AREA HISTORY:  History of Adams County, Chapter VI, Adams County, PA

Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Kathy Francis

Copyright 2005.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/adams/
_______________________________________________ 

History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania
Chicago:  Warner, Beers & Co., 1886
_______________________________________________ 

Part III, History of Adams County, Pages 23-24

CHAPTER VI.

THE “LITTLE CONEWAGO” SETTLEMENT-“DIGGES’ CHOICE”-LAND PURCHASES IN 1734, 1738 
AND 1742-RECORDS OF 1752.

The settlement made by Andrew Shriver was in the proprietary tract, “Digges’ 
Choice.”  John Digges, an Englishman, had received a grant from Lord Baltimore, 
whose conflicting claim with Penn’s claims under his grant was the “disputed 
lands.”  Digges took out his warrant in 1727 and had it surveyed in 1732.  It 
was the oldest land title and the earliest survey in the strip of disputed 
lands.  The tract as surveyed contained 6,822 acres and was described as lying 
on “Little Conewago.”  It principally lay in what is now Adams County, but 
passed into York County.  In this county it comprised the present limits of 
Germany and Conowago Townships.  Littlestown is on the southwestern extremity of 
this tract.

As stated in a preceding chapter, the earliest settlement in this county was 
made by purchasers under Digges.  Soon there came others who had purchased 
rights from Penn, and thus the conflict between Penn and Baltimore soon passed 
to the settlers, and turmoils and lawlessness, and at times violent acts with 
bloodshed, were for years continued, with many circumstances to make the lives 
of the settlers miserable.  Digges commenced selling to settlers as early as 
1731.  In public documents relating to affairs of the earliest land transactions 
here are found as purchasers in 1734-the year Andrew Shriver came-the names of 
Martin Kitzmiller, William Logstone, Martin Ungefar and Valentine Eyler.

We give these dates from the records, not as positively indicating the year the 
purchasers came; because we can readily understand that ordinarily the settlers 
would be in the country some time before purchasing land, and in other cases 
they purchased before they actually moved onto the ground.

In the order of dates found, in 1738, purchasers, Jacob Youngblood and (on a 
branch of Codorus Creek) Derrick Youngblood, Peter Rysher, Peter Shultz, John 
Martin Inyfoss, Martin Brin, Abraham Sellers and Henry Sellers.  In the same 
year, Nicholas and his son Mathias Ullery, Mathias Marker, George Shriver, 
Conrad Ulric and his son Mathias, Peter Ensminger; 1742 William Oler, Jacob 
Banker, Herman Updegraffe.

In 1752, the records show there were forty persons living on tracts sold under 
Maryland rights, in York County, the majority of whom were in what is now Adams 
County, as follows: Martin Buyers, Michael Behler, Casper Berkhamer, John 
Counts, Adam Cook, George Coffman, John Digges, Conrad Eckron, Nicholas Farney, 
George Frush, Peter Gerson, Andrew Hainer, Phillip Kinspoor, Henry Cone, 
Cornelius McGean, Peter Middlecauf, John Morningstar, Joseph Moor, Henry Null, 
Robert Owings, Jacob Ports, Jacob Pinkhart, Anthony Sill, Andrew Shriver, George 
Shriver, Frederick Sheets, Philip Lower, Ludwic Shriver, Christian Stoner, Peter 
Shults, John Shreder, Mathis Ullery, Martin Ungefar, Stephen Ullery, William 
Wapplesplace, Robert Whitehead, Michael Will, David Young.

The next point of settlement made was on the “Manor of Maske,” as related in the 
chapter on that subject elsewhere.