History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 9

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967

USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 9
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 9
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 9

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

. The passes issued by Justice William Smith, and his son, James Smith, the leader of the " Black Boys," were usually writ- ten as follows :

"CUMBERLAND CO. 88:

"By William Smith, Esq., one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace, of and County. " Permit the Bearer, Thos. McCammis, to pass to Fort Bed- ford, with nine Kegs of Rum, Eight Kegs of Wine, One Keg of Spirits, One Keg of Molasses, Three Kegs of brown Sugar, Four Kegs packed with Loaf Sugar and Coffee and Chocolate. in all Twenty-six Kegs, and One bag of Shoes, provided always, that this Permit shall not Extend to Carry any Warlike Stores, or any Article not herein mentioned.

"Given under my Hand & Seal, 15th May, 1765. "(Signed) Wx. SMITH.

"As the Sidling Hill Volunteers have already Inspected these goods, and as they are all private property, it is Expected that none of these brave fellows will molest them upon the Road, as there is no Indian Supplies amongst them. Given under my Hand, May 15th, 1765. (Signed) JAN. SMITH."

Digitized by

Google

HISTORY OF BEDFORD, SOMERSET AND FULTON COUNTIES.

their lawless measures; none of the Justices have taken any notice of the outrage and violence committed on Lieut. Grant and the two Sergeants I made mention of in my last ; on the contrary, Smith, who heads these villains, together with the rest of the party who com- mitted these Violences, have appeared ever since openly at Justice Smith's house, and were seen there by Lieut. Grant himself, who complained of them to the said Justices, but could obtain no redress. Mr. Maxwell, a Justice of the Peace, who has always dis- approved of the measures of the rioters, has had his life threatened by them. He tells me that one of the Rioters had the assurance to confess to him the day before they appeared in arms before the Fort, that they were determined by Force to seize upon the Goods, and plunder them, which he says the Rioters made no secret of. Mr. Maxwell also says that the common place of Rendezvous for them is at Justice Smith's, who, he believes, en- courages them. I have seen some passes signed by Justice Smith and his Brother-in-law, not only for traders, but even for Soldiers of the Garrison, who are not safe to go any where about their lawful affairs by a pass from their own Officers. They use the Troops upon every occasion with such indignity & abuse that Flesh and Blood cannot bear it. A party of them had the impudence again to intercept the Express I men- tioned in my last, in his return from Carlisle to this place, used him cruelly and detained him all day yes- terday ; one Wilson, who seemed to head the party, told the Express that they were determined to stop the Cloathing of the Regiment on its way from Carlisle.

ADVERTISEMENT.

These are to give notice to all our Loyal Volunteers, to those that has not yet enlisted, you are to come to our Town and come to our Tavern and fill your Belly's with Liquor and your Mouth with swearing, and you will have your pass, but if not, your Back must be whipt & your mouth be gagged; You need not be discouraged at our last disappointment, for our Jus- tice did not get the Goods in their hands as they ex- pected, or we should all have a large Bounty. But our Justice has wrote to the Governor, and every- thing clear on our side, and we will have Grant, the Officer of Loudon, Whip'd or Hang'd, and then we will have Orders for the Goods, so we need not stop; what we have or mind and will do for the Governor will pardon our Crimes, and the Clergy will give us absolution, and the Country will stand by us;" so we may do what we please, for we have Law and Gov- ernment in our hands, & we have a large sum of money raised for our support, but we must take care that it will be spent in our Town, for our Justice gives us, and those that have a mind to join us, free toleration for drinking, swearing, Sabbath-breaking, and any outrage what we have a mind to do, to let those Strangers know their place. It was first Pos- sess (Black's Town), and we move it to Squire Smith's Town, and now I think I have a right to call it, and will still remain till our pleasure, and we call it Hell's town, in Cumberland County, the 25th May, 1765.

PEETERS TOWNSHIP.

Your Scripture says that "the Devil is the Father of Lies," but I assure you this is the plain truth what I say.

God Bless our brave, loyal Volunteers, and success to our Hellstown.

The foregoing letters, etc., having been duly considered, the council advised the governor to write to the justices of the peace of Cumberland, fully acquainting them with the complaints made by Col. Reid against the people of that county, and requiring them to obtain a full account of their behavior, the names of the per- sons concerned in any riots, supported by affi- davits, and particularly as to making Lieut. Grant a prisoner, and to transmit the same to the governor ; and also commanding thein to use their utmost endeavors to suppress all riots, to preserve the public peace, and bring the offend- ers to justice. The members of the Board were likewise of the opinion that a letter should be sent to Justice Smith requiring him to visit Philadelphia to answer the new charges against him ; another to Justice Maxwell requiring him to appear at the same time, with witnesses to support his testimony ; another to Lieut. Grant, desiring him to send depositions relating to his being made a prisoner, and the abuses and insults he had received, and lastly that the governor reply to Gen. Gage's letter, giving him a detailed statement of his own conduct on re- ceiving intelligence of the destruction of the goods at Sideling Hill. The following is an extract from Gov. Penn's letter to Gen. Gage :

PHILADELPHIA, 28th June, 1765.

SIR: Last Week I was honoured with your Excel- lency's Letter of the 16 inst., inclosing extracts of two Letters from Lieut'. Col. Reid, concerning the Riotous Conduct of some of the Inhabitants of Cumberland County. In the detail the Col. has given you, he be- gins the affair of the Destruction of the Goods at Side- ling Hill, in March last, about which I wrote you at the time, and mentioned my intention of going to Carlisle, in order to get more certain Intelligence about that matter, & to take the proper Steps to bring the Offenders to Justice. This affair was an object of much concern to me, and I was extremely anxious to make a discovery of the Offenders, that an effectual stop might be put to any practices of the like sort for the future. I accordingly made a Journey to Carlisle & took with me the Attorney General and two other Members of Council. On my Arrival there I immedi- ately sent for Capt" Callender, one of the Owners of the Goods that were destroyed, to give me all the In- formation he could of the persons he suspected were principally concerned in the outrage, and to furnish

Digitized by Google

THE BLACK BOYS-MASON AND DIXON'S LINE.

me with all the names of y" Witnesses who could be supposed to know anything of the matter; altho' I could not gain certain proofs of the persons who com- mitted the Fact, I caused Warrants to be instantly issued for such as were suspected, and the Sheriff was dispatched to execute them, being authorized to col- lect the power of the County to his aid, and instructed to desire the assistance of the King's troops at Fort Loudon, if he should find it necessary. This Step, however, proved ineffectual; the suspected persons had all absconded before he arrived in the part of the County where they lived, so that no one was appre- hended. In the meantime the Witnesses were sent for & examined on Oath, and I here with send you Copies of several of the Depositions by which you will perceive what part Justice Smith, who is charged to have encouraged the Rioters, appears to have acted upon that occasion. All the Witnesses who were ex- amined, as well as a number of others who were then absent, were, by my orders, bound over to give Evi- dence at the next Court, and Bills of Indictment were accordingly presented to the Grand Jury, but tho' all the Witnesses appeared and were examined by the Jury, it seems they were of Opinion that there was not sufficient Testimony to convict a single Per- son charged, and the Bills were returned ignoramus.

Thus I have the Satisfaction to acquaint you, that in a regular Course of Justice, I have done everything on this occasion that could be done consistent with Law. Indeed, if the Assembly had paid any regard to my recommendation some time ago, and framed a proper Militia Law, all the late Mischief and disturb- ance might have been prevented, such a Law being ab- solutely necessary to aid the civil powers, and indeed the only natural defence and support of Government.

With regard to the late disturbances mentioned by Col. Reid, and which you have recommended to my Notice, I shall take all possible means to come at the truth of them in a legal and regular way, most of them having been communicated to me as bare re- ports. I did, however, in consequence thereof, in my late Proclamation, repeat my injunctions and strict Commands to the Magistrates, Sheriffs, and other Officers to use their utmost endeavors to suppress all Riots and disorderly proceedings among the people, and I am in hopes, now, that the Indian Trade is everywhere opened, and all persons in this Province who carry up Goods for that purpose, will have Licenses from me, & all these disturbances will be at an end.

* *

* * * * * * *

The Advertisement you did me the honour to in- close me is a very extraordinary one. The insinua- tions in it, that the Conduct of those lawless people is countenanced & abetted by me, are Villainously false & scandalous, and most injurious to my Repu- tation. I shall spare no pains in detecting the Au- thors of it, but I cannot help suspecting that it takes its rise from a party in this province, who have been indefatigable in their endeavors to malign and traduce me on all occasions.

I am much obliged to you for your offers of assist- ance to me in the support of Government to & en- force an obedience to the Laws. You may well be assured that if I gain information & proof of the persons who have been concerned in these Outrages, particularly the insults offered to the King's Forts & the abuse of the Officers & Soldiers, I shall immediately order them to be apprehended & made Examples of, & if, in the Execution of this Busi- ness, the assistance of the regular Troops shall be found necessary, I shall take the liberty of applying to you to furnish me with a Detachment on the occa- sion.

I am with great regard,

Sir, your most Obed' h'ble servant, JOHN PENN. To His Excellency The Hon'ble Thomas Gage.

Nevertheless, with all the efforts made to apprehend, convict and punish Capt. Smith and his daring band of regulators, it seems they were futile, for, in the vicinity of Forts Loudon and Bedford, they continued to make life burden- some, as regarded British soldiers and unscru- pulous Indian traders, for several years thereafter. In 1769 Smith performed one of the most lawless and fearless achievements of his life - the capture of Fort Bedford. Of this exploit, in a narrative written by himself while a resident of Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1799, he says :

In the year 1769, the Indians again made incursions on the frontiers ; yet the traders continued carrying goods and warlike stores to them. The frontiers took the alarm, and a number of persons collected, de- stroyed, and plundered a quantity of their powder, lead, &c., in Bedford county. Shortly after this, some of these persons, with others, were apprehended and laid in irons in the guard-house in Fort Bedford, on s.ispicion of being the perpetrators of this crime.

Though I did not altogether approve of the con- duct of this new club of Black Boys, yet I concluded that they should not lie in irons in the guard-house or remain in confinement by arbitrary or military power. I resolved, therefore, if possible, to release them, if they even should be tried by the civil law afterward. I collected eighteen of my old Black Boys that I had seen tried in the Indian war, &c. I did not desire a large party, lest they should be too much alarmed at Bedford, and accordingly be prepared for us. We marched along the public road in daylight, and made no secret of our design. We told those whom we met that we were going to take Fort Bed- ford, which appeared to them a very unlikely story. Before this, I made it known to one William Thomp- son, a man whom I could trust, and who lived there. Him I employed as a spy, and sent him along on horseback before, with orders to meet me at a certain place near Bedford one hour before day. The next day, a little before sunset, we encamped near the Crossings of Juniata, about fourteen miles from Bed-

Digitized by Google

HISTORY OF BEDFORD, SOMERSET AND FULTON COUNTIES.

ford, and erected tents, as though we intended staying all night ; and not a man in my company knew to the contrary save myself. Knowing that they would hear this in Bedford, and wishing it to be the case, I thought to surprise them by stealing a march.

As the moon rose about 11 o'clock, I ordered my boys to march, and we went on, at the rate of five miles an hour, until we met Thompson at the place appointed. He told us that the commanding officer had frequently heard of us by travelers, and had ordered thirty men upon guard. He said they knew our number, and only made game of the notion of eighteen men coming to rescue the prisoners; but they did not expect us until toward the middle of the day. I asked him if the gate was open. He said it was then shut, but he expected they would open it, as usual, at daylight, as they apprehended no danger. I then moved my men privately up under the banks of the Juniata, where we lay concealed about one hundred yards from the fort gate. I had ordered the men to keep a profound silence until we got into it. I then sent off Thompson again to spy. At daylight he returned and told us that the gate was open, and three sentinels were standing upon the wall ; that the guards were taking a morning dram, and the arms standing together in one place. I then concluded to rush into the fort, and told Thompson to run before me to the arms. We ran with all our might ; and, as it was a misty morning, the sentinels scarcely saw us until we were within the gate and took possession of the arms. Just as we were entering, two of them discharged their guns, though I do not believe they aimed at us. We then raised a shout, which surprised the town, though some of them were well pleased with the news. We compelled a blacksmith to take the irons off the prisoners, and then we left the place. This, I believe, was the first British fort* in America that was taken by what they call American rebels.

Some time after this, Smith, his younger brother and brother-in-law, set out on horseback from their homes for the purpose of visiting and surveying lands owned by Smith in the Youghi- ogheny valley. When within about nine miles of Bedford, they overtook and joined company with men named Johnson and Moorhead, who like- wise had horses, loaded with liquor and seed wheat, their intention being to make improve- ments on lands owned by them west of the moun- tains. When the combined party arrived at the forks of the road just east of Bedford, "the com- pany separated; one part, going through the town to get a horse shod, were apprehended and put under confinement, but for what crime they knew not, and treated in a manner utterly inconsistent with the laws of their country, and the liberties

of Englishmen, whilst the other part, namely, James Smith, Johnson and Moorhead, taking along the other road, were met by John Holmes, Esq. (see history of Bedford Borough, where, in 1761, John Holmes is mentioned as owning land just northwest of "Bedford manor," and on the right bank of the Raystwon branch), to whom James Smith spoke in a friendly manner, but received no answer. Mr. Holmes hastened and gave an alarm in Bedford, from whence a party of men were sent in pursuit of them ; but Smith and his companions, not having the least thought of any such measures being taken (why should they?), traveled slowly on. After they had gained the place where the roads joined, they delayed until the other part of their company should come up. At this time a number of men came riding, like men traveling; they asked Smith his name, which he told them, on which they im- mediately assaulted him as highwaymen and with presented pistols commanded him to sur- render or he was a dead man ; upon which Smith stepped back, asked them if they were highway- men, charging them at the same time to stand off, when immediately Robert George (one of the assailants) snapped a pistol at Smith's head, and that before Smith offered to shoot (which said George himself acknowledged upon oath), whereupon Smith presented his gun at another of the assailants, who was preparing to shoot him with his pistol, the said assailant having a hold of Johnson by the arm ; two shots were fired, one from Smith's gun, the other from a pistol, so quick as just to be distinguishable, and Johnson fell. After which Smith was taken and carried into Bedford, where John Holmes, Esq., the informer, held an inquest on the corpse, one of the assailants being evidence."" Smith was brought in guilty of willful murder, and, being placed in irons, was strongly guarded at Fort Bedford. A few days later, fearing a rescue, the authorities sent him privately through the wilder- ness to Carlisle, where he was again heavily ironed. A body of six hundred of his old com- panions and neighbors assembled as soon as they heard of his arrest, marched to Carlisle and de- manded his release. Smith refused to be released, made a spceeh to his friends, and counseled them to return home, which they did. He remained in prison for four months, was tried before the Su- preme Court, at Carlisle, in 1769, and acquitted.

* It is claimed that the flag which floated over this fort on the morning of its capture by Smith is now in the possession of parties residing in the vicinity of Bedford, but we cannot vouch for the correctness of the claim.

. From a statement prepared by William Smith, of Conoco- cheague, October 16, 1769.

Digitized by

Google

THE BLACK BOYS-MASON AND DIXON'S LINE.

In 1772, he was elected one of the county as- sessors of Bedford county. He then removed to Westmoreland county and served there in the same capacity. In 1774, he was captain of a company operating against the Indians. Two years later he commanded a company of rangers in New Jersey, and with thirty-six men defeated a detachment of two hundred Hessians, taking a number of them prisoners. The same year (1776) he was elected a member of the Conven- tion of Pennsylvania, from Westmoreland. In 1777, he was elected a member of the assembly from that county, and re-elected as long as he desired to serve. While serving in the assem- bly, he applied for and got leave of absence to raise a battalion of riflemen to serve against the British in New Jersey. This body of troops he led into the field, but after a few months he was compelled to relinquish their command by reason of sickness. In 1778 he was commissioned colo- nel and served against the Western Indians. In the expedition against the French Creek In- dians, he commanded a battalion of four hundred riflemen, and did good service. He finally be- came a resident of Bourbon county, Kentucky, removing to that state in 1788, where he served in the state convention, and in the legislature, continuously, until 1799. He died about the be- ginning of the present century.

MASON AND DIXON'S LINE.

We now come to the consideration of the sec- ond topic indicated by the heading of this chap- ter - Mason and Dixon's line. It is a subject deemed relevant by reason of the fact that with the establishment of this line a strip of territory, nearly twenty miles in width and ex- tending the entire length of the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania (a region to that time claimed by the heirs of Lord Balti- more, and with justice, too), was determined to be a part of the province of Pennsylvania. Hence, by the settlement of the vexed question respecting the boundary line between the two provinces, the point was also decided, whether, for the past one hundred and twenty-three years, thousands of the inhabitants of Bedford and Somerset counties should exist, perpetuate their kind and finally depart this life, ax Marylanders or Pennsylvanians.

The knowledge of American geography two hundred and fifty years ago was very imperfect. It embraced little beyond the great headlands,

bays and rivers, and their true positions were not reliably known. But the monarchs of Europe, who cared little about their undevel- oped possessions in America, and who exe- cuted conveyances which covered the larger parts of a continent, assumed that they knew all about the location of capes, bays, islands and rivers, and that the distances they placed them apart were reliable. They were less precise in the location of points and in the use of terms which were to define the boundaries of future states than people of to-day would be in de- scribing a town lot. The consequences were, that conflicting grants were made, leading to long and angry disputes, such as that which grew out of the opposing claims regarding the boundary line between the provinces of Mary- land and Pennsylvania.

It appears that in the early part of the seven- teenth century a bold navigator, named Capt. John Smith, had been employed by the com- panies to whom King James I of England had granted the greater part of his New World possessions, to explore the American coast and make a map of the true location of its most prominent natural features. Having finished surveys, he returned to England in 1614 and made out a map and an account of his explora- tions, which he presented to the heir-apparent, afterward Charles I, who thereupon named the territory New England.

Eighteen years later, or in June, 1632, Charles I granted to Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baron of Baltimore, all the land from thirty- eight degrees of north latitude "unto that part of Delaware Bay which lieth under the fortieth degree of north latitude where New England terminates ; and all that tract of land, from the aforesaid bay of Delaware, in a right line, by the degree aforesaid, to the true meridian of the first fountain of the river Potomack."

In 1664, Charles II granted New York and the greater part of New Jersey and Delaware, to his brother the Duke of York, afterward James II. So far as this grant purported to give away the territory embraced in the present State of Delaware, it was undoubtedly a viola- tion of the grant made by King Charles I in 1632 to Lord Baltimore. The latter's successor, however, labored without success to have this grant annulled.

In 1681 William Penn obtained his grant from Charles II. The territory embraced in it

Digitized by Google

HISTORY OF BEDFORD, SOMERSET AND FULTON COUNTIES.

was described as " all that tract or part of land in America, with all the islands therein con- tained, as the same is bounded on the east by Delaware river, from twelve miles northward of New Castletown unto the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, if the said river doth extend so far northwards ; but if the said river doth not extend so far. northwards, then by the said river so far as it does extend ; and from the head of said river the eastern bounds are to be determined by a meridian line to be drawn from the head of said river unto the said three and fortieth degree; the said lands to extend westward five degrees in longitude, to be computed from the said eastern bounds ; and the said lands to be bounded north by the be- ginning of the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, and then by a straight line westward to the limits of longitude above men- tioned." On the south the boundary was to be by the circular line from the river, twelve miles distant from New Castle, " unto the be- ginning of the fortieth degree of north latitude," and thence by a due west line to the extent of five degrees of longitude from the river Delaware.

History informs us that in making those grants Smith's map of 1614 was used. By that map the fortieth degree is laid down as crossing the Delaware a little below where New Castle stands, whilst its true location is known to be a little over nineteen miles north of that point, and above the city of Philadelphia. This error was not discovered until 1682, during which year also William Penn purchased the Duke of York's claim on the western shore and bay of Delaware ; the former having early perceived the importance of owning that side of the river all the way from his Province to the ocean. Hence the annexation of the "three Lower Counties on Delaware" now forming the state of that name.

It was now found to be a very difficult task to establish the southern line of Penn's grant against Maryland. A series of bitter disputes and collisions ensued, which during a period of fifty years brought about no progress toward the desired settlement. In 1732 the successors of Penn and Calvert entered into articles of agreement for fixing the boundary, and under this agreement a temporary line was run in 1739 as far west as " the most western of the Kittochtinny Hills," which now form the west- ern boundary of Franklin county. There the

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 9

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 967

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967