Area History: History of Schuylkill County, Pa: W. W. Munsell, 1881:
Introduction and Outline History Of Pennsylvania: Pages 9-25.
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____________________________________________________________
HISTORY OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, PA
with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches
of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers.
New York: W. W. Munsell & Co., 36 Vesey Street, 1881
Press of George Macnamara, 36 Vesey Street, N.Y.
____________________________________________________________
Introduction.
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+
_____________________________________
In preparing the following work for publication information
has been sought from every available source, and it is believed
that many of the facts recorded have been preserved from oblivion
by being thus rescued from the failing memories of those who will
soon pass away.
It is hardly possible that in a work like this no errors will
be found; but it is confidently hoped that if inaccuracies are
discovered the great difficulty of preventing their occurrence
will be considered, and that they will be regarded in a charita-
ble rather that a censorious spirit.
The publishers desire to acknowledge the kindness and courte-
sy with which their efforts to obtain the facts recorded here
have been almost uniformly met. To the press, and especially to
the editors of the Minors' Journal, of Pottsville, and the Shen-
andoah Herald, for free access to the files of their journals; to
Colonel Hyde, the gentlemanly librarian of the Pottsville Athe-
naeum, for the privileges of the library; to county and borough
officers, for assistance in examining their records; to the
pastors of nearly all the churches in the county, for assistance
in preparing the religious history; and to secretaries of numer-
ous societies and lodges, for data furnished, their grateful
acknowledgments are due.
The following books have been freely consulted: Sherman Day's
and Dr Egle's histories of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Archives,
Rupp's history of Schuylkill county, Dewees's and Martin's histo-
ries of the Mollie Maguires, the history of the Pennsylvania
volunteers, prepared under the authority of the State by Samuel
P. Bates, LL.D.; and the Memorial of the Patriotism of Schuylkill
County, by the late Francis B. Wallace, from which last the lists
of the soldiers of the Union from Schuylkill county were taken.
Of those who have aided in the preparation of the work, or
furnished valuable information, it is a pleasure to the publish-
ers to name the following, besides the authors of sections of the
work who are named in connection with their contributions: The
intelligent octogenarians, Abraham Pott, who came here at the age
of ten, and Jeremiah Reed, who was born here; Judge David B.
Green, Judge E.O. Parry, F.A. Mortimer, O.J. Airgood, clerk of
the courts, J.B. Kaercher, C.D. Arters, D.E. Miller, Christopher
Little, John P. Bertram, William L. Whitney, John A.M. Passmore,
George R. Kaercher, Jesse Hawley, Rev. Dr. Bellville and George
W. Smiley, Revs. G.A. Hinterleitner, Edward J. Koons, J.B. Stein
and B.F. Patterson, J. Wallace McCool, Charles Tanner, W.B.
Staller, Jacob S. Longacre, H.H. Brownmiller, F.G. Faust, H.S.
Strong, A.L. Boughner, W.H. Zeller, John Anthony, Edward T.
Filbert, Rev. E.S. Henry, John Jacob Schnoke, J.O. Roads and
Richard Harington.
__________________________________
Outline History
of
Pennsylvania.
________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER I.
____
THE DISCOVERY OF THE DELAWARE
PENNSYLVANIA GRANTED TO AND ORGANIZED BY WILLIAM PENN
__________
The first discovery of Delaware bay, and the river which
forms a portion of the eastern boundary of the State of Pennsyl-
vania appears to have been made by Hendrick Hudson, an Englishman
in the service of the Dutch, in 1609. In August of that year he
entered the bay, and after a short cruise in it left and preceded
to the mouth of the Hudson river, which stream he ascended as far
as Albany.
It is said that Lord Delaware visited the bay in 1610; hence
the name by which it and the river are known. It was called by
the Dutch South river, the Hudson being termed by them the North
river.
Another Dutch navigator, Captain Mey, visited the bay in
1614; but Captain, or, as he was termed, skipper Cornelius Hen-
drickson first ascended the river as far as the mouth of the
Schuylkill, in 1616.
A short lived settlement was made on the east bank of the
Delaware under the auspices of the Dutch West India Company in
1623, under the direction of Captains Mey and Tienpont. Another
settlement was made on the bay, farther down, in 1630; but this
was soon destroyed by the Indians, whose enmity the colonists had
indiscreetly incurred.
Maryland was granted to Lord Baltimore in 1632, and the
territory on the west side of the Delaware was claimed by him,
and the disputes arising out of this claim remained unsettled
during many years.
In 1638 a settlement was made on the west bank of the Dela-
ware by a colony of Swedes, under the patronage of Queen Christi-
na. This colony was under the direction of Peter Minuit, a
Hollander, who had been a director in the colony of New Amster-
dam. Several Swedish governors followed Minuit in succession;
prosperous settlements sprang up along the west bank of the
river, and a thriving trade was carried on by the Swedes. They
were watched with jealousy by the Dutch, who set up the claim of
jurisdiction by reason of former occupation, and instituted
intrigues and plans to disposses the Swedes. In 1655 a force of
seven vessels and six hundred men was sent up the Delaware for
that purpose. The Swedish government had been kept in ignorance
of this expedition, and it was easily successful.
On the restoration of Charles the Second to the throne of
Great Britain, he granted the territory now including New York
and New Jersey, and afterwards that of Delaware, to his brother
the Duke of York. The latter immediately sent a force to take
possession of the country thus granted. New Amsterdam and Fort
Orange on the Hudson were at once possessed, and rechristened
respectively New York, in honor of the Duke of York, and Albany.
A portion of the force was then dispatched to take possession of
the Dutch colonies on the Delaware, which was accomplished almost
without resistance. This dispossession of the Dutch by the
English led to a war between Great Britain and Holland, at the
conclusion of which the title of the former to these territories
was acknowledged by treaty. The Duke of York continued in pos-
session of this region, undisturbed except by the Marylanders,
who resorted to occasional acts of violence in order to assert
the claim of Lord Baltimore, until, in 1663, war again broke out
between Great Britain and Holland, and Dutch privateers visited
the coast and plundered the inhabitants; and during that years a
Dutch squadron of vessels arrived and repossessed the dominions
which had been granted to the Duke of York. These were restored
by the treat of Westminster in 1674, and in the same year, by
new patent, the title of the Duke of York was confirmed. During
eight years following these events great changes took place among
the proprietaries of the region, in the course of which William
Penn, by reason of being a trustee of one of these proprietaries
and a purchase of a portion of the territory, became quite famil-
iar with the region, as well as with the plans for its coloniza-
tion.
William Penn was the son of Sir William Penn, an admiral in
the royal navy, who at his death left a claim of
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page 10
OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
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sixteen thousand pounds against the government of Great Britain.
Though in early life he was a soldier of some distinction, he
afterwards became a Quaker, and was several times imprisoned
because of his religious faith. Having become, as before state,
familiar with the region on the Delaware, and with the schemes
for its colonization, he conceived the plan of founding a colony
there on the broad principles of equality which his faith taught.
Accordingly, in 1680, he petitioned King Charles the Second for a
grant of a tract of land west from the Delaware river and south
from Maryland, in liquidation of the claim which he had inherited
from his father. After the discussion and arrangement of the
preliminaries the petition was granted, and a charter signed by
the king in 1681. Penn at first desired that the province might
be called New Wales, and when objections were raised against this
he suggested Sylvania. To this the king and his counselors
prefixed Penn, for the double reason that the name would appro-
priately mean high woodlands, and that it was the name of a
distinguished admiral, whose memory the king desired to honor. A
royal address was at once issued informing the inhabitants that
William Penn was the sole proprietor, and that he was invested
with all the necessary governmental powers. A proclamation was
also issued by William Penn to the people of his province, set-
ting forth the policy which he intended to adopt in the govern-
ment of the colony. A deputy was sent in the spring of the same
year, with instructions to institute measures for the management
of affairs and the temporary government of the province. In
autumn of the same year he sent commissioners to make treaties
with the Indians, and arrange for future settlement.
South from the province of Pennsylvania, along the Delaware
bay, the Duke of York was still the proprietor of the country.
Foreseeing the possibility of future annoyance to the commerce of
his province, Penn was desirous of acquiring this territory; and
accordingly entered into negotiations with the Duke of York for
it, and in the autumn of 1682 he became the proprietor of the
land by deeds, which, however, conveyed no political rights. In
the autumn of 1682 Penn visited his province in the new world,
took formal possession of the territory along Delaware bay,
proceeded up the Delaware and visited the settlements along that
river. During this year the celebrated treaty between William
Penn and the Indians was made, it is said by some historians,
under a large elm tree at Shakamaxon. By others it is insisted
that no evidence exists of any such treaty at that place; but
that the accounts of it that have passed into history were drawn
largely from the fertile imaginatons (sic) of early writers.
Whether a treaty was held there or not, it is almost certain that
during that year treaties were made between Penn and the Indians,
and it is a historical fact that between the Indians and Quakers
perfect faith was kept. Voltaire said of the treaty which was
said to have been made at Shakamaxon: "It was the only one ever
made between savages and Christians that was not ratified by an
oath, and the only one that was never broken."
The three principal tribes of Indians which then inhabited
Pennsylvania were the Lenni Lenapes, the Mingoes and the Shaw-
nees. Their relations with the Swedes had been of a friendly
character, and the pacific and kind policy of Penn and his Quaker
colonists toward them bore fruit in strong contrast with that
which the dishonest and reckless policy of other colonies, and of
the United States government in later times, has brought forth.
The plan of the city of Philadelphia, which had been laid out
by the commissioners that had preceded the proprietor, was re-
vised by him, and the present beautiful and regular plan adopted,
and even the present names given to the principal streets.
In the latter part of the year 1682 the first legislative
body in the province was convened by the proprietor, who, though
he was vested with all the powers of a proprietary governor, saw
fit, in the furtherance of his original plan, to adopt a purely
democratic form of government. This body was a general assembly
of the people, and was held at the town of Chester, which was
first called by the Swedes Upland. This assembly continued in
session from the fourth till the seventh of December; during
which time they enacted three laws, one of which was called the
great law of Pennsylvania. It was a code of laws consisting of
between sixty and seventy subjects or chapters, that had been
prepared by the proprietor in England, and it was intended to
cover all the exigencies which were deemed likely to arise in the
colony. It secured the most ample religious toleration-to all
those faith agreed with that of the Friends-and only punished
others by fine and imprisonment; thus exhibiting a marked con-
trast with the bigoted and intolerant Puritans in some of the New
England colonies. It guaranteed the rights and privileges of
citizenship to all tax-payers, guarded personal liberty, secured,
as far as possible, by punishing bribery, the purity of elec-
tions, abolished the English law of primogeniture, discarded the
administration of religious oaths and affixed the penalty of
perjury to false affirmation, and established marriage as a civil
contract. Drinking healths, drunkenness, or the encouragement of
it, spreading false news, clamorousness, scolding, railing,
masks, revels, stage plays, cards and other games of chance, as
well as evil and enticing sports, were forbidden and made punish-
able by fine and imprisonment. It is a curious fact that all
these laws have either been superseded by others or become obso-
lete.
The wise, just and generous policy which the proprietor
adopted in the government of his province rendered him exceeding-
ly popular, and the tide of immigration set so strongly toward
this province that during the year 1682 as many as twenty-three
ships laden with settlers arrived. During this year the proprie-
tor divided the province into the three counties of Bucks, Phila-
delphia and Chester; and the territory, as it was termed, which
he had acquired from the Duke of York, into Kent, New Castle and
Sussex. In these counties he appointed officers, and made prepa-
rations for the election of a representative Legislature, con-
sisting of a council of eighteen members, and an assembly of
fifty-four. This Legislature assembled
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page 11
GERMAN IMMIGRATION-GOVERNMENTAL CHANGES.
________________________________________________________________
at Philadelphia in January, 1682. One law enacted provided for
the appointment in each county court of three "peace makers," to
hear and determine differences. It may be noted as a matter of
curiosity that bills were introduced in this Legislature provid-
ing that "only two sorts of clothes should be worn-one kind for
summer and one for winter;" and another that young men should be
obliged to marry at a certain age.
________________
CHAPTER II
_________________
GERMAN IMMIGRATION
THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF WILLIAM PENN AND SIR WILLIAM KEITH
As has been before stated, the first settlements in the prov-
ince were made by Swedes, who occupied the country during about
half a century previous to its purchase of William Penn. In all
that time they made little progress toward developing the re-
sources of the country. In the language of Watson: "They seem to
have sat down contented in their log and clay huts, their leather
breeches and jerkins and match coats for their men, and their
skin jackets and linsey petticoats for their women; but no sooner
has the genius of Penn enlisted in the enterprise than we see it
speak a city and commerce into existence. His spirit animated
every part of his colony; and the consequence was that the tame
and unaspiring Swedes soon lost their distinctive character and
existence as a separate nation.
Immigration was largely increased during 1683 and 1684.
Settlers came from England, Ireland, Wales, Holland and Germany.
Of those from the latter country many came from Cresheim and
founded the village of Germantown. They were nearly all Quakers,
and the settlement which they made was the nucleus around which
collected so large a German population in after years that Penn-
sylvania became a German province, notwithstanding the large
immigration from the British islands at first.
In 1683 and 1684 the controversy with regard to boundaries
was renewed by Lord Baltimore, and the Marylanders were guilty of
some acts of aggression. The province had come to number some
7,000 inhabitants, and it was a matter of importance that the
boundary dispute should be settled. To accomplish this settle-
ment, and for other reasons, Penn during 1684 sailed for England,
after giving to the provincial council the executive power. Not
long after his arrival in England Charles the Second died, and
was succeeded on the throne by his brother James, Duke of York,
between whom and Penn a strong friendship existed. The proprie-
tary, therefore, easily obtained a favorable decree. In 1688 a
revolution in England dethroned James and placed the regal power
in the hands of William and Mary. This change destroyed the
influence of Penn at the English court, and the friendship which
had existed between him and James caused him to be regarded with
suspicion. Slanders were circulated and believed concerning him,
and he was even accused of treason and compelled for a time to go
into retirement. In his absence discord and dissensions arose in
the province, and these were made the pretext for depriving him
of his proprietary government in 1693. He was, however, honorably
acquitted and exonerated from suspicion, and reinstated in his
proprietary rights in 1694. Dissensions in the province contin-
ued, however, till after the return of the proprietary with his
family in 1699; and even his presence failed to wholly restore
harmony.
Because of the increasing power of the proprietary govern-
ments in America, the plan had, since the accession of William
and Mary to the crown, been entertained of purchasing these
governments and converting them into regal ones. In 1701 a bill
for that purpose was introduced in the House of Lords, and Penn
revisited England for the purpose of endeavoring to prevent its
passage. Before his departure a new constitution was adopted, and
a deputy governor and council of State provided for and appoint-
ed. On his arrival the project of purchasing the proprietary
government was dropped. In 1702 King William died, and was
succeeded by Queen Anne, who entertained for Penn a warm friend-
ship. Though the danger of being dispossessed of his proprietary
government were not more harmonious. The disaffection on the
part of the people in the lower counties, Which he had endeavored
to allay, led to a separation in 1703, and the choice of a dis-
tinct assembly for the territories. Some of the deputy governors
were indiscreet men, and differences between them and the provin-
cial Legislature were constantly arising. Harrassed by these,
and probably disgusted at the ingratitude of his subjects, in
whose behalf he had incurred large pecuniary liabilities, for the
collection of which proceedings were frequently instituted
against him, he finally agreed with the crown for the cession of
his province and the territory granted him by the Duke of York.
He was prevented from legally consummating this cession by a
stroke of apoplexy, which rendered him imbecile.
The Queen died in 1714, and was succeeded by George the First.
Among the early acts of Parliament in the reign of this King was
one extending to the English colonies a previous act disqualify-
ing Quakers from holding office, serving on juries, or giving
evidence in criminal case. Charles Gookin, who had been provin-
cial governor since 1709, construed this act to be applicable to
the proprietary government, and a disqualification of the Quakers
in the province. This construction of the law of course called
forth the indignation and opposition of the council, the Assem-
bly, and the people, and led to the recall of Gookin in 1717, and
the appointment of Sir William Keith in his stead. The latter
was affable and courteous, cunning and crafty, and in all matters
of
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page 12
OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
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difference between the crown or proprietary, on one side, and the
people on the other, he espoused the popular cause.
William Penn died at the age of seventy-four, in the summer
of 1718. History will ever point to him as one who accomplished
more for the cause of civil and religious liberty than any other
man of his time, and to the provincial government which he found-
ed and administered as the first successful experiment in the
broadest liberty of conscience which had then been conceived, and
the nearest approach to a government of themselves by the people
that had ever been attempted. He was the representative of a
despised and proscribed sect; but by his wise and liberal admin-
istration of the government of his province, in accordance with
the principles of that sect, he did more to bring it to the
favorable notice of the world than could otherwise have been
done.
The American colonies at that time presented a curious spec-
tacle. Maryland, a colony of Catholics, who were stigmatized as
the most bigoted and intolerant sect in Christendom, had been
established under a constitution the most liberal and tolerant of
all that had been granted by the government of Great Britain; and
Pennsylvania, a province of Quakers, whose tenets were almost the
reverse of the Catholics, had added to this almost universal
tolerance the largest civil liberty that had ever been enjoyed by
a people; awhile the Puritans of the New England colonies, who
professed to have fled from religious persecution in England, and
to have sought an asylum where each could worship God, the common
Father of all, according to the dictates of his own conscience,
in the language of Egle, "excluded from the benefits of their
government all of their government all who were not members of
their church, and piously flagellated or hanged those who were
not convinced of its infallibility." Almost two centuries have
Penn established his colony in America, and-except in those
governments that are purely secular, or nearly so, in their
character-political science has developed little that is essen-
tial to the welfare and happiness of humanity that was not em-
bodied in his system.
The estate of William Penn passed at his death to his family,
who inherited both his property and his proprietary government.
He had made a will, previous to his agreement with Queen Ann, for
the sale of his province; and his agreement was decided to be
void because of his mental incapacity to consummate it. The
proprietary government, therefore, devolved on his widow, as
executrix of his will and of his property during the minority of
his children, and it has been said of her that she manifested
much shrewdness in the appointment of governors and general
management of colonial affairs. It is said by Day: "The affec-
tion patriarchal relation which had subsisted between Penn and
his colony ceased with his death; the interest which his family
took in the affairs of the province was more mercenary in its
character, and looked less to be establishment of great and pure
principles of life and government."
The administration of Sir William Keith was quite successful.
The favor with which he was regarded by the people enabled him to
promote among them that harmony which is so essential to prosper-
ity; and the colony was prosperous. There was a large influx of
population, the character of which was more cosmopolitan than in
former times. The persecutions of the Quakers in England had
relaxed somewhat, and fewer, relatively, of them sought homes
here; while people from other regions, and notably from Germany,
came in great numbers. The popularity of Keith was such that he
was able to accomplish two measures that had been looked on with
great disfavor by the assembly-the establishment of a Court of
Chancery, of which he was the chancellor; and the organization of
a militia, of which he was the chief. On the other hand, by his
good offices, "the Quakers, to their great joy, procured a renew-
al of the privilege of affirmation in place of an oath, and of
the cherished privilege of wearing the hat whenever and wherever
it suited them," He was deposed in 1726, through the influence of
James Logan, the leader of the proprietary party. Franklin wrote
of him: "If he sought popularity he promoted the public happi-
ness, and his courage in resisting the demands of the family may
be ascribed to a higher emotive than private interest. The con-
duct of the Assembly toward him was neither honorable nor poli-
tic; for his sins against his principles were virtues to the
people, with whom he was deservedly a favorite; and the House
should have given him such substantial marks of their gratitude
as would have tempted his successors to walk in his steps."
Keith's successor was Patrick Gordon. His administration
continued during ten years, or until his death in 1736. Tranquil-
lity prevailed in the province during this time; the population,
which in 1727 was more than fifty thousand, received large acces-
sions, especially from Germany; internal improvements were prose-
cuted, and foreign commerce increased largely. Two of the pro-
prietaries, John and Thomas Penn, came to the province; the
latter in 1732, the former in 1734. John returned to England in
1735 on account of the aggressions of the Marylanders under Lord
Baltimore, but Thomas remained in the country eight years longer.
The demeanor of the latter was not such as to endear him to the
people.
The first public library ever established in the province was
projected in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, and was incorporated in
1742. During the two years following the death of Mr. Gordon the
president of the council, James Logan, was the executive officer
of the province. The celebrated fraud known as the "Indian Walk"
took place in 1737. That an unscrupulous Indian trader should be
guilty of thus swindling ignorant savages would be no matter of
surprise; but that the province of Pennsylvania should be a party
to such a transaction is almost incredible. It is certain that
it never would have received the sanction of William Penn, and it
is equally certain that it was the foundation of an enmity that
broke out in open hostility afterwards.
_____________end page 12.______________
page 13
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
______________________________________________________________
CHAPTER III.
_________
THE QUESTION OF TAXING THE PROPRIETARY ESTATES
WARS WITH THE FRENCH AND INDIANS
______________________
The proprietaries in 1738 appointed George Thomas governor,
and the position was held by him till 1747. In the war between
Great Britain and Spain which was declared in 1739 the assembly
did not take measures to furnish the men required, and the gover-
nor was compelled to raise the quota of the province by his own
exertions. In 1744 war broke out between France and England, and
the aspect of Indian affairs in Pennsylvania and on its borders
became threatening; but the storm was averted by the good offices
of the Iroquois, who held the Delawares in subjection.
An unhappy condition of affairs existed at that time, and
during some years afterwards, in the province. The proprietaries
had little sympathy with the people, but as they grew rich by the
enhanced value which the activity and enterprise of these people
gave to their estates, they preferred the pomp and luxury of
aristocratic life, and regarded the people with a measure of
contempt. Under such circumstances it was not a matter of wonder
that the people, through their representative, should not respond
with alacrity to the demands of the governors appointed by these
proprietaries. Governor Thomas resigned in 1747, and after an
administration of two years by Anthony Palmer, president of the
council, James Hamilton became lieutenant governor in 1749. The
condition of things at that time cannot be better described than
in the language of Sherman Day:
"An alarming crisis was at hand. The French, now hovering
around the great lakes, sedulously applied themselves to seduce
the Indians from their allegiance to the English. The Shawnee had
already joined them; the Delawares waited only for an opportunity
to revenge their wrongs, and of the Six Nations the Onondagas,
Cayugas, and Senecas were wavering. The French were fortifying
the strong points on the Ohio. To keep the Indians in favor of
the colony required much cunning diplomacy, and expensive pres-
nts. In this alarming juncture the old flame of civil dissension
burst out with increased force. The presents to the Indians, with
the erection of a line of forts along the frontier, and the maint-
enance of a military force, drew heavily on the provincial purse.
The Assembly, the popular branch, urged that the proprietary est-
ates should be taxed as well as those of humble individuals. The
proprietors, through their deputies, refused, and pleaded peroga-
tive, charter, and laws. The Assembly in turn pleading equity,
common danger, and common benefit, requiring a common expense.
The proprietaries offered bounties in lands yet to be conquered
from the Indians, and the privilege of issuing more paper money;
the Assembly wanted something more tangible. The Assembly passed
laws laying taxes and granting supplies, but annexing conditions.
The governors opposed the conditions, but were willing to aid the
Assembly in taxiing the people, but not the proprietaries. Here
were the germs of revolution, not fully matured until twenty
years later. Dr. Franklin was now a member and a leader in the
Assembly. In the meantime the frontier were left exposed while
these frivolous disputes continued. The pacific principles, too,
of the Quakers and Dunkards and Mennonists and Schwenckfelders
came in to complicate the strife; but as the danger increased
they prudently kept aloof from public office, leaving the manage-
ment of the war to sects less scrupulous."
Robert H. Morris, the successor of James Hamilton, became
governor in 1754, and his successor, William Denny, in 1756. The
same want of harmony between the proprietaries and the people
continued during their administrations, but finally, through the
efforts of Franklin, the royal assent was given to a law taxing
the estates of the proprietaries.
Settlements were made on lands to which the Indian title had
not been extinguished, especially by the not over scrupulous
Scotch Irish, and the result was a desultory Indian war, which
kept up a very insecure feeling among the people of the province.
Such was the condition of the province at the breaking out of
the French and Indian war a few years after the treaty of Aix-La-
Chapelle, which really was scarcely more than a temporary suspen-
sion of hostilities. It is well known to every one connected
with America history, that at this time the French attempted to
connect their possessions in Canada and Louisiana by a chain of
military posts extending from Presque Isle, now Erie, to the
navigable waters of the Ohio, and along that river to the Missis-
sippi. In furtherance of this design they sent, in 1754, 1,000
men to the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers,
where they built Fort DuQuesne, afterward, Fort Pitt; now Pitts-
burg. Against this was sent the disastrous expedition of General
Barrack, a minute account of which cannot, for want of space, be
given here. It may briefly be said, that by reason of hisself
here. It may briefly be said, that by reason of his self conceit
and obstinacy General Barrack sustained the most overwhelming
defeat that an European army had ever met in America, and that he
was mortally wounded in this action. General-then Colonel-George
Washington greatly distinguished himself in this battle.
The dispute between the proprietaries and people continued,
notwithstanding the country was suffering from the horrors of an
Indian war. The proprietaries insisted on the exemption of their
estates from taxation, and the Assembly yielded when the public
safety was in jeopardy. Several councils were held with the
Indians, and efforts were made through the interposition of the
Six Nations, whose aid the authorities of the province invoked,
to secure peace, with only partial success. In 1756 three hundred
men under Colonel Armstrong crossed
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page 14
OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
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the Alleghenies and destroyed the Indian town of Kittaning; thus
inflicting a severe blow on the savages, and driving them beyond
the Allegheny river.
In 1758 a change in the ministry in England was made, and
under William Pitt the war was prosecuted with great energy. An
expedition consisting of about 9,000 men was organized and sent
against Fort DuQuesne. On the approach of this army the French
burnt the buildings, evacuated the fort, and blew up the maga-
zine. It was rebuilt and named Fort Pitt. This terminated hos-
tilities in the valley of the Ohio. A series of successes fol-
lowed in 1759 and 1760 at the north and west, which terminated
the war, though a feeble effort was made by the French to re-
trieve their losses in Canada. The result was the final extinc-
tion of the French dominion in the Canadian provinces, which was
confirmed by the treaty of Fontainbleau in 1762. The Kyasuta and
Pontiac war, so called from the chiefs who planned it, broke out
in 1763. Kyasuta was a Seneca, and Pontiac an Ottawa chief; and
the scheme which they devised, for a war of quick extermination
against the colonists, would have been no discredit to the abili-
ty of educated military chieftains. The savages had looked with
approval on the construction by the French of a chain of forts
from Presque Isle to the Ohio; for they saw in them a check upon
the progress westward of the tide of settlement which threatened
to dispossess them of their broad domains. When they saw these
forts fall into the hands of the colonists, and thus cease to be
a barrier against their aggressions, they became more alarmed for
their own safety; and these wily chiefs conceived the project of
attacking and overpowering the different defenses on the frontier
simultaneously, and then rushing upon and exterminating the
defenseless inhabitants in the settlements, and thus, by the
terror which they inspired, preventing future encroachments. The
time of harvest was chosen for this attack, and the plan was laid
with such secrecy that the first intimation of it was the appall-
ing war whoop with which it was commenced. So nearly successful
were the savages that eight of the eleven forts attacked on the
western frontier were taken. Scalping parties overran the fron-
tier settlements of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, and the
terror stricken inhabitants fled before them. Fort Pitt was
invested, after the Indian fashion, during about three months,
but was relieved by force under Colonel Boquet. About thirty of
the settlers in Wyoming valley were killed by the Delawares, in
revenge for the murder of Teedyuscung by a party of Iroquois, the
latter having persuaded the Delawares that the murder was commit-
ted by the whites. Although there were, after the first eruption
of hostilities, no large organized bands of hostile Indians, the
frontier settlements were continually harassed by the authorities
in the province against these marauding parties was insufficient.
The pacific disposition of the Quakers, who controlled the gov-
ernment, was such as to call forth the remark that they were
"more solicitous for the welfare of the bloodthirsty Indian than
for the lives of the frontiersmen." Parkman says of them: "They
seemed resolved that they would neither defend the people of the
frontier nor allow them to defend themselves; and vehemently
inveighed against all expeditions to cut off the Indian maraud-
ers. Their security was owing to their local situation, being
confined to the eastern part of the province. "They seemed
resolved hat they would neither defend the people of the frontier
nor allow them to defend themselves; and vehemently inveighed
against all expeditions to cut off the Indian marauders. Their
security was owing to their local situation, being confined to
the eastern part of the province."
John Penn, a grandson of the founder of the province, came
to Pennsylvania in 1763 in the capacity of lieutenant-governor.
His father and his uncle were then the proprietors and resided in
England. The Penn family had all ceased to be Quakers, and had
no conscientious scruples against defensive or aggressive war.
General Gage had become commander of the military forces of the
province, and Governor Penn vigorously seconded his efforts. He
even, in 1764, offered by proclamation the following bounties for
scalps, Indians, etc.: "For every male above the age of ten years
captured, $150; scalped, being killed, $164; for every female
Indian enemy, and every male under the age of ten years, cap-
tured, $130; for every female above the age of ten years scalped,
being killed, $50."
The apathy which was manifested by the Assembly in 1763, and
the insecure condition of the settlers toward the frontier, led
to the formation of an independent organization known as the
Paxtang Boys or Paxtang Rangers; so named because they were
mostly inhabitants of Paxtang, or Paxton, and Donnegal, in Lan-
caster county. Such was the feeling of insecurity in advanced
settlements that men were compelled to keep their rifles at their
sides while at work in their fields, and even while attending
divine worship. These rangers, by their vigilance and activity,
and by the severe punishments which they inflicted on the sav-
ages, became in turn a terror to them. They were mostly composed
of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, between whom and the Quakers no
very friendly feeling existed. The latter strongly censored what
they termed the barbarities of the rangers; and fierce dissen-
sions arose between them. The Paxtang men finally fell upon a
small tribe of Indians at Conestoga, in Lancaster county, and put
many of them of to death, because as they alleged, they had
discovered that these Indians, while professing friendliness,
were secretly harboring their hostile brethren, and furnishing
them with information and supplies of ammunition, etc. They also
insisted that the Christian or Moravian Indians were guilty of
the same treachery, and the latter were compelled to flee to
Philadelphia to avoid their vengeance. These acts of rangers
called forth the still more vehement protests of the Quakers, and
even at the present day historians are not agreed as to whether
or not their action was justifiable. None of them were ever
convicted in the courts of the province.
In 1764 General Gage instituted measures to drive the Ind-
ians from the frontiers by carrying the war into their country.
He sent a corps under Colonel Bradstreet to act against the Wya-
ndots, Chippewas and Ottawas, in the vicinity of upper lakes; and
another, under Colonel Boquet, to go to the Muskingum and attack
the Delawares,
_____________end page 14._______________
page 15
MASON AND DIXON'S LINE-CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION.
_______________________________________________________________
Shawnees, and other nations between the Ohio and the lakes. This
vigorous action had the desired effect. Peace was established and
many of the captives who had been taken were restored.
_______________
CHAPTER IV.
_____________
"MASON AND DIXON'S LINE"
CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION
PATRIOTIC ACTION OF PENNSYLVANIA
________________________________________
During the ten years between 1765 and 1775 two questions of
boundary were settled. One, that of the line between Pennsylva-
nia and Maryland, had long been entered into for its settlement.
In 1763 Thomas and Richard Penn and Frederick Lord Baltimore
entered into an arrangement for the establishment of this line,
and commissioned Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to survey and
mark it. This work they completed in 1767, having surveyed and
marked with milestones of oolite (brought from England) the
southern boundary of Pennsylvania, except about twenty-two miles
at its western end, where they were prevented by the Indian
proprietors. Thus originated the celebrated "Mason and Dixon's
line." The other boundary question was raised by Lord Dunmore,
of Virginia, who claimed the territory that now includes the
counties of Fayette, Greene and Washington, and even a portion of
Allegheny. He encouraged settlers to take from Virginia the
titles to their lands there, and even sent an agent to take
possession of Fort Pitt, when it was evacuated by General Gage.
The settler were a bad class of men; and by reason of the lawless
acts of some, especially two named Cresap and Greathouse, a
frontier Indian war occurred. The Virginia claim was promptly
repelled.
At the conclusion of the Indian war of 1763 and 1764 the old
controversy concerning the taxation of the proprietary estates
was revived, and Dr. Franklin at once became the champion of the
popular cause in the Assembly. That body became so indignant at
the conduct of the governor that they resolved to petition the
King to purchase the proprietary jurisdiction, and place the
province in direct relation with the crown. "Here", says Day,
"was a most important step toward the Revolution. To break down
the feudal power, and bring the people and the crown in direct
communication, is, in all countries, the first great step toward
popular freedom, and prepares the way for the next step-the
direct conflict between the crown and the people. It so hap-
pened, however, that, in this case the avarice of British minis-
try outran the anti-feudal propensities of the people, and
brought the colonies at once to the last great struggle between
the people and the crown." Dr. Franklin was sent by the province
to London to urge before the ministry the measure of relief from
the proprietary dominion; but on his arrival he found that the
conflict was with the very power the protection of which he had
come to invoke.
The wars which had raged in the colonies, and in which the
home government had assisted, had called the attention of the
ministry to the rapidly increasing wealth of those colonies. The
plan was conceived of making that wealth available her exhausted
treasury and securing the exclusive control of the colonial
trade. The accomplishment of this double object involves the
question of taxation without consent and without representation
in the legislative body imposing the tax. This was the point of
which the American Revolution turned. Parliament insisted on its
right to tax any part of the British dominions, and the colony is
held that they were not safe if they might thus be despoiled of
their property without their consent, and by a parliament in
which they were not represented. In view of this momentous
question the contentions with the proprietaries were forgotten.
In 1764 an act was passed imposing duties on certain articles not
produced in his majesty's dominions. This was followed the next
year by the odious stamp act, which eclared instruments of writ-
ing void if not written on stamped paper on which a duty was aid.
This was resisted and the paper refused in the colonies, and the
determination was formed by the colonies to establish manufacto-
ries, to the end that they might not be dependent on the mother
country. By reason of the consequent clamors of English manufac-
turers, and the impossibility of executing the law without a
resort to force, the stamp act was repealed was coupled with a
declaration of the absolute power of parliament over the colo-
nies.
The next offensive act was the imposition of duties on goods
imported from Great Britain; but this was resisted by the colo-
nists, who would accede to nothing which involved taxation with-
out consent. A circular was addressed by Massachusetts to her
sister colonies recapitulating their grievances, and the argu-
ments against the oppressive acts. Governor Penn was ordered by
the colonial secretary in London to urge upon the Assembly a
disregard of this, and, in case this advice was not heeded, to
prorogue it. The Assembly asserted, by resolution, its right to
sit at its own pleasure, and to consult with the other colonies
concerning matters pertaining to the welfare of all; and it gave
a cordial assent to the recommendation by Virginia for a concert
of action in order to peacefully obtain a redress of their griev-
ances. The impost was reduced in 1769, and in 1770 abolished,
except that on tea, which was continued at three pence per pound.
The colonists, however, were opposed to the principle on which
the tax was based, and not to its amount, and their resistance to
the importation of taxed goods was concentrated on the tea tax.
In Pennsylvania one chest was imported and the duty paid; but
generally the nonimportation policy prevailed. Under these cir-
cumstances the ideal right of taxation was asserted and no colli-
sion was provoked. In order to make a practical
______________end page 15________________
page 16
OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
________________________________________________________________
application of this right, however, East India Company was en-
couraged by parliament to send a consignment of tea to each of
the principal ports in the colonies, to be disposed of by the
agents appointed by the company, and thus to force it on the
people. The colonists in all the provinces were indignant at this
insidious attempt.
"The course of Pennsylvania was from the first firm, but
temperate. A meeting at Philadelphia passed resolutions denounc-
ing the duty on tea as a tax without their consent, laid for the
express purpose of establishing the right to tax; and asserting
that this method of providing a revenue for the support of gov-
ernment, the administration of justice and defense of the colo-
nies, had a direct tendency to render assemblies useless and to
introduce arbitrary government and slavery; and that steady
opposition to this plan was necessary to preserve even the
shadow of liberty. They denounced all who should aid in landing
or selling the tea as enemies to their country, and enjoined the
consignees to resign their appointment." Under such a pressure
the consignees declined to receive it. In Charleston it was
landed in a damp warehouse and permitted to rot. At New York a
vigilance committee forbade the pilots to bring the vessel having
the tea on board into the harbor, and escorted a captain who
attempted to bring in some as a private venture out of the har-
bor, after airing and watering his tea. At Boston the vessel
having the tea on board was boarded by a party of men disguised
as Indians, and the tea thrown overboard. In consequence of
these proceedings measures were adopted by the British government
to coerce submission on the part of the colonists. Upon Massachu-
setts, which had manifested the most violent opposition, the
vials of British wrath were most freely poured out. In 1774 the
act known as the Boston port bill, by which the port of Boston
was closed and the custom house removed to Salem, was passed.
This was soon followed by an act vesting the appointment of
colonial officers in the crown; by another, authorizing the
extradition for trial of persons charged with capital offences;
and by still another, for quartering soldiers in the inhabitants.
All the colonies sympathized and made common cause with Boston
and Massachusetts, though in each colony there were some people
who sympathized with the crown. These were termed tories, while
the advocates of colonial rights were called whigs-names by which
the two parties were known through the Revolution.
The province of Pennsylvania did not waver at this juncture
in its adhesion to the colonial cause. On being requested to
convene the Assembly Governor Penn of course declined, and a
meeting consisting of about eight thousand people was held, at
which a general colonial congress was recommended and a committee
of correspondence appointed. Subsequently a convention of dele-
gates from all the counties in the province assembled, at which a
series of temperate but firm and patriotic resolutions were
adopted, asserting both their loyalty and their rights, and
reiterating the recommendation for a general congress. The con-
vention also adopted instructions to the Assembly that was about
to convene. These written by John Dickinson, one of the foremost
patriots in the province. The following extracts are quoted to
show the animus of these patriots: "Honor, Justice and Humani-
ty call upon us to hold and transmit to our posterity that liber-
ty which we received from our ancestors. It is not our duty to
leave wealth to our children, but it is our duty to leave liberty
to them. No infamy, iniquity or cruelty can exceed our own if
we, born and educated in a country of freedom, entitled to its
blessings and knowing their value, pusillanimously deserting the
post assigned us by Divine Providence, surrender succeeding
generations to a condition of wretchedness from which no human
efforts, in all probability, will be sufficient to extricate
them; the experience of all States mournfully demonstrating to us
that when arbitrary power has been established over them even the
wisest and bravest nations that have ever flourished have in a
few years degenerated into abject and wretched vassals. * * * To
us, therefore, it appears at this alarming period our duty to our
God, our country, to ourselves and to our posterity, to exert our
utmost ability in promoting and establishing harmony between
Great Britain and these colonies, on a constitutional found-
ation." "Thus," says Sherman Day, "with loyalty on their lips,
but with the spirit of resistance in their hearts, did these
patriots push forward the Revolution".
The Assembly appointed delegates to the Congress, which met in
September at Philadelphia. This Congress adopted resolutions
approving of the resistance of the people of Massachusetts, and
took measures to prohibit imports from or exports to Great Brit-
ain, unless grievances were redressed. It also adopted a decla-
ration of rights and enumeration of grievances, an address to the
people of Great Britain, another to the people of British America
and a loyal address to the crown. It also adopted articles of
confederation, which act may rightly be considered the beginning
of the American Union. A bill was adopted by parliament prohib-
iting the people of the provinces from fishing on the banks of
Newfoundland, and at about the same time an ingeniously framed
act, which made apparent concessions, but retained the doctrine
against which the colonies contended, and which was intended to
divide them. Pennsylvania was the first colony to which this
proposition was presented, and the first colony to which this
proposition was presented, and the Assembly, to whom it was
presented by Governor Penn, promptly rejected it; declaring that
they desired no benefits for themselves the acceptance of which
might injure the common cause, "and which by a generous rejection
for the present might be finally secured for all."
Another provincial convention was held in Philadelphia in
January, 1775, at which resolutions were adopted recommending the
strict enforcement of the non-importation pledge, and the produc-
tion and manufacture of every thing required for the use of the
inhabitants; enumerating many of the articles to be produced or
manufactured, including gunpowder, which was said to be necessary
for the Indian trade.
_____________end page 16._______________
page 17
END OF THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT
EARLY REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS
_________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER V.
_____________
REVOLUTION IN THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
PENNSYLVANIA A STATE-BATTLES OF 1776 AND 1777
INDIAN WARFARE
______________
In 1775, hostilities commenced. The battles of Lexington and
Bunker Hill were fought, and a British army invaded the country.
Congress met and organized an army, at the head of which General
Washington was placed. At the same time that it thus provided for
the public defense, it adopted a "humble and dutiful petition to
the King," which was presented but to which was were in formed
no answer would be given. A military association, having branches
in each county, was formed, with a full code of rules for its
government. The Assembly met and made provision for raising four
thousand three hundred troops-the quota of the province. In view
of the troublesome position which the Quakers occupied, the
Assembly enacted that all able-bodied men who refused to bear
arms (ministers and purchase servants excepted) should contribute
an equivalent for the time and expense of others in acquiring the
necessary discipline.
A committee of safety was appointed which assumed executive
functions. A provincial navy was equipped, and measures were
taken to protect Philadelphia against any naval force ascending
the Delaware river. Later a continental navy was established.
The Continental Congress during its session of May, 1775,
recommended to those colonies where no government sufficient to
meet the exigencies of the times existed, to adopt such governm-
ents. It was determined by the whigs, in pursuance of this res-
olution, to throw off the proprietary government, by which they
were hampered. The conservatives and Tories opposed this, but
the times were revolutionary and the whigs prevailed. It was
resolved that the new government should emanate from the
people, and that the Assembly, the members of which were
shackled by their oaths of allegiance to the crown, should have
no voice in its formation. A convention consisting of delegates
from all the countries, for the formation of a new constitu-
tion, was called, through the committee of conference and obser-
vation of Philadelphia. In the choice of delegates to this
convention no one was permitted to vote who refused to abjure
all allegiance to the King of Great Britain, or who was sus-
pected of being an enemy to American liberty.
The Declaration of Independence was adopted July 4th, 1776,
and this convention assembled on the 15th of the same month. It
not only entered on the task of forming a constitution, but
assumed legislative powers and appointed delegates to Congress.
It may here be remarked that such of these delegates as had not
already done so affixed their signatures to the Declaration of
Independence.
The work of the convention was completed on the 28th of
September, and the new-formed constitution committed to the
keeping of the council of safety until the meeting of the General
Assembly of the State. The provincial Assembly met on the 23rd
of the same month, and quietly expired, with a feeble denuncia-
tion on its lips of the assumed legislative power of the conven-
tion. Thus, at about the same time, the proprietary government
in Pennsylvania ceased by the action of the people in the prov-
ince, and the colonies cast off their allegiance to the crown of
Great Britain.
The population of Pennsylvania was about 3000,000 at the time
when it became a State and assumed its position among its sisters
States in the American Union. The Declaration of Independence had
been made, but that independence was to be maintained; and, as
subsequently proved, by the sacrifice of many lives and the expe-
nditure of much treasure.
The limits of this sketch will not permit a detail of Revolu-
tionary events that occurred beyond the boundaries of the State,
though many of those events were important factors in the history
of the State at that time, and of the events of which Pennsylva-
nia was the theatre little more than a brief mention can be made.
December, 1776, found General Washington on the west bank of
the Delaware near Trenton. He had crossed New Jersey before the
advancing army of General Howe, who was posted on the opposite
side of the river, waiting for the formation of ice on which to
cross, that he might move on Philadelphia. General Washington
had secured all the boats on the river, and on the night of the
25th of December he recrossed the river with 2,400 men twenty
pieces of artillery, attacked the Hessians in Trenton and defeat-
ed them, capturing six cannon and 900 prisoners, with whom he
again crossed into Pennsylvania. The loss of Americans in this
action was two soldiers killed and two who perished by cold.
General Washington at once returned to Trenton, where he was
joined by about 3,000 Pennsylvania militia under General Mifflin
and Cadwallader. The battle of Princeton was fought soon after-
ward, and the army went into winter quarters at Morristown, New
Jersey. The next summer, after some manoeuvring (sic) in New
Jersey, evidently for the purpose of drawing General Washington
from his position, General Howe embarked his forces at New York,
intending to attack Philadelphia by way of the Delaware river.
After entering Delaware bay he returned to the ocean, sailed up
the Chesapeake bay and landed near the head of Elk river. On the
sailing of the British army from New York General Washington
moved his army into Pennsylvania, and encamped near Germantown to
watch the development of General Howe's plans. General LaFayette
joined General Washington at that time, and shared with him the
hard ships and privations of camp.
The army of General Howe advanced toward Philadelphia and was
met by that of General Washington at
_________________end page 17.__________________
page 18
OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
_________________________________________________________________
the Brandywine, where a battle was fought the 11th of September,
and the American forces suffered a defeat and retired to German-
town. Washington soon afterward crossed the Schuylkill and pre-
pared for battle again, but a heavy rain storm prevented the
action. General Howe entered Philadelphia with a portion of his
army, and the balance encamped at Germantown. Upon this force
Washington made an unsuccessful attack while a portion of it was
assisting the British shipping to effect a passage through the
Delaware river. This was early in October. On the 22nd of the
same month an attack was made on Forts Mifflin and Mercer, com-
manded the Delaware opposite the mouth of the Schuylkill. After
an obstinate resistance the garrison of these forts was compelled
to evacuate them. In this affair the enemy lost two ships by
reason of the effective service of the Pennsylvania Street fleet.
After the surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga the army of
Washington was reinforced by that of General Gates, and it en-
camped in a strong position at Whitemarsh. From this position
the British commander endeavored to draw General Washington, but
without success. The American army finally went into winter
quarters at Valley Forge, a place which will ever be noted as the
scene of the most intense suffering which the Revolutionary
patriots were called on to endure during their struggle for
independence. While they were shivering barefooted and half
naked in their huts at this place, the British soldiers were
snugly quartered and well fed and their officers feted and feast-
ed by the tories in Philadelphia.
In the spring of 1778 an attempt was made by the English
government through commissioners to effect a reconciliation.
Whether or not an honorable reconciliation was desired may be
judged by the fact that they offered Joseph Reed, one of the
delegates in Congress from Pennsylvania, f10,000 and the best
office in the colonies to aid them in their purposes. His reply
should be remembered:-"I am not worth purchasing, but such as I
am the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to do it."
It was in the spring of 1778 that French entered into a
treaty with the Americans, and sent four frigates and twelve
ships to the Delaware. In consequence of this Sir Henry Clinton,
who had succeeded Lord Howe in command of the British, army
decided to evacuate Philadelphia, which he did, marching his
forces across New York. Washington pursued, and engaged the
enemy at Monmouth and compelled them to give way. Philadelphia
again became the capital in the latter part of June, 1778. Some
trials were had for high treason, and several of those convicted
were executed, greatly to the alarm of the tories and Quakers.
They had been emboldened by the temporary success of the British
arms, and these examples seemed necessary to inspire them with
terror and prevent future treasonable acts, as well as to appease
the vengeance of the whigs who had suffered at their hands.
By the evacuation of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ceased to be
the theater of important warlike events. The English government
had, however, induced the Indians of the Iroquois nations in New
York and those of the territory west from Pennsylvania to engage
in hostilities against the people of the struggling States. This
warfare was waged in accordance with their "known rule." Incur-
sions were made, defenseless settlements attacked, and people of
every age, sex and condition" were ruthlessly murdered. The
settlements in many regions were left unprotected, because nearly
all the men capable of bearing arms had responded to their coun-
try's call and joined the Revolutionary army. In 1777 the
northern frontier on New York was the scene of many of these
savage irruption's, and the frontier settlements of these States
were scarcely troubled by marauding parties. They doubtless
enjoyed this immunity because of the proximity of troops, which
could be quickly sent to protect these settlements. In 1778 the
storm of Indian warfare burst on them. A descent was made on the
Wyoming valley by a force of British, tories and Indians, com-
manded by Colonel John Butler. Many of the inhabitants were
cruelly massacred and the valley was devastated. A descent was
also made on the branch of the Susquehanna by a force of Indians,
tories and British, under Colonel MacDonald. The frontier set-
tlements in Westminster county also were ravaged by scalping
parties. A force under General McIntosh was sent to protect the
western frontier, which was done by the erection of forts and by
expeditions into the country of the hostile savages.
The Indian villages at Wyalusing, Shesequin and Tioga were
destroyed by a small force under Colonel Hartley. In order to
punish the most audacious of these savages, and prevent, if
possible, future depredations by them, General Sullivan was sent
with a sufficient force in the summer of 1779 up the Susquehanna
into the Genesee valley, the heart of the country of the Senecas-
the most powerful and warlike nation of the Iroquois-with orders
"to cut off their settlements, destroy their crops, and inflict
on them every other mischief that time and circumstances would
permit". This work was thoroughly accomplished. A battle was
fought on the Chemung river at Newtown (Elmira), in which the
Indians, under the celebrated Mohawk chief Brant, and the tories,
under Colonel John Butler, were routed. The valley of the Genesee
was devastated, forty towns were burned, orchards were cut down,
corn fields were ravaged, and one hundred and sixty thousand
bushels of corn destroyed. From this blow the warlike Senecas
never recovered. Though marauding parties continued to go forth,
they were not afterward able to send out any large force.
Colonel Brodhead, at about the same time, went on an expedi-
tion against the Indians on the west branch of the Allegheny and
destroyed the crops and villages there, and cut off a party of
forty who had started on an expedition to the frontier of West-
moreland county.
____________end page 18._______________
page 19
LATER REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS-TRANSACTIONS WITH THE INDIANS
________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER VI.
________________
LATER EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION
WAR WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES
_________________
During the year 1780 much difficulty was experienced on ac-
count of the depreciation of the paper currency, which the exi-
gencies of the war had made it necessary to issue. Efforts were
made by the Assembly to relieve the State from this embarrass-
ment, with only partial success. In 1781, in accordance with a
plan of Robert Morris, who justly earned the title of "the finan-
cier of the Revolution," the Bank of North America was chartered
by Congress, and charters were also granted to it by Pennsylvania
and Massachusetts. The effect of this was immediately beneficial
to the commercial and financial interests of the country. The
Pennsylvania charter was revoked by the Legislature in 1785, but
was restored in 1787.
During 1780 the Legislature enacted a law reorganizing the
militia system of the State, in order that any sudden emergency
might be promptly met. In view of the exigencies of the times
authority was vested in the executive to declare martial law
during the recess of the Assembly, so far as should be necessary
under circumstances that might arise. It was resolved, also,
that in extraordinary efforts that were found necessary to obtain
supplies, discrimination might be made between the friends of the
country and those who had shown themselves to be otherwise. To
guard against spies, authority was given to arrest all suspicious
persons and prevent the admission of strangers indiscriminately.
The horses and other property of domestic enemies were seized,
and the houses of Quakers were searched for arms.
The entrance into New Jersey of the British army under Sir
Henry Clinton was the cause of great alarm, but this army did not
advance on Philadelphia. Soon afterward four thousand of the
militia were ordered out to assist in a projected attack on New
York, but by reason of the non-arrival of the French troops the
project was abandoned, and the militia force, which had its
rendezvous at Trenton, was disbanded.
The treason of Benedict Arnold occurred in the autumn of
1780. Awhile in command at Philadelphia in 1778 General Arnold
became allied by marriage with a distinguished tory family in
that city, and the intimacy with British officers into which this
relation threw him, together with the sting which his sensitive
nature received by being court-martialed for some irregularity,
may have led him to his fatal error. Soon after the receipt of
the news of his treason in Philadelphia, his effigy was paraded
through the streets and hanged, his wife was ordered to leave the
city within fourteen days, and his estate was confiscated. Still
more rigorous proceedings were instituted against the tories and
Quakers, one of whom was convicted of high treason and hanged.
In January, 1781, a revolt occurred among the Pennsylvania
troops, who were in winter quarters at Morristown, under command
of General Wayne. About thirteen hundred of the disaffected left
the camp and established their quarters at Princeton. The causes
of this mutiny were depreciation of the currency in which the men
were paid, arrearages of pay and suffering for want of money and
clothing, and the retention in the service of some beyond the
terms of their enlistment. There was nothing treasonable in
their revolt. On the contrary, two emissaries who were sent to
them with large offers from the commander of the British forces
were seized, delivered to General Wayne, tried as spies, convict-
ed and executed. An investigation was instituted by General Wayne
and President Reed, their grievances were redressed, and they
returned to their duty.
In the spring of 1781 the Pennsylvania troops under General
Wayne joined the force of La Fayette, and marched to join the
force of General Greene. Fearing an attack upon Philadelphia by
the troops from New York, Congress recommended the calling out of
three thousand militia. They were ordered to rendezvous at New-
town, in Bucks county, where they remained till the departure of
the British troops from New York for the relief of Cornwallis
allayed all fear for the safety of Philadelphia, when they were
disbanded.
In October, 1781, the army of Cornwallis surrendered at York-
town, thus virtually ending the war of the Revolution. Pending
the negotiation of a treaty of peace, which was signed November
30th, 1781, the Assembly of Pennsylvania unanimously adopted a
resolution disapproving of a reunion with Great Britain on any
terms; against the conclusion of a treaty of peace with England
without the concurrence of France, and against the revival of the
proprietary family privileges. Such had been the bitter experi-
ence of the people of Pennsylvania under the propriety government
and the British yoke that they were determined to guard against
everything that could lead to a recurrence of that experience.
Although the chartered boundaries of Pennsylvania were set-
tled before the termination of the Revolutionary war, the Indian
title to all the territory within those limits had not been
extinguished. Purchases from the Indians had been made in 1736
and previously, in 1749, in 1758 and 1768. These amounted to
about two-thirds of the chartered territory. The balance, lying
in the northwest part of the State, was purchased from the Iro-
quois at the treaty of Fort Stanwix in October, 1784, and the
purchase was confirmed by the Delawares and Wyandots at Fort
McIntosh in January, 1785. Notwithstanding this purchase the
Delaware and Wyandots kept up a barbarous warfare against the
settlers, and in addition to the expeditions that had been sent
against them, among which was that of the ill fated Crawford in
1782, Charmer in 1791 and Wayne from 1792 to 1795 conducted
campaigns against them. The last in August, 1795, concluded a
treaty with them which terminated hostilities. "Besides these
expeditions," says Sherman Day, "there was an undercurrent of
partisan hostilities
_____________end page 19._______________
page 20
OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
________________________________________________________________
constantly maintained between the white savages on the frontier
and the red, in which it was difficult to say on which side was
exhibited the greatest atrocity." It has been said that a
State constitution was adopted in 1776 to supersede the proprie-
tary government. Under this constitution an assembly elected
annually was the legislative department; a council of twelve
persons was chosen for three years and by joint ballot of the
assembly and council a president was elected, which constituted
the executive department. It also provided for the choice septen-
nially of a council of censors to revise the doings of the Legis-
lature and executive, pass censures, recommend repeals, etc.
This constitution was defective, though an improvement on the
proprietary government.
In December, 1779, the royal charter was annulled by an act
of Assembly, and the proprietaries were granted f130,000 sterling
to compensate them for their lost privileges, they retaining
their real estate and rents. In 1780 the act for the gradual
extinction of slavery was passed. In recommending this action
the executive council said: "Honored will that State be in the
annals of mankind which shall first abolish this violation of the
rights of mankind."
In 1787 the convention which framed the constitution of the
United States sat in Philadelphia. It concluded its labor on the
18th of September, and on the 12th of the following December a
convention called for the purpose by the Assembly ratified it,
thus placing Pennsylvania first on the list of Estates which ado-
pted it. After the adoption of the federal constitution the def-
ects of the State constitution of 1776 were more than ever before
apparent. Chief Justice McKean had said of it: "The balance of the
one, the few and the many is not well poised in the State; the
Legislature is too powerful for the executive and judicial branc-
hes. We have now but one branch; we must have another branch, a
negative in the executive, stability in our laws and permanency
in the magistracy before we shall be reputable, safe and happy."
In accordance with a resolution of the Assembly, delegates
were chosen at the October election in 1789 to frame a new con-
stitution. They assembled in November of the same year, and
after a long session completed their labors, and the constitution
which they formed was adopted in September, 1790.
In this the general plan of the Federal constitution was
followed. The executive department was vested in a governor,
elected by the people; the legislative in a Senate and Assembly,
while the judicial system was not greatly changed, except that
the tenure of office of the judges of the higher courts was
during good behavior instead of seven years, as before. The
supreme executive council and the council of censors were of
course abolished.
In 1837 the constitution was revised by a convention assem-
bled for that purpose, and the changes which were recommended
were adopted the next year. Among these were alterations in the
tenure of offices, an abridgment of the powers of the Legisla-
ture, the taking away of nearly all executive patronage and an
extension of the elective franchise.
Another revision of the constitution was made by a convention
for that purpose in 1873, and the amended constitution was adopt-
ed the same year. This constitution abolished especial legisla-
tion, changed the time of annual elections, altered the tenure of
the judiciary, modified the pardoning power, provided for minori-
ty representation, for biennial sessions of the Legislature, for
an increase in the number of both branches of the Legislature,
and made other important changes.
In 1794 an attempt was made to lay out a town where the city
of Erie-then called Presque Isle, from the peninsula which shel-
ters the excellent harbor at that point-now stands. The small
triangle necessary to secure this harbor was purchased from the
Indians in 1789, and from the United States in 1792. Resistance
to this settlement by the Seneca Indians was apprehended, by
reason of a misunderstanding on the part of the latter, and the
matter was postponed to the next year, by which time matters were
arranged with them. The western tribes were at that time hos-
tile.
________________
CHAPTER VII.
_____________
THE PENNAMITE WAR--WHISKEY INSURRECTION
"MOLLY MAGUIRE" OUTRAGES--THE RIOTS OF 1877
What has always been known as the Pennamite war, arose out of
the conflicting claims of the colonies of Connecticut and Penn-
sylvania to the territory included between the forty-first and
forty-second parallels of latitude-now in this State.
In 1662 King Charles the Second confirmed to the colony of
Connecticut the title which it had previously, acquired to this
territory; and in 1681 the same monarch granted a portion of the
same territory to William Penn. In 1762 settlers from New England
took possession of lands in the Wyoming valley, and during that
and the succeeding year made some improvements there; but in the
autumn of 1763 they were driven away by the Indians.
They returned in 1769, but about the same time parties claim-
ing titles under the Pennsylvania grant took possession of a
portion of the same territory. An attempt was made by the Con-
necticut settlers to forcibly eject these, and thus was inaugu-
rated a contest and a series of conflicts, which, though they
were suspended during the Revolutionary war, were renewed after
ward, and were not finally settled till about the year 1800.
What has usually been termed the whiskey insurrection assumed
somewhat formidable proportions in 1794. In 1684, 1738, 1744,
1772 and 1780 duties had been
____________end page 20.________________
page 21
WHISKEY INSURRECTION--MOLLY MAGUIRES--THE GREAT STRIKE OF 1877.
________________________________________________________________
imposed on domestic spirits by the Assembly of the province, but
after a time the acts imposing these duties were repealed. In
1791, by act of Congress, an excise of four pence per gallon was
laid on all distilled spirits. This tax weighed heavily on the
people of western Pennsylvania, where in some districts a sixth
of fifth of the farmers were distillers, and nearly all the
coarse grain was converted into spirit and this sent across the
mountains or down the Ohio river to market. A majority of the
inhabitants of this region were Scotch-Irish of their descend-
ants, and their recollections or traditions of resistance to the
excise laws in the "old country" inclined them to follow here the
examples of their fathers. In the year of the passage of the act
resistance to its enforcement commenced, and meetings were held,
at which resolutions were passed denouncing all who should attem-
pt the enforcement of the law, and excise officers were tarred
and feathered and otherwise maltreated. This resistance continued
during the succeeding two or three years. People who were suspec-
ted of favoring the law were proscribed, socially and otherwise,
and open resistance to its execution, by violence to the persons
and injury to the property of those attempting to execute it, was
practiced. This was the condition of things in the counties of
Allegheny, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland. In 1794 Congress
amended the law, but nothing short of absolute repeal would sat-
isfy the malcontents, whose successful resistance had greatly
emboldened them. Armed and organized mobs assembled, attacked the
houses of excise officers and burned their buildings, and several
persons were killed in these riots. Finally a large force assem-
bled and marched on Pittsburg, determined to burn the house of an
excise officer there; but by adroit management they were prevent-
ed from doing any harm beyond burning a barn. These lawless pro-
ceedings were reported to the authorities, and the President of
the United States and the governor of the State issued proclama-
tions commanding the insurgents to disperse, and calling for
troops to suppress the insurrection. In obedience to this procl-
amation a force of about 13,000 was raised in Virginia, Maryland,
New York, and Pennsylvania, and under the command of Governor
Henry Lee, of Virginia, marched to the insurrectionary district.
This awed the insurgents into obedience and no further trouble
was experienced.
In 1798 the Fries insurrection, or "hot water war," as it was
called because of the method adopted by the women in resisting
the collection of the "house tax, "occurred in Bucks and Montgom-
ery counties. Troops were called out; Fries and others-leaders-
were arrested, tried, and convicted of treason, but subsequently
pardoned.
The Erie Railroad war, which occurred in the winter of 1853-
4, is still fresh in the recollection of many. This arose out of
the opposition of the people of Erie to the action of what is now
the Lake Shore Railroad Company in laying a track of uniform
width through the city. The track was torn up and bridges were
destroyed by a mob encouraged by the city authorities, and travel
was embarrassed during several months. Order was finally re-
stored, and Erie has since been widely known as the "peanut
city."
About the year 1862 a reign of terror was inaugurated in some
portions of the mining regions in the State of Pennsylvania, by
the discovery that there existed among the miners an organization
of desperadoes who set the law at defiance, and aided and pro-
tected each other in the blackest crimes known. This organiza-
tion is popularly known as the Mollie Maguires, and it was trans-
planted in this country about the year 1854 from Ireland. It was
an organization for resistance to the landlords in that country,
and took its name from a desperate woman, who was very active and
efficient in shooting landlords' agents. In this country it is
said that it never existed as a distinct organization, but that
the secret acts of lawlessness and crimes that had characterized
the Mollie Maguires came to be tolerated and even sanctioned and
abetted by the "Ancient Order of Hibernians," a benevolent insti-
tution which had long existed and which, in some States, was
incorporated. When they first attracted attention they were
termed "Buckshots," and, although troublesome, they were not
considered very dangerous. Their crimes came to be more frequent
and audacious. They resisted the enrollment for the draft in
1862. Arson, and the assassination of those who incurred their
displeasure, came to be more and more common, and were perpetrat-
ed with entire impunity, for an alibi was always proved; and
during the twelve or thirteen years following the influx of
foreign miners into the coal regions, which began soon after the
breaking out of the Rebellion, they came to be a real terror in
those regions. At length a skillful detective succeeded in gain-
ing admission to their order and obtaining a knowledge of its
secret workings, and of the perpetrators of the many murders
which had been committed. The results was that many of these
murders were brought to justice, and the order was rendered
impotent by the exposure of its dangerous character.
In the summer of 1877 what is known as the great strike oc-
curred. This commenced in the city of Baltimore, among the em-
ployees of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and rapidly
extended the entire length of the road. Three days later, July
19th, certain employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company also
struck, or refused to work. The immediate cause or pretext for
the strike at Pittsburg was an order from the superintendent of
the road extending the trip of a "crew:" thus-as it was said-
rendering a smaller number of men necessary and depriving a
portion of their employment.
The exigencies of was of 1861-65 brought about unhealthy
condition of things throughout the country. The currency was
inflated; business acquired an abnormal activity; the prices of
produce, of manufactured articles, and of labor were greatly
enhanced, and a general expansion took place. This engendered
among all classes a degree of reckless extravagance unknown
before, and when, after the lapse of a few years, business gradu-
ally
__________________end page 21.___________________
page 22
OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
_______________________________________________________________
came to be established on a more healthy basis, people found it
difficult to adapt themselves to their changed surroundings, to
practice the more rigid economy which those surroundings necessi-
tated, and to appreciate the increased and steadily increasing
value of a dollar. When, therefore, by reason of a depreciation
in the prices of produce, a lessened demand for manufactured
goods, and a consequent which the profits of manufacturers, it
became necessary to reduce the price of labor, many labors,
finding it hard to submit to these inevitable changes, and fail-
ing to appreciate the necessity for them, sought by the exercise
of lawless force to compel producers, manufactures, or carriers
to continue the prices which they paid in more prosperous times.
Such was the condition of things at the commencement of
thisstrike. At first certain railroads employees, who considered
themselves aggrieved, refused to work, and sought by intimidation
and force to prevent others from doing the work which they re-
fused to do. At Pittsburg these were joined by the idle, vicious
and reckless who were not in the employ of the railroad company,
and at once became more and more disorderly and defiant. The
authorities were called on to protect the company's property, but
the force failed to control the mob. The militia were called
out, and some of the soldiers fraternized with the rioters, and
others proved inefficient by reason of a mistaken aversion to
firing on them, and finally allowed themselves to be driven from
their position. The citizens took no measures to repress disor-
der, but rather looked on approvingly.
Under such circumstances the crowd constantly augmented, and
became more and more desperate. Incendiarism and pillage came to
be the order of things, and property to the amount of millions of
dollars was destroyed. Proclamations were issued by the gover-
nor, more militia were called out, and at last the citizens awoke
from their apathy when they became aware that the city itself was
in danger of destruction, and the riotous proceedings were final-
ly quelled.
Meantime the strike had extended until it had become general
along the Pennsylvania Railroad. Violence was resorted to and
property destroyed at various places along the line of the road,
but nowhere was there such a reign of terror as at Pittsburg. At
Philadelphia the authorities took such ample precautions, and the
police acted so promptly and efficiently when the riot broke out
there, that it was at once put down. The governor visited riot-
ous localities along the line of the road in person, accompanied
by troops, and regular soldiers were furnished by order of the
President and Secretary of War, on application of Governor Har-
tranft, to aid in restoring order.
At Reading riots broke out on the 22nd of July. The militia
were called out, but proved inefficient, though one regiment,
without orders, poured a volley into the assailing crowd, killing
ten and wounding forty and scattering the rioters for the time.
The presence of 300 regular troops finally awed the mob and
restored order.
By the 24th the strike had extended to the mining regions,
and was extensively participated in by the miners. Riots occurred
at Pottsville, Shamokin, Bethlehem, Easton, Wilkes-Barre, Scran-
ton and elsewhere. Work in the mines was arrested, some mines
were flooded, railroad property was destroyed and many lives were
sacrificed in the riots and the efforts to quell them. The
greatest destruction of property, however, was at Pittsburg,
where the citizens have since been punished for the tacit encour-
agement which they at first gave the rioters, by being compelled
to pay for the property destroyed.
____________
CHAPTER VIII.
__________________
HARRISBURG MADE THE CAPITAL
THE WAR OF 1812
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS-SCHOOLS
__________________________
The project of removing the capital of the State to a more
central location began to be agitated during the last decade of
the eighteenth century. In 1795, 1796 and 1798 efforts were made
to accomplish such removal, but they failed for the want of
concurrent action in the two branches of the Legislature. Car-
lisle, Reading, Lancaster, Wright's Ferry and Harrisburg were
unsuccessfully proposed. In 1799 Lancaster was selected, and the
Legislature met there for the first time in December of that
year. By an act of the Legislature in 1810 it was in 1812 re-
moved from Lancaster to Harrisburg; and the sessions of the
Legislature were held in the court-house at that place till the
completion of the public building in 1821.
The war of 1812 had its origin in aggressions against the
United States by Great Britain, which were continued during many
years, notwithstanding the earnest protests of this nation. The
rights of the United States as neutrals were disregarded during
the Napoleonic wars, and among other encroachments the English
government claimed the right to board and search American ves-
sels, and authorized its officers to examine their crews, seize
all those whom they chose to regard as British subjects, and
force them into service. All remonstrances were unavailing. The
English in enforcing this right of search committed great out-
rages, and the practice became so obnoxious as to demand some
decided measures for its suppression. Under these circumstances
there appeared no alternative but war; and Congress having au-
thorized it, war against Great Britain was declared on the 19th
of June, 1812. The measure was not universally sustained. The
Federal party, then in the minority, opposed it; and their polit-
ical opinions being apparently stronger than their patriotism,
they loudly denounced it. The Federalists in New York and New
England were most prominent in their opposition, and if they did
not directly aid the enemy their conduct was discouraging
______________end page 22.________________
page 23
WAR OF 1812-INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS
_______________________________________________________________
and injurious to those who were periling their lives in their
country's cause. This opposition was, however, quite impotent in
Pennsylvania.
At the commencement of the war Governor Snyder issued a
patriotic call for fourteen thousand volunteers; and such was the
alacrity of the response that three times the number required
tendered their services, and money was readily offered for the
places of those who were accepted.
During this war Pennsylvania was not the scene of hostile
operations, although her frontier was threatened. A force of
British and Indians appeared on the north shore of the lake,
opposite to Erie, in July, 1812; but the prompt measures that
were taken for the defense of the port prevented an attack. The
mouth of the Delaware was blockaded in 1813, and most of the
foreign commerce of Philadelphia was cut off; but the river had
been placed in such a state of defense that it was not invaded.
A thousand men were sent to protect the shores of this river, and
an equal force sent to guard the harbor of Erie, where vessels of
war were in process of construction and equipment. The brilliant
victory of Commodore Perry on the 10th of September, 1813, was
the result of the fitting out of this naval force.
The ravaging of the shores of Chesapeake bay, and the burn-
ing of Washington, in 1813 and 1814, and the threatening attitude
if the enemy after these depredation, induced Governor Snyder to
issue another call for troops to defend the State against the
peril which menaced it. In compliance with this a force of five
thousand established a rendezvous on the Delaware, and although
the soil of Pennsylvania was not invaded this force did good
service in marching to the relief of Baltimore when it was at-
tacked, and aiding to repel the enemy. It is worthy of note, as
showing the difference in the patriotism of men from different
sections of the country, that four thousand New York troops under
General Van Rennsselaer refused to cross the line into Canada,
but that, soon afterward, a brigade of Pennsylvanians, consisting
of two thousand, under General Tannehill, crossed without the
slightest hesitation, glad to be able to meet the enemy on his
own soil and do battle for their country. A treaty of peace
between the two nations was ratified on the 17th of February,
1815.
The extensive system of internal improvements which has swal-
lowed so many millions of money in this State was commenced
about the year 1790. The first efforts were directed to the
improvement of navigation in the rivers of the State; then as
time went on, construction of a system of canals and turnpikes
was entered on, and prosecuted beyond that of any other State in
the Union. The grand project of securing the trade of the West,
through a connection between Philadelphia and the waters of the
Ohio at Pittsburg, by a line of public works, was realized in
1831. In order to secure the influence and votes necessary to
authorize this it had been found necessary to construct other
canals in various parts of the State, the inhabitants of which
desired to participate in the benefits of the system of internal
improvements, and thus that system in this State came to exceed
in magnitude that of any other.
It was not possible, however, for the wisest of those who
projected and promoted this system of improvements to foresee the
rise and rapid progress of another system, which was to take the
place of and wholly supersede that which, at such an enormous
expense, they inaugurated and carried forward.
In 1827 a railroad, nine miles in length, the longest then in
existence in America, was constructed from Mauch Chunk to some
coal mines. Only two had preceded this-one, with a wooden track,
at a stone quarry in the country of Delaware, Penn., and another,
having a length of three miles, at a quarry in Quincy, Mass.
Since that time the railroad system of this country has developed
to its present magnitude. A majority of the canals are dry, many
have been converted into railroad beds, and even the rivers and
lakes of the country have dwindled into comparative insignifi-
cance as avenues of travel or transportation. In 1857 the prin-
cipal line of public works between Pittsburg and Philadelphia was
sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for a fraction of its
cost, and measures were at once taken for the sale of the other
works belonging to the State thus do systems, one after another,
develop and pass away, and no prevision can point out what is to
come.
While it is true that in some of the States of the Union the
present system of internal improvements, which has been fostered
and encouraged by those States, has proved to be almost the ruin
of their best interests, the reverse is true in Pennsylvania.
The development of the immense mineral resources of the Estate
required the construction of these avenues of transportation, and
the cost of those built by the State, though they were afterward
sold for only a part of that cost, was returned many fold in the
increase of wealth which was the direct result of their construc-
tion. When the first canal was projected the use of anthracite
coal was hardly known, and the cost of its transportation to
market was so great as to preclude the possibility of its prof-
itable use. With every increase in the facilities for the trans-
portation of this important mineral it has been cheapened to the
consumer, and its production has been rendered more profitable;
and now large areas which have no value for any other purpose are
sources of immense and constantly increasing wealth.
Previous to the year 1834 many acts were passed by the Legis-
lature pertaining in some way to the subject of education. Some
of these were local in their application, and some were little
more than resolutions in favor of education. Isolated schools
were established in various localities, in most of which provi-
sion was made for the education of their children of the poor.
The people of the different religious denominations made provi-
sion for the education of their children, often establishing
parochial schools. This was the case with the Quakers, the
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, the German Lutherans, the Mennonists,
the Moravians, the Dunkards, etc. Nothing having the semblance of
a public school system was established previous to the adoption
of the constitution
____________end page 23.______________
page 24
OUTLINE HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
_______________________________________________________________
of 1790, which required that provision should be made by law for
the general establishment of schools wherein gratuitous instruc-
tion should be given to the children of the poor. From that time
till 1827 efforts were from time to time made to establish a
system in accordance with this requirement, but with only partial
success, the radical defect in all being the distinction between
the children of the rich and poor. In 1827 earnest and systemat-
ic efforts began to be put forth for the establishment of free
schools for all, and in 1834 the foundation of the present common
school system was laid, in the enactment of a law for the mainte-
nance of schools by a tax on all taxable property. This law,
which was at first imperfect, was revised and amended in 1836,
1849, 1854 and 1857, in which last year the present system of
normal schools was established.
In 1863 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company donated to the
State $50,000 for the education of soldiers' orphans. In 1865
the Legislature added to this an appropriation of $75,000.
Schools and homes were established for these wards of the State,
and during several years an annual expenditure was made for this
purpose of half a million of dollars. At these homes and school
soldiers' orphans were boarded, clothed, educated and taught
habits of industry, and at a proper age were placed in situations
to acquire trades or professions.
In 1749 an academy was established by subscription in Phila-
delphia "for instruction in the Latin and English languages and
mathematics." This was the foundation of the University of Penn-
sylvania. This and Dickinson College, at Carlisle, which was
founded in 1783, were the only colleges in the State previous to
the commencement of the nineteenth century. There are now
twenty-seven, of which five are purely secular or non-sectarian.
There are also seventeen theological institutions, ten medical
schools and one law school.
____________
CHAPTER IX.
____________
PATRIOTIC ACTION IN THE MEXICAN AND CIVIL WARS
GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
__________
In 1846 war was declared by this government against Mexico,
and by virtue of authority vested in him by Congress, the Presi-
dent calld on Pennsylvania for six volunteer regiments of infan-
try, to hold themselves in readiness for service during one year,
or to the end of the war. Such was the alacrity with which the
citizens responded to this call, that within thirty days a suffi-
cient number of volunteers had offered their services to consti-
tute nine full regiments. Of these, between two and three regi-
ments were sent into the country of the enemy, and their conduct
at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Chepultepec and the city of Mexico was
highly creditable to themselves as well as to the State which
they represented.
The promptitude with which Pennsylvania responded to call of
the federal government in 1812 and 1846 was fully equaled by the
readiness with which her citizens flew to arms at the breaking
out of the great Southern rebellion. In anticipation of that
event the citizens of Pittsburg had refused to allow arms to be
taken from their arsenal and sent south by traitorous government
officials; and, when the storm of war burst upon the country, the
patriotism of the citizens of this State was aroused to such a
pitch that, in response to the call for Pennsylvania's quota of
the 75,000 first called for, fourteen regiments, enough for
twenty-five, offered themselves.
A place of rendezvous, called, in honor of the governor of
the State, Camp Curtin, was established at Harrisburg, and on the
morning of April 18th, 1861, six days after the attack on Fort
Sumter and three days after the proclamation calling for 75,000
men was issued five companies of volunteers left Harrisburg for
Washington. They passed through Baltimore amid the jeers and
imprecations of the mob, that followed them and hurled bricks,
clubs and other missiles at them as they boarded the cars, and
arrived at Washington on the evening of the same day. They were
the first troops that reached the national capital, and for this
prompt response to the call of their country, and for their
coolness and courage in passing through the mob, they were after-
ward thanked, in a resolution, by the House of Representatives.
Within twelve days, or before the first of May, twenty-five
regiments, amounting to more than twenty thousand men, were sent
from this State to the field. The expense of clothing, subsis-
ing, arming, equipping and transporting these troops was sus-
tained by the State.
By the advance of General Lee toward the southern border of
the state in September, 1862, an invasion of its territory was
evidently threatened, and Governor Curtain, by proclamation,
called for fifty thousand men to meet the emergency. These not
only marched to the border, which they covered, but most of them
crossed into the State of Maryland, and by their presence assist-
ed in preventing the advance northward of the rebel army.
Another emergency arose in June, 1863, to meet which Governor
Curtin issued a proclamation calling out the entire militia of the
state. By reason of a lack of concert in the action of the State
and National authorities, only a portion of this force was
brought into service previous to the battle of Gettysburg. Of
that battle the limits of this sketch will not permit a detailed
account. It was the result of the second attempt to invade
northern territory and it was a disaster to the rebels from which
they never recovered.
The territory of the State was again invaded in July, 1864,
and all the available troops in the State were sent forward to
repel the invasion. The inhabitants along the southern border
were considerably annoyed and injured by this invasion, and the
town of Chambersburg burned. More than two hundred and fifty
houses were
__________end page 24.____________
page 25
WAR OF THE REBELLION
GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA
____________________________________________________________
fired by the rebels and the town was entirely destroyed involving
a loss of about $2,000,000. It was an act of wanton vandalism.
Of Camp Curtin, there was established at the commencement of
the war, it may be said that it was not only a place of rendez-
vous for soldiers and of deposit for military stores, but a depot
for prisoners and a hospital for the sick and for the wounded
after some of the great battles, especially the battles of Get-
tysburg and Antietam. It was early placed under the control of
the federal government, and so continued till the close of the
war.
A brief mention should be made of the part which the loyal
women of the State bore in this conflict. Not only did they part
with their husbands, sons and brothers, who went forth to do
battle for their country and the preservations of its institu-
tions, and in many cases to lay down their lives, but they put
forth their efforts to provide and send forward to those who
languished in distant hospitals those comforts which the govern-
ment could not furnish; and many a sick or wounded soldier had
occasion to bless his unknown benefactress for some delicacy or
comfort of which he was the recipient.
During the continuance of this war the State of Pennsylvania
furnished for the army two hundred and seventy regiments and many
detached companies, amounting in all to 387,284 men. The follow-
ing quotation from a special message of Governor Curtin, at the
close of the war, is a well deserved tribute to the self-sacri-
ficing patriotism of the people of this State:
"Proceeding in the strict line of duty, the resources of Penn-
sylvania, whether in men or money, have neither been withheld or
squandered. The history of the conduct of our people in the field
is illuminated with incidents of heroism worthy of conspicuous
notice; but it would be impossible to mention them in the proper
limits of this message, without doing injustice or perhaps making
invidious distinctions. It would be alike impossible to furnish a
history of the associated benevolence, and of the large individual
contributions to the comfort of our people in the field and hos-
pital; or of the names and services at all times of our volunteer
surgeons, when called to assist in the hospital or on the battle
field. Nor is it possible to do justice to the many patriotic
and Christian men who were always ready when summoned to the
exercise of acts of humanity and benevolence. Our armies were
sustained and strengthened in the field by the patriotic devotion
of their friends at home; and we can never render full justice to
the heaven-directed, patriotic, Christian benevolence of the
women of the State."
The following is a list of the governors of the colony, prov-
ince and State of Pennsylvania, with the years of the appointment
or election of each:
Under the Swedes: 1638, Peter Minuit; 1641, Peter Hollandare;
1643, John Printz; 1653, John Pappegoya; 1654, Johan Claudius
Rysingh.
Under the Dutch: 1655, Peter Stuyvesant (Deryck Schmidt pro
tem.); 1655, John Paul Jaquet; 1657, Jacob Alrichs; 1659, Alexan-
der D. Hinyossa; 1652, William Beekman; 1663, Alexander D. Hi-
nyossa; 1673, Anthony Colve (Peter Alrich's deputy).
Under the Duke of York: 1664, Colonel Richard Nichols
(Robert Carr, deputy); 1667, Colonel Francis Lovelace.
Under the English: 1674, Sir Edmund Andross:
Under the proprietary government: 1681, William Markham, depu-
ty; 1682, William Penn; 1684, Thomas Lloyd, president of the
council; 1688, five commissioners appointed by the proprietor-
Thomas Lloyd, Robert Turner, Arthur Cook, John Symcock, John
Eckley; 1688, John Blackwell, deputy; 1690, Thomas Lloyd, presi-
dent of council; 1691, Thomas Lloyd, deputy governor; 1693,
Benjamin Fletcher, William Markham, liutenant governor; 1695,
William Markham, deputy, 1699, William Penn; 1701, Andrew Hamil-
ton, deputy; 1703, Edward Shippen, president of the council;
1704, John Evans, deputy; 1709, Charles Gookin, deputy; 1717, Sir
William Keith, deputy; 1726, Patrick Gordon, deputy; 1736, James
Logan, president of the council; 1738, George Thomas, deputy;
1747, Anthony Palmer, president of the council; 1748, James
Hamilton, lieutenant governor; 1754, Robert H. Morris, deputy;
1756, William Denny, deputy; 1759, James Hamilton, deputy; 1763,
John Penn; 1771, James Hamilton, president of the council; 1771,
Richard Penn; 1773, John Penn.
Under the constitution of 1776 (presidents of the supreme
council): 1777, Thomas Wharton; 1778, Joseph Reed; 1781, William
Moore; 1782, John Dickinson; 1785, Benjamin Franklin; 1788,
Thomas Mifflin.
Under subsequent constitutions: 1790, Thomas Mifflin; 1799,
Thomas McKean; 1808, Simon Snyder; 1817; William Findlay; 1820,
Joseph Heister; 1823, John Andrew Schultze; 1829, George Wolf;
1835, Joseph Ritner; 1839, David R. Porter; 1845, Francis R.
Shunk; 1848, William F. Johnston; 1852, William Bigler; 185(-),
James Pollock; (note: (-) is transcribers for illegible.) 1858,
William F. Packer; 1861, Andrew G. Curtin; 1867, John W Geary;
1873, John F. Hartranft; 1878, Henry M. Hoyt.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A PAGE 26 TO THIS
BOOK. TABLE OF CONTENTS SKIPS FROM PAGE 25 TO PAGE 27 AND THERE
WAS NO PAGE 26.