USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > New Holland > The Three Earls : an historical sketch, and proceedings of the centennial jubilee, held at New Holland, Pa., July 4, 1876 > Part 2
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" A Big Waggon. 12 10 0
24
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
This Hans Graaf was a man of more than ordinary force of character: he was the principal person in the new
£ s. d.
To Ploughs, Harrows, Swingletrees
" Bibles & other Books. 2 19 0
" Trinking Glasses & Tin Ware 8 14 3
" Lanthorn, Lamps &c. 026
1
0 11 6
" Sheers & Knives 0 16 6
". Earthen Ware. 0 13 6
" Hog Grease.
0 34
" Other Grease.
" Kettles & Pans 0 14 2
" Cooper Ware.
1 18 0
" Earthen Ware
0 8 4
" Wooden Dishes & some Wooden Ware.
060
" Flax-30 pounds. 1 2 6
" Wheat
6 10 0
0 10 0
1 10 0
" Buck Wheat. 0 4 6
" A Chest, Ropemaker Tools, Sithes, Potter tools & Bell 2 11 0. 0 15 0
2 13 0
" Bags
" Riddles & two Steelyarts. 1 8 6
0 15 0
" A new saddle. 0 15 0
" Chist and several old things
" Baskets. 0 4 6
" A Hand Screw, Hatchets, Hamer & other things 1 13 3
" Several sort of Tools. 2 3 8
" Honey 0 12 0
" Leather. 11 4
" Bottles & Old Chist. 1 0 6
" A Clok .. 3 15 0
" Five Blankets. 2 10 0
" A Spoon Mould 080
" Beds. 6 11 0
" Table Cloaths & some pieces of Linnen 3 210
" Linnen Cloath & Linsey Wolsey 9 15 3
" Linnen Cloath. 5 16 10
" Sithes and other things. 2 17 6
" Horse Geers. 2 13 0
" Gold Scales. 0 15 0
" 26 pounds of Wool. 1 60
6
" Dry apples & bee hive. 1 1
" Rye.
" Oats
." A Wolvestrap 19 00
" Sickles and Some other things. 160
" Straw Knives & Sithes
32 0
" Little Spinning Wheel & a Big Wheel 0 18 0
L
25
FIRST SETTLERS.
settlement that sprung up around him, even to the time of his death, in 1746: his name frequently occurs in the Colonial Records: he was one of the persons named to lay out the "King's 'High Road," from Lancaster to Phila- delphia, in 1733. Along with many others, he was natural- ized on October 14, 1729, in the third year of the reign of George II. He had already built a mill prior to 1729, and when in that year the township was organized, the citizens honored both themselves and him, in giving his
€
£ s. d.
To Spectaculs
0 80
" Bedtick.
" 3 chests & other things 036
" A Mortar .. 0 4 5
" Wool Cards. 0 30
" Vinegar & the Cask. 0 9 6
" Block Saws & other Iron Utensils 2 410
" Bees. 1 15 0
" Grind Stone & other things. 0 12 6
" The Windmill 2 10 0
" The Cutting Bog 0 10 0
" Boards 2 19 0
" A Chest 0 16 0
" Some Iron.
1
2 2
" Smith's Tools. 9 0 0
" A Rop & 2 Kittle holds 0 7 0
" An Iron Plate. 1 5 0
" Yearn of Tow 1 5 0
" Credits 123
0 0
" The Plantation. 0 0 300
" A Heckle. 0 12 0
" Pewter 7 18 2
Total amount. £648 310
Appraised by Christian Waggoner, Christian Sensenig, Michael Whitmore, Jacob Summay .- Copy from the Original in my Office. Thos. Cookson, D. Regr."
I am indebted to the kindness of Levi W. Groff, esq., for per- mission to examine the large mass of papers in his possession rela- tive to the matters here treated of. At his hospitable home, the curious visitor may yet see a number of the articles mentioned in the inventory, brought from the Fatherland, and now preserved in a spirit of reverence that is worthy of widely extended imita- tion.
1 10
WHY
26
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
name Graaf, in its English equivalent, Earl, to the new district. The foundation stones of the cabin he built in 1718 are yet to be seen in the barnyard of his lineal descendant, Levi W. Groff, who owns and resides on the old homestead.
In 1721, other colonists located on Mill Creek; the pre- cise spot I have been unable to ascertain, but it was south- westerly from Groff's Dale, and perhaps within the present limits of Leacock township. Fresh arrivals rapidly aug- mented this settlement, and following the stream eastward, they soon arrived in Earl: as early as 1734, the springs along the northern and southern slopes of the Welsh mount- ains had owners; the Martys and Ellmakers were among these. In 1724 another settlement was begun, and again by Swiss and Palatines, in "Weber's Thal," now "Weaver- land," and within the present limits of East Earl. Among them were the familiar names of Weber, Guth or Good, Martin, Schneder, Miller, Zimmerman and others. These were chiefly Mennonites, to which creed many of the people of that region still remain attached. Their nearest neighbors were a colony of Welsh, who located in Chester county in 1722, but had extended their settlement as far westward as where Churchtown now stands. The Morgans, Edwards, Jenkinses, Davises, Joneses, and Evanses were among those pioneers.
While colonies had thus been founded, both in what are now the bounds of West and East Earl, up to this time no white men had effected a settlement in Earl proper. In the summer of 1727, the ship William and Sarah,* sailed from Rotterdam with ninety families of Palatines, num- bering in all about 400 souls .; They arrived in Phila-
*Col. Rec. III. 390.
+When large bodies of Germans came together they were almost invariably accompanied by a clergyman. Along with these 400
27
FIRST SETTLERS.
delphia in September of that year: among them were two brothers, Alexander and John Diffenderffer; the former settled in Oley, Berks county, while the latter, in 1728, loaded his family and household goods on a wagon owned by one Martin, of Weaverland, and at length came to a halt beneath a spreading oak in the near vicinity of the present New Holland.
His neighbors at Groff's Dale and Weber's Dale kindly aided him in putting up a rude cabin, wherein to shelter his family. These same kind friends supplied him with flour and meat for his immediate necessities, and a Mr. Bear generously gave him a cow. This was the humble beginning of New Holland, the metropolis of the Earls, but at that day known as Saeue Schwamm. This very sug- gestive name was applied to a narrow strip of low land, lying immediately north of the present town, and now in the ownership of the Hoovers, Mentzers and Rolands. John Diffenderffer was not left long alone in his woodland solitude: in the course of a few years, quite a number of other Germans located in the neighborhood. Among them were the familiar names of Stone, Brimmer, Diller, Bru- baker, Koch, Roland, Sprecher, Mentzer, Kinzer, Ranck, Weidler, Becher, Luther, Bitzer, Schultz and many others, all of whom are to this day represented by numerous descendants .* The youthful colony must have increased
Palatine emigrants, came the Rev. George Michael Weis, a Ger- man Reformed minister, and a graduate of the university of Heidel- berg. He was a learned divine, a fine scholar and spoke Latin as readily as his mother tongue .- Hazzard's Reg. of Pa. XV. p. 198.
*The Zimmermans, Rudys, Wolff's, Witmers, Smiths, Stauffers, Millers, Seigles, Shultzes, Styers, Hoffmans, Keysers, Wengers, Kochs, Schmidts, all came over in 1727. The Shirks, Eshlemans, Rancks, Stoufers, Seylers, in 1728. The Reifs, Bowmans, Keisers, Kochs, in 1729. The Nagels, Hesses, Meyers, Oberholsers, Bears, Kilians, in 1730. The Eckerts, Mummas, Mulls, Freys, in 1731. The Musselmans, Holls, Stegers, Rudys, Benders, Schlaughs,
أفلام مـ
T
28
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
rapidly, as we find that no less than seventy persons com- muned with the Lutheran congregation of this place, in 1748, which would indicate a population of several hun- dred, although it is more than probable that many of them were from the adjacent settlements, where, in the absence of any church organizations of this denomination, such privileges were not obtainable; just as the Presbyterians of Carnarvon traversed the Welsh mountain to attend the parent church in Pequea, or those of the Reformed church gathered at Zeltenreich's.
Sprechers, in 1732. The Winters, Wanners, Brimmers, Summys, in 1733. In some cases as many as a dozen persons bearing the same name, came in the same year, and each succeeding year brought more of the same name. The spelling has in nearly every instance been changed to that now in vogue.
It is a very common error to suppose that all those of the same name in a certain district are descended from a single ancestor. This mistake prevails very generally in these townships, and throughout the county. Hardly any name can be mentioned among the German emigrants, that is not represented by dozens and often scores of duplicates of the same, who followed each other over in rapid succession. For instance, I have seldom seen a Groff or a Herr, who did not claim to be a lineal descendant of those early pioneers, Hans Graaf and Hans Herr: this is a pardon- able weakness, but will not bear the test of strict historical scru- tiny : these names and that of Guth or Good, appear on almost every ship's list, and it might perhaps stagger the faith of these claimants if they were asked what has become of all the offspring of the other Graafs and Herrs who followed the first ones of these names ? Did only these first ones leave descendants? May not the scores of other Graafs and Herrs who came to Pennsyl- vania, also have had children, and if so, what has become of them ? This argument, if pressed home, would, I fear, rule out many who believe they can trace their ancestry to certain early settlers.
Unfortunately, hardly one in a hundred of all the toiling thou- sands who sought refuge and homes in the land of Penn, has left written evidence, through which alone the claims of his living lineage might be authenticated. The Hoovers, living near New Holland, are among these fortunate few: their ancestor was Johan Ulrich Huber, one of the 33,000 who at the invitation of Queen Anne, in 1708-1709, left Germany for England. These unfortu- nates were mostly dependent on the bounty of the citizens of
29
EARL TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED.
Lancaster County was legally established in the spring of 1729. On the ninth day of June following, a county meeting was held, and the names and boundaries of seven- teen townships were then established by the people and magistrates assembled for that purpose: of these, some are now incorporated with Dauphin and Lebanon counties. Earl township was tenth on the list, taking its name, as has already been stated, from the first white settler within its limits. The boundaries and name were confirmed by the Quarter Sessions Court, held on the 1st of August ensuing. The following is a transcript of the original entry in the court docket: "Earl township :- Beginning by Peter's Road by Conestogoe creek, being a corner of Leacock township, thence up Conestogoe creek by the east side thereof, to the mouth of Muddy creek, and up Muddy creek to the Indian Path, thence along the southern branch of Peter's creek to the brow of Turkey Hill, thence south-
London and the appropriations of Parliament, for subsistence: of these 7000 returned to Germany; 10,000 of them died from hard- ships, need of proper food, lack of medical attendance and other causes. On December 25, 1709, 4000 were embarked on ten ships and sailed for New York: after a six months' voyage they reached that city on June 14, 1710: no less than 1700 died on the passage : the survivors were encamped in tents on what is now Governor's island: in the fall 1400 were sent up the Hudson to Livingston Manor, while some seventy orphans were apprenticed among the people of New York and New Jersey. Those who went up the Hudson were under bonds to serve the Queen faithfully, to manu- facture tar and other naval stores, in order to repay the charges of their transportation and subsistenee. This colony proved a failure : they were imposed upon, while their situation and treatment were both unsatisfactory. Gov. Hunter resorted to violent measures to enforce obedience. Some 150 families went to Schoharie valley and settled: after a ten years' residence there, their titles were proved defective, and both lands and improvements were taken from them. Some came to this county in 1719, and among them Johan Ulrich Huber (now Hoover), who settled on land near New Holland, where quiet and prosperity at length rewarded him, and where many of his numerous posterity still reside.
30
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
erly on a direct course to the north-east corner of Thomas Edward's land, and by the said land southerly over Con- estogoe creek to another corner of P(enn's) Jand, thence on a direct course to the corner of the west line of Natban Evan's land, then by the said land aud along southerly to the top of the mountain; thence westerly along said mount- aiu by Salisbury line to David Cowan's west corner, thence to Peter's Road, and along the same to the place of be- ginning." However plain these boundaries may have been to those who located them, they seem a little indefinite to us, and a surveyor would have a tough and puzzling time of it, to run those lines now. At the same time, Consta- bles, Supervisors and Overseers of the Poor were ap- pointed for the townships just organized. The first con- stable for Earl was Martin Grove ;* no supervisor nor overseer of the poor was named; this circumstance may doubtless be explained by the fact, that the public roads were too few and unimportant to require the services of a supervisor, and that the number of the indigent and needy was so few as to not require overseers; at all events, we give ourselves the benefit of this supposition. Edward
*The township constables for a series of years, beginning in 1762, when the earliest kept record begins, were as follows: 1762, Henry Stouffer and Peter Baker; 1763, George Gehr: 1764, Frederick Sparr; 1765, Abraham Forney: (this same Forney hav- ing appeared at the regular term of court in November when the roll was called, and afterwards absented himself without permis- sion, was fined ten sbillings, along with twelve other delinquents). 1766, Jonathan Roland; 1767, Andrew Gehr; 1768, Joseph Gehr ; 1769, Henry Landes; 1770, Joseph Gehr: 1771-72-73, Valentine Kinzer; 1774, William Reynolds.
In 1767, the regularly licensed innkeepers in Earl, were George Hinckle. Geo. Staley, Abraham Forney, Christian Schwartzwelder, Martin Soyer and Conrad Bartling. The first named took out licenses regularly for a long series of years: when his name dis- appears, that of Ann Hinckle, doubtless his widow or daughter, takes its place: if experience has anything to do with the matter, we may safely infer she "knew how to run a hotel."
1
31
TOWNSHIP DIVIDED.
Edwards was, in 1739, appointed pound-keeper of the township: he and the constable already named, are the first township officers of whom there remains any record.
The Court proceedings of those days do not give any clue, whereby the cases from the several districts might be separated; we have, therefore, no means of knowing whether the people of Earl were more peaceable or litigious than those of other portions of the county. A large majority of the cases tried were for assault and battery; in all newly settled countries, that seems to be the prevailing type of public disorder. We must not for- get they were then the subjects of a king, and the trial proceedings were opened in the following manner: "Domi- nus Rex vs John Doe :- at a Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, held at Conestogoe, for the county of Lancaster, the fifth day of May in the third year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the second, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc., etc." That formula did not suit their descendants a generation later, and at certain mili- tary conferences held at Lexington, Trenton and York- town, a more democratic one was substituted, which is still in vogue, and we devoutly wish may continue to be, for many generations to come.
TOWNSHIP DIVIDED.
For a period of 104 years, the boundaries of Earl town- ship, as already given, remained unchanged and undis- turbed: the increasing population, and the inconvenience arising from its great area, made a division necessary. A petition was accordingly addressed to the county Court to that effect. On August 18, 1828, viewers were appointed : their names were William Gibbons, Adam Reigart and Christian H. Rauch. Their report was in favor of a
-
32
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
division, and was confirmed on November 18, 1833, the · new township being called West Earl, while the old town- ship continued to be called Earl-sometimes East Earl. There being a considerable sum of money in the township treasury at the period of separation, the newly created dis- trict claimed its share, but the parent township failing to see the matter in the same light, an adjustment of the diffi- culty was reached through the medium of the Courts, which awarded a pro rata dividend. A further subdivision was petitioned for eighteen years later. Samuel Eberly, John L. Sharp and Adam Keller were appointed viewers to inquire into the propriety of dividing Earl-alias East Earl township. They reported recommending such divison on July 23, 1851: their report was read and filed on Au- gust 19, 1851, and confirmed by the court on the same day .* The area of the township, as originally defined, was 43,986 acres,-a principality in itself. Inasmuch as for more than one hundred years-and those the most im. portant and interesting of their history-the Earls were a single, individual township, it has been deemed proper for the purposes of this sketch, to attempt no divisional history ; they were the saine in manners, customs and government, and in a general sense, what we shall say concerning them is as applicable to the whole township in its entirety as to any particular parts thereof, and not to these townships only, but also, in a measure, to the county and the state at large.
No sooner were the county and township organized, than large numbers took out licenses to trade with the Indians.
-
*A recently published Atlas, which professes to give a complete and accurate historical summary of the county from original sources, literally abounds in errors, and they of the most inex- cusable kind. In relation to these townships we are told they were divided in 1833, whereas East Earl was not separated from the parent district until 1851.
33
LANDS TAKEN UP.
This seems, even then, to have been as profitable a business as it is to-day in the far west, if what we hear is worthy of credit. The liquor traffic was a still more inviting field : our early settlers evidently were not converts to the doc- trine.of total abstinence. The records show that in 1732, at a single term of court, no less than forty-eight persons were authorized to sell liquor in the county. Even "crooked" whisky was not an unknown commodity: in 1786, one Joseph Miller, petitioned to have remitted the heavy fine that was put on him for making 425 gallons rum, and fifty gallons wine, and forgetting to send in the proper returns: unfortunately, there was no Bristow at that time, and his petition was granted. The temptation to trade and sell whisky to the Indians was too great to be resisted, and the courts were continually bothered with petitions for the remittance of fines imposed for this offense. Even Justices of the Peace, who should have set a better example, were of this number. Kind and observing neighbors and friends, were always ready to advise the authorities of these little shortcomings.
LANDS TAKEN UP.
Nearly all the early settlers "took up" land, as it was called, that is, purchased a certain number of acres from the Proprietary. Penn himself did not sell in small quan- tities, but those who bought large tracts resold to others. The price established was about ten cents per acre, with a small quit rent :* it is hardly necessary to say, none is to
*Penn's published price for lands was as follows: 5000 acres, free of all Indian incumbrances, for £100, and one shilling quit rent for every 100 acres : the quit rent was not uniform in all cases and could be extinguished at the time of purchase by paying £20 in addition to the original £100 purchase money. Lands were also "rented" to such as could not buy, at 1d. per acre, no single renter was allowed to take more than 200 acres. All quit rents, except in "manors," were abolished by an act passed November 27, 1779.
34
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
be had here at that price now! As the Palatinate was one of the best cultivated districts of Germany, so too, did this and the adjacent townships soon become the most thrifty and prosperous portions of the state. Tillers of the soil in Europe, the Palatines and Swiss knew what lands to select upon their arrival here. We never hear that the Germans in Earl asked the Colonial government to exchange the lands they had taken up, for others, because the forests were too dense, or the timber too heavy, as tra- dition says was done by some other settlers in the north- western part of the county. As farmers, they knew too well such were the best lands, and always sought them .* Not all of them, however, took up lands in the regular way. James Logan, for many years the Colonial Secre- tary, says in one of his letters, "the Germans squat on the best tracts of land, and rarely offer to purchase-after a while they pay when challenged;" in view of the vast number of patents issued to Germans, this would seem to be an exaggeration on the part of the worthy secretary. He also intimates if so many came over they would "soon produce a German colony here, and perhaps such a one as Britain once received from Saxony, in the fifth century."t
These rents, in the course of time, produced the Proprietary a very large revenue : "the annual income of the proprietaries, (in 1755) from quitrents, groundrents, rents of manors and other ap- propriated and settled lands, was nearly £30,000."-Bancroft Vol. IV. 192.
*Governor Thomas said of these settlers in 1738: "This Pro- vince has been for some years the asylum of the distressed Protestants of the Palatinate, and other parts of Germany; and I . believe it may truthfully be said that the present flourishing con- dition of it is in a great measure owing to the industry of these people : it is not altogether the fertility of the soil, but the num- ber and industry of the people, that makes a country flourish."- Col. Rec. IV. 315.
+Watson's Annals XI. p. 255.
=
36
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
the New Holland Turnpike now rests. The second was known as the "Paxton Road;" the village of Hinkletown is traversed by it, and it is now known as the Harrisburg and Downingtown Turnpike. The third was the "Peter's Road," leading from the Conestoga to Pequea, and crossing the Horse Shoe Road about two miles west of New Hol- land. Tradition-ever an unsafe guide-says it derived its name from a well known friendly Indian, called Peter, who, in his excursions across the township, followed this road; but history more truthfully tells us that Peter Bezalion,* a French Indian trader, whose grave is to be seen in St. John's Episcopal church-yard at Pequea, traveled it often and bequeathed it his name. The necessi- ties of the settlers soon demanded others, and a number were petitioned for within the next few years. Naturally enough, the mills were the objective points, and nearly all the roads laid out from 1740 to 1775 were from the few early roads to certain mills: "to mill and market" was the usual reading of the petitions.
Of these mills, quite a number were in existence as early as 1760: among them were Rein's mill, Henry Weaver's mill, Greybill's mill, Carpenter's mill, Peter Light's mill and William Douglass' mill. It would be an interesting study for local antiquarians, to determine the sites of these early establishments. For a time the mills nearest the
*France and Great Britain being at war, the French Indian traders within the colonies who visited the various tribes, were regarded with suspicion. I find, therefore, that our friend Peter Bezalion and another trader named Le Tort (also French, and who had recently been in Canada), were called before the Provincial Council at Philadelphia, on June 17, 1703, "and obliged to give security in five hundred pounds Sterling, that they should behave themselves as good Subjects of the Queen & of this Govmt. & hold no correspondence whatsoever with ye Enemy, but at all times during ye War make best Discoveries they could of all designs that should come to their knowledge agst this Govmt. or any others of ye Queen's Subjects."-Col. Rec. Vol. II. p. 100-1.
35
ROADS AND HIGHWAYS.
That a great many of them were very poor, is true. These were known as "Redemptioners"-persons who, upon their arrival here, were obliged to sell their personal services for a term of years, to repay their passage money. In 1722, we read some of these were disposed of at £10 each, for five years' servitude. A MS. of the times says "many who have come over under covenants for four years, are now masters of great estates." Some of the Redemptioners here in Earl became prominent and wealthy citizens: it was no bar to wealth or respectability .*
ROADS AND HIGHWAYS.
1417443
As has already been said, no road supervisors were appointed when the township was organized, as was done in some of the others: the natural inference is, that there were few roads within the Earl limits. There were, how- ever, three prominent highways of which mention is made prior to the township organization, but no facts relative to the time when they were "laid out" have been ascertained. Perhaps they were originally Indian paths only, and after- wards converted into highways. These were, first, the Horse Shoe Road, running east and west, upon which New - Holland is built, and the road upon part of whose course
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