History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 5

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 5
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 5
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 5

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).

In December, 1779, the royal charter was annulled by an act of Assembly, and the proprietaries were granted £130,000 sterling to compensate them for their lost privileges, they retaining their real estate and rents. In 1780 the act for the gradual extinction of slavery was passed. In recommending this action the executive council said: "Honored will that State be in the annals of mankind which shall first abolish this violation of the rights of mankind. '

In 1787 the convention which framed the constitution of the United States sat in Philadelphia. It concluded its labors on the 18th of September, and on the 12th of the following December a convention called for the pur- pose by the Assembly ratified it, thus placing Pennsyl- vania first on the list of States which adopted it. After the adoption of the federal constitution the defects of the State constitution of 1776 were more than ever be- fore apparent. Chief Justice Mckean had said of it: " The balance of the one, the few and the many is not well poised in the State; the Legislature is too powerful for the executive and judicial branches. We have now but one branch; we must have another branch, a negative in the executive, stability in our laws and permanency in the magistracy before we shall be reputable, safe and happy."

In accordance with a resolution of the Assembly, dele- gates were chosen at the October election in 1789 to frame a new constitution. They assembled in November of the same year, and after a long session completed their labors, and the constitution which they formed was adopted in September, 1790.

In this the general plan of the Federal constitution was followed. The executive department was vested in a governor, elected by the people; the legislative in a Senate and Assembly, while the judicial system was not greatly changed, except that the tenure of office of the judges of the higher courts was during good behavior in- stead of seven years, as before. The supreme executive council and the council of censors were of course abol- ished.

In 1837 the constitution was revised by a convention assembled for that purpose, and the changes which were recommended were adopted the next year. Among these were alterations in the tenure of offices, an abridgment

of the powers of the Legislature, the taking away of nearly all executive patronage and an extension of the elective franchise.

Another revision of the constitution was made by a convention for that purpose in 1873, and the amended constitution was adopted the same year. . This constitu- tion abolished special legislation, changed the time of annual elections, altered the tenure of the judiciary, mod- ified the pardoning power, provided for minority repre- sentation, for biennial sessions of the Legislature, for an increase in the number of both branches of the Legisla- ture, and made other important changes.

In 1794 an attempt was made to lay out a town where the city of Erie-then called Presque Isle, from the penin- sula which shelters the excellent harbor at that point- now stands. The small triangle necessary to secure this harbor was purchased from the Indians in 1789, and from the United States in 1792. Resistance to this settlement by the Seneca Indians was apprehended, by reason of a misunderstanding on the part of the latter, and the mat- ter was postponed to the next year, by which time mat- ters were arranged with them. The western tribes were at that time hostile.

CHAPTER VII.

THE PENNAMITE WAR-WHISKEY INSURRECTION-"MOLLY MAGUIRE" OUTRAGES-THE RIOTS OF 1877-

HAT has always been known as the Penna- mite war, arose out of the conflicting claims of the colonies of Connecticut and Pennsylvania to the territory included be- tween the forty-first and forty-second parallels of latitude-now in this State.

In 1662 King Charles the Second confirmed to the colony of Connecticut the title which it had previous- ly acquired to this territory; and in 1681 the same monarch granted a portion of the same territory to Wil- liam Penn. In 1762 settlers from New England took possession of lands in the Wyoming valley, and during that and the succeeding year made some improvements there; but in the autumn of 1763 they were driven away by the Indians.

They returned in 1769, but about the same time par- ties claiming titles under the Pennsylvania grant took possession of a portion of the same territory. An attempt was made by the Connecticut settlers to forcibly eject these, and thus was inaugurated a contest and a series of conflicts, which, though they were suspended during the Revolutionary war, were renewed afterward, and were not finally settled till about the year 1800.

What has usually been termed the whiskey insurrec -. tion assumed somewhat formidable proportions in 1794. . In 1684, 1738, 1744, 1772 and 1780 duties had been

WHISKEY INSURRECTION-MOLLIE MAGUIRES-THE GREAT STRIKE OF 1877.

imposed on domestic spirits by the Assembly of the province, but after a time the acts imposing these duties were repealed. In 1791, by an act of Con- gress, an excise of four pence per gallon was laid on all distilled spirits. This tax weighed heavily on the people of western Pennsylvania, where in some districts a sixth or fifth of the farmers were distillers, and nearly all the coarse grain was converted into spirit and this sent across the mountains or down the Ohio river to market. A majority of the inhabitants of this region were Scotch- Irish or their descendants, and their recollections or tra- ditions of resistance to the excise laws in the "old coun- try " inclined them to follow here the examples of their fathers. In the year of the passage of the act resistance to its enforcement commenced, and meetings were held, at which resolutions were passed denouncing all who should attempt the enforcement of the law, and excise officers were tarred and feathered and . otherwise maltreated. This resistance continued during the succeeding two or three years. People who were suspected of favoring the law were proscribed, socially and otherwise, and open resistance to its execution, by violence to the persons and injury to the property of those attempting to execute it, was practiced. This was the condition of things in the counties of Allegheny, Fayette, Washington and West- moreland. In 1794 Congress amended the law, but noth- ing short of absolute repeal would satisfy the malcon- tents, whose successful resistance had greatly emboldened them. Armed and organized mobs assembled, attacked the houses of excise officers and burned their buildings, and several persons were killed in these riots. Finally a large force assembled and marched on Pittsburg, de- termined to burn the house of an excise officer there; but by adroit management they were prevented from doing any harm beyond burning a barn. These lawless pro- ceedings were reported to the authorities, and the Presi- dent of the United States and the governor of the State issued proclamations commanding the insurgents to dis- perse, and calling for troops to suppress the insurrection. In obedience to this proclamation a force of about 13,000 was raised in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Penn- sylvania, and under the command of Governor Henry 1.ce, of Virginia, marched to the insurrectionary district. This awed the insurgents into obedience and no further trouble was experienced.

In 1798 the Fries insurrection, or "hot water war," as it was called because of the method adopted by the women in resisting the collection of the "house tax," occurred in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Troops were called out ; Fries and others-leaders-were ar- rested, tried, and convicted of treason, but subsequently pardoned.

The Erie Railroad war, which occurred in the winter of 1853-4, is still fresh in the recollection of many. This arose out of the opposition of the people of Erie to the action of what is now the Lake Shore Railroad Company in- laying a track of uniform width through the city. The track was torn up and bridges were destroyed by a mob encouraged by the city authorities, and travel was em-

barrassed during several months. Order was finally re- stored, and Erie has since been widely known as the "peanut city."

About the year 1862 a reign of terror was inaugurated in some portions of the mining regions in the State of Pennsylvania, by the discovery that there existed among the miners an organization of desperadoes who set the law at defiance, and aided and protected each other in the blackest crimes known. This organization is popu- larly known as the Mollie Maguires, and it was trans- planted in this country about the year 1854 from Ire- land. It was an organization for resistance to the land- lords in that country, and took its name from a des- perate woman, who was very active and efficient in shoot- ing landlords' agents. In this country it is said that it never existed as a distinct organization, but that the se- cret acts of lawlessness and crimes that had characterized the Mollie Maguires came to be tolerated and even sanc- tioned and abetted by the "Ancient Order of Hibernians," a benevolent institution which had long existed and which, in some States, was incorporated. When they first attracted attention they were termed "Buckshots," and, although troublesome, they were not considered very dangerous. Their crimes came to be more frequent and audacious. They resisted the enrollment for the draft in 1862. Arson, and the assassination of those who in- curred their displeasure, came to be more and more com- mon, and were perpetrated with entire impunity, for an alibi was always proved; and during the twelve or thirteen years following the influx of foreign miners into the coal regions, which began soon after the breaking out of the Rebellion, they came to be a real terror in those regions. At length a skillful detective succeeded in gaining admis- sion to their order and obtaining a knowledge of its secret workings, and of the perpetrators of the many murders which had been committed. The result was that many of these murderers were brought to justice, and the order was rendered impotent by the exposure of its dangerous character.

In the summer of 1877 what is known as the great strike occurred. This commenced in the city of Balti- more, among the employees of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and rapidly extended the entire length of the road. Three days later, July 19th, certain em- ployees of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company also struck, or refused to work. The immediate cause or pretext for the strike at Pittsburg was an order from the superin- tendent of the road extending the trip of a "crew ; " thus -as it was said-rendering a smaller number of men necessary and depriving a portion of their employ- ment.

The exigencies of the war of 1861-65 brought about an unhealthy condition of things throughout the country. The currency was inflated; business acquired an abnor- mal activity; the prices of produce, of manufactured arti- cles, and of labor. were greatly enhanced, and a general expansion took place. This engendered among all classes a degree of reckless extravagance unknown before, and when, after the lapse of a few years, business gradually

OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

came to be established on a more healthy basis, people found it difficult to adapt themselves to their changed surroundings, to practice the more rigid economy which those surroundings necessitated, and to appreciate the increased and steadily increasing value of a dollar. When, therefore, by reason of a depreciation in the prices of produce, a lessened demand for manufactured goods, and a consequent reduction of the profits of manufacturers, it became necessary to reduce the price of labor, many laborers, finding it hard to submit to these inevitable changes, and failing to appreciate the necessity for them, sought by the exercise of lawless force to com- pel producers, manufacturers, or carriers to continue the prices which they paid in more prosperous times.

Such was the condition of things at the commencement of this strike. At first certain railroad employees, who considered themselves aggrieved, refused to work, and sought by intimidation and force to prevent others from doing the work which they refused to do. At Pitts- burg these were joined by the idle, vicious and reck- less who were not in the employ of the railroad com- pany, and at once became more and more disorderly and defiant. The authorities were called on to protect the company's property, but the force failed to control the mob. The militia were called out, and some of the soldiers fraternized with the rioters, and others proved inefficient by reason of a mistaken aversion to firing on them, and finally allowed themselves to be driven from their position. The citizens took no measures to repress disorder, but rather looked on approvingly.

Under such circumstances the crowd constantly aug- mented, and became more and more desperate. In- cendiarism and pillage came to be the order of things, and property to the amount of millions of dollars was destroyed. Proclamations were issued by the governor, more militia were called out, and at last the citizens awoke from their apathy when they became aware that the city itself was in danger of destruction, and the riotous pro- ceedings were finally quelled.

Meantime the strike had extended until it had become general along the Pennsylvania Railroad. Violence was resorted to and property destroyed at various places along the line of the road, but nowhere was there such a reign of terror as at Pittsburg. At Philadelphia the authorities took such ample precautions, and the police acted so promptly and efficiently when the riot broke out there, that it was at once put down. The governor visited riotous localities along the line of the road in person, accompanied by troops, and regular soldiers were furnished by order of the President and Secretary of War, on application of Governor Hartranft, to aid in restoring order.

At Reading riots broke out on the 22nd of July. The militia were called out, but proved inefficient, though one regiment, without orders, poured a volley into the assail- ing crowd, killing ten and wounding forty and scattering the rioters for the time. The presence of 300 regular troops finally awed the mob and restored order

By the 24th the strike had extended to the mining re-

gions, and was extensively participated in by the miners. Riots occurred at Pottsville, Shamokin, Bethlehem, East- on, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and elsewhere. Work in the mines was arrested, some mines were flooded, railroad property was destroyed and many lives were sacrificed in the riots and the efforts to quell them. The greatest destruction of property, however, was at Pittsburg, where the citizens have since been punished for the tacit en- couragement which they at first gave the rioters, by being compelled to pay for the property destroyed.

CHAPTER VIII.

HARRISBURG MADE THE CAPITAL-THE WAR OF 1812- INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS-SCHOOLS.

HE project of removing the capital of the State to a more central location began to - be agitated during the last decade of the eighteenth century. In 1795, 1796 and 1798 efforts were made to accomplish such re- moval, but they failed for the want of concurrent action in the two branches of the Legislature. Carlisle, Reading, Lancaster, Wright's Ferry and Harris- burg were unsuccessfully proposed. In 1799 Lancaster was selected, and the Legislature met there for the first time in December of that year. By an act of the Legis- lature in 1810 it was in 1812 removed from Lancaster to Harrisburg; and the sessions of the Legislature were held in the court-house at that place till the completion of the public buildings in 1821.

The war of 1812 had its origin in aggressions against the United States by Great Britain, which were contin- ued during many years, notwithstanding the earnest pro- tests of this nation. The rights of the United States as neutrals were disregarded during the Napoleonic wars, and among other encroachments the English government claimed the right to board and search American vessels, and authorized its officers to examine their crews, seize . all those whom they chose to regard as British subjects, and force them into their service. All remonstrances were unavailing. The English in enforcing this right of search committed great outrages, and the practice became so obnoxious as to demand some decided measures for its suppression. Under these circumstances there ap- peared no alternative but war; and Congress Iraving authorized it, war against Great Britain was declared on the 19th of June, 1812. The measure was not univer- sally sustained. The Federal party, then in the minority, opposed it; and their political opinions being apparently stronger than their patriotism, they loudly denounced it. The Federalists in New York and New England were. most prominent in their opposition, and if they did not directly aid the enemy their conduct was discouraging

WAR OF 1812-INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

and injurious to those who were periling their lives in their country's cause. This opposition was, however, quite impotent in Pennsylvania.

At the commencement of the war Governor Snyder issued a patriotic call for fourteen thousand volunteers; and such was the alacrity of the response that three times the number required tendered their services, and money was readily offered for the places of those who were ac- cepted.

During this war Pennsylvania was not the scene of hos- tile operations, although her frontier was threatened. A force of British and Indians appeared on the north shore of the lake, opposite to Erie, in July, 1812; but the prompt measures that were taken for the defense of the port prevented an attack. The mouth of the Delaware was blockaded in 1813, and most of the foreign commerce of Philadelphia was cut off; but the river had been placed in such a state of defense that it was not invaded. A thousand men were sent to protect the shores of this river, and an equal force sent to guard the harbor of Erie, where vessels of war were in process of construction and equipment. The brilliant victory of Commodore Perry on the 10th of September, 1813, was the result of the fitting out of this naval force.

The ravaging of the shores of Chesapeake bay, and the burning of Washington, in 1813 and 1814, and the threatening attitude of the enemy after these depreda- tions, induced Governor Snyder to issue another call for troops to defend the State against the peril which men- aced it. In compliance with this a force of five thousand established a rendezvous on the Delaware, and although the soil of Pennsylvania was not invaded this force did good service in marching to the relief of Baltimore when it was attacked, and aiding to repel the enemy. It is worthy of note, as showing the difference in the patriotism of men from different sections of the country; that four thousand New York troops under General Van Rennsse- laer refused to cross the line into Canada, but that, soon afterward, a brigade of Pennsylvanians, consisting of two thousand, under General Tannehill, crossed without the slightest hesitation, glad to be able to meet the enemy on his own soil and do battle for their country. A treaty of peace between the two nations was ratified on the 17th of February, 1815.

The extensive system of internal improvements which has swallowed so many millions of money in this State was commenced about the year 1790. The first efforts were directed to the improvement of navigation in the rivers of the State; then, as time went on, the construc- tion of a system of canals and turnpikes was entered on, and prosecuted beyond that of any other State in the Union. The grand project of securing the trade of the West, through a connection between Philadelphia and the waters of the Ohio at Pittsburg, by a line of public works, was realized in 1831. In order to secure the in- fluence and votes necessary to authorize this it had been found necessary to construct other canals in various parts of the State, the inhabitants of which desired to par- ticipate in the benefits of the system of internal improve-

ment, and thus that system in this State came to exceed in magnitude that of any other.

It was not possible, however, for the wisest of those who projected and promoted this system of improvements to foresee the rise and rapid progress of another system, which was to take the place of and wholly supersede that which, at such an enormous expense, they inaugurated and carried forward.

In 1827 a railroad, nine miles in length, the longest then in existence in America, was constructed from Mauch Chunk to some coal mines. Only two had pre- ceded this-one, with a wooden track, at a stone quarry in the county of Delaware, Penn., and another, having a length of three miles, at a quarry in Quincy, Mass. Since that time the railroad system of this country has devel- oped to its present magnitude. A majority of the canals are dry, many have been converted into railroad beds, and even the rivers and lakes of the country have dwin- dled into comparative insignificance as avenues of travel or transportation. In 1857 the principal line of public works between Pittsburg and Philadelphia was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for a fraction of its cost, and measures were at once taken for the sale of the other works belonging to the State Thus do systems, one after another, develop and pass away, and no prevision can point out what is to come.

While it is true that in some of the States of the Union the present system of internal improvements, which has been fostered and encouraged by those States, has proved to be almost the ruin of their best interests, the reverse is true in Pennsylvania. The development of the im- mense mineral resources of the State required the con- struction of these avenues of transportation, and the cost of those built by the State, though they were afterward sold for only a part of that cost, was returned many fold in the increase of wealth which was the direct result of their construction. When the first canal was projected the use of anthracite coal was hardly known, and the cost of its transportation to market was so great as to preclude the possibility of its profitable use. With every increase in the facilities for the transportation of this important mineral it has been cheapened to the consumer, and its production has been rendered more profitable; and now large areas which have no value for any other purpose are sources of immense and constantly increasing wealth.

Previous to the year 1834 many acts were passed by the Legislature pertaining in some way to the subject of edu- cation. Some of these were local in their application, and some were little more than resolutions in favor of education. Isolated schools were established in various localities, in most of which provision was made for the education of the children of the poor. The people of the different religious denominations made provision for the education of their children, often establishing paro- chial schools. This was the case with the Quakers, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, the German Lutherans, the Mennonists, the Moravians, the Dunkards, etc. Nothing having the semblance of a public school system was established previous to the adoption of the constitution

2.1

OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

of 1790, which required that provision should be made by law for the general establishment of schools wherein gratuitous instruction should be given to the children of the poor. From that time till 1827 efforts were from time to time made to establish a system in accordance with this requirement, but with only partial success, the radical defect in all being the distinction between the children of the rich and poor. In 1827 earnest and sys- tematic efforts began to be put forth for the establish- ment of free schools for all, and in 1834 the foundation of the present common school system was laid, in the enactment of a law for the maintenance of schools by a tax on all taxable property. This law, which was at first imperfect, was revised and amended in 1836, 1849, 1854 and 1857, in which last year the present system of nor- mal schools was established.

In 1863 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company donated to the State $50,000 for the education of soldiers' or- phans. In 1865 the Legislature added to this an appro- priation of $75,000. Schools and homes were established for these wards of the State, and during several years an annual expenditure was made for this purpose of half a million of dollars. At these homes and schools soldiers' orphans were boarded, clothed, educated and taught habits of industry, and at a proper age were placed in situations to acquire trades or professions.

In 1749 an academy was established by subscription in Philadelphia "for instruction in the Latin and English languages and mathematics." This was the foundation of the University of Pennsylvania. This and Dickinson College, at Carlisle, which was founded in 1783, were the only colleges in the State previous to the commencement of the nineteenth century. There are now twenty-seven, of which five are purely secular or non-sectarian. There are also seventeen theological institutions, ten medical schools and one law school.

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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 5

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