USA > Pennsylvania > The Wyoming Valley in 1892 > Part 3
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THE INDIAN TROUBLES.
T HE Delawares, finally, commenced operations against the set- tlers, resulting in the massacre of about thirty of the Colonists. From that time on till the great massacre of 1778, there was a continual warfare between the Indians and the settlers.
This noted massacre, known as the "Wyoming Massacre" of 1778, is one of the prominent events of American history. It took place near what is known as Sturmerville, one mile below West- Pittston. The able-bodied men were in the service, it being the
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
period of the Revolutionary War. The old men and boys only were at home. For some months the settlers had imagined that the Indians were premeditating an attack. As a means of defense the settlers constructed Fort Forty. There are various reasons given for calling the fort "Forty Fort"; some writers say because it was the fortieth along the river, reckoning from the source of the Susquehanna; but what is more probable, it was so named because the number forty was associated with the township, forty persons constituting the number required by the charter that every town- ship should have. The latter part of June about four hundred Tories and about the same number of Seneca Indians collected at the mouth of Bowman's creek. Here they were joined by more Senecas, probably two hundred more. From that place they de- scended upon the valley. The Tories were commanded by Major John Butler; Colonel Zebulon Butler of the Continental army, Colonel Denison and Lieutent-Colonel Dorrance were leaders of the settlers. Fort Jenkins first fell into the hands of the enemy. This fort was situated about where the high school building stands in the village of West Pittston. The Jenkins burial ground near by still reminds us of that prominent family. This fort was about five miles from Forty Fort. When the settlers heard that Fort Jenkins had capitulated, they commenced active preparations of defense. The most of the women, old men, and children congre- gated in the fort called Forty Fort. Major John Butler demanded an immediate and unconditional surrender. Colonel Denison being in sole command, waited until he could hear from Colonel Zebulon Butler, who was, at the time of the engagement, in Wilkes- Barre. When Colonel Butler arrived, he ordered from Wilkes- Barre two companies and also a few companies which had been situated in other places. He was determined to make the best of the situation,-how many forces the enemy had it was not possible to find out, though spies were sent out in all directions.
The enemy finally came upon the settlers. By some mistake in he orders given by Colonel Denison, there was complete confu-
t
34
LOOKING BACKWARD.
sion in the ranks of the settlers. The Indians and Tories taking advantage of this condition of things, rushed in upon the settlers, and, as Steuben Jenkins, in his Centennial address, said: "The flight became slaughter, the slaughter became a massacre." Such was the battle. It was impossible that the result of the battle should have been different. The enemy was three to one, and had the advantage of position. Our men fought bravely, but it was of no avail. Every captain fell at his post in the line and the men lay like sheaves of wheat after the reaper.
Queen Esther's Rock, a large rock at the brow of the hill at the southeast of the village of Wyoming and a little more than a mile from the scene of the massacre, was itself the scene of a terrible horror. People come long distances to visit these points, as, to the student of history the facts connected with them are of great interest. It was around this rock that Queen Esther, a savage character of still more savage followers held her war dance and put to death fourteen captives in the most inhuman and brutal manner. This rock may now be seen as well as the site of the old fort.
In the light of subsequent evidence, it is probable that the early writers employed the figure of hyperbole with telling effect when describing the part the Indians took in the early wars, the object being to bring England to see the barbarous character of their allies, and thereby lead them to desist from employing them. We see this exemplified when writers to this day speak of the Boston massacre in a way to make the deepest impression. This is a realistic period. There is a demand for realism. We must not be surprised, there- fore, if some one makes the discovery that what was supposed to be blood stains on rocks, where our early settlers lost their lives, is nothing but red shale-that there really was no Queen Esther, or any Queen Esther's Rock.
Histories generally agree that Major Butler had no intention of employing the bloody practices of the Indians. One thing has led. us to believe that not only did Major Butler know the savage
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
intentions of the Indians, but employed them, and that the English at home made provision for the savage work of the Indians.
In the possession of Dr. A. Knapp, of West Pittston, is a toma- hawk rade of brass, and bearing an English manufacturer's mark. Evidently these tomahawks were sent in large quantities from England for the use of their allies. They could be used for 110 other purpose or in no other way than the prescribed purpose of the inhuman practice of beating out brains. In our judgment this makes the English a party to one of the most inhuman practices that is known to history.
The Tory soldiers remained in the valley during the summer. When winter came, the commander, finding himself unable to procure either supplies or recruits, discharged his men and aban- doned the valley. While the soldiers remained they were so oppressive and overbearing as to render their presence almost un- bearable. Several times during the summer there were open hostilities against the settlers. After the British left the valley the people were prosperous and happy and the population rapidly increased by the influx of immigrants, not only to the valley but to the adjacent regions.
The County of Luzerne was organized in 1786. Soon after the organization as a county, several actions were commenced in the courts to determine the title to these lands. Several years elapsed before these complications were fully settled.
1149150
PUBLIC ROADS.
T HE first roads of this section were mere trails, or Indian paths, which led through the woods. In 1779 a road from the Dela- ware river at Easton to the Susquehanna at Wyoming was opened for the passage of General Sullivan's army. Improvements were afterwards made on this road, which was long known as Sullivan's Road. This was the main thoroughfare between this entire region and Philadelphia.
·
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LOOKING BACKWARD.
THE COAL INTERESTS.
NE of the leading features of this valley is the extensive coal mining and coal trade. It lies witltin the great anthracite region of the Appalachian system. In Engle's History of Penn- sylvania, reference is made to coal in this valley as early as April 17, 1763, when the Susquehanna Company granted lands in the valley reserving the coal. During the Revolutionary War coal was taken from this section to Carlisle for the forges of the United States army. It was quarried from the out-croppings near Wilkes- Barre and shipped in boats to Harris's Landing, and then by means of wagons it was hauled across to its destination. Some of the out-croppings on being explored have given evidences that they had been "worked" to some extent in times long passed. There are good reasons for believing that coal long ago was used for fuel by the people who preceded the Indians, though we have no reason to believe that they used it in very large quantities. The fact that hollowed-out placed were overgrown with trees many hundred years old seems a conclusive proof. It took a good many years to dispel the idea that coal did not go below the surface, or below what could be seen. Recent mining enterprises have taken coal 1,500 feet below the surface. Earlier than 1820, there grew up a business which was confined to this section. In the winter season men were employed to dig out the coal from the out-croppings, others were employed in cutting timber to build what they called "arks" for floating the coal down the river. It would be sold at different points, and the men would return with comparatively large sums of money. These men have passed away, and their business has developed into the gigantic coal trade with its millions of dollars in mining property and its thousands of miles of railroad for conveying the product to market. But that class of men still claim their rights of recognition as pioneers in opening the coal trade earlier than 1820. The coal trade dates back even as far as 1807, when
.
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
coal was shipped to Havre-de-Grace and from there to other points. At this time coal sold as high as $8.50 a ton. It required some years of expensive experiment before it was known how to use it. Grates of various kinds were used before the right one was found. Even after several experiments of varying success, it required some persuasion to make the people believe that "stone" coal could be utilized as fuel.
The story is told of Colonel George Shoemaker, of Pottsville, who loaded nine wagons with coal for Philadelphia. The most of it was sold to defray the expenses of the trip, and a portion finding no sale was given away.
One man, after receiving gratuitously a load of coal from Colonel Shoemaker, had the Colonel arrested for swindling the people. A firm having purchased two loads, determined to try every experi- ment in testing its qualities as a fuel. A number of men, having come together to make the test, placed a quantity in a furnace, and, as the story goes, raked it and poked it and stirred it up and blew upon it from the open doors with perseverance and persistent deter- mination ; but all to no purpose: Colonel Shoemaker's rocks would not burn. Colonel Shoemaker was an imposter. Dinner-time arrived and they shut up the doors of the furnace and went to dinner. Returning from dinner at the usual time, all were aston- ished to find the furnace red-hot and in danger of melting down. So hot a fire had never been seen in the furnace. From that time anthracite coal found plenty of friends in Philadelphia, and the motto "let it alone" became the recipe for its use. We suppose Colonel Shoemaker was released on his own recognizance. It is said from that time it was never doubted that coal would make a good fuel. When stoves and furnaces finally were constructed with the proper draughts, the problem of stone coal fuel was solved.
Referring to the use of coal in this valley, George B. Kulp has the following to say in a paper, entitled "Coal: its Antiquity, Dis- covery, and Early Development in the Wyoming Valley":
"We believe that from 1803 anthracite coal was used for domestic
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LOOKING BACKWARD.
purposes in this city. We have not before us the population of Wilkes-Barre at that time, but in 1820 she had a population of seven hundred and thirty-two. In 1803 the population probably did not exceed three hundred. These letters written to one of her citizens would excite comment, and would be talked over by the entire popu- lation, men, women and children. The social standard of her citi- zens at that time was perfect equality. There were no ranks or grades. The apprentice, the laborer, the physician, the merchant and the lawyer were on speaking and visiting terms. As another writer has said, in speaking of the early history of coal : ‘Such was the theme of universal rejoicing throughout the valley that the event was discussed at every fireside, the topic went with the people to church, and was diffused throughout the congregation at large by common consent ; it entered for a while into all conversations at home, it silenced every adverse criticism as it gave the signal for long and mutual congratulations where friend and foe alike acquiesced in the truth that Wyoming was freighted with in- finite fortune.' Coal up to this time had been mined by farmers and blacksmiths for their own use. In 1805 Abraham Williams, the pioneer miner, made his appearance in Federalist, published at Wilkes-Barre, with the following advertisement :
" 'The subscriber takes this method of informing the public that he under- stands miners' work. He has worked at it the greater part of twenty-three years in the mines of Wales, one year and a half in Schuyler's copper mines in New Jersey, and three years in Ogden's in the same State. If anybody thinks there is any ore on his lands, or wants to sink wells, or blow rock or stones, he understands it, wet or dry, on the ground or under the ground. He will work by the day, or by the solid foot or yard, or by the job, at reasonable wages for country produce.
"' He works cheap for country produce, But cash I think he won't refuse. Money is good for many uses, Despise me not nor take me scorn, Because I am a Welshman by my born, Now I am a true American, With every good to every man.
ABRAHAM WILLIAMS.' '
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
Standing on almost any eminence near Wilkes-Barre or Pittston one may count forty or fifty breakers within a radius of two miles. These breakers cost from fifty thousand to three hundred thousand dollars each. They employ from one hundred to two thousand men each.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE COAL BUSINESS.
HE coal business has brought a great many undesirable for- eigners to this part of the State. This, of course, has an influence on society. On the dockets of the courts are long lists of criminal cases. In the large towns society divides itself into classes and the lines are quite rigidly drawn. Many who owned small farms of one or two hundred acres were made millionaires by the value of the coal under the surface. In going from Pittston to Wilkes-Barre by railroad or by carriage one realizes how full of meaning are the words of Goldsmith, when he says- .
"Ill fares the land to hastening ills a prey, When wealth accumulates and men decay."
Little or no account is any longer made of the beautiful rich bottom lands of the valley. Occasionally a gardener will lease a farm, paying a small rent and reaping a correspondingly small income.
In going back from the valley in any direction one comes to farm-houses at short intervals. The houses and out-buildings show that no very large sums of money are received for the year's work after the expenses are paid. The country is hilly, even mountain- ous, and the opportunities for a large income are limited. Lum- bering to some extent has been carried on, but not to as great an extent as upon the upper waters of the West branch of the Susque- hanna. Many of the people are of that sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch class, who work and save from generation to generation, living the idea, "what was good enough for me is good enough for my boy."
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LOOKING BACKWARD.
In many instances the boys leave home for the purpose of attending school and never return to the old homestead to live; they find employment in the large cities or in some of the cities of the valley or go to the great West. In the more thickly settled portion of the county may be found all those evidences of intelligence and thrift that are found in New England. Excellent school buildings, many large public libraries, an excellent school system, all go to. show that in these later days the people are beginning to realize that there is more than one way to invest a dollar in order to make the most of it.
It is but just to say, however, that from these homes which con- tributed very little to the development of the young, there have come many who have pushed their way to success in spite of dis- couragement; and those who met with the most discouragement have often been those who have gained the most distinction. During the half century which followed the settlement of this county, agriculture was the chief employment. A few hunters and trappers might have been found who followed the game over the mountains and along the river. The existence of the vast mineral wealth was not then known. The farmer, as he followed the plough over the fields, or as he scattered the seed broad-cast, or as he gath- ered his harvest, little thought of the vast rich deposit which lay beneath the surface. The farmers of those days were a thrifty class of men, and their descendants have been some of the leading busi- ness men during these later years. The man who has become most noted in political circles from this county is the Honorable Henry M. Hoyt. He was four years in the Civil War. He was promoted from Lieutenant-Colonel, and then promoted to Brigadier- General. He was afterwards elected Governor of the State, and now resides in Wilkes-Barre.
From Kulp's "Families of Wyoming" we take the following,. showing what the Bar of Luzerne has contributed to history :
"Of the ten President Judges eight are dead and two (Judges. Harding and Rice) are still living. Of the six Additional Law
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THE WYOMING VALLEY.
Judges only one is dead and five are living. The only separate Orphans' Court Judge we have had is still in service. Of the thirty-five Lay Judges but two survive, thirty-three having been called to that higher Court from whose decrees there is no appeal. The total of judges and lawyers, dead and living, is five hundred and thirty-nine, and since 1881, when the work of compiling the book began, fifty have passed away.
"Nine Luzerne lawyers have abandoned the profession to take places in the pulpit. Of these, four became Episcopal ministers, one rising to the Bishopric, three preached in the Methodist Epis- copal church, one in the Presbyterian and one in the Baptist. Popular prejudice will stand surprised to find that a calling, the practices of which are so persistently ascribed to Satanic influences, has contributed thus liberally to the noble army marshalled for the overthrow of his alleged patron.
"To the armies of the country the Luzerne Bar has given more than her quota. She had two soldiers in the Revolution, two in the Mexican War. To the forces whose energies won in the Civil War of 1861-65, she contributed five Generals, three Colonels, one Lieut- enant-Colonel, three Majors, twelve Captains, ten Lieutenants, and twenty-three Privates, while three others served in the navy.
"In high civic offices she has had one United States Senator, six- teen Congressmen, two Governors, two Attorney-Generals, one Min- ister in the Diplomatic Service, four Judges of the Supreme Court, two Judges of the United States Court, and eleven Judges of Common Pleas Courts in other counties or States, in addition to ten Law Judges she has furnished our own bench."
The educational history of Luzerne County commences with the arrival of the immigrants from Connecticut. To say that the people originally came from Connecticut, is a sufficient guarantee that a deep interest was taken in educational affairs. It was the original intention that a sufficient quantity of land should be set apart for school purposes to insure the support of the schools without taxa- tion. The matter of taxing the people for school purposes was
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LOOKING BACKWARD.
here, as well as in many other places, a serious question. In the early history a scheme to support public schools by taxation com- pletely failed. There were many private schools in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity. These were taught by New England teachers. In 1844, Reuben Nelson came from Otsego county, New York, to Kingston and founded Wyoming Seminary. He was a strong teacher. Dr. Nelson was afterwards elected one of the agents of the Methodist Book Concern, becoming a member of the firm of Nelson & Phillips, publishers.
Many of the prominent people of this valley, and especially of Wilkes-Barre, are descended from the families who were prominent in the early days. The Ross family descended from General Wil- liam Ross; the Hollenbacks, tracing their ancestry with pride to Colonel Hollenback, so well known throughout all the northern part of the State; the Butlers from General Zebulon Butler.
History has been likened to a grand dissolving view. While one age is passing another is coming into prominence.
This is an age of motors, an industrial age. A solidarity of com- mercial interests within the last few years has been established. Who can tell what the next century and a quarter will bring forth to us as a nation? What to the Wyoming Valley ? Let us hope for an epoch of intellectual and moral power-one that will har- monize and assimilate the different elements which are coming to us from foreign lands.
Charlo: Dorrance.
Daniel Edwards.
_William P. Minar.
Rouben Nelson.
David Copeland.
17. W. Loomis.
B. G. Carpenter.1
C. P. Incham.
Abram Reynolds.
"T. S. Parsons.
Andrew T. MeClintock.
R. P. Darling.
1.oubey
J . . 11 } ..
Edward R. ayer.
Charles orion.
Pichard Sharp.
W. R. Mariel.t.
John .1. Convi In .
Abr
J. C. Phelps.
'oll ...
F. D. 12002
Pocka! 11-
Representative Men of the Valley
CHARLES DORRANCE
Was born January 4, 1805, at the old homestead, between Kingston and Forty Fort, Luzerne county, where he has spent his life. His father, Benjamin Dor- rance, was Sheriff of Luzerne county, County Commissioner, member of the Legislature, and the first President of the Wyoming Bank. Lieutenant-Colonel George Dorrance played a prominent part in the massacre of Wyoming and the early history of the valley. Colonel Dorrance, as he was called, was for many years the President of the Wyoming Bank, President of the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Company, one of the first members of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, President of the Luzerne Agricultural Society, &c. Mr. Dorrance died January 18, 1892.
ABRAM NESBITT
Was born in Plymouth township. His great grandfather was one of the forty claimants that came from Connecticut in 1769; his son, Abram, was Mr. Nes- bitt's grandfather. Mr. Nesbitt's father's name was James. He served in the Legislature in the winter of 1835-36; served as Judge and District Attorney; was Sheriff of the county. He died in 1840.
The subject of this sketch was educated at the Dana Academy, in Wilkes- Barre, and at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania. He began life as a surveyor; was one of the organizers of the Second National Bank, in 1863; was elected Vice-President, 1872, and President, 1878. He is Director of the Wyoming Valley Coal Company and Director of the Irvona Coal Company, in Clearfield; Treasurer and Secretary of Forty Fort Cemetery; Director of the Poor for several years; Treasurer of the Sanson Cutlery Company; one of the
44
REPRESENTATIVE MEN.
organizers of the Spring Brook Water Company, one of the largest in the State, and the People's Water Company of Pittston, Pennsylvania.
HON. EDMUND L. DANA
Was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1817. Prepared for college in the Wilkes-Barre Academy, and graduated from Yale College in 1838; engaged in civil engineering, and in 1839 entered the law office of Hon. Luther Kidder; was admitted to the Luzerne Bar in 1841. Entered the office of the Hon. George Woodward and took charge of his practice successfully during the time Judge Woodward was filling his appointment of Chief Justice of Pennsyl- vania. Judge Dana served in the Mexican War and in the Rebellion with dis- tinction. He commanded the 143d Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Rebellion, and was brevetted Brigadier-General; was elected Additional Law Judge of the Eleventh Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and took his seat, 1867, and served ten years; was Correspondent-Secretary of the Wyoming Historical Society and its first President. Judge Dana died in 1889. He descended from one of the greatest families in the United States.
DANIEL EDWARDS,
Son of William and Mary Edwards, was born in Eglwysillen, Wales, April 28, 1825; came to America in 1851, and finally settled in Danville, Pennsylvania; married January 17, 1862, Margaret, daughter of Thomas and Anna Edwards, a native of Merthyr Tydvil, Wales. Mr. Edwards early in life became associated with the extensive coal and iron concern of Waterman & Beaver, finally merged into the Montour Iron and Steel Company, and the Kingston Coal Company. The Gaylord Coal Company also was one of Mr. Edwards' organization; this Company, too, was finally absorbed by the Kingston Coal Company, which is to-day the largest individual coal operating Company in the Wyoming Valley. Mr. Edwards, by pluck, energy, tact, and perseverance, coupled with sound judgment and economical management, made the wonderful stride that has, in less than thirty years, made out of a sound, practical miner a President and General Manager of one of the largest industrial, individual concerns in our State. Mr. Edwards, while avoiding political preferment, has been a strong factor in all the political campaigns of the past ten years, and his influence has been felt in the advancement of political economy. In 1884 Mr. Edwards was one of the Presidential electors, which college carried the Keystone State for James G. Blaine and John A. Logan with over 80,000 majority. At this writing,
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