Union County History
Annals of the Buffalo Valley by John Blair Lynn
Pages 209 thru 244
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1782.
INDIAN INCURSIONS - REZNER KILLED - MAJOR JOHN LEE KILLED - HISTORY OF
LEE'S FAMILY, AND WALKER'S - DEATH OF CAPTAIN CASPER WEITZEL.
WILLIAM MOORE, President of the State. James Potter, Vice
President. Frederick Antes, Presiding Judge.
At the general election held in October, William Montgomery,
William Cooke, and William Maclay were elected members of the General
Assembly. Thomas Grant received the highest number of votes for
Sheriff, but Henry Antes, the next highest in number of votes, received
the commission John Chattam, Coroner; and David Mead was elected County
Commissioner. The officers of Buffalo were: Constable, Peter Burns;
Supervisor, Nicholas Reem; Overseers, Michael Hessler and George Hains.
In Penn's township, George Herrold is assessed with two mills and a
ferry; Tobias Bickle, senior, with a tan-yard; William Anderson, tan-
yard. Additional residents: Frederick Bubb, Frederick Guy,
(non-juror,) Andrew Gift, John Rush.
Captain Matthew Smith was a better warrior, no doubt, than
prothonotary, but answered for war times, when there was little to do.
I copy a specimen of his orphans' court records:
"At an orphans' court held at Sunbury, January II, 1782, the court
are of opinion, from information given, that Benj. Elliot and Jean
Irwin (alias Elliot) be and appear at Sunbury, on Monday, the 14th
inst., to answer said court on some complaint of misdemeanour. Fail
not under the penalty of £100. Note: the
210 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1782.
complaint is that the estate of Richard Irwin is embezzling, and that
the above Benjamin and Jean is to be provided with security to cloath,
maintain, and educate the minor children; otherwise, other security
will be given, that no expense will accrue to the said minor children.
MATTHEW SMITH."
The Indian outrages commenced early this year, and on the 1st
of May Captain Joseph Green had a party out in defense of the frontier.
May 6, Edward Tate, a private in Captain George Overmeier' S
company, was wounded by a ball through his foot, in an engagement with
the Indians, which ocurred on a place then occupied by Frederick Wise,
(now in Limestone township, somewhere between Mifflinburg and Wehr's
tavern.) A number of the company were on a scout, and were talking,
at the time, of the merits of their respective guns. One said he
could shoot the drop from an Indian's nose. Just at that moment the
Indians, who were in ambush, fired upon them, and several fell. Tate,
who was wounded, ran and concealed himself. An Indian, in pursuit,
came near to where he lay, and looked over the fence, but did not
discover him. Philip Seebold, whose authority was old Mrs. Overmeier,
said the names of the two men killed were Lee and Rezner; that their
bodies were brought to Captain Overmeier's, and she washed them, and
they were buried in the grave-yard at Dry run, near late Philip
Seebold's residence.
Major Lee and others Killed by the Indians.
The attack on john Lee's (now Winfield) was made in August. A
letter directed to Colonel Magaw, at Carlisle, found among his papers,
from Colonel Butler, dated 25th August, says, a party of Indians, sup-
posed to be sixty or seventy in number, killed Mr. Lee and family, a few
miles above Sunbury. Letters of administration were issued to Captain
John Lowdon and Thomas Grant on the 31st of August. Lee was assessor
in April of this year.
I copy from Meginness his narration of the occurrence, as I can
find no contemporaneous account of it. Meginness, however, confounds
Major John Lee with Sergeant Lee, killed at Fort Rice, on
1782.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 211
the 24th of October, and relates an incident occurring at Sergeant
Lee's funeral as happening at Major Lee's funeral:
"It was a summer evening, and his family were at supper. A young
woman named Katy Stoner escaped up stairs, and concealed herself behind
the chimney. Lee was tomahawked and scalped, and a man named John Walker
shared the same fate. A Mrs. Boatman and daughter were also killed.
Mrs. Lee, with a small child and a boy named Thomas, were led away
captives. They took the path up the Valley, crossing White Deer
mountain, and then the river. One of Lee's sons, Robert, returning
about the time, saw the Indians leaving. He fled to Northumberland,
and gave the alarm. A party was organized by Colonel Hunter, and
started in pursuit. Henry McHenry, father of A. H. McHenry, of Jersey
Shore, was in this party, and gave an account of it to his son. In
crossing the mountains, Mrs. Lee was bitten by a rattlesnake, and her
leg became so much swollen, she traveled with great difficulty. The
Indians finding themselves pursued, urged her on as rapidly as
possible, but her strength failed her. When near the mouth of Pine
run, four miles below Jersey Shore, she gave out and sat down. An
Indian slipped up behind her, placed the muzzle of his rifle to her
ear, and blew off the whole upper portion of her head. One of them
seized her little child by the heel and dashed it against a tree.
They then fled, crossing the river at Smith's fording, and ran up
Nippenose bottom. When Colonel Hunter came up with his men, the body
of Mrs. Lee was yet warm, and the child, but little injured, was
moaning piteously. Near Antes' Gap the Indians separated, and ran up
both sides of the mountain, and the party gave up the chase, as they
were nearly exhausted. They came back and buried Mrs. Lee where she
died, and brought the child back. They dug a hole alongside of
Walker's body and rolled him in. Mrs. Boatman's daughter survived and
lived many years afterwards. Young Thomas Lee was not recovered for
many years afterwards. His brother made arrangements with the Indians
to bring him to Tioga Point, (Athens now,) where he was delivered to
his friends. Such was his love of Indian life that they were obliged
to tie him and place him into a canoe to bring him home. When near
Wilkesbarre they untied him, but as soon as the canoe touched the
shore, he was out and off like a deer. They caught him, however, and,
on arriving at Northumberland, he
212 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1782.
evinced all the sullenness of a captive. Boys and girls played about
him for several days before he showed any disposition to join them. At
last he began to inquire the names of things. By degrees he became
civilized, and obtained a good education." - Meginness, page 276.
John Van Buskirk told me when he came to the Valley, in 1816, the
old people thereabouts showed him the spot where Lee was killed, by what
is now (1877) a blasted pine, some little distance in a westerly
course from the furnace stone stable; and he said Lee was buried, with
his family, near their residence, which Isaac Eyer, senior, tells me,
stood just where the furnace railroad crosses the road to the river,
and that his father lived in it until he built the new house, within
his own recollection.
I once had occasion to examine the title papers of Youngman's and
Walter's place. Among them is the release of Thomas Lee, the eldest
son, his signature, excellent hand-writing, dated 1st April, 1797, to
Robert Lee, of Point township. Release of Sarah, married to William
Beard, of Lycoming county, 24th April, 1797, to Robert. Rebecca,
married to Robert Hursh, of Lycoming county, of same date; and Eliza
Lee. She was probably the infant spoken of in the narrative. Robert
Lee then sold to Abraham Eyerly, (now Eyer,) 2d May, 1797.
The sequel to John Walker's murder, Mr. Meginness relates, as
follows: "In the year 1790 his sons Benjamin, Joseph, and Henry Walker
were living on a farm not far from the mouth of Pine creek, a few miles
above Jersey Shore, when two Indians, one a youth and the other a
middle-aged, well-proportioned man, came into the neighborhood. At
Stephenson's tavern, near the mouth of the creek, some people, and
among them the Walkers, had gathered. The Indians got drunk, and
performed many antics; and the old Indian, putting on the most horrid
grimaces, and twisting his face into all sorts of shapes, said, 'this
is the way old Walker looked when I killed and scalped him.' That
evening the brothers persuaded one Samuel Doyle to accompany them,
and murdered the Indians, placing their bodies in the creek near where
Phelps' mill stands. The bodies were washed out by a freshet, and
suspicion pointed to the Walkers, who fled the country."
The county records show that letters upon the estate of John
1782.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 213
Walker were granted to his widow, Jane, and eldest son, Benjamin, in
August 782, and the rest of his family consisted of William, who died
before 1790, (leaving a son, John,) Henry, Joseph, John, Samuel, and
Sarah, married to William Morrison.
During this year, a boy sent to Van Gundy's mill (now J. W.
Shriner's, near Lewisburg,) was shot from his horse. This occurred on
the Meixell place, a short distance above Francis Wilson's. He was only
fourteen years of age, and his name has not been preserved, but the
spot, a marsh by the present road, was haunted, people said, by his
ghost riding a white horse.
Deaths.
Casper Weitzel, Esquire, was a lawyer, practicing at Sunbury, when
the war broke out, in 1775, and as secretary of the county committee,
took a very active part in favor of independence. In 1776 he raised a
company in and around Sunbury, which was attached to Colonel Miles'
regiment, and participated in the disastrous battle of the 27th of
August, on Long Island. He fought through the British ranks, and made
his way into camp, with Lieutenant Colonel Brodhead, with a loss of
twenty, officers and men, of his company. His rolls, written in his
own neat hand, are in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
He was a granduncle of P. R. Weitzel, Esquire, of Scranton,
Pennsylvania.
John Smith, of Buffalo township; his children were Mrs. Catherine
Norgang and Mrs. Christian Storms. Martin Trester and Adam Smith, of
Buffalo. James Poak, of White Deer, leaving a widow, Mary; Sarah,
married to Colonel John Kelly; Deborah, to Ephraim Darrough, - James,
Thomas, William, and David were his children. He lived at the mouth
of Little Buffalo creek, Fort Horn, (Cameron's.)
(End of page 213)
1783
STATE OFFICIALS - ELECTION RETURNS - CONTESTED ELECTION - REVEREND
CYRIACUS SPANGENBERG - THE BRADY FAMILY.
STATE OFFICIALS: His Excellency, John Dickinson, President. Judges
of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, John Dickinson, Samuel Miles,
and Henry Wyncoop. Edward Burd, Prothonotary.
Councillor, John Boyd. Members of Assembly, William Maclay,
James McClenachan, and William Cooke. President Justice, William
Montgomery. Prothonotary, Major Lawrence Keene, appointed September
25, vice Matthew Smith. (Among the applicants for this appointment
were Colonel Atlee and Daniel Montgomery.) County Commissioner, John
Clarke. County Treasurer, Frederick Antes, appointed October 20.
Collector of Excise, William Wilson, appointed October 20.
Officers of Buffalo: Constable, Ludwig Derr; Supervisors, Jacob
Dreisbach and John Dabellon; Overseers, George Overmeier and
Alexander McGrady. Additional residents: Foster, Andrew; Foster,
Thomas; Frederick, Thomas; Garret, John; Greenhoe, Andrew;
Gibson, James; Gray, John; Grosvenor, Richard; Gunner, Jacob;
Hart, John; Harman, Samuel; Hanna, Isaac; Kennedy, Alexander;
Knox, George; Lincoln, Mishael; May, George; Macpherson,
John; Spangler, Christian; Thompson, John, junior; Troxell,
George. Improvement, Andrew Morrow, grist and saw-mill.
Residents of White Deer: Iddings, Samuel; Potter, James, Esquire.
Penn's: Boop, George; Moore, George; Pyle, George; Sherk, John;
Weaver, Michael. Widow Stees is taxed with grist and saw-mill.
(End of page 214)
1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 215
ELECTION RETURNS October 14 and 15, 1783
Augusta, October 15
| Buffalo, October 14
| | Northumberland, Oct. 14
| | | Muncy
COM'R John Clarke 14 73 217 56 360
John Byers 191 -- 16 3 210
CORONER John Scott 32 54 214 58 358
Charles Gillespie 63 14 40 -- 117
Christopher Gettig 192 16 -- 6 214
SHERIFF John Lytle 61 52 167 54 334
Thomas Grant 141 22 71 12 246
Henry Antes 121 61 209 56 447
ASSEMBLY James McClenachan 21 52 171 60 304
Daniel Montgomery 21 50 169 60 300
Frederick Antes 27 32 176 60 295
John Weitzel 187 8 -- 6 201
William Cooke 191 22 69 6 288
William Maclay 193 23 59 6 281
COUNC'R Robert Martin 35 18 168 58 279
John Boyd 171 22 66 7 266
COUN. OF James Potter 22 16 167 60 265
CENS'RS William Montgomery 31 53 173 60 317
William Gray, (Buffalo) 182 23 64 5 274
Samuel Hunter, junior. 189 24 69 6 288
216 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783.
Two returns were made of this election, one signed by Elias
Youngman, Anthony Geiger, and John Tschops, judges of the Augusta or
Sunbury district, and Jacob Dreisbach, for the Buffalo district,
certifying to the election of Samuel Hunter, junior, and William Gray,
of Buffalo, as members of the Council of Censors; John Boyd, as member
of the Supreme Executive Council; William Maclay, William Cooke, and
John Weitzel, as members of Assembly; John Byers, Commissioner; Henry
Antes, Sheriff, &c.; the other return, signed by James Murray, James
Espy, and Simon Spaulding, of the Northumberland district, and Richard
Manning, of the Muncy district, certified to the election of William
Montgomery and Samuel Hunter as Censors, Robert Martin as Councillor,
James McClenachan, Daniel Montgomery, and Frederick Antes as members of
Assembly; Henry Antes, Sheriff; John Clarke, Commissioner, &c. The
former judges arrived at their result by throwing out the Northumberland
and Muncy boxes. They did this because intruders from Wyoming were
allowed to vote at Northumberland, and residents upon the Indian lands
were allowed to vote at Muncy.
On the 25th of November, the House of Representatives arrived
at a little different result, by rejecting the Muncy box alone, thus
admitting William Maclay, William Cooke and James McClenachan as
members; Samuel Hunter and William Montgomery became members of the
Council of Censors, on November 13, by counting all the votes; John
Boyd, Councillor, and John Clarke, (Buffalo,) County Commissioner.
The deposition of Thomas Hamilton proved that, at the Muncy election,
Richard Manning, who lived on Long Island, supposed to be Indian land,
acted as judge, and David McKinney who lived opposite the Great
Island, on Indian land, acted as inspector; that John Price, John
Hamilton, Britton Caldwell, one Thorp, and others, who resided upon
Indian land had voted at the Muncy district election, held at Amariah
Sutton's. The Muncy district was composed of Bald Eagle and Muncy.
Robert Fleming was the only one from Bald Eagle who voted. Manning
testified that he acted as judge; lived on Long Island; that
Daugherty, who acted as inspector of the election, lived fifteen miles
from the district, in Turbut township, which was in the Northumberland
district; that
1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 217
the Indian land men voted generally in favor of Montgomery, Antes, and
McClenachan for Assembly, &C.
William Sims' testimony, with that of others, in regard to the
Northumberland box, was that he had been up at Wyoming, and saw
William Bonham there, in company with Colonel Zebulon Butler, and
Bonham acknowledged to him that it was his business there to get the
Wyoming people to go down to Northumberland and vote; that Bonham was
exceedingly busy in inviting and persuading the New England people to
go down and vote; that Colonel Butler told Captain Gaskins that there
would be over one hundred down; that many of them were in
Northumberland and had voted, and Bonham kept an open house for them;
heard Bonham tell Schott to go up to his house and get his dinner; and
further said the election had cost him $20. Captain Spaulding, one of
the New England men, acted as judge: and Lord Butler, son of Colonel
Zebulon, acted as clerk.
Simon Spaulding testified that he lived at Stoke; had been seven
years captain in the army, &c.; that the principle on which the people
came down to vote was to show their design of conforming to the laws of
Pennsylvania, and that they took that as the first opportunity of
doing it, &c.
A petition to the Assembly remonstrating against receiving the
returns from Muncy and Northumberland was numerously signed by the
inhabitants along Penn's creek, and of Buffalo Valley, and other parts
of the county. Among the names of the Hesslers, Ulrichs, Jacob Welker,
&c., occurs that of Cyriacus Spangenberg, V. D. M. The autograph is
that of an elegant penman, and fixes the date of his residence on Penn's
creek two years earlier than Doctor Harbaugh supposed when he wrote
the following notice of him: "In the latter part of the year, one
Rev. Cyriacus Spangenberg, who had come over with the Hessian
mercenaries, and had secured, irregularly, ordination by a frivolous
preacher named Philip J. Michael, thus, not by the door, but 'climbing
up some other way,' was this wolf admitted into the fold; located near
Selinsgrove and began to preach there, at Row's Church, Mahantango,
Middle Creek, and other places.
"Such characters often found their way into the quiet and rural
settlements of Pennsylvania, as the serpent did into Eden, insinuate
218 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783.
themselves into the favor of the needy and unsuspecting, before their
old sins could follow them, or new ones could disclose their true
character. Hungry souls, who had been for years without the ministry,
would hope the best, even amid doubts and fears, and thus were in a
favorable position to be deceived. Like all others, the German
Reformed Church has not escaped these painful afflictions.
"Spangenberg was not long here before his true character appeared.
He had represented himself as a single man, drew upon himself the
affections of a young female, obtained her promise of marriage, and
the day was fixed for the wedding. But on the day previous, a letter
was discovered from his wife, still living in Europe. This at once
arrested the whole business, and set the son of perdition bare before
the community. He now left Selinsgrove, to the great relief of the
people. There are still (1857) aged persons along Penn's creek, who
in youth heard the story of this vagabond's doings, and much of it
still floats, in half uncertain tradition, among those of the present
generation.
"His fate will interest our readers. In 1795 he had succeeded in
introducing himself to congregations in (then) Bedford county, in-
cluding Berlin, now Somerset county, Pennsylvania. A division had for
some time been growing wider in the congregation at Berlin - some
anxious to be relieved of him, others as desirous of retaining him. On
a day appointed for a vote, the people assembled in the church,
Spangenberg being also present. Just before voting, a pious and
influential elder, named Jacob Glassmore, who sat in the altar with
Spangenberg, made some remarks favoring a change of ministers, and
expressed a hope that the result of the vote would show that the
congregation were inclined in that way. Whereupon Spangenberg sprang
to his feet in wrath, drew a dirk from his pocket and plunged it into
the elder's heart. In a moment Elder Glassmore lay in blood and death
in the altar before the whole congregation.
"Spangenberg was seized immediately and placed in Bedford jail. His
trial ended on the 27th of April, and he was found guilty of murder in
the first degree. Efforts were made with the Governor for a pardon,
or to have the sentenced commuted. The Governor submitted the
records to the chief justice. The reply was unfavorable, and on the
10th of October, 1795, between ten A. M. and two P. M., Spangenberg
was hanged at Bedford."
1783.1 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 219
Reminiscences of the Brady Family.
October 20, died Mrs. Mary Brady, widow of Captain John Brady. Her
remains rest in the Lewisburg cemetery. She died on the Japhet Morton
place, a long tract, which extends from (and gives the name to)
Mortonsville, (better known as Smoketown,) up to the place lately
owned by John Schrack, Esquire. She was born in 1735, and her maiden
name was Quigley. She died at the early age of forty-eight years, and
left the following family:
Captain Samuel Brady, born 1758, at Shippensburg. James Brady,
killed in 1778. John Brady, born 1761, and known as Sheriff. Mary
(married to Captain William Gray, of Sunbury,) died December 13, 1850.
William P. Brady, who removed to Indiana county, Pennsylvania. He was
deputy surveyor in Northumberland county many years. His son, Hugh,
was a noted attorney in the western counties of the State. The latter
married a daughter of Evan Rice Evans, Esquire, and their son, the
first Brady that ever was killed in battle, fell at Antietam, in 1862.
General Hugh Brady, who died in Detroit, in 1851. Jennie Brady, a
twin sister, born 29th July, 1768. Robert, married afterwards to a
daughter of Colonel William Cooke. Hannah. Liberty, born August
9, 1778, so called as she was the first child born to them after the
Declaration of Independence. She married William Dewart, and died
without issue, July 25,1851.
I copy here, in full, General Hugh Brady's account of the family,
taken from an appendix to his funeral sermon by Reverend George
Duffield, loaned me by Mrs. Nancy Eckert, of Lewisburg, granddaughter
of Captain John Brady:
"I was born on the 29th day of July, 1768, at the Standing Stone,
in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, and was the fifth son (they had six
sons and four daughters) of John and Mary Brady. My brothers all
lived to be men, in every sense of the term, and at a period when the
qualities of men were put to the most severe and enduring tests.
While I was yet a child, my father moved on to the West Branch of the
Susquehanna river, and pitched his tent about eight miles above the
town of Northumberland. At this time, (as well as in later periods,)
titles to wild lands could be obtained by erecting a log-house, and by
girdling a few trees, by way of improvement or
220 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783.
cultivation. In this way, my father, John Brady, took up a vast
quantity of land; and, had he not fallen in the war of 1776, would
have been one of the greatest land-holders in the State. But, owing
to the dishonesty and mismanagement of those connected with him, his
family received but little benefit from his exertions. Soon after the
commencement of the war of 1776, he was appointed a captain in the
twelfth Pennsylvania regiment; and, in a few weeks having recruited
his company, he joined the army, with which he remained until after
the battle of Brandywine.
"At this time the Indians had become very troublesome in the set-
tlements on the Susquehanna; so much so, that application was made to
General Washington for regular troops to protect the frontier. Not
being in a condition to spare any troops at that moment, he ordered
home Captain John Brady, Captain Boone, and Lieutenants John and
Samuel Dougherty, to use their influence in inducing the people to
sustain themselves, until he could afford them other relief. And nobly
did they execute his design. All that brave and experienced men could
do, was done by them, even to sacrificing their lives in the defense
of their country; for, in less than two years from that date, Captains
Brady and Boone, and Lieutenant Samuel Dougherty, had fallen by the
hands of the savages. Ten months before the death of Captain John
Brady, his son James had fallen (in 1778) by the Indians. Another
son, Samuel, was then an officer in the United States army. John was
then at home, in charge of the family, and in his sixteenth year.
"After the fall of Captain Brady, my mother removed, with her
family, to her father's place in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, where
she arrived in May, 1779, and where she remained till October of that
year. She then removed to Buffalo Valley, about twenty miles below
our former residence, and settled on one of our own farms. We found
the tenant had left our portion of the hay and grain, which was a most
fortunate circumstance. The winter following (1779 and 1780) was a
very severe one, and the depth of the snow interdicted all traveling.
Neighbors were few, and the settlement scattered, so that the winter
was solitary and dreary to a most painful degree. But, while the
depth of the snow kept us confined at home, it had also the effect to
protect us from the inroads of the savages. But, with the opening of
the spring, the Indians returned,
1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 221
and killed some people not very remote from our residence. This
induced Mrs. Brady to take shelter, with some ten or twelve families,
on the West Branch, about three miles from our home.* Pickets were
placed around the houses, and the old men, women, and children,
remained within during the day; while all who could work and carry
arms, returned to their farms, for the purpose of raising something to
subsist upon. Many a day have I walked by the side of my brother
John, while he was plowing, and carried my rifle in one hand, and a
forked stick in the other, to clear the ploughshare.
"Sometimes my mother would go with us to prepare our dinner. This
was contrary to our wishes; but she said that, while she shared the
dangers that surrounded us, she was more contented than when left at
the fort. Thus we continued till the end of the war, when peace - happy
peace - again invited the people to return to their homes.
"In 1783, our mother was taken from us. In 1784, my brother John
married, and, soon after, my eldest sister followed his example. All
the children younger than myself lived with them. I went to the
western country with my brother Captain Samuel Brady. He had been
recently disbanded, and had married a Miss Swearingen, in Washington
county, Pennsylvania. He took me to his house at that place, and I
made it my home until 1792, when I was appointed an ensign in General
Wayne's army. Previous to this, my brother had moved into Ohio
county, Virginia, and settled a short distance above Charlestown. At
that day, the Indians were continually committing depredations along
the frontier. West of the Ohio the settlements were very sparse, and
the people from the east side went frequently in pursuit of parties of
marauding Indians who visited the neighborhood.
I joined with several parties in pursuit of Indians, but only met
them once in action. This was, I think, on the 22d of May, 1791. Our
spies in front had discovered a trail of Indians, about eight miles up
Indian Cross-cut, making for the settlements. The next morning, ten
citizens were met by Lieutenant Buskirk, with twelve State rangers, at
the old Mingo town, and from there we went in pursuit. After
following their trail till near sunset, we were fired on by the enemy,
who lay concealed in a thicket. Lieutenant Bus-
* At Jenkins' mill in East Buffalo.
222 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783.
kirk was killed, and three men wounded. After a fight of about ten
minutes, the Indians retreated, leaving one gun on the ground and much
blood on the bushes. We pursued the party then till dark, but did not
overtake them. The next day, we returned to the field with a large
party; and, about one hundred yards up the stream which had divided
the combatants, we found twenty-two Indian packs, showing that our
party of twenty-two men had fought the same number of Indians. It was
afterwards ascertained that eight of them died of wounds received
before they reached their towns. I had a fair shot at the bare back of
one of them. I do not know whether I hit him or not. He did not fall,
and I think I was some-what excited.
On the 5th of March following, 1792, I was appointed an ensign in
a rifle company, commanded by Captain John Crawford, a soldier of '76.
William Clarke, of Kentucky, was the first lieutenant. I reported to
my captain, and was put on the recruiting service. But, as the pay of
a soldier was only $3 per. month, I met with little success. Our
clothing was also indifferent, and the feelings of the people
generally averse to enlisting. They did not consider regular soldiers
the thing, exactly, to fight Indians. I then joined the headquarters
of the army, at Legionville, the spot where Harmony now stands, twenty
miles below Pittsburgh. The first duty I performed was on Christmas
day, 1792, when I commanded a picket guard. The officer of the day,
Major Mills, saw, at guard-mounting, that I was very green, and when
he visited my guard, at twelve o'clock, he took much pains to
instruct me. He also let me know at what hour at night the grand
rounds would visit me. I had Baron Steuben's Tactics, and a good old
sergeant, and was pretty well prepared to receive the rounds when they
approached.
"The major complimented me, and remained with me for some time. His
treatment had the effect to inspire me with that confidence which is
indispensable in a young officer, to enable him to perform any duty in
a suitable manner. I then thought Steuben had nothing with which I
was not familiar, and the confidence it gave me has unquestionably
been of service to me up to the present day. The history and
movements of that army are before the world; but its sufferings and
privations are only known to those who shared them, of which I had my
full proportion. Our campaign in Canada,
1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 223
during the war of 1812, was by no means interesting, and its priva-
tions, &c., were the subject of much discussion. Compared with the
campaign of General Wayne, it was all sunshine. At its close, I was
left under the command of Colonel Hamtramck, at Fort Wayne. The force
consisted of Captain Porter's company of artillery, Captains
Kingsbury's, Grattan's, and Reed's companies of infantry, and Captain
Preston's company of riflemen, to which I was attached.
"During that winter, 1794-5, we lived very poorly. Our beef came
to us on the hoof, and poor, and we had little or nothing to fatten them
with. Having no salt to cure it, it was slaughtered, and hung up
under a shed, where, by exposure, it became perfectly weather-beaten,
and as tough as an old hide. Of course, it made a miserable soup. At
the same time, our men received but half rations of flour, and were
working like beavers to complete our quarters. Thus we lived until
about the middle of February, when a brigade of pack-horses arrived,
loaded with flour and salt, and with them came a drove of hogs. From
this time forward we considered ourselves as living on the 'fat of the
land.' An early spring followed, and with it came ducks, geese, and
trout, to improve our living; and the Indians, soon after, came in
with their flags to sue for peace; and our time passed away
pleasantly. The treaty was opened at Greenville on the 4th of July,
1795, on which day I arrived at that place. I had been ordered there
as a witness in the case of Captain Preston, who was tried for
disobeying the orders of Colonel Hamtramck. The court sentenced him
to be reprimanded, and the General laid it on pretty heavy.
"I remained at headquarters till the treaty was concluded, and then
returned to Fort Wayne. While at Fort Wayne, I received many letters
from my brothers, urging me to resign. I had not seen them for ten
years. Those letters held out the idea that they would make my
fortune. That, (and a desire to return to the land of my early
habits, and to see my brothers and sisters, who had grown from
children to be men and women, and most of them married,) decided me to
leave the service. I resigned my commission and left Fort Wayne on
the 20th of November, 1795, and passed the next winter in Lexington,
Kentucky. About the 1st of March following, I rode through to
Limestone, (Maysville.) I there
224 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 1783.
got into a quartermaster's boat, and, in about three weeks, landed at
Wheeling, Virginia. I spent a few days with the widow of my brother
Samuel, who had died on the Christmas previous. I then purchased a
horse, and reached home about the 20th of July. I went first to
Captain William Gray's, my brother-in-law. My sister, Mrs. Gray, came
to the door, and, as I inquired for Mr. Gray, she put on rather an
important look, and replied: 'I presume you will find him at the
store,' and turned into the parlor. I was about turning on my heel,
when I heard steps in the entry, and, turning round, I saw my sister
Hannah. She immediately raised her hands and exclaimed: 'My brother
Hugh!' and flew into my arms. This was not a little surprising, as
when she saw me last she could not have been more than eight years
old. She knew me by my resemblance to my twin sister, Jane. I found
my connections all living happily, and moving at the head of society.
I passed a happy three or four months with them, when I became weary
of an idle life, and began to look for my promised fortune; but, up to
this day, have never been able to find it. I remained out of business
till the winter of 1798 and 1799 when I was appointed a captain in
Adams' army, and, in less than two years, was disbanded. My brother
William, who had been most urgent for me to resign, now requested me
to assist him to improve some wild lands he owned on the Mahoning
river, about fifty miles from Pittsburgh. We commenced this
settlement in the spring of 1802, and, that summer, built a gristmill
and a saw-mill. All our breadstuff had to be carried about thirty
miles on horseback. Meat I procured with my rifle, deer being plenty,
and I could kill them without much loss of time from other business.
"I married in 1805, and took my wife to our place in 1806, where
Sarah and Preston were born. During the time we were there, we were
happy, and had a plenty of such things as the country afforded. All
being on an equality, as regarded our resources, were not annoyed by the
insolence of wealth. Still, I saw that my fortune could not be made
there, and, in 1810, I returned, with my family, to Northumberland,
and got along as well as I could, until 1812, when the war again
called me into service; since which time the Government has provided
for me. I have rendered her some service, and, with my brother
officers, have kept my shoulder
1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 225
to the wheel. This was no more than our duty to a country which
supports us, and of which we are justly proud.
"Thus, I have given a sketch of my life, containing nothing unusual
or strange among those of my day and generation. But what a wonderful
generation it has been - the most wonderful of any since the days of our
Saviour!
"I have already stated that my brother James fell by the Indians,
in 1778. It was in this manner. With ten or twelve others he went to
help a neighbor harvest his wheat, about ten miles from the nearest
station. On entering the field, they placed a sentinel at the most
exposed point, and their arms convenient to their work. They had
worked but a short time when the sentinel gave an alarm. They all ran
to their arms, but it proved to be a false alarm. After reprimanding
the sentinel for his unsoldierly conduct, they returned to their work;
but they had not long been reaping when they heard the report of a
rifle, and their sentinel was killed. Without noticing the conduct of
others, my brother ran to his rifle, and as he stooped to pick it up,
he received a shot which broke his arm. This caused him to fall
forwards, and before he could recover, a stout Indian was upon him,
tomahawked him, scalped him, and left him for dead. After the Indians
left the field, my brother recovered and went to the house, where he
found the rest of the reapers who had run from the field without their
arms, and without making any attempt to defend or rescue him. They
sent James to his parents, at Sunbury, forty miles from the spot where
he received his wound, which was on Saturday. He lived till the
Thursday following, retained his senses, and related what is stated
above.
"James Brady was a remarkable man. Nature had done much for him.
His person was fine. He lacked but a quarter of an inch of six feet,
and his mind was as well finished as his person. I have ever placed
him by the side of Jonathan, son of Saul, for beauty of person, and
nobleness of soul, and like him, he fell by the hands of the
Philistines.
"My father was killed on the 11th of April, 1779, not more than
half a mile from his own house. He had left that morning at the head
of a party of men, to move in a family that had wintered at their farm,
about ten miles from my father's place. Having seen no sign of
Indians, my father stopped at Wallis's Fort, and let the
226 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783.
party go on with the family. He was the only person mounted, and
intended, soon, to overtake the party, but unfortunately for him, his
family, and the settlement, he overtook a man who had fallen behind,
and remained with him till the Indians shot him dead. The man escaped
by mounting my father's horse, after he had fallen. It is a remarkable
fact, that this man, Peter Smith, was in the field where my brother
was killed, and afterwards, his own family was mostly destroyed by
Indians, and he again escaped. After the war he settled in the
Genesee country, and became a wealthy man. Some men are born to luck.
[NOTE. - It is worthy of notice, that although General Brady freq-
uently sought, he was never successful in finding, the spot where his
father was interred. One of his surviving daughters, Mrs. Backus, wife
of Major Backus, was providentially made acquainted with the spot, during
a visit (1851) to the place of her grandfather's residence. An old
revolutionary soldier,* who was with the father of General Brady when
he fell, and had known and marked the place of his interment, a short
time before her visit, had, on his death bed, requested to be buried
beside his old captain, and designated the spot. His request was
granted, and there lie together in the woods, the captain and the
private of his company, in a place where the inhabitants of the
neighborhood intend, it is said, to erect an appropriate
monument. - George Duffield, D. D.]
"My brother John, in his fifteenth year, was in the battle of
Brandywine, and was wounded. On the retreat he would have been
captured had not his colonel, William Cooke, taken him up behind him.
John had gone to the army with my father, in order to take home the
horses ridden out, and was directed by my father to return. But John
heard from Ensign Boyd that a battle was expected to be fought soon.
He, therefore, remained to see the fun; and when my father took
command of his company, on the morning of the battle, he found John in
the ranks, with a big rifle by his side. My father was wounded in the
battle, Ensign Boyd was killed, and John received a wound during the
retreat.
"As one good turn deserves, another, two of my brothers, many
years after, married two of the colonel's daughters.
*Henry Lebo.
1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 227
"Captain Samuel Brady entered the army as a volunteer when he was
nineteen years of age, and joined General Washington at Boston. A
year after, he was appointed a lieutenant, and returned home to
recruit. He did not remain long. He belonged to Captain John Doyle's
company, Wayne's brigade, and was with him at the surprise of Paoli.
In 1779, his regiment, the eighth Pennsylvania, was ordered to
Pittsburgh. It was then commanded by Colonel Brodhead. Soon after,
my brother heard of his father's death; and he waited, with
impatience, for an opportunity to avenge it, on the Indians. Nor was
the opportunity long delayed. The Indians had attacked a family and
killed all in it, except a boy aged twelve, and his sister, ten.
These were taken prisoners, and their father was absent from home at
the time it occurred.
"The place was thirty miles east of Pittsburgh, and it so happened
Samuel was out in that direction, and, hearing of it, he started in
pursuit, having with him a friendly Indian, very useful as a guide.
The second evening of the pursuit the party stopped on the top of a
high hill, and the Indian guide pointed with his wiping stick to the
foot of the hill, and said, 'The Red Bank runs there.' The men sat
down, while the captain consulted with the Indian about his future
movements. Suddenly, the Indian sprang to his feet, and said he smelt
fire; and soon after they saw the smoke curling above the trees, on
the opposite side of the Red Bank.
"The Indian said, 'They will sleep by that fire to night.' ' And I
will awake them in a voice of thunder in the morning,' replied the
captain. The Indian also said, 'After they smoke and eat, and the sun
has gone to sleep, they will give the scalp halloo.'
With breathless impatience, the party watched the setting of the
sun, and, as its light disappeared from the tops of the trees in the
east, they heard seven distinct scalp halloos, with the usual whoop
between each. After it was over, Cole, the Indian, observed, 'There are
fourteen warriors, and they have five scalps and two prisoners.' The
night being clear and the weather mild, the captain remained in his
position till near morning, when he forded the stream above the
Indians and posted his men, to await the crack of his rifle as the
signal of attack. As day broke an Indian rose up and stirred the
fire. The signal was given. The Indian standing pitched into the
fire. The attack continued, and resulted in eight
228 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783.
of the warriors being deprived of the pleasure of ever again giving
the scalp halloo. When the captain got to the fire he found the
children much alarmed. After quieting their fears, the boy asked for
the captain's tomahawk, and commenced cutting off the head of the
Indian that fell in the fire, observing that this was the leader of
the party, and the man that killed and scalped his mother. The boy
was permitted to finish the job he had commenced.
"Three easy days' march brought the captain back to Pittsburgh.
The father of the children was sent for to receive his lost ones. He
showed much affection, on meeting his children, and thanked the
captain for having restored them; and then asked the captain what had
become of his 'big basin.' It appeared the Indians had carried off,
or destroyed, a big basin, from which Henry and his numerous family
ate their sourkrout. The honest Dutchman thought there could be no
impropriety in asking for it, of the man who had the best chance to
know.
"In 1804, the writer met Henry (the boy) at a friend's house, in
Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Henry had stopped, with a wagon, before the
door, and had a barrel of cider for my friend, who, pointing to me;
said, 'This gentleman is a brother of Captain Brady, who took you from
the Indians.', Henry was assisting to remove the cider, and he gave me
a side look for a moment, and then continued his work. I felt hurt at
the coldness he showed towards the brother of a man who had risked his
life to rescue him from death or bondage, and to avenge the murder of
his family. My friend informed me that Henry owned the farm from
which he was captured, and was as rich as any farmer in the county. I
thought, then, if his circumstances were as easy as his manners, he
probably had at home, in the old family chest, as many dollars as
would fill his father's big basin.
At the request of his colonel, Captain Brady visited the Sandusky
towns, at the head of four or five men, and lay concealed over ten
days, so that he could see all their movements. It was a time for
horse racing among the Indians, and men, women, children, and dogs
were all in attendance. A gray horse was the winner until the evening
of the second day, when they compelled him to carry two riders, (a new
way to handicap,) when he was finally beaten. The Indians then
retired from the field. That evening
1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 229
Captain Brady took two squaws prisoners, and started for home. On the
second day of their journey they were overtaken by a frightful thunder
storm, which destroyed their provisions, and destroyed most of their
powder, having but three or four loads of good powder left in a
priming horn. The stormy weather continued several days. After it
cleared away, the captain, just before night, went ahead of his party,
hoping to kill some game, as they were without provisions. The party
was then traveling on an Indian trail. He had not gone far when he
met a party of Indians returning from the settlements, with a woman
and child, prisoners. The captain shot the leader of the party,
rescued the woman, and endeavored to obtain the child, that was
strapped to the back of the Indian he had shot. But he had not time
to do so, as the Indians had ascertained that he was alone, and had
returned to their leader. He was, therefore, compelled to fall back,
and he took the woman with him. His men, seeing the Indians, and
supposing the captain was killed, made their way to the nearest fort,
and let the squaw run away. The other squaw had escaped during the
great thunder storm. The next day he met a party coming from Fort
McIntosh, to bury him, his men having reported him killed. A few
days after, he returned with a party to the battle ground, and
found the dead Indian.
"In 1835, the writer met, at the town of Detroit, a son of the
boy that was strapped to the back of the Indian. He informed me that
after Wayne's treaty, his father was delivered up, at Pittsburgh, by
the Indians. When the land west of the Ohio came into market, his
father bought the lot on which the affair took place, and built his
house, as near as he could ascertain, on the spot where the Indian
fell, and lived there till eighteen months prior to our conversation,
when he was killed by the falling of a tree. His name was Stupps, and
be was a fine looking man. I remember his grandmother's name was Jane
Stupps, and I have often heard my brother relate the above story.
"On the Beaver river is a place known as Brady's Bend, where he had
a hard fight, and killed many of the enemy, with small loss on his own
side. His enterprising disposition and his skill in stratagems, in
which he equaled any Indian, enabled him to do more towards protecting
the frontier than all his regiment besides. Indeed, he was looked
upon by the whole country as their surest protector, and
230 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY [1783.
all the recompense he ever received was in a reward of $500, being
offered by Governor McKean for his person, for having, in 1791, killed
a party of Indians on Brady's run, thirty miles below Pittsburgh. He
surrendered himself for trial, and was honorably acquitted; he having
proved, to the satisfaction of the court and jury, that those Indians
had killed a family on the head of Wheeling creek, Ohio county,
Virginia. That, on receiving notice of the murder, he suspected those
Indians had come out of Pennsylvania. He, therefore, crossed the Ohio
at the mouth of the Wheeling, and by steering west, came on the trail,
and pursued it to where he attacked them.
When General Wayne arrived at Pittsburgh, in 1792, he sent for
Captain Brady, who lived in Ohio county, Virginia, and gave him command
of all the spies then in the employ of the Government, amounting to sixty
or seventy men. The captain so disposed of them that not a depredation
was committed on the frontier. On the contrary, three or four times
the Indians were surprised in their own country, thirty or forty miles
in advance of the white settlements. His plan of carrying the war into
the Indian country put a stop to all murders on that frontier. He
continued in command of these rangers until the period of his death,
which occurred on Christmas day, 1795, at his house, about two miles
west of West Liberty, Virginia. (in the thirty-ninth year of his age.)
His disease was pleurisy. He left a widow and two sons.
"Never was a man more devoted to his country, and few, very few,
have rendered more important services, if we consider the nature of the
service, and the part performed by him personally. He was five feet
eleven and three fourths inches in heighth, with a perfect form. He
was rather light; his weight exceeding at no time, one hundred and
sixty-eight pounds. As I have said before, there were six brothers,
viz: Samuel, James, John, William P., Hugh, and Robert. There was but
half an inch difference in our heights. John was six feet and an inch,
and I was the shortest of them all. Is it not remarkable that I, who
was considered the most feeble of all, should outlive all my brothers,
after having been exposed to more dangers and vicissitudes than any,
except Samuel? Is it not a proof that there is, from the beginning, 'a
day appointed for man to die?' It is said, ' the race is not to the
swift, or the battle to the
1784.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 231
strong, but safety is of the Lord.' That has ever been my belief."
Among the deaths this year, William McCandlish, senior, of Buffalo.
(Will dated 11th September. Children: Peter, John, George,
Grizzelda, William, junior, Jennette, Alexander, and Martin. Mr.
McCandlish lived on the place now owned and occupied by John
Lesher, in Buffalo township.) William Greenlee, and in November,
Mathias Trinkle, (of Union now.)
In 1783 the people generally returned to the Valley. Mr. Allen
having died, Mr. McClenachan became sole elder of the Buffalo Cross-
Roads church until his death, in June, 1784, when the congregation
was without an elder until 1787, when Matthew Laird, who had been an
elder in Big Spring, came to reside within the congregation. Doctor
Grier's Sermon.
1784
JOE DISBURY - BEAR'S MILL (NOW HOFFA'S) ERECTED - FLOOD OF 1784 -
CAPTAIN LOWDON'S ROLL - DEATH OF COLONEL SAMUEL HUNTER
COUNCIL of Censors, General James Potter, vice Samuel Hunter,
deceased. Members of Assembly, elected in October, Frederick Antes,
Daniel Montgomery, and Samuel Dale. Henry Spyker, Esquire, was a
Representative for Berks county. Presiding Judge, John Buyers.
Sheriff, Henry Antes. Lieutenant of the county, William Wilson, vice
Samuel Hunter, deceased. Collector of Excise, Alexander Hunter, vice
William Wilson, resigned. County Commissioner, Walter Clark, qualified
at November Term.
The celebrated thief, Joe Disbury, was tried. On his jury were
Adam Grove, Michael Grove, William Clark and Adam Christ. His sentence
was severe: That he should receive thirty-nine lashes, between the hours
of eight and nine to-morrow, stand in the pillory
232 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1784.
one hour, have his ears cut off and nailed to the post, that he be im-
prisoned three months, and pay a fine of £30 to the President of the
State, for the use of the Government. [See his history in Meginness.]
George Herrold this year opened the "Herrold Tavern," on the river
below Selinsgrove, and Captain Anthony Selin the first hotel in
Selinsgrove. In September, John Bear, of Lancaster, bought the Hoffa
Mills, (now) property of William Charters, and erected the first
grist-mill there. The saw-mill he added in 1787; and in 1790 he had
four mills (grist, clover, oil and saw-mill) there.
Additional Residents in White Deer Township in 1784.
Allison, David; Ant, Jacob; Bennett, Justice; Bennett, Ephraim;
Bennett, Thaddeus; Bentley, Green; Brown, John; Brown, Joseph; Brown,
widow, Elinor; Buchanan, David; Buchanan, James; Buchanan, James,
junior; Buchanan, William; Campbell, Alexander; Carnahan, Robert;
Creal, Michael; Daugherty, Daniel; Davis, William; Dodds, Andrew;
Dunlap, William; Feager, widow; Fisher, Paul; Fisher, Paul, (single;)
Fisher, Henry; Gillespie, Captain Charles; Gilman, Philip; Gray,
George; Gray,* Neigal, grist-mill, formerly Titzel's; Heany,
Hieronymus; Heany, Frederick; Heany, Philip; Huston, Samuel; Iddings,
Samuel; Iddings, Samuel, (single;) Jordan, William; Jordan, Andrew;
Judge, William; Kerkendale, Herman; Landon, Nathaniel; Lean, Abraham;
Lean, Hannah; Low, widow; McComb, John; McCracken, Mary; McLanahan,
David; McLanahan, widow; Moore, John; Moore, John, junior; Moore,
George; Morrison, Samuel; Montgomery, Samuel; Perry, Thomas; Plants,
Jacob; Poak, widow, Mary; Potter, James, Esquire; Ramsey, John;
Rodman, widow, Martha; Sheaffer, Nicholas; Tenbrooke, John; Turner,
Robert; Vandyke, John; Welsh, Nicholas; Welsh, Ludwig. (William
Wilson, William Gray, and William Clark, assessors.)
In a memorial, on file at Harrisburg, signed by Robert Martin and
John Franklin, they state "that on the 15th of March, 1784, the Susquehanna
rose into a flood, exceeding all degrees ever before known that its
rise was so sudden as to give no time to guard against its mischief;
that it swept away about one hundred and fifty houses,
*Neigal Gray was lieutenant colonel of twelfth Pennsylvania,
Continental Line, appointed from Northampton county.
1784.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 233
with all the provision, house furniture, and farming tools and cattle
of the owners, and gave but just opportunity for the inhabitants to
fly for their lives; that, by this dreadful calamity, one thousand
persons are left destitute of provisions, clothing, and every means of
life."
Muster-Roll of Captain John Lowdon's Company of Northumberland County
Volunteers who marched to Suppress the Riot at Wyoming, by Orders of
the Supreme Executive Council, August 4, 1784.
Captain - Lowdon, John.
Lieutenant - Vancampen, Moses.
Ensign - Grove, Michael.
Sergeants - Snyder, Frederick; Vancampen, Garret.
Privates - Adams, John; Allen, John; Antes, William; Armstrong,
Hamilton; Armstrong, John; Backinstow, John; Baker, William; Boo,
George; Busher, John; Calhoon, Matthew; Campble, Andrew; Champ, John;
Clark, William; Clingman, Jacob; Crawford, Edward; Crawford, James;
Dering, Stophel; Doyle, Samuel; Drake, Samuel; Emmons, Alexander;
Eply, Leonard; Ewing, Jasper; Ewing, John; Fowler, Eshel; Fowler,
Nathan; Gillespie, Charles; Gibbons, Alexander; Giles, Thomas; Good-
heart, Henry; Goodman, Daniel; Gettig, Stophel; Grant, Thomas; Gregg,
Andrew; Gregg, John; Gregg, William; Hamilton, Thomas; Hammond, David;
Hammond, James; Harris, John; Harris, Samuel; Hepburn, James;
Hessler, Michael; Hilman, James; Hunter, Alexander; Jones, John;
Keel, John; Keel, Philip; Lamison, Jacob; Lougan, David; Ludwick,
John; Lyon, Benjamin; Marshall, John; Martin, Benjamin; Martin,
Thomas; McCoy, Neale; McKinney, Abraham; Meads, Ely; Moreland,
Thomas; Morrow, James; Ogdon, John; Pearson, George; Rees, Thomas;
Robins, Zack; Rope, Michael; Rurer, Frederick; Salomin, John;
Shaffer, Adam; Shaffer, Henry; Smith, Jacob; Steuart, William; Stout,
John; Teterly, George; Vanderslice, Henry; Volin, Leonard; Webb,
William; Weitgur, John; Weitzel, Jacob; Wheeler, John; Wilkeson,
Joseph; Wilkeson, William; Wilson, James; Young, John.
One sergeant and twelve men, two days guarding the prisoners at
Sunbury.
234 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1784.
I do hereby certify the above muster-roll to be just; without fraud
to the State of Pennsylvania, or any individual, according to my best
knowledge.
JOHN LOWDON, Captain.
Mustered the above company as specified in the above roll.
W. WILSON,
Lieutenant Northumberland County.
AUGUST 9, 1784.
Deaths.
April 10, Colonel Samuel Hunter died, aged fifty-two. His grave
is near the site of Fort Augusta, which he so heroically defended. His
will is dated the 29th of March, and proved the 21st of June. His
wife's name was Susanna Scott, sister of Abraham Scott, formerly
member from Lancaster. Colonel Hunter was from the county of Donegal,
Ireland, and when he died had a mother and two brothers still living
there. He left two daughters, Mary and Nancy, minors. 1. Mary,
married Samuel Scott, who died before her, leaving children, Samuel H.
Scott, Sarah; Susanna. Samuel Scott lived on what is now the Cake
farm, and was drowned. He was a son of Abraham Scott, who lived on
the island which he had purchased of Mungo Reed, the original owner.
Abraham Scott died there in August, 1798, leaving a widow, Sarah, and
children, Samuel, (above,) Mary, wife of General William Wilson,
afterwards of Chillisquaque Mills, Susanna, and Sarah. Susanna married
____ Rose. Their daughter, Isabella, is the widow of Honorable Robert
C. Grier, late Justice of the United States Supreme Court. 2. Nancy,
married her cousin, Alexander Hunter, who died in June, 1810, leaving
her also a widow, and children, Mary, Elizabeth, Nancy, and Samuel.
Henry Vandyke, formerly of Hanover township, Lancaster county,
leaving a widow, Elizabeth; children, Lambert, John, Sarah, Hannah,
Mary, and Elizabeth. He resided on the second farm east of Buffalo
Cross-Roads, now Jackson Rishel's.
John Forster, of Buffalo, (will proved 24th October.) He left a
widow, Margaret; eldest son, Thomas, grandfather of Mrs. Mark Halfpenny;
second son, Andrew; eldest daughter, Christena, married to John
Montgomery; Robert Forster was his youngest son;
1785.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 235
Jane, second wife of William Irvine; Elizabeth Gray, and Rebecca
McFarland. Robert was the father of the late Captain John Forster, of
Mifflinburg.
Simon Himrod, elder in the Dreisbach church, and late member of
Assembly. He resided in Turbut. His descendants live near Waterford,
Erie county, Pennsylvania.
James McClenachan, (in June.) Widow, Sarah; daughters, Margaret,
Elizabeth; sons, Robert, David, and Andrew.
1785
LEWISBURG LAID OUT BY LUDWIG DERR - BOUND OF - FALL ELECTION -
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP ERECTED - WIDOW SMITH'S PETITION - MILITIA
VICE PRESIDENT, Charles Biddle. William Montgomery, Presiding
Justice. Justices, 24th January, Simon Snyder, William Irwin; Colonel
John Kelly, in August, and William Wilson. Sheriff, Thomas Grant,
elected in October. Walter Clark, John Clarke, and William Gray, all
of Buffalo, County Commissioners.
Representatives declared elected: Frederick Antes, Samuel Dale, and
William Maclay, over Daniel Montgomery, John Weitzel, and Anthony
Selin. General Potter, William Maclay, William Montgomery, junior,
William Gray, and Joseph J. Wallis, Deputy Surveyors in the " old
purchase." Lawyers admitted: John W. Kittera, John Clark, and John
Reily, all officers of the War of the Revolution. Vannost,
suspended at February term, for treating the justices with contempt,
re-admitted at May term.
Of Buffalo officers: Constable, John Thompson; quota of State tax,
£194; county, £45.
Among the Buffalo taxables were: Armstrong, William, tan-yard;
236 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1785.
Baldy, Christopher; Barber, Robert, Esquire, who moved from near
Wrightsville; Billmyer, Andrew; Brown, John; Burd, David, who lived
where Sherry now lives, in the same township; Christ, Adam; Colpetzer,
Adam, who lived where Jacob Engle now lives, in Limestone; Douglass,
William; Evans, Daniel; Everett, Abel; Giles, Isaac; Haughawaut,
Leffard; Huston, Robert; Jenkins, Morgan; Knox, George, tan-yard;
Laughlin, Adam; Mucklehenny, John; Voneida, Philip, who purchased of
John Crider part of the Captain Kern's tract, (late Peter Voneida
place.)
Single men in Buffalo Township, in 1785 - Allison, Archibald; Bann,
Lewis; Beatty, David; Black, William; Black, Thomas; Books, George;
Clark, John; Cosaith, George; Cough, Adam; Cox, Tunis; Dale Henry;
Dale, Christian; Derr, George; Dreisbach, Martin; Goodman, John;
Gilkeson, a tailor; Iddings, William; Ingram, John; Jenkins, Morgan;
Katherman, George; Leonard, Peter; Lewis, Paschall; Lowdon, Richard;
McGahey, Neal; McGrady, Captain Samuel; Mook, John; Rearick, John;
Reese, John; Rees, Daniel; Scott, William; Shively, Henry; Stewart,
Archibald; Taylor, Christopher; Templeton, David; Thompson, John;
Vanvalzen, Levi; Waggoner, Christopher; Wilson, Samuel; Youngman,
George. Joseph Green, John Aurand, and Thomas Forster, assessors;
which list they returned the 4th of January, 1786.
Among the Residents in White Deer were - Allen, Robert; Bear, John;
Coulter, Nathaniel; Eaker, Doctor Joseph; Lacock, John; Leckey, John;
McAllister, Archibald; McGinnes, James; McCorley, Robert, taxed with
negro girl; Marshall, Widow; Potter, General James, negro and one
servant; Vandyke, John, junior, (Widow Smith, grist-mill.) In 1785,
William Blythe's name disappears from the assessment list, and the two
tracts, taken up in his daughters' names, are taxed to his sons-in-
law, Captain Charles Gillespie and Doctor Eakers. Daniel Lewis' name
disappears, and Paschall Lewis appears in its place. His wife, who
was Margaret Paschall, was a relative of Thomas Paschall, a hatter, of
Philadelphia, who owned a great amount of wild lands, was married
three times; first to a man named Watson, by whom she had Jesse,
James, (who built Seebold's mill,) and John Watson, all settlers in
the Valley. Second, to Mathers, by whom she had Samuel Mathers and
Thomas, also early settlers; and third to Daniel Lewis, father of
Paschall. One of the
1785.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 237
Mathers once went to Philadelphia to get his share of the fortune. He
got as his share - a lot of hats - enough to hat the whole Valley,
nearly.
Among the Penn's taxables were - Arbogast, John; Dreis, Jacob;
Herrold, Simon, ferry and grist-mill; Miller, Dewalt, saw-mill;
Pontius, John; Pontius, Peter; Schoolmaster, Abel; Shipton,
Thomas; Shisley, Jacob, Sinclair, Duncan; Smith, David; Selin
& Snyder, store, negro slave, and forty acres of land; Speakman,
James; Stoll, Mathias; Swineford, John; Vanhorn, Daniel; Weiand,
Jacob; Witmer, Peter, with ferry.
In March, 1785, Ludwig Derr laid out the town of Lewisburg. Samuel
Weiser, of Mahanoy township, was the surveyor, and for his services
received lot No. 5, on which is now erected the store of Walls, Smith
& Co., 1870. His first donation of lots was for religious purposes.
26th March, he, with Catherine, his wife, conveyed lots Nos. 42, 44,
and 46 to Walter Clark, William Gray, and William Wilson, in trust for
the Presbyterian congregation at or near Lewisburg, for a meeting-
house and burying-ground.
William Maclay made the survey of the tract the town stands on the
28th of February, 1769. Ludwig Derr lived upon it as early as 1770.
It was patented on the 11th of August, 1772, to Reverend Richard
Peters, who conveyed, on the 17th of September, 1773, to Ludwig Derr,
by the following description, "containing three hundred and twenty
acres, situated at the mouth of Spring run, below and adjoining the
mouth of Buffalo creek." Weiser's survey was as follows:
The southern boundary commenced at a post at the river, at the
corner of the tract on which the mill is erected; thence along the
land of the said Derr, S. 80 1/2º W. 121 perches 2 1/2 feet, to a stone;
thence N. about 10 1/2º W. 164 perches, to a stone; thence N. about
80 1/2º E. about 139 perches 2 1/2 feet, to a post or stake, by the
north-west side of Buffalo creek; thence down the creek to its mouth,
and thence down the river to the place of beginning, and contained
about one hundred and twenty-eight acres, which was divided into three
hundred and fifty-five lots.
By the act of the 31st of March, 1812, which incorporated "the
president and directors of the streets, lanes, and alleys of the town
of Lewisburg," the charter bounds commenced at the south side
238 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1785.
of the mouth of Lyman's (formerly called Derr's) run, and ran thence
up the south side of the run, including the said run in its meanders,
to the line of George Derr's land; thence along the same to the
fording of Buffalo creek; thence down the south side thereof to the
river, and down the river to the place of beginning. And by the act
of the 21st of March, 1822, incorporating "the borough of Lewisburg,"
the bounds were still further increased southerly, as they commenced
at the river, at a corner of Jacob Zentmeyer and Margaret Spidler's
land, and ran along the same N. 52º W. 62 perches, to a pine; thence,
the same course, by land then of William Shaw, James Bennet, James
Geddes, George Berryman, and William Hayes, 236 perches, to a pine on
land of George Derr. From this pine the line ran N. 2º W. 208 perches,
to the creek; thence down the creek and river to the beginning.
Ludwig Derr made a lottery the same year, and disposed of some of
the lots in this way, among the rest, lot No. 21, corner Fourth and
Market, on which (1877) Doctor Howard Wilson is now residing, was drawn
by John Brown, and for which he paid three pounds, as appears by the
deposition of John Hennig, taken before Colonel John Kelly, on the 2d
of May, 1791.
The very first lot sold was No. 351, corner of Water and St. Lewis,
to William Wilson, 26th March.
The first residents of Lewisburg were Bolinger, John; Conser,
Henry, (Reverend S. L. M. Conser is a grandson;) Dering, Godfrey,
(removed to Selinsgrove; one of his descendants was postmaster there;)
Evans, Joseph, cabinet-maker, (descendants still in Lewisburg;) Leonard,
Peter, (descendants still in Lewisburg;) Long, Edward; Smith,
Nicholas; Welker, Jacob, tailor, (moved to Mifflinburg, and died
there.) [See 1788, for a description of Lewisburg at that time.] In
September, Ludwig Derr went to Philadelphia to sell lots. The date of
his death there is not known. The last deed he signed is dated
October 18. December 9, George Derr, Walter Clark , and John Weitzel,
administered upon his estate. He left a widow, Catherine, who
survived him a very short time, and only one heir, George Derr.
September 13, Northumberland county divided into four election
districts, Buffalo, White Deer, and Potter in the third, and held
their elections at Fought's Mill, (near Mifflinburg.) August sessions,
Washington township, now partly in Lycoming,
1785.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 239
erected, the division line commencing a short distance above Widow
Smith's mills, thence west, along the south side of White Deer creek,
to where Spruce run commences. It was a mere sub-division of White
Deer township, calling the northern division Washington. The following
is a list of the inhabitants of Washington, as thus erected:
Bennett, Ephraim; Bennett, Justice; Bennett, Thaddeus; Bennett,
Abraham; Bennett, William; Bently, Green; Brown, Charles; Brown,
Judson; Brown, William; Caldwell, William; Creal, Michael; Coats,
widow; Eason, Robert; Emmons, John; Emmons, Jacob; Emmons, Jacob,
(single;) Gray, William, junior; Green, Ebenezer; Harley, John;
Hendrick, Nathan; Hickendoll, Herman; Hood, Moses; Huling, Marcus;
Hunter, widow; Landon, Nathaniel; Layn, Abraham; Layn, Isaac; Low,
Cornelius, senior and junior; McCormick, Seth; McCormick, Thomas;
Mackey, William; Mitchell, John; Ramsey, John; Reynolds, Joseph;
Shaffer, Nicholas; Stephen, Adam; Stricker, John; Sunderland, Daniel;
Tenbrooke, John; Towsend, Gradius; Towsend, Gamaliel; Weeks, Jesse.
Assessors: William Gray, Joseph Allen, and Thomas McCormick.
The fall election for members of the House was contested. Paul
Baldy, John Macpherson, and Samuel Quinn, among others, went to Phila-
delphia as witnesses. The officer reported Richard Sherer, a witness,
absent, and John Gray, another, gone to Fort Pitt. It appears, by the
report of the committee, that Frederick Antes had 414 votes, Daniel
Montgomery 410, Samuel Dale 414, William Maclay 407, John Weitzel 396,
Anthony Selin 297. Daniel Montgomery was ousted, and William Maclay put
in, upon a tie vote, the Speaker deciding. Twenty-five members signed a
protest against these proceedings, which seem to have been dictated by
party rancor, for the protestants say the reason of the contest was,
that in one district the names of the electors on the poll-list were ten
short of the number of tickets received by the inspectors, and that the
testimony accounted for this defect. They contended that the whole
election should have been set aside; that the vote of the House was
destructive to the rights of the people, and an unwarrantable
usurpation, of a very dangerous character.
In a petition to the Assembly of this year by Catherine Smith,
240 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1785.
indorsed, read December 8, 1785, she sets forth "that she was left a
widow, with ten children, with no estate to support this family,
except a location for three hundred acres of land, including the mouth
of White Deer creek, whereon is a good mill-seat; and a grist and saw-
mill being much wanted in this new country, at that time, she wast
often solicited to erect said mills. At length, in 1774, she borrowed
money, and in June, 1775, completed the mills, which were of great
advantage to the country, and the following summer built a boring-
mill, where a great number of gun-barrels were bored for the
continent, and a hemp-mill. The Indian war soon after corning on,
(one of her sons, her greatest help, went into the army, and, it is
believed, was killed, as he never returned,) the said mills soon
became a frontier, and in July, 1779, the Indians burned the whole
works. She returned to the ruins in 1783, and was again solicited to
re-build the grist and saw-mills; which she has, with much difficulty,
accomplished, and now ejectments are brought against her by Messrs.
Claypool and Morris, and she, being now reduced to such low
circumstances as renders her unable to support actions at law, and,
therefore, prays relief," &c. The facts set forth in this memorial are
certified to by William Blythe, Charles Gillespie, Colonel John Kelly,
James Potter, the younger, and many other citizens of Northumberland
county.
The Legislature, of course, could grant no relief, under the cir-
cumstances, and the petition was dismissed. How long the litigation
went on I am unable to determine; but in 1801, Seth Iredell took
possession of the premises as tenant of Claypoole and Morris. She is
said to have walked to Philadelphia and back thirteen times on this
business. Her house was where Doctor Danousky now (1874) lives, on
the Henry High place, part of the old stone house being still used as
a kitchen. She was buried in the old settlers' grave-yard, which was
at the corner of the Dan Caldwell barn. Her bones were disturbed in
Mr. Caldwell's time, in erecting a sheep-pen, and were identified by
old Mr. Huff, by her peculiar projecting teeth. Some years since, an
old man came to the place and desired to look about the old dwelling.
He spent several hours about the place. When leaving, said he had
come in from Ohio to see it; that he was a son of Catherine Smith, and
that if justice had been done her, they would still own the place.
Rolly McCorley,
1786.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 241
who recollects the mill last built by her, said it was a small, round
log mill.
Field Officers Elected in April.
First Battalion - Peter Hosterman, lieutenant colonel; Christopher
Gettig, major.
Fifth Battalion - John Kelly, lieutenant colonel; Thomas Forster,
major.
Company Officers of the fifth.
Captains - Michael Andrews, William Clark, John Thompson, Joseph
Poak,
Joseph Green, Samuel McGrady, James Potter, junior, John Macpherson.
Lieutenants - Adam Harper, Joseph Eaker, James Irwin, Samuel
Iddings, Henry Pontius, Jacob Dreisbach, John Brown, M. Wildgoose.
Ensigns - Joseph Price, George Clark, George Books, James Moore, J.
Hunter, James Templeton.
1786.
SLAVES IN THE VALLEY - PICKERING'S VISIT AT GENERAL POTTER'S - BUFFALO
VALLEY SOLDIERS AT SARATOGA - FIRST FULLING - MILL ERECTED.
PRESIDENT of the State, Benjamin Franklin. Member of Council,
William Maclay. Members of Assembly, Frederick Antes and Samuel Dale.
Lawyers admitted: on examination, John Andre Hanna and Charles Smith;
on motion, John Joseph Henry and Jacob Hubley.
Buffalo, Officers - Collector, George May; Constable, John Crider;
Supervisors, George Rote and Leonard Welker; Overseers, John Aurand
and Samuel Mathers.
Among the taxables - Carney, Anthony; Moore, James, tailor;
242 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1786.
Ohrendorf, Henry; Piper, Henry; Potts, David; Stephens, William;
Straub. Jacob; Swartzcope, Anthony; Pool, William, ferry at
Macpherson's. Single Men: Getz, Adam; Grove, Philip; Holmes,
Jonathan.
In Lewisburg, additional residents - Armor, Thomas; Hammersly,
John; Roan, Flavel; Snodgrass, David; Steele, Alexander; Troxel,
George; Williams, William.
In White Deer - Bear, Isaac; Coburn, John; High, Rudolph; Sherer,
Thomas; Sims, William.
Penn's - Auple, Jonas; Bolender, Adam, junior; Bossier, George;
Businger, Conrad; Dauberman, Christian; Devore, Abram; Garmon, John;
Gemberling, Jacob; Gutner, Jacob; Gross, Henry; Gruber, Christian;
Mertz, Philip; Nerhood, Henry; Winkelpleck, Henry.
In the Valley, Eli Holman, Samuel Hunter, and John Linn are each
taxed with female slaves. From the bill of sale, it appears John
Linn purchased his slave, called "Judy," of John McBeth, of Chester
county, on the 10th of April, 1786. After residing fifty-eight years
in the Valley, she removed with John Linn's (second) family to Knox
county, Ohio, and died near Mount Vernon, in that county, November 4,
1855, upward of one hundred years old.
In March, George Derr and his mother sold George Langs the ground
between the railroad bridge and the site of the old wagon bridge. It
is not included in the town plan of Lewisburg, or laid out in lots by
number. At the same time, William Williams bought No. 343, in
Lewisburg, built a stone house, still standing, (Martin Hahn's,) and a
frame store-room, adjoining it on the south, and opened the first
regular store in the town.
At May sessions, C. Van Gundy was bound over for forcible entry,
&c., renewing the old controversy with George Derr, Ludwig's son.
In the life of Colonel T. Pickering, volume 2, page 251, is a
letter from him, dated August 12, 1786, "at Philip Francis', about a
mile above the mouth of Muncy creek, and three miles below Mr. Walus',"
in which he states Mr. Wallis was to go with him to make surveys in
Wyoming. "As Mr. Wallis was not ready, we spent two nights and
one day at General Potter's, where we were kindly entertained." On
the 15th he adds: "We were to set off for Tioga, but my horse has
wounded himself. I am going down to General Pot-
1786.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 243
ter's to borrow or purchase another." This proves clearly that Gen-
eral Potter then resided on the Ard farm, just above New Columbia. At
August sessions, Andrew Billmyer's tavern was licensed. He kept two
miles up the Valley, where his grandson, John Lesher, now lives.
Magdalena Pohlhemus, an indentured servant to E. Vounkman,
presented a petition to court to be allowed her freedom dues; and after
giving due notice, the court ordered Mr. Vounkman to pay her five dollars
down, and three dollars next May, as freedom dues for seven year's service.
23d September, an orphans' court was held at the house of Flavel
Roan, (at the mouth of Buffalo creek,) before William Irwin and John Kelly,
justices, when the applications of George Martin and Samuel McClurgan
for pensions were considered. They belonged to Colonel Cooke's
twelfth regiment, but were drafted into Colonel Daniel Morgan's
riflemen, sent to resist Burgoyne. They were wounded at Saratoga, in
October, 1777.
In September, George Derr sold Flavel Roan and Sankey Dixon the
ground between St. John's street and St. Anthony's, along the creek.
Sankey and Ann, his wife, sold out to Roan, and went on West. Sankey
had been sergeant and ensign all through the war, in sixth
Pennsylvania regiment. He died at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1814.
Roan then kept the ferry, two years before it had been leased to Henry
Conser, who sold to Stephen Duchman, the latter to Roan. Christopher
Weiser built the first fulling-mill in the Valley, on Turtle creek,
on what is now Peter Wolfe's place, and James Watson built the first
grist-mill, erected at Seebold's, above New Berlin.
Deaths.
Catharine, widow of Ludwig Derr.
Captain John Forster, often mentioned in Brady's adventures. His
old log house stood to the left of the road to Hoffa's mills, beyond
Rishel's stone house. He left a widow, Jane. First son, James,
afterwards married to a daughter of William Clark, to whom he willed
the old place. James moved to Ohio. His son John, who lived in Brush
valley, was the father of Mrs. William C. Duncan, of Lewisburg. Second
son, William, a bachelor, said to be the first white child born
in the Valley. Third, John Forster, so long a partner of James Duncan,
at Aaronsburg. (Descendants: Sarah, mar-
244 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1787.
ried to William Vanvalzah; Emeline, to S. S. Barber; Margaret, to
Doctor Charles Wilson; Jane, to R. B. Barber, Esquire.) Fourth,
daughters: Agnes, Margaret, and Dorcas.
James Jenkins, aged eighty-two, left widow, Phoebe, and sons
William and James.
Cornelius Dimpsey, left widow, and children, Mary, James, and
Jonathan. Captain James Thompson bought the place of his widow, in
1796, late Jacob Zeibach's, in Kelly.
Lieutenant Colonel Neigal Gray, twelfth Pennsylvania, of White Deer.
Children: John; Elizabeth, married John Auld; Isabella, and Robert.