History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 7

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650

USA > Pennsylvania > Lycoming County > History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania > Part 7

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).

MUNCY MANOR.

The next warrant, in the order of date, was issued by John Penn, December 25,

อิอิ

APPEARANCE OF THE PAINTED SAVAGE.

1768, directing the survey of a tract of land to be called Muncy manor. This fine body of land was recommended by Job Chilloway, the friendly Indian and guide, and the words, "Job's Discovery," were written on the draft. Lying at the mouth of Muncy creek, it was considered the most important point on the West Branch, on account of its fine location, the richness of the soil, and the beauty of the natural scenery surrounding it. The river washed its western boundary, whilst a chain of mountains shut it in on the east and south. It was also the converging point of Indian paths leading east, west, north, and south, and from the earliest times had been known as a favorite place of resort by Indian chieftains when seeking repose, or for the purpose of counseling with each other regarding the condition of their people. The certificate reads :

By virtue of a warrant dated the 24th day of November, 1768, surveyed the 26th and 27th days of December, 1768, for the use of the Honorable the Proprietaries of the Province of Penn- sylvania, the above described tract of land situate on the West Branch of Susquehanna River at the mouth of Muncy alias Cannassarago alias Ocochpocheny Creek, containing one thousand six hundred and fifteen acres with allowances of six per cent. PR. WM. SCULL.

Returned into the Secretary's office the 8th of February, 1769.

JOB CHILLOWAY.

Job Chilloway, the discoverer of Muncy manor, was a Delaware Indian and a faithful friend of the whites in the West Branch valley. He was born at Egg Harbor, New Jersey, early in 1737, and in 1759 he was employed as a spy and guide by the provincial authorities. He learned to speak English, and having a knowledge of several Indian dialects, made himself valuable to the early officers and settlers. Job, from long association, preferred to live among the whites. He was thoroughly acquainted with this portion of the State, knew all the Indian paths, and frequently made long journeys as a messenger and bearer of despatches. His personal descrip- tion shows him to have been "a tall, muscular man, with his ears slit so as to hang pendant like a pair of ear rings." The Moravians exercised a good influence over him. The hostile Indians did not like him, and when war prevailed they would have killed him if he had come in their way. His squaw was named "Betsy," and was quite handsome, but she never took kindly to the whites ; in fact, she did not like them, and sought every opportunity to give information to the Indians. Her conduct annoyed Job greatly, and it is said he requested his white friends not to be communicative with her. She roved about a great deal and finally left him to follow the fortunes of her race.

Job saw much military service before and during the Revolution, and was at the battle of Red Bank with Colonel Potter's regiment. Some interesting anecdotes are preserved of him, and one in particular will serve to show his sagacity, as well as faithfulness to his white friends. One day, when the times were perilous, he was loitering about Antes Fort on the bluff near the mouth of Antes creek, when he dis- covered a sentinel leaning against a tree asleep. Quietly slipping behind him he reached around the tree, grappled, and held him fast. The sentinel could not see who it was and was badly frightened. He struggled to release himself but was unable to do so. At last he discovered that it was Job, when he begged him not to inform Colonel Antes, as his punishment for such an offense would be serious. Job promised that he would not report him, but took occasion to remind him if it had

HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

been an enemy that seized him he might have been killed and scalped. "Yes," replied the sentinel, "I might have been caught by an Indian and killed and scalped before I had known who my assailant was." "It was an Indian that caught you," replied Job with a grin, " but you may thank God he was your friend !"

This circumstance so amused Job that he would burst into a fit of laughter when- ever he thought of it. His frequent outbursts of merriment finally attracted the attention of Colonel Antes, and he asked him what was the cause of it, but no persua- sion would induce him to tell for a long time. At last he informed the Colonel that a serious circumstance had happened to one of his men, but he had pledged his word not to tell. But he intimated that he might detect the guilty man by his counte- nance when the company was on parade. The Colonel scrutinized the countenances of his men sharply when paraded, which caused the guilty man to confess what had befallen him. The circumstance, and the manner of its revealment through the sug- gestion of the Indian, so amused him that he did not punish the man, but admon- ished him not be caught that way again.

On the restoration of peace Job lingered for a long time in the valley engaged in hunting and fishing, when he finally drifted westward and joined the Moravians at their settlement in Ohio. Great injustice has been done the memory of this faithful Indian by some writers in stating that towards the close of his life he became much addicted to strong drink, and finally was found dead in his cabin on Spring creek, in what is now Centre county. Rev. Edmund de Schweinitz, in his "Life and Times of David Zeisberger," (page 629) referring to the deaths of two noted Christian Indi- ans near Fort Erie, Canada, thus speaks of Job: "One was William, or Job Chillo- way who died on the 22d of September, 1792. In his youth a special favorite of Sir William Johnson, and one of his interpreters, he had joined the mission in 1770, and served it for twenty years with ability and faithfulness, especially in negotiations with heathen chiefs." He was identified with the Moravian mission at Wyalusing and took charge of the houses and property when they abandoned the place in June, 1772. It was no doubt, when traveling up and down the Wyalusing path, on mis - sions to the settlement at Shamokin, that he discovered the fine tract of land with the meadow, near the mouth of Muncy creek, and reported the fact to the Penns or their agents, which induced them to issue orders to have a manor laid out.

A few days after the order to survey Muncy manor was issued, another was made, on the 31st of January, 1769, to survey 1,000 acres, one-half of which was to be located at the mouth of Lycoming creek, and the balance in some other part of the Province. As that portion of the survey embraced lands now lying within the limits of the city of Williamsport, and as it was the cause of some litigation in after years, the orders are quoted in full:

L. S. PENNSYLVANIA, 88.

BY THE PROPRIETARIES.

These are to authorize and require you to survey and lay out, or cause to be surveyed and laid out for our use, the quantity of one thousand acres of land, viz .: Five hundred acres thereof at the mouth of a creek known by the name of Lycoming, and extending thence down aud upon the river Susquehanna, and the other five hundred acres in any part of the purchase lately made at Fort Stanwix of the Six Nations, that shall not interfere with any previous warrant, and to make return of the same in our Secretary's Office; and for the so doing this shall be your suffi

APPEARANCE OF THE PAINTED SAVAGE.

cient warrant. Witness, John Penn, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor and Commissioner of Property of the said Province, who by virtue of certain powers from said Proprietaries, hath hereunto set his hand and caused the seal of the Land Office to be affixed at Philadelphia, this thirty-first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine.

To John Lukens, Esq., Surveyor-General.

JOHN PENN.

To William Scull, Deputy Surveyor:

Execute this warrant, and make return of survey into my office.

February 3, 1769.

JOHN LUKENS, S. G.

ORME'S KIRK.

As the Lycoming creek land, specified in the order, was found to lie a few miles west of Andrew Montour's line, the surveyors on the 20th of March, 1769, surveyed 579 acres on the east side of Lycoming creek. The balance was surveyed in two tracts elsewhere. These were the last of the reserve surveys in the Province of Pennsylvania.

The Lycoming creek portion of the survey included all the western part of Will- iamsport. The order was dated January 31, 1769, and returned May 5, 1770. On this survey a patent was issued to Rev. Richard Peters, August 11, 1770, for 599 acres and called Orme's Kirk. Peters, who was a great speculator in land, sold the same to the famous Col. Turbutt Francis, November 23, 1772. As he was a greater land speculator than Peters, he sold the tract to Hawkins Boone, January 19, 1775. Boone was a descendant of "Squire" Boone, of Exeter township, Berks county, and a brother of the celebrated Daniel Boone, the bold hunter and explorer of Kentucky. Hawkins Boone fell in the battle at Fort Freeland. As he died intestate Robert Martin, Robert Arthur, and Jean Hardy were appointed to admin- ister on his estate. Finding that the personal property was not sufficient to pay the debts, they applied to the court at Sunbury for permission to sell enough land to pay off the indebtedness. Authority was granted, and on July 2, 1791, they sold 2874 acres to William Winter for £350, " lawful money of Pennsylvania," and gave him a deed which was recorded at Sunbury, January 4, 1792, in Deed Book E, page 317.

William Winter was a brother-in-law of Hawkins Boone, his first wife being Ann Boone, whom he married in 1747 in the Province of Virginia. She died here in 1771, leaving eleven children, four sons and seven daughters.

The remainder of the 599 acres constituted what was afterwards known as the Amariah Sutton farm, and after undergoing more changes of ownership, finally became the property of Hon. R. J. C. Walker.

HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

CHAPTER III.

OPENING OF THE LAND OFFICE.

FORM OF AN APPLICATION-EXCITEMENT AND RUSH FOR LANDS-THE LOTTERY SYSTEM TRIED -TROUBLE WITH THE INDIANS-PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR-OLD SURVEYS AND IMPROVEMENTS NEAR MUNCY-LAWSUIT BETWEEN JOHN PENN AND SAMUEL WALLIS- JOSEPH GALLOWAY'S LEGAL OPINION-FIRST DWELLING HOUSES-PENN DEFEATS WAL- LIS IN COURT-MUNCY MANOR DIVIDED INTO FIVE TRACTS AND THE LAND ORDERED TO BE SOLD.

THE custom of making special grants of land to individuals and selecting choice tracts for the personal benefit of the Proprietaries having been abandoned, a new order of business was adopted. This was done for the purpose of giving all a chance to apply for lands. It was high time this policy was adopted. Too much favoritism had been shown and too much bad feeling engendered thereby for the prosperity of the Province. Certain individuals, whose opportunities enabled them to be better informed than others, took advantage of their position to acquire lands for speculative purposes. The seat of the provincial government was the headquar- ters of this class, and the history of land speculation does not show a more grasping set than those who existed during the seventh decade of the eighteenth century; and nowhere were their operations conducted with more vigor, or on a larger scale, than in this valley and the entire northwestern part of Pennsylvania.

It having been decided to open the Land Office for the reception of applications, the following official announcement was made:

The Land Office will be opened on the 3d day of April next, at 10 o'clock in the morning, to receive applications from all persons inclinable to take up lands in the New Purchase, upon terms of five pounds Sterling per hundred acres, and one penny per acre per annum quit-rent. No person will be allowed to take up more than three hundred acres, without a special license from the Proprietaries or Governor. The surveys upon all applications are to be made and re- turned within six months, and the whole purchase money paid at one payment, and patent taken out within twelve months from the date of the application, with interest and quit-rent from six months after the application. If there be a failure on the side of the party applying, in either proving his survey and return to be made, or in paying the purchase money and obtaining the patent. the application and survey will be utterly void, and the Proprietaries will be at liberty to dispose of the land to any other person whatever. And as these terms will be strictly adhered to by the Proprietaries, all persons are hereby warned and cautioned not to apply for more land than they will be able to pay for in the time hereby given for that pur- pose.

By order of the Governor.

JAMES TILGHMAN, Secretary of the Land Ofice.

Philadelphia Land Office, February 23, 1769.

The conditions were stringent and showed the avaricious disposition of the Gov-

OPENING OF THE LAND OFFICE. . 59

ernor. But their severity did not lessen the number of applicants. The land fever had broken out with great violence a year before the proclamation was issued, and scores of adventurers had flocked up the river as far as Bald Eagle creek, and many of them had marked trees or driven stakes to indicate where they proposed to take up land. It was a knowledge of this fact, perhaps, that induced the Governor to be so severe in the terms, thinking that many who were unable to meet the requirements of the contract might be prevented from entering the contest. But it made little difference. Many squatted upon their selections and ran the risk of being attacked by the savages, or of losing their time and what rude improvements they might make.

The report had gone abroad through the lower part of the Province, and into New Jersey, that the "New Purchase," as that portion of the valley above Lycom- ing creek was called, was unsurpassed in beauty and fertility, and many yearned to occupy it. The same feeling prevailed with reference to Muncy valley.

LAND LOTTERY.

Books were opened at the Land Office in which every application was numbered and entered, giving the name of the party and a description of the tract, by noting some boundary or distinguishing mark to enable the surveyors to begin. The price fixed was at the rate of twenty-two cents per acre, with one cent for quit rent. Those desiring to secure more than the allowance (three hundred acres) to each person found a way to avoid this restriction by employing others to secure lands and then transfer their warrants to them in consideration of "five shillings." It being under- stood that several applications were likely to be made for the same tract, a new diffi- culty confronted the officers of the Land Office. How to reconcile the applicants, or establish a degree of priority, was a serious question. Without some rule to guard against conflicts of this kind, great dissatisfaction would arise. Finally it was decided to dispose of the applications by lottery. Wherever there was found to be more than one party applying for a tract of land, the names were written on slips, placed in a box, and drawn therefrom. The first ticket drawn would entitle the party whose name was written on it to the land, when it was numbered and entered. This plan, it was thought, would prove more satisfactory, as there could be no partiality in awarding the application. It was tried, but not followed very long, because it had the effect of lessening the number of applicants for one tract; or they agreed among themselves not to oppose each other.

The official form of an application for land was worded as follows:

No. 1085.

GEORGE GRANT hath made application for three hundred acres of land, on the north side of the West Branch of Susquehanna, joining and above the Honorable Proprietor's land at Muncy creek, including Wolf run.

Dated at Philadelphia, this 3d day of April, 1769.

To William Scull, Deputy Surveyor: You are to survey the land mentioned in this appli- cation, and make return thereof into the Surveyor-General's office within six months from the above date; and thereof fail not.

JOHN LUKENS, S. G.

Instructions were also issued by the surveyor general, John Lukens, to the deputy in whose district the tract was to be surveyed, and they accompanied the

HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

application. Four deputy surveyors were appointed for field work. Their names were: William Gray, for the southeastern part of the purchase; Charles Stewart, for the district lying up the North Branch; William Scull, for the north side of the West Branch above Chillisquaque creek, and Charles Lukens, for the south side, bounded on the south by the treaty line of 1754. His district also extended to the head waters of Bald Eagle creek, and embraced the valleys of Nittany, Nippenose, Sugar, White Deer Hole, and the upper part of Buffalo valley.

THE NEW PURCHASE.

When the Land Office opened on the 3d of April, 1769, there was a great rush of applicants and excitement ran high. On the first day 2,782 applications were received, and instructions were issued to the deputy surveyors to run the lines for the claimants. These claims, it will be understood, were for lands lying in the territory secured by the terms of the treaty of 1768, and known as the "New Pur- chase," because it was the last made from the Indians. The Proprietaries, as well as the claimants, supposed Pine creek was the line on the north side of the river, beyond which they must not go. But they were disappointed. The Indians claimed that Lycoming was the creek known to them as Tiadaghton, and was the treaty line mentioned in the deed; consequently all the lands lying west of Lyco- ming belonged to them. They vigorously asserted their claim, and gave notice that if settlers went beyond the line (Lycoming) it was at their peril. The Proprieta- ries declared that Pine creek (Tiadaghton) was the line, and if it was not they had been misinformed or deceived. The Indians were so firm that the Proprietaries were forced to instruct their surveyors to keep off the disputed territory. This dis- pute caused much ill feeling which lasted for sixteen years, or until the last treaty was made in 1784, which took all the lands in the State to which the Indians laid claim.

The settlers on this disputed territory were recognized as "squatters;" but, un- deterred by Indian threats and the warnings of the Proprietary government, they remained on their claims and clamored for the surveyors to come and run their lines. This they could not do in the face of positive orders to the contrary. The interim of sixteen years was, therefore, a period fraught with fear, un- certainty, and bad blood, which resulted in many lawless and desperate acts.

On account of the alarming state of affairs the Governor felt it to be his duty to issue a proclamation stating that "several ill disposed persons, in disobedience to His Majesty's express orders, and in direct violation of the laws," had "presumed to seat themselves upon lands within the limits of this Province not as yet purchased from the Indians." And as the making of "such settlements doth greatly irritate the Indians, and may be productive of dangerous and fatal consequences to the peace and safety of His Majesty's good subjects," the Governor called attention to an act of Assembly "passed for the purpose of preventing persons from settling upon lands not purchased of the Indians," and drew their attention to the fact that a violation thereof imposed a fine of £500 and twelve months' imprisonment.

The Governor concluded his proclamation by ordering all squatters to "imme- diately evacuate their illegal settlements, on pain of being prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law." And he strictly enjoined "all magistrates, sheriffs, and other peace officers " to " carry the law into strict execution."

OPENING OF THE LAND OFFICE.

The stringent language of the proclamation did not in the least frighten the squatters west of Lycoming creek, or deter others from entering the territory to take up land. We are not informed whether any arrests were made, but the pre- sumption is that the setters were not molested by "His Majesty's " officers. Their sympathies were with the settlers, and as all believed the Indian had "no rights that white men were bound to respect," it would have been hard to enforce the law.

The applicants were clamoring to have their surveys made so that they could occupy their tracts. In William Scull's district we find the surveyors at work on Muncy creek in the vicinity of where Hughesville now stands. July 1st they were in Black Hole bottom, and on the 4th, 5th, and 6th, in Nippenose. The first survey in Black Hole was made on the application of Elizabeth Brown, numbered 44, and took in the mouth of the creek. It was made, July 4, 1769, but independence had not then been thought of. The name probably should be Eleanor, wife of Matthew Brown. They were among the earliest settlers.

Applications for land were granted until the 31st of August, 1769, when it was found that they amounted to 4,000. As nine-tenths of these applications were for land lying in the West Branch valley, the reader will readily see what a rush there was. It is probable that surveys were not made on half the applications; and it is also probable that four and five applications were sometimes made for the same tract. The Land Office in some instances ignored their lottery plan and considered priority of claim, and the first applicant generally succeeded in securing the grant. Many applications, too, were surveyed on other tracts, several of which lay opposite Jersey Shore in Nippenose bottom. The surveyors generally found a tract to fit the application. An application cost one dollar for office fees, and a small sum had to be paid to the guide or explorer. Such persons were expert woodsmen and gener- erally knew where the best land was located.

Hawkins Boone, like his noted brother Daniel, was a leading woodsman and explorer. His calling enabled him to familiarize himself with the country, and he became valuable as a guide. His journeys extended as far as Bald Eagle, and Nittany, and other valleys, and he visited the cabin of the chief, Bald Eagle, near Milesburg. It was known among the explorers and surveyors as "The Nest," and was a noted landmark. In many cases the tracts were located by means of letters cut on trees standing in a particular place, or by other signs, such as streams, deer licks, and rocks, or whatever the explorers could select as a distinguishing mark. Many selec- tions were not found for years afterwards, as the Indians forced the settlers to leave before the surveyors had completed their work; and some, on account of the deaths of the applicants, were not surveyed in their names at all.

In an old paper found among the effects of Samuel Wallis, covered with drafts of early surveys on Lycoming creek, it is shown that "H. and J. Thompson" claimed the applications which had been filed by John James and Richard Cantwell in April, 1769. The cabins of the Thompsons are indicated on the draft, as well as the Indian village known among the early settlers as Eeltown. A number of other tracts are notetl, and the route of the Sheshequin path is indicated by a dotted line. These old drafts are curious relics and carry us back to the period when all this por- tion of the country about Williamsport was a wild, with nothing but the rude cabins of a few pioneers scattered about.

HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

THE OLDEST CLAIM.

The oldest improvement of which we have any evidence of having been made within the present limits of Lycoming county was on Muncy creek, a short distance above its mouth. An old paper belonging to the Wallis collection shows that Den- nis Mullin as early as 1760 "had taken up 300 acres adjoining James Alexander, and about two miles southwestward of land claimed by Charles Moore." No other evidences of older claims in this section are known to be in existence by the writer. There may have been others, but it is doubtful. This was nearly nine years before the opening of the Land Office and nearly three years before the battle was fought with the Indians in Muncy Hills. These parties must have been early adventurers from Cumberland county, as it will be remembered that some of those accompany- ing the expeditions up the river for the alleged purpose of punishing the Indians said they were looking for places to take up land and settle.

There seems to have been some dispute about the tract taken up by Dennis Mullin, judging from this affidavit, which was found among the Wallis papers:

The 14th day of December, 1765, came before me, John Rannells, Esq., one of his Majesty's justices of the peace for the county of Cumberland, in the Province of Pennsylvania, Moses Harlan, and qualified according to law that the improvement on the above located land consists of about four acres of cleared land, about half fenced, and further this deponent saith not. [Signed] MOSES HARLAN.

A note below the signature says : "Improved in the year 1760!" James Tilghman, secretary of the Land Office, then appends the following certificate :

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 7

Author: edited by John F. Meginness Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1650

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650