USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 102
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" About twelve months after this battle the prophet of the Arroquas had a dream or vision, in which it was made manifest to him that the departed spirits of the braves slain in the great battle while contending for the disputed ground could not become reconciled, and without a reconciliation would not be allowed by the Great Spirit to enter the delightful hunting- grounds of the spirit world, but that their reconcilia- tion could be accomplished by giving the disputed ground to the twelve braves whose lives were spared in the battle. In accordance with the vision the chief of the Arroquas called the braves together, and for- mally delivered over to them and their posterity for-
who was acquainted with him, and to whom he re- lated what I now give you. This strange being said he was born in Scotland; that at the age of twenty years he taught school there. His mother being some time dead, his father married a second time. His step-mother was ugly and cross to him; that during the absence of his father, on a cold winter night, he turned his step-mother and her little babe out of doors, where they perished in the coldl. He then fled from Scotland to the British colonies in America to save his life; landed in Philadelphia; came on to Lancaster, which was then a small village, and in- tended to teach school if he could get a situation ; but one day he happened to see on the street a person that he knew, and, afraid that he would expose him, at once determined to leave, purchased a gun, some powder and ball, a butcher-knife, fishing-tackle, and such other articles as he supposed he might need,
From this name the change to Chilis (Chiques) Salunga, as the stream has been called by the whites, was easy and natural.
989
MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP.
made for the back woods, where he resolved to make his living by hunting and fishing. Three days after he left Lancaster he came accidentally on the cave. There he made his home, and lived in it for five years before he saw a white man, and lived in it for six years after the white settlers located in the neighborhood before any of them saw him or discovered his hiding-place. Ilis hunting and trapping he did at night, and gath- ered some esculent roots that grew near the cave. About this time he said he had a vision in his cave, and heard a voice speak to him as through a trumpet, saying, ' Arise, oh man ! strip off your garments, and go forth henceforth stark naked to and fro for seven years, and atone for the damning deed done to thy step-mother and little sister,' which voice he imme- diately obeyed, and in this state of nudity was often seen in the deepest snow-storms by the early settler .. Ile also told my grandfather at various times that the main cave extended west over one mile ; that he ex- plored it up to the Singhorse farm (at Springville) ; that there were three running streams of pure water crossing over its floor, also a number of large rooms or chambers, where the droppings from the roof had formed beautiful white pillars that looked like persons dressed in white shronds. He said that the three visi- ble openings or caves, as they appear to the stranger at first sight, were not the proper places to enter the main cave. The proper entrance was in the cave- pool formed by the creek. By clearing away the rubbish and diving under the water he made his way into it. This strange man disappeared about the year 1765, and long, very long did the people wonder what became of the 'naked man.' The impression at last became general that a freshet in the creek closed the entrance with drifts of various kinds, which be was unable to remove, and that he perished in the cave."
Mr. Bender relates that in the year 1814, when he was a lad of twelve years, he found among the debris on the floor of the cave the rusted and broken blade of a butcher-knife, a fork, and a spoon, which he re- garded as relics of the hermit's occupation ; and he further states that in 1820 a sailor, named Daniel Harris, had located in the vicinity, and going to the cave-pool to swim with some companions, dove under the water, found the subterranean entrance to the great cavern and explored it. As the rock formation throughout the southern part of Mount Joy township is limestone, similar to that in which the celebrated Mammoth Cave of Kentucky and the Luray Caverns of Virginia have been excavated by some of nature's secret processes, it is not improbable that the state- ments of the'hermit and of the more modern adven- turer at the "Stone Wigwam" may have been true. There is at present a very considerable accumulation of rubbish in the cave or caves, and the discovery of the entrance to the chambers alleged to lie beyond could only be accomplished through painstaking labor.
Settlements .- When the territory now included in Mount Joy was settled it was a part of the old orig- inal township of Donegal, and it was not set off and organized as it now exists until 1759. Mount Joy is bounded on its long northern line by Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, the Conewago Creek flowing be- tween its territory and that of the former county. Its eastern neighbor is Rapho township, the line of demarkation between being Little Chikis Creek (orig- inally Chiquei Salunga). Its southern or south- western boundary is marked by the Lancaster and Harrisburg turnpike, upon the opposite side of which the East and West Donegals lie.
The extreme southern portion of the township consists of gently undulating limestone land, while farther north the surface is more hilly and the soil is gravel and gravelly loam. In the extreme north the hills are higher and more abrupt and the land less valuable for cultivation than elsewhere. Nearly everywhere, however, fine improvements meet the eye, and there are evidences of thrift and good farming.
The pioneers of Mount Joy were Scotch-Irisb, and the first came in about 1735, preceding the German settlers by a decade. The Germans, however, came in greater number, after they had made their first entry, and the township is now almost exclusively peopled by their descendants. Not one acre of land in the entire township is now owned by the descend- ants of the Scotch-Irish pioneers who originally pat- ented it. This absence of the families of the pioneers has rendered it difficult to obtain historical facts, and impossible to present a complete record of the early settlement. The Scotch-Irish pioneers selected the limestone lands in the southern part of the township, and the Germans exhibited a decided preference for the gravelly hills to the northward.
Among the first-mentioned class of early settlers were the Cunninghams, Lytles, Wilkins, Whites, Moorheads, Scotts, and Howards, and among the earliest and most prominent of the latter class were the Hiestands and Nissleys.
Gordon Howard, an Indian trader, owned at an early day seven or eight hundred acres of land in old Donegal township, extending in a northeasterly direction into the present limits of Mount Joy, and his sons owned lands adjoining. It is probable that Gordon Howard lived south of the boundary of this township. He died March 24, 1754. He left a widow, Rachel (nee MeFarland), and sons,-Thomas, Robert, John, Joseph, and William,-and two dangh- ters. Thomas Howard was county commissioner in 1735-37. John Iloward died in 1778, leaving a widow, Ann, and seven or more children, viz. : James, Martha, David, Mary, Thomas, Joseph, and John.
James and Samuel Allison married daughters of Gordon Howard, and upon his death came into pos- session of farms carved from his tract of land, lying north of Springville and extending to Little Chikis Creek.
·
990
HISTORY OF LANCASTER COUNTY.
John Wilkins took up, in 1738, Iand adjoining Gor- don Howard's on the north and west,-that on which Nissley's mill is situated. He was a son of Robert Wilkins and brother of Thomas and Peter. Ile was | one of the first to take an active part against the Marylanders, was wounded several times, and the Governor of Maryland offered a reward for his cap- ture. John Hendricks, who lived at Wright's Ferry, turned traitor to the Penns and led Wilkins into an ambush prepared by Cresap, and he was taken a pris- oner to Annapolis, where he lay in a filthy jail for many months. He was an Indian trader also, and visited the Ohio River region as early as 1732. He died in 1741, leaving a widow, Rachel, who married Gordon Howard, a son, John, who was born in 1733, and daughters, Rebecca, who married Thomas Au- derson ; Mary, who married William Poor; Rachel, who married Matthew Laird ; and Jean.
John Wilkins and his wife Catharine, on Nov. 27, 1762, sold one hundred and three aeres of his land to Martin Nissley, and in the following year he removed to Carlisle. He was appointed a lieutenant for Cum- berland County. Ile removed to Pittsburgh in 1783, and died there in 1810. Gen. John Wilkins and the late William Wilkins, of Pittsburgh, were his sons,
Ephraim Lytle is known to have taken out a war- rant for one hundred and ninety acres of land Nov. 24, 1744, and to have received the patent for another tract of one hundred and seventy-nine acres in April, 1767. Ile probably made his settlement prior to the earlier of these two dates. Ephraim Lytle had three sons-Joseph, Nathaniel, and Ephraim-and six daughters-Martha, Ruth, Jean, Rebecca, Priscilla, and Elizabeth. Nathaniel was a soldier in the Rev- olutionary war, and was killed near Philadelphia, his body never being recovered. His brother Joseph served in some capacity upon a peace commission at the same period. Nathaniel Lytle had an only son, Joseph, who was the father of S. S. P. Lytle, now a resident of Mount Joy borough. Ephraim Lytle, younger brother of Nathaniel, reared a family, but there are no members of it now in this county. Ile removed to the northwestern part of the State. The Lytles, like most of the Scotch-Irish pioneers of Mount Joy, were members of Donegal Presbyterian Church, and the graves of members of three or four generations of the family are to be found in the bury- ing-ground adjoining the venerable house of worship.
Moses White (whose name is frequently spelled in the old records Whoit) had a patent for one hundred and sixty-eight acres of land in 1741. He had two sons-Hugh and William. Hugh White was a man of considerable prominence, who settled near the boundaries of Mount Joy borough, and near the point where the Lancaster and Harrisburg turnpike crosses Little Chikis Creck. He removed from the town- ship before the Revolution.
William White obtained a patent for a large tract of land in 1741, and in 1749 he and his wife Sarah soll
three hundred and forty-nine aeres to David Martin, who sold one hundred and eighty-five acres of it to John Funk, March 10, 1752, and another portion to Christian Martin, Sr., in 1758. In 1768, Funk sohl another piece to Christopher Heisey, and in 1768, Heisey and his wife Christiana sold to Ulrich Hack- man, who built the mill long known by his name.
A portion of Moses White's land was sold, in 1766, to William Cochran, who with his wife Mary sold to Florence and Lawrence Scanlon. They in turn con- veyed it to Christopher Shelley.
The Cunninghams were one of the notable families of early settlers in this township. James Cunning- ham settled, in 1718, in what is now East Donegal township, but moved from thence to Mount Joy and took up lands adjoining John Wilkins' tract. Hle was the grandfather of Col. James Cunningham, a prominent officer in the Revolutionary war, a memi- ber of the Assembly several years, and surveyor for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He removed to Lancaster, and died there at his home on Orange Street. His descendants removed to the western part of the State. Two members of this family, either sons or nephews of Col. Cunningham, laid out in 1803 the town of Butler, seat of justice of Butler County, Pa.
Samuel Cunningham received a patent for land in Mount Joy as early as 1747, and another in 1760, and he and his wife Jean deeded the same, or a portion of it, to James Cunningham, Dec. 15, 1762.
Jacob Iliestand was one of the earliest German settlers, having patented lands some time prior to 1741, as he sole one hundred and fifty acres to Jacob Rief and his son John in that year. They in turn sold to Martin Kreider in 1761. It was by this Hie- stand family that the mill was built .on Little Chi- kis, near the Mount Joy borough boundary, and now owned by the corporation. It has been in oper- ation about one hundred years.
The Nissleys were another family of very early German settlers, and are to-day one of the largest and most prominent in the township. Jacob Nissley, the original settler, had five children, two sons and three daughters, viz. : John, who married a Sechrist ; Martin, a Snyder. One daughter married a Burman, another an Eversole, and the other a Steward.
Alexander Scott was a settler of early date, and went out as a captain in the French and Indian war in 1756. Ile died in 1775, leaving a widow, Mary, and the following children, viz. : Margaret, James, Mary (Cook), William, and Abraham.
The Moorheads were another family of Scotch- Irish settlers in this township, but not so early as those who have been mentioned. Thomas Moor- head took out a patent, Ang. 17, 1761, for a tract of land about a mile north of the site of Mount Joy. He died in 1763, leaving a widow, Christiana, and the following sons and daughters, viz. : James, Rob- ert, Elizabeth, Margaret, Jane, and Christian.
991
MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP.
Thomas Moorhead divided his land between his two sons, James and Robert. James inherited the · homestead farm, where his mother and two unmarried sisters lived with him. He was a soldier in the French and Indian war, and a captain in the Revo- lutionary war. He married Catharine Byers, daugh- ter of John Byers, of Salisbury township.
For some time he was engaged in hauling military stores from Philadelphia to Boston during the Revo- lution. When returning from one of his trips, and when passing through Connecticut, he bought a col- ored woman named Phoebe and brought her to his home here, and took her with the family when he moved to Erie, Pa. He purchased his brother Robert's farm in Mount Joy in 1786. Robert re- moved to Dauphin County, and in 1787 he purchased the glebe land belonging to Donegal Church, to which place he removed. He was one of the ruling elders of Donegal Church for many years. Ile was a stately, handsome man of the old school, and wore breeches and silver shoe-buckles.
Mr. Moorhead sold his farm at the meeting-house and removed to Erie, Pa. The late Isaac Moorhead, postmaster of Erie, came from this stock.
By the opening of the Revolution the township was quite extensively settled, as the list of names which are here inserted will show. Here, as else. where in the county, the people were divided in regard to the sentiments they entertained toward the support of independence. Many of those loyal to the Amer- ican cause and active in its advocacy and enforce- ment became Associators, and those who refused to take part in the opposition to Great Britain were Non-Associators. The men selected in this township for the county committee of observation, to ascertain and report upon the conduet of all persons touching the general association which had been formed in Philadelphia, were James Cunningham and Abra- ham Frederick.
The number of settlers in the township in 1776 is shown by the following list of provincial taxables, and their comparative worth financially is shown by the amounts of their assessments, the highest of which, it will be observed, was only £2 98.
₺ s. d.
₺ s. d.
Allison, William ....... 0 7
Gilford, John.
6
Albert, l'huilp .... 0 10
5
lowend, John 0 18 U
Balmor, Blacksmith Horpmto, Fluch
Brish, Georgu. U
5
0 Hamby, Isaac, 1
Bsbots, Witham I 10
Hms, Henry 1
U
Bol, ThonLAN Dor, John ..
10
Ibar, Christian 0 7
=
Doty, Isatie
3
Helt, Henty 5
lievi, Abram L
7
Erstine, Peter.
11
2
= Jemreon, John
= Young, John
Kingly, Jacob 9
Koffman, John.
Ecor, Jacob. 0
G
Kinsly, Jacob 16
Kelley, William ..
Kantman, Jar ob 10
Forry, Maat ...
0
7
Kanmmman, Julin. 0 10
hefor, JJacob, 11
9
1,
Cuningham, James. 0
Gipfort, Elizabeth ..
Ginton, Henty ..... 0 18 . 9
Gi-h, Abram. 0 15 6
Gish, John 0 14 0 | Leman, John ...
£ .. d.
£ a. d.
Litle, Abraham ..... ..... @ 18 9
Shally, Jacob .... 0 15 @
Latune, Harmon.
0 5 9
Sheer, Alnam . 0 16 8
laigacie, Alam ..... .. 1 1 1]
Leman, John .....
0 16 0
Sughorse, Casper 1 20
Martin, Christopher.
1
=
Stoler, Jacob .. 1 3 8
Martin, John ..
1
9 11
Stoler, Frederick. 0 10 0
Myer, Michael
11
1
0 15
Mont head, Robert.
11
1
1
Striler, Ahlam ...
1
M. Kann, Willnun
0 18
Misel, Henry ..
1
U
Smmpbets, David
1
Nagel, Philip
3
Swaiss, l'etel ... 11 18
Nagel, Leonard,
8
=
Speek, Bar nard.
0 2
Nasle, Martin ..
9
smide), John. 0 11
Nike, John ....
0
3
Stern, John
0 14 0
l'eter, Leonard ..
=
Springer, Jacob
Suyder, Antony. 0
G
Peter, Michael.
0
0
leeman, John 0
6
6
Heim, Jacob.
0
3 Wolf, Joseph ..
0 6
Robsin, Robert. 0 18
Woolamore, Alam.
0 19 6
Robsin, John
0 18
Wrtmor, Christian
0 10 11
Robsin, Thomas
D 18
0 Wogtment, Christian. 0 10 0
Resor, Christopher.
0 13
Witman, France .. U 11 10
Resor, Peter
2 9
Wullomit, Henry .... 0 11 9
Stoler, Daniel
0 13
Welcar, l'eter ..... 0 3
Shally, Abram.
1 15
0 Wolsen, Samuel .. 0 10
Freemen.
Assessed uniformly fifteen shillings each.
Peter Funk.
George Gepfert.
Jacob Shar.
David Martin.
Christian Lesor.
Jacob Shelly.
David Misinhelder.
John Niste.
France Shopes.
William Poorman.
Matthias Gepfert.
Following is a list of the Non-Assoeiators of 1777, who were uniformly assessed for the prosecution of the war, in which they refused to take part, the sum of ť3 10s .:
Brish, George.
Lenert, Peter.
Bishop, Gothp.
Miller, George.
Brantz, Matthias.
Marlin, Christopher.
Beier, Jacob.
Marlin, David.
Burman, Melcher.
Martin, David.
Derriner, Hemy.
Marlin, John.
Dale, I-aac. Marlin, Christian.
Egantat, Crophan.
Marlin, John.
Erstem, l'etel.
Miller, John.
Forman, Daniel. Nissly, John.
Fisel, John.
Nissly, Marlin.
Funk, l'eter.
Nicky, John.
Frederick, Philip.
Negle, Lenhard,
Furny, Henty.
Negle, Philip.
Fillips, Robert.
Risser, Abram.
Felix, Kyshar.
Risser, Christian.
Fober, Jacob.
Shobes, Frantz.
Gepfers, John.
Stoller, Frederick.
Giah, Abram.
Swartz, Christian.
Gish, John. Ginter, Henry.
Sherrer, Jacob. Speck, Berubard.
Galle, Wilham.
Shelly, Abraham.
Ilere, Alam.
Shelly, Jattvb.
Dalsluian, John
Shelly, Jacob,
Halaman, John.
Sneider, John.
llalsinian, Jacob.
Stofer, Ilemy.
Hornlo, Isaac.
Sneider, Christian.
Kintzle, Jacob,
Swartz, Abinham.
Kintzle, Jobu.
Sherrer, Abraham, Stuin, John. Stofor, John.
Koffman, Jacob.
Kiser, Jacob
Kalb, Henry.
Lesher, Christopher.
Linsh, Juhu.
Snejder, Anthony.
Firel, William.
Leman, Peter.
Vogelsang, Jacob.
Leman, John.
Wilman, Frantz.
7.
5 Swarth, John. 0 18
11
Scott, Willnun. 1 19
G
Scutt, Abiam.
1
G
Nisely, Martin.
3 Stover, Jubil .. 0 2 6
Miller, George .A
Shaner, Jacob
1
Moorhead, James.
= Stands, Baltzer. U
Miller, JAmp4
Shelly, Alaam 0 12 0
l'isal, John ... 1 Faper, Jacob .. U
41
U kupp, Henry, 0 15
5 Kener, Frederick 0
Kegel, Jacob 11
Langenecher, Allam.
lambert, Henig. 0 14
Lrman, Peter .. 1 0 4
Demelton, Joseph .. 0
4
Engenroad, Joseph ... G
Eugenrund, Henry. 1
1
Frederick, Abraham. 1
Furry, John.
7
Strickler, Abraham. Springer, Grorge. Stofer, Jacob,
Huidny, Christian. 1 12
Bowser, Geulge ..... 0
Holdman, Jacob 0 11
Peter, Jacob. ..
992
HISTORY OF LANCASTER COUNTY.
Wolgenmt, Christian. Wolgetint, Abram. Walter, Balizer.
Wittner, Christian. Werner, Johu. Wilker, l'eter.
An Error Corrected .- In Rupp's " Ilistory of Lan- caster County" it is stated that Gen. Anthony Wayne, with his army, spent the winter of 1777-78 in Mount Joy township, and several letters from the celebrated " Mad Anthony" to Governor Thomas Wharton, dated at " Mount Joy," are presented as proof of the assertion. Other writers have fallen into the error through their blind following of Rupp and lack of original investigation, and it has become a popular belief that the general and his forces spent a winter encamped somewhere in the township. There is, and was, literally nothing on which to base this supposi- tion, except the fact that Wayne's letters were dated " Mountjoy," and that fact amounts to nothing at all in the way of proof when we bear in mind that there was another Mount Joy in the vicinity of Val- ley Forge, at which it was very natural the gallant officer should be, and where, as a matter of fact, he was. That Wayne and his forces should have been so far from the seat of war as the western part of Lancaster County, and there remain through a whole winter, is manifestly absurd. Officers with small squads of soldiers were undoubtedly in the township on several occasions during the Revolutionary war, for the purpose of enlisting men, but there was at no time any large body of troops quartered here.
The Tax-List of 1780 .-- The tax return of 1780 shows that next to farming the most common occu- pation was distilling. No less than six stills were re- ported in the township, the owners being John Bishop, Abraham Frederick, Abram Ilear (Hare), Christian HIear (Hare), Jolin Lynch, and Jacob Peters. Abram HIear also paid tax on two mills. Only one tavern appears on the tax-list, and that was owned by Fred- erick Gitty, or Gettig. Christian Hare is known to have kept tavern the same year. Neither of these were the first in the township, for Stewart Rowan and John Young had licenses in 1765, and a year later they had to divide their patronage with two others, -- George Strain and James Watford. In 1770 licenses were granted to Caspar Singhaas and Valentine Spingler. Returning to the tax-list of 1780, we are reminded that slavery then existed in Pennsylvania, by finding James Moorhead, William Moor, and Thomas Robison each paying tax on one negro. Each of the negroes was valued at one thousand pounds in the greatly-depreciated Pennsylvania scrip, which was receivable for taxes. In 178] the value of seventy-five pounds of this serip was one pound in gold, and assuming that it was slightly higher in 1780, these human chattles would have been worth about twelve pounds each. The tax-list from which we have taken these items shows, of course, very high values, which quickly diminish when the amount of depreciation of the Pennsylvania currency is taken hito consideration. Thus one man's one hundred
acres of land is put down as worth seven thousand five hundred pounds, when its real value was about one hundred pounds, or one pound per acre.
The Old Moravian Church.'-The old Moravian Church in this township is in a secluded spot, about half a mile north of the hamlet of Milton Grove. The church dates back to about the year 1740, and it has not undergone any essential modification since it was built, and exhibits only the gentler changes that the hand of time makes before it destroys. The plain exterior is weather-beaten and gray, but still firm and apparently sound enough to last a century longer. The building has little pretensions to architectural adornment. As the vestibule was tottering from age, it was removed about thirty years ago. The interior of the church is in tolerable state of preservation, the material used in the construction of pews and floors being yellow-pine, oak, and cherry. The iron-work is of the most primitive description. The window- glass was originally imported from England, and the panes were six by eight inches, of extraordinary brightness.
The congregation which worshiped here the past three generations was distinguished for piety, intel- ligence, and high social culture. It was composed largely of wealthy farmers of this and neighboring counties, who passed away many happy hours within these ancient walls listening to the devout exhorta- tion of their pastors. It comprised many families of descent, distinguished alike in the field, in the forum, and pulpit. During the colonial period minister fol- lowed minister in rapid succession. The missionaries sent out at that period were not all worthy repre- sentatives of the mother-church. More recent his- tory of the church, however, presents a striking contrast to the former period. The last preacher, the venerable Rev. Peter Bachler, had for many years ably, faithfully, and lovingly cared for his flock.
Count Zinzendorf and his coadjutors visited this parish early in the year 1741, and converted to their faith Jacob Lischy, who became the first ecclesiastic of the creed of this parish. Immediately after the erection of the now ancient church on an eleven-acre tract, granted by deeds of 1740 and 1745, from Thomas and Richard Penn to Francis Leib, John Kopp, John Etter, and Peter Rickseeker, on record in Patent- Book A, vol. xiv. page 4761, in the record-office, city and county of Philadelphia, the work so auspiciously begun was marred by a lack of harmony. By a wrong construction put on the first title deed, the major part of those who erected the church forcibly dispossessed the Moravians of the pulpit. In 1745 the second title deed from the Penn family confirmed to the Moravians the eleven-acre tract and all its improvements. The building was then in its renewed state dedicated by Bishop Matthew Hehl, Sept. 28, 1753.
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