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 6
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-- From "Wyoming, or Connecticut's East India Company", by Henry T. Blake, 1897.
See also Miner's "History of Wyoming", page 290.
+See (+) note page 1274.
#With respect to the obtaining of a sufficient supply of food for the American army, these were, indeed, the times that tried men's souls- not only at the little garrison of Wyoming, but at the headquarters of the army. The Autumn days of 1780 were surely the darkest days in the outlook for American autonomy. In proof of this statement we offer the following extracts from a letter written by General Washington at the headquarters of the army, near Hackensack Bridge, New Jersey, September 12, 1780, and addressed to the Executive Council of Massachusetts. This letter gives a most touching and appealing glimpse of the discouragements that were turning fervent zeal to dull despair in the hearts of many American patriots.
"At present, unfortunately for us, were we in the fullest possession of a naval superiority and the fairest oppor- tunities were to present themselves for striking a stroke, we could not transport even a small hody of troops to any point, however interesting and certain the object. for want of salt provisions. * * I have heard that a very consider- able quantity of beef and pork was captured in the Quebec fleet. If this is the fact, it seems to be the only source from which we can hope to obtain a supply-and from the necessity of the case I take the liberty to entreat you will endeavor to secure it. I would wish at least 4,000 barrels to be provided, if it be by any means practicable. * *
"I am pained to inform your Honorable hody that our distresses for meat still continue pressing and alarming The supplies we have received, including the cattle which have been exacted from the inhabitants of this State-and in many instances to their entire ruin-and which have made no inconsiderable part, have been little more than sufficient to satisfy a third of our necessary demands. The troops on some occasions have been even four and five days without a mouthful of meat. Complaints and murmurings-a relaxation of discipline-marauding-robhery and desertion are the consequences; and, indeed, it is to be wondered at, that they have not prevailed to a much greater extent. I am satisfied things cannot continue long in their present situation " * *- From The Boston Transcript, February, 1900.
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diah Gore serving as "Town Clerk." Among other matters the ineeting resolved that John Hurlbut and Col. Nathan Denison "be appointed Agents to negotiate a petition at the next General Assembly, praying for an abatement of taxes upon the present list." This petition, addressed to the General Assembly of Connecticut, and dated "Westmoreland, 28 September, 1780," was duly prepared, and was presented to the Assembly at its October session by Colonel Denison and John Hurlbut, who attended as representatives from Westmoreland. It is document "No. 136" in the collection of documents in the State Library at Hartford, described in paragraph "(3)", page 29, Vol. I. It is in the handwriting of Obadiah Gore, Jr., and is signed by John Hurlbut, John Franklin, Jabez Sill and James Nisbitt, "Selectmen, in behalf of themselves and the inhabitants."
This memorial sets forth at length "the disagreeable situation" the inhabit- ants of Westmoreland "are yet in, by reason of the unhappy effects of the war," and then continues as follows:
"The settlement being contracted to a very narrow compass, just under cover of the garrison -our fields very much in common-our families either in barracks with the soldiery, or soldiers quartering in our houses, for our protection and safety. Besides, the difficulty of obtaining grinding-there being no grist-mill within forty or fifty miles of this settlement. These, and many other difficulties (which are tedious to mention), induce us once more to petition for an. abatement of taxes upon the present list; or in some other way to grant us relief."
A town-meeting of the inhabitants of Westmoreland was held at the house of Abel Yarington, Wilkes-Barré, on Tuesday, December 5, 1780. John Hurlbut, Esq., acted as Moderator, and he, Colonel Denison, Capt. John Franklin, James Nisbitt and Jabez Sill were chosen Selectmen for the ensuing year. Also, men were chosen to fill the offices of Town Clerk, Treasurer, Constable, Surveyors of Highways, Fence Viewers, Listers, Collectors, Leather Sealers and Grand Jury- men. "The fewness of the inhabitants", says Miner ("History of Wyoming", page 289), "may be inferred from the fact that James Nisbitt and Jabez Sill were each chosen to three offices, and several others were voted in to the duties and honors of two.
"The occasion was one of comparative cheerfulness. Winter had set in *- snow had fallen-the enemy, kept at a respectful distance by the spirited con- duct of Hammond, Bennet, Van Campen, Rogers and Pike, would not be likely, it was thought, soon to return. With frost, sickness had ceased; and Forseman's arrival with a supply of cattle dissipated all fears of suffering from famine. But these pleasing dreams of security were destined to be of brief duration."
On November 19, 1780, a detachment of nineteen "Rangers" and five Indians had set out from Niagara, under the command of Lieut. John Turney, Sr., t on a marauding expedition to the valley of the Susquehanna. In due time the party reached the river, where they took canoes and descended as far as Secord's, on tlie west bank of the river, two or three miles above the present borough of Tunk- hannock. Leaving their canoes here they marched westward through a gap in the mountains, and then in a southerly direction towards the valley of Wyoming. They arrived on the Summit of Shawanese Mountain, overlooking the Plymouth Township settlement, in the afternoon of Wednesday, December 6th, twenty-two days after leaving Niagara.
*"Soon the dreadful Winter of 1780-'81 set in-a season known in our annals as 'the hard Winter' when for forty days, not an icicle was disturbed by the sun in all the region from the Arctic Sea to Roanoke, and westward to the Pacific. It bore with mighty force upon frontier and wilderness life. * * Many cattle perished. Wild beasts and birds were frozen. * * Scarcity of provisions prevailed, and gaunt Famine looked fiercely in at the windows of the cabins."-Harpers Magazine, XIX: 593.
¡See note on page 965, and page 992 Vol. II.
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On the evening of this day George Palmer Ransom*, a member of Capt. Simon Spalding's Westmoreland Independent Company, in the Continental service at the Wyoming garrison, Manasseh Cady, Jonathan Frisbie, James Frisbie,; Nathan Bullock,į Benjamin Harvey and his son Elisha, all privates in Capt. John Franklin's militia company, previously mentioned, were gathered together at the home of Benjamin Harvey§, where, also, were his daughter, Lucy Harvey and Lucy Bullock, a daughter or sister of Nathan Bullock. Mr. Harvey's home was in what is now the borough of Plymouth, on the north-west side of Main Street, about midway between the present Center and Eno Avenues.
There had been a heavy fall of snow a few days previously, and on this Wednesday night the weather was extremely cold; but, within the deep and
*See page 896, Vol. II.
+JAMES FRISBIE, of Branford, New Haven County, Connecticut became a member of The Susquehanna Company November 29, 1760, when he bought of Timothy Rose, of Woodbury, Conn., for £5, one-quarter of an original right, or share, in the Company. In April, 1773, James Frisbie was living in Woodbury, Litchfield County, Conn., but within the next two years he removed to Wyoming and settled in Plymouth. James Frisbie, Jr., and Jonathan Frisbie were undoubtedly his sons.
#NATHAN BULLOCK, mentioned on page 44, Vol. I, and pages 1039, 1161 and 1182, Vol. II, was of Ashford, Con- necticut, in 1773. According to "The Town Book of Wilkes-Barre" (page 1320) "Anderson Dana, Surveyor," " sur- veyed, March 23, 1774, a tract of land for Nathan Bullock, "one of ye Susquehanna Company, on ye easterly side of said Purchase, near ye Long Meadows, so called, near ye Pennamites' Path."
. §BENJAMIN HARVEY, whose name is frequently mentioned in these pages, was horn at Lyme, New London County. Connecticut, July 28, 1722, the seventh and youngest child of John and Sarah Harvey, and great-grandson of Thomas Harvey, a native of Somersetshire, England, who immigrated to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1636, and later became one of the first settlers of Taunton, Massachusetts. (For full details as to the ancestry of Benjamin Harvey, see "The Harvey Book", published by the present writer at Wilkes-Barre in 1899.)
John Harvey, ahove mentioned, was horn at Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1676, the eldest child of John Harvey Sr., (born at Taunton in 1647; died at Lyme, Conn., January 18, 1705), who had been a soldier in Maj. Samuel Apple- ton's hattalion during King Philip's, or the Narragansett, War, and was wounded at the "Great Swamp Fight", Decem- ber 19, 1675. In 1681 he removed with his family to the town of New London, Connecticut, and thence, a few years later, to the town of Lyme, in the same county.
John Harvey, Jr., lived the greater part of his life in Lyme. He was a farmer, and the owner of considerable property in the North Parish of Lyme. He held various town offices of responsibility for a number of years. His wife Sarah died at North Lyme October 2, 1754, and he died there December 23, 1767.
Benjamin Harvey, like his father owned considerable property in North Lyme, where he resided for the first fifty years of his life, and was engaged for a good part of that period in farming and stock raising. For a number of years he was a near neighbor and intimate friend of Zebulon Butler, as noted on page 636, Vol. II.
In 1744 war was declared by France against England, and by England against France, and in February, 1745, 500 troops were raised in Connecticut, who were organized into eight companies and marched forward to Boston. For Connecticut's contingent New London County furnished quite a number of men, some of whom were from Lyme. Among them was Benjamin Harvey, then in his twenty-third year. These Connecticut troops, as part of the Colonial forces, sailed for Cape Breton, where, on June 8, 1745, was begun the seige of Louisbourg. In forty-nine days this "Gibraltar of America" was captured by the English, and shortly thereafter the Connecticut troops were sent home and disbanded.
During the progress of the second French and English War, Benjamin Harvey served in 1759 as a Corporal in the 9th Company of the 4th Regiment of Connecticut troops, commanded by Capt. Zebulon Butler. (See last paragraph, page 635, Vol. II.) During the "Stamp Act" troubles of 1765 Benjamin Harvey was an active member of the Sons of Liberty in Connecticut. (See page 482, Vol. I.)
In December, 1768, The Susquehanna Company appropriated the sum of £200 for the purpose of providing pro- visions for its settlers at Wyoming. . (See page 466, Vol. I.) Some of the supplies thus provided for having been pur- chased at I.yme, Benjamin Harvey was employed to transport the same to their destination. This work was done by making two trips-one in the Summer of 1769, and the other about a year later-from North Lyme to Wilkes-Barre, with three carts drawn by oxen driven by Benjamin Harvey and his sons Benjamin and Seth.
Benjamin Harvey's wife having died at North Lyme December 3, 1771, and his second son, Seth, having died there a week later, he determined early in 1772 that he would remove to Wyoming, where so many of his old friends and former neighbors were already settled. Therefore, April 14, 1772, he purchased of John Starlin, or Sterling, of Lyme, for £12, a half-share or "-right" in the Susquehanna Purchase. He immediately sent his eldest son, Benjamin, on to Wyoming to examine into the situation of affairs there, and to look out for his interests. As shown by the records of The Susquehanna Company, he himself arrived at Wilkes-Barre May 7, 1772. Having been admitted a proprietor in Plymouth Township he was allotted the lands therein to which he was entitled on his half-right, and before the close of the year 1772 he was joined at Plymouth by the several members of his family who had remained behind at Ly me.
In the Summer of 1773 Benjamin Harvey took steps to acquire a "pitch of land", consisting of some 754 acres, lying along the Susquehanna south-west of Plymouth Township. Two streams of water flowed across the tract- one near the eastern and the other near the western boundary. One of these streams was the creek described on page 54, Vol. I, now and for many years past, known as Harvey's Creek
At a regular meeting of The Susquehanna Company held at Hartford, Connecticut, May 24, 1774, the following communication was read: (The original document is in the possession of the writer of this.)
"To the Susquehanna Proprietors to be Convened at Hartford on the 24th of May, 1774.
"Gentlemen-There is a Large Tract of Land Lying and adjoining To the Township of Plymouth that Mr. Benjn. Harvey applyd. for by way of Petition at the Susqh. meeting Last June it was Refered to the Committee of Setlers and they Impowerd. to finally Determine that matter-upon Examination we found that Mr. Harvey as a sufferer is already made good in Plymouth and that he now challenges it as a part of his Generall Right-
"In my Opinion the Land Included in that Survey is Greatly Superior to any Right in either of the setling Towns- therefore upon them Principles we chose that the Company should still have the power of Disposing of the same as they think proper-Besides I would Beg Leave to Inform you Gentlemen that there is a considerable Stream runs through sd. Tract, I believe Large enough to carry an Iron works the whole season, and a very Large Quantity of Iron Ore, Doubtless enough to last to the end of Time, which is said to be very rich and its very Near, and even in ye Banks of the Brook-
"Now if the Company could adopt some measures whereby some Gentlemen might be Incouraged to set up a Bloomary it would I am sure he a matter of Great Consequence to the Company in Generall and the settlers in particu- lar, and a Gentlemen appearing to undertake the Business would Doubtless meet with Great Incouragement from the setlers here-
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broad fire-place in the "living room" of Benjamin Harvey's house, there blazed a fire of pine-knots and chestnut logs, whose genial brightness and warmth the little company seated about the hearth enjoyed with much satisfaction, heedless of the blustering winds and drifting snow without. At the same time the men of the party were enjoying also plenteous draughts of the hardest kind of hard cider, which, with our New England forefathers, was the usual drink on extra- ordinary occasions during the Winter season.
The hour was yet early when, suddenly, a noise was heard by this little group of friends at the fireside, which hushed their conversation and caused them to look at one another with apprehension. The noise was caused, simply, by
"There is a Large Quantity of good stone Coals on sd. Tract which is valuable and the very best I have seen on Susquehanna, as I profess to be a judge of thet-
"Gentlemen I Communicate this that you might not be Deceived with Regard to the Quality of that Tract of Land-There is no other Stream of that Bigness for many miles Distance except the River-
"Gentlemen with Esteem I subscribe myself
"Westmoreland 16th of May 1774."
"Your Humbe. Servt.
[Signed] "OBADIAH GORE, JUNR."
Mr. Gore was, without doubt, somewhat of an expert with respect to water-courses and anthracite coal, but on the subject of iron ore he was apparently "off". While there were large deposits of coal, acres of valuable timber, and a fine stream of water on the land selected by Mr. Harvey, there was never a trace of iron ore there.
What action, if any, was taken by the Susquehanna Company on the letter of Mr. Gore the minutes of the Company do not disclose. The records do show, however, that the land in question was duly laid out and confirmed to Mr. Harvey, and that he remained the owner of it until his death.
In 1774 Mr. Harvey opened the first store in Plymouth, which was managed for him by his son Bejamin, Jr., while he busied himself about other matters. He continued to reside in Plymouth until his death, and he took a very active part in the public affairs of the community. His name appears frequently in the following pages.
Benjamin Harvey was married, first, in 1745, to Elizabeth (born at Lyme in 1720), fourth daughter and nioth child of John and Jemima Pelton. Mrs. Harvey having died in December, 1771, as previously noted, Benjamin Harvey
Beny"harvey
was married, second, at Plymouth, between 1783 and 1786, to Catherine Draper, widow of Maj. Simeon Draper. Benjamin Harvey died at his home in Plymouth Township, near what is now West Nanticoke, November 27, 1795; and his widow Catharine died there May 6, 1800.
The children of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Pelton) Harvey were as follows (all born in North Lyme): (i) Mary, born 1746; died unmarried October 27, 1767. (i) Benjamin, born 1747; died in February or March, 1777, as Facsimile of signature written in 1782. noted on page 904, Vol. II. (iii) Seth, born 1749, died unmarried December 10, 1771. (iv) Abigail, horn 1752; died unmarried November 22, 1769. (v) Silas, born 1754; killed at the battle of Wyoming, July 3, 1778. (vi) Lois, born 1756; becarne in 1779 the wife of Elna- than Sweet, Jr. (horn at Exeter, Rhode Island, June 24, 1755; died at Beekmanstown, New York, in 1782), of Beek- manstown, Duchess County, New York; died at Halfmoon, Saratoga County, New York, in 1808, leaving a daughter. Abigail (Sweet) Deuel, wife of Joseph Merrit Deuel, of Deerfield, Oneida County, N. Y. (vii) Elisho, born 1758; died March 14, 1800. (viii) Lucy, born 1760; became the wife of Abraham Tillbury of Plymouth.
(vii) Elisha Harvey came to Wyoming in 1772 with the other members of his father's family, and with them took up his residence in Plymouth. In 1775, being in the eighteenth year of his life and over the minimum age fixed by the laws of Connecticut for the militia service of the Colony, he was mustered as a private in the 3d Company (Capt. Samuel Ransom commanding) of the 24th Regiment, Connecticut Militia, and in December of the same year fought with the Wyoming settlers against the forces of Colonel Plunket, at "Rampart Rocks", on the property of his father at West Nanticoke. (See page 860, Vol. II.)
In 1778 Elisha Harvey was still a member of the 3d Company, then commanded by Capt. Asaph Whittlesey and with it took part in the battle of July 3d. When the retreat of the Americans began, Elisha Harvey-escaped from the bloody field in company with William Reynolds, Sr., a man of some years, who was an old friend, and for a time had been a neighbor in Plymouth, of Benjamin Harvey, and, like the latter, was an enrolled member of the "Alarm List" of the 3d Company. Messrs. Reynolds and Harvey swam across the river near Forty Fort, and bastened to Fort Wilkes-Barré. Thence they fled the next day, taking, with many other Wyoming refugees, the long-untraveled "Warrior Path", which, running over the mountains south-east of Wilkes-Barre, led to Fort Allen, and onward through the Lehigh Water Gap to Bethlehem.
Having tarried at the last-named place a few days, the two men journeyed to Easton, twelve miles distant where they joined a number of their former comrades-in-arms and set off up the Delaware River. Leaving the river at Lower Smithfield they proceeded to Fort Penn (now Stroudsburg) where, July 26, 1778, they joined a detachment of the 24th Regiment under the command of Colonel Butler. With this body they marched to Wilkes-Barre, where they arrived August 4, and where they were on the 1st of the following October-with the 170 or more Continental soldiers and Westmoreland militia there engaged in scouting, etc. (See pages 1079, 1080 and 1096, Vol. II.)
Owing to the rigors of the Canadian climate, and the severe physical strains to which he had been subjected during his captivity, the health of Elisha Harvey was greatly impaired, during the two years following his return to Wyoming; and so, as far as possible, he avoided the frays and commotions incident to the "Second Pennamite-Yankee War." He remained quietly at bis father's home engaged in farming-when permitted to do so by the Pennamites. Shortly after his father's death he completed at the easternmost end of the Plymouth "plantation", devised to him by his father, a substantial stone dwelling-house. Here he resided with his family until his death, which occurred March 14, 1800, in the forty-second year of his age. During the last two or three years of his life he suffered much from ill health, caused by the development of a wasting disease which had been implanted in his system wbile he was undergo- ing the cruel hardships and severe exposures incident to his captivity in Canada.
Elisha Harvey was married November 27, 1786, to Rosanna (born December 24, 1758) daughter of Robert and Agnes (Dixon) Jameson of Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, but formerly of Voluntown, Windham County, Connecticut. (See in the following chapter a sketch of the Jame- son family.) Mrs. Rosanna (Jameson) Harvey died at her home in Ply- mouth Township January 17, 1840, in the eighty-second year of her age.
Elisha Harvey
The children of Elisha and Rosanna (Jameson) Harvey were as follows -all horn in Plymouth Township: (1) Benjamin, born August 10, 1787; died March 18, 1788. (2) Sorch, born May 4, 1789; married to the Rev. Facsimile of signature written in 1780. George Lane; died October 11, 1832. (3) Elizabeth, horn September 20, 1790; married to Thomas Pringle; died May 26, 1868. (4) Benjamin, born May 9, 1792, married to Sarah Nesbitt; died March 3, 1873. (5) Nancy. born March 19, 1794; died January 15, 1795. (6) Jameson, born January 1, 1796; married to Mary Campbell; died July 4, 1885. (7) Silas, born December 17, 1797; married to Rachel Search; died May 10, 1824.
For a fuller account of the Harvey family see "The Harvey Book", published at Wilkes-Barre in 1899.
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two or three gentle knocks struck on the outer door of the house; but there was a ringing sound to them, which, to the experienced ears of those within the house, indicated that the knocks did not come from the knuckles of a closed hand.
After a few moments of silence the knocking was renewed, but more sharply than before. Benjamin Harvey then went forward and unbarred the door, whereupon it was pushed violently open, and five Indians, in full war-paint, crossed the threshold. Glancing through the doorway, Mr. Harvey discovered that the house was surrounded by a number of armed men, which fact he im- mediately made known to his companions. Shortly afterwards the commander of the band, accompanied by two or three of his men, joined the savages within doors, and demanded food and drink for his party.
These marauders, it will be understood, were Lieutenant Turney and his detachment from Niagara, who, as soon as the shades of night had fallen upon Wyoming, had passed, as quietly and rapidly as possible, from their bivouac on top of Shawanese Mountain down into the valley.
Having satisfied their hunger and thirst without delay, they began to bind with cords the arms of the inmates of the house, who, in the meantime, had been informed by Lieutenant Turney that they must consider themselves prisoners of war. The marauders then set out for the mountain with their nine captives, and with such booty as they could easily secure and carry. Arriving on top of the mountain, and out of danger of immediate pursuit, the party halted for con- sultation. After awhile one of the Indians, who was past middle age, and was apparently a chief, led Lucy Harvey and Lucy Bullock aside from the other captives, and, by the dim and flickering light of a torch, painted their faces in true Indian style. Then, unloosing the cords which bound the young women, he told them his name,* and added: "Go, tell Colonel Butler I put on this paint!''
Parting from their relatives and friends, whom they never expected to see again, Lucy Harvey and Lucy Bullock made their way down into the valley, through the gloomy forest and over the rough, snow-covered ground. Reaching the Plymouth highway they hastened in the direction of the Wilkes-Barré ferry, which they reached a short time before daylight. Awakening the ferryman, they were rowed across the river by him, and arrived in a few minutes at Fort Wyoming.
One of the sentries on duty there at that hour was a young man named Charles Harris, who, being acquainted with the Misses Harvey and Bullock, recognized their voices when they hailed the fort. Being admitted within the walls, they quickly told their story to the commander of the garrison, who ordered the alarm-gun to be fired. But by this time the captors and the captured were far on their journey, and, beyond the sound even of the signal, which fell upon the ears of the people of the valley as a notification that some one in the community had been murdered or carried into captivity.
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