USA > Wyoming > A sketch of the history of Wyoming > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13
After the discovery of America, the different nations of Europe severally claimed such parts of the American Continent as had been discovered by their respective subjects ; and all that part of North America from Florida to the latitude of 58º having been discovered by Sebastian Cabot in 1497, was claimed by the English Government. The discovery by Cabot appears to have been confined principally to the general figure and position of the coast, and not to have extended to the various bays and rivers with which it is indented, and it does not appear that the English had any knowl- edge of those particulars for more than one hundred years after the first discovery of the country.
When a portion of the people of England began to manifest a design of forming settlements in America and to take measures for that purpose, it became necessary, in order to secure the different adventurers in their respective rights, that Char- ters from the Government should be obtained, defi- ning as nearly as possible the territorial limits of each Colony or Province. In 1606 two companies
D
38
SKETCH OF THE
were formed in England, with a view of forming settlements and opening a trade with America .- One of them obtained a Charter the same year for the Southern part of the English claims which they called " Virginia," where they had commenced some small settlements. The other Company con- tinued to trade with the Indians, but did not ob- tain their Charter until 1620. On the third day of March of that year, King James I. granted them Letters Patent under the great seal of Eng- land, Incorporating the Duke of Lenox, the Mar- quises of Buckingham and Hamilton, the Earls of Arundel and Warwick, and others, to the number of forty Noblemen, Knights and Gentlemen, by the name of " The Councils established at Plym- outh in the County of Devon for the Planting, Ru- ling and Governing of New England in Ameri- ca."* The powers of this Corporation were to be exercised in England, where it was established ; but its laws and regulations were to extend to " the ruling and governing of New England." There was, by the same Charter, granted to them and their assigns all ‹‹ That part of America lying " and being in breadth from the forty degrees of " the said Northerly latitude from the Equinoctial " line to forty eight degrees of the said Northerly " latitude inclusively, and in length of and within "' all the breadth aforesaid throughout the main " land from sea to sea," &c., concluding with the following condition : " Provided that any of the said
*Trumbull
3.9
HISTORY OF WYOMING.
34 premises by said Letters Patent intended and " meant to be granted were not then actually pos- " sessed or inhabited by any other Christian Prince " or State, or within the bounds, limits or terri- " tories of the Southern Colonies then before gran- " ted by our said dear Father to be planted by his " loving subjects in the Southern part."*
This was the General Charter of New England, which name was given to the country by the Char- ter, Parts of the territory described by it were af- terwards sold out to other companies, and by means of such division the several New England States have been formed ; but as the powers of Legisla- tion were by this Charter to be exercised in Eng- land, the different Colonies found it necessary to obtain new Charters to vest in them the various rights and powers necessary for their prosperity.
The contention which so long subsisted between the citizens of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and which caused so much blood to be spilled at Wyo- ming, originated in an interference of the territori- al claims of the respective parties. These claims were founded in the Charters granted to their res- pective Governments. It therefore becomes ne- cessary, in order to have a full understanding of the rights of the different parties, to examine the particulars of their claims, and the manner in which their Charter boundaries were ascertained. We have already seen that in the original Charter of New England, the Southern boundary of the
*Trumbull.
40
SKETCH OF THE
territory granted to the Plymouth Company was fixed at the fortieth degree of north latitude. In the year 1628 the Plymouth Company transferred io Sir Henry Roswell and others that part of their territory which now forms the State of Massachu- setts. In 1630 the same Company sold to the Earl of Warwick, their President, that part now composing the State of Connecticut with the same width of territory extending from sea to sea, mean- ing at that time from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. ' The Earl of Warwick, by Deed dated the 19th of March 1631 conveyed to Lords Jay and Scal, Lord Brook, and others, to the number of twelve, the same territory which the Company had conveyed to him, in which Deed the Western lim- its are described in the following singular phrase- ology of those times: " and also all and singular " the lands and hereditaments whatsoever, lying " and being within the lands aforesaid North and " South, in latitude and breadth-and in length " and in longitude of, and within all the breadth " aforesaid throughout the main land there from " the Western Ocean to the South Sea."* Two years afterwards, in the month of September 1633, William Holmes at the head of a small company took possession under this Grant, and made the first settlement in the Colony on the banks of the Con- necticut, just below the mouth of Windsor River ; and in the month of November 1635 a party of men was sent by Governor Winthrop from Boston, who
*Trumbull,
41
HISTORY OF WYOMING.
took possession of the mouth of Connecticut River, and erected a Fort there, which they called Say- brook, in honor of the principal Proprietor .* Mr ... John Winthrop acted as Governor of the new Colo- ny under the direction of the Proprietors, who re- mained in England ; and as the settlements in- creased in population it was found extremely ne- cessary that the power of making laws should rest in the Colony. Accordingly a negociation was opened between the inhabitants of the Colony on one side, and the Proprietors, through their agent George Fenwick Esq. who commanded Fort Say- brook, on the other, which resulted in a cession of the title of the Proprietors to the inhabitants on the 5th of December 1644.
From this time the people of Connecticut were governed by their own laws ; but as the original power of legislation was by the Charter to be exer- cised at " Plymouth in the County of Devon," the right of the General Court to exercise the same in the Colony, became very questionable. A civil war however raged in England, and the people of Connecticut were more deeply concerned in rela- tion to the manner of administering their Govern- ment, than anxious respecting its legality. Upon the restoration of the Monarchy under Charles II. it was very naturally concluded that these powers would be more critically examined, as a state of peace would give the Government leisure to en- quire into the affairs of the Colonies ; and it was
*Trumbull.
Dx
42
SKETCH OF THE
thought proper to apply to the King for a specific Charter granting them the privilege of self Govern- ment. Accordingly the Legislative body (called the General Court,) which met at Hartford in May 1644, drew up a petition to his Majesty re- questing in a formal manner to be taken under the royal protection, and that he would be pleased to grant them a Charter of privileges which should in- clude and establish the original Constitution of Government which had been adopted at a general meeting of all the free planters of the Colony con- vened at Hartford on the 14th of January 1639, a copy of which accompanied the petition. Mr. John Winthrop, at that time Governor of the Colo- ny, was sent to England to lay this petition before the King, and on the 23d of April 1662, a Char- ter was granted to the Colony agreeably to the prayer of the petition. This Charter included "' All that part of our dominions in New England "in America, bounded on the East by Naragansett " Bay, where the said River falleth into the Sea- "and on the North by the line of the Massachu- " setts plantation-on the South by the Sea, and " in longitude as the line of the Massachusetts Col- "ony, running from East to West-(that is to "say) from the Naragansett Bay on the East to " the South Sea on the West part."
These several instruments taken together give us a full view of the territorial limits of Connecti- cut. It will be observed that in the Connecticut Charter, the southern boundary is said to be " the Sea." but as the Sea, or rather Long Island Sound,
43.
HISTORY OF WYOMING.
extends in a south-westerly direction, the place. of the south-west corner of the Colony was not spe- cifically defined. In order therefore to ascertain that point, we must resort to the Deed of the Col- ony from the Earl of Warwick, in which the terri- tory included is said to be " All that part of New "England in America which lies and extends it- " self from a River there called Naragansett River, " the space of forty leagues upon a straight line "near the shore towards the south-west as the " coast lieth towards Virginia, accounting three " English miles to the league," &c. The grant to the Plymouth Company having extended South to the fortieth degree of North latitude, they had therefore an undoubted right to transfer their claims to that degree, and if the distance mention- ed in the Deed from the Earl of Warwick begin- ning at the "Naragansett Bay where the said River falleth into the Sea," and measuring one hundred and twenty English miles, " in a straight line as the coast lieth towards Virginia," would not extend beyond the fortieth degree of North latitude, then the point found by such measure- ment would be the south-west corner of Connecti- cut, and the territory included would be all the country from that point to the "line of the Massa- chusetts plantation," and " from the Naragansett Bay on the East, to the South Sea on the West part. " It so happens that a distance of one hun- dred and twenty miles measured in a direet line along the coast from Naragansett Bay towards Virginia will terminate very nearly on the fortieth
44
SKETCH OF THE
degree of North latitude, but as this measurement was not made at the time various difficulties oc- curred in establishing the south-western boundary of the Colony. Those difficulties originated in the following circumstances.
In the year 1608, Capt. Henry Hudson, under -
a commission from King James I. of England, sail- ed in the employment of several London merchants in quest of a north-west passage to India, and ha- ving discovered Long Island Sound and the mouth of a large river opening into a spacious bay, he sailed into the same and having proceeded up the river about one hundred miles with his ship, he came to anchor opposite the place where the city now stands which bears his name. He spent sev- eral days trading with the Indians, and having giv- en his own name to the river, returned into the Atlantic. Two years afterwards he made a second voyage in the employment of several merchants of Holland to whom he subsequently sold his right to the countries which he had discovered.
The Amsterdam West India Company having purchased Hudson's claim called the country the " New Netherlands," and built a Town on an Island at the mouth of the river which they called " New Amsterdam." In 1614 the same Compa- ny sent part of their Colony up the river where they built a Town on the western bank which they call- ed " Orange." These two Towns were the first which were built by the subjects of any European nation within the present limits of the United States. Thus the whole country for a distance of
45
HISTORY OF WYOMING.
one hundred and sixty miles along the Hudson was in the possession of the Dutch and consequent- ly came within the proviso mentioned in the Char- ter to the Plymouth Company which excepted such of the granted premises as were " then actually possessed or inhabited by any other Christian Prince or State," for the Dutch had been in the oc- cupancy of the country six years previous to the date of the Company's Charter.
In the year 1664 on the 12th day of March King Charles II. granted a patent to his brother the Duke of York and Albany of a large tract of coun- try in America including Long Island, the territo- ry of the New Netherlands and all the country westward to the Delaware Bay : his Majesty ha- ving declared that the Dutch had no right to coun- tries first discovered by an Englishman. A war had broken out with the Dutch, and the Duke con- sidered it a proper time to take possession of his territories. A fleet was accordingly fitted out un- der the command of Sir Robert Carr and Colonel Nichols, which proceeded to Boston, and having procured reinforcements from the Colonies ap- peared before the city of New Amsterdam which surrendered to the English on the 27th of August 1664, and the whole of the New Netherlands hav- ing followed the example of the capital, the two principal Towns received the names which formed the principal titles of their new proprietor: New Amsterdam taking the name of New York, and Orange that of Albany. The Dutch Colony of the New Netherlands, having by these events become
46
SKETCH OF THE
the English Province of New York, it became ne- cessary that the boundaries between that Province and the New England Plantations should be defin- itively settled. The Dutch, during the continu- ance of their Government, had extended their set- tlements as far eastward along the coast as possi- ble, and when the first planters of the Connecti- cut Colony arrived, they found ¿a company of the Dutch building a Fort on the banks of Connecticut River where Hartford now stands, in which they had already placed two pieces of cannon .*
They were forced to abandon the attempt to form settlements on Connecticut River, and were even- tually driven back to their permanent settlements which then extended no farther than the neighbor- hood of West Chester ; but hostilities were for many years kept up between them and the New England planters, and no definitive boundaries were ever agreed upon between them, which was of any longer duration than the continuance of peace and good understanding between the neigh- bouring planters of the respective Colonies.
To prevent the continuance of these hostilities, Commissioners were appointed on behalf of the Colony of Connecticut to confer with Col. Dungan, then Governor of the Province under his Grace the Duke of York, concerning the territorial limits of their respective Governments ; and they were au- thorised to fix and determine the boundary line between the Colony of Connecticut and the Prova
*Trumbull
47
HISTORY OF WYOMING.
ince of New York. Accordingly on the 28th of November 1683, it was mutually agreed " That the line should begin at Byram River where it falleth into the Sound at a point called Lyons' Point :- to go as the said River runneth to the place where the common road or wading place over said river is. And from the said road or wading place, to go North, north-west into the country as far as will be eight English miles from the afore- said Lyons' Point, and that a line of twelve miles being measured from the said Lyon's Point accor- ding to the line or general courses of the Sound Eastward. Where the said twelve miles endeth another line shall be run from the Sound eight miles into the country North, north-west, and also that a fourth line be run, (that is to say) from the northernmost end of the eight miles line being the third mentioned line (which is to be twelve miles in length) a line parallel to Hudson's River, in eve- ry place twenty miles distant from Hudson's River shall be the bounds there between the said territo- ry or Province of New York and the said Colony of Connecticut as far as Connecticut Colony doth extend northwards that is to the South line of the Massachusetts Colony. Only it is provided that in case the line from Byram's Brook's mouth North north-west eight miles and the line that is then to run twelve miles to the end of the third foremen- tioned line of eight miles do diminish or take away land within twenty miles of Hudson's River, that then so much as in land diminished of twenty miles of Hudson's River thereby shall be added out of
48
SKETCH OF THE
Connecticut bounds unto the line aforementioned parallel to Hudson's River and twenty miles dis- tant from it, the addition to be made the whole length of the said parallel line, and in such breadth as will make up quantity for quantity what shall be diminished as aforesaid."
This agreement was ratified on the part of Con- necticut by the General Assembly in May 1684, and the lines having been run, were approved by Governors Dungan and Treat of the two Colonies, Feb. 24th. 1685 .*
In this agreement which finally settled the boun- daries between Connecticut and New York, noth- ing is said of the Charter limits of the Two Govern- ments. The Duke's Charter included most of the present State of Connecticut, a great part of Mas- sachusetts, a part of New Hampshire, the whole of Vermont, and the whole of New Jersey. The Connecticut Charter which was two years older than the Dukes, extended through the State of New York westward to the Pacific Ocean, but in the purchase from the Plymouth Company on which the Charter was founded, the Dutch settlements were excepted, and in consequence of this excep- tion the Duke held the territories bounded by the line established by this agreement.
Having thus taken a full view of the Charter lim- its of Connecticut it 's proper that we now consid- er those of Pennsylvania. On the 4th of March 1681, King Charles II. granted a Charter to
*Trumbull.
49
HISTORY OF WYOMING.
William Penn, in consideration of a debt due by the English Government to his father Admiral Penn, including " All that tract or part of land in America with all the islands therein contained as the same is bounded on the East by Delaware ri- ver from twelve miles distant northwards of New Castle town unto the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude if the said river doth extend so far northward, but if the said river shall not ex- tend so far northwards, then by the said river so far as it doth extend, and from the head of the said river the Eastern bounds are to be determined by a meridian line to be drawn from the head of the said river unto the said three and fortieth degree, the said lands to extend westward five degrees in lon- gitude 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 fortieth degree of northern latitude."
This Charter extended the claims of Mr. Penn as far North as the northern boundary of Connec- ticut, and there was consequently an interference in the two claims equal to one degree of latitude and five degrees of longitude, including the Valley of Wyoming and the adjacent country. Thus ·stood the Charter claims between the respective parties; but the whole country on the upper waters of the Susquehanna being in possession of the In- dians it became necessary to procure their title in order to secure a just and proper claim to the terri- tory. It has been said by a person of respectability*
*Judge Patterson.
E
50
SKETCH OF THE
that " The Penn family had exclusively the right " of purchasing the lands of the Indians," &c. It is therefore proper to take a view of this part of the subject. In the Charter granted to the Plym- outh Company they were not only authorised to take, occupy and possess all parts of their grant but to sell and dispose of any part of it, and in the Charter to Connecticut the King recognised the purchase from the Plymouth Company in the fol- lowing words: " That the same Colony or the greater part thereof was purchased and obtained for great and valuable considerations, and some other parts thereof gained by conquest ;" and in that part of the Charter where the pre-emption powers are given to the Colony, he says: " And also to have, take, possess, acquire and purchase, lands, tenements or hereditaments or any goods or chattels, and the same to lease, grant, demise, alien, bargain, sell and dispose of," &c. It ap- pears evident from the Charter that the most ex- tensive powers of pre-emption were given to the Colony. But in the Charter to William Penn no such powers were expressly given, and they can be claimed only by implication. It is evident how- ever that the right of purchasing the lands from the Indians as well as of conquest, was intended to be given to all the Colonies and Plantations, oth- erwise their Charters would have been of very little consequence. The English Government however exercised the right of regulating the time and man- ner of such purchases, as the relations of peace or war might render necessary or proper.
51
HISTORY OF WYOMING.
In the year 1753, a number of persons princi- pally inhabitants of Connecticut, formed them- selves into a Company for the purpose of purcha- sing the Susquehanna lands of the Indians, and of forming settlements at Wyoming. This associa- tion was called the " Susquehanna Company," and during the same year they sent out Commis- sioners to explore the contemplated territory, and to establish a friendly intercourse with such In- dian tribes as should be found in possession of it. A war having commenced between England and France, the English Government considered it highly necessary that a good understanding should be established between the inhabitants of their American Colonies and the Indian tribes border- ing on their northern and western frontier, for should those tribes enter into the service of the French who were in possession of the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, they might essentially contribute in extending the French arms over all the British Colonies in America. Orders were consequently received from England directing the Colonies to hold a general treaty with the Indians at Albany in 1754, and to form if possible such an alliance with them as would ensure their friendship and the safety of his Majesty's possessions in America. This treaty it was expected would form a favorable opportunity for purchasing lands of the Indians, and the Susquehanna Company appointed agents to attend at Albany for that pur- pose. It may be proper here to observe that in those days the inhabitants of the Colonies gener-
-
52
SKETCH OF THE
ally had very little knowledge of the extent and boundaries of the Royal grants. There was not perhaps, a printed copy of any of the Charters to be found in America, and even those persons who knew the terms in which the boundaries were des- cribed, had very little knowledge of their actual extent unless where a river or the sea formed the boundary. How far Pennsylvania extended north was not known, as no boundary line had ever been run, nor had the latitude of Wyoming Valley ever been ascertained. The Commissioners sent out by the Company to explore the country, found that it lay in a western direction from Connecti- cut proper, and beyond the limits of New York; and would consequently come within the limits of the Connecticut Charter, and the intentions of the Company to form settlements at Wyoming and to purchase these lands of the Indians were publicly known as well to the people of Pennsylvania as to those of Connecticut. The Governor of Pennsyl- vania however, and those best acquainted with the limits of the Province and the geography of the country, were well satisfied that Wyoming lay within the territory granted to William Penn .- James Hamilton who was at that time Governor of Pennsylvania under the Proprietaries, having been fully informed of the intentions of the Susquehan- na Company, considered it proper that immediate measures should be taken to defeat those inten- tions, and to purchase the land for the use of the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania. Accordingly in a letter to Sir William Johnson his Majesty's Indian
53
HISTORY OF WYOMING.
agent for the Colony, dated at Philadelphia, March 20th. 1754, after informing him that the Connec- ticut people intended making a purchase of the Susquehanna lands at the treaty then soon to be held at Albany ; he says: " As this Government " has determined to send Commissioners to the " general interview at Albany, I shall direct some " of the Commissioners to wait on you in order to " confer further with you of what may be necessary " to be done on this occasion, and in the mean ".time I shall be much obliged to you to use your " good offices in behalf of this Government so far " as that nothing may be done with the Indians by " the Connecticut agents or any others in their be- "" half, to the injury of the Proprietaries of this " Province."*
On the first day of the same month he wrote to the Governor of Connecticut, complaining of the intentions and measures of the Connecticut people who appeared to be preparing to form settlements within the Province of Pennsylvania, and reques- ting his Excellency's interference to prevent it .- This letter was sent express by Mr. John Arm- strong, afterwards Secretary to the Government.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.