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 III > Part 29
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+The original is in the possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and it is now printed for the first time.
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This document was taken to Philadelphia by Col. John Franklin, the agent of the Yankee settlers at Wyoming, and was duly presented to the Assembly, where it was "read the first time February 12, 1784." A few days later President Dickinson wrote to Maj. James Moore, at Wilkes-Barré, as follows :*
"Having conferred with Alexander Patterson & David Mead, Esquires, & Captain Armstrong, concerning the Behaviour of the Settlers at Wioming not claiming under this State, we think it proper to observe, that a very vigilant attention must be had to the Conduct of that People, and every Measure taken to guard against any hostile Enterprizes.
"At the same time, it is the Intention & Desire of Government that if they behave peaceably & inoffensively, they are to be in all Respects treated kindly, as persons whom we wish to become affectionate & faithful Citizens of this Commonwealth."
On the same day President Dickinson wrote as follows to Alexander Patterson, David Mead, John Seely and Henry Shoemakert, Esquires, Pennsyl- vania Justices of the Peace in and for Northumberland County, who were just at that time exercising their justicial functions at Wilkes-Barré.
"Having conferred with two of you concerning the Behaviour of the Settlers at Wioming not claiming under this State, we judge it proper to observe, that as it is the Duty of persons in such offices as you hold, to render justice to all persons without Distinction as far as your Authority extends, and to preserve the Peace, the peculiar Situation of affairs in your neighbor- hood requires a particular attention to the Conduct of those who are disaffected to Pennsylvania, and that the earliest Intelligence should be communicated to us of any proceeding that threatens Injury to the Commonwealth.
"But, if the said Settlers behave peaceably and inoffensively, it is the Intention & Desire of Government that they should be in all Respects treated with kindness, as persons whom we wish to become affectionate and faithful Citizens of Pennsylvania."
The committee which had been sent to Wyoming by the Pennsylvania Assembly (see page 1358) to investigate affairs here, made its report to the House February 3, 1784; and the same having been read the first time was re- ferred to a committee composed of Joseph Work, Henry Miller, James Johnston, Nicholas Lutz and John Carothers.
At that time Col. John Franklin was still in Philadelphia, authorized, as the agent of the Yankee settlers at Wyoming, to look after their interests so far as possible. Therefore, on February 23, 1784}, he prepared and presented to the General Assembly the following petition§ :
"To the Honorable the Representatives of the Freeman of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- · vania, in General Assembly met :--
"The petition and address of JOHN JENKINS, NATHAN DENISON, OBADIAH GORE, HUGH FORSEMAN and JOHN FRANKLIN, inhabitants of Wyoming, in behalf of themselves and others inhabitants of said place, most respectfully sheweth,
"That Whereas, upon a petition and remonstrance|| from divers inhabitants of Wyoming, bearing date November 18, 1783, complaining of certain illegal proceedings had against them by Alexander Patterson, Esq., and others, your Honours, of your abundant goodness, by a resolution appointed a committee from your Honorable House to inquire into the charges contained in said petition.
"That timely notice being given to the said Alexander Patterson, Esq., and others concerned, as well as to the petitioners, an inquiry was held at Wyoming by your committee [for] near ten days. Witnesses [were] called for and fairly heard, and depositions [were] taken, as well on the part of those complained of, as on the part of the petitioners. Liberty of questioning the witnesses when under examination in support of the petition was granted to the defending party, and a fair and legal hearing of all such witnesses as they saw fit to make use of.
"That since the return of your committee from Wyoming we understand that sundry private letters, and a number of ex parte depositions taken since the inquiry aforesaid, have
*See "Pennsylvania Archives", Old Series, X: 207.
tMentioned on page 1337. He was an inhabitant of Northampton County, and :# 1780 and '81 was Captain of a company of Northampton County militia ("Rangers") in the service of the United States. (See "Pro- ceedings and Collections of The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society", X: 118.) February 7, 1784, he was commissioned by the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania a Justice of the Peace in and for Northumberland County. He was dismissed from office by the Council December 24, 1784.
#On this same day, at Philadelphia, Maj. James Chrystie filed with President Dickinson a paper reading as follows: "I am ordered by Major Moore, commanding at Fort Dickinson, to apply to the Supreme Executive Council for some money on account, for the discharge of debts necessarily contracted for the use of the Fort-for the laying in of 100 cords of wood, for the payment of intrenching tools, and for hauling necessary for the repairing of the works. £100 will answer for the present."
$See Miner's "History of Wyoming", page 336.
See page 1355.
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been presented to your House; reporting, or representing, to your Honours that the inhabitants of Wyoming who settled that territory under the Connecticut claim, do not manifest submission to the laws and authority of this State, but appear [to be] designing against the same, and that there is danger of ill consequences proceeding from the opposition of said inhabitants.
"Conscious that no opposition from us has been made to the laws and authority aforesaid, and that no such designs are existing, we humbly conceive that such reports must have originated through misinformation or mistake. We have the highest esteem for the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and are well satisfied with the laws of this state. We are under your jurisdiction and protection-are subjects and free citizens of the State of Pennsylvania. We have voluntarily taken and subscribed the oaths and affirmations of allegiance and fidelity, as directed by a supplement to an Act of the General Assembly of this State; and it is our will and pleasure to serve you in doing our duty as good and faithful subjects of this State, in support- ing the rights, liberties and privileges of the same. We have to look up to your Honours for protection, for justice, equity and liberty, on which we depend.
"We have the greatest confidence that upon the examination of the depositions taken by your committee in their inquiry at Wyoming, your House will be satisfied that the charges con- tained in the aforesaid petition are fully supported, and that no opposition has been made on our part. That by our peaceable demeanor and ready submission to Government, we have duly submitted to every requisition, whether civil or military, and that the proceedings had against us-and which we complained of-were unconstitutional and unlawful, and that we had the greatest reason to appeal to your Honours for redress.
"Relying on the justice and impartiality of your Honorable House, we are assured that reports by private letters, and ex parte evidence, will not avail against legal and well-grounded testimony, either to condemn an innocent people, or screen the guilty from Justice. We humbly request to be protected and continued quiet and unmolested in our possessions-which is our all-until a legal decision shall be had thereon, with which we are ready to comply, and shall quietly resign to any claimant or claimants whose title shall be adjudged preferable to ours. We press your Honours to grant us protection and redress, and that the liberties and privileges, which subjects and free citizens of this State are entitled to, may not be denied to us. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
"Philadelphia, February 23, 1784.
[Signed] "JOHN FRANKLIN, "Agent for the inhabitants of Wyoming."
This petition having been read in the House the first time February 23, 1784, was referred to the committee which had in hand the report of the Assembly Committee of Inquiry into Wyoming affairs.
There were other petitions prepared at Wyoming about this time, some of which were presented to the Legislature, and others of which failed to reach that body-as we learn from one of Colonel Franklin's "Plain Truth" articles, printed in The Luzerne Federalist, (Wilkes-Barré) September 21, 1801. The following paragraphs have been extracted from the article in question :-
"The Legislature [of Pennsylvania] was in session from about the 13th of January, 1784, until some time in April, during which time several petitions, represented to be the petitions of the Connecticut settlers at Wyoming, were set on foot, circulated, and signed with several hundred names, and sent to Philadelphia. Some were presented to the Legislature; others, after they had reached Philadelphia, were prevented (by the agent [Colonel Franklin] of the settlers who then attended the Legislature) from being presented. In these petitions it was set forth that the petitioners expected they had lost their lands by the decree at Trenton, and pray- ing for lands as a compensation for their sufferings by the calamities of war, etc.
"These petitions were first set on foot, not by Connecticut claimants-they had petitioned Congress-but by persons opposed to the Connecticut claimants and to the settlers under their claim. Some of the Justices of the Peace, who were Pennsylvania claimants, and had been forced upon the settlers, were particularly active in this business. Several of the petitions, if not all, were sent to Philadelphia by a Pennsylvania claimant. Dr. Joseph Sprague was the bearer of several of them.
"A very small number of the Connecticut fathers being unwary, and off their guard, were deceived, and, not knowing the contents of the petition, placed their names thereto. The whole number did not exceed twenty-several of whom were minors, widows and children. The names of several others who were absent were affixed without their knowledge or consent. Those settlers who did sign, found they had been deceived, and expressed it in a remonstrance and petition directed to the Legislature. The petitions were signed by many of those persons who, in May following, assisted the troops in driving off and expelling the settlers from Wyoming. They were signed with the names of persons belonging in other Counties and States. The names of children and even of infants, and the names of many yet unborn, were inserted." * *
At Philadelphia, under the date of March 6, 1784, President Dickinson wrote with great care a very full and detailed reply to the communication which he had received from Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, in December, 1783.
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(See page 1357.) He began by expressing the hope that the Government of Connecticut, "upon being well informed" with respect to the proceedings on the part of Pennsylvania towards the Wyoming settlers, would "not persist in a conduct so extraordinary as that lately adopted." He then declared: "Whether this Hope be well founded or not, we shall enjoy the Satisfaction of having affectionately endeavoured to remove the prejudices of a sister State, & to prevent the Evils that must result from such a Revival of the late Contro- versy." He then continued, in part as follows *:
"The Acts of the Legislature of Connecticut of October, 1783, and your Excellency's letter, contain two charges against this State: first, of suppression of evidence, & secondly, of cruelty towards the settlers of Wyoming. *
* * However severe these Charges are, they meet on our part with a Consciousness that they are not merited. As to the former, it is so indefinite that we cannot imagine to what Evidence it alludes. As to the latter, the inclosed Papers & some corresponding Circumstances will evince how much it was undeserved.
"It has been the constant Determination of this Government to treat with Benevolence & Generosity the Settlers at Wioming whose Cases were recommended by equitable Considera- tions; and we are persuaded that all who are described in the Resolutions of the second of last Septembert would have had their Possessions immediately confirmed to them, if it could be done without a Violation of the Rights of Property in a Multitude of Instances-those Lands having been heretofore granted by Pennsylvania to many Individuals who insisted ou their Titles, and pleaded the sanction of Laws.
"This Difficulty opposed itself to the kind Intentions of Government. In order to remove it Commissioners, who were Members of the Legislature, were appointed to repair to Wioming. Proposals of Accommodation were made, but not concluded. Several Papers were addrest to the Commissioners by the Claimants ou each side. That from the settlers at Wioming, dated 23d April, 1783}, and signed on Behalf of the rest by John Jenkins, put an End to all further Ex- pectation of Compromises, & the Commissioners soon after returned Home. * * * *
"Upon the Report of the Commissioners, our General Assembly formed their Resolutions. of the second of September; and tho' their 'Hopes of a friendly Compromise seemed then van- ished', yet still influenced by the same Equity that suggested the appointment of the Commis- siouers, & to encourage the Settlers to assent to Terms compatible with the legal Claim under Pennsylvania which had occasioned the before-mentioned Difficulty, they resolved that 'a reasonable Compensation in Lands within the Boundaries of this State, upon easy Terms, be made to the Families of those who have fallen fighting against the Savages, & to such others as actually did reside on the Lands at Wioming when the late Decree was given at Trenton.'
"The Good Faith & Liberality with which the present Assembly have adhered to this Engagement, will appear from the Resolutions of the 30th of last January§, by which three hundred Acres of Land are granted clear of purchase Money to each of the fifteen Settlers therein mentioned. * * *
"It is also evident from the recited Declaration of 'the Settlers' at Wyoming, that they are coutending for other Claims than their own. Such Ideas have been successfully infused into their Minds, that their Contest extends to the Claims of 'a much greater Body of Joint proprietors than is there."
"Thus, by their own Acknowledgement, the Question does not relate to the persons ex- pressly designated by your Legislature in these & several other words-'whose sufferings & Condition under Pennsylvania have excited the Commiseration of their Friends,' but to the Claims that may be made by that 'much greater Body of Joint proprietors.' * * *
"It is too plain what the Consequences will be, when a considerable Body of Men who have fixed themselves in a State in Defiance of her Authority, making common Cause with 'a much greater Body' residing in another State, tempting bold & needy Adventurers from every Quarter to join them (which we aver to be their practice) and meditating hostile Enterprise against us (which we know to be their Design), are taught to expect from that other State (and a very respectable one) 'all the aid and support in her power,' and see her making every Exertion to acquire for them the Jurisdiction over the Lands where they have fixed themselves. * * *
"We ardently wish that the Citizens of a State united to us by so many strong Ties, would be pleased to afford some further Consideration to the Arguments of the Advocates for these Measures, and, with a serious and consciencious Attention, to weigh how far such proceedings are reconcileable with the Maxims of Reason and Justice, the Laws of Nature and Nations, the true interests of the State, the uniform and solemn declarations of their own ancestors repeated in their legislative and executive Acts of Government from Generation to Generation (without a dissenting Voice), the unanimous Determination of the most dignified Judges chosen by themselves, upon a Trial long prepared for and deliberately entered into, or, in brief, with the Principles upon which the Peace and Repose of Mankind are established. *
* * "If any violent actions have been committed by Individuals, they have pro- ceeded from minds alarmed by apprehension of imminent Danger, or irritated by severe Injuries. We mean not to recriminate, but only to recall some past events into Remembrance; for, we are.
*See "Pennsylvania Archives", Old Series, X: 213.
+See page 1343. #See page 1334. §See page 1360.
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assured, that the Citizens of your State will not impute any peculiar want of 'mercy' to the people of this, when they reflect that the Emigrants from Connecticut seized by violence the Lands which are now claimed-at a time, too, when Pennsylvania was actually invaded by a formidable Enemy-'entered by Force into the Possessions & Labors' of Pennsylvanians, plundered them of all their property, & drove them out of that part of the Country.
"And when they reflect, also, that, at the Commencement of those Disturbances, the Government of Pennsylvania, in the most friendly and strenuous manner, cautioned Connecticut, by sending an Agent of Distinction and an official Letter, against countenancing the attempt, as leading (to use the words of the Letter) into, 'an endless scene of Trouble and Confusion', that might be very generally 'prejudicial'.
"To conclude; let the whole series of transactions relating to the Intrusion upon these Latids be impartially considered, and we are perfectly convinced the People of this State will be regarded as much more trespassed against than trespassing. We shall not uselessly engage in the detail, nor in any Dispute upon the subject. Our sincere wishes are, that this unhappy affair may be closed in such a way as to cause as little Distress as possible to Individuals, and as little Detriment as possible to our Common Country."
Major Moore, in writing from Wilkes-Barré to President Dickinson, at the beginning of February, 1784, referred to the severity of the weather, and the unusual quantity of snow which had then for some time covered the face of the country in north-eastern Pennsylvania. (See page 1364.) The Winter of 1783- '84 was, unquestionably, noted for its severity, as we learn from the writings of various persons of that period. About the middle of January, 1784, snow fell in Wyoming Valley and the surrounding country to the depth of four feet, cutting off all communication between the State authorities at Philadelphia and the Pennamite garrison in Wilkes-Barré. The inmates of Fort Dickinson were compelled to keep close quarters, and for some time were unable to visit the near- by forests for fuel. The scattered inhabitants of the valley were barricaded in their dwellings, and could not call upon or be called upon by their neighbors.
In November, 1786, there was published in the Columbian Magazine an interesting article concerning a flood in the Susquehanna River in March, 1784, written by the noted Dr.Benjamin Ruslı of Philadelphia, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania. After commenting at some length on the extremely cold weather of the Winter of 1779-80, Dr. Rush continued as follows :
"The Winter of 1783-'84 was uncommonly cold, insomuch that the mercury in Farenheit's thermometer stood several times at 5° below 0. The cold was as intense but not so steady as it was in the Winter [1779-'80] that has been described. The snows were frequent, and in many places from two to three feet deep, during the greatest part of the Winter. All the rivers in Pennsylvania were frozen so as to bear waggons and sleds with immense weights.
"The Winter of 1783-'84 differed materially from that of 1779-'80 in one particular, viz .: there was a thaw in the month of January, 1784, which came on suddenly and opened our rivers so as to set the ice a-driving-to use the phrase of the country. In the course of one night during the January thaw the wind shifted suddenly to the north-west, and the weather became intensely cold. The ice, which had floated the day before, was suddenly obstructed, and in the Susque- hanna the obstructions were formed in those places where the water was most shallow, or where
it had been accustomed to fall. * * * The ice in many places, especially where there were falls, formed a kind of dam, of a most stupendous height.
"About the middle of March our weather moderated, and a thaw became general. The effects of it were remarkable in all our rivers, but in none so much as in the Susquehanna. * * * Unfortunately the dams of ice did not give way all at once, nor those which lay nearest the mouth of the river first. While the upper dams were set afloat by the warm weather, the lower ones, which were the largest, and in which, of course, the ice was most impacted, remained fixed. In consequence of this the river rose in a few hours-in matty places above thirty feet. Rolling upon its surface were large lumps of ice, from ten to forty cubic feet in size.
"The effects of this sudden inundation were terrible. Whole farms were laid under water. Barns, stables, horses, cattle, fences, mills of every kind, and, in one instance, a large stone house, 40 x 30 feet in size, were carried down the stream. Large trees were torn up by the roots; several small islands, covered with woods, were swept away, and not a vestige of them was left behind. On the barns which preserved their shape-in some instances, for many miles-were to be seen living fowls; and, in one dwelling-house, a candle was seen to burn for some time after the house
*See the references thereto on pages 1225 and 1226, Vol. II.
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was swept from its foundations. Where the shore was level the lumps of ice and the ruins of houses and barns were thrown a quarter of a mile from the ordinary height of the river.
"In some instances farms were ruined by the mould being swept from them by the cakes of ice, or by depositions of sand; while others were enriched by large depositions of mud. The damage, upon the whole, done to the State of Pennsylvania by this freshet, was very great. In most places it happened in the day time, or the consequences must have been fatal to many thousands."
Isaac A. Chapman of Wilkes-Barré, wrote his "Sketch of the History of Wyoming" (see page 19, Vol. I) in the year 1818. There were then living in Wyoming Valley many persons who were inhabitants of the valley in 1784 and earlier, and from them Mr. Chapman derived most of the information used by him in the writing of his history. Concerning the flood of 1784, Mr. Chapman wrote:
"About the middle of March the weather became suddenly warm, and on the 13th and 14th the rain fell in torrents, melting the deep snows throughout all the hills and valleys in the upper regions watered by the Susquehanna. The following day the ice in the river began to break up, and the streams rose with great rapidity. The ice first gave way at the different rapids, and, floating down in great masses, lodged against the frozen surface of the more gentle parts of the river, where it remained firm. In this manner several large dams were formed, which caused such an accumulation of water that the river overflowed all its banks, and one general inunda- tion overspread the extensive plains of Wyoming.
"The inhabitants took refuge on the hills and surrounding heights, and saw their property exposed to the fury of the waters. At length the upper dam gave way, and huge masses of ice were scattered in every direction. The deluge bore down upon the dams below, which success- sively yielded to the insupportable burden, and the whole went off with the noise of contending storms. Houses, barns, stacks of hay and grain, cattle, sheep and swine were swept off in the general destruction, to be seen no more. The plain on which the village of Wilkesbarre is built was covered with heaps of ice, which continued a great portion of the following Summer."
Miner ("History of Wyoming," page 342), writing about the year 1843, and commenting upon Chapman's account of the 1784 flood said:
"To this admirable and graphic description it may not be uninteresting to add several instan- ces of special adventure and loss. Abel Peirce*, Esq., had his residence on Kingston flats, opposite Wilkesbarre. Suddenly in the night the family was aroused by a rushing sound and mighty convulsions, which shook the house, when the waters-a dam having broken above-flowed in upon the floor, giving them scarcely time to ascend for safety to an upper chamber, rescuing a few things from destruction.
"Huge masses of ice, one following another, struck against the side of the house, seeming to be rending it from its foundations, while the water had already risen nearly to the upper floor. A craft which they had secured the day before, tied to a tree close by the window, now afforded them the only ray of hope and shelter, as they were almost certain the building must be swept away. Passing through the chamber window into the boat, the family waited in intense anxiety the subsiding of the deluge and the break of morning. The waters suddenly fell, so that when light appeared aid arrived, and the family were saved; but their stock of cattle and horses were all lost in the deluge.
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