Notes and queries historical, biographical, and genealogical, Vol. I, Part 21

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: s.n.
Number of Pages: 618

USA > Pennsylvania > Notes and queries historical, biographical, and genealogical, Vol. I > Part 21

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iv. Jacob, m. Elizabeth Hoover.

All left descendents.

HOOVER .- Jacob Hoover settled in the "Upper End" in 1800 ; and built the mill now owned by Daniel Buffington. Of his children-

i. Jacob, m. - - - Bellas.

ii. Christian, m. -

Fcagley ; their son Samuel was the first superintendent of the Short Mountain mines; he removed to Minnesota many years ago.

iii. John. m. Margaret Lebo ; hc owned the mill erected by his father.

iv. Mary, m. John Shoffstall.

v. Katharine, m. George Kissinger.

vi. Mary, m. Jaeob Bordner.

vii. Susanna, m. Henry Umholtz.

STREET NAMES IN HARRISBURG .- Prior to the incorporation of the city of Harrisburg, the nomenelature of our streets had referenec merely to our Amer - ican trees and shrubbery, save that of Paxtang, which was named for the creek to which it led. As additions were made for the sale of lots, the proprietors thereof gave such names as their fancy prompted, or as some favoritism sug- gestcd. When the Commissioners werc appointed under the act incorporat- ing the city of Harrisburg, with all due deference to that representative body of our citizens, they modestly named the principal cross streets for them-

selves. It was a happy thought ! Not to be invidious, Broad street, as on the plan of lots laid out by William K. Ver- beke, was changed to Verbeke street. That was only doing justice to the enter- prising individual who had the courage at an opportune time to lay out the street referred to. Recently, for what import- ant objeet is not known, a proposition has been made to change the name of Verbeke street to Broadway. It is to be hoped that our councils have some patriotism and gratitude left to prevent such an outrage. If any citizen is de serving to have his name perpetuated in the nomenclature of our streets, it is that of William K. Verbekc. That street was laid out and graded at an expense of nearly $10,000, and presented to the city of Harrisburg. His philanthrophy has made him poor. Let us do him this small honor, by retaining the name. It is also proposed to ehange Fourth street to Ridge Avenue. The Fourth street in the original plan of the town of Harrisburg we trust will remain. If necessary, let the Ridge from the old reservoir go by that name. If our City Councils desire to be icono clasts, let them begin anew and revise the entire nomenclature of our streets and alleys. There is no necessity for this legislation, however, and all such propo- sitions should be frowned down upon. W. H. E.

THE FAMILY OF JOHN HARRIS.

In order that our citizens may know somewhat of the history of the first JOHN HARRIS, the Indian Trader and Pioneer, and of his son JOHN HARRIS, the Foun- der of our City.on-the-Susquehanna, we propose to give an account of them and their families. The approach of the Cen- tennial year of the formation of our county of Dauphin and the laying out of the city of Harrisburg, make this a fitting opportunity to refer to these men of the olden time. And it is just as important that the main facts in our own local his- tory should be made familiar to all.

JOHN HARRIS, the first, was a native of Yorkshire, England, where he was born about the year 1673. He was a brewer by occupation, and at his majority came

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to America with several of his brothers. Watson, the annalist, states that John Harris' "entire capital amounted to only sixteen guineas." Although spending a few years in the new city of Philadelphia, at a time, when it was decided to license but English born persons as Indian traders, he with one or two of his brothers entered that lucrative business. In Jan- uary, 1705, the commissioners of prop- erty authorized and allowed him "to seat himself on the Sasquahannah at Pextang, to erect such buildings as are necessary for his trade, and to enclose and improve such quantity of land as he shall think fit." Mention is made of him in the Colonial Records, and among the fac simile of Indian autographs is that of John Hans. An examination of the orig- inal show this to be a misprint for John Harris. The autograph I. H. is especially amusing, placing him among the Indian chiefs of the time. By com- paring this signature with one in our pos- session we are perfectly satisfied that the "big Indian" John Hans was our Pio- neer John Harris. Of the incidents in the border life of this early settler it is not our intention to say much at the pres- ent time. That he was an adventurous spirit, hardy and daring, his seating him- self in the midst of the perfidious and treacherous Shawanese is suf- ficient evidence. "He was as hon- est a man as ever broke bread," was the high eulogium of the Rev. John El- der, who knew him well, in the early days of his ministry. John Harris died at Harris' Ferry, in December, 1748, his will being probated at Lancaster the lat- ter part of that month. At times we are inclined to the belief that John Harris had been twice married. If not, his first and only wife was ESTHER SAY, whom he married late in life. She was many years his junior, and concerning whom we have much traditionary history. It is said that Harris, on his frequent visits to Philadelphia, met her at the house of Edward Shippen, the first mayor of Phil- adelphia, an intimate friend of Harris. She, was also a relative of the family with whom she was residing. They were mar- ried in old Christ Church, but the exact year we have no record. Esther Say Harris survived her husband, and four or

five years thercafter married William McChesney, who resided on the west side of the Susquehanna, in what is now New- berry township, York county. She died there in 1757, and was probably buried in Silvers' Spring Church grave-yard. The names of John Harris' children who reached maturity, and probable dates of birth, are as follows :

i: Elizabeth; b. 17 20; m. John Findley.

ii. Esther; b. 1722; m. William Plun- ket.

iii. John; b. 1726; m., 1st, Elizabeth McClure; 2d, Mary Reed.

iv. William Augustus; b. 1735; m. Mar- garet Simpson.

v. Samuel; b. 1737; m. Elizabeth Bon- ner.

vi. David; b. 1740 m; Miss Mahon.

At his death, it may be noted, the pioneer, John Harris, was buried at the foot of a large mulberry tree on the river bank, as was also his first wife, and sev- eral of his children who died in early lite. The inclosure in Harris Park and the fast decaying stump of the old tree mark the site of the last resting place of the first John Harris.

ELIZABETH HARRIS, the eldest child of John Harris married John Findley or Fin - ley. She died in 1769 at the age of forty - nine years; her husband in 1771, at the age of almost fifty. Little is known of him, save that he was the ancestor of the Findleys or Finleys of Western Penn- sylvania. The children of Elizabeth and John Findley were:

2. Esther; who married "William Pat- terson, Esq., of Fermanagh." Patterson had been previously married to Mary Galbraith, of Derry, and thier only son Galbraith Patterson was a noted lawyer in the early days of the Dauphin county courts. The children of Esther and William Patterson were, John, Isabella, William Augustus, Mar- garet, and James, all of whom married and left issue.

iii. John; m. Hannah - -; in 1796 he resided in Washington county, Penn'a. iii. Isabella.

iv. William Augustus.

v, Margaret ; she married William Wirtz, of Lancaster ; and their children were Margaret, Elizabeth, Esther, Chris- tian, Hannah, and William. Otherwise

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concerning them we have little knowl- edge.

vi. James.

As previously remarked, the Findleys went to Western Pennsylvania, and from thence their descendants have scattered over the States of the Union beyond the Ohio, where they are to day a representative people.

ESTHER HARRIS, the second daughter of the elder John Harris, born about 1724, died in 1768. She married Dr. William Plunket, a native of Ireland. At the time he was practicing medicine in Car- lisle. He was an officer in the Pro- vincial service; subsequently located at Sunbury, where he became the leader in the so called Pennamite-War-cfforts made by the government of Pennsylva. nia to drive off the

Connecticut

intruders upon the Wyoming lands. During the War of the Revolu tion he was suspected of disloyalty, and was once placed under arrest. Sabine, in his Loyalists of America, tells some fabulous stories of Col. Plunkct. We doubt if he ever was a loyalist. As in the recent Civil Conflict, however, it may be that as he was not for, he certainly must be against. All of his friends and family connexions were ardent for inde- pendence-and he would have entered heartily into the struggle, but with the other officers of the French and Indian war, they found themselves sup- planted by inexperienced men as offi- cers, and this rankled in their bosoms and they stood aloof. At this distance from that era, it is difficult to inquire into the causes why old and well tried officers were totally ignored in the organization of the Pennsylvania Line, and the chief places given to men who knew not the "art of war." Plunket and his fellow officers of the Provincial war, at the out- set of the Revolution, hurriedly organ- ized the militia of the counties, but when the Continental Line was formed they were left out the organization. And so the old hero quietly retired to domestic life, only annoyed by repeated charges of disloy - alty to the cause of liberty. He died at Sunbury in the month of April, 1791, and is there buried. The children of Esther Harris and William Plunket were:

¿. Elizabeth; who married Samuel Maclay, brother of William Maclay, a member of the Senate of Pennsylvania, Speaker of that body, and afterwards United States Senator; an influential man in public affairs, and whose descendants have occupied and do occupy honorable and prominent positions in Pennsyl- vania.

¿¿. Isabella; who married William Bell, of Elizabethtown, N. J. She was a remarkable woman; was principal of a young ladies seminary many years, and died on the 10th of March, 1843 at the good old age of eighty three years.

iii. Margaret; married Isaac Richard- son. A descendant was recently a repre- sentative in the United States Congress from one of the New York districts.

iv Esther Harris; married her cousin. Col. Richard Baxter, of the British ser- vice. She died young, leaving a daughter, Margaret, who became the wife of Dr. Samuel Maclay, of Miffiin county, Pa.

Dr. Plunket had besides the foregoing five other children, all sons, who died in early life.

JOHN HARRIS, the eldest son of the first John Harris, and the founder of Har- risburg, was born in 1726 at Harris' Fer- ry. He was but twenty three years old when his father died. At that period Harris' Ferry was an important place on the frontiers of Pennsylvania; and that with the management of his father's es- tate and the guardianship of his younger brothers, required care and good judg- ment. Soon thereafter the French and Indian war broke out. The Ferry was the entre-pot for the Provincial forces stationed on the frontiers. The story of John Harris' life, through these exciting times, down to its close, remains to be written, and we propose at some future day to venture upon the subject. Much of it reads like a romance. He lived in perilous times-and he was equal to the emergency. He was an officer in the Provincial service, and during all that struggle for white supremacy against the treacherous Delawares and per- fidious Shawanese, he was active and energetic. The

records of Pennsylvania contain a great deal of cor- respondence between John Harris and the Provincial authorities, principally re-

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lating to the condition of the frontiers and accounts of Indian forays. During the Paxtang Boys affair of 1763 and 1764, he was among those censured by the Government, but had that Government taken his advice and removed that viper- ous and blood stained band of Indians on the Conestoga, there would never have resulted the necessity in the Paxtang Boys taking summary justice in their own hands. When the Revolutionary struggle came, John Harris was not behind his friends and neighbors in taking sides with the Colo. nies. Not only his influence, but his money, was given the authorities to assist in the contest with the Mother Country. One of his sons, his eldest born, fell in front of Quebec, in December 1775; an- other, David, became an officer in the war, and served with distinction. Prior to the Revolution, with a far seeing eye, John Harris proposed the

laying out a

of town the Ferry-but that contest put an end for the time to all projects. No sooner had peace been declared, than the proposals for the new town were set forth. In the newspapers of 1784, an advertisement to that effect was published. The new county project, however, changed the original plans, and provided Harris' Ferry was chosen as the county seat, the proprietor offered lands for the public use-town, county, and State-and agreed to ap- point commissioners who should value the lots of the town of Har-

risburg, and which were to be sold at the sum fixed therefor. On the 4th of March, 1785, the General Assembly of the State passed the act for the erection of the county of Dauphin, designating Harris' Ferry as the county seat. Agree. able to Harris' plans, the lots of the town were approved and valued, and report thereof made on the 14th day of April, 1785. The town grew rapidly, and the Founder lived to see it pros- perous. died on

He the 29th of July, 1791; and his remains were in- terred in the graveyard of old Paxtang church. A marble slab bearing the fol- owing inscription marks the spot :

In memory of JOHN HARRIS Who died on the 30th Day of July

1791 In the 65th year of his age and gave name To the Town of Harrisburgh. The remains of ELIZABETH his first and MARY his second wife Lie interred with him Under this Stone.

HISTORICAL ADDRESS.

Delivered at the Laying of the Corner- Stone of Derry Memorial Church October 2,1884.

BY WILLIAM H. EGLE, M. D., M. A.

Ye Friends of Derry:

It is not only to show our love for the old which has brought us together upon this occasion, but also the pious prompt- ings implanted in our natures by our Creed and its teachings, a reverence for the holy men of ages gone by, and an ad- miration for their efforts in perpetuating the Faith on ce delivered to the Saints." We have come up from our homes to lis- ten to the leading events in our history, and to prove by our presence our appreciation of the hardy pioneers who planted upon the "Barrens of Derry" the secd of the Chuich. There is something saintly in the records of the lives of the early mis- sionaries in this country-whether it be the self-denying Jesuit or the pious, God- fearing Moravian, who carried the Cross of Jesus to the benighted-or yct the staunch, unflinching Covenanter, or the disciples of Zwingli or Luther who, with the faith of the Reformation, left home and kindred, and the enjoyments of the lands of their nativity, to preach Redemp- tion to the race. Their zeal and religious fervor remind us of the Apostolic age, when a PAUL aroused the world to re- pentance.

Here the Scotch-Irish settled ! Here they found a home-scme a resting place in yonder enclosure-God's Acre-some wandered on down through this beautiful Valley of the Kittatinny, and there in time ceased from their earthly labors. And who were the Scotch-Irish ? At first

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a term of reproach-for later on we find the Rev. John Elder complaining against the leading Quakers who spoke of him and his followers as "Scotch Irish and other ill-mannered terms"-but now, the synonym of all that is ennobling and manly, of enterprise and intelligence, of education, patriotism and religious fervor. With German and Swiss-French blood coursing through my veins, with the fires of a Huguenot ancestry burning within mc, it may not come amiss if I shall offer my tribute to the Scotch-Irish and to Presbyterianism.

Who were the Scotch -Irish ? It is well that for a few moments we dwell upon the history of that persevering and un- daunted race-a God-fearing and liberty- loving people-for it is to the character of the individuals who first settle any coun- try, or establish their government, which generally determincs that of their de- scendants. What our great Common- wealth is she owes to her original settlers. In this there was a diversity peculiar to her alone-Swedes, English and Welsh Quakers, Germans, Swiss French, Scotch- Irish, and men from New England. Hence our history has never been prop- erly understood, and every writer foreign to our State, from the venerable George Bancroft down to the latest of American historians, McMasters, has failed to under - stand our people. To the Scotch-Irish settlers the least justice has been done, and as the character of your ancestors is part of your inheritance, which you are bound by every obligation of duty to reverence and defend, see to it that you have "reasons for the faith within you."

In the early part of the seventeenth century, owing to the confiscation of the lands of the Earls of Tyrone and Tyr- connel, who had been accused of plotting against the Government of England, it was decided to people their sequestrated domain in the Province of Ulster in Ire land, by Protestants from England and Scotland, and companies were organized for this purpose. The principal emigra- tion, however, was from the latter coun- try. The coast of Scotland is within twenty miles of the County of Antrim, Ireland, and across this strait flowed a large population, distinguished for thrift, industry and endurance, and bringing

with them their Presbyterianism and rigid adherence to the principles of Knox and Calvin.

There they prospered forawhile, but the religious persecutions beginning in 1661, so disgraceful to British annals, and which pale before the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition, soon laid waste the lands of Ulster. From Ireland the tide of perse cution rolled to Scotland. In the days of Sir James Grahame, better known as Claverhouse, it is stated that no less than 18,000 Scotch Presbyterians were put to death in various ways in defense of the Solemn League and Covenant, and CHRIST's Headship over the Church. In looking over the list of names, one is forci- bly struck with the fact that among them arc the very surnames of the Scotch-Irish cmigrants who settled here on the Barrens of Derry, so naming their resting place in America in memory of the heroic defense of Derry, which cven Macaulay calls "that great sicge, the most memorable in the annals of the British isles." Five gener- ations have passed away, and still the walls of Londonderry, says cur fellow- citizen, J. Montgomery Forster, who viewed them within the past few months, remain, and are to the Protestants of Ulster what the trophy of Marathon was to the Athenians. Derry alone saved Ircland to the Protestant faith and to constitutional liberty. You can read the names of these defenders in yonder graveyard.

At last, these Scotch settlers in the north of Ireland, when the avenues to the New World were opening up, began to think of other homes. Ireland was not the domain of their ancestors, it was en- dcared to them by no traditions, and they sought and obtained in the wilder- ness of Pennsylvania a better home than they had in the Old World.

Coming thus to America by the thou- sands, their ministers either accompanied them or, as in the case of young licen- tiates, followed shortly after. There were Scotch-Irish settlements in Chester and Bucks and Northampton counties. That within a radius of twenty-five miles, comprising the townships of Donegal, Paxtang, Derry and Hanover, in subse- quently Lancaster county, was the great hive whence the stream flowed south-

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ward through the Kittatinny Valley to the Potomac, thence through the Vir- ginia Valley to the Carolinas and Geor- gia. At one time-say about the year 1752 or 3-the number of people then within the entire section of country now comprising the townships noted, doubled the present population. They were only temporary residents, however. They tarried here a while with their relatives and neighbors from the north of Ireland, to rest after the fatigue of an eight or ten months' voyage, to recuperate, and then to press on toward the founding of homes in the American forests and valleys be- yond. Begin at the Irish settlement in Northampton county, and go down the entire length of the country to the Alta- maha river in Georgia, and look over the lists of the first settlers, and the same sur names will speak plainly of not only the same nationality but of allied families.

At what time the little flock of Derry was first gathered together we know not. The records of New Castle Presbytery do not throw much light upon the sub- ject. It is authentically known, how- ever, that there was quite a settlement here in the neighborhood of Spring creek as early as 1720. In 1723 the celebratcd Conrad Weiser, floating on rafts down the Susquehanna with his family and friends, came up the Swatara, but finding no un- occupied land until its head waters were reached, pushed beyond the Scotch-Irish pioneers of Derry.

Into these forests of the New World the Scotch-Irish brought their faith with them, Their religion was not forgotten, for it was that beacon-light which light- ened their way over the stormy Atlantic and into this wilderness to found a new home, and so they reared their Bethels at once. The Presbyterics of Ircland and. Scotland were not slow in becoming masters of the situation. They saw that with the departure of so many that min- isters must go out, and these followed in numbers, eager for the Master's work. Gillespie, and Evans, and Cross, and Boyd, were perchance the earliest of that devoted band of Presbyterian divines who visited this hallowed locality. They labored earnestly and zealously in the vineyard, and congregations were formed. Donegal, Paxtang and Derry were or-

ganized at about one and the same time. Hanover came later.

The first record we have of the church is April, 1724, and hence this date has been accepted as that of the organization. One hundred and sixty years ago! Not many years in the history of localities in the countries beyond the sea, but here in Pennsylvania it takes us back to the bc ginnings of our history. Let us picture to our minds the scene here at that day with all its surroundings, and contrast it with what is transpiring this bright autumnal day in the Year of Grace, 1884. How vast the change ! Then, the sky was the only canopy-the song of bird and stream tbe only sounds to break in upon the voice of the preach - er; now, the hum of business and the shrill noise of the passing locomotive almost drown the ceremonies of this hour. But they reared on that day an altar the fires of which we have decided shall not be extinguished. Their good deeds remain-and if they do not perme- ate by their influence this audience who have come up to erect a memorial shrine -through the century and a half which have passed, their example has fired the hearts of their descendants, to the South and to the West-in many States of the Union.

It is probable the first building erected was a small log house, which in time gave place to the more imposing structure that for more than a hundred years was known to us all as the Meeting House of Derry.

In 1726, the Rev. James Anderson, of Donegal, gave Derry one-fifth of his timc -- Paxtang also receiving the same service. He was evidently the firststated minister, unless it may hereafter bc dis- covered that the Rev. David Evans preached regularly to these people, of which we have strong belief.

The people of Derry were at first desig- nated as the congregation of SpringCreek, while that of Paxtang as Fishing creek. Upon the organization of Donegal Pres- bytery, the terms which we apply to them nowwere given. At first there was an effort to conform as strictly as possible to the establishment in the old country. The directory for worship, discipline and government there in use had been adopted in Synod, "to be observed as near as cir

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cumstances will allow and Christian pru- dence direct." There were none on the same territory of other denominations to contest with them their ground. The whole land was before them, and they had only to map out their congregations as the wants of the people required them. Great caution was used in the forming of new congregations-no meeting house was allowed to be built nearer to another than ten or at least eight miles, the dis- tance being determined by the careful perambulation of persons appointed by Presbytery with compass and chain, and until subscriptions were produced of a sufficient number of people to sustain the new enterprise. Hence we will sce

that of the churches of Don-

agal, Conewago, Paxtang, Derry, and Hanover, none are within less than ten miles of each other. When the town of Harrisburg was founded, the people who resided there desired to organize a congregation, but during the life-time of the Rev. Mr. Elder, hc protested against it, and succeeded in preventing the crec- tion of a church. The Rev. Mr. Hoge, of Silvers Spring, came occasionally to preach at the county town, and Mr. Elder complained bitterly to Presbytery, stat- ing that "a hog was rooting in his fields."

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Notes and queries historical, biographical, and genealogical, Vol. I, Part 21

Author: Publication date: 1884 Publisher: s.n. Number of Pages: 618

Author:
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: s.n.
Number of Pages: 618