USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Upland > The record of the court at Upland, in Pennsylvania, 1676 to 1681, And a military journal, kept by Major E. Denny, 1781 to 1795 > 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
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 03227 4638
GC 974.802 C42r The record of the court at Upland
1
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/recordofcourtatu00harm
SLL 5
Nubliratiung
OF THE
Wistoriral mariety of Wennsqlunuin.
RECORD OF UPLAND,
AND
DENNY'S MILITARY JOURNAL.
DEPARTED HIS MORTAIL LIFE APRILE TE 12 16 92 AGED 56 YEARS.
AND HIS WIFE ANN SANDELANDS ~~
$
IVE MEMOR LETII FUGIT HORA-
TIME DE UM MEMENTO MORI
JN UPLAND JN PENSILVANIA. WHO
Drawn by Paul Weber
HERE LIES INTERRD TE BODIE OF JAMES SANDELANDS MARCHANT.
Engraved by Ilman & Sons.
MURAL TABLET.
Chester, Penna
THE RECORD
OF THE
COURT AT UPLAND,
IN PENNSYLVANIA.
1676 TO 1681.
AND
A MILITARY JOURNAL,
KEPT BY
MAJOR E. DENNY,
1781 TO 1795.
PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., FOR THE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 1860.
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
ON the 13th of February, 1854, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania established a Publication Fund ; by the terms of which any person, on the payment of twenty dollars, becomes entitled to receive a copy of all future publications of the Society during the term of his life. The money thus received is invested on a special trust, and the interest only is to be expended in publication. The fund already amounts to fifteen thousand dollars. The first volume published under this system was the History of Braddock's Ex. pedition, which forms the fifth volume of the Memoirs of the Society. The second was "Contributions to American History. 1858." The volume now presented is the third issued by the Fund.
Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
[NO. VII. ] (iv)
MEMOIRS
OF THE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OF
PENNSYLVANIA.
VOL. VII.
PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., FOR THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 1860.
.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION TO THE RECORD OF UPLAND,
Page
By EDWARD ARMSTRONG.
11
THE RECORD OF UPLAND COURT 35
MEMOIR OF MAJOR EBENEZER DENNY,
By WILLIAM H. DENNY
207
MILITARY JOURNAL OF MAJOR EBENEZER DENNY
237
LETTERS OF GENERAL JOSIAH HARMAR AND OTHERS
413
VOCABULARY OF THE DELAWARE AND SHAWANESE LANGUAGES, 478
NOTES
486
INDEX
493
( vii )
Illustrations.
MURAL TABLET TO JAMES . SANDELANDS (FRONTISPIECE ). To face
MAJOR EBENEZER DENNY 205
GENERAL JOSIAH HARMAR
237
ORDER OF MARCH, JULY 11, 1787, (No. I.).
304
ORDER OF MARCH, (No. II.) 345
ORDER OF ENCAMPMENT, (No. III.)
345
ORDER OF BATTLE, (No. IV.)
345
VIEW OF THE MAUMEE TOWNS DESTROYED BY GENERAL HAR-
MAR, OCTOBER, 1790, (No. V.) ... 351
VIEW OF ENCAMPMENT AND BATTLE-GROUND, NOVEMBER 4,
1791, (No. VI.). 369
RECORD
OF
UPLAND COURT; ,
FROM THE 14TH OF NOVEMBER, 1676, TO
THE 14TH OF JUNE, 1681.
EDITED BY EDWARD ARMSTRONG.
(9)
Record of Alpland Court.
INTRODUCTION.
THE Record of the Court at Upland now, through the kindness of Doctor J. Dickinson Logan, of Philadelphia, for the first time submitted to the public, is a document of much interest to the student of history.1
No one can read the proceedings of the earliest English tribunal on the soil of Pennsylvania, however simple its forms, and sometimes trifling the subjects of its judgments, without receiving a clearer impression of the condition of the people than any other known source of information can impart.
The attempts to plant colonies upon the Delaware proved to be failures until the Swedes, in 1638, established themselves upon its western bank, near the present site of Wilmington. Although the Dutch were the discoverers of the river, and gave to it its earlier appellation,? they had, to this period, failed to effect a permanent abode upon it.
1 Extraets from the Record have been published by Mr. Watson, and by Mr. Hazard, in their Annals.
2 The Delaware was ealled by the Dutch Zuydt, or South River, in con- tradistinetion to the North River. The later appellation was bestowed in undeserved compliment to Lord de la War.
(11)
12
RECORD OF
It is true, that on the eastern bank, at Timber Creek, below the present town of Gloucester, they erected Fort Nassau, yet this was established rather as a fortified trading-place, for the purpose of pursuing a barter with the Indians, than as the nucleus of a colony. This post, in addition to the reason assigned by Mr. Hazard, "because it was for many years considered by the Dutch a very desirable point to be maintained,"1 is not historically without its interest as the site of the first European habi- tation within the limits of three States.
If the Dutch made no serious attempt to colonize the eastern shore, their enterprise was very early directed towards the western. It appears that the West India Company, within whose jurisdiction was embraced the whole of the river, with the view of promoting permanent colonization, determined, in 1629, by an "act of the Assem- bly of XIX," 2 to grant a charter of "freedom and exemp- tion 3 to all such as should plant any colonies in New Netherland." Those who were disposed to avail them- selves of this privilege were, under certain restrictions, obliged to "plant a colony of fifty souls," and might occupy a territory of four Dutch 4 miles along a navigable river, and "as far into the country as their situation would per- mit," and received, among other feudal rights, the power of administering justice.
1 Hazard's Annals, 15.
2 An Assembly of XIX Delegates, to whom was entrusted, by virtue of the Charter of the West India Company, the supervision and government of the Company. (O'Callaghan's Hist. of New Netherlands, i. 90.)
$ Hazard's Ann., 21. 4 A Dutch mile was equal to four English.
13
UPLAND COURT.
Samuel Godyn having, through his agents, procured of the Indians in barter, a tract of land on the western shore, stretching from Cape Henlopen thirty-two English miles northward, by about two miles in breadth, claimed the grant of a patroonship, under the privileges of the Char- ter of Freedom and Exemptions, which has just been men- tioned. It was conceded; and Godyn joined with himself, as Patroons, De Vries and others. In December, 1630, De Vries, with about thirty colonists, left the Texel, in prosecution of the enterprise, and arrived in the following March or April at their destination, afterwards called Hoerkill, now the site of Lewes, Delaware, and which they designated as "Zwaanendael," or the "Valley of the Swans." Here De Vries erected a fortified house, and leaving the colony in charge of Gilles Hosset, returned to Holland.1
The picturesque narrative of the skilful and enterprising voyager De Vries, details the melancholy fate of his friends, as it was afterwards told him by the natives, on the spot of their massacre. Hosset, it appears, misinterpreted into an offence the act of a chief, who had innocently removed the arms of the United Provinces, which had been painted and attached to a pillar as an emblem of possession. Dis- satisfaction having been seriously expressed, the natives fancied that the alleged wrong was to be expiated only by their taking the life of the offender, which deed was revenged by the friends of the murdered chief, in the treacherous destruction of the entire colony; and thus ended the first attempt to colonize the western shore of
1 Hazard's Annals, 25.
14
RECORD OF
the Delaware.1 In 1635, the territory with the "juris- diction" of "Zwaanendael" were re-transferred to the West India Company.
William Usselincx,2 a Brabant merchant residing in Zea- land, the originator of the Dutch West India Company, so far succeeded in interesting Gustavus Adolphus, as to pro- cure the establishment of the Swedish West India Com- pany, the plan of which was confirmed in the Diet of 1627. The King had in view an amplification of its original privileges, but lost his life at Lutzen, before the accomplish- ment of what seemed a cherished purpose. His Chancellor, Oxenstierna, in 1633, carried out the wishes of the King, and appointed Usselincx the first Director of the Company.
Among the provisions of this charter bearing upon our inquiry was that which empowered the Company "to con- stitute a Council which, with its officers, should attend to the administration of justice, preservation of good laws, . . should appoint governors, directors, and judges, . . accom- modate differences between the citizens of the country and the natives," ... 3
1 Voyages of De Vries, translated by Henry C. Murphy, and privately printed for Mr. James Lenox, pp. 23, 33 ; N. York, 1853.
2 O'Callaghan's Hist. of N. Neth., i. 481. Hazard's Ann., 39. An account of this remarkable man and of his works may be found in G. M. Asher's " Bibliographical and Historical Essay of the Dutch Books and Pamphlets relating to New Netherland," &c .; Amsterdam and New York, 1856. A book of no ordinary research and value. Hazard's Ann., 15.
8 A synopsis of this charter may be found in Hazard's Ann., p. 20, obtained by him from a rare source, - the Argonautica Gustaviana - published by Usselincx in 1633; of which the only copy, supposed to be in this country, is in the Library of Harvard College. Mr. Asher sug- gests that a translation of this work would be an important service to American history.
15
UPLAND COURT.
The privileges of this charter were not invoked until the period of the organization of the first Swedish colony. In the mean while the Dutch were not discouraged by the failure of their attempt at Zwaanendael; and still main- taining their position at Nassau, a tract of land was, in 1633, under instructions, purchased by Arendt Corssen, on the opposite shore, at the Schuylkill, on which in the same year they erected Fort Beversrede. The readiness which the natives manifested to part with their territory was equalled only by their willingness to sell it again to any who might choose to purchase it.
The title thus acquired by Corssen, embraced the Schuyl- kill and "adjoining lands," - a convenient vagueness, which the Dutch, when so disposed, might, and probably did, construe to embrace the site of future Philadelphia.
In April, 1638, as already intimated, a colony of fifty Swedes arrived at the Delaware, under the direction of Peter Minuit, who, for nine years Director of the Dutch West India Company at Manhatten, had now enlisted in the service of Sweden. He immediately set about to build a fort and trading-post on the Minquas-kill, at the Creek, which, in compliment to the youthful Queen and promoter of the expedition, he named Christina. The colony of "New Sweden" struggled for existence, and probably would have perished, but for the arrival, in the spring of 1640, of a body of colonists from Gottenburg.1
The intention of sending this re-inforcement was an- nounced in a letter from the Queen, dated 24th of January, 1640, addressed to the Commandant and inhabitants at Fort
1 Hazard's Reg., iv. 177.
16
RECORD OF
Christina, which also communicated the fact that she had granted to De Rehden and others the privilege of "esta- blishing themselves on South River, and there founding a colony."1
This was a special grant to the people of Utrecht, and is a very curious circumstance in the history of the Dela- ware. That the Queen should have been willing, notwith- standing the claim of ownership by the Dutch, to grant to Hollanders special privileges, in exchange for a mere oath of allegiance, displayed much liberality on her part, and that of her advisers. Although it is not possible now to trace it, it is likely that the organization of this colony had an influence upon the measures which led to the subsequent loss of the country to the Swedes.
The privileges ceded were similar to those granted to Patroons-an hereditary fief; and it is the second in- stance- that to Godyn, from the Dutch, at Zwaanendael, being the first - of a concession of local jurisdiction. Among the benefits conferred was the right of exercising high and low justice and of founding cities. The Patroons were obliged to submit such statutes and ordinances as they desired to establish, to the Governor at Christina, who it appears had also some independent control over the affairs of the colony .? No very precise bounds were assigned to the grant; as much land below Christina was allowed to be taken as was necessary for the project, pro- vided the limits did not approach nearer than four or five German miles of that place.
This colony was succeeded by the arrival at Christina,
1 Hazard's Reg., iv. 177.
2 Hazard's Ann., 52.
17
UPLAND COURT.
in 1642, of one still larger, under the command of Lieu- tenant John Printz, who was by the Queen commissioned as Governor of New Sweden. It was the most important and amply equipped which had as yet reached the Delaware. The suite which Printz brought with him, and his powers and appointments, were, under the circumstances, full and imposing. His instructions, doubtless from the hands of Oxenstierna, are minute, and exhibit great knowledge of affairs upon the river, combined with much shrewdness and practical sense.1 They form the most important state-paper, yet discovered, relating to the settlement upon our shores, as connected with this period of our annals. Printz was instructed "to decide all controversies according to the laws, customs, and usages of Sweden; and that, as regarded police, government, and justice, they were to be administered in the name of her Majesty and
the crown of Sweden." 2 During his term of service he appears to have enjoyed the confidence of his superiors. Choleric, and perhaps not sufficiently careful to observe that clause in his instructions which directed him "to preserve amity, good neighbourhood and correspondence with foreigners," 3 it must, in justice, be said of him, that he acted with energy and ability, and that the charge of undue violence was made by the rivals of his government, -the English and Dutch - whose attempts to secure a further foothold he steadily resisted.
Printz proceeded to establish his government on the Island of Tinnicum, where he built a house for his own use, and also a fort, which he styled "Gottenburg." On the
1 Hazard's Ann., 63. 2 Hazard's Reg., vol. iv. 221, sect. xxiv. $ Id. 200. 2
18
RECORD OF
Delaware, about three or four miles below Salem Creek, at a point known to this day as "Elsinburg Fort Point," he erected another stronghold, by which, as our annals show, he effectually commanded the river.1
In 1651, Stuyvesant, the Dutch Governor, built near the present town of New Castle, a fort, which he called Casimir.2
The spot, not now precisely known, at which the people of Utrecht established themselves, under Swedish protec- tion, was below Christina, - perhaps in the vicinity of Casimir; and the building of this fort may have been suggested by the previous existence of the Utrecht colony, and from that source an accession of strength may have been derived.
In the latter part of the year 1653, Printz sailed for Sweden, and left his son-in-law, John Pappegoya, in charge of affairs,3 who was superseded, in the early part of 1654, by the arrival of Governor Risingh.4
1 Hazard's Ann., 71. 2 Id., 126. 3 Id., 142.
4 The following incidents concerning Printz are derived from a note by Acrelius, at page 55 of his History of New Sweden, who gives as his authority, "Matrickel ofwer Sveriges Rikes Riderskap och Adel, af Can- cell. R. Herr. Anton Von Stiernman, ar. 1754, p. 350, being a Register of Swedish Nobility." "Prinz, Johan., ennobled July 20, 1642, confirmed in the order, 1643 - served in the Prussian and German war (the thirty- two years' war), advanced to the Lieutenant-Colonency of the West Gothia Cavalry, May 28, 1638 ; - 1640, shamefully surrendered the Fort of Chemniz, without power or permission of the Field-Marshal, John Baner ; went to Stockholm, where he was put in prison, but, giving bail, set at liberty, bound, however, to appear before a Court Martial, by which he was sentenced to be deprived of his employment, and the sentence confirmed by the Council of the Kingdom, Feb'y 17, 1641. Afterwards, Aug. 25, 1642, Governor of New Sweden, and returning home, was made Colonel and Governor of the government of Jonksping (Jonkioping in Prov. of
19
UPLAND COURT.
The instructions of Risingh counselled a spirit of the greatest forbearance and moderation; but they were not regarded.1 His first act was the treacherous seizure of Casimir, which led to the invasion, in September, 1655, by Stuyvesant, of the Swedish possessions, and the down- fall of that power upon our shores : not, however, without leaving some traces of its influence upon our laws and people. Printz was directed, before his departure from the country, "to establish a Council, formed of the best and most noble men in the country."
Upon the conquest by the Dutch, affairs assumed a more settled condition, and the administration of justice was
Smalandia), 1658. Died, 1663, without male issue." Although, accord- ing to this statement, Printz lost his command because of a disgraceful surrender, yet it is difficult to reconcile his condemnation, as asserted by Von Stiernman, with his subsequent ennoblement, and the frequent and emphatic expressions, by the home government, of confidence in his zeal and fidelity while Governor of New Sweden, and his later promotion to the more important trust in Smalandia, without believing that after-proofs, if they did not entirely excuse, greatly extenuated his conduct. If Printz did his duty at the Delaware, the ministers did not do theirs at Stockholm. No Governor was so weakly upheld, and no colony, with such claims to sympathy and protection, was more badly treated. The dispatches sent by Printz were filled with earnest and oft-repeated prayers for relief; and no reader, after the lapse of two centuries, can ponder the last sentence of the following extract without being in some degree moved : - " I have frequently, according to my duty, in the most humble way, reported to your Excellency whatever here occurred, asking for more people and means of defense ; but, during the whole space of three years and six months, I have received no orders and not the first matter of assistance from the old country. Every day yet I am with great anxiety expecting it ; for myself, too, I beg of your Grace to be released, - God knows what I have suffered those three long years !" (Printz to Oxenstierna, Aug. 1st, 1651. MSS. Archives, Hist. Soc. Penna.)
1 Hazard's Ann., 185.
20
RECORD OF
placed upon a proper basis. Until this time any differ- ences which may have occurred among the Dutch were doubtless summarily adjusted by the Commissary in com- mand at the forts, and those which sprung from measures of trade and finance, as connected with these posts, were decided at New Amsterdam, by a citation of the party complained of to appear before the tribunal at that place. Gottenburg, on Tinnicum, now ceased to be the seat of government, which was removed to Casimir, now called New Amstel ; and John Paul Jacquet, who was appointed by the Director and Council at New Amsterdam, Vice- Director and Commander upon the River, was commissioned " to do justice and administer it, either in civil or military cases."1 In him, and two other persons, as a Council, to be increased, in the adjudication of affairs "purely civil between freemen and Company's servants," by the addi- tion of "two most expert freemen," was vested jurisdiction in " all propositions relative to justice,"-extending, as we understand it, to the establishment of a method of pro- cedure suited to the wants of the colony; the decision in the Council to be by the majority, and the casting vote by the Vice-Director.
The supervision of Jacquet over New Amstel and the surrounding country was not of long continuance : for the West India Company, having been embarrassed by the expense incurred in acquiring the river, proposed to trans- fer New Amstel to the City of Amsterdam. Accordingly, on the 12th of April, 1657, New Amstel, with the territory as far north as Christina Creek, and south as Bombay
1 Hazard's Ann., 205.
21
UPLAND COURT.
Hook, was transferred to the Burgomasters of the City of Amsterdam, and Jacob Alricks was appointed by them Director-General of the Colony.
A mode was provided for the government of New Amstel by the selection of a Schout or Chief Judge, Burgomasters, and Schepens.1 The latter had the power to finally decide suits under 100 guilders ; but if over that amount, subject to an appeal to the Council at New Amsterdam ; and to pronounce sentence in criminal cases, also subject to appeal.2
The West India Company, notwithstanding the transfer of New Amstel, retained jurisdiction over the territory not included in that cession.
On the 12th of March, 1664, Charles II. granted to his brother James, Duke of York and Albany, a patent,3 em- bracing the entire limits of the New Netherlands; which grant, in less than a month, he proceeded to enforce by an actual seizure of the Dutch possessions : and for this purpose dispatched a squadron of four vessels, under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls, 4 with whom were associated Sir
1 Hazard's Ann., 221.
2 That the Dutch "Commissioners of the Colonies on the Delaware" were desirous to provide all necessary means for the legal guidance of the Vice-Director Alricks, appears from the following acknowledgment in a letter from the latter : - " I have received the police and law books which were sent out, consisting of two parts, and duplicates of each ; they will be a great convenience to us, and we shall make use of them ; but [not] the by-laws of the city, at the end of which the customs of Antwerp are annexed and printed, whereof mention was frequently made in the dis- patch." (Documents relating to Colonial Hist. of N. York, vol. ii. p. 54.)
3 Hazard's Ann., 356.
4 Colonel Richard Nicolls, being unable to sustain the expense which his office entailed upon him, was compelled, in 1667, to resign his post and return to England, after a creditable administration, in which, by his pru-
22
RECORD OF
Robert Carr, Sir George Cartwright, and Samuel Mave- rick, as Royal Commissioners.1
Stuyvesant, having received intelligence of the sailing of the expedition, took measures to avert the threatened attack; but, misled by false advices, revoked his com- mands, and, to arrange some affairs, proceeded to Fort Orange, from which he was soon recalled. In feverish haste, he endeavored to repair the effects of misplaced con- fidence. The most vigorous measures were proposed, and the sturdy Governor would have persuaded himself they were sufficient to prevent the intended blow. He would, he said, "rather be carried out dead than submit." 2
The people saw the crisis in another light, and felt resistance to be vain; persuasions, and threats at last, had their influence upon Stuyvesant.3 He was forced to yield,
dence and concilating policy, he earned the good will and respect of the people. The King made him a groom of the Bed-chamber, and bestowed upon him the insignificant sum of &200. His loyalty was, however, un- abated, and the following extract will explain his fate : - " The Church of Ampthill (Bedfordshire) contains little that is remarkable. . .. The only monument of note is that of Richard Nicolls, of Ampthill Park, Governor of Long Island, who, being in attendance on the Duke of York, was slain on board his ship, in 1672. A cannon-ball, said to have been that which occasioned his death, is inlaid in the marble within the pediment, and on the moulding is this inscription, 'Instrumentum mortis et immortalitatis.' " (Lyson's Magna Brittania, i. 39.) He fell on the 29th of May, 1672, in the engagement with the Dutch fleet off Southwold Bay (or Solebay). Lediard's Naval Hist., 599; Graham's Hist. of the U. States, i. 417; Dunlap's Hist. of N. York, i. 118.
1 Brodhead's Hist., 736.
2 Brodhead's Hist., 741.
3 The Directors of the West India Company having, as they alleged, found from the "documents and papers" sent to them, that the New Netherlands " had not been defended as the duty of the Director-General and Council, the importance of the place, and the means at hand there,
23
UPLAND COURT.
and on the 8th of September, 1664, the English flag was hoisted on Fort Amsterdam, thenceforth to be called New York.1
The Delaware was yet to be reduced, and thither Sir Robert Carr was sent, with three vessels; when disregard- ing his instructions and his pledges, he forever disgraced his name by acts of cruelty, plunder, and confiscation.2
required ; and therefore if the case were investigated, either that the Com- pany's officers had not acquitted themselves as they ought, or that sufficient information of the condition of the country and the necessity of the sur- render had not been communicated to the States-General, or to the Com- pany," sent to the New Netherlands for Stuyvesant "to justify the sur- render, or to receive what he might have deserved on account of his ne- glect or treachery " (Doc. Rel. to Col. Hist. of N. Y., vol. ii., 419). In obedience to the command, Stuyvesant went to Holland, and on the 19th Oct., 1665, submitted a " Memorial," and a "Petition," " corroborated by divers certificates and proofs," in which he endeavored to show that he " employed all possible means to put himself in proper defence, but was necessitated to surrender said place through the unwillingness of the Militia, the protests and menaces of the Burghers, the weakness of the Fort, the scarcity of provisions and munitions of war, and the small num- ber of soldiers " (Id., 361). The report of Stuyvesant was referred to the West India Co., who replied in a paper, entitled "Observations on the Report of Ex-Director Stuyvesant," to which the latter presented an elabo- rate rejoinder, which in turn was followed by an equally elaborate "Reply of the West India Company to the Answer of The Worthy Peter Stuy- vesant" (Id., 429, 491).
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