Daily Stories Of Pennsylvania: $B Prepared For Publication In The Leading Daily Newspapers Of The State

DAILY STORIES OF PENNSYLVANIA

Frederic A. Godcharles....

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INTRODUCTION

The Daily Stories of Pennsylvania were published in the newspapers under the title “Today’s Story in Pennsylvania History,” and there has been a genuine demand for their publication in book form. During all his active life the author has been impressed with the unparalleled influence of Pennsylvania in the development of affairs which have resulted in the United States of America. Since youth he has carefully preserved dates and facts of historical importance and has so arranged this data that i

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Mutiny Broke Out in Pennsylvania Line, January 1, 1781

As the year 1780 drew to a close there were warm disputes in the Pennsylvania regiments as to the terms on which the men had been enlisted. This led to such a condition by New Year’s Day, 1781, that there broke out in the encampment at Morristown, N. J., a mutiny among the soldiers that required the best efforts of Congress, the Government of Pennsylvania and the officers of the army to subdue. New Year’s Day being a day of customary festivity, an extra proportion of rum was served to the soldie

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General Assembly Occupies New State Capitol, January 2, 1822

The General Assembly of Pennsylvania met in the Dauphin County courthouse for the last time December 21, 1821, and then a joint resolution was adopted: “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, That when the Legislature meets at the new State Capitol, on Wednesday, the 2d of January next, that it is highly proper, before either house proceeds to business, they unite in prayer to the Almighty God, imploring His blessing on their future deliberations, and that the joint committee alrea

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Lucretia Mott, Celebrated Advocate of Anti-Slavery, Born January 3, 1793

From the earliest settlement at Germantown, and especially in the period following the Revolutionary War, there were many thoughtful people in all walks of life who considered slavery to be an evil which should be stopped. But the question of actually freeing the slaves was first seriously brought forward in 1831, by William Lloyd Garrison, in his excellent paper, “The Liberator,” published in Boston. Seventy-five delegates met in Philadelphia in 1833 to form a National Anti-Slavery Society. It

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Samuel Maclay Resigned From United States Senate January 4, 1809

A monument was unveiled in memory of Samuel Maclay, a great Pennsylvanian, October 16, 1908. The scene of these impressive ceremonies was a beautiful little cemetery close by the old Dreisbach Church, a few miles west of Lewisburg in the picturesque Buffalo Valley, Union County. Samuel Maclay was the eighth United States Senator from Pennsylvania and had the proud distinction of being the brother of William Maclay, one of the first United States Senators from Pennsylvania. The Maclays are the on

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Amusing and Memorable “Battle of the Kegs,” January 5, 1778

In January, 1778, while the British were in possession of Philadelphia, some Americans had formed a project of sending down by the ebb tide a number of kegs, or machines that resembled kegs as they were floating, charged with gunpowder and furnished with machinery, so constructed that on the least touch of anything obstructing their free passage they would immediately explode with great force. The plan was to injure the British shipping, which lay at anchor opposite the city in such great number

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Bishop Cammerhoff Started Journey Among Indians on January 6, 1748

John Christopher Cammerhoff was a Moravian missionary who undertook several hazardous trips to the Indians along the Susquehanna and to Onondaga, and of whom there is an interesting story to be told. He came to America in the summer of 1747, in company with Baron John de Watteville, a bishop of the Moravian Church, and son-in-law and principal assistant of Count Zinzindorf. They were also accompanied on the voyage by the Reverend John Martin Mack and the Reverend David Zeisberger, the latter als

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Bank of North America, First Incorporated Bank in the United States, Commenced Business January 7, 1782

The first incorporated bank in America was the Bank of North America, and its operations commenced January 7, 1782, in the commodious store belonging to its cashier, Tench Francis, on the north side of Chestnut Street, west of Third. In 1780 the Assembly of Pennsylvania made a strong effort to relieve the people from the withering blight of the Continental money. It tried to redeem it by taxation at the rate of 1 to 40. But neither this nor any other measure prevented the coinage of the phrase,

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Matthias Baldwin Completed First Successful Locomotive January 8, 1831

The first successful American locomotive was made in Philadelphia by Matthias William Baldwin, and completed January 8, 1831. The story of the man and his wonderful achievement is the story of one of the greatest industrial plans in the world and is full of human interest. Matthias Baldwin was born December 10, 1795, the son of an Elizabeth, N. J., carriage-maker, who was in affluent circumstances at the time of his death, but the mismanagement of his property caused the loss of nearly all. Matt

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Fort Hunter, an Important Defense, Garrisoned January 9, 1756

A motorist touring north along the Susquehanna Trail, when six miles above Harrisburg, just at the point in the roadway where one would turn off sharply to the right, if going to the beautiful Country Club of Harrisburg, can see a boulder which marks the site of Fort Hunter, one of the busy places during the stirring period immediately following hostilities which inaugurated the French and Indian War. This fort stood on the south bank of Fishing Creek, at its junction with the Susquehanna River,

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Founder of Stumpstown Murdered Ten Indians, January 10, 1768

About a dozen years ago the members of the Lebanon County Historical Society enjoyed three evenings of entertainment when that able and clever historian, Dr. E. Grumbine, of Mt. Zion, gave a history of interesting events, traditions and anecdotes of early Fredericksburg, known for many years as Stumpstown. The village was laid out in 1761 by Frederick Stump, who for years afterwards led a most unusual and exciting life. The town was then in Lancaster County, later in Dauphin, then after 1813 in

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First Records of Courts in State Preserved January 11, 1682

Nearly a month after the signing of the charter, March 4, 1681, King Charles II, April 2, issued a declaration informing the inhabitants and planters of the Province that William Penn, their absolute Proprietary, was clothed with all the powers and pre-eminences necessary for the Government. A few days later, April 8, the Proprietary addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania. Captain William Markham, a cousin of William Penn, was appointed Deputy Governor and his commission con

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Pious Henry Antes Organized First Moravian Synod January 12, 1742

Pious Henry Antes assembled at his home in Germantown on January 12, 1742, thirty-five persons, representing eight distinct denominations of the Christian religion, and formed the first Moravian Synod. Heinrich Antes (Von Blume) of a noble family in the Palatinate, was born about 1620. He left a son, Philip Frederick, born about 1670. When Philip Frederick and his wife came to America they brought only the oldest, Johann Heinrich, born in 1701, and the youngest, Mary Elizabeth, along. It is not

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General Simon Cameron Defeated Colonel Forney for United States Senate, January 13, 1857

Great excitement prevailed all over the State of Pennsylvania, and the Democracy of the great Commonwealth were thrown into intense perturbation and indignation, January 13, 1857, by dispatches from Harrisburg announcing that Representatives Samuel Manear, of York County, William H. Lebo, and G. Wagenseller, of Schuylkill County, Democratic members of the Legislature, had not only refused to support John W. Forney, the caucus nominee of their party for United States Senator, but had given their

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Railroads Fight to Enter Pittsburgh. Great State Convention January 14, 1846

It was but natural that the great undeveloped wealth of the Mississippi Valley should attract those who had any vision as to the future of this vast country. This enormous wealth must be dumped into the great cities planted along the Atlantic seaboard. General Washington, skilled surveyor that he was, early trained his eyes westward, and he spent much time in outlining plans for connecting the Potomac and Ohio Rivers by means of a canal. Twenty-five years after his death the Erie Canal was opene

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Governor Andrew G. Curtin Inaugurated War Governor January 15, 1861

Andrew Gregg Curtin, of Bellefonte, was inaugurated Governor of Pennsylvania January 15, 1861, and assumed the office at a time when the gravest problems ever presented to American statesmanship were to be solved. The mutterings of the coming storm were approaching nearer and nearer, and the year opened up gloomily. In his inaugural he took occasion “to declare that Pennsylvania would, under any circumstances, render a full and determined support of the free institutions of the Union,” and pledg

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Simon Girty, Outlaw and Renegade, Born January 16, 1744

Much of the ride along the Susquehanna trail on the western side of the Susquehanna River is at the base of majestic hills along the old Pennsylvania Canal bed, and more beautiful scenery it is not possible to find anywhere. Especially is this true as the motorist nears the quaint town of Liverpool. A few miles before reaching this place there is a gap in the mountains long known as Girty’s Gap, named in memory of one of the most despised outlaws in the provincial history of Pennsylvania. The ro

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Benjamin Franklin, Youngest Son of Seventeen Children, Born January 17, 1706

Benjamin Franklin, American statesman, philosopher and printer, was born in Boston January 17, 1706, youngest son of the seventeen children of Josiah and Abiah Folger Franklin. Born a subject of Queen Anne of England and on the same day receiving the baptismal name of Benjamin in the Old South Church, he continued for more than seventy of the eighty-four years of his life a subject of four successive British monarchs. During that period, neither Anne nor the three Georges, who succeeded her, had

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Long Reign of Terror by Mollie Maguires Brought to End January 18, 1876

January 18, 1876, was an eventful day in Mauch Chunk, the county seat of Carbon County, and, in fact, for the State of Pennsylvania and the entire country. On that day Michael J. Doyle, of Mount Laffee, Schuylkill County, and Edward Kelly were arraigned charged with the crime of the murder of John P. Jones, of Lansford. For years preceding this murder the coal regions of Pennsylvania had been infested by a most desperate class of men, banded together for the worst purposes—called by some the Buc

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Prophetic Letter to President Buchanan by GovernorGovernor Packer, Who Was Inaugurated January 19, 1858

The campaign of 1857 was unusually active, as there were three prominent candidates in the contest. The Democrats nominated State Senator William F. Packer, of Williamsport, one of the most widely known of the representative men of the State; the Republicans named the Hon. David Wilmot, of Towanda, author of the “Wilmot Proviso,” who enjoyed a wide-spread reputation as a public speaker and a politician; and the Hon. Isaac Hazlehurst, was the choice of the Native American Party, still quite a fac

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Albert Gallatin, Soldier, Statesman and Financier, Born January 20, 1761

Albert Gallatin was born in Geneva, Switzerland, January 20, 1761. Both of his parents were of distinguished families and died while he was an infant. He graduated from the University of Geneva in 1779. Feeling a great sympathy for the American colonists in their struggle for liberty, he came to Massachusetts in 1780, entered the military service, and for a few months commanded the post at Passamaquoddy. At the close of the war he taught French at Harvard University, where he remained until 1784

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General Thomas Mifflin, Soldier, Statesman and Several Times Governor, Died January 21, 1800

When the venerable Franklin was about to step aside as the President of the Council and withdraw from public employment, the people of Pennsylvania became concerned in the successor to so brilliant a man. The choice fell upon Thomas Mifflin, and he occupied the enviable position of Chief Executive of the Commonwealth longer than any other Pennsylvanian, two years as President of the Council and three times Governor, an aggregate of eleven years. Thomas Mifflin was the son of Quaker parents, and

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Story of the Old Log College and the Reverend Charles Beatty, Born January 22, 1715

The pioneer seminary for aspirants to the Presbyterian ministry nearly two hundred years ago, was long known as “The Old Log College.” It stood at Neshaminy in Warwick Township, Bucks County. When the celebrated evangelist George Whitefield came to America in 1739, he preached here to three thousand persons. The deed for the land upon which this early educational institution was built, was dated 1728, and was given by Hon. James Logan, the secretary of the Province and one of the most illustriou

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Militia Organized at Provincial Council Meeting January 23, 1775

A Provincial Convention was held in Philadelphia, January 23, 1775, which lasted six days. At the organization of the convention, General Joseph Reed was chosen chairman. Strong resolutions were adopted, heartily approving the conduct and proceedings of the Continental Congress; opposing future importation of slaves into this Province; protecting members of committees of Congress from embarrassment on account of this service, and one, “That in case the trade of the city and liberties of Philadel

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Captain Thomas McKee, Indian Trader, Makes Deposition Before Governor January 24, 1743

Thomas McKee was the most noted of the later Shamokin Traders, and we have records of his trading expeditions as far west as the Ohio. His career was highly romantic, and a consideration of the same will enable us to understand his son, Captain Alexander McKee, who afterwards became well-known at Fort Pitt, and rendered himself notorious in border history by deserting to the British during the time of the Revolutionary War, carrying over to that interest a great many Indians whom he had befriend

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Work Commenced on Erection of Fort Henry January 25, 1756

The Provincial authorities in 1755 sent Colonel Benjamin Franklin and others to erect a chain of forts, about ten or twelve miles apart, stretching in a line from the Delaware to the Susquehanna River. The principal fort on the Lehigh River was Fort Allen, where the town of Weissport, Carbon County, now stands. Fort Swatara was the principal fort on the end of the chain as it approached the Susquehanna, although Fort Hunter was situated on the east bank of that river, about six miles above the p

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James Trimble, First Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth, Public Servant Sixty-seven Years, Died January 26, 1837

When James Trimble died at his home in Harrisburg, January 26, 1837, he closed a record of sixty-seven years service as an official of Pennsylvania, a record which none other has ever approached. Another unusual feature of this record is the fact that Mr. Trimble was the first Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth, beginning his service as such March 6, 1777, and being the only occupant of that important office until his death, nearly sixty years afterwards. James Trimble was born in Philadelphia

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Great Indian Conference Began in Easton on January 27, 1777

The year 1777 opened for the colonists with much brighter prospects, as General Washington had defeated the Hessians at Trenton, and close upon this victory followed the action at Princeton, in which many Pennsylvania organizations displayed such valor, but in which General Hugh Mercer and a number of other officers and men fell. On Monday, January 20, Brigadier General Philemon Dickinson, with about 400 militia, composed of the two Westmoreland independent companies, of Wyoming, Pa., and New Je

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Massacre of Settlers Along the Juniata River Began January 28, 1756

The Delaware Indians, especially those who lived west of the Susquehanna River, were exceedingly angry because of the sale of the lands along the Susquehanna and Juniata to the whites, and declared that those coveted hunting grounds had been given to them (the Delaware) by the Six Nations, and that therefore the latter had no right to sell them. The Six Nations admitted that they had given the region to their cousins, the Delaware, as a hunting ground, yet they did not hesitate to make the sale

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John Penn, “The American,” Born in Slate-Roof House January 29, 1700

When William Penn crossed the ocean in the Canterbury to visit his province in 1699, he came up to Chester, December 1. Two days later Penn reached Philadelphia, and made a formal call upon his deputy, Governor William Markham, and other dignitaries of the town and province. From Markham’s house Penn proceeded to the Friends’ meeting house at Second and High Streets, and took part in the afternoon meeting, offering a prayer and delivering one of those short incisive addresses in which he was so

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Betsy Ross, Who Made First American Flag, Died January 30, 1836

When Elizabeth Claypoole died at her home in Arch Street, Philadelphia, January 30, 1836, aged eighty-four years, her body was borne to Mount Moriah Cemetery and interred by the side of her husband, who had preceded her in death nearly twenty years. A simple monument records the above facts, but does not tell those of the present generation that this heroine was none other than Betsy Ross. The school children of today are learning more of the history of our country and its flag, but the story of

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Robert Morris, Financier of the Revolution, Born January 31, 1734

Robert Morris was born in Liverpool, England, January 31, 1734, son of Robert Morris, a nail maker, and grandson of Andrew Morris, who was a seafearing seafearing man of the British Isles. Robert Morris, Sr., was the Maryland agent of a London tobacco firm. When Robert, Jr., was thirteen years old, his mother having died, he came to America, rejoined his father and was for a time under the tuition of a clergyman and then entered the mercantile firm of Charles and Thomas Willing. In 1750, Morris,

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First Division of Province Into Counties Begun February 1, 1685

After William Penn had spent nearly two years in his new province and had made a trip of investigation as far interior as the Susquehanna River, held many interviews with Lord Baltimore over the vexed question of boundary, made several treaties with the Indians and placed the government of his province in competent hands, he returned to England, where he arrived during August, 1684. Charles II died December 12 following, and was succeeded by James, Duke of York, whose accession was greatly dread

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Governor Pattison’s Administration to Burning of Capitol, February 2, 1897

In the campaign of 1890 the political conditions in Pennsylvania were somewhat similar to those of the preceding gubernatorial campaign. Four candidates were again in the field. The Republicans named as their standard bearer George W. Delamater, who defeated Daniel H. Hastings in the convention by eleven votes; former Governor Robert E. Pattison was now eligible to again become a candidate and was promptly nominated by the Democrats, and the Prohibition and Labor parties named John D. Gill and T

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Benedict Arnold Arrested for Conduct in Philadelphia February 3, 1779

When our troops took possession of Philadelphia the day following the evacuation of the British, June 18, 1778, General Benedict Arnold, then flushed with the recent capture of Burgoyne, was sent by General Washington to assume command of the city, and his headquarters were established at Henry Gurney’s. The autocratic demeanor of Arnold would make it appear as if Philadelphia, appalled at the circumstances, deemed it provident to make no resistance. Arnold, however, to their agreeable surprise,

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John Penn, Last ProprietaryProprietary Governor, Succeeds Richard Penn, Who Died February 4, 1771

Richard Penn, one of the Proprietors, died February 4, 1771, and under the terms of the family settlement, and his own will, Lieutenant Governor John Penn succeeded to Richard Penn’s one-fourth interest in Pennsylvania, and to the legal title of Governor. On May 4, Governor John Penn embarked for England, when Mr. James Hamilton administered the executive powers of the government as president of council. Richard Penn, second son of the deceased Proprietary, and previously a member of the Governo

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Ole Bull, Founder of Colony in Potter

County, Born February 5, 1810 Several years ago more than one thousand persons from every section of Pennsylvania, and not a few from Southern New York State, journeyed to a most out-of-the-way place up in the wilds of Potter County to do homage to the memory of a great man, and to view the scene of one of the saddest failures in the history of the settlement of our great Commonwealth. This pilgrimage was to the land of Ole Bull, the great Norwegian violinist, who during his lifetime played befo

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Dr. Joseph Priestley, Discoverer of Oxygen, Died at Northumberland February 6, 1804

Dr. Joseph Priestley was born near Leeds in Yorkshire, England, March 13, 1733. He died at Northumberland, Pennsylvania, February 6, 1804. Joseph was the youngest of nine children. His father and grandfather were prosperous cloth makers, employing, for that age, a large force of workmen. From his parents, who were strict Calvinists, Joseph inherited a deeply religious nature. He attended the school of the neighborhood and at eleven had read most of the Latin authors, and in a few years had made

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First Members of Susquehanna Company Settle in Wyoming, February 8, 1769

The Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, determined to hold possession of lands in the Wyoming Valley, which were claimed by the Connecticut settlers, sent Captain Amos Ogden, John Anderson, Charles Stewart, Alexander Patterson, John Jennings and several other Pennsylvanians and New Jerseymen into that section with the intention of becoming lessees or purchasers of the proprietary lands at Wyoming. They established themselves on Mill Creek, December, 1768, where they erected a small fort or blockhouse

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John Penn, Last of Proprietary Governors, Died February 9, 1795

John Penn, son of Richard, and grandson of William Penn, the founder, arrived in Philadelphia October 30, 1763, and assumed the duties of Deputy Governor. John was the eldest son of Richard, and was born in England in 1728. At the age of twenty-five, he first visited the Province of Pennsylvania, and ten years later, he came bearing the commission of Deputy Governor. The day he arrived to assume his office was on Sunday, and was marked by the shock of an earthquake, which the superstitious inter

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Munley and McAllister, Mollie Maguires, Arrested for Murder of Thomas Sanger and William Uren, February

10, 1876 Thomas Munley and Charles McAllister were arrested February 10, 1876, charged with the murder of Thomas Sanger and William Uren, at Raven’s Run, near Ashland, Wednesday, September 1, 1875. These two Mollie Maguires were brought to trial in June 1876, at Pottsville. Munley was tried first, before Judge D. B. Green, and a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree was returned July 12. It was in this case that Hon. Franklin B. Gowen, assisting the prosecution, made his memorable addr

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First Anthracite Coal Burned in Grate by

Judge Jesse Fell, February 11, 1808 The first knowledge of anthracite in America dates back to about 1750 or 1755, when an Indian brought a supply of it to a gunsmith at Nazareth for repairing his rifle, the smith’s supply of charcoal having become exhausted. Stone coal was used by the garrison at Fort Augusta, mention of which fact is made by Colonel William Plunket, who was one of the original soldiers sent to build this important provincial fortress. The records in the British War Office also

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Quakers Make Protest Against Slavery to Congress February 12, 1790

There is unmistakable evidence of Negro slavery among the Dutch on the South (now Delaware) River as early as the year 1639. In that year a convict from Manhattan was sentenced to serve with the blacks on that river. In September and October, 1664, the English defeated the Dutch, and some of the Dutch soldiers were sold in Virginia as slaves. The Negro slaves were also confiscated by the victors and sold. A cargo of three hundred of those unhappy beings having just landed, failed to escape captu

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First Magazine in America Published in

Philadelphia, February 13, 1741 There has been recent controversy, especially among New York newspapers, regarding the oldest magazine in America, one such newspaper concluding that the oldest such publication was Oliver Oldschool’s “Portfolio,” published by Bradford and Inskeep, of Philadelphia, and Inskeep and Bradford, in New York, 1809–1810. That is not the fact and Pennsylvania cannot be denied the honor of being the home of the earliest magazine published on this continent. On November 6,

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Christopher L. Sholes, Inventor of Typewriter, Born in Mooresburg, February 14, 1819

More than a score of attempts, both in this country and abroad, were made to perfect a typewriter after the birth of the idea in the mind of Henry Mill, an English engineer, who obtained a patent from Queen Ann of England, January 1, 1714, but none was successful. It remained for an humble country boy, a printer, by the name of Christopher Latham Sholes, who was born in the little village of Mooresburg, Montour County, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1819, to perfect a model in the winter of 1866–67,

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German Christians Organized Harmony Society in Butler, February 15, 1805

The Harmony Society, as it was organized by George Rapp in Wurtemberg and established in America, was an outgrowth of a Separatistic movement in Germany and an attempt to put into practice, under favorable circumstances, Separatistic principles. The members of the society had constituted a congregation of Separatists, where they listened to the teachings of their pastor, George Rapp. According to his instructions, they left their homes in Wurtemberg and followed him to America. They settled at H

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Johan Printz Arrives as Governor of New Sweden, February 16, 1643

The Swedes followed the Dutch in settling along the Delaware River, which they called the Zuydt or South River. The Swedes formed several companies for the purpose of trade with the New World, as America was then called. The first expedition came under Peter Minuit, a Hollander, in March, 1638, and settled on Christiana Creek, near the present Wilmington, Del. Here they built Fort Christiana and gave the country the name New Sweden. Two other expeditions came from Sweden and with them came colon

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Captain William Trent Leads First English Armed Force to Forks of Ohio, February 17, 1754

Previous to the French and Indian War, and in fact until the Revolution, Virginia held that the upper Ohio Valley, in what is now Pennsylvania, was a part of their Dominion. Governor Dinwiddie feared the aggressions of the French in that region and commenced preparations for raising a force to be sent to the “Forks of the Ohio” (Pittsburgh), to occupy that strategic point, and build a defensive work that would enable him to resist the French. This force, a company of Colonial Militiamen under co

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William Rittenhouse, Who Built First Paper

Mill in America, Died February 18,1708 The first paper mill on the American continent was established in 1690 by the Reverend William Rittenhouse, upon a branch of Wissahickon Creek, and from that date until 1710 there was no other paper mill in the American Colonies. This mill was situated on a meadow along the bank of a stream known as Paper-Mill Run, which empties into the Wissahickon Creek, about two miles above its confluence with the Schuylkill. The founder emigrated from Holland, where he

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Canal System Started with Committee Report of February 19, 1791

In the earliest days, before railroads and steam power were developed, water communication was the popular mode of commercial transportation. The spirit of the early settlers in Pennsylvania was alive with the idea of internal improvement, and very early they were anxious to reach out toward the western empire that was to become the promised land and furnish food for the world. The ultimate result of this vision was the construction of the grand system of canals connecting the navigable rivers,

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French and Indian War Started by Arrival of

Braddock’s Troops February 20, 1755 The French and Indian War opened April 17, 1754, when Ensign Ward was surprised by the appearance of a large French force, under Contrecoeur, while he was engaged in completing a stockade at the forks of the Ohio. The Ensign was obliged to surrender his position to the superior forces and retreat. Governor Hamilton strongly urged the Pennsylvania Assembly to organize the militia and aid the Virginians, but they questioned the right of Governor Dinwiddie of Vir

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State Capital Removed to Harrisburg by Act

of February 21, 1810 Very soon after the close of the Revolution there began an agitation about the removal of the seat of the State Government from Philadelphia. In March, 1787, the Assembly, then a single branch, resolved that Philadelphia was “an unfortunate location” and expressed by their votes its determination to build a State house at Harrisburg on a plot of ground the property of the Commonwealth, etc., being four and a half acres, conveyed by John Harris in 1785. Harrisburg was then a

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Service and Captivity of Captain John Boyd, Born February 22, 1750

One of the distinguished patriots of the Continental Army during the Revolution was Captain John Boyd, a frontiersman, who suffered Indian captivity and lived to rejoin his family and again become one of the foremost citizens of his time. The Boyd family gained a foothold in America when John Boyd, the emigrant from the North of Ireland, landed on these shores in 1744, and settled in Chester County. He married Sarah De Vane, and they removed to Northumberland County, where they continued to resi

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Simon Girty, the Renegade, and Indians Attacked Fort Laurens, February 23,1779

Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh, who had been sent by Congress and General Washington to restore peace on the harried western frontier of Pennsylvania, relieved General Edward Hand of his command at Fort Pitt. A treaty of peace with the Delaware Indians was concluded September 17, 1778, and General McIntosh immediately prepared an expedition against the British post at Detroit. On October 1, the army, consisting of 1300 troops, of whom 500 were regulars of the Eighth Pennsylvania and Thirteen

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General Jacob Brown, Hero of War of 1812, Died February 24, 1828; Native of Pennsylvania

When General Jacob Brown died in Washington, D. C., February 24, 1828, a monument was erected over his remains in the historic Congressional burial ground, which bore the following inscription: “Sacred to the memory of General Jacob Brown. He was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of May, 1775, and died in the city of Washington, commanding-general of the army, on the 24th of February, 1828. Then this surely was an unusual man and such is the fact. He was born of Quaker parentage, in

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Andrew McFarlane Captured by Indians at

Kittanning February 25, 1777 The Indian depredations along the Ohio River in the fall of 1776 began along its eastern shore, when small parties of the Mingo tribe made incursions among the settlements, inflicting only slight damage. But in the spring of 1777, the outrages became general and more destructive. The first outrage was on the frontier of Westmoreland County when Andrew McFarlane was captured at an outpost of Kittanning. McFarlane soon after the close of the French and Indian War, made

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Westmoreland County, Last Under Proprietary,

Erected February 26, 1773 The county of Westmoreland was erected by the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania by an act of February 26, 1773. It was the eleventh county in Pennsylvania and the last erected under the Proprietary Government. Like all the other counties, except Philadelphia, it received its name from a county in England. In 1771 this wide region was included in the county of Bedford, but settlements grew so rapidly west of the mountains during the year 1772 that a new frontier c

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Early Days of Witchcraft in Pennsylvania—Two Women on Trial February 27, 1683

The most conspicuous of the early provincial tribunals and by far the best known to the present-day reader was the Provincial Council. Its duties were at once executive, legislative and judicial. The judicial functions discharged by the members of the Council were both interesting and important, and the volume of such business was very great. Its members were regarded by all classes as the supreme judges of the land. The trial of Margaret Mattson, which took place on February 27, 1683, before Wi

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Towns Laid Out in Erie County by Act of Assembly, February 28, 1794

The frontiers of Pennsylvania had not been seriously harassed by the Indians since the close of the Revolution, but late in 1793 they again became restive and early in the following year so many depredations had been committed along the western frontier of the State that the Assembly on February 28, 1794, passed an act for enlisting soldiers for the defense of the Delaware River and the western frontiers. At the same time efforts were made toward the laying out of a town at Presqu’ Isle, “in ord

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Commissioners Appointed to Purchase Last Indian Lands, February 29, 1784

William Maclay, Samuel John Atlee and Francis Johnson were appointed February 29, 1784, by the Supreme Executive Council to be Commissioners to treat with the Indians claiming the unpurchased territory within the acknowledged limits of the State. At the close of the Revolution, in 1783, the ownership of a large area of the territory within the charter boundaries of Pennsylvania was still claimed by the Indians of the several tribes that were commonly known as the Six Nations. The last purchase o

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First Law to Educate Poor Children Signed

March 1, 1802 The same earnest solicitude for public education which made itself manifest in the settlement of the New England Colonies in an unusual degree does not run through the early history of Pennsylvania, yet, outside of the Puritan settlements, there was no other colony which paid so much attention as Pennsylvania to the mental training of youth. During the seventeenth century the general character of the province, as regards the intelligence of its people, stood deservedly high. The sc

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Pennsylvania on Paper Money Basis When Bills of Credit Are Issued March 2, 1722–23

The first bills of credit, or paper-money, issued in the English American colonies were put forth by Massachusetts, in 1690, to pay the troops who went on an expedition against Quebec, under Sir William Phipps. It was Governor Sir William Keith who first introduced the people of Pennsylvania to the pleasures and benefits of an irredeemable paper currency. There had been great and long-standing complaint about the deficiency of a circulating medium, for the use of wampum had ceased, and foreign c

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General Clark Began Draft for Troops in

Drive Against Detroit, March 3, 1781 The Western frontiers of Pennsylvania were sorely distressed during the spring and summer of 1781 by the efforts of General George Rogers Clark, an officer of the Dominion of Virginia, to raise troops for an expedition in the interest of Virginia against the British post at Detroit. Clark received a commission as brigadier general and was given ample funds with which to purchase provisions in the country west of the Allegheny Mountains. Also a small force of

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William Penn Received Charter for Pennsylvania

from King, March 4, 1681 Admiral Sir William Penn, renowned in English history by his martial valor as an officer of the British Navy, left to his son a claim against the Government for £16,000, consisting to a great extent of money advanced by him in the sea service and of arrearages in his pay. Sir William Penn was in command of an English warship at the age of twenty-three, when sent to the coast of Ireland to help fight the battle of Parliament against Charles the First. When the war with th

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Colonel Daniel Brodhead Arrives at Fort Pitt to Fight Indians, March 5, 1779

Colonel Daniel Brodhead was sent to Fort Pitt to relieve General Edward Hand, and he arrived there March 5, 1779. He was a trained soldier and knew how to fight Indians. General Hand turned over to him seven hundred militiamen. Some of these were stationed at Fort McIntosh, at what is now Beaver, some at Fort Henry, now Wheeling, W. Va., a few at Fort Randolph, now Point Pleasant, details at Fort Hand, near Kiskimimetas, near Apollo, and another guard at Fort Crawford, now Parnassus. Forts Hand

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Settlers Attack Pack Trains Near Fort Loudoun, March 6, 1765

The period immediately following Colonel Bouquet’s successful expedition against the Indians at Muskingum October, 1764, was one of comparative peace, but this did not long continue. A most interesting episode occurred about this time in the Conococheague Valley, from the North to the South Mountain. The people who had been driven off had gradually returned and were now determined to make a better stand against the enemy. They raised a sum of money and recruited a company of riflemen, of which J

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Andrew Lycans Killed in Attack by Indians in Wiconisco Valley, March 7,1756

The Wiconisco or Lykens Valley includes that section of the “Upper End” of Dauphin County that is watered by the Wiconisco Creek and its branches, save where local names have been given to certain portions, such as Williams Valley, etc. In 1732 Andrew Lycans settled on the Swartara Creek, where he took up 250 acres of land. In 1740 he removed to the west side of the Susquehanna, where he settled between Sherman’s Creek and the Juniata, in then Cumberland County. This land had not been included i

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Frightful Slaughter of Indians at Gnadenhuetten, March 8, 1782

In the fall of 1781, Pennsylvania frontiersmen decided that their safety would no longer permit the residence of the Moravian Indians on the Muskingum, which was about seventy miles from Fort McIntosh, in the present State of Ohio. Fort McIntosh was on the right bank of the Ohio River at the mouth of Beaver River, now Beaver, Pennsylvania. Colonel David Williamson, one of the battalion commanders of Washington County, gathered a company of 100 men and on November 5 started for the Tuscarawa Indi

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County of Bedford Formed from a Part of Cumberland, March 9, 1771

The county of Bedford was erected March 9, 1771, by an act of the General Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania. The entire territory for the new county was cut from Cumberland County. The commissioners appointed to “run, mark out, and distinguish the boundary lines between the said counties of Cumberland and Bedford,” were Robert McCrea, William Miller, and Robert Moore. The boundaries of the new county embraced the entire southwestern portion of the State, from the Tuscarora Mountains westw

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Organization of Sixty-seven Counties of Pennsylvania Began with Philadelphia, March 10, 1682

The three original counties of Pennsylvania were Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks. Some authorities claim Philadelphia was the original county and the others formed soon thereafter. These authorities give the date of the erection of Philadelphia County as March 10, 1682. Pennsylvania historians generally agree that the three were originally erected at the same time by William Penn. Philadelphia extended toward the northwest, bounded on either side by its neighboring counties, Bucks and Chester. B

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Public Education Established by Governor George Wolf, Who Died March 11, 1840

George Wolf, the seventh Governor of Pennsylvania, was born in Allen Township, Northampton County, August 12, 1777, and died March 11, 1840. He attended a classical school established in the county by a society formed for the purpose, which was presided over by Robert Andrews, A. M., a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. Here he acquired a good knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages and of the sciences usually pursued in a liberal education. Leaving school he took charge of his father’s far

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Lands Set Apart for Soldiers of Revolution, March 12, 1783

The soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line who served in the War of the Revolution were by act of legislation entitled to wild lands of the State and a large area of the northwestern portion of the State north of the depreciation lands and west of the Allegheny River was set apart and surveyed to the officers and soldiers. As early as March 7, 1780, while the war for the independence of the American colonies was still in active progress, and being vigorously waged by the hostile armies in the field,

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Colonel Matthew Smith, Hero of Early Wars, Born March 13, 1740

Matthew Smith was the eldest son of Robert Smith, and was born March 13, 1740, in Paxtang, then Lancaster County, but since March 4, 1785, a part of Dauphin County. At the age of fifteen he was a soldier under Colonel Henry Bouquet, serving in the final campaign of the French and Indian War. During the interim between that war and the Revolutionary War he was an active leader among the early settlers in what are now Dauphin, Cumberland and Northumberland Counties, a leader in the struggles again

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Fries’ Rebellion or Hot-Water War Arouses Governor, March 14, 1799

In 1798 the Federal Government enacted a direct tax law, which became known as the “house tax,” and was unpopular in many parts of the country, especially in some of the counties of Pennsylvania, and it led to an insurrection known in history as “Fries’ Rebellion.” The story of this insurrection, as told in “Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal” by Jenkins, is as follows: “The troubles between the United States and France at this time assumed the form of active hostilities, and James McHenry, Secre

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Mollie Maguires Murder Wm. H. Littlehales, March 15, 1869, Which Brings Detective McParlan to the Coal Regions

The bloody record of the Mollie Maguires during the decade 1865 to 1875 marks the darkest and most terrible period in the history of the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania. This was a secret organization, composed of lawless Irishmen, who resorted to murder in its most cowardly form, to attain their ends and satisfy their revengeful feelings toward mine owners, superintendents and bosses, and also justices of the peace and borough officials who had the integrity to administer justice, and n

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David Wilmot, Author of Proviso, Died at Towanda, March 16, 1868

David Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, retired from Congress after six years of service, March 4, 1851, with his name more generally involved in the political discussion of the country than that of any other of our statesmen. He was born in Bethany, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1814, and died in Towanda, March 16, 1868. After acquiring an academic education wholly by his own efforts he was admitted to the bar in Wilkes-Barre in 1834. He at once located at Towanda, the county seat of Bradford,

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First Excise Laws of Pennsylvania Enacted

March 17, 1684 The first excise tax in Pennsylvania was imposed by the Assembly of the Province March 17, 1684, in an act entitled “Bill for Aid and Assistance of the Government.” This act seems to have been prompted by a record in the minutes of the Assembly for February 20, 1684: “The Govr. &amp; Provll Councill have thought fitt. from the Exteriordinary in the Case, to place Patrick Robinson as administrator to Benj. Acrods Estate, and to have a recourse to this board from time to time. “

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Pittsburgh Built in 1760, Incorporated April 22, 1794, and Chartered as City March 18, 1816

On April 17, 1754, Ensign Ward was surprised by the appearance of Frenchmen, who landed, planted their cannon and summoned the English to surrender. The French soon demolished an unfinished fort and built in its place a much larger and better one, calling it Fort Duquesne, in honor of the Marquis Duquesne, the French Governor of Canada. This was the actual beginning of what is now Pittsburgh, but there were many stirring conflicts for permanent possession of the site at the “Forks of the Ohio.”

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Military Laws of Province Repealed by Import Act, March 20, 1780

On March 20, 1780, a law was passed to effect a reorganization of the whole militia system in Pennsylvania. It provided for the appointment of a lieutenant for each county, and two sub-lieutenants or more, not exceeding the number of battalions, which were to be divided into classes as heretofore. Fines, however for non-attendance on muster days were fixed for commissioned officers at the price of three days’ labor. When called out, the pay of privates was to be equal to one day’s labor. Persons

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Old Northumberland, Mother of Counties,

Erected March 21, 1772 The political development of Pennsylvania followed closely in the wake of its expanding settlements. In 1682 the Counties of Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester were formed, with limits intended to include not only the populated area, but territory enough in addition to meet for a considerable time to come the growing necessities of the rapidly increasing immigration. It was not until 1729, therefore, that the extension of the settlements and the purchase of new lands from the

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Peter Pence, Indian Fighter, Captured

March 22, 1780 One of the conspicuous characters along the Susquehanna Valleys during the period of the Revolutionary War, and afterwards, was a Pennsylvania Dutchman by the name of Peter Pence. It is generally believed that his proper name was Bentz, a name which occurs frequently in Lancaster County, from which place he went to Shamokin. The well-known aptitude of the Dutchman to incorrectly sound his letters is given as the reason that his name was pronounced and spelled Pence. In accord with

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John Bartram, First Great American Botanist and Founder of Bartram Gardens, Born at Darby, March 23, 1699

It is not generally known, at least outside of Pennsylvania, that that State was the birth place of a man whom the celebrated Linnaeus pronounced the greatest natural botanist in the world. This man was John Bartram, a native of Delaware County. August 30, 1685 John Bartram bought three hundred acres of land from Thomas Brassey, which land was situated along Darby Creek, in now Delaware County. Here John Bartram was born March 23, 1699. His early attention was first directed to botanical studies

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Proposal for Second Constitution for Pennsylvania Adopted March 24, 1789

The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 proving inadequate for the requirements of a useful and effective Government, its revision was demanded. On March 24, 1789, the Assembly adopted resolutions recommending the election of delegates to form a new Constitution. The struggle for independence had been fought and won, but with the triumph of the Revolution even those who had been opposed to the movement speedily acquiesced, though many years elapsed before all the bitter memories engendered by the

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David Lewis, Robber and Counterfeiter, Born March 25, 1790

David Lewis was the most notorious robber and counterfeiter in this country a little more than a century ago. He was born at Carlisle, March 25, 1790, of poor, but respectable parents, being one of a large family of children. The father died when David was less than ten years old, and the widow had a hard struggle to raise her family. Be it said to the credit of David that he remained with her and assisted in raising the family until he was seventeen years old. Then he worked at different occupa

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More Exploits of Lewis, the Robber—Conclusion

of Yesterday’s Story, March 26 Yesterday’s story was a brief outline of the early life of David Lewis, the robber and counterfeiter, and in this will be told those events which followed and ended in his death. In 1818, Dr. Peter Shoenberger, owner of the Huntingdon Furnace, in Huntingdon County, had made extensive shipments of iron to Harper’s Ferry and prepared to cross the mountains to receive his pay. Lewis and his band knew of this proposed trip and determined to waylay and rob him. The sum

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Bethlehem Hospital Base During Revolution, Moved March 27, 1777

Bethlehem was the seat of a general hospital twice during the Revolution and during the six years from 1775 to 1781, it was a thoroughfare for Continental troops. Heavy baggage and munitions of war and General Washington’s private baggage were stored in the town and guarded by 200 Continentals under command of Colonel William Polk, of North Carolina, while many houses were occupied by American troops and British prisoners of war. The Continental Congress found refuge there when on its flight fro

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Flight of Tory Leaders from Pittsburgh, March 28, 1778

General Edward Hand, the commandant at Fort Pitt, had failed in two expeditions, and the resultant effect was disastrous to the American cause on the border, especially in the spring of 1778. During the previous winter the British, under General Howe, had occupied Philadelphia, the capital of the colonies; the Continental Congress had been driven to York, and Washington’s Army, reduced to half-naked and half-starved condition, had suffered in camp at Valley Forge, so there was not much to win ad

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Colonel Clapham Commissioned to Build

Fort Augusta, March 29, 1756 From the moment Captain John Smith beheld the waters of the Susquehanna to the present, it has been the main artery for the development of Central and Northern Pennsylvania. The two great branches of the Susquehanna River join at what is now Northumberland, but opposite is a plain, where the old Indian town of Shamokin was located, upon which the present city of Sunbury was laid out July 4, 1772. It was at Shamokin where the Indians established a vice-regal governmen

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Swedes Come to the Delaware—Peter Minuit Steps Ashore, March 30, 1638

Samuel Blummaert, of Holland, who had business interests in Sweden, directed the attention of the Swedish Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, to the possibilities of the copper trade with the West Indies. At that time Peter Minuit, who had been Governor of New Netherlands, 1626 to 1632, and was dissatisfied with his treatment, having been dismissed, offered his service to Blummaert, knowing that the latter owned lands on the South River, now the Delaware. The great Gustavus died in November, 1632, and

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History of Pennsylvania Railroad Begins with Organization of Company March 31, 1847

Prior to 1809, Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia, urged repeatedly in public addresses the construction of a passenger railroad from Philadelphia to New York, and in that year attempted to form a company for this purpose. In 1829 a railroad, sixteen miles long, from Honesdale to Carbondale, to carry coal, was completed. In 1827 the Mauch Chunk railroad, nine miles long, was built to connect coal mines with the Lehigh River; the gauge was three feet seven inches, and wooden rails were faced with iron

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Great Indian Council Opened at Harris’ Ferry, April 1, 1757

September 10, 1756, Governor Denny ordered a suspension of hostilities against the Indians on the east side of the Susquehanna. A month later Major Parsons wrote from Easton that nine Indian men and one Indian woman with four white prisoners had arrived at Easton. One of the prisoners was Henry Hess, who had been taken prisoner on New Year’s day from his father’s plantation in Lower Smithfield, Northampton (now Monroe) County. These had been sent by Tedyuskung from Wyoming. The Governor sent Con

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First Mint Established in Philadelphia by Act

of April 2, 1792 The project of a national mint for the United States was first introduced by Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, the patriot and financier of the Revolution. As the head of the Finance Department, Mr. Morris was instructed by Congress to prepare a report on the foreign coins then in circulation in the United States. On January 15, 1782, he laid before Congress an exposition of the whole subject, and accompanying this report, was a plan for American coinage. Robert Morris was assiste

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Act for Purchase of Erie Triangle Passed

April 3, 1792 For many years after William Penn received the charter for Pennsylvania he was engaged in controversies over the boundary line of his Province, and long after his death the several proprietaries were concerned with the question. It was not until 1774 that the controversy with Maryland was concluded, and it was after the Revolution that the armed conflict with Connecticut was finally determined by Congress, and the imminent conflict with Virginia over the territory west of the Alleg

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Reading Railroad Incorporated by Act Passed April 4, 1833

The Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company was incorporated by special act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, approved April 4, 1833. The charter granted to the company, December 5, 1833, authorized it to construct a railroad from Reading to Philadelphia. At Reading it was proposed to connect with the Little Schuylkill Navigation and Railroad, which had been incorporated in 1827, to build a railroad from Tamaqua to Reading. By a latter statute the company was authorized to extend its road fro

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Mary Jemison, White Woman of Genesee, Captured April 5, 1758

The thrilling narrative of the life of Mary Jemison, who was captured by the Indians April 5, 1758, when only twelve years old, and who continued to live among them during her long and eventful life, marrying two chiefs of renown, continues to this day to be a wondrous story of one of the most remarkable captivities suffered at the hands of the Indians by the pioneer settlers of this country. Mary Jemison, who came to be known as “The White Woman of the Genesee,” related her own story of her cap

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Governor Penn Makes Trip Through State, Starting April 6, 1788

Following the last great purchase from the Indians at Fort Stanwix, October 23, 1784, the State enjoyed a steady flow of immigration. There was an abundance of fertile and cheap lands, a desirable climate and low taxes. It was possible for a foreigner to buy and hold lands with relinquishment of their allegiance to the country of their birth. This right had been granted for three years from 1787, and was continued for a longer period after 1790. About this time John Penn, son of Thomas Penn, and

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Edwin Forrest, the Great American Actor, Founded the Home for Actors, April 7, 1873

One of the asylums which has attracted more attention than many others is the Edwin Forrest Home for Retired Actors. It was founded under the direction of Edwin Forrest, the famous tragedian, who by his will, dated April 5, 1866, bequeathed to his executors, James Oakes of Boston, James Lawson of New York, and David Dougherty of Philadelphia, all his property, with the exception of annuities to his sisters and some personal legacies, in trust for an institution “which they will call the Edwin Fo

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Monument Erected to Colonel Kelly, Revolutionary

War Hero, April 8, 1835 A monument to the memory of Colonel John Kelly was erected with impressive ceremonies April 8, 1835, in the Presbyterian burial-ground, in the borough of Lewisburg. A company of cavalry from Northumberland County, one from Union, and three infantry companies participated. General Abbott Green was grand marshal, with General Robert H. Hammond, General Michael Brobst, Colonel Philip Ruhl and Surgeon Major Dr. James S. Dougal as aids. The parade was formed by the adjutant, C

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Captain John Armstrong Murdered in Jack’s Narrows April 9, 1744

John Armstrong, a trader among the Indians, residing on the Susquehanna above Peter’s Mountain, on the east bank of the river, and two of his servants, James Smith and Woodward Arnold, were barbarously murdered April 9, 1744, by an Indian of the Delaware tribe named Musemeelin in Jack’s Narrows, now Huntingdon County. The murderer was apprehended and delivered up by his own nation and imprisoned at Lancaster, whence he was removed to Philadelphia lest he should escape or his trial and execution,

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Tories of Sinking Valley Take Oath to King April 10,1778

Among the tragedies during the Revolutionary war, none seem more melancholy than those connected with efforts of the disaffected to escape to the enemy. During the winter of 1777–78, British agents were busy along the western frontier and as far east as Cumberland County, seeking to corrupt the frontier settlers, insinuating sentiments of discontent, assuring them that the American cause was sure to fail and making glittering promises of reward for those who should join the cause of the King. On

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Captain John Brady, Noted Hero, Killed by Indians April 11, 1779

Captain John Brady was foremost in all the expeditions that went out from the West Branch of the Susquehanna settlements, and his untimely death, April 11, 1779, was the worst blow ever inflicted upon the distressed settlers. John Brady, second son of Hugh and Hannah Brady was born in 1733, near Newark, Delaware. He came with his parents to Pennsylvania, married Mary Quigley, when he was twenty-two years old, and soon thereafter enlisted in the French and Indian War. On July 19, 1763, he was com

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General Abner Lacock, United States Senator and Distinguished Citizen, Died in Beaver County, April 12, 1837

In the Biographical Annals of the Civil Government of the United States published in 1876, appears the following brief notice of a once prominent citizen of Pennsylvania: “Abner Lacock, born in Virginia, in 1770. Without the advantage of much early education, he raised himself by his talents to eminence as a legislator, statesman and civilian. He filled various public stations for a period of nearly forty years; was a Representative in Congress from Pennsylvania from 1811 to 1813, and United Sta

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Family of Richard Bard Captured by Indians April 13, 1758

During the French and Indian War of 1755–58, the barrier of the South Mountain shielded the settlers of York County, from the savage incursions that desolated the Cumberland Valley and other parts of the frontier of Pennsylvania. Yet occasionally a party more daring than the rest would push across the mountain and murder or carry defenseless families into captivity. An affecting instance of this kind was the captivity of Richard Bard, which is narrated in detail by his son, the late Archibald Ba

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Bounties for Scalps of Indians Proclaimed April 14, 1756

After Braddock’s defeat, the protection of the frontiers of Pennsylvania being left to the inhabitants themselves, they rapidly formed companies, designated their own officers and received commissions from Lieutenant Governor Morris. It was thought that the Indians would do no mischief in Pennsylvania until they could draw all the others out of the province and away from the Susquehanna. But the Delaware and Shawnee had been ravaging in the neighborhood of Fort Cumberland on both sides of the Po

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Theatrical Performances Begun in State April 15, 1754

The amusements of the young people were for many years of the simplest and most innocent kind. Riding, swimming and skating afforded pleasant outdoor sport. Yearly Meeting, in 1716, advised Friends against “going to or being in any way concerned in plays, games, lotteries, music and dancing.” In 1719 advice was given “that such be dealt with as run races, either on horseback or on foot, laying wagers, or use any gaming or needless and vain sport and pastimes, for our time passeth swiftly away, a

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Tedyuskung, Indian Chieftain, Burns to Death in Cabin, April 16, 1763

Tedyuskung was made king of the Delaware nation in the spring of 1756, and from that date until his untimely death this great Indian chieftain exerted a most powerful influence throughout the entire Province of Pennsylvania. The name is of Munsee dialect, and signifies “the healer,” or “one who cures wounds, bruises, etc.” He was one of the most famous and crafty of the Delaware chiefs during the period of discussion of the Indian claims, following the sale of the lands along the Delaware and Su

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Lottery for Union Canal for $400,000 Authorized by Legislature, April 17, 1795

By the act of April 17, 1795, the president and managers of the Schuykill and Susquehanna Navigation, and the president and managers of the Delaware and Schuykill Canal Navigation, were authorized to raise by means of a lottery, a sum of $400,000 for the purpose of completing the works cited in their acts of incorporation, under a prohibition that neither of them should form the same into capital stock, upon which to declare a dividend of profits. An Act Passed March 4, 1807, authorized the said

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First Northern Camp in Civil War Established April 18, 1861

On April 18, 1861, Camp Curtin was regularly and formally established in the northwestern suburbs of Harrisburg. It was the first regular camp formed north of the Susquehanna in the loyal States, and before the end of the month twenty-five regiments were sent to the front from the counties of Pennsylvania. The willing and prompt response to the call of President Lincoln and the appeal of Governor Curtin created immediately the necessity for a great rendezvous for the State’s troops. Harrisburg w

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Training of Troops Began at Camp Curtin, April 19, 1861

When the First Defenders departed from Camp Curtin and were the first troops which arrived at Washington from any State to defend the National Capital, the real activities of this famous training camp began. Beginning on the morning of April 19 every inbound train brought troops to Harrisburg, and soon Camp Curtin was a hive of activity. Eli Seifer, Secretary of the Commonwealth, assumed the discharge of certain military functions, such as replying to telegraphic offer of troops, etc., but begin

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Colonel Brodhead Destroyed Indian Town of Coshocton, April 20, 1781

Colonel Daniel Brodhead, the commandant at Fort Pitt, had not been able to execute his design to lead a force against the Wyandot and Shawnee Indian towns in Ohio. He had expected to obtain the help of the Delaware warriors at Coshocton for this expedition, but in the spring of 1781, a change in the situation impelled him to strike at the Delaware. Until December, 1780, the Delaware took no part, as a nation, in the warfare against the frontiers of Pennsylvania, and the alliance with the United

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Cornerstones Laid for Germantown Academy, April 21, 1760

By the year 1760, the French and Indian War had narrowed its area and was confined chiefly to Canada. This was then a period of development in and about Philadelphia. The Germantown Academy was organized January 1, 1760, and four cornerstones were laid with appropriate ceremonies, April 21, 1760. This ancient and honorable institution was originated in a meeting held December 6, 1759, at the house of Daniel Mackinet, when it was resolved to start a subscription for erecting a large and commodiou

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Eccentric John Mason’s Leaning Tower on Blue Hill Destroyed April 22, 1864

Travelers up and down both branches of the Susquehanna River years ago will well remember the leaning tower high up on Blue Hill, opposite Northumberland. This peculiar building hung over a precipice and viewed from the river level, looked as if a breath of air would topple it to the rocks below. It was built by John Mason, who owned a farm of ninety acres of land on the hill, and who, from his eccentricities, came to be known as the “Hermit of Blue Hill.” The tower, which was built as an observ

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James Buchanan, Pennsylvania’s Only President, Born April 23, 1791

James Buchanan, Pennsylvania’s only President of the United States, was born in a little settlement which bore the odd name of Stony Batter, near Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pa., April 23, 1791. Among the Scotch-Irish, whose enterprise brought them to America, was James Buchanan, a native of Donegal, Ireland. He settled in Franklin County in 1783, where he set up a store, married Elizabeth Speer, daughter of a farmer of Adams County, a woman of remarkable native intellect, and distinguished fo

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News of Revolution Reached Philadelphia by Messenger, April 24, 1775

At 5 o’clock in the afternoon of Tuesday, April 24, 1775, an express rider came galloping into Philadelphia from Trenton, with the greatest possible haste, excitement in his looks and on his lips. The rider hurried up to the City Tavern, where the people crowded in eagerness to learn of his mission. Members of the Committee of Correspondence were in the crowd and to these the rider delivered his dispatch. It was a brief and hurried message, but it had come a long route and it was big with the fa

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Frame of Government Written by William Penn, April 25, 1682

Penn’s remarkable frame of Government, dated April 25, 1682, was so far in advance of the age that, as Bancroft says, “its essential principles remain to this day without change.” Another competent critic has said that in it was “the germ if not the development of every valuable improvement in Government or legislation which has been introduced into the political systems of more modern epochs.” The government was to consist of the Governor, a Provincial Council, and a General Assembly. These bod

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Indians Captured James McKnight, Assemblyman, April 26, 1779

In the spring of 1779 conditions along the frontier became more serious than in any time past. The Indians were more active and destroyed growing crops and burned the homes and outbuildings of the settlers, whom they murdered or took away in captivity. The condition was so alarming it was reported to the Supreme Executive Council. One such letter, dated “Fort Augusta 27th April, 1779” written by Colonel Samuel Hunter, was in part: “I am really sorry to inform you of our present Disturbances; not

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Steam Boat Susquehanna, in Effort to Navigate River, Starts Fatal Trip, April 27, 1826

Even before the advent of canals or railroads the enterprising merchants of Baltimore sensed the importance of facilitating the commerce along the great Susquehanna River. They believed it would materially enhance their volume of business, especially in lumber, iron, grain, and whiskey, if the river would be freed of such obstructions as impeded or hindered navigation. Large sums of money were expended in removing rocky channels in the river below Columbia, so as to admit the passage of arks and

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Shawnee Indians Murder Conestoga Tribesmen April 28, 1728

Two Shawnee Indians cruelly murdered a man and a woman of the Conestoga tribe, April 28, 1728. John Wright, of Hempfield, wrote from Lancaster, May 2, advising James Logan of this murder, and that the Conestoga have demanded of the Shawnee the surrender of the murderers. He further wrote that some Shawnee had brought the Shawnee murderers as far as Peter Chartier’s house, but there the party engaged in a drinking bout and through the connivance of Chartier the two murderers escaped. Chartier was

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Christian Post, Moravian Missionary and Messenger, Died April 29, 1785

Christian Frederic Post, who has been denominated “the great Moravian peace-maker,” was a simple uneducated missionary of the Moravian Church. He was born in Polish Prussia, in 1710, and at an early age came under the influence of the Moravians. He emigrated to this country as a member of the “Sea Congregation,” which arrived on the Catherine, at New London, Conn., May 30, 1742. Post, with the other members, joined the congregation at Bethlehem, Pa., three weeks later. From that time until his d

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Veterans of French and Indian Wars Organize April 30, 1765

As early as 1764 officers of the First and Second Battalions of Pennsylvania who had served under Colonel Henry Bouquet during the French and Indian War tarried at Bedford on their way home and formed an association. The purpose of this organization was that they be awarded the land to which they were entitled for service rendered. This association held another and more important meeting at Carlisle, April 30, 1765, when they elected officers and renewed their application to the proprietaries an

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British Foragers Massacre Americans at Crooked Billet, May 1, 1778

With the exception of occasional depredations committed by the British foraging parties during the winter of 1777–78, all was quiet on the Delaware. The vigilance of Generals James Potter and John Lacey greatly restrained these forays. In the meantime General Washington, with the aid of Baron von Steuben and other foreign officers in the Continental army, transformed the band of American patriots into a well-disciplined, well-drilled and confident army. General Wayne’s command was encamped durin

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General Edward Hand Relieved of Command Following Squaw Campaign May 2, 1778

For some time General Washington had believed that the permanent safety of the western section of Pennsylvania could only be secured by carrying on a successful war, in an aggressive manner, against the enemy in their own country. That determination was strengthened by the Commissioners of Congress, who met in Pittsburgh late in 1777, and learned first handed of the barbarous warfare carried on against the western frontier by the British under Henry Hamilton, then Governor of Detroit, with the a

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Evangelist Whitefield Bought Site for Negro School at Nazareth May 3, 1740

The Reverend George Whitefield was an exceeding earnest worker for the good of souls. He came to America and spent much of his time in Georgia, where he preached effectively and established an orphan house and school near Savannah, laying the first brick himself for the building, March 25, 1740. He named it “Bethesda”—a house of mercy. It afterward became eminently useful. Whitefield undertook to found a school for Negroes in Pennsylvania, and with it a settlement for persons converted in Englan

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Trial of Five Mollie Maguires for Murder of B. F. Yost Begun at Pottsville May 4, 1876

On May 4, 1876, James Carroll, Thomas Duffy, James Roarty, Hugh McGehan, and James Boyle, were placed on trial in Schuylkill County Court at Pottsville, for the murder of Benjamin F. Yost, of Tamaqua. The details of this revolting crime and the apprehension of the Mollie Maguires are of interest as they reveal the terrible horrors experienced in the anthracite coal fields during the reign of this lawless organization. James McParlan, the Pinkerton detective, who joined the Mollies under the alia

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French and Indian Wars—Lieutenant Governor Thomas Resigned May 5, 1747

Coincident with the announcement in the Assembly of the death of John Penn, one of the Proprietors, was the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Sir George Thomas, May 5, 1747, on account of ill-health. On the departure of Governor Thomas, the executive functions again devolved on the Provincial Council, of which Anthony Palmer was president; he served until the arrival of James Hamilton, son of Andrew Hamilton, former Speaker of the Assembly, as Lieutenant Governor, November 23, 1749. The harvest

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Work Begun on Building Braddock Road

Over Alleghenies May 6, 1755 Preparatory to the ill-fated expedition of General Braddock, which precipitated the forays of the French and Indians upon the unprotected frontiers of Pennsylvania, was the letter to Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, asking to have a road cut so that there might be communication between Philadelphia and the Three Forks of the Youghiogheny, both for the security of retreat and to facilitate the transport of provisions. These English officers were unacquainted with Ame

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George Croghan, King of Traders, Sent on

Mission to Logstown May 7, 1751 George Croghan and Andrew Montour were sent, May 7, 1751, to Logstown to carry a Provincial present to the Indians. While there the wily Irishman met Joncaire, the French Indian agent, but succeeded in outwitting him in diplomacy; and the chiefs ordered the French from their lands and reasserted their friendship for the English. At this time the Indians requested Croghan to ask Governor Hamilton to build a strong house on the Ohio River for the protection of their

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Pennsylvania Navy Meets British in Action, May 8, 1776

The Committee of Safety, which organized July 3, 1775, early in the following year, had a survey made of the Delaware River, with a view to its more extensive fortification. Leave was obtained from New Jersey to construct works on that side of the river; a permanent fort was determined upon at Billingsport; the fort at Fort Island was hurried to completion; it was decided to fortify Liberty Island, and additions were made to the chevaux-de-frise. To the naval flotilla were added the floating bat

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Bishop John Heyl Vincent, Founder of Chautauqua, Died May 9, 1920

General Grant once introduced Bishop J. H. Vincent to President Lincoln and said: “Dr. Vincent was my pastor at Galena (Illinois), and I do not think I missed one of his sermons while I lived there.” This same Bishop Vincent, of good old Pennsylvania stock and many years a resident of Pennsylvania, was the founder of the Chautauqua Assembly, next only to the public-school system in bringing to the masses of the people some share of their inheritance in the world’s great creations in art and lite

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Long Standing Boundary Line Dispute Between Maryland and Pennsylvania Proprietaries Signed May 10, 1732

In the boundary dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland Lord Baltimore had observations taken of the latitude of New Castle, Delaware, which showed that town to be 39° 39′ 30″, which would place the end of the fortieth degree many miles to the north, and its beginning far beyond the reach of the radius of twelve miles as called for by Lord Chief Justice North, of England. A degree of latitude is a band about sixty-nine and a half miles wide, extending around the earth parallel to the equator.

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Captain Stephen Chambers Fatally Wounded in Duel with Dr. Rieger May 11, 1789

In May, 1789, there was a brilliant banquet given at the public house of Colonel Mathias Slough, on the southeast corner of Penn Square and South Queen Street, Lancaster. This social function was attended by a large number of officers and soldiers who had fought in the Revolutionary War, among whom were Captain Stephen Chambers and Surgeon Jacob Rieger. Captain Chambers was neatly dressed in his military uniform, and in personal appearance was one of the finest-looking officers of that period. D

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War of 1812 Began in Pennsylvania with Message of Governor Snyder May 12, 1812

The inhabitants of the infant Nation believed that Great Britain had wantonly trampled on their rights, and on May 12, 1812, Governor Simon Snyder expressed the feelings of the people in his call for Pennsylvania’s quota of 14,000 militia, when he stated that for thirty years we had lived at peace with all the nations of the earth, while the storm of war had been desolating many countries of the civilized world, and that all means which wisdom and patience could devise had been in vain resorted

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Lieutenant Colonel Antes, Soldier and Frontiersman, Died May 13, 1820

Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Antes died at his stockaded home, long known as Antes’ Fort, May 13, 1820, aged eighty-three years. This pioneer statesman and soldier was an early settler on the frontier of Pennsylvania, a member of a distinguished family in the Province, an officer of the Revolution, Sheriff of Northumberland County during the stirring days of the Wyoming controversy, and an ardent patriot whose influence, both in civic and military affairs, was most potent a century and a quarte

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Provincial Council Hears of Border Trouble May 14, 1734

Thomas and John Penn, the Proprietaries, arrived in the Province, the former in 1732, and his elder brother, John, two years later. They were cordially and affectionately received by the colonists as the sons of the most illustrious founder. John Penn remained only one year, as he hurried back to England to oppose the pretensions pretensions of Lord Baltimore, but Thomas Penn remained for some years in the Province, spending his time generally after the manner of an English country gentleman. He

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Dr. Nicholas More, First Chief Justice, Impeached May 15, 1685

William Penn appointed his cousin, Captain William Markham, Deputy Governor, and he arrived in the Province in October, 1681. He then appointed commissioners to lay out the proposed great city, who came over toward the end of that year. The commissioners, as originally appointed were William Crispin, Nathaniel Allen and John Bezar. These commissioners sailed in the ship John and Sarah, taking the southern passage and stopping at Barbadoes, where Crispin died. Crispin was head of the commission,

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Massacre at French Jacob Groshong’s in Union County, May 16, 1780

In the spring of 1780 occurred an Indian massacre at what was then known as French Jacob’s Mill. The site of this fatal attack is on a farm long in the possession of the Wohlheiter family, situated about one-half a mile southeast of the Forest House, at the end of Brush Valley Narrows, in what is now Union County. Here in 1776 Jacob Groshong, or French Jacob, as he was called by his neighbors, built a log mill, which was patronized by the settlers for many miles around. On May 16, 1780, a patrol

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Indian War Known as Pontiac Conspiracy Opened May 17, 1763

General John Forbes and his invincible army invested the ruins of Fort Duquesne, November 24, 1758. There was no attempt made to restore the old fortification, but about one year later work was begun on a new fort, under the personal direction of General John Stanwix, who succeeded General Forbes, which has since been known as Fort Pitt. It was built near the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela unite their waters, but a little farther inland than the site of Fort Duquesne. The exact date o

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Meschianza, Stupendous Entertainment for Sir Wm. Howe, May 18, 1778

The British spent the winter of 1777–78 in Philadelphia, and while the Americans were suffering at Valley Forge, Sir William Howe’s army enjoyed one long round of pleasure in the capital city. The officers entertained themselves with fetes, dances and theatre parties, and they played cricket and had cock-fights. As Franklin said: “Howe did not take Philadelphia—Philadelphia took Howe.” Howe was criticized at home, where he was regarded as indolent in command and he resigned. Sir Henry Clinton su

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Colonel Pluck Parades His Celebrated “Bloody Eighty-Fourth” Regiment,

May 19, 1825 An amusing sensation started in 1824 continued to attract attention in Philadelphia during the following year. There had been more or less laxity in the various militia organizations in the election of their officers and this was much more evident in Philadelphia than elsewhere in the State. John Pluck, an ignorant hostler, was elected colonel of the Eighty-fourth Regiment as a joke and to ridicule the militia system, which at that moment was very unpopular with the members. This el

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Lafayette Executes Skillful Retreat at Matson’s Ford, May 20, 1778

As an appropriate closing to the round of dissipation in which the British Army had indulged during its occupation of Philadelphia, the officers gave a magnificent entertainment, called the Meschianza, in honor of Sir William Howe, as commander-in-chief of the British Army in America. This stupendous folly was given May 18, 1778, at the Wharton mansion. Shortly after the close of the entertainment, on the following day, the British commander was informed that General Lafayette with 2400 men and

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Stephen Girard, Resident of Philadelphia by Accident, Born May 21, 1750

Stephen Girard was born near Bordeaux, France, May 21, 1750, the son of a sea captain. At the age of eight a little playmate threw an oyster shell into the open fire, it cracked, a piece struck Stephen and put out his right eye. The other boys of the neighborhood made fun of the one-eyed lad, which, with the sternness of his parents soured Stephen’s disposition, and he became sullen and gloomy. His mother died, and Stephen could no longer bear to live at home. Although but fourteen he sailed as

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Philadelphia Paid Homage to Lady Washington, May 22, 1789

The completion of the Federal Constitution and its adoption by ten of the United States was celebrated on July 4, 1788, by a great procession in the City of Philadelphia. And it was truly a great affair, far surpassing in extent and magnificence anything of the kind the young Nation had yet known. Immediately after the close of the constitutional convention which this pageant celebrated, General Washington, who had presided over the convention as its president, left Philadelphia for his home at

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Moravian Mission at Wyalusing Established May 23, 1763

During the month of May, 1760, Christian Frederic Post, the renowned Moravian, on his way with a message from James Hamilton, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, to the Great Indian Council at Onondaga, the seat of government of the Six Nations, stopped overnight at Wyalusing in now Bradford County. At the request of Papunhank, the chief of the Munsee, and the other Indians, he preached a sermon. Among those in the crowd on that occasion were Job Chilloway, the friendly Delaware

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Peaceful Family of Chief Logan Slain by Whites, May 24, 1774

In the spring of the year 1774, at a time when the Indians seemed to be quiet and tranquil, a party of Virginians attacked the Mingo settlement, on the Ohio River, and slaughtered the entire population, even the women with their children in their arms, and members of the great Chief Logan’s family were among the slain. This tragic event occurred on May 24, 1774, and according to the common belief at the time was perpetrated by Captain Michael Cresap, and a party who deliberately set out to kill

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Hamilton Pleads with Governor of Maryland for Release of Pennsylvanians, May 25, 1734

Thomas Penn informed the Council, May 14, 1734, that the business then to be considered by them related to some very unneighborly proceedings in the province of Maryland, in not only harassing some of the inhabitants of this province who live on the border, but likewise extending their claims much farther than has heretofore been pretended to be Maryland, and carrying off several persons and imprisoning them. Governor Penn then advised the Council that Marylanders had entered the settlements of

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General Sullivan Arrives at Easton to Subdue Six Nations, May 26, 1779

In the summer of 1778 Colonel Thomas Hartley made a successful expedition against the Six Nations Indians, marching from Fort Muncy, in present Lycoming County, to Tioga, covering 300 miles in two weeks. His army destroyed every Indian town, defeated the Indians in each encounter and brought off much food and Indian goods. The settlers, who had taken flight, now ventured back and harvested their crops, but by spring the Indians had become bolder and more treacherous than ever before. The attenti

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Patriotic Women Feed Soldiers at Cooper Shop and Union Saloons, May 27, 1861

During the Civil War Philadelphia lay in the channel of the great stream of volunteers from New England, New York, New Jersey and part of Pennsylvania, that commenced flowing early in May, 1861. Working in grand harmony the national and more extended organizations for the relief of the soldiers, were houses of refreshment and temporary hospital accommodations accommodations furnished by the citizens of Philadelphia. The soldiers crossing New Jersey, and the Delaware River at Camden, were landed

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Colonel William Clapham and Family Murdered by Indians, May 28, 1763

Colonel William Clapham was an English officer who rendered conspicuous service on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and who, like many others, paid the price with his scalp in the uneven warfare waged by the Indians and their French allies. William Clapham was born in England July 5, 1722, and after graduating from college, entered the army as an ensign. He was sent to America during the French and Indian War. He subsequently resigned his commission and took up his residence in Philadelphia, where

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Free Society of Traders Organized with Aid of Penn, May 29, 1682

Soon as William Penn received the grant of land in America which is now Pennsylvania, he immediately issued advertisements in which certain concessions were offered to settlers. Among those who made application for large quantities of land were companies organized for colonization purposes. One such company was “The Free Society of Traders,” whose plans Penn favored and whose constitution and charter he helped to draw. The first general court of this society was held in London May 29, 1682, at w

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Davy, the Lame Indian, Surrenders at Fort Pitt, May 30, 1783

During the morning of May 30, 1783, an Indian was discovered sitting on a porch in Pittsburgh, holding in his hand a light pole. When a girl of the household responded to his alarm he asked her in broken English for milk. She told members of the family that the Indian was a mere skeleton and they appeared on the porch and found him so thin and emaciated that they could scarcely detect any flesh upon his bones. One of his limbs had been wounded, and the pole had been used as a sort of crutch. On

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Thousands of Lives Lost in Johnstown Flood, May 31, 1889

When an avalanche of water swept down the Conemaugh Valley destroying everything in its descent, including the thriving city of Johnstown, containing thirty thousand souls, many great industrial establishments were nearly wiped from the earth, many thousands were drowned or burned to death, and property worth many millions was destroyed. This disaster was so far beyond all experience that it is difficult for the mind to grasp it. Johnstown was a community of seven or eight towns with a combined

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General John Bull, Officer of Province and the Continental Army, Born June 1, 1731

General John Bull was one of the distinguished patriots of the Province and State and a veteran of the French and Indian War, a trusted agent of the Proprietaries to the Indians, an early adherent of the colonists, a member of the first Constitutional Convention, an officer of troops and builder of forts, a member of the Board of War and of the General Assembly, a prominent citizen in every particular, yet one of whose life little is known. John Bull was born in Providence Township, now Montgome

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Liberty Bell Hung in Old State House on June 2, 1753

Though not the largest nor yet the oldest, but to all Americans by far the most celebrated bell is the grand old “Liberty Bell,” whose tones on July 4, 1776, proclaimed the birthday of our Nation. This historic bell was originally cast in London, in 1752, for the State House in Philadelphia. There it hung in the belfry of Independence Hall until July 8, 1835, when it cracked while tolling the news of the death of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States. In the Centennial year, 1876, a

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Transit of Venus Observed in Yard of State House June 3, 1769

The year 1769 was memorable in the annals of astronomy, owing to the transit of Venus over the sun’s disc, which occurred June 3. Astronomers throughout the entire world were anxious to make an observation of this celestial phenomenon, which would not occur again until 1874. The great interest centered in this observation arose from the fact that by means of it the distance between the heavenly bodies could be more accurately calculated. It was the belief that the transits of Venus afforded the

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Indians Succeed in Destroying Presqu' Isle, June 4, 1763

In 1763 Pontiac’s grand scheme of destroying all the English forts was completed, and it was determined the attack should be made simultaneously on June 4. Henry L. Harvey, in the Erie Observer, gives the following account of the attack on Fort Presqu' Isle. “The troops had retired to their quarters to procure their morning repast; some had already finished, and were sauntering about the fortress or the shores of the lake. All were joyous, in holiday attire and dreaming of nought but the pleasur

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James Pollock Nominated by Know Nothing Party, June 5, 1854

Governor William Bigler’s administration was universally acceptable to his party, and even his most earnest political opponents found little ground for criticism, but when he came up for re-election two entirely new and unexpected factors confronted him and doomed him to defeat on issues which had no relation to the administration of State affairs. First of these was the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and second, the advent of the secret American, or Know Nothing Party. The American, or Know

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John Penn Found First Wife Dying After Second Marriage, June 6, 1766

A sad incident in the life of John Penn has been told in the story of Tulliallan. [2] While Richard and Thomas Penn, sons of the founder, were selecting plate they intended to present to the English battleship Admiral Penn, John, the seventeen-year-old son of Richard, accompanied them to the establishment of James Cox, the silversmith. 2 . The first of a delightful collection of folk lore and legends collected and published as “Allegheny Episodes,” by Colonel Henry W. Shoemaker, 1922. During thi

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Colonel William Clapham Began Erection of Fort Halifax, June 7, 1756

Early in the year of 1756 Governor Morris commissioned Lieutenant Colonel William Clapham to recruit the “Augusta Regiment” and build Fort Augusta, at Shamokin, now Sunbury. Clapham rendezvoused his troops at Hunter’s Mills, also known as Fort Hunter and then started his march up the river toward Shamokin. The first camp was established at Armstrong’s, where on June 7 the commander wrote to Governor Morris saying this was the “most convenient place on the river between Harris’ and Shamokin for a

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Earliest Court Removed from Upland to Kingsesse June 8, 1680

At a court held at Upland, now Chester, “on ye 2d Tuesday, being ye 8th day of ye month of June in ye 32 yeare of his Majesty’s Raigne Anno Dom. 1680,” with Otto Ernest Cock, Israel Helm, Henry Jones and Laurens Cock, as justices, there was a busy session and much business of importance transacted. James Sandelands sued Hanna Salter for the account due him of two hundred and seven gilders, and the Court ordered judgment to be entered with costs, with stay of execution until the defendant could g

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Last Purchase from Indians Caused by Boundary Dispute, June 9, 1769

One important feature of the last treaty made with the Indians at Fort Stanwix, October, 1784, was the settlement of the difficulties which had existed for sixteen years among the white settlers over the disputed boundary line embraced by Tiadaghton. It was contended by some that Lycoming Creek was this line, and by others that it was Pine Creek. The territory between these streams is that which lies between the present City of Williamsport and Jersey Shore, and includes nearly half of the prese

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Massacre at Lycoming Creek, Present Williamsport, June 10, 1778

As early as 1773 settlers had made improvements at the mouth of Lycoming Creek, where the city of Williamsport now stands. For the next three or four years there was no protection for settlers between there and Antes Fort, about thirteen miles west. Some brave spirits, among whom were William King, Robert Covenhoven, and James Armstrong, built a stockade inclosure at the mouth of the Lycoming. This was located near what is now Fourth and Cemetery Streets, Williamsport. The rumors of a descent by

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Colonel William Crawford Captured by Indians June 11, 1782

During the spring of 1782 the Indians, who had removed the seat of their depredations and war to the western frontiers of Pennsylvania, and Eastern Ohio, assembled in large numbers at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, which they used as place of general rendezvous and from which they went out to the places they decided in council should be attacked and destroyed. The principal places to which they made incursions were along the Ohio River, especially in Western Pennsylvania. So serious was the situation alo

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Death of Colonel Crawford and Escape of Dr. Knight June 12, 1782

The terrible disaster which occurred to the Pennsylvania militiamen under command of Colonel William Crawford, June 10, 1782, was one of the most unfortunate which is recorded in annals of border warfare. The Indians under Captain Pipe and Chief Wyngenim, Delaware chieftains, and that white savage Simon Girty, the renegade, had surrounded the militiamen and captured or killed the entire command, except a small detachment under Lieutenant Colonel David Williamson, which made a miraculous escape t

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Conrad Weiser and Family Arrive in America June 13, 1710

During the early days of the eighteenth century many Germans, or “Palatines” as they were called, came to America. Many of them settled near Albany, New York. Among these Germans were John Conrad Weiser and his son Conrad, who arrived in New York June 13, 1710, and settled on Livingston Manor, in Columbia County, N. Y. Conrad was then a lad of fourteen, being born November 2, 1696, near Wurtemberg, Germany. The company of which the Weisers were members did not prosper in their new home; many of

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United States Flag Adopted by Act of Congress June 14, 1777

On June 14, 1777, Continental Congress resolved “that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white, in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” The flag was a modification of the so-called “Great Union Flag,” used since January 2, 1776, when it was raised in the camp on Prospect Hill. Before that time different flags had been used under authority of the several provinces. In autumn, 1775, Philadelphia floatin

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French Plant Leaden Plates to Prove Possession on June 15, 1749

The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which was concluded October 1, 1748, secured peace between Great Britain and France, and should have put an end to all hostile encounters between their representatives on the American continent. This treaty was supposed to have settled all difficulties between the two courts, but the French were determined to occupy the whole territory drained by the Mississippi, which they claimed by priority of discovery by La Salle. The British complained to the French Governmen

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Penns Secure First Manor West of Susquehanna June 16, 1722

Governor Sir William Keith’s visit to the Indians at Conestoga in June, 1721, produced a strong impression upon the minds of the aborigines whom he met. The chiefs of the Six Nations who had been present at this conference, told of its success to their people. The Conestoga and other tribes of Indians along the Susquehanna River seemed to look upon Lieutenant-Governor Keith with almost the same favor and regard which they entertained for William Penn. Keith determined to secure a right and title

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British and Tory Refugees Evacuate Philadelphia June 17, 1778

Sir William Howe had found the occupation of Philadelphia a barren conquest, and the evacuation of the city was felt by General Washington to be so certain only a question of time that as early as March, 1778, he began to collect wagons and organize teams for the transportation service of his army, when it should be required to march after the enemy. Howe’s proper point for operations was New York, and Washington felt sure he would return thither. Instead of that, however, Howe yielded to the co

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Provincial Conference Meets at Carpenters’ Hall June 18, 1776

In April, 1776, the Assembly renewed its instructions to the Pennsylvania delegates in Congress not to give their consent to a separation or a change of the Proprietary Government. But Congress, May 15, recommended State governments in the colonies, and declared that all authority under the Crown should be totally suppressed. On June 8, the day after Richard Henry Lee, in Congress, had proposed the independence of the colonies, the Pennsylvania Assembly gave instructions which neither advised no

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Massacre at Indian Town of Standing Stone on June 19, 1777

As an Indian post of ancient date, few are better known than Standing Stone, the present site of the beautiful borough of Huntingdon, on the Juniata. It was here where two of the great Indian paths crossed, one leading on to Kittanning and the west, the other to Bedford and the Potomac. The earliest maps of which we have any record indicate that an important Indian village was situated at this point. Standing Stone was known to the Indians by the name of Achsinnink, meaning original stone. The w

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Moravians Dedicate First Church West of Alleghenies June 20, 1771

The first church building dedicated to the worship of God west of the Allegheny Mountains was the chapel built by Reverend David Zeisberger, at Friedenstadt, on the Big Beaver, in now Beaver County, Pennsylvania. In 1743 Zeisberger was at Shamokin laboring as a Moravian missionary among the Indians, with the approbation and support of the great Shikellamy. This mission was broken up in 1756, and for several years Zeisberger assisted in ministering to the Christian Indians, for whom the Provincia

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Revolutionary Forces Threaten Executive Council June 21, 1783

A change in the British Ministry had encouraged Dr. Benjamin Franklin to renew his efforts for a peaceful adjustment, and after working with the utmost industry and skill throughout the summer and most of the autumn of 1782, he had the satisfaction of seeing his labors crowned with success. A preliminary treaty of peace between the Colonies and Great Britain was signed at Paris, November 30, 1782, but the news did not reach this country until March 12, 1783, when the packet George Washington, Ca

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Colonel Turbutt Francis Marches Provincial Troops to Wyoming June 22, 1769

The Connecticut people had gained complete possession of the Wyoming Valley at the conclusion of the so-called first Pennanite-Yankee War, in 1769. These Yankees entered with enthusiasm upon their agricultural pursuit, while their surveyors were employed in running out the five townships which had been allotted to the actual settlers by the Connecticut authorities. But no one supposed that peace and security were finally yielded them by their alert and powerful Pennsylvania opponents. Captain Am

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Pennsylvanian Makes First Report in Congress for Railway to Pacific June 23, 1848

James Pollock had exhibited unusual personal and political strength in carrying at three consecutive elections his Democratic congressional district. He was first chosen to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Congressman General Henry Frick, then again in 1844 and 1846 he won his re-election. He was one of the younger members, but during his nearly six sessions of service he exhibited not only great efficiency, but he was in advance of most of his older associates in heartily sustaining al

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John Binns, English Politician and Editor, Died June 24, 1860

Editor John Binns died in Philadelphia June 24, 1860, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years, each one of which was one of prominence, either in England or America. In 1854 he wrote the “Recollections of the Life of John Binns; Twenty-nine Years in Europe and Fifty-three in the United States.” In the introduction he says: “Soon after my arrival in the United States, which was on the first day of September, 1801, I was urged by the late Dr. Joseph Priestley, his son Joseph, and Thomas Cooper,

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First Deed for Chester County Conveyed to William Penn, June 25, 1683

The territory now included in Chester County was honorably purchased of the Indians by William Penn and conveyed in several distinct deeds. The first, bearing date June 25, 1683, and signed by an Indian called Wingebone, conveys to William Penn all his lands on the west side of the Schuylkill, beginning at the first falls and extending along and back from that river, in the language of the instrument, “so far as my right goeth.” By another deed of July 14, 1683, two chiefs granted to the Proprie

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Colonel Timothy Pickering Abducted by Yankees at Wyoming June 26, 1787

The County of Luzerne was erected from parts of Northumberland County by act of September 26, 1786. The act of December 27, 1786, provided, “That Timothy Pickering, Zebulon Butler and John Franklin notify the electors that an election would be holden to choose a Counsellor, member of the Assembly, Sheriff, Coroner, and Commissioners on the first day of February.” Colonel Pickering was one of the eminent men in the Union. He had the confidence of Washington and Congress, having executed with fide

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Ewell’s Force of Rebels Made Raid on Carlisle June 27, 1863

General A. G. Jenkins, of the Southern Confederacy, with nearly 1000 cavalry, entered Chambersburg June 16, 1863. On June 23 his advance force re-entered the town when the Union troops fell back. On June 27 this advance force moved eastward toward Carlisle. General Knipe, commanding the Union troops, abandoned Carlisle on the approach of the enemy, considering it a folly to offer resistance to so formidable an invader. Accordingly, the rebels were met by Colonel W. M. Penrose and Robert Allison,

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British Flag Captured by Pennsylvanians in Battle of Monmouth June 28, 1778

Just before dawn June 18, 1778, the British began their evacuation of Philadelphia. They crossed the Delaware, and that evening encamped around Haddonfield, N. J. The news of this evacuation reached Washington, at Valley Forge, before morning. He immediately sent General Maxwell, with his brigade, to co-operate with the New Jersey militia, under General Dickinson, in retarding the march of the British. They were 17,000 strong, marching in two divisions, one under Cornwallis and the other led by

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Duke of York Receives New Patent for His Grant, June 29, 1674

The English claimed the right to the country upon the South, or Delaware River, because of the fact that John Cabot sailed up and down the Atlantic coast. Captain Thomas Young and his nephew, Robert Evelin, under a commission from King Charles “to go forth and discover lands in America,” arrived in the South River July 24, 1634. They remained at the mouth of the Schuylkill five days, and made two attempts to pass beyond the falls near Trenton. They built a fort at a place called Eriwoneck, proba

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Provincial Government and Indians Open Conference June 30, 1742

In September, 1737, occurred the so-called “Walking Purchase,” by which there passed from the lands of the Delaware Indians into those of the Proprietaries, the upper portion of Bucks County, a large slice of Carbon County, and one-fourth each of Monroe and Pike counties, an area of 1200 square miles. The “walk” upon which the purchase was made was a deception and as a consequence caused trouble for the Proprietaries for many years. The lands at the “Forks” of the Delaware were still in the occu

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Decisive Battle of Gettysburg Opened Wednesday, July 1, 1863

The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 2 and 3, 1863, marked the high tide of the Civil War. Here General Robert E. Lee hoped to win a victory which would compel the withdrawal of Union troops from other parts of the country, secure recognition of the Confederacy by foreign Governments, carry panic into the North and furnish supplies for his hungry troops. Fresh from his brilliant victory at Chancellorsville, he moved north until his van was within sight of Harrisburg, and there, learning that Genera

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Sickles’ Corps Holds Confederates Off Both Round Tops at Gettysburg July 2, 1863

During the night of July 1 the two army commanders hurried up their troops to Gettysburg, but it was on the night of July 2 before the last of Sedgwick’s Sixth Corps and the last of Longstreet’s First Corps came into position. Meantime, at Hanover Junction, twelve miles east of Gettysburg, Kilpatrick was fighting Stuart, and, having whipped him and forced the enemy cavalry around to the left and rear of the Confederate Army, he took his position on the west of the Emmetsburg road, a mile and a h

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British and Indians Massacre Hundreds at Wyoming July 3, 1778

The year 1778 brought great distress and fear to the frontier generally, but particularly to Wyoming. The defeat and surrender of Burgoyne, at Saratoga, in October, 1777, had left the British without sufficient available force in America to carry on a regular campaign for this year, and as the war was to be continued, the only resource left to the British commanders was to employ the Indians and Tories almost exclusively in carrying on a war of desolation on the frontier. Late in June Colonel Jo

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Declaration of Independence Adopted by Congress July 4, 1776

Continental Congress was confronted with a serious situation when it convened in the early winter of 1775. John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, continued to be one of the most important members. He was placed on the committee to correspond with foreign Powers and was intrusted with the framing of the Articles of Confederation. The majority of Congress were now determined to destroy the authority of the British King, and, although Dickinson held the Pennsylvania delegation, with the exception of Benj

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Massacre at Wyoming Followed by “The Great Runaway” on July 5, 1778

The great massacre at Wyoming occurred on July 3, 1778, and as the news passed down the North Branch of the Susquehanna and spread over the hills and valleys leading to the West Branch Valley it caused a general stampede, a wild, precipitate flight of the settlers from the upper region which has ever since been known as the “Great Runaway.” The history of Pennsylvania has failed to record any flight of its inhabitants, either in numbers or the harrowing details of its movement, comparable with t

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John Conrad Beissel, Founder of Ephrata Society, Died There July 6, 1768

The founder of the German religious society of Seventh Day Baptists at Ephrata was Reverend John Conrad Beissel, who died there July 6, 1768. Beissel was born in Eberbach, Germany, in 1690, learned the trade of a baker, and came to America in 1720. He embraced the religious views of Alexander Mock, lived as a recluse for several years and at different points, and finally located on the banks of the Cocalico Creek in Lancaster County, February 4, 1732. Here he continued to live as a hermit and ad

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Riots in Philadelphia Brought to an End on July 7, 1844

Between the years 1843 and 1844 a spirit of turbulence, riot and disorder seemed prevalent throughout the United States. Philadelphia felt the influence, which first manifested itself in 1834. On August 12, 1834, a riot took place which was much more serious than any occurrence of that character previously known. A meeting house, near the Wharton Market, was torn down and many colored people assaulted and badly beaten and their houses ransacked. In October following occurred the Robb’s Row riot,

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Widow Smith’s Mill Destroyed by Indians on July 8, 1779

During the year 1774 Catherine Smith, widow of Peter Smith, commenced building a large grist mill near the mouth of White Deer Creek, in the present Union County, which she completed the following year. When Peter Smith died in the fall of 1773, he left his widow and ten children with no estate to support his family, except a location for three hundred acres of land, including the mouth of White Deer Creek, whereon was an excellent mill seat. His widow was of the type who did not sit idly by and

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General Braddock Defeated by French and Indians July 9, 1755

General Edward Braddock arrived in March, 1755, at Alexandria, Virginia, and at the head of two Irish regiments, under Colonels Dunbar and Halket, marched to Fredericksburg, Maryland. This distinguished officer was sent to command an expedition against the French at Fort Duquesne. He commenced his march from Wills Creek, now called Cumberland, Md., June 10, 1755, with 2000 men, regulars and provincials. Braddock was haughty and egotistical and entertained no doubt of his success. He advised the

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“Sawdust War” in Williamsport Lumber Regions Began July 10, 1872

In the decade from 1870 to 1880, Williamsport was the largest lumbering center in the United States. Everywhere Williamsport was known as “The Lumber City.” It was customary to send gangs into the woods in winter to cut down the trees, saw them into logs and pile them on the banks of small streams and afterward, when the water was at flood height in the spring, to roll them into the streams whence they floated down the river to Williamsport, where they were caught in the big boom and rafted to t

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Moravians Visit Indian Town of Great Island, July 11, 1748

Great Island, situated on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, a short distance east of Lock Haven and opposite the mouth of Bald Eagle Creek, was a favorite camping place and council grounds for the Indians. An Indian village was situated on this island, which is frequently mentioned in the early records of the Province. In the year 1745 David Brainerd, a missionary stationed at Shamokin, tells in his journal of a journey which he took up the West Branch. In this he speaks of extending his

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Riots in Philadelphia Caused by Boy Assaulting Master, July 12, 1835

Feelings of animosity against people of color had been manifested in Philadelphia for several years, and were again brought forth conspicuously through a most unfortunate circumstance July 12, 1835. Robert E. Stewart, a prominent citizen of Philadelphia, who had been United States Consul to Trinidad, resided on the east side of Sixth Street, between Prune and Walnut. He had in his service an African boy, called Juan, who was a native of the Eboe nation, the representatives of which bore the char

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Hannastown, Seat of Justice for Westmoreland County, Burned by Indians July 13, 1782

The county of Westmoreland was established by the Provincial Assembly, February 26, 1773, and the courts directed to be held at Hannastown. This was the first place west of the Allegheny Mountains where justice was dispensed according to the legal forms by the white man. Hannastown contained about thirty habitations and a few crude cabins. Most of the former were two stories high and built of hewn logs. There was also a wooden court house, a jail and a stockade, both built of logs. Robert Hanna,

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George Ross, Lawyer, Iron Manufacturer, Soldier, Statesman, Patriot, Signer of Declaration of Independence, Died July 14, 1779

The Philadelphia Packet, July 15, 1779, contained this item: “Yesterday died at his seat near this city, the Honorable George Ross, Judge of Admiralty of this State.” He was interred in the churchyard of Christ’s Church, Philadelphia, the day following his death. The Supreme Executive Council attended the obsequies in a body. George Ross, the son of Reverend George Ross, minister of the Established Church, and Catherine Van Gezel Ross, was born in New Castle, Lower Counties, May 10, 1730. He was

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Provincial Convention Ends Proprietary Government July 15, 1776

During the debate in the Continental Congress upon the Declaration of Independence, the old Provincial Government of Pennsylvania received such a mortal blow, that it soon expired without a sigh, ending forever the proprietary and royal authority in Pennsylvania. In the meantime the Committee of Correspondence for Philadelphia issued a circular to all the county committees calling for a conference in that city on June 18, 1776. This conference unanimously resolved “that the present Government of

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Gibson’s Lambs Start on Expedition for Powder, July 16, 1776

Powder has always been an essential product in every epoch of the stirring history of our country. The situation was always serious, but on the western side of the Allegheny Mountains there were many times when the settlers were in desperate situation on account of little or no powder. In times of peace the powder used in these western counties was purchased with furs, and every farmer had a quantity in his home for both hunting and defense, but when the Revolution broke out the demand was great

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Virginia Sends Captain John Neville to Command Fort Pitt, July 17, 1775

By the original charter of Virginia the northern boundary of that colony was supposed to be at the end of the fortieth degree, which was as far north as Philadelphia. This charter was dissolved in 1624, and instead of narrowing the limits of Virginia it apparently increased them. Virginia became a royal province without any definite boundaries, and she considered herself as a keeper or trustee for the King of England of all contiguous territory not lawfully granted to another colony. The Marylan

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Susquehanna Company Organized in Connecticut, July 18, 1753

Early charters granted to Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia and the Carolinas made the Pacific Ocean the nominal western boundary of those colonies. Prior occupancy by the Dutch and the settlement of the boundaries had created an exception in favor of New York and New Jersey, but all the country west of the Delaware River within the same parallel of latitude with Connecticut was still claimed by that colony as part of her domain. The southern boundary was to be a straight line beginning at th

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Tom Quick, the Indian Killer and Picturesque Character, Born July 19, 1734

Early in the year 1733 a Hollander, named Thomas Quick, came to the colony of New York, a few months later located on the Delaware River, on what afterward became known as Upper Smithfield, near where Milford, Pike County, now stands. He appears to have been the pioneer settler on the Pennsylvania side; here he cleared lands, erected a log cabin and barns, and raised wheat and maize. A son was born July 19, 1734, named Thomas, and he was familiarly known in after years as Tom Quick, the Indian k

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William Maclay, First United States Senator, Born in Chester, July 20, 1737

William Maclay, son of Charles and Eleanor Query Maclay, was born July 20, 1737, in New Garden Township, Chester County, Pa. He attended the classical school of the Reverend John Blair, in Chester County. He studied law and was admitted to practice at the York County bar in 1760. During the French and Indian War he served as a lieutenant in Colonel Hugh Mercer’s battalion, and distinguished himself during General Forbes expedition in 1758. In 1763 he participated at the Battle of Bushy Run, and

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Colonel James Cameron, First Pennsylvania Officer Killed in Civil War July 21, 1861

It may not be generally known that the first officer of his rank to be killed in the Civil War was none other than Colonel James Cameron, who commanded the Seventy-ninth New York Highlanders, yet was a native of Lancaster County, Pa., a resident of this State, and a brother of the distinguished General Simon Cameron. The Cameron family in America is of fighting stock, descendants of the Camerons of Scotland, who shared their fortunes with the disastrous Charles Edward, whose star of hope went do

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Battle of Minisink Fought Opposite Lackawaxen July 22, 1779

On July 22, 1779, near what is now the little town of Lackawaxen, Pike County, Pa., was fought one of the fiercest Indian battles on record. This massacre actually took place in the State of New York at Minisink, where the town of Port Jervis, Orange County, now is. Only the Delaware River separated the battleground from Pike County, in this State. The Shawnee at Minisink are said to have built a town on the east side of the Delaware, three miles south of the mouth of Flat Brook, which was calle

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General Howe Sails From New York to Capture Philadelphia, July 23, 1777

General Howe, commander of the British forces in America, sailed with his army from New York, July 23, 1777, to make a mighty effort to end the Revolution by capturing Philadelphia, the seat of government of the Continental Congress. His intentions were to approach the city by the Delaware. Soon as this became known every effort was made for the defense of the river. Howe experienced much difficulty, therefore, in navigating his immense naval armament and meeting these obstructions in the Delawa

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Captain John Smith Sails From Jamestown, July 24, 1608, to Explore Chesapeake Bay

Two Indian messengers hurried to the Susquehannock Indian town situated on the banks of the Susquehanna River, in what is now Lancaster County, in midsummer, 1608, and brought the tidings that there were strangers arrived in the great bay who wished to see them. The Susquehanna Indians, or Susquehannocks, as they are usually called, went to meet these white men, whom they believed to be gods worthy of worship. The strangers were thirteen in number, and under the leadership of Captain John Smith,

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Colonel Thompson’s Battalion of Riflemen Among First to Reach Boston, July 25, 1775

Colonel Thompson’s Battalion of Riflemen, so styled in General Washington’s general orders, was one of the Pennsylvania regiments in the Revolutionary War of which every citizen has pardonable right to be proud. This command was enlisted in the latter part of June, and in the beginning of July, 1775, in pursuance of a resolution of Congress, dated June 14, for raising six companies of expert riflemen in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia, which, as soon as completed, were to join

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Indians Massacre Inhabitants in the Conococheague Valley on July 26, 1756

July 26 is a date which recalls to the minds of many inhabitants of the present Franklin County two atrocities committed by Indians, either of which is horrible in its every detail. On July 26, 1756, the Indians killed Joseph Martin, and took captive two brothers, named John and James McCullough, all residents of the Conococheague settlement. This was followed, August 27, with a great slaughter, wherein the Indians killed thirty-nine persons, near the mouth of the Conococheague Creek. Early in N

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Ruffians Mob Pastor and Cause Organization of First Moravian Church July 27, 1742

An affair occurred in Philadelphia July 27, 1742, which, disgraceful as were the proceedings, was the means of establishing a separate Moravian Church in that city. Count Nicholas Ludwig Zinzindorf arrived in Philadelphia, December 10, 1741. He came with the hope of uniting all Protestant Christians into a confederacy or league. Almost immediately upon his arrival Henry Antes, a pious wheel-wright and farmer in Falkner’s Swamp, now Frederick Township, Montgomery County, invited Zinzindorf to att

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British and Seneca Indian Allies Destroy Fort Freeland, July 28, 1779

Many Pennsylvanians may not know that a definite, well-planned battle of the Revolution was fought far up in old Northumberland County. This is a fact and until now this battle has only been known of as an ordinary Indian incursion. Such was not the case. True there were Indians in the battle of Fort Freeland, July 28, 1779, and they were the ferocious Seneca, 300 of them under the command of Hiokatoo, the most bloodthirsty and cruel Indian of whom we have any direct evidence. After Colonel Thom

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First Newspaper West of the Allegheny Mountains, the Gazette, of Pittsburgh, Established July 29, 1786

The first newspaper published west of the Allegheny Mountains was the Pittsburgh Gazette which made its initial bow to the public, July 29, 1786, and today, one hundred and thirty-eight years later, it is the largest paper published in the world’s greatest industrial district. When the United States were yet very young, in fact, before the Federal Constitution was even proposed, before Washington was elected president, when the small cluster of log huts, protected by a stockade called Fort Pitt,

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Chambersburg Sacked and Burned by McCausland’s Rebel Force July 30, 1864

Three times during the Civil War the rebel horde rode into Pennsylvania, but two occasions stand out as conspicuous. First when Lee, with nearly 90,000 troops, in personal command, marched to his Waterloo at Gettysburg, the other was when three thousand Confederates were sent by General Early into Pennsylvania to burn Chambersburg in retaliation for General Hunter’s disgraceful and disastrous raid into Virginia. General Darius N. Couch was in command of the Union forces at Chambersburg. Although

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Carlisle Indian School Established by Congress, July 31, 1882

The first non-reservation school established by the Government was at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and was only recently discontinued. This school had its inception in the untiring efforts of General R. H. Pratt, U. S. A., when a lieutenant in charge of Indian prisoners of war at old Fort San Marco, St. Augustine, Florida, from May 11, 1875, to April 14, 1878. When the release of these prisoners was ordered twenty-two of the young men were led to ask for further education, agreeing to remain in the e

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French and Indians Attack and Burn Fort Granville, August 1,1756

Fort Granville was about one mile west of the present town of Lewistown, immediately on the north bank of the Juniata River and westward of the mouth of the Kishcoquillas Creek about one mile. There was a spring in the enclosure of the fort which was destroyed when the canal was dug at that place. No other evidences of this fort are seen today. This was one of a chain of forts erected on the west side of the Susquehanna. Fort Shirley, at Aughwick, was fifteen miles southwest, and Fort Patterson,

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Colonel Lochry Musters Westmoreland County Troops August 2, 1781

In 1781, General George Rogers Clark, of Virginia, raised an expedition, ostensibly to destroy the Indian towns of the Shawnee, Delaware, and Wyandot, which were situated on the Scioto, Muskingum and Sandusky Rivers, in what is now the State of Ohio, but his real and earnest purpose was the reduction of the British post at Detroit, and the winning by conquest of another empire for the Dominion of Virginia. At this time Virginia claimed ownership to that part of Pennsylvania, which laid west of t

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Civil Government in Pennsylvania Established at Meeting of Council August 3, 1681

When William Penn was granted the charter for Pennsylvania, he and his heirs were constituted the true and absolute Proprietary of the country. Penn was empowered to establish laws, appoint officers, and to do other acts and things necessary to govern the country, including the right to erect manors. The first act of William Penn was to write a letter to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, dated April 8, 1681. Two days later he appointed his cousin Captain William Markham deputy governor and comman

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Saturday Evening Post Launched from Gazette, August 4, 1821

In his excellent and interesting “A Man from Maine,” Edward W. Bok devotes a chapter to the story of the purchase and development of The Saturday Evening Post by Cyrus H. K. Curtis. This chapter is styled “The Story of the 'Singed Cat.'” Mr. Curtis was born in Portland, Maine, June 18, 1850. He went to Philadelphia in 1876, and seven years later started The Ladies’ Home Journal. Mr. Curtis first developed the Ladies Home Journal and then turned his energy and wonderful organization to a magazine

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Patrick Gordon, Administrator of Penn’s Will, Died August 5, 1736

William Penn was financially involved when stricken and during the six years he suffered until relieved by death, July 30, 1718, did not place his affairs in more favorable condition. The Province of Pennsylvania was encumbered by Proprietary’s mortgage given in 1708, and by his contract with the Crown for the sale of the government. His will, which was drawn in 1712, was in contemplation of this contract. To his only surviving son, William, by his first marriage, he bequeathed all his estates i

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Colonel Bouquet Defeats Indians by Stratagem at Bushy Run, August 6, 1763

In 1763 the savages, angered by the losses of the French and by finding the English settlers pressing upon them, organized what has been called a conspiracy under Pontiac. It nearly succeeded and many English forts were captured. In Pennsylvania there were many murders and burnings all around Forts Pitt, Le Boeuf, Presque Isle and Ligonier; many were killed at Bedford and Carlisle, and even Fort Augusta, on the Susquehanna at Sunbury, was seriously threatened. Colonel Henry Bouquet, an energetic

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Indian Council Between Governor Denny and Tedyuskung Ended at Easton August 7, 1757

The fact that the great Delaware King Tedyuskung was not present at the important council at Lancaster in April, 1757, caused much more concern in the Provincial Government than is usually the case when one person of importance fails to attend. The Delaware Indians were still chafing under the rebuke they received at the hands of Canassetoga Canassetoga , the great Onondaga Chief Sachem, and the Six Nations, who ordered them from the lands at the Forks of the Delaware River to the Wyoming and Sh

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Indians Surprise Reapers and Mortally Wound James Brady August 8, 1778

During the first several years of the Revolution no section of Pennsylvania suffered more from the incursions of the hostile Indians than along both branches of the Susquehanna River, where nearly every man capable of bearing arms responded to the call and left his home and fireside in the care of aged men or young men of his family. The Indians had taken a heavy toll along the West Branch, so small numbers of local militia and a few provincials garrisoned the several stockades erected as places

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General John Bull, Distinguished Officer of Revolutionary War, Died August 9, 1824

Among the early patriots of the Revolution was Colonel John Bull, and he was quite as much a distinguished citizen and statesman. John Bull was born in 1730, in Providence Township, now Montgomery County. He was appointed captain in the Provincial service, May 12, 1758, and the following month was in command of the garrison at Fort Allen. In October the same year he accompanied General John Forbes’ expedition for the reduction of Fort Duquesne, and rendered important service in the negotiations

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Colonel Bouquet Relieved Garrison at Fort Pitt August 10, 1763

Colonel Henry Bouquet established his rendezvous in Carlisle during the latter part of June, 1763, where he had assembled five hundred troops, selected from his British forces and several companies of Provincial Rangers. He was preparing to rush to the succor of Fort Pitt and other places which were being attacked by Indians under the inspiring leadership of Pontiac, the great chief of the Ottawa, who had formed a confederation of the Indians against the English. Everywhere along the frontier of

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Colonel Brodhead Wins Thanks of Congress for Raid Started August 11, 1779

Raids on the Pennsylvania and Virginia frontier in 1778 were made by the Indians of the Ohio country; those of 1779 by the Seneca and Munsee of the North, from the upper tributaries of the Susquehanna and Allegheny Rivers. The Seneca tribe of Western New York was the largest of the Six Nations, and its warriors second only to the Mohawk in courage and military prowess. Under Cornplanter, Guyasuta and other war captains they distressed a wide extent of territory in New York and Pennsylvania and d

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Era of Indian Traders to Death of Allummapees, August 12, 1731

At what date and by whom the North and West Branch Valleys of the Susquehanna and the Juniata Valley were first traversed, and the Alleghenies first crossed by Europeans in a journey to the Ohio, is unrecorded, and must forever remain unknown. The first white men who ventured into the unexplored forests among these mountains were not given to keeping journals of their travels for future historians. No one seems to have thought of immortalizing himself by bequeathing to us a good description givi

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Indians Massacre Major John Lee and Family, August 13, 1782

On the evening of August 13, 1782, John Lee and his family with one or two neighbors were seated at the supper table in their comfortable log home in what is now Winfield, Union County. Without a moment’s warning a band of Indians, supposed to be sixty or seventy in number, rushed in on them, and killed Lee and his family. The events of this crime rank among the most cruel and revolting of those along the frontier. A young woman, named Katy Stoner, hurried upstairs and concealed herself behind t

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Mollie Maguires Commit Murders on Bloody Saturday, August 14, 1875

Such a great number of outrages were committed in the anthracite coal regions by the Mollie Maguires on August 14, 1875, that the day came to be known as “Bloody Saturday.” Early in the month symptoms of smouldering disorder began to increase in severity and numbers. The situation became so alarming that Superintendent Franklin, of the Philadelphia and Reading Company arranged to hold a meeting with the two great Pinkerton detectives, James McParlan and Captain Linden, who had been working for s

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Yankees Drive Pennamites from Wyoming Valley in Battle Which Began August 15, 1771

Following the first massacre at Wyoming, October 15, 1763, it was more than five years before the first forty settlers arrived from Connecticut to reclaim their improvements. On their arrival they found Amos Ogden and a few other persons in possession of the lands, occupying them by authority of the Proprietary Government of Pennsylvania. Now commenced a bitter civil war, which lasted with alternate success of the different parties for upwards of six years. The settlements of both parties were a

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Great Land Purchase Made at Indian Council in Philadelphia, August 16, 1749

Early in April, 1749, the Six Nations held a Grand Council at Onondaga Castle, when it was decided to send deputies from each of the nations to Philadelphia, to shake hands with Governor James Hamilton, who had assumed the office in the previous November; to answer a proposal for peace with the Catawba, which had been made by the former Governor of Pennsylvania, and to consider other matters. It was agreed that all the deputies should meet together at Wyoming, and proceed thence in a body to Phi

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Robert Fulton, Native of Lancaster County, Operates First Steamboat, August 17, 1807.

Robert Fulton demonstrated the first successful commercial steam vessel August 17, 1807, when he opened the throttle and the Clermont slowly, but surely, moved against the swift current of the Hudson River. Robert Fulton was born on a farm in Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, in 1765. His father was a native of Kilkenny, Ireland, and emigrated to Lancaster County in 1735, where he soon became one of the foremost citizens, but did not make a success of farming. A year after Robert’s birt

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Anti-Masonic Outbreak in Pennsylvania First Felt at New Berlin, August 18, 1829

From 1826 to 1838 may be termed the Anti-Masonic period, for during those eventful years bigotry ran wild, while superstition and fanaticism, like the demons of old, took possession of the many. They were the halcyon days for broken-down politicians to ride into power and place. Seizing the opportunity, these demagogues originated a political party, whose platform denounced all secret societies, particularly the Freemasons, as destructive of every principle of religion, justice and good governme

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York County and Its Part in the Revolution, Erected August 19, 1749

York County, erected August 19, 1749, from part of Lancaster County, played a conspicuous part and contributed its full share of troops during the period of the early troubles of our Republic. Indeed York County seems to have been in the struggle from the earliest moment to the end of the conflict and in addition furnished men who assumed a leading role in that stirring drama. Colonel Thomas Hartley, himself one of the greatest patriots of the Revolutionary times, in a letter to President Reed,

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Greatest Victory Over Indians Gained by General Wayne at Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794

After the close of the Revolution the country west of the Ohio was still occupied with Indian tribes ever ready to bring devastation, destruction, and desolation to the homes of the border settlers, and ever incited and aided by the British, who held a number of posts along the lakes. The Indians had determined the Ohio River should be the permanent boundary between them and the United States. President Washington sent Generals Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair in succession to command troops s

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Chief Tedyuskung Annoys Moravian Brethren; Arrives at Bethlehem August 21, 1756

Tedyuskung, the great king of the Delaware tribe and one of the most powerful of the Indian sachems in Pennsylvania, much enjoyed the prominence he gained by frequent councils and conferences with the Governor and other Provincial dignitaries, even at the expense of causing a great jealousy among Indian chiefs of other nations. He was a skilled diplomat, a good speaker and a friend of the English, yet he was rather crafty in his dealings with both the whites and his own race, and was given over

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Gilbert Family in Indian Captivity Twenty-nine Months Released August 22,1782

Benjamin Gilbert and family, living on Mahoning Creek, about five miles from Fort Allen, now Weissport, Carbon County, were carried into a bitterly painful captivity by a party of Indians, who took them to Canada, and there separated them. At the time of this occurrence, April 25, 1780, the event caused intense excitement throughout the State, and from an interesting narrative published shortly after their release from captivity, August 22, 1782, the following facts are ascertained. Benjamin Gil

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Alexander Wilson, the Great American Ornithologist, Died at Philadelphia, August 23, 1813

Alexander Wilson, the great American ornithologist, was born in Paisley, Scotland, July 6, 1766, and died in Philadelphia, August 23, 1813. He was the son of a distiller, but at the age of thirteen was apprenticed to a weaver, and after seven years abandoned the loom and adopted the life of a peddler. Three years were thus spent and in 1789, having prepared a volume of poems for publication, he offered his muslins and solicited subscriptions for this work. It was published in 1790, but had littl

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Governor Snyder Calls on Pennsylvania When British Burn National Capitol August 24, 1814

During the summer of 1813 the shores of the Chesapeake and its tributary rivers were made a general scene of ruin and distress. The British forces assumed the character of the incendiary in retaliation for the burning of the town of York, in Upper Canada, which had been taken by the American army under General Dearborn in April of that year. The burning of York was accidental, but its destruction served as a pretext for the general pillage and conflagration which followed the marching of the Bri

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British Destroy Moravian Indian Town on Order of De Peyster, August 25,1781

Colonel Daniel Brodhead had been sent with his Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment to the Western frontier, and as most of the soldiers in this renowned command had been recruited in that part of the State this assignment was gladly received. The men could do double duty by serving their country and at the same time assist in protecting their own homes. But all did not go well for Brodhead. He was a great soldier and knew how to fight Indians, but was remiss in other matters and soon got into trouble w

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Volunteers Fight Two Battles in Hills Along West Branch August 26, 1763

For boldness of attempt and depth of design the Pontiac War was perhaps unsurpassed in the annals of border warfare. Soon as the English had been able to push past the French line of forts, which reached from Presqu’ Isle to the Monongahela, and had gained such a strong foothold in Canada, the Indians planned to destroy them at one stroke. The renowned chiefs, Kiyasuta, of the Seneca, and Pontiac, of the Ottawa, conceived the gigantic plan of uniting all the northwestern tribes in a simultaneous

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Europeans Explore Waters of Pennsylvania, Delaware Bay So Named August 27, 1610

Quite different from all other colonies was Pennsylvania in the fact that many settlements were made within its borders and many races contributed to her people. In 1608, the famous Captain John Smith, of Virginia, sailed up the Chesapeake Bay to its head, where he was stopped by the rocks. At this same time the Dutch of Holland, during a lull in their war with Spain, were sending maritime expeditions over the world. They sent Henry Hudson to America. He sailed up the coast, on August 28, 1609,

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World Struggle for Oil Began at Titusville, August 28, 1859

The gigantic struggle for oil began in Titusville, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1859, when Colonel Edwin L. Drake struck oil in the world’s first well. This small hole drilled through the rock so peacefully opened the way to wealth hitherto unknown. It yielded about forty barrels per day, but the precious fuel was now produced in commercial quantities. It opened also the most important natural production of Pennsylvania, after iron and coal. This first well was in Cherry Tree Township, on the Watson

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Joseph Galloway, Loyalist Politician, and Member Continental Congress, Died August 29, 1803

Joseph Galloway, the Loyalist Politician, was born in the town of West River, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, in the year 1731. His great-grandfather, Richard Galloway, of London, England, acquired considerable land in Lord Baltimore’s province in 1662, thus indicating that he was a man of good fortune and respectability. Peter Galloway, father of Joseph, removed with his family in 1740 to Kent, not far from Philadelphia, where he died while Joseph was yet a mere boy. Being possessed of large lan

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Etymology of Pennsylvania Counties Erected Since Penn Set Sail August 30, 1682

William Penn sailed from England in the ship “Welcome,” August 30, 1682. Upon his arrival the organization of his province was pushed with dispatch, and today that vast territory is divided into sixty-seven counties, each one of which possesses history worth the telling. The genealogy of the counties of Pennsylvania is both interesting and historical, and presents some valuable data. The three original counties were Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks, so named by William Penn in the latter part of

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Penn Obtains Deed to Province, Then Obtains Lower Counties August 31, 1682

Two motives operated in the early colonization of the American Continent; one was the desire of amassing sudden wealth without working for it; this tempted the adventurous to seek gold here, to trade valueless trinkets to the Indians for valuable furs and skins; the other was the desire to escape unjust restrictions of government and the hated ban of society against the worship of God according to the dictates of one’s own conscience, which incited devotees of Christianity to forego the comforts

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Dr. John Cochran, Native of Pennsylvania, Director-General Hospitals, Born September 1, 1730

A century and a half has almost elapsed since the American Revolution, and in the interim much has been written and published concerning it. But comparatively little has ever been accessible to the public concerning the medical department of the army of patriots. To Pennsylvanians particularly this feature of the war should prove of interest, for the only Directors General of Military Hospitals were none other than Dr. William Shippen and Dr. John Cochran, both of Pennsylvania. In the year 1570

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Constitution of 1790, the First for the State, Adopted September 2, 1790

The convention to frame a Constitution for the government of Pennsylvania as a State completed its labors September 2, 1790. On that day the members signed the instrument, after which they went in procession from the State House to the court-house, where the new Constitution was proclaimed. Provision had been made for the continuance in office, until the new government went into operation, of the Supreme Executive Council and other State officers, but not of the Legislature, and the latter body

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General Edward Hand, Distinguished Officer of Revolution, Died September 3, 1802

General Edward Hand, M.D., a native of Clyduff, Kings County, Province of Leinster, Ireland, born December 31, 1744, became a resident of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and one of the first distinguished officers of the Revolution. He died at his fine farm “Rockford,” near Lancaster, September 3, 1802. In 1767 he was appointed by King George III surgeon of the Eighteenth Royal Irish Regiment of Foot, and sailed with the regiment from Cork, May 20 of the same year, arriving at Philadelphia July 11. Dr.

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First Permanent Settlement and Earliest Church, Dedicated September 4, 1646

The first European settlement in what is now Pennsylvania was made on Tinicum Island, now Essington, not far distant from the mouth of Darby Creek on the Delaware River. The beautiful buildings of the Corinthian Yacht Club are now located on this historic spot. A monument was unveiled June 14, 1923, to mark the place where the first permanent settlement in what is now Pennsylvania was made. This shaft was erected by the Swedish Colonial Society and was unveiled by Miss Nancy J. Paxson, tenth in

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First Continental Congress Meets in Carpenters’ Hall, Philadelphia, September 5, 1774

The Assembly of Pennsylvania promptly responded to the “Instructions” of the great meeting of the Provincial deputies held in the State House July 15, 1774, and appointed Joseph Galloway, speaker, Samuel Rhoads, Thomas Mifflin, John Morton, Charles Humphreys, George Ross, Edward Biddle, and, subsequently, John Dickinson as delegates to the Congress to be held in Philadelphia in September. This body assembled September 5 in Carpenters’ Hall and chose Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, president, and C

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Fort Montgomery Withstands Attack of British and Indians, September 6, 1780

In the early days of the Revolution the settlers on the frontiers suffered much at the hands of the Indians, and this was particularly true in the region of the Susquehanna valleys. A chain of forts or blockhouses was established from Fort Jenkins on the North Branch of the Susquehanna, about midway between the present towns of Berwick and Bloomsburg, to Fort Reid, in the present borough of Lock Haven. Each of these forts was garrisoned by troops from large Fort Augusta at the forks of the Susqu

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Colonel Hartley Leads Expedition Against Six Nation Indians—Born September 7, 1746

Colonel Thomas Hartley, who was one of the most prominent Pennsylvanians during the period of the Revolution, was born in Colebrookdale Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, September 7, 1746. He was the son of George Hartley, a well-to-do farmer, who was able to give his son a good classical education at Reading. At the age of eighteen he began to read law in the office of Samuel Johnson, at York, a prominent lawyer and relative of his mother. He was admitted to practice in the courts of York C

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Colonel John Armstrong Destroyed Indian Town of Kittanning September 8, 1756

Before Governor Robert Morris was superseded by William Denny he concerted with Colonel John Armstrong an expedition against the Indian town of Kittanning, on the Allegheny, the stronghold of Captains Jacobs and Shingas, the most active Indian chiefs, and from which place they distributed their war parties along the frontier. When Governor Denny assumed the office of Governor his predecessor communicated to him his plans for this expedition, which were favorably received by the Governor and his

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Franklin County Erected from Part of Cumberland County September 9, 1784

On January 27, 1759, Lancaster County was divided by act of Assembly, and the southern division thereof erected into a new county, to which the name of “Cumberland” was given, with the town of Carlisle as the seat of justice. For a quarter of a century the county of Cumberland thus constituted, remained intact, when the wants of the southwestern part, known as the Conocheague settlement, led them to petition the General Assembly of 1784 that their territory might be set apart as a new county, wi

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Commodore Perry Defeats British Squadron on Lake Erie, September 10, 1813

Foreign nations, who still smiled incredulously at the pretensions of the United States in carrying on an ocean warfare with the proud “Mistress of the Seas,” as England was everywhere acknowledged to be, were not prepared to receive, in addition to the splendid victory of the United States frigate Constitution over the Guerriere, fresh and decisive proof of the naval supremacy of the youthful Republic, in the magnificent triumph achieved by Commodore Oliver H. Perry on the waters of Lake Erie S

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Lord Cornwallis Defeats American Forces on the Brandywine, September 11, 1777

The objective of the British forces, early in the Revolution, was to occupy Philadelphia, which was then the largest city in the revolting provinces. It was the seat of the Continental Congress, and the center of the colonies. Although commanding easy access to the sea, it was capable of being readily protected from the approach of a hostile fleet, and it lay in the heart of an open, extended country, rich, populous and so far but little disturbed by war. Philadelphia was, in a sense, regarded a

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Mob Storms Mifflin County Courthouse September 12, 1791

September, 1791, an incident occurred during a term of court in Mifflin County, which has since been known as the Lewistown Riot. The cause of the disturbance centered in the act of Samuel Bryson, then a resident of what is now the borough of Mifflintown, who for several years had served as county lieutenant, and while acting in that capacity refused to commission two colonels who had been elected by their regiments, which so incensed the members and their friends that when Mr. Bryson subsequent

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Inhuman Murder of Lieutenant Thomas Boyd by Tory Butler, September 13, 1779

During the expedition of Major General John Sullivan against the Six Nations, in August and September, 1779, there occurred one of the most horrible Indian massacres recorded in the frontier history of Pennsylvania. On September 12, Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, of the Rifle Corps, a resident of Northumberland and older brother of the illustrious Captain John Boyd and brother of Lieutenant William Boyd, who lost his life in the Battle of Brandywine, was sent with about twenty-four soldiers to reconnoi

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Major Grant Meets Defeat at Fort Duquesne, September 14, 1758

The destruction of the Indian town at Kittanning September 8, 1755, was a severe blow to the Indians. The English had never before that time assailed them in their own towns, and they were led to believe they would not venture to approach them. While they desired to retaliate the blow, they feared another such attack upon their home, when they were absent on war parties. Such of them as had belonged to Kittanning and made their escape, refused to settle again east of Fort Duquesne. Nothing was d

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Madame Montour Resents Murder of Her Brother, September 15, 1711

In the provincial history of Pennsylvania the name of the Montours stands out among the many Indians of note, and the intimate story of this large family presents many interesting and contradictory characteristics. The first one of this family, which has given us its name for a county, town, river, creek and mountain range, was the celebrated Madame Montour. There has always been a question of doubt as to her birth. She claimed to be a half-breed French-Indian, her father being a Governor of Can

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Matthew Carey, Editor and Influential Writer of Philadelphia, Died There September 16, 1839

Matthew Carey came to Philadelphia in November 1784, and spent the remainder of his eventful life there, dying September 16, 1839. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, January 28, 1760, where he spent his early life. He learned the business of printer and bookseller, and at the age of seventeen he wrote and published a pamphlet on duelling. This was soon followed by an address to Roman Catholics in Ireland on their oppression by the penal code. This was so seditious and inflammatory that he was compe

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First Constitution of United States Adopted in Philadelphia September 17, 1787

The Constitution of the United States, as is well known, was framed during the summer of 1787, by a convention of Delegates from twelve States. The convention sat in the old State House at Philadelphia, and after a stormy session of four months ended its labors on September 17, 1787. In the preliminary movement to form a nation, only five of the thirteen colonies were represented. Delegates from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia, met at Annapolis, Md., September 11, 1786,

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Labor Riots Follow Civil War; Jay Cooke Company Failed September 18, 1873

Following the suggestion of Governor John White Geary, the Legislature on June 2, 1871, adopted a resolution to submit the question of calling a convention to amend the Constitution to a vote of the people. The delegates were elected October, 1872, and assembled in the Capitol November 12, 1872. Hon. William M. Meredith was elected president and served until his death, August 17, 1873, when Hon. John H. Walker, of Erie County, was chosen to fill the vacancy. The convention adjourned November 27

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Indians Defrauded by Deceptive Walking Land Measure, September 19, 1737

From the time of William Penn’s arrival, in 1682, while he was a lowly Christian himself, he had followers who did not have the same fear of God in their hearts, and who did not hesitate to excite the cupidity of the unsophisticated children of the forest, and by any and all means take advantage of them. William Penn formed many treaties with the Indians and concluded many purchases, no one of which was well and accurately defined as to its actual boundary. Penn and his agents were ignorant of t

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British Surprise and Slaughter Americans at Paoli, September 20, 1777

Following the defeat of the Continental Army at Brandywine, a detachment of the British Army under Major General Grant marched to Concord Meeting House, where it was joined by Lord Cornwallis and moved to near Chester. The Americans retreated toward Chester. On the arrival of Washington, about midnight, he sent an account of the disaster to Congress. The next day the army marched by way of Darby to Philadelphia. The main body was encamped near Germantown for two or three days to rest. Washington

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Unholy Alliance with Delaware Indians Concluded at Fort Pitt, September 21, 1778

When General Lachlan McIntosh was sent to relieve General Edward Hand at Fort Pitt it was expected that the frontiers would be made safe, as General Washington ordered the Eighth Pennsylvania and the Thirteenth Virginia detached from Valley Forge and marched to the Western post. The plan of General McIntosh was to attack Detroit, which involved a march of 300 miles through a wilderness inhabited by savages, most of whom were hostile to the American cause. This army must be carried far from its b

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Franklin Attends Conference of Indians in Carlisle, September 22, 1753

During the summer of 1753 the Six Nations, Shawnee, Delaware and Twightwee held a great treaty in Virginia, where they were called by Governor Dinwiddie, but who much offended them by his failure to attend the conference in person. On their return the Indians sent word to Governor James Hamilton, at Philadelphia, that they desired to negotiate a new treaty at Carlisle. The Governor learned that Dinwiddie had not met them in Virginia and he thought Carlisle too far distant to travel on such a mis

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Boundary Dispute with Virginia Ended When Assembly Ratified Agreement, September 23, 1780

Besides the Connecticut claims, which took in almost the entire half of the Province of Pennsylvania, Virginia laid claim to a large portion of the western part. The origin of this claim dates very far back in the history of the country. The charter of 1607 granted to the London Company all the territory in America lying between the 34th and 38th degrees of north latitude. In 1609 the charter was amended and enlarged, so that it comprised a region stretching two hundred miles north and the same

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Two Brothers of Doan Family of Outlaw Sons Hanged September 24, 1788

During the Revolutionary War a number of young men either to escape from serving in army or paying fines, or for the reason that they may have sympathized with the element which opposed the independence of the young colonies, and did not choose to enlist openly with the enemy, found a more profitable employment in secret acts of treachery and piracy among their neighbors. For that service they were amply compensated by the British, especially during their occupancy of Philadelphia and New York C

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Dutch Gain Control of the Delaware River September 25, 1655

After the arrival of John Claudius Rysingh, as the successor of John Printz, Governor of New Sweden, May 20, 1654, he became a very aggressive officer. He began his administration by capturing the Dutch Fort Casimer, thus destroying the authority of the Dutch on the Delaware River. On June 17, he held a great convocation of Indians at Printz Hall, on Tinicum Island, now Essington, on the Delaware River near Chester, at which a new treaty was successfully consummated. The triumph of Rysingh was r

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British Under General Howe Invest City of Philadelphia, September 26, 1777

After the defeat of the American Army in the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, the British did not pursue Washington’s Army, which marched to Chester and then to Germantown. Here provisions and ammunition, both much needed, were obtained. The British advanced toward Philadelphia, which was unprepared to make an adequate defense, and General Mifflin, who was to take command, was too ill to do so. When the news reached the city, early on the morning of September 19, that the British had cr

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British Open Hostilities in Long Siege on Fort Mifflin, September 27, 1777

The British Army was in possession of Philadelphia, but the communication was not open with their fleet, and General Washington in evacuating the city had placed a garrison in Fort Mifflin, not as strong as the importance and exigencies of the place required, but such as the situation of his army could afford. Fort Mifflin was nothing more than a wooden fort with an inclosure of palisades. It was situated on Mud Island, on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River. The small Pennsylvania fleet

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Colonel William Plunket Defeats Yankees in Pennamite War, September 28, 1775

There had been four years of tranquil enjoyment among the Yankee settlers at Wyoming following the conclusion, in 1771, of the first Pennamite War. The Proprietaries had been defeated and driven out, and for four years they made no attempt to retake their property. With the defeat of Dick and Ogden, August, 1771, the Penns were actually driven out of Wyoming and the Yankee settlers poured into the valley in such numbers that it was considered advisable to erect five new townships, each five mile

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Captain John Smith Who First Meets Native Pennsylvanians Sailed for England, September 29, 1609

There seems to be no doubt but that the first European to meet the Indians who resided in what is now Pennsylvania was Captain John Smith. This adventurer explored the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in 1608, and made a map of his observations, which with the one he made at a later date, of his explorations along the New England coast, were for many years recognized as the authority for this hemisphere. The Dutch who first came to these shores formed an acquaintance with the Indians in 1615,

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Washington Started March Through Pennsylvania During Whisky Rebellion, September 30, 1794

Virginia claims George Washington as her native son, but most of the deeds which made Washington famous and the greater part of both his military and official life were passed in this State. While Philadelphia and the counties of the East have stories, legends and traditions innumerable of the great Father of His Country, while Western Pennsylvania was the scene of his early military training, Central Pennsylvania, and the Cumberland Valley especially, have also their Washington traditions. A La

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Sailors Cause of Bloody Election in Philadelphia October 1, 1742

One of the early Mayors of Philadelphia was the distinguished Quaker, Isaac Norris, who had been a member of the Provincial Assembly and the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He had also served as a member of the Governor’s Council for more than thirty years, and was named by William Penn in his will as one of the trustees of the Province. He died June 4, 1735, and was succeeded by his son of the same name, known in the history of Pennsylvania as “The Speaker.” Isaac Norris, “The Spe

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Massacre in Vicinity of Patterson’s Fort, October 2, 1755

On October 2, 1755, the savages suddenly appeared in Tuscarora Valley, in the vicinity of Patterson’s Fort, on the north side of the Mahantango Creek, in Snyder County, and killed and captured forty persons. This fort was situated immediately beyond the dividing line of Juniata and Snyder Counties, and in the vicinity of Pomfret Castle, which seems to be often mistaken for Fort Patterson. There were two Fort Pattersons and two Captain Pattersons, which has also caused much confusion. The two cap

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Washington Joins Troops in Whisky Insurrection October 3, 1794

The year 1794 is distinguished in American history by a remarkable revolt among a portion of the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, known as the Whisky Insurrection. In 1791 Congress enacted a law laying excise duties upon spirits distilled within the United States. This tax excited general opposition, but nowhere else was such violence exhibited in resisting the execution of the law as in the western counties of Pennsylvania, where the crops of grain were so over-abundant that, in the absence of adeq

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Americans Defeated in Battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777

The Battle of Germantown was one of the most spirited actions of the Revolution. It was a contest for the possession of a widely extended and strongly posted line, between the two armies, and at a time when the British had but a week earlier invested Philadelphia, driving the Continental Congress to Lancaster. Howe’s army had crossed the Schuylkill, and was encamped near Germantown. Washington was at Pennypacker’s Mill, between the Perkiomen and the Skippack Creeks, thirty miles from the city, w

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Riotous Mob Attacks “Fort Wilson” in Philadelphia, October 5, 1779

In the year 1779 the lives of Mr. James Wilson, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the foremost practitioners of that day, and many of his friends, were put in extreme hazard by a band of frenzied partisans, under the pretext of his holding sentiments inimical to popular institutions. At that time party spirit in Pennsylvania had taken definite shape, and the politicians were divided into Constitutionalists and Republicans. The former rallied around the Constitution of 177

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First German Immigrants Settle Germantown October 6, 1683

The Germans have played a most important part in the history of Pennsylvania, much more conspicuous than has been accorded them. They are the progressive farmers, and leaders in politics, literature and science. The first great teacher was Pastorius; the first paper mill was established in 1690, on a branch of Wissahickon Creek, by William Rittinghuysen; the Bible was first printed in German, by Christopher Saur, thirty-nine years before it appeared in English; the same enterprising Germans, in

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Colonel Richard McAllister, Soldier, Statesman and Citizen of York County, Died October 7, 1795

Colonel Richard McAllister, a hero of the Revolution, died at his home in Hanover, York County, October 7, 1795. During that great struggle for the independence of the colonies York County gave many of her loyal sons, and none rendered more signal service or has been held in fonder patriotic reverence than Colonel McAllister. He was the son of Archibald McAllister, who came to this country from Scotland in 1732. Richard was born in Scotland in 1724. About 1745 Richard moved from Cumberland Count

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King Tedyuskung Questioned at Great Indian Conference in Easton, October 8, 1758

Governor Denny informed the Assembly September 12, 1758, that a general meeting of Indians has been agreed upon, to take place in Easton. Tedyuskung and some of his retinue arrived early in Easton, and started on a debauch while awaiting the important event. Whereupon Reverend Richard Peters, the Provincial secretary, was requested to go to Easton immediately to keep the Indians in order. This conference was opened Sunday, October 8, 1758, with 500 Indians in attendance. Governor Denny, members

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Governor William Denny Removed and Superseded by James Hamilton, Native of Pennsylvania, October 9, 1759

Following the destruction of the Indian town at Kittanning, September 8, 1756, by Lieutenant Colonel John Armstrong, and the Indian incursions which reached to every section of the frontier, a chain of forts was built the following year which extended from the Delaware River to the Maryland line. These were garrisoned by troops in the pay of the Province. This defense was made possible only when the Assembly finally awakened to the serious danger and distress, concerted to pass a bill for raisin

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First of Three Confederate Raids into Pennsylvania Began October 10, 1862

The part of our great Commonwealth which lies between the South and Blue Mountains, in the fertile and beautiful Cumberland Valley, since March 11, 1809, known as Franklin County, was from the very earliest recorded history of Pennsylvania the scene of many stirring events. Being on the southern border of the State, it shared in the land and animated border fight between the proprietary Governments of Maryland and Pennsylvania. It was in a valley loved as the home of the Indians and on the great

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Colonel Matthew Smith, War Veteran, Elected Vice President October 11, 1779

On October 11, 1779, Vice President George Bryan resigned his office, whereupon Colonel Matthew Smith, a veteran officer of the French and Indian War, and one who commanded a company in Arnold’s expedition to Quebec, then a citizen of Milton, Northumberland County, was chosen to fill the vacancy, which he, too, resigned on the 29th of the month. William Moore was elected to the position, November 12. On November 27, the Assembly after careful consideration, adopted a resolution annulling the Roy

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Attempted Slaughter of Indians at Wichetunk, Monroe County, October 12, 1763

The expedition of Colonel Henry Bouquet, during the Pontiac Conspiracy, to Fort Pitt, in a great measure served to check the depredations of the Indians for a short time and the frontiers of Pennsylvania were quiet, and under the protection and assistance of 700 Provincial recruits the settlers gathered their harvests. Had the Provincial Assembly acted promptly in the matter an effective defense could have been provided. The Government was deaf to all entreaties, and General Jeffreys Amherst, co

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Molly Pitcher, Heroine of the Battle of Monmouth, Born October 13, 1754

There have been many stories of “Molly Pitcher,” and they have not always agreed even on the main facts. But on the occasion of the ceremonies incident to unveiling the cannon erected over her grave in the “Old Graveyard,” in Carlisle, by the Patriotic Orders Sons of America, on June 28, 1905, an excellent short biography of the “Heroine of the Battle of Monmouth” was prepared by John B. Landis, Esq., from which the following story is taken. The heroine’s name was not “Pitcher,” but Ludwig, and

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William Penn, Born October 14, 1644—His Youth and Early Struggles for Religious Belief

William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania and one of the most distinguished members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, a preacher and writer, was born in London, October 14, 1644. His father was Admiral Sir William Penn, of the English Royal Navy, and his mother was Margaret Jasper, a remarkable Dutch lady, of Rotterdam. While the Admiral was off on the seas, his wife and little son resided on one of his estates at Wanstead in Essex. William Penn went to school at Chigwell, near by, where he was

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First Massacre in Wyoming Launched During Pontiac’s War by Captain Bull, October 15, 1763

The conspiracy fomented by Pontiac, the Ottawa chieftain, was unmasked at Detroit on May 6, 1763, and then began the war which continued until late in the summer of 1764. Fort Sandusky was captured by the Indians May 16, 1763; Fort Ouatanon (now Lafayette, Ind.), May 31; Fort Presqu’ Isle (now Erie County, Pa.), June 17; Fort Le Boeuf (in Erie County), June 18; Fort Venango (in Venango County, Pa.), June 18 and the military posts at Carlisle and Bedford, Pa., on the same day. On June 22 a large

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First Terrible Massacre of Settlers at Penn’s Creek, October 16, 1755

The year 1755 was anything but one of promise for the English English colonies in America. The French were aggressively pushing their domain from Canada southward toward the Mississippi Valley, and what was more alarming to the English was the effort of the French to gain a foothold in the region of the Allegheny Mountains, in what is now Western Pennsylvania. Three great rivers virtually determined the strategic situation of the territory involved between these two great nations. The Hudson Riv

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Railroad from Williamsport to Lake Erie Completed October 17, 1864

During the administration of Governor James Pollock the Main Line of public works had been sold by virtue of the act of Assembly of May 16, 1857. Governor Pollock had very strongly urged the sale of the public works, as they had become a running sore of corruption, including political debauchery and the systematic plunder of the treasury. On June 25 following the Governor closed the transaction by which the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, July 31, assumed ownership of the whole line of public wor

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None Escaped in Massacre at Mahanoy Creek, October 18, 1755

Following the defeat of General Edward Braddock, July 9, 1755, the savages roamed at will through the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania. They now realized the English were no longer invincible and became bolder and more terrible in their predatory warfare. The first outbreak was at Penn’s Creek, in the present Snyder County, where on October 16, they swooped down upon the industrious German settlers of that neighborhood and cruelly massacred fifteen and carried away ten others into captivity.

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General Edward Hand Starts on Expedition from Fort Pitt to Wheeling, October 19,1777

During the winter of 1776 and the following spring the agents of Great Britain had been very active in organizing Indian uprisings along the frontiers as a part of the general campaign for the subjugation of the rebellious colonists. Continental Congress decided to take charge of the defense of the colonists, especially those in the western part of the State, where the Indians had been more active and where the settlers had been afforded less protection from the State and Colonial governments. T

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Great Meeting in the Interest of Inland Waterways Held at Harrisburg, October 20, 1789

During the latter part of the year 1789, the President and members of the Supreme Executive Council appointed a commission to view the Delaware, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Rivers, in pursuance of an act of Assembly passed September 28, 1789, with the object of ascertaining data whether or not these waters could be rendered navigable. This commission, composed of Timothy Matlack, Reading Howell, William Dean, John Adlum and Benjamin Rittenhouse, attended to the important duty assigned them and in

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Bicentennial Opened in Chester and Philadelphia, October 21, 1882

At the close of Governor John F. Hartranft’s second term the Republicans nominated General Henry Martyn Hoyt, of Wilkes-Barre, while the Democrats had as their standard-bearer Honorable Andrew H. Dill, of Lewisburg. The campaign was conducted along the line of national issues, the leading discussion being the resumption of specie payments. This became the keynote of the campaign and Hoyt was elected by a large majority. An interesting historical event occurred before the end of Hartranft’s admin

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Daniel Boone, Pioneer Kentucky Frontiersman, Born in Berks County October 22, 1733

One of the earliest of American romances is written about the character and thrilling experiences of Daniel Boone, who forsook the quiet and uneventful life of a Quaker, turned his back on the civilization of his native State, deserted his farm in North Carolina and went in search of adventure in the wilderness of Kentucky. George Boone, III, sailed from England with his wife and three of their nine children, August 17, 1717, and landed in Philadelphia, October 10. This family resided for a shor

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General Sir Guy Carleton Puts End to Indian War October 23, 1782

After the murder of Colonel William Crawford, which occurred June, 1782, about five miles west of Upper Sandusky, the Scots and other frontiersmen were saddened but far from being discouraged. The fugitives of the ill-fated expedition to the Sandusky had hardly returned to their homes along the western frontier of Pennsylvania when they began preparations for another expedition. The borderers possessed a fierce determination to crush out the “red vipers” and one more trip into the Indian country

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Susquehanna River First Explored by Etienne Brulé in October, 1615

Two great waters south of Pennsylvania admit ships from Europe, and by them white men came. Their first approach was up the Chesapeake. Captain John Smith sailed from the colony of Jamestown, Va., July 24, 1608, on an exploring expedition, and his little craft, bearing thirteen souls, was propelled with sail and oar. oar. Even with such a vessel he experienced some danger and suffered privations, before he pushed as far up the “northwest branch” as he could. This, of course, was the Susquehanna

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John Harris, Who Laid Out Harrisburg, Had Narrow Escape, October 25, 1755

John Harris, Sr., built his log house on the bank of the Susquehanna River where the City of Harrisburg now stands in the year of 1705. This building was subsequently stockaded and became known as Fort Harris. Harris was especially an Indian trader, but engaged largely in agriculture. It is said of him that he was the first person to use a plow on the Susquehanna, and moreover, that “he was as honest a man as ever broke bread.” The elder Harris was born in the County of Yorkshire, England, of We

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Fail to End Warfare Through Treaty at Albany, October 26, 1745

During the minority of Richard and Thomas Penn the Proprietary Land Office had been closed from 1718 to 1732, and many immigrants seated themselves without title on such vacant lands as suited their convenience. The number of such immigrants entitled them to great consideration. Their rights accruing by priority of settlement were recognized by the public and passed, together with their improvements, through many hands, in confidence that they would receive proprietary sanction. Much agitation w

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William Wilson Sent on Important Mission to Ohio Indians After Fort Pitt Treaty, October 27, 1775

Early in the Revolution the Continental Congress opened negotiations for peace with the Indians. The frontier was divided into three Indian departments, of which the middle department included the tribes west of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Congress named a committee, consisting of Benjamin Franklin and James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, and Patrick Henry, of Virginia, to hold a treaty with the Indians at Fort Pitt. This treaty was assembled October 27, 1775, with the Seneca, Delaware, Shawnee and Wya

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James Logan, Penn’s Secretary and Trusted Friend and Agent, Born October 28, 1674

The lives of men like James Logan ennoble the pages of history and make its study an elevating pursuit and a reinforcement to the resources of public morality. This man was worthy the compliment which the great vicegerent Shikellamy paid him, when he named his son in his honor; he was worthy to have been the trusted friend of William Penn, and to have had Benjamin Franklin for his printer. The world has not produced many men, who, after forty years spent in the whirl and muddy currents of active

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Penn Lands at Upland and Changes Name to Chester, October 29, 1682

After William Penn issued his frame of government for his new Province of Pennsylvania and had sent a description of his property throughout England, especially among the Friends, offering easy terms of sale, there were many persons from London, Liverpool and Bristol who embarked in this enterprise and the association called “The Free Traders’ Society of Pennsylvania” purchased large tracts of land. Penn then obtained a deed for the three lower counties (now the State of Delaware), which was dul

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Frightened Settlers Build and Defend Fort Swatara October 30, 1755

The stockades and small forts built along the frontiers during the intense excitement which followed Braddock’s defeat in July, 1755, have always been of great interest to local historians and the many citizens who reside in the vicinity of these provincial defenses. One such place, to which not a little interesting history is attached, was built about twelve miles east of Manada Gap, near the passage through the Blue Mountains, by which the Swatara Creek wends its way to the fertile acres below

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Indian Ravages at McDowell’s Mill, Franklin County, October 31, 1755

A place of much consequence in provincial Pennsylvania and frequently referred to by public officers and agents was McDowell’s Mill. This was located midway between the Reverend John Steel’s Fort and Fort Loudoun, east of Kittatinny Mountains on the east bank of the Conococheague Creek, in the western part of the present Franklin County. This defense was built in the year 1756 and was a log structure, rectangular in shape and provided with loop-holes. It stood until the year 1840. There is at pr

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Turmoil in Lower Counties; Penn Sails for England, November 1, 1701

The Constitution, which had been under consideration for eighteen months, was finally adopted October 28, 1701, and William Penn, pressed by many claims for his presence in England, set sail November 1 and arrived there about the middle of January. He had hardly landed before King William died, January 18, and Princess Anne of Denmark succeeded him. Penn was in great favor with her. The new Constitution which Penn personally assisted in giving his Province was as comprehensive on the subject of

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Indians Captured Frances Slocum, the “Lost Sister of Wyoming,” November 2, 1778

Among the many dramatic incidents in the history of the Wyoming Valley few, if any, are more thrilling or unusual than the carrying away into captivity of little Frances Slocum. Jonathan Slocum, a Quaker, settled at Wyoming in 1762 and, with others who survived the awful Indian massacre of October 15, 1763, left the valley. In the autumn of 1777 he brought his wife, six sons and three daughters from Rhode Island and again made his home at Wyoming. On Monday, November 2, 1778, Jonathan Slocum and

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George Major, Chief Burgess of Mahanoy City, Murdered by Mollie Maguires, November 3, 1874

George Major, the popular chief burgess of Mahanoy City, died Tuesday, November 3, 1874, from the effects of pistol shot wounds received the Saturday previous, the assassins being members of the notorious Mollie Maguires. A great strike was in progress in the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania, and during such periods of intense excitement the Mollies were as active as a community of hornets whose nest some schoolboys had invaded with paddles. George Major had long since gained the enmity o

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Captain John Hambright Leads Expedition from Fort Augusta Against Great Island, November 4, 1756

Fort Augusta was built and garrisoned during the summer and fall of 1756 under the direction of Colonel William Clapham and 400 Provincial soldiers recruited for that purpose. This formidable fortress was situated at Shamokin, at the Forks of the Susquehanna, in what is now the city of Sunbury. The soldiers had barely landed at Shamokin until reports were brought there that the French were coming in great force to besiege besiege the fort. The Indians, hostile to the English, committed such depr

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Disputed Boundary Lines Settled at Fort Stanwix November 5, 1768

Notwithstanding the surrender to the Six Nations by the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, in September, 1758, of “all the territory lying to the northward and westward of the Allegheny Mountains,” the white settlers continued to encroach on the hunting grounds of the Indians. At the great treaty held at Albany, the Proprietaries purchased and received a deed dated July 6, 1754, for the land of the Province above Penn’s Creek, in what is now Snyder County. The Indians afterward asserted they were de

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First Siege of Yellow Fever Checked in Philadelphia November 6, 1793

Philadelphia was visited twice by the dreaded pestilence of yellow fever, first in the year 1793 and again in 1798. The general consternation which incited many to flee from the destroyer “produced scenes of distress and misery,” wrote Matthew Carey, “of which parallels are rarely met with, and which nothing could palliate but the extraordinary public panic and the great law of self-preservation. Men of affluent fortunes, who gave daily employment and sustenance to hundreds, were abandoned to th

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Philadelphia Merchants Rebel Against Stamp Act in Great Meeting, November 7, 1765

The relations between the colonies and the mother country at end of the French and Indian War would doubtless have continued friendly had the latter not seen fit to pursue a new policy toward the former with respect to revenue and taxation. The colonies, until then, had been permitted to tax themselves. The first act of the British Parliament aiming at the drawing of a revenue from the colonies was passed September 29, 1764. This act imposed a duty on “clayed sugar, indigo, coffee, etc., being a

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Expeditions Against Indians—Franklin Sails for England, November 8, 1764

Soon after John Penn assumed the office of Lieutenant Governor, November, 1763, he convened the Assembly and presented General Gage’s request for 1000 men, to be used in the proposed Indian campaign, which was granted, together with a vote of credit for the additional force necessary “to frustrate the further wicked designs of those lawless rioters.” This had reference to the “Paxtang Boys” and their bold attack upon the Conestoga Indians, December 14, 1763. Sir William Johnson, of New York, who

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Governor Simon Snyder, Prey of KidnappersKidnappers, Died November 9, 1819

Simon Snyder, three times Governor of Pennsylvania, was born in Lancaster County, November 5, 1749, and died in his beautiful stone mansion in Selinsgrove November 9, 1819. Snyder had been defeated in the gubernatorial contest of 1805, but his election was not long delayed. Alderman John Binns, editor of the Democratic Press, then the most powerful political leader in the State, was Snyder’s closest friend and adviser and soon influenced such a current of popular sentiment toward his friend’s ca

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John Dickinson Writes First “Farmer” Letter, November 10, 1767

In 1767 a bill was passed by Parliament which affirmed its right “to bind the Colonies in all cases whatsoever” and levied duties on tea, paper, glass and painters’ colors imported into the Colonies from Great Britain, payable in America. This act, with several others, rekindled the opposition of the Colonies. Again associations were formed to prevent the importation of British goods and meetings called to resolve, petition and remonstrate. The first of the “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania

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In Anticipation of War with France General Washington Arrives in Philadelphia, November 11, 1798

On November 11, 1798, General George Washington, who was then lieutenant-general of the army, arrived in Philadelphia to assume charge of matters in relation to the threatened war with France, and was received by the troops of horse and a large number of uniformed companies of foot. On the 24th President John Adams, who had left the city on account of the recurrence of the yellow fever, returned, and was received with salutes from the sloop-of-war “Delaware,” Captain Stephen Decatur, and Captain

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First Jury Drawn in Early Courts of Province on November 12, 1678

The early judicial history of Pennsylvania presents striking features of interest to two classes in the community—the professional lawyer and the student of history. To the former it must be a matter of curiosity and interest to study the first rude means devised to administer justice between man and man—to discern among the transactions of those early times the rise and development of institutions and practices. But to the student of history the subject affords a different kind of interest. He

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Council of Censors First Met Under Constitution of 1776, November 13, 1783

The Constitution of 1776, as would be expected, was hastily prepared. Great excitement prevailed everywhere throughout the Province and the document was adopted with the same determined spirit which characterized all public movements during that thrilling period of our history. Nothing less than the impending war for liberty could justify the methods that were employed to change the frame of government under which the people had lived for nearly a century. The most effective improvement in this

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Indian Outrages in Berks County Began November 14, 1755

The first violent outbreak by the Indians in Berks County, after the defeat of General Braddock in July, 1775, occurred in the vicinity of Deitrick Deitrick Six’s plantation, near what is now the village of Millersburg, in Bethel Township. This tragedy occurred November 14, 1755. Conrad Weiser, who resided in what is now Womeldsdorf, frequently accompanied bands of friendly Indians on important missions to Philadelphia, but after many cruel murders had been committed upon the settlers, the inhab

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Indian Shoots at Major Washington While on Important Mission November 15, 1753

George Washington had several very narrow escapes from tragic death a long time before he led the Continental Army through the eight years of the Revolution, and on one occasion was actually shot at by a treacherous Indian guide. Late in the year of 1753 Governor Dinwiddie dispatched Major Washington on an important mission to the Ohio River, in Pennsylvania, where he was to convene the Indian chiefs at Logstown, learn from them the designs and strength of the French; then proceed to the princip

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John Binns, English Political Prisoner, American Politician and Editor, Died November 16, 1860

John Binns was one of the most influential citizens of the State during the quarter century of which the War of 1812 might be considered the central period. He was a politician, but more than all else an editor, who was a fearless and trenchant writer. Binns had experienced a stormy life in England before he came to America. He was born December 22, 1772, in the city of Dublin, Ireland, and received a fair education at an English school. April, 1794, he went to London and soon became a member of

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Administration of Sir William Keith as Deputy-Governor. He Died November 17, 1749

During the administration of Sir William Keith, Deputy-Governor of the Province, July, 1718, to July, 1726, a difficulty arose between the Southern Indians upon the Shenandoah, and those resident upon the Susquehanna in the Province of Pennsylvania, respecting the limits of their hunting grounds. Hostilities between them seemed imminent. It was necessary to settle these difficulties amicably or the peace of the Province was seriously threatened. To avert this, says Proud, Governor Keith paid a v

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Governor Joseph Hiester, Distinguished Revolutionary Officer and Statesman, Born November 18, 1872

In the early settlement of that part of Pennsylvania which is now included within the limits of Berks County a large portion of the population was drawn from those parts of Germany bordering on or near the River Rhine. Among these sturdy emigrants were three brothers, John, Joseph and Daniel Hiester. John, the eldest, emigrated in 1732, and was followed in 1737 by Joseph and Daniel, who sailed in that year in the ship St. Andrew from Rotterdam. These three brothers were sons of John and Catherin

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President Lincoln Delivered Address at Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863

Abraham Lincoln made many notable speeches, the most prominent of which, probably, were those delivered in his historic debates with Stephen A. Douglas, the “Little Giant.” On his way from his home in Springfield to Washington for his inauguration he made a number of speeches, the most notable of which was delivered in Philadelphia in Independence Hall. But the most famous of all his addresses as President was delivered November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery on t

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The Seneca Chief Hiokatoo, “Most Cruel Human Being,” Died November 20, 1811

The second husband of Mary Jemison, the celebrated Indian captive known as “The White Woman of the Genesee” was Chief Hiokatoo, who she describes as the most cruel human being of whom we have any authentic record. When Mary Jemison was an old woman she related the thrilling narrative of her long life among the Indians. Nothing told by the venerable captive was more thrilling than the life of Hiokatoo, also known as Gardow. She says: “He was an old man when I first saw him, but he was by no means

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Delegates to the Constitutional Convention Chosen November 21, 1789

On November 5, 1788, General Thomas Mifflin succeeded Dr. Benjamin Franklin as president of the Supreme Executive Council. Dr. Franklin was now eighty-two years old and desired to be relieved of so exacting a responsibility and declined the re-election, which was assured him. At the same time George Ross, of Lancaster, was elected vice president. The first election for electors of President and Vice President of the United States, under the new Constitution was held January 7, 1789. The Federal

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Joe Disberry, Remarkable Thief, First Arrested November 22, 1783

About the close of the Revolutionary War a notorious character named Disberry lived between Selinsgrove and Sunbury. He was possessed of great physical strength and had few superiors in running, jumping and skating. But in thieving and lying he was considered a match for the prince of darkness himself. So bold was he that, according to reminiscences preserved by early settlers, he was known to enter the kitchen of a dwelling when the family were in bed, start up a fire, cook a meal and eat at hi

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Border Invasion by Thomas Cresap Ceased After His Arrest, November 23, 1736

There was great conflict between the several Lords Baltimore, Proprietaries of Maryland, and the Penns, Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, over the boundary of their respective provinces, which lasted from the time William Penn first received his grant until the Mason and Dixon boundary line was surveyed in 1763–67. Conestoga Township, in what is now Lancaster County, was originally organized about 1712. Prior to 1719 it was divided into East and West Conestoga. The western boundaries of the latter

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Moravians Slaughtered in Indian Village of Gnadenhutten, November 24, 1755

The first settlement in what is now Carbon County was made by the Moravian missionaries in the year 1746. The converted Mohican Indians having been driven out of Shekomeko, N. Y., near the border of Connecticut, and from Pochgatgach, in the latter State, found an asylum for a short time at Friedenshutten, near Bethlehem. The missionaries considered it unwise to maintain a large Indian congregation so near Bethlehem, and they purchased two hundred acres on the north side of Mahoning Creek, about

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General Forbes Invested Fort Duquesne and Named It Pittsburgh, November 25, 1758

After the humiliating defeat of Major Grant, September 14, 1758, when he disobeyed his orders and attacked the French and Indians at Fort Duquesne and was himself taken prisoner, the French, exulting over their unlooked-for victory, believed that a successful attack could now be made upon the main army of General John Forbes in camp at Loyalhanna. By this bold stroke, in which they would use their entire force, they could, in the discomfiture of the English, end all hostilities, as they had done

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Captain James Smith, of the “Black Boys,” Born in Chester County, November 26, 1737

One of the first captives of the French and Indian War in 1755 was James Smith, of the Conococheague frontier, in what is now Franklin County. He survived a long captivity and afterward wrote a remarkable account of his experiences which were published in Archibald Loudon’s “Indian Narratives.” He was born in Chester County November 26, 1737, and spent his early youth in that neighborhood. In 1755 he was living along the frontier in the vicinity of McDowell’s Mill, in present Franklin County, wh

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Pioneer Postoffice of Pennsylvania Established in Philadelphia, November

27, 1700 In July, 1683, a post was established from Philadelphia to Maryland by William Penn. Henry Waldy, of Tacony, had authority to run the post and supply the passengers with horses. The rates of postage were: Letters from the Falls to Philadelphia, three pence; to Chester, five pence; to New Castle, seven pence; to Maryland, nine pence; from Philadelphia to Chester, two pence; to New Castle, four pence; to Maryland, six pence. It went once a week, notice having been placed on the meeting-ho

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Conway Cabal Started in Reading by General Mifflin on November 28, 1777

When the British marched triumphantly into Philadelphia there was gloom over America such as to make people lose all confidence in General Washington, the commander-in-chief, and as General Gates had but recently, on October 19, 1777, achieved such a brilliant victory over Burgoyne at Saratoga, the one event to bring joy to their hearts, it was but natural to suggest that Gates was the more competent. Many letters appeared in the public press favoring a change of commanders and Pennsylvanians we

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Federal Party Is Broken Up in Closing Days

of November, 1823 It was during the administration of Governor John Andrew Shulze, of Lebanon County, that in 1823, President Monroe made his celebrated declaration in favor of the cause of liberty in the Western Hemisphere and the noninterference of European Powers in the political affairs of this continent. The determined stand taken by President Monroe was warmly indorsed by the people of Pennsylvania, and the Legislature of the State at the subsequent session adopted resolutions to the effec

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Major George Washington Meets French Commander Joncaire at Logstown, November 30, 1753

The contention between Great Britain and France for the possession of what is now Western Pennsylvania began about the middle of the eighteenth century. The Treaty of Aix la Chapelle, signed October 18, 1748, while it nominally closed the war between those two countries, failed to establish the boundaries between their respective colonies in America, and this failure, together with the hostile and conflicting attitude of the colonists in America, was the cause of another long and bloody war. An

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William Penn and Family Arrive in Province on His Second Visit, December 1, 1699

Captain John Blackwell, an officer and one of the heroes under Cromwell, was commissioned Deputy Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania July 25, 1688, while he was in New England, but did not present himself before the Council until the following March. He and the Council never acted in harmony, and nothing of importance was accomplished during his short and stormy term, which ended the following December. Thomas Lloyd again became the Chief Executive. During 1691 the six Councilors from the L

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Morgan Powell Cruelly Murdered by Mollie Maguires, December 2, 1871

The bloody record of the Mollie Maguires began about the time the Civil War was brought to a close and continued until James McParlan, the able detective in the employ of the Pinkerton agency, ferreted out these criminals and brought the guilty to trials which resulted in their execution or long terms of imprisonment. The anthracite coal regions were not free of this scourge until 1877. The Mollies were unusually active and bloodthirsty in 1865. August 25 of that year, David Muir, colliery super

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General Anthony Wayne Defeats Indians; Congress Ratifies Treaty, December 3, 1795

Congress ratified the treaty made at Greenville by General Anthony Wayne, December 3, 1795. This is one of the few such treaties the provisions of which were respected. Anthony Wayne was a member of the convention which met in Philadelphia and adopted a paper, drawn by John Dickinson, which recommended the Assembly to appoint delegates to a Congress of the Colonies. He was one of four members of that committee who became distinguished generals in the Revolution. His father had been an officer in

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Troops Called Out in “Buck Shot War” on December 5, 1838

Amid all the excitement of the first day of the “Buckshot” War, December 4, 1837, at the moment Governor Joseph Ritner had issued his proclamation calling upon the people to disperse the lawless element and to add further excitement, the State Arsenal was seized by friends of the Governor, where large quantities of powder and cartridges were stored. The proclamation and call for troops and the seizure of the arsenal filled the city of Harrisburg with intense alarm. William Cochran, Sheriff of Da

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De Vries Finds Entire Dutch Colony Destroyed, December 6, 1632

The Dutch were the first Europeans to pursue explorations in the New World, and as early as 1609, sent Henry Hudson on an expedition to America, where he arrived at the head of Delaware Bay, August 28 of that year. Hudson later sailed up the New Jersey Coast and anchored off Sandy Hook, September 3; nine days later entered New York Bay through the Narrows, and entered the great river that since has borne his name. The Dutch East India Company received glowing reports from its navigator and immed

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Fires of Early Days; First Fire Fighting Company Organized December 7, 1736

The City of Philadelphia had not been laid out one year until it was visited by a fire, the sufferers being some recently arrived Germans and for whose relief a subscription was made. From this time until 1696 no public precautions seem to have been taken against fire. In the latter year the Provincial Assembly passed a law for preventing accidents that might happen by fire in the towns of Philadelphia and New Castle, by which persons were forbidden to fire their chimneys to cleanse them, or suf

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Washington’s Headquarters in Several Bucks County Mansions Began December

8, 1776 During the Revolution General Washington established his headquarters in no less than three of the old-time dwellings of Bucks County. When Washington crossed the Delaware into Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with the rear guard of his army, Sunday, December 8, 1776, he took up his quarters in the country house of Mrs. Berkley, while the troops were stationed opposite the crossing. This dwelling was built in 1750, in the village of Morrisville. The house is still in a fine state of preservat

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Railroad Riots in Erie; Bridges Destroyed December 9, 1853

One of the most interesting and irritating episodes that became interwoven with the administration of Governor James Pollock was what was then known as the Erie Riots. Pollock was seriously handicapped at the outset of his administration by the only Know Nothing Legislature in the history of the State. Nothing constructive came out of this session, but a movement was begun which led to the sale of the Main Line of the public works. In this the Governor was a strong advocate, and two years later

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Count Zinzindorf, Moravian Church Founder, Arrives December 10, 1741

Count Zinzindorf arrived in Philadelphia December 10, 1741. He was full of enthusiasm, eager to preach the gospel to all men. His idea was to unite all Protestant denominations into a Christian confederacy. Nicholas Ludwig, Count von Zinzindorf, was born at Dresden, Germany, May 26, 1700. In August, 1727, on his estate at Herrnhut (“The Lord’s Keeping”), in Saxony, he organized some three hundred persons, emigrants from Moravia and Bohemia, into a religious organization known indiscriminately as

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General Washington Praises Lydia Darrah to Congress December 11, 1777

When the British army held possession of Philadelphia, September 26, 1777, to June 19, 1778, General Howe’s headquarters were in Second Street, the fourth door below Spruce, in a house which was before occupied by General John Cadwallader. Directly opposite resided William and Lydia Darrah, members of the Society of Friends. A superior officer of the British Army, believed to be the adjutant general, fixed upon one of the chambers in the Darrah home, a back room, for holding private conferences,

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Federal Constitution Adopted by Pennsylvania December 12, 1787

The establishment of a free nation resulted through the close of the war of independence, yet it also brought anxious solicitude to every patriot’s mind, and this state of apprehension increased with each succeeding year. The State debts operated severely on all classes, to meet the payment of which was impossible. This and kindred troubles, financial and governmental, impressed the people with the gloomy conviction that the great work of independence was only half done. It was felt that above a

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Attempt to Impeach Justices Yeates, Shippen and Smith Fails, December 13, 1803

Thomas McKean became Governor of Pennsylvania December 17, 1799. With the election of McKean there was at once a lively commotion concerning the disposition of offices, and for the first time in the history of the State the Governor found himself confronted with this new and perplexing problem. There never had been any radical change in the offices during the long period of the Provincial Government, while the party of the Revolution, after the war, with the single exception of Dickinson’s term,

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John Binns and Samuel Stewart Fight Last Duel in Pennsylvania December 14, 1805

Dueling was prohibited by an act of Assembly in Pennsylvania March 31, 1806, and it is a fact that the passage of this prohibitory measure was due wholly, or in a great degree, to a duel which had occurred between John Binns and Samuel Stewart December 14, 1805. The prominence of the antagonists had much to do with the public feeling which followed this affair. Binns was the owner and editor of the Republican Argus, of Northumberland, the most influential newspaper published at that time in the

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Pennsylvania Troops Mustered for Mexican War, December 15, 1846

During the second year of Governor Francis R. Shunk’s administration the war with Mexico was begun. Pennsylvania was authorized to furnish six regiments of infantry. Two were mustered into the service, the first on December 15, 1846, at Pittsburgh, under command of Colonel Wynkoop, the second on January 5, 1847, also at Pittsburgh, under command of Colonel Roberts, who was succeeded by Colonel Geary. The gallant services of the troops on the fields of Mexico at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Chepultepe

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General U. S. Grant Leaves Philadelphia on Trip Around World, Arriving There on Return December 16, 1879

There were several incidents in life of General Ulysses Simpson Grant which are of especial interest to Pennsylvanians. On June 10, 1865, he was tendered a formal reception at the Union League Club house in Philadelphia, at which he was received with such enthusiasm, the general was engaged more than three hours in shaking hands with his visitors. When the great fair was held at the Academy of Music, commencing October 23, 1865, to aid the Soldiers and Sailors’ Home, the inauguration ceremonies

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Shikellamy, Vicegerent of Six Nations, Died in Shamokin, December 17, 1748

Shikellamy is the most picturesque and historic Indian character who ever lived in Pennsylvania. His early life is shrouded in mystery. It has been claimed that he was a Susquehannock by birth, but others claim his father was a Frenchman. John Bartram, who accompanied Conrad Weiser and Lewis Evans to Onondaga in 1743, wrote of Shikellamy in his journal: “July 10, 1743—He was of the Six Nations, or rather a Frenchman born at Montreal, and adopted by the Oneidoes after being taken a prisoner, but

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Barbara Frietchie, Native of Pennsylvania, Died December 18, 1862

Where is the person who has not been thrilled with the reading or recitation of John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem, “Barbara Frietchie?” It is even doubtful if the Massachusetts Quaker poet realized how famous he was going to make the venerable Barbara, and himself, when he penned his immortal poem. But there are few persons of the present generation who know anything about the personal side of Barbara Frietchie. This patriot was born in Lancaster County, Pa., December 3, 1766, when George Washingto

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Thaddeus Stevens Inquiry of Masonry and Odd Fellowship Began December 19, 1835

At the gubernatorial election in October, 1835, owing to an unfortunate defection in the Democratic ranks whereby there were two nominees for that office, Governor George Wolf and Henry A. Muhlenberg, Joseph Ritner was elected to the highest office of the State by a minority vote. In possession of both the executive and legislative branches of the State Government, the Anti-Masons were determined to carry out various measures with a high hand. No sooner did the session of the Legislature open in

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Storm Stops French Refugees in Settlement Work December 20, 1793

Frenchtown, or Asylum, was the name of a settlement founded in Northumberland County (now Bradford) in 1793, by French refugees as the residence of the doomed Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. But the Terrorists prevented her ever seeing America. During the French Revolution, when many of the Frenchmen fled from their homes, not a few sought refuge in San Domingo, and those jumped from the frying pan into the fire. The Negro slaves soon heard of the success of the Revolution in France and revol

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General Thomas Mifflin Inaugurated First Governor of Pennsylvania December 21, 1790

The inauguration of the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took place December 21, 1790, when Hon. Thomas Mifflin was inducted into office amid all the splendor of that now distant day. The transfer of the present State of Pennsylvania from a feudal province to a sovereign State was effected by the promulgation on September 28, 1776, of the first Constitution. This was so thoroughly revolutionary that it was never fully approved of by the people of the State. The Council of Censo

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First Newspaper in Pennsylvania Published December 22, 1719

The first newspaper published in Pennsylvania was entitled the American Weekly Mercury, and was established by Andrew Bradford, at Philadelphia, and sold by John Copsom. The initial number appeared December 22, 1719. The Mercury was published weekly, generally on Tuesday, but the day of publication varied. Andrew Bradford died November 23, 1742; and the next number of the Mercury, dated December 2, appeared in mourning. The widow, Cornelia Bradford, took into partnership Isaiah Warner in March,

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John F. Watson, Annalist, Historian, Antiquarian and Collector of Historical Objects, Died December 23, 1860

John Fanning Watson died December 23, 1860, at the age of eighty-two years, and left behind him a monument to his mental powers in his “Annals of Philadelphia.” Mr. Watson was a native of Burlington County, N. J., where he was born June 13, 1779. His parents were of English English origin; his grandfather, Thomas Watson, came to America in 1667, settling at Salem, where William Watson, father of John F. was born. Among his ancestors were some of the earliest settlers of our country. All were dev

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Colonel Plunket Begins Action in Second Pennamite War on December 24, 1775

The first armed conflict between the Proprietary Government and the Connecticut settlers in the Wyoming Valley occurred when the Yankees came down into the region in 1769 and seated themselves under the Government of Connecticut. The conflict lasted, with more or less intensity, until 1771, when the Penns were compelled to surrender and leave the intruders in questioned possession of that territory. This series of attacks, assaults and real battles has since been known as the first Pennamite War

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Pennamites Humiliatingly Defeated by Yankees, December 25, 1775

On December 20, the very day on which Congress adopted resolutions calling on Pennsylvania and Connecticut to cease armed conflict during the period of the Revolution, it was learned by the Yankee scouts that Colonel William Plunket and the Pennamites had pushed their flotilla up the North Branch of the Susquehanna River as far as the mouth of Nescopeck Creek, about nineteen miles below Nanticoke Falls, but that they were advancing slowly on account of the snow, which was then falling, and the i

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Pennsylvania Militia in Battle of Trenton, December 26, 1776

Early in the Revolution Pennsylvania began to suffer severe losses. Each of the battalions organized at the request of Congress had been sent immediately to the front, some to Canada, some to the defense of the Hudson, and the balance with the main army. During the summer of 1776 the necessities of the Continental service were such that the Council of Safety of Pennsylvania placed the State battalions under Colonels Samuel Miles, Samuel J. Atlee and Daniel Brodhead at the disposal of Congress. T

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Paxtang Boys Wipe Out Conestoga Indians on December 27, 1763

It was during the Pontiac War that Governor James Hamilton, in reply to earnest appeals for help and protection, said he could give the frontiersmen no aid whatever. Neither the Governor nor the Assembly showed the proper spirit. It was a time when the tomahawk, the scalping knife and the torch were desolating the frontiers of the Province. The Indians set fire to houses, barns, corn, hay, in short, to everything that was combustible, so that the whole frontier seemed to be one general blaze. Gr

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Benjamin Franklin Presents Treaty Plan to King of France, December 28, 1776

So soon as the idea of independence had taken the practical shape of a resolution and declaration adopted by the Continental Congress, the Americans began to contemplate the necessity of foreign aid, material and moral. Congress appointed a Secret Committee of Correspondence for the purpose and sent Silas Deane, of Connecticut, upon a half-commercial, half-diplomatic mission to France. Franklin was at first opposed to seeking foreign alliances. “A virgin state,” he said, “should preserve the vir

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Franklin Begins Building Chain of Forts on December 29, 1755

Governor Robert Hunter Morris summoned the Provincial Assembly for November 3, 1755, when he laid before them an account of the depredations committed by the enemy, and demanded money and a militia law. Petitions began to pour in from all parts of the Province; from the frontier counties praying for arms and munitions; from the middle counties, deprecating further resistance to the views of the Governor, and urging, if necessary, a sacrifice of property for the better defense of their lives. All

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Mason and Dixon Determined Starting Point for Boundary Survey, December 30, 1763

The dispute over the boundary of the province on the south began with the acquisition of the charter and continued through the life of William Penn and his descendants, until almost the end of Proprietary Government in Pennsylvania. Charles Calvert, the fifth Lord Baltimore, drew an agreement, defining the boundaries between Maryland and Delaware and Maryland and Pennsylvania. On May 10, 1732, John and Thomas Penn agreed to this and signed the instrument. John Penn and Lord Baltimore then came t

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First Bank in America Chartered in Philadelphia, December 31, 1781

Congress again assembled in Philadelphia on July 2, 1778, and on the 9th the “Articles of Confederation,” engrossed on parchment, were signed by the delegates of eight States. Pennsylvania was one of those states which immediately acceded to the Confederation. The delegation from this State consisted of Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, Daniel Roderdeau, Jonathan Bayard Smith, James Smith, of Yorktown; William Clingan and Joseph Reed. The “Articles of Confederation” were submitted to the several

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