USA > Pennsylvania > Chronicles of Pennsylvania from the English revolution to the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1688-1748, Vol. I > Part 12
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Finney, Robert Assheton's kinsman, is said to have accompanied Penn on this second voyage. Finney had become rich in Barbados, and, after returning to Eng- land, had built Fulshaw Hall in Cheshire about 1684, and had raised a troop for the Prince of Orange, and had afterwards been a merchant at Chetham Hill near Manchester. His son and heir-apparent, Captain John, who had been cornet in Captain Samuel's troop, and had afterwards served in Flanders, accompanied him to America, apparently from political ambition, which was doomed not to be fully satisfied. Samuel Finney and several of his children made Pennsylvania their permanent home, but John, after being one of the Gov- ernor's Council, returned to England, and died at Ful- shaw Hall in 1728.
How such patrician stock except the Asshetons soon sank in importance is illustrated in the posterity of Markham, so long the head of the Colony. He used as a seal, with an impalement which has not been identi- fied, the ancient arms borne by those of his name. His father's first name and career, we do not know, but the mother was a sister of Admiral Penn. Apparently older than the Founder, Markham had begun service in the navy before the taking in 1658 of Dunkirk, being in the fleet which rode before it on that occasion, and subsequently had been six years with Sir John Lawson, and in the fleet which brought Charles II back to Eng- land, and at the attack on Algiers, and in the Dutch wars of 1665-6 and 1672-3. Evidently his career had not only betokened ability, which seemed to fit him to organize Penn's government, but had given him some acquaintances and influence, causing him to be sent back to England in the summer of 1683 as Penn's agent in the boundary dispute. Later pages will give Mark- ham's official career after his return. He married twice at least, an early wife being apparently the Mrs. Markham mentioned in Pepys's Diary as twice in
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Pepys's company at dinner or supper in 1666, and first figuring thus : "Aug. 6, 1666, Nan at Sir W. Pen's lately married to one Markeham, a kinsman of Sir W. Pen's-a pretty wench she is." This does not necessarily mean that she had been a servant. William Markham had a daughter Ann, who in January, 1699- 1700, is spoken of as his only child, and whom he, probably when coming to America in 1681, left in the care of William Penn, for she was seven years one of Penn's household. Late in life, Markham married Joanna , a widow, whose daughter married Jacob Regnier, a lawyer in New York. Joanna Mark- ham had a nephew Theodore Colby. Ann Markham married a sea captain, James Brown, who will be men- tioned as suspected of piracy. They had three children. Markham leaving what property he had to the step- mother, and the latter removing to New York, and Brown dying, Ann followed to that city, and tried to support herself as a midwife. Her claims made against certain property after her stepmother's death being rejected, the Proprietaries, out of compassion, granted something to this relative. Two of her children died at an early age without issue; the survivor, Joanna, married John Barker, but appears to have been the last of Markham's family, when, about 1767, the Proprie- taries pensioned her. Her board being paid to Penelope Healy, Mrs. Barker was still living at the beginning of the American Revolution. A social club in Philadelphia and one or two unimportant railroad stations perpetu- ate the name of Markham.
To persons of higher social rank than those whom we have mentioned, a frontier inhabited by such serious, utilitarian, and disapproving people as the Quakers, afforded no attractions, and could only be a place of refuge. Acrelius tells us of Baron Isaac Baner, a Swede, who, after being in the service of William III of England, settled in Philadelphia in 1695, and after-
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wards removed to the Lower Counties, where he tried to support himself at first by keeping a small store, and where he married, had children, and died in 1713, leaving a destitute family. His relatives in Sweden, a Lieutenant-General and a Royal Councillor, sent for the children in 1727, and, Deputy Governor Gordon escorting them to the ship, they sailed by way of Lon- don. The wife of Sir Robert Newcomen, Bart., un- happy in her married life, came over in 1702, and, under the name of Mary Phillips, boarded with Penn's cousins the Asshetons. She was a daughter of Arthur Chi- chester, 2nd Earl of Donegal, by his Countess, who had married, 2ndly, Penn's cousin Richard Rooth. Incog- nito, Lady Newcomen set no fashions, and on the delay of her remittance had the prospect of doing ironing- however, Sir Robert ultimately allowed her £50 sterling per annum. She went back in 1712. She had six chil- dren by Sir Robert.
When it became common for the needy, the criminal, or the troublesome to come or be sent over, and to reimburse those who transported him or her by being sold as a laborer for a term of years, there was, as an involuntary resident, James Annesley, his assertion of noble parentage and of relatives' knavery being dis- regarded. A book called The Memoirs of an Unfortu- nate Young Nobleman returned from a thirteen years slavery in America, published in London in 1743, tells, with some disguise of names, a marvellous tale of his early experiences, his life in Penn's dominions, the suicide of an Indian girl in love with him, the behavior of his master's daughter, &ct., all of which is condensed in the Gentleman's Magazine, Vols. XIII & XIV. Neg- lected by the profligate Arthur, 4th Lord Altham, who was pretty surely his father, the subject of the memoir, by the agency of his uncle Richard, who assumed the title, was taken from squalid surroundings at the father's death, and decoyed, being about thirteen years
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old, into going aboard a ship which sailed for Phila- delphia on April 30, 1728. Consigned to the captain to be disposed of as a servant, Annesley, on arrival, was bought by a farmer. In an attempt to escape from drudgery and privation, Annesley fell in with a man and woman eloping from her husband, attended by a servant, and was captured with them, and was sent to the pillory. Annesley, reclaimed by his master, finally, in 1739, escaped to Jamaica, and there, in September, 1740, enlisted as a common sailor on a man-of-war. Through a lieutenant, who had been a schoolmate, the identity was revealed to the Captain, and through him to Admiral Vernon, who released Annesley from his enlistment, and sent him to England to recover his rights. His uncle, meanwhile, at the death of a cousin, had taken the additional titles of Earl of Anglesey in the peerage of England and Viscount Valentia in that of Ireland, which titles, as well as that of Baron Altham in the peerage of Ireland, should have gone to James, if, as he claimed, he was the son of Lord and Lady Altham. James Annesley was welcomed by many people in Ireland, and his uncle was disposed to com- promise with him, and had him taught French; but, on James killing a man in "chance medley," the uncle strove to have him convicted of murder, as a way of getting rid of him; but he was triumphantly acquitted. James brought ejectment for certain Irish property, and, although the evidence given rather pointed to his having been the 4th Lord's bastard, the verdict of the jury on Nov. 25, 1743, was in his favor; but, lacking the money to prosecute his claims thoroughly, and in face of legal obstructions, he never obtained wealth or title. He died (Gent's Mag.) Jan. 3, 1760, leaving chil- dren, but his two sons died a very few years later and presumably without issue.
Being settled at a date in the history of the Anglo- Saxon race when class distinctions and privileges had
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weakened to a considerable extent, and by persons among whom there were no great inequalities of birth, and because of the brotherly feeling of a band of re- ligionists, and still more because of the sentiments of the sect, Pennsylvania was less affected than other colonies by the idea of caste. The Quakers were level- lers. They had wished to get rid of the vain distinctions of the world. While we need not credit family tradi- tions of a Quaker ancestor taking up a humble trade, as a matter of religion, when belonging to a class thought to be considerably above workers at such trade, yet it is a fact that among Quakers there was not a social stratification according to business occupation. They were not communists or socialists or equalizers of pri- vate wealth, or such as scrupled at the laying up of treasure; and the natural tendency of a Quaker estate when once fairly started was to grow faster than that of a less ascetic owner. Sydney George Fisher has well said that a consistent Quaker could not spend a large fortune except in charity. At the same time, the Meet- ing supervised a man's conduct in business with the penalty of disownment, quite severe when there were none but Quakers to associate with; and thus extortion, non-payment of debts, reckless speculation, and some tricks of trade were eliminated as sources of riches. By the discountenancing of luxury and show, the dif- ference between the rich and the poor was less observ- able. It was a long time before Pennsylvania had anything like a "submerged tenth" or pauper class. The industry characteristic of the disciples of Fox, and the rich soil obtained by the purchasers from Penn, combined to provide nearly every settler with enough and to spare. Poverty came only through failure of crops, losses by sea, or bodily injury. A member of Meeting who had lost by misfortune was again started in life, and measures were taken that the children of the poor should have from education and care their
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chance with others. When into the colony were intro. duced persons of all grades, habits, and principles, inequalities came inevitably : but as a rule, the rich, however well satisfied with their own or their fathers' moral superiority, were not inclined to assume the appearance of an aristocracy deriving consideration from "carnal" ideas.
The formation of a landed oligarchy was not facili- tated in Penn's dominion. Mention has been made how small were the tracts of the first purchasers from William Penn, and how, by the regulations, the reten- tion of a location depended upon its being peopled, and how the tracts of over 5000 acres before very long were cut up.
A resident country gentry conspicuous in respective neighbourhoods by number of acres and mode of life was not established. Except Dr. More, before men- tioned, and the Growdons at "Trevose," Bucks County, and one or two others, the first purchasers of as many as 5000 acres, and those who afterwards bought plan- tations of that size, did not reside upon them. The wealthy men of the province lived in its city with in later times a country place near by, but in size very different from the landed estate of a rural grandee of New York, Virginia, or South Carolina.
The laws of Pennsylvania interfered with the un- fairness by which many landed estates have been pre- served and increased. In the first place, as to being withheld from creditors, "the Laws agreed upon in England" made all lands and goods liable to pay debts except where there was lawful issue, and then all the goods and one third of the land. This was changed by the Great Law passed at Chester so that, in case of issue, all the goods were liable and half the land, in case the land was bought before the debt was con- tracted. By various temporary laws and a permanent one of Fletcher's time, all lands were subjected to sale
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on judgment and execution against the defendant or his heirs, executors, or administrators, but the mes- suage and plantation on which the defendant was resid- ing was not to be sold until the last, and not until a year after the judgment. When Penn was on his second visit to Pennsylvania, a clause was adopted requiring the personalty to be sold first. In Fletcher's time was introduced the liability of all the real estate as well as personalty of any decedent to sale for payment of debts by the executor or administrator under approval of a court, or by judgment and proceedings of court except where the personal property was sufficient.
There was a remedy, too, against an inheritance in- creasing in value while the family starved. Following a temporary law of earlier date, Fletcher enacted in 1694 that the widow or administrator of an intestate might, in case of considerable debt or charge of child or children, sell such part of the intestate's lands as the Council or County Court should think fit for paying the debts, educating the children, supporting the widow, and improving the rest of the estate to their advantage.
In the next place, while the English common law tended towards the monopoly of land, the statutes of Pennsylvania almost always required the division of what a man left at his death. By the charter of Charles II, the laws of England were to govern the descent of land and the succession to personalty in Pennsylvania until altered by the Proprietary and freemen. The first enactment to curtail the unfair benefit of primo- geniture went into force in April, 1683, providing that the whole estate in the Province and Territories, unless an equal provision had been arranged for with property elsewhere, should go, after payment of debts, one third to the wife, and one third to the children equally, and the other third as the decedent pleased; if his wife were dead, two thirds to the children equally, and one third as he pleased, his debts being first paid, whereas
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if he died intestate, the estate should go to his wife and children, but if he left neither wife nor child, then to his brothers and sisters or to the children of his brothers and sisters; if there were none, one half to the parents, and the other half to the next of kin; if no parents, the half should go to the Governor, and if no kindred claiming within three years, the other half to the public. This same law, as we see, interfered with the power of a parent to aggrandize one child by disinheriting the rest. As the words of the law did not say what the division should be between wife and chil- dren in cases of intestacy, chapter CLXXII, passed in 3mo., 1684, fixed it thus: one third of the lands to the wife during her life, the rest to the children, the eldest son taking a double share : if there were no child, half of the real estate to the wife for life, the rest to the intes- tate's kin. The limitation upon the right to dispose by will was removed in 1693, when also the right of the chil- dren of deceased relations to take their parents' share was recognized, and it was explained that, except where the eldest son was concerned, the division among rela- tions in equal degree should be equal. The right of children of deceased brethren to take the share which their parent would have taken if living, was allowed by act of 1700.
The act of Jany. 12, 1705-6, made the children share the land equally, the widow taking the same share as a child. There was nothing said to limit her interest to a life estate, and apparently she was always allowed to have a fee simple until the act of February 4, 1748-9, prescribed a different construction of the aforesaid law.
There were good reasons why the Quaker province attracted, besides the Quakers and the separatists wish- ing to be undisturbed in religion, those who were not sure of the means of support at home. Here was good soil, cheap land, a well behaved population, public senti- ment in favor of the simplest style of living, no danger
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from the aborigines, no military service, nothing to pay for a military or ecclesiastical establishment, a govern- ment run at the least cost possible, there being no hand- some houses provided for the acting Governors, and such acting Governors as received salaries other than occasional sums drawing their pay from William Penn until the XVIIth Century closed. If a man wished to get drunk, or break Sabbath, or have certain sports, he found the laws decidedly "blue;" but it was the era of "blue laws." On the other hand, if his necessities drove him to some small theft, the punishment was lighter than at home : however, it was only after the colony had been in existence a number of years that Pennsylvania was to any degree a resort for persons looking forward to crime.
In due time, among the immigrants of English or Welsh birth or ancestry, the non-Quakers outnumbered the Quakers. Differing from the latter in matters of religion, and at times in earnest dispute and bitter anger against them over certain measures of civil gov- ernment, yet these non-Quakers attempted only spo- radically to lessen the Quaker's share in legislation, and largely combined with them on questions not inter- fering with the Church of the one or the conscience of the other, and made lasting the impression upon the community of the social and political principles of the co-religionists of the Founder of the Colony.
CHAPTER VI
A REPUBLICAN FEUDATORY.
Powers granted by Charles II-Penn's attitude as to war-Penn's claim to greatness His sug- gestion of Union of the Colonies and of a Parlia- ment of Europe-His character and abilities- Covenant for a Democracy-Delaware taken into Union-Naturalization-General Suffrage-Frame of 1683-Religious freedom-All Christians eligible to office-The theological tests in England- "Solemn promise" of witnesses-Unsettled laws- Absentee rule by the Penns-Thomas Lloyd and other deputies-Fortune inherited by William Penn and his first wife-Too small for his under- taking-Philip Ford-Receipts and indebtedness -Penn very prominent in England-James II and the Quakers-Penn at the time of the Revo- lution.
The Charter of King Charles II not only made William Penn and his heirs and assigns feudal lords of the soil, but added an authority in him and his heirs like that of Viceroy. The clause directly granting powers of legislation did not extend them to his assigns, although the clause providing for certain laws of Eng- land to be temporarily in force, said that they should be so until altered by him, his heirs and assigns, and by the freemen, their delegates or deputies or the greater part of them. Penn or his heirs or his or their Deputies and Lieutenants could ordain and, under his or their seals, publish any laws for raising money or other pub- lic or private purpose with the consent of the majority
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of the freemen or of their deputies, whom Penn and his heirs were authorized to assemble in such way as to them would seem best. The laws were to be con- sonant to reason, and as near as conveniently could be to those of England, and were to be transmitted within five years after enactment to the Privy Council in Eng- land, and, sitting in Council, the King was to have the right within six months to declare the law void as in- consistent with his prerogative or the faith and alle- giance due to him. This was liberally construed in prac- tice as to both the time which the English government would take in examination of a law, and the grounds on which the Sovereign would reject it: the Acts of Assembly were often sent in the first place to the Lords and others forming the Committee or the Board for the affairs of trade and plantations, and by them re- ferred, in whole or for certain questions, to the At- torney-General or other law officer, and the King's decision was made after the formal presentation to him, upon the receipt of the law officer's long delayed opinion, and upon the completion of a representation by the aforesaid Committee or Board; and the rejection would take place for any matter of form or of policy that did not commend itself to these examiners. There- upon remedial legislation would fail until a new act avoiding the obnoxious phraseology or details could be passed. There would be uncertainty for several years. The time consumed in communication in those days be- tween the colony and England was but a part of the period during which the colonists were obliged to wait. Penn told his people once that the laws lay unreported upon by the Attorney-General for want of a big fee to induce him to take them up. On the other hand, a law was to be in operation until rejected by the King; so the local enacting powers took advantage of the allowance of five years for presenting an act, often passing one to be in force for only a year, or for less than five years, or
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repealing and reenacting one, so that the five years would begin to run from the last reenactment, and sometimes, when an act had been disallowed by the Sovereign in Council, it was passed afresh, and put in execution, and the process repeated after a later disallowance. Richard West, one of the King's law officers, being asked for his opinion, advised the Commissioners for Trade on March 25, 1719, that there was nothing in the Charter to Penn to prevent the reenactment by the Province of disallowed laws. West also advised to the effect that the six months to which the King was limited for examination and disallowance of laws were to be computed from the day on which they were delivered to the Privy Council, but not from their being delivered to the Board of Trade, unless simultaneously duplicates were delivered to the Privy Council.
Upon emergencies, when the freemen could not be gathered together, the Royal Charter allowed Penn and his heirs or their magistrates and officers to make ordi- nances for the preservation of the peace and better government of the people, consonant to reason, and, as near as might be, agreeable to the laws of England, but not affecting any person's life, limb, or property : the laws of England as to felonies, and regulating property and the descent of lands or succession to goods and chattels, were to remain in force until altered by Penn, his heirs or assigns, and the freemen, as before stated.
Penn and his heirs were to execute the laws made with the consent of the freemen. Penn and his heirs and his or their Deputies and Lieutenants had the power to appoint judges, magistrates, and officers, in- cluding those for probate of wills, and granting of administration, and to administer justice by tribunals subject to an appeal to the King, and also to pardon all crimes except treason and wilful murder, and to grant reprieves in those cases until the King's pleasure were known. The appeal from the decisions of courts
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and the reprieve of condemned murderers seem never to have taken place. Penn and his heirs and assigns could divide the region into counties &ct., incorporate cities and boroughs, constitute fairs and markets, and fix the only ports of entry.
There was one power granted to the Proprietaries by the King which it seemed inconsistent for a Quaker to accept, and which had much to do with the willing- ness of the Founder and his family to govern through a non-Quaker deputy: William Penn and his heirs and assigns, acting by themselves or their captains or other officers, were authorized to muster soldiers, and make war on the King's enemies, and put them to death by the laws of war, or save them at pleasure, and act as a Captain-General. The Frame of Government granted by Penn in 1683, hereinafter mentioned, was silent as to the exercise of this power, except in prohibiting the acting Governor from performing any act relating to "safety" without the consent of the Provincial Council. It was apparently without waiting for such consent that the Founder of Pennsylvania, the most illustrious polit- ically of all Quakers, ordered the fort at New Castle to fire upon the Marylanders coming in force to demand possession. He did not stop to think that, if bloodshed by princes was abominable, it seldom had less excuse morally than his own claim to the land in question.
It should here be said, throwing light on many acts of William Penn, that he was not a rigid moralist on the subject of war. He believed it contrary to the spirit of Christianity, and he did not, like some Quakers, make a distinction between offensive and defensive use of "the carnal weapon," and he sacrificed bright pros- pects by withdrawing from the career of a soldier, and he wrote about the advantages of turning the popula- tion to the arts of peace; but there have not been found by the present writer any utterances by Penn that kill- ing in battle is murder. Penn was, some will say, too
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practical, others will say, too illogical to view all par- ticipation in a national struggle as sinful. It might almost be said that his writings justify the Quakers' refusal to bear arms very much on a par with their peculiarity of saying "thee" and "thou." He con- formed to the practice of his peaceable sect, but he did not follow out the theory as many others did. He seems to have had no objection to non-Quakers fighting for him. His bringing the Delawareans into political union with the Pennsylvanians may have been with the astute policy of having a "fighting half" among his people : he subsequently spoke regretfully of the loss of this by the disunion.
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