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 38
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Payne Pettebone, Sr. (born January 24th, 1787 ; died August 13th, 1814), was the father of Payne Pettebone, Jr. (born De- cember 13th, 1813 ; died March 20th, 1888), well and widely known for many years as one of the wealthiest and most in- fluential men in the Wyoming Valley.
HENRY PETTEBONE, the subject of this sketch, was the eleventh child of Capt. Oliver Pettebone, and was born at Kingston October 5th, 1802. Having entered the Wilkes- barré Academy in 1818, he pursued a course of study there, and then studied law with Garrick Mallery, Esq .- being ad- mitted to the Bar of Luzerne county August 3d, 1825, upon motion of his preceptor. He was at that time a resident of Kingston. He never gave his full time and attention, how- ever to the practice of the law, although his knowledge of its mysteries was very thorough and accurate. In the year 1828 he established in Wilkesbarré, in conjunction with Henry Held, The Republican Farmer, a weekly newspaper. In 1831 Mr. Pettebone sold out his interest in the establish- ment to J. J. Adam. February 17th, 1830, he was appointed by Governor Wolf Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas and Clerk of the Orphans' Court, Quarter Sessions, and Oyer and Terminer of Luzerne county, for the regular term of three years. January 21st, 1833, he was reappointed for a second term, which he served, and was succeeded in January, 1836, by Dr. John Smith. From 1836 to 1838 he was one of the Managers of the Wilkesbarré Bridge Com- pany. From 1836 to 1848 he was engaged in mercan- tile business in Wilkesbarré, and in the practice of his pro- fession. In 1841 Mr. Pettebone, the Hon. Chester Butler, and Capt. Hezekiah Parsons were appointed by the citizens of the Wyoming Valley to repair to Hartford, Conn., and petition the Connecticut Legislature for pecuniary aid in finishing the Wyoming Monument .*
March 6th, 1845, Governor Shunk appointed Mr. Pette-
* See page 449, ante.
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bone one of the Associate Judges of Luzerne county, to suc- ceed the Hon. Ziba Bennett, resigned; and in November of the same year the Governor commissioned him Notary Public. He served as Judge till November, 1849, when he resigned and was succeeded by Edmund Taylor, Esq. He then served for a time as Clerk of the Pennsylvania State Senate.
For several years after that-until about 1857-he was actively engaged in superintending extensive contracts which he had in hand on the Pennsylvania Gravity Railroad, and on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1857 or '58 he became Secretary and General Ticket Agent of the Lacka- wanna and Bloomsburg Railroad Company-it having been in operation at that time about three or four years. This position he held until the day of his death, having his office at Kingston.
Henry Pettebone was made a Mason in LODGE 61 April 9th, 1824. In December of that year he was elected Junior Warden of the Lodge, and on St. John's Day following was installed into office, to serve during the ensuing Masonic year. He served until August Ist, 1825, when he withdrew from the Lodge, "being about to remove to a distance." January 27th, 1828, he was re-admitted to membership, and in 1832 he served as Worshipful Master. He was one of the petitioners to the Grand Lodge in 1843 for the restora- tion of the warrant of "61," and when the Lodge was re- constituted he was installed as Senior Warden. In 1845 he served his second term as Master, and in 1848 his third term. During the years 1845 to '51, and 1856-'57, he was District Deputy Grand Master for the district comprising the counties of Luzerne, Susquehanna, Wayne, Bradford, and Pike. On St. John the Baptist's Day, 1845, he delivered an address on Masonry before LODGE 61 and the invited pub- lic. (See page 106, ante). He received the degrees of Capitular Masonry in Perseverance R. A. Chapter No. 21, Harrisburg, Penn'a, February 5th, 1855. He withdrew from
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that Chapter December 3d, 1855, and became one of the Charter members of Shekinah R. A. Chapter No. 182, Wilkesbarré, and was its first Scribe. In 1857 he was M. E. High Priest of the Chapter. He was initiated into Mt. Moriah Council No. 10, R. S-E. and S. M., Bloomsburg, Penn'a, February 5th, 1861. He was also a Knight Temp- lar, but diligent inquiry has failed to discover when or where he received his Templar degrees.
Henry Pettebone was married in 1825, shortly after his admission to the Bar, to Elizabeth Sharps (born September 30th, 1803; died July 8th, 1847), daughter of John Sharps, a native of Warren county, New Jersey. They became the parents of two daughters and one son. The son and one daughter died in youth. The eldest child, Martha (born in 1826), was married in 1844 to William Streater, son of Dr. Charles Streater, of Wilkesbarré.
Judge Pettebone was extensively known throughout the Wyoming Valley as a correct, upright and useful man. In all the important stations he filled, during his somewhat long life, his unsullied integrity and accurate judgment en- deared him to all with whom he came in contact. One who knew him well has said: "Of Henry Pettebone we think it may truly be said, He had no enemies! We have never known a man of more kindly impulses; and from a long acquaintance with him we could pass no better eulogy upon his character." He died suddenly May 5th, 1861. He left his desk at the Railroad office in the early evening, and at his usual hour retired to bed, complaining of feeling slightly ill. His death occurred shortly after midnight. His funeral took place on May 8th, from the home of his brother Noah, in Kingston, and he was interred by LODGE 61 with the honors of Masonry in St. Stephen's Episcopal Church-yard, Wilkesbarré. Some years later his remains were removed to the old Forty Fort Cemetery in Kingston township, where they now lie.
CAPT. JOHN PAUL SCHOTT.
JOHN PAUL SCHOTT, son of Col. Frederick Schott of the Prussian army, was born in Berlin,* Prussia, October 15th, 1744. After an academic education he was, at the age of sixteen years, commissioned to a military office of subordi- nate rank by Frederick II., "the Great" King of Prussia. He served some time in the army of that distinguished sol- dier and ruler, where he had occasion, during the last three years of the Seven Years' War, to see and take part in much severe service, and in which he received unusual marks of the favor of the King. Near the close of the war he was promoted First Lieutenant, and appointed Adjutant of His Highness the Prince of Brunswick, } Lieutenant General of His Majesty Frederick II.
* In a letter to the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, dated November 26th, 1779, he describes himself as "a Hessian born ; by inclination, as well as duty bound, an American."
+ CHARLES WILLIAM FERDINAND, Prince of Brunswick, was born in 1735, and succeeded to the Duchy of Brunswick in 1780. He mar- ried Augusta, sister of George III. of England, and their daughter Caroline became the wife of George IV.
The Prince gained great reputation in the Seven Years' War, and in the War of 1778 with Austria. In 1787, at the head of 20,000 Prus- sians, he invaded Holland, reduced to submission its boastful citizen militia, and restored the authority of the Stadtholder. In 1792 he, then Duke of Brunswick, was General-in-chief of the Prussian army, and was reputed to be the ablest soldier in Europe.
In 1794 the Duke resigned his command, and until 1806 was occu- pied with the peaceful labors of government; but in that year he was again appointed Commander of the Prussian army, although he was seventy-one years of age. At the fatal battle of Auerstädt, October 14th, 1806, he was wounded and made prisoner, and died at Altona the 10th of November following. His fate excited deep sympathy, especially in England, and embittered public opinion against Napo- leon. It was while the impression made by these events was still
CAPT. JOHN PAUL SCHOTT.
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Inactivity among the professional soldiers of Prussia at- tended the long period of peace following the Seven Years' War; and about the beginning of the second decade follow- ing the Peace of Hubertsburg, matters had come to such a pass that the Empire had become a mere name. "What- ever good there was in particular regions and courts, there was no recognized bond of union, and no common national life, among the German people. It was a twilight age, with deep shadows lingering in it."
As a consequence of these conditions many of the younger military men of Prussia, like Baron Steuben, Baron de Otten- dorff, and Lieutenant Schott, looked about for new fields where they might employ their martial talents and use their swords. The situation in America attracted the attention of young Schott, and he decided to proceed hither. There- fore, in the Summer of 1775 he sailed from Rotterdam on a Holland ship, and in due time arrived in the city of New York. He brought with him letters of introduction to Gov- ernor Tryon* of New York, and other prominent citizens,
fresh, that Sir Walter Scott wrote his famous and spirited eulogy of the venerable soldier whom the conqueror had insulted, and in which occur these lines :
"And when revolves, in Time's sure change, The hour of Germany's revenge, * * * * * *
Her champion, ere he strike, shall come To whet his sword on BRUNSWICK's tomb."
* Lieut. Gen. Sir WILLIAM TRYON, LL. D. (King's College, 1774), was the last royal governor of New York. He was a native of Ire- land, and in 1764 was appointed Governor of North Carolina. Hav- ing rendered himself odious to the people of that province by his petty tyranny and great cruelty, he was transferred by order of the King to New York, to succeed Lord Dunmore. He arrived there in July, 1771, bearing a royal commission as "Captain-General and Governor- in-Chief in and over the Province of New York and the territories de- pending thereon, in America, Chancellor and Vice Admiral of the same." His arrival was greeted by affectionate addresses of con-
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and through his soldierly bearing and refined manners he soon won the favor of the aristocratic circles' in which he first appeared. After he had spent some time in New York he went to Philadelphia, bearing letters of introduction to some of the principal people in that city.
Observing the deep interest and earnestness which the patriots in the American colonies showed for the cause of
gratulation-his recent cruel conduct in North Carolina being justified as a meritorious effort to preserve the constitution and the laws.
June 25th, 1775, Governor Tryon returned to New York from a visit to England, and the next day General Washington passed through the city on his way from Philadelphia to Boston to assume command of the American army. During the next four months Tryon remained in New York exercising, according to his ability and the best means at his command, his authority as Governor, and then he fled on board the ship-of-war Duchess of Gordon lying in the harbor. December Ist he issued a proclamation proroguing the General Assembly, and three days later sent a communication to the inhabitants of New York sig- nifying to them that His Majesty had granted him permission to with- draw from the government of the colony, and expressing great pain at viewing the turbulent state of affairs then existing.
February 18th, 1776, the New York Provincial Congress ordered that all communication between the inhabitants of the province and "the ship of His Excellency the Governor be, and is hereby, pro- hibited ; except such intercourse as may be necessary for sup- plying the Governor with necessary provisions for himself and fam- ily." March 16th Tryon, still on board the Duchess of Gordon, in the North River, issued an "exhortation" to the inhabitants of New York. Five days later he was hung in effigy, "by a great concourse of the inhabitants, * *
* on a gallows which had been prepared in the middle of the Parade." In one hand of the effigy was placed a copy of the Governor's last address to the inhabitants. In the Constitu- tional Gazette (N. Y.) of March 23d, 1776, will be found an interest- ing account of the proceedings upon this occasion.
Governor Tryon remained on board the Duchess of Gordon until the Americans evacuated New York, when he returned to the city and was given an enthusiastic welcome by the loyalists. He resigned the governorship in 1780 and returned to England, where he died Febru- ary 27th, 1788.
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freedom, he became inspired with a strong desire to attach himself to them, struggling as they were to secure and main- tain a station to which their situation, wealth and numbers gave them a claim. Noticing, at the same time, that the revolutionists were poorly supplied with weapons-especi- ally heavy guns-and ammunition, he determined to procure a supply for them. Consequently in July, 1776, a few days after the Declaration of Independence had been promulgated, he sailed for the Island of St. Eustatia, one of the Lesser Antilles belonging to Holland, where certain speculative Dutchmen had established a depot for blockade runners, and were supplying them with provisions, arms, etc.
Lieutenant Schott chartered a schooner at the island and loaded her with arms and munitions of war, on his own ac- count, and then sailed for Chesapeake Bay. Arriving there he found the entrance to Hampton Roads blockaded by the English fleet. However, under cover of a fog, and by the aid of a British flag, and British uniforms with which he clothed himself and crew, he passed through the fleet. The British believed the schooner to be a transport belonging to the fleet, until she had crossed the line, when the error was discovered and she was signalled to return. No notice of the signal being taken by those on board the schooner, a shot was fired from one of the British vessels, and then a broadside. No injury was done to the swiftly-sailing schooner, and she passed on up the "Roads." But as she approached the harbor at Norfolk the uniforms of her offi- cers and men came near bringing them into trouble; for while they had by that time run up the flag of the Colonies to the vessel's peak, they had not had time to doff their British uniforms. Several shots were fired by the Americans, and one cannon-ball tore some of the vessel's rigging; where- upon a white flag was hoisted, and the boat safely entered Norfolk harbor.
Having disposed of his cargo to the Government, Lieu-
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tenant Schott proceeded immediately to Philadelphia, where he formally offered his services to the American cause in a communication worded as follows :
To the Honourable Continental Congress :
"The Petition of JOHN PAUL SCHOTT most humbly showeth :
"That your petitioner having served as a Lieutenant with the German troops commanded by Prince Ferdinand during the last War, and having acquired a considerable share of military skill in the pro- fession of soldier, most humbly begs the honourable Congress (as he has ample testimonials with him of his good character) to grant him a Captain's commission in the Continental army. And he, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
"[Signed] JOHN P. SCHOTT. "Philadelphia, Sept. 4th, 1776."
This petition was received by Congress September 5th, . read, and referred to the Board of War. The next day the Board brought in a report which was taken into considera- tion, whereupon it was
"Resolved, That JOHN PAUL SCHOTT, who is well recommended as an experienced officer, be appointed Captain in the Continental army, with directions to raise a company as soon as possible ; but that as he may be usefully employed immediately he be forthwith sent to Gen- eral Washington at New York, and that one month's pay be advanced to him."*
This was a preference such as not many officers could boast of, for most of them were compelled to wait months until commissions should be granted. A higher grade or rank, however, would probably have been more compatible with the military experience of Captain Schott. He was, at this time, not quite thirty-two years of age.
"The best that could be said for Washington's army [at this time] was, that it contained good material. As a whole, it was little else than a posse of armed citizens, for the most part brave and determined men, but lacking effective organ- ization and discipline, and most of them without experience.
* See American Archives, Series V., Vol II .: 157, 1332.
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* The soldiers represented all classes of society. Among officers and men were clergymen, lawyers, phy- sicians, planters, mechanics, tradesmen, and laborers, mostly native Americans, of good English blood, with a sprinkling of Germans, Scots, and Irishmen. Most of them were in- differently equipped. The old flint-lock piece was the com- mon arm ; bayonets were scarce, and so also were uniforms. The larger number of the troops were in citizens' clothes. The army numbered, according to official returns, less than 20,000 men." [Bryant's "History of the United States," III .: 494.]
Captain Schott having received his commission, the orders of Congress, etc., set out for New York city, which he reached September 9th. He found General Washington, surrounded by his staff, at the Grand Battery* observing the British war-ships manœuvring in the bay. A large frigate attempting to pass up the North river, Washington gave orders that it should be fired at. During this time the battery was under the fire of the British on Governor's Is- land, and the American matrosses were being very much hampered in their work by the shots from one particular cannon, well-aimed and frequently fired. Captain Schott, unable to at once approach Washington, and noticing an
* The Grand Battery was located at the extreme southern point of the city, on the spot where the old Dutch founders of New York had built their first fort. For two hundred years or more the locality has been known as "The Battery," or "Battery Place," and about fifty years ago "Castle Garden"-now the Aquarium-was erected on the site of the old fort.
In August, 1776, the Grand Battery consisted of thirteen 32- pounders, one 24-pdr., three 18-pdrs., two 12-pdrs., one 13-in. brass mortar, two 8-in. iron mortars, and one Io-in. iron mortar. Capt. Alexander Hamilton (afterwards Secretary of the Treasury, and later General-in-chief of the army), was on duty at the "Grand" at this time in command of a part of his battery of New York Colony Artil- lery. He was only nineteen years of age.
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unloaded and unused cannon in the battery, called to his aid several matrosses who were standing by unemployed. He had them load the cannon, and then he aimed and fired it, silencing the troublesome gun on the island. Washington observing this, turned to Schott and asked: "Are you a schooled artilleryman?" The Captain answered in the affirmative, and at the same time presented his credentials to the General. Washington having read them turned to Col. Henry Knox, his chief of artillery, and asked him if there was a vacancy among his officers. Upon Knox reply- ing that one of his captains was on the sick list, Washing -. ton directed that Schott should fill the vacancy until further orders ; whereupon he was placed in command of the 3d Battery of the "Continental Regiment of Artillery."
At this time the entire artillery force of the American army consisted of the regiment above-mentioned-compris- ing ten companies or batteries-and Captain Hamilton's "Colony" battery ; the whole being under the command of Henry Knox, Colonel of the "Continental" regiment. In July, 1776, Colonel Knox* wrote to General Washington that
* * to carry on the war with vigor and success, a well-regu- lated and numerous body of artillery will be necessary. The present number of officers and men of the regiment of artillery here [in New York] are not sufficient for the posts in and round about this city. To supply this deficiency, a number of men from the different regiments have been drafted into the artillery pro tem."
Just two weeks before the arrival of Captain Schott at New York the battle of Long Island had been fought, in which the American loss in killed and wounded was about three hundred men, and in prisoners-among whom were
* In December, 1776, Colonel Knox was elected by Congress "Brigadier General of Artillery," and he served thereafter as Chief of that branch of the service. In September, 1789, President Washing- ton appointed him Secretary of War. He is said to have been "the only man whom Washington ever loved,"
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Maj. Gen. John Sullivan and Brig. Gen. Lord Stirling-be- tween 800 and 1000. After the battle all the American forces remaining on the island had been withdrawn to New York city, and then for nearly two weeks the question of attempting to hold the city, or of evacuating and burning it, was discussed. It was finally decided that the evacuation should be made on September 15th, but that the city should not be destroyed. Captain Schott and his battery accom- panied the main body of the army when it withdrew from the city ; and September 16th they were with Washington at Harlem Heights, seven miles from New York.
At the battle of White Plains, N. Y., October 28th, 1776, Schott's battery rendered important and effective service.
Baron de Ottendorff* having been directed by Congress to raise a battalion of troops, Captain Schott was, December 7th, 1776, assigned to the battalion, and in January follow- ing was sent by Washington to the German districts of Pennsylvania to recruit a company. The company was raised in a short time, and Schott was appointed to com- mand it and permitted to nominate his subordinate officers. It was the "3d" company of Ottendorff's Corps.
At the battle of Short Hills, near Springfield, N. J., June 26th, 1777, Ottendorff's Corps covered the retreat of the
* NICHOLAS DIETRICH, Baron DE OTTENDORFF, was a nobleman of Lusatia, Saxony, and served in the Seven Years' War as Lieuten- ant under Frederick the Great. He came to this country in 1776 with Kosciuszko and Roman de Lisle. By resolution of Congress Otten- dorff was appointed, November 8th, 1776, "Brevet-Captain in the United States service." December 5th, 1776, he was directed to raise an independent corps or battalion of three companies-one of light infantry and two of "hunters" or riflemen ; he to be Captain of the light infantry, to rank as Major, and command the whole corps.
The three companies were all raised in Pennsylvania, and the corps was recruited to its full complement in the Spring of 1777. At a later period, on account of the scarcity of well-disciplined cavalry, the corps was changed into a dragoon troop.
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defeated Americans. Captain Schott was severely wounded, and fell into the hands of the enemy. He was taken to New York and thrown into the Provost Prison, where the in- famous Provost Marshal Cunningham was in charge, and there he suffered much from hunger, lack of surgical atten- tion, and, during the Autumn and Winter months, from cold. He was frequently "struck, kicked, and abused" by the underkeepers of the prison ; and his cell-mate dying from wounds received at Short Hills, the dead body was left lying in the cell for two days before it was removed. Cun- ningham acquired great notoriety for his exquisite art in in- flicting miseries upon prisoners entrusted to his care .*
Those Tories in New York to whom Schott had brought letters of introduction when he first came to America, ad- vised him to renounce allegiance to the "rebels" and enter the British service; and he was offered £1000 bounty and a majority in the enemy's new levies if he would do this. "But I despised their offer," he wrote in 1828 in a letter to the Hon. Benjamin Rush, "and was determined to suffer death before I would betray the cause I was engaged in. I had chosen America as my adopted country, and I felt too strong an attachment to its just cause to be moved, either by sufferings or through advantageous offers, to forsake it." Of course his indignant refusal of the offer, and his steady adherence to the cause of the "rebels," tended to increase the brutality of his jailers, and he had to endure an accumu- lation of evils. His imprisonment lasted about six months, when he was exchanged.
Ottendorff's Corps having been greatly decimated at the battle of Short Hills, the remains of the three companies that had composed it were organized into two independent "rifle- companies," which were temporarily attached to "Armand's
* See pages 368-70, ante, for a brief account of the treatment ac- corded by the British to their prisoners in New York at this period.
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Partisan Corps." A writer in the Pennsylvania Magazine (II .: 5) states that these companies were "composed of volunteers who could not speak the English language." Capt. Anthony Selin* was appointed to command the first company, and when Captain Schott returned from captivity he was placed in command of the second-which for a year or more thereafter was known as "Schott's Independent Corps." In the latter part of March, 1778, these companies were ordered to join Count Pulaski at Minisink, on the Delaware.
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