Commonwealth of Pennsylvania THE PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM COMMISSION Harrisburg, 1969...

In an Age when man's horizons are constantly being widened to include hitherto little-known or non-existent countries, and even other planets and outer space, there is still much to be said for the oft-neglected study of man in his more immediate environs. Intrigued with the historical tale of the "Fair Play settlers" of the West Branch Valley of the Susquehanna River and practically a life-long resident of the West Branch Valley, this writer felt that their story was worth telling and that it m

The Colonial period of American history has been of primary concern to the historian because of its fundamental importance in the development of American civilization. What the American pioneers encountered, particularly in the interior settlements, was, basically, a frontier experience. An ethnographic analysis of one part of the Provincial frontier of Pennsylvania indicates the significance of that colonial influence. The "primitive agricultural democracy" of this frontier illustrates the "sty

James Logan, president of the Proprietary Council of Pennsylvania, 1736-1738, once declared that "if the Scotch-Irish continue to come they will make themselves masters of the Province." [1] His prediction, which was to be generally proven in the Province during the French and Indian War, was to be demonstrated particularly in the West Branch Valley during the Revolutionary period. The Scotch-Irish were the dominant national or ethnic group in the Fair Play territory from 1769 to 1784. This domi

The political system of these predominantly Scotch-Irish squatters in the Susquehanna Valley, along the West Branch, offers a vivid demonstration of the impact of the frontier on the development of democratic institutions. Occupying lands beyond the reach of the Provincial legislature, with some forty families of mixed national origin in residence by 1773, these frontier "outlaws" had to devise some solution to the question of authority in their territory. [1] Their solution was the extra-legal

The economy of the West Branch Valley was basically agrarian—a farmers' frontier. The "new order of Americanism" [1] which arose on this frontier was in part due to the cultural background of its inhabitants, the knowledge and traditional values which they had brought with them. It was further influenced by the frontier status of the region itself—an area of virgin land in the earliest stages of development. And finally, it was affected by the physical characteristics of the territory, particula

The society of the Fair Play territory, between the year 1769 and 1784, was indeed simple. There were no towns or population clusters, either in the territory or within a range of some thirty-five or forty miles. Furthermore, as we have already noted, transportation and communication facilities were so limited as to make contact with the "outside world" an exception rather than the rule. As we have also seen, economic functions on this farmers' frontier were not highly specialized. Even the poli

Any analysis of democracy in the Fair Play territory must consider the question of leadership and the particular problems of that frontier. The number of leaders and their roles, the marks of leadership, and the circumstances which brought certain men to the fore must all be considered. Was there some correlation between property-holdings, or national origin, and leadership? Were there certain offices conducive to the exercise of leadership? The subject of leadership entails inquiry into each of

One of the most often used and least understood words in the American lexicon is the term "democracy." In the colonial period, it was seldom used, except in denunciation. However, properly defined, it can help us to evaluate the Fair Play settlers in some understandable context. Etymologically stemming from two Greek words, demos , meaning "the people," and kratos , meaning "authority," democracy means "authority in the people" or, we can say, "self-determination." By self-determination is meant

In the first chapter of his recent study, The Making of an American Community , Merle Curti suggests that "less is to be gained by further analysis of Turner's brilliant and far-ranging but often ambiguous presentations than by patient and careful study of particular frontier areas in the light of the investigator's interpretation of Turner's theory." [1] This study was undertaken with just such a purpose in mind. In addition, it is hoped that this investigation will give some insight into the v

Albion, Robert G. and Leonidas Dodson (eds.). Philip Vickers Fithian: Journal, 1775-1776. Princeton, 1934. American Council of Learned Societies. "Report of the Committee on Linguistic and National Stocks in the Population of the United States," Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1931 , I. Washington, 1932. Andrews, Charles M. Colonial Folkways. New Haven, 1919. ——. Guide to the Materials for American History to 1783 in the Public Record Office of Great Britain. Wa

Appearance Docket Commencing 1797 , No. 2. Lycoming County, Office of the Prothonotor, Williamsport. Colonial Records , IX. Harrisburg, 1852. Colonial Records , X. Harrisburg, 1852. Colonial Records , XI. Harrisburg, 1852. Colonial Records , XII. Harrisburg, 1852. Colonial Records , XX. Harrisburg, 1852. Pennsylvania Archives , [First Series], XI. Philadelphia, 1855. ——, [First Series], XII. Philadelphia, 1856. ——, Second Series, II. Harrisburg, 1876. ——, Second Series, III. Harrisburg, 1875. ——

Baelyn, Bernard. "Political Experiences and Enlightenment Ideas in Eighteenth-Century America," American Historical Review , LXVII (January, 1962), 339-351. Beck, Herbert H. "Martin Meylin, A Progenitor of the Pennsylvania Rifle," Papers Read Before the Lancaster County Historical Society , LIII (1949), 33-61. Berger, Robert. "The Story of Baptist Beginnings in Lycoming County," Now and Then , XII (July, 1960), 274-280. Bertin, Eugene P. "Primary Streams of Lycoming County," Now and Then , VIII

Turner, Morris K. "The Commercial Relations of the Susquehanna Valley During the Colonial Period." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1916....

Zebulon Butler Papers, Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Rev. John Cuthbertson's Diary, 1716-1791 (microfilm, 2 reels). The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. Journal of William Colbert (typescript). Property of the Rev. Charles F. Berkheimer of Williamsport, Pa. Original (1792-1794) at the Garrett Biblical Seminary, Chicago. (Copy also at Lycoming College, Williamsport.) Revolutionary War Pension Claims (typescript). Wagner Collection

Mrs. Solon J. Buck, Washington, D. C, June 22, 1963, to the author. Alfred P. James, Pittsburgh, July 16, 1963, to the author. Peter Marshall, Berkeley, Calif., May 19, 1962, to the author. Mrs. Phyllis V. Parsons, Collegeville, Pa., October 21, 1962, to the author. Paul A. W. Wallace, Harrisburg, February 16, 1961, July 30, August 24, and December 17, 1962, to the author....