USA > Pennsylvania > Bradford County > Annual of the Bradford County Historical Society, 1906 > Part 10
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Conrad Weiser.
Shikellimy the Governor said he " is a trusty good man and a great lover of the English." " His affection for the English was the result of his intimacy with Conrad Weiser."-(Conrad Weiser and the Indian Policy of Colonial Pennsylvania.)
Affairs between the Indians and Provincial Govern- ment of Pennsylvania, the jealousy existing between va- rious tribes, the power of the Six Nations, who not only owned hundred of acres of valuable land in this State, but who also dictated to some of the lesser tribes, and the friendly advances of the French on the borders, made it necessary for the Provincial Council to use every fair means to maintain the friendly relations already existing with the Six Nations, and it was also necessary to have as interpreter a man whom both whites and Indians knew and trusted. Such was Conrad Weiser. Having spent so many years among the Indians, he knew their ways, habits and language perfectly, and was also an adopted son of the Mohawk Nation. That the Provincial Council thoroughly trusted him is evidenced by the work given him to do, and expressed in numerous letters to be found in Pennsylvania archives and Colonial rec- ' ords.
Between 1732-36 he was present at nearly every coun- cil held and acted as intrepreter, and it was at his advice that most of the important moves were made. In 1736 there was serious trouble between the Iroquois Confeder- acy and Southern Indians, and the government of Vir- ginia appealed to Pennsylvania for help. Many of the planters and settlers on the frontier had been murdered by small bands of warriors and it was desirable to secure an armistice between the hostile Confederacies.
As the southern tribes expressed their willingness to
45
. Conrad Weiser.
make peace and to send deputies to Williamsburg in the spring, it was equally desirable to have the Iroquois do the same. Although midwinter, a messenger must start at once if he reached the Onondaga Council before the war parties started on their trail in the spring, otherwise the peace negotiations would fail for a year at least.
Conrad Weiser, the man selected for this mission, started on his journey of 500 miles the 27th of February, 1737. The snow was deep on the mountains, and at Shamokin on the forks of the Susquehanna river, they were obliged to leave their horses. After a day's delay an Indian took Weiser and Stoffel Stump, his German companion, safely across in a canoe.
At Shamokin where he had expected to obtain provis- ion and a guide, he was able to get only the guide. He wrote in his Journal : " I saw a blanket given for one- third of a bushel of corn." The Indians here were on the verge of starvation and he could only obtain a " small quantity of corn meal and a few beans." However, with this scanty supply he determined to press on, although the Indians declared the streams impassable and the snow waist deep.
The party consisted of the two whites and two Indians. They followed the north bank of the west branch of the Susquehanna river till they reached the mouth of the Loyal Sock Creek and the hut of Madam Montour. Madam Montour told Weiser that she had no food, but when the Indians had left the cabin she fed Weiser boun- tifully from a supply hidden beneath the floor.
With very little provision in their sacks, and the snow four feet deep in the mountains they started from Madam Montour's. From here until they reached the mouth of Sugar Creek they experienced the greatest hardship. Mr.
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Conrad Weiser.
Craft says in his history of Bradford county : " Weiser came by the Lycoming, LeRoy and Burlington route, an old Indian path, taking the crossing path to the one on Sugar Creek, through what is now the village of Burling- ton and stopping at Oscalui, the Indian village at the mouth of Sugar Creek, March 28th, 1737."
There is a very vivid description of this journey and their experience at Oscalui given by Mr. Walton in his book, " Conrad Weiser and the Indian Policy of Colonial Pennsylvania," from which I quote: "On the 28th of March they ate their last handful of meal fully expecting to reach the north branch of the Susquehanna River that night, where they supposed that they would find an abundant supply of provisions. About the middle of the forenoon they came to Sugar Creek, which was much swollen by melting snows. They found it too high and rapid to ford. Accordingly, by dint of much patience, having only one small hatchet, they felled a long pine tree, but unfortunately it did not reach the opposite bank. The stream having already risen a foot since they arrived, its raging current caught the pine tree and swept it down the stream. The Indian guide now suggested wading the stream, and all holding to a long pole. Weiser was decided in his opinion that the current was too swift and would sweep them away. The entire party was irritated over the loss of food, and the two Indians " fell to abusing Stoffel." They told him that it was his fault that Con- rad would not follow the words of the guide. When Weiser defended Stoffel, they called him a coward, who loved his life so much that he would force them all to die of hunger on the spot. The guide declared that he knew. more about this wild country than Weiser, that he was
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Conrad Weiser.
responsible for the party and they must do as he said. If they could not wade they must build a raft and cross on that. Conrad with great determination told them that no raft could be kept right side up in that current, and it would be far better for them to follow Sugar Creek until they reached the Susquehanna, and then ascend the river. The guide with increasing warmth told him that he did not know what he was talking about. The other Indian, an Onondaga warrior, who had joined the party as a con- venient way to return from a southern raid, insisted that no white man could give him any advice in the woods. Weiser promptly put an end to all further controversy by slinging his pack over his back and starting down the stream. Stoffel obediently followed. The Indian guide hesitated for some time, but finally shouldered his burden and sullenly followed the resolute German. The proud Onondaga remained alone. About a mile down the stream Conrad found a narrow place where a tree would bridge the flood with safety. Here they silently crossed, then fired a signal for the stubborn Onondaga, and with- out a word plunged into the dark forest. Late that night Ta-wa-gar-et, the Onondaga, came humbly into camp, wet to the skin, and nearly exhausted. He told them that after they left he made himself a raft and attempted to cross. His craft was overturned in the stream and he was thrown upon an island from which he barely escaped with his life. After some minutes' silence in the camp, the Onondaga asked Conrad Weiser's pardon for his stub- born conduct. This incident was of no small importance in the negotiation which followed some weeks later at the Onondaga Council fire where Conrad Weiser's word had great weight.
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Conrad Weiser.
When this starved and tottering embassy reached the Susquehanna several miles above the present site of To- wanda, it found the Indians there on the verge of starva- tion. All the able-bodied men were away vainly search- ing for game. The old men, squaws and children had been living for weeks upon maple juice and sugar. With all his trinkets Weiser could buy no meal. The women made him a weak soup of corn meal and ashes boiled sep- arately and then mixed. The two Indians ate so greedily of this that they became quite sick. Conrad gave his portion to the bony little children who crowded around with tears on their stolid faces. Stoffel ate heartily of the soup and there is no evidence that he experienced the least inconvenience. Later in the evening, in another hut, Weiser succeeded in buying with 24 needles and six shoe strings, five small loaves of corn bread " of about a pound in weight." With Stoffel's assistance this was quickly consumed. Nothing more could be purchased. Stoffel urged that they abandon their mission, procure a canoe and float down the river. The high water and the numerous rapids would have made it possible to have reached Shamokin "in six or eight days," if they had been able to procure provisions. Weiser refused to enter- tain such a suggestion.
To reach the Onondaga Council before the war party started, was Weiser's mission, and in order to devise means for obtaining food that he continue his journey he called the old men together and laid his mission before them. It was finally decided to break open the hut of some Indians who were away on a hunt, and use some of the contents for this purpose. Accordingly with less than ten pounds of pounded corn, he resumed his journey.
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Conrad Weiser.
" Hunger," he says, " is a great tyrant, he does not spare the best of friends, much less strangers."
On the Sth of April he writes : " We were still on the journey, and I was utterly worn out by cold and hunger, and so long a journey, not to mention other hardships ; a fresh snow had fallen about 20 inches deep ; I found myself still nearly three days' journey from Onondaga, in a terrible forest. My strength was so exhausted that my whole body trembled and shook to such a degree that I thought I should fall down and die. I went to one side and sat down under a tree, intending to give up the ghost there, to attain which end I hoped the cold of the night then approaching would assist me. My companions soon missed me and the Indians came back and found me sit- ting there. I would not go any further, but said to them in one word : 'Here I will die.' They were silent awhile. At last the old man (Shikellimy) began : 'My dear companion, take courage, thou hast until now en- couraged us, wilt thou give up entirely ? Just think that the bad days are better than the good ones, for when we suffer much we do not sin, and sin is driven out of us by suffering. But the good days cause men to sin, and God cannot be merciful ; but on the other hand, when it goes badly with us God takes pity on us.' I was therefore ashamed, and stood up and journeyed on as well as I could."
The following day after traveling forty miles they reached the Onondaga Council. Although Mr. Weiser failed to accomplish all he desired, he secured the armis- tice, and saved Virginia from an Iroquois invasion.
During the next five or six years, he became very much interested in the Seventh Day Baptists at Ephrata and the Moravians, and accompanied Spangenberger, Zeisberger
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Conrad Weiser.
Shebosch, Moravian missionaries to Onondaga in 1738. After he was commissioned Justice of the Peace by the Governor in 1741 (an office he held for many years) he took a much more active part in Colonial affairs. These were very busy years in many ways. In June, 1743, we find him again making the journey of five hundred miles to Onondaga in the interest of the Colony. By the first of August he was back with his re- port for the Governor. This trip was made on horse- back. Probably the next ten years were the busiest of his life. During this period he made two trips to Onondaga, two to Albany, N. Y., and one to Ohio, besides numerous shorter journeys to Easton, Wyoming, Shamokin, Phila- delphia and New York ; attended many important coun- cils, signed treaties and executed important deeds, also filled the office of Justice of the Peace.
Only by reading a history of his life can we form any idea of the magnitude of his work.
The French meanwhile had been making many friendly advances to the Indians and a number of the tribes had forsaken the English and joined forces with the French. Gradually they were becoming very aggressive on the frontier. Settlers were either murdered or forced to abandon their homes and several bloody encounters be- tween the whites and Indians had occurred. Finally a chain of forts reaching from the Delaware to the Susque- hanna along the southern side of the Blue Ridge, was built. Governor Morris immediately sent Conrad Weiser a Colonel's commission and the following letter : "Sir, I have the pleasure of receiving your favor of the 30th inst. * * * * I heartily commend your conduct and zeal, and hope you will continue to act with the same vigor and caution that you have already done,
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Conrad Weiser.
and that you have the greater authority, I have appointed you a Colonel by a Commission herewith. I have not time to give you any instructions with the Commission, but leave it to your judgment and discretion which I know are great, to do what is most for the safety of the people and service of the Crown."
His health began to fail about this time and on sev- eral occasions his son, Samuel, had taken his place as messenger and interpreter. In 1756 he removed to Read- ing. In the building known as the " Wigwam " many conferences were held and treaties executed in Weiser's day. For several years he continued to appear at the Councils but not as often as in the past, and on the 13th day of July, 1760, in the 65th year of his life, he died after a very brief illness at his farm at Womalsdorf, thus closing an almost daily intercourse with the Indians ex- tending over a period of 46 years.
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HISTORY OF SMITHFIELD TOWNSHIP.
PAPER BY MRS. N. L. BIRD.
The township of Smithfield is supposed to have been so called from one David Smith, who claimed the town- ship under the Connecticut title, but who never lived in the town. The first settler in the territory included in the present township of Smithfield was a man named Grover, who made a small clearing and built a shanty near the site of the present residence of Frank Carpenter.
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Smithfield Township.
The first permanent settler in Smithfield was Reuben Mitchell of Gloucester Province, Rhode Island, who came with his family in 1794, and was for about four years the only inhabitant of the township. One child was born in his family in 1799, and one died during this time, the first birth and death of a white child in the town. In 1798 and 1799 several men commenced improvements but soon abandoned or sold them or left for other parts.
In 1799 James Saterlee from Otsego county, N. Y., with his wife, one son and two daughters, came in the first wagon that passed from Athens to Smithfield and were two days in making the journey, a distance of 10 miles, having to cut the trees and clear the road as he passed along. He settled just north of the present village of Smithfield on land now owned by Mrs. Welles Brown.
March 4, 1801, Michael Bird with his wife and four children, came from Rutland, Vermont, and settled upon land purchased under the Connecticut title. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, was married and had two children born in Boston, but removed to Vermont between 1792 and 1795. They came from the river on an ox-sled, the road being only a path marked by blazed trees, with the underbrush cleared sufficiently for oxen and a sled to pass through. Michael, having been a barber in Boston, knew nothing of wood cutting, nor had ever cut a stick of wood the size of his body nor had a stick ever been cut upon his place, but with the courage born of necessity he erected a log cabin for his family on what has ever since been known as the Bird farm, two miles north of East Smithfield. A description of his home will illus- ยท trate others : A log house, the roof being made of the bark of bass-wood trees, being peeled in large sheets for the purpose and laid on in tiers and held in place by poles
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Smithfield Township.
placed upon the tiers. These roofs were a good protec- tion from the sun but in case of heavy rains proved a failure. This house had only the ground for a floor, no chimney, but stones were laid up at one end a fire built up against them, the smoke being expected to go out through a hole in the roof. One of the trials of the city- bred mother was the smoke would not always go out and to get a chimney after awhile was a great relief. Their windows were very small as glass was costly. No patent door locks then. Their door-latch was a wooden one, whittled out of soft pine, resting in a wooden catch and opened with a leather string. At night the string being pulled in, no burglar could enter. Doubtless that was the origin of the saying, " Our latch string always hangs out."
The country was an unbroken wilderness, heavy forest covered the hills, wild animals, the bear, deer, wolves and many others made the nights hideous with their cries. Indian trails and Indian relics were found but I have never learned that Indians were living here at the settlement of the whites. Fearing that I shall intrude upon the rights of the next paper I refrain from mention- ing further names of early settlers, or conditions that sur- rounded them.
Quoted from a paper read by Dr. Darius Bullock at the Tracy reunion July 20, 1855 : " In the early settle- ment of what is now called Smithfield was then called Ulster, which town extended on the east to include the present town of Orwell and west to the county line in- cluded in the county of Lycoming. There was no Justice of the Peace nearer than Williamsport-the county seat 60 miles distant. The jurisprudence of the county was peculiar and very difficult from that of the present day. It would sometimes happen that Shakespeare would have
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Smithfield Township.
had no just reason to complain of the law's delay. An in- stance or two will suffice. David Couch lived on a farm immediately south of this and had an opinion that it would be all right to divide property with his neighbors if done secretly. In pursuance of that belief he stole a bushel of corn from William Stocking. By some process which I do not understand, he was arrested without any warrant and brought before a Court, the old house of Mr. Tracy's near here, being the court house. Capt. Wil- liams acted as counselor for the defendant. After a full hearing it was decided he stole the corn and he was sen- tenced to return two bushels, which sentence was en- forced in some manner peculiar to the times. Another instance of the same individual. He had been very busy tattling and making all the disturbance in his power, be- tween and among the families here and on the river, and although he was known to be a full-blooded liar, it was unpleasant to have him going from house to house with his slang and falsehoods. A consultation was held, and it was concluded he must be dealt with according to law. Capt. Job Simons was sent to arrest him, which he did without any other warrant than a good cudgel. David was brought before a "Court of Special Sessions " as it might be called, for it consisted of Capt. Lewis, Capt. Holcomb and Dr. Westcott all being selected by the neighbors to try the culprit. The trial went on in the usual, or unusual form, as various persons related their grievances and compared notes, the case appeared very glaring against the individual. It was decided by the Court, after due deliberation, that he must receive a cer- tain number of cats from a hickory sprout. Joseph Car- penter was appointed to carry the decree into execution. He soon found a suitable sprout and David had to walk
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Smithfield Township.
into a ring and lay aside his coat. The officer was very faithful in the discharge of his duties, and David de- parted, if not a better at least a better whipped man than when he left home. This was called making him a pres- ent of a " striped jacket," and for several years thereafter, when he inclined to resume his former practices, a slight hint that his jacket needed mending had a happy and almost magic effect in restraining him."
By action of the Legislature March 24, 1812, Bradford county was organized for judicial purposes establishing the Court at Towanda. Immediately changes in town- ship lines were called for and at the January Session, 1813, a petition was presented praying for the division of Smithfield into three townships, namely : Smithfield, Springfield and Columbia, which was granted at the August Sessions, 1813. In 1809, Smithfield was set off from Ulster, the township reaching to the west line of the county.
In 1804, Phineus Pierce built a saw-mill on the Tom Jack Creek, about SO rods north of the present residence of Oren Wilcox. The irons for the mill with an anvil and bellows, he brought with him from Vermont with an ox team. He located on the farm known as the Randall farm. He died in 1808. In 1801, Solomon Morse came from Poulteny, Vt., and located on land now known as Smithfield Center. In 1808, he built the first grist-mill in the town on the Tom Jack Creek, which runs through the western part of the present village. In 1811 Mr. Morse sold his farm to Jared Phelps. How long he con- tinued to run that grist-mill is not known, but we do know that it was run by the various parties 'till into the '70's, perhaps later.
In 1829, Alvin Seward, born in Luzerne county, set-
.
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Smithfield Township.
tled in Smithfield. In the '30's he settled on Tom Jack Creek two miles south of the village, and built a saw-mill and shingle mill at Seward Hollow. In 1843 and '44 he built a large grist mill which was in operation nearly 60 years. Saw mills were built on almost every stream in the town, the lumber being drawn to Greene's Landing and floated down the river for sale, an industry which proved profitable and enabled the owners of the land to pay for their homes, and also to employ help of the less fortunate class and provide for their living also.
The first school in Smithfield was taught by Ephraim Gerould in 1806, in the log school house on Mitchell's hill. The first framed school house was built at the Cen- ter in 1818.
The first post-office was opened in 1825, James Gerould, P. M. The second post-office, 1829, Darius Bullock, P. M., at Bullock Corners on the Berwick turnpike. The first store was opened by Lyman Durfey in 1838, followed soon by one opened by E. S. Tracy. The first framed building in the town was built by Reuben Mitchell in 1803. The second framed building was built by Nehemiah Tracy in 1806.
In 1817, George Gerould ran a distillery in the hollow south of his home, afterward called Pease Hollow. The writer had before her when writing this a paper in his hand writing as follows : Date, 1817,-" 18, 142 lbs chop- ped rye distilled which made 541 gal. 2 qt. 1 pint whis- key." How long he ran that distillery is not known only that it was several years. His daughter gave this testi- mony : " The distillery being so far from the house a barrel of whiskey was kept in the cellar. A bowl stood under the spigot to catch the leakings. This proved a
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Smithfield Township.
temptation to one of the young sons of the family. Mother noticed several times the odor of liquor on my brother's breath. One day she found him lying helpless, drunk. She immediately called father and pointing to the child, said : 'Either your distillery must stop, or I shall lose my boy.' A look at the senseless form was enough. He immediately went to the distillery, put out the fire, took out the worm from the still and closed out the business. That boy was saved to be a Christian man."
In the early '30's an interest was aroused in the cause of temperance, a society organized and many temperance pledges secured.
In the Congregational church records of June 8, 1832, we find the following : "Mr. - -, I being present, he presented his difficulty to the church. That many members had joined the temperance society and therefore he could not walk with the church and was excluded from fellowship." Another brother soon followed his example and was excluded also.
STATE ROADS.
In the early part of this century a company was incor- porated by Act of Legislature for the purpose of construct- ing a road from Berwick on the Susquehanna to New town, now Elmira on the Chemung river, which was known as the Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike Co. This road was constructed through Smithfield in 1819 and called the Berwick Turnpike. A toll-gate was established at what was afterward called Bullock's Cor- ners, the intersection of the Berwick turnpike and the State Road, and another one near the south line of the town. When these toll-gates were discontinued is not known.
By virtue of an Act of Assembly passed March 31,
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Smithfield Township.
1821, a road was laid out running westerly from Athens (the road now from Milan) through Smithfield and Co- lumbia townships to the line of Tioga county. This road has ever since been known in Smithfield as the " North Road," but in official business called the State Road, the one from the river passing over Laurel Hill through Smithfield Center westward as the " South Road."
Feb. 6, 1826, and May 9, in the township records we find the following : " Order of confirmation of road from Samuel Kellogg's mill-pond in Smithfield to the house of Asa Farnsworth, to intersect the State Road near Asa Hackett's saw-mill." This is the road leading from the lower part of the village north to Oren Wilcox's on the old North Road.
Mary, wife of John Bird, who was married and settled on the Bird farm in 1814, said to the writer : " For many years we went to church on foot, John would take the baby in his arms and I would lead the other children. We went down a foot-path through the woods nearly two miles, for if we went with our ox-team we must go west up the hill, then across past Dea. Wood's to Dea. Hale's, then down to the village, more than three and one-half miles." Her husband added, " It was a happy day to me when I owned a span of horses and could take my family to church in a lumber wagon."
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