USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 2
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The widow of William Penn became the executrix of his estate during the minority of his children, and was for a time the nominal head of the colonial government. It is said that she administered the affairs of the estate with much shrewdness and capability. Sher- man Day, in his history of Pennsylvania, says: "The affectionate patriarchal relation which had subsisted between Penn and his colony ceased with his death; the interest which his family took in the affairs of the province was more mercenary in its character, and looked less to the establishment of great and pure principles of life and govern- ment. "
The colonies were prosperous under Sir William Keith and his successor, Patrick Gordon. Large accessions were made to the population, which was becoming more cosmopolitan than in former times, many settlers arriving from England, Ireland, Wales, Holland and Germany. The latter founded the village of Germantown, thus planting the nucleus to a large German population which in later years rendered Pennsylvania a German province. Though the persecutions of Quakers in England had somewhat relaxed, these people, of whatever nationality, were largely of the Quaker faith,
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and as the colonies grew the religion of the founder received greater impetus. The wise and generous policy of the founder which was adopted in the government of his province induced large accessions to the colony during the year 1682, as many as twenty-three ships laden with settlers and their goods having arrived during this year. In that year the counties of Bucks, Philadelphia and Chester were established and these included the whole of the State. Officers were appointed and provision made for the election of a representative Legislature, the first election of this character held in America.
The population of the Province, exclusive of Indians, numbered about two thousand in 1682. These people were mostly Swedes, though a few Dutch families remained in the country after the with- drawal of their government. There were also small settlements of English at Upland, Shackamaxon (now Kensington), and at the Falls of the Delaware.
The Swedes had lived in peace and friendship with the Indians for more than forty years, while other colonies and settlements had treated the natives harshly, and provoked them to deeds of violence and bloodshed.
The pacific policy of Penn and his associates continued this era of peace and good-will with the children of the forest for more than half a century. The Indians trusted the Swedes and held their friendship in great esteem; and it was only necessary that the new governor and his friends should pledge themselves to preserve these happy relations. Penn was eminently qualified for this work, and sent letters of affectionate regard to the three tribes then inhabiting the wilderness of eastern Pennsylvania. These were conveyed by interpreters and commissioners appointed for the purpose; and the simple manners of these representatives of the governor had much to do in confirming the truth of the messages which they brought.
The sale of lands and the formation of new settlements in Pennsyl- vania had been placed by Penn under control of a Board of Land Commissioners, who were not allowed to sell lands, nor grant per- mission to settle on lands until they were purchased from the Indians. This provision was faithfully carried out by the authorities, but was not observed in all cases by the settlers.
Constant arrivals from the Old World necessitated the expansion of territory, and new counties were formed to meet the demands of the settlers. Thrifty and populous settlements had been estab- lished beyond the Conestoga and along the Susquehanna, and the people were clamoring for county organization. The population
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of Germans, English, Scotch, Irish and Welsh petitioned the Assembly for the erection of a new county, and in May, 1729, the county of Lancaster was formed. The inhabitants of the new county repre- sented as many religious creeds as nations, yet they lived together in harmony, secure from the persecutions which had driven them from their native land.
York and Cumberland counties were organized in 1749 and 1750, respectively, thus meeting the requirements of the rapidly increasing population. Berks county, from which the territory now embraced within Schuylkill county was mostly taken, was organized in 1752, and in March of the same year, Berks surrendered a portion, of its extreme northern territory in the formation of Northampton county.
The different parts of the province of Pennyslvania were opened to settlement by six great treaties, whereby William Penn, or his government, came into peaceable possession of the Indian lands. The first of these treaties was made in 1682, and is known as the "walking purchase," by the terms of which he was to have as much land along the western shore of the Delaware as a man could traverse in a three days' "walk." It is said that Penn and two Indians and two white men "walked" thirty miles in a day and a half, when Penn declared that the land traversed would be sufficient for present needs. Penn did not live to complete the conditions of this treaty, and in 1737, the province of Pennsylvania was the instigator of a fraud upon the Indians which culminated, later, in open hostilities. The "walker" employed by the province covered eighty-six miles in the day and a half remaining to be "walked!" The second treaty was made in 1736, and included the southeastern quarter of the province; the third treaty, made in 1749, comprised a narrow belt of land lying diagonally across the province from Pike to Dauphin county ; the fourth, made in 1758, included a tract of land lying west of the Susquehanna, from the great forks at Northumberland, south- ward, to the southern boundary of the province; the fifth and largest purchase was made in 1768, and comprised an irregular belt of land extending from the extreme northeastern to the extreme southwestern corner of the province. This was the last negotiation for Indian lands made under the proprietary government; but in 1785 a board of commissioners appointed by the State, met the western tribes at Fort McIntosh, on the Alleghany river, and purchased the northwest- ern territory, thus extinguishing the Indian title to Pennsylvania lands. By virtue of these various treaties, the lands conveyed by them were opened to settlement, and, as soon as sufficiently populous,
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were organized into counties, most of which were subsequently sub- divided to meet the later requirements.
Thomas Penn, son of the great Quaker patriot, made a purchase of Indian lands along Tulpehocken creek in 1732, and this territory subsequently became Berks county. The first settlements were made in 1733 by the society of Schwenckfelders from Nether Silesia. These were followed by settlers from Wurtemburg and the Palatinate, who came in large numbers soon after the opening of the territory to settlement.
Reading, the county seat of Berks, was laid out in 1748, and the first house was built in 1749. The village had a rapid and prosperous growth, due mainly, to its natural advantages of location.
The first hotel was built by Conrad Weiser, the celebrated Indian interpreter, who figured prominently in the later development of the country, and rendered valiant services to the white settlers in the Indian troubles which were soon to follow. The first house of worship in Reading was the Friends' meeting-house, built of logs, in 175I.
The early settlers of Berks and Northampton counties suffered much from Indian depredations during the French and Indian war, when all efforts at conciliating the previously friendly Indians were, for a time, unavailing. Certain tribes, and portions of others, how- ever, remained loyal to the English, while others were carried away by the alluring presents and proinises of the French. The settlements along the Tulpehocken were destroyed, and Reading became intensely excited over the threatening aspect. The Quaker population was opposed to defensive war, while the people of other views were greatly incensed at the inactivity of their neighbors, and threatened to burn the houses of the Quakers. Alarming conditions prevailed until after the battle of Wyoming in 1778, the after-effects of which were to drive the Indians beyond the Alleghanies.
In Northampton county many of the white settlements along the border were destroyed and the inhabitants murdered. The Moravian missionaries had established a strong foothold in the wilder- ness of that locality, and their Indian converts were loyal to the English, thus placing themselves, as it were, "between two fires." The missionaries were often insulted and abused, and the Indians whose towns had been burned, took refuge in Bethlehem. Great numbers of the white inhabitants also took refuge in the Moravian settlements, places being provided for them in schoolhouses, mills, churches and other public buildings. The Moravian Indians were finally sent to Philadelphia for protection, where they remained in
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the public barracks until peace was restored after Pontiac's war. They were permitted to return to their homes in 1764. Doubtless some of the Indian depredations were committed in a spirit of revenge because of the aggressions of the white man beyond the limits of treaty lines.
The rapid expansion of settlements, and the presence of prosperous farmers and growing villages in the valleys, reaching far out into the forests, could not fail to excite the jealousy of the Indians. The occupation of Indian reserve lands in the Cumberland valley by Irish and German settlers, was the occasion of a special complaint from the Six Nations, who sent a deputation from every tribe to Philadelphia, to remonstrate against this encroachment upon their rights. These representatives were received with due respect by Governor Hamilton, who made them presents to the value of about $3,000 and dismissed them with the assurance that the trespassers should be removed. In fulfillment of this promise, Richard Peters, then Secretary of the Province, and Conrad Weiser, the interpreter, were sent to Cumberland county to withdraw the intruders from the Indian lands. The settlers on Sherman's creek, and at other places beyond the limits of purchased lands, were compelled to come within the authorized bounds, and their buildings were torn down or burned. But the cunning natives were not slow to take advantage of the liber- ality shown by the governor and the Council in this transaction, and thereafter fabricated many excuses to extort presents, knowing that if a conference was called, they would receive new rewards. Thus the Indian policy became expensive and even burdensome. The people claimed that it was the duty of the proprietaries, who were equally benefited by peace, to share in the expense of retaining friendly relations with the Indians. This, however, they flatly refused to do, and this refusal resulted in building up a strong party against the proprietary interests, but accomplished nothing in the way of relief from the burden of annually purchasing the friendship of the Indians.
Berks was the seventh county organized in the province of Penn- sylvania. Its history is closely interwoven with that of Schuylkill, to which it contributed the principal part of the territory. It was formed from territory taken from the counties of Philadelphia, Chester and Lancaster, and originally embraced a large area. The claim is made by some historians that the territory now embraced within the limits of Berks county was settled "during the first decade of the eighteenth century;" and while this statement may be true, it is very
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certain that the settlements were made without proper authority, since the territory was not purchased from the Indians until 1732.
It appears upon good authority that the Indian lands within the present limits of the county at the head of Tulpehocken creek were settled by fifty German families from Schoharie, in New York, in 1723, and that these were soon followed by fifty other families from the same region.
Conrad Weiser, and others who became prominently identified with the early history of the period, arrived in 1729. The county was mainly settled by Germans, though other nationalities were well represented. Swiss immigrants established the town of Berne; Welsh settled at Brecknock, Carnarvon and Cumri; English and Welsh Quakers at Maiden Creek and Robeson; Dutch (from whom the Pott family is descended), located in Pike. The Schwenckfelders formed a colony in Hereford township, and their numerous posterity is still well represented in the county. This is a religious sect, founded by Casper von Schwenckfeld, a Silesian.
The inhabitants of Berks suffered greatly from the depredations of the Indians. This period of torture and uncertainty continued for more than thirty years, terminating in 1778, when the savages were finally driven from the region. Their line of attack was not well defined, since they occupied a vast area of territory and their approach was unannounced. They resorted to intimidation to com- pel the settlers to satisfy their demands, and were often aggressively warlike. To protect themselves against these marauders, the inhab- itants constructed a chain of forts along the Blue mountain at conve- nient distances apart so that rangers from one could easily reach another. Benjamin Franklin contributed largely to this enterprise, his efforts being seconded by the people. Fort Franklin was erected on Lizard creek in 1756; Fort Lebanon, later known as Fort William, was built on a branch of the Schuylkill, in 1754. Both of these were north of the Blue mountain chain, in what is now Schuylkill county. A stockade called Fort at Snyders was located on the present line between Berks and Schuylkill counties, while Fort Sichtes, or Sixes fort, was south of the Blue mountain, in the western part of Berks county. Fort Henry was also south of the mountain on an affluent of Swatara creek, in Lebanon county. Fort Swatara was on Swatara river.
These forts were landmarks of pioneer life in Berks county for many years, and even now traces of some of them are pointed out to the curious investigator; but after the passing of a century and a
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half, little remains to remind the present generation of the trials and dangers of their ancestors in the wilderness.
The residents of Berks county were inclined, with great unanimity, to the side of the colonists in the Revolutionary struggle. At the beginning of the war in 1775, there were about four thousand effective men in the county. Of these the Quakers maintained an apparent neutrality; and doubtless here, as elsewhere, the loyalty of many a tory was concealed under the pretext of "religious scruples." But the desolating track of the Revolutionary war did not reach Berks county, although many of her sons were engaged in the struggle. The county has become populous and wealthy, and has attained a wonderful degree of development with the passing years.
As being indicative of the woeful destruction of human life and property, and the vigilance of those in authority in reducing this devastation to the minimum, we append hereto quotations from the diary of a mustering officer who visited the frontier forts with a view to determining their strength and efficiency; and also to note the possibility of adding to the frontier protection. The reader will remember that this was the first systematic means of defense estab- lished in America against the merciless savages, and that the line of defense was necessarily a long one; that the settlements on both sides of the Blue mountain were devastated by fire and the tomahawk, and that more than fifty inhabitants of Schuylkill county, sparsely as the territory was settled, sacrificed their lives in defense of their wilderness homes. Buildings were burned, crops were destroyed, or the grain carried away, stock was wantonly killed or appropriated to the use of the savages, and general devastation and ruthless murder followed in the trail of Indian warfare.
Briefly told, these are some of the trials and dangers endured by the pioneers of Schuylkill county during the early days of settlement.
The settlers in the interior were driven from their homes at a later period, and were obliged to seek protection in the forts, or in the more populous districts south of the mountain; and when they returned to their homes, often found their buildings destroyed, and their less cautious neighbors murdered or carried away in captivity.
James Young, Commissary General, visited a number of the frontier forts in June, 1756, the first of which was at Reading, Colonel Weiser in command. He says:
I sent an express to Colonel Weiser to acquaint him with my intended journey to the northern frontier; that I inclined to muster the company posted here, and that I should want some men to escort me to the next fort.
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Ammunition at Reading, viz .: 25 good muskets; 20 want repairing, II broken ones; 9 cartouch boxes, 240 pounds of powder, and 600 pounds of lead.
At 6 P. M. Colonel Weiser came here. I mustered his company that is posted here as a guard to this place. The company consists of 30 men, viz .: 2 sergeants and 28 private soldiers; 2 of them were absent at Colonel Weiser's house.
At 2 P. M. I set out from Reading, escorted by five men of the town on horse-back, for the fort at North Kill. It is about 19 miles from Reading. The road is very bad and hilly-thick of wood. The fort is about nine miles to the westward of Schuylkill, and stands in a very thick wood, on a small rising ground half a mile from the Middle North Kill creek. It is intended for a square of about 32 feet. each way; at each corner is a half bastion of very little-service to flank the curtains; the stockades are badly fixed in the ground and open in many places. Within is a very bad log house for the people; it has no chimney, and can afford but little shelter in bad weather.
When I came here the sergeant, who is commander, was absent, and gone to the next plantation half a mile off, but soon came when he had intelligence that I was there. He told me that he had fourteen men posted with him, all detached from Captain Morgan's company at Fort Lebanon, five of them were absent by his leave, viz .: two he had let go to Reading for three days; one he had let go to his own home ten miles off, and two men this afternoon a few miles from the fort on their own business. There were but eight men and the ser- geant on duty. I am of opinion there ought to be a commissioned officer here, as the sergeant does not do his duty, nor are the men under proper command for want of a superior officer.
The woods are not cleared for the space of forty yards from the fort. I gave orders to cut all the trees down for two hundred yards. I inquired why there was so little powder and ball here. The sergeant told me, he had repeatedly requested more of Captain Morgan, but to no purpose. The provisions here are flour and rum for four weeks. Mr. Seely of Reading, sends the officers money to purchase meat as they want it.
Provincial arms, etc. Here are eight good muskets, four rounds of powder and led (lead) per man, fifteen blankets and three axes.
At eight o'clock Captain Busse, from Fort Henry, came here with eight men on horse-back. He expected to meet Colonel Weiser here, but Colonel Weiser wrote him that other business prevented him, and desired Captain Busse to proceed with me, and return him an account how he found the forts, with the quantity of ammunition and stores in each, of which I was very glad, as the escort on horse- back would expedite our journey very much, and be much safer. Accordingly we set out for Fort Lebanon. All the way from North Kill to Lebanon is an exceedingly bad road, very stony and moun- tainous. About six miles from North Kill, we crossed the North mountain, where we met Captain Morgan's Lieutenant with ten men, ranging the woods between the mountain and Fort Lebanon. We passed by two plantations. The rest of the country is chiefly barren
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hills. At noon we came to Fort Lebanon, which is situated on a plaine; on one side is a plantation, on the other a barren, pretty clear of woods all round, only a few trees about fifty yards from the fort, which I desired might be cut down.
The fort is a square of about one hundred feet, well stockaded with good bastions, on one side of which is a good wall piece. Within is a good guard house for the people, and two other large houses built by the country people, who have taken refuge here-in all, six families. The fort is a little too much crowded; on that account I acquainted Captain Morgan that the Sergeant at North Kill did not do his duty, and I believe it would be for the good of the service, to have a com- manding officer there. On which he ordered his Lieutenant, with two men to go and take post there, and sent with him four pounds of powder and ten pounds of lead.
By Captain Morgan's Journal, it appears he sends a party of ten men to range the woods four or five times a week, and guard the inhabitants at their labor.
At I P. M. I mustered the people, and examined the certificates of enlistment, which appear in the muster roll. After which I ordered the men to fire at a mark; fifteen or eighteen hit within two feet of the center at a distance of eighty yards.
Provisions here are flour and rum for a month, the commissary sent money to purchase meat as they want it.
Provincial arms and ammunition: Twenty-eight good muskets, ten want repairing, nine rounds of powder and lead, thirty cartouch boxes, forty blankets, one axe and one wallpiece.
At half past three P. M., we set out with the former escort, and two of Captain Morgan's company, for the fort above Allemengel, commanded by Lieutenant Ingle. At half past seven we got there; it is about nineteen miles n. e. from Fort Lebanon; the road is a narrow path, very hilly and swampy. About half way we came through a very thick and dangerous pine swamp. Very few plant- ations on this road; most of them deserted, and the houses burnt down. One-half a mile westward of this fort is a good plantation; the people return to the fort every night. This fort stands about one mile from the North mountains; only two plantations near it.
This fort is a square about forty feet, very badly stockaded, with two log houses at opposite corners for locations-all very unfit for defense. The-stockades are very open in many places. It stands on the bank of a creek; the woods clear for 120 yards. The Lieu- tenant ranges towards Fort Lebanon and Fort Allen, about four times a week. Much thunder and lightning and rain all night.
Provincial stores: 28 good muskets, 8 want repairing, 16 cartouch boxes, 8 pounds of powder, 24 pounds of lead, and 12 rounds for 36 men, 36 blankets, I axe, I adz, 2 planes, I hammer, 2 shovels, 9 small tin kettles.
At 8 A. M. we set out for Fort Allen, at Gnaden Hutten. It is about fifteen miles from Allemengel. The first seven miles of this road is very hilly, barren and swampy; no plantations; the other part
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of the road is for the most part through a rich valley, chiefly meadow ground; several settlements, but all the houses burnt and deserted.
At noon we came to the fort. This stands on the river Leahy (Lehigh), which passes through very high hills, and is, in my opinion, a very important place, and may be of great service, if the officer does his duty. It is very well stockaded with four good bastions. On one is a swivel gun. The works are clear all around it for a consider- able way, and is very defensible. Within are three good barracks and a guard room. I found here 15 men without any officer or com- mander. They told me Lieutenant Jacob Mies and two men from the fort were gone, this morning, with two gentlemen from Bethlehem, and four Indians, 15 miles up the country to bring down some friendly Indians; and that the Sergeant with three men were gone to Captain Foulk's, late commander here, to receive the pay that is due them; and one was gone to Bethlehem with the Sergeant's watch to mend, which was the reason I could not muster those present, nor have any account of the provisions, but saw a large quantity of beef very badly cured.
I was informed that a captain with a new company was expected there in a day or two to take post at this fort. Being very uncertain when the Lieutenant would return, or the new company come, I resolved to proceed to Lehigh Gap, where a detachment of a company was posted.
At 4 P. M. set out; at 6 came to Lehigh Gap, where I found a Ser- geant and eight men stationed at a farm house, with a small stockade around it. From Fort Allen here, the road is very hilly and swampy. There is only one plantation about a mile from the gap. I found the people here were a detachment from Captain Weatherolt's com- pany. He is stationed on the other side of the gap, 3 miles from this with 12 men. The rest of his company is at Depue's, and another gap 15 miles from this.
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