History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 43

Author: Futhey, John Smith, 1820-1888; Cope, Gilbert, 1840-1928
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1162

USA > Pennsylvania > Chester County > History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches > Part 43

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HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

of the different purchasers ran north and south from the street to the edge of the township. A public road occupies the place of the street, and is well known as the Marlbor- ough Street. Other large tracts were laid out for individ- uals and companies, which eventually became townships, as was the case with New Garden, Londongrove, Newlin, Pikeland, and Vincent. The formation of townships and counties proceeded, in general, in a somewhat similar man- ner. As the settlements extended, and the inhabitants became sufficiently numerous for purposes of civil organi- zation, new townships were established. The boundaries,

however, often remained indefinite for a long time, until the inhabitants would petition the court, setting forth that they labored under great disadvantages thereby, and praying that the lines might be settled. It would be a matter of interest now to know who suggested the various names, and the times when they were first adopted, but in many cases these can only be inferred. In that part of Chester now included in Delaware County the township lines were established early, and have remained, with but little altera- tion, to this time, while in our present county the process of division and construction is still in operation.

BOUNDARY LINES.

MASON AND DIXON'S LINE.

THE southern boundary of Chester County exhibits some striking peculiarities. Its eastern end consists of an arc of a circle, commencing at the Delaware, and ending at a point where it strikes the north-and-south line separating the States of Delaware and Maryland. From this point it runs north to the northeast corner of Maryland, in latitude 39° 43' 26.3", and thence westward on that parallel. This peculiar line is one of our " geographical celebrities," the exact history of which is known to but few, even of our citizens. Why the line between Pennsylvania and Dela- ware is a curved line, how happens that curious little peak, running down to a point, between the circular boundary of" Delaware on the one side and the eastern boundary of Maryland on the other, and why the line from that west- ward is on that odd parallel of latitude, are questions which we shall endeavor to answer briefly. What has been writ- ten upon the subject of the boundary lines between Penn- sylvania and Maryland duriog disputes which lasted more than a century, and as a historical review thereof, is so voluminous that it is difficult to give a fair synopsis within the limits of this work.

Before attempting a detailed explanation it may be well to show what points we wish to prove, which are these : The circular line of Delaware arises from the charter to William Penn being limited in that direction to twelve miles from New Castle, then claimed by the Duke of York. The line dividing the peninsula between Maryland and Delaware resulted from an attempt to " split the difference" between contending proprietors. The southern line of Chester County, bordering on Maryland, was fixed by agreement at fifteen miles southward of the southern part of Philadelphia City, as then laid out. Other points will appear hereafter.

The Dutch, as has been shown, made a settlement near the mouth of Lewes Creek in 1631, but this was utterly destroyed by the Indians, perhaps in less than a year there- after, and no other actual settlement made on that side of the

bay or river until the arrival of the Swedes in 1638. On June 20, 1632, Charles I. granted a patent to Cæcilius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore, Ireland, in effect for all the present State of Maryland, and including what is now Delaware, and limited to the northward by the fortieth de -: gree of latitude. By the words of the charter he was restricted to lands hitherto unsettled or uncultivated (hac- tenus inculta), and the previous, though unfortunate, settle- ment of the Dutch was afterwards made the pretext for excluding Lord Baltimore from that part of the peninsula" lying on Delaware Bay. When, in 1634, he took posses- sion of his territory it was uninhabited by civilized men, and had he then made a settlement on the Delaware there would have been no trouble. He did not do so, and the Swedes in 1638 settled thereon and prospered. In 1655 the Dutch took possession by force, and dated back their title to the first settlement in 1631. In 1659, Governor Fendall, on behalf of the proprietary of Maryland, pro- tested against the Dutch occupation, and in a conference which ensued the commissioners on this side suggested the division of the peninsula, to which the Marylanders re- fused to listen, but, not being prepared to enforce their claims by arms, nothing more than remonstrance was at- tempted.

On March 12, 1664, Charles II. gave to his brother James, Duke of York, a patent for the territory extending from the east side of Delaware Bay northward and eastward, including the Hudson River, Long Island, etc., and the latter by conquest extended his jurisdiction also over the western shore of the Delaware. The Dutch re- captured their territory in 1673, but surrendered it in the following year, and a new grant was made to the Duke of York, June 29, 1674, for the same premises. When, in 1680, William Penn was pressing his application for a grant of land, some correspondence was held between the secretary of the Lords' commissioners of trade and plan; tations and Sir John Werden, agent for the Duke of York., The duke had expressed a wish to reserve the territory

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BOUNDARY LINES.

twenty or thirty miles northward of New Castle, and Penn, on the other hand, had suggested twelve miles, but the following letter, dated Nov. 23, 1680, will explain the situ- ation more. fully :

"Sir,-Mr. Penn having often fallen into discourse with me of his concerns in America sinee I wrote to you on Saturday, I have told him the substance of what I wrote, and he seems to fear that if his south limits be rightly set at twenty or thirty miles north from New Castle Town he shall have so little of the river left as very much to prevent the hopes he hath of improving the rest within his patent ; but, on the other side he is willing that twelve English miles north of New Castle be his boundary, and believes the distance will fall under the beginning of the fortieth degree of latitude; I have already signified to you all I know of the Duke's mind herein, which is in general to keep some convenient distance from New Castle northwards for a boundary to that colony. But I confess I do not understand why it is precisely necessary to- insist on just such a number of miles, more or less, in a country of which we know so little, and when all the benefits are intended to this patentee which others enjoy ; so as I sub- mit this point to their Lordships' consideration, and do not think it material to add more at present from

"Your very affectionate Friend and Servant, " Jo. WENDEN."

. The bounds were therefore fixed at the distance of twelve miles from New Castle, but when Penn's commissioners arrived in the province an unexpected difficulty arose. It was discovered that Lord Baltimore's patent, if extended to the fortieth degree of latitude, would include the pro- posed site of the city of Philadelphia, and leave no valuable harbor in Pennsylvania. To remedy this defect, Penn ap- plied for and obtained from the Duke of York a deed for New Castle and the territory twelve miles around it, dated Aug. 24, 1682; and by another deed of the same date became the owner of the territory extending southward from this to the Whorekills, otherwise called Cape Henlopen. To this land the duke had really at the time no right except by conquest, yet it was subsequently confirmed to him by the king, which confirmation inured to the benefit of his grantee. Meanwhile, Lord Baltimore protested against this disposal of lands within his charter, and finally, the duke having succeeded his brother as king, it was decided by his Council, Nov. 7, 1685,-

"That for avoiding further differences, the traet of land lying be- tween the Bay of Delaware and the Eastern Sea on the one side, and the Chesapeake Bay on the other, be divided into equal parts, by a line from the latitude of Cape Henlopen to the fortieth degree of North latitude, the Southern boundary of Pennsylvania by Charter,- and that the one-half thereof lying toward the Bay of Delaware and the Eastern Sea, be adjudged to belong to His Msjesty, and the other half to the Lord Baltimore, as comprised in his Charter."

. The decrees of royalty not being as debatable just then as they have been since, of course the recent conveyance of the eastern half of the peninsula to William Penn by His Majesty. while Duke of York was regarded as entirely valid. This decree, however, did not remove the difficulty existing between the proprietaries, for the true situation of Cape Henlopen was still uncertain, and the middle of the peninsula was yet to be ascertained.

The occurrence of death among the parties, and the ex- istence of a litigious spirit, protracted the dispute until the 10th of May, 1732, when an agreement was entered into by the sons of William Penn and Charles Lord Baltimore, great-grandson of the original patentee of Maryland. They mutually agreed : T. :

" That a semicircle should be drawn at twelve English statute miles around New Castle, agreeably. to the decd of the Duke of York to William Penn, in 1682; that an East and West line should be drawn beginning at Cape Henlopen-which was admitted to be below Cape Cornelius [the present Cape Henlopen]-and running Westward to the exact middle of the Peninsula; that from the exact middle of the Peninsula, between the two bays of Chesapeake and Delaware, and the end of the line intersecting it in the latitude of Cape Henlopen, a line should be run northward, so as to form a tangent with the periphery of the semioircle at New Castle, drawn with the radius of twelve English statute miles, whether such a line should take a due North course or not; that after the said Northwardly line should touch the New Castle semicircle, it should be run further Northward until it reached the same latitude as fifteen English statute miles due South of the most Southern part of the City of Philadelphia; that . from the Northern point of such line, a duo West line should be run, at least for the present, aeross the Susquehanna river, and 25 miles beyond it,-and to the Western limits of Pennsylvania, when occasion and the improvements of the country should require; that that part of the due West line not actually run, though imaginary, should be considered to be the true boundary of Maryland and Pennsylvania;" . . . and "that the route should be well marked by trees and other natural objects, and designated by stone pillars, seulptured with the arms of the contracting parties, facing their respective possessions."

This important document, though seemingly so free from ambiguity, was afterwards the subject of much litigation, but was finally carried into complete effect in all its parts. It accounts for the remarkable boundaries of the " three lower counties."

It appears by the notes of John Taylor, surveyor of. Chester County, that. in December, 1732, he measured a line of twelve miles in length from " John French's corner," in New Castle, N. 84º 15' W., to a post in Enoch Mor- gan's field. He then ran southward on an arc of the circle by chords of 33} perches, 1,76 inches, varying the course half a degree at each succeeding station. From the end of the west line he ran N. 5º 45' E., thus: December 22d, 800 perches, to John Rankin's ; December 27th, 960 perches, to a run by Philip Douglass'; De- cember 28th, 800 perches, to Widow Corry's field ; 29th, 928 perches, to Nottingham road; and 30th, 672 perches, to the Widow Pusey's (10 outs and 4 chains, wanting 5 links thereof come to John Allen's barn),-the whole being 13 miles. In March following the line was extended north ward to Chambers' line, 62 miles farther. In April a west line from Philadelphia was run, and it was ascer- tained that from the parallel of New Castle to that of Philadelphia was 18 miles, 313 perches. In September, 1733, John Taylor went to New Castle to wait on the commissioners for dividing the provinces, but it does not appear that anything was done. . In October, 1734, he received a warrant, by which he ran a line westward from Susquehanna to "Conegochege" between the 22d of October and the 6th of November. These operations do not appear to have been with the concurrence of the Maryland author- ities, and therefore did not settle the vexed question.

The quiet of the provinces continuing to be interrupted by the conflicting claims of settlers along the border, both parties applied in 1737 to the king's Council for some order which should lessen or allay these ferments. An amicable temporary arrangement, however, was in the mean time effected by the parties, and they agreed " that . all the vacant land not now possessed by or under either. of them, on the east side of the Susquehanna River down

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HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

as far as fifteen miles and a quarter south of the latitude of the most southern part of the city of Philadelphia, and on the west side of Susquehanna as far south as fourteen miles and three-quarters south of the latitude of the most southern part of the city of Philadelphia, should be subject to the temporary and provisional jurisdiction of Pennsyl- vania; and that all vacant land not possessed by or under either, on both sides of the Susquehanna south of the said temporary limits, should be subject to the jurisdiction of Maryland, until the boundaries were finally settled, but to be without prejudice to either party." And when this convention was reported to the Council, His Majesty was pleased to order that the proprietaries of the said respec- tive provinces of Maryland and Pennsylvania do cause the said agreement to be carried into execution.

In December, 1738, it appears a line was run by certain " Jersey commissioners," and in April following Richard Peters and Lawrence Growdon, on the part of Pennsylvania, and Col. Levin Gale and Samuel Chamberlaine, on that of Maryland, with Benjamin Eastburn and William Rumsey as surveyors, proceeded to fix the line as far as the Susque- hanna River. This was not accomplished without many disputes as to whether the measurements should be on the surface of the earth, without allowance for altitude of the hills; whether the ordinary chain, which was a little longer than exact measure, should be used, etc.

In 1750 another attempt was made to settle some of the boundaries, at which time William Parsons was the chief surveyor on the side of Pennsylvania, and the commis- sioners Richard Peters, William Allen, Esq., Tench Francis, Thomas Hopkinson, Thomas Cookson, Ryves Holt, and Benjamin Chew. Among the items of expenses on this occasion were a hogshead of port wine, 11 gallons of spirits, and 42 gallons of rum, costing, in all, £27.128. 6d. The Maryland commissioners again conjured up difficulties, and little was accomplished. On July 4, 1760, an agree- ment was entered into between Frederick Lord Baltimore and the Penns, by which the controversy was finally ended. Commissioners were appointed, who, with the aid of com- petent surveyors, traced the east-and-west peninsular line, -the twelve-mile circle in part,-and fixed the tangent- point in the periphery of the circle.

Their progress, however, was slow, and the proprietaries, becoming dissatisfied, dismissed them, and agreed with Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, noted mathematicians and surveyors of London, to complete the work. They were to receive, besides maintenance, ten shillings sixpence each per day coming and returning, and one guinea per day while in America. Their arrival was on Nov. 15, 1763, and, having received instructions, in the following month set about the execution of their task.

They caused an observatory to be erected on Cedar (now South) Street, the most southern part of the city of Phila- delphia, and ascertaincd its latitude to be 39º 56' 29". From thence, in January and February, 1764, they ran a line westward a distance of thirty-one miles, to a point on land now owned by Jocl Harlin, in Newlin township, a short distance west of the Chester County almshouse, and there planted a stone, which was long known in the vicin- age as the " star-gazers' stone." This line passed nearly a

mile and a half south of the court-house in West Chester, and crossed the east branch of the Brandywine about Jef- feris' Ford. The object in running the line thus far west was to avoid crossing the large streams flowing into the Delaware. From this point-the star-gazers' stone-they ran a due south line fifteen miles, to the latitude of what was to be the great west line, and there planted a post. In running the first mile of this south line they crossed the west branch of Brandywine three times; had they extended their west line half a mile farther, they would have crossed it but once.

They examined the work of their predecessors, and adopted of it the running of the due west line from Cape Henlopen to its termination, midway between said cape and the shore of Chesapeake Bay, the trace and measurement of the radius of twelve miles from New Castle court-house, and the determination of the tangent-point in the circle. The lines traced by their predecessors in their attempts to run the tangent-line-a line of nearly eighty-two miles in length-were, however, of great use in finally establishing that line. They ran and established the tangent-line from the middle of the peninsula line to the tangent-point, and caused both it and the peninsula line from the ocean to the middle point to be marked. This occupied the summer of 1764.

They then went to the point where they had planted a post, at the end of the fifteen miles south from the most Southern part of Philadelphia, and ran a parallel of latitude westward a short distance, so as to be as far west as the longitude of the tangent-point. They next proceeded to the . tangent-point, where the tangent-line, already run, ended, on the periphery of the circle, and ran a due north line from this point until it intersected the said parallel of lati- tude; and at the point of intersection, in a ravine near a spring, they caused a stone to be planted, fixing the north- east corner of Maryland.

Having ascertained this point to be in latitude 39º 43' 32" (more accurate observations now make it 39° 43' 26.3"), they ran a line west to the Susquehanna, and verified the latitude there.

The due north line from the tangent-point cut the semi- circle, throwing a little bow or arc to the west of the line, which, by the agreement of the parties, was to go to New Castle County. The portion of the semicircle thus cut off is about one and a half miles long at the base, and its mid- dle width is one hundred und sixteen feet. The surveyors, after running the west line to the Susquehanna, returned to the tangent-point, and ran and marked this little bow or arc. This was the only part of the circular line which they ran, Lord Baltimore having no concern in the residue of it, and their business being simply to establish the line between Peun and Baltimore. Where the due north line from the tangent-point cut the circle is the point of junction of the three States of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, --. an important point, which they caused to be well ascer- tained and marked. The distance from this point of inter- section to the northeast corner of Maryland is a little over three and a half miles, and from this corner due east to the circle a little over three-fourths of a mile, the territory be- tween these points constituting the little peak belonging to

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BOUNDARY LINES.

Chester County, running down between the circular bound- ary of Delaware on the one side and the eastern boundary of Maryland on the other.

The surveyors next proceeded to the Susquehanna, to which they had already run the due west line from the northeast corner of Maryland, and resumed their labors in that line. This was in June, 1765. They continued the line westward that season to the Kittatinny Mountains, ninety-five miles from the Susquehanna, and then returned to the settlements to pass the winter. In the spring of 1766 they were again at their post, and in that and the following year continued the line until they reached a point two hundred and thirty miles from the northeastern corner of Maryland, and within thirty-six miles of the whole dis- tance to be run in order to make five degrees of longitude from the Delaware. At this point they came to an Indian war-path winding its way through the forest.

The Indians through whose territory they had been pass- ing had for some time been restless and dissatisfied. They thought this army of surveyors, with their assistants, chain-bearers, rod-men, axe-men, commissaries, cooks, bag- . gage-carriers, servants, and laborers, meant something. " Their untutored minds could not comprehend this mighty gazing at the stars through guu-like instruments, and the daily felling of forests across their hunting-paths." The surveyors were forbidden by them to advance beyond the war-path, and, having no alternative but obedience, they re- traced their steps and returned to Philadelphia. Subse- quently, and by other hands, the line was continued to its termination at the south west corner of Pennsylvania.

The agreement of the proprietaries provided that the lines thus run should be marked in a particular manner. This was done as the work progressed by placing at the corners, and at the end of every fifth mile along the lines, a stone, on which was graven the arms of the proprietaries on the sides facing their respective possessions, the inter- mediate miles being noted by stones having the letter M on one side and the letter P on the other. The greater part of these stones were brought from England. In run- ning these lines a vista was cut through the forest twenty feet wide, by felling all the trees and large bushes in that space the entire distance. The stones to mark the lines were erected along the middle of this pathway. These stones thus brought from England were planted about as far west as Sideling Hill, a distance of one hundred and thirty-two miles from the northeast corner of Maryland. There being no adequate means of transporting them from this point, through the forests and over the mountains, their further use was abandoned, and the continuation of the line was marked with piles of stone, built some six to eight feet high, on the tops of the ridges and mountains, as far as the summit of the Alleghanies; beyond this the line was marked with posts at the end of every mile, with stones built around them.

THE CIRCULAR LINE.

The first notice we find of an adjustment of the division line between the counties of Upland (afterwards Chester) and New Castle is in the records of the Upland Court. Under date of Nov. 12, 1678, the following entry occurs :

"The limits and divisiens between this (Upland) and New Castle county, were this day agreed upon and settled by the Court, and Mr. John Moll, President of New Castle Court, to be as followeth : viz. " This county ef Upland te begin from ye nerth syde of Oele Francens creeke, otherways called Steenkill, lying in the veght above ye Verd- rietege hoeok, and frem the said oreek quer to ye Singletree point on ye east syde of this river.'"

This description is not very intelligible to a reader of the present day, but may be aided by a brief explanation. The creek called Oele Francen's, or Steen or Stony Creek, ran through a tract of 1000 acres, granted by the Duke of York in two patents of 1673 and 1676, respectively, to Oele Francen and company. It is not now known as Stony Creek, except by tradition, but bears the name of Quarry Creek, and crosses the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Balti- more Railroad about three and three-quarter miles below the mouth of Naaman's Creek, in Brandywine Hundred, New Castle County. "Verdrietege hoeck," or corner of land, also called Trinity Hook, lay between Shellpot and Stony Creeks. It contained about 800 acres, and was granted in two patents, in 1663 and 1664, to John Hendricks and others. It ran for about the distance of one and three-fifths miles along the Delaware, and terminated on the north of Stone Point. The creek which empties into the Delaware at Dupont's Landing ran through the tracts. The term "verdrietige," which has long ceased to be used, was de- rived from the Dutch " verdrietigh," sigoifying grievous or tedious, and it is supposed the name " Verdrietige Hook" was given on account of the character of the navigation in approaching that point. "Singletree Point" is now Old Man's Point, on the New Jersey shore, one mile below the mouth of Old Man's Creek.

This adjustment of the line between Upland and New Castle Counties, it will be observed, was made in 1678, several years before the grant of Pennsylvania to William Penn. Stony Creek (or Quarryville Creek, as it is now called), which was thus made the division line, remained such until the grant to Penn fixed the boundary of his province of Pennsylvania " on the south by a circle drawn, at the distance of twelve miles from New Castle, north ward and westward."

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History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 43

Author: Futhey, John Smith, 1820-1888; Cope, Gilbert, 1840-1928 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts Number of Pages: 1162

Author: Futhey, John Smith, 1820-1888; Cope, Gilbert, 1840-1928
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1162