USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > Centennial biography : Men of mark of Cumberland Valley, Pa., 1776-1876 > Part 2
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In 1219. Jonathan Thickins ... who had the tip cetart offres of Chief Justice of the Province, Speaker .f the Asserito, an ! Meniler of Chinai, remarks. " We are daily expecting ships from London which bring over Pastures, in number about six of seven thousand. We had a parcel who came out about five person who purchased land about sixty miles west of Philadelphia, and prove quiet and industrious."
# History of the Presbyter.da v ... then the Status of Kentucky by the Ker Kevert I .v. a.s. D.D.
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MEN OF MARK.
From 1730 to 1740, about sixty-five vessels, well filled with Germans, arrived at Phila- delphia, bringing with them ministers of the Gospel and schoolmasters to instruct their children. A large number of these remained in Philadelphia, others went seventy to eighty miles from that city -- some settled in the neighbourhood of Lebanon, others west of the Susquehanna, in York: county. From 1740 to 1755, upwards of one hundred vessels arrived, which were filled with emigrants of the same nation, and in some of which, though small, there were between five and six hundred passengers. With regard to the Germans in Pennsylvania, Mr. Andrews, in a letter dated October 14, 1739, says : "There is, besides, in this Province a vast number of Palatines, and they come in still every year. Those that have come of late are mostly Presbyterian, or, as they call themselves, Reformed, the Palatinate being about three-fifths of that sort of people." " There are many Lutherans and some Reformed mixed among them. In other parts of the country, they are chiefly Reformed, so that I suppose the Presbyterian party are as numerous as the Quakers, or near it."
Such, then, were the materials out of which the original population of the Province of Pennsylvania was constituted. As our necessarily brief sketch indicates, they were not homogeneous, but were diversified by their origin, religious principles, habits, and language. Yet notwithstanding these divergences, they were one in spirit, actuated by a common impulse, and controlled by a similar ambition. They were united in devo- tion to the principles of the Reformation, and in favour of civil and religious liberty. Equality of rights, and the liberty of worship according to the dictates of conscience, were standard principles which had won their steadfast adherence, and which they were not willing any party or power should dare to assail. That they were not free from faults, is not to be denied. This was to be expected. The circumstances in which they were thrown together in a new world, the difference of the reigning spirit of the several localities from which they migrated, the influence of early education, the necessity for combating the untried exigencies of pioneer life, and the difficulties always incident to the mutual adjustment of masses of people in a new territory, as well as to the framing of wise and just laws for self-government,-all these considerations made an antecedent probability that the new social and civil systems would not be inaugurated and established without a development of some of the errors and evils which it is so diffi- cult for lapsed human nature to avert or avoid. But, over and above these imperfec- tions, those men had in general, a character challenging our highest admiration, who first took possession of our noble territory, when it was a vast, dense and solitary wii- derness-the hut of the savage and the dwelling of the beasts of prey-felled its forests, cleared its streams, fenced its plains, decorated its hill-tops with humble yet happy homes, churches and school-houses, framed its salutary legislation, and proclaimed the principles which have made it the abode of civilization and the home of an intelligent, enterprising, moral and religious community. They were, as a body, men of indepen- dence and integrity of character, exemplary morals and a deep reverence for the insti- tutions of religion.
CHARACTER OF IMMIGRANTS.
The author of the work already referred to, thus alludes to the three classes- the English, the Scots and Irish, and the Germans, into which the first settlers of Penn- sylvania by reason of their diversity were divided, a division which was maintained for some generations, and is not even yet effaced :
" The associates and followers of Penn, who were amongst the first to establish the government of the Province, were an honest, intelligent, virtuous, peaceful and benevo-
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lent population, known in England and the colonies by the name of Friends or Quakers." " The Germans were a hardy, frugal and industrious people, and in many districts have preserved their foreign manners and language. They have established in every part of the State, communities much respected for religious and moral character, many of them emigrated for conscience's sake, and others to improve their condition and circumstances. Their industry and frugality have enabled them to add greatly to their own wealth and resources, whilst they were increasing that of the Province and State. With most of this class, education has been promoted, and their descendants, in acquirements and intelligence, are in advance of their ancestors, and many are amongst the most respectable and useful citizens of the Commonwealth, whilst they have, by branches of their families, contributed greatly to the industrious and useful population of several of the Western States.' " From their conscientious scruples against bearing arms, the Mennonists did not enter the army to fight the battles of the country but when Independence was acknowledged, and a new government organized and established, they were obedient in all things to its requisitions. They have ever been in Pennsylvania a peaceable, industrious and moral community, paying their taxes regularly ; avoiding strife, and living in peace with all men with whom they had intercourse. They never allow the poor members of their society to be a public charge, but support them in the society." " The Scotch and Irish settlers of Pennsylvania are men who laid broad and deep the foundations of a great Province, and who, with a master's hand, erected a structure of government that was stable, capacious and elevated, whose prosperity and greatness command admiration, and which, by public accord, constitutes the great keystone of the political arch of the American Union. The men who were instrumental in this structure of government, with its free institu- tions of religious and civil liberty, were more than ordinary men, to hold the plough and handle the axe, or ply the shuttle. They had other qualities, we would inter from their works, than enterprise, energy, bravery and patriotism, and they were not surpassed, for lofty virtue and consistent piety."
PENN'S PURCHASE of LANDS.
Soon after William Penn's arrival in the Province, the date of which has been already noticed, and before his return to England, in 1684, he resolved " to purchase the lands on the Susquehanna from the Five Nations, who pretended a right to them, having conquered the people formerly settled there." For this purpose, being too busy to give his personal attention to the matter, he engaged Governor Dongan, of New York, where the Five Nations chiefly quartered, to buy from them, " all that tract of land lying on both sides of the river Susquehanna, and the lakes adjacent in or near the Province of Pennsylvania." Dongan effected a purchase, and conveyed the property to Penn, January 13th, 1696, " in consideration of one hundred pounds sterling."
.How careful the wise Quaker was to have this purchase well confirmed, appears from the following document which stands among the early records of the Province : -
"September 13th, 1700, Widagh and Andaggy-junk-quagh, Kings or Sachems of the Susquehannagh Indians, and of the river under that name, and lands lying on both sides thereof. Deed to W. Penn for all the said river Susquehannagh, and all the islands therein, and all the lands situate, lying and being upon both sides of the said river, and next adjoining the same, to the utmost confines of the lands which are, or formerly were, the right of the people or nation called the Susquehannagh Indians, or Er what name soever they were called, as fully and amply as we or any of our ancestors have, could,
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might or ought to have had, held or enjoyed, and also confirm the bargain and sale of the said lands, made unto Colonel Thomas Dougan, now Earl of Limerick, and for- merly Governor of New York, whose deed of sale to said Governor Penn we have seen."
PENN IN COUNCIL, WITH THE FIVE NATIONS.
In April, 1701, Penn met in council the chiefs of the Five Nations with those from the Susquehanna and the Potomac, and the Shawnese chiefs, and after going through the solemn forins of Indian diplomacy, covenanted that there should be " forever a firm and lasting peice continued between William Penn, his heirs and successors, and all the English and other Christian inhabitants of the province, and the said kings and chiefs, &c., and that they shall forever hereafter be as one head and one heart, and live in true friendship and amity as one people.' At this treaty, regulations were adopted to govern their trade, and mutual enforcement of penal laws, and former purchases of land were confirmed. Especially was there a necessity for a confirmation of the sale just referred to as having been made in September of the preceding year. The Con- estoga Indians, it seems, would not recognize the validity of this sale, believing that the Five Nations had no proper authority to transfer their possessions. In consequence of this difficulty, Penn entered into articles of agreement with the Susquehanna. Potomac and Conestoga Indians, by which they ratified and confirmed both Governor Dongan's deed of 1696, and the deed by Widagh and Andaggy-junk-quagh, of 1;00.
In October, 1736, a purchase was made by the Proprietaries, from the Six Nations. calling themselves Aquanuschioni, i. e. the United People, of all the lands west of the Susquehanna " to the setting sun," and south of the Tayamentasachta hills, as the Kit- tochtinny or Blue Mountain was called by the Six Nations. " Their Sachems or chiefs." says Mr. Rupp,* "were appointed with plenary powers to repair to Philadelphia, and there, among other things, settle and adjust all demands and claims connected with the Susquehanna and the adjoining lands, On their arrival at that city, they renewed old treaties of friendship, and on the 11th of the month just mentioned, made a deed to John Penn, Thomas Penn and Richard Penn, their heirs, successors, and assigns. The deed was signed by twenty-three Indian chiefs of the Onondaga, Seneca, Oneilla and Tuscarora nations, and granted to the Penns "all the said river Susquehanna, with the lands lying on both sides thereof, to extend eastward as far as the heads of the branches or springs which run into the said Susquehanna, and all the lands lying on the west side of the said river to the setting sun, and to extend from the mouth of the said river, northward, up the same to the hills or mountains called in the language of said nations Tayamentasachta, and by the Delaware Indians the Kekachtanvin hills." In July, 1754. at Albany, the proprietors purchased of the Six Nations all the land within the State, not previously purchased, lying southwest of a line beginning one mile above the month of Penn's creek, and running northwest by west " to the western boundary of the State."
EMIGRATION WESTWARD.
As the eastern part of Pennsylvania gradually increased in population, the tide of migration rolled westward. In 1729, the upper parts of Chester county were consti- tuted a separate county called " Lancaster county," which then, and till 1749, embraced York, Cumberland, part of Berks, and all the contiguous counties, as it did also Dauphin till March 4th, 1785. The first permanent and extensive settlement made near the
History and Ternerathey of Danskin, Cumberland, Franklin, Bedford, Maves and Perry Counties, by I. D. Ruth .- to which we here make a general acknowledgment of obligation for assistance in the preparation of this sketch.
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HISTORICAL SKETCHI.
Susquehanna, was commenced by some Swiss immigrants. They were persecuted Mennonists, who had fled from the Cantons of Zurich, Bern, Schaffhausen in Switzer- land, to Alsace, above Strasburg, where they had remained some time before they immi- grated to America. Thisthey did in 1707 or 1708, choosing for their location the western part of Chester, now Lancaster county, near Pequea creek. Before 1720, settlements had been extended northward beyond the Chickasalunga creek. Donegal township, organized in 1722, had been principally settled by Irish, or Scotch immigrants.
JOHN HARRIS.
Settlements were now made northward, and along the Susquehanna river. John Harris, a native of Yorkshire, England, had made an attempt, prior to 1725, to settle near the mouth of Conoy creek, not far from the present site of Bainbridge, but it seems he preferred to settle higher up the Susquehanna, near an Indian village called Peixtan, at or near the present site of Harrisburg. Harris was in a few years followed by others, principally emigrants direct from the north of Ireland. " About the time of the settle- ment of this pioneer at (Peixtan) Harrisburg," says his great-grand-son, George Wash . ington Harris, Esq., " Indian towns were existing near to Squire Wills' stone house, (in Cumberland county, ) opposite Harrisburg, and at the mouth of the Conodoguinett and Yellow Breeches creeks. There had been one on the low ground on the river, about the lower line of Harrisburg, and another at the mouth of Paxton creek. These two are supposed to have been abandoned at the time of making his settlement. The Indians, who resided in this neighborhood, were of the Six Nations, and, it said, that at one time, by firing a gun, six or seven hundred warriors could be assembled at the present site of Harrisburg."*
KITTOCHTINNY VALLEV.
The valley of the Susquehanna, opposite Harris' Ferry, was called by the Indians Kittochtinny valley, from the extensive mountain range constituting its western boundary, " Kittochtinny" signifying " endless mountains." That part of the valley west of the Susquehanna, embraced what now constitutes the county of Cumberland, and almost all the county of Franklin. For fertility of soil, abundance of copious springs, clear running streams, variety of forest timber, luxuriance of vegetation and salubrity of climate, presenting as a boundary on two sides mountain ranges, with a wide valley, made up of hills, plains and dales, it was not surpassed by any of the American colonies. Yet, attractive as it was, its settlement was retarded from being a frontier remote from the eastern settlement, the Indian claim to which was not purchased by the Proprie- tary of Pennsylvania, until October, 1736. A great part of it was in controversy with the Proprietary of Maryland, who claimed the same as belonging to that Province. The purchase just mentioned, being made ; and the Maryland controversy being at the same time suspended, by agreement of the Proprietaries of the two Provinces, the Land Office of Pennsylvania was opened in January, 1737, for the sale and appro-
* Article in " Napey's Harrisburg Business Directory." In the same article the following interesting incident is related: " On one occasion, a band of Indians, who had been down the river, or, as is said, to the Hast, on a trading excursion, came to the house of John Harris, Some, or most of them, were intoxicated. They asked for dam, meaning West India Kum, as the modern whiskey was not then manufactured in Pennsylvania. Seeing they were already intoxicated, he feared mischief if he gave them more, and he refused. They became enraged and seized and tiel him to the mulberry tree to burn him. Whilst they were proceeding to execute their purpose he was released, after a struggle, by other In hatte of the neighborhood, who generally came across the river. How the aların was given to them, whether by firing a gun or otherwise, or by whom, is not now certainly known. In remembrance of this event, he afterwards directed that, on his death, he should be buried under the mulberry tree which had been the scene of this adventure, , He died about the year 1748, and was buried where he had directed-under the shade of his own memorable tree, and there his remains still repose, with those of some of his children."
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priation of lands west of the Susquehanna on the usual terms. The applications for warrants, and the influx of settlers, were now great into this valley. As early as 1730-31, some resolute and enterprising citizens were induced by the Proprietary Agents of Pennsylvania to make settlements in this district, under the authority of the State, in order to assert and maintain its claims and jurisdiction, but only at and after the opening of the Land Office for the sale of lands in the Kittochtinny valley did settlers rush into it. Their number in 1740 reached several thousands; in 1749 the number of taxables was 807, and in 1751 it had increased to 1134.
ORGANIZATION AND SETTLEMENT OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
Before the organization of the county of Cumberland, this part of the Kittochtinny Valley was called by the whites " the North Valley," to distinguish it, as is supposed, from the extension of the same valley in Virginia, south of the Potomac River. After- wards, it very generally received the name of the "Cumberland Valley," taking its name from the county, of which it was a small part. Cumberland county was organized January 27th, 1750. Up to this date it belonged to Lancaster county, which was established in 1729, and then included the whole country west of the boundary of the State. The inhabitants of the North Valley, by a petition to the Assembly, represented the great hardships they endured by reason of their remoteness from Lancaster, where the courts were held and the public offices kept, how difficult it was for the " sober and quiet part " of the valley to protect themselves from theft and other abuses, frequently committed by idle and dissolute persons, who, to escape punishment, resorted to the more remote parts of the Province, and owing to the great distance from the place of trial and imprisonment, frequently escaped, and the result of this application was an enactment, -" That all and singular the lands lying within the Province of Pennsylvania to the westward of Susquehanna, and northward and westward of the county of York. be erected into a county to be called Cumberland, bounded northward and westward with the line of the Province, eastward partly with the river Susquehanna, and partly with the said county of York, and southward in part by the line dividing the said Province from that of Maryland. Cumberland county was named after a maritime county of England, on the borders of Scotland. It is scarcely necessary to say, that its extensive limits have been gradually reduced by the formation of other counties.
THE VALLEY DIVIDED.
In 1735, by the order and appointment of the Court, the valley was divided into two townships, by a line crossing the valley at the " Great Spring," now Newville, the eastern one called " Pennsborough," and the western one, "Hopewell," and a Justice of the Peace and a Constable were appointed for each. In 1741. the township of Antrim was established, embracing the Conococheague settlement and what now constitutes the county of Franklin, with a Justice of the Peace and Constable for it.
When Cumberland county was erected, Robert MeCoy, Benjamin Chambers, David Magaw, James McIntire and John McCormick were appointed commissioners to select the site for a court-house. Shippensburg was selected as a temporary seat of justice. After Carlisle had been laid out, it was chosen permanently in 1751 for this purpose .*
* Mr. Conynham says-" Messrs. Lyon and Armstrong were elected by the proprietaries to lay out a town on the road from Harris' Ferry, leading through the rich valley of Cumberland, including the old stockade and blockhouse, and exten arg over the big spring called Le Tort, (now letort.) after James Le Tort, a French Swiss, who acted as ladian interpreter and messenger to government, and who had erected a cabin at its source as early as the year 1735. Carlisle was laid out in pursuance of their directions in 1750." This Stream rises in South Middleton township, from a large fountain as its source, gives motion to several mills, passes through the borough of Carlisle, and empties into the Convdoguinett two miles north- east of the berough.
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The Orphans' Court, during the years 1750 and 1751, seems to have followed the judges. At one time it was held at " William Anderson's," another time at " Antrim," sometimes at " Shippensburg," and then again at " Peterstown," (" Peters Township.") The removal of the Court of Common Pleas and the Criminal Court from Shippens- burg to Carlisle, produced great dissatisfaction among the people of Conococheague, which was then quite a populous settlement, and complaint was made to the Assembly. In their petition for a redress of their grievances, they affirmed their full persuasion that the continuance of Shippensburg would have quieted the whole county, though it was northeast of the centre. They also alleged that it would always impoverish them to carry and expend their money at the extremity of the county, whence it would never circulate back again, that neither the interest of the proprietaries nor the prosperity of the town of Carlisle would be advanced by changing the seat of justice, and that no good wagon road could be made across the North Mountain "until beyond Shippens- burg, up the valley." The citizens of the eastern end denied the statements of the Conococheague men, and the courts remained at Letort's Spring, where it was for the proprietary interest that they should be.
INTERESTING LETTERS.
Gov. Hamilton, in his letter of instructions, April 1, 1751, "to Nicholas Scull, Surveyor-General, which will serve likewise for Mr. Cookson," states that he had been led to select the site of Carlisle on account of there being, among other advantages " about it, a wholesome dry limestone soil, good air, and abundance of vacant land, weil covered with a variety of wood." He also charged his agents, in selecting the site, " to take into consideration the following matters, viz :-- the health of the citizens, the good- ness and plenty of water, with the easiest method of coming at it ; its commodiousness to the great road leading from Harris' Ferry to the Potowmac,* and to other necessary roads, as well into the neighbouring county as over the passes in the Blue Mountains."
In May, 1753, John O'Neal, who had been sent to Carlisle by Governor Hamilton, for the purpose of repairing the fortifications, thus wrote :
" The garrison here consists only of twelve men. The stockade originally occupied two acres of ground square, with a blockhouse in each corner ; these buildings are now in ruin. Carlisle has been recently laid out, and is the established seat of justice. It is the general opinion that a number of log cabins will be erected during the ensuing Summer on speculation, in which some accommodation can be had for the new levies. The number of dwelling houses is five. The court is at present held in a temporary log building, on the northeast corner of the centre square. If the lots were clear of the brushwood, it would give a different aspect to the town. The situation, however, is handsome, in the centre of a valley, with a mountain bounding it on the north and south at a distance of seven miles. The wood consists principally of oak and hickory. The limestone will be of great advantage to the future settlers, being in abundance. A limekiln stands on the centre square, near what is called the deep quarry, from which is obtained good building stone. A large stream of water runs about two miles from the village, which may at a future period be rendered navigable. The Indian wigwams, in the vicinity of the Great Beaver Pond, are to me an object of particular curiosity."
CURIOUS STOCKADE.
In the same year, 1753, another stockade of very curious construction was erected, whose western gate was in High street, between Hanover and Pitt streets, opposite lot
* Laid out by order of the court at Lancaster, in 1736.
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100. This fortification was thus constructed : Oak logs about seventeen feet in length were set upright in a ditch dug to the depth of four feet. Each log was about twelve inches in diameter. In the interior were platforms made of clapboards, and raised four or five feet from the ground. Upon these the men stood and fired through loopholes. At each corner was a swivel gun, which was occasionally fired " to let the Indians know that such kind of guns were within." * Three wells were sunk within the line of the fortress, one of which was on lot 125, another on the line between lots 109 and 117, and the third on the line between lots 124 and 116. This last was for many years known as the " King's Well." Within this fort. called " Fort Louther," women and children from Green Spring and the country around often sought protection from the tomahawk of the savage. Its force, in 1755, consisted of fifty men, and that of Fort Franklin, at Shippensburg, of the same number. At a somewhat later day, or perhaps about the same time, breastworks were erected a little northeast of the town-as it was then limited-by Col. Stanwix, some remains of which existed until within a comparatively recent date.t
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