USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. I > Part 43
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The first six chiefs who signed the deed did so in the presence of Col. Ephraim Williams, Jr., and Capt. Joseph Kellogg, mentioned on page 269 ; then five other chieftans came to Lydius' house and signed in the presence of Martin Lydius (Col. John Henry Lydius' second son, aged nineteen years) and James Sharpe, aged thirty-three years-then, and for many years thereafter, a respectable and credible citizen of Albany. Later in the same day (July 11th)* three Oneida chieftans came to Lydius' house and signed the deed in the presence of Johannis
* See page 35 of "The Susquehanna Title Stated and Examined ;" a pamphlet published at Catskill, New York, in 1796.
Oniders.
"March 4, 1755.
Signed Sealed and Delivered In Presens of
"Sybrant Van Schaick, Jr.
"Jacob Van Woert, Junt
"Martin Lydius
"Signed Sealed and Delivered in Presens of "Sybrant Van Schaick, Jr.
I
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THE INDIAN DEED OF JULY 11, 1754. Photo-reproduction of pages 11 and 12.
277
J. Wendel, a member of a well-known Albany family, and Sybrant Van Schaick, Jr., a son of Sybrant G. Van Schaick who was Mayor of Albany in 1761. March 4, 1755, Caristago, whose name appears in the body of the deed as one of the grantors-as previously mentioned- together with Scarooyady, or Scaronage, the "Half King" (mentioned in the note on page 262), signed the deed at Lydius' house, in company with two other chiefs and in the presence of Sybrant Van Schaick, Jr., and Martin Lydius, previously mentioned, and Jacob Van Woert, Jr. An inspection of the deed shows that the name of each chief was signed to it by either Colonel Lydius or one of the subscribing witnesses ; that then each chief, with his own hand, attached either his totemic device or his private "mark," after which a seal of red wax was affixed to the document opposite each signature.
After the European came to this country the sachein or civil head of an Indian tribe, besides presenting a belt of wampum as a pledge of good faith in diplomatic bargains, almost invariably attached lis totem, * or that of his clan, to every public paper he was required to sign. It was only the repetition by an American Barbarian of the ancient custom of the Civilized Man in affixing a seal-the common custom of mnon- archs who, like Indian sachems, could not write their names.
Inasmuch as it was early and often asserted by the opponents of the Susquehanna Company-and more particularly by the agents, depend- ents and friends of the Pennsylvania Proprietaries, who exhibited a good deal of either ignorance or mendacity with regard to the matter-that the deed of July 11, 1754, had been executed by a small number of irre- sponsible Indians, of no account, the present writer has taken consider- able pains to ascertain, so far as possible, who some of those Indian grantors were. With aid from the Rev. Dr. Beauchamp-previously mentioned-he is able to give the following information : In 1754 the principal sachem of the Eastern Senecas was Takeghsatu, Tagechsadou or Sagechsadou-as his name was indiscriminately written-while Ga- hikdote, Kahickdodon, or Kahiktoton ("A tree with thorns and fruit upon it"), alias "Groote Young," was the head of the Western Senecas. Both of these chiefs signed the deed of July 6th to the Penns-the name of Kahiktoton appearing first and that of Takeghsatın second. In the deed to the Susquehanna Company Kahiktoton's name stands first among the signers; but Takeghsatu's name does not appear therein. Ka- hiktoton fought with the English under Braddock, as is shown by the note on page 262. Later in 1755 he removed to Canada, where he lived until his death in 1757. In 1756 the French expected that he would join them with twenty Seneca warriors.
"Abraham Peters," the second signer of the Susquehanna Company's deed, was also a signer of the deed to the Penns. He was the younger brother (mentioned on page 229) of "King" Hendrick, and succeeded Nicklaus Brant as principal sachem of the Mohawks at their Upper Castle. He was born about 1691, and his Indian name was Tyanhasare, or Kanosteahse (often written Canusta). He is said to have been "a man of excellent sense and fine talents, but exclusively a civilian, and possessing 10 reputation as a warrior." Dr. Beauchamp says "he was the best of the [Peters] family." In 1768 he was at the Fort Stan- wix Treaty (mentioned in Chapter VII), and was the first signer of the
* See pages 103 and 120.
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important deed then executed by the Indians to the Pennsylvania Pro- prietaries. He was the father of "Little Abe," a well-known Mohawk of the Wolf clan and for some years a sachem of the "Lower Castle" of the Mohawks, mentioned on page 264.
Old Abraham Peters was the father also of two daughters, the elder of whom became the wife of Nicklaus Brant and the mother of Joseph, mentioned in note į on page 264. The younger daughter was baptized under the name of Caroline, and according to Buell "received as com- plete an education as the mission-school at Fort Hunter and a private school in Schenectady could impart." In 1747, when she was twenty- two years old, she was reputed to be the handsomest girl among the Six Nations. About that time she attracted the attention of Sir William Johnson-who then had been a widower with three young children about two years-and she was soon installed as "mistress of his house- hold." As in the case of "Molly" Brant, later, Sir William did not wed this Indian beauty, Caroline Peters, but she lived with him until her death in 1753, and bore him one son and two daughters-William, Charlotte and Caroline. Abraham Peters, then, may be described as having been the common-law father-in-law of Sir William Johnson !
"Willim [William] Tharigioris," the third signer of the Susque- hanna Company's deed, was one of the subscribing witnesses to the Penn deed of July 6th. He was Tarrachioris, or Taregiorus, a Mohawk of the Turtle clan, and resided at the "Upper Castle." He was killed at the battle of Lake George, mentioned on page 281.
"Brant Conwignoge," the fourth signer, was a Mohawk sachem of the Wolf clan, and resided at the "Lower Castle." In a list of Mohawk chiefs prepared in 1754 his name was set down "Gaweaghnoge." There were many of the Brants, and their names changed often. Dr. Peck, in his "Wyoming" (mentioned on page 20, ante), refers to the deed of July 11, 1754, and states (page 23) with reference to the signers of the same : "Among these 'chief sachems' is the famous Mohawk chief Brant, who figured so largely in the War of the Revolution." This statement was based by the author merely on a wild guess, as Joseph Brant, the famous chief to whom he refers-who has been denominated as "unquestionably the greatest of American Indians"-was only twelve years of age in 1754.
"Gagswigtione Rodhad," the fifth signature attached to the Sus- quehanna deed, represents the name of Kaghs-waugh-ti-o-ni ("Wampun- belt lying down"), or "Red Head." He was the Iroquois speaker and sachem of Onondaga. "The fact that he had been a French partizan," writes Dr. Beauchamp, "would account for his using crosses [in making his "mark"], as all French Christian Indians did." He died at Onon- daga Castle in 1756, and there, on June 18th, "the full Council of all the nations met, with Sir William Johnson at their head, to perforin the grand solemnity of condolence for the death of the great Onondaga chief." Abraham Peters, previously mentioned, conducted the cere- inonies* at that time.
"Canagegaie," the sixth signature, stands for Canatsiagaye, or "Old Kettle," a prominent Onondaga chief of the Turtle clan. He was a friend of David Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary mentioned on page 220, and was at Fort Johnson in June, 1757.
* For an interesting account of the ceremonies then performed see "Bulletin of the New York State Museum," Vol. VIII, No. 11, page 419.
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The ninth signer, "Senosies," was Senughsis, an Oneida sachem of the Turtle clan. He was at the Fort Stanwix treaty in November, 1768, and was one of the few principal chiefs who then executed to Thomas and Richard Penn the deed for the last purchase of lands made by the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania from the Indians.
"Johanis Canadegair," or Johannes Kanadagaye, or Canadagaia, the tenth signer, was a Mohawk of the Bear clan. He lieaded the deputa- tion from the "Lower Castle"-as noted on page 264-and was also one of the signers of the Penn deed of July 6th.
The eleventh signature-"Nikes Carigiagtatie"-stands for K'aro- chyaktatty, or Karaghiaghdatie, alias "Nickas, or Nicholas, Peters." He was a Mohawk of the Wolf clan, was a half-brother of Hendrick and Abra- ham Peters,* and resided at the "Upper Castle." He was one of the prin- cipal sachems at the treaty held at Easton, Pennsylvania, in October, 1758 (see Chapter V), and was the first signer of the important deed (explana- tory and confirmatory of the Albany deed of July 6, 1754) then executed by the representatives of the Six Nations to Thomas and Richard Penn. "Caristago," or Saristaquoh, or Saristagoa, the fifteenth signer, was an Oneida chief of the Weasel clan. He took an important part at treaties held in 1736 and 1742.
"Scaronage, the Half King," the sixteenth signer, we have already referred to on page 277.
"Scaneradie," the next signer, was Skanearade, or Scanuraty, a Cay- uga chief, who was also one of the signers of the Penn deed of July 6th.
The territory conveyed by this deed to the Susquehanna Company is plainly and correctly indicated on the "Map of a Part of Pennsyl- vania" shown in Chapter XI. The consideration namned in the deed -£2,000 in current money of New York-was equivalent to 5,000 Spanish milled dollars, or to $5,450. in American money of to-day. t
It will be noticed that by a specific clause in the deed the Indians conveyed to the Susquehanna Company "all and every the mines, minerals or ore" in and upon the land in question. That there had been for a long time previous to that day a belief in the existence of certain precious ores or minerals at Wyoming, we have shown on page 210. Further, in relation to this matter, we present the following ex- tract from an original, unpublished letter written at Bethlehem, Pen11- sylvania, January 12, 1818, by the Rev. J. G. B. Heckewelder (men- tioned on page 42) to Isaac A. Chapman, Wilkes-Barré, and now in pos- session of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society.
"While these Shawanese were settled at Wyoming the white people had come into the country, and as Indian reports say, had been very intent in examining any stones or minerals that glittered ; making the Indians sensible that they (the white people) struck inedals-such as they produced-and also coined money out of the same. All which had tended to make the Indians distrustful of them, that these were come into their country for the purpose of making themselves rich, and which had probably given rise to tlie report that the hills adjoining to the Wyoming flats were rich in silver ore, or that these contained 'silver mines' (as the report had been), and which yet to my knowledge was believed for a great number of years. Believing this to be the case, they gnarded against the white people's coming on the ground ; and, indeed, the Six Nations liad charged them never to suffer these to go near those hills or mountains."#
The Susquehanna Company's deed as executed, and herein printed, contains the names of 694 grantees-being 541 whole-share and 153 half-share "proprietors," as the shareholders or members of the Company
* See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, II : 174.
+ See note on page 252.
Į See also, in this connection, the reference to precious minerals and ores in the royal Charter to William Penn, page 245, ante.
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were denominated. However, when the deed was carefully examined by the officers of the Company a few weeks after its execution and delivery, it was found that the names of a number of the proprietors (or shareholders) had been omitted from the deed as grantees, while the names of others were incorrectly inscribed, and the following names "ought not to be in the deed," to wit : "Abram Fencuinp" [Van Camp ?], "John Panather," "Solomon Gennings" [Jennings], "Samuel Depew" [De Pui] and "Aaron Depew" [De Pui]. These five men were all resi- dents of Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
The corrections made with reference to the other errors and the omissions referred to were as follows : "Abijah Crery" should be Abijah Cady, "Thomas Kennedy" should be Thomas Kenney, Jr., "Benjamin Callwell" should be Benjamin Colovis, "John Rathbone" should be Jonathan Rathbone, "Samuel Stoughton" should be Lemuel Stoughton, "Hubbard Pride" should be Hibbard Pride, "Elizar Tallcott" should be Elizur Talcott, "Silas Wells" should be William Wells, "Constant Cat- len" should be Constant Kirtland, "Ebenezer Grover" should be Eben- ezer Grover, Jr., "John Adkins" should be Jolın Atkins, "Daniel Hen- shaw" should be James Hyndshaw and "Daniel Bull" should be David Bull. "The following names of whole-share proprietors should have been included in the deed" :
Joseph Wheeler,
Joseph Parkhurst,
Dennis Reeser,
Samuel Handy,
Joseph Haines,
Jr Drake,
William Levon,
Johns McDole,
Patrick Maconnal,
Pierce Golden,
Lambert Brink,
Anthony Westbrook,
Eman! Gansanby,
Samuel Drake,
Nathan Park,
Duty Gerald,
John Fisk,
Ebenezer Baldwin,
Joseph Griswold,
Abram Thompson,
Ebenezer Tiffany,
Richard Thornton,
Samnel Read,
James Ely,
John Kellogg,
Nathaniel Emerson1.
James Jones,
Jonathan Latimore,
Jabez Jones,
Jonathan Root,
Jeremiah Mason,
Lebbeus Harris,
Solomon Hanıbleton,
Jeremiah Mason, Jr.,
Silas Helmes,
Joshua Smith,
Charles Bulkeley,
John Smith,
Joseph Burt,
Consider Tiffany,
David Bigelow,
John Whitney,
Daniel Burg,
Elijah Johnson,
Charles Dewees, .
Charles Foot,
Amos Stiles,
Thomas Lewis,
Daniel Foot,
John Clark,
Joseph Buckley.
Ephraim Taylor,
"The following names of half-share proprietors should have been included" :
James Perkins,
William Root,
John Chamberlain,
Daniel Kellogg,
Nathan Man,
Ephraim Harris,
Joseph Case,
Joseph Burt,
John Bigelow,
Benjamin Kilburn, James Tracy,
Asa Bigelow.
In view of these changes it will be seen that the members of the Susquehanna Company at the time of the purchase of the Wyoming territory in July, 1754, really numbered 753-there being 5SS whole- share and 165 half-share proprietors.
The original deed shows the erasure of the name "Col. Jolin Henry Lydius" from the list of grantees, and the insertion in its place of the name of Abraham Lansing of Albany. Baltazar Lydius, whose name appears as one of the grantees in the deed, was a brother of Col. John H. Lydius. It will be noticed that the name of but one woman appears in the list of grantees-that of Saralı Huntington. She was the widow of Col. Jabez Huntington of Norwich, Connecticut, who was born there January 26, 1691, and died there in 1752.
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Hezekiahı Huntington-whose name heads the long list of grantees in the deed-was the younger brother of Col. Jabez Huntington previously mentioned, and was born at Norwich in 1696. He was the sixth child of "Deacon" Christopher Huntington (the first male child born in Nor- wicli), who was the son of Christopher, who was the son of Simon, who was born in England and died of small-pox on the voyage to this country i11 1633. The last-named was undoubtedly the ancestor of all the Hun- tingtons in this country in early days. Hezekialı Huntington was com- missioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 3d Connecticut Regiment in 1739. He was a Representative to the General Assembly of Connecticut for a number of years prior to 1752, and then, until his death, was annually chosen an Assistant .* In 1761, in connection with Jonathan Trumbull, William Williams and others lie was concerned in a contract to furnish supplies to the Colonial army. He was prominent in all town affairs and the early Revolutionary movements. At the time of his death he was, and had been for some years, Judge of the Norwich District Pro- bate Court, and one of the Judges of the New London County Court. While engaged in his official duties at New London in 1773 he died suddenly. He was buried at Norwich, and on his grave-stone is this epitaplı : "His piety, affability, prayers and example, wisdom and ex- perience, endeared him to his friends and the State."
Simon Huntington, another of the grantees, and a descendant of the original Simon previously mentioned, was born at Norwich Septem- ber 12, 1719, the second child and only son of Ebenezer and Saralı (Leffingwell ) Huntington. He was graduated at Yale College in 1741, after which he studied theology and was licensed to preach, but aban- doned his profession on account of ill health and engaged in business in Norwich. He held various town offices. His death occurred at Nor- wich December 27, 1801.
Phineas Lyman, the fourth grantee named in the deed, was born at Durhanı, Connecticut, in 1716. He was graduated at Yale College in 1738, and from 1739 to '41 was a tutor in the College-at the same time studying law. About 1749 he settled in Suffield, thien believed to be within the bounds of Massachusetts, but later determined to be in Con- necticut. In 1750, '51 and '52 he was a Representative from Suffield in the General Assembly of Connecticut, and then for seven years served as an Assistant. In 1750-'51 he was charged on the part of Connecti- cuit with the task of assisting to settle the Connecticut-Massachusetts boundary-line. In March, 1755, he was appointed by the Connecticut Assembly Major General and Commander-in-chief of the Connecticut forces sent against Crown Point, and, "relinquishing the most extensive law practice in the Colony, he undertook this office."+
Franklin B. Dexter, in his Yale College Biographies, states (I : 604):
"In the important battle fought at the head of Lake George September 8, 1755, the command devolved on General Lyman almost at the beginning-Lieutenant General (afterwards Sir) William Johnson, his superior officer, having been wounded and obliged to retire. During the whole fight for five and a-half hours Lyman behaved with dis- tinguished bravery, repeatedly showing himself in front of the defenses to encourage his men. Johnson, however, was not generous enough even to mention Lyman's name in his official report of the battle, so that he alone reaped the rewards for the victory."
In the Summer of 1755 a fort was built under General Lyman's direction on the east bank of the Hudson and called Fort Lyman, in his
* See page 248.
+ See notes, pages 264 and 269.
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honor, but afterwards its name was changed to Fort Edward. In the campaigns of 1756, '57, '58, '59, '60 and '61 he held important com- mands in the Provincial military service, and in 1762 was in chief command of all the Provincial forces engaged in the expedition against Havana. He died near Natchez, Mississippi, September 10, 1774. For further interesting details concerning his life see Dexter's Yale Biographies previously referred to.
Daniel Edwards, named fifth in the list of grantees, was born at Hartford, Connecticut, April 11, 1701, and was graduated at Yale College in 1720. From 1725 to 1728 he was a tutor in the College, and then, for six years, Steward. From 1729 to 1753 he was Clerk of the Super- ior Court of Connecticut, and in the meantime-in November, 1734- was admitted to the Bar. In 1742 he removed from New Haven to Hartford, where he continued to practise his profession until his death. In 1755 he was chosen an Assistant, and thereafter was annually re- chosen until his death. In October, 1753, he was appointed an Assist- ant Judge of the Superior Court to fill an unexpired term, but in May, 1756, he was appointed to a position on the Bench which he held until his death. He was also Probate Judge of the Hartford District for some four and a-half years from March, 1761. He died at New Haven Sep- tember 6, 1765.
Samuel Talcott, sixth in the list of grantees, was born at Hartford in 1711, the fourth son of the Hon. Joseph Talcott who was Governor of Connecticut from 1725 till his death in 1741, and who had previ- ously held various other important public offices. Samuel Talcott was graduated at Yale College in 1733. He inherited a large estate from his father and made his home in Hartford, where he was intrusted with various public offices by his fellow citizens. He was never engaged in any profession. In May, 1746, he was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of a regiment raised for the projected expedition against Canada, and in August, 1755, he was placed in command of one of the regiments raised for the Crown Point expedition-referred to on page 281. He was Sheriff of Hartford County for many years, and after 1759 represented Hartford in the General Assembly for a number of years. He was married in May, 1739, to Mabel, youngest daughter of the Hon. Heze- kiah Wyllys of Hartford.
George Wyllys, seventh in the list of grantees, was born at Hart- ford, Connecticut, October 6, 1710, fifth child of the Hon. Hezekiah Wyllys, mentioned above, and great-grandson of the Hon. George Wyllys, an Englishman of means and rank who became one of the original planters of Hartford and in 1642-'43 served as Governor of Connecticut. George Wyllys, first mentioned, was graduated at Yale College in 1729. In May, 1730, he was appointed to serve as Secretary of the Colony, pro tem., on account of the illness of his father, who had been the incumbent of the office since 1712. In that capacity George Wyllys served until May, 1734, when, his father having died, he was regularly appointed to the office, and, by successive annual re- appointments, performed the duties of the same until his death. He was also Town Clerk from 1732 till his death-having likewise succeeded his father in that office, after the latter had held it for twenty-six years. George Wyllys was Captain in the Connecticut Militia as early as 1738 ; and in 1756-'57, during the French and Indian War, he held a commis-
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sion of Lieutenant Colonel. During the Revolutionary War he was in active sympathy with the Loyalist, or Tory, element of the country. He was married to Mary, only daughter of his cousin the Rev. Timothy Woodbridge of Simsbury, Connecticut-a relative of "Deacon" Timothy Woodbridge of Stockbridge. Colonel Wyllys' eldest child was Samnel, born January 7, 1739 ; graduated at Vale in 1758 ; appointed Secretary of State upon the death of his father-April 24, 1796-and holding the office until 1810. It will be noticed that this office remained in the Wyllys family continuously for the unusually long period of ninety- eight years. This record was never outdone in Connecticut.
Capt. Thomas Wells, the grantee named next in the list, was a well-known resident of Hartford, and in 1754, '55 and later years was an Assistant. Another of the grantees was William Pitkin, Jr., a son of the Hon. William Pitkin who was Lieutenant Governor of Connecti- cut in 1765 and Governor in 1766-'69, and who "distinguished himself during the excitement attending the passage of the Stamp Act by his bold, uncompromising advocacy of the cause of the Colonies." William Pitkin, Sr., was one of the Representatives from Connecticut in the Albany Congress of 1754.
William Williams, another of the grantees, was born at Lebanon, Connecticut, April S, 1731, the son of the Rev. Solomon Williams, who was a descendant of Robert Williams mentioned in the note on page 269. He was graduated at Harvard College in 1751, and in 1755 enlisted in the regiment commanded by Col. Ephraim Williams, Jr. (mentioned on page 269), for the invasion of Canada. In 1756 William Williams was chosen Town Clerk of Lebanon and held the office forty-five years. In May, 1776, the General Assembly of Connecticut appointed William Williams, Eliphalet Dyer, Jedidiah Elderkin and Nathaniel Wales, Jr. (all of them early and active members of the Susquehanna Company), in connection with three or four other gentlemen named, "to be a Council or Committee of Safety* to assist his Honor the Governor [Jonathan Trumbull]+ when the Assembly is not sitting, with full power and authority to order and direct the militia and the navy of the Colony." William Williams was a member of the Continental Congress in 1776, and as such signed on the 4th of July the Declaration of Independence.
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