USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Warwick's Keystone commonwealth; a review of the history of the great state of Pennsylvania, and a brief record of the growth of its chief city, Philadelphia > Part 8
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The market place was the centre of town life and it was located originally at the intersection of High and Front streets. About 1693 it was removed to Second street. The market house was covered with a roof, opened both sides and filled with stalls upon which were displayed the farm and garden pro- ducts which were for sale. The stalls were on both sides and the avenue in the middle was for the use of pedestrians and buyers. There was a bell house at the end of each market, occupied by a clerk and the ringing of the bell announced the opening of business. The markets were opened from six to seven o'clock in the morning in the summer, and from eight to nine in the winter. All classes met here, farmers, hucksters, pedlers and housewives. Indians brought in their berries, roots, maize, skins and wicker baskets, while the truckers from Jersey and from the Neck exposed their fresh vegetables for sale and the farmers from the western districts of the province offered at a cheap figure, chickens, ducks, eggs and butter.
CHAPTER VI.
CONTENTION BETWEEN PENN AND LORD BALTIMORE IN RELATION TO THE BOUND- ARY LINES BETWEEN PENNSYLVANIA AND MARYLAND. VIRGINIA'S CLAIM TO A PORTION OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIAA. CONNECTICUT SEIZES AND SETTLES THE WYOMING VALLEY, PENN GIVES A CHARTER TO THE CITY OF PHILA- DELPHIA. NIGHT WATCH ESTABLISHED. DEATH OF WILLIAM PENN. CHAR- ACTER OF WILLIAM PENN.
F ROM the very beginning of the province there were disputes as to the boundary lines between Pennsylvania and the neighboring colonies. These disputes were with Maryland on the south, Connecticut on the north, and Virginia on the west, and it was years before final settle- ments were made. The claims were resisted by the Penns at every point but always with a fair, just and equitable spirit and were ultimately settled in ac-
cordance with a compromise that originally would have been agreed to by Wil- liam Penn himself. Had the claimants been successful, Pennsylvania today would be a strip of land only about 70 miles in width and 240 in length, and would not include the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The first contest arose between Maryland and Pennsylvania, and it was this contest that necessitated the presence of Penn in England. Had it not been for the Baltimore claims, Penn unquestionably would have remained several years longer in the province of Pennsylvania until he had the city well organized and well founded. Lord Baltimore claimed territory that covered at least one half of the province of Pennsylvania. The original charter which the crown granted to William Penn, his heirs and assigns, conveyed "all that tract or parts of land in America, with the islands therein contained, as the same is bounded on the east by Delaware River from 12 miles distant northward of Newcastle town unto the three and 40th degree of latitude, if the said river doth extend so far northward. But if the said river shall not extend so far northward then by the said river, so far as it doth extend, and from the head of the said river the east- ern bounds are to be determined by a meridian line to be drawn from the head of the said river unto the said 43rd degree. The said land to extend westward 5 degrees of longitude, to be computed from the said eastern bounds and the said lands to be bounded on the north by the beginning of the three and 40th degree of northern latitude and on the south by a circle drawn at 12 miles distant from Newcastle northward and westward unto the beginning of the 40th degree of northern latitude and then by a straight line westward to the limits of longitude above mentioned."
On the other hand the charter granted to Lord Baltimore provided that "his province should run northward along the ocean unto that part of Delaware Bay on the north which lieth unto the 40th degree of northern latitude." This language is not sufficiently explicit to set aside all controversy, for an interpre- tation can easily be given to it which brought his territory into and covered by
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the entire 40th degree of latitude on the north. In tracing the lines of his grant Baltimore took as a landmark on the south, Watkin's Point, a cape on the east- ern shore of Maryland extending into the Chesapeake Bay opposite the mouth of the Potomac River, lying in the 38th degree of latitude. From this point he ran his line eastward to the coast and then proceeding northward stopped at the end of the 40th degree of latitude, a short distance north of Philadelphia, and from this point it ran directly west, then south and east to the place of beginning. His warrant for going so far north was the language of his charter which pro- vided that "his province should run northward along the ocean unto that part of Delaware Bay on the north which lieth under the 40th degree of north lati- tude." Ile contended that the language "under the 40th degree" reached to the end of and included the said degree, whereas the Penns contended that it meant next to or adjoining the beginning of the said degree, in other words, lying under the same but not included within the same. Under the Penn grant it will be seen that the southern line of Pennsylvania was marked by the begin- ning of the 40th degree of latitude. This unfortunately overlapped the original charter of the Baltimores and included the greater portion of the state of Mary- land as well as the city of Baltimore, and left under the Baltimore grant only a small portion comparatively of what Lord Baltimore considered his original possessions.
The language of the Maryland grant, marked the end of the 40th degree of latitude as the northern line of the same. It does not seem reasonable that these lines were correct under the two grants, for they conflicted unquestionably with each other and the Penns were always willing, in view of the language of the two charters, to settle the matter by compromise. It was natural that dis- putes in relation to the boundaries of territory should arise at that time for there were no accurate surveys such as have been made since and in granting the char- ters the authorities had to depend in a great measure upon the maps that had been drawn by the carly explorers and navigators. Captain John Smith had. made two maps but they were of Virginia and New England. He had never as- cended Delaware Bay and the intervening section of country between Virginia and New England had not been explored, and it does look as if there had been a mistake made in the Penn grant in fixing the southern boundary line at the beginning of the 40th degree as well as a mistake in the fixing of the northern boundary line of Maryland at the end of the same degree. Ilere was an entire degree of latitude in dispute, its ending being claimed as the northern limitation of Maryland and its beginning as the southern limitaton of Pennsylvania. The language of Penn's Charter also involved the matter by the following language: "That the province should be bounded on the south by a circle drawn at 12 miles distant from Newcastle northward and westward at the beginning of the 40th degree of latitude." It is difficult to understand what this means unless we give it the interpretation that evidently was given to it at the time the ultimate compromise was made.
When Penn reached England he had an interview with Lord Baltimore and although the meeting is described as having been cordial his Lordship gave no intimation of surrendering his claim and evidenced no spirit of compromise and the contest was continued. The opinions of the most learned and dis-
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tinguished lawyers of England were sought by both parties and strange to say these eminent gentlemen in every instance gave an opinion in accordance with the desires and wishes of their clients. No compromise being possible in that di- rection there was nothing left to do but to submit the matter to the Privy Coun- cil and here long and learned arguments were made, pro and con, and judg- ments entered in favor of the Penns. But Lord Baltimore with a spirit of no surrender resorted to delay and chicanery of every sort and brought into play the ingenuity of his lawyers to hold the matter in abeyance. The controversy extended out into years and still the parties seemed to be as far away from set- tlement as ever. At last, however, an agreement was entered into between the proprietors of the two provinces, and it was stipulated that the boundaries of Pennsylvania and Maryland should be settled by drawing a line between the same that was to be located fifteen miles south of the parallel passing along South street in Philadelphia, which then was the most southerly portion of the city. This line was to continue to the western limits of the province but no sooner was the contract executed than Baltimore doubtless regretting his action again began to resort to every device to delay a final settlement of the matter. After every effort had been made to induce the Maryland proprietors to comply with their agreement, suit was brought on the contract in a Court of Equity. Up to this time the question of boundary disputes could alone be decided by the Privy Council they having exclusive jurisdiction in such matters, but unfortunately in so far as the Penns were concerned they seem to have had no power to en- force their findings. But a contract having been entered into between the contestants the Court of Equity had jurisdiction and a Bill was filed request- ing the aid of the Chancellor and praying the Court to direct specific perform- ance of the contract. Upon further delay a day was fixed for the hearing of the facts in the case and after an argument a Decree was entered, directing the Bal- timores to carry out the provisions of the agreement, but they still defied the order of the Court and no settlement was had for a period of ten years. At the end of that time, however, light seemed to dawn upon the minds of the Balti- mores, or the proprietors of Maryland and they agreed to enter into another contract, virtually a repetition of the original one. Commissioners were ap- pointed to confer upon the matter. Pennsylvania selected James Hamilton, Richard Peters, Reverend Doctor Ewing, William Allen, William Coleman, Thomas Willing, Benjamin Chew and Edward Shippen, Jr. These were some of the most distinguished men of the province, but they moved too slowly to satisfy the proprietors, and in 1763 two English surveyors and astronomers, Ma- son and Dixon, were brought over to fix, by actual survey, the line of demarca- tion, drawing it from the circle surrounding Newcastle that had been referred to in the original grant to the Penns, in a direct line to the western borders of the province. They spent four years upon the task, and cut a pathway through the wilderness, 24 feet wide. They placed stones at regular distances apart, mark- ing one side with the coat of arms of the Baltimores, and the other with the coat of arms of the Penns. The Indians, however, were alert and watched the work of these white men with curious interest. They grew suspicions and threatened violence. They could not understand what was meant by cutting so wide a swath through the woods, nor could they understand the use of the instruments
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of the surveying party, with which the white men seemed to be communicating, not only by day but also by night, with the stars and the planets. The Penns used their influence with the Chiefs of the tribes, however, and the work although delayed for a time was again begun, but it was found too perilous a task to con- tinue. Many of the workmen engaged in digging, cutting and surveying were terrified by the threats of the Redmen, threw down their tools and deserted. When Mason and Dixon were about fifty miles from the western border of Penn- sylvania they were compelled to abandon further operations ; the line, however, which they marked still remains to this day and defines the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland,
From the very beginning of this dispute the Penns had shown a spirit of compromise and were willing to have the matter settled by fair and just arbitra- tion, but the Baltimores were relentless in their opposition and did everything in their power to thwart the matter of settlement. The final compromise, how- ever, was just and equitable, and it was one from the very beginning which the Penns would have agreed to without any hesitation. In view of the contradictory language in both charters it was just the sort of settlement that should have been made and justice in the end won her cause, and every Pennsylvanian today is indebted to the Penns for their persistence, courage and determination in se- curing that which made Pennsylvania a great empire instead of a mere narrow stretch of territory.
When the Maryland suit was disposed of, Virginia laid claim to that portion of Pennsylvania which lay between the last stone on the Mason and Dixon line and Pennsylvania's western border, Virginia taking it for granted that the last stone set up on the Mason and Dixon line marked the extreme western boundary of Pennsylvania. There was no reason for this assumption because the sur- veyors would have gone further, all the way to the western limits of the pro- vince of Pennsylvania, which western limits were clearly defined in the grant to Pen, had it not been that they were stopped in their work by the threaten- ing attitude of the Indians, and they ceased their work only when it was danger- ons to pursue it further. These distinguished surveyors had been employed to fix the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, not between Virginia and Pennsylvania, for there had been no contest in the matter of a dividing line between these two provinces. Virginia in her claim drew a line northward from the last stone on Mason and Dixon's line to a point about the middle of the 41st degree and then west to the western boundary line of Pennsylvania and then south and east to the place of beginning. This tract of land included the early settlement which eventually was to become the city of Pittsburgh.
It was a mere piece of arrogance and spoliation on the part of Virginia, for she based her right to seize this territory on the ground that she was a Royal Province and that as such she had a right to claim and appropriate all con- tiguous lands that were unoccupied. There was no right nor justice in her claim. Her purpose to erect a Fort at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to prevent the advance of the French was not objected to by the proprietors of Pennsylvania, but her seizure of the land was bitterly opposed and her conduct created great contention between her citizens and those of Penli- sylvania and in the struggles that ensued blood was shed and lives were lost. It
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was not until 1779 that the question was finally settled. Virginia was compelled to surrender all claims, Mason and Dixon's line was extended westward to the boundaries of the state of Pennsylvania and the contested land then became for all time the part of the territory of this state.
The third dispute in relation to boundary lines was a claim put forth by Connecticut to the upper half of the province of Pennsylvania, including that portion of the territory known as the 42nd degree of latitude. If the reader will take a map of the United States he will find that Connecticut is bounded on the north by Massachusetts, on the south by Long Island Sound and on the west by New York and that she lies in the 42nd degree of latitude, as does the upper part of the state of Pennsylvania. The charter granted to Connecticut in 1662 fixed her eastern boundary as Narragansett Bay and extended her dominion westward to the Pacific Ocean. There was, however, a proviso in the charter which excepted from this grant any portions of territory then possessed or in- habited by any other Christian Prince or State. This, of course, precluded her from occupying any portion of the province of New York or as it was then called the New Netherlands, but leaping over this intervening space, between her and Pennsylvania, she claimed that her territory under the original grant extended from the western boundary of New York and swept across the continent all the way to the Pacific Ocean, or as it was then called the South Sea.
Connecticut received her charter many years before Pennsylvania and when the grant was made to the latter province there was no resistance upon the part of Connecticut : nor did she claim that she had been deprived of any portion of her territory nor that there was any encroachment upon her rights. For years, by her silence, she gave her acquiescence and it seems never to have en- tered her mind that she had been deprived of any portion of her territory until some of her hardy settlers, in their explorations penetrated the wilderness and came suddenly upon the Wyoming Valley, one of the most beautiful sections of this country. It was then in its primeval state and had not been scarred by the white man's axe. Its hillsides were covered with forests and through the valley ran a great river like a silver thread. So delighted and entranced were the ex- plorers with the beautiful vista spread out around and before them that they carried the news home to their settlement and aroused the cupidity of their friends and neighbors. Their accounts, however, were considered so extrava- gant in relation to the beauty and fertility of the land that the story was looked upon with suspicion. Other explorers, however, brought back a confirmation of the first reports and a corporation was organized called the Susquehanna Com- pany, whose purpose it was to induce and promote settlements in the valley. They moved slowly and with business judgment and as a first step to strengthen their claim they sent a deputation of citizens to attend the Council of the Six Nations held at Albany in 1754 to effect, if possible, a purchase from the Indians and secure a title to the said territory. Pennsylvania having heard that such a con- ference would be held, sent as commissioners to represent her interests, John and Richard Penn, Benjamin Franklin and Isaac Norris. The Yankees, however, overcame all the resistance offered by the Pennsylvanians and by the tempting offer of £2000 of the current money of New York induced the Indians to give a title to the said Susquehanna Company. It was not, however, until eight years
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after this purchase that the first settlement of the land in question was made by people from Connecticut. At this time 200 farmers and their families journeyed to the Valley, built their huts and began to till the soil. They were allowed to reap the first crop but after they had garnered the harvest the Indians suddenly swooped down upon them, killed and scalped about twenty of the men and com- pelled the rest of the settlers, men, women and children, to flee through the fields and over the mountains to find a refuge in New England. Some of them, how- ever, took a temporary habitation and shelter in Easton. This terrible massacre greatly disheartened the officers of the Susquehanna Company and for years no further attempts at settlement were made. In the meantime, however, the Penn family, fearing that the purchase at Albany by the Susquehanna Company would weaken their title opened up negotiations with the Indian tribes and finally suc- ceeded in securing an agreement. They purchased some of the land outright and induced the Indians to agree that they would not dispose of any land in their possession withont giving the Penns the first chance to purchase. The Indians in truth had not much respect for an option and perhaps did not fully understand the meaning of the term for they did not hesitate to sell twice over or oftener any lands they had previously sold, provided they could find a purchaser or a higher bidder. The original sale by the Six Nations to the Susquehanna Com- pany had been made on the ground that the Indians who occupied the soil of Wyoming were vassals and under the rule and dominion of the said Six Nations, and the Penns in order to weaken the position of the Susquehanna Company negotiated with the Chiefs of the different tribes in that confederation. , The Chiefs were invited to Philadelphia, were feasted and toasted and tempted, and so successful were the Penns in their cajolery that as a final result the Indians not only rescinded the sale to the Susquehanna Company but selected several of the Chiefs of the Six Nations to travel to Hartford and openly disclaim the sale that had been made to the Susquehanna Company. In 1768, a council was held at Fort Stanwix and in final confirmation of the conference held at Philadel- phia a title was given of the disputed land to the Penns. As the matter now stood, the Penns thought they occupied an invulnerable position. The original grant in 1681 by Charles H1. had given them the land and in the charter its boundary lines were clearly defined. Further than this the Penns had strengthened their position in securing a title from the Indians for whatever that was worth.
There is another phase to this question that must not be overlooked. The charter granted to Penn, his heirs and assigns, was many years after the charter had been given to Connecticut. If there was any question about the land having belonged to Connecticut it was settled when the King gave his last grant, for the King in those days differed from a private individual in such matters. The individual who made a sale of land and passed title was bound by his act for all time and was estopped from making any further grant. The Indian title gave only the right to build a hut, to till the soil, to shoot and hunt and fish ; it was in the nature of an incorporeal hereditament. The Red Man's title did not give absolute ownership to the land itself, as does an English deed "ad cockum et ad infernos."
The matter of Connecticut occupancy could easily have been settled by the emigrants of that colony by negotiating for the use and ownership of the land
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with the Penns, but this they would not do. They were not willing to lose their identity as Yankees. They wanted the land to be considered a part of Connecti- cut itself and they had no intention of becoming citizens of another colony, or, in other words, of becoming Pennsylvanians. The position they took, and their determination to exercise the right of squatter sovereignty, as did the Scotch- Irish in the western part of the province, provoked a conflict that lasted for up- wards of thirty years and caused some little bloodshed. It was not until some time after the revolution that the disputed titles were settled. It must be borne in mind that the contest waged by the people of Connecticut was not against Penn- sylvania, but against the Penns themselves, the proprietors of the province. In fact many Pennsylvanians sympathized with the settlers from Connecticut, and Captain Lazarus Stewart, a resident of Pennsylvania, became the aider and abettor of the Connecticut invaders. The conflicts between the inhabitants of Connecticut and the Penns was called the Pennamite Wars. In order to main- tain possession of their lands against the inroads of the strangers, the Penns leased one hundred acres of the valley for seven years to Amos Ogden, Charles Stewart and John Jennings on condition that they would defend the land against all intruders.
Amos Ogden came from New Jersey, was an Indian trader, a backwoods- man of experience and in every way fitted for his task. In February, 1769, the Susquehanna Company sent forty men into the Wyoming Valley, to be followed afterwards by twice as many more. They were given land by the said Company and provided with {200 of Connecticut currency to enable them to purchase farm- ing tools and weapons, on condition that they would defend the valley against all intrusion upon the part of the Pennsylvanians. Their leader was Colonel Zebu- lon Butler. He was a veteran of the French and Indian Wars, a man of cour- age and resources, well fitted for the work he had in hand. When the forty invaders from Connecticut reached the valley they found they had been fore- stalled by the Penns, and that the Penn representatives had already established a Trading Post with the Indians and were in possession of the valley. Ogden had but a small force with him to repel the invaders, his command not exceeding ten men able to bear arms, but he fortified himself as well as possible under the cir- cumstances and made every preparation to meet the attack of the invaders. The little army of Yankees lay siege to the fort, threw out their pickets, and pre- vented Ogden's men from shooting deer and cutting wood, thus depriving the besieged of food and fuel. Ogden, being greatly outnumbered, saw that it was only a question of time when he would have to surrender, and he suggested a conference and a discussion. His proposition was accepted, and three men from Connecticut came to the Block House to argue as they supposed the terms of sur- render. John Jennings, one of the leaders of the Pennsylvania contingency, sheriff of Northampton County, placed at once the three messengers under ar- rest and escorted them to jail at Easton. After a hearing before a justice of the peace, the three prisoners were released on bail, and without delay they marched back to join their companions in Wyoming. Jennings, with the authority of his office of Sheriff, summoned at once the posse of Northampton County, and started in pursuit of the men who had been released on bail, but now having a superior force, he not only arrested the three men but all their companions, about forty in
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