Union County History Annals of the Buffalo Valley by John Blair Lynn Pages 209 thru 244 Contributed for use in USGenWeb by Tony Rebuck USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is Encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitter PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to state and county table of contents. 1782. INDIAN INCURSIONS - REZNER KILLED - MAJOR JOHN LEE KILLED - HISTORY OF LEE'S FAMILY, AND WALKER'S - DEATH OF CAPTAIN CASPER WEITZEL. WILLIAM MOORE, President of the State. James Potter, Vice President. Frederick Antes, Presiding Judge. At the general election held in October, William Montgomery, William Cooke, and William Maclay were elected members of the General Assembly. Thomas Grant received the highest number of votes for Sheriff, but Henry Antes, the next highest in number of votes, received the commission John Chattam, Coroner; and David Mead was elected County Commissioner. The officers of Buffalo were: Constable, Peter Burns; Supervisor, Nicholas Reem; Overseers, Michael Hessler and George Hains. In Penn's township, George Herrold is assessed with two mills and a ferry; Tobias Bickle, senior, with a tan-yard; William Anderson, tan- yard. Additional residents: Frederick Bubb, Frederick Guy, (non-juror,) Andrew Gift, John Rush. Captain Matthew Smith was a better warrior, no doubt, than prothonotary, but answered for war times, when there was little to do. I copy a specimen of his orphans' court records: "At an orphans' court held at Sunbury, January II, 1782, the court are of opinion, from information given, that Benj. Elliot and Jean Irwin (alias Elliot) be and appear at Sunbury, on Monday, the 14th inst., to answer said court on some complaint of misdemeanour. Fail not under the penalty of £100. Note: the 210 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1782. complaint is that the estate of Richard Irwin is embezzling, and that the above Benjamin and Jean is to be provided with security to cloath, maintain, and educate the minor children; otherwise, other security will be given, that no expense will accrue to the said minor children. MATTHEW SMITH." The Indian outrages commenced early this year, and on the 1st of May Captain Joseph Green had a party out in defense of the frontier. May 6, Edward Tate, a private in Captain George Overmeier' S company, was wounded by a ball through his foot, in an engagement with the Indians, which ocurred on a place then occupied by Frederick Wise, (now in Limestone township, somewhere between Mifflinburg and Wehr's tavern.) A number of the company were on a scout, and were talking, at the time, of the merits of their respective guns. One said he could shoot the drop from an Indian's nose. Just at that moment the Indians, who were in ambush, fired upon them, and several fell. Tate, who was wounded, ran and concealed himself. An Indian, in pursuit, came near to where he lay, and looked over the fence, but did not discover him. Philip Seebold, whose authority was old Mrs. Overmeier, said the names of the two men killed were Lee and Rezner; that their bodies were brought to Captain Overmeier's, and she washed them, and they were buried in the grave-yard at Dry run, near late Philip Seebold's residence. Major Lee and others Killed by the Indians. The attack on john Lee's (now Winfield) was made in August. A letter directed to Colonel Magaw, at Carlisle, found among his papers, from Colonel Butler, dated 25th August, says, a party of Indians, sup- posed to be sixty or seventy in number, killed Mr. Lee and family, a few miles above Sunbury. Letters of administration were issued to Captain John Lowdon and Thomas Grant on the 31st of August. Lee was assessor in April of this year. I copy from Meginness his narration of the occurrence, as I can find no contemporaneous account of it. Meginness, however, confounds Major John Lee with Sergeant Lee, killed at Fort Rice, on 1782.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 211 the 24th of October, and relates an incident occurring at Sergeant Lee's funeral as happening at Major Lee's funeral: "It was a summer evening, and his family were at supper. A young woman named Katy Stoner escaped up stairs, and concealed herself behind the chimney. Lee was tomahawked and scalped, and a man named John Walker shared the same fate. A Mrs. Boatman and daughter were also killed. Mrs. Lee, with a small child and a boy named Thomas, were led away captives. They took the path up the Valley, crossing White Deer mountain, and then the river. One of Lee's sons, Robert, returning about the time, saw the Indians leaving. He fled to Northumberland, and gave the alarm. A party was organized by Colonel Hunter, and started in pursuit. Henry McHenry, father of A. H. McHenry, of Jersey Shore, was in this party, and gave an account of it to his son. In crossing the mountains, Mrs. Lee was bitten by a rattlesnake, and her leg became so much swollen, she traveled with great difficulty. The Indians finding themselves pursued, urged her on as rapidly as possible, but her strength failed her. When near the mouth of Pine run, four miles below Jersey Shore, she gave out and sat down. An Indian slipped up behind her, placed the muzzle of his rifle to her ear, and blew off the whole upper portion of her head. One of them seized her little child by the heel and dashed it against a tree. They then fled, crossing the river at Smith's fording, and ran up Nippenose bottom. When Colonel Hunter came up with his men, the body of Mrs. Lee was yet warm, and the child, but little injured, was moaning piteously. Near Antes' Gap the Indians separated, and ran up both sides of the mountain, and the party gave up the chase, as they were nearly exhausted. They came back and buried Mrs. Lee where she died, and brought the child back. They dug a hole alongside of Walker's body and rolled him in. Mrs. Boatman's daughter survived and lived many years afterwards. Young Thomas Lee was not recovered for many years afterwards. His brother made arrangements with the Indians to bring him to Tioga Point, (Athens now,) where he was delivered to his friends. Such was his love of Indian life that they were obliged to tie him and place him into a canoe to bring him home. When near Wilkesbarre they untied him, but as soon as the canoe touched the shore, he was out and off like a deer. They caught him, however, and, on arriving at Northumberland, he 212 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1782. evinced all the sullenness of a captive. Boys and girls played about him for several days before he showed any disposition to join them. At last he began to inquire the names of things. By degrees he became civilized, and obtained a good education." - Meginness, page 276. John Van Buskirk told me when he came to the Valley, in 1816, the old people thereabouts showed him the spot where Lee was killed, by what is now (1877) a blasted pine, some little distance in a westerly course from the furnace stone stable; and he said Lee was buried, with his family, near their residence, which Isaac Eyer, senior, tells me, stood just where the furnace railroad crosses the road to the river, and that his father lived in it until he built the new house, within his own recollection. I once had occasion to examine the title papers of Youngman's and Walter's place. Among them is the release of Thomas Lee, the eldest son, his signature, excellent hand-writing, dated 1st April, 1797, to Robert Lee, of Point township. Release of Sarah, married to William Beard, of Lycoming county, 24th April, 1797, to Robert. Rebecca, married to Robert Hursh, of Lycoming county, of same date; and Eliza Lee. She was probably the infant spoken of in the narrative. Robert Lee then sold to Abraham Eyerly, (now Eyer,) 2d May, 1797. The sequel to John Walker's murder, Mr. Meginness relates, as follows: "In the year 1790 his sons Benjamin, Joseph, and Henry Walker were living on a farm not far from the mouth of Pine creek, a few miles above Jersey Shore, when two Indians, one a youth and the other a middle-aged, well-proportioned man, came into the neighborhood. At Stephenson's tavern, near the mouth of the creek, some people, and among them the Walkers, had gathered. The Indians got drunk, and performed many antics; and the old Indian, putting on the most horrid grimaces, and twisting his face into all sorts of shapes, said, 'this is the way old Walker looked when I killed and scalped him.' That evening the brothers persuaded one Samuel Doyle to accompany them, and murdered the Indians, placing their bodies in the creek near where Phelps' mill stands. The bodies were washed out by a freshet, and suspicion pointed to the Walkers, who fled the country." The county records show that letters upon the estate of John 1782.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 213 Walker were granted to his widow, Jane, and eldest son, Benjamin, in August 782, and the rest of his family consisted of William, who died before 1790, (leaving a son, John,) Henry, Joseph, John, Samuel, and Sarah, married to William Morrison. During this year, a boy sent to Van Gundy's mill (now J. W. Shriner's, near Lewisburg,) was shot from his horse. This occurred on the Meixell place, a short distance above Francis Wilson's. He was only fourteen years of age, and his name has not been preserved, but the spot, a marsh by the present road, was haunted, people said, by his ghost riding a white horse. Deaths. Casper Weitzel, Esquire, was a lawyer, practicing at Sunbury, when the war broke out, in 1775, and as secretary of the county committee, took a very active part in favor of independence. In 1776 he raised a company in and around Sunbury, which was attached to Colonel Miles' regiment, and participated in the disastrous battle of the 27th of August, on Long Island. He fought through the British ranks, and made his way into camp, with Lieutenant Colonel Brodhead, with a loss of twenty, officers and men, of his company. His rolls, written in his own neat hand, are in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. He was a granduncle of P. R. Weitzel, Esquire, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. John Smith, of Buffalo township; his children were Mrs. Catherine Norgang and Mrs. Christian Storms. Martin Trester and Adam Smith, of Buffalo. James Poak, of White Deer, leaving a widow, Mary; Sarah, married to Colonel John Kelly; Deborah, to Ephraim Darrough, - James, Thomas, William, and David were his children. He lived at the mouth of Little Buffalo creek, Fort Horn, (Cameron's.) (End of page 213) 1783 STATE OFFICIALS - ELECTION RETURNS - CONTESTED ELECTION - REVEREND CYRIACUS SPANGENBERG - THE BRADY FAMILY. STATE OFFICIALS: His Excellency, John Dickinson, President. Judges of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, John Dickinson, Samuel Miles, and Henry Wyncoop. Edward Burd, Prothonotary. Councillor, John Boyd. Members of Assembly, William Maclay, James McClenachan, and William Cooke. President Justice, William Montgomery. Prothonotary, Major Lawrence Keene, appointed September 25, vice Matthew Smith. (Among the applicants for this appointment were Colonel Atlee and Daniel Montgomery.) County Commissioner, John Clarke. County Treasurer, Frederick Antes, appointed October 20. Collector of Excise, William Wilson, appointed October 20. Officers of Buffalo: Constable, Ludwig Derr; Supervisors, Jacob Dreisbach and John Dabellon; Overseers, George Overmeier and Alexander McGrady. Additional residents: Foster, Andrew; Foster, Thomas; Frederick, Thomas; Garret, John; Greenhoe, Andrew; Gibson, James; Gray, John; Grosvenor, Richard; Gunner, Jacob; Hart, John; Harman, Samuel; Hanna, Isaac; Kennedy, Alexander; Knox, George; Lincoln, Mishael; May, George; Macpherson, John; Spangler, Christian; Thompson, John, junior; Troxell, George. Improvement, Andrew Morrow, grist and saw-mill. Residents of White Deer: Iddings, Samuel; Potter, James, Esquire. Penn's: Boop, George; Moore, George; Pyle, George; Sherk, John; Weaver, Michael. Widow Stees is taxed with grist and saw-mill. (End of page 214) 1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 215 ELECTION RETURNS October 14 and 15, 1783 Augusta, October 15 | Buffalo, October 14 | | Northumberland, Oct. 14 | | | Muncy COM'R John Clarke 14 73 217 56 360 John Byers 191 -- 16 3 210 CORONER John Scott 32 54 214 58 358 Charles Gillespie 63 14 40 -- 117 Christopher Gettig 192 16 -- 6 214 SHERIFF John Lytle 61 52 167 54 334 Thomas Grant 141 22 71 12 246 Henry Antes 121 61 209 56 447 ASSEMBLY James McClenachan 21 52 171 60 304 Daniel Montgomery 21 50 169 60 300 Frederick Antes 27 32 176 60 295 John Weitzel 187 8 -- 6 201 William Cooke 191 22 69 6 288 William Maclay 193 23 59 6 281 COUNC'R Robert Martin 35 18 168 58 279 John Boyd 171 22 66 7 266 COUN. OF James Potter 22 16 167 60 265 CENS'RS William Montgomery 31 53 173 60 317 William Gray, (Buffalo) 182 23 64 5 274 Samuel Hunter, junior. 189 24 69 6 288 216 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783. Two returns were made of this election, one signed by Elias Youngman, Anthony Geiger, and John Tschops, judges of the Augusta or Sunbury district, and Jacob Dreisbach, for the Buffalo district, certifying to the election of Samuel Hunter, junior, and William Gray, of Buffalo, as members of the Council of Censors; John Boyd, as member of the Supreme Executive Council; William Maclay, William Cooke, and John Weitzel, as members of Assembly; John Byers, Commissioner; Henry Antes, Sheriff, &c.; the other return, signed by James Murray, James Espy, and Simon Spaulding, of the Northumberland district, and Richard Manning, of the Muncy district, certified to the election of William Montgomery and Samuel Hunter as Censors, Robert Martin as Councillor, James McClenachan, Daniel Montgomery, and Frederick Antes as members of Assembly; Henry Antes, Sheriff; John Clarke, Commissioner, &c. The former judges arrived at their result by throwing out the Northumberland and Muncy boxes. They did this because intruders from Wyoming were allowed to vote at Northumberland, and residents upon the Indian lands were allowed to vote at Muncy. On the 25th of November, the House of Representatives arrived at a little different result, by rejecting the Muncy box alone, thus admitting William Maclay, William Cooke and James McClenachan as members; Samuel Hunter and William Montgomery became members of the Council of Censors, on November 13, by counting all the votes; John Boyd, Councillor, and John Clarke, (Buffalo,) County Commissioner. The deposition of Thomas Hamilton proved that, at the Muncy election, Richard Manning, who lived on Long Island, supposed to be Indian land, acted as judge, and David McKinney who lived opposite the Great Island, on Indian land, acted as inspector; that John Price, John Hamilton, Britton Caldwell, one Thorp, and others, who resided upon Indian land had voted at the Muncy district election, held at Amariah Sutton's. The Muncy district was composed of Bald Eagle and Muncy. Robert Fleming was the only one from Bald Eagle who voted. Manning testified that he acted as judge; lived on Long Island; that Daugherty, who acted as inspector of the election, lived fifteen miles from the district, in Turbut township, which was in the Northumberland district; that 1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 217 the Indian land men voted generally in favor of Montgomery, Antes, and McClenachan for Assembly, &C. William Sims' testimony, with that of others, in regard to the Northumberland box, was that he had been up at Wyoming, and saw William Bonham there, in company with Colonel Zebulon Butler, and Bonham acknowledged to him that it was his business there to get the Wyoming people to go down to Northumberland and vote; that Bonham was exceedingly busy in inviting and persuading the New England people to go down and vote; that Colonel Butler told Captain Gaskins that there would be over one hundred down; that many of them were in Northumberland and had voted, and Bonham kept an open house for them; heard Bonham tell Schott to go up to his house and get his dinner; and further said the election had cost him $20. Captain Spaulding, one of the New England men, acted as judge: and Lord Butler, son of Colonel Zebulon, acted as clerk. Simon Spaulding testified that he lived at Stoke; had been seven years captain in the army, &c.; that the principle on which the people came down to vote was to show their design of conforming to the laws of Pennsylvania, and that they took that as the first opportunity of doing it, &c. A petition to the Assembly remonstrating against receiving the returns from Muncy and Northumberland was numerously signed by the inhabitants along Penn's creek, and of Buffalo Valley, and other parts of the county. Among the names of the Hesslers, Ulrichs, Jacob Welker, &c., occurs that of Cyriacus Spangenberg, V. D. M. The autograph is that of an elegant penman, and fixes the date of his residence on Penn's creek two years earlier than Doctor Harbaugh supposed when he wrote the following notice of him: "In the latter part of the year, one Rev. Cyriacus Spangenberg, who had come over with the Hessian mercenaries, and had secured, irregularly, ordination by a frivolous preacher named Philip J. Michael, thus, not by the door, but 'climbing up some other way,' was this wolf admitted into the fold; located near Selinsgrove and began to preach there, at Row's Church, Mahantango, Middle Creek, and other places. "Such characters often found their way into the quiet and rural settlements of Pennsylvania, as the serpent did into Eden, insinuate 218 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783. themselves into the favor of the needy and unsuspecting, before their old sins could follow them, or new ones could disclose their true character. Hungry souls, who had been for years without the ministry, would hope the best, even amid doubts and fears, and thus were in a favorable position to be deceived. Like all others, the German Reformed Church has not escaped these painful afflictions. "Spangenberg was not long here before his true character appeared. He had represented himself as a single man, drew upon himself the affections of a young female, obtained her promise of marriage, and the day was fixed for the wedding. But on the day previous, a letter was discovered from his wife, still living in Europe. This at once arrested the whole business, and set the son of perdition bare before the community. He now left Selinsgrove, to the great relief of the people. There are still (1857) aged persons along Penn's creek, who in youth heard the story of this vagabond's doings, and much of it still floats, in half uncertain tradition, among those of the present generation. "His fate will interest our readers. In 1795 he had succeeded in introducing himself to congregations in (then) Bedford county, in- cluding Berlin, now Somerset county, Pennsylvania. A division had for some time been growing wider in the congregation at Berlin - some anxious to be relieved of him, others as desirous of retaining him. On a day appointed for a vote, the people assembled in the church, Spangenberg being also present. Just before voting, a pious and influential elder, named Jacob Glassmore, who sat in the altar with Spangenberg, made some remarks favoring a change of ministers, and expressed a hope that the result of the vote would show that the congregation were inclined in that way. Whereupon Spangenberg sprang to his feet in wrath, drew a dirk from his pocket and plunged it into the elder's heart. In a moment Elder Glassmore lay in blood and death in the altar before the whole congregation. "Spangenberg was seized immediately and placed in Bedford jail. His trial ended on the 27th of April, and he was found guilty of murder in the first degree. Efforts were made with the Governor for a pardon, or to have the sentenced commuted. The Governor submitted the records to the chief justice. The reply was unfavorable, and on the 10th of October, 1795, between ten A. M. and two P. M., Spangenberg was hanged at Bedford." 1783.1 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 219 Reminiscences of the Brady Family. October 20, died Mrs. Mary Brady, widow of Captain John Brady. Her remains rest in the Lewisburg cemetery. She died on the Japhet Morton place, a long tract, which extends from (and gives the name to) Mortonsville, (better known as Smoketown,) up to the place lately owned by John Schrack, Esquire. She was born in 1735, and her maiden name was Quigley. She died at the early age of forty-eight years, and left the following family: Captain Samuel Brady, born 1758, at Shippensburg. James Brady, killed in 1778. John Brady, born 1761, and known as Sheriff. Mary (married to Captain William Gray, of Sunbury,) died December 13, 1850. William P. Brady, who removed to Indiana county, Pennsylvania. He was deputy surveyor in Northumberland county many years. His son, Hugh, was a noted attorney in the western counties of the State. The latter married a daughter of Evan Rice Evans, Esquire, and their son, the first Brady that ever was killed in battle, fell at Antietam, in 1862. General Hugh Brady, who died in Detroit, in 1851. Jennie Brady, a twin sister, born 29th July, 1768. Robert, married afterwards to a daughter of Colonel William Cooke. Hannah. Liberty, born August 9, 1778, so called as she was the first child born to them after the Declaration of Independence. She married William Dewart, and died without issue, July 25,1851. I copy here, in full, General Hugh Brady's account of the family, taken from an appendix to his funeral sermon by Reverend George Duffield, loaned me by Mrs. Nancy Eckert, of Lewisburg, granddaughter of Captain John Brady: "I was born on the 29th day of July, 1768, at the Standing Stone, in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, and was the fifth son (they had six sons and four daughters) of John and Mary Brady. My brothers all lived to be men, in every sense of the term, and at a period when the qualities of men were put to the most severe and enduring tests. While I was yet a child, my father moved on to the West Branch of the Susquehanna river, and pitched his tent about eight miles above the town of Northumberland. At this time, (as well as in later periods,) titles to wild lands could be obtained by erecting a log-house, and by girdling a few trees, by way of improvement or 220 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783. cultivation. In this way, my father, John Brady, took up a vast quantity of land; and, had he not fallen in the war of 1776, would have been one of the greatest land-holders in the State. But, owing to the dishonesty and mismanagement of those connected with him, his family received but little benefit from his exertions. Soon after the commencement of the war of 1776, he was appointed a captain in the twelfth Pennsylvania regiment; and, in a few weeks having recruited his company, he joined the army, with which he remained until after the battle of Brandywine. "At this time the Indians had become very troublesome in the set- tlements on the Susquehanna; so much so, that application was made to General Washington for regular troops to protect the frontier. Not being in a condition to spare any troops at that moment, he ordered home Captain John Brady, Captain Boone, and Lieutenants John and Samuel Dougherty, to use their influence in inducing the people to sustain themselves, until he could afford them other relief. And nobly did they execute his design. All that brave and experienced men could do, was done by them, even to sacrificing their lives in the defense of their country; for, in less than two years from that date, Captains Brady and Boone, and Lieutenant Samuel Dougherty, had fallen by the hands of the savages. Ten months before the death of Captain John Brady, his son James had fallen (in 1778) by the Indians. Another son, Samuel, was then an officer in the United States army. John was then at home, in charge of the family, and in his sixteenth year. "After the fall of Captain Brady, my mother removed, with her family, to her father's place in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, where she arrived in May, 1779, and where she remained till October of that year. She then removed to Buffalo Valley, about twenty miles below our former residence, and settled on one of our own farms. We found the tenant had left our portion of the hay and grain, which was a most fortunate circumstance. The winter following (1779 and 1780) was a very severe one, and the depth of the snow interdicted all traveling. Neighbors were few, and the settlement scattered, so that the winter was solitary and dreary to a most painful degree. But, while the depth of the snow kept us confined at home, it had also the effect to protect us from the inroads of the savages. But, with the opening of the spring, the Indians returned, 1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 221 and killed some people not very remote from our residence. This induced Mrs. Brady to take shelter, with some ten or twelve families, on the West Branch, about three miles from our home.* Pickets were placed around the houses, and the old men, women, and children, remained within during the day; while all who could work and carry arms, returned to their farms, for the purpose of raising something to subsist upon. Many a day have I walked by the side of my brother John, while he was plowing, and carried my rifle in one hand, and a forked stick in the other, to clear the ploughshare. "Sometimes my mother would go with us to prepare our dinner. This was contrary to our wishes; but she said that, while she shared the dangers that surrounded us, she was more contented than when left at the fort. Thus we continued till the end of the war, when peace - happy peace - again invited the people to return to their homes. "In 1783, our mother was taken from us. In 1784, my brother John married, and, soon after, my eldest sister followed his example. All the children younger than myself lived with them. I went to the western country with my brother Captain Samuel Brady. He had been recently disbanded, and had married a Miss Swearingen, in Washington county, Pennsylvania. He took me to his house at that place, and I made it my home until 1792, when I was appointed an ensign in General Wayne's army. Previous to this, my brother had moved into Ohio county, Virginia, and settled a short distance above Charlestown. At that day, the Indians were continually committing depredations along the frontier. West of the Ohio the settlements were very sparse, and the people from the east side went frequently in pursuit of parties of marauding Indians who visited the neighborhood. I joined with several parties in pursuit of Indians, but only met them once in action. This was, I think, on the 22d of May, 1791. Our spies in front had discovered a trail of Indians, about eight miles up Indian Cross-cut, making for the settlements. The next morning, ten citizens were met by Lieutenant Buskirk, with twelve State rangers, at the old Mingo town, and from there we went in pursuit. After following their trail till near sunset, we were fired on by the enemy, who lay concealed in a thicket. Lieutenant Bus- * At Jenkins' mill in East Buffalo. 222 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783. kirk was killed, and three men wounded. After a fight of about ten minutes, the Indians retreated, leaving one gun on the ground and much blood on the bushes. We pursued the party then till dark, but did not overtake them. The next day, we returned to the field with a large party; and, about one hundred yards up the stream which had divided the combatants, we found twenty-two Indian packs, showing that our party of twenty-two men had fought the same number of Indians. It was afterwards ascertained that eight of them died of wounds received before they reached their towns. I had a fair shot at the bare back of one of them. I do not know whether I hit him or not. He did not fall, and I think I was some-what excited. On the 5th of March following, 1792, I was appointed an ensign in a rifle company, commanded by Captain John Crawford, a soldier of '76. William Clarke, of Kentucky, was the first lieutenant. I reported to my captain, and was put on the recruiting service. But, as the pay of a soldier was only $3 per. month, I met with little success. Our clothing was also indifferent, and the feelings of the people generally averse to enlisting. They did not consider regular soldiers the thing, exactly, to fight Indians. I then joined the headquarters of the army, at Legionville, the spot where Harmony now stands, twenty miles below Pittsburgh. The first duty I performed was on Christmas day, 1792, when I commanded a picket guard. The officer of the day, Major Mills, saw, at guard-mounting, that I was very green, and when he visited my guard, at twelve o'clock, he took much pains to instruct me. He also let me know at what hour at night the grand rounds would visit me. I had Baron Steuben's Tactics, and a good old sergeant, and was pretty well prepared to receive the rounds when they approached. "The major complimented me, and remained with me for some time. His treatment had the effect to inspire me with that confidence which is indispensable in a young officer, to enable him to perform any duty in a suitable manner. I then thought Steuben had nothing with which I was not familiar, and the confidence it gave me has unquestionably been of service to me up to the present day. The history and movements of that army are before the world; but its sufferings and privations are only known to those who shared them, of which I had my full proportion. Our campaign in Canada, 1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 223 during the war of 1812, was by no means interesting, and its priva- tions, &c., were the subject of much discussion. Compared with the campaign of General Wayne, it was all sunshine. At its close, I was left under the command of Colonel Hamtramck, at Fort Wayne. The force consisted of Captain Porter's company of artillery, Captains Kingsbury's, Grattan's, and Reed's companies of infantry, and Captain Preston's company of riflemen, to which I was attached. "During that winter, 1794-5, we lived very poorly. Our beef came to us on the hoof, and poor, and we had little or nothing to fatten them with. Having no salt to cure it, it was slaughtered, and hung up under a shed, where, by exposure, it became perfectly weather-beaten, and as tough as an old hide. Of course, it made a miserable soup. At the same time, our men received but half rations of flour, and were working like beavers to complete our quarters. Thus we lived until about the middle of February, when a brigade of pack-horses arrived, loaded with flour and salt, and with them came a drove of hogs. From this time forward we considered ourselves as living on the 'fat of the land.' An early spring followed, and with it came ducks, geese, and trout, to improve our living; and the Indians, soon after, came in with their flags to sue for peace; and our time passed away pleasantly. The treaty was opened at Greenville on the 4th of July, 1795, on which day I arrived at that place. I had been ordered there as a witness in the case of Captain Preston, who was tried for disobeying the orders of Colonel Hamtramck. The court sentenced him to be reprimanded, and the General laid it on pretty heavy. "I remained at headquarters till the treaty was concluded, and then returned to Fort Wayne. While at Fort Wayne, I received many letters from my brothers, urging me to resign. I had not seen them for ten years. Those letters held out the idea that they would make my fortune. That, (and a desire to return to the land of my early habits, and to see my brothers and sisters, who had grown from children to be men and women, and most of them married,) decided me to leave the service. I resigned my commission and left Fort Wayne on the 20th of November, 1795, and passed the next winter in Lexington, Kentucky. About the 1st of March following, I rode through to Limestone, (Maysville.) I there 224 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 1783. got into a quartermaster's boat, and, in about three weeks, landed at Wheeling, Virginia. I spent a few days with the widow of my brother Samuel, who had died on the Christmas previous. I then purchased a horse, and reached home about the 20th of July. I went first to Captain William Gray's, my brother-in-law. My sister, Mrs. Gray, came to the door, and, as I inquired for Mr. Gray, she put on rather an important look, and replied: 'I presume you will find him at the store,' and turned into the parlor. I was about turning on my heel, when I heard steps in the entry, and, turning round, I saw my sister Hannah. She immediately raised her hands and exclaimed: 'My brother Hugh!' and flew into my arms. This was not a little surprising, as when she saw me last she could not have been more than eight years old. She knew me by my resemblance to my twin sister, Jane. I found my connections all living happily, and moving at the head of society. I passed a happy three or four months with them, when I became weary of an idle life, and began to look for my promised fortune; but, up to this day, have never been able to find it. I remained out of business till the winter of 1798 and 1799 when I was appointed a captain in Adams' army, and, in less than two years, was disbanded. My brother William, who had been most urgent for me to resign, now requested me to assist him to improve some wild lands he owned on the Mahoning river, about fifty miles from Pittsburgh. We commenced this settlement in the spring of 1802, and, that summer, built a gristmill and a saw-mill. All our breadstuff had to be carried about thirty miles on horseback. Meat I procured with my rifle, deer being plenty, and I could kill them without much loss of time from other business. "I married in 1805, and took my wife to our place in 1806, where Sarah and Preston were born. During the time we were there, we were happy, and had a plenty of such things as the country afforded. All being on an equality, as regarded our resources, were not annoyed by the insolence of wealth. Still, I saw that my fortune could not be made there, and, in 1810, I returned, with my family, to Northumberland, and got along as well as I could, until 1812, when the war again called me into service; since which time the Government has provided for me. I have rendered her some service, and, with my brother officers, have kept my shoulder 1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 225 to the wheel. This was no more than our duty to a country which supports us, and of which we are justly proud. "Thus, I have given a sketch of my life, containing nothing unusual or strange among those of my day and generation. But what a wonderful generation it has been - the most wonderful of any since the days of our Saviour! "I have already stated that my brother James fell by the Indians, in 1778. It was in this manner. With ten or twelve others he went to help a neighbor harvest his wheat, about ten miles from the nearest station. On entering the field, they placed a sentinel at the most exposed point, and their arms convenient to their work. They had worked but a short time when the sentinel gave an alarm. They all ran to their arms, but it proved to be a false alarm. After reprimanding the sentinel for his unsoldierly conduct, they returned to their work; but they had not long been reaping when they heard the report of a rifle, and their sentinel was killed. Without noticing the conduct of others, my brother ran to his rifle, and as he stooped to pick it up, he received a shot which broke his arm. This caused him to fall forwards, and before he could recover, a stout Indian was upon him, tomahawked him, scalped him, and left him for dead. After the Indians left the field, my brother recovered and went to the house, where he found the rest of the reapers who had run from the field without their arms, and without making any attempt to defend or rescue him. They sent James to his parents, at Sunbury, forty miles from the spot where he received his wound, which was on Saturday. He lived till the Thursday following, retained his senses, and related what is stated above. "James Brady was a remarkable man. Nature had done much for him. His person was fine. He lacked but a quarter of an inch of six feet, and his mind was as well finished as his person. I have ever placed him by the side of Jonathan, son of Saul, for beauty of person, and nobleness of soul, and like him, he fell by the hands of the Philistines. "My father was killed on the 11th of April, 1779, not more than half a mile from his own house. He had left that morning at the head of a party of men, to move in a family that had wintered at their farm, about ten miles from my father's place. Having seen no sign of Indians, my father stopped at Wallis's Fort, and let the 226 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783. party go on with the family. He was the only person mounted, and intended, soon, to overtake the party, but unfortunately for him, his family, and the settlement, he overtook a man who had fallen behind, and remained with him till the Indians shot him dead. The man escaped by mounting my father's horse, after he had fallen. It is a remarkable fact, that this man, Peter Smith, was in the field where my brother was killed, and afterwards, his own family was mostly destroyed by Indians, and he again escaped. After the war he settled in the Genesee country, and became a wealthy man. Some men are born to luck. [NOTE. - It is worthy of notice, that although General Brady freq- uently sought, he was never successful in finding, the spot where his father was interred. One of his surviving daughters, Mrs. Backus, wife of Major Backus, was providentially made acquainted with the spot, during a visit (1851) to the place of her grandfather's residence. An old revolutionary soldier,* who was with the father of General Brady when he fell, and had known and marked the place of his interment, a short time before her visit, had, on his death bed, requested to be buried beside his old captain, and designated the spot. His request was granted, and there lie together in the woods, the captain and the private of his company, in a place where the inhabitants of the neighborhood intend, it is said, to erect an appropriate monument. - George Duffield, D. D.] "My brother John, in his fifteenth year, was in the battle of Brandywine, and was wounded. On the retreat he would have been captured had not his colonel, William Cooke, taken him up behind him. John had gone to the army with my father, in order to take home the horses ridden out, and was directed by my father to return. But John heard from Ensign Boyd that a battle was expected to be fought soon. He, therefore, remained to see the fun; and when my father took command of his company, on the morning of the battle, he found John in the ranks, with a big rifle by his side. My father was wounded in the battle, Ensign Boyd was killed, and John received a wound during the retreat. "As one good turn deserves, another, two of my brothers, many years after, married two of the colonel's daughters. *Henry Lebo. 1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 227 "Captain Samuel Brady entered the army as a volunteer when he was nineteen years of age, and joined General Washington at Boston. A year after, he was appointed a lieutenant, and returned home to recruit. He did not remain long. He belonged to Captain John Doyle's company, Wayne's brigade, and was with him at the surprise of Paoli. In 1779, his regiment, the eighth Pennsylvania, was ordered to Pittsburgh. It was then commanded by Colonel Brodhead. Soon after, my brother heard of his father's death; and he waited, with impatience, for an opportunity to avenge it, on the Indians. Nor was the opportunity long delayed. The Indians had attacked a family and killed all in it, except a boy aged twelve, and his sister, ten. These were taken prisoners, and their father was absent from home at the time it occurred. "The place was thirty miles east of Pittsburgh, and it so happened Samuel was out in that direction, and, hearing of it, he started in pursuit, having with him a friendly Indian, very useful as a guide. The second evening of the pursuit the party stopped on the top of a high hill, and the Indian guide pointed with his wiping stick to the foot of the hill, and said, 'The Red Bank runs there.' The men sat down, while the captain consulted with the Indian about his future movements. Suddenly, the Indian sprang to his feet, and said he smelt fire; and soon after they saw the smoke curling above the trees, on the opposite side of the Red Bank. "The Indian said, 'They will sleep by that fire to night.' ' And I will awake them in a voice of thunder in the morning,' replied the captain. The Indian also said, 'After they smoke and eat, and the sun has gone to sleep, they will give the scalp halloo.' With breathless impatience, the party watched the setting of the sun, and, as its light disappeared from the tops of the trees in the east, they heard seven distinct scalp halloos, with the usual whoop between each. After it was over, Cole, the Indian, observed, 'There are fourteen warriors, and they have five scalps and two prisoners.' The night being clear and the weather mild, the captain remained in his position till near morning, when he forded the stream above the Indians and posted his men, to await the crack of his rifle as the signal of attack. As day broke an Indian rose up and stirred the fire. The signal was given. The Indian standing pitched into the fire. The attack continued, and resulted in eight 228 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1783. of the warriors being deprived of the pleasure of ever again giving the scalp halloo. When the captain got to the fire he found the children much alarmed. After quieting their fears, the boy asked for the captain's tomahawk, and commenced cutting off the head of the Indian that fell in the fire, observing that this was the leader of the party, and the man that killed and scalped his mother. The boy was permitted to finish the job he had commenced. "Three easy days' march brought the captain back to Pittsburgh. The father of the children was sent for to receive his lost ones. He showed much affection, on meeting his children, and thanked the captain for having restored them; and then asked the captain what had become of his 'big basin.' It appeared the Indians had carried off, or destroyed, a big basin, from which Henry and his numerous family ate their sourkrout. The honest Dutchman thought there could be no impropriety in asking for it, of the man who had the best chance to know. "In 1804, the writer met Henry (the boy) at a friend's house, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Henry had stopped, with a wagon, before the door, and had a barrel of cider for my friend, who, pointing to me; said, 'This gentleman is a brother of Captain Brady, who took you from the Indians.', Henry was assisting to remove the cider, and he gave me a side look for a moment, and then continued his work. I felt hurt at the coldness he showed towards the brother of a man who had risked his life to rescue him from death or bondage, and to avenge the murder of his family. My friend informed me that Henry owned the farm from which he was captured, and was as rich as any farmer in the county. I thought, then, if his circumstances were as easy as his manners, he probably had at home, in the old family chest, as many dollars as would fill his father's big basin. At the request of his colonel, Captain Brady visited the Sandusky towns, at the head of four or five men, and lay concealed over ten days, so that he could see all their movements. It was a time for horse racing among the Indians, and men, women, children, and dogs were all in attendance. A gray horse was the winner until the evening of the second day, when they compelled him to carry two riders, (a new way to handicap,) when he was finally beaten. The Indians then retired from the field. That evening 1783.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 229 Captain Brady took two squaws prisoners, and started for home. On the second day of their journey they were overtaken by a frightful thunder storm, which destroyed their provisions, and destroyed most of their powder, having but three or four loads of good powder left in a priming horn. The stormy weather continued several days. After it cleared away, the captain, just before night, went ahead of his party, hoping to kill some game, as they were without provisions. The party was then traveling on an Indian trail. He had not gone far when he met a party of Indians returning from the settlements, with a woman and child, prisoners. The captain shot the leader of the party, rescued the woman, and endeavored to obtain the child, that was strapped to the back of the Indian he had shot. But he had not time to do so, as the Indians had ascertained that he was alone, and had returned to their leader. He was, therefore, compelled to fall back, and he took the woman with him. His men, seeing the Indians, and supposing the captain was killed, made their way to the nearest fort, and let the squaw run away. The other squaw had escaped during the great thunder storm. The next day he met a party coming from Fort McIntosh, to bury him, his men having reported him killed. A few days after, he returned with a party to the battle ground, and found the dead Indian. "In 1835, the writer met, at the town of Detroit, a son of the boy that was strapped to the back of the Indian. He informed me that after Wayne's treaty, his father was delivered up, at Pittsburgh, by the Indians. When the land west of the Ohio came into market, his father bought the lot on which the affair took place, and built his house, as near as he could ascertain, on the spot where the Indian fell, and lived there till eighteen months prior to our conversation, when he was killed by the falling of a tree. His name was Stupps, and be was a fine looking man. I remember his grandmother's name was Jane Stupps, and I have often heard my brother relate the above story. "On the Beaver river is a place known as Brady's Bend, where he had a hard fight, and killed many of the enemy, with small loss on his own side. His enterprising disposition and his skill in stratagems, in which he equaled any Indian, enabled him to do more towards protecting the frontier than all his regiment besides. Indeed, he was looked upon by the whole country as their surest protector, and 230 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY [1783. all the recompense he ever received was in a reward of $500, being offered by Governor McKean for his person, for having, in 1791, killed a party of Indians on Brady's run, thirty miles below Pittsburgh. He surrendered himself for trial, and was honorably acquitted; he having proved, to the satisfaction of the court and jury, that those Indians had killed a family on the head of Wheeling creek, Ohio county, Virginia. That, on receiving notice of the murder, he suspected those Indians had come out of Pennsylvania. He, therefore, crossed the Ohio at the mouth of the Wheeling, and by steering west, came on the trail, and pursued it to where he attacked them. When General Wayne arrived at Pittsburgh, in 1792, he sent for Captain Brady, who lived in Ohio county, Virginia, and gave him command of all the spies then in the employ of the Government, amounting to sixty or seventy men. The captain so disposed of them that not a depredation was committed on the frontier. On the contrary, three or four times the Indians were surprised in their own country, thirty or forty miles in advance of the white settlements. His plan of carrying the war into the Indian country put a stop to all murders on that frontier. He continued in command of these rangers until the period of his death, which occurred on Christmas day, 1795, at his house, about two miles west of West Liberty, Virginia. (in the thirty-ninth year of his age.) His disease was pleurisy. He left a widow and two sons. "Never was a man more devoted to his country, and few, very few, have rendered more important services, if we consider the nature of the service, and the part performed by him personally. He was five feet eleven and three fourths inches in heighth, with a perfect form. He was rather light; his weight exceeding at no time, one hundred and sixty-eight pounds. As I have said before, there were six brothers, viz: Samuel, James, John, William P., Hugh, and Robert. There was but half an inch difference in our heights. John was six feet and an inch, and I was the shortest of them all. Is it not remarkable that I, who was considered the most feeble of all, should outlive all my brothers, after having been exposed to more dangers and vicissitudes than any, except Samuel? Is it not a proof that there is, from the beginning, 'a day appointed for man to die?' It is said, ' the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the 1784.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 231 strong, but safety is of the Lord.' That has ever been my belief." Among the deaths this year, William McCandlish, senior, of Buffalo. (Will dated 11th September. Children: Peter, John, George, Grizzelda, William, junior, Jennette, Alexander, and Martin. Mr. McCandlish lived on the place now owned and occupied by John Lesher, in Buffalo township.) William Greenlee, and in November, Mathias Trinkle, (of Union now.) In 1783 the people generally returned to the Valley. Mr. Allen having died, Mr. McClenachan became sole elder of the Buffalo Cross- Roads church until his death, in June, 1784, when the congregation was without an elder until 1787, when Matthew Laird, who had been an elder in Big Spring, came to reside within the congregation. Doctor Grier's Sermon. 1784 JOE DISBURY - BEAR'S MILL (NOW HOFFA'S) ERECTED - FLOOD OF 1784 - CAPTAIN LOWDON'S ROLL - DEATH OF COLONEL SAMUEL HUNTER COUNCIL of Censors, General James Potter, vice Samuel Hunter, deceased. Members of Assembly, elected in October, Frederick Antes, Daniel Montgomery, and Samuel Dale. Henry Spyker, Esquire, was a Representative for Berks county. Presiding Judge, John Buyers. Sheriff, Henry Antes. Lieutenant of the county, William Wilson, vice Samuel Hunter, deceased. Collector of Excise, Alexander Hunter, vice William Wilson, resigned. County Commissioner, Walter Clark, qualified at November Term. The celebrated thief, Joe Disbury, was tried. On his jury were Adam Grove, Michael Grove, William Clark and Adam Christ. His sentence was severe: That he should receive thirty-nine lashes, between the hours of eight and nine to-morrow, stand in the pillory 232 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1784. one hour, have his ears cut off and nailed to the post, that he be im- prisoned three months, and pay a fine of £30 to the President of the State, for the use of the Government. [See his history in Meginness.] George Herrold this year opened the "Herrold Tavern," on the river below Selinsgrove, and Captain Anthony Selin the first hotel in Selinsgrove. In September, John Bear, of Lancaster, bought the Hoffa Mills, (now) property of William Charters, and erected the first grist-mill there. The saw-mill he added in 1787; and in 1790 he had four mills (grist, clover, oil and saw-mill) there. Additional Residents in White Deer Township in 1784. Allison, David; Ant, Jacob; Bennett, Justice; Bennett, Ephraim; Bennett, Thaddeus; Bentley, Green; Brown, John; Brown, Joseph; Brown, widow, Elinor; Buchanan, David; Buchanan, James; Buchanan, James, junior; Buchanan, William; Campbell, Alexander; Carnahan, Robert; Creal, Michael; Daugherty, Daniel; Davis, William; Dodds, Andrew; Dunlap, William; Feager, widow; Fisher, Paul; Fisher, Paul, (single;) Fisher, Henry; Gillespie, Captain Charles; Gilman, Philip; Gray, George; Gray,* Neigal, grist-mill, formerly Titzel's; Heany, Hieronymus; Heany, Frederick; Heany, Philip; Huston, Samuel; Iddings, Samuel; Iddings, Samuel, (single;) Jordan, William; Jordan, Andrew; Judge, William; Kerkendale, Herman; Landon, Nathaniel; Lean, Abraham; Lean, Hannah; Low, widow; McComb, John; McCracken, Mary; McLanahan, David; McLanahan, widow; Moore, John; Moore, John, junior; Moore, George; Morrison, Samuel; Montgomery, Samuel; Perry, Thomas; Plants, Jacob; Poak, widow, Mary; Potter, James, Esquire; Ramsey, John; Rodman, widow, Martha; Sheaffer, Nicholas; Tenbrooke, John; Turner, Robert; Vandyke, John; Welsh, Nicholas; Welsh, Ludwig. (William Wilson, William Gray, and William Clark, assessors.) In a memorial, on file at Harrisburg, signed by Robert Martin and John Franklin, they state "that on the 15th of March, 1784, the Susquehanna rose into a flood, exceeding all degrees ever before known that its rise was so sudden as to give no time to guard against its mischief; that it swept away about one hundred and fifty houses, *Neigal Gray was lieutenant colonel of twelfth Pennsylvania, Continental Line, appointed from Northampton county. 1784.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 233 with all the provision, house furniture, and farming tools and cattle of the owners, and gave but just opportunity for the inhabitants to fly for their lives; that, by this dreadful calamity, one thousand persons are left destitute of provisions, clothing, and every means of life." Muster-Roll of Captain John Lowdon's Company of Northumberland County Volunteers who marched to Suppress the Riot at Wyoming, by Orders of the Supreme Executive Council, August 4, 1784. Captain - Lowdon, John. Lieutenant - Vancampen, Moses. Ensign - Grove, Michael. Sergeants - Snyder, Frederick; Vancampen, Garret. Privates - Adams, John; Allen, John; Antes, William; Armstrong, Hamilton; Armstrong, John; Backinstow, John; Baker, William; Boo, George; Busher, John; Calhoon, Matthew; Campble, Andrew; Champ, John; Clark, William; Clingman, Jacob; Crawford, Edward; Crawford, James; Dering, Stophel; Doyle, Samuel; Drake, Samuel; Emmons, Alexander; Eply, Leonard; Ewing, Jasper; Ewing, John; Fowler, Eshel; Fowler, Nathan; Gillespie, Charles; Gibbons, Alexander; Giles, Thomas; Good- heart, Henry; Goodman, Daniel; Gettig, Stophel; Grant, Thomas; Gregg, Andrew; Gregg, John; Gregg, William; Hamilton, Thomas; Hammond, David; Hammond, James; Harris, John; Harris, Samuel; Hepburn, James; Hessler, Michael; Hilman, James; Hunter, Alexander; Jones, John; Keel, John; Keel, Philip; Lamison, Jacob; Lougan, David; Ludwick, John; Lyon, Benjamin; Marshall, John; Martin, Benjamin; Martin, Thomas; McCoy, Neale; McKinney, Abraham; Meads, Ely; Moreland, Thomas; Morrow, James; Ogdon, John; Pearson, George; Rees, Thomas; Robins, Zack; Rope, Michael; Rurer, Frederick; Salomin, John; Shaffer, Adam; Shaffer, Henry; Smith, Jacob; Steuart, William; Stout, John; Teterly, George; Vanderslice, Henry; Volin, Leonard; Webb, William; Weitgur, John; Weitzel, Jacob; Wheeler, John; Wilkeson, Joseph; Wilkeson, William; Wilson, James; Young, John. One sergeant and twelve men, two days guarding the prisoners at Sunbury. 234 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1784. I do hereby certify the above muster-roll to be just; without fraud to the State of Pennsylvania, or any individual, according to my best knowledge. JOHN LOWDON, Captain. Mustered the above company as specified in the above roll. W. WILSON, Lieutenant Northumberland County. AUGUST 9, 1784. Deaths. April 10, Colonel Samuel Hunter died, aged fifty-two. His grave is near the site of Fort Augusta, which he so heroically defended. His will is dated the 29th of March, and proved the 21st of June. His wife's name was Susanna Scott, sister of Abraham Scott, formerly member from Lancaster. Colonel Hunter was from the county of Donegal, Ireland, and when he died had a mother and two brothers still living there. He left two daughters, Mary and Nancy, minors. 1. Mary, married Samuel Scott, who died before her, leaving children, Samuel H. Scott, Sarah; Susanna. Samuel Scott lived on what is now the Cake farm, and was drowned. He was a son of Abraham Scott, who lived on the island which he had purchased of Mungo Reed, the original owner. Abraham Scott died there in August, 1798, leaving a widow, Sarah, and children, Samuel, (above,) Mary, wife of General William Wilson, afterwards of Chillisquaque Mills, Susanna, and Sarah. Susanna married ____ Rose. Their daughter, Isabella, is the widow of Honorable Robert C. Grier, late Justice of the United States Supreme Court. 2. Nancy, married her cousin, Alexander Hunter, who died in June, 1810, leaving her also a widow, and children, Mary, Elizabeth, Nancy, and Samuel. Henry Vandyke, formerly of Hanover township, Lancaster county, leaving a widow, Elizabeth; children, Lambert, John, Sarah, Hannah, Mary, and Elizabeth. He resided on the second farm east of Buffalo Cross-Roads, now Jackson Rishel's. John Forster, of Buffalo, (will proved 24th October.) He left a widow, Margaret; eldest son, Thomas, grandfather of Mrs. Mark Halfpenny; second son, Andrew; eldest daughter, Christena, married to John Montgomery; Robert Forster was his youngest son; 1785.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 235 Jane, second wife of William Irvine; Elizabeth Gray, and Rebecca McFarland. Robert was the father of the late Captain John Forster, of Mifflinburg. Simon Himrod, elder in the Dreisbach church, and late member of Assembly. He resided in Turbut. His descendants live near Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania. James McClenachan, (in June.) Widow, Sarah; daughters, Margaret, Elizabeth; sons, Robert, David, and Andrew. 1785 LEWISBURG LAID OUT BY LUDWIG DERR - BOUND OF - FALL ELECTION - WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP ERECTED - WIDOW SMITH'S PETITION - MILITIA VICE PRESIDENT, Charles Biddle. William Montgomery, Presiding Justice. Justices, 24th January, Simon Snyder, William Irwin; Colonel John Kelly, in August, and William Wilson. Sheriff, Thomas Grant, elected in October. Walter Clark, John Clarke, and William Gray, all of Buffalo, County Commissioners. Representatives declared elected: Frederick Antes, Samuel Dale, and William Maclay, over Daniel Montgomery, John Weitzel, and Anthony Selin. General Potter, William Maclay, William Montgomery, junior, William Gray, and Joseph J. Wallis, Deputy Surveyors in the " old purchase." Lawyers admitted: John W. Kittera, John Clark, and John Reily, all officers of the War of the Revolution. Vannost, suspended at February term, for treating the justices with contempt, re-admitted at May term. Of Buffalo officers: Constable, John Thompson; quota of State tax, £194; county, £45. Among the Buffalo taxables were: Armstrong, William, tan-yard; 236 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1785. Baldy, Christopher; Barber, Robert, Esquire, who moved from near Wrightsville; Billmyer, Andrew; Brown, John; Burd, David, who lived where Sherry now lives, in the same township; Christ, Adam; Colpetzer, Adam, who lived where Jacob Engle now lives, in Limestone; Douglass, William; Evans, Daniel; Everett, Abel; Giles, Isaac; Haughawaut, Leffard; Huston, Robert; Jenkins, Morgan; Knox, George, tan-yard; Laughlin, Adam; Mucklehenny, John; Voneida, Philip, who purchased of John Crider part of the Captain Kern's tract, (late Peter Voneida place.) Single men in Buffalo Township, in 1785 - Allison, Archibald; Bann, Lewis; Beatty, David; Black, William; Black, Thomas; Books, George; Clark, John; Cosaith, George; Cough, Adam; Cox, Tunis; Dale Henry; Dale, Christian; Derr, George; Dreisbach, Martin; Goodman, John; Gilkeson, a tailor; Iddings, William; Ingram, John; Jenkins, Morgan; Katherman, George; Leonard, Peter; Lewis, Paschall; Lowdon, Richard; McGahey, Neal; McGrady, Captain Samuel; Mook, John; Rearick, John; Reese, John; Rees, Daniel; Scott, William; Shively, Henry; Stewart, Archibald; Taylor, Christopher; Templeton, David; Thompson, John; Vanvalzen, Levi; Waggoner, Christopher; Wilson, Samuel; Youngman, George. Joseph Green, John Aurand, and Thomas Forster, assessors; which list they returned the 4th of January, 1786. Among the Residents in White Deer were - Allen, Robert; Bear, John; Coulter, Nathaniel; Eaker, Doctor Joseph; Lacock, John; Leckey, John; McAllister, Archibald; McGinnes, James; McCorley, Robert, taxed with negro girl; Marshall, Widow; Potter, General James, negro and one servant; Vandyke, John, junior, (Widow Smith, grist-mill.) In 1785, William Blythe's name disappears from the assessment list, and the two tracts, taken up in his daughters' names, are taxed to his sons-in- law, Captain Charles Gillespie and Doctor Eakers. Daniel Lewis' name disappears, and Paschall Lewis appears in its place. His wife, who was Margaret Paschall, was a relative of Thomas Paschall, a hatter, of Philadelphia, who owned a great amount of wild lands, was married three times; first to a man named Watson, by whom she had Jesse, James, (who built Seebold's mill,) and John Watson, all settlers in the Valley. Second, to Mathers, by whom she had Samuel Mathers and Thomas, also early settlers; and third to Daniel Lewis, father of Paschall. One of the 1785.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 237 Mathers once went to Philadelphia to get his share of the fortune. He got as his share - a lot of hats - enough to hat the whole Valley, nearly. Among the Penn's taxables were - Arbogast, John; Dreis, Jacob; Herrold, Simon, ferry and grist-mill; Miller, Dewalt, saw-mill; Pontius, John; Pontius, Peter; Schoolmaster, Abel; Shipton, Thomas; Shisley, Jacob, Sinclair, Duncan; Smith, David; Selin & Snyder, store, negro slave, and forty acres of land; Speakman, James; Stoll, Mathias; Swineford, John; Vanhorn, Daniel; Weiand, Jacob; Witmer, Peter, with ferry. In March, 1785, Ludwig Derr laid out the town of Lewisburg. Samuel Weiser, of Mahanoy township, was the surveyor, and for his services received lot No. 5, on which is now erected the store of Walls, Smith & Co., 1870. His first donation of lots was for religious purposes. 26th March, he, with Catherine, his wife, conveyed lots Nos. 42, 44, and 46 to Walter Clark, William Gray, and William Wilson, in trust for the Presbyterian congregation at or near Lewisburg, for a meeting- house and burying-ground. William Maclay made the survey of the tract the town stands on the 28th of February, 1769. Ludwig Derr lived upon it as early as 1770. It was patented on the 11th of August, 1772, to Reverend Richard Peters, who conveyed, on the 17th of September, 1773, to Ludwig Derr, by the following description, "containing three hundred and twenty acres, situated at the mouth of Spring run, below and adjoining the mouth of Buffalo creek." Weiser's survey was as follows: The southern boundary commenced at a post at the river, at the corner of the tract on which the mill is erected; thence along the land of the said Derr, S. 80 1/2º W. 121 perches 2 1/2 feet, to a stone; thence N. about 10 1/2º W. 164 perches, to a stone; thence N. about 80 1/2º E. about 139 perches 2 1/2 feet, to a post or stake, by the north-west side of Buffalo creek; thence down the creek to its mouth, and thence down the river to the place of beginning, and contained about one hundred and twenty-eight acres, which was divided into three hundred and fifty-five lots. By the act of the 31st of March, 1812, which incorporated "the president and directors of the streets, lanes, and alleys of the town of Lewisburg," the charter bounds commenced at the south side 238 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1785. of the mouth of Lyman's (formerly called Derr's) run, and ran thence up the south side of the run, including the said run in its meanders, to the line of George Derr's land; thence along the same to the fording of Buffalo creek; thence down the south side thereof to the river, and down the river to the place of beginning. And by the act of the 21st of March, 1822, incorporating "the borough of Lewisburg," the bounds were still further increased southerly, as they commenced at the river, at a corner of Jacob Zentmeyer and Margaret Spidler's land, and ran along the same N. 52º W. 62 perches, to a pine; thence, the same course, by land then of William Shaw, James Bennet, James Geddes, George Berryman, and William Hayes, 236 perches, to a pine on land of George Derr. From this pine the line ran N. 2º W. 208 perches, to the creek; thence down the creek and river to the beginning. Ludwig Derr made a lottery the same year, and disposed of some of the lots in this way, among the rest, lot No. 21, corner Fourth and Market, on which (1877) Doctor Howard Wilson is now residing, was drawn by John Brown, and for which he paid three pounds, as appears by the deposition of John Hennig, taken before Colonel John Kelly, on the 2d of May, 1791. The very first lot sold was No. 351, corner of Water and St. Lewis, to William Wilson, 26th March. The first residents of Lewisburg were Bolinger, John; Conser, Henry, (Reverend S. L. M. Conser is a grandson;) Dering, Godfrey, (removed to Selinsgrove; one of his descendants was postmaster there;) Evans, Joseph, cabinet-maker, (descendants still in Lewisburg;) Leonard, Peter, (descendants still in Lewisburg;) Long, Edward; Smith, Nicholas; Welker, Jacob, tailor, (moved to Mifflinburg, and died there.) [See 1788, for a description of Lewisburg at that time.] In September, Ludwig Derr went to Philadelphia to sell lots. The date of his death there is not known. The last deed he signed is dated October 18. December 9, George Derr, Walter Clark , and John Weitzel, administered upon his estate. He left a widow, Catherine, who survived him a very short time, and only one heir, George Derr. September 13, Northumberland county divided into four election districts, Buffalo, White Deer, and Potter in the third, and held their elections at Fought's Mill, (near Mifflinburg.) August sessions, Washington township, now partly in Lycoming, 1785.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 239 erected, the division line commencing a short distance above Widow Smith's mills, thence west, along the south side of White Deer creek, to where Spruce run commences. It was a mere sub-division of White Deer township, calling the northern division Washington. The following is a list of the inhabitants of Washington, as thus erected: Bennett, Ephraim; Bennett, Justice; Bennett, Thaddeus; Bennett, Abraham; Bennett, William; Bently, Green; Brown, Charles; Brown, Judson; Brown, William; Caldwell, William; Creal, Michael; Coats, widow; Eason, Robert; Emmons, John; Emmons, Jacob; Emmons, Jacob, (single;) Gray, William, junior; Green, Ebenezer; Harley, John; Hendrick, Nathan; Hickendoll, Herman; Hood, Moses; Huling, Marcus; Hunter, widow; Landon, Nathaniel; Layn, Abraham; Layn, Isaac; Low, Cornelius, senior and junior; McCormick, Seth; McCormick, Thomas; Mackey, William; Mitchell, John; Ramsey, John; Reynolds, Joseph; Shaffer, Nicholas; Stephen, Adam; Stricker, John; Sunderland, Daniel; Tenbrooke, John; Towsend, Gradius; Towsend, Gamaliel; Weeks, Jesse. Assessors: William Gray, Joseph Allen, and Thomas McCormick. The fall election for members of the House was contested. Paul Baldy, John Macpherson, and Samuel Quinn, among others, went to Phila- delphia as witnesses. The officer reported Richard Sherer, a witness, absent, and John Gray, another, gone to Fort Pitt. It appears, by the report of the committee, that Frederick Antes had 414 votes, Daniel Montgomery 410, Samuel Dale 414, William Maclay 407, John Weitzel 396, Anthony Selin 297. Daniel Montgomery was ousted, and William Maclay put in, upon a tie vote, the Speaker deciding. Twenty-five members signed a protest against these proceedings, which seem to have been dictated by party rancor, for the protestants say the reason of the contest was, that in one district the names of the electors on the poll-list were ten short of the number of tickets received by the inspectors, and that the testimony accounted for this defect. They contended that the whole election should have been set aside; that the vote of the House was destructive to the rights of the people, and an unwarrantable usurpation, of a very dangerous character. In a petition to the Assembly of this year by Catherine Smith, 240 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1785. indorsed, read December 8, 1785, she sets forth "that she was left a widow, with ten children, with no estate to support this family, except a location for three hundred acres of land, including the mouth of White Deer creek, whereon is a good mill-seat; and a grist and saw- mill being much wanted in this new country, at that time, she wast often solicited to erect said mills. At length, in 1774, she borrowed money, and in June, 1775, completed the mills, which were of great advantage to the country, and the following summer built a boring- mill, where a great number of gun-barrels were bored for the continent, and a hemp-mill. The Indian war soon after corning on, (one of her sons, her greatest help, went into the army, and, it is believed, was killed, as he never returned,) the said mills soon became a frontier, and in July, 1779, the Indians burned the whole works. She returned to the ruins in 1783, and was again solicited to re-build the grist and saw-mills; which she has, with much difficulty, accomplished, and now ejectments are brought against her by Messrs. Claypool and Morris, and she, being now reduced to such low circumstances as renders her unable to support actions at law, and, therefore, prays relief," &c. The facts set forth in this memorial are certified to by William Blythe, Charles Gillespie, Colonel John Kelly, James Potter, the younger, and many other citizens of Northumberland county. The Legislature, of course, could grant no relief, under the cir- cumstances, and the petition was dismissed. How long the litigation went on I am unable to determine; but in 1801, Seth Iredell took possession of the premises as tenant of Claypoole and Morris. She is said to have walked to Philadelphia and back thirteen times on this business. Her house was where Doctor Danousky now (1874) lives, on the Henry High place, part of the old stone house being still used as a kitchen. She was buried in the old settlers' grave-yard, which was at the corner of the Dan Caldwell barn. Her bones were disturbed in Mr. Caldwell's time, in erecting a sheep-pen, and were identified by old Mr. Huff, by her peculiar projecting teeth. Some years since, an old man came to the place and desired to look about the old dwelling. He spent several hours about the place. When leaving, said he had come in from Ohio to see it; that he was a son of Catherine Smith, and that if justice had been done her, they would still own the place. Rolly McCorley, 1786.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 241 who recollects the mill last built by her, said it was a small, round log mill. Field Officers Elected in April. First Battalion - Peter Hosterman, lieutenant colonel; Christopher Gettig, major. Fifth Battalion - John Kelly, lieutenant colonel; Thomas Forster, major. Company Officers of the fifth. Captains - Michael Andrews, William Clark, John Thompson, Joseph Poak, Joseph Green, Samuel McGrady, James Potter, junior, John Macpherson. Lieutenants - Adam Harper, Joseph Eaker, James Irwin, Samuel Iddings, Henry Pontius, Jacob Dreisbach, John Brown, M. Wildgoose. Ensigns - Joseph Price, George Clark, George Books, James Moore, J. Hunter, James Templeton. 1786. SLAVES IN THE VALLEY - PICKERING'S VISIT AT GENERAL POTTER'S - BUFFALO VALLEY SOLDIERS AT SARATOGA - FIRST FULLING - MILL ERECTED. PRESIDENT of the State, Benjamin Franklin. Member of Council, William Maclay. Members of Assembly, Frederick Antes and Samuel Dale. Lawyers admitted: on examination, John Andre Hanna and Charles Smith; on motion, John Joseph Henry and Jacob Hubley. Buffalo, Officers - Collector, George May; Constable, John Crider; Supervisors, George Rote and Leonard Welker; Overseers, John Aurand and Samuel Mathers. Among the taxables - Carney, Anthony; Moore, James, tailor; 242 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1786. Ohrendorf, Henry; Piper, Henry; Potts, David; Stephens, William; Straub. Jacob; Swartzcope, Anthony; Pool, William, ferry at Macpherson's. Single Men: Getz, Adam; Grove, Philip; Holmes, Jonathan. In Lewisburg, additional residents - Armor, Thomas; Hammersly, John; Roan, Flavel; Snodgrass, David; Steele, Alexander; Troxel, George; Williams, William. In White Deer - Bear, Isaac; Coburn, John; High, Rudolph; Sherer, Thomas; Sims, William. Penn's - Auple, Jonas; Bolender, Adam, junior; Bossier, George; Businger, Conrad; Dauberman, Christian; Devore, Abram; Garmon, John; Gemberling, Jacob; Gutner, Jacob; Gross, Henry; Gruber, Christian; Mertz, Philip; Nerhood, Henry; Winkelpleck, Henry. In the Valley, Eli Holman, Samuel Hunter, and John Linn are each taxed with female slaves. From the bill of sale, it appears John Linn purchased his slave, called "Judy," of John McBeth, of Chester county, on the 10th of April, 1786. After residing fifty-eight years in the Valley, she removed with John Linn's (second) family to Knox county, Ohio, and died near Mount Vernon, in that county, November 4, 1855, upward of one hundred years old. In March, George Derr and his mother sold George Langs the ground between the railroad bridge and the site of the old wagon bridge. It is not included in the town plan of Lewisburg, or laid out in lots by number. At the same time, William Williams bought No. 343, in Lewisburg, built a stone house, still standing, (Martin Hahn's,) and a frame store-room, adjoining it on the south, and opened the first regular store in the town. At May sessions, C. Van Gundy was bound over for forcible entry, &c., renewing the old controversy with George Derr, Ludwig's son. In the life of Colonel T. Pickering, volume 2, page 251, is a letter from him, dated August 12, 1786, "at Philip Francis', about a mile above the mouth of Muncy creek, and three miles below Mr. Walus'," in which he states Mr. Wallis was to go with him to make surveys in Wyoming. "As Mr. Wallis was not ready, we spent two nights and one day at General Potter's, where we were kindly entertained." On the 15th he adds: "We were to set off for Tioga, but my horse has wounded himself. I am going down to General Pot- 1786.] ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. 243 ter's to borrow or purchase another." This proves clearly that Gen- eral Potter then resided on the Ard farm, just above New Columbia. At August sessions, Andrew Billmyer's tavern was licensed. He kept two miles up the Valley, where his grandson, John Lesher, now lives. Magdalena Pohlhemus, an indentured servant to E. Vounkman, presented a petition to court to be allowed her freedom dues; and after giving due notice, the court ordered Mr. Vounkman to pay her five dollars down, and three dollars next May, as freedom dues for seven year's service. 23d September, an orphans' court was held at the house of Flavel Roan, (at the mouth of Buffalo creek,) before William Irwin and John Kelly, justices, when the applications of George Martin and Samuel McClurgan for pensions were considered. They belonged to Colonel Cooke's twelfth regiment, but were drafted into Colonel Daniel Morgan's riflemen, sent to resist Burgoyne. They were wounded at Saratoga, in October, 1777. In September, George Derr sold Flavel Roan and Sankey Dixon the ground between St. John's street and St. Anthony's, along the creek. Sankey and Ann, his wife, sold out to Roan, and went on West. Sankey had been sergeant and ensign all through the war, in sixth Pennsylvania regiment. He died at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1814. Roan then kept the ferry, two years before it had been leased to Henry Conser, who sold to Stephen Duchman, the latter to Roan. Christopher Weiser built the first fulling-mill in the Valley, on Turtle creek, on what is now Peter Wolfe's place, and James Watson built the first grist-mill, erected at Seebold's, above New Berlin. Deaths. Catharine, widow of Ludwig Derr. Captain John Forster, often mentioned in Brady's adventures. His old log house stood to the left of the road to Hoffa's mills, beyond Rishel's stone house. He left a widow, Jane. First son, James, afterwards married to a daughter of William Clark, to whom he willed the old place. James moved to Ohio. His son John, who lived in Brush valley, was the father of Mrs. William C. Duncan, of Lewisburg. Second son, William, a bachelor, said to be the first white child born in the Valley. Third, John Forster, so long a partner of James Duncan, at Aaronsburg. (Descendants: Sarah, mar- 244 ANNALS OF BUFFALO VALLEY. [1787. ried to William Vanvalzah; Emeline, to S. S. Barber; Margaret, to Doctor Charles Wilson; Jane, to R. B. Barber, Esquire.) Fourth, daughters: Agnes, Margaret, and Dorcas. James Jenkins, aged eighty-two, left widow, Phoebe, and sons William and James. Cornelius Dimpsey, left widow, and children, Mary, James, and Jonathan. Captain James Thompson bought the place of his widow, in 1796, late Jacob Zeibach's, in Kelly. Lieutenant Colonel Neigal Gray, twelfth Pennsylvania, of White Deer. Children: John; Elizabeth, married John Auld; Isabella, and Robert.