A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. II, Part 105

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Wilkes-Barre [Raeder press]
Number of Pages: 683

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. II > Part 105

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Jonah Rogers, son of Josiah and Hannah (Ford) Rogers, was married in New England to Deliv- erance Chaffee, who accompanied him to Wyoming in 1776. The name of Jonah Rogers appears in the tax-lists of Plymouth District for 1777 and 1778, and in the Westmoreland lists of 1780 and 1781 -the only ones known to be now in existence. We are unable to state the time and place of the death of either Jonah Rogers or his wife. The names of their children- or, at least, some of them- were as follows: (i) Jonah, born in 1766; died subsequently to 1883. (ii) Joze, born in 1771; in 1800 was Tax Collector of Plymouth; died subsequently to 1838. (iii) Elisha, who was living in Plymouth in 1796. (iv) Hannah, born in 1776; died in September, 1856. (v) Joel, born March 17, 1780; died July 29, 1850.

(i) Jonah Rogers was ten years old when he came to Wyoming with his parents and grandparents. After the battle of Wyoming he fled from the Valley with the other members of his father's family; and with them he returned late in the Autumn of 1778. In 1780 he was captured by Indians, but soon made his escape-as is more fully related in a subsequent chapter. He settled in Plymouth, and in 1797 was Collector of Taxes there. About that time he began teaching school in Plymouth, and in that occupation he continued for at least twenty years. Col. H. B. Wright, in his "Historical Sketches of Plymouth" (published in 1873), says: "The old frame Academy, now standing, was built not far from the year 1816. Jonah Rogers kept school in it. He had been taken a prisoner, when a boy of fourteen, by the Indians. The old gentleman was in the habit of repeating, almost daily, in open school, his knowledge of Indian tragedies. He would speak of the number of reeking scalps he had seen strung upon a cord, and dangling from the belt of a red warrior as a trophy of his prowess; how the savages were in the habit of stripping their victims, binding them with thongs to a tree, piercing their naked bodies with sharpened pine knots, and then setting them on fire; how they had inhumanly murdered a man that he knew-pointing to the exact place where it was done, and naming the exact time; how he could detect them [the Indians] by the smell of their smoked and painted bodies, before they were visible to the eye; and how it would be serving God to remove and exterminate the entire race! These were some of the lessons we learned in the old man's school. They were a part of the education of the youth fifty years ago in the township of Plymouth. The old man [Jonah Rogers] was kind and indulgent, and it was not unfrequently that he would resort to these rehearsals as a means of quieting the unruly element of his school; and it worked like a charm, for when he commenced all eyes were fastened upon him, and all ears ajar. An Indian story would produce instantaneous order.

Stewart Pearce, in his "Annals of Luzerne County" (published in 1860), has the following to say relative to Jonah Rogers: "Messrs. Gray, Benedict and Finn had gathered a small congregation [of Baptists] at Plymouth in 1787, and among those baptized were Joel and Jonah Rogers, both of whom became Elders in the Church. They, with Mr. [Jacob] Drake and Mr. [Griffin] Lewis, laid the foundation of the Baptist Church in Huntington, Jackson, Union and Lehman Townships, and indeed in the whole western part of the County. This is the Jonah Rogers who was captured by the savages, and is the Bugle Boy of Mr. McCoy's 'Frontier Maid.' He had participated in the early trials and dangers of the first settlers, and was esteemed a valuable citizen; and when, in after life, he espoused the Christian faith, and exhorted the people to believe and be baptized, his exhortation

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James Bidlack (see page 999) left Fort Wyoming on horseback with the intention of going to Plymouth. Crossing the river by means of the ferry at the foot of Northampton Street, they continued their journey on the road running along the Plymouth-Kingston boundary-line. When near the main branch of Toby's Creek an Indian appeared from behind the willows which lined the banks of the creek, and, rushing towards Rogers and Bidlack, attempted to catch hold of the bridles of their horses. This Indian was instantly followed by other Indians, while the parting of the willows disclosed the shore of Toby's Eddy lined with red men. Rogers and Bidlack immediately wheeled their horses and made for the block-house near the bank of the river. Captain Bidlack's saddle-having an old girth, which broke at the wrong moment-turned and precipitated him to the ground. He immediately jumped to his feet and attempted to escape by running, but was soon overtaken and seized by the Indians; and, as previously narrated, was carried into captivity. The pursuing Indians fired several shots at Rogers (some of which penetrated his clothing), but he had the good fortune to reach the block-house in safety.

The garrison at the block-house, on hearing the firing, sallied forth to attack the Indians, while Colonel Butler, at Fort Wyoming, immedi- ately detached twenty-five men to the support of the block-house party. The cannon at the fort was also brought to bear on the savages, and was

fell with great force on the ears of the people. Like Anning Owen and Benjamin Bidlack of the Methodist Church, he had stood shoulder to shoulder with those to whom he preached, in defence of their homes; and now, when he spoke to them of the good things of the world to come, his words, plain and simple, were those of a companion in arms, and reached the hearts of his hearers."

Jonah Rogers became a member of Lodge No. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkes-Barre, June 3, 1816. About 1822 or '28 he removed from Plymouth to Huntington Township, where he continued to reside until his death-which occurred subsequently to 1833. Whether or not he was ever married we are unable to state.

(iv) Hannah Rogers was born in 1776, the same year in which her parents removed to Wyoming. She was married in 1799 to Griffin Lewis, who came from Exeter, Rhode Island, to Plymouth in 1794. Colonel Wright says ("Historical Sketches of Plymouth," p. 842): "Not far from this time [1800] 'Elder' Joel Rogers, brother to Jonah, who has been frequently mentioned in our reminiscences of the town, hoisted the Baptist flag, and continued for many years to act in the capacity of a preacher. He was joined by 'Elder' Griffin Lewis a few years later. Mr. Lewis resided in that part of Plymouth now called Jackson. These two men were at the head of the Baptist part of the population. They were both excellent and exemplary men; and while neither of them could claim any pretensions to what is called pulpit oratory, they nevertheless might be classed as solid, sensible men, and they preached solid, sensible doctrines. When I first knew them they were both past middle age. They were of the old school of divines, who were governed by the idea that the sanctity of their lives, their exemplary conduct, their weekly discourses, and the importance of their mission, furnished a sufficient guarantee of success." The home of "Elder" Lewis was for many years near Huntsville, in Jackson Township, and for a long time he was the only minister of the gospel in that section of country. He was not noted for his eloquence, but for his solid, good sense. Among his neighbors he was a peace- maker, and not a busybody. He died at his home in 1886, and his wife Hannah died in Dallas Town- ship in September, 1856. They were the parents of six children: James (who lived and died at Detroit, Michigan); Jonah (who lived at Battle Creek, Michigan); a daughter who became the wife of Abed Baldwin; a daughter who became the wife of Capt. T. O. Bogardus; one who became the wife of Palmer Brown, and another (the youngest) who became the wife of Thomas Worthington.

(v) Joel Rogers was born in Plymouth, Wyoming Valley, March 17, 1780, and resided there until the Spring of 1810, preaching, teaching and farming. As narrated hereinbefore, he was a Baptist "Elder." During the last four or five years of his residence in Plymouth he was also engaged in gen- eral mercantile business there, having formed about 1811 a partnership with Joseph Wright and Ben- jamin Reynolds, under the firm name of Wright, Rogers & Co. This partnership was dissolved by mutual consent May 6, 1814, and shortly thereafter Joel Rogers and Henderson Gaylord formed a partnership and carried on a mercantile business for almost two years. In April or May, 1816, Joel Rogers settled in Wilkes-Barre Township-on the west side of what is now North Main Street, about half-way between North Street and Courtright Avenue, in the city of Wilkes-Barre. There he lived, engaged in preaching and teaching, until March, 1827, when, with his family, he removed to Hunting- ton Township, Luzerne County, where be settled on a farm, having a grist-mill and a saw-mill on the same property. There he lived until his death.

"Elder" Joel Rogers was married (1st) to Polly Linn; (2d), September 30, 1815, to Mary Jack- son (born November 24, 1784; died October 7, 1886); and (3d) to Amy Bonhorn. "Elder" Rogers died July 29, 1850, and his remains lie in what is known as the old "Goss" grave-yard at Harveyville, in Huntington Township.

The children of "Elder" Joel and Mary (Jackson) Rogers were as follows: (a) Jose, born in Wilkes-Barre Township July 24, 1816; married in 1849 to Lydia Ann, daughter of Col. Josiah Rogers of Northmoreland; removed from Huntington to Colorado in 1880; died at Denver, Colorado, June 11, 1890-survived by one son, Merritt Harrison Rogers. (b) Joel Jackson, born in Wilkes-Barre Township March 4, 1818; became a physician; married at Trucksville, Luzerne County, April 15, 1851, to Sarah Caroline (born in 1824), daughter of the Rev. Jacob and Sarah (Cook) Rice; died at Huntsville, Luzerne County, March 21, 1902-survived by his wife and five children: Lewis Leon- idas, Charles Jacob, Mary Louise, Joseph Alfred, and Sarah Carrie (widow of Samuel H. Sturdevant, (Jr.). (c) Lydia, born December 24, 1819; died September 13, 1844. (d) Lewis W., born May 29, 1822; died August 3, 1845, in Union County, Pennsylvania. (e) Stephen, born April 17, 1824.

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discharged at them. A charge was made on the enemy, who retreated, keeping at a respectful distance, evidently intending to draw the detach- ment into an ambuscade. On approaching the woods a larger number of Indians was seen, which rendered a retreat prudent ; whereupon the enemy advanced. A smart skirmish then ensued and several men were wounded, but none mortally. The enemy then withdrew, but two days later (on March 23d), about midday, they showed themselves on the Wilkes- Barré side of the river. Some 250 warriors, arranged in a semicircle, advanced across the Wilkes-Barre plain upon Fort Wyoming, as if with intent to surround it and carry it by storm. A brisk fire was opened upon them from the fort-the four-pounder being brought into effective service, inasmuch as a ball from it cut in two the Indian chief in command of the beleaguering warriors. What further loss they sus- tained was not definitely ascertained, but they were successfully repulsed, and withdrew from the neighborhood of the fort. Relative to the inci- dents of March 21st and 23d, thus briefly described, we have an account written at Wilkes-Barre by Col. Zebulon Butler under the date of March 23d and forwarded to General Hand. It reads as follows* :

"The intent of this is to inform you of a late affair at this post. On the 21st inst. there appeared a number of Indians on the flats opposite the fort, who had taken one old man [Bidlack ] before they appeared on the flats, and were in pursuit after another, who the people in the block-house relieved by advancing upon them ; but our people were soon obliged to retreat, seeing a superior number, though a very hot fire on both sides. The enemy immediately ran about the flats collecting horses and cattle. I ordered a party over (who, with those stationed in the block-house, made about forty, and two sub- altern officers), who pushed upon them with such bravery that they retreated through the flats, with a constant fire on both sides till they came to woods, when our men dis- covered two large bodies over a little creek-the whole supposed to be upwards of 200. Our men retreated slowly, firing, which prevented their pushing, Indian like, and got back to the block-house well through a heavy fire. The Indians immediately went in pursuit of horses and cattle again, our men in small parties pursuing and firing upon them ; but notwithstanding the activity of our troops, after severe skirmishing for two hours and a-half, the enemy carried off sixty head of horned cattle and twenty horses, and shot my riding-horse (they could not catch him), and burned five barns that were partly full of grain and hay, and ten houses that the inhabitants had deserted, and shot a number of hogs and sheep that they left lying [where they fell].

"We had not one man killed, taken or wounded, except the old man [Bidlack] first mentioned, though a considerable number of our men had bullets through their clothes and hats. Lieutenant Pettigrew, a brave officer of Colonel Hartley's regiment, had his ramrod shot all to pieces in his hand. It is aggravating to see the savage wretches drive off cattle and horses, and burning and destroying, and we not able to attack them out of the fort. I have sent by the express (who will hand this to Capt. [Alexander] Patterson, to be forwarded to you) a particular account of the affair and a particular state of this place [addressed] to his Excellency, General Washington. I mention that they have taken off cattle, horses, etc. They have got them out of our reach, but we have no reason to think they have left the place, as a number of fires were discovered on the side of the mountain last night.

"Can only say I have the honor to be your Honor's most obedient humble servant, [Signed] "ZEBN BUTLER."

"N. B .- Of horses and cattle that were taken in the late action there were seven Continental horses, and eight [head] of Continental cattle which were beef .- Z. B.

"Sir: What happened at the close of this letter will justify my apprehensions of the enemy's not being gone. At one o'clock, afternoon [March 23d], a large party were discovered on this side the river advancing toward the fort. They surrounded the fort on all sides, firing very briskly, while others were collecting horses and cattle. I sent out about forty men and a small piece, and drove them back to a thick wood across a marsh, where the enemy made a stand. The skirmishing held till sunset. At this time the enemy were driving off cattle and horses. They got fifty-one head of horned cattle and ten horses, burned three barns partly full of grain and hay, and two dwelling-houses. We lost no men killed or taken ; we had two wounded, but 'tis hoped not mortally. 24th and 25th of March being extremely stormy, we heard not much about them. 26th, we discovered large smokes rising about four miles down the river, on the other side, where we had a guard in a block-house to guard a mill. 27th, two men from the block-house

* See "Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania," I : 461.

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informed us all is well, except three barns partly filled with grain and hay, and two houses with some quantity of provisons, were burned. At the time of the burning our people discovered a considerable number [of Indians] running about, but none have been seen this day [March 27] yet. It is now twelve o'clock. I have sent this same account to General Washington and the Board of War. 28th .- Nothing happened since the above account, only we now believe we discover their smokes. From our last discover- ies I rather think the enemy were near 300.

" I am your Honor's most obedient humble Servant, [Signed] " ZEBN. BUTLER."

During the fight on the Kingston Flats on March 21st, "Anthony Turkey," an Indian who had formerly lived in the Valley, and whose name is mentioned hereinbefore, having been shot through the thigh was surrounded by some of the Westmorelanders, who cried out: "Sur- render, 'Turkey,' we won't hurt you !" Conscious, undoubtedly, of his own cruelties, he fought like a tiger-cat to the last. After the Indians had retired from the scene of the engagement, some of the men from the block-house took possession of the body of "Turkey " and put it into an old canoe. Fixing in the hands of the dead Indian a bow and arrow, and pinning to the body a written " pass," requiring all persons to " let the bearer go to his master-King George or the Devil," the men fast- ened a dead rooster in the bow of the canoe and then launched it in the river. Down stream it floated, amid the cheers of men and boys. Owing to the high water the canoe went clear of Nanticoke Falls, and in due time arrived opposite Catawissa, where there was a small settle- ment. A man there, seeing the drifting canoe, with something in it, pushed off from the shore in a boat, eager to capture a prize. But what was his surprise, when he drew near, to see an Indian with bow bent and an arrow, drawn to the head, aimed directly at him. He fled quicker than he came, but being a man of resolution pushed off again with his rifle, and found the dead " Turkey" just as he had been launched. Having been towed ashore for the people there to look and laugh at, "Turkey " was again turned adrift and speeded on his way down the river.

On the same day that the Indians made a show of besieging Fort Wyoming, a band of them attacked the house of Thaddeus Williams, * situated nearly half a mile from the fort, in the town-plot of Wilkes- Barré. The Williams family had removed from Wilkes-Barre at the time of the general flight from the Valley after the battle of Wyoming, but later the men and boys of the family returned. Isaac Williams, one of the sons of Thaddeus, was the young man who, in company with John Abbott, was murdered by Indians about the middle of August, 1778-as narrated on page 722. Thomas Williams, the eldest son of Thaddeus, was one of the original members of Capt. Samuel Ransom's " Westmoreland Independent Company " in the Continental service, and upon the consolidation of the companies of Ransom and Durkee under the captaincy of Simon Spalding, Thomas Williams was promoted

* THADDEUS WILLIAMS, originally of Fairfield County, Connecticut, was married about 1755 to Frances Case of Hartford, Connecticut, and in 1776 they immigrated with their children to Wilkes- Barre. The former died April 11, 1796, and the latter in August, 1815. After his discharge from the Continental army Serg't Thomas Williams, eldest son of Thaddeus, went to Connecticut, where he was married in 1783 to Elizabeth Robertson of Bethel, Fairfield County. They resided near Bridge- port, Connecticut, until 1790, when they removed to that part of the township of Wilkes-Barre which is now the township of Plains. There they lived until their respective deaths-she dying December 6, 1835, aged seventy-one years, and he dying November 12, 1839, aged eighty-three years. Their remains rest in Hollenback Cemetery. Thomas and Elizabeth (Robertson) Williams were the parents of six sons and four daughters. One of the daughters-Clarissa-became the wife of Benjamin Court- right (born 1789; died January 22, 1867), son of Cornelius Courtright, mentioned hereinbefore. The youngest son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Robertson) Williams was Jonathan. Robertson Williams, who was born in Wilkes-Barre (now Plains) Township, December 5, 1809, and died subsequently to 1881, near where he was born.

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a Sergeant. (See pages 897 and 981.) He was, of course, with his company at Fort Wyoming during the Winter of 1778 and the Spring of 1779, but at the time the Indians made their incursion into the Val- ley, as previously related, he was at the house of his father on a fur- lough.

On March 23d (the day of the attack on Fort Wyoming) Thaddeus Williams was ill in bed, while the only other persons in the house were Serg't Thomas Williams and his brother, aged twelve or thirteen years. The location of the Williams house was such that the Indians deter- mined to attack and destroy it previous to their meditated attack on the fort. Therefore a party of ten or more of them made their way to the house. Seeing them approaching, Sergeant Williams made his prepa- rations for defense by barricading the doors and getting his guns ready for effective use. Fortunately there were three muskets and plenty of ammunition in the house. Giving his 'young brother the necessary directions for reloading the guns as fast as he should fire them, he awaited the approach of the savages. When they arrived within short range Williams took deliberate aim between the logs of which the house was constructed, and brought the leader of the attacking party dead to the ground. With a hideous yell his companions retreated, dragging the dead body with them. Then they returned to the attack and assaulted the door of the house, which, however, was too securely fast- ened to yield. The number of Indians was now increased by the arri- val of others, and they, in turn, fired into the house through the chinks between the logs. By one of these shots Thaddeus Williams was severely wounded as he lay in his bed, but Sergeant Williams kept up as brisk a fire as his young brother, who acted his part manfully, could enable him to do. A second and a third one of the savages fell, when the survivors again retreated, taking their slain with them and raising the customary death howls. Maddened by their losses, however, they again approach- ed the house, one of them bearing a flaming brand with which he had resolved to fire the building. But the Sergeant was at his post, and with deliberate aim he quickly turned the brand-bearer into a corpse ; whereupon the attacking party withdrew, taking their dead with them.

While the events just described were taking place in Wyoming Val- ley, General Washington and those in his confidence at headquarters were quietly devising plans for an effective military campaign against the hostile and troublesome Indians on the upper Susquehanna and its New York tributaries. On February 27, 1779, the Congress had passed a resolution authorizing Washington to take the most effectual measures for protecting the inhabitants of the States and chastizing the Indians, and the Commander-in-Chief determined to carry out this resolution with vigor. The plan of a vigorous campaign contemplated the entire destruc- tion of everything upon which the Indians depended for food or shelter. " It was planned that the invading army was to enter the Indian coun- try in three divisions-one from the south, up the Susquehanna ; another from the east, down that river; the third from the west, by way of the Allegheny .* These were to form a junction at some conven- ient point, advance against the strongholds of the enemy in such force as could not possibly be resisted, and then overturn the whole Iroquois

* In consequence of subsequent plans the third, or western, division, numbering about 800 men under the command of Col. Daniel Brodhead (see note on page 258, Vol. f), performed its work with- out making a junction with the other divisions or receiving any orders from General Sullivan.

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country west of the Oneida villages."* Under the date of March 3, 1779, Washington wrote to Governor Clinton of New York, and also to President Reed of Pennsylvania, in part as followst :

"I am, therefore, to inform your Excellency that offensive operations against the hostile tribes of Indians have been meditated and determined upon some time since, and that preparations have been making for that purpose, and will be carried into execution. * * ** But the profoundest secrecy was judged necessary to the success of such an enterprise. * * With respect to the force to be employed on this occasion it is scarce- ly necessary to observe that the detaching of a considerable number of Continental troops on such a remote expedition would too much expose the country adjacent to the body of the enemy's army. There must, therefore, be efficacious assistance derived from the States whose frontiers are obnoxious to the inroads of the barbarians. * * * They should - be corps of active rangers, who are at the same time expert marksmen and accustomed to the irregular kind of wood-fighting practised by the Indians. Men of this description, embodied under proper officers, would be infinitely preferable to a superior number of militia unacquainted with this species of war, and who would exhaust the magazines of ammunition and provision without rendering any effectual service."

Under the date of March 6, 1779, Washington wrote at his head- quarters at Middle Brook, New Jersey, a letter reading in part as follows :

"Congress having determined upon an expedition of an extensive nature against the hostile tribes of the Indians of the Six Nations, the command is offered to Maj. Gen. [Horatio] Gates, as senior officer ; but should he decline, it is my wish it should devolve upon you. That no time may be lost by General Gates' non-acceptance, I have put this letter under cover to him, and have desired him to forward it to you, should that be his determination. Should it, therefore, be sent to you, I must request you to set out as speedily as possible, after the receipt of it, to headquarters, as the season is already far advanced. Upon your arrival the whole plan of the expedition shall be communicated to you, and measures concerted for carrying it into execution. Nothing will contribute more to our success in the quarter where we really intend to strike, than alarming the enemy in a contrary one, and drawing their attention that way. To do this you may drop hints of an expedition to Canada. * * * I would wish you to keep the motive of your journey to headquarters a secret, because if it is known that an officer of your rank is to take command to the westward, it will be immediately concluded that the object must be considerable."

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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. II, Part 105

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Wilkes-Barre [Raeder press] Number of Pages: 683

Author: Harvey, Oscar Jewell, 1851- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Wilkes-Barre [Raeder press]
Number of Pages: 683