History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 2

Author: Munsell, W.W., & Co., New York
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: New York, W.W. Munsell & co.
Number of Pages: 900

USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 2
USA > Pennsylvania > Lackawanna County > History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 2
USA > Pennsylvania > Wyoming County > History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 2

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).

516 B 529 438 G

Harding, Daniel, Exeter.

330 A

Nicol, Andrew, Scranton ..

Stevens, Charles A., Seranton.

343 236 J 236 K 306 E

244 Osborne. E. S., Wilkes-Barre .. 215 Swetland, William, Kingston. ... preceding Swetland, William H., Mchoopany .. 534 B

534 C Throop, Benjamin H., Seranton

Trescott, Luther, Huntington ..

Tripp, Ira, Scranton. Turner, S. G., Wilkes-Barre.

Vose, Thomas L., Mehoopany

459 248 F 236 L 310 470 A 200 282 369

Hughes, Barbara, Butler.

240

Ingham, Samuel D., Mehoopany. 248 F Pierson, Charles T., Scranton.

435 Wehlau, Ludwig, Seranton 438 I 268 B

Jenkins, Jonathan, Tunkhannock.

Jenkins, Steuben, Wyoming ..

Pike, Gordon, North Moreland 241 Wells, John C., Ashley

. Wells, Nathan, Meshoppen

516 B 404 317 302

306 D Walsh, J. J., Pittston.

516 B 426 496 438 H 236 R

194 Merrifield, E., Scranton 420 Spencer, Edward, Seranton .following 438 F 518 470 A Merrifield, William, Scranton. 392 A Stark, A. M., Tunkhannock 519

Stark, Samuel, Tunkhannock Stemples, William, Mehoopany

Stevens, A. B., Scranton. ... preceding

388

438 A Lee, Washington, Wilkes-Barre .. preceding 237

306 A Search, Lot, Shickshinny. 254

Evans, Benjamin, Nescopcek.

250 Scranton, J. A., Scranton.

INTRODUCTION.

In preparing for publication the following work the publishers have not been ignorant of the fact that several excellent histories of the region embraced in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties have already been published. Most of these have long been out of print, and a portion of them are exceedingly rare. In none of them is the range of topics as extensive as in this work, which embraces not only histories of these counties, but of each city, borough and township which they include.

In gathering the material for this work not only have these books and others been consulted, but information has been sought from every available source; and it is believed that many of the facts recorded have been pre- served from oblivion by being thus rescued from the failing memories of those who will soon pass away.

It is hardly possible that in a work like this no errors will be found; but it is confidently hoped that if inaccu- racies are discovered the great difficulty of preventing their occurrence will be considered, and that they will be

garded in a charitable rather than a censorious spirit. The publishers desire to acknowledge the kindness d courtesy with which their efforts to obtain the facts orded here have been almost uniformly met. To the :ss, for free access to the files of their journals; to the inty, city and borough officers, for assistance in ex- ining their records; to the pastors of nearly all the arches in the three counties for assistance in preparing : religious history, and to secretaries of numerous lges and societies for data furnished, their grateful cknowledgments are due.

The following books have been consulted: Sherman Day's and Doctor Egle's histories of Pennsylvania, anals of Philadelphia, Ruttenber's Indian Tribes of udson's River, Heckwelder's Indian Nations, Stone's fe of Joseph Brant and his Poetry and History of yoming, Chapman's, Miner's and Peck's histories of yoming, Miss Blackman's history of Susquehanna unty, Parkman's France and England in North Amer- 1, Pearce's Annals of Luzerne, Wright's Sketches of ymouth, Hollister's History of the Lackawanna Valley, e History of the Lehigh Valley, Clark's Wyoming id Lackawanna Valleys, and others. For our very mplete and valuable rolls of the soldiers of the Union .m Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties we : indebted to the exhaustive History of Pennsylvania unteers, prepared under the authority of the State, by .nuel P. Bates, LL. D.

Of those who have aided in the preparation of the ork, or furnished valuable information, the publishers :sire to mention Hon. Steuben Jenkins, who contrib- ed the article on post-Columbian Indians and kindly rnished many facts from the large and valuable store

of unpublished historical matter that he has collected for future publications; Hon. William P. Miner, who wrote the chapter on the coal trade; Doctor C. F. Ingham, author of the chapter on geology; Hon. Peter M. Oster- hout, who furnished valuable written and oral informa- tion; Hon. R. R. Little, who contributed the chapter on the bench and bar of Wyoming county; Hon. Hendrick B. Wright, who gave efficient aid and encouragement; Doctor Horace Hollister, Hon. Edmund L. Dana, Hon. Harry Hakes, Governor H. M. Hoyt, the octogenarian Jameson Harvey, the veteran attorney James A. Gordon, Allen Secord, Dilton Yarrington. Benjamin Evans, Doc- tor Nathan Wells, Rev. D. D. Gray, Major John Fassett, Douglass Smith, Captain James B. Harding, B. F. Dor- rance, General Edwin S. Osborne, Hon. A. W. Stephens, N. P. Wilcox, William Green, E. D. Gardner, James Frear, Major H. W. Bardwell, Hon. James M. Pratt, Edward Jones, D. M. Voyle, George Simpson, Hon. Pat- rick Kearney, Hon. John Jermyn, Hon. William H. Richmond, Dr. S. D. Davis, Rev. Andrew Brydie, Rev. Father Crane, Rev. A. Griffin, N. J. Rubinkam, Rev. A. D. Willifer, Rev. George H. Kirkland, very Rev. John Firman, Rev. Dr. I. W. Peck, Cyrus Straw, George Drum, William Shellhamer, John Carey, Thomas Mc- Millan, Miss Mary Dale Culver, John Pfouts, J. P. Sal- mon, Hugh McDonald, John Stokes, David Whitebread, Francis Yates, William Loveland, Thomas J. Laphy, Cal- . vin Parsons, Hon. George W. Drum, Stephen Drumhel- ler, Samuel Carey, Mrs. M. L. T. Hartman (author of the histories of Union township and Shickshinny borough), Hon. James McAsy, David Dale, David Haines, Jacob Hornbacker, Jacob Kizer, A. P. Gardner, M. D., Deacon Berry, Harrison Finn, H. S. Cooper, M. D., Miss Sue A. Neyhart, Chauncey Sherwood, O. A. Smith, Hon. Henry Love, William A. Shaw, Colonel W. N. Monies, Lewis Pughe, John T. Howe, E. Merrifield, Hon. J. E. Barrett, B. H. Throop, Joseph C. Platt, Wesley John- son, F. C. Johnson.

The publishers are enabled to present the steel plate portrait of Governor Henry M. Hoyt, of Wilkes-Barre, which appears in this work, through the generous co-op- eration (as a testimonial of their esteem for Governor Hoyt) of Hon. Charles Dorrance, Payne Pettebone, Hon. Charles A. Miner, Allan H. Dickson, T. H. Atherton, Douglas Smith, Hon. L. D. Shoemaker, George B Kulp, E. P. Darling, General E. W. Sturdevant, Hon. E. C. Wadhams, W. H. Bradley, Benjamin Dilley, J. W. Hol- lenback, Richard Sharpe, sen., Joseph A. Scranton, Colonel W. N. Monies, Hon. Lewis Pughe, Major U. G. Schoonmaker, Major D. S. Bennet, W. L. Paine, Olin F. Harvey, Oscar J. Harvey, and others of his well-known fellow citizens of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, irrespective of party affiliations.

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OUTLINE HISTORY

PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAPTER I.

THE DISCOVERY OF THE DELAWARE - PENNSYLVANIA GRANTED TO AND ORGANIZED BY WILLIAM PENN.

HE first discovery of Delaware bay, and the river which forms a portion of the eastern boundary of the State of Pennsylvania ap- pears to have been made by Hendrick Hud- son, an Englishman in the service of the Dutch, in" 1609. In August of that year he entered the bay, and after a short cruise in it left and proceeded to the mouth of the Hudson river, which stream he ascend- ed as far as Albany.

It is said that Lord Delaware visited the bay in 1610; hence the name by which it and the river are known. It was called by the Dutch South river, the Hudson being termed by them the North river.

Another Dutch navigator, Captain Mey, visited the bay in 1614; but Captain, or, as he was termed, skipper Cornelius Hendrickson first ascended the river as far as the mouth of the Schuylkill, in 1616.

À short lived settlement was made on the east bank of the Delaware under the auspices of the Dutch West In- dia Company in 1623, under the direction of Captains Mey and Tienpont. Another settlement was made on the bay, farther down, in 1630; but this was soon de- stroyed by the Indians, whose enmity the colonists had indiscreetly incurred.

Maryland was granted to Lord Baltimore in 1632, and the territory on the west side of the Delaware was claimed by him, and the disputes arising out of this claim remained unsettled during many years.

In 1638 a settlement was made on the west bank of the Delaware by a colony of Swedes, under the patron- age of Queen Christina. This colony was under the direction of Peter Minuit, a Hollander, who had been a director in the colony of New Amsterdam. Several Swedish governors followed Minuit in succession; pros- perous settlements sprang up along the west bank of the

river, and a thriving trade was carried on by the Swedes. They were watched with jealousy by the Dutch, who set up the claim of jurisdiction by reason of former occupa- tion, and instituted intrigues and plans to dispossess the Swedes. In 1655 a force of seven vessels and six hun- dred men was sent up the Delaware for that purpose. The Swedish government had been kept in ignorance of this expedition, and it was easily successful.

On the restoration of Charles the Second to the throne of Great Britain, he granted the territory now including New York and New Jersey, and afterwards that of Del- aware, to his brother the Duke of York. The latter im- mediately sent a force to take possession of the country thus granted. New Amsterdamn and Fort Orange on the Hudson were at once possessed, and rechristened re- spectively New York, in honor of the Duke of York, and Albany. A portion of the force was then dispatched to take possession of the Dutch colonies on the Delaware, which was accomplished almost without resistance. This dispossession of the Dutch by the English led to a war between Great Britain and Holland, at the conclusion of which the title of the former to these territories was ac- knowledged by treaty, The Duke of York continued in possession of this region, undisturbed except by the Marylanders, who resorted to occasional. acts of violence in order to assert the claim of Lord Baltimore, until, in 1663, war again broke out betwen Great Britain and Holland, and Dutch privateers visited the coasts and plundered the inhabitants; and during that year a Dutch squadron of vessels arrived and repossessed the domin- ions which had been granted to the Duke of York. These were restored by the treaty of Westminster in 1674, and in the same year, by a new patent, the title of the Duke of York was confirmed. During eight years following these events great changes took place among the propri- etaries of the region, in the course of which William Penn, by reason of being a trustee of one of these pro- prietaries and a purchase of a portion of the territory, became quite familiar with the region, as well as with the plans for its colonization.

William Penn was the son of Sir William Penn, an ad- miral in the royal navy, who at his death left a claim of

OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

sixteen thousand pounds against the government of Great Britain. Though in early life he was a soldier of some distinction, he afterwards became a Quaker, and was several times imprisoned because of his religious faith. Having become, as before stated, familiar with the re- gion on the Delaware, and with the schemes for its colo- nization, he conceived the plan of founding a colony there on the broad principles of equality which his faith taught. Accordingly, in 1680, he petitioned King Charles the Second for a grant of a tract of land west from the Delaware river and south from Maryland, in liquidation of the claim which he had inherited from his father. Af- ter the discussion and arrangement of the preliminaries the petition was granted, and a charter signed by the king in 1681. Penn at first desired that the province might be called New Wales, and when objections were raised against this he suggested Sylvania. To this the king and his counsellors prefixed Penn, for the double reason that the name would appropriately mean high woodlands, and that it was the name of a distinguished admiral, whose memory the king desired to honor. A royal address was at once issued informing the inhabit- ants that William Penn was the sole proprietor, and that he was invested with all the necessary governmental powers. A proclamation was also issued by William Penn to the people of his province, setting forth the policy which he intended to adopt in the government of the colony. A deputy was sent in the spring of the same year, with instructions to institute measures for the - management of affairs and the temporary government of the province. In autumn of the same year he sent com- missioners to make treaties with the Indians, and arrange for future settlement.

South from the province of Pennsylvania, along the Delaware bay, the Duke of York was still the proprietor of the country. Foreseeing the possibility of future an- noyance to the commerce of his province, Penn was de- sirous of acquiring this territory; and accordingly en- tered into negotiations with the Duke of York for it, and in the autumn of 1682 he became the proprietor of the land by deeds, which, however, conveyed no political rights. In the autumn of 1682 Penn visited his province in the new world, took formal possession of the territory along Delaware bay, proceeded up the Delaware and visited the settlements along that river. During this year the celebrated treaty between William Penn and the In- dians was made, it is said by some historians, under a large elm tree at Shakamaxon. By others it is insisted that no evidence exists of any such treaty at that place; but that the accounts of it that have passed into history were drawn largely from the fertile imaginatons of early writers. Whether a treaty was held there or not, it is almost certain that during that year treaties were made between Penn and the Indians, and it is a historical fact that between the Indians and Quakers perfect faith was kept. Voltaire said of the treaty which was said to have been made at Shakamaxon: " It was the only one ever made between savages and Christians that was not ratified by an oath, and the only one that was never broken."

The three principal tribes of Indians which then in- habited Pennsylvania were the Lenni Lenapes, the Min- goes and the Shawnees. Their relations with the Swedes had been of a friendly character, and the pacific and kind : policy of Penn and his Quaker colonists toward them bore fruit in strong contrast with that which the dishonest and reckless policy of other colonies, and of the United States government in later times, has brought forth. . .

The plan of the city of Philadelphia, which had been laid out by the commissioners that had preceded the pro- prietor, was revised by him, and the present beautiful and regular plan adopted, and even the present names given to the principal streets.

In the latter part of the year 1682 the first legislative body in the province was convened by the proprietor, who, though he was vested with all the powers of a pro- prietary governor, saw fit, in the furtherance of his original plan, to adopt a purely democratic form of government. This body was a general assembly of the people, and was held at the town of Chester, which was first called by the Swedes Upland. This assembly continued in ses- sion from the fourth till the seventh of December; during which time they enacted three laws, one of which was called the great law of Pennsylvania. It was a code of laws consisting of between sixty and seventy subjects or chapters, that had been prepared by the proprietor in England, and it was intended to cover all the exigencies which were deemed likely to arise in the colony. It se- cured the most ample religious toleration-to all whose faith agreed with that of the Friends-and only punished others by fine and imprisonment; thus exhibiting a marked contrast with the bigoted and intolerant Puritans in some of the New England colonies. It guaranteed the rights and privileges of citizenship to all tax-payers, guarded personal liberty, secured, as far as possible, by punishing bribery, the purity of elections, abolished the English law of primogeniture, discarded the administration of re- ligious oaths and affixed the penalty of perjury to false affirmation, and established marriage as a civil contract. Drinking healths, drunkenness, or the encouragement of it, spreading false news, clamorousness, scolding, railing, masks, revels,stage plays,cards and other games of chance, as well as evil and enticing sports, were forbidden and made punishable by fine and imprisonment. It is a cu- rious fact that all these laws have either been super. seded by others or become obsolete.

The wise, just and generous policy which the propri- etor adopted in the government of his province rendered him exceedingly popular, and the tide of immigration set so strongly toward this province that during the year 1682 as many as twenty-three ships laden with settlers arrived. During this year the proprietor divided the province into the three counties of Bucks, Philadelphia and Chester; and the territory, as it was termed, which he had acquired from the Duke of York, into Kent, New Castle and Sussex. In these counties he appointed officers, and made preparations for the election of a representatative Legislature, consisting of a council of eighteen members,' and an assembly of fifty-four. This Legislature assembled

GERMAN IMMIGRATION -- GOVERNMENTAL CHANGES.

at Philadelphia in January, 1682. One law enacted pro- vided for the appointment in each county court of three " peace makers," to hear and determine differences. It may be noted as a matter of curiosity that bills were in- troduced in this Legislature providing that "only two sorts of clothes should be worn-one kind for summer and one for winter;" and another that young men should be obliged to marry at a certain age.

CHAPTER II.

GERMAN IMMIGRATION-THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF WIL- LIAM PENN AND SIR WILLIAM KEITH.

S has been before stated, the first settlements in the province were made by Swedes, who oc- cupied the country during about half a cen- tury previous to its purchase of William Penn. In all that time they made little prog- ress toward developing the resources of the country. In the language of Watson: "They seem to have sat down contented in their log and clay huts, their leather breeches and jerkins and match coats for their men, and their skin jackets and linsey petticoats for their women; but no sooner has the genius of Penn enlisted in the enterprise than we see it speak a city and commerce into existence. His spirit animated every part of his colony; and the consequence was that the tame and unaspiring Swedes soon lost their distinctive character and existence as a separate nation.

Immigration was largely increased during 1683 and 1684. Settlers came from England, Ireland, Wales, Hol- >. land and Germany. Of those from the latter country many came from Cresheim and founded the village of Germantown. They were nearly all Quakers, and the settlement which they made was the nucleus around which collected so large a German population in after years that Pennsylvania became a German province, notwithstanding the large immigration from the British islands at first.

In 1683 and 1684 the controversy with regard to boundaries was renewed by Lord Baltimore, and the Marylanders were guilty of some acts of aggression. The province had come to number some 7,000 inhabitants, and it was a matter of importance that the boundary dis- pute should be settled. To accomplish this settlement, and for other reasons, Penn during 1684 sailed for Eng- land, after giving to the provincial council the executive power. Not long after his arrival in England Charles the Second died, and was succeeded on the throne by his brother James, Duke of York, between whom and Penn a strong friendship existed. The proprietary, therefore, easily obtained a favorable decree. In 1688 a revolution in England dethroned James and placed the regal power in the hands of William and Mary. This

change destroyed the influence of Penn at the English court, and the friendship which had existed between him and James caused him to be regarded with suspicion. Slanders were circulated and believed concerning him, and he was even accused of treason and compelled for a time to go into retirement. In his absence discord and dis- sensions arose in the province, and these were made the pretext for depriving him of his proprietary government in 1693. He was, however, honorably acquitted and ex- onerated from suspicion, and reinstated in his proprietary rights in 1694. Dissensions in the province continued, however, till after the return of the proprietary with his family in 1699 ; and even his presence failed to wholly restore harmony.

Because of the increasing power of the proprietary governments in America, the plan had, since the accession of William and Mary to the crown, been entertained of purchasing these governments and converting them into regal ones. In 1701 a bill for that purpose was intro- duced in the House of Lords, and Penn revisited Eng- land for the purpose of endeavoring to prevent its pas- sage. Before his departure a new constitution, which had been some time under consideration, was adopted, and a deputy governor and council of State provided for and appointed. On his arrival the project of purchasing the proprietary government was dropped. In 1702 King William died, and was succeeded by Queen Anne, who entertained for Penn a warm friendship Though the danger of being dispossessed of his proprietary government was averted, affairs in that government were not more harmonious. The disaffection on the part of the people in the lower counties, which he had endeavored to allay, led to a separation in 1703, and the choice of a distinct assembly for the territories. Some of the deputy govern- ors were indiscreet men, and differences between them and the provincial Legislature were constantly arising. Harrassed by these, and probably disgusted at the in- gratitude of his subjects, in whose behalf he had in- curred large pecuniary liabilities, for the collection of which proceedings were frequently instituted against him, he finally agreed with the crown for the cession of his province and the territory granted him by the Duke of York. He was prevented from legally consummating. this cession by a stroke of apoplexy, which rendered him imbecile.

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History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 2

Author: Munsell, W.W., & Co., New York Publication date: 1880 Publisher: New York, W.W. Munsell & co. Number of Pages: 900

Author: Munsell, W.W., & Co., New York
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: New York, W.W. Munsell & co.
Number of Pages: 900