USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Chester > Historical sketch of Chester, on Delaware > Part 27
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Would to Heaven that we could not be pointed to a parallel still nearer home. But truth requires the confession that the same odious principle of the right of the white man to invade, to disposses and exterminate, has characterized the treatment of the Indians from that time until the pre- sent: and the process is still going on. When the white man wants land he takes it. If the Indian resists he is driven off by force. If he avenges the wrong he is killed. If his people take up the quarrel, an Indian war ensues, with all its horrors, ending always with the white man taking still more land and driving the Indian still farther toward their "manifest destiny." The only exception to this rule is the case we are now commemorating, which exhibits the single bright page in a very dark history.
The Lenni Lenape has disappeared from the soil of Pennsylvania and from the land of his fathers, but it was through no fault of Penn and his followers. He has been lost in his journey westward in other trines; but be faithfully
carried out his part of the compact. We hear of him on the banks of the western rivers, on the anniversary of the day we celebrate, selecting a spot like that where the Elm stood, and spreading his copy of the Treaty upon the ground, explaining it to the children of his tribe and impressing upon them that the friendship between them and the followers of Penn must be kept in- violate, in the strong language of his race, as long as the sun and moon endure.
The experiment of the Founder of Pennsylvania demonstrated that it was not necessary to exterminate the Indians. There was room enough in the country for them and us too. But to the disgrace of the white man we must admit that he has rarely come in contact with a weaker race except to exter- minate or enslave. This may be in accordance with the stern law of "The Survival of the Fittest," and the day when the Indian wrongs shall be aven- ged may be when the white man shall fall before the advance of a stronger race yet to be.
The success of the experiment certainly would have warranted its repetition and continuance. For seventy years the colony existed in prosperity and pro- found peace without armies, without vessels of war, without forts, without arsenals. Other colonies were kept in constant dread of what they termed the "merciless savage." But no Quaker ever lost his life by the hand of an In- dian; and for forty years no blood was shed on either side. Two years after the death of Penn, the first murder across the line of the races occurred, and the murderer was & white man. His Indian victim was slain under circum- stances of peculiar atrocity. Yet so impressed were the Indians with the kindness and justice of the colonial government and the humane teachings of its founder, that they petitioned for the life of the offender to be spared, and it was spared.
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
But the French and Indian war came on; then followed the American Rev- olution, and then the colony passed out of the hands of the followers of Penn. In all essentials however, the impress of the hand of the Founder is upon the Constitution of Pennsylvania to day. The absence of a State Church, freedom of conscience in matters of religion, equality of all men under the law and in the making of the law, universal education provided by the State, the equal right of suffrage vested in all freemen, these are elements of Penn's Frame of Government and they have come down to us unchanged. Other Colonies adopted these provisions and they passed into the Constitutions of the several States of the Union. Indeed, that which formed the model from which were taken all our State Governments and the government of the United States was the Frame of Government introduced by William Penn two hundred years ago.
It is much to be regretted that the Founder was not permitted to carry out his original intention of locating in the Province permanently with his family. The condition of the Dissenters in England called for his sympathy and assistance; and the dimculty about his southern boundary having been transferred to the home government for settlement, it became necessary for him to return to England, and he left the colony in October, 1684. In 1685, Charles died and the throne devolved upon his brother James, a man of good intentions, but of narrow and bigoted views.
Penn's influence with James was understood and appreciated by the Dis- senters of all persuasions, and he was appealed to on every side and urged to procure a suspension of the cruel and unjust laws. An Act of Parliament, passed in the reign of Elizabeth, was revived against the Dissenters, which inflicted a fine of twenty pounds per month upon all persons who neglected or refused to attend the services of the established Church. This with the Conventicle Act, it was supposed, would reach and coerce every offender worth prosecuting. The crushing weight of this law will be seen when we remember that twenty pounds then equalled about four hundred dollars now, taking into account the difference in the value of money, making forty-eight hundred dollars a year as the cost of exercising a conscientious choice in the manner of worshiping God.
Through the influence of Penn and other men of liberal views, James issued a general pardon of all offenses against these acts, and twelve hundred Quak- ers alone, besides many persons of other dissenting persuasions were dis- charged from prison by it. The laws, however, were still in force, and Pern labored until the downfall of James in mitigating their effect upon all suffer- ers, taking advantage of the fact that James himself was not of the establi- shed church, and subjecting himself to some ill-will among his fellow Dis- senters by his steady refusal to discriminate against the Catholics. His object was to procure as far as possible, universal freedom of belief and worship. In this he had considerable success, and it is not unlikely that that success contributed to the downfall of the king. Penn was a century in advance of his age. The received opinion at that time was that it was the business of the civil government to compel men to believe right.
Upon the advent of William of Orange, Penn fell under the suspicion of favoring the fortunes of the fallen King, and he wae several times arrested, but the most rigid investigation failed to discover a single violation of law or even the smallest suspicion of it. Penn admitted his friendship for James, but denied all idea of assisting him, and even of the possibility of his res- toration. He appealed to his past history to show that what he wanted was universal toleration in matters of religion, and having that under the new king, it would be folly for him to ask the restoration of the old one who, though willing, could not grant it.
At length, in 1699 Penn arrived at Philadel phia, proposing to reside in the colony for the remainder of his days. But the threatened war between France and England led to an attempt to take his Province from him,
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and he returned to the mother country to defend the rights of the colonists. In 1701 he took what proved be a final leave of his colony. This attempt failed through an appeal to the sense of justice of the king. But pecuniary troubles arising from his having spent so much of his fortune in found- ing the colony, and receiving so little return, and an arrest and imprison- ment for an unjust claim on the part of one of his agents, weighed heavily upon him and he became afflicted with paralysis in 1712, from which his mind never fully recovered. He died in 1718, closing an active and unselfish life and leaving a fame that will last as long as the recollection and approval of the great and good shall be a characteristic of the human mind. .
Two hundred years have passed away since the landing of the "Welcome" upon the spot before us, and it will be interesting and instructive to inquire what these two hundred years have done for us. The population of Chester at the time of the landing was probably less than a hundred. . The taxables tive years before numbered sixteen, which would represent a population of less than sixty. Up to 1840 the increase was very slow, the census of that year showing a little over seven hundred. Soon after that date the town took a sudden start, which greatly surprised the older inhabitants. It has now become a great manufacturing city, with a population of twenty-three thousand, including the contiguous Boroughs formed by the overspreading of its boundaries. At the same rate of increase the population at the Tri- Centennial celebration of the landing will exceed twenty-three millions.
It was Penn's original idea to locate his city at Chester. Two causes, however, combined to prevent this. 1. The land was in the possession of settlers some of whom refused to sell and 2, There was some doubt whether or not Chester was within Penn's purchase. The southern limit of that pur- chase was the fortieth parallel of north latitude, and Chester is south of that parallel. At the granting of the charter, the fortieth parallel was supposed to be at or near the northern boundary of Maryland as ultimately fixed. The possessions of the respective parties substantially determined the line between them, but it was not exactly located until 1765, when it was run and marked by Mason and Dixon.
If Penn could have foreseen how much the shipping would increase in size and draft of water, and how rapidly the river would be encroached upon by the land, he might have given less weight to the considerations that induced him to locate his city above the mouth of the Schuylkill. Already nearly all the shipping that passes Chester has to be taken and returned by tug boats. This, however, is of ilttle importance now. The two cities will soon be one, in fact, so rapidly are they approaching, and Chester will then become the port of entry of Philadelphia.
In 1682 Philadelphia was substantially without inhabitants. In two hun- dred years it has acquired eight hundred and fifty thousand. In extent of territory it is the largest city in America, and second only to New York in population. In 1682 the population of the entire State could not have exceed- ed a few hundreds, while now it numbers four millions and a half; and that of the United States has increased from three millions and a half to fifty millions within the last century. In short, from very small beginnings, two hundred years ago, we have become one of the leading nations of the world. All this has been largely owing to our liberal institutions, our exemption from priestly interference in matters of religion and our freedom from the crushing weight of the military systems of Europe.
The inventions and discoveries of the last twocenturies have been enor- mous, both in number and importance, and we have contributed our full proportion. The steamboat, the printing press, the power loom, friction matches, dynamite, the spectroscope, the electric light, anæsthetics, are some of the things of which Penn and his cotemporaries knew nothing. If the world could be set back in the use of the forces and materials in Nature's
Historical Sketch of Chester.
workshop to where it was in 1682, one fourth of its population would die of starvation in a year.
An equal progress has been made in moral and social science. We have abol- ished human slavery in almost the entire civilized world. We have abol- ished war as a recognized means of settling private disputes and are inventing a civilized mode of settling public ones. We have applied the precepts of Him of Nazareth to the treatment of the waifs and strays of humanity-the pauper, the lunatic and idiot-and have almost discovered that the criminal is the product of social and natural canses, and is to be taken care of kindly for his own good and for the safety of the community .. The world moves. Who shall say to what a summit of human perfection the next two hundred years will bring us ?
In all the coming years let us remember and celebrate the day and honor the place of our birth as a civil organization, the place where the power of kindness and justice was first recognized and demonstrated as a means of reaching the hearts and regulating the conduct of communities of men; the day upon which the great principles promulgated on the mountain in Judea were applied for the first and only time to the founding of civil government, principles which, after eighteen hundred years, we are only just beginning to see must rule the world. Let us remember that in this place and on that day Christianity was put upon its trial as a rule of human conduct, and that it succeeded. Let us remember that the ground whereon we stand is holy, In passing to us from the hands of those to whom God gave it, in the dim twilight of the past, it was not watered by their blood and tears. Let every son of Pennsylvania treasure up in his heart gratefully and teach his chil- dren that the terrible catalogue of crime registered against the white invaders of America has no application to the State that perpetuates the name of Wil- liam Penn.
The address speaks for itself and needs no words of commenda- tion. The quiet attention with which it was received by those who had the good fortune to be near enough to hear it, was sufficient evidence of its interest. The children sang the Bi-Centennial Ode, composed by Prof. CHARLES F. FOSTER, Superintendent of the Public Schools, and set to music by Prof. JOHN R. SWENEY. It was as follows :
THE BI-CENTENNIAL HYMN.
Through a hundred years of toil and strife, And a hundred of the nation's life, Have the centuries trod with step sublime, And are bearing a tale of olden time; How the man of the silent song and prayer, On the forest-shore of the Delaware,
In liberty's cause the flag nnturled. Which in triumph shall wave o'er the land and the world. CHORUS. Then a cheer for the Union. grand and great, And a hip-hip-hurrah for the Keystone State, But a joyful song and a tender prayer For the home of Penn by the Delaware.
We honor him who long ago, With a brother's love disarmed the foe, And a bloodless battle fought and won On the famous field of Kensington. And now. from the falls of Trenton down To the Quaker City, and Chester town,
The hearts of the people inrn with pride To the spot which Penn has glorified. CHO .- Then a cheer, &c.
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Now the mountains come to wed the sea . At the river shall the meeting be, As the ship glides down in stately pride, - With a lover's kiss to greet the tide; And men are toiling with might and main, With the sinewy arm, and the busy brain,
That the breezes of ocean everywhere
May carry the fame of the Delaware. CHO .- Then a cheer, &c.
Lo! the strength of these two hundred years In our giant growth to-day appears; For the Quaker's word was a title-deed Alike to the Red Man, Dutch and Swede, And the old. old message he uttered then, Of "Peace on earth, good will to men," Is the'gospel of love which shall ever stand As the pledge of the nation, the hope of the land. CHO .- Then a cheer, &c.
After music by the band, followed by the closing prayer by Rev. Thomas Macauley, of the Third Presbyterian Church, the assem- blage dispersed, the band playing "William Penn's Grand March," composed by Prof. Sweney, to seek substantial refreshments in the two hours which intervened before the Grand Parade, which was fixed for two o'clock in the afternoon. The guests of the city were entertained at the Chester Republican League House, on Edgmont Avenue. The building was handsomely decorated and its doors thrown hospitably open to the throng of visitors. The dinner was served in excellent style by Mr. Graves, caterer, from Wilmington, Del., and was arranged under direction of the Bi-Centennial Com- mittee on Entertainment and a Committee consisting of William B. Broomall, Thomas I. Leiper, Thomas H. Mirkil, E. S. Mckeever, W. Ross Brown and George B. Lindsay, members of the League. There was ample supply of all goods things, and the management was admirable. Others of the visitors to the city were entertained at private houses, while the hotels were filled to overflowing with guests.
THE AFTERNOON.
The sun shone brightly and long before the time fixed for the Civic, Industrial and Military Parade, the streets were again thronged and every vantage place along the route of march was oc- cupied by those anxious to see the display. They had not long to
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wait, for in this, as in every other part of the exercises of the day, the management was as nearly perfect as could be.
Under the able direction of Chief Marshal, Col. W. C. Gray and his efficient Aids, and that of the different Marshals of divisions, the columnin was promptly formed and move ! within a few moments of the appointed time. When it is considered that there were over 6000 men in line, including every kind of civic and industrial dis- play, firemen and military, and that the parade was over an hour passing a given point, it will be seen how much credit was due to the executive ability of Col. Gray and his assistants, and the intelligent co-operation of all the organizations engaged. There was no delay or confusion at any point on the route and from first to last every- thing moved with the precision of clock work.
The line was formed in the South Ward, at Third and Penn streets, all the streets running north and south of Third street, as far as Kerlin, being filled with organizations intending to partici- pate in the parade, and after everything was gotten in readiness the procession moved, a little after two o'clock, in the following order:
Chief Marshal. Col. W. C. Gray. Aids, William I. Leiper, John C. Price, J. Howard Lewis, Jr., William H. Green, John B. Hannum, W. H. Osborne, J. P. Crozer, John Lilley. Captain Isaac Johnson, William P. Ladomus, r. Crossley, William G. Price. Robert Anderson. J. H. Cochran, E. P. Hannum. W. T. Dain, H. R. Manley.
FIRST DIVISION .- Oglesby's Band, 41 pieces. Chief Tamanand, Arthur Martin. Aids, Robert Campbell, H. P. Harvey, B. F. Bucha, John Mott, in Indian costume, mounted. Members of the Order of Red Men, in Indian costume, 65 men. Upland Band, 22 pieces. Tuscarora Tribe, No. 29, 75 men; W. B. Lear. Marshal. Franken- tield Band, Philadelphia, 22 pieces. Mocoponaca Tribe, No. 149, 70 men; Adam Pierce, Marshal. Ockhoking Tribe, No. 159, Newtown Square, 20 men; Isaiah Massey, Mar- shal. Delegates from Idaho. Wohasset, Wissahicken, No. 32. Coaquanock, No. 49; Seminole, No. 30; Ponemah Tribes, of Philadelphia. Shawnee Tribe, No. 62, of Phila- delphia, 92 men. Rockdale Band, 17 pieces. Lenni Tribe, No. 86, of Rockdale. 48 men; William Fra. ce, Marshal. W. J. McCInre, of York, Great Sachem; Thomas A. McDowell, of Germantown, Great Senior Sagamore; Great Chief of Records, Charles C. Conley; Great Keeper of Wampum, George W. Kreamer, both of Philadelphia; An- drew Zand, of Easton, Great Meshinewa of the Great Council of Pennsylvania; An- drew J. Baker. P. G. I. of U. S., of Philadelphia; Great Guard of the Wigwam, Chas. C. Kambers, of Pittsburg-all of the Great Council of Pennsylvania; also, Great Chief of Records, Joshua Maris, and Great Keeper of Wampum, Joseph Pyle, of the Great Council of the United States, both of Wilmington, in carriages.
SECOND DIVISION .- Marshal, Charles Sykes. Aids. H. Pennell, H. Chadwick, John Marlor. Charles Sharpless, O. C. MeClure, John Fullerton, S. W. Logan, John T. Morgan. Guests of the Fire Companies in carriages. Keystone Band, of Phila- delpbia, 24 pieces. Volunteer Fire Association, of Philadelphia, 10 ' men; Jolin Welsh, Marshal. Old hand engine. Montgomery Hose, Norristown, 20 men; Norristown Band. 25 pieces. Washington Fire Company, of Conshohocken, 48 men; Miles Stem- ple. Marshal; hose carriage and steamer; guests in carriages. Centenni dl Band, Falls of Schuylkill. 20 pieces. Franklin Fire Company, Chester, 110 men; Samuel Harkin, Marsh.il; hose carriage and steamer; B. B. Welser, John Penpell and William Cowan in a carriage. Kensington B .nd, 22 pieces. Hanley Hose, Chester, 90 men; Thomas Berry, Marshal; hose carriage and steamer. Womelsdorf Band, 20 pieces. Junior Fire Company, of Reading, 65 men; William Boynton, Marshal; hose carriage and steamer. Altoona Band, 23 pieces. Vigilant Fire Company, 52 men, with steamer. Friendship Band, Chester, 20 pieces. Moyamensing Hook and Ladder Company, Chester. 120 men, with truck and wagon containing a representation of " Penn" Cabinet. THIRD DIVISION .- Marshal, J. Newton Shanafelt. Aids, Stephen L. Armour, D. Traub, Isaac Rodgers, F. B.Bowers, Horace Fairlamb, M. Hatton, John Lindsay, E.
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The Celebration. .
Pennell, D. F. Rose, ". M. Cox. Excelsior Band, Salem, 20 pieces. Larkin Circle, No. 66, B. U., and Good Intent, No. 75. Chester, 125 men. West Grove Band. 20 pieces. St. Agnes Cadets, West Chester. 40 cadets. boys dressed in blue jackets and white pants, carrying axes and flags. St. Michael's T. A. B. Society, Chester. 105 men and 20 pioneers. Immaculate Heart T. A. B. Society. Ches er, 40 men. Patriotic Order Sons of America, Chester. 150 men, with band. Scotch Band, James A. C. Dickson pipe major. Caledonian Club. of Philadelphia, 2, men. Robert Burns Club. Ches- ter, 30 men; Wil iam MeCillum. Marshal. Concordia Band, Philadelphia, 12 pieces. 14 German citizens dresse l in costumes, representing burgers. foresters, huzzars and dragoons. Germin Beneficial Society, Chester, 42 men; D. Traub. Marshal. Prussia's first King, Frederick, was represented; also Gambrinus and Bacchus. grotesquely dressed, in a wagon. Hull's Band, South Chester, 22 pieces. Industrial Association and Hod Carriers' Union, 45 men.
FOURTH DIVISION .- Marshal. Samuel Starr, M. D. Aids, Dr. C. C. V. Craw- ford, H. A. Eisenbise, Dr. Theodore S. Christ. Metropolitan Band, Philadelphia, 25 pieces. Cadets P. M. A., 170 rifles; Captains Duval. R. K. Carter, B. F. Morley and C. E. Hyatt commanding. Drum Corps. Company H, 6th Reg., Media. 35 rifles; Captain Jees- M. Baker. Wilde Post Fife and Drum Corps. Chester, 20 pieces. Wilde Post, No. 25. G. A. R , Chester. 80 men; Joel Hollingsworth commander. Bradbury Post, No. 149. Media; Samuel Crozier commander. Smyth Post Drum Corps. Gen- eral Smyth Post. No. 1, Wilmington. 70 men: T. A. Keables commander Chir es Sumner Post, Wilmington. 75 men John Brown Post, Chester; Robert Auter com- mander. First Regiment Band, Wilmington. 20 pieces. Company B, 6th Reg., Co men, in command of Capt. F. G. Sweeney and Lients. Sparks and Campbell. . ar- riage- containing Hon. William Ward. Benjamin Gartside and Samuel Riddle, the two olde-t and largest manufacturers in Delaware county; Major D. R. B. Nevin, of Ridley Park: H. G. Ashmead, W. Ross Brown. H. B. Black, President of' City Coun- cil; Rev. Thomas Kelley, Rev. George C. Moore, Joseph McAldon. Andrew Hudson, John W. Martin Burgess of North Chester: Henry C. Shock, Edward S. Mckeever, George B. Lindsay, Col. David F. Houston, Major Joseph R. T. Coates, Orlando Har- vey, Samuel Oglesby and Henry Riddle.
FIFTH. DIVISION .- Marshal, G. P. Denis. Aids, C. Peters, Jr., E. S. Worrell, William Irving, James Field, G. G. Leiper, William Shaw, E. Irving, Sumner Esrey, C. W. Andrews. Harmony Band, of Thurlow, 18 pieces. Steamship City of Tokio. Chester Rolling Mills. 400 men, with puddling furnace and hammer; T. J. Houston. Marshal. Penn and companions; Bridgewater display of zephyrs; E. R. Worrel , oil clothis; Wilcox & White, organs; hester Dock Mills, zephyrs and calicoe -; E. D. Sparks & Co., belts, etc .; Joseph Messick. furniture; E. M. Bruce & Co., Estey or- gans; J. A. Cardwell, furniture; Great National Tea Company; G. P. Denis, cassi ineres, etc .; Broad Street Mills, colored goods. and 30 men dressed in the ticking made at the mill, William B. Stevens, Marshal; James Bowers & Son, cotton and wool, in . bales; John Armitage tar, etc .; Chester City Stove Works; D. S. Bunting, 6 coal wagons: The Irving & Leiper Manufacturing Co., cotton in bales, etc .; Powhattan Mills, No. 3, cloths; South Chester High Flyers; Lewis, Kurtz & Co., groceries; F. O. Goodwin, lightning rods; J. S. Schlanka, bread; Model of the old Penn honse at Up- land; Crozer's Upland Mills; Lnkens & Compton, dry goods, etc .; O. T. Pancoast, printing pressat work; Griffith & Co., furniture; M. Ocheltree, carriages; smith shop; Springville Mills.
SIXTH DIVISION .- Marshal, Charles Cavanaugh. Aids, W. H. Graham and Jo- seph Waddell. Kelleyville Band, 2n pieces. William Penn, in a baronche, F. D. Graham. Butchers mounted, 149 men, wearing white smock, high hat and blue sash. George Wunderlich and William Worrell. the oldest butchers in Delaware countr. in carriages. Burk & Stewart's wagons; Thomas Johnson's wagon; Edward Firth's wagon; six mounted men.
The parade was one of the largest ever witnessed in Delaware County as well as the most orderly and well managed. The proces- sion moved up Third to Market, to Fifth, to Morton avenue, to Broad, to Madison, to Twelfth, to Edgmont, to Seventh, to Kerlin, to Third, to Broomall, countermarching on Third to Kerlin, to Second, to Penn, to Third and dismissed.
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