USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume I > Part 5
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Direct overtures were made by Penn to men and families of all relig- ious persuasions, assuring them of a tolerant government in all things. He invited purchasers and renters of lands, and made special provisions for those without means:
To the first, the shares I sell shall be certain as to number of acres ; that is to say, every one shall contain five thousand acres, free from any incumbrance, the price a hundred pounds and for the quit rent but one English shilling, or the value of it, yearly, for a hundred acres; and the said quit rent not to begin to be paid till 1684. To the second sort that take up land upon rent, they shall have liberty so to do, paying yearly one penny per acre, not exceeding two hundred acres. To the third sort, to wit, servants that are carried over, fifty acres shall be allowed to the master for every head, and fifty acres to every servant when their time has expired. And because some engage with me that may not be dis- posed to go, it were very advisable for every three adventurers to send an overseer with their servants, which would well pay the cost.
Penn classified his prospective colonists, with special reference to their peculiar fitness for frontier life, as follows: "Ist. Industrious hus- bandmen and day laborers that are hardly able (with extreme labor) to maintain their families and portion their children. 2nd. Laborious han- dicrafts, especially carpenters, masons, smiths, weavers, taylors, tan- ners, shoemakers, shipwrights, etc., where they may be spared or low in in the world, and as they shall want no encouragement, so their labor is worth more than here, and their provisions cheaper." 3rd. Penn invited ingenious spirits who are low in the world, younger brothers with small
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
inheritances and often large families. Lastly, he said: "There are another sort of persons, not only fit for but necessary in plantations, and that is men of universal spirits, that have an eye to the good of posterity, and that both understand and delight to promote good dis- cipline and just government among a plain and well-intending people; such persons may find room in colonies for their good counsel and con- trivance, who are shut out from being of much use or service to great nations under settled customs; these men deserve much esteem and would be hearkened to." Penn further enumerated and commended the resources of the province. He set forth: "Timber was abundant, also game, wild fowl, and fish, flax, hemp, cider, wood, madder, liquorish, tobacco and iron, hides, tallow, staves, beef, pork, sheep, wool, corn, wheat, rye, barley, also furs, minks, raccoons, martins, and such like store of furs which is to be found among the Indians that are profitable commodities in England." As to the arrival of colonists in the fall months of the year, Penn said :
Two men may clear as much ground by spring (when they set the corn in that country) as will bring in that time twelve months, forty barrels, which makes twenty-five quarters of corn. So that the first year they must buy corn, which is usually very plentiful. They must, so soon as they come, buy cows, more or less, as they want or are able, which are to be had at easy rates. For swine, they are plentiful and cheap, these will quickly increase to a stock. So that after the first year, what with the poorer sort sometimes laboring for others, and the more able fishing, fowling and sometimes buying, they may do very well till their own stocks are sufficient to supply them and their families, which will quickly be, and to spare, if they follow the English hus- bandry, as they do in New England and New York, and get winter fodder for their stock.
To conclude. I desire all my dear country folks who may be inclined to go into those parts, to consider seriously the premises, as well the inconveniency, as to future ease and plenty, so that none may move rashly or from a fickle but from a solid mind, having above all things an eye to the providence of God in the disposing of themselves; and I would further advise all such at least to have the permission, if not the good liking, of their near relations, for that is both natural and a duty incum- bent upon all. And by this will natural affections be preserved, and a friendly and profitable correspondence between them, in all which I beseech Almighty God to direct us, that his blessing may attend our earnest endeavors, and then the consequences of all our undertakings will turn to the glory of His great name, and all true happiness to us and our posterity. Amen.
Being assured that he would have a large and intelligent following to the New World, Penn was anxious to facilitate trade and commerce between the colony and the mother country. In order to accomplish this purpose, he encouraged the organization of "The Free Society of Traders," looking upon the enterprise as a potent and peaceful agent in maintaining frequent intercourse between the inhabitants of the col-
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WILLIAM PENN AND THE FOUNDING OF HIS COLONY
ony and England, and as an encouragement to further emigration, which he felt sure once opened to the superior advantages of a new and fertile country where religious and political freedom could be fully enjoyed, would never be closed.
In his solicitude for the persons forming his colony, Penn showed his humanity. In the code of government he framed for his colony he showed his statesmanship. In codifying his laws, there were three dis- tinct departments to be taken under consideration : I. The limitations imposed by his charter. 2. The relations with the Indians. 3. The un- restrained exercise of religious liberty and the institution of self-gov- ernment among the residents of the colony. The code of laws devised by Penn were free from all repressive measures in relation to religious tolerance ; were far in advance of all ecclesiastical or legislative thought in Europe; and, with but one notable exception among the provinces fringing the Atlantic coast in this country, were alike new and startling. The manner of perpetuating evidence of purchase and title to landed estates, their liability for debt, the establishment of courts of justice, the manner of distributing decedent's property, and the practical sun- dering of Church and State, all marked an era of progressive legislation more radical in those days, perhaps, than any laws that are proposed to-day.
By August, 1682, Penn's work of preparation for his departure from England was completed. The ship "Welcome," under command of Robert Greenway, had shipped her stores, her crew was in service, and the sailors waited for the Governor of the Colony and the adventurous people who were to cross the ocean with them to come on board. Penn's "Valedictory Epistle to England" was written on August 30, and an affectionate farewell given to his wife and children.
By the first of September, Penn was ready to sail in the possession of a charter for a province and future State. Penn's deputy Markham and his associates had been busy preparing the minds of the settlers and the Indian chiefs for his coming. Accompanied by more than a hundred venturesome pioneers, Penn, as indicated by his writings at the time, keenly felt the responsibility that devolved upon him under the circumstances; but with settled purposes, and convictions deepened by years of painful experience, he sought consolation and repose of mind in the hopefulness of a near and still more eventful future among a free people and in a new country. As the time of Penn's arrival approached, expectancy was intense among the settlers on the Delaware. The sale of lands by the agents covered five hundred thousand acres, with ships sailing from Europe for the province every sixteen days. The arrival of over five hundred emigrants, and the site of a great city located, created a stir and excitement among all classes that only needed the presence of Penn to insure a climax. This was reached on October 27,
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
when his ship anchored off New Castle. The historical account of the event is as follows :
October 28. On the 27th day of October, arrived before the town of New Castle, in Delaware, from England, William Penn, Esq., proprie- tary of Pennsylvania, who produced two certain deeds of feoffment from the illustrious Prince James, Duke of York, Albany, etc., for this town of New Castle, and twelve miles about it, and also for the two lower counties, the Whorekill's and St. Jones's, which said deeds bear date the 24th of August, 1682; and pursuant to the true intent, purpose and meaning of his royal highness in the same deeds, he, the said Wil- liam Penn, received possession of the town of New Castle, the 28th of October, 1682.
This delivery was made by John Moll, Esq., and Ephraim Herman, attorneys, constituted by his royal highness as commissioners to act in the formal ceremony, in which the key of the fort was delivered to Penn by one of the commissioners, "in order that he might lock upon himselt alone the door," and which was accompanied by presents of "turf and twig, and water and soyle of the river Delaware."
Referring to the voyage and arrival of Penn's ship, Robert Proud, who wrote in 1780, said :
The number of passengers in this ship was about one hundred, mostly Quakers; the major part of them from Sussex, the Proprietary's place of residence. In their passage many of them were taken sick with the smallpox, and about thirty of their number died. In this trying situ- ation the acceptable company of William Penn is said to have been of singular advantage to them, and his kind advice and assistance of great service during their passage; so that in the main they had a prosperous voyage, and in little more than six weeks came in sight of the American coast, supposed to be about Egg Harbor, in New Jersey. In coming up the Delaware, the inhabitants, consisting of English, Dutch and Swedes, indiscriminately met the Proprietary with demonstrations of joy. He landed in New Castle on the 24th of October, and next day had the people summoned to the court house, where, after possession of the country was legally given him, he made a speech to the old magistrates and the people, signifying to them the design of his coming, the nature and end of government, and of that which more particularly he came to establish, assuring them of their spiritual and temporal rights, liberty of conscience and civil freedom, and recommending to them to live in sobriety and peace; he renewed the magistrates' commissions. After this he proceeded to Upland, now called Chester, where on the fourth day of the tenth month (about three months after his sailing from Eng- land) he called an Assembly. It consisted of equal numbers of mem- bers from the province and the three lower counties, called the Terri- tories; that is, from both of them so many of the freemen as thought proper to appear, according to the sixteenth article of the Frame of Government.
This Assembly chose Nicholas Moore, who was president of the Free Society of Traders, for their chairman or speaker, and received as ample satisfaction from the Proprietary as the inhabitants of New Castle had done, for which they returned him their grateful acknowledgments.
WILLIAM PENN AND THE FOUNDING OF HIS COLONY 41
The Swedes, for themselves, deputed Lacy Cock to acquaint him "that they would love, serve and obey him with all they had," declaring that "it was the best day they ever saw."
At this Assembly an act of union was passed annexing the three lower counties to the province, in legislation, on the 7th day of Septem- ber, 1682; likewise an act of settlement in reference to the Frame of Government, which, with some alterations, was thereby declared to be accepted and confirmed. The Dutch, Swedes and other foreigners were then naturalized ; all the laws agreed upon in England, with some alter- ations, were passed in form.
The meeting continued only three days, and notwithstanding the great variety of dispositions, rawness and inexperience of this Assembly in affairs of this kind, yet a very remarkable candor and harmony pre- vailed among them.
CHAPTER VI. THE COLONIAL ERA.
What a few years of man's handiwork can do to change the aspect of a primeval land can best be appreciated by a resident of Montgomery county to-day if he will cast his mind's eye backwards but a few cen- turies and endeavor to form a mental picture of the topography of this district before the first settlers arrived.
Intense silence prevailed, broken only by the cries of savage men and beasts, and the noises made by wind and water. Traversed from end to end by the Schuylkill and cut up by its tributaries, the land that was later to become Montgomery county offered nothing to the early settler but towering forests, shrubbery and wild game. Rocks and fallen timber encumbered the free passage of man at every point. The fact that beneath were concealed mineral treasures in the shape of lime- stone, marble, iron, copper and clay, which later on were to enable the settlers to make such progress in turning the wilderness into a civilized place, was unknown to them. There were no roads, as we know them; the rivers and creeks were obstructed by driftwood, rocks and shoals, and the early arrived white man had to have recourse, when traveling from point to point, to the only known means of transportation to the Indian, the light canoe on the waters, or narrow foot trails through the primitive forests.
Fleeing from civil and religious oppression in Europe, the ancestors of all of us who are here to-day, were mainly intent on liberty and food. Most of them were agricultural peasants, with a few artisans indis- pensable to the farmer. As, however, settlers of various nationalities attracted by Penn's liberal institutions, became seated in our valleys, they were first drawn to the rivers and creeks, not only by the fertility of the land but for supplies of game and fish. They, therefore, set about improving the streams with rude dams, weirs, and other contrivances for catching the migratory species, which soon led to contests with other occupants above who needed the river for transportation and travel. The law soon interfered in favor of the latter, but even thus protected as a highway, the river could only be used safely in spring or in time of high water. Thus, unlike as at present, they were hemmed in and obliged to live almost entirely upon farm products. Still, the territory filled with a constant stream of pilgrim religionists, a rugged, industrious people, who came with two chief aims-civil liberty, and the right to worship God unawed by governmental interference. Thus situated, the early pioneers felt the need of improvements, of all char- acter, very naturally.
As a consequence of the strange environment in which they found
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
themselves, the early settlers had to learn new habits of life. Most of them, before crossing the sea, had been accustomed to a position of service to masters, charged with no responsibilities beyond doing their daily tasks. Law was left behind them and force substituted therefor, as in all primitive communities within the era of known history.
But these immigrants for the most part came here on a mission of peace and justice for all men. Unlike the Spaniards to the south and west, instead of fighting the Indians, they attacked the forests and rocks, which were removed before them. The first imperative neces- sity was shelter from weather and wild beasts, but they built no forts or block houses against the Indian. Seeking out therefore near a spring a southern slope to give protection against the cold, they built a rude cabin of logs or rocks or both, and sometimes, for temporary shelter, only a cave hewn out of a bank. With a few tools of iron or steel brought with them and some utensils of tin and wood, their toil began, while the Indian looked on, pleased and friendly with the new comer. A shelter of some such sort finished, a small clearing was made, and with a few domestic animals and a supply of seeds for planting, the im- migrant soon felt himself to be really that once much looked-up-to individual, "the Lord of the Manor" himself.
The welfare of his children was next the object of his solicitude. The desire for education, still a dominant factor in the government of the county and State, came over with the first settlers. Wherever a settle- ment was located, it was not long before a rude school house, which might also serve as a place for religious meetings, was built of logs by the joint effort of the members of the community. Almost at the same time came also the blacksmith shop, chiefly for the making and repair of agricultural implements, and the mill to grind grain into food for man. The next great want was a cart road, so essential for the purpose of intercommunication between settlements for both business and pleasure. Many of these primitive thoroughfares were but well worn footpaths through timber lands or clearings, made before the advent of the cart, and which had to be widened. There is practically no data to show that the Hollanders and Swedes laid out and established any permanent highways previous to the beginning of Penn's government, although their arrival antedates his by many years. But no sooner had Penn landed, and founded Philadelphia, than roads and civilization began to radiate from the "metropolis."
For approximately a century afterwards, Montgomery county was a part of the city and county of Philadelphia, which was founded in 1682. It early began, as indicated, to stretch its arms towards the interior and the district soon began to throng with settlers. As settlements spread, highways were ordered to be surveyed and opened from the city in nearly every inland direction. Of course there were what are now called dirt roads, many of them little wider than sufficient for carts to
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THE COLONIAL ERA
pass each other on the way, and often, with the view of accommodating land owners, they were run out of direction to the objective point in order to follow line fences; or if striving to make a straight one, they would carry it over almost untravelable hills or through deep valleys, instead of winding along at a more level grade. In less than half a century after Penn arrived, great highways were laid out leading from the city to the interior, for no sooner had Penn completed satisfactory arrangements with the Indians for their cession of territory, than sur- veyors were at work laying out roads and running the lines upon the new purchases, until by 1740 most of the land of the present Montgom- ery county had been parcelled out and nearly settled by Swedes, Welsh and English on the southern and central borders, and by Germans on the northwest, with a sprinkling of Hollanders, French and Scotch-Irish distributed from the Delaware westward to the center.
Having built their homes, and all the territory laid off into town- ships, the people soon had municipal governments organized. A ready method of crossing streams was early looked after, but beyond canoes, ferries and a few wooden bridges and foot-logs, fords were the only method of transit from one side to another.
WASHINGTON
VALLEY FORGE-MASSACHUSETTS MONUMENT, NATIONAL ARCH, FORT WASHINGTON AND CONTINENTAL ARMY HUT
CHAPTER VII. MILITARY OPERATIONS.
Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, being one of the oldest sub-divi- sions in the Commonwealth, has participated in all of the principal wars which the United States has been engaged in since the War for Inde- pendence. These chapters will give a concise outline of the part this county has had in these several conflicts, including the last great World War, in which she became an ally.
The Revolution-This commenced in this State when the Council of Safety was instituted, June 30, 1775, in Philadelphia, by the Assembly of the Province. At that time Montgomery was included in Philadelphia county. On July 3, 1775, Benjamin Franklin was elected president of the Council of Safety. The first Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia, July 15, 1776. Besides framing a constitution it also assumed the legislative power of the State. This was followed by the institu- tion of the Supreme Council of Safety, in which reposed the executive powers of the Commonwealth until the first constitution was revised in 1790. The Colonial era closed with the adjournment of the Provincial Assembly, September 23, 1776. Governor Richard Penn yielded reluc- tantly to the forces of the Revolution, and the last act of provincial authority was a fierce denunciation of the Constitutional Convention in assuming legislative power in the State of Pennsylvania. "God Save the King!" was said for the last time in a Pennsylvania Assembly ; henceforth it was to be "God Save the Commonwealth !"
Conspicuous in the annals of Pennsylvania and Montgomery county, as regards the Revolutionary War, were the memorable events asso- ciated with General Washington, in the autumn of 1777 and the winter of 1778. The provincial conservatism and peaceful character of the people who had permanently settled in the beautiful Schuylkill Valley, woke slowly and painfully to the warlike preparations which preceded Lord Howe's attack upon Philadelphia; and when reverses befell our army on the Brandywine, a profound sense of alarm pervaded the capital city, shared by many sorrowing homes that lay on the line of march, and within the limits certain to be desolated by hostile armies.
No just conception of the scope and magnitude of the campaign organized for the defense of Eastern Pennsylvania and the capital city in the autumn of 1777 can be realized unless it comprehend the movements and results of the two principal armies of the Middle States, and for whose conduct Washington, as commander-in-chief, was responsible to the Continental government. On the 19th of June, 1775, Washington received his commission and instructions as "General and Commander- in-Chief of the armies of the United Colonies, and of all the forces raised
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
or to be raised by them, and all others who shall voluntarily offer their services and join the army for the defense of American Liberty."
To disconcert him by strategy, to compel him to battle with troops superior in armament and discipline, and to overwhelm him with num- bers, was the general and well-matured plan of the enemy. The prep- arations of the home government to this end were commensurate with the reasonable hope of success; and the belief that the resources of men and means so lavishly confided to commanders would speedily end the conflict and compel submission to the mother-country, was shared by many of the wayward and doubting of the period.
The effort of Washington through the winter of 1777 to organize a powerful army for the ensuing campaign is a matter of history. The hopes inspired from time to time by the flattering reports which reached his headquarters were cruelly disappointed, and he found himself not only powerless to take the aggressive, but unequal to that measure of defensive warfare necessary to preserve his long lines unbroken.
Having used his best efforts to hasten the concentration of troops from the Eastern States, and overcome in some measure the shock to public confidence resulting from the loss of Ticonderoga and the dis- astrous retreat of General St. Clair; having strengthened the willing hands of General Schuyler in bringing into the field the militia of New York State, rendering the victory at Bennington and other minor points possible, and witnessed the departure of Lord Howe from New York Bay, he turned the head of his devoted columns toward the Delaware, massing his army at Germantown early in the month of August, 1777.
For days and weeks the work of marshaling new troops, collecting supplies and fitting the command to resist the impending attack by Howe went on. The commander-in-chief was in daily consultation with committees of Congress and heads of departments; and for the first time met the youthful and heroic Lafayette, who was by him assigned to duty on his staff with the rank of major-general. The public mind became feverish and excited in anticipation of events now certain to affect the gravest interests of the colony. War, with its desolation, its bloody horrors, its blighting consequences upon society and sacrifice of life, was at the threshold of a community devoted by sentiment, religion, and pecuniary interests to peaceful pursuits. Evidence of disaffection increased with the certainty of Howe's approach, and when his presence, with fleet and army, in the Chesapeake Bay was announced, it was deemed politic by the government that Washington should march his army through the city as he moved south to meet the advance of the foe. It was accordingly done, and the 24th of August, 1777, was a memorable day in the history of the capital city, as well as in the lives of the patri- otic soldiers, who received at every square the most marked considera- tion at the hands of the populace, who were wild in their demonstra- tions of joy as divisions marched by them under commanders who had
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