USA > Pennsylvania > Lives of the governors of Pennsylvania : with the incidental history of the state, from 1609 to 1873 > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01177 2982
5
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/livesofgovernors00armo
4369
LIVES
2050173 OF THE
GOVERNORS
OF
PENNSYLVANIA,
WITH THE
INCIDENTAL HISTORY OF THE STATE,
E
FROM
1609 TO 1873.
1
BY
PUBLIC LIBRA
WILLIAM C. ARMOR.
New Edition, Revised and Enlarged, (
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PHILADELPHIA: JAMES K. SIMON, No. 29 SOUTII SIXTH STREET. 1873.
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ENGRAVED HY I SARTAIN FROM THE ORIGINAL VICTOIRE IN THE POSSESSION OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF FINITA PRINTED PRIXLIFE IN 1666
WILLIAM PENN.
S020T33
·
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by WILLIAM C. ARMOR,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
.....
J. FAGAN & FON. STEREOTYPE FOUNDERS, PHILADELPHIA.
PRINTED BY HENRY B. ASHMEAD.
THESE MEMOIRS
OF THE
overfors
of Pennsylvania,
IN THE HOPE
THAT AN EMULATION OF THEIR VIRTUES MAY BE INCITED,
e nscribed
BY THE COMPILER
TO THE
YOUNG MEN OF HIS NATIVE STATE.
ili
PREFACE.
A DEEP interest is universally manifested in the personal history of any citizen who, by talent, enterprise, and virtuous devotion to an honorable calling, and the prompt and willing discharge of civic and social duties, acquires extensive fame. To gratify this feeling, and thereby perform an im- portant duty to all classes, but particularly to the young, has been the aim in the following pages. The material has been collected under many difficulties. Strange as it may appear, biographers and historians have failed to give any adequate notice of the lives of our Governors. This neglect has been deeply felt by the compiler of this volume. His researches have extended over a broad field, and, with the exception of those whose fame is world-wide, only meagre sketches of a few of the Chief Magistrates could be found. What at first was thought would be but the labor of a few months has ex- tended over a period of six years. During this time, wherever lineal descendants of any of the Governors could be traced, they were applied to for information concerning their ances- tors ; files of old newspapers have been scanned; historical and biographical works gleaned, documents in the archives of the State carefully examined, and, besides the numerous works consulted, many facts have been obtained by conversations with aged citizens.
In collecting and writing these biographies, however, in addition to the duty that I felt I was performing in placing in a permanent form much that would have soon passed into oblivion, I have experienced a personal gratification suf-
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PREFACE.
ficient in itself to compensate for the time and labor given to the task, although both were greater than any one who has not undertaken a similar experiment can conceive.
With the result of my researches before me, I felt my in- ability to give the work that literary finish necessary in a pub- lication of this kind. In seeking for some one to assist me in this all-important labor, my choice fell upon SAMUEL P. BATES, LL. D., and member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, who kindly consented to undertake it. He brought to the task a ripe experience, as the author of the History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, and numerous educational works, which, with his scholarly ability and judgment, is full war- rant that it has been finished with fidelity and success. The labor was one of no small magnitude, and for his kind offices I here tender him my most grateful acknowledgments.
The endeavor has been to give a graphic and comprehensive record of the public acts of cach Governor, free from any partisan influence, and to allow each one to speak for him- self through the history of his public career. Joseph R. Chandler has well said : "In all countries the character of the great and the good has been deemed part of the public fame; and nations which have derived political or pecuniary advan- tage from the talents and labors of their distinguished citizens living, have put in a claim to the posthumous credit of these men, as if a portion at least was to escheat to the benefit of the Commonwealth."
In harmony with this sentiment have the following pages been compiled. A record of the lives of our Governors, free from the partisan hate and the slanderous allusions that po- litical warfare has engendered, is here presented. No fear of criticism, inspired by a difference of political faith, has prevented our speaking of each individual Governor in fit terms of eulogy. We are proud to believe that a nobler list is not possessed by any State in the Union, nor one whose public acts will bear closer scrutiny.
In addition to the biographical sketches of the Executive officers, there is also preserved in connection therewith a
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PREFACE.
complete epitome of the history of the State from its origin to the present time. It is believed that this will prove one of the most interesting and valuable features of the work.
It would be mere pedantry to refer to all the sources of information that we have consulted, but we cannot omit men- tion of the following valuable works : - Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives; Hazard's Annals of Pennsylvania; Hazard's Register; Niles' Register; Smith's History of Del- aware County ; Watson's Annals of Philadelphia; Proud's History of Pennsylvania; Gordon's History of Pennsylvania; Publications of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; National Portrait Gallery; Griswold's Republican Court; Creigh's History of Washington County; I. D. Rupp's His- tories of the several Counties of the State; Sanderson's and Goodrich's Signers of the Declaration ; Documentary History of New York; Drake's Dictionary of American Biography ; Day's Historical Collections of Pennsylvania; Dawson's IIis- torical Magazine; Bancroft's History of the United States; Irving's Life of Washington; Lossing's Battlefields of the Revolution, and Pictorial History; and Westcott's History of Philadelphia, now being published in the Sunday Dispatch.
To Dr. William II. Egle, of Harrisburg, the compiler is under special obligations for much aid in facilitating the pros- ecution of his task, and for the use of his valuable historical library. The following gentlemen, also, rendered me invalu- able aid in furnishing data : John K. Findlay, Philadelphia; Joseph Ritner, Mechanicsburg; William A. Porter, Philadel- phia; William Moore, Clearfield; James W. Clarke, Wil- liamsport; Alexander K. McClure, Philadelphia; Wien Forney, Harrisburg; A. L. Russell, Adjutant-General, Har- risburg.
I am also indebted for many friendly offices to Hon. F. Jordan, Secretary of the Commonwealth; Hon. J. P. Wicker- sham, Superintendent of Common Schools; John McCurdy, Superintendent of Public Printing, Harrisburg; A. Boyd Hamilton, Harrisburg; Rev. James Shrigley, Librarian, and John Jordan, Jr., Townsend Ward, and Ferdinand J. Dreer,
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PREFACE.
members of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Thomp- son Westcott, editor Sunday Dispatch of Philadelphia; William Dorsey, Philadelphia; Horace W. Smith, Falls of Schuylkill ; and J. Smith Futhey, of West Chester. The warmth with which their services were rendered will always be a source of pleasant remembrance.
W. C. A.
HARRISBURG, September 19, 1872.
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CONTENTS.
PART I.
PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT.
CHAPTER I.
DUTCH RULE, 1609-38.
PAGE
CORNELIS JACOBSEN MEY, Director of New Netherland, 1624 to 1625 .. 21 WILLIAM VAN HULST, Director of New Netherland, 1625 to May 4, 1626. 22 PETER MINUIT, Director of New Netherland, May 4, 1626, till the Spring of 1633. 22
DAVID PIETERZEN DE VRIES, Governor on the Delaware, December 5, 1632, to April 14, 1633 23 WOUTER VAN TWILLER, Director of New Netherland, Spring of 1633, to
March 28, 1638 27
CHAPTER II.
DUTCH AND SWEDISH RULE, 1638-55.
SIR WILLIAM KIEFT, Director of New Netherland, March 28, 1638, to May 27, 1647. 29
PETER MINUIT, Governor of New Sweden, April, 1638, to 1641. 29
PETER HOLLANDAER, Governor of New Sweden, 1641 to 1643. 31 JOHN PRINTZ, Governor of New Sweden, February 15, 1643, to October, 1653 32 PETER STUYVESANT, Director of New Netherland, May 27, 1647, to Septem- ber 8, 1664. 34 JOHN PAPPEGOYA, Governor of New Sweden, October, 1653, to May, 1654 35 JOHN CLAUDE RYSINGH, Vice-Director of New Sweden, May, 1654, to September 25, 1655 36
ix
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
DUTCH RULE, 1655-64.
PAGE
PETER STUYVESANT, Director of New Netherland, 1655 to 1664 43 DERCK SMIDT, Schout-Fiscal and Commissary on the Delaware, 1655. 43 JOHN PAUL JACQUET, Director.on the Delaware, 1655, to April 20, 1657 ... 43 JACOB ALRICHIS, Director of City Colony, April, 1657, to December 30, 1659 44 GORAN VAN DYCK, Director of Company's Colony, May 20, 1657, to Oc- tober 28, 1658 44
WILLIAM BEEKMAN, Vice-Director of Company's Colony, October 28, 1658, to December 22, 1663. 45 ALEXANDER D'HINOYOSSA, Director of City Colony, December 30, 1659, to October 13, 1664 47
CHAPTER IV.
ENGLISH RULE, 1664-73.
COLONEL RICHARD NICHOLLS, Governor at New York, September 8, 1664, to May, 1667 50
ROBERT NEEDHAM, Commander on the Delaware, 1664 to 1668. 52 COLONEL FRANCIS LOVELACE, Governor at New York, May, 1667, to August 6, 1673. 53
CAPTAIN JOHN CARR, Commander on the Delaware, 1668, to August, 1673 53
CHAPTER V. DUTCH RULE, 1673-74.
ANTHONY COLVE, Governor of New Netherland, August 12, 1673, to Novem- ber 10, 1674 56 PETER ALRICHIS, Deputy Governor on west side of the Delaware, Septem- ber, 1673, to November 10, 1674. 56
CHAPTER VI. ENGLISH RULE, 1674-81.
SIR EDMUND ANDROSS, Governor at New York, November 10, 1674, to 1681 ... 58 CAPTAIN EDMUND CANTWELL, Commander on the Delaware, November 1674, to September 23, 1676. 58 JOHN COLLIER, Commander on the Delaware, September 23, 1676, to Au- gust 24, 1677. 59 CHRISTOPHER BILLOP, Commander on the Delaware, August 24, 1677, to June, 1681 59
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CONTENTS.
PART II.
PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT.
CHAPTER I.
WILLIAM PENN, PROPRIETOR, 1681-93.
PAGK
WILLIAM MARKHAM, Deputy Governor, June, 1681, to October 24, 1682. ...
.. 65 WILLIAM PENN (Sketch of ), Governor, October 24, 1682, to August 12, 1684 ... 69
CHAPTER II.
PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT, 1684-93.
THOMAS LLOYD, President of Council, June 12, 1684, to December, 1686. .. 10 FIVE COMMISSIONERS, (Thomas Lloyd, Robert Turner, Arthur Cook, John Simcock, and John Eckley,) 1686, to December, 1688 103 CAPTAIN JOHN BLACKWELL, Deputy Governor, December, 1688, to January, 1690 104
THOMAS LLOYD, President of Council, January, 1690, to March, 1691 105 THOMAS LLOYD, Deputy Governor of Province, March, 1691, to April, 1693 .... 106 WILLIAM MARKHAM, Deputy Governor of the Territories, March, 1691, to April, 1693. 106
CHAPTER III. UNDER THE CROWN OF ENGLAND, 1693-95.
BENJAMIN FLETCHER, Governor of New York, and the Province and Terri- tories of Pennsylvania, 1693 to 1695. 110
WILLIAM MARKHIAM, Deputy Governor on the Delaware, April, 1693, to March, 1695. 110
CHAPTER IV. WILLIAM PENN, PROPRIETOR, 1695-1718.
WILLIAM MARKHAM, Deputy Governor, March, 1695, to November, 1699 113
WILLIAM PENN, Governor, November, 1699, to November, 1701. 115 ANDREW HAMILTON, Deputy Governor, November, 1701, to April, 1703. 115 EDWARD SHIPPEN, President of Council, April, 1703, to February, 1704. 117
JOHN EVANS, Deputy Governor, February, 1704, to February, 1709 117
COLONEL CHARLES GOOKIN, Deputy Governor, February, 1709, to May, 1717 .. 121 SIR WILLIAM KEITH, Deputy Governor, May, 1717, to July, 1726. 125
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
HANNAH PENN, EXECUTRIX FOR PROPRIETORS, 1718-27.
PAGE SIR WILLIAM KEITH, Deputy Governor, July, 1718, to July, 1726 .. ........... 126
CHAPTER VI.
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JOHN, RICHARD, AND THOMAS PENN, PROPRIETORS, 1727-46.
PATRICK GORDON, Deputy Governor, July, 1726, to August, 1736. 132 JAMES LOGAN, President of the Council, August, 1736, to August, 1738. 136 GEORGE THOMAS, Deputy Governor, August, 1738, to May, 1747. 141
CHAPTER VII.
RICHARD AND THOMAS PENN, PROPRIETORS, 1746-71.
ANTHONY PALMER, President of the Council, May, 1746, to November, 1748 ... 146 JAMES HAMILTON, Deputy Governor, November, 1748, to October, 1754. 148 ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS, Deputy Governor, October, 1754, to August, 1756 .. 155 WILLIAM DENNY, Deputy Governor, August, 1756, to October, 1759. 159
JAMES HAMILTON, Deputy Governor, October, 1759, to November, 1763. 165 JOHN PENN, Deputy Governor, November, 1763, to 1771. 169 JAMES HAMILTON, President of the Council, 1771 177
CHAPTER VIII. THOMAS AND JOHN PENN, PROPRIETORS, 1771-76.
RICHARD PENN, Lieutenant Governor, October, 1771, to August, 1773. 178 JOHN PENN, Deputy Governor, August, 1773, to July, 1776. 180
PART III.
PRESIDENTS OF THE SUPREME EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.
THOMAS WHARTON, JR., President of Council, March 5, 1777, to May 23, 1778 .. 193 GEORGE BRYAN, Acting President of Council, May 23, 1778, to December 1, 1778. 211 JOSEPH REED, President of Council, December 1, 1778, to October 8, 1781 ...... 216 WILLIAM MOORE, President of Council, November 14, 1781, to October 8, 1782 .. 231 JOHN DICKINSON, President of Council, November 7, 1782, to October 18, 1785 .. 234 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, President of Council, October 18, 1785, to October 14,
1788. 251
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CONTENTS.
PART IV.
GOVERNORS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1790.
PAGE
THOMAS MIFFLIN, President of Council, November 5, 1788, to December 20,
1790, and Governor under the Constitution of 1790 from December 21, 1790, to December 17, 1799.
273
THOMAS MCKEAN, Governor, December 17, 1799, to December 20, 1808. 289 SIMON SNYDER, Governor, December 20, 1808, to December 16, 1817. 30S
WILLIAM FINDLAY, Governor, December 16, 1817, to December 19, 1820. 323
JOSEPH HIESTER, Governor, December 19, 1820, to December 16, 1823. 333
JOHN ANDREW SHULZE, Governor, December 16, 1823, to December 15, 1829 .. 343 GEORGE WOLF, Governor, December 15, 1829, to December 15, 1835. 350 JOSEPHI RITNER, Governor, December 15, 1835, to January 15, 1839 361
PART V.
GOVERNORS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1838.
DAVID RITTENHOUSE PORTER, Governor, January 15, 1839, to January 21, 1845. 379 FRANCIS RAWN SHUNK, Governor, January 21, 1845, to July 9, 1848 .. 392 WILLIAM FREAME JOHNSTON, Governor, July 9, 1848, to January 20, 1852. 403 WILLIAM BIGLER, Governor, January 20, 1852, to January 16, 1855. 413 JAMES POLLOCK, Governor, January 16, 1855, to January 19, 1858. 424
WILLIAM J'ISHER PACKER, Governor, January 19, 1858, to January 15, 1861 .. 433 ANDREW GREGG CURTIN, Governor, January 15, 1861, to January 15, 1867 ... 450 JOHN WHITE GEARY, Governor, January 15, 1867, to January 21, 1873. 466 JOHN F. HARTRANFT, Governor, January 21, 1873 491
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PART I. PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT.
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LIVES
OF THE
GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER I.
DUTCH RULE-1609 TO 1638.
COLONIZATION has in all ages been influenced by river- courses, safe bays and harbors, mountain passes, and favorable routes of travel. Settlement in America strictly conformed to this law. The Pilgrims gathered about Boston harbor and the mouth of Charles River. The Dutch sought that great navigable stream, the Hudson, and that magnifi- cent harbor at its mouth, where the combined navies of the world may ride in safety. The Cavaliers, who followed Smith to Virginia, chose the Chesapeake and the James. Pennsylvania, though an inland State, formed no exception to this rule. The only navigable stream within its borders which communicates directly with the ocean, attracted the eye of the early explorer, and on its course were the first feeble attempts at colonization, and the eventual settlements which marked the foundation of a state, the beginnings of empire.
In 1614, five years after the discovery of the Island and Bay of New York by Hendrick Hudson, three Europeans, wandering up the Mohawk Valley from the fort near Albany, where a feeble foothold had been gained, wended
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their way southward across the dividing ridge to the head- waters of the Delaware, and followed down its course. As they moved on they soon entered the territory of what is now the State of Pennsylvania, and then for the first time its soil was pressed by the foot of the white man.
Hudson, a navigator formerly in the service of the Eng- lish, but who had entered the employ of the Dutch East India Company, sailed on the 4th of April, 1609, in the Half Moon, an insignificant craft, in search of a western passage to the Indies. Foiled in his attempt to find a way at the north of the continent, he turned southward, and, watching carefully the coast as he went, on the 28th of August, 1609, discovered, in latitude thirty-nine degrees and five minutes north, a great bay, which he cautiously entered. To this bay the name of Delaware was subsequently given, in honor of Lord De-la-War, of the Virginia colony, who visited it a year afterwards and laid claim to its discovery. Hudson moved slowly up the bay, examining the coast on either shore, now Delaware and New Jersey, but soon returned, and pro- ceeding northward, on the 4th of September discovered the Bay of New York, and the great river of the north which bears his name.
The right of the Dutch to the Delaware and the lands adjacent thereto was founded on this visit of Hudson to its waters, constituting priority of discovery, which was recog- nized by European nations as a sufficient guarantee for its possession. Though having at various periods different desig- nations, it was at first chiefly known as the South River, in distinction from the Hudson, which was then known as the North River, these being the only great rivers in the territory claimed by the Dutch. It was called by the Indians Pau- taxat, Mariskitton, and Makerish-kisken; by the Dutch, Zuyt or South, Nassau, Prince Hendrick, and Charles; by the Swedes, New Swedeland Stream; and by the English, the Delaware. The bay was also known as New Port Mey and Godyn's Bay.
Hudson, having returned to Holland and reported his dis-
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coveries, the States General, on the 27th of March, 1614, granted a general charter, securing the privilege of trade during four voyages, to parties accepting its provisions, in any of its possessions in the New World. The merchants of the cities of Amsterdam and Hoorn, accordingly, fitted out five vessels to sail under this charter. One of these, the For- tune, belonging to the city of Hoorn, commanded by Cor- nelis Jacobsen Mey, upon its arrival on the American coast, at once proceeded south, its commander examining and map- ping the shore as he went, until he reached Delaware Bay. To the two capes at its mouth he gave two of his own names, calling the one on the north Mey, and that on the south Cornelis. To a cape still further to the south he gave the name Hindlopen, after a town in Friesland. Another of these vessels, commanded by Adrian Block, was, unfor- tunately, burned upon its arrival at the mouth of the Hudson, and to repair the loss, Block immediately set about building another, the new craft when completed being of sixteen tons burden, and called the Unrest, the first vessel ever built in American waters. After exchanging their cargoes for furs and skins, and gathering many articles curious and interesting, the vessels all returned to Holland, except the American-built one, which was left under the command of Cornelis Hen- drickson.
On hearing the report of the voyagers, the States General passed an edict, dated October 14th, 1614, granting exclusive privileges of trade in its New World possessions, to extend to four voyages through a period of three years from January 1st, 1615, to the Company of Merchants of Amsterdam and Hoorn, by which the first expedition had been dispatched. In this edict the Dutch possessions in the New World were designated NEW NETHERLANDS. 1
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In the meantime Hendrickson, who had been left behind, proceeded to explore the sea-coast, and bay and river of Dela- ware, where, to his surprise, he met the three white men who had wandered off from the fort on the upper Hudson, and were making their way, from the head-waters of the Delaware
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through the dense forests that fringed its banks, towards the coast. On the 19th of August, 1616, a report of Hendrick- son's discoveries was read to the States General, which was in these words : "He hath discovered for his aforesaid masters and directors certain lands, a bay, and three rivers, situate between thirty-eight and forty degrees, and did there trade with the inhabitants, said trade consisting of sables, furs, robes, and other skins. He hath found the said country full of trees, to wit: oaks, hickory, and pines, which trees were, in some places, covered with vines. IIe hath seen, in said country, bucks and does, turkeys and partridges. He hath found the climate of said country very temperate, judging it to be as temperate as this country, Holland. He also traded for, and bought from the inhabitants, the Minquas, three per- sons, being people belonging to this Company, which three persons were employed in the service of the Mohawks and Machicans, giving for them kettles, beads, and merchandise."
Hendrickson demanded the exclusive privilege of trade in the territory which he had explored, and which he claimed to have discovered, in compliance with the provisions of the general edict; but his demand was denied. In January, 1618, the general edict expired by its own limitation. The establishment of a great West India Company, in imitation of the East India Company, was now in contemplation, and all applications for exclusive privileges were held in abeyance by the States General, though several private expeditions were undertaken.
On the 3d of June, 1621, the Dutch West India Company was incorporated, to continue for a period of twenty-four years, with a pledge of renewal of its charter at the expira- tion of that time. Subscription to its stock was open to all nations. It was divided into five branches, that in Amster- dam representing four-ninths of the whole, and its govern- ment was intrusted to a board of nineteen, of whom eighteen represented the five branches, and one was named by the States General. It was privileged to trade and plant colonies in Africa, from the tropic of Cancer to the Cape of Good
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CORNELIS JACOBSEN MEY.
Lope, and in America, from the Straits of Magellan to the remotest north.
CORNELIS JACOBSEN MEY, 1624-5. - Under this charter an organization was effected in 1623, and vigorous efforts at colonization were made. In that year the ship New Netherlands, carrying about forty families, chiefly Wal- loons, - Protestant fugitives from Belgian provinces, - was dispatched to America under the direction of Cornelis Jacob- sen Mey and Joriz Tienpont. Hitherto the sole object of the Dutch in acquiring territory in the New World had been to secure a lucrative trade; and even now the purpose of colo- nization seems to have had no higher motive than the hold- ing of the territory securely against the encroachments of the English in Virginia and New England.
By the terms of the Company's organization, the chief power throughout all the New Netherlands territory was vested in a Director. The first person to exercise this power was CORNELIS JACOBSEN MEY. Attracted, doubtless, by the roseate reports of the country on the Delaware, Mey, soon after his arrival at Manhattan, -now the site of the city of New York, and where the seat of government of all New Netherlands had been established, - proceeded thither, and ascending the stream about forty-five miles, debarked upon a tongue of land between Big and Little Timber creeks, on the eastern side of the river, near the site of the present town of Gloucester, where he built a fort, which he called Nassau, and thus secured a first foothold upon the soil. He was accompanied in this enterprise by several men with their wives, and evidently intended to effect a permanent settle- ment. The following testimony of Catelina Tricho, given in 1684, at the age of eighty, affords curious confirmation of this intention :
"That she came to this Province either in the yeare one thousand six hundred and twenty-three or twenty-fouer, to the best of her remembrance, an that fouer women came along with her in the same shipp, in which the Governor, Arien
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Jorissen came also over, which fouer women were married at sea, and this they and their husbands stayed about three weeks at this place, and then they, with eight seamen more, went in a vessel by orders of the Dutch Governor, to Dela- ware River, and there settled. This I certifie under my hand and ye seale of this Province. THO. DONGAN."
It was soon found impracticable to support and protect this feeble colony, and the fort was abandoned after a few months, the settlers returning to Manhattan. Communication, how- ever, was kept up with the natives in the locality of the fort, by sending a vessel thither for purposes of trade. This weak attempt at settlement, thus speedily abandoned, has little importance in itself, but possesses a marked significance as being the germ of future commonwealths upon the Delaware.
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