  of  my  letter  either  wilfully  misunderstood  or  greatly 
misrepresented. 

"I  have  had  nothing  further  from  that  Quarter  lately  other  than  the  inclosed.  This  John 
Franklin  is  the  Colonel  of  their  Militia,  and  a  principal  Man  among  them.  I  make  no  doubt 
but  that  his  letter  is  fully  expressive  of  the  intentions  of  a  great  number  at  Wioming;  and  for  my 
part  I  confess  I  should  be  glad  to  see  that  part  of  the  country  erected  into  a  County,  so  that, 
if  they  have  the  least  desire  of  becoming  orderly  citizens  of  this  State,  they  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity so  to  do — although  I  very  much  doubt  whether  they  would  accept  the  favor." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  August  10,  1786,  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith  wrote  to 
Vice  President  Charles  Biddle  at  Philadelphia,  in  part  as  follows:* 

"We  hear  that  Captain  Schott  is  this  day  set  out  for  Philadelphia,  we  expect  in  order  to 
ask  for  Protection  for  Col.  John  Franklin  and  Maj.  John  Jenkins  to  attend  the  Assembly  as  Agents. 
We  are  at  this  time  in  Great  Confusion.  The  conduct  of  Captain  Schott  is  amazing  to  us.  He 
appears  of  late  to  be  on  the  side  of  Allen,  Franklin,  Jenkins  and  associates.  He  has  inlisted  him- 
self in  proprietors'  rights  pretty  largely,  and  is  paddling  about  with  Franklin  and  Jenkins  in  the 
land  jobbing  way  under  the  Susquehanna  proprietors.  [Dr.  Smith  next  referred  to  the  town 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants  held  on  July  20,  and  Franklin's  procedure  in  connection  with  the  same 
— and  then  continued  as  follows:] 

"I  am  credibly  informed  that  there  was  not  more  than  25  which  voted  [at  the  meeting  of 
July  20],  and  most  of  them  stragglers.  Jenkins  gave  out  such  threatening  words  that  no  man 
present  dared  to  oppose.  Jenkins  declared  that  if  any  man  in  the  settlement  did  oppose  the  doings 
of  that  meeting  he  would  destroy  him.  John  Jenkins  swore  in  the  most  solemn  manner  that  in 
case  the  people  should  constitute  or  appoint  any  other  agent  than  what  should  be  chosen  by  that 
meeting  that  day,  he  would  send  them  to  the  Eternal  Shades  of  Darkness,  and  that  he  knew  he 
could  raise  a  party  to  assist  him,  and  that  he  would  destroy  both  men,  women  and  children,  &c. 
They  chose  at  that  meeting  Franklin  and  Jenkins  for  Agents.  They  have  the  sword  in  their 
hands.  Franklin  is  a  Colonel  and  Jenkins  Major;  the  settlers  cannot  make  any  Defence — they 
have  been  deprived  of  their  arms;  the  half-share  men  are  well  armed — thirty  of  them  can  destroy 
the  whole  settlement. 

"The  former  part  of  this  letter  I  wrote  at  Wioming.  I  am  on  the  track  of  Captain  Schott,  , 
&  this  day  (August  11)  am  at  Hellers',  at  Wind  Gap.  When  I  began  this  letter  I  expected  to 
have  sent  it  by  a  young  man  of  my  neighborhood.  If  these  men  [Franklin  and  Jenkins]  should 
get  protection  from  Council  it  will  dishearten  the  settlers.  They  are  not  chosen  by  the  settlers, 
and  if  they  come  under  your  Protection  it  will  be  their  design  to  afTront  you  &  bring  on  a  rupture. 
The  Susquehanna  Company  have  voted  to  give  the  West  Branch  people  their  lands.  By  this 
they  expect  1,000  men  from  there  to  assist  them.  One  Hugh  Forsemanf,  who  lives  now  at  the 
Delaware  (sic),  has  been  of  late  at  Wioming.  He  has  formerly  been  a  Justice  at  Wyoming  under 
Connecticut.  He  saith  that  whenever  Franklin  calls  he  can  have  from  that  neighborhood  500 
or  600  men.  Franklin  and  his  associates  brag  that  they  can  have  from  the  West  Branch  1,000; 
from  the  Delaware,  500;  from  Varmount,  1000.  Such  Reports  intimidate  the  people.  Notwith- 
standing these  [things]  there  is  yet  virtue  in  most  of  the  settlers. 

"I  have  copied  Hamilton's  letters  and  spread  them  in  the  settlement,  which  is  not  only 
economising,  but  stimulates.  When  I  left,  the  People  were  all  in  a  Tumult.  I  have  drawn  up  a 
petition  to  ofTer  to  the  Assembly,  which  was  signing  briskly  when  I  left.  Tlie  settlers  in  general 
fix  on  me  as  their  Agent.  I  expect  to  receive  from  them  in  a  few  days  the  Petition  and  a  Power  of 
Agency,  and  Instructions  to  the  Assembly.  Franklin  has  had  of  late  a  request  for  powder.  We 
had  three  cannon  at  Wioming,  which  are  either  secreted  or  sent  to  Tioga.  The  principal  agents 
against  Government  are  John  Franklin,  John  Jenkins,  James  Finn  and  Christopher  Hurlbut. 
They  have  voted  against  taking  the  laws;  they  have  persuaded  the  people  against  the  Government. 

"You  wiU  observe  the  inclosed  letters.  I  fear  my  family  will  be  destroyed — /  dare  not  go 
to  Wioming  at  present.  [The  testimony  of]  people  can  be  had  a-plenty  against  the  above  persons. 
If  they  could  be  brought  to  justice,  or  removed,  the  people  would  soon  be  quiet. 

"If  your  Honors  should  want  any  Intelligence  from  me  before  I  come  to  the  Assembly, 
I  may  be  found  either  at  Helper's  at  Wind  Gap  or  at  Colonel  Stroud's.  If  the  Wioming  Disturbance 
should  come  to  an  open  rupture — if  troops  should  be  sent  to  enforce  the  laws — Doctor  Smith 
begs  that  the  friends  to  Government  may  not  suffer  with  the  disobedient.  I  should  wish  to  go 
with  them  [the  troops],  or  at  least  be  permitted  to  give  in  a  list  of  Names  of  such  as  are  friends, 
&  beg  for  Protection.  As  to  my  own  part,  I  am  Devoted,  &  at  your  Honors'  service.  I  wish  for 
Regularity,  order,  &  an  Introduction  of  the  Laws." 

It  seems  that  Franklin,  Jenkins  and  their  associates  had  ascertained  about 
August  10th  that  it  was  Dr.  Smith  who  had  intercepted  and  sent  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania authorities  the  inflammatory  letters  of  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton  to  Colonel 
Franklin.  Dr.  Smith,  being  informed  of  this  fact,  stood  not  upon  the  order  of 
his  going,  but  went  posthaste  out  over  the  Sullivan  Road  to  Heller's,  at  the 

*See  "Pennsylvania  .\rchives",  First  Series,  XI  :  45.  * 

tSee  note,  page  1114,  Vol.  II. 


1519      • 

Wind  Gap.  He  took  with  him  a  hastily  written  note  from  his  friends  and  neigh- 
bors Abraham  Westbrook  and  .Samuel  Hover,  addressed  to  Vice  President  Charles 
Biddle,  and  reading  in  part  as  follows:* 

"This  comes  by  Dr.  Smith,  who  is  obhged  to  fly.  Frankhn  &  his  party  have  knowledge  of 
his  ISraith]  informing  Government  of  Hamilton's  letters.  Franklin  &  Jenkins  have  given  out  most 
shocking  threatenings.  As  to  the  meeting  which  Franklin  warned  of  late,  and  the  proceedings, 
and  as  to  every  particular  transacted  here,  we  refer  you  to  the  Doctor.  We  feel  ourselves  sensibly 
bound  by  our  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  State,  and  in  conscience  as  honest  men,  to  declare  against 
the  proceedings  of  Franklin  &  Jenkins;  and  as  we  expect  soon  to  come  to  an  open  Rupture,  the 
Doctor  has  drawn  up  a  Petition  which  is  now  signing,  &  the  letters  from  Hamilton  are  public. 
We  are  determined  to  act  on  the  honest  side.  If  the  opposite  party  should  prove  too  hard  for  us, 
we  hope  we  shall  receive  assistance  from  Government." 

This  letter,  together  with  his  own  letter — begun  at  Wyoming  and  finished  at 
Hellers' — and  the  account  of  the  meeting  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  July  20th,  Dr. 
Smith  forwarded  from  Hellers',  to  Judge  Montgomery,  at  Northumberland,  by 
whom  they  were  duly  transmitted  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council. 

As  noted,  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  for  Philadelphia 
on  August  10,  1786,  bearing  a  letter  to  President  Benjamin  Franklin  from  Col. 
John  Franklin  and  Maj.  John  Jenkins — the  "two  Johns" — relative  to  their  elec- 
tion as  agents  for  the  settlers  at  Wyoming,  and  as  to  their  being  furnished  with 
a  passport  as  suggested  by  President  Franklin  in  his  communication  of  June 
11,  1786.  The  writers  expressed  their  thanks  for  the  attention  of  the  President 
and  the  Council  to  the  case  of  the  Wyoming  settlers,  and  declared  their  appre- 
ciation, especially,  of  that  paragraph  in  the  President's  letter  of  June  11th  "that 
so  fully  expresseth  the  wishes  of  the  whole  Council,  and  His  Excellency  in  par- 
ticular, to  be  instrumental  by  just  and  reasonable  measures  in  promoting  their 
happiness."  The  letterf  prayed  for  the  protection  of  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  to  the  persons  of  Franklin  and  Jenkins  "while  coming  to  and  remaining 
in  Philadelphia,  in  waiting  upon  the  Legislature  as  agents  for  the  settlers  at 
W\'oming",  and  concluded  with  the  following  paragraph: 

"Our  most  sincere  and  best  wishes  attend  your  Excellency  and  the  honourable  Council 
in  all  your  important  concerns.  May  you  have  wisdom  from  on  high,  to  direct  youiu  Council, 
that  you  may  be  used  as  happy  instruments,  under  the  Great  Jehovah,  in  consulting  such  measures 
and  carrying  them  into  execution,  as  will  reflect  immortal  honour  on  your  memories,  and  ter- 
minate in  the  advancement  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,  and  consequently  in  the  weal  and  pros- 
perity of  this  State,  that  your  names  may  be  sacred  in  the  annals  of  history,  that  generations 
yet  unborn — when  they  shall  rise  on  the  stage  of  action — may  call  you  blessed!" 

This  letter  was  duly  received  by  President  Franklin  and  transmitted  to  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council,  whereupon,  on  August  21,  1786,  the  Council  ordered: 
"That  a  passport  under  the  seal  of  the  State  be  made  out  for  the  said  John 
Franklin  and  John  Jenkins,  or  others,  as  agents  as  aforesaid,  granting  to  them 
the  desired  protection,  as  far  as  the  authority  of  the  Executive  will  extend; 
but  that  they  be  apprized  that  this  will  not  reach  beyond  prosecution  of  a  crim- 
inal nature." 

With  this  passport  Captain  Schott  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  ar- 
rived about  August  25th.  Meanwhile  a  meeting  of  the  Wyoming  settlers  had 
been  held  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  Saturday,  August  19th.  So  far  as  the  present 
writer  can  ascertain,  the  only  account  of  this  meeting  is  preser\-ed  in  the  jour- 
nal of  Col.  Timothy  Pickering  (who  was  in  Wilkes-Barre  at  the  time),  and  is 
as  follows,  (under  the  date  of  August  20,   1786) :{ 

"At  this  meeting  were  present  such  settlers  as  chose  to  attend  from  Tioga  downwards; 
yet  I  have  since  learned  that  the  whole  number  present  amounted  to  but  sixty.     I  found  that 

*See  "Pennsylvania  .Archives".  First  Series.  XI  :  47. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records",  XV  :  67.  and  "Pickering  Papers",  LVII  :  30. 

{See  Upham's  "Life  of  Timothy  Pickering",  II  :  258. 


1520 


Colonel  [Zebulon]  Butler  had  prudently  resolved  to  accept  no  office  whatever  among  these  people, 
except  that  of  Moderator  of  their  meetings,  when  they  should  choose  him.  He  was  Moderator 
of  the  meeting  yesterday.  Their  principal  business  was  to  consider  and  determine  for  what  ex- 
tent of  country  they  should  make  their  claim  to  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania.  They  concluded 
to  ask  for  the  whole  Indian  Purchase,  beginning  ten  miles  east  of  the  north-east  branch  of  the 
Susquehanna,  as  it  runs,  and  extending  westward  two  degrees  of  longitude.  Its  breadth  north 
and  south  I  did  not  ascertain;  but  suppose  it  corresponds  with  the  breadth  of  the  State  of  Con- 
necticut. *  *  *  Messrs.  Franklin  and  Jenkins  are  chosen  agents  to  present  their  claim,  or 
petition,  to  the  Assembly;  and  a  messenger  is  gone  to  the  President  and  Council  to  ask  a  pass- 
port for  them. 

"It  would  seem  that  they  make  this  large  claim,  not  with  a  confidence  of  its  being  acceded 
to,  but  from  an  expectation  of  obtaining  more  than  if  they  asked  but  little.  Such  of  the  old  settlers 
as  I  have  conversed  with  would  be  satisfied  if  quieted  in  their  possessions  prior  to  the  decision  of  the 
Continental  Court  at  Trenton.  These  possessions  mean  the  lots  of  150  to  300  acres,  on  which 
they  had  seated  themselves  and  made  some  improvements  before  that  day.  These  settlers,  and 
the  heirs  of  such  of  them  as  have  died,  are  supposed  to  amount  to  about  250  families.  The  neiv- 
comers  may  amount  to  as  many  more;  and  these,  having  obtained  grants  of  half-shares  (whence 
they  are  called  half -share  men)  from  The  Susquehanna  Company,  on  condition  of  their  residing 
in  the  settlement  and  defending  the  land,  contend  warmly  for  the  whole  Indian  purchase.  Some  of 
the  old  settlers  also  being  partners  in  the  Company,  still  persist  in  this  extensive  claim." 

The  foregoing  mention  of  the 
name  of  Timothy  Pickering  records 
the  first  appearance  upon  the  Wyo- 
ming stage,  of  a  new  actor — one 
who,  during  the  ensuing  three  or 
four  years,  filled  many  parts  in  the 
drama  enacted  here,  and  was  a  use- 
ful and  dominant  member  of  the 
community. 

According  to  Upham — in  his 
"Life  of  Timothy  Pickering",  II: 
248 — Colonel  Pickering,  who  was 
living  in  Philadelphia  in  1786,  came 
to  the  conclusion  early  in  that  year 
"to  remove,  with  his  family,  to 
some  new  settlement  ,on  the  front- 
iers, or  to  open  one  himself  in  the 
remoter  wilderness.  With  this  in 
view  he  had  purchased  several  large 
tracts  of  unoccupied  lands  in  the  ex- 
treme western  counties  of  Virginia 
and  beyond,  in  the  territory  then 
belonging  to  that  State,  but  consti- 
tuting now  the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio.     *     *     * 

"He  had  also,  in  company  with  others,*  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  in 
Pennsylvania,  which  had,  on  many  accounts,  greater  attractions  as  a  future 
permanent  home  than  more  distant  localities.  But  his  Pennsylvania  purchase 
was  in  immediate  contact  with  the  Wyoming  lands,  and,  in  fact,  to  some  extent, 
overlay  them.  *  *  *  Before  absolutely  and  finally  committing  himself  to 
the  Wyoming  enterprise,  he  thought  it  proper  to  visit  the  country.  *  *  * 
Two  gentlemen  accompanied  Colonel  Pickering  at  the  start.  Others  overtook 
them  on  the  way."    Colonel  Pickering  kept  a  diary  of  their  journey, — "a  curious 

*According  to  a  document  on  file  in  the  Land  Office,  Department  of  Internal  Affairs,  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania, 
it  is  shown  that,  as  "the  Land  Office  of  Pennsylvania"  was  "to  be  opened  on  May  1 ,  1785,  for  the  sale  of  the  lands 
within  the  State  lately  purcha.sed  from  the  Indians";  and  as  "Timothy  Pickering,  Samuel  Hodgdon,  Tench  Coxe, 
Duncan  Ingham,  Jr.,  all  of  Philadelphia.  Andrew  Craigie,  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  Miers  Fisher",  were  "desirous 
to  form  a  company  for  the  purchase  of  a  considerable  quantity  of  said  lands  for  their  joint  account,"  they  entered 
into  a  written  agreement,  bearing  date  April  6,  1785,  to  purchase  63,000  acres  of  said  lands. 


Stewart  Pearce 

Author  of  "Annals  of  Luzerne  County,"  frequently 

quoted  by  way  of  reference  in 

this  History. 


1521 

and  most  valuable  document" — which  he  entitled  "A  Journal  of  a  Tour  into  the 

Woods  of  Pennsylvania,  about  the  Great  Bend,  August  and  September,  1786." 

The  Pickering  party  set  out  from  Philadelphia  in  the  morning  of  Friday, 

August  4th,  and  traveling — on  horseback,  necessarily — by  way  of  Pottsgrove  and 

Reading,  reached  Sunbury  on  the  8th.    Under  the  date  of  August  12th,  at  the 

home  of  Philip  Francis,*  "about  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  Muncy  Creek,  and 

three  miles  below  Mr.  [vSamuel]  Wallis's,"t     Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  his  wife 

in  part,  as  follows: 

"We  expected  ere  this  to  have  been  farther  advanced  on  our  journey,  but  Mr.  Wallis  is 
to  go  with  us  to  complete  the  surveys  of  the  land  we  are  to  visit,  and  he  cannot  get  ready  till 
ne.xt  Monday,  the  14th;  and  it  will  probably  take  us  a  week  to  collect  necessaries  for  the  surveyor, 
chain  carriers,  &c.,  and  to  travel  to  Tioga  [Point],  so  that  my  return  may  be  ten  days  or  a  fort- 
night later  than  I  wished  or  expected  when  I  left  home.  As  Mr.  Wallis  was  not  ready  we  spent 
two  nights  and  one  day  at  General  Potter's, 1  where  we  were  kindly  entertained.  Last  night 
and  the  preceding  one  we  lodged  at  Mr.  Francis',  and  shall  stay  here  until  we  proceed  on  our 
journey.  Mr.  Francis  is  uncle  to  Thomas  Francis  who  is  with  us.  His  lady  is  a  lively,  agreeable 
woman,  and  well  calculated  for  a  remote  residence  in  the  country.  They  have  the  best  log-house 
we  have  seen,  though  not  yet  finished.  They  have  two  children,  a  son,  and  a  daughter — the 
eldest  about  five  years  old." 

On  August  15th,  Colonel  Pickering  and  his  companions  were  joined  at  Philip 
Francis'  by  Richard  James  and  Charles  Willing  of  Philadelphia,  so  that  the 
party  comprised  those  gentlemen.  Colonel  Pickering,  A.  Horton  and  Thomas 
Frances  (who  had  started  from  Philadelphia  with  the  Colonel),  Samuel  Wallis 
the  surveyor,  several  chain-carriers  and  other  hired  men.  The  company  set  out 
from  Francis'  in  the  afternoon  of  the  15th  and  rode  down  to  Northumberland. 
The  next  day,  after  providing  themselves  with  certain  necessary  articles,  they 
proceeded  up  along  the  west  bank  of  the  North  Branch  of  the  vSusquehanna, 
and  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  evening  of  Friday,  August  18th. 

In  his  "Journal"  Colonel  Pickering  describes,  with  considerable  detail,  not 
only  the  experiences  of  himself  and  companions  on  their  tour,  but  the  physical 
character  of  the  country  through  which  they  travelled,  and  the  civic  and  social 
affairs  of  the  people.  He  states  that  at  Sunbury  there  were  about  100  houses — 
one  house  being  large,  and  well  built  of  stone :  all  the  rest,  with  two  or  three  ex- 
ceptions, being  of  logs.  There  was  a  wide  range  in  the  character  of  the  log  houses 
which  they  met  with  in  their  journey.  "Some  were  large,  commodious,  neat, 
tight,  comfortable  in  all  seasons,  and  in  all  respects  desirable."  The  better  sort 
were  "hewed  and  neatly  put  together' with  double  dovetails  at  the  corners;  the 
joints  between  the  logs  being  filled  with  small  stones,  and  pointed  with  lime  and 
mortar."  Below  this  style  of  houses  there  was  every  grade,  down  to  what  were 
mere  huts  or  hovels. 

Throughout  Wyoming  Valley  the  vestiges  of  the  ruin  with  which  it  had 

been  so  often  visited  were  everwhere  seen.     The  log-hovels  in  which  many  of 

the  inhabitants  dwelt  were  wretched  beyond  description.     In  a  great  part  of  them 

there  is  [was]  no  chimney;  but  a  hole  is  [was]  left  in  the  roof,  through  which  the 

smoke  escapes."    Concerning  Wilkes-Barre,  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  as  follows: 

"We  crossed  the  latter  plains  [the  Shawnee,  or  Plymouth,  Flats]  and  came  to  Wyoming, 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river.     Wyoming  town  is  now  called  Wilkesbarre,  and  the  phrase 

*See  page  489,  Vol.  I,  for  a  sketch  of  the  Francis  Family.         fFor  a  sketch  of  his  life  see  page  653,  Vol.  II. 

JGen.  James  Potter  was  bom  in  1729.  He  was  a  Captain  in  the  French  and  Indian  War;  in  May.  1775,  he  was 
commissioned  a  Colonel  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia;  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Pennsylvania  Constitutional  Convention 
in  1776;  was  appointed  and  commissioned  April  5,  1777.  one  of  the  five  Brigadier  Generals,  then  designated  by  the 
state  Legislature  for  the  Pennsylvania  militia.  He  was  Vice  President  of  the  State,  in  1781.  and  in  May,  1782,  was 
promoted  Major  General  of  the  Pennsylvania  militia.  He  was  at  the  battles  of  Trenton,  Princeton  (where  he  was 
wounded),  Brandywine  and  Germantown.  July  7,  1784.  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Council  of 
Censors,  to  succeed  Col.  Samuel  Hunter  who  had  died  in  the  previous  April.  General  Potter  was  a  large  landholder 
in  Penn's  Valley,  but  his  residence  was  in  White  Deer  Township,  in  what  was  then  Northumberland,  but  is  now  Union 
County.    He  died  in  November,  1789.    Potter  County,  Pennsylvania,  erected  March  6,  1804,  was  named  in  his  honor. 


1522 

Wyommg  people  comprehends  all  the  settlers  from  Nescopeck  Creek  to  Tioga  [Point] ;  for  through 
that  whole  extent  of  country  (being  upwards  of  110  miles),  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  they  have 
taken  possession.  Wilkesbarre  was  a  pitch-pine  plain,  though  pretty  fertile,  but  by  no  means 
comparable  with  the  flats  before  described.  Its  surface  is  considerably  higher  than  that  of  the 
flats,  and,  being  of  a  drier,  firmer  soil,  is  a  more  suitable  flat  for  a  town.  Much  of  it,  however, 
was  overflowed  in  the  great  fresh  of  the  Spring  of  17S4. 

"The  town  was  originally  divided  into  town-lots,  meadow-lots  and  back-lots.  The  first 
containing  three  acres,  the  second  thirty-five,  and  the  last  250  acres.  Then  each  settler  drew  for 
his  lot  in  each  division.  By  this  manner  of  dividing  the  lands  great  inconvenience  arises  to  the 
farmer.  His  dwelling-house  is  on  the  pitch-pine  plain;  his  meadow  a  mile  or  more  from  it,  on 
one  side,  and  his  back-lot  perhaps  stiU  farther  removed,  on  the  other  side  of  his  dwelling." 

Under  the  date  of  Sunday,  August  20,   1786,  Colonel  Pickering  made  the 

following  entry  in  his  journal: 

"Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  Colonel  [John]  Franklin  spent  the  evening  with  us  very  sociably. 
Mr.  Franklin  appears  to  be  the  leader  of  the  warm  supporters  of  the  claim  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company  against  Pennsylvania.  Nothing  was  said  on  that  subject.  In  the  morning,  having 
called  to  see  Colonel  Butler,  he  invited  me  to  take  breakfast;  during  which  time  I  made  some 
inquiries  relative  to  the  dispute,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  of  the  settlers  the  day  before 
[Saturday,  August  19.]." 

The  Pickering  party  left  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  morning  of  Monday,  August 
21st,  and  traveled  northward  over  the  trail,  or  path,  running  along  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  Susquehanna.  They  hired,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  some  canoes,  in  which 
they  carried  their  supplies  of  provisions  and  other  articles;  but  on  Monday, 
August  28th,  they  left  the  river  and  set  out  for  the  woods,  surveying  as  they  went. 
"They  traversed  the  whole  north-eastern  corner  of  Pennsylvania,  crossing  moun- 
tains, struggling  through  thick-set  forests  and  bushes,  fording  streams,  remaining 
under  their  tents  when  it  rained,  and  carrying  their  lines  of  survey  over  rocks, 
gullies  and  swamps.  After  roaming  in  this  way  through  the  vv^ilderness,  they  came 
out  at  Hellers'  Tavern*,  about  two  miles  south  of  the  Wind  Gap,  and  reached 
Philadelphia  [via  Bethlehem]  on  Wednesday  night,  September  20."  There  we 
will  leave   them,   while  we  return  to  Wilkes-Barre. 

The  "two  Johns",  fortified  with  the  passport  which  had  been  brought  to 
them  by  Captain  Schott,  set  forth  from  Wilkes-Barre  for  Philadelphia  about  Sep- 
tember 1,  1786.  At  the  latter  place,  under  the  date  of  Monday,  September  4th, 
they  addressed  to  President  Benjamin  Franklin  the  following  communication  if 

"Sir: — We  have  the  honour  to  inform  your  Excellency  and  the  JJon'ble  Council  that  your 
letter  of  the  21st  of  August  last,  under  the  hand  of  your  Excellency  and  Seal  of  the  State — grant- 
ing Protection  to  the  agents  for  the  settlers  of  Wyoming — we  received.  Pursuant  thereto,  we  ar- 
rived at  this  City  last  evening  for  the  purpose  of  Representing  the  said  settlers  in  Council  and 
Assembly,  according  to  our  appointment  and  agency. 

"We  shall  feel  ourselves  happy  to  have  a  hearing  in  answer  to  any  Crimes  alledged  against 
the  people  we  have  the  honour  to  Represent,  &  to  lay  such  matters  before  the  Hon'blc  Council 
or  Assembly  as  shall  be  agreeable  to  the  Instructions  Given  us,  by  our  Constituents,  and  produc- 
tive of  the  general  good  of  the  whole;  at  such  times  as  an  opportunity  shall  offer,  consistent  with 
Decency,  rule  and  good  order. 

"We  are,  may  it  please  your  Excellency, 

"Your  most  obdt.  &  hble.  Servants,  [Signed]  "John  Franklin, 

"John  Jenkins." 

This  letter  was  transmitted  by  President  Franklin  to  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council,  and  at  its  meeting  in  the  State  House  held  on  September  6th  (Vice  Pres- 
ident Charles  Biddlej  presiding),  the  letter  having  been  read,  September  7th  was 
named  as  the  day  for  receiving  and  hearing  the  agents.  Vice  President  Biddle 
(in  his  "Autobiography",  page  207)  gives  an  account  of  the  appearance  of  the 
"two  Johns"  before  the  Council.  After  referring  to  the  various  disturbances 
at  Wyoming,  Mr.  Biddle  states: 

"About  this  time  John  Franklin,  who  was  considered  the  principal  leader  in  all  these  dis- 
turbances, wrote  to  Council  that,  if  he  could  appear  before  the  Board  in  safety,  he  would  come 

*See  note,  paye  1  166.  Vol-  II.  tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  XI  ;  52 


1523 

down  and  state  the  injustice  that  was  done  to  the  Connecticut  settlers  by  the  Commissioners 
and  others  sent  amongst  them.  Council  was  surprised  at  receiving  this  letter;  however,  it  was 
immediately  agreed  that  he  should  have  a  pass  to  come  down  and  be  heard.  One  was  accord- 
ingly sent  him,  and  in  a  few  days  he  came  to  town.  He  took  up  his  lodgings  opposite  the 
State  House,  and  sent  word  he  was  in  town,  and  wished  to  know  when  he  should  wait  upon 
Council.    He  was  immediately  informed  the  Board  were  ready  to  hear  him. 

"He  soon  appeared.  He  was  a  very  stout  man,  then  in  the  prime  of  hfe,  being  about  forty- 
five  years  of  age,*  and  had  the  look  of  a  soldier.  He  was  accompanied  by  John  Jenkins,  another 
leading  man  among  the  Connecticut  settlers.  He  IFranklin]  said  he  had  come  down  to  answer 
any  charges  that  could  be  made  against  the  Connecticut  settlers,  and  expected  he  could  convince 
the  Board  they  had  been  treated  with  injustice  and  cruelty.  As  Dr.  Franklin  was  not  present  I 
told  him  he  had  requested  a  pass  to  come  and  inform  the  Board  of  their  reasons  for  being  dis- 
satisfied with  the  treatment  they  had  received  from  the  Pcnnsylvanians;  that  we  would  now  hear 
him,  and,  if  they  had  any  real  complaints,  endeavor  to  redress  them.  He  said  he  expected  first 
to  hear  the  complaints  against  them;  however,  he  was  ready  to  state  theirs. 

"He  took  up  the  business  from  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  and  gave  a  particular  account  of 
every  material  transaction  that  happened  in  the  settlement  from  that  time.  He  said  Col.  [James] 
Moore  and  his  troops  had  behaved  exceedingly  ill  to  the  Connecticut  claimants,  but  General 
[John]  Armstrong  had  behaved  much  worse ;  that,  finding  he  could  do  nothing  with  the  mihtia  he 
had  with  him,  he  otTered  the  settlers  that  if  they  would  deliver  up  their  arms  they  should  all  be 
suffered  to  return  to  their  homes,  and  not  be  molested  in  any  way  whatever;  and  should  have  a 
fair  and  candid  hearing,  and  if  they  had  any  real  cause  of  complaint,  they  should  be  redressed; 
that  being  extremely  anxious  to  return  home,  and  live  quiet  and  peaceable  with  their  families, 
they  agreed,  and  did  surrender  their  arms.  Immediately  after  they  had  dehvered  up  their  arms 
they  were  ordered  into  an  old  barn,  where  there  was  no  floor,  and,  although  the  ground  was  covered 
with  mud  and  filth,  they  were  obliged  to  lie  down  in  it,  and  the  sentinels  had  orders  to  fire  on  any 
one  that  attempted  to  raise  his  head.  Some  of  those  confined  in  this  manner  were  old  men,  one  of 
them  upwards  of  seventy  years  of  age.    A  number  of  them  were  after«'ards  marched  to  Easton  gaol. 

"He  related  many  other  circumstances  of  ill  treatment  they  had  received.  Council  m- 
formed  him  they  would  take  the  matter  into  consideration,  and  desired  him  and  Jenkins  to  retire. 
Franklin,  finding  Httle  encouragement,  soon  left  the  City.  General  [John]  Armstrong,  as  Sec- 
retary, was  present  during  the  time  Franklin  was  speaking.  It  was  with  some  difficulty  I  could 
prevent  him  from  interrupting  Franklin.  He  told  me  afterwards  there  was  some  truth  in  what 
Franklin  had  said,  but  he  had  mentioned  several  things  that  were  false." 

The  hearing  of  the  "two  Johns"  was  not  completed  until  September  8th,  on 
which  day  the  Council  received  "a  petition  from  a  number  of  persons  styUng 
themselves  late  settlers  at  Wyoming  under  legal  title  from  Pennsylvania,  but 
now  expelled  from  their  possessions  by  persons  claiming  under  Connecticut." 
The  same  day  the  Council  transmitted  this  petition  to  the  General  Assembly, 
together  with  the  information  that  "the  agents  of  the  claimants  under  Connect- 
icut" were  then  in  the  city  and  wished  "to  be  heard  by  the  Legislature." 

The  Assembly,  in  pursuance  of  its  vote  of  adjournment,  had  reconvened  in 
Philadelphia  on  Tuesday,  August  22,  1786,  and  four  days  later  it  received  from 
President  Franklin  and  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  a  message,  accompanied 
by  the  following-described  papers  "relating  to  the  Wyoming  business." 

"(1)  A  letter  from  William  Montgomery,  Esq.,  dated  May  17,  setting  forth  that  Ethan 
Allen  was  come  with  a  number  of  others  into  that  neighborhood  and  drawn  the  people  generally 
from  their  allegiance  to  this  State,  and  were  caballing  to  erect  a  new  State  in  that  territory.  This 
letter  also  contains  a  letter  from  William  Shaw,  confirming  and  corresponding  with  his  (Mont- 
gomery's) which  has  in  it  an  intercepted  letter  from  Joseph  Hamilton,  dated  the  City  of  Hudson, 
March  24,  17S6,  to  John  Franklin,  wherein  Hamilton  advises  Franklin  to  pursue  every  method 
to  preserve  the  independence  of  that  country;  that  he  has  the  countenance  of  numbers  at  that 
place,  will  be  well  supported,  and  he  doubts  not  of  success. 

"(2)  Another  from  Mr.  Montgomery  dated  Northumberland,  May  20,  importing  that  the 
party  headed  by  Allen,  Franklin  and  Strong  gain  converts  every  day ;  that  their  pretensions  are 
almost  unlimited ;  that  there  may  perhaps  be  some  good  citizens  still  at  Wyoming  who  should  be 
immediately  supported,  and  perhaps  things  might  then  take  a  favorable  turn. 

"(3)'  Another  from  the  Sheriff  of  Northumberland  County  stating  that  he  was  ill-treated 
at  Wyoming  when  serving  legal  processes;  that  the  people,  he  verily  believes,  would  have  killed 
him  had  he  not  promised  to  desist  and  leave  the  place ;  that  it  is  impossible  to  execute  the  laws 
of  this  State  in  those  parts  without  an  armed  force  to  support  the  oflicers." 

"(4)  Another  from  John  Franklin  to  William  Montgomery,  dated  Wyoming,  June  26,  rep- 
resenting that  Mr.  Montgomery  swerved  from  the  line  of  his  duty  in  reflecting  upon  and  ad\'ising 
him  (Franklin);  that  he  had  a  contemptible  opinion  of  Montgomery  and  several  others  of  his 
party ;  that  the  protection  from  Pennsylvania  which  His  Excellency  the  President  and  the  Council, 
by  letter,  assure  him  of,  gives  the  greatest  satisfaction,  for  they  desire  no  other  [thing]  than  to 

*He  was,  in  fact,  just  thirty-seven  years  of  age.     See  page  1227,  Vol.  II. 


1524 

live  as  good  citizens  and  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania;  but  they  will 
not  be  driven  off  the  lands  their  hands  have  cultivated,  and  their  blood  enriched,  for  the  advantage 
of  any  hellish  land-monopolizers! 

"(5)  Another  from  the  same  to  the  President  of  the  State,  desiring  to  be  permitted  to  send 
agents  to  negotiate  with  Council;  also,  the  votes  of  the  Wyoming  settlers  appointing  such  agents." 

On  August  28th  it  was  voted  by  the  Assembly  "that  the  papers  respecting 
Wyoming — enclosed  in  the  message  from  Council — be  referred  to  Messrs.  Clyrher, 
Gray,  Evans,  and  others,  to  report  thereon."  The  message  and  other  documents 
transmitted  to  the  Assembly  by  the  Council  on  September  8th,  as  previously 
noted,  were  received  on  the  same  day  by  the  Assembly,  ''and  on  motion,  and 
by  special  order,  the  same  were  read  a  second  time;  whereupon  it  was  ordered 
that  the  further  consideration  thereof  be  postponed."  On  September  11th  the 
Assembly  received  "a  letter  from  the  agents  of  the  settlement  at  Wyoming, 
enclosing  a  petition  of  John  Franklin  and  John  Jenkins  in  behalf  of  those  settlers." 
On  September  1 2th  there  was  read  in  the  Assembly  "a  petition  from  130  inhabi- 
tants of  Northumberland  County,  praying  that  the  County  should  notbe  divided." 

On  September  14,  1786,  the  petition  of  Messrs.  Franklin  and  Jenkins,  which 
had  been  received  and  read  in  the  Assembly  on  September  1 1th,  was  read  a  second 
time;  whereupon  Representative  John  Smilie  moved  to  commit  it.  Representa- 
tive Robert  Morris  objected  to  this,  stating  that  he  thought  the  petition  was 
of  such  a  nature — not  from  the  words,  but  the  substance  of  it — that  "it  would 
lessen  the  dignity  of  the  House  to  take  that  order  on  it."  He  stated  that  he 
"would  do  anything  to  prevent  bloodshed,  and  would  recommend  every  degree 
of  forbearance,  but  would  wish  to  proceed  on  with  the  business  as  it  was  begun." 
Mr.  Smilie  thought  he  had  been  misunderstood.  He  only  meant  to  commit 
this  petition,  he  stated,  "to  see  if  any  new  light  could  be  thrown  on  the  business." 

Representative  Thomas  Fitzsimons"  said  a  few  words  in  opposition  to 
the  motion;  as  also  did  Representative  George  Clymer,  who,  in  remarking  that 
petitions  were  entitled  to  respect,  said  that  although  this  was  one  "the  House 
could  hear  consistent  with  their  own  honor",  there  were  two  claims  in  the  petition 
which  they  could  not  hearken  to,  viz.:"one,  to  give  up  the  property  of  our  con- 
stituents, and  the  other,  to  suffer  the  laws  of  Connecticut  to  regulate  a  part  of 
Pennsylvania."  Upon  the  whole,  he  declared,  he  was  "decided  against  the  Com- 
mittee." Representative  George  Logan  (a  friend,  or  Quaker,  of  Philadelphia 
County)  expressed  an  ardent  desire  "that  this  business  might  be  entered  on  coolly 
and  deliberately;  that  every  possible  means  should  be  pursued  to  prevent  the 
State  being  precipitated  into  a  war,  which,  if  they  were,  might  not  terminate  to 
their  advantage,  for  these  people  would  be  desperate — as  fighting  for  their  all 
— and  an  overmatch  for  any  military  we  could  employ,  who  would  necessarily 
he  uninterested."  He  declared  that  the  petitioners  should  have  his  "concurrence 
to  be  heard,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  investigate  the  matter;  and  that 
these  people  ought  to  have  an  impartial  hearing." 

Following  Representative  Logan,  Representative  Morris  declared  that  he 
did  "not  wonder  that  the  Member  who  spoke  last  should  be  so  opposed  to  a  war; 

♦Thomas  Fitzsimons  was  an  Irish  Catholic,  who  was  born  in  1741.  either  in  Ireland  or  Philadelphia.  In  early 
manhood  he  became  a  merchant  in  Philadelphia.  Later  he  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  Robert  Meade  igreat  grand- 
father of  Gen.  George  Gordon  Meade,  the  distinguished  soldier  of  the  .\merican  Civil  War),  and  soon  thereafter  he 
and  his  brother-in-law,  George  Meade,  formed  a  partner-ship  for  carrying  on  business  as  merchants  and  ship  owners. 
After  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act  Fitz.-imons  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonists.  During  the  Revolutionary 
War  he  commanded  a  company  of  volunteers.  In  I  777.  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Navy  Board. 
In  1780  his  firm — George  Meade  &  Co. — subscribed  £5.000  toward  supplying  the  Continental  Army  with  necessary 
equipments.  He  was  a  Delegate  in  the  Continental  Congress  in  1782  and  '83,  and  November  13,  1783.  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  .State  Council  of  Censors.  In  1787  he  was  a  Delegate  in  the  Federal  Constitutional  Convention,  and 
from  1789  till  179.S.  was  a  Representative  in  Congress.  He  was  a  Trustee  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  founder 
and  director  of  the  Bank  of  North  America.  President  of  the  Philadelphia  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  the  In 
Company  of  North  America.     He  died  at  Philadelphia,  in  August,  181  1. 


1525 

his  education  had  taught  him  to  look  upon  it  with  horror  and  detestation." 
However  good  and  humane  these  principles  were,  said  Mr.  Morris,  he  knew  they 
did  not  generally  pervade  the  world,  and  he  trusted  that,  if  Pennsylvania  was 
to  engage  in  a  necessary  and  just  war,  there  would  be  sufficient  funds  and  spirit 
exerted  in  the  State  to  bring  it  to  an  honorable  and  equitable  termination.  How- 
ever, he  hoped  that  exertion  of  this  nature  would  not  be  necessary.  He  had  no 
objection  to  hearing  the  claims  of  these  persons,  but  would  have  the  heariiig 
conducted  properly.  They  should  ask  for  it,  and  it  would  be  improper  to  commit 
the  petitions.  He  concluded  by  saying  that  if  any  new  lights  could  be  "thrown 
upon  this  business,  let  us  have  them,  in  God's  name!" 

Representative  William  Findley,  of  Westmoreland  Count)'  (who,  with  John 
vSmilie,  had  represented  that  County  in  the  Pennsylvania  Council  of  Censors 
in  1783  and  '84),  was  of  the  opinion  it  would  not  lower  the  dignity  of  the  House 
to  hear  them,  but  thought  it  right  that  they  should  be  heard ;  that  their  prayers 
would  surely  not  be  granted  without  it,  was  well  founded.  Mr.  Smilie,  speaking  a 
second  time*,  said  it  was  necessary,  and  very  necessary,  too,  that  the  petition 
should  be  committed,  inasmuch  as  "those  gentlemen  [Franklin  and  Jenkins] 
should  be  called  upon  to  produce  their  instructions  and  documents,  to  prove 
that  they  were  the  persons  they  pretended  to  be,  and  whether  really  appointed 
by  the  people  for  this  purpose." 

Representative  Robert  Lollar,  of  Montgomery  County,  coincided  with  Mr. 
Smilie;  and  Representatives  Fitzsimons,  Morris  and  Clymer  arose  one  after  an- 
other and  acknowledged  that  what  Mr.  Smilie  had  urged  was  conclusive,  and 
perhaps  the  only  reason  that  could  have  convinced  them  of  the  propriety  of  ap- 
pointing a  committee.  Whereupon  it  was  "Resolved,  That  this  petition,  together 
with  the  several  others  relative  to  the  disturbances  at  Wyoming,  be  referred  to 
Messrs.  Thomas  Fitzsimons,  George  Clymer,  Isaac  Gray  (of  Philadelphia  County) 
Samuel  Evans  (of  Chester  County),  Robert  Whitehill,  William  Findley  and  John 
Smilie;  and  that  the  said  Committee  be  authorized  to  call  before  them  the  said 
Agents,  and  make  report  to  the  House."  The  Committee,  through  Mr.  Fitzsimons 
made  its  report  to  the  House  on  September  22nd. 

The  next  day — Saturday,  September  23,  1786 — Representative  Robert 
Morris  called  up  the  "Bill  for  erecting  the  Wyoming  District  into  a  separate 
County."  He  thought  if  that  Bill  were  passed  it  would  tend  in  a  great  measure 
to  quiet  the  disturbances  in  that  neighborhood;  that  some  gentlemenf  of 
veracity  who  had  just  returned  from  that  country  had  informed  him,  and  would 
inform  every  gentleman  who  applied  to  them,  that  the  people  in  that  district 
would  be  gratified  by  being  so  set  off;  and  that  they  were  not  so  lurbident  and 
restive  as  had  been  represented.  "The  Bill  was  then  read,  and  considered  by 
paragraphs;  and  on  the  question,  'Shall  the  same  be  engrossed?'  the  yeas  and 
nays  were  called  and  were:  Yeas,  44;  Nays,  14.  So  it  was  determined  in  the 
affirmative."  Upon  the  following  Monday  (September  25,  1786),  the  Bill,  hav- 
ing been  duly  engrossed,  was  formally  signed  by  the  Hon.  Thomas  Mifflin, 
Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  and  thereupon  became  a  law  of  the  Commonwealth 

*The  Hon.  Charles  Biddle.  in  his  "Wutobiography"  previously  mentioned,  states  (page  208).  relative  to  the  above 
mentioned  debate:  "Smilie.  speaking  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  his  [Gen,  John  .Armstrong.  Jr's.)  expedition 
into  Wyoming,  compared  him  to  Verres.  The  next  morning,  when  I  went  to  the  State  House.  I  found  .\rmstrong 
walking  before  the  door  of  the  room  in  which  the  Representatives  sat.  Inquiring  what  he  was  doing  there,  he  told 
me  he  was  waiting  to  see  Smilie.  I  persuaded  him  away,  and  afterwards  had  the  affair  made  up.  He  by  no  means 
deserved  a  comparison  with  Verres." 

tPickering,  Willing,  and  others. 


1526 

About  this  time  a  printed  address*,  relating  to  Wyoming  affairs,  and   very 

incendiary  in  its  character,  was  disseminated  pretty  generally  throughout  the 

Wyoming  region,  and  in  the  locality  of  Sunbury.     Copies  had  previously  been 

placed  in  the  hands  of  various  members  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly.     The 

document  was  worded  as  follows: 

"An  Address" 

"From  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  and  Others,  contiguously  situated  on  the  Waters  of 
the  River  Susquehanna;  to  the  People  at  large  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 

"Gentlemen,  Friends  and  Neighbours:  Providence  having  drawn  the  limits  of  our  habit- 
ation contiguous  to  you,  in  consequence  whereof — during  the  late  glorious  Revolution — we  became 
your  barrier  on  the  north,  and  were  thereby  exposed  to  the  relentless  fury,  savage  barbarity 
and  devastation  of  the  common  enemy.  In  these  scenes  of  horror  and  complicated  woe,  we  were 
your  frontier.  Our  blood  answered  for  yours!  Our  hazard  and  unparalleled  distress" purchased 
your  safety!  We  stood  between  you  and  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  and  diverted  the 
inhuman  strokes  from  you.     But,  alas!  what  returns  have  we  had  from  your  Government? 

"The  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  fell  in  the  common  cause  of  America,  particularly 
in  your  defence,  ha^'C  been  plundered,  despoiled  of  their  goods,  and  driven  from  their  habitations 
and  legal  possessions,  with  other  inhabitants  in  general,  and  the  whole  treated  nearly  as  inhum- 
anely as  by  the  common  enemy;  and  many  of  our  inhabitants  have  been  killed,  by  the  hostile 
attempts  of  Government  to  dispossess  us  of  our  lands  and  labours  without  the  formality  of  a 
tryal  by  law. 

"Notwithstanding  the  great  evils  we  have  suffered  from  your  Government,  yet,  in  conform- 
ity to  the  Congressional  decision  of  the  jurisdiction  of  this  territory  (at  Trenton),  we  make  the 
fo'llmving  proposition  of  amity,  and  submission  to  your  jurisdiction  and  laws — to  prevent,  if  pos- 
sible, any  further  effusion  of  blood,  and  to  terminate  all  disputes — to  wit:  Provided  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  will,  in  the  most  explicit  and  unequivocal  manner,  ratify, 
confirm  and  secure  to  us  the  right  of  soil  of  the  lands  in  the  disputed  territory,  which  we  have 
purchased  of  the  aboriginal  proprietors  and  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  (part  of  which  we  have 
improved,  and  are  in  possession  of),  that  on  this  condition  we,  the  said  inhabitants,  will  submit 
to  the  jurisdiction  and  laws  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

"Should  this  condition — which  is  the  bone  of  contention — be  complied  with  on  the  part  of 
the  Government,  we  indulge  a  hope  and  strong  expectation  that  harmony,  justice  and  peace 
will  succeed  the  evils  and  hostilities  which  have  heretofore  taken  place;  for  we  greatly  esteem 
your  just  and  equal  Constitution,  and  revere  the  worthy  censors  and  guardians  of  it,  and  have, 
with  humble  petitions,  repeatedly  implored  your  legislatures  to  confirm  and  quiet  us  in  our  pos- 
sessions and  right  of  soil — but  all  to  no  purpose! 

"Gentlemen,  your  Government  hitherto  have  been  extremely  earnest  to  cram  their  laws 
down  our  throats,  and  do  not  fail  to  hold  up  to  our  view  the  sanctity  thereof.  'The  Law',  they  say, 
'is  holy,  just  and  good;  but  the  said  inhabitants,  alias  Yankees,  are  carnal,  riotous,  rebellious,  and 
sold  under  sin,  and  their  lands  and  labours  must  pay  for  it!'  In  fine,  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming 
and  its  vicinity  are  so  sinful  and  rebellious  that  you,  gentlemen  of  the  militia  of  Pennsylvania, 
must  leave  your  farms  and  occupations,  wives  and  children,  and,  at  the  hazard  of  your  lives, 
kill  and  destroy  those  ugly  Yankees  who  guarded  your  frontier  in  the  late  war,  and  who,  if  you  do 
not  extirpate  them,  will  guard  you  in  a  subsequent  one. 

"But  why  are  your  Government  so  zealous  to  raise  troopsf  and  money  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  waging  war  with  the  inoffensive  yeomanry  of  Wyoming?  The  cause  (not  reason)  is 
not  at  all  abstruse.  The  lands  on  the  waters  of  the  Susquehanna  and  the  adjacent  country — 
particularly  the  fertile  fields  of  Wyoming — are  too  good  to  be  possessed  and  enjoyed  by  rioters 
and  disturbers  of  the  peace  'who  have  not  the  fear  of  law  before  their  eyes.'  These  lands  would 
better  grace  the  'Pennsylvania  Farmer'  and  his  junto  of  counsellors  and  sage  judges,  attorneys  and 
dependents  who  adore  the  law  and  'make  it  honourable,  and  roll  it  as  a  sweet  morsel  under  their 
tongues',  thereby  to  cheat  us  out  of  our  lands. 

[Then  follows  a  history  of  The  Susquehanna  Company's  title  to  the  Wyoming  lands,  and 
an  account  of  the  settlement  of  the  lands.) 

"Certainly,  Gentlemen,  when  you  have  duly  considered  our  address,  you  will  adjudge  that 
we  have  been  unconstitutionally  and  illegally  dealt  with  by  the  Government,  and  that  the  right 
of  soil  is  rightfully  ours;  and  if  so,  your  land-jobbers  willbe  confounded  and  will  curse  their  stars 
since  it  amounts  to  a  moral  certainty  that  you.  Gentlemen  of  the  Militia,  will  not  come  forth  in 
arms  against  us,  in  order  to  assist  overbearing  men  to  destroy  us,  merely  for  their  own  emolument' 

"That  the  people  of  the  State  at  large  have  a  right  to  judge,  and  even  interpose,  in  this 
interesting  dispute,  will  further  appear  when,  by  a  Government  swayed  by  interested  and  over- 
bearing men,  they  are  ordered  to  march  under  arms  to  the  hostile  ground  of  Wyoming,  and,  at 
the  hazard  of  their  lives,  fight  against  us  for  no  other  cause  (not  reason)  but  that  we  will  not 
tamely  surrender  our  farms,  orchards,  tenements,  labours  and  right  of  soil  to  a  junto  of  land- 
thieves.  This  is  a  matter  which  very  nearly  concerns  the  people  of  the  State  at  large,  as  they,  by 
order  of  Government,  must  encounter  us  in  the  field,  in  which  few,  if  any,  of  the  land-jobbers  of 

*It  was  in  the  shape  of  a  broadside,  18x24  inches  in  size,  and  had  been  printed  by  Ashbel  Stoddard  at  Hudson, 
New  York.  The  only  copy  of  this  document  which  the  present  writer  has  been  able  to  find  is  preserved  among  the 
"Pickering  Papers"— LVII  :  29. 

tReference  is  here  made  to  the  resolution  which  was  introduced  in  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  in  March,  1786, 
authorizing  the  raising  of  volunteers  for  the  suppression  of  the  disturbances  at  Wyoming,     See  page  1494. 


1527 

any  considerable  importance  will  act  a  part.  Their  weapons  are  intrigue  and  legal  deception.  Such 
pious  legalists  had  rather  stand  aloof  in  the  day  of  battle,  with  law-hooks  in  their  hands,  and  look 
on  and  see  you.  Gentlemen  of  the  Commonalty,  and  those  rebellious  Yankees,  smoke  it  out  at  the 
muzzle  of  the  firelock;  and,  provided  the  event  of  war  proves  favourable  to  their  claim,  to  take 
possession  of  the  lands  and  labours  which  they  have  coveted.     *     *     * 

"Gentlemen,  the  original  design  and  ultimate  end  of  law  is  to  secure  the  lives,  liberty  and 
property  of  the  subjects.  But  when  Government  and  Law  are  degenerated  in  the  administration, 
and  subverted  to  answer  the  overbearing,  unjust  and  monopolizing  purposes  of  cruel  men,  or  to 
dispossess  and  ruin  a  large  settlement  of  industrious  yeomanry — the  supporters  of  the  world  of 
mankind — then,  in  such  cases,  the  oppressed  have  a  just  and  natural  right  to  make  a  bold  and 
manly  resistance,  agreeably  to  the  greatest  of  all  laws,  to  wit:    that  of  self-preservation. 

"Nor  is  it,  in  the  nature  of  things,  possible  that  the  human  species  should  be  under  any 
obligation  of  allegiance  to  a  Government  that  does  not  and  will  not  protect  them  in  their  property. 
In  all  such  instances  as  these  the  subjects  are  thrown  into  a  condition  commonly  called  a  state  of 
nature,  and,  from  the  sanctions  of  the  eternal  law  of  self-preservation,  have  a  right  to  defend 
their  persons  and  property  against  all  manner  of  usurpation. 

"This  has  been  the  condition  of  this  settlement  ever  since  the  jurisdictional  decision  at 
Trenton,  which  will  cancel  our  allegiance  to  the  Government  until  they  alter  their  measures  and 
confirm  to  us  our  right  of  soil  and  administer  law  to  us  on  the  principles  of   the  Constitution. 

[Signed]  "Ethan  Allen, 

"John  Franklin, 
"Wyoming,  September  12,  1786.  "John  Jenkins." 

So  far  as  is  now  known  General  Allen  was  not  in  Wyoming  at  this  time. 
It  is  doubtful  if  he  ever  visited  the  Valley  more  than  once — in  the  Spring  of 
1786,  as  hereinbefore  related. 

Immediately  after  the  passage  of  the  Act  erecting  Pennsylvania's  seven- 
teenth County,  Vice  President  Biddle  directed  Samuel  Dale,  Esq.,  "to  proceed 
as  soon  as  possible  to  Wyoming  and  there  distribute  as  many  of  the  laws  that 
are  [were]  passed  erecting  the  'Northern  part  of  the  County  of  Northumberland 
into  a  separate  County'  "  as  he  should  think  necessary.  He  was  also  instructed 
to  "take  every  opportunity  of  acquainting  the  people  with  the  favorable  dis- 
position of  Government  to  them;  that,  if  they  behave  peaceable,  they  will  not 
only  be  treated  with  Justice,  but  Generosity,  by  the  State." 

The  "two  Johns"  left  Philadelphia  for  Wyoming  on  September  23,  1786, 
arriving  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  the  following  Tuesday  (September  26th).  Upon  the 
arrival  here,  some  days  later,  of  Samuel  Dale,  bearing  official  printed  copies  of 
the  new  Act  of  Assembly,  Colonel  Franklin  issued  to  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming 
a  "Notice",  reading  as  follows:* 

"Whereas,  by  a  law  of  this  State,  enacted  the  twenty-third  Day  of  September,  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  Eighty-six,  A  new  County  is  erected  from  the  Nescopeck  Creek  on  the  south, 
to  the  north  Line  of  the  State,  extending  East  to  the  Lehigh,  and  West  to  the  ridge  of  land  divid- 
ing the  waters  of  the  East  Branch  from  the  waters  of  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  river, 
by  the  name  of  the  County  of  Luzerne. 

"That  the  inhabitants  thereof,  have  Right  to  enjoy  all  and  Singular  Jurisdictions,  powers. 
Rights,  Liberties  and  privileges  that  the  Inhabitants  of  other  Counties  of  the  State,  do  may  or 
ought  to  enjoy. 

"And  whereas,  the  second  Tuesday  of  October  instant  [October  10,  1786]  is  the  Day  ap- 
pointed by  Law  for  holding  the  annual  election  in  the  several  Counties  in  the  State,  that  the  new 
and  Extraordinary  Circumstances  of  this  Settlement  render  it  highly  expedient  that  a  meeting 
be  held  to  adopt  measures  in  Conformity  of  the  above  recited  Law.  These  are  therefore  to  notify 
the  settlers  and  freeholders  of  the  said  County  of  Luzerne,  that  they  meet  at  the  house  of  Abel 
Pierce,  Esq.,  in  Kingston,  on  Saturday  the  7th  instant,  at  one  o'clock,  P.  JL  1st.  To  hear  the 
report  of  the  Agents  returned  from  Philadelphia.  2d.  To  adopt  Measures  (so  far  as  may  be  con- 
sistant  with  the  Constitution  and  Law)  for  holding  an  Election  at  the  time  appointed  by  Law. 
And  3dly.  To  transact  any  other  Business  proper  and  necessary  to  be  Done  at  said  meeting. 

"Dated  at  Wilkes-Burg  in  the  County  of  Luzerne,  Octoljer  the  2d,  17S6. 

[Signed]  "John  Franklin." 

On  the  same  day  Colonel  Franklin  wrote  to  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton  at  Hudson, 
New  York,  transmitting  the  letter,  and  various  accompanying  documents  re- 
lating to  Wyoming  affairs,  by  the  hands  of Gilbert.     Colonel  Franklin's 

♦See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI  :  66. 


1528 

letter*,  with  certain  eliminations,  and  improved  in  spelling  and  punctuation, 
reads  as  follows: 

*  *  *  "I  expect  you  have  heard  of  myself  and  Major  Jenkins  being  appointed  Agents 
to  represent  this  settlement  in  Council  and  Assembly.  We  accordingly  attended.  We  arrived  at 
Philadelphia  September  3;  were  called  before  Council  the  7th.  The  Hon.  Charles  Biddle  presided, 
as  the  President  was  not  able  to  attend.  We  were  heard  by  Council,  who  gave  the  greatest  at- 
tention and  treated  us  with  the  greatest  respect.  We  were  heard  without  hindrance,  restraint  or 
molestation.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  stating  our  whole  suffering  to  Council,  from  the  Decree  of 
Trenton  to  the  present  time.  I  left  no  stone  unturned.  The  discourse  continued  about  one  hour 
and  a-half.  Colonel  Armstrong  and  Esquire  Boyd  were  present,  and  they  heard  a  complete  his- 
tory of  their  conduct  while  at  Wyoming.  I  did  not  forget  the  proceedings  of  Assembly  and  Council 
towards  us. 

"We  were  requested  to  attend  a  second  time,  which  was  done.  Our  instructions  were 
requested,  which  we  gave  to  Council  to  peruse.  A  number  of  questions  were  asked — particularly 
respecting  the  Sheriff  [of  Northumberland  County]  being  opposed  the  last  time  he  was  at  Wyoming. 
Council  finally  recommended  us  to  lay  our  matters  before  the  Assembly. 

"His  Excellency,  B.  Franklin,  sent  a  request  to  us  informing  us  that  he  had  a  desire  to 
have  us  call  on  him.  We  accordingly  waited  on  him,  gave  him  a  full  account  of  our  grievances — 
nearly  the  same  that  we  had  laid  before  the  Council;  also  gave  him  our  instructions.  His  Ex- 
cellency expressed  a  great  pleasure  in  having  the  opportunity  of  hearing  us.  He  informed  us 
that  he  had  heard  something  of  the  disturbances,  but  was  never  so  fully  acquainted  before. 

"We  presented  a  petition  to  the  House  of  Assembly  September  11.  I  shall  refer  you  to 
the  petition  and  proceedings  thereon.  However,  we  were  not  heard  by  the  Committee  of  Assem- 
bly so  fully  as  we  were  by  Council.  Messrs.  Fitzsimons  and  Clymer  appeared  as  though  they  would 
wish  to  take  advantage,  and  were  very  inquisitive.  Messrs.  Findley  and  Smilie  were  not  present 
but  a  little  part  of  the  time — said  but  a  few  words  to  us,  &c.  *  *  *  You  will  observe  by  the 
report  of  the  Committee  that  nothing  is  done  to  confirm  our  title. 

"^'e  continued  three  weeks  at  Philadelphia,  and  returned  here  last  Tuesday  [September  26]. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  was  not  adopted  when  we  left  them.  However,  we  found  it  to  be 
the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  House,  and  thought  it  best  not  to  wait  any  longer.  The  Assembly 
have  completed  the  new  County  according  to  the  Bill,  except  the  line  from  Nescopeck  running 
north-west  instead  of  west.  *  *  *  We  have  a  right  to  hold  an  election  the  second  Tuesday  of 
this  month  [October  10,  1786]  to  elect  a  Representative  and  other  officers  of  Government,  but 
the  time  is  so  short  we  shall  be  obliged  to  omit  jt.     *     *     * 

"It  may  not  be  amiss  to  inform  you  that  there  were  sundry  petitions  from  our  enemies 
against  a  division  of  the  County,  but  to  no  purpose.  Sundry  papers  were  sent  to  Council  that  were 
laid  before  the  Assembly,  viz.:  A  letter  from  William  Montgomery,  Esq.,  dated  May  17,  setting 
forth  that  Ethan  Allen  had  come  to  Wyoming  with  a  number  of  others,  and  they  were  caballing 
to  erect  a  new  State.  This  was  confirmed  by  a  letter  from  Esquire  Shaw,  who  also  sent  a  copy  of 
an  intercepted  letter  (as  he  called  it)  from  [you]  Joseph  Hamilton  to  [me]  John  Franklin,  dated 
,  March  24,  advising  for  Independence.  Also,  my  letter  to  Colonel  Montgomery  of  the  26th  of 
June  last — and  sundry  others.  We  may  thank  Dr.  |Wm.  Hooker]  Smith  for  your  letter  of  the  24th 
of  March.  He  received  it  in  my  absence,  and  took  great  pains  to  send  it  to  Esquire  Shaw,  that 
Council  might  receive  it.  He  also  wrote  a  letter  to  Council  informing  against  the  people;  setting 
forth  that  he  was  obliged  to  fly  because  he  would  not  join  for  Independence.  (God  damn  the 
liars!)  However,  I  asked  Council  respecting  the  complaints  against  us.  They  informed  us  that 
the  complaints  were  not  worthy  of  notice.  We  heard  near  the  same  from  the  Assembly."  *  *  * 
*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Old  Series,  XI  :    67. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

LEGISLATIVE    FOUNDATION    UPON    WHICH   THE    COUNTY   OF    LUZERNE'.  WAS 
ERECTED  — ANNE   CAESAR,    CHEVALIER    de    la  LUZERNE  — BAPTISM  OF 
THE  COUNTY   BY  THE  GREAT  "PUMPKIN  FLOOD"— COL.  TIMOTHY 
PICKERING  ARRIVES,  AS  PEACE  COMMISSIONER  —  HIS  MANY 
OFFICES  — THE    SUSQUEHANNA    COMPANY'S   LAST   PRO- 
JECT—JOHN  FRANKLIN   AND    HIS   "IRRECONCIL- 
ABLES"   FOMENT    DISCORD  —  PREPARATIONS 
FOR    THE   FIRST    ELECTION    UNDER 
PENNSYLVANIA. 


Let  palsied  be  my  strong  right  hand. 

Its  cunning  never  more  return, 
Whate'er  my  lot,  in  any  land, 

Should  I  forget  thee,  loved  LuzErnE." 

— George  Wallace,  1912. 

"In  the  stormy  east-wind  straining. 
The  pale  yellow  woods  were  waning, 
The  broad  stream  in  his  banks  complaining. 
Heavily  the  low  sky  raining." 

— A.  Tennyson,  in  The  "Lady  oj  Shalotl.' 


'The  heavens  are  black  with  cloud. 
The  river  is  white  with  hail, 

And  ever  more  fierce  and  loud 
Blows  the  October  gale." 


M^^ 


The  preamble  and  enacting  clause,  and  some  of  the  principal  sections,  of 
the  Act  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  of  September  25,  1786,  whereby  the  Coun- 
ty of  Luzerne  was  erected,  read  as  follows:* 

"Whereas,  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern  part  of  the  County  of  Northumberland 
have,  by  their  petition  to  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  represented  the  inconveniences 
which  they  are  subject  to  by  the  large  e.xtent  of  the  said  County  of  Northumberland,  and  the 

*See  Smith's  "Pennsylvania  Laws,"  II  :  386. 

1529 


1530 


great  distance  at  which  the  said  petitioners  dwell  from  the  county-town — where  the  courts  of 
justice  and  the  public  offices  of  the  same  County  are  held  and  kept — For  remedy  whereof, 

"Be  it  enacted,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted,  by  the  Representatives  of  the  Freemen  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same: 
That  all  and  singular  the  lands  lying  within  that  part  of  the  County  of  Northumberland  which 
lies  within  the  bounds  and  limits  hereinafter  described,  shall  be  erected  into  a  separate  County. 
That  is  to  say,  beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Nescopeck  Creek,  and  running  along  the  south  bank 
thereof,  eastward,  to  the  head  of  said  creek;  from  thence  a  due  east  course  to  the  head  branch 
of  the  Lehigh  Creek;  then  along  the  east  bank  of  said  Lehigh  Creek  to  the  head  thereof;  from 
thence  a  due  course  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State;  thence  westward  along  the  said  bound- 
ary till  it  crosses  the  East  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna;  and  then  along  the  said  northern  boundary 
fifteen  miles  west  of  the  said  river  Susquehanna;  thence  by  a  straight  line  to  the  head  of  Towanda 
Creek;  thence,  along  the  ridge  which  divides  the  waters  of  the  East  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna 
from  those  of  the  West  Branch,  to  a  point  due  west  from  the  mouth  of  Nescopeck  Creek;  thence 
east  to  the  place  of  beginning — which  shall  from  henceforth  be  known  and  called  by  the  name 
of  Luzerne*  County. 

"Section  IV — *  *  *  That  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  and  General  Quarter  Sessions  of 
the  Peace,  to  be  holden  in  and  for  the  said  County  of  Luzerne,  shall  be  opened  and  held  on  the 
Tuesday  succeeding  the  Tuesday  on  which  the  Court  of  Northumberland  is  held,  in  each  and  every 
term  hereafter;  and  that  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  shall  sit  three  days  at  each  sessions,  and 

*Anne  Caesar  de  la  Luzerne  (more  generally  known  as  Le  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne,  in  whose  honor  Penn- 
sylvania's seventeenth  County  was  named,  was  bom  in  Paris  July  15.  1741,  the  third  son  of  Caesar  Antoine  de  la 
Luzerne,  Count  of  Benzeville.  He  was,  on  his  mother's  side,  a  nephew  of  Malesherbes,  a  member  of  the  French  Acad- 
emy, and  a  noted  and  able  writer  on  political,  legal  and  financial  questions  during  the  latter  years  of  the  reign  of  King 
Louis  XVI;  and  who  because  of  his  loyalty  to  and 
chivalrous  defense  of  this  monarch,  was  guillotined 
at  Paris  in  April.  1794. 

The  Chevalier  Luzerne  was  educated  at  the 
Military  School  of  Light  Cavalry,  and  after  his  grad- 
uation served  as  an  aid  on  the  staff  of  his  relative, 
the  Duke  de  Broglie.  in  the  Seven  Years'  War.  In 
1762.  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  he  became  a 
Major  General  of  Cavalry  in  the  French  army. 
Later  he  became  a  Colonel  of  the  Grenadiers  of 
France,  and  a  Knight  (Chevalier)  of  the  Order  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  In  1776.  he  was  sent  by 
Louis  XVI  as  Envoy  Extraordinary  to  the  Court  of 
Maximilian  Joseph.  Elector  of  Bavaria.  He  remain- 
ed at  Munich  two  years,  performing  with  remark 
able  success  the  responsible  duties  of  his  oflfice 

In  March ,  1778.  the  King  appointed  Sieur 
Conrad  Alexander  Gerard  (who  for  some  time  then 
had  been  Secretary  of  the  Council  of  State)  Mini'>ter 
Plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States,  but  about  a 
year  later  he  expressed  a  desire  to  be  relieved  of  his 
office  and  permitted  to  return  to  France.  Therefore 
on  May  31,  1779,  the  King  appointed  as  his  succes 
sor  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne.  Accompanied  by 
his  Secretary  (M.  Marbois)  and  John  Adams,  after 
wards  President  of  the  United  States.  Luzerne  set 
sail  from  France  in  a  32-gun  frigate  on  June  17 
1779,  and  arrived  at  Boston  early  in  the  following 
August,  On  his  way  thence  to  Philadelphia  the 
seat  of  Government,  he  visited  General  Washington 
at  West  Point. 

On  November  17,  1779.  Luzerne  was  formallv 
received  by  the  Congress.  "According  to  order 
he  was  conducted  into  the  Hall  of  Congress  by 
Messrs.  Matthews  and  Morris,  the  two  Representa 
tives  appointed  for  that  purpose,  and.  "being  seat 
ed  in  his  chair,  the  Secretary  of  the  Embassy  deli\- 
ered  to  the  President  of  the  Congress  (Samuel  Hunt- 
ington) a  sealed  letter"  from  King  Louis,  dated  at 
Versailles  May  31.  1779,  addressed  to  "Our  dear 
great  friends  and  allies,  the  President  and  Members 
of  the  General  Congress  of  the  United  States  or 
America."  The  letter,  of  course,  was  in  French* 
Translated,  it  read  in  part  as  follows: 

"The  bad  state  of  health  of  Monsieur  Gerard, 
our  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  yc 
him  under  the  necessity  of  applying  for  ; 
have  made  choice  of  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne.  _ 
Colonel  in  our  service ,  to  supply  his  place.  We  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  be  agreeable  to  you ,  and  th  at  you  will  re 
pose  entire  confidence  in  him.  We  pray  you  to  give  full  credit  to  all  he  shall  say  to  you  on  our  behalf,  especially  when 
he  shall  assure  you  of  the  sincerity  of  our  wishes  for  your  prosperity,  as  well  as  the  constancyof  our  affection  and  our 
friendship  for  the  United  States  in  general  and  for  each  of  them  in  particular." 

The  Minister  then  arose  and  addressed  the  Congress  at  some  length  in  French,  following  which  the  Secretary  of 
the  Congress  read  a  translation  of  the  speech,  which  had  been  prepared  beforehand.  One  of  its  paragraphs  was  word- 
ed as  follows:  "I  consider  as  the  happiest  circumstance  of  my  life  a  mission,  in  the  course  of  which  I  am  certain  of 
fulfilling  my  duty  when  I  labor  for  your  prosperity;  and  I  felicitate  myself  upon  being  sent  to  a  Nation  whose  interests 
are  so  intimately  blended  with  our  own.  that  I  can  be  useful  neither  to  France  nor  the  American  Republic  without 
rendering  myself  agreeable  both  to  the  one  and  the  other."  (See  Wharton's  "Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution,"  III  :  408,  409.) 

"From  this  time  to  the  end  of  the  war,"  says  Sparks  in  his  "Diplomatic  History  of  the  American  Revolution." 
"he  applied  himself  sedulously  to  the  duties  of  his  station,  and  by  the  suavity  of  his  manners,  as  well  as  by  the  uni- 
form discretion  of  his  official  conduct,  he  won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  American  people.  His  efforts  were 
all  directed  to  the  support  of  the  alliance,  on  the  principles  of  equity,  and  the  broad  basis  of  reciprocal  interests  estab- 
lished in  the  treat'P=."     During  his  stay  in  this  country  Luzerne  lived  at  Laurel  Hill,  near  the  present  Laurel  Hill 


Anne  Caesar.  Chevalier 
having  laid      (Reproduced   from  an  old  engra 
Wyoming  Historical  t 


LA  Luzerne. 
the  collection* 
d  Geological  Society.) 


of  The 


1531 

Cemetery  Philadelphia.  The  property  which  he  occupied  had  been  owned  by  Samuel  Shoemaker,  a  former  Mayor 
of  Philadelphia,  who.  remaining  loyal  to  King  George,  suffered  the  loss  of  his  property  by  confiscation.  Laurel  Hill 
was  purchased  by  James  Parr,  who  leased  it  to  Luzerne  for  five  jears. 

Morristo«n,  New  Jersey,  was  occupied  by  Washington  as  his  headquarters  in  the  Spring  of  1780.  and  he  was 
visited  there  by  Luzerne  Dr,  James  Thacher.  of  Massachusetts,  a  Surgeon  in  the  American  army,  gives  m  his  "Mil- 
itary Journal",  published  in  1824    the  following  account  of  the  Chevalier's  visit: 

"April  10.  ITSO—Morrislou-n.  A'™  Jersey.    The  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne.  Minister  of  France,  with  another  Frencb 

gentleman    and ,  arrived    at   headquarters,    from    Philadelphia,    in  company    with    General    Washington. 

Major  Trescott  was  ordered  out  with  200  men  to  meet  and  escort  them  to  headquarters,  where  two  battalions  were 
paraded  to  receive  them  with  the  usual  military  honors.  Several  of  our  general  officers  rode  about  five  miles  to  meet 
the  gentlemen .  and  their  arrival  was  announced  by  the  discharge  of  thirteen  cannon.  The  foreign  gentlemen  and  their 
suites  having  left  their  carriages,  were  mounted  on  elegant  horses,  which,  with  General  Washington,  and  the  general 
officers  of  our  army,  with  their  aids,  formed  a  most  splendid  cavalcade,  which  attracted  the  attention  of  a  va^t  con- 
course of  spectators. 

■■April  24  17S0.~FouT  battalions  were  presented  for  review  by  the  French  Minister,  attended  by  General  Wash- 
ington. Thirteen  cannon,  as  usual,  announced  their  arrival  on  the  field.  A  large  stage  was  erected  in  the  field,  which 
was  crowded  by  officers,  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  distinction  from  the  country — among  whom,  was  Governor  I,iving- 
ston  of  New  Jersey.  *  *  *  The  Minister  of  France  was  highly  gratified,  and  expressed  to  General  Washington 
his  admiration  at  the  precision  of  their  (the  battalions)  movements.  In  the  evening,  General  Washington  and  the 
French  Minister  attended  a  ball,  provided  bv  our  principal  olBcers — there  being  a  large  attendance  of  distinguished 
ladies  and  gentlemen.  Fireworks  were  also  exhibited  by  the  officers  of  the  artillery.  On  the  25th  the  whole  army 
was  paraded  under  arms  to  afford  M  de  la  Luzerne  another  opportunity  of  reviewing  the  troops:  after  which  he  was 
escorted  part  of  the  way  to  Philade'phia." 

The  following  interesting,  but  little  known,  item  of  Philadelphia  history,  written  by  Charles  Thomson,  Secretary 
of  the  Congress  in  1782.  and  earlier  years  (see  page  354,  Vol.  I),  may  be  appropriately  introduced  here: 

"This  day  [May  13,  1782]  having  been  assigned  for  giving  the  Minister  of  France  a  public  audience,  in  order  that 
he  might  deliver  to  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  a  letter  which  he  had  received  from  His  Moit  Christian 
Majesty  [King  Louis  XVI)  announcing  the  birth  of  a  Dauphin,  the  Minister  came  in  his  own  coach  to  the  State  House, 
being  escorted  by  the  City  Troop  of  Light  Horse.  At  the  State  House  he  was  received  with  military  honors,  and  being 
met  at  the  foot  of  the  '^teps  by  two  Members,  deputed  for  the  purpose,  was  by  them  introduced  to  his  seat. 

"The  House  was  arranged  in  the  following  order:  The  President  in  a  chair  on  a  platform,  raised  two  steps  from 
the  floor  with  a  large  table  before  him.  The  Members  of  Congress  in  chairs  on  the  floor,  to  his  right  and  left,  with 
small  tables  before  them.  *  *  *  Next  to  the  Members  of  Congress  on  the  left  of  the  Chair  stood  the  prmcipil 
[officials]  of  the  three  executive  departments,  namely,  the  Superintendent  of  Finance,  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the 
Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs.  The  President  and  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  stood 
within  the  bar.  on  the  right  as  they  entered,  and  facing  the  President.  The  Secretary  of  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  stood  on  the  right  of  the  President,  on  the  first  step  of  the  platform.  At  his  right,  on  the  floor,  stood  the 
interpreter.  The  rest  of  the  audience  stood  without  the  bar.  The  doors  were  opened;  sentries  were  placed  at  the  inner 
door,  and  none  except  the  Members  were  admitted  without  tickets,  which  were  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  Congress. 
*     *     *     The  whole  number  prepared  was  200. 

"The  Minister  was  conducted  into  Congress  Hall  bv  the  two  Members  who  had  received  him  at  the  foot  of  the 
steps  of  the  outer  door.  As  he  entered  within  the  bar  the  President  and  House  arose,  the  President  being  covered. 
The  Minister,  as  he  advanced  to  his  chair,  bowed  to  the  President,  who  took  off  his  hat  and  returned  the  bow.  The 
Minister  was  uncovered-  The  Minister  then  bowed  to  the  Members  on  each  side  of  the  Chair,  who  were  standing 
uncovered,  but  did  not  return  the  bow.  The  Minister  then  sat  down  and  put  on  his  hat.  *  *  *  The  President 
the  Members  and  the  Minister  all  took  their  seats  at  the  same  time.  After  a  pause  of  about  a  minute  the  Minister 
arose,  and,  taking  off  his  hat,  addressed  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  in  a  short  speech  delivered  in  French. 

"The  House  sat  still  while  he  delivered  his  speech,  the  President  only  being  covered.  Having  finished  his  speech 
he  sat  down,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Embassy,  coming  forward,  delivered  the  letter  from  His  Most  Cfiristian  Maj- 
esty to  the  Secretary  of  Congress,  who  advanced  to  the  end  of  the  platform,  and.  having  received  it.  caused  the  inter- 
preter to  advance,  gave  it  to  him  open,  and  he  read  in  the  original  to  the  audience.  The  Secretary  then  read  a  trans- 
lation of  it,  and  returned  the  letter  to  the  President.  Whereupon  the  Members  and  the  Minister  arose  (the  President 
being  covered,  but  the  Members  and  Minister  uncovered) .  and  the  President,  on  behalf  of  the  LTnited  States  addressed 
the  Ministers  in  a  short  speech.  After  this  they  all  sat  down,  and  after  a  short  pause  the  Minister  arose,  whereupon 
the  President  and  Members  arose.  The  Minister  then  bowed  to  the  President  and  the  Members,  and  withdrew — the 
Members  who  had  introduced  him  reconducting  him  to  the  foot  of  the  steps  at  the  outer  door." 

The  Royal  infant  in  whose  honor  this  ceremonious  program  was  carried  out.  would  have  been  known  as  Louis 
X\TI  had  he  lived  long  enough.  Dying  in  1789.  however,  he  was  succeeded  as  Dauphin  by  his  younger  brother,  who, 
as  Louis  XVII.  died  a  prisoner,  in  the  Temple  at  Paris  in  June.  1795. 

.\t  Philadelphia,  in  the  evening  of  July  15.  1782,  a  splendid  entertainment  was  given  by  Luzerne  to  celebrate  the 
birth  of  the  Dauphin  of  France  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  wrote,  at  the  time,  an  elaborate  account  of  the  function,  which 
is  printed  in  full  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine.  XXI  :  257.  261.  The  following  paragraphs  have  been  extracted  from 
the  account. 

"Great  preparations  were  made.  Hundreds  crowded  daily  to  see  a  large  frame  building  which  he  [Luzerne]  had 
erected  for  a  dancing-room  on  one  side  of  his  house.  This  building,  which  was  sixty  feet  in  front  and  forty  feet  in 
depth,  was  supported  by  large  painted  pillars,  and  was  open  all  round.  *  *  *  Besides  these  preparations,  we  are 
told  that  the  Minister  had  borrowed  thirty  cooks  from  the  French  army.  *  *  *  1.100  tickets  were  distributed, 
most  of  these  two  or  three  weeks  before  the  entertainment.  *  *  *  For  ten  days  before  the  entertainment  nothing 
else  was  talked  of  in  our  city.  The  shops  were  crowded  with  customers.  Hair-dressers  were  retained,  and  tailors, 
milliners  and  mantua-makers  were  to  be  seen,  covered  with  sweat  and  out  of  breath,  in  ever>'  street.     *     *     * 

".\t  half  an  hour  after  seven  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  was  the  time  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  the  Company.  The 
approach  of  the  hour  was  proclaimed  by  the  rattling  of  all  the  carriages  in  the  city.  The  doors  and  windows  of  the 
houses  of  the  street  which  leads  to  the  Minister's  were  lined  with  people,  and  near  the  Minister's  house  there  was  a 
collection  of  all  the  curious  and  idle  men.  women  and  children  of  the  city  who  were  not  invited  to  the  entertainment, 
amounting  probably  to  10,000  people.  *  *  *  It  was  impossible  to  partake  of  the  joy  of  the  evening  without  being 
struck  with  the  occasion  of  it  It  was  to  celebrate  the  birth  of  a  Dauphin  of  France.  How  great  the  revolution  in 
the  mind  of  an  American,  to  rejoice  in  the  birth  of  an  heir  to  the  crown  of  France — a  country  against  which  he  had 
imbibed  prejudices  as  ancient  as  the  wars  between  France  and  England!  How  strange  for  a  Protestant  to  rejoice  in 
the  birth  of  a  prince  whose  religion  he  has  been  taught  to  consider  as  unfriendly  to  humanity!  And  above  all.  how 
new  the  phenomenon  for  republicans  and  freemen  to  rejoice  in  the  birth  of  a  prince  who  must  one  day  be  the  support 
of  monarchy!     *     *     * 

"Here  were  to  be  seen  heroes  and  patriots  in  close  conversation  with  each  other.  Washington  and  Dickinson 
held  several  dialogues  together  Here  were  to  be  seen  men  conversing  with  each  other  who  appeared  in  all  the  dif- 
ferent stages  of  the  .American  war.  Dickinson  and  Morris  frequently  reclined  together  against  the  same  pillar.  Here 
were  to  be  seen  statesmen  and  warriors  from  the  opposite  ends  of  the  Continent,  talking  of  the  history  of  the  war  in 
their  respective  States.  Rutledge  and  Walton,  from  the  South,  here  conversed  with  Lincoln  and  Duane.  from  the 
East  and  the  North.  Here  and  there,  too,  appeared  a  solitary  character,  walking  among  the  artificial  bowers  in  the 
garden  The  celebrated  author  of  Common  Sense'.  [Thomas  Paine]  retired  frequently  from  the  company  to  enjoy 
the  repast  of  his  own  original  ideas. 

"Here  were  to  be  seen  men  who  had  opposed  each  other  in  the  councils  and  parties  of  their  countrj'.  forgetting 
all  former  resentments,  and  exchanging  civilities  with  each  other  Even  Thomas  Mifllin  and  Joseph  Weed  accosted 
each  other  with  all  the  kindness  of  ancient  friends.  Here  were  to  be  seen  men  of  various  countries  and  languages 
such  as  Americans  and  Frenchmen,  Englishmen  and  Scotchmen.  Germans  and  Irishmen,  conversing  with  each  other 
like  children  of  one  father.    .\nd  lastly,  here  were  to  be  seen  the  extremes  of  the  civilized  and  of  the  savage  life — an 


1532 

no  longer,  and  shall  be  held  at  the  house  of  Zebulon  BuTJer,  in  the  town  of  Wilkesburg*.  in  the 
said  County  of  Luzerne,  until  a  Court  House  shall  be  built — as  hereafter  directed — in  the  said 
County;  which  said  Courts  shall  then  be  holden  and  kept  at  the  said  Court  House,  on  the  days 
and  times  before  mentioned. 

[Section  V  of  the  Act  respected  the  election  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  certain  districts. 
Section  VIII  related  to  the  first  general  election  to  be  held  in  the  new  County,  and  provided 
that  "on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October  then  next",  there  should  be  chosen  at  Wilkes-Barre 
"one  Representative  to  serve  in  the  Assembly,  one  Councillor,  two  fit  persons  for  Sheriff,  two 
fit  persons  for  Coroner,  and  three  Commissioners."] 

Indian  chief  in  his  savage  habits,  and  the  Count  Rochambeau  in  his  expensive  and  splendid  uniform,  talking  with  each 
other  as  if  they  had  been  the  subjects  of  the  same  Government,  Generals  in  the  same  army,  and  the  partakers  of  the 
same  blessings  of.  civilized  life.     *     *     * 

.  "On  one  side  of  the  room  were  provided  two  private  apartments,  where  a  number  of  servants  attended  to  help 
the  company  to  all  kinds  of  cool  and  agreeable  drinks,  with  sweet  cake,  fruits  and  the  like.  Between  these  apartments 
and  under  the  orchestra,  there  was  a  private  room  where  several  ladies,  whose  dress  would  not  permit  them  to  join 
the  assembly,  were  indulged  with  a  sight  of  the  company  through  a  gauze  curtain.  This  little  attention  to  the  curiosity 
of  these  ladies  marks,  in  the  strongest  manner,  the  Minister's  desire  to  please  everybody.  *  *  *  At  twelve 
o'clock  the  company  was  called  to  supper.  It  was  laid  behind  the  dancing-room,  under  three  large  markees.  so  connected 
together  as  to  make  one  large  canopy.  Under  this  canopy  were  placed  seven  tables,  each  of  which  was  large  enough 
to  accommodate  fifty  people.  The  ladies,  who  composed  near  one-half  of  the  whole  assembly,  took  their  seats  first, 
with  a  small  number  of  gentlemen  to  assist  in  helping  them. 

"The  supper  was  a  cold  collation,  simple,  frugal  and  elegant,  and  handsomely  set  off  with  a  dessert  consisting  of 
cakes  and  all  the  fruits  of  the  season.  The  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne  now  appeared,  with  all  the  splendor  of  the  Min- 
ister and  all  the  politeness  of  a  gentleman.  He  walked  along  the  tables,  and  addressed  himself  in  particular  to  every 
lady.  A  decent  and  respectful  silence  pervaded  the  whole  company.  Intemperance  did  not  show  its  head,  levity 
composed  its  countenance,  and  even  humor  itself  forgot  for  a  few  minutes  its  usual  haunt;  and  the  simple  jest,  no  less 
than  the  loud  laugh,  was  unheard  at  any  of  the  tables.  So  great  and  universal  was  the  decorum,  and  so  totally  sus- 
pended was  every  species  of  convivial  noise,  that  several  gentlemen  remarked  that  'the  company  looked  and  behaved 
more  as  if  they  were  7i'orshlping  than  eating.'  In  a  word,  good  breeding  was  acknowledged  by  universal  consent  to 
be  mistress  of  the  evening,  and  the  conduct  of  her  votaries  at  supper  formed  the  conclusion  of  her  triumphs.  At  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  company  broke  up.  and  we  returned  home."     *     *     * 

In  1781 .  Luzerne  received  from  Har\-ard  College  the  honorary  degree  of  LLD.,  and  in  1782  the  same  degree  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  Dartmouth  College.  In  May  or  June.  1783.  the  Pennsylvania  Branch  of  the  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati  elected  Luzerne  a  member  thereof.  According  to  the  late  Sidney  Hayden,  in  an  address  delivered  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  in  June,  1867,  Luzerne  was  a  Free  Mason,  "and  his  name  has  honorable  mention  as  such  in  the  archives  of  the 
Grand  Lodge"  of  Pennsylvania. 

Having  satisfactorily  discharged  the  important  duties  of  his  mission  to  this  country,  Luzerne,  early  in  1784, 
in  response  to  his  own  request,  was  recalled  to  France,  by  the  King.  On  June  19.  1  784,  the  Supreme  Executive  Coun- 
cil of  Pennsylvania  addressed  to  the  retiring  Minister  the  following  communication.  (See  "Pennsylvania  Archives", 
Old  Series,  X  :  282.) 

"The  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  cannot  witness  your  preparations  to  embark  for  your  Native  Country 
without  expressing  the  pain  we  feel  at  the  prospect  of  your  departure.  &  the  high  Sense  we  entertain  of  the  Zeal  and 
Ability  with  which  you  have  promoted  the  LTnion  of  France  with  the  LTnited  States  during  your  residence  among  us. 

"We  beg  leave  to  assure  you  at  the  same  time  that  the  return  of  peace,  and  our  General  intercourse  with  the 
powers  of  Europe,  have  not  in  the  least  lessened  our  Sense  of  our  many  obligations  to  the  illustrious  Monarch  of  France, 
nor  our  gratitude  for  the  benefits  we  derived  from  the  bravery  and  treasure  of  the  French  nation. 

*  'We  are  happy  in  this  opportunity  of  acknowledging  that  your  conduct  towards  the  Supreme  Executive  power 
of  the  State  has  been  uniformly  marked  with  all  that  decency  and  respect  which  characterise  the  Gentlemen  of  the 
nation  to  which  you  belong. 

"Accept  of  our  best  wishes  for  your  Safe  and  Speedy  Voyage;  may  you  long  possess  the  favour  of  your  Sovereign 
and  the  esteem  of  your  Country  Men,  and  enjoy  in  every  stage  of  life  the  pleasures  which  arise  from  faithful  con- 
tributions to  the  interests  of  humanity," 

To  this  communication  Luzerne  replied  the  same  day,  as  follows:  "I  have  passed  many  years  in  this  city  with 
too  much  satisfaction  not  to  feel  the  most  sensible  regret  on  leaving  it.  The  interests  of  the  two  nations  are  so  firmly 
united  that  I  could,  without  ceasing  to  be  a  Frenchpian,  consider  myself  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  Separated 
from  my  nearest  connections  for  more  than  five  years,  and  in  times  of  public  calamity  and  danger,  I  have  found  in  this 
city  everything  which  could  make  amends  for  the  want  of  those  enjoyments  of  which  I  was  necessarily  deprived.  I 
beg  you  will  allow  me,  on  taking  leave  of  your  Excellency  and  Council,  to  assure  you  that  I  shall  preserve  all  my  life 
the  remembrance  of  the  friendship  which  you.  as  well  as  all  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  have  constantly  shown  me. 
I  sincerely  solicit  the  continuance  of  it,  and  beg  you  will  be  persuaded  that  the  sentiments  which  attach  me  to  this 
country  will  end  only  with  my  life."     (See  "Colonial  Records  of  Pennsylvania",  XIV  ;  147.) 

Prior  to  the  departure  of  Luzerne  from  Philadelphia  in  July,  1784,  John  Nixon.  John  Maxwell  Nesbitt.  John 
Ross,  Clement  Biddle,  Isaac  Hazlehurst,  and  others,  representing  the  merchants  of  Philadelphia,  formally  expressed 
their  regret  at  his  leaving  the  city  which  had  been  honored  by  his  residence  for  some  years.  In  the  signed  letter  which 
they  presented  to  the  Minister  was  the  following  paragraph:  "The  part  which  you  have  taken  for  the  protection  of 
our  commerce  in  time  of  war;  your  wisdom  in  negotiation,  and  your  affability  and  attention  in  conciliating  the  affec- 
tions of  the  people  of  this  country,  and  cultivating  a  friendly  intercourse  between  the  two  nations,  have  attached  to 
you  the  respectful  esteem  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia." 

Luzerne  departed  for  France  in  July,  1784.  and  when,  a  little  more  than  two  years  later,  his  name  was  given  to 
Pennsylvania's  newest  County,  the  fact  was  communicated  to  the  French  Government  by  M.  Otto,  the  Charge  d' 
Affaires  of  that  Government  at  New  York,  in  a  despatch  worded  as  follows  (translated):  "The  Assembly  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Monseigneur,  wishing  to  hand  down  to  posterity  a  testimonial  of  its  gratitude  for  the  services  which  M.  le 
Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne  rendered  to  the  Union,  has  just  given  his  name  to  a  new  County." 

Later,  a  copy  of  the  Act  erecting  Luzerne  County  having  been  sent  to  the  Chevalier  by  the  Speaker  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  the  former  addressed  to  the  latter,  the  following  letter,  which  was  read  in  the  Assembly 
March  10,  1788: 

"Sir: — I  have  received  the  Act  of  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  letter  you  have  honored  me  with,  from  which 
I  learn  that  that  State  has  condescended  to  give  my  name  to  one  of  its  newly-erected  Counties.  It  is  impossible  for 
me  to  explain  the  grateful  sense  I  have  of  this  distinguished  favor.  Having  the  advantage  of  a  long  residence  in  Penn- 
sylvania, I  have  been  witness  to  all  the  acts  of  Patriotism  and  Valor  performed  in  that  State,  which  contributed  so 
much  to  American  Independence,  I  have  had  the  further  advantage  of  a  personal  knowledge  of  the  dilTerent  members 
of  your  Government,  and  the  opportunity  of  judging  with  what  wisdom,  prudence  and  firmness  they  have  succeeded 
in  establishing  one  of  the  best  Governments  in  the  world.  Lastly,  Sir,  my  long  residence,  my  inclination,  and  the 
honor  just  conferred  on  me,  are  ties  which  bind  me  inviolably  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

"Be  pleased.  Sir,  to  assure  the  illustrious  body  you  preside  over  of  my  veneration  and  respect,  and  permit  me 
to  renew  the  assurance  of  the  attachment  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir,  your  most  humble  and  obedient 
Ser\'ant." 

About  the  time  this  letter  was  received  at  Philadelphia,  Luzerne  was  appointed  by  King  Louis  Ambassador  to 
the  Court  of  St.  James.  Proceeding  to  London,  he  continued  to  reside  there  in  the  performance  of  his  duties  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  September  14,   1791.  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age. 

For  further  interesting  matter  relative  to  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne,  see  "Proceedings  and  Collections  of  The 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society",  VI  :  67.  *  • 

*The  framers  of  the  Act  of  September  25.  1786,  believed  the  actual  name  of  Wilkes-Barre  to  be  Wilkesburg-~ 
as  fully  explained  in  the  last  paragraph  on  page  517,  Vol.  I. 


1533 

"Seclion  /A'— And  be  it  further  enacted  bv  the  authority  aforesaid:  That  Zebulon  Butkr, 
Nathaniel  Landon*,  Jonah  Rogerst,  John  PhillipsJ  and  Simon  Spalding§  are  hereby  appointed 
Trustees  for  the  said  County  of  Lqzerne;  and  they,  or  any  three  of  them,  shall  take  assurances 
of  and  for  a  piece  of  land,  situated  in  some  convenient  place  in  or  near  Wilkesburg  within  the 
said  County  of  Luzerne,  for  the  seat  of  a  Court  House  and  of  a  County  Gaol,  or  prison,  for  the 
said  County,  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  trust  and  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  said 
County  of  Luzerne ;  and  thereupon  to  erect  a  Court  House  and  prison  sufficient  to  accommodate 
the  public  service  of  the  said  County. 

[Section  X  of  the  Act  related  to  the  matter  of  raising  money  to  pay  for  the  erection  of  the 
public  buildings.]         .  .    „  ,    „  , 

■■Seclion  XI—*  *  *  That  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  State  shall  have 
like  powers,  jurisdictions  and  authorities  within  the  said  County  of  Luzerne  as  by  law  they  are 
vested  with  and  entitled  to  in  the  other  Counties  of  this  State ;  and  they  are  hereby  authorized 
and  empowered,  from  time  to  time,  to  deliver  the  gaol  of  the  said  County  of  capital  and  other 
offenders,  in  like  manner  as  they  are  authorized  to  do  in  other  Counties  of  this  State." 

On  December  27,  1786,  the  General  Assembly  enacted,  relative  to  the 
western  boundary  line  of  Luzerne  County:  "The  line  from  the  mouth  of  Nesco- 
peck  Creek  shall  be  run  north-west  until  it  intersects  the  line  which  divides 
the  waters  of  the  East  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River  from  those  of  the 
West  Branch."  By  an  Act  passed  September  29,  1787,  the  Assembly  declared 
that  this  boundary-line  should  run  north,  one  degree  west,  until  it  intersected 
the  line  dividing  the  waters  of  the  East  Branch  from  those  of  the  West  Branch. 
At  the  time  this  last-mentioned  enactment  was  made  it  was  declared  in  the  As- 
sembly that  "it  would  be  more  agreeable  if  the  line  was  run  north,  five  degrees 

♦Nathaniel  Landon  is  said  to  have  been  born  at  Southold,  on  Long  Island,  New  York,  September  2.  1733.  He 
settled  in  Wyoming  Valley  under  the  auspices  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  sometime  in  1773  or  '73.  and  m  March  , 
1774,  was  elected  one  of  the  Selectmen  of  the  newly-erected  town  of  Westmoreland.  In  the  foUowmg  December,  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  School  Committee.  In  May,  1775,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Genera  1 
Assembly  of  Connecticut,  a  Surveyor  of  Lands  in  and  for  Litchfield  County — to  which  County  Westmoreland  was 
attached.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  34th.  or  Westmoreland.  Regiment  of  Connecticut  MiUtia.  m  October.  1//5 
(see  page  855.  Vol.  II).  Nathaniel  Landon  was  appointed  and  duly  commissioned  Captain  of  the  Second,  or  Kmgston , 
Company  of  the  Regiment.     He  was  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Kingston  Toivnship. 

In  October.  1777.  Captain  Lan'don  was  succeeded  in  the  captaincy  of  the  Second  Company  by  Dethick  Hewitt 
(see  page  957.  Vol.  III.  but  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  July  3.  1778.  the  former  was  undoubtedly  still  a  resident  of 
Kingston  and  an  enrolled  member  of  the  24th  Regiment,  and  presumably  took  part  either  in  the  battle,  or  the  defense 
of  one  of  the  forts,  on  July  3rd.  As  shown  by  the  muster-roll  on  page  1096.  Vol.  II.  he  was  at  WUkes-Barre.  in  October, 
1778.  serving  in  the  detachment  of  troops  commanded  by  Col.  Zebulon  Butler.  ■     ,      j 

In  1793  and  '95  Captain  Landon  was  residing  in  Kingston  Toivnship.  and  was  largely  engaged  in  land-surveying. 
In  the  Kingston  tax-list  for  1 796.  the  names  of  Nathaniel.  David.  James  and  Samuel  Landon  appear.  As  stated  on  page 
893.  Vol.  II.  Captain  Landon  was  married  (3d)  sometime  subsequently  to  1780  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Durkee,  widow  of  Capt. 
Robert  Durkee  of  Wyoming. 

tThis  was  Jonah  Rogers,  Sr.,  mentioned  on  page  1153,  Vol.  II. 

jProm  a  small  pamphlet  entitled  "A  Brief  Sketch  of  the  Ancestry  and  Life  of  Stephen  Miller."  compiled  and 
published  in  1901  by  Mrs.  M.  M.  B.  Stone  of  Wilkes-Barr^,  we  learn  that  John  Phillips  was  bom  in  Vermont  Jan- 
uary 4.  1753.  the  son  of  Francis  Phillips,  of  \A'elsh  descent.  The  latter  became  a  settler  in  Wyommg  Valley,  under 
the'auspices  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  in  1773  (see  pages  733  and  752.  Vol.  II).  but  it  is  doubtful  if  he  brought 
his  family  with  him  at  that  time.  His  name  appears  in  the  tax-lists  of  Pittston  District.  Westmoreland,  for  the  years 
1777  and  '78:  but  neither  his  name  nor  that  of  John  appears  in  the  tax-lists  of  1780  and  '81.  Neither  name  appears 
in  the  "Bill  of  los.ses  "  prepared  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  October.  1781.  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  passed  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  Connecticut.  It  is  probable  that  during  the  years  1779-'81  the  Phillipses  were  back  at  their  old  home 
in  Vermont.  , 

The  names  of  Francis  and  John  appear  in  the  list  of  Wyoming  petitioners  to  the  New  York  Legislature  in  February, 
1783  and  in  the  list  of  settlers  present  in  Wyoming  in  April,  1783.  the  name  of  John  PhilHps  appears. 

According  to  Mrs.  Stone  "John  Phillips  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  January  10.  1776,  at  Pownal, 
Vermont,  and  was  in  service  a  short  time  in  1776.  1777.  1778  and  1779."  He  owned  considerable  land  in  the  toivnships 
of  Pittston  and  Exeter.  Wyoming  Valley — the  tract  in  Pittston  being  called  "Phillips  Villa",  and  the  tract  in  Exeter 
"Johnsylvania."  About  1813,  he  settled  in  Abington,  Luzerne  (now  Lackawanna)  County,  where  he  spent  the  rema  n- 
der  of  his  life.  He  was  for  many  years  a  Deacon  in  the  Baptist  Church,  and  September  1,  1791,  was  commissioned 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  Luzerne  County. 

John  Phillips  was  married  three  times — first,  January  30,  1771,  to  Mary  Chamberlain  (probably  of  Vermont), 
who  died  at  Wilkes-Barre  November  9,  1815,  aged  70  years,  3  months  and  2  days;  second.  November  17,  1816.  to  Mrs. 
Lydia  Harding  of  Deer  Park.  New  York  (bom.  1770;  died.  1840);  third,  October  27,  1842,  by  the  Rev.  John  Miller 
of  .Abington,  to  Mrs.  Bathsheba  Green  of  Newton.  Pennsylvania.  "Deacon"  Phillips  was  then  in  the  ninety-6rst 
year  of  his  life,  and  his  bride  was  sixty-seven  years  of  age.  Charles  Miner,  writing  about  this  marriage  in  May.  1843 
said:  "We  have  the  pleasure  to  say  that  John  Phillips.  Esq..  was  married  last  Winter,  and  is  still  a  highly  respectable, 
hale  old  gentleman." 

"Deacon"  Phillips  died  at  Abington  September  4,  1846.  aged  ninety-four  years  and  eight  months.  His  remains 
lie  in  Hickory  Grove  Cemetery.  -Abington. 

By  his  first  marriage  "Deacon"  Phillips  had  the  following-named  children:  (i)  Marlha,  bom  October  21.  1771; 
married  to  John  Tripp,  December  16.  1789.  (ii)  Susannah,  bom  .August  7.  1773;  married  September  7.  1788,  to  Samuel 
Miller,  originally  of  Duchess  County.  New  York,  then  of  Pittston.  Pennsylvania,  and  later  of  Hughestown.  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  died.  Samuel  and  Susannah  (Phiilifis)  Miller  were  the  parents  of  seven  sons  and  six  daughters,  (iii) 
Sarah,  born  July  39.  1775;  married  Febmary  7,  1794.  to  Isaac  Wilson,  (iv)  Mary,  bom  May  4,  1778;  married  to 
Isaac  Hewitt.  (v>  Hosea.  bom  May  3.  1781;  married  October  28.  1799,  to  Lavinia  Davis,  (vi)  Comer,  born  Nov- 
ember 24,   1783;  married  February  5,  1807.  to  Hannah  Mott. 

The  third  child  of  Samuel  and  Susannah  (Phillil>s)  Miller  (referred  to  above)  was  Stephen  Miller,  bom  Febmary 
9.  1793;  married  March  3,  1811.  to  Mary  Goodrich;  he  died  April  24.  1862.  and  she  died  April  2.  1869.  They  were  the 
parents  of  ten  children.  The  sixth  child  of  Samuel  and  Susannah  {Phillips)  Miller  was  Rufus  Miller,  bora  at  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  .August  20.  1802;  mair'.ed  (3d)  to  Cynthia  Howard,  born  May  26.  1806.  at  Columbus.  Chenango  County, 
New  York.  Their  eldest  child  was  Garrick  Mallery  Miller  (bom  March  17,  1827;  died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Febmary  7, 
1895) ,  who  was  for  a  number  of  years  Receiver  of  Taxes  in  and  for  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
§See  page  980,  Vol.  II. 


1534 

west;"  and  two  months  later  Timothy  Pickering,  writing  to  the  Speaker  of  the 

Assembly,  said: 

"I  would  here  beg  leave  to  mention  the  alteration  lately  made  in  the  lower  line  of  the  County 
of  Luzerne.  In  the  first  law  it  was  declared  that  it  should  run  west  from  the  mouth  of  Nescopeck 
Creek.  In  the  supplement  to  that  law  it  was  declared  that  it  should  run  north-westwardly  from 
the  mouth  of  Nescopeck;  and  in  the  law  passed  on  the  29th  day  of  September  last  this  word  north- 
westwardly was  interpreted  to  mean  N.  1°  W.  I  am  well  informed  that  this  last  line  will  never 
strike  the  ridge  dividing  the  waters  of  the  East  and  West  Branches  of  the  Susquehanna.  I  am 
also  informed  that  it  will  cut  off  one-half,  and  perhaps  the  whole,  of  the  townships  of  Huntington*, 
which  is  one  of  the  seventeen  townships,  •  *  *  and  in  which  there  are  sundry  Connecticut 
settlers,  who  occupied  and  improved  their  lots  long  before  the  Trenton  Decree."     *     *     * 

As  thus  erected,  the  County  of  Luzerne  comprehended  the  territory  now 
contained  in  Luzerne,  Lackawanna,  Bradford,  Susquehanna  and  Wyoming  Coun- 
ties and  small  sections  of  the  Counties  of  Carbon  and  Lycoming.  In  other 
words,  the  new  County  embraced  within  its  bounds  3,783  square  miles,  or 
2,421,120  square  acres,  of  territory;  its  area  being  three-fourths  as  large  as  that  of 
Connecticut,  greater  than  the  combined  areas  of  the  States  of  Delaware  and 
Rhode  Island,  and  nearly  equivalent  to  one-twelfth  of  the  present  area  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Its  greatest  breadth  was  seventy-five  miles,  while  the  distance  from 
the  mouth  of  Nescopeck  Creek  to  the  New  York  State  line  was  sixty-four  miles 
in  a  bee-line,  or  123  miles  by  way  of  the  winding  Susquehanna.  From  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  the  State  line,  by  way  of  the  river,  was  ninety-six  miles. 

The  map  facing  this  page  is  a  photo-reproduction  of  a  portion  of  a  map 
of  Pennsylvania  published  by  Reading  Howell,  in  1 79 1 .  At  that  time  neither  com- 
plete nor  careful  surveys  of  all  the  territory  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the 
State  had  been  made,  and  in  consequence  some  of  the  boundary-lines  of  Luzerne 
County — particularly  the  extreme  southerly  and  south-westerly  lines — are  not  cor- 
rectly indicated  on  this  map.  According  to  an  address  delivered  by  the  Hon. 
William  Merrifield  of  Scranton,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  new 
County  Court  House  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  1858,  the  population  of  Luzerne  County, 
at  its  birth,  was  "sparse,  with  here  and  there  a  few  settlements  dotted  along 
the  winding  Susquehanna  and  its  tributaries.  Her  immense  territory  was  mostly 
a  vast  wilderness,  inhabited  only  by  the  catamount,  the  howling  wolf  and  the 
fleeting  deer."  The  number  of  inhabitants  within  the  bounds  of  the  new  County 
was  about  2,700.  (According  to  the  first  United  States  census,  taken  in  1790, 
the  population  of  the  County  then  numbered  4,904.) 

As  related,  the  Wyoming  settlers  were  notified  to  assemble  at  the  house 
of  Abel  Peirce,  in  Kingston  Township,  on  Saturday,  October  7,  1786,  to  adopt 
measures  for  holding  on  October  10th  the  election  directed  to  be  held  by  the  Act 
of  Assembly  erecting  Luzerne  County.  On  October  5  th,  however,  an  untoward  and 
disastrous  occurrence  took  place,  which  not  only  completely  prevented  the  pro- 
posed gathering,  but  the  election  itself.  A  terse,  but  luminous  account  of  what 
happened  is  contained  in  a  letter  written  by  Colonel  Franklin  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
November  7,  1786,  to  his  friend  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton,  as  follows  if 

"I  expect  you  have  heard  of  the  late  Deluge.  The  rain  on  the  5th  Oct'r,  which  fell  in 
about  24  hours,  Raised  the  River  about  6  feet,  and  in  the  narrow  10  feet — Deeper  than  ever 
known.  The  small  streams  became  mighty  Rivers;  the  Mills  are  mostly  swept  off,  and  one-half 
of  all  kinds  of  food  for  man  and  Beast  is  forever  lost — even  the  Roots  in  the  Earth,  such  as  Pota- 

*In  1775,  The  Susquehanna  Company  laid  out  in  their  Purchase  a  township  five  miles  square,  which  they  calle'd 
HuntiuKton.  Throush  it  cour-t-i  what  was  known  as  the  Ea=t  Branch  of  Fi«hins  Creek,  but  which  later  came  to  be 
called,  locally,  Huntington  Creek,  In  the  year  1790.  by  decree  of  the  Luzerne  County  Court,  Luzerne  County  was 
divided  into  eleven  town=hipi.  and  the  territory  of  Huntington  was  comprehended  in  tfie  township  of  Salem — Hunt- 
ington, as  a  township,  being  wiped  off  the  map.  Three  years  later,  however  nearly  upon  the  site  of  the  old.  a  new 
Huntington  Township  was  erected,  which  comprehended  not  only  the  territory  of  old  Huntington,  but  considerable 
more  territory  in  addition.  It  included  what  is  now  Fairmount  Township,  as  well  as  the  present  Huntington  Town- 
ship, and  a  part  of  the  present  LTnion  Township. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Old  Scries.  XI  :  85. 


-^' 


1535 

toes,  turnips,  Parsnips,  &c.,  are  mostly  Rotten  in  the  Earth.  The  greatest  part  of  the  Rain  fell 
in  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  the  fifth.  The  Susq'h  River,  that  was  fordable  at  4  of  the  Clock 
after  noon,  was  over  the  face  of  the  Earth  from  Mountain  to  Mountain  at  6  o'clock  the  morning 
of  the  6th.  *  *  *  In  the  smallest  Runs  of  Water  you  may  see  Stones  from  three  Pounds  to 
three  Tuns  Weight  Drove  to  a  great  Distance  and  hove  up  in  heaps.  A  stone  judged  to  weigh 
two  tons  Lies  mounted  on  two  stumps  near  Toby's  Creek,  that  was  drove  from  a  considerable 
distance.  A  number  of  Cattle  were  drowned;  our  fences  are  all  gone;  one  man  was  Drowned 
attempting  to  save  some  effects." 

Miner,  referring  to  this  flood,  says  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  399): 

"In  October  (1786]  the  waters  of  the  Susquehanna  rose  to  a  height  never  known  except  at 
the  ice  flood  two  years  previously.  Wilkesbarre  was  partially  inundated,  and  many  were  pre- 
paring canoes  to  take  off  the  inhabitants  to  the  hills.  This  was  termed  the  ■Pumpkin  Fresh', 
from  the  immense  number  [of  pumpkins]  that  floated  down  the  stream  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  people  below.  Great  and  irreparable  losses  were  sustained  in  hay,  grain  and  cattle,  occasion- 
ing much  suffering  during  the  ensuing  Winter.  Several  houses  and  barns  were  swept  away,  and 
one  or  two  lives  were  lost. 

Not  only  in  Wyoming  Valley,  but  in  the  upper  Susquehanna  valley,  the 
farmers  had  gathered  their  hay,  and  much  of  it  was  in  stacks;  the  corn  was  in 
shocks;  the  cattle  were  feeding  in  the  meadows — and  the  flood  swept  all  before 
it!  The  fruit  of  the  Summer's  toil — the  hope  of  the  Winter's  sustenance — was 
borne  off  in  triumph  by  the  turbulent  waters. 

In  March,  1865,  a  contributor  to  The  Harrisburg  Uniori,  writing  about 
Susquehanna  River  floods,  had  the  following  to  say  about  the  "Pumpkin  Flood." 

"The  bottom-lands  on  the  head-waters  of  the  river— especially  of  the  North  Branch,  and 
in  New  York  State — had  been  planted  principally  with  pumpkins.  These  came  down  the  river 
in  enormous  quantities.  Esquire  Montgomery,  who  was  a  clerk  in  the  Recorder's  office  |at  Harris- 
burg] as  early  as  1790,  said,  in  the  hearing  of  the  writer,  that  'for  two  whole  days  the  river  [evi- 
dently at  or  near  Harrisburg]  looked  as  if  a  person  could  walk  over  it  on  pumpkins.'  Small 
houses,  hay  stacks,  grain-stacks,  with  chickens,  &c.,  on  them,  came  down  in  great  numbers." 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  worth  noting  just  at  this  point,  that,  within  ten 
or  twelve  days  after  the  subsidence  of  the  "Pumpkin  Flood",  business  affairs 
were  being  transacted  at  Wilkes-Barre  as  though  nothing  particularly  unusual  had 
just  happened.  From  book  I,  page  1,  of  the  "Susquehanna  Company's  Records," 
we  learn  that  on  October  18,  1786,  "Solomon  Avery  of  the  town  of  Wilkes-Barre 
conveyed  to  Thomas  Neill  of  the  same  place  a  certain  lot  ("No.  2')  on  the  (Front 
Street  in  the  town-plot  of  Wilkes-Barre,  lying  between  Colonel  Butler's  lot  and 
Mr.  Sill's  lot,  and  which  was  formerly  the  property  of  Christopher  Avery,  Esq., 
deceased."  The  deed  of  conveyance  was  witnessed  by  Abel  and  Rebecca  Yarring- 
ton,  and  was  acknowledged  before  "John  Franklin,  Director,  at  Wilkesbarre, 
Wyoming,  October  19,  1786."  The  same  date  Thomas  Neill  sold  and  conveyed  to 
Jacob  Fridley,  for  £62,  10  sh.,  the  above-described  lot,  "containing  about  three 
and  one-half  acres  of  ground;  and  likewise  one  house-frame  now  on  said  lot, 
2,600  bricks,  2,000  feet  of  boards,  2,000  pine  shingles  three  feet  long — all  to  be 
delivered  on  said  lott." 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  "Pumpkin  Flood"  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming 
were  "legally  warned"  to  assemble  in  town-meeting  at  Kingston  on  Monday, 
November  6,  1786.  A  considerable  number  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  attended 
at  the  time  and  place  fixed,  and  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  was  chosen  Moderator, 
or  Chairman,  of  the  meeting,  and  his  son,  Lord  Butler,  was  chosen  to  serve  as 
Clerk.  The  "two  Johns"  made  a  full  report  of  their  pilgrimage  to  Philadelphia 
in  September,  and  of  the  action  which  had  been  taken  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly;  whereupon,  after  some  discussion,  the  following  preamble  and  reso- 
lution were  adopted:* 

"This  Meeting,  taking  into  consideration  the  said  Recited  Law,  and  the  Singular  and 
Extraordinary  Circumstances  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  (that  there  is  neither 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Old  Series.  XI  :  83. 


1536 

Courts,  Justices,  Sheriff,  Coroner,  Constable  or  any  Civil  officer  whatsoever  within  the  limits  of  the 
County)  and  regretting  the  Deficiency  in  s'd  Recited  Law — came  to  the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  Vnanimously,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Meeting  that  the  law  of  this  State 
Erecting  the  Northern  parts  of  the  county  of  Northumberland  into  a  New  County,  makes  no 
Provision  whereby  the  Inhabitants  thereof  may  or  can  enjoy  the  Rights,  Liberties  and  Priviledges 
that  Citizens  of  the  State  are  entitled  to;  that  they  are  not  authorized  or  Impowered  to  hold  any 
Election,  or  to  Elect  any  officer  of  Government,  or  Civil  Officer  whatsoever,  for  the  following 
Reasons:  That  the  law  for  Erecting  the  County  has  not  come  to  hand,  except  a  bill  published 
for  Consideration  and  said  to  be  Enacted  into  a  Law;  that  the  time  for  holding  the  annual  Elec- 
tion in  Oc't  last  was  expired  so  soon  after  the  law  was  Enacted  that  an  Election  Could  not  have 
been  held  agreeable  to  the  Constitution,  after  the  Return  of  the  Agents  from  Assembly:  That 
there  is  no  Person  or  Persons,  whatsoever.  Authorised  or  qualified  to  call  the  Freemen,  or  Free- 
holders for  the  Purpose  of  holding  an  Election,  to  hold  an  election,  or  to  Elect  any  Civil  officer 
or  officers  of  Government  whatsoever;  that  there  is  no  Person  authorised  to  qualify  Judges  and 
Inspectors  of  Elections,  or  to  make  Return;  that  an  Election  held  where  a  legal  Warning  is  not 
or  cannot  be  given,  and  where  no  Person  is  Authorised  or  qualified,  as  aforesaid,  either  as  Jus- 
tices, Sheriff,  Constable  or  Judges  and  Inspectors  of  Election,  to  warn  or  hold  such  Election,  or 
to  make  Return,  is  in  Violation  of  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  this  State." 

The  meeting  adopted,  also,  the  following  preamble  and  resolution  :* 

"Whereas,  The  Susquehanna  Company  at  their  meeting  held  at  Hartford  May  17,  1786t, 
appointed  a  Committee  consisting  of  four  persons  [Col.  John  Franklin,  Gen.  Ethan  Allen,  Maj. 
John  Jenkins  and  Col.  Zebulon  Butler],  with  full  power  and  authority  to  enquire  into  the  claims 
of  all  persons  settled  at  Wyoming,  and  such  as  shall  make  out  their  claims  in  pursuance  of  the 
votes  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  and  to  quiet  them  in  such  lands  as  they  shall  judge  them 
justly  entitled  to,  agreeable  to  the  votes  of  said  Company. 

"And  Whereas,  one  of  said  Committee  |Gen.  Ethan  Allen]  has  been  absent  since  his  ap- 
pointment, and  is  still  from  this  place,  and  a  second  [Col.  Zebulon  Butler],  for  certain  reasons, 
declines  acting  in  that  capacity,  there  is  not  a  quorum  to  proceed  on  that  business  agreeable  to 
said  vote.  That  it  is  apparently  necessary  and  expedient  that  there  be  a  full  committee  for  .that 
purpose  aforesaid.  That,  as  the  business  of  such  committee  is  a  matter  that  more  particularly 
and  immediately  concerns  the  settlers,  an  appointment  by  this  meeting  cannot  be  esteemed  il- 
legal, or  as  doing  any  injustice  to  the  Susquehanna  Company. 

"Therefore,  Be  it  Resolved,  That  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott,  Mr.  Christopher  Hurlbut  and  Col. 
NathanDenison  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  appointed  a  committee  with  full  power  and  authority  to 
act  in  conjunction  with  those  [Colonel  Franklin  and  Major  Jenkins]  already  appointed  by  the  Com- 
pany, and  agreeable  to  the  afore-recited  vote.  And  that  the  Clerk  of  this  meeting  transmit  a 
copy  of  this  Resolve  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Committee  [Colonel  Franklin],  to  be  by  him  transmitted 
to  the  Clerk  of  the  Company,  to  be  laid  before  the  Company  at  their  next  meeting,  for  their  con- 
firmation." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  the  day  following  the  aforementioned  meeting,  Colonel 
Franklin  wrote  to  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton,  at  Hudson,  New  York,  in  part  as  follows :{ 

"A  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  was  held  yesterday  to  hear  the  report  of  the  Agents  from 
Philadelphia,  and  for  other  purposes,  as  there  had  been  no  meeting  before,  since  our  return.  I 
send  enclosed  a  Resolve  Respecting  the  Law  for  Erecting  a  New  County.  We  have  passed  a  Re- 
solve appointing  a  Committee  to  Act  in  Conjunction  with  Major  Jenkins  and  myself  to  Enquire 
into  the  Claims  of  the  Settlers  as  we  had  not  a  quorum  of  those  appointed  by  the  Company.  It 
is  a  matter  that  Concerns  the  Settlers  more  immediately.  We  have  also  Past  a  Resolve  Pro- 
hibiting the  Exportation  of  grain  from  this  settlement.  I  have  not  time  to  copy  them,  but  will 
send  them  the  first  opportunity. 

"That  old  Traitor  [Dr.  William  Hooker]  Smith  made  his  appearance  at  the  meeting.  I 
have  not  seen  him  these  4  months  before.  He  urged  a  Petition  to  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  would  give  up  our  Connecticut  title,  throw  ourselves  on  the  Mercy  of  Pennsylvania,  and  pray 
for  our  improvements.  However,  he  had  no  influence  on  any  of  the  Meeting.  A  Number  urged 
a  Petition  for  five  miles  each  side  of  the  River,  but  nothing  done  on  that  head.  We  expect  another 
meeting  next  Tuesday;  I  am  not  sure  whether  the  Inhabitants  will  Petition  or  not.  I  don't  know 
why  we  need  Petition,  unless  we  withdraw  our  last,  as  nothing  is  Determined  on  that;  but  should 
we  Petition  it  will  be  for  a  Certain  Territory,  5  miles  Each  side  of  the  River.  It  is  most  likely 
I  shall  Draught  the  Petition  (if  any  is  sent).  You  may  depend  that  the  foundation  shall  be  laid 
in  such  way  as  it  will  do  no  injury  to  the  Company.  I  am  sure  the  State  Cannot,  nor  will  not, 
grant  us  one  foot." 

Very  shortly  after  their  appointment  on  November  6th  the  "Committee  of 
Claims" — as  they  seem  to  have  been  styled — got  busy,  and  we  learn  from  the 
"Susquehanna  Company's  Records",  1:31,  that  on  November  22,  1786,  "the  Com- 
mittee appointed  for  the  purpose  [duly  set  forth],  being  met  at  Wilkesbarre — 
present:    John  Franklin,  John  Jenkins,  John  P.  Schott  and  Christopher  Hurlbut 

*See  "Susquehanna  Company's  Records,"  I  :  30. 

tSee  page  1507. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  iirchives,"  Old  Series,  XI  :  85. 


1537 

— they  proceeded  to  enquire  into  the  claims  of  Capt.  Benjamin  Jenkins,  Capt- 
Caleb  Bates,  Gideon  Osterhout,  Zebulon  Cady,  Isaac  Tripp's  heirs,  Zebulon 
Marcy  and  others,  claiming  to  to  be  proprietors  in  the  town  of  Putnam.*  *  * 
The  Committee,  after  examining  the  several  claimants,  titles,  etc.,"  unani- 
mously came  to  the  opinion  that  the  persons  whose  names  they  attached  to 
their  report  were  the  proprietors  of  Putnam. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  November  24,  1786,  the  "Committee  of  Claims"  granted 
to  certain  proprietors  of  the  Susquehanna  Company  the  "town  of  Johnson  on 
the  Tioga  River",  which  had  been  duly  "surveyed  and  accepted."  On  the  same 
day — the  towns  of  "Hamilton",  "Goresburgh"  and  "Bentonsburgh"  were  grant- 
ed by  the  Committee  to  certain  proprietors. 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  November  25,  1786,  Colonel  Franklin 
wrote  to  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton,  forwarding  the  letter  to  him  by  the  hands  of 
Dr.  Caleb  Benton,  who  had  then  been  spending  some  time  in  Wyoming.  The 
letter  read  in  part,  as  follows  :t 

*  *  *  "We  have  not  heard  from  Philadelphia.  Since  their  [the  Pennsylvania  Assem- 
bly's] last  sitting  we  have  sent  nothing  to  them.  *  *  *  As  I  informed  you  before,  we  appoint- 
ed a  committee  to  enquire  into  the  claims  of  the  settlers — that  is,  to  act  in  conjunction  with 
Major  Jenkins  and  myself.  We  have,  last  Wednesday,  determined  a  dispute  between  claimers  to 
the  town  of  Putnam,  on  the  Tankhannack  [CreekJ.  I  believe  we  gave  satisfaction  to  almost 
every  one.    We  found  land  enough  in  the  town  for  every  one  that  could  prove  himself  a  proprietor. 

"I  have  spent  part  of  two  days  with  Dr.  [Caleb]  Benton  and  the  gentlemen  with  him; 
have  made  out  grants  for  four  towns  and  also  six  'pitches'  to  the  Doctor  and  five  to  Captain 
Bortle;  also  sold  a  whole  share  to  Mr.  Loopt — who  is  to  send  some  money  by  you  to  me  at  the 
Susquehanna  [Company's]  meeting.  I  have  gave  ^Mr.  Loop  a  right  in  a  town  at  Standing  Stone. 
Dr.  Benton  was  deficient  in  not  having  his  certificates — he  could  not  tell  who  the  proprietors  were. 
The  grants  are  made  on  condition  of  producing  certificates,  &c.  In  every  grant  it  is  necessary 
to  have  a  complete  list  of  the  proprietors,  a  certificate  under  the  hand  of  the  Clerk,  or  one  of  the 
Committee,  that  such  are  proprietors  and  their  taxes  are  paid.  This  is  sufficient,  but  it  is  best 
that  every  certificate  be  endorsed  with  the  entry  on  the  back.     The  Doctor  can  inform  you. 

"I  have  made  enquiry  respecting  Capt.  [Solomon]  Strong  and  the  Hogeboom  settlers. 
Esquire  Gore  informs  me  that  the  only  settlers  they  have  are  one  Newell  and  his  son,  that  live 
in  the  town,  but  are  soon  to  remove  to  Choconut.§  One  Ackley  lives  on  Wysox  Creek,  but  says 
he  is  not  a  settler  for  them.  There  is  one  Vaughn  in  Kingston  holds  himself  a  settler  for  Strong. 
Jonathan  Davis,  living  at  Lackawanna,  has  talked  of  being  a  settler,  but  is  uncertain.  The  fact 
is  this,  the  Hogebooms  have  not  a  settler,  and  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  Strong  has  any.  The 
town  of  Wysox  will  be  taken  up  soon  by  other  proprietors.  We  have  a  meeting  this  day,  respecting 
adopting  a  mode  for  the  recovery  of  debts." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  November  25,   1786,  Joseph  Sprague||  wrote  a  letter 

to  "the  Honurebel  Exitive  Consill  of  the  Comon  Walth  of  Pensalvenia  at  Phila- 

*See  page  1497. 

t  "SeePennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI  ;  94. 

JCapt.  Peter  Loop.  Jr.,  of  Columbia  County,  New  York. 

§See  page  421,  Vol.  I,  and  page  889.  Vol.  II. 

Joseph  Sprague  was  bom  about  17.10,  probably  in  New  York,  He  came  to  Wyoming  Valley  from  Pougbkeepsie. 
New  York,  in  August  or  September,  1771,  and  on  September  .10th  was  voted  a  "settling  right  in  one  of  ye  five  towns.'* 
In  the  following  December,  he  was  voted  a  settling  right  in  the  township  of  Lackawanna,  and  on  January  21.  1772, 
he  was  voted  a  settling  right  in  Wilkes-Barre,  under  certain  conditions.  (See  pages  713,  717,  720  and  721,  Vol.  II.) 
When,  in  April  or  Mav.  1772,  a  distribution  or  allotment  of  the  lands  in  Wilkes-Barre  was  made  to  the  proprietors 
of  the  township.  Dr.  Sprague  drew  Lot  No.  46,  1st  Division  (on  Jacob's  Plains),  Lot  No.  45.  2d  Division  (the  town- 
plot).  Lot  No.  30,  3d  Division  (back  lotsi,  and  Lot  No,  31,  4th  Division  (5-acre  lots).     (See  page  728,  Vol.  II.) 

.^bout  1773  or  '74.  Dr.  Sprague  disposed  of  Lot  No.  45  in  the  town-plot — evidently  to  the  town  of  Wilkes-Barre 
— and  it  was  made  the  public  graveyard.  A  portion  of  this  lot  is  now  occupied  by  the  <2ity  Hall  of  Wilkes-Barre.  In 
March,  1774.  Dr.  Sprague  was  living  on  Lot  No.  .30,  3d  Division.  He  was  still  there  in  October,  1776,  when,  for  £110, 
IDs.,  he  sold  to  Darius  Spofford  "the  whole  of  said  lot"  on  which  he  dwelt — "to  extend  from  the  Centre  Street  [now 
Main  Street]  eastward."  This  lot  lay  at  the  corner  of  the  present  .Ash  and  South  Main  Streets.  March  9.  1774.  Dr. 
Sprague  deeded  to  Dr.  Samuel  Cook  of  Pougbkeepsie,  New  York,  for  £52,  8s,,  Lot  No.  46,  1st  Division — thirty- 
file  acres,  on  Jacob's  Plains.  This  lot  lay  along  the  river,  and  was  about  where  Port  Bowkley  now  is.  This  sale,  how- 
ever, must  have  fallen  through,  for  on  July  28,  1774,  Dr.  Sprague  conveyed  the  same  lot  to  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith, 
for  £100. 

In  all  the  Wyoming  records  in  which  the  name  of  Joseph  Sprague  appears  he  is  given  the  title  of  "Doctor".  He 
was  undoubtedly  a  stone-mason  by  trade — see  hereinafter,  particularly  in  letters  written  by  Timothy  Pickering — and, 
on  the  side,  and  in  a  primitive  way,  practised  the  healing  art,  as  opportunity  offered.  Of  him,  HoUister,  in  his  "His- 
tory' of  Lackawanna  Valley",  says:  "Of  the  yet  uninhabited  forest,  called  in  the  ancient  records  'ye  Town  of  Lacka- 
woma'.  Dr.  .Sprague  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors.  *  *  *  For  a  period  of  thirteen  years  [1772  to  1785],  with 
the  exception  of  the  Summer  of  1778,  Dr.  Sprague  lived  near  the  Lackawanna,  between  Spring  Brook  and  Pittston, 
in  happy  seclusion,  practising  medicine  when  opportunity  offered,  and  in  fishing,  hunting  and  farming  ."  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  he  lived  in  the  locality  named  by  Dr.  Hollister  prior  to  1776,  for  he  was  living  in  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  year  1772- 
'76 — as  shown  hereinbefore — and  in  1777  and  '78  his  name  appears  in  the  tax-lists  of  Pittston  Township. 

Dr.  Sprague  was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  two  sons,  at  least — Joseph  and  Eleazer.  The  latter 
fell  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  and  the  former  died — presumably  in  Wyoming  Valley — in  the  .\utumn  of  1814,  when 


1538 

dalphia."  The  letter  is  printed  in  full  on  pages  93  and  94  of  Vol.  XI  of  ''Penn- 
sylvania Archives."  As  it  contains  references  to  matters  of  interest  occurring 
here  at  the  time  it  was  written  we  will  introduce  the  greater  part  of  it  at  this 
point,  but  with  the  atrocious  spelling  of  the  document — which  marks  it  as  a 
unique  specimen  of  eighteenth  century  orthography^ — as  well  as  the  punctuation, 
changed  for  the  better. 

"The  present  circumstances  of  this  place  stops  the  mouth  of  every  one  that  is  a  friend  to 
[the]  Government.  No  one  dares  to  say  one  word  in  behalf  of  Government,  or  much  more  to  in- 
form Government,  as  he  would  immediately  fall  a  sacrifice  to  laws  and  arbitrary  power.  For 
this  reason  there  is  many  good  citizens  in  this  place  that  dare  not  appear  in  the  behalf  of  Govern- 
ment, but  are  obUged  to  be  silent  and  mute.  The  natural  obligation  that  every  good  citizen  is 
under,  by  his  oath  of  allegiance  to  this  Commonwealth,  must,  or  ought  to,  oblige  him  to  inform 
Government  of  all  and  every  apparent  danger. 

"The  true  state  of  affairs  here  at  Wyoming  is,  in  fact,  a  total  rejection  of  Government; 
and  they  are  at  this  time  forming  and  modeling  a  new  form  of  government  among  themselves, 
and  do  act.  in  every  respect,  independent  of  this  or  any  other  State.  They  have  formed  courts 
for  the  administration  of  civil  cases  and  the  determining  of  disputes  in  all  land  cases,  (with)  con- 
fiscation of  lands  and  tenements  to  their  own  use.  Last  Monday  a  fort-night  ago  [November- 6] 
the  inhabitants  were  called  together,  and  at  that  meeting,  as  a  body,  voted  and  engaged  to  throw 
off  all  allegiance  to  this  State,  and  to  make  a  form  of  government  for  themselves.  This  meeting 
has  been  held  three  times  since,  by  agreement. 

"There  is  a  considerable  number  of  our  inhabitants  that  have  not  associated  with  them  at 
this  meeting,  but  they  dare  not  oppose  them,  and,  I  believe  dare  not  inform  Government.  They 
are  very  busy  in  dividing  [up]  the  country  to  their  new  levy,  or  half-share  men — as  they  call  them 
— who  are  to  hold  arms  three  years  against  Pennsylvania;  for  which  reason  they  become  entitled 
to  part  of  the  country. 

"Gentlemen,  I  have  put  my  life  in  my  hands,  and  venture  the  consequence  that  I  am  ex- 
posed to.  by  informing  Government.  If  Government  will  enquire  of  those  persons  that  are  un- 
prejudiced, it  will  be  informed  of  the  truth  of  what  I  have  wrote."      *     *     * 

Dr.  Sprague,  the  writer  of  the  foregoing  letter,  had  settled  in  Wyoming 
at  an  early  day  as  a  proprietor  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  but  at  the  period 

Jeremiah  Blanchard  was  appointed  administrator  of  his  estate.  Dr.  Sprague  was  married  (2d)  in  1769  to  Mrs.  Eunice 
{Chapman)  Poyner,     The  latter  was  bom  at  Colchester,  Connecticut,  in  1732,  and  about  1749  was  married  at  Sharon, 

New  York,  to Poyner,  a  French  Huguenot,  who  had  served  as  a  Commissary  in  the  French  and   English 

War.  He  died  of  small  pox  at  Albany,  being  survived  by  his  wife  and  two  or  three  children.  According  to  Miner 
("History  of  Wyoming",  Appendix,  page  47)  "the  united  [Sprague  and  Poyner]  families  removed  to  Wyoming  in 
1770".     It  was  not  until  1771  that  they  arrived  here — as  we  have  previously  stated. 

In  the  collections  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  is  an  original  document  relating  X.o  Dr.  Sprague,  of 
which  the  following  is,  in  part,  a  copy.  "Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  29th  day  of  October,  1788,  Joseph  Sprague 
of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  Mason,  is  convicted  before  me.  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace.  &c.,  of  sitearing  seven  Pro- 
fane Oaths,  by  the  name  of  God,  and  I  do  adjudge  him  to  forfeit  for  the  same  and  for  each  oath  the  sum  of  five  shil- 
lings. +  *  *  To  the  Gaol-keeper  of  the  County  of  Luzerne:  You  are  hereby  required  to  take  the  body  of  Joseph 
Sprague  and  keep  him  in  close  custody  [for]  the  time  appointed  by  an  Act  of  this  State,  intitled  An  Act  to  Prevent 
Vice,  Immorality.  &c,,  dated  in  1786;  unless  he  the  said  Sprague  shall  pav  the  several  sums,  with  the  costs — to  wit: 
6ve  shillings  for  each  oath.     *     *     *  [Signed         ^    "Wm.  Hooker  Smith,     [l  s  | 

"Justice  of  the  Peace" 

About  the  time  Dr.  Sprague  was  convicted  of  profane  swearing,  a^  stated  above,  his  wife  brought  against  him  an 
action  for  divorce,  charging  him  with  barbarous  and  cruel  treatment,  adultery,  &c-  The  original  "libel"  in  the  case  is 
now  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  is  entitled  "Eunice  Sprague  of  Wilkesbarrc 
vs.  Joseph  Sprague  of  said  Wilkesbarrc,  Practitioner  of  Physics,"  and  is  addressed  to  "The  Honorable  Thomas  Mc- 
Kean.  Doctor  of  Laws.  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  and  his  Associate 
Justices  of  the  same  Court." 

Dr,  Sprague  died  in  1799,  or  early  in  1800  (Miner  says,  in  Virginia),  and  in  August.  1800.  Joseph  Sprague.  Jr. 
of  Wilkes- Barre.  was  appointed  adminstrator  of  his  estate.  Mrs.  Eunice  Sprague  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  April  12,  1814, 
aged  eighty-two  years.  Of  her  Dr.  Hollister  wrote:  "She  was  a  worthy  old  lady,  prompt,  cheerful  and  successful, 
and  at  this  time  ( 1785)  the  sole  accoucheur  in  all  the  wide  domain  now  embraced  by  Luzerne,  Lackawanna  and  Wyoming 
Counties.  Although  of  great  age,  her  obstetrical  practice  as  late  as  1810  surpassed  that  of  any  physician  in  this  portion 
of  Pennsylvania.  For  attending  a  confinement  case — no  matter  how  distant  the  journey,  how  long  or  fatiguing  the 
detention — this  sturdy  and  faithful  woman  invariably  charged  one  dollar  for  services  rendered,  although  a  larger  fee 
was  never  refused  if  any  one  was  able  or  rash  enough  to  offer  it." 

The  following — bearing  upon  Mrs.  Sprague's  work  as  a  midwife — is  a  verbatim  copy  of  an  original  certificate 
respecting  a  militia  fine,  now  preserved  in  the  collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society.  "This 
May  Certify  that  Mis  Sprague  has  maid  It  appear  to  my  Satisfaction  that  Thomas  Wella  Is  Not  Eighteen  years  of 
age  and  is  Cleard  of  the  Last  Gyneral  muster.     Attest  by 

'[Wilkesbury  July  22nd.  1789,  [Signed]  "Wm.  Ross.  Capt." 

"To  Daniel  Downing.  Collector, 

Concerning  Mrs.  Sprague.  the  late  Wesley  Johnson  of  Wilkes-Barre.  wrote  in  1889  as  follows  (see  Johnson's  "His- 
torical Record".  Ill  :  165) :  "Mrs.  Eunice  Sprague  was,  in  all  probability,  the  first  woman  to  practice  medicine  in  these 
parts.  I  do  not  myself  remember  her,  but  often,  when  I  was  a  small  boy,  heard  the  old  people  speak  of  'Granny  Sprague' 
as  a  successful  practitioner  of  midwifery,  and  of  the  healing  art  among  children.  Mrs.  Dr.  Sprague's  residence  and  office, 
which  I  well  remember,  was  a  one-story  log  house  on  the  [south-west]  comer  of  Main  and  Union  Streets.  +  *  *  Mrs. 
Sprague  was  the  mother  of  "Aunty'  Young,  who  lived  in  a  small,  one-story  frame  house,  still  standing  on  Canal  Street 
a  short  distance  below  LTnion  Street." 

"Aunty"  Young,  above  referred  to,  was  Mrs.  Phoebe  {Poyner)  Young,  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Sprague  by  her  first 
marriage.  Miner  has  considerable  to  say  about  her  in  the  Appendix  to  his  History;  and  in  the  Daily  Record  of  the  Times 
(Wilkes-Barre)  of  February  27,  1874.  there  is  an  article  concerning  her  and  her  children,  written  by  the  late  James 
A.  Gordon.  Mrs.  Young  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  July  21 .  1839,  aged  eighty-nine  years.  At  the  time  the  following  was 
printed  in  a  local  paper  concerning  her.  "She  was  the  oldest  resident  of  this  borough,  having  resided  here  previous 
to,  and  at  the  period  of.  the  Massacre,  and  was  one  of  the  few  who  escaped  through  the  wilderness  to  the  settlements 
on  the  Delaware.  She  retained  her  intelligence — which  was  at  all  times  remarkable — until  a  very  short  period  before 
her  death.     She  enjoyed  universally  the  respect  of  the  community." 


1539 

now  under  consideration  he  (just  as  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith  and  many  others) 
was  inimical  to  the  "two  Johns"  and  their  partizans,  or  adherents,  and  the 
policies  they  were  advocating.  In  other  words,  the  so-called  Connecticut  set- 
tlers— the  Yankees — were  divided  against  themselves. 

The  activities  with  respect  to  Wyoming  affairs,  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Joseph 
Hamilton  and  Capt.  Solomon  Strong — both  of  whom  were  understood  by  the 
Pennsylvania  authorities  at  Philadelphia  to  be  citizens  of  New  York  State — 
were  very  disquieting  to  the  Philadelphians  and  caused  President  Benjamin 
Franklin  to  write  to  Gov.  George  Clinton  of  New  York  on  the  subject.  At  the 
City  of  New  York,  under  the  date  of  December  13,  1786  Governor  Clinton  re- 
plied to  President  Franklin's  communication  in  part  as  follows:* 

"Your  Excellency's  letter  of  the  27th  November  was  delivered  to  me  by  the  bearer  of  it 
yesterday  evening.  The  person  |Dr.  Hamilton]  mentioned  in  it,  as  charged  with  having  committed 
a  Felony  in  your  State,  was  apprehended  and  Committed  to  the  Gaol  of  this  City,  where  he  re- 
mained confined  until  the  rising  of  our  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  last  Saturday  night,  when 
he  was  discharged  by  Proclamation,  no  Bill  having  been  exhibited  or  charge  presented  against 
him.  I  fear,  therefore,  that  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  comply  with  your  Request,  as  it  is  prob- 
able the  offender  may  have  e'er  this  left  the  State. 

"I  take  this  opportunity  to  apologize  for  not  having,  before  this,  acknowledged  the  Receipt 
of  your  E.\cellency's  letter  of  the  1st  of  June  last;  I  was  in  the  country  when  it  was  left  at  my 
house,  &  before  I  returned  I  was  informed  that  Ethan  Allen  had  left  the  Susquehanna  without 
being  able  to  effect  the  object  for  which  he  went  thither,  and  had  passed  through  this  State  into 
Connecticut.  Solomon  Strong,  the  other  person  mentioned  in  your  Excellency's  letter,  came  from 
Connecticut  before  the  Revolution  &  resided  a  short  time  at  Claverack  in  this  State,  but,  having 
been  charged  with  counterfeiting  Dollars,  fled  from  justice  to  Wyoming  in  your  State,  where 
I  understand  he  has  since  statedly  resided.  These  matters  I  mentioned  to  Colonel  Bayard,  one 
of  your  Delegates  [in  Congress],  which  he  promised  to  communicate  to  your  Excellency. 

"I  have  only  to  add  that,  should  the  above  persons  or  any  others,  be  guilty  of  treasonable 
practices,  or  other  offence  against  the  peace  of  your  Commonwealth,  I  shall  most  chearfuUy  con- 
tribute everything  in  my  power  to  defeat  their  purposes  and  bring  them  to  justice ;  being  disposed 
to  cultivate  the  most  perfect  good  understanding  between  your  State  and  that  in  which  I  have 
the  Honor  to  preside." 

At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  December  18,  1786,  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith,  Samuel 
Hover  and  Abraham  Westbrook,  who  were  then  living  on  Jacob's  Plains,  in 
the  township  of  Wilkes-Barre,  wrote  to  Vice-President  Biddle  of  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council  as  follows:! 

"We,  the  undersigners,  distres.sed  inhabitants  of  Wioming,  hope  that,  by  our  former  con- 
duct, we  have  shewed  to  Government  our  loyalty  and  attachment.  We  fear  that  there  is  a  num- 
ber of  men  in  this  settlement  who  design  opposition  to  Government.  If  this  should  be  the  case, 
and  matters  should  come  to  an  open  rupture,  we  beg  that  your  Honor  will  be  an  advocate  for  us 
to  Government,  that  we  may  not  suffer  with  the  Disobedient  &  Rebellious. 

"You  may  rely  on  our  attachment,  and  no  one  thing  will  make  us  more  happy  than  to 
imbrace  your  Laws  &  Glorious  Constitution — which  we  will  do  whenever  they  shall  be  offered  to 
us.  We  look  on  ourselves  as  bound  by  every  sacred  tye  to  Government,  &  will  not  recede  from 
what  we  have  [professed],  and  still  Profess,  attachment  to  Government." 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  toward  Connecticut,  where,  according  to 
Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming",  page  400),  "the  last  grand  movement  of  The 
Susquehanna  Company — having  in  view  the  establishment  of  an  independent 
Government  and  State,  in  defiance  of  Pennsylvania,  her  power  and  her  laws 
— was  now  in  bold  and  energetic  progress." 

A  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  "duly 
warned,"  was  held  at  the  State  House,  in  Hartford,  on  Tuesday,  December  26, 
1786.  Col.  Gad  Stanley  presided,  as  Moderator,  and  Joel  BarlowJ  acted  as 
Clerk.  Drs.  Joseph  Hamilton  and  Caleb  Benton  of  New  York  were  among 
those  present.     Col.  John  Franklin,  Zerah  Beach,  Benjamin  Harv-ey,  and  prob- 

*S€e  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI  :  96. 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI  :  102, 

JJoEL  Barlow  was  bom  at  Redding,  Fairfield  County.  Connecticut.  March  24.  1754 — the  same  year  in  which 
The  Susquehanna  Company  purchased  the  Wyoming  lands  from  the  Six  Nation  Indians.  He  was  graduated  at  Vale 
College  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1778 — being  the  poet  of  his  class.  .Among  his  classmates  were  a  number  who  after- 
wards were  distinguished  in  public  life — among  them  being  Noah  Webster,  the  lexicographer;     Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr., 


1540 

ably  other  members  of  the  Company  resident  in  Wyoming  had  set  out  for  Hart- 
ford a  day  or  two  before  Christmas,  in  order  to  attend  the  meeting,  but  they 
were  delayed  by  stormy  weather  and  did  not  reach  their  destination  until  after 
the  final  adjournment  of  the  meeting. 

Several  public  papers  and  private  letters  relative  to  the  situation  of  affairs 
at  Wyoming  were  read,  and  then,  on  motion,  a  committee — with  Maj.  William 
Judd*  as  chairman — was  appointed  to  prepare  a  program  of  business  for  the 
next  day,  to  which  time  the  meeting  then  adjourned. 

Assembling  at  the  same  place  the  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock,  the  above- 
mentioned  committee  made  a  lengthy  report;  whereupon,  after  considerable  dis- 
cussion, the  meeting  adopted  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  :t 

"Whereas,  It  is  an  object  of  great  importance  that  the  rights  of  the  proprietors  under  the 
Susquehanna  Purchase  be  ascertained,  and  the  claims  of  the  settlers  be  reduced  to  a  certainty 
and  their  titles  confirmed, 

"Therefore,  Resolved,  That  Maj.  William  Judd,  Samuel  Grayt,  Esq.,  Joel  Barlow,  Esq., 
Gen.  Oliver  Woli;ott§,  Ohver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  Esq.,  Ale.xander  Wolcott,  Jr.,  Esq.,  Col.  Gad  Stanley, 
Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton.  Dr.  Timothy  Hosmer,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  Obadiah 
Gore,  Esq.,  Col.  John  Franklin,  Zerah  Beach,  Esq.,  Capt.  Simon  Spalding,  Maj.  John  Jenkins, 
Capt.  John  Paul  Schott,  Abel  Peirce,  Esq.,  Capt.  John  Bortle.  Capt.  Peter  Loop,  Jr.,  John  Bay, 
Esq.,  and  Col.  Ebenezer  Gray]|  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  authorized  and  appointed  Commissioners, 
with  full  powers  to  ascertain,  by  reference  to  the  records  of  the  Clerk  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company,  and  the  records  of  the  settlers  at  Wyoming,  the  names  of  the  proprietors  claiming 
under  said  Purchase. 

"That  as  soon  as  may  be  they  make  out  a  fair  and  complete  list  of  the  names  of  all  the 
proprietors,  and  annex  thereto  the  proportions  of  land  to  which  they  are  severally  entitled;  and 
that  as  soon  as  said  list  may  be  completed  it  shall  be  entered  at  large  on  the  records  of  the  said 
Company,  and  shall  be  considered  as  full  and  complete  evidence  of  the  title  of  said  proprietors. 

"That  said  Commissioners  shall  thereupon  make  a  scrutiny  of  every  person  settled  upon 
said  lands;  and  such  settlers  as  shall  appear  to  have  been  proprietors,  or  heirs  or  assigiis  of  pro- 
prietors, shall  immediately  procure  their  locations  to  be  surveyed  and  ascertained;  which,  after 
being  approved  by  said  Commissioners,  shall  be  recorded  as  parcel  of  their  proprietory  rights. 

"That  whenever  it  shall  appear  that  any  settler  or  proprietor  has  made  a  location  by  per- 
mission and  under  authority  from  any  proprietor,  or  the  Company,  the  quantity  of  land  located 
shall  be  surveyed  as  aforesaid;  and,  if  approved  by  said  Commissioners,  shall  be  recorded  and  con- 
sidered as  parcel  of  the  right  of  said  original  proprietor — unless  otherwise  provided  by  the  vote 
of  this  Company. 

"That  said  Commissioners  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  directed  to  ascertain,  locate  and 
survey  to  each  and  every  person  who  has  (in  consequence  of  any  person,  vote,  or  agreement  of  said 
Susquehanna  Company)  gone  and  settled  on  said  lands,  the  amount  of  his  grant;  which,  being 
recorded,  shall  vest  a  full  and  complete  title  thereto  in  favor  of  such  person. 

"That  said  Commissioners  be  also  directed  and  empowered  to  locate  and  survey,  in  favor 
of  such  persons  as  they  shall  judge  proper  (who  shall  actually  settle  and  occupy  said  lands,  by 
themselves,  their  heirs  or  assigns),  not  exceeding  200  acres  on  the  right  of  any  proprietor — who 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Washington,  and  subsequently  Governor  of  Connecticut:  Uriah  Tracy,  a  Senator  of 
the  United  States;  Stephen  Jacob.  Chief  Justice,  and  Noah  Smith,  Associate  Judge,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont; 
Josiah  Meigs,  President  of  the  University  of  Georgia.  In  1781  Mr.  Barlow  received  the  degree  of  M.  A.  from  his  Alma 
Mater,  and.  in  1809  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  on  him  by  the  University  of  Georgia. 

During  his  college  course  he  served  for  a  time  in  the  Connecticut  militia,  and  took  part  in  the  battle  at  White 
Plains.  After  graduating  he  entered  the  ministry,  and  then  served  as  a  Chaplain  in  the  Continental  army  until  the 
close  of  the  war;  after  which  he  settled  at  Hartford.  Connecticut,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1786.  The  next 
year  he  published  "The  Vision  of  Columbus",  a  poem  of  considerable  length,  which  was  dedicated  to  Louis  XVI 
King  of  France,  and  was  printed  at  Hartford.  Some  time  later  he  went  to  Europe  in  the  interests  of  the  Scioto  Land 
Company,  and  while  there  he  became  identified  with  the  Girondists  in  France  and  contributed  largely  to  the  political 
literature  of  the  day.  In  1791.  he  went  to  London,  where,  with  a  number  of  American  artists,  poets  and  journalists, 
he  helped  to  form  the  "Constitutional  Society"  Soon  afterwards,  he  published,  at  London  his  "Advice  to  the  Privi- 
leged Orders."  This  being  proscribed  by  the  Government,  he  took  refuge  in  France,  and  in  1792  or  '93,  just  previous 
to  the  Reign  of  Terror,  became  a  candidate  for  Deputy  to  the  National  Convention,  but  was  defeated  for  the  office. 

He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Thomas  Paine,  and  to  his  care  the  latter  confided  the  MS.  of  his  "Age  of  Reason" 
,  for  publication.  In  1793,  while  living  at  Chambery,  France,  Barlow  wrote  "The  Hasty  Pudding",  a  poem  m  three 
cantos.  It  was  not  published,  however,  until  1796.  The  poem  is  in  praise  of  corn-meal  mush,  or  pudding,^ the  author 
declaring:  "He  makes  a  good  breakfast  who  mixes  pudding  with  molasses."  He  next  produced  "The  Columbaid" 
a  poem  of  some  length,  and  prepared  the  ground  work  for  a  history  of  the  .\merican  Revolution.  In  179.5.  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Washington  LTnited  States  Consul  to  .Mgiers,  in  which  office  he  performed  important  services. 
In  1805,  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  where,  for  the  next  few  years,  he  devoted  himself  to  literature.  In  181 1 ,  he 
was  appointed  United  States  Minister  to  France.  In  December,  1812,  while  on  his  way  from  Paris  to  Wilna,  Poland, 
to  meet  Napoleon — then  engaged  in  his  Russian  campaign — in  order  to  sigri  with  him  a  treaty  already  agreed  upon. 
Barlow,  overcome  by  cold  and  privation,  was  taken  sick,  and  died  at  Yarmisica,  Poland,  on  Christmas-eve. 

In  the  "Library  of  .'\merican  Literature"  ,  IV:  46,  there  is  a  fine  portrait  of  Barlow,  accompanied  by  extracts  from 
some  of  his  writings, 

*See  page  824.  Vol,  II. 

tSee  Miners  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  401.  and  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series.  XVIII  :  109. 

JSee  page  292.  Vol.  I. 

§See  pages  285  and  286.  Vol.  I. 

llSee  page  292,  Vol,  I. 


1541 

has  either  by  himself,  or  by  some  person  under  him,  settled  and  remained  on  said  lands;  which 
survey  and  location  being  recorded,  shall  vest  a  complete  title  in  such  settler,  and  shall  be  consid- 
ered as  parcel  of  such  proprietor's  right. 

"That  said  Comraissoners  shall  locate  and  survey  all  such  grants  as  they  may  make  in 
favour  of  any  new  settler  on  said  lands  in  such  towns  as  have  been  already  granted — as  far  as 
vacant  lands  can  be  found  for  that  purpose — or  on  such  gores  of  land  between  said  towns  as 
remain  ungranted.  Provided  that  nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  to  affect  the  title  of  any 
actual  settler  in  such  town.  Said  Commissioners  are  to  take  especial  care  that  the  property  of 
widows  and  orphans  be  in  no  instance  infringed. 

"That  said  Commissioners  shall  as  soon  as  may  be  convene  together  and  appoint  some 
particular  place  for  holding  Iheir  Court;  and  they  shall  in  no  instance  hold  their  Court  in  any 
other  place  than  that  first  agreed  upon — unless  it  shall  not  be  convenient  to  meet  at  such  place 
in  which  case  it  shall  be  in  their  power  to  adjourn  to  any  other  place.  And  they  shall  appoint 
some  proper  person  for  their  Secretary,  who  shall  keep  fair  and  accurate  records  of  all  their  pro- 
ceedings and  determinations. 

"That  said  Commissioners  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  authorized  to  make  locations  and  sur- 
veys, in  favour  of  any  settlers  or  proprietors,  on  any  of  the  broken  or  mountainous  lands  lying 
within  five  miles  of  the  river  and  not  convenient  to  lay  out  townships  five  miles  square,  and 
anne.x  the  same  to  such  townships  as  they  judge  proper;  provided  that  such  locations  shall  in  no 
instance  exceed  600  acres  to  the  proprietor  of  a  full  right,  or  in  proportion  to  the  proprietor  of 
a  less  quantity  than  a  full  right.  *  *  *  And  said  Commissioners  are  hereby  authorized  to 
grant  new  townships,  agreeable  to  the  former  votes  of  this  Company;  and  the  powers  heretofore 
granted  to  any  committee  for  that  purpose  are  hereby  declared  to  cease  and  determine. 

"That  said  Commissioners  are  hereby  authorized  to  inquire  into  the  particular  circum- 
stances of  any  locations  and  settlements  that  have  been  made  contrary  to  the  former  regulations 
of  this  Company,  and  confirm  or  disallow  the  same  as  they  shall  judge  most  conducive  to  the 
interests  of  this  Company.  And  it  is  hereby  ordered  that  no  location,  which  may  hereafter  be 
made  contrary  to  the  regulations  contained  in  this  Act,  shall  in  any  instance  be  admitted  or  con- 
firmed. 

"That  any  three  of  the  said  Commissioners,  together  with  iheir  Secretary,  shall  be  a  quorum 
to  transact  any  of  the  business  aforesaid. 

"That  the  expense  of  locating  and  surveying,  and  determining  all  matters  aforesaid,  shall 
be  paid  by  the  persons  in  whose  favour  such  locations,  &c.,  shall  be  made  or  done;  but  said  Court 
of  Commissioners  shall  in  no  instance  exact  or  receive  unreasonable  or  exorbitant  fees. 

"That  any  five  of  said  Commissioners,  with  their  Secretary,  shall  be  a  Court,  with  power 
to  hear  and  finally  determine  all  controversies  between  actual  occupants  respecting  the  title  of 
lands,  and  to  award  equitable  costs,  in  the  usual  forms  of  trials  at  law.  This  power  to  cease  and 
determine  whenever  a  form  of  internal  gofernment  shall  be  established  in  that  country. 

"Resolved  likewise,  That  the  Commissioners  aforesaid,  or  a  majority  of  them,  be,  and  they 
are  hereby,  fully  authorized  and  empowered  to  do  and  transact  any  other  matters  and  things  which 
they  may  judge  necessary  for  the  security  and  protection  of  the  settlers  on  said  lands,  and  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Company  of  Proprietors — hereby  ratifying  and  confirming  whatever  said  Commis- 
sioners may  do  in  the  premises. 

'That  no  new  settler  be  entered  by  the  Court  of  Commissioners  in  the  town  of  Claverack 
until  after  the  first  day  of  May  next.     *     *     * 

"That  each  person  that  was  considered  by  this  Company  as  a  sufferer,  and  was  compen- 
sated therefor  in  a  township  at  Muncy  Creek — which  is  now  possessed  under  Pennsylvania^ — 
be  admitted  by  the  Court  of  Commissioners  to  take  an  equal  quantity  of  land  in  any  township, 
to  be  laid  out  in  lieu  of  said  grant  upon  said  Muncy  Creek;  provided  he  settle  the  same  the  next 
Summer  or  season." 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Company,  those  members  of 
the  newly-created  "Court  of  Commissioners"  who  were  in  Hartford,  met  and 
elected  Col.  John  Frankhn  Secretary  of  the  Commissioners. 

Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page  400),  commenting  on  the  aforemen- 
tioned doings  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  says: 

"Colonel  Franklin,  'the  hero  of  Wyoming',  in  the  spirit  of  his  oath  on  the  bloody  rifle*, 
had  aroused  into  action  some  of  the  boldest  and  most  influential  spirits  in  the  land.  In  the  pro- 
ceedings which  follow  (fraught,  as  Pennsylvania  might  well  regard  them,  with  war  and  treason; 
and  justified — as  Franklin,  and  those  gentlemen  who  connected  themselves  with  his  scheme,  con- 
scientiously believed — by  the  unendurable  wrongs  and  oppressions  inflicted  with  unsparing  hand 
and  remorseless  rigor  on  the  poor  settlers  at  Wyoming)  will  be  found  names  conspicuous  in  the 
annals  of  the  Nation — official  functionaries  of  the  highest  grade,  and  men  of  genius,  whom  lit- 
erature as  well  as  politics  was  proud  to  crown  with  the  chaplet  of  en\-iable  distinction. 

"Joel  Barlow,  already  known  to  fame,  eminent  for  learning  and  distinguished  by  genius — 
which  subsequently  ensued  his  elevation  to  the  honourable  office  of  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to 
the  Court  of  France — acted,  it  will  be  seen,  as  Secretary.  The  Wolcotts  of  Connecticut  were 
themselves  a  host.  No  less  than  three  of  the  names  will  be  found  on  the  list  of  the  Grand  Com- 
mittee Commissioners  of  twenty-two.  The  name  of  Hosmer  was  also  there.  Oliver  Wolcott.  Jr., 
was  afterwards  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  subsequently  Governor  of  Connecticut.  Such 
♦See  page  1447. 


154^ 

men  did  not  move  without  high  purpose  and  «evated  aim.  A  prize  to  gratify  ambition  could 
alone  have  secured  the  co-operation  of  gentlemen  holding  station,  enjoying  consequence,  and  with 
prospects  so  flattering  in  society  as  theirs." 

As  narrated  in  the  preceding  chapter,  Col.  Timothy  Pickering  returned  to 

Philadelphia  from  his  tour  of  north-eastern  Pennsylvania  on  September  20,  1786. 

In  a  letter  to  his  son  Henry,  written  some  years  later.  Colonel  Pickering  said: 

"Having  received  some  information  of  the  mischievous  dispute  relative  to  the  Wyoming 
lands,  I  embraced  every  opportunity,  while  passing  among  the  settlers  [in  August  and  September, 
1786],  to  learn  their  feelings  and  ascertain  the  footing  on  which  their  peaceable  submission  to 
Pennsylvania  might  be  effected. 

"On  my  return  home  to  Philadelphia  Mr.  [James]  Wilson*,  then  a  distinguished  lawyer  at 
the  Philadelphia  Bar,  and  afterwards  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  called 
to  see  me,  and  he  diligently  inquired  concerning  the  temper  and  desires  of  the  Connecticut  set- 
tlers. I  informed  him  that  they  were  entirely  satisfied  with  the  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  were  ready  to  submit  to  its  government,  provided  they  could  be  quieted  in  the  possession  of  their 
farms.  They  had  settled  them,  they  said,  in  the  fullest  confidence  that  they  were  covered  by  the 
Charter  of  Connecticut;  they  had  made  very  valuable  improvements,  built  houses  and  barns,  and 
raised  good  stocks  of  cattle  and  abundance  of  the  necessaries  of  life — when  the  whole  were  laid 
waste  and  destroyed  by  the  common  enemy  in  1778.  And,  more  than  all  these  things,  a  great 
number  of  their  brethren  had  perished  in  battle.  That  from  these  calamities  they  had  not  re- 
covered— they  were  poor,  and  incapable  of  removing  and  seeking  new  settlements. 

"The  next  news  I  heard  on  this  subject  was  from  my  friend  Dr.  [Benjamin]  Rush.  He 
told  me  that  the  General  Assembly,  then  sitting  in  Philadelphia,  had  just  passed  a  law  erecting 
the  Wyoming  settlement,  and  a  large  extent  of  country  above  and  below  it,  into  a  new  County, 
by  the  name  of  Luzerne;  that  the  usual  county  offices  would  be  created,  all  of  which  would  be 
conferred  on  me  if  I  would  accept  them.  That,  being  a  New  England  man,  the  Connecticut 
settlers  would  place  a  confidence  in  my  information  and  advice,  which  they  would  be  inclined  to 
withhold  from  a  Pennsylvanian;  and  thus  I  might  be  the  happy  instrument  of  putting  an  end  to 
an  inveterate  and  disastrous  controversy. 

"Mr.  Wilson  also  encouraged  and  advised  me  to  take  the  step  proposed  by  Dr.  Rush; 
and,  after  taking  time  for  consideration,  I  informed  Mr.  Wilson  that  I  would  engage  in  this  bus- 
iness, provided  I  might  assure  the  Connecticut  settlers  that  the  Legislature  would  quiet  them  in  their 
possessions.  I  particularly  asked  his  opinion  as  a  lawyer,  as  I  also  did  that  of  Miers  Fisher,  a 
distinguished  lawyer  of  the  Society  of  Quakers,  whether  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  would  be  com- 
petent for  that  purpose,  against  the  claims  of  Pennsylvanians  to  the  same  lands  under  titles  de- 
rived from  the  Proprietaries.     *     *     *     Both  gentlemen  answered  in  the  affirmative."     *     *     * 

At  Philadelphia,  on  September  25,  1786 — the  same  day  on  which  the 
Act  erecting  Luzerne  County  was  engrossed  and  signed — Colonel  Pickering  sent 
to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  the  following  communication:! 

"The  subscriber  begs  leave  to  present  himself  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Prothonotary 
for  the  County  of  Luzerne:  I  have  been  informed  that  the  Bill  for  erecting  Wioming  district  into 
a  separate  County  is  passed  into  a  law,  and  that  the  civil  officers  for  the  County  are  now  to  be 
appointed. 

"The  office  of  Prothonotary  has  been  proposed  to  my  consideration  on  these  grounds: 
That  the  forming  the  district  into  a  separate  County  was  intended  as  a  conciliatory  measure. 
That  with  the  same  view,  it  must  be  the  desire  of  Government  to  appoint  such  persons  to  the 
civil  offices  in  the  County  as  may  be  most  likely  to  allay  the  jealousies  subsisting  among  the  New 
England  settlers,  and  at  the  same  time  possess  the  confidence  of  the  rest  of  the  State.  That,  I 
being  a  native  of  New  England  (though  not  of  Connecticut),  the  settlers  will  be  gratified  by  my 
appointment.  And  that,  for  several  years,  having  been  conversant  in  and  an  inhabitant  of  Penn- 
sylvania, I  am  here  sufficiently  known;  and  the  gentlemen  who  have  proposed  the  office  to  me 
have  been  pleased  to  say  that  I  should  doubtless  enjoy  the  confidence  of  the  State.  If  these  opin- 
ions are  well  founded,  there  will  be  no  impropriety  in  my  requesting  of  your  Excellency  and  the 
Honorable  the  Council  to  be  appointed  Prothonotary  for  the  County  of  Luzerne — which  office 
will  be  gratefully  accepted  and,  I  trust,  duly  executed." 

The  next  day  Colonel  Pickering  formally  appHed  to  the  Council  for  appoint- 
ment to  the  other  County  offices  which,  by  law,  were  required  to  be  filled  by 
that  body.  One  Bryan,  of  Philadelphia,  was  also  an  applicant  for  these  offices, 
but  on  October  9th  the  Council  appointed,  and  October  12th  commissioned. 
Colonel  Pickering  to  the  following  offices,  in  and  for  Luzerne  County:  Pro- 
thonotary, Clerk  of  the  Court  of  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace  and  Jail 
Delivery,  Clerk  of  the  Orphan's  Court,  and  a  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas.  On  October  27th  Colonel  Pickering  and  John  Riley,  of  Philadelphia 
respectively   petitioned   the   Pennsylvania  Assembly   for    appointment    to    the 

*See  [§]  note  page  1297.         tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers",  V. :  391. 


1543 

offices  of  "Register  for  the  Probate  of  Wills  and  granting  Letters  of  Administra- 
tion, and  Recorder  of  Deeds,  in  and  for  the  County  of  Luzerne."  On  Novem- 
ber 7th  "the  House  proceeded  to  the  election,  when,  the  ballots  being  taken,  it 
appeared  that  Timothy  Pickering  was  duly  elected"  Register  and  Recorder. 
On  December  18,  1786,  Colonel  Pickering  "attended  in  Council,  and  took  the 
necessary  oaths  of  qualification"  with  respect  to  his  various  and  several  offices. 
He  was,  at  this  time,  in  the  forty-second  year  of  his  life. 

Shortly  after  receiving  these  appointments  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  his 
nephew,  the  Rev.  John  Clarke,  D.  D.  (a  graduate  of  Harvard,  pastor  of  the 
First  Congregational  Church  in  Boston,  and  the  author  of  "Letters  to  a  Student," 
and  other  works)  in  part  as  follows: 

"You  will  wonder  to  see  so  many  offices  vested  on  one  person,  but  it  is  here  the  practice,  in 
new  Counties,  because,  where  there  are  few  inhabitants,  the  fees  are  consequently  few.  *  *  * 
My  inducements  to  accept  these  ofhces  are  various.  1 — My  lands  nearest  to  Philadelphia  lie  in 
the  County  of  Luzerne,  and  I  can  promote  the  settlement  of  them  while  I  hold  these  offices. 
- — Sundry  gentlemen  of  my  acquaintance,  who  are  large  landholders  in  the  same  County,  will 
commit  the  disposition  of  their  lands  to  me  on  commission.  3 — The  offices  are  not  at  present 
lucrative,  yet,  as  the  County  will  populate  rapidly,  the  gentlemen  of  the  law  assure  me  that,  in 
a  few  years,  they  will  become  greatly  so.  4 — While  the  profits  are  small,  the  business  will  be 
small,  and  admit  of  my  frequent  absence  to  direct  the  settlement  and  improvement  of  my  lands. 
5 — By  the  time  that  ray  sons  come  of  age  the  business  of  the  several  offices  will  be  so  increased  as 
to  require  a  separation;  when,  if  I  should  live,  I  can  successively  resign  one  and  another  into  the 
hands  of  my  sons!    These,  I  hope,  you  will  deem  weighty  reasons  for  my  determination. 

"There  is  another  consideration,  which  your  philanthropy  will  pronounce  an  important  one. 
This  new  County  is  chiefly  settled  by  New  England  people,  and  multitudes  more  are  ready  to 
emigrate  from  that  country  to  this,  provided  the  dispute  with  the  Wyoming  people  [as  to  the 
title  of  their  lands]  were  settled.  As  one  probable  means  of  settling  the  dispute,  these  appointments 
are  conferred  upon  me.  On  one  hand,  I  possess  the  confidence  of  Government;  on  the  other, 
it  is  presumed  I  shall  be  acceptable  to  my  countrymen.  /  have  it  much  in  my  power  to  effect  a 
reconciliation.     This  I  shall  attempt. 

"Further,  these  people,  during  the  late  war,  have  been  destitute  of  instruction,  both  civil  and 
religious.  I  shall  have  it  in  inclination — as  it  will  be  not  a  little  in  my  power — to  introduce  such 
means  of  education  as  -will  prevent  theirdegenerating  to  a  savage  state,  to  which  theyhave  been  verging!" 

On  December  27,  1786 — the  same  day  on  which  The  Susquehanna  Company 
at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  passed  the  series  of  important  resolutions  herein- 
before recited  at  length — the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  passed  a  Supplement  to 
the  Act  of  creating  Luzerne  Count}'.  This  Supplemental  Act  provided  that  Col. 
Timothy  Pickering,  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  Col.  John  Franklin,  acting  as  Com- 
missioners should  notify  the  electors  of  the  new  County  that  on  February  1, 
1787,  an  election  would  be  held  to  choose  a  Councillor,  a  Member  of  Assembly, 
a  Sheriff,  a  Coroner  and  three  Commissioners.  The  Act  also  indicated  how, 
or  in  what  manner.  Judges  and  Inspectors  of  the  election  were  to  be  appointed; 
directed  that  an  oath  of  allegiance  was  to  be  taken  by  the  voters,  and  provided 
for  the  election  of  Justices  of  the  Peace. 

"The  olive  branch  could  hardly  have  been  more  conspicuously  tendered 
than  by  naming  John  Franklin  as  one  of  the  Commissioners,  engaged  as  he  had 
been  for  months  previously  in  openly  planning  and  waging  hostilities  against 
the  State.  Zebulon  Butler  was  also  wisely  selected,  as  the  most  eminent  and 
able  man  among  the  settlers,  whose  influence  over  them  would  be  paramount, 
whether  for  conciliation  or  controversy,  and  whose  sound  and  conservative 
judgment  had  kept  him  from  taking  part  in  the  violent  action  of  Franklin  and 
The  Susquehanna  Company.  The  addition  of  Ti.nothy  Pickering  was  a  remark- 
able one,  and  indicated  in  the  clearest  manner  that  the  disposition  of  Pennsyl- 
vania was  now  fully  awakened  to  bring  the  unhappy  condition  of  Wyoming  to 
a  closfe  honorable  to  both  parties."* 

*From  an  address,  "Connecticut's  East  India  Companv",  bv  Henrv  T.  Blake  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut.    Pub  - 
lished  in  the  "Reports  and  Papers"  of  the  Fairfield  County  Historical  Society  for  1895-'97. 


1544 


For  the  purpose  of  effectuating  certain  meaaures  necessarily  preliminary  to 
the  real  business  of  organizing  the  new  County,  Colonel  Pickering  arranged  to 
proceed  to  Wilkes-Barre.  He  kept  a  diary  of  his  journey,  which  is  now  preserved 
among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII:39),  and  has  never  heretofore  been  pub- 
lished. It  comprises  ninety  manuscript  pages,  containing  much  interesting  mat- 
ter relative  to  Wyoming  and  some  of  its  people  of  that  period,  and  we  shall 
quote  from  it  at  some  length. 

"  Wednesday,  January  3,  17ST . — At  twelve  o'clock  set  out  from  Philadelphia  with  S.  Wheeler, 
and  went  that  night  to  his  house,  twenty  miles.  January  5. — Having  reached  Bethlehem,  pro- 
ceeded to  Heller's  tavern,  near  the  Wind  Gap.  Here  I  found  M[atthiasl  HoUcnback  [of  Wilkes- 
Barre].  Left  Heller's  and  proceeded  sixteen  miles  to  Lanier's  [or  Learn's]  on  the  way  to  Wyoming. 
Proceeded  twelve  miles  to  Tobyhanna  Creek.  (At  this  time  the  creek  was  about  three  rods  wide; 
the  water  half-way  up  the  horses  sides;  the  bottom  muddy;  the  banks  steep.)  Just  on  the  other 
side  lives  one  Luce.  He  here  suppHes  travelers  with  rum  and  victuals,  but  has  neither  grain  nor 
hay.  From  Tobyhanna  we  went  forward  to  Kelly's  (formerly  Bullock's  tavern)  seventeen  or 
eighteen  miles,  and  seven  from  Wyoming.  I  staid  all  night.  HoUenback  and  [Christian  G.] 
Oehmig  went  on  to  Wyoming. 

"About  seven  miles  from  Tobyhanna  we  crossed  the  Lehi,  where  it  is  about  four  rods  wide, 
and  nearly  as  deep  (with  a  rocky  bottom)  as  Tobyhanna.  Bear  Creek  is  about  two  rods  wide,  and 
has  a  very  rocky  bottom;  is  rapid,  and  now  about  three  feet  deep.  From  Bear  Creek  to  Kelly's  is 
about  two  miles,  so  the  whole  distance  from  Larner's  to  Wyoming  [Wilkes-Barre]  is  about  thirty-six 
miles;  to  which  add  sixteen  miles  (Heller's  to  Larner's)  and  sixty-eight  (Philadelphia  to  Heller's), 
and  you  have   120  miles  for  the  whole  distance  [Philadelphia  to  Wilkes-Barre.]     *     *     * 

"Left  Kelley's  before  sunrise,  and  came  to  Wyoming  [Wilkes-Barre]  to  breakfast.  Three 
miles  from  Kelly's  I  crossed  Laurel  Run,  in  one  hour's  riding.  The  road  along  the  Run  is  ex- 
cessively rocky,  and  for  several  rods  the  Run  has  got  into  the  road  and  gullied  it  three  or  four 
feet  deep.  In  one  mile  more  I  reached  the  top  of  the  [Wilkes-Barre]  mountain  by  a  very  easy 
ascent.  Here'*  I  had  a  view  of  the  Susquehanna  and  the  flats  on  each  side.  Wyoming  seemed 
just  at  hand,  yet  was  three  miles  distant.  It  cost  me  half  an  hour  to  descend  the  mountain — part 
of  the  way  pretty  steep.  The  rest  of  the  ground  to  Wyoming  consists  of  several  ranges  of  very 
moderate,  swelling  hills,  with  low  grounds — fit  for  meadows — between  them.  Through  one  of  the 
low  parts  (which  is  called  a  swamp)  runs  a  small  creekf,  which,  running  about  a  mile  below  the 
town  of  Wilkesborough,  turns  and  runs  up  near  to  the  lower  end  of  ye  town  lots,  where  it  empties 
into  the  Susquehanna.  The  mountain  is  exceedingly  barren,  bearing  only  bushes  and  a  few  oaks 
and  pines  of  small  growth. 

"At  Wyoming  [Wilkes-Barre]  January  8. — In  conversing  with  John  HoUenbackJ:  on  the 
articles  of  rum  and  whiskey,  he  informed  me  that  he  was  in  the  practice  of  distilling  whiskey 
when  grain  was  plenty;  that  he  used 
to  sell  one  gallon  of  whiskey  for  two 
bushels  of  rye,  which  two  bushels  would 
make  at  least  four  gallons;  and  his  wood 
cost  him  nothing  but  the  cutting  and 
hauling — for  everybody  cuts  wood 
where  he  pleases  on  the  uninclosed 
grounds  (and  none  are  inclosed  but  the 
flats).  Rye  whiskey,  he  says,  is  pre- 
ferred, because  more  fiery  than  whiskey 
made  of  wheat,  which  is  soft  and  mild — 
tho  rye  produces  rather  the  most  liquor. 

"Whiskey. — To  one  and  a-half 
bushels  of  chopped,  or  coarse-ground, 
rye,  add  eight  quarts  of  malt  made  of 
rye,  for  a  mash.  Add  so  much  water  as 
will  fill  a  hogshead.  To  the  whole  add 
so  much  good  yeast  as  the  heat  or  cold- 
ness of  the  weather  requires  to  produce 
a  proper  fermentation.  The  mash  hav- 
ing been  duly  fermented,  is  put  into  the 
copper  and  distilled. 

"January  8 — ei'ening. — Colonel 
Butler  and  Captain  [John  Paul]  Schott 
called  to  see  me  on  the  subject  of  th; 
proposed  elections.  I  had  given  Col- 
onel Butler  a  copy  of  the  law,  and  the 
printed  notifications,  in  the  forenoon. 
He  thought  it  prudent  to  advise  the 
Committee^   of   the   matter  before  the 

*From  a  point  at  or  tiear  Prospect  Rock.         fThis  was  the  brook  which  is  described  on  page  59,  Vol.  I. 
JAt  whose  house,  on  South  Main  Street  below  Northampton,  Colonel  Pickering  lodged. 
§The  committee  of  "Directors"  mentioned  on  page  1490. 


Old  Hollenback  Mill 
ek,  within  the  present  limits  of  Wilkes-Barrc. 


1545 

notifications  should  be  issued;  and  was  to  consult  Captain  Schott,  who  is  one  of  the  Committee. 
Captain  Schott  now  confirmed  the  necessity  of  this  measure.  He  said  the  Committee  were 
appointed  to  watch  over  the  settlements,  to  prevent  any  measures  being  taken  which  might  be 
injurious  to  their  rights;  that  the  people  had  suffered  so  much,  and  had  so  often  been  annoyed 
with  proposals  which  in  the  end  they  had  found  deceitful,  they  had  become  e.\trcmcly  jealous, 
and  would  therefore,  hardly  enter  into  any  measures  not  previously  approved  by  their  Committee. 
At  the  same  time  he  added  that  he  did  'not  doubt  the  people  would  readily  come  into  the 
election' — or  words  to  that  effect — by  which  I  understood  him  to  mean  that  they  would  elect  a 
Representative,  Councillor,  &c. 

"As  Mr.  [John]  Franklin,  one  of  the  Committee,  was  absent  in  Connecticut,  and  probably 
might  not  return  in  time  to  sign  the  notifications  with  Colonel  Butler  and  me,  I  closed  with  the 
proposal  of  Colonel  Butler  and  Captain  Schott,  and  furnished  them  with  copies  of  the  Act  [of 
December  27,  17S6|  and  notifications,  which  they  undertake  to  send  to  Mr.  [John]  Jenkins  at 
Lackawanna  and  Mr.  (Christopher]  Hurlbut  at  Nanticoke  (the  only  two  others  of  the  Committee 
now  in  the  settlement),  requesting  them  to  meet  us  at  Wyoming  to-morrow  evening  to  converse 
on  the  matter  of  the  elections. 

"In  the  forenoon,  on  my  presenting  the  Act  to  Colonel  Butler,  he  hesitated  about  joining 
in  the  conducting  of  the  elections,  because  he  had  uniformly  declined  all  offices,  and  had  deter- 
mined not  to  accept  of  any.  But  I  reminded  him  of  his  having  acted  as  Moderator  at  the  meetings 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  that  the  business  committed  to  him,  Franklin  and  me,  by  the  Act,  was  of 
a  nature  exactly  similar  to  that  of  a  Moderator,  and  therefore  I  hoped  he  would  consent  to  act. 
He  admitted  the  likeness  of  the  two  cases. 

"Tuesday,  Jamiary  9. — In  the  afternoon  Dr.  [William  Hooker]  Smith  and  Captain  Hover, 
from  Jacob's  Plains,  called  on  me,  to  converse  on  the  subject  of  the  elections,  and  to  get  copies 
of  the  Act  to  show  their  neighbors.  *  *  *  Thursday,  January  U . — This  morning  I  dispatched 
James  Whitney  with  copies  of  the  Act,  and  notifications  signed  by  Colonel  Butler  and  me  (Franklin 
not  being  in  the  County),  to  deliver  and  post  up  through  the  whole  settlement,  from  Lackawanna 
to  Tioga,  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  In  the  afternoon  Maj.  [John]  Jenkins  from  Exeter,  old  Mr. 
Thomas  Bennett  from  Abraham's  Plains,  Major  McCormick  from  Kingston,  Capt.  John  Swift 
from  Shawnee,  and  divers  others,  came  to  my  lodgings  to  speak  and  hear  in  relation  to  the  pro- 
posed elections." 

Among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII :  86)  is  preserved  one  of  the  original 
notifications  issued  as  above  described.  It  is  a  printed  handbill,  about  8x10 
inches  in  size,  and  bears  the  imprint  of  "Thomas  Bradford,  Philadelphia." 
The  date  at  the  end  of  the  notice,  and  the  names  of  Colonels  Pickering  and  Butler, 
are  written  in  ink.    The  following  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  the  same: 

"Notification." 

"Whereas,  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 
passed  on  the  25th  day  of  September  last,  the  northern  Part  of  the  County  of  Northumberland 
was  erected  into  a  separate  County,  by  the  name  of  Luzerne;  and  a  Representative,  Councillor, 
and  other  officers  were  to  have  been  chosen  on  the  Day  of  the  General  Election  in  October  last; 
but  the  Electors  were  prevented  from  assembling  by  an  extraordinary  Flood,  and  no  Elections 
were  made. 

"And  Whereas,  the  General  Assembly,  by  a  supplement  to  the  Act,  passed  on  the  27th 
Day  of  December  last,  have  thought  fit  to  allow  further  Time  for  making  the  said  Elections, 
and  have  accordingly  appointed  the  same  to  be  held  on  the  1st  Day  of  February  next. 

"Now,  in  pursuance  of  the  Powers  vested  in  us  by  the  said  supplementary  Act, 
"Notice  is  Hereby  Given, 

"To  the  Electors  of  the  said  County  of  Luzerne, 

"To  assemble  on  the  said  1st  Day  of  February,  next,  at  the  House  of  Zebulon  Butler  in 
Wilkesborough,  in  the  same  County,  then  and  there  to  elect  one  Representative  to  serve  in  the 
General  Assembly,  one  Councillor,  two  fit  persons  for  Sheriffs,  two  fit  persons  for  Coroners,  and 
three  Commissioners;  and  also  three  Inspectors  of  the  said  Elections. 

"Given  under  our  hands,  at  Wilkesborough  aforesaid,  the   10th  Day  of  January,   1787. 
[Signed]  "Timothy  Pickering. 

"Zebulon  Butler." 

During  the  days  of  January  II th,  12th  and  13th  Colonel  Pickering  spent 

considerable  time  in  visiting  various  prominent  inhabitants  of  Wyoming  \'allev 

and  explaining  to  them  the  nature  of  the  laws  governing  elections  in  Pennsvl- 

vania;  and  then: 

"Saturday.  January  13 — in  the  evening. — Colonel  Butler  and  Captain  Schott  came  to  see  me. 
In  speaking  of  the  election  they  gave  their  opinion  that  if  [John]  Franklin  returned,  and  with  any 
extraordinary  encouragement  from  The  Susquehanna  Company,  he  would  make  every  effort  to 
prevent  an  election — ei'en  to  bringing  men  in  arms;  but  that  if  open  force  were  not  used,  the  elect- 
ion would  take  place.  They  said  that  Ethan  Allen  was  one  of  the  Committee  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company,  and  that  he  would  doubtless  be  with  Franklin  at  the  meeting  at  Hartford,  and  prob- 
ably come  with  him  to  Wyoming,  together  with  one  [Zerah]  Beach,  another  of  that  Committee. 


1546 

I  had  before  supposed  that  Allen  would  be  at  Hartford,  and  that  it  was  likely  he  would  be  here 
at  the  election,  though  I  did  not  know  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee. 

"Sunday,  January  14. — There  lives  at  Wilkesborough  an  old  gfentleman  named  [Jacob] 
Johnson,  who  was  formerly  a  minister  to  the  people  here,  who,  at  this  place,  had  erected  a  church, 
which  was  burnt  by  [John]  Butler  and  his  Indians  in  1778.  Mr.  Johnson  still  preaches  to  the 
people  in  private  houses  here,  and  in  all  the  neighboring  settlements  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 
This  day  he  preaches  at  Shawnee.  He  is  said  to  be  very  constant  in  performing  divine  service 
on  Sundays,  but  receives  nothing  for  it  from  the  people  except  now  and  then  a  trifling  present 
of  a  few  bushels  of  grain.  Neither  are  there  any  school-houses;  though  here  and  there  the  people 
have  employed  a  temporary  school-master. 

"Monday,  January  15. —  Crossed  the  river  to  Kingston  with  Colonel  Butler  and  Captain 
Schott,  and  went  to  Mr.  Lawrence  Myers.'  He,  with  his  brother  and  another  young  man  (all 
from  Maryland),  keep  a  small  store  of  goods,  wet  and  dry.  L.  Myers  was  formerly  a  Lieutenant 
in  Schott 's  company,  and  Deputy  Sheriff  to  Colonel  Antes,  Sheriff  of  Northumberland.  He  is 
now  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Sheriff  in  Luzerne  County.  Tuesday,  January  16. — With  Colonel 
Butler  and  Captain  Schott  went  to  old  Thomas  Bennett's*,  on  Abrahams'  Plains.  *  *  *  i 
have  seen  more  industry  at  Mr.  Bennett's  than  at  all  other  places  in  the  County.  The  old  man 
was  near  his  house,  with  another  hand,  breaking  ifax,  and  when  we  entered  the  house  we  found 
his  wife  and  two  daughters  spinning.  The  room,  too,  was  hung  round  with  clothing,  chiefly  of 
their  own  spinning,  and  hanks  of  linen  yarn,  like  in  the  Low  Dutch  houses  in  Jersey.  The  old 
man  put  on  a  brown  linen  coat,  waist-coat  and  breeches,  of  their  own  fabric — save  the  weaving,' 
which  is  well  executed  in  the  settlement.  His  wife  said  that  since  their  sheep  had  been  destroyed, 
they  were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  linen  garments;  and  the  old  man  said  that  use  rend- 
ered him  comfortable  in  them.     They  dined  us  well  and  hospitably — at  three  o'clock  P.  M. 

"Returning  to  Wilkesborough  by  way  of  Myers'  we  stopped  a  few  minutes,  finding  Mr. 
[John]  Jenkins  there.  Lord  Butler  (the  Colonel's  son)  was  with  us.  He  is  a  candidate  for  the 
Sheriff's  office,  and  got  engaged  with  Jenkins.  *  *  *  fj^e  Colonel  [Butler]  now  informs  me 
that  though  Jenkins  has  all  along  declared  his  determination  not  to  join  in  the  election,  yet  that 
he  heard  him  speaking  with  another  man  about  proper  characters  for  officers,  for  the  purpose  of 
fixing  the  tickets.  He  says,  also,  that,  entering  into  conversation  with  Jenkins,  and  repeating 
some  of  the  reasons  why  an  election  should  be  held,  he  discovered  less  opposition  than  formerly — • 
particularly,  when  he  mentioned  my  opinion  that  all  persons  holding  Connecticut  titles  for  their 
lands  were  to  be  deemed  freeholders  in  voting  for  Justices  of  the  Peace,  it  seemed  to  give  great 
satisfaction.  Jenkins  said  he  would  come  to  see  me  at  Wilkesborough  the  latter  end  of  this  week. 
This  looks  well,  and  I  begin  to  think  that  Jenkins  is  convinced  it  will  be  best  to  hold  the  elections, 
on  the  principles  I  have  advanced;  but,  as  he  has  warmly  and  firmly  opposed,  decency  requires 
that  he  let  himself  down  gently  and  by  degrees,  and  after  repeated  conversations  with  me  and 
others  (who  are  in  favor  of  the  measure)^on  which  he  may  at  length  acknowledge  that  there  is 
reason  for  changing  his  opinion  and  conduct. 

"I  suppose  he  (Jenkins]  had  some  conversation  this  afternoon  at  Wilkesborough  with 
WiUiam  Slocum.  another  warm  opposer,  who  spent  an  hour  with  me  on  Monday  evening,  alone; 
and  who  at  first  said,  whatever  others  might  be  willing  to  do  he  should  hold  fast  his  general  claim 
to  the  Susquehanna  lands,  as  well  as  his  particular  possession.  Nevertheless,  before  we  parted 
he  appeared  to  be  satisfied  with  the  expectation  of  the  people  holding  their  original  farms,  actually 
settled  and  improved  before  the  Decree  at  Trenton;  for  I  in  plain  terms  told  him  that  nothing 
more  would  be  granted  by  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania;  but  that  I  had  no  doubt  so  much  would 
be  yielded,  and  on  easy  terms  of  payment,  if  any  payment  should  be  demanded.  Just  as  he  was 
going,  I  drank  to  him;  and  when  he  received  the  bowl  he  prefaced  his  drinking  with — 'Here's 
wishing  that  you  and  other  good  men  may  bring  about  an  amicable  settlement!' 

"Wednesday,  January  17. — Went  this  day  to  Nanticoke  and  Newport.  At  Nanticoke 
[that  is,  Hanover  Township]  we — Colonel  Butler,  Captain  Schott  and  I — called  on  Mr.  [Chris- 
topher] Hurlbut,  the  committee-man.  At  Newport,  about  nine  miles  from  Wilkesborough,  we 
stopped  at  Mr.  Alden's,  a  son  of  Major  [Prince]  Alden.  Here  we  found  a  Mrs.  [Agnes  {Dixson)] 
Jamesonf,  an  elderly  woman  of  agreeable  manners  and  a  good  understanding.  She  was  clad,  as 
it  might  be  expected  an  industrious,  prudent  woman  would  be;  and  I  find  her  family  has  uniform- 
ly exhibited  examples  of  industry.  She  was  courteous,  and  pressed  us  to  call  and  take  a  bed  at 
her  house.  She  remarked  that  I  might  be  tired  of  staying  so  much  at  Wilkesborough,  and  urged 
me  to  spend  a  day  at  her  house.  I  told  her  that  perhaps  by  this  time  twelve  months  I  might  bring 
my  wife  to  see  her.  and  that  I  should  take  pleasure  in  doing  it.  Just  at  this  time  she  understood 
I  was  a  New  England-man.  This  gave  her  much  pleasure,  and  she  said  she  thought  well  of  the 
State  that  had  commissioned  a  Yankee  on  this  business.  She  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  came, 
when  a  child,  with  her  parents  to  Boston,  and  resided  some  little  tim;  at  Londonderry  (New  Hamp- 
shire], whence  they  removed  to  Connecticut,  where  she  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  her  life. 

"Major  [Prince]  AldenJ  had  notice  from  his,son  that  we  were  at  his  house,  so  the  old  man 
and  his  wife  came  thither.  He  bid  me  welcome.  Pretty  soon  he  began  to  speak  on  the  subject 
of  the  election.  He  expressed  some  doubts  and  made  some  objections;  but  these  were  grounded 
on  mistakes,  and  so  were  easily  removed.  He  prefaced  his  objections  with  saying  that  he  wished 
not  to  be  overjealous  and  suspicious,  for  that  jealousy  and  suspicion  were  the  inseparable  compan- 
ions of  little  minds.  We  dined  at  his  son's,  and  the  time  being  too  short  to  go  far  into  the  subject 
of  the  election  and  its  consequences,  the  old  gentlemen  said  he  would  come  up  to  see  me  at  Wilkes- 

*See  [t]  note  page  1240. 

tSee  fourth  paragraph  from  bottom,  page  1388.    She  was  the  great-great-grandmother  of  the  present  writer. 

}See  page  500,  Vol.  I. 


1547 

borough.  'I  am  pleased',  said  he,  'to  find  it  easy  to  converse  with  you.  I  did  not  know  but  they 
had  sent  a  man  whom  we  could  not  speak  to.'     *     *     * 

"Thursday,  January  18. — Went  with  John  Hollenback  across  the  river  to  see  Captain  [John] 
Swift*  at  Shawanee.  Swift  gave  us  a  narrative  of  some  parts  of  the  contest  between  the  Yankees 
and  Pennamites  since  the  Decree  of  Trenton.  He  particularly  mentioned  the  conduct  of  Arm- 
strong and  Boyd.  Before  their  arrival  [at  Wyoming]  the  Yankees  had  agreed  to  lay  down  their 
arms  at  the  instance  of  some  Pennsylvania  agents;  and  accordingly  grounded  them  by  John 
HoUenbacks'.  This  was  on  condition  that  the  troops  in  the  fort  also  surrendered  their  arms  to 
these  agents;  but  the  latter  refused.  So  the  agents  advised  the  people  to  resume  their  arms  and 
go  to  their  homes,  and  to  defend  themselves  if  molested  by  the  troops.  They  retired  accordingly.! 
After  this  Armstrong  and  Boyd  arrived  with  the  militia.  The  former,  particularly,  desired  the 
people  to  testify  their  submission  to  Government  by  surrendering  their  arms.  The  people  said 
that  they  had  once  done  it,  to  the  other  agents  and  commissioners.  Armstrong  said  that  he 
wished  to  be  able  to  give  personal  evidence  of  their  submission — he  and  Boyd  at  the  same  time 
declaring,  upon  their  honour,  that  no  advantge  should  be  taken  of  their  delivering  up  their  arms. 

"The  people  were  jealous  of  a  deception.  However,  at  length,  Squires  Mead  and  Martin 
pledging  their  honour  also  that  no  advantage  should  be  taken,  the  people  reluctantly  laid  down 
their  arms,  to  the  number  of  sixty  or  seventy  rifles  and  muskets.  As  soon  as  their  arms  were 
grounded,  and  they,  by  order,  had  marched  from  them,  a  platoon  of  the  militia  took  possession  of 
them  and  immediately  began  to  dispute  about  the  disposition  of  them.  These  arms  were  thus 
given  up  to  private  plunder!  Previous  to  the  surrender  the  militia  had  been  formed  into  a  sort 
of  square,  and  now  the  Yankees  were  inclosed,  and  marched  as  prisoners,  with  a  platoon  in  front 
and  rear,  and  two  ranks  marching  by  files  on  each  flank.  It  was  not  enough  to  trapan  them  by 
this  dishonorable  artifice.  To  add  insult  to  treachery,  Armstrong  ordered  the  drums  and  fifes  to 
strike  up  '  Yankee  Doodle'! 

"As  soon  as  they  arrived  at  the  fort,  near  thirty  of  them  were  immediately  confined  as 
prisoners — being  pinioned  and  their  hands,  besides,  tied  behind  them;  and  in  this  condition 
they  were  ordered  to  lie  down  in  the  barn  where  they  were  lodged,  and  the  sentries  had  orders 
to  kill  instantly  any  man  who  should  attempt  to  get  up. 

"At  one  period  of  the  conflict,  after  the  people  had  been  driven  from  the  settlement,  four 
persons  only  for  some  time  kept  the  adjacent  woods  and  harrassed  the  Pennamites.  These  were 
Captain  Swift,  Captain  Satterlee,  Phineas  Stevens  and  Waterman  Baldwin.  At  this  time  Charles 
StewartJ  came  into  Wyoming,  and  finding  what  daring  attempts  were  made  by  these  four  men, 
and  fearing  probably  that  the  people  might  return  and  collect  to  them,  sent  Captain  Sims  to  them 
with  an  offer  of  100  half-joes  if  they  would  leave  the  country.  One,  or  more,  was  for  receiving 
the  money,  and  then  still  keeping  their  ground — in  order  to  retaliate  by  this  deception,  in  part, 
for  the  treachery  which  had  been  practised  by  Armstrong;  but  Swift  would  not  consent  to  do  it. 
He  rejected  the  proposal — despising  the  very  idea  of  such  deceit.  They  kept  their  ground  ac- 
cordingly, and  the  people  soon  collected  to  them  in  numbers.  Soon  afterwards  the  violent  and 
extravagant  conduct  of  the  Pennamites  engaged  the  notice  of  the  Government. 

"In  the  evening  lof  January  18]  we  returned  to  Wilkesborough.  Mathias  Hollenback 
had  been  to  Kingston  at  a  meeting  of  the  people  there.  About  fifty  had  assembled.  Mr.  [John] 
Jenkins  was  present,  and  warmly  opposed  the  election ;  urging  his  former  reasons,  and  again  ab- 
surdly declaring  that  the  law  for  erecting  the  County  of  Luzerne  was  unconstitutional.  I  learn 
from  all  quarters  that  Jenkins  is  a  wilful,  obstinate  man. 

"Friday,  January  19. — Went  this  day  with  Colonel  Butler  and  Mr.  [Benjamin]  Bailey  to 
dine  with  Dr.  [Wm. Hooker]  Smithat  Jacob's  Plains.  We  agreed  to  go  to  Lackawanna  on  Monday, 
to  meet  the  inhabitants  there  by  noon;  and  Dr.  Smith  undertook  to  give  them  notice,  that  they 
might  assemble.  The  Doctor  said  that  Mr.  [James]  Finn,  the  Baptist  minister  who  lives  there, 
had  also  expressed  a  desire  to  converse  with  me.  Wrote  to  Captain  Swift  that,  if  I  were  informed 
when  the  people  should  meet  at  Shawanee,  I  would  attend  them — if  there  were  no  objection  to  it. 

"Saturday,  January  20. — Dined  to-day  with  Captain  Schott.  *  *  *  Sunday,  January 
21. — No  preaching  at  Wilkesborough.  Monday,  January  22. — Went  to  Lackawanock  (Pittston)  to 
meet  the  people  there.  It  was  a  snowy  day,  and  there  were  only  about  twenty-five  persons  pres- 
ent at  the  meeting.  Mr.  Finn  was  not  present.  After  the  Act  relative  to  the  election  had  been 
read.  I  desired  the  company  to  make  any  objection  which  occurred  to  them.  1st : — Some  mentioned 
their  fear  of  being  obliged  to  pay  back  taxes  ever  since  the  Decree  of  Trenton.  I  answered :  This 
probably  is  a  groundless  fear.  When  their  distresses  and  inability  to  pay  even  present  ta.xes  should 
be  properly  represented  to  the  Assembly,  by  their  own  Representative,  there  was  little  doubt  of 
their  being  exempted  from  all  back  taxes.  But  with  respect  to  future  la.ves:  Although  their  pres- 
ent unhappy  condition  might  justly  entitle  them  to  an  exemption  for  a  year  to  come — and  the 
Assembly  might  feel  disposed  to  grant  it — yet  (as  that  would  give  umbrage  for  discontent  among 
all  the  people  on  the  other  frontiers  of  the  State)  they  would  probably  be  called  on  for  taxes; 
but  then  these  would  be  proportioned  to  their  ability. 

"As  they  had  neither  houses  nor  barns  of  any  value,  and  but  very  small  stocks  of  cattle, 
their  taxes  must  necessarily  be  extremely  small.  And  even  these  would  perhaps  be  more  than 
counter-balanced  by  the  grants  of  the  Assembly  for  opening  roads  and  for  other  public  purposes. 

"Second  Objection: — There  are  named  in  the  Act  Zebulon  Butler  and  John  Franklin. 
Colonel  Butler  is  well  known  to  have  held  a  commission  in  the  Continental  army.  Why  is  he 
(and  we.  through  him)  treated  with  so  little  respect  that  his  title  is  not  given  to  him  as  well  as 

*See  [*]  note  page  1406. 
tSee  pages  1412—1416. 
iSee  page  459,  Vol.  I.  and  subsequent  pages. 


1548 

to  Colonel  Pickering?  Answered  by  Colonel  Butler: — The  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  did  not 
practice  giving  titles  unless  to  their  own  officers.  That  Colonel  Pickering  had  just  been  commis- 
sioned by  the  Government,  and  therefore  it  was  proper  to  give  him  his  title. 

"Third  Objection : — Pennsylvania  has  used  us  ill,  and  deceived  us.  We  are  afraid  they  mean 
to  deceive  us  again.  Fourth  Objection: — If  we  receive  the  laws,  writs  of  ejectment  will  immed- 
iately be  brought,  and  the  people  turned  out  of  their  possessions.  One  of  the  people  present 
asked  me  if  I  should  come  here  to  live.  I  answered.  Yes,  of  necessity,  if  the  laws  are  introduced. 
'If  that  were  known',  said  he,  'it  would  give  the  people  more  confidence  in  what  you  say,  for  some 
are  jealous  that  you  are  sent  here  to  draw  them  into  a  snare.' 

"I  then  added  that  I  should  not  only  live  here,  but  I  should  want  some  land  on  which  to 
raise  provisions  for  the  support  of  my  family,  because  it  would  be  a  good  while  before  my  offices 
would  yield  anything  of  consequence;  and  therefore  I  would  now  purchase  enough  for  a  farm,  if 
I  could  get  it  at  the  rate  for  which  it  was  selling  under  the  Connecticut  title — and  I  would  pur- 
chase twilling  hut  a  Connecticut  title,  for  I  had  such  confidence  in  the  good  disposition  of  Government 
to  do  what  was  equitable  to  this  settlement  that  I  was  willing  to  take  my  chance  with  the  people 
of  obtaining  a  confirmation  of  that  title  on  reasonable  terms.  The  same  person  then  replied: 
'This  being  known,  it  would  give  great  satisfaction  to  the  people;  for,  if  you  should  deceive  them, 
it  would  then  be  in  their  power  to  take  revenge  on  you.'  Another  person  then  remarked:  'But 
how  easy  it  will  be  for  the  Pennamites  to  reimburse  Colonel  Pickering  for  any  monies  he  shall 
now  p  ay  for  Connecticut  titles;  and  he  may  purchase  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  us  into  his  meas- 
ures, and  yet  run  no  hazard  at  all.' 

"I  then  declared  that  I  would  pledge  my  honour  and  my  life  that,  while  the  people  of  the 
settlement  held  only  under  the  Connecticut  title,  /  would  hold  by  the  same,  and  by  no  other!  That 
I  had  a  wife  and  live  children,  with  whom  I  should  move  to  Wilkesborough ;  which  certainly  I 
should  never  dare  to  do  if  I  now  meant  to  deceive  them.  That  I  must  of  necessity  move  hither, 
because  the  laws  could  not  be  carried  into  execution  without  the  exercise  of  the  offices  which  I 
held;  and  in  order  to  exercise  them  I  must  be  here.  But,  I  added,  that,  though  I  was  willing  to 
take  my  chance  with  them,  by  purchasing  Connecticut  titles  at  the  rates  at  which  they  were 
selling — provided  they  proceeded  in  the  election — yet,  if  the  people  should  refuse  to  hold  the  election, 
I  would  not  then  give  six  pence  an  acre  for  their  best  lands;  for  if,  after  the  State  had,  at  their 
request,  erected  them  into  a  County,  and  given  them  an  opportunity  of  electing  their  own  officers 
(by  which  they  would  enjoy  every  right  and  privilege  enjoyed  by  the  other  freemen  of  Pennsyl- 
vania), if,  after  all  this,  they  should  refuse  to  receive  the  laws,  I  had  no  reason  to  expect  that  the 
State  would  ever  make  another  offer  /;/  peace.  Arms  would  then  compel  a  submission  to  the 
Government. 

"Fifth  Objection: — Pennsylvania  could  not  raise  an  army  to  come  against  us.  The  people 
would  not  fight  for  the  sake  of  the  land-jobbers;  and  if  3,000  men  were  to  come  against  us,  we 
need  not  fear,  for  100  boys  raised  in  this  settlement  would  stand  against  1,000  of  such  troops  as 
would  come  against  us.  Or,  if  they  did  break  up  the  settlement,  100  boys  whom  he  (the  objector) 
could  muster,  would  keep  3,000  men  in  perpetual  alarm,  &c.  I  answered,  what  is  too  obvious  to 
relate,  that  Pennsylvania  has  as  good  riflemen  and  swordsmen  in  her  five  frontier  Counties  as  any 
in  this  settlement,  however  valiant,  &c. 

"January  24. — Samuel  Allen,  of  Kingston,  comments  on  the  Decree  of  Trenton.  *  *  * 
I  had  only  heard  before  that  the  Judges  were  bribed!  It  was  now  said  that  Colonel  Dyer — the 
most  zealous  agent  on  behalf  of  Connecticut,  and  one  deeply  interested  in  The  Susquehanna 
Company — was  also  bribed  by  Petinsylvania  to  betray  the  cause  of  Connecticut  and  the  Company! 
"Thursday,  January  25. — The  inhabitants  of  Wilkesborough  assembled.  Upwards  of  fifty 
men  were  present,  including  a  few  from  Kingston,  &c.  They  were  desired  to  ask  any  questions 
relative  to  the  election,  where  any  doubts  remained  in  their  minds  as  to  the  expediency  of  holding 
it.  The  grand  point  insisted  on  was  the  confirmation  of  the  titles  to  their  particular  farms.  If 
this  were  granted,  they  would  be  satisfied;  and  not  one  man  appeared  desirous  of  supporting 
The  Susquehanna  Company  in  their  claims.  The  few  who  intimated  that  they  had  general  in- 
terests in  those  claims,  expressed  a  willingness  to  relinquish  them  if  their  particular  farms  could 
be  confirmed  to  them;  but  they  feared  an  adoption  of  the  laws  would  strip  them  of  their  posses- 
sions. I  asked  if  the  inhabitants  of  this  settlement  were  entitled  to  superior  privileges  above  all 
the  other  citizens  of  Pennsylvania?    Nobody  answered. 

"I  observed  that  if  titles  to  land  were  disputed  elsewhere  in  Pennsylvania  the  parties 
resorted  to  the  laws  and  trials  by  juries  for  decisions,  and  that  they  had  no  other  remedy.  That 
the  same  laws  were  now  tendered  to  them,  and  that  by  receiving  them  they  would  then  enjoy 
equal  rights  and  privileges  with  the  first  citizens  of  the  State.  Mr.  Carey  said  they  were  not 
able  to  defend  their  rights  in  courts  of  law.  They  had  been  stripped  of  their  movable  property 
by  Patterson  and  others,  acting  by  authority  from  Pennsylvania,  and  now  had  not  wherewith  to 
fee  lawyers  and  bear  other  charges  and  lawsuits.  I  then  said  that  I  had  been  reasoning  on  the 
ground  of  mere  law,  and  showed  that  if  they  pleased  they  might  now  enjoy  all  the  rights  of  the 
freemen  of  Pennsylvania;  but  that  I  wished  to  put  them  on  a  better  footing,  on  account  of  their 
distresses  occasioned  by  the  general  destruction  of  the  settlement  by  the  Indians,  by  Squire  Pat- 
terson and  his  assistants,  and  by  two  sweeping  floods.  These  losses  and  sufferings  (particularly 
those  occasioned  by  Patterson  and  others  pretending  to  act  under  the  authority  of  the  State) 
had  excited  a  general  sympathy,  and  people  now  said  they  ought  not  to  be  driven  from  their 
actual  possessions — such  as  they  held  and  improved  prior  to  the  Decree  of  Trenton. 

"That  on  this  equitable  ground  there  was  a  fair  prospect  of  their  succeeding  to  obtain 
the  confirmation  of  their  farms,  and  that  this  claim  would  be  more  effectually  supported  by  their 
own  Representatives  in  the  Council  and  Assembly  than  in  any  other  way  whatever.     That  if 


1549 

they  refused  to  go  into  the  election,  and  yet  were  to  petition  for  their  farms,  it  would  be  an  insult 
to  the  Assembly.  That  this  was  probably  the  last  peaceable  offer  the  Assembly  would  make  to 
them,  and  that,  if  they  refused  it,  the  next  stej)  would  be  to  raise  and  send  a  body  of  troops  to 
compel  them  to  submit  to  the  laws.  That  all  who  should  resist  the  Government  would  be  deemed 
rebels,  ^nd  be  punished  as  such.  That  they  themselves  acknowledged  Pennsylvania  had  the 
right  of  jurisdiction.  That  jurisdiction  was  the  right  of  making  and  executing  laws,  and  that 
resistance  in  arms  would  of  course  be  rebellion.  Colonel  Butler  read  Major  [William]  Judd's 
letter.  Judd  says  that  if  they  held  the  election  they  would  be  completely  saddled  with  the  laws 
of  Pennsylvania.  On  this  an  old  man  (Mr.  Hyde)  wittily  remarked  that  he  was  'more  afraid  of 
the  halter  than  of  the  saddle!'  Much  more  was  said,  for  the  conversation  lasted  about  two  hours. 
The  general  disposition  appeared  in  favor  of  the  election." 

The  letter  of  Maj.  William  Judd,  referred  to,  as  above  by  Colonel  Pickering 
was  written  at  Farmington,  Connecticut,  January  11,  1787,  was  addressed  to 
Col.  Zebulon  Butler  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  conveyed  to  him  by  the  hands  of 
Benjamin  Harvey  of  Plymouth,  who,  some  weeks  previously  had  gone  to  Con- 
necticut in  company  with  Col.  John  Franklin.  A  copy  of  the  letter  is  preserved 
among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII  :  89),  and  reads,  in  part,  as  follows: 

"I  was  disappointed  when  I  found  my  letter  directed  to  you,  relative  to  the  Susquehanna 
meeting,  failed  of  being  sent  forward  from  Hudson,  (New  York].  At  our  last  meeting  at  Hart- 
ford we  have  made  many  new  regulations.  I  have  not  a  copy,  and  must  beg  leave  to  refer  you 
to  Colonel  Franklin,  who  will  be  at  Wyoming  soon,  and  hath  the  copies  at  large.  *  *  *  Ong 
thing  we  are  alarmed  about  here,  and  that  is:  It  is  said  Colonel  Pickering  is  coming  among  you 
to  hold  an  election.  Should  that  be  the  case,  unless  you  contrive  some  way  to  avoid  his  request, 
you  will  be  completely  saddled  with  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  and  your  property  all  at  hazard. 

"There  are  so  many  inconsistencies  in  the  two  Acts  of  the  Legislature,  it  appears  to  me 
you  may  easily  play  him  off  for  the  present.  If  you  want  assistance,  we  have  a  fair  prospect  of 
augmenting  your  force  next  Spring  by  at  least  400  [men]  that  may  be  relied  upon.  The  Susque- 
hannah  cause  gains  friends  day  by  day,  and  your  intolerable  suffering  hath  made  you  many 
friends  in  the  country;  and  public  policy  seems  to  be  in  your  favor.  The  Federal  Government 
is  upon  its  last  legs,  and  you  may  stand  an  equal  chance  with  the  rest  of  mankind  if  you  are  firm, 
steady  and  united!  Preparation  is  [being]  made  to  fill  up  all  the  granted  towns  [in  the  Susquehanna 
Purchase],  and  to  settle  men  upon  all  the  rights  that  are  now  destitute  of  settlers.  *  *  *  Be 
not  desponding,  but  play  the  man  as  heretofore!    Providence  helps  them  that  help  themselves!" 

Turning  again  to  Colonel  Pickering's  diary  we  have: 

"Thursday  evening,  January  25. — Parson  [Jacob]  Johnson  was  at  the  meeting  to-day.  He 
told  Colonel  Butler  that  he  could  answer  all  my  questions,  &c.  I  proposed  to  the  Colonel  to  go 
and  see  him  this  evening.  W^e  did  so,  and  he  immediately  began  on  the  subject.  I  found  him 
possessed  of  all  the  prejudices  of  the  warm  abettors  of  The  Susquehanna  Company's  claim,  and 
in  full  belief  of  all  the  falsehoods  and  misrepresentations  which  have  been  industriously  raised  and 
propagated  to  support  it,  and  of  some  absurdities  peculiar  to  himself.  *  *  *  jje  declared 
that  the  great  men  of  Pennsylvania,  and  among  them  the  great  Mr.  [James]  Wilson,  acknowledged 
that  these  lands  belonged  to  the  Connecticut  people,  by  the  laws  of  God  and  Nature,  but  that  the 
laws  of  Pennsylvania  would  take  them  from  them ;  and  that  laws  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God  and 
Nature  were  not  to  be  obeyed,  S:c.  &c. 

"I  answered  all  these  objections,  but  the  old  gentleman  would  believe  no  fact,  however 
plain  or  probable,  if  it  contradicted  his  former  belief.  He  crowTied  all  with  this  remarkable  dec- 
laration: 'You  are  of  one  opinion  and  I  am  of  another.  I  a.m.  fixed,  and  shall  never  change 
till  the  day  that  Christ  comes  to  judgment!' 

"Friday,  January  26. — Went  with  Colonel  Butler  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  people  of 
Nanticoke.  Full  fifty  were  assembled.  I  met  with  more  opposition  than  at  any  meeting  else- 
where; but  it  arose  chiefly  from  a  few  rather  young  men.  Old  Mr.  [Prince]  Alden  also  spoke,  and 
he  repeated  the  sentiment  that  'Jealousy  and  Suspicion  are  the  inseparable  companions  of  little 
minds,  and  therefore  to  be  guarded  against.'  Yet,  in  spite  of  plain  facts  and  conclusive  reasoning, 
he  persisted  in  his  jealousy  and  suspicion  that,  because  Pennsylvania  had  injured  and  oppressed 
them  in  the  case  of  Patterson,  Armstrong  and  Boyd,  therefore  the  State  would  persevere  in  their 
oppression,  and  that  the  law  I  brought  to  hold  the  election  was  only  a  snare  to  catch  them,  and 
he  concluded  with  an  expression  in  the  spirit  of  Parson  Johnson — that  his  opinion  was  fixed. 

"Perhaps  the  most  difficult  characters  to  reason  with  are  the  young  and  the  old.  The 
former  are  too  sanguine  and  rash — the  latter  think  that  'years  teach  wisdom';  and,  having  long 
entertained  their  prejudices,  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  eradicate  them.    Mr.  [Benjamin]  Harvey 

and Northrup,  both  men  in  years,  were  also  opposers.     Harvey   has   lately   returned 

from  Hartford,  where  he  saw  some  members  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  and  got  his  ears 
filled  with  fine  stories — not  only  of  the  undoubted  maintenance  of  their  most  extensive  claims  of 
land,  but  of  independence  itself.  The  whole  Susquehanna  Purchase,  he  said,  was  their  honest 
due.  Har\'ey  brought  to  the  settlement  this  report:  'That  if  there  had  been  present  at  the 
meeting  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  at  Hartford  in  December,  [17S6],  only  one  person  from 
Wyoming,  they  would  have  made  a  Declaration  of  Independence!'  One  Center,  also  from  Hartford, 
made  the  same  report  to  Colonel  Butler  and  others.  ^  _ 

"I  asked  the  company  whether  they  were  ripe  for  independence,  and  desired  it.  'Yes!' 
answered  three  or  four  young  men.     No  where  else  has  this  been  avowed;    and  this  [avowal]  I 


1550 

suppose  to  be  the  mere  effect  of  rashness  and  ignorance,  not  of  a  preconcerted  plan.  I  am  fully 
satisfied  that  not  one  man  in  fifty  entertains  the  idea  [of  independence].  Indeed,  it  appears  that 
the  design  is  rather  intended  to  be  kept  concealed  from  th^  body  of  the  people;  although  Dr. 
Hamilton's  letter^clearly  enough  expressing  it — had  been  made  public  by  Dr.  Smith.  Yet 
Franklin  pretended  that  it  had  no  such  meaning,  and  put  such  glosses  upon  it  as  blinded  the  people. 
But  Major  Judd's  letter,  brought  by  Harvey,  confirms  the  point;  and  there  is  other  corroborative 
evidence.  On  every  occasion,  therefore,  I  make  known  to  the  people  the  crafty,  but  wicked  and 
ruinous,  designs  of  their  few  leaders. 

"After  a  long  conversation,  and  answering  a  variety  of  questions,  Harvey  and  others 
declared  that,  tho  they  had  jealousies  of  the  State,  yet  they  believed  that  I  had  no  intention  to 
deceive  them.  Notwithstanding  the  opposition  I  met  with  at  Nanticoke,  yet  it  appeared  to  me 
that,  on  the  close  of  the  debate,  many  minds  were  soothed  and  satisfied,  and  that  there  will  be  a 
majority  for  the  election.  Mr.  [Christopher]  Hurlbut  (the  Committee-man),  who  lives  there  and 
is  well  acquainted  with  the  people,  confirms  this  opinion.  He  is  a  sensible,  discreet  man,  and  as 
fit  as  any  man  I  have  met  with  for  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  his  district. 

"On  our  return  Colonel  Butler  told  me  that  Major  [John]  Jenkins  had  lodged  at  Nanticoke 
(at  young  Alden's)  the  night  before,  and  had  visited  a  number  of  houses.  This  accounts  for  the 
opposition.  He  had  been  down  there  to  prepare  them  for  the  meeting.  He  is  an  obstinate  man, 
with  but  little  discernment,  and  only  makes  bold  and  ill-bred  assertions  without  argument.  Old 
Mr.  Stanbury,  speaking  of  Jenkins'  father,  said  *he  had  more  sense  than  honesty';  but  as  to  the 
son,  /  think  he  has  as  little  of  one  as  the  other. 

"Saturday,  January  27. — Went  with  Butler  and  Schott  to  Forty  Fort  to  attend  a  public 
meeting  of  the  Kingston  and  Exeter  people.  It  was  a  large  meeting — probably  sixty  or  more 
present;  and  though  Jenkins  gave  sundry  striking  proofs  of  his  ill-manners,  ignorance,  absurdity, 
folly  and  obstinacy,  yet,  upon  the  whole,  it  was  a  meeting  (as  Friends  say),  'very  solid  and  satis- 
factory, and  many  hearts  were  tendered'  and  satisfied,  which  before  had  been  wavering  or  op- 
posed to  the  election.    All  of  them — even  Jenkins — disavoived  any  intention  of  independence." 

Some  years  later,  Colonel  Pickering,  writing*  to  his  son  Henry  about  his 
experiences  at  Wyoming  in  January  and  February,  1787,  and  particularly  with 
respect  to  the  meeting  at  Forty  Fort  on  January  27th,  said: 

"I  spent  a  month  among  them,  and  with  great  difficulty  succeeded,  on  the  ground  of  their 
being  quieted  in  their  possessions;  assuring  them  that  I  had  strong  reasons  to  express  the  opinion 
that  the  Legislature  would  pass  a  law  for  that  purpose.  But,  just  as  I  was  closing  prosperously, 
as  I  thought,  my  month's  labor,  a  pretty  shrewd  man.  John  Jenkins,  a  Major  of  their  militia,  the 
second  leader  in  the  country  in  the  interest  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  rose  and  said  that 
they  had  too  often  experienced  the  bad  faith  of  Pennsylvania  to  place  confidence  in  any  new 
measure  of  its  Legislature;  and  that  if  they  should  enact  a  quieting  law,  they  would  repeal  it  as 
soon  as  the  Connecticut  settlers  submitted  and  were  completely  saddled  with  the  laws  of  the 
State. t    This  was  prophetic;  but  I  then  had  no  faith  in  the  prophecy. 

*See  Upham's  "Life  of  Timothy  Pickering",  11  :  263. 

tThe  speech  said  to  have  been  delivered  by  Major  Jenkins  upon  the  occasion  mentioned  by  Colonel  Pickering, 
is  printed  as  an  Appendix  (III)  to  Governor  Hoyt's  "Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  the  County  of 
Luzerne" — having  been  furnished  to  the  author  by  the  late  Steuben  Jenkins,  Esq.  The  speech  is  also  reprinted  in 
"Pennsylvania  Archives",  Second  Series,  XVIII  :  666.     It  i;  as  follows: 

"We  will  gladly  accept  of  any  proposition  that  will  bring  peace,  quiet  us  in  our  possessions  and  protect  us  in  our 
titles.  This  is  all  we  ask  now;  it  is  all  we  have  asked  from  the  beginning.  Suppose  we  accept  of  the  terms  proposed 
what  guarantee  have  we  that  Pennsylvania  will  keep  her  plighted  faith?  She  has  forfeited  her  honor  to  us  time  and 
again.  If  we  accept  the  provisions  of  the  proposed  law,  when  she  finds  we  are  tied,  hand  and  foot,  she  will  repeal  it 
and  leave  us  again  without  remedy  or  hope,  except  in  ourselves.  We  have  repeatedly  had  assurance  of  the  desire  of 
Pennsylvania  to  have  this  controversey  settled,  but  the  measures  proposed,  and  the  men  sent  here  to  effect  such  settle- 
ment, have  shown  us  that  they  will  never  be  satisfied  except  with  our  expulsion  from  our  lands,  and  out  total  ruin — 
which  we  will  never  agree  nor  submit  to! 

"Our  fathers  have  been  imprisoned,  robbed  and  whipped  by  the  Pennsylvanians;  our  public  papers  have  been 
wickedly  taken  from  us;  they  have  plundered  our  settlements,  burnt  our  towns,  taken  the  lives  of  our  friends  and 
brethren;  driven  our  old  men,  women  and  children  into  the  wilderness  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  with  circumstances 
of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  lead  of  a  civilized 
State  or  nation.  We  have  petitioned  in  the  most  humble  terras  for  the  redress  of  our  grievances,  and  to  be  secured 
in  our  property,  our  lives  and  om-  possessions,  and  our  petitions  have  been  treated  with  insult  and  contempt,  and  been 
rejected.     They  still  continue  in  their  endless  persecution  with  obstinate  fury  and  uncontrolable  oppression. 

"And  yet,  in  the  face  of  all  these  facts,  all  this  perfidy,  all  these  crimes,  we  are  again  called  upon  by  their  per- 
petrators to  give  up  our  titles,  and  all  claims  and  rights  under  them,  and  rely  upon  the  clemency  of  Pennsylvania 
for  any  future  titles  or  rights  to  our  lands.  God  forbid  that  we  should  be  foolish  enough  to  do  anything  of  this  kind! 
The  blood  of  the  martyrs,  who  have  fallen  in  defence  of  our  rights,  would  cry  to  us  from  the  ground  should  we  permit 
their  widows  and  orphan  children  to  be  driven  from  their  homes  and  possessions  out  into  the  wide  world  to  perish  or 
become  a  public  burden, 

"What  new  plan  do  they  propose  to  us  now?  Nothing  but  to  quiet  us  in  our  possessions  for  a  short  period,  until 
we  give  up  our  titles  and  they  can  devise  and  put  into  execution  some  new  plan  for  our  expulsion.  We  have  too  often 
experienced  the  bad  faith  of  Pennsylvania,  to  place  confidence  in  any  new  measure  of  her  Legislature;  and  if  they 
shall  enact  a  quieting  law,  they  will  repeal  it  as  soon  as  the  Connecticut  settlers  submit  and  are  completely  saddled 
with  the  laws  of  the  State,  What  security  have  we,  if  we  comply  with  their  proposals  and  put  ourselves  in  their  power, 
that  the  State  will  not  repeal  the  law  and  deal  as  treacherously  with  us  as  in  the  case  of  Armstrong? 

"The  only  safe  course  for  the  settlers  to  pursue  is  to  stand  by  their  titles  and  their  possessions  until  Pennsylvania 
shall  find  it  to  her  interest  to  do  them  justice  by  acknowledging  their  rights  and  establishing  them  through  proper 
legislation.  Whenever  she  shall  do  this,  there  will  be  an  end  of  the  controversy.  If  it  be  the  disposition  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  to  do  us  justice,  as  stated  by  Colonel  Pickering,  she  can  do  it  in  that  way  and  thus  end  all 
further  trouble  and  annoyance  to  either  party.  But  the  proposal  is  to  bind  us  and  leave  Pennsylvania  free;  to  have 
us  surrender  our  titles  and  trust  to  Pennsylvania  for  another  and,  as  the  gentleman  says,  a  better  title.  This  we  will 
never  submit  to.  We  have  fought  too  long,  and  shed  too  much  of  the  blood  of  our  best  inhabitants,  and  sacrificed 
too  much  in  defence  of  our  titles  and  possessions,  to  tamely  yield  them  up  to  the  threats  or  entreaties  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  we  will  never  do  it.  All  we  ask  is  justice,  and  that  is  in  her  hands  to  grant  at  any  moment.  If  she  will  not  grant 
this,  she  must  put  up  with  the  consequences." 


1551 

"A  new  argument  then  occurred  to  me,  and  it  was  my  last.  I  remarked  that,  whatever 
might  have  been  the  conduct  of  Pennsylvania  in  times  past,  I  was  perfectly  satisfied  that  iiow 
she  was  amicably  disposed  and  sincerely  desirous  of  a  fair  accommodation;  and  that,  if  its  Legis- 
lature should  once  pass  a  law  to  quiet  them  in  their  possessions,  it  would  never  be  repealed.  And 
to  give  them  the  strongest  evidence  in  my  power  that  my  confidence  was  not  misplaced,  I  ob- 
served that  all  the  offices  conferred  upon  me  were  of  small  value,  because  of  the  scanty  population 
of  the  County;  that  I  should  need  some  other  resource  to  maintain  my  family,  such  as  the  pro- 
ducts of  a  farm;  that  I  would,  therefore,  purchase  of  any  of  them,  who  had  land  to  sell,  what 
would  be  sufficient  for  a  farm;  that,  in  doing  this,  I  would  purchase  the  Connecticut  title  only, 
and  thus  place  myself  precisely  on  a  footing  with  them;  and  that  if,  as  I  confidently  expected,  a 
quieting  law  passed,  I  should  hold  the  land;  if  not,  I  should  lose  it.  A  number  of  persons  present 
(and  it  was  a  public  meeting)  immediately  declared  they  could  ask  no  more.  I  then  recommended 
to  them  to  petition  the  Legislature — which  was  in  session  at  Philadelphia — to  enact  a  law  to 
quiet  them  in  their  possessions.     They  requested  me  to  write  a  petition  for  them.     *     *     * 

Subsequently,  writing  about  the  two  Yankee  leaders  in  Wyoming — the 
."two  Johns" — Colonel  Pickering  said:  "The  first,  a  man  able,  bold  and  ener- 
getic, was  John  Franklin,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  who,  at  this  time  [Jan- 
uary, 1787],  was  in  Connecticut  consulting  with  The  Susquehanna  Company  (or 
its  active  members)  on  the  means  of  defeating  the  pacific  measures  of  Pennsyl- 
vania here  mentioned.  Such  are  my  impressions  of  the  fact,  from  what  I  then 
heard;  and  the  actual  state  of  things,  joined  with  the  events  of  1787  and  1788, 
warrants  the  conclusion.  The  father  of  this  Major  Jenkins  [the  "second  leader"] 
had  been  a  leading  man,  and  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  County  Court,  when  Con- 
necticut exercised  a  jurisdiction  over  them.  He  had  died  before  I  ever  saw 
that  country." 

Turning  once  more  to  Colonel  Pickering's  diary  we  find  the  following: 

"Sunday,  January  28. — No  public  worship  at  Wilkesborough.  This  morning  Mr.  Bailey 
informs  me  that  'Parson  Johnson  has  changed  his  mind,  and  thinks  it  will  be  best  to'  hold  the 
election'!!!  Sunday  evening. — Stephen  Jenkins  is  down  from  Exeter.  He  says  he  has  been  press- 
ing his  brother,  Alajor  Jenkins,  to  cease  opposing  the  election.  He  has  brought  a  note  from 
him  to  Captain  Schott,  the  substance  of  which  is:  That  if  the  election  of  Justices  of  the  Peace 
could  be  postponed  till  after  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Assembly,  he  would  not  oppose  the  holding 
of  the  election  now  for  a  Representative,  &c.  Captain  Schott  asked  me  what  my  determination 
was  relative  to  the  election  of  Justices.  I  answered  that  I  could  ease  Major  Jenkins'  mind  on 
that  head,  for  I  had  concluded  not  to  appoint  the  time  of  meeting  [for  the  election  of  Justices] 
until  after  the  other  election  was  over;  and  then  I  meant  to  consult  some  of  the  principal  gentle- 
men of  each  district  as  to  the  time,  and  places  in  the  districts,  most  convenient  to  the  freeholders 
for  holding  the  elections.  This,  Captain  Schott  is  to  write  to  Major  Jenkins.  This  conversion, 
or  yielding,  of  Jenkins  is  a  wonderful  event;  but  I  give  him  little  credit  for  it.  He  sees  the  tide  is 
turning — or,  rather,  has  turned — and  makes  a  virtue  of  necessity. 

"Monday,  January  29. — Met  the  people  of  Shawanee  (Plymouth)  this  afternoon.  It  was 
in  a  snow-storm  which,  with  the  shortness  of  the  notice,  occasioned  a  thin  meeting.  About  twenty 
persons  were  present.  *  *  *  fhe  meeting  at  Plymouth  was  not  satisfactory;  it  bore  some 
resemblance  to  that  at  Nanticoke.  Tuesday,  January  30. — Received  from  A.  Westbrook  a  paper 
signed  by  him.  Dr.  Smith  and  others  of  Jacob's  Plains,  professing  their  attachment  to  the  Govern- 
ment; also  a  note  from  the  Doctor,  Mr.  Westbrook  and  Captain  Hoover,  offering,  for  themselves 
and  the  electors  of  Jacob's  Plains  [in  the  township  of  Wilkes-BarreJ,  to  be  a  guard  to  Colonel 
Butler  and  me  at  the  election,  if  any  violence  should  be  attempted.  I  advised  with  Colonel 
Butler,  and  we  concluded  it  best  that  no  person  should  appear  in  arms." 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE   COUNTY  OF  LUZERNE— A   LIST  OF  THE   ELECTORS- 

AIETHODS  AND  EVENTS  OF  THE  FIRST  ELECTION— THE  CONFIRMING  LAW 

OF  1787— HOSTILITIES  AGAIN  AROUSED— DIFFERENCES  BETWEEN  THE 

SETTLERS   LEAD  TO  A  RIOT  AT  FORTY  FORT— OLDER   SETTLERS, 

TIRED  OF  CONTESTS,  DECLARE  FOR  COMPROMISE— THE  FIRST 

COURT    OF    COMMON    PLEAS  —  COL.    PICKERING'S    MANY 

DUTIES— FOUR  ATTORNEYS  ADMITTED  TO   PRACTICE 

—THE  FIRST  FRUITS  OF  SELF  GOVERNMENT 


"States  are  great  engines  moving  slowly.'' 


Bacon 


"Men  are  the  sport  of  circumstances,  when 
The  circumstances  seem  the  sport  of  men." 

Byron 

'Time's  glory  is  to  calm  contending  kings, 
To  unmask  falsehood  and  bring  truth  to  light. 
To  stamp  the  seal  of  time  in  aged  things 
To  wake  the  morn  and  sentinel  the  night, 
To  wrong  the  wronger  till  he  render  right. 
To  ruinate  proud  buildings  with  thy  hours 
And  smear  with  dust,  their  glittering,  golden  towers." 

Rape  of  Lucrece 


Thursday,  February  1,  1787 — the  day  upon  which  matters  of  great  moment 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  County  of  Luzerne  were  to  be  decided — was  at 
last  at  hand. 

In  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  an  Act  of  the  Pennsylvania  As- 
sembly, passed  March  4,  1 786,  it  was  necessary  that  each  freeman  of  the  Common- 
wealth, in  order  to  become  a  qualified  elector,  or  voter,  should  take — if  he  had 
not  already  taken — an  oath  or  affirmation  of  allegiance  to  the  Commonwealth, 
according  to  a  form  duly  prescribed.     As  noted  on  other  pages  hereinbefore,  a 


1553 


considerable  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Wyoming  region  had  taken  an  oath 
of  allegiance*  to  the  Pennsylvania  Government,  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  afore- 
mentioned Act,  and  in  consequence,  they  were  not  affected  by  the  Act.  How- 
ever, during  the  last  few  days  of  January,  Colonels  Pickering  and  Butler  adminis- 
tered the  required  oath  to  sixteen  freemen  of  Luzerne  County,  and  issued  the  neces- 
sary certificates  in  attestation  thereof;  and  on  February  1st,  they  administered 
the  oath  and  issued  certificates  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  more  freemen. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  oath  which  was  administered  rf 
"I  do  swear  (or  afBrm)  that  I  renounce  and  refuse  all  allegiance  to  George  III,  King  of 
Great  Britain,  his  heirs  and  successors;  and  that  I  will  be  faithful  and  bear  true  allegiance  to  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  as  a  free  and  independent  State ;  and  that  I  will  not  at  any  time, 
do  or  cause  to  be  done,  any  matter  or  thing  that  will  be  prejudicial  or  injurious  to  the  freedom 
and  independence  thereof. 

"And  I  do  further  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  never  have,  since  the  Declaration  of  the  Indepen- 
dence of  the  United  States  of  America,  voluntarily  joined,  aided,  assisted  or  abetted  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  his  generals,  fleets  or  armies,  or  their  adherents  {knowing  them  to  be  such)  whilst  employed 
against  the  United  States  or  either  of  them." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  an  original  certificate  (now  in  existence)  which 
was  issued  as  aforementioned: 

"I  do  certify  that  Elisha  Blackman,  husbandman,  of  the  township  of  Wilkesborough,  in 
the  County  of  Luzerne,  hath  voluntarily  taken  and  subscribed  the  Oath  (or  Affirmation)  of  Al- 
legiance and  Fidelity,  as  directed  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  passed  the 
4th  day  of  March,  A.  D.  1786.    Witness  my  hand  and  seal  the  1st  day  of  February,  A.  D.,  1787. 

[Signed]  "Timothy  Pickering,  [l.  s.]" 

Each  oath,  or  affirmation,  was  supposed  to  be  duly  signed,  or  subscribed, 
by  the  one  making  it ;  but  in  a  number  of  instances  the  names  seem  to  have  been 
written  by  either  Colonel  Pickering  or  Colonel  Butler.  The  following  list  of  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-six  freemen  who  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  before 
Colonels  Pickering  and  Butler,  in  the  last  days  of  January  and  on  February  1, 
1787,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  has  been  made  up  by  the  present  writer  from  original  lists 
preserved  among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII  :  97-114).  The  spelling  of  the 
names,  as  shown  therein,  has  not  been  changed. 


Samuel  Ayers,  Carpenter, 

Abram  Addoms,  Husbandman, 

Robert  Alexander,  Weaver, 

Nicholas  Brink,  Husbandman, 

Henry  Buck,  Physician, 

Increase  Billings,  Yeoman, 

Benjamin  Brink,  Hunter, 

James  Brown,  Yeoman, 

James  Brown,  Jr.,  Husbandman, 

John  Budd,  Yeoman, 

Jeremiah  Blanchard,  Yeoman, 

Chester  Bingham,  Husbandman, 

Henry  Bimey,  Husbandman, 

Eleazar  Blackman,  Husbandman, 

Elisha  Blackman,  Jr.,  Husbandman, 

Elisha  Blackman,  Husbandman, 

Stephen  Burritt,  Husbandman, 

Jeremiah  Baker,  Cordwainer, 

Oliver  Bennet,  Husbandman, 

William  Baker,  Husbandman, 

Isaac  Bennet,  Husbandman, 

George  Charles,  Husbandman, 

Elisha  Cortwright,  Yeoman, 

Robert  Coeley,  Husbandman, 

Nehemiah  Crofoot,  Husbandman, 

George  Croom,  Husbandman, 

Gilbert  Carpenter,  Carpenter, 

Gideon  Church,  Husbandman, 

Benjamin  Carpenter,  Joiner, 

*See  their  letter  on  page  1539, 

tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII  :  97 


Plymouth, 
Hanover, 
Kingston, 
3  miles  below  Shawnee, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Pittston, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Pittston, 
Pittston, 
Pittston, 
Pittston, 
Ulster, 
Kingston, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Hanover, 
Plymouth, 
Hanover, 
Plymouth, 
Newport, 
Wapwallopen, 
Wapwallopen, 
Kingston, 
Hanover, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Kingston, 
Kingston, 
Kingston, 


1554 


Benjamin  Carey, 

Benjamin  Crawford, 

Elnathan  Cory, 

Barnabas  Gary, 

Thadey  Coner, 

William  Dorton, 

Jonathan  Davis, 

Elisha  Decker, 

Andrew  Decker, 

Elias  Decker, 

Martin  Dudley, 

Henry  Decker, 

John  Davison, 

Thomas  Drake, 

Samuel  Daly, 

Adam  Dilley, 

Joseph  Dewey, 

David  Dale, 

John  Dickson, 

Moses  Depui, 

John  Durkee, 

Nicholas  Depue, 

Casper  Elster, 

Ebenezer  Enos, 

James  Esland, 

Joab  Enos, 

Edward  Edgerton, 

Ebenezer  Ellis, 

Ebenezer  Ellis,  Sr., 

Jonathan  Frisbee, 

Thomas  Gibson, 

Thomas  Gardner, 

Ambrose  Gaylord, 

Justus  Gaylord,  Jr., 

Daniel  Gridley, 

Stephen  Gardner, 

John  HoUenback, 

Daniel  Holly, 

Mathias  HoUenback, 

John  Hagemen, 

Joseph  Hageman, 

William  Hyde, 

Isaiah  Howell, 

Stephen  Harding, 

Lebbens  Hammond, 

Richard  Hallsted, 

John  Inman, 

Edward  Inman, 

William  Jackson, 

John  Johnson, 

William  Jacoays  [Jakeways], 

Jehoiada  Johnston, 

Stephen  Jenkins, 

Thomas  Joslin, 

Nathan  Jones. 

John  King, 

Josiah  Kellogg, 

Joseph  Kilborn, 

John  Kennedy, 

Abraham  Lain, 

Joseph  Leonard, 

John  Lutsee, 

James  Lassley, 

Lawrence  Myers, 

Henry  McCormick, 

David  McCormick, 

Ira  Manvill, 

James  Millage, 

Zebulon  Marcy, 

Samuel  Miller, 

Samuel  Meddagh, 

John  Montanye, 

Eleazar  Miller. 

Caleb  Newman, 


Husbandman, 

Cooper, 

Cordwainer, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Sailraaker, 

Yeoman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Shoemaker, 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman, 

Laborer, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Yeoman, 

Blacksmith. 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman, 

Yeoman. 

Brewer. 

Gentleman, 

Shopkeeper, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Joiner, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman. 

Blacksmith, 

Husbandman, 

Cooper, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman. 

Carpenter, 


Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Carpenter, 

Tailor, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman, 

Inn-holder, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Saddler, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman. 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Yeoman, 


Wilkes-Barre, 

Kingston, 

Kingston, 

Pittston, 

Tioga, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Pittston, 

Hanover, 

Hanover, 

Hanover, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Kingston, 

Pittston, 

Kingston, 

Exeter, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Wapwallopen, 

Exeter, 

Pittston, 

Kingston, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Kingston, 

Kingston, 

Plymouth, 

Kingston, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Hanover, 

Hanover, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Exeter, 

Kingston, 

Kingston, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Pittston, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Kingston, 

Exeter, 

Exeter, 

Pittston, 

Hanover,' 

Hanover, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Hanover, 

Exeter, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Exeter, 

Exeter, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Kingston, 

Plymouth, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Hanover, 

Pittston, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Hanover, 

Kingston, 

Kingston, 

Kingston, 

Kingston, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Putnam, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Pittston, 

Kingston, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Tunkhannock 


1555 


Jonathan  Newman, 
Nathan  Northrup, 
Nehemiah  Northrup, 
Jacob  Ossencup, 
Gideon  Osterhout, 
Elijah  Oakley, 
John  Plainer, 
Abraham  Pyke, 
Timothy  Peirce, 
John  Pottman, 
Dennis  Roberts, 
Peter  Roberts, 
Josiah  Rogers, 
John  Staples, 
William  Schaff, 
John  Squire, 
Simon  Spalding, 
William  Stark,  Jr., 
Jonathan  Smith, 
William  Smith. 
Leonard  Scott, 
Daniel  Sherrard, 
Jedidiah  Stephens,  Jr., 
Abraham  Smith, 
Walter  Spencer, 
Daniel  Sullivan, 
Stephen  Strickland, 
Rogers  Searles, 
Edward  Spencer, 
Elijah  Silsbee, 
William  Simrell, 
Jeremiah  Shaw, 
Enos  Tubbs, 
Lebbens  Tubbs, 
Thomas  Thorp, 
Gilbert  Van  Gorden, 
Joshua  Van  Fleet, 
Abraham  Van  Tillbury, 
Leonard  Westbrook, 
James  Westbrook, 
John  Woolley, 
James  Whitney, 
Abel  Yarington, 


Blacksmith, 

Carpenter, 

Millwright, 

Husbandman, 

Yeoman, 

Husbandman, 


Husbandman, 

Yeoman. 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Gentleman, 

Husbandman, 

Cooper, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Laborer, 

Cordwainer, 

Cordwainer, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Cordwainer, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Husbandman, 

Laborer, 

Ferryman, 


Pittston, 

Hanover, 

Hanover, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Tunkhannock 

Putnam, 


Pittston, 

Wapwallopcn, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Exeter, 

Plymouth, 

Wilkes-Barre, 

Exeter, 
Sheshequin, 
Pittston. 
W'ilkes-Barre, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Tunkhannock, 
Wapwallopen, 
Kingston, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Hanover, 
Kingston, 
Wilkes-Barre. 
Pittston, 
Hanover, 
Pittston, 
Providence, 
Ulster, 

Tunkhannock 
Exeter, 
Plymouth, 
3  miles  below  Shawnee, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Plymouth, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Kingston, 
Wilkes-Barre, 
Wilkes-Barre. 


The  four  men  whose  names  are  printed  in  italics  in  the  foregoing  list  were 
British  deserters  (as  noted  on  the  original  lists),  and  they  were  not  required  to 
take  that  part  of  the  oath  of  allegiance  which  is  printed  in  italics. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that  a  very  considerable  number  of  the  men  whose 
names  appear  in  this  list  had  located  in  the  Wyoming  region  in  the  years  1785 
and  '86;  in  other  words,  were  new-comers. 

As  provided  in  the  Act  of  Assembly,  the  election  of  February  1,  1787,  took 
place  at  the  house  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  present 
River  and  Northampton  Streets,  Wilkes-Barre.  Before  the  polls  were  opened, 
Colonels  Pickering  and  Butler,  as  Commissioners,  "chose  and  appointed"  the 
following  election  officers,  who  were  duly  sworn  to  conduct  the  election  according 
to  law.  Judges:  Obadiah  Gore,  James  Sutton  and  Christopher  Hurlbut.  In- 
spectors: Simon  Spalding,  John  Swift  and  John  Hurlbut.  Clerks:  Elisha  Sat- 
terlee,  Lord  Butler  and  John  Hyde.  Two  hundred  and  twenty-two  electors  from 
the  various  settlements — from  Wapwallopen  on  the  south,  to  Sheshequin  on  the 
north — attended  and  cast  their  votes.  Relative  to  the  election,  Colonel  Picker- 
ing wrote  in  his  diary,  under  the  date  of  February  1st,  as  follows: 

"The  election  has  gone  on  with  great  quiet  and  regularity.  A  private  fray  happened  in 
the  forenoon  between  two  of  Abraham  Westbrook's  sons  and  some  others.  It  seems  they  had 
got  in  liquor,  and  as  soon  as  Mr.  Westbrook  discovered  them,  he  parted  the  disputants  and  sent 
his  sons  home,  telling  them  that  if  they  wanted  to  fight,  they  might  'do  it  to-morrow,  but  not  on 


1556 

the  day  of  election.'  There  were  also  two  men — Pennamites — up  from  Wapwallopen,  whom  some 
of  the  warm  Yankees  got  scent  of,  and  immediately  sought  for.  They  were  found  at  John  HoUen- 
back's,  and  got  a  severe  beating.  It  was  said  that  these  two  men  had  been  active  under  Patterson, 
in  driving  the  Connecticut  people  out  of  the  settlement.  Their  names  were  George  Charles  and 
John  Pottman. 

"They,  with  one  [Elisha]  Cortwright,  had  been  with  me  in  the  morning  and  taken  the  oath 
of  allegiance.  Cortwright  said  he  had  heard  threatenings  had  been  given  out — that  if  they  at- 
tempted to  vote,  they  would  be  ill-used — and  asked  my  advice  as  to  what  they  had  best  do.  I 
did  not  hesitate  to  recommend  to  them  to  avoid  the  election,  if  they  found  such  threats  had  been 
uttered;  that  if  they  were  lovers  of  peace,  they  had  better  retire  than  hazard  a  disturbance  of  the 
election.  Cortwright  answered  that  he  would  rathar  retire  than  do  that.  In  this  sentiment,  I 
thought  both  Charles  and  Pottman  acquiesced.  Cortwright  accordingly  went  off,  and  escaped 
unhurt;  but  the  others  loitered,  and  were  beaten.  It  was  said  that  Cortwright  had  been  remark- 
ably cruel  in  his  treatment  of  the  settlers  at  the  general  driving  [of  the  Connecticut  settlers  out 
of  the  Valley  in  1784].  No  other  disturbance  happened,  except  a  private  quarrel  arising  about 
the  manner  of  paying  for  some  liquor." 

According  to  Colonel  Pickering's  diary,  the  polls  were  closed  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  then,  until  half-past  two  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  the  Judges  and  Inspectors  were  engaged  in  examining  and  counting 
the  ballots  and  tabulating  the  results  of  the  election.  They  then  "made  a  public 
declaration  of  the  names  of  the  persons  elected — many  electors  being  present, 
and  waiting  to  know  the  issue."  The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  votes  polled, 
and  for  whom : 

For  Representative  to  the  General  Assembly:  Col.  John  Franklin  received 
145  votes;  Obadiah  Gore,  54;  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  17;  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  3; 
Christopher  Hurlbut,  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  and  James  Sutton,  each  1 ;  Total, 
222.  For  Councillor:  Col.  Nathan  Denison  received  97  votes;  Mathias  HoUen- 
back,  47;  Capt.  John  Paul  iSchott,  47 ;  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  23;  Maj.  John  Jenkins, 
2;  Obadiah  Gore  and  Col.  John  Franklin,  each  1;  Total  218.  For  Sheriff:  Lord 
Butler  received 'l70  votes;  Mason  F.  Alden,  138;  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith,  55; 
while  twenty-six  others  received  from  one  vote  to  thirteen  votes  each.  For 
Coroner:  Nathan  Cary  received  107  votes;  John  Dorrance,  96;  Abel  Yarington, 
63;  Benjamin  Bailey,  35;  while  eighteen  others  received  from  one  vote  to  thirty- 
seven  votes  each.  For  Commissioners:  Jonah  Rogers  received  105  votes;  Christ- 
opher Hurlbut,  103;  Nathan  Kingsley,  100;  Capt.  Simon  Spalding,  79;  Abel  Peirce, 
64;  while  twenty-eight  others  received  from  one  vote  to  twenty-six  votes  each. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  first  elected  officers  of  Luzerne  County 
were:  Col.  John  Franklin,  Representative;  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  Councillor; 
Lord  Butler  and  Mason  F.  Alden,  Sheriffs*;  Nathan  Cary  and  John  Dorrance, 
Coroners*;  Jonah  Rogers,  Christopher  Hurlbut  and  Nathan  Kingsley,  Com- 
missioners. 

Turning  again  to  Colonel  Pickering's  diary  we  find  the  following: 
"Friday,  February  Z,  1787 . — The  Judges  of  Election  having  returned  to  me  the  names  of 
the  persons  elected,  and  delivered  to  me  a  box,  sealed  agreeably  to  law,  and  containing  the  votes, 
lists  of  electors  and  tally  papers — there  being  no  Justice  of  the  Peace  to  receive  the  same — I 
consulted  the  Judges,  Captain  Spalding  (an  Inspector)  and  Colonel  Butler  on  the  time  and  places 
which  would  be  most  convenient  for  the  meetings  of  the  freeholders  to  elect  Justices  of  the  Peace. 
It  is  concluded,  that  this  election  be  held  on  the  same  day — viz.,  Thursday,  April  19,  1787— in  . 
all  the  districts ;  the  meeting  for  the  First  District  to  be  held  at  Colonel  Butler's  house  in  Wilkes- 
barre;  for  the  Second  District,  at  Forty  Fort,  in  Kingston;  for  the  Third  District,  at  Capt.  [Simon] 
Spalding's,  in  Ulster  (Sheshequin).  The  three  Judges  consent  to  preside  at  the  elections,  viz: 
Christopher  Hurlbut  for  the  First  District,  Jara;s  Sutton  for  the  Second,  and  Obadiah  Gore  for 
the  Third. 

"Sunday,  February  4. — No  meeting  [i.e.,  preaching,  or  religious  services]  at  Wilkesbarre. 
I  prepared  the  petition  to  the  General  Assembly.  Monday,  February  5. — Colonels  Denison  and 
Butler,  Mr.  Obadiah  Gore  and  Captain  Spalding  considered,  and  approved  of,  the  petition." 

*At  this  period  the  law  of  Pennsylvania,  governing  the  election  of  persons  to  till  the  offices  of  Sheriff  and  Coroner, 
provided  that  the  electors  should  choose  two  persons  for  each  office;  whereupon  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  would 
select  one  from  each  of  the  two  men  and  issue  a  commission  to  him.  In  the  present  instance  the  Council  appointed 
and  commissioned  Lord  Butler,  Sheriff  and  Nathan  Cary.  Coroner,  on  April  7.  1 787.  Butler  took  the  oaths  of  allegiance 
and  office.  April  18,   1787,  and  Cary  took  the  same  on  April  23rd,  before  Colonel  Pickering. 


1557 

The  original  petition  prepared  at  this  time  by  Colonel  Pickering,  in  response 
to  a  request  made  by  certain  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  is  now  preserved 
(as  "Document  No.  221")  among  the  collections  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  Philadelphia.  The  original  draft  of  the  petition  will  be  found  among 
the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII  :  127).  The  document  is  dated  "Luzerne  County, 
February  5,  1787,"  and  reads,  in  part,  as  follows: 

"The  Address  and  Petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Luzerne  to  the  Honourable, 
the  General  Assembly  of  Representatives  of  the  Freemen  of  Pennsylvania: — 

"May  it  please  the  Assembly  to  accept  our  grateful  acknowledgments  for  their  attention 
to  our  requests  in  erecting  this  district  into  a  separate  County,  and  giving  us  an  opportunity  of 
choosing  civil  officers,  and  being  represented  in  the  Assembly  and  in  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council.  We  are  happy  in  the  prospect,  now  opened,  of  our  receiving  and  enjoying  the  blessings 
of  regular  and  constitutional  government.  Nothing  will  then  be  wanting  to  remove  every  cause 
of  jealousy  and  complaint  but  the  covfirmalion  of  our  titles  to  our  lands. 

"Those  lands  have  been  the  source  of  such  disorders,  such  losses  and  sufferings,  that  we 
have  reason  to  deplore  the  fatal  day  when  we  and  our  fathers  first  set  foot  upon  this  hostile  ground. 
But  here  we  now  are,  an  injured  and  distressed  people — a  people  whose  substance,  often  acquired, 
has  often  been  destroyed.  Even  what  our  various  enemies  at  any  time  left  us,  or  allowed  us  re- 
spite to  procure,  has  repeatedly  been  overwhelmed  and  ruined,  or  swept  away,  by  destructive 
floods;  so  that  we  are  now  more  wretched,  and  are  enduring  greater  hardships,  than  at  the  first 
moment  of  our  migration  hither. 

"Pardon  us  that  we  have  glanced  upon  our  sufferings.  We  would  not  wound  the  ear  of 
humanity  with  a  detail  of  miseries  that  are  past;  particularly  we  would  not  describe  those  which 
were,  above  all  others,  the  most  insupportable — those  which  were  inflicted  by  men  who  appeared 
in  the  light  of  subjects  of  Pennsylvania,  and  consequently  of  fellow-citizens.  But  the  justice  of 
the  State  has  held  those  transactions  up  to  public  censure,  and  with  this  reparation  we  are  con- 
tent. Those  outrages  we  have  not  forgotten — we  cannot  yet  forget  them,  for  at  this  hour  we  are 
experiencing  distresses  which  spring  from  that  very  source.  But  we  will  endeavor  to  forgive  them. 
Some  among  ourselves  have  not  been  faultless,  and  it  may  be  essential  to  the  peace  of  the  country 
that  all  past  offenses  be  buried  in  oblivion.  Some  of  us  have  large  claims  for  injuries  received, 
but  w'e  are  willing  to  sacrifice  them  on  the  altar  of  Peace. 

"We  wish  not  to  open  afresh  those  wounds  which  now  are  healing,  and  therefore  express 
our  hope  that,  if  consistent  with  wisdom,  the  Assembly  pass  an  Act  of  Oblivion  and  Indemnity 
as  well  for  private  trespasses  as  public  wrongs.  It  is  our  earnest  desire  to  ground  our  petition 
on  the  basis  of  reason  and  equity;  but  our  all  is  at  stake,  for,  separate  from  our  lands,  we  have 
no  property  worth  naming.  Under  the  operation  of  such  an  interest — an  interest  dear  to  us  as 
our  lives — perhaps  we  may  ask  more  than  reason  and  equity  can  grant.  We  wish  not  to  offend, 
and  if  any  part  of  our  request 'should  appear  amiss,  we  pray  for  the  indulgent  consideration  of 
the  Honourable  Assembly,  that  such  impropriety  may  not  prejudice  those  equitable  rights  to 
which  we  shall  be  thought  entitled. 

"In  the  event  of  things,  our  lands  have  cost  us  dear,  indeed.  Their  price  has  been  paid — too 
dearly  paid — in  the  blood  of  our  fathers,  husbands,  sons  and  brothers;  and  now.  after  the  hard  la- 
bours of  seventeen  years,  no  fruits  remain!  In  such  unhappy  circumstances  shall  we  be  thought  un- 
reasonable if  we  ask  a /rfeaHrfgra/;(//o«ico«_/irma/jOK  of  oj(r;i7/f.s/o  o/fr/anrfs.''   We  hope  not!    •    *    * 

The  petition  closed  with  a  prayer  to  the  Assembly  to  gratuitously  confirm 
the  Connecticut  titles  to  all  farm-lots  in  towns  laid  out,  or  in  detached  places 
between  any  towns,  and  which  had  been  either  occupied  by,  or  assigned  to, 
persons  living  in  the  Wyoming  settlements  prior  to  the   Decree  of  Trenton. 

The  names  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  persons  are  attached  to  this  petition, 
some  of  them  being  as  follows:  Zebulon  Cady,  Daniel  Earl,  Benjamin  Jones, 
Benjamin  Smith,  Caleb  Bates,  Ebenezer  Marcy,  Richard  Halstead,  Jr.,  John 
Dickson,  Elisha  Harding,  Thomas  Gardner,  William  Jackson,  Zebulon  Marcy, 
Gideon  Osterhout,  Nathan  Draper,  Cornelius  Cortright,  Asahel  Atherton,  Isaac 
Tripp,  Stephen  Gardner,  Jeremiah  Blanchard,  Timothy  Peirce,  William  Smith, 
William  Hooker  Smith,  Abraham  Westbrook,  Daniel  Gore,  Joseph  Sprague, 
Jr.,  and  John  Rosecrance. 

On  the  day  before  Colonel  Pickering  left  Wilkes- Barre,  he  was  handed  by 
the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson,  a  communication  from  himself,  relative  to  the  Wyoming 
lands.  The  original  letter  is  among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII  :  131).  It 
has  been  printed  in  full  (from  a  verbatim  copv  obtained  by  the  present  writer) 
in  Vol.   XI  of  the   "Proceedings  and  Collections  of  The  Wyoming  Historical 


1558 

and  Geological  Society,"  page  184.  The  following  paragraphs  are  from  this 
letter,  (with  some  changes  in  spelling  and  punctuation) : 

"I  am  fully  persuaded,  the  Lands  in  controversy  appertain,  both  in  Law,  Equity  and  Justice 
to  the  State  of  Connecticut  and  Proprietors  who  hold  under  that  State.  Nevertheless,  for  the 
sake  of  ending  the  unhappy  controversy  in  Peace  and  Love,  I  am  rather  inclined  to  come  to  a 
Division  of  the  Lands  agreeable  to  the  Precedent  or  E.xample  set  us  by  King  David — very  similar 
to  the  present  case.  The  King  gave  all  the  Lands  appertaining  to  the  House  of  Saul  to  Mephi- 
bosheth.  Afterwards  the  King  gave  away  the  same  Lands — and  even  the  whole — to  Ziba;  upon 
which  a  controversy  arose  betwixt  Mephibosheth  and  Ziba — who  was  heir-in-law  to  the  aforesaid 
lands,  being  a  grant  was  equally  made  to  both.  The  King  ended  the  controversy  by  ordering  a 
Division  to  each  one,  as  fellow  commoners  in  Law  to  said  Lands. 

"This  medium  of  ending  the  Controversy  I  have  proposed  some  time  ago*,  agreeable  to 
the  dividing  lines  drawn  by  Congress  betwixt  the  East  and  West  Branches  of  Susquehanna — 
setting  off  the  East  Branch  to  Connecticut  proprietors,  and  the  West  [Branch]  to  Pennsylvania. 
This  medium  of  compromisement  I  would  still  propose  and  urge,  agreeable  not  only  to  the  Royal 
example  above,  but  also  a  late  settlement  of  Massachusetts  and  New  York."     *     *     * 

According  to  his  diary,  Colonel  Pickering,  carrying  with  him  the  election 
returns,  and  the  petition  from  the  one  hundred  and  thirty  residents  of  Luzerne 
County  to  the  General  Assembly!,  left  Wilkes-Barre  for  Philadelphia,  Thursday, 
February  8th,  between  9  and  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  company  with  Christo- 
pher Hurlbut.  Colonel  Butler  and  Mathias  Hollenback  went  with  them  as  far 
as  "Bullock's."  Arriving  at  Philadelphia  a  few  days  later,  Colonel  Pickering 
filed  the  returns,  as  well  as  a  report  of  his  doings,  with  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council.  At  the  same  time  he  rendered  his  bill  against  the  State  "for  services 
and  expences  executing  the  duties  under  the  Act  of  December  27,  1786." 
The  total  amount  claimed  by  him  was  £40,  19sh.,  and  included  charges  for  his 
services — for  39  days,  at  17sh.  6d.  per  day — for  printing,  stationery,  etc.,  and 
the  bill  of  John  Hollenback,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  which  was  made  up  of  the  follow- 
ing items:  30  days'  board,  at  3s.;  38  bowls  of  toddy,  at  Is.  6d.;  30  nights'  hay  for 
horse,  at  Is.  6d. ;  168  qts.  of  oats  for  horse,  at  2d. 

On  February  23,  1787,  the  General  Assembly  then  being  in  session,  President 
Benjamin  Franklin,  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  sent  to  the  Assembly 
a  communication  reading  as  follows:! 

"During  your  recess  an  election  has  been  held  for  the  County  of  Luzerne.  While  this 
event  affords  a  proof  of  the  wisdom  of  your  measures,  we  must  acknowledge  that  Mr.  Pickering, 
a  Commissioner  for  holding  the  election,  was  instrumental  in  its  accomplishment,  by  exposing 
the  many  false  and  artful  representations  which  had  been  made,  by  the  people  opposed  to  the 
authority  of  Government," 

On  March  2,   1787,  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  Councilor-elect  from  Luzerne 

County,  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  at  Philadelphia, 

took  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  office,  and  was  seated  as  a  member  of  the  Council. 

Three  days  later  he  transmitted  to  the  General  Assembly  the  petition  from  the 

residents  of  Luzerne  County,   previously  mentioned,   accompanying  it  with  a 

letter  from  himself  which  had  been  written  by  Colonel  Pickering,  and-  read  in 

part,  as  follows  :§ 

"I  have  the  honour  to  enclose  a  petition  from  sundry  inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Luzerne, 
praying  for  a  confirmation  of  their  titles  to  certain  lands  in  that  County,  which,  through  the 
medium  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  were  derived  from  the  Colony  and  State  of  Connecticut. 
As  that  petition  has  not  been  generally  signed,  I  think  it  a  duty  which  I  owe  to  my  constituents , 

*See  pages  1334  and  1335. 

tit  seems  that  when  Colonel  Pickering  departed  for  Philadelphia  from  Wilkes-Barre.  he  left  in  the  hands  of  some 
of  his  trusty  adherents  here,  copies  of  the  petition  to  the  Assembly,  which  were  to  be  signed  by  as  many  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Wyoming,  as  could  be  reached,  and  prevailed  upon  to  sign,  within  a  short  time;  after  which  the  documents 
were  to  be  forwarded  to  Philadelphia.  At  "Jacob's  Plains,  Wyoming,  February  21,  1787,"  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith 
wrote  to  Colonel  Pickering,  informing  him  that  Colonel  Franklin  had  returned  from  Connecticut  to  Wyoming:  that 
"numbers  of  the  inhabitants"  had  signed  the  petitions  to  the  Assembly,  when,  through  the  influence  of  Franklin  and 
others,  "the  petitions  were  publicly  burned,"  and  Franklin  declared  that  he  "had  rather  see  human  blood  run  as  deep 
over  the  land  as  the  waters  did  last  Fall  in  the  great  flood,  than  to  have  seen  so  many  signers  to  that  petition!"  (See 
the  "Pickering  Papers."  LVII  :  138.) 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records,"  XV  :  167. 

§See  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII  :  146. 


1559 

and  a  matter  of  information  proper  to  be  laid  before  the  General  Assembly,  to  mention  the  other 
classes  of  people  in  the  County  who  claim  under  titles  in  like  manner  derived  from  Connecticut. 
*  *  *  If  it  shall  please  the  Assembly  to  appoint  a  committee  to  attend  to  this  business,  which, 
in  behalf  of  my  constituents,  I  pray  maybe  done,  I  shall  be  happy  to  attend  and  communicate,  &c." 

The  petition  was  immediately  referred  to  a  committee,  which,  on  March 
10th,  submitted  to  the  House,  the  following  report:* 

"The  Committee  report,  That,  conceiving  it  of  importance  to  the  subject,  they  first  state 
to  the  House  that,  during  the  former  session,  and  in  conference  between  the  committee  of  the  House 
and  the  agents — John  Frankhn  and  John  Jenkins — of  the  Connecticut  claimants,  the  agents  were 
exphcitly  told  that  every  case  would  be  considered  specially;  and  that  no  claims,  unless  urged 
in  behalf  of  individuals  and  for  particular  occupancies,  would  be  received. 

"The  agents,  admitting  the  propriety  of  this  restrictive  mode,  doubted  not  of  a  conformity 
to  it  on  the  part  of  their  constituents,  when  next  they  should  make  application  to  the  House. 
But  the  present  petition,  on  the  contrary,  advances  claims  collectively,  and  is  made  for  entire 
and  extensive  districts.  From  this  circumstance  the  House  might  well  waive  any  present  deliber- 
ations on  the  subject  of  the  claims;  but,  in  consideration  of  the  peace  of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  as 
■well  as  to  testify  our  satisfaction  at  the  submission  at  length  paid  to  the  laws  by  the  petitioners,  the 
committee  recommends  to  the  House,  notwithstanding,  to  proceed  to  establish  the  principles  on 
which  they  will  quiet  the  possessions  and  occupancies  of  the  petitioners,  and  others  of  that  County 
in  a  like  predicament;  and,  also,  those  on  which  they  will  make  compensation  to  such  proprietors 
under  titles  from  this  State,  as  may  in  consequence  be  deprived  of  their  lands. 

"The  committee,  in  connexion  with  the  subject,  refer  the  House  to  a  printed  paper  accom- 
panying this  report — dated  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  December  26,  1786,  and  signed  'Joel  Barlow' 
— as  worthy  of  their  animadversion.  This  paper,  purporting  to  be  resolutions  of  The  Susquehanna 
Company,  reviews  their  pretended  title  to  a  large  territory  within  this  State — including  in  it  the 
land  of  the  Connecticut  settlers — directs  a  mode  of  distribution,  and  intimates  a  design  of  erecting 
it  into  a  Government,  independent  of  the  authority  of  this  State!] 

"The  committee  recommend  to  the  House:  That  such  of  the  people  called  Connecticut 
claimants,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  as  were  the  actual  possessors  or  occupants  of  lands  within  the 
County  of  Luzerne  at  and  before  the  date  of  the  Decree  at  Trenton,  be  quieted  and  confirmed  in 
their  several  possessions  and  occupancies.  That  compensation  in  lands,  equivalent  in  value,  to 
be  made  therefor  to  proprietors  under  the  rights  of  this  State.  That  commissioners  be  appointed 
to  carry  these  resolutions  into  execution." 

This  report  was  laid  on  the  table  until  March  17th,  when  it  was  taken  up, 
read  a  second  time,  and  then  adopted.  Colonel  Pickering,  in  a  letter  to  his  son, 
referring  to  the  action  of  the  Assembly  at  this  time,  wrote  :t 

"The  committee  were  directed  to  bring  in  a  Bill  accordingly.  The  committee  put  their 
report  into  my  hands,  and  requested  me  to  draw  the  Bill.  I  made  a  draught,  w^hich  was  necessarily 
long,  to  provide  for  the  various  matters  incident  to  the  quieting  and  confirming  of  the  Connecti- 
cut claims.  The  principal  difficulty  arose  out  of  the  claims  of  a  considerable  number  of  persons 
[Pennamites]  who  had  received  grants  of  the  best  parts  of  the  same  tracts  of  which  the  Connecticut 
settlers  were  possessed — grants  made  prior  to  the  Revolution,  under  the  authority  of  the  Perm 
Proprietaries,  to  whom,  as  heirs  of  William  Penn,  the  original  patentee  of  the  whole  Province, 
belonged  all  the  vacant  land  in  the  State.  If  the  lands  purchased  of  the  Proprietaries  were  to  be 
taken  from  the  purchasers,  to  quiet  the  Connecticut  settlers,  justice  required  that  those  pur- 
chasers should  receive  an  equivalent. 

"If,  at  that  time,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  had  been  possessed  of  adequate  funds,  those 
purchasers  might  have  been  indemnified  out  of  the  public  treasury;  but  the  State  had  no  money, 
and  the  State  certificates,  like  those  of  the  United  States,  were  then  worth  only  four  or  five  shillings 
in  the  pound.  It  was  in  the  power  of  the  State,  however,  to  give  a  complete  indemnity  without 
increasing  its  financial  burthens.  There  were  some  millions  of  acres  of  new,  unappropriated  lands, 
of  which  the  Indian  title  had  three  years  before  been  extinguished.  These  were  at  the  disposal 
of  the  State.  I  therefore  introduced  into  the  Bill  a  section  to  provide  for  an  equitable  appraisment 
of  the  tracts  claimed  by  the  Pennsylvanians  in  the  Wyoming  territory,  and,  in  lieu  thereof,  auth- 
orizing them  to  locate,  where  they  pleased,  in  the  great  body  of  vacant  lands,  such  quantities 
as  would  be  equivalent  to  those  lost  at  Wyoming — not  acre  for  acre,  but  value  for  value." 

At  Philadelphia,  on  March  20,  1787,  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  Capt. 
Aaron  Cleveland§,  in  part,  as  follows: 

"Having  been  appointed  to  some  public  offices  in  the  County  of  Luzerne  in  this  State 
(which  County  comprehends  the  Wyoming  lands),  I  was  authorized  by  the  General  Assembly, 
in  conjunction  with  Colonel  Butler  and  Mr.  Franklin,  to  hold  an  election  there.     Franklin  was 

*See  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII  :  147. 

tSee  page  1540. 

JSee  Upham's  "Life  of  Timothy  Pickering,"  II  :  265. 

§He  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and,  as  early  at  least  as  1774,  was  a  proprietor  in  The  Susquehanna  Company. 
At  Wilkes-Barre,  on  March  20,  1786,  "Obadiah  Gore  of  Wilkesbarre"  conveyed  to  .4aron  Cleveland  of  "said  Wilkes- 
barre"  for  £15,  his  house-lot,  so  called,  consisting  of  3'j  acres" — being  Lot  No.  5  in  the  town-plot,  and  "adjoining 
the  house-lot  lately  belonging  to  Col.  John  Durkee,  deceased,  on  the  north-east  side  thereof."  Lot  No.  5  in  the  town- 
plot  fronted  on  the  present  River  St. ,  half-way  between  Market  and  Northampton  Streets.    See  page  655  ,  Vol.  II. 


1560 

absent,  but  Colonel  Butler  joined  me,  and  with  much  labor  and  difficulty  we  persuaded  the  people 
to  elect  a  Councillor,  Representative,  &c.  The  Councillor,  Colonel  Denison,  has  taken  his  seat 
in  Council,  but  Mr.  Franklin  has  stayed  at  home,  dissatisfied  (as  I  am  well  informed)  at  their  having 
been  an  election;  and  he  may  probably  continue  his  opposition  to  the  measures  pursuing  by  Gov- 
ernment for  giving  peace  to  that  unhappy  country. 

"However,  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that  peace  is  not  far  distant,  for  I  think  those  meas- 
ures will  give  general  satisfaction.  I  shall,  in  consequence,  move  up  to  that  country  with  my 
family.  When  there  last  Winter  I  was  informed  that  you  owned  a  town-lot  in  Wilkesbarre,  and 
that  you  would  probably  be  willing  to  sell  it.  If  so,  and  you  will  inform  me  of  the  terms — or 
authorize  any  friend  of  }'ours  here  to  sell  it — and  we  agree  as  to  the  price,  I  will  purchase  it. 

"You  may  perhaps  recollect  me.  I  think  I  saw  you  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  where  I 
then  lived.  I  believe  it  was  at  your  relation's,  Mrs.  Higginson.  On  the  ground  of  that  connection 
I  will  ask  your  friendship  to  assist  me  in  bargaining  for  one-half  the  right  in  Wilkesbarre  which 
belonged  to  Colonel  Durkee,  and  which  was  sold  by  his  son  John  to  Captain  Spalding  and  (as 
I  am  informed)  Mr.  Jedidiah  Hyde  of  Norwich.  When  at  Wyoming,  I  bought  Spalding's  half 
{viz.,  half  the  meadow-lot,  half  a  five-acre  lot,  and  half  the  back-lot)  for  £65,  Pennsylvania  cur- 
rency (or  173J  dollars).  *  *  *  j  uq^^  ^gg  tjjg  favor  of  you  to  see  Mr.  Hyde,  and  in  my 
behalf,  to  treat  with  him  for  his  interest  aforementioned."     *     *     * 

The  Bill  drawn  up  by  Colonel  Pickering,  as  hereinbefore  related,  was 
approved  by  the  committee  of  the  Assembly,  and  without  delay,  was  reported 
to  the  House.  After  some  debate  the  House  agreed,  by  a  small  majority,  on 
March  27,  1787,  that,  with  some  slight  alterations,  the  Bill  should  be  enacted 
into  a  law.  Among  the  thirty-six  Representatives  who  voted  in  favor  of  the  Bill 
were  the  following-named:  Robert  Morris,  Thomas  Fitzsimons,  George  Clymer, 
and  Jacob  Hiltzheimer  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia;  Isaac  Gray  and  George 
Logan  of  Philadelphia  County;  Adam  Hubley  and  George  Ross  of  Lancaster 
County;  Daniel  Clymer  of  Berks  County;  Peter  Trexler,  Jr.,  of  Northampton 
County.  Among  the  twenty-three  Representatives  who  voted  against  the  Bill 
were  the  following-named:  Robert  Whitehill  of  Cumberland  County;  Robert 
Brown  and  Peter  Burkhalter  of  Northampton  County;  Frederick  Antes  and 
Samuel  Dale  of  Northumberland  County;  William  Findley  of  Westmoreland 
County.  The  majority  of  the  negative  votes  came  from  Representatives  living 
in  the  then  western  Counties  of  the  State. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  vote  on  the  Bill  was  taken,  Colonel  Pickering, 

at  Philadelphia,  wrote  to  his  brother  John,  in  Massachusetts,  in  part,  as  follows: 

"I  have  so  far  accomplished  a  business  of  great  moment  as  to  bring  the  Wyoming  people 
to  consent  to  receive  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  provided  their  old  possessions  could  be  confirmed 
to  them;  and  this  day  the  General  Assembly  have  agreed  to  a  law  for  quieting  them,  on  the  prin- 
ciples I  held  out  to  the  people.  So  peace  and  good  government  will  be  introduced  into  a  settle- 
ment with  which  Pennsylvania  has  been  contending  these  seventeen  or  eighteen  years.  The 
result  of  the  measure  will  oblige  me  to  go  to  Wyoming  (now  called  the  County  of  Luzerne)  m 
a  few  days.  »  *  *  i  thus  consider  myself  as  fixed  for  the  remainder  of  my  life  in  this  State, 
and  here  I  should  wish  to  concentrate  my  interest.  *  *  *  j  have  bargained  for  several  par- 
cels of  land  at  Wyoming — containing  in  the  whole  about  700  acres — for  which  I  shall  have  to  pay 
about  500  dollars  in  the  course  of  five  months,  and  nearly  500  more  in  a  year."     *     *     » 

On  March  28,  1787,  the  aforementioned  Bill,  having  been  duly  engrossed, 
was  signed  by  Thomas  Mifflin,  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  and  thus  became  a 
law  of  the  Commonwealth.  It  was  entitled:  "An  Act  for  ascertaining  and  con- 
firming to  certain  Persons,  called  Connecticut  claimants,  the  Lands,  by  them 
claimed  within  the  County  of  Luzerne,  and  for  other  purposes  therein  men- 
tioned." In  Pennsylvania  history  it  has  been,  and  is  known,  as  "The  Con- 
firming Law  of  1787." 

The  preamble  (Section  I)  of  the  Act,  after  referring  to  the  "unhappy 
■dispute,"  which  for  years  had  subsisted  between  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut 
— "which  dispute  was  finally  terminated  by  the  decree  of  the  Court  of  Commis- 
sioners at  Trenton" — reads,  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  Before  the  termination  of  the  said  claim  of  Connecticut,  a  number  of  its  inhabit- 
ants, with  their  associates,  settled  upon  and  improved  divers  tracts  of  land  lying  on  or  near  to 


1561 

the  North-east  Branch  of  the  River  Susquehanna,  and  the  waters  thereof,  and  now  within  the 
County  of  Luzerne; 

"And  Whereas,  parts  of  the  same  lands  have  been  claimed  under  titles  derived  from  the  late 
Proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania,  and  these  interfering  claims  have  occasioned  much  contention, 
expense  and  bloodshed;  and  this  Assembly  being  desirous  of  putting  an  end  to  those  evils  by 
confirming  such  of  the  Connecticut  claims  as  were  acquired  by  actual  settlers  prior  to  the  termin- 
ation of  the  said  dispute,  agreeably  to  the  petition  of  a  number  of  the  said  settlers,  and  by  grant- 
ing a  just  compensation  to  the  Pennsylvania  claimants; 

"And  Whereas,  the  lands  aforesaid,  claimed  by  the  Connecticut  settlers,  have  usually 
been  assigned  to  them  in  rights,  or  lots,  of  about  300  acres  each — which  rights,  or  lots,  have  either 
been  entire  or  in  two  or  more  divisions; 

"Therefore,  Be  it  Enacted,  *  *  *  That  all  the  said  rights,  or  lots,  now  lying  within 
the  County  of  Luzerne,  which  were  occupied  or  acquired  by  Connecticut  claimants  who  were 
actually  settlers  there  at  or  before  the  termination  of  the  claim  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  by  the 
decree  aforesaid,  and  which  rights,  or  lots,  were  particularly  assigned  to  the  said  settlers  prior  to 
the  said  decree  (agreeably  to  the  regulations  then  in  force  among  them),  be  and  they  are  hereby, 
confirmed  to  them  and  their  heirs  and  assigns. 

"Proi'trffi,  That  all  the  claimants,  whose  lots  are  hereby  confirmed,  shall,  *  *  *  within 
eight  months  next  after  the  passing  of  this  Act,  prefer  to  the  Commissioners  hereinafter  mentioned 
their  respective  claims  to  the  lots  aforesaid;  therein  stating  the  grounds  of  their  claims,  and  suffi- 
ciently describing  the  lots  claimed  (so  that  the  same  may  be  known  and  ascertained),  and  sup- 
port the  same  by  reasonable  proofs. 

"Section  3.  *  *  *  Be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  Peter  Muh- 
lenberg, Timothy  Pickering  and  Joseph  Montgomery,*  Esquires,  be  and  are  hereby  appointed 
Commissioners  for  the  purposes  hereinafter  expressed  and  declared;  and  in  case  of  death,  absence, 
or  refusal  to  serve,  of  any  or  all  of  the  said  Commissioners,  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  are 
hereby  authorized  and  required  to  supply  the  vacancy  or  vacancies  occasioned  thereby.     »     *     * 

"Section  4.  *  *  *  The  said  Commissioners  shall  repair  to  the  County  of  Luzerne 
within  two  months  next  after  the  passing  of  this  Act,  and  at  such  place  within  the  same  County, 
and  at  such  time  as  the  said  Commissioners  shall  appoint,  to  meet  together  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  and  examining  the  claims  of  all  persons  to  the  lots  intended  by  this  Act  to  be  confirmed; 

*  *  *  and  that  all  persons  interested  in  the  said  lots  may  be  duly  notified  to  make  and  support 
their  claims  thereto,  within  the  time  prescribed  by  this  Act,  the  said  Commissioners  shall  cause 
it  to  be  published  in  one  or  more  of  the  newspapers  printed  in  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut, 
with  an  advertisement  subjoined  expressing  the  time  and  place  proposed  for  their  first  meeting; 
and  copies  of  this  Act,  and  of  the  said  advertisement,  shall  also  be  posted  up  at  sundry  places 
within  the  said  County,  for  the  information  of  the  inhabitants."     *     *     * 

Then  follow,  in  Sections  5,  6,  7  and  8  of  the  Act,  certain  conditions  on 
which  the  lands  were  to  be  "certified"  to  the  owners.  The  Commissioners  were 
authorized  to  appoint  surveyors  to  survey  the  lots  of  the  Connecticut  claimants; 
and  a  clerk,  to  record  the  proceedings  of  the  Commissioners.  The  Commis- 
sioners were  to  receive  for  their  services,  twenty  shillings  each,  per  day;  the 
clerk  was  to  receive  fifteen  shillings  per  day;  and  the  Commissioners  were  to 
fix  for  the  surveyors,  chain-carriers  and  markers,  a  "reasonable  compensation," 
which  was  to  be  paid  by  the  claimants  whose  claims  to  the  lands  in  question, 
should   be   admitted.      Pennsylvania   claimants   were   provided  for   as   follows: 

"Section  9. — And  Whereas,  the  late  Proprietaries-and  divers  other  persons  have  heretofore 
acquired  titles  to  parcels  of  the  lands  aforesaid,  agreeably  to  the  laws  and  usages  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  who  will  be  deprived  thereof  by  the  operation  of  this  Act;  and  as  justice  requires  that  compen- 
sation be  made  for  the  lands  of  which  they  shall  thus  be  divested;  and  as  the  State  is  possessed 
of  other  lands  in  which  an  equivalent  may  be  rendered  to  the  claimants  under  Pennsylvania; 
and  as  it  will  be  necessary  that  their  claims  should  be  ascertained  by  a  proper  examination; 

"Be  it  therefore  Enacted,  That  all  persons  having  such  claims  to  lands  which  will  be  affected 
by  the  operation  of  this  Act,  shall  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  required,  *  *  *  within  twelve 
months  from  the  passing  of  tliis  Act,  to  present  the  same  to  the  Board  of  Property,  therein  clearly 
describing  those  lands,  and  stating  the  grounds  of  their  claims,  and  also  adducing  the  proper  proofs. 

*  *  *  And  for  every  claim  which  shall  be  admitted  by  said  Board,  as  duly  supported,  the 
equivalent  by  them  allowed  may  be  taken  either  in  the  old  or  new  Purchase,  at  the  option  of  the 
claimant;  and  warrants  and  patents,  and  all  other  acts  of  the  public  offices  relating  thereto,  shall 
be  performed  free  of  expense."     *     *     * 

In  compliance  with  the  mandate  contained  in  Section  4,  of  the  foregoing 
Act,  the  Act  itself,  with  a  "subjoined  advertisement,"  was  printed  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania Packet  (Philadelphia)  of  April  12,  1787,  and  in  certain  newspapers  in 
Connecticut.  As  Commissioner  Montgomery  was  not  in  Philadelphia  at  that 
time  (he  was  li\ang  in  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania),  the  advertisement  was  signed 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives.*'  X  :  751. 


1562 


by,  and  appeared  over  the  names  of,  the  other  two  Commissioners  only, 
following  is  a  facsimile  of  it. 


The 


Philadelphia,  April  id,   1787. 

JN  purfuance  of  the  foregoing  A61 

of  the  General  Aflembly  of  Pennfylvania,  we  hereby  give 
Public  Notice.  That  the  CommifTionerj  thereby  appointed, 
>will  meet  at  the  houfe  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  in  Wilkef- 
borough  (otherwife  called  Wilkdbirrc)  in  the  county  of 
Xnzerne,  an  Monday  the.twenry  eighth  day  of  May  next,  to 
receive  and  eiamine  the  ConnciSlicut  Claim?  to  Lands  in  that 
county,  and  to  perform  the  other  duties  required  of  them  by 
the  faid  aft. 

PETER  MUHLENBERO,     )    „ ,,.,.„, 

TIMOTHY  PICieERING,       )   Commilliorters. 


Copies  of  this  were,  in  due  time,  distributed  freely  througjiout  the  Wyoming 
settlements. 

At  Philadelphia,  on  the  same  date  as  that  of  the  Commissioners'  adver- 
tisement, Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  Colonel  Butler,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  in  part, 
as  follows  :* 

"I  think  it  a  little  extraordinary  that  some  people  at  Wyoming  should  not  have  patience 
enough  to  wait  for  the  result  of  the  late  session  of  the  Assembly  before  they  proceeded  to  execute 
the  unwarrantable  resolves  of  The  Susquehanna  Company.  Such  precipitation  serves  to  confirm 
the  opinion  that  certain  characters  (notwithstanding  all  pretences  to  the  contrary)  do  not  desire 
peace  with  this  State  on  any  reasonable  terms.  'Tis,  nevertheless,  a  satisfaction  to  the  real  lovers 
of  peace,  to  reflect  that  a  great  majority  of  the  settlement  are  disposed  to  accept  of  such  terms 
as  Pennsylvania  has  granted.  They  are  terms  which  give  entire  satisfaction  to  the  Connecticut 
gentlemen  in  town  with  whom  I  have  conversed,  and  go  to  the  full  extent  of  what  the  Connecticut 
Delegates  in  Congress  expected  or  desired,  or,  rather,  I  believe,  beyond  their  expectations!  All 
the  lands  prayed  for  in  the  petition  are  confirmed — and  freely,  without  price!     *     *     * 

"I  trust  the  prudent  part  of  the  settlement  will  have  spirit  enough  to  maintain  their  own 
rights,  and  pay  no  regard  to  the  extravagant  claims,  or  wild,  impracticable  schemes,  of  men  who 
have  not  the  true  interest  of  the  settlement  at  heart." 

At  Philadelphia,  on  April  11,  1787,  President  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council,  forwarded  to  Lord  Butler,  at  Wilkes-Barr^,  his 
commission  as  "High  Sheriff  of  Luzerne  County",  together  with  printed  copies 
of  the  Confirming  Law,  and  a  personal  letter  (now  printed  for  the  first  time) 
reading,  in  part,  as  follows:! 

*  *  *  "The  spirit  of  condescension  and  goodwill  of  the  Legislature  towards  those 
settlers,  manifested  by  this  Act,  in  attending  so  readily  to  their  petitions,  and  in  giving  them  so . 
fair  an  opportunity  of  establishing  their  claims  and  quieting  their  possessions  for  themselves  and 
their  posterity,  will,  we  are  persuaded,  have  its  proper  effect  on  the  prudent  and  reasonable 
majority,  who  can  set  a  just  value  on  the  blessings  of  peace  and  good  government;  and  we  hope, 
therefore,  that  the  endeavours  of  a  few  restless  individuals — if  such  should  remain — who  may 
expect  to  find  their  own  private  and  separate  advantage  in  public  troubles,  will  not  have  any  effect 
in  disturbing  this  commencement  of  harmony,  which,  in  its  completion,  will  secure  to  the  inhabi- 
tants not  only  the  lands  that  have  been  in  question,  but  the  additional  advantage  of  our  excellent 
Constitution,  and  the  protection  of  one  of  the  principal  States  in  the  Union!  You  may  assure  the 
people  that  the  good  disposition  of  the  Council  towards  them  is  not  inferior  to  that  which  has 
been  manifested  by  the  General  Assembly." 

Colonel  Pickering  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  Philadelphia  about  April 
10,  1787,  and  upon  his  arrival  here  found  that  Colonel  Franklin  and  his  adherents 
were  actively  engaged  in  arousing  among  the  inhabitants  a  sentiment  of  hostility 
to  the  Confirming  Law.  According  to  Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming,"  page 
409), "Franklin,  with  characteristic  industry,  visited  from  town  to  town,  from 

*See  the  "PicVering  Papers,"  LVII  :  153. 
tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII  :  158. 


1563 

settlement  to  settlement,  and  from  house  to  house,  kindling  by  his  burning  zeal, 
the  passions  of  his  adherents,  to  resist  the  laws,  not  by  open  violence,  but  by 
avoiding  to  commit  themselves  by  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  or  participating 
in  any  measure,  that  should  seem  to  acknowledge  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State, 
unless  some  law  more  comprehensive,  liberal  and  specific  should  first  be  enacted 
to  quiet  the  settlers  in  their  lands." 

That  Franklin,  at  this  time,  was  not  only  refusing  to  recognize  the  change 
in  jurisdiction  from  Connecticut  to  Pennsylvania,  but  also  the  fact  that  the 
County  of  Luzerne  had  been  erected,  is  shown  by  original  documents  of  that 
period,  now  in  existence.  For  example:  the  present  writer  has  in  his  possession 
a  deed,  in  the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Franklin,  executed  at  "Wilkesbarre" 
April  10,  1787,  whereby,  "Frederick  Eveland  of  Plymouth,  in  the  vSusquehanna 
Purchase",  conveyed  to  Benjamin  Harvey  of  Plymouth,  certain  lands  on  "Shaw- 
anese  Flat."  The  acknowledgment  of  Eveland,  the  grantor,  appears  in  the 
following  form: 

"Wyoming,  ss.:  Wilkesbarre,  April  10th,  17S7,  personally  appeared  Frederick  Eveland, 
signer  and  sealer  of  the  above  written  instrument,  and  acknowledged  the  same  to  be  his  own  act 
and  deed,  before  me. 

[Signed]  "John  Franklin,  Director." 

As  noted,  it  had  been  decided,  before  Colonel  Pickering  left  Wilkes-Barre, 
early  in  February,  that  the  election  for  Justices  of  the  Peace  should  be  held  in 
the  three  districts  of  the  County,  on  April  19,  1787.  Upon  his  return  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  however,  Colonel  Pickering  decided  that,  in  consequence  of  the  very 
unsatisfactorj^  conditions  then  prevailing  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the 
County  (but  particularly  in  the  central  portion),  the  date  for  holding  the  election 
in  the  First  District  (which  comprehended  Wilkes-Barre)  should  be  changed  to 
April  26th,  and  the  date  for  the  Second  District  (which  comprehended  Kingston 
and  Plymouth  Townships)  should  be  changed  to  May  3rd.  Accordingly,  on 
April  13th,  Colonel  Pickering  gave  official  notice  to  the  freeholders  of  the  First 
District  to  meet  on  Thursday,  April  26th,  "at  12  o'clock,  at  the  house  of  Col. 
Zebulon  Butler  in  Wilkesbarre,  in  said  County,  to  elect  four  Justices  of  the  Peace 
for  the  said  District."  At  the  same  time,  notice  was  issued  to  the  freeholders 
of  the  Second  District  to  meet  at  Forty  Fort,  on  May  3rd,  to  elect  four  Justices 
of  the  Peace.  Notice  had  already  been  issued  with  respect  to  the  Third  District, 
fixing  April  19th  as  election-day. 

About  this  time.  Colonel  Pickering  learned  of  two  matters  which  vexed 
and  disquieted  him  considerably:  (1)  A  remonstrance  against  Joseph  Mont- 
gomery's serving  as  a  Commissioner  under  the  Confirming  Law,  had  been  for- 
warded to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  signed  by  a  number  of  Wyoming 
inhabitants,  and  setting  forth  that  when  Montgomery  was  in  Wyoming  in  April, 
1783,  as  "Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners,  appointed  by  the  Assembly, 
he  was  partial  and  prejudiced."  (2)  Copies  of  a  printed  address  intended  for 
certain  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wyoming,  were  brought  into  the  settlements  and 
secretly  distributed  among  the  known  adherents  of  Colonel  Franklin.  One  of 
these  copies  fell  into  the  hands  of  Colonel  Pickering,  and  is  now  preserved  (prob- 
ably the  only  one  in  existence)  among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII  :  167). 
It  is  a  broadside,  about  12x20  inches  in  size,  and  was  printed  at  Hudson,  New 
York,  by  Ashbel  Stoddard.  It  bears  no  date,  but  is  endorsed  on  the  back,  in 
the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Pickering:    "Major  Judd's*  address  to  the  inhabitants 

*See  page  824,  Vol.  II,  and  pages  1540  and  1549  of  this  volumne. 


1564 

of  Wyoming,  brought  into  the  settlement  about  April  13,  1787."    The  document 
reads,  in  part,  as  follows: 

"An  Address" 

"To  the  Settlers  at  Wyoming  under  the  Connecticut  Claim." 

"Gentlemen:  Impressed  with  the  distresses  through  which  you  have  passed;  the  intoler- 
able sufferings  you  have  sustained  in  the  settlement  of  a  new  country  distant  from  other  inhabited 
parts  of  the  countr\';  the  depredations  you  have  experienced  from  a  savage  enemy;  the  relentless 
cruelty  of  opposing  claimants,  aided  by  the  power  of  a  potent  State;  together  with  the  dangers 
you  appear  surrounded  with  (from  the  insinuating  craft  of  a  junto,  foiled  and  disappointed  in  their 
strategems  to  dispossess  you  by  force  of  a  country  the  fair  inheritance  of  your  fathers,  purchased, 
settled  and  defended  by  your  prowess  through  a  long,  cruel  and  bloody  war — a  territory  enriched 
by  the  blood  of  your  fathers,  brothers  and  sons,  and  still  reeking  with  the  mangled  carcasses  and 
blood  of  your  dearest  friends,  whose  scattered  bones  are  still  whitening  in  the  sun,  promiscuously 
dispersed  from  your  borders  on  the  south  to  the  falls  of  Niagara  on  the  north),  the  sad  remembrance 
will  force  a  tear  of  compassion  from  the  manly  bosom  of  every  virtuous  inhabitant  of  that  so- 
long-devoted  country. 

"My  dear  friends,  I  have  shared  with  you  in  some  of  the  enumerated  distresses,  and  in 
all,  my  heart  hath  bled  for  your  misfortunes.  Suffer  me  for  a  moment  to  point  you  to  what  you 
have  been — still  are — and  the  prospects  still  within  your  reach. 

"You  were  once  the  free  citizens  of  a  free  country,  justly  entitled  to  all  the  blessings  re- 
sulting from  a  free  and  equal  Government  established  in  a  country  the  purchase  of  your  ancestors, 
and  transmitted  to  you  unclogged  by  the  shackles  of  rents  or  tythes  or  any  other  engine  of  des- 
potism— a  fair  inheritance  which  your  personal  valor  hath  defended  with  much  applause.  And 
now  you  have  become  powerful;  have  braved  the  dangers  with  which  you  have  been  surrounded; 
put  to  silence  the  tongue  of  slander,  and  established  yourselves  beyond  the  reach  of  those  that 
sought,  your  ruin — aided  by  your  numerous  friends  in  Connecticut,  whose  exertions  have  ever 
sustained  you  while  tottering  beneath  the  power  and  strategem  of  Pennsylvania;  have  fostered 
you  in  their  bosoms:  generously  parted  with  their  property,  for  mutual  advantage,  and  are  daily 
furnishing  you  additional  strength,  in  men  and  means — all  calculated  to  sustain  you  against  the  im- 
potence of  that  gasconading  power  that  hath  sought  your  ruin.     *     *     * 

"Your  country  is  fertile,  pleasantly  situated  and  healthful;  your  numbers  are  an  overmatch 
for  your  opponents — considering  your  local  situation ;  your  strength  is  daily  increasing,  and  with- 
out doubt  will  be  augmented  threefold  in  the  course  of  the  present  year,  unless  prevented  by 
your  internal  divisions.  The  eyes  of  the  Eastern  States  are  upon  your  country;  hundreds  and 
hundreds  of  your  [Susquehanna]  Company  friends  are  preparing  to  emigrate  to  you;  men  of 
property  and  ability  are  sending  out  their  sons,  and  many  are  calculating  to  remove  with  their 
families  and  effects  into  your  country.  Many  heretofore  cool  are  incensed,  and  determined  to 
support  you;  preparations  are  making  to  disannul  the  infamous  Decree  of  Trenton;  our  Assembly, 
already  sufficiently  alarmed,  will  be  petitioned;  Congress  will  be  applied  to,  in  full  confidence 
that  the  end  will  be  joyous  and  happy! 

"Where,  then,  are  your  present  fears  conjured  from?  unless  the  guilty  dreams  of  the 
apostates  prompt  them  to  mislead  you,  hoping  the  specious  delusion  may  cover  their  dark  designs 
from  the  eye  of  Truth,  till  you  are  sunk  beyond  the  power  of  humanity  to  relieve  you.  The  day 
brightens  upon  you !  All  is  sunshine  without,  and  nothing  from  within  deserves  the  name  of  dangerl 
Arouse,  then,  my  friends!  Prove  yourselves  capable  of  enduring  to  the  last,  when  the  fair  pos- 
session your  deserts  have  gained  will  be  established  in  safety  and  peace;  and,  if  supported  by  the 
Government  of  any  State  in  the  Union,  you  may  become  an  important  branch  of  a  National  Govern- 
ment that  hastens  upon  us  with  uncommon  strides. 

"Can  you,  my  friends,  forget  the  malicious  spirit  with  which  you  have  been  persecuted? 
Do  you  not  remember  the  administration  of  Moore  and  Patterson;  the  cruel  and  faithless  conduct 
of  Boyd  and  Armstrong?  Do  not  the  deep-wrought  sears  occasioned  by  handcuffs  and  fetters 
still  remain  upon  your  hands  and  feet?  Hath  the  filthy  stench  of  prison  dungeons  quite  escaped 
your  remembrance?  Are  your  late  enfeebled  limbs  and  dreary  countenances,  lank  faces  and  tat- 
tered carcasses — the  effects  of  long  confinement — wholly  forgotten  by  you?  *  *  *  Are  the 
miserable  sufferings  of  your  old  men;  your  wives  and  children  driven  through  the  wilderness  by 
the  hand  of  cruelty  (dishonourable  to  savage  barbarity)  all  overlooked?  Where  are  your  herds, 
your  flocks,  your  furniture  and  clothing,  of  which  you  were  mercilessly  despoiled  by  an  inhuman 
banditti,  palmed  upon  your  country  by  the  Government  to  destroy  you? 

"Where  is  the  evidence  of  a  prompt  and  ready  disposition  of  the  part  of  Pennsylvania  to 
restore  your  plundered  property,  and  reimburse  your  losses,  sustained  (sic)  by  their  troops  and 
taken  from  you  by  the  command  of  their  leaders,  with  an  avowed  design  to  impoverish  you,  and 
thereby  disable  you  from  holding  and  enjoying  the  fruits  of  your  purchase  and  labour?  From 
what  quarter  are  you  assured  of  the  favour  of  that  Government  that  is  gaping  to  receive  you? 
Where  is  your  title  to  your  lands  under  that  State?  What  ground  of  security  have  you  that  you 
shall  be  permitted  to  inhabit  your  country  one  moment  after  you  submit  to  that  Government? 
Have  you  not  petitioned  with  humility?  Have  you  been  answered  with  a  graceful  smile?  or 
have  your  petitions  been  treated  with  disrespect,  and  been  totally  unanswered?     *     *     * 

"As  a  friend  to  the  settlement,  and  from  my  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  duplicity 
of  that  Government  a  few  of  you  seem  to  wish  for,  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  solemnly  to  warn 
you  to  be  cautious,  and  not  to  leap  before  you  look  and  clearly  see  your  way — lest  you  repent 
your  folly  when  it  is  too  late.     If,  after  all  my  admonitions,  you  will  destroy  yourselves,  I  shall 


1565 

be  acquitted,  and  the  folly  will  be  chargeable  to  your  own  account.  Colonel  Pickering  is  an  art- 
ful mail,  and  is  made  use  of  (being  of  New  England  extraction)  to  deceive  you.  He  is  interested 
under  Pennsylvania.  Beware  of  this  disguise!  Let  me  entreat  you  to  be  wise  and  steadfast. 
Look  to  Colonel  Franklin — he  hath  been  and  is  still  your  friend!  His  ability  and  integrity  you  may 
rest  secure  upon. 

"I  am,  gentlemen,  your  devoted  friend  and  very  humble  servant. 


On  April  19th,  in  accordance  with  the  arrangements  which  had  been  made, 
the  election  for  four  Justices  was  held  in  the  Third  District  (at  Sheshequin), 
with  the  following  result:  Obadiah  Gore  received  50  votes;  Elijah  Buck,  35; 
Nathan  Kingsley,  31;  Joseph  Kinney,  26;  and  twelve  others  received  from  one 
vote  to  15  votes  each.  On  the  same  day,  at  Forty  Fort,  a  meeting  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Wyoming,  generally,  was  held — a  sort  of  town-meeting.  Miner, 
(in  his  "History  of  Wyoming",  page  410)  gives  the  following  account  of  the 
affair: 

"A  platform  had  been  erected  for  the  Moderator  and  clerks  of  the  meeting, 
and  a  stand  for  the  speakers,  convenient  to  address  the  assembly.  James  Sutton 
was  called  on  to  preside.  The  meeting  had  come  together  to  take  into  consider- 
ation, the  important  matter  whether  the  terms  offered  by  the  Confirming  Law 
should  be  accepted — which  involved  the  point  whether  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania 
should  be  received  and  obeyed.  On  these  questions,  as  we  have  previously 
intimated,  there  was  a  wide  diversity  of  opinion.  Throughout  the  Valley  of 
Wyoming  proper — wherein  the  earliest  settlements  were  made,  and  the  principal 
sufferings  had  been  experienced  *  *  *  ^  great  majority  were  in  favour  of 
coming  in  kindly  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State,  and  accepting  the  terms 
held  out  by  the  Confirming  Law.  The  older  men,  wearied  with  contests,  and 
desirous  of  repose,  more  especially  took  the  part  of  obedience,  compromise  and 
peace.  A  few — perhaps  a  third — smarting  under  the  treachery  of  Armstrong  and 
the  insolence  of  Patterson,  distrusted  all  promises  made  on  behalf  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, however  plausible  and  fairly  made.  Others — young  men,  brave  and 
ardent — still  'loved  the  rocking  of  the  battlements,'  and  wooed  the  storm  that 
brought  action  and  imparted  distinction.     *     *     * 

"So  great  a  gathering  had  not  been  known  in  the  Valley  for  years.  Matters 
of  the  highest  moment  were  to  be  discussed  and  decided.  Indeed,  the  future 
fate  of  Wyoming  seemed  to  rest  on  their  deliberations,  and  the  decision  of  that 
day.  Little  less  than  war  or  peace  appeared  to  be  involved  in  the  issue.  All 
felt  the  magnitude  of  the  question  to  be  resolved.  But  Wj'oming  was  no  longer 
united.  Discord  had  reared  its  snaky  crest;  malign  passions  were  awakened. 
Brother  met  brother,  and  friend  confronted  friend,  not  with  the  'All  hail!'  of 
hearty  good-will,  but  with  beating  heart,  knit  brow,  and  the  frown  of  anger 
and  defiance. 

"Colonel  Pickering,  sustained  by  the  Butlers,  the  Hollenbacks,  the  Nesbitts 
and  the  Denisons,  appeared  as  the  advocate  of  law  and  compromise.     Colonel 


1566 

Franklin,  supported  by  the  Jenkinses,  the  Spaldings,  the  Satterlees,  came  forth 
the  champion  of  the  Connecticut  title.  Colonel  Pickering  first  ascended  the 
rostrum,  and  opened  the  meeting  by  an  able  address,  urging,  in  his  plain  common 
sense,  strong  and  emphatic  manner,  every  motive  that  could  operate,  leading  to 
a  fixed  government  of  law — freedom  from  harassing  contests  for  their  homes. 
*  *  *  He  pledged  his  honour,  dearer  than  life,  that  Pennsylvania  was  honest 
in  her  purpose,  sincere  in  her  offer  of  compromise,  and  that  full  faith  might  be 
reposed  in  her  promise.  Half  convinced,  yet  distrustful,  Stephen  Gardner  spoke 
up:  'Your  lips  speak  fair,  but  Oh!  that  there  was  a  window  in  that  breast,  that 
we  might  read  your  heart!' 

"Colonel  [John]  Jenkins,  in  his  brief  and  sententious  way,  demanded: 
'What  security  have  we,  that  if  we  comply,  and  put  ourselves  in  your  power, 
the  State  won't  repeal  the  law,  and  deal  as  treacherously  as  in  the  case  of  Arm- 
strong?' Colonel  Franklin  now  rose,  and  replied  with  all  the  bitterness  he  was 
master  of.  He  dwelt  on  the  justice  of  the  Connecticut  title;  the  land  was  their 
own,  purchased  with  their  money,  their  labour  and  their  blood;  the  sufferings 
of  the  settlers,  the  wrongs  and  insults  they  had  received  from  Pennsylvania, 
he  set  forth;  and  declared  the  terms  of  the  compromise  hollow  and  deceptive, 
and  in  no  measured  strains  (as  if  the  spirit  of  his  oath  on  the  bloody  rifle  re- 
animated him)  denounced  all  those  who  took  part  with  Pickering. 

"At  this  moment,  passions  long  with  difficulty  suppressed,  overpowered  all 
prudential  considerations,  and  Col.  [Mathias]  Hollenback,  one  of  the  earliest  and 
bravest  of  the  settlers,  drew  the  butt  of  his  riding-whip  and  aimed  a  blow  at 
Franklin's  head.  Caught  by  some  friendly  arm,  it  missed  its  aim ;  but  the  whole 
meeting  was  instantly  thrown  into  wild  confusion.  The  parties  ran  to  the  neigh- 
boring wood,  and  each  cutting  a  stick,  returned,  and  blows,  furious  and  severe, 
were  exchanged,  until  in  the  wild  melee,  the  meeting  separated  after  a  vote — 
not  very  orderly  taken — was  adopted  to  support  the  laws,  and  accept  the  pro- 
posed terms  of  compromise." 

Among  the  "Pickering  Papers"  (LVII  :  176)  is  a  paper  in  the  Colonel's 
handwriting  entitled:  "Notes  of  Colonel  Franklin's  speech  at  Forty  Fort,  April 
19,  1787."  Some  of  the  notes  are:  "He,  Franklin,  wishes  to  remain  here  in  peace. 
The  Commissioners,  [Pickering,  Muhlenberg  and  Montgomery]  were  appointed 
without  the  consent  of  the  people.  A  Federal  Court  ought  to  determine  the 
title  to  the  lands.  The  petition  [to  the  Assembly]  was  not  the  voice  of  the  people 
and  was  calculated  to  deceive." 

Mrs.  Deborah  (Sutton)  Bedford,  a  daughter  of  James  Sutton,  the  Mod- 
erator of  the  Forty  Fort  meeting,  was  fourteen  years  old  at  that  time  and  re- 
sided with  her  parents  near  Forty  Fort.  Many  )^ears  later  she  related  to  the 
Rev.  Dr.  George  Peck  the  following,  concerning  the  Forty  Fort  melee.  "The 
Franklin  men,  beginning  to  doubt  their  strength,  took  father  away,  and  carried 
him  into  the  woods.  A  general  vielee  followed.  The  men  rushed  into  the  thicket 
and  cut  clubs;  it  was  an  awful  scene.  *  *  *  Father  was  found  and  brought 
back,  and  after  a  slight  brush,  in  which  no  one  was  killed  or  very  seriously 
injured,  the  men  scattered  and  went  home.  Poor  Franklin  came  along  with  his 
face  bleeding  from  wounds  received  in  the  squabble." 

Shortl}'  after  the  Forty  Fort  meeting,  Colonel  Pickering  learned,  privately, 
that  either  Franklin  or  some  of  his  adherents  intended  to  take  steps  to  endeavor 
to  prevent  the  holding  of  the  election  in  the  First  and  Second  Districts,  on  April 


1567 


26th,  and  May  3rd,  respectively.  He  thereupon  drew  up  a  document,  copies 
of  which  he  sent  to  his  trusty  friends  in  different  localities.  These  were  to  be 
signed  by  the  freeholders,  who  could  be  induced  to  sign  them,  and  returned  to 
Colonel  Pickering  as  soon  as  possible.  Several  of  the  original  documents,  with 
the  signatures  thus  obtained,  are  preserved  among  the  "Pickering  Papers" 
(LVII  :  182),  and  the  one  relating  to  Wilkes-Barre  (which  has  never  heretofore 
been  printed)  reads,  as  follows: 

"Wilkes-Barre  Associators. 

"County  of  Luzerne,  April  21,  1787. 

"We,  whose  names  are  hereby  suscribed,  inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  do  hereby 

declare  that  it  is  our  sincere  desire  that  the  elections  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  said  County 

may  forthwith  take  place;  and  that  the  Government  and  Laws  of  Pennsylvania  may  immediately 

be  submitted  to,  and  have  their  free  operation  in  this  County,  as  they  have  in  every  other  County 


of  the  State. 
"Zebulon  Butler, 

Abel  Yarington, 

William  Ross, 

John  P.  Schott, 

Jabez  Fish, 

Jabez  Sill, 

Ebenezer  Slocum, 

Amos  Bennet, 

Eleazer  Blackman, 

Comfort  Cary, 

Rufus  Bennet, 

Daniel  Gridley, 

Edward  Edgerton, 

William  Neal  [or  Veas], 

Elisha  Blackman, 

Cornelius  Gaile, 

Charles  Bingham, 

Richard  Dilley, 

Elijah  Bennet, 

John  Campbell, 

Joseph  Sprague, 

Joseph  Sprague,  Jr., 

A  similar  petition, 
the  following  named : 
"Wm.  Hooker  Smith, 

Benjamin  Brown, 

Increase  Billings, 

Enos  Brown,  Jr., 

Stephen  Prouty, 

Nathan  Stark, 

Silas  Jackson, 

John  Williams, 

Cornelius  Cortright, 

Thomas  Read, 

William  Stark,  Jr., 

John  Hover, 


[Signed] 
William  Dorton, 
Martin  Young, 
Robert  Young, 
John  HoUenback, 
Joseph  Kilborn, 
Asa  Bennet, 
Jehoiada  P.  Johnson, 
Daniel  Ross, 
Elisha  Blackman,  Jr., 
David  Richards, 
John  Downing, 
Thomas  Gibson, 
Adam  Dilley, 
Guy  Wells. 
Ichabod  Blackman, 
Christopher  Eliss, 
Ashbel  Waller, 
Mesheck  Walker, 
Adam  Mann, 
Asa  Stevens, 
Benjamin  Bailey, 
John  Hyde, 


John  Hagemen, 
Christian  Oehmig, 
Nathan  Cary, 
Jonathan  Avery, 
Richard  Price, 
Josiah  Stanborough, 
Jacob  Johnson,  Jr., 
Charles  Bennet, 
Richard  Dilley,  Jr., 
Benjamin  Cary, 
Stephen  Strickland, 
Thomas  Neill, 
George  Crumb, 
William  Young, 
Jonathan  Frisbey, 
Nathan  WaUer, 
John  Carey, 
Stephen  Holcomb, 
John  Seelye, 
Daniel  Robarts, 
M.  HoUenback, 
Nathan  Abbott." 


entitled  "Jacob's  Plains*  Associators",  was  signed  by 


Daniel  Gore, 
James  Westbrook, 
George  Cooper, 
John  Rozecrance, 
Job  Phillips, 
Isaiah  Howell, 
Abraham  Westbrook, 
Enos  Brown, 
Silas  Smith, 
William  Hurlbut, 
Jonathan  Rawson, 
William  Smith, 
Martin  Smith, 


John  Staples, 
John  Kennedy, 
William  Jackson, 
Abraham  \'anfleet, 
Jacob  Ozencup, 
Edward  Prouty, 
William  Stark, 
Samuel  Hover, 
Jonathan  Smith, 
James  Armstrong, 
Richard  Westbrook, 
Daniel  HoUey, 
Isaas  Vanorman." 


Similar  petitions  were  signed  in  the  following  localities,  situated  in  the 
Second  District:  Hanover,  34  signatures;  "Lackawannock",  39  signatures; 
Kingston  and  Exeter,  40  signatures;  "Shawnee  and  Kingston",  87  signatures; 
Tunkhannock,  7  signatures. 

Colonels  Pickering  and  Butler  appointed  Christopher  Hurlbut  to  serve  as 
Judge  of  Election  in  the  First  District,  and  James  Sutton  to  serve  in  a  like  capacity 
in  the  Second  District.  On  April  25th,  however — the  day  before  that  fixed 
for  the  election  in  the  First  District — Colonels  Pickering  and  Butler  appointed! 
"John  Hageman  to  preside  at  said  election,     *     *     *     provided,  that  if  the  said 

^Jacob's  Plains  lay  within  the  bounds  of  Wilkes-Barre  Tow-nship. 
tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers."  LVII  :  209. 


1568 

Christopher  Hurlbut  shall  attend  and  hold  the  said  election,  then  you  [Hageman] 
will  forbear  to  act  on  this  warrant.  This  precaution  of  appointing  you  to  preside 
at  the  said  election  being  taken  to  frustrate  the  flagitious  designs  of  a  few  lawless 
men,  by  whom  it  is  said,  the  said  Christopher  Hurlbut  is  to  be  seized  and  carried 
away,  to  prevent  an  election  of  Justices  as  aforesaid." 

The  election  in  the  First  District  was  held  without  any  rumpus,  on  Thursday, 
April  26,  1787,  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Butler  in  Wilkes-Barre,  with  the  fol- 
lowing result :  Mathias  Hollenback  received  45  votes ;  William  Hooker  Smith,  42 
votes;  Christopher  Hurlbut,  39  votes;  Ebenezer  Marcy,  36  votes;  and  fifteen 
other  persons  received  from  one  vote  to  twenty-six  votes  each.  Messrs.  Hollen- 
back, Smith,  Hurlbut  and  Marcy  were  thereupon  declared  and  returned  elected 


Matthias  Hollenback 

The  next  day,  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  his  wife,  at  Philadelphia,  in  part 

as  follows: 

"I  am  happy  that  I  can  inform  you  that  we  have  held  an  election  here  in  perfect  tran- 
quillity, and  that  I  have  reason  to  think  all  danger  at  an  end.  Franl^lin  has  got  to  the  end  of  his 
tether,  and  I  believe  it  will  not  be  in  his  power  to  do  more  mischief.  I  expect  to  leave  this  place 
for  home  this  day  week — say  May  5.  I  am  busy  in  making  a  garden,  and  in  farming;  but  we  have 
such  cold  and  dry  weather  that  nothing  grows — hardly  a  night  without  frost.     Mr.  [Matthias] 


1569 

HoUenback  will  deliver  this,  and  I  wish  him  to  breakfast  or  dine  with  you ;  for  he  has  been  very 
obliging  to  me,  and  I  expect  we  shall  live  in  his  house,  which  is  a  very  good  one."     *     *     * 

At  Wilkes-Barr^,  April  29,  1787,  Col.  John  Franklin  wrote  to  Dr.  Joseph 
Hamilton*  at  Hudson,  New  York,  as  follows:! 

"You  will  receive  this  with  my  budget  by  Mr.  Follett,  on  his  way  to  Windham.  I  hope 
Esquire  IZerah)  Beach  will  be  here  before  I  leave  the  settlement,  which  must  be  as  early  as  the 
9th  of  May.  Pray  write  as  soon  as  possible.  Send  your  dispatches — that  comprehend  matters 
of  secrecy — to  Major  Jenkins,  in  case  of  my  absence.  I  fear  you  have  missed  your  politics  in 
putting  too  much  trust  on  Mr.  A.  Mooder.  I  believe  him  to  be  a  friend  to  our  cause,  but  fear  he 
will  expose  us  by  making  too  free  with  strangers.  The  address  from  Major  Judd  has  fell  into  Pick- 
ering's hands.  I  expect  A.  Mooder  delivered  one  of  them  to  some  one  who  he  supposed  to  be  a 
friend,  by  which  means  it  was  conveyed  to  Pickering. 

"Mr.  Chapman  is  gone  on  to  Tioga  yesterday.  He  appears  to  be  a  gentleman  of  knowledge, 
and  capable  of  doing  us  service,  but  /  cannot  put  confidence  in  strangers  until  I  am  fully  acquainted 
with  his  character. 

"We  shall  proceed  with  our  Court  of  Directors.  I  expect  that  Mr.  [Rosewell]  Welles  or 
Mr.  [Asa]  Starkweather  will  be  appointed  Secretary.  Colonel  Butler  and  Captain  Schott  have 
hitherto  appeared  willing  to  proceed,  tho  contrary  to  Pickering's  advice.  He  endeavored  to  pre- 
vent Colonel  Butler  from  proceeding  some  time  since,  but  to  no  purpose.  How  long  Colonel 
Butler  will  continue  willing  to  act  I  cannot  say.  He  was  forward  for  the  election  to  take  place. 
Captain  Schott  appeared  to  be  opposed  to  the  election  for  some  time,  but  finally  fell  in  with  it. 
At  the  election  in  this  District  he  agreed  to  be  run  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  HoUenback  and  others 
for  a  Justice,  but  was  much  disappointed  for  the  want  of  votes.  He  has  since  told  me  that  he  will 
proceed  as  one  of  the  Commissioners.  I  believe  he  wishes  us  well,  but  is  too  easily  persuaded 
when  he  can  discover  a  prospect  of  obtaining  interest  or  honor. 

"I  fear  you  have  put  too  much  trust  on  Esquire  [Obadiah]  Gore.  You  may  depend  that 
he  will  sacrifice  the  Company's  interest  to  secure  his  own.  He  has  not  surveyed  the  town  of 
Franklin  or  Juddsburg.  I  fear  your  settlers  will  be  disappointed  unless  some  other  surveyor,  is 
provided.  I  hear  Mr.  Gore  is  about  to  move  to  Wilkesbarre.  Immediately  expects  to  be  Judge 
of  the  Court.  I  should  have  had  a  greater  esteem  for  him  if  he  had  laid  aside  musk-rat  traps  and 
assisted  us  in  time  of  trouble.  He  is  willing  that  Pennsylvania  should  have  the  town  of  Athens, 
and  cheat  those  of  us,  who  have  been  the  salvation  of  this  country,  out  of  our  lands.  Ingratitude 
blacker  than  Hell!  Perhaps  he  may  curse  the  day  he  was  born,  before  he  will  accomplish  his 
designs  in  that  respect. 

"I  am.  Sir,  your  humble  servant, 

John  Fr.inklin.'' 

"To  be  communicated  to  Major  Judd  and  others  you  may  think  proper,  by  copy  or  other- 
wise; but  I  would  wish  the  affair  of  Captain  Schott  to  be  a  secret  among  yourselves,  as  I  would  not 
wish  to  make  him  an  enemy.    You  will  send  these  on  by  Mr.  Follett  if  you  think  best.    He  can 

deliver  them  to  Messrs. and  Wolcott,  or  to  Major  Judd.    He  will  stand  in  need  of  some 

expense  money  to  help  him  to  Windham.     I  was  not  able  to  furnish  him  with  any." 

*The  town  of  Sharon,  in  the  north-eastern  section  of  Litchfield  County,  Connecticut,  near  the  New  York  State 
line,  was  incorporated  in  October,  1739.  Among  the  first  of  the  new  settlers  to  locate  in  the  town,  either  in  1739  or 
1740,  was  David  Hamilton,  who  came  from  Lebanon,  Connecticut.  He  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  great  land 
speculators  of  the  day  in  that  locality,  his  name  appearing  on  the  public  land  records  as  the  grantee  or  grantor  in  deeds 
more  frequently  than  the  name  of  any  other  person.  He  was  largely  interested  in  lands  in  the  "New  Hampshire  Grants,'' 
and  is  said  to  have  held  a  right  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase.  He  was  for  a  time  Deputy  Sheriff  of  Litchfield  County. 
He  died  in  1781,  being  survived  by  his  sons  (i)  Dudley,  (ii)  John  and  (iii)  Joseph. 

(iii)  Joseph  Hamilton  was  born  at  Sharon  about  1740.  Prior  to  1769  he  had  become  a  physician,  and  he  prac- 
ticed medicine  in  Sharon  for  a  number  of  years.  October  25,  1773,  being  then  a  resident  of  Sharon,  he  bought  one 
"right"  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase,  and  about  the  same  time  became  interested  in  the  "New  Hampshire  Grants." 
In  November,  1774,  he  was  still  living  at  Sharon.  He  was  in  Wyoming  Valley  in  the  latter  part  of  1777,  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  he  remained  here  long.  In  May,  1778,  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  one  of  the 
Justices  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  County  of  Westmoreland  (Wyoming),  and  in  May,  1779,  and  again  in  May,  1780, 
was  reappointed  to  the  same  office.  As  his  name  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Westmoreland  tax-lists  for  1776,  1777,  1778 
and  later  years,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  he  never  took  up  his  residence  in  Wyoming.  However,  he  must  have  made, 
or  purchased  from  an  early  settler,  prior  to  May,  1780,  improvements  of  some  importance  here,  for  we  find  his  name 
in  the  "Bill  of  Losses"  presented  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  in  October,  1781,  with  the  amount  of  his 
losses  stated  at  £284,  17s.  (See  page  1282.) 

In  November,  1784,  the  toivn  of  Hudson  (on  the  Hudson  River,  in  Columbia  County,  New  York,  about  thirty 
miles  south  of  Albany)  was  so  named.  Prior  to  that  time  the  place  had  been  known  as  Claverack  Landing,  and  the 
land  there  and  thereabouts  had  been  purchased  of  Peter  Hogeboom  in  1783  by  a  company  of  proprietors  from  Rhode 
Island,  who  settled  there  the  same  year.  The  advent  of  the  year  1785  found  the  settlement  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
Throngs  of  settlers  came,  who,  a  year  before,  had  never  heard  of  Claverack  or  Hudson.  Among  them  was  Dr.  Joseph 
Hamilton,  who  removed  from  Sharon  in  the  Autumn  of  1785,  and  was  the  first  physician  to  locate  in  Hudson.  In  July, 
1785.  prior  to  his  removal  from  Sharon,  Dr.  Hamilton  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Executive,  or  Standing  Com- 
mittee of  The  Susquehanna  Company.  In  1786,  he  was  one  of  the  several  innkeepers  licensed  in  and  for  the  town  of 
Hudson,  He  was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  Hudson  Lodge,  No.  7,  .Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  constituted 
in  May,  1787. 

Dr.  Hamilton  was  married  August  3.  1769,  to  Zada  Stevens  of  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  the  following-named  children:  (i)  Waller,  bom  March  16,  1771;  (ii)  Theron,  baptized  in  1773;  (iii)  Pctlon  R..  bap- 
tized  May  7,  1775;  (iv)  Luciitda,  baptized  in  1777;  (v)  Tenuis  and  (vi)  Thyrza.  twins,  baptized  April  14,  1782;  (vii) 
Betsey  and  (viii)  Zada,  twins,  baptized  April  14,  1782. 

(i)  Walter  Hamilton  was  living  in  Athens,  Luzerne  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1795,  and  on  May  7th,  of  that  year 
was  granted  the  town  of  "Salisbury"  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase  by  the  Standing  Commissioners  of  The  Susquehanna 


1570 

On  Thursday,  May  3,  1787,  the  election  for  four  Justices  of  the  Peace  in 
the  Second  District  of  the  County  was  held  at  Forty  Fort,  quietly  and  in  order, 
with  the  following  result:  Benjamin  Carpenter  received  33  votes;  James  Nesbitt, 
21  votes;  Hezekiah  Roberts,  14  votes;  John  Dorrance,  13  votes;  and  eleven  other 
persons  received  from  one  vote  to  12  votes  each.  Whereupon,  Messrs.  Carpenter, 
Nesbitt,  Roberts  and  Dorrance  were  duly  declared  and  returned  elected. 

Colonel  Pickering  left  Wilkes-Barre  for  Philadelphia,  on  May  6th,  and  on 
the  day  before  he  set  out,  he  received  from  Dr.  Wm.  Hooker  Smith,  a  letter, 
reading  in  part,  as  follows:* 

"There  is  at  my  house  a  young  man  from  Lyme,  Connecticut,  who  informs  me  that  there 
has  been  a  battle  between  the  Mob  party  and  the  Government  at  Springfield.  The  mob  kept 
the  field.  They  had  fifteen  killed.  How  many  is  killed  on  the  side  of  the  Government  he  does 
not  know.  They  on  the  Mob  side  give  thirty  hard  dollars  bounty  and  forty  shillings  hard  [money] 
a  month — which  is  punctually  paid.  Shayf  has  sent  from  Canada  to  inform  the  mob  that  he 
e.xpects  soon  to  join  them  with  8,000  soldiers.     I  think  I  fully  now  discover  Franklin's  scheme." 

At  Philadelphia,  May  10,  1787,  Colonel  Pickering  sent  the  following 
communication  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council: 

"I  arrived  here  last  evening,  and  now  have  the  pleasure  to  enclose  the  returns  of  the  elections 
of  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County  of  Luzerne.  The  intended  interruption  of  one  of  the  elec- 
tions by  the  violence  of  Franklin's  party  I  rather  think  an  advantage  to  the  Government.  It 
has  excited  a  spirit  of  firmness  in  supporting  the  measures  of  the  Government,  and  of  resentment 
against  Franklin  and  his  adherents." 

The  next  day,  the  Council,  in  conformity  with  the  law  of  the  Common- 
wealth, chose  from  the  list  of  twelve  men  elected  as  Justices,  as  previously  re- 
lated, the  following-named:  Mathias  Hollenback  and  William  Hooker  Smith 
for  the  First  District;  Benjamin  Carpenter  and  James  Nesbitt  for  the  Second 
District;  Obadiah  Gore  and  Nathan  Kingsley,  for  the  Third  District;  and  they 
were  thereupon  duly  commissioned  as  Justices  of  the  Peace.  On  the  same  day 
these  several  Justices  were  "assigned"  and  formally  commissioned  "Justices  of 
the  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  and  for  the  County  of  Luzerne."  The 
commission  issued  to  them  by  the  Council,  reads,  as  follows: 

"Pennsylvania,  ss.     In  the  Name,  and  by  Authority  of  the  Freemen 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 

"The    Supreme     Executive    Council    of     the     said 
Commonwealth, 

"To  Matthias  Hollenback,  William  Hooker  Smith,  Benjamin  Carpenter,  James  Nesbitt, 
Obadiah  Gore  and  Nathan  Kingsley,  Esquires,  of  Luzerne  County, 

"Reposing  especial  trust  and  confidence  in  your  patriotism,  prudence,  integrity,  and  abil- 
ities. Know,  that  we  have  assigned  you,  and  each  of  you.  Justices  of  the  county  court  of  Common 
Pleas  in  and  for  the  county  of  Luzerne — giving  and  granting  unto  you  the  said  Matthias  Hollen- 
back, William  Hooker  Smith,  Benjamin  Carpenter,  James  Nesbitt,  Obadiah  Gore  and  Nathan 
Kingsley,  and  to  each  of  you,  full  power  and  authority  to  execute  and  perform  all  the  several 
acts  and  things  which  any  justice  of  the  gaid  Court,  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  this  common- 
wealth lawfully  can,  may,  or  ought  to  do,  both  in  and  out  of  the  said  Court,  to  have  and  hold 
the  said  power  and  authority  for  seven  years,  from  the  date  hereof,  you  behaving  yourselves  well. 

Company.  The  "rights"  comprehended  in  this  to%vn,  or  township,  were  all  held  in  the  name  of  Walter  and  Joseph 
Hamilton.  In  July.  1795,  Walter  Hamilton,  describing  himself  as  of  Hudson,  New  York,  sold  certain  of  his  "rights" 
in  Salisbury  to  David  Paine  of  Athens,  who  at  that  time  was  Assistant  Clerk  of  The  Susquehanna  Company. 

Dr.  Patrick  Hamilton,  who  in  1793  and  '94  was  one  of  the  County  Supervisors  of  Columbia  County,  New  York, 
and  resided  in  Canaan  Township  in  that  County,  bore  some  relationship  to  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton — just  what,  the 
present  writer  has  been  unable  to  ascertain.  May  7,  1795.  the  Commissioners  of  The  Susquehanna  Company  granted 
the  town,  or  township  of  "Sharon"  in  the  Susquehanna  Purchase  to  "Dr.  Patrick  Hamilton  of  Canaan,  Columbia 
County,  New  York."  All  the  "rights"  comprehended  in  this  township  were  held  in  the  names  of  Patrick  and  Joseph 
Hamilton.     In  1796  Dr.  Patrick  Hamilton  represented  Columbia  County  in  the  Legislature  of  New  York. 

tThe  original  letter — never  heretofore  published — is  in  the  collections  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
Philadelphia. 

*See  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII  :  217. 

tRelative  to  Daniel  Shay  and  his  "rebellion",  see  page  1491. 


1571 

"Given  under  the  hand  of  His  Excellency  Benjamin  Franklin,  Esquire,  President,  and 
the  seal  of  the  State,  at  Philadelphia,  this  eleventh  day  of  May  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven." 

"Allest.     James  Trimble, 

for  John  Armstrong,  Junr  ,  Secry." 


■/■'/ 


FREEMF.M  « 


The    Supreme   Executive   Council    of    the 
faid    Commonwcaltii, 

TV      >^Tl    t      Irf^i     TT^   EPOSIN'C.  cfprnatWn  and  confidcnc«-^r'"    y 

Af/^Mi    Jnfticcs   06  the  ■countj(_  «WIt      ' 
in/lcii  in  Olid  lor  ihtf  county  of-^yli^ 


1 


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Reduced  Photo- 


fiE  Original  Commission. 


1  the  possession  of  the  present  writer. 

It  was  also  incumbent  upon  these  Justices  to  sit  as  Judges  in  the  Orphans' 
Court  and  the  Courts  of  Quarter  Sessions  and  Oyer  and  Terminer  of  the  County. 
The  law  required,  however,  that  all  Courts  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  should  be  pre- 
sided over  by  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  with  the  local  Justices, 
or  Judges,  sitting  as  "Associates".  As  related  on  page  1542,  Colonel  Pickering 
had  been  commissioned,  in  October  1786,  a  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
in  and  for  Luzerne  County.  This  was  done  in  accordance  with  a  provision  of 
a  State  law,  the  object  being  to  enable  the  Prothonotary  to  sign,  as  Judge,  all 
writs  issued  from  his  office.  It  was  only  in  very  particular  or  unusual  cases, 
however,  that  the  Prothonotary  took  his  seat  on  the  bench  as  a  Judge. 

On  or  near  the  same  day  that  Colonel  Pickering  set  out  from  Wilkes-Barr^, 
for  Philadelphia,  Col.  John  Franklin  took  his  departure  for  Hartford,  Connect- 
icut, where  the  General  Assembly  of  that  State  was  about  to  convene.  On  May 
10th,  he  appeared  before  that  body  and  presented  a  memorial  in  behalf  of  him- 
self and  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  settled  upon  the  rivers  Delaware  and  Sus- 
quehanna." Neither  Miner,  in  his  "History  of  W3-oming",  nor  Hoj't,  in  his 
"Brief  of  a  Title"  &c.,  has  mentioned  this  incident,  nor  did  anj^  other  \^Titer  of 
Wyoming  history,  ever  mention  it  until  the  present  writer  referred  to  it,  and 
printed  some  extracts  from  the  document,  in  his  "Harvey  Book",  published  in 
1899.     The  following  paragraphs  are  from  this  memorial:* 

*The  original  is  document  "No.  172",  in  the  volume  entitled  "Susquehanna  Settlers,  1755-1796",  mentioned 
on  page  29,  Vol.  I. 


1572 

"The  memorialists  have  suffered  every  species  of  cruelty  in  the  power  of  mortals  to  con- 
ceive, and  have  now  no  alternative  but  the  sword,  trusting  the  event  to  Providence — unless  by  the 
intervention  of  this  Honourable  Assembly.     *     *     * 

"That  the  Penns,  by  their  agents,  having  by  mere  accident  possessed  themselves  of  the 
Indian  deedf  to  the  purchasers,  and  many  other  important  papers — evidences  of  the  title  of  this 
State  to  the  lands  aforesaid — applyed  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  for  the  constituting 
of  a  Federal  Court  for  the  settlement  of  the  jurisdiction,  &c.      *     *     • 

"Your  memorialists  are  now  able  to  prove  beyond  contradiction  that  the  aforesaid  deed  and 
evidences  of  title  were  actually  in  the  hands  of  the  Agents  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  before 
that  State  made  their  application  to  Congress  for  the  establishment  of  said  Federal  Court,  and 
that  they  secreted  them  until  after  the  aforesaid  decree,  and  now  have  them  in  their  power  and 
custody — which  was  one  very  influential  means  of  the  failure  on  the  part  of  this  State."     *     *     * 

The  memorial  concludes  with  a  prayer  to  the  Assembly  "to  request  Con- 
gress to  direct  a  revision  of  the  aforesaid  question  of  jurisdiction,  and  not  tamely 
submit  to  the  indignity,  so  flagrantly  manifest  in  a  sister  State,  and  in  a  point  that 
involves  the  interest  of  so  many  individuals,  as  well  as  the  honour  and  dignity 
of  this  State,"  &c.,  &c. 

With  this  memorial,  Colonel  Franklin  filed  a  power  of  attorney,  dated  at 

Wyoming,  May  2,  1787,  and  authorizing  him  to  make  application  "to  the  General 

Assembly  of  Connecticut  for  a  revision  of  the  trial  at  Trenton."    To  this  paper, 

there  are  eighty  autograph  signatures  attached,   among  them  being  those  of 

the  following-named: 

"John  Jenkins,  Mason  F.  Alden,  William  Slocum, 

Stephen  Jenkins,  Joseph  Jameson,  ■  Giles  Slocum, 

William  Jenkins,  Benjamin  Bailey,  Amos  Park, 

Henry  D.  Tripp,  James  Atherton,  Ira  Manvil, 

Abraham  Pyke,  Samuel  Ayres,  Jr.,  Ishmael  Bennet, 

Chester  Bingham,  Rufus  Bennet,  Andrew  S.  Alden, 

Benjamin  Harvey,  Gideon  Church,  William  Ross, 

Benjamin  Smith,  Richard  Brockway,  Isaac  Underwood, 

Parshall  Terry,  Benedick  Satterlee,  Elisha  Satterlee, 

Elisha  Blackman,  Ichabod  Blackman,  John  Platner, 

Ira  Stephens,  Peregreen  Gardner." 

With  reference  to  the  action  taken  by  the  Assembly  on  the  foregoing 
documents,  we  learn  the  following,  from  a  letter  written  to  Colonel  Pickering 
by  Col.  James  Wadsworth,  at  Hartford,  June  10,   1787. 

"Your  letter  came  here  after  Franklin  had  been  received  before  our  Assembly,  and  part 
of  his  request  granted  in  the  Lower  House;  but  all  was  negatived  in  the  Upper  House,  and  his  whole 
scheme  is  fallen  to  the  ground.    I  am  persuaded  you  will  never  be  interrupted  by  our  Legislature." 

According  to  Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming",  page  412)  "Franklin  and  his 
party,  now  excited  to  still  greater  activity,  continued  to  throw  every  obstruction 
in  the  way  of  the  Confirming  Law,  and  made  the  most  spirited  opposition  to 
the  law's  being  received  and  obeyed.  Surveyors  were  now  out  in  various  direc- 
tions, locating  townships  under  the  Connecticut  claim.  Whole  share  rights 
and  half-share  rights  had  become  a  stock  of  lively  speculation,  and  no  incon- 
siderable value.  The  dormant  titles  throughout  Connecticut  and  the  neighboring 
States,  were  drawn  forth  from  their  long  neglected  repose,  and  were  purchased 
by  speculators,  or  entered  and  surveyed  for  the  owners;  while  a  stream  of  pop- 
ulation was  literally  pouring  in  from  the  East,  and  settling  along  the  Susquehanna 
and  .the  chief  branches  that  empty  into  the  river — more  especially  in  the  more 
northern  limits  of  the  County." 

"Now  for  the  first  time,  was  presented  the  spectacle,  equally  gratifying  to  foes 
and  painful  to  friends,  of  open  and  decided  hostility  among  the  Wyoming  people!" 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that,  in  May,  1787,  it  was  not  alone  the  old-line, 
unreconstructed  Yankees  of  Wyoming  who  were  opposing  the  Confirming  Law, 
but  that  many  of  the   Pennamites  in  the  neighboring  County  of  Northampton, 

t.See  pages  1299,  1302. 


1573 

were  also  up  in  arms  against  it.  The  following  paragraphs,  indicating  that 
fact,  are  from  a  letter  written  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  May  21,  1787,  and 
published  in  The  Pennsylvajiia  Packet  (Philadelphia)  June  9,  1787. 

"Inclosed  are  handed  you  for  publication  the  proceedings  of  a  township  meeting  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  and  township  of  Easton,  held  May  7,  1787,  on  the  subject  of  the  late  Act 
of  Assembly  confirming  to  the  people  called  Connecticut  claimants  their  possessions  in  the  County 
of  Luzerne.  *  *  •  Several  townships  of  this  County  have  adopted  the  resolutions  entered 
into  at  Easton.  *  *  *  X)t.  Andrew  Ledlie  was  placed  in  the  chair,  and  the  following  reso- 
lutions were  unanimously  agreed  to.     *     *     * 

"(3.)  That  the  Act  of  Assembly  passed  the  27th  of  March  last,  depriving  a  great  number 
of  the  citizens  of  their  property  in  the  County  of  Luzerne,  without  a  trial  by  jury,  is  a  direct  and 
dangerous  infringement  of  the  Constitution.  (4.)  That  the  hasty  manner  of  enacting  the  said 
law  was  as  unconstitutional  as  the  matter  of  it,  inasmuch  as  it  was  enacted  within  a  week  after 
the  publication  of  the  Bill  of  consideration,  and  in  the  same  session  of  the  Assembly,  before  the 
persons  whose  property  was  aflected  by  it  could  possibly  have  any  notice  of  so  unusual  an  intention 
in  the  Legislature,  or  any  opportunity  to  consult  together  and  to  express  their  sentiments  con- 
cerning the  general  tendency  of  so  alarming  a  measure,  or  the  probable  operation  of  so  dangerous 
a  precedent. 

"This  hasty  proceeding,  which  deprives  a  number  of  citizens  of  their  justly  acquired  prop- 
erty without  their  consent,  without  law,  or  even  without  the  form  of  a  trial,  is  considered  by  us 
as  a  direct  liolalion  of  our  Constilutiov,  which  has  provided  that  no  Bill  shall  be  passed  into  a  law 
until  it  has  been  published  for  consideration  at  one  session  of  the  Assembly  and  laid  over  to  the 
next — except  in  cases  of  sudden  necessity;  which  necessity  certainly  cannot  be  said  to  exist  with 
respect  to  the  disturbances  at  Wyoming,  which  have  subsisted  for  more  than  seventeen  years 
past.     •     *     * 

"(7.)  That  the  promoters  of  this  law  were  greatly  deficient  in  their  guardianship  of  the 
rights  and  property  of  their  constituents  in  offering  to  the  phindered  citizens  the  vacant  and  un- 
settled lands  of  the  State  as  compensation ;  which  they  had  no  authority  to  bestow,  because  every 
citizen  has  a  joint  right  in  them  as  a  common  fund  for  lessening  the  expences  of  Government  and 
the  taxes  of  the  State ;  and  their  constituents  have  given  them  no  authority  to  bestow  their  common 
property  upon  one  class  of  citizens  to  make  way  for  a  much  more  valuable  present  to  a  lawless 
banditti,  who  have  intruded  themselves  into  the  State  in  defiance  of  government  and  justice, 
and  have  held  the  property  of  its  peaceable  c\t\zens'by  force  of  arms,  murder  and  I'iolence,  for  more 
than  sei'enleen  years  past!     *     *     * 

"(9.)  That  it  is  the  duty  of  all  the  citizens  of  this  Commonwealth  to  unite  together  as 
one  man  to  OjJpose  the  execution  of  such  an  unconstitutional  and  oppressive  law,  which,  from  its 
dangerous  precedent,  sets  all  our  property  afloat,  and  renders  every  citizen  insecure  in  his  pos- 
sessions. *  *  *  (11.)  That  the  promoters  of  this  unconstitutional  and  oppressive  law  have, 
by  this  outrageous  attempt  upon  the  property  of  the  good  citizens  of  Pennsylvania,  forfeited 
all  right  to  the  confidence  of  their  fellow-citizens,  and  deserve  to  be  noted  as  tyrants  who  would 
enslave  them  whenever  t"hey  had  an  opportunity,  and,  therefore,  should  be  no  further  entrusted 
■with  any  office,  whether  civil,  military  or  judicial,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

"(12.)  Copies  of  these  resolutions  shall  be  circulated  through  the  State.  (13.)  That  until 
these  remonstrances  be  answered  to  the  satisfaction  and  relief  of  the  injured  citizens — that  is, 
until  protection  is  furnished  by  the  Government  to  all  the  people  without  exception — it  is  the  duty 
of  the  people  to  withhold  the  payment  of  those  taxes  which  are  lei-ied  for  the  support  of  that  Gox'ernmen't . 
(14.)  That  David  Waggoner,  Henry  Alshouse,  Sr.,  and  John  Townes  be  a  committee  for  carry- 
ing these  resolutions  into  efTect,  for  corresponding  with  other  townships,  &c." 

A  remonstrance,  containing  the  substance  of  the  resolutions  thus  adopted, 
was  drawn  up,  addressed  to  the  President,  and  Supreme  Executive  Council  of 
the  Commonwealth ;  while  a  circular  letter,  of  the  same  tenor,  was  prepared  and 
sent  to  every  township  in  Northampton  County,  and  elsewhere  in  the  State. 

In  The  Pennsylvania  Packet,  of  June  29,  1787,  there  was  printed  "an  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  from  Northampton  County,  dated  June  18."  Upon  reading 
this  "extract",  one.  might  almost  conclude  that  Capt.  Alexander  Patterson  was 
its  author.     The  following  paragraphs  are  from  it. 

*  *  *  "We  did  expect  that  the  advocates  for  the  Luzerne  law  would  be  very  industrious 
to  torture  some  expressions  in  the  resolutions  [of  May  7th]  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  subscribers; 
for  it  is  an  old  and  true  remark  that  he  who  is  so  wicked  as  to  injure  his  neighbor  or  friend  without 
cause,  cannot  after  be  at  peace  with  him — even  tho  the  injured  should  require  no  concession. 
But  our  assurance  rests  in  the  justice  of  our  cause.  We  have  not  a  doubt  but  that  there  does  yet 
remain  public  virtue  in  the  Councils  of  this  State,  and  spirit  and  honesty  in  our  fellow-citizens, 
to  set  all  things  to  right.  When  the  people  at  large  are  informed  of  our  sufferings  for  the  laws  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  eyes  of  all  the  brave,  the  just  and  good  will  point  to  essential  and  speedy  redress. 

"It  cannot  be  that  a  number  of  honest,  peaceable  citizens,  attached  to  the  laws  and  customs 
of  the  State,  will  be  expelled  from  their  fair  fields  (purchased,  and  held  under  the  faith,  of  the  Gov- 
ernment) to  make  room  for  a  banditti  composed  of  the  dregs  of  all  nations,  and  for  many  years  dis- 


1574 

owned  by  all!  Such  a  band  of  unprincipled  ingrates  cannot  be  suffered  to  possess  the  well-earned 
property  of  those  who  have  lost  their  all  in  support  of  the  Government  of  Pennsylvania!  Is  the 
murder  of  Captain  [Nathan]  Ogden  already  forgot?  Was  the  Luzerne  law  designed  as  a  repository 
for  the  remains  of  Jesse  Lukens?  Was  it  necessary  to  stop  the  Courts  of  Justice,  and,  by  a  Sum- 
mary law,  or  a  smuggled  Act,  at  once  put  an  end  to  all  open  enquiry  or  trial  by  jury? 

"We  see  the  design  of  this  Act,  and  the  fatal  consequences  that  may  arise  from  its  operation. 
Should  it  be  carried  into  effect,  whose  property  is  safe,  whose  title  secure?  Can  any  reliance  be 
had  on  the  standing  laws  of  the  land,  or  the  Constitution  we  live  under?  I  leani  that  General 
Muhlenberg  and  Mr.  Montgomery  have  resigned  the  invidious  task  of  granting  away,  without 
judge  or  jury,  our  property  at  Wyoming  to  that  motley  group.  Thus  they  have,  by  this  refusal, 
given  further  proof  of  their  integrity,  hitherto  so  well  known.  In  a  few  words — think  as  you  will 
at  Philadelphia,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  Luzerne  Act,  and  all  the  evils  it  contains,  will  fall  to- 
gether, as  soon  as  the  Legislature  meet.  //  is  loo  base  and  partial  to  remain  on  the  records  of  Penn- 
sylvania!" 

Shortly  after  the  return  of  Colonel  Pickering  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Phila- 
delphia, General  Muhlenberg  resigned  as  a  Commissioner  under  the  Confirming 
Law,  and  on  May  22,  1787,  Daniel  Hiester,  Jr.,  was  elected  to  succeed  him. 
Two  days  later  (May  24th)  Colonel  Pickering  and  Mr.  Hiester  set  out  from  Phila- 
delphia for  Wilkes-Barre,  where,  as  the  Commissioners  had  formally  notified  the 
settlers,  they  were  to  sit  on  Monday,  May  28th,  "to  perform  the  duties  required 
of  them"  as  Commissioners  under  the  Confirming  Law.  Relative  to  their  arrival 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  to  his  business  partner,  Samuel  Hodgdon 
at  Philadelphia,  in  part  as  follows:* 

••Williesburg,  May  29,  1787. 

"More  lies  have  been  told  in  my  absence.  The  capital  one  was  that  the  people  of  Penn- 
sylvania were  generally  dissatisfied  with  the  law  for  confirming  the  Connecticut  titles,  and  that 
it  would  be  repealed.  And  this,  it  was  said,  prevented  the  coming  of  the  Commissioners;  for  we 
did  not  arrive  here  till  near  sunset  on  the  28th — the  day  appointed  for  our  meeting — and  the 
people  began  to  be  alarmed.  Our  appearance,  however,  has  exposed  these  lies.  Franklin  is  not 
in  the  settlement." 

On  Tuesday,  the  day  following  the  arrival  at  Wilkes-Barre  of  Colonel 
Pickering  and  Daniel  Hiester,  Jr.,  the  Courts  of  Luzerne  County  were  formed 
and  opened,  as  described  in  the  official  records  of  the  County  (Minute  Book 
No.  1,  of  the  Court  of  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace),  in  the  hand- writing 
of  Colonel  Pickering,  as  follows: 

COUNTY  OF  LUZERNE,  to  wit.    May,  1787. 

Be  it  Remembered,  That  on  Tuesday,  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  May,  in  the  year  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  William  Hooker  Smith,  Benjamin  Carpenter,  and  James 
Nesbit,  Esq'rs.,  Justices  of  the  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  said  County,  convened  at  the 
dwelling  house  of  Zebulon  Butler  in  Wilkesbarre,  in  the  said  County,  when  and  where  the  follow- 
ing proceedings  were  had. 

Proclamation  having  been  made  by  the  Sheriff  of  said  County,  commanding  all  persons 
to  keep  silence,  there  were  read: 

I.  The  Commissions  issued  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  to  the 
said  William  Hooker  Smith,  Benjamin  Carpenter,  and  James  Nesbit,  and  also  to  Timothy  Pick- 
ering, Obadiah  Gore,  Nathan  Kingsley,  and  Matthias  HoUenback,  constituting  them  Justices  of 
the  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the  said  County. 

II.  The  Dedimus  Potestatum  to  Timothy  Pickering  and  Nathan  Denison,  Esquires, 
issued  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  impowering  them  to  administer  the  oaths  to  persons 
who  were,  or  should  be  commissioned  in  said  County. 

III.  Then  WiUiam  Hooker  Smith,  Benjamin  Carpenter,  and  James  Nesbit,  Esquires, 
took  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  of  office,  and  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and  of  the  County  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  for  said  County,  (as  required  by  the  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania),  before 
Timothy  Pickering,  Esq.,  impowered  as  aforesaid  to  administer  them. 

IV.  The  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was  then  opened,  and  Joseph  Sprague  appointed  Crier. 

V.  Then  were  read  the  other  Commissions  granted  to  Timothy  Pickering,  Esq.,  by  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council,  constituting  him, 

1.  Prothonotary  of  said  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 

2.  Clerk  of  the  Peace, 

3.  Clerk  of  the  Orphans'  Court, 

4.  Register  for  the  Probate  of  Wills,  and  granting  letters  of  Administration, 

5.  Recorder  of  Deeds,  for  said  County. 
*3;;    th   e  "Pickering  Papers",  LVU  :  224. 


1575 

VI.  The  Court,  upon  application  to  them  made,  admitted  and  appointed  Ebenezer 
Bowman,  Putnam  Catlin,  Roswell  Wells,  and  William  Nichols,  to  be  attorneys  of  the  same  Court, 
who  were  accordingly  sworn. 

VII.  Then  appeared  Lord  Butler,  Esq.,  Sheriff  of  the  same  County,  and  petitioned  the 
Court  to  take  some  order  relative  to  the  erecting  of  a  jail  within  the  said  County,  Whereupon 

It  is  ordered,  that  he  immediately  apply  to  the  trustees  for  that  purpose  appointed,  and 
request  them  to  execute  the  powers  granted  them  by  the  law  of  the  State,  so  far  as  respects  the 
erecting  of  a  County  Jail. 


^^^^ 


The  following  is  a  copy  of  an  original  document  to  be  found  among  the 
"Pickering  Papers"  (LVII  :  223),  endorsed  in  the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Pick- 
ering: "Oath  of  allegiance  subscribed  by  the  Attornies  admitted  at  the  County 
Court  of  Luzerne  County,  May  29,  1787." 

"I  do  swear  (or  solemnly,  sincerely  and  truly  declare  and  affirm)  that  I  will  be  faithftJ, 
and  bear  true  allegiance,  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  as  a  free  and  independent  State ; 
and  that  I  will  not,  at  any  time,  wilfully  and  knowingly  do  any  act,  matter  or  thing  which  will 
be  prejudicial  or  injurious  to  the  freedom  or  independence  thereof. 

[Signed]  "RoSEWELL  WellES, 

"Eben'r.  Bowman, 
"Putnam  Catlin, 
"William  Nichols." 

Writing  to  his  wife  from  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  date  of  May  29th,  Col- 
onel Pickering  said : 

"I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  we  this  day  opened  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas 
and.  Sessions  of  the  Peace  for  Luzerne  County,  when  everything  was  conducted  in  perfect  quiet 
and  good  order.  Mr.  [Andrew]  Ellicott  of  Baltimore,  the  Commissioner  for  running  the  boundary 
line  between  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  happening  to  be  here  on  his  way  up  the  river,  delayed 
his  journey  a  few  hours  that  he  might  be  present  at  the  opening  of  the  first  Courts,  and,  I  am 
told,  expressed  much  satisfaction  at  the  event.  Four  gentlemen  were  admitted  by  the  Court  to 
practice  as  Attorneys  in  this  County.  These  were  Mr.  Bowman  and  Mr.  William  Nichols,  whom 
you  know,  and  two  young  gentlemen  from  Connecticut,  who  have  been  here  a  few  months." 

The  following  item  appeared  in  The  Pennsylvania  Packet  (Philadelphia), 
June  13,  1787: 

"The  County  courts  for  Luzerne  were  held  the  last  week  in  May,  in  perfect  quiet  and  good 
order.  Four  gentlemen  were  admitted  as  Attorneys  to  practice  in  the  County,  two  of  whom  are 
young  gentlemen  from  Connecticut,  who  took  the  oath  of  alfegiance  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
in  open  court.  They  had  appointments  from  The  Susquehanna  Company  as  Secretaries  to  their 
Board  of  Commissioners.  In  regard  to  the  Company's  claims,  and  the  state  of  the  settlement, 
they  were  deceived  by  the  lies  which  have  been  raised  and  propagated  to  support  their  cause." 

On  June  2,  1 787,  Mathias  Hollenback,  and  on  June  9,  1 787,  Obadiah  Gore  and 
Nathan  Kingsley,  "took  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  oath  of  office  as  Justices  of  the 
County  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  and  for  the  County  of  Luzerne  (as  prescribed 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  Commonwealth),  before  Timoth}^  Pickering,  bv .vir- 
tue of  the  powers  granted  to  him  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council."  Justice 
Gore  was  then  chosen  by  his  associates  "President  Judge  of  the  Countv  Court." 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  Courts  had  been  organized.  Colonel  Picker- 
ing  arranged   to   have   a  County  Seal    designed,    and  a  brass  die  of  the  same 


1576 

cut.  The  work  was  done  by  James  Trenchard,  of  Philadelphia,  who,  July  9, 
1787,   was  paid  £3  for  the  job. 

"Thus  Luzerne",  says  Miner  ("History  of  Wyoming",  page  409),  "being 
politically   organized,    Courts  established,   and  the  laws  introduced  under    the 
auspices    of    Colonel    Pickering,    he,    sustained    by 
the   Confirming  Law,   proceeded  with  wisdom  and 
promptitude  to  conciliate  the  goodwill  of  the  people, 
to  assuage  passion,  to  overcome  prejudice,  to  inspire 
confidence.     If  Franklin  was  busy,  Pickering  was  no 
less  active.    Without,  in  the  slighest  degree,  lessen- 
ing his  dignity  by  unworthy  condescension,  he  yet     \^  •'^i/.-; -TS^:'.-'.'^ /^i 
rendered  himself  familiar — talked  with  the  farmers      V^jy -j^^- '■[■  jliJ'.-LyO'''^.' 
about  corn  and  potatoes,  and  with  their  wives  about         ''"'^  '^'■•••'•:9.:.^--''\  ^y' 
the  dairy;  maintaining  his  own  opinions  with  zeal,  '''••••.«.55»***** 

yet  listening  to  others  with  respect.    'He  was  no  way    t,    ■  ■,     ,     .  , ..       •  •    , 

•'  ^  r'  J      Facsimile  of  a  drawing  of  the  original 

a  proud   man',    was    the  general    expression  of  the  "'==''■ 

ancient  people;  but  they  thought  he  farmed  rather  too  much  by  books,  and 
they  smiled  to  see  him  cart  into  his  barn  damp  clover,  to  cure  by  its  power  of 
generating  heat  in  the  mow. 

"To  show  his  entire  confidence  in  the  faith  of  the  State,  and  the  bene- 
ficial effects  to  be  expected  from  the  Confirming  Law,  Colonel  Pickering  im- 
mediately purchased  several  tracts  of  land  of  Connecticut  claimants.  *  *  * 
How  entirely  he  sought  to  conform  to  the  simple  habits  of  the  people,  is  shown 
by  the  record  in  his  own  handwriting,  that  Timothy  Pickering  and  some  other 
citizens  'were  elected  fence-viewers  and  overseers  of  the  poor.' 

About  the  middle  of  June,  1787,  Colonel  Pickering  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia from  Wilkes-Barre,  in  order  to  make  arrangements  to  remove  his  family 
and  household  effects  to  his  new  home.  At  Philadelphia,  on  June  25,  1787,  he 
wrote  to  President  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  part,  as  follows:* 

"The  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County  of  Luzerne  are  destitute  of  the  laws  of  the  State. 
It  seems  that  heretofore  Justices  of  the  Peace  have  been  furnished  with  the  laws  at  the  expence 
of  the  State,  and  the  Justices  of  Luzerne  have  expressed  their  hopes  that  they  may  be  suppHed 
in  the  same  way,  and  requested  me  to  make  the  apphcation  in  their  behalf.  I  beg  leave  to  express 
my  hopes,  also,  that  they  may  be  so  furnished;  otherwise  I  fear  they  will,  for  the  most  part,  remain 
unprovided  &  the  laws  unexecuted. f  At  the  same  time  it  is  proper  that  I  should  add,  that  there 
was  manifested  a  general  disposition  to  conform  to  the  laws  with  great  punctuality,  and  many 
were  solicitously  enquiring  what  were  the  laws  in  particular  cases,  that  they  might  not  transgress 
them." 

As  previously  related,  Daniel  Hiester,  Jr.,  was  elected  on  May  22nd,  by 
the  Supreme  Executive  Council  to  succeed  General  Muhlenberg  as  a  Commis- 
sioner under  the  Confirming  Law.  On  June  1,  1787,  the  Hon.  Stephen  Balliet, 
was  elected  to  succeed  Joseph  Montgomery,  who,  on  account  of  the  opposition 
against  him  manifested  at  Wyoming,  declined  to  serve  as  a  Commissioner.  At 
Philadelphia,  on  June  29,  1787,  Commissioners  Pickering,  Hiester  and  Balliet 
addressed  to  President  Benjamin  Franklin  a  communication  reading,  in  part, 
as  follows  :| 

"As  the  examination  of  the  Connecticut  claims  to  lands  in  the  County  of  Luzerne  will 
be  of  several  months'  continuance,  and  we  may  not  return  hither  until  the  business  shall  be  ac- 
complished, we  are  desirous  of  receiving  some  part  of  our  pay  in  advance;  and  if  this  shall  be 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  Old  Series,  XI  :  159. 

tThat  copies  of  the  desired  laws  were  sent  from  Philadelphia  following  this  request  appears  from  a  letter  written 
by  Vice  President  Biddle  to  Samuel  Dale  under  date  of  Sept  26.  1785.  It  reads  in  part: — "You  will  proceed  as  soon 
as  possible  to  Wyoming  and  there  distribute  as  many  of  the  laws  that  are  passed  erecting  the  County  (of  Luzerne) 
as  you  may  think  necessary." 

{See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Old  Series  XI:  159. 


1577 

thought  proper  by  Council,  we  request  such  grants  may  be  made  to  us  and  Mr.  [Griffith]  Evans 
(whom  we  have  appointed  our  Clerk),  as  Council  shall  judge  expedient. 

"The  law  for  confirming  the  lands  of  the  Connecticut  claimants  required  that  it  should  be 
published  in  the  newspapers  of  Connecticut.  But  there  are  divers  claimants  under  Connecticut 
who  live  in  the  State  of  New  York;  and  other  claimants  under  Pennsylvania  who  live  in  New 
Jersey.  We  submit  to  the  consideration  of  Council  whether  it  is  not  expedient  to  cause  the  law 
to  be  published  in  one  of  the  newspapers  of  each  of  those  States.  It  may  supersede  applications 
which  may  hereafter  be  made  for  allowing  further  time  to  make  their  claims,  under  pretence 
that  they  were  not  informed  of  the  law." 

That  Col.  Pickering  fully  appreciated  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  policy 
on  the  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that  delay  in  the  execution  of  duties  of  the 
Commission  would  lead  to  further  suspicion  and  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of 
the  settlers,  is  evidenced  by  the  following  letter  to  his  friend  Hodgdon  at  Phila- 
delphia. 

Wilkesburg,  Aug.  9,  1787. 

"I  am  glad  Wm.  Montgomery  is  appointed  in  Heister's*  stead,  as  Mr.  Hollenback  says  he 
is  rightly  disposed.  *  *  «  fis  of  highest  importance  that  examination  of  the  claims  should 
be  begun  and  til  then  the  laws  will  operate  faintly.  If  Montgomery  comes  up,  we  shall  not  wait 
an  hour  on  Balliet.  People  are  growing  more  and  more  uneasy  and  their  jealousies  are  increasing 
lest  they  should  at  last  be  deceived.  Yesterday  I  received  good  information  that  Franklin,  on 
his  last  return  from  Connecticut,  came  down  the  Susquehanna  and  that  about  Unadilla  (in  York 
state)  and  at  other  places  along  the  river,  told  the  people  to  be  under  no  apprehensions  about 
their  lands — that  he  had  a  commission  from  the  Governor  of  Connecticut  to  erect  a  separate 
and  independent  State  in  those  parts  of  the  country. 

This  information  I  have  from  Esq.,  Gore,  Pres.  of  the  Ct.  of  Common  Pleas.  A  number 
of  Franklin's  adherents  are  making  a  considerable  settlement  at  Newtown  (New  York).  They 
have  met  and  chosen  a  Committee  to  govern  them,  with  powers  similar  to  those  formerly  given 
to  a  Committee  of  Directors  here.  It  would  seem,  from  all  that  I  hear,  that  this  is  to  be  a  place 
of  retreat  of  Franklin's  partisans  when  forced  to  quit  Pennsylvania."! 

*Daniel  Hiester.  seems  to  have  had  no  other  part  in  the  affairs  of  Wyoming  than  such  duties  as  transpired  during 
the  time  of  his  first  and  only  visit  there  and  in  the  detail  of  such  activities  by  subsequent  report.  In  July.  1787,  shortly 
after  reaching  Philadelphia  from  Wilkes-Barre  he  resigned  and  William  Montgomery  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 

tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers"  LVII  :  245. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

INFLUENCES    OF    THE    FRANKLIN    PARTY    IN    WYOMING    AFFAIRS  —  WILD 
SPECULATION  IN  SHARES  OF  THE  SUSQUEHANNA  COMPANY— HATCHING 
THE  PLOT  FOR  FRANKLIN'S  ARREST— THE  STORY  OF  HIS  VIOLENT  AP- 
PREHENSION—RETALIATORY MEASURES  AGAINST  COLONEL  PICK- 
ERING—PICKERING'S  EXILE    AND    RETURN   TO   WYOMING  — 
SUSPENSION  OF  THE  CONFIRMING  LAW— PENNSYLVANIA'S 
DUPLICITY— THE  ADMINISTRATION  UNDER  PICKERING. 


"Souls  made  of  fire  and  children  of  the  sun. 
With  whom  revenge  is  virtue." 

Young. 


'Dissentions,  like  small  streams,  are  first  begun. 
Scarce  seen  they  rise,  but  gather  as  they  run : 
So  lines  that  from  their  parallel  decline. 
More  they  proceed  the  more  they  still  disjoin." 

Sir  Sam'l  Garth. 


'He  who  hath  most  of  heart  knows  most  of  sorrow.' 


Bailey. 


However  sturdy  was  the  character  of  Col.  John  Franklin,  and  however 
sincere  were  his  motives  in  continuing  opposition  to  the  Confirming  Law,  as  well 
"as  to  the  enforcement  of  other  regulations  intended  by  Pennsylvania  to  amicably 
settle  the  Wyoming  troubles,  it  is  certain  that  during  the  summer  and  early 
fall  of  1787,  he  was  engaging  in  various  intrigues  calculated  to  keep  alive  old 
animosities  and  to  engender  new.  His  friends  and  neighbors  at  Wyoming  were, 
with  some  notable  exceptions,  inclined  to  attend  to  their  own  prospering  affairs. 
But  his  restless  energy,  coupled  with  a  sense  of  Pennsylvania's  injustice,  which 
continued  with  him  to  the  very  end  of  his  life,  urged  him  on.  His  frequent 
visits  to  Connecticut,  and  the  power  of  his  personality  exercised  over  share- 
holders of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  no  less  than  over  those  not  early  identi- 
fied with  Wyoming  affairs,  whose  land  hunger  impelled  them  to  seek  homes  in 


1579 

the  wilderness,  caused  deep  anxiety  in  the  minds  of  those  entrusted  with  public 
affairs  of  that  State. 

Connecticut  had  at  no  time,  in  the  earlier  disputes  between  herself  and 
Pennsylvania  over  the  Wyoming  lands,  openly  avowed  the  acts  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company.  The  Decree  of  Trenton,  after  its  promulgation,  estopped  any  lawful 
connection  with  these  claims.  Rather  than  disavow  subsequent  actions  of  that 
Company,  which  it  had  chartered,  the  State  maintained  an  aloofness  from  the 
whole  matter,  fearing  intermeddling  with  even  unwarranted  measures,  might  seem 
to  further  becloud  the  undetermined  title  of  its  settlers  to  the  soil.  The  hopes 
of  the  Franklin  party,  which  had  centered  for  a  time  in  having  Congress  set  aside 
the  Decree,  and  thus  open  the  whole  subject  to  a  rehearing,  proved,  as  has  been 
seen,  without  avail. 

In  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  duly  constituted  authority  of  Pennsylvania, 
Colonel  Franklin  and  his  adherents  were  driven  to  an  unique  alternative  of  bas- 
ing their  activities  on  duly  authorized  resolutions  of  the  Company  itself.  At  its 
meeting  in  December,  1 786,  which  proved  to  be  the  last  aggressive  action  of  its  long 
career,  the  Susquehanna  Company,  as  before  mentioned,  gave  full  authority  to 
.a  committee  to  sell  shares,  confer  titles  and  in  fact,  to  act  within  certain  limita- 
tions, as  the  Committee's  judgment  dictated  for  the  interests  of  the  corporation. 
Colonel  Franklin  and  his  friends  quite  naturally  controlled  the  destinies  of  this 
committee. 

In  pursuance  of  these  broad  powers,  the  Franklin  party  sent  surveyors 
out  in  every  direction,  and  sold  and  transferred  rights  in  the  Company.  Indeed, 
whole  share  rights  and  half  share  rights  became  a  medium  of  lively  speculation, 
not  alone  in  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania,  but  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 
Titles  almost  forgotten  through  the  years  of  turmoil  and  uncertainty,  were 
produced  from  their  places  of  repose  and  either  entered  and  surveyed  by  their 
owners  or  sold  to  speculators.  A  constant  stream  of  population  was  entering 
Luzerne  county  and  spreading  itself  over  the  Susquehanna  basin,  especially  to 
the  north. 

To  these  newcomers,  as  well  as  to  a  coterie  of  the  older  inhabitants  of  the 
territory.  Colonel  Franklin  was  the  guiding  genius.  He  was  pointed  out  where- 
ever  he  went,  as  the  "Hero  of  Wyoming." 

It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  these  activities,  hostile  in  their  nature  to 
its  jurisdiction  and  laws,  were  unnoted  or  disregarded  by  Pennsylvania.  Colonel 
Franklin's  movements  during  the  summer  of  1787,  were  closely  reported  by 
Colonel  Pickering,  not  alone  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  at  Philadelphia, 
but  to  his  friends  in  private  correspondence. 

On  August  26,  1787,  he  wrote  from  Wilkes-Barre,  to  his  partner,  Hodgdon, 

in  part  as  follows : 

"Franklin,  however,  with  some  other  members  of  the  Susquehanna  Company  and  a  few 
other  desperate  men  at  Hudson  (New  York)  and  its  vicinity  may,  like  the  madmen  of  Mass- 
achusetts, attempt  measures  that  may  disturb  the  peace  of  both  Pennsylvania  and  New  York. 
Report  says  that  Livingston  and  another  from  the  York  government  were  in  a  conspiracy*  and 
actually  came  to  Tioga  on  their  way  to  Niagara,  but  that  the  information  received  there  induced 
them  to  return.    I  think  it  will  be  expedient  to  organize  the  militia  of  this  County  and  make  Col. 

*The  "conspiracy"  mentioned  in  the  preceding  letter  relates  to  the  hair-brained  design  of  Livingston  and  kindred 
malcontents  of  New  York  and  adjacent  states,  to  seek  the  aid  of  Great  Britain  in  erecting  a  new  state  from  parts  of 
Massachusetts  and  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  adjacent  to  Canada.  It  has  never  been  shown  that  Colonel 
Franklin  had  anything  to  do  with  this  desperate  and  disloyal  plan,  although  Colonel  Pickering  intimates  that  such 
may  have  been  the  case.  The  Livingston  project  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  proposed  "State  of  Westmore- 
land" mentioned  elsewhere,  although  it  appears  to  have  been  thus  confused  in  the  minds  of  certain  Pennsylvanians. 
The  fact  that  Livingston  and  his  followers  turned  back  from  Tioga,  where  many  of  Colonel  Franklin's  followers  had 
surveyed  claims  and  were  residing  at  that  time,  is  indicative  of  the  fact  that  the  advice  of  radical  Connecticut  claim- 
ants, if  not  of  Colonel  Franklin  himself,  wholly  disproved  and  discouraged  any  disloyal  i 


1580 

Zebulon  Butler,  County  Lieutenant.  He  is  an  old  officer  of  experience  and  bravery  in  the  field 
and  will  in  that  line  be  respected,  notwithstanding  a  failure  which  you  have  heard  me  mention.  I 
think  also  that  we  cannot  too  soon  be  furnished  with  a  few  chests  of  arms  and  ammunition  to  be 
lodged  in  this  place." 

As  if  to  amend  for  its  lack  of  activity  in  earlier  months,  the  Pennsylvania 
Commission  appointed  to  put  into  effect  the  terms  of  the  Confirming  Law,  again 
reached  Wilkes-Barre,  about  the  middle  of  August,  1787.  The  arrival  of  the 
Commission  seemed  a  signal  for  other  active  measures,  intended  by  the  Common- 
wealth to  counteract  the  constant  activities  of  the  Franklin  party.  Lest 
Colonel  Pickering  might  feel  that  what  appeared  to  be  an  impending  crisis  in 
Wyoming  affairs  was  viewed  with  indifference  at  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Rush  wrote 
him  the  following  encouraging  letter: 

"Philada.  Aug.  30,  1787. 
"Dear  Sir: 

"I  have  only  time  to  assure  you  that  you  will  meet  with  the  steady  support  of  your  friends 
in  executing  the  late  law  of  the  State  of  which  you  are  appointed  a  Commissioner. 

"Perhaps  a  short  visit  to  Phila.  during  the  approaching  session  of  the  Assembly  might  be 
useful.    Keep  a  good  heart  and  put  a  bold  face  upon  things.     All  will  end  well. 

"The  new  Federal  Government,  like  a  new  Continental  wagon,  will  overset  our  State  dung- 
cart,  with  all  its  dirty  contents  (reverend  and  irreverend),  and  thereby  restore  order  and  happiness 
to  Penna."     *     *     *  "Benjamin  Rush. 

"To  Colonel  Pickering,  Wilkesbarre.*" 

All  of  the  recommendations  made  in  the  Pickering  letter  seem  to  have 
been  promptly  carried  into  effect.  Four  days  later,  August  30,  1787,  a  Com- 
mission was  issued  at  Philadelphia,  by  Thomas  Mifflin,  acting  for  Benjamin 
Franklin,  (then  sitting  in  the  Constitutional  Convention)  as  President  of  the 
Council,  directed  to  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  naming  him  Lieutenant 
of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  thus  placing  him  in  command  of  the  militia  of  the 
County. 

Colonel  Pickering  seems  to  have  taken  a  diplomatic  advantage  of  the 
arrival  of  Colonel  Butler's  Commission  at  Wilkes-Barre.  He  wrote  of  the  inci- 
dent in  his  characteristic  way  to  President  Franklin,  of  the  Council,  as  follows: 

"Wilkesborough,  Sep.  5,  1787. 

"I  was  honored  with  a  letter  from  Council  enclosing  a  commission  for  Col.  Butler,  whom 
they  have  been  pleased  to  appoint  Lieutenant  of  the  County.  It  arrived  opportunely.  The  Col. 
accepted  the  commission  which,  by  permission,  I  read  in  the  County  Court  in  the  hearing  of  the 
grand  and  traverse  juries  and  spectators.  In  open  court  I  also  administered  to  him  the  oath  of 
allegiance  and  of  office  and  read  the  Council's  letter,  repeating  with  emphasis,  that  part  in  which 
the  aid  of  Government  is  promised  in  support  of  the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  the  County." 

Another  recommendation,  contained  in  the  letter  of  Colonel  Pickering,  as 
to  organization  of  the  militia  of  the  County,  seems  likewise  to  have  followed 
promptly.  From  an  original  document  among  the  papers  of  Zebulon  Butler,  now 
preserved  in  the  files  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  at 
Wilkes-Barr^,  and  in  the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Butler  himself,  is  "A  List  of  the 
Company  Officers  elected  in  the  Lower  Battalion  commanded  by  Lt.  Col. 
Matthias  Hollenback,  in  the  County  of  Luzerne.  Returns  made  to  me  by  the 
Inspectors  and  sworn  according  to  law,  Wilkesbarre,  12th  November,  1787. "f 

"Upper  District  of  Wilkesbarre,  4th  Company.  Daniel  Gore,  Captain;  George  Cooper, 
Lieutenant;  Cornelius  Courtright,  Ensign. 

Lower  District  of  Wilkes-Barre,  3rd.  Company.  Wm.  Ross,  Captain;  David  Richards, 
Lieutenant;  Wm.  Hyde,  Ensign. 

Upper  District  of  Hanover,  2nd  Company.  Wm.  Hibbard,  Captain;  Edward  Inman, 
Lieutenant;  James  Stewart,  Ensign. 

*From  "Life  of  Pickering,"  II  :  301. 

tOn  the  day  preceding  the  above  return  of  Colonel  Butler,  as  to  the  Militia  of  the  County,  the  Council,  over  th  e 
signature  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  its  President,  transmitted  a  "letter  of  Instructions  to  the  officer  Commanding  the  Mil- 
itia in  the  County  of  Luzerne,"  the  original  of  which  is  in  possession  of  the  editor  and  a  photographed  copy  of 
which  is  reproduced  on  the  opposite  page. 


ij  JfG  (b  C'/uinae-  in  our  ^tatc  (^c^'irnment,  nan /o  inilmaUcu  c.  7inccUdtne 
reputaiion  mi/^  faccefi  of  iae  Oxtcath'&  ^itAoritit,  wii/i  a.  dUif/it  fc  and  aicc 
dijc^rgc  oj  iAc  dutla  impo/cd  upon  tne-  yaj-ioiii  oflicei-s,w/iO  ai  c  empcaued 
in  tncadinlnistratUin.  cj  l/ic  p<tOl(c  affairs^  t/iat,  independent  c/  i/ic  rc'pect 
tnai  \/ o-wc  to  tAc  station ,  iii.  wKic/itnc  confidence  o/  inn  ficoiv  c  Hittni  fi.ai 
piaccd me-j  J  fct  a  iirona  p^:rfOllaC  ir.tcreit,  in  i/ic  csiavd^s/imenl  of  order ) 
^ncrcy-j  and  o:ccnomi/ ,  in-  CA-^ru  juOcrdinate.  department. 

%I  am.  perjuaded ,  QJir,  mat  iAc  of /ice,  to  tmicA  you  arc  appcin  '.cd,  ifi/i  0& 
conducted  ivii^  an  /ic?i('uraB/c  view  to  i/io/e  effcniiaf  pcints  ;  and^  t/icre  orc^ 
it  may  cc  fipcrfiucus  to  ad//!,  tnat,  ivnicc,  on  i/ie-  one  /lan^,  J  siia(-£  ve  nap'- 
pu  to  encoaraaf.,  as  var  as^  m-y-  iurisdiction  extends,  t/ic  icac  a7ici  fdcdty 
of  e.yery  piitcic  cf.icerj — nt>  indace?ncnt  vilC  aver  prevail  upm  me,  on, 
tne.  other  ^.and,  to  overioo^-  tAc  •teo/st  appearance  of  deiinaucncuffir  t/icpcr- 
nicioU'S  cf lecis  of  nealiiic?ic(,  <«  tnc   exccniion  of  a  pulcic  trust. 

^n  cr^er  to  en  lure  a  i-ropcr  dcaree.  of  ecu  •  idence ,  aucf  to  advance  t/ie. 
means  ej  afefd  hzfcrmaticn,  J  invite  :/ou,  CJlr,  to  a  candid  Iforre  pcn- 
aence,  ct'ai^  times ,  upon  tne  i<ifiMfs  c- '  your  appointment:  Sal^  J  paJ-ti- 
catarcy.  reauest,  t/iat,  at  Ceast,  once,  in  idc  ccurU  of  every  t/irec  mcni/is ,  you 
ivi(l  iraiipnit  to  me  a  statement  cf  I'cur  ^'.icca^'  tran jactivns ,  as  fir  as 
it  iS  nece/^aru  tnai  t/ieu  aficutd  6c  ccmnitmicated ;  n-it/i  fucn  rcmui-£s  en 
tae  defects  in  i/ic  iaws,  or  u'aaes,  vu  w/iica  i/our  prccecdinas  are  re  aula  ted, 
a?id  fuc/i  /linif  /pr  improveinenis ,  as  your  experience  sAaiC  cnaCci-  tyc^i  to 
fu^jicst.  '  ^ 

■~r    ,-»-■  '*'"      J  ~^f^ 

'^/  ,^,,,   ^.-  /  r"^' 

'J^/n/u>u  J^(tt/^^Cy/  ■        y^,^,^  „^.^^^  Jccacntfervant, 


PimTOGRAPHED  COPY  OF 
LETTER    OF    INSTRUCTION    TO    CoL.    ZEBULON   BUTLER 


1581 

Lower  District  of  Hanover,  1st  Company.  Mason  Fitch  Alden,  Captain;  Shubel  Bidlack, 
Licutenanl ;  Silas  Smith,  Ensign. 

Upper  District  of  Kingston,  7th  Company.  Benj.  Smith,  Captain;  Phihp  Meyers,  Lieu- 
tenant; Andrew  Bennet,  Ensign. 

Lower  District  of  Kingston,  8th  Company.  Robt.  McDowl,  Captain;  Thos.  Drake,  Lieu- 
tenant; Elisha  Atherton,  Ensign. 

Plymouth  District,  6th  Company.  Geo.  Palmer  Ransom,  Captain;  Abraham  Nesbitt, 
Lieutenant;  Prince  Alden,  Jr.  Ensign. 

Salem  District,  5th  Company.  Giles  Parman,  Captain;  Robert  Dunn,  Lieutenant;  Zebulon 
Lee,  Ensign." 

A  troop  of  horse  was  recruited  earlier  in  the  year  than  the  date  of  Colonel 
Butler's  report,  and  doubtless  was  not  enumerated  by  him  at  the  time  because 
it  was  more  or  less  a  free  lance  organization,  not  a  part  of  the  foot  Battalion. 
In  a  letter  sent  by  John  Paul  Schott  from  Wilkes-Barre,  to  Vice  President  Muhlen- 
burg,  of  the  Council,  under  date  of  May  29,  1787,  the  following  mention  of  the 
undertaking  is  made: 

"I  have  undertaken  to  raise  a  Troop  of  Light  Dragoons  and  have  got  42  of  the  very  best 
young  gentlemen  of  the  County  and  true  supporters  of  the  law.  I  have  37  of  them  together  last 
Monday,  the  26th  inst.  and  proper  inspectors  appointed  to  elect  their  officers.  The  whole  troop 
is  to  equip  themselves.  *  *  *  I  hope  the  Honorable  Council  will  send  us  commissions  as  your 
honors  will  find  this  troop  very  serviceable  in  this  County." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  the  Council,  dated  at  Wilkes-Barre,  October 
20,  1787,  Captain  Schott,  who  was  previously  commissioned  with  the  others 
mentioned,  makes  "A  true  return  of  officers  and  privates  belonging  to  Troop  of 
Light  Dragoons  for  the  County  of  Luzerne,  who  did  not  attend  in  the  Troop  at 
the  formal  muster  yesterday." 

The  delinquents  seem  to  have  been  Rosewell  Welles,  2d.  Lieut,  and  Privates 
Wm.  Smith,  Nathaniel  Walker,  Benjamin  Duane,  John  Marcy,  John  Hawkins, 
John  Inman  and  Lemanuel  Gaylord. 

The  final  recommendation  of  Colonel  Pickering  as  to  munitions  for  the  re- 
cruited militia  seems  also  to  have  been  acted  upon.  On  October  5,  1787,  the 
minutes  of  Council  record  that  "50  stands  of  arms,  100  wt.  powder  and  300  wt. 
lead  be  forwarded  to  Colonel  Butler  at  Wyoming,  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of 
such  persons  as  he  and  the  Commissioners  may  be  of  the  opinion  are  best  affected 
to  the  State." 

On  August  31st,  Samuel  Hodgdon,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  trusted  inter- 
mediary between  the  Philadelphia  Council  and  Colonel  Pickering,  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing to  the  latter: 

"I  am  happy  to  hear  the  Commissioners  are  present  and  proceeding  on  the  business 
assigned  them.  The  greatest  firmness  is  become  necessary  to  stop  the  complaint  that  has  and  will 
prevail  from  delay.  Some  of  the  gentlemen  have  much  to  answer  for  on  this  score.  If  they 
think  so  they  will  now  exert  themselves.  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  is  this  day  appointed  County  Lieu- 
tenant and  the  militia  is  to  be  immediately  arranged.  The  spirit  of  the  people  is  up  and  govern- 
ment at  all  hazards  will  now  be  supported.  *  *  *  Livingston's  scheme  is  well  understood 
here.  He  is  not  alone  in  it — many  considerable  characters  in  York  State  and  in  his  British 
Majesty's  Province  of  Canada  are  in  the  secret  and  joined  in  the  business,  but  here  it  is  thought 
harmless  from  the  coloring  given.  You  can  best  judge  of  their  designs  by  the  movements  they 
make.  That  country,  in  all  events,  will  be  settled,  and  the  present  commotions  may  facilitate 
what  all  wish." 

How  or  when  the  plan  to  prefer  charges  of  high  treason  against  Colonel 
Franklin  originated,  is  not  clearly  shown  by  any  records  at  the  command  of 
the  wTiter,  but  events  were  shaping  themselves  inexorably  against  him. 
Colonel  Franklin  was  indicted  at  the  September,  1787,  term  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  of  Luzerne  County,  on  two  counts,  but  no  suggestion  of  the 
major  offense  was  contained  in  this  proceeding. 

Two  sentences  contained  in  the  letter  of  Colonel  Pickering,  WTitten  in 
1818,  to  his  son,  descriptive  of  his  career  at  Wyoming,  which  letter  has  been 


1582 

previously  mentioned,  states  positively  that  the  commissioner  himself  never 
knew  who  originally  preferred  these  charges.  See  "Life  of  Pickering,"  II,  p. 
302.     The  passages  referred  to  are: 

"John  Franklin,  a  shrewd  and  resolute  man,  the  prime  agent  of  the  Susquehanna  Com- 
pany, and  the  chosen  commander  of  the  militia,  had  been  for  some  time  visiting  all  the  settle- 
ments, to  stir  up  the  people  to  an  open  and  forcible  opposition  to  the  government  of  Pennsylvania. 
*  *  *  Evidences  of  these  practices  having  been  communicated  (I  know  not  by  whom)  to 
Chief  Justice  McKean,  he  issued  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Franklin,  on  the  charge  of  Treason 
against  the  State." 

Indeed,  the  fact  that  Colonel   Pickering  was  not  in  sympathy  with  the 

purposes  of  the  grand  jury,    and  therefore  was  not  the  real  instigator  of  the 

charges,  is  evidenced  by  the  following  letter  to  his  friend  Hodgdon: 

"Wilkesburg,  Sept.  6,  1787. 
"We  have  had  a  peaceable  court.     Col.  Franklin  is  still  at  Tioga.    The  grand  jury  found 
two  bills  against  him  for  breaches  of  the  peace  and  for  the  felonious  stealing  and  carrying  away 
another  man's  grain  and  hay.     But  I  suspect  in  the  latter's  case  the  point  of  law  has  been  mis- 
taken and  that  it  had  been  better  not  to  have  meddled  with  it." 

But  more  influential  forces  than  those  centered  at-  Wilkes-Barre,  seemed 
resolved  that  Col.  John  Franklin  should  bow  to  the  will  of  Pennsylvania. 

That  others  were  at  Tioga,  with  Colonel  Franklin,  about  this  time  and  that 
the  Council  was  informed  of  the  fact,  is  evidenced  by  the  following  communi- 
cation, addressed  by  President  Franklin,  to  Governor  Clinton,  of  New  York,  on 
September  22,  1787:* 

"There  are  a  number  of  disorderly  people  collecting  near  the  line  that  divides  our  two 
states,  who  are  impatient  of  the  regular  Government  and  seize  upon  and  presume  to  dispose  of 
lands  contrary  to  and  in  defiance  of  laws.  Their  numbers  are  daily  increasing  by  vagabonds 
from  Shays'  late  partisans  and  propose  defending  their  proceedings  by  force  of  arms.  Your  Ex- 
cellency will  be  sensible  with  us  of  the  Mischief  such  a  body  of  banditti  may  be  capable  of 
occasioning  both  our  states.  The  vicinity  of  the  boundary  line  affording  them  a  present  and 
imaginary  security,  since,  if  pursued  by  the  authority  of  one  state,  they  can  easily  step  over  into 
the  other." 

The  letter  concluded  with  a  request  that  the  Delegates  of  Pennsylvania  be 
permitted  to  have  a  conference  with  Governor  Clinton  on  the  subject. 

On  the  same  day,  the  President  of  Council  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Penn- 
sylvania Delegates  in  Congress,  stating  the  substance  of  the  above  Communi- 
cation, and  informing  them  "that  Council  have  thought  of  sending  a  few  reso- 
lute men  to  bring  off  and  apprehend  Franklin  and  Jenkins." 

On  September  8th,  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Delegate  to  Congress,  wrote  to 
President  Franklin,  that  "the  Delegates  have  had  a  conference  with  Governor 
Clinton,  who  is  well  disposed  to  concur  in  any  measure  that  may  tend  to  preserve 
the  peace  of  the  two  states.  *  *  *  As  to  Franklin  and  Jenkins,  the  Dele- 
gates are  of  the  opinion  that  no  more  proper  method  could  be  pursued  than 
that  suggested,  of  sending  a  few  resolute  men  to  take  them,  and  should  they 
escape  to  the  York  side  of  the  line,  the  apprehending  them  will  give  no  offense 
to  the  Government." 

The  dignity  of  Pennsylvania,  at  least,  was  deemed  at  stake  in  putting  an 
end  to  Colonel  Franklin's  adverse  activities  and  the  stage  was  rapidly  set  for  the 
dramatic  scenes  of  his  apprehension.  From  the  "Pickering  Papers"t  the  most 
direct  evidence  is  obtainable  as  to  preliminaries  of  the  undertaking.  On  Sept. 
1,  1787,  Vice  President  Biddle  wrote  to  Commissioners  Pickering  and  Balliet, 
then  at  Wilkes-Barre,  the  following: 

"Understanding  that  Jno.  Franklin  is  at  the  head  of  *  *  *  all  opposition  to  the 
Laws,  we  have  thought  it  necessary  to  send  a  warrant  to  apprehend  him.  If  you  are  of  opinion 
it  will  tend  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  County  vou  can  have  it  executed  during  the  sitting  of  the 
Court." 

*See  "Pennsylvania  .Archives,"  XI  ;  187.  tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers,  LVII  :  2-69." 


I — '^!t^jfC^t<j> 


'^>£c^j. 


I'Zi^uy 


'  ^iCiy'/%^^/a^ 


Letter  of  Instruction  to  the  Militia  of  the  Countv  of  Luzerne 

Issued  hy  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  over  the  signature 
of  Benjamin  Franklin,  November  11.  1787. 


1583 

The  warrant  enclosed,  in  the  handwriting  of  Chief  Justice  McKean  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  is  likewise  among  the  same  "Papers." 
It  was  directed  to: 

"Zebulon  Butler.  Lieutenant  of  Luzerne  County,  Lord  Butler,  Sheriff  and  to  all  and  singu- 
lar the  Bailiffs,  Constables  and  other  Ministers  within  our  County  and  especially  to  Wm.  Nichols* 
of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  Esq.,  Greeting: 

"John  Franklin,  being  a  pernicious  and  seditious  man  and  a  person  of  disquiet  mind, 
contriving,  practicing  and  maliciously  and  turbulently  intending  our  peace  and  common  tran- 
quility to  molest  and  disturb,  hath  at  divers  times  and  within  the  last  six  months  in  the  said  County 
of  Luzerne  *  *  *  incited  and  encouraged  divers  inhabitants  of  the  said  County  to  disobey 
our  laws  and  resist  our  Government,  to  the  evil  example  of  all  others  in  the  like  case  offending 
and  against  our  peace." 


f-t^/^ 


Being  allowed  a  discretion  of  serving  the  warrant  against  Colonel  Franklin . 
Colonel  Pickering  seems  to  have  moved  with  his  usual  deliberation.  Doubtless, 
he  kept  the  possession  of  the  warrant  tp  himself,  awaiting  the  appearance  of 
Colonel  Franklin  on  more  favorable  ground  than  at  Tioga,  where  his  attempted 
arrest  would  have  been  an  almost  impossible  procedure.  Moreover,  Colonel  Pick- 
ering realized  that  in  the  arrest  of  the  leader  of  the  Connecticut  party,  a  grave 
danger  existed  of  estranging  many  of  his  former  neighbors  who  were  now  yield- 
ing at  least  a  luke-warm  allegiance  to  Pennsylvania.  As  a  third  object  in  delay, 
he  may  have  awaited  the  commission  by  Colonel  Franklin  of  some  overt  act  so 
imminent  and  so  flagrant  in  its  nature,  as  to  justify  the  risks  of  his  capture. 

Colonel  Franklin  opened  the  door  to  the  vengeance  of  Pennsylvania  almost 
at  once.  On  September  23rd,  Colonel  Franklin  was  guilty  of  an  indiscretion  that 
was  to  vex  him  grieviously  in  after  months.  He  sent  orders  in  viriting  to  some  of 
his  adherents,  in  many  of  these  documents  styling  himself  "Colonel,  Command- 
ant," to  assemble  at  a  fixed  time  and  place  with  arms  and  ammunition  "to  prevent 
the  Pennsylvania  loyalists  from  holding  an  election  of  militia  officers."  One  of 
these  letters  was  intercepted  by  agents  of  Colonel  Pickering,  and  is  now  among 
the  "Papers"  of  the  latter.  It  was  addressed,  as  follows: 
"Mr.  Jehiel  Franklin, 

"Sir: — You  are  requested  to  give  notice  to  the  half  share  men  and  settlers  at  Wysox  and 
Towanda  who  expect  to  support  their  lands  under  the  Susquehanna  Company  that  they 
will  appear  at  Abel  Yarrington's  in  Wilkesbarre  on  Tuesday,  the  9th  of  October  next  at  9  o'clock 
in  the  morning  compleat  in  arms  and  equipped. 

"John  Franklin. 
"Wilkesbarre,  Sept.  25,  1787." 

Among  the  "Butler  Papers"  is  found  a  letter  which  indicates  how  wide- 
spread were  these  incendiary  notices  sent  out  by  Colonel  Franklin : 

"Wyalusing,  Sept.  29,  1787. 
"Col.  Zebulon  Butler, 

"Wilkesborough, 
"Sir: 

"I  am  this  instant  informed  by  Capt.  Landon,  that  you  intend  to  get  one  battaUon  of  the 
militia  together  as  quick  as  the  Law  will  admit,  which  gives  me  great  satisfaction.  Inform  you 
that  Esquire  Franklin  has  sent  letters  up  the  river  to  Tunkhannock,  Wyalusing,  Tioga  and  New- 
town— by  young  Isaac  Baldwinf  who  stayed  at  my  house  last  Wednesday  night.  He  left  one  of 
the  letters  with  Joseph  Eliot  directed  to  him  or  Amasa  Wells  to  warn  all  the  half  share  men  in 
these  parts  to  appear  at  the  house  of  Abel  Yerinton  on  the  9th  day  of  October  next,  complete  in 
arras  without  fail.  My  son  has  received  the  letter.  I  find  there  is  some  in  these  parts  are  very 
spirited  and  are  determined  to  proceed,  as  they  are  mihtary  men.  I  hope  you  will  be  able  to 
receive  them  in  that  line  etc.     I  hope  to  be  down  and  see  you  at  the  election. 

"Yours, 

"(Esq.)  Nathan  Kingsley." 

*Nichols,  then  living  at  Philadelphia,  was  one  of  the  four  attorneys  first  admitted  to  the  Luzerne  County  bar. 
tA  nephew  or  brother  of  Waterman  Baldwin. 


1584 

From  the  "Autobiography  of  Charles  Biddle"*  (p  221)  a  hitherto  unre- 
corded account  of  the  plot  to  apprehend  Colonel  Franklin  is  now  available.  That 
it  was  formulated  in  the  Supreme  Council  at  Philadelphia,  and  not  in  the  mind 
of  Colonel  Pickering,  as  has  heretofore  been  frequently  asserted,  is  now  certainly 
known.  Mr.  Biddle's  account  of  the  circumstance  is  such  as  would  indicate  that 
any  attempted  interference  with  the  personal  liberties  of  Colonel  Franklin  was  a 
desperate  measure  not  to  be  lightly  undertaken. 

"The  disturbances  at  Wyoming  still  continuing,  and  complaints  being  continually  made 
to  Council,  the  Board  thought  it  would  be  necessary  to  send  some  miUtia  from  Berks  and  North- 
ampton Counties.  They,  therefore,  sent  for  Captain  Craig,  the  County  Lieutenant  of  Northamp- 
ton, (John  Craig,  a  very  mild,  worthy  man,  cousin  of  Colonel  Craig,  and,  like  him,  an  intelligent, 
active,  gallant  officer.  He  served  all  the  war  in  Moylan's  Regiment  of  Horse)  to  consult  with  him 
as  to  the  number  of  militia  necessary  to  be  sent  on  the  expedition.  When  Craig  came  to  town, 
he  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  if  John  Franklin  was  taken,  the  other  insurgents  would  soon  be  quiet, 
for  that  he  was  the  man  who  occasioned  all  the  disturbances.  After  mentioning  our  intention 
of  sending  out  the  militia,  he  said  he  would  rather  have  a  few  old  Continental  officers  than  all 
the  militia  of  Berks  and  Northampton,  for  it  was  only  necessary  to  take  Franklin,  and  if  Council 
would  allow  him  to  take  eight  or  ten  of  his  friends,  he  would  bring  Franklin  to  Philadelphia,  or 
never  return.  Council,  agreeing  to  let  him  have  his  own  way,  he  chose  seven  officers  who  had 
served  with  him,  three  of  whom  I  knew — Stevenson,  Brady  and  Erbe — and  more  determined 
fellows  never  went  upon  any  desperate  enterprise. 

"They  were  going  to  take  from  the  midst  of  his  friends  a  very  stout,  active  man,  as  fear- 
less as  any  of  themselves. 

"Although  Craig  and  his  companions  were  anxious  to  go,  it  was  against  my  inclination 
they  went,  as  I  thought  it  highly  probable  they  would  all  be  sacrificed. 

"Franklin  has  told  me  since  that  it  was  owing  to  a  chapter  of  accidents  that  they  were  not. 
They  went  to  Wilkes-Barre  under  pretense  of  purchasing  land  from  the  Connecticut  claimants 
for  whom  they  pretended  a  great  regard.  Watching  their  opportunity  when  Franklin  was  alone 
in  a  tavern  they  attacked  him.  He  called  out  that  the  Pennanites  were  murdering  him,  but  he 
was  not  heard.  They  got  him  down  and  with  great  difficulty,  tied  his  hands  behind  his  back, 
and  gagged  him.  They  had  prepared  themselves  with  a  rope  and  gag  before  they  took  hold  of 
him.  He  fought  with  great  desperation,  and  there  was  not  one  of  them  that  did  not  feel  the 
weight  of  his  arm. 

"He  hurt  Stevenson  so  much  that  he  would  have  shot  him  through  the  head  if  Craig  had  not 
prevented.  They  got  him  at  last  on  horseback,  tied  his  feet  under  the  horse's  belly,  and  set  off 
before  his  friends  could  assemble  and  arm  themselves.  They  rode  thirty-eight  miles  before  they 
halted;  they  were  closely  pursued,  and  if  they  had  halted  sooner  it  is  probable  they  would  have 
been  overtaken,  and  killed,  for  they  were  all  well  armed  and  would  not  have  surrendered. 

"Craig  appeared  before  Council  about  ten  days  after  he  set  off;  he  sent  the  doorkeeper  in 
to  me,  and  informed  me  when  I  went  to  him  that  he  had  brought  Franklin  to  town.  Council 
ordered  him  to  gaol,  and,  as  it  was  apprehended  he  would  endeavor  to  make  his  escape,  he  was 
ordered  in  irons.  Craig  and  his  companions  had  300  Pounds  given  them.  They  were  entitled  to 
much  more.    However,  with  that  sum  they  were  perfectly  satisfied." 

Supplementing  the  Biddle  account  is  a  letter,  preserved  in  "Pennsylvania 
Archives,"  II  :  189,  relating  to  instructions  given  by  Council  to  Colonel  Craig. 
It  was  dated  September  26,  1787  and  addressed  to  the  latter,  as  "Lieutenant  of 
Northampton  County:" 

"You  are  to  take  what  number  of  militia  you  think  necessary  and  proceed  with  the  greatest 
dispatch  to  Wilkesbarre,  in  the  County  of  Luzerne.    When  there,  if  you  think  necessary,  consult 

*Chari.es  Biddle — whose  name  is  several  times  mentioned  hereinbefore,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  December 
24,  1745,  the  sixth  child  ol  William  Biddle  (who  died  in  1756),  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  his  wife  Mary,  daughter 
of  Nicholas  Scull  (Surveyor  General  ol  Pennsylvania),  to  whom  he  was  married  April  3,  1730.  In  October,  17S4,  being 
then  engaged  in  business  at  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  and  also  following  the  calling  of  a  sea  captain,  Charles  Biddle 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania.  John  Dickinson  was  then  President  and 
James  Irvine  was  Vice  President  of  the  Council. 

On  taking  his  seat.  Mr.  Biddle  found  the  Council  nearly  equally  divided  between  what  were  then  called  Repub- 
licans and  Constitutionalists.  James  Irvine  having  tendered  his  resignation  as  a  member  of  the  Council,  October 
10,  1785,  Mr.  Biddle  was  elected  Vice  President  in  his  place.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  last  meeting  of  the  Council 
that  President  Dickinson  attended.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  elected  a  Councillor  on  October  17th,  and  the  next 
day  was  unanimously  selected,  by  the  members  of  the  Council,  President  to  succeed  Dickinson.  On  October  29th. 
Franklin  was  formally  elected  President,  and  Charles  Biddle.  Vice  President  by  the  joint  vote  of  the  Council,  and 
the  House  of  Representatives,  as  required  by  the  Constitution. 

At  this  time,  as  Franklin  was  in  poor  health  and  suffering  much  physical  pain,  he  did  not  often  attend  the  meetings 
of  the  Council,  wherefore  his  duties  as  President,  devolved  upon  Vice  President  Biddle.  The  latter's  term  of  office 
expired  in  October,  1787,  and  he  was  immediately  elected  Secretary  of  the  Council  to  succeed  Gen.  John  Armstrong, 
Jr.  The  office  of  Secretary,  as  well  as  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  itself,  ceased  to  exist  on  December  21,  1790 
when  the  new  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania  (adopted  in  September,  1790)  went  into  effect  Therefore  in  February' 
1791,  Governor  Mifflin  appointed  and  commissioned  Mr.  Biddle,  Prothonotary  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of 
Philadelphia  County,  to  succeed  his  brother,  James  Biddle. 

Charles  Biddle  was  married  in  1778,  to  Hannah  Shepard,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  ten  children  Mr  Biddle 
died  April  4,  1821,  at  his  residence  on  Chestnut  Street,  west  of  Eleventh  Street,  Philadelphia. 


1585 

Col.  Pickering  on  the  best  method  you  can  take  to  apprehend  John  Franklin,  John  Jenkins,  Zerah 
Beach  and  John  McKinstry.  Should  you  take  all  or  any  of  the  men  prisoners,  you  are  to  bring 
them  to  Philadelphia.  If  you  take  Franklin  at  Wilkesbarre,  do  not  proceed  any  further  or  run 
no  risk  of  losing  him  by  endeavoring  to  apprehend  the  others. 

"Council  have  the  utmost  reliance  on  your  secrecy  and  prudence  in  conducting  this  affair. 
If  opposed  by  force,  you  are  to  use  force  and  execute  the  warrant  at  all  events." 

Miner  in  his  History,  (p  413)  gives  a  vivid  account  of  the  capture  of  the 
"Hero  of  Wyoming"  (October  2,  1787)  basing  his  narrative  on  data  he  secured 
from  eye  witnesses: 

"Col.  Franklin,  at  the  close  of  September,  had  been  on  a  political  tour  down  the  west  side 
of  the  river  to  Huntington  and  Salem,  and  returned  by  Hanover  to  Wilkes-Barre,  when  as  he  stood 
by  Mr.  Yarrington's  near  the  ferry,  it  being  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  a  person  whom  he 
knew  came  up  and  said,  'a  friend  at  the  red  house  wished  to  speak  to  him.'  Unconscious  of 
danger,  he  walked  down,  when  suddenly  he  was  seized  behind,  and  an  attempt  made  to  pinion 
his  arms.  By  powerful  efforts,  he  shook  himself  loose;  was  again  seized,  but  by  the  most  vigorous 
exertions  kept  his  opponents  from  their  purpose,  till  a  noose  was  thrown  over  his  head,  and  his 
arms  confined;  the  power  of  all  four  being  requisite  to  tie  him.  To  get  him  on  horseback  was  the 
next  object.  Col.  Franklin  now  cried  out:  'help,  help.  William  Slocum!  Where  is  William 
Slocum?'  and  drawing  his  pistols,  for  he  went  armed,  discharged  one  of  them  without  effect, 
when  a  heavy  blow  struck  him  for  a  moment  almost  senseless,  and  covered  his  face  with  blood. 
The  hour  had  been  judiciously  selected. — in  the  midst  of  seeding  time.  William  Slocum,  with 
nearly  all  the  male  population,  were  at  work  in  distant  fields  sowing  grain.  But  the  spirit  of  the 
good  Quaker  mother  was  aroused.  Her  Yankee  blood  was  up.  A  lovely  and  amiable  woman  she 
was,  but  for  a  moment  she  thought  of  nothing  but  the  release  of  Franklin.  Mrs.  Slocum  seized 
the  gun,  and  running  to  her  door,  'William,'  she  cried,  'Who  will  call  Williain?  Is  there  no  man 
here?    Will  nobody  rescue  him?' 

"From  the  river  bank,  Capt.  Erbe  had  got  his  prisoner  into  the  main  street  near  Col.  Pick- 
ering's, but  with  tremendous  power,  in  despite  of  his  four  captors,  Franklin  threw  himself  from 
the  horse,  as  often  as  placed  on  him,  when  Col.  Pickering  was  obliged  to  come  from  behind  the 
curtain,  and  decisively  to  interpose.  Accompanied  by  his  servant,  William  A.  George,  he  ran 
to  the  door  armed  with  a  loaded  pistol,  which  he  held  to  Franklin's  breast,  while  George  tied  his 
legs  under  the  horse,  and  bound  him  to  one  of  his  captors." 

Whatever  prescience  Colonel  Pickering  may  have  possessed  of  the  adven- 
ture, and  however  much  he  was  "consulted"  as  to  methods,  it  is  certain 
that,  as  a  witness  to  the  struggle  between  Franklin  and  his  abductors,  he 
showed  no  hesitancy  in  action,  nor  fear  of  assuming  responsibility.  The  first 
Pickering  residence  in  Wilkes-Barre  was  not  the  "Pickering  House"  or  "Ross 
House",  whose  sturdy  frame  still  withstands  the  onward  march  of  business 
structures,  at  130  South  Alain  Street.  Colonel  Pickering  had  written  his  partner 
Hodgdon,  on  August  7,  1787,  to  send  forward  "an  Irish  bricklayer  and  a  carpenter 
*  *  *  to  carry  forward  my  buildings"  and  further  declared  that  "I  have  a 
good  stone  mason."  These,  in  all  probability,  combined  their  efforts  to  con- 
struct the  "Pickering  House,"  which  is  still  an  ornament  to  Wilkes-Barre  and 
was,  in  its  time,  the  most  pretentious  of  all  buildings  in  the  settlement. 

During  the  period  of  his  exile  in  the  fall  of  1787,  Col.  Pickering  forwarded 
directions  as  to  the  construction  of  this  new  home  down  to  even  minutest  details. ' 
"Enjoin  it  upon  Dr.  Sprague  to  dig  it  as  low  as  possible,  and  stone  it  well,"  he 
wrote  to  his  wife  in  November,  in  referring  to  the  well  on  the  premises.  "I  wish 
John  Scott  (one  of  his  servants)  to  see  to  the  carrj-ing  up  of  the  chimney.  Let 
John  see  that  the  mortar  is  faithfully  made,  the  bricks  laid  true  and  let  the  joints 
be  all  well  filled  with  mortar,"  he  wrote  a  week  later.  "I  have  therefore  con- 
cluded to  have  7  by  9  glass.  Four  hundred  panes  should  glaze  the  house,"  he 
writes  again. 

Colonel  Pickering  built  as  he  labored — on  sure  foundations.  That  is  why 
to-day,  1923,  there  still  stands,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  the  "Pickering  House,"  with 
the  mortar  yet  filling  every  joint  and  many  of  the  four  hundred  panes  of  7x9 
glass  still  glazing  its  windows. 


1586 


The  Old  Red'  House  on  River  Street 

Erected  by  Capt  John  P.  Schott  1783 


The  first  Pickering  residence  stood  a  "few  rods,"  as  he  himself  wrote  from 
the  Yarrington  Ferry,  whose  landing  was 
at  the  foot  of  Northampton  Street.  In 
a  row  stood  the  home  of  Col.  Zebulon 
Butler,  where  now  stands  the  residence  of 
Judge  J.  Butler  Woodward,  at  the  corner  of 
Northampton  and  River  streets;  the  old 
"red  house",  or  tavern,  and  a  third  house 
owned  by  John  Hollenback,  which  was  oc- 
cupied at  the  time  by  Colonel  Pickering  and 
his  family.  It  was  from  this  building  that 
Pickering  witnessed  the  struggle  on  the 
River  Common,  and  realizing  its  bearing  on 
the  future  relationships  of  Wyoming,  lent 
assistance  to  the  enterprise.  With  his  usual 
punctilious  care.  Colonel  Pickering  recorded 
the  event  as  follows: 

"The  four  gentlemen  seized  him,  two  of  their  horses  were  in  my  stable,  which  were  sent 
to  them;  but  soon  my  servant  returned  on  one  of  them,  with  a  message  from  the  gentlemen,  that 
the  people  were  assembling  in  numbers,  and  requested  me  to  come  with  what  men  were  near  me, 
to  prevent  a  rescue.  I  took  loaded  pistols  in  my  hands,  and  went  with  another  servant  to  their  aid. 
Just  as  I  met  them,  Franklin  threw  himself  off  his  horse,  and  renewed  his  struggle  with  them. 
His  hair  was  disheveled  and  face  bloody  with  preceding  efforts.  I  told  the  gentlemen  they  would 
never  carry  him  off  unless  his  feet  were  tied  under  his  horse's  belly.  I  sent  for  a  cord.  The  gentle- 
men remounted  him,  and  my  servant  tied  his  feet.  Then  one  taking  his  bridle,  another  following 
behind,  and  the  others  riding  one  on  each  side,  they  whipped  up  his  horse,  and  were  soon  beyond 
the  reach  of  his  friends." 

That  the  news  of  Colonel  Franklin's  arrival,  under  heavy  guard,  in  Philadel- 
phia, was  received  with  great  satisfaction  by  those  in  authority,  who  had  so  long 
attempted  to  checkmate  his  activities,  is  evidenced  by  a  letter  written  at  2  A.  M. 
October  5th,  by  Mr.  Hodgdon  to  Colonel  Pickering.     In  part,  it  reads  as  follows: 

"At  one  o'clock  this  day,  Franklin  was  brought  to  town  and  lodged  in  jail.  It  seems  6 
men  were  deputed  to  take  him,  under  a  charge  of  Misprision  of  Treason.  They  say  he  fought  the 
whole  of  them  for  several  minutes  before  he  surrendered.  Five  of  them  have  receipts  to  prove 
the  assertion — a  black  eye,  each.  Franklin  has  a  black  eye  and  is  otherwise  bruised.  How  this 
will  effect  you,  time  will  discover,  but  I  hope  his  party  is  too  contemptible  to  affect  you  or  alarm 
any  one.  It  affords  a  great  triumph  here,  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  peace  may  follow  violence. 
*  *  *  Col.  Dennison*  has  this  moment  called  on  me.  He  has  seen  Franklin.  He  informs  me 
he  seems  disposed  to  be  composed,  tho'  it  is  manifest,  he  is  in  the  horrors.  His  plan  of  independ- 
ency seems  to  lay  heaviest  against  him." 

In  the  Pe?insylvania  Packet,  at  Philadelphia,  under  date  of  October  7,  1778, 
the  following  sententious  notice  appeared : 

"October  6,  1787.  We  are  informed  that  John  Franklin,  the  hero  of  Wyoming,  has  been 
seized  by  several  of  the  friends  of  government,  and  brought  to  this  city.  It  is  hoped  that  some 
legal  steps  will  be  taken  to  subdue  the  turbulent  spirit  of  this  modern  Shays,  who  has  been  the 
chief  cause  of  the  discontents  in  the  county  of  Luzerne,  and  has  uniformly  labored  to  involve 
the  county  in  a  civil  war.  Every  overture  that  has  been  made  on  the  part  of  government  has  been 
rendered  ineffectual  by  his  machinations,  and  even  his  election  as  a  representative  in  the  General 
Assembly  was  not  sufficient  to  gratify  his  ambition.  'Better  to  reign  in  hell,  than  serve  in  heaven,' 
has  ever  been  a  favourite  sentiment  with  the  demons  of  sedition." 

While  news  of  the  Franklin  episode  was  received  with  quiet  satisfaction 
at  Philadelphia,  it  created  a  profound  sensation  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  throughout 
the  whole  of  the  Susquehanna  Purchase.  From  Nescopeck  to  the  York  state 
line,  commotion  was  in  evidence.  Older  settlers,  and  many  reconciled  former 
neighbors  of  the  imprisoned  leader,  held  their  peace.  But  the  rage  and  chagrin 
of  the  younger  generation  and  of  newer  claimants  under  grants  of  the  Susquehanna 

*ColoneI  Denison  was  then  a  member  of  the  Council. 


1587 

Company,  knew  no  bounds.  From  the  north  rode  Capt.  John  Swift  and  Capt. 
Elisha  Satterlee,  firebrand  adherents  to  the  Franklin  cause,  breathing  revenge 
and  retribution.  Other  followers  nearer  at  hand  lacked  only  leadership  to  stir 
them  to  unwonted  activity. 

Leadership  came  in  the  person  of  Captain  Swift.  At  Kingston,  the  Franklin 
party  assembled  during  the  evening  hours  of  October  2nd,  and  a  plan  to  abduct 
Colonel  Pickering  was  quickly  determined.  The  party  was  quietly  set  in  motion 
toward  the  ferry. 

In  opposition  to  this  maneuver,  the  friends  of  Colonel  Pickering,  under  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Butler,  assembled  for  his  protection.  After  the  Swift  party  had 
crossed  the  river,  it  immediately  surrounded  the  house  and  demanded  admission, 
under  threat  of  setting  the  building  on  fire  in  case  of  refusal.  Fire  actually 
having  been  started,*  Colonel  Butler  then  came  out  and  pledged  his  word  that 
Colonel  Pickering  was  not  there.  Still  unsatisfied,  an  agreement  was  finally 
reached  between  the  besiegers  and  Colonel  Butler,  that  if  the  arms  of  both 
parties  were  deposited  in  the  hands  of  a  committee,  to  be  mutually  chosen, 
Captains  Swift  and  Satterlee  could  enter  the  house  and  make  such  search  as 
they  chose.     Here  it  is  well  to  let  Colonel  Pickering  himself  take  up  the  narrative: 

"The  rising  of  Franklin's  men  was  expected  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  I  desired 
my  friends  to  place  sentinels  along  the  bank,  where  they  might  discover  the  first  movements 
for  crossing  the  river,  and  then  sat  down  to  sup  with  my  family.  Before  I  had  finished  that  meal, 
a  sentinel  came  in  Ijaste  from  the  river,  and  informed  me  that  Frankhn's  adherents  were  crossing 
in  boats.  My  house  was  within  a  furlong  of  the  river.  I  took  up  a  loaded  pistol  and  three  or  four 
small  biscuits,  and  retired  to  a  neighboring  field.  Soon  the  yell  of  the  insurgents  appraised  me 
of  their  arrival  at  my  house.  I  listened  to  their  noises  a  full  half  hour,  when  the  clamour  ceasing, 
I  judged  that  the  few  armed  neighbors,  who  had  previously  entered  and  fastened  the  doors,  had 
surrendered.  This  was  the  fact.  The  rioters,  (as  I  afterwards  learned)  searched  the  house  for  me, 
and  for  concealed  arms,  if  any  there  were. 

"While  I  was  listening,  Griffith  Evans,  secretary  to  the  board  of  commissioners,  and  a 
lodger  at  my  house,  retiring  from  it,  fortunately  taking  the  same  course,  joined  me.  Believ-ing 
that  when  they  should  have  searched  the  house  in  vain,  they  would  proceed  to  the  near  fields 
to  find  me,  I  told  Mr.  Evans  it  would  be  well  to  retire  still  farther.  When  we  had  gained  the  side 
of  Wilkesbarre  mountain,  we  laid  ourselves  down  and  got  some  sleep.  In  the  morning  I  descried 
at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  more,  a  log  house,  which  was  on  a  lot  of  land  I  had  purchased,  and  near 
a  mile  from  the  village,  and  occupied  by  an  honest  German,  whose  daughter  lived  with  Mrs. 
Pickering  as  a  maid.  I  proposed  to  Mr.  Evans,  as  he  had  no  personal  injury  to  apprehend  from 
the  rioters,  to  go  to  the  log  house,  and  ask  the  German,  in  my  behalf,  to  go  down  to  my  house, 
(which,  as  his  daughter  was  there,  would  be  perfectly  natural,)  and  if  he  could  see  Mrs.  Pickering, 
inquire  what  was  the  state  of  things,  and  whether  I  could  return  with  safety.  Mr.  Evans  waited 
his  return;  and  then  brought  me  word  from  my  wife,  that  I  must  remain  concealed,  for  they  were 
still  sear,  hing  for  me.  It  was  now  about  eleven  o'clock.  I  told  Mr.  Evans  that  as  I  could  not 
return  to  Wilkesbarre,  we  had  better  proceed  for  Philadelphia,  and  inform  the  E.xecutive  of  the 
state  of  things  at  Wyoming.  He  readily  assented,  and  we  immediately  commenced  our  march. 
It  was  through  pathless  woods,  and  we  had  no  provisions  except  the  three  or  four  biscuits  I  had 
put  into  my  pocket  the  preceding  evening.  That  we  might  not  get  lost,  I  proposed  turning  short 
to  our  left,  to  strike  the  road  leading  from  Wyoming,  and  thence  take  our  departure  with  more 
safety.  We  did  so;  and  then  again  darting  into  the  woods,  proceeded  as  nearly  as  we  could  judge, 
in  a  line  parallel  to  the  road,  but  not  in  sight  of  it.  A  little  before  sun-setting,  we  came  to  a  small 
run  of  water,  which  I  supposed  to  be  the  "nine  mile  run."  being  at  that  distance  from  Wilkesbarre. 
I  therefore  desired  Mr.  Evans  to  go  cautiously  down  the  run  till  he  should  strike  the  road  which 
crossed  it.  He  did  so,  it  was  not  far  off.  On  his  return  we  concluded  to  lie  down  to  get  some 
sleep,  intending  to  rise  when  the  moon  should  be  up,  at  about  two  the  next  morning  and  prosecute 
our  journey.  About  two  miles  from  the  nine  mile  run  was  Bear  Creek,  a  stream  perhaps  forty  or 
fifty  feet  wide,  and  without  a  bridge.  Having  several  times  traveled  that  road,  I  knew  when  we 
approached  it.  There  I  thought  it  probable  the  insurgents  had  posted  a  small  guard  to  intercept 
me,  leaving  their  main  guard  at  a  deserted  cabin  four  miles  back.  Mr.  Evans  proposed  to  advance 
alone,  to  reconnoiter,  and  if  he  discovered  there,  any  armed  men,  to  halloo,  that  I  might  escape 
into  the  woods.  I  told  him,  that  was  impracticable;  fatigued  and  destitute  of  provisions,  I  could 
not  fly;  that  each  of  us  had  a  loaded  pistol;  that  I  presumed  the  guard  at  the  creek  would  not 
exceed  three  men;  that  if  they  attempted  to  take  us,  we  must  each  kill  his  man,  when  the  third 
would  be  glad  to  escape.  With  this  determination,  we  proceeded.  The  creek  was  not  guarded, 
we  forded  it,  and  then  marched  at  our  ease.  In  the  morning,  we  reached  the  first  inhabited  house 
about  twenty-five  miles  from  Wilkesbarre.  Here  we  were  refreshed  with  a  comfortable  breakfast, 
*See,  "Miner's  History."  p.  415. 


1588 

and  then  went  on  our  way.  Having  traveled  some  miles  farther,  we  came  to  some  farmers'  houses, 
where  we  hired  horses,  and  then  continued  our  journey  to  Philadelphia. 

"On  my  return  to  Wilkesbarre,  I  was  informed  that  the  arrangement  of  the  guards  to  inter- 
cept me,  was  precisely  as  I  had  conjectured.  A  subaltern's  command  marched  to  the  deserted 
cabin,  whence  three  men  were  detached  to  Bear  Creek,  where  they  waited  till  night,  when  they 
returned  to  the  cabin;  concluding  that  I  had  reached  the  creek  before  them. 

"The  insurgents,  soon  brought  to  reflection,  and  deprived  of  the  counsel  and  direction  of 
their  leader,  Franklin,  began  to  relent,  and  sent  a  petition  to  the  Executive  Council,  acknowledging 
their  offence,  and  praying  for  a  pardon.  This  was  readily  granted;  and  Colonel  Denison,  the 
Luzerne  counsellor,  went  up  with  the  pardon.  It  was  natural  to  infer  from  this,  that  I  might  return 
in  safety  to  my  family.  I  proceeded  accordingly;  but  when  within  twenty-five  miles,  I  sent  by 
a  servant  who  was  with  me,  a  letter  to  my  wife,  desiring  her  to  consult  some  of  the  discreet  neigh- 
bours, who  were  ray  friends,  relative  to  my  return.  She  did  so.  They  were  of  opinion  that  I 
could  not  return  with  safety  at  present.     So  I  went  back  to  Philadelphia." 

Having  missed  their  quarry,  the  followers  of  Colonel  Franklin  undoubtedly 
resorted  to  the  power  of  dire  threats,  especially  toward  Mrs.  Pickering,  in  the  hopes 
of  having  her  disclose  the  hiding  place  of  her  husband.  Undoubtedly,  also, 
searching  parties  were  scattered  in  various  directions,  enjoined  to  intercept 
the  fugitive.  Colonel  Pickering's  narrative  describes  one  of  these  parties  as  hav- 
ing left  the  crossing  at  Bear  Creek  prior  to  the  arrival  of  himself  and  Mr. 
Evans  at  that  point. 

In  the  absence  of  other  authentic  information  as  to  what  transpired  follow- 
ing an  unavailing  search  of  the  Pickering  residence,  letters  written  shortly  after 
the  occurence,  and  now  published  for  the  first  time,  throw  considerable  light. 
Enroute  to  Philadelphia,  Colonel  Pickering  paused  to  pen  a  letter  to  Capt. 
John  Swift,  who  had  been  recognized  as  the  leader  of  Franklin  adherents  on  the 
night  of  the  2nd. 

The  information  obtained  therein,  must  have  been  communicated  to  the 
fugitive  through  the   medium   of   the  "German  farmer"  heretofore  mentioned, 
or  brought  to  him  by  one  of  his  servants.     The  letter  was  dated  at  Savage's,* 
Thursday,  October  4,  1787,  and  in  part,  reads  as  follows: 
"Sir: 

"I  am  informed  that  you  commanded  the  party  which  surrounded  Mr.  Hollenback's  house 
last  Tuesday  night,  and  that  my  wife  is  kept  there  a  prisoner.  I  am  further  informed  that  it  has 
been  proposed  to  send  her  to  Tioga. 

"But  so  cruel  a  measure  I  cannot  think  you  will  suffer  to  be  carried  into  execution.  I  profess 
myself  to  be  innocent;  unless  it  is  a  crime  to  have  laboured  for  near  a  year  past  to  promote  the 
welfare  and  interest  of  the  Connecticut  Settlers  in  the  County  of  Luzerne.  But  whatever  mis- 
representations and  lies  may  have  caused  any  to  believe,  concerning  me,  certainly  my  wife  is 
innocent,  and  ought  not  to  suffer;  and  I  rely  upon  you  to  prevent  any  insult  or  abuse  being  offered 
to  her;  and  a  greater  injury  perhaps  could  not  be  done  to  her,  than  to  send  her  to  Tioga.  She  is 
of  a  tender  frame,  and  has  an  infant  at  her  breast  about  three  weeks  old,  besides  four  other  young 
children  to  look  after.  To  compel  her  to  make  such  a  journey,  either  by  land  or  water,  and  in 
such  circumstances,  and  a  prisoner,  may  be  fatal  to  her;  and  any  injury  done  to  her  I  shall  not 
consider  as  I  should  injuries  done  to  myself;  for  these  I  can  easily  forgive.  But  injuries  done  to 
her,  I  shall  not  soon  forgive  or  forget. 

"I  was  glad  when  I  heard  you  had  a  command,  because  I  think  you  naturally  possess  both 
honor  and  humanity;  though  you  are  sadly  misled  to  engage  in  your  present  undertaking. 

"I  long  ago  heard  that  in  case  Franklin  should  be  taken,  the  vengeance  of  his  party  was  to 
fall  on  me.  But  why,  if  any  regard  was  had  to  justice,  it  was  not  easy  to  determine.  If  I  have 
been  guilty  of  any  crimes,  I  am  ready  and  willing  to  answer  for  them ;  and  no  more  will  be  required 
of  Esquire  Franklin.  He  will  not  be  condemned,  unheard.  He  will  have  a  fair  trial  by  a  jury, 
and  the  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania  requires  that  persons  accused  of  crimes,  be  tried  in  their 
own  county.  *  *  *  What  can  you  and  those  who  joined  you,  propose  to  yourselves  in  taking 
up  arms?  Is  it  possible  that  you  should  think  Franklin's  party  able  to  withstand  the  power  of 
Pennsylvania?  Do  you  not  see  how  much  the  present  situation  of  the  settlers  differs  from  their 
situation  before  the  law  passed  for  confirming  their  lands?  Then  not  only  the  settlers,  but  the 
people  of  Connecticut  and  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  might  excuse  your  opposition 
to  government,  because  they  thought  the  settlers  ought  to  be  quieted  in  their  old  possessions. 
*  *  *  If  you  think  Pennsylvania  will  be  still  as  formerly,  when  her  government  is  trampled 
on,  you  will  find  yourselves  mistaken.  Now  that  she  has  done  what  justice  and  your  own  petition 
required,  she  will  feel  herself  justified  before  God  and  the  world,  in  sending  a  sufficient  military 
force  to  crush  at  once  all  opposition — and  rest  assured  that  she  will  do  it.  *  *  *  At  the  same 
time  it  is  inconceivable  what  reasons  Franklin  could  give  his  followers  to  make  them  believe  his 
♦Savage's  or  Savitz's  Tavern  was  on  the  Sullivan  road  between  Wind  Gap  and  the  Tobyhanna. 


1589 

project  would  be  successful;  for  I  believe  a  wilder  one  never  before  entered  into  the  head  of  any 
man  in  his  senses.  Who  but  a  madman,  with  his  handful  of  associates  could  imagine  that  he  could 
successfully  oppose  a  State  that  is  equal  in  power  to  one-eighth  part  of  all  the  United  States? 
Or  that  because  you  baffled  the  handful  of  troops  she  sent  against  you  formerly  therefore  that  you 
can  maintain  your  ground  against  the  whole  force  of  the  State,  which,  for  the  reason  before  men- 
tioned, will  be  ready  to  arm  against  you.  All  who  before  were  your  friends  and  well-wishers, 
now  that  your  lands  are  confirmed,  and  you  still  refuse  submission  to  the  laws,  will  be  your  enemies. 
The  Government  and  the  people  of  Connecticut  are  satisfied  with  the  Confirming  Law — except 
I  suppose,  some  members  of  the  Susquehanna  Company.  Doctor  Johnson  and  Mr.  Sherman, 
two  of  the  Connecticut  Delegates  in  the  late  Continental  Convention,  in  particular,  were  satisfied 
with  it.  And  Dr.  Johnson,  I  understood,  sent  a  message  by  William  Ross  to  Franklin,  to  this 
effect:  "That  if  he  did  not  abandon  his  measures  of  opposition,  he  would  bring  himself  to  ruin." 
But  he  would  obstinately  persist  in  them,  and  now  you  see  the  consequence.  This  reminds  me 
of  what  I  said  to  Franklin  last  April — the  Friday  evening  after  the  election  at  Forty  Fort  was 
violently  broken  up.  He  called  to  see  me  at  John  HoUenback's,  where  we  conversed  together 
two  or  three  hours  on  the  subject  then  in  dispute.  At  the  close  of  the  conversation,  when  he 
rose  up  to  go  home,  I  addressed  him  in  words  to  this  effect:  "Mr.  Frankhn,  you  have  heretofore 
had  great  respect  paid  you  in  this  settlement,  and  taken  the  lead  in  its  affairs;  and  notwithstanding 
all  that  is  past,  notwithstanding  all  your  opposition  to  Government,  it  is  not  too  late  to  retreat. 
If  you  now  change  your  course  of  conduct,  if  you  submit,  as  every  good  citizen  ought,  to  the 
Government  of  the  State,  your  past  conduct  will  be  overlooked,  you  maj'  still  be  respected — still 
take  the  lead  in  the  Settlement."  This  sentiment  I  expressed  to  him  in  language  as  serious  and 
affecting  as  I  could  frame,  hoping  it  might  have  the  desired  effect,  and  induce  him  quietly  to 
submit  to  the  laws.  *  *  *  But  all  my  words  and  arguments  were  thrown  away  upon  him; 
for  if  he  had  regarded  them,  he  must  have  given  up  the  daring  though  ridiculous  idea  of  forming 
a  new  and  independent  State.  That  this  was  his  plan,  is  now  pretty  clearly  seen  and  generally 
known,  and  it  was  to  be  accomplished  by  the  slaughter  and  banishment  of  all  the  good  and  faith- 
ful citizens  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  County.  Government  have  from  various  quarters  been  apprized 
of  his  proceedings  and  wicked  designs;  and  for  some  time  past,  proposed  to  apprehend  him.  The 
three  Commissioners  received  a  State  warrant  a  month  ago  for  that  purpose,  but  we  did  not  think 
it  expedient  to  put  it  into  execution.  He  was  taken  last  Tuesday  by  another  warrant  directed 
to  sundry  officers,  particularly  to  one  of  the  gentlemen  who  took  him,  but  of  this  we  knew  nothing 
till  they  arrived." 

Before  a  reply  could  be  received  to  the  above  epistle,  reassuring  news 
was  addressed  to  Colonel  Pickering,  at  Philadelphia,  by  Judge  Obadiah  Gore,  in 

the  following  letter: 

"Wilkesbarre,  Oct.  5,  17S7. 
"I  am  this  A.  M.  arrived  here  and  find  your  family  safe.  I  am  induced  to  believe  the  idea 
of  removing  them  is  at  an  end  and  I  have  an  assurance  from  Captains  Swift  and  Baldwin  that  no 
opposition  will  be  made  to  either  elections  of  civil  or  military  officers.  My  present  sentiments 
are  that  no  further  opposition  will  be  made  and  that  the  Commissioners  may  as  soon  as  convenient 
return  to  execute  their  trust." 

Lord  Butler,  Sheriff  of  Luzerne  County,  likewise  sent  a  communication  to 
the  exiled  Pickering,  which  showed,  as  did  Judge  Gore's  letter,  that  those  of  the 
old  Connecticut  stock,  who  had  accepted  office  under  Pennsylvania,  were  not  in 

sympathy  with  the  Franklin  cause : 

"Wyoming,  Oct.  5,  17S7. 
"I  can't  express  my  feelings  on  the  cruel  and  ungenerous  treatment  of  the  people  of  this 
county  against  you.  *  *  *  When  I  found  that  the  authorit3'  could  not  stop  the  riot,  (on 
October  2nd}  I  was  distressed  to  see  destruction  coming  upon  us.  Your  family  is  well  and  you 
may  rest  assured  that  they  will  not  be  hurt.  *  *  »  j  ^m  crazy  to  think  destruction  is  to  come 
upon  the  unhappy  County.  *  *  *  It  is  thought  best  to  carry  out  the  elections,  which  I  am 
determined  to  do  if  there  is  but  ten  votes.  Swift  and  some  others  seem  to  wish  to  compromise 
if  they  can  be  forgiven."* 

Captain  Swift  replied  promptly  to  Colonel  Pickering's  letter.  The  reply  was 
conciliator}',  and  even  apologetic  in  tone,  but  professed  a  loyalty  for  Colonel 
Franklin  which  seems  to  have  remained  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  many  of  his 
followers  to  the  end.    The  text  of  the  letter  follows: 

"Wilkesborough,  Oct.  6,  17S7. 
'•Sir: 

"I  received  your  letter  dated  the  4th  inst..  in  which  you  express  much  concern  for  your 
family.  I  expected  it.  Some  of  the  party  had  told  Mrs.  Pickering  to  prepare  to  go  up  the  river 
to  be  kept  as  a  hostage  till  Col.  Franklin  should  be  restored;  But  as  soon  as  I  heard  such  orders 
had  been  given,  I  repaired  immediately  to  your  family  to  relieve  Mrs.  Pickering's  anxiety.  Your 
family  has  not  been  removed,  nor  any  way  injured  to  my  knowledge.     Mr.  Ebenezar  Bowman 

*See  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII  :  308. 


1590 

can  inform  you  the  particulars.  I  write  this  to  inform  you  that  your  family  and  effects  shall  be 
safe  till  you  return — that  they  are  not  under  any  kind  of  confinement — that  Col.  Franklin's  friends 
are  disposed  to  submit  to  Government  and  law  in  all  things — that  you  will  think  differently  of 
them  from  what  you  have  done,  and  that  we  wish  your  return  with  the  rest  of  the  Commissioners. 

"Upon  my  honor,  the  notion  of  Independency  was  not  in  our  heads;  neither  was  it  (to  my 
knowledge)  Franklin's  object,  at  the  time  he  was  taken.  You  may  expect  me  and  my  influence 
in  favour  of  Law.  One  thing  for  myself  and  for  his  (Franklin's)  friends,  in  this  County,  I  ask  of 
you;  that  is,  I  wish  you  to  use  your  influence  that  Col.  Franklin  (whom  you  know  I  love)  should 
be  dealt  with  fairly  and  that  as  much  lenity  as  possible  be  shown  him.  This  you  can  do — this 
will  lay  us  under  obligations  to  you,  and  will  tend  greatly  to  the  peace  of  this  County. 

"Major  Jenkins,  Capts.  Baldwin  &  Satterlee,  Lts.  Slocum  and  Mattison  concur  with  me. 
■We  have  spent  two  days  in  Wilkes-Barre  to  convince  the  authorities  of  our  peaceable  disposition. 

"I  hear  there  is  a  State  warrant  out  to  take  off,  as  Franklin  was  taken,  myself  and  others 
for  our  past  conduct.    We  must  not  be  taken  off  in  that  manner.    'Twas  too  cruel! 

"I  am  sir.  Your  Humble  Servant, 

"John  Swift." 

The  compromise  suggested  in  the  foregoing  letter  of  Sheriff  Butler  was 
not  long  delayed.  Realizing  that  a  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Luzerne 
County,  and  especially  those  who  dwelt  in  the  more  populous  centers,  believed 
that  Connecticut  either  would  not  or  could  not  interest  itself  in  their  behalf, 
and  that  their  future  peace  and  prosperity  lay  rather  in  securing  the  best  recog- 
nition possible  of  their  land  titles  under  the  Pennsylvania  jurisdiction,  as  well 
as  in  obtaining  the  benefit  of  the  laws  of  that  Commonwealth,  the  Franklin 
party  dwindled  in  power  and  influence.  Many  of  its  members  expressed  a  willing- 
ness to  become  citizens  of  Pennsylvania,  provided  some  sort  of  an  amnesty  act 
were  passed  in  their  behalf.  In  the  breast  of  others,  the  embers  of  discontent 
and  suspicion  still  smouldered  to  burst  forth  in  a  final  but  ineffectual  effort  to 
throw  off  the  Pennsylvania  yoke. 

The  Supreme  Executive  Council,  at  Philadelphia,  was  apparently  sincere  in 
holding  out  the  olive  branch  of  peace  in  the  direction  of  Wyoming. 

On  October  10th,  the  Council  discussed  the  best  method  of  procedure  in 
regard  to  those  who  had  taken  part  in  the  late  troubles  at  Wilkes-Barre,  with 
the  result  that  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  the  Luzerne  County  member  thereof,  was 
instructed  by  Benjamin  Franklin  to  grant  amnesty  to  all  concerned  "in  the  late 
riot"*  provided  they  "prayed  for  a  pardon." 

Colonel  Denison  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 
Ebenezer  Bowman  returned  with  him,  and  on  October  17th,  the  latter  wrote 
Colonel  Pickering  as  follows: 

"Wilkesborough,  Oct.  17,  1787. 

"We  arrived  here  Saturday  (Oct.  13)  and  found  the  settlement  nearly  in  the  same  situation 
as  when  I  left.  Beach  and  McKinstry  (two  of  the  "Wild  Yankees"  who  had  stormed  Col.  Pick- 
ering's house)  with  a  party  of  half  share  men  were  here.  Some  of  them  on  the  night  I  left  this 
place  for  Philadelphia,  abused  Esquire  Gore  in  a  shameful  manner.  *  *  *  On  Monday,  the 
15th,  we  had  a  meeting  at  which  time  Col.  Denison  communicated  the  determination  of  Council 
towards  them.  The  offenders  seemed  much  pleased  with  the  lenity  of  Council  towards  them  and 
manifested  their  readiness  to  submit  to  Government.  Beach  and  McKinstry  were  present,  but 
made  no  remarks  upon  the  letter  of  Council  nor  did  they  give  any  advice,  publically,  to  the  people. 
I  am  told,  however,  that  Beach  is  still  very  busy  endeavoring  to  persuade  people  to  sign  the 
ComMnalion,  as  they  call  it. 

"The  idea  of  troops  being  sent  here  is  disagreeable  to  many,  particularly  to  those  who  have 
no  just  claim  to  any  property  in  this  settlement. 

"The  election  of  military  officers  was  adjourned  until  the  20th  inst.  Had  it  gone  on,  Franklin 
undoubtedly  would  have  been  Colonel.    The  election  of  civil  oflScers  was  held  peaceably." 

Very  little  excitement  and  no  disquiet  prevailed  at  the  fall  elections  in 
Luzerne  County.  Colonel  Denison  was  again  returned  to  the  Executive  Council 
and  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott  was  chosen  the  county's  assemblyman  in  place  of 
Colonel  Franklin.     Sheriff  Lord  Butler  (against  whom  considerable  criticism  had 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives."  IV  :  17. 


1.591 

arisen  as  to  his  indecision  on  the  night  of  October  2nd)  wrote  a  short  report 
of  this  election  to  Colonel  Pickering,  on  October  15th: 

"We  have  held  the  election  in  peace  "  the  letter  ran.  "Our  oppo.sers 
joined  very  freely  and  run  with  us  on  the  same  ticket." 

Elsewhere,  meanwhile,  other  important  events  of  the  eventful  year  1787, 
were  transpiring.  Delegates  from  twelve  of  the  thirteen  states  had  convened  at 
Philadelphia,  May  14,  1787,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  up  a  Constitution  for 
the  United  States,  to  take  the  place  of  the  loosely  drawn  and  unsatisfactory- 
Articles  of  Confederation.  While  a  quorum  did  not  reach  the  convention  until 
May  25th,  its  efforts  were  unremitting  after  the  latter  date,  under  the  guiding 
hand  of  General  Washington.  Its  work  was  completed  September  17th.  Under 
its  terms,  the  document  needed  the  ratification  of  twelve  states  to  become  effec- 
tive. A  cop}^  of  the  Constitution,  probably  owing  to  the  distinguished  connec- 
tion of  Benjamin  Franklin  therewith,  seems  to  have  reached  the  Pennsvlvania 
House  of  Assembly  promptly. 

Samuel  Hodgdon  was  first  to  give  the  news  of  the  momentous  event  to 

the  people  of  Wyoming.    Writing  to  Colonel  Pickering,  then  in  Wilkes-Barre, 

under  date  of  September   17th,  from  Philadelphia,  he  states: 

"This  A.  M.  the  new  Constitution  was  read  in  our  House  of  Assembly  to  a  crowded  audience 
and  seems  to  be  generally  approved.  Indeed,  we  have  been  in  high  glee  ever  since,  hells  ringing 
and  congratulations  in  every  street." 

A  convention  of  delegates  from  each  state  met  to  consider  and  pass  upon 
the  Constitution.  On  November  12,  1787,  an  election  was  held  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
to  select  the  representative  from  Luzerne  County,  to  this  Convention.  Colonel 
Pickering,  although  still  exiled  in  Philadelphia,  received  an  overwhelming  ma- 
jority. Two  letters,  posted  the  same  day,  from  Wyoming,  informed  him  of  this 
fact.  Ebenezer  Bowman  penned  a  candid  and  amusing  epistle  which,  while  not 
complimentary  to  several  prominent  settlers  therein  named,  has  been  preserved 
among  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII  :  332,  and  is  worth  a  perusal: 

"Wilkesborough,  Nov.  12,  1787" 
"The  people  have  made  choice  of  you  (by  a  great  majority)  to  represent  them  in  Convention. 
*  *  *  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  e.xert  myself  to  prevent  if  possible,  a  person  being  chosen  who 
would  object  to  the  proposed  Constitution.  Christopher  Hurlbutt  was  the  person  proposed, 
and  being  in  favor  as  well  with  the  opposers  as  the  supporters  of  Government,  it  appeared  highly 
probable  he  would  be  chosen.  As  you  had  informed  HoUenback  and  Doctor  Smith,  that  it  would 
not  be  convenient  for  you  to  attend  (if  chosen)  no  proposal  of  the  kind  had  been  made;  but  at  that 
late  period  it  was  necessary  that  some  person  should  be  run  in  whom  the  people  would  be  most 
likely  to  unite,  or  the  other  party  would  succeed.  You  was  proposed,  and  it  took  generally  with 
the  people.  The  only  objection  was  that  your  attendance  would  interfere  with  the  business  of 
the  Co.,  and  this  was  removed  by  assuring  them  you  was  not  e.Kpected  under  three  weeks.  *  *  * 
Comptroller,  General  Nicholson  sent  four  pamphlets  into  this  settlement,  each  containing  the  new 
Constitution,  with  a  number  of  suitable  remarks  upon  it.  Had  he  known  the  character  of  those 
to  whom  he  sent  them,  I  am  sure  he  would  not  have  taken  so  much  trouble  (Col.  Butler.  Dr.  Smith, 
Esq.  Gore  and  Esq.  HoUenback).  Gore,  as  he  is  a  person  of  some  enquiry,  undoubtedly  read  his. 
but  the  other  three,  I  am  convinced,  never  have.  I  had  the  curiosity  to  enquire  of  Butler,  just 
before  the  poll  was  opened,  concerning  the  pamphlet  he  had  received  from  Nicholson.  It  turned 
out  as  I  expected.    He  was  not  able  to  determine  whether  it  was  the  Constitution  or  an  almanac! 

"I  was  informed  by  Dr.  Smith  that  an  enquiry  would  be  made  concerning  the  conduct 
of  some  particular  persons  in  this  place,  and  that  Lord  Butler  (in  consequence  of  his  having  met 
with  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  Luzerne  County,  and  also  for  neglecting  his  duty  at 
the  time  of  the  riot,  here)  would  not  be  commissionated.  The  lot  of  these  charges,  I  believe, 
to  be  groundless,  as  I  cannot  learn  that  he  has  ever  acted  as  secretary  to  that  Board  since  his 
appointment  as  Sheriff,  and  I  think  it  my  duty  to  say  that  from  my  first  acquaintance  he  has  ever 
appeared  friendly  to  Government.  With  respect  to  his  conduct  at  the  time  of  the  riot,  as  an 
executive  officer,  and  one  whose  particular  business  it  is  at  all  times  to  suppress  mobs  and  riots,  he 
certainly  has  laid  himself  open  to  censure;  but  I  believe  his  conduct  ought  to  be  imputed  more  to 
the  want  of  resolution  than  want  of  attachment  to  Government. 

"I  am  sensible  that  no  motives  of  fear  (in  general)  are  sufficient  to  excuse  an  officer  from 
attempting  to  discharge  his  duty.    Yet,  considering  the  intricate  situation  of  the  county  at  that 


1592 

time,  and  the  violence  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  Government,  I  do  not  think  him  to  blame 
for  not  attempting  to  disperse  the  people.  I  am  sure  he  would  have  met  with  great  personal 
abuse.     *     *     * 

"Dr.  Smith,  I  suspect,  said  more  against  Lord  Butler  than  he  ought  to.  I  believe  the  Doctor 
to  be  a  true  friend  to  Government;  but  he  undoubtedly  is  wanting  in  that  excellence  of  which 
he  is  so  often  boasting — viz..  Courage,  and,  like  others  of  that  character,  is  very  ready  to  censure 
any  who  through  fear  (although  the  cause  is  ever  so  great)  neglect  their  duty.* 

Judge  Obadiah  Gore  wrote  on  the  same  date,  to  much  the  same  import, 
omitting  the  personal  equation: 

"You  will  doubtless,  by  Mr.  Butler,  receive  an  appointment  from  this  county  to  attend 
the  Convention.  How  far  you  wiU  approve  of  our  policy  in  the  appointment  I  cannot  tell,  when 
you  so  much  wanted  to  attend  the  office  of  Commissioner.  As  Mr.  William  Stewart  and  some 
others  were  making  an  interest  among  the  opposers  to  Govermnent,  put  us  on  a  pass  of  running 
one  person  on  our  ticket,  and  by  that  means,  you  had  it  by  a  great  majority.  But  I  wish  that  the 
other  Commissioners  might  attend,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  the  examination  of  our  claims  after 
the  arrival  of  Troops. 

Colonel  Pickering  did  attend  the  Convention,  from  his  temporary  residence 
in  Philadelphia,  and  on  December  12,  1787,  it  ratified  the  Constitution,  being 
the  second  state  of  the  new  union  to  subscribe  to  the  document. 

A  brief  description  of  the  Convention,  of  general  interest,  was  recorded  by 
Colonel  Pickering: 

"*  *  *  After  a  great  deal  of  discussion,  the  Convention  assented  to  and  ratified  the  Con- 
stitution. It  was  engrossed  on  parchment,  and  received  the  signatures  of  nearly  all  the  Delegates, 
including  the  opposers  while  under  discussion,  with  the  exception  of  some  three  or  four  obstinate 
men,  and,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection  of  their  characters,  as  ignorant  as  obstinate.  The  op- 
posers of  its  adoption  were  the  extra-republicans  or  democrats — the  same  sort  of  men  who  after- 
wards were  called  anti-federalists,  and  who  uniformly  oppose  all  the  leading  measures  of  the 
federal  administration  of  the  General  Government. "f 

At  the  close  of  the  Convention  of  Delegates,  Colonel  Pickering  intimated 
his  purpose  to  return  to  Wyoming. 

His  friends  in  Wilkes-Barre  sent  frequent  assurances  that  this  could  now 
be  accomplished  in  safety.  His  various  official  duties  in  Luzerne  County  had  been 
neglected,  his  business  affairs,  although  capably  managed  by  his  wife  and  servant, 
John  Scott,  under  his  direction,  were  becoming  involved,  his  new  home  was 
nearing  completion  and  his  every  thought  was  with  his  family,  from  a  portion 
of  which  he  had  been  exiled  for  several  months. J 

His  wife  was  opposed  to  the  venture,  unless  he  was  furnished  an  escort 
of  troops.  To  this  Colonel  Pickering  objected,  on  the  ground  that  the  presence 
of  an  escort  would  tend  to  revive  bitter  animosities,  the  signs  of  which  seemed 
to  be  gradually  disappearing. 

Moreover,  ho  Sessions  of  the  Commission  of  which  he  was  the  head  had 
been  held  during  his  absence,  and  this  was  evoking  criticism  and  causing  anxiety 
on  the  part  of  holders  under  the  Connecticut  title,  lest  the  time  limit  (of  eight 
months)  fixed  by  the  Confirming  Law,  should  expire  before  their  claims  could  be 
proved.  In  a  postscript  to  a  letter  sent  to  his  brother,  under  date  of  January 
1,  1788,  Colonel  Pickering  leaves  no  doubt  of  his  intention. 

"At  the  request  of  the  Council,"  he  wrote,  "I  have  delayed  my  journey 
until  now,  to  take  some  orders  for  W}^oming.  *  *  *  j  am  j^gt  going  to  set 
off."  He  went  by  way  of  the  Wind  Gap  and  stopped  at  Haller's  tavern.  That 
his  friends  in  Philadelphia  were  concerned  over  the  outcome  of  the  journey, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  Under  date  of  January  12,  1788,  his  partner,  Hodgdon, 
wrote  from  that  city  to  Colonel  Pickering,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  as  follows: 

*That  the  Council  took  no  ofScial  notice  of  Lord  Butler's  alleged  dereliction,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  under 
date  of  November  17,1 787,  the  Secretary  of  the  Council  transmitted  a  Commission  to  Mr.  Butler,  as  Sheriff,  for  another 
term. 

tSee  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LVII 

JFour  of  his  sons  had  joined  him  in  Philadelphia,  and  were  living  with  friends  there  while  attending  school. 


1593 

"By  Mr.  Haller,  who  is  to  be  the  bearer  of  this  letter,  I  am  informed  of  the  time  you  left 
his  house  to  proceed  to  Wyoming:  by  which  I  with  pleasure  observe  that  no  accounts  on  the  road 
had  operated  to  prevent  your  design  of  going  immediately  in.  I  hope  all  remains  quiet,  and 
that,  with  pleasing  prospect,  you  are  enjoying  domestic  happiness." 

Excepting  for  the  sincere  congratulations  of  friends,  Colonel  Pickering's 
arrival  seems  to  have  been  without  incident.  No  demonstrations  disturbed  what 
seemed  to  be  a  community  at  peace  with  itself  and  the  world.  "We  moved  into 
the  new  house  last  Saturday  (January  14,  1788)  he  recorded  in  a  letter,  "and 
while  it  is  not  yet  finished,  yet  we  have  much  more  comfort  than  in  that  of  Mr. 
Hollenback." 

Throughout  the  six  months  of  tranquillity  at  Wyoming  which  followed  Colo- 
nel Pickering's  return,  a  student  of  his  voluminous  correspondence,  preserved  in 
his  "Papers,"  may  grasp  an  idea  of  the  importance  of  affairs  with  which  his 
active  mind  was  concerned,  and  in  which  his  ready  sympathies  were  enlisted. 
A  considerable  portion  of  his  correspondence  was  devoted  to  a  settlement  of 
many  claims  arising  for  material  and  supplies,  furnished  the  Revolutionary  army 
during  the  period  of  his  office  as  Quartermaster  General  under  Washington. 

No  man  has  ever  resided  in  Luzerne  County  who  possessed  as  wide  an 
acquaintance  among  distinguished  residents  of  other  states  as  did  Colonel  Pick- 
ering. With  these  he  corresponded  as  to  the  new  Constitution,  which  was  having 
a  hard  fight  for  recognition  in  New  York,  Massachusetts  and  elsewhere.  With 
others,  he  kept  up  an  intermittent  exchange  Of  letters  as  to  agriculture,  upon 
which  subject  he  was  regarded  as  an  authority.  Still  another  chapter  of  his 
activities  related  to  an  eariier  suggestion  he  had  made  to  General  Washington, 
as  to  the  establishment  of  a  school  of  military  instruction  at  West  Point.  He 
was  so  convinced  of  the  necessity  and  value  of  such  an  institution,  that  he 
recurred  to  it  at  frequent  intervals  at  this  time  and  later.  To  his  logic  and 
clear  thinking,  President  Washington  in  later  years  assented.  When,  in  1794, 
the  President  ordered  to  West  Point  for  instruction,  a  new  "cadet  corps"  then 
organized,  a  foundation  was  laid  for  the  institution,  although  it  was  not 
formally  legalized  as  the  "Academy"  until  July,  1802.  Colonel  Pickering,  has 
been  called  by  some  of  his  admirers  the  "Father  of  West  Point,"  and  certainly, 
if  one  judges  from  the  earnestness  of  his  recommendations,  the  title  is  not 
undeserved. 

Important  and  diversified  business  interests  likewise  engaged  his  attention 
at  this  time.  With  others,  he  had  taken  up  large  claims  of  "wild  lands"  in  cen- 
tral Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere.  At  Philadelphia,  he  was  engaged  in  several 
ventures  with  his  partner  Hodgdon.  That  he  had  faith  in  the  ultimate  con- 
firmation of  Connecticut  titles  under  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,  is  shown  by  the 
purchase,  for  cash,  of  more  than  700  acres  of  land  in  Wilkes-Barre.*  Unless 
the  titles  of  Connecticut  settlers  in  general  could  be  quieted,  he  realized,  of 
course,  that  these  purchases  on  his  own  account  were  valueless. 

However  deeply  extraneous  matters  enlisted  his  interest,  his  thought 
consistently  turned,  as  his  chief  concern,  to  the  duties  of  his  appointment  as 
Commissioner  at  Wyoming.  Colonel  Pickering,  in  the  early  months  of  1788,  was 
no  longer  merely  one  of  a  Commission  to  carry  into  eff'ect  the  terms  of  the  Con- 
firming Law.  To  all  and  sundry,  with  the  possible  exception  of  remnants  of 
the  Franklin  party,  whose  leader  was  still  in  jail  at  Philadelphia,  awaiting  trial 
he  acted  as  counsellor  and  friend. 

*For  a  description  of  these  lands,  see  Pickering's  letter  to  the  House  of  Assembly  on  a  following  page. 


1594 

Regarded  for  his  business  acumen,  respected  for  his  learning,  admired  for 
his  close  association  with  men  and  events  of  the  golden  age  of  American  states- 
manship, he  seemed  to  have  earned  the  esteem  and  merited  the  confidence  of 
those  with  whom  he  dealt,  in  either  a  public  or  private  capacity. 

The  conduct  of  the  preceding  Assembly  had  perturbed  him  greatl}'.  A 
measure  had  been  introduced,  through  the  sinister  agency  of  a  powerful  lobby 
of  land  speculators,  to  suspend  the  operations  of  the  Confirming  Law.  Colonel 
Pickering  clearly  foresaw  the  confusion  in  Wyoming  aiTairs  that  would  attend 
anv  alteration  in  this  conciliatory  measure. 

He  realized  also  that  were  its  provisions  repealed,  it  would  once  again  open 
the  Commonwealth  to  charges  of  bad  faith,  and  place  him  in  a  most  unsatisfac- 
tory, if  not  humiliating  position,  with  those  whose  possessions  were  most  vitally 
affected  by  terms  of  the  Law.  With  customary  clarity  and  initiative,  he  had 
delivered  to  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  while  still  in  exile  at  Philadelphia, 
the  following  comprehensive  statement  of  his  objections  to  any  change  in  the 
legislative  intent  toward  the  settlers:* 

"Thursday  evening,  November  22nd,  17S7. 
■■Sir, 

"Deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  mischievous  consequences  of  the  material  alteration 
of  the  law  relating  to  the  Wyoming  lands,  which  w-ill  be  effected  by  the  clause  just  adopted  by 
your  Honorable  House,  I  beg  leave  to  state  some  facts  which  appear  to  me  important,  and  which, 
perhaps,  may  induce  a  reconsideration  of  it.  The  part  I  have  taken  in  this  business,  the  safety 
of  myself  and  family  which  depends  on  fhe  issue  of  it,  and  weighty  public  considerations,  compel 
me  to  enter  on  the  subject,  and  I  pray  for  the  indulgent  attention  of  the  House. 

"After  the  law  has  been  enacted  for  creating  the  northern  part  of  Northumberland  into 
a  separate  county,  by  the  name  of  Luzerne  (a  measure  of  which,  till  then.  I  was  wholly  ignorant), 
it  was  proposed  to  me  to  apply  for  the  office  of  Prothonotary  for  the  new  county.  I  objected; 
but  it  was  urged  upon  me,  chiefly  on  this  ground, — that  the  views  of  government  being  con- 
ciliatory, my  particular  situation  would  enable  me,  more  than  any  other  probable  candidate  for 
that  office,  to  promote  them.  I  yielded  to  these  solicitations,  and  applied  for  that  office  and  the 
others  usually  joined  with  it  in  new  and  thinly  peopled  counties. 

"Afterwards,  the  Assembly  having  passed  a  law  to  enable  the  electors  of  Luzerne  to  choose 
a  Councillor,  Representative,  Sheriff,  and  other  county  officers,  and  therein  authorized  me  singly, 
or  in  conjunction  with  the  other  persons  therein  named,  to  conduct  those  elections.  I  went  thither 
with  the  law,  and  during  the  space  of  three  weeks,  was  unremitting  in  my  endeavors  to  persuade 
the  people  to  make  their  elections,  and  peaceably  submit  to  the  government  of  this  State.  With 
extreme  difficulty,  I  prevailed.  The  Councillor  took  his  seat;  but  the  Representative,  John  Frank- 
lin, having  other  views,  remained  at  home;  and,  by  his  artifices  and  misrepresentations,  seduced 
a  considerable  number  of  the  people  from  their  duty;  so  that,  on  my  return  to  that  county,  in 
April,  I  had  to  repeat  my  labors;  but  again  I  succeeded,  and  the  elections  of  the  justices  were 
ultimately  held,  with  the  very  general  approbation  of  the  inhabitants. 

"Immediately  after  the  first  elections,  in  February,  I  consulted  some  of  the  principal 
persons  who  had  attended  the  elections,  and  w-ho  had  been  old  settlers,  and,  as  I  supposed,  were 
best  acquainted  with  the  claims  and  expectations  of  the  people.  Those  claims  and  expectations 
the  petition  which  has  been  read  this  evening  was  intended  to  describe;  and  the  law  for  confirming 
the  lands  so  claimed,  was  grounded  on  this  petition;  and  such  words  or  passages  as  were  inserted 
into  the  law.  to  extend  the  confirming  clause  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Committee's  report,  I  trust 
I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  were  not  "insidiously"  introduced.  I  did  not  conceal  a  single  fact 
or  motive  from  the  Committee.  The  principle  of  public  policy  which  led  to  the  adoption  of  the 
bill,  was  that  of  securing  the  submission  and  future  attachment  of  that  great  majority  of  the 
Connecticut  settlers  within  the  county  of  Luzerne,  who  had  equitable  pretensions  to  lands  granted 
them,  prior  to  the  Trenton  decree ;  and,  to  effect  that,  it  appeared  expedient  to  extend  the  con- 
firmation beyond  the  occupied  rights;  but,  so  far  was  I  from  wishing  or  attempting  to  conceal 
that  extension,  I  well  remember  to  have  told  one  honorable  member,  who  supported  the  bill, 
and  who  is  also  in  the  present  house,  that  it  might  perhaps  comprehend  one  hundred  such  un- 
occupied rights.  The  case  of  the  claimants  of  such  rights,  as  originally  stated  to  me,  struck  me 
very  forcibly.  In  all  my  communications  with  that  people  before  the  first  election,  I  held  up  no 
ideas  of  confirmation  beyond  the  rights  they  had  occupied  before  the  Trenton  decree;  but  the 
gentlemen,  there,  whom  I  afterwards  consulted,  represented  that,  besides  such  occupants,  there 
was  a  considerable  number  of  persons  who,  or  those  whom  thev  represented,  were  actual  settlers 
there,  prior  to  the  said  decree,  but  who  had  not  taken  actual  possession  of  their  rights  before 
the  passing  of  the  said  decree.  These  persons,  they  said,  were  obliged,  during  the  late  war,  to  live 
with  their  friends  in  the  compact  part  of  the  settlement,  for  their  safety  and  protection  against 
the  Indians;  that  they  had  suffered  and  bled,  in  common  with  the  other  settlers,  in  the  defence 
*See  the  "Life  of  Pickering."  II  :  .^44. 


1,59,5 

of  that  froiilicr;  and  that  it  would  be  singularly  distressing  to  reduce-  them  or  their  orijlian  children 
to  beggary,  merely  because  their  lots  had  fallen  to  them  in  places  remote  from  the  heart  of  the 
settlement.  I  need  not  be  ashamed  to  own  that  humanity,  as  well  as  considerations  of  equity 
and  public  policy,  prompted  me  to  wish  such  sufferers  might  be  provided  for;  and  to  such  the  ijeti- 
tion  specially  referred.  These  sufferers,  Sir,  I  yet  hope  may  experience  the  commiseration  and 
favorable  regard  of  your  Honorable  House. 

"There  are.  Sir,  other  circumstances  respecting  the  Connecticut  claimants  which  seem 
necessary  to  be  made  known  before  the  bill  now  pending  is  passed  into  a  law. 

"The  tirst  township  granted  by  the  Susquehanna  Company,  called  Kingston,  was  to  be 
divided  into  forty-three  parts,  each  of  which  as  the  township  was  five  miles  square,  would  contain 
about  three  hundred  and  seventy-two  acres,  without  any  allowance  for  roads. 

"Another  township,  called  Hanover,  was  to  be  divided,  agreeably  to  the  latest  resolution 
of  the  Susquehanna  Company  that  I  have  seen,  into  thirty-six  parts;  and  I  think  there  is  one 
other  township  which  was  also  granted  to  about  six  and  thirty  settlers.  The  other  townships, 
as  well  as  I  recollect,  were  to  be  divided  into  fifty-three  parts,  which  gives  about  three  hundred 
acres  to  each  right.  In  each  of  them,  three  rights  were  to  be  reserved;  one  for  the  first  settled 
minister  in  office,  one  for  a  parsonage,  and  one  for  the  support  of  a  town-school.  The  manner 
of  dividing  the  townships  has  been  various.  In  some,  they  made  as  many  as  four  several  divisions. 
In  Wilkesbarre,  for  instance,  each  settler  had  a  meadow  lot  (being  part  of  the  flats)  of  about 
thirty  acres.  A  town  lot  of  three  acres  and  a  half,  or  three  acres  and  three-quarters,  a  back  lot 
of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  a  fourth  lot  containing  five  acres,  and  the  land  reserved 
for  the  three  public  uses  aforementioned  was  left  in  one  entire  body.  In  some  townships,  those 
three  public  rights  were  drawn  in  several  lots;  and  in  other  townships,  some  parcels  of  land  have 
been  reserved  to  accommodate  a  mill,  or  for  other  uses  of  common  benefit  to  the  inhabitants. 
Now  whatever  lands  shall  be  confirmed,  it  seems  necessary  to  advert  to  these  circumstances  to 
prevent  the  confusion  and  mischief  which  a  departure  from  the  usages  of  the  people  might  produce. 
The  surveys  of  townships,  which  have  been  made  by  order  of  the  Commissioners,  have  been  con- 
formed to  those  usages. 

"I  would  here  beg  leave  to  mention  the  alteration  lately  made  in  the  lower  line  of  the  county 
of  Luzerne.  In  the  first  law,  it  was  declared  that  it  should  run  west  from  the  mouth  of  Nescopeck 
Creek.  In  the  supplement  to  that  Law,  it  was  declared  that  it  should  run  'northwestwardly'  from 
the  mouth  of  Nescopeck;  and  in  the  law  passed  in  September  last,  the  word  'northwestwardly' 
was  interpreted  to  mean  'north,  one  degree  west.'  Sir,  I  am  well  informed  that  this  last  line  will 
never  strike  the  ridge  dividing  the  waters  of  the  east  and  west  branches  of  the  Susquehanna.  I 
am  also  informed  that  it  will  cut  off  one-half,  and  perhaps  the  whole,  of  the  township  of  Hunting- 
ton, which  is  one  of  the  seventeen  townships  mentioned  in  the  petition,  and  in  which  there  are 
sundry  Connecticut  settlers,  who  occupied  and  improved  their  lots  long  before  the  Trenton  decree. 
A  number  of  them  have  already  presented,  and  regularly  supported,  their  claims. 

"I  would  here  cease.  Sir,  to  trouble  the  House  with  any  further  observations,  had  I  not 
reason  to  believe  that  pains  have  been  taken  to  lessen  the  weight  of  any  applications  I  should 
make  in  this  business,  by  false  suggestions  of  their  proceeding  solely  from  interested  motives. 
Permit  me,  Sir,  to  declare  that  I  claim  no  lands  under  a  Connecticut  title,  except  those  mentioned 
in  the  enclosed  paper;  that  I  cannot  acquire  a  single  acre  by  extending  the  confirmation  beyond 
the  rights  actually  occupied  prior  to  the  decree  of  Trenton;  all  the  lands  I  purchased  being  parts 
of  very  old  settlers'  rights;  and  that  I  can  lose  nothing  from  the  lessening  of  the  original  grant 
by  the  clause  just  adopted,  unless  by  that  restriction  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  who  will  lose 
their  expected  rights  should  murmur,  and  a  general  jealousy  and  discontent  be  excited  from  an 
apprehension,  that  this  step  is  only  a  prelude  to  the  total  repeal  of  the  law, — which,  indeed,  to 
stir  up  the  people  to  rebellion.  Franklin  has  been  continually  predicting.  Such  general  discontent 
should  it  arise,  would  oblige  me  to  remove  my  family,  and  abandon  the  country  for  ever. 

"I  am,  Sir,  very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"Timothy  Pickerixg." 

"The  Honorable,  The  Speaker  of  the  General  Assembly." 

The  following  accompanied  the  letter  to  the  Speaker: 

"Lands  purchased  by  Timothy  Pickering,  within  the  county  of  Luzerne,  under  Connecticut 
titles,  the  whole  lying  within  the  town  of  Wilkesbarre: — 

£  s. 

2  town  lots  of  Colonel  Butler,  fenced,  containing  17K  acres 

1  town  lot  of  M.  Hollenback,  Esq.,  agent  of  Benjamin  Clarke,  not  fenced,  334acrcs 

]  meadow  lot  of  oO  acres,  and  S  acres  adjoining,  of  Asa  Bennct., 

5^  of  a  meadow  lot,  of  l,i  acres,  '4  of  aback  lot  of  about  135  acres,  and  1  five-acre  lot 

1  back  lot  of  Tabez  Fish  and  John  Corkin.  250  acres 

1  back  lot  of  Capt,  Schott,  250  acres 

Total  acres,  70414." 

Those  who  have  studied  the  dilatory  and  straneely  inconsistent  policv  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  its  course  of  settlement  of  the  Wyoming  claims,  have  invariablv 
turned  from  the  subject  amazed  at  a  lack  of  sincerity  disclosed,  a  want  of  ap- 


.    M 

10 

.    15 

0 

90 

0 

:  65 

0 

78 

15 

.   SO 

0 

1596 

plication  of  even  the  most  elemental  rules  of  justice  to  the  case,  and  the  utter 
disregard  of  the  rights  of  property  involved,  in  an  unrighteous  sequence  of  con- 
flicting and  confounding  measures  adopted  by  the  Assembly.  It  is  for  the  his- 
torian to  record  facts,  leaving  conclusions  to  others.  But  to  those  who  make 
even  a  cursorv  examination  of  the  series  of  laws  intending  to  supplement  the 
Decree  of  Trenton,  in  their  application  to  Wyoming  affairs,  an  absence  of  purpose 
and  a  suspicion  of  double  dealing  are  so  self-evident  as  to  excite  inquiry  into 
motives  that  impelled  them.  The  Decree  in  itself  was  rather  a  matter  of  policy 
than  of  right.  Aside  from  the  Confirming  Taw  of  1787,  there  appears  to  have 
been  little  of  policy  and  less  of  right,  in  the  attitude  of  Pennsylvania  toward  the 
settlers  on  lands  of  the  Susquehanna  Purchase.  That  this  Taw  was  not  allowed 
to  remain  in  effect  longer  than  a  few  months,  seems  not  a  matter  of  surprise  in 
the  light  of  all  circumstances  of  the  case.  Its  suspension  was  tainted  with  sus- 
picion and  its  subsequent  repeal,  on  April  1,  1790,  was  tinged  with  duplicity 
and  dishonor. 

Beneath  the  surface  could  be  found  an  active  and  earnest  party,  consisting 
of  capitalists  in  high  places,  and  speculators  in  low,  who,  in  one  of  the  intervals 
when  the  Connecticut  settlers  had  been  driven  from  these  lands,  had  purchased 
of  Pennsylvania,  overlapping  claims  to  the  same  territory.  This  party  was  known 
to  possess  an  influential  backing  in  the  Assembly,  and  gave  no  indication  of  resting 
until  all  Connecticut  titles  in  the  Commonwealth  were  wholly  repudiated.  Fear 
of  the  accomplishment  of  this  sinister  lobby  tended,  more  than  any  other  agency, 
to  keep  alive  the  insurrectionary  spirit  in  Wyoming. 

Colonel  Pickering's  influence  with  a  majority  of  the  older  settlers,  had  alone 
induced  them  to  accept  the  Confirming  Taw  as  an  earnest  of  good  faith  on  the 
part  of  Pennsylvania  and  a  guarantee  of  equality  under  its  laws  respecting  their 
persons  and  possessions.  That  the  Commissioner's  conduct  of  his  office  was 
beyond  reproach,  time  has  proved.  That  he  suffered  for  the  sins  of  the  Assembly 
is  a  matter  of  record.  He  had  accepted  office  in  order  to  put  into  effect  the  terms 
of  this  Law.  Its  suspension  left  one  of  two  alternatives  open  to  him.  He  could 
resign  and  leave  the  settlers  to  their  fate.    This  action  he  contemplated. 

That  he  decided  to  remain  and  take  whatever  consequences  might  follow 
in  the  impairment  of  his  own  fortunes  and  the  loss  of  reputation  which,  of  a 
certainty,  would  follow  the  failure  of  his  mission  to  Wyoming,  discovers  the  true 
character  of  Timothy  Pickering. 

Without  him,  chaotic  conditions  would  have  followed  news  of  the  suspen- 
sion of  the  Law.  The  orderly  march  of  events  which  succeeded  during  the  early 
months  of  1788,  even  in  face  of  this  news,  was  largely  in  response  to  the  wise 
administration  of  his  trust  and  a  growing  public  confidence  thus  engaged. 

The  Assembly's  bungling  policy  might  have  driven  to  despair,  men  less 
inured  to  privation  and  hardship  than  were  the  settlers  at  Wyoming.  It  might 
have  forever  estranged  them  from  a  Commonwealth,  upon  the  mercy  of  which 
an  unkind  fate  had  thrust  them,  after  years  of  futile  contention  that  they  were 
part  and  parcel  of  another  state.  What  is  more  probable,  it  might  have  urged 
them  forward  into  violent  measures  which  malcontents  in  eastern  states  gen- 
erally, would  willingly  have  espoused. 

That  none  of  these  unhappy  results  followed,  was  due  no  less  to  the  influence 
of  Colonel  Pickering,   than   to    the  inherent  common  sense  of  the  settlers,  and 


1597 

their  belief  that  with  him  as  an  intermediary  between  the  Assembly  and  them- 
selves, justice  would  ultimately  prevail. 

Colonel  Pickering  visited  Philadelphia  in  February,  1788,  in  the  hope  of 
having  the  terms  of  the  Law  restored.  This  mission  was  unsuccessful.  The  open 
hostility  of  these  same  powerful  interests  and  the  hidden  intrigues  of  others 
prevented  any  further  steps  in  quieting  titles  to  the  disputed  lands.  A  letter 
received  about  this  time  from  his  friend  George  Clymer,  at  Philadelphia,  indicated 
to  Colonel  Pickering  and  his  adherents  at  Wyoming,  how  little  encouragement 
in  the  settlement  of  affairs  was  to  be  expected  from  the  Assembly: 

"Assembly  Room,  March  15th,  17SS. 
"Dear  Sir, 

"Colonel  Hodgdon  just  calling  me  out  to  let  me  know  there  would  be  an  opportunity 
to  write  you  this  morning  on  the  Wyoming  business,  I  shall,  in  three  words,  tell  you  it  is  in  the 
worst  possible  state.  We  have  two  parties  in  the  House;  one  I  detest,  the  other  I  despise.  The 
Constitutionalists  would  rather  stimulate  than  repress  anything  that  tended  to  insurgency  and 
civil  war,  and  so  systematically  refuse  any  measures  likely  to  settle  the  peace  of  the  country. 
The  Republicans  are  bewildered  about  compensations,  and,  not  agreeing  in  the  mode,  fatally 
acquiesce  in  doing  nothing. 

I  have  been  urging  the  necessity  of  separating  the  confirming  and  compensating  parts 
of  the  bill  not  necessarily  connected,  as  the  only  means  of  saving  us  from  confusion,  but  can  get 
no  second.    I  have  no  hope  left. 

"Your  humble  servant, 

"George  Clymer." 

Thus  is  left,  for  the  remainder  of  the  year  1788,  the  unsatisfactory  state 
of  legislation,  as  it  affected  the  long  drawn  controversy  which  was  to  determine 
the  ownership  of  lands  at  Wyoming. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

HARSH    TREATMENT    OF    COLONEL    FRANKLIN  —  RETALL-\TORY    MEASURES 
THREATENED— THE  ABDUCTION  OF  TIMOTHY  PICKERING— PENNSYLVA- 
NIA  STIRRED    TO   ACTIVITY  —  CONGRESS    ORDERS   CONTINENTAL 
TROOPS  TO  HIS  RESCUE— HIS  VOLUNTARY  RELEASE— ARREST 
OR  DISPERSION  OF  HIS  CAPTORS— COLONEL  FRANKLIN'S 
PLEDGE— ANALYSIS   OF   HIS  CASE— THE  SUPREME 
COURT  AT    WILKEvS-BARRE— FRANKLIN    NOT 
TRIED  — SENTENCES  OF  ABDUCTORS— 
THE  ''STATE  OF  WESTMORELAND" 
—"THE    SEQUEL" 


"Why,  htadstrong  liberty  is  lashed  with  woe, 
There's  nothing,  situate  under  heaven's  eye 
But  hath  its  bounds,  in  earth,  in  sea,  in  sky." 

Comedy  of  Errors. 

"Adversity  is  sometimes  hard  upon  a  men;  hut  for  one  man  who  can  stand  prosperity, 
there  are  a  hundred  who  will  stand  adversity." 

Carhle. 


'A  prison  is  a  house  of  care, 
A  place  where  none  can  thrive, 
A  touchstone  true  to  try  a  friend, 
A  grave  for  men  alive; 
Sometimes  a  place  of  right. 
Sometimes  a  place  of  wrong. 
Sometimes  a  place  of  rogues  and  thieves, 
.■\nd  honest  men  among." 

Inscription  in  the  old  prison  of  Edinbur^li. 


ife*^^  «i^^, 


.^-tes, 


In  order  to  understand  an  event  which  was  to  follow  as  a  dramatic  climax 
to  the  turbulent  history  of  the  infant  County  of  Luzerne,  the  career  of  Col. 
John  Franklin  must  again  be  referred  to  at  this  time.  The  violent  measures  of 
his  arrest  at  Wilkes-Barre,  October  2,  1787,  have  hereinbefore  been  recorded.  His 
treatment  while  in  jail,  at  Philadelphia,  was  not  consonant  with  that  quality  of 

1598 


1599 

mercy  to  have  been  expected  of  Pennsylvania.*  For  a  period  of  almost  six 
months,  he  was  closely  confined  in  an  upper  apartment  of  the  jail,  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  time  in  irons;  denied  the  admission  of  visitors,  prevented  from 
writing  his  friends  and  otherwise  treated  with  every  contempt  shown  a  degraded 
malefactor.  To  add  to  his  discomfort  of  mind  and  body,  he  was  forced  to  pur- 
chase his  own  subsistence,  owing  to  a  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  jailer  to  inform 
him  that  Government  had  made  provision  of  the  usual  prison  fare. 

To  a  strong,  active  man,  accustomed  to  life  in  the  open,  this  treatment 
brought  on  a  fever  which  impaired  his  iron  constitution,  and  all  but  broke  his 
iron  will.  On  April  16,  1788,  he  petitioned  the  .Supreme  Court,  then  sitting 
at  Philadelphia,  that  he  "might  be  liberated  on  finding  bail  that  should  be  deemed 
suflicient."  Assurances  were  given  him  that  if  he  would  obtain  securities  in 
the  sum  of  two  thousands  pounds,  he  should  have  his  liberty. t  Josiah  Rogers, 
Jonah  Rogers,  Christopher  Hurlbut,  John  Hurlbut,  Nathan  Carey,  John  Jen- 
kins, Hezekiah  Roberts,  Benjamin  Harvey,  Daniel  Gore,  Samuel  Ayers  and 
John  Carey  were  named  by  Colonel  Franklin,  "any  or  all  of  whom  would 
become  pledged  for  his  good  behavior  and  his  appearance  at  the  time  of  trial." 
These  friends  and  others  had  left  no  stone  unturned  as  far  as  their  influence 
extended  in  Philadelphia,  to  accomplish  his  bail  and  bring  his  case  to  trial, 
but  delays  were  interposed. 

While  Colonel  Franklin's  request  for  bail  secured  him  a  more  humane 
treatment  as  a  prisoner,  it  did  not  effect  his  release. J 

At  Wyoming,  Colonel  Franklin's  former  associates,  to  whom  the  treatment 
of  their  leader  appeared  merely  another  link  in  the  chain  of  injustices  to  be 
expected  of  Pennsylvania,  determined  on  radical  measures  as  a  final  resort.  To 
them,  the  attitude  of  Colonel  Pickering  toward  Colonel  Franklin,  was  neither 
to  be  understood  nor  condoned.  Against  every  petition  or  request  that  the 
Commissioner  use  his  good  offices  to  secure  Colonel  Franklin's  release.  Colonel 
Pickering  was  adamant.  To  his  dying  day,  he  believed  that  Colonel  Franklin 
was  a  dangerous  man — dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  community  because  of 
his  radical  views — and  dangerous  also  because  the  Commissioner's  mission  at 
Wyoming  could  not  be  satisfactorily  accomplished  with  Colonel  Franklin  free 
to  again  assume  the  leadership  against  the  influence  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
Colonel  Pickering  officially  represented. 

The  two  men  were  much  alike  in  the  persistency  with  which  they  held 
to  their  convictions.  Colonel  Franklin  had  the  directness  and  often  the  impa- 
tience and  impetuosity  of  the  soldier.  Colonel  Pickering  was  skilled  in  diplo- 
macy, but  courageous  withal,  and  rather  the  type  of  the  constructive  states- 
man.    Their  divergent  views  seemed  to  find  no  common  meeting  point. 

-*Th:it  this  severity  of  treatment  was  not  only  countenanced  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  but  in  fact 
directed  by  that  body,  is  shown  by  a  resolution  adopted  October  S.  1 787.  "Council  taking  into  consideration  the  intel- 
ligence received  from  the  County  of  Luzerne  since  the  capture  of  John  Franklin,  the  principal  of  the  banditti  lately 
assembled  at  Tioga,  and  the  public  safety  at  this  time  requiring  that  the  said  John  Franklin  should  be  closely  confined; 
therefore  Resolved;  That  the  sheriff  of  Philadelphia  be  directed  to  confine  the  said  Franklin  in  one  of  the  upper  rooms 
of  the  jail,  in  irons,  to  suffer  no  person  or  persons  whatsoever  to  speak  to  him  without  leave  from  Council,  or  one  of 
the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  to  debar  him  the  use  of  pen.  ink.  and  paper."    See  "Colonial  Records, "  XVI;  288. 

tWhile  Colonel  Pickering  was  fixed  in  his  purpose  not  to  intercede  with  the  Council  for  Colonel  Franklin's 
release,  he  nevertheless  seems  to  have  performed  all  the  duties  required  of  him  as  Commissioner  in  measures  looking  to 
that  end.  On  May  26,  1788,  he  notified  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  that  he  had  "agreeably  to  their  request,  taken 
a  recognizance  of  ten  freeholders  to  the  amount  of  2,C>00  pounds  for  the  appearance  of  John  Franklin  at  the  next  term 
of  Court  of  O.  and  T.  in  this  County,  to  take  his  trial  of  high  treason."    See  "Pennsylvania  .-Archives. "  XI  :  21-._ 

tThe  memorial  of  Colonel  Franklin  was  read  in  Supreme  Executive  Council,  and  Frederick  Watts  and  Nathan 
Denison  were  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  facts  alleged  in  the  memorial,  and  report  to  Council.  They  subsequently 
reported  that  they  visited  Colonel  Franklin  "in  the  jail  of  this  city,  and  find  that  his  health  is  greatly' impaired,  and 
that  unless  his  irons  are  taken  off.  he  may  greatly  suffer. "  The  favorable  interposition  of  Governor  Huntington  is 
acknowledged,  and  Council  directs  "that  the  sheriff  have  the  irons  taken  off  Franklin,  and  otherwi-c  mitigate  the 
severity  of  his  confinement  as  much  as  the  sheriff  shall  think  consitent  with  the  safe  keeping  of  the  prisoner  " 
See  "Colonial  Records."  XL  :  385.  ^ 


1600 


Colonel  Pickering  was  convinced  that  if  Pennsylvania  became  dominant 
at  Wyoming,  the  influence  of  Colonel  Franklin  must  be  destroyed.  Colonel 
Franklin,  on  the  other  hand,  realized  that,  with  Colonel  Pickering  as  Commis- 
sioner, continually  adding  as  he  was  to  his  influence  over  a  great  majority  of 
settlers,  and  thus  securing  their  allegiance  to  the  Commonwealth  he  repre- 
sented, the  long  fight  made  by  the  Connecticut  claimants  could  end  only  by 
trusting  to  the  integrity  of  Pennsylvania.  But  before  either  could  dominate, 
another  test  of  the  strength  of  the  two  parties  was  to  startle  the  whole  country. 

Years  afterward,  1818,*  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  the  preliminary  to  his 
"Life  of  Pickering." 

The  graphic  story  of  the  abduction  of  Colonel  Pickering,  depicting  the 
wanderings  of  his  captors  and  their  victim,  the  vain  attempts  to  extract  a  promise 
from  him  to  secure  Colonel 
Franklin's  release,  and  other 
incidents  of  a  thrilling  episode,  is 
best  gathered  from  Colonel  Pick- 
ering's own  account  of  the  afi'air. 
Indeed  from  no  other  source 
could  any  authentic  narrative 
be  obtained.  Those  concerned 
as  his  captors  either  fled  the 
country,  after  the  Commission- 
er's release,  or  else  held  their 
peace,  owing  to  a  fear  that  any 
account  they  recorded  of  the  es- 
capade might  be  used  against 
them  in  subsequent  Court  pro- 
ceedings. The  Pickering  narra- 
tive was  written  from  memory  in 
a  letter  to  his  son,  penned  in  the 
year,  1818.  The  accuracy  of 
his  memory,  in  even  minute  de- 
tails, in  the  account  of  his  own 
abduction,  is  remarkable.  He 
wrote : 

"Franklin  remained  in  jail  at 
Philadelphia.  This  put  a  stop  for  a 
time,   to  the  unwarrantable  measures 

of  the  Susquehanna  Company  and  dampened  the  zeal  of  their  partisans.  Next  to  his  confinement, 
they  seemed  to  have  thought  my  influence  in  the  County  was  more  adverse  to  their  schemes. 
How  to  get  rid  of  me  was  the  question.  I  presume  it  engaged  their  attention  for  some  months. 
In  the  Spring  of  1788,  as  early,  I  think,  as  April,  there  were  indications  of  some  plot  against  me, 
and  then,  or  soon  thereafter,  it  was  menancingly  intimated  to  me  by  Major  (John)  Jenkins;  (I 
doubt  not  in  pursuance  of  instructions  from  the  Susquehanna  Company)  in  the  hope,  probably, 
so  to  alarm  as  to  induce  me  to  voluntarily  cjuit  the  country.  *  *  *  j;  felt  no  inclination  to 
abandon  my  farm  and  buildings     *     *     *     nor  to  relinquish  the  cause  in  which  I  had  engaged. 

"By  the  month  of  June,  the  indications  of  some  sort  of  an  attack  upon  me  became  more 
apparent.  To  guard  against  it  by  shutting  myself  up  in  my  house,  would  have  been  fruitless. 
Besides,  if  I  abandoned  my  business,  I  might  as  well  abandon  the  county.  I  therefore  remained 
at  my  post." 

In  August,  1788,  Garret  Smith,  who  had  been  apprehended  as  one  con- 
cerned in  the  abduction,  turned  State's  evidence.  His  deposition,  taken  before 
Justice  William  Hooker  Smith,  throws  considerable  light  on  the  plot  which,  as 

♦See  the  "Life  of  Pickering,"  11  :  381. 


Colonel  Pickering 


1601 

Colonel  Pickering  surmised,  was  hatching  against  him  early  in  June.    The  depo- 
sition is  recorded  in  the  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  XI:  371,  and  is  as  follows: 

"I,  Garret  Smith,  of  the  township  of  Braintram,  in  the  county  of  Luzerne,  and  of  lawful 
age,  testify  and  declare  That  on  Sunday  evening  on  the  twenty  second  day  of  June  last,  I  was 
at  ^Meshoppen,  and  between  the  houses  of  Thomas  Wigton  and  Martin  Dudley,  met  Gideon 
Dudley,  said  Martin's  son,  when  Gideon  said  he  had  a  great  secret  to  reveal  to  me,  at  the  request 
of  Major  Jenkins,  Colonel  McKinstry,  and  John  Hyde,  (the  son  of  John  Hyde  of  Wilkesbarre, 
as  I  took  it)  and  asked  me  if  I  would  keep  the  secret.  I  answered  That  I  would,  if  it  was  not 
to  injure  myself  or  my  neighbors.  He  then  said  it  was  to  take  Colonel  Pickering,  and  carry  him 
into  the  woods,  and  there  keep  him,  untill  Colonel  Franklin  was  returned  to  the  county  or  released 
(or  such  like  expression  he  made  use  of).  I  told  him  I  would  think  of  it  till  morning.  The  next 
morning  I  called  at  Captain  Dudley's  (having  lodged  at  said  Wigton's  i  and  told  Gideon  I  would 
go  home  and  talk  with  my  wife,  but  rather  thought  I  should  go  with  them.  I  then  went  down 
into  the  mUl,  to  Captain  Dudley  and  asked  him  if  he  knew  anything  about  the  affair  of  taking 
Colonel  Pickering.  He  answered  yes — but  that  he  was  unwilling  that  both  of  his  sons  should 
go.  I  asked,  why?  He  answered  for  fear  they  should  be  found  out — for  if  one  was  at  home,  people 
would  think  the  other  was  some  where  at  work.  I  then  asked  hira  which  was  going.  He  answered, 
Gideon,  and  that  he  (Captain  Dudley)  was  wilHng  he  should  go,  and  support  the  cause,  but 
wished  his  son  Joseph  might  not  go,  lest  it  should  be  found  out  that  his  sons  were  in  the  scrape. 
I  then  said  Captain  Dudley,  I  am  a  poor  man,  if  I  go  who  is  to  support  my  family,  while  I  am 
gone?  He  answered,  I  will — I  have  enough — After  this  I  left  Meshoppen  to  go  home  in  a  canoe. 
When  I  had  pushed  up  as  far  as  Ephraim  Tylers,  I  landed,  and  went  to  his  house,  where  I  found 
Joseph  Dudley  above  mentioned,  who  immediately  said  to  me — you  are  my  prisoner  for  a  while — 
(he  had  a  tomahawk  in  his  hand).  Then  Ephraim  Tyler  asked  me  if  I  was  willing  to  go  and  take 
Colonel  Pickering?  Then  Joseph  Dudley  added  (speaking  to  me)  you  have  promised  to  go,  and 
must  either  do  that,  or  go  down  to  Lieutenant  Kilborn's  (that  is  Joseph  Kilborn's),  and  there 
lay  confined  'till  I  return  (meaning  as  I  understood  'till  he  and  the  party  returned  from  the  taking 
of  Colonel  Pickering).  I  then  said  I  had  not  promised,  but  only  that  I  would  go  home  and  talk  with 
my  wife  and  if  she  is  against  it,  I  will  not  go.  I  then  set  off  to  go  to  my  canoe,  but  was  followed 
by  said  Tyler  and  Joseph  Dudley,  who  took  hold  of  me  and  by  force,  brought  me  back  to  Tyler's 
house.  I  then  said  to  Tyler  if  I  go  what  shall  I  do  for  provisions  in  going,  and  to  support  my  family 
while  I  am  gone?  Tyler  answered — I  have  sent  the  flour  of  two  bushels  of  wheat,  and  fifty  weight 
of  pork,  to  lieutenant  Kilborn's  out  of  which  you  can  be  supplied;  and  I  will  see  that  your  family 
has  pro\'isions  in  your  absence,  and  I  will  get  a  man  or  go  myself  to  work  on  your  land,  and  we 
will  also  allow  you  a  dollar  a  day  for  every  day  you  are  gone. — To  whom  I  said  1 1  shall  I  look  for 
this  pay?  He  answered,  you  may  look  to  me  for  it.  I  then  turned  about,  and  said  to  him — I 
cannot  go.  Then  Tyler's  wife  said  she  had  dreamed  last  night,  that  the  boys  went  to  take  an  Elk. 
and  that  a  person  had  been  there  and  told  the  Elk,  and  that  he  was  gone.  Then  her  husband 
Ephraim  Tyler  said,  If  Garret  Smith  will  give  me  his  word  and  honour  that  he  will  go.  or  that  he 
will  not  reveal  the  secretin  three  weeks,  then  he  may  go  home.  He  brought  a  bible  and  asked  me 
to  lay  ray  hand  on  it  and  swear,  but  I  told  him  it  was  against  my  principle.  He  then  asked  me 
to  hold  up  my  hand,  which  I  did,  when  he  spoke  to  this  effect — you  declare  that  you  will  keep 
this  secret  for  three  weeks,  I  answered  I  will,  after  Tyler  said  if  I  would  give  my  promise,  I  might 
go  home.  Elijah  Reynolds  who  was  by,  said  Garret  Smith  has  lived  w  ith  Colonel  Hay.  and  knows 
what  he  is  about. — I  rather  guess  it  is  best  to  have  him  sworn,  and  then  Tyler  offered  me  the  bible, 
as  above  mentioned. — I  then  left  them,  and  went  home.  The  same  day  I  thought  of  my  neighbour 
Thomas  Kinney,  and  as  he  was  a  half  share  man,  I  suspected  he  might  be  concerned  in  the  affair. 
In  the  evening,  he  came  to  my  house,  and  we  set  out  together  and  went  up  little  Tuscorora  creek 
to  hunt.  On  our  way  I  said  to  him,  Mr.  Kinney,  do  you  know  anything  of  this  affair  of  the  boys 
going  to  Wyoming?  He  answered  yes — and  added — The  Pennanites  ha\e  drove  the  Connecticut 
(or  New  England) People,  and  plundered  them,  and  now  w-e  mean  to  have  revenge  and  plunder, 
and  if  you  will  go  along,  you  shall  have  part. — I  forgot  to  mention.  That  while  at  Tyler's  as  above 
said,  'Tyler  told  me,  that  if  I  would  go  along  with  the  boys,  I  should  have,  besides  what  he  had 
before  promised,  the  place  I  lived  on  (part  of  which  I  supposed  belonged  to  Doctor  Smith  i  and  the 
half  of  ten  acres  of  good  wheat  which  James  Smith  then  had  on  the  ground, — for  the  other  half 
must  go  to  support  the  boys  in  the  woods. — When  Gideon  Dudley  proposed  the  matter  to  me, 
I  asked  him  where  we  were  to  get  support  from?  He  answered — out  of  the  settlement.  I  then 
asked  him,  who  was  going  to  vindicate  this  cause.  He  answered — That  Colonel  McKinstry  was 
coming  with  five  hundred  men,  in  order  to  subdue  the  settlement — That  he  (McKinstry)  was  to 
take  possession  of  John  HoUenback's  mill  and  place  and  John  Hyde  of  Doctor  Smith's  place. 
I  asked — What  are  you  going  to  do  with  John  HoUenback?  He  answered — Damn  him,  tomehawk 
him  as  soon  as  we  can  see  him. — I  also  asked  him  (before  this)  if  Doctor  Smith  was  concerned 
in  the  affair.  He  answered  no — and  that  he  (the  Doctor!  was  a  damned  rascal.  I  also  asked  if 
Colonel  Butler  was  concerned.    He  answered — no,  not  that  I  know  of. 

"The  mark  of 
"GARRET  SMITH." 

"Luzerne  ss.  August  7,  17SS.  Then  Garret  Smith,  who  has  subscribed  the  aforewritten 
deposition,  being  duly  sworn,  did  declare.  That  the  same  deposition  contains  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  to  the  best  of  his  present  recollection. 

before,  WM.  HOOKER  SMITH, 

Justice  of  the  Peace." 


1602 

"I,  the  said  Garret  Smith  farther  recollect  and  declare,  That  about  a  week  before  Colonel 
Pickering  was  taken,  I  saw  Nathan  Abbot,  the  elder,  at  his  own  house  (which  is  in  the  township 
of  Braintram)  and  He  then  swore.  That  he  would  support  his  place  where  he  then  lived,  and  that 
he  would  kill  any  damned  Pennamite  that  should  ever  set  his  foot  on  it.  Said  Abbot  holds  his  place, 
as  I  have  always  understood,  by  a  half-share  right. 

"The  mark  of 
"GARRET  X  SMITH." 

The  event  can  now  be  further  verified  by  letters  written  at  the  time  and 
by  a  painstaking  diary,  kept  during  Colonel  Pickering's  enforced  pilgrimage,  copies 
of  which  were  uncovered  after  his  death,  in  trunks  and  boxes  filled  with  miscel- 
laneous manuscript,  which  were  not  available  for  use  when  he  wrote  the  account 
in  question. 

Only  such  of  this  manuscript  as  concerns  itself  directly  with  the  abduction 
is  here  reproduced.  The  first  is  the  account  written  in  1818.  The  second  is 
a  letter — and  the  onl}'  one,  written  during  his  sojourn  in  the  wilderness.  From 
some  source,  he  secured  of  his  captors  the  writing  materials  required,  and 
addressed  a  reassuring  letter  to  his  wife.  The  third,  is  a  copy  of  his  diary, 
a  curious  and  characteristic  document,  written  on  a  quarter  of  a  sheet  of  post 
paper,  in  so  small  a  hand  as  to  make  deciphering  necessary. 

The  main  account  (that  of  1818,  written  for  his  son)  is  quoted  at  length:* 

"On  the  26th  of  June,  at  about  11  at  night,  when  your  mother  and  I  were  asleep, 
and  your  brother  Edward,  nine  months  old,  was  lying  on  my  arm,  I  was  awakened  by  a  violent 
opening  of  the  door  of  the  room.  "Who's  there?"  I  asked:  "Get  up,"  was  the  answer.  "Don't 
strike,"  said  I,  "I  have  an  infant  on  my  arm." — I  had  no  doubt  that  the  intruders  were  ruffians 
come  to  e.xecute  the  long  menaced  attack. 

"I  rolled  Edward  from  my  arm,  rose,  and  put  on  my  clothes.  Your  mother  slipped  out  of 
the  other  side  of  the  bed:  and  putting  on  some  clothes,  went  to  the  kitchen,  and  soon  returned 
with  a  lighted  candle.  Then  we  saw  the  room  filled  with  men,  armed  with  guns  and  hatchets, 
having  their  faces  blacked,  and  handkerchiefs  tied  round  their  heads.  Their  first  act  was  to  pinion 
me;  tying  my  arms  together  with  a  cord,  above  my  elbows,  and  crossed  over  my  back.  To  the 
middle  of  this  cord  they  tied  another,  long  enough  for  one  of  them  to  take  hold  of,  to  prevtnt 
my  escaping  from  them.  They  told  me  it  would  be  well  to  take  a  blanket  or  outer  garment,  for 
I  should  be  a  long  time  in  a  situation  where  I  should  want  it.  I  desired  your  mother  to  get  me  an 
old  surtout,  which  was  in  the  chamber.  She  quickly  returned,  and  I  received  it  on  one  of  my  arms. 
They  then  led  me  ofif,  and  hastened  through  the  village  of  Wilkesbarre,  in  perfect  silence.  Having 
traveled  a  couple  of  miles,  they  halted  a  few  minutes.  Then  resuming  their  march,  proceeded  to 
Pittstown,  ten  or  eleven  miles  up  the  river  from  Wilkesbarre.  Here  they  stopped  at  a  tavern  and 
called  for  whiskey — offering  some  to  me,  which  I  did  not  accept:  I  drank  some  water. 

"In  twenty  minutes,  they  left  this  house,  and  pursued  their  march. — There  were  about 
fifteen  of  them — arranged  in  my  front,  my  rear,  and  on  both  flanks.  We  were  in  the  darkness 
and  stillness  of  night.  As  we  proceeded,  one  of  the  ruflians  at  my  side  thus  accosted  me — "Now 
if  you  will  only  write  two  or  three  lines  to  the  Executive  Council,  they  will  discharge  Colonel  Frank- 
lin and  then  we  will  release  you."  Instantly  I  answered — "The  E.xecutive  Council  better  under- 
stand their  duty  than  to  discharge  a  traitor  to  procure  the  release  of  an  innocent  man."  "Damn 
him,  (exclaimed  a  voice  before  me)  why  don't  you  'tomahawk  him?"  This  wrath  of  the  ruffian 
was  excited  by  the  word  "traitor,"  applied  to  their  old  leader,  Franklin.  No  more  words  were 
uttered  on  this  subject. 

"We  soon  reached  the  river  Lachawannack,  about  two  miles  from  the  tavern.  After  search- 
ing a  little  while,  they  found  a  canoe,  in  which  some  of  them  passed  over.  On  its  return  I  stepped 
in,  with  the  others  of  the  gang.  The  water  was  low,  and  the  canoe  touched  the  bottom  before 
we  reached  the  shore.  I  was  going  to  step  out  and  wade  to  the  shore.  "Stop" — said  one  of  them, 
who  had  a  pack  on  his  back.  He  waded  to  the  shore — laid  down  his  pack — returned  to  the  side 
of  the  canoe,  and  carried  me  on  his  back  to  the  shore. 

"Proceeding  upwards,  we  in  a  little  while  came  to  a  ferry.  The  day  had  dawned.  They 
cro.ssed  over  in  a  scow  (a  large  flat-bottomed  boat)  to  the  western  side  of  the  Susquehanna:  and 
we  continued  our  march,  on  the  shore  of  the  river,  for  an  hour  or  two;  then  struck  into  the  woods, 
and  pursued  the  course  upwards,  out  of  sight  of  the  river.  About  four  in  the  afternoon,  they  ar- 
rived at  a  log  house  near  the  bank  of  the  river  about  thirty  miles  above  Wilkesbarre.  Here  they 
had  victuals  cooked,  and  I  ate  with  a  good  appetite;  having  fasted  since  I  was  taken  the  preceding 
night. 

"Seeing  a  bed  in  the  room,  I  laid  myself  down  upon  it.  I  do  not  recollect  when  they  un- 
pinioned  me.  I  had  laid  but  a  little  while  when  a  man  arrived  in  a  boat  from  Jacob's  Plains, 
a  small  settlement  about  two  miles  and  a  half  above  Wilkesbarre.  I  knew  the  man.  The  ruffians 
(supposing  that  I  was  asleep)  inquired  with  eagerness,  what  was  the  news  below;  and  whether 
th.  militia  had  turned  out  to  pursue  them.  He  answered  in  the  affirmative.  I  immediately  saw 
»See  the    Xife  of  Pickerin,-,"  II  ;  .381. 


"The  Pickering  House" 

1786  by  Co:    Timothy  Pickering,  and  occupied  by  him  from  January  1787,  to  August  1791    at   which 

latter  date,  he  left  VVilkes-Barre  to  accept  the  portfolio  of  Postmaster  General  of 

the  United  States,  offered  by  President  Washington 

e  first  floor  to  right   of   entrance,    Col.   Pickering   was   abducted   by    the   adherents   of    the   "Franklin 

Party"  June  26,  1788.     The  house  is  now  owned  by  the  Miner  Estate,  and  in  1922, 

when  this  photograph  was  taken,  was  splendidly  preserved. 


1603 

that  I  should  not  he  suffered  to  keep  my  place  on  the  bed.  In  a  few  minutes,  one  of  them  came  to 
the  bed  side  and  said  "get  up."  I  rose,  and  they  took  me  directly  back  from  the  river,  a  quarter 
of  a  mile;  and  behind  a  rising  ground  they  rested  for  the  night.  It  thundered;  and  a  heavy  rain 
soon  wet  us  to  the  skin.  At  day-light  one  of  the  crew  went  to  the  house;  and  finding  all  quiet, 
he  returned,  and  we  all  went  thither.  The  drying  of  our  clothes,  and  eating  breakfast,  employed 
us  till  about  ten  o'clock.  Standing  with  them  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  I  observed  a  man  on  the 
other  side,  leading  a  horse.  It  was  on  the  shore  of  the  river.  Being  near  sighted,  I  did  not  know 
him.  But  one  of  them  exclaimed — "There  goes  Major  Jenkins,  now, — a  damned  stinking  — 
—  —  — !"  By  this  courteous  observation  on  the  second  man  of  the  party,  and  the  first  in 
Franklin's  absence,  it  was  apparent,  that  after  encouraging  and  engaging  them  in  the  diabolical 
outrage  upon  me,  he  had  deserted  them.  He,  in  fact,  kept  on  his  route,  went  into  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  there,  being  a  land  surveyor,  found  employment,  during  the  residue  of  the  season 
and  until  tranquillity  was  finally  restored  to  the  county. 

"By  this  time,  the  blacking  had  disappeared  from  the  faces  of  the  ruffians ;  when  I  found 
two  of  them  to  be  sons  of  one  Dudley,  a  carpenter  and  a  near  neighbour  at  Wilkesbarre.  The 
others  were  all  before  unknown  to  me. 

"They  now  jjrepared  to  cross  over  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Susquehanna.  Gideon  Dudley 
came  up  to  me  with  a  pair  of  handcuffs,  with  which  to  manacle  me.  To  this,  I  objected,  as  they 
were  going  to  cross  the  river  in  a  small  canoe,  and  I  desired  to  have  a  chance  of  saving  my  life 
by  swimming,  if  it  should  overset.  At  this  moment,  Mr.  Earl  (whom  I  had  not  known,  but  who 
was  father  to  two  of  the  party)  interposed — telling  Dudley  that  there  was  no  danger  of  an  escape, 
and  advising  him  not  to  put  the  irons  ujjon  me.  He  accordingly,  forbore. — We  crossed  the  river; 
and  they  pursued  their  march.  In  an  hour  they  halted;  the  leader  of  the  band  selected  four, 
and  bid  the  rest  go  on.  With  these  four  and  me,  he  darted  directly  into  the  woods.  This  excited 
some  apprehension  in  me,  of  personal  mischief;  especially  as  one  of  them,  by  the  name  of  Cady, 
sustained,  as  I  understood,'  a  very  bad  character.  The  leader  of  this  band  was  a  hunter,  and  had 
his  rifle  gun  with  him.  As  we  proceeded,  a  fawn  was  started,  and  as  he  bounded  along,  the  hunter 
shot  him,  and  in  five  minutes,  had  his  skin  off,  and  the  carcass  slung  on  his  back.  At  the  distance 
of  three  or  four  miles  from  the  river,  they  halted,  close  by  a  very  small  run  of  water.  A  fire  being 
quickly  kindled,  they  began  to  cook  some  of  the  venison.  The  hunter  took  his  first  cut.  They 
sharpened  small  sticks  at  both  ends,  running  one  into  a  slice  of  the  fawi?  and  setting  the  other 
end  into  the  ground,  the  top  of  the  stick  bearing  so  near  the  fire  as  to  broil  the  flesh.  Being  hungry, 
I  borrowed  one  of  their  knives,  and  followed  their  example.  I  observed  the  hunter  tending  his 
steak  with  great  nicety;  and  sprinkling  it  with  a  little  salt,  as  soon  as  it  was  done,  he  with  a  very 
good  grace,  presented  it  to  me. 

"Before  night,  they  cut  down  some  limbs  of  trees,  and  formed  a  slight  booth,  to  shelter 
us  from  the  dew.  One  of  them  taking  post  as  a  sentinel,  we  lay  dow-n  on  the  ground ;  my  pillow 
was  a  stone.  In  this  situation,  we  remained  about  a  week.  At  first,  they  had  some  good  salt 
pork,  and  wheaten  bread  that  lasted  two  or  three  days;  after  which  they  got  Indian  meal  which 
they  made  into  cakes,  or  fried,  as  pancakes,  in  the  fat  of  the  pork.  Of  the  pork,  they  were  very 
sparing;  frying  only  two  or  three  small  slices  at  a  time,  and  cutting  them  up  in  the  pan.  Such 
was  our  breakfast,  dinner  and  supper;  my  share  did  not  exceed  five  mouthfuls  of  pork  at  each  meal. 
They  fared  better — sopping  up,  with  their  bread  or  cakes,  all  the  fat  in  the  pan,  of  which  I  felt 
no  inclination  to  participate.  It  was  here  I  told  them  they  would  repent  of  their  doings;  and 
instead  of  being  supported  by  four  hundred  men  in  the  county,  as  they  had  professed  to  behcve, 
that  they  would  be  abandoned  to  their  fate. 

"From  this  station  they  marched  a  few  miles,  and  took  another,  in  a  narrow  valley, 
a  sequestered  place,  and  about  two  or  three  miles  from  the  Susquehanna.  We  had  no  sooner 
halted  than  they  came  to  me  with  a  chain,  five  or  six  feet  long,  having  at  one  end,  a  band  like  the 
bands  of  horse-fetters.  Colonel  Franklin,  they  said,  had  been  put  in  irons,  in  the  Philadelphia  jail, 
and  they  must  put  irons  on  me,  although  it  was  not  agreeable  to  them  to  do  it ;  'bu  their  great 
men  required  it.'  Satisfied  that  it  would  be  in  vain  to  remonstrate.  I  was  silent.  They  fi.xed 
the  band  of  the  chain  round  my  ankle,  securing  it  with  a  fiat  key,  which  they  tw-isted,  to  prevent 
its  being  cut  off  without  a  tool  to  untwist  the  key.  The  other  end  of  the  chain  they  fastened 
by  a  staple  to  a  tree.  In  this  situation,  I  remained  an  hour  or  more;  and  they  employed  them- 
selves in  forming  a  booth  with  the  boughs  of  trees.  This  chain,  besides  its  conformity  with  the 
orders  of  their  'great  men,'  saved  my  gentlemen  from  the  burden  of  mounting  guard  every  night. 
When  we  lay  down,  they  placed  me  in  the  middle,  and  one  of  them  wrapped  the  chain  round 
one  of  his  legs;  so  that  I  could  not  rise  to  attempt  an  escape,  without  waking  him  up.  But  I 
determined  not  to  make  the  attempt,  for  I  soon  considered  that  my  life  was  not  in  danger;  and  I 
expected  them  to  grow  weary  of  their  enterprise;  so  I  patiently  endured  present  affliction.  Besides, 
if  I  escaped,  they  could  take  me  again,  unless  I  quitted  the  county;  which  was  the  precise  object 
of  the  outrage  to  get  rid  of  me. 

"We  had  been  in  this  valley  but  two  or  three  days,  when,  one  morning,  whilst  all  my  guard 
were  fast  asleep,  I  heard  a  brisk  firing  of  musquetry.  It  was  skirmish,  I  had  no  doubt,  between 
the  'Boys'  (as  these  fellows  called  their  party  I  and  the  militia  who  had  come  from  below  to  dis- 
cover them,  and  rescue  me.  But  I  let  them  sleep  on ;  naught  did  I  tell  them  of  the  firing  after  they 
awoke.  After  breakfast,  one  of  them  went  down  to  a  house  by  the  river,  in  their  interest,  and 
returned  in  haste,  to  tell  his  comrades  that  the  'Boys'  and  militia  had  met.  and  that  in  the  battle 
Captain  Ross,  who  commanded  the  militia,  was  mortally  wounded.  At  the  close  of  this,  or  the 
next  day,  they  marched  down  to  the  river,  and  sought  for  a  canoe  to  cross  to  the  western  side ; 
but  could  find  none.  We  were  now  at  Black-Walnut  Bottom,  about  forty-four  miles  above 
Wilkesbarre.     Thus  disappointed,  they  marched  back  into  the  woods,  and  we  lay  down  for  the 


1604 

night.  The  next  day.  towards  evening,  they  went  again  to  the  river  and  crossed  it.  It  was  so 
dark  that  at  the  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  yards  we  might  pass  unseen.  They  passed  through 
a  thick  wood  to  the  house  of  one  Kilborn,  father  to  two  of  the  party.  There  we  lodged.  The 
ne.xt  morning  they  pushed  back  into  the  woods,  about  four  miles  from  the  river.  This  was  the 
third  and  last  station.  This  changing  from  place  to  place,  was  to  prevent  their  being  discovered 
by  the  militia,  who  came  from  below,  at  different  times  to  find  them. 

"On  the  15th  of  July,  Gideon  Dudley  (who  now  appeared  to  have  the  command)  with 
two  others  came  out  to  our  station.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon.  After  lounging  about  for  some 
time,  as  if  they  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  themselves,  they  approached  me;  and  Dudley 
asked — 'Don't  you  wish  to  be  set  at  liberty?' — 'To  be  sure,  I  do' — was  my  answer.  After  a 
little  pause,  Dudley  accosted  me  — 'What  will  you  do  for  us  if  we  will  set  you  at  liberty?' — 'What 
do  you  wish  me  to  do  for  you?'  was  my  reply.  'Will  you  intercede  for  Colonel  Franklin's  par- 
don?' 'No,  I  will  not.'  This  answer  was  evidently  unexpected;  they  were  confounded;  and 
retiring,  they  for  some  time,  laid  their  heads  together.  Then  again  coming  near,  one  of  them 
asked  — 'Will  you  intercede  for  our  pardon?' — After  a  momentary  pause,  I  answered  — 'While  I 
have  been  in  your  hands,  you  have  told  me  of  your  'Great  Men,'  and  that  you  have  been  acting  in 
obedience  to  their  orders.  By  them  you  have  been  misled  and  deceived.  Give  me  their  names, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  of  obtaining  your  pardon.  This  they  could  not  do,  they  said,  without 
going  down  to  their  Head  Quarters,  and  consulting  the  main  body;  and  turned  on  their  heels 
to  depart — 'Stop,' said  I,  'and  knock  off  this  chain.'  They  instantly  took  off  the  chain,  that  I 
had  carried  about  for  ten  days. 

"I  lay  down  with  my  guard  that  night,  not  doubting  of  my  speedy  release.  As  soon  as  it 
was  light,  I  rose,  put  the  fire-brands  together  (in  the  woods,  a  fire  is  generally  kept  up  at  night 
even  in  the  warmest  weather;)  mixed  up  some  of  their  miserable  coarse  Indian  meal  for  cakes, 
spread  the  dough  on  pieces  of  hemlock  bark  (the  usual  trenchers)  and  set  them  to  the  fire.  As 
soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see  our  green  tea,  I  went  to  gather  it.  This  was  the  winter  green, 
bearing  red  berries,  which  went  by  the  name  of  partridge  berries.  Infused  in  boiling  water,  the 
winter  green  makes  a  tolerable  warm  beverage. 

"By  this  time,  my  guard  were  awake,  the  tea  was  boiled  and  the  cakes  were  baked.  I  told 
them  that  expecting  to  be  released,  I  had  risen  and  got  the  breakfast  ready,  in  order  to  gain  time; 
for  if  released,  I  had  a^particular  desire  to  reach  home  the  next  day.  I  then  proposed  that  we 
should  go  to  their  head-quarters,  without  delay;  where,  if  released,  it  would  be  well;  if  not,  I  would 
come  back  with  them  again  into  the  woods.  They  readily  assented — took  up  their  kettle  and 
frying-pan  (our  kitchen  furniture)  and  down  we  marched.  When  we  arrived  near  to  their  head- 
quarters, they  halted.  One  went  to  announce  our  arrival.  Two  or  three  came  out,  Gideon  Dudley 
at  their  head  when  he  put  to  me  the  original  question,  'Will  you  intercede  for  Colonel  Frank- 
lin's pardon?'  'I  will  answer  no  question  till  I  am  set  at  liberty,'  was  my  return.  They  con- 
ducted me  into  Kilborn's  house. 

"It  was  now  the  16th  of  July.  Nineteen  days  had  passed  away,  while  I  had  been  their 
prisoner.  Having  no  razor,  nor  a  second  shirt,  I  had  neither  shaved  nor  changed  my  linen  during 
that  whole  time.  They  had  told  me,  if  I  desired  clothing  or  anything  else  from  home,  and  I 
would  write  for  them,  they  should  be  brought  to  me.  I  accordingly  wrote  to  your  mother  for 
clothing  and  for  a  book.  She  sent  them  up  as  directed,  and  they  arrived  at  Zebulon  Marcy's 
at  Tunkhannock;  and  there  I  found  them,  after  I  was  released.  The  shirt  I  wore  from  home, 
I  repeatedly  took  off,  and  washed  as  well  as  I  could,  in  cold  water  and  without  soap. 

"As  soon  as  I  entered  Kilborn's  house,  they  brought  me  a  razor  and  soap  to  shave,  and 
a  clean  shirt,  and  a  pair  of  stockings;  and  told  me  I  was  at  liberty.  They  roasted  some  chickens, 
and  gave  me  as  good  a  dinner  as  the  poor  wretches  could  furnish. 

"While  dinner  was  preparing,  they  renewed  their  request,  that  I  would  intercede  for  Frank- 
lin's pardon.  This  I  again  peremptorily  refused  to  do.  Then  they  made  the  same  request  for 
themselves;  and  I  again  told  them  that  I  could  venture  to  assure  them  of  pardons,  if  they  would 
give  me  the  names  of  their  'Great  Men'  who  had  instigated  them  to  commit  the  outrage  I  had 
endured  at  their  hands.  They  consulted  together  for  some  time;  and  finally  told  me,  they  could 
not  give  up  their  names.  'This  (I  said  to  them)  is  a  very  unwise  determination.  Here  are  two- 
and-twenty  of  5-ou  (I  had  counted  them)  who  may  aU  obtain  pardon,  if  you  will  give  me  the  names 
of  your  employers;  and  among  so  many,  some  one  at  least,  to  save  himself,  will  turn  state's  evi- 
dence; you  had  better  therefore  give  me  the  names  of  the  men  who  have  engaged  you  in  this 
wicked  business.'  'Whoever  does  it,'  said  Gideon  Dudley,  'ought  to  go  to  hell,  and  be  damned 
everlastingly.' 

"They  then  made  a  last  request,  that  I  would  write  a  petition  for  them  to  the  Executive 
Council  praying  for  pardons,  and  carrying  it  with  me  to  Wilkesbarre,  take  an  opportunity  to  send 
it  to  Philadelphia.    With  this,  undeserving  as  they  were,  I  complied. 

"It  was  now  late  in  the  afternoon;  and  unless  I  went  to  Tunkhannock  (distant  twelve 
miles)  that  night,  I  could  not  reach  home  the  next  day.  They  had  a  good  boat  in  which  they 
carried  me  down.  It  was  dark  when  they  landed.  I  had  only  set  my  foot  on  shore,  when  the 
two  Earls  came  to  me,  aside,  and  offered  to  become  evidences  for  the  state  upon  an  assurance  of  par- 
don. This  I  ventured  to  give  them ;  but  the  rogues,  when  brought  before  the  court,  divulged  none 
of  the  names  of  their  'Great  men ;'  and  reluctantly  furnished  any  evidence  against  their  companions. 

"Walking  from  the  landing  place  about  a  mile,  across  the  Tunkhannock  bottom  land,  we 
arrived  at  the  house  of  Zebulon  Marcy,  to  get  supper  and  lodging.  There  I  found  the  bundle 
of  clothmg  which  your  mother  had  sent  up  for  me;  and  there,  also,  I  found  an  inhabitant  of  Pitts- 
town,  going  down  the  river  as  far  as  Lachawannock  Creek.  And  Tuttle,  one  of  the  'Boys',  said 
he  would  go  down  with  us,  and  take  his  chance.    The  next  morning,  we  three  set  off  in  a  canoe. 


1605 

Landing  the  man  destined  for  Lachawannock,  the  other  went  on  with  me  to  Wilkesbarre.  On 
the  way,  he  told  me  that  he  had  joined  the  'boys'  but  two  or  three  days  before,  in  order  to  discover 
where  I  w-as,  and  get  me  rescued  out  of  their  hands. 

"Stepping  ashore  at  Wilkesbarre,  I  walked  directly  to  our  house.  You  were  standing  at 
the  front  door.  As  I  drew  near,  you  looked  a  moment — appeared  frightened — and  retired.  Before 
I  reached  the  door,  your  mother  came  with  Edward  in  her  arms.  Consternation  marked  her 
countenance — as  if  I  had  been  an  apparition.  My  return  so  soon  was  wholly  unexpected;  and  she 
looked  at  me  as  if  to  satisfy  herself  of  the  reality. 

Colonel  Pickering's  letter  to  his  wife  plainly  admits  Pennsylvania's  mis- 
taken policy  in  the  treatment  of  Colonel  Franklin.  Written  during  the  period  of 
his  abduction,  it  contains  various  references  to  events  affecting  the  Wyoming  situa- 
tion, not  mentioned  in  his  account  written  later.  His  plea  that  "we  cannot 
expect  the  dignity  and  safety  of  the  State  should  be  sacrificed  to  the  interests 
of  an  individual  family,"  views  the  adventure  in  broad  scope,  and  confirms  the 
character  of  the  writer  as  one  worthy  of  more  consideration  than  he  has  usually 
received  at  the  hands  of  recorders  of  Wyoming  history.     The  letter  follows: 

"July  3rd;  1788.   . 

"My  Dear  Beckey, 

"I  hoped,  ere  this,  to  have  relieved  your  anxiety  in  some  degree,  by  informing  you  that 
I  was  alive  and  well.  We  marched  all  the  night,  and  the  next  day,  after  I  was  taken;  and,  as  one 
half  of  the  time  it  was  through  pathless  woods,  you  may  suppose  I  was  not  a  little  fatigued.  In 
this.  I  have  since  had  no  reason  to  complain.  I  have  constantly  lodged  in  the  woods,  sometimes 
in  the  open  air,  but  generally  under  a  shelter  of  bushes,  at  one  time  covered  with  bark  which 
kept  us  from  the  rain.  I  know  not  how  long  I  may  be  in  such  a  situation,  and  shall  therefore 
mention  a  few  articles  necessary  to  render  it  more  tolerable;  but  send  nothing  else,  as  more  would 
be  burthensome  in  my  movable  condition.  Though,  excepting  two  days,  when  we  had  venison, 
my  constant  food  has  been  fried  salt  pork  and  bread,  with  water  for  my  drink,  yet  I  am  in  perfect 
health ;  and  as  I  eat  this  food  with  appetite,  I  desire  you  to  send  no  article  of  diet,  except  one 
pound  of  chocolate  and  a  pound  of  sugar. 

"You  must  certainly  understand  that  I  was  taken  and  am  detained  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
deeming Franklin  from  jail.  Had  he  been  liberated  lately  on  bail,  they  say  this  difficulty  would 
not  have  arisen ;  some  would  be  satisfied  with  less,  some  with  more.  While  one  would  be  contented 
if  he  were  bailed,  on  condition  of  his  residing  in  Connecticut  or  elsewhere,  out  of  this  State,  another 
desires  that  he  may  be  bailed  at  large.  At  the  same  time  it  is  suggested  that  his  leading  friends 
here  did  not  intend  he  should  reside  in  this  county,  had  he  been  liberated.     *     *     * 

"What  steps  the  government  will  take,  I  know  not;  but  in  considering  the  means  of  my  re- 
demption, they  will  doubtless  consult  the  dignity  and  safety  of  the  State.  This  may  prolong 
my  confinement,  and  consequently  add  to  your  distress  and  mine ;  but,  my  dear,  we  cannot  expect 
that  the  dignity  and  safety  of  the  State  should  be  sacrificed  to  the  interests  of  an  individual 
family.  I  beg  you,  therefore,  to  resume  that  patience  and  fortitude  which  you  have  so  often 
manifested,  and  trust  to  that  kind  and  wise  Providence,  under  which  we  have  hitherto  been 
preserved,  for  my  deliverance  from  my  present  confinement.  For  my  own  part,  I  feel  resigned 
to  my  fate,  as  it  was  undeserved  from  the  hands  of  man,  especially  of  the  people  of  this  county, 
whorn,  as  a  body,  I  have  uniformly  striven  to  serve,  in  every  thing  consistent  with  justice  and 
with  prudence.  My  captors  and  keepers  have  repeatedly  said  I  should  be  well  used;  but  used  as 
FrankUn  has  been.  Accordingly,  this  day  my  fetters  were  put  on.  My  keepers  discovered  some 
feeling  on  this  occasion,  and  apologized  for  putting  me  in  chains,  by  saying,  Sncli  were  their  orders. 
In  other  respects  I  Uve  as  they  do.  They  are  civil;  and  take  pains  to  make  me  as  comfortable 
as  my  situation  will  admit. 

"The  following  articles  I  wish  to  have  sent  me,  as  early  as  may  be,  viz. :  My  old  camlet 
cloak,  two  pairs  of  my  strongest  worsted  stockings,  one  shirt,  one  coarse  pocket-handkerchief, 
one  coarse  towel,  half  a  pound  of  soap,  half  a  quire  of  paper,  two  quiUs,  my  pen-knife,  my  leathern 
gloves,  needle,  thread,  and  worsted  yarn  (the  thread  to  dam  my  fustian  trowsers),  one  pound 
of  chocolate  and  one  pound  of  sugar.  To  these,  add  Dr.  Price's  sermons,  which  I  was  lately  reading 
to  you  and  Betsy.  AH  these  may  be  put  into  a  strong  bag,  which  will  make  a  pack  convenient 
to  carry  at  the  back;  and  to  sling  it,  send  me  four  yards  of  the  strong  yeUow  binding.  I  forgot 
shoes.     Send  my  strongest  pair.    Send  also  a  smaU-toothed  comb. 

"Our  friend  Mr.  Hodgdon  will  be  anxious  to  learn  what  is  my  condition.  For  his  in- 
formation, send  him  such  extracts  from  this  letter,  as  you  think  proper. 

"If  I  had  time,  I  should  send  some  particular  directions  about  my  farming  business;  but 
I  must  wait  another  conveyance,  lest  I  lose  the  present.  God  preserve  you!  Give  my  love  to  your 
sister,  and  kiss  our  dear  boys  for  me.    Ever  yours, 

"Timothy  Pickering." 

Third  in  the  sequence  of  records  of  the  Pickering  abduction,  is  his  diary, 

painstakingly  recorded,  in  character  so  fine  as  to  require  subsequent  deciphering 

at  the  hands  of  his  Son,  Octavius.     It  is  especially  interesting  as  confirming 

Colonel  Pickering's  account,  written  from  memory,    years    afterward.     Rather 


1606 

amusing  it  is,  also,  in  the  search  disclosed  for  information  as  to  agricultural 
subjects.  No  doubt,  his  captors  were  flattered  and  conciliated  by  his  receiving 
and  recording  such  information  from  them.  Under  the  caption,  Jovis,  it  was 
written,  as  the  title  implies,  in  the  open  air  and  while  in  the  woods: 

"Jovis,  26th  of  June,  '88.  Traveling  all  night,  and  Friday,  late  P.  M.,  reached  Earl's, 
above  Tunkhannock.  Friday  night  in  the  woods.  Saturday,  travelled  two  and  a  half  hours, 
and  pitched  in  the  woods.  Sunday,  29th,  30th,  and  July  1st.,  marched  two  or  three  hours;  lay 
in  the  woods;  open  air.  Wednesday  2nd,  marched  one  hour,  and  pitched  in  woods;  3rd,  ibid., 
received  pen,  ink,  paper,  to  write  to  my  wife.  Keepers  said  they  had  orders  to  supply  me  for 
that  purpose,  or  to  write  to  Philadelphia,  if  I  chose.  Wrote  to  my  wife  for  camlet  cloak,  two  pairs 
worsted  hose,  one  shirt,  one  pocket  handkerchief,  one  towel,  needle,  thread,  yarn,  leather  gloves, 
four  yards  yellow  binding,  a  bag,  half  pound  soap,  one  pound  sugar,  half  quire  paper,  shoes,  two 
quills,  penknife.  Doctor  Price's  Sermons,  fine  comb.  4th  July,  ibid.,  the  Anniversary  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence!  the  birthday  of  American  freedom!  All  America  rejoicing,  but 
I  am  in  chains!  !  !  It  began  to  rain  this  morning,  and  is  likely  to  contmue  all  day.  Covered  our 
bush  roof  with  bark,  which  kept  dry.  P.  M.,  fair.  B.  Earl,  about  noon,  went  to  get  provisions, 
and  returned  without  any.  He  informed  that  he  called  at  E.  Tyler's  when  Mrs.  Tyler  told  him  the 
High-Sheriff,  with  Doctor  Hopkins,  and  about  eighteen  men,  had  met  with  three  of  the  boys, 
and  e.xchanged  some  shots,  in  which  Gideon  Dudley  was  wounded  in  the  hand,  and  had  his  rifle 
stock  split  in  pieces,  and  William  Ross  was  shot  through  the  body,  and  fell,  and  was  carried  into 
Wigton's.  The  engagement  at  Mishoppen  Creek  with  Gideon  Dudley,  John  Whitcomb,  and 
William  Phelps"  (it  was  Noah  Phelps).  "Saturday,  July  5th,  fair  morn.  T.  Kilborn  returned  from 
Tyler's,  says  Mr.  Ross  was  taken  down  in  a  canoe  for  Wilkesbarre,  but  was  not  expected  to  live 
to  reach  that  place. 

"D.  Taylor  says,  that  sows  should  be  very  moderately  fed  after  pigging  the  first  week, 
or  they  will  get  cloyed,  and  not  eat  well,  and  their  pigs  will  never  get  fat.  Oxen  continue  to  grow 
till  six  or  seven  years  old, — often  worked  in  Connecticut  till  twelve  years  old.  They  plough 
among  corn  with  oxen,  but  with  a  long  yoke,  and  the  staple  not  in  the  middle,  so  as  better  to  avoid 
hurting  the  corn  with  the  chain.  No  driver  necessary  when  oxen  are  well  broken.  Price  of  an 
ox-cart  complete,  in  Connecticut,  £5  lawful  money.  He  says  heifers  often  have  their  first  calves 
at  two  years  old — but  then  go  farrow  the  next  year. 

"July  5tii,  P.  M. — Small  showers.  Left  our  camp,  and  marched  near  Tyler's,  across  the 
river,  and  lay  in  the  woods. 

"Sunday,  July  6, — This  morning  wrote  to  Mrs.  Pickering,  dating  it  July  3rd,  the  other 
of  that  date  having  been  detained  by  the  party,  some  of  whom  excepted  to  some  expressions  in 
it.  Had  plenty  of  milk  brought  me  for  my  breakfast.  Then  marched  into  the  woods  four  or 
five  miles,  and  encamped  by  a  fine  spring  near  Little  Mehoopenny  Creek,  and  not  far  from  the 
middle  one  of  three  wild  meadows.  A.  M.,  fair;  P.  M.,  towards  evening,  thunder  with  considerable 
rain.  Monday,  July  7th,  fair.  Moved  our  camp  a  mile  northerly.  P.  M.,  towards  evening, 
thunder  with  showers.  Tuesday,  July  8th,  fair;  P.  M.,  thunder  with  some  rain.  Shifted  our 
quarters,  and  marched  back  near  to  the  river,  within  a  mile  of  Kilborn's;  received  thence  milk 
for  supper.  Wednesday,  July  9th,  cloudy  (sent  a  large  wooden  spoon  and  butter-spoon  to  Kilborn's 
to  be  sent  thence  to  my  wife),  rain  in  the  forenoon,  P.  M.,  fair,  and  then  rain;  milk  for  supper. 
No  meat  to-day. 

"Thursday,  July  10th,  rain  before  dayhght.  Gave  Woodward  a  letter,  dated  yesterday, 
to  forward  to  my  wife.  Desired  her  to  send  me  a  small  tin  kettle  with  a  cover.  Woodward  re- 
turned; says  my  things  are  at  Marcy's,  with  a  letter  for  me.  After  the  morning,  fair  and  pleasant, 
T.  Kilborn  showed  me  the  twig  of  a  tree,  whose  bark  is  a  very  agreeable  bitter.  He  says  there 
are  many  large  trees  of  it  on  the  flat  by  his  father's,  and  that  they  have  used  it  in  timber  for  part 
of  Sill's  house-frame, — a  soft  wood;  it  is  called  winter  bark.  No  meat;  but  butter  to  eat  with 
bread;  ginseng  at  our  encampment,  in  the  deep  shades  of  hemlock  woods.  Query,  if  cultivated, 
whether  it  might  not  be  under  the  shade  of  trees  in  an  orchard  or  garden.  The  flowers  come  out 
of  the  stem  at  the  centre  of  three  branches,  as  the  May  apple  does  where  the  stem  branches, 
the  buds  now  just  opening.  Each  branch  has  five  leaves,  three  of  them  of  a  size,  the  other  two 
not  half  so  large.  Woodward  brought  me  a  letter,  dated  the  Sth,  from  Mr.  Bowman,  informing 
of  the  health  of  the  family,  and  that  the  articles  I  requested  are  sent  to  Marcy's. 

"Friday,  July  Uth,  fair.  Moved  our  camp  about  four  miles  from  the  river,  west  of  Kil- 
born's, and  about  a  mile  over  Mehoopenny  Creek.  Pork  to-day,  and  what  the  guard  call  coffee, 
i.  e.,  a  crust  of  wheat  bread  toasted  very  brown,  not  burnt,  and  then  boiled  in  water,  which  is 
then  sweetened.  'Tis  very  tolerable  drink.  Woodward  has  been  in  Vermont  and  western  parts 
of  Massachusetts,  where  are  beech  and  hemlock  woods.  He  says  they  find  the  hemlock  land,  the 
strongest.  That  in  Massachusetts,  such  land  produces  flax  fifteen  inches  taller  than  any  he  has 
seen  on  the  flats  of  Wyoming,  but  that  the  same  land  was  too  cold  for  Indian-corn,  but  excellent 
for  grass  and  wheat.  That  in  Vermont,  the  practice  is,  when  vou  hire  to  get  an  acre  cut  down 
(except  ten  trees  which,  being  largest,  are  only  girded),  and  cut  into  lengths,  the  biggest  sixteen, 
the  smaUer  ones,  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  lengths,  and  the  limbs  all  lopped  off,  for  four  or  five  dol- 
lars. That  IS  done  as  soon  as  may  be  after  planting.  That  the  whole  lies  in  this  condition  a  year, 
and  then,  in  time  for  sowing  winter  wheat,  fire  is  put  to  it,  which  consumes  all  the  limbs,  and  then 
the  logs  are  hauled  into  heaps  with  one  yoke  of  oxen,  and  burnt;  then  the  wheat  is  sowed  and 
harrowed  in.    The  crop,  twenty  to  twenty-five  bushels  an  acre.     Hemlock  (he  savs),  after  laying 


1607 

thus  to  dry  one  year,  burns  up  much  cLan^r  than  beech  and  maple.  Fences  made  with  logs,  or 
the  young  hemlock  cut  into  lengths,  and  piled  into  a  worm.  (Query,  if  these  round  rails  would 
not  last  much  longer  if  stripped  of  their  bark). 

•■Saturday.  July  12th.  Fair,  with  wind.  Winter-green  tea  last  evening  with  supper,  and 
this  morning  with  breakfast.     P.  M.,  thunder  with  rain,  then  fair.    Two  meals  to-day. 

"Sunday,  July  13th.  Cloudy,  with  intervening  sunshine.  P.  M.,  rainy;  no  bread  or  meat, 
and,  of  course,  eat  nothing  till  bread  arrived  about  one  or  two  P.  M.  Learn  that  Mr.  Kilborn 
stays  at  Wyoming,  and  the  Sill's  house-frame  and  timber  are  rafted  down  for  him  to  finish  there. 
Tim  said,  a  day  or  two  since,  that  he  heard  his  dad  had  turned  State's  evidence." 

"Monday,  July  14th.    Fair.     Tuesday,  July  15th.    Fair." 

Miner,  in  his  history,  does  not  consider  the  abduction  of  Colonel  Picker- 
ing wholly  unjustifiable.*  He  objects  to  the  words  "ruffian,"  "crew,"  "diabolical 
outrage"  and  other  terms,  applied  to  the  captors  and  their  actions  in  the  latter's 
narrative.  Especially  has  the  incident,  suggestive  of  the  treachery  of  ^lajor 
John  Jenkins,  come  in  for  a  lengthy  defense  of  character  of  that  gentleman. 

That  Colonel  Pickering  was  permitted  to  write  to  his  wife,  that  he  was 
carried  upon  one  occasion  on  the  back  of  a  captor  from  a  canoe,  that  another 
gave  him  the  hunter's  first  cut  of  venison,  and  that  other  kindly  acts  were 
induced,  are  cited  in  extenuation  of  the  conduct  of  his  abductors.  In  fact, 
defenders  of  those  who  were  in  any  wise  concerned  with  the  abduction,  are 
prone  to  compare  the  merciless  treatment  of  Colonel  Franklin  with  the  handling 
of  Colonel  Pickering — much  to  the  discredit  of  Penns^dvania. 

With  a  statement  of  views  of  the  author  of  the  "Life  of  Timothy  Pickering," 
on  the  same  subject,  it  is  perhaps  best,  not  to  prolong  the  controversy. 

"It  is  curious  to  note,"  says  Upham  in  Vol.  II,  page  394,  of  the  "Life"  referred  to.  "the 
state  of  feeling  which  arose  between  him  and  his  captors.  When  they  first  seized  him,  they  were 
all,  without  doubt,  filled  with  the  bitterest  hatred  and  prejudice  towards  him.  Some  were  disposed 
to  savage  brutality.  He  had  long  been  the  object  of  their  most  violent  animosity,  as  the  represent- 
ative of  the  government  against  which  they  were  in  rebellion,  as  their  most  formidable  opponent, 
and  especially  for  having  personally  aided  in  the  apprehension  of  their  leader,  and  sending  him 
to  prison  where  he  still  lay.  Occasionally,  during  the  first  day  or  two,  there  were  expressions  of 
much  feeling.  *  *  *  But  soon  a  change  came  over  their  sentiments.  These  rough  and  fierce 
outlaws  became  kind,  respectful  and  tender  in  their  treatment  of  him  and  their  demeanor  towards 
him.  The  uncomplaining  readiness  with  which  he  met  his  condition,  the  hardihood  with  which  he 
endured  privation,  his  firmness,  patience  and  all  manly  traits  of  character,  insensibly  but  con- 
stantly wrought  upon  them.  A  similar  change  took  place  in  him.  At  the  time,  all  the  while,  and 
forever  after,  he  expressed  his  abhorrence  of  their  crime  in  breaking  into  the  recesses  of  his 
d\\elling  at  midnight — hurrying  him  into  the  woods  and  continuing  for  weeks,  such  an  out- 
rage upon  his  person  and  liberty. 

"But  he  became  convinced  that  they  were  victims  of  delusion  and  influence  *  »  • 
and  therefore,  to  be  regarded  with  pity  and  charity  as  misguided,  rather  than  wicked  men.  He 
evidently  took  pleasure  in  recording  their  acts  of  civility  and  kindness  towards  him  and  was 
willing  to  pardon  them  and,  if  found  consistent  with  the  public  good,  to  have  them  pardoned 
1)y  the  authorities." 

Whatever  view  a  perspective  of  events  of  the  time  may  cause  the  reader 
to  entertain  of  the  whole  incident,  Colonel  Pickering's  abduction  may  now  be 
regarded  as  an  ill-starred  adventure.  But  that  it  had  a  most  potent  influence 
in  clearing  the  air  at  Wyoming,  and  of  bringing  many  long  deferred  matters 
to  a  successful  conclusion,  may  be  gathered  from  further  perusal. 

That  the  abduction  excited  a  wide  interest  among  Colonel  Pickering's  friends 
and  supporters  throughout  the  country,  may  readily  be  inferred.  There  was 
universal  relief  experienced  on  hearing  of  his  release  and  return  to  his  family. 
However  dilatory  Pennsylvania  had  been  in  other  respects  as  to  Wyoming 
affairs,  it  was  now  prompt  to  act.  Upon  hearing  of  his  seizure  and  captivity, 
the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  ordered  out  the  militia  to  rescue 
the  prisoner. 

At  the  same  session,  the  Council  ordered  printed  and  circulated  throughout 
the  Commonwealth,  the  following  offer  of  reward  for  the  arrest  of  persons  named 

^Miner's  "Historj'  of  Wyoming."  see  footnote  page  431. 


1608 

therein.     It  was  printed  in  both  the   English   and  German  languages  and  was 
widely  distributed: 

"Pennsyl\  ania,  ss. 

"By  the  Vice-President  and  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 

"A  PROCLAMATION. 
"WHEREAS  by  depositions  taken  according  to  law,  it  appears  that  several  evil-disposed  persons 
have  conspired  to  obstruct  the  execution  of  the  laws  in  the  County  of  Luzerne,  and  have  violently 
seized  and  carried  off  the  person  of  Timothy  Pickering,  Esquire,  an  officer  of  government,  whom 
they  still  retain  as  a  prisoner: — AND  WHEREAS,  it  is  of  great  importance  to  the  good  people 
of  this  Commonwealth  that  such  heinous  offenders  should  be  brought  to  condign  punishment : — 
WE  have  thought  fit  to  offer,  and  do  hereby  offer,  a  Pubhc  Reward  of  Three  Hundred  Dollars 
for  apprehending  and  securing  John  Jenkins:  Three  Hundred  Dollars,  for  apprehending  and 
securing  John  Hyde,  and  the  sum  of  One  Hundred  Dollars,  for  apprehending  and  securing 

each  and  every  of  the  following  named  persons,  viz.: — Daniel  Earl,  Benjamin  Earl, Cady, 

Wilkes  Jenkins,  Joseph  Dudley,  Gideon  Dudley,  David  Woodward,  John  Whitcomb,  Timothy  Kilbnrne , 
and  Thomas  Kinney;  or  for  apprehending  and  securing  any  other  persons  who  shall  be  convicted 
of  aiding  and  assisting  in  taking  off  the  said  Timothy  Pickering — the  reward  for  apprehending 
and  securing  any  of  the  above-named  persons  will  be  paid  on  their  being  delivered  to  the  jail  of  the 
County  of  Northampton: — And  all  Judges,  Justices,  Sheriffs,  and  Constables  are  hereby  strictly 
enjoined  and  recjuired  to  make  diligent  search  and  enquiry  after,  and  to  use  their  utmost  endeavors 
to  apprehend  and  secure  the  said  offenders,  so  that  they  may  be  dealt  with  according  to  law. 
"GIVEN  in  Council,  under  the  hand  of  the  Honorable  Peter  Muhlenberg,  Esquire,  Vice- 
President,  and  the  Seal  of  the  Stale,  at  Philadelphia,  this  eighth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-eight. 

"Peter  Muhlenberg." 
"Attest  Charles  Biddle.  Secretary." 

Another  measure  promptly  followed  which  tended  to  give  the  whole  affair 
great  publicity  throughout  the  country,  and  make  of  it  an  incident  of  national 
interest.  On  July  8,  1788,  through  its  Vice  President,  who,  under  the  existing 
Constitution  of  Pennsylvania,  was  its  Chief  Executive  Magistrate,  the  Council 
addressed  a  letter  to  members  of  Congress  representing  the  Commonwealth,  then 
sitting  in  that  body  at  New  York.  This  letter,  after  reciting  what  facts  were 
known  of  the  abduction,  concluded  with  a  request  for  "troops  of  the  regular 
establishment  in  aid  of  the  militia." 

Mr.  David  Redick  of  Philadelphia,  was  delegated  a  messenger  by  his  fellow 

members  of  Council,  to  deliver  the  letter.     In  reporting  upon  his  mission  on 

July  17,   1788,  to  President  Benjamin  Franklin,  he  writes  as  follows: 

"I  arrived  at  this  place  on  Saturday  night.  Gen.  Irwin  (a  Delegate)  took  opportunity 
yesterday  of  conversing  with  members  of  Congress  respecting  the  wishes  of  Council.  *  *  * 
This  A.  M.,  we  waited  on  the  Minister  of  War  (Knox)  who  appears  well  disposed,  but  says  Ziegler's 
Company*  has  surely  marched  ere  now;  but  that  there  are  about  45  Jersey  troops  who  will  march 
m  a  few  days  to  the  westward  via  Easton  and  that  a  further  number  of  troops  from  one  of  the 
eastern  states  will  march  by  the  same  route  from  West  Point  where  they  are  now  stationed;  all 
which  troops  he  is  disposed  should  be  ordered  to  take  directions  from  some  General  oflScer  appoint- 
ed by  our  Government  to  command  them.  *  *  *  ^  General  officer  may  be  thought  necessary 
agreeably  to  Gen.  Knox's  ideas.  It  will  in  my  opinion  be  necessary  that  an  officer  of  reputation 
and  military  abilities  be  appointed.  The  name  of  an  old  officer  and  a  great  man  at  the  head  of  the 
Continental  troops  will  tend  at  once  to  discourage  any  ideas  of  success  in  the  minds  of  the  in- 
surgents and  at  the  same  time  they  will  crush  those  who  may  appear  in  rebellion.  The  Union  will, 
by  this  means,  appear  as  a  principal  party  and  not  merely  Pennsylvania. "f 

Congress,  on  July  25,  1788,  took  action  on  the  disturbed  Wyoming  situation, 
when  it  was  Resolved: — "That  the  Secretary  of  War  direct  the  detachments 
of  troops  marching  to  the  westward,  to  rendezvous  at  Easton,  and  thence  march 
into  Luzerne  County  and  quell  the  disturbances  in  that  County;  provided, 
the  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  shall  find  the  assistance  of  these  troops 
necessary,  and  also  that  the  troops  shall  not  be  delayed  in  their  march  to  Ohio, 
more  than  two  weeks. "J 

*Capt.  David  Ziegler's  Company  had  been  stationed  at  Easton.  under  orders  to  proceed  to  Ohio. 
tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  XI  :  3.?8. 


{Threatened  uprisings  of  various  tnbes  of  Indians  in  Ohio,  who  complained  bitterly  of  the  encroachments  of  the 
whites  had  induced  Congress  to  order  thither  some  Continental  troops.  The  uprisings,  after  smouldering  for  some 
time,  burst  forth  in  1/89,  when  General  Wayne  finally  overthrew  the  Indian  power  in  the  Western  Reserve 


By    tilt    Vice-Prcfidcnt   and  the    Supreme    Executive 
Council  of  the   Commonwealth  of  Pennjylvama, 

A  PROCLAMATION. 

WHEREAS  by  doporuions  ukcn  according  lo  law,  it  appears  that  ftvcral  evil  dilpofcd  ptrlbn!  have 
confpmd  lu  obflruft  the  execution  of  the  l»wi  In  the  county  of  Luzerne,  and  have  violently 
Seized  and  carried  offtheperfon  of  Timothy  Pickcrmg,  efquire,  an  officer  of  govcrnrneni,  whom  ihcy  ft.ll 
rtlarn  a<  a  pnfoner  :— AND  WHEREAS  II  IS  of  great  importance  to  the  good  people  of  thi!  Conriinon- 
wcahhihat^fuchheintios  olTenders  fhould-be  brought  to  condign  punilJitBent — WE  have  thoughlfil  «> 
ofiir.jnd  dohertKy  offer,  a  PuWio  Regard  ofTHIltElHu^^!BED  DoULiti  for  «pprejiending«nd  fecuting 
7c4»  7r.;./«,,  Truee  Honors D  DoLLKKs  ftr  apptchepding  md  fdcoring  Jsi,n  Uyd,.  and  ihe  lotn  of 
Okf  Ht-'NOKED  Dollars  lor  apprehending  and  fecuring  each  and  every  ol  the  following  nameu  perfons, 

VIZ.  D«',:.l Ear!,  Bti-.jamw  E,irl, Cuily.  H  Ma  Jrntr,,,  Jyrfi  DuJ!,y,  Gi.lon  Du.hy.  D.:vt.l  Wi^J^jr.l, 

'John  tt'fiircnd',  •Timnthy  Kilhurn,\  and  1  /j(^us  Kijinty,  or  for  apprehending  and  fecuring  any  other  perfons 
VhtjfliJd  bevSprtaeiof  aidiog  Itvd  afTiftiiit  in  taking  off  the  faid  TiiDoIhy.  Pickering— the,  rc*«rd  lot 
appreKcnding'^nd  fecdnng  any  of  the  above  named  perfons  will  be  paid  on  their  being  delivered  to  the 
jail  of  t(ic  cijinfy' of  Northampton  :— And  all  Judges.  Juftices,  sheriffs,  and  Conlbbles  are  hereby 
ffridly  enjoined  and  requin;d  to  make  diligent  fcarch  and  enquiry  after,  and  to  ufe  tlicir  iitmoft  endea- 
vours to  apprehend  and  fecurc  <hc  liiid  offenders,  (o  that  they  may  be  dealt  sv.th  according  to  law. 

CHEN  m  Council,  under  ihc  Hand),/  lit  HmurM,  Peter  Muhlenbeho,  £/j«i>r,  lur-Prefdcnr. 
and  lb!  SiaUf  ibr  Slali-,  at  PhUadclpbia,  IL-ii  ligblb  d^y  of  July,  ii  lir  yi.tr  of  cur  Urd  ont 
tbouftnd  fe-^en  bundred  and  cisbty-tisbt 

PETER    MUHLENBERG. 

Attest      CHARLES  BIDDLE.    Secretarv. 

(ptiHiftlSiiiiitn,  17. 

3Soii  \m  SJicC'^Jprdfibentcn  iinb  btm  |)pl)cn  Slarl)  bcv  Slfpiiblif 
*!Pciinf9(»anim, 

C\>ad)Pcni  c8  au5  tcncn  grfffmapiij  aiiiij^vioinmencn  3IuiTagcn  crlxUft;  tap  Sfffd^ic* 

jj\  ^f^f  ulicldi'tinrr'PcirLMKn  tirt)  inUciiiiiiitrr  iJcrfimgct,  Die  '^uefiiifiuitfl  ^fl;  (5(Ui)"rt  tcr  y;au.ii: 
■*  *"  tn  I'uKtii'  m  ttililnDi'in,  un!>  |i(f)  duf  tint  gcrealirumt  'Olrf  Dtr  'Ptilon  ttS  iimcIlMi  'Pirtc 
IiiiiJ.  ISfO-  .tinrS-SScniiUcii  Hit  iH'3'"i"lJ!.  tcimitfiligtt,  uiiD  nut  li((>  fortjifulju ,  m'-lfi)cn  <k  iic^ 
Kljbilij  (111(11  (BcfiimfiKti  l'cr>  iBb  l)atrit  uiie  f.KS  fi'it  tit  •Biir.jq-  ^lc|l.T..  ;i;cp8Mit  Ben  tn  ^H= 
ten  toiditiiryt  ijl,  SiiJ  ftil(^»'  |"t()i1iii)litf)>  Utbcitbdtfr  jur  mtMciiftii  ijittiifc  stl'tiWjt  Jl-tiMiij..fo 
Iwl'cii  niiiTur  nctfng  uiiD  liillii)  trutbtft,  niijulnttcii,  uno  Cutita  bicntiit  att,  ciiic  otfcnilirtit -Sts 
iDlinuiij)  i»it  S>"J'l)iii»tt''f  SlJiiltf  vo;  t^rgrtifung  un6  (SifiiiiiidiiKljnqinj'ijtf  3H>«j3"if"i*  — 
S)itnliunt«rt  Jfiiilcv  Sot  ergrtifung  unS  OifiiitgcniKfimung  (t6  StN'yi'rc.  uiit  Mt  sriinimc  vf q 
(f  In  JpunCtri  Jbi(ltt  voc  (SrarcifuiigunC  ©tf'iingcnni'hitiuti.i  tints  irJ(;i|>tv  N(c  niiiiiMitJu().fi>(jfti}i;fl 

q>tift'iiril,  niiiii!'.   ©linitl  ijntl, 'Stninmin  Sutl, linM),  255ilTte  Jtntine,  gt'lert)  jiuriitr, 

lidtttn  ©uMtc,  ©iiDiD  aSocMtiirD,  3olin  SJSIJittoinli,  Simfthi)  SillMiinc,  unP  ihcnuiS  Sinntij, 
fPcv  DPI'  Sfflttifung  unP  (9cfangciintl)iniini)  irgtnP  cintr  miPtttu  ^pttfon,  irtWit  lU'ttfiifiit  rotrs 
Mn  (iin,  Cop  (if  l)(i)  btt  5Bci1fiil)i'ung  ul'tntitniimtt^  2iniotf)U'Pitttting  tuuijt  hultrtirtx  .pll^^  oCtt 

StDfhinP  gtltUict Sic  'sBtltljnuiig  l-ct  (^tgitbsng  uuf  ©tfnngtniKljinuiijj  tintt  c>tr  tct^trbta 

nomt»n  iptrfbntn  foil,  btn  SHitftrumj  ^(lfc^flc^tl-fO(t5©tfSn9niS  Pit  vTi'iuntp  Cijoitli.inu'tcjn,  awi-. 

Atjiihltt  irtiMn;  (t^gltij^tn  ivitP  iilltn  (Seti(t)le|Jttrontti,  JticPtnStitbttrn,  cdicnifs  unf  (f  onliiu 

ttl6  hitmit  iiufgcgtbtn,  unD  |it  crfiitfctt  titif  igt  Olniifiirtif  uiiP  •JJuiiifiiyc  niiiulitilin,  unP  (ittj  nls 

Itn  Jltif  311  gtbtn  sotlKil»tnaiintt  UtbtltliiiKr  jii  ftgtciftii  unb  3111:  gttiJngliitjtn  J^iitt  ju  bringtn 

tnrait  tribtr  Mtftlt't  nutl)  btntn  (Stftftn  Dttfniittn  rotrttn  (fimt- 

(Stgtbtn  im  iHiitf),  unitt  bir  .'ijoiib  ttS Sltbtbarta  "PcKt  •Ru.'^ltn(<trg.  fffijuirt,  33ict!<prii= 

(iMni,  unP  btm  ©itsti  m  iftnaK,  3u  >^^^llli^tlpfli(l,  Cm  aitttn  Jug  Pts  il^loiiuts  S"'"'  "" 

3><llt  uiifti^  Jpt^ttn  dn  ^au^<n^  Sitbtn  .ViuiMtt  uHb  9ti)t  unb  iltbijig. 

sj>  ( t  c  r   ?»  11  M  e  n  b  c  t  g. 

amfiur  CNtltS  SitHc,  Sttrtttilr. 


1609 

Before  any  of  the  Continental  troops  were  actually  set  in  motion  toward 
Wyoming,  word  was  received  by  the  Council  of  Colonel  Pickering's  release. 
Whereupon  the  Council  imparted  to  Delegates  in  Congress  the  following  infor- 
mation: 

■'In  Council,  Philadelphia,  August  6th,  1788. 
"Genllemeii : 

"By  direction  of  the  board,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that  we  have  this  morning, 
by  express,  received  letters  from  Colonel  Pickering  and  the  other  officers  of  Government  in  the 
County  of  Luzerne.  From  these  it  appears  that  matters  have  taken  a  more  favorable  turn  than 
was  at  first  apprehended.  Colonel  Pickering  was  liberated  by  the  insurgents  on  the  16th  of  July, 
and  the  men  who  carried  him  off,  are  now  by  their  petition,  praying  Council  to  grant  them  a  pardon. 
The  proclamation  issued  by  the  board  has  produced  the  desired  effect.  Two  of  the  rioters  are  now 
confined  in  Easton  jail,  and  some  others  in  that  of  Luzerne.  Several  have  been  wounded,  and 
Dudley,  one  of  the  most  notorious,  died  in  Luzerne  jail  of  the  wounds  he  received.  Those  of 
the  rioters  who  still  remain,  are  dispersed,  and  seeking  refuge  on  the  lakes. 

"From  this  change  of  affairs,  and  the  accounts  from  the  western  waters,  which  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  troops  of  the  Union  will  be  wanted  in  that  quarter,  as  well  as  from  the  shortness 
of  the  time  limited,  for  which  the  troops  can  possibly  be  spared,  and  the  consideration  that  the 
chief  end  for  which  the  application  was  made  is  already  answered,  the  board  are  induced  to  request 
you  will  be  pleased  to  inform  the  honorable  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  that  we  gratefully 
acknowledge  the  favor  conferred  on  this  State,  by  so  readily  granting  the  assistance  requested. 
But  as  the  emergency  has  ceased,  and  as  the  State  will  now  have  time  to  act  deliberately,  and  as 
circumstances  shall  in  future  direct,  we  further  request  that  the  troops  of  the  Union  may  now  be 
directed  to  continue  their  route,  agreeably  to  their  first  destination.  The  board  have,  in  the 
mean  time,  directed  a  Commissary  to  proceed  to  Easton,  to  provide  for  the  subsistence  of  the 
troops  imtil  further  orders." 

The  Delegates  at  New  York  appear  to  have  brought  this  reassuring  news 
of  the  safe  return  of  Colonel  Pickering  to  the  attention  of  Congress.  An  entry 
on  the  journal  of  that  body  seems  to  have  finally  disposed  of  the  matter  of  sending 
Continental  troops  to  Wyoming.  The  entry,  under  date  of  August  12,  1788, 
is  as  follows: — "ordered  that  the  above  letter  be  referred  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
to  take  orders." 

While  the  Council  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  Congress  at  New  York,  were 
taking  such  action  as  the  circumstances  at  Wyoming  appeared  to  warrant, 
there  was  no  lack  of  prompt  measures  undertaken  at  Wilkes-Barre,  looking  to 
the  same  purpose.  To  the  call  of  Council  for  militia,  four  local  companies  re- 
sponded. Of  the  Wilkes-Barre  company,  William  Ross  had  but  recently  been 
commissioned  Captain.  Hanover  township  furnished  another  Company  under 
command  of  Capt.  Rosewell  Franklin.  Major  Lawrence  Myers  commanded 
the  Kingston  unit,  and  a  troop  of  Light  Dragoons,  with  Capt.  John  Paul  Schott 
in  command,  had  been  recruited  from  various  settlements  of  the  Wyoming  \'alley. 
Lord  Butler,  High  Sheriff  of  the  County,  promptly  organized  a  posse  comitatus 
and  to  his  command  was  attached  the  militia  units,  in  order  that  the  whole 
rescuing  force  might  serve  under  one  directing  head. 

"What  a  change!"  exclaims  Miner  in  recording  this  expedition:  "Captain 
Ross  and  Sheriff  Butler,  as  violators  of  the  law  at  Laurel  (should  be  Locust) 
Hill,  sent  in  irons  to  Easton,  were  now  the  effectual  vindicators  of  the  violated 
laws." 

That  New  York  was  making  common  cause  with  Pennsylvania  in  appre- 
hending the  abductors,  is  manifest  by  a  warrant  issued  by  Chief  Justice  Richard 
Morris,  of  that  State.  It  was  dated  July  17,  1788,  directed  to  the  Sheriff's  of 
several  counties  of  the  State,  and  called  for  the  arrest  of  the  men  named  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Proclamation  hereinbefore  noted.  It  declared  that  the  rioters 
"li'ill  probably  attempt  to  pass  into  A>w  York  in  order  to  elude  justice."  At  the 
same  time,   Governor  Clinton  issued  a  circular  letter  to  all  civil  and  military- 


1610 

officers  of  tlie  State,  commanding  them  to  aid  and  assist  in  the  execution  of 
the  warrant. 

While  movements  of  the  abductors  are  not  difficult  to  trace,  owing  to 
the  painstaking  collection  of  records  found  among  the  "Pickering  Papers",  the 
plans,  progress  and  attainments  of  the  rescuing  forces  were  never  summed  up 
in  a  single  document,  but  must  be  gathered  from  various  letters,  and  miscel- 
laneous data,  copies  of  which  were  preserved  and  later  published  in  the  "Penn- 
sylvania Archives",  from  which  those  that  follow  were  selected.* 

By  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  27,  1788,  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  militia  were  assembled  on  the  River  common,  at  Wilkes-Barre.  Captain 
Schott,  with  a  detachment  of  eighteen  mounted  men  of  his  troop  of  Light 
Dragoons,  acting  as  scouts,  immediately  moved  up  the  river  in  search  of  the 
abductors.  At  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning,  June  28th,  the  Hanover  Company, 
under  Capt.  Rosewell  Franklin,  set  off.  That  evening,  Captain  Schott  returned 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  with  the  horsemen,  after  advancing  within  six  or  seven  miles 
of  the  party  of  captors.  On  June  29th,  the  first  detachment  of  militia 
returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  with  two  prisoners.  July  1st.,  the  Wilkes-Barre  Com- 
panv,  under  command  of  Captain  Ross  and  accompanied  by  Maj.  Lawrence 
IMvers,  moved  up  the  east  bank  of  the  Susquehanna. 

Commissioners  Balliet  and  Armstrong,  neither  of  whom  were  present  at 
Wyoming  at  the  time  of  the  abduction  of  their  fellow  Commissioner,  set  out 
from  Philadelphia,  upon  learning  of  the  occurrence,  in  order  to  render  any  assis- 
tance within  their  power,  to  secure  Colonel  Pickering's  release.! 

On  the  9th  of  July,  they  joined,  in  a  letter  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  President 
Franklin,  in  the  following  account: 

"We  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  we  arrived  at  this  place  on  the  1st  inst.  and  found  the 
whole  settlement  in  motion  on  account  of  Col.  Pickering  being  carried  off  a  few  days  before,  b\- 
a  banditti  here  called  the  "Half  Share  Men",  or  "Wild  Boys."  The  detachment  commanded 
by  Captain  Ross  consisting  of  IS  men,  who  had  six  suspected  persons  under  his  care,  fell  in  with 
the  insurgents.  Mrs.  Pickering  received  a  letter  from  the  Colonel  on  the  3rd  inst.  informing  her 
that  he  is  well." 

From  a  letter  also  dated  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Juty  9th,  addressed  to  the 
President  of  the  Council,  signed  by  Col.  Zebulon  Butler  and  William  Hooker 
Smith,  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and  by  Lord  Butler,  Sheriff,  additional  informa- 
tion is  obtained  of  activities  of  the  searchers : 

"The  militia  under  the  command  of  the  Sheriff  repaired  near  the  place  where  the  rioters 
were  posted,  and  after  the  scheme  was  agreed  upon,  Capt.  Ross,  with  a  party  of  12  or  14,  began 
his  march  and  first  after  dayhght  the  ne.xt  A.  M.  met  the  rioters,  gave  them  battle  and  obhged 
them  to  leave  the  ground.  In  the  attack,  Capt.  Ross  behaved  with  much  intrepidity  and  calmness, 
but  had  the  misfortune  of  receiving  a  wound  through  his  arm  and  another  through  his  body. 
They  are  not  mortal.  *  *  *  After  this  small  engagement,  the  militia  soon  returned.  The 
place  of  the  rioters'  resort  is  so  situated  that,  after  mature  deliberation,  it  was  concluded  a  smaller 
body  of  men  would  much  better  effect  this  reduction.  Their  number  does  not  exceed  18,  and 
it  is  generally  thought  that  many  of  them  are  much  dissatisfied  with  the  impudence  of  their  conduct 
and  some  of  them  have  left  the  County.  *  *  *  The  fathers  of  most  of  the  rioters  we  have 
in  custody.  Some  or  all  of  them  have  advised  to  the  nefarious  plan  and  afforded  comfort  to  the 
rioters  since  their  appearance  in  arms  for  which  proceeding,  we  think  their  liberty  ought  to  be 
restrained.  They  appear  to  be  much  affected  by  their  confinement  and  seem  willing  to  acknowledge 
that  they  have  embarked  in  a  most  glaring  enterprise.  *  *  *  The  militia  have  done  their 
duty  with  cheerfulness  and  stand  ready  for  the  second  tour." 

It  was  brought  out  by  testimony,  in  the  course  of  subsequent  trials,  that 
this  action  occurred  at  Meshoppen,  and  that  Gideon  Dudley,  who  was  in  command 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  XI  :  330-351. 

tCommissioner  Balliet  had  not  been  present  for  dutv  at  Wyoming  for  several  months  prior  to  the  abduction, 
having  returned  to  his  home  shortly  before  the  arrest  of  Col.  John  Franklin,  Commissioner  Montgomery,  after  hav- 
inK  been  openly  insulted  the  day  following  Colonel  Franklin's  arrest,  left  quietly  for  Philadelphia,  where  he  remained 
until  recalled  by  the  Pickering  episode. 


1611 

of  the  abducting  party,  was  wounded  in  the  hand.  He,  however,  escaped  at 
this  time.  The  only  other  encounter  between  forces  of  the  Sheriff  and  those 
commanded  by  Dudley,  occurred  on  July  26th,  ten  days  after  Colonel  Pickering 
had  been  released.  Captain  Franklin's  command  engaged  the  remnant  of  the 
band  at  Wysox  creek.  Joseph  Dudley  was  again  wounded — this  time  seriously. 
The  severity  of  his  wound  being  realized  by  his  captors,  they  immediately  placed 
him  in  a  canoe  and  brought  him  to  the  jail  at  Wilkes-Barre  where  he  died  three 
days  later. 

A  letter  from  Colonel  Pickering,  to  President  Franklin  at  Philadelphia, 
throws  further  light  on  the  final  incidents  of  the  abduction.  It  is  dated  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  July  29th,  and  reads  as  follows:* 

"This  morning,  Jos.  Dudleyf  was  brought  hither  badly  wounded.  This  day,  a  woman  whose 
son  lives  with  John  Jenkins,  informed  me  that  he  had  sent  down  to  his  wife  to  prepare  to  move 
with  her  family  immediately  to  the  Lakes.  By  the  last  accts.  it  appeared  that  Jenkins  has  engaged 
lands  in  that  country  for  the  York  lessees. 

"In  thee.xpeditionin  which  Capt.  Ross  was  wounded,  divers  elderly  men,  fathers  of  families. 
were  made  prisoners  and  brought  down  to  Wilkesbarre  on  suspicion  that  they  were  abettors  of 
the  party  who  took  me.  Stephen  Jenkins,  brother  of  John,  has  been  apprehended,  and  now  is 
in  jail  at  this  place,  in  consequence  of  the  evidence  against  him  in  B.  Earl's  deposition. 

"Dan'l.  Earl  also  told  me  that  Stephen  J.  was  as  deeply  concerned  in  the  plot,  as  any  one. 
Gideon  Churcfi  has  not  been  apprehended,  because  good  policy  seemed  to  require  that  a  door 
should  be  left  open  for  repenting  sinners.  He  went  out  with  the  first  three  parties  to  apprehend 
the  offenders  and  rescue  me. 

"By  the  last  company  of  volunteers,  he  was  chosen  their  Captain,  and  conducted  with  such 
spirit  and  judgment  as  pleased  the  whole  of  them.  Old  Benjamin  Harvey  (who  lived  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  Shawnee  flat)  fled  a  few  days  after  I  was  taken,  and  sd.(as  I  have  heard)  that  some 
others  wd.  be  obliged  to  follow  him.  Yet  the  hint  in  the  examination  of  Wm.  Carney  ("one  of  the 
arrested  rioters)  is  the  only  evidence,  wh.  has  yet  appeared  agt.  him.  His  flying,  joined  with  his 
former  conduct,  affords  a  strong  presumption  of  his  guUt. 

"Eveg.  11  o'clk.  This  moment,  the  jailer  here  applies  for  a  winding  sheet,  informing  that 
Jos.  Dud'°y  is  dead." 

As  soon  as  suspects  in  the  abduction  were  brought  to  Wilkes-Barre  by 
parties  sent  out  by  the  Sheriff,  or  otherwise  encouraged  by  the  hope  of  reward 
for  their  efforts,  they  were  arraigned  before  the  most  conveniently  assembled 
Justices,  who  made  proper  disposition  of  their  cases.  The  first  to  appear  of  record 
as  thus  arraigned,  were  Ira  Manvil  and  Benedict  Satterlee  of  Plymouth. 

On  July  19,  1788,  they  were  brought  before  Justices  Smith  and  Carpenter, 
charged  with  "aiding  in  the  abduction,"  and  plead  guilty. 

The  same  day,  they  were  committed  into  the  hands  of  Sheriff  Butler  to 
be  conveyed  to  the  jail  at  Easton,  pursuant  to  a  special  Act  of  Assembly  passed 
for  the  purpose. 

Through  various  agencies,  the  hunt  for  participators  in  the  abduction 
continued  well  into  the  month  of  August,  and  in  all  some  forty  alleged  partici- 
pants or  their  advisors  were  apprehended. 

On  July  23rd,  the  Council  at  Philadelphia  seemed  to  have  been  placed  in 
such  a  cheerful  mood  by  the  change  in  affairs  at  W3'oming,  as  to  offer  congratu- 
lations to  County  Lieutenant  Zebulon  Butler,  in  the  following  terms: 

"The  Council  express  their  entire  approbation  of  the  officers  of  Government  in  Luzerne 
relative  to  the  rioters.  Council  are  so  well  assured  that  everything  possible  will  be  done  by  you 
that  they  have  hitherto  postponed  the  raising  and  marching  of  troops  to  your  assistance  until 
circumstances  shall  otherwise  direct." 

On  July  29th,  Colonel  Butler  responded  to  the  overtures  of  the  Council 
and  addressed,  what  appears  to  be  a  final  official  report,  dealing  directly  with 
the  incident  :J 

•See  ■'Pennsylvania  .•Vrchives."  XI  ;  359. 

tCoI.  Pickerini::  was  in  error  in  the  first  name  of  the  wounded  man.     Subsequent  court  records  disclose  that  it 
was  his  brother  Gideon  who  died 

JSee  "Pennsylvania  .Archives."  XI  :  3.S6. 


1612 

"The  people  at  Tioga  Point  ar;  mostly  under  arms,  and  are  now  in  pursuit  of  the  remainder 
of  the  rioters,  and  in  all  probability  have  before  this,  either  drove  them  from  the  county  or  made 
them  prisoners. 

"A  full  determination  seems  to  be  in  every  one's  mind  to  crush  and  disperse  all  those  who 
have  been  active  in  the  riot.  It  gives  me  singular  satisfaction  to  find  that  an  attachment  to  Govt. 
very  universally  prevails  among  the  people.  Any  force  necessary  to  the  free  circulation  of  law, 
or  to  quell  similar  disturbances  to  the  one  lately  taken  place,  we  can  raise  at  any  hour.  Never 
before  this,  could  I  determine  with  much  precision,  what  defense,  for  the  support  of  law,  would  be 
made  by  the  people  of  the  Co.  if  necessary.  But  I  may  now  assert  that  the  advocates  for  Govt, 
are  so  numerous  that  we  never  shall  again  be  disturbed  with  such  tumults  and  dissension  as  we 
have  been  in  times  past.  By  the  concession  of  all  those  whom  we  have  now  in  custody,  they 
have  Ijeen  most  grossly  deluded  by  a  very  few  designing  characters,  in  whom  by  woful  experience 
they  find  no  kind  of  confidence  ought  to  be  placed.  Indeed,  not  only  they,  but  others  on  whom 
we  have  ever  looked  with  a  jealous  eye,  are  now  of  the  same  opinion." 

Miner,  in  his  "History  of  Wyoming",  (p.  431)  narrates  a  story  in  connection 
with  the  abduction  which  must  have  been  current  among  the  older  generation 
in  1845,  when  the  History  was  written.  It  is  an  interesting  sideline  of  the  in- 
cident, and  seems  worth  recording  here : 

"At  Osterhout's,  a  few  miles  above  Keeler's  ferry,  they  [the  militia]  made  a  halt  to  take 
refreshments;  when  a  guard  of  two  or  three  men,  placed  by  the  river  side,  observed  a  boat  with 
three  persons  on  board,  to  push  out  suddenly  as  in  haste,  from  beneath  a  bunch  of  willows.  Re- 
fusing to  answer,  a  shot  was  fired,  and  they  changed  their  course.  Another  bullet  struck  near, 
when  two  men  threw  themselves  into  the  river,  and  swam  to  the  opposite  shore,  while  a  boy 
hove  the  canoe  about  and  surrendered.  'Who  are  you,  and  who  were  those  in  the  canoe?'  in- 
quired Sheriff  Butler,  who  had  come  down  to  the  spot.  'None  of  your  business''  said  the  boy, 
with  great  apparent  indignation.  'Tell  us  who  you  are,  and  where  you  are  going?'  'I  wont — 
you  are  all  a  pack  of  rascals  not  to  let  honest  men  go  to  the  mill  in  their  own  boat,  but  they  must 
be  shot  at  as  if  they  were  wolves.'  Finding  they  could  get  no  information  from  the  fellow,  amused 
with  the  spirit  displayed,  and  respecting  his  faithfulness  to  his  friends,  Mr.  Butler  took  him  to 
the  house,  gave  him  a  good  dinner,  and  then  told  him  to  go  tell  'the  boys'  the  whole  country  was 
in  arms  against  them,  and  they  had  better  give  up  Col.  Pickering.  The  story  of  young  Hillman, 
for  that  was  his  name,  may  as  well  be  concluded  here.  He  was  arraigned  with  others,  and  it  was 
in  proof  that  he  was  for  some  time  one  of  Pickering's  guard.  When  Chief  Justice  M'Kean  was 
about  to  pass  sentence.  Col.  P.  with  great  magnanimity,  rose  and  said:  'The  boy  had  evidently 
been  misled  by  older  persons.  That  though  in  error,  the  spirit  and  faithfulness  exhibited,  in  what 
he  probably  thought  was  right,  showed  that  he  was  no  ordinary  character.  He  might  yet  under 
better  advisement,  become  a  useful  member  of  the  community,  and  it  was  his  desire  that  the  lad 
should  receive  as  mild  punishment  as  the  law  would  admit.'  Of  course  Hillman  was  permitted 
to  escape  under  a  very  mitigated  sentence.  We  have  sought  to  learn  his  subsequent  fate,  but  he 
is  lost  to  us.'"" 

Several  incidents  which  indicated  that  even  with  almost  the  whole  of  the 
County  arrayed  against  them,  the  Franklin  cause  still  lived  in  the  minds,  and 
doubtless  the  hearts,  of  many  of  his  followers,  is  recorded  by  Colonel  Pickering 
in  a  letter  to  the  Council,  in  part,  as  follows:         "Wilkesbarre,t  August  9,  1788. 

"A  few  days  after  young  Dudley  was  buried,  some  people  were  for  digging  up  the  body 
to  expose  it  to  a  Coroner's  inquest;  for  they  said  he  was  murdered  by  the  party  which  took  him. 
And  I  find,  that  in  the  beginning  of  this  week  while  I  was  absent,  attending  my  wife  on  her  way 
to  Phila.,  a  number  (8  or  10)  of  the  old  settlers  from  Nanticoke  and  Shawnee,  came  to  Wilkesbarre 
warmed  with  the  same  zeal  for  digging  up  the  body  of  Dudley;  but  the  ShfT.  and  some  other  gentle- 
men talked  with  them,  and  partly  by  reason  and  partly  by  threats,  checked  their  zeal  and  sent 
them  home  cool. 

"A  disposition  to  murmur  at  every  correcting  measure  of  Govt,  and  act  of  the  magistrate, 
necessary  for  the  establishment  of  good  order,  and  strictly  legal,  prevails  among  great  numbers 
of  the  people.  I  beg  leave  to  notice  the  late  elections  of  militia  officers  in  the  upper  battalion. 
John  Jenkins  and  John  Swift  were  chosen  Lt.  Col.  and  Major  by  a  great  majority,  and  Martin 
Dudley,  Jos.  Kilborn,  and  David  Woodward  (all  names  now  familiar  to  Council)  were  chosen 
Capt.,  Lt,,  and  Ensign  of  each  of  the  Companies.  Divers  similar  elections  of  disaffected  characters 
took  place  in  the  same  battalion.  It  would  seem  to  have  been  an  object  with  a  majority  of  the 
electors  to  choose  such  men,  not  for  the  purpose  of  supporting,  but,  in  proper  times,  of  opposing 
the  Govt,  of  Penna. 

' '  I  have  to  observe  that  the  whole  country  is  at  present  in  peace ;  all  the  insurgents  who  have 
not  surrendered  themselves  or  have  not  been  taken,  having  fled  into  the  neighboring  States. t 

At  the  September,  1788,  session  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  held  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  at  which  the  name  of  Mathias  Hollenback  appeared  for  the  first 

*The  name  of  this  boy  of  fifteen,  was  not  Hillman.  but  Aaron  Kilborn.  He  was  one  of  those  tried  in  November, 
1788.  during  the  visit  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  Wilkes-Barre. 

tThis  is  the  first  occasion  the  writer  can  discover  of  where  Colonel  Pickering  spelled  the  name  Wilkesbarre. 
Heretofore,  in  all  his  correspondence,  it  has  been  referred  to,  as  Wilkesborough. 

JSec  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  XI  :  367. 


1613 

time  on  the  list  of  Justices,  sitting  en  banc*  a  special  Grand  Jury  was  impaneled 
to  make  inquiry  into  affairs  concerned  with  the  abduction. f 

This  Grand  Jury  was  composed  of  Lawrence  Myers,  foreman;  William 
Trucks,  Benjamin  Bailey,  Jabez  Fitch,  Solomon  Avery,  Elisha  Blackman,  Daniel 
Downing,  Jacob  Partrick,  Thomas  Bennet,  John  Dorrance,  Philip  Myers,  Samuel 
Dailey,  Stephen  Harding,  Isaac  Allen,  Elijah  Sillsby,  Samuel  Miller,  John  Scott, 
Benj.  Jones,  Joseph  Wheeler,  Leonard  Westbrook,  Justus  Gaylord  and  Jos.  Elliott. 

The  Court  record  discloses  that:  Ira  Manvil,  Benedict  Satterlee,  John 
Hyde,  Jr.,  Dav'id  Woodward,  Daniel  Earl,  Gideon  Dudley,  Joseph  Dudley, 
Solomon  Earl,  John  Whitcomb,  Daniel  Taylor,  Timothy  Kilborn,  Frederick 
Budd,  Wilkes  Jenkins,  and  Zebulon  Cady  were  indicted  as  participating  in  "a 
riot,  rout,  unlawful  assembly,  assault  and  battery  and  false  imprisonment  of 
Timothy  Pickering,  for  nineteen  days." 

Noah  Phelps,  Nathan  Abbot,  Jr.,  Benjamin  D.  Abbot,  William  Carney 
and  Aaron  Kilborn  were  not  held  for  sharing  in  the  actual  abduction,  but  for 
afterward  joining  the  captors.  Martin  Dudley,  Joseph  Kilborn,  Thomas  Kinney, 
Nathan  Abbot,  Jr.,  Ephraim  Tjder,  Stephen  Jenkins,  Darius  Parks  and  John 
Jenkins  were  likewise  indicted  "for  advising  and  assisting  the  rioters"  of  the 
two  preceding  indictments. 

These,  with  the  others,  were  bound  over  in  various  sums  to  "appear  per- 
sonally before  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  at  their  next 
session  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  to  be  holden  at  Wilkesbarre." 

In  addition  to  those  indicted,  the  following  important  witnesses  were 
placed  under  bonds  to  attend  the  same  session:  Anna  Dudley,  Garret  Smith, 
Uriah  Parsons,  William  Griffith,  Benjamin  Earl,  Elizabeth  Wigton,  James  Smith, 
and  Joseph  Wheeler.  Among  the  latter,  were  several  of  the  actual  abductors 
who  had  turned  state's  evidence. 

From  his  uncomfortable  quarters  in  the  jail  at  Philadelphia,  Col.  John 
Franklin  must  have  followed  with  interest,  the  affairs  of  Wyoming.  It  was  in 
retaliation  for  his  treatment  at  the  hands  of  Pennsylvania  that  the  abduc- 
tion of  Colonel  Pickering  took  place.  With  indictments  standing  against 
some  of  his  followers  and  former  associates,  because  of  this  retaliatory  measure, 
with  his  own  trial  approaching  at  the  same  time  that  the  cases  of  these  would  be 
heard,  and  with  a  conviction  that  further  opposition  to  the  authority  of  the 
Commonwealth  was  without  purpose,  Colonel  Franklin  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
House  of  Assembly.  He  had  then  been  in  prison  almost  a  year.  Being  recog- 
nized as  the  leader  of  those  who  had  consistently  endeavored  to  maintain 
Connecticut  jurisdiction  over  the  disputed  territory,  even  in  face  of  the 
Decree  of  Trenton,  and  failing  in  this,  being  regarded  as  one,  if  not  chief  of 
those  irreconcilable  spirits  who  had  endeavoured  to  set  up  a  new  state,  em- 
bracing such  territory;  his  declaration  "that  I  was  fully  determined  to  return  to 

*The  fall  election  of  1788.  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  following  Justices  of  the  Peace: — Mathias  Hollenback, 
William  Hooker  Smith.  Benjamin  Carpenter  and  Nathan  Kingsley.  Nathan  Carey  was  elected  Coroner.  The  foUowins^ 
Constables  were  likewise  elected:  John  Ryan,  Nathan  Beach.  Thomas  Park.  Ohver  Dodge,  David  Bro»™,  Jesse 
Gardner,  Tunas  Dolson  and  Gideon  Osterhout. 

tSearch.  in  1922,  for  records  of  this,  the  third  session  of  the  Courts  of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  revealed  a  rather 
amusing  lack  of  appreciation  of  their  value.  Docket  No.  I  of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  contains  records  of  the 
Court  only  from  the  year  1800  to  1802.  Even  delving  through  the  vault  of  the  present  Court  House  where  many  old 
records  are  kept,  disclosed  nothing  earher.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  assistant  Clerk  of  Courts,  the  author  then  began 
a  search  through  every  volume  on  the  back  of  which  the  figure  one  appeared. 

About  to  give  up  the  search,  the  back  of  Ro.\d  Docket  No.  1,  was  finally  observed  protruding  through  its  ac- 
cumulated dust.  This  proved  to  be  the  record  desired.  In  Colonel  Pickering's  llandwriting,  as  legible  today  as  when 
made,  and  wTitten  on  an  exceptional  quality  of  heavy  paper  are  entered  the  records  of  this  court  and  its  predecessors. 
Presumably,  w;hen  this  old  volume  needed  rebinding,  some  clerk  opened  to  one  of  its  pages  containing  an  account  of 
the  early  appointment  of  Road  Supervisors  and,  guessing  at  its  contents,  labeled  the  collection  "Ro.\d  Docket  No, 
1  "  which  name  it  still  bears. 


1614 

Wyoming,  and  use  my  infliietice   in  quelling  the  disturbances"  was  deemed   by 
the  Council  an  honorable  surrender,  as  well  as  pledge  for  his  future  behavior. 

Colonel  Franklin's  letter,  fully  setting  forth  various  matters  of  his  long  con- 
finement as  well  as  his  change  in  attitude  toward  conditions  at  Wyoming,  is 
here  published  in  essential  part,  as  follows : 

"Prison,  Philadelphia,  Sept.  17,  1788. 
"Cenllemen: 

"You  will  please  to  pardon  me,  while  I  address  you  upon  a  subject  that  most  nearly  concerns 
me — the  subject  to  which  I  relate  in  my  petition,  lately  presented  to  your  Honourable  House, 
and  which  is  referred  to  you,  to  inquire  into,  and  report  thereon. 

"The  notice  taken  of  me  in  this  my  unhappy  situation,  and  the  opportunity  I  had  yesterday 
with  Doctor  Logan,  who  was  pleased  to  honour  me  with  a  visit  on  the  subject  of  my  petition, 
demand  my  grateful  acknowledgments.  But,  as  some  matters  have  since  occurred  more  fully 
to  my  memory,  you  will  permit  me  to  lay  before  you  a  state  of  facts,  which  I  would  wish  to  do 
only  for  information. 

"The  Honourable  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  on  the  16th  of  April,  agreed  to  admit 
me  to  bail,  upon  my  entering  into  a  recognizance  with  two  good  securities,  in  a  sum  therein  re- 
quired, as  stated  more  fully  in  my  petition.  I  obtained  a  certificate  accordingly  from  the  Clerk 
of  the  said  Court,  after  which  I  addressed  his  Honour,  the  Chief  Justice  in  a  letter,  stating  the 
difficulty  which  would  probably  take  place  in  procuring  any  two  persons  at  Luzerne  to  be  my  bail, 
who  would  be  adjudged  equal  to  the  sum  required,  and  requested  that  four  or  more  persons 
might  be  taken  as  security,  and  that  some  such  person,  within  the  said  County,  as  his  honour 
thought  proper,  might  be  directed  to  take  the  recognizance ; — he  was  pleased  to  grant  my  request : 
however,  not  anything  was  done  to  effect  until  the  9th  of  May,  when  a  friend  of  mine  was  per- 
mitted to  see  me,  he  being  accompanied  with  an  Honourable  Member  of  Council,  by  whom  I  was 
informed  that  the  Chief  Justice  agreed  to  direct  the  Prothonotary  of  Luzerne  to  take  four  persons 
as  security  for  my  appearance  at  court,  &c."  *  *  *  However,  before  the  business  was  com- 
plete, the  Chief  Justice  had  set  off  on  the  western  circuit.  My  friend  went  on  as  far  as  Chester,  and 
returned  on  the  10th,  when  I  was  informed  that  he  had  a  letter  from  the  Chief  Justice,  to  send  for- 
ward to  the  Prothonotary  of  Luzerne,  to  take  the  security  at  that  place,  and  that  whenever  the 
recognizance  was  sent,  that  Justice  Bryan  would  take  my  own  recognizance.  This  letter,  together 
with  a  letter  which  I  was  permitted  to  write  to  my  friends  at  Luzerne,  on  that  subject,  was 
immediately  sent  forward.  May  31st,  I  had  information  that  security  was  taken,  and  the 
recognizance  came  to  hand  by  a  young  man  [Perkins]  sent  for  that  purpose.  I  expected  to  be 
liberated  the  same  day;  but  heard  nothing  further  until  the  4th  of  June,  when  the  young  man 
was  permitted  to  see  me,  he  being  in  company  with  a  Member  of  Council.  I  was  then  informed 
that  nothing  could  be  done  until  the  Chief  Justice  returned,  who  accordingly  returned  soon  after. 

"Apphcation  was  made  to  him  by  my  friends  in  my  behalf,  to  obtain  my  discharge  on  the 
bail.  I  did  all  in  my  power  to  obtain  my  discharge  from  prison,  or  to  know  what  prevented  me 
from  being  liberated.  I  was  informed  that  the  Chief  Justice  gave  for  answer,  that  he  had  nothing 
to  do  with  it,  that  it  lay  entirely  in  the  breast  of  Council.  Application  was  made  to  that  Board 
in  my  behalf.  It  rested  until  about  the  Sth  of  June,  when  an  Honourable  Member  of  Council 
came  to  see  me.     *     *     * 

"After  hearing  the  remarks  of  the  visiting  member,  the  young  man  who  was  present  at 
that  time,  returned  to  Wyoming,  after  waiting  nine  days  in  this  city  at  my  expense.  I  was  still 
kept  in  close  confinement,  deprived  of  the  advantages  of  social  society  as  I  before  had  been,  and 
could  not  be  informed  of  any  reason  why  I  was  not  liberated,  except  as  before  represented,  neither 
did  I  ever,  by  any  authority,  know  what  other  reasons  were  assigned,  until  Doctor  Logan  informed 
me,  yesterday,  that  the  security  was  deemed  insufficient — that  some  of  those  who  were  taken 
as  security,  had,  at  the  same  time,  used  threatening  language,  &c.,  which  probably  prevented  me 
from  being  liberated.  I  have  not  heard  the  names  of  all  those  who  are  my  security,  but  have 
been  informed,  that  some  of  those  nominated  were  absent,  and  others  accepted  by  the  Prothonotary 
on  lieu,  thereof, — ten  persons  being  required  to  enter  bail.  If  any  person  who  has  been  accepted 
as  security  for  me,  has  been  so  imprudent  as  to  use  threatening  language  on  that  subject,  I  hope 
that  their  misconduct  will  not  prejudice  those  equitable  rights  which  I  may  be  judged  entitled  to. 
I  wish,  if  the  Honourable  Commissioners  think  proper,  that  the  matter  may  be  fairly  investigated 
whether  the  persons  who  entered  bail  for  me  are  the  identical  persons  who  made  use  of  threat- 
ening language,  (I  do  not  pretend  to  know  to  the  contrary),  but  I  have  enemies,  who  would, 
perhaps,  wish  to  injure  me,  and  be  fond  to  have  me  wear  out  the  last  remains  of  life  in  prison. 
I,  therefore,  only  wish  that  such  inquiries  may  be  made,  as  to  prevent  any  undue  measures  oper- 
ating to  my  hurt,  that  equal  justice,  in  that  as  well  as  in  every  other  case,  may  be  done  me:  I 
must  confess,  that  I  earnestly  expected  to  be  liberated  on  bail,  conformably  to  the  encouragement 
given  me,  and  really  thought  that  I  had  right  so  to  expect,  and  I  most  solemnly  declare,  that 
in  case  I  had  been  liberated,  I  w-as  fuUy  determined  to  return  to  '^'yoming  and  to  use  my  in- 
fluence in  quelUng  the  disturbances  at  that  place,  if  any  there  should  be,  and  to  prepare  myself 
to  take  my  trial  when  called  therefor,  before  a  jury  of  my  country,  as  the  constitution  directs: 
but  as  I  was  not  liberated,  I  made  my  appeal  to  the  legislative  body,  the  guardians  of  the  people, 
from  whose  justice  and  humanity,  I  am  induced  to  believe,  I  shall  in  some  way  obtain  relief.  As 
to  the  circumstances  of  my  confinement,  that  is  fully  set  forth  in  my  petition.  I  have  lately  been 
very  sick  with  a  fever,  but  am  now  recovered  from  the  disorder,  though  my  sickness,  together 
with  a  long  confinement,  has  reduced  me  to  a  feeble  state,  which  is  hard  to  be  recovered  in  a  place 


1615 

of  confinement.  I  was  destitute  of  money  at  the  time  of  my  commitment,  Imt  agreed  with  a  friend 
to  support  me  with  provisions,  and  never  knew  that  any  provision  was  made  for  me  by  Government 
until  I  was  hberated  to  the  front  of  the  gaol,  the  24th  of  June,  since  which  I  learn  that  the  person 
who  supported  me  has  had  his  bill  allowed  by  Council,  for  my  weekly  subsistence,  though  paid 
in  depreciated  currency,  which  I  shall  be  under  obligation  to  make  good,  unless  the  sum  he  has 
received  is  made  equal  to  my  weekly  subsistence,  which  I  am  not  able  to  determine;  my  retired 
situation  has  prevented  me  from  doing  anything  for  myself  to  any  advantage  which  I  might 
otherwise  have  done. 

"If  after  a  full  investigation,  it  should  be  thought  proper  to  admit  me  to  bail  on  the  security 
already  taken,  it  would  prevent  a  pecuniary  expense  which  would  take  place  in  procuring  other 
security  if  required;  but  in  ca,se  I  am  liberated  in  any  other  way,  I  shall  make  myself  satisfied, 
and  if  continued  in  prison,  I  am  resolved  to  be  submissive  to  whatever  Providence  has  assigned 
me.  I  have  only  wrote  to  give  you  information.  I  earnestly  hope  that  whatever  may  be  alleged 
against  me,  will  not  prejudice  any  equitable  right  to  which  your  committee  and  the  Honourable 
Assembly  may  adjudge  me  entitled,  as  equal  justice  is  all  that  I  demand.  I  am,  gentlemen, 
with  every  sentiment  of  respect,  "Your  Obedient  .Servant, 

"George  Logan.  )  "John  Franklin." 

"Peter  Muhlenburgh,  >■  Esquires, 
"and  John  P.  Schott,  I 

After  delivery  of  this  letter  to  the  Council,  the  attitude  of  that  body 
toward  the  prisoner  seemed  to  change  almost  overnight. 

Although  still  confined  in  jail  at  Philadelphia,  Colonel  Franklin  was  then 
granted  many  liberties,  was  visited  by  various  officers  high  in  affairs  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  otherwise  treated  with  that  courtesy  due  a  prisoner  of 
his  station.  "Knowing  his  great  influence"  says  Miner,  (p. 437)  "particular 
pains  were  taken  to  conciliate  him,  and  to  bring  him  into  the  scheme  of  com- 
promise devised  by  Colonel  Pickering.  Without  committing  himself  to  that  point, 
he  satisfied  those  who  were  interested,  that  he  would  offer  no  further  obstruction 
to  the  free  introduction  of  the  laws." 

Through  friends  in  Connecticut,  Colonel  Franklin  appears  to  have  interested 
Governor  Huntington  of  that  State  in  his  behalf.  On  October  14,  1788,  the 
Governor,  accordingly,  wrote  to  President  Franklin  of  the  Council,  in  part,  as 
follows : 

"*  *  *  I  have  now  before  me,  a  letter  from  the  prisoner,  wherein  he  acknowledgeth  his 
situation  hath  been  made  as  comfortable  as  close  confinement  could  admit,  except  he  is  unable  to 
procure  comfortable  clothing;  but  he  complains  grievously  that  he  is  still  in  close  confinement 
without  being  admitted  to  bail,  or  the  liberty  of  a  trial  for  the  offence  wherewith  he  is  accused. 
Let  me  suggest  to  your  Excellency  whether  it  be  consistent  with  the  free  constitution  of  the 
Comwlth.  of  Pennsylvania  to  hold  any  person  a  close  prisoner  from  year  to  year  merely  upon 
accusation,  without  admitting  him  to  bail,  or  the  liberty  of  a  trial,  when  Government  is  in  profound 
peace  and  full  exercise?" 

This  letter  being  read  in  Council,  David  Redick,  acting  as  its  Vice  President 
made  answer  as  follows:* 

"In  the  case  of  the  prisoner  Franklin,  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  Luzerne  depended, 
in  the  opinion  of  Govt.,  in  a  great  measure  on  the  confinement  of  this  man  until  he  could  be  brought 
to  trial,  which  will  now  take  place  within  a  very  few  days,  and  which  is  as  early  as  the  Supr. 
judgC'S  have  had  it  in  their  power  to  go  to  Luzerne.  We  presume  that  the  charge  against  Franklin, 
together  with  the  well  known  spirit  and  uniform  conduct  of  this  person,  and  the  disturbances 
which  have  subsisted  in  the  settlement  of  Wyoming  almost  ever  since  his  detection,  wiU  fully 
justify  the  measures  pursued  by  the  Govt." 

Laying  aside  all  reference  to  burdensome  documents  which  serve  to  give 
authenticity  to  this  narrative,  it  can  be  inferred  from  the  tone  of  all  of  them 
that  at  this  time,  Wyoming  was  enjo3'ing  a  period  of  peaceful  occupation  so 
seldom  indicated  by  its  history  in  almost  a  quarter  century. 

Colonel  Pickering  was,  nevertheless,  somewhat  fearful  of  any  softening  in  the 
attitude  of  the  Council  toward  Colonel  Franklin.  This  is  manifested  in  a  lengthy 
letter  he  addressed  to  that  body  on  July  28,  1788,  shortly  after  deliverance  from 
his  captors,  and  perhaps  had  something  to  do  with  postponing  Colonel  Franklin's 
trial  until  fall.  The  extracts  quoted  are  not  uncomplimentary  to  Colonel  Frankln, 
indeed  the  reverse: 

*See  ■■Pennsylvania  .\rchives."  XI  :414. 


1616 

"Even  among  the  old  settlers  there  are  few  who  do  not  anxiously  wish  for  Franklin's 
release.  This  violent  attachment  I  have  often  wondered  at.  It  cannot  be  merely  the  effect  of 
friendship,  affection  and  gratitude.  The  consideration  of  interest  will  alone  solve  the  problem 
However,  whether  I  have  hit  on  the  real  cause  of  the  peoples'  attachment  to  Franklin  or  not — 
that  it  is  strong  to  an  astonishing  degree  and  almost  as  general  as  it  is  strong,  are  serious  truths." 

If  other  evidences  of  this  attachment  were  wanting,  they  could  be  found 
in  the  anxiety  with  which  the  whole  community  awaited  the  approaching  trial 
of  the  imprisoned  leader,  at  the  hands  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

Outwardly,  all  was  calm.  The  settlers  went  about  their  harvest  tasks 
unopposed  by  adverse  claimants  to  their  unquieted  titles.  Owing  to  the  sus- 
pension of  the  Confirming  Law,  the  other  Commissioners  had  no  further  duties 
to  perform  at  Wyoming  in  the  hearing  of  disputed  claims. 

The  unsettling  influences  of  these  hearings  were,  for  the  time  at  least, 
not  to  lend  to  a  feeling  of  doubt  and  uncertainty  which  had  made  the  Wyoming 
Valley  the  theater  of  the  most  extraordinary  conflict,  of  individual  suffering, 
of  wrongs  and  outrages,  recorded  in  the  annals  of  America. 

Elsewhere,  preparations  were  slowly  going  forward  for  the  trial.  On 
October  21,  1788,  David  Redick,  of  the  Council,  wrote  to  Governor  Clinton,  of 
New  York,  to  "send  on  letters  written  by  Franklin  to  Joseph  Hamilton* 
and  other  papers  relating  to  the  business."  Upon  the  Hamilton  correspondence 
with  Colonel  Franklin,  the  case  of  the  Commonwealth,  if  one  existed,  seems  to  have 
rested.  Many  letters  relating  to  the  Connecticut  claims,  as  before  mentioned, 
had  been  intercepted  in  their  passage  between  the  two  men.  Other  documents 
had  been  taken  when  Dr.  Hamilton  was  arrested.  Yet,  unless  additional  corres- 
pondence existed  than  has  been  made  a  part  of  the  records  of  Pennsylvania  and 
available  in  the  "Archives,"  or  is  recorded  elsewhere,  undisclosed  by  diligent 
search,  the  charge  of  high  treason  could,  by  no  stretch  of  the  imagination,  be 
predicated  upon  it.  It  is  true  that  both  of  these  men,  in  various  parts  of  this 
correspondence,  referred  to  the  idea  of  a  new  State.  But  not  a  syllable  in  this 
interchange  of  letters  between  them  breathed  disloyalty  to  the  general  govern- 
ment, even  if  its  tone  was  uncomplimentary  to  the  dignity,  if  not  to  the  integrity, 
of  Pennsylvania. 

There  is  no  intent  of  presenting  this  lengthy  and  often  extraneous  cor- 
respondence in  this  volume,  other  than  such  parts  of  it  as  relate  to  proposed 
erection  of  the  "State  of  Westmoreland." 

That  Historian  Harvey  intended  to  prepare  a  separate  Chapter  of  this 
work,  devoted  to  "The  State  of  Westmoreland,"  was  evident  from  an  envelope 
designated  by  that  title,  found  among  his  effects.  The  writer  has  before  him 
all  the  data  on  this  point  collected  in  a  lifetime  search  by  Mr.  Harvey.  A  limited 
quantity  of  additional  data  has  followed  an  exhaustive  investigation  of  the  same 
subject. 

What  Mr.  Harvey's  conclusions  were,  are  not  apparent.  The  writer's  own 
conclusions  are  based  upon  such  documents  as  are  quoted,  in  part,  in  preceding 
chapters.    Briefly  they  follow : 

First: — That,  rather  than  endure  further  injustices,  continued  maladminis- 

.  *ShortIy  after  Franklin's  arrest  at  Wilkes-Barre.  Dr.  Joseph  Hamilton  was  apprehended  on  a  similar  charge  at 
his  home  m  Hudson,  N.  Y.  President  Benjamin  Franklin  of  the  Council,  in  writing  to  the  Pennsylvania  Delegates 
m  Congress  on  October  20,  1787,  referred  to  the  "news  of  Hamilton's  arrest  with  all  his  papers  which  were  conveyed 
to  New  York.  ^  ■' 

,  ,,On  the  same  day,  President  Franklin,  in  another  letter,  expressed  the  thanks  of  the  Council  to  Governor  Clinton 
ol  ISew  York  for  Hamilton  s  arrest  and  "requested  copies  of  the  papers  seized  " 

Colonel  Pickering  alludes  to  Hamilton  in  a  letter  to  his  wife  dated  at  Philadelphia,  October  27.  1787,  as  follows- 

I  nave  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  Dr.  Hamilton  has  been  taken  with  a  budget  of  letters  and  papers,  showing 
nis  own  and  franklin  s  treasonable  practices.  Hamilton,  you  perhaps  know,  wrote  three  of  the  letters  taken  with  Stark- 
weather, and  has  been  Franklm's  prmcipal  correspondent  in  York  State."    See  the  "Life  of  Pickering,"  II  :  327. 


1617 

tration  of  laws  and  the  promotion  of  a  system  of  land  jobbing,  which,  up  to 
the  year  1786,  marked  the  weak  and  vacillating  course  of  Pennsylvania  toward 
Wyoming,  Col.  John  Franklin,  John  Jenkins  Jr.,  John  Swift,  Zera  Beach,  Benja- 
min Harvey,  Elisha  vSatterlee  and  other  reputable  characters  of  the  Franklin 
party,  finding  Connecticut  impotent  to  help  them,  turned  to  the  other  alterna- 
tive of  desiring  to  establish  a  distinct  government  as  an  approved  American 
method  of  securing  their  possessions  and  their  liberties. 

Second; — That  the  motives  of  these,  and  other  original  Connecticut 
settlers  who  shared  them,  were  a  natural  product  of  the  times,  and  were  no  more 
treasonable  in  their  nature  than  were  aspirations  for  self  government  on  the  part 
of  the  Colonies  themselves. 

Third; — That,  never  having  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  Pennsylvania, 
nor  indeed,  recognizing  as  more  than  a  policy,  the  Decree  of  Trenton  itself, 
their  aspirations  could  not  be  classed  as  disloyal. 

It  remained  for  others  to  impart  to  the  project  a  sinister  aspect,  which 
Pennsylvania  has  held  to  the  mirror  of  opinion,  in  justification  of  harsh  and  un- 
warranted methods  in  dealing  with  a  situation  which  at  best  never  passed  beyond 
a  chimerical  stage. 

The  year  1786,  witnessed  a  disintegration  of  such  government  as  the 
country  possessed  under  the  loosely  drawn  Articles  of  Confederation.  A  cen- 
tralized Constitutional  form  of  national  government  was  then  merely  in  the 
making.  That  mistrust  of  the  future,  intermingled  with  memories  of  the  past, 
brought  to  the  surface  the  discontented  of  all  classes,  events  of  the  time  dis- 
close. What  more  natural  than  that  some  of  these  malcontents  should  interject 
themselves  into  the  Wyoming  situation?  Here  was  an  empire  of  available  lands 
to  incite  their  greed.  Here  was  a  just  cause  they  might  espouse,  in  name,  the 
success  of  which  would  open  the  door  to  their  every  ambition.  Right  and  policy 
were  again  in  conflict.  Members  of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  and  there  were 
many  among  such  in  Connecticut  who  had  never  been  to  Wyoming,  based  their 
convictions  on  a  question  of  right.  Land  speculators,  disaffected  persons  in 
other  communities,  and  uncontrollable  spirits  elsewhere,  based  their  connection 
with  the  project  usually  on  self  interest  and  policy. 

Between  representatives  of  these  two  constituents  of  the  plan,  much  corres- 
pondence had  passed.  Whatever  of  it  had  been  intercepted  became  a  basis  in 
the  case  of  the  "Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  vs.  Col.  John  Franklin." 

Whether  a  Constitution  for  the  "State  of  Westmoreland"  was  actually 
drawn  up,  will  never  be  positively  known.  Hearsay  testimony  alone  is  in  its 
favor.  There  is  no  trace  of  it  among  original  papers  of  the  Franklin  case  pre- 
served by  Pennsylvania.  For  a  century,  the  search  for  this  missing  link  of  local 
history  has  continued  in  every  possible  repository.  But  the  document  itself, 
has  never  come  to  light,  nor  was  it  ever  seen  by  anyone  who  wrote  of  it  at  the  time. 

Below  is  given  the  collateral  and  necessarily  conflicting  testimonv  bearing 
on  this  much  mooted  question,  which  painstaking  investigation  has  disclosed. 

During  his  exile  in  Philadelphia,  November  11,  1787,  Colonel  Pickering 
wrote  his  brother,  John,  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  what  appears  to  have  been 
his  unbiased  views  on  the  subject  of  the  "State  of  Westmoreland."*  Nowhere 
else  in  all  his  correspondence  is  the  subject  so  fully  alluded  to.  The  letter  is, 
therefore,  quoted  at  length : 

*See  the  "Pickering  Papers."  XXXV^  :  26. 


1618 

"You  will  have  heard  of  the  disturbances  at  Wyoming,  whither  I  had  moved  my  family. 
The  prospect  is  now  changed,  and  I  e.xpect  peace  will  be  shortly  fully  established  in  that  country. 
The  Government  of  Pennsylvania  appears  disposed  to  do  everything  requisite  for  that  end. 
The  troubles  originated  with  a  few  villains  of  some  ability,  but  chiefly  of  desperate  fortunes, 
who  had  formed  a  plan  to  erect  a  new  State  in  that,  and  the  adjacent  Country  of  New  York : 
and  taking  advantage  of  the  disaffection  of  a  number  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  at  Wyoming, 
whose  prejudices  and  resentments  against  Pennsylvania  had  been  coeval  with  their  settlement 
in  this  State,  had  really  drawn  into  the  plot  a  considerable  number  of  men.  But  the  capture 
of  John  Franklin,  who  was  their  leader  to  execute  the  plot,  has  disconcerted  all  their  measures. 
The  State  have  ordered  in  some  militia  for  the  present,  and  a  Bill  has  had  two  readings;  to 
authorize  the  Council  to  raise  and  post  there  a  permanent  military  force.  This  will  effectually 
overawe  the  insurgents  (who  are  all  dispersed)  and  effectually  establish  the  authority  of  the  State 
and  peace  of  the  County,  I  trust,  without  bloodshed. 

"The  principal  conspirators  lived  in  the  States  of  Connecticut  and  New  York.  Their  plot 
was  so  far  advanced,  that  Major  Judd,  a  Connecticut  lawyer,  had  actually  drawn  up  a  constitution 
for  their  intended  new  State  which  was  to  be  called  "Westmoreland",  the  name  of  the  Wyoming 
district  when  a  County  under  the  Connecticut  jurisdiction. 

"The  pretense  of  the  conspiratorswhowere  members  of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  by  which 
they  deluded  the  people  was,  that  this  Company  having  made  a  fair  purchase  of  the  Indians  of 
the  soil,  they  had  still  a  right  to  hold  it,  and  that  no  act  of  Pennsylvania  and  Connecticut  could 
divest  them  of  it.  (Then  follow  references  to  claims  as  to  jurisdiction  trial  at  Trenton,  and  the 
Decree.)  This  (the  decree)  gave  a  terrible  shock  to  the  Susquehanna  Company  and  their  set- 
tlers at  Wyoming;  and  if  Pennsylvania  had  then  manifested  any  degree  of  generosity  and  mag- 
nanimity, if  she  had,  indeed,  consulted  merely  her  own  interest,  she  would  have  quieted  the  settlers 
in  their  old  possessions,  which  they  had  derived  by  titles  which  they  supposed  to  be  good,  from 
the  Susquehanna  Company.  But  instead  of  this,  the  conduct  of  the  State  has  consisted  of  a  series 
of  impolitic  measures,  sometimes  lenient,  sometimes  severe,  and,  through  the  abuse  of  power 
by  the  persons  appointed  to  execute  the  orders  of  the  State,  sometimes  cruel  and  oppressive." 

Esquire  Obadiah  Gore  likewise  wrote  of  the  matter  by  way  of  information 
to  Colonel  Pickering,  then  at  Philadelphia.  The  letter  is,  perhaps,  representative 
of  what  that  faction  of  the  settlers  who  were  of  the  Pickering  party,  believed  of 
the  project.    It  follows:* 

"Col.  Thos.  Dyer  and  Ebenezer  Grayt  have  been  here  some  time.  Dyer  told  me  that  the 
plan  of  Independence  here  originated  in  the  circle  of  a  few  such  as  Judd,  Hamilton,  etc.,  and  that 
the  plan  was  not  known  by  the  Committee  in  Windham  until  since  Franklin  was  taken.  Col. 
Gray  informs  me  that  Judd  about  2  months  ago  wrote  to  him  desiring  that  copies  of  the  Companies 
records  might  not  be  sent  to  Wyoming,  as  a  bad  use  would  be  made  of  them ;  and  that  their  quon- 
dam friends — such  as  Butler,  Gore  and  others  could  not  be  trusted  *  *  »  which  was  en- 
joined on  him  to  keep  secret  from  Col.  Dyer.  When  they  (Dyer  and  Gray)  were  on  their  journey 
to  this  place,  they  called  on  Judd,  who  told  them  that  the  devil  and  all  was  to  pay  at  Wyoming; 
that  they  had  not  only  taken  Franklin  and  Hamilton ;  that  he  had  but  little  before  sent  on  a  Con- 
stitution to  the  Government  of  that  people,  together  with  a  number  of  letters  which  he  concluded 
had  fell  into  the  hands  of  Government  and  he  feared  would  prove  fatal  to  Franklin  as  he  had- 
not  received  them." 

Miner  (412)  in  the  year  1845,  makes  this  observation  on  the  subject: 
"A  constitution  for  a  new  state  was  actually  drawn  up,  the  purpose  being  to  wrest  Wyoming 
and  the  old  county  of  Westmoreland  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania  and  establish  a  new 
and  independent  government,  as  Vermont  was  established  in  despite  of  New  York.  General 
William  Ross  told  the  writer,  that  being  at  New  Haven  in  1803  or  '4,  a  gentleman  assured  him 
that  such  was  the  fact,  and  that  it  was  understood  WiUiam  Judd,  Esq.,  of  Farmington,  was  to 
be  the  first  governor  and  John  Franklin,  Lieutenant  Governor.  The  late  Captain  Richards, 
being  a  highly  respected  and  worthy  man,  being  from  Farmington,  it  occurred  to  me  to  inquire 
of  him.  His  reply  was  prompt  and  distinct,  leaving  no  doubt  of  the  matter.  "Yes.  perfectly 
familiar  to  me.  Capt.  Judd  showed  me  the  draft  of  the  Constitution.  It  was  draw^n  up  by  Oliver 
Wolcott.  I  well  remember  it  commenced  like  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  by  setting  forth  a 
series  of  wrongs  or  the  declaration  of  rights  justifying  the  deed,  and  then  came  the  organization  etc'  , 

A  memorandum  in  the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Pickering  preserved  among 
his  papers,  LVII  :  226,  adds  some  further  hearsay  testimony  to  the  subject: 

"At  meeting  of  Susquehanna  Company  in  June,  1787,  Major  Judd  and  Dr.  Hosmer  told 
John  Allen  of  Plymouth  that  Judd  had  formed  a  plan  of  a  Constitution  for  a  new  State  to  be 
erected  in  this  country.  That  McKinstry  came  on  to  aid  in  setting  it  forward,  and  that  they  ex- 
pected Gen.  Allen  from  Vermont  would  also  come  in  for  the  same  purpose.  That  the  constitution 
was  sent  on  by  Asa  Starkweather]:  and  William  Allen  told  Judd  he  supposed  was  taken  on  him, 

*See  the  "Pickering  Papers,"  LXII  :  335. 

tBoth  were  men  of  high  standing  in  Connecticut  and  members  of  the  Susquehanna  Company. 

1  t^H^rtf!^',,!^^?!"™'"!  "!-o?'''"^''.' "^''.^"r'!  ^^^f^  ?  notification  as  the  .A.ct  of  the  Sustiuehanna  Company  at  meeting 
""^  ""  ■    '"  "*        *"   ''  -        -  -,ioners  of  the  Company  authorized  and  empowered  to  ascertain 


1619 

as  a  packet  had  been  found  with  him  which  had  lallL-n  into  the  hands  of  Government.     Upon 
which  Judd  exclaimed:    "Oh,  hell,  hell,  hell!    They  have  now  got  the  whole  of  it!" 

In  the  fall  of  1787,  Samuel  Gordon,  a  surveyor,  who  had  been  securing 
data  to  support  the  claims  of  Pennsylvania  in  its  boundary'  dispute  with  New 
York,  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  the  upper  .Susquehanna  region.  He  took 
occasion  to  write  Colonel  Denison,  of  the  Council,  the  following  information  he 
had  gathered  on  his  trip:* 

"Wilkesbarry,  24th  Nov'r,  17S7. 
"Sir, 

"In  my  ejjistle  to  you  whilst  you  were  in  Philadelphia  I  forgot  to  inform  you  of  a  certain 
Smith,  a  Scotchman,  long  visaged,  much  broke  with  the  small-pox;  who  I  take  to  be  one  of 
McKinstry  Beach  Levingston's  &  Co's.,  emissaries,  who  taking  me  to  be  of  a  like  turn  of  mind 
with  himself  informed  me  their  intention  was  not  to  ask  the  protection  of  any  State,  that  they 
ment  to  govern  themselves,  and  if  molested  protect  themselves  against  any,  or  all  the  states. 
If  they  found  themselves  unable  to  stand  against  the  States,  call  for  the  assistance  of  the  British, 
being  an  independent  people,  should  have  a  right  to  request  &  receive  the  Protection  of  any  state 
or  Power. 

"In  order  to  incourage  Settlers  to  come  into  their  country  &  settle,  I  see  a  writing  in  the 
hands  of  the  above  Smith  signed  by  McKinstry  &  Allen  signifying  that  Each  settler  should  have 
a  certain  Quantity  of  Land  gratis,  &c..  &c.,  Subtill  arguments  are  made  use  of  to  persuade  the 
people  to  repair  to  a  new  Countn,-  to  avoid  the  hea\'y  Taxes  their  new  masters  lay  on  them,  that 
they  would  be  much  easier  under  their  former  yoke. 

*■  "I  shall  not  trouble  j'ou  with  arguments  I  have  made  use  of  to  deswade  some,  who  I  think 

have  seen  their  error. 

"I  am  Sir,  your  most  obed't  Serv't, 

"Saml.  Gordon." 

It  would  prove  too  much  a  one-sided  argument  if  nothing  of  denial  to 
some  of  the  documents  in  the  hands  of  Pennsylvania  were  available.  The 
defense  of  Colonel  Franklin  probably  never  was  carefully  prepared,  owing  to  a 
fore-knowledge  on  the  part  of  his  counsel  that  the  weakness  of  the  prosecution,  as 
well  as  expediency,  would  never  permit  the  case  to  reach  actual  trial.  Absence 
of  documents  relating  to  such  defense  is,  therefore,  not  surprising.  Zerah  Beach 
was  one  of  those  named  bj^  Pennsylvania,  as  connected  with  the  new  .State.  He 
was  well  and  favorably  known  in  W}'oming,  hence  what  he  might  have  to  sav 
is  worthy  of  attention.  Shortly  after  Col.  John  Franklin's  arrest,  he  declared  him- 
self fully.  Moreover,  he  left  to  posterity,  the  terms  of  a  document  then  known, 
and  mentioned  previously  herein,  as  the  "Combination."  That  this  document 
was  frequently  confused  with  actual  references  to  a  new  State,  and  sometimes 
confounded  with  an  alleged  Constitution  itself,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

The  Hudson  Weekh'  Gazette,  published  at  Hudson,  X.  Y.,  under  date  of 
November  8,  1787,  carried  a  defense  of  Colonel  Franklin  and  his  party  over  the 
signature  of  Zerah  Beach  which,  in  part,  read  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  a  torrent  of  odium  is  drawn  on  the  people  of  Tioga,  Wyoming,  and  the  inter- 
vening settlements  on  the  Susquehanna,  occasioned  by  the  malicious  insinuations, 
and  false  representations  of  enemies  lurking  among  the  inhabitants  of  that  country,  who  have 
industriously  labored  to  brand  them  and  their  associates — to  wit.  the  .Susquehanna  Company — 
with  the  opprobrious  epithets  of  Disobedient,  Refractory  and  Rebellious;  insinuating  at  the  same 
time  that  they  were  entering  into  an  alliance  with  the  British  at  Niagara,  with  the  Tories.  Indians, 
and  others  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  British  government  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States; 
or  that  a  new  State  was  to  be  instituted — by  which  means  the  characters  and  properties  of  the 
settlers  and  their  as5ociates  have  sustained  repeated  injuries,  and  still  are  suffering  unjustly.  And 
whereas  the  above  representations  arc  entirely  contrary  to  the  ideas  and  intentions  of  the  people 
on  that  ground,  who  have  uniformly  declared  that  they  wanted  nothing  more  than  the  peaceable 
possession  of  their  i^roperties ;  but  was — as  there  is  great  reason  to  believe — done  by  the  internal 
enemies  of  that  Country,  who  have  been  bought  by  the  land-jobbers  of  Pennsylvania;  the  latter 
of  whom  would  wilhngly  use  every  exertion  in  their  power  to  root  out  the  Connecticut  settlers 
at  Wyoming,  and  who.  for  the  same  reason  are  ready  to  catch  at,  and  exaggerate  every  aspersion 
which  has  been  or  may  hereafter  be  levied  against  the  characters  of  those  individuals,  who  have 
taken  the  lead  in  the  affairs  of  that  settlement. 

"And  whereas  it  further  appears  that  the  influence  of  those  land-jobbers  has  furnished 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  with  a  pretext  to  exclaim  Treason.  Rebellion,  etc. — to  quell  which 
*See  "Pennsylvania  .\rchivei;."  XI  ;36I. 


1620 

the  settlement  is  now  threatened  with  an  armed  force,  the  bottom  of  which  machination  looks 
like  a  design  to  add  to  the  distresses  of  the  people  at  Wyoming.  Therefore,  to  prevent  these 
evils  in  future,  and  that  the  public  may  be  undeceived,  and  the  real  intentions  and  ideas  of  the 
settlers  and  their  associates  made  known,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  republish  the  following  Com- 
bination, viz:     (This  "Combination"  consists  of  a  Preamble  and  the  following): 

"Therefore,  we  hereby  jointly  and  severally  pledge  our  honours  and  all  our  properties, 
real  and  personal,  that  we  will  use  our  utmost  exertions  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  each 
other  in  the  possession  of  the  aforesaid  lands  against  all  invaders;  and  also  for  the  defence  of  all 
such  as  will  join  with  us  in  this  Combination;  and  that  we  will  unequivocally  adhere  to  everything 
comprized  in  the  above  declaration. 

"We  also  hereby  declare  to  the  public  that  we  will  lay  no  claim  to  lands  under  any  other 
title  but  that  of  the  Susquehanna  Company  in  the  before-mentioned  purchase. 

"The  foregoing  Combination*  was  drawn  at  Tioga  sometime  in  the  month  of  September 
last,  and  was  readily  signed  by  nearly  all  the  people  at  and  near  that  place;  and  from  repeated 
conversation  with  Col.  Franklin  on  the  subject  I  was  confident  that  it  would  meet  his  approbation. 
Therefore,  by  the  advice  of  Col.  McKinstry,  Capt.  Allen  and  others,  I  sent  it  on  to  him  at  Wyoming 
by  Mr.  Starkweather;  but  before  it  reached  that  place.  Col.  Pickering  was  taken  prisoner  to  Phila- 
delphia. I  have  since  been  at  Wyoming,  and  upon  exhibiting  the  Combination  was  happy  to 
find  that  it  was  generally  approved  of  by  the  people  in  that  settlement.  (Then  follows  state- 
ments and  arguments  as  to  the  rights  etc.,  of  the  Connecticut  people  and  theirs.) 

"Therefore  we  hope  and  believe  that  all  friends  to  the  distressed  settlers  in  that  disputed 
country  will  be  excited  to  point  out  and  publish  whatever  errors  they  may  discover  in  the  fore- 
going composition,  and  olTer  the  reasons,  if  any  there  be,  why  the  Susquehanna  Company  ought 
not  to  remain  in  the  peaceable  possession  of  the  whole  of  their  purchase;  And  if  nothing  shall 
appear  against  the  sentiments  herein  contained,  I  shall  consider  the  silence  of  the  public  as  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  righteousness  of  our  cause,  and  shall  expect,  the  ensuing  year,  that,  while 
we  demean  ourselves  as  good  citizens  of  the  State  claiming  jurisdiction  over  us,  we  shall  receive 
no  molestation  in  the  prosecution  of  our  lawful  business  in  that  country." 

With  the  above  presentation  of  the  gist  of  evidence  pro  and  con  which  seems 
available  on  the  subject  of  the  "State  of  Westmoreland",  the  reader  is  left  to 
his  own  conclusions.  While  Pennsylvania  never  had  possession  of  a  draft  of  the 
Constitution  itself,  it  was  a  well  measured  strategem  to  permit  the  Franklin 
Party  and  others  to  be  left  under  the  impression  that  it  had  such  evidence  ready 
for  use  in  emergency.  Were  Colonel  Franklin  tried,  there  would  be  disclosed  this 
lack  of  a  most  important  link  in  a  chain  to  incriminate  him.  Thus,  through  no 
effort  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the  chain  incomplete. 

That  whatever  evidence  was  in  the  hands  of  New  York  authorities  actually 
reached  the  Council,  may  be  learned  from  a  letter  from  Secretary  Biddle, 
dated  October  29,  I7SS,  addressed  to  Attorney  General  Bradford  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, stating:  "By  the  Sheriff  of  Luzerne  County,  we  are  forwarding  the  papers 
that  have  been  transmitted  by  the  Governor  and  Chief  Justice  of  New  York." 

The  Attorney  General  was  then  at  Easton,  from  which  point  he  advised  the 
Council  on  November  2nd,  that  "The  Judges  set  out  for  Luzerne  tomorrow. 
John  Franklin  went  forward  this  day  under  the  custody  of  Sheriff  Butler." 

*In  the  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  XI  :  194,  a  list  of  the  signatory  list  of  names  appended  to  the  Combination 
IS  given.  In  the  great  majority,  they  were  "Half  Share"  men  and  other  recent  arrivals  residing  in  the  upper  Susquehanna 
country.     The  list  follows: 

John  McKinstry,  Waterman  Baldwin,  Simon  Shepard, 

Zarach  Beach,  John  Spalding  James  Therinlon, 

Benjamin  Allen,  Joseph  Marshall.  Solemn  Bennett. 

Thomas  McClair,  Averv  Grove,  Joel  Thomas, 

Eldad  Kellog.  John  Cole,  Joseph  Thomas, 

Chester  Bmgham.  Simon  Spalding,  Joseph  F.  Thompson, 

Stephen  Fuller.  Abel  Maringer.  James  Fanning, 

Lebbeus  Hammond,  Thomas  Spalding.  John  O'Neal, 

Benjamm  Clark,  Abraham  Brohaw,  James  Dolson, 

Jeremiah  Skeer,  Samuel  Southard.  Stephen  Dolson, 

Joseph  Spalding,  Othriel  Campbell.  Jno.  Moorecraft. 

Joseph  Kenney,  Abraham  Spalding.  John  Kortwright, 

Samuel  Gore,  John  Garey,  Jacob  Collins, 

Peter  Douhou,  Thomas  Brown.  James  Witney, 

Jacob  Snelf,  Samuel  Bewellman.  Jacob  Kress, 

Christian  Kress,  Jon 'h  Harris,  Nathan  Herrington,  Jr., 

Nathan  Herrington.  Jon'h  Harris,  Jr.,  Moses  Depui 

Chomelius  McDanul,  Martin  Young,  Jacob  Herrington 

Nicholas  Depui,  Jr,  Walter  Walrue,  Prince  Bryant, 

Peregrine  Gardner,  Abm.  Minur,  John  Simpson,  Jr., 

John  Fuller,  Alexr.  Simpson,  Jr.,  John  Simpson, 

John  McClure.  Joseph  Tyler, 


1621 


Knowledge  of  the  approach  of  the  famous  prisoner,  no  less  than  the  im- 
pending arrival  of  the  august  Supreme  Court,  for  its  long  expected  first  session, 
was  a  matter  of  great  moment  to  the 
infant  County. 

It  is  narrated  that,  when  the  cav- 
alcade of  distinguished  jurists  neared 
the  Wyoming  valley,  a  delegation  of 
citizens  went  forward  to  receive  them. 
Reaching  "Prospect  Rock"  on  the 
western  face  of  Wilkes-Barre  moun- 
tain, the  visitors  (as  are  all  others  who 
catch  the  wonderful  vista  opening  be- 
fore them  from  that  vantage  point) 
were  charmed  into  silence.  Chief  Jus- 
tice McKean  was  first  to  break  the  spell 
by  declaring  "//  is  indeed  a  lovely 
spot — /  cease  to  wonder  that  it  has  so 
zealously  been  contended  for." 

The  Court  was  opened  in  due 
form  on  the  morning  of  November  4th, 
with  the  Chief  Justice  presiding.  With 
him  sat  another  distinguished  member 
of  the  Court,  Justice  Jacob  Rush. 
Edward    Burd,    Prothonotary  of  the 


Chief  Justice  Thom.is  McKeax 


Court,   had    accompanied  the  party  and   recorded   its   proceedings    in   a    most 
matter  of  fact  manner. 

Colonel  Franklin  was  the  first  offender  called.*  He  had  been  previously 
indicted  on  a  charge  of  high  treason  in  endeavoring  to  "subvert  the  Government 
and  to  erect  a  new  and  independent  State  in  the  room  and  stead  thereof."  He 
had  brought  counsel  with  him  from  Philadelphia  in  the  persons  of  the  Hon. 
Charles  Biddle  and  George  Clymer,  Esq.,  both  of  whom  were  distinguished  at 
the  bar  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  each  of  whom  had  held  office  high  in  its 
councils.  The  procedure  differed  but  little  from  the  ordinary.  Colonel  Franklin's 
counsel  moved  a  postponement  of  the  case  on  the  ground  that  important  witnesses 
for  their  client  were  not  present.     This  was  granted,  but  Colonel  Franklin  was 


+A  rtturn  of  Grand  Juro 

r^  summoned  for  the  Supre 

me  Court  to  attend  on  the  4th  No 

vember,  i78f'. 

Zebulon  Butler, 

Wilksborough, 

Farmer 

Matthias  Hollenback, 

Merchant 

\Vm.  Hooker  Smith. 

Farmer 

Benjamin  Carpenter, 

Kingston 

Nathan  Kingsley 

Wyalusing 

Lawrence  Myers, 

Kingston. 

Innkeeper 

Abel  Peirce 

Farmer 

Tohn  Hageman, 

Innkeeper 

\Vm.  Trucks. 

Farmer 

James  Sutton. 

Miller 

Thos.  Bennet, 

Farmer 

John  Allen, 

John  Dorrance. 

rohn  Hollenback. 

Wilksborough, 

Innkeeper 

Jesse  Fell. 

John  Paul  Schott. 

Jabez  Fish. 

Farmer 

John  Staples. 

Abraham  Westbrook. 

Benjamin  Bailev. 

Blacksmith 

Christopher  Hurlburt. 

Hanover. 

Farmer 

Jonah  Rodgers. 

Plymouth. 

Samuel  Allen. 

Robert  Faulkner. 

Miller 

All  of  the  foregoing  wer 

e  present  except  Kingsley  and  Rodgers;  Sutton  and  Fell  w 

re  affirmed,  and  the  oth 

sworn,  as  Grand  Jurors 

The  document  is  signed 

'A  True  return- 

-Lord  BuUer.  ShenfT.  ' 

1622 

again  remanded  to  jail  at  Easton  until  the  witnesses  could  be  secured,  or  the  case 
otherwise  disposed  of. 

Of  the  twentv-seven  indicted  for  direct  participation  in  the  abduction  of 
Colonel  Pickering,  or  concerned  as  accessories  to,  or  advisers  in,  the  abduction, 
nine  had  previously  plead  guilty  at  preliminary  hearings  and  had  been  brought 
up  from  Easton  for  sentence. 

In  the  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  pages  419,  420,  421  and  546,  are  printed 
the  records  of  conviction  of  six  abductors  actually  placed  on  trial  during  this 
session  of  the  Court.  The  six  were: — Joseph  Kilborn,  Darius  Parks,  Benjamin 
Abbott  and  Nathan  Abbott,  Jr.  Zebulon  Cady  and  young  Aaron  Kilborn  who 
was  the  "Hillman"  of  the  Miner  story  previously  mentioned.*  The  Abbotts  were 
each  fined  twenty  shillings,  Cady  was  given  a  jail  sentence  at  Wilkes-Barre  for 
three  months,  and  young  Kilborn,  perhaps  due  to  the  intercession  of  Colonel 
Pickering  in  his  behalf,  received  sentence  of  one  month  in  jail. 

Records  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  all  these  cases,  read  much  alike.     As  a 

matter  of  interest,  the  entry  made  in  the  trial  of  Kilborn  and  Parks  is  given  below  :t 

"I  certify  that  at  a  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and  General  Gaol  Delivery  held  at  Wilkes- 
borough  for  the  County  of  Luzerne  the  fourth  day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  eighty  eight,  before  the  Honorable  Thomas  McKean.  Esquire,  Doctor 
of  Laws.  Chief  Justice,  and  the  Honorable  Jacob  Rush  Esquire,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  Joseph  Kilborne  and  Darius  Parks  of  Luzerne 
County,  Yeomen,  were  indicted  tried  and  convicted  by  a  Jury  of  the  Country,  for  that  they 
together  with  a  number  of  others,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  June,  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-eight,  at  Wilkesborough  in  the  said  County,  with  force  and 
Arms,  to  wit,  with  Guns,  Knives,  and  Tomahawks,  unlaw-fully,  rioutously  and  routously  did 
assemble  and  gather  themselves  together  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  said  Commonwealth,  and 
so  being  assembled  and  gathered  in  and  upon  Timothy  Pickering,  Esquire,  (then  and  still  being 
Prothonotary  of  the  Court  of  common  pleas,  holden  in  and  for  the  said  County,  Register  for  the 
probate  of  wills  and  granting  Letters  of  Administration  and  Recorder  of  Deeds  in  and  for  the 
County  aforesaid,  and  one  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  Commonwealth  for  ascer- 
taining the  Claims  of  the  Connecticut  claimants  to  lands  in  the  said  County),  and  the  peace  of 
God  and  of  the  Commonwealth  aforesaid  then  and  there  being  unlawfully,  riotously,  &  routously 
did  make  an  Assault  on  him,  the  said  Timothy,  then  and  there  unlawfully,  rioutously,  &  routously 
did  beat  &  ill  treat  him  the  said  Timothy  Pickering  Esquire,  and  then  and  there  did  unlawfully 
rioutously  &  routously  bind  with  cords,  imprison  &  of  his  natural  Liberty,  deprive,  and  him  the 
said  Timothy  Pickering,  Esquire,  so  bound  as  aforesaid,  with  force  and  Arms,  &c.,  unlawfully, 
riotously  &  routously  and  against  the  will  of  the  said  Timothy,  did  take  and  convey  away  into 
lone  &  desert  places  in  the  said  County,  and  him  the  said  Timothy  Pickering,  Esquire  in  the 
said  lone  and  desert  places  from  the  day  aforesaid  until  the  fifteenth  day  of  July  in  the  same  year, 
bound  with  Chains  and  exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  unlawfully  rioutously  and 
routously  did  keep,  imprison  &  detain,  with  a  seditious  intention  to  compell  and  procure  the 
discharge  and  Release  from  Gaol  of  one  John  Franklin,  then  lately  before  arrested,  &  committed 
to  the  Gaol  &  County  of  Philadelphia  charged  with  High  Treason  against  this  Commonwealth 
&  committed  for  the  same — to  the  great  damage  of  the  said  Timothy  Pickering,  Esquire,  to  the 
evil  Example  of  all  others  in  the  like  Case  offending  and  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  Whereupon  it  was  considered  by  the  said  Justices,  that  the 
said  Jos-ph  Kilborn  should  pay  a  fine  of  one  hundred  Dollars  to  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Costs 
of  Prosecution  and  be  committed  to  the  common  Gaol  of  Luzerne  County  for  the  space  of  six 
calendar  months,  that  is  'till  the  sixth  day  of  May  next,  and  that  Darius  Parks  pay  a  fine  of  fifty 
dollars  to  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  costs  of  Prosecution,  and  in  the  meantime 
remain  in  the  Sheriff's  Custody. 

"Edw.  Burd,  prot.  Supr.  Court." 

Not  more  than  half  of  those  indicted  at  the  previous  session  of  the  Grand 

Jury  seem  to  have  been  tried  or  sentenced  at  this  time,  unless  records  of  the 

Court  are  incomplete. J    That  they  are,  is  evidenced  by  a  letter  dated  November 

15,  1788,  and  now  among  the  "Pickering  Papers",  which  states  that  Stephen 

*.\  letter  written  subsequently  to  the  trial  by  Colonel  Pickering  to  President  Muhlenburg,  speaks  of  the  lad  as 
follows 

"Aaron  Kilborn  is  a  lad  of  about  15  years  old.  He  joined  the  armed  party  after  I  was  taken — has  been  indicted . 
&  pleaded  guilty.  The  manner  of  his  being  apprehended  (which  was  about"  the  15th  of  August)  is  certified  by  Doctor 
Smith." 

tSee  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  XI  :419. 

tWhat  apparently  were  summaries  of  the  testimony  of  various  witnesses  delivered  at  this  session  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  were  found  among  papers  relating  to  the  trial  at  Wilkes-Barre,  are  collected  on  page  358  of  the  "Pennsylva- 


1623 

Jenkins  and  Thomas  Kinney  were  convicted  at  the  same  time,  the  former  re- 
ceiving a  sentence  of  six  months  in  jail. 

In  Miner's  account  of  the  matter,  (page  438)  which  he  obtained  from 
some  of  those  concerned,  is  narrated  that  three  were  tried  and  acquitted. 

'"A  fine  of  20  shillings,  and  six  months  imprisonment  was  imposed  on  four  of  them'  con- 
tinues Miner,  'fifty  dollars  without  imprisonment  on  another.  Those  who  submitted  to  the  Court 
[plead  guilty]  were  fined  each  $100.'  Of  the  'poor  creatures'  imprisoned,  all  escaped,  that  is 
went  home  without  let  or  hindrance  immediately  after  Court  adjourned.  Stephen  Jenkins  alone 
remained,  who  would  not  go.  It  cannot  have  escaped  the  sagacity  of  the  reader  that,  with  all 
the  hardships  of  epithet  used  by  Col.  Pickering,  he  was  at  once  too  politic,  too  placable,  far  too 
noble  minded,  to  desire  that  the  rioters  should  suflfer,  and  doubtless  connived  at  their  escape. 
We  believe  that  none  of  the  fines  were  ever  collected.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Johnson,  could  not  or  would  not  suppress  the  ebulition  of  his  Yankee  ire,  at  the  course  of  the 
proceedings.     He  made  the  pulpit  echo  with  his  soul  stirring  appeals. 

'  So  open  were  the  denunciations  of  the  pious  old  man,  that  he  was  arrested,  called  before 
McKcan  and  oblidged  to  find  security  for  his  peaceable  behavior." 

Determining  who  should  be  paid  the  awards  offered  in  the  Proclamation 

issued  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  seems  to  have  given  trouble,  not  alone 

to  Colonel  Pickering,  who  drew  up  his  opinion  on  the  subject  and  forwarded  it, 

but  to  that  body  itself.    The  Council  appointed  a  committee  of  its  members  to 

investigate  many  conflicting  claims  which  had  been  presented,  not  only  in  the 

Pickering  report,  but  from  other  sources.    On  November  25,  1788,  this  committee 

made  the  following  recommendations  to  the  Council  as  to  these  claims: 

"The  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  letter  of  Col.  Pickering,  Bearing  Date,  Novbr. 
l.Sth.  178S,  relating  to  the  reward  for  apprehending  the  rioters  at  Wyomini  in  pursuance  of  a 
proclamation  of  the  eighth  day  of  July  last,  Reports: 

"Aaron  Kilborn  being  taken  by  a  Constable  on  a  Justices  Warrant  on  his  way  to  give  himself 
up  to  be  tryed  for  an  Offence  said  to  be  committed  in  taking  Col.  Pickering.  The  person  who 
apjjrehended  him  is  entitled  to  no  reward,  only  the  fees  due  him  for  Executing  the  Magistrates' 
Warrant. 

"Zebulon  Cady  taken  by  Squire  Smith's  two  sons,  is  justly  entitled  to  the  reward  named 
in  the  Proclamation. 

"Stephen  Jenkins,  convicted,  and  the  reward  to  be  paid  to  the  party  who  first  took  him ; 
he  being  on  parole  when  the  second  party  apprehended  him. 

nia  Archives."     They  are  not  dated,  but  are  written  in  the  hand  of  Prothonotary  Burd,  although  not  signed   by  him. 

They  read  as  follows: 

"The  evidence  of  Jotl  Whrlcomb. 

"The  s'd  Joel  testifys  that  one  ."Varon  Kilbourn  told  him  to  tell  Mr.  Keeney  (the  Prisoner.)  that  he  must  come  down 
to  Captain  Dudley's,  for  the  Troops  were  coming  up,  and  if  the  Troops  should  not  be  at  Mishoping  to  go  down  as  far 
as  Tankhannak,  This  same  information,  by  special  direction  he  gave  to  Garret  Smith,  who  replied  that  he  hurt  his 
arm  and  could  not  very  well  go.  The  said  Witcomb  further  testifies,  that  in  the  afternoon  (on  the  same  day.)  he  was 
at  Dudley's  Mill  and  saw  a  Number  of  the  Rioters  there,  among  whom  were  Daniel  Solomon  &  Benjamin  Earle.  Gideon 
&  Joseph  Dudiey,  David  Woodward  and  some  others  whom  he  knew  not.  In  general  they  observed  that  they  must 
have  s'd  Keeney  &  said  Smith  along  with  them.  He  further  says  that  a  bag  of  flower  was  taken  out  of  a  Canoe  and 
carried  to  Mr.  Kilbourn  (the  Prisoner's  house.)  to  be  baked  for  the  Rioters.  He  further  heard  them  say  after  the  Troop  s 
had  come  up  the  River  that  they  had  fired  on  them  and  would  again  when  opportunity  offer'd." 
■'ilr.  Keeney,  [Kiiinev]  the  Prisoner. 

"Says  that  he  has  been  seen  under  arms  he  supposes  since  the  taking  of  Colo.  Pickering,  but  his  Reasons  for  it  were 
these.  Wanting  some  tobacco  and  Cabbage  Plants  and  hearing  of  none  nearer  than  Mr.  Parke's  he  took  his  Canoe  and 
arms  went  after  the  plants  with  an  intention,  (after  getting  them,)  to  hunt  up  Mahooponer  Creek.  He  saw  the  Rioters 
and  says  that  those  mentioned  by  the  above  witness  were  among  them.  He  wholly  denies  of  ever  joining  them  or  in 
the  least  countenancing  their  imprudent  plan.  Captain  Dudley  and  Mr  Kilburn.  meaning  the  Prisoners  did  countenance 
the  proceedings." 
"Elijah  Reynolds,  Prisoner. 

"Says  that  he  saw  some  grain  in  bags  carried  to  the  Rioters  from  Mr.  Tyler's  house  by  one  of  Mr.  Kilboum's  boys, 
but  denies  of  ever  having  aided,  or  in  the  least  assisted  the  Rioters.     He  knew  nothing  of  the  plan  of  taking  Colo,  P.. 
untill  informed  by  'Tyler's  family.     The  Rioters  informed  of  nothing  what  their  designs  were,  but  he  imagined,  altho 
they  said,  when  they  began  their  march  that  they  w^ere  going  a  hunting,  their  designs  were  to  take  Colo.  P." 
"Joseph  Earl.  Prisoner. 

"Says  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  plan  of  taking  Colo.  P..  until  it  was  accompUshed;  at  the  time  his  Sons  and  others 
went  down  the  River  he  was  returning  from  Wilkesbarre  home     On  his  arrival  he  found  his  wife  in  tears,  and  upon 

requesting  the  cause,  she  said  the  Boys  were  gone  to  take  Col.  P. and  a  little  time  afterwards,  they  returned 

to  his  house  &  Colo.  P.  a  Prisoner  with  them.     They  all  tarried  a  while  at  his  house;  and  towards  evening  Colo.  P. 
was  taken  across  the  River.     His  three  Sons,  two  Dudleys  and  Hyd  carried  him  over." 
'  Ephraim  Tyler,  Prisoner,  issuing  Commissary, 

"Says  that  the  Rioters  had  of  him  eighteen  pounds  of  Pork,  but  denies  that  he  ever  was  privy  to  the  plan  of  taking 
Colo,  P." 
"Martin  Dudley,  Prisoner. 

"Says  that  he  was  intu-ely  ignorant  of  the  design  and  plan  of  taking  Colo.  P until  after  it  was  accomplished. 

He  has  uniformly  advised  his  Sons  since  and  others  concern'd,  to  release  Colo.  P.  and  submit  themselves  to  law." 
"Joseph  Kilbourn,  Prisoner. 

"SSays  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  plan  of  taking  Colo.   P .  but  advised  his  son  not  to  be  one  of  the  Party. 

(Mark  the  contradiction.)  He  says  that  John  Hyde  was  at  his  house  last  Sunday,  going  as  he  supposed  to  the  Point 
upon  business.  He  confesses  that  his  family  baked  bread,  which  he  supposed  went  to  the  use  of  the  Rioters.  On  the 
whole  he  confessed  himself  to  have  been  under  a  false  delusion  and  privy  to  all  that  has  taken  place.  Informed  was 
he  (as  he  confesses,)  that  a  step  of  the  kind  would  meet  the  approbation  of  the  County  at  large,  but  finds  now  that  he 
has  been  deceived,  and  he  believes  other  Persons  concerned  are  not  less  sensible  of  it." 


1624 

"Darius  Parks,  taken  on  a  Justices  Warrant  on  a  Common  suit  at  Law,  it  is  the  Committees 
Opinion,  no  reward  should  be  paid  for  him. 

"Joseph  Killbom,  tried  and  convicted,  those  who  took  him  Intitled  to  the  reward  of  100 
Dollars. 

"Thomas  Kinney,  the  reward  for  taking  him,  said  to  be  paid. 

"It  appears  to  your  Committee  that  £l  12/lOwaspaid  to  Captain  Ross  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember last,  and  upon  the  26th  of  Do.,  there  was  an  order  drawn  for  £75,  to  be  paid  by  Captn. 
Ross  to  the  several  persons  concerned  in  apprehending  the  Rioters,  which  is  to  be  accounted  for." 

Stephen  Jenkins,  as  related  by  Miner,  seems  to  have  had  conscientious 
objections  against  leaving  the  rough  log  jail  which  adjoined  a  larger  building, 
used  as  a  Court  House,  on  the  Public  Square  of  Wilkes-Barre.  Remaining  there 
until  January  24,  1789,  he  sought  to  be  released  by  due  authority  and  to  that 
end  addressed  the  following  letter,  which  shortly  thereafter  secured  the  desired 
pardon  :* 

"To  his  Excellency  the  President  and  the  Honorable  the  Supreme  Executive  Council, 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 

"The  Petition  of  Steven  Jenkins,  a  distressed  languishing  Prisoner  in  the  Jaol  of  the  County 
of  Luzerne,  most  humbly  showeth, 

"That  your  Petitioner  since  the  month  of  November  last,  has  been  confined  within  the 
walls  of  this  cold  and  uncomfortable  Prison,  conformably  to  a  decree  made,  and  passed  by  the 
Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and  General  Jaol  delivery,  in  the  month  and  County  aforesaid 
on  conviction  of  a  Riot,  assault  and  Battery,  and  false  imprisonment  of  the  Person  of  Timothy 
Pickering,  Esquire. 

"Soon  after  which  sentence  your  Petitioner,  (with  others  under  like  circumstances)  presented 
his  prayer  to  your  consideration  desiring  the  interposition  of  Council  in  remitting  all  or  such  part 
of  your  Petitioner's  sentence  as  to  your  honorable  Board  should  seem  proper,  But  your  Petitioner 
has  found  no  relief. — He  is  still  confined  and  wasting  a  constitution  which  he  wishes  to  preserve 
for  the  use  and  support  of  a  large  and  helpless  family. 

"These  with  other  motives  excite  your  Petitioner,  however  unsuccessful  he  was  in  his  former 
Petition  to  address  your  honorable  Board  again  for  reUef  in  the  premises. 

"Your  Petitioner  as  he  stated  in  his  former  Petition,  was  so  early  apprehended  in  the  last 
season  on  suspicion  of  aiding  the  Riot,  that  he  had  no  time  in  which  he  could  make  any  provision 
for  his  familys  subsistance,  either  for  this  winter  or  the  ensuing  summer,  in  consequence  of  which 
they  are  in  uncomfortable  circumstances. 

"Your  Petitioner  would  further  suggest  that  should  he  be  obUged  to  languish  out  the  six 
months  in  confinement,  in  obedience  to  the  sentence  of  Court,  that  the  spring  season  will  be  so 
far  elapsed  as  to  preclude  the  possibiUty  of  his  making  any  arrangements  that  might  be  con- 
ducive to  his  own  or  his  familys  convenience. 

"Your  Petitioner  would  beg  leave  further  to  observe,  that  before  the  date  of  the  proclamation 
offering  a  reward  to  those  who  should  secure  any  Person  in  the  Riot  concerned — he  was  in  the 
custody  of  the  authority  and  was  assured  by  the  same,  on  his  pledging  his  honor  that  he  would 
come  any  time  at  their  desire,  that  he  never  should  be  harrassed  with  men  under  arms,  or  be 
brought  from  his  family  by  the  force  of  the  same — Consequently  he  remained  at  home  on  his 
parole  until  a  party  by  the  authority  of  the  proclamation,  brought  him  down  and  confined  him 
in  the  Jaol  aforesaid.  Upon  Councils  conviction  of  the  truth  of  this,  your  Petitioner  thinks 
those  who  make  pretensions  to  the  reward  are  not  entitled  to  it,  nor  are  Council  obhged  to  give 
it  them.  This  being  tried,  your  Petitioner  most  earnestly  implores  the  mercy  of  Council  in  re- 
mitting the  fine  as  also  the  confinement.  Thoroughly  convinced  that  the  end  of  punishments  is 
to  reclaim,  and  that  it  is  not  the  wishes  of  those  in  power,  to  continue  severity  when  this  end  is 
answered — your  Petitioner  with  humble  confidence  flatters  himself  after  taking  into  consideration 
his  truly  deplorable  condition  and  his  sincere  penitence  of  the  crime  for  which  he  stands  committed, 
that  Council  will  rigidly  extend  relief  to  him  in  the  premises. 

"And  as  in  duty  bound, 

your  Petitioner  will  ever  Pray, 

"Stephen  Jenkins." 
"Wilkesbarre  Jaol,  Jany.  24th,  1789. 

The  business  of  the  Supreme  Court  having  been  finished  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
the  jurists  and  their  retainers  returned  by  leisurely  stages  to  Philadelphia.  Colonel 
Franklin  appears  to  have  been  given  nearly  two  weeks  at  his  disposal  in  Wyoming, 
before  his  departure  for  Easton,  pursuant  to  sentence  of  the  Court.  There  was 
no  jail  worth}'  the  name  at  the  Luzerne  County  seat,  hence  Colonel  Franklin,  on 
parole,  mingled  with  his  friends  and  went  about  his  affairs  under  nominal  super- 
vision. On  November  15,  1788,  Captain  Ross  had  recovered  sufficiently  from 
his  wound  to  be  delegated  the  task  of  accompanying  Colonel  Franklin  to  his 

*S€e  "Pennsylvania  .Archives."  XI:  5 


1625 


place  of  confinement,  and  then  proceeding  from  Easton  on  to  Philadelphia,  where 

his  friends  hoped  he  was  to  merit  something  at  the  hands  of  the  Council. 

Colonel  Pickering  started   them  both  off  with  the  following  letter  to  the 

President  at  Philadelphia.* 

"Wilkesbarre,  Nov.  15,  1788." 

"This  will  be  presented  to  your  Excellency  by  Capt.  Ross.  He  takes  with  him,  Jno.  Franklin 
to  deliver  to  the  Shff.  of  Northampton  County  after  which  he  proposes  to  go  to  Phila.  Zebn. 
Cady,  another  of  the  rioters  and  a  notorious  villain,  was  seized  by  two  sons  of  Esq.  Smith  and  Mr. 
Oehmig  during  the  sitting  of  the  Ct.  of  O.  &  T.  before  which  he  was  brought.  His  captors  broke 
open  his  house  in  the  night,  and  took  him  with  his  arms  in  his  hands,  standing  upon  his  defense. 
The  Atty.  Genl.  said  he  would  write  to  Council  to  propose  the  revocation  of  the  Proclamation. 
I  wish  that  the  revocation  may  be  soon  published  here,  for  I  am  apprehensive  of  collusion  between 
the  remainder  of  the  rioters  and  their  friends  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  rewards.  It  would 
seem  to  me  expedient  to  except  John  Jenkins  from  the  revocation,  but  to  reduce  the  reward  to 
SIOO.  or  even  to  S50.  This  man  was  a  prime  instigator  of  the  plot,  and  has  gone  hand  in  hand 
with  Franklin,  altho  the  County  Jury  did  not  find  evidence  to  indict  him  of  high  treason.  He  has 
been  indicted  of  the  riot  on  the  clearest  evidence,  and  the  continuance  of  the  offer  of  a  reward 
will  either  insure  the  taking  him,  or  keep  him  in  York  State,  where  he  now  is,  and  where,  for 
the  good  of  this  settlement,  it  might  be  well  if  he  shd.  ever  remain." 

In  another  letter,  Colonel  Pickering  informs  the  Council  that : 

"Capt.  \Vm.  Ross  is  in  town  [Philadelphia]  and  has  been  waiting  since  Friday  for  an  op- 
portunity of  presenting  orders  for  the  rewards  offered  for  apprehending  the  rioters.  Ira  Manvil 
and  Benedict  Satterlee  were  2  of  the  15  men  present  at  the  taking  me  off. 

"Captain  Ross,  since  the  1st  introduction  of  the  laws  of  this  State  into  the  County  of  Luzerne, 
has  manifested  a  uniform  zeal  to  support  the  Govt,  of  Penna..  and  a  readiness  to  expose  himself 
to  any  hazards  which  the  welfare  of  the  State  could  demand  of  a  spirited  and  faithful  citizen. 

"Besides  the  loss  of  time  occasioned  by  the  wounds  he  reed,  in  pursuing  the  offenders,  he 
has  incurred  an  expense  of  upwards  of  £11,  which  his  surgeons  have  chgd.  for  their  attendance 
on  him.  He,  by  these  wounds,  is  probably  rendered  an  invalid  for  life.  It  would  seem  to  merit 
the  consideration  of  Council  whether  a  reward  should  not  be  given  him,  not  only  as  due  for  his 
exertions  and  consequent  sufferings,  but  as  an  exemplary  encouragement  to  other  spirited  and 
faithful  citizens  to  engage  in  hazardous 
enterprises  when  the  peace  and  welfare 
of  the  State  shall  demand  it." 

Captain  Ross  appears  to 
have  concluded  his  business  with 
the  Council  satisfactorily.  In 
fact,  that  body  established  a 
precedent  in  his  favor,  apparent 
from  the  following  resolution  :t 

23rd.  Sept.,  1788. 
"Resolved  that  Council  enter- 
tain a  just  sense  of  the  good  conduct  of 
Capt.  Wm.  Ross,  and  the  officers  and 
privates  under  his  command,  in  oppos- 
ing the  late  rioters  in  the  County  of 
Luzerne,  and  endeavoring  to  restore 
order  and  good  government  in  the  said 
County.  Resolved,  that  the  Secretary 
be  directed  to  procure  a  sword,  at  the 
expense  of  the  members  now  present 
[Peter  Muhlenberg,  V.  Pres.,  and  12 
members,  including  N.  Denison,  pres- 
ent] and  present  the  same  to  Capt. 
Wm.  Ross,  as  a  mark  of  the  favorable 
opinion  this  Council  entertain  of  his 
merit,  and  that  the  following  inscrip- 
tion be  engraved  on  it: — 'Captain 
William  Ross,  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council  present  this  mark  of  their  ap- 
probation, acquired  July  the  fourth, 
1788,  by  your  laudable  firmness  in  sup- 
port of  the  Commonwealth.'  " 

Moreover,  two  days  later,  the  Council  turned  over  to  Captain  Ross,  who 

was  about  to  return  to  Wilkes-Barre,    the   sum  of  One  Hundred  and  Twelve 


Gex.  Wii.li.vm  Ross 


*See  "Pennsylvania  Archii 


XI: 424.         tSee  "Colonial  Records,"  XV  :  543. 


1626 

Pounds,  twelve  shillings,  to  be  divided  among  the  captors  of  the  Pickering 
abductors  as  follows: 

"SI 00  to  Capt.  Church  and  his  party  for  apprehending  Benjamin  Earl;  $100  to  Capt. 
Ross  and  his  party  for  Thomas  Kinney;  $100  to  Capt.  Rosewell  Franklin  for  Jos.  Dudley. 
Seventy-five  pounds  was  ordered  also  to  be  paid  to  Captain  Ross  for  the  apprehending  Ira  Man- 
vil  and  Benedict  Satterlee — Ross  to  pay  same  to  the  proper  parties." 

What  remains  to  be  told  of  the  Pickering  episode,  may  be  summarized  by 
a  brief  which,  like  the  final  rejoinder  of  counsel  in  an  important  cause,  is  left 
to  command  the  mature  and  unhurried  consideration  of  the  jurist  whose  decision 
must  follow.  It  is  called  "The  Sequel"  and  concluded  the  narrative  of  events 
at  Wyoming  which  Colonel  Pickering  wrote  for  his  son  in  the  year  1818.  The 
bias  that  must  have  been  his,  in  the  narrow  theatre  of  local  affairs,  has  given 
place  to  a  breadth  of  vision  to  be  expected  of  a  man  who  afterward  succes- 
sively served  his  country  as  Post  Master  General,  Secretary  of  War,  Secretary 
of  State  and  Senator  from  Massachusetts. 

No  longer  harrassed  by  that  fate  which  led  him  to  spend  some  of  the 
Stormiest  years  of  his  life  at  Wyoming,  Col.  Timothy  Pickering  throws  the 
mantle  of  charity  over  events  as  he  saw  them  in  perspective.  That  it  was  an 
important  era  in  the  development  of  his  character,  no  one  may  doubt.  That 
he  left  an  impress  of  this  character  upon  his  .contemporaries  at  Wyoming,  no  less 
than  he  was  moulded  in  appreciable  measure  by  the  sturd}-,  rugged  calibre  of  the 
settlers  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  there  can  be  no  question.  All  of  which 
may  be  gathered  from  a  careful  perusal  of  "The  Sequel:" 

"Without  waiting  the  result  of  their  petition  to  the  Executive  Council,  most  of  the  actual 
perpetrators  of  the  outrage  upon  me  fled  to  the  northward,  to  escape  into  the  State  of  New  York. 
On  their  way  as  they  reached  Wysock's  Creek,  they  encountered  a  party  of  militia  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Rosewell  Franklin,  and  exchanged  some  shots.  Joseph  Dudley  was  very 
badly  wounded.  The  others  escaped.  Dudley  was  put  into  a  canoe,  and  brought  down  to  Wilkes- 
barre,  a  distance  of  perhaps  sixty  or  seventy  miles.  The  doctor  who  was  sent  for  had  no  medicine. 
I  had  a  small  box  of  medicines  which  had  been  put  up  under  the  care  of  my  good  friend  Doctor 
Rush.  Of  these,  upon  the  application  of  the  physician,  I  furnished  all  he  desired.  But  Dudley 
survived  only  two  or  three  days.  On  his  death,  his  friends  sent  to  your  mother  to  beg  a  winding 
sheet,  which  she  gave  them. 

"In  the  autumn,  a  court  of  oyer  and  terminer  was  held  at  Wilkesbarre,  by  M'Kean,  Chief 
Justice,  and  Judge  Rush.  A  number  of  the  villains  had  been  arrested;  were  tried  and  convicted; 
fined  and  imprisoned  in  different  sums,  and  for  different  lengths  of  time,  according  to  the  aggra- 
vations of  their  offence.  The  poor  creatures  had  no  money  to  pay  their  fines,  and  the  new  jail 
at  Wilkesbarre  was  so  insufficient,  that  all  of  them  made  their  escape,  excepting  Stephen  Jenkins, 
brother  to  Major  John  Jenkins.  Stephen  was  not  in  arms  with  the  party;  but  was  concerned 
in  the  plot.  He  might  have  escaped  from  jail  with  the  others,  but  chose  to  stay;  and  in  consequence 
received  a  pardon,  after  about  two  months  confinement. 

"The  fate  of  Captain  Rosewell  Franklin,  a  worthy  man  whom  I  have  mentioned  on  the 
preceding  page,  I  sincerely  commiserated.  Wearied  with  the  disorders  and  uncertain  state  of 
things  at  Wyoming,  he  removed  with  his  family  into  the  State  of  New  York  and  sat  down  on 
a  piece  of  land  to  which  he  had  no  title.  Others  had  done  the  same.  The  country  was  new,  and 
without  inhabitants.  They  cleared  land  and  raised  crops,  to  subsist  their  families  and  stock. 
In  two  or  three  years,  when  all  their  crops  were  harvested,  their  hay  and  grain  in  stack,  and  they 
anticipated  passing  the  approaching  winter  comfortably.  Governor  George  Clinton  sent  orders 
to  the  sheriff  of  the  nearest  county,  to  raise  the  militia,  and  to  drive  off  the  untitled  occupants. 
These  orders  were  as  severely  as  promptly  executed ;  and  the  houses  and  crops  all  burnt.  Reduced 
to  despair.  Captain  Franklin  shot  himself.     This,  as  well  as  I  recollect,  was  in  the  autumn  of  1792. 

"Governor  Clinton  was  distinguished  for  energy  of  character.  Had  like  prompt  and  de- 
cisive measures  been  taken  at  the  beginning,  with  the  Connecticut  settlers  at  Wyoming,  it  would 
have  been  happy  for  them  and  for  Pennsylvania;  the  actual  sufferers  would  have  been  few  in 
number;  but  the  unstable,  and  generally  feeble,  measures  of  that  government,  instead  of  intimi- 
dating, rather  encouraged  hardy  men,  destitute  of  property,  to  become  intruders;  and  thus, 
eventually,  a  great  many  families  were  involved  in  calamities 

"John  Franklin,  so  often  mentioned,  having  been  indicted  on  the  charge  of  treason,  for 
which  he  had  been  arrested,  remained  a  good  while  in  jail.  At  length,  he  was  liberated  on  giving 
bonds,  with  a  large  penalty.  And,  finally,  all  opposition  to  the  government  in  Luzerne  County 
ceasing,  he  was  fully  discharged.  The  people  of  the  county  afterwards  chose  him  to  represent 
them  in  the  State  legislature,  where,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  he  sat,  I  believe,  for  several 
years.  During  this  period,  chance,  once  or  twice,  threw  him  in  my  way.  He  was  very  civil,  and 
I  returned  his  civilities." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  FIRST  COURT  HOUSE  OF  LIZERNE  COUNTY— SOME  UNUSUAL  CASES  TRIED 
—THE  MILITIA  PROBLEM  — EARLY  ROADS— INFANT  INDUSTRIES— THE 
NEW   CONSTITUTION   OF  PENNSYLVANIA  — COLONEL   PICKERING'S 
CONFERENCE  WITH  THE  SIX  NATIONS  — HE  BECOMES  POST 
MASTER  GENERAL  — EARLY  AGRICULTURAL   DIFFICUL- 
TIES—PARDON   OF    COL.   JOHN  FRANKLIN  — TWO 
HEROIC    FIGURES    LEAVE   WYOMING   NEVER 
TO  RETURN. 


'No  man  e'er  felt  the  halter  draw 
With  good  opinion  of  the  law." 

Trumbull. 


'How  calm,  how  beautiful  comes  on 
The  stilly  hour,  when  storms  are  gone." 

Moore. 


'He  loved  the  twilight  that  surrounds 
The  border  land  of  old  romance ; 
Where  glitter  hauberk,  helm,  and  lance. 
And  banner  waves,  and  trumpet  sounds, 
-And  ladies  ride  with  hawk  in  wrist, 
.And  mighty  warriors  sweep  along. 
Magnified  by  the  purple  mist. 
The  dust  of  centuries  and  of  song." 

Longfellow 


Events  concerned  with  the  forttmes  of  the  two  antagonistic  leaders  of  the 
Countv  of  Luzerne  held  the  stage  and  engaged  the  sentiments  of  residents  of 
Wyoming,  until  the  close  of  the  year  1788.  Other  activities  however,  are  evi- 
denced then,  and  in  years  immediately  ensuing,  in  meager  records  of  the  time 
still  available  to  the  historian. 

The  first  Court  of  the  newly  erected  Coimty  of  Luzerne,  as  has  been  noted, 
was  held  in  the  fall  of  1787,  in  the  home  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler.  The  necessity 
of  another  and  more  suitable  building  for  this,  as  well  as  other  public  purposes, 
then  became  apparent. 

An  Act  of  Assembly,  erecting  Luzerne  County,  named  Zebulon  Butler,  Jonah 
Rogers,  Simon  Spalding,  Nathaniel  Landon  and  John  Phillips,  as  trustees  to 
locate  and  erect  a  Court  House  and  Jail.     The  earliest  record  of  activity  shows 


1628 

that  the  settlers  were  divided  on  the  location  of  the  necessary  buildings.    Among 

the  "Butler  Papers"  now  a  part  of  the  collection  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 

and  Geological  Society,  is  a  letter  to  Colonel  Butler,  dated  July  30,  1787,  signed 

by  Simon  Spalding,  as  follows : 

"I  was  appointed  with  you  and  some  other  gentlemen,  a  trustee  to  appoint  some  suitable 
place  for  a  court  house  and  goal  in  the  District  of  Wilkesborough.  Some  persons  are  of  the  opinion 
that  a  most  suitable  place  is  in  the  District  of  Kingston.  But  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  by  Act 
of  Assembly  we,  the  trustees,  have  no  right  to  prefix  any  other  place  but  Wilkesborough." 

There  stood  on  the  Square,  at  the  time  of  this  letter,  two  log  buildings, 
which  were  a  part  of  Fort  Wilkes-Barre,  erected  in  1778.  Other  evidences  of 
the  fort  had  largely  disappeared,  most  of  the  buildings  having  been  burned 
after  the  Battle  of  Wyoming,  but  the  thrifty  Connecticut  people  had  main- 
tained these  in  some  repair  and  had  used  them  as  a  Court  House,  Town  Meeting 
place  and  Jail  in  the  transitory  period  of  Wyoming  affairs.  The  same  site  having 
been  selected  as  most  suitable  for  the  new  structures,   the  old  buildings  were 


It  It  1  If  f^ 


The  First  Luzerne  County  Court  House. 

It  was  completed  in  1791  and  later  became,  in  part,  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy. 

demolished,  the  last  traces  of  the  fort  removed  and  construction  was  begun  in 
1788,  on  a  modest  structure  of  hewn  logs,  the  lower  floor  of  which  was  intended 
for  jail  purposes  and  the  upper  chamber  as  a  Court  room.  The  building  itself 
was  about  twenty-four  by  thirty  feet  in  dimensions,  as  can  be  gathered  from  the 
appended  drawing,  made  in  1804,  when  the  building  was  moved  to  another  part 
of  the  Square  and  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy. 

Court  houses,  jails  and  other  public  structures,  however,  are  not  built  in  a 
day,  as  later  generations  can  testify,  and  thus  we  find  from  the  same  "Butler 
Papers",  that  the  process  of  actual  construction  occupied  somewhat  more  than 
three  years.  First,  in  chronological  arrangement  is  an  order  for  labor,  in  the 
handwriting  of  Colonel  Butler  as  follows: 

"Sir:  Please  to  pay  or  discount  12  shillings  of  the  County  taxes  to  Mr.  Henry  Harding 
for  labor  done  at  the  Court  House  by  Mr.  Gideon  Church. 

"Zebulon  Butler,  Trustee. 
"Wilkes-Barre,  16  January,  1787. 

"Mr.  Abel  Yarington,  Treasurer." 


1629 


Secondly  appears  a  bill  of  Colonel  Butler  for  various  interesting  services 
in  connection  therewith,  in  which  but  little  seems  to  have  been  overlooked:* 

Under  a  caption  "Proposals  for  Building  a  Goal  in  this  County"  to  which 
no  date  is  affixed,  (but  undoubtedly  1788)  is  the  following: 
"Proposals  for  building  the   gaol  in  this  County. 

"Messrs.  S.  Allen  and  C.  Hurlbut  agree  with  the  Trustees  (no  date  mentioned)  That 
they  will  become  obligated  to  raise  the  body  of  the  building,  cover  the  roof,  lay  the  floor  under 
the  prison  part,  lay  all  the  sleepers  and  beams  for  the  other  floors,  and  cover  the  gabel  ends, 
by  the  first  day  of  May  next,  for  the  sum  of  £80,  Pennsylvania  Currency. 

"And  the  building  for  breadth,  length,  and  height  shall  be  24  by  ,^0  feet  from  outside  to  out- 
side, and  16  feet  wall  upwards,  not  less  than  7  inches  thick." 

On  October  24,  1788,  Colonel  Butler  entered  into  an  agreement  with 
"Ebenezer  Farnham  and 
Ebenezer  Skinner  for 
building  a  chimney  at 
the  Court  House,  *  *  * 
to  make  three  fire  places 
below — two  corner  fire- 
places in  the  inside  and 
one  large  one  on  the 
outside.  The  Court 
room  fireplace  to  be  built 
of  brick.  Said  contrac- 
tors to  be  paid  twenty 
pounds  and  the  Trustees 
to  furnish  stone  and  other 
articles  for  building  the 
chimney,  to  be  delivered 
at  the  Court  House." 

Evidently  the 
building  dragged  dis- 
couragingly.  The  next 
record  of  its  construction 
likewise  appears  among 
the  "Butler  Papers,"  in 
the  following  entry, 
which  seems  to  have  led 
to  its  completion : 

*;Col.  Z.  Butler's  (Trusteel 
Bill  against  the  Court  House."  (No 
dates)  but  evidently  1788. 

"To  1  day  to  meet  the  Trustees 


"  "   Wilkesbarre 

I    "    "    to  vendue  the  bldg.  of  the  Court  House 
'    1  day  myself  counting  and  preparing  boards. 
^    2  days  myself  attending  taking  out  and  measuring  boards. 
'   4  days  myself  collecting  men  and  attending  them  at  work  at  the  jail. 


Mrs.  Phoebe  (Uaighn  Bl'Tler 

Wife  of  Col.  Zehulon  Butler. 

/6 
■/6 
■/6 


"April,  17 
-June,  17 


"   3  days  myself  attending  carpenters  etc.  at  Court  House. 

2  days  myself  looking  up  masons  and  agreeing  with  them. 
"    1  day  of  •)  oxen,  man.  and  cart  to  draw  stone    15 

my  flatt  to  carry  and  fetch  teams  across  the  river  to  draw  stone  for  the  Court  House. 

3  days  myself  giving  directions  to  masons  and  others  at  work  at  the  Court  House. 
"   1  day  purchasing  brick  and  going  to  Buttonwood  to  see  them. 

man  and  team  to  fetch  plank  for  jail  doors,  stairs,  etc. 
1  day  spent  in  appraising  the  work  done. 
To  going  to  Millers  Mill  to  get  boards  and  siding. 

myself  and  one  man  attending  and  taking  account  of  boards  and  siding  for  the  Court  House, 

and  taking  them  out  of  the  water — 5000  feet. 
To  fetching  5000  feet  boards  up  the  bank  to  keep  them  from  going  adrift — mj'self  and  i  men 
To  1  day  spent  going  to  Shawnee  etc.,  to  consult  with  the  Trustees  about  going  on  \vith  the  work  of 


the  Court  H 
To  1  day  spent  with  Trustees  to  have  a 
"To  4  days  spent  in  attending  the  joine 

brick  for  hearth. 
"To  5  days  spent  in  giving  orders  to  pay  for  labor  done 


msideration  whether  or  not  Mr.  HoUenback  would  go  on. 
giving  the  directions,  and  attending  masons,  and  getting 

I  the  Court  House." 


1630 

"1790,  January  21.* 

"  Agreement  between  Zebulon  Butler,  Simon  Spalding  and  Nathaniel  Landon  (Trustees 
appointed  by  Act  of  Assembly  to  build  a  Court  House  and  Gaol  in  Wilkes-barre,  Luzerne  County) 
of  the  1st  part  and  John  Hollenback  of  said  Wilkesbarre  of  the  other  part.  *  »  *  It  is  agreed 
that  Hollenback  shall  finish  and  complete  the  Court  House  and  gaol  (already  began  in  said  County  I 
that  is,  he  shall  lay  two  floors,  the  boards  to  be  planed  on  one  side,  ploughed  and  groved,  he  shall 
weather  board  the  whole  building.  The  boards  on  the  front  and  on  the  ends  to  be  planed.  He 
shall  seal  (sic.)  the  lower  rooms  and  the  Court  room.  Shall  make  seven  windows  and  gl^ze  them, 
complete — two  in  the  lower  room  uniform,  and  5  in  the  Court  room,  uniform,  with  plain  shutters 
to  each  window,  well  hinged.  Shall  make  a  pair  of  good  stairs  leading  to  the  3rd  loft,  shall  case 
the  same,  shall  make  a  door  and  hang  the  same  completely.  Shall  make  two  windows  in  the  gaol, 
four  panes  of  glass  in  each,  and  sufficient  iron  grates  to  the  same.  Shall  make  a  partition  equally 
dividing  the  gaol  room,  of  good  oak  planks,  4  inches  thick,  and  shall  make  a  strong  and  sufficient 
floor  of  oak  planks,  six  inches  thick,  over  the  gaol  rooms.  The  trustees  agree  to  furnish  boards 
for  the  said  Hollenback,  sufficient  to  complete  the  above  work,  and  to  pay  him  £S9/6." 

As  if  in  audit  of  accounts  of  the  Trustees,  up  to  the  time  of  a  final  building 
award  to  John  Hollenback,  a  solitary  record  is  found  in  the  handwriting  of  Rose- 
well  Wells,  undated,  but  evidently  in  1789: 

"The  charges  of  expenditures  described  in  the  following  are  those  which  ha\e accrued  from 
the  beginning  of  the  Court  House  down  to  the  day  of  contract  with  John  Hollenback  to  finish 
said  House. 

"Hurlbut  and  AUin — as  per  their  agreement — £82/0.  AUin,  for  finding  timber  and  building 
the  stoop  and  stairs  to  said  House  £13/14,3. 

"Farnam  and  Skinner  for  building  chimney^ — 

"Then  follow  several  items  for  board.s — Bates  5000  feet  and  7  or  8000  more  from  different 
ones:  M.  Hollenback,  for  a  stove  £6  10;  Benjamin  Bailey  £5;  19/ 11  for  blacksmith  work  at  different 
times:  Jabez  Sills  for  making  the  doors  and  casings  windows,  £3/15.  July  7.  1788.  John  Hollenback 
for  6  gallons  whiskey  for  the  use  of  the  Court  House,  £l  16;  July  15,  17S8  1  quart  ditto  (and  other 
charges  at  other  times);  June  4,  '88,  Hugh  Connor  3  days  making  benches  £1/1. 

"Total  of  the  account  is  £196/12/6. 

"This  primitive  temple  of  justice"  says  Pearce  in  his  Annals,  "was  completed 
in  1791,  and  Stephen  Tuttle,  whose  good  wife  placed  her  cake  and  beer  sign 
over  the  door  of  the  first  story,  was  appointed  first  jailor." 

While  the  new  Court  House  was  in  process  of  construction,  the  various 
Justices  of  the  Peace  seem  to  have  attended  to  such  cases  as  the  march  of  events 
brought  before  them.  Not  unlike  similar  hearings  toda}',  the  Justices  appear 
to  have  dealt  with  every  variety  of  law  violation.  The  high  cost  of  swearing  is 
manifest  in  an  entry  on  the  docket  of  Justice  Smith:  , 

"Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  29th  day  of  October,  1788,  Joseph  Sprague  of  the  county  of 
Luzerne,  mason,  is  convicted  before  me,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace,  etc.,  of  swearing  seven 
pro'ane  oaths,  by  the  name  of  God,  and  I  do  adjudge  him  to  forfeit  for  the  same  and  for  each 
oath,  the  sum  of  5  shillings. 

"To  the  gaol  keeper  of  the  County  of  Luzerne:  You  are  hereby  required  to  take  the  body 
of  Joseph  Sprague  and  keep  in  close  custody  the  time  appointed  by  an  Act  of  this  State  intitled 
an  Act  to  prevent  vice,  immorality  etc.,  dated  in  1786,  unless  he  the  said  Sprague  shall  pay  the 
several  sums,  with  the  cost  to  wit — 5  shillings  for  each  oath." 

"Wm.  Hooker  Smith.         |l.  s.] 

"Justice  of  the  Peace." 

The  services  of  the  Coroner,  then  as  now,  were  in  demand.     The  pathetic 

case  of  Dingo  is  the  first  of  record  of  the  return  of  a  Coroner's  Jury : 

"To  any  Constable  of  the  County  of  Luzerne, — Greeting — Whereas  an  inquisition  was  held 
before  me  Nathan  Cary,  gentleman.  Coroner  of  the  County  of  Luzerne  on  the  29  day  of  February 
last  by  Lawrence  Myers  and  others  a  jury  of  1 3  good  and  lawful  men  of  the  said  County  on  the 
view  of  the  body  of  a  certain  negro  man  named  Dingo,  then  and  there  found,  and  the  said  jury  after 
viewing  the  said  dead  body  and  examining  the  witnesses  produced  did  on  their  oaths  declare 
that  they  were  fully  of  the  opinion  that  the  said  negro  (who  while  alive  was  in  the  care  of  a  certain 
Justus  Jones,  Yoeman)t  came  to  his  end  by  the  neglect  of  the  said  J.  Jones,  by  depriving  said 
negro  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  You  are  therefore  commanded  »  *  *  forthwith  to  take  the 
body  of  the  said  J.  Jones  and  him  commit  to  the  common  gaol  of  the  County  of  Northampton; 
and  the  keeper  of  the  said  gaol  is  hereby  alike  commanded  to  receive  and  safely  keep  the  said 

*21  January  1790.    Hollenback  receives  £40  pal  t  of  the  consideration  money.     ISJune  1792. balance  £+5/2/6  paid. 

tjustus  Jones  was  a  resident  of  Tunkhannock,  The  Return  of  Field  and  Company  Officers  of  the  Upper  Battalion  . 
made  in  1788.  by  County  Lieutenant  Zebulon  Butler  (hereinafter  published)  names  him  as  havinj  been  elected  Cap- 
tain cf  the  Company  in  that  place. 


1631 

J.  Jones  until  he  shall  be  delivered  by  one  course  of  law.    Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  Wilkes- 
borough  in  the  County  aforesaid  March  8,  1788. 

ISigned)        "Nathan  Carv,  Coroner." 
"Mar.  9,  1788,  J.  Ryan,  Const,  served  the  within  mittimus  by  taking  the  body  of  the  said 
J.  Jones." 

On  the  back  of  the  document  is  a  statement  of  the  fees  due  the  Court  in 
which  appears: 

"To  2  keepers  from  11  March  till  March  28,  17  pence  dav  each  or  'i  dollar  per  day — 
£6.  7s.  6d." 

That  jurisdiction  of  civil  magistrates  was  a  problem  and  that  animals  were 
vagrant  then  as  now,  is  recorded  in  the  Macedonian  cry  of  Rosewell  Wells,  to 
Lawrence  Meyers,  J.  P.  to  the  effect  that  "some  turbulent  person  has  broken 
open  the  pound  used  by  the  Proprietors  of  the  Wilkesbarre  Flats  and  has  taken 
my  creatures  therefrom."  The  call  is  further  accentuated  by  a  plea  to  "come 
over  to  our  side  of  the  River  this  day  and  inflict  the  penalty  of  the  Law  on  him 
because  I  (Welles)  cannot  carr\'  a  Statute  Law  out  of  the  town.  Colonel  Picker- 
ing being  absent." 

At  the  time  these  "creatures"  were  in  controversy,  Jabez  Fish,  Anderson 
Dana  and  David  Richards  of  Wilkes-Barre,  were  "the  persons  appointed  by  the 
Proprietors  of  the  lower  flats  in  Wilkesbarre  to  superintend  the  same." 

The  organization,  as  well  as  the  conduct  of  the  militia,  in  this  period,  was 
naturally  a  matter  of  chief  concern  to  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  Lieutenant  of  the 
County,  as  it  was  to  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  at  Philadelphia.  Neither 
the  Commonwealth  nor  its  military'  representative  at  Wilkes-Barre,  could  dictate 
who  were  to  be  recruited,  as  the  enlisted  personnel  of  such  companies  as  were 
authorized.  Nor  could  they  control  the  Company's  election  of  its  officers.  As 
a  consequence,  the  Pickering-Franklin  controversy  found  an  echo  in  all  such 
elections  and  was  a  constant  source  of  strife  within  the  companies  themselves. 
The  Battalion  of  Lieut.  Col.  Matthias  Hollenback  was  relied  upon  as  being 
fairly  loyal  to  the  Pickering  mission  and  to  Pennsylvania.  This  Battalion,  as 
has  been  mentioned,  went  forth  under  Sheriff  Lord  Butler,  in  search  of  the 
Pickering  abductors.  But  that  many  concerned  were,  at  heart,  of  the  Franklin 
party,  and  that  Pennsylvania  was  aware  of  this  fact,  is  disclosed  by  the  "Archives." 

On  June  14,  1788,  some  two  weeks  before  his  abduction.  Colonel  Picker- 
ing wrote  President  Muhlenberg,  of  the  Council,  as  follows: 
"Sir, 

"Just  before  I  left  Philadclphiain  January  last,  a  letter  from  Council  dated  the  .^Ist  of  Decem- 
ber, was  put  into  my  hands,  desiring  among  other  things,  that  I,  in  conjunction  with  the  county 
lieutenant  &  others  would  make  enquiry  relative  to  the  conduct  of  those  elected  militia  officers 
whose  commissions  were  withheld.  The  inquiry  was  for  a  good  while  omitted,  but  this  Spring, 
the  county  Lieutenant,  Col.  Hollenback  &  myself,  met  together,  and  those  persons  attended. 
It  did  not  appear  that  M  Fitch  Alden,  &  William  Hyde,  were  concerned  in  the  disorders  consequent 
on  Franklin's  capture:  particularly  they  were  not  in  arms.  Nesbitt  owned  he  was  in  arms,  and 
Prince  Alden  had  early  crossed  the  river,  &  was  coming  up  the  bank  (alone  I  believe  I  with  his 
musket,  but  was  disarmed  by  Mr.  Evans  &  Major  McCormick,  all  of  them,  however,  gave  us 
positive  assurances  of  their  future  good  behaviour,  and  determinations  to  support  the  laws  of 
Pennsylvania  Upon  the  whole,  it  was  our  joint  opinion  that  it  would  be  expedient  to  commission- 
ate  them.  Prince  Alden  has  since  moved  up  the  river  to  Tioga,  &  a  commission  for  him  would  be 
useless.  Since  the  above  mentioned  examination,  this  battalion  has  had  a  field  day.  The  officers 
elect  appeared  under  arms  as  privates;  and  the  whole  battalion  behaved  very  well." 

Those  acquainted  with  military  affairs  might  have  surmised  a  certain 
lukewarmness  of  conduct  on  the  part  of  troops  attempting  to  intercept  the  abduc- 
tors of  Colonel  Pickering,  as  disclosed  by  a  narrative  of  the  expedition  in  a 
preceding  Chapter.  That  a  mounted  body  of  Light  Dragoons  was  not  able  to 
come  within  "seven  or  eight  miles"  of  a  party  on  foot,  leading  a  captive  and 


1632 

having  only  eight  hours'  start,  is  not  indicative  of  that  initiative  which  wins 
wars.  Two  aflfidavits,  taken  in  Wilkes-Barre,  shortly  after  the  return  of  this 
expedition,  may  serve  to  enlighten  the  present  day  reader  of  an  underlying 
sentiment  of  the  time,  which  perhaps  accounted  for  the  fact  that  neither  horse 
nor  foot  ever  actually  came  in  contact  with  the  small  band  of  Colonel  Picker- 
ing's captors.  The  affidavits  follow: 
"Luzerne  County,  ss.  "September  13th,  1788. 

"Personally  appeared  before  me,  Mathias  Hollenl)ack.  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  for 
the  said  County,  The  person  of  William  Smith,  and  being  duly  Sworn,  Deposeth  and  saith  That 
he,  this  Deponant,  on  the  27th  of  June  Last,  that  he,  this  Deponant,  Being  one  of  Capt.  John 
Paul  Schoots  company  of  Light  Dragoons*  on  an  E.xpedition  up  the  River  Susquehannah  in  order 
to  retake  Colo.  Timothy  Pickering  from  the  Insurgents,  He,  this  Deponant,  often  Urged  said 
Capt.  Schoots  to  be  more  Expeditious  on  his  March,  or  else  this  deponant  feared  they  would 
not  come  up  with  the  Insurgents.  Schoots  replyed  to  this  Deponant  that  he  had  no  inclination 
to  be  in  too  much  of  a  hurry,  for  he  feared  the  insurgents  would  be  too  Strong  for  them.  He  chose 
to  delay  his  March  untill  the  Company  of  foot  came  forward.  Captain  Schoots  went  no  further 
than  Jones  that  night,  which  was  about  Sixteen  miles  from  Wilkesborrogh,  and  this  Deponant 
■  further  saith  that  they  could  have  easy  went  30  miles  where  the  party  lay  that  Night  that  took 
Col.  Pickering.  This  Deponant  and  many  others  of  the  Company,  urged  said  Schoots  to  push 
on  to  Tankhannock,  where  the  insurgents  lay  that  night,  which  he  expressly  refused  to  do;  and  this 
Deponant  further  saith  that  said  Schoots  delayeth  the  March  untill  nine  or  Ten  o' Clock  the  next 
day,  (which  was  the  28th  of  June)  Then,  on  the  said  day  Capt.  Schoots  delayed  the  March  as  before 
(the  foot  not  Coming  up)  and  this  Deponant  continued  to  urge  Capt.  Schoots  to  be  more  expedi- 
tious. Then  Schoots  reply'd  to  this  Deponant  that  they  must  do  something  and  make  a  bluster, 
in  order  to  satisfy  Government,  if  they  went  but  few  miles  after  them  it  would  be  sufficient,  for 
Government  would  not  know  but  they  had  done  their  endeavors  to  take  them,  and  that  they're 
turning  out  and  making  a  Bluster  would  gain  the  Company  a  great  name ;  and  further  this  Deponant 
saith  not." 

"Wm.  Smith." 
"Sworn  to  and  subscribed  this  1 3th  day  of  September,  178S. 
"Before  me, 

"Matthias  Hollenback." 
"Luzerne  County,  ss. 

"The  13th  day  of  Sept.,  1788,  before  me,  the  Subscriber,  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace 
for  said  County,  Came  John  Hollenback,  and  was  Duely  sworn  according  to  Law,  Deposeth  & 
Saith  that  he.  the  Deponant,  ware  in  Company  with  Capt.  John  P.  Schoot,  whome  at  said  time 
Commanded  a  Company  of  Light  Dragoons  and  then  had  his  Company  on  Parade,  to  pursue 
a  Number  of  Royetous  Persons  whome  Had  taken  and  Conveyed  away  the  Body  of  Timothy 
Pickering,  Esq.  I  seeing,  as  I  thought.  Neglect  in  said  Schoot  as  to  the  expedition,  and  also  made 
Mention  to  Capt.  Schoot  that  I  thought  by  appearance  that  the  Expedition  would  be  of  Small 
Event,  Whereupon  said  Schoot  Carelessly  Cast  his  head  about  and  Said  it  would  answer  for  a 
show  to  the  State,  whereupon  the  Deponant  Turned  his  Back  and  further  Saith  not." 

"John  Hollenback." 
"Sworn  &  Subscribed  the  Day  above  Written,  before  me. 

"W.M.  Hooker  Smith, 

"Justice  of  the  Peace." 

Colonel  Butler,  in  the  fall  of  1788,  proceeded  to  hold  elections  of  officers 
of  the  Upper  Battalion,  pursuant  to  instructions  from  the  Council.    The  scattered 

*A  roster  of  the  Light  Dragoons  as  of  May  5.  1788  and  among  the  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  XI  :  97,  discloses 
some  familiar  names  of  both  the  Pickering  and  Franklin  parties.    The  document  reads,  as  follows: 

"Wilkesbarre,  in  Luzerne  County.  May  5th,  1788, 
"We,  the  Subscribers,  Voluntarily  Engage  to  serve  in  the  Troops  of  Light  Dragoons  which  is  to  be  raised  by  Capt. 
John  P.  Schott,  in  the  County  of  Luzerne  aforesaid,  and  Promise  to  Obey  all  Lawful  Orders  which  we  shall  from  time 
to  time  receive  from  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  or  our  Superior  Officers.     In  Witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto 
set  our  hands.  "John  Paul  Schott,  William  Hyde 

Moses  Sill.  Eleazer  Blackman, 

Isaac  D.  Tripp,  William  Smith. 

Benjamin  Dorrance,  William  Jackson, 

Joshua  Pathrirk,  John  Stapel, 

John  Gove,  Henry  Stark, 

Rosewell  Wells,  Jabez  Fish, 

Willi  Gallup.  James  Stewart, 

Peter  Geer,  Jehoida  P.  Johnson, 

Jabez  Sill,  Jonathan  Stevens, 

Lord  Butler.  Assa  Stevens 

Silas  Jackson,  Ben.  Brown,' 

Hallet  Gallup,  Moses  Atherton, 

Ebenezer  Slocum,  Benedict  Satterle, 

Eleazer  Bowman,  Ira  Manvile, 

John  Downing,  Ely  Manvill, 

Christian  Ochmig,  John  Yuttc, 

Naphtaly  Hurlbut ,  Nathaniel  Walker. 

Lemuel  Gaylord,  A  dm.  Oilier 

Isaac  Wilhams.  Sim,  Chatduck," 

Ichabod  Blackman, 


1633 


settlements  of  the  upper  Susquehanna  were  dominated  by  "Half  vShare  Men" 
and  in  these  also,  the  newer  settlers  were  adverse  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylv-a- 
nia.  The  return  of  Colonel  Butler  of  this  election  must  have  been  a  bitter  blow 
to  adherents  of  Colonel  Pickering.  The  roster,  as  will  be  found,  discloses  no  other 
than  the  implacable  John  Jenkins  chosen  as  Lieutenant  Colonel,  the  redoubtable 
John  Swift  as  Major,  and  at  least  five  other  officers  who  had  been  indicted  in 
connection  with  the  abduction  of  Pennsylvania's  Commissioner.  The  Common- 
wealth however,  still  held  the  whip  hand.  The  Council  itself  must  issue  the 
actual  commissions.  These  necessary  documents  were  never  forthcoming.  The 
perverse  return  of  the  County  Lieutenant  follows: 

"A  Return  of  Field  &  Company  Officers,  elected  in  the  upper  Battalion  in  the  County  of 
Luzern,  1788. 


John  Jenkins, 
John  Swift, 

(  Soloman  Bennet, 
Tioga  Compy.  ■(  Lucas  Detrick, 

(  John  Depew, 

f  John  Spalding, 
Sheshequena  Compy.    ■!  Samuel  Gore, 

(  Samuel  Southworth, 

{Rosewell  Frankling, 
Jehiel  Frankling. 
Isaac  Strope, 
i  Martin  Dudley. 
Meshoping  Compy.        i  Joseph  Kilburn. 

(  David  Wooddvvard. 

{Justus  Jones, 
Ebenezer  Stephens, 
Joseph  Arthur. 


Lieut.  Col. 

Major. 

Capt. 

Lieut. 

Ensn. 

Capt. 

Lieut. 

Ensn. 

Capt. 

Lieut. 

Ensn. 

Capt. 

Lieut. 

Ensn. 

Capt. 

Lieut. 

Ensn. 

Capt. 

Lieut. 

Ensn. 

Capt. 

Lieut. 

Ensn. 

Capt. 

Lieut. 

Ensn. 


{Daniel  Shaw. 
Joseph  Elliot. 
Stephen  Durell, 
(  Jonathan  Newman. 
Pitts  Town  Compy.       <  Henry  Harding, 
I  Roger  Searls, 
(  Peter  Harris, 
Exeter  Compy.  <  Thomas  Harding 

(.  Oliver  Harding, 

"The  foregoing  is  a  true  Return  as  made  to  me  by  the  several  Inspectors  agreeable  to  Law. 
"Wilks-Barre,  August  25th,  1788. 
"His  Excellency  the  President  in  Council.  "Zebn.  Butler. 

"County  Lieut." 

In  explanation  of  the  above  Return  and  offering  a  loophole  to  the  Council, 
Colonel  Butler,  the  following  day,  wrote  that  body,  as  follows:* 

"This  may  inform  your  Excellency  and  Council,  that  agreeable  to  request,  I  held  the  election 
of  officers  for  the  upper  Battalion,  and  the  enclosed  are  the  persons  who  were  chosen  to  command 
the  Battalion  and  the  several  Companies,  which  compose  said  Battalion.  John  Jenkins  and  John 
Swift,  by  Esquire  Gore,  I  am  informed  are  out  of  the  State;  and  it  is  pretty  generally  known, 
that  they  are  making  all  possible  preparations  to  remove  their  families.  This  circumstance, 
I  thought  necessary  to  mention  that  Council  might  give  further  directions  for  a  new  election. 
I  would  likewise  Inform  Council,  that  by  the  advice  of  authority,  I  held  the  last  election  in  differ- 
ent places.  The  reasons  why  I  adopted  this  method,  were  the  inconveniency  of  the  people's 
assembling  at  one  place.  This  I  suppose  was  not  altogether  conformable  to  the  law  regulating 
elections;  but  when  I  inform  that  the  district  is  exceedingly  lengthy;  perhaps  the  method  by 
Council,  may  not  altogether  be  deem'd  improper  or  ineligible.  If  it  should  be,  your  Excellency's 
and  Council's  pleasure  will  be,  (I  trust)  signified  in  the  directions  for  holding  another  election. 

"In  the  meantime  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  very 
humble  servant. 

"Zeb'n.  Butler." 

In  August,  1788,  an  echo  of  the  Pickering  abduction  is  found  among  the 

"Butler  Papers,"  in  a  bill  of  Colonel  Butler,  "account  of  duty  done  as  County 

Lieutenant  up  to  August  26th."     Items  of  the  bill  follow: 

*See  " Pennsylvania  Archives,"  XI  :384. 


1634 

"5  days  spent  going  to  Wyalusing,  attending  election  and  returning — 3  pounds,  2  shillings, 
6  pence. 

"9  days  attending  elections  and  going  to  and  returning  from  the  Upper  Battalion. 

"6  days  in  turning  out  parties  to  recover  Colonel  Pickering  and  detect  the  rioters  and  in 
delivering  arms  and  ammunition,  etc. — 3  pounds,  15  shillings." 

That  other  complications  were   arising  in   connection   with  his  thankless 

task  of  properly  recruiting  a  military  force,  required  of  the  County,  is  evidenced 

by  a  later  description  of  conditions  penned  by  Colonel  Butler  to  the  Council,  in 

October.    It  reads  as  follows : 

'I  received  your  Letter  of  the  22d  August  last,  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you  that  my  best  exer- 
tions have  as  yet  failed  to  procure  legal  Returns  of  the  Persons  .subject  to  militia  Duty  in  this 
County,  among  the  first  elected  Officers  of  the  first  Battalion.  Capt.  Ross,  Capt.  Alden.  Lieut. 
Xezbit,  Ensign  Hide,  &  Ensign  Alden,  were  not  immediately  Commissioned.  Since  Capt.  Ross 
has  received  his  commission,  Col.  Pickering,  with  myself  and  others,  were  appointed  to  examine 
the  others  and  report  to  Council.  Col.  Pickering  informed  me  he  made  report,  but  I  have  not 
received  their  Commissions.  Ensign  Alden  has  left  the  State,  Ensign  Hyde  has  engaged  in  the 
Horse. 

"The  elected  officers  in  the  second  Battalion  I  have  been  informed  are  not  to  be  commis- 
sioned. As  soon  as  I  receive  Orders  from  Council  for  holding  a  new  Election,  I  shall  proceed  in  the 
Business  &  use  mvbest  endeavours  to  organize  the  Militia  and  make  Returns;  I  have  no  returns 
for  the  years  1785,  1786,  and  1787." 

The  subject  of  roads  within  the  County,  as  well  as  suitable  highways  to 
points  outside,  appears  of  record  at  an  early  date  in  the  Pickering  regime.  On 
April  5,  1787,  the  Commissioner  brought  this  matter  to  the  attention  of  the 
Council,  in  a  letter  valuable  for  its  explanation  of  the  routes  then  most  available 
to  Philadelphia.  The  letter  reads  as  follows : 
"Dear  Sir. 

"The  Assembly  having  granted  £150  for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  road  from  the  mouth  of 
Nescopeck  Creek  to  the  Lehigh*  (a  distance  of  aljout  three  &  twenty  miles,)  two  persons  will 
undertake  to  perform  the  work,  if  that  sum  can  be  appropriated  to  that  use.  They  proposed 
getting  an  additional  sum  by  subscription,  to  be  called  for  if  the  public  grant  proved  inadequate. 
But  this  seemed  a  beginning  at  the  wrong  end;  and  after  a  full  consideration  of  the  matter,  I 
proposed  the  following  plan  of  proceedure  viz. 

"That  application  should  be  made  to  Council  to  appoint  Evan  Owen  a  commissioner  to 
explore,  survey,  &  mark  the  best  route  for  the  road — and  that  Jacob  Weiss  should  contract  to 
open  it,  so  as  to  render  it  fit  for  the  passing  of  Waggons  carrying  a  ton  weight. 

"This  proposal  I  made  on  this  principle — That  persons  deeply  interested  in  having  the 
shortest  and  best  road  cut,  would  be  the  fittest  to  be  employed  to  execute  the  work. 

"Mr.  Owen  is  an  intelligent  man,  and  (f  find  on  enquiry)  a  man  in  whom  the  public  may 
repose  great  confidence.  He  owns  a  tract  of  land  opposite  the  mouth  of  Nescopeck,  which  he  has 
laid  out  into  lots  for  a  town,  and  has  no  intermediate  interest.  He,  therefore  pursuing  his  own 
interest  will  seek  the  shortest  &  best  route;  and  is  so  solicitous  to  have  the  work  done,  that  he 
has  consented  to  undertake  the  trust;  and  as  the  public  grant  will  probably  be  insufficient  for 
opening  a  good  road,  he  will  perform  the  duty  of  Commissioner  &  Surveyor,  gratis;  the  public 
only  furnishing,  out  of  the  £150  granted,  provisions  and  paying  the  hands  necessary  to  be  em- 
ployed as  chain  carriers  and  markers,  this  service  of  his  to  come  in  place  of  the  sum  he  would 
otherwise  subscribe  to  the  work. 

"Mr.  Weiss  has  an  interest  near  the  hither  end  of  the  proposed  road,  and  is  equally  anxious 
to  have  it  opened.  He  will  contract  to  do  it,  for  the  remainder  of  the  £150,  trusting  to  obtain 
by  subscriptions  what  shall  be  requisite  to  complete  the  road,  if  that  remainder  should  be  insufficient. 

"Mr.  Owen  will  explore  &  Survey  the  road,  &  return  a  plan  of  it  to  Council,  by  the  last  of 
this  month;  and  if  the  Council  approve  of  it,  Mr.  Weiss  will  open  it  without  delay;  and  he  thinks 
he  can  complete  it  by  midsummer;  provided  he  can  begin  to  work  early  in  May  and  is  furnished 
with  a  part  of  the  money  to  lay  in  provisions  &c. 

"I  confess  that  I  cannot  conceive  of  a  more  eligible  mode  of  executing  this  business ;  and  I 
hope  it  may  be  agreeable  to  Council  'Tis  an  object  of  great  importance.  At  present  the  only 
way  in  which  any  necessary  goods  can  be  transported  to  the  county  of  Luzerne,  is  by  land  from 
Philadelphia  to  Middletown,  98  miles,  or  to  Harrisburg  upwards  of  a  hundred  miles;  and  then 
by  boats  up  the  Susquehanna  about  120  miles  to  Wyoming.  This  circuitous  route  is  so  expensive 
as  to  forbid  the  attempt  to  bring  any  produce  from  Wyoming  to  this  city. 

'T  trust  this  matter  will  appear  to  you  deserving  of  the  immediate  attention  of  Council; 
and  that  the  necessity  of  the  measure,  and  the  ease  and  certainty  with  which,  in  the  wav  above 
proposed,  it  may  be  executed,  will  be  motives  sufficient  to  induce  Council  to  adopt  it  if  it  be 
possible  to  furnish  the  money,  and  I  hope  the  circumstances  of  this  case  mav  warrant  an  extra- 
ordinary exertion. 

"  I  feel  the  greater  solicitude  on  this  subject,  because  I  fear  a  direct  road  to  Wyoming,  (for 
which  the  Assembly  granted  £300)  cannot  soon  be  opened.    The  sum  being  double  what  is  granted 

*This  road  was  completed  and  opened  in  1789. 


1635 

for  the  other  road,  cannot  so  conveniently  be  spared;  and  perhajs  it  will  be  proper  to  have  another 
examination  of  the  country  before  the  route  is  fixed.  When  last  at  Wyoming  I  had  good  information 
that  a  road  might  be  opened  from  thence  to  this  city,  without  ascending  or  descending  a  single 
mountain;  and  that  the  part  of  it  which  would  cross  the  Great  Swamp  would  be  easily  made 
good;  and  yet  the  distance  would  not  protiably  exceed  1 10  or  115  miles. 

"I  wished  to  have  conversed  with  you  on  this  business,  &  called  this  evening  at  your  house, 
but  you  were  not  at  home.  If  I  could  learn  the  opinion  of  Council  upon  it,  before  I  set  off  for 
Wyoming,  it  would  give  me  great  pleasure  &  therefore  I  pray  you  to  introduce  it  to-morrow 
morning.  "I  am  respectfully  sir. 

"Your  most  obedt.  Servt. 
"General  Muhlenberg.  "T.  Pickering." 

Of   a  road  from  the  Water  Gap  to  Wyoming,  Colonel  Pickering  advises 

the  Council  of  April  7,  1787,  as  follows: 

"Since  I  saw  you  this  afternoon  I  have  consulted  with  Col'o  Denison  on  the  subject  of  a 
road  to  Wyoming,  and  we  are  clearly  of  opinion  that  it  will  not  be  expedient  to  open  one  until 
the  country  is  farther  explored.  W'e  have  such  information  as  to  induce  us  to  believe  that  a  road 
may  be  cut  from  the  Water  Gap  of  Lehigh  to  Wilkesbarre.  without  ascending  or  descending  a 
single  mountain ;  there  being  very  practicable  gaps  in  all  the  mountains  which  intervene ;  and  the 
taking  the  advantage  of  those  gaps,  it  appears  to  us,  will  not  materially  increase  the  length  of  the 
road;  or  whatever  that  increase  may  be.  the  greater  facility  of  making  &  travelling  the  road,  will 
more  than  counter-balance  the  greater  length.  On  Mr.  Balliots  route  several  liad  mountains  appear ; 
&  he  passes  them  by  many  detours,  or  zigzag  directions;  and  the  making  in  such  places  a  toler- 
able waggon  road,  will  occasion  a  great  expense;  and  tis  an  expense  which  will  never  have  an 
end ;  for  such  steep  roads  are  generally  in  bad  condition,  because  every  great  rain  will  destroy 
what  much  labour  has  effected;  and  however  well  repaired,  still  the  toil  of  horses  &  cattle  in 
passing  them  is  severe  and  perpetual.  Whereas  a  road  thro'  a  swamp  or  morass,  when  once  well 
made,  will  last  an  age,  and  is  passed  with  loaded  teams  with  perfect  ease.  But  what  is  called  the 
Great  Swamp  is  generally  hard  ground:  and  all  the  miry  parts  on  the  present  route,  (being  what 
is  called  Sullivan's  road.)  which  is  by  no  means  deemed  an  eligible  one  would  not  together  exceed 
two  miles.     This  is  the  opinion  of  a  man  who  has  passed  it  a  hundred  times.     '*    *    *" 

Two  years  later,  in  referring  to  the  Wind  Gap  route  to  Easton,  thus  in- 
ferring that  no  better  then  existed.  Colonel  Pickering,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife, 
dated  April  1,  1789,  gives  the  following  discouraging  information: 

"We  got  to  Tobyhanna  last  night  with  difficulty  and  slept,  with  our  horses,  in  Luce's  old 
hut.  It  was  very  well  we  brought  provisions  with  us,  as  there  was  nothing  to  eat  in  the  house. 
This  morning  we  came  to  Learn's  for  breakfast.  *  *  *  it  began  to  snow  the  day  before  and 
snowed  all  the  way  to  Learn's." 

Of  the  existing  roads  in  the  Valley  at  this  time,  the  Kingston  road,  6  rods, 
or  99  feet  in.  width,  was  surveyed  in  1770.  It  was  then,  as  now,  the  widest 
of  the  Community's  thoroughfares.  Its  trace  is  followed  today  by  Wyoming 
Avenue  from  Kingston  to  West  Pittston,  leading  past  the  Wyoming  monument. 
An  extension  of  this  road  across  the  lower  Kingston  flats  was  later  opened  to 
connect  with  the  ferry  to  the  County  Seat.  Another  road  had  been  laid  out  along 
the  east  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  to  Pittston,  connecting  with  a  ferry  at  that 
point.  It  was  this  road  and  its  extension  to  the  upper  Susquehanna  country,  that 
Gen.  Sullivan  followed  in  1779,  and  is  now  apart  of  the  survev  for  the  proposed 
"Sullivan  Trail."  Still  another  road  ran  along  the  Wilkes-Barre  flats  to  Hanover 
and  Newport  Townships. 

The  pressing  need  for  the  further  extension  of  this  nucleus  of  a  road  svstem. 
was  emphasized  by  the  action  of  the  Court,  upon  various  occasions,  in  earlv  ap- 
pointing viewers  and  supervisors.  In  1788,  as  appears  in  the  first  Record  Book  of 
the  Courts  of  Luzerne  County,  incorrectly  labeled  "Road  Docket  No.  1,"  Benjamin 
Carpenter,  Abel  Pierce,  Lawrence  Meyers,  James  Sutton,  Benjamin  Smith  and 
John  Dorrance  were  appointed  "to  view  and  lay  out  additional  roads  in  Kingston 
township."  The  viewers  for  Hanover  township,  appointed  at  the  same  term, 
were:  Christopher  Hurlburt,  Shubal  Bidlack,  Richard  Inman,  Conrad  Lvon, 
John  Hurlburt,  Elisha  Decker  and  Nathan  Nartrop.  For  Plymouth  township. 
Samuel  Allen,  Rufus  Lawrence,  William  Reynolds,  Luke  Swetland,  Hezekiah 
Roberts  and  Cornelius  Atherton  were  appointed.     In  Salem  township,  tlie  Court 


1636 

favored  Nathan  Beach,  George  R.  Taylor,  George  Smithers,  Amos  Park,  Jacob 
Shower  and  Giles  Parman  with  a  similar  appointment. 

In  1789,  the  Court's  attention  was  again  occupied  by  road  matters.  At  this 
term,  John  Jenkins,  Stephen  Harding,  Peter  Harris,  David  Smith,  S.  Dailey  and 
T.  Phillips  were  appointed  viewers  for  Exeter  and  for  Wilkes-Barre  township, 
Zebulon  Butler,  J.  P.  Schott,  John  Hollenback,  Nathan  Waller,  Abraham  West- 
brook  and  John  Carey  were  named. 

Roads  being  few,  and  distances  between  the  settlements  great,  occasioned 
considerably  difficulty  in  co-ordinating  the  services  of  the  County's  Justices  of 
the  Peace  upon  such  occasions  as  they  were  expected  to  sit  in  concert.  Wilkes- 
Barre  was  beginning  to  feel  itself  of  sufficient  importance  to  ask  for  a  second  Justice, 
as  a  co-jurist  with  Justice  Matthias  Hollenback.  Colonel  Pickering's  advice  was 
sought  on  the  subject,  whereupon  he  wrote  to  President  Miffiin,  on  January  29, 
1789,  explaining  in  detail,  the  size  of  the  County,  its  difficulties  of  travel  and, 
in  order  to  inform  the  Council  as  to  the  customs  prevailing,  the  letter  sets  forth 
clearly  the  difference  between  the  use  of  the  word  "town"  in  a  Connecticut  and 
in  a  Pennsylvania  sense.  Interesting,  also,  is  a  discussion  of  the  name  of  the 
County  Seat  and  its  first  correct  spelling  in  all  the  correspondence  of  the  period. 
The  letter  follows : 

"Matthias  Hollenback  Esquire  has  just  informed  me  that  application  has  been  made  to  him 
about  appointing  an  election  of  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  this  town.  I  observed  to  him  that  Council 
must  previously  grant  permission  for  it.  I  therefore  now  beg  leave  to  suggest  the  matter  for  the 
consideration  of  Council.  I  had  some  time  since  thought  of  doing  it,  on  account  of  the  diffi- 
culty which  had  repeatedly  occurred  in  assembling  justices  enough  to  hold  an  Orphans'  court, 
but  on  reading  the  last  law  on  the  subject,  passed  the  20th  of  February  1788,  it  appeared  uncertain 
whether  the  difficulty  would  be  removed,  for  this  district  in  which  Wilkesborough,  the  county 
town,  is  situate,  is  upwards  of  50  miles  long;  and  the  additional  justice  might  be  elected  30  miles 
from  it.  But  on  examining  the  preceding  law,  passed  the  4th  of  March  1786,  I  find  the  county 
town  may  have  two  justices  within  it,  whenever  the  president  in  Council  shall  think  proper  to  grant 
the  same.  And  that  you  may  be  possessed  of  the  necessary  data  in  the  present  case,  I  beg  leave 
to  remark — That  this  county  is  about  120  miles  in  length — that  'tis  divided  only  into  three  districts, 
in  each  of  which  there  have  been  two  justices  of  the  peace  commissioned,  altho  at  this  time  there 
are  hut  four  in  the  county,  two  having  resigned:  That  in  the  first  district,  (extending  from  Tagues 
creek  to  Nescopeck,  a  length  of  50  miles,  or  more)  the  two  justices  dwell  in  the  township  of  Wilkes- 
borough, tho'  one  only  lives  in  the  town,  in  the  Pennsylvania  sense  of  the  word,  that  is,  in  that 
part  of  the  township  which  was  laid  out  in  lots  for  the  site  of  a  town;  in  which  there  is  a  public 
square,  where  the  new  England  people  formerly  erected  their  court  house  &  jail,  &  where  the 
present  court  house  &  jail  of  the  county  have  lately  been  built:  That  in  the  second  district 
(of  like  extent  with  the  first)  the  only  justice  in  commission  lives  in  Kingston  township,  and  about 
4  or  5  miles  from  WUkesboro,'  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river;  and  that  of  the  two  candidates 
for  the  vacant  office  of  justice  in  the  district,  one  lives  in  Kingston,  and  about  a  mile  from  Wilkes- 
borough, and  the  other  in  Plymouth,  &  about  four  miles  from  Wilkesboro':  That  the  nearest 
justice  in  the  3d  district  lives  50  miles  from  hence;  and  the  candidates  for  the  vacant  office  in 
the  district  live,  one  about  80,  the  other  about  84  miles  from  Wilkesboro'. 

"From  this  statement  it  appears  that  there  may  be  four  justices  of  the  peace,  of  whose 
residences  the  most  distant  will  be  but  four  or  five  miles  from  the  county  town :  but  as  Mr.  Hollen- 
back (the  justice  residing  here  in  the  town)  has  observed,  his  business  frequently  obUges  him  to  be 
absent  several  weeks  together,  &  sometimes  three  or  four  months;  and  at  such  times  the  inability 
to  attend  of  a  single  justice  suspends  the  business  of  the  Orphans'  court,  and  of  any  special  Ses- 
sions of  the  peace. 

"Should  it  be  thought  proper  to  grant  another  justice  for  the  county-town,  it  will  be  very 
necessary  for  Council  to  define  in  the  grant,  the  meaning  of  the  word  county-town,  to  prevent 
disputes  among  the  electors.  What  in  Pennsylvania  are  called  townships,  in  new  England  are 
commonly  called  towns;  &  possessing  these  ideas,  some  people  in  Kingston  supposed  the  present 
court-house  &  jaU  might  have  been  built  there,  because  by  the  law,  it  was  to  be  erected  in  some 
convenient  place  'in  or  near  Wilkesburg,'  under  which  name  they  imagined  the  entire  township 
was  comprehended.  In  the  law  for  erecting  the  county  of  Luzerne  (passed  Sept'r  25,  1786)  this 
town  is  called  Wilkesburg,  &  in  the  first  supplement  to  that  law  Wilkesborough,  but  I  find  the  name 
originally  given  to  it  by  the  new  England  people,  and  which  appears  in  their  records,  is  Wilkes- 
Barre,  by  which  name  they  designated  not  only  the  town,  but  the  township  of  five  miles  square." 

That  Justice  Kingsley  from  his  up-river  home,  at  Wyalusing,  suffered  from 
all  the  inconveniences  of  travel  related  in  the  Pickering  letter,  to  an  extent  of 


1637 

seeking  relief  from  his  arduous  duties,  is  indicated,  the  following  year,  by  his  let- 
ter of  resignation: 

"To  his  Excellency  the  President,  and  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  the 
"Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 

"Nathan  Kingsley,  of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  commissioned  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Courts 
of  Quarter  Sessions  &  Common  Pleas  for  the  County  aforesaid,  finding  it  impracticable  many  times, 
by  reason  of  high  water,  to  attend  Courts,  and  living  sixty  miles  from  the  County  Town,  joined 
to  the  smallness  of  the  fees  allowed  him  in  this  behalf,  is  obliged,  from  necessity,  to  inform  Council 
that  he  cannot  in  future  serve  in  his  aforementioned  capacity.  Were  his  abode  nearer  than  what 
it  is  at  present  to  the  County  Town,  he  would  not  think  of  resigning  his  office,  but  would  continue 
in  it  with  pleasure  and  satisfaction.  The  Fall  and  Spring  sessions  happen  at  a  time  in  which 
the  Waters  are  high,  and  of  consequence  make  his  traveling  not  only  expensive,  but  very  difficult 
&  dangerous.  The  time  of  attending,  coming  to  and  returning  from  Courts,  takes  up  so  consider- 
able a  part  of  the  seasons  of  the  Summer  and  Fall,  that  he  is  obliged  to  neglect  his  agricultural 
pursuits,  to  the  singular  injury  of  his  intrist.  From  these  considerations,  he  desires  Council  to 
accept  his  resignation  and  take  such  other  Order  in  directing  the  choice  of  another  Judge  in  his 
District  as  to  them  shall  seem  meet. 

"Nathan  Kingsley." 

"Wilksbarre,  Jan'y  14,  1790. 

Aside  from  the  industry  of  agriculture  and  its  accompanying  side  line  of 
milling  and  weaving,  there  seems  but  little  thought  given  to  the  manufacture 
of  any  products  in  the  infant  County  at  this  period.  The  Gores  and  others, 
as  will  appear  in  a  later  Chapter  devoted  to  the  coal  industry,  were  undoubtedly 


Hominy  Block  or  Corn  Pounder, 

Used  at  Wyoming  before  1789. 
From  "Fearce's  Annals  of  Luzerne  County." 

using  for  forge  purposes,  the  "stone  coal"  so  readily  obtained  from  outcrop- 
pings  in  the  Wyoming  Valley.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  at  the  present,  the 
earliest  efforts  of  promoters  of  the  time  appear  to  have  favored  the  iron  industry-. 
In  1778,  John  and  Mason  F.  Alden  erected  a  forge  on  Nanticoke  creek,  in 
Newport  township.  It  contained  a  single  "fire"  and  one  hammer.  The  hammer 
itself  had  been  brought  from  Philadelphia  to  Harrisburg  b}^  wagon,  thence  bv 
boat  up  the  Susquehanna.  The  iron  ore  which  supplied  it  was  manufactured 
into  bar  iron,  affording  an  available  supply  for  the  smithies  of  the  day.     It  was 


1638 

to  this  forge  or  "bloomery"  that  Colonel  Pickering  drew  attention  in  an  effort 
to  interest  outside  capital. 

To  William  Bingham,  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  Colonel 
Pickering  wrote  on  April  9,  1789,  while  in  Philadelphia: 

"You  desired  me  to  give  you  in  writing  what  I  had  communicated  relative  to  the  manu- 
facture of  iron  in  Luzerne  County.  The  ore  is  about  S  miles  below  Wilkesbarre,  and  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  Susquehanna — perhaps  half  a  mile  from  it.  It  is  close  by  a  creek  where  a 
bloomery  has  just  been  erected  and  set  to  work.  The  adjacent  lands  have  a  sufficiency  of  wood 
for  charcoal;  and  if  there  should  fail  in  time,  the  river  will  enable  the  proprietors  to  obtain,  for  ages, 
a  full  supply  of  wood  or  coal.  *  *  *  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  stone  coal,  with  which  the 
county  abounds,  may  be  applied  to  the  same  use,  according  to  the  late  invention  we  have  heard 
of  in  England.  *  *  *  The  ore,  I  am  assured,  is  in  great  abundance.  'Tis  bog  ore,  which  is 
continually  renewing.  'Tis  of  rich  quality,  and  the  iron  made  of  it  at  the  bloomery  is  equal  to 
almost  any  refined  iron." 

Mr.  Bingham  gave  the  matter  serious  consideration,  we  may  infer,  months 

later,  and  following  what  seems  to  have  been  a  careful  inquiry  as  to  titles  to  the 

iron  deposit  in  question,  he  reached  a  conclusion  which,  for  more  than  a  decade 

in  future,  was  to  detract  from  the  settlement  of  the  County  by  new  comers,  and 

to  interfere  with  whatever  development  was  then  in  prospect.     In  October,  1789, 

he  wrote  Colonel  Pickering  that  "no  claimant  was  willing  to  sell  for  less  than  he 

thought  the  whole  land  was  worth."     In  other  words,  as  indicated  by  the  above 

letter,  if  title  to  lands  in  Wyoming  were  to  be  obtained  without  a  possibility  of 

legal  complications,  those  who  held  under  Pennsylvania  as  well  as  those  who 

claimed  a  prior  title  under  Connecticut,  must  both  be  consulted,  with  a  result 

that  neither  admitted  his  claim  was  rendered  less  valuable  by  reason  of  the  other. 


.A.N  Order  in  the  Handwriting  of  Colonel  Pickering. 

The  scarcity  of  money  as  a  medium  of  exchange  may  be  remarked  as  one 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  times.  The  Federal  government  had  not  yet  assumed 
that  control  over  general  finances  which  Alexander  Hamilton  was  later  to  work 
out.  The  pound  and  its  denominations  were  still  current.  In  various  states 
the  pound  was  quoted  at  different  amounts,  as  measured  by  the  oncoming  dollar. 
With  these  uncertainties  existing  as  to  the  actual  value  of  the  small  amount  of 
currency  in  circulation,  the  usual  method  of  trade  was  in  actual  barter;  so  many 
bushels  of  grain  for  so  many  pounds  of  necessities,  or  so  many  yards  of  cloth. 
Illustrative  of  this  is  a  complaint  from  Colonel  Pickering  to  his  brother-in-law, 
George  Williams,  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  dated  November  24,  1789,  as  related 
to  Luzerne  Countv: 


1639 

"The  fees  in  these  offices  would  now  yield  me  200  jKJUnds  per  year,  but  ciish  caiuiot 
be  obtained;  produce  is  the  currency  of  this  county  and  I  have  received  as  yet  very  littleof  this. 
*  *  *  At  our  last  September  term  of  court,  I  was  employed  from  Monday  morning  til  Satur- 
day night  in  my  Jive  offices  and  yet,  during  the  whole  week,  I  received  but  one  quarter  of  a  dollar, 
and  that  from  a  man  coming  from  another  county." 

Outside  the  County,  events  were  slowly  shaping  themselves  toward  a  wider 
statesmanship. 

The  new  national  government  having  become  a  reality,  and  the  steps  taken 
to  put  it  in  motion,  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  turned  their  attention  to  a  change 
in  their  own  State  Constitution.  A  general  conviction  existed  that  such  change  had 
become  necessary.  The  want  of  energ}'  and  of  an  intelligent  comprehension  of  the 
interests  of  the  State,  was  shown  in  the  instSnce  of  the  imbecile  and  stupid  course 
of  the  Assembly,  in  reference  to  a  settlement  of  land  titles  in  Luzerne  Countv. 

The  State  was  substantially  without  an  Executive  under  the  old  Con- 
stitution of  1776. 

The  President  of  a  Council  of  twenty  members  was  substantially  the  Gover- 
nor, and  was  frequently  spoken  of  as  such. 

Appointments  were  made  by  the  Council  by  secret  ballot.  Such  a  bodv 
grew  to  be  called,  in  time,  a  mere  "excrescence"  of  government.  Citizens  gener- 
ally were  clamorous  for  a  change.  But  before  any  alteration  could  be  made, 
the  first  indispensable  step  was  a  law  to  be  passed,  calling  a  convention  of  the 
people  for  that  purpose. 

To  meet  the  case,  petitions  were  put  in  circulation  in  everv  countv  and 
Chief  Justice  McKean  warmly  espoused  the  popular  cause. 

Finally  the  Assembly  yielded  to  an  overwhelming  sentiment  and  passed  the 

required   law.      Dr.   Rush,  upon  hearing  the  news    immediately    wrote   Colonel 

Pickering,  at  Wilkes- Barre,  under  date  of  September  21,  1789,  as  follows: 

"I  take  the  liberty  of  concurring  with  your  other  Philadelphia  friends  in  urging  you  to 
accept  a  seal  in  Ihe  Convenlion." 

Colonel  Pickering  was  elected  a  Delegate  from  Luzerne  Countv,  at  the  fall 
elections  of  1789,  although  absent  from  the  County  at  the  time,  just  as  he  had 
before  been  absent,  when  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  convention  which  passed  favor- 
ably upon  the  Commonwealth's  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  in  1787. 
All  of  which  tends  to  bring  us  back  again  to  the  chief  figure  of  the  County  in 
this  stage  of  its  development.  Try  as  he  might,  the  historian  cannot  escape 
Colonel  Pickering.  As  long  as  he  remained  at  Wyoming,  he  dominated  the 
situation.  To  follow  his  course  until  circumstances  removed  him  seems,  there- 
fore, the  logic  of  the  situation. 

He  accepted  the  call  of  a  majority  of  Wyoming  residents  as  the  Countv's 
representative  at  the  Philadelphia  Convention.  This  met  late  in  the  fall  of  1789. 
Its  sessions  dragged  unmercifully.  On  December  5th  of  that  year,  he  wrote  his 
wife  at  Wilkes-Barre,  as  follows: 

"I  fear,  with  you,  my  dear,  that  my  absence  has  injured  my  farming  business.  This  I 
hope,  will  be  the  last  sacrifice  I  shall  make  in  this  way.  If  finally,  an  excellent  Constitution  for 
this  State  should  be  formed,  of  which  I  have  sanguine  hopes,  I  shall  not  regret  my  loss  of  time. 
For,  though  I  can  have  but  little  hand  in  its  formation,  yet  I  shall  reflect  with  pleasure  that  I 
was  a  contributor,  according  to  my  ability,  and  that  my  endeavours  were  pointed  singly  to  the 
pubUc  good.  The  deliates  are  a  daily  source  of  information  and  satisfaction.  The  three  foundation 
principles  have  been  substantially  agreed  on, — that  is,  two  branches  to  the  legislature,  a  single 
Executive,  with  a  quahfied  negative  in  the  legislature  acts,  and  an  independent  iudiciarv.  There 
appears  so  good  a  disposition  in  most  of  the  members  of  the  Convention.  I  hope  we  shall  get 
happily  through  the  formation  of  the  Constitution;  but  it  will  take  more  time  than  I  expected, 
probably  till  New  Years  Day  at  least.  Have  patience,  my  dear  Beckey,  this  once.  God  forbid 
I  should  ever  again  leave  you  so  long,  and  so  burthened  with  business,  even  for  considerations 
more  weighty  than  those  which  occasion  my  present  absence." 


1640 

On  January  15,  1790,  he  again  wrote:  "I  am  yet  to  lament  that  I  can 
give  you  no  kind  of  assurance  when  the  Convention  will  rise."  On  February 
15,  1790,  he  again  wrote:  "The  Convention  still  sitting;  and  probably  will  not 
rise  before  the  close  of  the  week.  The  Wyoming  business  being  before  the  As- 
sembly, and  Pennsylvania  claimants  pushing  hard  to  repeal  the  Confirming  Law, 
may  occasion  my  staying  here  the  best  part  of  next  week." 

The  Convention  did  not  "rise"  the  next  week.  Indeed  on  April  6,  1790  it 
took  a  recess.  "Six  months  I  have  been  absent"  he  wrote  on  that  date  to  his 
wife.  "To  crown  all,  the  Confirming  Law  repealed!  You  will  be  surprised  not 
to  see  me  with  Mr.  Gore  and  Mr.  Butler.    /  shall  wait  for  one  more  disappointment* 

The  one  more  disappointment  Colonel  Pickering  referred  to  in  the  previous 
letter  actually  followed.  The  annoyances  he  met  with  in  public  life,  his  burden- 
some and  unremunerative  duties  at  Wyoming  and  this,  the  loss  of  an  appointment 
as  Surveyor  General  of  the  vState,  led  him  to  write  to  his  wife  in  a  somewhat  pessi- 
mistic strain.  "There  is  nothing  that  I  could  more  earnestly  pray  for  in  respect 
to  my  sons,  than  that  they  might  engage  in  such  private  pursuits  as  to  preclude 
even  the  wish  for  a  public  employment."  In  this  pessimistic  mood  his  friend 
Andrew  EHicott  found  him,  then  about  ready  to  start  back  to  Wyoming,  on 
April  5,  1790.  The  outcome  of  the  visit  was  that  Colonel  Pickering  applied  for 
the  office  of  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  made  vacant  by  a  resignation. 
Alexander  Hamilton,  to  whom  the  application  was  addressed,  advised  friends  of 
the  Commissioner  that  he  had  already  promised  the  place  to  another. 

That  General  Washington  knew  of  the  application  and  had  other  things 
in  view  for  his  former  Quartermaster  General  is  of  record.  In  the  meanwhile. 
Colonel  Pickering  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  seven 
months.  Scarcely  had  the  induction  of  Washington  into  the  office  of  first  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  become  a  fact,  before  the  affairs  of  Colonel  Pickering 
changed  for  the  better. 

The  Convention  for  framing  a  new  Constitution  for  Pennsylvania  came  to 
an  end  on  September  2,  1790.  It  adjourned  with  an  understanding  that  the 
members  would  come  together  as  a  body,  the  next  day,  to  meet  President  Wash- 
ington. Colonel  Pickering  was  again  in  Philadelphia  for  the  final  sessions.  The 
President  upon  meeting  him  proposed  that  his  former  companion  in  arms  accept 
a  commission  in  connection  with  an  impending  conference  with  the  tribe  of 
Senecas.  Colonel  Pickering  accepted  this  mark  of  esteem  in  the  part  of  his  chief. 
Next  day,  September  4th,  the  President  issued  the  following: 
"Colonel  Timothy  Pickering. 

"You  are  hereby  authorized  and  required  forthwith  to  proceed  to  the  Painted  Post, — or 
to  such  other  place  or  places  as  may  seem  proper,  there  to  meet,  in  behalf  of  the  United  States, 
the  sachems,  chiefs,  and  warriors  of  the  Seneca  Nation  of  Indians,  or  any  person  or  persons  deputed 
by  them:  to  assure  them  that  the  murders  committed  at  Pine  Creekf  on  some  of  their  tribe 
are  causes  of  great  displeasure  to  the  United  States ;  to  explain  to  them  what  measures  have  been 
taken,  and  are  still  proposed  to  be  taken,  to  apprehend  and  bring  the  offenders  to  justice;  to 
communicate  to  them  in  a  plain  and  fair  manner  the  late  act  of  Congress  respecting  the  trade 
and  intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes;  to  declare  to  them  the  friendly  disposition  of  the  Federal 
government  towards  them,  and  its  readiness  to  e.xtend  protection  and  support  to  them  on  all 
needful  occasions ;  and  in  general  to  do  such  matters  and  things  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  more 
complete  execution  of  the  foregoing  powers. 

"Given  under  my  hand  and  seal,  this  4th  day  of  September.  1790. 
"Philadelphia,  September  4th,  1790,  "G.  Washington." 


♦."^mong  his  friends  a  movement  was  started  in  1788  to  have  Colonel  Pickering  appointed  Surveyor  General  of 
Pennsylvania.  A  petition  to  this  effect  was  signed  by  a  number  of  influential  residents  of  Philadelphia  and  presented 
to  the  Council,  but  nothing  seems  to  have  come  of  it. 

t'The  Fine  Creek  Murders"  as  they  were  known  in  a  considerable  correspondence  between  President  Washington 
and  Chiefs  of  the  Senecas,  occurred  along  a  tributary  of  the  West  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna.  Two  Indians  of  that 
tribe,  on  a  peaceful  mission,  were  wantonly  murdered  by  drunken  traders.  The  murderers  were  later  brought  to  justice 
and.  «ith  considerable  diflrculty  owing  to  the  prejudice  of  the  times,  were  convicted  of  the  crime 


1641 

On  (October  17,  1790,  Colonel  Pickering  left  Wilkes-Barre,  as  the  head  of 
the  Indian  Commission. 

Many  interesting  documents  connected  with  the  treaty  which  was  finally 
concluded  with  the  Senecas  and  others  of  the  Six  Nations,  are  preserved  among 
the  "Pickering  Papers."     A  reference   to  one  of  them,  will  indicate  their  trend. 

On  November  15,  1790,  some  twenty  or  thirty  chiefs  had  assembled  at 
Tioga  Point,  including  representatives  of  all  the  Six  Nations  who  considered  the 
grievance  of  the  Senecas  their  own.  The  eloquent  Red  Jacket  was  present,  as 
were  Farmer's  Brother,  Good  Peter,  Captain  Hendrick  Aupaumut,  Fish  Carrier 
and  Big  Tree. 

After  passing  the  pipe,  according  to  Indian  customs.  Colonel  Pickering 
opened  the  conference  and  recorded  its  speeches  in  his  own  handwriting.  The 
usual  ceremonious  language  was  used : 

"'Brothers,  Sachems,  Chiefs,  and  Warriors  of  the  Si.x  Nations: 

"  'I  bid  you  a  hearty  welcome  to  this  council  fire,  and  thank  the  Great  Spirit  who  has 
brought  us  together  in  safety,  though  I  sincerely  lament  the  cause  of  our  meeting, — I  mean  the 
murder  of  our  two  brothers  of  your  nation  at  Pine  Creek. 

"  '  Brothers :  I  have  already  informed  you  by  letter  that  I  was  appointed  by  our  Great  Chief, 
General  Washington,  to  meet  you  on  this  occasion.  You  must  well  know  that  he  is  the  President 
or  Great  Chief  of  the  United  States.  What  I  shall  say  to  you  will  be  in  his  name,  by  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  pursuant  to  the  powers  vested  in  me  by  this  Commission  under  his  hand 
and  seal.' 

"The  President's  commission  to  me  was  then  read  and  interpreted. 
"  'Brothers :   I  desire  you  to  look  on  my  commission,  and  observe  the  seal  of  our  Great  Chief, 
and  his  name,  written  with  his  own  hand.' 

"My  commission  was  then  handed  round  among  the  chiefs. 

' '  '  Brothers :  As  this  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  held  a  treaty  with  you,  it  cannot  be  expected 
that  I  am  well  acquainted  with  your  customs.  I  therefore  desire  you  to  excuse  any  defect  in  point 
of  form.  But  what  I  speak  to  you  shall  be  the  truth ;  which  I  am  sure  you  will  think  more  important 
than  a  strict  observance  of  ceremonious  forms. 

"  'Brothers:  You  now  see  my  commission,  which  has  been  read  and  interpreted,  that, 
according  to  my  letter  to  you,  I  was  appointed  to  wash  off  the  blood  of  our  murdered  brothers, 
and  wipe  away  the  tears  from  the  eyes  of  their  friends;  and  that  this  occasion  was  to  be  improved 
to  brighten  the  chain  of  friendship  between  you  and  the  United  States. 

"  'Brothers:  You  said  the  hatchet  was  yet  sticking  in  your  head.  I  now  pull  it  out.  I 
have  now  met  you  to  wash  off  the  blood  of  the  slain,  and  wipe  away  the  tears  from  the  eyes  of  their 
friends.  And,  as  a  token  of  friendship  and  peace,  and  of  the  perfect  security  with  which  we  may 
confer  together,  I  now  present  to  you  these  strings.' 

"I  then  delivered  to  the  principal  chief,  usually  called  'The  Farmer's  Brother',  strings  of 
wampum.  After  some  consultation  with  the  chiefs  near  him,  he  rose  and  addressed  me  to  the 
following  effect: 

"  'Brother:  We  thank  the  Great  Spirit  who  has  appointed  this  day,  in  which  we  sit  side 
by  side,  and  look  with  earnestness  on  each  other.  We  know  you  have  been  long  waiting  for  us, 
and  suppose  you  have  often  stretched  up  your  neck,  to  see  if  we  were  coming.  Brother:  We  sent 
your  letter  to  the  Grand  River  by  the  Fish  Carrier,  and  we  have  been  waiting  for  its  return;  but 
it  has  not  yet  come  to  hand ;  and  therefore  we  cannot  yet  properly  enter  upon  business.  We  must 
wait  two  days  for  the  arrival  of  the  Fish  Carrier,  or  to  hear  from  him.  But,  in  the  mean  time, 
as  the  letter  is  not  come  back,  we  desire  you  to  accept  this  belt  as  a  pledge.' 
"He  then  delivered  the  belt. 

"After  a  pause,  the  chief,  called  Red  Jacket,  rose,  and  spoke  to  this  effect: 
"  'Brother:  We  are  happy  to  see  you  here,  for  which  we  thank  the  Great  Spirit. 
"  'Brother:  You  say  you  are  not  acquainted  with  our  customs.  Brother:  We  are  young, 
but  we  will  describe  the  ancient  practices  of  our  fathers.  The  roads  we  now  travel  were  cleared 
by  them.  When  they  used  to  meet  our  brothers  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia,  our  brothers 
not  only  pulled  the  hatchet  out  of  their  heads,  but  buried  it.  You  say  you  have  now  pulled  the 
hatchet  out  of  our  heads;  but  you  have  only  cast  it  behind  you;  and  you  may  take  it  up  again. 
Brother:  While  the  hatchet  lies  unburied,  we  cannot  sit  easy  on  our  seats.' 

"  'Brother:  From  the  time  we  made  peace  with  the  United  States,  we  have  experienced 
troubles,  even  more  than  before.  The  United  States  have  also  had  their  troubles.  Brother: 
we  now  hear  General  Washington,  the  Great  Chief  of  the  United  States,  speaking  to  us  by  you ; 
and  hope  our  troubles  will  now  have  an  end.  But  our  eyes  are  not  yet  washed,  that  we  may  see, 
nor  our  throats  cleared,  that  we  may  speak.' 

"As  soon  as  Red  Jacket  sat  down.  I  rose,  and  spoke  to  the  following  effect: 
"  'Brothers:   You  say  that  I  have  only  pulled  the  hatchet  out  of  your  heads,  and  have  not 
buried  it;  and  that,  while  it  remains  unburied,  you  cannot  sit  easy  on  your  seats.' 

"  'Brothers:  In  declaring  that  I  pulled  the  hatchet  out  of  your  heads.  I  meant  to  comply 
with  your  own  demand,  in  your  letter  to  the  President  and  Council  of  Pennsylvania;  which  was. 


1642 


that  he  should  come  and  pull  the  hatchet  out  of  your  heads.  However,  to  give  you  entire  satis- 
faction in  this  point,  as  the  hatchet  is  already  pulled  out  of  your  heads,  I  now  bury  it,  and  pray 
God  that  it  may  remain  buried;  that  its  edge  may  never  more  be  seen.  Brothers:  The  United 
States  have  no  wish  but  to  live  with  you  as  brothers  in  perpetual  peace.' 

"  'I  now  wash  off  the  blood  of  your  murdered  brothers,  and  the  tears  from  the  eyes  of  their 
friends.' 

"I  then  drank  to  their  healths. 

"After  they  had  been  served  round  with  a  glass  of  rum,  the  Farmer's  Brother  rose,  and 
spoke  to  this  effect: 

"  'Brother:  You  have  now  taken  us  by  the  hand,  and  washed  our  eyes.  Our  women 
expect  you  will  show  them  equal  attention.  They  are  here  waiting  your  invitation,  to  receive 
the  same  tokens  of  your  friendship,  which,  the  last  evening,  you  gave  to  us.  Perhaps,  in  taking 
them  by  the  hand,  you  may  see  one  who  may  please  you.'  (A  general  laugh  at  the  speaker's 
humor. ) 

"I  rose,  and  addressed  the  women: 

"  'Sisters:  I  am  very  glad  to  meet  you  here.  I  have  seen  agreeable  women  of  various 
complexions,  and  doubt  not  such  are  to  be  found  among  you.  I  invite  you  to  my  quarters,  where 
we  may  eat  and  drink  together  in  friendship.     I  now  take  you  by  the  hand  as  my  sisters.' 

"I  then  went  round  and  shook  hands  with  every  woman  present."* 

Colonel  Pickering's  conference  with  the  Indians  at  Tioga  Point  was  the 
beginning  of  long  service  in  this  connection.     He  was  singularly  adapted  to  it. 

There  were  many  elements  of  his 
aspect,  character  and  deportment  that 
gave  him  great  influence  over  Indians, 
and  won  both  their  confidence  and  good 
will.  He  stood  six  feet,  of  broad  mus- 
cular frame,  his  carriage  and  gestures 
together  with  the  initiative,  courage  and 
firmness  stamped  on  his  face  were  what 
they  admired. 

The  Six  Nations  made  him  a  Chief 
and  at  the  Council  fire  addressed  him  as 
"Conni-Santi,"  "The  Sunnv  Side  of  a 
Hill." 

On  April  10,  1791,  Major  Hodgden 
was  approached  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment in  order  that  Colonel  Pickering 
might  be  felt  out  as  to  accepting  another 
important  Indian  Commission.  He 
measured  up  to  this  task  as  he  did  others, 
by  accepting^  the  call.  In  a  letter  to  his 
brother  John,  acknowledging  acceptance  i„ 
of  the  Commission,  he  brings  out  what 
is  fixed  in  his  mind,  as  to  the  education  of  his  children: 

"Philadelphia,  April  23,  1791- 
"Dear  Brother. 

"An  unexpected  call  to  this  city,  to  prepare  for  holding  another  treaty  with  the  Indians 
of  the  Six  Nations,  gives  me  the  pleasure  of  this  opportunity  of  writing  by  Mr.  Dalton.t 

*ColoneI  Pickering's  bill  of  accounts  for  services  rendered  in  connection 
"The  United  St.^ies. 
"For  mj'  time  and  troubl 


George  Catlin 

n  Student  and  Painter,  who  sketched  "Colonel  Picki- 
ng at  Tioga  Point,"  illustrated  page  1 128,  Vol.  II. 


th  the  Seneca  conference  follows: 

To  Timothy  Pickering.  Dr 
,  .  ,  Philadelphia  two  days,  in  various  matters  preparatory  to  the  intended 

ference,  at  eight  dollars  a  day $   16  00 

y  time  and  trouble  in  procuring  provisions  for  the  Indians,  and  iioidiiig  a  conference  witiitiie^^ 
irom  October  1  ;th  (when  I  set  ofl  from  my  house  in  Wilkesbarre  for  Tioga)  until  No% ember  29th, 
at  night  (when  I  reached  home),  both  days,  included,  at  eight  dollars  a  day.     .  $352  GO 

Wilkesbarre  to  Tioga  and  back $     3.37 

fter  my  return,  in  transcribing  the  rough  minutes  of  the  proceed- 

making  a  joirrney  from  Wilkesbarre  to  Philadelphia  for  that 

lettled:  and  in  completing  the  payments  yet  to  be 

davs.  at  eight  dollars..S  96.00 


"For 


For  my  travelUng  expenses  f 
For  my  time,  trouble,  and  expen: 

ings.  to  report  to  the  president. „ 

purpose  and  to  get  the  account  of  expense 

''Uzerne  County  and  York  State,  equal  to  twel 


made  to  sundry  per 
"Philadelphia,  January  8th,  1791." 
tSee  the  "Life  of  Pickering."  Ill  :  486 


S467 


1643 

"I  have  felt  much  concern  for  the  eduction  of  my  children,  who  have  suffered  sAce  my 
removal  to  Wyoming.  At  present  they  are  provided  for  by  an  ingenious  young  lawyer,*  who 
formerly  kept  school,  who  now  boards  at  my  house,  assists  in  ray  office,  and  who  has  undertaken 
the  daily  task  of  instructing  the  children  in  reading  and  writing,  and  Tim  in  geogra|)hy.  My 
son  John,  I  am  informed,  is  a  good  scholar;  and  now,  I  suppose,  is  fit  for  entering  a  college.  I 
have  had  no  communications  with  you  on  this  subject,  nor  do  I  know  your  kind  intentions  con- 
cerning him.  I  earnestly  wish  you  to  write  me.  He  is  yet  young  enough.  Fifteen,  I  think,  is  early 
enough  for  a  youth  to  make  the  best  improvement  of  college  advantages.     *     *     *" 

To  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  statesman  of  his  time,  belongs  the  honor  of 
initiating  a  movement  which  was  later  to  result  in  the  creation  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  which  has  merited  its  worth  at  the  hands  of  the  present  government. 

In  1791,  while  in  the  capacity  of  vSecretary  of  the  Treasury,  Hamilton  wrote 
many  letters  to  those  whom  he  knew  were  informed  of  agricultural  developments 
in  their  sections. 

Among   his    correspondents    of    that    period  was    Colonel  Pickering,  who 

answered  him  in  terms  that  indicate  what  the  Wilkes-Barre  district  raised  in 

such  agricultural  pursuits  as  were  followed : 

"Philadelphia,  October  13th,  1791. 
"Dear  Sir, 

"When  I  received  your  letter  of  the  13th  of  August,  I  did  not  consider  it  with  that  attention 
which  would  have  been  necessary  if  at  that  time  I  had  attempted  to  answer  the  questions  you 
propose.  Now  it  appears  to  me  impossible  to  do  it  with  any  degree  of  precision.  It  then  struck 
me  that  certain  communications  to  the  Society  of  Agriculture,  of  this  city,  would  have  furnished 
the  principal  documents  required  on  the  subject  at  large.  But  upon  review  of  them  (after  a  lapse 
of  several  years)I  find  I  was  mistaken. 

"In  my  late  absence  from  the  city  I  meant  to  have  made  inquiries  in  the  counties  through 
which  I  travelled  in  this  State;  but  here  also  I  was  disappointed,  not  meeting  with  any  farmers 
sufficiently  informed. 

"From  the  farms  in  my  neighborhood  (from  which  you  naturally  expected  me  to  collect 
accurate  information)  no  conclusions  can  be  drawn;  their  peculiar  situation,  in  respect  to  title, 
and  their  quality  rendering  them  exceptions  to  most  of  the  farms  in  the  United  States.  Their 
title,  being  in  suspense  between  the  claimants  under  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania,  prevents 
their  due  cultivation  and  improvement;  and  the  parts  under  cultivation  are  almost  exclusively 
the  bottom  (or  interval)  lands,  adjacent  to  the  River  Susqueharma  and  its  branches.  The  residue 
of  the  country  is  without  enclosures,  where  the  cattle  range  at  large,  and  where,  till  within  four 
years  past,  the  people  cut  wood  for  timber  and  fuel  at  discretion,  without  regarding  their  own 
lines  of  property.  This  singular  state  of  the  Wyoming  farms  precludes  the  idea  of  fixing  their 
value.  Their  contents,  generally,  are  three  hundred  acres,  of  which,  upon  an  average,  not  thirty 
acres  are  reclaimed  from  a  state  of  nature.  The  average  produce  of  their  cultivated  grounds  I 
estimate  as  follows:! 

Wheat 15       Bushels  per  acre.  1 

Rye .12  

Buckwheat::::::  ::::i5  J  without  Manure. 

Indian  Corn 25  "         "         "     j 

Hay -  --   1  !2   Tons         "         "     I 

Late  in  June,  1791,  Colonel  Pickering  left  Wilkes-Barre  for  his  second 
conference  with  the  Six  Nations.  This  led  him  to  Newtown,  New  York,  as 
evidenced  by  the  following  letter  to  his  family  from  that  point: 

"Newtown,  July  5th,  1791. 

"Yesterday  we  began  the  real  business  of  the  treaty;  and,  from  what  at  present  appears, 
I  suspect  it  will  not  he  finished  under  ten  days.  We  have  now  about  nine  hundred  Indians  on  the 
ground,  about  a  hundred  and  thirty  more  will  be  here  today  or  to-morrow.  They  are  all  in  good 
temper,  and  I  expect  the  treaty  will  close  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner.  The  bearer  is  Mr. 
Rutherford,  a  member  of  Congress,  who  is  on  his  way  home  to  New  Jersey;  should  he  call  with 
the  letter  himself,  you  will  ask  him  to  breakfast  or  to  tea,  if  it  happens  to  be  convenient." 

*The  gentleman  spoken  of  as  the  teacher  of  the  children  in  the  family  has  been  frequently  mentioned.  Ebenezer 
Bowman  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  Class  of  1 782.  .Mter  teaching  school  at  Cambridge,  he  left  Massachusetts 
and  settled  at  Wyoming.  .\s  has  been  stated,  when  Colonel  Pickering  opened  the  first  Court  in  Luzerne  County,  Mr. 
Bowman  was  one  of  four  applicants  admitted  to  the  bar.  They  were  the  only  lawyers  in  the  county  for  several  years. 
In  1794  Mr.  Bowman  retired  from  practice,  but  continued  in  active  business.  He  represented  Luzerne  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania House  of  Assembly  in  1793.  For  a  long  period  he  boarded  in  Colonel  Pickering's  family,  and  was  a  faithful 
and  zealous  friend.    They  died  in  the  same  year.  1829. 

tSee  the  "Life  of  Pickering,"  III  :  491. 


1644 


Joseph  Brant 

By  Romney. 
I  England  during  Brant's  visit  there  in  1776. 


Having  accomplished  the  object  of  his  mission,  in  concluding  a  treaty 
with  the  Six  Nations,  which  proved  of  vital  importance  in  cementing  their  friend- 
ship to  the  United  States,  Colonel  Pick- 
ering immediately  set  off  for  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  thence  to  Philadelphia,  to  re- 
port to  Secretary  of  War  Knox,  his  ac- 
complishments. 

While  in  Philadelphia,  under  date 
of  August  12,  1791,  he  wrote  the  follow- 
ing to  his  wife: 

"As  I  left  you,  these  words  dropped  from 
your  lips,  'I  do  not  think  we  shall  live  here 
always,' — nor  will  you.  This  day  the  President 
appointed  me  Postmaster-General.  Mr.  Osgood 
has  resigned.  Next  Monday  or  Tuesday  I  go  to 
New  York  to  see  him,  on  the  business  of  the  de- 
partment. 

"I  pray  God  to  preserve  you  and  my  dear 
family,  that  you  may  see  good  after  so  many 
evil  days;  for,  if  the  office  should  not  add  to  my 
little  fortune,  at  least  I  trust  we  shall  live  more 
comfortablv,  and  get  our  children  well  educated. 
*     *     *'» 

"The  troubles,  cares  and  trials  to 
which  his  family  had  been  exposed  at 
Wyoming,  undoubtedly  made  the  pros- 
pect of  a  removal  an  inexpressible  relief 
to  them,  writes  Colonel  Pickering's 
biographer,   in  Upham's   "Life  of   Pickering." 

Thus  it  happened,  after  years  of  service  in  a  position  which  brought  him 
into  intimate  touch  with  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  Wyoming  Valley,  during  a  criti- 
cal state  of  its  peculiar  affairs,  Colonel  Pickering  was  called,  by  his  old  Com- 
mander in  Chief,  to  the  higher  service  of  his  countrymen,  in  affairs  of  the 
national  government.  How  he  succeeded  to  the  offices  of  Secretary  of  War, 
Secretary  of  State,  and  upon  his  return  to  Massachusetts,  to  a  dignified  closing 
period  of  his  life  as  Senator  from  that  Commonwealth,  is  for  his  biographer, 
rather  than  a  writer  of  local  history  to  record.  That  Wilkes-Barre  has  never 
honored  him  in  the  slightest  degree,  as  the  most  distinguished  man  who  was 
ever,  actually  as  well  as  in  name,  one  of  its  citizens,  seems  almost  incredible. 
Even  the  house  he  built  and  from  which  he  was  abducted  does  not  now  bear 
his  name.  It,  with  all  his  other  property  and  lands  in  Wilkes-Barre  (now 
assessed  at  over  $18,000,000)  was  sold  as  purchasers  offered.  Gen.  William 
Ross  acquired  the  homestead  from  Colonel  Pickering  in  1796.* 

In  the  fall  of  1791,  Colonel  Pickering  entered  upon  his  duties  as  Post- 
master General,  at  Philadelphia.  Finding  a  great  scarcity  of  houses  there,  it 
was  decided  to  leave  his  family  at  their  comfortable  Wilkes-Barre  home  until 
Spring.  That  the  hospitality'of  this  house  was  boundless,  may  be  gathered  from 
a  knowledge  that  a  teacher,  a  preacher,  and  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Pickering  were  all 
guests  there  during  this  particular  winter. 

A  fund  had  been  raised  to  secure  a  minister  at  Wyoming,  to  which  fund, 
the   Pickerings  and  other  New   Englanders   were  subscribers.     That  a  young 


1645 


Abraham  Bradley 

Appointed  Assistant  Postmaster  Gene 


preacher  had  been  found  to  accept  the  position  is  disclosed  by  a  letter  from  Colonel 
Pickering,    to  his  wife  dated    November 
8,  1791: 

"Mr.  Bowman  called  on  me  to- 
day, "  runs  the  letter,  "bringing  with  him 
an  agreeable  young  man,  who  is  going  to 
Wyoming  to  commence  a  preacher.  * 
*  *  Warm  testimonials  you  will  find 
enclosed.  These  testimonials  of  Mr. 
Thayer's*  worth  will  be  sufficient  to  in- 
duce you  to  embrace  every  opportunity 
of  contributing  to  make  his  residence 
agreeable  to  him." 

On  the  same  subject,  and  in- 
dicative of  how  schooling  of  that  period 
was  accomplished.  Colonel  Pickering, 
the  same  day  wrote  the  Rev.  John 
Clark    of    Philadelphia,    the    following; 

"Mr.  Thayer  handed  me  your 
letter  of  introduction.  I  am  glad  he  is 
gone  to  Wyoming.  *  *  *  There  is  at  my 
house,  where  he  will  also  stay,  an  ingen- 
ious young  man,  Mr.  Bradley, f  of  some 
reading  and  a  taste  for  literature.  The 
ensuing  winter  he  will  school  mine,  and  some  of  the  neighbor's  children." 

In  the  spring  of  1792,  Colonel  Pickering  found  a  suitable  house  at  his  new 
place  of  residence.     He  wrote  of  it  on  March  16th,  as  follows: 

"I  have  engaged  a  house  in  Second  Street.  'Tis  a  large  house,  with  two 
rooms  in  front.  I  shall  keep  my  office  in  them  and  by  that,  and  other  means, 
stand  myself  at  $300  rent." 

On  May  10,  1792,  Colonel  Pickering  made  his  last  visit  to  Wilkes-Barre 
to  escort  his  family  to  this  new  home.  By  way  of  concluding  his  official  business 
at  Wyoming,  he  penned  the  following  report  to  Governor  Mifflin: 

"Philadelphia,  August  16th,  1791. 
"Sir, 

"It  is  proper  for  me  to  inform  you  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  been  pleased 
to  appoint  me  to  the  office  of  Postmaster-General.  This,  or  course,  vacates  the  offices  which  I 
held  under  Pennsylvania;  and,  though  I  do  not  feel  myself  under  any  obligations  to  the  county 
of  Luzerne,  yet  I  shall  be  pleased  to  see  its  welfare  promoted.  I  shall  be  pleased  to  see  that  part 
of  Pennsylvania  prosper;  and  I  shall  also  be  pleased,  Sir,  to  see  your  administration  approved 
and  applauded. 

"In  the  first  place,  give  me  leave  to  assure  you  that  the  business  in  all  these  offices  together 
is  of  but  small  extent,  and  consequently  of  small  emolument,  too  small  to  admit  of  a  di\-ision. 

"In  the  Register's  office,  during  a  space  of  more  than  four  years,  but  about  half  a  dozen 
wills  have  been  presented.  Letters  of  administration  have  been  more  numerous.  I  think  between 
eighty  and  ninety  have  been  issued;  but  these  have  been  chiefly  on  the  estates  of  persons  who 
were  dead  before  the  change  of  jurisdiction  in  17S2;  and  of  these  the  greater  part  fell  \-ictiras  to 
the  Indians  in  177S.  The  run  of  these  is  over,  and  scarcely  half  a  dozen  letters  are  now  issued 
in  a  year. 

"In  the  Orphan's  Court,  all  the  proceedings  do  not  fill  a  quire  of  paper. 

"In  the  Court  of  General  Quarter-Sessions  of  the  Peace,  as  little  business  has  occurred  as 
in  the  Orphan's  Court. 

*Nathaniel  Thayer  D.D.  wasa  native  of  Hampton,  New  Hampshire,  and  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  in  the  class  of 
1789.    In  1793,  he  settled  at  Lancaster.  Massachusetts  and  continued  in  his  ministry  there  until  his  death,  in  1840. 

t.\braham  Bradley,  mentioned  above,  later  became  a  resident  of  Hanover  township.  In  1800  he  was  appointed 
Assistant  Postmaster  General  of  the  United  States  at  Colonel  Pickering's  suggestion.  In  1802  be  published  "A  New 
Theory  of  the  Earth,"  copies  of  which  book  are  still  found  among  old  libraries  of  Wilkes-Barre. 


1646 

"In  the  Recorder's  office,  the  deeds  and  mortgages  are  recorded  in  separate  books;  and, 
if  united,  would  fill  about  three-fourths  of  one  folio  volume  of  demi,  or  about  five  quires  of  paper. 

"The  Prothonotary's  office  furnished  most  business;  but  this  arose  from  the  like  cause 
with  the  letters  of  administration;  the  business  had  been  damned  up  during  several  years;  the  law, 
introduced,  opened  the  gates,  and,  during  three  years,  there  was  a  run  of  from  twenty  to  forty 
actions  at  a  term.  But  the  sources  have  failed,  and  the  stream  is  greatly  reduced.  At  the  last 
term,  the  number  of  actions  was  about  eighteen;  and  when  I  left  home,  ten  days  ago,  there  stood 
on  the  docket  but  a  solitary  action  for  the  ensuing  term,  commencing  this  day  two  weeks. 

"These  facts  I  state  from  my  memoty  (which,  however,  I  believe  is  pretty  correct)  not 
expecting  such  occasion  to  use  them;  for,  till  I  reached  Bethlehem,  I  knew  not  that  any  office 
under  the  United  States  was  vacant. 

"Permit  me  now,  Sir,  to  mention  a  gentleman  there  who  can  well  execute,  and  who  well 
deserves  all  those  offices.  I  mean  Abraham  Bradley,  Esquire,  whose  prudence,  steadiness,  and 
sobriety  are  exemplary — whose  integrity  is  unblemished,  whose  industry  has  no  rival,  and  whose 
judgment  and  law  knowledge  have  there  no  superior;  I  should  speak  more  accurately  if  I  should 
say  no  equal.  In  pleadings  and  the  necessary  forms,  he  is  decidedly  superior  to  all.  But  he  came 
later  into  the  practice  than  the  other  attorneys,  was  younger,  somewhat  diffident,  and  has  not 
formed  a  habit  of  speaking.  He  has  therefore  had  few  cases  to  manage,  and  his  fees  have  been 
trifling.  He  studied  law  and  wrote  in  the  office  of  Tapping  Reeve,  Esquire,  an  eminent  lawyer 
at  Litchfield,  in  Connecticut.  He  writes  a  fair,  strong,  legible  hand,  perfectly  adapted  to  records. 
During  my  frequent  absences  in  the  last  two  years,  he  has  done  the  business  in  the  Court  and  in 
my  office  with  great  propriety.  'Tis  a  business  in  which  he  takes  pleasure.  His  law  knowledge 
renders  him  peculiarly  fit  to  hold  all  the  offices  before  mentioned  and  will  give  great  facility  in 
the  execution.  And  his  law  knowledge  will  not  be  stationary;  it  will  advance.  For  he  has  an 
inquisitive  mind,  and  a  taste  for  literature  in  general. 

"This,  Sir,  is  not  the  language  of  hyperbole.  'I  speak  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness,' 
from  an  intimate  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Bradley.  I  think  he  was,  last  spring,  admitted 
an  attorney  in  the  Supreme  Court;  but  Mr.  Burd  can  inform  you. 

"Give  me  leave,  Sir,  to  close  this  long  letter  with  a  few  words  relative  to  the  county  Judges. 
Mr.  Joseph  Kinney  was  pretty  early  appointed  a  Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas;  but,  fully  expecting 
to  remove  to  the  State  of  New  York,  he  sent  to  the  Court  a  letter  of  resignation ;  but  I  do  not  know 
whether  his  resignation  was  ever  declared  to  the  late  Executive  Council.  I  believe  it  was  not. 
He  lived  near  Tioga,  where  Esquire  Holknback  was  sometimes  present,  and  to  which  neighbor- 
hood Esquire  Murray  moved  up  from  Shawnee.  Mr.  Kinney  was  disappointed  in  respect  to  the 
lands  in  York  State  to  which  he  meant  to  go,  and  has  remained  in  Luzerne.  Christopher  Hurlbut, 
Esquire,  is  now  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  that  county.  These 
two  gentlemen  I  name  before  all  others  who  can  have  any  pretensions  to  the  office  of  Judge  of  the 
Common  Pleas  under  the  new  Constitution;  because  they  are  decidedly  men  of  superior  discern- 
ment, of  minds  more  improved  and  still  improving;  because  they  are  inquisitive,  have  a  taste  for 
reading,  and  a  thirst  for  knowledge.  I  do  not  know  that  the  other  Judges  can  be  better  chosen 
than  from  among  the  gentlemen  who  have  held  seats  in  the  legislature  and  Executive  Council, 
whom  you  personally  know.  The  characters  of  the  gentlemen  I  have  described,  I  think,  are 
drawn  with  truth.  If  I  were  never  to  see  you  again,  if  I  were  going  to  quit  this  country  or 
w'orld,  I  should  freely  write  what  I  have  here  written. 

"Should  you' honor  me  with  any  questions  relative  to  the  County  of  Luzerne,  I  shall  answer 
them  with  pleasure,  and  with  the  same  candor  that  I  should  have  given  you  information  at  any 
period  of  my  life. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be  respectfully.  Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 
"Thomas  Mifflin,  Esq.,"  Governor  of  Pennsylvania."  "T-  Pickering. 

To  conclude  a  reference  to  the  closing  days  of  Colonel  Pickering's  adminis- 
tration without  further  record  of  the  career  of  his  chief  antagonist,  Col.  John 
Franklin,  might  seem  neglectful.  Miner,  in  his  History,  page  438,  makes  an 
incorrect  assumption  that  Colonel  Franklin  was  released  from  confinement  after 
the  session  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  Wilkes-Barre,  in  1788.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
he  was  to  suifer  nearly  a  year's  further  confinement  at  the  hands  of  Pennsylvania. 
We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  Chapter  how  and  when  he  was  removed  from 
Wilkes-Barre  to  the  jail  at  Easton.  In  the  collection  of  "Franklin  Papers," 
of  the  Tioga  Point  Museum,  it  appears  that  he  was,  for  some  reason  not 
apparent  to  Wyoming,  in  December,  1788,  returned  to  the  Philadelphia  jail, 
January  8,  1799,  and  sent  to  Easton  again,  May  24,  1799.  Documents  in  the 
Archives  of  Pennsylvania,  were  not  arranged  for  publication  when  Miner  wrote 
(1845)  or  he  might  have  found  two  letters  therein  written  by  Franklin,  in  1789, 
while  still  a  prisoner  at  Philadelphia.  One  of  these  follows: 
"May  it  please  your  Excellency,  "Philadelphia  Gaol,  March  the  5th,  17S9. 

"In  my  address  the  17th  ult.,  I  stated  to  your  Excellency  that  I  was  unable  to  provide 
myself  with  fuel  and  Clothing  necessary  to  guard  me  against  the  Inclemency  of  the  season,  (the 


1647 

Clothing  then  alluded  to  was  bedding,)  I  was  at  the  same  time  in  want  of  Sundry  articles  of 
wearing  apparel,  but  it  was  at  that  time,  and  still  is  my  wish  to  be  patient  under  all  my  afflictions, 
and  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  all  complaints.  I,  at  that  time  had  a  hope  that  I  should  shortly 
be  Liberated  from  Prison.  I  still  entertain  the  same  hope,  but  at  what  period  that  will  take  place 
is  to  me  unknown. 

"A  long  Confinement,  remote  from  my  friends,  and  the  expence  I  have  been  put  to  together 
with  the  loss  of  my  property  wasted  and  Dispoiled  at  Wyoming  since,  and  in  consequence  of  my 
Imprisonment  has  reduced  me  to  Indigent  Circumstances,  and  rendered  me  wholy  unable  to  make 
any  provision  for  my  own  .subsistance. 

"If  it  had  been  my  fortune  to  have  been  imprisoned  near  my  own  home,  where  my  friends 
and  Connections  wtre  around  me,  I  might  have  take  care  of  my  subsistance,  and  Probably  been 
provided  with  the  necessaries  of  Life,  without  any  expence  to  the  Public,  but  being  confined  in 
a  place  strange  to  me,  and  a  large  proportion  of  my  confinement  being  severe  and  retired,  has 
prevented. 

■'I  shall  not  attempt  to  enumerate  the  articles  of  Cloa thing  that  I  stand  in  need  of  to  make 
my  life  Comfortable,  as  well  as  to  appear  Decent,  but  say  in  a  word,  I  am  almost  Destitute  of 
Cloathing  of  all  kinds. 

"I  feel  myself  unhappy  that  I  am  unable  to  provide  myself  with  such  things  as  I  stand  in 
need  of.  But  from  the  Circumstances  before  related  it  is  not  in  my  power,  I  have  therefore  thought 
fit  to  state  my  case  to  your  Excellency  (that  If  Proper)  it  may  be  represented  to  your  Honble 
Council,  that  such  measures  may  be  taken  for  my  relief  as  to  your  Excellency  and  Honble  Body 
shall  be  thought  expedient. 

"I  am  may  it  please  your  Excellency, 

with  Due  respect,  your  Excellency's 

most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

John  Franklin." 
"Directed, 

"His  Excellency,  Thomas  Mifflin,  Esq.,  President  in  Council. 

Colonel  Franklin  seems  to  have  been  given  his  liberty  in  September,  1789, 
and  to  have  made  his  way  back  to  Wilkes-Barre.  Broken  in  health  and  spirits,  he 
appears,  from  what  few  references  of  that  period  are  available,  to  have  devoted 
several  months  to  settling  up  his  affairs  in  Huntington  Township,  and  pre- 
paring to  remove  to  Athens,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  many  of  his  activities, 
and  which  was  to  become  his  future  home.  He  left  Wyoming  for  Athens,  April 
26,  1790,  walking  the  entire  distance  in  a  five  days'  journey.  From  an  address 
prepared  for  delivery  at  the  1 39th  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Wyoming,  in 
1917,  by  Mrs.  Louise  Welles  Murray,  and  published  b)-  the  Wyoming  Commemo- 
rative Association,  many  facts  of  the  later  life  of  the  "Hero  of  Wyoming,"  may 
be  gleaned.    An  account  of  his  second  marriage  is  narrated   therein,  as  follows:* 

"The  wary  politician  and  military  commander  was  not  only  holding  himself  true  to  his 
promises  to  Pennsylvania,  but  he  became  an  ardent  farmer,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  many  of 
his  friends.  It  is  quite  possible  that  at  this  time  Franklin  had  no  available  funds;  at  any  rate 
he  was  a  veritable  whirlpool  of  activity,  proving  that  his  imprisonment  by  no  means  depleted  his 
strength.  At  the  close  of  the  busy  season,  he  repaired  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  November.  He  records 
that  he  made  this  trip  in  a  canoe,  carrying  five  passengers,  that  he  sold  it  on  his  arrival  for  three 
dollars  to  pay  a  debt.  After  visiting  among  all  his  old  friends  for  a  week  he  thus  records  his 
Thanksgiving  celebration:  'This  day  I  was  about  the  town  of  Wilkesbarre,  and  at  evening 
followed  the  example  of  good  old  Jacob,  I  took  me  a  wife,  and  may  the  Lord  send  Jacob's  blessing.' 
His  permanent  house,  still  standing,  was  not  erected  until  1798,  but  there  was  on  his  property 
a  little  log  house  built  by  the  first  settler  in  this  locality,  and  here  he  soon  installed  his  new  bride 
and  their  two  groups  of  children,  and  his  life  with  them  proved  him  to  be  as  devoted  a  father  to 
one  group  as  to  the  other." 

It  was  not  until  1792,  that  a  pardonf  for  Colonel  Franklin  was  forthcoming. 
In  the  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Vol.  XI  :  105,  is  found  the  following  draft  of 
the  document  issued  by  Governor  Mifflin,  January  9,  1792: 

"Pen'a,  i.y. 

"In  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  Com'th  of  Penn'a. 

"Thomas  Mifflin.  Governor  of  the  said  Comm'th. 
"To  all  to  whom  these  Presents,  shall  come,  sends  greeting: 

"Whereas,  it  appears  that  'At  a  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  &c.,  held  at  Wilkesbarre, 
for  the  County  of  Luzerne,  the  fourth  day  of  November,  1788,  Before  the  Honorable  Thomas 
iVI'Kean.  Esquire,  LL.D.,  Chief  Justice,    and    the  Honorable  Jacob  Rush,  Esq.,  Justice  of  the 

*.^  further  skttch  of  Colonel  Franklin  appears  on  page  1227,  \'ol.  II  of  this  History. 

tColonel  Franklin's  copy  of  his  pardon  is  now  among  the  ""Franklin  Papers."'  in  the  Tioga  Point  Museum. 


1648 

Supreme  Court.  S:c.,  John  Franklin,  late  of  Wilkesborough,  in  the  County  aforesaid.  Yeoman, 
was  duly  and  legally  Indicted  for  High  Treason,  and  upon  such  Indictment  arraigned,  and  pleaded 
not  Guilty. 

"From  the  Records. 

"Geo.  Davis,  for 

"Edw.  Burd,  CI.  Cur.  Oyer.' 

"And  Whereas,  the  expediency  of  granting  a  Pardon  to  the  said  John  Franklin,  under  the 
peculiar  circumstances  attending  his  case,  has  been  suggested  to  me  by  all  the  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Commonwealth  aforesaid,  for  that,  in  their  unanimous  opinion,  a  trial 
of  the  ofTence  aforesaid,  after  so  considerable  an  interval  of  time  has  elapsed,,  will  not  contribute 
to  the  general  interests  of  the  Commonwealth.  Now,  Know  Ye,  that  in  consideration  of  the 
Premises,  and  in  full  confidence  that  the  said  John  Franklin,  having  repented  of  any  unlawful 
acts  which  he  may  heretobefore  have  committed,  is  resolved  to  be  and  remain  a  good  and  faithful 
Citizen  of  the  Commonwealth,  I  Have  granted,  and  by  these  Presents  I  Do  grant  unto  the  said 
John  Franklin,  a  full  and  free  Pardon,  for  and  on  account  of  the  said  offence  of  High  Treason, 
whereof  he  was  Indicted  as  aforesaid,  and  for  and  on  account  of  any  other  act  or  acts  of  High 
Treason,  or  misprison  of  Treason,  by  him  in  anywise  heretofore  committed.     Given,  &c., 

"Indorsed,  "By  the  Governor." 

The  difference  in  treatment  of  Colonel  Franklin  by  the  new  Constitutional 
government  of  Pennsylvania*  as  distinguished  from  the  regime  of  the  Council, 
was  sharply  defined  in  the  same  year,  when  Governor  Mifflin  commissioned 
Col.  John  Franklin  "High  Sheriff  of  Luzerne  County,"  following  his  choice  for 
that  office  at  the  fall  election  of  1792.* 

*The  first  general  elections  in  Luzerne  County,  conducted  under  the  new  Constitution,  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1790, 
Those  elected  and  the  surprisingly  small  total  vote  for  each  are  named  below: 

GOVERNOR. 
Thomas  Mifflin,  ninety-one. 
Atthur  Sinclair,  twenty-nine. 

SEN.'^TOR. 
William   Montgomery,   one   hundred   and   twenty. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 
Obadiah  Gore,  forty-six. 
Nathan  Denison.  thirty-four. 
Rosewell  Welles,  thirty-two. 
John  Paul  Schott,  seven. 

•SHERIFF. 
Jessie  Fell,  one  hundred  and  fifteen. 
Arnold  Colt,  fifty-six 
Lord  Butler,  three. 
Nathan  Carey,  forty-eight. 
John  P.  Schott.  two. 
Abraham  Westbrook,  one 
Dwyer  Plant,  one. 
Peter  Grubb,  one. 
John  Ryon,  four. 
.A-brahara  Bradley,  one. 

CORONER. 
.\bel  Yarington,  one  hundred  and  thirteen. 
Abel  Price,  one  hundred  and  seven. 
Jabez  Fish,  seven. 
Nathan  Carev.  one, 

COUNTY  COMMISSIONERS. 
John  Hageman.  one  hundred  and  fifteen. 
John  Hollenbacb.  one. 
(Signed) 

Timothy  Pickering. 
William  Hooker  Smith, 
John  Hurlbut, 

Judges,  etc." 

The  five  election  districts  in  Luzerne  County 

at  that  period  were  Wilkes-Barre,  Kingston,  Tioga. 

Tunkhannock  and  Salem.     The  total  vote  polled  in 

those  districts  is  recorded  as  follows: 

GOVERNOR 
Miniin  249 

St   Clair  62 

SENATOR 
Montgomery  264 

Smith  43 

REPRESENTATIVE 
Gore  129 

Welles  99 

D(  nivon  66 

Schott  12 

CORONER 

Yarington 289 

Pierce 271 

SHERIFF. 

Fell 267 

Colt 144 

Butler 56  ■>■ 

Carey 52 

Denison....: 7 

COMMISSIONERS. 

Hageman 284 

Hollenback 1 


1649 

In  1793,  he  was  named  as  a  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  Militia  by  the  same 
appointive  agency-  In  the  following  Chapter,  devoted  to  the  quieting  of  titles  of 
lands  of  the  County,  it  will  be  found  that  Colonel  Franklin's  activities  in  reviving 
the  Susquehanna  Company's  claims  led  him  again  into  direct  conflict  with  Penn- 
sylvania. But  neither  then,  nor  until  his  death,  was  the  popularity  of  Col.  John 
Franklin  impaired  among  the  settlers  of  the  Susquehanna  basin.  From  1794 
to  1804,  he  was  intermittently  a  member  of  the  legislature  from  the  upper  District, 
with  but  few  dissenting  votes,  whenever  he  stood  for  office.  Opposing  at  every 
turn,  various  laws,  as  will  later  appear,  which  adversely  affected  the  Claim  of  Con- 
necticut, he  was  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  Pennsylvania.  In  desperation,  the  Com- 
monwealth finally  adopted  the  expedient  of  setting  off  that  part  of  Luzerne 
County,  containing  his  residence,  to  Lycoming  County;  but  in  ignorance  of  the 
exact  location,  they  set  off  the  part  west  of  the  river.  The  bill  being  read  in  his 
presence.  Colonel  Franklin  realized  its  intent,  rose  in  his  seat  and  calmly  informed 
the  chair  that  he  lived  east  of  the  Susquehanna,  doubtless  affording  merriment  as 
well  as  chagrin.  The  bill  was  then  altered  to  include  his  residence  in  the  dis- 
membered portion.  This  caused  great  indignation  among  his  home  folks,  and 
it  was  written  "though  Yankees  are  wild,  they  will  not  thus  be  tamed."  In  this 
movement  even  the  legislature  thought  only  of  the  Wyoming  region.  But 
Tioga  Point  was  heard  from.  Franklins'  constituents  were  tiot  in  lower  Luzerne. 
They  had  influence  in  all  Lycoming,  and  once  more  he  was  elected  by  a  trium- 
phant majority,  taking  his  seat  at  Lancaster  to  the  chagrin  and  mortification 
of  his  enemies.  This  was  called  his  crowning  and  closing  victory.  But  it  should 
be  recorded  again  and  again,  that  the  general  features  of  the  compromising  law 
passed  in  1799,  were  mostly  the  result  of  his  labors  with  the  pen  and  in  the  legis- 
lative halls.  He  had  at  last  the  proud  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  theory  of  the 
right  of  soil  prevail."* 

With  the  passing  of  these  two  characters,  at  practically  the  same  time, 
from  the  scene  of  their  antagonistic  activities,  there  ends  much  of  the  glamor 
of  romance  which  envelops  the  early  history  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  Wyoming 
Valley.  A  single  Chapter  will  serve  to  conclude  what  echoes  remain  of  the  unique 
struggle  between  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania,  for  the  political  mastery  of  a 
district  whose  history  was  made  unique  in  the  annals  of  America,  by  reason  of 
this  controversy.  For  a  subsequent  Chapter  of  this  volume  has  been  reserved 
a  discussion  of  hesitating  yet  successful  processes  of  law.  Court  interpretation  and 
common  sense,  which  finally  quieted  the  titles  to  individual  rights  of  soil  of  the 
Susquehanna  Purchase. 

*From  Mrs.  Murray's  Papei  (antt-). 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

AGGRESSIVE  LEADERSHIP  AT  WYOMING  IS  MISSING— FAILURE  OF  THE  "CON- 
FIRMING LAW"  AND  ITS  REPEAL— THE  "INTRUSION  ACT"  A  MOCKERY- 
REVIVAL    OF    THE    SUSQUEHANNA    COMPANY    WTTH    ATHENS   AS 
A  HUB  OF  RESTLESS  ACTIVITIES— THE   "COMPROMISE  ACT 
OF   1799"— ADVERSE   COURT   DECISIONS— ABILITY  AND 
SINCERITY  OF  THE  "COMPROMISE  COMMISSION" 
INSPIRE  PUBLIC  CONFIDENCE— RIGHTS  OF 
SOIL   FINALLY    DETERMINED. 


'Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view 
And  robes  the  mountain  in  its  azure  hue." 
Campbell. 


"Midnight!  the  outpost  of  advancing  day! 
The  frontier  town  and  citadel  of  night! 
The  watershed  of  Time,  from  which  the  streams 
Of  yesterday  and  tomorrow  take  their  way, 
One  to  the  land  of  promise  and  of  light, 
One  to  the  land  of  darkness  and  of  dreams." 

Longfellow. 


When  Colonel  Pickering  and  Colonel  Franklin  took  their  several  ways  from 
Luzerne  County,  there  was  lacking  an  aggressive  leadership  of  the  two  factions 
of  settlers  whose  animosities,  for  a  period  of  over  thirty  years,  had  caused  turmoil, 
strife  and  bloodshed  throughout  the  wide  domain  of  the  Susquehanna  Purchase. 
The  Decree  of  Trenton,  in  1782,  had  settled,  for  all  time,  the  question  of  political 
jurisdiction  of  the  contending  states,  over  a  then  huge  wilderness  of  nearly  five 
million  ;  cres,  dotted  by  infrequent  settlements,  among  which  Wilkes-Barre 
stood  first  in  population  and  importance.  In  view  of  a  refusal  of  Congress  to 
further  consider  the  case,  or  of  Connecticut  to  actively  interest  itself  in  its  lost 
province,  there  had  remained  but  one  course  open  to  that  faction  of  settlers  who 
refused  to  accept  either  the  Decree  itself,  or  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  as  binding 
upon  them.  The  independent  state  idea  offered  a  seemingly  plausible  way  out 
of  the  difficulty.  But  this  idea,  as  preceding  Chapters  have  disclosed,  was  not 
to  reach  fruition.  Nor  was  a  later  revival  of  the  plan,  as  wall  be  seen,  to  be  more 
successful  in  accomplishment. 

Had  the  right  of  soil,  or  in  other  words,  the  individual  title  to  the  lands, 
been  settled  by  the  same  Decree,  or,  had  it  been  justly  determined  by  Pennsylvania, 
within  a  reasonable  time  after  the  Decree  was  promulgated,  hundreds  of  lives 
might  have  been  spared,  the  ruin  of  thousands  averted  and  the  loss  of  millions 
to  that  Commonwealth  saved.  In  the  end,  after  wearing  out  a  generation, 
the  whole  business  was  settled — and  satisfactorily  in  the  main. 

To  reach  an  understanding  of  this  final  adjustment  of  an  unparalleled  case 
in  the  nation's  history,  a  brief  review  seems  required  of  legislation,  incompetent 


and  conflicting  at  the  start,  but  eventually  so  clarified  by  subsequent  amendment 
as  to  meet  the  situation.* 

The  first  step  taken  by  Pennsylvania  to  quiet  these  troublesome  titles  at 
Wyoming,  was  the  passage  of  the  Confirming  Law,  March  28,  1787.  The  purport 
of  the  act,  as  has  already  been  seen,  was  to  confirm  a  title,  recognized  as  inherent 
in  such  Connecticut  claimants  as  were  actual  settlers  upon  their  claims  prior  to 
the  Decree  of  Trenton.  To  those  deriving  title  to  the  same  lands  from  Penn- 
svlvania,  a  just  compensation  in  other  lands'^  was  to  be  deemed  a  sufficient  con- 
sideration for  surrendering  the  disputed  title  to  the  state.  Pennsylvania  kept  an 
anchor  to  windward,  however,  in  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  measure.  Section 
nine  of  the  act  provided,  in  brief,  that  within  eight  months  from  its  passage, 
the  Connecticut  claimants  were  to  produce  their  claims  before  commissioners 
appointed  to  hear  them,  "clearly  describing  their  lands  and  describing  the  grounds 
of  their  claims,  and  also  adducing  the  proper  proofs,  not  only  of  their  titles, 
but  of  their  situations,  qualities  and  values  of  the  lands  so  claimed,  to  enable 
the  Board  to  judge  the  validity  of  such  claims  and  of  the  quantities  of  vacant 
lands  proper  to  be  granted  as  equivalents  (to  Pennsylvania  claimants.)" 

How  impossible  it  was  for  the  settlers  to  avail  themselves  of  the  requirements 
and  privileges  of  the  act  within  the  time  limit,  was  expressed  in  a  letter  of  protest 
from  Colonel  Pickering,  to  the  Council,  dated  at  Wilkes-Barre,  February  27,  1 790. 
In  substance  the  protest  contended: 

"That  the  conditions  expressed  in  the  Act  were  complied  with,  on  the  part  of  the  Connecti- 
cut claimants,  as  far  as  it  was  practicable,  and  they  were  not  bound  to  perform  impossib  lities. 
that  eight  months  rom  the  time  of  passing  the  act  were  allowed  them  to  get  information  of  it, 
and  to  present  their  claims;  that  the  commissioners  appointed  to  receive  and  examine  these 
claims  were  required  to  meet,  for  that  purpose,  in  Luzerne  county,  in  two  months  next  after  the 
passing  of  the  Act;  that  owing  to  successive  resignation.:;  of  General  Muhlenberg.  General  Hcister. 
and  Joseph  Montgomery,  Esquire,  those  examinations  did  not  commence  till  some  time  in  August; 
that  the  seizure  of  John  Franklin,  on  the  2nd  of  October,  for  his  questionable  practices  and  designs, 
occasioned  a  sudden  insurrection  of  his  adherents,  of  whom  a  very  small  number  had  any  pre- 
tensions to  land  under  the  Confirming  Law;  that  a  few  days  before  this  arrest,  Colonel  Balliot. 
one  of  the  commis.sioncrs,  had  gone  home  to  his  family;  That  Colonel  Pickering,  himself  another 
of  the  commis  ioners,  having  personally,  in  sight  of  the  people,  and  with  srms  in  his  hands,  as- 
sisted in  securing  Franklin,  and  preventing  any  attempts  to  rescue  him,  and  thus  rendered  himself 
obnoxious  to  the  resentment  and  sudden  vengeance  of  his  partisans,  was  advised  to  retire  to  some 
secure  place  until  their  heat  should  subside:  That  Colonel  William  Montgomery,  the  other  com- 
missioner, seeing  the  storm  gathering,  immediately  after  Franklin  was  taken,  had  left  the  county 
to  go  home;  That  the  commissioners  having  thus  separated,  never  again  assembled,  the  time 
limited  for  the  presentation  of  the  Connecticut  claims  expiring  so  soon  after  as  the  28th  of  Novem- 
ber, following:  That  since  th's  ev^nt,  (referring  to  his  own  abduction, i  the  county  has  remained 
in  perfect  quiet,  the  laws  having  as  free  and  complete  operation  as  in  any  other  county." 

Then  arguing  against  the  repeal  of  the  Act,  he  added: 

"That  the  people  rely  on  the  magnanimity  and  good  faith  of  the  State,  for  the  execution 
of  the  grants  made  to  them  by  the  Confirming  Law ;  That  in  this  expectation,  their  industry  is 
manifestly  increased,  they  have  begun  to  build  more  comfortable  houses,  to  erect  barns,  and  to 
extend  the  improvements  on  their  lands;  That  a  repeal  of  the  law  would  check  this  rising  in- 
dustry, stop  further  improvements,  revive  ancient  jealousies  and  animosities,  and  perhaps,  des- 
troy the  peace  of  the  country." 

Colonel  Pickering's  connection  with  Wyoming's  affairs  was  directly  attribut- 
able to  this  law.  To  exercise  political  jurisdiction  over  the  territor\'  covered  by 
the  Decree,  without  permitting  its  citizens  a  voice  in  government  to  the  same 
extent,  at  least,  as  they  had  enjoyed  under  Connecticut,  was  not  consonant  with 

*To  the  student  of  this  phase  of  the  County's  history,  "A  Brief  of  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  the  County 
of  Luzerne",  a  pamphlet  published  in  1879  by  Hon.  Henry  M.  Hoyt,  and  containing  in  full,  his  scholarly  address  before 
the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  is  recommended. 


tThe  main  ground  stated  by  the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  in  1795,  for  declaring  this  -\ct  unconstitutional,  was 
that  compensation  was  required  in  terms  of  land,  rather  than  in  terms  of  money  for  the  surrender  of  Pennsylvania 
titles.     Tllis  was  the  celebrated  case  of  Vanhorne's  Lessee  vs.  Dorrance.  referred  to  at  length  in  this  Chapter. 


1652 

American  ideals  nor  to  be  tolerated  by  the  settlers.  With  the  erection  of  lyuzerne, 
as  a  County  of  Pennsylvania,  came  Colonel  Pickering,  holding  five  offices  from 
the  County  itself,  and  a  still  more  important  post  as  the  head  of  the  Board 
to  put  into  effect  the  terms  of  the  Confirming  Law.  As  has  been  seen,  the  Law 
itself  was  suspended  after  a  year  and  a  day  of  operation  and  repealed  April  1 ,  1 790. 

Two  weeks  prior  to  the  actual  repeal,  Colonel  Pickering,  at  Philadelphia, 
was  in  touch  with  the  situation,  but  powerless  to  stay  its  trend.  On  March 
16,  1790,  he  wrote  as  follows:* 

"The  Committee  made  their  report  to  the  House  yesterday  that  it  was  now  proper  and 
necessary  that  the  Confirming  Law  should  be  repealed.  Six  of  the  Committee  out  of  9  agreed  to 
this  report.  *  *  *  fjie  decision  will  so  materially  affect  the  settlers  I  shall  stay  here  to  see 
the  issue.  I  feel  an  interest  beyond  any  other  person  to  prevent  a  repeal;  for  I  am  a  claimant 
under  the  Connecticut  title  equal  perhaps  to  any  other  but  in  the  value  of  my  land;  and  it  was 
by  my  persuasions  that  the  people  were  induced  to  submit  to  the  Government  of  Pennsylvania  in 
confident  expectation  that  their  lands  would  be  confirmed,  and  that  once  being  confirmed,  the  law 
would  never  be  repealed.  I  assured  them  they  might  rely  on  the  good  faith  of  the  State;  and 
it  was  to  convince  them  of  my  firm  belief  in  that  good  faith,  that  I  first  became  a  purchaser 
of  lands  under  the  Connecticut  title — thus  placing  myself  on  the  same  footing  with  themselves. 
If  the  law  should  now  be  repealed,  their  jealousy  will  lead  them  to  suspect  that  I  was  the  willing 
instrument  of  deception.  My  situation  therefore  is  a  cruel  one.  If  the  State  had  not  passed  the 
Confirming  Law,  I  should  never  have  moved  with  my  family  to  that  Country,  but  have  renounced 
that  and  my  offices  together.  I  should  then  have  lost  but  five  or  six  months  in  the  measures 
preparatory  to  their  submitting  to  this  Government.  I  have  now  wasted  three  precious  years 
of  my  life  in  this  business,  attended  with  great  loss  of  property,  and  many  perils  and  sufferings. 
But  a  Federal  Court  (and  I  trust,  even  a  State  Court)  will  eventually  do  right  to  the  people, 
agreeably  to  the  tenour  of  the  Confirming  Law." 

Exaggerated  statements  of  conditions  at  Wyoming,  cross  purposes  of 
different  interests,  petitions  for  repeal,  ill  defined  views  of  the  real  scope  of  the 
act,  activities  of  the  land  jobbing  lobby  and  bad  faith,  contributed  to  the  senti- 
ment apparent  in  the  Assembly.  That  the  stiff  necked  conduct  of  the  settlers 
themselves  was  seized  upon  as  the  mainspring  of  repeal,  is  evident  from  the  pre- 
amble to  the  repealing  measure: 

"Whereas",  so  runs  the  [.reambl;,  "By  an  act  entitled  'An  act  for  ascertaining  and  con- 
firming to  certain  persons,  called  Connecticut  claimants,  the  lands  by  them  claimed,  within  the 
county  of  Luzerne,  and  for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned,'  It  is,  among  other  things,  enacted, 
that  certain  commissioners  therein  named,  or  thereafter  to  be  appointed,  should,  within  a  limited 
time,  meet  together  within  the  said  county,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  and  examining  the  claims 
of  the  said  claimants,  and  ascertaining  and  confirming  the  same.  And  Whereas,  When  these 
commissioners  had  met,  in  pursuance  of  the  said  law,  they  were  interrupted  in  their  proceedings 
by  the  combinations,  threatenings,  and  outrageous  violence  of  certain  lawless  people  in  the  said 
county  of  Luzerne,  and  obUged  to  fly  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives.  And  Whereas.  Doubts 
have  also  arisen  concerning  the  construction,  true  intent,  and  meaning  of  said  law,  for  which, 
and  other  causes,  it  hath  become  very  difficult  to  determine  the  same,  and  to  adjust  the  compen- 
sation to  be  made  to  those  persons  who  will  be  divested  of  their  property  by  the  operation  of  the 
said  law,  if  the  same  shall  be  carried  into  effect.  And  Whereas,  "The  time  in  which  these  commis- 
sioners were  to  receive  claims  has  expired,  but  their  other  powers  still  remain,  which,  if  immed- 
iately executed,  without  further  provisions  and  regulations  being  previously  made,  will  tend  to 
embarrassment  and  confusion."     Be  it  Enacted,  cY. 

The  Act  itself  is  as  follows; 

"Section  1.  Whereas,  An  act  of  Assembly,  enacted  the  twentv-eighth  dav  of  March,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  entitled  'An  act  for  ascertaining  and  confirming  to 
certain  persons,  called  Connecticut  Claimants,  the  lands  by  them  claimed  within  the  county  of 
Luzerne,  and  for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned,'  hath  been  found,  in  its  principles  and  oper- 
ations, to  be  unjust  and  oppressive,  inasmuch  as  it  divested  many  citizens  of  this  State  of  their 
lands  without  their  consent,  and  without  making  them  any  just  compensation;  And  Whereas, 
Depriving  individuals  of  their  property  in  such  a  summary  wav  is  unconstitutional,  and  of  the 
most  dangerous  consequence;  And  Whereas.  Said  act  was  enacted  by  the  Legislature  hastily, 
without  due  consideration  had,  and  proper  information  of  the  magnitude  of  the  grant;  And 
Whereas,  Carrying  said  act  into  effect  would  impose  a  grievous  burden  on  the  good  citizens  of 
this  State,  to  make  compensation  to  those  who  would  thereby  be  divested  of  their  property; 
A7id  Whereas.  The  reasons  set  forth  in  the  preamble  of  said  act  do  not  appear  sufficient  to  warrant 
any  legislative  interference  or  departure  from  the  estabhshed  rules  of  justice,  in  respect  to  private 
property,  nor  hath  had  the  effect  proposed: 
,^  ,  *This  letter  appears  among  the  unpublished  correspondence  of  William  Samuel  Johnson,  sometime  President 
cr  Columbia  College,  the  original  being  on  file  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 


1653 

"Sectum  II.  Be  it  Enacted,  &c..  That  the  act,  entitled  'An  act  for  ascertaining  and  con- 
finning  to  certain  persons  called  Connecticut  claimants,  &c.,  *  ♦  *  be  and  the  same  is  hereby 
repealed,  and  all  proceedings  had  under  said  act  are  hereby  rendered  void,  and  declared  to  hj 
null  and  of  no  effect ;  and  all  titles  and  claims  which  might  be  supposed  to  be  affected  by  said  act 
are  hereby  re-vested  in  the  former  owners,  in  as  full  and  ample  a  manner  as  if  the  said  act  had 
never  been  enacted,  anything  in  the  same  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

"Section  III.  And  Whereas,  It  hath  been  represented  to  this  House,  that  judgment  has 
been  obtained  in  sundry  actions  of  ejectment  brought  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the  county 
of  Northumberland,  for  sundry  tracts  of  land  now  lying  within  the  county  of  Luzerne,  at  the 
suit  of  persons  claiming  under  titles  derived  from  the  late  Proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania,  in  which 
judgment  by  default  has  been  recovered  against  persons  holding  such  lands  by  virtue  of  rights, 
or  titles  derived  from  or  under  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  it  is  right  and  just  that  the  defendants 
in  such  actions  should  not  be  dispossessed  without  a  trial  by  jury:  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the 
authority  aforesaid.  That  no  writ  or  writs  of  Scire  Facias,  or  Habere  Facias  Possessionem,  shall 
issue  from  the  said  court  to  revive  such  judgments,  or  to  carry  them  into  effect;  but  original  suits 
in  ejectment,  for  recovery  of  any  such  tracts  of  land  within  the  said  county,  may  be  brought  at  the  suit 
of  such  Pennsylvania  claimants  or  any  of  them." 

The  third  section  of  the  repeal  seemed  to  recognize  an  undetermined 
right  in  the  Connecticut  settlers  to  their  possessions.  The  unusual  power  is 
therein  assumed  of  reversing  judgments  in  ejectment  obtained  against  them  by 
Pennsylvania  claimants,  and  of  compelling  the  latter  to  institute  new  suits  to 
try  their  rights. 

This  recognition,  intangible  and  inferential  as  it  may  seem,  served  to  hold 
Wyoming  in  check.  There  were  those  who  remembered  the  anxious  question 
of  John  Jenkins,  at  the  stormy  meeting  at  Forty  Fort,  two  years  before,  as  to  a 
possibility  of  this  very  repeal.  Colonel  Pickering  evidently  remembered  the 
incident  for,  on  April  8,  1790,  he  wrote  from  Philadelphia,  to  his  wife,  the  following: 

"I  hope  the  people  will  not  be  disheartened  about  the  repeal  of  the  Confirming  Law.  Every 
disinterested  man  of  sound  judgment  condemns  the  repeal,  and  says  it  w"ill  avail  nothing  to  the 
Pennsylvania  claimants.  Many  members  of  the  Assembly,  who  voted  for  the  repeal,  have  since 
said  openly  that  they  suppose  the  Connecticut  claimants  will  hold  the  lands;  but.  the  Pennsyl- 
vania claimants  having  generally  desired  the  repeal,  they  were  willing  to  gratify  them,  and  thus 
rid  the  State  of  the  burthen  of  the  compensation.  The  people  ought  not  to  blame  me.  I  have 
done  everything  in  my  power  to  prevent  the  repeal,  and  am  determined  to  stand  by  them  to  the 
last.  How  great  and  laborious  have  been  my  exertions  in  this  affair,  I  expect  Mr.  Gore  and  Mr. 
Butler  will  inform  the  people.  *  *  *  -^q  doubt  Franklin  and  Jenkins,  and  a  few  oth', rs, 
may  triumph.  But  they  have  no  cause;  it  is  owing  to  their  unwarranted  schemes  and  measures 
that  the  Commissioners  were  interrupted  in  the  examination  of  the  claims,  which  alone  gave  a 
handle  first  to  suspend  and  then  to  repeal  the  law.  Mr.  Lewis  (the  ablest  lawyer  in  the  State) 
and  Mr.  Rawle,  (another  lawyer),  both  members  of  the  (^neral  Assembly,  have  protested  against 
the  repeal.  Mr.  Peters  joins  them  in  the  opinion  that  the  repeal  will  avail  nothing.  The  opinions 
of  these  three  gentlemen  will  have  more  weight  with  men  of  sense,  than  the  opinions  of  as  many 
hundreds  of  such  men  as  those  who  voted  for  the  repeal.  Mr.  Morris,  Mr.  Clymer.  and  Mr. 
Fitzsimons,  all  celebrated  characters,  are  entirely  and  warmly  on  our  side.  Doctor  Johnson,  of 
Connecticut  (whom  the  People  of  Wyoming  know),  is  of  the  same  opinion, — that  the  confirming 
laws  cannot  be  made  void.  My  letter  to  him  on  the  subject,  and  his  answer,  I  also  enclose,  as 
well  as  a  letter  from  Judge  Brearly,  who  was  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Federal  Court  at 
Trenton.  I  enclose  also  a  copy  of  a  second  letter  from  Doctor  Johnson.  Be  carefi:l  of  all  these 
papers;  and  if  Mr.  Bowman  lends  them  to  others  to  be  read,  desire  him  to  take  the  n.ccssary 
caution  against  their  being  lost.  I  wish  them  to  be  read  by  all  who  are  honestly  desirous  of  ob- 
taining information  on  the  subject." 

Interesting  also,  in  this  same  defence  of  the  settlers  against  an  arbitrary 
repeal  of  the  Law,  whose  terms,  if  extended  to  meet  the  situation  at  Wyoming, 
might  have  promptly  solved  a  question  as  peculiar  as  it  was  important,  is  a 
Dissentient,  filed  at  the  time,  by  a  minority  of  the  members  of  the  Assembly,  who 
stated  their  objections  to  the  repeal  in  no  uncertain  terms:* 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  minority  report : 

"Dissentient  from  the  vote  adopting  the  report  of  the  committee  in  favour  of  repealing  the 
act  entitled  'An  act  for  ascertaining  and  confirming  to  certain  persons  called  Connecticut  claim- 
ants, the  lands  by  them  claimed  within  the  county  of  Luzerne,  and  for  other  purposes  therein 
mentioned. ' 

"1st.  Because  we  consider  the  act  which  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  House,  proposes  to 
repeal,  to  be  either  in  the  nature  of  an  absolute,  or  a  conditional  grant  to  the  Connecticut  settlers 

*See,  "Pennsylvania  Archives."  XII  :325. 


1654 

If  the  latter,  it  has  not  yet  been  proved  to  our  satisfaction,  that  the  insurrection  at  Wyoming, 
which  occasioned  the  commissioners  to  fly.  proceeded  from  a  general  determination  to  resist 
the  authority,  and  reject  the  bounties  of  this  State,  or  from  the  turbulent  dispositions  of  some 
of  the  adherents  of  John  Franklin,  who  were  incensed  at  his  sudden  and  secret  arrest;  few  of  whom 
could  derive  any  benefit  from  the  law  which  the  commissioners  were  then  carrying  into  execution, 
and  consequently,  it  has  not  appeared  with  that  clearness  which  the  importance  of  the  subject 
requires,  that  there  has  been  any  breach  of  the  implied  condition  of  the  law,  viz :  that  the  Connec- 
ticut s:ttl;rs  would  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  State. 

"2nd.  Because  if  the  grant  is  absolute,  it  is  obligatory  upon  the  State,  and  can  only  be 
ro>-oked  upon  the  terms  mentioned  hereafter.  We  conceive  that  a  law  vesting  an  interest  conveys 
the  most  (authentic)  and  (solemn)  title  that  can  be  annexed  to  property,  after  which  the  State 
has  not  the  same  power  over  the  law  which  it  most  unquestionably  possesses  over  its  own  acts 
of  another  nature.  But  in  no  instance  can  the  power  of  repealing  laws  affect  their  obligations 
while  in  force,  and  consequently,  if  the  effect  of  the  law  while  in  force  is  permanent  and  perpetual 
upon  the  subject  to  which  it  relates,  a  repeal,  although  it  may  destroy  the  law,  cannot  diminish 
the  effect  it  has  already  produced. 

"3rd.  Because,  although  it  is  universally  conceded  that  private  property  may  at  any  time 
be  taken  for  public  uses,  yet  it  can  only  be  so  taken  on  condition  of  making  full  and  adequate 
compensation  to  the  private  proprietor;  and  hence  it  may  follow  that  the  State,  from  whatever 
motives,  having  conveyed  the  title  to  the  lands  in  dispute,  under  certain  terms  and  modifications 
to  the  Connecticut  settlers,  will  at  a  future  day  be  liable  to  make  a  more  expensive  compensation 
to  those  settbrs.  than  the  whole  amount  of  the  demands  of  the  Pennsylvania  claimants. 

"4th.  Because  it  is  introducing  a  most  dangerous  principle  to  repeal  a  law  of  any  kind 
from  an  impression,  however  strong,  that  the  Legislature  was  deceived  at  the  time  of  passing  the 
law.  A  law  contrary  to  the  constitution,  may  and  ought  to  be  repealed;  for  in  that  instance  there 
is  a  certain  guide,  which  although  it  may  be  disobeyed,  cannot  be  misunderstood.  But  to  pass 
our  own  judgment  in  a  legislative  manner,  upon  the  sufficiency  of  the  motives  which  induced  a 
former  Assembly  to  enact  a  law  of  the  nature  of  that  which  it  is  now  proposed  to  repeal,  and  to 
collect  those  motives  from  other  sources  than  the  law  itself,  appears  to  us  to  endanger  the  auth- 
ority even  of  our  own  proceedings,  by  rendering  them  liable  at  a  future  day,  to  be  subverted  in 
the  same  manner,  with  perhaps  still  less  evidence,  than  we  have  to  proceed  upon.  And  it  will 
directly  tend  to  destroy  the  order,  safety  and  happiness,  derived  from  civil  society ;  for  as  the 
obligation  of  the  laws  is  rendered  less  solemn  and  conclusive,  the  Legislature  will  naturally  become 
less  impressed  with  their  importance,  and  the  people  will  gradually  learn  to  disregard  their  authority . 
Signed,  "William  Rawle,  "Jacob  Hiltsheimer, 

"Richard  Thomas,  "Henry  Denney, 

"Richard  Downing,  Jr.,  "Samuel  Ashmead. 

"Lawrence  Sickle,  "Obadiah  Gore, 

"Jonathan  Roberts.  "Herman  Hershard." 

"The  'reflections'  that  occur  to  me  on  the  events  since  the  Decree  of 
Trenton  would  be  something  like  these,"  says  Hoyt,  in  his  "Brief  of  Title,"  pre- 
viously mentioned: 

1.  "The  decision  was  most  unexpected,  and  came  upon  the  settlers  without  any  organized  sentiment  amon< 
them.   They,  plain  men.  looked  forward  to.  and  had  reason  to  expect,  a  re-hearing,  or  the  formation  of  a  new  tribunal. 

2.  "Pennsylvania  authorities  meant  to  deal  equitably  with  those  'who  actually  resided  on  the  lands  at  Wyom- 
ing before  the  decree'  and  the  'families  of  tho-e  who  tell  fighting  the  savages.'  but  were  perplexed  how  it  could  be 
done  'without  a  violation  of  the  rights  of  property,  in  a  multitude  of  instances,  those  lands  having  been  granted  bv 
Pennsylvania  to  many  individuals  who  insisted  on  their  titles,  and  pleaded  the  sanction  of  laws.'  (President  Dickinson 
to  Governor  of  Connecticut.  March.  1784.)  She  had  not  yet  reached  the  manifest  equity,  and  plain  duty,  of  giving 
the  'Yankees'  the  very  lands  they  had  improved  and  defended.  She  ought  instantly  to  have  quieted  them  in  their 
farms    and    improvements. 

3.  "The  Commissioners  in  their  first  act  in  1783,  against  the  spirit  of  their  instructions,  alarmed  the  set- 
tlers and  closed  the  door  to  'conciliation'  by  the  declaration  'that  Pennsylvania  would  not  and  could  not  deprive 
her  citizens  of  their  property.' 

■  1,  ^'  "T^^  landholders  reached  the  climax  when  they  put  forward  their  unfeeling  'compromise'  that  'the  settlers 
might  remain  one  year,  the  widows  of  those  who  had  fallen  by  the  savages,  a  year  longer.' 

5.  "The  Connecticut  settlers  placed  themselves  in  a  position  of  contending  for  other  claims  than  their  own 
when  they  refused  the  offer  (ungenerous  as  it  was)  on  the  ground  that  'we  cannot,  as  we  are  joint  tenants,  with 
a  much  greater  body  of  joint  proprietors  than  are  here,  without  their  consent,  give  up  our  claims  to  those  lands 
in  dispute.'  The  impediments,  all  the  way  through,  arose  from  blending  the  case  of  those  who  settled  before  the 
Decree  with  non-residents,  and  others  who  came  afterwards,  under  the  Susquehanna  Company.  In  point  of  justice. 
the  cases  were  absolutely  different. 

•pu  *■  "Connecticut  officials  and  laws  no  longer  ruled  the  settlers.  Thev  waited,  sullenly,  for  Pennsylvania  to  act. 
They  justly  considered  themselves  in  possession,  as  they  were,  and  had  been  since  the  year  1770. 

7  "When  Pennsylvania  did  act.  she  sent  two  companies  of  soldiers  to  uphold  her  flag,  and  Alexander  Patter- 
son as  her  civil  magistrate.  He  was.  in  fact  and  in  truth,  the  agent  of  the  Landholders,  and  his  zeal  for  his  'constit- 
uents absorbed  his  functions  as  an  officer  of  the  State.  He  was  insolent,  unreasoning,  and  cruel.  This  line  of  action 
necessarily  inspired  first  alarm,  then  contempt,  and  finally  retaliation. 

8  "The  proceedings  of  the  Assembly  were  so  indecisive  'as  to  inspire  neither  confidence  nor  terror  '  Thev 
adopted  a  variety  of  measures,  some  pacific  to  conciUate  anVl  some  hostUe  to  reduce  the  settlers.  With  all  scheme's 
ot  adjustment  thus  'in  the  au.'  it  was  inevitable  that  the  two  classes  of  claimants  must  come  into  collision. 

c  ti        Tu  action  of   the  Susquehanna  Company,  after   1782.  was  inexcusably  mischievous  and  wholly  unjusti- 

hable  J  he  power  and  pnde  of  Pennsylvania  were  sure  to  be  successfully  arrayed  against  them,  and  it  was  certain 
that  Its  authority  must  finally  prevail.  At  this  late  day,  it  will  be  unprofitable  to  attempt  critical  estimates  of  conduct, 
and  to  measure  out  to  the  parties  severe  judgments. 

10.  ''During  the  years  1785-1786.  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Connecticut  people,  under  the  reck- 
less proceedings  of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  was  simply  insurrectionary.  Pennsylvania  was  then  pursuing  no  hostile 
measures  towards  them.  but.  on  the  contrary,  able  advocates  were  springing  up  in  Penasvlvania  in  their  behalf  and  had 
already  made  a  deep  impression  in  the  councils  of  the  State. 

.,.  ",:  "Therepealof 'the  Confirming  Act.' in  1790.  was  a  bad  breach  of  the  public  faith;  the  conduct  of  the  settlers 
thereafter,  and  under  this  provocation,  is  worthy  of  all  praise." 


1655 

While  that  portion  of  the  settlers,  located  in  districts  adjacent  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  seem  to  have  accepted  the  repeal  as  an  undisturbing  influence  in  their 
affairs  and  to  have  affected  an  assurance  that  sometime,  somehow,  their  titles 
would  be  secured,  two  forces  were  at  work  to  bring  the  troublesome  question  to 
a  focus.     First,  was  an  inability  of  new  settlers  to  gain  an  undisptited  title  to  land 


Hon.  Henry  M.  Hoyt. 


in  the  original  territory  once  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut.  This  stopped 
the  flow  of  immigration  to  the  Wyoming  district.  Since  states  were  bidding 
against  each  other  for  the  rush  of  new  comers,  who  were  reaching  American 
shores  after  the  Revolution,  Pennsylvania  felt  itself  handicapped  in  being  tlius 
unable  to  induce  the  permanent  settlement  of  its  vast  northeastern  acreage 
because  of  the  uncertainties  that  its  own  laws,  or  rather  lack  of  them,  entailed. 
A  second,  and  still  more  impelling  factor,  was  the  revived  activity  of  the 
Susquehanna  Company,  which  was  making  the  most  of  that  Commonwealth's 
indecision.  This  Company  heralded  the  repeal  as  merely  another  link  in  tlie 
chain  of  injustices  to  be  expected  at  Pennsylvania's  hands.  A  well  advertised 
meeting  of  the  Company  was  called  at  "Athens  on  Tioga  Point,"  Februarj- 
18,    1795.     This  was  attended,  so  chroniclers  of  the  time  inform  us,  by  "up- 


1656 

wards  of  1000  shareholders."  The  activities  of  the  Company  were  no  longer 
concerned  with  lands  of  the  Seventeen  Townships,  but  with  Athens,  instead  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  as  a  hub,  related  to  a  vast  territory  in  the  upper  Susquehanna 
basin  from  which  the  counties  of  Susquehanna,  Bradford,  and  Wyoming  were 
subsequently  carved.  Colonel  Franklin,  although  at  the  time  serving  Luzerne 
County  as  Sheriff,  was  again  displaying  the  same  restless  energy  which  had 
distinguished  him  as  the  "Hero  of  Wyoming."  John  Jenkins,  Ehsha  Satterlee, 
Simon  Spalding  and  other  former  residents  of  Wyoming  were  joined  with  him 
in  open  defiance  of  the  authority  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  reporting  this  meeting  to  his  superiors,  under  date  of  February  26,  1795, 
Jesse  Fell,   then  Brigade  Inspector  of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  stated  in  part: 

"The  meeting  of  the  Frauklinites  (for  so  I  think  we  ought  to  call  them)  is  now  over,  and 
their  resolutions  are  here.  *  *  *  They  have  appointed  their  land  ofBcers,  the  keeper  of  seal 
etc.,  and  resolved  in  favor  of  the  peaceably  settling  their  lands,  similar  to  the  Governor's  procla- 
mation in  favor  of  the  State;  they  have  added  1400  acres  to  each  right,  which  will  make  them 
2000  each.  The  object,  I  have  not  the  least  doubt,  is  a  new  state,  whatever  are  the  pretences 
held  out — the  same  old  company  that  were  lessees  in  York  State  a  few  years  ago — the  same 
that  were  engaged  with  FrankUn  in  this  State  about  eight  years  ago.  I  know  your  good  intentions 
will  not  allow  you  to  make  any  use  of  my  scribbUng  which  may  prove  disadvantageous  to  me." 
This  communication  is  endorsed:  'The  above  letter  was  received  by  me  yesterday,  and  is  con- 
fidentially communicated  to  the  Governor.' 

[Signed]         "G.  Eddy." 
"March  3,  1795.*" 

From  various  other  sources,  Pennsylvania  learned  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company's  activities.  An  examination  of  affidavits  and  other  documents,  pre- 
served in  the  files  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  discloses  that  much 
the  same  program  of  intrigue  and  ingenious  defiance  of  law  was  being  prosecuted 
at  Athens  which  had  culminated  in  the  Pickering  abduction  at  Wilkes-Barre; 
seven  years  before.  The  independent  state  idea  was  again  supported.  Expres- 
sion of  opposition  views  invited  violence  in  the  direction  of  the  pacifist.  With 
but  few  exceptions,  the  share-holders  of  the  Company  represented  at  its  later 
meetings,  were  not  the  same  stock  which  had  clung  so  tenaciously  to  the  lands  at 
Wyoming.  There  were,  in  addition  to  a  nucleus  of  worthy  claimants,  holders 
of  speculative  half  share  rights,  adventurers  of  high  degree  and  low,  all  willing 
to  take  desperate  chances  in  the  game  of  colonization,  which  then  engrossed  the 
country  generally. 

Alarmed  at  the  threatening  state  of  affairs  to  which  its  repeal  of  the  Con- 
firming Law  had  led,  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  hastily  wrote  upon  the  statute 
books  another  law,  too  weak  to  inspire  terror,  and  yet  so  drastic  in  aim  as  to 
accomplish  little  more  than  create  further  disrespect  for  all  its  measures.  This 
was  the  Intrusion  Act  of  April  11,  1795,  the  material  sections  of  which  provided 
as  follows: 

"That  if  any  person  shall,  after  the  passing  of  this  act,  take  possession  of,  enter,  intrude,  or 
settle  on  any  lands,  within  the  limits  of  the  counties  of  Northampton,  Northumberland  or  Luzerne, 
by  virtue  or  under  color  of  any  conveyance  of  half  share,  right,  or  any  other  pretended  title,  not 
derived  from  the  authority  of  this  Commonwealth,  or  of  the  late  proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania 
before  the  revolution,  such  person,  upon  being  duly  convicted  thereof,  upon  indictment  in  any 
court  of  oyer  and  terminer,  or  court  of  general  quarter  sessions,  to  be  held  in  the  proper  county, 
shall  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars,  one  half  to  the  use  of  the  county,  and  the 
other  half  to  the  use  of  the  informer;  and  shall,  also,  be  subject  to  such  imprisonment,  not  exceeding 
twelve  months,  as  the  court,  before  whom  such  conviction  is  had,  may,  in  their  discretion,  direct. 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  every  person  who  shall  combine 
or  conspire  for  the  purpose  of  conveying,  possessing,  or  settling  on  any  lands  within  the  limits 
aforesaid,  under  any  half  share  right,  or  pretended  title,  as  aforesaid,  or  for  the  purpose  of  laying 
out  townships,  by  persons  not  appointed  or  acknowledged  by  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth, 
and  every  person  that  shall  be  accessory  thereto,  before  or  after  the  fact,  shall,  for  every  such 
ofltense,  forfeit  and  pay  a  sum  not  less  than  five  hundred  nor  more  than  one  thousand  dollars, 

*The  original  of  this  letter  is  a  part  of  the  Collection  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


1657 

one  half  to  the  use  the  county,  and  the  other  half  to  the  use  of  the  informer,  and  shall,  also,  be 
subject  to  such  imprisonment,  at  hard  labor,  not  exceeding  eighteen  months,  as  the  court,  in 
their  discretion,  may  direct." 

Section  6  of  the  Act  exempted  any  claims  of  persons  claiming  under  the 
Confirming  Law  of  1787,  thus  removing  the  Seventeen  Townships  from  the 
effect  of  the  measure. 

Instead  of  deterring  the  »Susquehanna  Company,  the  passage  of  this  m  asure 
seemed  rather  to  spur  it  to  more  feverish  activities.  The  whole  of  Bradford 
County  was  surveyed.  Some  of  the  townships  laid  out  after  the  Intrusion  Act 
was  enacted,  were:  Wethersfield,  Alba,  Turenne,  Armenia,  Pompay,  Caesar  and 
Apollo.  Shares  and  half  shares  of  the  Company,  entitling  the  holders  to  lands  in 
these  surveys,  were  issued  by  its  duly  appointed  Commissioners.  Pennsylvania 
was  scarcely  less  busy.  It  patented  the  same  lands,  and  by  the  same  metes  and 
bounds,  to  a  sort  of  absentee  landlordism.  As  was  the  case  at  Wyoming,  the 
whole  district  was  soon  overspread  by  two  undetermined  blankets  of  title. 

It  was  under  this  Act,  that  Colonel  Franklin,  John  Jenkins  and  others, 
were  indicted  by  a  grand  jury,  impaneled  in  Luzerne  County,  at  the  August  ses- 
sion, 1801.  Being  found  guilty,  their  cases  were  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court. 
There  the  Act  was  held  unconstitutional  and  the  defendants  subsequently  dis- 
charged.* 

From  a  vantage  point  of  access  to  documents  in  the  Tioga  Point  Museum, 
as  well  as  from  a  painstaking  study  of  the  subject,  Mrs.  Louise  Welles  Murray, 
in  an  address  prepared  for  the  Wyoming  Commemorative  Association,  July  3,  1917, 
hereinbefore  mentioned,  gives  the  following  account  of  fiurther  activities  of  the 
Franklin  party  until,  as  at  Wyoming,  time  and  subsequent  legislation  blotted 
out  their  grievances: 

"A  regular  laud  office  was  maintained  at  Athens,  with  David  Paine  as  clerk,  and  there 
are  many  private  letters  still  existing  that  are  very  enlightening  at  this  period.  Paine  writes 
that  February,  1796,  Connecticut  was  again  disposed  to  favor  the  cause,  and  that  Colonel  Franklin 
expected  to  attend  the  Assembly  of  Connecticut  in  May,  especiall>  to  prove  that  papers  of  im- 
portance were  withheld  at  the  Trenton  trial.  It  was  doubtless  to  report  from  this  effort  that  a 
meeting  of  the  company  was  called  in  June,  1796.  As  many  as  fifteen  surveying  parties  were  out 
at  this  time,  doubtless  every  effort  was  being  made,  and  indeed  openly  avowed  to  erect  an  inde- 
pendent govermnent.  The  half -share  men  (according  to  depositions  given  at  Philadelphia)  were 
advised  by  Connecticut  to  submit  quietly  or  to  demean  themselves,  claiming  only  possessio 
pedis,  thus  evading  the  law  until  by  numbers  they  were  strong  enough  to  act  for  themselves. 
At  this  time  a  certain  prominent  Philadelphian,  writing  to  Mr.  Paine,  said:  'The  landholders 
are  in  trouble  profound,  their  influence  lost  or  declining.  The  Committee  are  for  submitting  the 
whole  controversy  to  Congress.  There  is  now  in  my  religious  opinion  the  best  prospect  there  has 
ever  been,  wanting  only  firmness  and  resolution,  to  win  the  day.'  " 

"Sept.  13,  [1796]  another  meeting  of  Susquehanna  Company  was  held,  and  Colonel  Franklin 
made  chairman  of  committee  on  resolutions,  which  were  submitted  to  adjourned  meeting  on  the 
following  day.  The  first  and  most  important  was  that  this  'Compy.  will,  in  every  legal  and  Con- 
stitutional way,  support  their  claim  and  title  to  the  land  included  in  purchase  made  of  the  Natives 
July.  1754.'  The  report  before  the  next  legislature  of  the  committee  respecting  the  Connecticut 
intrusion,  told  of  the  activity  of  the  company,  said  the  civil  authority  of  the  State  was  laid  pros- 
trate, and  that  'the  names  of  John  Franklin,  John  Jenkins  and  Simon  Spalding  stand  conspicu- 
ous as  principal  promoters  of  enormities.'  The  committee  were  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that 
'nothing  short  of  military  force  could  introduce  order,  support  justice  and  afford  protection  to 
grantees  under  Pennsylvania.'  They  therefore  recommended  that  a  large  force  of  State  militia 
be  posted  at  Tioga  Point  and  such  other  places  as  deemed  expedient,  accompanied  by  magis- 
trates authorized  to  enforce  the  laws,  even  to  the  destruction  of  the  setdement  and  ejection  of 
the  'Intruders,'  etc.,  etc. 

"Now  it  was  reported  from  Athens  that  there  had  been  many  new  purchases  by  persons  of 
respectability,  property  and  influence  in  New  England,  with  full  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances 
and  a  firm  belief  in  the  equity  of  the  Connecticut  title.  The  Government  of  Connecticut,  having 
been  visited  by  Franklin  and  Paine,  were  taking  measures  to  obtain  a  rehearing  on  the  Trenton 
decision. 

"In  March,  1797,  the  House  of  Representatives  passed  a  resolution  authorizing  the  Gover- 
nor of  Pennsylvania  to  station  troops  as  recommended,  but  Athens  reported  that  there  were  no  less 
than  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  Connecticut  Claimants  on  the  ground.    It  seemed  to  be  the  policy 

^■calth  vs.  Franklin,  et  al.,  4  Dallas  255,  316. 


1658 

of  Pennsylvania  to  pass  violent  laws  and  spread  terrifying  reports.  What  was  done?  Money  was 
collected  to  send  messengers  to  the  highest  power,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  suggestion 
having  been  made  that  he  could  legally  interfere  in  this  exigency.  Secretary  Paine,  writing  to 
Colonel  Franklin,  says:  'It  is  not  reasonable,  very  improbable  and  hardly  possible  that  the 
U.S.  will  allow  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  staunch  supporters  of  good  government  to  be  driven  from 
their  homes  by  a  few  overbearing  land  jobbers'  (wish  we  might  quote  all  this  letter  of  a  bright, 
far-seeing  man).  He  continues:  'It  is  suggested  that  the  principals  in  Susqu'a,  Corapy.  be  taken 
and  put  under  bonds,  Franklin,  Jenkins,  Satterlee  and  Paine.  I  am  willing  to  rise  and  fall  with 
you.  As  the  Lord  liveth  and  suffers  me  to  live,  I  will  hold  on  and  hold  out  until  the  end — and 
persevere  in  just  methods  to  obtain  our  just  rights"  etc. 

"The  bill  being  rejected  by  the  Senate  and  apprehensions  subsided  for  a  time  again  Colonel 
Franklin  'journeyed  to  Connecticut  to  aid  the  cause  in  the  legislature,'  but  this  time  he  was 
disappointed,  especially  as  he  found  their  capitalists  neglected  'the  money  part  of  the  business' 
and  some  had  even  sold  Connecticut  rights  to  Pennsylvania  claimants.  At  this  period  there  was 
a  great  stagnation  of  business  everywhere — the  settlers  became  dispirited  and  gloomy.  No  new 
enterprises  were  pursued.  Franklin  was  not  re-elected,  (to  the  Legislature)  the  Intrusion  law  was 
not  enforced  Pennsylvania  was  compared  to  a  farmer  exhibiting  scarecrows  to  terrify  the  birds 
feeding  on  his  fields,  yet  not  succeeding  in  driving  them  entirely  away.  The  next  two  years  were 
comparatively  quiet  ones,  times  were  hard,  and  finally  in  1799,  judicial  courts  in  several  of  the 
Eastern  states  declared  null  and  void  all  notes  given  for  Susquehanna  lands." 

Colonel  Franklin  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  when  on  April  4,  1799, 
the  beginning  of  the  end  of  dispute  and  disquiet  within  the  Susquehanna  Pur- 
chase was  in  sight.  "The  Compromise  Act  of  1799",  by  which  this  measure  was 
subsequently  to  be  known,  was  passed  on  that  date.  In  general  purport,  its 
provisions  were  much  the  same  as  those  of  the  ill  fated  Confirming  Law,  avoiding 
however,  its  unconstitutional  mandates.  But  the  times  were  ripe  for  a  settlement 
of  the  long  drawn  controversy.  While  the  terms  of  the  Act  specifically  included 
only  the  Seventeen  Townships,  these  terms,  by  sufferance  as  well  as  by  subse- 
quent amendmenti  were  eventually  applied  to  the  upper  Susquehanna  territory 
as  well. 

The  Act  was  entitled,  "An  act  for  offering  compensation  to  the  Pennsylvania 
claimants  of  certain  lands  within  the  seventeen  townships,  in  the  county  of  Luzerne, 
and  for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned."  Its  material  sections  are  as  follows 
(the  others  refer  to  details  of  execution),  the  first  section  fixing  the  status  of  the 
Pennsylvania  claimants,  the  fifth,  that  of  the  Connecticut  claimants: 

Section  1.  That  Isaac  Whelen,  of  Chester  county;  Thomas  Boude,  of  Lancaster  county; 
and  General  William  Irvine,*  of  Cumberland  county,  be,  and  they  are  hereby  appointed  com- 
missioners, whose  duty  it  shall  be  carefully  to  examine  and  ascertain  quantity,  quality,  and  situa- 
tion of  all  lands  lying  within  what  have  been  commonly  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  the 
SEVENTEEN  TOWNSHIPS  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  LuzERNE,  held  Or  claimed  under  a  Pennsylvania  title, 
under  a  patent,  or  a  location,  or  warrant,  before  the  decree  of  Trenton,  by  which  the  right  of  juris- 
diction was  declared  to  be  in  Pennsylvania,  on  which  a  survey  has  been  executed  and  returned 
agreeably  to  law,  and  to  divide  the  same,  according  to  their  value,  into  four  classes,  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  the  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth  class,  the  first  class  to  contain  the  lands  of  the 
greatest  value,  and  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  classes  those  of  inferior  value,  preserving  a  due 
proportion  between  each,  and  shall  adjudge  what  sum  per  acre  each  Pennsylvania  claimant 
shall  receive,  not  exceeding  the  rates  hereinafter  mentioned:  Provided,  always,  That  nothing 
herein  contained  shall  authorize  the  said  commissioners  to  proceed  to  the  performance  of  the 
duties  enjoined  upon  them  by  this  act,  until  persons  claiming  land  to  the  extent  of  forty  thousand 
acres  under  grants  made  by  Pennsylvania,  shall  have  conveyed  and  released  the  same  to  the  State 
by  deeds,  duly  executed,  and  filed  in  the  land  office,  for  the  purpose  and  for  the  considerations 
expressed  in  this  act,  and  until  persons  commonly  called  Connecticut  settlers,  claiming  land  to 
the  extent  aforesaid,  shall  have  signified  in  writing,  under  their  hands  and  seals,  duly  executed  in 
the  presence  of  two  witnesses,  and  filed  in  the  land  office,  that  they  will  submit  to  and  abide  by 
the  determination  of  the  said  commissioners;  And  provided.  That  if  part  of  the  said  land,  but  not 
to  the  extent  aforesaid,  shall  have  been  released,  or  if  the  Connecticut  claimants,  to  the  extent 
aforesaid,  should  not  make  their  submissions  according  to  the  provisions  herein  contained,  then 
such  releases  as  shall  have  been  made  by  Pennsylvania  claimants,  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  null  and 
void,  and  the  property  which  shall  have  been  so,  as  aforesaid,  released,  shall  vest  and  be  held  in 

*Gen.  Wm.  Irwine  of  the  American  Revolution.  Born  near  Enniskillen.  Ireland,  in  1741 .  Graduated  at  Dublin 
University.  Studied  medicine  and  was  Surgeon  in  Britisli-French  War  of  1756-64.  Came  to  America  in  1764,  Member 
of  Provincial  Congress  in  Philadelphia  in  1774 .  Colonel  in  invasion  of  Canada  in  1 776.  Brigadier  General  in  expedition 
against  Staten  Lsland.  Commanded  troops  on  Western  Frontier  in  1782.  Agent  of  Public  Lands  in  1785  and  suggested 
purchase  of  'triangle'  that  gave  Pennsylvania  an  outlet  on  Lake  Erie.  Represented  Pennsylvania  in  Continental 
Congress,  in  1786.  and  was  one  of  commission  to  settle  account  of  United  States  witii  the  individual  states  Member 
of  Congress  1793-1795.  Superintendent  of  military  stores  in  Philadelphia,  in  1801.  President  of  Society  of  Cii  ' 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  Philadelphia,  in  1804. 


1659 

the  same  manner  as  if  this  act  had  not  been  passed:  Provided,  also,  That  the  lines  of  the  respective 
tracts  of  lands  so,  as  aforesaid,  submitted  to  the  examination  of  the  commissioners,  shall  be  the 
same  as  those  bounding  the  original  grants,  and  that  the  said  commissioners  shall  not  examine 
any  lands  but  those  which  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  shall  have  agreed,  as  aforesaid,  to  submit 
to  their  examination.     *     *     * 

"Section  5.  And  he  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  said  commissioners  also  to  ascertain  all  the  rights  or  lots  within  the  said  seventeen 
TOWNSHIPS,  which  were  occupied  or  required  by  Connecticut  claimants,  who  were  actually  settlers 
there  at  or  before  the  time  of  the  said  decree  of  Trenton,  and  which  rights  or  lots  were  particularly 
assigned  to  the  said  settlers  prior  to  the  said  decree,  agreeably  to  the  regulations  then  in  force  among 
them,  and  to  divide  the  said  rights  or  lots  into  four  classes,  to  be  distinguished  in  the  manner 
herein  before  mentioned,  according  to  their  respective  value,  taking  into  consideration  both  the 
quality  and  situation,  and  make  out  certificates  therefor,  with  a  draft  of  the  survey  thereto  an- 
nexed; and  in  case  the  said  original  settlers,  their  heirs  or  assigns,  shall  make  application  to  the 
Land  Office  at  any  time  before  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  one,  and  agree  to  pay  to  the  Commonwealth,  by  eight  equal  annual  installments, 
at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  per  acre  for  lands  of  the  first  class;  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  and  twenty  cents 
per  acre  for  lands  of  the  second  class;  at  the  rate  of  fifty  cents  per  acre  for  lands  of  the  third  class;  and 
at  the  rate  of  eight  and  one-third  cents  per  acre  for  lands  of  the  fourth  class;  with  interest  upon  each 
installment  till  the  same  is  paid ;  whereupon  patents  for  lands  so  certified  shall  be  issued  from  the 
proper  office,  paying  the  legal  fees  for  such  patents,  and  also  the  surveying  fees:  Provided  never- 
theless, and  it  is  hereby  expressly  ordered.  That  no  patents  shall  issue  to  affect  any  lands,  the  titles 
whereof  shall  be  in  any  person  or  persons  claiming  under  Pennsylvania  until  such  person  or  per- 
sons have  conveyed  their  title  to  the  Commonwealth:  And  provided  also,  That  the  lands  to  be 
granted  to  any  Connecticut  claimants  by  virtue  of  this  act,  shall  be  mortgaged  by  such  claimant 
or  claimants,  for  the  payment  of  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  aforesaid  instalments  due  to  the 
Commonwealth  as  aforesaid." 

The  Pennsylvania  claimants  refused  or  neglected  to  execute  their  releases. 
They  were  to  be  paid  in  land  or  money.  The  Connecticut  claimants,  with  the 
memory  of  the  repeal  of  the  "Confirming  Act,"  still  fresh,  exhibited  little  in- 
clination at  first  to  take  the  benefit  of  the  law. 

This  was  remedied  by  the  Act  of  6th  April,  1802,  which  required  the  Commis- 
sioners to  survey,  value,  and  certify  the  whole  of  each  tract  claimed  by  a  Con- 
necticut claimant,  and  turned  the  Pennsylvania  claimant,  not  releasing,  over  to 
a  jur)^  to  award  compensation. 

By  the  Act  of  4th  April,  1805,  "Westmoreland  Records,"  were  authorized 
to  be  deposited  with  the  Recorder  of  Deeds  in  Luzerne  Count\^  and  certified 
copies  made  in  evidence. 

By  Act  of  9th  April,  1807,  Pennsylvania  claimants  of  lands  under  title 
previous  to  the  "Confirming  Act"  of  28th  March,  1787,  were  permitted  to  release, 
and  the  Commissioners  in  examining  Connecticut  claims,  submitted  and  to  be 
submitted,  "Shall  not  require  the  same  lands  to  have  been  occupied  prior 'to  the 
Decree  of  Trenton,  but  the  same  lands  to  the  several  applicants  certify,  if  under 
the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  at  any  time  they  should 
otherwise  thereto  be  entitled." 

By  Act  28th  March,  1808,  all  powers  of  the  Commissioners  were  suspended, 
and  they  were  required  to  deposit  their  books,  records,  papers,  &c.,  with  the 
Secretary  of  the  Land  Office. 

Thus,  in  the  year  1808,  nearly  forty  years  from  the  time  that  the  first 
blood  was  shed  on  the  fertile  soil  of  Luzerne  County,  in  a  struggle  for  the  owner- 
ship of  this  soil,  was  the  word  Jinis  written  to  legislation  which  forever  settled  the 
controversy. 

Interesting  as  are  the  various  statutory  measures  finally  adopted  bv  Penn- 
sylvania to  unravel  the  most  perplexing  tangle  of  titles  in  American  jurisprudence, 
the  decisions  and  interpretations  of  courts.  State  and  Federal,  offer  furtlier 
enlightenment  to  the  student  who  seeks  to  trace  through,  to  a  logical  conclusion, 
the  unique  processes  by  which  titles  in  Luzerne  and  other  counties  erected  from 
it  were  eventually  quieted. 


1660 

The  most  celebrated  case  to  reach  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  in 
connection  with  the  controversy,  was  the  case  of  [Cornelius]  Vanhorne's  Lessee 
vs.  [John]  Dorrance,  2  Dallas,  304.  It  was  a  test  case,  pure  and  simple,  the  lands 
involved  being  an  inconsiderable  tract  of  12  acres.  It  came  on  to  be  tried  April 
21,  1795,  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  Eastern  District.  The  plaintiff, 
a  non-resident  of  Luzerne  County,  was  financed  by  subscriptions  from  other 
claimants,  under  Pennsylvania  titles,  who  naturally  selected  the  best  test  case 
at  their  disposal. 

Jared  Ingersoll,  Jonathan  D.  vSergeant,  and  William  Tilghman  appeared 
for  the  plaintiff's.  William  Rawle,  William  Lewis,  and  Joseph  Thomas  appeared 
for  the  defendants.  There  was  the  fullest  latitude  in  the  testimony.*  All  the 
charters  and  deeds,  hereinbefore  referred  to,  were  put  in  evidence.  The  surveys 
and  possession  of  the  tract  in  controversy  were  given.  Colonel  Denison,  for  the 
defendant,  detailed  his  entry  upon  the  lot  in  1770,  and  the  incidents  of  tlie 
first  Pennamite  war.  William  Gallop  gave  in  evidence  an  account  of  "the  mass- 
acre." Colonel  Pickering  narrated  the  events  of  the  second  Pennamite  war,  and 
of  the  reception  of  the  Confirming  Act.  Robert  Morris  stated  how,  while  a  member 
of  the  Assembly  in  1786-7,  he,  at  first,  was  in  favor  of  calling  out  the  militia  to 
expel  the  Yankees,  but  became  an  advocate  for  the  Act.  The  resolves  of  Con- 
necticut— the  records  of  the  Susquehanna  Company — Smollett's  History — acts 
of  Congress — the  conduct  of  Patterson  and  Armstrong's  troops — Colonel  John 
Henry  Lydius'  deposition  as  to  the  execution  of  the  famous  Indian  deed  of  lltli 
July,  1754  (Mr.  Tilghman  handed  this  deed  to  Court  and  Jury,  to  show  its  sus- 
picious face),  were  all  put  in  evidence. f 

It  was  such  a  case  as  had  never  been  tried  in  Europe  or  America.  It  suffic- 
iently appeared  that  the  defendant  had  the  earliest  and  a  continued  possession. 
The  plaintiff  claimed  under  a  "warrant  of  survey"  executed  15th  March,  1771. 

Judge  William  Paterson  gave  the  jury  binding  instructions,  and  made 
short  work  of  the  Connecticut  title,  in  brief,  as  follows: 

1.  "The  title  under  Connecticut  is  of  no  avail,  because  the  land  in  controversy  is  ex- 
territorial; it  does  not  lie  within  the  charter  bounds  of  Connecticut,  but  within  the  charter  bounds 
of  Pennsylvania.  The  charter  of  Connecticut  does  not  cover  or  spread  over  the  lands  in  question. 
Of  course,  no  title  can  be  derived  from  Connecticut." 

2.  The  "Indian  deed"  was  summarih'  dismissed  as  one  "under  which  the 
Connecticut  settlers  derive  no  title." 

"It  has  been  observed,"  said  the  Court,  "that  this  deed  is  radically  defective  and  faulty; 
that  fraud  is  apparent  on  the  face  of  it,  and  particularly  that  the  specification  or  description  of 
tfie  land  is  written  on  a  razure.  *  *  *  Besides,  this  deed  appears  to  have  been  executed  at 
different  times,  and  not  in  that  open,  public,  national  manner  in  which  the  Indians  sell  and  transfer 
their  lands.  But,  if  the  deed  was  fairly  obtained — if  it  has  legal  existence— then  what  is  its  legal 
operation;'  *  *  *  The  Penn  family  had  exclusively  the  right  of  purchasing  the  land  of  the 
Indians;  and  indeed  the  Indians  entered  into  a  stipulation  of  that  kind.  Again,  this  deed  is  in- 
yahd  by  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania.  The  Legislature,  bv  an  Act  passed  Feb.  7,  1705,  declare,  'That 
if  any  person  presume  to  buy  any  land  of  the  natives,  within  the  limits. of  this  Province  and  Ter- 
ritories, without  leave  from  the  Proprietary  thereof,  every  such  bargain  or  purchase  shall  be 
void  and  of  no  effect.'  *  *  *  The  land  in  controversy  being  within  the  limits  of  Pennsylvania, 
the  Connecticut  settlers  were  in  legal  estimation,  trespassers  and  intruders.  They  purchased  the 
land  without  leave,  and  entered  upon  it  without  right.  Thev  purchased  and  entered  upon  the 
land  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislature  of  Connecticut.  '  True  it  is  that  the  Legislature  of 
Connecticut  gave  a  subsequent  approbation,  but  this  was  posterior  to  the  deed  executed  by  the 
Six  Nations  to  Penn  at  Fort  Stanwix,  and  the  principle  of  relation  does  not  retroact  so  as  to  affect 
three  persons." 

*The  "notes  of  testimony"  and  "briefs"  of  some  of  the  attorneys  are  in  the  hands  of  the  heirs  of  Steuben  Jenkins. 
/o  ^"^^^  ""S"',"'  ^'■«'  of  11  July.  1754,  is  now  in  the  custody  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society.  Philadelphia. 
(.See  photograph  of  the  deed,  page  276,  Vol.  1.)  To  it  is  attached  the  ex  fhrlc  depo.sition  of  Lvdius,  made  in  1760, 
and  some  other  depositions. 


1661 
3.    As  to  the  title  under  the  Confirming  Act  of  1787,  the  Court  declared: 

"An  act  calling  upon  an  individual  to  surrender  or  sacrifice  his  whole  property  for  the  good 
of  community,  without  receiving  a  recompense  in  value,  would  be  a  'monster  in  legislation, 
and  shock  all  mankind.'  The  Legislature,  therefore,  had  no  authority  to  make  an  act  divesting 
one  citizen  of  his  freehold,  and  vesting  it  in  another,  without  a  just  compensation.     *     *     » 

"The  next  step  in  the  line  of  progression  is  whether  the  Legislature  had  authority  to  make 
an  act  divesting  one  citizen  of  his  freehold  and  vesting  it  in  another,  even  with  compensation. 

"The  existence  of  such  power  is  necessary.  *  *  *  and  if  this  be  the  case,  it  cannot  be 
lodged  anywhere  with  so  much  safety  as  with  the  Legislature. 

"Such  a  case  of  necessity,  and  judging  too  of  the  compensation,  can  never  occur  in  any 
nation,  *  *  *  even  upoa  full  indemnification,  unless  that  indemnification  he  ascertained  in  the 
manner  which  I  shall  mention.  *  *  *  Here  the  legislation  must  stop,  *  *  *  they  can- 
not constitutionally  determine  upon  the  amount  of  compensation,  or  the  value  of  the  land. 

"That  can  only  be  done — 'by  the  parties' — 'by  commissioners  mutually  chosen  by  the 
parties' — or,  'by  the  intervention  of  a  jury.' 

"Bv  the  act,  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  are  to  present  their  claims  to  the  'Board  of 
Property,'  who  are — 

"1.    To  judge  of  the  validity  of  their  claims. 

"2.  To  ascertain,  by  the  aid  of  commissioners,  appointed  by  the  Legislature,  the  quality 
and  value  of  the  land. 

"3.    To  judge  of  the  quantity  of  vacant  land  to  be  granted  as  an  equivalent. 

"This  is  not  the  constitutional  hue  of  procedure.  *  *  *  gy  the  act,  the  equivalent 
is  to  be  land.     No  just  compensation  can  be  made,  except  in  money.     *     *     * 

"In  short,  gentlemen,  the  Confirming  Act  is  void;  it  never  had  constitutional  existence; 
it  is  a  dead  letter,  and  of  no  more  virtue  or  avail,  than  if  it  had  never  been  made." 

Judge  Paterson  closed  briefly:* 

"  1.  The  confirming  act  is  unconstitutional  and  void.  It  was  invalid  from  the  beginning, 
had  no  life  or  operation,  and  is  in  precisely  the  same  state  as  if  it  had  not  been  made.  If  so,  the 
plaintiff's  title  remains  in  full  force. 

"2.  If  the  confirming  act  is  constitutional,  the  conditions  of  it  have  not  been  performed, 
and,  therefore,  the  estate  continues  in  the  plaintiff. 

"3.     The  confirming  act  has  been  suspended,  and 

"L    Repealed." 

It  was  said  Vanhorne  fled  the  country  so  that  service  could  never  be  made 
upon  him,  and  that  Thomas,  the  attorney  for  Dorrance,  soon  after  trial  dis- 
appeared mysteriously,  with  all  the  papers  of  his  clients. t 

Other  cases,  too  numerous  and  too  technical  in  their  details  to  mention 
here,  were  heard  by  various  courts,  interpretive  of  the  Compromise  Act  and  its 
amendments. t 

In  a  few  sentences,  a  Judge  on  the  bench  of  Luzerne  Count}'-  seems  to 
have  interpreted  the  purposes  and  intent  of  the  measure  more  profoundly,  and 
certainly  more  satisfactorily,  than  will  be  disclosed  by  a  painstaking  study  of 
all  the  other  decisions  involved. 

In  Barney  vs.  Sutton  {Z  Watts)  David  Scott, §  President  Judge  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  of  Luzerne  County,  sums  the  matter  up  concisely,  thus: 

"At  last  the  Legislature  adopted  the  expedient  of  acting  as  mediator 
between  the  Connecticut  and  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  for  the  purpose  of 

*The  case  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  tlnited  States.     The  docket  entries  there  are  as  follows: 
.\ugiisl  Term.  1TQ6. 

"John  Dorrance  ;'5.  Cornelius  Vanhorne's  le'isees.  error  from  the  Circuit  Court  of  Pennsylvania. 

"1796.  August,  continued. 

"1797,  February,  continued. 

"1797,  August  l.S.  continued- 

"1798.  February  14.  continued. 

"1798.  August  7. 

"  1  799,  February  14.    Rule  to  assign  errors  within  two  days,  or  that  the  writ  of  error  be  tmn  pros. 

"  1  799,  February  18.     Ordered  that  the  aforesaid  rule  be  made  absolute. " 

tThe  proceedings  never  were  followed  up,  says  Miner,  page  452.  "No  attempt  was  made  to  put  Dorrance  out 
of  possession.  A  movement  was  made  to  take  the  case  up  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but  the  Yankees  alleged  that  Van- 
horne 'an  irresponsible  person — a  man  of  straw)  could  not  be  found  to  serve  a  WTit  upon" 

Colonel  Pickering,  writing  March  2.  1798.  says  "By  this  repeal  (of  the  Confirming  Act)  the  Courts  of  Law  were 
opened  to  the  Pennsylvania  claimants,  who  were  soon  to  get  possession  of  the  disputed  lands,  and  rid  the  State  of  the 
burden  of  compensation!     Tliey  brought  many  actions,  and  in  eight  years  they  have  partly  tried  one  cause." 

tThe  constitutionality  of  the  ,\ct.  however,  was  never  questioned.  In  one  case  the  Supreme  Court  sa>'s:  "By  the 
.\ct  of  1 799.  for  offering  compensation  to  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  in  certificates,  in  case  of  lands  settled  before  the 
Decree  of  'Trenton,  and  to  the  Connecticut  settlers  of  this  description,  patents  from  the  Commonwealth  on  install- 
ments to  be  paid,  the  claim  of  the  settlers  became  a  right  IzHown  to  the  law."     Carkttff  vs.  .Anderson,  3  Binn..  12. 

§D.^VID  Scott  was  born  at  Suffield.  Connecticut,  .\pril  3.  1781.  About  1799.  he  came  to  Towanda  township  as  a 
school  teacher,  and  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1807.     Two  years  later,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  I.uzerne  County 


1662 

putting  a  final  end  to  the  controversy.  The  Act  of  the  4th  April,  1799,  ivas  strictly 
an  Act  of  mediation.  It  proposed  terms  of  settlement  and  compromise  to  the  parties. 
Most  fortunately,   the   terms  proposed  were  embraced  by  the  parties,   and  the 

CONTROVERSY  FINALLY  AND  HAPPILY  SETTLED." 

"I  believe  he  was,  historically  and  legally,  correct  in  his  final  summary," 
Governor   Hovt   exclaimed  at  the  close  of  his  "Brief."     And  this  same  view — 


Hon.  D.^vid  Scott. 

that  the  Act  was  not  a  hard  and  fast  rule  of  law,  but  was  a  constructive  measure 
of  mediation,  has  been  generally  accepted  as  its  true  intent  ever  since  that  view 
was  judiciously  and   judicially  promulgated. 

The  three  Commissioners  named  by  the  Confirming  Act  were  left  to  take 
hold  of  a  complicated  situation  where  the  Legislature  and  the  Courts  left  off. 
A  most  intricate  task  faced  them.     From  a  mass  of  documents,  relating  to  this 

and  was  commissioned  Clerk  of  Courts.  Shortly  after  having  been  elected  to  Congress,  in  1816.  he  resigned  to  accept 
an  appointment  as  President  Judge  of  the  I2th  Judicial  District,  with  headquarters  at  Harrisburg.  Upon  the  resigna- 
tion of  Judge  Burnside.  Judge  Scott  was  brought  back  to  Wilkes-Barre.  by  his  appointment,  in  1818,  as  President 
Judge  of  the  Uth  District,  which  embraced  the  counties  of  Luzerne.  Wayne  and  Pike. 

He  was  an  organizer  of  the  Luzerne  Bible  Society  and  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy  for  nine- 
teen years  In  1825,  he  was  appointed  to  the  State  Board  of  Canal  Commissioners,  and  is  credited  with  the  initiative 
which  built  the  North  Branch  canal  system.  Judge  Scott  died,  in  Wilkes-Barre.  in  1839.  a  year  after  having  resigned 
from  the  bench  on  account  of  deafness.  Among  his  contemporaries.  Judge  Scott  was  regarded  mo^t  highly,  not  alone 
for  legal  attainments,  but  for  his  worth  as  a  citizen  His  remains  were  interred  in  the  burying  ground  of  St. 
Stephens  church,  of  which  he  was  a  founder,  but  were  later  reinterred  in  Hollenback  cemetery. 


1663 

important  link  in  the  chain  of  welded  titles,  that  are  now  recorded  in  Luzerne 
County,  a  few  have  been  selected  which  will  give  an  insight  into  the  difficulties 
encountered,  will  disclose  the  feeling  of  distrust  yet  manifested  on  the  part  of 
claimants,  and  will  reveal,  as  well,  the  patience  and  fidelity  of  those  who  event- 
ually executed  the  laws.     The  first  letter  of  record  on  the  subject  follows: 

"Wilkes-Barre,  Luzerne  Co.,  2lst  July,  1800. 

"Sir:  We  find  many  difficulties  in  the  execution  of  the  act  offering  compensation  to  the 
Pennsylvania  claimants  of  land  in  the  county  of  Luzerne,  particularly  as  we  apprehend  some  of 
the  enacting  clauses  are  directly  opposed  to  each  other.  We  conceive  it,  therefore,  to  be  necessary, 
indeed  our  duty,  to  apply  to  you,  as  Attorney  General  of  the  State,  for  your  opinion  and  advice. 

"First  section.  'That  the  said  Commissioners  shall  not  examine  any  lands  but  those  which 
the  Pennsylvania  claimants  shall  have  agreed,  as  aforesaid,  to  submit  to  their  examination.' 

"Fifth  section.  'That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  Commissioners,  also,  to  ascertain 
all  the  rights  or  lots  within  the  Seventeen  Townships,  which  were  occupied  or  acquired  by  Connect- 
icut claimants  who  were  actually  settlers  at  or  before  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  and  which  lots  or 
rights  were  particularly  assigned  to  the  said  settlers  prior  to  the  said  Decree  at  Trenton,  agree- 
ably to  the  regulations  then  in  force  among  them.' 

"We  ask,  shall  the  prohibition  in  the  first  section  prevent  the  Commissioners  from  ascer- 
taining and  valuing  the  Connecticut  rights  or  lots  within  the  seventeen  townships  where  the 
Pennsylvania  claimants  have  not  released  to  the  State? 

"The  transfers  and  sub-divisions  have  been  so  numerous  among  the  Connecticut  claimants 
themselves,  that  it  will  be  a  work  of  years,    if  the  Commissioners  must  attend  to  this  minutiae. 

"Question,  then.  Are  the  Commissioners  to  ascertain  and  value  the  original  rights  or  lots 
(only)  of  the  Connecticut  claimants,  or  must  they  ascertain  and  value  the  numerous  divisions 
and  sub-divisions  of  those  original  rights  or  lots,  as  they  are  now  held. 

"In  the  progress,  although  there  are  other  difficulties,  we  are  unwilling  to  trouble  you  with 
more  that  what  we  consider  indispensably  necessary.  In  the  meantime,  we  will  proceed  in  such 
parts  of  the  business  as  do  not  require  decision  on  these  points,  and  we  take  the  liberty  to  mention 
to  you  that  we  judge  it  prudent  to  conceal  our  embarrassment,  and  to  appear  to  act  as  if  the  law 
was  clear  to  us  in  every  particular. 

'  We  request  your  answer  as  soon  as  convenient,  by  post,  and  are,  respectfully,  sir, 

"Your  obedient  servants, 
"Thos.  Boude, 
"Wm.  Irvine, 
"Andrew  Porter." 

"P.  S.  We  will  communicate  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Land  office  such  other  difficulties  as 
occur,  in  detail. 

"To  Joseph  B.  McKean,  Esquire,  Allorney  General. 

Another  communication,  more  encouraging  in  tone,  is  next  appended: 

"Lancaster,  November  10,  1800. 

"Sjr:  Having  officially  learned  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Land  Office  that  the  necessary 
amount  of  releases  by  Pennsylvania  claimants,  and  submissions  by  Connecticut  claimants,  of 
lands  within  the  seventeen  townships,  (40,000  acres)  in  the  county  of  Luzerne,  had  been  received 
at  that  office  in  order  to  authorize  us,  agreeably  to  a  provision  of  the  act  of  Assembly,  to  proceed 
upon  the  duties  of  our  commission,  and  also  that  the  necessary  papers  were  in  readiness,  we  met 
in  Lancaster,  the  beginning  of  June  last,  received  the  papers,  appointed  our  clerk  and  surveyors, 
and  made  other  necessary  arrangements.  In  the  latter  end  of  the  same  month  we  met  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  immediately  entered  on  the  business  assigned  to  us. 

"For  some  time  after  our  arrival  at  Luzerne,  the  reserve  of  the  inhabitants,  and  their  re- 
missness in  giving  information  respecting  the  boundary  of  Connecticut  sur\'eys,  and  other  neces- 
sary points,  was  but  too  apparent.  These  unfavorable  appearances,  however,  were  gradually 
dispelled,  and  by  a  conduct  of  conciliatory  and  e.xplanatory  communication  on  our  part,  their 
confidence  in  the  rectitude  and  benevolence  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  the  disinterestedness  and 
candor  of  the  Commissioners,  was  increased,  and,  at  length,  generally  acknowledged. 

"In  the  prosecution  of  the  business,  and  particularly  in  its  commencement,  many  obstacles 
occurred.  In  many  cases  papers  were  wanting  to  complete  our  information.  Many  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania releases  were  incomplete  and  not  to  be  acted  upon;  many  of  our  drafts  of  survey  were 
too  loose  and  vague  in  description  to  enable  us  to  ascertain  the  situation  of  the  lands. 

"The  quantity  of  land  completely  released  being,  in  proportion  to  the  contents  of  the  seven- 
teen townships,  but  inconsiderable  on  our  first  entrance  on  the  business,  and  that  indeed  being 
dispersed  in  various  parts,  occasioned  us  not  a  little  embarrassment  and  loss  of  time,  more  es- 
pecially as  the  difficulty  of  finding  the  tracts,  owing  to  the  want  of  connection,  was  thereby  in- 
creased. 

"The  manors  of  the  Penn  family,  amounting  to  upwards  of  thirty  three  thousand  acres, 
if  completely  released  would  have  furnished  us  full  scope  for  immediate  progress,  while,  in  the 
meantime,  Pennsylvania  claimants  generally  would  perhaps  be  completing  former  and  executing 
additional  releases.  But  we  found  that  in  the  releases  of  the  manors  exception  was  made  of  such 
parts  as  had  been  sold  and  conveyed,  or  been  contracted  to  be  sold  and  conveyed,  within  their 
bounds,  to  individuals;  and  the  lands  thus  excepted  not  being  identified,  we  could  not  proceed, 
respecting  the  manors. 


1664 

"We  kept  open  a  constant  communication  with  the  Land  Office,  advising  the  necessary 
exertions  and  cooperation  to  overcome  existing  and  prevent  future  embarrassments  and  obstacles, 
and  earnestly  recommending  the  necessity  of  the  attorney  of  the  late  Proprietaries  ascertaining  the 
issue  of  every  contract  with  individuals  within  the  manors,  and  furnishing  us  information  thereof, 
and  of  the  exact  quantity  and  limits  of  the  excepted  tracts. 

"We  think  it  but  justice  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Land  Office  to  state  that  the  exertions  in 
his  department  have  been  indefatigable  to  render  as  successful  as  possible  the  efforts  of  the  Com- 
missioners. We  were  from  time  to  time  furnished  from  the  Land  Office  with  exemplifications  of 
further  releases.  Some  of  our  difficulties  of  course  vanished  as  these  became  more  general.  In 
the  meantime  our  surveyors  were  diligently  engaged  where  the  fewest  embarrassments  presented. 

"Findmg  the  acts  of  Assembly  in  some  parts  not  so  fitly  adapted  to  the  state  of  facts  arising 
before  us,  we  experienced  some  necessary  hesitation  in  its  construction;  and  we  are  the  more  in- 
debted to  the  Attorney  General  of  the  State  for  his  readiness  to  oblige  us  with  his  opinion  on  several 
cases  submitted  to  him,  as  we  have  since  learned.  That  to  afford  us  any  opinion  was  not  a  part 
of  his  incumbent  official  duty. 

"The  whole  history  of  this  transaction,  and  the  many  instruments  of  submission  received 
by  the  Commissioners,  while  at  Luzerne,  from  Connecticut  settlers,  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Land 
Office,  afford  manifest  evidence  that  the  magistrates  and  people  at  large  within  the  seventeen 
townships  are  zealous  to  have  the  law  carried  into  effect. 

"We  have  the  pleasure  to  assure  your  Excellency  that  much  business  has  been  pursued  to 
such  a  length  as  to  give  us  seasonable  hopes  that  we,  or  our  successors  in  office,  will  find  a  system 
established  from  which  the  Commissioners  will  in  future  progress  with  greater  facility  and  more 
expedition. 

"Investigating  the  principles  and  objects  of  the  commission,  and  the  tenor  and  tendency 
of  the  various  provisions  of  the  acts  of  Assembly,  critically  examining  and  analyzing  the  various 
subject  matter  contained  in  our  official  papers,  attending  our  surveyors,  searching  for  useful 
information,  oral  and  written;  ascertaining  and  running  the  boundary  lines  of  a  majority  of  the 
seventeen  townships,  and  ascertaining  the  situation  and  surveying  and  valueing  tracts  within 
these  townships  released  by  Pennsylvania  claimants,  were  matters  which  have  occupied  our 
assiduous  attention. 

"We  think  it  proper  to  suggest  that  from  the  general  knowledge  we  have  been  able  to  acquire 
of  the  subject  in  question,  we  conceive  some  eligible  amendments  might  be  advantageously  made 
in  the  acts  of  Assembly.  We  feel  it,  however,  becoming  to  forbear  offering  our  opinion  on  these 
points  until  permission  is  given,  or  our  opinion  is  required. 

"We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

"Your  Excellency's  obedient  servants, 

"William  Irvine. 
"His  Excellency,  Thomas  McKean,  "Andrew  Porter. 

"Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  Lancaster.  Commissioners."* 

On  June  27,  1801,  Rosewell  Welles  addressed  a  letter  of  information  to  the 
Confirming  Commissioners,  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  from  them.  He  said  among 
other  things,  referring  to  the  Luzerne  County  Court,  of  which  he  had  been  a 
Judge,  "The  Court  (in  deciding  questions  of  title  resting  solely  upon  the  Con- 
necticut claim)  embraced  and  took  a  very  liberal  ground.  From  their  own 
knowledge,  they  were  sensible  that  most  of  the  public  records,  as  well  as  private 
documents  of  the  people,  necessary  to  their  claims,  were  destroyed  in '78.  *  *  * 
The  best  evidence  of  them,  possible  to  be  obtained,  was  always  required  and 
never  dispensed  with,  by  Counsel  or  Court.  However  this  best  evidence,  in 
some  cases,  necessarily  became  remote,  and  indeed,  when  the  variety  of  misfortunes 
which  have  attended  this  ill-fated  County  are  really  considered,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  suppose  it  otherwise.  From  the  descent  of  the  enemy,  in  '78,  one 
single  engagement  laid  in  the  dust  most  of  the  males  capable  of  bearing  arms. 
To  this,  in  the  course  of  the  next  and  the  following  days,  succeeded  a  general 
destruction  of  houses,  papers,  and  most  of  the  Puni^ic  Records  by  fire."t 

From  Wilkes-Barre,  July  21,  1801,  a  letter  was  addressed  by  the  Commis- 
sioners, to  the  Board  of  Property,  which  throws  additional  light  in  the  nature 
of   claims  being  presented  for  consideration: 

"The  Connecticut  claimants  may  be  divided  into  four  classes: 

"(1)  The  principal  Supporters  of  the  speculators  in  the  Connecticut  title,  such  as  Mr. 
Franklin  and  some  others,  by  whom  the  spirit  of  actual  opposition  is  perpetually  kept  up. 

♦General  Bounde,  the  third  member  of  the  Commission,  returned  home  serlouily  ill  shortly  after  assuming  his 
duties  at  Wilkes-Barre.  and  later,  upon  his  resignation  being  accepted,  Judie  Thomas  Cooler,  of  Lin?a  tir,  was  ap- 
pointed in  his  stead. 

t.iee    "Pennsylvania  Archives".  2nd  Edition,  XVIII  -.M,:. 


166.5 

■'(2)  Settlers  without  the  townships,  upon  whole  or  half  share  rights,  whose  property  and 
whose  labor  for  many  years  have  been  invested  in  the  purchase  and  improvement  of  land,  under 
the  Connecticut  t,itle,  and  whose  all  depends  upon  their  present  possessions  so  obtained. 

"(,^)  Half  share  holders  enticed  into  Luzerne  County,  chiefly  of  late  years  and  since  the 
Decree  of  Trenton,  and  who  hold  their  possessions  not  from  purchase  in  general,  but  chiefly  under 
a  kind  of  implied  contract  to  defend  them  against  the  Pennsylvania  claim. 

"  (4)  Settlers  within  the  seventeen  townships,  holding  under  Connecticut  title,  but  of  whom 
the  most  part  have  submitted  under  the  Act  of  1799.  The  first  class  will  never  be  induced  to  submit 
Init  by  force,  or  being  directed  by  the  other  classes.  The  second  class,  persuaded  (however  im- 
properly) of  the  goodness  of  their  title,  will  certainly  endeavor  to  repel  force  by  force,  if  they 
can  muster  strong  enough;  for  they  might  as  well  die  as  be  turned  out  with  their  families  to  starve. 

■'The  third  class  will  be  more  apt  than  any  other  to  be  guided  by  the  first.  The  fourth  class 
may  certainly  be  detached  from  the  others  and  secured  to  Pennsylvania  by  a  liberal  construction 
and  elTectual  amendments  of  the  present  law." 

On  July  21,    1802,   the  then  Commissioners  (Cooper,  Steele  and  Wilson) 

wrote  to  Governor  McKean,  as  follows: 

"The  resolutions  (of  the  Susquehanna  Company)  subsequent  to  the  Decree  of  Trenton 
contain  manifest  determinations  of  settling  the  Country  in  despite  of  Pennsylvania — of  calling  in 
a  force  for  so  doing,  and  paying  them  with  the  lands  of  Pennsylvania.  *  *  *  We  think  that 
the  apprehension  of  Franklin,  Spaulding,  and  another  or  two,  upon  good  ground,  would  go  near 
to  terminate  the  Dispute,  if  the  Pennsylvania  claimants  would  take  some  decisive  measures  to 
satisfy  the  settlers  that  the  terms  of  the  Compromise  will  be  fair  and  liberal.  *  *  *  Should 
it  be  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  military  operations,  the  settlers,  after  an  ineffectual  resistance 
might  be  driven  off.  If  they  return,  a  constant  force  must  be  kept  up.  But  should  they  never 
come  back  again,  that  part  of  the  state  which  is  of  more  immediate  value  as  a  back  country  than 
any  other,  would  become  a  desert,  and  a  desert  it  would  remain;  for  no  Pennsylvanian  will  ever 
think  of  clearing  land  which  none  but  a  New  England  man  can  live  upon.  The  half  share  people 
are  for  the  most  part  deceived  by  the  speculating  principals  of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  but 
they  are  a  very  orderly  set  of  citizens  and  most  industrious  cultivators.  ■*  *  *  it  becomes  of 
great  importance  to  conciliate  rather  than  to  terrify  a  class  of  inhabitants  who  promise  to  be. 
in  time,  more  peculiarly  Pennsylvanians  than  many  others  who  will  become  ere  long  but  half  so."* 

It  may  well  be  inferred  that  manj^  who  held  extensive  tracts  under  Penn- 
sylvania, urged  their  claims  vigorously  before  the  Commissioners.  But  some 
there  were  of  such  title  holders  who  immediately  offered  to  release  their  titles 
after  the  terms  of  the  Compromise  Act  were  understood.  Among  these  were 
the  following,  as  disclosed  by  records  preserved  in  the  Pennsylvania  Archives, 
and  described  as:  "A  list  of  applications  and  releases  which  have  been  given  into 
the  office  of  the  Secretary-  of  the  Land  Office,  by  Pennsylvania  Claimants,  dur- 
ing the  summer  and  autumn  of  1799,  pursuant  to  the  Act  of  April  4,  1799 
— for  certain  lands  within  the  seventeen  townships  in  the  County  of 
Luzerne.  *  *  *  Charles  Stewart,  5024  acres;  Samuel  Bowman,  625  acres; 
Wm.  Bingham,  4015  acres;  Wm.  Tilghman,  1150;  Jos.  Wharton,  6854;  Jno.  and 
Richard  Penn,  26  000  more  or  less;  and  includes  the  manors  of  Stoke,  Dundee, 
Sunbury  and  all  lands  claimed  by  the  Proprietaries  in  the  17  townships;  Jos. 
Reed,  585;  Saml.  Sitgreaves,  3703;  James  Moore,  4213;  James  Gibson  1829; 
Edward  Shippen,  6695." 

A  majority  of  Pennsylvania  claimants,  however,  clung  to  the  belief  that 
further  confusion  of  legislation  or  favorable  Court  decisions,  might  tend  to  recog- 
nize their  rights  to  soil,  rather  than  to  compensation  for  its  surrender,  and  refused 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  terms  of  the  Compromise  Act.  Indeed,  not  until  an 
amendment  was  passed  to  the  Act  in  1802,  which  made  it  obligatory  upon  a 
jurv-  to  aivard  Compensation  in  case  the  Pennsylvania  claimant  refused  to  exe- 
cute his  release  pursuant  to  the  Act,  did  a  well  organized  opposition  to  the  Com- 
mission's power  cease. 

At  a  meeting  of  owners  of  land  in  the  counties  of  Luzerne,  Wayne,  Lycoming, 
Nortliumberland,  and  Northampton,  held  at  Dunwoody's,  January  10,  1801,  a 
memorial  to  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the  subject  of  lawless  intrusions 
on  lands  in  those  counties,  was  read  and  discussed. 

-See    •■Pennsylvania  .Archives"    2nd.  Edition.  XVIII  :  461 


1666 

At  a  subsequent  meeting,  April  9,  1801,  it  was  "Resolved;  That  in  order 
to  obtain  the  beneficial  effects,  which  may  be  expected  to  result  from  the  Acts  of 
Assembly,  passed  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  and  removing  certain  unlawful 
intrusions  on  lands  in  the  counties  of  Wayne,  Northampton,  Luzerne,  North- 
umberland, and  Lycoming,  it  is  necessary  that  the  land-holders  form  themselves 
into  an  association.  That  the  subscribers  pay  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
land  held  in  those  parts  of  the  counties  aforesaid,  subject  to  the  former  claim 
of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  or  certain  companies  or  persons  claiming  under 
that  State."* 

The  association  organized  by  the  election  of  the  following  officers: 
Samuel  Hodgdon,  President;  Samuel  M.  Fox,  Treasurer;  John  Ewing,  Junior, 
Secretary. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  association,  held  April  13,  1801,  it  was  "Resolved, 
that  Edward  Tilghman  retain  Daniel  Smith,  Charles  Hall,  Ebenezer  Bowman, 
Putnam  Catlin  and  Rosewell  Welles,  as  counsel  for  the  landholders  in  all  civil 
and  criminal  proceedings  in  reference  to  their  lands."  At  still  another  meeting, 
held  at  Lancaster,  February  17,  1802,  an  estimate  was  made  of  the  probable 
amount  necessary  to  be  expended  by  the  association  to  carry  the  Intrusion  Law 
into  effect,  as  follows :  ' 

Agents  salaries $1,200.00 

Deputy  for  Luzerne  and  Wayne 900.00 

Deputy  for  Lycoming 450.00 

Expenses  in  binding  over  witnesses  and  extra  pay  for  subpoenaing  them      500.00 
Stationery  and  other  necessary  expenses 150.00 


.  $3,200.00 
In  spite  of  painstaking  effort  on  the  part  of  the  original  Commissioners, 
there  was  thus  little  to  report  by  way  of  actual  accomplishment,  in  the  two 
years  ensuing  after  the  passage  of  the  Compromise  Act.  Claimants  were  with 
difficulty  induced,  on  one  hand,  to  appear  with  their  releases,  or  on  the  other,  to 
present  their  evidences  of  title.  Supplemental  legislation,  however,  tended  to 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  Commissioners  and  Court  decisions  helped  to  make 

*The  Subscribers  to  this  Association,  which  Hst  gives  an  idea  of  some  of  the  holdings,  were; 

Acres  Acres 

Allibone,  Thomas         1 .200        Meeker,  Samuel       6.000 

Burd,  Edward 8.800  Menshall,  Christopher,  Ex'r  to  Thomas 

Bingham,  William 300,000                     Paschal 16,000 

Bell ,  William 1 ,800  For  self  and  Wm.  Crammond.  Adam  Kuhn, 

Bond.  WiUiamina        30,000                    and  assignees  of  Joseph  Thomas 45.000 

Bond,  Phineas '.  .  .    20,000        Peters,  Richard 20,000 

Bartholomew.  Edward,  and  J.  Patton       ...      3,600        Pickering,  Timothy       10,000 

Buckley,  William         9,500        Pleasants,  Samuel 7,000 

Buckley,  William  and  William  Parkinson       .      ,1.000        Rhoads,  Samuel       10,000 

Busti,  Paul  for  Holland  Land  Company     ,     ,    20,000            Self  and  estate  of  Daniel  Wilhamson 3,000 

Binney.  Horace,  for  self  and  heirs  of  Francis,    Thomas  W. ,  for  Francis   Ann  and 

Dr.  Binney 6,000  family 100.000 

ClilTord,  Thomas  and  John ,  .                                     5,000        Rush.  Benjamin         2,400 

Clymer,  George 8,000        Sharpless,  Jesse,                                           10,000 

Chancellor,  William  &  Co.                                          5,000  Sergeant,  WUUam  for  e-tate  of  Sergeant,  J.  D.  6,500 

Dunwoody,  John 6,000        Sergeant,  Wilham 1,000 

Drinker,  Henry,  for  self  and  others,                    150.000       Strawbridge,  James        ...                  30,000 

Davis,  John 3.300        Smith,  Robert 4.000 

Field,  John                 12,000        Singer,  Abram,  for  Richard  Rundle 2,200 

Fox,  Samuel  M,  for  self  and  other.i         .    ,        36,000       Tilghman, Edward .  75,000 

Fox,  George,  and  Samuel  M 4,000  Turnbull,  William    .  4.000 

HoUingworth.  Levi                                                        2.400  Travis,  John  5,000 

Howell,  Samuel                                                               7,000  Tilghman,  William                                      ,              .  2.800 

Hodgdon,  Samuel .                                                   .      5,000  Warder,  Jeremiah.  Parker  &  Co.,                       .  20,000 

Harrison,  Thomas    .                                                      5,000  White,  William    ..  .                                                 .  12,000 

Kuhn,  Adam.     .                                                           7,000  Wells,  Gideon  H.                                                       .  10,000 

Lewis,  Josiah    .                                                               6.000  Wain.  Robert,  for  self  and  others    .  .             .    .  50,000 

Latimer,  George       .                                                     15,000        Wharton,  Isaac ,     .  36,000 

Latimer,  William                                    1 ,300        Wharton  &  Lewis    .                               24,000 

McPherson,  William                              5,000        Wharton,  Joseph 7,000 

McEwen,  Thomas  &  Co.                                           25,000  

Meredith,  Samuel .  .  80,000  Total  Acres 1.310,8Ck:i 


1667 

the  way  plain  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter.  Early  in  1801, 
a  new  Commission  was  appointed  which  began  its  labors  under  promising  auspices. 
Thomas  Cooper,  Esq.,  General  John  Steele*  and  William  Wilson,  Esq.,t  composed 
the  new  Board.  Judge  Cooper  brought  to  the  others  an  experience  gained  by 
previous  service  and  was  naturally  named  chairman. 

Jesse  Fell,  later  to  become  one  of  the  County's  most  distinguished  citizens, 
was  chosen  Secretary  to  the  Board  and  continued  to  act  in  that  capacity  until 
the  labors  of  the  Commission  were  finally  terminated. 

The  new  Commissioners  announced  that  sessions  would  be  conducted  in 
the  Court  House,  at  Wilkes-Barre  beginning  July  1,  1801,  and  by  systematizing 
their  work,  as  well  as  by  inducting  a  businesslike  method  of  procedure,  gained 
popular  confidence. 

As  this  confidence  grew,  and  with  it  was  gained  an  assurance  that  Penn- 
sylvania finally  was  in  earnest  as  to  settling  the  controversy,  Connecticut  set- 
tlers on  their  part  went  about  perfecting  their  titles  with  deliberation  and  such 
thoroughness  as  was  possible.  All  the  early  records  of  the  Susquehanna  Com- 
pany, being  vital  to  the  issue,  were  produced.  Minutes  of  town  meetings  in  the 
regime  of  Connecticut  and  such  documents  as  existed  with  relation  to  the  lot- 
tery, by  which  the  town  plot  of  Wilkes-Barre  was  distributed  in  1772,  were  placed 
in  evidence  before  the  Commissioners.  The  settlers  had  suffered  much  in  the  loss 
of  their  papers  and  effects  at  the  time  of  the  Wyoming  Massacre  and  upon  later 
occasions.  Not  half  of  them  could  produce  a  single  documentary  evidence  of 
title.  They  had  lived  in  possession  of  certain  tracts  of  land  previous  to  the 
Decree  or  could  show,  by  oral  testimony,  that  their  ancestors  had  preceded  them 
in  occupancy.  Many  valid  purchases  had  been  made  of  whole  tracts  or  their 
subdivisions,  evidenced  merely  by  intent  of  the  vendor  as  judged  from  the  peace- 
ful occupancy  of  his  vendee.  Probably  no  claimants  for  land  ever  lacked  more  of 
customar}-  proofs  of  title  than  did  the  Yankees  at  Wyoming.  Yet  their  all  was 
at  stake  and  of  necessity  they  proceeded  cautiously. 

First  in  the  form  of  documentary  evidence  presented  to  the  Commissioners, 
was  a  volume  containing  the  earliest  records  of  town  meetings  of  Wilkes-Barre. J 
It  is  more  fully  described  by  the  deposition  of  Jesse  Fell  which  accompanied  it: 

"Wilkesbarre,  July  2,  1801. 

"That  the  book  marked  Wilkesbarre  Town  Votes  No.  1,  purporting  to  be  records  of  town 
meetings  of  Wilkesbarre  and  the  votes  and  resolutions  thereof,  and  now  here  produced,  was  de- 
livered to  this  deponent  as  part  of  the  records  appertaining  to  his  office  of  Town  Clerk  of  the  said 
town  of  Wilkesbarre,  to  which  office  this  deponent  was  duly  appointed  at  a  town  meeting  held 
the  16,  April,  1796,  and  which  he  now  holds.  That  he  hath  always  considered  and  put  faith  in 
the  said  book  as  containing  true  and  original  entries  of  the  proceedings  of  the  town  meetings  which 
the  Town  Clerk  at  the  respective  times  of  meeting  in  the  said  book  mentioned  was  appointed  to 
record.  That  he  hath  understood  that  Obadiah  Gore,  Jr.  Esq.,  now  of  Tyoga  Township  in  said 
Co.  was  Town  Clerk  of  Wilkesbarre  during  the  times  and  days  of  meeting  noted  respectively  in 
the  first  eight  pages  of  the  aforesaid  book  and  the  entries  therein,  viz..  from  the  17th  February 
to  the  end  of  July,  inclusive,  in  the  year  1772,  are  in  the  handwriting  of  the  said  Obadiah  Gore,  Jr., 
then  acting  as  Town  Clerk  aforesaid.  *  *  *  That  the  1st  eight  paragraphs  contain  original 
entries  of  many  of  the  town  and  wood  lots  of  the  said  town  of  Wilkesbarre,  as  determined  by 

*Gen.  John  Steele  was  bom  at  Lancaster.  Pennsylvania,  in  1758.  He  was  a  Captain  through  the  Revo 
lutionary  War.  and  served  at  Brandywine  and  Yorktown.  In  1780,  he  commanded  Washington's  Life  Guards.  He 
was  collector  of  the  Port  at  Philadelphia  in  1809. 

tWlLLIAM  Wilson  was  a  resident  of  Northumberland  County.  Prior  to  his  appointment  on  the  Commission,  he 
held  several  appointments  at  the  hands  of  the  Commonwealth,  notably  that  of  County  Lieutenant.  In  1816,  he 
was  sent  to  Congress  from  the  district  which  then  embraced  Luzerne.  Northumberland  and  other  adjacent  counties. 

+The  affidavits  following,  as  well  as  the  summary  of  the  Commission's  scope  of  duties,  were  copied  from  original 
volumes  labeled  "Extracts  from  Minutes  of.  evidence  respecting  the  Titles  of  Connecticut  Claimants  in  and  to  the 
seventeen  townships.  Luzerne  County.  Pennsylvania."  The  original  books — ;l  in  number — are  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society.  Wilkes-Barre,  having  been  preesnted  to  the  Society  by  Jonathan 
J.  Slocum. 


1668 

lottery,  among  the  original  settlers,  under  the  then  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Susquehanna  Com- 
pany. *  *  *  that  the  entries  in  the  1st  eight  paragraphs  of  the  book  aforesaid,  relating  to 
the  lottery  aforesaid,  have  always  been  held  authentic,  and  regarded  as  good  evidence  among  the 
claimants  of  lots  in  the  town  of  Wilkesbarre,  under  the  title  and  regulations  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company.*  *  *  *  "The  deponent  hath  purchased  and  paid  for  town  lot  No.  30  and  part  of 
town  lot  No.  42  and  part  of  back  lot  No.  35,  resting  upon  the  evidence  of  the  entries  respecting 
the  same  in  the  book  aforesaid.  That  he  has  not  known,  and  has  not  heard  of,  tickets,  receipts, 
memorandums  or  certificates  or  any  other  document,  as  a  necessary  part  of  title  or  otherwise 
given  at  the  time  of  the  drawing  of  the  said  lottery,  to  the  persons  whose  lot  was  determined  by  the 
same;  neither  did  this  deponent  receive  any  such  from  any  of  his  grantors  of  his  lots  before  enu- 
merated, but  rested  upon  the  entries  in  the  book  aforesaid  as  acknowledged  evidence  of  title  in 
this  respect." 
"Sworn  to  before  Mathias  HoUenback. 

Next  was  introduced  a  volume  of  original  records  of  the  County  of  West- 
moreland, under  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut.    The  following  affidavit  accompanied 

this  documentary  evidence: 

"Wilkesbarre,  July  3rd,  1801. 
"The  volume  purporting  to  be  a  volume  of  original  records  of  Westmoreland,  together  with 
two  other  volumes  of  the  same  purport,  said  volume  paged  from  1  to  1397,  came  into  the  posses- 
sion of  this  deponent  as  follows,  to  wit:  About  the  year  1792,  this  deponent's  father,  the  late 
Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  removed  from  the  town  plott  of  Wilkesbarre  onto  his  farm,  which  rendered 
it  inconvenient  for  those  that  might  have  occasion  to  examine  these  records  to  apply  to  him, 
he  therefore  put  them  into  this  deponents  hands  to  be  kept  until  he  called  for  them,  or  that  the 
settlers  should  othervvis?  dispose  of  them  by  vote  at  a  public  meeting — and  that  ever  since  he  has 
known  these  records  they  have  been  considered  and  admitted  by  all  those  conctrned  in  the  Con- 
necticut title,  as  the  authentic  records  of  the  County  of  Westmoreland — referred  to  and  acknowl- 
edged as  such  by  the  grantors  and  grantees  under  said  title,  so  far  as  has  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  this  deponent. 

,,„  X    u  J-       T        i:-  ri  "Lord  Butler." 

Sworn  to  before  Jesse  tell. 

Older  in  point  of  time,  but  following  the  others  in  introduction  as  evidence 
before  the  Commissioners,  were  the  original  records  of  the  Town  of  Westmoreland. 
The  accompanying  affidavit  explains  their  purport: 

"Wilkesbarre,  July  7,  ISOl. 

"The  volumes  now  before  me  produced,  purporting  to  be  the  volumes  of  original  records 
of  Westmoreland  township  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  paged  from 
1  to  1397.  That  ever  since  he  has  known  them  they  have  always  been  considered  and  admitted 
as  authentic  records,  and  referr  d  to  as  such.f  And  that  they  have  been  so  admitted  in  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  of  the  said  County  of  Luzerne  and  antecedent  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  Westmoreland  Township  and  County  in  cases  of  disputed  title  and  otherwise.  That  the 
accounts  and  entries  of  such  as  were  original  settlers  under  the  Susquehanna  Company  in  the 
District  of  Wilkesbarre  as  contained  in  the  book  of  records  now  produced  hath  always  been 
considered  as  original  and  authentic,  as  this  deponent  hath  ever  understood  and  believes.  That 
Ezekiel  Pierce  whose  signature  among  the  said  entries  as  Recorder  of  Deeds  for  the  township  of 
Westmoreland  in  Litchfield  Co.,  and  afterwards  Westmoreland  Co.,  did  for  a  long  time  act  in 
that  capacity  for  the  township  of  Westmoreland  aforesaid.  That  the  signatures  in  said  volumes 
purporting  to  be  by  him  are  (as  this  deponent  well  knows  to  be)  the  proper  handwriting  of  the  said 
Pierce  (except  in  some  few  pages  in  the  said  book  which  this  deponent  believes  to  be  wrote  by  some 
one  of  the  sons  of  the  said  Ezekiel  Pierce,  who  were  employed  or  did  at  various  times  record 
Deeds  to  this  deponent's  knowledge,  as  this  deponent  frequently  saw  them  at  the  said  employment. 
*  *  *  That  the  said  Pierce  was  the  known  and  the  acknowledged  officer  for  that  purpose  in 
the  township  of  Westmoreland  during  the  period  of  six  years  or  thereabouts. 

"Sworn  to  before  Jesse  Fell.  "Mathias  Hollenback." 

With  this  mass  of  authentic  and  accepted  records  of  the  early  settlers 
before  them,  the  Commissioners  fell  promptly  to  work,  and  rapid  strides  were 
made  in  the  performance  of  their  duties.  On  the  "Minutes  of  Evidence"  herein- 
before mentioned,  the  following  "General  Observations  on  the  Connecticut 
Titles  in  the  Seventeen  Townships"  were  entered  by  Judge  Cooper,  and  appear 

*A  copy  of  the  list  of  names  and  the  number  of  the  lots  drawn  in  the  town  plot  of  Wilkes-Barre,  April  30,  1772, 
will  be  found  in  pages  727  and  728  of  Vol.  II.  The  original  list  is  on  file  in  the  collection  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society. 

I  general,  taken  from  the  above  records  will  be  found  on  page 


1669 


Hon.  Thomas  Cooper. 


to    outline    not    only    the    plan    of    procedure    of    the    Commissioners,    but    to 

explain  the  purpose  of  their  efforts,  so  that  no  questions  might  arise  in  future 

to  further  complicate  the  situation : 

'  The  Commissioners,  viz:  Thos.  Cooper, 
Esq.  Gcnl.  John  Steele,  and  Wm.  Wilson, 
Esq.  appointed  in  1801  under  the  Act  of  4th 
April,  1799,  entitled  an  'Act  for  offering  com- 
pensation to  the  Penna.  Claimants  of  certain 
lauds  within  the  seventeen  townships  in  the 
County  of  Luzerne  and  for  other  purposes 
therein  mentioned,'  soon  after  they  met  in 
Wilkesbarre  in  June,  1801,  agreed  to  divide 
between  them  the  business  of  the  Commis- 
sion as  follows,  viz :  The  investigation  of  the 
Connecticut  title,  the  forms  of  proceeding,  the 
bservations  on  Pennsylvania  title,  and  all  the 
le  gal  part  of  the  business  was  committed  to 
Mr.  Cooper.  The  management  of  the  surveys 
and  the  valuation  of  the  land  were  undertaken 
by  General  Steele  and  Mr.  Wilson,  so  that  al- 
tho  ugh  the  general  principles  of  the  proceed- 
ings were  considered  and  agreed  upon  by  the 
Commissioners  jointly  in  their  occasional  con- 
versations on  the  subject,  and  although  mu- 
tual communications  took  place  from  time  to 
time  on  all  the  various  parts  of  the  business  of 
the  Commission,  Mr.  Cooper  is  principally  re- 
sponsible for  the  details  of  title  in  the  ensuing 
pages,  and  the  general  observations  connected 
with  them.  This  division  of  labour  seems 
recognized  and  authorized  by  sections  7  and 
8  of  the  further  supplement  to  the  preceeding 
law,  passed  April  6,   1802  (State  Laws,  Svo. 

Ed.,  p.  204).  By  the  law  of  1799,  the  Commissioners  were  confined,  in  the  prosecution  of 
their  duty,  to  such  lands  within  the  seventeen  townships  as  were  claimed  under  a  Pennsylva- 
nia title,  under  a  patent  or  location  or  warrant  before  the  Decree  at  Trenton  in  which  a  survey  had 
been- executed  and  returned  agreeably  to  Law  (paragraph  1) ;  nor  had  they  any  right  to  enter  even 
upon  such  lands,  unless  they  had  been  previously  released  to  the  State  by  the  Pennsylvania 
claimant  thereof  (paragraph  5).  But  by  paragraph  9  of  the  further  Supplement  to  the  last  men- 
tioned Act,  they  were  authorized  to  survey,  value  and  certify  not  merely  such  parts  and  portions 
of  the  tracts  of  land  claimed  under  the  title  of  the  Susquehanna  Company  within  the  seventeen 
townships  as  had  been  or  might  be  released  to  the  Commonwealth  by  the  Pennsylvania  claimants 
thereof,  but  the  whole  of  each  tract  of  land  claimed  by  a  Connecticut  claimant  who  should  estab- 
lish his  title  thereto  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  Act  of  4th  April,  1799  whether  released 
to  the  Commonwealth  or  not.  This  Supplement  took  away  among  other  obstacles  that  which 
respected  a  part  of  the  seventeen  townships  lying  within  what  is  called  the  'New  Purchase.' 
The  manner  prescribed  by  the  Act  of  4th  April,  1799,  is  contained  in  the  5th  paragraph  of  that 
Act,  viz:  'that  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  Commissioners  also  to  ascertain  all  the  rights  or 
lots  within  the  said  seventeen  townships  which  were  occupied  or  required  by  Connecticut  claimants 
who  were  actual  settlers  there  at  or  before  the  time  of  the  said  Decree  of  Trenton  and  which  rights 
or  lots  were  particularly  assigned  to  the  said  settlers  prior  to  the  said  Decree  agreeably  to  the 
regulations  then  in  force  among  them."  The  word  'required'  appears  to  be  a  mistake  in  transcribing 
for  'acquired.'  The  Confirming  Law  (of  March  27,  1787)  which  the  Law  of  1799  herein  copies, 
has  'acquired.'  Hence  the  Commissioners  had  authority  to  ascertain  all  the  rights  and  lots  which 
werc  either  occupied  by  and  assigned  to  Connecticut  claimants  before  the  Decree  of  Trenton, 
agreeably  to  the  regulations  then  in  force  among  them,  or  acquired  by  or  assigned  to  Connecticut 
claimants  before  the  said  Decree,  agreeably  to  the  same  regulations,  provided  the  persons  so  oc- 
cupying or  acquiring  were  actual  settlers  there  at  or  before  the  time  of  the  said  Decree. 

"The  Decree  of  Trenton  was  the  30th  December,  1782. 

"On  this  clause  arises  the  following  questions:  1st. — What  were  the  regulations  then  in 
force  among  them,  and  how  are  they  ascertained?  2nd. — What  was  occupancy  of  a  right  or  a  lot 
agreeably  to  those  regulations?  3dly. — How  were  rights  or  lots  acquired  agreeable  to  those  regu- 
lations?   4thly. — What  is  meant  by  'settlers  there'? 

"1st.  What  were  the  regtilations  then  in  force  among  them?  These  were  the  Rules  and 
Regulations  of  the  Susquehanna  Company  in  the  public  meetings  of  that  company;  and  the  Rules 
and  Regulations  of  the  Committees  of  that  Company,  resident  at  Wyoming  and  authorized  to 
grant  townships,  decide  on  contested  rights,  &c.,  previous  to  the  Decree  of  Trenton.  For  what 
was  done  by  the  Company  or  its  Committees  subsequent  to  that  d;cree  cannot  now  be  considered 
as  binding.  The  Commissioners  procured,  in  the  Summer  of  1801.  by  means  of  Jesse  Fell,  Putnam 
Cathn,  Lord  Butler  and  Rosewell  Welles.  Esquires,  from  Col.  John  Franklin  the  known  Clerk  of 
the  Company,  a  copy  of  those  Rules  and  Regulations  from  1754  to  1786.  attested  by  Mr.  Gray, 
the  former  Clerk,  whose  handwriting  was  known,  and  which  bore  evident  marks  of  authenticity 


1670 

internally,  and  were  oflficially  transmitted  by  Colonel  Frankl'n.  and  acknowledged  by  the  above 
mentioned  gentlemen,  as  the  Rules  and  Regulations  of  the  Susquehanna  Company.  This  was 
one  source  of  information  on  the  subject.  Besides  this,  Lord  Butler,  Esq.,  who  was  otTicially  the 
Recorder  and  Register  of  Deeds  after  Timothy  Pickering,  Esq.  since  th?  change  of  jurisdiction, 
furnished  the  Commissioner  with  four  volumes  of  the  Records  of  Westmoreland;  Vol.  I  paged  from 
1  to  622;  Vol.  II.  from  623  to  1033;  Vol.  III.  (containing  the  earliest  records)  from  1034  to  1397; 
and  Vol.  IV.  from  page  1  to  1 70 — therefore  by  the  Decree  of  Trenton  and  the  change  of  jurisdiction 
at  Wyoming  all  that  part  of  the  Connecticut  claim  was  called  the  District  of  Westmoreland,  and 
appears  to  have  been  annexed  to  the  County  of  Litchfield  in  Connecticut.  A  Recorder  of  Deeds, 
as  it  should  seem,  was  appointed,  but  no  minute  of  such  appointment  appears  at  any  time  under 
any  authority  of  the  State  of  Connecticut.  From  the  Fall  of  1772,  for  many  years,  Ezekiel  Pierce 
acted  as  Recorder;  after  him  Colonel  Franklin  and  Obadiah  Gore,  Esq.,  were  severally  appointed 
to  that  office.  These  appointments  seem  to  have  been  under  the  sole  authority  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company  to  whose  lands  alone  they  related.  How  these  volumes  came  into  Mr.  Builer's  hands 
appears  by  his  deposition  respecting  them,  heretofore  given.  These  Records  contain,  interspersed, 
several  Rules  and  Regulations  of  the  Susquehanna  Company's  Committees;  and  this  was  another 
source  of  information  to  the  Commissioners,  as  to  the  Rules  and  Regulations  mentioned  in  the 
Act.  Other  information  was  procured  by  the  examination  of  Obadiah  Gore,  Nathan  Denison, 
and  Mathias  Hollenback,  Esquires,  now  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Luzerne  County 
who  were  actively  engaged  in  the  business  of  the  Company  from  the  commencement  of  the  regular 
settlement  of  Wyoming  soon  after  the  year  1 770,  until  the  change  of  jurisdiction.  Their  information 
compared  with  that  of  Col.  John  Frankhn  (generally  under  oath)  had  enabled  the  Commissioners 
to  judge  with  more  accuracy  of  the  validity  or  otherwise  of  several  votes  and  resolutions  of  the 
Committees  and  sub-committees  of  the  Company.  It  is  from  these  sources  that  the  Commissioners 
have  been  able  to  ascertain  what  were  the  'Rules  and  Regulations'  then  in  force  among  the  Settlers. 

"2nd.  What  was  occupancy  of  a  right  or  lot  agreeable  to  those  Rules  and  Regulations? 
(here  follows  description  of  rights,  half  rights,  etc.     *     *     *) 

"3dly.     How  were  lots  or  rights  acquired  under  these  regulations? 

"Each  township  5  miles  square,  and  to  contain  16,000  acres  according  to  the  custom  in  New 
England  States — to  be  divided  into  53  shares  of  300  acres  each,  making  15,900  acres,  it  was  con- 
venient to  the  Co.  to  grant  half  shares,  1  of  which  would  entitle  a  holder  to  300  acres  in  some 
township.  This  53rd  part  of  a  township  was  therefore  a  whole  right  in  the  township,  and  a  half 
share  right  under  the  Co.  Such  a  township  right  was  afterwards  divided  into  lots  according  to 
the  convenience  and  fancy  of  the  owners  of  the  several  townships  at  public  meetings  for  that 
purpose.  Sometimes  these  lots  were  laid  out  at  once  and  in  one  division  of  lots  as  in  Northmoreland ; 
sometimes  in  2,  3,  4,  or  even  5  divisions  of  lots  of  various  sizes,  and  at  various  distances  of  time 
as  in  Wilkesbarre,  Plymouth,  &c.  These  rights  were  occupied  under  the  Rules  and  Regulations 
of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  either  by  the  owner  himself  or  by  some  person  appointed  by  him, 
and  subject  to  the  privileges  and  limitations  hereinafter  mentioned.  Of  the  53  rights,  3  were 
public,  whereof  1  was  appropriated  to  the  1st.  .settling  minister  of  the  gospel;  1  to  support  ministry 
hereafter ;  1  to  support  a  school.  The  townships  were  divided  into  settling  townships,  viz :  Wilkes- 
barre, Kingston,  Plymouth,  Hanover,  Pittstown;  Suffering  townships — wherein  rights  lost  or  im- 
properly forfeited,  were  relaid  and  commuted — this  was  Providence;  and  Proprietary  townships. 
These  last  included  all  the  rest.  Hence  in  th:  5  settling  townships  each  right  was  required  to  be 
settled ;  for  it  was  held  under  the  condition  of  manning  the  right  by  the  claimant  or  some  one  for 
him.  In  the  rest  20  rights  manned  in  3  years  gave  a  title  to  the  rest.  It  appears  most  clearly 
not  only  from  the  general  testimony  of  all  persons  living  at  Wyoming  during  the  War,  of  whom 
the  Commissioners  have  had  an  opportunity  of  making  inquiries,  but  from  the  general  tenor  of 
the  votes  of  the  company,  and  from  the  township  resolutions  of  the  5  settling  towns  in  particular, 
that  the  state  of  the  County  was  such  for  many  years  as  made  it  absolutely  necessary  for  the  sake 
of  defense  that  the  inhabitants  should  concentrate  their  force  as  much  as  possible  and  live  as  near 
together  as  they  could.  This  was  in  fact  settling  the  country  in  the  best  possible  way  for  the  time 
being;  the  best  way  for  the  general  success  of  the  country,  but  the  most  disadvantageous  way  for 
the  settlers  themselves,  could  they  have  helped  it.  In  pursuing  this  investigation  of  title  under 
the  Connecticut  (or  rather  under  the  Susquehanna  Co.)  much  difficulty  has  arisen  in  consequence 
of  the  loss  and  destruction  of  public  and  private  papers  and  documents  during  the  War  in  this  part 
of  the  country,  and  particularly  in  the  destructive  Summer  of  177S,  when  on  the  3rd  of  July  the 
Wyoming  Settlers  were  defeated  by  the  Indians  and  British  under  the  command  of  Col.  John 
Butler,  and  above  300  of  them  killed.  This  defeat  was  followed  by  a  general  devastation,  which 
made  the  preservation  of  title  papers  and  minutes  of  public  meetings  an  object  of  secondary 
concern.  Hence  the  Commissioners  had  been  compelled  in  very  many  instances  to  dispense  with 
the  production  of  papers  which  would  otherwise  have  been  insisted  on,  and  accept  of  part  evidence 
in  their  stead.  (Adhering  to  the  decisions  relating  to  this  subject — Whitfield  vs.  Fasselt  1  Vis 
sere'  388.)  *  *  *  All  the  leading  facts  are  recorded  (in  the  Commissioners  Minute-book.) 
Not  that  this  record  is  necessary  to  establish  any  certificate  they  may  give:  those  certificates  will 
be  given  because  the  consciences  of  the  Commissioners  are  satisfied  that  the  persons  in  whose 
favor  they  are  granted  are  entitled  to  them;  not  that  this  record  should  be  used  to  impeach  any 
certificate  or  to  examine  into  the  propriety  of  granting  it,  or  to  give  any  means  or  authority  to 
the  officers  of  the  Land  Office  of  investigating  whether  the  Commissioners  did  right  or  wrong  in 
establishing  any  title  or  granting  any  certificate,  for  this  book  does  not  contain  all  the  reasons  and 
motives  that  influenced  the  decisions,  nor  do  the  Commissioners  mean  it  for  this  purpose;  their 
certificate,  and  that  alone,  is  the  sufficient  evidence  to  entitle  the  holder  of  it  to  a  patent,  and  they 


1671 

]3rotest  against  any  use  being  made  of  the  following  records  to  re-examine  before  any  other  tribunal 
the  Connecticut  titles  on  which  tliey  have  decided.  *  *  *  In  ascertaining  individual  titles 
the  Commissioner  has  first  resorted  to  the  Usts  of  owners  of  lots  according  to  the  draughts  by  lot- 
tery made  under  the  votes  of  town  meetings.  *  *  *  In  the  case  of  refugee  settlers  who  left  the 
country  during  the  War  and  took  sides  with  the  British,  the  Commission  has  always  supported 
any  title  derived  under  them,  if  made  when  they  had  a  right  to  make  it,  and  before  desertion. 
But  it  has  constantly  rejected  every  title  made  by  deserters  to  the  British  if  made  after  desertion; 
for  this  would  have  been  a  manifest  cause  of  forfeiture  under  the  Rules  and  Regulations  of  the 
Susquehanna  Company.  *  *  *  Where  deeds  could  not  be  shown,  depositions  have  been  re- 
quired of  their  loss  or  destruction ;  after  which  the  records  of  Westmoreland  and  Luzerne  have  been 
referred  to,  and  the  records  of  the  deeds  accepted.  For  this  purpose  an  index  has  been  made 
to  the  Westmoreland  Records  without  which  nine-tenths  of  the  claimants  would  have  sought  in 
vain  to  trace  their  title.  Where  the  record  is  contained  in  the  office  of  the  Recorder  of  Luzerne 
Co.  an  office'  copy  has  always  been  insisted  on.  *  *  *  Much  difficulty  has  arisen  in  the 
production  of  deeds,  from  the  universal  practise  in  this  part  of  the  Country,  of  permitting  the 
documents  of  title  to  remain  in  the  possession  of  oach  grantee.  The  grantees  being  satisfied  with 
the  notoriety  of  title  and  possession  in  the  persons  from  whom  they  purchased.  *  *  *  jj 
has  been  thought  necessary  to  state  these  preliminary  facts  and  observations,  that  the  general 
course  of  proceedings  in  taking  the  subsequent  titles  may  be  understood  by  those  to  whom  it  is 
a  duty,  and  who  have  the  right,  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  the  Commissioners." 

"Thos.  Cooper."* 
"1802" 

While  all  the  Commissioners  labored  to  execute  their  duties  with  intel- 
ligence and  fidelity,  Judge  Cooper  distinguished  himself,  in  particular,  by  a 
display  of  initiative  and  ability  which  might  appear  to  have  merited  a  more 
considerate  treatment  at  the  hands  of  Luzerne  County  than  he  subsequently 
received.  He  visited  in  person  all  of  the  townships.  Under  his  direct  super- 
vision, all  the  original  surveys  of  the  Susquehanna  Company  were  re-run.  Upon 
him  fell  the  task  of  issuing  most  of  the  Certificates  to  those  adjudged  owners 
of  Connecticut  claims.  Upon  presentation  of  these  Certificates  to  the  Land 
Office,  together  with  the  payment  of  acreage  and  other  fees  prescribed  by  the 
Compromise  Act,  a  Pennsylvania  patent  issued,  conclusive  as  between  rival 
Connecticut  claimants.  Daily  vs.  Avery,  4  S.  and  R.  281,  but  it  did  not  conclude 
a  Pennsylvania  claimant  under  certain  conditions.  Enslin  vs.  Bowman  9 
Binn.  462. 

By  October  20,  1802,  about  one  thousand  Connecticut  claimants  had 
exhibited  their  titles.     In  all,  as  their  records  indicate,  the  Commissioners  issued 

*Thomas  Cooper,  M.  D.,  LL.  D..  was  born  in  London,  England.  October  32nd.  1759.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford, 
and  afterwards  studied  law  and  medicine.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  and  traveled  the  Circuit  for  a  few  years  when, 
with  \\'att,  tha  inventor,  he  was  sent  by  the  Democratic  Clubs  of  England  to  those  of  France,  where  he  sided  with 
the  Girondists,  Called  to  account  for  this  by  Mr,  Burke  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Cooper  replied  with  a  violent 
pamphlet.  While  in  France  he  had  learned  to  make  chlorine  from  common  salt,  and  he  became  a  bleacher  and  calico 
printer  in  Manchester,  but  was  unsuccessful.  In  1 795,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  friend  Dr.  Joseph  Priestly,  he  established 
himself  as  a  lawyer  in  Northumberland  County.  Pennsylvania,  where  Priestly  had  located  just  one  year  before  Unit- 
ing himself  with  the  Democratic  party.  Mr.  Cooper  violently  attacked  President  Adams  in  a  newspaper  in  1 7S9.  was 
tried  for  libel  and  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprisonment  and  a  fine  of  $400.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Luzerne 
County,  in  1796. 

In  1801,  Judge  Cooper  was  appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  execute  the  "Confirming  Laws"  relative  to 
lands  within  the  "seventeen  townships." 

The  business  languished  in  the  hands  of  several  sets  of  Commissioners,  and  fears  were  entertained  that  the  project, 
from  its  magnitude  and  the  difficulties  with  which  it  was  surrounded,  would  entirely  fail.  But  owing  to  the  extra- 
ordinary energy  and  ability  of  Judge  Cooper,  the  last  Commission  cut  its  way  through  all  impediments,  and  the  great 
work  was  finally  accomplished. 

In  1806.  Judge  Cooper  was  appointed  President  Judge  of  the  1 1th  Judicial  District  of  Pennsylvania,  which  included 
Luzerne  County,  and  he  held  his  first  Court  at  Wilkes-Barre,  in  August  of  that  year. 

He  was  exceedingly  stern  and  severe  as  a  Judge,  and  after  he  had  occupied  the  Bench  for  three  or  four  years, 
many  of  the  attorneys  and  suitors  who  had  business  in  the  Courts  over  which  Judge  Cooper  presided,  grievously  com- 
plained of  his  tyrannical  conduct  while  on  the  Bench.  These  complaints  ulitmately  led  to  the  impeachment  of  Judge 
Cooper  for  t>Tanny,  and  he  was  removed  from  his  position  and  succeeded  by  the  Hon.  Seth  Chapman,  of  Northumber- 
land, who  held  his  first  court  at  Wilkes-Barre,  in  August.  1811. 

Judge  Cooper  was  an  efficient  supporter  of  the  administrations  of  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe. 

He  successively  occupied  the  Chair  of  Chemistry  in  Dickinson  College,  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
Columbia  College,  South  Carolina,  of  which  last  named  institution  he  became  President,  in  1820.  On  his  retirement 
from  the  office.  1834,  he  was  appointed  to  revise  the  State  Statutes,  four  volumes  of  which  he  had  completed  when 
he  died  at  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  May  4,  1839. 

He  was  a  Free  Mason,  having  been  initiated  into  Sunbury  Penna.  Lodge,  No.  22,  February  11,  1797. 

He  was  a  man  of  great  versatility  and  extensive  knowledge,  displaying,  as  a  lecturer,  great  erudition,  and  admirable 
powers  as  a  talker.  In  philosophy,  he  was  a  materialist,  and  in  religion,  a  free-thinker.  He  was  a  voluminous  writer 
and  publisher.  Among  other  things,  he  published,  in  1801.  "The  Bankrupt  Law  of  America.  Compared  With  That  of 
England;"  in  1812.  a  translation  of  the  "Institutes  of  Justinian;"  in  1819.  a  work  on  "Medical  Jurisprudence  "  He  also 
published  "Observations  on  the  Writings  of    Priestly,"  and  "An  Essay  on  the    Constitution  of  the    United  States. 


1672 


1745  Certificates,  embracing  288,532  acres  of  land.*  One  hundred  and  ninety 
seven  Pennsylvania  claimants  gave  deeds  of  release  to  the  Commonwealth.! 
The  form  of  a  Certificate  issued  by  the  Commission  is  familiar  to  those 
who  have  searched  the  early  titles  of  Luzerne  County,  but,  by  way  of  information 
to  others  interested,  a  copy  of  one  of  these  documents,  in  the  possession  of  Gen. 
Hoyt  at  the  time  of  writing  his  "Brief  of  Title,"  is  reproduced: 
A  CERTIFICATE  OF  TITLE. 


Daniel 
Hoyt. 


••*< 


;  distributed  among  the  b 


DRAFT  of  a  Tract  of  Land  situate  in  Kingston  one 
of  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  the  County  of  Lu- 
zerne; being  Number  Fifteen  in  the  Third  Division 
of  the  said  Township  and  containing  Righty  Seven 
Acres  and  Sixty  Four  perches  and  the  usual  allow- 
ance of  Six  per  centum  for  Roads:  Re -surveyed  the 
Tenth  day  of  September  One  Thousand  Eight  Hun- 
dred and  Two  for  Dan  iel  Hoyt  by  order  of  the  Com- 
missioners duly  appointed  for  putting  in  execution 
an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, passed  the  Fourth  day  of  April,  One  Thou- 
sand Seven  Hundred  and  Ninety  Nine,  entitled,  "An 
Act  offering  Compensation  to  Pennsylvania  Claim- 
ants of  certain  Lands  within  the  .Seventeen  Townships 
of  the  County  of  Luzerne,  an,d  for  other  purposes 
therein  mentioned."  and  the  Supplement  thereto. 

To  SAMUEL  COCHRAN  Esq.  Surveyor  General. 

THOS.  SAMBOURN 
Surveyor  to  the  Said  Commissioners 
December  1st  1802. 
CERTIFICATE. 

WE  the  undersigned  Commissioner^;,  duly  ap- 
pointed for  putting  in  execution  an  Act  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  entitled 
"An  Act  for  offering  compensation  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Claimants  of  certain  Lands  within  the  seven- 
teen Townships  in  the  County  of  Luzerne,  and  for 
other  purposes  therein  mentioned,"  passed  the  4th 
day  of  April  1799,  and  the  Supplement  thereto  passed 
the  15th  day  of  March.  1800,  and  the  further  Supple- 
ment thereto  passed  the  6th  day  of  April,  1802.  DO 
CERTIFY.  That  Daniel  Hoyt  is  the  Owner  as  a  Con- 
necticut Claimant  of  Eighty-seven  Acres  and  Sixty 
four  perches  of  Land  in  the  Township  of  KING 
STON.  one  of  the  before  mentioned  seventeen  Town- 
ships; being  Lot  Number  Fifteen,  in  the  Third 
Division  in  the  said  Township;  WHICH  Lot  Num- 
ber Fifteen  was  occupied  and  acquired  by  a  Connec- 
ticut Claimant,  an  actual  Settler  there  before  the 
time  of  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  and  was  particularly 
assigned  to  such  actual  Settler,  prior  to  the  said  De- 
cree, agreeably  to  the  regulations  then  m  force 
among  such  Settlers.  The  said  Land  (a  Draught  of 
Survey  whereof  is  hereto  r^nnexed)  is  included  in 
the  application  of  Daniel  Hoyt,  under  the  provi- 
sions of  the  acts  aforesaid:  of  which  application  an 
official  transcript  has  been  transmitted  to  us  from 
the  Land  Office  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsyl- 
vania THOMAS  COOPER 
November  10th.  180.'^.  JNO.  STEELE 
een  town^hip^  in  acreage  claimed  as  well  as  Certificates  issued  s 


Acres. 

No,  of  "cer- 
tificates." 

Wilkes- Barre 

14.37.S 
17,390 

186 

Kingston, .  _ 

152 

Newport. - 

17.869 

133 

Salem 

1 ,1 ,428 

105 

Huntington 

19,479 

176 

Hanover,. 

18,268 

131 

Exeter 

26,382 

83 

Pittston, 

20,502 

123 

Claverark,.  .  , 

17,713 

29 

.Springfield,    . 

28,679 

82 

Northmoreland , 

17,200 

69 

Braintrim 

17,379 

65 

Providence 

16,730 

85 

Putman 

22,859 

69 

Plymouth 

18,159 

256 

Ulster 

1  12 

1 

Bedford 

None. 

Total 

288,532 

1 ,745 

ere  distributed  through  the  town 

ll,I,.,M'^foll 

)vvs : 

Kingston .... 

Providence, . 

Pittston,.  ,. 

(, 

Newport, 

'.'.    14 

Hanover. 

IX 

Putman,,  , 

.    10 

Braintrim .     . 

,    10 

,11 

Wi!kes-Ba.-re 
Huntington, 

.     .    12 

Springfield 

4 

Northmoreland  ,  , 

.14 



Exeter 

9 

197 

Bedford 

35 

Manv  of  th 

ese  were  non 

residents,  who  he 

PIvmouth 

24 

of  "wild  land 

1673 

Tlie  penning  of  the  foregoing  Chapter  has  proved  a  difficult  task. 
Yet  one  of  the  first  questions  asked  by  a  student  of  local  history,  and  by 
far  the  most  difficult  to  answer,  has  almost  invariably  related  to  the  quieting 
of  titles,  many  of  them  now  of  immeasurable  value,  as  to  lands  long  in  contro- 
versy between  two  independent  states.  This  settlement,  as  has  been  seen,  was 
engulfed  in  legislation.  Court  decision  and  the  patient  adjudication  of  Commis- 
sions, for  a  period  of  nearly  twenty  years.  If  the  writer  has  neglected  important 
available  evidence  of  this  settlement,  the  omission  has  followed  rather  from  a  desire 
to  hold  the  Chapter  within  bounds  of  comprehension  of  the  average  reader,  than 
to  deal  too  much  at  length  with  legal  technicalities  which  naturally  surround  it. 


'     r>- 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

EVENTS  OF  THE  LAST  DECADE  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY—SHAD  FISH- 
ERIES—HUNTERS AND  HUNTING  OF  THE  PERIOD— INDUSTRY  OF  THE 
WOMEN— THE  WHISKEY   INSURRECTION— CAPTAIN   BOWMAN'S 
COMPANY— BEGINNING  OF  THE  RENAISSANCE  IN  WYOM- 
ING AFFAIRS— REAPPORTIONMENT  OF  TOWNSHIPS 
—THE  COUNTY'S  FINANCES— VISIT  OF  JEM- 
IMA WILKENSON— EARLY  PREACH- 
ERS AND  DOCTORS— WILKES- 
BARRE'S  EARLIEST 
NEWSPAPERS 


"Faith  is  the  subtle  chain 

Which  binds  us  to  the  Infinite:    the  voice 

Of  a  deep  life  within,  that  will  remain 
Until  we  crowd  it  thence." 

Elizabeth  Oakes  Smith. 


"Truth  comes  to  us  from  the  past,  as  gold  is  washed  down  from  the  mountains  of  Sierra 
Nevada,  in  minute  but  precious  particles,  and  intermixed  with  infinite  alloy,  the  debris  of  centuries." 


It  can  be  said  that  much  of  the  charm  pecuHar  to  the  early  history  of 
Wilkes-Barre  and  its  environs  ended  with  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth 
centun.-.  It  is  true  that  the  quieting  of  land  titles  spread  its  process  well  over 
into  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth.  But  the  community  itself  was  gradually 
adapting  itself  to  a  change  in  administrations  of  the  Commonwealths  which 
had  governed  it;  was  desperately  tired  of  conflict  and  turmoil,  and  was  being 
led  to  believe  that  Pennsylvania  had  adopted  a  course  of  governmental  meas- 
ures, in  the  management  and  regulation  of  its  affairs,  which  would  lead  to  ultimate 
justice  for  all.  It  was  a  backward,  hesitant  community,  however,  which  was 
recovering  frcvm  the  effects  of  nearly  half  a  century  of  bickerings,  political  dis- 
cord and  bloodv  strife. 


1675 

In  spite  of  the  widely  heralded  beauty  of  its  surroundings  and  the  admitted 
fertility  of  its  soil,  the  Wyoming  Valley  had  not  been  a  magnet,  as  had  other 
districts  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  valley  and  lake  regions  of  New  York, 
for  the  flood  of  immigration  which  had  followed  the  Revolutionary  War.  Those 
who  were  coming  to  the  infant  United  States  from  war  torn  countries  of  central 
Europe,  from  England  and  the  isles  of  the  sea,  desired,  above  everything  else, 
the  peaceful  possession  of  lands  and  the  chance  to  work  out  that  destiny  for 
themselves  which  the  great,  new  country  seemed  to  promise.  Wyoming  lay 
under  the  shadow  of  intersectional  political  differences  and  a  cloud  of  unde- 
termined rights  to  its  soil. 

It  has  been  seen,  in  a  previous  Chapter,  how  uncertainties  arising  from  such 
conditions  so  adversely  affected  the  life  and  prospects  of  the  entire  settlement. 
That  rich  deposits  of  anthracite  were  known,  is  not  to  be  questioned.  But  no 
industrial  development  could  then  follow  discovery.  Of  roads,  only  the  merest 
traces  existed.  Agricultural  pursuits  enlisted  only  the  crudest  instrumentali- 
ties for  the  prosperous  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

Connecticut  had  brought  its  instincts  for  the  establishment  of  churches, 
schools  and  stable  government.  Indeed,  in  earlier  times,  all  three  of  these  in- 
fluences had  flourished.  Uncertainties  of  a  later  day,  however,  held  these  and 
other  creative  instincts  in  abeyance. 

The  homes  of  the  pioneers  furnished  but  few  of  the  comforts  of  life  and  not 
all  of  its  very  essentials.  One  may  imagine  that  in  the  original  migration  of  these 
people  to  a  wilderness,  many  articles  of  convenience,  if  not  of  beauty  and  re- 
finement, dating  perhaps,  back  to  homes  in  England,  were  brought  over  the 
mountains  in  crude  ox  carts,  which  served  as  a  sole  means  of  transportation. 
Few  of  these  reminders  of  a  happier  existence  remained  at  the  period  mentioned. 
The  tomahawk,  the  flint  of  the  incendiarj^  flood,  and  the  covetousness  of  the 
invader,  had  left  but  little  of  these  possessions  at  Wyoming.  A  library  had 
not  come  into  existence.  The  times  were  too  precarious  for  even  the  weekly 
newspaper,  which  has  had  a  habit  of  following  settlements  as  they  were  pushed 
out  in  the  conquering  of  the  American  frontiers. 

Peace,  the  certainty  of  established  government  and  the  security  of  property 
rights,  might  restore  confidence  in  the  future  and  encourage  refinements  of  life. 
But  the  period  with  which  this  Chapter  begins  marked  merely  a  promise  of 
bringing  to  Wyoming  those  requisites  of  body,  mind  and  spirit  for  which  the 
community  yearned. 

That  shad  fishing  was  the  great  digression,  if  not  the  main  business  of  the 
populace  along  the  river,  in  the  spring,  is  a  matter  of  record.  An  early  men- 
tion of  shad,  in  the  Susquehanna,  is  to  be  found  in  "Moravians  and  the  Indians". 
In  a  Chapter  devoted  to  the  Wyalusing  mission  it  is  stated  that  2,000  shad  were 
taken  at  that  point  in  May,  1768.  As  early  as  1772,  a  seine  for  catching  shad 
was  brought  from  Connecticut  to  Wyoming,  and  was  held  as  the  common 
property  of  all  the  settlers.  In  1790,  there  is  an  account  of  these  fish  being 
sold  at  from  one  to  three  pence  each,  according  to  size,  in  a  market  established 
on  the  River  common. 

As  domestic  cattle  were  few  in  numbers,  and  those  available  for  slaughtering 
still  more  scarce,  the  shad  fisheries  yielded  no  small  portion  of  the  food  supply 
for  the  settlers.  Those  not  consumed  during  the  "run",  when  the  entire  river 
seemed  alive  with  the  fish,  were  salted  and  thus  preserved  for  the  future. 


1676 

Salt,  with  which  to  cure  the  enormous  catches,  was  extremely  scarce,  having 
to  be  brought  in  by  wagons  and  river  from  New  York  State,  or  laboriously  worked 
up  the  river  in  boats.  Maay  times  large  quantities  of  splendid  fish  went  to 
waste  for  the  lack  of  salt,  and  at  times  a  bushel  of  the  commodity  would  bring 
in  exchange  100  shad.  It  is  remarked,  on  one  occasion,  that  the  entire  salt 
supply  of  the  river  villages  became  exhausted,  whereupon  an  expedition  of 
volunteers  was  delegated  to  visit  Philadelphia  with  as  tnuch  expedition  as  pos- 
sible,  and  return  with  a  fresh  supply  before  the  fishing  season  ran  its  course. 

In  later  years  these  shad  fisheries  became  sources  of  considerable  revenue 
to  their  owners  and  a  lucrative  business  in  the  salted  variety  was  built  up  with 
communities  in  outlying  districts.  Usually,  about  ten  men  would  form  a  com- 
pany to  operate  a  fishery;  the  women  folk  would  spin  the  flax  into  twine  and 
the  men  would  each  knit  a  section  of  the  seine,  which  was  usually  from  sixty 
to  eighty  yards  long,  and  would  receive  a  share  of  the  fish  caught  in  it,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  yards  he  owned.  A  common  method  of  division  was  to 
separate  the  catch  into  as  many  piles  as  there  were  rights  in  the  seine ;  one  of  the 
number  would  then  turn  his  back  to  the  piles,  and  while  a  second  would  point 
to  a  pile,  the  one  whose  back  was  turned  would  name  the  man  to  whom  the 
pile  should  go.     This  method  lasted  for  many  years. 

In  the  "Sullivan  Journal",  page  245,  mention  is  made  of  shad  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  of  the  numbers  of  wild  turkeys  which  were  hunted  by  members  of 
that  Expedition  during  their  encampment  there. 

In  a  letter  to  the  American  Daily  Advertiser  of  Philadelphia,  under  date  of 
May  6,  1800,  its  Wilkes-Barre  correspondent  states  the  following: 

"In  our  last  we  mentioned  a  draught  of  9,290  shad  being  taken  at  Nanticoke,  four  miles 
Ijelow  this  town.  A  few  days  previous  to  that,  6,963  were  taken  at  a  draught  and  frequently 
in  the  course  of  a  season,  from  1,500  to  4,000  are  taken  daily  at  the  same  fishery." 

In  the  report  of  the  State  Commission  of  Fisheries,  1894,  appears  the 
following  distinctive  description  of  ea/ly  shad  fishing  dictated  by  Gilbert  H. 
Fowler,  in  his  eighty-seventh  year.     Mr.  Fowler  lived  near  Berwick : 

"The  first  run  or  the  first  great  schools  that  made  their  appearance  in  the  early  spring 
were  the  male  shad^ — no  female  ever  accompanied  them.  In  about  eight  or  nine  days  after  the  male 
had  ascended  the  river,  then  followed  the  female  in  schools,  heavily  loaded  with  eggs  or  roe.  Those 
were  much  the  largest  and  finest  fish,  and  commanded  the  highest  price.  Those  shad  that  were 
successful  in  eluding  the  seine  and  reached  the  hatching  ground  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, after  depositing  their  eggs,  returned  again  in  June  or  July,  almost  in  a  dying  condition, 
so  very  poor  were  they,  many  died  and  were  found  along  the  river  shore.  The  young  shad  would 
remain  at  their  hatching  place  till  late  in  the  fall,  when  they  would  follow  the  old  shad  to  the  salt 
water;  during  the  summer  they  would  grow  from  three  to  four  inches  long. 

"The  Susquehanna  shad  constituted  the  principal  food  for  all  the  inhabitants.  No  farmer, 
a  man  with  a  family,  was  without  his  barrel  of  shad  the  whole  year  round.  Besides  furnishing 
food  for  the  immediate  inhabitants,  people  from  Mahantongo,  Blue  Mountains,  and  in  fact, 
for  fifty  miles  around,  would  bring  salt  in  tight  barrels  and  trade  it  for  shad.  They  would  clean 
and  sort  the  shad  on  the  river  shore,  put  them  in  barrels  and  return  home.  The  common  price 
of  shad  was  three  and  four  cents  each. 

"Besides  shad,  there  were  many  other  kinds  of  food-fish.  The  most  noted  among  them  was 
the  old  Susquehanna  salmon,  weighing  as  high  as  fifteen  pounds.  These  salmon  were  considered 
even  superior  to  the  shad  and  commanded  a  higher  price.  They  were  caught  in  seines,  on  hooks 
and  lines,  and  were  the  sport  of  the  gigger  at  night.  Nescopeck  falls,  directly  opposite  Berwick, 
near  where  the  Nescopeck  empties  into  the  river,  was  a  noted  place  for  Salmon  fishing  with  hook 
and  line.  Men  standing  on  the  shore  with  long  poles  and  lines  often  in  drawing  out  the  fish,  would 
lodge  them  in  the  branches  of  the  trees,  giving  them  the  appearance  of  salmon  producing  trees. 

"The  shad  fisheries,  which  I  have  referred  to,  were  not  common  property.  The  owner 
of  the  soil  was  the  owner  of  the  fishery,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  fish  without  a  permit.  The 
owners  of  the  fisheries  also  had  the  seines,  and  when  not  using  them  they  would  hire  them  out 
to  others  and  take  their  pay  in  shad;  the  seiner's  share  was  always  one-half  the  catch.  At  the 
Webb  fishery  I  have  known  eleven  and  twelve  thousand  shad  taken  at  one  haul.  Those  fisheries 
were  always  considered  and  used  as  a  source  of  great  pleasure,  value  and  profit,  and  everybody 


1677 

depended  on  them  for  their  annual  fish  and  talile  supply.     It  was  considered  the  best  and  cheapest 
food  for  all. 

"Immediately  after  the  erection  of  the  river  dams  the  shad  became  scarce,  the  seines 
rotted,  the  people  murmured,  their  avocation  was  gone,  and  many  old  fishermen  cursed  Nathan 
Beach  for  holding  the  plow  and  the  driver  of  the  six  yokes  of  oxen  that  broke  the  ground  at  Berwick 
for  the  Pennsylvania  canal." 

Pearce,  in  his  "Annals  of  Luzerne  County",  page  500,  mentions  the  largest 
of  these  fisheries  at  Berwick  and  Nescopeck,  one  at  Beach  Haven,  one  at  Fish 
Island,  opposite  Wilkes-Ba.re,  (which  island  was  removed  in  1912,  to  become 
part  of  the  filling  for  the  Wilkes-Barre  Connecting  Railroad)  one  on  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Common,  one  at  Plymouth  and  others  at  Stewart's,  Kingston  and  Forty 
Fort.  The  seme  historian  states  that  he  learned  from  an  eye  witness  of  a  haul 
of  10,000  shad  being  made  at  Stewart's,  the  seine  being  so  heavy  that  it  could 
not  be  drawn  ashore.  The  fish,  according  to  this  authority,  were  thereupon 
shoveled  into  boats  anl  thence  conveyed  by  wagons  to  the  fishery. 

From  "Recollections  of  the  Life  of  John  Binns",  published  in  the  year 
1854,  the  following  relates  to  shad  fisheries  on  the  lower  Susquehanna: 

"In  1801  there  were  many  and  valuable  shad  fisheries  on  the  Susquehanna  and  on  its 
branches  above,  below  and  at  Northumberland.  In  many  of  these,  thousands  of  the  finest  shad 
were  nightly  caught.  They  used  then  to  sell  at  the  Northumberland  fisheries  at  six  dollars  per 
hundred. 

'The  coming  of  the  shad  was  usually  late  in  April  or  early  in  May,  varying  according  to 
the  height  and  warmth  of  the  river  water.  Their  arrival  was  preceded  by  what  was  called  the 
shad  fly,  which  was  a  long,  thin,  dark  brown  colored  fly.  in  shape  something  like  a  horse-fly, 
but  larger.  All  these  fisheries  have  been  destroyed  by  dams  and  canals  and  the  promotion  of 
trade  and  intercour.se." 

Charles  Miner,  in  the  Record  of  the  Times  of  May  9,  1855,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing graphic  account  of  what  shad  fishing  meant  to  those  of  a  little  later  period 
of  Wyoming's  history: 

"The  iV.  Y.  Evening  Post  says  shad  are  plenty  and  purchaseable  at  reasonable  prices. 
How  it  makes  one's  mouth  water.  Can't  the  schutes  at  all  the  dams  be  so  changed,  without 
injury  to  the  navigation  that  fish  can  come  up?     Take  a  sketch  of  old  fashioned  fishing. 

"About  the  latter  part  of  May  in  the  glorious  old  days  before  the  Susquehanna  was  dam'd 
up.  the  shad-fishing  here  was  in  its  prime.  It  was  high-holy  days  with  all  hands — seines  were  run- 
ning at  Nanticoke.  There  was  Blackman  and  Inman — Campbell  and  Jameson — Steele  and  Espy 
— the  Bennets  from  under  the  mountain — the  Jackson's.  Sarver.  Lutzys.  and  Fairchilds  from 
Newport — the  Wadhams,  the  Harveys,  the  Turners;  indeed,  half  Shawney.  with  their  hands; 
some,  as  owners  of  the  land  shore,  some  the  boats  and  seines,  some  fishing  on  shares;  and  a 
great  many  looking  on  enjoying  the  sport. 

"So  too,  at  Monacacy.  where  Capt.  Blanchard  took  the  lead.  But  our  business  is  with 
the  capital  old  Kingston  fishery  ground,  just  above  the  bar,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Mill  Creek. 
On  a  fine  day,  the  village  o.'  'Wilkes-Barre  would  be  half  depopulated.  Lawyers  ripe  for  fun. 
Printers,  Justices.  Doctors,  Mechanics,  Merchants — indeed  everybody  who  loved  shad  and 
relished  a  frolic,  who  could  get  a  skiff,  canoe,  or  any  craft  to  take  them  over. — Pettebone  and 
Dorrancc.  all  spirit  and  cheerfulness,  would  come  down  to  the  river  where  the  boys  hauled  out, 
and  gave  them  a  share  of  the  fish  caught,  you  would  find  overlooking  the  exciting  scene.  The 
vast  canoe,  half  as  big  as  Columbus'  first  ship,  with  the  long  seine  on  board,  is  just  starting  up, 
hugging  the  western  shore.  The  word  of  Capt.  Bennett  is  law  supreme,  for  he  is  the  best  fisherman 
on  the  river,  he  stands  in  the  bow  holding  the  brail,  and.  keeping  the  hands  silent  as  possible, 
gives  directions.  Coming  to  the  falls,  (the  present  'riff'  above  the  North  Street  bridge  at  Wilkes- 
Barre)  the  canoe  is  laid  straight  across  to  the  eastern  land  with  all  possible  swiftness;  the  seine 
being  cast  in  as  she  goes;  Now  the  canoe,  hugging  the  eastern  shore,  descends  slowly,  carefully — 
while  the  party  on  the  Kingston  side,  march  down  with  the  rope  flapping  on  the  water  to  keep 
the  fish  in  the  middle  of  the  stream.  Suddenly  you  hear  Capt.  Bennett's  command  — 'Pull  aw'ay' 
— the  canoe  darts  over  to  the  landing  p!ace,^the  boys  jump  into  the  water  to  take  the  rope 
ashore  — 'Haul  in  steadily' —  The  Buoys  (not  boys)  that  hold  up  the  top  of  the  net  are  seen  for 
many  a  rod  bobbing  up  and  down  on  the  surface  'Mind  the  lead  line!' — 'Steadily! —  Haul  in.' 
Presently  the  shad  fins  begin  to  appear  as  the  semi-circle  of  the  seine  contracts  and  approaches. 
'See,  See,' the  water  is  all  alive  with  them!  A  shout  goes  up!  Hurrah,  boys! — Lawyers,  Printers, 
Doctors,  are,  in  an  instant,  some  on  their  knees,  some  to  their  arm-pits  in  the  river  holding  down, 
or  hauling  in  the  lead  line    'Haul  over  hand,  never  mind  the  brail-Capt.  Bennett  manages  that.' 

"How  their  bright  scales  glitter  in  the  sun,  as  they  are  cast  ashore!  'Don't  fling  so  high, 
you  bruise  them.'  'You  go  to  grass!' — 'You  are  careless  there' — 'They  will  half  escape — keep 
down  the  lead  line' — 'Teach  your  granny  to  lap  ashes!'  The  beach  is  lined  with  the  beautiful 
flapping  things.     'A  thousand' — 'Six  hundred,  at  least.'    The  excitement  verges  to  the  line  of 


1678 

exuberant  pleasure.  'Ship  the  seine,  boys — don't  stand  gaping  there  as  if  you  never  saw  a  shad 
before.'  Dripping  wet,  we  must  have  a  little  to  keep  the  cold  out,  and  these  Wilkes-Barre  fellows 
are  as  dry  as  Buck-wheat  straw — give  them  a  pull.  Haul  after  haul  is  made,  evening  approaches. 
As  many  heaps  are  formed  as  there  are  shares,  one  extra,  and  one  or  more  each  for  Capt.  Pette- 
bone  and  Col.  Dorrance.  A  man  turns  his  back,  while  another  asks — 'Who  shall  have  this!'' 
'Who  shall  have  that?'  So  the  shares  are  allotted  generally  with  great  fairness;  but  as  now  and 
then  there  would  be  a  bouncer  of  a  shad,  or  a  better  than  the  average  heap,  some  suspicion  would 
arise  that  a  peculiar  manner  of  putting  the  question,  as,  with  emphasis  'Now  who  shall  have 
that  heap?'  indicated  its  superiority  and  it  was  awarded  to  the  minister  or  some  favorite.  500, 
1000  to  1,500  a  day  were  not  infrequently  taken. 

"All  divided;  some  from  our  village  purchased  with  money.  Lawyers  and  Doctors  received 
willing  portions  for  fees  due;  the  Printer  for  his  paper.  The  widow  and  the  poor  were  never 
forgotten.  Half  a  century  ago  every  family  calculated  on  putting  up  a  barrel  of  shad — many 
with  great  care ;  and  so  fat  and  rich  were  they,  that  an  epicure  might  regard  them  a  luxury. 

"'Ah,!'  cried  the  old  People,  still  chewing  on  the  past, 'what  times  when  we  were  young 
and  shad  were  plenty;  the  present  generation  knows  no.  such  happiness.' 

Hendrick  B.  Wright  whose  "Historical  Sketches  of  Plymouth"  were  pub- 
lished in  1858,  and  who  shared  in  the  excitement  and  profit  of  fishing  at  about 
the  same  time  referred  to  in  the  Miner  narrative,  throws  additional  light  on  this 
early  occupation: 

"When  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  commenced  the  building  of  her  public  canals,  it  put  an 
end  to  the  shad  fisheries.  It  became  necessary  to  use  the  large  rivers  for  the  purposes  of  feeders; 
and  the  erection  of  dams  to  accomplish  this,  created  a  barrier  which  totally  interrupted  the  annual 
ascent  of  this  delicious  fish  up  the  Susquehanna.  Before  that,  this  stream  had  become  famous 
for  its  shad  fisheries,  and,  in  fact,  this  product  was  one  of  the  chief  staples  of  food  in  the  early 
settlement  of  the  country.  The  system  of  internal  navigation  commenced  in  1825 ;  since  then  the 
fisheries  have  been  abandoned.  It  was  in  one  sense  a  public  calamity,  for  the  people  along  the 
shores  of  the  Susquehanna  looked  forward  with  as  much  interest  to  the  fishing  season  as  to  the 
time  of  their  harvest.  The  crop,  indeed,  was  quite  as  important  to  them.  Many  poor  families 
the  fisheries  supplied  with  the  chief  article  of  their  food,  for  at  least  a  third  of  the  year.  By  a 
reference  to  Franklin's  diary,  it  will  be  seen  that  one  of  the  causes  of  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  the 
Plymouth  settlers  by  Wilkes-Barre  magistrates,  as  far  back  as  1784,  and  of  which  he  complains, 
was  the  destruction  of  their  fishing-nets  and  seines. 

"From  that  time  down  to  1825,  a  period  of  thirty  nine  years,  the  shad  crop  was  relied  upon 
by  the  people  as  one  of  the  utmost  importance.  Large  numbers  of  the  people  of  Plymouth  were 
shareholders  in  the  shad  fisheries.  Those  who  were  not,  were  supplied  at  a  mere  nominal  price. 
Previous  to  1800,  the  price  probably  did  not  average  more  than  two  cents  a  piece,  and  from  that 
period  up  to  1825,  when  the  dams  were  put  in  the  river,  the  highest  price  did  not  exceed  eight  or 
ten  cents  apiece.  Thus  a  laboring  man,  who  had  no  interest  in  the  fisheries,  could  lay  in  his 
year's  supply  for  the  receipts  of  a  week's  wages. 

"And  while  the  whole  population  along  the  Susquehanna  were  exceedingly  anxious  to  have 
the  canal,  they  indulged  in  feelings  of  deep  regret  at  the  idea  that  it  would  result  in  the  total 
destruction  of  their  fisheries.  The  great  advantages  they  contemplated  from  the  inland  navigation, 
overbalanced  the  consequent  loss  of  the  fisheries.  They  submitted,  but  a  great  many  of  the  old 
settlers  could  hardly  reconcile  their  minds  to  the  exchange.  They  did,  however,  but  with  ex- 
treme reluctance. 

"The  day  of  railroads  had  no  existence  forty  years  ago.  'DeWitt  Clinton  and  the  grand 
canal,'  were  the  watchwords  of  progress.  New  York  led  off,  and  the  other  states  followed  in  her 
wake.  The  motto  was  interwoven  upon  handkerchiefs  and  vest  patterns.  I  well  remember  of 
wearing  a  vest  with  these  words  interwoven  all  over  it.  And  so  with  the  ordinary  water  pitchers; 
they  would  be  decorated  with  the  profile  likeness  of  Washington,  Lafayette,  Decatur,  Lawrence, 
Perry,  or  Scott,  so  that  every  time  the  old  pioneer  brought  the  cider  mug  to  his  mouth,  he  had 
looking  him  in  the  face  some  one  of  the  land  or  marine  heroes  of  the  country.  A  good  reminder! 
It  may  be  said  these  were  days  of  primeval  simplicity.  I  would  they  could  return  to  us  again. 
Particularly  if  they  would  bring  along  with  them  those  habits  of  honest  rusticity,  when  jails  were 
tenantless,  and  the  scaffold  a  thing  of  the  imagination  only. 

"But  our  subject  is  not  to  theorize,  but  to  jot  down  facts  and  things  connected  with  the 
past,  and  blended  with  the  lives  and  transactions  of  our  ancestors. 

"Plymouth  was  noted  for  its  good  shad  fisheries.  There  were  three  of  them.  The  Mud 
Fishery,  nearly  opposite  the  old  Steele  ferry.  The  point  of  'hauling  out'  was  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  river,  and  probably  a  half  mile  below  Garrison  Hill,  called  also  a  'night  fishery.'  They 
never  drew  the  seine  in  the  daytime.  I  have  taken  part  in  the  work  here  a  great  many  nights, 
in  years  gone  by,  and  have  shared  as  many  as  a  hundred  shad  for  the  labor  of  a  night. 

"Another  fishery  was  located  at  Fish  Island,  sometimes  called  Park's  Island.  Its  last 
name  came  from  the  residence  of  an  old  rheumatic  man  who  hobbled  on  two  crutches,  one 
under  each  armpit,  with  a  bag  slung  over  his  shoulders,  in  which  he  carried  herbs.  He  was  an 
herb  doctor,  and  was  known  far  and  wide  as  Dr.  Parks.  Some  time  about  the  year  1835,  he  made 
a  voyage  to  Washington,  D.  C,  in  his  canoe.  He  went  for  a  pension,  and  he  got  it.  He  came 
back  with  his  canoe  by  the  way  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  canal;  thence  up  the  Dela- 
ware to  Easton,  and  then  up  the  Lehigh  navigation  to  White  Haven,  within  twenty  miles  of 


1679 

his  home.  Canoes  in  past  days  were  an  important  river  craft.  I  have  already  stated  that  this 
was  the  vessel  Colonel  Franklin  navigated  when  he  went  on  his  mission  from  the  Valley  to 
.\nnapolis,  to  present  the  settlers'  petition  to  Congress.  He  informs  us  that  he  left  his  canoe  at 
Conawago  Falls,  near  Harrisburg,  and  proceeded  the  rest  of  his  journey  on  foot,  by  land. 

"Dr.  Parks  being  unable  to  walk,  or  with  very  great  difficulty,  passed  through  the  falls  and 
landed  at  the  warves  on  the  Potomac  at  Washington.  The  doctor  gave  a  circumstantial  and 
interesting  account  of  his  voyage  on  his  return,  and  e.\hibited  his  pension  certificate;  as  to  the 
jiropriety  of  granting  it,  the  people  of  the  valley  generally  entertained  very  grave  doubts.  And 
I  believe  it  never  has  yet  been  a.scertained,  and  probably  never  will  be,  for  what  particular 
military  service  this  bounty  was  granted.  He  said  'it  took  him  just  two  months  to  make  the 
voyage;  and  the  rheumatics  almost  killed  him,  too;  the  tide  water  seemed  to  baffle  the  vartu  of 
all  his  yarbs,  and  at  one  time  he  nearly  give  in.' 

"Dr.  Parks  had  a  slab  hut  some  ten  feet  square,  and  six  feet  high,  on  Fish  Island.  This 
was  his  domicile  and  home,  except  during  high  floods,  and  when  these  occurred,  the  doctor,  along 
with  the  exodus  of  his  friends  and  neighbors,  the  muskrats,  would  seek  refuge  on  the  main  land. 
His  cabin  was  fastened  by  a  cable  to  a  huge  sycamore  hard  by. 

"The  old  name  of  Fish  Island  became  partially  obscured;  the  long  residence  of  the  root 
doctor  attaching  to  it  his  own  patronymic.  Before  the  erection  of  the  dam  immediately  below, 
this  island  was  much  larger  than  it  is  now,  the  back  flow  of  the  water  has  submerged  probably 
two-thirds  of  the  original  surface. 

"This  was  a  day  fishery,  and  in  early  times  there  were  some  most  extraordinary  hauls 
made.  One  of  them,  somewhere  between  1790  and  1800,  tradition  informs  us,  yielded  'nine 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  shad.'  I  have  been  informed  by  persons  who  were  present, 
that  this  haul  was  made  on  a  Sunday  morning;  that  in  bringing  the  seine  to,  on  the  point  of  the 
island,  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  twines  of  the  meshes  would  not  withstand  the  pressure 
of  the  load,  and  that  two  other  nets  were  put  around  it,  and  in  this  way  only  a  part  of  the  immense 
catch  was  secured.  That  the  number  of  fish  taken  at  this  haul  was  nearly  or  quite  ten  thousand, 
there  is  no  question.  I  have  heard  the  relation  of  the  story  from  the  mouths  of  credible  persons 
who  were  present  at  the  time. 

"The  third  was  known  as  the  Dutch  Fishery,  located  at  the  lower  end  of  the  narrows  below 
Nanticoke,  the  upper  end  of  the  Croup  farm  was  the  point  of  hauling  out.  The  fishing  was 
done  most  generally  here  during  the  night,  though  occasionally  they  dragged  their  nets  in  the 
daytime.  My  father  said  that  his  share  at  one  night's  catch,  at  this  fishery,  was  nineteen  hundred. 
He  was  the  owner,  however,  of  the  seine,  and  drew  a  fifth  of  the  product. 

"I  think  that  it  may  be  fair  to  estimate  that  these  three  fisheries,  in  ordinary  season,  would 
yield  not  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  shad.  The  state,  therefore,  in  closing  up  the  natural 
channels  of  the  Susquehanna,  did  an  immense  injury  to  the  people  along  its  shores.  The  policy, 
however  which  caused  it  may  have  made  a  full  equivalent  for  the  damage  in  other  ways.  The 
generation,  however,  who  immediately  preceded  us,  could  not  forget  the  annual  luxury  which  the 
shad  fisheries  of  the  Susquehanna  had  afforded  them.  With  them  it  was  ever  a  subject  of  regret, 
that  they  had  exchanged  their  fisheries  for  the  canal. 

"An  attempt  has  been  made  within  the  few  past  years  to  so  arrange  the  chutes  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna dams  that  the  shad  may  pass  up  them ;  but  the  result  thus  far  has  been  almost  total 
failure.  The  people  of  this  valley  will  probably  never  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  river 
stocked  with  this  delicious  fish,  so  long  as  the  waters  are  made  contributory  for  feeders  of  the  canal. 
The  shad  fisheries,  therefore  are  among  the  things  of  the  past. 

"The  Susquehanna,  but  for  its  shad,  was  not  remarkably  celebrated  for  its  fish.  Eels 
were  pretty  abundant  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  but  the  season  for  taking  them  was  very  short;  and 
its  waters  contained  but  few  other  specimens,  and  those  comparatively  insignificant  in  number. 
The  Oswego  bass,  however,  were  common  in  its  waters,  and  sometimes  obtained  a  large  size. 
I  have  seen  them  of  foiu-teen  pounds  weight." 

The  ax  of  the  settler  had  not  bitten  so  deep  into  the  forest,  at  this  period,  as 
to  interfere  with  an  abundance  of  game,  for  those  who  preferred  the  pleasures 
of  the  chase  to  the  more  monotonous  call  of  husbandry.  The  names  of  many 
local  hunters  have  come  down  to  later  times  by  tradition  and  otherwise.  Deer 
was  plentiful,  as  it  is  in  wooded  districts  of  the  county  today.  For  those  who 
desired  more  dangerous  sport,  the  panther  offered  a  challenge.  These  animals 
are  mentioned  in  all  the  early  correspondence  of  Wyoming.  They  were  colored 
a  brownish  red,  with  small  patches  of  a  deeper  tint,  the  throat  and  jaws  being 
white.  When  full  grown,  they  weighed  as  much  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
and  sprang  upon  their  prey  with  deadly  cunning. 

From  1808  to  1820,  during  which  years  a  bounty  was  paid  for  the  scalp 
of  each  "painter"  brought  to  the  Court  house,  the  sum  of  $1,822  was  paid  to  hun- 
ters of  this  animal,  representing  an  average  kill  of  fifty  per  year,  even  in  those 
later  times. 


1680 

The  depredation  of  wolv^es  was  an  early  and  constant  source  of  complaint 
on  the  part  of  settlers  even  in  the  more  thickly  populated  districts.  In  1798, 
the  County  Commissioners  were  forced  to  offer  a  small  bounty  for  each  wolf 
scalp  produced.  Under  this  resolution,  the  Commissioners  paid  out  the  sum 
of  $393.79  for  scalps,  in  1799;  the  sum  of  $247.42  in  1801;  $619.91  in  1802; 
$306.47  in  1803  and  $528  in  1805. 

In  March,  1806,  the  lyCgislature  of  Pennsylvania  offered  a  bounty,  in 
addition  to  those  offered  by  counties,  of  $8.00  for  each  wolf  head  exhibited  "to 
encourage  the  killing  of  wolves  in  the  state  "  Under  this  act,  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Luzerne,  in  the  same  year,  paid  for  seventeen  heads  the  sum  of 
$136.00  on  the  State's  account. 

The  Susquehanna  Democrat,  of  September  9,  1814,  published  the  following, 
under  the  caption  of  "Wolves:" 

"These  destructive  animals  have  lately  made  a  great  havoc  amongst  the  Flocks  of  Sheep 
in   Kingston,   Exeter,   Plymouth  and   vicinity. 

"To  remedy  so  great  and  destructive  an  evil,  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  said  township 
have  agreed  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Nathan  Hurlburt,  in  Kingston,  on  Wednesday  the  14  inst. 
at  2  o'clock  P.  M.  to  devise  means  to  secure  themselves  against  like  devastations  in  future. 

"Our  fellow  Citizens  of  Wilkesbarre,  Hanover  and  Pittston,  are  respectfully  invited  to  attend, 
as  we  consider  them  in  a  degree  interested,  and  will  cheerfully  do  a  like  good  turn  to  them  for  the 
favor  when  a  like  evil  presents  itself  at  their  door. 

"It  is  contemplated  if  deemed  expedient  at  the  meeting,  that  the  people  generally  turn  out 
for  one  day  and  scour  that  part  of  the  country  where  the  animals  are  supposed  to  conceal  them- 
selves." 

As  late  as  1822,  the  incursion  of  the  wolf  had  by  no  means  reached  its  end. 
In  the  same  publication,  under  date  of  December  22nd,  an  account  of  a  wolf  hunt 
appeared : 

"A  few  days  since  the  citizens  of  the  Plains  discovered  the  tracks  of  several  wolves  leading 
into  a  swamp  between  the  main  road  and  the  river,  and  immediately  rallied  for  a  hunt,  to  the 
number  of  50  or  60.  They  formed  themselves  into  two  companies  under  the  direction  of  Capt. 
Blanchard  and  C.  Cortright,  Esq.,  and  surrounded  the  swamp.  Almost  at  the  first  onset  the  com- 
pany engaged  a  wolf,  and  while  the  aninjal  was  fighting  one  of  their  dogs,  Capt,  Blanchard  caught 
it  by  the  hind  legs  and  cut  its  ham-strings  with  his  knife.  The  swamp  was  thoroughly  invaded, 
and  after  considerable  sport,  three  wolves  were  caught.  It  appears  the  citizens  were  quite  col- 
lected and  cool,  for  there  was  no  random  shooting  to  endanger  the  lives  of  any  concerned.  The 
wolves  had  previously  killed  a  number  of  sheep  in  that  neighborhood — and  it  is  supposed  there 
are  several  others  prowling  about,  which  it  is  hoped  will  eventually  share  the  fate  of  those  above 
mentioned." 

While  the  wild  turkey  was  a  subject  of  frequent  mention,  from  the  earliest 
settlement  of  Wyoming,  the  wild  or  passenger  pigeon  does  not  appear  to  have 
excited  much  comment  until  after  the  year  1800. 

Audubon  advanced  the  theory  that  the  wild  pigeons  formed  one  great 
colony.  This  seemed  to  be  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  sometimes,  in  one  part  of 
the  country,  they  would  cover  an  area  of  woods  more  than  ten  miles  square,  for 
their  nesting  and  roosting  places,  while  they  would  be  seen  in  other  parts  of  the 
country  simply  as  isolated  flocks,  on  swift  wing,  all  flying  in  the  direction  of  the 
great  nesting  ground.  But  while  the  wild  pigeons  might  have  been  one  great 
colony  of  birds,  they  usually  arranged  to  nest  in  several  great  divisions,  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country — the  beech  woods  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
Canada  and  Northern  Michigan,  being  their  favorite  resorts — according  to  the 
condition  of  the  feeding  grounds. 

Proximity  to  beech  woods  was  the  chosen  spot,  always,  for  the  annual 
pigeon  roosts.  One  of  the  greatest  of  these  was  in  Sullivan  County,  New  York, 
and  the  beech  woods  of  the  adjacent  Counties  of  Wayne  and  Pike,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  last  appearance  of  any  wild  pigeons  as  far  east  as  that,  however, 
was  in  1876,  when  thej'  occupied  the  beech  woods  by  the  million. 


1681 

111  the  deep  weeds,  falling  leaves  protected  an  enormous  quantity  of  beech- 
nuts throughout  the  winter.  The  tree  is  uncertain  in  its  yield,  however,  and 
Audubon  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  pigeon  scouts  were  sent  out  in  the 
fall,  to  determine  the  yield  in  different  localities.  When  spring  came,  the 
main  flocks  set  out  as  early  as  February,  for  the  most  promising  feeding  grounds. 

In  the  Documentary  History  of  New  York,  Vol.  Ill,  page  632,  is  a  statement 
by  Gideon  Hawley  that  the  continental  flock  appeared  in  the  Mohawk  Valley 
in  1753.  The  feeding  grounds  may  have  been  elsewhere  in  years  before  the 
opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  or  the  Susquehanna  Valley  was  the  route  of 
only  isolated  outguards  of  the  main  body.  But  in  later  years  the  Susquehanna 
country  saw  the  main  flocks  in  their  migrations,  much  to  the  wonderment  of  all 
concerned.  The  first  local  newspaper  mention  of  the  mysterious  appearance  of 
these  flocks  is  found  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gleaner,  March  8,  1815.  From  that 
time  until  1860,  the  subject  commands  important  space  in  newspaper  columns 
during  the  periods  of  flight. 

The  passage  of  wild  geese  seems  likewise  to  have  won  at  least  an  annual  spring 
notice.  In  a  paper  read  before  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
December  11,  1885,  by  William  P.  Ryman,  and  published  in  Vol.  VI,  page  143, 
of  the  "Proceedings"  of  that  Society,  a  description  of  how  the  wild  pigeon  was 
hunted  in  the  neighborhood  of  Dallas  w-ould  apply  to  other  districts  covered  by 
their  flight : 

"A  practical  benefit  from  raising  buckwheat  was  that,  in  gathering  it.  a  large  quantity  of 
it  shook  off  and  was  scattered  over  the  fields.  This  afforded  a  most  attractive  pigeon  food,  and 
during  the  fall  and  spring  seasons,  and  often  during  much  of  the  winter,  pigeons  would  flock 
in  countless  numbers  all  over  the  country.  They  came  in  such  quantities  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  exaggerate  their  numbers.  When  a  boy  I  used  to  see  flocks  that  extended  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  from  end  to  end,  and  these  long  strings  or  waves  of  birds  would  pass  over  so  closely 
following  each  other  that  sometimes  two  or  three  flocks  could  be  seen  at  once,  and  some  days 
they  were  almost  constantly  flying  over,  and  the  noise  of  their  wings  was  not  unlike  the  sound  of 
a  high  wind  blowing  through  a  pine  woods.  They  cast  a  shadow  as  they  passed  over  almost  like 
a  heavy  cloud.  Often  they  flew  so  low  as  to  be  easily  reached  with  an  ordinary  shot  gun.  The 
skilled  way  of  capturing  them  in  large  quantities,  however,  was  with  a  net.  William,  or  "Daddy" 
Emmons  was  a  famous  pigeon  trapper  as  well  as  fisherman.  He  used  decoy  pigeons.  They  were 
lilind  pigeons  tied  to  the  ground  at  some  desired  spot,  and  when  they  heard  the  noise  of  large 
flocks  flying  overhead,  they  would  flap  their  wings  as  if  to  fly  away.  Attracted  by  this  the  flock 
would  come  down  and  settle  near  the  decoys,  where  plenty  of  buckwheat  was  always  to  be  found. 
When  a  sufiicient  number  had  settled  and  collected  on  the  right  spot,  Mr.  Emmons,  who  was  con- 
cealed in  a  bush  or  bough  house  near  by,  would  spring  his  net  over  them  quickly  and  fasten  them 
within.  After  properly  securing  the  net,  the  work  of  killing  them  began.  It  was  done  in  an  instant 
Ijy  crushing  their  heads  between  the  thumb  and  fingers.  Hundreds  were  often  caught  and  killed 
in  this  way  at  one  spring  of  the  net.  Pigeons  were  so  plenty  that  some  hunters  cut  off  and  saved 
the  breast  only,  and  threw  the  balance  away.  Pigeon  trapping  in  Dallas  twenty-five  and  thirty 
years  ago  was  almost  if  not  quite  a  parallel  with  the  great  shad  fishing  days  in  the  Susquehanna . ' ' 

Bear,  likewise,  was  abundant,  but  that  actual  damage  done  by  these 
•  animals  was  not  as  pronounced  as  that  charged  to  wolves  is  surmised  by  an 
absence  of  bounties  ofTered  by  either  county  or  state,  for  their  destruction.  As 
an  article  of  commerce,  however,  the  value  of  a  bear  skin  offered  an  inducement 
to  hunters.  Items  of  expense  and  profit,  in  the  accounts  of  Judge  Matthias 
Hollenback,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  points  further  northward  on  the  Susquehanna, 
indicate  that  these  pelts  furnished  no  small  part  of  the  return  cargo  of  the  Durham 
boats  he  owned  and  which,  as  will  later  be  mentioned,  plied  between  Middletown 
and  the  upper  Susquehanna,  in  trade  with  Philadelphia. 

That  Judge  Hollenback  had  opposition  in  this  particular  matter  of  business 
is  indicated  by  an  advertisement  which  appeared  in  the  Luzerne  Federalist, 
of  June  23,.  1803.    Under  the  heading  of  "Wanted"  is  the  following: 

"1,000  bearskins  of  good  quality  and  for  which  the  highe5t   prices  in   cash   will   be   paid. 

"RossETT  AND  Doyle.  Wilkes-Barre." 


1682 

While  much  of  tradition  surrounds  the  prowess  of  individual  hunters  and 
trappers  of  this  period,  and  stories  of  large  bags  of  game,  as  well  as  exciting  en- 
counters between  the  solitary  woodsman  and  his  dangerous  prey,  may  have 
grown  with  the  telling,  these  traditions  of  the  early  hunting  days  of  Luzerne 
are  quite  as  thrilling  as  pertained  to  any  county  of  the  Commonwealth.  The 
proverbial  outfit  of  the  hunter  was  "a  quarter  of  powder,  a  pound  of  shot,  a  pint 
of  rum  and  a  flint." 

The  names  of  Ishmael  Bennett,  of  Wilkes-Barre;  Wheaton,  of  Wyalusing; 
John  McHenry,  of  Fishing  Creek;  George  Sox,  of  Bear  Creek,  and  Fred  Arnold, 
of  Hanover  Township,  stand  out  among  the  rest,  as  commanding  attention  at 
those  rare  intervals  when  they  were  in  a  story  telling  mood  of  their  hunting  days. 

With  the  men  engaged  mainly  in  agriculture,  and  with  hunting  and  fishing 
at  hand  for  their  leisure  hours,  it  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  the  women  folk  of 
their  families  were  idle.  Almost  every  home  contained  a  loom,  one  or  two  spin- 
ning wheels  and  a  dye  pot.  They  spun  flax,  wove  cloth  for  clothing  and  carpets 
by  way  of  adornment  of  their  homes. 

The  "spinning  bee"  was  not  uncommon,  and  a  rivalry  existed  among  the 
settlements  as  to  who  could  turn  out  the  largest  production  of  standard  cloth 
per  day.  It  is  narrated  that  Miss  Mary  Smith  of  Pittston,  frequently  spun  and 
reeled  one  hundred  and  twenty  knots,  between  daybreak  and  twilight.  Thus  did 
agriculture   and  manufacture  go  hand  in  hand  at  Wyoming. 

The  first  statistics  of  records  in  1810,  as  to  the  quantities  of  different  grades 
of  cloth  manufactured  by  the  women  of  Luzerne,  presents  an  interesting  table : 


Township 

Looms 

Yards  op 

Linen 

Yards  op 
Woolen 

Yards  of 

COTTO.V 

Kingston 

25 

6135 

1827 

93 

Plymouth 

42 

7847  • 

1762 

91 

Pittston 

28 

5740 

1690 

59 

Wilkes-Barre 

33 

6531 

1717 

129 

Exeter 

31 

3771 

1394 

80 

Abington 

39 

2485 

1429 

34 

Providence 

36 

5643 

1430 

147 

Hanover 

25 

5369 

1291 

60 

The  first  carding  machine,  for  the  use  of  the  public,  seems  to  have  been  that 
owned  in  1805,  by  Nathan  Hurlburt,  who  then  lived  at  Old  Forge.  Here  wool 
was  picked  and  carded  for  eight  cents  per  pound.  Azor  Sturdevant  established 
a  fulling  mill,  at  Kingston,  in  the  same  year,  where  he  advertised  that  "London 
brown,  chrome  color  and  federal  blue,  would  be  given  to  cloth,  in  the  best  stjie." 

That  the  manufacture  of  whiskey,  from  extensive  rye  crops  raised  along 
the  river  flats,  was  a  common  matter  among  the  settlers,  but  merely  emphasized 
a  custom  of  the  time.  Reasons  for  this  need  little  explanation.  Whiskey  was 
considered  a  thing  of  household  use,  to  be  proffered  friend  or  stranger,  with  the 
hospitality  of  the  home.  Moreover,  the  horse  which  carried  five  bushels  of  grain 
to  a  local  distiller,  could  return  with  twenty-five  gallons  of  spirits,  for  which  lat- 
ter there  was  always  a  ready  market,  either  for  cash  or  in  exchange  for  tea, 
coffee,  salt,  sugar,  nails  and  other  staples. 

Of  the  early  distilleries  of  the  county  no  records  are  available.  For  a  number 
of  years  surplus  grains  from  Wyoming  were  shipped  by  river  to  Sunbury,  in  which 
district  a  number  of  stills  had  been  established,  prior  to  the  Revolution.  In 
1775,  there  is  record  of  purchasing  agents  from  Northumberland  visiting  the 


1683 

settlement  for  the  purpose  of  securing  rye,  in  particular,  of  the  settlers  for  dis- 
tilling purposes.  A  report  sent  to  the  fall  session  of  the  Court  at  Wilkes-Barre 
in  1804  states  that  six  distilleries  were  then  in  operation  in  Wilkes-Barre  town- 
ship and  thirteen  more  in  other  parts  of  the  county.  This  account,  however,  did 
not  take  into  consideration  spirits  manufactured  in  numerous  private  stills. 

Taverns  kept  in  the  county,  in  1789  and  1790,  are  disclosed  by  Court  records 
to  have  been  those  of  Jesse  Fell,  John  Paul  vSchott  and  Abel  Yarington,  at  Wilkes-  , 
Barre;  Lawrence  Myers  and  Philip  Myers,  at  Kingston;  Jonah  Rogers,  at  Ply- 
mouth; Waterman  Baldwin,  at  Pittston;  James  Lapley,  at  Hanover;  Gideon  Oster- 
hout,  at  Putnam;  Isaac  Handcock,  at  Springfield  and  Thomas  McCheer,  at  Tioga 
Point. 

As  early  as  1756,  Pennsylvania  imposed  an  excise  duty  upon  all  distilled 
spirits,  but  it  proved  such  an  unpopular  measure  that  it  was  shortly  thereafter 
repealed.  In  1791,  however,  after  the  power  to  impose  duties,  taxes,  imposts 
and  excises  had  been  delegated  by  the  states  to  the  Federal  government,  Con- 
gress established  an  excise  duty  of  4  pence  per  gallon,  on  all  distilled  spirits. 
Xo  trouble  appears  to  have  followed  this  procedure  in  Luzerne  County.  But  in 
western  sections  of  the  State,  where  whiskey  was  manufactured  on  a  large  scale, 
for  export  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  the  people  of  Washington, 
Fayette  and  Alleghany  Counties  in  particular,  viewed  the  law  as  one  of  oppression. 
They  stigmatized  it  as  unjust,  and  as  odious  as  those  laws  which  led  to  the  Revo- 
lution, and  considered  themselves  justified  in  forcibly  opposing  its  enforcement. 

Equally  obnoxious  to  the  manufacturers  of  this  article  was  the  ruling 
that  Courts  of  the  State  did  not  have  concurrent  jurisdiction  in  cases  involved 
under  the  National  law.  The  nearest  Federal  Court  was  at  Philadelphia,  and  to 
that  point  all  who  were  charged  with  offenses,  or  were  concerned  in  any  way 
with  the  measure,  were  forced  to  travel. 

Overt  acts  of  lawlessness  kept  pace  with  hostility  of  feeling,  and  the  "Whis- 
key Insurrection"  became  a  menace  to  the  Federal  government.  Revenue  offi- 
cers were  seized  by  small  parties,  often  painted  and  disguised  as  Indians.  Others 
were  tarred  and  feathered.  Community  meetings  were  held  at  which  inflamma- 
tory speeches  were  made  and  denunciatory  resolutions  adopted.  The  barns, 
homes  and  distilleries  of  those  who  favored  peace  with  the  government  were 
frequenth'  destroyed  by  fire.     Even  Pittsburg  itself  was  threatened. 

The  government  attempted  at  first  to  meet  the  situation  half  way.  The 
tax  was  reduced  by  a  new  act  of  Congress,  in  1792.  But  this  did  not  satisfv  the 
distillers,  nor  the  country-sides  which  supplied  them  with  grain.  The  country 
continued  in  a  state  of  insurrection.  Finally,  in  1794,  after  all  mild  and  dis- 
suasive measures  had  failed.  President  Washington  resolved  to  raise  and  equip 
an  army  for  the  purpose  of  quelling  the  insurrection.  The  Wyoming  Valley,  as 
has  been  the  case  in  each  war  of  the  Republic,  responded  promptly  to  the  call. 
Captain  Samuel  Bowman  was  commissioned  to  raise  a  Company  of  volunteers  in 
the  county,  and  he  spent  a  major  portion  of  the  summer  of  1794  at  this  task. 
Late  in  August  the  Company  was  mustered*,  on  the  River  Common,  at  Wilkes- 

*Copy  of  the  muster  roll  of  Captain  Bowman's  Company: 

Captain,  Samuel  Bowman;  Lieutenant.  Ebenezer  Parrish;  Ensign,  Arnold  Colt;  Sergeant,  Daniel  Spencer; 
2d  Sergeant,  John  Freeman;  3d  Sergeant,  John  Alden;  Corporal,  .Archibald  White;  2d  Corporal,  Oliver  Parrish; 
3d  Corporal,  Robert  Lewis;  4th  Corporal,  Thompson  HoUiday;  Fifer,  Peter  Varrington;  Drummer,  John  Wright. 
Privates:  Samuel  Young,  Solomon  Daniels.  John  Cochran,  Elihu  Parrish,  James  Sitey,  Thomas  P.  Miller,  Peter  Grubb, 
Arthur  ^IcGill.  James  Johnston,  Joseph  Headsdale,  Daniel  Alden,  Simon  Stevens,  Warfiam  Strong,  Da\-id  Landon, 
Gideon  Underwood,  Jeremiah  Decker,  James  Robb,  Sale  Roberts,  Partial  Roberts,  Rufus  Drake,  Benjamin  Owens, 
John  Earl,  Charles  Bowes,  Curtis  Grubb,  Thomas  Jeayne,  Joseph  Grimes,  Jesse  Tompkins,  William  Harris,  Jesse 
Coleman,  John  Talliday,  Cofrin  Boidwell. 


1684 

Barre,  and  on  September  1,  1794,  marched  to  Carlisle,  via  Sunbury,  where  it  was 
attached  to  a  battalion  of  light  infantry  commanded  by  Major  George  Fisher. 

Some  15,000  troops,  composed  of  the  regular  army  and  volunteers  from 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia  and  New  Jersey,  were  reviewed,  at  Carlisle, 
September  15,  1794,  by  General  Washington,  and  proceeded  to  the  headwaters 
of  the  Ohio  by  way  of  Berlin  and  the  gap  of  the  Youghiogheny,  into  McKeesport. 
At  Bedford,  Captain  Bowman's  command  joined  the  main  body.  Governor 
Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  was  named  commander  in  chief  of  the  expedition,  with 
Governor  Howell,  of  New  Jersey  and  Governor  Mifflin,  of  Pennsylvania,  each 
named  a  general  officer  and  placed  in  command  of  the  quota  from  his  state. 
This  formidable  force  found  but  little  to  occupy  its  attention.  Cavalry  detach- 
ments were  sent  into  districts  where  the  greatest  disaffection  had  existed,  the 
more  active  leaders  of  the  insurrection  were  arrested  and  sent  to  a  prison  camp 
at  Cannonsburg,  but  no  blood  was  shed  and  no  active  opposition  to  the  move- 
ment of  troops  in  any  part  of  the  district  resulted. 

With  their  leaders  in  prison,  the  balance  of  the  population  came  quickly 
to  a  conclusion  that  the  new  Federal  government  intended  to  enforce,  at  any 
cost,  the  laws  of  its  making.  Many  of  these  leaders  were  subsequently  indicted, 
but  further  steps  against  them  were  held  in  abeyance,  in  consideration  of  future 
good  behavior.  Thus  it  came  about  that  a  display  of  firmness,  by  President 
Washington,  at  the  psychological  time,  backed  by  an  adequate  force  to  put  its 
mandates  into  execution,  settled  for  all  time  any  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the  country 
at  large  of  the  ability  of  a  Federal  governrrisent  to  maintain  itself.  Captain 
Bowman's  command  reached  Wilkes-Barre  shortly  before  Christmas  of  the  same 
year  and  was  mustered  out  of  ser\'ice  immediately  thereafter. 

The  renaissance  in  Wyoming  affairs  might  be  said  to  date  from  the  erection 
of  a  Court  House,  on  the  Public  Square,  at  Wilkes-Barre.  In  the  days  when 
Luzerne  was  Westmoreland  County  of  Connecticut,  the  settlers  had  been  punc- 
tilious in  their  regard  for  law  and  order  and  in  maintaining  competent  courts 
of  law  and  equity.  It  has  been  seen  in  a  previous  Chapter  that  the  coming  of 
Chief  Justice  Thomas  McKean  to  Wilkes-Barre,  in  1787,  for  the  first  Court  held 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  Pennsylvania,  found  no  public  building  in  the  community 
in  which  such  an  important  session  as  the  trial  of  Col.  John  Franklin  could  be 
held.  Instead,  the  Court  procedings  were  held  in  the  home  of  Col.  Zebulon 
Butler.  Inspired  by  the  sentiment  that  law  and  order  were  again  to  come  into 
their  own  in  a  vexed  district,  the  settlers  began  the  erection  of  a  somewhat 
suitable  building,  as  has  been  described  in  Chapter  XXXIII.  Even  so  small 
a  public  undertaking,  however,  dragged  discouragingly,  but  eventually,  in  1796, 
it  was  completed,  and  the  community  felt  itself  on  the  high  road  to  a  greater 
stability. 

In  October,  1790,  came  on  the  first  general  elections  for  Governor,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, under  the  new  Constitution.  General  Arthur  St.  Clair  was  the  candidate 
of  the  Republican  party,  General  James  Mifflin,  that  of  the  Constitutionalists. 
Each  had  been  president  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Commonwealth  in  earlier 
days.  Although  supported  by  Robert  Morris,  Frederick  A.  Muhlenberg  and 
other  influential  men  of  the  eastern  district  of  the  State,  General  St.  Clair  was  not 
generally  known  to  the  younger  generation  of  voters.  Moreover,  his  defeat  in 
Ohio,  at  the  hands  of  the  Northwest  Confederacy  of  Indians,  in  November,  1791  — 
an  unfortunate  event  which  had  left  its  mark  in  subsequent  Indian  atrocities — 


1685 

had  tinged  his  mihtary  record  with  more  or  less  odium.    The  election  was  warmly 

contested  at  Wyoming,   as  elsewhere,    General    Mifflin  receiving  a  substantial 

majority  of  votes  in  Luzerne  County,  as  well  as  through  the  State  at  large. 

As  if  to  quicken   the  lagging  religious  interest  of  the  community,   there 

appeared,  on  March  18,  1790,  Jemima  Wilkinson*,  a  remarkable  character  of  her 

time,  who  preached  to  the  settlers  during  a  stay  of  a  week  in  the  community. 

Known  as  the  "Universal  Friend",  she  had  already  established  a  colony  imbued 

with  her  doctrines,  in   New  York,  having  in  1787  passed  through  Wilkes-Barre 

with  some  twenty-five  adherents,  on  her  way  from  Philadelphia  to  certain  lands 

leased  by  her  from  the  Six  Nations.    Just  what  impression  the  "Universal  Friend" 

made  at  Wyoming,  or  whether  any  proselytes  joined  her  colony  here,  is  not  left 

us  to  know  from  any  record  of  the  time.     Col.  Pickering,  with  his  usual  facility 

for  recording  events,  has  left    the    following  description  of  the  woman  as  she 

appeared  at  Wj'oming: 

"Jemima  was  a  fine  looking  woman,  of  a  good  height;  and  'tho  not  corpulent  was  inclined 
to  embonpoint.  Her  hair  was  jet  black,  short  and  curled  on  her  shoulders.  She  had  fine  eyes, 
good  teeth  and  complexion.  Her  dress  consisted  of  a  silk  purple  robe,  open  in  front  Her  under- 
dress  was  of  the  finest  white  cambric  or  muslin.  Round  her  throat  she  wore  a  large  cravat,  bordered 
with  fine  lace.  She  was  very  ignorant  but  possessed  an  uncommon  memory.  Although  she  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  it  was  said  she  knew  the  Bible  by  heart,  from  its  having  been  read  to  her." 

In  the  fall  of  1890,  the  County  Court  divided  the  whole  of  Luzerne  into 
eleven  townships. t  These  retained  old  names  familiar  to  Connecticut  days, 
but  six  of  the  original  townships  were  dropped  by  Court  order,  and  their  boundaries 
absorbed  in  the  remainder.  The  eleven  thus  designated  were:  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pittston,  Hanover,  Newport,  Exeter,  Plymouth,  Kingston,  Salem,  Tioga,  Wya- 
lusing  and  Tunkhannock.  The  last  three  included  nearly  all  the  territory  now 
included  in  the  Counties  of  Lackawanna,  Bradford,  Susquehanna  and  Wyoming. 

At  the  March  session,  in  1791,  owing  to  complaint  as  to  great  distances 
which  had  to  be  traversed  in  order  to  reach  a  Justice,  the  Court  set  off  Willing- 
boro  township  from  the  boundaries  of  Tioga.  In  1782,  upon  petition  of  their 
inhabitants,  Nescopeck  and  Providence  Townships  were  added  by  contracting 
the  area  of  Newport  and  Pittston  Townships  respectively,  and  in  1793,  Hunting- 
ton Township  was  likewise  erected  from  the  boundaries  of  Salem. 

A  matter  of  general  interest  to  Wyoming  appears  to  have  been  the  visit 
of  a  number  of  Sachems  of  the  Six  Nations,  on  their  way  to  the  Philadelphia 

*"Jf.mim.\  W'u.kinson  was  extensively  know-n  as  a  religious  imposter.  She  was  horn  in  Rhode  Island  in  1755  and 
was  educated  a  Quaker,  .\bout  1  773,  upon  recovering  from  a  fit  of  sickness,  during  which  she  had  fallen  into  a  syncope 
so  that  she  was  apparently  dead,  she  announctd  that  she  had  been  raised  from  the  dead  and  had  received  a  divine 
commission  as  a  religious  teacher.  Having  made  a  few  proselytes,  she  removed  with  them  into  western  New  York 
and  settled  about  18  miles  fi'om  Geneva,  calling  her  village  "The  New  Jerusalem,"  In  consequence  of  the  ignorance 
of  her  followers,  she  was  able  to  live  in  elegant  style,  having  a  half  dozen  beautiful  damsels  in  attendance.  She  in- 
culcated poverty,  but  was  careful  to  be  a  large  land  owner.  She  died  in  1819.  Joseph  Brant  once  very  adroitly  dis- 
comforted her.  As  she  professed  to  be  Christ  in  the  second  coming.  Brant  tested  her  by  speaking  in  several  Indian 
1  anguages,  none  of  which  she  understood.  He  then  disclosed  her  imposture,  declaring  that  Je;us  Christ  mu't,  of  cour.e. 
iinder.-tand  all  languages." 

See.  Stone's  "Life  and  Times  of  Red  Jacket."  page  21.^. 

tUnder  the  constitution  of  1  790.  the  governor  appointed  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  to  serve  durin.i  good  behavior, 
in  districts  to  be  made  up  of  one  or  more  townships.     The  following  were  so  appointed: 

1791 — Lawrence  Myers.  Kingston  township:  Arnold  Colt  and  William  Ross,  Solomon  .\very  and  John  Phillips. 
"W'ilkes-Barre  district;  Guy  Maxwell.  Tioga  district:  Peter  Grubb  and  Nathan  Beach.  Kingston  district;  Christopher 
Hurlbut.  Wilkes-Barre  district:  Joseph  Kinney  and  Isaac  Hancock.  Tioga  district:  Minna  Dubois.  Willingboro 
district:  John  Paul  Schott.  Wilkes-Barre  town  and  township.  1793 — Moses  Coolbaugh.  Tioga  township  1  796 — .\sahel 
Gregory.  Willingboro  township.  1797 — Resolved  Sessions.  Tioga  township.  1798 — Noah  Wadhams.  Jr  .  King  ton 
district:  Oliver  Trowbridge.  Willingboro  township;  John  T.  Miller,  Kingston  district;  James  Campbell  and  Joseph 
Wright.  Wilkes-Barr^  township.  1799 — Charles  E.  Gaylord,  Huntington  township:  Constant  Searle,  Providence 
township:  Matthew  Covell,  Wilkes-Barr^  township:  Henry  V.  Champion.  W'yalusing  township:  Elisha  Hardin.;, 
Tunkhannock  township:  David  Paine,  Tioga  township.  1800 — George  Espy.  H  anover.  Wilkes-Barre.  etc.,  townships: 
Jacob  Bitlenbender,  Nescopeck,  Wilkes-Barre,  etc.,  townships;  Benjamin  Newberry.  Northmoreland.  Tioga,  etc.. 
townships:  Thomas  Duane.  Wilkes-Barre  township;  Asa  Eddy,  Willingboro  township  (revoked  March  28,  I80.i>: 
Jonathan  Stevens,  Braintrim  township:  Guy  Wells,  Wyalusing  township;  Benjamin  Carpenter,  Kingston  township; 
William  Means,  Tioga  township;  Zebulon  Marcy,  Tunkhannock;  John  Marcy  and  Thomas  Tiffany,  Willingboro 
township.  1801 — David  Bamum,  Willingboro  township.  1803 — John  Marsy,  Nicholson,  township.  1804 — Bartlett 
Mines.  Rush  township. 


1686 


Council,  in  March  of  1792.*  This  Council  was  called  to  counteract  the  British 
influences  which  were  still  being  exerted  among  the  various  tribes  and  had  been 
responsible  for  recent  uprisings  against  the  American  frontiers  in  the  Northwest 
Territory.  It  was  the  hope  of  President  Washington  and  his  advisors,  especially 
Colonel  Pickering,  the  American  Commissioner,  that  in  reaching  Philadelphia 
at  that  time,  when  the  Congress  was  in  session,  they  might  be  impressed  with 
the  physical  and  moral  strength  of  the  country,  and  might  see  with  their  own 
eyes  how  futile  must  be  every  future  warlike  effort  to  contest  this  strength. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  secure  the  attendance  of  Captain  Joseph  Brant, 
the  acknowledged  head  of  the  remnant  of  the  Six  Nations,  who  had  not  moved 
west  of  the  Ohio  or  into  Canada.  But  the  written  invitations  of  Colonel  Pickering, 
vSecretary  of  War  Knox,  and  of  the  President  himself,  the  haughty  Brant  declined. 
He  had  been  made  much  of  by  the  British 
as  an  individual,  and  perhaps  his  recent 
trip  to  London,  where  he  had  been  re- 
ceived by  royalty  and  became  an  object 
of  almost  national  curiosity,  influenced 
his  declination.  Years  afterward,  we 
are  told  in  Stone's  "Life  of  Brant"  that 
the  real  underlying  reason  for  refusing  to 
visit  the  then  Capital  of  the  United 
States,  was  because  he  would  have  to  as- 
sociate with  a  lot  of  Indians  of  inferior 
rank,  and  this  he  considered  beneath  his 
dignity.  In  the  fall  of  1791,  he  did  visit 
Philadelphia,  after  a  series  of  unhappy 
adventures  in  descending  the  Hudson 
river  to  New  York,  where  his  life  was  sev- 
eral times  in  jeopardy  at  the  hands  of 
friends  and  relatives  of  those  who  had 
suffered  at  the  Cherry  Valley  Massacre. 

Upon  that  occasion  he  refused  to 
confer  with  no  less  a  personage  than  the 
President  himself. 


Red  Jacket 


But  the  eloquent  Red  Jacket,  who  succeeded  Brant  as  the  acknowledged 
head  of  the  Confederacy,  after  the  latter's  death,  attended  and  became  chief 
spokesman  for  the  Indians  at  the  Council. 

So  did  Farmer's  Brother,  Big  Peter  and  other  notables  of  the  Senecas, 
Oneidas  and  Onandaguas.  They,  with  lesser  sachems  and  their  retinues,  left 
their  canoes  at  Wilkes-Barre  and  proceeded  overland  to  Philadelphia. 

During  their  short  stay  at  Wyoming  they  seem  to  have  been  most  cordially 
treated  by  the  settlers,  who  came  from  far  distant  country  districts  to  gaze  upon 
some  of  the  warriors  who  had  opposed  them  on  the  battle  field,  thirteen  years 
before. 

At  the  end  of  the  session  which  dragged  along  much  to  the  embarrassment 
of  Philadelphia,  until  the  end  of  May,  all  returned  via  the  Wyoming  Valley 

*For  an  interesting  account  of  the  proceedings  of  this  conference,  see  "Life  of  Piclcering,"  Vol.  Ill,  pages  39-49. 
Colonel  Pickering  at  that  time  was  attending  to  his  new  duties  as  Postmaster  General  in  Philadelphia  but  his  wife 
and  family  were  still  at  Wyoming.     To  these  he  wrote  in  his  usual  painstaking  manner  of  the  event. 


1687 

excepting  Big  Peter,  who  died  at  the  capital  from  excessive  hospitahty  of 
the  whites,  and  was  buried  with  full  military  honors,  in  the  Friends 
cemetery. 

In  the  first  volume  of  records  of  the  Court  of  Luzerne  County,  kept  until 
1790,  in  the  legible  handwriting  of  Colonel  Pickering,  there  are  recorded  many 
signs  of  an  awakening  of  the  community. 

Petitions  were  filed  at  every  session  for  the  building  of  new  roads.     The 
appointment  of  road  viewers  and  super^-isors  engaged  much  of  the  Court's  at- 
tention.    A  grand  jury,  at  the  March  term  of  1790,  declared  the  Court  House 
chimney  a  nuisance  and  ordered  it 
torn  down  and  rebuilt. 

At  the  September  term  of  the 
same  year,  four  new  members  of  the 
bar  were  admitted  to  practice,  thus 
indicating  that  legal  matters  of  the 
county  were,  becoming  of  sufficient 
importance  to  engage  more  than  the 
three  practitioners  who  then  lived 
at  Wilkes-Barre;  Ebenezer  Bowman, 
Rosewell  Wells  and  Putnam  Catlin. 
The  newly  admitted  members  were 
Thomas  Duncan,  Jonathan  Walker,  American  Stage-coach  of  1795 

,  ,       ^  From  Weld's  "Trav  els." 

David    W.  Ketcham    and    George 

Echert.  Breaches  of  the  peace  were  numerous  enough,  to  judge  from  the  records, 
but  the  general  run  of  the  criminal  side  of  the  Court's  business  was  limited. 
At  the  spring  term  of  1791,  Zebulon  Marcy  was  indicted  for  challenging 
A.  Atherton  to  a  duel,  but  before  trial,  Mr.  Marcy  seems  to  have  surreptitiously 
left  the  county  and  his  bondsmen  sufiPered  accordingly. 

An  interesting  but  belated  report  of  financial  conditions  of  Luzerne,  was 
filed  with  the  Court  at  the  same  session.  Abel  Yarington,  County  Treasurer, 
stated  that  he  had  collected  the  sum  of  370£  14s.  and  10>2p.  from  taxes,  in  the 
year  1788,  the  sum  of  553£  16s.  and  2p.  in  1789,  and  the  further  sum  of  506£ 
4s.  and  9p.  in  1790,  making  a  total  of  1430£  15s.  and  9>ip.  for  the  three  years; 
something  less  than  $5,000  in  Continental  currencj^  of  the  time.  Mr.  Yarrington, 
however,  asked  to  be  credited  with  expenditures  of  only  1214£  and  a  few  shillings 
on  behalf  of  the  county,  leaving  a  balance  on  hand  of  215£. 

The  same  Court  Term  appears  to  have  been  an  unusual  period  of  accounting. 
Auditors  named  by  the  judges  stated  "That  the  Trustees  for  building  a  Court 
House  and  gaol  have  made  a  mistake  in  charging  the  county  twice  in  an 
amount  of  l£  3s.  and  4p.  for  the  same  thing.  That  their  accounts  are  otherwise 
regular,  excepting  a  mistake  of  two  or  three  pence  in  the  additions  of  par- 
ticulars." 

At  the  sitting  of  the  Grand  Jury  in  1792,  (Nathan  Landon  foreman)  it 
was  recommended  that  the  jail  have  a  vault,  a  fence  and  a  well. 

In  a  previous  Chapter  was  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  first  floor  of  the 
Court  House  was  used,  when  the  building  was  completed,  as  a  jail  and  a  residence 
for  Stephen  Tuttle,  the  first  jailor.  The  unsuitableness  of  the  place,  as  well  as 
a  growing  need  for  safe  confinement  of  prisoners,  lead  Colonel  John  Franklin, 


1688 

High  Sheriff  of  the  county  when  this  term  was  held,  to  add  his  protest  to  that 

of  the  Grand  Jury  in  the  following  language: 

"John  Franklin,  Esq.,  High  Sheriff,  represents  to  the  Court  that  he  has  examined  the 
prison  of  this  County  and  is  of  opinion  it  is  insufficient,  therefore  he  cannot  consent  to  trust  prison- 
ers therein  at  his  risque." 

Pearce  in  his  "Annals  of  Luzerne  County,"  narrates  a  story  which  hinged 
about  the  rude  hewn  log  structure  of  the  time.  "During  the  sitting  of  the  .Supreme 
Court,  on  one  occasion,"  so  runs  the  story,  "an  unusual  noise  disturbed  his  Honor, 
Judge  McKean  who,  in  a  stern  voice,  commanded  'silence.'  The  noise,  however, 
continued,  when  the  Court  sent  for  Jailor  Tuttle  who,  evidently  much  incensed, 
informed  his  honor  that  the  d — d  hogs  had  got  at  his  corn  in  the  garret  by  coming 
up  the  outside  steps  that  morning.  Mr.  Tuttle  was  ordered  to  eject  the  in- 
truders forthwith.  There  proved  to  be  but  one  hog,  which  rushed  forth  with 
a  tremendous  grunt,  capsizing  Tuttle,  as  well  as  the  gravity  of  the  court." 

Whether  the  well  was  dug  or  the  fence  built,  does  not  appear.     But  the 

Grand  Jury  for  the  November  session  of  1793,  reported  as  follows: 

"Having  viewed  the  county  jail  and  the  jailyard  the  grand  jury  do  find  that  the  apartments 
in  which  prisoners  are  confined  are  by  no  means  suitable  for  the  reception  of  human  beings  at  this 
inclement  season — it  is  recommended  that  a  close  stove,  together  with  a  sheet  iron  pipe  be  im- 
mediately erected  in  one  of  the  rooms. 

"Peter  Grubb,  Foreman." 

The  Court  House,  in  spite  of  its  flaws  in  construction,  was  used  by  the 
Rev.  Jacob  Johnson*  for  conducting  divine  services.  As  has  been  noted,  Mr. 
Johnson  had  been  ministering  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  settlers,  irrespective 
of  creed,  since  1773.  Through  his  efforts  a  church  edifice  had  been  begun  in 
Wilkes-Barre  prior  to  1778,  but  it,  together  with  practically  all  other  buildings, 
had  been  burned  by  the  savages  after  the  Battle  of  Wyoming.  From  the  return 
of  the  settlers  to  the  valley,  until  1791,  no  stiitable  building  was  available  for 
church  purposes,  but  meetings  were,  nevertheless,  regularly  conducted  in  private 
homes,   school  buildings  and  frequently  in  seasonable  weather,   out  of   doors. 

At  this  time  there  appears  to  have  been  but  one  building  in  the  county 
classed  as  a  church.  The  Paxtang  Boys,  who  had  settled  Hanover  township, 
were  largely  of  the  Presbyterian  faith.  A  year  or  two  previous  to  the  erection 
of  the  Court  House,  they  had  combined  their  efforts  in  the  building  of  a  small 
frame  structure  on  Hanover  Green,  whose  pulpit  was,  from  time  to  time,  supplied 
by  frontier  missionaries. 

The  Rev.  EHas  Von  Bunschoten,  a  German  Reformed  Congregational 
minister  from  Minisink,  visited  Hanover  upon  many  occasions,  and  in  1791, 
after  an  extended  stay,  organized  the  first  Congregational  society  in  that  com- 
munity. 

He  was  followed,  in  1792,  by  Rev.  Andrew  Gray,  a  Scotch  Irish  preacher 
of  notable  eloquence  who,  early  in  his  pastorate,  married  Mary,  the  daughter 
of  Captain  Lazarus  Stewart  with  whom  he  shortly  afterward  removed  to  Pough- 
keepsie.  New  York.  At  this  period  also.  Rev.  Noah  Wadhamsf,  who  had  been 
an  early  arrival  at  Wyoming  and  had  settled  at  Plymouth,  was  preaching  al- 
ternately at  Plymouth  and  Kingston. 

It  was  due  to  the  exertions  of  Rev.  Mr.  Johnson  that  "Old  Ship  Zion," 
Wilkes-Barre's  first  and  perhaps  most  famous  church  edifice,  was  later  to  raise  its 

*For  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson,  see  Vol.  II,  page  744. 
tSee  sketch  of  Rev.  Noah  Wadhams,  Vol.  II,  page  738, 


1689 

lofty  steeple  and  proclaim  the  church  hour  by  its  sonorous  bell.  Back  in  Mr.  John- 
son's mind  dwelt  the  memory  of  an  incident  during  the  trial  of  Colonel  Franklin 
for  treason,  at  the  first  session,  of  the  Luzerne  Court,  which  made  him  feel  that 
a  court  room  was  not  a  fit  place  for  his  preaching.  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  Franklin 
partisan  and  waxed  eloquent  in  his  partisanship.  Upon  this  particular  occasion 
he  had  denounced  Pennsylvania,  its  vSupreme  Court  and  its  brand  of  justice,  from 
the  pulpit,  in  no  uncertain  terms. 

By  order  of  Chief  Justice  McKean,  he  was  ordered  to  be  brought  before 
the  Court  for  his  utterances  and  required  to  give  bond  for  his  future  "good  be- 
havior." 

This  slight  put  upon  him  in  no  wise  lessened  the  will  with  which  he  began 
his  labors  for  a  church  edifice  in  1791.  Through  his  exertions,  his  congregation 
in  that  year  appointed  Zebulon  Butler,  Nathan  Waller,  John  Paul  Schott, 
Timothy  Pickering  and  Daniel  Gore,  to  select  a  site  for  the  building  and  solicit 
subscriptions  for  the  structure.  A  year  later  another  committee  was  appointed, 
at  a  town  meeting,  to  lend  encouragement  to  the  matter,  and  it  was  decided  to 
secure  funds  by  the  sale  of  the  public  ferry  which  plied  a  somewhat  lucrative 
trade  at  Northampton  street.  Mr.  Johnson  was  not  to  live  to  see  his  labors 
rewarded. 

He  died  on  March  15,  1797,  four  years  before  the  erection  of  the  edifice 
actually  began,  and  was  buried  in  a  grave  prepared  by  his  own  hands  back  of 
his  home  on  Westfield's  Hill,  "facing  the  east",  as  he  requested,  "so  that  he 
could  see  the  glorious  pageant  of  the  Messiah  in  His  second  descent."* 

The  outdoor  life  of  the  early  settlers  kept  the  general  health  of  the  com- 
munity at  a  high  average.  Fever  and  ague  was  the  almost  universal  complaint, 
as  it  is  along  most  bottom  lands  thrown  open  to  cultivation. 

An  epidemic  of  small  pox,  brought  from  Philadelphia,  had  swept  Wyoming 
in  1777.  Pearce  mentions  the  presence  of  typhus  fever,  in  1778,  and  Miner  records 
an  unusually  hot  summer  of  1780,  followed  by  an  epidemic  fever,  widespread  in 
extent  and  distressing  in  severity.  The  spring  before  the  massacre  was  memorable 
by  reason  of  what  was  called  "putrid  fever",  several  prominent  settlers  falling 
victim  to  its  ravages,  among  them,  the  wife  of  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith  and 
his  daughter,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Lemuel  Gustin. 

The  first  physician  of  Wyoming  was  Dr.  Joseph  Sprague,  who  came  with 
his  family  from  Poughkeepsie,  in  1771.  His  arrival  appears  to  have  been  induced 
rather  by  a  desire  for  obtaining  lands  than  for  the  purpose  of  practicing  his 
profession.  He  was  voted  a  settling  right  in  the  township  of  Wilkes-Barre  a 
3-ear  after  his  arrival,  and  later  became  a  proprietor  of  the  township  of  Lackawanna. 
No  name  among  all  the  early  arrivals  is  entered  more  frequently  upon  records 
of  the  time,  in  real  estate  exchanges,  than  is  that  of  Dr.  Sprague.  He,  however, 
found  time  to  relieve  physical  distress  in  the  neighborhood.  Until  the  coming 
of  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith,  a  year  later,  he  was  the  only  practitioner  in  a 
territor}^  150  miles  in  extent,  from  Cochecton  on  the  Delaware  to  Sunbury. 
The  Sprague  family  furnished  the  earliest  divorce  case  in  the  annals  of  Luzerne 
County.  In  1788,  his  wife,  Eunice  Sprague,  filed  a  libel  in  divorce  against  the 
doctor,  alleging  "cruel  and  barbarous  treatment."  The  circumstances  are  not 
of  record,  but  appear  to  have  been  sufficient  to  secure  a  decree  in  her  favor. 
Mrs.  Sprague  lived  at  the  southwest  comer  of  North  Main  and  Union  street 

*The  bodies  of  Rev.  Johnson  and  his  wife  were  later  reinterred  in  HoUenback  Cemeter>-. 


1690 


to  a  ripe  old  age,  devoting  a  skill,  which  she  seemed  to  have  acquired  from  her 
husband,  to  midwifery. 

An  interesting  personage   was   Dr.  William   Hooker  Smith,   who  reached 
Wyoming  in  1772,  from  White  Plains,  New  York.    He  purchased  land  for  himself 
in  Kingston  and  a  "plantation"  for  his  son-in-law,  James  Sutton,  at  Plains, 
then   called   Jacob's  Plains.     A 
description  of  Dr.  Smith  is  given 
by  Dr.  Hollister  in  his  "History 
of     the     Lackawanna     Valley" 
which  might  apply  to  the  aver- 
age practitioner  of  the  time: 

"The  doctor  was  a  plain,  practi- 
cal man,  a  firm  adherent  to  the  theory 
of  medicine  as  taught  and  practiced 
by  our  sturdy  ancestors.  He  was  an 
unwavering  phlebotomist.  Armed  with 
huge  saddle  bags,  rattling  with  gallipots 
and  vials  and  thirsty  lance,  he  sallied 
forth  on  horseback  over  the  rough 
country  calling  for  his  services  and 
many  were  the  cures  issuing  from  the 
unloosed  vein.  No  matter  what  the 
location  or  nature  of  the  disease,  bleed- 
ing promptly  and  largely,  with  a  sys- 
tem of  diet,  drink  and  rest,  was 
enforced  on  the  patient  with  an  earn- 
estness and  a  success  that  gave  him  a 
widespread  reputation  as  a  physician.'. 

The  activities  of  Dr.  Smith 
in  the  erection  of  Luzerne  County 
and    the    stirring    incidents    of 

that  period,  have  been  mentioned  in  a  preceding  Chapter.  A  fact  that 
impresses  the  reader  of  today  about  him  was  his  recognizing,  in  the  veins 
of  anthracite  coal  which  cropped  out  at  many  points  along  the  Valley,  the 
potentiality  of  future  development  and  the  foundation  of  great  wealth. 
In  1791,  he  made  the  first  purchase  of  "mineral  rights,"  as  distinguished  from 
surface  holdings,  to  be  recorded  in  Wyoming's  history.  The  purchase  was  made 
of  a  Mr.  Scott,  at  Pittston,  and  was  followed  by  numerous  other  similar  invest- 
ments between  that  year  and  1798.  Backing  his  opinions  as  to  the  value  of  bog 
iron  deposits,  occasionally  found  in  the  county,  the  Doctor  removed,  in  1789,  to 
what  is  now  Old  Forge,  in  Lackawanna  County,  where,  with  James  Sutton,  he 
established  a  forge  for  the  purpose  of  converting  ore  into  bar  iron.  The  venture, 
however,  did  not  prove  successful,  and  the  Doctor  removed,  with  his  family,  to 
the  neighborhood  of  Tunkhannock,  where  he  died  in  1815. 

Other  physicians  to  the  settlers  came  to  Wyoming  for  a  time,  but  most  of 
them  found  the  uncertainties  of  their  calling  added  to  by  still  greater  uncertain- 
ties in  community  affairs,  and  their  residence  was  brief.  Among  those  mentioned* 
in  this  connection  are  found  the  names  of  Dr.  Lemuel  Gustin,  who  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  Smith  and,  with  the  former,  rendered  assistance  to  the  wounded 
on  the  battle  field  at  Wyoming ;  Dr.  John  Calkins,  who  appears  to  have  practiced 
both  at  Wyoming  and  at  Cochecton;  Dr.  Alden  I.  Bennett,  the  first  physician 
to  settle  at  Nanticoke;  Dr.  Oliver  Bigelow,  who,  before  the  year  1800,  was  a 
noted  physician  at  Kingston;    Dr.  Matthew  Covell,  who  settled  in  Wilkes-Barre, 


*See,  "Pioneer  Physicians  of  Wyoming  Valley",  by  Frederick  C.  Johnsi 
of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 


a,  M.  D»  '^published  in  Vol.  IX,  page  47 


1691 

as  a  young  man,  and  practiced  with  success  until  his  death,  in  1813,  were  the  most 
noted  of  those  who  practiced  in  the  settlements  prior  to  the  opening  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

For  twenty-six  years  following  the  first  permanent  settlements  by  the 
whites  at  Wyoming,  no  effort  was  made,  so  far  as  is  now  known,  to  set  up  a  printing 
office.  For  news  from  the  outside  world  the  settlers  were  at  first  dependent  upon 
visiting  friends  and  relatives,  and  occasional  travelers  passing  through  the  Valley. 

According  to  Pearce,  in  his  "Annals  of  Luzerne  County,"  page  451, 
"in  1777,  a  post-route,  once  in  two  weeks,  was  .opened  between  Wyoming  and 
Hartford,  Conn.,  and  Prince  Bryant  was  engaged  as  postrider  for  nine  months. 
The  expenses  of  this  route  were  defrayed  by  private  subscriptions.  During  the 
Pennamite-Yankee  Wars  all  letters  and  communications  were  sent  by  private 
messengers,  or  by  persons  employed  on  private  subscription." 

In  1794,  the  first  Post  Office  in  Wilkes-Barre  was  established  by  the  Federal 
Government,  with  Lord  Butler  as  Postmaster,  and  for  six  years  thereafter,  this 
was  the  only  Post  Office  anywhere  along  the  Susquehanna  River  f r  :)m  Nescopeck 
to  the  New  York  State  line. 

Pearce  states  that,  "after  the  organization  of  Luzerne  County,  a  weekly 
mail  was  forwarded  between  Wilkes-Barre  and  Easton,"  and  that  "in  1797,  Clark 
Beebe,  the  post-rider,  informed  the  public  through  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gazette, 
that,  as  he  carried  the  mail  once  a  week  to  Easton,  he  would  also  carry  passen- 
gers, when  the  sleighing  was  good,  at  $2.50  each." 

A  large  majority  of  the  early  Wyoming  settlers  being  natives  of  Connecticut, 
they  naturally  turned  to  Connecticut  newspapers  for  information  concerning 
current  affairs  in  the  outside  world.  These  papers  were  The  Connecticut  Gazette, 
The  Conjiecticut  Journal,  The  Connecticut  Courant  (published  at  Hartford)  and, 
chiefly,  The  New  London  Gazette,  published  at  New  London,  in  the  County  of 
New  London — from  which  county,  and  the  adjoining  County  of  Windham, 
many  of  Wyoming's  first  and  principal  settlers  had  come. 

Pearce,  in  his  "Annals,"  says; 

"In  1795,  two  young  men,  whose  names  are  unknown,  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  Phila- 
delphia with  a  small  press  and  a  few  cases  of  type.  They  printed  The  Herald  of  the  Times,  the  first 
newspaper  published  in  the  County.  Prior  to  this  date  all  notices,  advertisements,  &c.,  were  put 
up  on  the  town  sign-posts,  the  first  of  which  was  erected  in  Wilkes-Barre  in  1774.  on  the  river 
bank.  The  Herald  of  the  Times  was  issued  for  a  short  period,  and  was  then  sold  by  the  proprietors 
to  Thomas  Wright." 

Only  one  copy  of  Wilkes-Barre's  first  newspaper  is  known  to  exist.*  It 
consisted  of  four  pages,  I0y2  by  17  inches  in  size,  three  columns  to  a  page.  The 
title  reads  as  follows : 

THE  HERALD  OF  THE  TIMES 

Wilkesbarre,  Published  by  Benajah  Hall. 

No.  52.  Tuesday,  October  31,  1797.  Vol.    1. 

*The  finjl  paper  on  historical  matters  at  Wyoming  prepared  by  the  late  0_;car  Jewell  Har\'ey  dealt  with  "W'ilkes- 
Karre's  Earliest  Newspapers". 

The  paper  was  read  in  two  installments  at  successive  meetings  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
on  May  13  and  October  14,  1921.  respectively.  These  papers  are  used  as  a  basis  of  the  account  which  pertains  to  the 
early  press  of  the  county  contained  in  these  pages,  often  in  verbatim  installments.  As  the  local  Historical  Society 
possesses  no  early  copies  of  either  the  Herald  of  the  Times  or  the  Gazette,  Mr.  Harvey  made  a  painstaking  search,  by 
correspondence  and  otherwise,  through  the  files  of  other  Societies  and  w'herever  else  such  copies  might  have  been  de- 
posited. About  to  give  up  the  search  in  despair.  Mr.  Harvey  by  chance  learned,  in  1920.  that  a  copy  of  the  Herald 
of  the  Times  was  in  po.ssession  of  Mrs.  Clayton  D.  Fretz  of  Sellersville,  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania. 

Sometime  later,  he  paid  Mrs.  Fretz  a  visit,  to  find  that  the  copy  in  question,  together  with  other  files  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  newspapers  of  a  somewhat  later  date,  had  come  into  her  hands  from  the  estate  of  a  grandfather  who  was  a  brother- 
in-law  of  Thomas  Wright  who  had  left  Bucks  County  to  settle  in  Wilkes-Barre.  t\^ith  Mrs.  Fretz's  permission.  Mr. 
Harvey  made  photographs  of  the  headings  and  most  of  the  contents  of  the  paper,  which  contents  he  used  in  his  address 
before  the  Society  much  to  the  instruction  and  frequently  to  the  amusement  of  its  members. 

Mr.  Harvey's  address  in  full  is  published  in  Vol.  XVIII,  page  59.  of  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society",  for  the  year  1922. 


1692 

On  the  first  page  is  the  following  editorial  valedictory: 

"This  paper  completes  the  number  for  one  year,  and,  consequently,  the  publication  of  the 

Herald  expires. 

"We  think  it  unnecessary  to  make  any  commentaries  on  the  merits  or  demerits  of  the 

Herald  of  the  Times,  but  only  to  announce  its  dissolution.    It  shall  be  succeeded  by  a  permanent 

Gazette,  which  we  will  use  our  utmost  endeavors  and  exertions  to  render  far  superior  to  the  former; 

however,  time  will  evince  our  intentions." 

Judging  by  the  first  paragraph  of  the  foregoing  valedictory,  as  well  as 
by  the  heading  of  the  paper,  one  would  say  that  the  publication  of  the  Herald 
had  been  begun  fifty-two  weeks  previously;  to  wit,  in  October,  1796.  We  learn 
however,  from  the  original  minute-book  of  "town-meetings  of  Wilkesbarre" 
that  the  Herald  was  being  published  here  at  least  as  early  as  in  the  month  of 
June,  1796;  for  at  a  town-meeting  held  June  5,  1796,  it  was  voted  that  a  certain 
resolution  then  adopted,  should  be  published  for  "at  least  four  weeks. in  The 
Herald  of  the  Times,  printed  in  this  town." 

It  is  quite  probable  that,  according  to  Pearce's  statement,  the  publisher 
of  the  Herald  established  himself  here  in  1795 — perhaps  late  in  the  year —  having 
issued  his  "proposals"  (according  to  the  custom  of  those  days)  for  the  publishing 
of  a  newspaper,  and  in  due  time  received  subscriptions  for  the  same.  But, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  Wilkes-Barre  was  far  distant  from  the  leading  commercial 
centers  of  the  country,  and  that  the  routes  and  means  of  communication  were 
very  primitive,  it  would  follow  that  the  bringing  here  of  paper  and  other  print- 
ing supplies  would  be  attended  with  many  difficulties. 

Because  of  this  fact,  therefore,  and  perhaps  because  of  the  scarcity  of 
patronage  and  cash,  it  may  be  presumed  that,  fi'om  the  time  the  actual  pub- 
lication of  the  Herald  was  begun — say  early  in  1796 — up  to  and  including  October 
31,  1797,  only  fifty-two  numbers  of  the  paper  were  issued;  and  also,  that  at  some 
time  prior  to  this  last-mentioned  date,  the  Herald  had  been  disposed  of  by  its 
proprietor,  to  Thomas  Wright.* 

What  appears  to  be  an  important  announcement,  insofar  as  it  affected 
subsequent  publications  of  the  community,  is  the  following: 

"Printing-office,  Wilkes-Barre,  October  17,  1797.  Proposals  are  issued  from  this  office 
for  publishing  a  Weekly  Newspaper,  to  be  entitled 

The  Wilkes-Barre  Gazette, 

AND 

Luzerne  Advertiser. 

"Conditions.  I — To  be  printed  on  paper  of  a  demy  size,  and  equal  in  quality  to  any  news- 
paper in  this  State ;  and  on  the  same  type  with  which  the  Herald  of  the  Times  is  printed. 

"II — To  be  published  early  on  every  Tuesday  morning.  Those  subscribers  who  reside  in 
the  town  of  Wilkesbarre  shall  have  their  papers  delivered  at  their  houses. 

*Thomas  Wright  (according  to  a  sketch  of  his  life  prepared  by  Dr.  B.  F.  Fackenthal,  Jr.,  of  Riegelsville,  Pa^, 
and  read  before  the  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  in  October,  1916)  was  born  in  County  Down,  Ireland,  in  1748. 
He  immigrated  to  America  with  his  two  brothers,  Joseph  and  William,  in  1763,  and  settled  at  Dyerstown,  near  Doyles- 
town,  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania.  He  secured  a  home  in  the  family  of  Joseph  Dyer;  taught  the  rudiments  of  English 
to  the  children  of  the  neighborhood,  and  made  love  to  Mary  Dyer,  the  daughter  of  his  host.  One  day  they  slipped  off 
to  Philadelphia  and  were  married. 

In  1774,  he  applied  for  and  obtained  membership  in  the  Buckingham  Meeting  of  Friends,  at  which  time  his  three 
small  children.  Joseph,  Rachel  and  Thomas  were  also  accepted.  In  1778,  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Pennsylvania, 
which  was  objectionable  to  the  Friends,  and  he  was  dealt  with  accordingly;  whereupon  he  justified  his  act,  and  was 
disowned  in  January,  1779. 

The  public  records  at  Doylestown  show  that  he  had  many  transactions  in  real  estate.  He  is  described  in  the  deeds 
as  being  a  "Shopkeeper."  In  January,  1783,  he  entered  into  partnership  with  Richard  Backhouse  to  operate  the 
Greenwich  Forge,  leased  from  Hugh  Hughes. 

About  July  1,  1791,  Thomas  Wright  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  made  his  temporary  home  at  the  inn  of 
Jesse  Fell,  who  had  come  from  Bucks  County  about  1785.  Later,  Mr.  Wright  removed  his  family  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  they  took  up  their  residence  on  what  is  now  River  Street.  There  they  remained  until  1804,  when  they  removed 
to  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Miner's  Mills.  At  that  place  he  had  built,  in  1794  or  '95,  a  grist-mill,  and  later  he  built 
there  a  distillery  and  a  saw-mill.     This  locality  soon  became  known  as  Wrightsville. 

Mr.  Wright's  wife  Mary  died  August  20,  1803,  aged  sixty-three  years,  and  on  June  27,  1804,  he  was  married  a 
second  time,  to  Mary  Nelson,  who  survived  him  and  died  at  Sunbury,  Ohio,  May  3,  1824.  Thomas  Wright  died  at 
Wrightstown  March  25,  1820,  and  his  remains  now  lie  in  Hollenback  Cemetery,  Willces-Barre.  In  an  obituary  notice, 
Jirinted  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  this  paragraph; 

"Through  a  long  life  he  had  been  a  very  industrious,  active  and  useful  citizen.  By  the  laborer  and  the  mechanic 
he  will  be  long  remembered.  He  was  a  steady  friend,  and  always  ready  to  render  his  services  among  his  numerous 
acquaintances-     He  died,  as  he  believed,  at  peace  with  all  men." 

The  public  records  of  Luzerne  County  show  that  while  living  here  Thomas  Wright  continued  his  speculations 
in  land,  and  at  one  time  owned  a  very  large  number  of  tracts  in  various  parts  of  Luzerne  County. 


1693 

"III — A  regular  Weekly  Post  will  be  established,  which  will  leave  the  Printing  Office  the 
moment  the  papers  are  printed,  and  will  arrive  at  Tioga  Point  on  the  Friday  following  (unless  the 
roads  are  rendered  impassible  by  the  height  of  the  waters),  by  which  all  subscribers  residing  on 
the  borders  of  the  river,  between  Wilkesbarre  and  Tioga  Point,  will  be  regularly  served  with  their 
papers. 

"IV — Any  person  who  will  procure  twelve  subscribers,  and  hold  himself  responsible  for 
their  subscription  money,  shall  receive  a  paper  gratis. 

"V — The  price  to  subscribers  will  be  two  dollars  per  annum — one  dollar  to  be  paid  on  the 
publication  of  the  26th  number,  the  other  dollar  at  the  expiration  of  the  year. 

"VI — Subscribers  desirous  of  withdrawing  their  subscriptions  may  do  so  at  any  time  by 
giving  notice  to  the  Printer. 

"VII — The  publication  of  The  Herald  of  the  Times  will  cease  on  the  last  Tuesday  [Octoljer 
31]  of  the  present  month  (which  will  complete  the  year),  and,  should  due  encouragement  be 
obtained,  the  first  number  of  The  Wilkesbarre  Gazette  shall  appear  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  Novem- 
ber next. 

"Should  it  be  the  general  wish  of  the  people  in  the  lower  part  of  this  County,  they  shall  be 
accommodated  with  a  Post,  who  will  serve  them  with  their  papers  weekly  (should  the  list  of  sub- 
scribers be  numerous),  by  paying  an  additional  sum  of  half  a  dollar  annually. 

"Subscriptions  are  received  at  most  of  the  public  houses  in  this  County,  and  by  the  pub- 
lisher, J.  Wright,  at  this  office. 

"Terms  of  postage  to  be  paid  for  The  Willsesbarre  Gazette.  The  papers  to  be  left  in  pack- 
ets on  the  direct  route  of  said  Post,  at  such  places  as  the  subscribers  may  agree  upon.  Those 
subscribers  who  reside  on  the  river  between  James  Scoffield's  tavern  (ten  miles  from  Wilkesbarre) 
and  the  mouth  of  Tunkhannock  Creek,  will  pay  at  the  rate  of  half  a  dollar  per  year.  Those  be- 
tween Tunkhannock  and  the  Great  Bend,  one  dollar  per  year.  Those  subscribers  who  reside  be- 
low Wilkesbarre,  between  Nanticoke  Falls  and  the  Southwestern  boundaries  of  this  County, 
will  have  to  pay  at  the  rate  of  half  a  dollar  per  year.  Those  who  reside  between  said  boundaries 
and  Berwick,  to  pay  at  the  rate  of  three-fourths  of  a  dollar  per  year. 

"It  is  not  determined  whether  the  Post  will  be  extended  to  Berwick.  It  depends  upon  the 
number  of  subscribers  that  may  be  procured  in  that  quarter. 

"Mr.  Nicholson  Marcy  has  agreed  to  ride  Post  from  Wilkesbarre.  by  the  way  of  Tioga 
Point,  to  the  Great  Bend,  weekly.  He  will  leave  this  office  at  five  o'clock  every  Tuesday  morning, 
and  will  arrive  at  Tioga  Point  on  Thursday  evening.  All  letters  left  at  this  office  for  said  Post 
will  be  carefully  attended  to.  Postage  on  letters  from  Wilkesbarre  to  Asylum,  the  same  as  from 
Wilkesbarre  to  Philadelphia;  to  Tioga  Point  or  Great  Bend,  in  proportion.  This  first  route  will 
be  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  November  next." 

The  first  issue  of  The  Wilkesbarre  Gazette,  and  Luzerne  Advertiser  appeared 
on  Tuesday,  November  28,  1797,  one  week  later  than  the  date  of  its  promised 
appearance.  Thomas  Wright  was  the  owner  of  the  paper;  and  its  editor,  printer 
and  pubUsher  was  his  son  Josiah. 

The  Gazette  consisted  of  four  pages,  lOi  x  17  inches  in  size,  with  three  col- 
umns to  a  page.  On  the  first  page,  under  the  heading  or  title,  was  the  motto,  "Let 
Party  rage,  let  Malice  vent  her  spite ;  Truth  we'll  revere,  and  we  shall  e'er  be  right." 

In  the  Gazette  in  Februarj',  1798,  is  found  a  table  of  local  "prices  current," 
from  which  is  gathered  the  fact  that  fresh  beef  sold  at  $6.75  per  100  pounds; 
French  brandy,  $1.34  per  gallon;  claret  wine  and  sherry  wine,  $1.00  each  per 
gallon;  tea,  $1.00  per  pound;  lump  sugar,  27  cents  and  loaf  sugar  29  cents  per 
pound;  Jamaica  rum,  $1.40  per  gallon;  country  rum,  87  cents  per  gallon;  Hol- 
land gin,  86  cents  per  gallon;  wheat,  $1.25  per  bushel;  rye,  $1.00  per  bushel; 
oats,  40  cents  and  Indian  corn  67  cents  per  bushel;  molasses,  54  cents  per  gallon; 
coffee,  23  cents  per  pound;  butter,  16  cents  per  pound;  hams,  12  cents  per  pound. 

In  the  issue  of  December  18,  1798,  the  following  unique  advertisement 
appears  over  the  name  of  James  Morgan. 

"beware  of  the  devil's  own  son. 

"Ran  away  from  the  subscriber,  on  the  night  of  the  14th  inst.,  John  Rodrock. 

"An  indentured  curse,  in  shape  something  like  a  man.  He  stands  about  17 '2  hands  high, 
is  22  or  23  years  of  age,  swarthy  complexion,  with  a  large  head,  and  a  huge  gash  in  his  face  ex- 
tending almost  from  one  ear  to  the  other,  passing  at  the  same  time  between  a  pair  of  lusty,  thick 
lips.  He  has  a  large  nose,  shortish  brown  hair,  and  dark  eyes,  above  which  are  fastended  a  set  of 
remarkable  eyebrows,  resembling  a  couple  of  gray  wigs  pasted  to  a  smoked  gammon.  And  as  to 
devils — he  has  more  in  him  than  Mary  Magdalene  had. 

"He  is  a  thief  and  a  liar.  When  he  is  dead  it  will  not  be  safe  to  inter  him  in  a  graveyard. 
If  you  do.  be  careful  to  jjlace  him  with  his  face  downward,  and  put  large  stones  on  his  grave,  or 
he  will  be  quick  up  again  and  plunder  his  nighest  neighbor. 


1694 


"Whoever  takes  up  the  above  described  sinner  and  returns  him  to  the  subscriber,  shall 
receive  by  wholesale  and  retail  the  hearty  curses  of  their  humble  servant." 

In  view  of  the  establishing  of  a  new  post  to  Tioga,  Painted  Post,  and  other 
localities  to  the  northward,  the  publication  day  of  the  Gazette  was  changed, 
in  October,  1800,  from  Tuesday  to  Mon- 
day. At  that  time  the  printing  office 
was  in  the  house  of  Joseph  Wright,  on 
West  Market  Street,  where  the  present 
Beers'  Building  was  built  in  1859. 

With  the  issue  of  Monday,  Novem- 
ber 10,  1800,  the  title  or  name  of  the 
Gazette  was  changed  to  The  Wilkesbarre 
Gazette  and  Republican  Sentinel,  while  the 
original  motto  of  the  paper  was  restored 
to  the  first  page.  A  week  later  Thomas 
Wright,  owner  of  the  Gazette,  announced 
in  the  paper  that  Charles  Miner  had 
been  authorized  to  collect  balances  due 
on  subscriptions  to  the  paper  ante-dating 
May  20,  1800;  that  he  was  then  "on  his 
way  up  the  river  for  the  purpose,"  and 
that  "cash  or  grain  would  be  accepted 
by  him"  in  settlement  of  accounts. 

It  may  be  remarked,  in  passing, 
that  the  newspapers  of  Luzerne  Countv 
have  progressed  materially  in  trend  from 
the  older  day.  What  was  then  con- 
sidered fit  for  publication  would  be  barred  by  any  editor  of  the  present.  In  the 
absence  of  news  happenings  in  the  community,  stories  were  printed  that  evidently 
were  bandied  about  in  the  neighboring  taverns.  Advertisements  that  then  ap- 
peared often  used  violent  language.  Libel  laws  were  unknown,  and  the  press 
often  became  the  medium  of  personal  spite  between  neighbors,  and  vented  itself 
in  language  that  would  demand  redress  in  the  courts  of  today. 

Whatever  success  the  Gazette  was  attaining  in  1800,  the  following  announce- 
ment was  made  on  December  8th,  that  it  was  to  have  opposition: 

"To  the  Public.  I  have  been  informed  by  persons  of  veracity  that  several  of  our  subscribers 
have,  by  a  false  report,  industriously  circulated,  been  induced  to  subscribe  for  a  newspaper  about 
to  be  established  in  this  town,  to  be  called  The  Luzerne  County  Federalist,  and  in  opposition  to 
this  Gazette. 

"In  order  to  deceive  people  into  a  subscription,  it  has  been  asserted  that  this  Gazette  was 
no  longer  to  be  continued,  but  that  it  was  to  be  given  up  in  favor  of  the  Federalist. 

"The  Federalist  is  to  be  exclusively  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Federalism.  It  is,  therefore, 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  some  persons  zealous  in  that  cause  must  have  fabricated  and  propagated 
this  malicious  falsehood.  Weak,  indeed,  must  be  the  cause  that  is  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
employing  instruments  so  base,  and  means  so  detestable,  in  its  support." 

The  Luzerne  County  Federalist  made  its  first  appearance  on  Monday  morning, 
January  5,   1801.     Its  owner,  editor  and  publisher  was  Asher  Miner,*  and  the 

*.\SHER  Miner,  the  third  child  of  Capt.  Seth  and  Anna  (Clunlliin)  Miner,  was  born  March  3.  1  778,  at  Norwich  . 
New  London  County.  Connecticut  He  learned  the  printer's  trade  under  Samuel  Green,  at  New  London,  and  removed 
to  Wilkes- Barre  in  1799.  In  November  of  that  year  he  opened  a  private  school  in  a  small  building  on  the  east  side 
of  Public  Square,  and  notified  the  public  that  he  had  "undertaken  to  instruct  youth  in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic 
and  Enghsh  grammar,"  and  that  proper  attention  would  "be  paid  to  the  morals  and  manners  of  those  committed  to 
his  care."  This  school  was  successfully  conducted  by  Mr.  Miner  during  the  next  four  years — for  the  most  of  which 
period  he  was  also  engaged  in  editing  and  publishing  the  Federalist. 

In  May,  1804.  Mr.  Miner  removed  to  Doylestown,  Bucks  County.  Pennsylvania,  where,  two  months  later,  he 
established  a  weekly  newspaper  bearing  the  name  "Tlie  Pennsylvania  Correspondent  and  Farmer's  Advocate."  For  twenty 
years  Mr.  Miner  edited  and  published  this  newspaper,  and  then,  having  disposed  of  his  business  in  Doylestown,  he 
removed  to  West  Chester,  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  where,  from  1825  to  1834,  he  was  a  partner  with  his  brother 


Thomas  Wright 

1748-1820. 


1695 

printing  oflice  was  located  in  the  two-story  frame  house  oeeupicd  by  Mr.  Miner 
as  a  residence,  on  West  Market  Street,  where  the  vSecond  National  Bank  is  now 
located.  The  Federalist  consisted  of  four  pages,  10 '4^1 7  inches  in  size,  with 
four  coknnns  to  a  page.  The  price  of  the  paper  was  $2.00  per  year.  The  press 
upon  which  the  Federalist  was  printed  was  brought  from  Norwich,  Connecticut, 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  on  a  sled,  in  December,  1800,  by  Charles  Miner  and  S.  Howard. 
"So  strange  a  piece  of  machinery",  wrote  Charles  Miner  in  May,  1859,  "was 
a  wonder  along  the  way.  To  the  thousand  and  one  enquiries,  'What  is  it?' 
Howard's  patience  being  exhausted,  he  was  wont  to  reply:  'We  are  taking  it 
to  Wyoming.  They  are  terribly  troubled  there  with  mice,  and  this  is  timber 
for  mouse  traps.'  "  In  the  Federalist  of  April  26,  1802,  the  following  notice  was 
printed:  "The  editor  of  this  paper  having  taken  his  brother,  Charles  ^iner,* 
into  partnership,  the  paper  will  in  future  be  printed  by  A.  &  C.  Miner." 

The  newspapers  published  in  Wilkes-Barre  were  generally,  if  not  always, 
delivered  to  local  subscribers  through  the  Post  Office,  up  to  the  year  1854,  when, 
however,  the  postal  authorities  put  a  stop  to  this  custom. 

For  a  number  of  years — say  from  1798  to  1805,  or  even  later — Wilkes-Barre 
newspapers  intended  for  subscribers  outside  of  the  village  of  Wilkes-Barre,  were 
carried  and  delivered  by  the  regular  post-riders,  or  contractors,  who,  in  making 
their  contracts  with  the  postal  authorities,  reserved  to  themselves  "the  emolu- 
ments arising  from  carrjdng  newspapers  from  Wilkes-Barre,  other  than  those 
carried  in  the  mail."  The  carrier  was  allowed  one  cent  for  each  newspaper 
delivered  within  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  one  cent  and  a-half  for  each 
paper  delivered  beyond  the  borders  of  the  State. 

The  paucity  of  local  news,  which  is  very  striking  in  these  early  newspapers, 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Wilkes-Barre  was  a  small  community, 
and  the  people  knew,  without  the  aid  of  a  newspaper,  what  was  occurring  from 
da}'  to  day  in  their  midst. 

According  to  the  first  official  census  of  the  United  States,  in  1 790,  there  were 
4,904  people,  including  1 1  slaves,  credited  to  Luzerne  County,  but  no  separate 
return  was  made  for  Wilkes-Barre  or  any  of  the  other  townships.  The  census  of 
1800  gave  Wilkes-Barre  township  only  835  inhabitants,  hence  the  scattered 
nature  of  the  settlements  may  be  readily  inferred. 

The  first  brick  house  in  Wilkes-Barre — a  pretentious  structure  on  the 
South  Side  of  Public  Square — was  erected  in    1807,   but  the   Federalist  never 


:^--. 


„  x^-w^  ^.^^^^ i!i^-j;^^^^.7^. 

Charles  in  editing  and  publishing  The  ^  Hinge  Record.  In  1834,  he  removed  to  what  is  now  Miner's  Mills,  near  Wilkes- 
Barre.  where  he  died  March  1.^.  1841. 

Asher  Miner  was  married  first  at  Wilkes-Barre,  May  19,  1800.  to  Mary,  only  daughter  of  Thomas  Wright  and  his 
wife.  Mary  (Dyer)  Wright.  Mrs.  Mary  (Wright)  Miner  died  in  January,  1830,  and  in  1835  Mr.  Miner  was  married 
to  Mrs.  Thomasin  H,  Boyer  of  West  Chester. 

"^Charles  Miner  the  youngest  son  of  Capt.  Seth  and  Anna  {Charlton)  Miner,  was  bom  at  Norwich,  Connecticut 
Februar>'  1,  1780.     His  school  days  ended  when  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  and  then  he  went  to  New  London,  Con- 


1696 


made  any  reference  to  it.  In  February,  1808,  Judge  Jesse  Fell  made  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  his  successful  experiments  with  respect  to  burning  anthracite  coal  in  an 
open  grate,  without  a  forced  draft.  Undoubtedly  the  principal  people  of  the 
town  learned  all  about  these  experiments  immediately,  but  the  Federalist  never 
printed  a  line  of  information  or  comment  on  the  subject. 

The  Act  of  Assembly,  incorporating  the  Borough  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was 
approved  March  17.  1806,  but  no  mention  of  the  fact  was  made  in  the  Federalist 
until  April  11,  1806,  when  the  Act  of  Incorporation  was  printed  without  any 
comments  upon  it  or  other  references  concerning  it.  The  Act  of  Assembly 
establishing  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  was  approved  March  19,  1807,  but  no 
reference  to  the  matter  was  made  in  the  Federalist  until  May  22,  1807,  when 
the  Act^was  printed  without  comment. 

In  fact,  one  who  searches  the  files  of  the  early  newspapers  of  Wilkes-Barre 
for  information  upon  which  to  base  a  historical  record,  will  turn  away  from  the 
task  puzzled  and  disappointed. 

necticut,  where  he  served  two  years  as  an  apprentice  to  the  printing  trade  in  the  office  of  The  Connccliciii  Gazette  and 
Commcrcinl  InUitigenccr.  published  by  Col.  Samuel  Green, 

In  1799,  Mr.  Miner  came  to  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  spent  some  time  in  what  is  now  Susque- 
hanna County.  In  the  Spring  of  1800  he  came 
to  Wilkes-Barre.  where  he  made  his  home  with 
his  newly-wedded  brother,  Asher.  In  the  fol- 
lowing Autumn  he  began  to  teach  school  in  a 
small  log  house  on  the  hill  near  the  present  Vulcan 
Iron  Works. 

The  first  literary  efforts  of  Charles  Miner 
were  published  in  the  Federalist.  In  later  years, 
speaking  of  these  "first  efforts",  he  said:  "My 
first  attempt  at  writing  was  in  my  brother's  paper. 
He  published  my  essay  with  a  good  deal  of  dis- 
trust; but  I  well  remember  the  pride  and  satis- 
faction excited  by  the  article  being  promptlv 
copied    by    The    United    Slates    Gazette   of    Phila"- 

Upon  his  retirement  from  the  printing  busi- 
ness in  Wilkes-Barre  in  1816,  Mr.  Miner  was 
engaged  in  newspaper  work  in  Philadelphia  for 
a  few  months.  Later,  in  the  Summer  of  1817.  he 
located  in  West  Chester,  Chester  County.  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  founded,  edited  and  published 
The  "^  ilia" e  Record,  from  1825  until  1832  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother  Asher.  In  1832,  Mr. 
Miner  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Wyoming 
Valley,  where  he  was  joined,  in  1834,  by  his  brother 
Asher.  The  ^'ill.f^e  Record  having  been  disposed 
of  to  Hem-y  S.  Evans  in  that  year. 

While  living  in  West  Chester,  Charles  Miner 
was  elected  (in  1824)  to  Congress  from  the  district 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Chester,  Delaware 
and  Lancaster.  His  colleague,  or  co-represent- 
ative, from  that  district  was  the  Hon.  James 
Buchanan — then  a  high-toned  Federalist,  later 
the  very  pink  of  Democracy,  and  still  later  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Miner  was  re-elected,  in  1826.for  a  second 
term,  and  served  until  the  first  inauguration  of  Charles   Miner. 

President  Andrew  Jackson. 

After  his  return  to  Wyoming.  Mr.  Miner  began  the  writing  of  his  "History  of  Wyoming,' 
pages,  which  was  published  in  1845.     It  is  by  this  work  that  Mr.  Miner  is  now  best  known. 

Charles  Miner  was  married,  at  Wilkes-Barre.  January  16,  1804,  to  Letitia  Wright,  daughter  of  Joseph  Wright, 
and  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Asher  Miner.  Mrs.  Letitia  Miner  died  in  February,  1852,  and  Charles  Miner  died  October  26,  1865  - 
(For  extended  and  interesting  accounts  of  the  life  and  doings  of  Charles  Miner,  and  further  references  to  Asher  Miner, 
see  Oscar  J.  Harvey's  "History  of  Lodge  No.  61.  F.  and  A.  M  ."  published  in  1897;  and  "Reminiscences  of  the  Hon. 
Charles  Miner."  in  Vol.  XIV  of  the  "Proceedings  and  Collections  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society." 


i  8vo  volume  of  593 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  ASYLUM  BY  FRENCH  REFUGEES— SOME  OF   ITS  DISTIN- 
GUISHED RESIDENTS— ROBERT   MORRIS,   THE   "FINANCIER  OF  THE  REVO- 
LUTION"  CONNECTED  WITH    THE    VENTURE— THE    "QUEEN'S  HOUSE" 
BUILT  TO  RECEIVE  MARIE  ANTOINETTE— ITS  SCENES  OF  GAYETY 

AND    BRILLIANT   RECEPTIONS— VISITS   OF   TALLEYRAND    AND 
t      THE    DUKE    OF    ORLEANS,    AFTERWARDS    LOUIS    PHILIPPE, 
KING  OF  FRANCE,  WITH  HIS  TWO  YOUNGER  BROTHERS— 
THEIR    STAY    IN    WILKES-BARRE— FINANCIAL    RE- 
VERSES OF  THE  COLONY  AND  ITS  FINAL  ABAN- 
DONMENT—PREPARATIONS FOR  WAR  WITH 
FRANCE— CAPTAIN  BOWMAN'S  COMPANY 
AGAIN    MUSTERED    INTO    SERVICE- 
WAR  AVERTED  BY  A  CHANGE 
OF  FRENCH  POLICIES. 


"Gaul's  exiled  royalists,  a  pensive  train, 
Here  raise  the  hut  and  clear  the  rough  domain ; 
The  way-worn  pilgrim  to  their  fires  receive. 
Supply  his  wants,  but  at  his. tidings  grieve. 
Afflicting  news,  forever  on  the  wing — 
A  ruined  country  and  a  murdered  king! 
Peace  to  their  lone  retreats,  while  sheltered  here. 
May  these  deep  shades  to  them  be  doubly  dear. 
And  Power's  proud  worshippers,  wherever  placed 
(Who  saw  such  grandeur  ruined  and  defaced). 
By  deeds  of  virtue  to  themselves  secure 
Those  inborn  joys  that  spite  of  kings  endure — 
Though  thrones  and  states  from  their  foundations  part — 
The  precious  balsam  of  a  wounded  heart." — Alexander  Wilson. 


I  wonder  what  the  racket  means, 
A  cutting  of  such  capers 
The  Parson  says  the  French  are  mad. 
He  read  it  in  the  papers. 

Chorus: 
Heigh  ho!  Billy  Bow, 
I  b'lieve  the  war's  a  comin, 
'N'  if  it  does,  I'll  git  a  gun 
Soon's  I  hear  them  drummin. 

An  I  heard  'em  say,  a  trainin  day, 
That  Washington's  a  goin'; 
An  Cap'n  Toby  swears  they'll  fall, 
Like  grass  when  he's  a  moorin. 

He  said  that  once,  in  t'other  wars. 
He  run  right  at  the  bullets 
And  never  minded  grenadiers 
No  more  'an  we  do  puUits. 

But,  deuce,  I'd  rather  stay  at  home 
A  makin  wall  and  hayin. 
An'  so  had  Capen  too  I  guess 
But  s'pose  there'll  be  no  stayin. 
-Brother  Jonathan's  New  Song.     {Wilkes-Barre  Gazette,  September  IS.  1798.) 


Of  all  romantic,  if  not  dramatic,  Chapters  in  the  history  of  Luzerne  County, 
that  relative  to  the  founding  of  Asylum  commands  an  unique  place. 


1698 


It  differed  from  other  Chapters  deaHng  with  a  portion  of  the  Susquehanna 
Purchase  in  that  it  had  no  connection  with  the  territorial  claims  of  states.  The 
life  of  the  experiment  was  less  than  a  decade.  But  it  transplanted  to  the  middle 
vSusquehanna  country  a  touch  of  the  old  world:  its  language,  its  customs,  its 
philosophy  and  its  tragedy- 

The  first  rumblings  of  the  French  Revolution  in  1789,  brought  fear  to  the 
hearts  of  royahsts  in  general.    Upon  them  ^  ■ 

the  terror  finally  vented  its  hideous  wrath. 
I,eaving  their  King  a  virtual  prisoner  at 
the  hands  of  a  hungry,  bloodthirsty 
Parisian  mob,  they  found  in  flight  the 
only  avenue  of  escape  which  separated 
them  from  violent  death.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  some  seventy  thousand 
of  the  nobility  and  no  less  number  of 
loyalists  escaped  through  the  French 
frontiers,  some  to  England,  many  to  the 
French  colony  on  the  island  of  Hayti  and 
still  others,  as  ships  were  available,  to  the 
United  States.  Those  who  found  refuge 
in  America  had  learned  much  of  the 
country  and  its  friendliness  for  France, 
through  French  officers  who  had  offered 
their  swords  to  General  Washington 
and  the  cause  he  represented  in  the  stir- 
ring days  of  the  American  Revolution. 

Two  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
these  refugees  were  destined  to  share  in 
the  founding  of  Asylum  and,  by  what 
seemed  a  strange  turn  of  fate,  were  to 
concern   themselves   with    the    Susquehanna  country. 

Viscount  Louis  Marie  de  Noailles*  and  Antoine  Omer  Talonf  had  reached 
Philadelphia  in  1792,  and  together  laid  plans  for  taking  care  of  those  of  their 
countrymen  already  here,  as  well  as  those  who  might  seek  refuge  on  our  shores, 
by  providing  an  asylum  wherein  those  who  suffered  a  common  fate,  might  work 
out  a  destiny  in  keeping  with  the  best  traditions  of  France.  It  was  not  until 
the  arrival,  late  in  the  same  year,  of  John  Keatingf,  an  Irishman  by  birth,  but 
a  former  officer  of  the  French  army,  forced  to  leave  vSan  Pomingo  as  were  other 
colonists  there,  by  the  uprising  of  the  blacks,  that  these  plans  began  to  mature. 
One  of  Keating's  companions,  the  Marquis  de  Blacons,  acquainted  the  two 
emigres  with  Keating  through  the  medium  of  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
Rochambeau,  under  whom  de  Noailles  had  served  in  an  earlier  revolution. 
Talon  was  a  man  of  considerable  means,  and  the  three  negotiated  with  Robert 
Morris,  the  financier  of  the  Revolution,  and  John  Nicholson,  a  merchant  of 
Philadelphia,  for  the  sale  of  lands  suitable  to  the  enterprise. 

Together  the  five  afterwards  secured  warrants  of  survey  to  almost  a  mil- 
lion acres  of  land,   stretching  from  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  in  the 

*The  Viscount  de  Noaii,lE£.  called,  generally,  by  his  American  neighbors.  "The  Count."  bom  in  Paris,  April  17. 
1756,  was  the  second  son  of  Philippe  de  Noailles,  Duke  of  Mouchy,  a  Marshal  of  France  and  soldier  of  some  renown, 
guillotined,  Jime  27,  1794.  The  Viscount,  whose  wife  was  sister  to  the  wife  of  General  Lafayette,  was  bred  to  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  and  was  remarkable  for  his  knowledge  of  military  tactics,  and  the  high  degree  of  discipline  acquired 


Map  of  Upper  Susquehanna 

Showing  Location  of  Asylum, 
(Courte-y  of  Louise  Welles  Murray.) 


1699 


neighborhood  of  Standing  Stone,  southwesterly  through  what  are  now  Bradford 
and  Sulhvan  counties,  into  Lycoming. 

In  the  fall  of  1793,  two  agents  of  the  promoters,  Charles  Fehx  Bui  Boulogne 
and  Major  Adam  Hoops,  then  residing  at  Westchester,  were  sent  forward  to 
select  a  location  for  the  colony.  The  party  reached  Wilkes-Barre  August  27,  1793, 
and  immediately  called  upon  Judge  Matthias  Hollenback,  to  whom  Robert 
Morris  had  addressed  the  following  letter,  under  date  of  August  8th,  at  Phila- 
delphia : 

"Should  Mr.  Boulogne  find  it  necessary  to  purchase  provisions  or  other  articles  in  your 
neighborhood  for  the  use  of  himself  and  his  company,  I  beg  that  you  will  assist  him  therein,  or 
should  you  yourself  supply  him,  and  take  his  drafts  on  this  place,  you  may  rely  that  they  will 
be  paid,  and  I  hold  myself  accountable.  Any  services  it  may  be  in  your  power  to  render  this 
gentleman  or  his  companions,  I  shall  be  thankful  for." 

From  Wilkes-Barre  northward,  the  country  was  familiar  to  Major  Hoops, 
who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Sullivan  Expedition  four  years  before.  Opposite 
the  mouth  of  Rummerfield  creek,  about  midway  between  Wyalusing  and  Standing 
Stone,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  was  a  plain  containing  some  two  thous- 
and acres,  then  known  as  "Shewfeldt's  Flats."  The  soil  was  fertile  and  with 
the  bending  river  sweeping  majestically  along  two  sides  of  it,  the  place  was  one 

by  the  troops  of  his  command,  so  that  he  was  considered  one  of  the  best  colonels  of  his  time.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  under  Rochambeau,  in  1780,  and  was  among  the  most  distinguished  of  the  young  French  officers  in  the  army  of 
Washington,  by  whom  he  was,  a  number  of 
times,  comphmented  for  his  bravery  in  Gen- 
eral orders.  At  the  battle  of  Yorktown ,  1781, 
he  was  commissioned  to  receive,  on  the  part 
of  the  French,  the  surrender  of  ComwalUs, 
and  negotiate  the  terms  of  capitulation. 

On  the  conclusion  of  peace  he  returned 
to  France,  where,  as  a  reward  for  his  services, 
he  was  offered  a  promotion  which  he  refused. 
At  the  epoch  of  the  Revolution  he  accepted 
its  principles,  and  was  counted  among  the 
most  zealous  defenders  of  the  popular  cause. 
He  was  a  deputy  of  the  nobility  to  the  States 
General,  May,  1789,  from  the  bailiwick  of 
Nemours,  and  subsequently  a  member  of  the 
National  Assembly,  where,  on  the  4th  of 
August,  that  year,  he  proposed  those  cele- 
brated acts  by  which  the  whole  Feudal  sys- 
tem, with  its  long  train  of  abuses  and  privi- 
leges, was  abohshed.  He  exerted  a  powerful 
influence  in  military  affairs,  and  was  active 
in  the  re- organization  of  the  army  and  Col- 
onel of  the  regiment  of  the  Chasseurs  d' Alsace , 
and  Field  Marshal  commanding  at  Sedan. 
At  length,  in  common  with  all  true  Repubh- 
cans,  he  fell  under  the  displeasure  of  Robes- 
pierre, by  whom  he  was  condemned  to  death 
and  his  property  confiscated.  He  resigned 
his  command  May,  1792,  and  fled  to  Eng- 
land ,  thence  came  to  the  United  States, 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  Philadelphia, 
where  his  former  active  service  in  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution  brought  him  into  intimate 
relation  with  the  leading  men  of  the  country'. 

From  recently  discovered  correspondence 
of  de  Noailles  with  the  family  of  "Quaker 
Town"  Robinson,  in  whose  home  he  was 
quartered  during  his  stay  at  Newport,  as  re- 
corded in  Bulletin  42,  Newport  Historical 
Society,  October.  1922,  a  letter  written  in  the 
fall  of  1793,  gives  the  following  interesting 
data  on  the  venture  at  Asylum: — 

"Since  my  arrival  in  this  country  I  have 
made  a  purchase  of  500,000  acres  of  land  in 
the  state  you  have  adopted  (Pennsylvania).  I  have  not  purchased  such  an  immense  quant  ty  of  tmcultivated  land 
to  make  a  speculation  on  it  and  resell  with  advantage.  My  intention  has  been  to  prepare  an  exile  to  those  of  my 
countrymen  who,  disgusted  of  the  horrid  scene  which  took  place  in  France,  will  forever  abandon  the  theatre  which  has 
produced  it.  My  expectation  has  so  well  succeeded  that  we  now  are  settling  40  French  families  in  easy  circum -stances 
and  50  German.  Had  we  accepted  everybody  who  have  offered,  should  have  not  found  land  enough,  but  we  avoid  to 
receive  in  our  society  every  people  of  violent  disposition,  who,  always  discontented  in  society,  indispose  the  people  they 
Hve  with.  Our  manners  will  be  soft,  our  conversation  animated,  our  labor  active,  we  will  be  the  French  you  have 
known  at  Newport  and  not  the  present  nation," 

De  Noailles  never  returned  to  France  after  the  abandonment  of  Asylum.  He  lived  at  Philadelphia  imtil  1803. 
from  which  point  he  re-entered  the  French  service  with  the  rank  of  Brigadier  General  and  accepted  a  command  under 
Rochambeau  in  San  Domingo.  He  was  mortally  wounded  in  an  engagement  with  a  British  corvette  off  the  coast  of 
Cuba,  January  4,  1803.  His  soldiers,  by  whom  he  was  dearly  beloved,  encased  his  heart  in  a  silver  box  which  they 
attached  to  their  colors. 

tOMER  Talon  was  bom  in  Paris,  January  20,  1760,  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  families  of  the  French  magis 
tracy.     At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  accepted  as  an  advocate,  and  was  civil-lieutenant,  or  advocate-general,  at  the 


Louis  Marie,  Vicomte  he  Noailles. 
(Courtesy  Louise  Welles  Murray.) 


1700 


of  considerable  natural  beauty.  This  site  was  chosen  as  most  suitable  for 
the  purposes  in  mind.*  The  Susquehanna  Company  had  previously  made 
a  survey  of  both  sides  of 
the  river  at  this  point,  and 
the  territory  desired  was 
found  in  possession  of  those 
who  held  Connecticut  titles  to 
the  soil.  In  order  to  avoid 
title  disputes,  then  so  common 
throughout  the  district,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  have 
Judge  Hollenback  secure 
deeds  from  the  Connecticut 
settlers,  while  Mr.  Morris 
undertook  to  secure  the  neces- 
sary titles  from  Pennsylvania 
claimants.! 

In  October,  1793,  most 
of  the  transfers  of  proper.ty 
desired  had  been  made  to  the 
promoters  and,  under  direc- 
tion of  Mr.  B  oulogne ,  pre  - 
parations  were  at  once  begun 
toward  shaping  the  tract  in 
readiness  for  the  oncoming 
refugees.  A  town  plot  was 
surveyed  after  the  elaborate 
fashion  of  French  engineers, 
and  the  name  Asylum,  which 
is  still  retained,  was  given  the 

Chatelet  when  the  revolution  of  1789  broke  out,  and  where  he  did  his  duty  as  a  just  and  courageous  magistrate,  and 
was  distinguished  for  his  fearless  and  unflinching  defence  of  the  royal  prerogative.  For  this  he  was  accused  and  im- 
prisoned, but  the  accusations  against  him  could  not  be  sustained  and  he  was  discharged.  He  was  appointed  deputy 
substitute  from  Chartres  to  the  National  Assembly,  but  never  took  his  seat.  The  next  year  he  was  compromised  in 
the  flight  of  Louis  XVI,  arrested  and  imprisoned  for  a  month,  when  he  was  released.  He  then  became  one  of  the 
faithful  advisors  of  the  king,  with  whom  he  held  frequent  conferences,  always  at  night,  and  labored  earnestly  to 
attach  powerful  and  influential  friends  to  the  royal  cause.  It  is  known  that  the  unfortunate  monarch  contemplated 
appointing  him  keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal,  but  was  so  bitterly  opposed  by  some  who  were  in  close  alUance  with 
the  crown  that  he  desisted.  The  king,  however,  as  a  mark  of  personal  friendship  and  confidence,  presented  him 
with  a  diamond  studded  box  with  his  portrait  on  the  lid  and  with  this  autograph  inscription:  "Given  by  the 
King  to  M.  Talon,  Sept.  7,  1791."  He  was  again  compromised  by  a  letter  found  in  the  famous  "Iron  Chest,"  and 
ordered  to  be  arrested  by  the  Revolutionary  Assembly.  He  managed  to  keep  himself  secreted  from  the  police 
for  several  months,  part  of  the  time  in  Paris  and  part  of   the  time  at  Havre. 

At  this  time  he  became  acquainted  with  Bartholomew  Laporte,  who  had  been  a  prosperous  wine  merchant  in 
Spain.  A  decree  of  the  Spanish  government,  banishing  all  French  subjects  and  confiscating  their  property,  had 
left  Laporte  penniless  and  an:dous  to  make  his  way  to  America,  as  Talon  proposed  to  do.  At  last,  having  an  oppor- 
tunity to  embark  in  an  English  merchantman,  at  Marseilles,  Laporte  concealed  Talon  in  a  wine  cask,  carried  it  on 
board  and  stowed  the  cask  in  the  hold  of  the  vessel,  covering  it  with  charcoal^  Suspecting  that  Talon  was  on  board, 
soldiers  searched  the  vessel,  but  \vithout  success.  On  reaching  England.  Talon  secured  passage  to  America  for 
himself  and  Laporte,  the  latter  becoming  Talon's  confidential  agent  and  trusted  land  steward  in  extensive  American 
ventures. 

In  Philadelphia,  Talon  kept  open  house  for  his  distressed  countrymen,  and  when  the  settlement  at  Asylum  had 
been  determined  on,  he  became  one  of  its  active  promoters,  and  the  general  manager  of  the  businsss  there.  He  re- 
turned to  France  under  the  Directory,  when,  in  1804,  he  was  engaged  in  a  royaUstic  plot,  for  which  he  was  transported 
to  the  Isle  St.  Marguerite,  and  did  not  obtain  his  hberty  until  1807.  His  mind  began  to  fail  under  the  pressure  of  re- 
peated privations  and  disappointments,  and  he  died  at  Grez,  August  18,  1811,  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  age. 

jSee  "Keating  and  his  Forbears",  Records  American  Catholic  Historical  Society;  Vol,  XXIX,  p.  4,  December,  1918. 

*Please  do  not  ignore  the  fact  as  always  stated  by  Bartholomew  Laporte.  Sr.,  that  the  incentive  to  this  purchase 
was  to  provide  an  asylum  for  Marie  Antoinette.  Recently  I  have  learned  that  at  this  period  Capt.  Swan,  a  Nova 
Scotia  sea  capta  in,  well  acquainted  in  Paris,  brought  to  the  Coast  of  Maine  a  ship  load  of  furniture  and  draperies 
from  the  Tuileries  for  the  use  of  Marie  Antoinette,  if  she  escaped.  She  was  beheaded  about  the  time  he  landed.  He 
built  a  house  at  Docchula  "in  imitation  of  one  he  had  seen  in  France,  furnishing  his  parlor  with  the  Queen's  belongings 
causing  a  facetious  wag  to  make  this  sad  pun — the  guillotine  got  their  heads  and  Capt.  Swan  got  theu"  trunks." 

From  a  footnote  added  to  the  original  MSS.  by  Mrs,  Louise  Welles  Murray. 

tThose  who  claimed  Pennsylvania  titles  to  the  property,  under  patents  of  1775,  as  discovered  by  abstracts  of 
title  made  recently  by  John  Biles,  were  the  following: — Archibald  Stewart.  William  Nicholson,  David  Linsay,  Robert 
Stevens  and  John  Bowm  or  Boehm. 


(Courcesy  Louise  Welles  Murray.) 


1701 

carefully  plotted  acreage.*  The  original  plot  of  Asylum  was  lost  for  many 
years,  and  without  its  tracings  as  a  guide,  much  of  error  had  crept  into  the 
writings  of  those  whose  pen  had  from  time  to  time  been  tempted  with  depictions 
of  the  strange  colony  which  became  so  closely  associated  with  the  history  of 
Wyoming. 

A  study  of  the  text  of  the  map,  which  with  other  cuts  relative  to  Asylum, 
is  reproduced  bv  courtesy  of  Mrs.  Louise  Welles  Murray,  author  of  "The  Story 
of  Some  French  Refugees  and  Their  Azilium,"  second  edition  published  1917, 
indicates  that  the  width  of  five  intersecting  streets  of  the  plot  were  sixty-six 
feet,  while  a  main  avenue,  one  hundred  feet  in  width,  extended  eastward  to  the 
river  through  a  market  place,  marked  in  1916  by  a  boulder  and  tablet  suitably 
inscribed. 

At  the  river  entrance  to  the  main  street  was  a  ferry  to  the  Sullivan  road, 
on  the  opposite  bank,  and  wharves  for  the  loading  and  unloading  of  Durham 
boats,  which  furnished  a  means  of  transportation  to  Wilkes-Barre. 

While  these  streets  are  now  mere  boundaries  between  farms,  the  Rev. 
David  Craft  was  able  to  identify  the  location  of  the  "Queen's  House",  the  com- 
munity brewery  and  other  buildings  associated  with  the  enterprise,  prior  to 
reading  a  second  paper  on  the  facinating  history  of  Asylum,  before  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  November  14,  1902,  and  recorded  in  Volume 
\'ni,  pages  46-86  of  the  records  of  that  Society. 

On  the  plot  were  surveyed  some  four  hundred  "house  lots"  each  a  half 
acre  in  extent,  while  toward  the  mountains,  as  was  the  case  in  the  original  survey 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  were  plotted  outlets,  varying  in  extent  from  three  to  forty  acres. 
Resembling  the  Wilkes-Barre  survey  also,  a  strip  of  land  along  the  river  front, 
was  left  to  common  use,  as  was  a  square  or  market  place,  of  some  two  acres  in 
the  center  of  the  plot. 

Air.  Boulogne,  who  seems  to  have  acted  as  general  manager  of  the  enter- 
prise at  the  start,  remained  on  the  ground  through  the  fall  of  1 793,  and  the  work 
of  construction  of  new  homes  proceeded  well  into  the  winter,  so  as  to  be  ready 
for  arrivals  in  the  early  spring  of  1794. 

A  large  number  of  masons,  carpenters  and  laborers  were  taken  from 
Wilkes-Barre  for  the  task.  Trees  w^ere  felled,  clearings  were  made,  cellars  dug 
and  walled  and  two  story  houses  of  hewn  logs  with  shingle  roofs  were  erected  along 
the  plotted  streets.  The  drain  on  the  finances  of  Judge  Hollenback,  who  was 
called  upon  from  all  sides  for  assistance,  was  admitted  by  that  gentleman  to 
be  considerable.  He  financed  the  purchase  of  lands  to  an  extent  of  more  than 
S2,000  and  furnished  such  construction  supplies  as  were  needed  by  boat;  some 
five  days  being  necessary  for  the  voyage  up  the  river.  Years  later,  after  Robert 
Alorris  had  become  bankrupt  by  reason  of  this  and  other  similar  speculations 
on  a  large  scale.  Judge  Hollenback  still  held  claims  amounting  to  several  hundred 
dollars  against  the  then  deserted  colony,  which  he  sought  to  have  liquidated  by 
the  sale  of  lands  whose  title  remained  in  the  Company. 

*This  map  had  been  traced  to  the  possession  of  the  late  C.  L.  Ward  of  Towanda,  Pa.,  whence  nothing  further 
could  be  ascertained.  The  library  of  Mr.  Ward  had  come  into  the  possession  of  Lafayette  College,  his  personal  effects 
sold  at  public  auction,  and  it  was  supposed  the  old  map  was  irretrievably  lost.  Its  recover^'  is  due  to  the  persistent 
energy  of  Mr.  John  A.  Biles  of  Hornet's  Ferr>',  Pa.,  a  land  surveyor  and  civil  engineer,  and  an  antiquarian  of  no  incon- 
siderable abihty.  Mr.  Biles,  having  occasion  to  call  upon  Col.  John  A.  Codding,  of  Towanda,  the  conversation  turned 
upon  historical  matters,  when  Col.  Codding  remarked  that  he  had  a  book-case  bought  at  the  auction  of  C.  L.  Ward's 
personal  property.  This  led  to  a  more  careful  examination  of  the  contents  of  the  desk,  and  lo!  at  the  bottom  of  a 
drawer  was  found  the  long  lost  and  much  sought  for  French  map  of  Asylum,  with  the  inscription  written  across  the 
back  of  it:     "Original  map  of  the  old  French  iTown  of  .Asylum,  from  Hon.  John  Laporte.  1861." 

See  Kraft's  "The  French  at  Asylum." 


1702 

The  arrival  of  some  of  the  refugees  in  November,  when  they  were  least 
expected  and  when  no  preparations  had  been  made  to  receive  them,  did  not 
contribute  to  furthering  the  work,  nor  did  it  improve  the  temper  of  Mr.  Boulogne. 

On  the  30th  of  November,  Mr.  Boulogne  wrote:  "Mr.  Dupetit  Thouar* 
with  all  his  hands  arrived  here  yesterday,  and  also  Mr.  Periault."     Of  how  many 


Aristide  Aubert  Dupetit  Thouar 
(Courtesy  Louise  Welles  Murray.) 

the  party  consisted  we  are  not  told,  but  that  the  houses  were  not  ready  for  them 
is  certain,  for  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hollenback,  he  is  asked  to  send  up  a  number  of 

*Aristide  Aubert  dupetit  Thouar.  or  the  "Admiral,"  the  name  by  which  he  was  most  frequently  known  by 
the  people  about  Asylum,  was  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable  man  in  the  settlement.  He  was  bom  in  1 760,  edu- 
cated in  the  military  school  of  Paris,  and  became  Post  Captain  in  the  French  army.  Of  a  frank  and  generous  disposition, 
and  fond  of  adventure,  he  was  very  popular  with  his  companions  at  school  and  in  arms.  He  was  in  the  French  naval 
service  during  a  war  with  England,  and  after  the  peace,  was  engaged  in  cruises  to  England  and  elsewhere.  Later  he 
became  greatly  interested  in  the  fate  of  the  missing  navigator.  La  Perouse,  and  at  great  personal  expense  and  sacrifice 
he  fitted  out  an  expedition  to  find  the  unfortunate  adventurers.  He  sailed  in  September,  1 792,  hut  had  hardly  began  his 
voyage  when  a  fatal  malady  broke  out  among  his  men  and  carried  off  a  third  of  them,  which  determined  him  to  put 
into  the  nearest  harbor — the  island  of  Ferdinand  de  Noronha.  Here  the  Portuguese  seized  his  vessel,  arrested  and  sent 
him  a  prisoner  to  Lisbon,  where  he  underwent  a  captivity  of  some  duration.  Immediately  on  his  release  he  came  to 
America,  where,  being  acquainted  with  M  de  Noailles.  he  was  induced  to  come  to  Asylum.  His  fine  spirit,  genial 
temper,  benevolent  disposition  and  chivalrous  bearing,  made  hira  beloved  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  None 
of  the  French  people  are  so  well  remembered,  and  of  none  are  so  many  anecdotes  related  as  of  the  "Admiral."  While  at 
Asylum  he  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Talon.  Disdaining  to  be  the  idle  recipient  of  his  host's  bounty,  at  his  request  a  lot  of 
four  hundred  acres  of  land,  where  the  present  borough  of  Dushore  now  stands,  was  assigned  to  him.  Single  handed 
literally  (he  had  lost  an  arm  in  an  attack  upon  a  pirate  ship)  and  alone,  several  miles  beyond  any  other  clearing,  in  a 
dense  unbroken  wilderness,  near  what  has  since  been  called  the  "Frenchman's  spring",  he  built  a  rude  shelter  and  com  - 
raenced  his  clearing.  A  number  of  years  afterward,  the  late  Hon.  C.  F.  Welles,  of  Wyalusing,  in  company  with  Mr. 
John  Mozier,  the  oivner  of  the  tract,  discovering  his  clearing,  and  knowing  the  history  of  this  remarkable  man  and  his 
courageous  enterprise,  suggested  "Dushore,"  the  common  pronunciation  of  the  Admiral's  name  by  American's,  as  an 
appropriate  name  for  the  new  village  then  just  springing  up,  a  name  which  it  has  ever  since  borne. 

See  Kraft's  "The  French  at  Asylum." 


170,3 

Franklin  stoves  with  pipe,  since  the  weather  had  been  so  cold  the  masons  could 
not  build  chimneys;  also   window  frames,   seasoned  lumber,   nails   and  hinges. 

The  fact  that  the  then  growing  colony  did  not  understand  the  language  of 
those  about  them,  were  wholly  unaccustomed  to  labor  of  any  sort  and  expected 
to  find  in  their  new  homes  much  of  the  comfort  and  luxury  to  which  thev  had 
been  accustomed  in  France,  but  added  to  the  confusion. 

In  December,  1793,  Mr.  Talon  arrived  at  Asylum,  only  to  find  that  the  winter 
prevented  further  operations.    .Supplies  for  the  .settlement,  which  he  had  forwarded 


nted  hy  himself  to  John  Kc 
Kf  VVeiles  Murray  I 


to  Catawissa,  were  ice  bound  for  a  time  and  gave  him  great  concern,  but  a  fortu- 
nate period  of  open  weather  permitted  the  boats  on  which  they  were  transported 
to  reach  their  destination. 

When  spring  came  and  navigation  of  the  river  reopened,  numerous  other 
refugees  who  had  spent  a  comfortable  winter  in  Philadelphia,  began  their  voyage 
to  their  wilderness  homes.  Some  of  these  were  of  noble  birth,  some  had  been 
connected  with  the  king's  household,  a  few  of  the  secular  clergy  were  represented. 
There  were  keepers  of  Parisian  cafes,  soldiers,  merchants  and  gentlemen. 

Some  had  found  time  to  adjust  their  affairs  before  their  hurried  departure 
from  France  or  San  Pomingo  and,  as  a  consequence  had  ample  means  at  their 
disposal.     Others  had  fled  from  the  very  shadow  of  the  guillotine,  unable  to 


1704 


secure  more  than  a  few  personal  effects,  and  depending  upon  financial  assistance 
from  friends  to  reach  the  new  world.  The  estates  of  all  had  been  confiscated 
by  the  government  under  the  decree  of  1792,  hence,  unless  the  monarchy  were 
restored,  or  property  rights  realigned  after  the  madness  of  the  Revolution  had 
passed,  they  had  little  to  look  forward  to,  even  if  permitted  to  return  to  their 
own  country. 

The  families  of  many  of  these  refugees  had  accompanied  them,  especially 
those  who  were  exiles  from  San  Domingo.  Not  a  few  of  them,,  however,  had  been 
forced  to  sail  alone,  hoping  and  planning  against  the  day  that  circumstances 
might  permit  reuniting  the  family  ties. 

The  arrival  at  Wilkes-Barre  of  groups  of  these  refugees  on  their  way  to 
Asylum  in  the  spring  of  1794,  attracted  considerable  attention. 

Correspondence  of  the  time  indicates  with  what  curiosity  the  wives  and 
daughters  of  the  settlement,  usually  clad  in  their  homespun  garments,  gazed  upon 
the  gay  attire  of  the  ladies  of  the  party,  indicative  of  the  styles  of  the  most  extrava- 
gant capital  of  the  world  and  the  product  of 
looms  accustomed  to  the  demands  of  royalty. 
The  men  were  no  less  conspicuous  in  dress.  They 
insisted,  even  in  wilderness  travel,  in  maintain- 
ing that  outward  appearance  of  gentility  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed.  But  with 
Wilkes-Barre  the  last  semblance  of  even  a  mod- 
erately comfortable  frontier  life  fell  behind.  It 
is  left  to  the  imagination  to  describe  the  feelings 
of  these  strangers  when  they  reached  the  rude 
landing  at  Asylum  and  gazed  upon  the  muddy 
thoroughfare  which  led  to  their  log  cabins,  half 
hidden  in  the  forest. 

No  agriculturalists  and  but  few  artisans 
were  in  the  party.  Yet  from  the  unbroken  soil 
and  by  their  own  manual  efi'orts,  they  were  sup- 
posed to  eke  out  an  existence. 

It  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1794,  that 
the  promoters  of  the  enterprise  actually  organ- 
ized the  Asylum  Land  Company,  which  was  to 
suffer  many  vicissitudes.  In  the  Irish  Catholic 
Benevolent  Union  Journal,  published  at  Philadel- 
phia, December  1,  1884,  "devoted"  as  its  pub- 
lisher, Martin  I.  J.  Griffin,  wrote,  "to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  Irish  Catholic  Benevolent 
Union"  appears  the  following  account  of  the 
affairs  of  this  Company,  taken,  as  the  editor  states,  "from  records  of  the  com- 
pany now  in  possession  of  Mr.  Dreer,  of  Philadelphia." 

On  April  23d,  1794,  the  Company  was  formed  by  the  election  of  Robert  Morris  as  President, 
Louis  de  Noailles,  John  Keating,  Garrett  Cottringer  and  John  Nicholson  as  Managers;  later 
John  Nicholson  became  President  and  John  Ashley  and  Jas.  Gibson  were  Managers. 

James  Duncan  was  Secretary  at  $1200  a  year  until  he  resigned,  September  28,  1795,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  James  Gibson.  Omer  Talon  and  Adam  Hoops  were  the  agents;  later  John 
Keating  was  such.    General  de  Noailles  was  agent  for  .sale  of  lands  and  shares. 

Mens.  Renaud  was  made  agent  in  West  Indies  for  the  sale  of  the  land,  Chas.  De  Cadigan 
for  Europe,  and  Mons.  Davernet  for  France,  and  in  October  William  Payne  Gorges  was  also 
appointed  for  the  West  Indies. 


.T,    STI.NI- 

i  Welles  Murray.) 


1705 


Colin 6000  acres 

Gerbier 600 

Sibort ■ ;.  ..  .   500      " 

Bircy 500      " 

Sidsbat 6000 

Caignet 6000 

Noailles 4000 

Freinel 6000      " 

Marrjshaek 1000 

Pere  Leraphin 5000 

Talon 3000 


At  the  meeting  of  Managers,  June  20,  1794,  John  Keating  reported  that,  prior  to  the  es- 
talilishment  of  the  Company,  contracts  for  the  sale  of  land  were  made  with  the  following  named 
persons  for  the  number  of  acres  stated : 

Mons.    MafTron 3000  acres. 

Carles 1000       " 

Carles  Freres 1000 

De  Mouleiau 1000 

Buzard 4000       " 

Palyart 500 

Montulli 7400      " 

Bonnet 6000       " 

Beidsloin 3000       " 

Cottineau 2000 

Boulogne 1000 

Blacon 6000       " 

The  purchase  price  in  this  case  was  10  shillings  an  acre,  pro\ided  that  during  the  first 
three  years  not  less  than  SI 00  per  1000  acres  were  expended  on  improvements.  The  Managers 
ratified  the  contract,  fixed  the  period  within  which  the  privilege  might  be  availed  of,  and  ordered 
that  lands  be  assigned  by  lot.  General  Victor  CoUot,  the  exiled  Governor  of  Guadaloupe,  attended 
this  meeting,  and  expressed  his  desire  to  purchase  1,000  acres  for  himself  and  9,000  for  friends. 

"In  consequence  of  the  advanced  price  of  lands  occasioned  by  the  increased  demand  in 
Europe  as  well  as  in  this  country,"  the  price  of  the  Asylum  lands  was  increased  to  S3  an  acre, 
and  notice  to  that  effect  sent  Cadignan  in  Europe. 

In  July,  1795,  the  first  dividend  of  S15  a  share  was  paid  the  stockholders,  as  follows: 

1  1  shares  Chas  Huger 10  shares 

.344       •■  .las.  Cramond 356 


Robert  Morris 

John  Nicholson 

General  de  Noailles 

Omer  Talon 

Chas.  De  Cadignan 

Felicite  F.  Page  and  Brigette  Finot. 

.\lexander  Durevnet 

Chas.  F.  Bui  Boulogne 

Nicholas  de  Broval   

Leon  Changeur 


.  100 


Dr.  John  Sparhawk  . 

Joan  B.  H.  MontulH  . . , 3 

Dr.  Enoch  Edwards 400 

Cheville  Huger  Si  Co , 43 


Dividend,  July,  1796,  $15  a  share. 

John  Nicholson 205 

Louis  de  Noailles 15 

Omer  Talon 13 

Chas.  de  Cardignan 100 

Filicite  and  Brigette  Finot 14 

Leon  Changeur 1 

James  Cramond 134 

Dr.  Enoch  Edwards 10 

John  Keating 15 

M.  Bois  Claireut 14 

Ingersoll  &  Clarkson 306 

Dennis  N.  Cottineau 35 

lean  B    B    Barbarin      4 

Rt.  Rev.  Wm,  White 67 

Chas.  De  Grossey 9 

Thos.  McEuen 166 


John  Keating 1 

Mons.  Bois  Claireau 14 

John  Nicholson,  for  Trustees 306 


Fras.  Belon 1 

John  Ashley 36 

John  Vincent  Becdilure 1 

-\nthony  Gerbin 2 

Sophia  bucrabin 6 

Jolin  Sparhawk 5 

Wm.  Cramond 1 

James  Gibson 1 

John  Reed  and  Standish  Ford 27 

Joanna  Hamilton 3 

.Abijah  Daws 30 

Phihp  R.  Fendall  and  R.  Young 87 

Bazin  Dulong\-al 6 

Tohn  Vaughan 30 

James  Yard 6 

Emard  Millot 2 


For  land  sold  the  Company,  Morris,  Nicholson,  Talon  and  Noailles  were,  on  February 
2 1st,   1795,  given  460  shares  each. 

In  April,  1795,  Nicholson  purchased  all  the  interest  of  Morris  and  those  associated  w'ith 
him.  Nicholson  conveyed  title  of  the  land  to  Jared  IngersoU,  Attorney  General  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  Mathew  Clarkson,  Mayor  of  Philadelphia,  as  Trustees. 

In  May,  1795,  Duke  Rochefoucauld  de  Liancourt,  then  visiting  this  country,  visited  the 
colony,  and  on  July  8th  John  Keating,  the  agent,  notified  the  managers  that  the  Duke  intended 
encouraging  several  families  to  reside  at  the  colony  and  that  he  wished  to  purchase  lands  for 
himself,  family  and  friends. 

On  June  5th,  1795,  a  suitable  town  lot,  20  acres  in  the  flats  and  2000  acres  elsewhere,  was 
appropriated  for  the  support  of  a  school  and  chapel  at  town  of  Asylum. 

The  affairs  of  the  Company  became  so  embarrassing  by  reason  of  the  pecuniary  troubles 
of  Morris  and  Nicholson,  that  its  assets  were  disposed  of  by  Marshal's  sale  in  ISOl.  The  shares 
sold,  739  in  number,  were  purchased  by  those  named  below.  They  made  an  agreement,  dated 
October  26th,  ISOl,  reciting,  that  as  the  Company  had  not  been  perfected  in  the  manner  purposed 
in  the  Articles  of  April  22d,  1794,  and  April  25th,  1795,  that  a  re-organization  should  be  made 
and  that  the  739  shares  should  be  divided  into  1261  shares  and  assigned  as  follows: 

Wm.  Cramond.  221;  Louis  de  Noailles,  95;  Abraham  Dubois,  54;  Robert  Porter,  54; 
Archibald  McCall,  230;  James  Gibson.  70;  Wm.  Cramond.  208;  John  Ashley,  329;  total,   1261. 

It  was  agreed  that  on  surrender  of  all  the  739  shares  of  the  old  Company  that  the  1261 
shares  thus  assigned  should  represent  2000  shares  of  the  new  company.  The  land,  1,000,(100 
acres,  was  held  by  Trustees.  Until  the  regular  election  on  the  second  Monday  of  January,  !  802. 
the  five  managers  were  to  be  Wm.  Cramond..  John  Ashley,  Louis  de  Noailles.  John  Travis  and 
James  Gibson.    Managers  were  to  be  paid  not  over  S500  a  year." 

All  who  have  written  contemporaneously  of  the  colony,  however,  refer  to 
the  cheerfulness  of  the  refugees  under  these  adverse  circumstances.    Thev  were 


1706 

hospitable  to  a  degree,  and  maintained  the  outward  appearance  of  their  old  life 
as  best  they  could.* 

In  May,  1795,  the  Duke  de  Rochefoucauld  de  Liancourt  visited  the  settlement, 
and  has  given  a  very  full  account  of  it  in  his  "Travels  in  North  America."  He  says; 
"Asylum  at  that  time  consisted  of  about  thirty  houses,  inhabited  by  families  from  St. 
Domingo  and  from  France,  by  French  artisans,  and  even  by  Americans.  Some  inns  and  two  shops 
have  been  established,  the  business  of  which  is  considerable.  Several  town  shares  have  been 
put  in  very  good  condition,  and  the  fields  and  gardens  begin  to  be  productive.  A  considerable 
quantity  of  ground  has  been  cleared  on  the  Loyal  Sock,  from  ten  to  twenty-acres  per  share  having 
been  cleared.  The  owner  can  either  settle  there  himself  or  intrust  it  to  a  farmer.  The  sentiments 
of  the  colonists  are  good.  Every  one  follows  his  business — the  cultivator  as  well  as  the  inn-keeper 
or  tradesman — with  as  much  zeal  as  if  he  had  been  brought  up  to  it.  *  *  *  Motives  arising 
from  French  manners  and  opinions  have  hitherto  prevented  even  French  families  from  settling 
here.  The.se  are,  however,  in  great  measure  removed.  Some  families  of  artisans  are  also  estab- 
lished at  Asylum,  and  such  as  conduct  themselves  properly  earn  good  wages.  This  cannot  be 
said  of  the  greatest  part  of  them.  They  are,  in  general,  very  indifferent  workmen,  and  much 
addicted  to  drunkenness.  Those  who  reside  here  at  present  are  hardly  worth  keeping.  The 
real  farmers  who  reside  at  Asylum  live,  upon  the  whole,  on  very  good  terms  with  each  other, 
being  sensible  that  harmony  is  requisite  to  render  their  situation  comfortable  and  happy.  They 
possess  no  considerable  property,  and  their  way  of  life  is  simple.  Mr.  Talon  lives  in  a  manner 
somewhat  more  splendid,  as  he  is  obliged  to  maintain  a  number  of  persons  to  whom  his  assistance 
is  indispensable.  The  price  of  the  company's  land  at  present  is  $2.50  per  acre;  that  in  the  town 
of  Asylum  fetches  a  little  more.  The  bullocks  which  are  consumed  in  Asylum  arc  generally 
brought  from  the  back  settlements,  but  it  is  frequently  found  necessary  to  send  thither  for  them. 
The  grain  which  is  not  consumed  in  Asylum  finds  a  market  in  Wilkeg-Barre,  and  is  transported 
thither  on  the  river.  In  the  same  manner  all  kinds  of  merchandise  are  transported  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Asylum.  They  are  carried  in  wagons  as  far  as  Harrisburg  and  thence  by  barges  up  the 
river.  The  freight  amounts,  in  the  whole,  to  two  dollars  per  hundredweight.  (Freight  from 
Wilkes-Barre  to  Asylum  was  51  cents  per  cwt.)  The  salt  comes  from  the  salt  houses  at  Genesee. 
Flax  is  produced  in  the  country  about  Asylum.  Maple  sugar  is  made  in  great  abundance;  each 
tree  is  computed  to  yield,  on  th'e  average,  from  two  to  three  pounds  per  year.  Molasses  and 
vinegar  are  prepared  here.  A  considerable  quantity  of  tar  is  also  made  and  sold  for  four  dollars 
per  barrel  containing  thirty-two  gallons.  Day  laborers  are  paid  five  shillings  per  day.  The 
manufacture  of  potashes  has  been  commenced  at  Asylum,  and  it  is  contemplated  the  lirewing  of 
malt  liquors.     A  corn  mill  and  saw  mill  arc  building  on  the  Loyal  Sock." 

Much  of  hearsay  and  tradition  surround  the  building  of  the  "Queen's 
House"  at  Asylum.  Correspondence  of  the  time  indicates  plainly  enough  that 
one  of  the  first  thoughts  of  the  colonists,  if  not  a  main  purpose  in  the  minds  of 
many  of  them  in  founding  the  colony,,  was  to  prepare  residences  for  King  Louis 
and  Queen  Marie  Antionette,  as  suitably  appointed  as  the  resources  of  their 
wilderness  retreat  could  command.  The  fact  that  the  construction  of  two  resi- 
dences, intended  for  royal  occupants  was  begun,  has  led  to  considerable  specu- 
lation and  much  conflict  of  opinion  among  those  who  have  written  of  Asylum. 

The  availability  of  recently  discovered  data,  made  possible  through  the 
researches  of  Mrs.  Murray  in  particular,  serves  to  clear  up  much  of  error  which 
has  crept  into  earlier  literature  on  the  subject. t     In  spite  of  tardily  received 

*No  better  picture  of  the  outward  life  of  the  people,  the  .style  of  their  houses  and  the  character  of  their  improve- 
ments could  he  given  than  the  following  description  embodied  in  an  agreement  entered  into  between  Sophia  de  Seybert 
and  Guy  de  Noailles,  December  23.  1797:  "On  number  four  hundred  and  sixteen  stands  a  log  house  thirty  by  eighteen 
feet  covered  with  nailed  shingles.  The  house  is  divided  into  two  lower  rooms  and  two  in  the  upper  story.  The  lower 
ones  are  papered.  On  both  sides  of  the  house  stand  two  small  buildings  of  the  same  kind,  one  is  used  for  a  kitchen, 
the  other  being  papered  is  commonly  called  the  dining  room;  both  these  buildings  have  good  fire-places  and  a  half- 
story.  Three  rooms  in  the  biggest  house  have  fire-places,  the  two  side  buildings  and  the  other  are  joined  together 
by  a  piazza.  There  is  a  good  cellar  under  the  dining  room.  The  yard  is  enclosed  by  a  nailed  paled-fence,  and  there  is 
a  good  double  gate.  The  garden  has  a  like  fence,  and  a  constant  stream  of  water  runs  through  it.  Over  the  spring  a 
spring-house  has  been  erected ;  it  is  divided  into  two  rooms  one  of  which  is  floored.  The  garden  is  decorated  by  a  con- 
siderable number  of  fruit  trees,  young  Lombardy  poplars  and  weeping  willows,  and  by  a  lattice  summer  house.  Next 
to  tile  garden  is  a  nursery  of  about  nine  hundred  apple  trees.  The  lower  part  of  the  lot  forms  a  piece  of  meadow  of 
about  eight  acres  enclosed  by  a  post  and  rail  fence.  On  the  same  lot  stands  a  horse  grist-mill.  The  building  is  forty 
feet  long  by  thirty-four  feet  wide.  Part  of  the  lower  story  is  contrived  into  a  stable  for  the  mill  horses  and  a  cow  stable. 
Part  of  the  upper  story  is  used  to  keep  fodder.  The  mill  is  double-geared  and  in  complete  order,  being  furnished  with 
a  good  pair  of  stones,  good  bolting-cloth,  and  in  one  comer  stands  a  good  fire  place.  Above  the  mill  runs  a  never- 
failing  spring  which  waters  a  great  art  of  the  meadow."     See  Krafts  "The  French  at  Asylum." 

tin  October,  1796,  Mr.  Weld,  an  Englishman,  passing  through  the  Susquehanna  country,  stopped  at  Asylum, 
which  he  describes  as  "a  town  laid  out  at  the  expense  of  several  philanthropic  persons  of  Pennsylvania,  who  entered 
into  a  subscription  for  the  purpose,  as  a  place  of  retreat  for  the  unfortunate  French  emigrants  who  fled  to  America, 
The  town  consists  of  about  fifty  log  houses,  and  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  a  considerable  land  has  been  purchased 
adjoining  it,  which  has  been  divided  into  farms.  The  French  settled  here,  however,  seem  to  have  no  great  ability  or 
inclination  to  cultivate  the  earth,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  have  let  their  lands,  at  a  small  yearly  rental,  to  the 
.Americans,  and  amuse  themselves  with  driving  deer,  fowling  and  fishing.  They  live  entirely  to  themselves;  they 
hate  the  Americans,  and  the  Americans  in  the  neighborhood  hate  and  accuse  them  of  being  an  idle  and  dissolute  set  . 
r  of  the  two  people  are  so  very  dilTerent  that  it  is  impossible  they  should  ever  agree." 


1707 


intelligence  from  France  on  matters  of  great  moment  there,  it  was  known  to  the 
colonists,  early  in  the  Company's  affairs,  that  the  King  had  met  a  tragic  end 
in  1793.  They  did  not,  however,  expect  a  like  fate  for  his  consort.  La  Granae 
Maison,  "Great  House"  or  "Queen  House"  as  it  became  known,  was  one  of  the 
two  houses  intended  for  the  Queen's  occupation.  This  was  completed  in  1793, 
and  was  occupied  by  Talon  with  an  intention  of  turning  it  over  to  the  one  on 
whom  the  minds  of  the  colonists  centered  in  case  of  her  escape  to  American 
shores.  This  home  on  the  town  plot  became  the  center  of  social,  as  Iwell  as  ad- 
ministrative activities  of  the  colony.  The  other  was  intended  to  be  a  hiding 
place  for  the  Queen,  deep  in  the  woods.  Its  site  was  selected  in  the  seclusion  of 
the  forest  some  seven  miles  from  Asylum,  on  the  Loyal  Sock  road,  near  West 
Terry.  A  clearing  was  made  and  the  construction  of  spacious  buildings  was 
actually  begun,  when  news  of  the  fate  of  the  Queen  likewise  became  known. 
No  further  attempts  seem  to  have  been  made  after  receipt  of  this  intelligence 
to  complete  the  ambitious  plans  of  this  wilderness  hiding  place,  and  practically 
no  remains  of  this  second  "Queen's  House"  are  now  to  be  found. 

However  it  may  have  missed  its  royal 
occupant,  the  completed  "Queen's  House"* 
became  the  assembling  point  of  the  colony. 
Here  were  held  conferences.  No  doubt  plots 
as  to  European  affairs,  which  might  have 
sounded  strange  to  the  ears  of  American 
neighbors,  entered  frequenth^  into  the  ani- 
mated discussions.  In  its  huge  reception 
rooms,  upon  winter  evenings  or,  upon  the  oc- 
casion of  visits  by  distinguished  guests,  were 
scenes  of  gaiety,  perhaps  unequalled  on  the 
continent.  Without  doubt  it  was  the  most 
pretentious  of  American  homes  of  the  period. 
To  it,  as  guests,  came  the  French  general, 
Ternant,  who  accompanied  Rochefoucauld, 
as  did  Talleyrand  in  the  fall  of  1795,  to  spend 
a  brief  period  of  his  two  years'  visit  to  the 
United  States. 

Nor  was  Mr.  Talonf  behindhand  in  en- 
couraging the  colonists  to  beautify  their  rude 
surroundings,  clear  up  their  lots  and  adapt 
themselves  to  new  conditions. 

A  log  Chapel  was  built  on  the  town  plot  and  services  were  held,  with  the 
Abbe  Carles  and  other  exiled  priests  officiating.  Several  marriages  were  held 
in  the  Chapel.    A  theater  and  outdoor  dancing  pavillion  were  like\vise  constructed. 

*The  "Queen's  House"  after  the  settlement  was  abandoned,  became  the  home  of  Bartholomew  Laporte,  himself 
a  refugee  and  one  of  the  few  of  the  colonists  to  become  a  permanent  resident  of  the  Susquehanna  country.  His  son. 
the  Hon.  John  Laporte  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the  house.  In  1846,  the  "Great  House"  became  a  memory,  the 
best  of  its  squared  pine  logs  going  into  a  barn  stUl  standing  on  the  Laporte  estate. 

Bartholomew  Laporte  married,  December  11,  1797,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Franklin,  an  Englishman.  He 
acquired,  from  the  Company's  trustees,  title  to  nearly  500  acres  of  what  was  the  upper  section  of  Asylum  and  became 
one  of  the  most  successful  farmers  of  what  is  now  Bradford  county.  He  was  County  Commissioner  for  two  terms, 
being  chosen  at  the  elections  of  1819  and  1821.  He  died  on  his  estate,  February  11,  1836.  His  wife,  much  his  junior 
in  years,  survived  him  sixteen  years,  dying  May  5,  1853.  She  helped  to  preserve  the  true  story  of  the  original 
settlement. 

tOmer  Talon,  the  head  of  the  colony,  with  his  love  of  order,  resolute  will  and  generous  hospitality,  seemed  equal  to 
every  emergency.  How  his  heart  must  have  swelled  with  pleasure  as  he  saw  the  little  community,  to  which  he  had 
given  his  whole  thought  and  energy  for  so  many  months,  begin  to  take  on  a  homelike  and  industrious  air.  How  he 
must  have  rejoiced  that  through  his  efforts  so  many  poor  fugitives  would  know  again  the  pleasures  of  home  and  the 


Prince  T.u.i,evr.\nd 
(Courtesy  Louise  Welles  Murray.) 


1708 


No  running  stream  being  available  for  the  purpose,  a  grist  mill,  driven  by  horse 
power  was  established,  the  mill  stones  being  sent  up  from  Wilkes-Barre  and  one  of 
the  ladies  contributed  a  silk  petticoat  for  a  bolting  cloth.    Two  stores  were  shortly 


/ 


A' 


Workman's  Account  in  Building  "La  Grande  Maison,"  or  the  "Queen's  House." 

opened  in  the  settlement,  while  the  shops  of  blacksmiths,  weavers,  tailors  and  car- 
penters challenged  the  hand-craft  skill  for  which  France  has  always  been  famous. 

society  of  fellow  countrymen,  though  their  dearest  ones  were  separated  from  them  for  a  time.  And  with  what  joyful 
anticipations  he  must  have  looked  forward  to  the  coming  of  the  Queen,  for  it  is  generally  acknowledged  that  it  was 
for  the  Royal  fugitives  that  this  Asylum  was  planned.  It  seems,  however,  that  the  death  of  the  King  must  have  been 
known  or  that  he  was  never  expected,  for  the  houses  built  for  royalty's  use  were  always  known  as  the  "Queen's  houses." 
Besides  the  house,  built  by  Talon  in  the  town  plot,  and  afterward  occupied  by  him,  deep  in  the  woods  on  the  Loyal 
Sock  road,  near  West  Terp'  or  New  Era,  was  begun  a  spacious  house  or  two  and  a  large  bakery  and  other  buildings 
were  planned;  these  were  in  charge  of  Charles  Homet  and  were  intended  for  a  hiding  place  for  the  Queen.  Strange 
irony  of  fate,  even  before  they  were  completed  the  unhappy  Queen  had  followed  her  husband  to  the  guillotine.  The 
suspension  of  intercourse  between  France  and  America,  and  the  arduous  journey  between  the  colony  and  Philadelphia, 
accounts  for  the  long  delay  in  the  sad  news  reaching  the  Colony. 

The  house  built  by  Talon  was  the  most  pretentious  in  the  settlement,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  largest  log  house 
ever  built  in  America.  Elizabeth  Laport  said  her  grandfather  always  called  it  "the  Queen's  House,"  but  it  was  generally 
known  as  "La  Grande  Maison"  or  the  "Great  House,"  and  is  so  called  in  all  laborer's  accounts.  It  was  built  of  hewn 
logs  with  a  plain  sloping  roof,  shingled.  There  were  no  shingles  on  the  sides.  It  was  about  84  feet  long  and  60  feet 
wide,  two  stories  high,  with  a  spacious  attic.  There  were  four  stacks  of  chimneys  and  eight  fireplaces  on  each  floor. 
The  windows  were  square,  with  no  hooded  or  dormer  effects,  small  square  panes  of  glass.  There  were  heavy,  solid- 
wooden  shutters  on  the  windows.  On  each  floor  was  a  hall  the  entire  length,  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  wide,  with  out- 
side door  at  each  end,  with  three  rooms  on  the  side  facing  the  river  and  four  on  the  other.  The  four  rooms  were  of  equal 
size.  On  the  river  side  the  middle  room  was  twice  the  size  of  the  others  in  length  and  extended  into  the  hall  with 
double  doors  set  crosswise  on  each  corner,  opposite  each  of  which  was  a  broad  flight  of  stairs  to  the  second  story.  In 
each  end  of  this  room  were  fireplaces,  one  much  larger  than  the  other.  So  large  indeed  that  when  it  was  used  by  the 
Laportes  as  a  kitchen,  oxen  drew  the  back  logs  right  into  the  room.  The  mantel  was  about  as  high  as  a  man's  head. 
In  the  center  of  the  side  was  a  double  door  with  the  upper  half  set  with  small  panes  of  glass.  Each  side  of  this  door 
were  French  windows,  very  large,  opening  from  the  floor  nearly  to  the  ceiling.  Plain  board  ceiling  was  used  instead  of 
plaster  for  walls,  most  of  the  woodwork  plain  and  unpainted,  though  the  lower  stairs  had  newell  posts  and  rails  of  black 
walnut.  This  house  was  built  on  lot  No.  418  and  just  north  of  the  house  now  standing,  built  by  Judge  Laporte  in 
1839,  now  owned  by  the  Hagerman  family.  It  was  torn  down  in  1846  for  fear  of  fire.  Traces  of  the  foundation  are 
still  in  evidence.  In  this  "Great  House"  was  dispensed  the  hospitality  of  the  settlement.  As  long  as  it  stood,  the  large 
room  was  called  the  French  ladies'  drawing  room;  here  doubtless  gathered  all  the  famous  visitors  to  the  Colony.  Here 
perhaps  were  breathed  oaths  of  loyalty  to  Louis  JPhilippe,  whom  they  hoped  soon  to  see  on  the  throne.  What  brilliant 
conversation  their  walls  echoed!     AJas,  there  has  come  down  to  us  but  two  amusing  little  stories  of  the  gatherings  here. 

Though  the  winters  were  long  and  dreary,  the  summer  heat  was  far  more  fierce  than  ever  known  in  "Belle  Paris." 
The  first  time  the  writer  ever  heard  of  Asylum,  was  when  a  Uttle  child,  she  was  riding  by  with  Chas.  F.  Welles  of 
Wyalusing.  After  pointing  out  the  location  and  the  picnic  rock,  he  added  this  anecdote  told  to  him  by  one  of  the  old 
pioneers.  Entering  the  drawing  room  (evidently  unannounced)  he  found  the  great  dames  seated  around  the  apart- 
ment, all  complaining  bitterly  of  the  intense  heat.  Skirts  were  daintily  lifted,  while  slave  girls,  seated  on  the  floor, 
industriously  plied  fans  to  cool  their  mistresses'  ankles. 

At  another  time  a  great  dinner  was  in  progress  in  this  room.  Talon's  butler,  always  too  fond  of  the  wine  which  he 
served,  spilled  some  soup  on  a  guest;  as  he  had  been  repeatedly  reprimanded  for  similar  offenses,  his  master's  anger 
knew  no  bounds.  Yet  servants  were  not  plenty  in  Asylum  so  Talon  called  for  his  faithful  friend  and  land  steward, 
Laporte,  and  said  "Will  you  serve  as  butler?"  Laporte  protested,  but  Talon  refused  to  forgive  the  offender,  and  the 
feast  went  on  with  the  wine  merchant  serving  in  Wallois'  place."     From  Mrs.  Murray's  "Azilutn." 


1709 

Indeed,  Asylum  became  a  matter  of  great  curiosity  to  the  whole  vSusque- 
hanna  basin.  The  reputed  wealth  of  its  inhabitants,  their  refined  style  of  Hving, 
the  character  of  goods  for  sale  in  the  shops,  the  flavor  of  old  world  romance 
about  it,  made  the  settlement  a  stopping  place  for  all  who  travelled.  In  1794, 
Antoine  Le  Favre  was  Ucensed  by  the  Luzerne  County  Court  as  an  innkeeper  at 
Asylum.  He  had  been  proprietor  of  one  of  the  famous  cafes  of  Paris  and  pres- 
ently the  reputation  of  the  well  furnished  table,  presided  over  by  Madame 
LeFavre,  had  spread  far  and  wide.  A  year  later,  a  like  license  was  granted  to 
M.  Heraud,  and  in  1797,  two  more  innkeepers,  Peter  Regnier  and  John  Becdel- 
liere,  procured  the  Court's  permission  to  cater  to  the  wayfarer's  needs  at  Asylum. 

However  impractical  most  of  the  efforts  of  the  colonists  proved  in  their 
struggle  with  the  wilderness,  they  left  an  impression  upon  those  about  them  in 
the  character  of  roads  they  built,  in  the  cultivation  of  beautiful  gardens,  in  the 
establishment  of  schools,  and  in  their  love  of  music  and  the  arts.*  A  highway 
southward  to  Dushore  is  still  an  artery  of  travel  and  retains  the  name  of  the 
"French  road." 

At  the  height  of  its  fame,  Asylum  contained  not  more  than  fifty  houses. 
But  for  almost  a  decade,  it  was  perhaps  the  most  unique  settlement  in  America. 
Its  disintegration  was,  as  had  been  its  beginning,  an  effect  of  European  politics. 

Its  settlers  had  come,  not  of  their  own  free  choice,  but  to  preser\'e  their 
lives.  Most  of  them  never  adapted  themselves  in  the  slightest  degree  to  frontier 
life,  nor  came  into  association  with  their  American  neighbors.  When  political 
conditions  made  possible  their  return  to  France,  Asylum  must  have  seemed  to 
them  a  crudely  fashioned  dream. 

As  France  returned  to  a  sane  conclusion  that  the  absence  of  so  large  a 
portion  of  its  population  meant  the  upending  of  economic  conditions,  measures 
looking  to  a  repeal  of  prescriptive  decrees  and  the  restoration  of  forfeited  es- 
tates were  undertaken.  The  year  1798  saw  the  first  withdrawals  from  the  colony. 
Gradually  these  withdrawals  became  more  frequent  until  merely  a  handful  of 
the  colony  was  left  to  take  up  farming  as  a  serious  occupation  of  life  and  to 
abandon  an  enterprise,  the  material  evidences  of  which  were  soon  to  crumble 
into  decay.  The  financial  affairs  of  the  Company  which  fostered  the  settlement 
were  left  in  bad  shape.  The  reverses  of  Robert  Morris,  as  well  as  of  John  Nichol- 
son, can  be  laid  almost  at  the  door  of  this  unprofitable  adventure.  In  1S08,  a 
deed  of  trust  for  all  the  property  of  the  Asylum  Company  was  executed  to  Archi- 
bald McCall,  John  Ashley  and  Thomas  Ashley,  empowering  them  to  dispose  of 
its  property  for  the  benefit  of  the  Company.  It  was  not  until  1843,  however, 
that  the  residue  of  unsold  lands  was  finally  disposed  of  to  the  Hon.  William 
Jessup,  of  Montrose. 

What  was  quite  as  important  an  event  to  Wilkes-Barre,  as  it  proved  to  Asylum 
in  the  summer  of  1797,  was  the  visit  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  afterward  to  become 
Louis  Phihppe,  King  of  France,  accompanied  by  his  two  younger  brothers. 

In  Claypool's  Daily  Advertiser,  Philadelphia,  October  25,  1796,  there 
appeared  in  the  "shipping  intelligence"  column  the  following  item: 

"In  the  America,  Capt.  Erving, ■  Hamburg,  27  days,  came.  24  October,  ten  passengers. 
Among  them  is  L.  P.  B.  Orleans,  eldest  son  of  the  ci-devant  Egalite,  and  distinguished  in  the 
French  Revolution  as  a  Lieut.  General  at  the  battle  of  Jamappes  and  the  final  flight  of  the  cele- 
brated Dumouriez." 

*Iii  June  of  1923,  there  was  discovered  under  the  floor  of  a  delapidated  building  known  as  the  "Cole  house"  at 
Macedonia.  Asylum  township,  an  unfinished  bust,  nearly  lifesize,  of  what  is  judged  to  be  a  likeness  of  Louis  Philippe 
as  he  appeared  during  his  visit.  It  was  the  work  of  a  master  craftsman  for  which  Asylum  was  noted  and  was  carved 
from  native  oak.  The  carving,  together  with  other  interesting  relics  of  the  Colony  is  preserved  in  the  Tioga  Point 
Museum. 


1710 


He  was  then  twenty-three  years  of  age  and  had  sought  the  shores  of  America 
comphance  with  the  requirements  of  the  French  Directory. 


David  Hayfielp  C- 
1750-1834 

The  ship  America  was  owned  by  the  firm  of  Conyngham  and  Nesbitt, 
then  and  for  many  years  thereafter  one  of  the  most  extensive  mercantile  es- 
tablishments of  Philadelphia.  For  a  time  after  his  arrival,  "L.  P.  B.  Orleans" 
or  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  David  Hayfield  Conyngham,*  a 
member  of  the  firm,  at  the  latter's  home  on  Spruce  street. 

In  February,  1797,  the  Duke  was  joined  by  his  brothers,  the  Duke  de 
Montpensier,  age  seventeen,  and  Count  de  Beaujolais,  age  twenty-one,  after  their 
release  from  the  political  prison  at  Marseilles. 

Senex,  in  his  "Interesting  Reminiscences"  states  that  the  three  exiles  set 
out  for  Luzerne  County  on  horseback,  in  the  summer  of  1797. 

*David  Hayfield  Conyngham  was  the  father  of  Hon.  John  Nesbitt  Conyngham,^ for  so  many  years  a  resident  of 
Wilkes-Barre  and  President  Judge  of  the  Courts  of  Luzerne  County. 


1711 


Whether  the  royal  brothers  visited  Wilkes-Barre  on  their  way  to  and 
from  Asylum,  or  only  upon  returning  from  a  two  weeks'  stay  with  their  country- 
men of  the  colony,  is  a  matter  upon  which  historians  differ. 

Confirming  the  Senex  staternent,  there  is  contained  in  a  sketch  of  the  old 

Arndt  Tavern,  (mentioned  hereinafter)  a  narrative  as  follows: 

"The  visit  of  the  princes  to  Asylum  was  mainly  to  see  and  confer  with  Matthias  HoUen- 
back,  he  having  been  selected  by  Robert  Morris  to  arrange  for  their  permanent  house  in  America 
should  that  become  their  fate.  They  visited  Wilkes-Barre  on  the  way  up  and  also  returned, 
coming  in  on  the  old  Sullivan  road,  stopping  here  to  rest." 

During  the  period  of  his  ambassadorship  to  France,  when  Louis  Philippe 
was  King,  Lewis  F.  Cass  in  "France,  its  King  and  its  People,"  becomes  authority 
for  what  is  probably  the  real  record  of  the  journeyings  of  the  brothers  in  the 
summer  of  1797.  From  correspondence,  he 
shows  that  upon  leaving  Philadelphia,  the 
three,  accompanied  by  one  servant  and  equip- 
ped as  western  traders,  made  the  journey  to 
Pittsburgh  on  horseback.  Thence  they  pro- 
ceeded on  foot  to  Niagara  Falls  and  on  to  Can- 
andaigua  where  they  visited  Thomas,  the  son 
of  Robert  Morris.  At  Newtown,  now  Elmira, 
N.  Y.,  they  lodged  for  ten  days  with  Henr\- 
Towar,  a  French  innkeeper.  Towar  fitted 
them  out,  according  to  the  Cass  narrative, 
with  a  Durham  boat  in  which  they  descended 
the  Chemung  to  Tioga  Point,  thence  proceed- 
ing down  the  Susquehanna  to  Asylum. 

While  at  Asylum  they  were  entertained 
at  the  "Queen's  House"  with  fetes  and  hunt- 
ing parties  and  many  social  gatherings.  Talon 
was  not  at  this  time  the  directing  head,  nor 
even  a  member  of  the  colony.  Its  financial 
affairs  were  beginning  to  show  the  strain  of 
loose  management,  and  this  doubtless  in- 
fluenced the  royal  guests  in  a  decision  not  to 
remain  there. 

But  that  they  did  visit  Wilkes-Barre  at  least  upon  their  return  to  Phila- 
delphia, is  beyond  controversy.  Strange  as  it  may  now  appear,  there  is  little 
of  local  record  descriptive  of  this  visit.  True,  the  Duke  of  Orleans  was  not 
then  in  direct  line  for  the  crown  of  France,  even  if  the  monarchy  should  be  re- 
stored. Furthermore,  Wilkes-Barre  had  become  so  accustomed  to  visits  of 
members  of  distinguished  families  of  France,  in  connection  with  the  unusual 
settlement  to  the  northward,  that  the  particular  visit  in  question  excited  no 
unusual  comment.  The  strugghng  local  newspaper  of  the  time  carried  no  men- 
tion of  the  arrival,  and  no  faithful  diarist,  like  Colonel  Pickering,  then  recorded 
his  impressions,  of  so  notable  an  event,  to  be  preserved  as  a  heritage  among  a 
mass  of  papers. 

The  brothers  stopped  for  several  days  at  the  Arndt  Tavern,  on  South  River 
street,  which  then  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Darling  residence,  and  com- 
manded the  best  the  tavern's  host  could  place  at  their  disposal.  In  the  Senex 
"Reminiscences"  it  is  narrated  that  the  tavern  was  kept  by  a   "Mr.   IMorgan." 


The  UuKii  uF  Orleans. 

LATER  Louis  Philippe.  King  of  France 

(Courtesy  Louise  Welles  Murray.) 


1712 


This  is  in  error,  as  John  P.  Arndt  then,  and  for  many  years  thereafter,  was  its 
proprietor.  What  evidently  confused  Senex  was  the  later  marriage  of  one  of  the 
daughters  of  Mr.  Thomas  Morgan,  to  David  Wilmot,  of  Towanda,  (in  a  room  in 
the  old  tavern  which  was  pointed  out  in  later  years  with  great  pride  by  both 
townspeople  and  proprietor  as  the  one  which  had  been  used  as  a  parlor  by  Louis 
Phillippe).  Mr.  Morgan  was  at  that  time  proprietor  of  the  tavern.  David  Wil- 
mot was  the  author  of  the  famous  "Proviso,"  an  historical  episode  in  the  pro- 
tracted slavery  contest  between  States. 

A  year  after  the  publication  of  his  "History  of  Lodge  61,  F.  and  A.  M., 
of  Wilkes-Barre,"  in  1897,  the  late  Oscar  J.  Harvey  came  upon  some  hitherto 
unknown  correspondence  of  the  period  which  indicated  that  prominent  members 
of  that  Lodge  undertook  to  make  the  visit  of  the  royal  brothers  as  interesting 
and  comfortable  as  possible  during  their  brief  stay. 

Louis  Philippe  was  a  Free  Mason,  having  been  admitted  to  a  lodge  in 
Paris  in  1792.  His  father,  the  notorious  "Egalite,"  then  Duke  of  Orleans,  was 
at  that  time  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  France. 

In  the  year  1797,  Lodge  No.  61,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  three 
years  old.  It  numbered  sixteen  members,  and  its  meeting  place  was  the  home 
of  Captain  John  Paul  Schott,  on  North  Main 
street. 

Louis  Philippe  visited  this  lodge  during  his 
Wilkes-Barre  stay.  The  Duke  who  could,  and 
did  in  time,  effectively  display  all  the  dignity  of 
a  French  monarch,  seems  to  have  produced  a 
favorable    impression    wherever    he    went. 

The  only  account  of  incidents  of  his  visit, 
preserved  by  older  historians  of  the  Wyoming 
region,  is  found  in  Peck's  "Wyoming,"  page 
99.  It,  and  much  other  data  of  his  volume 
written  in  1858,  was  based  on  statements  made 
by  Mrs.  H.  D.  Alexander,  a  daughter  of  Capt. 
William  McKerachan,  killed  at  Wyoming.  In 
referring  to  her  Peck  states:  "To  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander, a  stepdaughter  of  Judge  Hollenback  we 
are  greatly  indebted  and  we  owe  many  thanks 
to  her  granddaughter,  Miss  E-  P.  Alexander  for 
a  beautiful  manuscript,  in  which  these  facts  are 
neatly  and  comprehensively  written  down."  In 
its  issue  of  June  27,  1878,  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Leader  published  some  of  this  manuscript  of 
Miss  Alexander  under  the  title  "A  Sketch  of  the 
Arndt  Tavern"  in  which  the  following  appears: 

"They  dined  at  Col.  HoUenback's.  All  that  met 
them  on  that  occasion  were  delighted  with  them.  *  * 
*  The  future  king  was  rather  despondent  and  absorbed. 
The  others  were  more  lively,  especially  the  Duke  de  Mont- 
pensier,   who   was   very   affable  and   lighthearted.      She 

Alexander)    mentioned   him  particularly  as  being 


(Mrs 

dressed  entirely  in  white,  his  cravat  and  ruffles  being  of 
costly  lace,  were  the  envy  and  admiration  of  the  ladies  of 
the  household.  They  returned  to  the  Valley  by  boat  and 
proceeded  to  New  York  from  thence  soon  after   (1800) 


The  tablet  is  inscribed  as  follows : 
This  monument  is  erected 
to  commemorate  and  perpetuate 

the  memory  and  deeds  of 

the  French  RoyaUst  Refugees 

who  escaped  from  France 

and  the  horrors  of  its  revolution 

and  from  the  revolution  in  San  Domingo 

settled  here  in  1 793 

and  located  and  laid  out  the  town  of 

ASYLUM 

under  the  auspices  of  the  Viscount  de  Koailles 

and  Marquis  Antoine  Omer  Talon 

In  1796,  Louis  Philippe,  Duke  of  Orleans 

afterward  King  of  France,  visited  here. 

The  Prince  de  Talleyrand 

The  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld  de  Liancourt 

and  many  other  distinguished  Frenchmen 

were  visitors  or  residents 

for  a  short  time,  at  Asylum 

Erected  in  1916.  by  John  W.  Mix 

and  Charles  d'Autremont,  Jr. 

descendants  of  French  refugee  settlers 

Land  donated  by  George  Laporte  heirs. 


1713 

sailing  to  England.  Another  celebrated  party  who  were  'put  up'  at  the  old  tavern  were  Herman 
Blcnnerhasset  with  his  beautiful  and  accomplished  wife.  It  was  after  their  downfall  and  ruin  as 
prominent  victims  of  Aaron  Burr's  treasonable  conspiracy.  On  their  way  to  Montreal  they  came 
here  to  see  the  sister  of  Mrs.  Blennerhasset,  Mrs.  Dow,  who  lived  upon  a  farm  long  known  by 
their  name,  situated  in  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Ashley." 

Another  who  met  him  narrated  that  "though  his  voice  was  far  from  melo- 
dious, he  spoke  in  a  pleasing  tone  without  the  slightest  suggestion  of  that  con- 
densation peculiar  to  the  elders  of  his  family."  "This"  continued  the  narrator, 
"with  a  kindly  twinkle  of  the  eye,  constituted  an  expression  which  quickly  dis- 
pelled all  awe-inspiring  notions  of  royalty  in  general." 

In  "Some  Early  Recollections,"  a  paper  read  before  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society,  November  16,  1917,  by  the  Hon.  George  R. 
Bedford,  and  printed  in  Vol.  XVI,  of  the  publications  of  that  Society,  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  visit  is  given: 

"Near  sunset  on  a  summer  day  in  1797,  a  small  boat  was  moored  at  the  river's  shore  and 
three  distinguished  looking  strangers  debarked  and  sought  lodging  at  the  old  tavern.  The 
strangers,  it  transpires,  were  princes  born  in  sunny  France,  Louis  Philippe,  Duke  of  Orleans, 
who  later  became  King  of  the  French,  and  his  two  brothers,  Duke  of  Rlontpensier  and  Count 
Beaujolais,  exiles  compelled  to  leave  their  native  land,  then  struggling  in  the  throes  of  revolu- 
tion. They  were  at  the  time  on  their  return  to  Philadelphia  from  a  visit  to  the  French  refugee 
settlement  at  Asylum.  More  than  fifty  years  later,  at  an  audience  granted  by  the  King  to 
George  Cathn,  the  Indian  painter,  who  was  a  native  of  Wilkes-Barre,  the  king  referred  to 
his  sojourn  in  America  and  incidentally  to  his  visit  to  Asylum,  and  his  stay  "at  a  httle  village 
named  Wilkes-Barre,"  when  Catlin,  very  much  interested,  exclaimed,  "Why,  that  was  my  native 
place." 

While  the  French  colony  at  Asylum  left  but  little  permanent  impress 
upon  the  trend  of  events  in  Luzerne  County,  and  seems  to  have  escaped  all  but 
the  briefest  notice  at  the  hands  of  the  American  public  in  general,  world  events 
of  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century  thrust  themselves  prominently 
before  the  country.  Such  outside  newspapers  as  were  brought  to  Wyoming 
were  passed  from  home  to  home  and  from  settlement  to  settlement.  The  rise 
of  the  French  republic  was  greeted  with  rejoicing,  although  the  violence  and 
excesses  of  its  accomplishment  were  deplored. 

But  what  was  of  more  immediate  concern,  was  the  mighty  contest  then 
raging  on  land  and  sea  between  England  and  France.  As  the  contest  assumed 
the  character,  more  and  more  definitely  marked,  of  a  struggle  for  ascendancy 
in  the  rule  of  the  world,  the  feelings  and  judgments  of  thoughtful  men  in  America 
were  put  to  the  severest  test.  It  was  apparent  to  the  reflecting  mind  that  the 
ultimate  success  of  neither  of  the  contestants  boded  well  for  the  United  States. 
If  France  should  become  the  master  of  Europe,  its  imperial  sway  would  brook  no 
delay  in  becoming  the  master  of  America.  The  whole  course  of  that  power  proved 
that  it  considered  the  aid  rendered  the  United  States  in  accomplishing  their 
severance  from  British  dominion  as  giving  it  a  title  to  demand  their  subserviency. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  England,  as  the  champion  of  thrones  should  prevail,  and  the 
old  regime  be  everywhere  reestablished,  the  chances  seemed  small  for  a  single 
repubUcan  experiment,  not  yet  cemented  into  the  strength  of  maturit}-,  being 
able  to  stu^ive. 

Yet  the  very  nature  of  the  contest  made  it  impossible  for  the  United 
States  to  side  with  either  cause,  and  Washington,  as  well  as  his  advisors,  announced 
a  policy  of  strict  neutrality  which,  under  no  circumstances  was  to  be  \"iolated. 

France  was  mortally  offended  that  the  United  States  would  not  make 
common  cause  with  her.  She  had  expected  and  claimed  an  active  alliance  for 
the  aid  she  had  given  America  in  its  war  for  independence.  Naturally  a  majority 
of  Americans    sympathized  with  France,   and  for  a  time  the  French  Party,  as  it 


1714 

became  known,  seemed  to  sway  all  but  Washington  and  his  immediate  counsellors. 

Exploiting  this  sentiment  in  her  favor,  and  considering  that  high  officials 
of  the  government  stood  alone  in  opposing  her  designs,  France  appointed  am- 
bassadors who,  in  the  most  insolent  and  audacious  manner,  ignored  the  funda- 
mentals of  established  diplomatic  relationships,  and  entered  into  correspondence, 
conference  and  co-operation  with  the  party  opposed  to  the  administration.  More- 
over, they  openly  violated  American  law  in  purchasing  and  fitting  out  vessels 
in  American  ports,  to  cruise  against  the  commerce  of  nations  with  whom  we 
were  at  peace. 

In  the  year  1797,  the  difficulties  of  the  United  States  Government  with 
France,  consequent  upon  the  ratification  of  Jay's  treaty  with  Great  Britain, 
reached  a  point  little  short  of  war.  Through  fear  of  a  French  invasion  in  1798, 
additions  were  made  to  the  regular  army,  and  further  additions  were  provision- 
ally authorized.  President  Adams  appointed  General  Washington  Commander- 
in-chief,  with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  General,  and  Alexander  Hamilton  was 
appointed  Inspector  General,  with  the  rank  of  Major  General. 

During  the  years  1798  and  1799,  there  was  great  excitement  throughout 
the  country,  and  the  patriotic  impulses  of  citizens  were  everywhere  and  on  all 
occasions,  encouraged  and  stimulated:  the  orator  on  the  platform,  the  clergy- 
man in  the  pulpit,  and  the  Judge  on  the  bench,  engaging  in  political  and  patri- 
otic harangues  to  the  people  when  opportunities  were  afforded.  July  3,  1798, 
a  general  meeting  of  the  militia  officers  of  Luzerne  County  was  held  at  the  Court 
House,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  "for  the  purpose  of  taking  proper  action  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  enrolling  and  organizing  the  militia  for  active  service."  Gen.  Simon 
Spalding,  of  Sheshequin,  was  elected  President,  and  resolutions  were  passed 
with  great  enthusiasm,  declaring  among  other  things,  that  "no  sensations  of 
gratitude,  no  relics  of  enthusiasm,  remain  to  distract  us  from  our  duty  as  American 
citizens  to  our  country. ' '  The  officers  present  then  proceeded  to  formally  offer  their 
services  to  the  State  "whenever  the  emergency  arises  in  which  she  needs  them." 

The  following  is  a  portion  of  a  charge  delivered  to  the  Grand  Jury,  in  the 
Court  House  at  Wilkes-Barre,  at  August  Sessions,  1798,  by  the  Hon.  Jacob 
Rush,  the  first  President  Judge  of  the  Courts  of  Luzerne  County.  This  charge, 
compared  with  charges  delivered  by  Judges  in  our  day,  may  be  characterized 
as  quite  extraordinary  and  unique: 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Jury:  I  congratulate  you  on  the  dissolution  of  the  political 
ties  that  have  been  the  means  of  connecting  us  for  several  years  with  the  French  Nation.  Thank 
Heaven,  the  Gordian  knot  is  at  last  cut,  and  we  are  separated,  I  trust,  forever! 

"The  17th  day  of  July,  Congress,  by  law,  disannulled  our  treaties  with  that  country,  and 
declared  them  to  be  no  longer  binding  upon  the  United  States.  It  would  take  up  too  much  time, 
and  is  foreign  to  my  present  purpose,  to  go  into  a  full  detail  of  the  numerous  reasons  that  have 
long  required,  dnd  now  fully  justify,  this  procedure  on  the  part  of  our  Goverrrment.  From  the 
date  of  our  treaties  with  France,  in  the  year  1778,  no  event  occurred  between  the  two  Nations 
worthy  of  notice  till  the  commencement  of  the  war  in  Europe.  The  French  are,  I  believe,  the 
first  Nation  upon  earth  that  have  publicly  renounced  the  obligatory  force  of  treaties,  and  assumed 
the  profligate  position  that  they  may  be  broken  whenever  the  circumstances  of  either  party 
may  require  it. 

"It  is  one  thing  to  transgress  the  laws  of  truth  and  virtue,  and  another  to  maintain  the 
lawfulness  of  the  action.  The  very  Algerines  and  Savages  would  blush  at  the  thought.  *  *  * 
Having  in  vain  endeavored  to  drag  us  into  the  vortex  of  the  European  war,  they  have  since  sys- 
tematically pursued  a  plan  for  the  extirpation  of  our  commerce." 

The  Judge  then  referred  to  the  infidelity  of  the  French  people,  to  the  laxity 

of  their  marriage  and  divorce  laws,  to  their  abolishing  the  Sabbath,  etc.,   and 

continued  as  follows : 

"Our  country  has  been  too  long  aUied  to  France!  It  was  the  connection  of  unsuspecting 
youthful  virtue  with  an  old  bawd,  at  one  period  disguised  in  the  robes  of  Monarchy,  at  another 


1715 

in  the  less  fascinating  garb  of  a  Republican  dress — but  invariably  the  same.  Let  us,  however, 
gentlemen,  indulge  the  animating  hope  that  the  period  of  our  deliverance  from  this  complication 
of  evils  is  dawning  upon  us.  The  17th  day  of  July  draws  a  line,  and  tears  up  the  foundation  of 
our  National  connection.  Hail,  auspicious  day!  Henceforth  the  absurd  claim  of  National  grati- 
tude will  be  no  longer  rung  in  our  ears  by  ungenerous  benefactors.  Let  the  1 7th  of  July  be  had  in 
everlasting  remembrance!  U'pon  the  anniversary  of  that  day  let  the  voice  of  joy  and  gratitude 
be  heard  through  our  land.  From  calamities  infinitely  more  to  be  dreaded  than  those  commem- 
orated upon  the  4th  of  July,  it  is  calculated  to  secure  us.  The  one  shielded  us  only  from  political 
dependence  and  subjection,  but  the  other,  we  flatter  ourselves,  will  be  the  means  of  saving  us  from 
religious,  moral  and  political  destruction." 

To  this  charge  the  Grand  Jury  presented  a  reply,  beginning : 

"Hon.  Jacob  Rush — Sir:    We  thanly  you  for  the  address  delivered  to  us  at  the  opening  of 

the  present  Court.    It  contains  sentiments  so  just,  principles  so  well  founded  and  correct,  that  we 

take  much  pleasure  in  approbating  the  charge," — etc. 

This  was  signed  by  Capt.  Samuel  Bowman,  Capt.  Eleazer  Blackman, 
Cornelius  Cortright,  Naphtali  Hurlbut,  and  fifteen  others  who  composed  the 
Grand  Jury. 

Failing  to  induce  this  government  to  declare  war  against  her  enemies, 
and  becoming  jealous  of  the  growing  intimacy  between  us  and  England,  the 
object  of  her  inveterate  hate,  France  adopted  measures  destructive  of  the  com- 
merce and  derogatory  to  the  honor  of  the  United  vStates.  She  dismissed  the 
American  minister,  and  her  ships  of  war  captured  and  confiscated  several  of 
our  merchant  vessels.  The  United  States,  after  several  attempts  at  negotiation 
had  failed,  prepared  for  war.  Hostilities  commenced  in  January,  1799,  on  the 
ocean,  by  the  surprise  and  capture  of  the  American  sloop  of  war  Retaliation, 
Lieutenant  Bainbridge,  by  the  French  frigate  Insurgent  of  forty  guns.  In  February 
following,  the  United  States  frigate  Constellation,  of  thirty-two  guns.  Captain 
Truxtun,  fell  in  with  and  engaged  the  Insurgent,  and  in  one  hour  and  a  half  com- 
pelled her  to  strike  her  colors.  In  a  few  days  after,  the  Constellation  engaged 
the  French  frigate  Vengeance,  of  fifty-four  guns.  The  engagement  lasted  from 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  until  one  in  the  morning  following.  The  Vengeance 
struck  her  flag  twice,  but  on  account  of  the  darkness  of  the  night  it  was  unper- 
ceived  by  Truxtun.  The  Constellation  lost  her  mainmast,  and  being  unable  to 
make  pursuit,  the  Vengeance  escaped,  but  with  great  loss. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  1799,  Samuel  Bowman  was  commissioned  by 
President  Adams,  Captain  in  the  Provisional  Army,  and  in  April  he  received 
from  the  Adjutant-General  of   the  Army  a  copy  of  the  "Rules  for  the  Recruiting 

Service."  He  immediately  set  about  enHsting  recruits  and  organizing  his  company, 
and  in  order  to  expedite  matters  he  inserted  in  The  Wilkesbarre  Gazette  of 
May  11,  1799,  and  posted  in  public  places,  printed  on  large  sheets,  the  fol- 
lowing advertisement; 

"To  all  brave,  healthy,  ablebodied  and  well  disposed  young  men,  who  have  any  inclination  to 
join  the  troops  now  raising  under  General  Washington  for  the  defense  of  the  Liberties  and  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  against  the  hostile  designs  of  Foreign  Enemies, — Take  Notice! 
That  constant  attendance  will  be  given  by  Capt.  Samuel  Bowman  at  the  house  of  Jesse  Fell  in 
Wilkesbarre,  with  recruiting  parties  of  his  company  belonging  to  Maj.  John  Adlum's  battaUon  of 
the  11th  regiment  of  infantry.     *     *     * 

"The  encouragement  to  enhst  is  truly  liberal  and  generous,  vis.,  a  bounty  of  $12,  an  annual 
and  fully  sufficient  supply  of  good  and  handsome  clothing,  a  daily  allowance  of  a  large  and  ample 
ration  of  provisions,  together  with  S60  a  year  in  gold  and  silver  money. 

"Those  who  may  favor  the  recruiting  party  with  their  attendance  as  above,  will  have  an 
opportunity  of  hearing  and  seeing,  in  a  more  particular  manner,  the  great  advantages  which  these 
brave  men  will  have,  who  shall  embrace  this  opportunity  of  spending  a  few  happy  years  in  viewing 
the  different  parts  of  this  beautiful  continent,  in  the  honorable  and  truly  respectable  character  of 
a  soldier;  after  which  he  may,  if  he  pleases,  return  home  to  his  friends,  with  his  pockets  full  of 
money,  and  his  head  covered  with  laurels. 

"Cod  Save  the  United  States!" 


1716 

Samuel  Erwin  and  John  Milroy,  of  Northampton  County,  Pennsylvania, 
were  appointed,  respectively,  First  and.  Second  Lieutenants  of  the  company. 
In  July,  1799,  thirty  men,*  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Erwin  were  marched 
to  camp,  in  KTew  Jersey,  and  later  they  were  joined  by  Captain  Bowman  and 
Lieutenant  Milroy,  with  the  remainder  of  the  company.  They  were  ordered  to 
Union  Camp,  New  Jersey,  and  there  were  attached  as  the  3d  company  to  the 
11th  Regiment,  U.  S.  Infantry,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Col.  Aaron  Ogden,t  of 
Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey. 

Pennsylvania's  quota  of  the  80,000  troops  raised  for  the  war,  under  an  Act 
of  Congress  passed  in  1798,  was  10,684,  the  number  of  troops  apportioned  to 
Luzerne  County  being  166.  Major  General  Thomas  Craig,  of  Montgomery 
County  commanded  the  second  division  of  Pennsylvania's  quota,  Major  General 
John  Gibson,  of  Allegheny  county,  the  third  division  and  Major  General  William 
Irvine,  of  Cumberland  County,  commanded  the  first  division  and  was  also  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  state's  forces. 

It  was  to  the  latter  division  that  Luzerne's  quota  of  troops  was  assigned. 

Captain  Bowman'sJ  company  remained  in  camp  until  September,  1780, 
when  owing  to  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  France,  and  the  resumption  of  diplo- 
matic relationships  between  the  two  countries,  the  provisional  force  was  dis- 
banded, and  the  company  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  for  muster  out. 

*Captain  Bowman  furnished  a  list  to  the  Wilkes-Barn'  Gazelle  of  the  men  of  his  Company  who  marched  from 
Wilkes-Barre,  in  August,  1799,  under  command  of  1st  Lieutenant  Samuel  Irvine.  This  list,  published  August  13th, 
is  as  follows: 

Ampfurt,  Geo.  Curtis,  David,  Sr.  Lovell.  John 

Blakesly,  Amaziah  Clair,  Francis  Langley,  William 

Haley,  James  Davis,  Jonah  Millar,  Samuel 

Barns,  Low  Downing,  Aaron  Owen,  Benjamin  C. 

Crosier,  Reuben  Ford,  Isaac  Perino,  Peter 

Cuthbert,  John  Gallentine,  George  Staples,  James 

Conklin,  Jonathan  Hollenback,  John  Trusdale,  John 

Curtis.  David  Harris,  Asa  Vorace,  John 

Conaway,  Chas.  Hayne,  Thomas  White,  Ephraim 

Cameron.  Archibald  Haynes,  David  Weissenfeltz.  John 

A  muster  roll  of  the  Company,  bearing  date  of  June  14,  1799,  contains  the  following  names  not  mentioned  by 
Captain  Bowman  as  original  members  of  the  Company  who  left  Wilkes-Barre: 

Mervy,  John  Tompkins,  Ichabod*  Manning,  Solomon 

Fiske,  Thomas  Agerston,  James  Brown,  Steven 

Landon,  David  Stark,  John  Bayley,  Steven 

Horton,  Samuel  Holdren.  Joseph  Evans,  Samuel 

Nash,  Azos  Mclntire,  James  Wigton,  Samuel 

Hazzard,  Benjamin  Charles,  John  Point,  Thomas 

Hullet,  Benoni  Webber,  Jonathan  Hadgins,  Thomas 

Jennings,  Benjamin  Ellis,  John  Quick,  Thomas 

Bowles.  Charles  Gale,  Israel  Walterman,  Thomas 

Ayer,  David  Harris,  James  Wright,  Thomas 

Hathaway,  David  Lewis,  James  Parker,  William 

Jane,  David  Shaw,  John  .\llan,  William 

Curtis,  David  Lake,  James  Decker,  William 

Sage,  Daniel  Cownover,  Jacob  Kingsley,  Wareham 

Farman.  Daniel  Weeks,  Luther  Robison,  Walter 

Thompson,  Elias  Thomas,  Moses  Tullte,  William 

Clarke.  George  Hunter,  Phillip  Ritchey,  William 

Deshler,  George  .'Vndre,  Peter  Walker,  James 

Trucks,  George  Underwood,  Phineas  Wickiser,  Isaac 

Perry,  Godfrey  Williams,  Peter  Evans,  John 

Hunter,  Henry  Buck,  Reuben  Wheeler,  Jacob 

Sumerlain,  Hugh  Harris,  Samuel 

Moreover  the  muster  roll  indicates  that  the  following  nine  men  who  left  Wilkes-Barre  were  not  merabeis  of  the 
Company  on  June  14,  1799: 

Ampfurt,  George  Curtis,  Dav-d,  Sr.  Cuthbert,  John 

Bams,  Low  Clair,  Francis  Millar,  Samuel 

Conaway,  Charles  Cameron,  Archibald  Weissenfeltz,  John 

tAARON  Ogden,  was  born  at  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  December  3rd,  1756.  He  graduated  from  Princeton  College 
;n'I773.  In  the  Spring  of  1777,  he  received  a  commis.sion  in  the  First  New  Jersey  regiment.  In  1779  he  was  a  Captain 
in[this  regiment,  which  was  commanded  by  his  brother.  Col.  Matthias  Ogden,  and  he  accompanied  General  Sullivan's 
expedition  to  the  Wyoming  Valley  and  southern  New  York  as  an  aid  to  General  Maxwell.  He  served  in  many  staff 
positions  during  the  war,  with  Generals  Maxwell  and  Lord  Sterling,  received  great  commendation  for  services  at  the 
siege  of  Yorktown  and  was,  after  the  war,  a  United  States  Senator  and  then  Governor  of  New  Jersey.  He  died  in  1839. 
J"Samuel  BoiVM.'iN  was  bom  at  Lexington,  Massachusetts,  December  2,  1753,  the  eighth  child  of  Capt.  Thaddeu^ 
Bowman.  He  was  one  of  the  minute-men  on  Lexington  Common,  April  17,  1775,  when  they  were  fired  upon  by  the 
British  troops.  The  next  month,  as  a  drummer  in  Capt.  John  Parker's  Lexington  Company  of  Massachusetts  militia, 
he  was  in  service  five  days  at  Cambridge  by  order  of  the  Committee  of  Safety.  In  June,  1775,  as  a  private  in  the  same 
company,  he  was  again  in  service  at  Cambridge. 

"Early  in  1776,  Samuel  Bowman  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Capt.  John  Bridge's  Company  of  Col.  Eleazar  Brooks' 
regiment  of  Massachusetts  infantry  in  the  Continental  service,  and  in  March.  1776,  was  stationed  with  his  company 
at  Roxbtiry,  Massachusetts.  His  term  of  service  in  this  organization  expiring  in  the  latter  part  of  1 776,  he  immediately 
enlisted  in  Capt.  Abraham  Watson's  company  in  the  3rd  Massachusetts  Regiment,   Continental  Line,  commanded 


1717 


bv  Col.  John  Greaton,     .Soon  thereafter  he  was  promoted  Sergeant,  and  .-some  months  later  wa^  appointed  Sergeant 
Major. 

"Upon  the  recommendation  of  Col.  Greaton.  Sergeant  Bowman  was  commissioned  Ensign  by  the  Massachusetts 
Council  March  4.  1780,  and  was  assigned  to  Capt.  J.  Summer's  Company  of  the  3d  Regiment. 

"In  September,  1780,  Ensign  Bowman  was  with  his  regiment  in  camp  at  Tappan,  on  the  Hudson  River.  On  the 
23rd  of  September,  Major  John  Andre,  the  British  spy,  was  captured  and  brought  into  the  American  camp  at  Tappan. 
Having  been  tried,  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged  on  October  2,  1780,  Major  Andre  met  his  fate  at  Tappan 
on  that  day.  During  the  last  twenty-foiu-  hours  of  Major  Andre's  life  Ensign  Bowman  was  one  of  his  special  guards 
and  was  one  of  the  two  officers  who  marched  arm  in  arm  with  him  to  the  place  of  his  execution.  A  year  or  two  before 
his  death  Samuel  Bowman  wrote  an  interesting  account  of  the  last  hours  of  Major  Andre. 

"April  22.  1782,  Ensign  Bowman  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in  the  1st  Massachusetts  Regiment.  Continental 
Line,  commanded  by  Col.  Joseph  Vose,  which  promotion  was  approved  by  the  Massachusetts  Council  July  2,  1782. 
Lieutenant  Bowman  became  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  soon  after  its  organization,  May  13,  1783. 
■Upon  the  conclusion  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and  England,  and  the  disbanding  of  the  Continental 
army,  Lieutenant  Bowman  returned  to  his  home  at  Lexington,  where  he  remained  until  the  latter  part  of  1786,  when 
he  removed  to  the  Wyoming  Valley,  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  land  just  northeast  of  the  Village  of  Wilkes-Barre,  which 
still  bears  the  name  of  Bowman's  Hill.  Th  s  tract  or  plot,  which  contained  between  three  and  four  acres  of  land  ,  lav 
at  the  northwest  comer  of  the  present  North  Main  and  West  North  Streets  in  the  City  of  Wilkes-Barre.  Originally 
it  formed  a  part  of  what  was  denominated  the  "50-acre  lot"  in  the  Susquehanna  Company's  survey  of  the  lands  lying 
within  the  bounds  of  the  township  of  Wilkes-Barre.  In  1773,  this  four-acre  plot  was  set  apart  by  the  proprietors  of 
the  township  for  a  public  burial  ground,  but  was  used  as  such  for  only  a  short  time, 

"Near  the  northeast  comer  of  this  plot,  on  the  northwesterly  side  of  Main  Street,  about  four  hundred  and  thirty 
feet  from  North  Street,  Lieutenant  Bowman  erected  a  modest  frame  house  for  his  occupancv.  and  to  it,  in  November. 
1787,  he  brought  his  bride.  Eleanor  Ledlie,  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  Ledlie,  of  Philadelphia.  A  few  years 
later  Lieutenant  Bowman  became  the  owner  of  some  five  hundred  acres  of  land  lying  near  his  home-lot  chiefly  on  the 
easterly  side  of  Main  Street— and  in  1810-1811,  he  built  a  new  dwelling  house  on  his  home  lot,  some  two  hundred  feet 
nearer  North  Street  than  his  original  house  stood. 

"In  1794,  during  what  is  known  in  Pennsylvania  history  as  the  "Whiskey  Insurrection."  Samuel  Bowman  raised 
a  company  of  light  infantry  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  marched  thence  in  command  of  the  same,  about  October  1st.  to  join 
the  corps  of  Pennsylvania  militia  which  had  been  organized  and  ordered  into  service  by  direction  of  the  Governor  of 
the  Commonwealth  to  quell  the  "Insurrection." 

"In  the  year  1797,  the  difficulties  between  the  United  States  Government  and  France,  reached  a  point  a  little  short 
of  war.  In  1798  additions  were  made  to  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States,  and  further  additions  were  provision- 
ally authorized.     General  Washington  was  appointed  Commander-in-Chief. 

"Januar>'  25.  1799,  Samuel  Bowman  was  commissioned  by  President  Adams. a  Captain  in  the  Provisional  Army 
of  the  United  States,  and  immediately  he  set  about  enlisting  recmits  and  organizing  a  company  to  be  attached  to 
"Maj.  John  Adlum's  battalion  of  the  11th  Regiment  of  Infantry." 

"In  July,  1799.  Captain  Bowman  was  ordered  to  march  his  company  to  Union  Camp,  New  Jersey,  where  it  was 
attached — as  the  3d  Company — to  the  11th  Regiment,  U.  S.  Infantry,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Aaron 
Ogden.  Captain  Bowman  and'his  company  remained  in  camp,  in  New  Jersey  until  September,  1800.  when,  satisfactoo' 
arrangements  having  been  made  with  France,  the  Provisional  Array  was  disbanded.  During  the  last  two  months  of 
his  military  service.  Capt  Bowman  was  detached  from  his  company  and  served  as  an  aide  on  the  staff  of  General 
Hamilton,  who,  on  the  death  of  General  Washington  in  December.  1799,  had  succeeded  to  the  command  in  chief. 
General  Hamilton  was  at  that  time  President  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and,  Capt.  Bowman  being  a  member 
of  the  Society  a  close  friendship  sprang  up  between  the  two  officers,  which  ended  only  with  the  untimely  death  of 
Hamilton  in  1804. 

"Captain  Bowman  returned  to  his  home  and  family  at  Wilkes-Barre.  in  September.  1800,  and  from  that  time 
forward  until  the  day  of  his  death  he  lived  quietlv  on  his  farm  on  North  Main  Street,  except  from  1807  until  the  latter 
part  of  18U  .  when  he  occupied  a  small  farm  which  he  owned  south  of  the  borough  of  W*i!kes-Barre.  Durmg  this  period 
he  built  his  new  home  on  North  Main  Street,  and  to  it  he  removed  m  the  latter  part  of  181 1.  There  he  died  June 
25,  1818. 

"Capt.  Samuel  and  Eleanor  (Ledlie)  Bowman  were  the  parents 
of  nine  children,  six  of  whom  grew  to  maturity;  and  of  these,  two 
became  prominent— one  in  the  Church  and  the  other  in  the  Army. 
The  fifth  child  was  Samuel  Bowman.  Jr.,  born  at  the  old  homestead 
in  Wilkes  Barre.  May  21,  1800.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  began 
the  study  of  law  at  Wilkes-Barre.  and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of 
Luzerne  County.  August  8,  1821.  Very  shortly  after  his  admission 
to  the  Bar  he  began  the  study  of  theology  under  the  direction  of 
Rt.  Rev  William  White.  D.  D..  of  Philadelphia,  the  first  Protestant 
Episcopal  Bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  order  of  Deacons  by  Bishop  WTiite  at  Christ  Church,  Phila- 
delphia ,  August  30,  1 823,  and  was  ordained  Priest,  December  19. 1 824, 

"In  1825,  Mr.  Bowman  became  Rector  of  Trinity  Church. 
Ea-^ton.  Pa.,  where.  May  18.  1825.  he  was  married  to  Susan,  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Sitgreaves.  Esq.,  of  that  town.  In  1827  he  removed  to 
Lancaster.  Pa.,  and  became  Assistant  Rector  of  St.  James'  Church, 
succeeding  to  the  Rectorship  three  years  later.  In  1847  he  declined 
the  bishopric  of  the  Diocese  of  Indiana,  to  which  he  had  been  elected. 
About  that  time  Hobart  College  conferred  upon  him  the  honorar\- 
degree  of  S.  T.  D.  In  May.  1858,  he  was  elected  Assistant  Bishop  of 
Penn  ylvania  (of  which  diocese  the  Rt.  Rev.  A  lonzo  Potter,  D.  D.  was 
then  Bishop),  and  was  consecrated  at  Philadelphia,  August  25.  1858 

"Bishop  Bowman  died  very  suddenly,  in  Western  Pennsylvania, 
Augu=t.V  1861.  Hisreraainswereconveyedto  Lancaster,  where  they 
now  lie  interred  in  St  James  churchyard.  Nearby  are  two  pine  trees 
brought  by  Dr.  Bowman  from  his  father's  old  home  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  planted  by  him  in  the  churchyard.  A  few  years  ago 
they  were  considered  the  largest  of  their  kind  in  Lancaster  County, 

"Dr.  Bowman  was  twice  married,  his  second  wife  being  Harriet 
Rum  ev  Clarkson,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Clarkson.  Rector 
of  St.  James  palish  from  1799  till  1830,  A  daughter  of  Dr,  Bowman 
became  the  w  fe  of  the  Rt  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Vail,  the  first  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Bishop  of  Kansas. 

"Ale.xander  Hamilton  Bowman,  bom  at  Wilkes-Barre  March  30,  1803,  was  the  sixth  child  of  Capt.  Samuel 
and  Eleanor  (Ledlie)  Bowman,  He  became  a  cadet  at  the  LTnited  States  Military  Academv.  West  Point.  Julv  1 .  1821 , 
and  was  graduated  July  1 ,  1825.  third  in  a  class  of  thirty-seven.  Among  his  classmates  were:  Alexander  Dallas  Bache 
(a  great-grandson  of  Benjamin  Frankhn).  who  subsequently  became  President  of  Girard  College.  Philadelphia:  Robert 
Anderson,  who  commanded  Fort  Sumter  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  subsequentlv  obtained 
the  rank  of  Major  General  in  the  United  States  Army;  Charies  F.  Smith,  who  subsequentlv  became  a  Alajor  Gen- 
eral m  the  U.  S.  Army.  .  h  .  j 

"Immediately  upon  his  graduation,  Alexander  H.  Bowman  was  promoted  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  Corps  of  En- 
gineers, and  was  detailed  to  ser\-e  at  the  Military  Academv  as  Assistant  Professor  of  Geography.  Histon-  and 
Ethics,  which  position  he  held  until  June  15,  1826.  During  this  period  Jefferson  Davis  (class  of  1828)  and 
Robert   E,   Lee   (class  of  1829)  were  cadets  at  the  Academy. 

"Lieutenant  Bowman  spent  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1826  at  his  home  in  Wilkes-Barre.  and  was  then  ordered 
to  report  for  duty  as  Assistant  Engineer  in  the  construction  of  the  defenses,  and  of  the  improvements  of  harbors 
and   nvers,  along   the  Gulf  of  Mexico.      In   this  service   he    was  engaged  until  1834,  when  he  was  detailed  as  Super- 


BisHOP  Samiel  Bow\ 


1718 


intending  Kngineer  of  Military  Roads  from  Memphis,  Tenn.,  to  the  St.  Francis  River.  Arkansas,  and  also  of  the 
improvements  of  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  Rivers. 

"Having  been  promoted  First  Lieutenant,  Corps  of  Engineers,  January  21,  1835,  he  was  promoted  Captain,  Julv 
7,  1838.  and  a  few  days  later  was  detailed  as  Superintending  Engineer  of  the  construction  of  Fort  Sumter,  and 
repairs  of  the  fortifications  for  the  defense  of  the  harbor  of  Charleston.  South  Carolina,  and  the  preservation  of  their 
sites  by  the  building  of  jetties,  etc.  In  the  performance  of  these  duties  Captain  Bowman  was  actively  engaged  until 
the  spring  of  1851;  meanwhile,  in  1847.  serving  as  a  member  of  a  special  Board  of  U.  S.  Engineers  appointed  to 
devise  means  for  protecting  the  site  of  Fort  McRee,  in  Pensacola  harbor.  Florida. 

"From  May,  1851.  to  June.  1852.  Captain  Bowman  was  commandant  of  the  corps  of  Sappers,  Miners  and  Pon 
toniers  at  West  Point,  and  Instructor  of  Practical  Military  Engineering  in  the  Military  Academy.  During  the  latter 
half  of  the  year  1852  and  the  greater  part  of  1853,  he  was  Superintending  Engineer  of  the  improvements  of  Charleston 
harbor,  and  in  charge  of  the  survey  of  the  harbor  of  Georgetown,  South  Carolina.  At  the  same  time  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Commission  appointed  to  devise  a  project  for  the  improvement  of  the  Savannah  River,  Georgia. 

"In  1853.  he  was  appointed  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Constmction  Bureau  of  the  U-  S,  Treasury  Department,  and 
Superintending   Engineer  of  the  elaborate  and  extensive  additions  and  improvements  being  made   to  the  Treasury 


Building  in  Wa^h:nt,ton  The  important  dut  es  of  the  i-  office^  occup:ed  his  timetmtil  early  in  1861.  Meanwhile. on 
January  5.  IBS"",  he  was  promoted  Major  in  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  and  during  the  years  1857-59  served  as  a  member  of 
the  Light  House  Board  of  the  Trea  ury  Department. 

"Major  Bowman  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  Military  Academy.  West  Point,  early  in  1861.  with  the  rank 
and  pay  of  Colonel.  This  office  he  tilled  until  July  8.  1864,  when  he  was  relieved  by  order  of  Secretary  of  War  Stanton. 
fHe  had  been  promoted  Lieutenant  Colonel  in  the  Corps  of  En:.^ineer3  March  3,  1863.)  From  August  5,  1864,  to 
February  I  1.  1865.  he  was  a  member  of  the  Naval  and  Engineer  Commission  for  selecting  a  site  for  a  U.  S.  naval  es- 
tablishment on  one  of  the  western  river^;  and  from  June  20,  to  November  11.  186:5,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Engineers  appointed  to  carry  out  in  detail  the  modifications  of  the  defenses  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston.  Mass. 

"Colonel  Bowman  died  at  his  home  on  "Bowman's  Hill.'  Wilkes-Barre,  November  II.  1865.  in  the  sixty-third  year 
of  his  age.  being  survived  by  his  wife,  two  Jons,  and  three  daughters.  His  wife,  who.  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  in 
1835.  was  Miss  Marie  Louise  Colin,  of  Pen-acola,  Florida,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  October  4,   1889  " 

See.  "The  Story  of  Bowman's  Hill"  by  Major  General  C.  Bowman  Dougherty, 


liJiUtU7Ut£flU7a7U7L.QJ^IX^Ul-^UjTUT-a-rJ7^i7-TU^^ 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

BEGINNINGS  OF  SUSQUEHANNA  RIVER  COMMERCE— WAREHOUSES  AND  BOAT 
YARD  ON  THE  RIVER  COMMON— LAUNCH  OF  THE  "JOHN  FRANKLIN"— 
DURHAM  BOATS  AND  RAFTING— EARLY  GRIST-MILLS— HISTORY  OF 
THE   MINER-HILLARD    MILL— ERECTION    OF    "THE    MEETING 
HOUSE    ON    THE   SQUARE"— FUNDS   TO    COMPLETE    THE 
STRUCTURE  RAISED  BY  THE  WILKES-BARRE  MEET- 
ING  HOUSE  AND    BANK   LOTTERY— THE    LOT- 
TERY    BRINGS     FINANCIAL     DISASTER- 
BELL    OF    "OLD    SHIP    ZION"— "OLD 
MICHAEL"    THE    SEXTON. 


"Adversity  is  sometimes  hard  upon  a  man;  but  for  one  man  who  can  stand  prosperity 
there  are  a  hundred  who  will  stand  adversity." — Carlyle. 


"Beautiful  and  salutary,  as  a  religious  influence,  is  the  sound  of  a  distant  Sabbath  bell, 
in  the  country.  It  comes  floating  over  the  hills,  like  the  going  abroad  of  a  spirit;  and  as  the  leaves 
stir  with  its  vibrations,  and  the  drops  of  dew  tremble  in  the  cups  of  the  flowers,  you  could  almost 
believe  that  there  was  a  Sabbath  in  nature,  and  that  the  dumb  works  of  God  rendered  \-isible 
worship  for  his  goodness.  The  effect  of  nature  alone  is  purifying;  and  its  thousand  evidences  of 
wisdom  are  too  eloquent  of  their  Maker  not  to  act  as  a  continual  lesson;  but  combined  with  the 
instilled  piety  of  childhood,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  inviolable  holiness  of  the. time,  the  mellow 
cadences  of  a  church  bell  give  to  the  hush  of  the  country  Sabbath  a  holiness  to  which  only  a  des- 
perate heart  could  be  insensible." — Anonymous. 


About  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  for  many  years  there- 
after, the  Susquehanna  was  to  play  an  important  role  in  affairs  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley.  In  the  Connecticut  regime,  the  bateau  of  the  more  adventurous  settler 
made  lengthy  trips  along  the  river,  either  as  a  means  of  securing  information  of 
the  enemy,  or  in  the  pursuit  of  trade  limited  to  essentials  of  life.    As  relation- 


1720 

ships  with  Pennsylvania  became  more  firmly  cemented,  due  to  the  gradual 
settlement  of  those  disputes  which  had  so  often  interrupted  the  commercial,  as 
they  did  the  social,  life  of  the  community,  this  trade  began  to  take  on  new  vigor. 
The  Provincial  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  had  recognized  the  importance  of  the 
Susquehanna  as  early  as  1771.  In  that  year  the  river  was  declared  a  navigable 
stream,  and  certain  sums  from  the  provincial  treasury  were  added  to  contri- 
butions volunteered  from  individuals  and  riparian  settlements,  to  be  devoted  to 
the  removal  of  snags,  the  clearing  of  sand  bars  and  the  opening  of  a  channel 
•  which  could  be  used  during  periods  of  low  water. 

The  river,  from  Columbia  to  Wilkes-Barre,  felt  the  beneficial  results  of 
appropriations  under  this  act. 

These  early  bateaux  were  of  a  nondescript  class.  The  canoe  was  a  favorite 
for  rapid  transportation,  but  was  lacking  in  cargo  space.  The  dugout  or  hol- 
lowed log  was  mere  substantial  in  structure.  Frequently  two  of  these  dugouts 
were  held  together  by  a  deck  of  hewn  timber,  thus  permitting  added  space  for 
crew  and  load.  A  skeleton  of  hickory,  covered  with  skins,  was  not  an  uncommon 
form  for  the  early  Susquehanna  boat.  The  development  of  the  "Durham  boat", 
so  called  from  its  being  built  at  Durham,  on  the  Delaware,  marked  an  important 
incentive  to  commerce  on  inland  rivers.  According  to  Mr.  J.  A.  Anderson  of 
Lambertville,  N.  J-,  who  publislu-d,  in    l')12,  imicli   iiiforiuiition  (m  the  subject. 


Durham  Boat  on  the  Susquehanna. 

under  the  title  of  "Navigation  on  the  Upper  Delaware",  the  first  "Durham  boat" 
was  built  in  1750.  The  standard  boat  of  this  type  was  some  forty  feet  in  length, 
eight  feet  beam  and  two  feet  deep.  Both  bow  and  stern  of  the  Durham  pattern 
were  sharp  pointed,  and  at  each  end  were  erected  small  decks  for  the  steersmen. 
Running  boards  for  the  polemen  ran  the  length  of  the  vessel  on  each  side. 
A  removable  mast  with  two  sails  could  be  adjusted  to  secure  the  help  of  favor- 
able winds.  These  boats  carried  a  crew  of  five  men,  four  of  whom,  two  on  each 
side,  manned  the  setting  poles,  one  end  of  which  placed  securely  on  the  bottom, 
the  other  resting  against  a  shoulder  of  the  pole  man,  gave  a  forward  impetus  to 
the  boat  as  the  four  men  walked  along  the  running  boards.  The  fifth  man  steered 
the  craft  from  the  after  deck.  When  loaded,  these  boats  carried  about  fifteen 
tons  of  freight  and  drew  some  twenty  inches  of  water.     Against  the  current, 


1721 

when  the  pole  men  bent  to  their  tasks,  the  boat  made  an  average  headway  of 
about  one  and  a  half  miles  an  hour. 

From  the  "Diary  of  an  Old  Susquehanna  vSettler,"  reprinted  in  the 
Springfield  Republican,  in  September,  1901,  is  the  following: 

"The  trip  down  the  river  on  one  of  these  Durham  boats  was  full  of  excitement  and  interest. 
Sometimes  the  boat  was  allowed  to  drift  at  night  with  the  current,  and  at  other  times  it  was 
sent  down  on  a  'white  ash  breeze.'  The  men  on  the  boat  did  not  like  the  balmy  zephyrs  of  this 
'breeze,'  as  the  chief  part  of  it  consisted  of  long  ash  poles.  One  end  of  the  pole  was  shod  with  an 
iron  cap.  This  was  planted  on  the  bottom  of  the  river  and  the  other  end  was  placed  under  the 
arm  of  the  man  and  he  was  invited  to  push.     In  this  way  the  boat  was  poled  along." 

Just  when  the  first  of  this  type  of  boat  appeared  on  the  vSusquehanna 
is  a  matte/  of  conjecture.  Wright  states  that  Benjamin  Harvey,  Jr.,  was  the 
owner  of  a  Durham  boat,  in  1775,  and  that  it  made  frequent  trading  trips  on  the 
lower  river.  As  no  roads  then  existed  to  Delaware  river  points  over  which  any- 
thing on  the  order  of  a  boat  could  be  transported,  it  is  probable  that  Mr.  Harvey 
constructed  his  own  boat  along  ideas  secured  from  Delaware  builders.  Mr. 
Anderson  suggests  that  some  of  the  boats,  among  the  several  hundred  which 
constituted  the  fleet  attached  to  the  Sullivan  Expedition,  in  1779,  may  have  been 
brought  over  from  Easton  to  Wilkes-Barre  by  ox  teams.  The  water  transport 
of  General  Sullivan  was  classed  merely  as  "boats"  in  journals  and  diaries  of 
officers  of  his  army,  and  it  was  doubtless  made  up  of  any  form  of  craft  that  could 
be  built  at  Wilkes-Barre,  or  secured  by  other  means,  from  Sunbury  and  other 
river  points. 

Whoever  may  have  built  the  first  boat  of  the  Durham  pattern  on  the 
Susquehanna,  it  can  be  set  down  that  Philip  Arndt*  and  his  son  John  P.  Arndt, 
were  the  first  to  engage  in  boat  building  on  an  extensive  scale. 

They,  with  Jacob  Arndt,  a  cousin  of  Philip  Arndt,  had  removed  from 
Durham  Cove  to  Easton,  sometime  previous  to  1790,  and  established  themselves 
in  the  mercantile  business  at  that  point.  Through  the  extension  of  their  trade, 
they  became  acquainted  with  possibilities  of  the  Wyoming  country  and  John 
P.  Arndt,  at  least,  was  a  resident  and  tavern  keeper  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  1797. 
In  1800,  he  constructed  a  building  on  the  northerly  side  oi  the  tavern  for  use  as 
a  general  store  and  about  the  same  time  built  a  large  warehouse  on  the  river  bank, 
opposite  the  tavern. 

This  was  thesecond  warehouse  that  stood, on  what  is  now  the  River  Common, 
(in  the  early  days  of  development  of  river  traffic)  and  was  a  larger  and  more  com- 
modious structure  than  the  one  owned  by  Judge  Matthias  HoUenback,  which 
had  been  erected  five  years  before  and  stood  almost  opposite  the  present 
Coal  Exchange.! 

In  1801,  John  P.  Arndt  was  engaged  in  the  boat  building  business  with  his 
father,  the  boat  yard  being  located  on  the  river  bank,  above  Northampton 
street.  In  1803,  their  business  of  boat  building  led  to  an  ambitious  experiment 
which  induced  many  to  believe  that  ship  building,  on  a  large  scale,  could  be  at- 
tempted at  points  far  removed  from  tidewater.  In  July  of  that  year  they  launched 
the  "John  Franklin" ,  a  Schooner  of  about  twelve  tons,  which  successfully  reached 

{PratlP  .\rndt.  the  only  son  of  Abraham  and  Catherine  (Reed)  .\rQdt,  was  born  near  Soudertown.  Montgomerv 
County.  Pennsylvania,  January  27,  1754.  He  later  became  a  resident  of  D^irham  Cove,  near  Easton.  where  he  was 
interested  in  boat  building.  About  1790,  he  was  interested  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Easton  with  his  cousin, 
Jacob  .\mdt  and  son  John  Penn  Arndt  until  the  latter's  removal  to  \Vilkes-Barre  in  1797.  Phillip  .Arndt  followed  his 
son  to  Wyoming  in  1801,  and  superintended  the  boat  yard  of  .Arndt  &  .-Vrndt  until  his  death,  in  1804.  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
On  November  3rd,  of  the  latter  year,  records  of  Luzerne  County  indicate  that  William  P-  .\mdt  became  adminis- 
trator of  his  father's  estate. 

*.According  to  Shiber,  "the  -Arndt  storehouse  was  a  two  story  frame,  not  bad  looking,  newer  and  better  than  the 
Hollenback  storehouse.  Down  on  the  bank,  near  the  storehouse,  was  a  spring  of  tine  water,"  This  spring  is  still  (1923) 
in  use  by  patrons  of  the  Finch  boat  house,  which  is  anchored  throughout  summer  months  near  the  foot  of  North- 
ampton street. 


1722 


Baltimore  and  engaged  in  ocean  bourne  traffic.     This  event  commanded  a  brief 
notice  in  the  Luzerne  Federalist  of  July  30th,  as  follows: 

"On  Tuesday,  the  27th  was  launched  from  the  boat  yard  of  Messrs.  PhUip  and  John  P. 
Arndt  the  beautiful  boat  John  Franklin,  named  in  honor  of  the  celebrated  patriot  of  Luzerne. 
She  is  about  twelve  tons  burthen  and  is  calculated  as  a  sailboat." 


The  John  Franklin 
Built  in  Wilkes-Barre,  1803. 

No  vestige  now  remains  of  wharves  and  docks  which  lined  the  river^front 
between  Northampton  and  Market  streets  in  Wilkes-Barre,  nor  of  the  ware- 
houses which  were  built  on  the  banks  above,  nor  of  the  boat  yard  which  held 
its  place  in  the  development  of  a  once  prrosperous  river  commerce.  At  many 
"ports"  up  and  down  the  river  from  Wyoming,  some  of  these  large  warehouses, 
especially  those  constructed  of  stone,  are  still  in  existence  as  sole  reminders  of 
that  period. 

Judge  Hollenback,  as  well  as  the  Arndts,  was  a  pioneer  in  the  development 
of  river  commerce.  Their  warehouses  were  scenes  of  considerable  activity  in  the 
loading  and  unloading  of  boats.  Cargoes  of  grain,  salt,  plaster,  potatoes  and 
various  other  items  of  general 
commerce,  were  raised  from  the 
river  to  the  warehouse  level  by 
means  of  block  and  tackle,  at- 
tached to  beams  which  projected 
from  the  roof  timbers.  Unlike 
John  P.  Arndt,  however.  Judge 
Hollenback  did  not  confine  his 
efforts  to  Wilkes-Barre  alone. 
By  the  establishment  of  branch 
trading  houses  along  the  Susque- 
hanna, much  after  the  fashion 
of  the  chain  store  of  today,  the 
Judge  became  a  familiar  figure 
from  the  upper  waters  of  the 
river,  to  Philadelphia,  as  his  busi- 
ness took  him,  almost  invariably 
on  horseback,  to  distant  points.  His  principal  place  of  business  was  established 
on  South    Main    street,  almost  opposite  the  Pickering  house,   where,  in   1781, 


Hollenback  House  and  General  Store, 

South  Main  Street,  Erected  in  1781 


1723 

he  completed  a  commodious  storeroom,  with  offices  attached.  This  building, 
until  the  march  of  progress  on  that  thoroughfare  caused  its  demolition,  in  1914, 
was  the  oldest  structure  then  standing  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

Both  were  men  of  vision.  They  believed  that  Wilkes-Barre  was  destined 
to  become  a  center  of  great  activity  in  the  shipment  and  Irans-shipment  of  river 
commerce,  and  set  their  plans  accordingly.  Indeed,  a  main  incentive  in  the 
promotion  of  the  Easton  and  Wilkes-Barre  turnpike,  a  popular  agitation  for 
which  was  begun  in  1800,  was  a  belief,  shared  not  only  by  these,  but  by  other 
public  spirited  men  of  the  community,  that  the  port  of  Wilkes-Barre  would 
become  a  principal  terminus  of  up-river  transportation,  and  would  benefit  greatly 
by  the  transfer  of  freight  from  boats  to  wagon  trains,  maintaining  a  regular 
service  to  points  on  the  lower  Lehigh,  as  well  as  to  Philadelphia.  The  usual 
route  of  river  bourne  commerce  from  Wilkes-Barre  southward,  was  over  a  dan- 
gerous stretch  of  shoal  and  reef,  to  Harrisburg  or  Middletown,  with  turnpike 
connections  via  Lancaster  to  Philadelphia,  or  by  trans-shipment  at  Columbia 
or  Wrightsville,  further  down  the  stream,  via  the  Lebanon-Reading  highway  to 
Philadelphia.  The  fact  that  by  diverting  these  shipments  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
not  only  the  dangers  of  navigation  would  be  avoided,  but  the  route  to  Phila- 
delphia shortened  nearly  one  hundred  miles,  lent  encouragement  to  this  op- 
timistic belief. 

Rafting  on  the  Susquehanna  was  no  less  a  means  of  the  enlargment  of 
commerce  than  was  the  general  trade  of  early  merchants.  The  fi/st  of  these 
rafts  were  composed  of  white  pine  timbers,  intended  for  masts  of  ocean  vessels, 
and  of  hewn  timbers,  likewise  used  in  ship  construction.  Unlike  boat  cargoes, 
they  were  destined  to  Baltimore,  which  was  a  principal  point  of  ship  building 
along  the  Atlantic.  They  followed  the  river's  current  to  Havre  de  Grace,  where, 
at  first,  they  were  b/oken  up  and  their  contents  trans-shipped  or,  later  on,  the 
clumsy  structures  were  towed  into  Baltimore  harbor.  It  is  recorded  that  in  the 
spring  of  1794,  thirty  of  these  rafts  passed  Wilkes-Barre.  Pearce,  writing  in 
1  860  (page  468)  indicates  the  extent  of  this  branch  of  river  commerce  in  subse- 
quent years,  as  follows: 

"The  first  object  of  the  early  settlers  was  to  clear  the  land  for  agricultural  purposes,  and 
there  being  no  demand  for  lumber,  or  means  of  manufacturing  it  into  boards,  timber  of  the  best 
quahty  was  rolled  into  heaps  and  consumed  by  fire.  In  a  few  years,  however,  after  the  country 
became  settled,  a  farmer  here  and  there  would  erect  a  sawmill,  and  would  manufacture  lumber 
from  the  good  timber  cut  on  his  annual  clearings.  It  was  not  long  before  the  surplus  was  floated 
to  market  below,  in  the  spring  or  fall,  during  a  freshet.  As  the  demand  increased  the  number  of 
mills  multiplied,  and  in  1S04,  no  less  than  552  rafts,  or  about  22,000,000  feet  of  lumber,  were  taken 
to  market.  In  the  same  year,  84  arks  and  19  Durham  boats  laden  with  wheat,  furs,  and  fat  cattle 
destined  for  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  and  valued  at  5190,400,  passed  down  the  river.  In 
speaking  of  this  fleet  of  arks  and  boats  with  their  valuable  cargoes,  the  editor  of  the  Federalist . 
published  in  Wilkesbarre  at  that  time,  expressed  i  egret  that  the  Easton  and  Wilkesbarre  Turn- 
pike was  not  completed,  so  as  to  induce  a  transhipment  of  the  produce  at  Wilkesbarre.  and  secure 
its  transportation  over  the  road  to  Philadelphia.  In  1S27,  during  a  single  freshet,  from  March 
1st  to  .iVpril  5th,  1050  rafts  and  arks,  many  of  them  laden  mth  agricultural  productions,  passed 
Wilkesbarre  on  their  way  to  tide-water,  and  to  Baltimore.  Baltimore  was  long  the  natural,  and 
only  market,  for  the  Upper  Susquehanna  trade.  But  after  the  construction  of  the  Columbia  and 
Philadelphia  Railroad,  and  the  state  canals,  the  trade  became  divided  between  Baltimore,  Phila- 
delphia, and  other  populous  places.  The  demand  increased  from  year  to  year,  and  lumbering 
became  an  estabhshed  business.  With  many  it  became  the  primary,  while  agriculture  was  a 
secondary  pursuit.  From  1827  to  1849,  the  increase  of  the  lumber  trade  was  rapid  and  enormous. 
From  March  22dto  April  17th,  in  the  last-named  year,  2245  rafts  and  268  arks  passed  Wilkesbarre. 
on  the  swollen  waters  of  the  river.  They  contained  about  100,000,000  of  feet,  and  were  valued  at 
S600.000.  Since  1849  the  number  of  rafts  and  arks  has  gradually  dimished.  owing  to  the  scarcity 
of  timber,  and  to  the  diversion  of  trade  by  the  construction  of  the  New  York  and  Erie,  and  of 
other  railroads,  in  Northern  Pennsylvania  and  Southern  New  York.  \'ery  little  lumber  is  now 
rafted  within  the  limits  of  Luzerne,  being  conveyed  to  market  chiefly  on  the  railroads  and  Sus- 
quehanna canals,  while  a  considerable  quantity  is  consumed  at  home. 


1724 

To  the  development  of  the  community  and  its  river  comme/ce,  the  building 
of  saw  mills  and  grist  mills  contributed.  Mill  Creek,  because  of  its  proximity 
to  the  settlement  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and,  as  well,  its  available  water  power  sites, 
was  the  scene  of  the  earliest  activity  in  mill  building.  Upon  the  return  of  a  con- 
siderable body  of  settlers  from  Connecticut,  in  1769,  with  an  intention  of  making 
Wyoming  their  permanent  home,  a  saw  mill  was  erected  not  far  from  the  point 
where  the  creek  empties  into  the  Susquehanna.  In  a  petition  to  the  Connecticut 
Assembly,  dated  at  Wilkes-Barre,  August  29,  1769  and  signed  by  a  number  of 
settlers,  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  they  had,  at  great  expense,  "erected 
houses,  mills  and  other  necessary  buildings." 

The  New  lork  Journal,  under  date  of  December  28,  1769,  published  an 
account  of  troubles  at  Wyoming,  between  Yankees  and  Pennamites  and  referred 
to  the  capture  of  Maj.  Joha  Durkee,  while  "going  from  the  blockhouse  to  some 
mills  they  were  building." 

Up  until  1771,  however,  no  grist-mill  had  been  erected  in  the  Wyoming 
Valley.    Corn,  pounded  in  a  hominy  block,  was  a  principle  article  of  diet.    Doctor 


PouNDi.\G  Corn  in  a  Hominy  Block. 

Sprague,  who  kept  a  boarding  house  in  Wilkes-Barre  at  that  time,  made  trips  to 
Coshutunk.  on  the  Delaware,  where  a  mill  was  situated,  to  have  his  grain  ground. 
The  flour  thus  secured  was  used  sparingly  and  only  upon  notable  occasions. 

When  full  possession  of  Wyoming  was  gained  by  the  Yankees,  in  1772,  a 
matter  of  first  importance  acted  upon  in  town  meeting,  was  the  erection  of  a 
grist-mill.  A  grant  was  made  by  the  Proprietors  of  Wilkes-Barre  Township, 
to  Nathan  Chapman,  a  former  resident  of  Goshen,  New  York,  in  the  spring  of 
that  year,  of  a  site  of  forty  acres  of  land  at  Mill  Creek;  thirty  acres  on  the  north 
side  and  ten  acres  on  the  south  side  of  the  Creek.  At  a  point  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  mouth  of  Mill  Creek,  Mr.  Chapman  erected  both  a  grist  and  a  saw- 
mill, in  that  year. 

Under  the  Connecticut  law,  each  miller  was  "allowed  three  quarts  out 
of  every  bushel  of  Indian  corn  he  g/inds,  and  for  other  grain,  two  quarts  out  of 
each  bushel,  except  malt,  out  of  which  one  quart."  To  protect  his  customers, 
each  miller  was  required  to  provide  sealed  measures,  "with  an  instrument  to 
strike  said  measures." 

The  Chapman  grist-mill  was  a  log  structure,  with  one  run  of  stones.  It 
was  burned,  with  practically  all  other  buildings  of  the  settlement,  after  the  Battle 


1725 

of  Wyoming.  In  1781,  these  mills  were  rebuilt  by  Josiah  Stanburrough,  who 
had  earlier  acquired  Chapman's  interest  in  the  property.  By  him  they  were 
operated,  with  occasional  interruptions  during  the  Yankee- Pennamite  troubles, 
until  1787,  when  he  conveyed  the  property  to  his  daughter  EHzabeth,  wife  of 
John  Hollenback  After  the  death  of  her  husband,  in  1797,  Mrs.  Hollenback 
rebuilt  the  mills  to  meet  an  increasing  demand  for  their  products,  and  they 
passed,  with  her  death,  in  1809,  to  her  son,  Matthias,  2d. 

Sometime  after  Chapman  had  sold  his  Mill  Creek  property  to  Stanburrough, 
he  erected,  in  Newport  Township,  in  1774  or  1775,  a  small  log  grist-mill,  with 
one  run  of  stones.  It  stood  near  the  line  of  Hanover  Township,  not  far  from 
Nanticoke  Falls,  and  in  its  vicinity  the  Newport  iron  forge  of  Mason  F.  and  John 
Alden  was  erected,  about  1777.  In  1776,  this  grist-mill  was  known  as  Coffrin's 
Mill,  being  then  the  property  of  James  Coflfrin.    In  1777,  he  sold  it  to  John  Comer. 

Pearce  says:  "This  was  the  only  mill  in  Wyoming  that  escaped  destruction 
from  floods  and  from  the  torch  of  the  savage."  Miner  states  that  in  the  latter 
part  of  1779,  it  was  guarded  by  a  few  men,  and  three  or  four  families  ventured  to 
reside  in  its  vicinity.  During  the  Summer  of  1780,  it  was  guarded  by  one  lieu- 
tenant, one  sergeant  and  ten  privates  from  Capt.  John  Franklin's  militia  com- 
pany, then  in  the  Continental  Service  at  Wyoming. 

"The  mill  was  a  small  affair",  says  the  Hon.  Charles  A.  Miner,  "and  could 
hardly  be  dignified  by  the  name  of  grist-mill.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  corn  mill,  and  was 
like  many  others  which  were  erected  during  the  early  years  throughout  the  Sus- 
quehanna settlements  They  were  located  upon  little  streams  which  were  often 
dry  or  nearly  dry,  and  they  had  one  run  of  stones  but  little  larger  than  a  half- 
bushel  measure.  These  mills  were  so  arranged  that  when  the  stream  was  low 
they  could  be  turned  by  hand,  and  could  crack  into  samp  and  meal  from  one  and 
one-half  to  three  bushels  of  corn  a  day." 

In  the  year  1772,  the  Susquehanna  Company  voted  to  "give  to  Capt. 
Stephen  Fuller,  Obadiah  Gore,  Jr.  and  Seth  Marvin,  all  the  privileges  of  the 
stream  called  Mill  Creek  below  Mr.  Chapman's  mill,  to  be  their  own  property, 
with  full  liberty  of  building  mills  and  flowing  a  pond — provided  they  have  a  saw- 
mill ready  to  go  by  the  1st  of  November,  1773."  This  mill  was  completed  within 
the  time  allowance,  but  suffered  the  same  fate  as  the  older  mill  along  the  same 
stream  in  July,  1778.  Through  a  series  of  conveyances,  Judge  Matthias  Hollen- 
back acquired  title  to  the  lower  mill  site  and  operated  a  saw-mill  there  in  1790. 
In  1809,  he  began  the  erection  of  what  was  to  be  the  largest  and  most  expensive 
grist-mill  in  the  county,  near  the  present  site  of  the  City  Hospital.  The  rear  of 
this  mill,  abutting  on  Mill.  Creek,  was  four  and  one-half  stories  in  height,  the 
lower  stories  being  of  stone.  It  was  equipped  with  four  runs  of  stones  and  from 
it  was  produced  flours  which  entered  largely  into  the  extensive  trade  which 
Judge  Hollenback  had  built  up  throughout  the  Susquehanna  countr}^  This 
mill  was  still  standing  in  1874,  but  on  March  27th  of  that  vear,  it  was  destroved 
by  fire  originating  from  the  sparks  of  a  passing  locomotive. 

Before  the  allotment  of  lands  to  the  proprietors  of  Plymouth  township, 
the  owners  agreed  to  set  off  a  tract  of  fifty  acres  with  a  mill  site  thereon,  for  the 
purpose  of  "encouraging  the  building  of  a  grist-mill." 

This  site  lay  along  a  small  stream  which  afterwards  became  known  as 
Ransom's  Creek.  A  mill  was  in  process  of  erection  during  the  invasion  of  1778, 
one  of  its  erectors,  Joseph  Denton,  being  a  victim  of  the  massacre.     Samuel  Ran- 


1726 

som  next  attempted  the  completion  of  this  mill,  but  in  1786,  sold  his  interests  to 
Hezekiah  Roberts,  who  completed  the  mill  the  following  year. 

Among  other  mills  of  the  community  which  contributed  to  the  early  trade 
of  Wyoming,  might  be  mentioned  Sutton's  mill,  erected  in  1776,  on  Sutton's 
Creek,  in  Exeter  Township,  and  destroyed  during  the  invasion  of  1778.  All  the 
mill-iron  of  this   mill  was  carried  away  except  the  crank,  now  in  possession  of 


The  Sl    rjN   '\  I  l    1     6 
the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society.     Cuts  of  the  mill  and  crank  are 
reproduced  herewith  by  courtesy  of  the  Society. 

This  mill  was  rebuilt  by  Samuel  Sutton,  a  son  of  James  Sutton,  one  of 
its  original  owners,  and  in  1846,  the  property  having  been  acquired  by  E.  A. 
Corey,  a  third  and  larger  mill  was  erected  on  the  same  site,  which  mill  is  still 
standing,  [1923]. 

There  was  an  early  mill  in 
Pittston  Township  erected  at  the 
falls  of  the  Lackawanna  by  Capt. 
Solomon  Strong.  It  was  built  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  river  in 
1774,  but  was  carried  away  by  a 
flood,  two  years  later.  The  sec- 
ond mill  in  the  Pittston  district 
was  built  in  1794,  by  Joseph 
Gardner  and  Isaac  Gould,  on 
Gardner's  Creek,  in  what  is  now 
Jenkins  Township. 

In  1785,  Benjamin  Harvey 
erected  a  log  grist-mill  near  the  mouth  of  Harvey's  creek.  At  the  time  of  his  death, 
in  1795,  he  had  under  construction  a  much  larger  mill  which,  when  completed, 
was  run  by  his  son-in-law,  Abraham  Tillbury  and  eventually  became  known  as 
the  "Tillbury  Mill." 

The  following,  written  by  the  late  Caleb  E.  Wright,  Esq.,  and  published  in 
The  Historical  Record,  Wilkes-Barre,  in  1889,  relates  to  this  mill: 

"Near  the  river  Harvey's  creek  passes  the  base  of  'Tillbury 's  Knob,'  an  abrupt  ledge  sim- 
ilar to  Campbell's  at  the  head  of  the  Valley.  It  was  near  the  brow  of  the  butting  ledge,  on  the 
waters  of  Harvey's  creek,  and  distant  a  mile  or  so  from  hisjnearest  neighbor,  that  Abraham  Till- 


Crank  of  the  Sutton  Mill. 


1727 


bury  established  his  noted  grist-mill.  It  did  the  custom  work  for  the  farmers  in  a  circuit  of 
many  miles  around.  Abraham,  a  silent,  meditative  man,  wearing  spectacles  of  the  ancient  style, 
whose  glasses  were  as  large  as  our  silver  dollars,  ran  the  mill  himself." 

In  1798,  Henry  Tuttle  erected  a  small  two  story  frame  grist-mill  on  Abra- 
ham's Creek,  near  where  the  stone  arch  bridge  on  the  present  road  between 
Kingston  and  Pittston,  is  now  situated.  In  1854,  this  mill  was  purchased  by 
Elijah  Shoemaker  and  operated  by  him  and  his  heirs  until  1888.  In  1894,  the 
structure  collapsed  and  its  remains  were  removed. 

Prior  to  1790,  Zachariah  Hartsouj  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Kingston 
Township  and  erected  a  small  grist-mill  in  the  narrows  through  which  Toby's 
creek  enters  the  Wyoming  Valley.  In  1805,  he  sold  to  Samuel  Atherholt  a  part 
of  this  tract  with  a  mill  site  available  below  the  older  mill.  Here  another  mill  was 
erected  in  1806.  In  1817,  a  distillery  was  erected  near  the  second  mill  and  both 
properties  were  operated  by  Joseph  Swetland  who  had  succeeded  to  the  title  of 


V 


7' 


Wright-Miner  MitL. 
Erected  1795— Burned  and  Rebuilt  1S26. 

the  tract.  This  section,  because  of  its  available  water  sites,  and  the  number  of 
mills  erected  along  the  Creek,  became  known  as  "Mill  Hollow",  which  desig- 
nation it  bore  until  the  Borough  of  Luzerne  was  erected. 

In  1793,  Peter  Grubb,*  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Kingston  Township, 
near  the  Plymouth  hne,  built  a  grist-mill  in  Plymouth  Township,  on  the  main 
branch  of  Toby's  Creek.  This  mill  stood  on  the  east  side  of  the  road  between 
Kingston  and  Plymouth  and  the  stream  itself  became  locally  known  as  Grubb's 
mill  brook. 

From  the  standpoint  of  present  day  interest,  the  Wright-Miner  mill  at 
Miner's  Mills,  deserves  mention.     Thomas  Wright,  of  Doylestown,  whose  later 

*Peter  Grubb  had  formerly  heen  the  keeper  of  a  general  store  at  Wilkes-Barre.  and  at  the  time  of  his  mill  ven- 
ture was  a  farmer,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  a  Commissioner  of  Luzerne  County. 


1728 

connection  with  the  pubHcation  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gazette  and  Luzerne  Ad- 
vertiser has  been  referred  to,  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1791,  and  engaged  in 
the  general  mercantile  business.  In  1793,  he  purchased  of  Nathan  Waller  and 
John  Carey,  twenty-five  acres  of  back  lot  No.  1 1,  in  what  is  now  the  Borough  of 
Miner's  Mills,  "together  with  a  mill  pond  and  saw-mill  upon  and  belonging  to 
said  tract." 

In  1795,  Mr.  Wright  erected  a  grist-mill  at  the  mill  pond  mentioned,  and 
built  a  commodious  residence  for  himself  below  the  mill.  This  mill  was  operated 
by  Mr.  Wright  until  1813,  when  he  sold  it  to  his  son-in-law,  Asher  Miner,  then 
residing  at  Doylestown. 

The  following  description  of  the  Wright  mill  was  written  by  James  A. 
Gordon,  a  local  historian,  who  lived  in  Plymouth,  in  1877.  The  article  was  later 
published  in  the  Record  of  the  Times,  and  is  in  part,  as  follows: 

"Thomas  Wright,  who  had  come  from  Ireland  before  the  Revolution,  conceived  the  project 
of  building  a  merchant  mill  on  Mill  Creek  about  one  and  a  quarter  miles  above  the  Matthias 
Hollenback  mill,  and  accordingly,  in  1795,  he  began  what  was  afterwards  known  as  'Wright's 
Mills.'  It  was  thirty  by  forty  feet,  the  super-structure  was  two  stories,  and  I  think  from  my  own 
impression  there  were  not  over  seven  or  eight  feet  between  the  floors. 

"Elisha  Delano  of  Hanover  was  the  mill-whght  and  James  A.  Gordon  and  George  or  Ben- 
jamin Cooper  were  the  carpenters  who  erected  the  frame  and  enclosed  it  with  ordinary  half-inch 
weather  boarding.  It  was  started  early  in  the  spring  of  1796  with  a  single  run  of  country  stones, 
known  as  conglomerate  rock,  which  were  made  by  Israel  Bennett  and  Jacob  Ozancup.  There  was 
no  bolter  for  the  first  six  months,  but  a  sifter  was  used  instead,  into  which  was  discharged  the  meal 
as  it  came  from  the  grinder. 

"Jacob  Ozancup  was  the  first  miller  and  came  from  Minnesink.  Sussex  county.  N.  J. 
He  continued  to  run  the  mill  until  it  was  fully  completed  as  a  merchant  mill,  which  was  sometime 
in  1799  or  early  in  1800,  when  the  Tysons  came  on  from  Bucks  county  and  took  charge  of  the  con- 
cern, and  continued  to  operate  it  until  1821  when  they  removed  to  Canada.  During  a  part  of 
this  time  Joseph  Murphy  was  the  miller  under  Thomas  Tyson.  Isaiah  Tyson  having  joined  John 
Murphy  in  erecting  and  operating  at  Pittston  what  was  afterwards  the  Barnum  mill. 

"The  facts  above  stated,  which  occurred  before  my  remembrance.  I  have  received  from 
authentic  sources,  being  indebted  therefor  to  Nathan  Draper.  John  Clarke  and  my  uncle  John 
Atherton.  and  William  Thompkins  late  of  Pittston,  Mrs.  Hannah  Abbott  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Mrs. 
Clarissa  (Cooper)  Price,  all  natives  of  that  neighborhood  with  the  exception  of  John  Atherton. 
Besides  this  I  remember  distinctly  a  stone  in  the  foundation  wall  roughly  cut  with  the  inscription 
'1793'  or  '1795.'     I  have  no  choice  from  my  own  impressions  which  it  was. 

"James  A.  Gordon  was  a  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre  less  than  three  years,  removing  to  Athens 
early  in  1796.  His  accounts  were  in  ray  possession  up  to  1845  when  they  were  burned  in  my 
office  on  the  Public  Square  in  Wilkes-Barre.  In  these  books  were  charges  against  Thomas  Wright 
for  days  work  done  on  the  mill  in  1795.  These  facts  and  circumstances,  though  not  absolutely 
conclusive,  are  to  my  own  mind  perfectly  satisfactory  that  the  mill  was  commenced  in  1795  and 
completed   as  above   stated. 

"I  now  proceed  to  give  a  brief  description  of  the  mill  as  I  remember  it  from  1802  up  to 
1820.  .  My  means  of  information  are  ample  and  my  impressions  of  the  mill  and  its  features  are  as 
vivid  as  if  they  were  but  a  week  old.  Within  the  last  week  I  have  drawn  out  from  memory  a 
front  view  of  the  mill  with  diagrams  of  each  floor  or  stor>'and  machinery  somewhat  in  detail  to 
which  the  curious  reader  is  referred.  On  the  first  floor  or  basement  were  the  receiving  boxes  or 
chests  in  which  the  ground  grain  was  deposited  directly  from  the  stone.  If  it  needed  bolting. 
it  was  placed  in  the  hoisting  tub  and  raised  to  the  second  floor  above  and  emptied  into  the  bolt 
hopper,  from  whence  it  descended  through  the  bolt  to  the  main  or  second  floor.  Thence  it  was 
delivered  to  the  owner.  The  grists  which  did  not  need  bolting  were  delivered  at  the  lower  door  on 
the  south  side  of  the  mill. 

"Every  part  of  the  mill  gearing  was  of  wood,  except  the  gudgeons  and  the  journal  blocks; 
all  the  small  journals  were  of  wrought  iron,  and  I  have  heard  my  mother  say  that  her  father, 
Cornelius  Atherton,  made  them  at  his  shop  on  the  Lackawanna,  at  what  is  now  called  Taylorville. 
It  is  quite  probable  that  the  heavy  journals  for  the  master  wheel  were  also  of  wrought  iron,  as 
there  was  no  furnace  or  foundry  nearer  than  the  Durham  works  between  Easton  and  New  Hope. 
If  these  journals  were  of  wrought  iron  they  must  have  been  forged  at  Wright's  forge  on  the  Lacka- 
wanna, or  at  Lee's  forge  at  Nanticoke. 

"This  was  the  model  mill  of  its  day,  and  was  the  first  in  the  county  that  manufactured 
superfine  flour,  and  the  first  which  could  boast  of  a  pair  of  French  buhrs  or  a  huUer  for  buckwheat 
flour.  All  the  moving  of  the  grain  and  flour  was  done  by  the  hoisting  barrel,  which  was  rigged  with 
rollers  on  the  bottom  so  that  it  was  moved  with  very  little  effort  by  the  miller  In  the  attic  story 
was  a  cooler  for  the  superfine  flour,  which  was  put  in  motion  by  a  geared  horizontal  shaft  connected 
with  the  master  wheel,  as  were  also  both  of  the  bolters. 

"This  mill  had  a  high  reputation  for  its  buckwheat  flour,  for  which  it  was  chiefly  indebted 
to  the  consumate  skill  of  the  miller  and   its  huUer.      The  whole   machinery  was  operated  by  a 


1729 

breast  wheel  of  twenty-four  feet  in  diameter,  with  a  head  and  fall  of  fourteen  feet,  the  driving 
buckets  being  three  and  one-half  feet  long  and  made  water  tight.  At  this  period  there  was  always 
an  abundant  supply  of  water  in  Mill  Creek,  and  except  in  a  very  dry  summer  the  mill  could  be  run 
from  morning  to  sun  down.  I  believe  that  this  was  the  first  mill  in  the  county  that  sent  its  flour 
to  the  Philadelphia  market.  This  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1825  and  was  immediately  rebuilt  by 
Asher  Miner  who  was  then  the  owner  of  the  property,  and  a  larger  and  a  better  one  took  its  place.' ' 

"I  think  it  very  safe  to  say,"  says  the  Hon.  Charles  A.  Miner,  in  "Early 
Grist  Mills  of  Wyoming  Valley"  a  paper  read  before  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society,  December  16,  1898,  and  published  in  Vol.  V,  page  111, 
of  the  Proceedings  of  that  Society,  "that  this  Wright-Miner  mill  is  the  oldest 
mill  in  this  County  and  perhaps  in  this  State  still  running  and  managed  by  the 
descendants  of  the  original  owners  and  proprietors.  It  has  descended  in  a  straight 
line  for  five  generations,  in  one  family.  First,  Thomas  Wright ;  then  Asher  Miner, 
his  son-in-law;  then  Robert  Miner,  the  latter's  son:  then  Charles  A.  Miner,  son 
of  Robert,  and  now  Col.  Asher  Miner,  of  the  fifth  generation,  who  is  General 
Manager  for  the  Miner-Hillard  Milling  Co.,  who  are  running  it  in  connection 
with  other  enterprises.    Such  instances  are  very  rare  in  this  country. 

"This  mill  has  been  owned  and  operated  by  Thomas  Wright,  Asher  Miner, 
Robert  Miner,  Eliza  Miner,  his  widow.  Charles  A.  Miner,  Miner  &  Thomas, 
Isaac  M.  Thomas  &  Co.,  Miner  &  Co.,  and  now  the  Miner-Hillard  Milling  Co. 

"Capt.  Calvin  Parsons  says  the  mill-dam,  nqw  standing,  was  erected  by 
Asher  Miner  about  1828,  about  two  years  after  the  destruction  of  the  original 
mill  by  fire,  consequently  now  is  seventy  years  old.  and  as  solid  as  when  first 
erected." 

Turning  from  events  concerned  with  the  growing  commercial  affairs  of 
Wilkes-Barre  and  the  chief  actors  in  them,  we  find  that  the  death  of  General 
Washington,  almost  on  the  threshold  of  the  new  century,  was  mourned  in  the 
settlement,  as  it  was  universally  over  the  country.  Washington  died  on  the 
14th  of  December,  1799.  Six  days  later  the  news  had  reached  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  a  general  meeting  of  citizens  was  called  at  the  Court  House  on  the  morning 
of  December  27th.  Memorial  services  were  conducted  under  auspices  of  Lodge 
61,  F.  and  A.  M.,  with  the  Hon.  Rosewell  Welles  delivering  the  eulogium.  After 
the  services,  according  to  records  of  the  Lodge,  its  members  "dined  together  in 
company  with  a  number  of  invited  guests,  and  spent  the  da}^  in  harmony." 
The  martial  spirit  attending  the  threatened  war  with  France  seems  to  have 
induced  the  formation  of  a  company  of  infantry  at  Wilkes-Barre,  which, 
until  its  disbandment  in  1814,  as  will  hereafter  be  recorded,  was  a  source 
of  pride  to  the  community,  as  it  was  a  sort  of  social  center  for  the  best  known 
young  men  of  the  settlement.  This  company  was  known  as  the  "Wyoming 
Blues."  While  in  existence  at  the  time  Captain  Samuel  Bowman's  volunteer 
company  was  organized,  in  1 799,  it  was  not  recognized  as  a  military  organization 
by  the  militia  authorities  and  took  no  part  in. the  mobilization  of  forces  in  prepar- 
ation for  defense  against  French  aggression.  James  A.  Gordon,  who  wrote  from 
memory  of  the  company  many  years  later,  states  that  it  was  organized  in  1798, 
and  that  Joseph  Slocum  was  its  first  captain,  Isaac  Bowman  its  lieutenant  and 
Benjamin  Perry  its  ensign,  in  that  year.  No  authentic  records  of  its  existence 
were  found  until  the  year  1800,  when,  from  among  papers  of  Capt.  Zebulon  Butler, 
Jr.,  discovered  after  his  death,  its  muster  roll,  rules  of  discipline  and  a  description 
of  the  uniform  of  its  members  were,  for  the  first  time,  ascertained.  The  plan  of 
organization  called  for  the  enlistment  of  "particularly  desirable  young  men," 
and  directed  that  the  uniform  consist  of  "a  dark  blue  short  coat,  or  sailor's 


1730 

jacket,  faced  and  trimmed  with  scarlet;  white  waistcoat  and  blue  pantaloons' 
edged  with  scarlet;  black  stock  and  high  crowned  hat,  with  bear  skin  on  same.'' 
The  plan  further  called  for  a  fine  of  fifty  cents  for  any  member  "appearing 
intoxicated  upon  parade,"  with  ignominous  expulsion  for  the  second  offense. 
That  in  1800,  the  Wyoming  Blues  were  recognized  as  a  unit  of  the  state 
militia,  is  evidenced  from  the  following  notice,  the  original  being  among  the 
"Butler  Papers": 

MILITIA  ELECTION. 
"Notice  is  given  to  the  Volunteer  Company  called  the  Wyoming  Blues,  attached  to  the 
Second  BattaUon  in  the  35th  Regiment,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Col.  Ransom,  that  an  election 
for  a  Captain,  Lieutenant  and  Ensign  will  be  held  at  the  house  of  Lawrence  Myers,  Esq'r,  in  the 
township  of  Kingston,  on  Thursday,  the  19th  day  of  June,  inst.  1800,  between  the  hours  of  10  in 
the  forenoon  and  six  in  the  afternoon,  where  those  concerned  are  requested  to  attend,  to  elect  by 
ballot,  the  said  officers. 

"William  Ross, 
"Brigade  Inspector  of  the  Second  Brigade,  composed  of  the 
Militia  of  the   Counties  of  Northumberland,   Lycoming  and 
Luzerne. 
"Wilkes-Barre,  June  10th,  1800." 

Following  the  meeting  the  roster  was  signed  by  the  following  members: 

Zeb.  Butler,  John  J.  Ward,  Isaac  A,  Chapman,  Jacob  Kiethline, 

George  Chahoon.  Godfrey  Perry,  Isaac  Bowman,  Jesse  Crissman, 

W.  M.  Robison,  Andrew  Vogle,  Luman  Gilbert,  Francis  Rainow, 

Samuel  Brown,  Conrad  Rummage,  Nehemiah  Waters,  Benjamin  Perry, 

Calvin  Edwards,  George  Espie,  James  S.  Lee,  John  Hannis, 

Edwin  Tracy,  Daniel  Downing,  James  Wright,  ■  James  Foster 

Josiah  Bennet,  John  L.  Burgel,  Lyra  Landon,  Hugh  H.  .\nderson 

Elijay  Adams,  Joseph  Shafer,  Jacob 

Nutton,  Charles  Miner,  George  Hendler, 

Minutes  of  the  meeting  indicate  that  the  following  additional  business 

was  transacted  and  rules  for  the  discipline  of  the  company  adopted:* 

"Resolved  that  no  member  shall  have  leave  to  withdraw  unless  by  consent  of  the  com- 
pany unless  urgency  requires  it  sooner  than  the  company  can  meet,  and  in  such  case  he  shall  have 
leave  of  the  officers.    Passed. 

"Resolved  that  the  uniform  of  the  company  shall  be  as  it  has  formerly  been,  except  the 
coat,  which  shall  be  a  short  skirt  coat  or  a  coatee,  and  those  who  have  an  uniform  at  this  time 
may  wear  their  present  coats.     Passed, 

"Resolved  that  we  will  be  uniformed  at  or  before  the  next  general  review.    Passed. 
"The  uniform  shall  be, 

"1,    A  crowned  brimmed  black  hat — black  bear  skin,  with  a  white  and  red  lap. 
Deep  blue  coatee,  faced  and  trimmed  with  red. 
White  or  buff  vest. 

Deep  blue  pantaloons  circled  with  red. 
Either  boots  or  black  shoe  and  black  gaiters.    Passed." 

Fragmentary  records,  in  the  Butler  collection,  disclose  that  Isaac  Bowman 
was  elected  captain  of  the  Blues  in  1808,  with  Charles  Miner  lieutenant.  Fol- 
lowing this  election  a  collation  was  served  on  the  Bowman  lawn.  In  fact,  judging 
from  the  records,  the  idea  of  "collations"  seems  to  have  been  given  as  much  regard 
as  more  military  functions  of  the  organization  and  invariably  accompanied 
elections,  when  the  new  commanding  officer  acted  as  host  to  the  entire  command. 
In  spite  of  these  convivial  meetings;  or,  possibly  because  of  them,  the  Wyoming 
Blues  became  noted  at  home  and  abroad  as  one  of  the  "crack"  military  bodies 
of  the  State,  and  their  services  on  drill  and  parade  were  in  much  demand. 

While  the  perusal  of  census  figures,  assessors'  returns  and  voting  lists  of 
a  community,  may  seem  at  any  time  a  matter  of  dull  routine,  they  serve,  at 
a  period  of  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  to  throw  considerable  light 
upon  the  affairs  of  Wyoming.  The  first  general  census  of  the  United  States  was 
taken  in  1790.    It  was  listed  merely  by  counties  and  shows  neither  the  population 

*Where  names  are  partially  given  or  words  omitted,  the  condition  of  the  documents,  which  ■ 
George  H.  Butler,  Esq.,  until  his  death  and  later  came  into  possession  of  the  Wyoming  Historic: 
ciety,  does  not  admit  of  decipherment. 


O  's> 


i  s 

B  3 


1731 

of  lesser  municipalities,  nor  furnishes  statistical  data  with  reference  to  them.  Seth 
Duncan,  Jr.,  "assistant  to  the  Marshal  of  Pennsylvania,"  was  the  sole  census 
taker  for  the  wilderness  empire  of  Luzerne,  and  the  final  report  of  his  efforts  was 
not  made  until  April  20,  1791.  The  headings  of  this  census  return  specified 
that  the  County  of  Luzerne  contained  1236  "free  white  males  over  16;"  1331 
"free  white  males  under  16";  2313  "free  white  females  of  all  ages";  "all  other 
persons"  13,  and  "slaves"  11;  a  total  of  4,904,  including  slaves. 

As  the  matter  of  slave  owning  in  early  Luzerne  may  be  of  more  than  pas- 
sing interest,  it  can  be  added  that  at  the  time  of  the  first  census,  three  of  these 
slaves  belonged  to  John  Hollenback,  two  each  to  William  Houck  and  James 
Westbrook,  and  one  each  to  Stephen  Hopkins,  Adam  Man,  Guy  Maxwell  and 
Jonathan  Newman. 

Between  the  decennial  government  census  reports,  other  sources  of  in- 
formation must  be  sought  in  order  to  gain  further  figures  of  interest. 

In  "Pennsylvania  Archives",  2d  series  XVIII:  489,  is  recorded  that  the 

taxable  inhabitants  of  Luzerne  County  numbered   1409,  in  the  year  1793  and 

■  had  grown  to  2,395,  in  1800.   Figures  for  Wilkes-Barre  are  given  for  the  township, 

not  for  the  village,  and  it  must  be  held  in  mind  that  Wilkes-Barre  Township 

then,  and  for  many  years  thereafter,  included  a  portion  of  Plains,  Covington 

and  Bear  Creek  Townships  and  extended  from  the  Susquehanna  to  the  Lehigh 

River.     Eagle's  "History  of  Pennsylvania",  329,  is  authority  for  the  statement 

that  the  taxable  inhabitants  in  the  whole  of  Wilkes-Barre  Township,  in  the  year 

1796,  numbered  only  122  and  that  assessors  for  that  year  returned  112  head  of 

horses  and  301  head  of  cattle,  as  the  total  number  of  domestic  animals.     The 

total  valuation  of  property  in  the  township,  according  to  the  same  authority,  was 

$71,390.     The  census  figures  for  1800,  quoted  by  Eagle,  accredited  the  county  of 

Luzerne  with  a  population  of  12,839.*    This  figure  has  been  generally  followed  by 

later  historians.     However,  in  a  volume  entitled  "A  Geographical  Description  of 

Pennsylvania",  by  Joseph  Scott,  and  printed  by  Robert  Cochran  at  Philadelphia, 

in  1806,  purporting  to  be  an  authorized  report  of  the  1800  census,  Luzerne  is 

accredited  with  a  population  of  18,813    free    inhabitants  and  13  slaves.     The 

population,  according  to  the  Scott  account,  was  distributed  in  townships  of  or 

adjacent  to  the  Wyoming  Valley,  as  follows: 

Township  Free  Slaves 

Wilkes-Barre  832  3 

Kingston  789  0 

Nescopec  415  0 

Exeter  787  0 

Newport  401  0 

Nicholson  668  .2 

Pittston  565  2 

Plymouth  745  1 

*                  Hanover  612  2 

Huntington  721  I 

Measured  by  its  voting  strength,  the  whole  of  Luzerne  County  returned 
978  votes  for  James  Ross,  Federalist,  and  259  votes  for  Thomas  McKeen,  Demo- 
crat, the  opposing  candidates  for  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  general  elec- 
tions of  1802. 

The  Scott  volume  accredits  the  county  with  thirty-three  saw-mills,  twenty- 
four  grist-mills,  two  fulling-mills  and  one  oil-mill.  Wilkes-Barre,  in  1800,  is  de- 
scribed as  having  "fifty  houses,  a  court  house  and  jail." 

*In  the  Wilkes-Barre  GazetU'^i  SepXfimhGr9.  1800,  appeared  the  following:    "Capt.  Eleazer  Blackman  is  deputed 
to  take  the  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Luzerne,  agreeable  to  the  late  act  of  Congress.    He  will 


1732 

Other  writers  of  the  period  mentioned  concur  in  the  statemen't  of  the  small 
number  of  houses  then  in  the  county  seat  Other  districts  of  the  county  had  grown 
much  more  rapidly  than  the  village,  no  matter  what  census  figures  are  taken 
into  consideration.  Farming  and  lumbering  were  the  occupations  then  bringing 
in  the  tide  of  new  residents.  Aside  from  limited  opportunities  in  commerce  and 
still  more  limited  calls  for  professional  men,  Wilkes-Barre  offered  but  little,  at 
that  period,  by  way  of  attraction  to  additional  settlers. 

For  those  interested  in  where  these  houses  were  situated  and  who  occupied 
them  in  the  years  1802-1806,  a  sketch  of  Wilkes-Barre,  written  from  memory 
by  James  A.  Gordon  and  published  in  the  Record  of  the  Times,  December  23, 
1873,  may  prove  entertaining: 

"At  the  lower  end  of  River  Street  stood  the  residence  of  Rosewell  Welles.  It  was  a  double 
house,  ceiled  with  pine  boards,  and  I  believe  was  never  finished  in  the  second  story.  Nearly  in 
front  of  Judge  Welles'  stood  the  residence  of  Jabez  Fish,  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 

"Mrs.  Fish  kept  a  school  for  juveniles.  I  was  one  of  her  pupils  for  a  short  time.  The  il- 
lustrated New  England  Primer  was  our  text-book.  It  embraced  the  Shorter  Catechism  and  we 
were  all  required  to  commit  it  to  memory. 

"A  short  distance  above  Judge  Welles'  stood  the  old  red  house  built,  in  1794,  by  James  A. 
Gordon  a  New  York  carpenter,  and  occupied  from  1S02  to  ISIl  or  12  by  Andrew  Vogel,  hatter.. 
Turning  up  we  come  to  the  residence  of  Joseph  Backenstow.  a  fashionable  tailor  from  Sunbury. 
The  next,  the  hotel  of  John  P.  Arndt  and  a  store-house  adjoining.  Mr.  Arndt  was  an  enterprising 
German  from  Easton,  and  was  largely  engaged  in  the  salt  and  plaster  trade.  The  next  were  the 
buildings  of  Lord  Butler,  the  small  one  the  first  residence  of  George  Griffin,  Esq.,  after  his  marriage 
with  Lydia  Butler.  On  the  corner  of  North  Street  was  the  residence  and  store  of  Lord  Butler, 
and  directly  in  front  the  Old  Ferry  landing. 

"Passing  North  Street  we  come  to  the  residence  of  Arnold  Colt,  Esq.,  and  his  father-in- 
law  Abel  Yarington.  Arnold  Colt  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  somewhat  of  a  humorist  withal. 
The  next  house  above  Colt's  was  that  of  Geo.  Chahoon.  He  was  a  house  carpenter  from  Sunbury 
and  for  many  years  was  the  leading  builder  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  surrounding  township.  He 
removed  to  the  mouth  of  Hunlock's  Creek,  where  he  died  some  32  years  ago.  He  was  a  man  of 
much  enterprise  and  energy  of  character.  Crossing  West  Market  Street  on  the  corner  where  now 
stands  the  banking  house  of  Walter  Sterling,  was  the  residence  of  Rozet  and  Doyle. 

"Doyle  was  an  Irishman.  Rozet  had  a  daughter,  Janet,  who  had  red  hair.  Janet  and 
I  went  to  school  to  Asher  Miner  in  the  old  school-house  on  the  East  side  of  the  Public  Square. 

"Rozet  and  Doyle  gave  place  to  the  Sinton's  in  1803-04.  The  next  building  above  was  the 
printing  office  of  the  Luzerne  Federalist,  published  by  Chas.  Miner.  Next  was  the  residence  of 
Peleg  Tracy,  and  further  on  was  the  residence  and  pottery  of  Wm.  Russell.  His  wares  had  not 
a  very  high  reputation.  On  one  occasion  he  sent  his  apprentice,  Joseph  Landon,  with  a  canoe 
load  to  Pittston.  He  reached  Monockay  Island  in  good  order,  but  unfortunately  was  there  over- 
taken by  a  sudden  shower  of  rain,  and  his  wares  were  dissolved. 

"Unloading  his  vessel  of  the  clay  he  returned  home  and  reported.  Russell  gave  him  a 
severe  chastisement  because  he  did  not  fetch  back  the  clay,  so  that  it  might  be  worked  over  again. 

"At  the  corner  of  LTnion  and  Water  Streets  stood  the  old  Johnson  house,  at  this  time  the 
residence  of  Charles  Miner;  and  just  above,  at  the  Western  base  of  the  redoubt,  stood  the  slab 
and  board  cabin  of  Molly  McGalpin.  She  was  an  Irish  woman,  and  had  two  sons,  Dan  and  George, 
who  enlisted  in  the  16th  Regiment  under  Cromwell  Pearce,  and  served  with  credit  during  the  war 
of  1812.  Here  ends  the  geography  of  River  Street.  There  were  as  you  see,  but  twenty  residences, 
offices  and  stores  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  that  number  constituted  one  half  of  the  whole 
town.  There  were  but  3  of  these  houses  painted — Gordon's,  at  the  lower  end,  and  Arndt's,  partly 
painted  red  or  brown,  and  Lord  Butler's,  white,  with  a  front  yard  fence  also  painted  white." 

The  narrative  was  continued  in  a  subsequent  edition  of  the  same  paper 

as  follows : 

"My  previous  number  left  us  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Union  streets.  From  Union,  on 
the  east  side  of  Main,  was  a  house  and  cooper  shop  occupied  by  Oliver  Helme ;  afterwards  by  the 
widow  and  family  of  William  Wright.  Next  below  was  the  residence  and  blacksmith  shop  of 
Benjamin  Drake,  and  afterwards  occupied  by  Isaac  Bowman  after  he  left  Bowman's  Hill. 

"On  the  opposite  side  were  2  log  houses  owned  by  Solomon  Johnson,  and  occupied  by  Mrs. 
Marble,  the  town  baker,  and  Benj.  Hillman,  a  stone  mason.  This  Solomon  Johnson  was  an  ec- 
centric character.  I  think  if  he  had  lived  now  he  would  be  called  a  Spiritualist.  He  was  said  to 
be  a  learned  man.  He  had  periodical  trances  and  visions  of  coming  events,  which  he  gave  to 
the  world  thro  the  Luzerne  Federalist.  He  also  pubHshed  some  'Commentaries'  upon  the  Bible. 
Between  his  lot  and  the  Public  Square  was  a  frame  two  story  building  on  the  site  of  Judge  Bennett's 
present  residence,  owned  by  Stephen  Tuttle. 

"These  were  all  the  houses  at  that  time  on  Main  Street  above  the  Public  Square.  *  *  * 
On  the  North  West  corner  of  the  Square  was  a  large  red  house  occupied  by  Thomas  Duane  as 
a  tavern  and  store.  He  removed  to  Pittston  in  1805.  Upon  the  opposite  corner,  in  1804,  was 
the  residence  and  office  of  Geo.  Griffin. 


1733 

"On  the  North  West  corner  on  Market  Street,  [where  MacWilhams'  Store  is  now  situated 
was  a  long,  one-story  frame  house  then  occupied  by  John  Ebbert  as  a  dwelhng  and  watchmaker 
shop.    There  were  no  other  dweUings  that  I  remember  on  the  Square  at  that  time  [1805]. 

"Passing  around  the  corner  we  come  to  the  residence  of  Joseph  Wright,  Esq.,  [on  West 
Market  Street]  a  good  frame  building,  two  stories  high,  with  a  small  office  on  the  corner.  Eb- 
enezer  Bowman  about  this  time  purchased  this  house  and  removed  from  Bowman's  Hill,  where 
he  had  before  resided.  *  *  *  The  next  dwelling  house  [on  West  Market  Street]  towards  the 
river  was  a  house  owned  by  Thomas  Sambourne.  It  was  built  by  J.  A.  Gordon,  and  at  that  time 
regarded  as  the  best  specimen  of  tasteful  architecture  in  the  town.     It  was  never  painted. 

"Francis  McShane  afterwards  became  the  owner.  In  1802  a  part  of  the  building  was  oc- 
cupied by  Asher  and  Charles  Miner  as  a  printing  office.  The  building  was  afterwards  occupied 
by  John  Hancock  as  a  hotel ;  the  printing  office  being  used  for  Post  Office  and  bar-room  for  several 
years  after.  Across  Franklin  Street,  towards  the  river,  was  the  residence  of  Parthenia  Gordon, 
or  as  she  was  generally  called  'the  widow  Gordon.'  She  was  tailoress,  mantua-maker  and  mil- 
liner, and  sometimes  sold  cakes  and  beer.  *  *  *  she  was  the  second  daughter  of  Cornelius 
Atherton,  of  Capouse,  and  the  sister  of  Jabez  Atherton  who  was  slain  in  the  Indian  massacre, 
and  the  widow  of  James  A.  Gordon,  the  New  York  carpenter. 

"In  1804  there  were  no  buildings  on  the  South  side  of  W.  Market  Street  from  the  River 
to  the  Public  Square,  and  along  the  same  to  Main,  and  down  Main  to  the  old  'Wyoming'  Hotel. 

"On  East  Market  Street,  on  the  South  side,  was  the  old  stone  jail,  and  the  residence  of 
Enoch  Ogden,  a  shoemaker,  and  William  A.  George,  the  Court  Crier  and  high  Constable." 

The  population  of  Wilkes-Barre,  with  its  "fifty  houses",  mentioned  in  the 
census  return  of  1800,  could  not  have  been  more  than  three  hundred  at  the 
threshold  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Col.  William  L.  Stone,  an  editor  and  author  of  New  York,  visited  Wilkes- 
Barre  in  1839.  What  he  said  of  its  isolation  then,  applied  equally  to  its  early 
community  life  and  accounts  in  some  measure  for  its  slow  growth: 

"Wyoming  is  mentioned  in  almost  every  book  of  American  history  written  since  the  Rev- 
olution, as  the  scene  of  the  massacre;  but  for  the  most  part  that  is  the  only  occurrence  spoken 
of — the  only  fact  that  has  been  rescued  from  the  rich  mine  of  its  historic  lore.  The  reader  of 
poetry  has  probably  dreamed  of  Wyoming  as  an  Elysian  field,  among  the  groves  of  which  the 
fair  Gertrude  was  wont  to  stray  while  listening  to  the  music  of  the  birds  and  gathering  wild  flowers; 
and  the  superficial  reader  of  everything  has  regarded  it  as  a  place  existing  somewhere,  in  which 
the  Indians  once  tomahawked  a  number  of  people. 

"The  'Happy  Valley,'  to  which  the  illustrious  author  of  Rasselas  introduces  his  reader  in 
the  opening  of  that  charming  fiction,  was  not  much  more  secluded  from  the  world  than  is  the 
valley  of  Wyoming.  Situated  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  remote  from  the  great  thorough- 
fares of  travel,  either  for  business  or  in  the  idle  chase  of  pleasure,  and  walled  on  every  hand  by 
mountains  lofty  and  wild,  and  over  which  long  and  rugged  roads  must  be  traveled  to  reach  it, 
Wyoming  is  rarely  ^^sited,  except  from  stern  necessity.  And  yet  the  imagination  of  Johnson  has 
not  pictured  so  lovely  a  spot  in  the  vale  qf  Amhara  as  Wyoming." 

Perhaps  it  was  understood  then  just  as  it  was  again  recognized,  in  1906, 
by  those  responsible  for  the  Centennial  celebration  of  the  incorporation  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  as  a  borough,  that  the  recreations,  the  intellectual  development,  the 
commercial  advancement  and  the  civic  progress  of  the  community  depended 
upon  the  initiative,  the  resources  and  the  effort  of  its  own  citizens,  rather  than 
upon  any  noteworthy  advantages  not  possessed  by  other  inland  communities 
of  Pennsylvania. 

Certainly  it  is  not  the  number  of  houses,  nor  the  extent  of  population 
accredited  any  community,  which  have  made  it  stand  forth  among  its  fellows. 
The  spirit  and  ambitions  of  those  who  dwell  within  these  homes  must  be  considered. 

Most  of  the  residents  of  these  same  "fifty  houses"  had  been  accustomed 
to  better  things  than  Wilkes-Barre  opened  to  them,  in  1800.  A  place  of  worship 
had  always  been  a  first  thought  of  the  better  established  communities  of  Con- 
necticut and  Pennsylvania  from  which  they  came.  Public  libraries  had  not  been 
uncommon,  especially  in  New  England,  nor  had  schools  and  academies  been 
overlooked.  A  well  appointed  court  house  had  been  a  civic  center  in  county 
seats.  It  is  small  wond-er,  therefore,  that  the  yearnings  of  those  who  had  re- 
solved upon  the  Susquehanna  settlement  as  their  permanent  place  of  abode. 


1734 

should  have  begun  to  be  manifest  in  town  meetings,  or  expressed  in  the  scanty 
columns  of  two  newspapers,  which  the  community  then  boasted. 

No  semblance  of  the  public  utilities  of  the  present  day  were  then  in  the 
dreams  of  Wilkes-Barre's  foremost  citizens.  Homemade  tallow  candles,  or  rude 
lamps  burning  whale  oil,  were  sparingly  used  in  homes.  Even  the  "town  pump," 
which  was  later  to  quench  the  thirst  of  residents  who  had  occasion  to  pass  through 
the  Public  Square,  had  not  been  set  up.  Streets,  along  which  these  houses 
straggled,  were  of  river  loam,  the  plastic  muddiness  of  which,  at  certain  seasons, 
was  invariably  to  be  a  matter  of  comment.  A  few  private  schools,  usually  con- 
ducted in  a  room  of  some  private  establishment,  were  dependent  upon  subscrip- 
tion lists  for  an  uncertain  existence.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  spirit  of  its  residents, 
which  refused  to  be  held  in  check  by  the  mountain  barriers  about  them,  Wilkes- 
Barre  would  indeed,  have  faced  a  hopeless,  pitiable  future. 

Judge  Hollenback  and  John  P.  Arndt,  as  has  been  noted,  were  among 
those  upon  whom  the  mantle  of  progress  of  an  earlier  day  had  descended. 

Younger  men,  also,  of  the  community,  were  catching  inspirations  from 
these  pioneers  who  were  following  the  courses  of  rivers  and  seeking  passes  through 
mountains,  in  the  enlargement  of  commerce.  Their  talk  was  of  a  meeting  house, 
suitable  to  the  religious  needs  of  the  settlement. 

Agitation  as  to  a  new  court  house  was  in  the  air.  The  challenge  of  a  turn- 
pike to  Easton  was  beginning  to  beckon  those  who  had  surplus  funds  for  invest- 
ment. Nor  was  it  uncommon  to  find,  in  mention  of  the  times,  that  a  central 
academy  for  the  education  of  its  youth,  and  a  form  of  government  which  was  to 
separate  the  settlement  itself  from  the  wilderness  township  about  it,  were  among 
topics  of  discussion  when  the  new  century  was  ushered  in. 

First  in  point  of  agitation,  as  it  was  first  in  point  of  consideration,  on  the 
part  of  many  of  the  community,  was  the  beginning  of  the  "Meeting  House  on 
the  Square,"  or,  as  it  was  later  almost  univteally  known,  "Old  Ship  Zion."* 

In  Connecticut,  all  persons  by  law  were  obliged  to  contribute  to  the 
support  of  the  church  as  well  as  to  the  state  itself.  All  rates  respecting  the  sup- 
port of  ministers  or  any  eccelesiastical  affairs,  were  to  be  m£ide  and  collected  in 
the  same  manner  as  rates  for  the  respective  towns. 

In  Pennsylvania,  the  line  of  cleavage  between  church  and  state  was  defi- 
nitely fixed,  hence  the  proposed  church  structure  at  Wilkes-Barre  must  neces- 
sarily depend  upon  voluntary  subscriptions  or  other  private  means  of  fund 
raising  for  its  erection. 

Under  spur  of  the  impulsive  voice  and  restless  activities  of  Rev.  Jacob  John- 
son, in  1 79 1 ,  as  has  been  noted  in  a  previous  Chapter,  public  sentiment  crystalized 
into  the  first  step  toward  a  new  edifice.    On  April  1st,  of  that  year,  it  was  voted: 

"That  there  be  a  committee  of  five  appointed  to  point  out  the  spot  of  ground  on  which  a 
meeting  house  shall  be  built,  and  to  draw  up  a  subscription  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  to 
assist  the  above  purpose;  also  they  are  to  prepare  a  plan  of  the  building  which  they  are  to  lay 
before  the  proprietors  at  their  next  meeting,  also  to  report  generally  on  the  subject."  "Voted 
that  Zebulon  Butler,  Nathan  Waller,  Daniel  Gore,  Timothy  Pickering  and  John  P.  Schott  be  a 
committee  for  the  above  purpose.     Test,  Arnold  Colt,  clerk." 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  the  town  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
April  23,  1791,  Zebulon  Butler,  Moderator,  the  committee  appointed  at  the 
last  meeting  reported: 

"That  in  point  of  situation  and  convenience  it  is  their  opinion  that  opposite  the  court 
house  on  the  northwest  side  of  Main  Street  is  the  most  eligible  place  that  a  meeting  house  can  be 

*The  earliest  that  the  name  "Old  Ship  Zion"  was  applied  to  the  "Old  Meeting  House  on  the  Square."  at  least  in 
public  prints,  was  in  the  Record  of  the  Times,  May  16,  1855,  when  the  title  was  used  in  describing  a  circus  which  had 
appeared  in  Wilkes-Barre  the  day  before. 


1735 

erected  on.  They  further  report  a  plan  of  building  which  they  judge  should  be  sixty  feet  in  length 
and  forty-five  feet  wide,  with  a  steeple  at  one  end  and  proportionable  high.  Also  that  it  stand 
at  least  three  rods  from  the  street."  Voted;  "That  the  above  report  be  approved  of."  Voted; 
"That  the  same  committee  be  continued  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  by  subscription  for 
the  building  of  said  meeting  house  and  that  they  be  empowered  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors 
when  they  shall  think  necessary  to  make  a  report  of  the  encouragement  they  receive  at  a  future 
meeting." 

The  encouragement  the  committee  met  in  their  task  seems  to  have  been 
of  a  stimulating  nature,  for,  at  a  meeting  held  on  Tuesday,  the  13th  day  of 
November,  1792,  Matthias  Hollenback,  Moderator,  "The  committee  appointed 
to  report  on  the  mode  of  building  a  meeting  house  now  report  in  favor  of  a  brick 
meeting  house,  which  report  is  accepted ;  and  the  committee  is  directed  to  contract 
for  sufficient  number  of  brick  to  build  said  meeting  house  to  be  delivered  at  a 
suitable  time  next  summer." 

The  committee  found,  however,  that  the  brick  were  not  to  be  had,  and 
so  reported  to  a  meeting  of  August  3rd,  of  the  next  year;  although  the  minutes 
of  the  same  meeting  record  the  leasing  of  the  brick  yard  belonging  to  the  town. 
Not  being  able  to  secure  brick,  the  committee  was  directed  to  "proceed  immed- 
iately to  contract  for  building  a  stone  meeting  house,  and  that  said  committee 
be  paid  for  their  services."  The  subscribers  to  the  fund  were  ordered  to  be  noti- 
fied to  pay  "one-half  the  amount  of  their  subscriptions  to  Lord  Butler,  the 
treasurer,  by  the  first  day  of  November  next." 

At  a  meeting  January  10,  1795,  the  committee  was  directed"  to  proceed 
and  contract  for  a  frame  and  siding-boards,  shingles,  nails,  etc.,  for  to  build  a 
frame  meeting  house  early  next  spring."  A  little  later  it  was  deemed  advisable 
to  take  an  account  of  money  on  hand  and  subscribed,  and,  if  found  sufficient, 
to  proceed  with  the  work,  otherwise  "to  defer  it  for  another  year." 

Whether  it  was  because  of  financial  inability  to  proceed,  or  because  of 
doctrinal  differences  between  those  of  different  denominations,  or  from  what 
appears  to  the  present  writer  to  have  been  a  much  less  likely  reason  for  delay, 
namely,  the  uncertainties  of  land  titles  of  the  period,  as  suggested  in  a  paper 
by  Mr.  Sheldon  Reynolds,  read  before  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society,  published  in  Vol.  IV,  page  45,  of  the  "Proceedings"  of  that  body,  that 
a  hiatus  of  four  years  was  to  follow  before  action  was  secured,  is  not  apparent 
from  documents  at  hand. 

In  1 797,  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson  passed tohisreward.  A  moral  issue  wasatstake, 
however,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  ordained  minister  in  the  settlement,  various 
contributions  and  editorials,  especially  in  the  Luzerne  Federalist,  kept  the  agi- 
tation alive. 

In  March  of  1799,  a  well  attended  town  meeting  appointed  William  Ross, 

David   Richards  and   Eleazer  Blackman,   "a  committee  to  pick    up    the  loose 

threads  of  former  efforts."     These  gentlemen  appear  to  have  ironed  out  many 

of  the  difficulties  which  confronted  their  predecessors  in  office   and  we  find  the 

following  notice  printed  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gazette,  in  November  of  that  year: 

"TO  CARPENTERS. 
"Wanted  in  the  township  of  Wilkesbarre  a  good  workman  who  will  undertake  to  procure 
and  set  up  a  Frame  for  a  Meeting-house,  55  feet  in  front  and  proportionably  wide,  with  a  steeple 
— enclose  the  same  completely  and  lay  the  floors. 

".Any  person  inclining  to  undertake  the  work,  or  any  part,  is  desired  to  send  forward  his 
proposals  in  writing  (naming  in  the  proposals  the  security  he  can  procure  for  the  faithful  performance 
of  the  work)  to  the  subscribers  (who  are  a  Committee  appointed  for  the  above  purpose)  between 
this  and  the  1 5th  of  January  next,  from  whom  they  may  receive  an  answer. 

"WiLLi.\M  Ross  1 

"D.wiD  RiCH.\RDS        >  Committee." 
"Wilkesbarre,  Luzerne  County,  November  11,  1799."       "ElE.^zer  Bi..\ckm.\n  J 


1736 


That  the  work  of  fashioning  and  assembling  the  materials  which  were 
to  enter  into  the  construction  of  the  new  edifice  had  progressed  with  considerable 
rapidity,  under  the  guidance  of  the  architect,  is  evidenced  by  the  following 
call  for  volunteer  erectors,  which  appeared  in  the  Gazette,  July  7,  1800: 

"The  raising  of  the  new  Meeting  House  in  Wilkes-Barre  will  commence  on  Wednesday 
morning  the  9th  inst.,  at  9  o'clock,  weather  permitting.  The  services  of  any  gentleman  who  chuse 
to  attend  will  be  thankfully  received.  "Joseph  Hitchcock,* 

Principal  Architect." 

The  present  writer  has  searched  the  files  of  newspajpers  of  the  period  for 
some  description  of  the  scenes  attending  the  raising  of  the  meeting  house.  Cer- 
tainly it  must  have  been  an  event  of  importance.  Today,  the  construction  of 
the  largest  and  most  imposing  structure  of  any  community  would  have  com- 
manded extensive  mention  in  the  public  prints.  The  newspaper  of  yesterday, 
however  strange  it  may  now  seem,  turned  its  efforts  to  calling  the  attention 
of  its  readers  to  something  that  was  about  to  happen  in  their  midst.  It  then 
trusted  to  all  these  readers  being  present  when  the  event  transpired  and  thus 
becoming  familiar  with  its  details.  Probably  it  was  considered  that  a  reportorial 
description  of  incidents  would  be  mere  repetition  to  readers,  and  that  space 
could  be  used  to  far  better  advantage  by  omitting  such  description. 

It  is  one  thing  to  erect  the  walls  and  quite  another  problem  to  complete 
a  church  for  its  intended  use,  as  many  small  congregations  of  even  the  present 
day  can  testify.  The  year  1800  differed  but  little  in  its  experiences  from  those 
of  later  times  The  whole  pop- 
ulation of  the  community  would 
be  considered  a  small  congre- 
gation, in  terms  of  today.  The 
committee,  discouraged  from 
lack  of  financial  backing,  asked 
the  architect  to  compromise 
some  of  his  claims  against  those 
who  had  prosecuted  the  enter- 
prise to  partial  completion,  and 
no  ecclesiastic  or  other  leader  at 
hand  to  spur  on  lagging  interest 
and  endeavor,  left  the  shell  of 
"Old  Ship  Zion,"  for  many  years 
a  reminder  to  the  community 
of  an  ambition  not  yet  to  be 
consummated. 

Almost  a  year  from  the 
time  its  timbers  were  raised,  the 
following  appeared  in  the  Luz- 
erne County  Federalist,  of  June 
15,  1801,  indicative  of  its  in- 
complete condition: 

"During  the  rainstorm  on 
Thursday  last  the  lightning  struck  the  n      <5        7      ^ 

conductor  of  the  new  meeting  house  ^^°  ship  Zion 

in  this  town;  and  owing,  to  its  incomplete  state  (not  reaching  to  th;  ground)  entered  the  lower 
story  of  the  house  and  sat  fire  to  the  shavings — luckily  a  number  of  workmen  having  taken 
shelter  in  the  house,  extinguished  the  flames  without  any  material  injury  being  done." 

*JoSEPH  Hitchcock  was  an  architect  and  builder  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  who.se  services  were  obtained  in 
erecting  the  structure  and  who  later  erected  the  second  Court  House. 


1737 

Some  anonymous  poet,  in  1801,  published  the  following  as  to  the  church: 

"No  lofty  towers  here  in  grandeur  rise, 
No  spires  ascending  seem  to  seek  the  skies, 
Save  one  that  bears  aloft  the  lightning  rod. 
Toward  the  bolts  of  an  avenging  God; 
This  rod  alone  essays  his  shafts  to  stay. 
For  none  within  attempt  to  watch,  or  pray." 

While  there  is  intimation  that  a  few  public  meetings  were  held  in  the 
incomplete  structure  late  in  1801,  and  possibly  in  years  next  succeeding,  the  new 
building  brought  no  minister  of  the  gospel  to  the  community  as  its  pastor 
until  1806. 

In  the  nine  years  intervening  between  the  death  of  the  old  pastor  of  the 
settlement  and  the  appearance  of  the  new,  religious  services  were  held  from  time 
to  time  under  auspices  of  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society  and  by  "mis- 
sionary preachers"  as  they  were  called.  Until  the  year  1803,  if  records  of  these 
intermittent  meetings  were  ever  kept,  no  traces  of  them  are  known.  On  July 
1,  1803,  the  minutes  of  which  meeting  survive,  citizens  of  Wilkes-Barre,  aug- 
mented by  several  residents  of  Kingston,  organized  a  congregation  under  the 
name  of  the  Church  of  Christ  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston.  A  confession  of 
Faith  and  Covenant  were  adopted,  after  the  manner  of  Congregational  and 
Presbyterian  churches  of  that  period,  and  these  were  signed  by  twenty-seven 
members.* 

At  a  subsequent  meeting,  Hugh  Connor,  Nehemiah  Ide  and  Daniel  Hoyt 
were  chosen  to  the  office  of  deacon.  Later  in  that  year,  Rev.  Jabez  Chadwick 
supplied  the  pulpit  of  this  congregation  upon  several  occasions,  and  at  one 
meeting  baptized  three  children  of  William  Ross,  at  Wilkes-Barre.  The  Rev. 
James  Woodward  was  another  supply  preacher  sent  forward  by  the  Connecticut 
society,  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  as  was  a  Mr.  Potter,  a  youthful  but  eloquent 
preacher,  who  was  accompanied  on  some  of  his  tours  by  Rev.  David  Harrower. 

The  years  1804,    1805  and  the   early  part  of  1806,  record  the  marriages 

of  the  community  as  conducted  by  Justices  of  the  Peace,  hence  the  inference 

is  plain  that  no  minister  was  available  to  perform  such  ceremonies  in  that  period. 

On  Friday,  February  28,  1806,  The  Luzer7ie  i^erfera/w/ published  the  following  notice: 

"The  inhabitants  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Hanover  and  Kingston  who  are  desirous  of  procuring 
a  minister,  are  requested  to  attend  at  the  Court  House  Thursday  next  at  I  o'clock,  P.  M." 

What  steps  followed  the  announcement  are  not  of  record,  but  the  same 
newspaper,  under  date  of  August  22,  1806,  states:  "On  Wednesday  next,  the 
Rev.  Ard  Hoyt  will  be  ordained  in  this  village.  Pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian church." 

Following  the  course  of  events  through  files  of  the  Federalist,  in  lieu  of  other 
sources  of  information,  a  brief  announcement  appears'  in  the  subsequent  issue, 
under  date  of  August  29,  1806,  to  the  effect  that: 

"On  Wednesday  last,  the  Rev.  Ard  Hoyt  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church  in  this  place. 
The  sermon  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Osborn;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Williston  officiated  by  prayer 
and  the  laying  on  of  hands;  the  charge  was  given  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sage,  and  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dana." 

At  the  time  of  the  accession  of  Rev.  Hoyt  to  the  pastorate,  his  congre- 
gation consisted  of  thirty-four  members.  Six  years  later  the  Covenant  of  the 
Luzerne  Association  of  Congregational  churches  was  adopted  by  this  church. 
During  his  pastorate  of  eleven  years,  eighty-five  members  were  added  to  the 
church;  sixty-one  on  profession,  and  by  letter  from  other  churches  twent\-four. 

*See  "Johnson's  Historical  Record,"  Vol.  V:  80. 


1738 

Mr.  Hoyt*  continued  his  pastoral  relations  with  the  church  until  November, 
1817,  at  which  time  he  resigned  his  charge. 

The  two  years  succeeding  must  have  been  discouraging  ones  to  the  new 
pastor,  viewed  in  light  of  accomplishments  in  completing  the  church.  It  is  not 
now  known  who  proposed  the  project  which  was  eventually  to  provide  earlv 
Wilkes-Barre  with  its  most  famous  public  building.  That  the  plan  of  a  lotterv 
for  the  purpose  was  finally  decided  upon  is  not  surprising.  The  foundation  of 
Princeton  College,  as  well  as  many  other  enterprises  of  merit,  may  be  traced, 
in  a  measure,  to  the  financial  returns  of  lotteries.  Connecticut,  in  1756,  had 
legislated  the  lottery  out  of  business.  Pennsylvania,  on  the  other  hand,  encour- 
aged it  until  1833. 

The  state,  however,  required  that  each  lottery  project  be  incorporated 
and  that  responsible  citizens  guarantee  carrying  out  the  terms  of  the  lotterv 
to  the  letter.  The  local  venture  was,  therefore,  incorporated  by  an  act  approved 
February  15,  1808,  in  the  following  form: 

"AN  ACT  TO  RAISE  BY  WAY  OF  LOTTERY,  A  SUM  OF  MONEY  FOR  THE  PUR- 
POSE OF  FINISHING  THE  MEETING  HOUSE  IN  WILKES-BARRE,  AND  FOR  PRO- 
TECTING THE  BANK  OF  THE  RIVER,  OPPOSITE  THE  BOROUGH,  FROM  THE  EN- 
CROACHMENTS OF  THE  RIVER. 

"Section  I.  (Section  I,  P.  L.)  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by 
the  authority  of  the  same,  That  Ebenezer  Bowman,  Lord  Butler,  William  Ross,  Rosewell  Welles, 
Matthias  Hollenback,  Mathew  Covell,  Ebenezer  Slocum,  Thomas  Wright,  Arnold  Colt,  Cor- 
nelius Courtright,  Nathan  Palmer,  Nathan  Waller  and  John  Robinson,  be.  and  they  are  hereby 
appointed  commissioners  to  raise  by  way  of  lottery,  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars,  to  be  by  them 
applied  for  finishing  the  meeting  house,  and  for  protecting  the  bank  of  the  river,  in  the  borough  of 
Wilkesbarre,  from  the  encroachments  thereof. 

"Section  II.  (Section  II,  P.  L.)  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid. 
That  the  said  commissioners,  before  they  proceed  to  sell  any  tickets  in  the  said  lottery,  shall 
lay  such  scheme  thereof  before  the  governor  as  shall  meet  his  approbation,  and  shall  enter  into 
bonds  with  him  for  the  due  performance  of  their  duty  in  selling  the  tickets,  drawing  the  lottery 
and  paying  the  prizes;  and  each  of  them  before  entering  on  the  duties  of  his  appointment,  shall 
take  and  subscribe  an  oath  or  affirmation  dihgently  and  faithfully  to  perform  the  duties  hereby 
entrusted  to  him;  and  three  or  more  of  said  commissioners  shall  attend  at  the  drawing  of  each  day, 
and  when  the  whole  is  completed,  shall  cause  an  accurate  list  of  the  fortunate  numbers  to  be  pub- 
lished in  at  least  three  public  newspapers;  and  shall  pay  and  discharge  the  prizes  that  shall  be 
demanded  by  persons  legally  entitled  thereto,  within  sixty  days  after  the  drawing  of  the  lottery 
shall  be  completed. 

"Section  III.  (Section  III,  P.  L.)  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid. 
That  the  said  commissioners  be,  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  settle  and  adjust  all  the  ac- 
counts which  may  be  exhibited  by  any  person  or  persons  legally  employed  in  carrying  this  act 
into  effect,  and  that  all  expenses  attending  the  same  shall  be  paid  by  the  said  commissioners, 
out  of  the  proceeds  of  said  lottery:  Provided,  that  nothing  herein  contained,  shall  be  taken  to 
allow  said  lottery  commissioners  any  compensation  for  their  services  enjoined  on  them  by  this 
act,  nor  shall  any  other  person  for  the  performance  of  said  services. 

"Section  IV.  (Section  IV,  P.  L-)  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
That  all  prizes  not  demanded  within  twelve  months  next  after  the  publication  of  the  list  of  prizes 
as  aforesaid,  shall  be  considered  and  deerned  as  relinquished  for  the  benefit  of  the  objects  of 
the  lottery."  , 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  thirteen  men  named  as  Commissioners  were  the 
most  prominent  residents  of  the  community.  Their  names  afterward  appeared 
on  each  lottery  ticket  issued,  as  a  guarantee  of  good  faith. 

*Dr.  John  Dorrance.  who  was  a  successor  of  Mr  Hoyt.  said  of  him:  "He  was  a  man  of  sound  mind,  of  energy 
and  firmness  of  character;  his  youth  had  been  devoted  to  mechanical  employments,  but  being  deeply  impressed  witn 
a  sense  of  spiritual  things  he  left  his  secular  calling  and  entered  upon  a  course  of  study  preparatory  to  preaching  the 
gospel,  and  in  due  time  was  inducted  into  the  ministry.  Few  men  have  exhibited  a  life  so  uniformly  consistent  with  their 
professions.  With  him  there  was  no  compromise  of  duty.  He  was  a  fearless  preacher  of  the  doctrines  of  ^race.  He 
labored  incessantly,  extending  his  efforts  as  a  missionary  throughout  various  parts  of  the  county.  The  effect  of  his 
labors  was  evident  in  the  edification  of  the  Church;  its  members  were  thoroughly  instructed  in  every  good  word  and 
work."  On  the  foundations  laid  by  him  others  have  builded  with  satisfaction  and  confidence  and  the  structure  survive? 
with  honor  to  all  connected  with  its  founding.  Mr.  Hovt  was  born  in  Danbury,  Conn.  1770,  He  was,  while  resident 
of  Wilkes-Barre  for  seven  years.  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  .\cademy.  After  his  resig- 
nation as  Pastor  he  was  appointed  a  missionary  to  the  Cherokee  Nation  of  Indians  in  the  State  of  Tennessee,  where  he 
labored  faithfully  with  much  success  until  his  death.  He  died  within  the  present  limits  of  the  State  of  Alabama, 
February  18,  1828. 


1739 

The  name  used  was  the  Wilkes-Barre  Meeting;  House  and  Bank  Lottery, 
the  word  "Bank"  adding  somewhat  to  the  substantial  sound  of  the  title  but 
referring,  of  course,  to  the  river  shore  in  need  of  repair,  rather  than  to  any  con- 
nection  with  a  financial  institution. 

The  plans  of  the  Commissioners  as  to  the  arrangement  of  tickets,  the 
value  of  prizes  and  the  method  of  drawing  numbers,  were  slow  in  maturing. 

Late  in  1808,  it  was  announced  that  tickets  were  to  be  of  two  classes, 
those  of  the  first-class  selling  at  si.\  dollars  each  and  those  of  the  second-class 
at  three  dollars. 

Prizes  were  advertised  as  follows: 

"FIRST  CLASS 


One  prize  of               i 

;  4,000 

One  prize  of 

2,000 

One  prize  of 

1,000 

4  prizes  of  S500 

2,000 

10  prizes  of     100 

1,000 

50  prizes  of      50 

2,500 

60  prizes  of       20 

1,200 

200  prizes  of       10 

2,000 

1525  prizes  of         S 

12,200 

1852  prizes                 $27,900 

SECOND  CLASS 

One  prize  of 

$  2,000.00 

One  prize  of 

1,000.60 

Two  prizes  of  S500  each 

1,000.00 

42  prizes  of  S50  each 

2,100.00 

59  prizes  of  S20  each 

1,180.00 

159  prizes  of  $10  each 

1,590.00 

1785  prizes  at  $7.50  each 

13,387.50 

3049  prizes 

$22,257.50" 

The  printed  matter  of  the  tickets  was,  in  form,  as  follows : 

"No.    1957 
"Wilkes-Barte  Meeting-House  and  Bank  Lottery. — Class  Second. 

"This  ticket  will  entitle  the  bearer  to  such  prize  as  may  be  drawn  against  this  number. — 
if  demanded  in  one  year — subject  to  deduction  of  twenty  per  cent. 

Lord  Butler,  Ebenezer  Bowman,  William  Ross,  Rosewell  Welles,  Matthias  HoUenback, 
Matthew  Covell,  Ebenezer  Slocum,  Cornelius  Cortright,  Thomas  Wright,  Arnold  Colt,  Nathan 
Palmer,  Nathan  Waller,  John  Robinson,  Comm's. 

"Peleg  Tracy, 
"George  Haines, 

"Agents." 

The  total  amount  of  prizes  offered,  in  case  all  were  drawn,  amounted  to 
$50,157.50,  less  20  per  cent.,  which  was  to  be  deducted  at  the  time  each  prize 
was  paid,  for  the  benefit  of  the  objects  of  the  enterprise. 

The  original  plan  of  selling  all  the  tickets  in  advance  of  one  big  drawing 
was  soon  found  impractical.  The  entire  Susquehanna  country  was  canvassed 
by  agents  with  tickets  to  sell.  Philadelphia  and  Easton  merchants,  doing  busi- 
ness with  local  firms,  were  importuned  to  buy.  But  even  with  such  an  impres- 
sive prize  list  as  the  lottery  offered,  such  sums  as  $3.00  or  $6.00,  especially  in 
currency,  were  not  quickly  obtainable. 

In  order  that  prompt  action  might  be  obtained  by  those  who  had  specu- 
lated in  tickets,  and  as  an  inducement  for  reinvestment  on  the  part  of  fortunate 
holders,  as  well  as  others  whose  cupidity  might  be  aroused  by  the  news,  hand- 
bills were  distributed  and  newspaper  advertising  was  used,  to  inform  the  public 
that  a  drawing  for  a  list  of  fifty  prizes  would  be  held  at  the  Court  House,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Saturday,  March   11,   1809. 


1740 

Of  ticket  holders  present,  the  holder  of  No.  2069  drew  $20.00,  No.  6200 
a  $10.00  prize  and  eight  other  ticket  holders  departed  with  prizes  of  $7.50 
each.  A  second  and  larger  drawing  was  announced  for  April  7th  of  the  same 
year,  when  sixty-eight  prizes,  the  largest  of  $50.00,  were  drawn. 

August  11th,  witnessed  the  third  drawing,  when  two  hundred  and  fifty 
numbers  were  taken  from  the  wheel,  five  prizes  of  $50.00  each  being  the  lar- 
gest paid.  It  is  noted  of  that  occasion,  that  "at  this  day's  drawing  the  wheel 
gained  $325.00."  On  October  21st  and  November  9,  1809,  and  on  January  5th, 
February  14th,  and  March  24,  1810,  the  drawings  continued,  and  then  seems  to 
have  followed  the  denouement.  So  anxious  had  been  the  agents  of  the  lottery 
to  dispose  of  tickets  that,  without  authority  from  the  Commissioners,  they  had 
accepted  grain,  merchandise  of  all  sorts  and  practically  any  other  commodity  in 
lieu  of  cash.  Instead  of  being  converted  into  currency,  these  supplies  were 
carelessly  handled  and  eventually  disappeared. 

Moreover,  at  the  last  drawing,  large  prizes  were  offered  without  a  sufficient 
number  of  tickets  being  sold  to  cover  them,  the  agents  figuring  that  the  wheel 
itself  would  draw  a  certain  number  of  prizes  on  the  unsold  numbers  and  that 
the  sums  represented  would  thus  remain  in  the  treasury. 

Fortune,  however,  smiled  on  the  ticket  holders,  not  on  the  wheel,  and  the 
Commissioners  were  shocked  to  learn  that  prizes  could  not  be  met  by  approxi- 
mately $8,000.  Up  until  the  crash  came,  the  sum  of  $1712.50  had  been  raised 
by  the  lottery  for  its  intended  purposes.  This  sum,  naturally,  could  not  be 
touched,  and  it  fell  upon  the  Commissioners  to  make  the  shortage  good.  This 
they  appear  to  have  done  by  private  arrangement  among  themselves.* 

In  1811,  the  lottery  was  reorganized.  An  advertisement  appearing  in  the 
Gazette  of  March  20th  of  that  year,  states  that  the  Commissioners  had  appointed 
Thomas  Dyer,  Esq.,  Treasurer  and  Ebenezer  Bowman,  Lord  Butler  and  Matthew 
Covell,  Managers  of  the  new  organization.  Drawings  took  place  at  irregular 
intervals  until  the  year  1814,  when  all  remaining  tickets  were  sent  to  Philadelphia 
and  the  lottery  widely  advertised. 

The  plan  of  conducting  the  Philadelphia  venture  seems  to  have  differed 
in  many  respects  from  that  under  which  the  Wilkes-Barre  drawings  were  held. 
Instead  of  deducting  a  percentage  of  prizes  paid,  two  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  blanks  were  included  among  the  four  thousand  six  hundred 

*"The  agents,  charged  with  the  duty  of  selling  tickets,  began  their  work  with  much  energy.  Tickets  were  offered 
in  every  quarter  where  there  might  be  a  chance  of  disposing  of  them.  Among  others  the  Philadelphia  merchants  took 
many  tickets  in  exchange  for  goods,  partly  to  help  in  a  good  cause,  mainly  to  increase  their  trade  in  this  region  by  gaining 
the  friendship  of  the  people  here,  and  possibly  with  some  small  hope  of  drawing  a  prize.  Tickets  were  sold  elsewhere, 
far  and  near,  and  payments  were  made  in  almost  anything  of  value:  farm  produce,  horses,  cattle,  chaises,  wagons 
and  agricultural  implements.  This  method  of  conducting  the  business  involved  the  additional  task  of  converting  these 
various  commodities  into  cash  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  the  promised  prizes,  and  would,  even  under  the  most 
skillful  management,  confuse  the  accounts  and  bring  about  loss,  but  under  the  stewardship  of  the  agents  the  result  was 
grievous  to  contemplate.  The  guarantors  relying  upon  the  integrity  of  the  agents  paid  little  attention  to  the  details  of 
the  business  until  the  drawing  took  place,  at  which  time  it  appeared  that  there  was  not  enough  money  in  band  to  pay 
the  prizes,  the  deficit  being  about  gl3,000. 

The  guarantors  alarmed  by  this  state  of  affairs  then  took  charge  of  the  business  and  made  an  effort  to  induce  the 
ticket  holders  to  bear  a  share  of  the  loss  by  agreeing  to  a  compromise  by  which  they  should  receive  a  less  sum  than  the 
ticket  called  for.  They  succeeded,  after  much  work,  in  reducing  the  amount  to  about  $8000.  Most  of  the  Philadelphia 
merchants  readily  agreed  to  the  plan  in  view  of  the  unfortunate  circumstances.  Some,  however,  demanded  the  full 
payment:  one  in  particular,  a  man  known  for  his  close  dealings,  refused  all  overtures.  Some  one,  however,  explained  to 
him  that  in  case  payment  was  refused  he  never  would  dare  to  go  to  Wilkes-Barre  to  enforce  his  claim,  because  the 
Yankees  up  there  were  the  men  who  went  to' war  with  the  whole  state  of  Pennsylvania:  that  they  were  used  to  fighting 
Indians,  Tories  and  the  British,  and  that  they  were  a  very  remarkable  people  and  were  not  to  be  coerced.  The  man 
relented.  Having  reduced  the  sum  to  ;f  8000  the  guarantors  borrowed  this  amount  of  the  branch  bank  of  Pennsylvania, 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  paid  the  prizes,  dividing  the  loss  among  themselves,  $2000  each.  It  is  said  that  in  those  days  one 
might  buy  the  best  farm  in  the  valley  for  $2000.  On  the  day  of  the  final  settlement  and  payment  of  the  loss  by  the 
gentlemen  who  had  made  themselves  responsible,  one  of  the  number  who  Uved  on  Carey  avenue,  set  out  for  his  home 
greatly  depressed  by  the  burden  he  had  assumed,  and  meeting  his  wife  at  the  threshold  of  his  home,  a  lady  of  many 
accomplfshments,  fond  of  society  and  very  hospitable,  he  said  to  her,  "no  more  parties  until  this  debt  is  paid,"  and 
proceeded  to  nail  a  broad  plank  across  the  front  of  the  door  of  his  house  in  evidence  of  his  determination  to  economize, 
which  remained  there  many  years,  and  was,  perhaps,  never  removed  during  his  lifetime." 

From  a  "History  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,"  by  Sheldon  Reynolds,  Esq.,  published  in  Vol.  IV:45,  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 


1741 

and  fifty  tickets  sold  at  $6.00  each.  As  disclosed  in  Philadelphia  advertise- 
ments, a  copy  of  which  appeared  in  the  Susquehanna  Democrat  of  March  18, 
1814,  the  method  of  drawing  was  as  follows: 

"The  10th  drawn  ticket  on  the  third  day's  drawing,  a  prize  of  lOOQ  dollars.  The  lOth 
do.  on  the  6th  do.  a  prize  of  2000.     The  110  do.  on  the  9th  do.  a  prize  of  4000. 

"This  lottery  will  commence  drawing  on  the  4th  day  of  May  next  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  it  holds  an  ample  encouragement  to  the  adventurer  according 
to  the  scheme.  Prizes  payable  after  the  drawing  is  completed;  but  relinquished  for  the  benefit 
of  the  institution,  if  not  demanded  within  twelve  months  after  the  completion  of  the  Lottery. 

'■Geo% JnaTnes,  }  "^^-^  ^^  ^he  Lottery. 
"Note.     Three  Commissioners  will  regularly  attend  the  Drawing  of  the  Lottery.     Tickets 
now  rapidly  selling  at  Michael  Fortune's  No.   117  Chestnut  street,  also  at  Moore  Wharton's 
No.  58  Chestnut  stieet.    George  Taylor  Jr.'s  No.  85  South  Second  street." 

The  Philadelphia  drawing  on  May  4,  1814,  concluded  the  unique  money 
raising  campaign  for  the  "Meeting  House  on  the  Square,"  to  which  we  must 
again  turn  for  a  brief  space  to  trace  that  structure  to  completion. 

In  the  fall  of  1811,  Joseph  Hitchcock  was  recalled  from  New  Haven,  to 
finish  the  meeting  house  which,  as  architect  and  builder,  he  had  begun  eleven 
years  before. 

With  funds  available  from  the  lottery,  together  with  subscriptions  which 
a  greater  prosperity  of  the  community  permitted  in  that  year,  the  building 
with  its  high  gothic  pulpit,  a  lofty  gallery  and  its  high  backed  seats  was  nearing 
completion  in  December. 

The  "seating"  of  a  meeting  house  was  an  old  New  England  custom  and  a 
matter  of  grave  importance  in  popular  estimation,  as  it  established  the  relative 
social  standing  of  the  townspeople.  It  was  usually  intrusted  to  a  committee  of 
leading  citizens  who  were  appointed  by  the  town  government,  from  year  to  year, 
and  who  assigned  the  different  seats  to  different  families,  in  accordance  with 
their  ideas  of  the  relative  precedence  of  members  of  the  congregation. 

In  Wilkes-Barre,  however,  the  general  custom  was  not  followed,  so  far  as  is 
known.    The  need  of  funds  was  doubtless  the  reason  for  auctioning  off  the  pews. 

In  the  Gleaner  of  December  13,  1811,  the  following  notice  appeared: 

"Pews  in  the  new  Wilkes-Barre  meeting  house  are  to  be  sold  to  the  highest  and  best  bid- 
der on  January  2,  1812,  at  1  P.  M.  Inhabitants  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Kingston  and  Hanover  and 
all  who  wish,  are  invited  to  come  and  procure  themselves  seats,  where  preaching  is  purposed 
every  Sabbath." 

While  the  church  structure,  with  its  tall,  graceful  spire,  was  to  be  a  matter 
of  pride  to  inhabitants  of  the  community  during  the  period  of  half  a  century 
that  the  building  survived,  its  sweet  toned  beU  appears  to  have  made  the  deep- 
est impression  upon  those  who  have  ^vritten  of  the  edifice. 

The  Gleaner  of  March  3,   1812,  presents  the  first  mention  of  the  bell: 
"A  handsome  new  bell  has  just  been  purchased  and  hung  in  the  meeting  house  of  this 
town.    It  is  the  first  bell  that  has  ever  been  provided  for  religious  purposes  in  the  county.    The 
tone  is  sweet  and  clear." 

No  record  can  be  found  of  who  brought  the  bell  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  the 
foundry  of  George  Hedderly,  at  Philadelphia.  The  turnpike  to  Easton  was 
then  open  and,  while  the  bell  weighed  six  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  and 
its  transportation  by  team  must  have  been  a  matter  of  public  interest,  the  inci- 
dent escapes  authentic  mention.  The  bell,  now  in  possession  of  the  Wj-oming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  discloses  three  inscriptions  cast  in  its  metal 
sides  as  follows: 

"George  Hedderly,  Founder,  Philadelphia,  August  6,  1811. 

"Gloria  in  E.xcelsis  Deo.  Fili  Dei  Miserere. 

"I  will  sound  and  resound  unto  Thy  people,  O  Lord,  to  call  them  to  Thy  word." 


1742 


In  a  paper  read  before  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
October  9,  1896,  by  Rev.  Nathan  Griei"  Parke,  D.  D.,  and  called  by  him  "The 
Bell  of  the  Old  Ship  Zion,"  the  following  account  of  the  migratory  history  of 
this  prized  historical  object  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader: 

"The  church  that  stood  on  the  Pubhc  Square,  where  the  Wilkes-Barre  Court  House  now 
stands,  was  the  first  church  erected  in  Wilkes-Barre;  and  the  bell  that  hung  in  the  tower  of  that 
church  and  for  almost  half  a  century  called  the  people  to  worship,  was  the  first  church  bell  that  was 
heard  within  the  bounds  of  what  is  now  the  counties  of  Luzerne,  Wyoming,  Lackawanna  and  Sus- 
quehanna. 

"It  was  not  the  first  bell  calling  the  people  to  the  worship  of  God,  that  was  heard  within 
the  bounds  of  the  territory  once  included  on  Luzerne  County.*  Bradford  County  was  originally 
part  of  Luzerne,  and  the  Moravians  who  were  the  pioneer  missionaries  to  the  Indians  in  Northern 
Pennsylvania,  established  a  mission  in  the  Wyalusing  Valley  in  Bradford  County,  as  early  as 
1764.  It  was  an  offshoot  from  their  mission  estabhshed  in  Nazareth  and  Bethlehem  under  the 
auspices  of  Count  Zinzendorf  as  early  as  1742.  A  monument  recently  erected  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Wyalusing  creek,  marks  the  locality  of  the  mission.  Here  in  1764  a  mission  house  was  erected, 
surmounted  by  a  belfry  in  which  was  placed  a  bell  that  called  the  Indians  and  their  teachers  to 
worship  'on  the  Sabbath  and  on  other  days  esteemed  holy  by  the  Moravians.'  This  Moravian 
mission  bell,  so  far  as  is  known,  was  the  first  church  bell  heard  in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania.    It 


Now  i 


Bell  of  Old  Ship  Zion 

L  Possession  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 


was,  however,  a  small  affair  compared  with  the  bell  that  hung  in  the  tower  of  the  'Old  Ship  Zion', 
the  silvery  tone  of  which,  in  its  youth,  reached  as  far  north  as  Pittston  and  as  far  south  as 
Nanticoke. 

"The  bell  of  which  I  have  been  asked  to  write,  that  was  heard  for  so  many  years  in  Wyoming 
Valley  and  the  surrounding  country  from  the  tower  of  the  'Old  Ship  Zion'  is  now  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  after  more  than  half  a  century  of  faithful 
service  and  a  somewhat  migratory  experience. 

"A  correspondent  of  one  of  our  county  journals,  a  few  years  since,  after  looking  the  bell 
over  somewhat  carefully,  thus  wrote  of  it:  'Our  Valley  has  few  more  inteiesting  historical 
relics  than  this  old  bell.  A  dingy,  rusty  looking  object,  it  is  a  mere  pigmy  in  size  as  compared 
with  some  of  its  more  sonorous  neighbors.  Up  one  side  extends  a  crack,  looking  as  though  the 
bell  had  once  received  a  heavy  blow  or  had  a  severe  fall  during  the  course  of  its  eventful  career. 
One  side  of  the  bell  is  even  rustier  and  blacker  than  the  other,  appearing  as  though  it  has  been 
scorched  by  fire.  There  is  enough  metal  in  it  to  make  one  twice  its  size  if  it  were  ever  recast, 
the  lips  or  lower  edge  being  very  thick.  The  nearest  approach  to  the  date  of  the  elevation  of 
the  belljinto  the  tower  of  the  church  known  to  the  writer  is  a  statement  of  Elisha  Atherton,  who 
*See  Vol.  I;  tins  History. 


1743 

was  born  about  the  close  of  the  last  century.  He  said  to  the  writer  of  this  paper,  some  years  be- 
fore his  death :  'When  I  was  a  boy  about  twelve  years  old  I  accompanied  my  father  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  where  he  did  his  trading,  as  did  nearly  all  the  people  of  Luzerne  County  at  that  time, 
and  while  I  sat  in  the  wagon  and  held  the  horses.  I  saw  the  mechanics  lifting  the  bell  to  its  place 
in  the  tower  of  the  church  on  the  Square.'  As  he  remembered  the  event,  there  was  a  crowd  of 
spectators  present  and  the  work,  for  want  of  suitable  machinery,  was  tedious  and  difficult  and 
somewhat  dangerous. 

"As  the  church  on  the  squaie  was  a  Union  church,  all  Christian  denominations  represented 
in  the  town  used  it  for  their  worship.  The  venerable  Nathaniel  Rutter,  who  came  to  reside  in 
.Wilkes-Barre  in  1855,  and  at  that  time  worshipped  with  the  Episcopalians,  says:  'When  I  came 
here  there  were  three  congregations  worshipping  in  the  old  church,  which  was  the  only  church 
in  the  town,  viz.,  the  Presbyterians  or  CongregationaHsts,  the  Methodists  and  the  Episcopalians, 
and  the  same  bell  served  them  all.' 

"Besides  this  service  for  these  congregations,  it  was  the  curfew  bell  for  the  town.  Its 
voice  was  heard  every  evening  at  nine  o'clock,  virtually  saying  to  young  men  and  maidens  who 
were  out,  that  it  w-as  time  they  were  at  home.  Young  men  who  courted  their  wives  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago,  when  the  Puritan  spirit  prevailed  to  a  greater  extent  than  it  does 
now,  were  not  always  pleased  with  this  signal  'to  leave',  after  which  the  window  shutters  were 
closed.  After  ringing  at  nine  o'clock  every  night  it  gave  the  day  of  the  month.  Besides  this, 
it  tolled  at  every  funeral,  and  gave  the  age  of  the  person  who  was  being  laid  to  rest. 

"The  sexton  of  the  church  whose  duty  and  privilege  it  was  to  give  direction  to  the  service 
of  the  bell  for  some  thirty  years,  was  known  as  'Old  Michael.'  Henry  Ward  Beecher  is  repre- 
sented as  saying  that  'the  Lord  never  made  but  one  good  sexton,  and  he  served  in  his  father's 
church.'  But  Beecher  did  not  know  Michael.  Dr.  John  Dorrance,  who  knew  him  well,  esteemed 
him  highly  and  wrote  of  him  tenderly  and  lovingly  when  his  work  was  done.  Michael  had  his 
idiosyncracies,  but  he  was  marvelously  faithful  in  all  his  work;  and  of  no  part  of  his  work  was  he 
more  faithful  than  in  ringing  the  bell  of  which  he  was  the  official  guardian,  and  its  voice  was 
seldom  heard  except  at  his  bidding.  There  was  no  great  skill  required  in  ringing  the  bell,  but 
Michael  was  only  satisfied  that  the  work  was  properly  done  when  he  did  it  himself.  No  light-house 
keeper  on  our  Atlantic  coast  is  more  watchful  of  his  lamp  than  Michael  was  of  this  old  bell. 

"It  continued  to  be  the  only  church  bell  in  Wilkes-Barre,  so  far  as  we  know,  until  1851, 
when  the  Presbyterian  congregation  moved  into  the  house  now  used  by  the  Osterhout  Free  Li- 
brary, in  the  tower  of  which  a  new  bell,  purchased  by  Mr.  Rutter,  Mrs.  McClintock  and  Mrs. 
Wright,  was  hung,  'to  sound  and  resound'  in  caUing  Presbyterian  people  to  the  house  of  God. 
The  Methodists  about  this  time,  completed  a  new  brick  church  on  Franklin  street,  the  prede- 
cessor of  the  elegant  church  in  which  they  now  worship.  The  Episcopalians  had  some  years 
previously,  in  1822,  withdrawn  from  the  old  church  on  the  Square,  and  erected  a  small  frame  house 
on  Franklin  street,  where  their  commodious  and  well-appointed  sanctuary  now  stands. 

"As  a  result  of  these  progressive  movements  on  the  part  of  the  churches,  the  mission  of 
the  'Old  Ship  Zion'  and  its  bell,  so  far  as  Wilkes-Barre  was  concerned,  was  at  an  end;  and  in 
1857  they  were  sold  and  purchased  by  Mr.  George  HoUenback  and  Judge  Oristus  Collins.  Most 
of  the  lumber  in  the  house  was  purchased,  when  it  was  taken  down,  by  W.  C.  Gildersleeve,  who 
used  it  in  building  a  barn  in  the  rear  of  his  house  on  Franklin  street.  The  bell,  when  being  taken 
down,  fell  some  distance,  and  was  so  injured  as  to  very  materially  affect  its  market  value. 

"The  Presbyterians  of  Pittston,  who  had  just  completed  a  new  house  of  worship  and  were 
feeling  the  hard  times  of  1857  and  1858,  proposed  to  buy  for  their  new  sanctuary  this  darnaged 
bell  of  Messrs.  HoUenback  and  Collins.  It  was  judged  good  enough  for  a  young  church  that  had 
very  little  money.  Mr.  Collins,  who  was  not  troubled  with  sentiment,  was  entirely  willing  to 
sell,  but  Mr.  HoUenback  seriously  objected.  The  bell  was  almost  as  near  to  him  as  to  the  old 
sexton.  It  was  associated  in  his  mind  vrith  all  his  early  life.  It  had  tolled  at  the  funeral  of  his 
parents,  and  that  of  his  friends  and  relatives  who  had  lived  and  died  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  did 
not  wish  it  taken  from  the  town.  It  belonged  to  him  in  more  senses  than  one.  In  his  judgment 
Wilkes-Barre  had  no  more  interesting  historic  relic.  Through  the  persuasion  of  his  wife,  and  his 
sister,  Mrs.  Chester  Butler,  who  were  warm  friends  and  helpers  of  the  Pittston  church,  Mr.  HoUen- 
back consented  to  let  the  bell  go  to  Pittston  with  the  understanding,  however,  that  it  should  not 
go  out  of  the  valley.  It  was  purchased  and  taken  to  Pittston.  There  it  did  good  service  until 
after  the  sanctuary  in  which  the  Presbyterians  now  worshij)  on  Franklin  street  was  completed. 
Then  it  came  back  to  Wilkes-Barre.  The  Osterhout  Free  Library  purchased  of  the  Presbyterians 
their  church  building.  They  did  not  purchase  the  bell  that  hung  in  the  tower,  but  they  (the  Pres- 
byteriansj  did  not  propose  to  hang  it  in  the  tower  of  their  new  church,  and  it  was  for  sale. 

"It  then  occurred  to  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Pittston  that  the  way  was  now 
open  to  return  the  old  bell  to  the  home  of  its  youth.  He  communicated  with  Judge  Dana,  at  that 
time  President  of  Library  Board,  and  proposed  to  present  the  bell  to  the  society.  The  result 
you  know.  The  Wilkes-Barre  bell,  taken  from  the  Osterhout  Library  building,  which  the  Building 
Committee  of  the  Presbyterian  church  generously  offered  to  sell  for  less  than  half  its  value,  was 
purchased  and  placed  in  the  tower  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Pittston,  where  it  is  now 
doing  service;  and  the  bell  of  the  'Old  Ship  Zion'  came  back  to  Wilkes-Barre.  to  rest  in  the  care 
of  those  whose  fathers  and  mothers  it  served  so  faithfullv  in  the  davs  of  its  vouth  and  its  advanced 
Ufe. 

"The  old  liberty  bell  that  called  together  the  men  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence in  1776,  and  that  is  so  carefully  guarded  and  cared  for  in  our  Quaker  city,  and  is  associated 
with  the  trials  and  struggles  and  life  of  our  nation,  is  among  the  richest  of  our  national  treasures. 
Money  could  not  buy  it.  Without  its  en\-ironment  of  patriotic  sentiment  it  is  worth  nothing 
more  than  any  other  old  bell.    With  this  environment  its  value  to  us  cannot  be  computed  in  dollars 


1744 

and  cents.  This  old  church  bell  that  has  done  such  faithful  public  service  in  this  vaUey  for  three 
quarters  of  a  century,  and  of  which  this  Historical  Society  has  become  the  trusted  custodian, 
has  a  value  here  that  it  can  have  nowhere  outside  of  Wilkes-Barre.  Its  voice  was  not  heard 
in  the  days  of  the  Revolution  in  our  first  struggle  with  the  mother  country,  when  our  beautiful 
valley  was  baptized  with  the  blood  of  patriots,  but  the  bell  was  here  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  its 
voice  was  heard  in  notes  of  gladness  when  victory  perched  upon  our  banners.  To  the  sons,  and 
daughters,  and  wives,  and  mothers  of  many  of  those  who  perished  in  the  Wyoming  Massacre, 
in  1778,  its  voice  was  familiar.  Some  of  them  never  heard  any  other  church  bell;  and  when  they 
rested  from  their  labors,  it  tolled  their  death  knell. 

A  letter  from  Charles  I.  A.  Chapman,  pubhshed  in  1896,  in  Vol.  IV:110; 
"Proceedings  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,"  deals  in  part 
with  that  historian's  recollection  of  the  old  bell.  The  sections  applicable  are 
as  follows : 

"The  bell  of  which  you  inquire,  at  the  time  I  was  a  boy  in  Wilkes-Barre,  was  the  'Town 
BeU,'  the  'Court  House  Bell,'  being  in  evidence  only  on  the  first  Monday  of  January,  April, 
August  and  November,  except  by  special  dispensation,  first  of  'Old  Michael',  and  second  of  the 
authorities  at  the  'Fire  Proof.'  Dispensation  of  Michael  Kienzlt!  Blessed  old  impersonation 
of  Loyalty-Legitimacy,  I  had  almost  said  of  Sovereignty  and  Feudalism!  Sexton,  Burgess, 
Magister,  Bailiff,  Town  Warden  and  General  Factotum!  how  shall  I  describe  thy  virtues,  thy 
accomplishments!  How  tell  of  the  blood-curdling  effect  of  thy  threat  with  the  uplifted  cane,  or 
of  the  genial  old  Dutch  warmth  of  the  bestowed  penny  to  an  unusually  peacable  gamin!  Let  me 
leave  the  bell  a  moment  while  I  recall  the  indignation  of  your  mien  when  one  morning  you  saw 
at  'Bowman's  Corners'  the  new  sign  of  B.  F.  Wells,  an  interloper  from  'Jersey,'  who  had  dared 
to  put  up  on  his  house  the  words  'Meat  Market.'  'Take  dat  sign  down  Michter  Wells!  Dere 
ish  but  one  Market  in  dish  town,  and  dat  ish  over  yonder!'  pointing  across  to  the  little,  long, 
one-story  brick  shed  which  stood  exactly  in  the  center  of  Market  Street,  adorned  with  chopping 
blocks  and  great  hooks  on  which  hung  temporarily  the  ladders  and  leather  fire  buckets,  and  by 
which  stood  the  mighty  'Reliance'  fire  engine,  one  of  the  'Seven  Wonders'  of  my  boyhood.  'Take 
dat  sign  down  or  I  takes  him  down!'  But  the  sign  kept  its  place  and  the  triumph  of  the  'Jersey 
Man'  was  the  beginning  of  a  long  line  of  defeats  and  innovations  endured  by  'Yankeedom,' 
ending  in  the  banishing  of  the  swamp  water  from  the  Square,  the  immediate  death  of  the  frogs,  and 
the  prohibition,  yea!  the  tyrannical  prohibition!  of  free  cow-pasture  on  the  Square,  also  the  stop- 
ping of  the  9  o'clock  Curfew,  and  the  consequent  termination  of  Michael's  reign  forever! 

"But  the  bell.  I  am  away  off  from  the  bell.  I  know  nothing  as  to  where  it  was  cast,  and  have 
forgotten  even  the  inscription,  but  the  sound  is  in  my  ear  forever — the  hallowed  sound  that  struck 
my  ear  on  such  a  September  morning  as  this  of  my  writing,  or  as  on  those  Indian  summer  mornings 
which  are  close  at  hand — struck  my  expectant  ear,  when  with  Testament  in  hand  and  shoes  duly 
blacked  I  started  at  its  summons  for  the  little  White  Church  on  Franklin  Street,  to  join  my  class 
under  Judge  Conyngham  or  Wm.  Norton  or  Nathan  Rutter,  or  occasionally  wended  my  way  to 
Mr.  Dorrance's  Meeting  in  company  with  Bert  Conyngham  or  Henry  Wells  or  Frank  Butler 
or  Tom  Lynch.  Oh!  those  were  halcyon  days — the  days  after  the  Baker  Revival.  Then — oh 
then,  the  bell  had  a  charm,  a  music  almost  angelic!  I  think  of  it  sometimes  when  I  see  a  magazine 
picture  of  angels  ringing  Christmas  bells.  You've  all  seen  it.  Then  how  we  used  to  listen  to  the 
sound  on  the  night  of  July  3rd!  It  seemed  as  though  the  whole  of  Colonial  History,  the  voices  of 
Washington  and  all  his  generals  were  coming  to  us  as  we  woke  from  the  first  nap  and  heard  that 
bell  and  listened  for  the  Old  Sullivan  Gun  which  soon  followed  with  the  first  salute!  Town 
of  my  youth!  I  have  spent  with  thee  but  few  days  of  my  adult  life,  but  I  love  thee — how  I  love 
thee — how  I  love  and  cherish  all  thy  memories,  and  think  of  thee  amid  the  wakefulness  of  these 
glorious  autumn  nights." 

"The  smiles,  the  tears  of  boyhood's  years,  the  words  of  love  then  spoken. 

The  eyes  that  shone  now  dimmed  and  gone,  the  aching  hearts  now  broken ; 

Thus  in  the  stiUy  night  ere  slumber's  chain  hath  bound  me. 

Fond  memory  brings  the  light  of  other  days  around  me." 

While  John  Miller  is  named  in  records  of  the  congregation  as  first  janitor 
of  the  meeting  house,  no  early  writer  of  the  edifice  or  its  bell  refrains  from  recall- 
ing one  who,  for  many  years,  exercised  the  functions  of  that  position.  He  was 
John  Michael  Keinzle,  who  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  Switzerland,  in  1802,  and 
almost  immediately  became  one  of  the  town's  best  known  characters.  To  his 
duties  as  sexton,  "Old  Michael"  or  "Old  Pickle,"  by  which  latter  irreverent  title 
he  was  known  to  small  boys  of  the  neighborhood,  added  those  of  high  con- 
stable of  the  borough,  weighmaster  of  the  Arndt  scales,  in  front  of  the 
warehouse  on  the  South  River  Common,  ringer  of  the  curfew  bell,  at  9  o'clock  p.m., 
after  which  he  would  toll  the  day  of  the  month;  and  general  factotum  to  the 
community  in  general.  He  lived  a  secluded  bachelor  life,  in  the  Arndt  ware- 
house, where  comfortable  quarters  had  been  assigned  him.    "Old  Michael"  was 


1745 


in  his  element  during  the  hours  of  services  at  the  meeting  house, 
who    snufifed    the   candles;    who    passed  the  collection    bag,    which 


It  was  he 

resembled 

\  (  on  small  bo\  s  m  the  gallerj    and 


a  fish  net  on  a  long  pole ;  who  kept  a  wary 
who  otherwise  fulfilled  the 
duties  of  the  old  New  Eng- 
land tithing-men;  who  quiet- 
ed the  restlessness  of  youth 
and  disturbed  the  slumbers 
of  age,  during  services.  He 
may  have  even  furnished  some 
of  the  "foot  warmers"  which 
were  frequently  brought  to 
the  meetings  in  the  unheated 
churches  of  that  period.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  "Meeting 
House  on  the  Square"  was 
not  heated  until  at  least  the 
year  1814.  On  December  15th 
of  that  year,  the  Gleaner  pub- 
lished notice  of  a  meeting  of 
the  congregation  on  the  even- 
ing following  "to  decide  upon 
some  plan  for  heating  the 
meeting  house  in  this  town." 
The  best  sketch  of  "Old 
Micihael"  which  has  come  to 
the  notice  of  the  present  writer, 
was  accredited  to  an  anony- 
mous contributor  to  Johnson's 
"Historical  Record"  and  published  in  Vol.  I:  173  of  same.  It  seems  worth 
recording  here: 

"He  was  a  small,  active  man,  and  the  only  thing  high  about  him  was  his  temper,  and  this 
only  when  exasperated  by  the  bad  boys  of  the  town,  by  whom  he  was  known  and  universally 
called  'Old  Pickle.'  Naturally  he  had  a  kind  and  tender  heart,  and  was  fond  of  little  folks,  so 
long  as  they  behaved  well.  I  can  remember  being  one  of  a  soldier  company  of  which  Ned  Mallery 
was  captain,  and  Ned  Babb  first  Ueutenant.  Our  guns  were  made  in  the  carpenter  shop  of  John 
P.  Babb,  of  good  wood,  with  a  snap  spring  on  the  side,  which  answered  our  purpose,  and  were 
not  dangerous.  We  used  to  parade  on  the  Saturday  half  holiday,  and  generally  on  the  river  bank, 
near  old  Michael's  residence,  which  was  in  the  Arndt  storehouse  on  the  edge  of  the  bank  opposite 
Morgan's  tavern.  On  these  occasions  Michael  would  frequently  pass  along  our  line  as  we  were 
drawn  up  for  review  and  give  each  of  the  boys  a  penny,  which,  to  most  of  us.  was  considered  quite 
a  prize,  and  as  Michael  was  a  poor  man,  it  showed  the  kindness  of  his  heart  toward  us,  which  we 
never  forgot.  He  was  not  only  the  constable  of  the  town,  but  was  also  the  sexton  of  the  church, 
and  attended  to  the  opening  and  lightning,  cleaning,  bell  ringing,  grave  digging,  tolling  the  bell 
for  funerals,  etc.  A  more  faithful  servant  never  had  charge  of  the  interests  of  a  tovra.  As  a  sexton 
of  the  church,  he  had  the  lamps  to  keep  clean  and  filled  with  whale  oil.  At  the  mid-week  meetings 
he  lighted  the  candles  and  attended  to  keeping  them  well  snuffed.  At  the  church  he  wore  pump 
shoes,  and  moved  about  among  the  congregation  silently  with  his  snuffers  reviving  the  lights  at 
the  time  of  singing,  etc.  On  Sunday  he  sat  in  the  gallen,'  where  he  could  watch  the  boys,  and 
woe  to  any  urchin  who  did  not  sit  still  or  who  made  any  noise.  He  rang  the  bell  at  9  o'clock  at 
night  in  the  old  Meeting  House  in  the  Public  Square,  as  a  notice  to  the  merchants  to  close  up, 
and  for  all  who  were  abroad  to  retire  to  their  homes  and  go  to  bed,  and  this  he  did  without  pay  and 
in  all  kinds  of  weather,  and  never  failed  to  toU  the  day  of  the  month  after  the  ringing.  He  had  a 
pound  on  the  river  bank,  near  his  residence,  and  all  cattle  found  at  large  at  night  were  driven 
into  it  and  kept  there  until  the  owner  paid  his  fine  and  took  them  away.  When  a  drunken  man 
was  found  lying  asleep  Michael  went  for  his  wheelbarrow  and  putting  the  poor  wretch  on  it  wheeled 
him  to  the  pound  and  then  dumped  him  in  among  the  cows  and  swine  until  he  recovered  his  senses. 
In  the  winter  when  the  deep  snows  would  cover  the  coal-ash  sidewalks,  Michael  would  be  up 


C^2.t/c^ 


From  a  Water  Colored  Portrait,  in  Possession  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society. 


1746 

while  the  town  was  asleep,  and,  with  a  snow-plow,  drive  along  the  walks  and  have  all  the 
snow  off  by  the  time  the  people  got  their  eyes  open;  and  this  he  did,  as  far  as  I  know  without 
any  compensation,  except  the  pleasure  of  doing  it  for  the  good  of  the  town.  He  had  the  only 
hay  scales  in  the  town  at  his  home  on  the  river  bank,  where  by  means  of  a  beam  to  which  were 
attached  long  chains  which  he  fastened  to  the  wheels  of  the  wagons  raising  them  and  the  hay 
clear  of  the  ground  and  getting  at  the  weight.  He  was  the  weigh  master  of  the  town  and  charged 
t  :n  cents  for  the  services.  He  was  fearless  when  in  discharge  of  his  duty  and  many  a  time  he  would 
make  arrests  and  take  the  prisoner  to  the  door  of  the  jail,  and  then  his  goodness  of  heart  would 
cause  him  to  let  the  prisoner  go  after  a  good  scare  and  the  promise  of  reformation.  This,  of  course, 
applied  mostly  to  the  boys  of  the  town,  when  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  catch  them.  As  an 
example  of  his  nerve,  he  at  one  time  ascended  the  steeple  of  the  old  church  and  stood  upon  the  small 
ball.  125  feet  from  the  ground.  If  he  found  a  cow  daring  enough  to  enter  the  church  yard  he  would 
then  show  his  temper,  as  he  generally  had  to  chase  her  several  times  around  the  church  before  he 
got  rid  of  her,  then  he  would  swear  in  his  broken  Swiss  until  all  was  blue.  Upon  one  occasion  the 
writer  rode  up  bare  back  on  a  horse  to  get  a  switch  from  the  willow  tree  that  stood  in  front  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  In  order  to  do  this  it  became  necessary  to  ride  upon  the  sidewalk,  which  was 
contrary  to  law.  and  in  reaching  up  with  both  hands,  totally  unconscious  of  danger  or  harm, 
Michael,  who  was  in  the  church,  discovered  me.  and  quietly  coming  up  behind  the  horse,  struck 
him  a  whack  across  the  back  with  his  sword  cane.  The  attack  coming  so  unexpectedly,  and  being 
altogether  unprepared  for  it.  the  horse  sprang  forward  and  came  very  near  breaking  my  neck. 
As  soon  as  I  recovered  my  seat  I  looked  back  at  Old  Pickle,  who  was  swearing  gloriously, 
for  he  had  splintered  and  broken  his  cane,  which  afforded  me  gratification  enough,  and  I  laughed 
heartily,  which  only  served  to  increase  his  wrath.  I  was  wrong  for  laughing  at  him  and  am 
sorry  now  as  I  think  of  it,  that  I  did  it.  How  well  I  remember  standing  by  the  graves  he  had  digged 
and  noticing  his  quiet  sympathetic  ways  as  he  dropped  the  dirt  upon  the  coffin  lid  at  the  words 
'dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes,'  and  when,  as  was  the  custom  then,  the  bystanders,  after  the  service, 
would  throw  in  the  dirt  until  Michael  would  say,  'Dis  will  do  shentlemens'  after  which  he  would 
remain  and  fill  up  the  grave.  I  presume  if  all  the  reminiscences  of  'Old  Michael'  during  his  40 
years  of  service  could  be  collected  they  would  fill  a  volume.  Notwithstanding  his  many  engage- 
ments, he  found  time  to  cultivate  a  garden  in  the  lot  just  below  the  residence  of  E.  P.  Darling, 
in  which  he  cultivated,  besides  vegetables,  a  beautiful  display  of  flowers.  He  lived  entirely  alone, 
having  a  room  fitted  up  in  the  beforementioned  storehouse.  His  death  (1846)  was  occasioned 
by  a  fall  down  the  stairs  by  which  he  reached  his  bedroom.  He  was  discovered  by  accident,  or 
he  might  have  died  where  he  fell,  but  when  found  he  was  carefully  nursed  until  he  died.  An  old 
man  faithful  to  every  trust,  and  vigilant  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty,  he  was  buried  in  the  old 
burying  ground  on  Market  Street,  where  he  had  assisted  in  laying  away  so  many  of  the  citizens 
young  and  old,  of  the  town,  and  the  bell  which  he  had  tolled  so  often  for  others  now  tolled  for  him. 
I  do  not  remember  that  any  stone  marked  his  resting  place;  and  I  have  often  wondered  whether 
any  one  living  could  tell  where  his  remains  rest  at  present,  since  the  removal  of  the  dead  to  the 
new  cemeteries.  If  so,  nothing  could  be  more  fitting  than  to  erect  some  kind  of  a  monument  as 
a  slight  tribute  to  his  unselfish  fidelity  and  worth." 

While  Old  Ship  Zion  has  been  referred  to  at  length  as  the  most  famous 
church  of  its  time  in  Northeastern  Pennsylvania,  no  history  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley  would  be  complete  without  reference  to  the  church  at  Forty  Fort,  which 
is  still  standing  on  part  of  the  plot  owned  by  the  Forty  Fort  Cemetery  Assoc- 
iation. The  erection  of  the  meeting  house  at  Wilkes-Barre  was  begun  in  1800, 
but  not  completed  until  the  spring  of  1812. 

The  raising  of  the  church  at  Forty  Fort  was  undertaken  after  an  inspiring 
address  by  Bishop  Asbury,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  in  the  woods,  on  the  site  of 
the  present  structure,  July  19,  1807.  Both  were  union  churches,  in  the  sense  of 
accommodating   more   than   one   congregation. 

All  denominations,  which  had  organized  cong  egations,  were  for  many 
years  accommodated  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  edifice;  the  Congregationalists  or 
Presbyterians  predominating  in  numbers  and  influence.  Differences  and  mis- 
understandings, between  these  congregations,  approaching  violence  at  times, 
were  to  disrupt  the  affairs  of  the  once  united  brethren  at  the  Wilkes-Barre  edifice, 
as  will  later  be  noted.  The  church  at  Forty  Fort  was  built  b}^  congregations  of 
Methodists  and  Presbyterians  of  the  West  Side;  the  Methodists  largely  in  as- 
cendency as  to  numbers  and  initiative.  The  two  congregations  of  the  little 
meeting  house  which  still  survives,  dwelt  together  in  harmony  until  the  growth 
of  their  numbers  necessitated  larger  and  more  modern  edifices  of  their  own. 


1747 

The  history  of  the  "Old  Church  at  Forty  Fort"  and  a  brief  reference  to 
the  inspiring  story  of  Methodism  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  go  hand  in  hand. 

Much  of  this  early  story  has  come  down  to  us  by  way  of  tradition,  but 
sufficient  facts  are  known  of  it  to  invite  attention.  Pearce,  in  his  "Annals"  289, 
refers  to  the  story  as  follows : 

"The  origin  of  Methodism  in  Luzerne  county  was  on  this  wise.  Prior  to  1778,  Anning 
Owen,*  a  blacksmith,  erected  a  small  log-house  and  smithshop,  on  the  great  road  in  Kingston, 
a  few  rods  above  the  residence  of  Colonel  Charles  Dorrance.f  Here  Owen  toiled  at  his  trade  until 
July  3d,  177S,  when  he  shouldered  his  musket  in  common  with  his  neighbors,  and  went  forth  under 
Butler  and  Denison  to  encounter  the  British  and  Indians.  He  stood  his  ground  bravely,  until 
compelled  to  give  way  in  the  general  retreat.  Flying  from  the  lost  field,  he  found  himself  hotly 
pursued  by  a  fierce  savage,  who,  with  a  swift  foot,  was  hastening  to  bury  his  tomahawk  in  his 
brain.  Eternity  seemed  near  at  hand,  and  he  called  on  his  God  for  help  and  deliverance,  vowing, 
if  preserved,  to  repent  of  his  sins  and  to  lead  a  new  life.  Redoubling  his  efforts,  as  if  inspired  with 
fresh  strength  and  energy,  he  escaped  from  his  pursuer,  and  concealed  himself  in  a  thicket  until 
nightfall.  Under  cover  of  darkness,  he  made  good  his  retreat  to  the  fort.  Sometime  after  this, 
being  then  in  the  East,  he  attended  a  Methodist  meeting,  where  the  preacher  with  great  zeal  and 
solemnity  reasoned  of  righteousness  and  of  a  judgment  to  come.  Owen  remembered  his  vow  to 
God,  and  his  great  deliverance;  he  confessed  his  Sins,  and  found  mercy  through  faith  in  the  Saviour. 
His  conversion  was  complete,  and  he  evinced  great  sincerity  and  earnestness  in  his  efforts  to  save 
his  own  soul  and  the  souls  of  his  fellow-men.    He  received  license  as  an  exhorter,  and  afterwards 


The  Old  Forty  Fort  Meeting  House. 

returned  to  the  valley.  Here,  in  addition  to  his  week-day  labor  in  the  smith-shop,  he  appointed 
Sunday  prayer  meetings  to  be  held  at  his  own  house,  when  he  exhorted  the  people  to  seek  the 
salvation  of  their  souls.  The  seed,  thus  sown  by  a  plain  and  uneducated  but  pious  and  zealous 
blacksmith,  took  root,  sprang  up,  and  began  to  bear  fruit.  Similar  meetings,  at  which  Mr.  Owen 
exhorted,  were  held  at  Jonathan  Smith's,  in  Newport;  at  the  widow  Jameson's  in  Hanover;  at 
Captain  John  Vaughn's  at  Old  Forge,  in  Lackawanna;  at  Lucas',  on  Ross  Hill,  in  Kingston; 
at  the  widow  Coleman's,  in  Plymouth,  and  at  other  places  in  the  valley.  In  1791,  this  region  of 
country  was  taken  into  the  Methodist  Conference,  and  attached  to  the  New  York  District,  under 
the  name  of  Wyoming.  That  district  then  embraced  Newburgh,  New  York,  New  Rochelle, 
Long  Island,  and  Wyoming.  The  Rev.  Robert  Cloud  was  that  year  made  presiding  elder  of  the 
district,  and  the  Rev.  James  Campbell  was  appointed  to  the  Wyoming  Circuit.  When  Mr.  Camp- 
bell arrived  at  his  new  field  of  the  itinerancy,  he  found  100  professors  of  religion,  the  fruit  of  the 
labors  of  Anning  Owen,  and  of  others.  A  class  was  formed  in  Hanover,  and  Stephen  Burrett  was 
appointed  leader.  It  met  once  a  week,  at  the  house  of  Aaron  Hunt.  Another  was  formed,  with 
James  Sutton  as  leader,  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Captain  ^'aughn.  There  was  also  a  class  in  Kings- 
ton, one  in  Plymouth,  one  in  Newport,  and  one  in  Wilkesbarre.  At  ad  of  these  places  Mr.  Camp- 
bell preached,  sometimes  in  private  dwellings,  sometimes  in  barns,  and  at  other  times  in  the  open 
air.  One  of  the  first  Quarterly  Meetings  was  held  in  a  barn,  in  Hanover,  belonging  to  the  widow 
Jameson,  and  was  attended  by  Methodists  from  Briar  Creek,  in  Columbia,  then  Northumberland 
county,  and  from  other  parts  of  the  country  thirty  and  forty  miles  distant, 

died  at  Ulysses.  Cayuga  County.    New  York. 


the  east  side  of  Wyoming  .\v 


ivhere  the  Lehigh 


1748 

"Anning  Owen  was  received  into  the  conference  in  1795  as  a  traveling  preacher,  and  was 
efficient  and  acceptable  until  1813,  when  he  became  superannuated. 

"According  to  the  regulations  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  their  preachers  itinerate, 
or  pass  from  one  circuit  to  another  every  year,  or  every  two  years.  Therefore,  in  1792,  Mr.  Camp- 
bell was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  William  Hardesty. 

"In  July,  1793,  Bishop  Asbury  visited  Wyoming  and  other  portions  of  the  district.  At  a 
glance  his  great  knowledge  of  human  nature  and  of  the  world  enabled  him  to  comprehend  the  char- 
acter of  the  people,  and  the  conditions  of  the  country.  At  the  Conference,  in  August  following, 
he  appointed  the  Rev.  William  Colbert,  and  Rev.  Anthony  Turck,  on  Wyoming  circuit.  During 
this  conference  year  the  membership  increased  from  100  to  183.  In  1794,  James  Paynther  traveled 
Wyoming  circuit,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  A.  White,  in  1795,    who  remained  two  years. 

"In  179Q,  a  new  district,  called  the  Susquehanna  district,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ware,  P.  E., 
was  formed,  extending  from  Philadelphia  to  Western  New  York,  and  divided  into  nine  circuits. 
Wyoming  was  included  in  it. 

"In  1797,  the  Rev.  Roger  Benton  travelled  Wyoming,  and  in  1798  he  was  followed  by  the 
Rev.  William  Colbert.  In  1799,  the  Rev.  William  M'Lenahan  was  presiding  elder,  and  Wyoming 
and  Northumberland  circuits  united  were  traveled  by  the  Reverends  James  Moore,  Benjamin 
Bidlak,  and  David  Stevens. 

"In  1800,  Rev.  Joseph  Everett  was  presiding  elder,  and  Ephraim  Chambers,  Edward 
Larkins,  and  Asa  Smith,  were  the  preachers.  In  1801,  Ephraim  Chambers  and  Anning  Owen, 
and  in  1802  Ephraim  Chambers  and  William  Brandon  were  the  preachers. 

"In  1803,  James  Smith  became  presiding  elder  of  the  district,  and  James  Polemus  and  Hugh 
McCurdy  were  appointed  preachers 


\ 

Interior  \'iew  Old  Forty  Fort  Church. 

"In  1804,  Morris  Howe  and  Robert  Burch  were  the  preachers,  and  the  Susquehanna  district 
was  transferred  from  the  Philadelpha  to  the  Baltimore  Conference.  During  this  year  the  member- 
ship increased  from  300  to  446.  About  this  time,  the  Presbyterians  and  Methodists  in  Kingston 
united  and  built  what  is  now  the  old  church  at  Forty  Fort. 

"This  was  the  first  finished  church  in  the  county  in  which  religious  services  were  held;  for 
though  the  church  in  Hanover*  erected  by  the  Paxton  Presbyterians,  was  commenced  before  this, 
yet  it  was  never  completed." 

That  Pearce  was  incorrectly  informed  of  the  date  of  building  this  church 
we  now  know.  A  union  service  was  held  there  June  15,  1888,  in  commemoration 
of  the  centenary  of  Methodism  at  Wyoming  and  the  eightieth  anniversary  of 
the  erection  of  the  meeting  house.  At  the  celebration,  Hon.  Steuben  Jenkins 
spoke  of  the  church  from  the  standpoint  of  its  Presbyterian  ancestry,  and  Rev. 
Jonathan  K.  Peck  related  its  traditions  and  history  from  the  standpoint  of 
Methodism.     Data  which  was  available  to  Mr.  Jenkins  and  used  in  connection 


*The  historv  of  the  H; 


;  referred  to  in  Chapter  XXXV. 


1749 


with  his  reference  to  the  building  itself,  is  substantiated  by  all  the  present 
writer  has  been  able  to  find  on  the  subject,  and  is  as  follows: 

"This  building  in  which  wc  arc  now  assembled,  known  to  the  present  generation  as  'The 
Old  Forty  Fort  Church,'  from  the  best  authority  we  have  upon  the  subject  was  projected  and 
subscriptions  made  for  its  building,  in  the  year  of  1806;  and  during  the  winter  of  1806-7  the  stone 
for  the  foundation  and  the  timber  for  the  superstructure  were  brought  upon  the  ground. 

"During  the  summer  of  1807  the  timber  was  framed  and  the  general  building  completed, 
so  that  the  interior  finish  of  the  pews,  pulpit,  etc..  was  completed  during  the  winter  of  1807-S,  and 
the  whole  edifice  was  ready  for  occupancy  about  the  first  of  June,  1808,  or  as  near  as  maybe 
eighty  years  ago.  Whether  there  was  any  formal  dedication  of  it  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God 
I  have  been  unable  to  learn,  but  the  supposition  and  natural  inference  would  be  that  there  was 
such  dedication.  This  was  the  first  finished  church  edifice  in  which  religious  services  were  held, 
not  only  in  Wyoming  but  throughout  all  Northeastern  Pennsylvania. 

"The  architect  and  builder  was  Joseph  Hitchcock,  a  New  Haven  name,  father  of  Piatt  Hitch- 
cock, who  was  Treasurer  of  Luzerne  County,  and  subsequently  Treasurer  of  CHnton  County, 
Pa.,  at  Lock  Haven.  Hitchcock  was  considered  a  very  skillful  mechanic.  He  laid  out  and  framed 
the  building  by  what  was  known  among  builders  as  the  square  rule,  which  was  thought  to  be.  in 
those  days,  a  wonderful  feat  of  skill.  Gideon  LTnderwood.  a  cabinet  maker  and  first-class  carpenter, 
made  the  pulpit. 

The  building  committee  consisted  of  Benjamin  Dorrance.  Daniel  Hoyt.  Elijah  Shoemaker, 
Lazarus  Denison  and  Luke  Swetland.  The  lime  used  in  its  walls  was  hauled  with  teams  from 
Lime  Ridge.  The  quaint  style  of  construction  and  arrangement  of  pulpit,  pews  and  gallery  is 
peculiarly  noticeable,  and  suggest  the  inquiry  as  to  whence  came  this  style  of  architecture.  That 
the  style  is  antique  and  that  but  few  specimens  of  it  now  remain  there  is  no  doubt.  There  is  a 
church  of  this  style  and  finish  in  Wickford.  at  the  head  of  Narragansett  Bay.  R.  L,  another  in 
Newport,  R.  I.,  and  one  in  Richmond.  Va..  and  beyond  these.  I  know  of  no  other." 


Note.  The  "Old  Forty  Fort  Meeting  House"  may  be  visited  during  daylight  hours  by  application  to  the  sexton 
of  the  Forty  Fort  cemetery.  Traction  cars  stop  directly  at  the  entrance.  The  Association  has  taken  excellent  care 
of  the  building,  restoring  part  of  the  exterior  and  foundations  and  treating  the  wood  work  of  the  interior  so  as  to 
preserve  it  in  its  original  unpainted  condition.  The  pulpit,  approached  by  a  spiral  staircase,  is  on  a  level  with  the 
broad  balcony  which  surrounds  it  on  three  side^.  The  main  floor,  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  isle,  is  boxed  oflf  into 
pews,  each  seating  eight  persons,  the  rear  pews  being  slightly  elevated.  Brackets  for  candles  or  the  old  fashioned  whale 
oil  lamp  are  attached  to  the  gallery  supports  and  the  church  today  has  no  means  of  lighting  except  by  candle  or  lamp. 
It  is  most  fortunate  that  this  interesting  building,  like  the  Pickering  House  at  120  South  Main  Street.  Wilkes-Barre, 
which  antedated  it  by  some  twenty  years  in  construction,  has  fallen  into  appreciative  hands.  From  present  indi- 
cations the  old  meeting  house,  under  normal  conditions,  should  survive  for  another  century  as  a  shrine  for  those 
who  appreciate  its  history. 

The  summary  by  Mr.  Jenkins  suggests  that  the  style  of  pulpit  and  pews  was  antique.  But  it  was  not  rare,  for 
many  of  the  churches  built  at  that  period  in  this  country  had  the  identical  features  of  high  pulpits  and  boxed  pews- 
"The  style  came  from  England  and  the  Continent 


w^i^^w'' 


IMiliU^  -    '  - 


^"■lT?fe 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

EVENTS  OF  THE  EARLY  YEARS  OF   THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY— JEFFER- 
SON'S   ELECTION  CELEBRATED— PARTISANSHIP  OF  THE  PERIOD— ECHOES 
OF  LAND  DISPUTES— THE  IDEA  OF  PERMANENCE  OF  THE  COMMUNITY 
GAINS  GROUND— BUILDING  OF  THE  SECOND  COURT  HOUSE— THE 
STONE    JAIL— EASTON    AND     WILKES-BARRE    TURNPIKE— THE 
BOROUGH    OF    WILKES-BARRE    INCORPORATED— FIRST    OF- 
FICERS OF  THE  BOROUGH— THE  STONE  "FIRE  PROOF" 
—THE  WILKES-BARRE  ACADEMY— VARIOUS 
SOCIETIES  FORMED. 


He  sighed  for  the  days  of  his  early  youth, 
"Those  good  old  days  of  yore," 

But  he  was  forced  to  ride  all  day  in  a  stage 
And  thought  it  a  beastly  bore. 

He  lauded  the  innocent  times  of  old. 

The  pleasures  of  long  ago, 
But  he  went  to  an  old-time  singing  bee 

And  voted  it  beastly  slow. 

He  longed  for  the  days  when  he  was  young. 
When  everything  was  just  right. 

But  he  kicked  when  the  electric  lights  went 
wrong. 
And  he  had  to  use  candle  light. 

He  exalted  the  youth  of  by-gone  days. 

And  fired  an  employe 
Who  was  so  old-fashioned  he  couldn't  com- 
pete 

With  modern  energy. 

He  boarded  his  modern  private  car. 

And  sped  to  the  salty  sea; 
He  sat  on  the  deck  of  his  modem  yacht. 

And  dreamed  of  the  used-to-be. 

— St.  Paul  Dispatch. 


The  Presidential  election  of  1800,  had  witnessed  the  defeat  of  Federalists, 
generally,  throughout  the  country,  and  the  vote  of  the 'electoral  college  had  been 
a  tie  between  two  Republicans,  Thomas  JefTerson  and  Aaron  Burr.  Thrown  into 
the  House  of  Representatives,  Jefferson  had  finally,  on  the  36th  ballot,  emerged 
with  the  required  votes.  Burr,  under  the  rules  then  obtaining,  became  Vice 
President. 


1751 

Pennsylvania  had  cast  her  electoral  votes  for  Jefferson,  and  its  House 
membership  had  likewise  voted  for  the  country's  leading  exponent  of  democracy. 
The  election  proved  a  bitter  blow  to  conservatives,  and  members  of  the  defeated 
party  at  Wilkes-Barre,  as  elsewhere,  were  outspoken  in  their  prognostications 
of  national  disaster  to  follow.  It  happened  that  while  a  contributor  to  the 
Pennsylvania  Magazine,  XII:  484,  was  recording  some  impressions  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  in  the  latter  part  of  1800,  and  the  early  months  of  1801,  local  adherents 
of  Jefferson  celebrated  his  accession  to  the  presidency.  The  account  is  rather 
amusing  in  its  tinge  of  partisanship; 

"Dec.  5,  ISOO.  Arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  about  2  P.  M.  It  is  now  in  agitation  to  build  a 
turnpike  from  here  to  Easton,  sixty  miles,  and  should  this  be  effected,  Philadelphia  will  be  the 
market  via  this  route,  which  will  shorten  the  distance  one  hundred  miles  from  what  it  is  by  the 
Lancaster  road.  The  inhabitants  emigrated  chiefly  from  Connecticut.  There  are  a  number  of 
gentlemen  of  education  residing  here,  chiefly  professional  characters  of  the  law,  and  this  being 
the  county  town  of  Luzerne,  has  rendered  it  populous.  An  elegant  church  with  a  spire  has  been 
built,  and  during  the  year  a  court  house  will  be  erected.  Some  gentlemen  are  possessed  of  a  large 
property  to  the  amount  of  £20,000,  and  more,  A  stranger  has  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  want 
of  friends,  or  friendly  assistance,  who  falls  among  them.  The  Sabbath  is  observed  with  great 
decency. 

"Information  was  received  on  Tuesday  last,  that  Mr.  Jefferson  was  elected  President  of 
the  United  States.  The  Democrats  are  making  preparations  to  rejoice  on  Wednesday  next, 
the  4th  March,  when  an  ox  will  be  roasted  whole,  cannon  will  be  fired,  and  probably  some  whiskey 
will  be  drank.  They  feel  important,  go  with  their  heads  up,  assume  a  new  language,  are  busy 
in  the  streets. 

"March  5,  ISOl.  Yesterday  was  celebrated  by  the  Democrats  in  this  place  with  festivity 
and  rejoicing,  that  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  infidel,  was  raised  to  the  Presidential  chair.  They  in- 
troduced the  French  flag  and  cockade ;  they  stopped  and  insulted  the  mail,  attacked  and  abused 
travellers,  and  committed  many  outrages.  There  are  some  Democrats  of  this  place  possessed  of 
large  property,  they  will  do  well  to  keep  a  good  lookout,  for  they  have  many  brethren  who  have 
none  at  all,  and  who  comfort  themselves  with  the  idea  of  an  equal  distribution  to  be  made  in  a 
short  time.     This  is  their  glorious  millenium,  the  reign  of  Liberty  and  Equality! 

"March  12 — The  inhabitants  of  Wilkes-Barre  are  a  mixture  of  good  and  bad — Lord  Butler, 
Rosewell  Wells,  Matthew  Covil,  Putnam  Catlin.  Ebenezer  Bowman,  Arnold  Colt,  Capt.  Samuel 
Bowman,  Jesse  Fell,  George  Griffin  and  others  are  Federal  in  heart  and  conduct.  They  are  men 
of  property,  character  and  morals,  and  there  is  a  frank,  open  and  friendly  appearance  in  all  their 
conduct.  There  are  others  of  a  different  complexion,  all  Democrats,  and  consequently  are  rebels 
against  God  and  man!  I  never  saw  Democratic  enmity  expressed  and  acted  out  in  such  lively 
colours  as  it  is  in  this  place. 

"The  ladies  of  Wilkes-Barre  might  perhaps,  consider  themselves  neglected,  should  I  pass 
them  by  in  silence.  Their  circle  is  not  large,  yet  they  are  a  number,  who  have  personal  charms 
and  other  accomplishments,  which  render  them  engaging.  Some  in  a  fancy  dress,  with  easy 
agreeable  airs,  have  appeared  to  the  best  advantage,  and  were  highly  delightful.  Their  manners  are 
easy,  but  not  sociable  in  conversation. 

"March  17 — This  morning  my  hostess  was  frying  eggs  without  lard.  They  stuck  to  the  pan, 
nor  could  she  turn  them  without  breaking  the  yolks.  She  wondered  what  was  the  matter.  Her 
husband  told  her  it  was  because  there  was  no  lard  in  the  pan.  She  said  that  she  knew  better, 
that  it  portended  something  very  awful  that  was  coming  on  the  Democrats  for  celebrating  the 
4th  of  March,  with  a  roasted  ox. 

"March  24 — Concluding  to  view  the  country  up  the  river,  I  this  day  left  Wilkes-Barre 
in  company  with  Col.  HoUenback.  We  passed  thro'  Kingston,  and  near  its  northern  extremity, 
he  showed  me  the  ground  where  the  Indian  battle  was  fought,  in  which  we  lost  three  hundred 
men.     Col.  HoUenback  was  in  the  action,  and  one  of  the  few  who  escaped." 

If  a  stranger  reflected  the  partisanship  of  the  times,  in  referring  to  the 
community,  it  might  naturally  be  expected  that  Federalists  at  home,  voiced 
their  chagrin  and  rancor  whenever  opportunity  offered.  The  Wilkes-Barre 
Gazette,  republican  in  policy,  published  a  glowing  account  of  the  celebration 
on  the  court  house  grounds  in  its  issue  of  March  9th.  The  next  edition  of  the  op- 
posing Federalist  took  exception  to  its  rival's  description,  in  the  following  emphatic 
terms : 

"In  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gazelle  of  the  9th  instant,  is  published  a  very  extraordinary  account 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  (self-stiled)  republicans  in  this  town,  in  consequence  of  the  election  of 
Mr.  Jefferson  as  President  of  the  U.  S. 

"Lest  the  credulous  should  be  deceived,  and  led  to  suppose  that 'Order,  hilarity  and  good 
humor,'  (as  expressed  in  that  piece)  are  really  meant  to  convey  the  ideas  generally  appropriated 
to  them;  we  think  it  our  duty  to  represent  facts  as  they  were. 


1752 

"  'The  day  was  announced  by  the  discharge  of  artillery  and  martial  music'  This  probably 
might  have  been  the  case.  But  so  great  has  been  the  noise  among  them  ever  since  the  news  of 
Mr.  J's  election  arrived  in  town,  that  it  was  impossible  to  distinguish  this  grand  annunciation. 
If  every  discordant  thump  upon  a  drum  can  be  called  'martial  music',  we  acknowledge  ourselves 
indebted  for  a  sufficiency  of  it. 

"  'The  procession  began  to  move  in  the  following  order.' 

"  'Two  respectable  farmers'  !  ! 

"One  of  these  'respectable  farmers'  we  do  not  know,  but  the  other  is  a  foreigner  who  makes 
it  his  glory  and  boast  that  he  is  not  a  citizen  of  America! 

"  'The  company  consisting  of  about  500  persons  then  regaled  themselves  upon  an  ox 
roasted  whole.' 

"By  what  rule  200  men  (including  women  and  children)  can  make  500,  we  are  unable  to 
determine;  but  conclude  by  the  same  process  that  a  raw  bull  is  made  a  roasted  ox. 

"  'Not  a  single  circumstance  occurred  to  interrupt  the  festivity  of  the  day.' 

"Was  not  the  mail  of  the  U.  States  stopped  and  the  carrier  abused? 

"Was  not  a  boy  abused  and  struck  with  a  club  by  one  of  the  leading  republicans,  merely 
because  he  wore  a  Federal  cockade? 

"Was  not  the  'festivity  interrupted'  when  among  these  500  respectable  republicans,  only 
an  average  of  6  cents  could  be  mustered  towards  defraying  the  mighty  expense? 

"We  will  not  ask  whether  it  was  an  'interruption'  to  have  a  peaceable  citizen  drove  from 
the  public  ground  by  brandishing  two  or  three  drawn  swords  over  his  head; — neither  will  we  en- 
quire, why  the  proceedings  of  this  republican  assembly  were  sent  to  Gov.  McKean. 

"To  have  observed  the  proceedings  of  some  of  this  assembly  after  the  procession  was  dis- 
missed and  they  had  convened  at  their  rendezvous: — decency  would  have  blushed;  and  he  who, 
unprejudiced,  could  have  viewed  every  occurrence  of  this  day,  would  have  exclaimed  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  most  sublime  writer  of  our  age — 

"Ye  gods!  what  havoc  has  democracy  made  among  us!" 

Bitter  as  were  the  political  differences  of  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  they  were  no  more  acrimonious  than  were  echos  of  land  controversies, 
which  raged  in  Luzerne  County  in  the  same  period. 

It  is  not  the  intention  to  reopen  the  subject  of  these  controversies,  except 
for  passing  comment,  as  they  were  discussed  at  length  in  Chapter  XXXIV  of  this 
volume.  In  fact,  neither  residents  of  Wilkes-Barre  nor  of  the  territory  of  the 
seventeen  townships,  formerly  of  Connecticut,  were  involved  in  these  latter 
day  controversies,  only  insofar  as  they  held  wild  lands  outside  the  area  of  those 
districts,  whose  titles  were  being  quieted  under  the  amended  Compromise  Law 
of  1799.  Thomas  Cooper,  Esq.,  Gen.  John  Steele  and  William  Wilson,  Esq., 
were  sitting  as  a  final  commission  on  the  settlement  of  these  claims  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  July  1,  1801.  They  made  encouraging  progress  in  their  work,  as  they  re- 
ported from  time  to  time  to  Governor  McKean.  But  at  Athens  and  neighbor- 
ing points  along  the  Susquehanna,  the  spirit  of  turbulence  was  still  rife.  Wyoming 
was  drawn  into  the  controversy  at  this  time,  largely  because  it  was  still  the  county 
seat  of  the  whole  area,  and  secondly,  because  it  possessed  the  only  newspapers, 
through  whose  columns  contributors  voiced  their  sentiments  in  no  uncertain 
terms.  The  Gazette  advised  its  readers  to  assist  the  Commissioners  in  hurrying 
forward  their  business.  The  Federalist,  on  the  other  hand,  sided  with  the  Franklin 
party.  Over  the  pseudonym  of  "Plain  Talk,"  Colonel  Franklin  began,  in  May, 
1801,  to  use  the  columns  of  the  latter  publication  in  a  series  of  fervid  articles, 
which  covered  the  whole  range  of  Connecticut  claims,  and  were  to  continue 
in  serial  form  for  several  years  to  follow. 

The  Pennsylvania  land  claimants  conducted  their  answers  to  Colonel 
Franklin,  from  the  safe  distance  of  the  columns  of  the  Lancaster  Journal. 

Tench  Coxe,  Secretary  of  the  Land  Office,  and  a  large  claimant  to  dis- 
puted lands  of  the  Commonwealth,  upheld  the  Pennsylvania  partisans  with 
tranchant  pen.  In  its  issue  of  July  13,  1801,  the  Federalist,  in  a  burst  of 
heated  argument,  referred  to  Mr.  Coxe  as  a  "tape-worm,"  besides  casting  otl;er 
aspersions  upon  his  character.      Asher  Miner,  publisher  of  the   Federalist,  was 


1753 

thereupon  arrested  by  Col.  Abraham  Horn,  a  special  officer  of  the  Common- 
wealth,  and  placed  under  bond  for  appearance  at  the  following  term  of  court. 

Thinking,  doubtless  that  Mr.  Miner  would  be  intimidated  by  his  arrest, 
and  that  the  columns  of  his  paper  would  in  future  reflect  to  a  less  emphatic 
extent  the  attitude  of  the  Franklin  party,  Colonel  Horn  and  his  deputies  filled 
the  calendar  of  the  November,  1801,  term  of  court  to  overflowing,  with  the  names 
of  adherents  of  Colonel  Franklin,  whose  arrests  had  been  caused  under  the 
latrusion  Act. 

Such  results,  if  anticipated,  did  not  follow.  The  newspaper  retaliated, 
with  less  use  of  personalities,  perhaps,  but  with  finer  logic,  and  the  cases  against 
Franklin,  et  al,  as  has  been  seen,  were  eventually  dismissed  on  grounds  of  the 
unconstitutionality  of  the  Act. 

Hoping  for  assistance  from  Congress  in  their  claims,  the  Franklin  party 
prepared  a  lengthy  petition,  signed  by  some  thirteen  hundred  land  claimants 
outside  the  seventeen  townships,  introduced  before  the  House,  by  Representa- 
tive Calvin  Goddard,  of  Connecticut,  January  5,  1802.  The  matter,  being 
referred  to  a  special  committee,  was  dismissed  on  the  grounds  that  the  Decree 
of  Trenton  had  given  courts  of  Pennsylvania  jurisdiction  of  claims,  and  the  whole 
affair  was  therefore  no  business  of  Congress. 

Rebufifed  by  the  supreme  law  making  authority,  discouraged  by  the  grad- 
ual desertion  from  their  ranks  of  those  who  were  securing  their  warrants  from 
the  commissioners,  and  feeling  that  further  opposition  to  Pennsylvania  was 
useless,  the  year  1802  began  that  disintegration  of  the  Franklin  party  in  the 
northern  Susquehanna  districts,  as  had  followed  three  years  before  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Wilkes-Barre. 

On  September  6,  1802,  Judge  Cooper  announced  that  he  would  \-isit  the 

up-river  districts  for  the  first  time,   and  would  be  absent  from  Wilkes-Barr6 

some  six  weeks.    That  his  visit  met  with  encouragement,  is  evidenced  by  a  letter 

to  Governor  McKean,  written  October  20,  1802,  in  part  as  follows:* 

"Every  claim  of  every  Connecticut  claimant  under  the  Law  of  1799,  and  the  supplements 
thereto,  has  been  examined  and  decided  upon,  except  the  cases  of  townships  rejected,  and  appeals 
from  my  jurisdiction.  The  townships  of  Bedford  and  Ulster  were  not  able  to  make  out  a  title 
to  my  satisfaction,  under  the  Susquehanna  Company  and  the  law  of  1799.  I  rejected,  therefore, 
every  applicant  within  those  townships.  *  *  *  In  Ulster  live  Frankhn,  the  Satterlees,  and 
Spaldings,  the  Binghams,  and  all  the  decided  and  leading  characters  among  the  half  share  men. 
In  that  thownship,  and  there  alone  will  opposition  rise,  if  at  all." 

By  way  of  further  explanation  of  the  situation,  the  Commissioner  wrote 
again  in  November  of  the  same  year,  on  this  score: 

"I  cannot  be  far  wrong  when  I  state  the  utmost  force  of  the  Wild  Yankees  as  thev  are  called, 
at  200  men. 

"These  are  for  the  most  part  poor  and  ignorant  but  industrious  settlers,  thinly  scattered 
over  a  wild  country  (Wyalusing,  Wysox,  Tioga,  WilUngborough  and  Rindaw),  incited  and  mis- 
led by  about  half  a  dozen  leaders,  living  chiefly  in  the  township  of  Ulster,  viz :  Franklin,  Satterlee, 
Spalding,  Bingham,  Flower,  Kingsbury,  John  Jenkins  of  Exeter,  and  Ezekiel  Hyde  of  Willing- 
borough.  In  fact,  all  the  active  opposition  is  confined  to  3  or  4  miles  above  and  so  much  below 
Tioga  Point  and  about  a  dozen  miles  East  and  West  of  it.  *  *  *  Except  John  Jenkins  and 
Ezekiel  Hyde  the  leaders  live  near  each  other,  with  establishments  and  families,  and  in  case  of 
necessity  might  easily  be  reduced." 

In  the  minds  of  residents  of  the  settlement,  in  and  about  Wilkes-Barre, 
there  seems  to  have  lodged  at  this  time,  an  idea  of  the  permanence  of  their 
community.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  verified  their  rights  to  the  title  of  lands 
upon  which  they  lived,  and  had  accepted  from  the  Pennsylvania  Commissioners 
a  certificate,  which  evidenced  that  title.    They  had  begun  the  erection  of  a  com- 

*See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  2nd  series,  XVIII:  487. 


1754 

modious  church,  which,  by  reason  of  its  dependency  upon  private  subscriptions 
had  not  then  been  completed.  But  the  county  was  rapidly  acquiring  new  resi- 
dents, its  taxables  were  increasing,  and  the  need  of  a  new  public  building,  with 
facilities  for  the  housing  of  valuable  records,  was  imperative.  The  rude  log 
structure,  two  stories  in  height,  unpainted  and  unadorned,  had  outlived  its 
usefulness  as  not  merely  a  court  house  and  jail,  but  a  place  of  general  service  to 
those  who  had  occasion  to  use  it.  On  September  26,  1801,  the  then  County  Com- 
missioners, Thomas  Wright,  Lawrence  Myers  and  Eleazer  Blackman  took  the 
initiative  in  proposing  a  new  structure  for  county  use,  and  authorized  advertising 
that  they  "would  receive  proposals  for  furnishing  stone,  brick,  lime,  scantling 
and  boards  for  building  a  court  house."  Before  taking  this  action,  however, 
the  Commissioners  very  wisely  sought  light  on  the  question  as  to  who  owned  the 
lands  of  the  Public  Square,  on  which  the  proposed  building  was  to  stand.  Accord- 
ingly, a  town  meeting  was  called,  the  minutes  of  which  sum  up  the  action  tdken 
as  follows: 

"At  a  Town  Meeting  held  agreeably  to  notice  at  the  Court  House,  Wilkesbarre  on  Satur- 
day, the  13th  June  A.  D.,  1801. 

"The  County  Commissioners  informed  this  meeting,  that  they  were  about  to  erect  a  new 
Court  House  on  the  Spot  where  the  old  one  Stands  on  the  Public  Square  in  Wilkesbarre  for  the 
use  of  the  County;  but  have  some  doubts  about  the  propriety  of  so  doing  unless,  the  use  of  the 
Ground  is  ceded  by  the  Town  for  that  use,  Whereupon  on  Motion  &  Seconded, 

"Voted,  that  Matthias  Hollenback,  Lord  Butler  &  Arnold  Colt,  esquires,  are  appointed 
a  Committee  on  behalf  of  the  Proprietors  and  Inhabitants  of  this  Township,  to  lease  to  the  County 
Commissioners  and  their  Successors  in  Office,  so  much  of  the  South  Quarter  of  the  Public  Square 
in  this  Town,  being  the  same  square  on  which  the  Court  House  now  stands,  as  shall  by  them  be 
thought  sufficient  for  the  Purpose  aforesaid  to  the  Use  of  them  and  their  Successors  in  Ofl&ce  for 
so  long  time  as  the  same  shall  be  occupied  for  a  Court  House." 

A  lease  was  thereupon  executed  between  the  township  committee  and  the 
Commissioners,  which  was  deemed  sufficient  to  guarantee  to  the  county,  the  use 
of  such  grounds  as  were  necessary  for  the  purpose,  and  the  committee  filed  with 
Judge  Cooper,  a  claim,  as  Trustees  under  the  Connecticut  grant,  for  the  tract 
known  as  the  Public  Square,  as  well  as  for  the  larger  public  lands  known  as  the 
River  Common.  Judge  Cooper  ordered  the  two  tracts  surveyed  as  required  un- 
der the  law,  Thomas  Sambourne,  Surveyor  for  the  Commissioners,  completing 
the  work  on  the  3rd  of  July,  1801.  No  further  effort  seems  to  have  been  made 
to  secure  a  legal  Pennsylvania  title  to  the  lands  until  the  year  1804,  when  the 
State  Commissioners  turned  over  to  the  committee  a  draft  of  the  survey  of  the 
two  tracts,  as  shown  on  the  page  opposite  and  on  the  reverse  side  of  which  ap- 
pears the  following  certificate  of  ownership: 

"We  the  undersigned  Commissioners  for  putting  in  execution  an  Act  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  entitled  'An  Act  for  offering  compensation  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania claimants  of  certain  lands  within  the  seventeen  townships  in  the  county  of  Luzerne, 
and  for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned,'  passed  the  4th  day  of  April,  1799,  and  the  supplement 
thereto  passed  the  15th  day  of  March,  1800,  and  the  further  Supplement  thereto  passed  the  6th 
day  of  April,  1802.  Do  Certify,  That  Lord  Butler,  Matthias  Hollenback  &  Jesse  Fell, 
Township  Committee  are  the  owners  as  a  Connecticut  Claimant  of  Thirty-Nine  Acres  and 
Forty  One  perches  of  Land  in  the  Township  of  Wilkesbarre,  one  of  the  before  mentioned 
seventeen  townships,  Being  the  Public  Square  in  the  Town  Plot  thereof,  and  the  Public 
Common  on  the  River  Bank  between  the  River  Susquehanna  and  the  Town  Plot,  which 
Square  and  Common  were  severally  occupied  and  acquired  by  a  Connecticut  Claimant  and  actual 
Settler  there  before  the  time  of  the  Decree  of  Trenton,  and  was  particularly  assigned  to  such 
actual  Settler,  prior  to  the  said  Decree,  agreeable  to  the  regulations  then  in  force  among  such 
Settlers.  The  said  Land  (a  Draught  of  Survey  whereof  is  hereunto  annexed)  is  included  in  the 
application  of  Matthias  Hollenback,  Jesse  Fell  &  Lord  Butler  Town  Committee  under 
the  provisions  of  the  acts  aforesaid;  of  which  apphcation  an  official  transcript  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  us  from  the  Land  Office  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  number  772  of  the  said 
Tracts.    The  Whole  is  of  the  First  Class. 

"January  21st,  1804.  "Thomas  Cooper 

"John  M.  Taylor.*" 

♦John  M.  Taylor  had  succeeded  Gen.  John  Steele  on  the  Commission  in  this  year. 


CONTENTS 


Town  Lots 


S.  55    20  \V,  J57.9  P's. 


S.  44!2  W    61  PS 


.  49'..  \V,  711  Ps.  S,  6fl  \V 

SUSQUEHANNA  RIVER 


Draft  of  a  survey  of  the  Public  Square  and  River  Common,  title  to  which  was 
confirmed  by  Pennsylvania  January  21,  IS04. 


1755 

On  December  8,  1801,  it  was  announced  that  Joseph  Hitchcock,  who  then 
had  the  contract  for  building  the  meeting  house,  was  the  successful  bidder  for 
the  court  house,  on  plans  which  had  been  secured  for  the  sum  of  $17.06,  of  a  like 
building  at  Fredericktown,  Maryland.  "The  size  of  the  building,"  according 
to  the  Federalist,  in  publishing  the  announcement,  "is  to  be  63  feet  front  and  53 
feet  deep."  "It  is  generally  accounted,"  continued  the  publication,  "to  exceed 
in  point  of  elegance  and  convenience,  any  other  building  that  has  come  to  the 
commissioners'  notice.  The  terms  of  the  contract,  it  is  thought  by  all  who  are 
acquainted  with  them,  to  be  advantageous  on  the  part  of  the  county;  and  it  is 
hoped  they  may  prove  equally  so,  on  the  part  of  the  builder."  The  site  of  the 
contemplated  building  required  the  removal  of  the  log  structure  to  another  part 
of  the  Square,  hence  it  was  given  a  place  in  the  north  west  triangle,  back  of 
the  meeting  house,  and  facing  out  West  Market  street. 

The  building,  according  to  the  contractor's  estimate  was  to  cost  $9,356.06 
furnished,  including  removal  of  the  log  structure;  and  a  summary  of  accounts 
of  the  County  Commissioners  indicates  that  very  little  additional  money  was 
expended,  when  the  building  was  completed.  What  delayed  the  progress  of 
construction  of  the  new  building  is  not  a  matter  of  record.  In  the  December 
1st  issue  of  the  Gazette,  in  1800,  is  found  an  advertisement  by  the  contractor, 
as  follows: 

"The  subscriber  has  contracted  to  complete  the  court  house  in  the  town  of  Wilkesbarre. 
He  will  be  enabled  to  afford  his  apprentices  an  opportunity  seldom  to  be  had  in  this  county,  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  carpenter's  trade  in  all  its  branches.  Two  or  three  lads  of  good 
character  are  wanted.  Joseph  Hitchcock." 

Work  actually  proceeded  the  following  spring,  the  timbers  being  "raised" 
as  was  the  custom,  by  volunteer  workers,  in  June,  1801.  Pearce,  in  his  Annals: 
244,  relates  that  "There  were  thirty-two  and  one-half  gallons  of  whiskey  used 
at  the  raising  of  this  building;  a  fact  which  demonstrates  either  the  great  capacity 
of  the  people  of  that  day  for  ardent  spirits,  or  else  the  presence  of  a  large  number 
of  consumers." 

From  items  in  the  County  Commissioners'  accounts,  we  find  that  they 
expended  the  sum  of  $3,582.64  (including  the  item  of  whiskey)  in  the  year  1801, 
also  the  sum  of  $271.74  on  repairs  of  the  old  log  building.  In  1802,  they  spent 
an  additional  sum  of  $2,373.67  on  the  new  building,  and  in  1803,  the  sum  of 
$784.31,  as  the  building  neared  completion.  In  the  meantime,  court  was  being 
held  in  the  log  structure.  At  the  fall  session,  1804,  the  new  building  was  dedi- 
cated. Judge  Rush,  delivering  a  short  address,  congratulatory  in  tone,  upon  that 
occasion.  The  building,  when  completed,  was  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  with  a  low 
tower  and  belfry,  in  which,  in  August,  1805,  a  smaller  bell  than  that  which  after- 
ward hung  in  Old  Ship  Zion  was  installed.  In  a  wing,  pointing  northward,  on 
the  lower  floor  of  the  building,  was  the  main  court  room,  the  judge's  bench  on 
one  side,  and  a  gallery  running  the  length  of  the  opposite  end.  Various  county 
offices  were  situated  in  the  other  wings  on  this  floor.  On  the  second  story  was 
a  large  room,  which  was  used  as  a  sort  of  community  center,  by  church  congre- 
gations, until  the  completing  of  the  meeting  house ;  as  a  dancing  school  at  times 
and,  upon  state  occasions,  as  a  ball  room. 

The  building  was  sheathed  in  one  inch  boards,  grooved  to  resemble  stone, 
the  grooves  painted  white,  the  balance  of  the  building  red.  The  cornice  was  of 
yellow  pine,  handworked.  The  basement  of  the  building  was,  for  a  number  of 
years,  leased  as  a  butcher  shop  and  later  became  a  restaurant,  with  bar  attached. 


1756 

For  more  than  half  a  century,  the  building  was  used  for  judicial  purposes. 
Judge  John  N.  Conyngham  in  his  address,  in  1856,  delivered  on  the  occasion  of 
the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  third  court  house,  remarked;  "Upwards  of 
fifty  years  seems  a  long  period  for  litigation  and  dispute  among  an  active  and  a 
growing  people ;  yet,  it  is  believed,  that  the  scales  of  Justice  have  been  balanced 
as  evenly  within  these  vvalls  as  human  knowledge  and  human  frailty  would 
allow." 

The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  who  sat  in  this  court  house  and  in  the 
original  log  building,  were  Justices  McKean,  Tilghman,  Breckenridge,  Smith, 
and  Yeates.  "There  were  some  ceremonies,"  says  Judge  Conyngham,  in  the 
address  before  quoted,  "connected  with  the  courts,  now  entirely  abrogated, 
and  which  in  fact,  would  be  annoying  in  the  present  day,  which  are  worthy 


Luzerne  County's  Second  Court  House. 
Completed  1804. 

of  being  noted  in  the  records  of  the  past.  At  the  opening  of  every  term,  the 
SheriiT,  with  his  staff  of  office,  attended  by  the  Crier  of  the  Court,  and 
frequently  by  several  constables,  waited  upon  the  judges  at  their  lodgings,  and 
then  conducted  them  in  formal  procession  to  the  court  house.  Judges  McKean, 
Smith  and  others,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  always  wore  swords  when  they  at- 
tended court — some  bearing  rapiers  and  others  heavier  weapons." 

"In  this  secluded  spot,  the  weeks  of  court,  years  since,  attracted  more  of 
interest  in  the  inhabitants  than  is  found  at  present.  They  were  decidedly,  as 
tradition  remembers  and  brings  down  to  us,  gala  days,  and  periods  of  fun  and 
frolic.  The  lawyers  were  assembled  from  various  parts  of  the  state,  and,  while 
business  was  not  so  burdensome  and  pressing  as  it  is  now,  much  time  was  afforded 


1757 

for  amusements.  It  was  but  a  day  or  two  since,  in  conversation  with  a  lady  of 
our  town,  about  these  bygone  days,  that  she  seemed  to  be  young  again  in  the 
liveliness  and  vivacity  of  her  recollections,  as  she  described  the  public  and  private 
gatherings,  and  especially  the  court  ball,  which  was  held  every  term  in  the  upper 
room  of  the  court  house." 

One  thing  the  new  court  house  building  did  not  provide,  and  that  was 
jail  accommodations.  The  lower  story  of  the  log  building,  even  after  its  removal 
to  a  new  site,  continued  to  be  used  for  the  purpose.  The  need  of  a  better  and  more 
secure  place  of  confinement  was  emphasized  on  August  25,  1891,  when  William 
Lothrop  of  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  succeeded  in  escaping,  a  few  days  after 


Luzerne  County  Jail. 
Completed  1808. 

being  sentenced,  by  Judge  Rush,  to  twenty  years  in  state  prison.  Sentiment  of 
the  time  did  not  favor  locating  the  jail  on  a  vacant  portion  of  the  Public  Square, 
hence  the  County  Commissioners  purchased  a  lot  about  two  hundred  feet  square, 
on  the  south  side  of  Center  (now  East  Market)  street,  extending  from  the  inter- 
section of  the  present  Washington  and  Market  streets,  westerly  to  a  point  about 
half  way  to  the  Square.  The  sum  of  $538.50  was  involved  in  the  transaction 
for  what  is  now  one  of  the  most  valuable  real  estate  tracts  of  the  city,  the  deed 
bearing  date  of  February  12,  1802.  The  Federalist  of  March  22nd,  of  the  same 
year,  carried  an  announcement  that  the  Commissioners,  Messers  Myers,  Black- 
man  and  Colt,  would  receive  proposals  for  "stone  of  sufficient  size  and  quality 
to  build  a  goal  and  goal  yard."  In  the  publication  appeared  a  further  call  for 
proposals  "for  plastering  the  new  court  house,  and  furnishing  materials  and  build- 
ing a  fence  around  the  same." 

In  1803,  but  little  work  appears  to  have  been  done  in  erecting  the  building, 
the  Commissioners'  accounts  showing  but  $835.70  expended  for  that  purpose. 
Work  progressed  more  rapidly  in  1804,  when  the  work  of  construction  called  for 
an  expenditure  of  $3,356.62. 

From  that  time  forward,  until  completion  of  the  building  in  the  spring 
of  1808,  the  work  dragged  discouragingly ;  due  in  part,  as  the  Commissioners 
felt  called  upon  to  explain,  to  scarcity  of  funds,  slowness  in  the  delivery  of  material, 


1758 

which  was  quarried  on  Harvey's  Creek,  and,  at  times,  to  a  failure  to  secure  ma- 
sons familiar  with  their  work.  The  final  items  of  expense  were  for  the  delivery, 
in  February  1808,  of  an  iron  door  and  an  iron  grate  made  by  Joseph  Slocum  at 
his  blacksmith  shop.  The  first  appointment  as  jailor  for  the  new  prison  was 
Isaac  Hewitt,  who  was  succeeded  shortly  after  the  building  was  put  to  its  new 
use  by  George  Stewart. 

In  its  issue  of  July  1,  1808,  the  Federalist  narrates  a  story  of  an  attempted 
escape  from  the  new  jail,  which  rivals  the  desperate  measures  of  modern  times 
in  subterfuge  and  daring.  Under  the  largest  headline  which  had  appeared  in 
that  publication  since  its  establishment,   the   story   was   narrated   as   follows: 

CONSPIRACY! 

"Two  prisoners  have  been  for  some  time  confined  in  the  Goal  of  this  town  on  criminal 
charges.     Seward,  for  passing  counterfeit  money.     Dodge  for  steahng. 

"When  Seward  was  taken,  a  lady  was  his  companion.  She  was  secured  for  a  few  days, 
and  then  as  nothing  appeared  against  her,  was  liberated,  and  has  since  lived  in  the  neighborhood. 

"Seward,  for  some  time  past,  has  been  so  ill  as  to  require  the  attention  of  a  physician,  and 
at  all  times  has  been  treated  by  Mr.  Stewart,  who  keeps  the  prison,  and  his  wife,  with  all  the  hu- 
manity his  situation  could  require. 

"Last  week,  the  family  who  reside  in  the  prison,  were  two  or  three  times  alarmed  for  Seward, 
as  he  was  taken  with  fainting  turns,  and  appeared  as  if  expiring.  On  Tuesday  last,  he  was  so 
ill  that  Mr.  Stewart  left  them  fire  and  a  candle,  to  light  if  necessary. 

"About  1 2  o'clock  at  night.  Dodge  called  in  the  most  urgent  manner  for  help,  as  Seward  had 
fainted  and  was  dying.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  ran  into  the  prison,  with  all  possible  haste,  and 
found  Seward  gasping  for  breath,  and  with  the  utmost  tenderness,  they  endeavoured  to  relieve 
him,  when  Dodge  seized  the  stump  of  a  broom,  the  splinters  of  which  they  had  burned  off,  for  the 
purpose,  and  struck  Mr.  Stewart  over  the  eyes.  The  dying  man  sprung  from  his  bed,  and  the  two 
prisoners,  with  the  most  dreadful  threats,  ordered  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  to  the  back  side  of  the 
prison,  a  smart  contest  ensued,  and  Mrs.  Stewart,  seeing  a  knife  lying  upon  the  floor,  which 
appeared  sharpened  for  the  service,  and  hearing  them  threaten  her  husband  with  death, 
immediately  seized  Dodge,  and  with  a  heroism  that  docs  her  the  highest  credit,  dragged  him  into 
the  street  and  called  for  help,  and  notwithstanding.  Dodge  beat  her  in  a  most  cruel  manner, 
she  retained  her  hold,  constantly  hollering  for  assistance. 

"In  the  meantime  the  dying  man  and  Mr.  Stewart  had  struggled  to  the  door  of  the  prison, 
when  some  of  the  neighbors  arrived,  and  the  fellows  were  secured.  On  searching  the  prison, 
a  saw,  file  and  other  tools  were  found,  and  two  knives  sharpened,  with  which  it  is  supposed  they 
intended  to  further  their  escape,  if  other  means  failed. 

"The  spirited  conduct  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  does  them  much  credit." 

The  fourth  and  last  public  building  of  the  time  to  occupy  a  portion  of  the 
Public  Square,  was  what  became  universally  known  as  the  "Fire  Proof." 

This  building  was  intended  to  house  all  offices  of  the  court  house,  entrusted 
with  the  keeping  of  valuable  records.  The  then  County  Commissioners,  Elisha 
Harding,  Hosea  Tiffany  and  James  Wheeler,  used  the  Federalist  of  May  6, 
1808,  to  call  for  proposals  "for  a  Public  Building,  Fire  Proof,  sufficiently  large 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  several  pubhc  offices,  and  safe  keeping  of  the  pub- 
lic records  and  papers  of  the  County." 

Its  site  was  selected  on  the  easterly  triangle  of  the  Square,  and  as  near  the 
new  court  house  as  circumstances  would  permit.  It  will  be  remembered  that, 
at  this  time,  and  until  the  third  court  house  was  begun  in  the  year  1856,  both 
Main  and  Market  street  continued  on  through  the  Public  Square,  intersecting 
at  its  center.  Had  one  stood,  in  1808,  in  the  middle  of  these  intersecting  streets, 
where  (in  1923)  is  located  the  Public  Square  fountain,  he  would,  by  looking 
down  South  Main  street,  have  seen  Old  Ship  Zion  on  his  right,  with  its  entrance 
and  graceful  spire  facing  south.  On  his  left  would  be  found  the  new  court  house, 
with  its  entrance,  opening  off  from  Main  street,  as  it  passed  through  the  Square. 
Then,  were  he  to  turn  facing  North  Main  Street,  he  would  find  the  foundations 
of  the  "Fire  Proof"  on  his  right,  with  its  entrance  on  the  Market  Street  extension, 
opposite  the  court  house.  On  his  left,  with  its  longer  side  parallel  to  West  Market 
.Street,  he  would  have  found  the  old  log  court  house,  converted  into  the  Academy. 


1759 

The  "Fire  Proof,"  like  the  county  jail,  was  stone,  two  stories  in  height 
with  shingle  roof.  The  same  masons  who  laid  up  the  jail  walls,  were  continued 
on  the  newer  structure.  Like  the  jail,  and,  in  fact,  like  all  public  buildings  of 
the  period,  what  seems  today  to  have  been  an  unnecessary  time  was  consumed 
in  its  construction.  It  was  begun  in  the  early  summer  of  1808,  and  was  not  ready 
for  occupancy  until  the  spring  of  1812.  It  boasted  a  vault,  with  an  iron  door, 
for  the  housing  of  more  valuable  records,  but  the  inflammable  nature  of  its  interior 
finish,   belied  its  popular  name. 

As  had  been  noted  by  an  observer,  Wilkes-Barre,  in  the  years  of  1800  and 
1801,  "was  in  agitation  to  build  a  turnpike  to  Easton."  The  spirit  of  improve- 
ment was  in  the  air.  Pennsylvania  was  leading  all  other  states,  not  only  in  mile- 
age of  "artificial"  roads,  as  the\^  were  then  called,  but  in  the  scope  of  work  pro- 
jected in  this  direction.  The  Philadelphia  and  Lancaster  turnpike,  had  been 
the  first  of  this  type  of  road  constructed  in  the  L'nited  States.     In  an  address 


MARKET  STREET 


PU5LIC  SQUARE   IN  1850 


before  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  delivered  by  J.  R.  Tyson,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1831,*  it  was  stated  that,  "between  the  years  1791  and  1831,  there  was  ex- 
pended out  of  the  state  treasury,  and  by  corporations  on  turnpike  building, 
the  sum  of  $37,000,000." 

"Since  the  year  1792,"  continued  this  narrative,  "168  companies  have 
been  incorporated  for  the  purpose  of  building  turnpikes,  and  it  has  been  calcu- 
lated that  roads  have  been  made  by  these  societies  to  the  extent  of  3,000  miles." 

On  March  4,  1786,  a  petition  had  been  presented  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Assembly,  by  divers  citizens  of  Northampton  County,  praying  "that  commis- 
sioners be  appointed  to  examine  and  lay  out  the  most  convenient  and  direct 
road  from  the  Wind  Gap,  or  Blue  Mountains,  to  Wyoming." 

Nothing,  however,  seems  to  have  come  of  the  matter  by  way  of  securing 
state  aid  to  the  enterprise.  The  Sullivan  road  was  then  considered  to  ofi'er 
sufficient  facilities  of  travel,  between  the  two  districts. 

*See.  "Hazard's  Register."  VIII:  313. 


1760 

Colonel  Pickering  was  active  in  the  matter  of  Wyoming  roads  while  Commis- 
sioner. In  1787,  in  a  letter  to  the  Council,  advocating  improvement  of  this  road, 
Colonel  Pickering  gave  the  distances  from  Wyoming  to  Philadelphia  via  Bullock's, 
Luce's,  Learned's,  Heller's,  Nazareth  and  Bethlehem,  as  seventy  miles,  with  fifty- 
three  additional  miles  from  Bethlehem  to  Philadelphia,  or  a  total  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-three  miles  for  the  journey.  The  route  thus  described,  indi- 
cates that  after  reaching  the  Wind  Gap,  the  Sullivan  road  to  Easton  was  not  then 
used;  another  road  from  Heller's  to  Bethlehem,  being  substituted  via  Nazareth.* 

Colonel  Pickering  also  failed  in  interesting  the  Assembly  to  the  point  of 
securing  financial  aid  for  the  enterprise,  although,  as  has  been  noted  in  a  previous 
Chapter,  he  did  secure  appropriations  from  the  Commonwealth  on  an  unsurfaced 
road  from  Northumberland  to  Shickshinny,  and  from  a  ferry  connection  with 
the  latter  community,  westward  to  the  Lehigh  River.  Neither  the  county  of 
Luzerne  nor  its  townships,  had  been  remiss,  however,  in  the  opening  and  main- 
tenance of  ordinary  roads.  Judges  had  been  punctilious  in  the  appointment  of 
road  supervisors,  from  the  very  first  session  of  Court,  after  the  county  was  erected. 
In  fact,  the  first  record  of  Court  sessions  now  on  file  in  the  Clerk  of  Courts  office, 
is  a  small  volume  erroneously  labeled  "Road  Docket  No.  1."  Whoever  had 
ordered  this  volume  rebound  in  the  distant  past,  had  turned  its  pages  to  discover 
that  most  of  the  contents,  in  the  handwriting  of  Colonel  Pickering,  related  to 
roads  and  their  supervisors,  and  had  jumped  at  the  conclusion  that  it  dealt 
exclusively  with  that  subject. 

But  no  such  momentous  accomplishment  as  an  "artificial"  road,  had  ap- 
proached Wilkes-Barre  from  any  direction  in  1803.  Indeed,  the  construction 
of  any  such  highway,  excepting  along  the  flat  river  stretches,  seemed  a  colossal 
undertaking  of  the  time.  Any  road  to  the  Lehigh  and  beyond,  meant  scaling 
the  Wilkes-Barre  mountain  through  one  of  its  numerous  passes;  the  construction 
of  long  portions  of  the  highway  through  a  rough,  heavily  timbered  and  unin- 
habited mountain  section,  at  great  expense,  and  no  definite  assurance  that  money 
invested  in  the  enterprise  would  ever  yield  a  return. 

*The  following  account  of  an  overland  trip  to  Philadelphia,  in  1795,  is  taken  from  a  diary  kept  by  John  Hurlburt, 
son  of  Deacon  John  Hurlburt,  who  had  occasion  to  make  the  journey  in  that  year; 

Hanover.  Pa..  Jan.  20,  1795. — Tuesday  commenced  my  journey  to  Philadelphia,  In  the  bitterness  of  the  morning 
a  most  violent  cold  day.  Warmed  at  Fell's,  (in  Wilkes-Barre.)  which  cost  me  11  'j  d..  then  on  to  Chapney's,  5^2  d., 
and  at  night  arrived  at  Perrinvalti;  the  roads  tolerable  good  sleighing,  but  exceedingly  slippery,  which  worried 
me  very  much.  I  wanted  good,  warm  nourishment,  but  found  none  but  cold  meat.  Eat  but  little,  was  very  sick,  had 
hard  lodgings,  but  blessed  be  God.  I  was  much  better  in  the  morning.  Paid  19  '  -  d.,  and  went  on  3  ' ;  miles  to  Berry's. 
Took  breakfast  with  a  good  appetite,  paid  Is.  lOd.  At  night  arrived  at  Hiler's  found  exceedingly  good  entertainment 
and  the  smiles  and  good  deportment  of  the  Land  Lady  increased  my  liberality.  In  the  morning  I  obtained  liberty  and 
rode  in  a  sled  that  was  going  on  my  road .  whose  owner  was  uncle  to  Hiler  by  the  name  of  Diets.  He  was  of  uncommon 
composition  made  up  of  a  body  similar  to  Doctor  Davis,  with  a  Dutch  brogue,  a  humane  heart,  and  a  noble  soul. 

"After  I  had  4s.  3d.  at  1 1  o'clock,  Thursday,  22d.  I  mounted  on  four  hu^e  sleds  and  we  moved  on.  The  day  warm, 
the  ground  stony,  the  sled  heavy  and  the  horses  lazy.  However  we  reached  Bethlehem  at  5  o'clock;  here  I  paid  2s, 
J;d.  freight,  and  on  his  invitation  1  again  got  on  board  and  left  town  after  candle  light  and  rode  12  miles  to  his  own 
house.  Arrived  safe  at  10  o'clock,  almost  perished  with  cold;  took  refreshments,  tasted  Dutch  cheese.  *  *  *  However, 
was  treated  with  great  kindness;  had  my  hand  bathed,  which  was  very  swelled  and  painful.  Had  a  present  of  seed  of  a 
plant  new  to  me.  to  be  planted  May  1  and  poled  like  beans,  which  would  make  a  wash  good  for  swellings.  At  12  went 
to  bed.  slept  well  and  arose  at  6  o'clock.  Experienced  a  great  deal  of  kindness  from  the  whole  family;  had  my  hand 
carefully  attended  to;  was  compelled  to  stay  to  breakfast;  the  children  filled  my  pockets  with  apples. 

"I  left  his  house  in  Milford  at  9  o'clock  on  Friday  with  my  body  much  refreshed  and  my  spirits  cheerful,  which  caused 
me  to  sing  like  Christian  when  he  had  found  his  road.  This  day  cloudy  and  I  traveled  fast,  the  snow  melted,  the  sweat 
ran,  and  at  night  the  "■Pilgrim"  had  arrived  on  his  journey  33  miles,  paid  2s.  6d.  and  went  to  bed.  This  night  I  rested 
well,  and  in  the  morning  paid  2s.  7d,  and  travelled  to  Germantown  in  a  doleful  storm  of  hail,  t\±e  snow  having  fallen 
last  night  shoe  deep.  Here  1  ate  the  value  of  the  money  I  paid,  which  was  2s.  2d.  Now  the  weather  grew  warmer 
the  wind  blew,  the  snow  melted,  the  rain  fell  plentifully,  and  I  waded  on  towards  Babylon,  that  great  city. 

*'At  12  o'clock  on  Saturday,  the  24th  of  January.  1795, 1  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  with  4  shillings  in  hand,  one-half 
of  which  went  from  me  to  get  leave  to  warm  and  dry  with  boldness  at  the  stores.  And  at  4  o'clock  took  lodging  at 
Col.  Farmer's,  in  company  with  the  most  di.sagreeable  gentleman  I  ever  saw. 

"At  half  past  ten  the  house  was  cleared,  the  doors  shut  and  I  went  to  mychamber  and  heard  no  more  until  Sunday 
morning  at  7  o'clock;  arose  and  got  barber  trimmed  and  went  to  church.  Mr.  Green  spoke  from  Mathew  11:28,  in 
the  meeting  house,  where  Mr.  Sprout  used  to  preach.  I  take  him  to  be  a  Christian.  The  assembly  was  thin,  but  the 
deportment  of  the  people  was  sober  and  becoming.  This  morning  and  all  day  exceeding  snowy  so  that  I  believe  some 
thousands  of  men  and  boys  have  been  engaged  in  shoveling  the  snow  from  the  sidewalks  in  the  city.  This  evening  I 
had  a  religious  conversation  with  my  landlord  with  none  present  but  ourselves. 

"Early  on  Monday  morning  went  on  business;  walke  d  all  the  principal  streets  in  the  city  with  Esq.  Carpenter;  saw 
many  magnificent  buildings  but  not  many  curiosities,  I  have  now  formed  a  superficial  acquaintance  with  the  great 
city  of  Philadelphia;  finished  my  business;  had  a  fine  pleasant  day,  and  now  I  wish  to  be  in  readiness  to  hasten  home. 


1761 

But  the  need  of  such  a  highway  was  imperative  to  the  growing  settlement 
at  Wyoming,  and  men  came  forward  with  sufficient  vision  and  initiative  to 
undertake  it. 

There  was  much  correspondence  between  men  of  like  minds  in  Easton 
and  Philadelphia,  and  many  trips  to  be  taken  by  pioneers  in  the  venture,  before 
the  preliminaries  of  incorporation  were  arranged. 

By  an  Act  approved  February  11,  1803,  a  start  was  made.  In  its  title, 
the  Act  purported  "To  enable  the  Governor  of  this  Commonwealth  to  incorporate  a 
company  for  making  an  artificial  road  by  the  best  and  nearest  route,  from  the  borough 
of  Easton  to  the  town  of  Wilkes-Barre."  The  act,  in  its  lengthy  terms,  named 
Henry  Drinker,  Benjamin  R.  Morgan  and  Thomas  Allibone  of  Philadelphia; 
Samuel  Sitgreaves,  John  Herster  and  Daniel  Wagener  of  Easton;  and  Lord 
Butler,  Lawrence  Meyers  and  Thomas  Wright  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Commissioners 
of  the  highway.  They  were  instructed  to  open  three  books  for  the  sale  of  the 
twelve  hundred  shares  of  capital  stock  of  the  Easton  and  Wilkes-Barre  Turnpike, 
at  a  par  value  of  fifty  dollars  per  share. 

The  book  at  Philadelphia,  was  to  be  opened  for  the  sale  of  four  hundred 

of  such  shares;  the  Easton  book  was  to  be  complete  when  two  hundred  shares 

were  subscribed,   while  Wilkes-Barre  was  given  the  major  task  of  selling  six 

hundred  shares,  before  its  book  was  closed.     The  Act  further  provided  that, 

when  any  stretch  of  ten  miles  of  completed  highway  between  Easton  and  the 

Wind  Gap  was  thrown  open,  toll  gates  might  be  erected,  and  the  following  sums 

collected  for  each  five  miles  of  tratvel  over  the  completed  portion: 

"For  every  score  of  sheep,  4  cents;  for  every  score  of  hogs,  6  cents;  for  every  score  of  cattle, 
12  cents;  for  every  horse  or  mule,  laden  or  unladen,  3  cents;  for  every  sulkey,  chair  or 
chaise  with  one  horse  and  two  wheels,  6  cents;  with  two  horses,  nine  cents;  for  every  chair,  coach, 
phaeton,  chaise,  stage,  wagon,  coachee  or  light  wagon  with  two  horses  and  four  wheels,  12  cents; 
for  every  sled  or  sleigh,  2  cents  for  every  horse  drawing  same." 

There  were  numerous  other  charges  permitted  for  vehicles  having  certain 
widths  of  tires.  The  act  specified  that,  for  any  similar  stretch  of  completed  high- 
way between  the  Wind  Gap  and  Wilkes-Barre,  the  cost  of  construction  of  which 
was,  of  course,  far  heavier,  "double  the  above  rates  might  be  charged." 

Numerous  provisions  of  the  Act,  conferred  upon  the  Commissioners  the  right 
to  condemn  property;  certain  police  powers  for  the  collection  of  tolls  and  the 
protection  of  its  property,  and  other  powers  essential  to  carrying  into  effect 
the  purposes  of  the  Act. 

In  June,  1803,  the  Wilkes-Barre  commissioners  published  in  local  newspapers 
appeals  to  subscribe  for  stock  then  being  offered.  As  a  special  inducement, 
the  announcement  mentioned  that  "due  bills  of  subscribers  would  be  accepted." 

From  the  fact  that  in  September,  1803,  the  Commissioners  admitted  in 
announcements,  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  get  the  required  number  of  sub- 
scribers at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  then  resolved  "to  attend  and  open  books,"  at 
various  points  up  the  river,  it  can  be  gathered  that  the  going  was  difficult.  In 
the  latter  months  of  1803,  subscriptions,  while  coming  in  slowly,  seemed  to  jus- 
tify the  Commissioners  in  completing  the  organization  of  the  company  by  calling 
a  meeting  for  the  election  of  officers.  This  was  accordingly  done,  naming  the 
court  house,  at  Easton,  as  the  place  of  meeting  and  February  1 ,  1804,  as  the  date. 
At  this  meeting,  Samuel  Sitgreaves  of  Easton  was  elected  president,  Thomas 
Allibone  of  Philadelphia,  treasurer,  and  the  following  were  named  on  the  board 
of  twelve  managers:     Ebenezer  Bowman,  Lord  Butler,  Arnold  Colt,  Matthias 


1762 


Hollenback,  Lawrence  Myers  and  Williams  Ross  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  William  Barnett, 
John  Herster,  Nicholas  Kern,  John  Ross,  Peter  Snyder  and  Daniel  Wagener  of 
Northampton  County. 

The  year  1804,  was  a  trying  period  for  incorporators  of  the  venture- 
Money  was  scarce,  times  were  none  too  auspicious,  individual  credit  was 
a  matter  of  speculation,  and  the  sales  of  stock  in  the  three  communities,  where 
permanent  stock  books  were  designated,  moved  discouragingly.  Arnold  Colt* 
was  the  one  man  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  who  ap- 
pears to  have  stuck 
doggedly  at  the  task 
of  promotion.  The 
time  he  gave  to  the  un- 
dertaking, coupled 
with  his  acceptance  of 
unremunerative  con- 
tracts for  constructing 
parts  of  the  highway  in 
ensuing  years,  involved 
his  finances  heavily. 
But  the  road  was  to  go 
through  in  spite  of 
hardships  imposed 
upon  individuals.  The 
spring  of  1805  con- 
vinced officers  of  the 
company  that  unless 
construction  proceed 
with  what  funds  were 
then  on  hand,  public 
confidence  in  the  enter- 
prise would  probably 
fail,  and  the  company's 
franchise  would  revert 
to  the  state.  In  the 
Federalist  of  June  8, 
1805,  is  found  the  en- 
couraging news  of  work 
actually  begun.  To  this  announcement,  the  editor  lent  what  argument  he 
could  to  further  the  financial  affairs  of  the  company  in  the  following  article : 

"The  Easton  and  Wilkes-Barre  Turnpike  Road,  we  have  the  pleasure  to  state,  is  rapidly 
progressing — more  than  150  men  are  now  employed  upon  it,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  the  worst 
part  will  be  completed  this  season, — and  the  residue  next  summer.  The  advantages  of  this  im- 
provement to  the  People  on  the  northern  waters  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  the  Gunessee  country, 

^Arnold  Colt  was  a  native  of  Lyme.  New  London  County,  Connecticut,  where  he  was  born  September  10.  1760 
His  father.  Capt.  Harris  Colt,  was  in  Wyoming  Valley  at  various  times  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War,  and.  as  a 
member  of  The  Susquehanna  Company,  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  township  of  Wilkes-Barre.  In  1786. 
Arnold  Colt  came  from  Lyme  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  located,  and  was  married  the  next  year  to  Lucinda.  daughter 
of  Abel  Yarington,  one  of  the  early  Wyoming  settlers  from  Connecticut.  In  March.  1790,  Mr.  Colt  became  Town 
Clerk  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  in  1791,  he  was  appointed  and  commissioned  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  township 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  to  hold  office  during  good  behavior.  In  November,  1798,  he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  Luzerne  County 
for  a  term  of  three  years,  and  upon  his  retirement  from  this  office  he  served  as  Commissioner  of  the  county  for  three 
years.  From  June,  1826,  to  May,  1827,  and  from  May,  1828,  to  May,  1829,  he  was  President  of  the  Town  Council 
of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  held  other  local  offices,  and  was  for  some  time  an  inn-keeper  at  Wilkes-Barre,  at  Tioga  Point, 
and  then  at  a  point  on  the  Easton  and  Wilkes-Barre  Turnpike,  near  Stoddartsville.  He  died  in  Wilkes-Barre.  Sep- 
tember 21,  1832. 


Arnold 


1763 

as  well  as  to  Phila.,  by  turning  the  channel  of  conveyance,  from  the  dangerous  course  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna to  the  secure  path  of  a  good  road,  will  be  incalculably  great. 

"In  the  course  of  one  day  last  spring,  12,000  bushels  of  wheat  besides  large  quantities  of 
flour,  pork,  furs,  etc.,  are  computed  to  have  passed  this  town  on  the  river  for  the  market,  but  owing 
to  the  badness  of  the  water  below,  considerable  quantities  were  lost. 

"Above  this  place,  to  the  very  head  waters  of  the  branches  of  the  Chemung,  and  the  main 
river,  the  water  is  safe  and  good.  And  many  Arks  have  been  built,  loaded,  and  come  safely  down 
from  streams  so  small  that  they  had  not  room  to  turn  round  in  them. 

"The  water  below  this  place  furnishes  striking  contrast  to  the  water  above, — falls,  rocks,  and 
other  obstructions  threaten  the  lives  and  property  of  the  boatman  every  few  miles  below  Wilkes- 
barre.  Easton  and  Philadelphia  furnish  excellent  markets  for  our  produce.  Every  inducement  is 
therefore  offered  to  invite  the  merchant  and  farmer,  to  the,  use  of  this  valuable  improvement, 
and  added  to  the  public  benefit,  that  will  result  from  it,  we  believe  the  holders  of  shares  will  soon 
find  their  stock  productive  of  a  handsome  interest. 

In  the  same  publication,  under  date  of  September  7th,  is  found  an  adver- 
tisement of  Arnold  Colt  for  fifty  more  men  to  "work  the  turnpike." 

The  route  of  the  road,  as  its  sections  reached  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  to 
the  Wind  Gap,  followed  substantially  the  trail  of  the  Sullivan  road  as  outlined 
in  Volume  II:  1176,  excepting  that  beyond  Bear  Creek,  the  new  road  kept  to 
the  right  of  the  last  mountainous  ridge  approaching  the  Lehigh,  instead  of 
turning  left  through  the  major  portion  of  the  "Shades  of  Death"  swamp  as  did 
the  old  road.  In  its  new  course;  the  road  crossed  the  Lehigh  at  Stoddartsville, 
just  above  the  "Great  Falls"  instead  of  about  three  miles  south  of  Thornhurst 
as  the  Sullivan  road  had  done. 

Beyond  the  Lehigh,  difficulties  of  transportation  of  materials  and  an  in- 
ability to  secure  proper  quarters  for  men  employed,  slackened  the  progress  of 
construction  materially  in  the  year  1806.  However,  the  Federalist  again  comes 
to  the  rescue  with  another  enlightening  description  of  advancement  in  its  Novem- 
ber 21st  issue  of  that  year,  as  follows: 

"We  are  enabled  to  congratulate  the  country  on  the  completion  of  the  most  difficult  and 
important  part  of  the  Easton  and  Wilkesbarre  Turnpike  Road.  Twenty  four  miles  of  this  road 
commencing  at  the  Town  of  Wilkesbarre  and  ending  at  the  Tunkhanna  river  and  covering  the 
whole  of  the  distance  which  passes  over  the  heretofore  impracticable  district,  emphatically  called 
"The  Swamp,"  are  finished;  and,  as  we  understand  from  the  report  of  the  Managers  who  have 
recently  returned  from  a  journey  of  inspection,  the  work  is  executed  in  a  manner  quite  satisfactory 
and  such  as  to  assure  an  excellent  and  permanent  road  through  a  wilderness  which  until  very 
lately  has  been  deemed  almost  impassable.  Here,  too,  the  effects  of  the  public  spirited  enterprise 
of  the  projectors  are  already  visible,  valuable  improvements  are  already  begun  at  different  stations 
on  the  road,  and  the  traveller  will  soon  be  as  well  accommodated  on  this  dreary  route  as  in  the  most 
populous  parts  of  the  country.  We  are  informed  that  Commissioners  have  been  appointed  by 
the  Governor  to  view  that  portion  of  the  road  which  has  been  completed  and  when  their  report, 
which  cannot  be  otherwise  than  favourable,  shall  have  been  made  the  citizens  who  have  advanced 
their  money  as  Stockholders  in  this  very  useful  undertaking,  w-ill,  we  trust,  be  rewarded  by 
abundant  tolls,  for  their  pubhc  spirit.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  ascent  of  Pokono  Moun- 
tain is  nearly  finished  in  a  most  masterly  manner  and  that  much  work  has  been  done  on  the 
Broad  mountain  in  the  interval  distance.  The  whole  road  as  far  as  Mehruveins  in  Chestnut 
Hill  Township,  will  without  doubt,  be  completed  the  ensuing  Summer, 

The  spring  of  1807  witnessed  the  finishing  touches  to  the  first  twenty  nine 
miles  of  completed  highway  from  Wilkes-Barre,  to  a  point  on  what  is  now  called 
"Effort  Mountain,"  where  the  Sullivan  road  was  considered  in  fair  shape  for 
travel.  Arnold  Colt  proudly  set  the  milestone  where  operations  were  to  tem- 
porarily cease.  It  is  recorded  that  in  May,  practically  the  entire  population 
of  Wilkes-Barr^  turned  out,  equipped  for  gratuitous  effort,  in  making  the  descent 
into  the  Wyoming  Valley  over  "Giant's  Despair"  or  Wilkes-Barre  mountain, 
much  more  safe  and  convenient  than  it  had  originally  been.  The  toll  gate  at 
the  Wilkes-Barre  end  was  erected  at  Georgetown,  some  two  hundred  feet  east  of 
where  the  Central  railroad  tracks  now  cross  the  thoroughfare. 

Here  it  was,  after  the  voluntary  efforts  of  residents  had  ended,  that  the 
highway  was  declared  open  to  traffic,  no  further  formal  dedication  of  the  enter- 


1764 


Easton  ant>  W'ilkes-Barre  Turxpike  Tollgate, 

At  Georgetown 


prise,  being  of  record.  That  traffic  was  ready  for  the  road,  is  disclosed  by 
the  fact  that  on  August  1,  1808,  a  dividend  of  $1.25  per  share,  was  enthusias- 
tically declared  by  officers  of  the 
company,  and  paid  to  share- 
holders. In  1809,  the  finished 
stretches  paid  shareholders  a 
most  encouraging  return  of  $2.60 
on  their  investment.  In  the  fall 
of  1810,  through  sales  of  stock 
made  possible  by  the  fact  that 
the  enterprise  was  on  a  paying 
basis,  the  remainder  of  the  high- 
way in  its  forty  six  miles  to  the 
Wind  Gap  was  finished,  at  which 
point  it  joined  the  more  easily 
built  section  to  Easton.  The 
whole  undertaking  had  cost  over 
sixty  thousand  dollars. 

It  is  not  the  intention  at 
this  time,  to  undertake  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  turnpike,  the  hospi- 
tality of  its  taverns,  its  rollocking 
stage  drivers  and  the  heyday  of 
its  use.  The  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  a  period  of  construction, 
rather  than  of  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  sacrifice.  In  proper  sequence,  all  this 
will  be  mentioned.  At  present,  we  have  much  to  do  with  the  orderly  process  of 
events  which  were  to  place  the  community  in  readiness  for  development  ahead. 
Next  in  order,  comes  the  incorporation  of  Wilkes-Barre  proper  as  a  borough, 
thus  to  distinguish  it  at  last  from  Wyoming,  as  a  region,  and  from  the  huge 
acreage  of  the  township  of  the  same  name,  which  then  extended  from  the 
Susquehanna  to  the  Lehigh  rivers. 

The  population  of  Wilkes-Barre — particularly  of  the  village,  or  "town-plot" 
— increased  slowly;  but  by  the  beginning  of  1806,  nearly  thirty-seven  years 
after  the  township  had  been  located  and  named,  the  village,  in  the  judgment  of 
its  foremost  men,  had  arrived  at  such  a  stage  of  importance  and  worthiness  in  its 
onward  progression  as  warranted  its  erection  into  a  borough.  Thereupon  the  Hon. 
Rosewell  Welles,  in  1805  and  1806,  one  of  the  two  Representatives  from  Luzerne 
County  in  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature,  introduced  a  Bill  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives providing  for  the  incorporation  into  a  borough  of  the  "town-plot  of 
Wilkes"Barre,  together  with  the  adjacent  River  Common  and  a  strip  of  land  ad- 
joining the  north-east  boundary  of  the  "town-plot."  This  bill  was  enacted  into  a 
law,  approved  by  the  Governor,  March  17,  1806,  the  legal  title  of  the  new  "body 
politic  and  corporate"  being  declared  to  be  "The  Burgess  and  Town  Council  of 
the  Borough  of  Wilkesbarre."  The  Hon.  Jesse  Fell  of  Wilkes-Barre  was  named 
in  the  Act  of  Incorporation  as  a  Commissioner  to  issue  the  proclamation  for 
holding  the  first  election  for  borough  officers. 

Under  the  date  of  April  25,  1806,  Judge  Fell  issued  his  proclamation, 
which  was  printed  in  The  Federalist  of  April  25th  and  May  2d.  The  qualified 
electors  of  the  new  borough  were  therein  notified  to  meet  at  the  court  house  on 


1765 

Tuesday,  May  6,  1806,  between  the  hours  of  twelve  o'clock  noon  and  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  to  vote  for  one  person  to  serve  as  Burgess,  seven  per- 
sons to  serve  as  members  of  the  Town  Council,  and  one  person  to  serve  as 
High  Constable,  during  the  ensuing  year.  The  electors  having  assembled  at 
the  time  and  place  appointed,  and  the  proper  officers  for  conducting  the  election 
having  been  chosen  and  duly  sworn  and  affirmed,  the  votes  (less  than  a  hundred 
in  number)  were  cast,  with  the  following    results:      The    Hon.    Jesse    Fell  was 


.'/■r^ro/^  '/  //^/"^^-l  ■  ^^ 


Proclamation  First  Borough 


chosen  Burgess;  Col.  Matthias   Hollenback,   the   Hon.   Rosewell    Welles,    Lord 
Butler,   Arnold   Colt,   Esq.,    Nathan    Palmer,    Esq.,*    Capt.    Samuel    Bowman 

*As  Nathan  Palmer  is  the  only  member  of  the  first  council  of  the  borough .  a  sketch  of  whom  has  not  appeared . 
as  can  be  found  by  reference  to  the  index,  the  following  brief  outline  of  his  activities  is  here  appended: 

Nathan  Palmer  was  bom  at  Plainfield.  Windham  County.  Connecticut,  in  1769.  Having  been  admitted,  in  1791 
or  1792  to  practise  law  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut,  he  removed,  in  17.93.  to  Pennsylvania,  and  the  next  year 
located  in  Wilkes-Barre.  where  he  was  soon  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Luzerne  County.  In  1795  and  1797. he  was  Clerk 
to  the  Commissioners  of  Luzerne  County,  and  in  January.  18013  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  McKean.  Clerk  of  the 
Orphans'  Court  and  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions.  Prothonotary.  Register  of  Wills  and  Recorder  of  Deeds  of  Luzerne 
County  for  the  term  of  three  years,  to  succeed  Lord  Butlei.  In  1806,  and  for  several  years  about  that  time,  he  was 
engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  Wilkes-Barre.  and  from  1808  to  1810  he  represented  Luzerne  County  in  the  Senate 
of  Pennsylvania.  In  December.  1812.  he  was  appointed  Treaurer  of  the  county.  About  1819  he  removed  from  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  Mount  Holly.  New  Jersey,  where,  until  about  the  time  of  his  death  (vvhich  occurred  July  28.  1842)  he 
edited  the  Voxinl  Hotly  ^finor. 


1766 


and  the  Hon.  Charles  Miner  were  chosen  members  of  the  Town  Council;  George 
Griffin,  Esq.,  was  chosen  High  Constable. 

Saturday,  May  10th,  the  Town  Council  was  organized  at  the  court  house, 
Lord  Butler  being  elected  President  of  the  body  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  Capt. 
Peleg  Tracy*,  being  appointed  Clerk. 

In  announcing  in  his  paper  (the  Federalist)  of  May  9,  1805,  the  result  of 
the  first  borough  election,  Charles  Miner  stated:     "The  person  elected  High 


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Return  of  First  Borough  Election 

Constable  is  absent,  and  it  is  not  known  whether  he  will  accept  the  office." 
As  previously  mentioned,  George  Griffinf  had  been  elected  High  Constable, 

*Capt.  Peleg  Tracy,  the  first  "Town  Clerk"  of  the  borouijh  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  e.v  officio  Secretary  of  the  Town 
Council,  was  bom  in  1775  at  Norwich,  New  London  County,  Connecticut,  whence  he  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre  about 
1803  or  '04.  In  February.  1806,  he  was  appointed  Clerk  to  the  Commissioners  of  Luzerne  County.  He  served  as  Clerk 
of  the  borough  from  May,  1806,  until  some  time  in  1809.  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Sidney  Tracy.  In  August,  1806, 
he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  "The  Wilkes-Barre  Library  Company."  and  was  its  first  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  Li- 
brarian. He  was  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy  in  1808,  ;09  and  '10.  In  1818  he 
was  Secretary  of  the  Easton  and  Wilkes-Barre  Turnpike  Company.  Captain  Tracy  died  at  his  residence  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  Union  and  Franklin  Streets.  Wilkes-Barre.  March  12.  1825. 

tThe  election  of  Mr.  GrifSn  to  the  office  of  High  Constable  was  intended  bv  his  fellow-citizens  as  a  practical-joke. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  in  the  class  of  1797.  and  in  1806  was  a  buiv  and  successful  lawyer,  having  been 
admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Luzerne  County  in  1800.  He  had  been  married,  in  1801 .  to  a  daughter  of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler. 
In  the  latter  part  of  1806  Mr.  Griffin  removed  with  his  family  to  the  city  of  New  York,  and  it  has  been  stated  that  the 
immediate  cause  of  his  leaving  Wilkes-Barre  was  the  perpetration  of  the  abovementioned  joke.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
years  Mr.  Griffin  became  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  successful  lawyers  at  the  New  York  Bar.  In  1830  the  degree  of 
LL.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Columbia  College.  '  He  died  in  New  York,  May  6,  1860 — "the  Nestor  of  the  Bar; 
eloquent  learned  and  painstaking,"  as  he  was  described  by  David  Dudley  Field,  himself  a  great  lawyer. 


1767 

but  upon  his  return  home  from  a  temporary  absence  he  promptly  and  indig- 
nantly refused  to  accept  the  oflfice.  Whereupon,  due  notice  having  been  given, 
a  special  election  for  High  Constable  was  held  June  28,  1806,  and  Peter  Yarington 
a  blacksmith,  and  a  brother-in-law  of  Arnold  Colt,  was  chosen. 

The  original  rules  and  regulations  adopted  by  the  Town  Council  for  its 
government  provided  that  its  regular  meetings  should  be  held  at  the  court 
house  on  the  first  Saturday  of  each  month,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning;  and 
that  a  member  should  be  fined  two  dollars  for  an  absence  from  a  regular  meet- 
ing, and  one  dollar  for  an  absence  from  a  special  meeting.  At  the  second 
meeting  of  the  Council,  held  May  12th,  Mr.  Miner  moved  the  adoption  of 
the  following:  "Resolved,  That  it  will  be  an  accommodation  to  the  public 
to  have  two  ferries  established,  one  of  which  shall  be  from  the  Center  street 
(Market  street)  of  the  borough."  Action  on  this  resolution  was  "postponed," 
but  the  following,  introduced  by  Mr.  Welles,  was  adopted:  "Voted,  That  the 
ferry  to  be  kept  by  the  corporation  over  the  Susquehanna,  within  the  limits 
of  the  borough,  shall  be  kept  opposite  Northampton  Street."  This  was  the 
location  of  the  ferry  from  earliest  times. 

At  the  third  meeting  of  the  Town  Council,  held  ]May  14,  1806,  a  design 
for  a  seal  for  the  borough  was  submitted  by  ]Mr.  Miner,  and  the  same  was 
adopted.  At  this  same  meeting,  Mr.  Miner  submitted  the  following  resol- 
ution, which  was  adopted:  "Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
endeavor  to  obtain  from  the  township  a  release  or  conveyance  to  the  cor- 
poration of  the  public  lands  within  the  limits  of  the  borough;  and  to  stip- 
ulate on  behalf  of  the  corporation  that  the  borough  will  expend  the  avails 
of  it  to  the  security  of  the  hank  from  the  inroads  of  the  river,  and  making 
such    other  improvements  as    may   be  found  necessar}-." 

List  of  Burgesses  and  Presidents  of  Council  of  the  Borough,  later  the  City 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  from  1806  to  1840. 


BURGESS 

Jesse  Fell,                      elected 

■ 

1806, 

Jesse  Fell, 

1807, 

Jesse  Fell, 

1808, 

Lord  Butler, 

May. 

1809 

Lord  Butler, 

May, 

1810 

Lord  Butler, 

May, 

1811 

Lord  Butler, 

May. 

1812 

Lord  ButUr, 

May, 

1813 

Jesse  Fell, 

May, 

1814 

Jesse  Fell, 

May  2, 

1815 

Jesse  Fell, 

May  7, 

1816 

Jesse  Fell, 

May  6 

1817 

Jesse  Fell, 

May  5, 

1818 

Matthias  Hollenback, 

May  4, 

1819 

Thomas  Dyer, 

May  2 

1820 

Thomas  Dyer, 

May  2, 

1821 

Thomas  Dyer, 

May, 

1822 

Ebenezer  Bowman,          " 

Mav  6 

1823 

David  Scott, 

May  4, 

1824 

David  Scott,      . 

May, 

1825 

David  Scott, 

May, 

1826 

John  N.  Conyngham, 

May, 

1827 

Garrick  Mallery, 

May, 

1828 

George  Dennison,        elected  May  5, 

1829 

Josiah  Lewis, 

May, 

1830 

Josiah  Lewis, 

May  3 

1831 

Josiah  Lewis, 

May, 

1832 

PRESIDENT  OF  COUNCIL 


Lord  Butler, 

elected  Mav, 

1806, 

Lord  Butler, 

•'       May, 

1807, 

Ebenezer  Bowman, 

"       Mav, 

1808 

Jesse  Fell, 

Mav    6, 

1809 

Joseph  Sinton, 

Mav  14, 

1810 

Jesse  Fell, 

Mav  15, 

1811, 

Jesse  Fell, 

■•        May     6, 

1812, 

Jesse  Fell, 

June, 

1813, 

Col.  Eliphalet  Bulkehy, 

Mav    4, 

1814, 

Col.  Eliphalet  Bulkeley, 

"       MaV, 

1815, 

Joseph  Sinton, 

May  14, 

1816, 

Thomas  Burnside, 

"       Mav    9, 

1817, 

Joseph  Slocum, 

Mav  13, 

1818, 

Ebenezer  Bowman, 

"       Mav    6, 

1819, 

Jesse  Fell, 

Mav    4, 

1820 

Jesse  Fell, 

Mav  21, 

1821 

Jesse  Fell, 

May  20, 

1822 

George  Denison, 

June    7 

1823 

Benjamin  Drake, 

May, 

1824 

Joseph  Sinton, 

■•        May, 

1825, 

Arnold  Colt, 

June, 

1826, 

John  W.  Robinson. 

Mav, 

1827 

Arnold  Colt, 

■•       Mav  26, 

1828 

Joseph  Slocum, 

elected  Mav, 

1829, 

Wm.  Ross, 

Mav, 

1830, 

Thos.  H.  Morgan, 

Mav, 

1831 

Wm.  Ross, 

May, 

1832 

1768 


BURGESS 


PRESIDENT  OF  COUNCIL 


"   May, 

1833, 

Thos.  Davidge,         ' 

May, 

1833, 

"_       May  6 

1834, 

Chas..  I>.  Shoemaker,     ' 

May, 

1834, 

1835, 

E.  W.  Sturdevant,      ' 

May, 

1835, 

"   May, 

1836, 

E.  W.  Sturdevant, 

May, 

•  1836, 

"   May, 

1837, 

E.  W.  Sturdevant, 

May, 

1837, 

"   May, 

1838, 

E.  W.  Sturdevant, 

May, 

1838, 

"   May, 

1839, 

Thomas  Davidge,       ' 

'   May, 

1839, 

May  5 

1840. 

E.  W.  Sturdevant, 

'   May, 

1840. 

Orlando  Porter, 
John  N.  Conyngham, 
John  N.  Conyngham, 
John  N.  Conyngham, 
John  N.  Conyngham, 
Hendrick  B.  Wright, 
Joseph  P.  Le  Clerc, 
Joseph  P.  Le  Clerc, 

It  can  be  seen,  from  these  early  activities  of  the  Borough  Council,  that  the 
community  of  Wilkes-Barre  was  now  in  a  direct  line  for  rapid  progress,  insofar 
as  its  government  was  concerned.  The  cumbersome  plan  of  township  control 
had  not  opened  the  door  to  this.  Jealousies  and  conflicting  interests  of  out- 
lying districts,  had  often  interfered  with  legislation  of  benefit  to  the  major 
center  of  population.    Now  it  was  free  to  legislate  for  itself. 

Many  matters  of  civic  improvement  are  to  be  noted  in  connection  with 
an  age  of  constructive  development  which  manifested  itself  with  this  turn  of 
affairs.  Social  and  educational  activities  shares  this  development,  as  can  be 
seen  by  consulting  newspaper  files  of  the  times.  On  November  18,  1801,  a  pub- 
lic ball  was  held  in  the  "long  room"  of  the  Fell  tavern,  at  which  tickets  of  ad- 
mission, atone  dollar  each,  were  sold  to  some  forty  subscribers.  July  4,  1802, 
falling  on  Sunday,  the  following  day  was  observed  as  the  nation's  birthday 
by  members  of  the  Federal-Republican  party  when,  if  the  account  published  in 
the  subsequent  issue  of  the  Federalist  can  be  taken  as  a  criterion,  and  the  length 
of  a  list  of  toasts  as  a  measure  of  the  entertainment,  the  event  must  have  ex- 
ceeded expectations.     A  portion  of  the  published  account  is  quoted: 

"The  Federal  Republicans  of  this  town  (conformably  to  previous  arrangements)  con- 
vened on  Monday  the  5th  inst  to  commemorate  the  Anniversary  of  our  Independence.  Their 
table  was  the  earth,  their  canopy  the  heaven;  the  weather  was  favorable,  the  repast  plentiful; 
mirth,  harmony,  and  sobriety  reigned  through  the  day. 

"A  dinner  was  prepared  on  the  occasion  by  Arnold  Colt,  Esq.,  which  for  elegance  and  ex- 
cellence has  rarely  been  surpassed.  Jesse  Fell,  Esq.,  was  elected  President,  and  General  Lord 
Butler,  Vice  President  of  the  day.  After  dinner  the  following  Toasts  were  drank,  accompanied 
by  songs,  Huzzas,  and  other  demonstrations  of  joy.  Care  and  sorrow  entered  not  the  cheery 
circle;  but  the  utmost  good-humor  and  happiness  prevailed.  The  day's  amusements  were  closed 
with  an  elegant  Ball  at  Esq.  Fell's.     Some  of  the  toasts  were: 

"The  citizens  of  Luzerne, — may  they  be  firm  and  united  and  always  purchase  the  "steady 
habits"  of  virtue,  industry,  and  sobriety,  which  so  eminently  distinguished  our  ancestors. 

"Our  Constitution, — like  the  reputation  of  woman,  if  too  frequently  meddled  with  will  be 
lost;  and  if  lost  can  never  be  regained. 

"Education, — the  nursery  of  Republicanism,  the  bane  of  Aristocracy. 

"The  American  Fair, — may  they  never  support  \nce  by  blessing  with  smiles  the  Libertine 
or  the  Coward." 

A  sinister  event  to  be  recorded  of  the  year  1804,  was  an  outbreak  of  mal- 
arial fever  which  extended  with  unusual  virulence  over  the  valley  and  adjacent 
country.  Some  seventy  deaths  were  reported,  and  it  was  not  until  late  fall 
that  the  epidemic  was  deemed  to  be  under  control. 

Through  columns  of  the  press  on  March  23,  1804,  Charles  Bird  announced 
a  "Dancing  School",  in  the  following  terms:  "The  subscriber  informs  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  this  place,  that  he  proposes  opening  a  dancing  school  at  the 
house  of  Judge  Fell,  Esq.,  on  Monday  evening,  2nd  April.    He  will  provide  music." 

Whatever  music  Mr.  Bird  provided,  seems  to  have  turned  the  attention 

of  Eliphalet  Mason  to  the  idea  of  a  "School  of  Music"  as  is  evidenced  by  an 

announcement  on  August  20,  1804  in  the  following  quaint  phrase: 

"Eliphalet  Mason  proposes  to  open  a  Music  school  in  the  Township  of  Wilkesbarre,  at 
what  house  shall  be  thought  proper  or  most  convenient  by  the  majority  of  Subscribers;  he  will 


1769 

attend  to  give  lessons  to  his  scholars  two  afternoons,  and  two  evenings  in  each  week,  viz.,  beginning 
on  Tuesday  the  30th  day  of  October  and  then  continue  to  give  lessons  every  Tuesday  and  evere 
Friday,  for  one  quarter,  for  which  he  is  to  receive  one  Dollar  for  each  scholar  subscribed.  Housy 
room,  fire  wood  and  candle-light,  to  be  at  the  expence  of  the  subscribers. 

"Any  Gentleman  or  Lady  wishing  to  obtain,  or  be  further  advanced  in  the  art  of  music 
now  have  an  opportunity  where  they  may  depend  on  good  order  and  punctual  attendance. 

"Subscriptions  are  open  at  this  office  (Federalist)." 

That  skill  in  debating,  was  not  being  overlooked  in  these  tributes  paid 
to  Terpsichore  and  Melpomene,  is  to  be  noted  in  an  announcement  in  the  Fed- 
eralist of  September  8,  1804,  that  "the  members  of  the  Wilkesbarre  Debating 
Society  are  notified  to  attend  a  regular  meeting,  on  Wednesday  evening  next. 
A  general  attendance  is  requested,  as  business  of  importance  is  to  be  laid  before 
the  Society." 

Those  who  organized  this  Society  were:  Thomas  Dyer,  Charles  Miner, 
John  Evans,  Arnold  Colt,  Nathan  Palmer,  Josiah'  Wright,  Ezekiel  Hyde,  Thomas 
Grdham,  Thomas  Welles  and  Rosewell  Welles.  Absence  meant  a  fine  of  fifty 
cents  to  the  offender,  while  refusing  to  take  part  in  a  debate,  if  called  upon, 
cost  the  reticent  one  twenty-five  cents. 

In  1809,  the  name  of  this  organization  was  changed  to  the  Wilkesbarre 
Beneficial  Society,  and  it  continued  in  existence  until  the  year  1839,  when  it 
and  other  like  societies,  then  existing,  were  merged  under  the  name  of  the 
Wyoming  Literary  Society.  There  is  record,  also  of  the  Ouincun  Society,  a 
secret  organization,  being  organized  in  1806,  but  its  secrets  seem  to  have  been 
kept  insofar  as  any  present  record  is  concerned. 

Schools,  likewise,  were  beginning  to  make  hea'dwa}-.  On  November  12, 
1799,  Asher  Miner  announced  that  he  had  "undertaken  to  instruct  youth  in 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic  and  English  grammar."  He  added  that  "special 
attention  will  be  paid  to  morals  and  manners  of  those  committed  to  his  care." 
The  Miner  school  thrived  for  several  years,  until  its  founder  became  engrossed 
in  other  matters,  which  did  not  permit  his  further  active  connection  with  the 
enterprise.  It  was  not  his  institution  of  learning,  but  another  originally  founded 
by  Abraham  Bradle3^  to  which  the  following  disconcerting  notice  in  the  Federal- 
ist of  December  24,  1799,  related:  "On  Saturday  evening  last,  the  school  house 
in  the  lower  part  of  this  town  accidently  took  fire,  and  was  totally  consumed. 
Take  Warning!" 

When  records  of  the  county  as  well  as  Court  activities  were  transferred 
from  the  old  log  structure  to  the  completed  court  house,  in  the  fall  of  1804, 
only  the  lower  iioor  was  needed  as  a  jail  and  permission  was  granted  by  the  County 
Commissioners,  for  the  use  of  the  vacant  second  floor  a^  a  school.  Until  the  year 
1807,  however,  the  matter  of  organizing  and  maintaining  a  place  of  instruction 
for  the  youth  of  Wilkes-Barre,  appears  to  Have  been  left  to  individual  initiative. 

Records  are  silent  as  to  whether  a  school  was  maintained  continuously 
in  the  three  year  interval  before  the  Academy  was  incorporated,  or  whether 
teachers  as  well  as  schools  were  periodical  in  their  activities. 

The  onl}-  information  on  the  subject  that  the  present  writer  has  been 
able  to  find,  is  a  reference  in  1804,  to  the  building  being  known  as  the  Luzerne 
County  Public  Academy — "public"  in  the  sense  of  it  being  open  to  all  who  could 
afford  the  required  tuition,  but  not  supported  by  the  county,  insofar  as  any 
record  of  Court  or  Commissioners'  office  show. 

While  the  "town  meeting,"  in  its  useful  and  time  honored  sense,  became 
a  thing  of  the  past  with  the  induction  of  a  Borough  Council,  residents  of  the 


1770 

community  were  more  and  more  convinced  of  the  inadequacy  of  school  facilities. 
The  subject  was  one  of  frequent  discussion  in  the  press  and  several  informal 
meetings  of  citizens  had  convened  in  the  court  house  during  the  fall  of  1806, 
to  devise  ways  and  means  foi-  obtaining  the  object  of  their  desire.  To  Rosewell 
Welles,  Esq.,  went  the  honor  of  a  suggestion  which  was  afterward  to  lead  to  a 
practical  plan  for  securing  a  competent  school.  Upon  learning  that  a  mistake 
had  been  made  in  setting  sundry  accounts  then  existing  between  the  Treasurer 
of  Luzerne  County  and  the  Commonwealth,  and  that  a  sum  of  more  than  $4,000 
had  erroneously  been  paid  the  county  by  Samuel  Bryan,  then  State  Comptroller, 
Mr.  Welles  hit  upon  the  happy  expedient  of  requesting  the  State  to  permit 
the  use  by  the  county  of  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  fund  overpaid  for  the  support 
of  an  academy  at  Wilkes-Barre.  Being  then  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  he 
drew  up  a  bill  incorporating  this-idea.  On  March  13,  1807,  he  succeeded  in  having 
his  bill,  amended  as  to  the  amount  of  money  appropriated,  passed  by  the  Legis- 
lature and  approved  by  the  Governor.    In  part,  the  Act  of  Incorporation  follows : 

"Paragraph  1.  That  there  shall  be  established  in  the  Borough  of  Wilkesbarre,  in  the  County 
of  Luzerne,  an  Academy,  or  public  school,  for  the  education  of  youth  in  the  useful  arts,  sciences 
and  literature,  by  the  name  and  style  of  'The  Wilkesbarre  Academy.' 

"Paragraph  2.  The  first  Trustees  of  the  Academy  shall  consist  of:  Rev.  Ard  Hoyt,  Lord  Butler, 
Jesse  Fell,  Matthias  Hollenback.  Wm.  Ross,  Rosewell  Welles,  Ebenezer  Bowman,  Samuel  Bow- 
man, Charles  Miner,  John  P.  Arndt,  Arnold  Colt,  Peleg  Tracy,  Matthew  Covell,  Joseph  Slocum, 
Benjamin  Perry,  Thomas  Graham  and  Thomas  Dyer. 

"Paragraph  4.  The  said  Trustees  shall  hold  their  first  meeting  in  the  Academy  in  the  Borough 
of  Wilkesbarre  on  the  first  Monday  in  June  after  the  passing  of  this  Act;  9  to  be  a  quorum  for 
transacting  all  business  and  for  electing  trustees,  electing  master  and  tutors,  &c. 

"Paragraph  7.  Ttie  Commissioners  of  Luzerne  County  are  hereby  required  to  pay  into  the 
Treasury  of  the  Commonwealth  $2325  (being  part  of  the  money  paid  them  by  Samuel  Bryan, 
late  Comptroller,  through  mistake)  and  on  the  payment  of  the  sum  aforesaid  into  the  Treasury 
within  2  years,  and  not  otherwise,  there  is  hereby  appropriated  the  sum  of  S2000  to  the  trustees 
of  the  Academy  of  Wilkesbarre,  to  be  paid  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  County  of  Luzerne  in 
full  of  the  sum  of  S4325,  paid  through  mistake." 

The  list  of  incorporators  above  mentioned,  is  equivalent  to  an  honor 
roll  of  those  whose  public  spirit  at  this  period,  was  bringing  the  community  to 
a  higher  plane  of  realizing  its  own  best  interests.  No  project  of  the  time,  whether 
of  a  commercial  or  philanthropic  nature,  was  mndertaken  unless  these  men,  or 
a  number  of  them,  lent  their  influence,  and  usually  their  money,  to  the  success 
of  the  enterprise.  No  time  was  lost  by  them,  after  their  appointment  as  trustees, 
in  concluding  necessary  arrangements  for  opening  the  school.  The  log  exterior 
of  the  old  court  house  was  clapboarded,  a  small  cupola  added,  and  a  fifty  pound 
bell  hung  in  the  cupola.  The  lower  floor,  formerly  the  county  jail,  was  given 
proper  light  through  a  number  of  windows,  the  whole  interior  was  cleaned  and 
suitably  whitewashed ;  while  benches  which  formerly  accommodated  spectators 
in  the  court  room  on  the  second  floor,  were  cut  down  for  more  youthful  occupants 
and  installed  upstairs  and  down,  at  tables  intended  for  books  and  other  school 
appliances. 

The  lower  floor  then  became  the  "first  form"  for  younger  children  of  both 
sexes,  the  "upper  form"  for  those  more  advanced  in  study,  being  properly 
located  in  the  upper  story.  The  school  was  opened  late  in  the  Summer  of 
1807.  In  1808  Garrick  Mallery,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  became  the  Princi- 
pal of  the  Academy,  and  under  his  management  the  institution  advanced  to 
considerable  eminence.  Soon  many  students  came  to  the  Academy  from  other 
localities,  and  about  the  year  1810  the  little  borough  of  Wilkes-Barr^ 
could  boast  of  possessing  more  learning  and  literary  culture  within  its  limits 
than  any  other  village  or  borough  of  Pennsylvania. 


1771 


From  1810  to  1812  one  of  the  assistant  teachers  in  the  Academy 
was  Andrew  Beaumont,*  who  like  many  others  associated  in  a  teaching 
capacity  with  the  institution,  was  later  to  hold  many  offices  of  esteem  and  trust. 


Andrew  Beaumont 

"Messrs:  Mallery  and  Beaumont  were  succeded  by  Joelf  and  Joseph 
H.  Jones,"  says  Pearce  in  his  Annals:  268,  "Then  follows  Rev.  Woodbridge, 
Baldwin,   Granger,    Orton,    Miner,   Talcott,    Uhlmann,J   Hubbard  and   Dana." 

*Andrew  Beaumont,  the  fifth  and  youngest  child  of  Isaiah  and  Fear  (Alden)  Beaumont,  was  born  in  1791  at 
Lebanon.  Connecticut.  Isaiah  Beaumont  was  a  descendant  of  WiUiam  Beaumont,  of  Carlisle.  England,  who  settled 
in  Saybrook,  Connecticut  about  1648,  and  who  was  a  Freeman  in  1652. 

His  son  Andrew,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  year  1808,  being  then  seventeen  years  of 
age,  and  attended  school  at  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  which  had  been  opened  the  year  before  in  the  old  Court  House 
Building.  In  1810  he  became  an  assistant  teacher  in  the  Academy,  being  employed  by  the  Trustees  at  the  suggestion 
of  Garrick  Mallery,  Esq.,  the  principal.  In  1811,  Mr.  Mallery  having  been  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Luzerne  County 
young  Beaumont  registered  with  him  as  a  student-at-law,  continuing,  however,  to  perform  the  duties  of  an  assistant 
teacher  in  the  Academy  until  the  Summer  of  1813.  At  the  termination  of  the  usual  period  of  study  he  was  pronounced 
by  a  competent  committee  fully  qualified  for  admission  to  the  Bar,  but  Judge  Chapman  declined  to  admit  him  without 
further  probation  and  study,  upon  the  ground  that  his  reading  had  not  been  pursued  for  what  he  (the  judge)  deemed  a 
necessary  period  in  the  office  of  his  preceptor.  The  objection  was  a  mere  pretext,  and  its  eff^ect  was  to  disgust  Mr. 
Beaumont  and  drive  him  away  from  his  chosen  profession. 

In  January,  1814.  he  was  appointed,  under  the  administration  of  President  Madison.  Collector  of  Revenue.  Direct 
Taxes,  and  Internal  Duties  for  the  20th  Collection  District  of  Pennsylvania,  including  Luzerne  County.  This  office 
he  held  until  1816,  when  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Snyder,  Prothonotar>'  and  Clerk  of  the  Courts  of  Luzerne  County 
to  succeed  David  Scott.  Esq.,  who  had  been  elected  a  member  of  Congress.     Mr.  Beaumont  held  the  offices  until  1819, 

In  1821  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Representatives,  and  again  in  IS22.  While  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  he  occupied  the  front  rank  as  a  legislator,  and  devoted  his  best  faculties  for  the  true  welfare  and  ad- 
vantage of  the  Commonwealth. 

In  1826  he  was  appointed  Post  Master  of  Wilkes-Barre,  to  succeed  Jacob  Ctst.  who  had  died,  and  this  office  he  held 
until  1832,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Wm.  S.  Ross. 

In  1832  Luzerne  and  Columbia  Counties  formed  one  Congressional  District  and  that  year  the  contest  for  the  office 
of  Representative  was  a  triangular  one.  The  candidates  were  Mr.  Beaumont.  James  McCUntock.  Esq.,  a  member  of  the 
~    -,  and  Dr.  Thomas  W.  Miner,  a  Wilkes-Barre  physician.     The  fight  was  a  bitter  one,  and  the  result  was  not 


1772 


"There  are  among  us,"  continues  this  historian  writing  in  1860,  "men  and 
women  who  can  look  back  thirty,  forty  and  even  fifty  years  ago,  with  fond 
recollection  to  the  days  when,  with  bounding  youth  and  health,  they  assembled 
with  their  companions  within  the  walls  of  the  old  Academy,  or  sported  on  its 
playgrounds.  Some,  within  its  venerated  walls,  have  filled  their  minds  as  from 
a  storehouse,  with  useful  knowledge,  and  have  so  disciplined  their  intellectual 
faculties  as  to  have  been  able  to  rise  to  positions  of  distinction  and  profit." 

That  the  increasing  reputation  of  the  Academy  brought  encouraging 
patronage,  is  indicated  by  the  following  announcement  which  appeared  in  the 
Federalist  of  October  13,  1809: 

"The  pupils  in  the  Wilkesbarre  Academy  having  unexpectedly  increased  to  so  great  a 
number  for  the  two  last  quarters  the  Trustees  find  it  necessary  to  enlarge  the  building  for  their 
accommodation.  Hitherto  the  pupils  have  been  confined  to  2  rooms,  the  first  above  and  the  other 
below. 

"To  erect  this  additional  building  will  require  considerable  money.     *     *     * 

"The  trustees  have  thought  it  proper  to  fix  the  prices  of  tuition  for  the  several  branches  to 
be  taught  in  the  three  several  apartments  in  the  following  manner,  viz.  In  the  1st  branch  shall  be 
taught  the  application  of  the  rules  of  English  Grammar,  Georgraphy  and  the  use  of  the  Globes, 
history.  Composition,  the  Latter  as  far  as  tlie  four  first  Eneids,  and  the  Greek  language  as  far  as 
the  Four  Evangelists,  to  be  at  S5  per  quarter; — pursuing  the  same  languages  further.  Rhetoric, 
Logic,  Mathematics,  including  natural  Philosophy  and  Astronomy,  S6  per  Quarter.  In  the  second, 
Spelling,  Reading,  Penmanship,  the  rules  of  English  Grammar,  and  parsing,  Book-keeping,  and 
Vulgar  Arithmetic,  at  $3  per  Quarter.  In 
the  third,  Spelling,  Reading  and  Penman- 
ship, at  SI. 50  per  Quarter." 

The  addition  referred  to,  was 
a  frame  extension  added  by  par- 
tially cutting  away  the  westerly 
log-end  of  the  old  building,  and 
erecting  a  two  story  structure 
which  almost  doubled  the  capac- 
ity of  the  original  building.  By 
referring  to  a  cut  of  the  Acade- 
my, here  reproduced,  the  dividing 
line  between  the  buildings  can  be 
seen.  The  front  section,  with  the 
la,   is    the   incased  log    struc- 


Old  Academy 


cupola 

ture;  the  rear  being  the  addition  of  1809.     When  the  building  was  disposed 

of  in   1842  to  give  place  to  the  new  or  "brick"  Academy,  it    was    found   im- 

known  for  a  week  after  election,  and  then  it  was  ascertained  that  Mr.  Beaumont  had  a  majority  of  eighty-eight  votes, 
and  was  elected. 

Mr.  Beaumont  served  his  term  in  Congress  in  the  midst  of  the  "Bank  War,"  in  which  he  stood  by  President  Jack- 
son in  every  gap.  the  President  regarding  him  as  one  of  his  most  intelligent  and  reliable  friends  in  Congress.  Mr. 
Beaumont  was  very  much  opposed  to  the  Banking  system  then  practiced  in  the  United  States,  and  in  one  of  his  speeches 
he  charged  that  it  has  "brought  more  evil  on  the  country  than  the  three  scourges  of  the  human  race — War,  Pestilence 
and  Famine!" 

In  1834  he  was  elected  to  Congress  for  a  second  term,  which  he  served  with  honor  equal  to  his  first.  In  1840 
President  Van  Buren  appointed  him  Treasurer  of  the  Mint  at  Philadelphia,  but  the  ofRce  was  not  accepted.  In  1847 
he  received  from  President  Polk  the  unsolicited  and  unexpected  appointment  of  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings, 
at  Washington.  Mr.  Beaumont  accepted  the  office  and  entered  upon  his  duties,  which  he  continued  to  discharge  for 
some  months,  when  the  Senate  refused  to  confirm  his  appointment.  This  rejection  was  brought  about  by  Senator 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  because  Beaumont  had  refused  to  retain  in  a  subordinate  office  one  of  Benton's  friends. 

In  1849  he  was  for  the  third  time  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Representatives.  During  this 
term  of  service  he  urged  the  necessity  of  direct  relations  between  the  .State  and  the  General  Government,  and  through 
his  exertions  and  speeches  the  first  committee  on  "Federal  Relations"  was  created — of  which  he  was  made  chairman. 

He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  St.  Stephen's  Episcopal  Church  in  Wilkes-Barre  in  1817,  and  one  of  the  first  vestry- 
men chosen.  He  was  one  of  the  founders,  in  1819,  of  the  Luzerne  Bible  Society,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  an  officer 
of  the  Society. 

As  a  political  and  epistolary  writer  he  had  no  equal  in  Pennsylvania.  For  forty  years,  when  not  engaged  in  manual 
labor,  or  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  his  pen  knew  no  rest.  His  writings — terse,  energetic  and  clear  in  style — 
would  fill  volumes.  He  wrote  some  poetry,  and  one  of  his  poems — "Sons  of  Wyoming" — was  very  popular  as  a  song 
when  it  was  written,  on  the  occasion  of  the  departure  from  Wilkes-Barre  of  the  "Wyoming  Artillerists"  for  the  Mexican 
War.    Mr.  Beaumont  died  at  his  residence,  comer  of  Union  and  Franklin  Streets,  Wilkes-Barre.  September  30th,  1853. 

Mr.  Beaumont  married  in  1813.  Miss  Julia  A.  Colt,  of  WUkes-Barre,  second  daughter  of  Arnold  Colt.  She  was 
a  very  bright  and  mtelligent  lady.  She  survived  her  husband,  and  died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  October  13th,  1872.  Mr.  and 
Mrs,  Beaumont  had  ten  children — six  daughters  and  four  sons. 

tJoEL  Jones  became  a  distinguished  lawyer  at  the  bar  of  Philadelphia. 

JDaniei.  Uhlmann  became  a  noted  lawyer  of  New  York  City. 


1773 


practical  to  move  the  log  portion.  The  rear  section  was  in  such  state  of  repair, 
however,  that  it  was  moved  to  south  Franklin  street  and  became  a  part  of  a 
dwelling  then  owned  by  Col.  H.  F.  Lamb. 

Discussions  as  to  a  proper  school,  naturally  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  community  the  fact,  that  it  possessed  no  public  library  in  any  form. 

Following  the  trend  of  several  communications  to  the  press,  wherein  the 
advantages  of  a  library  were  stressed,  a  meeting  of  those  interested  was  called 
at  the  court  house,  August  18,  1806.  Those  present  agreed  to  associate  themselves 
together  "under  the  style  and  title  of  the  Wilkesbarre  Library  Company." 
There  were  to  be  two  hundred  shares  to  cost  two  dollars  each.  The  original  list 
of  members,  with  the  number  of  shares  subscribed  by  each,  was  as  follows: 


Joseph  Sinton 
John  Murphy 
Joseph  Murphy 
Charles  Miner 
James  Sinton 
Arnold  Colt 
John  Robinson 
Rosewell  Welles 
Jesse  Fell 
John  Evans 
Godfrey  Perry 
Peter  Yarrington 
Silas  Jackson 
David  Landon 
Thomas  Graham 


Jonathan  Hancock 
Peleg  Tracy 
G.  W.  Trott 
Matthew  Covell 
Benjamin  Drake 
Abraham  Bradley 
Thomas  Dyer 
Thomas  Welles 
John  P.  Arndt 
Geo.  Haines 
Ebenezer  Bowman 
Sidney  Tracy 
Geo.  Chahoon 
Jacob  Hart 
Steuben  Butler 


At  a  subsequent  meeting  held  September  2d,  Judge  Fell  was  named 
President  and  Peleg  Tracy,  Treasurer.  Three  directors,  Thomas  Graham, 
John  P.  Arndt  and  Joseph  Sinton,  were  likewise  elected,  the  latter  being  appointed 
Librarian. 

The  by-laws  provided,  that  the  library  should  be  kept  open  from  two  to 
seven  p.  m.,  every  Tuesday  and  Saturday;  that  the  librarian  would  be  liable  to 
a  fine  of  four  dollars  if  he  loaned  a  book  to  other  than  members;  that  no  book 
should  be  taken  more  than  three  miles  from  the  borough  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
that  any  member  who  permitted  a  book  to  go  outside  his  own  family  was  open 
to  a  fine  of  one  dollar.  From  the  funds  subscribed,  102  volumes  were  purchased. 
As  an  indication  of  what  books  of  the  period  were  in  demand,  a  partial  list  of 
those  selected  by  the  committee  in  charge  is  here  given: 

"Burke's  works,  S  vols.;  Travels  of  Anacharses,  4  vols.;  Domestic  Encyclopedia,  5  vols.; 
Russel's  Ancient  and  Modem  Europe,  7  vol. ;  Massillons  Sermons,  2  vol. ;  Life  of  Gamick,  2  vols. ; 
The  Federahst,  2  vols.;  Shakespeare's  works,  S  vols.;  Plutarch's  lives,  6  vols,;  Rollins  Ancient 
History,  S  vols.;  Don  Quixote,  4  vols.;  Blair's  Lectures,  2  vols.;  Johnson's  Lives  of  the  Poets, 
2  vols.;  Savage's  Works,  1  vol.;  Bum's  Works,  4  vols.;  Pope's  Works  and  'Addison's  Works, 
1  vol.;  Thompson's  Works,  2  vols.;  Young's  Works,  4  vols.;  Cope's  Travels,  3  vols.;  The  Wild 
Irish  Girl,  1  vol.;  New  Jerusalem  Doctrine,  1  vol. 

The  Library  Company  continued   in  existence,   each  member  paying  a 

membership  fee  of  one  dollar  per  year,  until  March,  1826.    As  only  twenty-seven 

members  were  then  supporting  the  librarj',  it  was  decided  to  disband,   each 

member  drawing  a  number  which  called  for  a  share  of  the  eighty-two  books  then 

remaining. 


^    ^    ^    ^ 

(Jp     ^^P      'JP     iJF 

W  W  W  w 

CHAPTER  XXXIX 

TOTAL    ECLIPSE    OF    THE   SUN    EXCITES   WONDER— FIRST    BRICK   BUILDING 
ERECTED— SHIP   BUILDING   COMPANY   PROMOTED— LAUNCH   OF   THE 
"LUZERNE"— THE    COUNTY    LOSES    AND    GAINS    TERRITORY- 
AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  ORGANIZED— WILKES-BARRE'S 
FIRST  BANK— FINANCIAL  REVERSES— EVENTS  OF 
THE    WAR    OF     1S12— MILITARY    ORGANI- 
ZATIONS PARTICIPATING— A  VISIT- 
OR'S IMPRESSIONS— END  OF 
VOLUME  III. 


Genius  of  Seventy  Six  awake, 
Once  more  our  freedom  undertake; 
Fresh  laurels  wait  to  crown  thy  brows 
You've  not  a  moment  more  to  drowse 
Lo!  the  Destroyer  swaggers  round; 
His  vast  ambition  knows  no  bound. 
His  pride  presumes  to  give  us  Law 
And  keep  our  government  in  awe. 

Anonymous. 


Coming  to  a  general  chronicle  of  the  times,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  a  total 
eclipse  of  the  sun  was  a  matter  of  considerable  marvel  on  June  16,  1806.  Con- 
cerning the  observation  of  this  phenomenon,  the  Federalist  of  June  27th,  has  the 
following  to  say: 

"Most  of  the  newspapers  printed  since  Monday,  the  16th  inst.,  have  very  sagely  mentioned 
the  Eclipse  of  the  sun  in  their  respective  neighborhoods.  We  too,  although  living  in  the  back 
countrj'  had,  (as  Mr.  Sansom  would  say)  'A  bird's  eye  view  of  it.'  There  has  been  no  period 
since  the  discovery  of  America,  when  so  many  of  her  inhabitants  were  employed  at  the  same 
moment — by  the  same  object,  that  in  viewing  the  eclipse.  The  Moonites,  if  their  optics  are  suf- 
ficiently acute,  or  their  telescopes  good,  must  have  laughed  to  see  such  a  group  as  presented  itself 
to  their  view.  Two  or  three  millions  of  people,  with  mouths  half  stretched  all  at  once,  squinting 
through  a  piece  of  smoked  glass,  is  an  object  rarely  to  be  beheld. 

"At  the  commencement  of  the  Eclipse,  a  cloud  of  darkness  was  discovered  in  the  west.  As 
it  approached,  the  air  became  damp  and  chill,  and  the  face  of  nature  assumed  a  yellowish,  gloomy 
appearance.  The  birds  that  line  the  opposite  shore  of  the  river  from  our  village,  chanted  a  hymn, 
but  ceased  in  profound  silence  at  the  period  of  the  greatest  obscuration.  A  star  in  the  west  shed 
a  feeble  ray  for  a  while,  but  soon  immerged  in  the  two  fold  radience  of  returning  noon.  Terror  and 
dismay  were  depicted  in  the  countenances  of  many,  and  the  frantic  gestures  of  some  who  did 


1775 

not  know  the  cause  of  the  changed  appearance  of  nature,  excited  a  smile  in  spite  of  the  awful 
solemnity  impressed  by  the  sublime  spectacle. 

"As  the  cloud  of  darkness  receded  to  the  east,  the  cocks  crowed,  the  birds  again  struck  up 
d  matin  in  full  chorus,  and  all  creation  smiled  to  behold  the  bright  luminary  of  heaven  reassume 
his  empire,  and  smile  forth  in  his  wonted  splendour.  The  weather  was  comparatively  cool.  Though 
I  had  exchanged  that  day  the  shade  of  my  office  for  the  unsheltered  cornfield,  (for  a  printer  here 
must  hoe  his  own  corn  or  starve,)  I  did  not  experience  the  usual  oppression  from  the  heat.  My 
only  thermometer  was  my  feelings,  but  I  cannot  be  wrong  in  stating  the  change  in  the  temperature 
of  the  air,  a  little  past  the  period  of  the  greatest  darkness,  at  several  degrees  depression.  The 
earth  was  sensibly  wet  with  dew.  Since  the  eclipse  the  wind  has  been  high  from  the  west,  and  the 
weather  cold  for  the  season,  and  I  have  remarked  in  my  garden  an  almost  total  suspension  of 
vegetation.     So  much  for  the  wonderful  eclipse  in  Wilkesbarre." 

It  should  not  escape  mention  that,  in  1807,  the  first  brick  building  was 
erected  in  all  the  territory  of  the  Susquehanna  purchase.  It  was  built  by  Joseph 
Slocum,*  the  "village  blacksmith,"  a  brother  of  Frances  Slocum,  and  son-in- 
law  to  Judge  Fell.  It  was  erected  as  a  residence  on  the  south  side  of  Public 
Square,  opposite  what  afterwards  became  the  "Fire  Proof"  and  was  three  and 
one-half  stories  high,  which  was  not  only  the  first  building  of  such  a  height, 
but  as  has  been  stated,  was  the  first  brick  building  to  be  erected  in  north-eastern 
Pennsylvania.  This  building  was  occupied  as  a  residence,  first  by  Joseph  Slocum 
and  afterwards  by  his  son-in-law.  Lord  Butler,  for  sixty  odd  years;  and  then 
having  been  remodeled,  it  was  devoted  to  business  purposes  until  its  demolish- 
ment  in  April,  1906,  to  make  way  for  the  erection  of  the  present  building  of  the 
First  National  Bank.  In  its  last  years,  the  first  floor  of  the  Slocum  building  was 
occupied  by  a  book  and  stationery  shop,  at  one  time  owned  by  S.  L.  Brown,  and 
then  by  J.  C.  Madden. 

Later  in  the  same  year,  another  brick  building  was  erected  by  Benjamin 
Perry,  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  Northampton  streets  which,  about 
the  year  1880,  gave  place  to  a  business  structure. 

The  subject  of  business  development  would  not  be  fully  considered  with- 
out reference  to  a  project  which,  in  the  light  of  later  events,  was  to  cause  disas- 
trous loss  to  many  residents  of  the  community.  It  has  been  stated  that  Philip 
and  John  P.  Arndt  had  established  a  boat  yard  on  the  River  Common  between 
Market  and  Northampton  streets.  Philip  Arndt,  the  father,  had  long  since  pass- 
ed to  his  reward.  But  John  P.  Arndt  was,  in  the  period  of  which  we  write, 
one  of  the  community's  most  substantial  merchants. 

In  1807,  having  become  a  partner  of  John  P.  Robinson  in  the  general 
merchandising  business,  he  leased  the  hotel  on  River  street  which  bore  his  name 
to  Thomas  H.  Morgan,  so  as  to  permit  his  attention  to  be  centered  upon  other 
business  enterprises  more  of  interest  to  his  creative  imagination. f    One  of  these 

*For  a  cut  of  the  Slocum  residence  and  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  its  builder,  readers  are  referred  to  Vol.  II,  page  1117. 
of  this  History. 

tThe  following  description  of  the  "Old  Arndt  Tavern"  is  from  the  pen  of  Miss  Emily  I.  .\lexander  (hereinbefore 
mentioned)  who  WTOte  from  memory  of  it  in  1878,  the  account  being  published  in  the  W'ilkfS-Barre  Leader.  June  27th 
of  that  year: 

*  *  *  "The  architecture  was  simple,  but  substantial — two  stories  and  an  attic:  plenty  of  windo^vs  on  the  sides 
and  ends.  A  wide  porch  enclosed  with  railing  ran  along  the  entire  front,  and  there  were  easy  benches  or  settees  against 
the  walls  beneath  the  windows.    The  whole  appearance  of  the  place  betokened  comfort  and  good  cheer. 

"The  interior  was  as  simple  as  the  exterior.  A  wide  hall  ran  thro  the  centre ;  the  rooms  were  large :  closets  deep  and 
dark  flanked  the  big  open  fire-places,  for  in  those  days  wood  only  was  used:  and  plain  strong  furniture,  principally 
of  walnut  and  cherry  woods,  made  up  all  the  requirements  of  living  desired  by  the  occupants,  for  the  people  of  that 
day  were  simple  in  their  tastes.  *  *  *  It  was,  for  those  days  a  most  comfortable  and  commodious  tavern.  Just 
opposite  the  front  door — across  the  road-way  on  the  edge  of  the  river  green — stood  the  usual  tall  tavern  sign  post, 
with  its  painted  sign-board  swinging  in  a  frame,  and  surmounted  by  a  martin  house,  modeled  after  the  tavern,  and  to 
which  the  busy  birds  never  failed  yearly  to  come.  Further  over,  on  the  edge  of  the  river,  and  quite  over  the  w*ater. 
stood  Amdt's  store-house — an  unpainted  structure  looking  much  like  a  mill,  as  at  each  end  in  the  angle  of  the  roof, 
a  stout  beam  ran  out  bearing  the  blocks  and  tackle  for  raising  or  lowering  heavy  merchandise. 

"The  proprietors  of  these  buildings,  the  Messrs.  .\mdt  did  a  general  and  commission  business.  bu\-ing  from  the 
River  craft,  the  Durham  boats  and  arks,  which  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  came  down  the  river  from  "York  State* 
loaded  with  grain,  flour,  salt,  cheese,  potatoes,  spinning  wheels,  etc.  Thev  also  owned  and  ran  a  distiller^-,  which  was 
located  below  the  tavern,  and  kept  a  hay  scale.  *  •  *  Rev  Dr.  Peck  calls  it  the  Old  Red  Tavern'  on  the  River 
bank,  then  kept  by  James  Morgan  and  subsequently  known  as  the  'Old  .\mdt  Hotel.'  He  has  evidently  confounded 
it  with  a  house  farther  dowm  the  street,  built  by  Capt  J.  P.  Schott,  and  often  called  the  'Red  House',  but  it  was  a 
small  structure  not  adapted  to  the  uses  of  a  hotel.  The  brothers  (sic>  .\mdt — John  P.  and  Philip — came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  from  Easton,  Pa.,  at  an  early  date  and  engaged  in  various  business  enterprises,  becoming  prosperous.  Among 
other  things,  they  built  and  launched,  in  1 803 ,  a  sloop  of  12  tons,  getting  it  safely  to  tide,  but  their  next  venture  of  the  kind 


1776 

was  boat  building.  The  demand  for  arks  in  which  to  transport  coal  was  yet  to 
come.  But  having  successfully  launched  the  ocean  bound  schooner  John  Frank- 
lin from  his  boat  yard  in  1803,  why  could  not  Wilkes-Barre  be  made  an  inland 
ship  yard  where  materials  were  cheap  and  labor  plentiful? 

It  may  seem  a  wild  dream  to  us  of  the  20th  Ototury,  but  to  the  vigorous, 
successful  John  P.  Arndt  of  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth,  it  became  an 
obsession.  Concerned  with  practically  every  project  for  the  advancement  of 
the  community,  it  was  not  a  difficult  task  for  him  to  secure  the  assistance,  financial 
or  otherwise,  of  those  about  him.  This  he  did  in  the  organization  of  the  Luzerne 
Ship  Building  Company. 

Unfortunately  for  its  promoters,  the  "Company"  was  never  incorporated. 
As  a  partnership,  each  associate  was  responsible  for  its  debts.  Upon  Mr.  Arndt, 
this  responsibility  eventually  fell. 

No  minutes  of  the  company  have  been  found  by  the  present  writer,  and 
no  list  of  stockholders  remains.  It  is  probable  that  all  papers,  relative  to  the 
venture,  were  taken  by  Mr.  Arndt,  when  he  removed  to  Buffalo  and  later  to 
Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  after  being  forced  to  part  with  his  property  in  the  valley, 
in  hopes  that  they  might  prove  valuable  in  later  securing  some  of  the  unpaid 
subscriptions.  Several  meetings  must  have  preceded  that  of  October  21,  1809, 
of  which  the  first  published  notice  was  given  to  subscribers  in  the  Federalist  of 
the  day  before.     The  notice  in  question  is  as  follows: 

"THE  SUBSCRIBERS 
"To  the  ship-building  Company  will  take  notice,  that  a  meeting  will  be  held  at  the  House 
of  George  Taylor  in  Wilkesbarre,  on  Saturday,  the  21st  inst.,  at  2  o'clock  P.  M.,  to  elect  a  Manager 
in  the  room  of  Arnold  Colt*  (who  has  removed  out  of  the  county)  and  to  do  such  other  business 
as  may  be  deemed  best  for  the  Company."  "John  P.  Arndt, 

"Pres.  of  the  Board." 

In  the  same  publication,  dated  January  19,  1810,  stockholders  are  informed 
"that  workmen  are  now  employed,  who  are  getting  out  timber  for  the  purpose 
of  commencing  the  work;  and  that  $2  on  each  shate  is  now  due." 

A  third  notice  was  published  in  the  same  paper  under  date  of  September 
14,  1810.  It  disclosed  the  interesting  information  "that  the  ship  is  now  on  the 
stocks  and  the  work  is  progressing;  therefore  the  managers  have  called  for  the 
second  installment  of  $3  on  each  share." 

This  notice  was  signed  by  Peleg  Tracey,  Treasurer;  John  P.  Arndt,  as 
before,  being  styled  President. 

Elisha  Mack,  who  had  been  a  former  neighbor  of  many  early  Wilkes- 
Barreans  at  Lyme,  Connecticut,  and  later  a  ship  carpenter  at  Brooklyn,  was 
brought  on  as  foreman  of  construction,  while  Captain  Joseph  Chapman,  Sr., 
who  had  commanded  a  ship  in  the  West  India  trade,  was  called  upon  for  a  final 
inspection  of  the  vessel  and  was  given  the  honor  of  christening  her. 

Requiring  two  years  to  build,  involving  a  very  considerable  sum  of  money, 
mbst  of  it  borne  by  Mr.  Arndt  himself,  and  with  hopes  of  the  community  keyed 
to  a  high  pitch  by  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking,  it  is  small  wonder  that  all 
else  was  forgotten  when  the  completed  vessel  was  ready  to  launch.     It  must 

a  vessel  of  60  tons  altho  safely  launched,  in  1812,  was  broken  at  the  Conawaga  Falls,  and  a  total  loss.  Their  experience 
was  the  beginning  and  end  of  shipbuilding  here.  Very  soon  after  this  failure,  they  sold  out  all  their  interest  here  and 
moved  to  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  where  their  descendants  still  live. 

"Thos.  H.  {not  James)  Morgan  succeeded  Mr.  Arndt,  and  kept  the  tavern.  He  was  a  popular  host  and  a  good 
business  man.  He  was  followed  by  Maj.  Orlando  Porter;  and  shortly  after  he  left  it,  going  to  the  Phoenix — then  new, 
the  fame  of  the  old  place  waned,  and  it  finally  became  a  simple  private  dwelling  house," 

Editor's  Note: — This  sign,  in  1810  and  for  many  years  thereafter,  bore  the  picture  of  a  ship.  It  is  frequently 
referred  to  as  "The  Tavern  at  the  Sign  of  the  Ship,"  just  as  the  Fell  Tavern  was  designated  "At  the  Sign  of  the  Buck." 

*At  this  time,  Arnold  Colt,  owing  to  financial  reverses,  had  removed  to  Stoddardsville,  and  for  three  years  kept  a 
tavern  there  at  one  of  the  relay  stations  of  the  Easton  and  Wilkes-Barre  timipike. 


1777 

have  been  an  inspiring,  as  it  was  unusual  sight,  for  those  who  passed  along  River 
street  in  the  early  spring  of  1812,  to  find  breasting  the  River  Common,  with  its 
carved  figure  head  almost  reaching  the  present  street  line,  and  its  stern-post 
quite  to  the  river  bank, a  vessel  of  some  sixty  ton's  burthen  with  tall  masts  erect, 
and  polished  spars  in  place;  a  ship  that  had  no  place  bej'ond  the  heaving  seven 
seas.  Two  stories  of  the  launching  are  here  given.  Dilton  Yarring^on,  a  son 
of  Abel  Yarrington,  the  ferryman  of  early  Wilkes-Barr^,  wrote  one  account  many 
years  later.    It  is  given  below : 

"During  the  war  of  1812,  the  great  ship  Luzerne  was  built  on  the  river  bank  in  front  of  John 
P.  Robinson's  stone  house.  I  saw  the  launch.  A  thousand  or  more  people  were  present.  The 
war  spirit  was  rampant  at  that  time,  and  the  people  of  our  town  e.xpected  that  the  noble  Luzerne 
was  going  to  assist  in  bringing  the  "Flag  of  Great  Britain"  down.  A  few  days  after  the  launch, 
a  sufficient  flood  arose  and  the  ship  was  manned  and  started  down  the  river  towards  the  ocean, 
but  in  passing  the  Falls  of  Canawaga,  she  ran  on  to  the  rocks  and  lay  there  till  the  ice  in  the  river 
broke  up  the  ne.\t  spring,  when  she  was  totally  destroyed. 

"John  P.  Arndt  was  one  of  the  stockholders,  probably  the  largest  one,  in  the  vessel.  Several 
others,  including  my  father,  had  from  three  to  five  hundred  dollars  of  the  stock.  There  was  great 
excitement  in  Luzerne  County  about  those  days.  The  war  spirit  prevailed  to  a  great  extent. 
There  were  two  recruiting  stations  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the  recruiting  officers  were  very  busy 
for  one  or  two  years.  Business  of  every  description  was  brisk,  and  all  kinds  of  provisions  were 
high;  wheat,  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  bushel;  com,  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents;  pork, 
eighteen  to  twenty  dollars  a  barrel,  and  everything  else  on  the  line  of  provisions,  proportionally 
high."  "D.  Yarrington." 

The  second  account,  which  survived  in  the  files  of  the  Gleaner,  of  April 
17,  1812,  is  as  follows: 

"THE  LAUNCH" 

"Last  Friday  (April  10,  1812)  was  the  day  on  which  the  launch  of  the  vessel  on  the  stocks 
in  this  Port,  was  announced.  A  scene  so  extraordinary,  two  hundred  miles  from  the  tide  waters 
of  the  river,  raised  the  curiosity  of  every  one.  The  old  sailors  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  seaboard, 
whom  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune  had  settled  in  this  sylvan  retreat,  and  to  whom  such  scenes 
had  once  been  familiar,  felt  all  the  interest  so  naturally  excited  by  events  that  call  up  early  and 
interesting  recollections.  The  novelty  to  those  who  had  never  witnessed  such  a  view,  excited  their 
curiosity  to  the  highest  degree.  The  importance  of  the  experiment  too,  did  not  fail  to  augment 
the  general  solicitude,  for  on  its  success,  depended  the  important  consideration,  whether  the  timber 
of  our  mountains  could  be  profitably  employed  in  shipbuilding,  and  our  country  be  benefited  by 
the  increase  of  business,  which  such  a  pursuit  would  naturally  produce. 

"On  the  Sunday  preceding  the  interesting  day,  a  beautiful  new^jair  of  colours  were  displayed 
from  her  stern,  according  to  immemorial  usage,  as  a  token  that  in  the  course  of  the  week  she  should 
be  launched. 

"From  Monday  to  Friday  all  was  bustle  and  activity.  Early  on  Friday,  people  began  to 
gather  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 

"The  cannon  on  the  bank,  at  noon  gave  notice  that  everything  was  in  preparation.  A  little 
after  2,  repeated  discharges  announced  that  all  was  ready.  The  bank  of  the  river  far  above  and 
below  the  vessel  was  lined  with  persons  of  both  sexes,  and  it  was  not  among  the  least  gratifications 
of  the  day  to  observe  the  smile  of  pleasure,  mingled  with  anxiety  for  the  success  of  the  launch, 
which  was  evident  on  every  countenance.  A  little  after  3  the  increased  bustle  and  noise  around 
the  vessel,  and  the  sound  of  sledges  and  axes,  gave  the  interesting  notice  that  they  were  knocking 
away  the  blocks.  The  vessel  was  built  on  the  bank  of  the  river  one  hundred  feet  from  the  water, 
and  fifteen  feet  perpendicular  height  above  it,  so  that  she  had  considerable  distance  to  move. 

'She  measures  between  50  and  60  tons.  Her  colours  were  flying  from  her  stem,  and  near 
thirty  persons  were  on  board. 

"The  after  block  was  knocked  away — every  eye  was  fixed — all  was  anxiety,  but  she  did  not 
move.  The  men  on  board  all  gathered  near  her  bow,  and  then  run  in  a  body  to  the  stem.  She 
started — moving  for  half  a  minute  slowly — the  velocity  increased  and  she  slid  most  gracefully  into 
her  destined  element,  amid  the  shouts  of  thousands. 

"As  she  met  the  water,  Capt.  Chapman  christened  her  in  the  usual  style,  'The  Luzerne,  of 
Wilkes-Barre.' 

"Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful, — every  spectator  was  amply  gratified." 

The  fate  of  the  "Luzerne"  was,  in  a  measure,  the  fate  of  John  P.  Arndt. 
The  vessel  was  anchored  for  some  two  weeks  in  front  of  the  shipyard,  awaiting 
a  more  propitious  stage  of  water  before  venturing  forth.  On  May  2nd,  river 
conditions  seemed  ripe  for  the  voyage,  and  once  again  cannon  boomed  as  the 
anchor  was  weighed.  Very  little  use  of  her  sails  could  be  made  during  the  journey, 
nor  could  the  vessel  be  poled,  as  was  the  case  with  smaller  craft.     After  several 


1778 

narrow  escapes  from  going  aground  on  ledges  and  reefs,  the  vessel  piled  up  on 
the  rocks  of  the  "Falls  of  Conawago",  near  Middletown.  The  receding  waters 
of  summer  left  her  high  and  dry  there,  but  some  hope  remained  with  her  owners 
of  floating  her  when  the  river  again  became  bank  full  in  the  fall.  In  this  they 
were  disappointed.  The  ice  came  before  an  expected  fall  freshet,  and  by  spring 
no  trace  of  the  vessel  rema:ined. 

Mention  is  made,  in  the  Varrington  narrative  of  the  launching,  that  the 
ship  ways  stood  "opposite  the  stone  house  of  John  P.  Robinson."* 

This  was  the  first  stone  residence  and  one  of  the  first  stone  buildings  of 
the  community.  Its  construction  was  begun  in  1803  and  finished  in  the  following 
spring.  Its  builder  was  to  become  one  of  the  communitj^'s  leading  merchants, 
first  identifying  himself  with  the  affairs  of  John  P.  Arndt  and  later  with  the 
Hollenback  interests. 

In  1804,  it  can  be  mentioned  in  passing,  that  Luzerne  County  lost  the  first 
of  an  enormous  acreage,  from  which  four  counties  were  later  to  be  erected.  By 
an  Act  passed  April  2nd  of  that  year,  a  strip  of  territory  was  detached  from 
Luzerne,  and  annexed  to  Lycoming  County,  westward  of  a  line  "Beginning  at 


View  on  South  River  Street,  near  Northampton  Street,  about  1861. 

Showing  the  Lord  Butler,  Jonathan  J.  Slocum,  and  John  P.  Robinson  houses. 


*Under  the  caption  "Wnother  Landmark  Going"  the  Record,  August  11,  1896,  published  the  following  relative 
to  the  Robinson  house : 

"One  of  the  oldest  stone  houses  in  Wilkes-Barre,  known  as  the  Dr.  Mayer  residence  on  South  River  Street,  next  to 
the  residence  of  John  N.  Con>-ngham,  is  being  torn  down  to  make  room  for  an  addition  to  the  ConjTigham  lawn  and 
possibly  for  a  new  house  some  day.  The  house  was  built  in  1803  by  John  P.  Robinson  and  at  that  time  was  considered 
a  fine  residence,  being  one  of  two  houses  on  the  river  front,  the  other  being  the  residence  of  Jacob  Cist. 

The  house  remained  a  part  of  the  Robinson  estate  for  sixty  years  and  was  sold  to  Dr.  Mayer  about  1868  for  S6.000. 
After  Dr.  Mayer's  death  it  was  sold  to  the  Laning  estate  and  a  few  years  ago  to  Mrs.  W.  L.  Conyngham  for  $25,000 
John  P.  Robinson,  the  builder,  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  Susquehanna  County  in  1800  and  married  a  daughter  of 
Col.  Zebulon  Butler.  When  the  turnpike  was  completed  from  Easton  to  this  city  over  the  Pocono  mountain  Mr. 
Robinson  and  John  P.  Amdt  kept  the  leading  hotel  in  Wilkes-Barre,  the  site  being  that  now  occupied  by  the  Darling 
residence  on  South  River  street." 


1779 

the  east  side  of  the  east  branch  of  Susquehanna,  on  the  Hne  between  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  York,  at  such  place,  that  from  thence  a  due  south  line  will  strike 
the  north-eastern  corner  of  Clavarack  Township ;  thence  by  the  line  of  the  same 
township,  about  a  south-west  course,  crossing  the  said  east  branch,  to  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  said  township;  thence  by  the  south-west  side  of  the  same,  to 
the  southwest  corner  thereof,  and  from  thence  by  a  due  west  line  to  the  line  now 
separating  the  counties  of  Luzerne  and  Lycoming." 

The  year  1808,  on  the  other  hand,  witnessed  the  addition  of  a  strip  of  land, 
formerly  a  part  of  Northumberland,  to  Luzerne  County.  In  this  transaction, 
the  act  of  March  28,  1808,  provided  "That  all  that  part  of  Northumberland 
County,  lying  northeast  of  a  straight  line  from  the  mouth  of  Nescopeck  Creek, 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  Berks  County,  shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby, 
annexed  to  Luzerne  County." 

While  neither  of  these  transactions  was  of  much  importance  from  a  terri- 
torial standpoint,  an  echo  of  the  Susquehanna  land  co.itroversies  can  be  dis- 
cerned in  the  earlier  transfer.  It  was  a  gerrymandering  move,  legislature  making 
it  merely  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  Col.  John  Franklin  and  some  of  his  associates 
to  become  residents  of  LA'coming,  rather  than  of  Luzerne  County,  in  hopes  of 
preventing  Colonel  Franklin  from  being  re-elected  to  the  State  Legislature.  In  this 
object,  as  has  been  stated,  the  legislature  was  defeated  and  Colonel  Franklin 
came  again  to  fight  his  battles  on  the  legislative  floor  as  a  resident  of  a  new- 
district. 

The  later  transfer  of  territory  was,  as  can  be  seen  from  early  State  maps, 
mere!}'  a  measure  to  straighten  out  unusually  crooked  lines  between   counties. 

To  those  accustomed  to  the  ornate  setting  of  the  present  Court  House, 
on  grounds  that  were  a  part  of  the  north  River  Common,  the  following  ordinance 
of  the  borough  council,  passed  August  15,  1809,  may  be  of  interest: 

"An  act  to  establish  a  public  LUMBER  YARD  in  the  Borough  of  Wilkesbarre. 

"Sec.  1st.  Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  of  the  Town  Council  of  the  Borough  of  Wilkes- 
barre, That  the  lot  of  ground  on  the  bank  of  the  river  between  Union  street  and  the  upper  line  of 
the  Borough,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated  for  a  LUMBER  YARD,  and  all  persons 
are  authorized  to  place  their  lumber  thereon  free  of  e.xpence,  on  condition  of  piling  it  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  leave  a  road  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  seventy-five  feet  wide. 
"Attest:  "Jesse  Fell,  Presdt." 

"Peleg  Tracy,  Clerk." 

To  students  of  latter  day  public  finances  in  particular,  the  County 
Treasurer's  statement  for  the  year  1807,  may  prove  something  of  a  revelation. 
Notwithstanding  the  then  area  of  the  county,  and  taking  into  consideration  the 
fact  that  payment  was  being  made  in  that  year  on  several  building  projects, 
the  total  expenses  of  county  government  aggregated  only  a  little  over  $19,000. 
Total  election  expenses  were  only  $311.  Fees  of  jurymen  aggregated  only 
$800.  There  was  paid  for  wolf  bounties  $480,  and  panthers  were  so  numerous 
that  $104  had  been  paid  for  their  scalps.  Red  foxes  were  numerous.  The  County 
Treasurer's  compensation  was  $767,  while  the  Commissioners  (Benjamin  Dor- 
rance,  Elisha  Harding  and  Hosea  TilTany)  earned  sums  ranging  from  $145  to 
$225.  The  entire  cost  of  making  the  assessments  in  the  large  and  scattered  county 
of  that  day,  was  only  $530.  Bridges  and  roads  cost  $1,925;  expense  of  main- 
taining jail  (there  was  only  one  prisoner)  was  only  $420,  and  Supervisors'  expenses 
for  roads  were  only  about  $5,000,  this  being  the  largest  item  of  all. 

As  outlying  townships  of  the  count}'  became  more  thickly  settled,  frequent 
complaints  reached  the   Court  and   Commissioners  that,   owing  to  the  limited 


1780 

number  of  voting  places  prescribed,  the  franchise  could  be  exercised  by  voters 
in  many  localities  only  by  travelling  considerable  distances.  At  the  fall  session 
of  Court  in  1809,  eight  new  districts  were  added  to  the  twelve  then  in' existence 
and  the  Sheriff  in  his  proclamation  for  elections  that  year,  named  the  following 
twenty  districts  where  voters  could  assemble: 

1.  Townships  of  Nescopeck  and  Salem. 

2.  Townships  of  Wilkesbarre,  Hanover  and  Newport.     (Polling  place — 

court  house  at  Wilkesbarre.) 

3.  Townships  of  Plymouth,  Kingston  and  Bedford. 

5.  Townships  of  Pittston  and  Providence. 

6.  Townships  of  Exeter  and  Northmoreland. 

7.  Tunkhannock. 

8.  Braintrim. 

9.  Wyalusing. 

10.  Wysox. 

11.  Townships  of  Towanday  and  Canton 

12.  Orwell. 

13.  Harford. 

14.  Abbington. 

15.  Bridgewater. 

16.  Townships  of  Willingborough,  Lawsville,  and  New  Milford. 

17.  Clifford. 

18.  Rush. 

19.  Nicholson. 

20.  Sugar-Loaf. 

In  January,  1810,  the  Luzerne  County  Agricultural  Society  was  first 
organized,  in  the  court  house  at  Wilkes-Barre.  Jesse  Fell,  Esq.,  was  chosen 
chairman,  and  Dr.  R.  H.  Rose,  Secretary  of  the  meeting.  A  constitution  was 
adopted,  and  the  following  officers  were  chosen  for  the  year:  Jesse  Fell,  Esq., 
President;  Matthias  Hollenback,  Esq.,  Vice  President;  Thomas  Dyer,  Esq.,  Treas- 
urer; Peleg  Tracy,  Recording  Secretary,  and  Dr.  Rose  and  Jacob  Cist,  Corres- 
ponding Secretaries.  The  preamble  to  the  constitution  declared  the  object  of  the 
society  to  be  "for  the  improvement  and  advancement  of  agriculture,  by  intro- 
ducing improved  breeds  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  and  the  best  grain,  such 
as  wheat,  rye,  corn,  &c.,  and  the  improvement  of  the  soil  by  hme  and  manure." 

The  prominent  and  efficient  actors  in  this  movement  were  Dr.  Rose  and 
Jacob  Cist,  Esq.,  possessing,  perhaps,  a  greater  share  of  scientific  agricultural 
information  than  any  other  two  men  in  the  county. 

No  proceedings  of  the  Society  have  been  preserved,  other  than  a  report  made 
in  1811,  on  nineteen  specimens  of  cloth,  presented  by  Mr.  Ingham,  all  of  which 
were  pronounced  creditable.  The  pieces  particularly  noticed,  were  wrought  by 
Miss  Luckey,  Raphael  Stone,  R.  Ingham,  A.  Stevens,  N.  Stevens  and  Jos.  Ingham. 

There  is  preserved  also  a  list  of  premiums  proposed  in  1824,  as  follows: 

For  the  best  field  of  wheat,  less  than  30  acres,  S5;  for  the  best  field  of  corn  and  rye,  $5; 
for  the  best  field  of  oats  or  buckwheat,  less  than  30  acres,  S3;  for  the  best  acre  of  potatoes,  S3; 
for  the  best  half-acre  of  flax,  $i;  for  the  best  quarter-acre  of  rutabaga  turnips  and  tobacco,  each 
S3;  best  ram,  $3;  best  ewe,  S3;  best  bull,  S5;  best  cow,  S5;  best  piece  of  woolen  cloth,  S5;  second 
best,  S3;  best  piece  of  flannel,  $4;  best  piece  of  domestic  carpet,  S4;  best  piece  of  hnen,  one  yard 
wide,  S3;  best  quality  of  cheese,  less  than  100  pounds,  $5;  best  sample  of  butter,  not  less  than  20 
pounds,  S3;  best  made  plow,  S5;  best  quantity  of  stone  fence,  not  less  than  25  rods,  S5;  for  a 
bushel  of  the  best  apples  or  peaches,  $1.50;  for  the  best  watermelon,  50  cents. 


1781 

"For  the  best  essay  on  the  Hessian  fly,  and  preventing  its  ravages,  there  was  offered  a 
premium  of  $5 ;  for  the  best  essay  on  the  various  species  of  curculio,  and  the  mode  of  destroying 
them,  $5;  for  the  best  essay  on  agriculture  or  manufactures,  $5. 

Celebrations  of  the  4th  of  July,  1810,  were  heightened  by  talk  of  war 
with  Great  Britain,  which  President  Jefferson  and  his  advisors  were  attempting 
to  avert,  by  every  argument  at  their  command.     In  that  year,  both  the  Consti- 


Andrew  Jackson". 

tutional-Republicans,  as  former  Federalists  were  then  known,  and  Democrats, 
the  title  now  assumed  by  followers  of  Jefferson,  held  imposing  rallies.  Stories 
of  the  two  gatherings  lose  none  of  their  interest  by  being  taken  from  the  files 
of  the  press,  and  may  serve  to  enlighten  the  reader  as  to  customs  in  vogue  at 


1782 

Wilkes-Barre  more  than  a  century  ago.     The  oft  consulted  Federalist  furnishes 
the  following  account: 

"The  anniversary  of  American  Independence  was  celebrated  by  the  Federal  and  Consti- 
tutional Republicans  of  Wilkesbarre  and  its  vicinity,  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  occasion. 

"The  dawning  of  the  day  was  hailed  by  13  discharges  of  cannon.  Precisely  at  12  o'clock 
the  signal  Gun  convened  the  citizens  on  the  Bank  of  the  River.  General  Lord  Butler  was  chosen 
President  of  the  day,  and  Charles  Miner,  Esq.,  Vice  President.  A  procession  was  then  formed, 
and  marched  to  the  Meeting  House  in  the  following  order: 

"1.     Martial  Music. 

"2.    The  Committee  of  Arrangement. 

"3.    The  American  Flag. 

"4.     The  Young  men,  two  and  two. 

"5.     The  elder  citizens. 

"6.    The  President  and  Vice  President. 

"7.    The  Orator  of  the  Day,  and  Clergymen. 

"At  the  door  of  the  Meeting-House,  the  procession  halted  and  facing  in,  opened  to  the  right 
and  left,  and  entered  in  inverted  order.  The  exercises  were  opened  by  singing.  The  introductory 
prayer  was  then  made  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thayer.  An  Oration  was  then  delivered  by  Mr.  Garrick 
Mallery. 

"We  will  not  do  injustice  to  this  elegant  production,  by  endeavoring  to  give  an  idea  of  its 
excellence.  The  public  will  undoubtedly  have  an  opportunity  to  peruse  it  from  the  Press.  But 
we  may  venture  to  say,  that  it  is  one  of  these  productions  that  will  be  read  hereafter  with  delight, 
among  the  first  specimens  of  American  eloquence.     *     *     * 

"The  procession  returned  in  the  same  order  to  a  Bower  on  the  Bank,  prepared  for  the  occas- 
ion, where  an  excellent  dinner  was  provided  by  Mr.  Arndt.  After  dinner,  TOASTS  were  drank, 
accompanied  by  discharges  of  cannon. 

"Every  eye  beamed  with  patriotism — Every  heart  swelled  with  joy. 

"The  Democratic  citizens  of  this  place  and  neighborhood  celebrated  the  day  in  this  Borough. 
They  formed  a  procession  on  the  Redoubt,*  and  marched  to  the  Court  House  where  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  was  read  by  Mr.  George  Denison,  and  an  Oration  delivered  by  David  Scott, 
Esq.  The  company  then  returned  to  a  Bower  prepared  for  the  occasion  on  the  Redoubt,  where 
a  dinner  was  prepared,  and  a  number  of  toasts  drank  under  the  discharge  of  cannon. 

"At  the  Redoubt  a  very  unfortunate  accident  occurred.  Anthony  Anderson,  a  black  man, 
who  was  assisting  in  firing  the  cannon,  hastily  threw  a  cartridge  into  the  gun  without  wiping, 
which  took  fire,  and  blew  off  one  of  his  arms,  and  tore  the  other  considerably.  It  is  hoped  he  will 
recover,  though  fears  are  entertained  for  his  life." 

Wilkes-Barre  had  existed  for  a  period  of  forty-one  years  before  any 
banking  facilities  were  established  in  north-eastern  Pennsylvania.  This  is  not  a 
surprising  matter  when  it  is  realized  that,  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  there  was  not  a  bank  in  Pennsylvania  outside  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia. In  1806,  when  the  borough  of  Wilkes-Barre  was  incorporated,  there 
were  but  eighty-one  banks  in  the  whole  of  the  United  States.  Three  of  these 
existed  at  Philadelphia,  then  the  most  populous  city  of  the  country.  The  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  established  by  the  government,  over  which  much  contro- 
versy had  arisen,  was  one  of  these.  The  two  others,  the  Bank  of  Pennsylvania 
and  the  Bank  of  North  America,  were  chartered  under  state  laws.  Under  their 
charters,  they  could  establish  branches,  and  had  done  so  at  Lancaster,  Reading 
and  Pittsburg.  The  mints  of  the  United  States  had  coined  a  limited  number  of 
silver  coins  in  the  first  decade  of  the  century,  but  had  not  attempted  the  coin- 
age of  gold.  The  chief  currency  in  circulation  was  Spanish  pieces  of  silver  and 
Portugese  gold  coins.  It  was  customary  for  the  merchants  of  Wilkes-Barre,  as 
elsewhere,  when  a  trading  trip  to  Philadelphia  was  planned,  to  exchange  what 
silver  they  had,  into  notes  of  the  Philadelphia  banks  for  the  sake  of  ease  in 
carrying.  By  an  Act  approved  March  3,  1809,  the  Philadelphia  Bank,  as  it 
became  known  when  its  charter  was  renewed  in  1807,  was  authorized  to  establish 
branches,  not  to  exceed  "eight  in  number,"  which  branches  were  to  have  all  the 
powers  of  the  parent  bank  under  such  restriction  as  the  latter  might  impose. 

I  extension  of  the  ridge  of  Bowman's  Hill,  east  of  the  present  court  house,  which  then  reached 
It  was  an  artillery  outpost  during  the  mobilization  of  Sullivan's  army. 


1783 

Pursuant  to  terms  of  the  Act,  the  bank  announced,  in  the  summer  of  1810, 
that  it  would  establish  an  "Office  of  Discount  and  Deposit",  at  Wilkes-Barre. 
Sixteen  residents  of  the  valley  were  chosen  directors  of  the  institution.*  These 
organized  September  21,  1810,  by  electing  one  of  their  number,  Ebenezer  Bowman, 
President  and  John  Bettle,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  Cashier. 

The  bank  was  opened  for  business  October  1,  1810,  in  a  small  two  story 
frame  building  on  River  street  near  Northampton,  a  vault  being  installed  in 
one  of  the  ground  floor  rooms  for  purposes  of  security.  Many  amusing  incidents 
are  told  of  the  early  days  of  the  institution,  when  farmers,  in  particular,  came 
long  distances,  expecting  to  find  much  ready  cash  for  the  mere  asking.  As  it 
was,  so  much  paper  was  discounted  in  the  first  three  months  of  banking,  that 
the  parent  bank  ordered  any  further  discounts  to  cease  for  a  time  and,  when 
resumed,  to  loan  only  on  thirty  or  sixty  days'  time,  with  at  least  a  ten  per  cent 
reduction  in  the  loan  at  expiration.  Depreciation  of  currency  following  the 
War  of  1812,  and  the  country  wide  hard  times  which  ensued,  made  banking 
a  precarious  occupation  in  the  ten  years  of  existence  of  this  branch  at  Wilkes- 
Barre.  In  October,  1820,  financial  affairs  of  Pennsylvania  were  in  such  con- 
dition, that  the  parent  bank  decided  to  close  its  local  branch. 

Relative  to  formalities  connected  with  closing  the  only  bank  then  within 
the  limits  of  the  Susquehanna  purchase,  the  Wilkes-Barre  Herald  of  October 
26,  1820  has  this  to  say: 

"The  president  of  the  Philadelphia  Bank,  having  come  to  this  place,  with  a  view  to  make 
arrangements  for  settling  the  debts  due  at  this  office,  all  persons  indebted  to  the  Institution  are 
requested  to  call  without  delay,  that  an  interview  may  at  once  take  place  between  the  parties 
concerned.  The  bank  expects  payment  from  all  persons  in  whose  power  it  may  be  to  make  it, 
and  where  payment  cannot  be  made,  that  good  security  be  given.  For  Sale,  the  House  and  Lot 
of  Ground  occupied  by  the  Branch  of  the  Phila.  Bank.  The  Lot  is  120  feet  front  on  River  Street, 
and  200  feet  depth.  The  House  is  in  good  order,  and  the  Banking  room  fitted  up  with  suitable 
desks  and  counters,  and  with  an  excellent  Fire-proof  vault,  well  secured  by  double  wrought-iron 
doors.  The  property  is  pleasantly  situated,  and  is  very  desirable  as  a  place  of  business  or  for  a 
private  residence. 

On  January  1,  1821,  the  operations  of  the  Branch  Bank  ceased,  and  Joseph 
McCoy,  late  Cashier,  was  appointed  agent  to  collect  outstanding  debts.  He 
announced  that  his  office  would  continue  at  the  late  banking  house,  where  he 
would  "attend  every  day  during  the  sittings  of  the  Court  and,  at  other  times 
every  Monday  and  Wednesday,  from  9  A.  M.  till  sunset." 

It  was  not  altogether  the  fault  of  local  enterprise,  that  financial  affairs 
of  the  community  were  in  the  hands  of  Philadelphia  interests  for  a  decade. 

In  March,  1814,  the  state  legislature  passed  a  bill,  authorizing  the  in- 
corporation of  forty-one  independent  banking  institutions,  with  capital  stocks 
aggregating  more  than  $17,000,000.  The  same  Act  divided  the  state  into  banking 
districts.  Luzerne  County  comprised  one  district,  to  which  was  apportioned 
one  of  these  banks.  The  bank,  under  its  charter  was  to  be  known  as  "The  Sus- 
quehanna Bank,"  with  Wilkes-Barre  named  as  its  headquarters  and  Abiel 
Fellows,  Noah  Wadhams,  Cyrus  Avery,  George  M.  Hollenback  and  George 
Dennison,  all  prominent  in  county  affairs  at  that  time,  as  Commissioners  to 
receive  stock  subscriptions.  In  August,  of  that  year,  these  Commissioners  were 
bending  their  energies  in  the  direction  of  securing  the  bank's  required  capital, 

*The  following  is  the  list  of  directors: 

Lord  Butler  Rosewell  Welles  Jos.  Sinton 

Jesse  Fell  Charles  Miner  Calvin  Wadhams 

Wm.  Ross  Frederick  Crisman  Ebenezer  Slocum 

M.  Hollenback  N.  Palmer  Isaac  Bowman 

Benjamin  Dorrance  Ebenezer  Bowman  Nathan  Beach 
Allen  Jack 


1784 

but  the  condition  of  the  country's  finances  held  the  task  in  abeyance.    That  the 

Philadelphia  branch  was  then  engaged  in  a  considerable  business  in  the  community 

is  evidenced  by  the  following  from  the  Gleaner,  of  June  28,  1815: 

"During  the  latter  part  of  May,  the  office  of  Discount  and  Deposit  at  this  place  sent  upwards 
of  $26,000  in  specie  to  the  Philadelphia  Bank.  This  sum,  added  to  the  amount  previously  sent, 
makes  the  total  of  something  more  than  335,000  in  specie  which  the  mother  Bank  has  received 
from  this  office,  besides  notes  of  other  Banks,  probably  to  a  much  greater  amount.  This  sum 
has  been  collected  from  Luzerne  and  the  adjoining  Counties  during  the  short  time  which  this 
Branch  has  been  established  here. 

"If  Banks  are  either  necessary  or  useful  in  the  Country,  why  cannot  the  citizens  of  Luzerne 
have  a  Bank  of  their  own?  It  is  frequently  said  that  we  cannot  establish  a  sufficient  credit  in 
the  city  to  keep  our  bills  good!  Can  it  be  probable  that  a  country  which  in  four  years  of  wars, 
non-intercourse,  &c.,  could  send  $35,000  of  specie  to  Philadelphia,  cannot  establish  a  credit, 
for  a  Bank  of  her  own? 

"If  so,  let  us  continue  sending  our  money  abroad,  and  let  others  share  the  profits  of  our 
trade.  But  this  ought  not  be  so;  money  may  sometimes  be  profitable  to  an  individual,  and  it  is 
generally  an  accommodation.  But  to  borrow  money  from  abroad  cannot  be  profitable  to  a  whole 
country,  if  they  can  have  a  medium  of  their  own  which  will  answer  all  their  purposes — because 
the  use  of  interest  which  they  pay  for  it,  goes  out  of  their  country.  Lending  money  is  always 
profitable,  if  the  borrower  faithfully  pays  his  principal  and  interest.  Why  then  should  we  be 
paying  a  great  interest  to  the  stock-holders  of  the  Phila.  Bank,  when  we  might  pay  it  to  our  own 
stockholders.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  party  feelings  have  prevented  the  success  of  the  Susque- 
hanna Bank.  This  is  wrong, — party  animosity  should  never  be  permitted  to  prevent  the  pros- 
perity of  a  country." 

Perhaps  it  was  through  the  appeal  of  the  local  paper  or  more  probably,  that 
the  general  financial  horizon  was  then  less  clouded,  that  the  fall  of  1816  found  all 
the  shares  of  the  proposed  bank  actually  subscribed;  whereupon  a  charter  was 
issued.  Matthias  Hollenback,  Stephen  Tuttle,  Joseph  Sinton,  Henry  Bucking- 
ham, Jacob  Cist,  James  Barnes  and  Daniel  Collins  were  named  Directors  and 
Joseph  Sinton,  a  then  prominent  merchant  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  chosen  President. 
The  bank  went  so  far  as  to  have  plates  for  engraving  its  bank  notes  made,  and 
its  notes  printed,  but  there  its  activities  were  again  halted  by  a  financial  crash, 
which  swept  many  weaker  banks  out  of  existence,  and  all  but  wrecked  the  for- 
tunes of  many  prominent  men  both  here  and  elsewhere. 

This  crash  had  much  to  do  with  the  decision  to  wind  up  affairs  of  the 
Philadelphia  branch,  from  which  time  (January  1,  1820)  to  the  year  1829,  as 
will  later  be  mentioned,  northeastern  Pennsylvania  was  to  be  again  without 
any  banking  facilities  excepting  those  afforded  by  institutions  at  Easton  and 
Philadelphia. 

It  has  been  the  intention  of  the  present  writer,  to  confine  the  loosely  woven 
incidents  of  each  later  Chapter  of  this  History,  to  some  definite  period  of  time. 
In  the  main,  the  present  Chapter  deals  with  events  of  the  first  decade  of  the  last 
century.  Historical  incidents,  however,  have  a  way  of  refusing  to  be  bound  by 
time  limits.  This  was  true  of  the  issues  which  resulted  in  the  second  war  with  the 
British  crown. 

In  the  stormy  Napoleonic  period,  France  and  Great  Britain  hung  on  grimly 
at  each  other's  throats,  giving  little  heed  to  the  rights  of  neutral  nations.  Com- 
merce, carried  in  American  bottoms,  was  challenging  the  boasted  trade  of  Eng- 
land. By  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees  of  1806,  Napoleon  established  his  famous 
"paper  blockade"  and  sought  to  seize  all  vessels  trading  with  England  or  her 
colonies.  Great  Britain,  retaliating  in  the  same  year  by  Orders  in  Council,  for- 
bade all  commerce  at  French  ports  or  the  ports  of  her  allies.  If  an  American 
vessel  touched  at  almost  any  port  of  continental  Europe,  she  was  liable  to  seizure 
by  any  British  cruiser.  On  the  contrary,  if  she  touched  at  a  British  port,  she 
might  become   the  prey  of  any  French  craft.     Jefferson  had  abandoned  the 


1785 

policy  of  Adams,  in  maintaining  a  strong  navy.  He  theorized  that  our  harbors 
could  be  protected  by  a  single  gunboat  in  each,  carrying  one  gun,  and  that  our 
shipping  was  able  to  take  care  of  itself.  While  the  offensive  measures  of  England 
and  France  made  the  American  merchantman  a  prey  to  both,  England  claimed  a 
peculiar  power  of  annoying  the  United  States  by  searching  her  vessels  for  sub- 
jects of  Great  Britain,  whether  or  not  they  had  been  naturalized  in  America. 
In  June,  1807,  the  insolence  of  this  claim  was  carried  so  far  that  the  British-man- 
of-war,  Leopard,  stopped  the  United  States  frigate,  Chesapeake,  off  the  entrance 
of  Chesapeake  bay,  fired  into  her,  killing  or  wounding  twenty-one  of  the  crew 
and  carrying  off  four  alleged  subjects  of  the  crown.  Unprepared  for  war.  Con- 
gress passed  a  stupid  and  dangerous  measure,  preventing  American  vessels  from 
leaving  American  ports  or  foreign  vessels  taking  cargoes  in  our  harbors.  Thus, 
by  its  own  embargo  Act,  the  United  States  did  more  to  injure  its  own  com- 
merce than  the  combined  French  and  British  navies  had  accomplished.  These 
events  were  not  lost  upon  residents  of  the  Wyoming  Valley. 

On  August  7,  1807,  a  general  meeting  of  citizens  was  called  in  the  Court 
House,  Judge  Fell  acting  as  Chairman  and  Nathan  Palmer,  Secretary\ 

A  committee  consisting  of  Ebenezer  Bowman,  Nathan  Palmer,  Nathan 
Beach,  Benjamin  Dorrance  and  Charles  Miner  submitted  the  following  resolu- 
tions, which  were  unanimously  adopted: 

"Resolved — That  we  view  the  late  wanton  attack  of  the  British  ship  of  War,  Leopard,  upon 
the  American  frigate  Chesapeake,  as  a  gross  infringement  of  our  nation.     *     *     » 

"Resolved — That  we  sincerely  approve  of  the  spirited  and  patriotic  conduct  of  our  fellow 
citizens  at  Norfolk  and  Hampton, 

"And  on  motion  of  Peleg  Tracy, 

"Resolved — That  the  resolutions  and  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  signed  by  the  Chairman 
and  Secretary,  and  published  in  the  Luzerne  Federalist." 

The  Wyoming  Blues  were  quick  to  catch  the  inspiration  of  the  public 
meeting.     On  September  4th,  this  organization  forwarded  the  following  letter 
to  the  president: 
"To  Thomas  Jefferson,  Esq., 

"President  of  the  United  States. 

"Sir:  As  it  has  been  the  unanimous  voice  of  our  fellow-soldiers,  of  different  volunteer 
corps  of  the  United  States,  to  offer  their  services  in  defence  of  their  country  in  this  momentous 
crisis,  'when  every  nation  is  looking  with  an  envious  eye  at  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  United 
States,'  and  more  especially  Great  Britain,  who  ought  to  be  the  last  to  enter  the  list;  but,  proud 
of  her  navy,  she  bids  her  armed  vessels  enter  into  our  harbors  and  rivers,  and  impress  our  fellow- 
citizens  while  peaceably  employed  in  the  commerce  of  their  country.  Not  content  with  this, 
she  orders  the  commanders  of  her  frigates  to  fire  on  the  armed  vessels  of  the  United  States,  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  same,  while  peaceably  pursuing  her  course  to  the  place  of  her  destination, 
murdering  our  fellow-citizens,  while  she  is  holding  out  the  olive  branch  of  peace,  which  brings  to 
our  recollection  the  plains  of  Wyoming,  strewed  with  human  gore  by  the  savages,  hirelings  of 
her  perfidious  government. 

"Therefore  we,  the  undersigned,  being  appointed  a  committee  by  the  light  infantry  com- 
pany called  the  Wyoming  Blues,  and  through  us  the  said  company  offer  their  ser\-ices,  in  defence 
of  their  country,  whenever  the  government  of  the  United  States  deem  it  expedient  to  call  us  in 
defence  of  the  country. 

"We  are.  Sir, 

"With  profound  respect, 

"Your  obedient  servants, 
"Joseph  Slocum, 
"Isaac  Bowman, 
"Benj.  Perry." 

The  president  seems  to  have  given  the  patriotic  expression  prompt  attention 
as  is  evidenced  by  his  reply  in  his  own  handwriting: 

"To  Messrs.  Joseph  Slocum,  Isaac  Bowman,  and  Benjamin  Perry,  a  Committee  of  the  Light 
Infantry  Company  called  the  Wyominfe  Blues. 

"The  offer  of  your  service  in  support  of  the  rights  of  your  country,  merits  and  meets  the 
highest  praise,  and  whenever  the  moment  arrives  in  which  these  rights  must  appeal  to  the  public 


1786 

arm  for  support,  the  spirit  from  which  your  offer  flows,  that  which  animates  our  nation,  will  be 
their  sufficient  safeguard. 

"Having  required,  from  the  governors  of  the  several  states,  their  certain  quotas  of  militia 
to  be  ready  for  service,  and  recommended  at  the  same  time  the  preferance  of  volunteers  under 
the  Acts  of  Congress,  and  particularly  that  of  the  24th  of  February,  1 807,  the  acceptance  and  organ- 
ization of  such  volunteers  has  been  delegated  to  them. 

"Tendering,  therefore,  the  thanks  of  our  country  so  justly  deserved  for  all  offers  of  service 
made  to  me,  I  must  add  that  it  is  necessary  to  renew  them  to  the  governor  of  the  state  for  the 
purposes  of  acceptance  and  organization. 

"I  salute  you  with  great  respect, 

"Th.  Jefferson." 
"Sept.  19th,  1807." 

Diplomatic  arrangements  served  for  a  time  to  avert  an  open  rupture  be- 
tween the  two  English  speaking  nations,  but  England  would  not  abrogate  her 
claim  to  the  right  of  search  and  seizure,  nor  would  even  the  meekest  American 
administration  concede  it.  Late  in  1811,  after  several  naval  engagements  had 
been  fought  with  some  credit  to  the  crippled  American  navy,  a  dilatory  Congress 
began  to  undertake  some  measures  of  preparedness.  At  last,  on  June  18,  1812, 
President  Madison  declared  war. 

Upon  learning  of  the  declaration,  the  Blues  appear  to  have  hesitated  in 
keeping  their  high  sounding  promises  of  five  years  before,  but  a  volunteer  ar- 
tillery company,  known  as  the  "Matross"  and  organized  by  Capt.  Samuel 
Thomas  at  Kingston,  embracing  in  its  ranks  men  of  the  West  side  settlements, 
Plymouth,  Pittston  and  a  few  members  of  the  Blues  from  Wilkes-Barre,  immedi- 
ately offered  their  services.  The  members  began  training,  awaiting  orders.  Before 
war  was  actually  declared,  an  Act  of  Congress  had  set  the  War  Department 
at  work  ascertaining  the  quotas  that  each  state  shoiild  supply  in  case  of  emergency. 
Under  the  plan,  Pennsylvania  was  to  furnish  a  corps  composed  of  700  artillery, 
700  cavalry,  1,400  riflemen  and  11,200  infantry,  a  total  of  14,000  men.  By  laws 
enacted  subsequently,  if  insufficient  voluntary  enlistments  followed  the  call, 
men  were  to  be  drafted  to  fill  the  quotas.  The  prompt  action  of  the  Matross 
inspired  action  on  the  part  of  other  organizations.  But  the  raising  of  troops  for 
the  War  of  1812  was  not  an  easy  matter,  and  it  has  been  found  a  difficult 
task  in  all  our  wars  with  the  exception  of  that  classed  as  the  Spanish- American. 

Inland,  the  trouble  seemed  to  have  arisen  over  the  question  of  shipping, 
and  therefore  of  interest  to  tidewater  districts  only.  Partisan  rancor  had  much 
to  do  with  a  dearth  of  volunteering. 

At  that  period,  the  35th  Regiment,  2d  Brigade,  9th  Division,  Pennsylvania 
Militia,  was  leading  a  somewhat  precarious  existence  in  Luzerne  County.  There 
were  two  battalions  of  four  companies  each,  Lt.  Col.  Elijah  Shoemaker  being 
in  command  of  the  regiment,  with  Captains  Hallock,  Fuller,  Swallow,  Smiley, 
Van  Loon,  Sorber,  David  and  Ayers  in  command  of  the  eight  companies. 

To  this  regiment,  a  troop  of  light  horse,  organized  at  Wilkes-Barr^,  by  Capt. 
Isaac  Carpenter,  and  the  Wyoming  Blues,  also  at  Wilkes-Barr^,  commanded  by 
Capt.  Zebulon  Butler,  Jr.  were  attached.  Captain  Carpenter  reported,  on  June 
26th,  that  his  troop  had  volunteered  without  recourse  to  the  draft,  as  did  Captain 
Sorber  whose  company  was  located  at  Newport. 

The  files  of  the  Federalist  at  this  time  show  a  strange  silence  on  the  subject 
of  the  war.  Charles  Miner,  still  its  editor,  was  opposed  to  the  whole  undertaking, 
but  he  refrained  from  active  opposition  to  measures  being  tdken  to  meet  the  enemy. 
His  influence  was  to  be  felt,  however,  when  the  question  arose  as  to  the  conduct 
of  the  Wyoming  Blues,  in  which  he  held  rank  as  lieutenant.  A  meeting  of  that 
organization  was  called  for  June  20,  1812.     It  was  held  at  the  Arndt  tavern  and 


1787 

was  the  stormiest,  and,  as  it  proved,  tlie  last  meeting  of  that  hitherto  famous 
organization. 

Messers.  Miner,  Arndt  and  Stephen  King,  all  strong  Federalists,  led  the  op- 
position against  volunteering.  Messers  Lee,  Bowman,  Downey,  Nelson  and  Cap- 
tain Butler  warmly  supported  the  government  and,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting, 
actually  volunteered.  The  Susquehanna  Democrat  took  special  pains  to  brand 
the  meeting  with  emphatic  adjectives.  It  did  admit,  however,  that  Charles 
Miner  was  the  only  member  of  the  organization  to  later  appear  on  parade,  when 
a  draft  call  was  issued,  "fully  equipped,  thus  showing  his  willingness  to  obey  the 
law  when  he  cannot  avoid  it." 

In  October,  1812,  Capt.  Robert  Gray,  of  the  16th  U.  S.  Infantry,  opened 
a  recruiting  office  in  Wilkes-Barre  for  enhstments  in  that  branch  of  the  ser\'ice. 
A  barracks  for  training  recruits  was  established  on  the  River  Common  near  the 
ferry  landing,  whether  in  a  temporary  structure  built  for  the  purpose,  or  in  the 
old  Arndt  warehouse,  is  not  indicated.  About  the  same  time  Capt.  Thomas  A. 
Helme,  of  the  U.  S.  Cavalry,  reached  Wilkes-Barre  on  the  same  mission  for  his 
branch  of  the  service. 

The  cavalry  rendezvous  was  on  South  Franklin  street,  in  a  vacant  lot 
approximately  where  the  St.  Stephen's  Parish  House  now  stands. 

Various  detachments  of  partially  drilled  recruits,  largely  from  points  up 
the  Susquehanna  river,  were  sent  from  these  rendezvous  to  the  16th  U.  S.  In- 
fantry, which  later  became  known  as  the  "Bloody  Sixteenth."  The  regiment 
was  commanded  by  Col.  Cromwell  Pearce,  and  saw  active  service  at  Sackett's 
Harbor  and  Stony  Creek.  Later,  at  the  battle  of  York,  in  Canada,  Colonel 
Pearce  assumed  command  of  the  American  expeditionary  forces  on  the  death  of 
General  Pike  and  received  the  surrender  of  the  enemy. 

No  troops,  other  than  those  recruited  for  the  regular  army,  left  Wilkes- 
Barr^  until  the  "Matross"  battery  marched  away  from  Kingston,  April  13,  1813. 
The  Susquehanna  Democrat,  published  three  days  later,  has  this  to  say  of  the  de- 
parture: 

"The  Luzerne  Volunteer  Matross  commanded  by  Capt.  Samufel  Thomas,  marched  on  Wed- 
nesday last  for  Erie.  Many  of  the  members,  we  undei  stand,  were  absent,  having  went  down  the 
river  with  lumber  before  the  marching  orders  were  received,  which  reduced  the  company  very 
considerably.  The  members  are  generally  men  who  have  families,  to  leave  which  will  set  par- 
ticularly hard;  but  the  love  of  country  stimulates  the  brave.  We  venture  to  predict  that  they 
will  act  worthy  of  the  nation  and  themselves." 

The  actual  membership  of  this  organization,  when  it  marched,  was  thirty- 
one  men.  They  departed  from  Kingston  to  the  eddy  at  the  mouth  of  Shoup's 
Creek,  in  Plymouth.  Here  they  eipbarked,  and  went  down  the  river  on  a  raft 
to  Danville.  From  Danville,  they  marched  over  land  to  Lewistown,  and 
thence  to  Bedford,  where  Captain  Thomas  recruited  thirty-seven  men.  Pro- 
ceeding westward  through  Fayette  County,  he  obtained  twenty-seven  other 
recruits,  and  arrived  at  Erie,  May  5th,  with  ninety-five  officers  and  privates. 
On  their  arrival,  thej^  were  attached  to  the  5th  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  under 
Col.   Reese  Hill. 

The  "Matross"  was  an  artillery  company,  and  in  the  cannonading  at 
Presque  Harbor,  did  good  execution.  They  fired  no  less  than  thirtv  shots  into 
the  hull  of  the  brig  Hunter,  and  with  two  long  nine-pounders  cut  away  and 
materially  damaged  the  rigging  of  the  Queen  Charlotte. 

Preparatory  to  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie,  for  the  purpose  of  manning  Perry's 
fleet,  volunteers  were  solicited  from  among  the  land  forces.     Among  those  who 


1788 

offered  and  were  accepted  for  this  service  were  William  Pace,  Benjamin  Hall, 
Godfrey  Bowman,  and  James  Bird,  of  the  "Matross."  They  enlisted  on  board 
the  Niagara,  and  during  the  engagement  fought  with  energy  and  efficiency. 
Their  coolness  and  courage  elicited  the  warm  commendation  of  Commodore 
Perry,  who  brought  the  Niagara  into  action.  To  each  of  her  volunteers,  in  this 
action,  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  voted  a  silver  medal,  upon  one  side  of 
which  was  a  likeness  of  Commodore  Perry,  with  the  inscription,  "Presented  by 
the  Government  of  Pennsylvania — Oliver  Hazard  Perry- — Pro  Patria  Vicit." 
Upon  the  reverse  side  was  the  following:  "To  (name  engraved),  in  testimony 
of  his  patriotism  and  bravery  in  the  naval  engagement  on  Lake  Erie,  Sept. 
10th,  1813.  We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours."  Pace,  Hall,  and 
Bowman,  the  last  of  whom  was  wounded,  each  received  one  of  these  tokens 
commemorative  of  their  valor,  but  Bird,  kneeling  upon  his  coffin,  received  his 
death-shot  from  the  hands  of  his  own  countrymen. 

"Bird  was  from  Pittston,"  says  Pearce  in  his  Annals,  "and  was  descended 
from  a  most  respectable  family.  He  was  a  man  of  great  bodily  strength  and 
activity,  and  was  full  of  patriotic  devotion  to  the  cause  of  his  country,  but  un- 
fortunately his  proud  spirit  boldly  rejected  many  of  the  restraints  imposed  by 
the  stern  rules  of  military  discipline.  He  fought  like  a  tiger,  and  when  wounded 
refused  to  be  carried  below.  For  his  bravery  he  was  promoted  to  the  position 
of  orderly  sergeant  of  the  marines  on  the  Niagara. 

News  of  the  intended  attack  of  the  enemy  on  New  Orleans  had  reached 
the  fleet  on  Lake  Erie,  and  Bird,  ambitious  to  be  in  the  midst  of  the  smoke  and 
fire  of  battle,  one  night  when  in  command  of  the  guard,  marched  away  with  several 
of  his  men  to  join  General  Jackson.  He  was  pursued  and  arrested  at  Pittsburgh, 
from  which  place  he  was  about  to  embark  with  a  company  of  volunteers  for  the 
Crescent  City.  Being  arraigned  before  and  tried  by  a  court-martial,  he  was 
sentenced,  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  war,  to  be  shot.  Had  Commodore 
Perry  received  intelligence  of  the  proceedings  in  time,  Bird's  life  would  have  been 
spared.  It  is  said  that  Bird  had  openly  expressed  his  condemnation  of  the  pos- 
ition and  management  of  the  Niagara  before  she  was  boarded  and  brought  into 
action  by  Perry,  and  that  his  free  speech  in  relation  to  this  subject,  operated 
against  him  when  on  trial  for  his  life." 

The  melancholy  death  of  Bird  excited  much  comment  in  the  valley.  Charles 
Miner  dedicated  a  lengthy  poem  to  the  unhonored  hero,  and  denunciations 
followed  generally  from  Federalists  as  to  the  treatment  of  soldiers  by  the 
government. 

Perry  having  swept  the  Lakes  of  hostile  craft,  the  "Matross"  were  permitted 
to  return  home.*    In  reporting  the  celebration  attending  their  arrival,  the  Sics- 
quehanna  Democrat  of  December  3,  1813  had  this  to  say: 
"THE  LUZERNE  MATROSS. 

"The  members  of  this  patriotic  corps  were  invited  by  their  republican  fellow  citizens  to  a 
supper  at  Mr.  Reeder's  in  Wilkes-Barre  on  Monday  last.  The  presence  of  the  valiant  volunteers 
infected  a  spirit  of  gladness  throughout  the  whole  company,  and  their  return  was  hailed  with  the 
heartfelt  welcome  of  their  fellow  citizens. 

*The  following  is  the  roster  of  local  officers,  musicians  and  enlisted  men  who  served  with  the  "Matross"  during 
the  period  of  absence; 

Captain ,  Samuel  Thomas ;  1  st  Lieutenant ,  Phineas  Underwood ;  2d .  Ziba  Hoyt ;  3d .  Andrew  Sheets ;  Ensign ,  Edward 
Gilchrist;  1st  Sergeant,  John  Carkhuff;  2d,  Jacob  Taylor;  3d,  Absalom  Roberts;  4th.  Henry  Jones;  5th,  George  W. 
Smith;  6th,  John  Bowman;  1st  Corporal,  Christopher  Miner;  2d,  Daniel  Cochevour;  3d,  Samuel  Parrish;  4th,  Ebenezer 
Freeman;  5th,  John  Blane;  1st  Gunner,  Stephen  Ebans;  2d,  Isaac  Hollister;  3d,  John  Prince;  4th,  James  Bird;  5th, 
Morris  Cramer;  6th,  Festus  Freeman;  Tth,  James  Devans;  Drummer,  Alexander  Lord;  Fifer,  Araba  Amsden.  Privates, 
Daniel  Hoover;  John  Daniels,  James  W.  Barnum,  William  Pace,  James  Bodfish,  Godfrey  Bowman,  Benjamin  Hall, 
Solomon  Parker,  Ezekiel  Hall,  Sylvanus  Moore,  Hallet  Gakkyo. 


^  1789 

"The  picture  given  by  the  volunteers  of  the  wretched  situation  of  Detroit,  and  of  the  people's 
joy  at  the  arrival  of  the  American  Army,  is  truly  affecting.  Many  of  them  have  declared  that 
even  should  they  never  receive  one  cent  of  pay  they  will  not  regret  their  time,  because  it  assisted 
in  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  frontiers  and  security  and  joy  to  the  people.  Even  those  who 
had  opposed  their  volunteering,  and  who  have  repeatedly  propagated  false  tales  about  them,  are 
now  eager  to  welcome  them  home  by  honouring  those  they  have  on  so  many  occasions  traduced. 
This  is  not  the  proper  time  to  indulge  in  party  reflections,  and  we  are  glad  to  see  a  seeming  return 
of  good  will  towards  those  who  have  nobly  vindicated  their  country's  honor.  May  regeneration  con- 
tinue until  opposition  to  government  ceases,  and  faction  be  prostrated  at  the  throne  of  patriotism." 

The  West  Side  communities,  not  to  be  outdone  by  Wilkes-Barr^  in  enter- 
taining the  "Matross"  made  arrangements  for  a  formal  reception  at  a  meeting 
held  at  Kingston,  November  29,  1814,  and  reported  in  the  Democrat  as  follows: 

"At  a  meeting  of  a  number  of  the  citizens  of  Kingston  and  Plymouth,  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Archippus  Parrish  in  said  Kingston:    Capt.  Oliver  Pettebone  was  called  to  the  chair:  and 

"Henry  Buckingham  was  appointed  Secretary. 

"After  some  iritroductory  observations  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted:  viz.: 

"Resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  Kingston,  Plymouth,  and  their  vicinities  do  give  to  Capt. 
Samuel  Thomas  and  the  other  members  of  the  Luzerne  Volunteer  Matross  and  their  wives  a 
most  cordial  invitation  to  partake  of  a  public  Dinner  at  this  place,  [Mr.  Parrish's]  as  a  mark  of 
respect  due  to  them  for  their  late  patriotic  tour  on  the  lines  in  defence  of  our  Country,  and  to 
manifest  to  them  our  full  approbation  of  their  soldier-like  behaviour  in  following  where  the  good 
of  their  country  called  and  to  bid  them  a  hearty  welcome  to  citizenship  with  us  again. 

"Resolved,  That  as  some  members  of  the  said  Company  have  not  yet  returned,  the  said 
Dinner  shall  be  deferred  on  their  account,  until  Tuesday  the  14th  Day  of  Decembernext,  hoping 
then  all  will  be  present. 

"Resolved,  That  a  c6mmittee  of  arrangement  be  appointed  to  make  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions and  carry  the  foregoing  resolutions  into  effect. 

"Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  figured  by  the  Chairman  and  Secretary, 
and  published  in  the  three  newspapers  printed  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

"Oliver  Pettebone,  Chairman, 
"Henry  Buckingham,  Secretary." 

In  1814,  the  northern  armies  had  more  than  held  their  own,  but  the  un- 
expected was  to  happen  insofar  as  the  nation's  Capitol  was  concerned.  To 
stimulate  recruiting,  Capt.  John  Baldy  and  Capt.  John  Machisney  also  of  the 
16th  U.  S.  Infantry  came  to  Wilkes-Barr^  early  in  1814.  An  "express"  from  the 
War  Department  reached  these  officers  on  August  29,  1814,  giving  the  startling 
information  that  Washington  had  been  taken,  and  that  the  enemy  had  burned 
the  Capitol,  the  President's  house.  War  and  Treasury  offices  and  destroyed  the 
navy  yard. 

On  the  same  day  this  news  was  published  in  a  special  edition  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna Democrat,  (the  edition  consisting  of  a  small  hand-bill)  the  regular  edition 
of  September  2d  confirming  the  news  as  follows: 

"CAPTURE  OF  WASHINGTON  CITY. 

"On  Monday,  Aug.  29  last,  we  issued  the  following  in  a  handbill.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
of  its  truth;  whether  the  government  papers  were  saved  or  not  we  have  not  learnt. 

"We  have  none  but  confused  accounts  of  the  movements  of  our  troops,  or  of  the  enemy. 
A  battle  was  fought  or  rather  a  skirmish,  for  there  was  but  little  blood  spilt,  at  Bladensburg." 

The  same  "express"  which  brought  this  news,  instructed  all  the  re^^ular 
army  detachments  to  move  at  once  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  the  defense  of  Baltimore, 
which  was  threatened  by  the  victorious  British  troops  of  Admiral  Cockburn. 
At  this  time,  as  appears  from  advertisements  directed  by  these  officers,  the 
government  was  offering  a  bounty  of  $124  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  land  to  all  "able  bodied,  patriotic  young  men  who  are  desirous  of  shoulder- 
ing a  musket  to  defend  the  rights  of  an  injured  country."  On  August  4,  1814, 
several  weeks  before  news  of  the  fall  of  Washington  had  reached  the  valley, 
a  large  detachment  of  regular  army  volunteers  left  Wilkes-Barre,  enroute  to 
Washington,  via  Easton. 


1790 

That  brutal  force  was  sometimes  urged  in  connection  with  handling  these 
detachments,  is  disclosed  by  an  account  appearing  in  New  York  Evening  Post 
of  August  12th,  written  August  5th  by  the  Wilkes-Barre  correspondent  of  that 
publication.     The  account  in  part  is  given  below: 

"CRUEL  TREATMENT  TO  SOLDIERS. 
"Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  Aug.  5. 

"Monday  last  was  a  day  of  unusual  excitement  in  our  village.  The  U.  S.  troops  enlisted 
in  this  vicinity  were  under  orders  to  march.  The  parting  of  friends,  and  the  separation  of  hus- 
bands from  wives  was  in  no  little  degree  affecting,  and  this  painful  feeling  was  in  some  cases 
heightened  by  the  opinion,  whether  well  or  ill-founded,  I  pretend  not  to  say,  that  some  of  the  sol- 
diers had  not  been  very  fairly  attached  to  the  service. 

"A  sergeant  by  the  name  of  Brack,  conspicuous  for  his  knowledge  of  discipline,  and  more  so 
by  his  severity  to  the  soldiers,  in  the  course  of  Sunday  broke  his  sword  over  the  head  of  a  Mr. 
Cook,  a  soldier,  and  severely  wounded  him  in  the  arm.  Brack  was  justly  turned  into  the  ranks — 
but  the  next  morning  restored  to  his  shoulder-knots,  and  marched  off  with  the  troops  as  sergeant. 

"During  the  forenoon,  after  the  troops  had  marched,  the  whole  town  was  thrown  into  con- 
fusion. A  man  by  the  name  of  McWiggin  was  said  to  have  enlisted.  He  protested  he  had  not. 
Force  was  used  to  send  him  after  the  troops.  He  used  his  stick  with  such  elTect  that  he  cleared 
himself  but  was  again  taken,  put  on  horseback  under  a  guard,  an  officer  by  his  side  having  2  pistols, 
and  marched  off.  To  see  a  citizen  thus  compelled  to  march,  who  solemnly  declared  he  was  not 
an  enlisted  soldier,  awakened  feelings  in  most  bosoms  that  saw  it,  worthy  of  freemen.  The  citizens 
gathered  round.  A  Habeas  Corpus  was  obtained.  The  military  were  forcing  the  man  along  as 
fast  as  possible,  when  a  number  of  spirited  citizens  stepped  before  the  cavalcade  and  stopped 
it.  The  officer  presented  his  pistol  to  their  breast  and  threatened  to  blow  them  thro.  One  of  them 
seeing  Judge  Fell  called  upon  him  to  interfere,  that  the  man  might  have  a  legal  hearing.  The 
Judge  in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  ordered  them  to  stop.  The  Habeas  Corpus  was  served. 
The  case  was  tried  before  Judge  Gibson,  and  McWiggin  was  discharged.  Thanks  to  the  formers, 
the  independence  and  intelligence  of  the  civil  authority,  our  citizens  cannot  yet  be  dragged  off 
against  their  will  and  impressed  into  the  army.  Whether  legal  associations  of  the  people  to  protect 
their  rights  will  not  be  indispensible  to  the  public  safety  is  a  question  worthy  of  solemn  consideration. 
As  Monday  was  a  day  of  agitation  and  alarm,  Tuesday  was  a  day  of  fearful  gloom  and  sorrow. 

"A  Mr.  Dixon,  a  civil,  inoffensive,  but  feeble  man,  who  had  enlisted  and  was  marching  out 
with  the  troops,  was  killed  on  the  mountain  by  Sergeant  Brack.  Dixon  it  is  said  complained  of 
fatigue  and  lingered  behind  the  rest.  Brack  sent  for  him  and  he  did  not  come.  Brack  went  back, 
cut  himself  a  stick,  and  beat  poor  Dixon  on  the  head  and  kicked  him  in  the  side  till,  as  he  after- 
wards complained,  his  toes  were  sore. 

"Dixon  was  put  in  a  wagon,  and  died  very  soon.  The  people  went  after  him  yesterday  to 
bring  him  in,  but  he  was  so  bruised  he  had  become  too  putrid.  He  has  left  a  wife  and  four  children 
to  mourn  for  him. 

"An  inquest  was  held  on  the  body.     Verdict — Wilful  Murder!  Brack  is  confined  in  jail." 

Robert  Dixon  was  a  recruit  from  Wyalusing  Township,  a  man  past  fifty 
years  of  age  and  physically  unfit  for  service.  He  was  buried  near  the  Bear  Creek 
bridge  on  the  turnpike  by  those  who  went  out  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  bring  him 
home.  Sergeant  Brack  was  found  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first  degree  when  tried 
at  Wilkes-Barre  sometime  later.  However  his  counsel  secured  a  second  trial  for 
him  which  resulted  in  a  verdict  of  manslaughter,  whereupon  a  long  sentence  of 
imprisonment  was  inflicted.     Brack  subsequently  died  in  the  state  penitentiary. 

The  Gleaner  of  April  14,  1815,  contains  the  following  account  of  the  second 
trial  of  Brack  at  the  spring  term  of  Court  of  that  year: 

"The  Court  now  sitting  in  this  place  has  been  closely  engaged  in  business  for  twelve  days 
past.  A  good  deal  of  business  has  been  done.  Some  causes  have  been  tried  of  a  nature  to  excite 
great  curiosity;  others  were  of  a  description  to  awaken  feelings  of  a  deeper  and  more  solemn 
interest. 

"George  Brack  had  been  indicted  for  the  murder  of  Robert  Dixon  in  August  last.  At  last 
October  Term  he  was  tried  and  found  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first  degree. 

'  On  motion  the  Court  granted  a  new  trial. 

"At  January  Term,  some  error  having  been  made  in  summoning  a  jury,  he  could  not  be 
tried.     On  Friday  last  he  was  arraigned  at  the  bar,  and  his  trial  commenced. 

"Messrs.  Evans  and  Mallery  were  counsel  (appointed  by  the  Court)  for  the  prisoner;  Mr. 
Ross  on  behalf  of  the  prosecution.  The  trial  was  managed  by  the  counsel  on  each  side  with  the 
ability  which  is  known  to  distinguish  the  gentlemen  engaged.     *     *     * 

"The  verdict  of  the  jury  was  'murder  in  the  second  degree.'  Brack  received  his  sentence 
on  Monday — 12  years  imprisonment  in  the  Penitentiary;  11  of  them  at  hard  labor,  and  one  in 
the  solitary  cells." 


1791 

The  Commonwealth  promptly  followed  the  national  government  in  a 
hurried  call  for  more  troops  in  the  defense  of  Baltimore.  The  35th  regiment  of 
the  militia  was  included  in  the  call.  By  various  consolidations  of  local  detach- 
ments, two  companies  representing  Luzerne  County,  were  soon  ready  for  field 
service.  That  active  forces  were  opposing  the  draft  is  indicated  by  an  editorial 
in  the  Susquehanna  Democrat  of  November   11,    1814,   in  the  following  terms: 

"THE  DRAFT. 

"This  week  has  been  celebrated  by  the  assemblage  of  the  militia  detached  in  pursuance  of 
the  Governor's  orders,  to  proceed  to  Baltimore.  We  are  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  pro- 
ceedings to  state  them  in  detail  and  therefore  abstain  from  publishing  anything  at  present  on 
the  subject,  further  than  to  observe  that  the  conduct  of  Wilkesbarre,  with  some  few  exceptions, 
is  a  disgrace  to  the  American  name;  every  pains  have  been  taken  to  discourage  the  men,  urge  them 
to  mutiny  and  prevail  upon  them  to  return  home.  The  Law\-ers  particularly  have  set  such  an 
infamous  example  as  in  any  other  country  would  richly  entitle  them  to  all  the  benefits  of  a  halter. 

"The  troops  have  suffered  and  will  no  doubt  continue  to  suffer,  for  want  of  proper  means  to 
cook  their  provisions — but  they  have  generally  shown  a  disposition  to  act  as  Americans,  and  put 
up  with  inconveniences  which  in  a  new  country  like  this  cannot  be  avoided.  Some  of  the  troops 
we  understand,  commence  the  march  to-day  on  their  way  to  Baltimore." 

The  two  consoHdated  companies  which  marched  in  November,  to  Danville, 
on  the  way  to  Baltimore,  were  those  of  Capt.  Peter  Hallock*  which  became 
the  1st  Company  of  the  35th  Regiment,  and  the  company  commanded  by 
Capt.  Jacob  Bittenbender.f  composed  of  men  recruited  from  the  southern  tier 
of  townships  of  the  county. 

When  these  marched  out,  seven  members  of  the  defunct  Wyoming  Blues 
marched  with  them,  their  drummer  making  quite  as  much  martial  music  as 
the  musicians  of  the  larger  units.  The  detachments  of  Blues  was  assigned  to 
Captain  Hallock's  company  as  an  inspection  of  the  latter's  roster  will  show. 

When  these  troops  reached  Danville,  the  tidings  of  the  repulse  of  the 
British  main  army  by  the  gallant  defense  of  Fort  Henry  was  announced.  The 
troops  were  thereupon  ordered  to  remain  at  Danville  awaiting  further  orders. 
The  treaty  of  peace  was  even  then  under  way  at  Ghent,  Belgium,  between  John 
Quincy  Adams,  James  A.  Bayard,  Henry  Clay,  Jonathan  Russell  and  Albert 
Gallatin,  Commissioners  of  the  United  States  and  an  equal  number  of  represent- 
atives of  Great  Britain.  On  December  24,  1814  it  was  signed.  By  its  terms  it 
settled  not  a  single  question  raised  by  the  war,  but  evidence  had  been  given  to 
the  world  that  the  young  American  nation  was  not  to  be  either  the  catspaw  of 
European  politics  or  to  submit  tamely  to  abuse  bj-  even  the  mightiest  power 
of  the  time. 

ROSTER  OF  35rH  REGIMENT,  Isi  COMPANY. 

♦Captain.  Peter  Hallock;  1st  Lieut.,  Moses  Philips;  2nd.  Jeremiah  Fuller;  1st  Ensign,  Win.  Polen;  2nd.  George 
Denison;  1st  Sergeant,  Stephen  Decker;  2nd,  John  Cortwright;  3rd,  Joseph  Wright;  4th.  John  Kelly;  1st  Corporal. 
Ezra  Ide;  2nd,  Ebenezer  Ide.  4th.  Isaac  Carver;  5th,  David  Pear;  Drummer.  Samuel  La  France;  Privates.  Thomas 
Benedict,  Jared  Marcy,  Samuel  Mott,  Wm.  Osbom,  Benjamin  K>Ton.  \\'illiam  Ross.  George  D.  Nash,  Benjamin 
Knapp,  Geo.  W.  Benedict,  Wm.  Honeywell,  Thomas  Mulford,  Porwell  Wheeler,  Thomas  L\Tin.  Isaac  Neffas,  John  Huff, 
Jacob  Good,  John  Thompson,  Samuel  Carey,  Jr.,  Uriah  Rogers,  Obediah  Smith,  Joseph  Tompkins,  John  Hess,  William 
Winters,  John  Miller,  Peter  Connor,  Abner  Wade,  Jr.,  Anthony  Fass,  John  Hunter,  John  Masco,  .\dam  Steel.  John 
Jameson,  Jeremiah  Vandermark,  Moses  Carter,  .\nson  Cascaden,  Ithemar  Rogers,  .\aron  Van  Loom,  Jacob  Sorber, 
Jr.,  Jacob  Sorber,  2nd..  John  Smith  2d..  Redmond  Owins,  John  Ensley,  Henr>'  Barkman,  Jonah  Romig,  William  Blane, 
Samuel  Weiss,  James  Reeder,  2nd.,  Michael  Hart,  Daniel  Simm,  Jr.,  Peter  Bellas,  John  Lutz,  Henry  Young,  Jr.,  Michael 
Staunty,  John  H.  Smith,  Philip  Groupe,  Luke  Blane,  William  Caldwell,  John  \'aughn,  Jr.,  John  F.  Cisco,  Richard 
Edwards,  John  Fans,  William  Love,  George  Culver,  Archippus  P.  Childs,  George  Cosnor,  Samuel  Haug,  Thomas 
Young,  Morgan  Hughes,  Asa  Gore. 

"WYOMING  BLUES."  (Attached). 

2nd  Sergeant,  Andrew  \'oyle;  Drummer,  John  Davis;  Privates,  Abraham  Hart,  John  Garrison,  Eli  Downing, 
Truman  Gilbert,  Jesse  Downing. 

(Certified)  JozE  Rogers,  Adjt. 

ROSTER  OF  LOWER  END  COMP.ANA'. 

tCaptain,  Jacob   Bittenbender;   Lieutenant, ;   Ensign,  John  Myers;    1st  Sergeant,  Jonas   Buss; 

2d  Sergeant,  Jacob  Boston;  3d  do.  Henry  Long;  4th  do,  Peter  Sutz;  1st  Corporal,  WilUanis  Smithers;  2d  Corporal, 
David  Deal;  3d,  Henry  Harvey;  4th  Stephen  .Arnold;  Privates,  George  Deal.  Henr>'  Snyder.  Daniel  Snyder.  George 
Rittenback,  William  Ruth.  George  Shevey,  .Abraham  Woolever,  John  Bidla»jc,  Charles  Scott,  Frederick  L«venburg, 
John  Romish,  Hugh  Cameron.  Hemy  Shrain.  Jacob  Brader,  Benjamin  Stucky.  Philip  Stonebach.  Warren  Haas.  Henry 
Hanny.  Andrew  Hanney,  William  Bitterley,  John  Walk,  Jacob  Wenner,  Henry  UpUnger,  Thomas  Little,  Joseph 
Henderson,  Richard  Davidson,  Levy  Seward,  Richard  Chrigery,  Jacob  Benscoter,  George  Donty,  Miles  Sperry,  Abner 
Johnson,  John  Zimmerman. — 44. 


1792 

The  return  of  local  companies  and  of  various  detachments  which  had 
volunteered  at  Wilkes-Barre  was  hailed  with  great  acclaim  especially  by  the 
Democrats.  With  the  war,  was  ended  the  existence  of  the  Federalist  party 
which  here,  as  elsewhere,  opposed  its  conduct.  This  opposition  made  that 
party  a  target  of  ridicule  and  abuse  on  the  part  of  those  who  had  stood  by 
the  administration  even  in  its  most  discouraging  hours. 

Under  the  odd  title  of  "Wilkes-Barre  Unroofed,"  the  Gleaner  of  March 
24,  1815,  lifts  the  pall  of  gloom  and  dissension  which  had  overhung  the 
community  during  war  times  and  voices  happier  expectations  of  the  future 
in  the  following  article: 

"The  noise  of  the  drum  and  shrill-sounding  fife  has  ceased  in  our  village.  The  girls  and  the 
boys  are  getting  married,  deterred  no  longer  by  fears  of  a  militia  draft  or  the  terrors  of  a  con- 
scription. 

"The  old  women  are  anxiously  awaiting  fresh  supplies  of  their  former  beverage,  Bohea; — 
and  the  young  ones  are  as  anxiously  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Mr.  HoUenback's  wagon,  which  is 
to  bring  up  the  new  calicoes  and  bonnets.    The  grog-bruisers  are  keeping  it  up  at  the  taverns. 

"Our  market — what  shall  we  say  of  our  market,  or  how  describe  its  improved  appearance? 
Our  market*,  which  during  the  war  was  honored  only  with  the  presence  of  dead  dogs  and  cats 
fancifully  and  attractively  arranged  on  the  hooks,  by  the  mischievous,  latin-chopping  urchins  of 
the  vicinity,  now  affords  many  good  things  for  the  hungry  stomach.  We  noticed  the  last  market 
day  with  no  small  emotions  of  pleasure,  and  secret  pride,  the  appearance  on  one  of  the  stalls  of 
a  very  fine,  whole,  fat  hen,  being  the  first  within  our  recollection,  that  has  been  brought  to  our 
market  unquartered.  The  novelty  of  the  spectacle,  as  might  be  naturally  expected,  drew  a  con- 
siderable concourse  of  people.  It  affords  us  much  satisfaction  to  be  able  to  add,  that  the  worthy 
proprietor,  Mr.  Liebhaber  Von  Speckandeyer,  met  with  a  ready  sale  of  the  hen  to  a  company 
of  gentlemen  who  afterwards  raffled  for  her,  but  we  have  not  been  able  to  learn  who  became  the 
fortunate  possessor." 

The  writer  has  attempted  to  picture  the  growing  borough  of  Wilkes-Barr^ 
and  its  environs  from  such  records  as  have  been  left  to  us  of  the  present.  The 
recorder  of  historical  fact  must  confine  himself  to  a  narrative  based  on  sure  ground, 
without  permitting  the  play  of  imagination.  Upon  others,  however,  no  such 
restrictions  are  imposed. 

To  "see  ourselves  as  ithers  see  us,"  is  sometimes  worth  glancing  into  the 
glass.  Certain  it  was  that  the  stranger  of  1810  who  visited  the  community  in 
the  early  spring  of  that  year  was  no  novice  at  caricature.  No  inkling  is  given 
by  the  Federalist,  at  the  time  of  publication  of  this  contribution  or  later,  as  to 
who  the  stranger  might  have  been.  His  observations,  however,  must  have  aroused 
some  consternation  in  the  village  and  may  have  led  to  some  reformation  in  habits, 
if  nothing  else.  This  frank,  unvarnished  view  of  Wilkes-Barr^  at  the  period 
of  this  Chapter,  is  given  for  what  it  is  worth: 

"MEMORANDUM  OF  A  STRANGER  IN  LUZERNE. 

"March  20,  1810.  Cloudy  day — -rain  towards  night — 4  O'Clock,  came  in  sight  of  a  small 
town  in  this  county — a  delightful  and  extensive  valley,  sufficiently  watered  by  Susquehanna  and 
its  tributary  streams.  Set  this  country  down  rich — the  soil  undoubtedly  will  reward  the  labors 
of  the  husbandman  with  an  abundant  harvest. 

Came  down  into  the  town  (Wilkesbarre) — found  it  regularly  laid  out — handsome  place, 
though  too  many  small  houses  for  beauty.  Streets  terribly  muddy — almost  impossible  to  get 
along.  Wonder  the  inhabitants  don't  have  a  side-walk,  at  least,  so  that  foot  people  may  not 
have  their  legs  pulled  out  by  the  roots.  (Mem. — stone  enough  on  the  mountains  at  a  small 
distance.  Query — would  not  a  good  pavement  raise  the  value  of  property  sufficiently  to  defray 
the  expense?) 

"Came  down  into  the  street — extends  north  and  south  (Main  street).  What!  two  men 
running  horses!!  Mud,  knee  deep — well,  they  spatter  it  agoing  bravely.  They  spout  it  around 
like  Mount  Etna  in  a  fit  of  colic.  Huzza!  there  goes  one  man  and  his  horse,  heels  over  head — 
spatter,  dash,  souse  all  over  in  the  mud — Ha!  ha!  ha! — a  new  way  of  dismounting.  (Mem. — 
Never  run  horses  in  slippery  weather.)     Walked  up  to  the  centre  of  the  place — saw  a  meeting- 

*The  market  was  a  one  story  shed,  erected  sometime  in  1810.  almost  in  the  center  of  Market  Street  as  it  passed 
through  the  Square.  It  was  from  this  building  that  the  street  took  its  present  name,  the  thoroughfare  being  known  as 
Center  street  in  the  original  town-plot.  On  the  outline  sketch  of  buildings  on  the  Square  in  1 830.  the  market  is  shown 
as  having  been  moved  to  one  side  of  the  street  where  it  was  then  doing  duty  as  a  home  for  Wilkes-Barry's  first  volun- 
teer fire  department  as  will  later  be  indicated. 


1793 

house — good  sign,  though  seldom  seen  in  this  country — court-house,  an  academy,  I  guess,  with 
one  end  of  it  fenced  in — a  jail  probably,  by  the  high  yard  fence — four  public  buildings,  religion, 
justice,  knowledge,  and  iniquity — curious  compound.  Wonder  what  old  huge,  antique  stone- 
building  that  is  with  new  roof  and  windows — [the  stone  "Fire  Proof"] — contrary  to  Scripture — 
put  no  new  cloth  upon  an  old  garment.  (Query — Is  this  not  what  they  call  the  Gothic  order 
of  architecture?  Mem. — never  build  in  that  style — looks  like  the  devil — This  is  the  first  building 
that  bears  such  strong  marks  of  antiquity,  and  which  appears  to  have  been  too  rough  for  the  de- 
vouring jaws  of  time,  which  I  have  seen  in  America.  I  can  find  no  date  upon  it — conjecture, 
built  about  the  time  of  the  second  Olympiad.  Went  a  little  further — stopped  at  I  cannot  tell 
whose  house — found  si.x  great,  strong  robust  men  playing  cards  without  any  concealment.  In- 
quired if  they  had  any  laws  in  this  state,  or,  perhaps  their  magistrates  are  blind,  like  Justice  of 
old.  Went  down  to  the  river — a  delightful  bank,  save  the  mud,  which,  for  the  purpose  of  brevity, 
I  wish  might  always  be  excepted,  when  this  place  should  be  mentioned  hereafter.  A  big  house 
on  the  bank — foundation  all  gone  from  one  end — a  little  more  will  tumble  it  down  the  hill  [the 
Amdt  store  house] — a  good  simile  for  the  government  of  the  U.  S.  A.  Saw  a  man  drunk — he 
had  business  on  both  sides  of  the  way.  (Mem.  There  was  once  an  insurrection  in  this  state  on 
account  of  taxing  whiskey.)  Saw  another  man  moving  with  great  obliquity — made  inquiry 
afterwards — found  he  was  candidate  for  sheriff.  Do  all  sheriffs  in  Pennsylvania  step  quick  two 
or  three  times,  and  then  with  a  long  side-way  stride?  The  river  is  wearing  away  the  bank  very 
rapidly — from  appearance  it  seems  to  incline  side-ways,  like  the  man  I  saw  just  now. 

"Two  men  rode  up  from  the  river — one  horse  kicked  up  and  threw  the  rider  head  and  heels 
in  the  mud — the  people  all  fiocked  around  just  as  they  do  to  see  dogs  fight — made  inquiry,  and 
found  the  man  was  a  Methodist  minister.  Well,  if  I  remember  right,  this  sect  of  Christians  hold 
to  falling.    (Mem. — It  may  do  well  in  theory,  but  it  is  hard  enough  in  practise.) 

"I  went  down  a  little  further — saw  a  tavern  with  the  sign  of  the  vessel  [the  Amdt  tavern] 
(Mem. — Look  in  the  morning,  and  see  if  this  be  a  seaport  town.)  Heard  a  bell  ring — made 
inquiry,  and  found  there  was  a  Methodist  meeting.  After  tea  went,  and  found  a  great  many 
people  there.  The  minister  delivered  a  forcible,  impressive,  eloquent,  and  scriptural  sermon. 
Under  such  preaching  there  must  be  many  Christians.     Returned  to  my  lodgings  very  weary. 

"N.  B.    Get  up  early  in  the  morning  and  buy  cloth  for  a  coat. 

"March  21.  Rose  at  6 — walked  out  upon  the  bank — saw  only  one  man  up,  and  he,  from 
his  looks,  wfll  be  down  before  night.  At  7,  went  to  the  store  opposite  the  ferry — found  all  closed 
and  silent — perhaps  this  may  be  holy  time  with  them — inquired  if  they  be  Jews  and  this  be  the 
Passover.  Walked  on — saw  a  new  white  house — very  handsome  situation — fence  all  gone  around 
it  [the  Pickering  House],  (Query — has  it  not  been  a  hard  winter  here?)  What!  the  printing 
office  [Federalisl] — ^  O  yes— where  that  important  agricultural  information  came  from — information 
so  complete  that  it  had  only  one  fault,  and  that  the  trifling  one  of  having  no  application  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  Saw  another  store  [Hollenback's] — went  on,  found  it  open  and  doing  busi- 
ness— good  many  people  in — inquire  if  this  man  does  not  tend  his  own  store,  and,  of  course, 
make  more  money.  Going  back,  saw  a  man  without  a  hat — his  hair  pointing  to  every  quarter 
of  heaven — his  mouth  open,  and  both  hands  working  daylight  through  his  yet  closed  eyeUds — 
hope  he  has  a  large  patrimony  to  doze  over.  Returned  to  the  tavern — found  a  good  many  men 
come  in  to  get  their  morning  charge.  Query — Am't  these  men  ashamed  to  let  their  wives  and 
families  know  how  much  they  drink?  After  breakfast  walked  round  town — at  11  o'clock  went 
by  the  academy — steeple  as  big  as  an  eel  basket — saw  a  number  of  great  tall  boys  gaping,  and 
leaning  against  the  side  of  the  house,  and  stretching  as  if  for  victory.  (Query — Are  they  preparing 
to  stretch  hemp  without  anything  to  stand  on?)  Heard  a  man  talk  very  loud  within — 
"  'With  what  a  braying  noise  he  muttered. 

And  thought,  no  doubt,  hell  trembled  as  he  uttered.' 

"Went  on — «aw  many  things  which  I  shall  never  forget,  but  which  I  must  not  at  present 
mention.  Returned  to  my  lodgings  sick — evening  pleasant — many  people  came  in,  and  as  they 
poured  down  the  whiskey,  they  drowned  out  the  politics.  (Query — If  they  should  drink  less, 
talk  less,  and  read  more,  wont  they  understand  the  subject  better?)  Went  up  street — going  by 
the  court-house  heard  a  stamping,  Uke  that  of  a  Uvery  stable  in  fjy-time — made  inquiry  afterwards 
and  found  there  was  a  dancing  school  kept  there.    Mem. — 

"  'He  that  will  not  work,  by  right  should  not  eat, 
And  he  that  has  no  head  may  use  his  feet.' 

"March  22.     In  the  morning — Over!  Over!  over!  Halloo,  ferryman! 
P.  S.    I  shall  return  this  way." 

With  a  conclusion  of  the  record  of  events  of  the  early  years  of  a  century 
that  now  seems  buried  in  the  dim  past,  much  of  the  mystery-  and  tradition  which 
attended  the  beginnings  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  Wyoming  Valley  has  been  cleared 
by  the  two  writers  whose  pens  have  been  engaged  in  the  task.  There  is  a  feeling 
of  regret  that  this  "Age  of  Romance",  as  it  might  be  termed,  is  about  to  close. 
The  final  volume  of  this  Histoiy  will  deal  in  largest  measure  with  that  gradual 
development  of  industry  to  which  the  present  community  is  indebted  for  its 
marvelous  expansion. 


1794 

But  in  dosing  Volume  III,  the  vision  of  a  poet  comes  to  mind  as  a  striking 
prophecy  of  the  future  of  the  valley.  In  1803,  Alexander  Wilson  an  eminent 
ornithologist,  visited  Wilkes-Barre  on  his  way  from  Philadelphia  to  Niagara. 
His  poem,  recounting  his  adventures,  published  under  the  title  of  the  "Fores- 
ters" refers  in  the  following  lines  to  Wyoming,  the  last  stanzas  of  which  were 
to  be  fulfilled  in  far  more  striking  degree  than  perhaps  the  poet  ever  imagined: 

"And  now  WYOMI  opened  on  our  view, 
And,  far  beyond,  the  Allegheny  blue 
Immensely  stretched,  upon  the  plain  below 
The  painted  roofs  with  gaudy  colors  glow. 
And  Susquehanna's  glittering  stream  is  seen 
Winding  its  stately  pomp,  through  valleys  green. 

"Hail  charming  river!   pure  transparent  flood! 
Unstained  by  noxious  swamps  or  choking  mud. 

"Thy  pine-brown'd  cliff,  thy  deep  romantic  vales. 
Where  wolves  now  wander,  and  the  panther  wails. 

In  future  times  (nor  distant  far  the  day) 
Shall  glow  with  crowded  towns  and  villas  gay." 


END  OF  VOLUME  III. 


IIP