History of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon : in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania ; biographical and genealogical, Part 19

Author: Egle, William Henry, 1830-1901
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1046

USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > History of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon : in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania ; biographical and genealogical > Part 19
USA > Pennsylvania > Lebanon County > History of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon : in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania ; biographical and genealogical > Part 19

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[Earl of Ilalifax to Governor Hamilton, Oct. 19, 1763.]

His Majesty has commanded me to express to you his surprise and displeasure at a conduct wo inconsistent with the security of the lives and properties of his subjerts in Pean' in particular, as well as to the duty they owe to the public safety in general.

[Lieutenant-Governor John Penn to his uncle, Thomas Penn. ] . The five frontier counties are now preparing petitions to the House for an increase of Representatives, which I am of opinion they the AssemblyI will never come into, as it will be the means of lessening the power of the governing fri in this Province .. . .

"THE. PAXTANG BOYS"

Among the number of those heroic men of 1753-64. write+ Hon. John Blair Linn, author of " Buffalo Valley. 'was Cat. John Reed, who re- moved to the Budalo Valley prior to the Revolution. He tatrried, in September, ITTS. Margaret, daughter of William Blythe, but died in 1778, leaving three chitir n. Wuham. James, And a Igangster, who sell Bequently married John Arastring. The family left the valley with the " prout runaway " and re-ned for several years in the + umberland Valley The widow subsequently married Capt. Charles Gillespie, of the army of the Revolution, and rusest & Account family. When a second

tiDie a widow she took refuge with her son, William Reed, where she died, and is buried in the old Kiester graveyard on Peun's Creek. Willum Reed, the eldest, had a son James, whose children are Robert Reed, for. merly county commis-joner of I'nion County, and subsequently a tour- chant at Clearfield ; Dr. Uriah Reed, of Jersey Shore ; and a daughter, who is the wife of ex-Governor William Bigler. Capr. Reed's second Boo removed to the West in early life, but was never heard from.

REMINISCENCES OF THE OLD HOME.

Those who were on terms of intimacy with the late Robert Gillmor, Esq .. will remember with what pleasure be related incidents connected with the Grahams and Fergusons, especially after his return from one of his visits to some of the descendants of those families resident in Kentucky. These are forcibly brought to our mind as we peruse a letter written by the late John Graham, of Hardin County. Ky., nuder date of Sept. 28, 167. He was then upwards of eighty-five years of age, and the letter, written in lead pencil, Letokens neither age of tremulouser ... He thus alludes to events of the by-gone, being a native ot Ilanover :

" ... You allude to the massacre of the Conestoga Indians near Lancaster. I have often heard my grandmother speak of that affair, and of the Paxtang boys or rangers. It was something like the tea. party at Boston. The men who done it were not knowu. Old Parson Elder was the colonel of the reziment; the tank and file who were en- gaged in the affair were the most respectable of med. I had an old nocle, Thomas Bell the was married to my gratidfather's sister) ; he wis an elder in Ilanover Church when I can recollect him orst, and died an elder iu 1815. My grandin ther always said that Uncle Bell was one of the squad who were at Cone-toga, but was not an elder in the church at the time. The reason for killing those Indians was that then and long before there were a great many murders comatitted, and the friendly Indians harbored the strange Indians, who were the guilty parties. It was the only thing to do, and every person on the frontiers approved of the act."

THE PAXTANG BOYS.

Charles Miner, the impartial historiau of Wyoming, during the prop- aration of bis valuable work, opened up a correspondence with must of the historic students of his day. From one of his letters, written to 4 gentleman of this locality, whose information concerning the Paxtang boys way superior to that of any one then living, we take the following extracta :

" The history in which my pen is engaged is confined to Wyoming. But a portion of the Pastang boye settled here and took a conspien us part. I had read in early life, with unmitigated horror, the publica- tions of the day reciting that crimson tragedy and not an alleyprinz circumstance mentioned. Whether to note their being here, their agency, etc., or to pass it over in silence as one of those dark mehr- rences of which the least said the better, was matter of doubt. But I resolved to investigate, and finally wrote & paper to be inserted or not. os should, on reflection and consultation, be thought best. That paper is, I believe, in the hands of one who married a daughter of Stewart. I therefore, from memory, give the heads of my argument.

"On settling in Luzerne, I found Hanover, a valuable township full of most worthy and respectable inhabitants, which had been specially allotted to and settled by the Paxting boys.

"1. Not only were they esteemed for humanity, integrity, and virtur. but so also hind those been who were gone to the grave, for Col. Denis at. our most staid, sober-minded, religions oman had named his oldest for Lazarus Stewart. He could not have been ignorant of his true character. If he was the bloody-minded demon who, without provoca- tion, had murdered women and children, he would not, he could tut, Lave dopp it.

"2. Connecticut-religions, moral, politic, or cunning-in estab lish- ing a settlement at Wyoming would have gone conuter to princip1, - policy, and common sense by engaging in their canbe a art of men alom the moral wave of mankind had excommunicated from michels for crimes involving cowardice and wanton cruelty. It could not t' . There must be some other version af the athair. So I looked as fa. as my vision could extend into the times when, and immediately pre- ceding the event, and found .-

"3 That the prreading oumimer the Ind an- hal murdered the W's- uming Bottlers. Massiere, configration, and rian were driven lik . 1 whirlwind on all the white settlements Som thanks to festy miles west of the Sunquehanna to the e. matains So audacions had the Indias. beenme that they descende I below the Blue Mountains, and Commite -) murders in the neighborhood of Bethlehem. The whole frontiers were

GENERAL HISTORY.

aroused to despair and madness. L'uder these general provocations and that frenzy of excitement the deed seems to have been done, deeply to bo deplored and the victims to be pitied.

" 4. Fifty Paxtang boys entered Lancaster in open day. It was known they were coming. If not welcome, why did not the people rise five hundred strong, As they might easily have done, and effectually expelled ! the assnilanta ?

"5. But there was alsoa Highland company of regulars stationed at Lancaster. They neither pulled a trigger or presented a bayonet. Is it not evident that authorities and people did out look upon the dee las a cruel, unprovoked murder ' but that they connived at it, if they did not participate, believing that the oritelties of the Indians justified their cutting off. Without such intineure the conduct of the troops and the people of Lancaster would be nuaccountilde."

The foregoing are the opinions of one whose research, intellizence, aud impartial judgment " puta," as he himself expresses it, "a very rery different face upou it ( the transaction + at fonostoga and Lancaster than has been given heretotore," and to those who have anbile | their ideas from historians warped in their judgment by partisan rancor ind puri- tanical zeal, we commend Mr. Miner's conclusions. Our opinions we have from time to time given, not unsubstantiated, nor with the view of detracting from the fair fune of any class of people, but for the pur- pose of throwing aside the veil of oldo my which fanatical fury for over a century has covered the gallant frontier-men of Paxtang, who loved their homes and their darling ones too well to tolerate a nest of cop- per-colored vipers in their midst.

THE APOLOGY OF THE FAXTANG VOLUNTEERS. Addressed to the candid & imported World.

but are obliged to make Fires in ye woods and live even worse than the Savages themselves. And on that Side You hear ye Screams of Chill.en deprived of their nearest Relatives, that know not perhaps what is be- come of them, the fruitless Sighs of the dieconsolate Widow, or ye Groans of a broken hearted Father mourning for a darling son or Daughter. whom he had dedicated to God, but who is now abandoned to the Ser- vice of the Devil, and who perhaps ou a future Day may help to miske ? Party to murder and Scalp some of his nearest Relativos. There ym see whole Families butchered while they are asleep, or whole Garnis ons put to Death by ye Sauvages. None but those who have been spectators or Eye witnesses of these alooking Scenes can possibly have any ale- quate Ideas of our sufferings. May even those very Persons, who are so hardened and destitute of the common Feeling of Humanity, as to be able to extenuate these horrid Barbarities, under the charitable Plea of its teing their Custom of making war, would we doubt not be softened, had they bnt shared with us in the lightest Parts of our sufferings.

But let us next enquire into the canses of these Calamities, under which we have fl oured these seven or right years, during the last an ! ye present War. Different Persons ascribe them to different calles, either from their ignorause of some Farts, which are necessary to be considered; or from some sinister Views or bad Designs All seem to be agreed that the French instigated ye Indians, first to strike us. & used every method to retain them in their Interest, untill their own Power was broken and destroyed in America, But ye weak, defenceless state of our long extended Frontier, was another Cause of ye War, or at least of our feeling ye Calamities of it as severely as we did. We had no Militia in the Province to come to our Assistance, no stockades or Farts to repair to for safety ; the Inhabitants living formerly in Peace were unaccustomed to the use of arms, & unequainted with ye Indian methon of making war : so that we were unable to defend onrselves against ye first Incursions of our Savage Enemies, & knew not where to look for Help. In this miserable Situation we continued for more than a year, while our Distressed were Daily increasing, many were murdered, many

As our Late Conduct at the Conestago mannor & Lancaster bas occa- sioned manch Speenlativu, & a great Diversity of Sentiment io this & ye neighbouring Governments; some vindicating & other- complemining it ; some charitably alleviating the Crime, & others maliciously printing it, captivated, & more than 200 miles of a Frontier Country was laid waste in ye most odions and detestable Colours, we think it our Duty to lay before the Public, ye whole nintter as it appeared and -till appears to us. & deserted. But ve defenceless state of our Frontiers is not sufficient to account for our Distre-ses. For one woubl think that a Government But in order to have a just Idea of our Cou luct. it is necessary to rec- collect a few things which are recent in the memories of thousands in this Province, & which they will ever have Reason to remember. Wb-n ye Province of Pennsylvania was flourishing in Prosperity & Plenty. J ye peaceful Inhabitants suspected no Dinger from the Incursivus of their savage Neighbors: all their fair prospects were suddenly exchanged for scenes of ye must melancholly Distress and Horror. By the breaking out of an Indian war, ye State of four Frontier Counties in this Pros- ince became wretched and deploralle beyond Description. The Indiios Bet Fire to Houses. Burns, Corn, Hay, in short to everything that was combustible ; so that ye whole Country seenied to be in .ne general Blaze & involved in one common Ruin. Great Number of ye Back Settlers were murdered, scalped aud butchered in the most shocking: manner, and their dead Bodies inhumanly mangled ; some having their Ribs divided from ye chine with the Tommahawk. others left expiring .n ve most exquisite Tortures, with their lege and arms broken, their skulls fractured, & ye Braius scattered on the ground Many children were either spitted alive and roasted or covered under the ashes of a large Fire before their helple -; Parents eyes. Ye Hearts of some taken out and eaten reeking hot, while they were yet beating between their Teeth and other-, where Time and opportunity would adnut of it were skinned, boiled and'eaten: Hundreds were carried into) yo most miser- able Captivity, seperated from all the Endearments of their Friends & Ye Privileges of ye Christian Church and are daily tortured to Death in every method of Cruelty which Indian Barbarity can suggest. Let any man, that has any Sentiments of humanity or any Bowel- of Compassion for the miserable imagine himself in the midst of those scenes that wer . exhilated on every attack that is mago on our Frontiers : there to se9 the Husband butchered in the Presence of his helpless wife, while ya Children are changing round his Knees : or in another Plice ye wi low-4 mother reserved to be a Spectator of se inturm. a massiere of her tender Family, before she receives ye friendly witchet that cham her Eyes on ya shocking Scone. Look round & behufd .. and those that are with + hild ringel open & mangled in sem et indepent manner. On the other hand you for hundreds of miserable Refugemy dying to se nearest Frontier Town, with a Part of their Families loving ye remain ier of them in the Hands of yo Enriny, or wandering till they perich in ve Wy Is on the side you se han freis reduced to me plentiful und ara endent · treunistances, to a State of Bezgary and Despair : takin: Shelter in the Has is and staldes to goeure their helpless Families, from se Inden- mawy of ye Night or ye S-ason: while others cannot even obtain this, might dy soop thing to help a bleeding Froutier in less than a year , x wbo could suspect that ye men in Power refused to relieve ye Suferinas of their fellow subjects. Cinatural as this appears, yet many of us were but too well convinced of it is constrained to mourn in Silence over for hard Fatu, When we applied to the Government for Relief. the far greater Part of our Assembly were Qnakers, some of whom undde light of any sufferings & pleal Conscience, so that they could neither take atois in Defence of themselves or their Cimt.try, nor form a Militis I .. ew to oblige the Inhabitants to art, nor grant ye King any money to enable his luyal Subject- in ye Province to reduce the common Enemy. If they were conscientious in this matter, & found that it was inconsistent with their Principles to govern ina Time of War, why did they not resign their Seats to those who had no Scruples of this kind. One would think, that if they really sympathized with us in our Sufferings, this is ye least they could have done. But this they did not do, untill they were torred to it, till thelt Friends in England interposed, & insisted upon it: Jest a Pitt should pass in Parliament to Disqualify such Persons having any Share in Government in time of war. But this is not all : altho' our Charter secures to each County an equal Number of Representatives. for at least, and more if the Governour & Assemblyat any Time tank proper, yet they allowed onr five Frontier Counties but ten Representa- tives in Assenidy, while ye three interior Counties have twenty -four. Is not this a flagrant Instance of Injustice and what can we think of .i seet, that could do such an act, and yet would have ye would believe that they were inspired & led by the Holy Spirit, & that they were ye true Disciples of the holy Jesus. L'an they who had it in their power to te. move this complaint be Friends to Liberty, which they can deliberately & persevere in such a notorious Violation of our Charter, and such a scand don. Encroachwent on so important a Privilege as bring equally represented in Legislation? Can there be any Reason for this In- equility, if it be not, that ye Quaker, being ye majority in ye three interior Countas, they are resolved at any Rate to fill yo House of As- semilly & rule se Province! However othery amy think of this, we are certun, that if we had had a proper Number of Inquetentatives th Assembly agreeable to ve stipulations of yo Charter so many of our Br-thien had not been mne tered & captivity l. Suurthing would have been done conter for our Holdt & A-Istance. We can ascube this to two other canse, than to their insatiable Thirst of Domination, which t. 4; to gratifiei tho'sat yr Expense of the Lives of thousands of their follow Sobje t3. Let this naturt Infringement of our Rights be removed before thay ever pretend to be indienced by the Principles of Common Justice.

HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY.

ye Dictates of Conscience or ye miseries of their fellow Subjects ? "Tis true they gave up some of their Seats in ye Assembly in the last War, | when they could no longer hold them & when we were ublized to deny some of our murdered Brethren ye Privilege of a Grave until we bad brought them to Philida, & exposed them with all their wounds to open view ; if peradventure we might thereby excite their l'impassion for our distresses But still they left ye Root of ye Evil. & retained ye Power of Alling the House when they pleased; which Power they have again exercisel; & had not Providence favoured us ye last summer in preserving Coll. Boquett with his little anny they hal again involved our Frontier in one general Devastation. Notwithstanding previous & warin Remonstrances against then Rendutions of affordins him to as- sistance, they per-evered in their Determinations, & at wolutely puit it out of ye Power of ye Governonr & Provincial Commissioners to setul any Escort with him to Fort Pitt : when every l'erson in ye Government saw that if he was defeated or cut off on his march that important Fortress must haveshared be came Fate with ve nohappy Presque Isle, Sandusky, Mestillemaken.c. Miamus, St. Mary's, & St. J ach's which must have fallen a Sacrifice to Indian Cruelty; & fout whole Counties must have inevitably deserted their Habitationg. & left ye means of their subsist- ance in ye Hands of ye Savages. Quakers may talk what they will of ye Happiness & Justice of their Administration, but these are such glaring Evidentesof their unjust. hable Usurpation, their thirst . f Power, their want of ye Principles of Justice & ye common Feelings of human Nature for the Distressed ; that we cannot but blame them as ye cause of many of our sufferings.

Does this Cuntclusion seem too severe to any or not suthciently sup. ported * Let us attend a little to wine other Facts, which appear to us to confirm ye same Judgment of them. 'Tis true that the Assembly last year voted Sim men to guard the Frontiers. But had the Design been to have sent so many men to have only louked on the Ravages that were committed amongst ye back settlers without giving them ye least nasistance, it could not have been more effectually exrented. They were prohibited by Law from going over ye Boundaries of the purchased Lands after the enemy althu' this Power was granted to ye Gorr by se Royal Charter. Every Person in the Province saw that this was only to in- sult their Distresses. For Ion,000 Men could not have guarded 200 miles of a Frontier against ye Incursions of ye Savages in this mannor, whereas 800 men might have done great service, had they been allowed or authorized to follow them into their own Country. There were a thousand Chances to one that men stationed on the Frontiers in the manner appointed by ye Assembly would not see a single Enemy during ye whole senson, even tho' ye lahabit. uts should be murt red every day. The Assembly well knew that their Conduct would be severely animadverted on, if they would make no Provision for assisting a bleed- ing Frontier ; yet they found a Way to save the Lives of ye Inemy & tu suffer ye Inhabitants to be murdered, while they had the Shelter of a Vute of the House. What was this but to load us with unnecessary Taxes, when we were already reduced to the most algject Poverty ? Was this like sympathising with us or assisting us in our Distresses? Had they been in the Interest of the Enemies of his M.gesty, what could they have done more for them? Pardon the Expression, they have found means to do much more for them in the last War. When the Quakery could no longer keep their Seats in the Assembly, & thereby prevent any assistance being given to na, a Number of their leading men initiediately erected an Association, & collected 50 Pounds, which they have by their own Confession mostly distributed in Pressats to the Indians; under the Pretence indeed of buying Peace with them. Under this Pretext they encouraged them to go to Philadelphia, where we are credibly informed, they treated them as Friends, entertained them at their Houses & louled them with Presents, while they were boasting thro' the Town to ye Inhabitants, how many white People they had killed or led into Captivity, in which such of them as hav . uot mule their Escape with ye utmost Panger or were tortured to Death for attempting it, continue till this Day. Nay under a Pretence of holding Treaties with them they constantly kept Intelligence with them, sent Messages to them, a rec'd a string of warpum from them as if they had ye Power of making and at all Treaties had Commissioners to make them l'eace & War Presents, to furnish them with Arguments, to vindi- cate their making War with ne & to cond .won the Proprietaries as the Occasion of the War. And after these Treaties, when the indians were returning with Prevents, they seldom never faile I to murder some of us. Now would any Person believe, that the Quakers womille - literal to Savages, and at ye same Time not contribute a single Farthing as A so- ciety to help our Distresses ye last summer altbo' applied to for this Purpose, when near a thousand Families of our Frontier Iuhabitants were obl ged to aband. a ver Habe ations when every other a-ligomis

Society in ye City of Philadelphia did ? They did Nothing for us. And can any Mau believe after all this, that wo julge wrong when we as- cribe a great Share of our Sufferings to the Quakers. If theer things are not suthetent to prove an noju- tifiat le Attachment in ye Quakeis to Io- dian Savages, a fixed Resolution to befriend them & an utter Insensi- bility to human Distresses, let us consider a few more recent Facts. When we found the last summer that we were likely to get to assist- ance from the Govt some Volunteers went out at our own Expence de- termined to drive our Enemies from unr Borders; & when we rame neur to the great Island, we understood that a Number of their warriors had gone out against our Frontiers. Upon this we returned & came up with them & fought with theus at ye Munsey Hill, where we lost some of our men and killed some of their warriors and thereby saved our Frontier from this ottoke. But no sooner had we in another Expedition destroyed . their Provisions on the great Island, & ruined their Trade with ye good People at Bethlehem, but these very Indians who were justly suspected of having murdered our Friends in Northampton County, wete by y. Influence of some Quakers taken under ye Protection of the Govt to screen them from the resentments of ye Friends & Relations of the mur- dered, & to support them thro' the Winter. Many hundred Pounds were readily granted for ye support of about one hundred & twenty of these Euennes ; when but three hundred Pounds were charitably voted for the lielief of more than four thousand Persons, that were driven from their Habitations & destitute of the necessaries of Life. Is not this glaring Partiality in Favour of Indian Enemies? Wher were any Sur- geons sent by the Quakers to cure our wounded on the F.outiers ? and dul not some of themi send a Doctor even to Fort Augusta to cure i wounded Indian ? Nay when we came down to Germantown to remonstrate against ye Government's supporting our Enemies at ye public Expence ; did not ye Quakers openly pull off the mask & take up Arms to defend them against us, when they suspected that we designed to kill them. These Persons must love the Indians much, when they would even sac- rifice their Religion & Consciences for them, which they would not do for their King & Country. But this is not all : did they not apply to the Governour to seud an Express to ye Fnenty lediaus to let them know, that altho' we came to Philadelphia to destroy their Friends in the Bar- arko, ye Citizens had arrived in their Defruce, so that they were still alive & safe ? 'Tis true that ye Pretence was, lest ye Enemy Indiat.s hearing Nothing from their Friends at Philadelphia, would upon a sep- position that they were killed by ye white People, take a severe Revenge upon ye Frontiers. But the Governonr declared in ye most peremptory Termis, that he would do no such thing ; judging we suppose, & ou very good Grounds. that ye must natural Consequence of such an Intelligence would be, to induence ye Enemy Indians with the greater Revenge against ye Frontier Inhabitants, & vecasion their falling upon us with redoubled Fury. But notwithstanding this, did not the Quakers send such an Express lately to ye Indians at War with us. Could any per- son believe that se Quakers are so little acquainted with human Nature or so bad Politicians, as not to foresee these fatal consequences to our back setlers? To what cause then can we ascribe this Action of theirs, but to what we have lung suspected, a disloyal attachment to Indian Enemies.

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History of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon : in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania ; biographical and genealogical, Part 19

Author: Egle, William Henry, 1830-1901 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1046

Author: Egle, William Henry, 1830-1901
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1046