USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > The story of Berks County (Pennsylvania) > Part 4
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THE STORY OF BERKS COUNTY
store now stands and here he conducted a store which was the princi- pal trading post in this section.
He built the first hotel that was erected in Reading. His daugh- ter was married to Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, one of the most noted and best educated religious workers in the colonies. The Lutheran church, which was built in 1743, and the parsonage of his son-in-law, both of which Weiser often visited, may still be seen in Trappe, Montgomery County, as they were more than one hun- dred and fifty years ago. It was Conrad Weiser's grandson. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, who was the famous "Fighting Preacher" of the Revolution, and who was the 'hero of that stirring war poem, "The Rising in 1776," by Thomas Buchanan Read, which ends thus:
The great bell swung as ne'er before; It seemed as it would never cease ; And every word its ardor flung From off its jubilant iron tongue Was, "War! War! War!"
"Who dares!"-this was the patriot's cry, As striding from the desk he came,- "Come out with me in Freedom's name, For her to live, for her to die?" A hundred hands flung up reply, A hundred voices answered, "I."
Weiser had secured a large amount of land, some of which tradi- tion says he got in the following manner :
Chief Shikellimy went to Weiser, saying, "I had a dream. I dreamed that Tarachawagon (Weiser) had promised me a rifle." Conrad, we are told, handed over the gun. Some days later Weiser had his dream. He took it to the old chief, saying, "I dreamed that Shikellimy presented me with a large and beautiful island nestled in the Susquehanna river." The chief, we are told, deeded over the land, and then said, "Conrad, let us never dream again."
Weiser left to his five sons and daughters all the land he owned. In less than eight months after he made his will he began to decline
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CONRAD WEISER AND COUNT ZINZENDORF
in health. During the summer of 1760 he started out from his home in Reading to visit his farm in Womelsdorf, where he died the next day, July 13, 1760, from what was then called a violent attack of the
CONRAD WEISER'S GRAVE, WOMELSDORF, PA.
colic. He was buried on his farm. His remains still rest in the little private burying ground near the present town of Womelsdorf, and are marked by a very modest grave stone, bearing the following in- scription, although it is almost illegible :
This is the resting place of the once honored and respected Conrad Weiser who was born November 2d. A. D. 1696, in Afstaedt, County of Herrenberg, Wurtemberg, and died July 13, A. D. 1760, aged 63 years, 8 months and 13 days.
He was a friend of Washington. A bronze tablet in the west wall of Stichter's hardware store, Fifth and Penn Streets, Reading, bears the following quotation: "Posterity will not forget his
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THE STORY OF BERKS COUNTY
services." These words were spoken by Washington as he stood by the grave of Conrad Weiser at Womelsdorf.
1
GO RAD WEISER
CONRAD WEISER MONUMENT, IN FRONT OF WOMELSDORF HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING.
This memorial was purchased with money contributed by the school children of Berks County, at the suggestion of Professor
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CONRAD WEISER AND COUNT ZINZENDORF
William M. Zechman, then County Superintendent. It was erected in 1907. Eighty dollars of the fund remained after all bills had been paid and this amount is now in the hands of the Berks County Historical Society and will be used to preserve the tablet.
To further honor the memory of this distinguished pioneer the Camps of the Patriotic Order, Sons of America, in Berks County, erected a monument in front of the Public School Building in the borough of Womelsdorf. This memorial was dedicated September 25, 1909. Its cost was $1,000.
Count Zinzendorf. Count Zinzendorf, a Moravian Missionary, came to Berks County about 1741, where he was known by the Germans as "Brother Louis." He was greatly interested in the con- version of the Indians. He visited Weiser at Tulpehocken and from him learned the deep religious nature of the natives.
He preached at various places in the county, and with his daughter, Benigna, accompanied Weiser to Shamokin. He was so
"LEVAN'S BARN," EAGLEPOINT, PA., WHERE THE FAMOUS COUNT ZINZENDORF PREACHED.
delighted with this trip that he decided to go to Wyoming and preach to the Shawnees. Weiser had cautioned him of the ferocious nature of these Indians, and was restless about his friend, so he started across the untrodden waste toward Wyoming and came just in time to save his life.
CHAPTER V.
BORDER WARFARE AND FRONTIER FORTS.
Tedysucung. Tedysucung, whose home was in the Pocono Mountains, was a tall, straight-limbed warrior, who became the last and great king of the Delaware Indians. The doctrine of the breth- ren of returning good for evil, little suited his nature, and it was with no Christian spirit that he saw his brethren injured by the whites and their hunting grounds changed into fields. When his untamed brothers asked him to be their king, he forsook his Christian teachings for ambition and revenge.
The 'revenge of Tedysucung was conf.ned chiefly to the lands along the mountains. From their lurking places in the forest he would lead a small group of savage warriors, ruthlessly burning with the torch and murdering with the tomahawk all the booty and the prisoners that they could not carry back with them to their re- treats in the woods. The de- fenseless settlers were harassed by their unseen foe by day and by night. The settlers were scalped or tomahawked or car- TEDYSUCUNG. ried into captivity far worse than slavery, for a coveted ransom. Nightly the horizon was reddened by fire and daily there hung around it a cloud of smoke which marked the progress of the fiendish invaders. Their progress of death and destruction was to appease a revenge which was as continuous as it
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BORDER WARFARE AND FRONTIER FORTS
was unmerciful. Tedysucung and his bands in the mid-winter made hundreds of homeless wanderers who knew not whither to turn for safety or shelter. Hundreds in sheer desperation deserted their homes because of the swift destruction they knew was coming. Surely the iniquity of the sins of their fathers was being visited upon the children.
In the Revolutionary War, Tedysucung was the great Indian hero. He was wise, brave, cunning, and faithful to his followers. He loved fun, was quick in seeing the weakness of his enemy, and was cutting in his remarks to those who opposed him. He lived at Gnadenhutten for six years and frequently visited the settlers along the mountain. He was very fond of the Moravians. Like other Indians, he could not resist the temptation of drink. It is reported that he frequently consumed a gallon of whiskey a day. He was burned to death while asleep in his cabin. Two monuments are erected to his memory in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.
Trouble along the frontier. The days of William Penn were no more. The Indians were disappointed. The manner in which they had been deprived of their land at the forks of the Delaware, as a result of the Walking Purchase, angered them. The French in the north fanned their feelings of discontent and ill-will into a flame of hatred and revenge. They were led to believe, after the death of Braddock, that now was the opportunity to destroy all settle- ments thus far made and again gain possession of the hunting grounds of their fathers.
There was no limit to the false reports which the French of the north spread among them. They were told that if they remained true to the teachings of the Moravians their corn would rot on the stalk, their streams would go dry, the wild game would seek other lands and the fish would die in the streams.
The French flattered the Indians and tried to get their help in every possible way. They stirred them to deeds of blood along the entire frontier. Every day witnessed new deeds of horror, which they committed with all the cruelty of which their nature was capable. The whole border was in terror. The farmers deserted their dwellings and fled to the towns for safety.
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THE STORY OF BERKS COUNTY
.
Franklin builds forts. This condition of affairs thoroughly aroused the people of the lower settlements. Letters were written to Governor Morris to make provision to protect the settlers from the merciless savages. He responded by sending Benjamin Franklin to take charge of building a series of forts along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Work on these frontier defenses was started in 1756. He built a fort near where Lehighton now stands, which was called Gnadenhutten. When it was completed Franklin returned to Philadelphia and others continued his work.
A line of forts. The Government had determined to build a line of forts from the Susquehanna to the Delaware about twelve miles apart. They were placed near the settlements and were intended as places of refuge in times of danger. The Indians, low- ever, followed the guerilla mode of warfare and secretly fell upon small numbers of their enemy. It is almost a matter of wonder how men, capable of treaties as the Indians were, should be guilty of such brutality and ferocity as were practiced in the northern portions of Berks County from 1754 to 1763.
Fort Henry. This fort was located in Bethel Township, about three miles west of Millersburg and one mile west of Round Top Mountain. It was about fifty yards from the old Shamokin road that leads over the mountain. The spot is elevated so that the guards could see in every direction. Fragments of pipes and stones from the old foundations are now the only remains to mark the spot. It was erected on the property of Dietrich Six by the people for their protection. The records make mention that several times the people fled to this fort. It is not definitely known when the fort was com- pleted or abandoned. It was one of the most important in the whole line from Shamokin through Tulpehocken to Philadelphia.
A French officer was captured at this fort and examined in Reading in 1757 by Conrad Weiser, James Read and Thomas Oswald. He stated that the Indians had a great number of prisoners whom they would not be willing to give up. It was proven that he had been in the locality of the fort once before and that his party had killed and scalped a German and took seven children prisoners. Nothing was done to him.
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BORDER WARFARE AND FRONTIER FORTS
Fort Northkill. This fort was about two miles east of Strauss- town in Upper Tulpehocken Township on the Northkill, a small stream that flows into the Tulpehocken Creek at Bernville.
Commissary Young on June 20, 1756, wrote: "The fort is about nine miles to the westward of the Schuylkill, and stands in a very thick wood, on a small rising ground, half a mile from the middle of Northkill Creek." On October 1, 1757, there was an attack in the neighborhood of the fort. A request for aid was sent to Conrad Weiser at Reading, and Captain Oswald then sent two lieutenants with forty men to give relief and assistance.
Brunner says: "I visited the spot where the fort stood, Novem- ber 26, 1879. There is a large heap of ground close by, from the excavation of the cellar or underground chamber into which the womenand children were placed for se- curity. The ground fell into the cavity and the au- tumn leaves. have been blown into it for one hun- dred and twen- FORT NORTHKILL. ty-five years, so that by this time it is nearly full."
John W. Degler lived a short distance from this fort. When the Indians became unfriendly he moved his family near the fort that they might be under the protection of the soldiers stationed there. The Indians heard of this and ransacked the house. Among the articles damaged was a chest brought from Germany which is still in possession of his descendants. The chest is made of cedar wood, unpainted, the edges being held together by bands of iron. It was split completely in the middle by the Indians and was later fastened together again by bands of iron placed across the ends but the lid is still in two parts. The date upon the box is 1757, and this is the year in which the deed is supposed to have been committed.
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THE STORY OF BERKS COUNTY
The stockades were logs about eighteen feet long, cut in the woods in the vicinity of the fort and planted in the ground as closely as possible. Some of the old residents of the neighborhood say that they can recall when the stockades were still in position and higher than the ceiling of a room.
Fort at Dietrich Snyder's. This in reality was made more as an observatory rather than as a fort. It was only one and one-half miles from Fort Northkill and afforded a splendid view of the coun- try for a radius of ten miles. Buildings set on fire could readily be seen at this area and reported to the commander at Northkill at once. By constant vigilance the presence of the Indians could be detected, and they could be driven away. The building stood along the road that leads from Strausstown to Pottsville and has been con- verted into a hotel.
Fort Lebanon or Fort William. The next of the forts was Fort Lebanon. It was situated at the Forks of the Schuylkill beyond the Blue Mountains near the outlet of the Little Schuylkill and was built in 1754. It was really a short distance beyond the present county line near Port Clinton. At times it was called Fort Wil- liam and even Fort Schuylkill. It was built upon an elevation that contained but few trees. The stockades were made of logs, planted side by side and pointed at the top. Each log was fourteen feet high. The fort was 100 feet on each side and contained a log house thirty by twenty feet. There was a spring in the fort. At one time the fort sheltered forty families. It was built in three weeks and much of the material was furnished by the people in the vicinity.
Fort Franklin. After the massacre at Gnadenhutten Franklin built Fort Allen at what is now Weissport. When that was com- pleted he sent Foulk to build another between it and Lebanon. It was named in honor of Franklin. It was about forty feet square with two log houses at the opposite corners. It was also called Fort Allemangael, or Albany. This fort stood in Schuylkill County north of Albany Township.
A block house and several other buildings stood on the road between Fort Franklin and Fort Allen in which soldiers and pro-
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BORDER WARFARE AND FRONTIER FORTS
visions, no doubt, were stationed. One of the men in charge of these forts made trips from one to the other several times a week.
Great excitement prevailed in the entire province after the sur- render of General Braddock. The forts were but feeble preparations for defense. The people lived far apart and were not prepared to defend themselves or the forts. The settlers knew their weakness but too well. Many staid in their homes and trembled with fear while many more filed.
During the French and Indian war about 150 of the inhabitants of the county were killed and about thirty more were captured. The Indians always approached the settlers quietly, burned and murdered, then departed speedily, so that after all, it is not strange that during the eight years of warfare only four Indians were killed in the entire county.
Regina. Very many of the early settlers of the county came from Palatinate, Germany, to seek a place of religious freedom. One of these families (Hartman) consisting of father, mother, two sons and two daughters left Wurtemberg and settled in Berks County. The parents were pious, God-fearing people who taught their children to pray and read the scriptures and to sing, there being no school and few neighbors.
On a bright autumn morning the mother and the youngest son went to the REGINA. mill, little thinking of the awful greeting that would await them upon their return. As was the custom they waited until their grists were ground then retraced their journey. It was that delightful season of the year when the trees were colored in all the gorgeous autumn hues, the sumacs were arrayed in red and among them appeared the deep rich green of the rhododendron and pine, the birds were gathering in flocks to have, as it were, their last delightful frolic before saying good-bye to their homes in the hills and woodlands and migrating
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THE STORY OF BERKS COUNTY
to the land of perpetual summer. As onward they journeyed the mother and son talked fondly of home and their hopes of the future; when they arrived home they were horror-stricken to find the father and the oldest son murdered and scalped by the Indians and the two girls, Barbara, twelve years of age, and Regina, ten years old, taken away as captives. As the Hartman girls were led away they saw a sweet little girl only three years old tied to a fence. This child cried bitterly and called for mamma in German. She was also taken along. About a month later some hunters found the body of Barbara. The dreadful tomahawk had done its work.
Regina and the little girl were taken to some obscure part of the mountains where they were kept until a number of them could be collected, when they were marched to New York. In the journey the younger ones were tied on the backs of the older ones and in this manner they were compelled to proceed over stony paths, through rough, briery underbrush until they were weary and footsore, and their clothing nearly all torn from their bodies. When they lodged at night all the prisoners were tied together by the arms. A bed was made of brush and leaves. A sapling about six inches in diameter was cut and split through the middle. A notch was cut into each half so deep that when placed together the notches were large enough to hold the leg of the prisoner just above the ankle. The prisoners were compelled to lie upon a bed of brush and leaves in a row, while a leg of each was placed in one of the notches of the sapling and the two parts of the sapling were then securely bound together with hickory withes and fastened to the ground with stakes.
A large number of the prisoners were taken several hundred miles. Here they were parted and Regina and her companion were taken a hundred miles farther, where both were given to a cruel squaw who had one son. Regina was compelled to gather wild potatoes and beans, which grew in the part of the State in which she lived. Her Indian name was Sawquehanna.
After a time she submitted to her fate with patient resignation. learned and accepted the Indian modes of life and learned to speak their language. Often she took her companion away from the hut
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BORDER WARFARE AND FRONTIER FORTS
to some secluded spot in the forest and again and again they said the prayers of their childhood and sang the songs she learned at home. Days, months and years succeeded, and Regina changed with them. She changed from girlhood to womanhood, from civilized life to that of dwellers of the forest, and lived with the Indians for nine long years without a civilized wash or dress. Changes were very great and very numerous, so no wonder if her former relatives no longer recognized her voice or her features.
Colonel Bouquet, who had charge of the English army, had included in the articles of peace a condition that all children who had been taken captive during the war should be returned. As many as could be secured were collected at Pittsburgh, partly clothed against the December cold, and then taken to Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Notices were printed in all the newspapers that all the parents whose children had been taken captive during the war should come to claim them. The anxious mother went to Carlisle hopeful that she might find her long lost child.
The captives were all drawn up in a line. The mother walked back and forth along the line several times, but could find no resem- blance of her Regina. When taken captive she was ten years of age and now when the mother was trying with aching heart to find her as she walked along the line she was nineteen, and the change was so great that her mother failed to recognize her.
Colonel Bouquet asked the mother if there was no mark about the girl by which she could be identified, and she remembered not one. He then asked if she could not do something which the girl might remember. She replied that they used to sing some hymns at home.
When requested to sing, she stood before the line and sang in German :
Alone and yet not alone am I, Though in this solitude so drear, I feel my Saviour always nigh, He comes the weary hours to cheer ; I am with Him and He with me, Even here alone I cannot be.
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THE STORY OF BERKS COUNTY
In an instant Regina sprang from the line, embracing the singer and sobbing "mother." She joined her mother in singing again the dear old song of their cabin home.
When they were ready to depart Regina's companion clung to her with tears and begged to be taken along. The record and tradi- tion relate that her wish was granted.
CHAPTER VI.
BERKS COUNTY RECORDS IN THE NATION'S WARS.
The Revolution. After the passage of the Stamp Act and the Boston Port Bill, great excitement prevailed in Reading. Through these acts the people of Boston were visited with suffer- ings and losses. This won for them the sympathy of all the colon- ists. When the news reached Reading meetings were held at which a series of seven resolutions were adopted condemning the action of the British government. The people of Berks County during the whole war were active in all the movements to estab- lish independence. They were represented by delegates at vari- ous conferences and they contributed their quota of men and money during the entire contest. A Committee of Correspondence was appointed in the county which met at Reading, January 2, 1775, and agreed to propose a convention to be held in Philadel- phia on January 23, 1775.
When the news of the battle of Lexington reached Reading a company of men was formed who wore crape for a cockade, in token of sorrow for the slaughter of their brethren. Each town- ship in the county resolved to raise and discipline a troop of men.
Each company consisted of one captain, three lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals, a drummer, and sixty-eight privates. The pay was as follows: Captain, $20 a month; lieutenant $131/3 ; ser- geant $8; corporal $71/3 ; drummer, $773 ; private $62/3. They sup- plied their own arms and clothes and the term of their enlistment was one year.
Jones' company. The company of Captain Jonathan Jones pro- ceeded to Canada. They marched six hundred miles, traveling
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THE STORY OF BERKS COUNTY
JOSEPH HIESTER.
by way of Easton, the Hudson River, and Albany, and arriv- ing at Quebec in the latter part of March. They suffered very severely and after the army re- treated from Quebec, they re- turned to secure some valuable papers that had been left be- hind. They were with Arnold in his pursuit of the British af- ter the battle of Cedars and took part in the battle of Three Rivers. They shared the ter- rible sufferings of the army in its retreat to Ticonderoga, and helped to prepare it to resist the attack of the British. Later they acted as a part of the es- cort of Martha Washington into Philadelphia.
Joseph Hicster. Of all the men from Berks who were active in revolutionary times, none accomplished more than Joseph Hiester, a native of Bern Township. When the excitement of the war began, Hiester was only twenty-three years of age but he was not too young to heed his country's call. He was sent as a dele- gate to the Provincial conference held at Carpenter's Hall, Phila- delphia, and upon its adjournment carried the spirit for indepen- dence back to Reading.
On July 10, 1776, he called together his fellow citizens by the beat of the drum and made a speech upon what he considered the condition of affairs in the county. After he had aroused their patriot- ism to a desirable point, he told them that he wished to raise a com- pany of volunteers to march to the assistance of Washington, who was then in New Jersey. At the conclusion of his remarks he laid forty dollars in money on a drumhead, and said, "I will give this sum as a bounty to the first man who will volunteer to become a part of the company and march to the aid of the commander-in-
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BERKS COUNTY RECORDS IN THE NATION'S WARS
chief. I will also pledge myself to furnish the company with blankets and the funds necessary for their equipment."
He had hardly completed speaking when Mathias Babb stepped forward, took the money from the drumhead, and signed the arti- cles. Notices were sent through the entire community and meet- ings were held. In ten days Hiester had collected ninety-six men, who were promptly organized. The men of this company soon learned to admire their leader. About the time the company was formed Henry Haller desired to be made the colonel of the com- pany. Haller well know that if Hiester was a candidate he could not be elected. Hiester, therefore, consented to refrain from being a candidate and Haller was made colonel. Haller had hardly been chosen, when Edward Burd came to Hiester, stating that he would like to be made major, but that he could not be elected if Hiester were a candidate. Hiester again made way for Burd. This spirit of self-sacrifice and willingness to serve was one of the most admirable traits revealed by any of the men during the entire war. He gave them the place of honor and distinction and expressed his willingness to serve in the ranks if in that way the cause of his country could be advanced.
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