A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. I, Part 44

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851-1922; Smith, Ernest Gray
Publication date: 1909-1930
Publisher: Wilkes-Barre : Raeder Press
Number of Pages: 734

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 44

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* The work of this Council was carried on at Lebanon, in a small building, still carefully preserved, which became known as the "Lebanon War Office." Some 1,200 meetings of the Council were held dur- ing the years 1776-'81 within the walls of this building, and its oaken floors were trodden by Washington, Lafayette, Rochambeau and many other leaders of renown. The following paragraphs are from an oration delivered June 17, 1896, by the Rev. R H. Nelson of Norwich, Connecticut, upon the occasion of the nnveiling at the Lebanon War Office of a tablet indicating the historic character of the building :

"This quiet town of Lebanon, which lies so remote from the centers of life that historians have fol- lowed the example of railroads and have passed it by, has nevertheless played such a part in the fortunes of the country as to have well deserved the name given to it by Lossing - The focus of Connecticut patriot- ism and vigilance during the Revolution ' The most eloquent defense of this title lies before you to-day in the tablet which is erected to declare that this building was the home and meeting-place of that little band of immortals known to history as the 'Connecticut Council of Safety.' * * *

"To the school-boy and to the superficial reader of history the Revolution is seen on battlefields and in camps, in dashing expeditions and patient endurance and adventure of war. But let the thoughtful lover of his country read the record of the men who worked behind the scenes ; let him peruse through hundreds of pages the minutes of their meetings, and read there how the men whose memories we honor were contented to supply strength for the fight and to die in the consciousness that, whether known or unknown. they had labored with giant strength for their country's good.

"Read in those records the letters from the heroes in the field, and picture the little band of patriots gathered in this house to consider what might be done in Boston, at Newport, at Crown Point and Ticon- deroga, on Long Island or along the Hudson. There see the provision-trains moving out from every Connecticut town ; note how companies were mustered on every village green and went marching forth to bear their part in the struggle ; read in the hearts of great commanders the new courage brought by wise counsels and by the knowledge of loyal support-and know that the center from which this vast machinery of helpfulness went forth was this very War Office at Lebanon, and the men who operated it were these very members of the Council of Safety, working under one [Gov. Jonathan Trumbull] whose title to a high place on the roll of honor was proclaimed by the Father of his Country, and has been endorsed by a grateful people."

+ He, also, was a member of the Susquehanna Company, although not an original member. For his portrait and a sketch of his life, see a subsequent chapter.

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He was a member of the General Assembly of Connecticut for over fifty years, being an Assistant, or Councillor, from 1780 to 1804. He was Probate Judge of the Windham District, and also Judge of the Windham County Court, for about forty years. Mary, daughter of Gov. Jonathan Trumbull, was the wife of William Williams. He died at Lebanon August 2, 1811.

Ezra Stiles, another grantee in the Indian deed to the Susquehanna Company, was born at North Haven, Connecticut, November 29, 1727, son of the Rev. Isaac Stiles. He was graduated at Yale College in 1746 at the age of nineteen years, and three years later was appointed a tutor in the College. This position he held until 1755, in the mean- time studying law, and in November, 1753, being admitted to the Bar at New Haven. "Besides acquainting himself with the law practice of Connecticut, he aimed to learn the course of judicial proceedings in all the British Provinces. To facilitate the acquisition of this knowledge, lie visited several of the other Colonies and sought interviews with the principal legal practitioners."

In 1755, having decided to enter the Christian ministry, Mr. Stiles resigned his Yale tutorship, and in October of that year was ordained pastor of the Second Congregational Church at Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1765 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Edinburgh. July 8, 1778, he was inducted into the office of President of Yale College, and there he served until his death, May 12, 1795. Chancellor Kent said of President Stiles in 1831: "Take him all in all, this extraordinary inan was undoubtedly one of the purest and best-gifted inen of his age"; and, at a later date, Dr. J. L. Kingsley wrote: "Among the scholars of New England who, in the eighteenth century, were so distinguished by their talents and acquisi- tions as to deserve the remembrance of posterity, was President Stiles of Yale College:"

Noah Webster of West Hartford, Connecticut, whose name appears in the list of grantees, was the father of the famous lexicographer of the same name-who was not born until about four years after the ex- ecution of the Indian deed, but who, it was foreordained, was to lend a helping hand,* many years later, to those settlers from New England who were then attempting to maintain their legal right to the Wyo- ming lands which had been taken possession of and settled by them under the Indian title of 1754.

Benedict Arnold, one of the grantees named in the deed, was Capt. Benedict Arnold of Norwich, Connecticut, who became a proprietor in the Company May 14, 1754, by subscribing for one share. Later he purchased a second share. He was the father of the notorious American traitor, Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold. November 4, 1763, the latter (then in the twenty-third year of his life) and his sister Hannah, "only surviv- ing heirs of Benedict Arnold and his wife Hannah of Norwich, deceased," conveyed to Christopher Avery of Norwich "said two rights in the Sus-

quehanna Company * * for a competent sum of lawful money."+

Roger Wolcott, Jr., Alexander Wolcott and Oliver Wolcott, three more of the grantees, were brothers. Of the first-namned, as well as of his father, Gov. Roger Wolcott, Sr., mention has already been made on

* See Chapter XXV.

+ See Book "B," page 30, of the records of the Susquehanna Company, mentioned on page 28.

THE HON. OLIVER WOLCOTT.

A photo-reproduction of an original portrait in oils in the State Capitol at Hartford, Connecticut. By courtesy of The Connecticut MMagazine.

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pages 257, 259 and 263. Alexander Wolcott, who was graduated at Vale College in 1731, studied medicine and became one of the most celebrated practitioners of his day. He died in 1795. Oliver Wolcott, the fourteenth child of Gov. Roger Wolcott, Sr., was born in Windsor, Connecticut, November 26, 1726. He was graduated at Yale College in 1747, and almost immediately afterwards, having received a commis- sion as Captain in the Connecticut forces, he recruited a company, marched to the northern frontier and took an active part in the French and Indian War then in progress.

In 1751 the county of Litchfield, Connecticut, was erected from the territory in the north-western corner of the Colony, and Oliver Wolcott having settled in the town of Goshen, within the bounds of the new County, was appointed Sheriff of the same. This office he held for twenty-one consecutive years. From 1772 to 1795 he was Judge of the Court of Probate for the District of Litchfield, and from 1773 to 1786 Chief Judge of the Inferior Court of the County of Litchfield. From 1771 to 1786 he was an Assistant in the General Assembly. In Octo- ber, 1774, he was Colonel of the 17th Regiment, Connecticut Militia. There were then eighteen regiments in the Colony. January 17, 1777, having been appointed Brigadier General of the 6th Brigade of the State of Connecticut by the General Assembly, he was commissioned by the Governor. Colonel Wolcott having been appointed by the General Assembly a Representative to the Continental Congress in October, 1775, was thenceforward until 1784 a member of that body, and as such signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

At the breaking out of the Revolution there stood on the Bowling Green, at the lower end of Broadway, New York City, a leaden eques- trian statue of King George III. Just one week after the Declaration of Independence had been signed this statue was pulled down, broken into fragments and secretly conveyed to the home of Oliver Wolcott on South Street, in the village of Litchfield, where he had then been resid- ing for some years. There the lead was moulded into bullets, and these were converted by some of the patriotic ladies of Litchfield into 42,08S cartridges for the use of the American army-8,378 of which cartridges were made by Mrs. Laura, or Lorraine, (Collins) Wolcott, the wife of Colonel Wolcott .*

In July, 1775, the Continental Congress resolved, "That the secur- ing and preserving the friendship of the Indian nations appears to be a subject of the utmost moment to these Colonies," and thereupon created three Departments of Indian Affairs. The Northern Department was placed in charge of Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler and Volckert P. Douw, Esq., of New York, Col. Oliver Wolcott of Connecticut, Col. Turbott Francis of Pennsylvania and Timothy Edwards, Esq., as Commissioners. In the following Autumn and Winter these Commissioners held some important conferences and treaties at Albany with the Six Nation Indians, which will be referred to hereinafter. In October, 1784, an important treaty was held with the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix, New York, at which Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee were the Commissioners on the part of the United States. Further mention will be made of this treaty in a subsequent chapter.

* See relative to this matter an original memorandum in the handwriting of Oliver Wolcott, among his unpublished papers in possession of the Connecticut Historical Society.

286

In 1786 General Wolcott was elected Lieutenant Governor of Con- necticut, and was annually re-elected to that office until 1796, when he was chosen Governor of the State. He served in that capacity one year and was then re-elected. He died in office December 1, 1797.

Oliver Wolcott, Jr., born January 11, 1760, son of Governor Oliver Wolcott, was graduated at Yale College in 1778, in the same class with Noah Webster, Jr., previously mentioned. He held various public offices until, in 1795, he was appointed to succeed Alexander Hamilton as Secre- tary of the Treasury of the United States. Later he was a Judge of the United States Circuit Court, and from 1817 to 1827 Governor of Con- necticut. He died in the city of New York June 1, 1833.

We have gone into the personnel of the Susquehanna Company thus fully in order to impress upon the reader the indisputable fact that the original inembers-and particularly the leaders and managers-of the Company were neither irresponsible adventurers nor ignorant nobodies !

The sale of the Wyoming lands to the Susquehanna Company by the Six Nation Indians led to a long train of difficulties extending through many years. From the beginning to the end of those difficul- ties the opponents of the Company made vehement assertions as to the spuriousness of the deed alleged to have been executed in favor of the Company, and the consequent invalidity of the latter's title to the valu- able and extensive territory claimed. Although the questions raised by these assertions are fully discussed hereinafter (in Chapter XX), yet, in order that the reader may more readily understand various matters referred to in some of the intervening pages, it is deemed desirable to insert at this point a few of the most important statements publicly made for and against the Susquehanna Company's Indian deed at an early day, by men who were presumed at that time to have some per- sonal knowledge of the transactions concerning which they spoke.

When Commissioners Penn and Peters returned to Philadelphia from the Albany Congress they inade a full report* to Governor Hamil- ton and the Provincial Council of their doings-particularly with ref- erence to their conferences with the Indians and the securing of the deed from the latter to the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania. They also stated that "Timothy Woodbridge of Stockbridge and two Connecticut gentlemen were in town [Albany] with intent to negotiate a purchase, and had 1,000 Pieces of Eight,t and were busy conferring with the Indians on this subject at Lydius' house. This Lydius is an inhabitant of Albany, known to have abjured the Protestant religion in Canada, and to be concerned in a clandestine trade with the Caughnawaga and French 'Praying Indians,' and suspected of carrying on a secret corres- pondence with the Government of Canada." The Commissioners inti- inated that "the Rev. Mr. Hawleyt at Onecquago" had been made use of by the Connecticut people to induce the Indians to sell the Susque- hanna lands; and they stated, also, that they (the Commissioners) had exhibited to Mr. Woodbridge at Albany the Indian deeds and titles held by the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania for lands within the Province-in- cluding the Susquehanna region-and that Mr. Woodbridge said he was perfectly satisfied, and would, in behalf of Connecticut, cause no further trouble !

* See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records," VI : 111.

+ See note, page 252.

Į See foot-note on page 257.

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The Rev. Richard Peters-Provincial Secretary, and Commissioner to the Albany Congress, as previously mentioned-wrote in May, 1774, to Henry Wilmot, Esq., the Proprietaries' London solicitor, as follows* :

"The Connecticut attempt was likewise made known by the Indians to us, and they in their speeches declared their absolute refusal to make any grant to them of any lands they were soliciting for. And indeed, in their public treaty, they over and over declared that they would sell none of the Wyomink country either to them or to us, it being what they had reserved for their own use, and for the reception of such other Indians as would want to come and reside amongst them. * * This will serve to show that at that time there was no Indian deed made to the Connecticut people by the Onondaga Council, and that if any deed is set up it must have been obtained in a clandestine manner from private Indians. Indeed, it was then currently reported that one Lydius of the city of Albany had undertaken the matter for the Connecticut people, and as he lived (and I think kept a public-house ) at Albany, he made it his business to get the Indians (as they came to trade there) into his house, and by liquor or private bribes, by twos or threes as he could find opportunity, to prevail with then to execute a deed which was lodged with him for this infamous purpose. * * I have further to observe, that the persons to whom this pretended Indian deed was made were private people, and acting in direct opposition to their own laws and in violation of the right, if any, of the Colony of Connecticut to these lands."

In September, 1754, Daniel Claus, t at Albany, wrote as follows to Governor Hamilton at Philadelphia concerning what he denominated "the villainous scheme of John Lydius of Albany, * * to serve the Connecticut people in buying the lands at Susquehanna the said Prov- ince [of Pennsylvania] was contriving to buy of the Six Nations the year past." * * "After the sum of 1,500 dollars being put in his [Lydius'] hands, he went in the following clandestine manner to work, and, with tempting the Indians he could pre- vail upon with the plenty of dollars, got the following subscriptions to his deed, viz. : Gahikdote, alias Grote Young, the head of ye Senekers, Atsinoughiata, alias ye Bunt,¿ and Canatsiagaye, two Onontagas-those he got after the Treaty was over and the Com- missioners gone ; suppose when they were drunk. Afterwards he [Lydius], under a vain pretense, took a ride to Canajochery, as he told me himself, *

* that he had been there to buy a span of horses ; and by laying down the bag of dollars had Abraham and Nickas (Hendrick's brothers) and Tarraghioris to sign. Then he passed in his way honie the Lower Mohawk Castle, and invited four of the sachems to his house about some business he had to propose to them ; and when they came there lie called one after another into a room by himself and laid the Deed before them and showed them the subscriptions of the other nations and by many false persuasions, with the offer of 20 dollars each, brought them to sign their names-which are : Tsistarare, Canadagaye, Sotskiowano and Gaweghnog.

"He also gave a call to the Oneidoes, and accordingly a good many of them who were absent at the treaty came down, when Lydius treated them plentifully with victuals and drink, and then laid 300 dollars before them, saying that with this he only would acquaint them with his intent, and that if they would consent to his proposals he would deliver them £400 more. When afterwards they went off, and, as they in their return told Colonel Johnson, without signing, but that they would first consider about it. He [Johnson ] then asked them if they did not think this a very dishonest and dirty action of

Lydius. * *

* They seemed to be concerned about it, but had nothing else to reply but that the subscription of the other nations and the temptation of the money brought theni to consent.

"The night afore last Canudagaye, one of the Mohawks who signed ye deed, lodged at Colonel Johnson's, when, after supper, he was called up, and a little while after the Colonel in my presence began about the same affair, and very amiably cleared up to him the vil- lainous and dishonest proceedings of Lydius, and how it would lessen the credit of the Six Nations who, not only many years ago but by treaties held a few years since-yea ! in the very last treaty at Albany-promised the pre-emption of the same lands to Onas, and to none else, as they were in his bounds ; and, in case the New England people was to get 'em now, they immediately would settle there and drive the Indians from their best land-which Onas would not have done. The Indian was quite stunned, and after

* See "Pennsylvania Colonial Records," X : 177.

+ DANIEL CLAUS was married in 1761 to the eldest daughter of Sir William Johnson. In the early part of 1754 he was living at "Mount Johnson" (near the present city of Amsterdam, New York) with his future father-in-law, and was employed in and about the latter's store-house. During the war with the French and Indians in 1755 and '6 he was in the military service of New York with the rank of Colonel. In 1761 Sir William Johnson appointed him one of his Deputy Superintendents of Indian Affairs.

# This chief, of the Onondaga tribe, signed the deed to the Penns, but did not sign the one to the Susquehanna Company.

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a little pause said that when Lydius called him in he argued with Lydius that he should have proposed the thing at the last treaty, when all the nations were present. But Lydius gave a great many vain excuses, and told him the lands were in Ohio, and shewed him the subscriptions of the rest who, he said, had nothing against it.

"The Indian added how he believed Lydius was a very bad man, who liked the French better than the English, and, as he supposed, undertook this chiefly to set the two Provinces against one another, that the French might be less hindered in their under- takings. I heard Colonel Johnson give Lydius the character of a very dangerous person in any Province, as he was certain of his being a Roman Catholic, having heard it from a Frenchman who was in Church in Canada when he (Lydius) made his confession to the priest, and would doubt whether Lydius would take the oath of allegiance or no."*

It is very evident, from a perusal of this letter, that Colonel Claus was no friend of Lydius, was strongly prejudiced in favor of the Penn- sylvanians, and knew nothing concerning the execution of the deed to the Susquehanna Company except from hearsay.

Under date of September 17, 1754, at Albany, James Stevenson- in whose house the Pennsylvania Commissioners had held their con- ferences in June and July, as previously mentioned-wrote to Richard Peters as followst :

"I desired my son to give you a hint that Lydius had been up amongst the Indians and procured a deed in behalf of the Connecticut Government for the lands, or perhaps only part of the lands, that you purchased for your Government. I am since informed that the fact is true. Above thirty Oneidas are now in town. It is pretended they came to speak with the Commissioners of Indian Affairs ; but if my information be right they came down on a message [that] was sent to them by Lydius, and they are mostly at his house. The Commissioners knew nothing of their coming till they were on their way. I am assured by one of the witnesses to the deed that several of our Mohawks signed in Lydius' own house, besides those that signed in their own Castle."

Some months later (May 23, 1755) James Stevenson again wrote Secretary Peters, as follows :

"Mr. Claus came to town yesterday. After all the inquiry we can make about the affair of Lydius the only information we can get is that one Jacobus Sharpe says he saw three Indians of the Five Nations sign an instrument to which there were many marks of Indians before ; that he supposed it to be a deed for lands which at that time was much talked of, to have been purchased by Lydius for New England. But the instrument was neither read, interpreted or explained to them in his hearing. That Lydius' son Martinus was the other evidence [witness]. Jacob Van Woert says he saw Schoroneados? sign an instrument, but knows not what it was. The paper was [so] folded from the top that it covered the writing. That Lydius spoke to the Indians in their own language, which he [Van Woert] did not understand, and there was no interpreter present. % *

"There has been one Woodbridge here about three weeks ago. He belongs to Massachusetts Bay Government, but freely owned to me that he was concerned with the Connecticut people in the purchase made by Lydius, which, as I understand, was by order of the Connecticut Government. He said he was sure the lands purchased did not come near Pennsylvania's line by many miles, for he himself had traversed all those woods. He told me he gave directions to Lydins to take in some few people here for a share. I told Mr. Woodbridge I thought he had better apply to you if he had an inclina- tion to obtain a right of land there."

In December, 1782, when the trial before the Commissioners at Trenton|| was about to take place, the following deposition of William, Earl of Stirling, a Major General in the Continental army, was taken in due form of law for use at that trial.

"This deponent saith that in the Summer of the year 1754 he was in Albany and present at a Congress of the Governors and delegates from all the then Colonies of the

Continent. * * That on this occasion several hundred Indians appeared and went into a treaty with the Congress for renewing their ancient alliances, as well as for other pur- poses. *

* * That when the Congress at Albany was near breaking up and most of tlie principal sachems and warriors of the Indians gone home, this deponent saw at Albany the said Col. [Eliphalet] Dyer and another gentleman from Connecticut, whose name he believes was Seymour or Edwards. That said Colonel Dyer being an old ac-

+ Ibid., II : 171.

* From "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, II : 174.

* See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, II : 323.

Either "Scaronage," or "Scaneradie," each of whom signed the deed March 4th, 1755, is here re- ferred to.

A full account of which is given in Chapter XX.

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quaintance he and this deponent soon fell into conversation, and said Colonel Dyer, among other things, frankly told him [Lord Stirling] their business at that place was to obtain a grant from the Indians of the lands on the Susquehanna. That this deponent suggested to him that he thought they were too late ; that the Indians of importance were chiefly gone home, and that during the sitting of the Congress the Indians had conveyed the lands he seemed to want to the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania ; that he, this deponent, had seen the decds executed and the consideration paid and delivered and divided among the nations. That said Colonel Dyer then said he must have recourse to his friend Lydius. "That a day or two afterwards said Colonel Dyer informed this deponent that said Lydius had done liis business for him, and had obtained the deed he wanted. That this deponent asked him who had signed and executed it. Said Colonel Dyer replied, 'Indians enough, and I am content.' On inquiry this deponent found that said Lydius had for some days (subsequent to the said purchase made by the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania ) privately entertained at his house several of those Indians who remained at Albany, whose names the deponent does Not recollect, nor of what nation, but that they were men of no importance in their nations ; and that from these the said deed was obtained in favor of said Dyer and his associates, since called The Susquehanna Company."*

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A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. I, Part 44

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851-1922; Smith, Ernest Gray Publication date: 1909-1930 Publisher: Wilkes-Barre : Raeder Press Number of Pages: 734

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851-1922; Smith, Ernest Gray
Publication date: 1909-1930
Publisher: Wilkes-Barre : Raeder Press
Number of Pages: 734