USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania in the olden time; being a collection of the memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania, Vol. III > Part 50
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
Capt. Turner, etc., pp. 39 and 60 .- April 19, 1846, these eight bodies were disinterred in digging a grave, and were recog- nized by Peter Keyser's relation of some circumstances respecting them. He witnessed the battle, and was present at the interment, one having had part of his head blown off and another's legs being contracted and drawn in. The bones were undecayed, as well as some pieces of the regimentals, after lying there sixty- seven years.
Gilbert Stuart, p. 64 .- The barn where Stuart painted and Washington sat was destroyed by fire 3d mo., 1854, from the act of an incendiary. Its walls are still standing and partially cov- ered in. It adjoins the house Stuart lived in and occupied with his family from 1797 to 1800, now in possession of Mr. William W. Wister.
P. 79 .- Norristown is the capital of Montgomery county, Penn- sylvania. Montgomery was at one time a portion of Philadelphia county, and at that period the ground now occupied by Norris- town was in Philadelphia county, but Montgomery county was formed in 1784, and since that time has ceased to have any con- nection with Philadelphia.
P. 94 .- The old Episcopal church of St. Paul has been en- tirely demolished, and nothing but the vacant ground, which is
465
Pennsbury.
occupied as a burying-ground, left to mark the spot where it stood. It was intended to erect the new one on the spot, but the foundation was not thought secure ; this is perhaps some apology for not leaving the old building stand, as the new one is on the opposite side of the street. It is a neat Gothic stone building, with a steeple. Sanderline's monument is standing within the new church ; it unfortunately was broken in two by carelessness after its removal from the wall of the church, where it originally was placed. The date is difficult to be ascertained. The old church was opened by Rev. Mr. Talbot, an associate of the famous George Keith, by whom, Humphreys says, inaccurately, the first sermon was preached. (See Keith's Journal ; Hum- phreys' account of Society for Propagating the Gospel, by whose patronage the church was supplied.) A letter written by John Moore, collector of this port, dated March 10th, 1713, to James Sandilands of Uplands, says: "It is my design to inform you that there is in my care a small bell which is intended for St. Paul's Church in your parish, which has been delivered at this port free of charges or duty, likewise a rich cloth and neat chalice, which are the gift of Sir Jeffry Jeffryes. . ... Ye winter has been very long and dull, and we have no mirth or pleasure except a few evenings spent in festivity with my Masonic breth- ren," etc. The present city of Chester is called by Mr. Moore Uplands, thirty-five years after Penn is said to have named the place Chester, at the request of the undiscovered Pearson. If Penn ever made such a promise, no doubt the place alluded to was the county, not the town, of Chester. The records of St. Paul's Church, Chester, show that the bell was first rung on Christmas Day, 1713, and "Cuffy was paid 68. 6d. and Dick (David Roberts' boy) 1s. for ringing the church-bell."
P. 98 .- Orphans' Court 4th 1st mo., 1693, should be 1683.
P. 101 .- Pennsbury should be more properly described as be- tween Bristol and Trenton, and is on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware. It is about seven or eight miles above Bristol, and a quarter of a mile below Robbins's Ferry. In 1852, John F. Watson, Samuel Hazard, Townsend Ward, Dr. B. H. Coates, William Duane, Edward Ward, John Jordan, Jr., and George Northrop visited the place. It was occupied by Robert Crozier. But little remains to remind one of its former importance in the time of William Penn. The present dwelling rests upon a part of the wall of the old cellar; the well is in front of the house; there are several old cherry trees that were planted in Penn's time; and there is a large two-storied wooden building, believed to be the old malt- and brew-house. It is about thirty-five by fifty feet ; the ground-floor is about two feet below the sill ; there are several rooms both up and down stairs. It has a gable end toward the river. When you enter it you face a large stone fire- place, thirteen to fourteen feet wide. This was supposed to be
VOL. III .- 2 E
466
Annals of Philadelphia.
the brew-house, in the rear of it the malt-house. The pavement or floor was brick.
Mrs. Mary Hana, p. 116 .- She died at Harrisburg in 1852, and in about two weeks her brother, Robert Harris, son of the celebrated John Harris, whose remains are buried on the bank under the tree to which he was tied to be burned by the Indians. The stump or trunk of this mulberry tree still stands, and his grandson Washington says he has eaten mulberries from it. The Harris house was purchased of Robert Harris, and occupied by Thomas Elder, a celebrated lawyer, mentioned on p. 121, and son of Rev. John Elder, who is buried at the old Paxton church, about two miles from Harrisburg. At this house was the cele- brated Harris's Ferry.
P. 128 .- The poetic description of Pittsburg was written by Hon. Herman Denny, M. C., as New Year's verses for the Pitts- burg Gazette, and printed in Reg. Penna.
A view of Braddock's Field was painted by Weber after a journey in 1854 to it with several members of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, to whom it was presented by the artist, and it now adorns their hall. An engraving from it is in a volume printed by the society on " Braddock's Expedition," containing his journal and an introductory memoir written for the society by Winthrop Sargent. (See also Judge Yeates's account of his visit to it in 1776, in Reg. Penna., vi. 104.)
P. 148 .- Packet-travel between Philadelphia and Reading began in 1825. A new packet-line to Reading was established in June. The canal-boat Lady of the Lake ran in connection with mail-coaches. Passengers were taken from the White Swan Hotel to Fairmount, where the packet lay. The fare to Reading was $2.50. John Coleman and Jacob Peters were the proprietors of this line. Passengers left Reading at twelve o'clock, noon, on Monday, lodged at Pottsgrove, left that place on Tuesday morn- ing, and arrived at Fairmount early in the evening of that day. The boat left the upper ferry on Thursday at eight o'clock P. M., and arrived in Reading the next morning.
The Last of the Lenapes, p. 161 .- The Lenni Lenapes were originally one of the two great Indian nations which inhabited this continent, the other nation being the Mengwes. According to their traditions, the Lenni Lenapes were Indians of the far West. Gradually moving eastward, they met the Mengwes; and east of them were the Alligwes, from whence the name Alle- ghany is derived. The Lenapes, seeking to reach the east, ob- tained permission from the Alligwes to pass through their coun- try. This emigration was partially performed, when, becoming alarmed at the great numbers that were coming over, the Alli- gwes interrupted the march and slew many of the Lenapes. The Lenapes that remained then joined with the Mengwes and ex- pelled the Alligwes. The Mengwes and the Lenapes then divid-
467
Governor Morris.
ed the land-the former settling by the great lakes, and the latter at the south. After a time the hunters of the Lenapes crossed the Alleghany Mountains. They reached the Susquehanna, Hud- son, and Delaware rivers and the sea-coast; and upon their re- ports the tribe determined to emigrate to the east. The Lenapes were divided into three great tribes-the Turtle, or Unanamis ; the Turkey, or Unalachtgo; and the Wolf, or Minsi. The Unanamis and the Unalachtgo inhabited the coast from the Hud- son to the Potomac, and the Minsi dwelt in the interior, and had their council-seat on the Delaware. The Lenni Lenapes were divided into many tribes, descended from the parent stock-such as the Shawnees, Nanticokes, Susquehannas, Shackamaxons, etc. There was a great war, after many years of amity, between the Mengwes and the Lenapes ; and the latter were generally success- ful, until at length the Mengwes formed a confederation called the Five Nations-namely, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas-to which was subsequently added the Tuscaroras. The general name applied to the Six Nations was the Iroquois. The latter were fierce, warlike, and aggressive-so much so that they either conquered or disarmed the Lenni Lenapes. Those of the latter who lived in the neighborhood of New Jersey and Pennsylvania were called Delawares by the English. The Mohicans were distinct from Delawares, and inhabited a part of New York and a part of New England. They were of Algon- quin stock and were tributary to the Iroquois. Tamenend was not the last of the Lenni Lenapes, nor did the tribe die out other than by mixture with different nations. The Iroquois compelled them to remove from their original settlements about the Dela- ware in 1744, and they went westward. A considerable number of them went to Ohio, where they settled in what is now called Delaware county. They were friendly to the United States. They next crossed the Mississippi and settled in Kansas, where their number in 1869 was one thousand and five. In the next year they were removed to the Indian Reservation, and were partly incorporated with the Cherokees.
Governor Morris and Indian Scalps, p. 166 .- Governor Robert Hunter Morris, who represented the Penn interests in 1756, offered a reward of seven hundred pieces of eight, "raised by subscription among the inhabitants of Philadelphia," for the heads of Shingas and Captain Jacobs, chiefs of the Delaware nation. In April, Governor Morris offered a reward of one hundred and thirty dollars for every male and female Indian prisoner over the age of ten years; and for the scalp of every male Indian above ten years old one hundred and thirty dollars, and for that of every female Indian above the same age fifty dollars. It is not just to censure the Penn family for this bar- barity, which was done by Governor Morris on his own authority. Thomas Penn, July 10th, 1756, wrote to Governor Morris, re-
1
468
Annals of Philadelphia.
gretting that war had not been declared against the Delaware Indians, and declaring his preference that they should be attack- ed in small parties, and their women and children taken prisoners " as a means to oblige them to sue for peace, rather than that re- wards should be offered for scalps, especially of women, as it en- courages private murder."
P. 180 .- The insurgent John Fries and two others were tried and convicted, but afterward pardoned by the then President.
P. 228 .- Proud may have been led into this error by William Penn himself, who in his letter to the Society of Free Traders says he arrived on the 24th of October ; and until within a few years this day was celebrated as the anniversary by historical so- cieties and others. But the record of his landing at Newcastle on the 28th has set the matter right. The only way of reconcil- ing them is by supposing Penn spoke of his arrival at the Capes, from whence in those days it was not unusual to be three or four days in reaching Newcastle.
P. 251 .- The Dutch and Swedish papers are in the American Philosophical Society, and not in the Historical Society, as stated. The Mr. Sargent alluded to was the Hon. Thomas Sergeant, when Secretary of State.
Tinicum .- My father visited this island with John F. Watson, Aubrey Smith, Edward F. Smith, George Northrop, T. Ward, John Jordan, Jr., W. Parker Foulke, Dr. B. H. Coates, and Mr. Keppner of Bethlehem, under conduct of Alexander Smith, who lived near the Lazaretto. They found no remains ; a house was pointed out which was said to be erected on the ruins of the old governor's mansion ; there are many of the old Swedish bricks in the walls. They met an old lady, Mrs. Morris, aged 76, who has resided here about thirty years. She had often visited the old house, which she described as very large, one and a half stories high, having a hall, several rooms, and an entry on the first floor. She had no knowledge of any remains of the old church or fort. It is reported there are some stones, etc., the re- mains of the old burying-ground, near where the tavern now stands, in erecting which they broke into the remains of a body. This party found some old-supposed Swedish-bricks, yellow inside, heavier and narrower than ours. This is not now an island-Long Hook Creek, formerly connecting Darby Creek with the Delaware, through which sloops used to pass, being now stopped off at both ends.
Penn on Slavery, p. 262 .- See Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. ii. p. 403; also Niles's National Register, April 4, 1846, for some remarks and documents respecting William Penn being a slaveholder.
Several articles written on that subject by George Justice were published in The Friend. On the 1st of March, 1780, before the war of the Revolution was closed, the Assembly of Pennsylva-
Servants, etc. 469
nia passed an act declaring that negro and mulatto children whose mothers were slaves, and who were born after the passage of that act, should be free, and that slavery as to them should be for ever abolished. But it was declared that such children should be held as servants, under the same terms as indentured servants, until the age of twenty-eight years, when they should be free. Under this law, negroes or mulattoes who were slaves for life were held for life, and their children born after the act were to be slaves for twenty-eight years. Slavery was therefore gradually abolished in this State. The number of slaves became less and less with every census, but there were some negroes in this State held as slaves as late as 1850, and after.
Servants, p. 267 .- The servants about 1750 were either free or slave. The free servants served by the year, and could quit any time if they disagreed with their master, though they ran the risk of losing what might be coming to them. They received sixteen to twenty pounds currency in the city, but not so much in the country ; and women got eight or ten pounds a year. They of course got their board also, but not clothes. The other kind were those who were free after a time. Many came from Eng- land, Germany, and other countries who could not pay their pas- sage, and were sold on their arrival for so many years, at about three to four pounds Pennsylvania currency per annum, as would pay their passage ; generally fourteen pounds for four years' ser- vice would cover their passage-money. Those who were too old to serve would sell their children in the same way. Some would sell themselves to get a knowledge of the country before starting in the world. The purchaser could resell them for the unexpired time. The purchaser also had to give them a suit of clothes at the expiration of the time. A third class, negroes and slaves, has been spoken of in the previous chapter.
P. 274 .- Dr. Græme, father of Mrs. Ferguson, married a daughter of William Keith, to whom he left Græme Park. Keith's widow is buried in Christ Church yard, attached to Christ Church in Second street, next to the wall on the south side. William Keith died in 1749 in " Old Bailey " street-not the later prison of that name. (London Notes and Queries, 2d series, iii. 266, 454, and 516.)
P. 277 .- William Markham, cousin of William Penn, was undoubtedly the first deputy governor of Pennsylvania, as he was appointed 10th 2d mo., 1681. He came here prior to William Penn, nearly a year. (See his commission in Hazard's Annals, p. 503.) He was appointed by Governor Fletcher a deputy governor the second time in 1693. He died in 1704.
1673, p. 278 .- Anthony Colve was Dutch, not English. (See Hazard's Annals, p. 405.)
P. 289 .- See Hazard's Reg. Penna. for description of the Mes- chianza.
40
470
Annals of Philadelphia.
The Declaration was read by Hopkins, p. 294 .- We have cor- rected this error. (See ante, p. 223.) Ezekiel Hopkins should be Eseck.
P. 294 .- General Hugh Mercer's remains were afterward re- moved to Laurel Hill with much military ceremony and parade, and a fine monument erected over them. (See ante, p. 200.)
THE MESCHIANZA.
P. 290 .- The Mrs. L. that Watson speaks of as being old and blind was Miss Rebecca Redman, who was the Queen of the Meschianza. She was daughter of Joseph Redman, formerly sheriff of the city, and married Col. Elisha Lawrence in De- cember 1779 ; at the time of the fête she was twenty-seven years old. She died Nov. 26, 1832, aged eighty-one years. Her knight was Mons. Montluissant, lieutenant of Hessian chas- seurs.
Miss J. C-g was Miss Janet Craig, the daughter of James Craig, probably of Scotch descent. She never married. Her knight was Lieutenant Bygrove.
The following is the list of the beauties for whose smiles the knights contended :
Ladies of the Blended Rose, dressed in Pink and White .- Miss Auchmuty, Miss Nancy White, Miss Janet Craig, Miss Peggy Chew, Miss Nancy Redman, Miss Wilhelmina Bond, Miss Mary Shippen.
Ladies of the Burning Mountain, dressed in White and Gold .- Miss Rebecca Franks, Miss Sarah Shippen, Miss Peggy Shippen, Miss Becky Bond, Miss Becky Redman, Miss Sophia Chew, Miss Wilhelmina Smith.
Miss Peggy Shippen, daughter of Judge Edward Shippen, whose knight on the occasion was Lieutenant Winyard, married General Benedict Arnold, afterward the traitor. Miss Peggy Chew, daughter of Chief-Justice Benjamin Chew, whose knight was Captain John André, afterward hung as a spy for his com- plicity in Arnold's treason, married Colonel John Eager Howard of Baltimore. Miss Rebecca Franks, whose knight was Captain Watson, married Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Johnson of the British army. There were three daughters of David Franks. One, Miss Polly, died unmarried August 21, 1774. Another one married Andrew Hamilton of the Woodlands. Miss Sarah Chew, whose knight was Lieutenant Hobart, married John Gal- loway of Maryland. She was the fourth daughter of Justice Chew. Miss Auchmuty was an English girl, and married Cap- tain Montresor of the British army. Miss W. Smith was Wilhel- mina Smith, a daughter of the Rev. William Smith, D. D., pro-
471
The Meschianza.
vost of the University. She married Charles Goldsborongh of Long Neck, Dorset county, Maryland. Her knight was Major Tarlton. The two Miss Bonds were daughters of Dr. Phineas Bond, and sisters of Phineas Bond, afterward British consul at Philadelphia. Miss Becky, whose knight was Lieutenant De- laval, went to England after the Revolution with Mr. Erskine, the British minister, and died in that country, unmarried. Miss Wilhelmina Bond was married on January 30, 1779, to General John Cadwalader of the Pennsylvania line, his second wife; she also died in England. Miss Mary Shippen, a daughter of Chief- Justice Shippen, whose knight was Lieutenant Sloper, was mar- ried to Dr. McIlvaine; and Miss Sarah, her sister, was married to Thomas Lea ; her knight was Lieutenant Underwood. Miss Nancy White, whose knight was Hon. Captain Cathcart, was the daughter of Townsend White, who married Ann Renaudit, widow of William Constable. There therefore remains to be accounted for of the Meschianza ladies Miss Nancy Redman.
The name of the ball was derived from two Italian words- mescere, to "mix," or mischiare, to "mingle;" it was truly a mixture and a medley.
An anonymous novel, entitled Meredith; or, The Mystery of the Meschianza, a Tale of the American Revolution, by the author of The Betrothal of Wyoming, was copyrighted December, 1830, by Henry H. Porter, who was probably the author. The prin- cipal event was the appearance at the height of the ball of a ghost upon the scene. The Wharton mansion, where it was held, long had the repute of being a haunted house. It stood upon the west side of Fifth street below Washington avenue, with sloping grounds to the Delaware. It was known as Walnut Grove Mansion, and was built about 1760. It was the mansion of the old Wharton family, one of whom, living at the time of the Revolution, was known as Duke Wharton. The house was used for the reception- and dressing-rooms, and the ball was held in a temporary structure elegantly decorated.
In 1823 the Guardians of the Poor established in the house an asylum for poor children. About 1837 the mansion was turned into a coach-factory, and afterward into a public school, and was known as the Coach-Factory School. It was owned by James M. Linnard, from whom the Controllers rented it, and who af- terward (in 1852) bought it from him. About 1860 it was torn down, and the Controllers built upon the spot what is known as the Washington School-House or Wharton School. The " Bax- ter property " was a portion of the old Wharton estate.
The Wife of Benedict Arnold, p. 302 .- Watson has made a strange mistake about the time and place of Mrs. Arnold's death. She went to England in 1785, and never returned. She lived with her husband, and had four children. He died at his res-
472
Annals of Philadelphia.
idence in London, June 14, 1801, and she from the same house, August 24, 1804, aged 43-44 years. The Red Book (London, 1824) said : "Edward Shippen, James Robertson, George, and Sophia Matilda receive pensions of £400 sterling. These are the children of the notorious American general. Another son, John Arnold, is a brigadier-general on the Bengal establishment in In- dia. Edward S. Arnold was also an officer on the same." Arnold left his property to his three sons by his first wife, and to such children as might be borne to him by his second wife, Margaret Shippen, in equal proportions.
Arnold's Effigy, p. 327 .- Two representations accompany Ger- man almanacs for 1781. One proceeds to the right, the other to the left; and some of the figures are different in each, though the general representation is similar. A larger engraving was also made, and a fac-simile reproduced in Philadelphia a few years since. (See Reg. Penna. for a full account of the affair.)
The Doanes, p. 330 .- A small volume was published giving an account of each of them. (See Penna Archives, vols. x. and xi .; also Col. Records, xiv. 36, where Kennedy's widow receives from the Assembly £300; also Penna. Archives, x. 178, for resolution of Assembly.) The Doanes who visited Westchester were pur- sued and discovered hiding under a causeway in the road near the Marshall property.
La Fayette, p. 338 .- General La Fayette landed at New York August 15, 1824, on a visit to this country, in response to a res- olution passed unanimously by Congress inviting him to partake of the nation's hospitality. At his landing he was the guest of Governor Tompkins on Staten Island. After receiving the at- tentions of the citizens of New York, he arrived in Philadelphia on Tuesday morning, Sept. 17th, stopping the evening before at Frankford with a well-known citizen, and was then escorted into and through the city by a large civic and military procession, Col. John Swift being marshal of the civic procession. On that evening there was a general illumination, and La Fayette rode through the city to witness it, and afterward dined with the So- ciety of the Cincinnati. After receiving many attentions from our citizens, he was taken to Baltimore, Washington, and other places, and also invited to Mount Vernon, and the tomb of Washington opened for him to see the remains. While he was sojourning in our city the committee of arrangements hav- ing charge of his reception were known on the street by a " chapeau " which they wore, and any person wishing to know of his movements had only to ask them, and any information would be given. He remained in the United States until the 7th of September, 1825, when he sailed for Havre in a frigate named, in compliment to the illustrious guest, the Brandywine. La Fayette died May 19, 1834, in Paris. A parade took place in this city in commemoration of his obsequies, July 21, 1834.
473
Seasons and Climate.
SEASONS AND CLIMATE.
P. 347 .- "The first Meteorology, or Essay to Judge of the Weather, that ever was printed in Pennsylvania, anno 1687, was written by one of our namesakes, and a well-wisher to our pro- vincial affairs, John Southworth, etc." (Pastorius MSS., The Bee- hive, No. 496.)
In 1820, Gibbs, the celebrated lottery-ticket man, made a bet that he would cross the Delaware on St. Patrick's Day of that year on the ice (for the winter then was very severe). The feat was performed, and witnessed by a large number of per- sons, and the bet was won by Gibbs. He crossed from the old Drawbridge wharf, and went straight over through the island, and then gave his friends, who had got over through the float- ing ice in boats, a handsome collation in Camden.
In 1831 the Delaware was closed solid about the middle of December-so much so that horses and sleighs ventured on it, and wood was drawn over on sleds and other heavy vehicles. The death of Stephen Girard took place on Monday, December 26, 1831. The funeral took place on the following Friday morning ; the river that morning was still closed. A heavy fall of snow occurred the day before, and the sidewalks and streets were covered with snow. In January, 1835, the river was closed for a few days, but the winter then was mild. In December of that year it was closed. The great fire in New York occurred about that time, on a Thursday evening, and the mails on Saturday morning about ten o'clock had to be brought over from Camden through the ice by boats. The river at that time remained closed till the 20th day of March, 1836. On that day the large fleet which was detained below came up to the city. Business that winter had been exceedingly dull, reducing many of the poorer classes to starvation. It was the long closing of the river that compelled our business-men to suggest the propriety of building ice-boats. We well remember the ox-roast on the ice, and also the numerous booths built upon it, which remained there for a long time to supply the crowds of skaters and others with warm refreshments. Large sleds loaded with wood and other teams crossed constantly. A brig from Genoa, Italy, with a consignment of marble and an invoice of statuary, intended for the splendid mansion of Isaac Phillips, on Arch street above Thirteenth, was cut into by the ice, and to prevent sinking was run upon the flats below the Navy Yard. The statuary was, I believe, very much injured, and I think never was placed in the building, as the great financial crisis of 1837 compelled the house of R. & I. Phillips to go into liquidation, and the mansion passed into other hands.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.