1843 History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Contributed by Nancy Piper
[Source: Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania, by Sherman Day, Philadelphia, 1843, Page 387-416]
Lancaster County Lancaster County was separated from Chester by the act of 10th May, 1729, being the first county established subsequent to the three original counties of Chester, Bucks, and Philadelphia. Its boundaries then comprised "all the province lying to the northward of Octararo cr., and westward of a line of marked trees running from the north branch of the said Octararo cr. northeasterly to the river Schuylkill." It has been gradually reduced to its present limits by the establishment of York, Cumberland, Berks, Northumberland, Dauphin, and Lebanon. Length 33 m., breadth 28; area 928 sq. m. Population in 1790, 36,141; in 1800, 43,043; in 1810, 53,927; in 1820, 68,336; in 1830, 76,631; in 1840, 84,203. The general surface of the county is that of a gently undulating plain, interrupted by a few abrupt elevations. The South Mountain, here known as the Conewago hills, forms the northern boundary; to that succeeds a broad belt of red-shale and sandstone. South of this, and occupying the central township, is a wide tract of the finest limestone lands in the state. A few high sandstone ridges, Chiques ridge, and the Welsh mountain, are protruded through the limestone. Another broken sandstone range, composed of Mine ridge, Martick hills, and Turkey hill, crosses south of the limestone; and the southern portion of the county is principally composed of primitive talc-slate, producing rather a sterile soil. On the Susquehanna river, near Peach-bottom ferry, slate is quarried on both sides of the river. The limestone of the " Great valley" of Chester co. extends across the boundary into Sadsbury and Bart townships. There is perhaps no county in the state possessing such an amount and variety of the sources of natural wealth, and none where these resources have been more industriously developed. The Susquehanna, naturally navigable, and improved on both sides by artificial canals, flows, for 40 miles, along the S. W. boundary of the co. The Conestoga and Pequea creeks, with their numerous branches, drain the centre; the other important streams are Conewango and Chiques creeks on the northwest, Conewingo and Octararo creeks on the south and southeast. These streams, with their public improvements, afford a vast amount of waterpower.
This co. has long been proverbial for excellent turnpikes and substantial stone bridges. There are turnpikes from Lancaster to Philadelphia- (constructed as early as 1792-94, at an expense of $465,000)-to Harrisburg, to Columbia, to Morgantown, and one from Chester co. through Ephrata to Harrisburg. There are also many excellent common roads, of which the Strasburg road is the most celebrated, having been formerly the great route of communication with the Susquehanna. The Columbia railroad, belonging to the state, passes through Paradise, Lancaster, and Columbia, where it communicates with the main line of Pennsylvania canal, with the tide-water canal to Maryland, and with the railroad to York and Baltimore. Another railroad, owned by a company, runs from Lancaster to Harrisburg. The Conestoga navigation, a series of slack water pools with dams and locks, extends 18 miles from Reigert's basin at Lancaster, to Safe Harbor on the Susquehanna. Iron ore is found in several localities; and this co. has been long famous for its iron works, but many of them are now included within the limits of Lebanon co. Kurtz, it is supposed, established the first iron works in 1726, within the present bounds of Lancaster co. The Grubbs were distinguished for their industry and enterprise ; they commenced operations in 1728. Henry William Steigel managed Elizabeth Works for many years, when they were owned by Benezet & Co. of Philadelphia. The Olds were also known as industrious, punctual, and prudent iron-masters; but Robert Coleman, Esq., became the most successful proprietor ; to untiring industry and judicious management he united the utmost probity and regularity in his dealings, and to him this county is especially indebted for the celebrity it has acquired from the number and magnitude of its iron works, and the excellence of its manufacture. Henry William Steigel was the founder of Manheim; he erected glass-works at a considerable expense; but being of a speculative character, he became involved, and his works passed into other hands. A curious house erected by him is still to be seen near Sheafferstown, where it is pointed out to the notice of the passing stranger, as "Steigel's Folly."-Lancaster Miscellany. Copper ore, it is said, has also been found in Mine ridge, where there are the remains of an ancient shaft. These mines, it is supposed, were opened either by French adventurers or by persons from Maryland, about the time of Wm. Penn. Indications of gold were discovered in Chiques ridge, near Columbia, but further search for it has proved delusive; readier modes of obtaining it have been long known among the German farmers. The census of 1840 enumerates for this co.-11 furnaces, making 6,912 tons of pig metal per year ; 14 forges, rolling-mills, &c., making 2,090 tons; men employed, 784 ; capital invested in iron works, $420,500; 12 fulling-mills, 10 woolen manufactories, 1 cotton manufactory, (near Lancaster city,) 57 tanneries, 102 distilleries, 8 breweries, 9 printing offices, 128 flouring-mills, 135 grist-mills, 106 saw-mills, and 2 oil-mills. The population of the co. is mainly of German descent; the German language, until within a few years past, was more generally spoken than the English. German thrift and persevering industry are evident in the broad, well-cultivated farms, and substantial stone houses, and still more substantial and spacious stone barns, which meet the eye of the traveller in all parts of the co. Education, hitherto too much neglected, in consequence of the prevalence of the German language, is becoming an object of more attention; the younger portion of the German community are ambitious to learn and converse in English, and to attend upon English preaching; and the common school law is growing in favor throughout the co.
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| Lancaster co. was first peopled by Indians-not aborigines, who had held
the soil from time immemorial-but by remnants of southern tribes driven out
by the encroachments of European colonists in Maryland, Virginia, and the
Carolinas, a few years before, and about the time that Pennsylvania was founded.
At the opening of that century (1600-1700) the lower valley of the Susquehanna appears to have been a vast uninhabited highway, through which hordes of hostile savages were constantly roaming between the northern and southern waters, and where they often met in bloody encounters. The Six Nations were acknowledged as the sovereigns of the Susquehanna, and they regarded with jealousy, and permitted-with reluctance, the settlement of other tribes upon its margin. The Cayuga chief told the Moravians of Wyalusing, in 1765, "that the place they had chosen was not proper, all that country having been stained with blood; therefore he would take them up and place them in a better situation near the upper end of Cayuga Lake." This was nearly a century after the fugitive southern tribes had obtained permission to settle in the lower valley. Mr. Bancroft, in speaking of the Shawanees, says-" It was about the year 1698* that three or four score of their families, with the consent of the government of Pennsylvania, removed from Carolina and planted themselves on the Susquehanna. Sad were the fruits of that hospitality. Others followed; and when, in 1732, the number of Indian fighting men in Pennsylvania was estimated to be 700, one half of them were Shawanee emigrants. So desolate was the wilderness, that a vagabond tribe could wander undisturbed from Cumberland river to the Alabama, from the head-waters of the Santee to the Susquehanna." As these tribes came in one after another from the south, those previously here introduced and recommended their new friends to the protection of the provincial government and of the Six Nations. The Shawanees had a village called Pequea, or Pequehan, at the mouth of the creek of that name. Opessah was their chief. They were some years afterwards persuaded to remove to the lands on Conodoguinet, where a hunting-ground had been assigned them by the proprietary government. Ever restless and quarrelsome themselves, and encroached upon by the whites, they retired from one hunting ground to another, until they joined the French on the head waters of the Ohio, in 1755. The Conoys, or Ganawese, another southern tribe, came in about the year 1700, and dwelt at Dekanoagah, about the mouth of Conoy cr., near the site of Bainbridge. Their name is variously spelled in the early records -Canoise, Canaways, Ganawese, and Ganawense; and James Logan, who visited them in 1705, says when they first came into the province they were called Piscataway Indians, and that they then came to Philadelphia (in 1701) in company with the Conestogas and Shawanees, "who engaged to our government for their peaceable deportment and behavior among us." The Nantikokes, from Maryland, appear to have tarried for a while as guests with the Ganawese, and then to have removed further up the Susquehanna-probably to what is now called Duncan's island-afterwards to the North branch of the Susquehanna, and eventually to the country of the Six Nations. (See Dauphin and Luzerne counties.)
* Mr. Bancroft, in fixing the date in 1698, follows Logan's manuscript 9, and the Philadelphia historians agree on that date. Mr. Conyngham, who has investigated the manuscript records at Harrisburg, thinks the southern Indiana came here in 1678-but we have no space for antiquarian controversy. See Mr. C.'s notes in Hazard's Register, vol. xv p. 81, 117, 138; Votes of Assembly, vol. IV p. 517, and the printed Colonial Records. The Conestogas were a small tribe, or, as some think, an aggregation of the remnants of various tribes, consisting in all of some dozen or twenty families, who dwelt on the Conestoga flats east of Turkey hill, a few miles below Lancaster. Their true origin it is difficult to ascertain, but it is very probable they were of the tribe called by the early Swedish settlers Minquaas, and that they had formerly lived in Maryland. Gov. Keith, in 1722, says, "the Conestoga Indians were formerly a part of the Five Nations, called Mingoes, and speak the same language to this day: they actually pay tribute now to the Five Nations, and, either from natural affection or fear, are ever under their influence and power.'' They sent messengers with corn, venison, and skins, to welcome William Penn, and a treaty of amity was concluded between him and them, "to endure as long as the sun should shine or the waters run into the rivers." This chain of friendship was often brightened from time to time; and when the whites began to settle around them, Penn assigned them a residence within his jurisdiction, on the manor of Conestoga. Here they enjoyed many years of peaceful residence, in friendly intercourse with the people of Lancaster, until the sad catastrophe which exterminated the tribe. All these tribes-the Conestogas, Shawanees, Ganawese, and Nanticokes-paid an annual tribute to the Five Nations; and the strings of wampum hung around their council fire told the number of years, and testified to their punctuality.
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| The village of the Conestogas is noted in the early colonial history
as the scene of many important councils between the proprietary governors
and the Indians of the Susquehanna and the Six Nations. Wm. Penn is said
to have visited them once. James Logan was here in 1705; Gov. Evans in 1707,
with a retinue of officers; Gov. Gookin in 1710 and '11 ; and Gov. Keith
in 1721. The details of their councils may be seen in the printed colonial
records. They were also often visited by preachers of various denominations,
among whom was Thomas Chalkley in 1705, an eminent Quaker preacher.
The proprietary government regarded with watchful jealousy the intrusion of traders among these Indians, and forbade such trade except under special license. The French, even as early as 1707, had their wily emissaries among them under the guise of traders, or miners, or colonists, to seduce them from their allegiance to the English. Maryland, too, was pushing her pioneers over the boundary to forestall the claims of Wm. Penn by actual settlement. The following facts are culled from the colonial records, which on this subject are too voluminous and scattered to be copied entire. 1701. " At a council held at Philad., 23d of 2d mo. 1701, present Wm. Penn, some members of council, and divers others, with the Susquehannagh Indians." The chiefs enumerated at the head of the treaty are " Connoodaghtoh, king of the Susquehannah Minquays or Conestogo Indians, Wopaththa, (alias OpessahJ king of the Shawanese, Weewhinjough, chief of the Ganawese inhabiting at the head of Patowmeck ; also Ahoakassongh, brother to the emperor or king of the Onondagoes of the five nations, and Indian Harry for their interpreter, &c. &c." After a treaty and several speeches, sundry articles were solemnly agreed on. |
The upper parts of Germany, at the commencement of the last century, contained many Protestant communities, Moravians, Schwenckfelders, Mennonists, or German Baptists, Bankers, or Seventh-day Baptists, and Lutherans, who, after fleeing in vain from one principality to another to avoid persecution, at last, listening to Wm. Penn's offer of free toleration, found a permanent asylum in this new land. The news from the earlier immigrants brought thousands more, and the latter, finding the townships immediately around Philadelphia taken up, sought the newer and cheaper lands in the interior. Some of the Mennonists arrived about the years 1698 to 1711, but the greatest numbers in 1717, and settled chiefly in Lancaster co. There was a very early settlement of Mennonists at Pequea cr. The Dunkards came from Creyfield and Witgenstein in the duchy of Cleves in Prussia, chiefly in the years 1719 to '23, and settled at Oley, Conestoga, and Mill cr., and afterwards at Ephrata on the Cocalico, about the year 1732.
It is a singular fact, that when the Germans entered their land, and afterwards applied for the privilege of naturalization, the proprietary ordered that their German names be translated into English; and thus many German families received English names, which they retain to this day. The Zimmerman family, for instance, is now known by the name of Carpenter.
The Mennonists are a sect of German Baptists, who derived their name from Menno Simonis. He was born in Friesland in 1505. In 1537, having been previously a Catholic priest, he united with the Baptists. A few years previous to his union with them, this sect had been led away by their zeal into the most fanatical excesses at Munster. Menno collected the more sober minded into regular societies, who formed an independent church under the name of the Mennonites, or Mennonists. They professed to derive their creed directly from the Scriptures, and to follow, in their organization and social intercourse, the peculiarities of the primitive apostolic church. Menno travelled through Germany and Holland, disseminating his doctrines and gathering many followers.
Except in some peculiar notions concerning the incarnation of Christ-to which he was probably led by the controversy concerning the bodily presence of Christ in the Eucharist-and his exclusive adherence to adult baptism, his tenets are said to have agreed in general with those of the Calvinists. He died at Oldeslohe in Holstein, in 1561. Before his death his followers had divided themselves into two parties, differing in regard to the rigor of discipline. The more rigid, who called themselves the Pure, were in favor of excommunication for the least offence; the moderate party, who bore various names, only excommunicated for long continuance in transgression. Other subdivisions occurred after his death, and it would require a dictionary by itself to trace the etymology of their names, and the peculiarities of their doctrines. These sects were only tolerated in Europe on the payment of exorbitant tribute, and still suffered many grievances and impositions. Wm. Penn, both in person and in writing, first proclaimed to them that there was liberty of conscience in Pennsylvania. Some of them about the year 1698 and others in 1706 to 1711 partly for conscience' sake and partly for their temporal interest removed here. Finding their expectations fully answered in this plentiful country, they informed their friends in Germany, who came over in great numbers, and settled chiefly in Lancaster and the neighboring counties. In 1770 Morgan Edwards estimated that they had in Pennsylvania 42 churches, and numbered about 4,050 persons. They are remarkable for their sobriety, industry, economy, and good morals, and are very useful members of the community. They are opposed to infant baptism, holding only to the baptism of adults. Like the Quakers, they refuse to bear arms, to take oaths, and to go to law with one another. They also abstain from holding office, or taking any part in the civil administration of government; being careful themselves to follow the precept, "to live peaceably with all men." They have both preachers and deacons. Their preachers are selected by lot; no previous education for the office is required, nor is any compensation allowed. They originally discouraged and despised learning, believing in the inner light; but they begin now to encourage the education of their youth. Disputes between members are adjusted by three arbiters, appointed by the preacher.
Baptism among some of their sects is administered by pouring water upon the head of the individual, who kneels during the performance. Prayer and the imposition of hands elope tho ceremony. One of the sects baptizes after this fashion: the person to be baptized is accompanied to a stream of water by a large number of people, with singing and instrumental music. The preacher, standing on the bank, pours water upon the person who is in the stream, baptizing him in the name of the Trinity.
Some of the Mennonists contend that the body of Christ contained neither flesh nor blood, and therefore, at the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, make use of water alone. The principal part of the Mennonists pursue the mode pointed out in Matthew xxvi. 18. A message is sent to a member to "make ready the Passover." In the evening the congregation, assembled around a table spread with small loaves of bread and a pitcher of wine, after the usual form of consecration, invocation, and distribution, partake of the elements while walking around the table, talking with each other sociably. " After having sung an hymn," they retire to their respective homes.
The Aymish, or Omish, are a sect of the Mennonists who profess to follow more rigidly the primitive customs of the apostolic church. They derive their name from Aymen, their founder, and were originally known as Aymenites. They wear long beards, and reject all superfluities both in dress, diet, and property. They have always been remarkable for industry, frugality, temperance, honesty, and simplicity. When they first came over and settled near Pequea creek, land was easily acquired, and it was in the power of each individual to be a large proprietor, but this neither agreed with their professions nor practice.
In the year 1720, a thousand acres were offered to an influential member of the Aymish faith by the proprietary agent, but he refused the grant, saying, " It is beyond my desire, as also my ability to clear ; if clear, beyond my power to cultivate ; if cultivated, it would yield more than my family can consume ; and as the rules of our society forbid the disposal of the surplus, I cannot accept of your liberal offer; but you may divide it among my married children, who at present reside with me." This individual is supposed to have been Kurtz.
When they first came to the country they had neither churches nor burial-grounds. "A church," said they, "we do not require, for in the depth of the thicket, in the forest, on the water, in the field, and in the dwelling, God is always present." Many of their descendants, however, have deviated from the ancient practice, and have both churches and burial-grounds.
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The Presbyterians from the north of Ireland came in at about the same time with the Germans, and occupied the townships of Donnegal and Paxton. Collisions afterwards occurring between them and the Germans concerning elections, bearing of arms, the treatment of Indians, &c., the proprietaries instructed their agents, in 1755, that the Germans should be encouraged, and in a manner directed to settle along the southern boundary of the province, in Lancaster and York counties, while the Irish were to be located nearer to the Kittatinny mountain, in the region now forming Dauphin and Cumberland counties. There was deeper policy in this than the mere separation of the two races. The Irish were a warlike people, and their services were needed in the defence of the frontier. The Welsh and English Quakers from the head waters of the Brandywine, and the Great valley of Chester co., gradually spread themselves over into Sadsbury Township. Smith, the historian, who wrote before the revolution, says: In the year 1734, Samuel Miller and Andrew Moore made application on behalf of themselves and their friends, settled about Sadbury, for liberty to build a meeting-house, which being granted by the quarterly meeting, they built one in 1725, which goes by the name of Sadbury meeting. (See Lcacock.)
In the year 1732, Hattill Vernon, Wm. Evans, and several other Friends, being settled in and about Leacock in the county of Lancaster, made application to have a meeting settled among them ; which being laid before the quarterly meeting of Chester, and approved of, it was settled accordingly, and is now known by the name of Leacock meeting, being joined to New Garden monthly meeting ; it continued to be a branch thereof till the year 1737, when they applied to have a monthly meeting among themselves, in conjunction with Sadbury Friends, which was granted, and the same is now known by the name of Sadbury monthly meeting.
In the year 1749, by consent of Chester quarterly meeting, a meeting: for worship was settled at Little Britain, in Lancaster county, and belongs to West Nottingham preparative, and East Nottingham monthly meeting. The said monthly meeting now consists of three preparative meetings, viz.: East Nottingham, West Nottingham, and Bush river, or Deer creek meeting, and of five particular meetings. Note.-The meeting that used to be called Bush river, is now called Deer creek altogether. The week-day meetings are held thus: at East Nottingham, Deer creek, and Little Britain, on the fifth day of every week; at West Nottingham on fourth day; at Bush River no week-day meeting, it being dropped for several years.
Robert Barber, Samuel Blunston, and John Wright, three Quakers from Chester co., came out in the year 1728 to Columbia, where they had purchased large farms. The Lutherans came in at a later date, about the year 1740 to '48, and are first heard of about Lancaster. The Moravians began their establishment in Warwick township, about the year 1749. Many redemptioners (people who were sold into temporary service to pay for their passage across the ocean) found their way into this county, where, after working themselves free, they obtained small tracts of land on easy terms, and became eventually valuable citizens.
Lancaster co., thus settled on the principle of free toleration, by men of widely different races and religions, has continued to prosper, until it has become the most populous and wealthy inland county in the state. The following notes are from Mr. Conyngham's collections:
1730. Stephen Atkinson built a fulling-mill at a great expense. But the inhabitants on the upper part of the creek assembled and pulled down the dam on the Conestoga, as it prevented them from rafting, and getting their usual supply of fish. Mr. Atkinson altered his dam with .-. 20 feet passage for boats and fish.
1732. A violent contest for member of Assembly took place between Andrew Galbraith and John Wright. Mrs. Galbraith rode throughout the town at the head of a numerous band of horsemen, friends of her husband. In consequence of her activity, her husband was elected. John Wright contested the seat of Andrew Galbraith, on the ground that a number of tickets on which his name was written were rejected because the tickets contained but three names instead of four. But George Stuart dying, John Wright was elected to supply his vacancy.
1734. Episcopal church built in Conestoga, 15 miles from Lancaster.
1739. The Presbyterians, with their respective ministers, represented to the General Assembly that they had been educated according to the doctrine, worship, and government of the Church of Scotland ; that they are excluded from all offices, and from giving evidence in the courts of justice, by a ceremony, which in their opinion was contrary to the word of God, " kitting the book," and that a law may be passed authorizing them to take an oath without such form. A law was passed accordingly.
1742. A number of Germans stated to the General Assembly as follows : " They had emigrated from Europe by an invitation from the proprietaries ; they had been brought up and were attached to the Omish doctrines, and were conscientiously scrupulous against taking oaths-they therefore cannot be naturalized agreeably to the existing law. A law was made in conformity to their request."
1763. A large number of Scotch-Irish, in consequence of the limestone land being liable to frost, and heavily wooded, seated themselves along the northern line of the counties of Chester and Lancaster, well known at an early period by the name of the " Chestnut Glade." The Germans purchased their little improvements, and were not intimidated cither by the difficulty of clearing, the want of water, or the liability to frost, which at this period was experienced every month in the year. Several valuable mills were built; but although very necessary for the settlement, they became a subject of much irritation among the farmers on the waters of the Conestoga, as appears from a petition presented to the General Assembly, stating " that Michael Garber, Sebastian Graff, and Hans Christy, erected three large dams on Conestoga creek, to the great injury and detriment of the settlers on its banks."
The subsequent history of the county will be continued in connection with its more important towns.
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| Lancaster City, the seat of justice of the county, occupies an elevated
site near the right bank of Conestoga creek, 62 miles west from Philadelphia,
36 miles southeast from Harrisburg, and 11 miles east from the Susquehanna
at Columbia.
This place well deserves the title of a city : there is nothing rural in its aspect The streets, laid off at right angles, are paved and lighted; the houses, generally of brick, are compactly arranged, and those of modern date are lofty and well built; the courthouse, as in all the older proprietary towns, occupies the centre of a small square at the intersection of the two principal streets; the place is supplied with water by an artificial basin and " water-works;" stores, taverns, and shops abound in every quarter; railroad cars, stages, canal-boats, and wagons, are constantly arriving or departing ; and altogether there is that rattle and din that remind one of city life. The town has several peculiarities which had their origin in the fashions of the olden time. The names of the principal streets, King-street and Queen-street, Orange-street and Duke Street, and others, indicate the loyalty of the founders of the city. A great number of the old one-story brick houses, and frames filled in with brick, are still standing, with their wide roofs and dormar windows ; and although they may command the respect due to old age, they cannot be admired for their beauty. A stranger is particularly struck with numerous tavern-signs that greet him by dozens along the principal streets. They form a sort of out-door picture gallery, and some are no mean specimens of art. Here may be seen half the kings of Europe-the king of Prussia, of Sweden, and the Prince of Orange ; and then there are the warriors-Washington, Lafayette, Jackson, Napoleon, Wm. Tell, and a whole army of others; and of statesmen there are Jefferson, Franklin, and others; and then comes the Red Lion of England, leading a long procession of lions, bears, stags, bulls, horses, eagles, swans, black, white, dun, and red-not to mention the inanimate emblems, the globe, the cross-keys, the plough, the wheat-sheaf, the compass and square, and the hickory-tree. These numerous inns, far too many for the present wants of the city, tell of bygone days, before the railroad and canals were constructed, when the streets and yards were crowded every evening with long trains of " Conestoga wagons," passing over the turnpike, by which nearly all the interior of the state was supplied with merchandise. They tell, too, a sad tale of the ravages of that disease of good-fellowship which has blighted the prospects of many a worthy family of the city and county, and carried its promising sons to an early grave. It is to be hoped that the temperance reformation will soon exterminate the disease, and that the young men of the growing generation will be spared to honor and usefulness.
Lancaster contains the usual courthouse, public offices, and jail, two Lutheran, German Reformed, Episcopalian, Catholic, United Brethren, Presbyterian, Methodist, Independent Methodist, Quaker, Swedenborgian, and African churches, an academy endowed by the state, a female seminary, a mechanics' library, containing 1,000 volumes, two iron foundries, manufactories of rifles, axes, coaches, and cars. Population in 1800, 4,292; in 1830, 7,704; in 1840, 8,417. Lancaster was incorporated as a borough on the 19th June, 1777, and as a city on the 20th March, 1818. In the ancient borough charter, provision was made for fairs to be held for two days together, in the months of June and October. There was also a clause imposing a fine upon persons refusing to accept of office when elected! (See a similar clause at length in the charter of Bristol, p. 165.) The town was, from 1799 to 1812, the seat of government of the commonwealth. Franklin College was established here by the legislature in 1787; it was well endowed, and spacious buildings were erected, but after a few years of sickly existence the institution expired.
The following lively sketch of the appearance of Lancaster in olden time is extracted from a communication in the Lancaster Journal of 1838, purporting to be written by " a bachelor of eighty."
When I was a boy, our good city of Lancaster was quite a different affair from what it is at present, with its Conestoga navigation, its railway, and improvements of every kind. At the formerly quiet comer of North Queen and Chestnut streets, where lived a few old-fashioned German families, making fortunes by untiring industry and the most minute economy, there is now nothing but bustle and confusion, arrivals and departures of cars, stages, carriages, hacks, drays, and wheelbarrows, with hundreds of people, and thousands of tons of merchandise. In other respects that part of the city is not the same. New houses have started up in every direction, and old ones have been altered and dressed anew. Many of these buildings are very handsome, and about all there is an air of what moderns call prosperity, which was formerly unknown. Among the improvements are the handsome buildings about Centre-square, in place of the one story stone houses with which the corners were occupied. Then there are the two banks and the places of worship, all of which are new, or materially improved, during my remembrance. The most remarkable of the latter is the Episcopal church, which occupies the place of the venerable and time-worn edifice that I remember. If I recollect aright, it was built under the charter granted by George II. It had never been entirely finished, and I am informed that, so great was its age and infirmities, the congregation were obliged to have it taken down, to prevent its tumbling about their ears. I shall never forget the last time I sat in it. Everything about the antique and sacred structure made an impression on my mind not easily to be effaced; even the old sexton, John Webster, a colored man, and his wife Dinah, who used to rustle past in her old-fashioned silks, with white sleeves, apron, and " kerchief." Another remarkable character was old Mr. McPall, with his glass-headed cane, bent figure, and hoary locks. This patriarch was never absent in time of worship from the broken pew in the corner, except when prevented by sickness from attending.
While I am in Orange-street, I cannot help contrasting its present appearance with what it was in my boyhood. At that time it was little more than a wide lane, with half a dozen houses, nearly all of which are yet standing. The peaceable and retired-looking mansion, with the willow-trees in front, at present inhabited by the widow of Judge Franklin, I remember as a commission store, where trade was carried on with a few Indians still in the neighborhood, and also with those from a greater distance, who exchanged their furs and peltries for beads, blankets, cutlery, and rum, as is still done in many parts of the western country. The house in which the North American Hotel is kept, was occupied by the land commissioners a few years later.
I remember the forest-trees standing in East King-street, nearly as far down as Mr. McGonigle's tavern. What is now called Adams street, then Adamstown, was the most thickly inhabited place about. It was a village unconnected with Lancaster. The old two-story brick house now owned by Mr. Donelly, was used as an hospital for the sick and wounded soldiers of the revolution, and numbers lie buried in the lot on which it stands. What is now the old storehouse was then the new college, at which I was placed, by way of making me a "gentleman."
Annually in those days a fair was held on the first Thursday and Friday in June. You could hardly see the street for the tables and booths, covered with merchandise and trinkets of every kind. There were silks, laces, and jewellery, calicoes, gingerbread, and sweetmeats, such as the ladies love; and that was the time they got plenty of them, too, for the young fellows used to hoard up their pocket-money for months together to spend at the fair; and no girl felt ashamed to be treated to a fairing, even by a lad she had never seen before. This was the first step towards expressing admiration, and she who got the most fairings was considered as the belle. Then the corners of the streets were taken up with mountebanks, rope-dancers, and all the latest amusements. To see these, each young man took the girl that pleased him most; or, if he had a capacious heart, he sometimes took half a dozen.
Then there were the dances, the crowning pleasures of all. In every tavern there was to be heard the sound of the violin. ***** Even the mode of dress has changed. In my young
days the girls wore short gowns and pe_____ , but I dare not pronounce the word in this refined age. One thing I know, the girls looked very neat and trim in their linsey-woolsey short-jackets or gowns.
At the establishment of the county, in 1729, a jail and temporary courthouse were built at Postlewaite's, five miles from Lancaster; but this site did not satisfy the settlers on the Susquehanna. Gov. Hamilton, accordingly, at the request of the proprietaries, laid out Lancaster, in 1730, at a place where George Gibson then kept a tavern, with the sign of the hickory-tree, on the public road, by the side of a fine spring. " A swamp lay in front of Gibson's, and another of some extent lay to the north." Near the spring there once stood a tall hickory-tree, which tradition says was the centre of a little hamlet of a tribe called the Hickory Indians. Another small tribe took its name from a poplar-tree standing near their village, which was on a flat by the side of the Conestoga, northeast of the residence of William Coleman, Esq. Roger Hunt, of Downingtown, was Hamilton's surveyor, and built the first house after the plot was made. The following paragraphs are culled from the collections of Mr. Conyngham:-
The swamp north of Gibson's is supposed to have extended from the centre of the square bounded by Duke, Queen, Chestnut, and Orange streets, to the swamp along the run, now Water street. Gibson's pasture, afterwards Sanderson's pasture, was leased at an early period by Mr. Hamilton to Adam Reigart, Esq. An old letter mentions " the log-cabin of the widow Buchanan." She was probably merely a tenant, as her name is not among the purchasers. Among the early deeds may be found the names of Jacob Funk, Frederick Stroble, John Powel and George Gibson. Their deeds were dated in 1735, except Gibson's, which was dated in 1740, and granted lot No. 221. Gibson's original tavern is said to have been situated where Slaymaker's hotel now is, and the spring was nearly opposite. 1734. Seat of justice removed from Postlewaite's to Lancaster, and the first German Lutheran church and schoolhouse built. 1745. The German pastor of the Lutheran church united a portion of his congregation with the Moravian. A great ferment was excited among the Lutherans: they told the governor they were compelled either to hear a doctrine which they did not approve, or resign their church. The governor told them he could not interfere, but that the law would protect them in their rights. 1751. House of employment erected; farm connected with it and manufacturing implements. Lancaster became remarkable for the excellent stockings made in that establishment. 1759. Barracks erected to contain 500 men, for the security of this part of the province, [and to accommodate Gen. Forbes's returning army.] Mr. Bausman, barrack-master. 1760. Lancaster co.: 436,346 acres of land, 5,635 taxables-each taxed £1 2s. Total tax, £6,178 10s. 1763. House of correction erected.-1765. Presbyterians pat up a large meetinghouse; building committee, William Montgomery, John Craig, James Davis.-1769. The German Reformed church completed; the Episcopal church enlarged; and several other religious denominations-Friends, Roman Catholics, Baptists-mentioned as being in prosperous circumstances.
Gov. Pownal visited Lancaster in 1754. In his journal he says, "Lancaster, a growing town and making money; a manufactory here of saddles and pack-saddles. It is a stage town-500 houses, 2000 inhabitants." In the same book, (an ancient copy,) someone has written in manuscript-"When Gov. Pownal visited Lancaster there was not one good house in the town; the houses were chiefly of frame filled in with stone, of logs, and a few of stone. When Lancaster was laid out, it was the desire of the proprietor to raise an annual revenue from the lots; no lots were therefore sold of any large amount, but settlers were encouraged to build and receive a lot, paying an annual sum as ground-rent Hence the large number of persons in indigent circumstances, who were induced to settle in Lancaster. The Lancaster town was therefore too largo, at an early period, in proportion to the population of the surrounding country, and its inhabitants suffered much from a want of employment; as from its local situation, remote from water, it was not, nor could it ever possibly become a place of business. The proprietor was therefore wrong in forcing the building and settlement of Lancaster. The town outgrew its strength, and looks dull and gloomy in consequence."
The ground-rents above mentioned have continued on many lots down to the present day. A few years since there was considerable excitement on the subject among the citizens, and some attempts were made to get rid of the vexatious encumbrance.
|
| A treaty was held in 1744, at Lancaster, between the chiefs of the Six
Nations and the governors of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. The business
related chiefly to the purchase of lands in the two latter provinces. From
the minutes of this treaty, we learn that the Six Nations complained that
"their cousins the Delawares, and their brethren the Shawanees," had been
annoyed by the white settlers on Juniata, and requested their removal. They
also acknowledged that the purchases made by the Marylanders of the Conestogas
were just and valid; but as they (the Six Nations) had conquered the Conestogas,
they insisted that purchases should be made of them. They also said that
" the Conoy (called in former treaties Ganaway) Indians" had informed them,
that they had sent the governor of Pennsylvania a message, some time ago,
complaining of ill usage by white people, and their determination to remove
to Shamokin; and requested some satisfaction for their land.
Few subjects have caused more excitement in their day, in Pennsylvania, than the murder of the Conestoga Indians. The people of Philadelphia were astounded with the news of this horrible massacre; and, in the first moments of alarm, exaggerated narratives were published, embellished with the pictures of editorial fancy, and tinged with the sectarian or political prejudices of the narrators. The affair was intimately connected with the political disputes at that time hotly carried on-between the people of the interior counties and those on the Delaware, between the proprietaries and the landholders, and between the Quakers and the men of the frontier-in regard to the policy to be pursued towards the Indians. The feeling that existed among the Scotch-Irish party" in Lancaster may be estimated by reference to the documents on this subject inserted on pages 278, 279, 280. The following narrative of the massacre is compiled from the various conflicting accounts:
On the night of the 14th Dec. 1763, a number of armed and mounted men from the townships of Donnegal and Paxton, most of them belonging to the company of frontier Rangers of those townships, concerted an attack on the Indians at Conestoga, for the purpose, as they alleged, of securing one or more hostile Indians, who were harbored there, and who were supposed to have recently murdered several families of the whites. The number of the Paxton men is variously estimated from twenty to upwards of fifty. Few of the Indians were at home-the men probably being absent either in hunting or trading their baskets and furs at Lancaster. In the dead of night the white men fell upon the village: some defence was doubtless attempted by the few male Indians present, (Dr. Franklin's narrative says there were only three men, two women, and a young boy,) but they were overpowered, and the whole, men, women, and children, fell victims to the rifle, the tomahawk, and the knife of the frontier-men. The dwellings were burnt to the ground.
The citizens and magistrates of Lancaster, shocked at the horrible outrage, with commendable humanity gathered the scattered individuals of the tribe who remained into the stone work-house at Lancaster, where, under bolts and bars, and the strict supervision of the keeper, they could not doubt but the Indians would be safe until they could be conveyed to Philadelphia for more secure protection.
But the Paxton men were satisfied with nothing short of the extermination of the tribe, alleging, however, that one or two of the hostile Indians were still among the Indians protected by the civil authority at Lancaster. Concealing themselves at night near Lancaster, they waited until the next day, 27th Dec, when the whole community was engaged in the solemnities of the sanctuary ; then, riding suddenly into town at a gallop, the band seized upon the keeper of the workhouse and overpowered him, and rushing into the prison, the work of death was speedily accomplished : the poor Indians, about fourteen in number, were left weltering in gore, while the Paxton men left the town in the same haste with which they had entered it. The alarm was raised through the town; but, before the citizens could assemble, the murderers were beyond their reach. In consequence of this affair, the Moravian Indians from Wyalusing and Nain, who had come to Philadelphia for protection, were removed to Province Island near the city, and placed under the charge of the garrison.
The Paxton men, elated by their recent success, assembled in greater numbers early in January, and threatened to march to Philadelphia in a body, and destroy the Indians there. The people of the city were prodigiously alarmed, and several companies of foot, horse, and artillery were formed to repel the expected attack. The Paxton men, who had approached the Schuylkill on their march, finding such a force prepared to receive them, returned home.
A proclamation was issued by the governor, expressing the strongest indignation at the outrage at Conestoga and Lancaster, and offering a reward for the arrest of the perpetrators ; but such was the state of public opinion in the interior counties that no one dared to bring the offenders to justice, although they mingled openly among their fellow-citizens.
The press of the day teemed with pamphlets, letters, appeals, pasquinades, and caricatures, many of which are still preserved in the Philadelphia Library. While some of these present calm and forcible arguments on their respective sides, others exhibit the most rancorous malignity, and others show that that age was not a whit behind our own in the scurrility of its political writers. After the Indians were killed, all parties busied themselves, as usual in such cases, to ascertain who was to blame. The governor was blamed for not having removed the Indians long before to Philadelphia, as he had been repeatedly warned to do. The Quakers and Moravians were blamed for fostering murderous Indians, and sheltering them from merited vengeance. The magistrates of Lancaster were charged with remissness of duty, since they might have applied to Capt. Robinson, who was then stationed at the barracks in Lancaster with his company, for a guard; but the magistrates say they did apply to him, and he denied their request. The citizens of Lancaster, too, and the keeper of the workhouse, were charged with collusion and connivance with the Paxton men; but they indignantly denied the charge. And the whole Presbyterian church, it was plainly insinuated, was, if not aiding and abetting in the massacre, ready, at all events, to shield the guilty from punishment, and extenuate the crime.*
"The insurgents," says Mr. Gordon, "were not the ignorant and vulgar of the border counties-persons more likely to yield to their passions than to respect the laws of their country and of humanity. They were of such consideration, that whilst the public voice and the press execrated the cruelty and illegality of their conduct, they forbore to name the guilty individuals. Nor did the latter remain silent, and shrink from reproach without an attempt at self-defence. They urged the repeated murders perpetrated by the Indians, and their convictions of the union of the neutral with the belligerent tribes."
|
| During the old French war, and that of the revolution, the Scotch-Irish
of Lancaster county, and such of the Germans (the Lutherans chiefly) as were
not conscientiously opposed to it, cheerfully took arms in defence of the
frontier. At the time of Braddock's expedition, Dr. Franklin, by his tact
and perseverance, raised a large force of horses and wagons among the farmers
of the county. Those who scrupled themselves to fight, did not object to
send a horse and wagon to carry provisions, and to relieve the wounded. At
Lancaster, on the return of Gen. Forbes's army from Fort Pitt, a barrack
was erected for the accommodation of his troops. This building is still standing,
though recently somewhat altered in its appearance, in Middle-street, near
Mr. Fries' tavern. It is generally known as the British prison, from the
fact that during the revolution it was selected for the confinement of the
British prisoners, who were brought here because the inhabitants were thought
to be decidedly hostile to the English. The following narrative of an adventure
which occurred at that time, is abridged from a communication in the New
England Magazine for 1833. The writer obtained his facts from the former
intendant of the prison.
The prisoners were confined in barracks, enclosed with a stockade and vigilantly guarded; but in spite of all precautions, they often disappeared in an unaccountable manner, and nothing was heard of them until they resumed their places in the British army. It was presumed that they were aided by American tones, but where suspicion should fall, no one could conjecture. Gen. Hazen had charge of the post. He devised a stratagem for detecting the culprits, and selected Capt. Lee, afterwards Maj. Lee, a distinguished partisan officer," to carry out his plan. It was given out that Lee had left the post on furlough. He, however, having disguised himself as a British prisoner, was thrown into the prison with the others. So complete was the disguise, that even the intendant, familiar with him from long daily intercourse, did not penetrate it. Had his fellow-prisoners detected him, his history might have been embraced in the proverb, "Dead men tell no tales."
For many days he remained in this situation, making no discoveries whatever. He thought he perceived at times signs of intelligence between the prisoners and an old woman who was allowed to bring fruit for sale within the enclosure. She was known to be deaf and half-witted, and was therefore no object of suspicion. It was known that her son had been disgraced and punished in the American army, but she had never betrayed any malice on that account, and no one dreamed that she could have the power to do injury if she possessed the will. Lee watched her closely but saw nothing to confirm his suspicions. Her dwelling was about a mile distant, in a wild retreat, where she shared her miserable quarters with a dog and cat.
One dark stormy night in autumn, Lee was lying awake at midnight. All at once the door was gently opened, and a figure moved silently into the room. It was too dark to observe it* motions narrowly, but he could see that it stooped towards one of the sleepers, who immediately rose. Next it approached and touched him on the shoulder. Lee immediately started up. The figure then allowed a slight gleam from a dark lantern to pass over his face, and as it did so whispered, impatiently, " Not the man-but come!" It then occurred to Lee that it was the opportunity he desired. The unknown whispered to him to keep his place till another man was called; but just at that moment something disturbed him, and making a signal to Lee to follow, he moved silently out of the room. They found the door of the house unbarred, and a small part of the fence removed, where they passed out without molestation. The sentry had retired to a shelter, where he thought he could guard his post without suffering from the rain; but Lee saw his conductors put themselves in preparation to silence him if he should happen to address them
Just without the fence appeared a stooping figure, wrapped in a rod cloak, and supporting itself with a large stick, which Lee at once perceived could be no other than the old fruit-woman. But the most profound silence was observed: a man came out from a thicket at a little distance and joined them, and the whole party moved onward by the guidance of the old woman. At first they frequently stopped to listen, but having heard the sentinel cry "All's well!" they seemed reassured and moved with more confidence than before.
They soon came to her cottage. A table was spread with some coarse provisions upon it, and a large jug, which one of the soldiers was about to seize, when the man who conducted them withheld him. "No," said he, " we must first proceed to business."
The conductor, a middle-aged, harsh-looking man, was here about to require all present, before he could conduct them farther, to swear upon the Scriptures not to make the least attempt at escape, and never to reveal the circumstances or agents in the proceeding, whatever might befall them. But before they had time to take the oath, their practised ears detected the sound of the alarm-gun; and the conductor, directing the party to follow him in close order, immediately left the house, taking with him a dark lantern. Lee's reflections were not now the most agreeable. If he were to be compelled to accompany his party to the British lines in New York, he would be detected and hanged as a spy; and he saw that the conductor had prepared arms for them, which they were to use in taking the life of anyone who should attempt to escape. They went on with great despatch, but not without difficulty. Lee might now have deserted, in this hurry and alarm; but he had made no discovery, and he could not bear to confess that he had not nerve enough to carry him through. They went on, and were concealed in a barn the whole of the next day. Provisions were brought, and low whistles and other signs showed that the owner of the barn was in collusion with his secret guests. The barn was attached to a small farm-house. Lee was so near the house that he could overhear the conversation which was carried on about the door. The morning rose clear, and it was evident from the inquiries of horsemen, who occasionally galloped up to the door, that the country was alarmed. The farmer gave short and surly replies, as if unwilling to be taken off from his labor; but the other inmates of the house were eager in their questions; and from the answers Lee gathered that the means by which he and his companions had escaped were as mysterious as ever. The next night, when all was quiet, they resumed their march, and explained to Lee that, as he was not with them in their conspiracy, and was accidentally associated with them in their escape, they should take the precaution to keep him before them, just behind the guide. He submitted without opposition, though the arrangement considerably lessened his chances of escape.
For several nights they went on in this manner, being delivered over to different persons from time to time; and, as Lee could gather from their whispering conversations, they were regularly employed on occasions like the present, and well rewarded by the British for their services. Their employment was full of danger; and though they seemed like desperate men, he could observe that they never remitted their precautions. They were concealed days in barns, cellars, eaves made for the purpose, and similar retreats; and one day was passed in a tomb, the dimensions of which had been enlarged, and the inmates, if there had been any, banished to make room for the living. The burying-grounds were a favorite retreat, and on more occasions than one they were obliged to resort to superstitious alarms to remove intruders upon their path. Their success fully justified the experiment; and unpleasantly situated as he was, in the prospect of soon being a ghost himself, he could not avoid laughing at the expedition with which old and young fled from the fancied apparitions. '
Though the distance to the Delaware was not great, they had now been 12 days on the road, and such was the vigilance and suspicion prevailing throughout the country, that they almost despaired of effecting their object. The conductor grew impatient, and Lee's companions, at least one of them, became ferocious. There was, as we have said, something unpleasant to him in the glances of this fellow towards him, which became more and more fierce as they went on ; but it did not appear whether it was owing to circumstances, or actual suspicion. It so happened that, on the twelfth night, Lee was placed in a barn, while the rest of the party sheltered themselves in the cellar of a little stone church, where they could talk and act with more freedom; both because the solitude of the church was not often disturbed even on the Sabbath, and because even the proprietors did not know that illegal hands had added a cellar to the conveniences of the building.
Here they were smoking pipes with great diligence, and, at intervals not distant, applying a huge canteen to their mouths, from which they drank with upturned faces, expressive of solemn satisfaction. While they were thus engaged, the short soldier asked them, in a careless way, if they knew whom they had in their party. The others started, and took their pipes from their mouths to ask him what he meant. "I mean," said he, "that we are honored with the company of Capt. Lee, of the rebel army. The rascal once punished me, and I never mistook my man when I had a debt of that kind to pay. Now I shall have my revenge."
The others expressed their disgust at his ferocity, saying that if, as he said, their companion was an American officer; all they had to do was to watch him closely. As he had come among them uninvited, he must go with them to New York, and take the consequences; but meantime it was their interest not to seem to suspect him, otherwise he might give an alarm- whereas it was evidently his intention to go with them till they were ready to embark for Mew York. The other person persisted in saying that he would have his revenge with his own hand, upon which the conductor, drawing a pistol, declared to him that if he saw the least attempt to injure Capt. Lee, or any conduct which would lead him to suspect that his disguise was discovered, he would that moment shoot him through the head. The soldier put his hand upon his knife, with an ominous scowl upon his conductor; but he restrained himself.
The next night they went on as usual, but the manner of their conductor showed that there was more danger than before; in fact, he explained to the party that they were now not far from the Delaware, and hoped to reach it before midnight. They occasionally heard the report of a musket, which seemed to indicate that some movement was going on in the country.
When they came to the bank there were no traces of a boat on the waters. Their conductor stood still for a moment in dismay; bat, recollecting himself, he said it was possible it might have been secured lower down the stream; and forgetting everything else, he directed the larger soldier to accompany him. Giving a pistol to the other, he whispered, "If the rebel officer attempts to betray us, shoot him; if not, you will not, for your own sake, make any noise to show where we are." In the same instant they departed, and Lee was left alone with the ruffian.
He had before suspected that the fellow knew him, and now doubts were changed to certainty at once. Dark as it was, it seemed as if fire flashed from his eye, now he felt that revenge was within his power. Lee was as brave as any officer in the army; but he was unarmed; and though he was strong, his adversary was still more powerful. While he stood, uncertain what to do, the fellow seemed enjoying the prospect of revenge, as he looked on him with a steady eye. Though the officer stood to appearance unmoved, the sweat rolled in heavy drops from his brow. Lee soon took his resolution, and sprang upon his adversary with the intention of wresting the pistol from his hand; but the other was upon his guard, and aimed with such precision that, had the pistol been charged with a bullet, that moment would have been his last. But it seemed that the conductor had trusted to the sight of his weapons to render them unnecessary, and had therefore only loaded them with powder. As it was, the shock threw Lee to the ground; but fortunately, as the fellow dropped the pistol, it fell where Lee could reach it; and as his adversary stooped, and was drawing his knife from his bosom, Lee was able to give him a stunning blow. He immediately threw himself upon the assassin, and a long and bloody struggle began. They were so nearly matched in strength and advantage, that neither dared unclench his hold for the sake of grasping the knife. The blood gushed from their mouths, and the combat would have probably ended in favor of the assassin-when steps and voices were heard advancing, and they found themselves in the hands of a party of countrymen, who were armed for the occasion, and were scouring the banks of the river. They were forcibly torn apart, but so exhausted and breathless that neither could make any explanation; and they submitted quietly to their .captors.
The party of the armed countrymen, though they had succeeded in their attempt, and were sufficiently triumphant on the occasion, were sorely perplexed how to dispose of their prisoners. After some discussion, one of them proposed to throw the decision upon the wisdom of the nearest magistrate. They accordingly proceeded with their prisoners to his mansion, about two miles distant, and called upon him to arise and attend to business. A window was hastily thrown up, and the justice put forth his night-capped head, and with more wrath than became his dignity, ordered them off; and in requital for their calling him out of bed in the cold, generously wished them in the warmest place. However, resistance was vain: he was compelled to rise; and as soon as the prisoners were brought before him, he ordered them to be taken in irons to the prison at Philadelphia. Lee improved the opportunity to take the old gentleman aside, and told him who he was, and why he was thus disguised. The justice only interrupted him with the occasional inquiry, "Most done ?" When he had finished, the magistrate told him that his story was very well made, and told in a manner very creditable to his address; and that he should give it all the weight it seemed to require. And Lee's remonstrances were unavailing.
As soon as they were fairly lodged in the prison, Lee prevailed on the jailer to carry a note to Gen. Lincoln, informing him of his condition. The general received it as he was dressing in the morning, and immediately sent one of his aids to the jail. That officer could not believe his eyes that he saw Capt. Lee. His uniform, worn out when he assumed it, was now hanging in rags about him; and he had not been shaved for a fortnight. He wished, very naturally, to improve his appearance before presenting himself before the secretary of war; but the orders were peremptory to bring him as he was. The general loved a joke full well: his laughter was hardly exceeded by the report of his own cannon; and long and loud did he laugh that day.
When Capt Lee returned to Lancaster, he immediately attempted to retrace the ground; and so accurate, under all the unfavorable circumstances, had been his investigation, that he brought to justice fifteen persons who had aided the escape of British prisoners. It is hardly necessary to say, to those who know the fate of revolutionary officers, that he received, for his hazardous and effectual service, no reward whatever.
|
| The internal improvements in and near Lancaster deserve a passing notice
The turnpike to Philadelphia, 62 miles long-at first paved with stone, and
since McAdamized-was one of the earliest and most important enterprises in
the state, and was the first road of the kind made in the United States.
It was commenced in 1792, and finished in 1794, by a private company, at
an expense of 0465,000.
One mile east of Lancaster is a splendid stone bridge over the Conestoga creek. A tablet in the parapet wall gives its history as follows:-
Erected by Abraham Witmer, 1799-1800. A law of an enlightened Commonwealth, passed April 4,1798, Thomas Mifflin governor, sanctioned this monument of the public spirit of an individual." Mr. Witmer was remunerated by the tolls. Such a work, at that early day, was indeed an enterprise of which the state might have been proud-much more an individual.
The Conestoga Navigation is a series of 9 locks and slack water pools, 18 miles in length, from Lancaster to Safe Harbor on the Susquehanna, at the mouth of the Conestoga. By means of the tide water canal to Port Deposit, a navigable communication is thus opened to Baltimore. This work was completed in 1829. It cost about $4000 per mile. A valuable water power is created at the locks. The Philadelphia and Columbia railroad was first opened through for travel to Columbia in Oct. 1834. There are some splendid bridges on this road, among the most important of which are those over the Conestoga and Little Conestoga creeks. The former is 1400 feet long, resting on ten piers; and the latter is 804 feet long. The road was at first located at about half a mile to the north of Lancaster; but the route was changed, at considerable expense, to accommodate the city. The Harrisburg and Lancaster railroad, constructed by a company, was completed about the year 1838.
In the cemetery of the Episcopal Church in Lancaster, is a monument sacred to the memory of Gov. Thomas Mifflin, erected by order of the legislature. The remains of Thomas Wharton, the first president of the supreme executive council, also repose in Lancaster.
Thomas Mifflin was a descendant of one of the early settlers of the province, and was born at Philadelphia in 1744. He was educated for the mercantile profession, and after a tour in Europe was engaged in business with his brother. At the age of 28 he was elected to represent his native city in the provincial assembly, and in July 1774 was one of the delegates to the first congress. When the news came of the battle of Lexington, he roused his fellow-citizens to action by his eloquence. "Let us not," said he, "be bold in declarations and afterwards cold in action. Let it not be said of Philadelphia that she passed noble resolutions, slept upon them, and afterwards neglected them." What he recommended he practised, and was soon in active service as a major at the siege of Boston, where he distinguished himself by his coolness and personal bravery. On his return to Philadelphia, in 1776, he was charged with the arduous but unenviable duties of Quarter Master General, and soon after was appointed by congress a brigadier, at the age of 32. He enjoyed in a high degree the confidence of congress, and was often associated in secret councils with men of much riper years. When torpor and discouragement seemed to have seized upon the nation, late in 1776, he went through Pennsylvania in person, and by his persuasive eloquence rousted the people to a new effort. Regiments were raised on the spot, and the brilliant affair at Trenton was the result. Congress in February ensuing conferred upon him the rank of major-general. During the gloomy winter of 1777-78, when the army was encamped at Valley Forge, attempts were made to impute the sufferings of the army to various causes, and among others, Gen. Mifflin did not escape his share of public prejudice, particularly as he had been connected with the quartermaster's department. But congress, after the forms of an inquiry, again renewed their confidence. In 1783 he was elected to congress from Pennsylvania, and had the honor to preside over that body. At the close of the term he retired to private life, where he could not remain long. He was speaker of the legislature in 1785, and in 1788 he was placed by popular suffrage in the seat which had been occupied by Franklin, and was afterwards president of the supreme executive council. Previous to this, he had been a member of the convention which framed the Constitution of the United States; and in 1799 assisted, as president of the convention, in forming the new constitution of the state. He was the first governor under that constitution, continuing to hold the office nine years, by three successive elections. He rendered a ready and efficient support to the administration of Gen. Washington, and during the Whiskey Insurrection himself took command of the troops of Pennsylvania. His term of office as governor expired in Dec. 1799; but his fellow-citizens, unwilling to part with his services, had returned him to the legislature. He died during the session, at Lancaster, on the 21st Jan. 1800. In person Gov. Mifflin was remarkably handsome, though his stature did not exceed five feet eight. His frame was athletic, and capable of bearing much fatigue. His manners were cheerful and affable; his elocution open, fluent, and distinct. Graydon, who did not like him, says that his manners were better adapted to attract popularity than to preserve it, and that he possessed in an eminent degree the talent of haranguing a multitude. He adds that he was a man of "education, ready apprehension, and brilliancy, and possessed a fortitude equal to any demands that might be made on it."
Many other eminent men have been either natives or residents of Lancaster county and city. Edward Shippen possessed great influence with the proprietary government; and was the intimate friend and confidential agent of Gov. James Hamilton, the proprietor of Lancaster. His eldest son, Edward Shippen, in 1763 was a member of the council, prothonotary of the supreme court, and judge of the admiralty. His son, Joseph Shippen, Jr., was secretary to the governor and council. The distinguished Dr. Eberle, of Philadelphia, was born in Lancaster co. Hon. John C. Calhoun came very near being born in Lancaster co., his parents, who were Scotch-Irish, living in Dromore township, having removed to South Carolina a short time before his birth. One of the old settlers used to insist that he was born here, but Mr. Calhoun himself denies it. Hon. James Buchanan, the distinguished senator of the United States, who was born in Franklin co., has long been a resident of Lancaster.
Robert Fulton, the eminent inventor of steamboats, was born of respectable Irish parents, in the township of Little Britain, Lancaster co. His parents not long after removed to Lancaster borough, where he received a good English education. The house at which he went to school is now used as a saddler's shop, on the northeast corner of E. King St., and the centre square. A schoolmate of his, in 1780, says, "His mother was a widow, in straitened circumstances. I had a brother who was fond of painting. The revolutionary war made it difficult to obtain materials from abroad, and the arts were at a low ebb in the country. My brother consequently prepared and mixed colors for himself, which he usually displayed on mussel shells. His cast-off brushes and shells fell to my lot, some of which I occasionally carried to school. Fulton craved a part, and I divided my treasure. He soon from this beginning so shamed my performances by his superiority that I voluntarily surrendered the entire heirship of all that came into my possession. Henceforth his book was neglected, and he was often severely chastised by the schoolmaster for his inattention. His friends removed him to Philadelphia, where he was apprenticed to a silversmith; but his mind was not in his trade, and in his eighteenth year he established himself as a painter in that city."
On entering his twenty-second year, he went to England for the purpose of improving his knowledge as an artist, and was received into the family of Benjamin West, with whom he spent several years, and cultivated a warm friendship. After leaving that family, he employed two years in Devonshire as a painter, and there became acquainted with the Duke of Bridgewater and Lord Stanhope, the former famous for his canals, and the latter for his love of the mechanic arts. He soon turned his attention to mechanics, particularly to the improvement of inland navigation by canals, and the use of steam for the propelling of boats; and in 1794 obtained patents for a double inclined plane, to be used for transportation, and an instrument to be employed in excavating canals. He at this time professed himself a civil-engineer, and published a treatise on canal navigation. He soon after went to France, and obtained a patent from the government for the improvements he had invented. He spent the succeeding seven years in Paris, in the family of Mr. Joel Barlow, during which period he made himself acquainted with the French, Italian, and German languages, and soon acquired a knowledge of the high mathematics, physics, chemistry, and perspective. He soon turned his attention to submarine navigation and explosion, and in 1801, under the patronage of the First Consul, constructed a plunging boat, and torpedoes, (differing materially from Bushnel's invention, with which he was acquainted,) with which he performed many experiments in the harbor of Brest, demonstrating the practicability of employing subaquatic explosion and navigation for the destruction of vessels. These inventions attracted the attention of the British government, and overtures were made to him by the ministry which induced him to go to London, with the hope that they would avail themselves of his machines; but a demonstration of their efficacy which he gave the ministry, by blowing up a vessel in their presence, led them to wish to suppress the invention rather than encourage it; and accordingly they declined patronizing him. During this period he also made many efforts to discover a method of successfully using the steam-engine for the propelling of boats, and as early as 1793, made such experiments as inspired him with great confidence in its practicability. Robert R. Livingston, Esq., chancellor of the state of New York, and minister of the United States to the French court, on his arrival in France, induced him to renew his attention to this subject, and embarked with him in making experiments for the purpose of satisfying themselves of the possibility of employing steam in navigation. Mr. Fulton engaged with intense interest in the trial, and, in 1803, constructed a boat on the river Seine, at their joint expense, by which he fully evinced the practicability of propelling boats by that agent. He immediately resolved to enrich his country with this invaluable discovery; and on returning to New York in 1806, commenced, in conjunction with Mr. Livingston, the construction of the first Fulton boat, which was launched in the spring of 1807, from the ship-yard of Charles Brown, New York, and completed in August. This boat, which was called the Clermont, (from the seat of the Livingston family,) demonstrated on the first experiment, to a host of at first incredulous but at length astonished spectators, the correctness of his expectations, and the value of his invention. Between this period and his death he superintended the erection of fourteen other steam-vessels, and made great improvements in their construction.
"As I had occasion to pass daily to and from the building-yard," said Fulton, " while my boat was in progress, I have often loitered unknown near the idle groups of strangers gathering in little circles, and heard various inquiries as to the object of this new vehicle. The language was uniformly that of scorn, sneer, or ridicule. The loud laugh rose at my expense, the dry jest, the wise calculation of losses and expenditures; the dull but endless repetition of the "Fulton folly." Never did a single encouraging remark, a bright hope, or a warm wish, cross my path. Silence itself was but politeness veiling its doubts or hiding its reproaches. At length the day arrived when the experiment was to be got into operation. To me it was a most trying and interesting occasion. I invited many friends to go on board to witness the first successful trip. Many of them did me the favor to attend as a matter of personal respect; but it was manifest they did it with reluctance, fearing to be partners of my mortification and not of my triumph. I was well aware that in my case there were many reasons to doubt of my own success. The machinery, (like Fitch's before him) was new and ill made; and many parts of it were constructed by mechanics unacquainted with such work, and unexpected difficulties might reasonably be presumed to present themselves from other causes. The moment arrived in which the word was to be given for the vessel to move. My friends were in groups on the deck. There was anxiety mixed with fear among them. They were silent, sad, and weary. I read in their looks nothing but disaster, and almost repented of my efforts. The signal was given, and the boat moved on a short distance and then stopped, and became immovable. To the silence of the preceding moment now succeeded murmurs of discontent, and agitations, and whispers, and shrugs. I could hear distinctly repeated, ' / told you it was so; it is a foolish scheme; I wish we were well out of it.' I elevated myself upon a platform, and addressed the assembly. I stated that I knew not what was the matter; but if they would be quiet, and indulge me for half an hour, I would either go on or abandon the voyage for that time. This short respite was conceded without objection. 1 went below and examined the machinery, and discovered that the cause was a slight maladjustment of some of the work. In a short period it was obviated. The boat was again put in motion. She continued to move on. All were still incredulous. None seemed willing to trust the evidence of their own senses. We left the fair city of New York; we passed through the romantic and ever-varying scenery of the Highlands; we descried the clustering houses of Albany; we reached its shores; and then, even then, when all seemed achieved, I was the victim of disappointment. Imagination superseded the influence of fact. It was then doubted if it could be done again; or if done, it was doubted if it could be made of any great value."
Fulton obtained a patent for his inventions in navigation by steam in February, 1809, and another for some improvements, in 1811. In the latter year he was appointed, by the legislature-of New York, one of the commissioners to explore a route for a canal from the great lakes to the Hudson, and engaged with zeal in the promotion of that great work. On the commencement of hostilities between the United States and Great Britain, in 1812, he renewed his attention to submarine warfare, and contrived a method of discharging guns under water, for which he obtained a patent. In 1814 he contrived an armed steam-ship for the defence of the harbor of New York, and also a submarine vessel, or plunging boat, of such dimensions as to carry 100 men, the plans of which being approved by government, he was authorized to construct them at the public expense. But before completing either of those works, he died suddenly, February 24th, 1815. His person was tall, slender, and well formed, his manners graceful and dignified, and his disposition generous. His attainments and inventions bespeak the high superiority of his talents. He was an accomplished painter, was profoundly versed in mechanics, and possessed an invention of great fertility, and which was always directed by an eminent share of good sense. His style as a writer was perspicuous and energetic. To him is to be ascribed the honor of inventing a method of successfully employing the steam-engine in navigation, an invention justly considered one of the most important which has been made in modern ages, and by which he rendered himself both a perpetual and one of the greatest benefactors of mankind. He was not indeed the first who conceived it to be possible; others had believed its practicability, and made many attempts to propel boats by steam; but having neither his genius, his knowledge, nor his perseverance, they were totally unsuccessful.
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| Columbia, borough, is situated on the left bank of the Susquehanna, 28
miles below Harrisburg, and 11 miles west of Lancaster. A part of the town
occupies the slope of a hill, which rises gently from the river, and the
business part of the town lies along the level bank of the river. The scenery
from the hills in the vicinity is magnificent. The broad river, studded with
numerous islands and rocks, crossed by a long and splendid bridge, and bounded
on every side by lofty hills, presents one of the finest landscapes in
Pennsylvania.
The public buildings here are Catholic, Presbyterian, two Methodist and Baptist churches, a Quaker meeting-house, a town hall, a lyceum hall, and a bank. There are also several very extensive forwarding warehouses, boatyards, and machine-shops, connected with the public works. The junction here of the state railroad from Philadelphia with the main line of canal, with the railroad to York and the Tide-water canal to Maryland, renders Columbia a busy place. The main current of travellers which formerly passed through here has been diverted by the construction of the Harrisburg and Lancaster railroad; but the emigrant travel still goes by way of Columbia. The borough was incorporated 25th February, 1814. Population in 1830, 2,046; in 1840, 2,719. The annexed view was taken from the toll-house, at the east end of the bridge. The York railroad is seen in the foreground, and the cars of the Columbia road in the centre.
The bridge across the Susquehanna, constructed on the Burr plan, and resting on stone piers, is 5,690 feet, or more than a mile long. It cost 8231,771, and was erected by a company in 1814, the state being a stock holder to the amount of $90,000. The whole capital of the company was $419,400, of which a portion has been employed in banking. The structure was greatly injured by the freshet of 1832, the ice having been piled even upon the roof of the bridge, and nearly one half the structure was swept away. It was repaired and again passable in 1834.
The Columbia and Philadelphia railroad, 81 6-10 miles long, was commenced in 1829. In April, 1834, a single track was completed throughout, and in October, 1834, both tracks were opened for public use. Major John Wilson had charge of the work until his death, in 1833, when he was succeeded by Edward F. Gay, Esq. The total cost, when it was opened for use in 1834, was $3,754,577 20; and afterwards additional work was done, and alterations made, increasing the cost to a total of $4,296,790 92. One of the alterations was to dispense with the inclined plane first constructed at Columbia, of 1,800 feet in length, and 90 feet in height. A more circuitous route for about six miles was completed in 1839, with a grade of 35 feet per mile, by which Columbia is reached without a plane. A similar change is contemplated at Philadelphia, but has not yet been adopted.
The following reminiscences are selected from an article in the Columbia Spy for 1832, derived from a respectable lady of the Society of Friends. The article, and another of similar import, may be found more at length in the ninth volume of Hazard's Register:-
About the year 1726 or 7, Robert Barber, of Chester, came to the eastern banks of the Susquehanna and took up 1,000 acres of land, bounded on the north-west by the Chicques hills, and to the southwest by what was afterwards called Patton's hill. About 500 acres of this land are embraced in what is now Columbia. At that time, the noble river, pursuing its undisturbed course in solitude, or ruffled only by the light canoe of the Indian-the shore covered with lofty Langhorne, the agent of the proprietors.
After the purchase, Mr. Barber returned to Chester, and in 1728, he, with Samuel Blunston and John Wright, together with their families, left their homes in that place, and came to settle on the land which had been taken up the year before. These persons were members of the Society of Friends. This journey was thought a very great undertaking; the country was uninhabited except by the Indians, who had their cabins in many places.
Samuel Blunston was the most wealthy of the three; he took 500 acres of the land next to the upper hills, and built where S. B. Heise now lives. The old house was pulled down some years since, to make room for the building which is now standing; the brick part of the building was afterwards built by him. His wife was a widow of the name of Bilton; her first husband kept a ferry over the Schuylkill. S. Blunston had no children; his estate went to two nieces, and is now held by the Bithels, their descendants.
John Wright took 250 acres of the land, and built his house where E. Wright and sisters now live; the house has been much repaired and altered, but a part of it remains as originally constructed. He came from Manchester, in England, among the early settlers of the province-was a preacher of the Society of Friends, and for many years judge of the court. His speech to the grand jury may be seen in Proud's History of Pennsylvania. He kept a store in Chester. He had two sons and three daughters. John, the eldest, kept the ferry on the west side of the Susquehanna, and built the ferry-house there. Susanna, the eldest of the daughters, did not leave England till some time after her father. She was a person of great note in this place; her education was superior to most of her day. She was consulted in all difficult matters-did all the writings necessary in the place-was charitable to the poor, and gave medicine gratis to all the neighborhood. She defended the cause of the Indians who were murdered by the Paxton Boys, and wrote in answer to a clergyman of Lancaster, who took the opposite side. Samuel Blunston left all his estate to her during her life, and at his death she and all the family removed to his house. She lived to a great age; and died as she had lived, in the principles of Friends. Patience, another daughter of John Wright, was married to Richard Lowden-the present John L. Wright is their descendant by his mother. Elizabeth, daughter of John Wright, married Samuel Taylor, who was the owner of a large tract of land near where Strasburg now stands; he sold his property there, and once owned what is now called Wrightsville. The Wrights in this place at the present time are the descendants of James Wright, the youngest son of John.
Robert Barber kept the 250 acres next the lower hills; he came from Yorkshire, in England. He had followed the sea for some years, and had been a prisoner in France. He married Hannah Tidmarsh, in Chester or Philadelphia; she also came from England. Her father came to America some time before the rest of the family, and was accidentally shot by an Indian before her arrival. R. Barber settled further from the river than the others. He built the brick house now occupied by J. Hinkle. He was sheriff of the county, and in consequence of the intention to make this place the seat of justice, a prison was built near his house. It was a strong-looking; log building, and was pulled down not many years since. In this prison, James, afterwards Lord Altham, was confined, having run away from his master.* R. Barber had several children; the eldest son, John, was killed by the Indians, near where Pittsburg now stands; he had gone thither to trade in fur, or what was then called trapping. His other sons settled on the land, but it is now owned by the Stricklers, except about 60 acres, which was the share of the second son, Robert. He married Sarah, daughter of Samuel Taylor, and had ten children; but at this time they are all gone, except one son and two daughters; the daughters live on the place, in the house which their father built 67 years ago. The old house was a few steps below the present mansion. In those days pine boards were little used; the joists, window and door frames were of oak. What little pine there is in the building was got out of logs picked up in the river, and sawed at a mill of Nathaniel Barber's, on what was called Barber's run, the same stream which Strickler's large mill is on. Samuel Barber, another brother, had a fulling-mill on this stream.
The land back from the river was mostly settled by the Germans-the Forreys, Stricklers, Shirks, Garbers, &c. Their first purchases were from an old woman of the name of Mary Ditcher, who used to go through the country making what was then called improvements. These improvements consisted in piling a few sticks together, setting them on fire, and hanging a pot over; this was considered a first right; if they could then pay for the land, they had the privilege of keeping it. This Mary Ditcher appears to have been a singular person. She used to wander through the woods in a sheepskin dress, leading an old horse, her only property, with her knitting in her hand. The township in which Columbia is situated was called Hempfield from the great quantities of hemp which were raised in it. Manor Township, below this, was so called in mi the circumstance that the land in it was reserved for the proprietor.
* He came to this country in 1728, when quite young, and served his time as James Annesley, with a farmer, on the Lancaster road. From some cause he ran away from his master: he was caught and confined in the prison in this place. He was considered a great singer, and the neighbors frequently visited the prison-house for the purpose of listening to him. The events of his life furnished the ground-work for Roderick Random, and the popular novel of Florence McCartey. The facts concerning this singular case are taken from the evidence given on the trial, and may be depended on as authentic.
Arthur Annesley (Lord Altham) married Mary Sheffield, natural daughter of the Earl of Buckingham. By her, in the year 1715, he had a son, James, the subject of this memoir. In the next year the parents had some differences, which terminated in a separation. The father, contrary to the wish of the mother, took exclusive possession of his son James, and manifested much fondness for him, until the year 1722, when he formed some intimacy with Miss Gregory; and about the same time his wife died. Miss G., expecting now to become his wife, exerted herself greatly to alienate his affections from his son, by insinuating that he was not his proper child. She succeeded to get him placed from home, at a school in Dublin. In November, 1727, Lord Altham died; and his brother Richard, wishing to possess the estate and title, took measures to get rid of his nephew James, by having him enticed on board an American vessel, which sailed from Dublin in April, 1738. He was landed at Philadelphia, then in his thirteenth year, and sold as a redemptioner! and actually served out 12 years in rough labor, until a seeming accident, in the year 1740, brought him to such acquaintance as led, in the next year, to his return home. The case was this: Two Irishmen, John and William Broders, travelling the Lancaster road, in the year 1740, stopped at the house near the 40 mile stone, where James was in service with an old German. These countrymen, entering into conversation, perceived they were severally from Dumaine, in the county of Wexford, and that James Annesley was the son of Arthur. The two Broders volunteered to go back to Ireland, and to testify to the discovery they had made, and actually kept their word at the trial which afterwards occurred. James subsequently stated his case to Robert Ellis, Esq., of Philadelphia, who, compassionating his case, procured a passage for him to Admiral Vemon, then in the West Indies, by whom he was afterwards landed in England But shortly after his arrival at London, James unfortunately killed a man, for which he had to stand a trial; and then Lord Altham, the unnatural uncle, exerted himself to have him convicted, but he was nevertheless acquitted as innocent. An action was brought against the uncle, and went to trial in November, 1743, and the verdict was given in favor of James, our redemptioner. The uncle appealed to the House of Lords; and while the case was pending, James died, leaving the uncle in quiet possession of his ill-gotten estate, showing, however, while he lived, which was not long, the spectacle of a finished villain, even in an Irish nobleman.
Some Irish families, of the name of Patton, settled on lands adjoining the lower part of Columbia. They gave the name to the hill, and to the current below the mouth of the run, which is well known by the name of Patton's current. Tradition says that there was a great slaughter of the Indians at that place in the early settlement of the country, by a party of whites, led on by a person of the name of Bell. Our informant remembers seeing many places there, said to be the graves of the Indians who were killed in the battle; it was believed that a piece of cannon lay sunk in the current. To their last days, the Indians in this vicinity had a great dread of the name of Bell.
Below this, the settlers were principally Germans; the Stehmans, Kauffmans, Rupleys, Herrs, &c, were among the first. The township above, called Donegal, was settled by the Irish-the Andersons, Cooks, Tates, Kays, &c. Anderson's ferry is well known where Marietta now stands.
Sixty years ago, where the gravel appears in low water, opposite the Miss Barbers', there was an island with large trees. Large buttonwood and other trees grew at the water's edge; many of them were torn away by the ice. The first shad caught here with a seine was somewhere between 17G0 and 65, at the east end of the river, just below the old ferry course.
The ferry across the Susquehanna at this place appears to have been early set up. At first it was necessarily very imperfect. Two large canoes lashed together were used to take over a wagon, which first had to be unloaded. In 1750, it rented for £100 per annum, with the ground allotted to it. The ferry course was a little below the bridge. Sixty years ago the idea of a bridge across the Susquehanna was laughed at.
Where the row of houses now stands on Water-street, below the turnpike, was what was called the bank, where the young people used to congregate for play. On it was a thicket of bushes, wild plum and mulberry trees, grape-vines, strawberries, and wild flowers. The school-house was where E. Wright and sisters now live.
The stone house now occupied by John L. Wright, was built sometime between 1740 and 50; also the little stone mill on Shawnee run. They were built by James Wright, father of the present James and William Wright. There was flour made at this mill for the use of Braddock's army; it was packed in small casks made for the purpose, and carried on pack-horses. It was taken to what was then called Raystown. There were a few small buildings scattered through the neighborhood, built mostly by persons who had served a time with the first settlers, as a compensation to them for paying their passage over to this country, they being themselves unable to pay. Many of them had come from Germany. One of the first of this kind of buildings now stands in the upper end of the town, and is occupied by Peter Mays. Adjoining this building, at the end towards the river stood the first place for public worship in the town. It was a small squared log building; the logs are now in an outbuilding of Wm. Wright. Robert Barber, now in his 82d year, remembers attending meeting there. Catharine Peyton and Mary Pearly, public Friends from Ireland, held meetings there; they travelled the country on horseback. Before this building was erected, the meetings were held in private houses. At length, on account of the discipline not being properly attended to, it was altogether put down by the monthly meeting at Sadsbury. Some years since, however, the requested and obtained permission to hold meetings here again; they then built the present brick meeting-house.
About half a mile from Columbia, on the road leading to the Chicques, among the hills, was the place called Smoketown. Many now living may remember it. A little stream wound along among the hills; three or four little cabins were built near together, and a few spots of level ground were sometimes cultivated by the inhabitants. It was the rendezvous for strolling beggars and such kind of people: many a midnight brawl has been witnessed here. All vestiges of this settlement are now gone, and the land belongs to the Hogendoblers.
The first proprietors being all related or connected with each other, the greatest harmony and friendship existed between them. In those days tea was looked upon as too effeminate for men. There were no stores nearer than Lancaster, and luxuries which all partake of now, were little known then. There was great difficulty in getting shoes, especially for children.
The defeat of Braddock's army, in 1755, produced great excitement here. All the females and children of the place, to the number of about 30, went to Philadelphia and spent the winter. They occupied the house on Chestnut-street, which stood on a part of the ground where the Arcade now is. The men who remained fortified the storehouse of J. L Wright.
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| Marietta is situated on the left bank of the Susquehanna, 3 miles above Columbia. It was incorporated as a borough in 1812, and the adjoining villages of Waterford and New Haven were included in the borough. It contains about 100 dwellings, a Presbyterian church, a Female Seminary, and about 500 inhabitants. An act was passed for erecting a bridge here in 1814; but the rival project at Columbia obtained precedence, and defeated that of Marietta. Anderson's ferry was origin ally the well-known name of this place. Anderson owned about one half of the town plot, which was then his farm. He was a man of great enterprise and public spirit. He cut the road through the hills towards York, and built extensive accommodations for his ferry on the opposite side ; and when he had finished them all, the bridge was built at Columbia, and he found himself a ruined man. |
| Maytown, a small village two miles in the interior from Marietta, and
Elizabethtown, on the Harrisburg turnpike, were laid out many years before
Marietta, and not long after the commencement of Lancaster. The township
containing these villages is called Donnegal, and was originally settled
by Scotch-Irish. The venerable Presbyterian church of Donnegal, about 100
years old, is still standing about four miles north of Marietta. Rev. James
Anderson, who emigrated from Scotland in 1709, after preaching for some years
at Newcastle, and then at New York, was called to the church of "New Donnegal"
in 1726. He died here in 1740. He is said to have been too rigidly Scotch
in his Presbyterian notions for the people of New York, who then inclined
towards Congregationalism, or towards the lax Presbyterianism of South Britain.
The presbytery of Donnegal was the parent of that of Carlisle and others
west of it.
All this region was famous in early times, especially during the revolution, for the convivial and sprightly spirit characteristic of the Irish. Fiddling, dancing, and carousing, or what were then known as hup-se-saws, were as common as eating and drinking.
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Bainbridge is an ancient village at the mouth of Conoy cr., 9 miles above Columbia. It was formerly the site of Dekanoagah, the village of the Conoy or Ganawese Indians. (See page 391.) In the early colonial records a number of flat-headed Indians are mentioned as having visited the Susquehanna Indians early in the last century, and they were allowed to remain by the provincial government.
We have received from Dr. David Watson, of Bainbridge, in this county, several curiosities discovered in the neighborhood of that place by the laborers employed on the Pennsylvania canal, -among which are a stone tobacco pipe, very neatly formed, a rude tomahawk, a small brass basin, two keys, a small globular bell, and some broken pieces of Indian pottery ; but the greatest curiosity is the skull-bone of an Indian, which materially diners in form from any that we have ever seen belonging to the human species. The skull is remarkably large, and of an oblong or oval form; the bones themselves of which it is composed have been very thin, much more so than is usually the case. What is very remarkable, in the general outline of the skull, is the peculiar manner in which the frontal bone which forms the forehead recedes from the root of the nose, and the superciliary ridges on which the eyebrows rest, and rather lies on the top of the Head than juts over the rest of the face, as is usual. Thus there is no forehead, properly so called; the cranium in this respect presenting rather the appearance of the skull of a dog than a human being. The Choctaw tribe of Indians were formerly in the habit of flattening their heads in this manner, by binding metallic plates on the foreheads of their male children. A chief having this singular appearance was in Philadelphia in the year 1796. Indians inhabiting the source of the Missouri are to this day in the habit of moulding their skulls into this form. The Incas or kings of Peru, and all those partaking of or being within a certain degree of con. sanguinity to them, (and they only,) were allowed to enjoy the imperial privilege of having their heads thus modelled. It may be worthy of observation, that this artificial conformation is not known in the slightest degree to impair the mental operation. The skull above mentioned is that of a male, probably about 45 or 50 years of age.-Lancaster Gazette, 1829.
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| John Haldeman, an early pioneer, first built a mill at Locust Grove, below Bainbridge. This was for a long time the principal mill in the whole region. Flour was then hauled in wagons to Chester, until the people learned to construct and navigate arks, when they found a more natural market at Baltimore . John Haldeman left a number of sons, one of whom lives at Harrisburg, and another has extensive mills and a splendid residence just under the shadow of the bold precipice of Chiques rock, above Columbia. |
| Mount Joy and Richland form together a continuous and very thriving village on the Harrisburg railroad, 11 miles N. W. from Lancaster. Mount Joy was laid out by Jacob Rohrer in 1812, and disposed of by lottery; and Richland a year or two afterward, by several individuals. They have Presbyterian, Methodist, and other churches. Near the end of the splendid railroad bridge which here crosses Little Chiques cr., is the flourishing and well-known Female Seminary of Rev. N. Dodge. It was commenced in 1837. In 1839 a large and commodious edifice was built, and appropriately dedicated, as its corner-stone indicates, "to God and our country." Mount Joy Institute, designed exclusively for boys, under the charge of Mr. J. H. Brown, is situated in the village. It is also the result of individual enterprise. |
| Litiz is a beautiful village belonging to the Moravians, 8 miles north
of Lancaster. The houses are principally of stone, arranged along one street
with a public square in the centre. The square and streets are shaded with
trees, and the village has the air of neatness and order characteristic of
the sect. The population may be about 400. There is but one tavern in the
place; and a stranger is much better accommodated there than in towns where
it is thought, by politicians, "necessary for the public convenience" to
license half a dozen. All the lots are owned by the society, and leased under
their regulations only to members of the society, except the tavern, which
is kept by a stranger. Annexed is a view of the public square. In the centre
is the church, with a cupola. Adjoining the church, on the left, is the
minister's dwelling. On the left of the view, at the end of the square, is
the celebrated Female Seminary, now under the charge of Rev. Eugene A. Friauf.
On the right is the Academy for boys, under the charge of Br John Beck. In
the rear of the church is the "dead house," to which persons are carried
immediately after their death, previous to interment. The Moravians are
celebrated for their musical taste: there is a fine organ in the church;
and the villagers have a band who are always ready, on proper occasions,
to entertain strangers who desire to hear them.
"The first place of worship erected by the United Brethren in Warwick township was of wood, and was opened for divine service Feb. 9th, 1749. Litiz was laid out in 1756, and the congregation dates its commencement from the 15th of June, of the same year. The present church, of stone, was consecrated Aug. 13th, 1787. The Young Ladies Seminary was opened as a boarding school on the 26th Oct., 1804. Rev. Mr. Friauf, who now has charge, is a native of Bethlehem, but was educated in Germany." |
| Manheim, a village 5 miles west of Litiz, was laid out at an early day
by Mr. Steigel, and was famous for its glass and iron works. It now contains
about sixty or eighty dwellings.
Strasburg is an ancient village, 8 miles southeast of Lancaster, built along both sides of the road for a mile and a half. It was never regularly laid out as a town, but seems to have grown up by the attraction of cohesion among the earlier German emigrants. The ancient road from Lancaster to Philadelphia ran through it, and took its name of the Strasburg road from the place. It was first settled about the same time with Lancaster. Its growth was very gradual, not more than one or two houses being built in a year. The inhabitants were nearly all Germans. The father of Dr. Sample, who lives near Paradise, was the first and only Englishman in the place at the time of the revolution. The place was formerly known as Peddlehausie, a German name, signifying Beggarstown. Mr. George Hoffman's grandfather hauled the logs for the first house. It was a place of considerable note until the construction of the turnpike and railroad, which have diverted the travel. A branch to connect it with the railroad was contemplated, but has not yet been constructed. It contains a Methodist, a Lutheran, and a Presbyterian church, and an academy. About four miles southeast of Strasburg is the Mine ridge, upon the top of which is an ancient copper mine, wrought, as is supposed, by Swiss miners from Maryland, about the time of William Penn. Attempts in modern days to reopen the mine have only resulted in loss. Two or three miles northeast of Strasburg, near the railroad is the village of Paradise, famous for its pleasant name. It was first settled many years since by Mr. Abraham Witmer and his family, who built a mill there. When it was made a post-town in 1804, and needed a name, he remarked that to him it was a paradise, and it has been so called to this day. A new Episcopal church was erected here in 1843. The Witmers still abound in this region. |
| New Holland is a neat village, 12 miles northeast from Lancaster, in
a rich limestone region. It is built on one long street, well shaded with
trees, and is distinguished by an appearance of thrift and comfort. The place
was settled long before the revolution by German emigrants. Mr. Primmer was
one of the first settlers. It contains Lutheran, German Reformed, and Methodist
churches. The old Lutheran church bears the date of 1763, and is said to
have been preceded by an older one of logs.
The other more important villages of this county are Elizabeth-town, Falmouth, Washington, Millerstown, Neffsville, Soudersburg, Intercourse, Reamstown, Adamstown, Hanstown, Warwick, Charleston, New Market, Petersburg, Fairfield, Little Britain, Ephrata, Safe Harbor, Hinkletown, and Swopestown. Some of these are villages of considerable population; others are merely clusters of houses and stores at the intersection of roads. |
| Ephrata is situated on the Cocalico creek, at the intersection of the
Reading road with the Harrisburg and Downingtown turnpike, 13 miles N. E.
from Lancaster, and 38 from Harrisburg. New Ephrata is a more modern village,
half e. mile south of Ephrata proper, though the name is applied to the whole
neighborhood. Ephrata is one of the earliest settlements in the county. Its
history is interesting on account of the peculiarity of the sect which founded
it, and the associations connected with it. The following sketch of its history
is condensed from an article by Dr. William M. Fahnestock, in Hazard's Register,
vol. 15.
Ephrata in former times was better known among the German population by the name of Kloster, (Cloister,) or Dunkerstown, a nickname from the word Dunker or Tunker, corruptions of Taeufer, Baptist. The society of Ephrata, however, are a distinct sect from the Dunkers, with whom they have always been confounded. Originally they descended from that division of Christians.
In the year 1708, Alexander Mack, of Schriesheim, and seven others, in Schwardzenam, Germany, met together regularly to examine the New Testament, and to ascertain the obligations it imposes on professing Christians; determining to lay aside all preconceived opinions and traditional observances. Their inquiries resulted in the formation of the society now called Dunkers, or First-day German Baptists. Persecuted as they grew into importance, some were driven into Holland, some to Creyfels, in the Duchy of Cleves, and the mother church voluntarily removed to Serustervin in Friesland; and thence emigrated to America in 1719, and dispersed to different parts-to Germantown, Skippack, Oley, Conestoga, and elsewhere. Soon after a church was established at Muelbach (Mill cr.) in this county. Of this community was Conrad Beissel, a native of Germany. He had been a Presbyterian, and fled from the persecutions of that period. Intent upon ascertaining the true obligations of the word of God, he conceived that there was an error among the Dunkers, and that the seventh day was commanded to be observed as the Sabbath. In 1725 he published a tract on this subject, which created excitement in tho society at Mill creek; and he in consequence retired secretly to a cell near the Cocalico, which had previously been occupied by one Elimelech, a hermit. When his place of retirement, unknown for a long time, was discovered, many of the Mill creek society, who coincided in his opinions, settled around him in solitary cottages. They adopted the original Sabbath-the seventh day-for public worship in the year 1728, which has ever since been observed by them.
In 1732, the solitary was changed for a conventual life, and a Monastic Society was established as soon as the first buildings erected for that purpose were finished-in May, 1733. The habit of the Capuchins or White Friars was adopted by both the brethren and sisters, which consisted of a shirt, trousers, and vest, with a long white gown and cowl, of woollen in winter, and linen in summer. The sisters wore petticoats instead of trousers, and had some peculiarity in the " shape of the cowl.
Monastic names were given to all who entered the cloister. Onesimus (Israel Eckerlin) was constituted Prior, who was succeeded by Jaebez, (Peter Miller;) and the title of Father-spiritual father-was bestowed by the society upon Beissel, whose monastic name was Friedsam; to which the brethren afterwards added, Gottrecht-implying, together, Peaceable, God-right. In the year 1740, there were thirty-six single brethren in the cloisters, and thirty-five sisters; and at one time the society, including the members living in the neighborhood, numbered nearly three hundred.
The first buildings of the society, of any consequence, were Kedar and Zion-a meeting-house and convent, which were erected on the hill called Mount Zion. They afterwards built larger accommodations, in the meadow below, comprising a Sister's House called Saron, to which is attached a large Chapel, and " Saal," for the purpose of holding the Agapas or Love Feasts ;-a Brother's House, called Bethania, with which is connected the large meeting-room, with galleries, in which the whole society assembled for public worship, in the days of their prosperity, and which are still standing, surrounded by smaller buildings, which were occupied as printing-office, bake-house, school-house, almonry, and others for different purposes; on one of which, a one-story house, the town clock is erected.
The buildings arc singular, and of very ancient architecture-all the outside walls being covered with shingles. The two houses for the brethren and sisters arc very large, being three and four stories high: each has a chapel for their night meetings, and the main buildings are divided into small apartments, (each containing between fifty and sixty,) so that six dormitories, which are barely large enough to contain a cot, (in early days a bench and billet of wood for the head,) a closet, and an hour-glass, surround a common room, in which each subdivision pursued their respective avocations. On entering these silent cells, and traversing the long narrow passages, visitors can scarcely divest themselves of the feeling of walking the tortuous windings of some old castle, and breathing in the hidden recesses of romance. The ceilings have an elevation of but seven feet; the passages leading to the cells, or " Kammers," as they are styled, and through the different parts of both convents, are barely wide enough to admit one person, for when meeting a second, one has always to retreat;-the dens of the Kammers are but five feet high, and twenty inches wide, and the window, for each has but one, is only eighteen by twenty-four inches; the largest windows, affording light to the meeting rooms, are but thirty-four inches.-The walls Of all the rooms, including the meeting room, the chapels, the saals, and even the kammers, or dormitories, are hung and nearly covered with large sheets of elegant penmanship, or ink-paintings,-many of which are texts from the Scriptures, done in a very handsome manner, in ornamented Gothic letters, called in the German Fractur-schrifften. They are done on large sheets of paper, manufactured for the purpose at their own mill, some of which are put into frames, and which admonish the resident, as well as the casual visiter, which ever way they may turn the head. There are some very curious ones: two of which still remain in the chapel attached to Saron. One represents the narrow and crooked way, done on a sheet of about three feet square, which it would be difficult to describe-it is very curious and ingenious : the whole of the road is filled up with texts of Scripture, advertising the disciples of their duties, and the obligations their profession imposes upon them. Another represents the three heavens. In the first, Christ, the Shepherd, is represented gathering his flock together; in the second, which occupies one foot in height, and is three feet wide, three hundred figures, in the Capuchin dress, can be counted, with harps in their hands, and the heads of an innumerable host; and in the third is seen the throne, surrounded by two hundred archangels. Many of these Fractur-schrifften express their own enthusiastic sentiments on the subject of celibacy, and the virtue of a recluse life, while others are devotional pieces.
The society owned a farm, a grist-mill, paper-mill, oil-mill, and fulling-mill. All the society's property was in common, and the labor of the members; but individual members were not compelled to relinquish private property which they might have held previous to joining the society.
The Eckerlins, of whom there were three brothers, one of which was the Prior, had been originally Catholics in Europe. They had charge of the secular concerns, and were suspected of certain ambitious plans to possess themselves of the title to the property, and to give the establishment a more luxurious and imposing form. They were expelled, and went to the southwestern part of this state or to Virginia. (See Greene co., p. 360.)
The society has been much misrepresented by writers who know but little of them, and mostly draw on their imaginations, and the libels of persecutors, for the principles of this people.
Morgan Edwards, in his " Materials towards a History of the American Baptists," (published in 1770,) says-" From the uncouth dress, the recluse and ascetic life of these people, sour aspects and rough manners might be expected; but, on the contrary, a smiling innocence and meekness grace their countenances, and a softness of tone and accent adorns their conversation, and makes their deportment gentle and obliging. Their singing is charming-partly owing to the pleasantness of their voices, the variety of parts they carry on together, and the devout manner of performance." And of Beissel he gives the following character, which he says he had from one who knew him well:
"He was very strict in his morals, and practised self-denial to an uncommon degree. Enthusiastic and whimsical he certainly was, but an apparent devoutness and sincerity ran through all his oddities. He was not an adept in any of the liberal arts and sciences except music, in which he excelled. He composed and set to music (in three, four, six, and eight parts) a folio volume of hymns, and another of anthems. He published a dissertation on the fall of man, in the mysterious strain; also a volume of letters. He left behind him several books in manuscript, curiously written and embellished."
Their principles may be summed up in a few words :
They receive the Bible as the only rule of faith, covenant, and code of laws for church government No monastic vows were taken, nor bad they any written covenant. They do not admit the least license with the letter or spirit of the Scriptures, nor allow one jot or tittle to be added or rejected in the administration of the ordinances.
They believe in the Divinity of Christ, and in the Trinity of the Godhead; that salvation is of grace, and not of works ; and rely solely on the merits and atonement of Christ, and that He died for all who will call upon his name and offer fruits meet for repentance.
They contend for the observance of the original Sabbath-believing that it requires an authority equal to the Great Institutor to alter any of his decrees.
They hold to the Apostolic baptism-believers' baptism-and administer trine immersion, with the laying on of hands and prayer, while the recipient yet remains kneeling in the water.
They celebrate the Lord's supper at night, in imitation of our Saviour-washing, at the same time, each other's feet, agreeably to his command and example. John xiii. 14, 15. This is attended to on the evening after the close of the Sabbath, (the Sabbath terminating at sunset of the seventh day,) thus making the supper an imitation of that instituted by Christ, and resembling also the meeting of the Apostles on the first day to break bread.
Celibacy they consider a virtue, but never require it, nor do they take any vows in reference to it. They never prohibited marriage, and lawful intercourse between the sexes, as is stated by some writers; but when two concluded to be joined in wedlock, they were aided by the society. Celibacy was urged as being more conducive to a holy life; for Paul saith, "They that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh ; bat they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit" This was a fond, cherished subject, and was constantly inculcated. It may be considered the ground of the Institution at Ephrata, whose prosperity and advancement was dependent on its being properly appreciated. It was sedulously kept before them by their ministers, in its brightest colors. It was a prolific subject for many of their hymns, which seemed to hallow and sanctify virginity.
They do not approve of paying their ministers a salary, thinking the gospel was sent without money and without price ; but they share their own supplies with their ministers.
It is not one of their customs to wear long beards, as is frequently said of them: this is more the case with the Dunkers and Mennonists. They are often represented as living on vegetables, -the rules of the society forbidding meats, for the purpose of mortifying the natural appetite,- and also as lying on wooden benches, with billets of wood for pillows, as an act of penance. The true reason and explanation of this matter is, that both were done from considerations of economy. Their circumstances were very restricted, and their undertaking great. They studied the strictest simplicity and economy in all their arrangements: wooden flagons, wooden goblets, turned wooden trays, were used in administering the communion; and the same goblets are still in use, though they have been presented with more costly ones. Even the plates oft" of which they ate were octangular pieces of thin poplar boards,-their forks and candlesticks were of wood,-and also every other article that could be made of that material, was used by the whole community. After they were relieved from the pressure of their expensive enterprise in providing such extensive accommodations, they enjoyed the cot for repose, and many other of the good things of life ; though temperance in eating and drinking was scrupulously regarded.
Although opposed to bearing arms, they opened their houses cheerfully to succor and comfort the distressed inhabitants of Paxton and Tulpehocken during the old French war-for which the government rendered them its acknowledgments, and Gov. Penn offered them a whole manor of land, but they would not receive it. During the revolution, they were decided Whigs. After the battle of Brandywine, the whole establishment was open to receive the wounded Americans; their Sabbath-school house was converted into an hospital; great numbers of the sick were transported in wagons ; the camp fever broke out among them, and one hundred and fifty were on the top of Mount Zion. [On the 4th July, 1843, a movement was made to erect a monument to these soldiers.]
Conrad Beissel died in July, 1768; and although his successor, Peter Miller, is spoken of as a man of much greater powers of mind, yet the establishment began to decline about the year 1777. The institution was more in accordance with the German manners and notions of the 17th century, than with the new ideas in regard to religion, politics, and social life introduced by the revolution.
At an early period they built a paper-mill, and established a printing-office-the second German press in the state-where they printed many books, tracts, and hymns. In the revolution, the army sent to the mill for paper for cartridges, but finding none, they seized the printed sheets, and they were fired off against the British at the battle of Germantown.
There are several single sisters remaining in the convent, one of whom has been there forty-six years, and another lives in a cottage, solitary life, sixty years. But another government now exists. In former days, the whole property and income belonged exclusively to the single brethren and sisters ; but now, by a charter obtained from the state legislature, at the instance of the single members then remaining, the property is invested in all the members, single and married, Since then, the sisters in the convent are not supported out of the common stock, and their common labor, but each has house room, which all the married members are entitled to who require it-as well as fire-wood, flour, and milk-from the society, who still possess the farm, (140 acres,) and a grist-mill, and a saw-mill,-and their labor they apply to their own use, or dispose of it as they see proper.
As early as 1758, there was a branch of this society on Bermudian creek, in York County, of which a few still remain. Another was established in 1763, in Bedford co., which still flourishes; another at Snowhill, in Franklin co.; and many members are scattered in the interior Counties of the state. Annexed is a view of the Sisters' house, (Saron,) and of what was formerly the Sisters' chapel, but is now occupied by brethren and sisters in common. The similar, but much larger house, and chapel, formerly occupied by the brothers, are still standing, but in a dilapidated condition. The other houses of the society's village are occupied by separate families. The sisters' house is on the left of the view. Only a few aged brethren and sisters remain here. * Those who would investigate these questions more fully, are referred to the various pamphlets in the Philadelphia Library, and to the voluminous mass of documents recently republished in the Lancaster Intelligencer for 1843.
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