Area History: Warner-Beers' History of Franklin County, PA, 1887 -- Part II: Chapters I & II Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Joyce Moore USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commerical individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites require permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. __________________________________________________ HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO: WARNER, BEERS & CO., 1887 Chicago: JOHN MORRIS COMPANY, PRINTERS 118 and 120 Monroe Street. __________________________________________________ HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - Part II CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION. The Great Eastern Valley -- The Path of a Probable Gulf Stream -- The Mountain Ranges and Their Appendages -- Systems of Drainage -- Geological and Mineralogical Aspects -- Character of Soil -- Vegetation -- Climate The beautiful valley, of which Franklin County forms but a small part, sweeps along the entire eastern coast of the United States, extend- ing under different names, from the southern extremity of Vermont across the Hudson at Newburgh, the Delaware at Easton, the Susquehanna at Harrisburg, the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, the James at Lynchburg, the Tennessee at Chattanooga, and losing itself in Alabama and the southwest. By some it is claimed to have been the path along which an ocean current, possibly the beneficent Gulf Stream, whose influence changes the natural and social conditions of both American and European civilization, flowed long prior to the present order of things, in either the old or the new world. It is bounded on either side by a chain of the great Appalachian Mountain system, running from the northeast to the southwest, and is of nearly uniform width, from twelve to twenty miles -- the whole distance. It is broken into fertile agricultural sections by the beautiful streams already mentioned, apparently to meet the diversified wants of its future occupants. The section lying between the Susquehanna and the Potomac is usually designated as the Cumberland Valley. The valley west of "Harris Ferry," as Harrisburg was originally known, was called by some "Kittochtinny," by others "North" Valley. The northwestern boundary is known in Pennsylva- nia as North Mountain, or the Kittatinny Mountain, the latter name, signifying endless, being an euphonic change from Kekachtannin, by which the Delaware Indians called it. The southwestern boundary is South Mount- ian, a beautiful range, parallel with the Kittatinny. From the Susque- hanna to the Potomac, the Kittatinny maintains an almost uniform summit line, ranging from 700 to 1,200 feet above the valley beneath. Several picturesque points or projections, known as Clark's, Parnell's, Jordan's and Casey's Knobs, and Two-Top Mountains, give fine relief to the range. Of these, Parnell's and Casey's were used, during the civil war, as union signal stations. Between Kittatinny and Tuscarora, lying still farther to the west, are several beautiful and productive valleys; Path Valley, terminating at the extreme north end in Horse Valley, and sending off to the right of Knob Mountain, another known as Amberson's Valley; Bear and Horse Valleys, elevated and of smaller extent, having a trend northeast- ward; Cove Gap, a picturesque opening, through which packers in the olden, and vehicles in modern times, pass across the mountain westward, and Little Cove, a long narrow valley, that slopes southwestward toward the Potomac. In the southwestern part of what is now Franklin County, formed by Kittatinny on the west, Cross Mountain on the south, and Two-Top Mountain on the east, lies a relic of the mythical days, when the giants piled Ossa on Pelion, and known as the Devil's Punch Bowl. From its spacious receptacle the gods, in their Bacchanalian revelry, quaffed their intoxicating drinks. South Mountain, less picturesque in its scenery, is covered with a good supply of valuable timber. Like Kittatinny range, its table lands are valuable for the fuel supplies they furnish to the inhabitants of the valley, as well as for the diversified scenery they afford to the passers-by. The richness of view afforded by these two mountain ranges is calculated to inspire a remarkable love for the beautiful in nature, and to develop the poetic sentiment in man. The drainage of Franklin County is most perfect, and consists of two systems. The first, flowing northeastward in a tortuous course, and emptying into the Susquehanna River at West Fairview, two miles above Harrisburg, embraces the Conodoguinet and its tributaries, viz.: Spring Creek and its branches, Furnace and Main's, Keasey's, Lehman's, Paxton's, Clippinger's and Trout Runs. The northern portion of the county, par- ticularly Southampton, Letterkenny, Lurgan, and portions of St. Thomas, Peters, Metal and Fannet, is thus provided with good drainage and the means of preserving animals and plants against drouth. The second system, embracing all those water-courses which flow southward, and finally discharge their contents into the Potomac River, includes the following streams: 1. The Conococheague with two distinct branches, East Conococheague and West Conococheague, which unite near the southern part of the county on the farm of Mr. LAZARUS KENNEDY, empties into the Potomac at Williamsport. East Conococheague receives from the central por- tion of the county the contributions of Rocky Creek, Falling Spring, Back Creek, Campbell's Run and Muddy Run. Several of these streams are supplied with abundant mill power, which is utilized to the best advantage. West Conococheague, traversing the whole extent of Path Valley, leaps into the broad open valley from between Cape Horn and Jordan's Knob, and gathering in the waters of Broad and Trout Runs, Licking Creek, Welsh Run and other small streams, hastens to join its twin sister at their junction on the KENNEDY place. 2. Marsh Run, which divides, a part of the way, the present townships of Antrim and Washington. 3. Little Antietam, which with its two branches, East Antietam and West Antietam, thoroughly drains the southeastern part of the county, carrying its sparkling waters finally into the Potomac River near Sharpsburg, Md. All these streams are fed by beautiful springs, whose sparkling waters come gushing forth from mountain and hillside, and many of them, in addition to supplying pure cold water for man and beast, are richly provided with an excellent quality of fish. They supply a water-power, which has long been utilized for milling and manufacturing purposes. Chambersburg and Waynesboro supply their own citizens with the clear refreshing water found in these mountain streams. An observing traveler will notice that the ledges or beds of rock trend from northeast to southwest, corresponding with the course of the mountain ranges; likewise that the various layers have positions one above another at different angles to the horizon. They have been broken up by some disturbing element beneath, and have left their edges outcropping at various angles from a level to a perpendicular. Along the range of South Mountain he will find the rocks of a different character from those in the valley, being a hard, compact, white sandstone, which rings when it is struck, and when broken has a splintery and sometimes discolored appearance. At the northern base of South Mountain he encounters the great limestone formation, which obtains throughout the whole length of Cumberland Valley. "It is usually of a bluish but occasionally of a grey and nearly black color, generally pure enough to yield excellent lime, but not unfrequently mixed with sand, clay, and oxide of iron. Flint stones and fossils are also occasionally met with in some parts of this formation. In the soil above it, iron ore is sometimes abundant enough to be profitably worked; and indeed some of the most productive ore banks in the State are found in it and its vicinity. Pipe ore and kindred varieties of that material have been obtained of good quality in several localities in this limestone region. About the middle of the valley, though with a very irregular line of demarcation, we meet with a dark slate formation extending to the foot of North Mountain; though its usual color is brown or bluish, it is sometimes reddish and even yellow. Lying between the great limestone and the grey sandstone, it is sometimes inter- mingled with sandstone which contains rounded pebbles forming conglomerate but this is too silicious to receive a good polish. The rocks of Kitta- tinny or North Mountain consist almost exclusively of this massive grey limestone of various degrees of coarseness. They are not valuable for either building or mineral purposes." (State Geological Survey.) Iron ore in extensive, and copper in limited quantities have been found; "beneath the surface ore, inexhaustible deposits of magnetic iron conveniently near to valuable beds of hematite, which lie either in fissures between the rocky strata or over them in a highly ferruginous loam. This hematite is of every possible variety and of immense quanti- ties. When it has a columnar stalactite structure it is known under the name of pipe ore. It usually yields a superior iron, and at the same time is easily and profitably smelted. It generally produces at least fifty percent of metallic iron." The nature and fertility of soil are determined by the character of the underlying rocks by whose disintegration it is produced. The lime- stone lands are very productive. The slate lands, well improved by lime and other fertilizers, and properly cultivated by skilled labor, yield abundant crops. These two kinds of soil, the limestone and the slate, are both rendered productive. In fact, the entire belt of land in the valley is susceptible of the highest cultivation, the only unproductive land lying along the sides of the mountain. And even this is prized highly for its timber; or, when cleared, for its grazing and fruit-growing qualities. Says DR. WING: "The natural productions of the soil, when it was first discovered by white men, awakened admiration quite as much as he meadows and the fields of grain have done at a later period. A rich luxuriance of grass is said to have covered the whole valley, wild fruits abounded, and in some parts the trees were of singular variety. Of the trees there were many species of oak, white and black walnut, hickory, white, red, and sugar maple, cherry, locust, sassafras, chestnut, ash, elm, linden, beech, white and scrub pine, dogwood and iron-wood. The laurel, plum, juniper, persimmon, hazel, wild currant, gooseberry, blackberry, rasberry, spice bush, sumac and the more humble strawberry and dewberry and wintergreen almost covered the open country; and their berries, in some instances, constituted no small portion of the food of the Indians and the early settlers." The climate of Cumberland Valley does not differ esentially from that which prevails in the southeastern portion of the State. Hedged in by mountains the keenness and force of the Atlantic winds are necessarily somewhat broken and modified; and yet strong mountain storms occasionally break in upon its peaceful habitations. The statements of careful observers induce the belief that perceptible changes in climate have occurred in the valley since its first settlement. Owing, it is thought, to the disappearance of forests and the consequently increased drainage of the lands, many streams are less copious and violent, the averages of cold and heat are decreased and the moisture of the atmosphere is percept- ibly diminished. DR. RUSH, of Philadelphia, a close observer of the climatology of the State from 1789 to 1805, remarked that a material change had taken place since the days of the founders; the cold of winters and the heat of summers were less uniform than they had been forty or fifty years before. * * "The variableness of weather in our State," he continued, "is found south of 41 degrees of latitude, and north of that the winters are steady and in character with the Eastern and Northern States; but no two successive seasons are alike, and even the same months differ from each other in different years. There is but one steady trait, and that is, it is uniformly variable." What DR. C. P. WING wrote in 1879, concerning Cumberland County, may be applied with equal force to its daughter, Franklin County. Hear him: "Within the past thirty years, there have not been more than a score of days when the thermometer fell below zero, and about as many when it rose above ninety-seven. "The summers more nearly resemble each other than do either of the other seasons; most of the days are hot and clear, but interrupted by violent thunder gusts, heavy rains from the northeast, and warm showers from the south. Snow sometimes covers the ground in winter for months, and at other times there is scarcely enough for sleighing. The prevail- ing winds are, in summer, from the northwest and southwest, the former bringing clear and the latter cloudy weather; in winter, the northwest winds bring clear, cold weather, and the northeastern, snow, storms and rain. The winter seldom sets in with severity until the latter part of December and commonly begins to moderate in February. (The compiler of this history spent the time from February 11 to December 14, 1886, in Franklin County, during which he did not find it necessary to wear an overcoat.) Near the close of this latter month, or early in March, the snow disappears, and in the beginning of April the fruit trees blossom and vegetation commences. At this season, however, the atmosphere is often damp, chilly, and stormy, and until the beginning of May, there are frequent returns of wet and disagreeable weather. Owing to these changes, vegetation advances very unequally in different years, and the promising blossoms of the early spring are often blasted by the frosts of April and May. The average of rain and snow fall for three years was found to be, for the spring, 9.05 inches; for the summer, 9.67; for the autumn, 7.68; for the winter, 7.61, and for the whole year, 34.01. The autumn is usually the most agreeable season. The mornings and evenings become cool about the middle of September, and soon after the equinoctial rain and after the first frosts of November commences that remarkable peculia- rity of our climate, the 'Indian Summer.' The name is probably derived from the Indians, who were accustomed to say they always had a second summer of nine days just before the winter set in. It was the favorite time for their harvest, when they looked to gather in their corn, and when, from accident or design, on their hunting excursions, the woods and grass of the mountains and prairies were burned and their game was driven from concealment. Certainly a more delightful climate, all things con- sidered, it would be difficult to find in the United States. A stagnant pool or swamp, sufficient to produce malarious disease is probably not known, and is scarcely possible on account of the peculiar drainage of the soil. CHAPTER II. -- PIONEER SETTLERS Two Classes: Scotch-Irish, their Origin, Arrivals, Character and Locations -- Germans, Sketch of Persecutions, Arrival, Trials, etc. -- Trend of Settlements in Cumberland Valley Westward -- Shippensburg a Distributing Point -- Settlements at Falling Spring -- Sketch of Benjamin Chambers -- Other Settlements and Settlers in Various Parts of the Country -- List of Taxable in 1751-52 -- Mason and Dixon's Line. Two general classes of people constituted the early settlers of Cumberland Valley, viz: the Scotch-Irish and the Germans. The Scotch-Irish were a numerous but honorable class who Migrated to Pennsylvania and other Eastern States at an early day. The origin of the term is traceable to events that occurred early in The seventeenth century. James I, of England [reign 1603-1625] Was very desirous of improving the civilization of Ireland. The Irish Earls at Tyrone and Tyrconell having conspired against the English Government, and been compelled to flee the country, their estates, consisting of about 500,000 acres, were confiscated. These estates the king divided into small tracts, and induced many Protestant people from his own country (Scotland) to locate upon Them on condition that possession should be taken within four years. A second revolt occurring soon after, another large forfeiture of the six counties in the Provience of Ulster followed, the confiscated property being seized by Government officials. The King, being a zealous Protestant, aimed to root out the native Irish who were all Catholic, hostile to his government and incessantly plotting against it. Their places he intended to supply with people concerning whose loyalty he had no doubt, the sturdy inhabitants of his own land, Scotland. Encouraged and aided by the Government, these Scotch went in great number across to the near Province of Ulster, and took possession of the lands, which had been hitherto neglected and almost ruined by their indolent occupants. They addressed themselves, at once, with intelligence and industry, to reclaim the country and introduce a higher material and social order of things. The counties of Antrim, Armagh, Caven, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan and Tyrone-names familiar to all intelligent Pennsylvanians-soon became prominent because of the new blood and brains introduced. Thus Protestantism was planted in Ireland. Its Scotch advocates, like the Jews, have maintained a separate existence, refusing to intermarry with their Irish neighbors. Protestant in religion, they have steadily refused to unite with the Irish. Celtic in origin and Roman Catholic in faith. This marked isolation has continued through a period of more than 250 years. In the succeeding reign of Charles I (1625-49), a spirit of bitter retaliation was engendered, on the part of the native Irish, against this foreign element, resulting in a most deplorable condition of affairs. Incited by two ambitious and unscrupulous leaders, Roger More and Philim O'Neale, the Irish Catholics began, October 27, 1741, a massacre which continued until more than 40,000 victims were slaughtered. Owing to these persecutions and others of similar nature during the succeeding century, owing to the want of religious toleration by the reigning powers, owing to their inability to renew their land rents with satisfactory terms and owing to the general freedom offered them by William Penn in his new American colony-free lands, free speech, free worship and free government--these Scotch settlers left the north of Ireland and came to America by thousands, where they are known as Scotch-Irish. According to Watson, these "immigrants did not come to Pennsylvania as soon as the Germans," few, if any arriving prior to 1719. The first arrivals usually settled near the disputed line between Maryland and Pennsylvania. James Logan (an intelligent and influential representative of the Penn government, and though of Irish extraction thoroughly in sympathy with the Quaker principles) complains, in 1724, to the proprietaries of these people as 'bold and indigent strangers" because they had taken up lands near the disputed line without securing proper authority from him as the representative of the Government. In 1725 he stated that at least 100,000 acres of land were possessed "by persons (including Germans) who resolutely set down and improved it without any right to it," and that he was "much at a loss to determine how to dispossess them." In 1728, 4,500 persons, chiefly from Ireland, arrived in New Castle. In 1729, Logan expressed his gratification that parliament was "about to take measures to prevent the too free emigration to this country," intimating that the prospects were that Ireland was about "to send all her inhabitants hither, for last week not less than six ships arrived." "It is strange," continued he, "that they thus crowd where they are not wanted. The common fear is that if they continue to come, they will make themselves proprietors of the province." In 1730 he again complains of them as "audacious and disorderly" for having, by force, taken possession of the Conestoga Manor, containing 15,000 acres of the "best land in the country." Of this they were, by the sheriff, subsequently dispossessed and their cabins burned. About the same time, he says, in another letter, "I must own, from my own experience in the land office, that the settlement of five families from Ireland gives me more trouble than fifty of any other people." The captious spirit manifested by Logan against both German and Scotch-Irish settlers, and especially the latter, and which was subsequently shared, to some extent, by Peters, Dickinson and Franklin, is readily accounted for by his fear of losing his position in the Government, should any other than the Quaker influence prevail. From 1730 to 1740 the influx was great. Settlements were commenced in Cumberland (then Lancaster) County in 1730 and 1731, the Chambers brothers having crossed west of the Susquehanna about that time. After 1736, during the month of September, in which year alone 1,000 families are said to have sailed from Belfast, the influx into the Kittochtinny Valley, west of the Susquehanna, increased rapidly; for in 1748, the number of taxables, not counting the fifty Germans, was about 800. Soon after the erection of Cumberland County (1750), "in consequence of the frequent disturbances between the governor and Irish settlers, the proprietaries gave orders to their agents to sell no lands in either York or Lancaster counties to the Irish; and also to make to the Irish settlers in Paxton, Swatara, and Donegal Townships advantageous offers of removal to Cumberland County, which offers being liberal were accepted by many." Injustice has been done to the Scotch-Irish settlers of these early days by two classes of writers: first, those who were actuated by jealousy, as was Logan, in his inability to see good in any classes not directly connected with the original Friend or Penn element; secondly, those who have failed to study carefully the circumstances which surrounded the Scotch-Irish immigrants in their settlements and conduct toward the Indians. Under these circumstances we are not surprised to hear Mr. Sherman Day, in his Historical Collections of Pennsylvania, call them "a pertinacious and pugnacious race," "pushing their settlements upon unpurchased lands about the Juniata, producing fresh exasperation among the Indians." "As the result of this," he continues, "massacres ensued, the settlers were driven below the mountains, and the whole province was alive with the alarms and excitements of war." In reply to these serious charges, Judge George Chambers, in his "Tribute to the Principles, Virtues, Habits and Public Usefulness of the Irish and Scotch Early Settlers of Pennsylvania," a carefully written and most admirable little book, enters a most emphatic protest. Without attempting to present in detail the facts which enable his to reach his conclusions, we give a brief summary of his argument: Admitting the aggressive character of the early Scotch-Irish settlers in pushing into the forests and occupying lands, the outrages and massacres by the Indians were, nevertheless, not the direct result of these encroachments, but a retaliatory protest against the unjust manner in which their lands and hunting grounds have been taken from them by so-called purchases and treaties with the government. By the cession of 1737, the Indians were to convey lands on the Delaware to extend back into the woods as far as a man can go in one day and a half. By the treaty of Albany, in 1754, between the Proprietary of Pennsylvania and the Six Nations, nearly all the lands claimed by them in the province were ceded for the small sum of 400 Pounds. The dissatisfaction produced by this cession, which the Indians claim they did not understand, was fanned by the French into open hostility, manifesting itself in the indiscriminate and wholesale devastation and massacres following the Braddock campaign. The wrongs of the government, and not the encroachments of a few daring settlers, it is claimed by Mr. Chambers, produced these destructive Indian outrages. Gov. Morris, in his address to the Assembly, on November 3, 1755, clearly reminds them "that it seemed clear, from the different accounts he had received, that the French had gained to their interest the Delaware and Shawnese Indians, under the ensnaring pretense of restoring them to their country." The Assembly, in their reply to Gov. Denny, in June, 1757, say: "It is rendered beyond contradiction plain that the cause of the present Indian incursions in this province, and the dreadful calamities many of the inhabitants have suffered, have arisen, in a great measure, from the exorbitant and unreasonable purchases made, or supposed to be made of the Indians, and the manner of making them - so exorbitant, that the natives complain that they have not a country left to subsist in." --Smith's Laws. A careful study of these people clearly shows that, while they were aggressive, they moved along the line of a higher civilization; while they were firm in their convictions, they advocated the rights of man to liberty of thought and action; while they cherished many of the institutions and beliefs of the old country, they were intensely patriotic and loyal to the new; and while they possessed what they regarded the best lands, they were just in their dealings with the untutored red man. These were the people who laid broad and deep the foundations of social, educational and religious liberty in America. The German immigrants, as a class, were hardy, industrious, honest and economical, retaining, to a great extent, the prejudices, superstitions, manners, language and characteristics of the fatherland. Like the Scotch-Irish, their migration to America was the result of a deprivation of certain religious rights in their native countries, and a desire to improve their physical condition in the new world. Like the Scotch-Irish, they, too, were Protestants, belonging to different denominations: (1) The Swiss Mennonites were among the earliest to come about the beginning of the last century, and settled in the neighborhood of Philadelphia and at Pequea and other points in what is now Lancaster County. They were orderly, honest, peaceable and advocates of non-resistant or peace principles. (2) German Baptists (Dunkards), Moravians, Seventh-day Baptists. (3) Lutherans and German Reformed, the latter two constituting the great body of the arrivals, and furnishing the aggressive elements of the new settlers. They came later than the others and entered new fields. Many of these early Germans, having first located in the State of New York, were dissatisfied with the unjust treatment received at the hands of the authorities, and therefore came to Pennsylvania. They wrote messages to their friends in Europe, advising them to shun New York and come direct to the province of Penn, which afforded superior inducements. Their arrivals in the province were, briefly: Henry Frey came two years earlier than William Penn and one Platenbach a few years later. In 1682 a colony arrived and formed a settlement at Germantown; and in 1684-85, a company of ten persons was formed in Germany, called the Frankfort Land Company, of which F. D. Pastorius was appointed attorney. They bought 25,000 acres of land from Penn, in addition to other tracts. From 1700 to 1720, the Palatines, so called because they sprang principally from the Palatinate in Germany, whither they had been driven by persecutions in various parts of Europe, came in vast numbers. They suffered great privations. In 1708-09, more than 10,000 went to England, where, in a sickly and starving condition, they were cared for by the generous Queen Anne who, at an expense to herself of £135,775, alleviated their sufferings in that country and assisted them to come to New York and Pennsylvania. Their number was so great as to draw from James Logan, secretary of the province of Pennsylvania in 1717, the remark: "We have, of late, a great number of Palatines poured in upon us without any recommendation or notice, which gives the country some uneasiness; for foreigners do not so well among us as our own English people." In 1719 Jonathan Dickinson said: "We are daily expecting ships from London, which bring over Palatines, in number about six or seven thousand." The arrivals from 1720 to 1730 were so numerous as to produce some alarm lest the colony should become a German one. Says Rupp: "To arrest in some degree the influx of Germans, the assembly assessed a tax of twenty shillings a head on newly arrived servants; for as early as 1722 there were a number of Palatine servants and Redemptioners sold to serve a term of three or four years at £10 each to pay their freight." From 1730 to 1740, about sixty-five vessels were filled with immigrants , having with them their own preachers and teachers, landed at Philadelphia, from which they scattered in various directions; many of these located in York County. From 1740 to 1755, more than a hundred vessels arrived, some of them, though small, containing from 500 to 600 passengers. In the summer and autumn of 1749, not less than 12,000 came. This period - 1740 to 1755 - witnessed many outrages upon the unsuspecting passengers. Within the State were certain Germans known as neulaenders, who, having resided in this country long enough to understand the business, profited by the ignorance and credulity of their own people abroad. Going to various parts of Germany and presenting the new world in glowing colors, they induced, by misrepresentations and fraudulent practices, many of their friends and kinsmen to sell, and in some cases even to abandon their property and forsake their firesides in order to reach this new land of promise. Many, starting with inadequate means, were unable to pay their passage, and on arriving were sold for a series of years as servants, to liquidate their claims. These were called redemptioners or Palatine servants. The number of Germans in Pennsylvania about 1755 was from 60,000 to 70,000. About nine-tenths of the first settlers of York County, then including Adams, were Germans. The great influx into Cumberland County which, with the exception of a few English, was settled almost exclusively by Scotch and Scotch-Irish, began about 1770; though as early as the period from 1736 to 1745, there were found in the Conococheague settlements, the Snivelys, Schneiders, Piscackers, Liepers, Ledermans, Haricks, Laws, Kolps, Gabriels, Ringers, Steiners, Senseneys, Radebachs, Reischers, Wolffs, Schneidts, Rupp. Rev. Michael Schlatter, a German reformed minister, in a letter dated May 9, 1748, thus describes a visit through the valley: "On the Conogogig we reached the house of an honest Schweitzer [supposed to be Jacob Snively, of Antrim Township,] where we received kind entertainment with thankfulness. In this neighborhood there are very fine lands for cultivation and pasture, exceedingly fruitful without the application of manures. Turkish corn (Indian maize) grows to the height of ten feet and higher, and the grasses are remarkable fine. Hereabout, there still remains a good number of Indians, the original dwellers of the soil. They are hospitable and quiet, and well affected to the Christians until the latter make them drunk with strong drink." The original German has, by imperceptible changes, been gradually transformed into a being very unlike the original, known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. The latter has in him more of the democratic spirit, which ignores the clannishness of the olden time and forms friendships and alliances with people of other nationalities. The dialect, Pennsylvania Dutch, is sui generis an anomaly in the domain of language. Its possessor is a cosmopolitan, fond of social life, ambitious and industrious, and in these latter days quite fond of public office and other "soft places." He is destined to take the land. The three original counties of Pennsylvania, established by William Penn in 1682, were Chester, Philadelphia and Bucks. Chester County included all the land (except a small portion of Philadelphia County, southwest of the Schuylkill to the extreme limits of the State. Lancaster County was formed and taken from Chester May 10, 1729; York was taken from Lancaster August 9, 1749. Cumberland County remained a part of Lancaster until it was itself erected a separate county, January 27, 1750. Franklin County, the then southwestern part of Cumberland, and known as the "Conococheague Settlement," was established September 9, 1784. To understand the early history of this country, the reader will need therefore, to bear in mind two facts: 1. Prior to January 27, 1750, its territory (with the exception of Warren township) was found in the county of Lancaster. 2. From January 27, 1750 to September 9, 1784, it belonged to Cumberland County. Since the latter date (September 9, 1784) it has had a distinct organization of its own. Long prior to Greeley's famous advice, "Go west, young man," or Bishop Berkley's oft-quoted "Westward the course of empire takes its way," the tide of migration was toward the setting sun. Since the race began, the line of movement has been along the parallels, and in the direction of the receding darkness. The early settlers of the Kittatinny or Cumberland Valley came from the older eastern countries, where they located soon after their landing on the Atlantic coast. No record exists of those who may have wandered through this region on prospecting or hunting tours, if any such adventurers ever did make these hazardous trips. As early as 1719, John Harris had commenced a settlement near the present site of Harrisburg, and for many years afterward ran a ferry across the Susquehanna at that point known as Harris' Ferry. On either side of the river were Indian villages, the one where Harris lived being known as Peixtan or Paxtan. On the western side of the river, at the mouth of the Conodoguinet, at the present site of Bridgeport, and at the mouth of the Yellow Breeches, were three Indians towns, at which trading posts were established. At the last-named place, James Chartier, an Indian trader, had a store and landing place. It is claimed by some that James Le Tort, one of these traders, after whom the beautiful stream in Cumberland County was named, lived at a very early period at a place called Beaver Pond, near the present site of Carlisle. What is now Cumberland County had settlements at various points away from the river. Richard Parker and his wife settled three miles north of Carlisle in 1724. His application at the land office in 1734 was for a warrant to land on which he "had resided ye ten years past." George Croghan, an Indian trader, whose name occurs frequently in early records, lived about five miles from the river on the north side of the Conodoguinet. He owned tracts in various parts of the county, a large one being north of Shippensburg. He did not cultivate all these, but changed about as his convenience and trade demanded. He was an Irishman of common education, and in later years lived at Aughwick or Old Town, west of the North Mountains, where he was trusted as an Indian agent. In the settlement commenced by James Chambers near Newville, then known as Big Spring, a group of inhabitants, so numerous as to form and support a religious society as early as 1738, was found, consisting of David Ralston, Robert Patterson, James McKehan, John Carson, John Erwin, Richard Fulton, Samuel McCullough and Samuel Boyd. Robert Chambers, brother of the preceding, as well as of Benjamin, who located at Falling Spring, formed a prosperous settlement near Middle Spring, about two miles north of Shippensburg. At the same early date. The first settlers were such men as Hugh and David Herron, Robert McComb, Alexander and James Young, Alexander McNutt, Archibald, John and Robert Machan, James Scott, Alexander Sterrett, Wm. And John Piper, Hugh and Joseph Brady, John and Robert McCune, and Charles Morrow. In asking that the State road, which was laid out in 1735-36 might be directed through that neighborhood rather than through Shippensburg, the petitioners claimed that theirs was the more thickly settled part. By some (footnote: Historical discourse of Rev. S. S. Wylie at the Centennial celebration in Middle Spring. This claim, however, is incorrect. Blunston's license to Benjamin Chambers at Falling Spring was dated March 30, 1734.) it is claimed that in the Middle Spring settlement the first land in the Cumberland Valley taken under authority of the "Blunston Licenses" (footnote: Samuel Blunston of Wright's Ferry (now Columbia) was authorized by the proprietaries to make a partial survey of land and to grant to settlers permission to take up and improve, or continue to improve, such lands as they desired, with the promise that a more perfect title should be given them when the Indian claims should be extinguished. The Indians were also assured that these claims would be satisfied as soon as the pending Indian treaties should be completed. The first of these licenses was dated January 24, 1733-34 and the last October 31, 1737. Appended is a copy of one of these: "Lancaster County, ss.- By the Proprietary: These are to license, and allow Andrew Ralston to continue to improve and dwell on a tract of two hundred acres of land on the Great Spring, a branch of the Conedoguinet, joyning to the upper side of a tract granted to Randle Chambers for the use of his son, James Chambers; to do hereafter surveyed to the said Ralston on the common terms other lands in those parts are sold; provided the same has not been already granted to any other person, and so much can be had without prejudice to other tracts before granted. Given under my hand this third day of January, Anno Domini 1736-7. Pennsylvania, ss. Sa. Blunston.") and assigned to Benjamin Furley, was located. According to the record in the county surveyor's office at Chambersburg, this tract, embracing some 1094 acres and allowances, warranted December 18, 1735, and surveyed April 15, 1738, was situated on the Conodoguinet Creek in what was then Pennsborough Township, Lancaster County, but now Southampton Township, Franklin County. It was subsequently occupied by William, David, James and Francis Herron, William Young, and John Watt. Where Shippensburg now stands, a settlement was made as early as 1730. In June of that year, according to Hon. John McCurdy, the following persons came to that locality and built their habitations: Alexander Steen, John McCall, Richard Morrow, Gavin Morrow, John Culbertson, Hugh Rippey, John Rippey, John Strain, Alexander Askey, John McAllister, David Magaw and John Johnston. They were soon followed by Benjamin Blythe, John Campbell and Robert Caskey. From this settlement ultimately sprang a village older than any other in the Cumberland Valley. It was a distributing point for settlers, and hence important, as will be shown by the following letter written therefrom: (dated May 21, 1733) Dear John: I wish you would see John Harris, at the ferry, and get him to write to the Governor, to see if he can't get some guns for us; there's a good wheen of ingns about here, and I fear they intend to give us a good deal of troubbel, and may do us a grate dale of harm. We was three days on our journey coming from Harrisses ferry here. We could not make much speed on account of the childer; they could not get on as fast as Jane and me. I think we will like this part of the country when we get our cabbin built. I put it on a level peese of groun, near the road or path in the woods at the fut of a hill. There is a fine stream of watter that comes from a spring a half a mile south of where our cabbin is bilt. I would have put it near the watter, but the land is lo and wet. John McCall, Alick Steen and John Rippey bilt theirs near the stream. Hugh Rippey's daughter Mary (was) berried yesterday; this will be sad news to Andrew Simpson, when it reaches Maguire's bridge. He is to come over in the fall when they were to be married. Mary was a verry purty gerl; she died of a faver and they berried her up on rising groun, north of the road or path where we made choice of a peese of groun for a graveyard. She was the furst berried there. Poor Hugh had none left now but his wife, Sam and little Isabel. There is plenty of timmer south of us. We have 18 cabbins bilt here now, and looks (like) a town, but we have no name for it. I'll send this with John Simpson when he goes back to Paxtan. Come up Soon; our cabbin will be ready to go into a week and you can go in till you get wan bilt; we have planted some corn and potatoes. Dan McGee, John Sloan, and Robert Moore was here and left last week. Remember us to Mary and the childer; we are all well. Tell Billy Parker to come up soon and bring Nancy with him. I know he will like the country. I forgot to tell you that Sally Brown was bit by a snaik, but she is out of danger. Come up soon. Yr. Aft. Brother, James Magraw. The first settlement, in what is now Franklin County, was made in 1730, at Falling Spring, (now Chambersburg)-the confluence of the two streams, Falling Spring and Conococheague-by Col. Benjamin Chambers and his older brother, Joseph. Between 1726 and 1730, four brothers, James, Robert, Joseph and Benjamin Chambers, emigrated from the country of Antrim, Ireland, to the province of Pennsylvania. They settled and built a mill shortly after their arrival, at the mouth of Fishing Creek, in what is now Dauphin County, where they occupied a tract of fine land. These brothers were among the first to explore and settle the valley. James made a settlement at the head of Great Spring, near Newville; Robert, at the head of Middle Spring, near Shippensburg, and Joseph and Benjamin at Falling Spring, where Chambersburg now stands. By an arrangement among the brothers, Joseph returned to supervise their property at the mouth of Fishing Creek, and Benjamin remained to develop the settlement at Falling Spring. He built a one-storied hewed-log house which he covered with lapped cedar shingles secured by nails-an innovation upon the prevailing style of architecture, which consisted of round log structure covered with a roof of clapboards, held in position by beams and wooden pins. Having completed this, the finest residence in the settlement, he addressed himself to clearing land, erecting necessary buildings and planning the future growth of the colony. Some time after this, Benjamin had occasion to visit his former homestead at Fishing Creek. Returning, he found his house had been burned by some avaricious person for the "sake of the nails," which were a rarity in those days. Subsequently Mr. Chambers received what was then the only authority for the taking up and occupying of land. The following is a copy of the interesting instrument, which was a narrow strip of common writing paper, the chirography on which would not stand the crucial test of modern straight lines, ovals and right and left curves. PENNSYLVANIA. SS By order of the Proprietary. These are to License and allow Benjamin Chambers to take and settle and Improve of four hundred acres of Land at the falling spring's mouth and on both sides of the Conegochege Creek for the conveniency of a Grist Mill and plantation. To be hereafter surveyed to the said Benjamin on the common terms other Lands in those parts are sold. Given under my hand this thirtieth day of March 1734. LANCASTER COUNTY SAMUEL BLUNSTON A mill-wright by occupation, he at once erected a saw-mill and subsequently a flouring-mill. These were both indispensable tot he comfort and growth of the settlement, and were evidently heralded as strong inducements for others to cast in their lot with this growing colony. The saw-mill stood on what is known as the "Island," a few rods northwest of where the woolen-mill now stands; the flouring-mill, constructed mainly of logs, stood near the residence of its owner. It was shortly destroyed by fire, but its place was occupied by a new one, whose walls were made of stone. BENJAMIN CHAMBERS was upward of twenty one years of age when he settled at Falling Spring. His death occurring February 17, 1788, in his eightieth year, he must have been born about 1708 or 1709. Shortly after (1741), he married a Miss Patterson, residing near Lancaster, who was the mother of his eldest son, James. She lived but a few years. In 1748, he married a second time, his choice being a Miss Williams, the daughter of a Welsh clergyman living in Virginia. She bore seven children, viz: RUHAMAH, married to DR. CALHOUN; WILLIAM; BENJAMIN; JANE, married to ADAM ROSS; JOSEPH, GEORGE and HETTY, married to WM. M. BROWN, ESQ. He used his influence with his acquaintances to settle in his neighborhood, directing their attention to desirable locations for farms. He was early commissioned a justice of the peace, and later a colonel of the militia organized. He served as a daysman to adjust many controversies between his neighbors, and thus became a general counselor in the community. During the controversy between LORD BALTIMORE and the PENNS, concerning the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, he went to England to assist, by his evidence and advice, in the adjustment of the difficulties involved. From England he went to Ireland, his native soil, where he induced many acquaintances with their families to remove to his new settlement. In 1764 COL. CHAMBERS laid out the town of Chambersburg, whose history is sketched elsewhere in this volume. The history of this sturdy early settler is the history of the country and of the commonwealth for more than half a century. From the time he landed at the Falling Spring till his declining health rendered further activity impossible, he was the acknowledged leader of the people in all civil, military, and religious movements. We have no means of determining the exact order of settlements in other parts of the country. In what is ANTRIM TOWNSHIP there must have been settlers as early as 1734. In the JOHNSTON GRAVEYARD, near SHADY GROVE, is a tablet bearing the name of JAMES JOHNSON, who died in 1765. "From documents still extant," says the inscription "he settled on the land on which he died as early as 1735 and was probably the first white settler in what is now ANTRIM TOWNSHIP, Franklin County." He had two sons, JAMES and THOMAS, both of whom were colonels in the Revolutionary war. About the same time settlements were made near the present site of GREEN CASTLE, by JOSEPH CRUNKLETON, JACOB SNIVELY, AND JAMES RODY. SNIVELY was the progenitor of a large and respectable family, many of whom still live in the township, concerning whom much will be said in the township and biographical sketches. (Footnote: Some of the earliest warrants found in the surveyor's office bear date as follows: 1737, JOHN MITCHELL. DAVID McGAW; 1738, DAVID SCOTT, GEORGE REYNOLDS; 1740-42, DAVID KENNEDY, HUMPHREY JONES; 1743-50, JOHN POTTER, SAMUEL MCPHERREN, JOHN BROTHERTON, ROBERT WALLACE, WILLIAM MAGAW, THOMAS POE, GEORGE GIBSON, WILLIAM SMITH, JACOB SNIVELY, WILLIAM ALLISON, ABRAHAM GABLE, and JOHN DAVISON. At that time the settlement in the county were known in the aggregate as the "Conococheague Settlement." Owing to the peculiar condition of land arrangements, settlers occupied certain tracts by virtue of a sort of "squatter possession," each one choosing a site according to his taste. Hence, families lived, often for a series of years on tracts before they received proper legal authority for the same. On the west bank of the Conococheague, near the present site of Bridgeport, in PETERS TOWNSHIP, settled WILLIAM McDOWELL in 1730 or 1731. He had a large family of sons and daughters, who became prominent in the subsequent development of the country. The records of the surveyor's office show that warrants for land were held in what is PETERS TOWNSHIP, as early as 1737, by REV. JOHN BLACK and SAMUEL HARRIS; 1738 ANDREW McCLEARY; 1742, HENRY JOHNSTON and JOHN TAYLOR; 1743, JAMES GLENN, WILLIAM BURNEY and JAMES McCLELLAN; 1744, ROBERT McCLELLAN. By McCAULEY it is claimed that some of these were settlers as early as 1730. They were mainly Scotch-Irish, as will be seen by the names. PATH VALLEY had early settlers, likewise. The records of the surveyor's office show that SAMUEL BECHTEL had a warrant in what is now FANNETT TOWNSHIP, for 176 acres, which bore date January 24, 1737, and was surveyed the 24th of the following may by ZACH. BUTCHER, deputy surveyor. At that time, it was in HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER COUNTY. The same records show that THOMAS DOYLE had a warrant in the same region for 530 acres, dated November 29, 1737, and surveyed December 30 following. Neither of these men had neighbors immediately adjoining them, showing the settlements to be sparse. Settlements must have been made quite rapidly in the valley, notwithstanding its ownership by the Indians; for in 1750 RICHARD PETERS, secretary of the commonwealth, in a letter to the governor dated July 2, in which he gives an account of the removal of certain citizens because of their encroachments on interdicted territory, says: "On Wednesday, the 30th of May, the magistrates (footnote: MATTHEW DILL, GEORGE CROGHAN, BENJAMIN CHAMBERS, THOMAS WILSON, JOHN FINDLAY, AND JAMES GALBREATH, ESQS., justices of the county of CUMBERLAND. And company, under-sheriff of Cumberland County, being detained two days by rain, proceeded over the Kittochtinny Mountains, and entered into TUSCARA (TUSCARORA) PATH or PATH VALLEY, through which the road to ALLEGHANY lies. Many settlements were formed in this valley, and all the people were sent for and the following persons appeared, viz: ABRAHAM SLACH, JAMES BLAIR, MOSES MOORE, ARTHUR DUNLAP, ALEXANDER McCARTIE, DAVID LEWIS, ADAM McCARTIE, FELIX DOYLE, ANDREW DUNLAP, ROBERT WILSON, JACOB PYATT, JACOB PYATT, JR., WILLIAM RAMAGE, REYNOLDS ALEXANDER, SAMUEL PATTERSON, ROBERT BAKER, JOHN ARMSTRONG, and JOHN POTTS, who were all convicted, by their own confession to the magistrates, of the like trespasses with those at SHERMAN'S CREEK and were bound in the like with all their families, servants, cattle and effects, and having all voluntarily given possession of their houses to me, some ordinary log houses, to the number of eleven, were burnt to the ground, the trespassers, most of them cheerfully and a very few of them with reluctance, carrying out all their goods. Some had been deserted before and lay waste." JOHN HASTIN was one of the early settlers on the line of LURGAN and LETTERKENNY TOWNSHIPS. He may have radiated from SHIPPENSBURG as a center. The statement of his survey, made by ZACH. BUTCHER, D. S., November 4, 1736, says: "By virtue of a warrant from the honorable proprietaries, bearing date ________, I have surveyed and laid out unto JOHN HASTIN, in the township of HOPWELL, in the county of LANCASTER, on the west side of the Susquehanna River, six hundred and three acres of land with allowance of six per cent." The warrant, it seems, though no date is given, was of prior time. FRANCIS and SAMUEL JONES are represented as neighbors. JOHN REYNOLDS had a warrant for land, in what is now LURGAN TOWNSHIP, dated October 6, 1738, and surveyed May 16,1743. His neighbors at the time were ROBERT EDMONSON, SAMUEL REYNOLDS and EDWARD SHIPPEN, ESQ. In what is now HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, warrants were issued in 1737 to MATTHEW PATTON and GEORGE LEONARD; in 1738 to DAVID BLACK and SAMUEL MOREHEAD. Their neighbors at the time were SAMUEL JONES, NATHANIEL NEWLINS, ROBERT PATTON, JAMES BROTHERTON, ADAM HOOPS, BENJAMIN GASS, JAMES YOUNG, THOMAS MOREHEAD and THOMAS PATTERSON. In MONTGOMERY, as it now exists, was PHILIP DAVIS in 1737; JAMES HARLAND and JOHN DAVYRICH were his neighbors; in 1749 THOMAS EVANS, with DAVID ALEXANDER, JOHN DAVIS and AARON ALEXANDER as neighbors; in 1743, WILLIAM MAXWELL, with JOHN McLELLAND and ROBERT McCOY as neighbors; and in same year, ROBERT CULBERSON, with WILLIAM and THOMAS DINWIDDY and JAMES GARDNER as neighbors. About the same time, also, ALEXANDER BROWN, THOMAS SELLERS, JOHN McCLELLAN, WALTER BEATTY, ALEX WHITE, WILSON HALLIDAY and MARTHA HOWRY were settlers. In the present SOUTHAMPTON, REV. JOHN BLAIN and THOMAS EDMUNDSON had warrants as early as 1743. In ST. THOMAS were, 1738, THOMAS ARMSTRONG; in 1742, JOHN HOLLIDAY; 1743 and 1744, ROBERT CLUGADGE, JAMES CAMPBELL, GEORGE GALLOWAY, MICHAEL CAMPBELL, WILLIAM CAMPBELL, GEORGE CUMING, JOHN McCONNELL, SAMUEL McCLINTOCK, ROBERT RITCHEY. In GREENE the oldest warrant found was that of JOSEPH CULBERTSON in 1744. ALEXANDER CULBERTSON had one dated 1749. Their neighbors at the time were JOHN NEAL, WILLIAM CARR, REUBEN GILLESPIE, JOHN STUMP. This settlement was known as CULBERTSON'S ROW. At the early period we have thus far borne in mind, Little Cove seems not to have been settled, it being greatly exposed to Indian depredations. As a rule, warrants date from 1755, the earliest one found, to 1769, between which dates are found ENOCH WILLIAMS, REES SHELBY, WILIAM SMITH, WILLIAM PINDELL, EVAN PHILLIPS, SAMUEL OWENS, JAMES McCLELLAN, HUGH MARTIN, JOHN MARTIN, DAVID HUISTON, LEWIS DAVIS, and DAVID BROWN. WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, it seems, was not settled so early as some of the eastern and southwestern districts. It and QUINCY TOWNSHIP became largely the homes of the Germans, who crossed South Mountain from YORK and ADAMS COUNTIES. Warrants from 1743 to 1750 embrace MICHAEL LEGATE, JOHN MARKLEY, JOHN MORHEAD, JAMES JOHNSTON, JACOB BEESECKER, EDWARD NICHOLS, MICHAEL RAUMSAWHER, MATHIAS RINGER, JOHN STONER, JOHN STEINER, JOHN SNOWBERGER, JAMES WHITEHEAD and JOHN WALLACE. In QUINCY, between same dates, GEORGE COOK, WILLIAM PATRICK, JOHN LEEPER, JAMES JACK. It is much to be regretted that the names of these early pioneers, who struggled so heroically against the wilds of the forest and the depredations of the savages, have not been more carefully preserved. We append, however, a list of taxable names in 1751 and 1752. From it may be learned the general locations of these settlers: TAXABLES' NAMES, 1751 and 1752 In ANTRIM TOWNSHIP - which embraced the territory now in ANTRIM, WASHINGTON, and QUINCY TOWNSHIPS - the taxables' names were as follows: William Allison Widow Adams Joshua Alexander Thomas Brown Jacob Batterly William Brotherton John Chambers George Cassil William Clark William Cross Joshua Coal Josh. Crunkleton, Jr. Peter Craul John Crunkleton William Dunbar Thomas Davis John Davies Henry Dutch David Duncan William Erwin Robert Erwin James Finley William Grimes Nicholas Gulp John Gyles Lorance Galocher Thomas Grogan George Gordon Abraham Gabriel Paulus Harick Robert Harkness William Hall Nath. Harkness Christian Hicks Robert Hamilton Adam Hoops James Jack James Johnston Peter Johnston Henry Kefort James Kerr David Kennedy Widow Leiper Peter Leiper Kath. Leatherman Dietric Lauw James Lilon Thomas Long William McGaw Samuel McFaran John Mitchel William McAlmory William Mearns William McLean George Martin John Monk John Moorhead John McMath William McBriar David McBriar James McBride Josh. McFaran David McClellan James McClanahan Hugh McClellan Patrick McIntire Arch. McClean Samuel Monagh William McClellan John Moor John McCoon John McDowell Alexander Miller James McKee Patrick McClarin Edward Nichols Thomas Nisbit Jacob Pisacker Thomas Patterson John Pritchet Thomas Poa Henry Pauling John Potter James Paile William Patrick James Pattro John Reynolds William Rankin William Ramsey James Ramsey John Roass Mathias Ringer Joseph Roddy John Roal Samuel Smith John Scott Robert Southerland John Smith James Scott Daniel Scott John Staret Henry Stall Jacob Snider William Shanon Jacob Snively John Stoaner Katharine Thomson Anthony Thomson Moses Thomson Joseph Walter John Willocks John Wallace. FREEMEN: E. Alexander, Alex. Cook, W. Campbel, Jacob Gabrial, Hugh Galocher, Adam Murray, Hugh McKee, Daniel McCoy, Daniel McCowan, Wm. McGaughey, James McGowan, Joseph Morgan, James Ross, John Snively, Charles White, James Young -128 In GUILFORD - including what is now CHAMBERSBURG - John Anderson, Wm. Adams, Thomas Baird, George Cook, Benjamin Chambers, Frederick Croft, Peter Coaset, James Crawford, Edward Crawford, Mayant Duff, John Forsyth, Benjamin Gass, John Henderson, James Jack, Patrick Jack, James Lindsay, John Lindsay, Charles McGill, Wm. McKinney, John Mushet, John Nobel, William Nujant, John O'Cain, Solomon Patterson, Robert Patrick, Nathaniel Simpson, Henry Thomson Freemen: Archibald Douglass, Henry Black, Alexander McAlister, Robert Uart, 31 In HAMILTON - which then included the present township of HAMILTON and about one-half of the present township of ST. THOMAS - Joseph Armstrong, Matthew Arthur, Josh. Barnet, James Barnet, Thomas Barnet, Jr., James Boyd, Thomas Barnet, Andrew Brattan, John Blain, Wm. Boal, Robert Barnet, John Campbell, Adam Carson, James Denny, Robert Donelson, John Dixon, Matthew Dixon, John Eaton, Josh. Eaton, James Eaton, Robert Elliot, Johnston Elliot, Wm. Eckery, John Galaway, James Hamilton, John Hindman, Alex. Hamilton, Edward Johnston, Patrick Knox, William McCord, Samuel McCamish, Samuel Moorehead, Thomas Patterson, Joshua Pepper, George Reynolds, William Rankin, John Swan, Widow Swan, Edward Thorn, Aaron Watson Freemen; Dennis Kease, Josh. McCamish, 42 In LURGAN - which then included the present townships of LURGAN, LETTERKENNY, SOUTHAMPTON and GREEN - Benjamin Allworth James Allison Thos. Alexander Andrew Baird, Jr. James Breckenridge John Boyd James Boail (or Boall) James Boyd, Laird Burns Robert Boyd Samuel Buckenstos William Barr William Baird (turner) William Baird (at Rocky Spring) John Burns Francis Brain William Breckenridge Alexander Culbertson Archibald Campbell, Dennis Cotter Joseph Culbertson John Cessna James Caldwell John Crawford John Cumins James Culbertson Nathaniel Cellar Oliver Culbertson Samuel Culbertson Samuel Cochran Steven Colwell William Cox William Cochran William Chambers David Carson Wm. Devanner Jacob Donelson William Erwin John Evans John Erwin Andrew Finley John Finley, Sr. John Finley, Esq. John Finley (sawyer) James Finley Robert Finley George Ginley John Graham Robert Gabie Thomas Grier William Greenlee William Guthrie John Grier Arthur Graham Isaac Grier John Gaston David Heron Francis Heron Gustavus Henderson James Henderson Joshua Henderson James Henry John Hawthorn Christian Irwin William Jack Samuel Jordan John Jones Nathaniel Johnson David Johnson John Johnson Thomas Jack John Kirkpatrick John Kirkpatrick, Jr. John Kerr John Kennedy James Kirkpatrick John Lowrie John Leckey James Lawder Robert Long Samuel Laird William Linn William Linn, Jr. David Linn Archibald Machan Arthur Miller Andrew Murphey Alexander Mitchell Alexander McNutt Charles McGlea David McCright George Mitchell Gavin Mitchell Humphrey Montgomery Henry Machan John Miller Esq. James McCamant John McKeany John McCall James McCall John McCrea John McKee John Mitchel James Mitchel John Mitchel, Jr. John McCrea John Machen Joseph McKibben John McNaught John McCappin John Montgomery John McCombs Machan McCombs Mat. McCreary Robert McConnel Robert Miller Robert Machan Thomas McComb Thomas Miner William McConnell William Mitchell William McNutt William McCall Charles Murray Joseph Mitchell Andrew Neal James Norrice Thomas Neal James Ortan David Paxton George Pumroy James Patterson Mr.______Riley (at Mr. Hoops') John Rippie Josiah Ramage James Reed, Sr. James Reed, Jr. James Reed Samuel Rippie Wm. Reed Robert Reed (cordwainer) Charles Stewart James Sharp Robert Scott Ranald Slack William Turner Alvard Terrence Joseph Thomson James Tait Robert Urie Thomas Urie Abm. Wier David Watson Hugh Wier Johnn Weyley John Weir James Waid John Wilson Nathaniel Wilson Oliver Wallace Wm. Withrow Wm. Woods Wm. Walker Alexander Walker William Young. Freemen: James Hawthorne, Morgan Linch, Geo. McKeaney, William Milrea, Charles Moor, George Ross, John Tait -176. In PETERS TOWNSHIP - which then included the present townships of PETERS and MONTGOMERY, and that part of ST. THOMAS TOWNSHIP west of CAMPBELL's RUN - Daniel Alexander Andrew Alexander Wm. Armstrong Hezekiah Alexander, Adam Armstrong Arthur Alexander John Baird James Blair Alex. Brown, Thomas Barr Ann Black (widow) Thomas Boal Samuel Brown Wm. Barnett, Joshua Bradner John Black John Baird James Black Widow Brown, Robert Barnet David Bowel John Blair George Brown Wm. Clark Robert Clugage Wm. Campbell Michael Carsell Samuel Chapman Thomas Calhoun, Michael Campbell Robert Crawford Patrick Clark Wm. Campbell Robert Culbertson Charles Campbell Thomas Clark John Dickey James Dickey, Widow Donelson Wm. Dunwood John Docherty Samuel Davis David Davis, James Davis Widow Davis Philip Davis Joseph Dunlop Arthur Donelson David Davis Nath. Davis Josh. Davis Thomas Davis James Erwin Widow Farier John Flanaghin James Flanaghin Moses Fisher James Galbreath, John Gilmore Widow Garison Samuel Gilespie James Galaway Josh. Harris John Harris Jeremiah Harris Charles Harris Widow Huston, James Holland John Huston John Hamilton Joseph How John Holyday, Wm. Holyday Wm. Hanbey David Huston John Hill James Holiday Alex. Hotchison Mesech James Hugh Kerrell Wm. Lowrie Henry Larkan Wm. Maxwell James Mitchell John Morlan John Martin James Mercer John Mercer Wm. Marshall Wm. Moor Widow McFarland Andrew Morison John McDowell Alex. McKee Robert McClellan Wm. McDowell, Jr. Wm. McClellan John McClellan Andrew Moor Wm. McDowell James McConnell Robert McCoy Wm. McIllhatton James McMahon James Murphy Wm. Morrison James McClellan Robert Newell Victor Neely James Orr Thomas Orbison Thomas Owins Nathan Orr Matthew Patton John Patton, Francis Patterson David Rees James Rankin Alex. Robertson Wm. Semple James Sloan Richard Stevens Andrew Simpson Wm. Shannon Hugh Shannon Widow Scott Alex. Staret Collin Spence John Taylor James Wright Wm. Wilson John Wilson John Winton James Wilkey James Wilson Matthew Wallace Moses White John Wasson Joseph Williams, John Wood Joseph White Thomas Waddle. FREEMEN: Robert Anderson, David Alexander, Robert Banefield, James Brown, James Blair, Gavin Cluggage, James Carsswell, James Coyle, William Gueen, Alex. Hutchison, Ed. Horkan, John Laird, Alex. McConnell, Samuel Templeton, Wm. Tayler, James Wilson, James Wallace, Andrew Willabee, Oliver Wallace, David Wallace - 162. One of the complications in earlier times, along the southern portion of the county, was the difficulty which settlers had in determining whether their possessions were in Pennsylvania or Maryland. This involved the famous Mason and Dixon's line. This remarkable line, alluded to by political writers and speakers through the whole period of our national existence, and even anterior to it, is named in honor of its surveyors, and marks the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Since 1820, when John Randolph was continually harping on the words "Mason and Dixon's Line", as Felix Walker of North Carolina, was on "Buncombe," one of the counties of his district, it has been the line of demarkation between two distinct schools of politicians, the representatives of two opposing sections of territory. The original controversy between the States, thus lying side by side, was waged with great spirit and varying results between the Lords Baltimore and the Penn family, from 1682 to 1767. These various phases, interesting and exciting in themselves, cannot here be given. The reader is referred to the special works which trace the controversy. It needs simply to be stated briefly that "on the 4th of August, 1763, the Penns - Thomas and Richard, and Frederick Lord Baltimore, then being together in London, agreed with Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two mathematicians and surveyors, to mark, run out, settle, fix and determine all such parts of the circle, marks, lines and boundaries, as were mentioned in the several articles or commissions, and were not yet completed; that Mason and Dixon arrived in Philadelphia, November 15, 1763, received their instructions from the commissioners of the two provinces, December 9, 1763, and forthwith engaged in the work assigned them; that they ascertained the latitude of the southernmost part of the city of Philadelphia (viz.: 39 degrees 56 minutes 29.1 seconds north - or more accurately, according to Col. Graham, 39 degrees, 56 minutes, 37.4 seconds), which was agreed to be in the north wall of the house then occupied by Thomas Plumstead and Joseph Huddle, on the south side of Cedar Street; and then, in January and February, 1764, they measured thirty-one miles westward of the city to the forks of the Brandywine, where they planted a quartzose stone, known then, and to this day, in the vicinage, as the star-gazer's stone; that, in the spring of 1764, they ran, from said stone, a due south line fifteen English statute miles, horizontally measured by levels, each twenty feet in length, to a post marked 'west'; that they then repaired to a post marked 'middle,' at the middle point of the peninsula; west line running from Cape Henlopen to Chesapeak Bay, and thence, during the summer of 1764, they ran, marked, and described the tangent line agreed on by the proprietaries. Then, in the autumn of 1764, from the post marked "west' at fifteen miles south of Philadelphia they set off and produced a parallel of latitude westward, as far as the river Susquehanna; then they went to the tangent point, and in 1764-65, ran thence a meridian line northward until it intersected the said parallel of latitude, at the distance of five miles, one chain and fifty links - thus and there determining and fixing the northeast corner of Maryland. Next in 17165, they described such portion of the semi-circle around New Castle, as fell westward of the said meridian, or due north line from the tangent point. This little bow, or arc, reaching into Maryland, is about a mile and a half long, and its middle width, 116 feet; from its upper end, where the three States join, to the fifteen-mile point, were the great Mason and Dixon's line begins, is a little over three and a half miles; and from the fifteen-mile corner due east to the circle, is a little over three-quarters of a mile - room enough for three or four good Chester County farms. This was the only part of the circle which Mason and Dixon ran." In 1766-67, they continued the west line beyond the Susquehanna, extending the same to the distance of 230 miles, 18 chains and 21 links from the northeast corner of Maryland near to an Indian war-path, on the borders of a stream called Dunkard Creek. The hostile attitude of the Indians prevented Mason and Dixon from continuing the line to the western boundary of Pennsylvania. The remainder of the line, less than twenty miles, was subsequently run (1782) by other surveyors. The portion run by Mason and Dixon was certified by commissioners November 9, 1768, as having been properly marked by stones distant one mile from each other, every fifth mile-stone having on the north face the arms of Thomas and Richard Penn, and on the south face the arms of Lord Baltimore. These stones were oblitic rock, imported for the purpose from England. These surveyors were paid twenty-one shillings each per day for services and expenses, from the time they came to this country till they reached England. The amount paid by the Penns from 1760 to 1768 was £34,200 Pennsylvania currency.