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 early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume I > Part 85
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* See Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, V : 34.
497
with the title of "President of the First Settlers." The community was governed and managed in very much the same manner as a military camp in an enemy's country would be regulated and commanded. Scouts were sent out and sentries were posted each day and night; no stranger was allowed to come into the settlement to tarry unless he bore proper credentials from the authorized representatives in New England of The Susquehanna Company-except he should receive permission from the "Committee of Settlers" on the ground; no member of the community was permitted to leave the settlement at any time without a furlough or written pass granted by President Durkee. The latter's office was an important one, for his duties were executive, judicial and military in their character.
May 24, 1769, in pursuance of the directions he had received some days previously from Governor Penn (see page 489), Sheriff Jennings of Northampton County arrived in Wyoming. In a deposition made by him before James Biddle, Esq., at Philadelphia, June 1, 1769, the Sheriff described his experiences here, as follows* :
"The next day [May 25th], having given notice to the people settled there of his [the Sheriff's] intention, the said intruders, to the number of 150 or thereabouts, assembled together, and this deponent read to them with a loud voice a proclamation published by the Governor May 16th. That previous to his reading the same Major Durkee, one of the intruders, told him they would permit him to read the proclamation, but were deter- mined not to obey it, for that those lands were in the Colony of Connecticut and not in Pennsylvania. That after the said deponent had finished reading the said proclamation a gun was fired over his head, and the said deponent immediately retired [in company] with the said Major Durkee. That the said intruders have built about twenty very strong log houses, with loop-holes to fire through, and they constantly carry their fire-arms on all occasions. And this deponent further saith that he doth believe it is impossible for him to raise a sufficient force within the said County to dispossess and arrest the said in- truders-they being, as 'tis said, upwards of 300 able-bodied men, and in daily expecta- tion of being joined by 200 more."
The following list of 195 names, copied from a list made up by the Clerk of the Committee of Settlers on the 2d of June, 1769, shows who were actually on the ground in Wyoming, under the auspices of The Susquehanna Company, at that date. In addition to the men here named the twenty men of the "First Forty," who had been conveyed as prisoners to Easton and released on bail (as described on page 478), are to be considered as having been settlers in May and June and fully en- titled to participate in the allotment of lands in the "Forty" township ; although, observing the terms of the recognizances into which they had severally entered at Easton, they had not returned to Wyoming.
Allen, Noah
Briggs, Peris
Draper, Simeon
Angell, Daniel
Brown, Daniel
Draper, Thomas
Avery, Christopher
Buck, Elijah
Draper, William
Avery, Elisha
· Buck, Jonathan
Dean, Capt. Ezra
Ashley, Benjamin
Budd, Benjamin
Dean, Josiah
Atherton, James-Jr.
Buell, Ezra
De Long, John
Ayers, Peter
Carey, Eleazar
Dingmans, Jacob
Alden, Capt. Prince
Carrington, Jonathan
Dorchester, Benjamin
Arnold, Ephraim
Carvan, Morgan Dorrance, John
Arnold, Joseph
Cass, Daniel
Dorrance, Lemuel
Barton, Rowland
Clark, John
Dunkin, James
Baker, John Badger, Samuel
Chesebrough, Sylvester
Durkee, Andrew
Babcock, Elisha
Comstock, John
Durkee, Maj. John Evans, James Franklin, John
Bradford, Peris Bennett, Isaac
Colt, Abraham
Fellows, Ephraim
Bennet, Thomas
Cooke, Jabez
Ferlin, Thonias
Beach, Nathan
Corey, Jenks
Fish, Jabez
Bingham, Abisha
Churchill, William
Frisbie, Zebulon
* See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, IV : 342.
Coleman, Naniad
Comstock, Peter
498
Forsythe, James Fuller, Stephen Gallup, William Gardner, Christopher Gaylord, Joseph Gray, Thomas
Kenyon, John
Shaw, John
Knight, Thomas
Stearns, Ebenezer Sterling, John
Lawrence, Asa
Lawrence, Gideon
Stevens, Phineas
Lampher, Joshua
Sweet, Samuel
Gerold, Duty
Lee, John
Smith, James
Green, Job
Lee, Joseph
Smith, John-Esq.
Gore, Daniel
Leonard, Jesse
Smith, Oliver
Gore, Obadiah-Jr.
Leonard, William
Sill, Jabez
Gore, Silas
Lewis, Elijah
Shoemaker, Benjamin-Jr.
Goss, Comfort
Lothrop, Cyprian
,Slocum, Joseph
Goss, Nathaniel
McClure, Thomas
Stone, Ebenezer
Goss, Philip
Manvil, Nicholas
Story, Samuel
Haines, Daniel
Marvin, David
Strong, Henry
Harris, Peter
Marvin, Samuel
Squier, Zechariah
Harrod, Asher
Marvin, Uriah
Taylor, Preserved
Hawksey, Zebulon
Matthews, Benjamin
Thayer, Zephaniah
Hebbard, Ebenezer
Maxfield, Joshua
Tracy, Isaac
Hebbard, Moses
May, James
Teed, Zophar
Hebbard, Moses-Jr.
Mead, David
Tennant, Caleb
Hewitt, Benjamin
Metcalf, Andrew
Terry, Parshall
Hewitt, Benjamin-Jr.
Miles, Stephen
Thomas, Elias
Hewitt, Gershom
Millington, Samuel
Vorce, Timothy
Hillman, Joseph
Mitchell, John
Wall, Henry
Hinsdale, Stephen
Mock, Abijah
Wallworth, Thomas
Hopson, Gurdon
Morgan, Samuel
Wallsworth, John
Hopkins, Robert
Morse, Joseph
Wallsworth, William
Hopkins, Timothy
Murdock, Daniel
Walter, Aaron
Hotchkiss, Samuel
Murphy, John
Watson, Nathaniel
Hull, Diah,
Nesbitt, James
Wybrant, Samuel
Hull, Stephen
Northrop, Ebenezer
Webster, Joseph
Hungerford, Stephen
Norton, Ebenezer
Weeks, Philip
Hunter, Robert
Olcott, Thomas
Weeks, Thomas
Hurlbut, Reuben
Orms, Jonathan
Westover, Theophilus
Hurlbut, Stephen
Orton, Samuel
White, Caleb
Jackson, Robert
Parks, Elias
White, William
Jenkins, Stephen
Park, Silas
Whitney, Joshua
Jeorum, Zerubbabel
Peirce, Abel
Whittlesey, David
Jewell, Eliphalet
Perkins, John
Wightman, Zerubbabel
Johnson, Edward
Post, Oliver
Wiley, John
Johnson, Solomon
Read, Noah
Wise, Frederick
Jolley, John
Roberts, Jabez
Witter, Elijah
Knapp, Hezekiah
Savage, Abrahamı
Yale, Enos
Kenne, Cyrus
Satterlee, Benedict
Yale, Ozias
From the journals* of the Moravian missionaries at the Indian town of Friedenshütten (see page 443) we glean :
"May 25, 1769 .- A white family from Schoharie, in two bateaux, put to shore in distress, having lost their most valuable effects by the bateaux upsetting when yet on the lake [Otsego]. They had buried a child of three years on the journey. Wyoming is their destination, and the father intends to erect a shop and do blacksmithing."
On or about the 7th of June Charles Stewart and John Anderson, with three assistants, went from Ogden's block-house at Mill Creek, Wyo- ming, to Friedenshütten (where they arrived June 10th) "for the purpose of surveying Wyalusing for one William Smith of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They desisted, however, on hearing from the Indians the assurance given them by the Governor in March [1769] that Wya- lusing would, at all hazards, be reserved for their use."t
While Deputy Surveyor Stewart and his companions were at Frie- denshütten "a white man with his wife and six children, on their way
* See "Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society," I : 202.
+ Immediately after this visit from the Pennamite surveyors the Wyalusing, or Friedenshütten, Indi- ans again memorialized Governor Penn on the subject of the lands then occupied and cultivated by them, and in his reply the Governor said, among other things: "One thing I want to tell you-that I expect you will not give encouragement to the New England people who have taken possession of the Proprietaries' land at Waiawamick [Wyoming]."-"Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society," I : 204.
Lee, Asa
Smith, Abel
Green, Job-Jr.
Lee, Noah
Smith, Lemuel
499
to settle at Wyoming," arrived (June 12th) in a couple of canoes at Frie- denshütten and spent a few hours there. In May, 1769, one Richard Smith was engaged, with others, in surveying lands in the vicinity of Lake Otsego, New York. On the 31st of the month, at the house of one Yokum, on the Susquehanna, several miles below the lake, Smith and his party "met with one Dorn, a Dutchman, with his family from Canajoharie, going to settle at Wywomoc [Wyoming]." "He informs us," wrote Smith in his journal* at the time, "that 130 families from his neighborhood on the Mohawk River have actually bought there [at Wyoming] and are about to remove." It is quite probable that Dorn and his family were the travelers who tarried at Friedenshütten for a few hours, as mentioned above.
About the 15th of June Major Durkee, John Smith, Esq., and Capt. Ezra Dean set out from Wyoming for Easton, to attend the trial of the twenty settlers set down for the term of the Northampton County Court beginning Monday, June 19th. On that date a gentleman in Philadel- phia wrote to a friend in Connecticut as followst :
"On Tuesday last [June 13th] arrived in town from Connecticut the Hon. Eliphalet Dyer, with his son Mr. Thomas Dyer, and Jedidiah Elderkin, Esq., with his son Mr. Vine Elderkin, and on Saturday [June 17th] they set out for Easton, where they expect to meet a considerable number of the New England adventurers from Wyoming.
"We hear from Cumberland County that sundry persons have been up to the settle- ment of the New England adventurers at Wyoming, who inform that the settlement con- sists at present of upwards of 300 nien, and more are daily arriving. That they have built several large houses, have planted 200 acres of land with Indian corn, have good store of all necessaries and are daily making further improvements. That they treat every- one who goes among them with so much friendship and hospitality, and appear so upright and humane in their tempers, as to engage the respect and esteem of all their visitants. That they have with them a number of men of the best character, great experience and good sense, and it is said the adventurers will be speedily increased by great numbers from New England and other parts, and are so strongly supported by numerous and able friends that we may hope soon to see the trade of this Province considerably increased by their industry and success."
For some reason now unknown the case against the Yankees at Easton was continued to the September Term of Court, and the bail of the defendants having been renewed the majority of them repaired with Major Durkee to Wyoming, while the others returned to their respective homes. During Major Durkee's absence from Wyoming an exciting occurrence had taken place here. Miner says ("History of Wyoming, page 110) :.
"Col. Turbot Francis, commanding a fine company from the city [Philadelphia], in full military array, with colors streaming, and martial music, descended into the plain and sat down before Fort Durkee about the 20th of June ; but finding the Yankees too strongly fortified, returned to await reinforcements below the mountains."
Relative to this occurrence Parshall Terry, in his affidavit referred to on page 403, ante, deposed :
"They [the settlers] fenced and carried on a large branch of farming business, peaceably and unmolested, until some time in June [1769], when a Colonel Francis-said to belong to Philadelphia-accompanied with a large party of armed men, appeared at Wyoming and drew near to our block-house at Wilkesbarre and demanded a possession of our houses and possessions, and threatened, in case of refusal, he, the said Francis, would set fire to our houses and kill our people. After using many threats he, the said Francis, withdrew with his party."
Still another account of the Francis fiasco is given in a communi- cation made to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut by Eliphalet Dyer, Jedidiah Elderkin and Nathaniel Wales, Jr., under date of March 27, 1771. It is as follows :
* See Halsey's "The Old New York Frontier," page 142.
t See The New London Gazette, June 30, 1769.
# See "Pennsylvania Archives," First Series, IV : 401.
500
"June 22d [1769] Colonel Francis, with sixty armed men, in a hostile manner, demanded a surrender of our houses and possessions. He embodied his forces within thirty or forty rods of their [the settlers'] dwellings, threatened to fire their houses and kill our people unless they surrendered and quitted their possessions, which they refused to do ; and after many terrible threatenings by him, he withdrew."
Colonel Francis, as we have previously shown, was a native of Phil- adelphia and had spent there the greater part of his life prior to 1769 ; but he was then living at Fort Augusta, and the men whom he led in the expedition against the Yankees at Wyoming were all from Fort Augusta or its vicinity. What is probably the most authentic account of that futile affair-inspired, as we have previously indicated (see page 491), by Governor Penn-is contained in a letter written by Capt. Prince Alden* to Timothy Green, the printer, of New London, Connecticut- being dated at "Wiwawmuck, in Connecticut, on Susquehannah River, June 26, 1769." It reads in part as follows :
"Maj. John Durkee, John Smith, Esq., and Capt. Ezra Dean being gone to Easton Court, one of our spies informed us that one Colonel Francis was gathering a mob at Shamokin against us, with design to remove us off our settlement. Being apprised of this our men thought proper to picket in our houses, and put things in a proper posture of defence. The 22d [of June] our spies gave fresh information, that the mob was on their way, and they judged their number consisted of between 60 and 70, and in the evening they came and strung along the opposite side of the River for more than a mile, judging by their whooping, yelling, and hideous noise and firing of guns.
"The 23d, in the morning, one Captain Ogden, with two more, came to know if our committee could be spoke with by Colonel Francis, which was consented to. About 8 in the morning the Colonel came, seemingly in an angry frame by his looks and behavior. He told us he had orders from the Governor of Pennsylvania to remove us off (which he in a short time contradicted), and demanded entrance into our town (or city), which was refused ; and continued he-'You have lost your case at Easton, and I have 300 men here
* PRINCE ALDEN was born in Lebanon, New London County, Connecticut, October 28, 1718, third child of Andrew and Lydia (Stanford) Alden. Andrew Alden (born1 1673; married February 4, 1714) was the eldest child of Capt. Jonathan Alden of Duxbury, Massachusetts, who was the youngest son of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden of the Mayflower Pilgrims.
In 1758, during the French and English War, Prince Alden was Quartermaster of the troop of horse attached to the 3d Connecticut Regiment commanded by Col. Eleazar Fitch (see page 481), and was wounded in a skirmish near Fort Ticonderoga. In 1760 he was promoted Lieutenant and later Captain in the Connecticut forces. Captain Alden became a member of The Susquehanna Company in 1761, by the purchase of a half-right from Isaac Tracy of New London, one of the accredited agents of the Con- pany, and he came to Wyoming in May, 1769, in the company of settlers led by Major Durkee. When Fort Durkee was surrendered to the Pennamites (as described in Chapter XI) Captain Alden returned to his home in what is now Montville, New London County, where his wife and children were still residing. He did not come back to Wyoming until early in 1773, when he, John Comstock and Cyprian Lothrop, representing a number of Connecticut proprietors in the Susquehanna Purchase, located and laid out for them the township of Newport-about eight miles south-west of Wilkes-Barré. (See map facing page 468.)
In May, 1773, Captain Alden went to Connecticut, settled up his affairs there and in a short time returned to Wyoming with his wife and nine children and all of their movable property. January 17, 1774, the township of Newport was granted by The Susquehanna Company to those proprietors who had applied for it, and for whom it had been located, as previously mentioned. Captain Alden having acquired one and one-half rights in addition to his original half-right in the Susquehanna Purchase, was allotted land on those rights in each of the three "divisions" of Newport Township.
Accompanied by his wife and some of his children Captain Alden fled from Wyoming after the battle of July 3, 1778, and proceeding to Connecticut remained there-presumably at his former home-until late in 1780 or early in 1781, when he and his family returned to Newport. In 1795 Captain Alden sold out his interests in Newport, and with his son Mason Fitch Alden removed up the Susquehanna River to that part of Braintrim Township, Luzerne County, which is now Meshoppen, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. There he lived until his death, May 22, 1804, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. His wife had died in Newport about 1790.
According to the records of the First Congregational Church at Lebanon Prince Alden was married December 18, 1746, to Mary (born April 24, 1727), eldest child of Capt. Adonijah and Sarah (Fitch) Fitch and great-granddaughter of the Rev. James Fitch of Norwich, Connecticut, mentioned on page 251. Prince and Mary (Fitch) Alden were the parents of the following-named nine children, all of whom were born in what is now Montville, Connecticut. The births of the first seven children were entered in 1766 on page 21 of Volume II of "New London Records-Births, Marriages and Deaths," and the original entry is still in existence.
i. Mary Alden, born December 1, 1747 ; married to - Boles. ii. Mason Fitch Alden, born October 25, 1750 ; married prior to 1779 to Mary Thompson (born June 30, 1752; died March 19, 1814); died at Meshoppen, Pennsylvania, June 14, 1812. iii. Abigail Alden, born August 11, 1753 ; married (1st) in 1776 to John Jameson ( born June 17, 1749; killed by Indians July 8, 1782); married (2d) in 1787 to Shubal Bid- lack, fourth and youngest son of Capt. James and Mehetabel (Durkee) Bidlack ; died in Hanover Town- ship, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1795. iv. Sarah Alden, born February 6, 1756 ; married to Nathaniel Cook. v. Lydia Alden, born October 31, 1758 ; married, prior to 1800, to Benjamin Bidlack (born February 25, 1759 ; died November 27, 1845), third son of Capt. James and Mehetabel (Durkee) Bid- lack ; died about 1808. vi. Prince Alden, born March 14, 1762; married March 14, 1788, to Sarah Nesbitt (born September 8, 1767; died February 15, 1824); removed to Tioga County, New York, where he died about 1820. vii. Andrew Stanford Alden, born May 5, 1766; married to Elizabeth Atherton, and in 1788 removed from Wyoming Valley to Tioga County, New York. viii. John Alden, born about 1769; married (Ist) to Agnes Jameson (born April 25, 1766 ; died about 1791); married (2d) to Nancy Thompson. ix. Daniel Alden, born in 1772; married to Anne Brooks.
501
with me and 100 more coming, and my men are so unruly and ungoverned that it is hardly in my power to keep them from you ; and they will kill your cattle and horses, and destroy your corn, and block up the way so as to cut you off from all communication for provisions, and your Government will not own you.' We told him that we had a good right to the land by Charter from the Crown, and Deed from the Indians, and that we could not, consistent with the votes of the Susquehannah Company, give it up, and should not. Then he made proposals of agreement that we should possess the land on the East Branch, except that what Ogden and some others of them improved, and they to enjoy the West Branch, till decided by law ; and he would give us an hour to consider, and give him an answer. We sent him word that we would not comply with his terms, for it was not in our power.
"Finally he concluded to move off with his mob to Shamokin (which is about 60 miles) and wait there about ten days for the committee to send our proposals, which, if he liked, it was well ; if not, he could come again. And further, he desired our men might be kept in the Fort till his men should be gone, lest they should hurt us. Towards night they moved off, seemingly well pleased with their conquest. As near as we can learn their number did not exceed 50 men, and a considerable part of them in our favor." * *
[Signed]
The "Penn-Physick Manuscripts" (previously referred to) contain certain items bearing upon the Francis expedition, in the shape of charges in an account rendered by Charles Stewart to Governor Penn for "expenses at Wyoming." Some of those charges are in these words : "May, 1769, paid for 4 cwt. of flour at Wioming, £5; paid twenty-two men, for three days each-hired to assist Colonel Francis, but discharged by order of Colonel Chew *- £13, 4sh. June 21st, paid twenty-one of these men for their expences home-half a dollar each-£3, 18sh. 9d."
At Philadelphia, June 25, 1769, Judge Edward Shippen, Jr. (see page 360), wrote to his brother-in-law Col. James Burd, at Tinian, on the Susquehanna, as followst :
"I have received your letters of the 23d May and the 11th inst., and have communi- cated to the Governor what you say concerning the New England people, who will, I believe, now give us no more trouble-twenty of them having been last week at Easton Court indicted for riots and forcible entries ; which proceeding has so intimidated them that Major Dyer and their other principal abettors have agreed to remove immediately from the Susquehanna lands and give the Government no more trouble about their claims, unless they shall be able to obtain a determination in their favor in England. On this consideration the Government will forbear any rigor in the prosecutions on these indictments ; which, however, are to hang over their heads till they have given up the possession of the lands. Wherefore, unless you hear something more of this affair here- after, you need not give yourself any further trouble concerning the apprehending of any of these people."
Very shortly after the return from Easton, Pennsylvania, to Wind- ham, Connecticut, of Messrs. Dyer and Elderkin, they, in conjunction with Samuel Gray, as members of the Executive Committee of The Susquehanna Company, notified the members of the Company (by an advertisement in The New London Gazette) to meet at Windham on the last Wednesday in July, "as matters of importance relative to the affairs of the Company" specially called for their consideration. In pursuance of this notice a meeting was held at Windham on the 26th of July. Colonel Dyer presided, as Moderator, and the chief business transacted was the discussion and disposal of the "question whether they would recall the people [then] on the Susquehanna lands under the votes of the Company." The question was decided in the negative ; after which it was voted "to desire Col. Samuel Talcott to repair with our people to Easton, to attend and advise in their cause." The Company then ad- journed, to meet at Windham on the first Wednesday in September, 1769.
* The Hon. Benjamin Chew, Attorney General of the Province.
t See "The Shippen Papers," previously mentioned.
502
Shortly before the holding of the meeting just referred to Dr. Ben- jamin Gale of Killingworth, Connecticut (who was a member of the General Assembly of Connecticut, and had been an original member of The Susquehanna Company and one of the grantees in the Indian deed), published a 4x6 pamphlet of 34 pages entitled : "Dr. Gale's Letter to J. W., Esq." About one-half of the pamphlet was devoted to the affairs of the The Susquehanna Company (to the pretensions of which Doctor Gale was then opposed), and reference was made to the memorial, or petition, presented to the Assembly by Colonel Dyer and others, in be- half of the Company, praying for a deed of lease and release. (See pages 469 and 470.) Doctor Gale stated that when the committee of the Assembly had in hand this petition some members of the Assembly who were opposed to the matter prepared a formal protest, ready to be used should the Assembly decide to grant the prayer of the petitioners. This protest the Doctor printed in his pamphlet, and the last paragraph of it read as follows: "The vote of The Susquehanna Company to admit the Paxton men, as they are called (who are the inalcontents of Pennsylvania), has rendered it dishonorable for the Legislature of this Colony to countenance their claim." To this "Letter" Colonel Dyer immediately replied with a printed pamphlet of twenty-six pages, in which he charged that Doctor Gale had "grossly misrepresented facts and erred from the truth," and especially "when he says that The Susquehanna Company have voted to admit the Paxton men, which is not true."
The "Paxton men" referred to by Dr. Gale and Colonel Dyer were certain inhabitants of the Paxtang region in Lancaster (now Dauphin) County, Pennsylvania, referred to on pages 426-428. A number of these men, as well as some of the men of that part of Cumberland County lying along the western bank of the Susquehanna opposite Paxtang, had been at Wyoming with Major Clayton in October, 1763. Being chiefly farmers-when not engaged in war-like enterprises-they were not slow in concluding that Wyoming Valley would be a very desirable place in which to live and cultivate the soil. Consequently, when they learned early in 1769 that The Susquehanna Company purposed to renew its settlement of the valley, these Pennsylvanians proposed to the Execu- tive Committee of the Company that they would, upon certain con- ditions, associate themselves with the New England settlers in improv- ing and holding possession of the Company's lands at Wyoming. In the circumstances it was deemed desirable that certain representatives of the Company should have a personal interview with these men in the counties of Lancaster and Cumberland, and so, about the first of April, four or five trustworthy members of the Company were sent forward from Connecticut. They were to go through New York to the Dela- ware River, down which they were to voyage to Easton; thence they were to journey overland to the Susquehanna. Having transacted their business with the Pennsylvanians at Paxtang they were to procure a boat at one of the settlements in that locality, load it with such provisions as would be needed at Wyoming, and then proceed up the river to the valley-endeavoring to land here about the time Major Durkee and his company would arrive.
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