USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Lodge no. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkesbarr?, Pa. with a collection of masonic addresses > Part 28
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Resolved, That the members of the Bar of Luzerne county are deeply pained to learn of the death of their fellow member, ex-Governor Henry M. Hoyt, in whose distinguished career they each and all feel a personal pride. It is not the place here to present a record of the incidents of Governor's Hoyt's life, but it is a pleasure for us, at this sad moment, to note that the beginning and end of his professional career was with us, and that during the interval he had in a large measure filled the public eye. He had risen to a widely known eminence at the Bar, occupying, meanwhile, a seat upon this Bench. He served this coun- try in war, through siege, battle, and in the privations of the enemy's
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prison, and he came from this war wearing, through well earned pro- motion, the stars of a Brigadier General. Keenly interested in the political activities of his country, he was often called to his party's highest councils, and twice its leadership in this State was placed in his hands. Finally, by a large majority of the popular vote, he was chosen Governor of this great Commonwealth, and, after a wise and prudent administration, he returned to the profession of his love, in the practice of which he was engaged when touched by the deadly hand of disease. That which preeminently distinguished Governor Hoyt, causing him to tower up among his fellow men, was his wonderful intellectual scope. Personal intercourse with him at once revealed this, for there was perhaps no subject of human inquiry towards which his appreciative thought would not reach. Not only did he bring his great powers of mind and wide acquirements to the aid of his professional duties, but in whatever relation he was placed, the charm of his personal nature, as well as his adaptive power, brought every one to recognize the strength and breadth of his mental grasp. His death is a loss, not alone to this Bar, but to the profession at large.
Resolved, That we tender to the family of the deceased our heartfelt sympathy and condolence.
Resolved, That his portrait in the court house be draped in mourn- ing for the period of thirty days, and that a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to his family."
From the year 1861 to 1891 HENRY M. HOYT was a busy man, for within the last three decades of his life he found times and opportunities to win sufficient celebrity to make the fame of two or three different men. He was a sol- dier with a brilliant record, a political leader of much shrewd- ness, a governor who displayed high administrative ability, a lawyer learned and skillful, and, beyond all these, a student and teacher in the domains of sociology and economics.
Always and under all circumstances he was a leader, not merely followed and obeyed, but implicitly trusted and sincerely loved. Shrewd in speech, sagacious in counsel, resolute in action, tireless in the patience of his labor, and unfaltering in loyalty to what he thought his duty, he suc- ceeded where most men would have failed. As a fearless declarer of his opinions, and the soul of honor, he was hated
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by the hack politicians, and it was his enemies largely that gave him his hosts of friends. "A marciful Providunce fash- ioned us holler," says the poet, "O' purpose thet we might our princerpuls swaller"; but HENRY M. HOYT never swal- lowed his.
Strong and positive as he was in the announcement of his principles and opinions, not one element of bitterness was in them. However he differed from many earnest men who assailed him in a manner vehement and not always removed from acerbity, he had only kindliness and charity for his assailants. Selfishness, meanness, ignobility were unknown to him. His generosity was of the sort which instantane- ously forgives everything to the vanquished. If his oppo- nents found him, as they said, "hard-headed and tough- skinned," he was soft-hearted and sensitive enough toward his friends and all the poor and oppressed. Strong as were his political convictions and his partisan loyalty, his friend- ships and personal attachments were stronger still.
"Of his unselfishness, of his kindness, of his fidelity and of his generosity to others I would speak. I personally know young men never had a more appreciative or more helpful friend then Henry M. Hoyt. There are scores of them throughout the Commonwealth who, while joining with the public in proclaiming him a distinguished lawyer, a brave soldier, a broad and independent statesman, a true patriot, and one of the greatest thinkers that this Common- wealth has ever produced, will ever remember that he was their generous and helpful friend." Thus spoke Judge Charles E. Rice at the memorial meeting held by the Luzerne Bar on the day of Governor Hoyt's funeral ; and the writer of these lines, basing his judgment upon his own personal knowledge of, and experiences with, Governor Hoyt for more than a dozen years, can and does sincerely and earnestly affirm Judge Rice's tribute.
CAPT. ANDREW LEE.
ANDREW LEE, son of Thomas Lee, was born in Paxtang, Lancaster (now Dauphin) county, Penn'a, in 1739. He was reared on his father's farm, and received a fair education in the school conducted by Joseph Hutchinson of Derry. At the early age of sixteen he became strongly imbued with a martial ardor; and in May, 1755, when General Braddock's expedition against the French settlements on the Ohio was organized, young Lee enlisted in the body of provincial volunteers which formed a part of the British forces. He shared in all the dangers and disasters of the campaign, which terminated in the defeat and death of the brave but rash Braddock in the battle near Fort Duquesne, July 9th, 1755.
In that battle all the officers on horseback except Col. George Washington having been killed or wounded, the provincials-who were among the last to leave the field- were rallied by Colonel Washington, and covered the retreat of the regulars.
A few years later, when the French and Indian War was at its height, Andrew Lee became a member of the cele- brated company of mounted associators widely known as the "Paxtang Rangers" or " Paxtang Boys"; then com- manded by the Rev. John Elder* of Paxtang, and later by Capt. Lazarus Stewart.t
* "JOHN ELDER, born January 26th, 1706, in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, was the son of Robert and Eleanor (-) Elder, who immi- grated to America in 1730, and settled in Paxtang township, Lancas- ter county, Penn'a. John received a classical education, and was graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He subsequently studied divinity, and in 1732 was licensed to preach the gospel. Four or five years later he followed the footsteps of his parents and friends, and came to America. He accepted a call to the pulpit of the Presbyterian Church at Paxtang, and November 22d, 1738, was ordained and in-
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MASONIC APRON OWNED AND WORN BY CAPT. ANDREW LEE, Past Master of Lodge No. 21, 1792-1821.
(The apron is now in the possession of Mrs. Priscilla Lee Bennett, granddaughter of Captain Lee.)
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In June, 1775, the Continental Congress resolved upon the invasion of Canada, and General Schuyler was ordered to the command of the expedition. Volunteers were called for, but they came in slowly. Among them came Andrew Lee of Paxtang. The whole force of the expedition con- sisted of less than 2000 men, and Schuyler's chief subordi- nate officer was Gen. Richard Montgomery. Upon him the
stalled pastor of the church. Shortly after the French and Indian War began associations were formed throughout the Province of Penn'a for the defense of the frontiers, and the congregations of Mr. Elder were prompt to embody themselves. Their minister became their leader-their captain-and they were trained as scouts. He superintended the discipline of his men, and his mounted rangers became widely known as the 'Paxtang Boys.' During two Summers, at least, every man who attended Paxtang church carried his rifle with him, and their minister took his.
Subsequently he was advanced to the dignity of colonel by the pro- vincial authorities, the date of his commission being July 11th, 1763. He had command of the block-houses and stockades from Easton to the Susquehanna. The Governor, in tendering this appointment, ex- pressly stated that nothing more would be expected of him than the general oversight. * During the latter part of the Summer of 1763 many murders were committed in Paxtang, culminating in the destruction of the Indians on Conestoga Manor and at Lancaster. Although the men composing the company of Paxtang men who ex- terminated the murderous savages referred to belonged to his obedient and faithful rangers, it has never been proved that the Rev. Mr. Elder had previous knowledge of the plot formed, although the Quaker pam- phleteers of the day charged him with aiding and abetting the destruc- tion of the Indians. When the deed was done, and the Quaker authorities were determined to proceed to extreme lengths with the participants, and denounced the frontiersmen as 'riotous and murder- ous Irish Presbyterians,' he took sides with the border inhabitants, and sought to condone the deed. His letters published in connection with the history of that transaction prove him to have been a man judicious, firm and decided. * * * At the time the British army overran New Jersey, driving before them the fragments of our discouraged, naked, and half-starved troops, and without any previous arrange- ment, the Rev. Mr. Elder went on Sunday, as usual, to Paxtang church. The hour arrived for church service, when, instead of a ser-
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command shortly fell, Schuyler having been disabled by illness. Sept. 10th, 1775, Montgomery left Isle aux Noix and landed 1000 troops near St. John's, the first military post within the Canadian border. They invested St. John's, and the siege having lasted fifty-five days the garrison lay down their arms on the 2d of November, marching out of the fort with the honors of war. There were 500 regulars, and 100 Canadian volunteers; 48 pieces of artillery, 800 small arms, etc., surrendered.
During the siege Andrew Lee was wounded, and in the latter part of November he was sent down to Albany, N.Y., with the prisoners taken at the surrender. He carried with him a letter of recommendation from General Montgomery
mon, he began a short and hasty prayer to the Throne of Grace ; then called upon the patriotism of all effective men present, and exhorted them to aid in support of liberty's cause and the defense of the coun- try. In less than thirty minutes a company of volunteers was formed. Col. Robert Elder, the pastor's eldest son, was chosen Captain. * * ** Until his death (July 17th, 1792), for a period of 56 years, he contin- ued the faithful minister of the congregations over which he had been placed in the prime of his youthful vigor. * * His death was deeply lamented far and wide. Not one of all those who had welcomed him to his early field of labor survived him. Charles Miner, the historian of Wyoming, gives this opinion of Rev. John Elder: ' I am greatly struck with the evidences of learning, talent, and spirit displayed by him. He was beyond doubt the most extraordinary man of Eastern Penn'a. I hope some one may draw up a full memoir of his life, and a narrative, well-digested, of his times.'" * [From Egle's "Pennsylvania Genealogies," p. 187.
The Rev. John Elder was twice married, and had twelve children. His eleventh child, Thomas, was born January 3d, 1767. He was a lawyer; was president of the Harrisburg Bank for 35 years, and was Attorney General of Penn'a 1820-23. His eldest daughter, Mary R., married in 1816 Amos Ellmaker of Lancaster, Penn'a, who was the anti-Masonic candidate for Vice President of the United States in 1832.
David Elder, twelfth child of Rev. John Elder, was born May 7th, 1769, and died May 22d, 1809. He married Jean Galbraith, daughter of Col. Bertram Galbraith, who was a brother of Maj. Andrew Gal-
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for a commission in the army. (About a month later Mont- gomery was killed in the attack on Quebec.)
January 20th, 1776, Congress ordered that there should be raised in Canada, "to serve one year or during the pres- ent disputes," a regiment to be formed on a plan different from that of any other regiment in the service. It was to be composed of 20 companies of 50 men each, arranged in 4 battalions ; each company to have a captain, a lieutenant, and an ensign. The field officers of the regiment were to be one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, and four majors. Moses Hazen, of Albany, N. Y., was appointed Colonel by Congress, and 477 men were enlisted for the term of the war, and mustered into service during the Spring of 1776;
braith, father-in-law of the Hon. John Bannister Gibson. (See page 284, ante). David Elder's eldest child, Mary, married (Ist) Dr. Henry B. Dorrance, who died October Ist, 1828; (2d) March Ist, 1836, Judge David Scott, of Wilkesbarré. (See sketch of Judge Scott, post ).
+ LAZARUS STEWART was born in Hanover township, Lancaster county, Penn'a, in 1734, and was the second child of James and Mar- garet (Stewart) Stewart. He served in the French and Indian War, and was with Braddock at Fort Du Quesne. He came to Wyoming and settled in Hanover township in February, 1770. In May, 1777, he was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 24th Regiment, Con- necticut Militia, then commanded by Col. Zebulon Butler. At the battle and massacre of Wyoming, July 3d, 1778, he commanded Capt. William McKarrachan's Hanover company, and was killed early in the battle.
Captain Stewart married Martha Espy, who was born in 1747, and was the fourth child of Josiah and Elizabeth (Crain) Espy. Josiah Espy was born in the north of Ireland in 1718, and immigrated to America with his parents George and Jean (Taylor) Espy prior to 1729 ; settling in Derry, Lancaster county, Penn'a.
Captain Stewart had two sons and five daughters. (For interesting and detailed information relative to Captain Stewart, see Pearce's "Annals of Luzerne County," Plumb's "History of Hanover Town- ship," Miner's "History of Wyoming," Egle's "Notes and Queries," "Penn'a Archives," Second Series, Vol. XVIII., and "Penn'a Colonial Records," Vol. IX).
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but on the retreat of the regiment with Gen. John Sullivan's army from Canada in June of that year, the number so de- creased that when the regiment arrived at Albany in August it was reduced to less than 100. Colonel Hazen then went to Philadelphia and reported the condition of affairs to Con- gress ; and that body, on October 23d, 1776, ordered that the regiment " should remain in the original establishment thereof, to be recruited to its original complement in any of the 13 United States." The regiment was known as "Con- gress' Own," because it was not attached to the quota of any of the States ; and it was also known as "Canadian Old" regiment.
It was at that time that Andrew Lee presented to Colonel Hazen, at Albany, the letter of recommendation which he had received from General Montgomery nearly a year before, and this led to his receiving a commission as ensign in Ha- zen's regiment November 3d, 1776.
Steps were immediately taken by the officers to fill up the ranks of the regiment. Ensign Lee went down to Lan- caster county, Penn'a, and in about a month had recruited 75 men. In pursuance of orders received from General Schuyler he set out with his men for Philadelphia, the place of rendezvous ; but while on the march General Washing- ton directed that the company should join his forces at McConkey's Ferry on the Delaware River, nine miles above Trenton. Arms and ammunition having been issued to them there, they took part in the expedition commanded by Washington which crossed in boats the Delaware, filled with cakes of floating ice, on Christmas night, surprised Trenton, and captured 950 Hessians, many cannon, small arms and trophies. Ensign Lee and his company were de- tailed to march with these Hessian prisoners to Philadel- phia, and there they received clothing and were fully equipped.
During the next two or three months Ensign Lee lay sick
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in Philadelphia, unable to perform any duties. Early in the Spring of 1777, having recovered his health, he received orders from Colonel Hazen to march up to the Susquehanna country after deserters. Returning from that tour of duty he joined his regiment at Princeton, New Jersey, and served through the Spring campaign, commanding the company of Capt. Joseph Tary (who had been promoted to a majority) until Colonel Hazen appointed his nephew Moses White to the captaincy and command of the company. Dissatisfied at being thus superseded, Ensign Lee tendered his resigna- tion, and gave his reasons therefor, to General Sullivan. The General, however, would not accept it, and told the Ensign that he "must serve out the campaign, and in the meantime should have justice done" him.
In July, 1777, when the British General Howe sailed southward from New York, he left about 3000 men, one- third of them loyalists, on Staten Island. Washington, who was watching Howe's movements, had placed General Sul- livan with his division (which included Hazen's "Congress' Own" regiment) near the coast in New Jersey. The British on the island continually plundered the Jerseymen on the main. Aug. 21st, 1777, Sullivan at the head of a detach- ment of about 1000 men of his division marched from his encampment near Morristown at 2 o'clock P. M., and cross- ing over to Staten Island that night attacked the next day (the 22d) the loyalists who were stationed nearly opposite Amboy. He took several prisoners, and among the spoils were the records and papers of the Yearly Meeting of Friends, which revealed such defection to the cause of the patriots that Congress subsequently advised the Council of Pennsylvania to arrest eleven of the leading and wealthy members of the Society. Later in the same day (Aug. 22d) Sullivan attacked Fort Schuyler, but a portion of his force- including Ensign Andrew Lee-after a hard fought engage- ment, was compelled to surrender to the enemy .*
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In his diary Ensign Lee wrote as follows relative to his capture and captivity : "The enemy acknowledged we made a brave defense, and were surprised at the smallness of our party when they saw us come in. Our loss in killed was incredible, not exceeding five men. Our number taken in action, and on the road that had not come up through fa- tigue, was about 260, of whom 22 were officers. Our usage was rather cruel than otherwise from this [Aug. 22d] to the 28th inst., having never eaten but four times in seven days, and lodging two nights in the open field. On Saturday the 23d we were delivered to the Hanspac [Anspach] guard, the officers of whom behaved with the utmost politeness to us, and showed a tenderness which the British seemed strangers to. On Sunday we were put on board a ship and trans- ported to New York, where we were landed the next morn- ing and conducted to the City Hall through a multitude of insulting spectators. We remained in this place until the 28th, when we removed to Frankfort street on parol, with the liberty of said street, being 200 yards in length. Here we continued upon two-thirds allowance until the 4th Nov., when we were removed to Long Island, to Flatlands, on condition that we would pay our board. Nothing material happened until Nov. 27th, when the appearance of part of the American Army on Staten Island carried such fears into the general commanding New York as to determine him for our better safety to remove us on board a ship. Accordingly
* Colonel Hazen, in a memorial to General Washington, November 30th, 1779, said of "Congress' Own": "The regiment was with Gen- eral Sullivan in the action of Staten Island August 22d, 1777; at Brandywine September IIth, and at Germantown October 4th, fol- lowing. In all which it acquitted itself with honor, and was at the last mentioned engagement amongst the troops that were rewarded with your Excellency's public thanks. That in the three several last mentioned engagements there were killed, wounded, and taken pris- oners 15 commissioned officers and 133 non-commissioned officers and privates."-Penn'a Archives, VIII. (o. s.) : 17.
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two transports being ready we were the next day put on board under guard, being in number about 255. Here we expected a greater hardship than we had yet undergone, having a scant allowance of provisions, and badly cooked as might reasonably be supposed, for the want of materials to do it with, there being but one fire and one kettle to a ship, which being fixed to the deck, rendered it very diffi- cult to cook at all. On Wednesday, which happened very often at this season of the year, on account of bannard days,* as they term it, we drew musty oaten meal. We used to pass the evenings in walking the deck, and playing a game of whist, and sometimes with dancing on the quarter-deck, as some of the gentlemen were performers on the violin. Our evenings were generally ended in singing, which always began upon blowing out the light, immediately after turning into our berths.
" Our situation was truly pitiable on many accounts, but more especially of provisions, which being altogether salt, without any kind of vegetables, must infallibly have brought on sickness and disorder had we stayed long on board. But the General's fears in regard to the prisoners having sub- sided, on the 12th day of our confinement he issued orders that we should return to Long Island, and accordingly on December 10th we relanded at Brooklyn." [Egle's "Notes and Queries," Vol. I. (First Series), p. 167.]
"The sufferings of the American soldiers who had fallen into the hands of the British, and were held as prisoners in New York, were notorious at the time, and have long been famous in the annals of cruelty. As soon as they [prisoners] were taken, they were robbed of their baggage, money, and clothes. Some of them were put on board the prison-ships and thrust down into the hold, where they were so crowded together that they were in a constant perspira-
* Banyan days-those on which no meat is issued to sailors.
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tion ; and from here they were suddenly transferred to some of the churches in New York, where, without any covering or a spark of fire, they suffered from the other extreme of temperature. * The food that was given them for three days was scarcely enough for one day.
* Sick and well were thrust together in the churches, than which no buildings could be more unfit for the confinement of men who must eat and sleep there. It was said that the English officers were continually cursing the prisoners as rebels, and threatening to execute them as such, and that at one time they ordered each man to choose his halter, out of a parcel offered, wherewith to be hanged. And many of them were hanged, the executions taking place at night on a permanent gallows in what is now Chambers street, New York. Out of about 5000 prisoners, 1500 died in captivity, and many others scarcely survived to reach their homes when they were released. The prison ships were
mainly devoted to the confinement of American sailors. * Their allowance of rations was two-thirds the quantity issued to British seamen, but with no fresh vegeta- bles of any kind. The rations were mostly cooked in an immense boiler called 'the Great Copper,' the meat being boiled in sea-water, which corroded the copper and rendered the food poisonous. The prisoners lost almost every feeling of humanity for one another ; and the princi- pal anxiety of the volunteer nurses seemed to be to claim their perquisites by robbing the dead and dying of their clothing." * [Bryant's "History of the United States," III. : 537.]
Ensign Lee's imprisonment lasted for two years, when he managed to escape. Upon reporting at the headquarters of General Washington on the Hudson, he was ordered to join his regiment at Cohoes. At the same time (September, 1779) he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Arriving at the headquarters of "Congress' Own" he found that Colo-
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nel Hazen had struck his name off the rolls of the regiment ; but nevertheless he was given command of a company. Lieutenant Lee complained to General Washington respect- ing this state of affairs ; whereupon Washington placed him in command of a company of mounted "partisans," composed of men picked from the wole line of the army and organized for that particular species of warfare (partisan), which at that time and in that quarter was necessary and peculiarly haz- ardous. Later the company was attached, temporarily, to Lee's " Partisan Legion," a separate corps of cavalry under the command of the celebrated Maj. Henry Lee, of Virginia, the "Light Horse Harry" of the Revolution.
Relative to Captain Lee and his services at that period, Judge John Joseph Henry, of Lancaster, Penn'a, wrote to Secretary of War Dearborn in 1807: "Our knowledge of each other happened in 1779. My military friends uni- formly spoke of him as an active and valiant officer. He was particularly useful, it was said, as a partisan."
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