USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Brookville > A pioneer history of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania and my first recollections of Brookville, Pennsylvania, 1840-1843, when my feet were bare and my cheeks were brown > Part 8
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" IN TESTIMONY, Whereof I have hereunto put my hand and seal the day and year above said.
" THOS M'KEAN, L. S."
FORT McINTOSH.
After having successfully completed their mission to Fort Stanwix, the Pennsylvania commissioners, accompanied by those representing the
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
United States, immediately proceeded to Fort McIntosh, on the Ohio River, now the site of the present town of Beaver, to treat with the Wyandott and Delaware Indians, who claimed rights in the same lands ceded to the State by the treaty at Fort Stanwix. The following are the proceedings :
" FORT MCINTOSH, January, 1785.
" In Council, January 9, 1785.
"PRESENT.
The HON. GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE, RICHARD BUTLER, and
ARTHUR LEE, EsQs.,
Commissioners on part of the United States.
THE HON. SAMUEL F. ATLEE and Commissioners on part of the
FRANCIS JOHNSTON, ESQs., State of Pennsylvania. GRIFFITH EVANS, Secretary. JOHN MONTOUR, Interpreter.
And the chiefs, etc., of the Wyandott, Delaware, Chippewa, and Ottawa Indian Nations.
" The commissioners on part of the United States, in consequence of the State commissioners' letter of yesterday, addressed the Indians as follows :
" ' SACHEMS AND WARRIORS,-These gentlemen, Colonel Atlee and Colonel Johnston, are commissioners from the State of Pennsylvania, who have attended here by consent of Congress to transact some public business with you on the part of said State, which they will be ready to introduce after the present treaty is concluded.'
" NOTE .- It appearing to the commissioners that the Wyandott and Delaware nations were the only claimants of the unpurchased lands in Pennsylvania among the western Indians, consequently the present nego- tiations on part of the State are confined to them.
" In Conference, January 14, 1785.
" PRESENT.
The HON. SAMUEL F. ATLEE and Commissioners. FRANCIS JOHNSTON, EsQs., GRIFFITH EVANS, Secretary.
JOHN MONTOUR and
JOSEPH NICHOLSON, Interpreters.
And the chiefs of the Wyandott and Delaware Indian nations.
" The commissioners addressed them in the following words by Colonel Atlee :
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
"' BROTHERS,-We have been long separated by the wars that have subsisted between us, which are now terminated and over. We are very glad to meet you here, and have great occasion to rejoice that we have an opportunity of brightening the chain of friendship between us, and we hope soon to take you by the hand in a happy and lasting peace,-when established by the commissioners from Congress.
""' We have called you together this morning with a view of explain- ing to you the nature of the business we have to negotiate with you.
" 'Brothers, we are commissioned and sent from your old friends of Pennsylvania to purchase of the natives all the unpurchased lands within the territory of Pennsylvania. For this purpose we met your brothers and uncles, the Six Nations, last October at Fort Stanwix, and, accord- ing to our ancient custom, purchased the said lands of them, and this is the deed they gave us to confirm the same.'
" (Then produced the deed executed by the Six Nations last October, and also a map of the country explaining the same to them.)
" ' Your brothers and uncles suggested to us that they had a right to act for you also in disposing of this land ; but hearing you claimed, and knowing that you hunted on, part of this ground, we conceived we had better meet you ourselves on the subject, that we might also see each other and remove all obstructions out of the way between us. We have, therefore, reserved a proportion of the presents, and have brought them with us to give you as a compensation for your right to this country.
" ' The amount of what we have reserved is two thousand dollars, con- sisting of an excellent assortment of goods of the first quality, calculated in the best manner to supply your wants, which is a greater proportion than what we have given to your uncles the Six Nations, and is certainly a very generous consideration.
"' You are now fully informed of our business with you. We earn- estly desire that you may think seriously of it, for what we are about to do must be as permanent as the sun. We wish you to go and consult together upon our words, and let us know your minds as soon as con- venient.
"' Brothers, we inform you that it is not our wish to settle our business finally with you previous to the conclusion of the Continental treaty, but only that we may fully understand each other and have our minds prepared, that when the commissioners on the part of the United States shall have completed their business we may have ours ready to bring on.'
" To which they replied by Captain Pipe, of the Delawares, -viz. :
" ' BROTHERS,-We rejoice from our hearts to see our brothers from Pennsylvania, and are very glad that we are likely once more to live in peace and friendship with you. Your speech is very pleasing to us. You have told us the business you have meet us here upon, and we think
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
we fully understand you. We will council together and let you know our minds some time soon.
" " Brothers, we are glad to hear of your having met with our uncles, the Six Nations, at Fort Stanwix, and that they have given up their lands to you, agreeable to the deed you just showed us.'
" In Conference. Present as before.
" Captain Pipe spoke in behalf of the Wyandott and Delaware nations as follows :
" ' BROTHERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, -- We met last night and counselled together upon the speech you delivered to us yesterday. We thank you for saving some of your presents for us, for in this, brothers, you were very right, for our fathers always told us, and we tell our children, that from Vinango to Little Beaver Creek, and out to the lake was our hunt- ing-ground. But we have now all agreed to let our brothers, the Penn- sylvanians, have it, excepting a few tracts, which we would wish to reserve, that we might make a present of a piece of ground to you and your young men for meeting us here at this inclement season, and that we may have it in our power to fulfil our promise to some of our friends, which we made long ago.'
" To which the commissioners replied,-
" ' BROTHERS,-We thank you for your kind offer, but we cannot, con- sistent with our instructions from the State, agree to any reservations. Our purchase must be for our whole claim. At the same time, we have no doubt, but that if any individuals have just claims to any part of these lands, that upon application being made to the government of Pennsyl- vania, they will be properly attended to.'
" The chiefs, after consulting together for some time, answered,-
" ' Well, then, we have agreed that this country shall be yours, and that our brothers of Pennsylvania shall have it forever.'
" The commissioners then thanked them, and said,-
" ' We shall expect a deed from you for these lands, and we request you will nominate the persons who are to sign it, that it may be ready for execution at the proper season, when we will meet you in public council ; and also that you would appoint fit persons to receive the goods from us, when we shall be ready to deliver them out.'
" They replied that Montour, the interpreter, should wait on the com- missioners the next day and give them the names of those persons.
" Conference ended.
" January 16, 1785.
" Montour, agreeable to the appointment of yesterday, attended the commissioners, and returned the names of the following persons, who were to sign the deed,-viz., Deungquat, or the Half King, Tauwarah,
6
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
or the Sweat House, and Abraham Kuhn, of the Wyandotts ; and Kee- skanohen, or the Pipe, Peechemelind, or the Present, Wialindeoghin, or the Council Door, Hyngapushes, or the Big Cat, Tatabaughsey, or the Twisting Vine, and Whingohatong, or the Volunteer, of the Dela- wares. And Abraham Kuhn, Wialindeoghin, and Wingenum, to receive the goods.
" In Council, January 21, 1785.
" PRESENT.
The Hon. GEORGE ROGERS CLARKE, ? Commissioners on part of the
RICHARD BUTLER, and
ARTHUR LEE, EsQs., 1 United States.
ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Secretary.
The Hon. SAMUEL F. ATLEE and Commissioners on part of the FRANCIS JOHNSON, EsQs., State of Pennsylvania. GRIFFITH EVANS, Secretary.
JOSEPH NICHOLSON and JOHN MONTOUR, Interpreters.
And the deputies of the Wyandott, Delaware, Chippewa, and Ottawa and Muncy Indian nations.
" Upon the completion of the Continental treaty, the Pennsylvania commissioners delivered the following speech by Colonel Atlee :
"' BROTHERS OF THE WYANDOTT AND DELAWARE NATIONS,-Listen with attention to what your brothers of Pennsylvania are going to say. You have been informed by the Continental commissioners at their first meeting that we come from the government of Pennsylvania as com- missioners duly authorized to transact public business with you, as will appear by our commission under the seal of the State, which we will read to you.'
"(Read the commission.)
" ' Pursuant to this commission, we met your brothers and uncles, the Six Nations, at Fort Stanwix in October last, and after a solemn peace was established with them by the honorable commissioners of the United States, we, in conformity to ancient custom, purchased their right to all the lands within the acknowledged limits of Pennsylvania not already purchased of them, for which we gave a valuable consideration in goods of the first quality.
" ' That this may be known to all, we here produce their deed exe- cuted to us in the most public manner, and witnessed by the honorable commissioners of Congress, Captain Aaron Hill, a chief of the Mohawk tribe, and several others.
"' Now, brothers, as you have been called together to this place
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
by the honorable the commissioners of the United States, we, by consent of Congress, are happy to meet you, and rejoice that peace and friend- ship are once more established among us. In testimony of our sin- cerity we present you with these strings.'
" (FIVE STRINGS.)
" ' BROTHERS,-Knowing that for some time past you have hunted upon and claimed a portion of the lands within Pennsylvania, and being actuated by the strict principles of peace and justice towards you in the same degree that you have seen we have manifested to your brothers and uncles, the Six Nations, and to prevent future trouble between your people and ours, we have determined, according to the known usage of Pennsylvania, to give you the consideration agreed upon between us, for this purpose we have brought with us a quantity of the best goods such as will minister to your relief and comfort. These goods shall be de- livered out to proper persons appointed by each nation to receive them ; and that no misunderstanding may arise in future, a map of the land we wish to have confirmed to the Commonwealth shall be affixed to the deed to be executed by you, that your children and ours, may hereafter have recourse to the same.'
" (A BELT.)
"To which they, by the Half King, chief of the Wyandotts, re- plied,-
" ' BROTHERS OF PENNSYLVANIA,-Give attention to what we shall say to you. Your words have pleased us very much, and we all thank you for your kindness towards us; our grandfathers have always said that your conduct towards them was just the same you discover to us now. Pennsylvania has never deceived or wronged us out of anything, and we all thank you not only from our lips, but also from our hearts for your honesty.'
" (THREE STRINGS. )
" The commissioners then produced the deed * that was prepared, and informed them it was ready for them to execute, when the persons who had been appointed for the purpose walked forward and sealed and de- livered the same, in the most solemn manner, in the presence of many witnesses, as their quit-claim and deed for the land therein described, for the use of Pennsylvania forever.
" The council fire was raked up.
" The foregoing is a true state of the proceedings of the Indian treaty held at Fort McIntosh.
" GRIFFITH EVANS, Secretary. " January 23, 1785."
* The deed executed at Fort McIntosh, excepting the consideration money men- tioned, which was two thousand dollars instead of five thousand dollars, is in the same
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
GOODS TO BE DELIVERED TO THE INDIANS AT FORT STANWIX.
" The Supreme Executive Council met.
" PHILADELPHIA, August 28, 1784, Saturday. " PRESENT.
His Excellency JOHN DICKINSON, ESQUIRE, President.
The Honorable JAMES IRVINE, SAMUEL JOHN ATLEE,
JOHN MCDOWELL, BERNARD DOUGHERTY, Esqrs. and STEPHEN BALLIOTT, JOHN BOYD,
" Council having considered the resolution of the General Assembly of the twenty fifth instant, it was
" Ordered, That the Commissioners be requested to procure immedi- ately the undermentioned articles, but if the sum of three thousand and three hundred and seventy five pounds will not be sufficient to purchase the whole, that then they be desired to reduce the quantity or number of such of the articles as they shall think fit.
words, and for the same lands with the same boundaries as the deed previously signed by the Sachems and Chiefs of the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix. It is dated at Fort McIntosh, the 21st day of January, 1785, and signed by the Sachems and Chiefs of the two tribes as follows :
WIALINDEOGHIN, or the COUNCIL DOOR, X his mark, L. S. IIYNGAPUSHES, or the BIG CAT, X his mark, L. S.
TATABAUGHSEY, or the TWISTING VINE, X his mark, L. S. WHINGOHATONG, or the VOLUNTEER, X his mark, L. S. DEUNGQUAT, or the HALF KING, X his mark, L. S. TAUWARAH, or the SWEAT HOUSE, X his mark, L. S.
ABRAHAM KUHN, X his mark, L. S. KEESKANONEN, or the PIPE, X his mark, L. S. PEECHEMELIND, or the PRESENT, X his mark, L. S. [Sealed. ]
Sealed and delivered in presence of
G. R. CLARK, RICHARD BUTLER, Commissioners of the United States, ARTHUR LEE, Jos. HARMER, Lieutenant-Colonel Com., ALEXD. LOWREY, JOHN BOGGS, W'M. BUTLER, ALEX. CAMPBELL., Secretary Commissioners United States, W. BRADFORD, DANIEL ELLIOT, JOHN MONTOUR, Interpreter, G. EVANS, Secretary Pennsylvania Commissioners, EDW. BUTLER.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
2012 casks of gun powder.
I ton of bar lead.
2 groce of thimbles.
2 do jews harps.
50 dozen white ruffled shirts.
5 do laced hats. 5º do knives.
Io do hatchets.
Io do pipe tomahawks.
12 do looking glasses.
2 M awl blades.
5 M needles.
I C. Vermillion.
50 rifles.
60 M wampum-30 white, 30 black.
12 dozen silver arm bands.
12 do wrist bands.
20 dozen pipes, Moravian.
20 do callicoe shirts.
I hogshead of tobacco.
500 lb of brass kettles in nests, complete.
100 lb of small white beads.
2 gross of morrice bells.
5 dozen of pieces of yellow, green and purple ribbon.
5 pieces of embossed flannel. 60 dozen broaches.
2 do gorgets.
I 2 do nosebobs.
I 2 do hair pipes.
I 2 do rings.
6 pieces scarlet broad cloth. 100 lb of brass wire.
20 dozen silk handkerchiefs.
2 do pieces of callicoe.
4 dozen of saddles and bridles.
1,000 flints, or I keg.
I gross sheers.
I do scissars.
I do horn combs.
I do ivory do.
50 lb of thread sorted.
I 2 gross scarlet and star gartering.
12 do green and yellow bedlace.
3 hogsheads of rum.
3º p's best London stroud.
30 do French match coats.
Io do blankets.
20 do half thicks, purple and white nap.
" Ordered, That a warrant be issued to the Treasurer for the sum of three thousand three hundred and seventy five pounds specie, in favor of the Commissioners appointed to negotiate a purchase from the Indians claiming the unpurchased territory within the limits of this State, to be applied to the purchase of the article above enumerated, in pursuance of the resolution of the General Assembly of the twenty fifth inst."-Colo- nial Records, vol. xiv. p. 186.
COMMISSIONERS ON INDIAN TREATY, 1785.
" SIR,-In pursuance of the Order of Council of 30th July last, I have made out a List of the Goods necessary to be furnished the Indians in October next wh I do myself the honor to inclose.
" I am your Excellency's " most Obedient Serv't, " F. JOHNSTON.
" Directed,
" To His Excellency JOHN DICKINSON, ESQR.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
" A list of the goods to be furnished the six nations of Indians on the First day of October next.
8 pieces Blue Stroud.
2 Dozen Ivory ditto.
25 lb Vermillion.
50 Gallons Barbadoes rum.
56 1b Gun powder.
I Piece Scarlet Broad Cloth.
400 lb Barr Lead.
100 White Ruffled Shirts.
300 lb Tobacco.
50 Callico ditto.
I Kegg pipes.
3 Pieces Gartering.
6 Dozen coarse Combs.
" Aug't 10, 1785.'
- Pennsylvania Archives, vol. x. p. 496.
CHAPTER V.
TITLES AND SURVEYS-PIONEER SURVEYS AND SURVEYORS-DISTRICT LINES RUN IN NORTHUMBERLAND, NOW JEFFERSON, COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
" IN 1670 Admiral Sir William Penn, an officer in the English navy, died. The government owed this officer sixteen hundred pounds, and William Penn, Jr., fell heir to this claim. King Charles II. liquidated this debt by granting to William Penn, Jr., 'a tract of land in Amer- ica, lying north of Maryland and west of the Deleware River, extend- ing as far west as plantable.' King Charles signed this deed March 4, 1661. William Penn, Jr., was then proprietor, with power to form a government. Penn named the grant Pennsylvania, in honor of his father. In 1682 Penn published his form of government and laws. After making several treaties and visiting the Indians in the interior as far as Cones- toga, Penn sailed for England, June 12, 1684, and remained away till December 1, 1699. On his return he labored to introduce reforms in the provincial government, but failed. He negotiated a new treaty of peace with the Susquehanna Indians and also with the Five Nations. In the spring of 1701 he made a second journey into the interior, going as far as the Susquehanna and Swatara. Business complications having arisen, Penn sailed for England in the fall, and arrived there the middle of De- cember, 1701. Owing to straitened financial circumstances, he entered into an agreement with Queen Anne, in 1712, to cede to her the prov- ince of Pennsylvania and the Lower Counties for the sum of twelve thou- sand pounds sterling ; but before the legal papers were completed he was stricken with paralysis, and died July 30, 1718, aged seventy-four. While Penn accomplished much, he also suffered much. He was perse-
78
20 pairs 3 point Match Coats.
60 pairs 21/2 point ditto.
25 yards Scarlet Flannel.
18 French Castors.
PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
cuted for his religion, imprisoned for debt, and tried for treason. After his death it was found that, owing to the complication of his affairs and the peculiar construction of his will, a suit in chancery to establish his legal heirship was necessary. Several years elapsed before the question was decided, when the Proprietaryship of the province descended to John, Richard, and Thomas Penn. John died in 1746 and Richard in 1771, when John, Richard's son, and Thomas became sole Proprietaries. But the Revolution and the Declaration of Independence soon caused a radical change in the provincial government."-Meginnis.
During the Revolution the Penn family were Tories, adherents of England, and on the 27th of November, 1779, the Legislature of Penn- sylvania confiscated all their property except certain manors, etc., of which surveys and returns had been made prior to the 4th of July, 1776. The Penns were granted as a compensation for these confiscations one hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling. This ended the rule of the Penns in America. The treaty of peace between England and what is now the United States was ratified by Congress in January, 1784. All foreign domination or rule in the colonies then ceased, but internal troubles with the savages still continued in this State in the north and northwest.
" The Indians were jealous of their rights, and restive under any real or fancied encroachments that might be made upon them, and it re- quired the exercise of great care, caution, and prudence on the part of the authorities to avert trouble on the northern and western boundaries of the State ; and this they did not always succeed in doing, as many adventurous spirits, pushing far out into the unsettled wilderness, discov- ered to their sorrow. Fortunately, however, by the treaty of October, 1784, with the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix, and that of January, 1785, with the Wyandots and Delawares at Fort McIntosh, the Indian title was extinguished to all the remaining territory within the then acknowl- edged limits of the State which had been previously purchased. The boundaries of that great northwestern section of the State covered by this purchase may be briefly described as follows : Beginning on the east branch of the Susquehanna River where it crosses the northern boundary of the State in Bradford County ; thence down the east branch to the mouth of Towanda Creek; thence up Towanda Creek to its head- waters ; thence by a straight line west to the head waters of Pine Creek ; thence down Pine Creek to the west branch of the Susquehanna ; thence up the west branch to Cherry Tree in Clearfield County ; thence by a straight line to Kittanning, on the Allegheny River, in Armstrong County ; thence down the Allegheny River to the Ohio River ; thence down the Ohio River to where it crosses the western boundary to Lake Erie; and thence east along the northern boundary of the State to the beginning. And within this territory at the present day we find the counties of
79
PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
Tioga, Potter, McKean, Warren, Crawford, Venango, Forest, Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, Cameron, Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer, and parts of the counties of Bradford, Clinton. Clearfield, Indiana, Armstrong, Allegheny, Beaver, and Erie."-Annual Report of Internal Affairs.
The Indians received for this territory ten thousand dollars in cash. Our wilderness was then in Northumberland County. "All land within the late (1784) purchase from the Indians, not heretofore assigned to any other particular county, shall be taken and deemed to be within the limits of Northumberland County and Westmoreland County. And that from Kittanning up the Allegheny to the mouth of Conewango Creek, and from thence up said creek to the northern line of this State, shall be the line between Northumberland County."-Smith's Laws, vol. ii. P. 325.
" Under the Proprietary government which ended 27th November, 1779, land was disposed to whom, on what terms, in such quantities, and such locations as the proprietor or his agents saw proper. The unoccu- pied lands were never put in the market, nor their sale regulated by law. Every effort made by the Assembly to secure uniformity in the sale and price of land was resisted by the proprietor as an infringement upon his manorial rights. After the Commonwealth became vested with the pro- prietary interests, a law was passed April 9, 1781, for establishing the land-office, for the purpose of enabling those persons to whom grants had been made to perfect their titles. July 1, 1784, an act was passed opening the land-office for the sale of vacant lands in the purchase of 1768. The price was fixed at f1o per 100 acres, or 33.1 3 cents per acre, in addition to the warrant survey and patent fees, and the quantity in each warrant limited to 400 acres and the 6 per cent. allowance. The purchase of 1784 having been completed and confirmed by the treaty at Fort McIntosh, January, 1785, the land-office was opened for the sale of lands in the new purchase December 21, 1785, at which the price was fixed at £30 per 100 acres, and warrants were allowed to contain 1000 acres, with 10 per cent. overplus, besides the usual allowance." This is the reason why so many old warrants contained 1100 acres, with 6 per cent., or 60 more acres. " Nevertheless, the price of the land was placed so high that but few speculators ventured to invest in the hilly and heavily timbered lands of Northern Pennsylvania. Under the pressure of certain land-jobbers, who were holding important offices (?) in the Commonwealth, like John Nicholson, Robert Morris, and William Bing- ham, an act was passed April 3, 1792, in which the price of vacant lands was reduced to 50 shillings per 100 acres, or 62 3 cents per acre. Specu- lation ran wild. Applications for warrants poured into the office by tens of thousands. 'The law, while it appeared to favor persons of small means. and prevent the wealthy from acquiring large portions of the public domain, was so drawn that by means of fictitious applications and poll deeds-
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
that is, mere assignments of the application without the formalities of ac- knowledgment-any party could possess himself of an unlimited quan- tity of the unappropriated lands. Within a year or two nearly all the lands in the county (then Northumberland) had been applied for, Nich- olson, Morris, Bingham, James D. Le Roy, Henry Drinker, John Vaughan, Pickering, and Hodgdon being the principal holders."- Craft's History of Bradford County, pp. 40, 41.
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