Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 2

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1482

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West India company, similar to that in the Netherlands, was accordingly organized and incorporated without delay in that kingdom; and with the enthusiastic spirit now abroad in behalf of the measure, and the influence of the king's example, who subscribed with liberality to the stock of the company, princes and pro- lates, noblemen and commoners, and men of all classes, as well as ladies of the highest rank,

vied with each other in responding with like promptitude to the cordial recommendation of their sovereign in behalf of the enterprise. It was the first novelty of the kind, perhaps, which had ever caught and captivated the fancy of the Swedes to such a degree, com- pared with which, according to the accounts which have reached us, the enchanting lines and evanescent splendors of all later South Sea bubbles must have paled into insignificance.

But before all the necessary preparations had been completed by the company for the despatch of the first expedition of colonists from Sweden to the far-away shores of the De- laware, their young and gallant king, now ac- knowledged and hailed with universal acclaim by the Protestants of Germany as the royal champion of their cause, was suddenly drawn into the vortex of that memorable religious conflict of European nations known as the Thirty Years' War. All further proceedings Ly the company and the government for the founding of the colony on the Delaware were interrupted and suspended for several years after the fall of the enthusiastic young men- arch at the battle of Lutzen in November, 1632. But, as if forewarned by some pre- sentiment of his approaching doom in the great confliet in which he was about, to en- gage, Gustavus had prepared in advance a "last will and testament," containing par- ticular instructions in relation to the guardianship and education of his only child and the heir to his crown, a young and tender daughter named Christina. It was accompanied by another paper, addressed to his prime minister, Chancellor Oxenstiern, a man of great ability and virtue, as well as de- votion to his king and country, enjoining upon him in any event or contingenev which might befall him personally in the war, as a duty not to abandon this great enterprise in which he felt such a deep interest, but to see the design of it fully carried into execution pur- suant to the instructions laid down in the paper, and in accordance with the views which the king had often before communk cated to Oxenstiern on the subject.

But was not until five years after the termi- nation of the war in which Gustavus fell, that the chancellor was prepared to enter upon the discharge of the grave duty thus enjoined upon lim. After the death of Gustavus the govern- ment of Sweden had been vested in a council

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of regency during the minority of the young queen, of which the president was Chancellor Oxenstiern, who was also one of her guardians.

PETER MINUIT APPEARS.

In the meantime William Unelinex, the dissatisfied man from Amsterdam, and ex- member of the Dutch West India Company, who had been so successful in originating this rival Swedish company, had also passed away from the scene of his glory without knowing whether the scheme was to be successful or not. And yet, strange to say, just about this time, while Chancellor Oxenstiern was preparing to institute active proceedings in the undertak- ing, another gentleman from Holland, of still greater eminence, and still better acquainted with the affairs of the Dutch West India Com- Fany and their possessions in the New Nether- lands, turns up in the place of Unelinex at Stockholm and the court of Sweden. This personage also submits a plan for colonizing the western banks of the Delaware, under the charter of the Swedish West India Company, and suggests his willingness to assume the du- ties and responsibilities of conducting their first colony on the Delaware, as its director general. This distinguished Dutchman was no other than Peter Minuit, late director general of the New Netherlands under the Dutch West India Company at New Amsterdam (New York), from 1624 to 1632. He had, of course, during that time become very well acquainted with their possessions, on both the North (Hudson) and South (Delaware) rivers, and their title and claims to the same. Peter Minuit knew all about the settlement of De Vries' colony on the "Hoorn Kill," was dirce- tor general and president of the council of the company when the Indian delegation from the village there appeared before it in Fort An- sterdam in 1630, to acknowledge the sale of the salt marsh from Cape Henlopen to the mouth of the Delaware River to the Dutch purchasers before mentioned; and was still in office and residing at New Amsterdam when the colonists were massacred by the exasperat- ed Indians. He had, however, been removed from office by the Dutch authorities for some canse in 1632, and naturally feeling some- what incensed, sought an opportunity to be revenged for this treatment by aiding in the foundation of an opposition colony under

the auspices of the Swedish government. Peter Minuit was in several respects a re- markable man, and if the reader is desirous of knowing more of him, he is respectfully referred to the chapter following this intro- ductory sketch, wherein the biographies of the governors are given.

Chancellor Oxenstiern was favorably im- pressed by the manners, address and general intelligence of Minuit, and particularly by his knowledge of the geography of the region, the river Delaware, the soil, climate and resources of the country, the character and relations of the Indian tribes; he therefore esteemed him- self fortunate in finding a man so admirably qualified to fill the responsible position of gov- ernor, and carry out the wishes of the deceased monarch. After taking some time to deliber- ate he finally appointed Minuit director gen- cral of New Sweden, that name having already been conferred on the country designed to be settled under the charter and grant of the com- pany, and to be held and considered as an ap- pendage to the crown and kingdom of Sweden.

SAILING OF THE SWEDISH COLONY.

The great question of founding the colony having been settled, the next thing in order was to send out a body of colonists. When organized, the expedition consisted of fifty per- sons, properly provisioned and equipped, who sailed from Sweden under the innmediate com- mand of Peter Minuit, in an armored ship of the navy and a transport. The ship wa- called the Key of Calmar and its consort was named the Bird Griffin. They sailed in August, 1637, but did not reach the point of destina- tion until April, 1638. The voyage, therefore, was long and tempestnons. A landing was made on the bay in the neighborhood of what is now Lowes. They called it the River of New Sweden and the point of land, Paradise. According to the History of New Sweden by Acrelins, a purchase of land was immediately made from the Indians, and it was determined that all the land on the western side of the river, from the point called Cape Inlopen, (now Heploren), up to the falls at Trenton, and as much of the country inland as was ceded, should belong to the Swedish crown for- ever. It should be remembered that King Charles [. of England had already, in the year

STATE OF DELAWARE

1634, upon representation made to him by John Oxenstiern, at that time Swedish am- bassador in London, renounced, in favor of the Swedes, all claims and pretensions of the Eng- lish to that country, growing out of the rights of the first discoverers. Hence, when the colony landed, everything seemed to be settled upon a firm foundation, and all earnestness was employed in the prosecution of the plans for colonization. Posts were driven into the ground and landmarks established. A deed was drawn up for the land thus purchased. This was written in Dutch, because no Swede was yet able to interpret the language of the heathen. The Indians subscribed their hands and marks. The writing was sent home to Sweden to be preserved in the royal archives. A surveyor laid out the land and made a map of the whole river, with its tributaries, islands, and points, which, it is said, is still to be found m the royal archives in Sweden.

Although it appears that the Swedes imag- ined themselves the first explorers of the country, it seems strange that they could have been deceived. De Vries' colony had preceded them and made a settlement near where they (the Swedes) landed a few years afterwards. That fact Peter Minuit certainly knew. This apparent oblivion can only be explained upon the theory that Minuit, in his desire to head off the Dutch, in retaliation for his having been dismissed from their service as gov- ernor of New Amsterdam, kept the Swedes under his charge in utter ignorance of the true condition of affairs. Be that as it may, this eneroachment on the prior rights of the Dutch was the beginning of the dispute between them and the Swedes which ended in the expulsion of the latter from the Delaware by armed force.

LANDING AT THE ROCKS.

After remaining for some time on what they termed "Paradise," now known to be Mispil- lion Point, the colonists re-embarked and pro- ceeded up the river to the mouth of the little river now known as Christina. They ascended this stream for some two miles, and landed upon its northern bank, on a firm and rocky foundation, which they afterwards named "The Rocks." They gave the little river its name, Christina, in honor of the daughter of their deceased monarch, Gustavus Adolphus.

'The name is chaste and sweet, beautifully ap- propriate, and never will be changed as long as this government shall endure.

When this little band of Swedes landed of the rocky shore of the beautiful river, which had flowed for ages in its pristine purity, the scene presented to their vision was one of wild, vet enchanting, grandeur. The hills on which the fair city of Wilmington now stands were heavily wooded, and their dense green foliage cast a darkening shadow over the water, while the river as it wound through luxuriant mead. ow's flashed like a thread of silver and dazzled the eyes of the fair-haired wanderers as they gazed upon it in ecstacies of delight. Naught but the rippling of the stream and the songs of the birds, as they flitted through the forests, disturbed the solitude of nature. The foot of a white man had never before trodden these hills. The stolid Minuit, who had never gazed upon such an enchanting scene before, was moved to raptures of delight, and thanked God that this great privilege had been granted Him. Near by came another crystal stream dashing over granite rocks, and through dark defiles, which united its waters wth the river near where the little band of pioneers had cast their lot and settled down to found homes in the New World. Years afterwards this stream became noted for the power it furnish- ed for manufacturing purposes, and the "Mills of the Brandywine" obtained celebrity in the commercial world for the excellence of their product. But, owing to changel conditions and the advancement of manufacturing skill in new lines, their wheels have ceased to re- volve, the buildings have tumbled in ruins, and long rows of Conestoga teams bearing the golden grain of the Che-ter Valley no longer stand before them waiting their turn to be unloaded; but the stream still rolls on as proudly as it did when the Swedes gazed on it in raptures of delight two hundred and sixty years ago.

This settlement was the second made within the limits of the State of Delaware, and be- came in the spring of 1638 the feeble begin- ning of what is now the beautiful and thriving city of Wilmington, with its 70,000 inhabi- tants. C'are has been taken to give a minute description of these settlements, so that the reader may clearly comprehend the time, and the circumstances, under which the beginning of the State of Delaware was made. Except-

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ing these two points, the whole peninsula was a wild, the only inhabitants being roving bands of Indians, and it continued in that condition for some years afterwards. The settlement at "Hoorn Kill" (Lewes) having been wiped out and not restored, the Christina settlement in April, 1638, became the first permanent one on the Delaware, and the nucleus, therefore, of a large and wealthy population.

After Minuit and his brave band had suffi- ciently rested from the fatigues of their long voyage, and had resolved to settle where they had landed, the next thing in order was to erect a fortification on "The Rocks" for their protec- tion, for they knew not what foes might be lurking in the dense wilderness. The fort was hastily constructed of logs. True, it was rude, but it served the purpose for which it was in- tended. It was named Christina, after the fair- haired child of Sweden who was destined to become a queen; whose girlhood was full of sunshine and promise, but whose closing years were marked with sorrow and gloom. Inside this rude fortification Peter Minuit, as director general, took up his abode and administered the affairs of the colony. Clustering around it were temporary cabins, erected for the ac- commodation of the settlers, as they could not all find quarters within the defensive work; and with that energy and spirit of industry which have always characterized people of their nationality, they set about clearing patches of ground and preparing to raise grain and vegetables for their sustenance. In fact there was no other alternative; no supplies could be obtained, save game and fish, in that wild region, and they must either work or be reduced to the verge of starvation.

THE DUTCH PROTEST.

Peter Minuit had not finished the construc- tion of his fort when he received a protest from the director general of New Amsterdam, who denounced him as an intruder in Dutch terri- tory, and warned him to desist from his work. A spirited controversy ensued. The Dutch claimed the land on the west, as well as the cast, side of the Delaware. As Minuit neither replied to nor heeded the warning of the Dutch governor, the latter proceeded to repair and re- garrison the Dutch fort called Nassau, on the opposite side of the river, in what is now New Jersey, just below Gloucester Point, and 10

maintain it in a proper state of defence. Minuit was resolute and determined. He went on about his business, carefully looking after the infant colony which had been entrusted to his care, not at all intimidated by the bluster- ings of the Dutch governor of New Amster- dam.

In the mean time the Christina settlement prospered, and slowly gained strength; but strange as it may appear, when the inviting nature of the country is considered, no settle- ments by the Swedes were made below the Christina creek or river. In time others were made above, as far up as the mouth of the Schuylkill, but principally in the vicinity of Chester. This seems the more strange, inas- much as the colonial authorities of New Sweden claimed to have become entitled, by purchase from the natives, to all the country west of the Delaware from Cape Henlopen to the falls of Trenton, and to have, therefore, rightful dominion over it.

Rev. Dr. Cort, in his memorial address at Dover, on the occasion of commemorating the services of Peter Minuit in founding this colony, takes the ground that he is entitled to the credit of being the founder of civil govern- ment on Manhattan Island. And Justin Win- sor states in his Critical History of America, that Minuit must be considered the first founder of the present State of New York. IIe was also the founder and first governor of New Sweden on the Delaware. The policy of fair dealing with the Indians, begun on the Hudson by Minuit in 1626, was continued on the Delaware in 1638; and it is to his everlast- ing credit that the same policy of peace and Christian generosity was carried out in good faith to the end of his career. The treaty formed with the five Iroquois chiefs on the ground where Wilmington stands was never broken by either of the contracting parties. "Forty-four years before William Penn formed his famous treaty with the Indians under the elin tree at Shackamaxon," says Dr. Cort, "Peter Minuit made his treaty with Mi-tat-sim-int and four other Iroquois chiefs at Minquas Kill, purchasing, in fee simple, the soil of our Commonwealth [ Delaware] and a large part of Pennsylvania, including the very site on which stands the metropolis of the Keystone Commonwealth." This treaty bore the date of March 28, 1638, and as Dr. Cort says, "ought to be commemorated annually by

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STATE OF DELAWARE

patriotic Delawareans as the birthday of our Christian Commonwealth."

The administration of Minuit on the Dela- ware lasted less than three years, but it was marked by wisdom, courage and Christian de- corum. His sad death, while on a voyage for commercial purposes to the West Indies, will be found described in the chapter on the gov- ernors. In eulogizing the character of Minuit, Rev. Dr. Cort closes his address with the fol- lowing tribute to his memory: "It was also part of Minuit's original plan to settle Florida with Protestant colonists, and make a bold on- slaught upon Spanish commerce in the South Sca. He seemed anxious to avenge and rectify the wrongs perpetrated by the bloodthirsty and perfidious Spaniard, Menendez, in 1565, when he butchered in cold blood, on the coast of Florida, in time of peace, John Ribault, the grand mariner of France, and his five hundred shipwrecked colleagues, because they refused to renounce their Reformed faith and swear al- legiance to the Pope. It was his ambition and hope to establish an asylum for Reformed Christians in that land of flowers, as the great Admiral Coligny had striven to do seventy odd years before, when he foresaw the future horrors of religious persecution about to deso- late the sunny fields of France. Spain and Austria, the worst foes of civil and religious liberty, were devastating the Protestant homes of Europe, and Minuit felt that a bold attack upon Spanish commerce would be a service to humanity and well pleasing to God. It is use- less to conjecture what might have been the outcome of such a policy. But only a man of heroie mould could have cherished it with the resources at command which Peter Minuit possessed. His policy was to cultivate friendly relations with the Dutch in New Netherlands and along the east bank of the Delaware, as well as with the English in Virginia and other North American colonies. All the Protestant sections he felt ought to combine against the common enemy, the despotie and perfidious Spaniards, as the best people of Europe had clone during the Thirty Years' War under Gustavus Adolphus and other leaders."

fugees, the very cream of Europe, would have been transplanted in numbers sufficient to pre- vent any such conquest of New Sweden as afterwards took place by Governor Stuyvesant in 1655. But the best formed plans of men are often frustrated by the stern decree of God.

After the death of Peter Minuit, the gover- norship of the colony devolved on Peter IIol- lender, or Hollendare, as it is sometimes writ- ten. He was commissioned in 1640, and ar- rived with fresh immigrants just as the set- tlement was about breaking up. Harassed by the Dutch, and subjected to much suffering on account of maintaining themselves in a wild and inhospitable country, the colonists were often sorely discouraged and sighed to le again in their native land. But the new governor endeavored to encourage the people he found on the Christina, and to some ex- tent succeeded. ITis administration, however, was of short duration. After a residence of about a year and a half, he returned to Sweden and never came back. More discouragements followed. The settlers felt at times that they had been abandoned, but, putting their trust in God, they submitted to the privations which surrounded them with a courage and a devo- tion which appear sublime, when we contem- plate their sad and lonely condition, in a land far from home, and without any of the com- forts of life to which they had been accus- tomed.

ARRIVAL OF PRINTZ.

The new governor, John Printz, who as- sumed the direction of the colony in 1643, was a remarkable man in many respects. Pos- sessed of a strong mind, and courageous to a high degree, he exhibited no fear of the ra- pacious Dutch of New Amsterdam, who were continually on the alert to harass the Dela- ware Colony. Printz, according to the ac- counts that have come down to us, was a man of great physical size, but with his avoirdu- pois he united a mind of considerable execu- tive ability, and a strong sense of the import- ance of his position. He was bluff in his man- ners, inclined to be irascible when crossed in his purposes, but withal open hearted and sympathetic. It is learned from Acrelius that he had a grant of four hundred rix dol- lars for his traveling expenses, and one thou-

Ilis religious views were of a high, lofty order. According to a writer of some distinc- tion it was his intention to bring over from his native land, along the Rhine, a better class of colonists than governmental conseription could procure in Sweden. The sturdy religions re- sand two hundred dollars silver as his annual

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salary. The Company was invested with the exclusive privilege of importing tobacco into Sweden, although that article was even then regarded as unnecessary and injurious; it was, nevertheless, considered indispensable since the establishment of the bad habit of its use. U'pon the same occasion was also sent out Magister John Companius Hohn, who was called by their excellencies, the Royal Council and Admiral Claes Flemming, to be- come the Government chaplain, and watch over the Swedish congregation on the Dela- ware.

The ship on which Governor Printz sailed was called the Fama. It was accompanied by two other ships of the line, the Swan and the Charitas, laden with people and supplies. During Printz's administration, ships came to the colony at three different times. The first that came was the Black Cat, with ammuni- tion and merchandise for the Indians. The next was the Swan, on a second voyage, with emigrants, in 1647. Afterwards came two other ships, the Key and the Lamp. During these times the clergyman, Lawrence Charles Lockenius, and Israel Holgh, were sent out to assist in caring for the spiritual welfare of the people.

Governor Printz received elaborate instruc- tions from Queen Christina, in which his du- ties in the colony were pointed out with great exactness; he was especially reminded that the boundaries of the country of which posses- sjon had been taken, extended from Cape Hen- lopen to where Fort Christina was built, and thence up the river to a place which the In- dians called Sank-i-kans, now known as the Falls of Trenton. This point was the extreme northern limit of New Sweden, and was about ninety miles from Cape Henlopen. He was also informed that in 1641 several English families, probably numbering sixty persons, had settled and begun to cultivate the land on the eastern side of the river, in New Jersey, but as this land was claimed by the crown of Sweden he (the governor) was instructed to cultivate friendly relations with them and draw them under his control. He was in- formed that the Holland West India Com- pany would, no doubt, seek to control this tract of land, which extended from Cape May to what is now known as Raccoon Creek. They had built a fort called Nassau, which was manned by about twenty men. It stood

near, or on, Gloucester Point. Whence the English colony came is not clearly estab- lished, but they are supposed to have been squatters from Connecticut, and to have after- wards settled on the Schuylkill.

Governor Printz was also instructed to. treat the Indian tribes with whom he should come in contact with humanity and respect, and see that no violence or injustice was done them; and that pains should be taken to in- struet them in the truths and worship of the Christian religion, and induce them gradually to become civilized. It was especially enjoined upon him to gain their confidence and impress upon their minds that neither he nor his peo- ple and subordinates were come into their midst to do them any wrong or injury, but much more for the purpose of furnishing them with such things as they might need for the ordinary wants of life, and so also for such things as were found among them, which they themselves could make for their own use, or buy or exchange. He was also to see that in trading with the Indians the Swedes should charge them a less price than they were in the habit of paying to the Hollanders at Fort Nas- sau for similar articles, so that the "wild peo- ple," as the Queen termed them, might be drawn away from them and trade with her people. This was a shrewd suggestion made from a business point of view, and shows that the young queen was not unmindful of the advantages to be gained by pursuing such a course.

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 2

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa. Number of Pages: 1482

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1482