A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. II, Part 52

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 52

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At that time the attention of Congress was being particularly directed to the preparations required for the defense of the seaboard, and it became necessary for the town of Westmoreland to take steps to provide its own munitions of war. Accordingly, "at a town-meeting legally warned, and held in Kingston District March ye 10, 1776," it was unanimously voted " that ye first man that shall make fifty weight of good saltpeter or niter in this town shall be entitled to a bounty of £10 lawful money, to be paid out of ye town treasury." At the same meeting it was voted " that ye Selectmen be directed to dispose of ye Grain now in ye hands of ye Treasurer or Collector, in such way as to obtain powder and lead to ye value of £40, if they can do ye same." While the men were thus making preparations for warfare the women of West- moreland were not inactive. They "fanned the spark of freedom into a flame by their approving smiles," and with their own hands-just as their sisters in another part of Litchfield County were doing at that very time||-assisted in the manufacture of needful ammunition. They took up the lower floors of their houses (where there were no cellars), dug out the earth, put it into casks and ran water through it (as ashes are leached). Then they put wood-ashes into another cask and made lye,

* See the last paragraph of the note on page 711, ante. t See page 788. # See a subsequent chapter for a sketch of his life.

¿ WILLIAM STEWART (born in 1739; died in Hanover, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1808) was an elder brother of Capt. Lazarus Stewart, previously mentioned. Coming to Wyoming in the company of Hanoverians led by the latter, he acquired an original share in the ownership of Nanticoke -later Hanover-Township, as previously described. (See pages 644 and 677.) In August, 1778, he was appointed by Col. Zebulon Butler "Commissary of Purchases and Issues for the Wyoming Garrison." This office he held until September 20, 1780, when he was succeeded by Hugh Foresman. In May, 1781. William Stewart was appointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut "an Assistant Commissary of Purchases for the county of Westmoreland," and this office he held till the close of the year 1782. Then, or a few years later, he removed from Wyoming Valley to Hanover, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. His name appears often in these pages. In 1793, being the owner of Lot No. 27, Ist Division, of Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Mr. Stewart had the same surveyed and plotted into streets and town-lots, and sold thirty-six of the lots. He named the town-site "Nanticoke," to commemorate the original name of the township in which the land lay (see page 515, Vol. I), and thus the present flourishing borough of Nanticoke had its beginning. I See page 285, Vol. I.

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which they mixed with the water that had been run through the earth. This mixture they boiled and set aside to cool, when saltpeter rose to the surface. This was pulverized with sulphur and charcoal, and gun- powder resulted. Yes, the hearts of the women of Westmoreland burned with the same pure flame which animated the bosoms of their brothers, their husbands, their fathers and their sons! And subse- quently, when Congress called for the severance of their domestic rela- tions by ordering away the military companies raised here for their defense,

" The wife whose babe first smiled that day, The fair, fond bride of yestereve, And aged sire and matron grey, Saw the loved warriors haste away, And deemed it sin to grieve."

At Wilkes-Barre, under the date of March 27, 1776, Christopher Avery, Samuel Ransom, George Dorrance, John Jenkins and Solomon Strong, Selectmen of the town of Westmoreland, wrote to the Hon. Roger Sherman at Philadelphia relative to the troubles which the Westmorelanders had recently had with the Pennamites, and declared that they were " not yet over." Continuing, the Selectmen stated *:

"Mr. John Hageman and M. Hollenback are the two gentlemen that have suffered the most on account of having their goods taken, of any individuals in this town.t They are going to Congress with petitions to see if they can get anything-to enable them to come at their estates again ; and they will take with them a petition from the persons that were robbed of their guns and horses at Warrior Run last September, in order to have that introduced at the same time. * * * The guns and horses taken from those people at Warrior Run are much wanted here by them people, and they may be wanted possibly for to defend with against another army of Invaders-if by any means they can again put on resolution enough to come again. The want of that was more the occasion of their defeat than the want of men, money or arms, which we hear they are petitioning for to their own Assembly. * * *

" The town of Westmoreland, as a Town, does not intend now to petition the Con- gress in respect to the damages they have sustained as a town from those insulting Invaders; but have begun pursuit of their [Connecticut] Government to take the thing upon themselves and make a claim on Pennsylvania Government for damages to this town for the sum of about £4,000 lawful money. We conclude that is what they ought in equity to pay us on account of their incouraging those Tory invaders to come against us as they did-which was the occasion of their coming and shedding innocent blood here, and doing us damage; and that being done contrary to orders of Congress." * * *

Accompanying this letter was one of even date from Col. Zebulon Butler to Mr. Sherman. ' It read as followst:

"Honoured Sir :- This will be handed you by Messrs. Hollenback and Hageman who wait on the Congress for help on account of goods taken from them at Shamokin. They are young gentlemen that follow the business of trading at this place from Phila- delphia and other places, and have behaved themselves very well and to the acceptance of the inhabitants in general. I hope they will have justice done them. As they have no chance in the county where their goods are detained, they are obliged to apply to a higher board. I have not heard yet what the Congress have done with respect to the Pennsylvanians refusing to return our effects. A list of those that lost, enclosed I send you by their desire, with each man's sum annexed to his name.§

"We have reported accounts from different parts of Pennsylvania that there is design forming to attack us again; but what gives us the greatest alarm here is an account that Pennsylvania Assembly are raising 1,500 men for the defence of the Province, and some of the parties have said they were to drive the New England people from Wyo- ming. It is humbly and earnestly requested of your Honour to let us know by the [first] opportunity what that 1,500 men are raising for-if it is known publickly; but if it is a

* See the original letter, heretofore unpublished, in the possession of Mr. James Terry of Connecticut, previously mentioned.

t MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK and JOHN HAGEMAN were partners in a trading and mercantile business carried on at Wilkes-Barre. For a portrait of Mr. Hollenback, and a sketch of his life, see a subsequent chapter.

See the original draft of the letter in Colonel Butler's handwriting, now in the possession of The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, and heretofore unpublished.

§ See the list, in part, on page 843, ante.

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secret thing, we may depend upon mischief. Your Honour's compliance with the last request will greatly oblige a large number of dependent people, one of whom is, Sir, "Your most Obd't Humble Servant,

[Signed] "ZEBN BUTLER."

So far as any records disclose, the only action taken by Congress with reference to the foregoing communications was the adoption on April 15, 1776, of the following :

"Resolved, That it be again recommended to the settlers at Wyoming and the Sus- quehannah River, as well those under Pennsylvania as those under Connecticut, to culti- vate harmony, to consider themselves as jointly interested in the event of the American cause, and not, by mutual acts of violence or oppression, to injure the union that happily subsists between all the Colonies, and on which their welfare so much depends."

In fact, at that period Congress had on hand, to be attended to promptly, more important matters than the taking cognizance of and attempting to settle quarrels prevailing between the inhabitants of cer- tain sections of two particular Colonies or Provinces. By the early Spring of 1776 the uppermost thought in men's minds throughout the American Colonies had come to be: Independence of Great Britain, a more perfect union of the Colonies, and the establishment of a local gov- ernment for each! March 17, 1776, amid much disorder and pillage, 11,000 British troops, with about as many hundred Americans, retired from Boston. The siege of that city-which had lasted under the per- sonal direction of Washington for about six months-was over; and with the departure of Lord Howe's fleet for Halifax the British went finally out of New England, and it was entirely free from the enemy. March 26th the General Assembly of South Carolina adopted a constitution for the temporary government of that Province. April 12th North Caro- lina's Legislature voted that her Delegates in the Continental Congress be empowered " to concur with the Delegates of the other Colonies in declaring independency."

May was a month of unusual agitations throughout the Colonies. Early in the month the Massachusetts House of Representatives called upon the people of the Province to assemble in town-meetings, and instruct their Representatives as to whether, if the Continental Congress should declare the Colonies independent of Great Britain, they, the inhabitants, would "engage with their lives and fortunes to support them in the measure." The General Assembly of Connecticut assem- bled at Hartford on the 9th of May, and one of the first Acts passed by the Assembly provided for the " raising of two regiments of troops within the Colony, for the special defence of the same." John Jenkins, Sr., and Capt. Solomon Strong were in attendance as Representatives from Westmoreland, and Miner says ("History of Wyoming," page 190) that they had received from their constituents "express orders to request the Assembly to demand of the Pennsylvania Government £4,000 for losses sustained by their invasion; and if necessary, to pursue the matter before Congress. As no further notice of the subject appears upon the records, and as it is certain no compensation was received, it is presumed that prudential considerations induced the General Assembly to decline interfering." Late in this session a petition* was presented by Representative Jenkins, signed by himself and dated June 1, 1776, set- ting forth that Westmoreland was more than one hundred miles distant from any powder-mill in the Colony of Connecticut, and, as the inhab- itants of said town were desirous of having a powder-mill erected there, * Document No. 63 in the volume of MSS. entitled "Susquehannah Settlers, 1755-1796," mentioned on page 29, Vol. I.

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praying that liberty be granted Christopher Avery, Samuel Ransom, George Dorrance and John Jenkins, Sr., Selectmen of the town, to erect a powder-mill for the purpose of making gunpowder, which, in the opinion of the memorialist, could " be made of the natural production of said town, and to the great advantage of both the public and private [citizens]." The Assembly granted the prayer of the petitioner.

At this session the Assembly made the following appointments of Westmoreland officials. Zebulon Butler, Joseph Sluman, Nathan Deni- son, Abel Hine, William Judd, John Jenkins, Sr., and Uriah Chapman, of Westmoreland, to be Justices of the Peace in and for Litchfield County during the ensuing year; Joseph Sluman to be Judge of the Court of Probate for the district of Westmoreland, and Lemuel Gustin, of Westmoreland, to be Surveyor of Lands in and for Litchfield County. At the same time the Assembly established, and the Governor subse- quently commissioned, Robert Carr as Captain and Nathan Kingsley as Lieutenant of the 9th Company, 24th Regiment, in the room, respec- tively, of James Secord and John De Pui (sometimes spelled "Depew"), who were suspected and accused of Tory proclivities.

June 14th the Assembly resolved, unanimously, that the Connecti- cut Delegates in the Continental Congress be instructed to propose to that body "to declare the United American Colonies free and indepen- dent States, absolved from all allegiance to the King." Four days later, by desire of the Assembly, Governor Trumbull issued his noted " Proc- lamation for Reformation," sometimes referred to as "Connecticut's Declaration of Independence." It was printed in the shape of a broad- side, and many copies were distributed throughout the Colony. It read in part as follows *: *

* * "God Almighty has been pleased, of his infinite Mercy, to succeed our Attempts, and give us many Instances of signal Success and Deliverance; but the Wrath of the King is still increasing, aud not content with employing all the Force which can be sent from his own Kingdom to execute his cruel Purposes, has procured, and is send- ing, all the Mercenaries he can obtain from foreign Countries, to assist in extirpating the Rights of America, and with theirs, almost all the Liberty remaining among Man- kind.

"In this most critical and alarming Situation, this and all the Colonies are called upon and earnestly pressed by the honourable Congress of the American Colonies * * * to raise a large additional number of their Militia and able Men, to be furnished and equipped with all possible Expedition, for Defence against the soon expected Attack and Invasion of those who are our Enemies without a Cause. In chearful Compliance with which Request * * the General Assembly of this Colony have freely and unanimously agreed and resolved that upwards of 7,000 able and effective Men be immediately raised, furnished and equipped for the great and interesting Purposes aforesaid. * * *

"I DO, THEREFORE, by and with the Advice of the Council, and at the Desire of the Representatives in General Court assembled, issue this Proclamation, and make the solemn Appeal of said Assembly to the Virtue and public Spirit of the good People of this Colony. Affairs are hastening fast to a Crisis, and the approaching Campaign will, in all Probability, determine forever the Fate of America. * * Be exhorted to rise, there- fore, to superior Exertions on this great Occasion; and let all that are able and necessary shew themselves ready in behalf of their injured and oppressed Country, and come forth to the Help of the Lord against the Mighty, and convince the unrelenting Tyrant of Britain that they are resolved to be Free. Let them step forth to defend their Wives, their little Ones, their Liberty, and everything they hold sacred and dear, to defend the Cause of their Country, their Religion, and their God. Let every one, to the utmost of their Power, lend a helping Hand to promote and forward a Design on which the Salva- tion of America now evidently depends. Nor need any be dismayed. The Cause is cer- tainly a just and a glorious one. God is able to save us in such Way and Manner as he pleases, and to humble our proud Oppressors. The Cause is that of Truth and Justice. He has already shewn his Power in our Behalf, and for the Destruction of many of our Enemies. Our Fathers trusted in him and were delivered. Let us all repent, and thoroughly amend our Ways. * * And while our Armies are abroad, jeoparding

* See "Colonial Records of Connecticut," XV : 450-458.

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their Lives in the high Places of the Field, let all who remain at Home cry mightily to God for the Protection of his Providence, to shield and defend their Lives from Death, and to crown them with Victory and Success.

"And in the name of the said General Assembly I do hereby earnestly recommend it to all, both Ministers and People, frequently to meet together for social Prayer to Almighty God for the outpouring of his blessed Spirit upon this guilty land. * * * All the Ministers of the Gospel in this Colony are directed and desired to publish this Proclamation in their several Churches and Congregations, and to enforce the Exhorta- tions thereof by their own pious Example and public Instruction."

At the close of the American Revolution it became a proverb that independence had been achieved equally by the sword of Washington and the pen of Thomas Paine. Up to January, 1776, Washington had protested his loyalty to the Crown; but on the 10th of that month Paine's "Common Sense " was published at Philadelphia, and three weeks later Washington wrote from Cambridge to Joseph Reed at Phil- adelphia of the "sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning contained in the pamphlet 'Common Sense '." Through this pamphlet-which had a wide circulation-the whole country was electrified with the spirit of independence and liberty, and so cogent was the reasoning of Paine that his conclusions were quite generally accepted. During the ensu- ing months other patriotic essays penned by Paine were published, and one of them-which came from the press about the time Governor Trumbull's " Proclamation for Reformation " appeared-attracted much attention. It was entitled "The Day of Freedom," and the opening paragraphs were as follows :

"These are the times that try men's souls. The Summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; 'tis dearness only that gives everything its value. * * *

"The heart that feels not now, is dead; the blood of his children will curse his cow- ardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his prin- ciples unto death." * *

Just as in the days of opposition to the Stamp Act, nearly ten years previously (see page 591, Vol. I), patriotic poetry of various degrees of quality now flooded the press ; and some of it accomplished as much as Trumbull's proclamations and Paine's essays in stiffening the back- bones and arousing the enthusiasm of many citizens, here and there, who, fearing a traitor's doom, held back shrinkingly from the perilous step leading to revolution and independence. The following stanzas, extracted from the Pennsylvania Packet (Philadelphia) of May 13, 1776, represent one grade of this poetry.

"Americans, awake! awake! Your liberty, your all's at stake ; Behold your foes-huge, angry swarms- Proclaim loud war. To arms! to arms!

"Raging, Brittania's haughty Lords Have charg'd their arms and drawn their swords;

They call you rebels, cowards, knaves, And doom your unborn babes for slaves.

"Then bend your bows! your arrows bright Shall pierce like rays of morning light. Prepare for war! It is no crime! It's virtue, and it is high time.

"Swift to the field, ye heroes, fly, Nor fear to sweat, to bleed, or die; The glorious cause demands your breath; Freedom is cheap, though bought with death.

"'Union!' aloft Urania sings, And beats the air with golden wings. Great WASHINGTON prepares the way, Nor can he doubt to win the day."

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The poets, the essayists and the orators did their work, and finally the link binding the Colonies to the mother country was severed by the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 (as men- tioned in the note on page 355, Vol. I); by its publication and the sub- sequent burning of the King's arms at the State House in Philadelphia on the 8th of July, and by the reading of the Declaration on the 10th of July at the head of each brigade of the Continental army posted at and near the city of New York.

Governor Trumbull's proclamation of the 18th of June reached Wilkes-Barre about the first of the next month, and nearly three weeks later a broadside containing the Declaration of Independence arrived here. We may rest assured that these two broadsides were carefully read and re-read by those who had access to them, and that for some time thereafter their contents formed much food for serious thought and discussion throughout the whole extent of Westmoreland.

Early in the Summer of 1776-say in June-Captain Weisner came to Wyoming Valley, where, with the aid of Obadiah Gore, Jr., he enlisted a number of men for the Continental service (as noted on page 833), and marched them hence to White Plains, New York. Among these recruits were several men who, just as Lieutenant Gore himself, had been enrolled in the company of volunteers which, in the previous March, offered its services to Congress (see page 870)-but apparently without avail. About this same time (June), says Miner, " Capt. Solo- mon Strong enlisted part of a company at Wyoming. The number is supposed to have been inconsiderable-not exceeding eight or ten. These being the first enlisted men, took with them the best arms that could be obtained. That a man should have left the Valley, or that a musket or rifle should have been taken, is matter of surprise."

The population of Westmoreland numbered at that time about 2,900. Chapman says 5,000; Stone says (in his "Poetry and History of Wyoming") about 2,500; and Miner says "the number did not exceed 2,500." The Hon. Benjamin A. Bidlack*, in an address delivered at Wilkes-Barré February 22, 1839, saidt:

"According to the estimate of Colonel Stone in his 'Thayendanegea, or the Life of Brant,' the population of the Wyoming settlements at the commencement of the war numbered 5,000 souls. From the most extensive research and information that can now be had on the subject, it is thought that the estimate of Colonel Stone is too large by nearly one-half. In 1773 there were only 430 taxables, which, multiplied by six, would give only about 2,500 inhabitants, including men, women and children. Of this number it cannot be supposed that more than 400 would have been capable of bearing arms."

John Jenkins, Sr., in a letter to the Pennsylvania Commissioners (see Chapter XXI), written at Wilkes-Barré in April, 1783, said}:

"In 1776 our numbers were increasing, at which time we were required by the State [of Connecticut] to number the inhabitants of this place, who, according to our best remembrance, amounted to upwards of 6,000 souls; so that at the time Independence was declared we had got to be very numerous, and were still increasing until the fatal 3d of July, 1778."

Either Mr. Jenkins' recollection was very defective, or he indulged in some wild guesswork, or, perhaps, was prompted by some ulterior motive, when he assumed that the population of Westmoreland was upwards of 6,000 in 1776. At the beginning of 1774 the population was 1,922 (see page 791), and, taking everything into consideration, an

* See a subsequent chapter for a sketch of his life.

t See the Republican Farmer and Democratic Journal (Wilkes-Barre), March 6, 1889.

Į See the "Trumbull Papers," Massachusetts Historical Society.

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increase of 1,000 souls in the ensuing two and a-half years would be reasonably probable. Moreover, the rate-bills, or tax-lists, for the various districts of Westmoreland, prepared by the Listers of the town in August, 1776, contain 488 names *. Multiplying this number by six

* These original tax-lists are now in existence, and copies of them will be found printed in "Pro- ceedings and Collections of The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society," V : 209-218. The names contained in the lists are as follows:

WILKES-BARRE DISTRICT. Jabez Sill,

John Tillbury,

XMatthias Van Loon,

Ephraim Wheeler,

John Wheeler,

Luke Swetland,

Jedidiah Stevens,

Joshua Stevens,

John Abbott, Elias Bixby,

Thomas Williams,

Roasel Stevens,

Thomas Stoddart, Ebenezer Skinner, Elisha Swift,

Parshall Terry,

HANOVER DISTRICT.

Prince Alden,

Mason Fitch Alden,

Eber Andrews,

Jeremiah Bickford,

Isaac Bennett, Jr.,

Peleg Burritt,

Isaac Campbell,

Moses Brown,

John Commer,

PLYMOUTH DISTRICT.

Ainos Amesbury, Asahel Atherton,

Caleb Austin,

Samuel Ayres,

James Bidlack, Sr.,

Joshua Bennet,

Henry Barney,

Benjamin Cole,

Daniel Colton,

Andrew Freeman,

Anderson Dana, William Davidson, Douglass Davidson, Daniel Downing, Henry Elliot, John Foster, Stephen Fuller, Jonathan Fitch, Cornelius Gale, Peregrine Gardner, Daniel Gore,

Obadiah Gore, Jr., Rezin Geer,

Lemuel Gustin, Asa Gore, Obadiah Gore,

Silas Gore,

Samuel Gordon,

Peter Harris,

John Hageman,

Elijah Harris,

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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 52

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