History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 12

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1158

USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I > Part 12

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The Delawares who were ordered to leave their lands between the Forks of the Lehigh and Delaware by the Six Nations in 1742, settled with their chief, Nutimus, on the site of Wilkes-Barre, and above the mouth of Nescopeck creek. "Old King Nutimus' Town" is marked on Scull's 1757 map of Pennsylvania.

Shamokin, a Delaware town before 1728, was in 1743 the seat of Shekallamy, an Oneida chief, who for twenty-one years after 1728, appears on the official records of Pennsylvania as the over- lord, deputy, or vice-regent in Pennsylvania of the Iroquois Confederacy. After Shekallamy's death in 1749, some of the Shamokin Delawares also settled at Tioga (now Athens, Bradford county), where, in 1756, they and the Delawares of the Minsi tribe, who had formerly been under the chiefs Mahawkyhickon and Kindassowa, and were then under Eghohowen, chose as their "king" Teedyuscung. The greater part of Al- lumapees' tribe removed to the Ohio country, be- tween the years 1724 and 1749.

After his death, in 1747, three brothers, of the Turkey Tribe, probably his nephews, sons of his sister, succeeded him as sachems of the Ohio Del- awares. Their names were Shingas, Tamaque or King Beaver, and Pisquetomen, of whom Shingas was made Chief Sachem in 1752, and held that position until 1763. A memorandum made by Joseph Yeates at Fort Pitt in 1776, states that "there are three tribes among the Del- awares, the Wolf, the Turkey, and the Turtle. Beaver (or Tamaque) was chief of the Turkey tribe, and was succeeded by Captain Johnny, or Straight Arm, White Eyes ruling it. Custaloga was chief of the Wolf ( Minsi) tribe, and suc- ceeded by Captain Pipe; and New Comer (Net- tawatwees) was chief of the Turtle tribe, and

succeeded by Captain John Kilbuck." A few bands of Minsis or Minnisinks settled in Can- ada.

The following extract from an article by Wm. J. Heller, traces the history of the Delawares to the present day :

"About the year 1772 all the Delawares, in- cluding the Christian Indians then living within the confines of the present state of Pennsylvania, moved further into the Indian country, settling on the Muskingom river, now the Tuscarawas, in the present state of Ohio. Here the Moravian Indians occupied a settlement called Schoenbrun or Gnadenhütten and at Newcomerstown and Coshocton were two capitals of the Delaware nation, Turtle and Minsi, and here the advance in civilization which had been made by the entire nation was always a matter of favorable com- ment, and in many diaries of travelers through these sections, are expressions of surprise at what was found. Here the various forces became united as one nation under the following rules promul- gated by the Grand Council of the Nation in I773:

"I. Liberty is given to the Christian religion which the council advises the entire nation to adopt.

"2. The Christian Indians and their teachers are on an absolute equality with other Delawares, all of them together constituting one people.

"3. The national territory is alike the prop- erty of the Christian Indians and of the native Delawares.

"4. Converts only, and no other Indians, shall settle near the Christian town; such as are not converts, but are now living near such towns, shall move away.

"5. In order to give more room to the Chris- tian Indians, Gekel-Emuk-Pe-Chung is to be abandoned, and a new capital founded farther down the river.

"6. The Christian Indians are invited to build a third town. Netawatwes, the then ruling king of the nation, expected to see the entire population converted within five years and the Christian set- tlements became famed throughout the entire west. They were built on a new order and were conveniently governed without the aid of Colon- ial magistrates by a complete code of laws. On questions of great import decisions were made by vote of all the people.

"These people raised grain, cattle and poul- try. Their plantations covered hundreds of acres and few farm yards in Pennsylvania had poultry in greater variety. Politics was repre- sented by two parties, the principal one was for peace, under the leadership of Captain White Eyes, a Turtle, and the other was the war party

FIRST SETTLEMENT AS PART OF BUCKS COUNTY.

under Captain Pipe, a Minnisink. During the Revolutionary War, Captain White Eyes was a firm ally of the American Government, under which he held a commission of colonel, and was very desirous of having the new congress elect his lands and his people as the fourteenth state in the new union. Unfortunately he died at a period when the British were putting forth great effort to win over the Delawares. The other Indian nations of the west sent emissaries to condole with the Delawares in the loss of their famous chief- tain. To these, Captain Pipe of the war party made overtures and successfully created sympathy for the British cause.

"In 1782, ninety-six of these Christian In- dians, about sixty of them women and children, were murdered by a band of Scotch-Irish bor- dermen, under the command of one William- son at their settlement, Gnadenhütten, Ohio.

"After this event the remnant of the Morav- ian Indians located at Fairfield, Canada, while all the other tribes of the nation retreated to what is now Indiana. In the War of 1812 General Harrison was sent with an army to in- vade Canada and Fairfield, becoming a battle- field, was laid waste and for the third time the Moravian settlement was destroyed. Again a new town was started near the scene of the old but on account of certain conditions it did not pros- per and they later joined the main body. In the year 1818, the Delaware nation ceded to the United States all of their lands in the state of Indiana, the Government promising to provide a country for them; which they did, by giving less than 2,000,000 acres of Kansas land for their 4 I-2 million acres of Indiana land. Finally in 1829 they began locating in the forks of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, and by the year 1833 all of them had reached their new homes. Here they became very industrious; the Indian girls spun and wove excellent cloth, made shirts and other clothing; while on more than 2,000 acres of land there was cultivated grain and veg- erables. Great quantities of hogs, cattle and horses were also produced.

"Hardly had they become accustomed to their surroundings, when they became encompassed on every side by settlers, and the history of their difficulties and discouragements was again re- peated. Their lands were trespassed upon, their timber cut down and destroyed, and they were denied the protection of the law to either their property or persons. In the year 1854 the Gov- ernment compelled them to relinquish their 600,- 000 acres of land for $1,000,000 and defrauded them out of 1,000,000 acres more for $10,000. The railroad then made its appearance and this also proved to be a menace to the poor Lenni

Lenapé. This new enemy demanded of the poli- tician at home and the administration at Wash- ington the removal of the Delawares to some other and more remote place, in order that it might have the benefit of their possessions for speculative purposes. The railroad and the set- tler pressed the politician, the politician pressed the administration and the administration pressed the Indian. The government did not pay over the purchase money until many years afterward, but gave the railroad company the land gratis. The railroad company sold it for, from twenty to fifty dollars per acre, realizing over $5,000,000 on the Indians' land without a cent of investment. Thus harassed and irritated beyond further en- durance, the Delawares determined to again put themselves, if possible, out of the reach of their tormentors. In May, -1863, the Commissioner was requested to grant permission to withdraw $800 of their invested funds with which to de- fray the expenses of a delegation of their people to the Rocky Mountains, in the forlorn hope that in those wild and rugged fastnesses they might succeed in finding a harbor of refuge. At this time, out of a fighting force of 217 men they furnished 185 for the United States army in the rebellion. Finally on the 4th day of July, 1866, the Government removed the Delawares from the state of Kansas to the Cherokee Reservation in the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, and with their purchase money of $1,000,000 and the other paltry sum of $10,000, they purchased a small tract of land, sufficient to give 160 acres to each Delaware. When the contract of purchase between the Delawares and the Cherokees came to be made, the exact location of the lands was left subject to future determination. However, as always, their rights were guaranteed by the government, but, unfortunately, the government, as in every other contract with the Delawares, became a defaulter, and the poor Delawares to- day are minus their money and minus their lands.

"Here on a narrow strip of land in the Cher- okee Reservation in the state of Oklahoma, there is living to-day the last remnant of this once numerous people, their numbers reduced to less than two thousands. Out of this population four-fifths can read and write, one-third are full- bloods, and half of these adhere to the old faith, while about one-third of the nation profess the Christian religion. This is remarkable consid- ering the two hundred years of persecution they received at the hands of the race that taught them that faith.

"In a recent conversation with one of their prominent men, a leader of the old faith, he ac- counted for this by the reason of missionary work done by Christians, while the adherents of the

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

ancient religion do no soliciting whatever. The reluctancy of the Indian to give the world a full view of his religion and faith is, perhaps, one of the reasons why he is greatly misunderstood. He holds these things so sacred that he will say but little about them outside of his place of worship, and less to one not of his own blood. If you should ask for an explanation you would likely be told that the white man's religion appeals more to the selfish interests of the individual, and suits many of the young people better, and by following the white man's faith you can do as you please until you are ready to die, then by repenting can escape all respon- sibility for your acts, and so go to Heaven with- out any efforts of your own. According to the ancient faith you must follow the dictates of your guardian spirit of conscience, which is the connecting link with the Great Spirit and thus improve yourself in each sphere you pass through until you have finally reached the Happy Hunt- ing Ground and have in some manner merited a reward yourself.

"The Delaware Indians have kept no written records, but have from time immemorial trained certain young men as teachers, who are to succeed the older men as they die, and at the annual meet- ings these young men assist in conducting the ceremonies and finally take their places as lead- ers themselves. One of these bright young men and the first of whom we have any facts of rec- ord was Charles Killbuck, who, at the age of eight years began the course of instruction, and when ten years old could relate from memory the legends of the history of their nation for several hundred years previous. He became the head counselor ; the custodian of the papers, docu- ments and treaties; and also treasures of the na- tion, and as such, passed through the period of the Revolutionary War, while yet in his teens. He and his brother John, the hereditary chief of the nation, were among those Moravian Indians whom the government authorities at Pittsburgh shortly after the massacre on the Muskingham had placed on Killbuck's Island above the fort as a means of protecting them from their white enemy. But even this proved a very insecure place as the government's offer of sixty dollars for an Indian scalp was still in force and those Indians on the island were attacked one day by their old Presby- terian foe. Charles and John, in attempting to escape, upset the boat. Charles, to save his life, was compelled to relinquish his hold on the prec- ious treaty bag, which dropped to the bottom of the river, and was never recovered. Thus was lost forever all records, documents and treaty belts of the Delaware nation.

"John Killbuck graduated from Princeton

College prior to the Revolution and Charles some few years after the close of that war, gradu- ated from the same institution. Charles, about the year 1848, then an old man, reduced to writ- ing all that he could remember of the history of his people. The Delaware nation produced many men of prominence and these are on record in all the published archives of the Government. To- day, among their principal men is one who enjoys the greatest distinction ever accorded any Ameri- can Indian. This is Richard Connor Adams, son of Rev. William Adams, son of Mut-tee-tut-teese, son of Pa-mar-ting, son of Pa-kan-kee, son of Win-ge-non, Chief of the Minnisinks. Mr. Adams' paternal grandmother was Nancy Con- nor, daughter of Elizabeth Connor, daughter of Ak-ke-long-un-a-qua, a daughter of Captain White Eyes, alias Ko-qua-hag-ech-ton, a grandson of Tammanend, alias St. Tammany. Mr. Adams was unanimously elected great sachem of the re- cently established Indian Brotherhood. Certainly an honor most worthily bestowed-a prince of the Lenni Lenapé-King of all Indians of the North American continent.

The territory included in Lehigh county was a part of the neutral ground, crossed by several main trails, used by all tribes of Indians in going from point to point, and an Indian found away . from one of these trails was considered an enemy and dealt with accordingly. There does not ap- pear to have been any large Indian town within the boundaries of the present county.

There was an Indian village along the Coplay creek in North Whitehall, the last resident of which was Kolapechka, son of Paxinosa. The Indian town of Hockyondocquay was located in Northampton county, east of the Lehigh, on the creek of the same name, between Howell's Mill and the mouth of the creek. Here lived Lappo- winzo, the Delaware chief, one of the signers of the deed of Aug. 25, 1737, on which was based the Walking Purchase. The line of this walk passed through Hanover township, Lehigh county, between Catasauqua and Shoenersville and the walkers spent the night about half a mile from the Indian town.

Lappowinzo's portrait was painted by a Swed- ish artist, Hesselius, by order of John Penn. He is represented as a stout Indian of about forty years of age. A few black marks are painted on his forehead and cheeks. His hair is long and brought to the back part of his head, with a blue blanket thrown around him and a pouch on his breast fastened to his neck. James Logan, in 1741, mentions him "as an honest old Indian."

The Lehigh Gap, called Pochkapochka, was a favorite place with the Indians. Here a noted Indian chief was born and another noted Indian

FIRST SETTLEMENT AS PART OF BUCKS COUNTY.

called Captain Harrison lived near the Gap. About 1735, an Indian family lived at Egypt, near the home of Jacob Kohler. For some reason he was exiled from the town across the river and the children of the two families frequently played together.

On the Grim farm in Weisenberg, was a spot frequented by Indians and the famous jasper pits in Macungie attracted them frequently. Several points in Upper Milford are pointed out where Indians formerly lived and along the Saucon creek was another favorite stopping place.

Indian names which the Delawares gave to streams and localities in and near Lehigh county are as follows, as given by the missionary, Heck- ewelder :

Aquanschicola, meaning, where we fish with the bush-net.

Catasauqua, corrupted from Gattoshacki, sig- nifying, the earth thirsts. The name is written Calisuk and Caladaqua in old deeds.

Hockendauqua, corrupted from Hackiundoch- we, searching for land.

Lehigh river, called by the Delaware, Lechau- weki, Lechauwiechink, or Lechauwekink, signify- ing, where there are forks. This name was given to the river, because it struck an Indian path or thoroughfare coming from the lower parts of the Delaware country, which thoroughfare, on the left bank of the river, (below Bethlehem) forked off into various trails, leading north and west. The word Lechauwekink, was shortened into Lecha, the name still in use among the descend- ants of German settlers, of which abbreviation Lehigh is a corruption.

Lechauhanne, a forked stream, was the name applied by the Delawares to the land between the Delaware and its west branch, the Lehigh, called the Forks of the Delaware.

Lechauwitank, the place at or within the forks, was the name given by the Delawares to the site of Easton and then to the town.

Macungy, corrupted from Machk-unschi, the feeding place of bears.

Maxatawny, corrupted from Machsit-hanne, meaning bear's path stream,-the stream along which bears have beaten a path.

Monocasy, corrupted from Menagassi, or Men- akessi, a stream with several large bends. Men- agaschsink was the name given to the site of Bethlehem at the mouth of the Monocasy.

Perkiomen, from Pakiomink, where there are cranberries.

Saucon, from Sakunk, meaning, where a small- er stream empties into a larger, hence, its place of outlet.

Tuppeckhanna, (one of the sources of the Lit- tle Lehigh at Trexlertown, in Upper Macungie).

The word signifies, the stream that flows from a large spring.

David Schultze, in his journal, says that in the Indian tongue, brother is issimus; friend, netap; bread, poon; eat, meree; fish, lamiess; mother, ana; cow, murs; pig, keeshkush; I am hungry, husco lallaculla; give me bread, langund agboon; what is your name, gecho luensi; where do you come from, tankomi. Indian names do not con- tain the letter "r" as they could not pronounce that letter.

The Indian method of catching shad, which formerly came up the Lehigh as far north as Le- highton, as described by Loskiel, is interesting.

"As soon as the shad come from the south to deposit their spawn, running up the rivers from the sea, the Indians assemble for the annual fish- ery. First they build a stone dam across the stream, the two wings or walls of which converge into a pound or wooden box, perforated with holes. This is the trap. A wild grape-vine of sufficient length to reach from shore to shore is then cut, and loaded down with brush, secured at intervals of from ten to fifteen feet. This bar- rier is stretched across the river, perhaps a mile above the pound, and being held in position by Indians in canoes, is slowly towed down stream. The frightened fish are driven before it back into the dam, and thence by the Indians, posted on its walls, into the pound, where they are caught by hand. As many as a thousand are known to have been taken in this way in a morning. The Dela- wares called March the shad-month."

The earliest mention of the Lehigh Region yet found is in 1701, when the goods of Hans Stiel- man, of Maryland, were confiscated for attempt- ing to trade with the Indians without a license. William Penn, in a letter to Stielman dated 12, 2 mo. (Apr.), 1701, says: "Thou has often prom- ised to visit this place in order to treat with me about thy Indian Trade, but hast as often dis- appointed me. Thy present management thereof amongst us is directly contrary to our Laws, I have yefore Stopt thy Goods intended for Le- chay, till according to thy frequent engage- ments thou come hither thyself and give further Satisfaction than thou hast yet been to

Thy frd. W. P."

Subsequently the Provincial Council restored Stielman's goods, but ordered him to give a bond of £1,000 to observe the laws of the province, and on account of his father, who was a native of the province, dealt leniently with him, but, as the In- dians complained against him for defrauding them, ordered him not to trade with them until he had regularly obtained a license for that purpose.

In the month of May, 1701, the Lehigh Region is again mentioned in the following manner: "A

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

certain young Swede arriving from Lechay, brought advice that on 5th. day last some young men of that place, going out a hunting, being but a little while gone, several Shotts were heard to go off very thick, which was suspected to have been some of the Sinnecaes coming down upon them, and that thereupon he had sent two Mes- sengers, viz: Edw. Farmer and Jno. Sotcher, who returning bro't advice that the alarm was false, and that the Shott was only at some Swans, and the whole reports groundless."

Again in the same year we find that "the Gov- ernor ordered Oppemenynook, the chief of the Indians on Lechay, to be sent for to consult with him about passing a law prohibiting all use of rum to the Indians of his nation."

NATIONALITY OF SETTLERS.

The first settlers of the territory now Lehigh county were Germans who found their way into this rich valley through the earlier settlements along the Perkiomen Creek and in the Oley Val- ley. It is probable that one or two adventurous settlers had located at an early date along the southern slope of the Lehigh Hills, but not prior to 1727 were there any settlements north of these mountains. The course followed by the greater part of the early settlers was through Maxetawny and Milford in Berks and Bucks, into Milford and Macungie in the present Lehigh county.

Intermingled with the Germans, principally from the Palatinate, were many Swiss, who, com- ing down the Rhine from the mountain cantons, joined the stream of emigrants to the new land, America. There were also a number of Hugue- nots, descendants of those, who, exiled from France by the Edict of Nantes, sought refuge in the German states or in Switzerland.

In the lower section of the county, through the Saucon valley, a few English and Welsh from Philadelphia or vicinity settled at an early date. Here and there were also to be found a few Hollanders.

The emigration of the Germans and natives of other European countries to Pennsylvania, was in a great measure due to the efforts of William Penn and his agent, Benjamin Furley, as well as other of his agents. Religious persecution and numerous wars had carried desolation and devas- tation into millions of homes in the Palatinate, and the poverty-stricken inhabitants heard eager- ly the news of a land to which they were invited, where they could, share in making the laws, and where there were no wars or persecutions. Penn's mother, Margaret Jasper, was a Dutch woman, and his travels through Germany in 1677, strengthened the bonds between him and the in- habitants of the Rhine provinces. Between the

years 1681, when Penn acquired Pennsylvania, and 1704, Penn and others published many pamphlets in English, German, Dutch, and French, giving information concerning his prov- ince, which were scattered broadcast throughout the Low Countries, Germany and Switzerland.

The Crefeld Colony under Pastorius settled in Germantown in 1683. Johannes Kelpius with forty pietists came in 1694. In 1704 Daniel Falk- ner brought a number with him on his return trip after a visit to the Fatherland. In 1708 and 1709 thousands emigrated. In the latter year the following list gives the number of persons and the country from which they came, as given by an unknown writer in a pamphlet published in 1711.

Aus der Pfaltz, 8,589

Aus dem Darmstaettischen,

2,334

Aus dem Hanauischen, I,II3

Aus dem Francken Land, 653

Aus dem Mayntzischen,

Aus dem Trierischen,

Aus dem Speyerischen, Worms-

ischen und Graffschaftlichen, 490

Aus dem Hessenland, 81

Aus dem Zweybrückischen, 125

Aus dem Nassauischen,

203

Aus dem Elsass, 413

Aus dem Badischen,. .

320

Aus Allerhand Landschaften ledige Handwercks Leute, .. 871

Total,

15,313

From 1710 to 1727 the number that arrived is unknown, but it ran into the thousands, who set- tled principally in Montgomery, Berks and Lan- caster counties. In 1719, we learn from a let- ter, that six or seven thousand were expected.

The passage of a registration act in 1727 re- quired every arrival to sign allegiance to the King of England and from this time until 1775 all emigrants names are recorded. The following is the number of immigrant ships which arrived at Philadelphia from 1727 to 1775, of which records have been preserved :

1727

1739

175'I

1728

1740

1752

1729

1741

1753

1730

1742

1754

I731

1743

1755

1732

1744

1756

I733

1745

none

1757

none

I734

1746

1758

nonc

1735

1747

1759

none

1736

1748

1760

none

I737

1749

1761

1738

1750

1762

none

FIRST SETTLEMENT AS PART OF BUCKS COUNTY.

1763

1768

1764

1769

1773 I774

1765

1770

1775

1766

5 1771

1767 7 1772

In all, 321 ships in forty-four years. In 1727, there were 1,240 arrivals, while in 1728 there were only 390, and 243 in 1729. In 1730, 458 arrived and in 1731 the number increased to 631. In 1732 there were 2,093 arrivals and in 1738 the number was 3,115.

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History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 12

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1158

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1158