'A ■■■■ '^'^A'l ; ""I BT OR ■ ^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT \)7ITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library F 159H2 P73 History of Hanover Township : including olin 3 1924 028 863 375 Date Due iMTTWB^ PRINTED IN (SJ NO. 23233 A) nV % ■hO ^ vU^ LUA^ ^■^'' The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in ' the United States on the use of the text. ''Wif. http://archive.org/details/cu31924028863375 mi HISTORY -OF — HANOVER TOWNSHIP INCLUDING SUGAR ■ NOTCH, ASHLEY, AND NANTICOKE BOROUGHS, AND ALSO A HISTOEY OF WYOMING VALLEY In Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. BY HENRY BLACKMAN PLUMB, Sugar Notch, Pa. " WILKES-BARRE, PA. ' ' '^ / . ROBERT BAUR, PRINTER AND STATIONER, 3 ^SOUTH MAIN STREET. Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1885, by HENRY BLACKMAN PLUMB, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. J. W. Raedeb, Binder, 749 MARKET ST., WILKES-BARREi PA. I. ! t I ( ( PREFACE. JN presenting this book, especially to the descendants of the old Hanover settlers, and to the public in general, I deem it proper to say : I was born in the house of one of the old veterans of the Wyoming Massacre and the Revolutienary War. He was eighteen years old at the time of the massacre, 1778, and he died in 1845, nearly eighty-six years old. I was fifteen at the time of his death, and had always lived with him. Strangers as well as neighbors frequently came to his house to hear him relate the incidents of those times that "tried men's, souls," in which he was an actor, and, with his father's family, a sufferer. This was Elisha Blackman. He resided in Wilkes-Barre from 1772 to 1791, after which he resided in Hanover till his death in 1845. I listened with my young ears, and frequently with bated breath, to his recital of Indian and Tory raids and murders, and the pursuit by some party of settlers hastily got together, and sometimes a meeting of these hostile parties and a des- perate fight ; and his stories of the early settlenient, the building of the log cabin, dignified by the name of house, the construction of furniture, the clearing of the farm of woods and brush and the building of protect- ing shelter for domestic animals from wild animals — in short, the industry, frugality, hardship, sufifering, exposure, perseverance, trials, troubles, arrests, expulsions, imprisonments, escapes, hunger, hopes, fears and final peace. It seemed fitting therefore that I — if no one'"eise better quali- fied — should write out the plain and simple story of those times, that the descendants of those early patriots might preserve some faint idea of what their progenitors passed through, and how they discharged their responsi- bilities. It then seemed necessary that the history of the township should be continued down to the present time — and this book is the result. The endeavor has been made to write this history in the plainest Anglo- Saxon — the common, every-day speech of the people. Another endeavor has been made, viz: to leave out everything of a personal nature so far as the story could be told without mentioning names. I have come across several incidents while writing this book, where I have been sorely tempted to break over the second of these rules that I had set for myself, but I passed those incidents by and left that work for some other pen than mine. Nearly all the local historians I have ever read have expressed a desire to furnish genealogical tables of the old families, but they have all 4 PREFACE. shunned or shirked the task. T have attempted it in this book, and have , found it a very interesting work indeed; but there is a greater liability to make errors in this than in any other part of the work. I almost fear the criticisms that will be showered upon me for the mistakes I have made in this part of my work. I found it impossible to obtain a very great degree of correctness. Even the famiUes, or members of the families that I could find, frequently did not know. The record, if one had been kept, was in the possession of some other member or branch of the family, and the one inquired of had no copy. The most of these tables, however, have been constructed from information obtained from members of the families, and any mistakes in these cases — and there are doubtless many — must be laid to the want of correct information on the part of that member of the family who gave the information. Sometimes there were two or three consulted, and not together or at the same time, and in these cases the information became mixed. In some cases there was not a single relative of the family to be found anywhere. By the word family, I do not mean the members of a household, but I mean all of the name, however far they may have to go back to meet a common ancestor — provided they m.eet at all. The main part of the special history of Hanover is taken up by descrip- tions of the work Of these early settlers — their houses, tools, trades, imple- ments, farms, fences, crops, manufactures, methods, industry and persever- ance. The older generation, not yet wholly passed away, knows all about these things without being told by me, but those coming on after us know nothing about it, except by hearsay, and in another generation there will be no one living who can tell the story from having actually seen these things. To these and their successors my book is hereby dedicated. The facts recorded in the part especially devoted to Hanover are gener- ally new. They have rarely been culled from any other history. The original researches have generally been made by myself, but I must acknowledge my great indebtedness to Hon. St«uben Jenkins, of Wyoming, for information and documents furnished. His assistance has been invaluable. He furnished the key to unlock hidden mines of the most valuable information to a historian of Hanover. It seems to me now that without the list of ancient transfers of land (transfers previous to the Wyoming Massacre) I should have remained ignorant of some of the most important facts contained in this book — always providing any of the facts contained in it are important. It is understood that Mr. Jenkins is gathering materials for a copious and searching history of Wyoming to its minute particulars; and from what I have seen of his acquisitions in this respect, I have reason to think the work will be most thorough and valuable. The first part>— the History of Wyoming— has been drawn most largely from the "History of Wyoming" by the Hon. Charles Miner. Frequent credits to that source will be found in the body of the work. . He wrote his work previous to 1845 (the .date of publication), and had special facilities for procuring correct information, as fifteen or twenty of the old veterans " PREFACE. 5 « who participated in the events were living up to nearly that time and in the full possession of their faculties. He conferred with them personally, as I myself know from being present at some of these conferences. His statements are, therefore, worthy of the most thorough reliance in matters thus procured, and are now, in most cases, the only source from which the information can be derived. I have also quoted from Dr. Egle's "History of Pennsylvania," 1883. In documentary and record matters new materials are being constantly discovered. In this history I am the first to publish anything from the ancient Hanover records. The old Hanover Town Record is supposed to be the only book of the kind still in existence in Wyoming Valley. The authorities of Hanover placed it in the keeping of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society in 1864, and it may be said, that they keep it with a little too strict care. Chapman's "History of Wyoming" has been drawn upon for informar tion; also Gov. Hoyt's "Brief of Title of Seventeen Townships;" Col. H. B. Wright's "Sketches of Plymouth;" Col. Stone's "History of Wyoming;" Eev. Dr. Peck's "History of Wyoming;" Elias Johnson's (the English name of a Tuscarora Indian chief) " History of the Six Nations;" Stewart Pierce's "Annals of Luzerne;" "Historical Collections of Pennsylvania, 1843;" Goodrich's "History of the U.S.;" Hollister's "History of the Lackawanna Valley;" "Events in Indian History, 1842;" He^iry's "History of the Lehigh Valley, I860;" Johnson's "Wyoming Memorial;" Mrs. Perkins' "Ancient Times," Bradford County, 1870; "Eupp's 30,000 Names" of Immigrants to Pennsylvania; the original census returns, Washington, D. C; ancient account books of Blisha Blaekman, Sr., 1779 to 1804; Elisha Blackman, Jr., 1795 to 1820; modern account books to '1884; ancient deeds, letters, papers, assessment books, county records. Clerk of the Courts, Orphan's Court, Prothonotary's office. Recorder's office, newspapers, and personal conferences with most of the older inhabitants of the township, and visits to and correspondence by mail with many former Citizens, but not now residents of the township. The "old soldier" and "old settler" and "veteran" mentioned in the body of the work was Elisha Blackman, Jr., of Hanover. Quotations have not been changed, even when the punctuations seemed ' to be all wrong. The orthography has been followed unless it was a mani- fest case of "misprint." The names of persons and places in the old histories, and written documents, seem to have been spelled according to the writer's notion of it at the moment, as they are not always spelled in the same way by the same writer. When any such matter has been intro- duced here the orthography has not been intentionally changed. Various errors have been made in printing which the proof-reader (myself), from inexperience probably, failed to discover until too late for correction. I have therefore introduced here a page of errata, showing the true reading. November 19, 1885. H. B. PLUMB. ERRATA. Page 21, 19th line from top, in place of Alligewe read AUigewl "^ 26, 16th " bottom, " Rivers " Riveres. " 32, 12th " 35, 4th " 44, 20th " 46, 8th " 67, 13th " 78, 6th " 84,. 16th " 101, 9th " 105, 10th " 144, 3d "> 151, 7th " 154, 17th " 159, 3d " 163, Ist " 164, 5th " 167, lat " 182, 17th " 330, 4th " 333, 11th " 334, 14th " 339, 6th " 239, 14th " 346, 13th " 249, 6th " 352, 18th " 363, 17th " 365, 30th " 379, 15th top, top, " top, " bottom, " bottom, " top, " bottom, " top, " bottom, " top, " top, " bottom, " bottom, " top, " bottom, " top, " top, " bottom, " bottom, " top, " top, " bottom, " bottom, " top, " , top, " top, " bottom, top, sepentine within even We qu tank Tedeusung vension Ezkiel Ranson Gershone first hundred 1783 Alexader 17 John' Peley over (No. l8) dying a large treading flour 1150 Preslon place and Ashoel Conestaga Backman Jones, all, " serpentine. ". with. ' ' ever. " Wequetank. " TedeusGung. " venison. " Ezekiel. " Ransom. " Oer shorn. first two hundred. " 1772. " Alexander. " 14. " said John. " Peleg. " ever. " (No. 28.) " dyeing. " large. " threshing. " bread. " 115. " Preston. " place o/ and. " Ashbel. " Conestoga. " Barkman. Jones and their father .John, all deceased, the father and brothers of Richard, etc. Page385, 11th line from bot., in place of Honnis read Hannis. '^330, 19th " bottom, " 31.7 "38.7. " 326, 4th " bottom, " turnpike roads " roads. " 328, 7th " top, omit the word "up." " 337, 3d line from hot., in place of removals read renewals. " 354, 10— 11th" top, " perbbl. " ;?OMr per bbl. " 370, 5th " top, " 1835 " 1855. " 370, 10th " bottom, " 150 " 1,500. " 378, over third column of figures from the left, in place of Luzerne and Lackawanna read Luzerne and Lycoming. Page 384, 9th line from top, in place of Windson read Windsor. '■^ 398, 5th " *'^^ " ■"'7';" "• 1T4S " 399, 3d ' " 408, 13th ' " 437, 12th ' " 438, Ist ' " 429, 10th ' " 446, 14th ' " 446, 4th ' " 448, 11th ' " 469, 2d ' top. " 1750 1748. bottom. Ann li ' Anna. bottom. Amor Anor. bottom. Asseneth Asenath. bottom, Aeseneth Asenath. top. Asseneth Asenath. top. V. E. bottom. V. E. top. Sydia Lydia. bottom, Eleanor Hellen, PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. ANCIENT TRADITIONS OF A .WESTERN CONTINENT. ^'HEOPOMPUS, a learned historian and orator, who flour- vJ ished in the time of Alexander the Great, 331 years before Christ, in a book entitled ' Thoumasia,' gives a sort of dialogue between Midas, the Phrygian, and Silenus. After much con- versation, Silenus said to Midas, that Europe, Asia and Africa were but islands surrounded by the sea; but that there was a continent situated beyond these, which was of immense dimensions, even without limits ; and that it was so luxuriant as to produce animals of prodigious magnitude, and men grew to double the height of themselves, and that they lived to a far greater age ; that they had many great cities, and their usages and laws were different from ours ; that in one city there were more than a million of inhabit- ants ; that gold and silver were there in vast quantities." This is all of Theopompus that can be said to refer to a country west of Europe and Africa. "Diodorus Siculus says that some 'Phoenicians were cast upon a .most fertile island opposite to Africa. Of this he says they kept the most studied secrecy, which was doubtless occasioned by their jealousy of the advantage the discovery might be to the neighbor- ing nations, and which they wished to secure wholly to them- selves.' " Diodorus Siculus lived about one hundred years before Christ. Islands lying west of Africa are certainly mentioned by Homer and Horace. They were called Atlantides, and were sup- posed to be about 10,000 furlongs from Africa. Here existed the poets' fabled Elysian fields. Let Diodorus speak for himself: "After having passed the islands which lie beyond the Herculean Straits, we speak of those which lie much farther into the ocean. lO HISTORY OF HANOVER. Towards Africa, and to the west of it, is an immense island in the broad sea, many days' sail from Lybia. Its soil is very fertile, and its surface variegated with mountains and valleys. Its coasts are indented with many navigable rivers, and its fields are well cul- tivated ; delicious gardens, and various kinds of plants and trees." This corresponds very well, at all events, with the accounts given by the Spaniards of the Mexicans when first discovered. Plato's account has more weight than any other of the ancients. He lived about 400 years before Christ. Part of his account is as follows : "In those first times, the Atlantic was a most broad island, and there were extant most powerful kings in it, who, with joint forces, were appointed to occupy Asia and Europe ; and so a most grievous war was carried on, in which the Athenians, with the common consent of the Greeks, opposed themselves, and they became the conquerors. But that Atlantic island, by a flood and earthquake, was indeed suddenly destroyed, and so that warlike peo- ple were swallowed up." "An island.in the mouth of the sea, in the passage to those straits, called the Pillars of Hercules, did exist ; and that island was greater and larger than Lybia and Asia ; from which there was an easy passage over to other islands, and from those islands to that continent which is situated out of that region. Neptune settled in this island, from 'whose son. Atlas, its name was derived, and divided it among his ten sons. To the youngest fell the ex- tremity of the island, called Gadir, which, in the language of the country, signifies fertile, or abounding in sheep. The descendants of Neptune reigned here, from father to son, for a great number of generations in the order of primogeniture, during the space of 9,000 years. They also possessed several other islands ; and, pass- ing into Europe and Africa, subdued all Lybia as far as Egypt, and all Europe to Asia Minor. At length the island sunk under; and for a long, time afterwards the sea thereabouts was full of rocks and shoals." Aristotle, to whom it is attributed, says : "Some say that beyond the Pillars of Hercules, the Carthagenians have found a very fertile island, but without inhabitants, full of forests, navigable rivers, and fruit in abundance. It is several days' voyage from the main land. Some Carthagenians, charmed by the fertility of the country, thought to marry and settle there ; but some say the government PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. II of Carthage forbid the settlement upon pain of death, from the fear .that it would increase in power so as to deprive the mother country of her possessions there." The actual discovery of America we will not relate, except in the shortest style: That Columbus sailed with three small ships from Spain in 1492 ; that the, same year by sailing continually westward he discovered the Bahama and West Indian islands ; that Spaniards settled them, and exterminated the natives; and, in 128 years we come to the first settlement of the English in New England — 1620. THE NEW ENGLAND PILGRIMS AND PURITANS. In 1607 a congregation fled from England into Holland, and in 1608, were joined by others, and a church was established there, according, as they believed, to the principles of the primitive church of Christ. Their removal was attended with great difficulties. There was a large company of them at Boston in Lincolnshire, which hired a ship to meet them at a particular place convenient for taking aboard their goods, they to be there in readiness at a time agreed upon. The master of the ship did not call there for some time after the time agreed upon ; but finally he came and took them on board, and then betrayed them. He had plotted with officers of the government, who came and took them out of the ship, rifled and ransacked their clothing, searching them, both men and women, to their shirts for money and valua- bles, and after robbing them, carried them back to the town before the magistrates, and had them locked up. After a month's im- prisonment the greater part were dismissed and sent to the places they came from, but seven of the principal men were still kept in prison and bound over to the assizes. The next spring there was another attempt made. These heard of a Dutchman at Hull, having a ship of his own, belonging to Zealand. They made' an arrangement with him. He was to take them in between Grindstone and Hull, where there was a large common, a good ways distant, the story goes, from any town. The people hired a small "bark" to take the women and children there, but went by land themselves. When the boat 12 HISTORY OF HANOVER. got there the day before the time fixed for the ship to be there, the sea was rough, and the bark was run into a creek close by. ' The - next day when the ship came the bark was aground, it being low water. The shipmaster saw how the matter stood, but sent his boats and brought on board the men, who had arrived and were walking about on the shore, but after he got the first boat-load on board, he saw a large company of armed men, both horse and foot, coming to arrest them, or, as the story goes, coming "to take them," "for the country was raised." The Dutchman, having a fair wind, weighed anchor, hoisted sail and away. Some of the men on the beach escaped, but all the women and children were cap- tured. They were hurried from one place to another, women and children crying and suffering for food, till in the end the authorities did not know what to do with them. To imprison so many women and innocent children for no other cause than that they wanted to go to their husbands and fathers seemed unreasonable, and now to send them home was impossible, for they had no homes to go to, having sold them. After bothering a good while with them the authorities were glad to get rid of them at any terms. Well, they were let go, .and they got to Holland and established their Congre- gational church ; but after a few years they began to fear that their church would be lost by their connection with the Dutch. Some of the young men had taken Dutch wives and some of the young women had taken Dutch husbands. These things cause grief to the pious forefathers, and turned their thoughts towards America. They concluded to settle in North Virginia and they sent to the Virginia Company in England to obtain a grant of land, and to obtain from the king liberty of conscience there. The king would only agree to "connive at" it, "provided they should conduct peaceably." They made an arrangement with the Virginia Com- pany, and in 1620 sent a part of their people to prepare the way. Two ships were got ready, one named the Speedwell, of sixty tons, the other the Mayflower, of one hundred and eighty tons. They first went from Leyden to England, and on the fifth of August, 1620, they left Southampton for America; but they were twice forced to return by reason of the bad state of the lesser ship. They finally dismissed the Speedwell and all embarked on the Mayflower. PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. I 3 They sailed, and after two months and three days they fell in with the land of Cape Cod, ■ on the 9th of November. Finding themselves further north than they intended to settle, they stood to the southward; but soon finding themselves nearly encompassed by dangerous shoals, the captain took advantage of their fears and bore up again for the cape; and, on the loth of November, anchored in Cape Cod harbor. Observing their latitude^ they found themselves out of the limits of the Virginia Company ; upon which it was hinted by some that they should now be under no laws, and every servant would have as much authority as his master. But the wisdom that had conducted them hither was sufficient to provide against this evil; therefore an instrument was drawn and signed, by which they unanimously formed themselves into a body politic. This instrunient was ex- ecuted November i ith (old style) and signed by forty-one persons, that being the number of men qualified to act for themselves. Their whole number consisted of one hundred and one. It will always be interesting to know the first form of govern- ment, ever drawn up on earth by the people themselves for the government of themselves. As this is believed to be the first, it is here introduced, together with the names of the persons that signed it. This is found in Mr. Prince's New England Chronology: "In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are under- written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, defender of the faith, etc.: "Having undertaken, for the glory of God and the advance- ment of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony, in the northern parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly, and mutually in the presente of God, and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our bfetter ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid ; and by virtue hereof, to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time as shall be thought ■ most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony. Unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at 14 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Cape Cod, the nth of November, in the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France and Ireland, the XVIII, and of Scotland the LIV. Anno Domini 1620." 1. Mr. John Carver* . . , 2. William Bradford* . . 3. Mr. Edward Winslow* 4. Mr. Wm. Brewster* . 5. Mr. Isaac Allerton* . 6. Capt. Miles Standish* . 7. John Alden .... 8. Mr. Samuel Fuller f ■ 9. Mr. Christopher Martin 10. Mr. William Mullins* § 11. Mr. Wm. White* § . 12. Mr. Richard Warren f 13. John Rowland {in Mr. Carver's family) . . 14. Mr. Stephen Hopkins* 15. Edward Tilly* § . . . 16. John Tilly* § . . . . 17. Francis Cook f • • ■ 18. Thomas Rogers § . . 19. Thomas Tinker* § . . 20. John Rigdale*§ . . . 21. Edward Fuller* § . . 22. John Turner § . . . 23. Francis Eaton* . . 24. James Chilton § . . 25. John Crackston § . 26. John Billington* . 27. .'Moses Fletcher § . . 28. John Goodman! . 29. Digory Priest § . . 30. Thomas Williams § 31. Gilbert Winslow . . 32. Edmund Margeson§ 33. Peter Brown . . . 34. Richard Britterige § 35. George Soule (of Mr. slow's family) . . 36. Richard Clark § . . 37. Richard Gardiner . 38. John Allerton § . . 39. Thomas English § . Edward Dorey V Edward Leister J Mr. Hopkins' family 3 3 2 4 I I I I I I I I Win- 40. 41- both of lOI The above names having this mark * at the end brought their wives with them. Those with this f did not. Those with this § died before the end of March. The figures at the end of the names denote the number in each family. John Carver was chosen governor for one year. The same day that' this memorable instrument was signed, a party left the ship, and landed to explore the country and get wood, but returned without making any particular discovery. A few days after (Nov. 15) sixteen men under Captain Miles Standish, were permitted to go in search of a convenient place of settlement. They saw five Indians, whom they followed all day, but could'not overtake them. The next day they discovered several Indian graves, one of which they opened, and found some rude imple- ments of war, a mortar, and an earthen pot; all which they took care to replace, being unwilling to disturb the sepulchres of the PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. I 5 dead. They found under a small mound of earth, a cellar curi- ously lined with bark, in which was stored a quantity of Indian corn. Of this they took as much as they could carry, and re- turned to the ship. Soon after, twenty-four others made a like excursion, and obtained a considerable quantity of corn, which, with that obtained before, was about ten bushels. Some beans were also found. This discovery" gave them great encouragement, and perhaps prevented their further removal ; it also saved them from famine. After considerable discussion concerning a place of settlement, it was concluded to "send a shallop to make further discovery in • the bay. Accordingly Governor Carver with i8 or 20 men, set out on the 6th of December to explore the deep bay of Cape Cod. The weather was very cold, and the spray of the sea lighting on them, they were soon covered with ice, as it were, like coats of mail. At night, having got to the bottom of the bay, they discovered ten or twelve Indians about a league off, cutting up a grampus, who, on discovering the English ran away with what of the fish they had cut off. With some difficulty from shoals, they landed and erected a hut, and passed the first night. In the morning they divided their company ; some went by land and others in the vessel, to make further discovery of the bay, to which they gave the name of Grampus, because that fish was found there. They met again at night, and some lodged on board the shallop, and the rest as be- fore," in the hut. The next morning, December the _8th, as they were about to embark, they. were furiously beset by Indians. Some of the com- pany having carried their guns down to the boat, the others dis- charged upon them as fast as they could ; but the Indians shouted a.nd rushed on, until those had regained their arms, and then they were put to flight. One, however, more courageous than the rest, took a position behind a tree, and withstood several volleys of shot, discharging arrows himself at the same time. At length a shot glancing upon the side of the tree hurled the bark so about his head, that he thought it time to escape. Eighteen arrows were picked up after the battle, which they sent to their friends in Eng- land as curiosities. Some were headed with brass, and others with horn and bone. < 1 6 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The company after leaving this place, narrowly escaped being cast away, but they got safe on an uninhabited island, where they passed the night. The next day, December gth, they dried their clothes and repaired their vessel which had lost her mast, and met with other damage. The next day they rested, it being Sunday. The day following they found a place which they judged fit for set- tlement ; and after going on shore, and discovering good water, and where there had been corn-fields, returned to the ship. This was on the eleventh of December, 1620, and is the day celebrated as the "Forefathers' Day." This is old style ; to reduce it to new style, eleven days are to be added, making the 22d Decem-- ber, the day we celebrate the landing on Plymouth Rock. 1 On the 15th (26th) the ship came -into the new harbor. The following two days the people went on shore, but returned at night to the ship. On the 23d, timber was begun to be prepared for building a common store-house. On the 25 th the first house was begun. In January, 1621, their store-house took fire and was nearly consumed. Most of the people were now sick, and Governor Carver and Mr. Bradford were confined in the store-house when it took fire. In March an Indian came boldly into the town and ' saluted them with the words, "Welcome Englishmen ! Welcome Englishmen !" This was uttered in broken English, but was clearly understood. His name was Samoset, and he came form the east- ward, where he had been acquainted with some fishermen, and had learned some of their language. They treated him with kindness, and he informed them that a great Sachem, Massassqit, was coming to visit them ; and told them of one "Squanto" that was well ac- quainted with the English language. He left them, and soon after returned in company with Massassoit and Squanto. This Indian (Squanto) continued with the English as long as he lived, and was of infinite service to them. He showed them how to cultivate corn, and other American productions. About this time Governor" Carver died, and Mr. William Brad- ford .was chosen governor. The mortality that had commenced soon after their arrival, had carried off before the end of March forty-four of their number, leaving only fifty-seven European in- habitants. ■ . 1 PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. • , 1/ They had to build their log houses on the frozen ground, with nothing to effectually chink them ; and nothing to build a chimney with, except the dry stones. Their exposure, under the circumstances unavoidable, together with a lack of food, carried off nearly one-half of them in three months. The annals of the world do not furnish a parallel to the first peopling of New England. It is believed they did not bring forth degenerate sons to continue the work of peopling North America. They made a treaty with Massassoit which was never violated by either party during the whole life of Massassoit. At that first meeting and the making of their treaty, they arranged with Mas- sassoit to find the owners of the corn ^and beans they took before their first landing for settlement; and they paid for it. Massassoit was the father of "King Philip," with whom the next generation had continual war until King Philip was killed. THE PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH. THE FIRST IMMIGRANTS FROM GERMANY. "From 1682 to 1776, Pennsylvania was the central point of immigration from Germany, France and Switzerland. Pennsylvania's liberal views, and the illiberal course of the government of New York towards the Germans, induced many to come to this province. "In the first period of twenty years, from 1682 to 1702, com- paratively few Germans arrived ; not above two hundred families,— they located principally at Germantown. They were nearly all Plattdeutsch, — Low Germans, from Cleves, a duchy in Westphalia, and arrived in 1683-5. Leaving their native country at that time, they providentially escaped the desolation of a French war, which in 1689 laid waste the city of Worms, near which town they resided; ravaged the countries for miles round, where the flames went up from every market place, every hamlet, every parish church, every , country seat, within the devoted provinces. * * * "Francis Daniel Pastorius, born at Sommerhausen, in Fran- conia, Germany, September 26, 165 1, arrived at Philadelphia in the ship 'America,' Captain Joseph Wasey, August 20, 1683, with his family. He was occompanied by a few German emigrants : 2 1 8 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Jacob Schumacher, George Westmiiller, Isaac Dilbeck, {his wife and Thomas G asper, two children^! Conrad Bacher, alias Rutter, Abraham Dilbeck, and one English maid, Jacob Dilbeck, Frances Simpson. * * " Pastorius located where he laid out Germantown, the same year in which he arrived in Pennsylvania. The land of the Germantown settlement was first taken up by him, the I2th of the lOth month, (October) 1683. He commenced the town with thirteen families. In less than five years some fifty houses had been erected. "The period from 1702-1727, marks an era in the early German emigration. Between forty ' and fifty thousand left their native country — 'their hearts where soft affections dwell.' The unpar- alleled ravages and desolations by the troops of Louis XIV, (of France) under Turenne, were the stern preludes to bloody persecu- tions. To escape the dreadful sufferings awaiting them, German and other Protestants emigrated to the English colonies in America."* These are believed to have been the first emigrants from Ger- many to America, and are therefore the very first progenitors of the "Pennsylvania Dutch." As Hanover, from a very early time in it6 history, was indebted to the Pennsylvania Dutch for some of its best population ; and from about 1830, for at least one-half of its population, it has been thought proper to introduce an account of the immigration and settlement in Pennsylvania of the first of their ancestors. It will be seen, that like the Puritans of New England, they came for the sake of religious freedom, and to escape persecu- tion in their native country, as well as from the ravages of war, waged against their native country, by an ambitious and bigoted king of France. In that very war, he wrested two German provinces from Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, and annexed them to his own kingdom, and they were held by France until the French and German war of 1870. ACCOUNT OF THE DELAWARES AND SHAWANESE. " The most formidable antagonists the Five Nations ever had to contend with, were the Delawares, as the English have named *Rupp's 30,000 names. PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. 1 9 them, (from Lord de la War,) but generally styled by their Indian neighbors Wapanachi, and by themselves Lenni Lenape, or the Original People. The tradition is, that they and the Five Nations both emigrated from beyond the Mississippi, and, by uniting their forces, drove off or destroyed the primitive residents of the country on this side. Afterwards the Delawares divided themselves into three tribes, called the Turtle, the Turkey, and the Wolf or Monsey. Their settlements extended from the Hudson to the Potomac, and their descendants finally became so numerous, that nearly forty tribes honored them with the title of grand-father, which some of them continue to apply to the present day. "The Delawares were the principal inhabitants of Pennsylvania when William Penn commenced his labors in that region, and the memory of Miqzion, their elder brother, as they called him, is still cherished in the legends of all that remains of the nation. That remnant exists chiefly on the western banks of the Mississippi, to which ancient starting-place they have been gradually approxim- ating, stage by stage, ever since the arrival of the Europeans on the coast. Their principal intermediate settlements have been in Ohio, on the banks of the Muskingum, and other small rivers, whither a great number of the tribe removed about the year 1760. "The Delawares have never been withouttheir great men, though unfortunately many of them have lived at such periods and such places as to make it impossible for history to do them justice. It is only within about a century or a century and a half, last past, during which they have been rapidly 'declining in power and dim- inishing in numbers, that a series of extraordinary events, impelling them into close contact with the whites, as well as with other Indians, has had the effect of bringing forward their extraordinary men. "Among the ancient Delaware worthies, whose career is too imperfectly known to us to be the subject of distinct sketches, we shall mention only the name of the illustrious Tamenend. This individual stands foremost in the list of all the great men of his nation in any age. He was a mighty warrior, an accomplished statesman, and a pure and high-minded patriot. In private life he was still more distinguished for his virtues than in public for his talents. His countrymen could only account for the perfections 20 HISTORY OF HANOVER. they ascribed to him, by supposing him to be favored with the special communications of the Great Spirit Ages have elapsed since his death, but his memory was so fresh among the Delawares of the last century, that when Colonel Morgan, of New Jersey, was sent as an agent -among them by Congress during the revolution, they conferred on him the title of Tamenend, as the greatest mark of respect they could show for the manners and character of that gentleman, and he was known by his Indian appellation ever after- wards. " About this time the old chieftain had so many admirers among the whites also, that they made him a saint and inserted his name in calendars, and celebrated his festival on the first of May yearly. On that day a numerous society of his votaries walked in procession through the streets of Philadelphia, their hats decorated with bucks' tails, and proceeded to a sylvan rendezvous out of town, which they called the Wigwam, where after a long talk or speech had been delivered, and the calumet of friendship passed around, the remain- der of the day was spent in high festivity. A dinner was prepared and Indian dances performed on the green." — Events in Indian History. — This was "Saint Tamany." TRADITION OF THE DELAWARES. " There was a tradition among the oldest and most learned of the Delawares, that their nation originally came from the Western shores of North America, and having pro'ceeded eastward in quest of a better country, they came to the great river, Mississippi,* where th€y found a powerful nation of Indians in posession of the country, who had strong fortifications and other means of defense unknown to the Delawares. That this people refused them permission to pass through their territories, upon which the Delawares made war upon them, and cut them to piece's in many sanguinary battles; • after which the remainder went down the river, and have not since *The name they gave to the river, supposed in this tradition to have been the Missis- sippi, was Namesi Sipu, or fish river. From the fact that the Indians residing along the banks of this river at that time were called AUigewi, or Alligeni, it seems easy to assume that they were the Allegheny tribe of Indians, and the river was the Allegheny river, and not the Mississippi. PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. 21 been heard of. At what period of time these important events •transpired does not appear from the accounts transmitted to such of their posterity as remained upon the Susquehanna; and whether the tradition is founded in fact may be considered as doubtful. The Delawares, like all other tribes, were proud of the prowess of their ancestors, and without doubt would consider it an honor to be thought the conquerors of a nation, who had constructed such extensive works as are indicated by those ruins so common in the western country. The question may naturally occur, what became of that people who descended the Mississippi, after their dispersion by the Delawares, and who were acquainted with the art of fortifi- cation ? It is not probable that they could have been the same with the Mexicans or Peruvians, since their traditions will not induce a belief of such an origin; and it may also be considered a little surprising that the Delawares, during a long course of bloody wars, should not have learned from their enemies some knowledge of an art so beneficial in a system of national defence. The tradition proceeds to relate that after the Delawares had dispersed these people, called the Alligewe or Alligeni, and taken posession of the country, a great portion of their nation concluded to remain in the conquered country, and another part removed toward the Atlantic, and took posession of the country extending from the Hudson River to the Potomac. The nation was divided in several distinct tribes, each of which had an appropriate name. One took posession of the country between the sea coast and the mountains. Another tribe called the Monceys, occupied the country extending from the Kittatinnunk or principal mountain, now called the Blue Mountain, to the heads of the Delaware and Sugqughanna. This tribe had their principal settlement or council fire at a place called Minisink on a river called by the Mingoes the Makerisk-Kiskon, or Makeriskiton, being the same afterwards called De-la-war, or Delaware ; and a part of the same tribe nearly at the same time, settled at Wyoming." TRADITION OF THE SHAWANESE. About the time of the above tradition as to the Delawares — for tradition does not sufficiently determine the precise time — "the 22 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Shawanese Indians inhabited the country now composing Georgia and the Floridas, and were a very powerful and warlike nation ; but ■ the surrounding tribes having confederated against them, they were subdued and driven from that territory. In this unfortunate condition they sent messengers, to the Mohegans, a nation who resided on the east side of the Hudson River, requesting their influence in procuring from the Delawares, permission for them to come and reside under their protection. "At this time the Delawares were not upon the most friendly terms with the Mingoes, or Six Nations, who inhabited the country in the neighborhood of the Lakes, and who, by virtue of their confeder- ated power, exercised a dictatorial spirit over the surrounding tribes. The Delawares were therefore anxious to accumulate a force against these powerful neighbors, and very willingly accepted the proposition of the Shawanese. While these negotiations were progressing, the Shawanese had found a resting place near the mouth of the river Wabash, where they were building a town, when their messengers returned, accompanied by a deputation of the Mohegans, who informed them of the success of their application to the Delawares, and that a territory was already allotted for their reception. Upon receiving this intelligence, a national council was held to deliberate on- the propriety of removing to the country of the Delawares. The assembly however were divided, a part having resolved to remain and fortify themselves in their new town; and the remainder consist- ing principally of the Pickaway tribe, under their Chief, Gachgaw- atschiqua, removed from the Ohio, near the mouth of the Wabash in Illinois, and formed a settlement in the forks of the Delaware (Easton). They, however, brought with them that artless (is it not artful ?) and warlike spirit which had rendered them so disagreeable to their southern neighbors; and as the character of a people can- not long be concealed, disturbances soon arose between them and that tribe of the Delawares who occupied the country lower down the river. These conflicts became at length so violent, that the Shawanese were compelled to leave the forks of the Delaware, and the whole tribe in that country removed to Wyoming Valley, which they found unoccupied, as the Monceys had been induced, by the threatening posture of affairs, to concentrate their forces around their principal settlement at Minisink. PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. 23 "The Shawanese having arrived at Wyoming found themselves sole masters of the valley, and as there appeared no enemy to annoy them in their new abode, they built a town upon the west bank of the river, near the lower end of the valley, upon a large plain which still bears the name of the Shawanese Flats. In this situation the Shawanese* enjoyed many years of repose. The women cultivated corn upon the plains, and the men traversed the surrounding moun- . tains in pursuit of game. " While these changes were taking place amo^ the Indian tribes, the Europeans were forming settlements in various places along the Atlantic coast, which they obtained sometimes by purchase, and at other times by conquest, and although they were beginning to extend them into the interior, yet the resistance made by the Indians was in most cases feeble, as there were few instances in which the different tribes united their forces for that purpose. There were, however, in the country of the Great Lakes, a people who conducted their wars upon a much more extensive system. These people were known by the general name of Mingoes. They consisted of the Onondagas, Senekas, Cayugas, Oneidas, Mohawks, and Tuscaroras, and their confederacy acquired the appellation of ' The Six Nations;' -{and also the Iroquois?) They were a powerful, warlike people, who held the surrounding nations in subjection, and claimed a jurisdiction extend- ing from Connecticut River to the Ohio. They are described by a celebrated historian as 'a confederacy, who, by their union, courage and military skill, had reduced a great number of Indian tribes, and subdued a territory more extensive than the whole Kingdom of France.' This people claimed the country occupied by the Delawares and Shawanese and held these tribes or nations subject to their authority." — Chapman's Wyoming. Shawanee town, not occupied now by Indians, is a considerable town, situated in Illinois, on the Ohio River, a few miles below the mouth of the Wabash. \ — THE SHAWANESE, ACCORDING TO GOV. CASS. "Their history is involved in much obscurity. Their language is Algonquin, and closely allied to the Kickapoo, and other dialects spoken by tribes who have lived for ages north of the Ohio. But 24 HISTORY OF HANOVER. they are known to have recently emigrated from the south, where they were surrounded by a family of tribes, Creeks, Cherokees, Chocktaws, etc., with whose language their own had no affinity. Their traditions assign to them a foreign origin, and a wild story his come down to them of a solemn procession in the midst of thd ocean, and of a miraculous passage through the great deep. That •they were closely connected with the Kickapoos, the actual identity of language furnishes irrefragable proof, and the incidents of the separation yet livqi in the oral history of each tribe. We are strongly inclined to believe, that not long befoi^e the arrival of the French upon these great lakes, the Kickapoos and Shawanese com- posed the tribe known as the Erie ; living on the eastern shore of the lake, to which they have given their name. It is said that this tribe was exterminated by the victorious Iroquois. But it is more probable that a series of disasters divided them into two parties, one of which, under the name of Kickapoos, sought refuge from their enemies in the immense prairies between the Illinois and the Mis- sissippi ; and the other, under the name of Shawanese, fled into the Cherokee country, and thence farther south. Father Segard, in 1632, called the Eries the 'Nation du Chat,' or the raccoon, on ac- count of the magnitude of these animals in their country ; and that is the soubriquet which, to this day, is applied by the Canadians to the Shawanese." "The Shawanese tribe was divided, a portion having their resi- dence on the Scioto, and a large number were permitted, or directed, to erect their wigwams on the extensive and luxuriant flats on the west side of the Susquehanna, now Plymouth, but more popularly designated Shawney." — Miner. "As early as 1608, the Shawnese had, in league with the Hurons, been engaged in war on the Canadian frontier with the Iroquois, the confederate tribes known as the Six Nations, ' and defeated, were obliged to leave their hunting grounds, They wandered south as far as Florida. Becoming there engaged in a war with the Spaniards, who then owned that territory, they migrated west in 1690 to the Wabash; and finally in 1697, upon the Conestoga Indians, who lived near the present city of Lancaster in this State, becoming security PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. 25 to William Penn for their good behavior, they removed to Pequea Creek, below Lancaster. In 1701 William Penn made a treaty with the tribes upon the Susquehanna, arid a portion of 'the Shawnee tribe, located within the present township of Plymouth. * * * When Count Zinzendorf, on his Christian mission, visited Plymouth in the autumn of 1742, he found the Shawnese, with their chief, Kakawatchie, and their principal wigwams situate on the west bank of the small stream emptying into the river above the old village, and between the main road and the river. * * * The Shawnee tribe at this time probably did not number over two hundred braves and warriors. They were subjects of the Six Nations, and com- pletely under their orders and control ; in fact a part of their own associates and tribe who had occupied this very ground, were obliged to surrender for the benefit of the fresh immigration from the Delaware, and make a new home upon the Ohio and Alle- gheny." — Sketches of Plymouth. THE NANTICOKES. The English settlements in Maryland, in their rapid increase, had difficulties with the Indians in that quarter, and "a great number of the tribe called Nanticokes, who inhabited the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, at a place they called, Chesakawon, removed to Wyoming in May, 1748, with their chief sachem called White. Finding the principal part of the Valley in possession of the Shawa- nese and Delawares, the Nanticokes built their town at the lower ■end of the valley on the east bank of the river, just above the mouth of a small creek called 'Nanticoke Creek.' They did not stay here long, for, having a great animosity against the whites, they wished to get as far from them as possible, and in 175 S, according to Chapman, they removed from the valley and began a settlement farther up 'the river at a place Chapman calls — Chemiink (Chemung). A part of them also migrated to a place he calls Chenenk (probably Chenango), where they were more immediately under the protection of the Six Nations. During the same year, 1755, the Nanticokes having established themselves, as they thought, permanently at Chenenk, and being un- willing that the bones of their fathers and brethren should remain in 2* 26 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Maryland and be exposed to the operations of English agriculture and other disturbance, sent a deputation from their tribe whb re- moved them' from the place of their deposit, and carried them to Chenenk where they reinterred them with all the rites and cere- monies of savage sepulture. Afterwards we hear of them only once, as meeting with the other tribes in a grand council of all the Indian tribes, in Easton in 1758, by their deputies. The chief residence or Great Head of the Six Nations was at Onondaga, now understood to be Syracuse. Somewhere in this neighborhood was the residence of the Nanticokes. THE FIVE NATIONS. "The Five Nations were the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Cayugas, the Onondagas and the Senecas. The Virginian Indians gave them the name of Massawomekes ; the Dutch called them Maquas, or Makakuase ; the French, Iroquois. Their appellation at home was Mingoes, and sometimes the Agahuschion, or United People. "When the French settled in Canada in 1603, they found the Iroquois living where Montreal now stands. They were at war with the Adirondacks — a powerful tribe residing three hundred miles above Trois Rivers — in consequence of the latter having treacherously murdered some of their young men. Previous to this date their habits had been more agricultural than, warlike; but they soon perceived the necessity of adopting a different system. The Adirondacks drove them from theiri own country, and they retreated to the borders of the lakes, where they have ever since lived. This misfortune it was — ostensibly, at least, a misfortune — which gave the earliest impulse to the subsequent glorious career of these Romans of the West. "Fortunately for them, their sachems were men of a genius and spirit which adversity served only to stimulate and renew. They, finding their countrymen discouraged by the discomfiture suffered on the banks of the St. Lawrence, induced them to turn their arms against a less formidable nation, called the Satanas, then dwelling with themselves near the lakes. That people they subdued and ex- pelled from their territory. Encouraged by success and strength- PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. 2/ ened by discipline they next ventured to defend themselves against the inroads of their old conquerors on the north ; and at length the Adirondacks were even driven back in their turn as far as the neigh- hood of what is now Quebec. "But a new emergency arose. The French made common cause with the nation just named against their eneitiies, and brought to the , contest the important aids of civilized science and art. The Five Nations had now to set wisdom and wariness as well as couraee and discipline, against an alliance so powerful. Their captains came forward again, and taught them the policy of fighting in small parties, and of making amends for inferior force by surprisal and stratagem. The result was, the Adirondacks were nearly extermin- ated, while the Iroquois, proudly exalting themselves on their over- throw, grew rapidly to be the leading tribe of the whole north, and finally of the whole continent. "The career of victory, which began with the fall of the Adiron- dacks, was destined to be extended beyond all precedent in the history of the Indian tribes. They exterminated the Fries or Erigas, once living on the south side of the lake of their name. They nearly destroyed the powerful Anderstez, and the Chouanons or Showanons. They drove back the Hurons and Ottawas among the Sioux of the upper Mississippi, where they separated themselves into bands, 'proclaiming, wherever they went, the terror of the Iroquois.' The Illinois on the west were also subdued, with the Miamies and the Shawanese. The Niperceneans of the St. Lawrence fled to Hudson's bay, to avoid their fury. 'The borders of the Outaouis (Outawas),' says a historian, 'which were long thickly peopled, became almost deserted.' The Mohawk was a name of terror to the farthest tribes of New England ; and though but one of that formidable people should appear for a moment on the hills of Connecticut or Massachusetts, the villages below would be in an uproar of confusion and fear. Finally they conquered the tribes of Virginia west of the Alleghenies, and warred against the Catawbas,* Cherokees, and most of the nations of the south. "The result of this series of conquests was, that the Five Nations finally became entitled, or at least laid claim to all the territory not sold to the English, from the mouth of Sorel River, on the south side of lakes Erie and Ontario, on both sides of the Ohio, until it 28 HISTORY OF HANOVER. falls into the Mississippi ; and on the north side of these lakes the whole tract between the Outawas River and Lake Huron." Their territory was estimated at 1,200 miles in length from north to south and about 800 miles wide. The Tuscaroras, a tribe expelled from North Carolina in 17 12, was united with the Five Nations, making a sixth member, after which they were called the Six Nations by the English. Before the Tuscaroras joined them they numbered about about 2,150 warriors. The Tuscaroras numbered about 200 war- riors. At the time of our revolutionary war (1776) the whole num- ber of the Six Nations actually engaged in the contest was 1,800." — Events in Indian History. The emigration of the Tuscaroras from North Carolina, is thus related by Elias Johnson, a Tuscarora chief, in 1881 : — " One bright sunny morning in June, 171 3, was one of the darkest days that the Tuscaroras ever witnessed, when most of the nation took their pace to the north until they came within the bounds of the Oneida domain, about two miles west of Tamaqua, in the State of Pennsylvania, where they 'located and set out apple trees, which can be seen to this day ; some of the trees will measure about two feet in diameter. Here they dwelled for about two years." About 171 5 the Five Nations held a general council, where the Tuscaroras applied, through the Oneidas, to be admitted into the Iroquois confederacy to become the sixth nation, on the ground that they were of a common origin with the Five Nations. Their application was favorably considered, and finally granted unani- mously, and the SenecaS adopted them as their children. The Senecas always address the Tuscaroras as "my sons," and the Tus- ' caroras address the Senecas as " my fathers." "Chaelevoix, long since described the Wyandots, as the nation of all Canada, the most remarkable for its defects and virtues. When Jacques Cartier ascended the St. Lawrence he found them established near Hockelega, now Montreal; and when Champlain entered the same river their war with the Iroquois had already com- ^ menced, and that enterprising officer accompanied one of their parties in a hostile expedition against their enemies. The events of the war were inost disastrous, aiid they were driven from their country to ■ the northern shore of Lake Huron. But distance afforded no security, and the Iroquois pursued them with relentless fury. Famine, PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. 29 disease and war made frightful havoc among them, and the account of their sufferings, given by the old Missionaries who witnessed and shared them, almost tasks the belief of the reader." "They were literally hunted from their resting place, and the feeble remnant of this once powerful an,d haughty tribe owed their preservation to the protection of the Sioux, in whose country west of Lake Superior, they found safety and tranquility,"— 7J/?'w^r. The, Indians, in another place called Adirondacks, defeated in many sanguinary battles and finally driven entirely from their country by the Iroquois, are probably the same here called Wyandots. At all events the Six Nations were great conquerors, and by the right of the victor, owned all the lands or territory lying within the boundaries of Pennsylvania. And they claimed and exercised the right of disposing of it. They sold the lands of Wyoming to the Susquehanna company of Connecticut. AN INDIAN TRADITION. CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF THE FIVE NATIONS. Tlie following is the account given by old Cannassatego, of the manner in which his country was made and peopled. Cannassatego was a great chief of the Six Nations. " When our good Mannitta raised Akanishionegy (the country of the Five Nations) out of the great waters, he said to his brethren, ' how fine a country is this ! I will make red men, the best of men, to enjoy it. Then with five handfuls of red seeds like the eggs of flies, did he strow the fertile fields of Onondaga. Little worms came out of the seeds, and penetrated the earth, when the spirit, who had never yet seen the light, entered into and united with them. Man- nitta watered the earth with his rain, the sun warmed it, the worms with spirits in them grew, putting forth little arms and legs and moved the light earth that covered them. After nine moons they came forth perfect boys and girls. Mannitta covered them with his mantle of warm purple cloud, and nourished them with milk from his finger ends. Nine summers did he nurse them, and nine sum- mers more did he instruct them how to live. In the mean time he had made for their use trees, plants and animals of various kinds. Akanishionegy was covered with woods and filled with creatures. 30 HISTORY OF HANO.VER. Then he assembled his children together and said ' Ye are Five Nations, for ye sprang each from a different handful of the seed I sowed; but ye are all brethren, and I am your father for I made you all ; I have nursed and brought you up; Mohocks, I have made you bold and valiant, and see, I give you corn for your food; Oneidas, I have made you patient of pain, and hunger; the nuts and fruits of the trees are yours ; Senecas, I have made you industrious and active, beans do I give you for nourishment; Cayugas, I have made you strong, friendly and generous, ground nuts and eveiy root shall refresh you ; Onondagas, I have made you wise, just and eloquent, squashes and grapes have I giveh you to eat, and tobacco to smoke in council. The beasts, birds and fishes, have I given to you all in common. As I have loved and taken care of. you all, so do you love and take care of one another. Communicate freely to each other the good things I have given you, and learn to imifate each others virtues. I have made .you the best of people in the world, and I give you the best country. You will defend it from the invasions of other nations, from the children of other Mannittas, and keep possession of it for }-ourselves while the sun and moon give light, and the waters run in the rivers. This you shall do if you observe my words. Spirits I am now about to leave you. The bodies I have given you will in time grow old and wear out, so that you will be weary of them. I cannot remain here ahvays to give you new bodies. I have great affairs to mind in distant places, and I cannot again attend so long to the nursing of children.- J have enabled you therefore, among yourselves to produce new bodies to supply the place of the old ones, that every one of you, when he parts with his old habitation may in due time find a new one, and never wander longer than he chooses under the earth, deprived of the light of the sun. Nourish and instruct your children as I have nourished and instructed you. Be just to all men, and kind to strangers that come among you, so shall you be happy and be loved by all; and I myself will sometimes visit and assist you.' " Saying this he wrapped himself in a bright cloud and went like a swift arrow to the sun, where his brethren rejoiced at his return. From there he often looked at Akanishionegy, and pointing, showed with pleasure to his brothers the country he had formed, and the nations he had produced to inhabit it." — Miner. PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. 3 I This is the Indian legend of the creation or origin of the Mingoes. Is it not fine? ' These Indians were full of flowery language, and some of them were very eloquent. Some of their speeches have been preserved to us, but only one will be introduced in this work, and that only to show how the Six "Nations domineered over the other tribes in their neighborhood, and how the Delawares came to be here in this valley when the white people came to settle here. CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF WYOMING. ' YOMING is the name given to a beautiful valley, situate along the river Susquehanna, in the north-eastern part of the State of Pennsylvania. It is about three miles wide, and twenty- five miles long, and is formed by two ranges of mountains nearly parallel to each other, extending from the north-east to the south-west. These mountains contain many rocky precipices, and are covered with wood consisting principally of oak and pine. The average height of the eastern range is about one tljousand feet ; that of the western about eight hundred. They are of a very irregular form having elevated points and deep hollows, or openings which are called ' Gaps.' The Susquehanna enters the valley through a gap in the western moun- tain called the ' Lackawanna Gap,' and following in a sepentine course about twenty miles, leaves the valley through another opening- in the same mountain, called the ' Nanticoke Gap.' These openings are so wide only as to admit the passage of the river, and are in part faced with perpendicular bluffs of rocks, covered with a thick growth of pine and laurel, which have a very fine appearance when viewed from the river, or from the road which runs along their bases. The river is in most places about two hundred yards wide — from four to twenty feet deep, and flows with a very gentle current, except at the rapids, or when swelled with rains or melting snows. Near the . center of the valley it has a rapid called the ' Wyoming Falls ;' and another called the ' Nanticoke Falls,' where it passes through the Nanticoke Gap. Several tributary streams fall into the rivet', after passing through rocky gaps, in the mountains on each side of the valley, forming beautiful cascades as they descend into the plain. Those on the north-west side are Toby's Creek, Moses' Creek, and Island Run. On the south-east side are Mill Creek, Laurel Run, Solomon's Creek and Nanticoke Creek, all of which are sufficient WYOMING. 33 for mills, and abound with fish. Along the river on both sides are level fertile plains, extending in some places nearly a mile and a half from the margin of the §,tream, where small hills commence; stretching to the mountains,^ the river sometimes washing the base of the hills on one side and sometimes on the other. The surface of the plain in some parts of the valley is elevated about ten feet higher than in other parts, forming a sudden offset or declivity from one to the other. These plains are called the upper and lower ' Flats,' and spontaneously produce quantities of plums, grapes, many kinds of berries, and a great variety of wild flowers. " In many parts of the valley, and in the sides of the mountains, mineral coal of a very superior quality is found in great abundance ; it is of the species called anthracite, which burns without smoke and with very little flame, and constitutes the principal fuel of the inhabitants, as well as their most important article of exportation." — Chapman's Wyoming. This is a very good description of the valley as it is to-day, only that there is not much wood on the mountains, and there are no fish in the streams. Mr. Chapman also describes, "some remains of ancient fortifica- tions which appear to have been constructed by a race of people veiy different in their habits from those who occupied the place when first discovered by the whites. Most of these ruins have been so much obliterated bythe operations of agriculture that their forms cannot now be distinctly ascertained. That which remains the most entire, was examined by the writer, (Chapman), during the summer of 1 8 17, and its dimensions carefully ascertained, although, from fre- quent plowing, its form had become almost destroyed. It is situated in the township of Kingston, upon a level plain On the north side of Toby's Creek, about one hundred and fifty feet from its,bank, and about half a mile from its confluence with the Susquehanna. It is of an oval or elliptical form, having its longest diameter from the north-west to the south-east, at right angles to the creek, three hun- dred and thirty-seven feet, and its shortest diameter from the north- east to the south-west, two hundred and seventy-two feet. On the south-west side appears to have been a gateway about twelve feet wide, opening towards the great eddy of the river into which the 3 34 HISTORY OF HANOVER. creek falls. From present appearances it consisted probably of only- one mound or rampart, which in height and thickness appears to have been the same on all sides, and. was constructed of earth, the plain on which it stands not abounding in stone. On the outside of the rampart is an entrenchment or ditch, formed probably by removing the earth of which it is composed, and which appears never to have been walled. The creek on which it stands is bounded by a high steep bank on that side, and at ordinary times is sufficiently deep to admit canoes to ascend from the river to the fortification. When the first settlers came to Wyoming this plain was covered with its native forest, consisting principally of oak and yellow pine, and the trees which grew in the rampart and in the entrenchment, are said to have been as large as those in any other part of the valley, one large oak particularly, upon being cut down, was ascertained to be seven hundred years old. The Indians had no tradition concerning these fortifications, neither did they appear to have any knowledge of the purpose for which they were constructed. They were perhaps erected about the same time with those upon the waters of the Ohio, and probably by a similar people and for similar purposes." Mr. Miner also describes a fortification as nearly like the above in shape and size, as can be, on the east side of the river, on the edge of the upper flats, in Wilkes-Barre township, now Plains, called Jacob's Plains. MOUND BUILDING. A friend of the writer, in Wilkes-Barre, who many years ago lived for a considerable time in the vicinity of an Indian encamp- ment and town in the far West, has given him the substance of the following narrative, as to the growth of an Indian inoiind : — In the summer the Indians live in tents, .or booths made of brush, near or on the bank of a river. They always live near a stream of water. This is the best spot on the river, not occupied by some other band of Indians, for fishing. Here they stay through the summer. In the fall they remove back from the river into the woods, if there are any woods near, but in all cases, to higher ground so as to be above the floods of the river. Having selected the place, they build their town there — as many wigwams as there are families, and select a place near by for the burial of their dead. \V\'OMING. -35 Each family intending to build a wigwam, digs a hole, or pit, in the ground eighteen inches or two feet deep; a pole is erected in the centre of the- pit eight or ten feet high ; pofes are placed around this, within the foot on the ground outside of the hole or pit, the tops leaning against the top of the center pole, where they are fastened with withes. The spaces between the poles are filled with smaller poles and sticks, and all covered over with grass and leaves ; after which the whole wigwam, excepting an opening at the bottom to crawl through into the interior, is covered up from bottom to top with earth. The earth is carried there in baskets, by the women from the surrounding plain, and is piled on until it is about eighteen inches thick over every part. These wigwams are placed in a circular row or ring around an •open space, and the doorway or hole to enter by is placed on the side of each wigwam towards the central open space. The earth- covered wigwams touch each other all around the inclosed open space except one or perhaps two broad spaces between the wig- wams, to get into, or out of the town. The interior of the town or central space is used to store away corn or vegetables they have raised, in a wigwam or structure prepared for it, and for a council house. This town is ahva}'s near some spring, or stream of fresh water, and their burial place is not far off These huts or wigwams will last till spring, when they are all abandoned and left standing, and the band goes to its summer tents at the river again. In the fall the band returns to the same old dirt-covered town. As their wig- wams have now mostl}- fallen down .into the pits, they pull out the old decayed poles, level off the whole surface to a common level, dig new holes and erect new wigwams all over again. Fresh earth is carried, to cover them over each time they are rebuilt, and that •occurs every year. They have no fires inside of these wigwams. They have grass and leaves to lie and sit on, and such furs as they may have caught. The fires for cooking are built outside, in front of the entrance opening. There is no heat in their wigwams but the animal heat of their own bodies. The Indians invariably return to the same town in the fall and rebuild. They live in the same place from generation to generation, for hundreds of years, unless driven away l6 HISTORY OF HANOVER. by hostile neighbors. They love the place of the graves of their ancestors, and continually return to the same town, no matter how far they may have wandered away in search of fish or game. It can easily be imagined how a mound would grow in such a town, and how rapidly it would rise above the general level. There never appeared to be any design in forming the shape of the eleva- tion. Each family built to suit itself The mound would grow in various directions by accident as the band increased in size. The earth was carried as short a distance as possible, and therefore made a broad ditch around the town. The wigwams were made to touch each other all around the town, and the children played upon them as well as around them. The above may account for the mound building and mound builders of the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri, and other rivers of the West. But if it does, it will be seen that the mound builders were infanor instead of superior, to the Indians of our times. THE INDIANS WHEN FIRST KNOWN TO THE WHITE PEOPLE IN THE EAST. The Indians had no houses but lived in huts they called wig- wams. These were built of poles, sticks, leaves, bark and some- times of skins, like a tent. They were generally arranged around in a small circle or cluster, and one wigwam sometimes contained several families. An Indian village contained generally from fifty to one hundred inhabitants, but sometimes they were more than twice as large. They knew but little of agriculture, though they sometimes raised corn, beans, peas, melons, tobacco, and a few other vegetables. The employment of the men was hunting, fishing and war. The work of agriculture, such as it was, was left to the squaws. They knew only enough of manufactures to make their wigwams, weapons of war, hunting and fishing, the simplest articles of dress and ornainent, wampum, and a very few domestic utensils and implements of agriculture. Their food was chiefly flesh — though they sometimes subsisted on parched corn, or on a mixture of corn and beans called succotash^ In boiling suc- cotash, or meat, or soup, they used a basket made water tight. The ingredients were introduced, with sufficient water, into which heated stones were dropped until it was cooked. The squaws WYOMING. 37 usually cooked the food. Their dress consisted, in the summer, of A slight covering about the waist, with ornaments for the ears, the nose, the wrists, and the ankles. In the winter they dressed in skins and furs, often untanned. In war and on ceremonial oc- casions they painted their faces with gaudy colors, giving them- selves a hideous appearance. They wore moccasins on their feet, and on state occasions they were highly ornamented. Their knives, and hatchets, and .other implements and weapons were made of shells, or sharp stones, most frequently of stone, generally of flint. The bow and arrow and tomahawk were their chief ■s\'eapons of war. They pounded their corn in large stones hollowed out. The ground served as beds and tables and chairs to them. The thread for sew- ing, and cords for nets, etc., were made of the tendons of animals, and their fish-hooks of bones. Their wampum was a kind of bead made of clam shells, strung together in strings, or made into belts, and was used as money by them, and to convey intelligence to other tribes. They had some idea of a good spirit, their deity being called Manitou or Manitta. They had some idea of a future state of existence beyond the grave. They had no kind of relig- ious worship. Polygamy was practiced among them, and their wives were slaves. For medical treatment they held "powwows," the medicine man, being considered a sorcerer, charmed the disease away ; but sometimes they gave a little herb tea, and warm or cold bathing, and sweats. When one died, they dug a hole in the ground, wrapped the body in skins or mats, with his implements of war and hunting, and laid it in the hole. Sometimes they buried them in a sitting posture — or some Indians did — with their faces to the east. They had no horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, dogs, nor domestic fowls. They loved display. They tattooed their faces, arms, necks and shoulders, and decorated themselves with the heads of wild animals, the claws and feathers of birds, and the bones of fishes and beasts. Their sports were jumping, dancing, target-shooting, ball-playing, and various games of chance in which they indulged with passionate "delight. The Indians had very little beard naturally, and what they did have they pulled out by the roots. After the white people came the Indians bought wire of them, and would coil it into a spiral form, by winding it around a small stick, and with a piece of such 38 HISTORY OF HANOVER. spiral spring three-quarters of an inch long or thereabouts, and about a half inch in diameter, they pulled their beards out. They laid it on the chin and moved it about slightly until the hairs got between the wires, when they squeezed it together endwise, thus catching the hair between the wires. Then they gave it a sudden' jerk. Among some tribes they dressed skins for clothing and wig- wam covers, and wove mats for beds, from the bark of trees. WYOMING. MAUGHWAUWAMA. "Wyoming "is a corruption of the name given to their town by the Delaware Indians. They called it Maughwauwama. This name is a com^OMn^^-rManghiyau, meaning large or' extensive, and wanta^ signifying plains or meadows ; so that it may be translated " The Large Plains." The name, in the language of the Mingoes — the Six Nations — is Sgahontowano, " The Large Flats ;" ' Gahonto, m&dinmg,. * in their language a large piece of ground, or tract of land without trees. All the above information was given to Mr. Chapman by the Rev. John Heckewelder, the missionary to the Indians. "The early settlers finding it difficult to pronounce the word corectly, spoke it Wauwaume, — then Wiwaumie, — then Wioinic,and lastly Wyoming^ — Chapman. We learn elsewhere' that Skehandowanna, was the Indian name of the river Susquehanna; and that its meaning, being translated, was muddy river, or " riley (roiley) river." The name, Wyoming, was long supposed to mean " A Field of Blood',' but Heckewelder, perfectly versed in the Indian language, set its meaning "at rest." Maughwau-wama, was the name given by the Delaware Indians to their town built by themslves, on their first taking possession of the east side of the river in 1742. It was situated on the bank of the river on the flats, on some rather elevated ground, below the mouth of a small creek, nearly opposite the upper end of the island below Wilkes-Barre, about a half or three-quarters of a mile from Market Street. That was the name of their town, whatever the name of the valley of Wyoming may have been before that. The plains or flats we know were called Wyoming, or Wayomie by Connassatego when he ordered the Delawares to come here. WYOMING. 39 It would seem that the name the Six Nations gave the valley or the flats, Sgahontowano — was afterward given to- the river — Skehan- dowanna. It has been stated also that the word Susquehanna — Skehandowanna — being translated, meant " crooked river!' The creek that fell into the Susquehanna a half mile above Maughwauwama, is entirely unknown to the present generation, the sources of it having been cut off by the digging of the canal in 1833, and its bed having been filled in nearly all the way from the canal to the river; but, at and near the river, there is quite a large depression where the creek once ran, and felt into the larger stream. This creek carried off the water — the surface drainage — from the region now known as "Woodville," (Moseytown,) and from all the back part of ancient Wilkes-Barre borough. This creek, or " small stream," emptied into the river at the place where the ice-pond now is, but its channel then was as deep as the river bed, and passed along the upper side and partly through the present ice-pond, and emptied into the river six or eight rods above the foot of Ross Street. This is about midway between Market Street and the island. It seems impossible now to point out the exact spot where that Indian town stood, but it was probably a half mile below the mouth of that creek on some ground that is seldom or never covered by the overflowing of the river. It is not probable that more than three hundred braves and warriors ever resided at Wayomick — Maughwauwama — at any one time. Their wigwams were built of poles, sticks, brush, leaves and grass. In 1758, the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania built ten log houses there for them at the earnest request of Tedeusung, their king. These were burnt when he was murdered, in 1763. Broken arrow- heads are found there occasionally yet. The Susquehanna river is supposed to have been meant by Captain John Smith, (of Pocahontas fame), of Virginia, in 1607-14, when he states that the Powhattans were ferribly harassed by the " Sus-que-sah-kanoughs ;" meamAg the Susquehanna Indians. If these were Susquehanna Indians and Shawanese, they must have been some of the Six Nations, because the Delawares did not reside here at that time, and there is a great probability that some of the Six Nations did. 40 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Mr. Jefferson, after describing the Powhattan confederacy, says : — "Westward of all these tribes, beyond the mountains, and extending to the great lakes, were the Massawaumees, a most powerful confeder- acy, who harassed unremittingly the Powhattans and Manahoacs. These were probably the ancestors of tribes known at present as the Six Nations." This was written more than a hundred and sixty years after John Smith's time, but he was telling the same story. Massawauniees is probably only another English pronunciation of the name of Maughwauwamas, but it had relation then only to the Indians of these plains, so railed, and not to the Delaware town, for the time of Powhattan was . more than a hundred years before the Delaware town was built. The Delawares were divided into three tribes, the Monsey, or Wolf tribe resided in the Lackaw;anna valley, at Capouse, with their chief called Capouse. The Wanamie, or Turtle tribe resided on the upper flats in Wilkes-Barre, (now Plains), above Mill Creek, with their chief, called Jacob by the whites; and the flats are known as Jacob's Plains. The third tribe was called Unalchitgo, or Turkey. They lived at Maughwauwama, below Wilkes-Barre, where the greater number of the Delawares resided, with their chief Tedeuscung, The Mohicans were probably a branch of the Mohegans of New England, who at an early period settled on the head waters of the Delaware River. They came to Wyoming with the Delawares in 1742 and with their chief, called Abrani by the whites, built a village above Forty Fort, in Kingston, on the plain known as Abram's Plains. Ullanckquam , chief of the Nanticokes, known to the whites as Robert White, by an arrangement with the Six Nations, located with eighty of his people on the east side of the Susquehanna at the lower end of the valley near the site of the present town of Nanticoke, in 1748. They removed to the country of the Six Nations in 1755. A portion of the Monsey tribe (wolves) lived in a village or town of theirs called Asserrughney, at the niouth of the Lackawanna in the forks, on the west s'ide, with their chief called Backsinosa* The Shawanese came into Pennsylvania in 1697-8. They (or a part of them), built their lodges on the west side of the river on the border of the Shawnee flats, where they resided with their chief or king, called Paxinos. *Hollister, p 84. WYOMING. 41 The greater part of the Indian tribes which inhabited the regions bordering on the Atlantic, are utterly extinct. The Penobscots, Pautuckets, Pequods, Pokanokets, Narragansets, Mohicans, Nipmucks, so troublesome to the New England settlers, in New England, are gone, and the places which " knew them once, shall know them no more forever." Of the Six Nations of New York, once so powerful, only a few remnants remain. The tribes of Virginia have perished, and those great bands or tribes, which had the title of nations — the Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Catawbas and Cherokees, have been driven from their original homes, and are gradually losing their native characteristics, under the influence of civilization, on the plains and prairies of the " Far West." This region,*called the Indian Territory, lying between Kansas on the north and Texas on the south, and Arkansas on the east, contains about sixty-eight thousand square miles — about one and a half times the size of Pennsylvania. It was set apart by our government for the permanent and exclusive resi- dence of the Indian tribes, sent there from the more eastern settled States. The whole number of inhabitants in 1870 was, Indians, 59,367; Whites, 2,407; Negroes, 6,378. There were about 82,000 Indians in the Territory in 1884. The most numerous tribes are the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Osages, and Seminoles. These occupying various designated por- tions of the territory, are not allpwed to interfere with each other's grounds or grants. They have each their own laws, and are regarded as distinct nations. The Choctaws, with whom the Chickasaws have become mixed, have a written constitution and laws, with executive and judicial officers, schools, churches and printing-offices. Agricul- ture is their chief employment. The Creeks and Cherokees have also made considerable advances in civilization, especially the latter. The other transported tribes, as the Seminoles, Senecas, Oneidas, Tuscaroras, Shawanese, Quapaws, Delawares, and Kickapoos, are also improving under the efforts of missionaries and school teachers. The native tribes of the territory, as the Omahas, Otoes,Missouris, Poncas, Pawnees, and others are in a more savage state. Many of them still live chiefly by robbeiy and hunting. 42 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The New York Indians have eight small reservations covering about 87,000 acres. There were about 5,000 of these Indians in 1884 — Senecas, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, Tona- wandas, and St. Regis. About 800 of these are called civilized Indians. Pennsylvania had 184 civilized Indians in 1880. They are the remnants of Cornplanter's band — part of the^Six Nations. The Mohawks removed to Canada after the revolutionary war, and still remain there. On the arrival of William Penn, the Proprietary of Pennsyl- vania, he purchased of the Delaware Indians the country along the Delaware River below the Blue Mountains, supposing those tribes to be the only original owners; but having been informed of the claim of the Six Nations, he also negotiated a purchase of them. Some difficulty having arisen between the Proprietaries and the Delawares as to the limits or boundaries of the purchase, the Dela- wares refused to give up possession. This was called the "Walking Purchase," that they objected to. It was made in 1686, and was confirmed in 1737. One eminent person says: — "The walk was made from Wrightsville to Mauch Chunk, but little over sixty miles (in a day and a half), not much of a walk in these days. From there the line was drawn to the Delaware at the mouth of the Lackawaxen, instead of the Water Gap. This is what made the dissatisfaction, and not the distance." — Hoyt. Another writer living on the line of march long afterwards, sayS: — "The Proprietaries, Thomas and John Penn, immediately after the treaty (Aug. 25, 1737) advertised for the most expert walkers, and from those who were ■presented, selected three men, Edward Marshall, Solomon Jennings, and James Yeates. The walk took place on the 19th and 20th of September, 1737. They started from Wrightstown at a marked spruce tree, at sunrise, and at sunset Edward Marshall arrived at a creek near the northern base of the Blue Mountains. About one mile from the resting place of Marshall, there was an Indian village called Meniolagemika, at which a large number of Indians collected in the expectation that he would go no farther. But when they found that he intended to proceed in the morning (a day and a half), they were very angry, saying, they were cheated. * * * One old Indian, with indignation, thus exclaimed : — ' No sit down to WYOMING. 43 smoke, no shoot squirrel, but Inn, lun,lun all day long.' The next . morning at sunrise Marshall started again, and at noon arrived at the Tobihanna Creek, near the bank of which he struck his hatchet into a tree." "This line commenced near Wrightstown in Bucks county, and terminated at the Tobihanna Creek, all the way east of the Lehigh River after crossing it about a mile below Bethlehem. The course was nearly northwest from there. Marshall ran all the time, -and the course was along an Indian path, that had been cleared of brush- and all obstructions beforehand. At the end of the run a line was drawn at right angles, and that line ran to the Delaware at the mouth of the Lackawaxen. As no accommodation appeared likely, a messenger was sent by the governor to the Six Nations, requesting them to send depu- ties to meet in council in Philadelphia with instructions as to the matter in dispute. Accordingly in the summer of 1742, the chiefs and principal warriors of the Six Nations to the number of 230 re- paired to Philadfelphia, where they met the chiefs of the Delawares, and a general council was opened in presence of the officers of the Provincial government and a large concourse of citizens. The governor opened the conference through an interpreter, with a long talk, which set forth that the Proprietaries of Pennsyl- vania had purchased the lands in the forks of the Delaware, several years before, of the Delaware tribe of Indians who then possessed them. That they afterward received information that the same lands were claimed by the Six Nations, and a purchase was also made of them. That in both these purchases the Proprietaries had paid the stipulated price ; but the Delawares had nevertheless refused to give up possession ; and as the Six Nations claimed authority over their country, it had been thought best to hold a council of all the parties that justice might be done. The chiefs of the Six Nations were then informed that as they had on all occasions required the government of Pennsylvania to remove any whites that settled upon their lands, so now the government of Pennsylvania expected that the Six Nations ^^ould cause these Indians to remove from the lands which it had purchased. All the deeds and drafts of the lands were submitted for consideration of the council. After some deliberation among the different chiefs, Connassatego, a venerable chieftain, arose in the name of all the deputies, and in- 44 HISTORY OF HANOVER. formed the governor, "That they saw the Delawares had been an unruly people and were altogether in the wrong, and that they had concluded to remove them." And addressing himself to the Dela- wares in a violent manner, he said, "You deserve to be taken by the hair of your heads and shaken till you recover your senses and become sober. We have seen a deed signed by nine of your chiefs above fifty years ago for this very land. But how came you to take upon yourselves to sell lands at all ? We conquered you — we made women of you; you know you are women, and can.no more sell lands than women. Nor is it fit that you should have the power of selling lands, since you would abuse it. You have been furnished with clothes, meat and drink by the goods paid you for it, and now you want it again like children as you are. But what makes you sell lands in the dark ? Did you ever tell us that you had sold this land? Did we ever receive any part, even the value of a pipe- shank for it? You have told us a blind story that you sent a mes- senger to us to inform us of the sale, but he never came amongst us, nor have we ever heard anything about it. But we find you are none of our blood; you act a dishonest part not only in this, but in other matters. Your ears are even open to slanderous reports about your brethren. For all these reasons we charge you to re- move instantly; we don't give you liberty to think about it. You are women ; take the advice of a wise man and remove instantly. You may return to the other side of the Delaware where you came from, but we don't know whether, considering how you have de- meaned yourselves, you will be permitted to live there, or whether you have not swallowed that land down your throats as well as the lands on this side. We therefore assign you two places to go to, either to Wyoming or Shamokin. You may go to either of these places, and then we shall have you more under our eye, and shall see how you behave. Don't deliberate, but remove away, and take this belt of wampum." He then commanded them to leave the council as he had busi- ness to do with the English. * The authority of the Six Nations was teo powerful to be dis- regarded, and the speech of Connassatego had its full effect; the Delawares immediately left the disputed country; some removed to Shamokin and some to Wyoming. WYOMING. 45 On their arrival at Wyoming the Delawares found the valley in possession of the Shawanese; but as these Indians acknowledged the authority of the Six Nations, and knew that the removal of the Delawares was in consequence of their order, resistance was inex- pedient ; and the Delawares having taken quiet possession of a part of the valley, "built their town of Maughwau'wama on the east bank of. the river opposite the island below where Wilkes- Barre now stands. This was the origin of the Indian town of Wyoming. Here resided the greater part of the Delawares of the valley, with their king, Tadame. A smaller part lived with Chief Jacob, on the plains above Wilkes-Barre. Of c6urse the Delawares came, then, in the summer of 1 742. A large number of converted Indians had been compelled by persecution to fly from their homes in the eastern border of New York, and to be near their Moravian brethren, came to a place on the Lehigh where they, (the Moravians) had purchased land and made an establishment for them, about eighteen miles above Bethlehem, on the Warrior's Path, called Gnadenhiitten, or Huts of Mercy, in 1746. It was about forty miles southerly from Wyoming. The settlement flourished for several years, and in 1752 numbered about five hundred persons ; when a deputation of Nanticokes and others from Wyoming came to visit them, numbering more than a hundred. In consequence of this visit or mission (and probable message) about eighty of the Christian Indians, under Tedeuscung, a Delaware chief, and Christian convert already of some note, accompanied the party back to the Susquehanna and established their lodges at Wyoming: — Maughwauwama. The spring following, (1753), a second band of twenty-three persons, under Paxinos, a Shawnese chief, or king, accompanied by three Iroquois ambassadors, appeared at Gnaden- 'hiitten and desired the whole settlement to remove to Wyoming. These Christian Indians, composed of Delawares and Mohicans, were not disposed to yield obedience to this desire, and some; of them peremptorily refused. This roused the chiefs to anger, and the Shawnese chief, Paxinos, delivered the Iroquois' message: — "The Great Head, that is, the council at Onondago, speak the truth and he not. They rejoice that some believing Indians have re:moved to Wayomick ; but now they lift up the remaining Mohicans and Dela- wares, and set them down also in Wayomick ; for there a fire is 46 ' HISTORY OF HANOVER. kindled for them, and there they niay plant and think on God. But if they will not hear, the Great Head will come and clean their ears with a red hot poker." • Paxinos then turned to the missionaries and earnestly requested them not to hinder the converts from removing to Wyoming. The "French and Indian War," was about breaking out, and the Six Nations had joined the French. On November 24, 17SS, Gnaden- hiitten was attacked by the Indians and destroyed. Eleven persons belonging to the mission were burned alive. This was Old Gnaden- hiitten. The Indian houses had been removed that year, 1755, across the Lehigh to new land, and that place was called New Gnadenhiitten, — where Weisport now stands — and the Indian con- verts were living there and were' not hurt; but they all fled to Bethlehem, and the place was abandoned forever by the Moravians and their converts. The next year, in January, Benjamin Franklin was sent there with about five hundred troops and built Fort Allen, on the site of New Gnadenhiitten. The Gnadenhiitten Indians after the burning of Old Gnadenhiitten lived at Bethlehem till 1757-8, when Nain was completed; and they lived there until they became too numerous and they had to swarm. To provide for this young swarm, in 1760, another station was built at Wequetank. Nain was in the neighborhood of Nazareth. Where Wequetank was is not now known. The murders of 1763 in North- ampton county and in Wyoming, caused the Scotch-Irish .settlers in Northampton county to become so threatening towards the . Moravian Indians at Nain and Wequetank, that they were removed by the Pennsylvania government to Philadelphia. The Moravian or Christian Indians, of Wyoming and Wyalusing, also fled to Phila- delphia. Peace being concluded with the hostile Indians in 1764, the Moravian Indians returned to Bethlehem, Nain and Wyalusing, in 1765. The Scotch-Irish had destroyed Wequtank. — Watson's Annals. On the death of Tadame, the Delaware chief who was treacher- ously murdered, but by whom or for what cause there is no record, Tedeuscung was elected king of the Delawares, at Wyoming. This was in 1755 or 1756. — Miner. In Henry's History of the Lehigh Valley, is found the follow- ing: — "Count Zinzendqrf visited Tatamy, in 1742, at his house near . WYOMING. 47 Stockertown, and says,Jie was a man of a mild disposition, who lived much as the 'white people.' He was shot near Bethlehem in 1757, by a boy fifteen years old. Tatamy's house was about seven miles up the Bushkill from Easton. Tatamy was the principal chief of all the Indians within a hundred miles." This is probably our Tadanie, and he was not murdered at Wyoming — Maughwauwama — but at Bethlehem; but for what cause is still left unrecorded; and also whether he was shot by a white person or an Indian. On the death of Tadame Ta-da-me, Tat-a-my, Tad-e-my, or Pat- e-mi, for the name takes all these shapes, Tadeuscund,—Tedeuscung, Teedyuscung, for this name takes all these and many more shapes, — who had been converted to Christianity at Gnadenhiitten, and baptized there and given the name of Gideon, was elected king of the Delawares. This was probably in 1757. CHAPTER II. ZINZENDORF. ^^ OON after the arrival of the Delawares in Wyoming, 1742, ^**\ and during the same season, Count Zinzendorf, of Saxony> ' ~"- arrived in the valley on a religious mission to the Indians. Either he or Conrad Weiser was the first white person that ever visited Wyoming; probably Weiser had been here before him, but there is no record of it. Zinzendorf was the revivor of the ancient church of the United Brethren, and had given protection in his dominions to the persecuted Protestants who had emigrated from Moravia, thence taking the name of Moravians, and who two years before, had made their first settlement in Pennsylvania. "Upon his arrival in America, Count Zinzendorf manifested a great anxiety to have the gospel preached to the Indians and although he had heard much of the ferocity of the Shawanese, formed a resolution to visit them. With this view he repaired to Tulpehocken, the residence of Conrad Weiser, a celebrated.interpreiter and Indian agent for the gove/nment, whom he wished to engage in the cause, and to accompany him to the Shawanese town. Weiser was too much occupied in business to go immediately to Wyoming, but he furnished the Count with letters to a missionary named Mack, and the latter, accompanied by his wife, who could speak the Indian language, proceeded immediately with Zinzendorf on the projected mission." John Martin Mack, the Moravian missionary, at Gnadenhutten, was born in Wiirtemberg, Germany, 1 7 1 5 . Some time after arriving in this country, he married Jeannette, a daughter of a Mohawk chief. She spoke that language, as well as that of the Delaware and Shawanese tribes. This knowledge of the Indian tongue of the Shawanese tribe accounts for the presence of Jeannette, in the missionary expedition of Zinzendorf. WYOMING. 49 "The Shawanese appeared to be alarmed on the arrival of the strangers, who pitched their tent on the banks of the river a little below the 'town, and a council of the chiefs having assembled, the declared purpose of Zinzendorf was deliberately considered. ' "To these unlettered children of the wilderness, it appeared alto- gether improbable that a stranger should have braved the dangers of a boisterous ocean three thousand miles broad, for the sole purpose of instructing them in the means of obtaining happiness after death, and that, too, without requiring any compensation for his trouble and expense; and as they had observed the anxiety of the whitts to purchase land of the Indians, they naturally concluded that the real object of Zinzendorf was either to procure from them the lands at Wyoming for his own use, to search for hidden treasure, or to examine the country with a view to a future conquest. "It' was accordingly resolved to assassinate him, and to .do it privately, lest a knowledge of the transaction should produce a war with the English, who were settling the country below the mountains, " Zinzendorf was alone in his tent, seated upon a bundle of dry weeds which composed his bed, and engaged in writing, when the assassins approached to execute their bloody commission. A cur- tain formed of a blanket, and hung upon pins, was the only guard to the entrance of his tent. "The heat of his fire had aroused a large rattlesnake which lay in the weeds not far from it, and the reptile to enjoy it more effectually, crawled slowly into the tent and passed over one of his legs undiscovered. Without, all was still and quiet, except the gentle murmur of the river at the rapids about a mile below. At this moment the Indians softly approached the door of his tent, and slightly removing the curtain, contemplated the venerable man, too deeply engaged in the subject of his thoughts to notice either their approach or the snake which lay extended before him. At a sight like this, even the heart of the savage shrunk from the idea of com- mitting so horrid an act, and quitting the spot they hastily returned to the town, and informed their companions that the Great Spirit protected the white man, for they had found him with no door but a blanket, and had seen a large rattlesnake crawl over his legs with- out attempting to injure him. 50 HISTORY OF HANOVER. "This circumstance, together with the arrival soon afterwards of Conrad Weiser, procured Zinzendorf the friendship and confidence of the Indians and probably contributed essentially towards inducing many of them, at a subsequent period, to embrace the Christian religion. The Count having spent twenty days at Wyoming returned to Bethlehem, a town then building by his Christian brethren on the north bank of the Lehigh, about eleven miles from its junction with the Delaware." — Chapman. Soon afterwards two other missionaries visited the valley and preached to the Indians in the various settlements, or towns along the Susquehanna. The missionary station at Gnadenhutten, for about eight years before its destruction, had many Indians, men and women, resident there who professed the Christian religion. There were no resident Indians there but converts. They lived in peace, tilled the ground, and studied reading and writing. They were composed of Dela- wares, Mohicans and Shawanese; and occasionally a Mingo (Six Nations) professed to be converted and was baptized. The sincerity of these Indians is not to be doubted. The wife of Paxinos, who accompanied ^him there on his mission in 1753, was, or affected to become, converted, was baptized, and admitted a member of the congregation. There was communication back and forth between these Indians and their relatives in Wyoming Valley. The Warriors' Path through Hanover was the road traveled on these visits. It was about forty miles, and the path passed through Old Gnadenhutten. "Old Gnadenhutten" was situated about three-quarters of a mile from the Lehigh River, in the back part of what is now called Lehighton. The land had become poor from continuous cultiva- tion, and during the year 1755 iWw Gnadenhutten had been built across the river, at what is now called Weisport. Forty years ago — now 1884-5 — the Warrior Path was still a well beaten path across the mountain from Hanover, — had been used by the whites after the Indians left, and can still be seen. A famous spring, called the "Indian- Spring," still exists near the top of the mountain on the old Warrior Path. This was the path by which the Indians {from Wyoniing, the historians say, but it would be correct to say through Wyoming) went to ni'assacre those converted WYOMING. 51 Christian Indians at Gnadenhiitten in 1755, and only struck the missionaries and their families; and those other murders committed by them in Lynn, Heidelberg, Whitehall and Macungy townships in Northampton county then, now in Lehigh; their houses destroyed, their farms laid waste, barns, grain, fences, etc., burnt to ashes, and eighteen persons killed. These murders were committed about the 8th of October, 1763. The same parties that committed these murders, on their return through Wyoming on October iSth, 1763 (seven days afterwards), murdered the settlers of the first party of Yankees that tried- to make a settlement at Wyoming, as will be re- lated in its proper place. It is not known now where the Warrior Path crossed the Sus- quehanna, nor where it crossed Hanover township, until it com- mences to ascend the Little Mountain. It commenced to ascend the mountain within twenty rods east of the creek at the Warrior Run Mines where it passes through the gap in the Little Mountain called "Warrior Gap." The path did not go through the gap, but kept to the'east of it. Its course was nearly a straight line, run- ning about twenty degrees east of south, across the deep narrow, valley between the Little and Big Mountains, across the Big Moun- tain at the Indian Spring, and on the same course east of south towards Gnadenhutten (Lehighton), keeping on the west side of the Lehigh all the way down to Gnadenhutten, and to Allentown, where it would leave the vicinity of the Lehigh. This could not have been, the path the Walking Purchase was run on, but would seem to be a parallel path not more than twenty miles from it to the west. THE GRASSHOPPER WAR. The writer hfeard the story of the Grasshopper War from his, grandfather, and his recollection of the matter is, that it did not amount to much ; but that the Indians mentioned it with contempt, and, although they told it themselves, they were ashamed that there should have been anj' fight at all among the men for such a cause. Here is Col. Wright's relation of it: — "The circumstances which led to this battle I will briefly relate. A number of Delaware squaws, with their children, were gathering wild fruits along the eastern bank of the river, some two miles be- 52 HISTORY OF HANOVER. low their village, which stood on the lower side of the present limits of the city of Wilkes-Barre, where they met with some squaws and their children of the Shawnee tribe, who had crossed the river in their canoes for the same purpose. "A child belonging to the Shawnees had taken a large grass- hopper, and a quarrel arose among the children for the possession of it, in which their mothers soon took part. The Delaware women contending that the east side of the river was their property, persisted in their right to the grasshopper, and the feminine conflict terminated in the expulsion of the Shawnee squaws to the west side. And it is asserted, though I apprehend upon very question- able authority, that some of these women were killed in this en- gagement. The expulsion of the Shawnee women irritated and maddened their husbands, and the consequence was a declaration of war on the part of the Shawnees against the Delawares. The Shawnees embarked in their canoes, but were met by the Dela- wares before they could obtain a foothold upon the east bank of the river; but still they were able to effect a landing, afid a bloody conflict ensued at the great bend of the river immediately above the present railroad bridge. It is said that nearly half of the Shawnees fell upon the battlefield. They were certainly driven back to their own side of the stream.". Among the old people of Hanover this Grasshopper War or Battle was understood to have been fought on the Hanover flats below the Red Tavern, called by Christopher Hurlbut the "Nanti- coke Flats." This event took place some twenty years only before the advent of the white settlers. Indian arrow-heads, spear-heads, axes and various other instru- ments, made of flint nicely chipped into shape, were formerly very frequently found in the fields in plowing, both on the flats and on the back land. Of late very few have been found. The boys, forty years and more ago, used to have "pockets full" of them, and they would compare them with each other's "fin(Js" frequently when they met to see who had the most perfect specimens. The most of them would have some part, such as a point, or corner, or the shrank or some small part broken off, but frequently perfect specimens were found. The larger ones, such as spear-heads and WYOMING. S3 axes, were too large to be carried in the pocket and they were not so numerous. It was not every boy that could boast of the pos- session of one of them: The writer has himself found many arrow- heads, and an Indian stone axe; but such things were so common when he was a boy, that nothing was thought of them then. Every- body had some, and so no. one cared for them or to preserve them. Now it may be difificult to find anyone in Hanover that has a single specimen to show. What has become of them ? They were some- times used for "flint and steel," to kindle fires. They were about the color of the ordinary gun flint of those times — a brownish color. When the white people first settled here, and until shortly be- fore the battle and massacre of 1778, the Indians lived here on ex- cellent terms with the whites. The white boys frequently went to the Indian dances to see them perform and to hear their singing and music, such as it was. The writer remembers hearing the same old veteran before mentioned many times describe the Indians' song and dance, and in his description he somtimes gave the words and sang them, as nearly as he could, as the Indians did. According to the writer's recollection of it, it was a continuous repetition of the words : — He oh, he nh, — he oh, he uh, — or else it was he eh, he eh, — he eh, he eh ; and after a number of these expressions had been uttered, always in a sad or mournful tone, a yell was given; and then after a short pause in the "song," he oh, he uh began again. In the first he oh of each couplet the oh was somewhat prolonged, but in the he uh the uh was short, but strongly aspirated. The yell was given as loudly as the singer could whoop — yeh ! This song, as recollected, was sometimes varied, as : — He oh, hinny uh, — he oh, hinny uh. These dances were so frequent that the young men were quite intimate with each other. Their intercourse was always friendly and neighborly, only that the white people were forbidden by their local laws to give the Indians any liquor. The young men — red and white — hunted and -fished together and lived like white neigh- bors to each other. * These Indians left the valley a few months before the battle and massacre of July 3, 1778. The white people were surprised • at that, for the Indians had always been well treated by them, and 54 HISTORY OF HANOVER. they had been well treated by the Indians, except that just before the Indians left, a few months, they became somewhat impudent and threatening. They went to begging, and on being refused anything they asked for, especially liquor, they would manifest considerable discontent, and occasionally let oiit some threat. There were not many Indians living here after the whites came, but there were several families in each of their towns. The old veteran, from whom the writer received the above information, had lived among, or neighbor to, these Indians for many years, and at- that period of life when impressions made -on one are the most lasting. The writer (then some ten or twelve years old) remembers hearing him sing the Indian song as they sang it at the dance, and how monotonous in tone and words it was. Since then he has heard Indian singings-real Indians — and the same monotony, and, it seemed, sadness of sound, occurred. It was a dreary repetition over and over, of the same words and sounds and a yell at the end. Mr. Miner thinks these Wyoming Indians were coerced into fighting the whites here at the massacre by the Six Nations, to whom they were simply conquered vassals — subject tribes, paying tribute and making war, open or secret, on such people as they were directed to by their masters. This may all be true, but it is doubtful whether they were ever worthy of any confidence or trust. Wiiat ! Good neighbors come back to kill their friends ! The Indians here had fire-arms and were good marksmen. They did not depend upon the bow and arrow, spear and tomahawk for weapons. They shot at mark, ran races, and hunted with the whites, and probably might have continued to live with them until now, and become civilized, but they would not. The writer can remember very well seeing the old men's eyes flash with anger, or something very like it^ when relating or recall- ing to each other the conduct of these Indians here at that time, even after so many years had passed and their heads were white with age. Ten or twelve of them were still alive when he was ten years old. They were all, so far as he knows, in comfortable circumstances in life, and their meetings together were quite fre- quent, and quite jovial. But they had a hatred for the Indians ever after their unparalleled treachery here. T^hese old veterans were called out on all occasions of public intei^est, to grace the proceed- WYOMING. 55 ings; such as the opening of a canal to public use; the opening excursion of a railroad ; the laying of the corner stone of a public building, or a monument, or the reception of some great public character, either foreign or home; some great dinner, speech, cele- bration, a great celebration of the fourth of July, or to mark some public event, and many other things. In all such cases it was the usual and proper thing, the people thought, for these old warriors to be called out to be their guests, and to honor and to be honored. The opening of the Lehigh Canal from White Haven to Mauch Chunk, (1838), was one case; the completion of the railroad from Wilkes-Barre to White Haven was another. At the opening of the canal, these old men all rode ta White Haven from Wilkes-Barre on horseback, eighteen miles, except one who rode in a carriage which broke down on the way, on account of the execrable road. The writer remembers only two of these old soldiers alive and able to be at the celebration of the completion of the Wyoming Monument, in 1842. There may have been others; there probably were. These were Col. George Palmer Ransom, of Plymouth and Elisha Blackman, of Hanover. Mr. Blackman died in December, 1845, the last of the survivors, of the Wyoming massacre. Col. Ransom was not in the battle and massacre, but was away with the army, two days' march from the •valley, hurrying in with those soldiers that were not sent home in time. Elisha Blackman lies buried in the Hanover Cemetery, on "The Green." Mr. Blackman assisted in burying the dead, in October, 1778, that were slain in the massacre, and after assisting to gather such crops as were still remaining in the valley, he enlisted in the army the same year, and served till the end of the war, and independence was achieved. SOMETHING ON THE INDIAN SIDE OF THE STORY.. LETTER FROM CONRAD WEISER TO GOV. DENNY, OF PENNSYLVANIA. MEMORANDUM TAKEN AT FORT ALLEN, NOV. 26, 1 756. " As I came along this morning from Nicholas Upplinger's,* Joseph Tatamy t kept me company for the most part, and sometimes; *At the Water Gap. ■fSon of William Tatamy the Delaware Indian chief that was murdered in 1757, near- Bethlehem. — Tadame. 56 HISTORY OF HANOVER. John Pumpshire.J We began to discourse about this present Indian war. I aslced them several questions, and so did they me. Among other things, I told them that for my part, I did not under- stand Teedyuscong§ clearly, in his speech about the cause of the war; now and then he blamed the English in general, the Proprie- taries of Pennsylvania, and the Indians for being too credulous and foolish to believe the French; sometimes said the Frenchman's success, wealth and power, prevailed upon you all, and so on. Joseph Tatamy told me that everything had been agreed upon in the Indian council; that their king Teedyuscong had everything in his heart and knew what to say before he came to Easton, and that there his memory was refreshed, but being too often overcome with strong liquof, he spoke confusedly, though nothing that was wrong or false in itself, only not. in such order as he ought to have done, and one passage he never mentioned at all, which had drawn the Delaware. Indian's heart from the English and their Indian allies. " That Teedyuscong should have given an account of the differ- ■ ences that had arisen sometime ago between the Delaware, Minissink Indians and the Mingoes (the Six Nations), and should have told the Governor of Pennsylvania how the latter have cheated the former out of ^ great deal of land on the river Delaware, and sold it to the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania; that the Mingoes had abused the Delawares some years before, in Philadelphia, (1742), as if the Delaware and Minissink Indians were their dogs, and that Cannassatego, then speaker among the Mingoes, drove them away from their own land, and said he would give them lands on the Susquehanna River, and ordered them instantly to settle there, which the Delaware and some of the Minissink Indians did, in order to prevent mischief That then Cannassatego sold that land to the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania; but the Delawares and Minissink Indians made no reply against it, thinking themselves safe enough on Susquehanna; but about three years ago, a company of New England men had come down Susquehanna and taken draughts of all the good spots of land, and perhaps of all; that when the Indians asked why they did so, they boldly answered that so many JAnother noted Indian. |This was the principal Delaware Indian chief or king; he made a speech at a treaty that year. WYOMING. . 57 hundred families from New England would come and settle there. 'This is our land,' said the Indians who were settled there. 'No!' was the reply; 'it belongs to the Mingoes; you are only their tenants, slaves, dogs.' That thereupon, the Delawares sent a large body of their people, as their deputation to the Mohawk country, to protest against the New England people, or any other whites settling there, and to complain of the Mohawks' proceeding, and to tell them plainly that if they, the Mohawks, would not prevent the New England people from settling on the Susquehanna, they, the Delawares, would go over to Ohio, to the French, in hopes of receiving better usage from them. That the Mohawks then denied everything, and said the New England people had no leave of them for any lands on the Susquehanna and that they never would sell them any, and that neither the New England people nor any other white should settle there. That the deputation then went home again, the Delaware and Minissink Indians being thus satisfied, but that they were soon informed by some of the Mingoes themselves, that that land had actually been sold to the New England people, and that the Mohawks had received large considerations for them, and that the Mohawks' had deceived the deputies of the Proprie- taries of Pennsylvania, who were about buying it, and having promised the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania that the^ should have the preference, if ever the land was sold. At this they became enraged, and fearing that they would be cut off, they gathered at Tiago, to see what would be the consequence and whether they would join the French, or hold on to their lands; a great many did so, others went over to the French from time to time, and came back with messages from them. The war broke out. "I said I wished that this story had been told at the treaty. Teedyuscong said he was afraid of the Mingo Indians that were there, lest they .might misrepresent the story when they came home. 'The Mingo Indians' (continued Tatamy), 'have from the beginning cheated our nation, and got our forefathers to call them uncles by. deceit and art and at last said they had conquered our forefathers ; whereas the Mingoes stood in need of our forefathers' assistance, and got some of their cunning men to come down to our forefathers, with the news that a certain nation from the west was preparing to i* ■ 58 HISTORY OF HANOVER.- come and cut them off, and so our forefathers entered into a league with them, and rather fought their battles, when the Mohawks should have fought ours.' " Both these Indians were desirous and insisted that I should use my endeavors with the governor and people of Pennsylvania, to lay out a large tract of land on Susquehanna and secure it to their posterity, so that none of the whites could sell it, or anybody buy it. That if this was done, the Delawares would, for the most part, come and live on it and be reconciled to the people and government of Pennsylvania forever. Teedyuscong told me much the same story, as before mentioned, before we parted, with very little differ- ence, and desired the same of me." "Conrad Weiser."* something in the indian favor, continued. In a history of the Six Nations, published in 1881, by a Tus- carora Indian Chief,' called in English Elias Johnson, is found the following several extracts: — "In the early histories of the American Colonies, in the stories of Indian life and the delineations of Indian character, these children of nature are represented as savages and barbarians, and in the mind of a large portion of the community the sentiment still prevails that they were bloodthirsty, revengeful and merciless, justly a terror to both friends and foes. Children are impressed with the idea that an Indian is scarcely human and as much to be feared as the most ferocious animal of the forest. * * * "But I am inclined to think that Indians are not alone in being savage — not alone barbarous, heartless and merciless. " It is said they were exterminating each other by aggressive and devastating wars before the white people came among them. But wars, aggressive and exterminating wars, certainly, are not proofs of barb?irity. The bravest warrior was the most honored, and this has been ever true of Christian nations, and those who call themselves Christians have not yet ceased to look upon him vvho could plan most successfully the wholesale slaughter of human beings, as the most deserving his king's or his country's laurels. *History of the Lehigh Valley, by Henry, p. 27. WYOMING. 59 How long since the psan died away in praise of the Duke of Welling- ton? What have been the wars in which Europe, or America, has been engaged, that there has been no records of her history ? For what are civilized and Christian nations drenching their fields with blood? "It is said the Indian was cruel to the captives, and inflicted unspeakable torture upon his enemy taken in battle. But from what we know of them, it is not to be inferred that Indian chiefs were ever guilty of filling dungeons with innocent victims, or slaughter- ing hundreds and thousands of their own people, whose only sin was a quiet dissent from some religious dogma. Towards their enemies they were often relentless, and they have good reason to look upon the white man as their enemy. They slew them in battle, plotted against them secretely, and in a few instances comparatively subjected individuals to torture, burned them at the stake, and, perhaps flayed them alive. But who knows anything of the precepts and practices of the Roman Catholic Christendom, and quotes these things as proofs of unmitigated barbarity ? "At the very time that the Indians were using the tomahawk and scalping-knife to avenge their wrongs, peaceful citizens in every coun- try of Europe, where the pope was the man of authority, were incar- cerated for no crime whatever and such refinement of torture invented and practiced, as never entered into the heart of the fiercest Indian warrior that roamed the wilderness, to inflict upon man or beast. "We know very little of the secrets of the Inquisition, and this little chills our blood with horror. Yet these things were done in the name of Christ, the Savior of the World, the Prince of Peace, and not savage, but civilized Christian men looked on, not coldly, but rejoicingly, while women and children writhed in flames and weltered in blood. Were the atrocities committed in the vale of Wyoming and Cherry Valley unprecedented among the Waldensian fastnesses, and the mountains of Auvergne ? Who has read Fox's Book of Martyrs, and found anything to parallel it in all the records of Indian warfare ? The slaughter of St. Barthlomew's days, the destruction of the Jews in Spain, and the Scotch covenanters, were in obedience to the mandates of Christian princes,— -aye, and some of them devised by Christian women who professed to be serving God, and to make the Bible the man of their counsel. '6o HISTORY OF HANOVER. "It is said also, that the Indians were treacherous, and more, no compliance with the conditions of any treaty, was ever to be trusted. But the Puritan fathers cannot be wholly exonerated from the charge of faithlessness ; and who does not blush to talk of Indian traitors when he remembers the Spanish invasion and the fall of the princely and magnanimous Montezuma? " Indians believed in witches, and burned them, too. And did not the sainted Baxter, with the Bible in his hand, pronounce it right, and was not the Indian permitted to be present, when the quiet unoffending woman was cast into the fire, by the decree of a Puritan council? "To come down to the more decidedly Christian times, it is not so very long since, in Protestant England, hanging was the punish- ment of a petty thief, long and hopeless imprisonment of a slight misdemeanor, when m5n were set up to be stoned and spit upon by those who claimed the exclusive right to be called humane and merciful." After more of this kind, all of which is true, he says : — " This is not so bright a picture as is usually given of people who have written laws, and have stores of learning, but people cannot see in any place that the coloring is too dark. * * * "There is a bright and pleasing side to the Indian character, and thinking that there has been enough written of their wars and cruelties, of the hunter's and fisherman's life, I have, sat down at their fireside, listened to their legends, and am acquainted with their domestic habits, understand their finer feelings and the truly noble traits of their character. " It is so long now since they were the lords of this country, and formidable as your enemies, and they are so utterly wasted away and melted like snow under the meridian sun, and helpless, that you can sit down and afford to listen to the truth, and to believe that even your enemies had their virtues. Man was created in the image of God, and it ca,nnot be that anything human is utterly vile and contemptible. "Those who have thought of Indians as roaming abodt in the forests hunting and fishing, or at war, will laugh perhaps, at the idea of Indian homes, and domestic happiness. Yet there 'are no WYOMING. 6 1 people of which we have any knowledge, among whom, in their primitive state, family ties and relationships, were more distinctly defined, or more religiously respected than the Iroquois. "Almost any portrait that we seeofan Indian, he is represented with tomakawk and scalping-knife in hand, as if they possessed no other but a barbarous nature. Christians nations might with equal justice be always represented with cannon and balls, swords and pistols, as the emblems of their employment and their prevailing tastes." * * * " No being acts more rigidly from rule than the Indians ; his whole conduct is regulated according to some general maxims early implanted in his mind. The moral laws which govern him are few, but he conforms to them all. The white man abounds in laws and religion, morals and manners, but how many of them does he violate. In their intercourse with the Indians the white people were con- tinually trampling upon their religion and their sacred rights. They were expected to look merely on while the graves of their fathers were robbed of' their treasures, and the bones of their fathers were 'left to bleach upon the fields. And when exasperated by the brutality of their conquerors and driven to deeds of vengeance, there was very little appreciation of the motives which influenced . them, and no attempt was made to palliate their cruelties. " It was their custom to bury the dead with their best clothing, and the various implements they had been in the habit of using whilst living. If it was a warrior they were preparing for burial, they placed his tomahawk by his side and his knife in his shield ; with the hunter, his bow and arrows and implements for cooking his food; with the- woman, their kettles and cooking apparatus, and also food for all. Tobacco was deposited in every grave; for to smoke was an Indian's idea of felicity in the body and out of it, and in this there was not so much difference as one might wish, between them and gentlemen of a paler hue." This will do for a quotation from the English writing of a pure blooded Tuscarora chief, living on their reservation in New York. English is a foreign language to him, but after all he uses it pretty effectively. 62 HISTORY OF HANOVER. THE CONNECTICUT CHARTER. 1620, Nov. 3. Letters Patent. King James I. to the Duke of Lenox et. al. Included all the territory from 40° to 48° of north latitude, and in length from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, and to be named New England in Amerioa. 1629, March 4. Letters Patent. King Charles I. to Sir Henry Roswell et. al. for the same territory, excepting any territory in possession of any other Christian Prince or State. 1662, April 20. Letters Patent. King Charles II. to John Winthrop et. al. granting and confirming to them "all that part of our dominions in New England in America, bounded on the east by Narragansett River, commonly called Narragansett Bay, where the said river falleth into the sea, and on the north by the line of Massa- chusetts Colony; and on the south by the sea; running from east to west, that is to say, from the said Narragansett Bay in the east to the South Sea on the west part. To have and to hold to them and their successors arid assigns forever," etc. This is a part of the Connecticut Charter under which Con- necticut claimed the land in Wyoming or Westmoreland. They still had to acquire the Indian title and then take possession, to make the title good. The southern line of Connecticut at its most southern point was at or about on the 41° of north latitude. Con- necticut then, claimed the lands between the parallels of 41° and 42°, from the Delaware River to the Pacific Ocean. WILLIAM PENN's CHARTER. 1 68 1, March 4. Charter. Charles. II., King of England, to William Penn, for all that territory bounded eaet by the Delaware River, twelve miles northward from New Castle, to the 42° of north latitude, to extend westward five degrees of longitude. This in- cluded all the territory between the parallels of 40° and 42°, and a little south of the 40° parallel. This was William Penn's title to the land between the above . lines. He still had to acquire the Indian title — at least, that was always considered necessary in the chain of complete title. 1736, Oct. 25., Deed. Twenty-three Chiefs of the Six Nations to John, Thomas artd Richard Penn, all the lands on both sides of WYOMING. 63 the Delaware River, from its mouth northward up the river to the Blue Hills, and from the eastward to the westward as far as Penn- sylvania extends. After other deeds from the Indians to the Penns, not any of which conveyed any of the Wyoming lands, the last deed from the Indians is : — 1768, Nov. 5. Deed. Six Nations to Richard and John Penn: "All that part of the Province of Pennsylvania not heretofore pur- chased of the Indians." This included, of course, the territory claimed by Connecticut as far as the Province of Pennsylvania ex- tended to the northward and westward. This is the Penns' Indian title. Pennsylvania had all the time claimed this territory by grant from the King, and now claimed it by purchase from the Indians, from the Delaware to the Ohio line. , Which title was the best? If these grants from the King were like grants of land from man to man, then the oldest in point of time would hold, always admitting the grantor's title to be good. Connecticut's charter was the oldest by nineteen years. THE CONNECTICUT SUSQUEHANNA COMPANY. In 1753 about six hundred inhabitants of the Colony of Con- necticut voluntarily associated themselves under the name of "The Susquehanna Company," for the purpose of planting a new colony west of the Delaware River. These persons had in view the pur- chase of the Indian title to the Wyoming lands. The peo^e of the whole country believed that there were three requisites demanded to render titled to lands perfect: — ist, a charter from the King; 2d, a purchase of the soil from the Indians; 3d, possession. In 1754 a Congress of Delegates from a number of the British colonies was called, with the approbation of the crown, to assemble at Albany, to hold a conference with the Six Nations, and to form a plan of union for their defense during the expected war. A plan of union v/as adopted not very unlike the present federal constitu- tion. This plan was signed by the agents of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Pennsylvania was fully and ably represented by John Penn, Isaac Norris, Benjamin Franklin and Richard Peters. 64 HISTORY OF HANOVER. During the session of this congress, under the eye of the Penn- sylvania Delegation, a deed was executed by the Indians — the acknowledged proprietors of the territory — to the Susquehanna Company. This was the Indian sale of Wyoming to the Con- necticut Susquehanna Company. The old "French and Indian War" was about to commence, and the English wished to conciliate the Indians if they could. Active operations commenced early in the spring of 1755; Braddock's de- feat occurred ; the colonies were successful elsewhere, though war was not declared until 1756. In 1758 affairs looked so bad for the French that the Indians, who had joined the French in the war, appeared with a very large delegation at Easton and made a new treaty with Pennsylvania. There were no less than five hundred of them — Mohawks, Oneidas, Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Tusca- roras, Nanticoques, Conays, Tuteloes, Chugnuts, Delawares, Una- mies, Minissinks, Mohicans, Wappingers and Shawanese. On the way to this council Tedeuscung and the Delawares were accompanied by, or fell in with, one of the ambassadors of the Six Nations, a chief who had commanded the expedition against Gnad- denhiitten in 1755. On the top of the mountain on the Warrior Path, in Hanover, a quarrel arose between Tedeuscung and this chief and high words passed, when Tedeuscung raised his toma- hawk and laid the chief dead at his feet. No doubt it was for this that Tedeuscung was murdered at Maughwauwama — Wyoming — in 1763, as will be mentioned in its proper place. The French and Indian War ended by the surrender of Canada to the English,, and, after the war had continued a year or so longer in other parts of the world, peace was declared in 1763. Pontiac's War commenced in 1763, seems to have been undertaken by him for the purpose of reinstating the French in Canada again. It stirred up the Indians more widely, if anything, than before for a very short time, and caused the massacre of the people in Northamp- ton county at exposed points Oct. 8, and at Wyoming Oct. 15, in 1763. After that the Indians all left the valley. Pontiac's War was but short, about one year, and trouble from him was ended by his assassination, 1767, while trying to raise the Indians on the Illinois. A few of the Indians came back to Wyoming before the whites came to make their next attempt at settlement in 1769. WYOMING. 65 At the Albany Congress of 1754 the chiefs of the Six Nations signed, sealed and delivered the following: — "1754, July nth. Deed. Eighteen 'chiefs^ 'sachems^ and 'heads of the Five Nations' in consideration of ^2,000 (New York currency) convey to the Susquehanna Company lands as follows: Which said given and granted tract of land is butted, bounded and described as follows, viz : Beginning from the one and fortieth degree of north latitude, at ten miles distance east of the Susque- hanna River, and from thence with' a northerly line, ten miles east of the river, to the forty-second * * * degree of north latitude, and to extend west two degrees of longitude, one hundred and twenty miles, and from thence south to the forty-first degree, and from thence east to the afore-mentioned bounds, which is ten miles east of the Susquehanna River; together, etc." The number of grantees in this deed was 694. From Connecticut 638 From Rhode Island 33 From Pennsylvania 10 From Massachusetts 5 From New York 8 This was the Susquehanna Company's Indian title to the Wyo- ming or Westmoreland lands— and it will be seen that it is fourteen years older than the Penn's deed from the same Six Nations, for the same lands (1768). The Indians were paid in Albany for this land, in silver coin, which they divided there among themselves. Another company, called the Delaware Company, bought of the same Indians, the lands between the easterly line of the above purchase and the Delaware river. In 1755 surveyors were sent to survey lands along the Lacka- waxen and in Wyoming along the Susquehanna, but the French and Indian War then raging, made the work too dangerous and they returned home. As early as 1757 a settlement was made by the Delaware Com- pany, at Coshutunk (now Cochecton), on their purchase, and in 1760 it had thirty dwellings, a block-house and a grist-mill and saw-mill. 5 66 HISTORY OF HANOVER. FIRST ATTEMPT TO SETTLE WYOMING. In 1762 a number of the proprietors, with surveyors, went upon the Susquehanna, took possession, and began clearing the ground. The Indians had made peace -in 1758 at Easton, and a number of them were living in their towns here. They made no objection to these settlers building houses, making fences around their lands, plowing, or planting. Large bodies of land were plowed and planted, reaching away down on the flats in Hanover, as'it is now called; then it had no name but the general name of Wyoming. In the fall the settlers deposited their farming implements in the woods, returned home and staid during the winter. The next spring, 1763, they, with their families, stock and household furniture, renewed their possession, to the number of two hundred, and made a considerable settlement on the flats below where Wilkes-Barre now stands. " Their town was built nearer the river than the Indian village of Maughwauwame." — Miner. They also cleared and culti- vated land and built houses and a block-house at Mill Creek. Several of the Six Nations were visiting at Maughwauwama, without any ostensible object. Tedeuscung, the king of the Dela- wares, was drunk in his wigwam on the night of the 19th of April, 1763, when twenty of the Indians' houses and wigwams burst simultaneously into flames. Tedeuscung's among the rest, he having been first assassinated. Tedeuscung had some years before killed the Mingo chief that led the party of Indians to the massa- cre of his friends, the rnissionaries and his Indian relatives, at Gna- denhiitten, and his assassination here was probably in retaliation for that; but Iroquois Indian cunning ascribed the murder to the New England people. It is not believed, however, that the Dela- wares had anything to do with the murder of the whites here the next October ; but this is the way it took place : — The season was favorable and the various crops of the settlers on these fertile plains proved abundant, and they looked forward with hope to scenes of prosperity and happiness.; when, without the least warning, on the 15th of October, 1763, a large party of sav- ages raised the war-whoop and attacked them with fury. Unpre- pared for resistance, entirely unarmed, about twenty persons were killed and scalped, the others escaped by flight to the woods, men. WYOMING. 6^ women and children, in wild disorder. The settlement was ex- terminated. Not a living white person remained in the valley. Who can portray the sufferings of the fugitives, traversing the woods and swamps, destitute of food and clothing, on their way to their former homes. The crops were mostly destroyed and the buildings burned. Two days after this massacre two companies of the Paxtang Rangers, — Pennsylvania troops — arrived on the ground. The Indians had all left. The Rangers destroyed what was left of the crops. But they left standing the blockhouse and houses the settlers had built at Mill Creek ; and after burying the dead returned home. One of these companies of Rangers was commanded by Capt. Lazarus Stewart, then with the Pennsylvanians — in a few years he was on the Connecticut side. This massacre was due to the dis- affection of the Indians toward the English during the Pontiac War, and was probably committed by the same Indians that murdered Tedeuscung; but from what the Delawares were guilty of afterwards, we need not think they were too good to do this. After the mur- der, of Tedeusung the Christian Indians of Maughwauwama and Wyalusing fled to Bethlehem, but after the restoration of quiet they returned — in 1765 — to the Susquehanna, and made their rest- ing place at Wyalusing. In 1771 all these Christian Indians re- moved to Ohio. There is an affecting story told of part of these Wyalusing Christian Indians on their way to Ohio, coming to Maughwauwama to wail over the graves of their dead and shed a tear over their departed ancestors. The pagan Indians only, remained in the valley of the Susquehanna. For the next six years there were no white people in the valley, and up to that time no Pennsylvania settler had set his foot within it. Now we approach the miserable contest between the Connecticut settlers and the government of the Penns. CHAPTER III. THE T'IRST PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR. JN 1768, at Hartford, in Connecticut, the Susquehanna Com- pany resolved " that five townships, five miles square, should be surveyed and granted, each to forty settlers, being pro- prietors, owners of land, on condition that those settlers should rem^ain upon the ground, man their rights, and defend themselves and each other, from the intrusion of all rival claimants." Five townships in the heart of the valley were assigned to these first adventurers ; Wilkes-Barre, Hanover, Kingston, Plymouth and Pitt- ston. The lands were divided into " rights " of four hundred acres each, " reserving and apportioning three whole rights, or shares, in each township, for the public use of a gospel ministry and schools, , in each of said towns." With these settlers came Captains Butler, Ransom, (John) Durkee, and Stewart, all of whom had seen honor- able service in the " French and Indian War," and had shared in the campaign at Ticonderoga ■ and Crown Point, except Stewart, who was at Braddock's defeat. They were not without the aid of bold adherents obtained in Pennsylvania. The Shoemakers and Mc- Dowells, from the settlements on the Delaware, above the Blue Hills; and Captain Lazarus Stewart and the other Stewarts, and the Youngs and Hollenbacks and others from Hanover, in Lancaster county, now Dauphin, and also by some Quakers from Rhode Island. "The leaders of the Pennamites were Charles Stewart, Captain Amos Ogden and Sheriff Jennings, of Northampton county, Pa. The Penns had leased to Stewart, Ogden and Jennings, one hundred acres for seven years, on condition of "defending the lands from the Connecticut claimants." They arrived first upon the ground. This was in January", 1769. They took possession of the block- house and huts at Mill Creek, (about a mile above the present city WYOMING. 69 of Wilkes-Barre), which had been left by the massacred settlers of 1763. They laid out for the Proprietaries two extensive manors, "Stoke," on the east bank, and "Sunbury" on the west bank of the Susquehanna, embracing the heart of the Wyoming Valley and com- prising more than 30,000 acres, and to be ruled like the English baronial manors, with their courts-baron, etc. The Penns took all the best of the land for themselves. The word "Proprietaries," means the heirs of William Penn; and the "Governors or the Proprietaries," mean the governors of Penn- sylvania, appointed by the descendants of Penn, to govern during the absence of the Penns. The word "Yankee," is a corruption of the word "English," and is of Indian origin. " Pennamite and Yankee," means simply the two parties in the quarrel for the terri- tory, the word " Pennamite " having probably a shade of contempt in it, as applied by the Yankee. This was probably reciprocated by the Pennamite. We have all outgrown it now, and can use them and have them used without any feeling on account of it. The word " Proprietor," meant one who had bought land of the Susque- hanna Company or of another proprietor and settled upon it, or had .it "manned" for himself by some man building a house on it and living there under his directions, to defend it from all intrudeVs. On the 8th of February, 1769, the first forty Connecticut settlers arrived. Finding the block-house in possession of Ogden, they sat down, mid-winter as it was, to besiege it and starve out the garrison. Ogden proposed a conference. " Propose to a Yankee to talk over a matter, especially which he has studied and believes to be right, and you touch the most susceptible chord' which vibrates in his heart."* It was so here. Three of their chief men went to the block-house to "argue the matter." Qnce within. Sheriff Jennings arrested them on a writ "in the name of Pennsylvania." They were taken to the jail at Easton. They went along peaceably. Friends there bailed them out, and they at once returned to Wyoming and took possesr sion of the vacant fort. Ogden, when he heard of it, raised the posse of Northampton county, stormed the Yankee fort, and carried the whole forty to Easton. They were all immediately bailed out again, and at once returned to Wyoming. But this for the second time left the valley without white inhabitants. *Miner. ^o HISTORY OF HANOVER. The additional quotas of forty each, for the other four townships arrived in April, making two hundred in all, counting the forty just arrived from Ea^ton. They erected Fort Durkee on the river bank, and thirty huts. The fort stood at the lower end of the "river com- mon" in Wilkes-Barre. The block-house at Mill Creek was too remote from the lower flats, near the old Indian town of Wywamick, Maughwauwama, where large fields, long since cleared, invited cultivators. There is nothing now to show the exact time that Hanover was settled, but as the forty to whom Hanover had been assigned, arrived with this last party, in April,* it is to be supposed that they took immediate possession and built a block-house on it, as it had open fields bare of trees, and adjoined the Wilkes-Barre flats about a mile below the town of Maughwauwama. • The settlers had full possession now, and went vigorously to work, plowing, planting, felling trees and building houses. The reader will probably be pleased to see a list of the first two hundred names enrolled as actual settlers to "man their rights" in the first five townships. The roll is dated June 2d, 1769. David Whittlesey, Job Green, Philip Goss, Joshua Whitney, Abraham Savage, Ebenezer Stearns, Sylvester Chese- brough, Zephaniah Thayer, Elephalet Jewel, • Daniel Gore, Ozias Yale, Henry Wall, Rowland Barton, Gideon Lawrence, Nathaniel Watson, Philip Weeks, Thomas Weeks, Asher Harrot, Asa Lawrence, Stephen Miles, Jonathan Carrington, John Dorrance, Noah Allen, Robert Jackson, Zebulon Hawksey, James Dunkin, Caleb Tennant, Moses Hebbard, jr.,* Jabez Fish, Peris Briggs, Aaron Walter, James May, Samuel Badger, Jabez Cooke, Samuel Dorrance, Zeroba-ble Wightman, John Comstock, Gurdon Hopson, Asa Lee, Thomas Wallworth, Robert Hunter, John Baker, Jonathan Orms, Daniel Angel, Elias Roberts, Nicholas Manvil, Thomas Gray, Joseph Gaylord, Samuel Hotchkiss, Wm. Leonard, Elisha Avery, Ezra Buel, Gershon, Hewit, Nathaniel Goss, Benjamin Hewit, jr., Elias Thomas, Abijah Mock, Ephraim Fellows, Joseph Arnold; *It is claimed now that the two hundred did not include the Hanover men ; that flie number for a township had been changed to fifty; that the Lancaster county forty took in ten Yankees, and arrived on the ground in February, 1770. WYOMING. 71 Ebenezer Hebbard,* Morgan Caryan, Samuel Marvin, Silas Gore,* Ebenezer Northrop, Joshua Lampher, Joseph Hillman, Abel Pierce, Jabez Roberts. Jenks Corah,* Obadiah Gore, jr., Caleb White, Samuel Sweet, Thomas Knight, John JoUee, Ebenezer Norton, Enos Yale, John Wiley, Timothy Vprce, • Cyrus Kenne, John Shaw, James" Forsythe, Peter Harris, Abel Smith, Elias Parks, Joshua Maxfield, John Murphy, Thomas Bennett, Christopher Avery, Elisha Babcock, John Perkins, Joseph Slocum, Robert Hopkins, ' Benj. Shoemaker, jr., Jaebez Sill, Pars hall Terry, John Delong, Theophilus Westover, John Sterling, Joseph Morse,* Stephen Fuller,' Andrew Durkee, Capt. Prince Alden, Peter Comstock, John Durkee, Joseph Webster, Wm. Churchell, Henry Strong, Zebulon Frisbee, Hezekiah Knapp, John Kenyon, Preserved Taylor, Isaac Bennett, Uriah Marvin, Abisha Bingham, Andrew Medcalf, DAiel Brown, Jonathan Buck,' David Mead, Thomas Ferlin, Wm. Wallsworth, Thomas Draper, James Smith, James Atherton, jr., Oliver Smith, James Evans, Eleazer Carey, Cyprian Lothrop, James Nesbitt, Samuel MiUington, Benjamin Budd, John Lee, Josiah Dean, Zophur Teed, Moses Hebbard,* Dan Murdock, Noah Lee, . Stephen Lee, Daniel Haynes, Lemuel Smith, Silas Park, Stephen Hungerford, Zeorbable Jeorumj Comfort Goss, Wm. Draper, Thomas McClure, Peter Ayres, Solomon Johnson, Benedict Satterlee, John Franklin,* Wm. Gallop, Jesse Leonard, Ephraim Arnold, Benjamin Ashley, Wm. White, Stephen Hull, Diah Hull, Joseph Lee, Samuel Wybrant, Reuben Hurlbut, Phineas Stevens, Abraham Colt, Elijah Buck,. Noah Read, Nathan Beach, Job Green, jr., Fred Wise, Stephen Jenkins, Daniel Marvain, Zacheriah Squier, Henry Wall, Simeon Draper, John Wallsworth, Ebenezer Stone, Thomas Olcott, Stephen Hinsdale, Benj. Dorchester, Elijah Witter, Oliver Post, Daniel Cass, Isaac Tracy, Samuel Story, John Mitchel, Samuel Orton, Christopher Gardner, Duty Ceroid, Peris Bradford, Samuel Morgan. John Clark, Elijah Lewis, Timothy Hopkins, Edward Johnson, Jacob Dingman, Naniad Coleman, Benjamin Matthews, Stephen Hurlbut, Benjamin Hewit, 72 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Only two of these — Silas Gore and John Franklin — belonged to the "Associates" with Capt. Lazarus Stewart, to whom Hanover was granted, but all those marked with a star (*) were Hanoverproprietors — seven of them' in 1 769. Block-houses, or forts, were built in each township. The block- house is generally a square building of heavy hewed logs. When raised to the height of one story the timber used for joists or beams is projected over every side six or eight feet. The second story is built up of lighter logs placed on the^ends of these projecting timbers, fhe whole roofed over, of course, with boards, shingles'or bark. Loop-holes are formed through which to fire on an approach- ■ ing enemy. The purpose of making the upper story larger than the lower is to enable those who defend the block-house to throw down stones, or boiling water, or other missiles on the heads of the assail- ants who should attempt to force the door, or set the building on fire. The first block-houses were built in a burry, and were probably not of hewed logs. The defence of such a block-house when well peopled, armed with rifles — when cannon were not used — with plenty of food, water and amunition, was not to be despised. The one afterwards built on Solomon's Creek at the Stewart place was more than once defended against the Indians by severe fighting aiid loss of life to the assailants. The fort was a mere palisade, but was built of heavy logs, fifteen to eighteen feet long, set close together on end in a trench three or fo'iir feet deep. The inclosure is generally square, except at the corners, where flanking towers are projected. The size was generally from a half acre inclosed up to several acres. The logs were some- times set double to break joints. A ditch on the outside four feet from the upright timbers, and dug several feet wide, was made, the dirt being thrown up against the timbers. Usually there were two gateways, opposite to each othfer, strongly barricaded. Around the inside against the timbers huts were built for the accommodation of families or messes. Loop-holes at proper distances, for firing rifles or small arms, finish the work within. Sometimes a covered way was dug to the ^yater, and not unfrequently wells were sunk within the enclosure. The name of Hanover was given to the township in honor of one of the most prominent and conspicuous leaders in the settle- WYOMING. 73 ment of Wyoming Valley — Lazarus Stewart. It was the name of his native town, Hanover, near the Susquehanna, in Lancaster county then, but now in Dauphin, a daring leader among the Yankees, though he, of course, was not a Yankee, as then under- stood (a New Englander), but a Pennsylvanian. The New Eng- enders alone were then called Yankees, but whoever sided with, and adhered to them, were considered and called Yankees. Captain Ogden, with Sheriff Jennings, recruited forces and ap- peared on the plains on the 20th of May. After reconnoitering the position of the Yankees he considered it too strong for him and they withdrew to Easton, and the sheriff informed the governor that there were three hundred able-bodied men there. ' "In the .delightful season of spring, nature unfolding her richest robes of leaf and flower, the Susquehanna yielding boundless stores of delicious shad, a brief hour of repose seemed only to wed the Yankee immigrant more strongly to the valley, or to the ground he was cultivating. The beautiful lowlands, where scarcely a stone impeded the plow, contrasted with the rock-bound shores of New England and her stone-covered fields, was a prospect as inviting as the plains of Italy of old to its northern invaders." Now, on the 20th of June, another — Col. Turbot Francis — came, with music playing and colors flying, in full military array, all the way from Philadelphia, and sat down before Fort Durkee. Finding the Yankees too strongly fortified he retired below the mountains to wait for rei.nforcements. Capt. Ogden, with Sheriff Jennings of Northamptdn county, and about two hundred well armed and equipped men, started for the valley in the beginning of September, and, to enable the sheriff more effectually to enforce his peaceful instructions, "not to strike, fire at, or wound, unless he was first stricken, fired at, or wounded," he brought along a part of an artillery company with a four-pound cannon and a supply of cartridge and ball — the first piece of ordnance ever seen in Wyoming. Ogden and Jennings descended into the valley and displayed themselves in formidable array before Fort Durkee. Their imposing force, but especially that terrible four-pounder, destroyed every hope of victory in the breasts of the Yankees. Articles of capitulation were entered into and the' Yankees surrendered.' Three or four of 5* 74 HISTORY OF HANOVER. the leading men were detained as prisoners; the rest, men, their wives and little ones, with such of their flocks and herds as could be speedily collected, with aching hearts, took leave of the fair plains of Wyoming. The Pennamites agreed to let seventeen men stay and guard the Yankees' property till it could be taken away; but no sooner were the main body of the settlers gone, than Ogden expelled the seventeen men and seized all the Yankee property left, and cattle, horses and sheep, .were driven to market on the Delaware. This was now the third time the Yankees had been totally expelled from the valley. Thus closed 1769. Ogden left ten men to guard the valley and went to Philadelphia. Early in February, 1770, the Yankees under Captain Lazarus Stewart, with his forty settlers, mostly Pennsylvanians,*.came, drove out the men left by Ogden in the fort at Mill Creek, captured the "four-pounder," and carefully transferred it to Fort Durkee. Late in February Ogden heard of this and hurried back to the valley. He quietly took possession of his old quarters at Mill Creek with the fifty men he brought with him. The Connecticut people, who had been acting as civilians hereto- fore, now began to assume a more martial aspect. They besieged Ogden and obliged him to surrender and leave the valley, though one of the Yankees was killed. -The settlers rebuilt their burned houses, and commenced plowing and farming again. Peace reigned and confidence began to prevail. Spring and summer came, and the harvests were ripening, and no foe. The surveyors were again busy surveying lots. Pennsylvania for some reason had not crushed the dispute. In point of fact, the Proprietaries having appropriated the best part of the land to themselves, the people very generally sympathized with the settlers, and wished them success. The poorest lands only were left for actual settlers by the Penns everywhere, and this was much disliked by the people of the province in general, and caused them to favor the Connecticut settlers wherever they had a chance. It had become so difficult to raise troops that the governor, after immense difficulty, was not able before September to place a military force agaiii under Capt. Ogden and another sheriff of Northampton county. *The Pennsylvanians that came with Stewart were mostly the descendants of Scotch- Irish settlers in Lancaster county. WYOMING. 75 There were three paths into the valley from the east. The old Warrior Path by way of the Lehigh Gap and Fort Allen, coming into the valley at Hanover. One by way of Cobb's Gap at Lacka- waxen, entering the valley where Scranton now stands; and the third from Easton through the Wind Gap, near the line of the old Easton turnpike into Wilkes-Barre. This last was the path usually taken by the Pennamites on their expeditions into the valley. September 21, 1770, Capt. Ogden took the Warrior Path, and thus came in without being discovered, with one hundred and forty men. The Yankees were all the while watching the Wilkes-Barre path, but neglected to watch the others and so were taken by sur- prise. While the farmers were at work in the fields on the river flats in parties of from three to six, Ogden divided his force into parties of ten men, each under a chosen leader, directed them to hasten to the different fields noiselessly and secretly, and seize upon the laborers. The plan succeeded to a turn; and thus a consider- able portion of the settlers were captured and at once sent to the Easton jail. After this Ogden had but little trouble in capturing the remainder of the settlers and their fort. The Yankee leaders he sent to Philadelphia — this time to prison, but the others were sent to jail at Easton. All the Connecticut people's possessions were now, as in the preceding autumn, abandoned, and the whole labor of the summer fell into the hands of their Pennamite foes. The property lost was by no means inconsiderable, and the soldiers of the successful party were richly rewarded with plunder. This was the fourth total expulsion of the Yankee settlers. A small garrison of twenty men was left in the valley, for it was not to be supposed th^t these pestiferous Yankees, after this fourth expulsion, would ever come back again, and the Proprietaries thought they were secured in the peaceful possession of the valley forever, and persons to whom the Proprietaries had leased the land were expected to come out in the spring and erect suitable build- ings to open trade with the Indians. But: — On the 1 8th of December, suddenly, without the slightest previous notice, a "Hurrah for King George" startled the sleeping garrison, too confidently secure to keep a sentinel on guard, and Captain Lazarus Stewart with thirty men took possession of the ^6 HISTORY OF HANOVER. fortification they occupied in behalf of the Colony of Connecticut. The garrison were expelled from the valley as unceremoniously as had been the previous Yankee tenants. The expelled garrison themselves carried the news of their expulsion to Captain Ogden and the Proprietaries; and the Yankees were again in full posses- sion, and at once went to work on their farms. It being in the depth of winter their women and children had not been brought with them. In less than thirty days from the expulsion of the Pennsylvania party the Proprietary government had a force of more than a hundred men displayed before Fort Durkee in Wilkes-Barre. Now, Ogden built a fort near Fort Durkee and called it Fort Wyoming. Suffice it to say that the Yankees were driven off or captured by the end of January, 1771, and again imprisoned in the Easton jail. Some se\'ere fighting and loss of life occurred before all this was accomplished, Ogden's brother being one of the slain. This was the fifth total expulsion of the Yankees, but their families and flocks and herds and other property not being with them, their expulsion this time, was not so severely felt. The Easton people always bailed them out of jail. Early in April a party of armed Yankees, one hundred and fifty strong, entered the valley and forthwith laid vigorous siege to the Penn-sylvania party in their Fort Wyoming. Altliough the most of the events related above took place in Wilkes-Barre, settlers of Hanover took a leading part in them, Stewart being the most active among the leaders of the Yankee party, and being a Hanover settler. This last party of Yankees was led by Captain Zebulon Butler, with Captain Lazarus Stewart as second in command. This was not the first nor second appear- ance 'of Captain Butler here by any means, but we have not had special occasion to mention his name but once before. Captain Butler pushed on the siege and with true Yankee providence directed that at the same time the labors of the field should not be intermitted; and the flats, though with imperfect cultivation, yet from their extreme fertility soon produced a waving sea of luxuriant corn ; and summer fruits were in abundance, all a valuable prize for the party that should be victorious. WYOMING. "JJ News had been carried to the Proprietary government in Phila- delphia, and strenuous exertions were made to raise a body of men in the shortest time to relieve the besieged Peainsylvanians in the Wyoming fort. But no sufficient reinforcement was able to reach them in time, and they were starved out and had to surrender, — after some severe fighting and some fatal casualties on both sides, — on 14th of August, 1771. Thus foiled in every attempt to establish a post on the disputed lands ; becoming daily more and more unpopular, as the difficul- ties between the Colonies and Great Britain, which were now going on, increased, the Proprietary government left the Susquehanna Company in undisturbed possession of the ground, who forthwith proceeded with all practicable celerity to increase their settlements and consolidate their power. This closes the first Pennamite and Yankee war. It commenced in January, 1769 and continued till September, 1771, nearly three years, during which time the Yankee settlers were totally expelled five times, with the loss each time of nearly their whole property. But still they returned again and again and fought it out to final victory. But the final victory was not yet. Very little has been said about killed or wounded, because there was no real reason for it ; it is enough to say that blood had been flowing pretty freely, and many valuable lives had been lost. . CHAPTER IV. 1772-4. (^1[ FTER the massacre in 1763 the Indians generally left the CM. valley of Wyoming, but a number had returned, not as a '^^ >-^ tribe but scattered remnants of tribes. Some of them had been partially civilized by the Moravians ; a small number who were friendly and good neighbors, lived on the flats above Mill Creek. The men were good hunters and supplied vension and other wild game to such as could give something satisfactory to the Indian in exchange for it. Others lived at Maughwauwama, and Shawnee-, and Nanticoke. The inhabitants would leave their fortification after an early breakfast, taking a lunch with them and go armed to their daily labors in the fields. Stockades, or block-houses were built in Han- over and Plymouth. Forty Fort, in Kingston, was occupied. Many families returned that had not before come back, from some one or other of their expulsions, and new settlers came in from the East. Moving and removing, surveying, drawing lots for land-rights, building and preparing for buildjng, hastily clearing up patches for sowing with winter grain, — these were the matters of importance now. Great activity prevailed everywhere, but with all their industry and energy, the harvests in the fall of 1772 were not sufficient for their greatly augmented numbers. Then men were forced to hunt and fish for a living. But all were filled with exultation from having come off victorious, and, their comparative sense of security, and the pleasure of frequently meeting old acquaintances from Connecticut, or Lancaster county, who having been neighbors there were to be neighbors here; and then, to listen to and to tell of adventures and hair-breadth escapes ! These were delights to be enjoyed even on a hungry stomach ! The old settler of eighteen or eight months had long stories to tell to the newcomer. WYOMING. 79 The supplies were so nearly exhausted by February, 1773, that parties were sent from the settlements to the Delaware near Strouds- burg for provisions. There were no wagons, or wagon roads, nor horses to b;e had to carry the supplies on. They had to go on foot and carry the loads on their backs; and they were in danger also ■of falling into the hands of the hostile Pennsylvanians. But they found friends in the settlements there, and were secretely supplied and sent on their journey homeward. Never was an opening spring or the coming of the shad looked for with more anxiety, or hailed with more delight. " The fishing season dissipated all fears of further famine, and the dim eye was soon changed for the glance of joy and the sparkle of pleasure, and the dry, sunken cheek of want assumed the plump appearance of plenty and health." — Miner. A grist mill was built this year, 1773, at Mill Creek. The mill irons were brought up the river in a boat, pushed up with poles in the hands of the crew, from Wright's Ferry, opposite Columbia below Harrisburg. On the same Mill Creek below the grist mill, a saw mill was built during the summer. This was the first grist mill and first saw mill built in the Valley of Wyoming. Schools, and churches, or "meeting-houses" as they were called, were also provided for. Military organization was not neglected. Following the order then existing in New England, discipline was enforced as indispensible to the existence of the settlement. In each township a company was enrolled, and officers chosen and commissioned. ■"They had no splendid uniforms, no glittering bayonets, no impos- ing band of many instruments of music, at their training,'+)ut there were sturdy men there, with the strong banded old French musket, the long duck shooting piece, and, more efficient than all, the close drawing rifle, little known in New England, but becoming familiar among the settlers on the Susquehanna." — Miner. The percussion cap and lock were then unknown ; nothing but the flint-lock was used on a gun. Probably many men of to-day never saw a flint-lock gun^-certairily none of that day had ever seen a percussion lock. But such arms as they had were not to be despised at that day. They were well taken care of, too, for there was no knowing when they might be desperately needed by these pioneer settlers of a small colony pushed away out sixty miles beyond any other settlers, into the Indian country ; and such whites 80 HISTORY OF HANOVER. as were their nearest neighbors owning a jurisdiction inimical to them. They had not much law, but such law as was necessary for self protection they made for themselves in town-meeting, and they enforced it. Among these was one, that "Any person selling liquor to an Indian," was to forfeit his goods and be expelled the colony. In June, 1773, the Susquehanna Company met at Hartford and adopted twelve articles for the government of the settlement. These were in the nature of a constitution, as we would now term it. Every township procured a copy, and entered it at large in a book provided for the purpose. All the male inhabitants of the age of twenty -one years had to personally subscribe it with his own proper name or mark, and strictly abide by and fulfill it, and such persons as came in afterwards had to do the same; and such as neglected or refused to subscribe and abide by it, were not permitted to remain, nor admitted as settlers on the lands.* THE TWELVE ARTICLES OF GOVERNMENT. " 1st. We do solemnly profess and declare true and sincere allegiance to His Majesty, King George the Third, and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or potentate, hath, or ought to have any jurisdiction, power or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within the realm of England. " 2nd. We do solemnly promise and engage, that we will, so far as lietii in our power, behave ourselves peaceably, soberly and orderly towards each other in particular, and the world in general, caj-efully observing and obeying the laws of this colony, as binding- and of force with us equally in all respects, as though we actually resided within one of the counties of this colony" (of Connecticut). " 3rd. For the due enforcing such laws, as well as such other orders and regulations as shall, from time to time, be found necessary to be come into by said settlers and Company, we will immediately within each town already settled, and immediately after the settlement of those that may be hereafter settled, choose *This was in 1773. The present book containing the Hanover records was com- menced in 1776, and does not contain a copy of these articles of agreement. The copy here introduced is from Miner's History of Wyoming, copied by him from the Westmore- land Records. WYOMING. 8 1 three able and judipious men, among such settlers, to take upon them, under the general direction of the Company, the direction of the settlement of each such town, arid the well ordering and govern- ing the same, to suppress vice of every kind, preserve the peace of God and the King therein, to whom each inhabitant shall pay such and the same submission as is paid to the civil authority in the several towns in this colony; such inhabitants shall also choose, in each of their respective towns, one person of trust to be their officer, who shall be vested with the same power and authority, as a con- stable, by the laws of this colony is, for preserving the peace and apprehending offenders of a criminal or civil nature. "4th. The Directors in each town shall, on the first Monday of ,each month, and oftener, if need be, with such their peace officers, meet together, as well to consult for the good regulating thereof, as to hear and decide any differences that may arise, and to inflict proper fine or other punishment on offenders according to the general laws and rules of this colony, so far as the peculiar situation and circumstances of such town and plantation will 'admit of; and as the reformation of offenders is the principal object in view, always proffering serious admonition and advice to them, and their making public satisfaction, by public acknowledgement of their fault, and doing such public service to the plantation, as the Directors shall judge meet, to fines in money, or corporal punish- ment, which, however, in extreme cases, such Directors shall inflict, as said laws direct. "5th. The Directors of each individual town or plantation, shall, once every quarter, or three months, meet together to confer with each other on the state of each particular town in said settle- ment, and to come into such resolutions concerning them as they shall find for their best good, ^s also to hear the complaints of any that shall judge themselves aggrieved by the decision of their Directors in their several towns, who shall have right to appeal to such quarterly meeting. " 6th. No one convicted of sudden and violent breach of the peace, of swearing, drunkenness, stealing, gaming, fraud, idleness, and the like before the Directors of the particular town in which he lives, shall have liberty of appeal to such quarterly meeting, from the sentence of such particular Directors, without first procuring 82 HISTORY OF HANOVER. good security, to the satisfaction of such Directors, for his orderly and sober behavior until such meeting, and for his submitting to and complying with the sentence of such meeting. No one, in matters of private property, shall have liberty of appeal from such particular Directors, to such quarterly meeting of Directors where the controversy is not more than twenty shillings." {$3-33}i)- "7th. Such quarterly meeting of the Directors shall appoint an officer, statedly, to attend them as' their clerk, who shall care- fully register their proceedings, also an officer in the character' of general peace officer, or sheriff, who shall attend them, and to whom the inhabitants of the whole settlement submit in the same manner as the inhabitants of any county within this colony, by law are obliged, to their respective High Sheriff. " 8th. All persons within such settlement accused of the high handed crimes of adultery, burglary and the like, shall be arrainged before such quarterly meeting, and if convicted, shall be sentenced to banishment from such settlefnent, and a confiscation of all their personal effects therein, to the use of the town where such offense is committed, and should there still be the more heinous crime of murder committed, which God forbid, the offender shall be instantly arrested, and delivered into the hands of the nearest civil authority in Connecticut, and shall ' any person or persons be accused of counterfeiting the bills or coins of any province on this continent, and be thereof convicted before such quarterly meeting, the colony whose bills are thus counterfeited, shall have liberty to take such offender and punish him, he shall be instantly banished the settlement, and his personal effects be con- fficated as aforesaid, and all persons convicted of any heinous crime in any province on this continent, and, shall fly from justice, the inhabitants shall, as well directors and peace officers, as others, aid and assist their pursuers in apprehending them, that they may bp duly punished in the Government where they have offended. "9th. No appeal shall be from the doings of such quarterly meeting, or their decrees, to the Susquehanna Company in general, save vfhere the property of land is disputed, in which case the appellant shall first secure the appellee for his costs, if he make not his appeal good before the Company. WYOMING. 83 " loth. The inhabitants of each town, to wit: — All the males of twenty-one years and upwards, and a proprietor in one of the said towns, shall annually meet, on the first Monday in December, and choose Directors for such town, with their peace officers, and other officers, that shall be found necessary for the ensuing year, and the Directors, etc., that now may be chosen, shall have authority until new are chosen and no longer. " nth. The Directors of each town shall make out and exhibit to their first quarterly meeting, a list in the ratable estate and polls of the inhabitants of each town, and such quarterly meetings shall have power to assess the inhabitants for defraying public expenses, as also to enforce the assessment made in each particular town, if need be. " 1 2th. The law regulating the militia of this colony shall be particularly attended to by the Directors of the respective towns, and the general regulations thereof, as the particular circumstances of the people require, shall be in the power of such general quarterly meeting." Then follows a solemn pledge that they will all abide faithfully by the above regulations, or any other they may make until they are made a part of a county, or a county themselves, or a colony, by the proper authority. Persons were appointed Directors in each of the townships to attend to this matter at once ; and " For the township of Hanover, Captain Lazarus Stewart,, William Stewart and John Franklin," were appointed. This would, seem to be a purely republican-democratic govern- ment, limited only by a few articles in a voluntary agreement between private parties, for their mutual protection and government. But then these were Yankees, and the Yankees seem always to h^ve taken law, (as well as other matters) with them wherever they went, if there was none there when they got there. In 1 774 the General Assembly of Connecticut passed an Act erecting all the territory within her charter limits from the river Delaware, to a line fifteen miles west of the Susquehanna into a town, with all the corporate powers of other towns in the colony of Connecticut,, to be called Westmoreland, attaching it to the county of Litchfield. » This most desirable event was hailed by the people of Wyoming with unbounded satisfaction. Venerating law, they 84 HISTORY OF HANOVER. now felt that it pervaded the settlement with a holier sanction than their own mere agreement, or the resolutions of the Susque- hanna Company could impart. A sense of security existed, a feel- ing of confidence ensued which gave force to contracts, encouraged industry and stimulated enterprise. Now we should take notice that this town differed from a town- ship. There were several townships within this town. The town- ship had power to make needful rules and by-laws for their interior regulation, the establishment of roads, the care or disposal of vacant lots, and other matters entirely local. One would now think the powers of the townships of those days pretty large. A town-meeting after this when "lega;lly warned," called together all the freemen of all the townships or settlements, from the Delaware to fifteen miles west of the Susquehanna, north to "Tioga Point" — now Athens. Now, let us take a view of a town -meeting, the first one ever called in the town of Westmoreland. Notice what a pure democ- racy was here. Did these people, under allegiance, as they were, to a king, know what they were doing? 'At a town-meeting legally warned and held for Westmoreland, March ye ist, 1774, for choosing town officers, etc., Zebulon Butler, Esquire, was chosen Moderator for the work of the day. Major Ezkiel Pierce was chosen town clerk. "March ye ist, 1774. Voted that this meeting is adjourned until to-morrow morning at eight of ye clock in ye forenoon. "March ye 2nd, 1774, this meeting is opened and held by ad- journment. Voted that ye town of Westmoreland be divided in the following manner into districts — that is to say: — That ye town of Wilkes-Barre be one entire district, and known by the name of Wilkes-Bar;-e District. And that ye town of Hanover, and all the land south of Wilkes-Barre, and west on the Susque- hanna river, and east on the Lehigh, be one district by the name of Hanover District. And that Plymouth with all ye land west of Susquehanna river," (The town of Westmoreland extended fifteen miles west of the Susquehanna river.) "south and west to the town line, be one district, by the name of Plymouth District. And^that Kingston with ye land west to the town line, be one* district, by ye name of Kingston District. And that Pittston be one district, by ■ WYOMING. 85 ye name of Pittston District. An(J that Exeter, Providence, and all the land west and north to ye town line be one district by ye name of ye North District. . And that Lackaway settlement, and Blooming Grove, and Sheolah, be one district, and to be called by ye name of ye Lackaway District." (This last was mostly on the Lackawaxen River, now in Pike county.) "And that Coshutunk, and all ye settlement on Delaware, be one district, and joined' to ye other districts, and known by ye name of ye East District." SELECT MEN. "Christopher Avery, Nathaniel Landon, Samuel Ransom, Isaac Tripp, Esqr., Caleb Bates, Lazarus Stewart, Silas Parke, were chosen Select JMen for the year ensuing. Isaac Tripp, Esqr., refused to accept; John Jenkins was chosen Select Man in ye room of Esqr. Tripp. Captain Stewart refused to accept. Rosewell Franklin was chosen Select Man in ye room of Captain Stewart. TOWN TREASURER. "Zebulon Butler, Esqr., was chosen Town Treasurer. CONSTABLES AND COLLECTORS OF RATES. "Asa Stevens, Timothy Smith, Jonathan Haskel, Asaph Whit- tlesey, Noah Adams, Phineas Clark, William SmitR, were chosen Constables and Collectors of Rates. SURVEYORS OF HIGHWAYS. "Anderson Dana, Daniel Gore, Elisha Swift, Thomas Stoddart, Jonathan Parker, Isaac Baldwin, Thomas Bennett, Perrin Ross, Rufus Lawrence, Samuel Ransom, Zavan Tracy, Elisha Witter, Tohn Ainsley, William Hibbard, James Lastley, John Dewitt, John Jenkins, Jr., Aaron Thomas, Anthony Chimer, Abraham Russ, Benjamin Vancampin, Benjamin Harvey, were chosen Surveyors of Highways. FENCE VIEWERS. "John Abbott, William Warner, Ezekiel Pierce, William Buck, ISlathan Denison, Esqr., Thomas Stoddart, Frederick Eveland, John Baker, Charles Gaylord, Samuel Slaughter, Abraham Harding, Captain Parrish, John Jamison, John Gardner, were chosen Fence "Viewers for ye year ensuing. 86 HISTORY OF HANOVER. LEATHER SEALERS. "Elisha Swift, Ebenezer Hibbard, and Captain Silas Parke, were chosen Leather Sealers for ye year ensuing. LISTERS. [Assessors f] "Anderson Dana, Daniel Gore, Elisha Swift, Eliphalet Follet, Perrin Ross, Nathan Wade, Jeremiah Blanchard, Zavan Tracy, Uriah Chapman, Gideon Baldwin, Silas Gore, Moses Thomas, ■ Emanuel Consawler, John Jenkins and Phineas Clark were chosen Listers for ye year ensuing. GRAND JURORS. "Jabez Sill, James Stark, William Buck, Elias Church, Phineas Nash, Thomas Heath, Barnabas Cary, Lemuel Harding, Hezekiah Bingham, John Franklin, Timothy Keys, were chosen Grand Jurors ye year ensuing. TYTHING MEN. " Philip Weeks, Elihu Williams, Luke Swetland Justice Gaylord, James Brown, Isaac Parrish, Timothy Hopkins, were chosen Tyth- ing Men. SEALERS OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. "Jabez Sill, Captain Obadiah Gore, Captain Silas Parke, Captain Lazarus Stewart, were chosen Sealers of Weights and Measures. KEY KEEPERS.* "Daniel Gore, Jabez Fish, Timothy Pierce, Uriah Stevens, Thomas Heath, Jeremiah Blanchard, Jonathan Haskel, Zipron Hibbard, were chosen Key Keepers. "Thus was the town organized by the designation of one hundred officers." — Miner. In April a second town-meeting was held. Two hundred and six persons took the Freeman's oath, as required by law. A tax was laid of one penny in the pound, "to purchase ammunition for the town's use, and other necessaries." "Pounds" were ordered built, *The duties of the Key Keeper were to hold the keys of the fort or block-house, the church, the school-house, and the pound. WYOMING. 87 and others already, built were declared lawful. Roads heretofore established were declared lawful, and the taxes were to be used upon them. A "Town Sign Post" was established — a tree on the river bank at Wilkes-Barre. A legal sign post was a weighty matter in those days. Newspapers were not published in the town then, of course, and yet there had to be some method of advertising legal papers , sales by the sheriff, administrations, public notices, meetings legally warned, advertising strays, and a hundred other things; but this is hint enough what that sign post was for. It was the place for holding town-meetings, elections, the public hall for conducting the public business. Township town-meetings were held in a house. But that same post was for another purpose also. It was the "Whipping Post." And a pair of "stocks" was provided there at that post also, for the punishment of the guilty, and as a warning to deter from crime. No one of the present age remembers when any such punish- ments were inflicted, for they were long since abolished. "They were monuments of civilization brought over from England by our ancestors when they first came over, and were not considered use- less for the prevention of crime for at least a hundred and fifty y&2ss>y-^— Miner. . An enumeration of the number of inhabitants in Westmoreland was made this year, ifT\. The number was 1,922. Of these there were in Hanover probably about 21D or 215. CHAPTER V. 1774, CONTINUED. /[N these town-meetings, every freeman, or person who had V taken the freeman's oath, had the right to vote. The voters ^"""^ came from all the different townships or districts, and it will be seen that some had to come fifty miles or more through the wilderness, where there were in those early days only foot-paths. In the autumn of 1774, a comniittee was appointed in town-meeting to mark out ^ road from the Delaware River to the Susquehanna, so we may be quite certain that up to this time no road existed from any direction into Wyoming Valley, but only paths. The river was, of course, a public highway, as it has always been. The last thing done in town-meeting this year, was to appoint a school committee; two persons from each. township or "District." No matter what happened these people never forgot to provide for schooling their children. Three whole rights of four hundred acres each — twelve hundred acres of land — were set aside for the ministry and schools in each township. At this time there were not more than two hundred and fifteen inhabitants in Hanover township. The next year there were a little over two thousand in the whole of Westmoreland all told, and they were much the most numerous in Wilkes-Barre and Kingston. On April 19, 1775, the battle of Lexington was fought with the British soldiers in Massachusetts, and on the 17th of June the battle of Bunker's Hill. The people of Westmoreland in town-meeting legally warned August ist^ 1775, "Voted that this town does now vote that they will strictly observe and follow ye rules and regula- tions of ye Honorable Continental Congress, now sitting at Philadelphia." "Resolved, by this town that they are willing to make any accommodations with the Pennsylvania party that shall conduce WYOMING. 89 to ye best good of ye whole, not infringing on the property of any person, and come in common cause of liberty in ye defense of America, and that we will amicably give them ye offer of joining ye proposals as,soon as may be." They desired to adjourn their quarrels with the Pennsylvanians until the continent had settled with the English. But the Pennsyl- vanians would not. This was before the Declaration of Independence. There was no place within the thirteen colonies where more patriotic zeal was displayed in favor of freedom from the tyranny of the British gov- ernment than Westmoreland. They were a reading people and greedily devoured the contents of such newspapers as the new immigrants brought into the settlements. They were passed round and neighbor would read to neighbor, so that no one was unin- formed of what was taking place in the outside world. It had now been some four years since the first " Pennamite and Yankee War" had ended, and the settlements were growing larger, and better houses, and better farming implements, and better farms were had, and peace seemed to reign secure. / But now, on the eve of a war with England, another Pennsylvania invasion was planned, to be led by one Colonel Wm. Plunket. Excitement prevailed on both sides, it is said; it certainly did here. Early in Decetnber, 1775, Colonel Plunket took up his line of march from Northumberland along the Susquehanna river, with five hundred men well armed and equipped, and with cannon and stores in boats, under orders from the Proprietary government to destroy the settlements and drive off the Connecticut settlers from the Wyoming country. Of the settlers who had taken the freeman's oath the whole number in Westmoreland was but two hundred and eighty-five, and of these several came from the Lackawaxen settlement, more than forty miles east of Wyoming. The young men from fifteen to twenty-one rallied with spirit on the occasion. There were not fire-arms enough in the settlements to arm them all — they numbered about three hundred — so scythes were fastened on handles as straight as possible; the boys that carried these called them "the end of time." Rude spears also were made for close quarters, if they should come to that. This was the second Pennamite and Yankee War. 6* 90 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Colonel Plunket arrived with his forces at the western opening of the Valley, just below and across the river from Nanticoke, at the mouth of Harvey's Creek, on the 23d of December. A few rods above the creek the Yankees had thrown up a rude breastwork of stones and dirt. The next day, the 24th, Plunket attacked the breastwork, and was defeated. There was some loss of life on both sides, but Plunket retreated and was not followed up by the Yankees. Up to this time the winter had been very open and there was no ice in the river. After the attack on the breastwork, Plunket sent a boat loaded with men, across the river and up above the falls, to go up the river far enough to cross over again and get in the rear of the Yankees, but the Yankees, who had expected such a manoeuvre, had placed a small party (20 men) at the proper point above the falls to intercept them, and at the proper moment they fired upon the boat. They killed one and wounded several others. The men in the boat lay down, and begged the Yankees to cease firing and let them steer their boat down the falls; for they knew that unless the boat was properly steered down it would capsize and be sure death for all of them. The Yankees consented,.^ and they passed down safely. And so ended the expedition of Colonel Plunket. This last the writer heard told by an eycTwitnes?, a boy of fifteen at the time, who drove an ox-cart loaded with provisions, from Wilkes-Barr,e down on the Hanover side of the river, and arrived there in time to see this boat, and hear the party in it beg for life. While this was going on, the Connecticut Assembly resolved not to make any more settlements at Wyoming. But settlers con- tinued to come. And so ended 1775. And, now comes in the memorable year that marks the birth of a new nation ; one destined probably to excel all others in numbers, wealth, discovery, invention, learning, and national progress, (unless corruption .ruins us). According to the most reliable estimates and calculations, there were about two thousand five hundred inhabitants in the whole town of Westmoreland in 1776, contained in seven townships includ- ing the one at Lackawaxen and the one on the Delaware, and the one on the Lackawanna (Providence). How many then did Han- over, and its district contain? Wilkes-Barre and Kingston being the most thickly settled, it is probable that the other townships did WYOMING. 91 not contain more than three hundred inhabitants each, if so many, and of these not more than sixty were adult men, old and young, in each township. In an assessment made in 1774, corrected for 1775, the whole of Westmoreland is assessed at forty-three thousand six hundred and ten dollars — as reduced from the pounds, shillings and pence of the old Connecticut currency of six shillings to the dollar. The sum assessed as the value of property in Wilkes-Barre in this assessment, was twelve thousand one hundred and fiffy-three dollars and thirty- four cents. This was considerably more than one-fourth of the whole. If the same proportion held good in inhabitants as in property, then Wilkes-Barre had about six hundred and twenty-five inhabitants, Kingston about the same, and each of the other town- ships an average of about two hundred and fifty each ; and this was probably very near the truth of the matter. It must be remembered that there was almost no business carried on except farming. - That was the business, and such trades as were necessarily connected with it, such as blacksmiths, coopers, wheel- wrights, etc., and all buying and selling was by barter. Every man took his pay " in kind," and kept his accounts in pounds, shillings and pence. The only dollars known in those days were Spanish dollars.* The same Spanish dollars with fractional currency in Spanish silver coin, continued in use in the United States until 1853, when Congress concluded that we could coin a currency for our- selves, and passed an act that had the effect of retiring those Spanish coins. In 1776 at a town-meeting held in Westmoreland in Marck, " Voted that the first man that shall make fifty weight of good salt- peter in this town, shall be entitled to a bounty of ten pounds, lawful money; to be paid out of the town treasury." A subsidy! So — they wished to encourage the manufacture of salt-peter ! It was too far and too dangerous in this frontier settlement in time of war, sur- rounded by lurking, hostile savages, to carry powder for so long a distance, or to have to depend upon that method of getting it, or even *Before the revolutionary war ended, Congress had authorized the issue of many millions of a legal tender paper currency in dollars, and called Continental Currency. It became almost valueless in about three years; five and six hundred dollars of it being worth, or exchangeable, for one silver dollar. 92 HISTORY OF HANOVER. to carry salt-peter so far, if they had had the means of buying it> and SO they made their own. It is well to be able to make every- thing we want, even if it costs a little more, so that in case of necessity we can be independent of any outside supply. It may not in all cases be the cheapest to buy where one can get it the cheapest. " Circumstances alter cases." This was not an idle offer of a bounty, that was not intended nor expected to produce any result. It produced the result desired, and salt-peter was made here, and powder made at home in their own settlements, and nothing but sulphur had to be brought from abroad. Who knows but they would have made that also if a bounty had been offered. They could probably have made it from our coal. Hereafter the manufacture of salt-peter will be described. At the same town -meeting: "Voted, that the Selectmen be directed to dispose of the grain now in the hands of the Treasurer, or Collector, in such way as to obtain powder and lead to the value of forty pounds lawful money, if they can do the same." From this, one can plainly see that there was no money of any account among the settlers, and their taxes were paid " in kind." And from the above it would appear that Selectmen were officers similar to our present county commissioners, but that they were subject to orders from town meetings. At a town-meeting held in August, 1776, "Voted as the opinion of this meeting that it now becomes necessary for the inhabitants of this town to erect suitable forts as a defense against our common enemy." Sites were fixed upon for the forts in Pittston, Wilkes- Barre, Hanover and Plymouth. And there was adopted the follow- ing vote: — "That the above said committee, — (a committee elected to attend to the locating and planning of the forts,) — do recommend it to the people to proceed forthwith in building said forts without either fee or reward from ye town." And they were so built by the poor settlers of the different townships. It is to be hoped the patriot- ism of the present is not inferior to that of the past. Independence declared, the Indians that still lived in the valley began to be impudent and insolent, and to demand provisions and liquor with an air of authority and expressions implying threats of vengeance if refused. Matters growing worse and worse, and look- ing so threatening for the people of this far frontier," Congress being WYOMING. 93 fully informed of the situation of Westmoreland and its needs, in August, 1776, "Resolved that two companies on the Continental establishment, be raised in the town of Westmoreland, and stationed in proper places for the defense of the inhabitants of said town and parts adjacent." They were to serve wherever ordered, and serve during the war unless sooner discharged by Congress. In less than sixty days both companies were full, numbering eighty-four men each, all able- bodied men. They had to furnish their own arms, and all the best arms in the settlements were taken by them. They were enlisted to defend Westmoreland, but the disasters to Washington's army in. New York, and the retreat across New Jersey from post to post, and crossing the Delaware into Pennsylvania, with troops dispirited, almost naked and barefooted in December, Congress resolved December 12th, 1776, "That the two companies raised in the town of Westmoreland be ordered to join General Washington with all possible expedition." And on the same day adjourned from Phila- delphia to meet on the 20th at Baltimore. Thus were our "boys" raised for the defense of our own homes from the savage Indians and to/ies, armed by ourselves, with our best and nearly all, our arms, taken away with these our arms, and kept away until after the massacre at Wyoming in 1778 ! The town of Westmoreland was this year, 1776, erected into a county, and the county seat fixed at Wilkes-Barre. ' 1777. Throughout the year 1777 schools engaged the greatest attention. They levied an extra penny in the pound for free schools. Each township was established a legal school district, with power to rent the lands "sequestered by the Susquehanna Company therein for the use of schools, and also receive of the school coinmittee appointed by their town, their part of the county money, according to their respective rates." — Miner. "Surrounded by mountains, by a wide spreading wilderness, and by dreary wastes, shut out from all the usual sources of in- formation, a people so inquisitive could not live in those exciting times without the news. Fortunately an old, torn, smoke-dried paper has fallen into our possession, which shows that the people of Wyoming established a post to Hartford, to go once a fortnight and bring on the papers. A Mr. Prince Bryant was engaged as 94 HISTORY OF HANOVER. post rider for nine months. More than fifty subscribers remain to the paper, which evidently must have been more numerous, as it is torn in the center. The sums given varied from one to two dollars each. Payment for the newspapers was, of course, a separate matter. It may well be questioned whether there is another instance in the States, of a few settlers, especially as those at Wyoming were situated, establishing at their own expense, a post to bring them the newspapers from a distance of two hundred and fifty miles!" ^Miner. During the summer active measures were in progress to place the settlements in the best posture of defense the circumstances would admit. By detachments the people worked on the several forts, built upon a larger scale, and with greater strength, but in the same manner as those of Forts Wyoming and Durkee in Wilkes-Barre. That is, by large logs fifteen or eighteen feet long, and from one to two feet in diameter, set upright or on end in a trench four feet deep in the ground, closely, side by side. The one in Wilkes-Barre was on the Public Square on the south side of where the court house now stands, and inclosed about a half an acr^ of ground. , "The venerable Major Eleazer Blackman says : 'I was then a boy of about thirteen, but was called on to work in the fortifications. With spade and pick I could not do much, but I could drive oxen and haul logs.' Every sinew from childhood to old age was thus put in requisition." — Miner. The young and active men were employed upon scouting parties to guard the inhabitants from being surprised, and fo bring intelligence of occurrences up the river, in the direction of the Indian towns, and the British at Niagara. Some portion of the militia was constantly on duty. It was necessary, as most of the able-bodied men were away with the army, and these settlements so exposed. The old men formed themselves into companies and per- formed diJty in the forts. These companies of ancient men were called Reformadoes. Where the block-house thus built in Hanover stood is not now certainly known ; nor the commander of the Re- formadoes ; but it is probable it was somewhere near, but below the Hanover basin ; and that Jonathan Fitch, the sheriff of the county,' commanded the Reformadoes. WYOMING. 95 Our two companies in the army were not idle. They were in battle the first time at Mill Stone, and lost some men killed. They were in action at Bound Brook, at Brandywine, at Germantown, and at Mud Fort. The State tax on the assessment of 1777 was two shillings* on the pound, amounting to two thousand and thirty-two pounds, five shillings and eight pence, lawful money, with all additions thereto. The assessed value of the whole town or county of Westmoreland was twenty thousand three hundred and twenty-two pounds, seven- teen shillings. This assessment in dollars and cents, at six shillings Connecticut currency to the dollar, amounts to sixty-seven thousand seven hundred and forty-one dollars and sixteen cents ; and the tax to six thousand seven hundred and seventy-four dollars and a frac- tion. The proportion falling upon Hanover would be about six hundred and seventy-eight dollars, not counted in depreciated paper. It will be noticed that this is ten per cent, of the total valu- ation. Consider also the value of labor then. A day's work of a skilled hand was 3j.=5o cents. Compare it with the present price, ^2.25 to ^^2.50 per day. To equal that now, it would be ^40 or ^58 State tax on every man. This was a State tax alone. There were now probably not more than fifty or seventy families, if so many, or seventy full grown men in all Hanover, and they poor immigrant families, struggling to make a living out of the soil, building forts and block-houses without pay, to protect themselves and families from a public enemy, farms not yet cleared up, stumps still standing in the fields that were cleared, and the fields but small for want of time since they had last fought the Pennamites, — how were they to ■ pay something like nine or thirteen dollars per man State tax alone. After this came the county, road, poor, and school taxes in ad- dition! Well, a war for independence was going oh, and th^se. people — the Puritans — were then, as they always have been since, among the most patriotic, liberty-loving people in the world. They *A dollar in sterling money is four shillings and six pence. But the price of a dollar rose in New York to eight shillings, in New England to six sljillings, in New Jersey, PenHsylvania and Maryland to seven shillings and six pence, in Virginia to six shillings, in North Carolina to eight shillings, in South Carolina and Georgia to four shillings and eight pence. This difference, originating between paper and specie, or bills, continued afterwards to exist in the nominal estimation of gold and silver. — Franklin's Miscellane- ous Works. 96 HISTORY OF HANOVER. were willing to serve their country with their personal service and their means, — always their full share. They were mostly descend- ants of those mentioned in the following quotation : "The emigrants, or as they deservedly styled themselves, the 'Pilgrims,' belonged to that English sect, the austerity of whose principles had acquired for them the name of Puritans. Puritanism was not merely a religious doctrine, but it corresponded in many points with the most absolute democratic and republican theories. It was this tendency which had aroused its most dangerous adver- saries. Persecuted by the government of the mother country, and disgusted by the habits of a society opposed to the rigor of their own principles, the Puritans went forth to seek some rude and un- frequented part of the world where they could live according to their own opinions and worship God in freedom. All, without a single exception, had received a good education, and many of them were known in Europe for their talents and for their acquirements. These men possessed, in' proportion to their number, a greater mass of intelligence than is to be found in any other European nation of our own time." — DetocquevilW s Democracy in America. Under the circumstances one would suppose nothing would have been asked from them for State purposes. What has Connecticut ever done for them in return for all this? Let it be remembered also that their own Assessors — Listers they called them — elected from among themselves by themselves, put the valuation on their property. Let us show one more picture of these people during the year 1777. At a town-meeting, legally warned, December 30th, "Voted by this town, that the Committee of Inspection be em- powered to supply the 'sogers' ' wives, and 'sogers' ' widows and their families, with the necessaries of life." These Inspectors were not "Overseijrs of the Poor," but a committee appointed to see that the faaiilies of our absent soldiers should not suffer for food, nor become paupers. The townships each separately took care of their own paupers and the usual method of providing for them was to call the people together by advertisement to a public auction by a "crier," and they were "sold," as it was termed, to the bidder who would keep them — the paupers — for a year at the lowest price. The next year the same thing would occur, and so on as long as there was a pauper. The pauper was sometimes a weak-minded WYOMING.- 97 person, but otherwise strong, and more or less able and willing to work, and they did not always cost the township anything. Hanover does not now — 1884 — dispose of her paupers in that way. Hanover, together with four other townships, in 1862, bought a farm in Newport township to put their paupers on, and procured a charter of incorporation for it as the "Central Poor District of Luzerne County." There our Poor House is erected. The next year they were joined by Kingston, and the second year by Wilkes- Barre borough. How the other townships in the county provide for their paupers it is not necessary to state in a history of Hanover. • After the Declaration of Independence a law was passed requir- ing a new oath of allegiance to the State of Connecticut instead of the king. Up to the spring of 1778, in the several town-meetings the oath of fidelity had been administered to two hundred and fifty- nine freemen in the county. This would seem to indicate that the estimate on a preceding page was too large for Hanover, and it probably was thirty instead of fifty or seventy, unless many had not taken the oath. "Justice demands a tribute to the praiseworthy spirit of the wives and daughters of Wyoming. While their husbands and fathers were on public duty they cheerfully assumed a large portion of the labor, which females could do. They assisted to plant, made hay, husked and garnered corn. As the settlement was mainly depend- . ent on its own resources for powder, Mr. Hollenback caused to be brought up the river a pounder and "the- women took up their floors, dug out the earth, put it in casks and ran water through it, — as ashes are leached, — took ashes in another cask and made lye, mixed the water from the earth with weak lye, boiled it, set it to cool, and the salt-peter rose to the top. Charcoal and sulphur were then used, and powder produced for the public defense." "The statement of Mrs. Bertha Jenkins, at the age of eighty- four, giving an account of the process of obtaining salt-peter, shows that it was a familiar and common transaction. We have been more particular in the quotation, as the fact is remarkable, showing that even powder was not furnished them." — A foot-note in Miner. 7 98 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The writer has heard the same description of the method of obtaining salt-peter from the old soldier and settler heretofore mentioned in these pages. 1778 is the year of the Wyoming Massacre. The two companies in the army had been obliged to find their ov^n arms, and equip- ments, and had taken the most of the fire-arms, and all of the best ones, with them. The people had not sufficient arms such as they were, even of poor ones, to fully arm themselves, and affairs at the north among the Indians and the British at Niagara, began to look very threatening. March 16, 1778, Congress authorized "one full company of foot to be raised in the town of Westmoreland on the east bank of the Susquehanna, for the defense of the said town, and the settlements on the frontiers and in the neighborhood thereof, against the Indians and enemies of the States;" and "that the company find their own arms, accoutrements and blankets." Is there any use of comment here? They could do all this without any authority from Con- gress. There was no help, no assistance in this. This seems almost like an insult! Wyoming was doomed by selfishness, or thought- lessness, or pig-headedness. A frontier like this, away off in the advance, with'their men and their arms taken away for service else- where, and not returned when imminent danger threatened, and Congress knew it all when the above-mentioned company was authorized to be raised March 16, 1778. We need not enumerate . the petitions and letters to Congress, and to Connecticut, with re- gard to the matter, but' they were both fully informed of the con- ■ dition of things here, that the Indians and British were preparing to attack us. Finally our soldiers, or such of them as were left in Washington's army were organized into one company, on June 23, (ten days before the. battle and massacre), and sent to Lan- caster, and soon after to Wyoming — but too late! They could not get here in time by forced marches ! In the month of May our scouts began to meet partfes of the enemy. Occasionally shots were exchanged. The settlements were found to be watched from all directions. The people in the outer settlement^ fled to the forts, the wives of the soldiers sent messages to their husbands calling upon them by every tender tie WYOMING. 99 to come home and protect them. Congress and Connecticut would not let them go. At last they let them go, but 'twas too late ! They had not time to get here — though they made forced marches — till 'twas all over ! Well, was anything ever done for us afterwards on account of this wrong? CHAPTER VI. THE BATTLE AND MASSACRE OF WYOMING. jjj ANOVER had a company of forty men or more in the battle. ^ w Captain William McKarrican was the commander of the militia company. " He was a school-teacher, little used to war, though brave and active, a valuable man, he gave up the com- mand to Captain Lazarus Stewart." — Miner. Lazarus Stewart, Jr., a cousin of the captain, was lieutenant. Silas Gore was ensign. Both captains, the lieutenant and the ensign were killed in the Wyorning Massacre. The enemy numbering about four hundred British Provincials, consisting of Colonel John Butler's Rangers, a detachment of Sir John Johnson's Royal Greens, the rest being tories from Pennsyl- vania, New Jersey, and New York, together with six or seven hundred Indians, descended the Susquehanna from Tioga Point — now Athens — landed below the mouth of Bowman's Creek, about twenty miles above the valley; securing their boats they marched by land, arrived on the western mountains on the evening of the 29th of June, or the morning of the 30th. "All our men, six companies of about two hundred and seventy- five men, gathered into Forty Fort, in Kingston. Many old men, some of them grandfathers, took their muskets and marched to the field, so that the whole number, militia-men, old men, and boys, were about three hundred." — Miner. The companies as they went into battle July 3, 1778, were as follows : — ist-r-Captain Dethic Hewitt's — called regulars — from the valley. 2d — Captain Asaph Whittlesey — from Plymouth. 3d — Captain Wm. McKarrachan — Hanover — command given up to Capt. Lazarus Stewart, Rosewell Franklin was lieutenant. 4th — Captain James Bidlack, Jr. — Lower Wilkes-Barre. WYOMING. lOI Sth — Captain Rezin Geer — Upper Wilkes-Barre. 6th — Captain Aholiah Buck — Kingston. Our home militia companies were organized before the Wyoming Massacre (1775) as follows: — 1st Company — Capt. Stephen Fuller, Lieut. John Garrett, Ensign Christopher Avery. 2d Company — Capt. Nathaniel Landon, Lieut. Geo. Dorrance, Ensign Asahel Buck. 3d Company — Capt. Samuel Ranson, Lieut. Perrin Ross, Ensign Asaph Whittlesey. 4th Company — Capt. Solomon Strong, Lieut. Jonathan Parker, Ensign Timothy Keys. 5th Company — Capt. Wm. McKarrachan, Lieut. Lazarus Stewart, Jr., Ensign Silas Gore. 6th Company — Capt. Rezin Geer, Lieut. Daniel Gore, Ensign Matthias Hpllenback. On the 3d of July they marched out of Forty Fort and up about four miles where they met the enemy. "It was about four o'clock when the order to advance to the attack was given. The men having been told off into odds and evens, were ordered to advance alternately by numbers, five steps, then halt and fire, when the then rear file would again advance and fire in their turn. For awhile the firing was rapid and steady along the American line, and was returned in an equally spirited manner. The enemy's left being hard pressed by Captain Hewitt's company on our right, began to recoil, and a shout ran along the line that the British were being driven back. At this critical moment the greatly superior number of the enemy enabled the Indians on our left to outflank the Americans at that end of the line, and while Capt. Whittlesey was hotly engaged in front, a large number of Indians had penetrated the swamp and were emerging from the thicket some distance in his rear. Seeing this movement Col. Dennison ordered Whittlesey's command to change front and form a line facing the enemy in that direction. "The battle had now raged for over half an hour and was becoming hot and furious. The savages rushed in with fearful yells; still our men stood firm, returning shot for shot without thought of giving way before the furious onslaught, but when the order was ' 102 HISTORY OF HANOVER. given by Capt. Whittlesey for his command to "wheel backward from the left with a view of forming a right angle with the original line, the order was understood by the men to be to retreat, and they at once became demoralized and broke and fled in the wildest confusion. It was in vain that Col. Butler strove to rally his men by recklessly exposing his own life as he passed along the line between the two fires; but it was too late; a panic had seized upon these raw militia which the assu'ring words of no general could allay, and they broke and fled as the yelling savages doubled up our line by their onward rush from the left flank. The right stood its ground with desperate heroism. One of Capt. Hewitt's officers said to him, 'we are beaten, the Indians have gained our rear, shall we retreat?' 'No! I'll be d d if I do while a man stands by me,* was the heroic reply, and he died at his post pierced by a shot from the British Rangers. Thus ended the battle of Wyoming, but not The Massacre. "A portion of the Indians, who had thus flanked the American left, did not stop to give the finishing blow to this doomed band of patriots, but pushed forward to the rear of the defeated army, to cut off its retreat to Forty Fort, thus completely hemming in those who sought to save themselves by flight, the river forming one side of the enclosure. Being thus surrounded on all sides, con-sternation reigned supreme, with men running hither and thither impelled by a sudden fear, the slaughter went on while a man was left within the fatal enclosure. Some were taken prisoners by the Greens and Rangers of Col. John Butler, (the British commander), but these were sub- sequently massacred in the most cruel and revolting manner by the Indians on the night of that dreadful day. Seventeen were slaugh- tered by that semi-savage Hecate, Queen Esther, on a flat rock a short distance above the battle ground. Groups of other dead bodies were found in the vicinity, showing that they had been murdered in the most shocking manner after they had been taken prisoners."^ Wesley Johnson. Our people fled towards the river; some on the left got through the line of Indians and ran down towards Forty Fort. A few of them reached the fort ; but the old men and young boys were over- taken and killed. Of those also, principally from the right of our line, that ran towards the river, the weak or slow, the old men and 'the young boys were killed -or captured on the way. The most WYOMING. 103 vigorous alone, that were not shot on the way, reached the river ahead of the Indians. Then, as they were only a few rods off in the river when the Indians reached the bank, the Indians tried to coax them back by promising them their lives. Some went back, but as soon as they got out of the water they were tomahawked or speared. Those that could not be coaxed back swam across the river, or to Monocony island, opposite which many of the fugitives reached the river. Some were shot in the river as they swam; but such as reached the island had a little rest before swimming across to the other shore. The island was covered with brush and small trees, and some of the fugitives hid there. The Indians soon came over to the island, at least by the time it tegan to get dark, and killed all they found there. Some, however, were securely hidden and escaped. On this island that night, a tory, with his own hand killed his patriot brother. Their name was Pencil. The island is probably one huAdred and fifty or sixty rods long and twenty rods wide. It is called Monockonack, Monocony, and Monocosy. Steuben Jepkins says", "there were about four hundred of our men altogether, including the^ix companies, and the old men and boys ; and that about three hundred of them were killed. And that in the flight of the women and children and the few men that escaped, through the mountains, woods and swamps to the east, about two hundred perished. Many of tMose who escaped with their lives to the east never returned. The orphans that lived were bound out to tradesmen and farmers. Many of these returned after they grew up." The grandfather of the writer, on his mother's side, who was in the battle and escaped, belonged to Captain Bidlack's company, in which there were thirty-eight men. Of these only eight escaped according to Miner (but there were eleven in fact, that escaped). And yet he was on the right of the battle, and was nearer the river, and it might be supposed therefore, that more of these escaped in the flight, in proportion, than of those further to the left. The writer possesses the names of those that escaped of Bidlack's com- pany, written down by this old veteran's own hand. Col. Wright in his Sketches of Plymouth says that in 1837, he carefully wrote down the narrative of Samuel Finch, one of the sur- I04 HISTORY OF HANOVER. vivors of the battle, and in that interview Mr. Finch told hirh : — "That he, with another soldier, was stationed at the gateway of Forty Fort by Colonel Butler to count the men as they passed out to battle; and that including the regulars and militia, there were four hundred arid eighty-four men!' If, then, the killed was the same throughout, as in Capt. Bidlack's company, the killed would number more than three hundred and eighty, and the survivors would number one hundred and four or less. Miner says one hundred and forty escaped. The following is a list of the killed in the battle and massacre, so far as persons could be recollected. The names are mostly from Miner's History of Wyoming: FIELD OFFICERS. Lieut. Col. George Dorrance, Major John Garrett. CAPTAINS. Robert Durkee, Asaph Whittlesey, Wm. McKarrican,* James Welles, Aaron Gaylord, Asa Stephens, A. Atherton, Asa Gore, Jeremiah Bigford,* Christopher Avery, Jabez Atherton, Acke, Stephen Bidlack, A. Benedict, Silas Benedict, Jabez Beers, Elisha Bigsbee, Thomas Brown, Amos Bullock, Asa Bullock, Dethick Hewitt, Aholiah Buck, Lazarus Stewart,* lieutena:Sits. Timothy Pierce, Lazarus Stewart, Jr., Elijah Shoemaker, ENSIGNS. William White, Titus Hinman,* PRIVATES. William Buck, Robert Bates, Samuel Bigford,* Henry Bush, Samuel Carey, Samuel Cole, Coe, Joseph Crooker,* John Cortright, John Caldwell,* • Josiah Carmen, James Bidlack, Jr., Rezin Geer, Samuel Ransom. Flavius Waterman, Perrin Ross, Stoddard Bowen. Silas Gore,* John Otis. Samuel Crooker, William Coffrin,* Joel Church, Joseph Corey, Three f^°°^ Brothers, i Cook, (^ Cook, Isaac Campbell.* James Campbell, James Coffrin,* ChristopherCortright, WYOMING. 105 John Brown, David Bigsbee, John Boyd, Anderson Dana, Dutcher, Jabez DarHng, William Dunn, D. Denton, , Levi Dunn, James Divine, George Downing, Conrad Davenport, Thomas Fuller,. Stephen Fuller, Elisha Fish, Eliphalet Follet, Benjamin Finch, Daniel Finch, John Finch, Cornelius Fitchet, Thomas Foxen, John Franklin,* Jonathan Franklin,* George Gore, Green, Gardner, Samuel Hutchinson, James Hopkins,* Silas Harvey, William Hammer, Levi Hicks, John Hutchiris, Cyprean Hibbard,* Nathaniel Howard, Benjarnin Hatch, Rufus Williarns, Elihu Williams, Jr., Azibah Williams, Parker Wilson, Nathan Wade,* Joseph Budd, Those marked wi Robert Comstock, Kingsley Comstock, 1 Elijah Inman,* Israel Inman,* Robert Mclntire, Samuel Jackson, Robert Jameson,* William Jones,* Joseph Jennings, Henry Johnson, Francis Ledyard, Daniel Lawrence, Rufus Lawrence, Josh Landon, Jacob Larose, Conrad Lowe, James Lock, Wm. Lawrence, Wm. Lester,* A. Meeleman, C. McCartee, Job Marshall', Nicholas Manvil, John Murphy, Nero Mathewson, Andrew Millard, Thomas Neil,* Jonathan Otis, Joseph Ogden, Abel Palmer, William Parker, Noah Pettebone, Jr., ohn Pierce, Silas Parke, Gershone Prince (col- ored), Henry Pencil, John Ward, John Wilson, Esen Wilcox, Stephen Whiton, th a star (*) were Hanover men. Jenks Corey,* Rufus Corey, Anson Corey, Elias Roberts, EHsha Richards, Timothy Rose, Christopher Reynolds Enos Rockway, Jeremiah Ross, Joseph Staples, Reuben Staples, Aaron Stark, Daniel Stark, Darius Spafford, Joseph Shaw, Abraham Shaw, James Shaw, Rufus Stevens, Constant Searle, Nailer Swede, James Stevenson, James Spencer,* Levi Spencer,* Eleazer Sprague, Josiah Spencer,^ Abel Seeley, Gamaliel Truesdale, Ichabod Tuttle, John Van Wee, Abram Vangorder, James Wigton, Peter Wheeler, Jonathan Weeks, Philip Weeks, Bartholomew Weeks. Elihu Waters, John Williams, Wm. Woodward, Ozias Yale. • Total, 174. Below is a list of the names of all ■ that were known to have been in the battle and escaped the massacre of July 3, 1778. 7* io6 HISTORY OF HANOVER. OFFICERS. Col. Zebulon Butler, Col. Nathan Dennison, Lieut. Daniel Gore, Lieut. Timothy Howe, Sergeant Ensign Daniel Downing, Ensign Matthias Hollenback, Ensign Jabez Fish, Sergeant Phineas Spafford, Gates. PRIVATES. Samuel Gore, Lemuel Gustin, James Green, Lebbeus Hammond, Jacob Haldron,* Elisha Harris, Ebenezer Hibbard,* Daniel Hewitt, William Hibbard,* Richard Inman,* David Inman,* John Jameson,* William Jameson,* Henry Lickers, Joseph Morse (or Morris),* Thomas Neil,* John Abbott, Gideon Baldwin, Zerah Beach, Rufus Bennett,* Solomon Bennett, Elisha Blackman, Nathan Carey, Coe,* Samuel Carey, George Cooper, Joseph Elliot, Samuel Finch, Rosewell Franklin,* Arnold Franklin,* Hugh Forsman, Thomas Fuller. John Garrett, William Young.* Those marked with a star (*) at the end of the name were Han- over men. The following list contains the names of the Hanover men that 'are known to have been Hanover men and been in the battle of July 3d, 1778. The first column contains those known to have been slain; the second column those known to have escaped: M. Mullen, Daniel Owen, Josiah Pell, Jr.,* Thomas Porter, Phineas Pierce, Abraham Pike, John N. Skinner, Giles Slocum, Walter Spencer,* Edward Spencer,* Sebastian Strope, Roger Searle, James Stark, Gamaliel Twiesdale, Cherrick Westbrook, Eliezer West, Daniel Washburn, KILLED. Capt. Lazarus Stewart, Capt. William McKarricah, Lieut. Lazarus Stewart, Jr., Ensign Silas Gore, • Ensign Titus Hinman, Ensign Jeremiah Bigford, Samuel Bigford, — — Coe, William Coffrin, , ESCAPED. Rufus Bennett, Coe, Rosewell Franklin, Arnold Franklin, Ebenezer Hibbard, William Hibbard, Jacob Haldron, Richard Inman, David Inman, WYOMING. 107 James Coffrin, John Jameson, Isaac Campbell, William Jameson, Jenks Corey, Joseph Morse (or Morris), John Caldwell, Thomas Neil, Jonathan Franklin, Josiah Pell, Jr., John Franklin, Walter Spencer, James Hopkins, Edward Spencer, Zipron Hibbard, William Young. Elijah Inman, Jr., Israel Inman, Robert Jameson, William Jones, William Lester, James Spencer, Levi Spencer, Josiah Spencer, Nathan Wade. Of the nineteen names of persons who drew the lots in the second division of Hanover in 1776,* only five appear on the above list. There would be eleyen of them if the four sons of Inman and two of Coffrin were counted. It is quite certain that more of them were in the battle, and were killed. We never see nor hear their names again in Hanover, nor any where else. The following names were found written in pencil on a blank leaf of an old account book of Elisha Blackman and appear to be in his handwriting. These are the names of the men in his company that he could remember who were in the battle and massacre of July 3, 1778. The list includes, in separate columns the names of the killed and those that escaped. They were all in the lower Wilkes- Barre company. There were about half as many old men and boys in the battle that did not belong to the militia company as there were men in the company; and this was the case with each of the com- panies. They went along as volunteers, not enrolled. K I LLED. ESCAPED. Capt. J. Bidlack, Sergeant D. Downing, Lieut. A. Stevens, S. Carey, Sergeant D. Spafford, J. Garrett, E. Fish, Jo. Elliot, P. Weeks, G. Slocum, *See Second Part of this work. I08 HISTORY OF HANOVER. B. Weeks, E. Blackman, J. Weeks, J. Fish, P. Wheeler, (or Weeler) P. Spafford, T. Brown, ( Daniel McMullen, S. Hutchison, < Thomas Porter, S. Cole, (and one other, T. Fuller, Solomon Bennett.* E. Sprague, C. Avery, J. Williams, James Wigton. The list of escaped has J. Garrett, Jo. Elliot and G. Slocum, who belonged to his company and escaped; but the penciled names do not include "McMullen, Thomas Porter and the one other!' They are found in Miner's "Blackman family ;" and are put in this list because it is a list of the escaped of the company. James Wigt'on was killed, the writer puts his name at the bottom, and of escaped, Solomon' Bennett. Early in the morning after the battle Col. John Butler sent across the river to Pittston, and Capt. Blanchard surrendered Fort Brown on fair terms of capitulation. And the Indians marked the prisoners with black paint on the face, telling them to keep it there so they should not be hurt. Tom Turkey, Anthony Turkey, David Sing- sing and Anthony Cornelius, Indians formerly residents of the valley, and known to the inhabitants, were among these Indians. Squaws followed, hideously smeared with brains and blood, bringing strings of scalps, of which they would smell and exultingly exclaim, "Yankee blood!" It is some comfort to know, that in a raid these Indians made the next spring, Anthony Turkey, the leader, was shot on the Kingston flats and killed. These were Delaware Indians. The British Col. Butler also sent to Forty Fort to Col. Dennison to come up and agree on terms of capitulation. Col. Zebulon Butler was then in Forty Fort, but before the surrender he, with the remains of Hewitt's company, left and went down the river to Shamokin. Col. Dennison met the British Col. Butler at Wintermoots and agreed upon a surrender. All the military stores, prisoners, forts and arms were to be surrendered. The inhabitants were to remain *Peck, page 1 60 sajs, Solomon Bennett was in the Wilkes-Barre company. Wl'OMING. 109 in the valley unmolested, provided they did not take up arms again. The conditions of the capitulation were entirely disregarded by the British and tories. They killed no person after the surrender it is true, but they plundered all the houses and then set fire to them. They drove off up into the Indian country all the horses, cattle, and sheep, and destroyed the crops and every thing they could not carry away. They stripped the people (of the upper part of the valley, who had not yet fled on the 4th) of their coats, and hats, and bonnets, and shoes, and any garment anyone had on that they chose to covet. Everything was broken open and rifled. In short, what- ever people remained here at the surrender, were compelled, by increasing outrages, to fly from the valley. When Col. Butler was' remonstrated with, as he was repeatedly by Col. Dennison, his final reply was, " I can do nothing with them." The British Col. Butler with his regular forces, and all whom discipline could control, left the valley on the 8th, seemingly in a hurry and in retreat. Was he afraid of his Indian and tory allies? At the time the British left the valley, there was, probably, not a single white person in it alive, except the tories. By that time there was hardly a house or building left standing from Nanticoke to Pittston. All the lower end of the valley, from Wilkes-Barre down was abandoned by the settlers on the morning of the 4th in the greatest haste. Some went down the river, and some crossed the mountain by the Warrior's Path in Hanover, the way to Bethlehem. Neither the Indians, tories, nor British seem to have spared any prisoners. "Only two persons, Samuel Carey and one other taken prisoners in the battle and pursuit, as far as known, escaped death." * Mr. Miner says also, "about one hundred and sixty of the Connecti- cut people were killed that day, and one hundred and forty escaped." Mr. Miner was probably much too low in his estimate of the number killed. Two hundred and twenty-seven scalps were paid for by the British, and there must have been many lost in various ways — in the river and in othe/ ways — whose scalps wei-e never delivered to the British. The people all over the valley fled to the woods and mountains *It is now understood that two or three other prisoners were taken away alive, and their names have been procured by some one in the valley, but the writer never had them. no HISTORY OF HANOVER. . and left everything. In the confusion and horror the only hope seemed to be in flight. Few were thoughtful enbugh even to take provisions for the journey to other settlements, sixty miles off The greater part were destitute. On the old Warrior Path in Hanover, there were in one company about one hundred women and children, with but a single man, Jonathan Fitch, Esquire, sheriff of the county, to advise or aid them. By the evening of the fourth of July there was scarcely a white person left on the east side of the river. All had fled. Their houses, furniture, household utensils, crops, flocks and herds, farming implements, provisions, books, papers, clothing, bedclothes, horses, wagons, harness — everything' left be- hind. And it was all utterly destroyed, or carried off by the Indians and tories. It is supposed to be understood that a "tory" was a friend to the British government and rule here, and an enemy to the independence of the United States and the people that favored it, being at the same time a native, born in the country, or a foreigner whose residence and home had long been here. Most of the fugitives lived to get to the German settlements — " Pennsylvania Dutch" — on the Delaware. About two hundred died on the way. There they were treated with the utmost kindness ; fed and clothed, and such as chose to go on to Connecticut were sent on their way fully provided for the journey. All this has been remembered by the Yankee settlers with gratitude, and they and the Pennsylvania Dutch have always been the best of friends. Extract from an address delivered at the "Centennial" of Wyoming at Wilkes-Barre, July 4th, 1878, by Sylvester Dana of New Hampshire: "My father often described to me how. at the Wilkes-Barre fort, on this very spot, on the 3d of July, 1778, he anxiously listened to the rattling of musketty upon yonder battle-field; how, on the day after the disastrous result, being nine years old, he fled with his mother and the family towards Connecticut; how the party of some twenty wearily pursued their march into the night and into the morning, lest they should be overtaken by tjie Indians ; how the only man in the party followed behind the exhausted children, freely applied the rod to them when they faltered and fell asleep in their tracks; how they suffered from hunger, the loss of shoes and other privations as they crossed the mountains before reaching the WYOMING. • III Hudson; how they were once aroused frocn their welcome repose in the wilderness by howlings which were supposed to emanate from a band of ferocious and blood-thirsty savages, but which, on investi- gation gave them the comforting assurance that they were only uttered by a less ferocious and less blood-thirsty pack of wolves. And how at length they reached Connecticut, where, scattered among friends, they passed the remaining days of childhood, and in after years not a few of them (including my father and two of his brothers) returned to this desolated valley and commenced life anew." There is no list of the names of those who went to the battle from Hanover, except the one the writer has made, which will be found in the second part of this work. The officers names we, have here introduced. They were all killed except Lieut. Rosewell Franklin. There were officers of the militia that held commissions from the Connecticut Assembly of 1775, but the most of them held other commands in the battle, or were privates. Captain McKarrican held such a commission as captain in the Hanover militia, but when it came to war in fact, he surrendered the command to Captain Lazarus Stewart, and 'served under him, saying he would do well enough for a time of peace, but in time of battle one accustomed to command should command, and he would serve under him: There were three men who had served in the militia as ensigns that were in the battle, two were killed and one escaped. Captain, Lazarus Stewart — Commanded. Lieutenant, Rosewell Franklin. Ensign, Silas Gore. Captain, William McKarrican. Lieutenant, Lazarus Stewart, jr. These were the officers of the Hanover men as they went to battle. This was the fourth company. The officers were all killed except Rosewell Franklin, and probably thirty of the forty-three men in the company. We do not know how many exactly, went in, nor exactly how many were killed. Capt. Lazarus Stewart was a prominent figure in the affairs of Wyoming Valley, and now with him gone — We seem lost, even at this 112 HISTORY OF HANOVER. late day in telling the story. How much he might have done for the fugitive inhabitants by his energy and foresight, had he remained to them ! He left descendants, but it is believed there are none of them now living in Hanover. This was the sixth time that the Connecticut settlers had been totally expelled from the valley, and their improvements and property destroyed. Capt. Spalding with his men met part of the fugitives and, of course, learned the result of the battle. He advanced to the top of the mountain where the valley could be seen and the smoke rising, from the plains in all directions. He relieved such of the fugitives as he met on the way, and seeing that he was of no use in the valley he returned to the Delaware. Early in August he marched into the valley and occupied the site of Wilkes-Barre. Some of our men that escaped the massacre, and some others that were not here at the time of the battle, returned in August with Capt. Spalding's company to save some of the hai"vests if possible, — as of course the fugitives would soon return again to their homes here — and it would take more time than the Indians would spare to destroy the crops entirely. The west side of the river was not much visited at first, and for two months after the return the dead still lay unburied on the field. But now, "Camp Westmoreland, October 21, 1778 — Ordered, that there be a party consisting of a lieutenant, two sergeants, two corporals, and. twenty -five men, to parade to-morrow morning with arms, as a guard to those who will go to bury the remains of the men who were killed at the battle, at and near the place called 'Wintermoot's Fort.'" — Miner. Dn the 22d, therefore, the bodies were collected, a large hole or grave dug, in which they were thrown, constant alarni from the enemy preventing a more ceremonious or respectful inhumation. But few of thern could be recognized. They had lain on the ground through the surhmer heat nearly four months. Nothing but bones remained, and they were frequently found scattered by animals and birds of prey. According to the writer's recollection of what he has heard from one that assisted in burying them, there were two holes dug for the bones, some distance apart. Only one of these holes was afterwards found, and it contained eighty- three skeletons. These bones were gathered up, and in 1833 the corner stone of a WYOMING. 113 monument over them was laid near or in the village of Wyoming in Kingston township. The Rev. Joshua Peterkin, D. D., of Richmond, Va:, "visited Wilkes-Barre in 1868, on which occasion he composed the following patriotic tribute!" — Here let me rest, by fair Wyoming's side, Where Susquehanna's placid waters glide. While sparkling streams 'mid meadows rolling free. Pay willing tribute to the distant sea. Upon this spot where ninety years ago The patriot settlers met their savage foe In vain defense, and dyed the shrinking flood With rich libations of their patriot blood, — Amid these scenes my fancy roams afar And brings me back anew the din of war. I hear the war-whoop as it rolls along The>vale mad,e famous by the poet's song. The shriek, the shout, the yell, the dying groan. All sounds discordant mingled into one. Old Albert too, and Gertrude now arise. And Waldgrave's manly form to greet my eyes. And Outalissi, with his descant wild Sung amid sobs, as for an only child. ' But these all vanish, and I stand alone ' Beside a simple monument of stone. Raised to commemorate their deeds and tell The passing stranger how they nobly fell Defending altars, homes and cultured sod — The cause of man, of freedom and of God. 'Tis well — such monuments there .ought to be To keep in mind the thought of Liberty — To warn the invader, whencesoe'er he comes With fire and sword to desolate our homes. That though his stronger arm may now succeed. And virtue sink o'erwhelmed by force and greed. Though might 'gainst right may for a time prevail. Despite the widow's tear, the orphan's wail — Yet future ages will redress the wrong. Embalm the patriot in the poet's song. Collect with pious care each mouldering bone. And grave its record on th' eternal stone. Meanwhile the proud oppressors name shall be Sunk, with their crime, to lasting infamy — • To stern contempt and bitter scorn consigned As foes to peace, to God and to mankind. Of course, it must be understood that the reference in these lines to Old Albert, and Gertrude, and Waldgrave and Outalissi, is to names contained in the poet Campbell's Gertrude of Wyoming. The monument was not finished until 1843. "It is sixty-two feet and six inches high from the surface of the ground. It is rectangular in form, and of proper proportions to render it graceful and of architectural propriety, with four equal sides. The base 114 HISTORY OF HANOVER. rises three steps from the foundation, in which is a chamber con- taining the bones of the victims, so far as the bodies were re- covered."* Early in August the settlers that still remained alive began to return, and reoccupy their plundered farms. But there was no peace for them. Indians lay in ambush and every few days some settler would be killed or carried away captive. On August 24, 1778, Luke Swetland and Joseph Blanchard were taken prisoners at Nanticoke, where they had gone to mill, and carried into the Indian country. Swetland was rescued by Gen. Sullivan's army the next year, 1779. In Plymouth — across the river from Han- over — "three men were killed October 2d. October 14th, -William Jameson, returning home from Wilkes-Barre, was killed near where the canal crosses the road below Careytown." — Miner. (There is a railroad there now (1884) in place of the canal.) Mr. Jameson was one of the Hanover men in the battle, and had escaped. "Novem- ber 7th, John Perkins was killed in Plymouth. William Jackson and Mr. Lester taken from the mill at Nanticoke, marched three miles up into Hanover and then shot down. An aged man, spoken of as old 'Mr. Hageman,' a prisoner, escaped with six spear woynds, and survived, although the food he took oozed from a spear wound in his side. Nov. 9, Captain Carr and Philip Goss, in attempting to fly in a canoe, were shot below Wapwallopen, and left, the latter dead, the other dying on the shore. Robert Alexander and Amos Parker were, about the same time, found murdered in the lower part of the valley — Hanover. Late in the fall, Isaac Inman was murdered in Hanover." — Miner. These and many others in other places in the valley not in Hanover, were killed the same fall of the year 1778 after the mas- sacre. On March 21st, 1779, Captain James Bidlack, — the father of the Captain Bidlack of the Wilkes-Barre company, that was slain in the massacre — was taken prisoner in Plymouth. And so it went on until they finally got bold enough to attack the village of Wilkes-Barre as near as within seventy or eighty rods of the fort. Extract from the journal of Col. Adam Hubley, of Gen. Sulli- van's expedition into the Indian country in 1779: — *Johnson's Wyoming Memorial. WYOMING. 1 1 5 "Wyoming, July 30th, 1779. — Wyoming is situated on the east side of the east branch of the Susquehanna, the town consisting of about seventy houses, chiefly log buildings ; besides these buildings there are sundry larger ones which were erected by the army (Sul- livan's army) for the purpose of receiving stores, etc., a large bake and smoke house. "There is likewise a small fort erected in the town, with a strong abatta around it, and a small redoubt to shelter the inhabitants in case of an alarm. This fort is garrisoned by 100 men, drafted from the western army, and put under the command of Col. Zeb'n Butler. I cannot omit taking notice of the poor inhabitants of the town; two-thirds of them are widows and orphans, who, by the vile hands of the savages, have not only deprived some of tender husbands, some of indulgent parents, and others of affectionate friends and acquaintances, besides robbed and plundered of all their furniture and clothing. In short, they are left totally dependent on the public, and are become absolute objects of charity. "The situation of this place is elegant and delightful. It com- poses an extensive valley, bounded both on the east and west side of the river by large chains of mountains. The valley, a mere garden, of an excellent rich soil, abounding with large timber of all kinds, and through the center the east branch of the Susque- hanna." This river is now called the north branch. The expedition of General Sullivan into the Indian country from Wyoming or Wilkes-Barre, up the river, gave the Indians some taste of the kind of treatment the white people had re- ceived in Wyoming from them :^their houses and crops, and fruit trees and vines, were destroyed, and country laid waste.* The work was done during a part of August and September, 1779. It is believed the Indians never recovered from the blow. They did *About twenty-five towns and villages were destroyed, numbering from five or six log houses each to one hundred and seven in their capital town, Genesee. The whole number of houses destroyed was between five and six hundred; probably half as many as the Indians had destroyed of ours here. Their houses were built of logs, and some of them of hewed logs. These log houses had probably been built for them in each of their towns by the British government. The Oneidas were on our side and the army did not go into their country at all. The whole number of Indians inhabiting these destroyed towns may have been six or seven thousand. I 1 6 HISTORY OF HANOVER. not cease, however, from waylaying and murdering about the valley of Wyoming and the neighboring settlements till the end of the war of independence. Mr. Miner says in a note, page 275: "In 1790 Big Tree, an Indian of the Seneca nation, being one of a delegation at Phila^ delphia, addressing General Washington, thus feelingly refers to Sullivan's destruction of their settlements: — 'Father — When your army entered the country of the Six Nations, we called you the town destroyer; to this day when your name is heard our women look, behind and turn pale, and our children cling closer to the necks of their mothers.' Big Tree joined the American army under Wayne in 1793, but committed suicide." "A mill on the borders of Hanover and Newport — at Nanti- coke — was guarded by a few men, and three or four families ven- tured to reside in its vicinity." — Miner. The Hurlbut family came into the valley this year and settled on the flats below the "Red Tavern." April I2th, 1779, Colonel Nathan Dennison and Deacon John Hurlbut were chosen members of Assembly to meet at Hartford in May. In the winter of this year town-meetings "legally' warned" began to be held regularly again at Wilkes-Barre, and all the officers necessary for the conducting of the government were again elected and entered upon their several duties. In 1780 constant reports of murders committed and prisoners carried away by the Indians came in. "A band shot Asa Upson in Hanover where the bridge crosses the canal' below Careytown, where Jamison was killed in 1778." — Miner. Another band took Thomas Bennett and Lebbeus Hammond prisoners ; but a few days or nights afterwards, they rose upon their captors, slew some, wounded others, so that only one escaped unhurt, and came home with the spoils. Other escapes of the same kind occurred. April 20, 1780, "John Franklin, Esqr., Lieutenant Rosewell Franklin and Ensign John Comstock were appointed a committee to advise with the inhabitants of this town about contracting their improvements to a smaller compass, and more defensible situation against the savages, and to adopt measures for the security of their stock, and make their report to the commanding officer of the gar- rison as soon as possible." — Miner. WYOMING. I 1.7 Finally about one hundred and twenty men of the old Wyoming companies from the army, including a detachment from a German regiment (Pennsylvania Dutch), were stationed at Wilkes-Barre. The militia entire consisted of one company, under the command of Captain John Franklin. "On July 29th, 1780, there were twenty- nine on the roll ; at Hanover, to guard a mill, one lieutenant, one sergeant and ten privates; at Kingston, one sergeant and fourteen men; and two on the sick-list." — Miner. Small detachments were frequently made for scouting parties,— the utmost vigilance being indispensable. Skirmishes were frequent with the Indians, and sometimes with tories. Prisoners and " plunder" would sometimes be captured by our men, and brought to Wilkes-Barre. So the year passed with murders, alarms, scouts, skirmishings, and through it all very difficult to raise food enough to live on. The comforts of life were not looked for. The bare necessaries were all that could possibly be got. All were satisfied if they could get barely sufficient food to sustain existence. They sent a petition to Hartford asking for an abatement of taxes for the year. There were but few people, but they kept up their county and town organization. A Town Clerk, Treasurer, Listers, Constables, Surveyors of Highways, Fence Viewers, Col- lectors, Leather Sealers, Grand Jurymen, etc., etc., were duly chosen, On December 6th, the last ambush and surprise of the year took place in Plymouth, and seven prisoners were carried away. There were nineteen white men and five Indians in the hostile party. One of the white men deserted from them and came into Wilkes-Barre. Thus passed the year 1780. Many estimable citizens had been torn from their homes and families and carried into captivity, and several valuable lives had been lost; and still those who remained clung to their homes. The winter of 1780-81 passed without any incident of note. In March the Indians attacked Samuel Ransom's house in Ply- mouth. He was wounded, but he killed one Indian and they left. "In 1 78 1 less than two hundred acres of land were cultivated in the whole valley." — Miner. An assessment ■ of property made in November, 1780, the first after the massacre, was two thousand three hundred and fifty-three pounds. It will be remembered that the one made in January, 1778, Il8 HISTORY OF HANOVER. before the massacre, was twenty thousand three hundred and twenty- two pounds seventeen shillings. The total valuation now, was two thousand three hundred and fifty-three pounds — at six shillings to the dollar, Connecticut currency, ;$7,843.33; in 1778,^67,742.84. One sixth of it in Hanover=;g 1,307. 22, property in 1780. Rumors of Indians on all sides of the settlements were rife. On*- Sunday, the 9th of June, 1781, a party of twelve Indians made an attack on the block-house at Buttonwood in Hanover, three miles below the Wilkes-Barre fort. They met a warm reception. The house was gallantly defended, the women aiding the men with bravery and spirit. A party from the 'fort at Wilkes-Barre, on re- ceiving the alarm, hastened down and found pools of blood where Lieutenant Rosewell Franklin had wounded, probably Icilled, an Indian. A terrible vengeance followed. On September 7th, 1781, a band of Indians made an attack on the Hanover settlement and took away Arnold Franklin and Rosewell Franklin, Jr., the sons of Lieutenant Franklin who had shot the Indian the preceding June. Several horses were taken and much grain in stack consumed by fire.* A detachment lof men went in pursuit, but the Indians eluded their pursuers. In April following, on the 7th, 1782, the Indians burning with revenge, still bent on further retaliation, rushed into Lieutenant Franklin's house in his absence, took his wife and four remaining children, one an infant, set fire to the house which, with the furni- ture not plundered, was consumed to ashes, and escaped to the woods. Parties went in pursuit, and overtook them near Wyalusing. Fight was at once commenced. The whites, afraid of injuring Mrs. Franklin and the children, had to use great caution and care. In the midst of the fight the two little girls and the boy escaped to the whites. Instantly the savages shot Mrs. Franklin and retreated. The Indian'chief caught up the infant and shielded himself with it as he escaped. The whites buried Mrs. Franklin's remains, and brought the three children to their father. *This is taken from Miner's Wyoming, but is probably incorrect, as Rosewell Franklin lived near the present or old Haiiover basin, and it was on these flats below Steele's Ferry where the horses were stolen and the grain burned. Christopher Hurlbut calls the Flats where the grain was burned Nanticoke Flats, and he lived there himself then, and afterwards for sixteen years. WYOMING. 119 CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT S JOURNAL. "In the fall of 1778 the Indians took Swetland and Blanchard at the Nanticoke Mill and burned the mill. Early in November the Indians killed Jackson, Lester and Franklin, and wounded Haga- man ; they took prisoners Pell, and Lester's wife and daughter — a little girl — from Nanticoke in December. In 1779 — "O" March 22d — Wilkes-Barre was attacked as also Stewart's house, and all the cattle that were on that side (of the river) were driven off; and all the remaining buildings on both sides of the river that were not near the fort, or Stewart's block-house, were burned. In 1 78 1 — "In September the Indians took Franklin's boys with five horses, and burned all the grain — perhaps 1200 bushels of wheat and rye — on Nanticoke flats. "In 1782 some men began a saw-mill in Hanover. They raised the building on Saturday, in April. The next morning Franklin's family were taken prisoners, and his house burned. Baldwin with nine others, went up the river and got ahead of the Indians, and on the Frenchtown mountain they had a severe engagement of six or seven hours. Bennett was wounded, also Baldwin himself, but none were killed. They retook three of the family, the woman and a small child being killed. In July Jameson and Chapman were killed in the road in Hanover, near where the meeting-house was afterwards built. Peace took place in the winter following." The above quotations are extracts from the journal of one who resided in Hanover at the time the occurrences he mentions hap- pened. The story has been told in previous pages, but it seems to indicate that Rosewell Franklin's house or block-house was on the lower flats. Hanover was the scene of another bloody deed on the 8th of July, 1782. "John Jameson and a lad, his brother, (Ben- jamin) accompanied by Asa Chapman, were riding up from Nanti- coke their residence, near the mill, on horse-back to Wilkes-Barre. As they came opposite to where the Hanover meeting-house now stands, the Hanover "Green" cemetery, Jameson suddenly exclaimed, "there are Indians!" Before he could turn his horse there were three rifle balls fired into his body and he fell dead to the ground. I20 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Chapman being behind him — (they seem to have had only paths yet) — had time to draw rein and turn, but before he could escape he was shot and mortally wounded. Clinging to the saddle his fright- ened horse ran and bore him beyond their reach. The lad being in the rear, escaped unhurt. Chapman lingered several hours, sent for his wife and took an affectionate leave of her. Franklin cut out the bullet, but it had done its work and he presently expired," at the house of Deacon John Hurlbut, near the creek, below where the "Red Tavern" now stands. He fell off his horse there, and tried to crawl to the creek for a drink. The Hurlbuts saw him, and took him into their house, where he died. This same month, the I2th of July, Daniel McDowell was taken prisoner at"'Shawney" — Plymouth — across the river, and taken to Niagara; and on the 27th, George Palmer Ransom, one of the seven prisoners taken from there to Niagara two years before, returned home, having escaped from captivity. CHAPTER VII. PEACE. erWALLIS' surrender at Yorktown, October 19th, 1781, had virtually ended the war between Britain and America, in favor of the Americans and independence. On the 27th of February, 1782, it was moved in the House of Commons in England: — "That it is the opinion of this House, that a further prosecution of offen- sive war against America, would under the present circumstances, be the means of weakening the efforts of this country against her European enemies, and tend to increase the mutual animosity so fatal to the interests of both Great Britain and America;" which was carried against the strenuous opposition of the ministry. But the ministry did not resign. On the 4th of March following : — " That the House will consider as enemies to His Majesty and the country, all those who should advise or attempt a further prosecution of offensive war on the con- tinent of North America." Then the ministry resigned. The new ministry commenced negotiations for peace. Nov. 30, 1782, provisional articles of peace were signed; Janu- ary 20, 1783, hostilities ordered to cease; April 19, 1783, proclama- tion of peace issued by Gen. Washington; Sept. 3, 1783, Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the United States. The number of lives actually lost in Wyoming during the war, it is impossible to estimate with certainty. Miner says "probably three hundred ; being one in ten of all the inhabitants ; or exceeding onf -third of the adult male population at the commencement of the war." Steuben Jenkins, who later had a better opportunity of estimat- ing them correctly, puts the number of lives lost from the massacre and flight alone at five hundred, not counting the losses in the army and the murders here after the massacre and until the end of the war. 8* 122 HISTORY OF HANOVER. At the conclusion of the war in 1782, Congress appointed a court to hear and determine the controversy between Pennsylvania and Connecticut as to the jurisdiction over the territory here in dis- pute. The commissioners constituting the court met at Trenton in New Jersey, November 12, 1782. , This court as it met and organized the "Court of Commis- sioners" was composed of five persons, — William Whipple, Wel- come Arnold, David Brearly, W. C. Houston and Cyrus Griffin. They were in session forty-one days; and on December 30, 1782, they pronounced judgment as follows : — "We are unanimously of opinion that the State of Connecticut has no right to the lands in con- troversy. "We are also unanimously of opinion that the jurisdiction and pre-emption of all the territory lying within the charter boundary of Pennsylvania, and now claimed by the State of Connecticut, do of right belong to the State of Pennsylva?iia." The next day after this decree four of these judges wrote a letter to the governor and his council of Pennsylvania saying, among other things, that the individual claims of the people or claimants in Wyoming could in 7io instance come before them, not being in the line of their appointment. They then beg leave to assure "your Excellency" that they think 'Hhe situation of these people well deserves the notice of the government." That a proclamation of the proper kind issued by him would keep matters and things in the present peaceable posture "until proper steps can be taken to decide the con- troversy respecting the private right of soil" eXc. * * * This letter was kept a carefully guarded secret for twelve years, till 1795. Shortly after the discovery of this letter (1796), the fifth member of this court wrote a letter, in which he says : — "Before the Commissioners determined that important contest between Pennsylvania and Connecticut, it was agreed : — 'ist. That the reasons for the determination should never be ' given. '2d. That the minority should concede the determination as the unanimous opinion of the court." And he goes on to say, "that the Commissioners were unani- mously of opinion that the private right of soil should not be affected by the decision!' Further, "we recommend very strongly, derived WYOMING. 123 from legal and political grounds, that the settlers should be quieted in all their claims, by an act of the Pennsylvania Assembly:' "And that the right of soil, * * * as derived from Connecticut, should be held sacred!' Before this court the matter had been argued in full on both sides, and their* evidence displayed; and these judges knew what they were asking the government of Pennsylvania to do. It will be seen, of course, from the above, that this court never for a moment considered that they had decided anything at all with regard to the individual ownership of the land in Wyoming, or the seventeen townships. It must be understood that from 1773 up .to 1783 twelve other townships, making seventeen, had been settled under Connecticut Susquehanna Company titles. Immediately after the Decree of Trenton the citizens of the seventeen townships petitioned the government of Pennsylvania for protection, in which they say, among other things: — "We are sub- jects and free citizens of Pennsylvania, and have now to look to your honors as our fathers, guardians and protectors — entitled to every tender regard and respect as to justice, equity, liberty and protection." This was Jan. 18, 1783, nineteen days after the Decree at Trenton. This was presented to the Legislature and read 21st January and ordered to lie on the table. As soon as the General Assembly had received notice of the Decree of Trenton, they appointed a committee to confer with the Executive Council, who reported in February. Commissioners were immediately appointed to go to Wyoming, view affairs there and report. They came, staid nine days, saw, reported April 15, 1783 : — That a reasonable compensation in land should be made to the families of those who had fallen in arms against the common enemy, and such others as had a proper Connecticut title and, "did actually reside on the land at the time of the Decree at Trenton, provided they itnmediately relinquish all claim to the soil where they now inhabit, and enter into contrcKt to deliver up full and quiet pos- session of their present tenures by the first of April next!' So it seems Commissioners — Judges — acting for the State, de- termined, by the short view they took, of the situation, that the several thousand persons, men, women and children, widows and 124 HISTORY OF HANOVER. orphans, old and young, of all the seventeen townships, should be driven out of the State of Pennsylvania, and their houses, barns, lands and improvements should be given up to somebody else. Why could not a court of justice be established somewhere in the valley, and the parties that claimed the land have a fair trial, and the one whose claim proved the best have the land; and if there was no one to claim it but the Connecticut claimant and the State of Pennsylvania, then let the claimant pay the State for it as others did? Who knows why the government of the commonwealth forgot, in this case, or closed its eyes, to legality and justice? The townships known and designated as the "seventeen," were Salem, Huntington, Newport, Hanover, Plymouth, Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Pittston, Exeter, Providence, Braintrim, Northmoreland, Bedford, Putnam, Springfield, Clarverack and Ulster. The four latter ones are within the present territory of Bradford and Susque- hanna counties. Immediately on the promulgation of the Trenton Decree, Con- necticut withdrew her jurisdiction, and the county and town of Westmoreland ceased to exist, except as its memory was preserved in the records of the past. The few soldiers that had lately been sta:tioned here were, by orders of Congress and the commander-in- chief, withdrawn, and their place was supplied by troops from Pennsylvania, sent to '^protect" the inhabitants. A comparative handful of people remained, the broken remnants of the war; a great portion of those who had been expelled after the massacre remaining in exile, especially the young, growing up to manhood, the natural hope and stay of the settlements, who, being left orphans had been bound out to mechanics and farmers, and whose apprenticeship had not yet expired. Thus situated they applied to Pennsylvania for protection, pardon and mercy. But a set of unprincipled land speculators, and others perhaps still worse, — say persons seeking vengeance, — forced on them another " Pennamite War." The attempt was made to force them to leave their possessions, and they would not. They would fight first, and defend themselves to the last — and they did. One is forced to wonder at this day, why the government of Pennsylvania did not at once quiet them in their possessions, on the ground, if for no other reason, that no better settlers could be found WYOMING. 125 anywhere — none more industrious, more economical, more perse- vering, more brave, more enduring, more law-abiding, more deserv- ing on account of their ' sufferings and losses in a cause waged for the common good. Captains Shrawder and Robinson with two companies of rangers came to Wyoming 21st and 24th of March and took pos- session of Wyoming fort and gave- it the name of Fort Dickinson. Two justices of the peace accompanied the troops, to hold tribunals "for the adjudication of all questions under the civil authority." Alexander Patterson was one of these Justices. He had been here before, in the first Pennamite and Yankee war, and was known to the settlers. With him in authority they had no hope of any ar- rangement. Patterson at once assumed the authority of the viceroy of a tyrant king. The soldiers obeyed him in all things. They arrested men in all directions, without any warrant, but simply by the orders of Patterson, and imprisoned them till directed by the same authority to turn them loose. He took care that most of his orders should be verbal and not written ones. And this was the protection the State gave the settlers. Col. Butler returned from the army 20th August. Patterson issued a writ for his arrest for high treason, it was said, and on Sept. 24 he was taken, and, surrounded by a guard of soldiers, was conveyed to the fort and treated with great indignity. He had "sworn his soldier's oath, ' set fire to 'em', they shall not stop me." That was enough. The next day, under a military guard, the gallant veteran was sent to Sunbury, a distance of sixty miles. When they got there with him there was no mittimus. The sheriff would not receive him. Two other justices for Wyoming had that day taken the oath of office at Northumber- land, and they made out a mittimus directing Sheriff Antis to de- tain the prisoner until more accurate documents could be procured from Patterson. Butler soon gave bail and was set at liberty. On the 1st of October Capt. Franklin was arrested for trespass, for farming his own land. Bi^ought before Patterson he plead title; demanded a trial before a court and jury. This not agreeing with Patterson's policy he dismissed the case. Oct. 31st, Shawney was invaded by the military headed by Patterson. Eleven persons were arrested, two of them feeble from old age, and suffering from disease. •126 HISTORY OF HANOVER. This was nothing to Patterson. Benjamin Harvey was among them. "Ah hah," cried Patterson, "you are the jockey we wanted; away with him, to the guard-house with old Harvey, another damned rascal." Is this the language of a civil magistrate? Are soldiers the officers to serve civil process? Nobody was resisting. These were the people who had just petitioned for the mantle of protection of the State to be thrown over them. The State had sent magistrates and soldiers to protect them ! Protection ! The protection of the wolf to the lamb. These were driven to the fort, confined in a room with no floor but the ground, and that all wet and soft, no food, little fire. They were sitting around the little fire they had ; that was considered too com- fortable and they were ordered to lie down, and the Captain in com-, mand of the guard ordered that anyone who raised himself up, should be shot by the guard. The old men's canes were taken from them and burnt. After ten days they were all dismissed without arraign- ment or trial, and they never were told what they were arrested for. But when they were released, they found their families had been turned out of their houses and creatures of Patterson had been put in. Persons were arrested for pretended crime and told by the jus- tice that if they would take a lease for their land they would be set at liberty. Widows and fatherless children, in a sickly condition, were turned out of their houses and sick-beds, and driven off in a storm. No redress could be had when applied for to the justices. Armed soldiers in the presence of the justices, took the husbands into custody and turned their wives and families out of doors. The possession of a grist-mill was taken away from the owner and given to another man, and when redress was asked at the hands of the justices, it was denied. Locks and doors were broken open when the families were from home, under the pretence of quartering soldiers in the house upon the family, while public buildings were standing vacant ready to be used. These things were made known by the inhabitants, by petition, to the Pennsylvania Assembly, to the Connecticut Assembly, and to the U. S. Congress. The Pennsylvania Assembly hurried to send a committee to Wyoming to investigate. The committee arrived December 29th, and proceeded to take depositions for about ten days. They returned to the Assembly and reported by simply WYOMING. 127 handing in ths. depositions. A committee was appointed to take charge of the matter, and reported 23d January, 1784, briefly that there was nothing proved that might not be remedied by process of law, and that there was no evidence that the irregularities were authorized or sanctioned by Justice Patterson ! 1784. And now that the spring of 1784 had arrived, it seemed as if the very elements had conspired to destroy the hopes and lives of the Yankee settlers. The winter had been unusually severe, and the ice in the river had been frozen thicker than ever before known. "About the mid- dle of March, the 13th and 14th, the weather became suddenly warm, rain fell in torrents, melting the deep snows throughout all the hills and valleys in the upper regions watered by the Susque- hanna." "The following day," says Chapman, "the ice in the river began to break up, and the stream rose with great rapidity. The ice first gave way at the different rapids, and floating down in great masses, lodged against the frozen surface of the more gentle parts of the river, where it remained firm. In this manner several large dams were formed, which caused such an accumulation of water that the river overflowed all its banks, and one general inundation over- spread the extensive plains of Wyoming. The inhabitants took refuge on the surrounding heights, and saw their property exposed to the fury of the waters. At length the upper dam gave way, and huge masses of ice were scattered in every direction. The deluge bore down upon the dams below — -which successively yielded to the insupportable burden, and the whole went off with the noise of con- tending storms. Houses, barns, fences, stacks of hay and grain, were swept off in the general destruction, to be seen no more. The plain on which the village of Wilkes-Barre is built, was covered with heaps Of ice, which continued a great portion of the following summer." The waters suddenly fell, but the most of the horses, sheep, ho^s and cattle were drowned. Only one human life is known to have been lost. The loss of provisions, clothing, cattle, hay, houses, and furniture — such as it was, left numbers a prey to extreme sufferings, which their neighbors were in no condition to relieve. With the opening of spring the soldiers began to remove " the fences from the inclosures of the inhabitants — laying fields of grain 128 HISTORY OF HANOVER. open to be devoured — fencing up the highways, an^ between the houses of the settlers and their wells of water — that they were not suffered to procure water from their wells, or to travel on their usual highways. The greatest part of the settlers were in the most distressed situation — numbers having had their horses swept off by the uncommon overflowing of the river in the month of March preceding, numbers were without a shelter, and in a starving con- dition; but they were not suffered to cut a stick of timber, or make any shelter for their families. They were forbid to draw their nets for fish— their nets were taken from them by the officers of the garrison. The settlers were often dragged out of their beds in the night season by ruffians, and beaten in a cruel manner. Complaints were made to the justices, as well as to the commanding officers of the garrison ; but to no purpose — they were equally callous to every feeling of humanity." — Franklin. On the 13th and 14th of May the soldiers were sent forth, and at the point of the bayonet, dispossessed a hundred and fifty families ; in many instances set fire to their dwellings, avowing their intention to utterly expel them from the country. The people implored them for leave to remove either up or' down the river in boats, because with their wives and children, in the bad state of the roads, it would be impossible to travel. They were met with a stern refusal, and they were directed to take the way east to the Lackawaxen, the most direct way to Connecticut. There were sixty miles of woods, with scarcely a house along this way, and the road had never been repaired since the commencement of the revolutionary war. But no matter, that way they must go, more than five hundred men, women and children, with scarcely provisions enough to sustain life, mostly on foot, the road being impassible for wagons. Several of the unhappy sufferers died in the wilderness, others taken sick from excessive fatigue, died soon after reaching the settlement. A widow whose husband had been slain during the war, had one child die on ' the way. She buried it as she could beneath a hemlock log, probably to be disinterred from the shallow covering, and be devoured by wolves. The legislators began to realize that other people, besides themselves and Patterson, were interested in the doings in Wyoming valley, when the news of the Wyoming suffer- ers came to them in hot speed fromjhousands of disinterested WYOMING. 1 29 people, residing along both sides of the Delaware for fifty miles in extent. Humanity cried out from end to enc\ of Pennsylvania; other States were agitated, inquiry was made whether a great wrong had been done and humanity outraged ; and feelings of indignation were awakened and expressed, too emphatic to be disregarc^ed. No part of the Union was more aroused than the good people of Pennsylvania herself. The influence brought to bear on the government produced the instant dismissal of the troops, and the two companies were dis- charged. Justice Patterson forthwith, by his own authority, re-en- listed for the Pennsylvania land claimants about one-half of the most desperate, on whom he could rely and set at once both the settlers and commonwealth at defiance. The sheriff of' Northumber- land hastened to Wyoming to restore the reign of law. Messengers were sent after the exiles along the Delaware who were invited to return and were promised pr(5tection. Assisted by the never-failing benevolence of the people of New Jersey and Pennsylvania along the Delaware, the settlers ;-eturned, but they found the sheriff was powerless against the desperate forces of Patterson. No homes opened their doors to receive them for they were in possession of others, so they encamped on the mountain and called the place Fort Lillope or Lillo-pe. The sheriff could do nothing and returned to Northumberland. The settlers came down from Fort Lillo-pe on the mountain after being there about a month, and took possession of Forty Fort. They were now armed, and they prepared to defend themselves and gather whatever crops they could, from the ground. But they had to fight for it. At the first attempt to gather the crops a fight took place and the Yankees had two men killed, and Patterson's men several wounded. John Franklin then gathered about forty effective men and twenty old men, and went down the river on the west side from Forty Fort, threw out every Pennsylvania or New Jersey family (they seemed to be mostly from New Jersey), except the men they had wounded the day before, crossed the river at Nanticoke and passed up through Hanover, turning out every family not holding under the Connecticut claim, and driving them before him to the fort at Wilkes- Barre. Of course, civil war and bloodshed now openly prevailed. The same day Patterson burnt 9 130 HISTORY OF HANOVER. twenty-three houses in Wilkes-Barre which he could not hold. The fort mounted four pieces of cannon and was too strong to be captured by the Yankees. The Yankees took possession of the mill at Mill Creek — Miner says the only one in the settlement — and kept it running night and day, to provide flour for themselves and friends for future emergencies, as well as their present wants. Captain John Franklin was entrusted with the command of all the Yankee forces. This John Franklin resided in Huntington township. Forty of the Pennsylvania party concerned in the expulsion of the inhabitants, ' including Justice Patterson, were indicted by the grand jury at Sunbury, and Sheriff" Antis was sent to Wyoming to arrest them ; but secure behind their ramparts they set his authority at defiance. Col. John Armstrong, Secretary to the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, and Hon. John Boyd, a member of the Council, were sent as Commissioners cTccompanied by other officers, and by soldiers to restore the' reign of law. Three hundred infantry and fifteen light dragoons were at their disposal. Armstrong arrived on the 8th of August, and immediately issued a proclamation, declaring that they came in the name of the Commonwealth, as commissioners of peace to repress violence from whatever quarter, to restore the reign of law, demanding an im- mediate cessation of hostilities, and the surrender of their arms by both parties, promising impartial justice and protection. The Yankees had serious doubts and misgivings, for they had so far ex- perienced, they said, "nothing but oppression and treachery;" but Col. Armstrong pledged his faith as a soldier, and his honor as a gentleman, that Patterson's party should also be disarmed, and equal protection be extended to all. Patterson's men pretended to be afraid to surrender first. The Yankees paraded, were ordered to "ground arms," — they were then commanded — "right about^ march ten steps — halt — right about!" which they obeyed, when Col. Armstrong ordered his men to advance and take up the grounded arms. Thus far was according to their expectations, but their surprise was merged in bitterness and mortification when Col. Armstrong gave rapid orders to surround the disarmed settlers and made them all prisoners. Not a musket was taken from Patterson's men. They beheld the successful treachery of Armstrong with WVOMlkG. 'I3I unrestrained delight and taunting exultation. A soldier's faith should be unsullied, — the pledged honor of a gentleman as sacred as life. Both were basely violated.* Thirty men were handcuffed in pairs and a long rope tied to the irons, then a pair of soldiers marched by the side of each pair of prisoners; thus they marched to Easton jail, the soldiers having strict orders to shoot anyone trying to escape. Some did escape, however.f Forty-six others were bound and confined in an outhouse. Soon after forty-two of them were sent under strong guard to Sun- bury jail. Thus sixty-six of the Yankees were in prison. The conquest seemed complete. It seemed a difficult matter to get rid of the women and children. Armstrong now returned to Philadelphia. Scarcely had he time to receive the congratulations of Jiis friends at his success at Wyoming than bad news came; the prisoners at Easton all escaped but eleven, and those at Sunbury had all been discharged on bail, and all had returned to Wyoming. Armstrong at once raised fifty men and came to Wilkes-Barre by September 20. In the meantime the sufferings of these people here had excited indignation and pity throughout the whole country, and several Green Mountain Boys, who had gone through a similar struggle with New York, had come to Wyoming and volunteered their services to the settlers. Patterson's men tried to secure a portion of the Yankee harvests, but were met and repelled. Forbearance had ceased to be a virtue, and the Yankees now determined to attack their enemies wherever they found them. They attacked Patter- son's house, drove the men out, set fire to it, and shot down two men in the attempt to escape to the fort. The commander of the Yankees was supposed to have been mortally wounded, but he slowly and long afterwards recovered. *This same treacherous Armstrong many years afterwards was a Minister to some of the great nations of Europe, and was, on his return, made Secretary of War of the U. S., which office he held during the war with England, 1812-15. His Newberg letters to the army under Washington ought to have cursed him forever before he was sent to Wyoming. But instead, afterward he was sent up higher. |Two of these men, John Hurlbut and Edward Inman, were Hanover men, and it is believed two others also. 132" HISTORY OF HANOVER. The work now of hunting one another seemed to become too hot for Armstrong and he returned to the city, and was surprised to learn that his proceedings and those of Patterson previously, had aroused a spirit of opposition and resentment, which now began to display itself in official acts. The legislature was called to account by a body called, the " Council of Censors,"* and as they paid no regard to the questions asked, and refused to produce the papers and documents called for, the Censors proceeded to make a declaration, or as Miner character- izes it, a most solemn denunciation of the measures pursued against the Wyoming settlers. And in this denunciation they give a history in the shortest space of the whole matter, from the Decree at Trenton to the present time, without mitigating any of the treachery or cruelty of the officers and persons sent there by the authority of the legislature, and they expressly state " We hold it up to public censure" "to- prevent if possible further instances of bad government." The Supreme Executive Council and the Assembly contemptu- ously" and totally disregarded the proceedings of the Council of Censors. They advanced Armstrong still higher for his honorable services to the rank of adjutant-general of the State, and authorized him to raise a sufficient force from Bucks, Berks and Northampton counties and proceed to Wyoming and complete the work of ex- pulsion. But new obstacles arose, the President of the Supreme Executive Council entered a solemn protest against these pro- ceedings of the Council in a pretty vigorous letter to that body. The Council on considering the President's letter, " Resolved, That the measure adopted on the second instant be pursued," and on the same day offered twenty-five pounds for the apprehension of eighteen of the principal inhabitants, whose names were mentioned. No time was to be lost. Armstrong hurried with less than a hundred men to Wyoming, arriving on the 17th of October. Next day he marched out and made an attack on Brockway's above Abraham's Creek, Kingston, *Under the State Constitution at that time there was a body called the Council of Censors, whose duty it was "to inquire whether the Constitution has been preserved in- violate in every part, and whether the legislative and executive branches of the govern- ment have performed their duty as guardians of the people, or assumed to themselves, or exercised, other or greater powers than they are entitled to by the Constitution." WYOMING. 133 where one of the Yankees was severely wounded, and one of Arm- strong's 'officers was killed and left on the field of battle, three or four of his men being wounded, were borne off on the retreat. Armstrong in a letter to the Council deprecating their censure at his repulse, said: — ^"I need scarcely observe to your Excellency, that four log houses so constructed as to flank each other, become a very formidable post." The flats of Kingston opposite the fort, had been extensively sowed with buckwheat, and Armstrong's men were now engaged in threshing it out. A body of Yankees approached the laborers un- discovered; and rushing forward, surrounded them before they could seize their arms, and took all of them prisoners. The alarmed garrison prepared their cannon, but the Yankees placed their prisoners as a shield and prevented the firing on them. More than a hundred bushels of grain rewarded the enterprise. Now came the information that the Assembly had ordered the settlers to be restored to their possessions. "Nov. 27, 1784 — Pennamites evacuate the fort. "Nov. 30, 1784 — The Yankees destroy the fort." — Franklin. Thus "two years have elapsed since the transfer of jurisdiction by the Tre&ton Decree. Peace which waved its cheering olive over every other part of the Union came not to the almost broken- hearted people of Wyoming." The veteran soldier when he re- turned from the war of the revolution found no peace or rest at home. A home was denied him. The greater his services to the nation the sooner, it seemed, was he arrested and imprisoned and the greater indignities and insults were heaped upon him. Now they were repossessed of their farms, and such houses and furniture and implements as had not been destroyed. But a summer of exile and war had left them no harvest to reap and they returned to emfsty granaries and desolate homes, crushed by the miseries of Indian in- vasion, mourners over fields of more recent slaughter, destitute of food, scarce clothing to cover them, the rigors of winter now upon them, and clouds and darkness shadow the future. The people of Wyoming were objects of commiseration. As soon as the garrison was withdrawn and the people restored to their possessions committees were appointed during the interreg- num of law, to regulate afiairs, adjust controversies, punish 134 ' HISTORY OF HANOVER. offenders against order , and person and property, and to preserve the peace. Town-meetings were held and taxes laid and collected, schools established, and the militia organized. It is said that this last was done with a good deal of care. 1785 had come and a cessation of hostilities which it was believed would not be renewed, but they had been so many times treacherously deceived, that it was best to be prepared as well as they could for the worst that might occur. After the expulsion of the settlers in May, 1784, became known to the surrounding country, — and the story of it was spreading all the time — adventurers from every direction turned their steps towards Wyoming, and the State of Connecticut was much agitated. A meeting of the old Susquehanna Company was called, and met in July, 1785. No moderator is named, and the usual title is dropped and it is now: — "A me'eting of the Proprietors, Purchasers and Settlers of the land on the Susquehanna River, under the countenance and title of the State of Connecticut, legally warned," etc. At this meeting a state paper of too much consequence to be unnoticed by Pennsylvania or Congress was drawn up. We will not copy it, but merely state that it mentioned the situation of the company's claim, the large sums of money expended, the purchase of the Indians, the settlement of the land, their confidence in the Connecticut charter, an impeachment of the legality or justice of the Decree at Trenton, and then an arraignment of Pennsylvania for its treatment of the settlers on the Susquehanna. And then " Voted, That the company will support their claim and right of soil," etc., then votes to give every able-bodied, effective man a half share, and to give protection to their settlers, and appointing com- mittees, raising money from the company by a tax on the shares: — In fact this was as near a declaration of war as a private institution could well make and not say it. The meeting dissolved with no other attestation of its proceedings than their being recorded in the book of records. Pennsylvania kept watch of these proceedings with anxious solicitude. And in December a law was enacted: — " For quieting disturbances at Wyoming, for pardoning certain offenders," etc., that all offenses committed before the first of November be pardoned, provided they surrender themselves before the 15th of April next; authorizing the militia to be called out; WYOMING. 135 repealing certain acts passed for the especial benefit of Patterson, annulling Patterson's commission as justice, and also of the other justices. Nobody went forward to surrender himself. 1786. Another meeting of the Susquehanna Company was held in May, 1786. Voted, among other things, that they would "support and maintain their claims to the lands aforesaid, and effectually justify and support their settlers therein!' And "That Col. John Franklin, Gen. Ethan Allen, Major John Jenkins, Col. Zebulon Butler, * * * be appointed a committee ' with full power and authority to locate townships," etc. While nominally the laws of Pennsylvania administered by the magistrates of Northumberland extended to Wyoming, in point of fact the settlers governed themselves. They avoided the service of writs rather than opposed the officer. From the friendship of Sheriff Antis, it is supposed that for the present he di'd not pursue the eluding Yankees with much earnestness, relying wisely upon measures of conciliation, or else on a more determined coercion, which the Assem|)ly must very soon adopt. The Yankees had now about six hundred effective, armed men, and more were rapidly joining them from all directions. The active measures of the Yankees in the direction indicated by the Susque- hanna Company's meetings and by the appearance of Ethan Allen at Wyoming, accellerated the action of Pennsylvania. A new and more liberal policy was resolved upon, coercion gave place to con- ciliation, and compromise was substituted for civil war. On the 25th of September, 1786, an act was passed for erecting the northern part of the county of Northumberland into a separate county, to be called Luzerne county. In October, this year, the river rose to a height never before known, except at the ice freshet two years before. This was called the "pumpkin fresh," from the immense number of that veg- etable that floated down the river. Immense quantities of hay, grain and cattle were carried away by the flood, causing much suffer- ing during the winter. Several houses and barns were swept away, and two lives were lost. It now behooved Pennsylvania to take very active and very politic measures for the pacification of Wyoming. From the action of the Susquehanna Company, backed by Connecticut and the 136 HISTORY OF HANOVER. "wild Yankees" and others gathering at Wyoming and in the regions above along the river, it was necessary to have an uncom- mon man to guide the affairs of the State. It was necessary also to use such soothing legal measures as they thought might satisfy the leading Yankees. In December, 1786, an act was passed that provided that Timothy Pickering, Zebulon Butler and John Frank- lin notify the electors that an "election will be holden to choose a Councilor, Member of Assembly, Sheriff, Coroner and Commis- sioners, on the first day of February, 1787." Oaths of allegiance were to be taken by the voters, and provision for the selection of justices of the peace was made; this, all for the new county. 1787. Col. Pickering was the man the government chose to go to Wyoming or Wilkes-Barre, to introduce their measures of pacifi- cation.* He had been a high officer in the revolutionary war, was quartermaster-general of the army, enjoyed the confidence of Washington and Congress. After the war he became a citizen of Pennsylvania and resided in Philadelphia. A native of Massa- chusetts, — being a New England man, it was thoyght he would be more satisfactory to these New England people than any other — and he was. He desired to have the controversy settled on terms satisfactory to both sides. Col. Franklin would not take the oath of allegiance and serve in any office under the Pennsylvania gov- ernment. The matter of the dismemberment from Pennsylvania had progressed too far, and he had entered too deeply into the matter for him to leave it now. The election was held, however, February, I787, as fully two- thirds, if not three-fourths of the old settlers were favorable to the plan of compromise as promised by Col. Pickering, and they had faith in Pickering. Yankees, of course, were chosen — Councilor, Member of Assembly, Sheriff and all other elective officers. At the suggestion of Col. Pickering, the people petitioned the legislature, praying that the lots laid off to the settlers in the seventeen townships, under the Susquehanna Company, might be confirmed specifically to the settlers and proprietors. Whereupon the Assembly, March 28th, passed the confirming law: — in substance, *CoI. Pickering was appointed, (not elected) by the State government to the offices of Prothonotary, Clerk of the Peace, Clerk of the Orphans' Court, Register and Recorder of Deeds for Luzerne county. . WYOMING. 137 that the lots or rights that were particularly assigned to the settlers prior to the Decree at Trenton, should be confirmed to them, their heirs anjl assigns. This was the essence of the law. Compensa- tion was to be given to any Pennsylvania claimants, and whatever appeared to be necessary to carry the law into complete effect. Luzerne county "being politically organized, courts established and the laws introduced under the auspices of Col. Pickering, sus- tained by the confirming law, he proceeded with wisdom and promptitude to conciliate the good will of the people — to assuage passion, to overcome prejudice, to inspire confidence." "If Frank- lin was busy) Pickering was no less active." — Miner. Franklin went from town to town, arguing, pursuading, to his way. The people were divided, and there seemed no way to settle matters peaceably, and if this continued, in a short time civil war would be inaugurated again. A meeting of the inhabitants was called and met in Kingston. The speakers could hardly be heard on account of the uproar. At last they came to blows — not with deadly weapons, however.- A vote of the meeting was taken, but not a very orderly one, and the proposition to accept the terms of compromise was adopted, and the meeting separated. Franklin was more busy now than ever, and Col. Pickering came to the conclusion that the conspiracy could not be stopped until its head, the prime mover, Fraftklin, could be quieted, and he determined to put a stop to his machinations. A writ was obtained from Chief Justice McKean to arrest Franklin on a charge of high treason. Col. Pickering laid his trap secretely, and as Franklin came into Wilkes-Barre one day in September (1787) alone, from one of his tours through Salem, Newport, 'and Hanover, four resolute men seized him. They had to tie him on a horse, but they took him before help could come, and carried him to prison- in Philadelphia. He was in prison more than a year in Philadelphia and Easton, when he was discharged on bail. He was never brought to trial, but this broke up his schemes. He, however, had promised to give up his scheme of dismemberment before he was released. In the meantime Pickering had been captured by Frank- lin's friends and carried off into the woods to be held as a hostage. This took place in June, 1788. They treated him well and kept him about three weeks, when he was released. Very active 9* » • 138 HISTORY OF HANOVER. measures had been taken for his release, and a number of skirmishes had been fought and several persons had been killed and a number wounded, but it all did no good, and he was finally voluntarily- released. Many of the persons engaged in this enterprise were afterwards arrested, some of them tried, convicted, and fined and imprisoned, but were allowed easily to escape, and no fines were ever attempted to be collected. Thus, ended the troubles of Wyoming, 1788. Franklin was honored with offices of various kinds, was sheriff" under the Pennsylvania government, and was repeatedly sent to the legislature. He always after bore the name of the "Hero of Wyoming." "Christmas of 1788, found Luzerne abounding in the. necessaries of life; the laws of Pennsylvania in perfect Operation, receiving everywhere cheerful obedience; Franklin at liberty; Col. Pickering in his office, issuing writs, or recording deeds, .with the same devoted industry that characterized the performance of every other duty, high or low, allotted to him in life." — Miner. The confirming law was suspended 29th March, 1788, and finally repealed ist April, 1790. The repeal was resisted most strenuously by the members from Philadelphia and some of the counties, but it was carried. Here was apparent treachery again. The people, however, went hopefully on. They believed that some- time titles would be secured for them. But now all was uncertainty. Who could buy or sell land with the title on the wing, as it were, in the air? But land was sold and bought, as will be specially noted in that part of this work exclusively devoted to Hanover. In 1799, April 4th, the legislature passed an "act for offering compensation to the Pennsylvania claimants of certain lands within the seventeen townships in the county of Luzerne, and for other purposes therein mentioned." THIS IS THE COMPROMISE ACT. By this act commissioners were appointed to come to Luzerne county, cause a survey to be made of all the lands claimed by the. Connecticut settlers and which had been, set off" to such settlers previous to the Decree at Trenton, according to the regulations they had established amongst themselves. The commissioners were to WYOMING. 139 value the lands — divide them into four classes, according to quality — make a certificate to each claimant specifying the number of acres and the class and quality of the land, the number of his lot, and to annex to the certificate a draft of the lot. The same com- missioners were also to have a resurvey made of all the lands claimed by the Pennsylvania claimants, situated in the seventeen townships, which was to be released or reconveyed by such claim- ants to the State ; and to divide the same into four classes according to the quality of the land. "When forty thousand acres should be so released to the State, and the Connecticut settlers claiming land to the same amount should bind themselves to submit to the deter- mination of the commissioners, then the law was to take effect, and the Pennsylvania claimants who had so released their land, were to receive a compensation for the same from the State Treasury, at the rate of five dollars per acre for lands of the first class, three, dollars for the second, one dollar and fifty cents for the third, and twenty-five cents for the fourth class." The Connecticut settlers were also to receive patents from the State confirming their lands to them upon condition of paying into the treasury the sum of two dollars per acre for lands of the first class, one dollar and twenty cents for lands of the second class, fifty cents for lands of the third class, and eight and one-third cents for lands of the fourth class, the certificates issued by the corn- missioners to regulate the settlement of amounts in both cases. "Thus while the State was selling her vacant lands to her other citizens at twenty-six cents an acre, she demanded of the Connecti- cut settlers a sum, which, upon the supposition that there was the same quantity of land in each class, would average ninety-four ~"cents an acre." — Chapman, p. i6p. " The Connecticut claimants, with the memory of the repeal of the 'Confirming Act' still fresh, exhibited little inclination at first to take the benefit of the law. To remedy this the act of April 6th, 1802, was passed, which required the commissioners to survey, value and certify the whole of each tract claimed by a Connecticut claimant, and turned the Pennsylvania claimant, (not releasing), over to a jury to award compensation." ■ "Judge Cooper, of Lancaster, (with his assistants. General Steele and Mr. Wilson) executed these laws with great fidelity and 140 HISTORY OF HANOVER. intelligence. By October 20, 1802, about one thousand Connecti- cut claimants had exhibited their titles. He went through the seventeen townships, re-ran all the surveys of the Susquehanna Company, by whose lines the claims were bounded, issued 'certifi- cates' to the holders, upon which the State issued the patent."* " Persons living in a wilderness, far remote from organized com- munities, without means of communication with the rest of the world, are apt to acquire a spirit of independence, making them dis- regardful of the artificial restraints that have to be recognized in more crowded states of society. They know nothing of the tri- bunals and care nothing for the technicalities of the law. He, who by his own axe and plow, has transformed the acres, within which his daily and yearly life is bounded, from a pathless, worthless forest, into a cultivated and productive inclosure, feels that he owns it by a title better than all written documents or recorded deeds. His farm, his house, his barns, all that he has, thinks of, or cares about, is literally the work of his own hands, his sole creation. No other man has contributed to it; and it is hard to make him understand that any other man, be he called what he may- governor, proprietor, legislator, judge, or sheriff — has a right to take his land from under his feet. He will hold to it as his life, and fight for it against the world. In the meantime, those lands had become more and more endeared to them by every principle of association, every habit of homely life, every trial, and • every peril. By their toil and energy they had been reclaimed from the rugged wilderness of nature, and converted into smooth lawns and verdant meadows of marvelous beauty and loveliness. Adventurers from other colonies and other lands had, one by one, been drawn into their company, attracted by tales of world-wide currency, portraying the charming aspect of the country, the excel- lence of its soil for the culture of grains and fruits, and evary attri- bute that can adorn a landscape, and give reward to industry. It was not only endeared to Its occupants by the attachments now mentioned, but consecrated by special experiences of blood and woe, that have riveted on them the sympathies of mankind, perpetuated in the hearts of all coming generations by verses of foreign and native bards that will never die. The devastations of their fields, *Gov, Hoyt. WYOMING. . 141 the conflagrations of their dwellings and barns, and the repeated massacre of their people — men, women, and children — by savage hordes, all these combined could not destroy or weaken the tenacity with which they clung to their lands. Those who escaped the tomahawk and scalping knife had come back over and over again from their places of refuge. The invincible, indestructible com- munity persevered in its contest against all odds, and no power, civilized or barbarian, could root it out."* THE VALUE OF LANDS IN WYOMING PREVIOUS TO SETTLEMENT OF TITLE. Mr. Miner says : — " I will briefly state the sums paid for lots in Wilkes-Barre in the year 1772-3, no later record of deeds before the war, having rewarded my research. "July 6, 1772, Silas Gore sells to Jonathan Stowell of Ashford, Connecticut, for consideration of twenty pounds lawful money — ;^66.66^ — one whole settling right in the township of Wilkes- Barre. "The burying-ground lot, of near four acres, was bought in 7772 for i;9 10^=^31.67." "March 28, 1774, Elisha Blackman, of Wilkes-Barre, sells to Alexander Lock of same place, one quarter right of lot in Wilkes- Barre No. 32, for £2 \^. Connecticut currency = ^9.00. In- dorsed on outside, 'deed left for record by Wm. Stewart, April 6, 1799.' Recorded in D. B. 6, page 133." — Westmoreland Records. Sept 5, 1775, Jabez Fish, of Wilkes-Barre, sells to Darius Spaf- ford, lot of about 24 acres, on the south-west side Main road, in Wilkes-Barre, part of the first division meadow lot, for a considera- tion of ;^47 \os. Connecticut currency=^ 158.33^. Recorded in Westmoreland Book of Records, pages 478 and 479, on Jan. 24, 1776. Aug. 3, 1801, Elisha Blackman, administrator of estate of Darius Spafford, deceased, sells to Eleazer Blackman, part of lot No. 30, in third division in Wilkes-Barre, bounded north by the Main road, east by lands of heirs of Robert Durkee, south by lands of heirs of Robert Durkee, on the west by lands of Aziel Dana, containing about forty acres, consideration ;^38 Pennsyl- vania currency=;^ioi.33^. *Upham — Life of Timothy Pickering. 142 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Thus far the history of Hanover' has been the history of Wyo- ming. They could not be separated so as to give an outline of the history of the times for Hanover alone, for the leaders in Hanover were, much of the time, the leaders of all the settlers in all the settlements, and their acts were the acts of all; but it has been the intention and endeavor in this-, book to write nothing that was not directly or indirectly connected with Hanover. (Some matters in the preliminary chapter may be considered a long ways off; but, it should be, or ought to be, admitted that the history of any country or part should begin • with the very first traditionary story of its people, its discovery, and from there trace its way down to historical times, and on to the present.) Her neighbors had her assistance always, as she had theirs, in any endeavors made to cap- ture an enemy, or defeat him, or to recapture and rescue any of their people or property that had been taken prisoners or plundered by the Indians or tories. Hanover was not one of the most populous of the five townships, but she took a leading part in those stirring and dangerous times, those terrible times of Indian massacre, murder, captivity and plunder, because she had a number of leaders by nature among her population ; though every man among them was a working man and had to raise his own food and clothing from the ground with his own hands or hunt it in the woods. They were all farmers and all worked with their own hands, upon their farms which they themselves had made by clearing the land of its original woods, trees and brush, and fencing and tilling the ground. And they loved that land. " Westmoreland (including Wayne and Pike counties) in 1781, contained 114 males from 21 to 70, and 26 males from 16 to 21, making 140; quadruple this and we shall have 560 inhabitants, for all the county of Westmoreland three years after the battle and massacre of Wyoming." — Miner. This was one year before the Decree of Trenton, and the same length of time before the State of Pennsylvania undertook to drive them out of the State by force; The Pennsylvania legislature set out in 1783 by outlawing the ■people of Wyoming. It sent its soldiers and most treacherous officers here to drive them out. They did; but the very sufferings of the expelled people forced the government to call them back WYOMING. 143 again, and it finally compelled the government of the State to treat them as citizens of the State, though they were charged treble for their land. For many years their lands were assessed as first, second, third and fourth class, and valued as the commissioners (who had sur- veyed and certified them) had valued them.. Then for 'many more years they were assessed as, — tillable land=^i2.oo per acre, — un- tillable land=;^2.50 per acre. Now, 1885, all the land underlaid with coal is assessed at $100.00 and at ;^7S.oo without regard to its being tillable or untillable. " Luzerne county was carved out of Northumberland county in 1786. " Northumberland A^as erected out of parts of Lancaster, Cumber- land, Berks, Bedford and Northampton counties in 1772. Luzerne was therefore, a part of Northampton until 1772, then a part of Northumberland till 1786. " Wayne and Pike were never a part of Luzerne, but were cut off from Northampton in 1798. They had been part of Westmoreland. "Susquehanna county was carved out of Luzerne in 1810. "Bradford " " " " " " " 18 10. "Wyoming " " " " " " " 1842. "Lackawanna " " " " "' " " 1878. " The first three counties in the State were Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks, formed in 1682. "Northampton formed from part of Bucks, March 11, 1752. "Wayne formed froni part of Northampton, March 21, 1798. "Pike formed from part of Wayne, March 26, 18 14. "Monroe formed from parts of Northampton and Pike, April i, . 1836." Rep. Secty. Internal Affairs 18^4.-5— pp. 32-3. CHAPTER VIII. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. V_'HE exact time when Hanover was first settled is not known. It \J was, of course, taken possession df in a general way, by the first hundred men that came as settlers into the valley in February and April, 1769,. and some cultivation of land was probably done within its bounds in the upper end. A step-daughter of Matthias Hollenback related many year^ afterwards, that Hollenback, a member of Captain Lazarus Stewart's company of forty men from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, came into the valley with Stewart and his party by way of Mauch Chunk and the Warrior Path over the mountains into Hanover in the fall of 1769. We hear nothing further of them during that fall. They were driven out of the valley if they were here, by the Pennamites in September, 1769, with the rest of the Yankee settlers. Early in February, 1770, Captain Stewart and his forty men* and having with them ten Connecticut people, came into the valley, surprised the Pennamite garrison in Fort Durkee, at Wilkes-Barre, and expelled them from the valley. He took the dreaded four- pounder from its housing at Mill Creek, with its ammunition, and transported it to Fort Durkee. The list of the names of the forty Lancastrians that Captain Stewart had with him at this time is as follows : — The "Paxtang" or "Paxton Boys" that came with Captain Lazarus Stewart to Wyoming valley and Hanover in February, 1770: — * Lazarus Stewart, Adam Storer, George Aspen, Thomas French, Jacob Stagard, John Lard, Robert Young, George Ely, John McDonnell, James Stewart, Lodwick Shalman, George Meane, *Steuben Jenkins furnished this list and the succeeding letter. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 45 Lazarus Stewart, Jr., Joseph Neal, Nicholas Farrings, William Young, John Neal, Conrad Philip, Peter Kidd, Baltzer Stagard, Casper Relker, John Robinson, John Stellie, Jacob -Faulk, Xhomas Robinson, John McDonner, John Sault, John Simpson, William Stewart, Peter Szchewer, Adam Harper, Lazarus Young, Robert Kidd, Peter Seaman, . William Carpenter, Ronemus Haine, John Poop, Luke Shawley, Adam Sherer. Matthew HoUenbaugh. It will be seen, as we proceed, that all these men dropped out within one, or at most two years, except Lazarus Stewart, Lazarus Stewart, Jr., James Stewart, William Stewart, Robert Young, William Young, JoHn Robinson and Thomas Robinson — eight — from Lancaster county, and their places were partly filled by . Charles Stewart, David Young, John Young, James ^Robinson, Wm, Graham, John Donahow, Josias Aspia, Hugh Coffrin — eight — from Lancaster county, and John Franklin and Silas Gore — two — from Connecticut — making ten new men — altogether numbering eighteen. The preliminary correspondence so far as we have it is as fol- lows: — "Colony of Connecticut, Windham, January 15, 1770. ' ' Gentlepten : — " We received a letter some time ago, directed to Major John Durkee, wherein it was proposed by John Montgomery, Lazarus Young and others, that as we had been so unjustly treated in re- moving our settlers off from the Wyoming lands, that if we would give unto the said Montgomery, Young and their associates to the number of fifty, a township of land six miles square in our pur- chase, at some suitable and commodious place, that the said Mont- gomery, etc., to the number of fifty would immediately enter on our lands at Wyoming, take care of our houses and effects and with our people that are there, and such as shall from time to time join them on said land, and hold possession of said lands with us. We have, with the advice of a large committee of s'd company, considered of s'd proposals and do in behalf of ourselves and the Susqueha-nna purchasers, agree to and with the said Montgomery, Young and their associates to the number of fifty, that they shall 10 146 HISTORY OF HANOVER. have a good township of land of six miles square, within said pur- chase, invested with the same right to s'd township as the s'd company now have, and shall further promise to be laid out when it shall be convenient for the purposes aforesaid, and not So as to prejudice, but in aid of our settlers, that have already been on, and it is to be understood that the said Montgomery, Young, etc., are to become parcel of our s'd settlers, and be under the same regu- • lations with our settlers as such ; and we have sent herewith two of our Proprietors as a copi'tee, to treat with you on the affair, and go with you to Wyoming, to wit: Capt. Zebulon Butler and Mr. Ebenezer Backus, and to lay out said township as they and you shall agree if you think best, Capt. Butler to remain at Wyoming with you, Mr. Backus to return and bring us advice as soon as the circumstances of the case will permit. You may expect Major Durkee t<4 join you as soon as his affairs will permit. And whereas many of the settlers will join you soon, we have a good deal of reason to expect success with our Assembly in May. Now as there are sundry things . in favor of the Colony title that we have discovered lately we wish you good success in this and every lawful enterprise and are your sincere friends and very humble servants. " Eliphalet Dyer, ^ " Sam'l Gray, > " Committee for said Company y " Nath'l Wales, Jr., j It is remarkable that " Captain Lazarus Stewart and William Stewart and their associates" are'not mentioned in the above docu- ment. It is John Montgomery and Lazarus Young and their associates to the number of fifty. It is not known that Mont- gomery was ever here, but Lazarus Young certainly was. He was drowned while assisting in bringing mill-irons up the river. There was some pretty sharp fighting during the months of March and April following, but the men sent by the Proprietary government were defeated, and on the 29th of April they left the valley. Some of Captain Stewart's men seem to have had enough of it during this first campaign. One of his men was the first killed in the contest. His name is given as William Stager, but the name was probably Jacob or Baltzer Stagard. John McDonner sold his right or .claim in February and left. The men were constantly HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 147 changing— some were probably badly wounded and retired ; some were killed, some were drowned. New men were coming in and taking their places, but their number was diminishing. Land was now being surveyed, plotted and numbered preparatory to allot- ment, or division by lot. Farming went on swimmingly, when sud- denly in September, without any warning, they were all either cap- tured in their fields at work, or they escaped by fleeing to the moun- tain. They were taken by surprise by the Pennamites. The lead- ing Yankees that had been captured were sent to jail, and the • others driven out of the valley. A garrison was left in the fort to hold possession for the Proprietary government. On the 1 8th of December, the same year, 1770, without any previous notice, suddenly in the night, "Hurrah for King George," awoke the sleeping garrison of Pennamites to find them- selves prisoners, and Captain Lazarus Stewart with thirty men had . possession of the fort. Six of the garrison escaped nearly naked to the mountain. The prisoners were unceremoniously expelled from the valley. Thus ended 1770. • January 20, 1771, the Pennamites were before the fort in Wilkes- Barre in superior numbers; an assault was made and repulsed with "loss of lite to the Pennamites, but during the night Stewart abandoned the fort and took to the mountains. Early in April Capt. Stewart and Capt. Butler came back together, laid siege to the Ppnnamite forces in the fort, carried on their farming operations at the same time, repulsed all the efforts at relief by the Proprietary government, and by the 14th of August had the garrison starved into a' surrender. This was the end of the first Pennamite and Yankee War. It had lasted nearly three years. What further arrangement had been made between the Susque- hanna Company and Captain Stewart and his men up to this time is not known to the writer. There had, doubtless, been one of some kind, but circumstances were changing as well as men, and the company's arrangement with them had probably changed also. It is asserted that when. Hanover was granted to Stewart and his forty associates, ten men were to be added to them, taken from the two hundred Yankees that had come on ahead of them in 1769^-that the number of proprietors of a township there- after — with the exception of Kingston — was to be fifty, — Kingston 148 HISTORY OF HANOVER. having been taken possession of by the first forty that came alone ahead of all the rest, was to continue the possession of the forty. It will be seen that Hanover had in fact, at the time of the dis- tribution or allotment of the lands, only eighteen proprietors — "as- sociates" — but these eighteen had eighteen others — "hired men" — to make "not less than thirty-six settlers." And the town- ship was not six miles square, but only five, as was Wilkes-Barre and the others in the valley. Hanover was divided into three divisions called first, second and third. Each of these divisions was cut up into thirty-one lots. Twenty-eight of these lots were apportioned among " Captain Lazarus Stewart and William Stewart and their associates," and three were given for public use. These lots in the first division were about forty-two rods wide and reached from the Susquehanna River, back five miles to the township line beyond the top of the Big Mountain, and contained about four hundred, and thirty acres each. These were divided among the "associates" in 1771 or 1772. The twenty-eight lots in the second division were divided among the very same men — with one additional associate — as the first division. If any had died, or sold out and gone away, since, the other division had been alloted, the heirs and successors drew in the allotment of this division in the name of the original owner or associate. Each of the associates had at least one lot in each of the divisions. The lots in the second division contained about fifty-five acres each and in the third division about one hundred and twenty acres each on an average; — the latter divided or dis- tributed in 1787. SETXiEMENT OF HANOVER HANOVER RECORD. "At a meeting of the Susquehannah company held by order of adjournment at Windham, January 9th, A. D. 1771 : — "Voted, That the company taking into consideration the special services done this company by Capt. Lazarus Stewart, Wm. Stewart and others, their associates, in taking and regaining posses- sion for us on our purchase on Susquehannah river, that they and their associates shall have and be entitled to all the company's right to the Township they have chosen, called Hanover, unless they may HANOVER TOWNSHIP. . 1 49 be willing to admit some few others whome they esteme the most deserving, to come in for a share with them, Provided they keep and hold possession according to the former voates of said company. " A true coppy. Test Samuel Gray — Clark. " A true coppy taken from a copy by me "James Lasley — Clark." " At a meeting of the Susquehannah company held at Windham by adjournment June I2th, 1771, Major Elijah Talkett, Moderator, Samuel Gray, Clark. Whereas, this company at thare meating held at Windham March the 13th, 1771, Voted, that it was necessary and best for the interest of this company to regain and hold posseesion of our settlements at Wyoming and in order thereto it was voted that those 540 settlers formerly voted, as also those settlers to whome the Township of Hanover was granted, should go forward and take the Possession of our lands at Wyoming by the first day of June instant; and at the meeting of the company in April last it was voted and agreed further to suspend entering the s'd land till the adjourned meeting held at Hartford, May the 15th last, which meeting by adjournment comes to this time, it is now adjudged necessary best and voted that the said 540 settlers immediately go forward and take the possession of our lands at Wyoming and hold the same according to the former voates of this company at their meetings held at Windham in March and April last, and^that they be on said lands by the loth day of July next. " Whereas, it is probable that some of the settlers will fail of going on and taking Possession of thare settling rights according to the voats of this Company, and some others have forfited thare Settling rights by unfaithfulness, and it will be necessary to fill up the said number to 540 settlers, it is now voated that the Company of settlers when thay have got the Possession of said lands, either by themselves ' or a committee by them chosen, shall have full power to admit new settlers upon such forfited rights and fill the said number up if good, able and faithful men shall offer themselves, and if any Person or Persons shall be agrieved at the doings of said company of settlers or if such committee as they shall appoint respecting the disposal of 'any such forfited right or rights they 150 • HISTORY OF HANOVER. shall have liberty to lay such a grievance before this company at some futer meating, to be determined by this company at such futer meating." " A true coppy Test Sam'l Gray, Clark. "Taken from a coppy by me. James Lasley, Clark." These 540 settlers for Wyoming formed too large a force for the Pennsylvania Proprietaries to contend with, and the war was not renewed till 1775 in the Plunkett invasion. - "Proprietors' Meeting, Wilkes-Barre, Oct. 19, 1772. Capt. Zeb- ulon Butler, Moderator for ye work of ye day. "Voted, That Capt. Lazarus Stewart and William Stewart are deserving the town of Hanover, agreeably to the votes passed at the general meeting of the Proprietors of the Susquehanna Co., held at Windham, Jan. g, 1771." The writer has been unable to learn that anything was ever paid the Susquehanna Company for the lands in Hanover except the ser- vice of driving the Pennamites from the valley. The lots were probably divided out to each man in proportion to the service he had thus rendered. Capt. Stewart had six lots in the first division, Lazarus Stewart, Jr., two — Wm. Stewart three — Thomas Robinson two — Wm. Young two, then one lot each to the other thirteen men ; total twenty-eight lots without counting the three public lots. In the second division it is the same, except that Capt. Lazarus Stewart has only five lots and Elijah Inman — a new man — has one. allotment of lands in HANOVER. "' Thus ' says Cooper, 'in Hanover, one part of the township was marked out and divided among the settlers at an early day, or stage, of the settlement. "'A second division was made 8 June, 1776. "'A third division was made 12 Sept., 1787.' " The owners of these settling rights sometimes sold out before all the divisions were made ; sometimes they sold one division and retained the rest, etc., etc.— sometimes the undivided share was sold and the divided land retained, etC;, etc."* At what particular date these lots in the first division of Han- over were divided or allotted among the associates is not now known, but it was sometime between 1771 and 1772, and it was *Steuben Jenkins, HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 151 probably in 1772. Silas Gore was .one of the Stewart "associates,'' and it is assumed by the writer that he could not be one of them and at the same time own a settling right in another township, with the obligation to man and defend it. Well, Silas Gore owned a whole settling right in Wilkes-Barre in 1772. On July 6, 1772, he sold it to Jonathan Stowell.* Now it is assumed that after this he joined Capt. Stewart's associates. As early as Dec. 22, 1782, we find David Young, another of the Stewart associates, sells to Thomas Robinson, also a Stewart associate, lot No. 7 — i Div. Hanover. 13 Oct. 1774. Ebenezer Hibbard to Edward Spencer, lot No. 10 — I Div., 400 acres. July i, 1775, Silas Gore sells part of lot No. 28 — I Div. Hanover, to Samuel Ensign. These lots were allotted to Young and John Robinson and Gore when the division was made. This is pretty good evidence that the division was made in 1 772 and after July 6, and before December 22. First, because Gore could not have owned a "settling right" in Wilkes- Barre and at the same time have been one of the associate owners of Hanover; second, because a part of lot 7 in Hanover was sold 22d Dec, 1772, and must have been previously allotted; third, they were not allotted before Gore joined the associates. "A list of Capt. Lazarus Stewart and William Stewart's asso- ciates, and their names, and numbers of their lots : — FIRST DIVISION. " Capt. Lazarus Stewart No. I "John Young .... No. 17 "Capt. Lazarus Stewart n 2 "William Young . . " 18 " Capt. Lazarus Stewart a 3 "William Stewart . . " 19 "Lazarus Stewart jr. . ii 4 "Thomas Robinson . " 20 "Lazarus Stewart jr. . ti . 5 "James Stewart . . . " 21 "John Donahow . . . it 6 "William Young . . " 22 "David Young . . . ti 7 " Capt. Lazarus Stewart " 23 " Capt. Lazarus Stewart If g " Capt. Lazarus Stewart " 24 "William Graham . . ti 9 "William Stewart . . " 25 "John Robinson . . . it 10 "Charles Stewart . . " 26 "James Robinson . . it II "William Stewart . . " 27 "Thomas Robinson . ti 12 "Silas Gore " 28 " Josias Aspia .... it 13 "Parsonage Lot . . . " 29 "Hugh Caffron . . '. it 14 "Public Lot ... . " 30 "John Franklin . . . ti 15 "Public or Local Lot " 31 "Robert Young . . . ti 16 *Miner, page 162. 152 HISTORY OF HANOVER. " We do certify that the above named is our associates, with as many other hired men, to the number of thirty-six exclusive of the three pubhc lots. " Lazarus Stewart, Capt. "William Stewart. " Delivered to James Lasley to put on Record. "Recorded April 10, 1777 by me "James Lasley, Clark." Among the first two hundred New England settlers that came to Wyoming Valley in 1769 were: — Moses Hibbard, Jenks Corey (Corah), Moses Hibbard, jr., Silas Gore, Ebenezer Hibbard, John Franklin, Joseph Morse. These seven men were all New England men, they all came with the first two hundred settlers in 1769 to Wyoming. Each owned a settling right somewhere, that is, land to the amount of 400 acres, as granted to the first forty settlers in each township. That was the quantity of land in each settling right, except in Hanover. Silas Gore owned such a settling right in Wilkes-Barre. He sold it in 1772 and took a settling right in Hanover, as one of the associates of Lazarus and William Stewart. Here in Hanover, a settling right or the quantity of land owned by each of the asso- ciates was not less than 600 acres. John Franklin owned a settling right in Hanover. He was one of the Stewart associates. He had owned a settling right some- where else before he came here or joined the Stewart associates. There is no record known to the writer of his sale of it, but he had to dispose of it before he could hold land under that title in Han- over. The other five had probably sold their settling rights that they had owned elsewhere, as they owned land in Hanover and resided on it. In Hanover they were simply proprietors. They might own more or less than a settling right, but they did not own by right of a settling right. Every owner of land whether much or little was a proprietor, and had a voice equal to any other in a town- meeting of the proprietors, provided he was a resident. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 53 Col. Wright, in his Sketches of Plymouth, has Joseph Morse as one of the pioneer settlers of Plymouth. That being true, then he had sold his settling right there and came to Hanover. Five of them were in the Wyoming Massacre, and three of them were slain. At a meeting of the Susquehanna Company at Hartford, Con- necticut, in 1773, it was resolved and voted that: — " Whereas, there is some difficulty with respect to the voats rela- tive to the town of Hanover, and the number of settlers to be placed in said town, it is the understanding of this meeting, that by the voates of this company Capt. Lazarus Stewart and Wm. Stewart and their associates shold have the Derection of filling up said town of Hanover, and that there shall not be less than thirty-six settlers on said to hold the same, the reglation of said to be nevertheless under the controal of this com- pany as other towns are. "At adjourned meeting at Hartford, June 2d, 1773. "A copy taken by Wm. Stewart. "A true copy taken from a copy by "James Lasley — Clark." Now, there was nothing to disturb the settlers and they went to work clearing land, building houses and making rough homes for themselves, when they were startled December, 1775, by the news that another invasion of the valley was preparing at Sunbury. While the tension of affairs between the colonies and the mother country was becoming severely strained, the English governors of the province chose that time as the particular moment in which to make a final attempt to dislodge the settlers and expel them from the valley. The second Pennamite and Yankee War — Plunkett's invasion in December, 1775 — called upon the Hanover men in an especial manner to defend themselves. They and the inhabitants of Plymouth would first feel the tread and the devastation of the hostile invader. Captain Stewart was in command of them, but his forces of probably forty men, were divided, half of them with the main army on the west side of the river, and twenty men with Stewart on the east side to repel any attempt to land in Hanover. 10* 154 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The story I of the fight has been told in a previous part of this book. The only thing that need be said here is that Stewart was not accustomed to firing blank cartridges. When the boat, filled with soldiers said to have been under the immediate command of the redoubtable Colonel Plunkett himself, arrived within fair shoot- ing distance of the Hanover shore, a volley of ball cartridges were fired into them. One man was killed outright, two were severely wounded, as afterwards learned, and a dog killed. The men, or soldiers, all lay down in the boat and begged of the Yankees to cease firing and permit them to steer their boat down the falls. It is said that Plunkett lay down flat on the bottom of the boat, fear- ing if he were seen he would be surely killed. As they promised to leaye and not attempt to land anywhere on the east side of the river below, the Yankees, ' or the Hanover men, allowed them to steer down the falls. Col. Wright, in his Sketches of Plymouth, says Benjamin Harvey, Jr., a Plymouth man, a prisoner with the Pennamites, was put upon this boat as a kind of shield, and that he begged of Stewart after the first volley not to fire upon them any . more as he might injure his friends. Captain Lazarus Stewart's lot had fallen upon Nos. i, 2, and 3 in the first division (among others), the latter lot afi;erwards known as the Alexader Jameson lot. That is the third lot from the Wilkes- Barre line (as it is now), and upon that land about midway between the rivet road and the river bank was — and is — an elevation in the flats slightly higher than the surrounding plain, upon which there stood a block-house at the time of the Wyoming battle and massacre in 1778. This block-house was also the. dwelling of Capt. Stewart's family. His .family was there when he was slain in that battle and massacre and fled with the rest of the inhabitants in the neighborhood, some down the river in boats and some on foot. The people of the lower end of Hanover fled across the mountain by the Warriors' Path. This Stewart block-house was probably not the fortification built by the residents of the township at the re- quest of the general town-meeting immediately after the declara- tion of independence by Congress in 1776. This block-house and the other buildings in the neighborhood and along the river road in the upper part of the township were burnt by the Indians and tories after the inhabitants fled, and all the furniture and property HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 155 left in the houses and barns and fields was destroyed or carried away. No buildings have ever been erected there since. There was, however, some kind of a defensive work at the ".Stewart Place" in 1782. The writer has been unable to find where the township built its block-house in 1776 (it was not a fort), but it was probably about three miles or less further down the road, towards the west, say two miles above Nanticoke, where the block-house afterwards stcpod, that was so often defended by Lieutenant Rosewell Franklin and his neighbors against Indian attacks. There were other block-houses in Hanover besides these, after 1778. People that lived in the township at all after 1778 and until peace was declared, li^ed in block-houses or in the immediate vicinity of one. How many there were is not known, but there are persons still living who have seen such a house, then in use as a dwelling, standing near the river road, a s-hort distance east of the house of the late Samuel Pell. There was probably one at Nanti- coke. The ordinary dwelling-houses of the times from 1778 to 1782—3 were loop-holed, and prepared for defense from hostile attaclc. Captain Stewart and his associates were not all Pennsylvanians. There were two or three Yankees among them. We have no list of the names of the inhabitants except the nineteen and the names of some found through their town-meetings, and those who were remembered that were killed, or escaped from the massacre in 1778; but from the names among the inhabitants of the township after the Pennamite troubles of 1783 to 1785 it would be supposed that they were mostly descendants of the Puritans of New England. The Scotch and Scotch-Irish Pennsylvanians had been nearly all killed off by the massacre, and few others from Lancaster county came in to take .their places. So there were then " Yankees " from Connecticut, Pennsylvania " Dutch," New York and New Jersey " Dutch," English, Irish, Welsh and a Negro, ancj the remnant of the Scotch-Irish Pennsylvania - Paxton Boys. The Yankees were Congregationalists, the Scotch-Irish were Presbyterians, and it may be fairly presumed that the Pennsylvania and other Dutch were Lutherans,- or German Reformed. The settlers were all very relig- ious and took care to have a clergyman with them, or at least a dea- 156 HISTORY OF HANOVER. con accustomed to conducting religious services. The Pennsylva- nians or Lancaster men had a Presbyterian church or "meeting- house" somewhere in the township, though it is now uncertain where it stood. Christopher Hurlbut's journal speaks of the murder of John Jameson at the Hanover Green in 1782, and says it was near where the church was afterwards built, showing that no church edifice had been built there since the lot had been set off for that purpose up to 1782, at least. The lot was set aside for church uses in 1776. The Yankee Congregationalists held religious meetings in private houses and in barns, not being at all particular where they worshiped, but always being very particular to worship, even if it was in the open air. They believed they could worship God as well in one place as another. The Book of " Records " of the Proprietors of Hanover town- ship or district, in the "Town of Westmoreland," in the county of Litchfield, Connecticut, commences in 1776. A record of some kind must have been kept from 1770-1 — the end of the first ''Pennamite and Yankee War" — to 1776, or to the opening of the war of independence. Houses were built and build- ing, school-houses were built in every township, taxes were levied and collected, school and township committees were appointed in town-meeting, — and a record must have been kept. It is now lost — or at least not known to exist. The one we have begins as follows: — " To James Lasley of the District of Hanover in the town of Westmoreland * * *" requiring him to: — " Warn all the Proprietors of said District of Hanover to meet ^ at the dweUing-house of Titus Hinman in said district on the 25th day of March instant, at one of the clock afternoon, and then and there, first, to choose a Proprietors' Clark and committee for said district; secondly, to come into some proper method to get the un- divided lands laid out in s'd district; />%?'ra?/)/, to any other business gone over and necessary to be done at s'd meeting ; hereof fail not and make due return of the warrant with your doings thereon ac- cording to law. "Dated at Westmoreland the sth day of March, 1776. " Nathan Denison, ■ "Justice of the Peace." HANOVER TOWNSHIP. I 57 In obedience to the above mandate, the proper written "warning" was posted up and the meeting was held at the house of Titus Hinman, March 25, 1776: — " Voted, that John Jameson be Moderator for s'd meeting. "Voted, that James Lasley be Proprietors' Clark for s'd district. " Voted, that' Captain Lazarus Stewart, William Stewart, John Franklin, Titus Hinman and Robert Young be appointed a com- mittee for said district. "Voted, that there 'be left six acres where the committee shall think proper for the use of a. mieeting-house and other things neces- sary for public use in the common land." Adjourned to April 25, 1776. April 25, 1776, meeting held at Titus Hinman's. Caleb Spencer, Moderator for the day. James Lasley, Clerk. "Voted, that the two great roads from Wilkes-Barre line through this district to Newport line be six rods wide each ; and from the first great road nearest the river, of the above-mentioned roads, to the south end of the district, be six rods wide each, only the road next Newport to be rods wide, and all roads from the north great road that runs east and west to the river, be as wide as our committee shall think proper; said roads to be given for public use forever from us, the Proprietors of the District." At a meeting held May.i, 1776. Titus Hinman, Moderator for the day. James Lasley, Clerk. Voted, " That all the undivided land between the mountain and the river shall be laid out thus: that it shall be laid out as nearly square as it will admit of or the committee shall think fit, not more being laid out in one lot than belongs to a right, and when the re- turns of the surveyor are made, then each man draws for his lot." " Voted, Lieut. Lazarus Stewart and James Spencer is appointed a committee to go with the surveyor to say where p;;oper to run the line by the mountain." These are the lots in the second division in Hanover. Meeting, June 8, 1776. • Titus Hinman, Moderator for the day. James Lasley, Clerk. ,158 HISTORY OF HANOVER. "Voted, that the District pay James Lasley six shillings for a book to keep the District Records in." List of second division lots, their names and numbers as they drew according to the original, June 8, 1776. SECOND DIVISION. "Robert Young . . . " Charles Stewart . . " William Young . . "Thomas Robinson . " Capt. Lazarus Stewart " Lazarus Stewart, jr. . " Hugh Cafron (Coffrin) "James Robinson .. . " Capt. Lazarus Stewart " Capt. Lazarus Stewart "William Stewart . . "William Young . . "JohnDanahough . . " William Stewart . . " Capt. Lazarus Stewart "William Stewart . . . No 29 l( 19 <( 22 u 26 it .9 a 18 ii 24 it 21 it 31 it 14 it 7 it 25 it IS a 10 ti 28 tt 20 "Thomas Robinson . "Elijah Inman . . . " Lazarus/Stewart, jr. . "Capt. Lazarus Stewart "William Graham "Public Lot . "John Young . "John Robinson "James Stewart " Silas Gore . . "David Young " Parsonage Lot "Public Lot . "Josias Aspiey "John Franklin No. 30 " 12 " 8 " 4 " I " 16 " 3 " II " 2 " 13 " 17 " 6 " 5 " 23 " 27 The above are all the same names as those drawing the lots in the first division with one name added (Elijah Inman) making nineteen persons. There was no halting in their work. The meeting, where it was determined to have the undivided land .surveyed, was held May i, 1776, and the land was divided by "lot" on June 8, 1776. There were other settlers in the township besides these and their hired men ; why did not some of them draw settlers' rights in the land? The Hopkins, the Campbells, the Caldwells, the Spencers, the Bennetts, the Hibbards, the Jamesons, the Hin- mans, the Wades, Lasley, McKarrican, E-spy, Line, Pell, and num- bers of others. A Proprietor was the owner of land whether much or little; a settler's or associate's right in Hanover was about six hundred acres.- At a meeting of the Proprietors of Hanover at the house of Titus Hinman — May 28, 1776: — ^ "Voted, that number one in the second division is of more value than the other lots, it is to be fifteen acres less in number than the rest of the lots." ' HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 59 This was the lot upon which James Coffrin, — {Cofron, Cockron, Cochrane) — had erected a grist-mill several years before. The division or drawing of the lots took place June 8, 1776, and William Graham,^ — {Grimes, Gredmes) — drew the lot. It was more valuable as a mill seat than the other lots of the second division. Coffrin bought it of Graham after the drawing. June 8, 1776. "Voted, for the futer our meetings shall be warned by five or more of the Proprietors making application to the Pro- prietor's Clark for a meeting and then he shall set up his warnings one at the upper end of the District and the other at the lower end of the District at the most Public places not less than six days before said meeting." On June 16, 1776, James Coffrin deeds to John Cpmar [Com- mer) a lot of land in the District of Hanover, Lot No. i , second div- ision, bounded as follows: "N'ly by Susquehanna River; S'ly by James Stewart ; E'ly by William Stewart ; W'ly by Newport line ; being drawedto ye Proprietorship of William Grimes." This is the lot on which Col. Washington Lee's house stood at Nanticoke. After 1830 the backwater from the dam covered and hid the place where Coffrin's Mills stood. No one now — 1885 — remembers the place where they stood. The old " Lee's Mill," well remembered still, did not occupy the site of the original Nanticoke mill of James Coffrin. Coffrin's Mill was much nearer the river, and witli- in Hanover's boundaries, while Lee's Mill was within the boundaries of Newport. THE RIVER ROAD. The first of the two great roads, (the River Road and the Middle Road). "Beginning at a stake on the line of said District of Hanover, (the Newport line) near to Mr. Coffrin's Mills; thence N. 79° E. 68 rods,— thence N. 84° E. n6 rods,— thence N. 85° E. 15 rods,— thence S. 75° E. 38 rods, to a stake on Capt. Stewart's land, — (lots No. 23 and 24), thence N. 68°"E. 114 rods, — thence N. 87° E. 236 rods, — thence S. 88° E. 40 rods, to an oven on James Lasley's land (lot No. 17),— thence N. 85° E. 20 rods,— thence N. 70° E. 44 rods to a stake at the land of Ebenezer Wickesham, — thence N. 84° E. 40 rods, — thence N. 55° E. 204 rods to the upper corner of the l60 HISTORY OF HANOVER. meeting-house green, — thence same course 447 rods, — thence N. 76° E. 40 rods to Edward Spencer's lot, — thence N. 70° E. 25 rods, — thence N. 73° E. 56 rods, — thence N. 79° E. 56 rods, — thence N. 59° E. 56 rods, — thence N. 50° W. 18 rods crossing Moses' Creek, (Solomon's Creek), — thence N. 58° E. 96 rods, — thence N. 50° E. 132 rods to the Wilkes-Barre line." "Sept. 23, 1776." The road was six rods wide, commenced on the line between Hanover and Newport townships, at Nanticoke near Coffrin's Mills. This road was run out and report made 23 Sept. 1776. Coffrin's Mills are assumed to be the mills so often mentioned by Miner as "at Nanticoke," "on the borders of Hanover and Newport," etc. William and James Coffrin were killed in the massacre, 1778. Sol- omon's Creek is called "Moses' Creek." There had been a road, where this one was now located by law, for five or six years, and the mills for making oilj and the forge for making iron had been built some years before on the Newport branch of the Nanticoke Creek beyond the Hanover line, but now — 1884-5 — the place is within the borough of Nanticoke. THE MIDDLE ROAD. " Beginning at Newport line at a yellow pine tree ; thence N. 'jj° E. 244 rods to white pine tree on Capt. Stewart's land, — (lots 23 and 24) — thence N. 88° E. 164 rods, — thence N. 55° E. 116 rods, — thence N. 40° E. 112 rods, — thence N. 58° E. 256 rods, — thence N. 50° E. Ill rods, — thence N. 37° E. 215 rods, — thence N. such course as will meet Wilkes-Barre line one rod westward of the main road through said Wilkes-Barre, said road to ly southeastwardly from said marks and bounds six rods wide. "Dated at Westmoreland the 23 day of September 1776. " Christopher Avery, " George Dorrance, I Select "William McKerachan [Men." "John Jenkins. At the same time cross-roads were surveyed and made, generally six rods wide. This was all under Connecticut jurisdiction. ANCIENT transfers OF REAL ESTATE IN HANOVER. 1772 — Nov. 25. Lazarus Stewart to David YoMvigifiuaranUe) — Lot No. 7 — 1 Div, HANOVER TOWNSHIP. l6l 1772 — Dec. 22. David Young to Thomas Robinson — Lot No. 7 — I Div. 1 774 — May 8. James and John Robinson to Richard Robinson — Lot No. 7 — I Div. 1774 — June II. Ebenezer Hibbard to Cyprian Hibbard — Lot— 1774 — Oct. 13. Ebenezer Hibbard to Edward Spencer — Lot No. 10 — I Div. 400 acres. 1774 — Oct. 25. Robert Young to Samuel Howard — Undivided land. 1775 — July I. Silas Gore to Samuel Ensign — Lot No. 28 — i Div. 1 776 — July 1 3. John Jameson to Wm. and Cyprian Hibbard — Lot No. 25 — I Div. 1776 — ^August 30. Lazarus Stewart, Jr., to Wm. McKarrachan — Lot No. 8—2 Div. 1 776-7- Robert Young to Samuel Gordon — Lot No. 16 — i Div. 1776 — ^John Franklin to Samuel Gordon^ — Lot 15 — i Div; 1776 — June 16. James Coffrin to John Comer — Lot No. i — 2 Div. 1776 — Sept. II. Lazarus Stewart, Jr., ta Nathaniel Howard — Undivided land. 1776 — Sept. II. Matthew Hollenback to Samuel Ensign — Lot No. 12 — I Div. 1777 — ^Jan 15. Wm. McKarrachan to Gideon Booth, Jr. — Lot No. 8 — 2 Div., "ye meeting-house lot." 1777 — Feb. 5. Silas Gore to Wm. McKarrachan — Lot No. 28 I Div. 1777 — Mar. 15. John Franklin to Nathan Howell^Lot No. 15 I Div. 1777 — Mar. 19. Gideon Baldwin to Caleb Spencer — 1777 — Mar. 19. Caleb Spencer to Gideon Baldwin — 1777 — Mar. 19. Caleb Spencer to Peleg Burritt — Lot No. 7 — i Div. 1777 — May 2. William Hibbard to Cyprian Hibbard — Lot No. 25 and 18. i777^May 13. Margaret Neill to Richard Robinson — 11 1 62 HISTORY OF HANOVER. 1777 — May 20. James Lasley to Jenks Corey — Lot No. 14-^1 Div. 1777 — May 25. Dr. Samuel Cooke to John Staples^ — Lot No. 6 —I Div. 1777 — June 7. Jenks Corey to Dr. Samuel Cooke — Lot No. 14 —I Div. 1777 — June 24. Matthew Hollenback to John HoUenback — Lots No. II and 12 — i Div. 1777 — June 24. Matthew Hollenback to James Lasley — Lot No. 17 — I Div. 1777 — ^July 6. James Cochran (Coffrin) to John Comer — Mill and 50 acres in 1775. 1777 — Sept. 9. Wm. McKarrachan to John Ewings — Lot No. 18 — I Div., where McK. lives. 1777 — Sept. 12. Peleg Burritt to Gideon Burritt — Part of No. 7 —I Div. 1777— Nov. 12, John Hollenback to (Deacon) John Hurlbut — Lots No. II and 12 — i Div. 1778 — Jan 15. William Stewart to Cyprian Hibbard — * James Coffrin's (or Cochran) Mill in Hanover. "28 February, 1777, attachment. " Nathaniel Davenport vs. James Coffrin of Hanover. " September term, i "j-jd, Damages ;^8o. Cause of action." "Ye Plff. declares that ye Deft, brought his action of damages against ye Plff. in Litchfield County Court," {Westmoreland) "at September Term, 1776, for the sum of ^80. L. M. for enticing and evilly contriving and persuading one. Job Scot, who ye Defl. had then agreed arid bargained with to build and erect a certain Grist Mill iij said Westmoreland at a place called Hanover District, etc., etc. "Writ issued by Zebulon Butler, J. P., to William Stewart, Const." James Stewart — Hanover — " Claims about 60 acres of Lot No. 16 — first division, drawn by 'Robert Young." Deed. — Westmoreland Records. — Robert Young to Samuel Gordon. " Trac't of land situate on N. branch of Nanticoke Creek (No. 16), adjoining and below where John Franklin's line between *I am indebted to Steuben Jenkins for nearly all this list of transfers. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 63 John (No. 15) and said Young's lot crosses the creek at the lowest place, and as the said line runs from the one branch to the other, thence oh the high bank runs on both sides of the creek down to the bank next above the fence made by John Ewing's (lot No. 1 8) to run from the end of the bank which points to the cr ':. square across to a line run between said Young's lot and Matthi^ Hollen- back'slot;" (No. 17). Dated 1776. Consideration, ;£■ 12. (^40.) The above attachment and the conveyance seemed to the writer very interesting papers, and for that alone are introduced. The last entry before the massacre is 1778- On July 3, 1778, the terrible battle, and massacre of the people took place at Wyoming. The people left alive all fled from the valley in the wildest confusion and disorder, and the whole country was left without inhabitants. Nearly all the Westmoreland Records were abandoned in the flight. Almost everything was left behind; but the person in possession of the Hanover Book of Proprietors' Records — probably James Lasley, the town-clerk — carried it away. He survived, arid returned in 1786, and the book is again brought into use in town-meetings, although the jurisdiction of Connecticut, under which the book had been commenced, had ceased by the Decree at Trenton in 1782, and Pennsylvania had succeeded to it. The meetings of the proprietors in "town-meet- ings", now go right on as if there had been no change in the state to which they belojiged- This proprietors' book shows nothing of the occurrences of the reign of tyranny and treachery under Penn- sylvania rule from 1782 up to 1785. They have been sufficiently detailed in the first part of this work and were called the third Pennamite and Yankee War. Of the time from 1778 to 1782 the Indian and tory raids and murders were so frequent that the settlers had no time nor heart for town-meetings, and probably none were held. But now, when the meetings and the regular town business are resumed, we find but very few of the old names. William Stewart is here, and James Lasley, Robert and Wm. Young, and one of the Robinsons ; the Jamesons, Hibbards, Inmans, Burretts and Spencers have represent- atives. 164 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Now we will introduce the names of the Hanover men in the Wyoming Massacre, the killed, and the escaped, and the names of the residents of Hanover at the time that were not in the massacre. Hanover men that were in the battle and massacre July 3, 1778, and were killed: Capt. Lazarus Stewart, Lieut. Lazarus Stewart, Ensign Jeremiah Bigford,* Samuel Bigford,* William Coffrin, James Coffrin, Isaac Campbell, John Caldwell, Janks Corey,* Coe,* Capt. William McKarrachan, Ensign Silas Gore,* Ensign Titus Hinman,* Cyprean Hibbard,* Elijah Inman, Jr.,* Israel Inman,* Robert Jameson, Jr.,* William Jones, William Lester, James Spencer,* Josiah Spencer,* Levi Spencer,* Nathan Wade.* Fifteen New England men in above. John Franklin,* Jonathan Franklin,* James Hopkins,* Total, 26 killed. Hanover men that were in the Wyoming Massacre of July 3, 1778, and escaped: Rufus Bennett,* John Jameson,* — — Coe,* William Jameson,* Rosewell Franklin,* Joseph Morse (or Morris),* Arnold Franklin,* Thomas Neill (or Neal), Ebenezer Hibbard,* Josiah Pell, Jr., William Hibbard,* Walter Spencer,*- Jacob Haldron, Edward Spencer,* Richard -Inman,* William Young. David Inman.* Total, 17 escaped. Twelve are of New England. List of names of men resident in Hanover from 1776 to 1778 who from old age, sickness, want of weapons or absence from the township were not in the Wyoming Battle and Massacre July 3, 1778: Robert Alexander, Joseph Jameson,* George Asbie, Alexander Jameson,* Peley Burritt (too old),* Thomas Jones, ' Stephen Burritt,* Wm. Jackson (too old), Gideon Burritt,* James Lasley (too old), Gideon Booth, Jr.,* Edward Lester, Jonathan Corey,* Conrad Line, Sr. (too old), HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 65 Asa Chapman,* Asa Lyons, John Coleman, Josiah Pell, Sr. (too old), John Ewings, John Robinson, Wm. Graham, Wm. Stewart, Hagaman (too old), Caleb Spencer (too old),* Christopher Hurlbut (absent),* Thomas Wigton,* Elijah Inman, Sr. (too old),* Ebenezer Wickersham, John Inman (no gun),* David Young, Isaac Inman (no gun),* Robert Young. Robert Jameson, Sr. (too old).* Total, 23 not in the massacre ; Fifteen are from New England. There were 26 killed, 17 escaped, 33 residents of Hanover not in the battle — total male inhabitants over 21 years, 76. Out of the whole seventy-six, forty-four are New England men. They are marked with a star (*). Fourteen are Scotch-Irish. The remainder are Pennsylvania Dutch — 18. There may have been — there probably were— a few others in the Wyoming. Massacre besides those named above. The list of those that escaped is about full. The list of those not in the mas- sacre, mostly old men, sick men, and men that had no fire-arms, and men absent from the valley, is not and. cannot be entirely full, and there may be two or three under 21 years, but with two or, at most, three exceptions they were resident land-owners. Those known to have been too old are marked so. The return of the in- habitants and their sufferings and murder by Indians, and their further sufferings from the Pennsylvania government,, after the Decree of Trenton, by murders, arsons, robbery, tyranny, evictions and expulsions have been sufficiently detailed in previous pages. In the third division allotment four of the original associates had left and their names had been dropped and two others taken in, so that now there are only sixteen associates. In each division there were three lots reserved — or rather drawn — for public use. The third division of lots was surveyed and allotted Sept. 12, 1787, after the Pennsylvania government had succeeded to the jurisdic- tion and the county of Luzerne had been erected. The third division seems to have been allotted in a different manner from the others : 1 66 HISTORY OF HANOVER. " Capt. Lazarus Stewart(^)No. 6 " Capt. Lazarus Stewart(d?) "John Donahow . . . " Lieut. Laz. Stewart (d) "John Robinson ... "John Franklin (d) . . " Robert Young .... "Wni. Young (d) . . . " Lieut. Laz. Stewart (d) "James Robinson . . . " Wm. Young (d) . . . "James Stewart (d) . . "Thomas Robinson . . " Parsonage Lot .... " Capt. Lazaijus Stewart (d) 29 13 28 30 2 31 7 I 17 22 5 23 3 9 "Wm. Stewart .... No. 4 "Wm. Stewart ....'■' 8 "Wm. Stewart . ..." 10 "Wm. Stewart . ..." 21 "School Lot . ... . " 27 ■^'Wm. Stewart . ..." 24 " Capt. Lazarus Stewart((i'^ " 19 "Wm. Graimes (Graham) " 26 "Elijah Inman .' . . . " 25 "John Young "14 "James Lasley . . . . "20 "Public Lot "16 "Wm. Stewart . ..." 12 "Thomas Robinson . . " 15 "Silas Gore (^m^) ... " 18 "Capt. Lazarus Stewart ((3?) " II "This division drawn by John Stewart and Jowel Burritt, in- different persons." Others besides those marked were probably dead. At a meeting of the Proprietors of the town of Hanover legally warned and held at the house of James Lasley on Saturday, 31 January, 1789. John Hurlbut, Moderator for the day. " Resolved, Whereas Elisha Delano is about to build a saw-mill on or near one of the public lots, first division, No. 29, by which means it will flow a quantity of land on said lot No. 29. Resolved that the Clark be impowered to make out a lease of all the land the mill pond flows for any term of time not exceeding ninety-nine years, the said Elisha Delano paying the sum of yearly rent of one shilling for each acre that said mill pond * * * and necessary for logg way and board yard for said mill — Provided that the said Elisha Delano builds a sufficient saw-mill within one year from this date, 31 of January, 1789. "James Lasley, Clark." Lot No. 29 leased to Frederick Crisman for fourteen years, " Elisha Delano's lease for raising a pond on this lot reserved." This was the Red Tavern lot. The mill was afterwards made a grist- mill and became finally the Behee Mill. The leases to Delano and to Crisman were dated January 31, 1789. Crisman built the Red Tavern on the " six-rod road " adjoining lot No. 29 on the east. Of HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 67 course there was no real road over on that " six-rod road," nor any part of it. The map will show thes£ narrow strips of land along the lines of lots in the first division about a mile apart, running from north to south across the township, called "six-rod roads." Wherever they could be used as roads they were so used; but there were very few places along them where they could be used for a road. Therefore, where not used for roads they were leased out as any other public land was. LOTS OF THE FIRST DIVISION. Before we give the condensed history of these lots we may say that the back end of all of them, from about the top of the Little Mountain running southerly, was dropped off as unseated land before the survey and certification of the lands to the claimants in 1802. Those parts of the lots are sold every two years for taxes. The railroads have caused some parts of them to be bought for residences of employes of the railroads. Nos. I, 2, 3. Drawn by Captain -Lazarus Stewart, descended to and were divided between his children after his death in the Wyo- ming Massacre, July* 3, 1778. The Stewart block-house stood on No. 3, between the River road and the river, about midway. Certi- fied in 1802, part of No. i to Nathan Waller, descended to his daughter, Mrs. Miller Horton, and to" the Horton heir after them. Part of Nos. i and 2 certified to Jacob Rosecrants and John Hannis ; transferred by them to others unknown. The back end of i and 2 at Newtown is divided among many owners. Thomas Brown owned No. i there for many years. Petty 's Mill is on No. i. Part •of 2 and 3 long remained the property of Alexander Jameson who married a daughter of Capt. Stewart. It was certified to Jameson in 1802; in 1863-4 the GermaniaCoal Co. had amine and breaker on the back end at the foot of the mountain. It now belongs to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Co. The larger part of No. 3 fell to Josiah Stewart and was certified to him in 1802, but has long been in other hands. [The actual dates of certificates are not known ; but as certification commenced in 1 802 and ended in 1 804, the time in general is given as 1802]. No. 4. Drawn by Lieut. Lazarus Stewart (/r.) He was slain in that disastrous battle and massacre in 1778 by the side of his 1 68 HISTORY OF HANOVER. cousin the Captain. He left one descendant, a daughter, Fanny, a year old at the time of his death. She succeeded to his estate in this lot. It was certified to her in 1802. Her only living descend- ant, Mary F. Sively, daughter of George Sively, and widow of B. F. Pfouts, still resides on this lot on the River Road. The part near the Back Road has long belonged to others. No. 5. Drawn by Lieut. Lazarus Stewart (Jr.), was sold before his death to Matthias HoUenback, was certified to him in 1802, transferred to George Lazarus about 1 8 1 8. His children and grand- children reside on it yet on the part near the river; the back part near the Back Road has long belonged to coal companies, at least since 1850. Much of Ashley is on this lot, and all on 4, 3, 6, 7, 8,9. No. 6. Drawn by John Donahow ; came into possfession of Dr. Samuel Cook, and was transferred May 25, 1777, to John Staples, sold in 1788 to John and Richard Inman and Nathan Wade, certi- fied 1 802 to M. HoUenback, Vandermark, C. Carey, Ashbel Waller, J. Carey, Richard Inman, C. Carey, N. Wade, and was constantly being transferred in parts. The ownership cannot be followed. No. 7. Drawn by David Young; transferred by him to Thos. Robinson, 22 December, 1772; afterwards owned by Caleb Spencer, and March 19, 1777, part transferred to Pelog Burritt, then by Bur- ritt to Gideon Burritt, his son, Sept. 12, 1777, and in 1788 the part from river to Solomon's Creek sold to Richard Inman; .in 1802 it was certified to R. Inman, A. Waller, W. Shoemaker, C. Wickiser and G. Baldwin. This lot is in many pieces from the river to Ashley. No. 8. Drawn by Capt. Lazarus Stewart; descended to his children, certified in 1 802 to Ed. and Richard Inman, J. Shoonover, J. Vandermark, and Comfort Carey on the Back Road; the Comfort Carey part long belonged after his death to John Davis ; belongs to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre, Coal Co., or Charles Parrish. No. 9. Drawn by William Graham, was certified in 1802 to William Caldwell and William Ross ; Ross had the end at the Back Road and in 1 829 had a mill on it on Solomon's Creek at the foot of the mountain. In 1 846 coal was taken out of the Ross vein and shipped across the mountain on the Lehigh Coal and Navigation HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 69 R. R., otherwise the Lehigh and Susquehanna R. R., by horse power. This is believed to be the first coal ever taken over the mountains to White Haven, No. 10. Drawn by John Robinson, came early into possession of Ebenezer Hibbard who sold it on Oct. 13, 1774, to Edward Spen- cer, (400 acres); it was certified in 1802 to Edward Spencer and Christian Saum with part of lot No. 9. The northern part — Spen- cer's — was afterwards owned by Edward Inman. No. II. Drawn by James Robinson — and No. 12. Drawn by Thomas Robinson — both early came into possession of iVIatthias HoUenback, who on June 24, 1777, sold them to John HoUenback, and he, on Nov. 12, 1777, sold them to (Deacon) John Hurlbut. They descended to his children in 1782, and in 1788 Christopher Hurlbut transferred the part of No. 12 to Elisha Blackman, his brother-in-law, from the top of Hog-Back at the Middle Road back to the township line. In 1802 the two lots were certified to Naphtali Hurlbut, Elisha Blackman, Rufus Ben- pett and Willis Hyde, They were afterwards owned by Arndt, Garringer, Bennett, Blackman, Collins, Metcalf, Plumb, Rummage and Courtright. On No. ii, at the Middle Road, Wm. Hyde built a stone house about 1796. That house is still standing and in use. On the Hyde part is the Askam Post Office. No. 13. Drawn by Josias Aspia. Nothing further is known of him or any ancient transfers. In 1790 it was sold at sheriff's sale, with half of No. 14, from Jonathan Corey to Abraham Bradley. In 1802 it was certified, with^half of lot 14, to Bradley. It afterwards belonged to Henry Minnich — and at the Back Road to Henry Mock. The Mock part afterwards belonged to Col. H. B. Wright, now to the Warrior Run Mines; the Middle Road and River Road parts to the D. L. & W. Co. No. 14. Drawn by Hugh Coffrin, came into possession of James Lasley, who on May 27, 1777, transferred it to Jenks Corey, Corey was slain in the Wyoming Massacre. In 1790 the sheriff sold the half of it to Abraham Bradley with No. 13. In 1802, the half of it with No. 1 3 was certified to Bradley, and the other half to Lord Butler with No. 15. The back end belongs to the Warrior Run Mines, n* 170- HISTORY OF HANOVER. No. 15. Drawn by John Franklin. March, 15, 1777, he sold part to Nathaniel Howard. In 1776 Franklin sold a part con- taining a mill seat in part to Samuel Gordon, and Gordon to Nathan Carey, and in 1793 Carey to Christopher Hurlbut. Franklin was slain in the Wyoming Massacre. In 1802 it was certified to Lord Butler, including half of No. 14. He sold part of them to Harvey Holcomb on the Middle Road, and at the Back Road to Jacob Rum- mage, and at the River Road to the Robins. The Rummage portion belongs to the Warrior Run Mines. No. 16. Drawn by Robert Young. James Stewart claimed and held sixty acres of it. In 1776 Young sold part containing part of a mill seat to Samuel Gordon, and Gordon to Nathan Carey, and in 1793 Carey to Christopher Hurlbut. The transfer included a mill seat on lots Nos. 15 and 16. In 1802 it was certified — 48 acres at the river to Frederick Crisman, 57 acres to James Stewart, and the part from near the Middle Road southwardly to Abraham Sorber. John Bobb afterwards owned the Sorber part, then Hol- land, now the D. L. & W. Co. The Crisman and Stewart parts belonged to George Kocher and the Robins, now to the D. L. fe W. Co. No. 17. Drawn by John Young, came into possession of Matthew Hollenback, who on June 24, 1777, sold it to James Lasley. The western half of it, 2 1 rods wide, was transferred to Rosewell Franklin and here Rosewell Franklin's house stood near the River Road. Franklin was in the Wyoming Massacre and escaped. Franklin removed to New York State and in 1794 his half came into possession of Aaron Hunt. In 1802 the whole lot was certi- fied to Jonas Brush. It afterwards belonged to Barnet Miller at the river end and George Kocher at the back end. On this lot, or on No. 18, near the house of Rosewell Franklin stood a block- house that was several times attacked by Indians and defended by (Lieut.) Franklin. Here is where his family was captured by them. It may be doubted whether he commanded in the defense of the Stewart block-house at Buttonwood. No. 18. Drawn by William Young, came into possession of William Hibbard, who on May 2, 1777, transferred it to Cyprian Hibbard. Wm. McKarrachan afterwards owned it and on Sept. 9, 1777, he transferred it or part of it to John Ewins. There was a HANOVER TOWNSHIP. I7I block-house on this lot on the River Road or else on No. 17. In 1802 it was certified to Joseph Horsefield, and a part near the river to Josiah Pell. The property afterwards belonged to Charles Streater, then Cox, then Collings, now D., L. & W. Co. No. 19. Drawn by William Stewart. No record of ancient transfers. In 1 802 it was certified to Josiah Pell, who in fact owned it before the Wyoming Massacre. Here his son, Josiah, Jr., who was in the battle and escaped, lived with him. It descended to his son Samuel and daughter Polly. Samuel owned it till his death, 1872. No. 20. Drawn by Thomas Robinson. There are no records of its transfer, except that in 1788 Caleb Spencer sells to Walter Spencer a lot called on the record No. 24, but giving the bound- aries of this lot, No. ,20, for ;^300=$8oo.oo. The mistake was afterwards discovered and corrected when they were about to sell to Andrew Lee. The Spencers never owned No. 24, which descended to and was held by the heirs of Capt. Lazarus Stewart, Mrs. James Campbell. This lot No. 20 was assessed as early as 1799 to Capt. Andrew Lee as owner, and was certified to him in 1802. After him his son James S. Lee owned it and resided there till his death, in 1850, when it descended to .his heirs, and is now owned by the D., L. & W. Co. No. 21, Drawn by James Stewart, brother of Capt. Lazarus Stewart. He returned to Lancaster county before the Wyoming ' Massacre and died there in 1783, leaving a son, Lazarus Stewart, to whom this lot was certified in 1802. He transferred it to his step- father Capt Andrew Lee. This was part witlj No. 20 of the James S. Lee estate. It now belongs to the D., L. & W. Co. No. 22. Drawn by William Young. There is no record of its ancient transfer, but it was owned by John Jameson as early as 1774. It was here his father settled when he came from Connecti- cut in 1776. On the occasion of the murder of John Jameson by the Indians in 1782, at the Hanover Green, it descended to his son Samuel Jameson and daughter Hannah, afterwards the wife of James Stewart, son of the Captain. It was certified to Samuel Jameson in 1802, and he resided on it, and died there in 1843. This was afterwards the residence of Dr. H. Hakes. It adjoins the upper line of Nanticoke Borough. 1/2 HISTORY OF HANOVER. No. 23. Drawn by Captain Lazarus Stewart. After his death (in the massacre), it descended to his heirs, and in the partition was chosen by James Stewart, his son. In 1802 it was certified to James Stewart who resided there till his death about 1812. His dwelling was on the Middle Road east of the cross-road at the Keithline Place. His widow (Hannah Jameson) afterwards married Rev. . Marmaduke Pierce, and they sold the place to Robert Robins about 1837. Robins resided on it at the River Road till his death. It in- cluded a part of lot 24; a cross-road runs from the upper end of Nanticoke to the Middle Road between this land and the part of No. 24. No. 24. Drawn by Captain Lazarus Stewart. At the partition of his estate part of 24 was assigned to his daughter Margaret, who married James Campbell, and they resided on it. In 1 802 it was certified to James Campbell, who afterwards sold it to the Mills. It descended to Peter Mill, who about 1830 transferred the back end from near the Middle Road to John Keithline, and about 1864 Keithline sold to the D., L. & W. Co. and left. The whole of it now belongs to the D., L. & W. Co. Peter Mill resided near or in Nanticoke on this lot and died there. It belongs to the D., L. & W. Co. No. 25. Drawn by William Stewart. It came into the pos- session of John Jameson, who July 13, 1776, sold it tb Wm. and Cyprian Hibbard, and on May 2, 1777, Wm. Hibbard sold it, together with No. 18, to Cyprian Hibbard. In 1792 William Stewart again owned No. 25 and on that date sold twenty rods in width of it on the side adjoining No. 26 — the west side — from the river running four hundred perches towards the south, containing fifty acres, to Conrad Lines, and the easterly side twenty rods wide and running back from the river about four hundred rods, making another fifty acres, to Nathaniel Davenport. Consideration ;£'i25 each^^340 each — total, $680. In 1802 it was certified to Conrad Line and Esther Treadaway from the river four hundred rods back, and the back end of it to George Espy. Treadaway and Line sold to John Mill; Espy's part descended to his children, and his son John owned it and resided there and died there in 1843, leaving it, to his heirs. It belongs now to the L. & W.-B. Co. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 73 No. 26. Drawn by Charles Stewart. We have no early transfers of this lot. In 1802 it was certified to George Stewart near the river, or about four hundred rods in length from the river towards the south, and to George Espy from near the Middle Road and back ; the Espy part descended to his son John and after him to his heirs ; belongs now to the L. & W.-B. Co. John Mill bought the river end, four hundred rods, .soon afterwards, and it descended to his heirs. The Mills sold it out to various parties forty years or more ago and left, except Peter Mill, who died on No. 24. It be- longs now to the Susquehanna Coal Company. No. 27. Drawn by William Stewart. Part transferred in 1778 to Cyprian Hibbard. Hibbard was slain in the Wyoming Massacre. This lot was certified in 1 802, between the river and Nanticoke Creek, to Capt. Andrew Lee, and from the Nanticoke Creek, run- ning southerly, to William Stewart for about three hundred rods in length, and to Conrad Line as far as the Middle Road, and to Hugh Forsman to'the foot of the Little Mountain. In th€ "Town of Nanticoke"* will be given a special notice of the Wm. Stewart part of this lot at Nanticoke. In 1793-4 it was cut up into house lots by Stewart and sold to many persons, but for some reason, in 1802 it was certified to the same Wm. Stewart. No. 28. Drawn by Silas Gore. July i, 1775, he sold part of it to Samuel Ensign, and Feb. 5, 1777, to William McKarrachan. Both Gore and McKarrachan were killed in the Wyoming Mas- sacre, July 3, 1778. In 1789 Elisha Delano had some of it — a mill seat afterwards known as Behee's Mill — and rented ground on No. 29 for a mill pond. He built a saw-mill and afterwards the grist-mill there. In 1792 Naphtali Hurlbut owned No. 28 there and sold about four acres where the house and mill stood to Delano, and the next year, 1793, John McCoy sold to Delano seven acres, twenty rods wide and running south from the four acres above mentioned so as to include the mill pond adjoining lot No. 29. This seven acres and the four acres was the Behee Mill lot in after times. From this to the Middle Road belonged to Willis Hyde, and from the Middle Road or Hog Back south, to Cornelius Gale and Jonathan Frisby, who in 1789 and 1790 sold to *See below. 1 t 174 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Rufus Bennett. Frisby's part was thirteen rods wide along the Middle Road joining No. 29 and running back towards the moun- tain southeast one hundred and sixty rods (thirteen acres). Con- sideration for both ;£'52=.$iS4.66. In 1802 No. 28 was certified to Joseph Steele at the ferry, Frederick Crisman to the River Road, Naphtali Hurlbut (and Jonathan Dilley — mill lot), to the creek that fed the mill pona, Willis Hyde to- the Middle Road, Rufus Bennett beyond to the south-east line. It afterwards belonged to Joseph Steele, "Beckey" Thomas, George Behee, Richard Metcalf, Rufus Bennett land O. Collins, now to D., L. & W. Co. No. 29. Tpwn Committee lot. It ran five miles from the river to the township line at the southeast. On Feb. 11, 1790, the Town Committee leased it in perpetuity to Rufus Bennett from the Middle Road back south-east, from the Middle Road north-west to Behee's Mill Pond to Lorenzo Ruggles (supposed to have been bought of Bennett) from across the mill pond north-west to the river leased to Frederick Crisman — the Red Tavef n property. The Red Tavern was owned by various parties, but now is owned by the D., L. & W. Co. The Ruggles part belongs to the L. & W.-B. Co., the Bennett and Collins parts to the D., L. & W. Co. Nos. 30 and 31. Drawn by the Town Committee. These com- menced at Solomon's Creek, the western line, eight or ten rods above the mouth of the creek, and ran south-east to the town line passing over Penobscot Knob — the high peak on the mountain at Solomon's Gap. In later times Ed. Inman had some of it, Jacob Fisher had some of it, Williston Preston had some of it, and others not remembered. From the river to Solomon's Creek was certified in 1802 to Calvin Hibbard, afterwards belonged to Edward Inman and descended to his heirs on his death in 1848. The six rod roads across the township from the river to the back line were also public lands. Where they were in places that could be used as roads they were so used, but when they could not be so used they were leased out the same as any other of the public lands. ' The Red Tavern was built on one of these roads about 1789 i(it may have been rebuilt or partly rebuilt in 1805),. the year he leased the public lot No. 29 for fourteen years. After his house was built the town-meetings were generally held there. After his death in HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1/5 1815 his son Abraham kept the house. It was, and is still, the place for holding the elections, town, county, state and national, of the voting district within which it is situated, for there are now within the boundaries of the ancient township about twelve separ- ate voting districts, including wards in boroughs. The Red Tavern was a famous old hostelry in its time. It has been some- what changed in repairing and additions, but the building, now almost a hundred years old, stands yet. SECOND DIVISION OF LOTS, JUNE 8, 17/6. Ne. I. Drawn by William Graham {Grimes, Greames) is the lot adjoining Newport township at Nanticoke at the mouth of Nanti- coke Creek, lying 05 both sides of the creek. James Coffrin had built a grist-mill there at a very, early date, probably as early as 1 773. It was before the survey of the second division, and it was supposed the lot would contain fifty acres of land and was sold in 1775 as containing fifty acres. But at a town-meeting during the survey. May 28, 1776, it was voted that No. i was deemed more valuable than any of the other lots in that division and that it should there- fore be fifteen acres less in extent. It was drawn by William Graham. James Coffrin had therefore to buy the lot of Graham. On June 16, 1776, James Coffrin sold it to John Comar {Commar, Comar, Camer). Coffrin was slain in the Wyoming Massacre. On December 25, 1789, it was sold by John Comer and wife of the Manor of Livingston, New York, to Washington Lee, of Dauphin County, Pa. In 1802 it was certified to Capt. Andrew Lee. This was the Lee homestead, and here Capt. Andrew Lee came in 1804 to reside and died here in 1821. On the bank of the Susquehanna below the mouth of Nanticoke Creek, Col. Washington Lee, son of Capt. Andrew Lee, resided till 1868. It belongs now to the Sus- quehanna Coal Co. Coal mining had been carried on here from about 1 8 1 2 by Col. Washington Lee. Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 lie along the line of Newport. They con- tain about fifty acres each. No. i at the river has thirty-one acres, and No. 7 at the Little Mountain has sixty-six. The second division here goes no further south than the Little Mountain. The other part of the second division is a "gore." The narrow end at the river reaches from the high grounds or hills about eighty 176 HISTORY OF HANOVER. rods above the mouth of Solomon's Creek, down to below the rocks, but some forty or fifty rods above the old Steele ferry. The narrow end is about three-quarters of a mile wide altogether. The other end of the gore, at the foot of the Little Mountain is about two miles wide. No. 8. Drawn by Lazarus Stewart, Jr. He was slain in the Wyoming Massacre. This is the lot surrounding the " Hanover Green," or grave-yard and church lot, and extending from the River Road to the river. Its western line is a couple of rods above the Red Tavern. Lazarus Stewart, Jr., transferred it to Wm. McKarrachan, August 30, 1776, and it is called "ye meeting-house lot." January 15, 1777, Wm. McKarrachan transferred it to Gideon Booth, Jr., and to Gideon Burritt. Booth owned and resided on the north- eastern half of it and Burritt on the south-western. In 1802 it was certified to Stephen Burritt and Joel Burritt. It descended to Stephen Burritt, Jr., who died there childless about 1850. It was afterwards owned by Jacob Fritz, then by Reuben Downing, now by the D., L. & W. Co. No. 13. Drawn by Silas Gore. There is no ancient record, of its transfer. Certified in 1 802 to Cornelius Garrison. It is in the hollow near the foot of the mountain and belongs to the L. & W.-B. Co., and has on the eastern end of it the Sugar Notch Mines — a slope — No. 10, and near the western end part of No. 9 — shaft — Sugar Notch. The most of No. 9 Shaft, Sugar Notch Mines, is on lot No. 1 3 — third division. The Lehigh Valley R. R. depot at Sugar Notch stands on the lower or western end of this lot. No. 15. Drawn by John Donahough. It is the next above — north-east-T-and adjoining No. 8, the church lot, and is bounded on the north-east by lot No. 31 — first division. There is no record of ancient transfers, but in 1790 Nathan Wade, Richard Inman and Abraham Adams sold it to Richard Dilley for ;^37 10s , equal to $100. In 1802 it was certified to the heirs of Richard Dilley and has had two descents since to heirs of Dilley down to 1879. It now belongs to the D., L. & W. Co. There are no other lots in the second division that deserve special mention. The most of those along the line of the third division at or near the foot of the mountain are pretty well under- mined now by L. & W.-B. Coal Co.'s Sugar Notch Mines called No. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 17/ 9 and No. lo. No. lo Mine — a slope and breaker; — is on the east side of the cross-road that runs from the Back Road at the old house of Andrew Shoemaker to the Middle Road at the old house or home of' Samuel Burner, the breaker standing only eight or ten rods east from the old Jacob Garrison house. The Nanticoke branch of the Lehigh & Susquehanna R. R. passes west down this hollow between the hills to Wanamie and to Nanticoke. THIRD DIVISION LOTS. THESE LOTS WERE SURVEYED AND DRAWN SEPTEMBER 12, 1 787. , No. I. Drawn in the name of Lieut. Lazarus Stewart, who had been slain in the Wyoming Massacre nine years before. In 1802 it was certified, if these lots were ever certified to anybody, to Matthias HoUenback. It descended to his son, George M. Hol- lenback, and afterwards — about 1865 — became the property of William R. Maffett. No clearing or cultivation was ever done on this lot. It lies within the coal area on the north side of the Little Mountain, and is now the location of the Hanover Coal Company's mines — a tunnel, shaft and breaker. No. 12. Drawn in the name of William Stewart. He was alive at the time. It appears on the map now as certified in the name of John Robins. It was partly tillable land. It is also on the mountain side mostly, and in the gap called Sugar Notch, is mostly coal land, and belongs to the Sugar Notch Mines No. 9 of the L. & W.-B. Co. It joins No. i on the east side. No. 13. Drawn in the name of John Donahow. It ap- pears on the map as if certified in 1802 to Abraham Adams. It was tillable land; was owned and worked by Andrew Shoemaker till about 1838. After several transfers it became the property of the L. & W.-B. Co. at Sugar Notch and their Shaft No. 9 and breaker stand on the edge of it close to the lower end of the Gar- rison lot No. 13 — second division. Close to this breaker stands the Lehigh Valley Railroad depot at Sugar Notch on the lower or west end of the Garrison lot. A half mile or more west in this hollow commences the steep grade on the L. V. R. R. to ascend the mountain, and curving around in Newport township and skirt- ing the side of the Big Mountain reaches Fairview to the south-east of this depot. 12 178 HISTORY OF HANOVER. No. 14. Drawn in the name of Robert Young. Certified in 1802 to Abraham Adams, transferred to Conrad Knoch, de- scended to his heirs in Germany in 1828. It is owned in Germany. The N. J. Coal Co. had a mine and breaker here in 1 866.' It is now leased to the L. & W.-B. Co. and coal is mined from it through both No. 9 and No. 10, Sugar Notch. No. 30. Drawn by or in the name of John Robinson. It is situated within the lines of the gore of the second division. Was tillable land like the second division, and coal land>i— was the same sixe, 55 acres. It was certified in 1802 to Benjamin Periy, sold to John Hoover, who lived there to very old age and died there, in 1866. It belongs now, and since 1864, to the L. & W.-B. Coal Co. No. 31. Drawn by Robert Young. He sold it Dec. 20, 1788 to Andrew Millitt, Millitt sold it to Elisha Blackman April 14, 1 792, for ;^25=$66.66^. It was sold by the heir of Elisha Blackman in 1853 to Jonathan J. Slocum, and after his death came into the ownership of the L. & W.-B. Co.'s Sugar Notch Mines No. 9. No. 21. Drawn by William Stewart. It is at the top of the mountain at Solomon's Gap. Part of the buildings around Fairview Station are on this lot, but the station itself is beyond the line of Hanover — in Wright township. The Plane-House at the head of the L. & S. planes, is in Hanover. The employes of the two railroads that pass into and out of the valley of Wyoming through this elevated Gap, number several hundred,, and to pro- vide for them, houses, stables, round houses, shops, stores, taverns, saloons, etc., had to be built and has given some value to this land; but the most if not all of the employes of the railroads, on the top of the mountain live beyond the present line of Hanover and beyond lot No. 21. THE PUBLIC LOTS. No. 29, 30 and 31 — First division of lots and Nos. 5, 6 and 16 second division were leased out, from the earliest times, for longer or shortei- periods. At first the term was only for seven years; but by 1789 leases of these lands were made for terms as long as ninety- nine years, and some were perpetual, — "as long as trees grow and water runs." A Bond — as it was called — was given by the lessee, covering the land. The interest, together in some cases with a HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 79 bushel or two bushels of wheat, (or the value of it) was collected every year by the Proprietors' Collector. This was the interest on the amount fixed as the value of the land at the date of the exe- cution of the lease. In some cases the lessee paid the price fixed as the value of the land at once, and his lease in such cases was drawn for a nominal rent or interest, as, for a "pepper-corn" a year. These leased lands were bought and sold and transferred just as any other lands were, and the persons from whom the interest was collected were constantly changing. It is difficult if not impossible now to tell where the land of each of the persons named on the Collector's list below for the year 1816 lay. Conrad Line probably had the two lots Nos. 5 and 6 — second division. Rufus Bennett had part of lot 29 — first division. Edward Inman had parts of lots 30 and 31 — first division. Frederick Crisman had part, of No. 29 — first division. Cris- man had part of a six rod road and built the Red Tavern on it. John and George Sorber had part of six rod cross-road between lots Nos. 15 and 16 — first division, at the Middle Road. These bonds were collected, paid, canceled and probably de- stroyed about twenty years ago — say 1865. It is understood that patents have been taken out of the land office for all these lands now. LESSEES OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. Interest due on the bonds belonging to the Proprietors of Han- over township from the lessees of the public lands of the town- ship, for the year 181 6. Copy of the Collector's list and warrant. Interest on Rufus Bennett's bond ^9.44 and one bushel of wheat $ 10.44 Interest on Conrad Line's bond $32.32 and one bushel of wheat 33.32 Interest on Edward Inman's bond |>22.24 and two bushels of wheat , . . . 24.24 Richard Dilley 12.00 Edward Inman 10.08 Nathan and Abner Wade 6.00 l80 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Administrators of Frederick Crisman, dec'd 7.92 Joel B. Burritt and Philip Abbott 5-28 Richard Dilley 13-83 John and George Sorber 2.40 Edward Spencer 17.00 Nathan and Abner Wade 1.20 Benjamin, Jacob and Ebenezer Brown 2.01 "To Elisha Blackman, Collector of the public money for the Pro- prietors of Hanover township. You are hereby authorized and im- powered to collect the sums above annexed to their respective, names as soon as the law will admit and pay the same to the Pro- prietors' Treasurer. "December 30th, 18 16. "Jonathan Dilley,'] " Isaac Hartzell, V Committee." "James S. Lee, j In olden times and down to as late as 1864, the schools had the benefit of this fund, but by an act of the legislature the proprietors' trustees were authorized to collect these bonds in full and pay over principal and interest to the Central Poor District. It was done. Thus the paupers have the benefit of it now. A Bloomery Forge is one where the iron is made in a forge fire direct from the ore. Bog ore was found in Newport and in Hanover. The Bloomery Forge in Newport on the Newport Creek, a few rods beyond the Hanover line, was originally built by Nathaniel Chapman, Joseph Beach and Mason Fitch Alden. The date of its erection is not known, but it was previous to the Wyoming Mas- sacre — previous to January, 1777, for at that date Mason Fitch Alden enlisted in Captain Ransom's company in the Revolutionary army. In 1783 the buildings were, in ruins, according to a German traveler of the time. Nathaniel Chapman died and the administra- tor of his estate sold his interest in it in 1791. At that time Capt. Andrew Lee owned one-half interest on it and Chapman the other half. The land or lot adjoining and containing a mill seat, within Newport township along the Hanover line, had been bought of William Stewart by Capt. Andrew Lee and Nathaniel Chapman in HANOVER TOWNSHIP. l8l 1789. In this same year, 1789, Washington Lee bought of John Comer and wife of the Manor of Livingston, N. Y., lot No. i, second division, Hanover: "bounded on the east by Wm. Stewart's land, on the west by the mill lot, on the north, or in front, by the river Susquehanna, and on the south by lands now or late of James Stewart," "which lot was purcnased by the said John from one James Caffron," " and is supposed to contain thirty-one acres." The consideration is thirty pounds New York Currency^;^75.00., This would indicate that Coffrin's Mill was no longer in existence and that Lee's Mill, as it was afterwards known, had been built some time previous to 1789, in Newport township. THE ANCIENT TOWN OF NANTICOKE. In 1793 William Stewart, who had taken up his residence in Hanover, Dauphin County, Pa., (formerly Lancaster) who owned lot No. 27, first division, at Nanticoke, had it surveyed, plotted, streets laid out and lots marked, — sold, between February 9 and March 14, 1794, thirty -six lots. He called the town Nanticoke. There was Spring Street, Walnut, Pine, Broad, Market, Chestnut and Water streets, and, the Great Road, and Strawberry Alley. The lots numbered from i up to at least 1 36, and contained from ^7% perches to 88 perches each. The price was invariably ;^3 ii,s. =;$io.oo. The names of the purchasers were : — Jared Nelson, John Martin, William Wood, John Field, Henry Stein, Michael Killinger, George Miller, George Stein, John Rickle, Jr., Michael Palm, Thomas Peas, John Harrison, Daniel Herman, Christian Srauder, Peter Heimbrick, -Thomas Beady, Zekiel Bamboc, John Fox, Michael Moyer, James Ainsworth, Jacob Miller, John Ewing, George Hegetshwiller William Allen, Elizabeth Stein, Henry Thomas, Jacob Miley, John Palm, Jr., Peter Withington, George Sloan, Jonathan Hancock, Ebenezer Felch, Jesse Fellj. Wyllys Hide, Peter Steele, Christian Beck. All of these, except Hancock, Hide, Felch, Steele, and Fell, were residents of Dauphin county. Whether any of them ever came to Nanticoke to reside is not known. Fell and Hancock re- sided in Wilkes-Barre, and died there; Hide lived in Hanover, re- / /' 1 82 HISTORY OF HANOVER. moved to New York State about 1811; Felch lived in Huntington township; Steele resided in Hanover till his death in 1823. These town lots were all on William Stewart's lot No. 27 on the end of it beginning at the Nanticpke Creek and extending south- ward about three hundred rods. The lot was forty-two rods wide. The present older part of NanticoSe stands in the same place. Ferries were established from the very earliest times. There was an absolute necessity for them. There was one at Nanticoke, one at the Stewart Place and one at Steele's, as it was afterwards called. It is possible that this last one was riot established before Steele kept it about 1789 or 1790. A road was laid outto this Ferry from the River Road, April 13, 1778. This road was made expressly for the purpose of getting to the ferry. The Steele family came about 1790. This seems to have been the only ferry where the ferrymen lived on the Hanover side of the river. " Course and Distance of a road laid out in Hanover between William McKarrachan's lot (No. 18) and ye Public Lot (No. 2g)— Beginning at ye river, at a marked box wood tree, running south 21° (E.), 121 rods, by 'marked trees and stakes until it joins ye first great road at a marked black oak, and is allowed to be six rods wide and to lay south-west of said marked trees. "Dated April 13, 1778. Voted and accepted by ye town and ordered to be recorded. "John Jenkins, ^ " Nathan Denison, I Select "Christopher Avery, | Men." " Wm. McKarrachan. J When we came under Pennsylvania jurisdiction this road shrank from six rods wide to two. The two great roads running from Wilkes-Barre west through Hanover that had been laid out under Connecticut jurisdiction six rods wide shrank to three. What magnificent roads the township would have had if these wide roads had been maintained! Plenty of room *for sidewalks and shade trees along both sides with- out in any way injuring the cultivated grounds on either side. All main roads and cross were of the same width — six rods. There is no ferry and no road there now, but there is a house there yet, and the bars at the River Road can be taken out and a wagon can drive down to the house or the river, (1885). CHAPTER IX. FIRST SETTLEMENTS. OW, without regard to chronological order, we must go back to the first coming of settlers in order to describe the conditions of things. Until 1771 there was no peace, or security for life or property, yet new men were constantly appearing and taking the places of those that became disabled or discouraged. After 1 77 1 new settlers were constantly coming in and it was necessary to have their township organized and ready to enforce any such legal authority as they had assumed to themselves by per- mission or direction of the Susquehanna Company. This township organization has been sufficiently explained in previous pages. The first settlements were made on the highest places on the flats, or in the woods close to the edge of the flats. In the latter case and in some of the former, the trees and brush had to be cleared away before a house could be built. Some portions of the flats had been cleared by the Indians — or at least were without trees — and had been cultivated by them for ages before the white people came. Of course land could not be very well cultivated by implements made of sticks, and stones, and bones, and horn, but nothwithstanding the crudeness of their implements, the Indians cultivated at this time here and up in the country of the Six Nations, " corn, beans, potatoes, pease, turnips, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, water-melons, tobacco, apples, peaches, and all kinds of vegetables."* In the old cultivated spots the land was at once ready for tillage. These spots were only on the flats, and though there was considerable of it ready for cultivation there was not nearly enough for the forty proprietors — or thirty-six — with their con- stant increase by new settlers. There were Indians still in posses- sion of some of these places and they were not molested or dis- *Journal of Major Hubley, with Sullivan's expedition. 1 84 HISTORY OF HANOVER. turbed. The Indians had mostly left for other parts after the mas- sacre of 1763 and had not returned before the white settlers came this second time for settlement. The lands had to be surveyed after the settlers came. Lots could not be drawn till after the surveys were made and up to 1771 the surveys and allotments had not been made. The people here previous to this time as well as afterwards, had to support them- selves either by the chase, or fishing, or the cultivation of the soil, or all together, and, as in other settlements, the labor performed was all in common and-for the general good, and its products were not subject to private ownership. This ended now, the land was allotted, and every man was left to his own exertions for his own livelihood. Our present certified lots on the certified township maps are very nearly the same as the old Connecticut surveys.. The numbers of divisions and the numbers of the lots are the same now as those of 177 1-2 to 1776 and 1787. (See the map). The land on the flats was very rich and productive. It was only necessary to plant the seed and keep down the weeds to produce — what seemed to the settlers — magnificent crops. The earth was soft and easily cultivated with a hoe, without plowing, as was evi- denced by the Indian cultivation. The flats were overflowed nearly every year by the melting snows and the rains in the spring of the year up the river and were enriched by the materials these floods deposited, so, as in our time, never to need any other fertilizer for ordinary farm crops. Where the ground was already cleared, the first thing planted seems to have been apple seeds. A nursery was prepared at once where the ground would permit and the seeds planted. Wherever they saw a chance for an apple tree to grow, even in the woods, they planted seed, especially near a spring. The trees in the woods near a spring were frequently cut away, so that apple seeds, and probably peach stones, could grow, though the writer never saw any peach trees in such a place. They also planted artichokes, because they were perennial and needed no cultivation, grew like a weed, were difficult to destroy, and would always produce food. The dense woods came down from the mountain — some three or four miles distant — over the hills and across the valleys to the very edge of the flats and covered, also, part of the flats, leaving HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 85 only those parts of the flats open that the Indians had- probably at some time cultivated. Much more than half the trees in these woods were of the various varieties of oak. There were 'also hickory, chestnut, yellow and white pine in abundance. jMany of the trees were very large, the white pine overtopping all the rest, the next in height being the shell-bark hickory. Trees could fre- quently be found three to four feet in diameter, but five feet was very unusual. It is doubtful that a tree ever grew in these woods to six feet in diameter. As none of these trees grow so slowly as to produce a ring less than one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, it follows then that a tree of six feet could not be more than 576 years old. But we know now, by actual experience, that in woods as thick and dense as they will grow, these trees will grow to afoot in diameter in less than 50 years. So probably no tree was ever found in Wyoming Valley as old as five hundred years. Trees growing as closely together as they will by nature, as they grow older and larger, crowd each other and some die out while young, others live and send their tops skyward while their side branches are killed off by the closeness of their neighbors, and as they have no chance or room to spread out sidewise they all grow upward together. Now, it is a slow tree that grows in height less than a foot a year, but where must be the top of- a tree that grows only six inches in a year, after it has grown only 300 years ? About 1 50 feet high, and that is about the height of our very tallest white pines. Then there is too much height for the body and the winds break them off,— oak and hickory as well as pine. Of such as shed their leaves every fall, limbs have been broken off or killed out as they grew and have rotted down to the trunk of the tree and made a hole, into which the rains send water, and in the course of time the whole heart of the tree, from that rotten limb' to the root, has been rotted out. Now, how short a time before that tree falls and decays and others take its place? Thus were the woods constantly dying tree by tree and being renewed, the whole accelerated by forest fires hastening the destruction of the dying trees. Thus it will be seen that a tree 300 years old was probably a rarity in our woods. The woods reached unbroken for sixty miles towards the near- est settlements, south-east to Stroudsburg, nearly south to Bethle- hem and Easton and south-west to Shamokin — Sunbury — the near- 12* 1 86 HISTORY OF HANOVER. est being about sixty miles off, and all of them under a state juris- diction hostile to these settlers, and in the north and west about the same distance to numerous savage Indians, who, if not hostile now, were far from being safe neighbors. There were no roads to this valley when the first settlers came, nor even paths in the beginning from the east, for three or four years after settlement was made. To get here they could not come in wagon or cart. They did not in fact inthe beginning immigrate here with horses and wagons, oxen and carts: There were no paths for more than sixty miles, through dense- forests over steep arid rocky hills and mountains, but only a course marked out for them by large marks on the sides of the trees where a piece of bark had been cut out by the axe, "blazed," as it was called, by guides sent ahead, or sent on some time before to mark the way. They had to make the paths as they came and drive or lead their horses and cattle and sheep and hogs, with packs on the backs of everything that could carry a pack, whether man or beast, large or small, old or young, male or female, during all these yfears ; for some provisions, clothing ammunition, weapons, tools, seeds and many other neces- sary things had to be brought along. There were no drones among them. Tramps did not colonize, if there were any tramps then. For three or four years of the first or early settlement of the valley, the head of the family generally — not always — came first in the spring, drew his land by lot, cleared up ground on the flats where it was not already cleared — (old Indian clearings) — built a house, fenced his clearing, planted such crops as were proper for the season and for the case, and then in the fall returned to Con- necticut, his home, staid through the winter preparing for the move to his new home in the spring. In the spring he brought his family and made as permanent a settlement as iie could, for in this case in Hanover and all Wyoming Valley, almost invariably when the immigrants arrived here in the spring he found his house and fences burnt, and his crops destroyed as nearly as they could be by the Pennamites or Indians. Then commenced the work of driving off the destroyers, rebuilding his house, his fences, plowing and planting, and all with the family on hand to starve or not as the case might. turn out. All his last year's work except the clearing, had to be done over again, and in the meantime nothing for him- HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 8/ self and family to eat. His neighbors were all like himself, with their houses all burnt and their crops destroyed. Game was plenti- ful in the dense woods that came close to their houses, and they did not have far to go to find it. Ammunition was not abundant with them, but was scarce, and it was uncertain how soon it would be badly needed to protect themselves and families from hostile savages. All the ammunition they had for years was what they could carry on their own persons for the year's use. Of course it had to be used with the greatest economy and care. When it was found necessary to get more ammunition — as they had no money to buy with — they would load a horse or two, on home-made pack- saddles, with the choicest "peltries," and send a man or two with them to the nearest market for such furs, and there trade them off for the desired powder and lead. This was during the troublous times, and while they all had to act in concert, and nearly every- thing they had was in common. This pack-saddle business grew, and in a few years became a fine business, and was not confined to any particular kind of mer- chandise but reached to everything that would pay for the time and expense put upon it, and it increased. Roads and wagons soon superseded the pack-saddle, however. What kind of a house of logs could one man build alone? He could not hire any one to help him; he had no money nor other property to pay with, and they were all situated like himself and needed a house at once. He had to produce his own food and that of his family, when they were with him, at the same time that he did this work. It seems to us now that they must have come near starving. The whole thing seems impossible. They could help one- another some, and did, but the work was mainly done by the proprietor alone. He selected the place on his land where he wanted his house to stand, cut down the trees and prepared the ground for the house to stand on, cut other trees in the vicinity, as near the place as possible, and cut off such lengths as he needed for his house. He could roll together, near the site of his proposed house, logs enough of say eighteen or twenty feet long for the ends of his house, and thirty or forty feet for the sides, and enough of them to lay up to the eaves, or higher if he liked, and these would make, under the circumstances, a pretty good sized house. Bark I 88 HISTORY OF HANOVER. about four feet long was peeled off the proper kinds of logs to be used in the place of shingles ; for it must b.e understood, that these first settlers had no nails. They could not carry them, nor the iron to make them of. So they could not nail on- shingles if they had them, and they had no tools then to make them with. Cut nails were not then known. All nails were made by the blacksmith, as was also every other iron thing used. Now, as the settlers had no tin, tiles, straw, slate nor shingles, nor any tools to make them with, he was compelled by necessity to use bark for roofing his house. He was only a farmer, but he had to be a builder here at that time. The writer having himself seen such a house in a new settlement, may be allowed to try to describe it. It is possible that the time may come when such a "cabin" will be entirely unknown and unthought of, and such a description may then be the only record of it. Some neighbor might help to roll up these logs for this man, and receive his help in return to roll up his own into the walls of a house. Now, help or no help: — Two logs are first rolled into position on the ground the proper distance apart and parallel for the sides, or front and rear of the house, cut on the upper side near the ends of each like an inverted V thus jy. This was the shape. Now two logs for the ends of the house, to lie on these, are rolled on, notches are cut in each near the ends V-shaped to fit down upon the inverted V {j\). They are rolled on the place and fitted down as closely as need be with the axe. This is one course, and will be more than a foot and a half high unless very small logs were used. Course after course is rolled up on skids and laid in the same manner until the height of the first story is reached (about seven feet), and that was about all the story there was to these first houses. Now lighter logs, peeled, are laid on these upper ones across the house for joists for the attic or garret, and on these, rafters are set up at a very steep pitch like a Gothic roof. Across these rafters poles are pinned, in- stead of roof boards, about three feet apart, and on these double thicknesses or courses of bark are spread out so as to break joints. Course after course is laid on, the lower ends of the course above resting on the upper ends of the course below as they went up, each course of bark, or double course, had a light log laid on it HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 89 and pinned to keep it and the bark on. The gable ends had lighter logs laid up, one above the other, and fitted and pinned to the end rafters to keep them in position. Doors and windows were sawed through and heavy hewed jams put in and strongly pinned to the ends of the logs. The joints or spaces between'the logs were filled with. split wood pinned in and covered over inside and out with yellow clay to close the cracks. This was called "chinking," but stone was used in place of wood for chinking, in later times. In these earlier houses, and in all during the Revolutionary war, loop- holes were cut for the purpose of watching and firing upon an enemy in case of being attacked. The door and window shutters were made of hewed planks fastened to a strong hickory frame like a gatp, and hung to the jams or " door post " and window post (when the window was made large enough), with a strong piece of hickory, bent around the upright piece of the frame, one at the top and one at the bottom, and the ends driven into holes^ bored in the jams, and securely wedged. Sometimes they had another plan for hanging doors and window shutters.* Both were hung alike. There was no casing, but only very heavy jams strongly pinned against the ends of the logs. These were intended to resist an eneiriy for some time in cases of sudden attack. They were made for security as well as comfort, if such a word as comfort cari properly be used in connection with such houses, or cabins. Glass was for years here an unknown comfort and convenience. Their \ floors were at first made of earth, but such industrious, persistent and energetic people as these were not long without floors of hewed timbers or split logs, with a place dug out beneath them for a cellar.f The earth remaining inside these cellars was afterwards utilized, as has been told in previous pages, in making salt-peter. The door was fastened with a wooden latch. The handle and catch were all of wood. A small hole was bored through the door *In raosi of the earlier houses, and in many of the later ones, the window was only a hole cut between two logs, being about one foot high — up and down — and about two feet wide — horizontally. A white cloth could cover this and still let in a little light, or a greased, paper when they had paper to grease. f There was no saw-mill in Wyoming Valley till the fall of 1773, more than four years after the first settlement. Ail houses after that had floors of the very best yellow pine. In the same year the first grist-mill was built. All this time there had been no lumber used except what had been hewed out with the axe; and no flour except such coarse meal as could be made by beating in a mortar with a stone pestle. They had no hand mills. igO HISTORY OF HANOVER. above the latch three or four inches, and a string fastened to the latch hung out through the hole, so that a person outside could lift the latch by pulling the string when he wanted to come in. If there was a knock on the door outside, no one went to open the door if the string hung out, but called out " Come in." There was reason in this, and the arms of the proprietor or inhabitant were alwas "handy" or near at hand. The joists were about six or seven feet above the lower floor, and on these joists were fastened wooden hooks for the gun to lie in, and the owner had only to raise his hands up to these beams or joists to get his gun for instant use. The gun was always kept loaded. To lock the door they pulled in the string. Of course they had still stronger bars also for securing the doors and windows in those Indian times of which we are speaking. They had no fuel then but wood, which was "all too plenty." They knew nothing about coal at that time for domestic use. They did know about coal, but they called it " stone coal " on account of its hardness,* and they never knew how to use it for household domestic purposes till 1808. A citizenf of Wilkes-Barre dis- covered that it could be burnt in an open grate, set up in an ordinary fire-place built for the burning of wood. The chimney of such a house was made large, and was gener- ally, but not always, built inside the house. When it was a small house an opening was cut through the logs in one end of the house large enough for the chimney and fire-place, and the chimney was then built on the outside tight up against the end of the house, closing this opening. It was generally built of stone laid up with yellow clay for mortar, — but was sometimes built of wood from the upper beams to the peak of the roof and out. It was always built large so as to carry off the smoke and was well lined with yellow clay inside. It was frequently very large below so that seats could be put inside the jams of the fireplace at the ends of the fire. They would all smoke, for people did not then know how to build chimneys that would "draw." An American — "Count Rumford" — after the Revolutionary war discovered, that by making a throat, smaller than the chimney above it, down behind the mantel piece *Blacksmiths used it here from the first, f Jesse Fell. HANOVER TOWNSjHIP. I9I in the chimney, would cause a draught. Wood was abundant and large fires were needed in such houses in cold weather, as much heat could go out through the roof as well as up the chimney. These houses were never plastered. Such were the houses, or rather "cabins," of the iirst settlers. Now, having a house over their heads, the next thing was food. They had to produce their own or starve. There was none to buy, and they had nothing to buy with. Hunting and fishing would produce some, but no time could be spent at that when it was possible to work in the soil ; no time for sport, food was something not to be dispensed with for a single day. Hunting and fishing were matters of business the same as farming was, and the proper season and time were matters of thought, experience and knowledge just as much as the other, for it did not do to waste time and labor. The clearing of a farm of trees and brush for cultivation was no small job. The trees and brush had to be all cut down, and the limbs of the trees cut off and piled in heaps. Trees large enough and fit for rails were split into fence rails, a:hd parts not fit for rails were cut into cord wood and piled up for winter use. The refuse and remainder was piled into heaps, and when dry enough was burnt. The cleared ground was then fenced with the rails made, and plowing was dontf, as well as it could be among the stumps and roots, arid seed of some kind sowed or planted. Such a piece of "new ground" was got in order if possible by July, and turnips sown. With good cultivation with the hoe after they came up, a good crop could be produced the same year on such new ground of Several hundred bushels per acre, by the time of late frosts. Artichokes and mustard were sown along the feffce in the corners. Another early crop, that is, a crop the same year the ground was cleared, if it could be got in early in July, was buckwheat. By hard work and faithful industry the husbandman generally got these two crops the first year — always providing he. was not driven away in the fall and his crops taken by somebody else. This was too often the case as has been related in previous pages. It took about two weeks to clear off an acre of ground lightly timbered, and longer if heavily timbered, and split the rails to fence it. It would take about 800 rails and stakes to fence an acre of 192 HISTORY OF HANOVER. ground on an average — less rails if the fields were large, more if they were small. The stumps and roots were not dug out, but were left to rot in the ground till they could be pulled out with a team. The small roots were dug out or partly dug out with the grub hoe where the plow could not be pulled through. It took a number of years to get such ground into good working order. On the flats, where these first settlers built the first houses, there was considerable land already cleared, and that was used for the first few years in common. Clothing was one of the necessities as well as food, for man, woman and child, though pretty much all went barefooted about their homes and farms in the summer time. These settlers brought flaxseed with them, and always, as soon as a crop could be pro- duced it was necessary to produce it. These were ingenious people, for with iron and a blacksmith to make a spindle they would soon make a spinning-wheel and spin their own flax and wool. They had to have a room for a loom and all the other necessary machinery for preparing the yarn for weaving, both flax and wool, for they were never without sheep. They made their own looms and all the necessary accompaniments at home, and the wheel and shuttle seemed to be in never-ending use. Each farmer had a plot of grass-sod of an acre or so, lying near a spring or brook, where he rotted his flax and bleached his cloth. Such plots were a;lmost constantly covered with bleaching cloth except in winter — all this when they were not driven out by the enemy. All this could be seen in 1773 and down to 1830, and on some farms as late as 1840. Linen cloth was bleached by sprinkling it every day with water and letting it lie in the sun. Flax was rotted in the same place that the bleaching was done, and in much the same manner — by spreading out the flax in thin swarths on the grass and turning and sprinkling it every day once or twice with water. The treatment of flax was in this wise: — When ripe in the field, it was pulled, dried, the seeds stripped off, rotted as described above until the woody part was brittle and would easily break and separate from the fiber, then broken, swingled, hackled, or hetcheled, spun, woven, bleached, — now it was linen cloth. The men could and did wear leather clothing, and it was neces- sary therefore, that tanneries should be early established, and they HANOVER TOWNSHIP. I93 were, and public oflScers elected in general town-meeting to see that their work was properly done. These officers were called Leather Sealers. Tanneries were established at least as early as 1774, the year of the election of the first Leather Sealers, but probably tanneries had been established the year before.' Some kind of furniture was necessary in the house, and for the first three years — till better roads were made — none could be carried on horses and oxen through the woods along mere paths. It all had to be made here, and every man made his own of had none; but there were no men here then that could not make their own. It did not take long for such people as these to make pretty good furniture. When building their houses and clearing their land they had selected out the particular kinds of woods wanted for the different kinds of furniture, and laid it away to season for use, and afterwards at night- and on rainy days they worked at some article of furniture. Hickory was used for chairs, the splint bottomed kind was made, and they were very good and serviceable. Wild cherry was saved for tables and various other articles. Hickory was also saved for wagon spokes, and red oak for barrel staves, and such woods as were of the- proper kinds for tubs, bowls, trays, troughs, plows, ladles, spoons, dishes, cups — for everything almost was made of wood— and all the different kinds were at once and without delay huntfed for, found and prepared for season- ing and use, and were made into such articles as they needed, in the evenings, on rainy days and in the winter time. In the mean- time, parts of trees or logs were sawed off the proper length for stools and used as chairs. Boards were made for a table by splitting a log and hewing it down — this, of course, was before 1773, for it was possible for all to get sawed lumber after that, except that for about four to six years from the Wyoming Mas- sacre, when they had no mills again — '1778 to 1782-5. They had to accommodate themselves to circumstances, and what they could not make for themselves they had to do without. Having no furniture they had to get along without until they could make it themselves. Splint bottomed chairs were generally used, but rushes were to be found in plenty and were also used for chair bottoms. Their furniture was altogether unpainted, unstained and unvarnished. 13 194 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The greatest trouble was that for three years in the beginning, they had to continue to make it over and over again, as, when they returned after being driven out, they would find their buildings all burnt and all their furniture carried off or destroyed, and they had very similar experiences in Patterson's and Armstrong's time, from the beginning of 1783 to 1785. It is no small job by any means, to build such a house as has been described above, and all the furniture that to these people seemed necessary, and a loom and all its necessary accompaniments — big wheel, little wheel, quill wheel, reel, swiffs, big and little spools, quills, warping bars, reeds, shuttles, harness, and many other things necessary with the loom, and plows, harrows, wagons or carts, rakes, forks, flails, fans, tubs, barrels, and every necessary thing about a farm, especially where they had to raise on their own ground everything they wore as well as everything they ate. And all had to be made over again by themselves, year after year, for three years. This was very dis- couraging, but these were very p'ersistent people. Probably no other people ever lived that would thus have continued the struggle and won. This was good land according to their notion, better than they had ever seen in Connecticut, and they had settled it, and they were determined to have it and keep it, and they did. Hear what John Robinson, the first minister of the first settlers in New England, said of them soon after their landing — and these were the progenitors of the first settlers in Wyoming : " We are well weaned from the delicate milk of the mother- country and inured to the difficulties of a strange land; the people are industrious and frugal. We are knit together as a body in a most sacred covenant of the Lord, of the violation whereof we make great conscience,, and by virtue whereof we hold, ourselves strictly tied to all care of each other's good and of the whole. It is not with us as with men whom small things can discourage." — {Green' s History of the Efiglish People). Sheep were brought here by the first settlers in 1769. They were driven all the way from Connecticut and much of the way through pathless, deep, dark woods, the eastern part of which was mostly beech, birch, bass-wood, maple and hemlock. They were brought here for the purpose of producing the materials for the winter clothing of our fathers and mothers, whether from their HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 95 wool or from their skins, and not so much for their flesh. Buck- skin, when it could be got in: sufficient quantities was used for clothing in preference to sheepskin, but it must be understood that it took a good many skins to clothe a family and it cost half the skin for tanning, unless the family could tan them at home. The cost of tanning a buck-skin or sheep-skin, if one paid for it, was three shillings, Connecticut Currency, (50 cents), the price of a full day's work of a skilled mechanic at that time. The value of a full sized . deer-skin untanned, was from eight to ten shillings Connecticut Cur- rency, (^^1.33^ to ^1.66^). In an old account book of 1800 is a credit to a debtor: — "Dec. 19, 1800 — By two deerskins at three dollars and a half, to be four dollars if they last two years without patching=;^i 6s. id. Pennsylvania Currency." Oxen were used for farming and teaming purposes in the early settlement more than horses, and for more_ than forty years after- wards. The oxen were yoked together by a short wooden yoke for plowing or hauling, with a bow for the neck of the ox at each end, so that the yoke rested upon the neck and shoulders and not upon the head and horns. A "long yoke" was used to plow the corn and potatoes after they were sprouted high enough above the ground to be hoed. They had in this case two rows between them. In all cases oxen were driven without any guiding lines. They went ahead, or back or to the right or left by the command of the driver — as "g 'long," "back," "haw," or "gee." This has a strange sound to ears of this day. No oxen have been used in Hanover for farming now for more than thirty years. Pigs were also brought along ahd have never failed since. Cows and oxen, of course, were with the first comers. The Indians had chickens, geese, and ducks when the first whites came, and turkeys ran and flew wild in the woods in flocks of a dozen or more in each flock. No wild turkeys have been seen here now for mofe than forty years (1885). " The valley itself is diversified by hill and dale, upland and in- tervale. Its character of extreme richness is derived from the ex- tensive flats, or river, bottoms, which in some places extend from one to two miles back from the stream, unrivalled in expansive beauty, unsurpassed in luxuriant fertility. Though now generally cleared and cultivated, to protect the soil from floods a fringe of trees is left along each bank of the river — the sycamore, the elm. 196 HISTORY OF HANOVER. and more especially the black walnut, while here and there scatter- ed through the fields, a huge shell-bark yields its summer shade to the weary laborer, and its autumn fruit to the black and gray squirrel, or the rival plow-boy. Pure streams of water come leap- ing from the mountains, imparting health and pleasure in their course; all of them abounding with the delicious trout." It has been long since this was the case — the mines having been pumping the mine water into the brooks and streams of the valley for many years past, there is not a trout or any other kind of fish in one of them, as no fish or anything else can live in such water. But to. proceed with the quotation from Miner's History, now forty years old: "Along those brooks and in the swales, scattered through the uplands, grow the wild plum and the butternut, while wherever the hand of the white man has spared it, the native grape may be gathered in unlimited profusion. I have seen a grape vine bending beneath its purple clusters, one branch climbing a butternut loaded with fruit, another branch resting on a wild plum, red with its de- licious burden, the while growing in their shade the hazel-nut was ripening its rounded kernel." Such things are no longer to be seen. "Such were the common scenes when the white people first came to Wyoming, which seems to have been formed by nature a perfect Indian paradise. Game of every sort was abimdant. The quail whistled in the meado,w; the pheasant rustled in its leafy covert; the wild duck reared her brood, and bent the reed in every inlet; the red deer fed upon the hills, while in the deep forest, within a few hours' walk, was found the stately elk. Several persons now — 1844 — delight to relate their hunting prowess in bringing down this noblest of our forest inhabitants." All these have long ceased to inhabit our "woods and waters. " The river yielded at all seasons a supply of fish. The yellow perch, the pike, the catfish, the bass, the roach, and in the spring season myriads of shad." " From various points the valley can be seen to advantage, but from Inman's Hill," (Dilley's Hill in Hanover) "the eye embracing part of Hanover and the broad expanse of the Wilkes-Barre and Kingston meadows, the prospect is eminently picturesque pre- senting a scene rich in a single aspect, but in detail studded with in- numerable beauties." And speaking of the river shad in, a note he HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 97 says: — "The fact is worth recording that this fish, excellent as it was justly esteemed, caught in the Chesapeake Bay or at the mouth of the river, attained to a superior size and flavor when taken as far up as Wyoming. In point of fatness and excellence there could be no comparison. Possibly only the largest and strongest could stem the current for so great a distance, but a better reason, I ap- prehend, is to be found in a favorable change in quantity and quality of congenial food. In 1778 a haul was made at Nanticoke of uncounted thousands. The fishermen threw on shore white pur- chasers could be found, and gave to those who were unable to buy. The supply of salt being exhausted, the seine was raised and the rest allow-ed to escape." — Miner. The present generation knows nothing about any yellow bass, shad, or pike in the river. Since the dams for the canal were put in the river, there have been no shad, and all other kinds of fish seem to have been nearly exterminated, at least in the valley above Nanticoke dam. Black bass have lately been introduced, but are scarce above the dam. They are caught in moderate numbers below the dam at Nanticoke, with hook and line. CHAPTER X. THE EARLY TRADESMEN. ("^Tt S to tradesmen, the blacksmith stood at the head of all in OvV this new country. He never need be idle. Almost every- '^ \^^ thing made of iron in those early days in Wyoming Valley was made by the blacksmith. He made the plows. The cast-iron plow was invented and patented in 1814 by Jethro Wood. Before that they were made of wood and sheathed in iron. He ironed off 'the wagons and carts — two wheeled vehicles that the farmers used mostly with oxen. He made scythes, reaping-hooks, axes, knives in general, chisels, drawing knives, shears, sheep shears, garden hoes, grub hoes, spades, shovels of all kinds, hammers, rakes, harrows, pitchforks, stable forks, and-irons, flat-irons, door handles, latches, hinges and locks, barn door hinges, cow-bells, shod horses and oxen, made the irons of hames and harness, steel for "flint and steel" — for striking and kindling fires before ^'friction matches" were invented — ("lucifer matches" they were first called) — iron lamps for burning lard, nails of all kinds, griddles, tongs, pokers, sled shoes, skates, cranes for the chimneys, pot hooks, cranks for grindstones, and flax spinning-wheels, and for saw-mills occasionally, and other irons for mills, spindles for spinning wool, and flax, chains, and thousands of other things that one cannot re- member and that have long been out of date, or are made now by other tradesmen or by machinery and in other ways, and the suc- ceeding generations have lost the tradition of them. The gun and locksmith was a different trade, and not altogether in iron and steel. If the work to be done was heavy, the employer of the black- smith frequently had to help him. He had to blow the fire and wield the sledge. The writer remembers hearing one tell of going to the blacksmith with some iron to have a griddle made. He blew the bellows and wielded the sledge while the blacksmith handled HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 1 99 and heated the iron and hammered with a smaller hammer. They worked hard a half day together, beating that iron into shape, welding it and flattening it out, and fashioning and finishing that griddle, handle, swivel and all to the end. It was a good griddle for either wood or coal fires, and has'been in constant use from that day to this, more than ninety years, and the writer has eaten buck- wheat cakes baked on it this very day, and he also thinks, if his memory serves him, that the same person said he dug the ore out of his own farm and took it to the furnace, or " forge " it was called, and it was rnade into iron for him. At all events he dug ore and took it to the forge at Nanticoke and got iron for it. Iron thus procured was used, among other things, to pay for work done. It took a pretty skillful blacksmith to make a spindle for a flax spinning-wheel, or even a wool spinning-wheel, but they made them in the earlier times of the settlement . here, and the farmers themselves made the wood work, with axe, saw, auger, spokeshave, drawing knife and a gimlet, awl and knife, and chisel, and these tools were also made by the blacksmith. This was when they had to have the wheels " right away," when they had no time to wait for tradesmen or mechanics, or for the appearance of dealers in hardware. The writer has seen some of these old wheels, for they were good and durable and lasted till his time, and he knows where- of he speaks. Necessity compelled them to produce these machines in some way to do the necessary spinning, for they had to have thread to make and repair garments. They hardly knew how to use the sipews of deer. Of course they would have used them had the necessity compelled, but they were white men and of too ingenious a kind ever to let the necessities of the savage come upon them in a matter of this kind. Now, perhaps, will be as good a time as any to describe the carding of wool by hand, for no other way was then known, and describe the wheel, also, for the spinning of it at that time. CARDING BY HAND. The cards were made of a thin piece of wood about a half inch thick, twelve inches long, and six or seven inches wide, and with a handle to each card on one edge about six inches long. The face of the card was covered with hard leather filled with teeth of fine 200 HISTORY OF HANOVER. steel wire about three-fourths of an inch long, bent slightly in the middle so the points leaned slightly towards the handle of the card. A small handful of wool was separated from the fleece and laid upon one of the cards, then another card was taken and the wool — between the teeth of the pair-^was rubbed and combed by moving the cards back and forth on the wool, sometimes with the handles of the cards both in one direction, and sometimes with the handles — and, of course, the teeth — of the cards in opposite direc- tions. By these movements, continued long enough, all the kinks and knots in the wool were drawn apart and separated so as to leave a fine loose and fluffy mass of the handful, which was then patted lightly on the backs of the cards so as to form a bat about an inch thick and six or seven inches wide and thirteen or fourteen long ; this was then rolled up on the back of the cards by the cards, into a roll for spinning, some three inches in diameter and fourteen or fifteen inches long. This was hand-carding and this was the "roll." The spinning was sometimes done from the bat, but generally the bat was rolled up for spinning. SPINNING WOOL BY HAND. The spindle was made of steel, about a foot long, a quarter of an inch in diameter, with one end brought down to a sharp point. The butt end had journals cut in smaller than the rest of the spindle and about four inches apart, one being close to the butt end. A wooden disk was driven tight on the spindle about midway between the ends. Between the two journals a_ wooden "whir" was fastened tightly on the spindle, having V-shaped grooves cut in around it for the driving cord to run in. This spindle was fastened in place by two thick leather journal bearings to two up- right pieces of wood an inch in diameter and five inches high, standing fastened in holes in a horizontal piece of wood about three inches in diameter and seven or eight inches long. This was called the "head" of the spinning-wheel. This head was fastened on the top of an upright post set in one end of a heavy ' bench made expressly for the spinning-wheel, and the spindle was run by a cord driven by a wheel about four feet in diameter, turning on an axle or journal fastened in an upright post set or standing in the other end of the bench, the cord running round the wheel and the HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 201 whir on the spindle. The wheel was turned by one hand while the foil was held in the other, with a thread from it fastened to the spindle and winding out and over the point, and as it was rapidly turned and spun, drew out the thread or yarn from the roll. When the thread or yarn was sufficiently twisted it was wound up on the spindle, outside of the wooden disk, and this operation was con- tinued until the spindle was full. This was the old original wheel here, but in later years there was a "patent" head introduced. This had a small wheel on the." head" from which a second cord ran to the whir on the spindle. This improvement twisted the thread with much less turning of the larger wheel. In flax spinning a very different wheel — and spindle — was used. The flax was held on a distaff, and the wheel was turned by the foot with a treadle. THE FLAX SPINNING-WHEEL. The flax spinning-wheel was made of oak. It consisted of a bench about two feet long, seven or eight inches wide and two . inches thick. The spindle end was elevated a few inches higher than the rear end where the wheel ran. The legs spread wide apart at the floor, the back or rear ones being about a foot long. In the back end were erected two posts about eighteen inches high and leaning back. Between these posts ran a wheel about eighteen inches in diameter, the iron axle through the hub being let into the posts at the top. The iron axle has a small crank on it at the back ■end outside of the post for the connecting rod of a treadle under the wheel, to be attached to, to turn the .wheel. At the elevated end were two other posts about eighteen inches high erected from a cross-piece for the spindle to run in. The bearings for the spindle to run • in were of stiff" leather. The end of the spindle toward the spinner was hollow for the thread to pass through, and so through the bearing and journal of the spindle, and came out at the side.of the spindle through a hole. The spindle had "fliers" on it with hooked "wires in the sides to carry the thread over the spool. The open ends of the fliers were towards the back or little end of the spindle, so as to allow the spool and whir to be put on and taken off the spindle. The " whir " was a grooved piece of hard wood about two inches in diameter for the driving cord from 13* 202 HISTORY OF HANOVER. the wheel to run in to turn the spindle. One part of the driving cord ran in a groove on the end of the spool next to the whir. This groove was a little smaller than those in the whir, so as to make the spool run a little faster than the spindle,.' thus winding up the twisted thread on the spool. This wheel ran with one long cord in two grooves around the wheel, the cord doubled to run around the wheel to the whir, back to the wheel and around again and then around the groove in the end of the spool. This cord ran like a double cord, but it was. only one, and crossed itself to go twice around the wheel and once each around the whir and spool. The distaff was set at the head of the wheel in a hole with a pro- jecting arm and bows standing up (the real distaff) to ]j^ld the flax. The spinner sat at this wheel on the side with the spindle and distaff at the left and the wheel at the right and a foot on the treadle underneath. Every girl learned to spin and to knit in those days, and most of them learned to weave, to make laces, fringes and tassels and work figures of men and animals, and landscapes, and embroidery of various kinds with the needle, and the dying of woolen cloth and yarns. It may be too much to say that every one learned all these or most of them, but it is not too much to say that every one tried, however poor her family was. These were accomplishments that our grandmothers, and grandfathers too, ' thought of the highest value in those days, when idleness produced want. They were all taught to do housework, and the boys and girls both learned to read and write. The boys learned not only to farm in the ordinary sense of it, but to raise and rot flax, to break it, to swingle it, to "hetchel," "heckel" or "hackel" it, to bleach it, and many even learned to spin and weave it. Weaving was no mean trade for a man. We have now in actual use in our own house, co\^erlets of blue, and also of red woolen yarn, woven in and over linen warp and filling, making a figure of raised blue, or red, on Vhite, on either side of the coverlet, woven by one who came here with her father's family in 1779,* a young girl of sixteen, and died fifty-six years ago. She was not among the first settlers, for it was ten years after the first settlement was made that she came. The Wyoming Massacre had taken place the year before, and the Revo- *Anna Hurlbut, afterwards wife of Eljsha Blackmail, of Hanover. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. . • 2O3 lutionary war had been in progress for more than three years. At this time the people had some things that might be called comforts when compared with those of the settlers of the first three or four years. The first store in Hanover was kept by William McKarrichan, in Nanticoke, who came to Wyoming in 1774. He taught school a short time and then established a store. He was captain of the Hanover Militia, and was killed in the massacre of Wyoming July '3.1778. Before the massacre and expulsion in 1778 several saw-mills had been built, and boards and other lumber could be got, but in general their houses and barns were built of logs, and after the first three years were roofed with shingles, but some were thatched with straw. After the end of the ■ Revolutionary war when peace had been declared, and the third Pennamite and Yankee war had ended, better houses began slowly to appear. The houses were then built larger, and of hewed logs with the ends sawed off close to the corners. Some of these houses are still standing and are occupied as farm houses. (Indeed, one still in use, standing in the fields south-west of Petty's Mill, about eighty rods, is understood to have been removed some sixty or more years ago from " Button- wood," where it had been used for defense against the Indians in more than one attack before the end of the Revolutionary war.) These houses were generally built one and a half stories high — sometimes . a two-story one was built. Frequently they had a porch along one side, more frequently along the rear than the front, and were very comfortable houses; but they had to have the chinking replastered with clay inside and outside every year for winter. These houses were never lathed and plastered. The logs were bare inside and out. The rains during the spring and summer beating against the sides would wash out the clay, and it had to be constantly or yearly renewed. Good shingle roofs were put on these houses. Frame barns were the first frame buildings built. They wished to have, their harvested crops well protected from the weather. A log barn was not a very good barn for various reasons. The early settlers maintained free schools of their own free will and choice. There was no law here then to compel them, except 204 • HISTORY OF HANOVER. such as they made in their own town-meetings, but, although on the far frontiers and very poor, they determined to have the rising generation — the future hojJe of safety, of defense — fitted for their duties in the best manner possible, and that it should not be scant even here in the wilderness, but equal to, if not better than their fathers received in the older settled and safer community. Several of their school-masters were killed in the battle and massacre, among the rest Capt. McKarrachan who taught school in Nanticoke, as early as 1774. Probably there was a school there in 1773. Afterwards when it became too dangerous to send their children to school, they were taught at home. Indeed, this was done long after fears of the Indians had ceased to exist, and the wars were ended. Some one who was thus engaged in teaching her own children, would announce to her neighbors that she would take a class at certain hours of the day at her own home to teach certain branches; nearly always in the case of girls it was coupled with needle-work in various branches, of knitting, making laces, netting, embroidery, etc., and families would send good sized children, girls and boys, more than two miles to such teachers, for the most skillful hand with the needle was not unknown to her neighbors for many miles round. This, if nothing else, would attract the girls, and the boys went to learn to "read, write and cipher." Money of any kind was so little in circulation that all pay was "in kind," that is, some product of the farm, dairy, or household. School books were taken care of in those days, and every one fur- nished his own. Books were something that could not be made by the father of the family, and often the books used by the father were the same books used by the children, and even the grand- children. Physicians were, as a matter of course, not very numerous, and in the scattered population of a new settlement they were far apart. In such new settlements the inhabitants were liable to disease at least as much, if not much more so, than in an older settled country, as experience has abundantly shown. What then was to be done here in case of sickness? Well, in such cases they had what are called "old women" doctors. Everybody in those days, and especially the women, was more or less informed as to the sup- posed medicinal qualities of certain roots, herbs, plants, shrubs, and HANOVER TOWNSHIP. ' 205 barks, all to be found in their gardens or in the neighboring woods. Every garden — and they prided themselves on their gardens — was provided with hops, sage, rue, wormwood, tansy, peppermint, spear- mint, catnip, thyme, hoarhound, camomile, mustard, rhubarb, yel- low-dock, comfrey, opodeldock, dill, colt's-foot, and many others equally good and equally nauseous, and they were very liberally administered, together with hot baths, and sweats, and salves, and poultices in what they considered proper cases. The people of those early days had no very high opinion of the profession of an M. D., and in most cases would not call a doctor at all, even when he was within easy reach, or if they did, it would be as the very last resort. They did not wish to be poisoned for life — if they .lived through it — by calomel. But they made it a practice to go once a year to the doctor and get bled ! There were other people also, besides doctors, who used the lancet for bleeding people. It was not necessary, they thought, for one to be sick at all, in any way, that he should have that done, but he had himself bled so as to keep himself well, just as some people in this age physic themselves sick in the spring, in order to keep well during the rest of the year. In these early times the people, though surrounded with stumps and stones, and brush and woods, and general disorder in their new clearings, yet had solne taste for the beautiful in spite of cir- cumstances, and gratified it in a small way. Every house or family had a clump of rose bushes in the door-yard or in the garden, and a bunch or two of peonies, a clump of lilac bushes, and sunflowers, and hollyhocks, and many had white poppies and made their own opium. And if there were young girls in the family, they would have pinks, and pansies, and marigolds, and morning-glories, and as many other kinds of flowers as they could get. It took time, of course, for these things to be brought in from Connecticut. After the jurisdiction reverted to Pennsylvania there was not much beautifying of anything for three years, during a great part of which time Pennsylvania soldiers were trying to dispossess the inhabitants. But there were too many inhabitants and they were too widely scattered through the valley, for the soldiers to keep them out after throwing them and their goods out of the houses and nailing up the doors and windows, for as soon as the soldiers were gone to the 206 • HISTORY OF HANOVER. next place, the women would break open the doors and carry their things, that were not destroyed, back into the house again — unless the soldiers had set fire to the house and burnt it down, which was frequently done. But in that case they would go to work at once, and build a new one. It may be supposed that few of these soldiers liked this work. All these things happened more than once along the River Road in Hanover, where almost the only houses were then, from 1783 to' 1.785, inclusive. It is proper to say, but few of their houses or barns were burnt in Hanover. This portion of my narrative is intended to take in and describe the condition of things in general in the township from the first settlement down to 1 800. With the troubles these people had with the government of Pennsylvania for. their land, there were mixed other troubles from natural causes. After a winter of unusual severity in 1783-4 about the middle of March (13 and 14) the weather became suddenly warm and rain fell in torrents, melting the snows throughout all the hills and valleys in the upper regions of the Susquehanna. The ice began to break up and the river rose with great rapidity. The ice gave way in some places, and blocked up and refused to move in others. In this way several large dams or gorges of ice had formed, and the water and ice from above had spread out over the lowlands — the flats — to find an outlet. A gorge was formed among others, at Nanticoke, and the water had spread over the flats as far up as Pittston. Finally the gorges — or dams of ice — ^^above, broke away and came rushing down upon this dam at Nanticoke. Houses and barns, and cattle, and stacks of grain and hay, and pig-pens with their pigs, were swept away by the rushing, roaring flood. At the Hurlbut house below the Red Tavern, they were pre- paring to fly to the hills, -but the water was too quick for them. The good Deacon John was dead, but his family was there, and two of his sons who had gone down to the river bank to get a boat of theirs to use in case of necessity, were compelled by the rising water to run, but the water came up so fast, that, as they held the rope of the boat in their hands, the boat followed in the water to the door of their house. They tied the boat to the door and tried to get the family up stairs, but the water rose so fast and there were so many of them and some neighbors who had come HANOVER, TOWNSHIP. 20/ there for safety, that their sister Anna (a young woman, being the last, or, for other reasons) had got into the boat to keep out of the water.' The steps or ladders were swept away, and as she could not get from the boat into the house, and so up stairs, and there being no window up stairs on that side of the house, and the water being above the door, she had to stay with a brother in the boat all night. The rush of the water being so great they did not dare to untie-the boat to get to a window or to the hill near by. By daylight the flood subsided. Many cattle were drowned and much provisions lost. This was always known afterwards as the " Great Flood" or "Ice Freshet." In Order to determine the height of this flood the writer with two assistants went to the site of that house, and with a level took the height . of the flood above the general level of the flats. The position of his level was five feet above the ground where the house stood. This was probably several feet lower than the surface of the water was there. The level was found then to be twenty-eight feet above the level of the flats near the road by the side of the creek. The writer does .not know how high the flood of 1865 rose to at that place; but from what he does know of that flood of 1865, he will say that the flood of 1 784 must have been from twelve to fourteen feet higher than that .of 1865. In other words, such a flood as that of 1784 would submerge the Public Square of Wilkes-Barre, about twelve feet under water. The position or site of the Hurlbut house was on the east side of the creek — (Behee's Creek) — belOw the Red Tavern and on the north side of the River Road, on some nearly level ground there. Back of the hous* was the garden, and near the garden apple-trees were planted. Some of those apple trees are still standing, and near these trees Deacon John was buried in 1782. There was another flood in October, 1786, known as the "Pumpkin Flood," on account of the river being covered with pumpkins floating off This was the last; both nature and the Pennsylvania government became more propitious ; the three years of trouble had ended. The clothing worn after leather clothing was discarded, was called "homespun," and until within the last forty years was home- made. The materials were raised on their own sheep and farms. 208 HISTORY OF ^ANOVER. and the wool and flax were carded or hetcheled and spun at home, and woven, and dyed, and fulled, and cut and made into clothing at home, sometimes by the family, and sometimes by a tailor' who came to the house and directed and did the work for the male mem- bers of the family. The female part of the family wore pretty much the same kind of materials in their dress that the males did. Although it did not look quite as well as clothing does now, it was just as thick, close, and heavy, warm and comfortable as any now worn. There were no carding machines in the townsTiip nor even in Wyoming Valley, it is believed, before 1814.* At least the writer so understands it. After that time clothing of various colors and degrees of fineness began to be produced even as home-made. Previous to that time the carding of wool was all done by hand with hand cards, and all spun on a single spindled wheel. The "Spinning Jenny" was not invented or at least introduced here till more thaii ten years later than 18 14. The cotton gin was invented by a Yankee school teacher in Georgia in 1793; before that the amount cleaned by a good hand at cleaning cotton was one pound per day; by this invention one machine performs the labor of 5000 persons. From about 1800, inventions in the United States- have produced a wonderful change in labor. In these old times of which we are now treating, everything pretty much was done by hand; there were rude threshing machines, but nearly all threshing was done by hand with the same old flail, one stick fastened to another with a leather string, was hammered upon the grain. The winnowing of the grain was done with a "fan" as it was called, but it was done by hand and the natural wind that blew the chaff out. It was _ tedious work. The grain was cut with the "sicicle," or with the reaping "hook;" nothing else was known then for the purpose. The cradle came into use a little before 1800. It was no great matter to make a cap out of the skins of any such fur bearing animal as was caught and tanned for the purpose, but they were not dressed, and sheared, and trimmed and dyed, so as to look very nice, still there was wear and warmth and service in them all the sdme, and when others all around the country wore the same kind, what was there to be ashamed of? There was a hatter in Wilkes-Barre soon after its settlement, and those who had ' *At this date Jacob Plumb built a set of carding machines at Pittston, HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 2O9 a desire for a fine beaver hat would have it made to order, and fre- quently of the fur produced by their own hunting skill. Or they could have it made of wool. We do not know when the first hatter came to Wilkes-Barre, but we do know that such hats were made there to order. There was no hatter in Hanover. Moccasins were frequently worn, but necessity only would com- pel white men to wear them, and the necessity did" not last long. The boys and girls would go barefooted in the summer till they were sixteen or seventeen years old, and in fact many men and women managed to save their shoe leather in the same way while about home or on the farm. Tanneries on a small scale were es- tabhshed almost in the very beginning of the settlements, and shoe- makers were not wanting. The tanning was generally done for half the hide. Thus the farmers all had their own leather made from the hides of their own cattle, horses, sheep, dogs and some- times, hogs, and from deer-skins, and they had only to pay for the making into shoes, boots, clothing, saddles, mittens, etc. It Cost three shillings and ninepence (50 cents) to four shillings and six- pence (60 cents) in Pennsylvania Currency to get a pair of shoes made. Shoemakers often went to the house and made up the shoes for the winter's wear of the family. Then they got their board and pay by the day for their work. Tailors also, usually, in the early times, went to the house and made up the family clothing for the male members of the family, except the leather clothing, which the tailor only cut or marked and the shoemaker cut and sewed together. Such seasons were frequently taken advantage of for calling together the young people and having a jollification. As all the women could sew the trade of a tailor was not a very good one, the sewing being pretty much all done by the family. There were tailors here in these early days and good ones, too, having served their time at learning the trade, but the trade of a shoemaker was so good a one, that many, if not most of the shoemakers were themselves "home-made," that is, th^y had never learned the trade by working with a shoemaker, but had "picked it up," as it were, and could make shoes and boots that would answer the purpose. Some such ingenious and naturally skillful men there were in other trades too. Such persons made barrels, tubs, half-bushel measures and various other kinds of cooper work. Any person 2IO HISTORY OF HANOVER. handy at making any kind of particular thing used on the farm, could get work at making that, and heed not farm altogether for a living, for he could get all the farm produce he needed in exchange for his handiwork, and for less labor. Carpenters in these early times were not very numerous compared with the blacksmiths and shoemakers, for every man, almost* built his own house, at least up to the time of the second generation; but the wheelwright's trade was an important one, for a tradesman of that kind was a necessity. A wagon or cart was necessary on every farm, and re- pairs had to be frequently made, and that took tools and skill that but few possessed. There has been a time within the past forty years in some of the new settlements on our frontiers, where some foreigners have made and used a wagon, or cart or "vehicle," made by sawing off the end of a large log, and making a hole in the center for a wheel, and with an axle and a pair of such wheels made a cart, or with four wheels a wagon. Such a wheel was never seen here. They were always made with hubs, spokes and fellies, and bound together with iron. The wheelwright built the wood-work in his own way and at the price agreed upon for that part of the carriage, and then the blacksmith did the iron-work on it according to directions of the owner at the price they agreed upon. Each tradesman did his own work in his own way, not at all connected with each other. No paint was used on any such work in the early times, nor on houses nor furniture. Oil mills were early established to utilize the seed from their flax, and one is forced to wonder why they did not use paint. The fact is well enough known, but the reason for it is not. Another kind of business was of great importance and of very great necessity in those days — now. entirely out of date and out of use — that was the making of spinning-wheels for wool and flax, and shuttles, spools, bobbins and looms, with all their necessary other accompaniments. Spoons and dishes of wood have also dis- appeared from use. Bowls, trays, ladles," troughs, etc., are still made somewhere by hand, but none ^re niade here. Spoons and dishes of wood were superseded by those made of pewter, how soon is not known, but probably as early as 1800. The wealthier people had pewter sets before the Revolutionary war; some of the fugitives after the Wyoming Battle and Massacre HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 2 1. I buried their pewter before they fled, and recovered it after they returned. No wooden ware has been made here since 1845. Early in this century wooden pegs took the place, in a great measure, of flax thread for fastening on the soles of boots. The millwright also had a good trade. Almost everything about a mill for grinding flour was made of wood, except the stones and spindle, and the mills were all run by water. They never had heard of steam power. The miller took one-tenth of the grist as " toll" for grinding it, whatever it was, and there seems to have been doubt sometimes of their honesty, for there was a "saying" that "the miller's hogs are always fat;" but perhaps it was only a jest. Perhaps some millers sometimes "tolled" the grist twice from forgetfulness. In the earliest settlement and for three or four years afterwards there was no mill in the valley of Wyoming for grinding flouf, and they crushed their grain in a public mortar. The mills were all burnt at the time of the mas- sacre and expulsion, and for a year or less afterwards they had to resort to the mortar and pestle again. (It is not certain that the Nanticoke Mill was burned after the massacre.) They were too poor to rebuild the mills at once and so they pounded their grain • in a big public mortar. It was the stump of a large tree that was used for the purpose. It was hollowed out by burning in the top until there was a large hole deep enough to hold the grain. A large stone was dressed and cut and made to fit and nearly fill the hole in the stump. A staple was fastened in the top of the stone and a chain attached and. fastened to a young sapling tree standing near and bent down to serve as a spring-pole. When the grain was put into the mortar in proper quantity, the stone pestle, assisted by the spring-pole, was made to pound the grain, and thus they made a coarse meal for flour. There was a mortar and pestle of this kind on the River Road in the hollow at the foot of the hill below the Red Tavern, near the Hurlbut house. The people of a neighborhood used to send a man sometimes, with a horse and as large a load of wheat in bags on his back as the horse could" carry, to mill on the Delaware to have it ground into fine flour. When it was brought back it was divided out among the neighbors to be used on special occasions, to have something fine and rich for grand company and weddings, etc. 2,12 HISTORY OF HANOVER. There was little crime among these people, but such small crimes and misdemeanors as there were, were generally punished by a justice of the peace by fines. The judgments of these magistrates were always carried into effect. The public opinion of. the people always sustained their officers. And their officers were conscientious and God fearing Puritans or Presbyterians. There was imprisonment -for debt in those times — now happily abolished. Very infrequently a case would be sent to the county court at Wilkes-Barre for trial. These people, we are justified in saying, in these early times were always distinguished for their law-abiding character. From the very first their respect for the civil authori^ amounted almost to a superstition. A sheriff was considered almost too awful a person to be in the least resisted; as witness Miner, and Chapman, and Pierce, how often a sheriff, whose juris- diction they did not acknowledge, ccJuld arrest twenty or thirty of them at a time with arms in their hands, and take them unresist- ingly to prison, away off more than sixty miles to Easton, or to Sunbury, all the way through the woods. Perhaps it was because those kind-hearted "Pennsylvania Dutch" or other Pennsylvanians would always bail them out of jail right away and send them back home again. It may be that these Lancaster County men did not submit so quietly to arrest. It would be interesting to know whether any of those bail bonds were ever forfeited and collected. This is, of course, speaking of the time before the Decree of Trenton, and their submission to the jurisdiction and laws of Pennsylvania. Then they were not always bailed "right away," but oppression, tyranny, and attempted robbery, if nothing worse, created a re- sistance which was fast growing, till the government of Pennsyl- vania came to its senses and stopped. . During the jurisdiction of Connecticut over Wyoming the cur- rency in use here was called " Connecticut Currency," and was in pounds, shillings and pence; six shillings were equal to one dollar. All accounts were kept in that currency. Dollars and smaller 'fractional coins in silver were in circulation to a very limited extent, of Spanish coinage, and were the only coins except occasionally a crown or half crown of British coin, and a "Joe" and "half Joe" Spanish gold. But there was almost a total absence of coined money of any kind. Whatever money was HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 21 3 used the account was kept of it in pounds, shillings and pence, Connecticut Currency, and not in Pennsylvania, nor sterling cur- rency. After we came under Penns.ylvania jurisdiction, the same coin in the same very small amount was sfill in use, but the ac- counts were then kept in pounds, shillings and pence'in Pennsyl- vania Currency, but it took seven shillings and six pence of it to make a dollar. When one was paid a fifty-Cent piece he gave credit in his account for y. and gd* In April, 1778, during the Revolutionary war, .and before thg Wyoming Massacre a town-meeting was held in Wilkes-Barre at which they fixed the price of " various articles of sale and service of labor:" — "Good yarn stockings ios.=$i.66^ ■" Laboring women at spinning, per week 6j. ::= i .00 " Winter fed beef, per pound . yd.^ -09x1 "" Metheglin, per gallon 7^-= i-i6^ ""Shad, per piece .■ . 6«• roads as they could and make them passable for teams. There was so very little teaming done that they did not need much of a road anywhere, and perhaps, from our surrounding mountains and the general barrenness of the land for so many miles on the east of them, they may have thought that the teaming of any pro- duction of theirs would never pay, and so took no care to make good roads in the beginning. Their roads were made from two to three rods wide (during the Yankee or Connecticut jurisdiction they were six rods) generally only two, and if possible on the line between two adjoining farms, one rod on each. The roads were generally opened after the farms had been made, and of course fenced. Then when the officer having authority to open a road came on with men to do the work, the fences were set back from the line between the lots or farms to the place for the fence on each side, then a broad ditch was plowed on each side of the' proposed road and the dirt scraped from them into the middle of the road and rounded up, and that ,wSs a road. In places where a brook ran across, or a drain had to be made across the road, a culvert or little bridge was made by digging a ditch across the road and laying two small logs in it a couple of feet apart, and across the road-bed, letting three or four cross sticks into the top of these, laying poles on them and covering up with dirt. Here was a little bridge that would last three or four years without repair. These were their roads a hundred years ago, and we have pretty much the same kind yet. There was another kind of road made in low and wet or marshy places called "corduroy" roads. These were made by laying logs, like the string-pieces of a bridge, across the marshy HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 237 place, and from three or four feet to eight feet apart and parallel. Across these, poles ten or twelve feet long were laid side by side until solid ground was reached. It was a rough road, but it wouldi float on a marsh and bear up heavy teams and loads. These were quite common. New settlers were coming into the township from other parts of Pennsylvania and from New York and New Jersey, and they bought land of the Yankees before the titles to the lands were set- tled, and some of the old settlers sold all their land and moved away. Another war had been fought with the Indians, and the Indians had been terribly whipped by Gen. Anthony Wayne in Ohio and Indiana, in 1793-4, and ^ow those territories were begin- ning to be settled by the white people, and our people were casting their eyes in that direction. Some of the old settlers here divided up their lands and sold part to the new-comers, heirs divided their deceased parents' estates, new farms were cleared up and homes made on the back lands towards the mountain. Two roads had been opened from Wilkes-Barre down through Hanover to the south-west into Newport : the River Road to Nanticoke and beyond, and the Middle Road through nearly the center of the township, and now, as we approach the year 1800, the Back Road was ordered by the court to be opened as a public highway. That road enters the township — from Wilkes-Barre at what is now called Newtown — and passes down at a distance of about half a mile from the Little Mountain, through the town- ship. Cross-roads were opened to the Middle Road and River Road, and not always in the very best places either, but for the convenience of the inhabitants. Later on, the Back Road from Rummage's Hill down to Newport was vacated, and a road opened from the Rummage or Sorber cross-road in the bottom of the hol- low, along which the Nanticoke railroad now runs, down to Lueder's cross-road, but it went no farther. Every farm, of course, had an orchard. It was generally planted in the first field cleared up, perhaps because other crops could be raised in the same field while the trees were growing. It took ten years to produce a crop of apples from the time of plant- ing the seed. Young apple trees could be bought for sixpence apiece. 238 HISTORY OF HANOVER. A new generation had now grown up in the township, and the land opened up by the Back Road was settled and cleared up by the young men who had grown up here, or by new-comers who came in and bought it, the most of whopi were Pennsylvania Dutch. These Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York Dutch were industrious people, and in a few years the new clearings touched each other all the way from the Wilkes-Barre line to Newport. These new fields waved with. grain, and fine herds and flocks of cattle, sheep and hogs could be seen on every farm. Here and there a grove of trees was left standing, and the tops of the hills were still capped with their original woods. The prospect from any of the hill-tops or mountain was beautiful indeed, and it has re- mained so to the present day, notwithstanding the neglect into which the farms have fallen. All the necessaries of life were pro- duced in abundance. The same ways, customs, and habits remained and the same wages and prices that had been obtained from the very earliest settlement. Everything was primitive. The early settlers had no dishes except iron, wood and pewter ones, and but very few of them. Wood had to be used for pretty much all household purposes, and the fewest cooking utensils possible were used, and these made mostly by the blacksmith. How could the girl learn to cook ? Everything (almost) she had to cook and to cook with was produced on the farm, and having had everything so often destroyed during the Pennamite and Yankee, and the Revolu- tionary wars, they kept as few as possible. The meals provided for the family in those early times were about the same as they were in 1840, only that in those early tinies their dishes were pewter, or wooden, or both. Breakfast, dinner and supper among the farmers were very much alike. The table was made of white pine or cherry boards, unpainted and unvar- nished, large enough for the whole family, men, women and children, and the hired men and women, all to sit down to at once, generally the pook and all, for the whole meal was placed on the table before sitting down. Very frequently a blessing was asked, standing, before sitting down to eat. Everything not too large was handed round for every one to take as much as he pleased. The carving was all done before the food was placed on the table. The HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 239 dishes were very frequently of wood, as were the spoons, knives and forks were of various patterns of iron or steel. A common dish was a large, deep; wooden or pewter platter filled high with boiled potatoes, cabbage and salt pork or corned beef At every meal there was a large dish of fried salt pork swimming in its own fat. There was plenty of wheat or rye flour, or a loaf of each, butter of the very freshest and best, eggs, cheese — home-made — milk, butter- milk, water and cider for drink — frequently a large dish of baked beans with a large piece of pork baked with it, radishes, green peas in their season, and green corn, and succotash. These things were frequently all on the table together. Honey, pepper, mustard, vinegar, all of their own production, and other garden products not necessary to mention. In the winter the principal bread food used' was buckwheat cakes. Corn and rye flour mfxed and baked in loaves was a favorite bread. Tea and coffee were scarce and used only on special occasions. It was only when they killed a beef, or calf, or sheep, or hogs, that they had any freSh meat. It had to be salted at once to save it for use, and so it happened that their butcher- ing was done late in the fall or early in the winter and was intended to be sufficient for the whole year for themselves and their hired hands. Laboring men took these things for pay, but they — when married — usually raised a hog or two, and often more, for themselves, and had as many chickens and geese and ducks as the owners of farms, and every family had a cow. His valuation for taxes was only the cow — $156," but a single man's valuation was $iOO: So their meat was all salt meat, except venison and bear meat. Frequently, however, when a calf was of the proper age it was killed and divided among their neighbors fresh and returned in fresh veal again by the neighbor when he killed a calf The same was sometimes done also with a sheep. So in their accounts we find them both buying and selling the same things in these cases. Buckwheat cakes almost exclusively were eaten in the winter season, scarcely any other breadstuff being used, unless it was corn meal cakes for a change, and sometimes flannel cakes. Mu.sh and milk was a favorite dish for children. Indian pudding and pump- kin pies were also in great demand, and, after butchering, sausages and mince pies were in daily use. They lived well but not high, and y»t they sometimes had cases of gout among them, and an ex- 240 HISTORY OF HANOVER. tremely fleshy person was not an unusual sight. Generally, how- ever, these descendants of the Puritans had a lean, lank and solemn appearance. Perhaps their troubles here made them have a serious look. They wore their hair in a "queue" till about 1800. Then fashion compelled them to " crop it." The boys were not unskilled in such things as were possible for them to learn under the circumstances. They had the skill — " the knack" — of their fathers and whatever implement was necessary about their farms they could make. But these young people seemed to have the spirit of emigration born in them, and many of them left the paternal roof and acres and emigrated to the new lands, now at the end of the dying century, opened up to -settle- ment in Ohio. Tales of the richness of the lands in Ohio, came here from those that had gone before, and by soldiers that returned home from the war, and by the opening of the new century a full tide of emigration had set in, and some of the old as well as the new generation went west to try their fortune again in anbther new country, or to be near their children. Streams of the yqlinger men and women poured towards the west. One of a family, in some cases, kept his ancestral acres until the next generatioii and then again they left, till now there is scarcely one of the old stock left remaining in the township. The Pennsylvania and New Jersey Dutch came in and took the places of the emigrating Yankees for a couple of generations, but even they have mostly "gone west" now (1884-5). Now, as we approach the end of the eighteenth century, it seems proper to introduce a list of the productions of the township which the farmers had any hand in producing, and such other productions as they dealt in, but which were produced by tradesmen. Tht prices also are given so far as they could be ascertained. They were such as the producers — the farmers — charged, and are; taken from on account-book of a farmer of the time between 1791 ■ and 1800. In cases where the things were produced by tradesmen no price is given. Some things brought from abroad have a price given to show the cost of it to these people at this time. Tobacco, raw and manufactured, and cloth of every kind they used were manufactures of the farmers' families. Siding and boards and leather were made on shares by the mill-man and the tanner. HANOVER TOW.NSHIP. 241 Of course it was -not all done so. Some such stuff was bought out- right by the exchange of other produce for it. Shoes and boots were made by the farmer that knew how and had the tools, at home in his own house for his own family and for his neighbors. Everyone, or every farmer, and pretty nearly everyone else, fur- nished the leather and thread for his own and his family's shoes. The prices here named and the wages of labor continued here with- out much if any variation till the war of 1812. Then, for six or seven years, there was considerable fluctuation, but from 1820, about the same prices seem to rule again until they ceased almost entirely to produce these things — which was somewhere near 1840. Coal was quarried out for blacksmiths and used in their forges, but no one knew how to burn it for domestic uses until 1 808. List of things produced or used in Hanover previous to 1800: .06^ 1 .00 .041 ■13K -.04t i-33>^ Apples . , Apple trees . . . 6^.= Apple-jack, gal., js. 6d.= Beef, fresh .... 41/.^ Butter ij.= Bear, meat, 3^.-4^?.=. 03^ Bear-skin, tanning, . . ys. 6d.^ i.oo Buckskin, tanning . . IOJ.= Blackberries . . . . . Buckwheat, bu., 35. 9^/.= Broom corn Brooms . Buckskin . . .13.^. Bees-wax Bees, hive {$4. in 1840) Beets '........ Beans (^2.50 in 1840) . Black walnuts .... Boots, making . 14^.= Bark, cord . .lu. 3(/.= Corn, Indian, 3.^.-3^. gd.^.40-.io Cows {$12-$\S in 1840) Carrots Cabbage, 3^.-4rf.=.03>^-.04| Calves Chickens, each . . ij.= .13^ 16 ■SO ^•= i-73>^ 1.86^ 1.50 Chestnuts, quart 5^.=:^ .05f Cider, barrel . . 15^.= 2.00 Cucumbers Cheese . 6d.-iod.=.obj4^-ii\ ■05f .50 •53K .40 Cherries, qt . . i,d.- Currants Covei-lets Cloth, linen . 3^. gd.= Cloth, woolen . . 4?.= Chairs, splint and rush bottom Ducks Dogs . . . ■ . . . . . Dog skins, tanning, 3^".= Eggs (6 to 1 2 cts. in 1 840) Flax, pound, i5-.-iJ.'3^.= • ■ • i3^--i6?^ Flax, hackled . . 2s.= .26% Flax-seed, bu., 6s. 6d.^= i.oo Fulled cloth Fish Flour, rye . . 2}id.= .02^ Flour, wheat, 4(f.-5d?.= .04|-.05f Fur, skins ...... Grind-stones .* 3.^. 9^.= .50 Geese (1840, 50 cts. each) Gourds Horses ....... 242 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Hogs and pigs .... Hides Hoop-poles Hay, ton, 2;^-3;^=S.33 Hops . Half a Crown, 2s. 6d.=^ Hickory nuts .... Hazel-nuts Huckleberries( 1 840,6cts) Handkerchiefs, weaving, IS. 6d.^ Iron ore,ton(i820, ;$2.66) Iron, pound, i^]/id.-6d.= -OS- Lace, linen Linen thread .... " Linsey-woolsey " cloth y. gd.= . Linen cloth . 3^. 9^.= . Linseed oil and oil-cake Leather, for pair shoes, ...'... 8s= I. Lard ..... 8d.= . Log of maple . . 5^.= . Metheglin Mutton Melons (1840, 25 cts.) . Oats Onions Oxen, yoke Potatoes, t)u . 2s. 6d.= . Pumpkins (1840, $1 per load) .'..... Parsnips Pork, salt, 6d.-is.^=.o6^-. Pork, fresh . . . 4d.= Pigeons, doz . . is.^ Pheasants, apiece, ij.= Pease, bu . . /j. 6d.=: 1 Peaches . Plums Pears .....*... Plaster (gypsum), ton, $13- Plows Panniers .00 •33>i .20 06?^ SO 50 06^ o8| 66^ zsVi ^3/3 04f 13'^ ,00 17.00 Pack saddles . . . . ^ . $ Quails Rye, bu . . . 3.^. gd.^ .50 Rabbits Radishes Ropes Raspberries (6 cts. in 1 840) Strawberries, wild . . Sheep (1840, ^i.SO and ;g2.5o) Sheepskins, y. gd.-6s.=.^Q-.8o Sheepskins, tanning,3.f.=: .40 Siding, white pine, per M. 6.50 Shad, fresh, 2^.-4d.=.02j^-.04^ Shad, salt .... 8d.= .osf Sheeting and shirting, linen . . . 3J. gd.^ .50 Shoes, making, 3J. gd.- 4s. 6d.^.^o-.6o Shoes, pgr pair, 1 2s. 6d.^= i .66^ Shoe thread, spinning, per knot . . 6d.== Spinning run of yarn, i j=^ Stockings, linen and woolen Socks, per pair . . $s.^ -66^ Straw, bundle . id.^ .oi-^ Sage Sieves, hair, reed, hick- ory Saddles Spinning-wheels, wool, flax ....... . Splint baskets .... Soap, soft, qt . . 6^-.26^ Tar, gal 2s.^ -26^ Vinegar, qt . . 6d.=: -06% .06^ •13^ HANOVER TOWNSHIP. ' 243 Wagons, carts, sleds, sleighs,- wheel-barrows, barrels, kegs, tubs, bowls, trays, ladles, salt-cellars, pepper-boxes, plates, dishes, cups, pails, spoons, spools, etc. Yarns of wool, tow, flax. Veal, pound . . Sd.=$ .osf Venison, pound, 3 Hannis, John Hopkins, Benjamin Hendershot, John Hoover, Henry Hbldmer, Jacob Hyde, William Hyde, Willis Hibbard, Ebenezer Hibbard, Calvin Hurlbut, John Hurlbut, Naphtali Hurlbut, Christopher Inman, Edward Inman, Richard Inman, John Inman, Elijah, Jr. Jacobs, John Jacobs, John, Jr. Kellogg, Jonathan Line, Conrad Line, Conrad, Jr. Lesley, James Lutzey, John Lockerly, John Line, Adrian Marr, Michael Martin, Thomas Moore, Samuel Miller, John S. Preslon, Darius Pell, Josiah Pell, Josiah, Jr. Pott, Benjamin Philips, John Roberts, Jeremiah Ryan, John Robinson, John Robinson, David Rathbone, James A. Rouch, George Stewart, James Stewart, George Stewart, David Stewart, Dorcas Stewart, Josiah Stewart, William Spencer, Edward Simons, Daniel Steel, Peter Steel, David Sbrber, Abraham Saum, Christian Smiley, Archibald Spertcer, John Treadway, John Warden, Nathaniel Wade, Abner Winter, Ira Waller,. Ashbel Wie, Arthur Van (Van Wie?) Young, William Some of the persons named on this list may -have been non-resi- dents, but as it stands there were 86 taxable persons, including one woman, 58 horses in the township, iii oxen, and 152 cows. From this it would appear that the population was about 473 or 516, allowing 5 J^, or 6 persons to each taxable person. This being nearly the proportions they bore to each other for about forty years afterwards, it may be considered very nearly correct for 1 796. About two-thirds of the farmers used oxen for farming purposes yet, and some of them had two yokes, and many of them had a horse also. The most of them had two cows each. It should also be remembered that the list includes all the per- sons and property from the Susquehanna to the Lehigh, about 20 • HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 247 miles— 15 miles beyond the afterward certified township of Han- over. About half of that "District" south of certified Hanover, was cut off in 1839, and the other half in 1853. Up to these dates whatever persons and property there were in the "district" were as- sessed as in Hanover. The United States Census for 1 800 placed them in Hanover. The first word we have of a mill in Hanover is in a conveyance June 16, 1776, of James Coffrin to John Copier of lot No. i, second division, and again July 6, 1777, the same James Cochran (Coffrin) to John Comer for the same mill and fifty acres in 1775. .Again Sept. 23, 1776, when the "great roads" were surveyed, the River Road began on the Hanover and Newport line "near Mr. Coffrin's Mills." This fixes a mill there in 1775. It is understood, how- ever, that a grist-mill was built there very soon after, if not the same year that the mill was built on Mill Creek in Wilkes-Barre — 1773. It is also understood that a saw-mill and forge were built near Coffrin's Mill about the same time, but they were probably on the Newport Creek and beyond the Hanover line. Iron was manu- factured at that forge — Bloomery Forge, as it was called — until about the time the canal was dug, 1830, after which iron could be brought and sold cheaper than it could be made here. Elisha Delano built a saw-mill in 1789 and a grist-mill at what was afterwards known as Behee's Mill. A set of carding machines were built in this mill in 1826 or 1827, by Jacob Plumb and his son Charles. The wool of the country for many miles round was brought here to be carded into rolls for^pinning. Up to that time all wool was carded by hand. There was a grist-mjll and saw-mill in 1793 on the Nanticoke Creek, up the creek, south above the Dundee shaft. How long it had been built previous to 1793 is not known. This was probably the grist-mill and saw-mill of Petatiah Fitch, assessed to him in 1799. This mill was on the land, now the Dundee, formerly Jonathan Robins'. The mills were nearly a mile from the river, on lots 15 and 16, and were all in ruins previous to 1840, when Hol- land built his railroad frojn his mines at the mountain to the river or canal and Hanover basin. A few rods down the same creek towards the river from this mill was a clover-mill. This was an old mill in 1840, but though not mentioned in the assessment in 248 HISTORY OF HANOVER. • 1799, must have been built somewhere near that time. There is no mill there now, and has not been for more than thirty years. Another mill of these old times — in ruins before 1 840 — stood near where Petty's Mill now stands. on Solomon's Creek below Ashley. One of the stones — a very small one it is — still lies near the site of the old mill, and has been exposed to the weather and the eyes of the passer-by for more than forty years. This mill is still remembered by old persons, and was known by the name of Morgan's Mill. . Nathan Wade had a saw-mill at "Scrabble town," now Ashley, in these early times, assessed in 1799, and probably much earlier. There were only two saw-mills when this assessment was made, namely. Wade's and Delano's, and two grist-mills — Delano's and Fitch's; there were but 86 houses, and 56 of these were built of logs. The school-houses were all of logs. Roads were cut through the forests to Easton, to Stroudsburg, to Northumberland and Sunbury, and in various directions, and communication becarhe possible by wagons. Loads of valuable produce, some wheat, but mostly furs — "peltries" — were hauled by horses and wagons to the nearest and most desirable markets, some, however, as far as Philadelphia before being unloaded, and loads of goods brought back with them. The business grew, and in a few years turnpikes were chartered and built and opened up for long distances through the otherwise unbroken wilderness and trackless forests. The Easton and Wilkes-Barre turnpike was completed about 1807. From that time the merchants of the entire valley re- ceived all their goods either by " Durham boats" on the river, or by wagons on the turnpike. Turnpiking was soon overdone, but if no better means had been found for the purposes of communication and commerce, these turnpike roads would have been maintained and improved, but canals came, however, and turnpikes soon fell into disUse and decay and were mostly abandoned about thirty years ago in this part of the country. The canals will probably suffer the' same fate in a few years, and railroads will take their place, and probably occupy their beds and banks as several have already; The first railroad in Hanover was completed in 1843. It is the Lehigh and Susquehanna, and runs from Wilkes-Barre to White Haven, crossing the mountain at Ashley by inclined HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 249 planes. The first locomotive was used on it in 1848 below the planes. The North Branch from Nanticoke to Waverly in New York, and the Lehigh from Mauch Chunk to White Haven are examples of abandoned canals. Now there is room for all kinds of speculation as to what kind of improvement shall take the place and destroy the railroad business, by furnishing a better means of conveyance and trans- portation — more speedy and more safe. Of course, the world can- not stand still, improvements will be constantly produced and con- stant change must take place. Railroads were not thought of A. D. 1800, if even the word "railroad" had ever been spoken, or passed the lips of man. What a world of discovery and invention has been brought forth since A. D. 1800? It has always seemed to the writer that a history of any country or of any period in a country's history that does not give the value of their productions in the place where they are produced and the manner of producing them, together with the wages of the work- men, leaves out the most important and useful pieces of information that could possibly be given, and he does not intend to fall into that mistake, if it is a mistake, any farther than he can help. With this view of the matter there is introduced here the following :-^* WAGES PREVIOUS TO I 800. Weaving woolen, linen, or tow cloth per yard . 8d.^ $ oS-f Tanning a sheep-skin 3^. = 40 Tanning a dog-skin 3 := 40 One day's work holding plow 3 = 40 One day's work mowing. 5 = 66 One day's work cradling 7 6 = i.oo One day's work making rails 39= 50 One day's work breaking flax 2 6 = 331^ One day's work chopping . 2 6 = 33)^ One day yoke of oxen and plow 2 6 = 33)! One day horse plowing corn 2 = 26^ One day oxen and cart hauling stone ... 2 6 := 331^ Making pair shoes, 3 — gd and 4 6 = 50, 60 To the use of loom one year 15 = ^2.00 Making pair of moccasins 2 = 26^ Making pair overalls (leather) 4 6 ^ 60 One almanac . 9 ^ 10 *The writer has made the reductions from Pennsylvania currency to United States money. This list might have been much farther extended. It is culled from an account book of the period. 16* 250 HISTORY OF HANOVER. 1799. ASSESSMENT OF HANOVER. NAMES. •^1 l-C •d 1 a u n i 1 i n si t ►1 s«w , ! II H 1 3 Adams, David . Adams, Abraham Arnold, Abram . Brush, Jonas . . Burritt, Stephen Burritt, Stephen, Jr Burritt, Gideon . Burritt, Joel . . Bradley, Abraham Bennett, Rufus . Blackman, Elisha Butler, Lord2 . Bennett, IshmaeF Campbell, James Carey, Benjamin Carey, Nathan . Carey, Comfort . Crissey, Franklin^ Clark, Robert . Crisman, Frederick Caldwell, William Cook, Nathaniel Cobart, Anthony Covel, Matthew 2 . Contreman, Leroy Dilley, Richard . Dilley, Adam . Dilley, Richard, Jr Dilley, Jonathan Delano, Elisha . Davis, William . Dunsha, William Espy, George Edgerton, Edward Fisher, Jacob ^ . . Fitch, Petatiah« . Garrison, Corneliu Hoffman, Michael . Hubbell, Hezekiah 1 3 . 200 % 350 79 75 560 350 300 125 400 100 250 150 197 22s 450 120 I 3 220 170 50 10 10 190 50 50 60 200 50 100 450 " 60 260 I 2 2 2 I I I I I I 4 I I I 2 2 I I I I 2 2 2 4 2 4 2 2 2 2 , 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 4 2 4 3 I 2 3 3 3 I 3 6 I I 2 2 3 I I I I 2 I I 2 2 I I I . I I I 1 . 2 . 2 . I . I . 1 . . I 2 . I . I . I *i 1 I 2 . I . I . ti • I . I . I . I . I . . .. $■ . ■ ■ 300 • • 45 . I 1 100 I . 1000 . . 400 ■ • 300 . I 1600 • I 750 . . 400 . . 1000 • • 300 . I 1500 I 1200 T (225) I 900 I 500 I 1500 I 1500 20 3 no . 1000 250 . ISO 500 I . 800 . 125 . 150 I 700 I • 350 300 $ 146 354 139 1300 1086 100 463 420 1690 900 498 1000 369 1827 1306 1255 500 150 12 1750 1 70s 60 15 no 10 1064 319 2s6 ISO 720 14 13 969 167 293 989 423 300 14 HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 251 NAMES. HoUenback, Matthias^ Hibbard, Calvin Hoover, Henry . Hyde, Willis . . Hyde, William . Hurlbut, Naphtali Inman, Edward . Inman, Richard . Inman, Elijah . Jacobs, John . . Jacobs, John, Jr . Jacobs, Samuel' ^ Jameson, Samuel^ Jameson, Alexander* Kellogg, Jonathan Line, Conrad Line, Peter^ . Line, John* . Line, Adrian . Lockerly, John Moore, Thomas Moore, Thomas, Jr. Moore, Robert . Moore, Michael 1" Perry, Benjamin* Pell, Josiah . . Pell, Josiah, Jr. . Preston, Darius Rosewell, Thomas Ryan, William^ Robbard, William Rosecrants, Jacob Ruggles, Alfred'' Robinson, David* Robinson, John . Stewart, James . Stewart, George Stewart, David . Scott, Micah" . Schoonover, John 428 100 55 15s 243 420 200 25 I 400 260 31 50 400 37 I ISO 420 3 I 50 ' 25 260 50 550 103 3^ 220, 500 60 250 120 ftS ^2000 1200 400 600 1800 2000 2300 30 . 150 100 1500 1200 500 700 1500 700 50 160 1700 ISO 60 200 40 HOG ISO 2SOO 1200 200 20 80 2II0 1252 74 450 674 1904 2180 3070 178 194 200 200 1702 1200 612 8S4 100 100 81 1605 930 100 14 87 160 1826 164 75 262 152 69 I2SO 63 100 226 3096 1273 I 276 45 164 252 HISTORY OF HANOVER. NAMES. .1 1 1 a a P 1 d 1 • ii a cm 5 is 1=1 1 > 1 Spencer, Jeremiah ^^ . Spencer, Edward . . Steel, David9 .... Steele, Joseph^ ^'^ . . Steele, Peter {Deetonf) Saum, Christian . . Saum,John8 .... Stewart, Josiah . . . Stewart, Dorcas . . Shaver, John K. . . Sliker, John .... Springer, Richard . . Treadway, John . . Vandermark, Jeremiah Very, Axter .... Werding, Nathaniel . ^Vrip■ht Tames . . . so 150 5 50 520 350 400 SO S 50 150 2 2 _ 2 I 3 _ I 2 2 I I 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 3 I 2 2 I 2 3 I 3 3 2 I I 3 I 4 I I 2 I 3 3 J I ll'l I I I I I I I ii I I I I I ,g 150 1500 360 250 2500 1200 1600 700 200 300 400 150 1500 600 7S 1 100 300 500 '150 $ 150 1716 140 200 554 324 100 2625 1264 26 1760 15 831 318 71 435 S8 Waller, Ashoel . . . Weakley, LemueF . Wright, Joseph . . . Wade, Nathan . . . Wade, Abner . . . Wade, Joseph^ . . . Winter, Ira .... Wiggins, Silas . . . Weeks, Luther^ . . Weeks, Philip9 . . . Welker, Meshack . . S4 50 210 60 7 300 200 870 50 SSO 228 2370 664 89 100 1 170 353 145 180 116 Stewart, WilHam 14 . Howard, ^^ . Hendershot, John SCO 150 66 ■ - 84 96 164 S4 26 8 29 • • $^90i I (1) Single man, $50. (2) Wilkes-Barre, non-resident. (3) Freeman. (4) Physician. ' ^ quently built on sloping ground with a basement of stone and a one and a half story hewed log building on top, with a porch or stoop in front over the' basement, made by continuing the rafters and roof down over and beyond the front six or eight feet, with posts reaching from the ground to the roof of the porch. There was a floor in this porch above the basement at the second story. It was also boarded up all round at the second story two or three feet in height from its floor, and the main front door of the. house led out upon this floor. Sometimes the ground was so arranged as to furnish a walk directly on to the end of this upper porch, but when that could not be conveniently done, a stairway was built; under the porch in front of the basement to go up. Part of this basement was generally used for a kitchen. Houses of this pattern were also built of frame work above the basement. There are five of these last kind now standing — 1884 — and used as resi- dences. Many of the log-houses of this second period were built one and a half stories high, with a porch like the last described only without a basement. There are four of this kind still standing and in use in 1884. . These log-houses, now, were built of hewed logs nicely fitted together at the corners, as before described for log-houses, and the ends of the logs sawed off square, close to the corners. They were well chinked with stone and the chinking plastered with yellow clay. Some of them were lathed and plastered inside with lime and sand, and sided up on the outside with good white pine siding, and in such cases were good, warm, comfortable houses. But there were not many of this kind. .The house was built near a spring, if HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 25/ possible, so as to save digging a well, and also to have soft water, and if possible to have a "spring-house" also. That was a building of small size, generally of stone — through which the spring water ran — for keeping the milk and butter in. Such a spring was very useful in such a situation, in butter making and keeping the milk pure. Cheese was made as well as butter. These farm-houses had very large fire-places, probably eight feet wide and four feet deep, with mantel-pieces over them, leaving an opening about five feet high. In the better class of these houses there was a swinging iron crane hung, reaching nearly across the fire-place, to hang the pot-hooks on. In those houses not quite so pretentious, instead of a crane there was a .strong pole or piece of wood three or four inches in diameter fastened across the chimney from side to side, some distance above the mantel-piece to which a chain in some cases was hung, reaching down nearly to the fire, to hook the pot-hook to; in others, in place of the chain was an article of iron called a "trammel" with a hook at the bottom, ar- ranged so as to be raised or lowered. The old fashioned three pronged spit was raised and lowered in the same manner. On the pole in the chimney hams were frequently hung to smoke. Out- side the chimney, overhead, across the beams or joi-sts, small poles were hung horizontally, upon which strings of cut apples were hung in the fall to dry, and, after the butchering was done, and the sausages were made, the sausage was hung there to dry.- Green corn was boiled on the ear and hung there to dry before the time for drying apples, In fact there was not much of the year that these poles were not occupied for some very useful purpose. In these chimneys wood only was burned in the early days, and the back-log would be five to six feet long — the small wood on the andirons four feet long. The andirons frequently had brass knobs on the handle, and they were nearly always kept polished up bright, as, if they were not, the girls in that house would find it difficult to get a good husband. This was noticed by the young men as a pretty good sign. The spit was to be hung in front of the fire over a dripping-pan, whereon could be roasted and basted turkeys, chickens, geese, ducks, spare-ribs and other fresh meats, and this was a real roast. 258 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Saw-mills now began to grow numerous, and the very choicest lumber could be got. The houses were now floored with the best of yellow pine. Rag carpets covered the floors of the best rooms. The big blazing wood fires made everything look cheerful about these houses in the long winter evenings. Bed-time for children was at eight o'clock, and at nine the whole family retired, and' the stranger within their gates. Generally every family had a clock, especially after the Yankee wooden clock came into use. Until bed-time all were employed, the women carding wool or spinning tow or flax, or some other occupation — none wei^ idle. The men and boys would be shelling corn, or making splint baskets or chairs, or twisting tobacco to press into plug, or making rakes or flails, or some useful thing. All were employed — they never lacked employment. On Sundays they went to "meeting." The New England Puritan Congregationalists held their religious meetings in the earlier times in barns, school-houses, and in private houses, until a short time previous to 1800 they tried to build a church on the "Green," but after 1800 so many of them were selling out and mov- ing away that this church was as failure. They could not complete the edifice even. The Scotch-irish Pennsylvanians were Presbyterians, and they had built a frame church on the Green as early as 1774 or 1775,* said to have been the first church built in the county. Here the " Paxton boys " worshiped. This had now gone to decay and the Puritans and Presbyterians still remaining undertook to build a church, but as emigration to the west did not cease, this church was never completed, though it was used occasionally for services till 1.820. It stood six to eight rods to the west of the present church, and some part of it was standing in 1834. The Methodists had come here, and as their form or method of worship pleased many they became the leading and nearly the. only English speak- ing religious body, and the school-houses were brought into thorough use for religious purposes by them — and continued to be so used till about i860. The Pennsylvania Dutch and others had a German Reformed congregation established in Hanover about 1791. In 1825 they *Stewart Pierce. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. .259 built a frame church on the Green. That church still stands and is in a pretty good state of preservation, but there have not been a sufficient number of the Pennsylvania Dutch in Hanover since i860 to keep up a church organization. There were school-houses enough for all the children without having more than thirty or forty in one school. The school- houses had not the conveniences of those of the present day. The desks for the scholars to write on were arranged around the room against the walls on the side. The desk was a wide board or plank, sloped from a narrow board fastened against the wall, level, for the inkstands and other things to stand and lie on, and the wide desk plank sloped down from the edge of this. The pupil had to face the wall in using the desk. These desk planks were connected ' end to end all around the room, except at the teacher's desk, and long benches reached around the room the same as the desks. To use the desk, the pupils, males and females, had to climb over the seat and sit with their backs towards the teacher. This was the "big" bench. Little benches were placed, around inside the big . ones for the smaller children or those that did not write. There were no backs to any of these benches. In the early times, or tjefore 1 808, wood was used for fuel in the school-houses, but when coal began to be used a stove was substituted for the big stone chimney of former times, and placed in the middle of the school room. There were no steel pens in those days and part of a teacher's qualifications for the place was the ability to make quill pens for the pupils, and he had also to write the "copies." The pupil furnished the quill, the teacher — master he was called then^made the pen. Specimens of the writing of those times attest the- fact that the art of writing was pretty thoroughly taught. Peopl|: prided themselves on their writing and their thorough knowledge of arithmetic. The school-houses were, like every other kind of building in the earlier years of the settlements, built of logs, but as they rotted down frame houses were generally built in their places. The second set of school-houses were built of logs in some places. One of this, kind, the second or third built there, was standing at Scrabbletown — now Ashley — as late as 1848, believed to have 26o HISTORY OF HANOVER. been the last log school-house in Hanover township. There were two of frame on the River Road, one on the " Green " and one at Nanticoke, two on the Middle Road, one on the hill near the Downing farm, and one on the end of "Hogback" hill near the Bennett Creek, the site of the present Askam postoffice, opposite the old Nagle tannery. This last was of logs. The one on the "Green" has been rebuilt a number of times, the one on the Middle Road near Downing's was abandoned in 1839 for a new one on Hoover Hill, a half mile farther west. This one was rebuilt in 1872. The one of logs at Hogback- — now Askam — ceased to be used about 1837, and as a new one had been built at Keithline's, nearly two miles further down the road to the , west, this one Was • never renewed. All these, except the one on Hogback, were frame. In 1 840 a school-house was built on the Back Road about two miles below Scrabbletown — Ashley — at a place now called Sugar Notch. It was a small frame. In the early days, and up to about 1850, a term of school was three months in the winter, and in that age of vigorous mind and body our ancestors did not think two miles were too far to send their children to school, and they all went, from six years to twenty-one years of age. Any school taught in the summer was a "pay school,"- and then many went farther than two miles to reach it, and yet in those times there was nobody who could not read and write — at least the writer, a native, never heard of one of sound mind born in the township, and who lived to grow up there, that could not read and write. These school-houses were used by different denominations for church meetings. Church meetings were also held in private houses on Sundays and on week-days. The women and girls that attended these on week-days took their work along with them and worked there during the sermon. Such work was done there as knitting, sewing, embroidering, carding wool, and many other things. Something was always found to do at such meetings by the persons that came to them, while the owner of the house and his family could find many things at home that he could not take to the meeting at his neighbor's to do. The writer thinks it ma:y safely be said that these people were industrious. There was no sniveling about workingmen's hardships by workingmen's pre- HANOVEk TOWNSHIP. ' 26 1 tended friends. One would think that those must have been an entirely different race of people from these of the present day. Amusements were pretty much the same as they had been in the preceding period. The Pennsylvania Dutch had introduced some new ones for Christmas, New Years and Easter, otherwise all was as of old. What person of sixty or seventy years of age does not re- member with pleasure, and with a laugh, the sleigh-ridings of their young days? How everybody kept open house, as it were, even into the night, when sleigh-bells were heard in the crisp, cold winter air of the afternoon or evening? How they would stop where any young folk lived; how there would be a rush of girls and boys with red noses and cheeks into the house; how the metheglin, and mince pies, and doughnuts, and apples, and nuts were brought out and eaten and drank ; and how they rushed off with shouts and laughter and tumbled into the sleigh or "sled" among quilts and comforters and coverlets and straw and sped away laughing and singing and full of joyous noise to the next house? Well, one almost grows young again thinking of it! There was no danger then of meeting tramps, or ruffians, or thieves on the road to do one harm, or finding their whips or quilts or wraps stolen while they were enjoying themselves in their neigh- bor's house. Canned fruit was not known at this early time, so in order to have something of the fruit kind out of the season for fresh fruits, every family took care to pick berries and dry them for winter use, such as huckleberries, "blackberries, raspberries, and large quantities of apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries and other fruits. Many kinds of fruits were preserved by cooking them up with an excess of honey. Sugar was used for this purpose after sugar became cheap; that was soon after the canal was completed. Apples of the winter variety were ' kept in large quantities in the cellars, and large heaps were buried in the garden for winter and spring use. Cranberries and a peculiar kind of wild crab apple were also pre- served. Peaches were raised in great abundance and of fine quality. Nuts were not by any means forgotten. Chestnuts were the most valuable and were gathered in bushels, some sold or traded 262 HISTORY OF HANOVER. off, but were mostly kept for home use. They were sometimes used as a substitute for coffee, being dried and roasted and ground the same as coffee. Hickory nuts, black walnuts, butternuts, and hazelnuts were laid up in sufficient quantity to last till nuts came again the next year, and some to keep over in case of a failure. On the flats black walnut trees were left standing in sufficient num- bers to supply the owner's family and furnish many bushels more for sale. Persons who had none of their own were frequently per- mitted to gather and "shuck" these for half Walnuts were rather larger on the flats than on the uplands, but the farmers planted trees and raised their own walnuts if passible on all the back lands; and some of these trees are still standing and producing yearly their crop of nuts. Butternut trees were found growing in the woods almost anywhere, it seemed, except on the tops of the mountains. Every farmer tried to have at least one shell-bark hickory on his farm. These were the tallest trees that grew, ex- cept possibly the white pine. Chestnuts were found everywhere in the woods, and, of course, in clearing up their farms the farmers left plenty of chestnut trees standing in their fields. Hazelnut bushes grew along the roadside fences after the land was cleared, and were found in all brushy places. They were frequently allowed to grow along fences for the sake of the nuts they bore. So many of the Yankees of the younger generation were now leaving for Ohio — the "West" — and their places being taken by the Pennsylvania Dutch, that they were getting to be in the minority. Their church on the Green, §rst Presbyterian, then Congregationalist, went to decay. Peace and plenty reigned now. All the necessaries of life were produced in abundance to the diligent and industrious tiller of the soil, but luxuries in those times were scarce. There was no com- munication with the outside world except by Durham boat on the river or by team — horses and wagons — over very poor roads for fifty to sixty miles through a region that seemed.incapable of culti- vation, and that was only inhabited by hunters and an occasional lumberman near or on a stream that, in the spring freshets, could float his lumber to market. Luxuries carted through such a country for such a distance by tearh were luxuries indeed, and HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 263 those by boat were no cheaper, and very few of these people were able to indulge in them. In such things they were very poof. Durham boats, propelled up the river by setting poles — down the river Jthey would float themselves — "were the only means of transportation of merchandise until the making of the Easton and Wilkes-Barre turnpike. This thoroughfare was completed about the year 1807. Thence down to the time of the canal navigation in 1830, the merchants of the entire valley received all their goods, either by ' Durham boats ' on the river or by wagons on the turn- pike. The turnpike was chartered in 1802, and the road was constructed at a cost of ^75,000. This road was regarded as a very important matter by the early settlers of the valley, and indeed such was the fact, as it gave a much shorter outlet to the seaboard. The corporation was a joint stock company, and it required the contribution of nearly every landholder in the valley to accomplish the construction of this important link of intercommunication. '"The old ' Gonestaga wagon,' drawn by four horses, was the vehicle of transportation on the turnpike. It has disappeared, but it was a goodly sight to see one of those huge wagons drawn along by four strong, sleek, and well-fed horses, with bear-skin housings and ' winkers tipped with red.' A wagon would carry three, four, and sometimes five tons. The bodies were long, projecting over front and rear, ribbed with oak, covered with canvas, and generally painted blue." — Wright. But now comes a notable period, viz: the discovery of a means of burning our stone coal for domestic purposes. From the first settlement (1769) coal had been used by the blacksmiths. But it was not known till now that this coal could be burned without a blast of air forced under and through the fire. A citizen of Wilkes-Barre, Jesse Fell, a blacksmith, discovered in 1808, that this coal could be made to burn by starting it on a good strong wood fire in a grate elevated some five or six inches above the hearth in the qld wood-burning fire-place. Within a year these grates were erected in houses all over this part of the country, and coal began, to be used in dwellings in the winter.* This was a very *James Ross, of Dallas township, in an interview with a newspaper reporter in 1884: — Is nearly 90, lived in Hanover from 1802 till the spring of 1810, saw the Red Tavern built in 1805, saw the first stone coal burnt in the Red Tavern. In 1809, Crisman, the owner of the Red Tavern, opened a door and said to him, " See, little boy, hownice the stone coal bums'." 264 HISTORY OF HANOVER. great comfort to the inhabitants in the winter time, as they could keep a good fire all night with very little trouble. 1809. No assessoV's list of the taxables of Hanover for 1810 can be found, but we can come as near as 1 809 : Total valuation for that year :$68,84i " number of names of taxable persons 125 " " dwelling-houses 90 " " horses 148 " " oxen {^probably yokes) 44 " " cows 182 " " grist-mills ■ 4 Not much increase in the past tea years. The valuation has decreased over two hundred dollars. There were ten new houses built — equal to 12 per cent., but the inhabitants had increased only - twenty-two persons in ten years according to the census, while the taxable persons had increased 1 8 per cent, showing that many persons had sold their property to non-residents. The U. S. census for the year 18 10 gives Hanover a population of six hundred and thirty -five. This census was taken in the same manner as the preceding one, but there was an attempt to show something more than mere number of persons. THE CENSUS OF 1 8 10. The total number of inhabitants, male and female, free, colored and slave was 635 No. of pairs of cards 114 " " wheels 176 " " looms ., . 23 " " horses 14S " " horned cattle , 480 " " sheep . 522 The number of houses acc9rding to the last year's assessment being 90, there would be an average then of seven persons to each house. It will be noticed that hand cards were used for carding wool. The first carding machine built in the United States, was built by Jacob Plumb in Massachusetts in 1801. The above num- ber of spinning-wheels probably includes both the big wheels for wool and the little wheels for spinning flax. Many families had spinning-wheels but did not have looms. Many also had harness and reeds but no looms. They would rent'a loom and weave their own cloth. A loom could be rented for two dollars a year. Horned HANOVER TOWNSHIP. • 265 cattle included oxen and COWS, old and young cattle. It will be seen that the whole number of sheep, old and young, did not equal the"number of inhabitants. Many men in the country, not in town, still wore leather clothing. Now in this period of ten years, 1810 to 1820, the war of 1812 came and some of the young men of Hanover went into the army. The war lasted only about two years, but in that short time, and small as the war was, it made a great difference in the prices of certain farm produce here. Values raised in land as well as pro- duce, and the people thought these high prices were to last — and they did till 18 18 — and many persons bought land and other property on credit and the result to them was generally disastrous. Some struggled along and paid the interest and kept the sheriff off by the closest industry, economy and saving for more than thirty years, and having grown old in clearing their property finally from debt, they died, leaving, perhaps, a line estate for their heirs. No list of volunteers or drafted men from Hanover for the war of 1 81 2 is known to exist. The writer has gathered up as far as he could the names of Honover men. that were at any time in the U. S. service as soldiers in the war of 1812 and gives them here: Wm. Hendershot, John Garrison, Henry Backman, Harry Blackman, John Sims, Nathan Whipple. The war ended in January, 181 5. The rise in prices will be shown in the following : — Wheat had always fluctuated between 75 cents and $1.00. In 1816 it was, per bushel ^2.00 817 " " " " 2.00 818 " " " " 1.50 819 " " " " 1.50 815-16 Rye per bushel was 75 817 " " " " .' 1.25 818 " " " " ISi.oo— 90, 80, 75 819 " ," " " . 75 820 " " " " ' '50 813 Labor — Mowing per day 67 814 " " " " 80 817 " " " " i.oo 819 " " " " 75 820 " " " " 50 Fresh beef 5, 6 and 7 cents per pound. 17» 266 . HISTORY OF HANOVER. There was one charge in these old account-books that seemed difficult at first to understand — (in 1817) — 29 cents in bills. But it illustrates the fact that private persons and corporations had issued small notes of their own that passed as currency. The war with England had ended in 1815, and there was no reason on that ac- count to put out these "shin-plasters." They needed moneyhere badly, but there was nothing to make it come here nor keep it here if it did come. It is said that all these little notes were faithfully redeemed. It seems rather strange that any of them should be in existence two years after the war ended. The same thing was done in the early years of the late southern rebellion. Perhaps also be- cause such paper currency was held in contempt it was called "shin- plaster." As the writer remembers it, that was the name given to such paper, and also to some bank paper in 1837, during the financial panic and business depression that commenced that year. During the late one of 1873, it is worthy of notice that our entire paper currency was good and no one lost anything by it. From the war of 1 8 1 2 and until 1 8 1 8 legal papers had to have a stamp on them to make them evidence.. Now let us describe a house and its furniture at this time. The houses were still mostly built of logs. The logs were hewed and the ends were sawed off at the corners to make the corners square. They were generally one and a half stories in height, and generally had but one large room on the ground floor. There was a large chimney and a grate for coal fires. The floor was kept scrupulously clean, and was frequently found carpeted in the winter time with rag carpet. The room was large, and one and sometimes two beds were in it, and sometimes even three. The bed- steads were made of square posts and rails, unpainted, held together by a strong bed-cord for the mattress to lie on. The first mattress was of straw, then a good feather one made of fine geese feathers — 5ften of down — thick and full, on the straw one, covered with home-made woolen blankets, and linen sheets, and fancy home- made coverlets, the whole covered and surrounded by curtains close and tight, hung from a frame put up on the bedstead or made separate and standing on the floor. Two or four large soft pillows were at the head of each bed. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 267 The table was unpainted, generally made of wild cherry. It was sometimes hung against the side of the room, and in that case had a jointed leg, and was lifted up and fastened against the wall out of the way when not in use. This kind was used when the family was not too large, because they could sit at only three sides of it. The chairs were made of hickory turned in a lathe, and bot- tomed with hickory or black ash splints, all unpainted, but numerous. Sometimes they were bottomed with rushes. Many now had china-ware dishes, but many used pewter. Glassware was not entirely unknown. Large coal fires were kept in their grates all night in the winter and a large degree of comfort was enjoyed. The up-stairs room, loft or attic, was open clear up to the rafters, and was the place for the big boys and men to sleep. There was a good tight floor to the chamber, and the heat from the big fire below coming up against the under side of the floor gave some degree of warmth to the room above. This room had beds enough for the rest of the family — and this was the way they lived. And they were, to say the least, as good, as strong, and as virtuous and moral as people are now with their many roomed houses. In the lower room there was a cupboard, the upper part with open shelves upon which were displayed their store of china-ware or pewter dishes, nicely cleaned, or scoured, and set up edgewise. Fine china was considered something to be shown off It was an ornament to the house. The bed curtains were frequently colored, and fringed, and tas- seled, and embroidered, and made ornamental. The Pennsylvania Dutch slept under feathers as well as on them. They had a feather tick of very fine geese feathers, made expressly for sleeping under — for a covering in bed. The above is all intended to describe things as they were alfter 1808 and until 1830, or even as late as 1840. This describes them in general, some houses were better and some worse. Perhaps there were as many with two rooms on the lov/er floor as with only one, and some had three rooms below with the chimney so ar- ranged so as to have a fire in each. 268 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The people were in general poor. They still wore leather clothing. Persons still alive (1884) who came here from neighbor- ing counties, mention the great apparent poverty of the people. The writer does not know whether or not people in other parts of the State wore leather clothing at this time, but it would seem to indicate poverty wherever worn. But why should they not be poor? Let us see. From the first settlement in 1769 there were three full years of trouble with the Pennamites, during which they were totally ex- pelled three times and their houses, furniture, fences, implements of husbandry, horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and everything else was entirely destroyed or carried away. Then from 1773 to 177^ they had peace and prosperity for five years, except only the Plunket invasion. Then came the Revolutionary war, the battle and massacre of Wyoming, and the entire destruction of their property again, together with the slaughter of a majority of the full grown and nearly full grown male inhabitants. Then four years of Indian border warfare with its murders of the inhabitants and burnings of their houses and property from 1778 till 1782. Then for three years — after the end of the Revolutionary war — they were harassed, murdered, or imprisoned, thrown out of their houses and their houses burned, and their crops gathered and consumed and destroyed, together with their animals and loose property, by Pennsylvania soldiers, till 1 784-5. Then for fourteen to sixteen years longer they were left with uncertain titles to their lands, not knowing whether they should not have to fight and suffer still more for their homes, such as they were, till 1802, when commissioners appointed by the State of Pennsylvania surveyed their lands and certified the lots to the possessors. And then and finally they were permitted or compelled to pay the State over three times as much per acre for their lands as any other citizens of the State paid for the same quality of land. Here are full 26 years out of 33, that these people had suffered from war, oppression and wrong, such as probably no other people has suffered in modern times among any civilized people. Now, how could they help being poor for sixteen or eighteen years after such treatment? HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 269 And now, a little further — Connecticut had been given a large tract of land in Ohio called the Western Reserve, in compensation for the loss of Wyoming or Westmoreland. She sold it and gave compensation to her citizens in Connecticut who had had property destroyed by the enemy during the Revolutionary war. None of this money was ever given to the Connecticut inhabitants of Wyoming to compensate them for the destruction of their property by the enemy during the' same war, although these very people had furnished towards Connecticut's quotas of soldiers for the Revolutionary war more than ten* soldiers to one of the other parts of Connecticut that served in the war! During this period and for more than twenty years, these same Yankees had been emigrating from here to that " Western Reserve." Col. Wright says: — The troops raised here for the Revolutionary ' struggle and credited to Connecticut by the continental establish- ment numbered more than twenty to one over the home department compared with the population. (Page 129). EMIGRANTS. " It is difficult to describe the rapacity with which the American rushes forward to secure the immense booty which fortune proffers to him. In the pursuit he fearlessly braves the arrow of the Indian and the distempers of the forest; he is unimpressed by the silence of the woods ; the approach of beasts of prey does not disturb him, for he is goaded onward by a passion more intense than the love of life. Before him lies a boundless continent, and he urges onward as if time-pressed, and he was afraid of finding no room for his exertions. I have spoken of the emigration from the older States, but how. shall I describe that which takes place from the more recent ones ? Fifty years have scarcely elapsed since that of Ohio was founded; the greater part of its inhabitants were not born within its confines ; its capitol has only been built thirty years, and its territory is still covered by an immense extent of unculti- vated fields; nevertheless, the population of Ohio is already (1832) proceeding westward, and most of the settlers who descend to the fertile savannas of Illinois are citizens of Ohio. These men left *Mr. Miner in his history of Wyoming makes a careful estimate by figures as to popu- lation here and in Connecticut, and shows very conclusively that at least ten to one is not over the mark. 270 HISTORY OF HANOVER. their first country to improve their own condition; they quit their resting-place to meliorate it still more; fortune awaits them every- where, but happiness they cannot attain. The desire of prosperity has become an ardent and restless passion in their minds, which grows by what it gains. They broke the ties which bound them to their natal earth, and they have contracted no fresh ones on their way. Emigration was at first necessary to them as a means of subsistence; and it soon becomes a sort of game of chanpe, which they pursue for the emotions it excites, as much as for the gain it procures. * * * " At the extreme borders of the States, upon the confines of society and of the wilderness, a population of bold adventurers have taken up their abode, who pierce the solitudes of the American woods and seek a country there, in order to escape that poverty which awaited them in their native provinces. As soon as the pioneer arrives upon the spot which is to serve him for a retreat he fells a few trees and builds a log-house. Nothing can offer a more miserable aspect than these isolated dwellings. The traveler who approaches one of them towards nightfall sees the flicker of the hearth-flame through the chinks in the walls ; and at night if the wind rises, he hears the roof of boughs shake to and fro in the midst of the great forest trees. Who would not suppose that this poor hut is the asylum of rudeness and ignorance? Yet no sort of comparison can be drawn between the pioneer and the dwelling which shelters him. Everything about him is primitive and un- formed, but he is himself the result of the labor and experience of eighteen centuries. He wears the dress, and he speaks the language of cities; he is acquainted with the past, curious of the future, and ready for argument upon the present; he is, in short, a highly civilized being, who consents, for a time, to inhabit the back- woods, and who penetrates into the wilds of a New World with the Bible, an axe, and a file of newspapers." — De Tocqueville, 18 J2. Act March 2, 1799, changed the rates of letter postage: Domestic letters, }^ oz. any distance up to 40 miles ... 8 cents. " from 40to Qomiles, 10 " 90 to 150 " I2>^ " " " isoto300 " 17 " " " 300 to SCO " 20 " " over 500 miles ... 25 " HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 2/1 Double. and triple weights were accompanied by double and triple rates. Act April 30, 1 8 10 — Re-enacts the same rates as the above. Act December 23, 1814 — Adds 50 per cent, to the above rates. Act February i, 1816 — The above 50 per cent, addition re- pealed. Act April 9, 1 8 16 — Rates of postage after May i, 1816: One-quarter ounce any distance up to 30 miles ..... 6 cents. from 30 to 80 miles . .10 " Soto 150 " . . 121^" " 150 to 400 " . . iSi^" " " " " over 400 miles 25 " Double and triple weights and rates as in previous acts. During the period from 18 10 to 1820 nothing occurred worthy of note except the change in values on account of the war, unless it was the continued emigration of the Yankees and the continued immigration of the Pennsylvania Dutch. The Pennsylvanians came from Northampton, Northumberland and Dauphin Counties and bought out the Yankees right and left. Thus the Yankees kept up a continual emigration to the Western Reserve in Ohio. And now Indiana began to be the "West." Wyoming Valley seemed to be a sort of half-way house or stopping place for persons and families from the East to stop at a while on their way west. Some of the original first settlers still remaining here and now grown old indeed, as soon as the war of 18 12— 15 was settled, sold out . their farms and emigrated to the West. Well, their families had grown up and mostly gone before. Many of the new comers were men of means and bought some of the best farms in the township — the flats, Grist-mills and saw-mills were built, and new ranneries were established. There were several new distiMeries 3uilt, but they are not mentioned on the list of the assessors as introduced below. It would have been better if they had never been built, but at that age they did not know it. Men made fortunes in the liquor business then as they do now sometimes, and with the same general result to themselves and their families, namely, one or "more habitual drunkards among them. 1820. The valuation on the assessor's list, ^86,704. 272 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Number of dwellings I2i " persons assessed i6o " horses 151 " oxen . 54 " cows 230 " grist-mills 4 " clover-mills i " single. men 16 By the U. S. census of 1820 the population of Hanover was 879. There being only one hundred and twenty-one dwelling- houses there would be an average of seven and a quarter persons to each dwelling. THE UNITED STATES CENSUS OF 182O. The U. S. census of this year was taken in ,the same manner as the preceding ones, but there was an attempt again to show some- thing more than mere numbers in it. There were the same "free white males and females, and the other free persons, and one slave," and "thirteen foreigners not naturalized." There were 145 engaged in agriculture, 30 engaged in manufactures, and one en- gaged in commerce. Paper was manufactured in Luzerne County in 1820. Among other things named in this census is. a Bloomery forge for the manufacture of bar-iron at Nanticoke." This was the only establishment for making iron in Luzerne County in 1820. It is reported as follows : Bloomery forge, one fire. Capital invested . . $ 600 Men employed, two. Wagespaid 600 Bog ore used, 150 tons. Cost of ore 400 Other expenses, including charcoal 1,050 Market value of the yearly product 3,6oo "This forge merely furnishes iron in the vicinity, and there being no extensive establishment within the county, or nearer than sixty miles, it is owing to this circumstance that the iron manu- factured is enhanced to a value equal to the market price at other establishments and the carriage. The demand is equal to the HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 273 quantity manufactured (about 30 tons), but it may be said to be rather exchanged than sold. There being almost a total absence of the precious metals in this part of the country, it in some degree acts as their representative, and is made to answer the purpose of capital in procuring the materials employed in its own manufacture, etc. The iron of this forge sold at ^160 per ton until the present year; it now sells at ^120." — U. S. Census, 1820. There are several reasons for introducing this official report of a U. S. officer. Iron had been made at Nanticoke for more than forty-five years, but this is the first official evidence of it. But the principal reason for introducing it is that the writer has frequently stated that there was little or no money of any kind in circulation here, and that other things had to be used as a substitute. The above statement of an official of the government in 1820 must be taken as conclusive of the matter. This report also shows what kind of ore was used. It has been already stated that the farmers dug it out of their own land (when there happened to be any found on the farm) and hauled it to the furnace at Nanticoke and received iron for it. It shows also the value of the ore and its richness — or poorness — in quality. It produced twenty per cent, of iron. Iron ore was regularly procured from ground in Newport township. The furnace did not depend altogether upon the neighboring farmers for iron ore. This forge was in Newport township, a few rods up the creek, south-west from the L. & S. or P. & R. railroad depot at Nanticoke. 18 CHAPTER XIV. 1 820 TO 1 830 ANTHRACITE COAL. ^^ C^ FTER the return (to Connecticut) of the settlers in 1762 (OsV and during the winter, the committee, to wit: — John -^ ^»^ Jenkins, John Smith, and Stephen Gardner, made report of the discovery of iron and anthracite coal at Wyoming, and also the exceeding richness of the land, and the spirit of migration to that locality became very active and earnest." " 'At a meeting of the Susquehanna Company, held at Windom, April 17, 1763, it ap- pearing that two or three hundred of the proprietors of the lands on the Susquehanna desire that several townships be laid out for the speedy settlement of the lands ; it is, therefore, voted that there shall be eight townships laid out on said river, each of said town- ships to be five miles square, fit for good improvement, reserving for the use of the company for their after disposal, all beds or mines of iron ore or coal that may be within the towns ordered for settlement.'" ' " This would appear to be the first discovery and mention of anthracite coal in the country." — Dr. Egle's History of Pennsylvania, 1883, p. 889. "In 1768, Charles Stewart surveyed the Manor of Sunbury, on the west side of the Susquehanna opposite Wilkes-Barre, and on the original dcaft is noted ' Stone Coal' as appearing in what is now called Ross hill. In 1769, Obadiah Gore and his brother came from Connecticut with a body of settlers, and the same year used anthracite coal in his blacksmith shop." "In 1775-6 several boat loads of anthracite coal were sent from Wyoming down the Susquehanna, and thence hauled to Carlisle barracks, to manufacture arms for the government." — Sec'ty Int'l Affairs i8y8-g. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 2/5 " During the war of the Revolution several boat loads were taken down the Susquehanna, it is supposed, by Capt. Daniel Gore, for the use of the armory forges at Carlisle." — Miner. " In 1776, two Durham boats were sent from below to Wyoming for coal, which was purchased from R. Geer, (Rezin Geer) and mined from the opening now on the property of Col. G. M. Hollen- back above Mill Creek. From Harris's Ferry, now Harrisburg, the coal, ' about twenty tons,' was hauled on wagons to Carlisle, where it was used in the United States armory, recently erected there. This was done annually during the Revolutionary war." — Annals of Luzerne. In 1829, Professor Silliman, who visited the valley, says: — "Obadiah Gore informed me that he was the first person who ever used anthracite coal and that was in the year 1768 or 1769. He found it to answer the purpose well, and all the blacksmiths of the place (Wyoming) have used it in their forges ever since." — Histor- ical Collections, p. ^2g. Coal was quarried out for sale for household use after 1808. It was sold at the quarry or mine for one dollar per ton. Probably from 1810 to 1820 as much was mined or quarried in Hanover as 1000 to 1500 tons per year.'^ Now, in 1884, 1,253,128 tons were mriried in Hanover and the boroughs within its ancient boundaries. Then, its value al the mine was ^1000 to ;^i5oo. Now it is worth — after passing through the breaker — at the mines, ^2,500,000. Or then, one dollar a ton, now two. It should be said here, however, that for the coal sent to market from the township, etc., the amount of money or return to us for it is the wages only of the men em- ployed in its production, and that is about one dollar per ton, being in the aggregate about ^1,250,000 per year now. If the population is, as estimated now — in 1 884 — about 1 2,000 people, that would be about ^104 for every man, woman and child. - In 1807 Abijah Smith commenced mining coal in Plymouth, and with his brother John carried on the business from 1808. Their average business annually down to 1820, was from six to eight ark loads, or about four or five hundred tons. The old Susquehanna coal ark, like the mastodon, is a thing of the past. Let Col. Wright describe it : — - 276 HISTORY OF HANOVER. " The length of the ■craft was ninety feet, its width sixteen feet its depth four feet, and its capacity sixty tons. Each end termin- ated in an acute angle, with a stem-post surmounted by a huge oar some thirty feet in length, and which required the strength of two stout men to ply it in the water. It required' in its construction 7600 feet board measure of two-inch plank. The bottom timbers would contain about 2000 feet, the ribs or studs sustaining the side planks 400 feet, making a total of some 10,000 feet. The cost at that time for lumber was ^4.00 per M . . . . ;^40.00 Construction, mechanical work 24.00 Running plank, oars, calking material, hawser (made of wood fiber), bailing scoop, etc 6.00 Total cost ^70.00' "The ark was navigated by four men, and the ordinary time to reach tide water was seven days. The cost attending the trip was about $50.00. Two out of three arks would probably reach the port of their destination, one-third was generally left upon the rocks in the rapids of the river, or went to the bottom. The fol- lowing estimate therefore of 60 tons of coal, laid down in market is not far from the facts : — Cost of mining 60 tons $ 45.OO Hauling to the river 16.00 Cost of ark 70.00 Expenses of navigation 50.OO Total ;gi8i.oo or equal to ^3.00 a ton. To this must be added one-third for the perils of navigation, which will make the total cost of the ton at tide-water, ^4,00. Commissions on sales, transshipment from the ark to coasting vessels and other incidents would probably make the whole outlay upon a ton about ^5.00. "The average price of sales at this time was probably |1 10.00, leaving a profit of ^5.00 on a ton. If therefore 350 tons of the 500 annually transported by the Messrs. Smith reached the market, it left them a profit of ;gi,700, not taking into account their personal services. By the closest economy, from 1807 to 1820, they were able to sustain themselves. Some of the Plymouth men who em- HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 2/7 barked in the business made total failures. It was the work of forty years to convince the people that 'black stones' could be made available for fuel." Extract from an " account current, rendered by Price & Water- bury, of New York, to Abijah Smith & Co.: "1812. "June 8. — By cash of Doty & Willets for 5 chaldrons coal . ^100.00 By cash of John Withington for 5 chaldrons coal 100.00 By cash of G. P. Lorrillard for i chaldron coal . 20.00 June 1 3. — By cash of G. P. Lorrillard for 1 1 ^ chaldrons coal 230.00 By A. Frazyer's note (90 days) for 25 chaldrons coal 475.00 By half measurement, received for 9 bushels . 6.33 June 25. — By Pirpont for ^ chaldron coal II.OO By Mr. Landis, J^ chaldron coal 12.00 Oct. 9. — By William Colman for ^ chaldron coal . . 12.50 Oct. 24. — By cash for i chaldron coal 25.00 Dec. 14. — By cash for y^ chaldron coal 12.50 " Coal was sold by the chaldron, thirty-six bushels, or nearly a ton and a third to the chaldron. The sales for the New York supply in 1 812 were inside of two hundred tons. The price -was about ^15.00 a ton, and yet most of the early coal operators were unsuccessful." (Page 324). " Col. George M. Hollenback sent two four-horse loads of coal to Philadelphia in 181 3;" and that "James Lee sent a four-horse load from Hanover to a blacksmith in Germantown." — 'Stewart Pierce. " It constitutes the principal fuel of the inhabitants as well as their most important article of exportation." — Chapman, Hist. Wy. 18 17. John Bobb sent coal down the river from Hanover in an ark before the canal was dug, but we are not able to tell what year it was in. Many others did the same thing. . There was a constant sale of coal down the river by arks, from the time people learned to burn it in the house, and that, of course, was very soon after Mr. Fell's discovery in Wilkes-Barre in 1808. The grate came into general use wherever coal could be got. 278 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The real beginning of the coal business then, according to the undeniable facts as stated above, should be placed in 1807, instead of 1820, as is always done, or else in 1776, In the proper place chronologically, the fact has been stated that Jesse Fell discovered that coal — stone coal, as it was called then — could be burned in a grate of iron bars placed in a common open fire-place made for burning wood. Until then — 1808 — it was believed that such coal could be made to burn only by having a blast of wind from a bellows forced through it from below, and it had been mined or quarried until then for use only in forges and blacksmith shops. That many boat loads had been floated down the river — in arks or floats made for that especial occasion or trip — has been mentioned above. But now the coal business put on a different face. It could be used in private houses for fuel in place of wood, and would burn all night and keep a house warm in win- ter time. Every family in Wyoming Valley, within a very short time, had a blacksmith make them a grate and a mason set it up in their fire-place every winter to burn this stone coal. A good fire could be kept all night with it, and comfort to a wonderful degree was increased in cold weather in their log-houses. Wherever coal cropped out in a man's field there was sure to be a coal quarry. Persons of sufficient wealth, when they found no coal that could be mined as it was mined then on their own land, bought an acre or less on the outcrop of some land in the mountain with the right of way to and from it, and had coal mined or quar- ried for themselves and sometimes for sale. The Comfort Carey Mine at Sugar Notch was one of this kind, and was worked for many years, probably more than forty. Every brook or run coming down the mountain side, or through a notch in the Little Mountain, cut through several beds, and these were easily found and easily worked. For many years the dirt and rock were taken off the top and the coal quarried out like building stone. Afterwards they learned to go under the rock for the coal. It was broken up at home with a large hammer or old axe as it was needed, every evening, into such sizes as they desired, but the larger and smaller sizes were all put on the fire together. The grates used would hold frorn a half bushel to two bushels of coal, heaped up. A single fire would burn about ten tons in a winter. Any farmer that would HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 2/9 open a bed and mine it out for sale to his neighbors had no difficulty in selling it, and it was worth a dollar a ton at the bed. It was a good thing for the owner as long as it lasted, but he would soon get so deep in the ground that the water would not run out and then he had to abandon it. In the mountain they did not have this trouble. Pumps worked by hand were sometimes used, but that was found too expensive. About 1829, some Welshmen from the mining regions in Wales came to the late Maj. Eleazer Blackman's Mines — sometimes called Blackman's Mines, but now the Franklin Mines in Wilkes-Barre — and did 'the first underground mining in this part of the country, and perhaps the first in the United States. It is possible that the very first undermining for coal was in a bed close to the Blackman mines, owned by Wood and Robinson. These were Edward and Jonathan Jones, all deceased, the father and brother of Richard Jones, deceased, founder of the Vulcan Iron Works of South Wilkes-Barre. This gave the coal business a new start, and the canal being finished up to Hanover and Plymouth above the Nantir coke dam about the same time, the coal business was, of course, an assured success. Coal could now be taken to market at a cheap rate, and the coal trade of the Wyoming regioa commenced. Near the same time — 1829 — the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company built a canal from Rondout — Kingston — Esopus — on the Hudson river, to Honesdale in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and a gravity railroad from Carbondale — ^Luzerne County then, now Lack- awanna County — to Honesdale, by which the north-eastern end of the Wyoming coal field was tapped. Mining for the New York market commenced, and the company shipped' that year 7000 tons. About 1833 or 1834 the canal along the Susquehanna was opened to Pittston. All the coal from Hanover, Plymouth, Wilkes- Barre and Pittston went down the North Branch Canal — the Sus- quehanna to Harrisburg, Baltimore, Philadelphia and the inter- mediate towns and country. But little, it is thought, reached New York and the East from this region until the opening of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's canal from Mauch Chunk to White Haven, and their railroad from White Haven to Wilkes- Barre across the mountain over the planes at Solomon's Gap in 1846. This railroad had been run by horse-power for a year or so 280 HISTORY OF HANOVER, before 1846, carrying light freiglit and passengers, but no coal had been carried over. It ran only from Wilkes-Barre to White Haven on the Lehigh, where the coal was transshipped into boats and taken by canal to Philadelphia and New York. In an appendix to Chapman's History of Wyoming the follow- ing description of Hanover is found — published in 1830: " Hanover is bounded N. E. by Wilkes-Barre, E. and S. E. by the Lehigh River and Northampton County, S. W. by Sugarloaf and Newport, and N. W. by the Susquehanna River, which separ- ates it from Plymouth. "That portion of this township which 'lies in the Wyoming Valley is thickly settled and the land is of an excellent quality and well cultivated. The mountainous part is covered with timber, consisting of white and yellow pine, oak, hickory and chestnut, some portion of which may be cultivated. "Anthracite coal is found everywhere in this township from the river to near the summit of the mountain, a distance of two or three miles. The argillaceous iron stone abounds in the mountain, and, it is believed, of sufficient richness to justify'its being worked upon an extensive scale. "In the eastern division of this township are the eastern branch of the Nanticoke and Solomon's Creek, which are pretty good mill streams. In this latter stream about midway up the mountain and two miles from Wilkes-Barre, which is called Solomon's Gap, is a beautiful cascade, which has long been visited as a great natural curiosity. Its wild and romantic aspect and the delightful natural scenery around it have, within a few years, been considerably injured by the erection of a very superior merchant mill im- mediately below the falls by General William Ross, of Wilkes- Barre, who is the proprietor of this valuable water power. But the lovers of nature and of art are still highly gratified with a visit to this romantic spot. "In its eastern division are Pine, Wright's, Terrapin ponds, and Sandy Creek, which empty into the Lehigh, and sources of the Nescopeck, and the big and little Wapwallopen, which flow into the Susquehanna. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 28 1 " Penobscot Knob\ the highest peak of the mountain in this town- ship, affords an extensive and sublime prospect. Standing upon its apex you look down upon the surrounding country as upon a map. To the west and south-west the valleys of the West Branch, Penn, Buffalo and Bald Eagle Creeks, and the majestic Allegheny, in Centre County, are plainly seen, whilst the intervening mountains dwindle in the view into gentle undulations. Here, whilst he con- templates the vast prospect around him, man feels his own little- ness, and, instinctively turning to the Great Author of all, exclaims, ' What is man, that Thou art mindful of him ! ' " Hanover was originally settled by immigrants from Paxton and Hanover, then Lancaster, now Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, who came on under the Connecticut title in 1769, among whom was the late Judge HoUenback. "The original settlers in this township have given place to the Germans, who now compose the principal, part of the population. They are an honest, industrious and punctual people. " Hanover furnishes annually a large surplus quantity of wheat, rye, Indian corn and pork, which has hitherto been transported by wagons to Easton, and latterly to Mauch Chunk, to a market. The great stage route from Wilkes-Barre to Harrisburg passes through it. Nanticoke falls is near its western angle. * * * It contains about 1,000 inhabitants." It will be noticed that the writer of the above calls the new comers Germans. The writer wishes to say, from his own knowl- edge, that these " Germans " were more purely American by birth than the other inhabitants of the township. In 1825 the Pennsylvania Dutch of Hanover, mostly Presby- terians, determined to build a church for themselves. The corner- stone was laid in 1825 and a substantial wooden church edifice was built on the Hanover Green. The church still stands there in pretty good order, but there are not enough members now to keep up a church organization — 1884-5. Having now passed over a period of about ten years and come •to 1830, and another generation having come upon the scene, it is thought well to introduce a list of the names of the inhabitants at this time. From this point foreigners began to come in in such numbers that the township begins to become less distinctively 18* ■ 282 HISTORY OF HANOVER. American. The honesty, simplicity, peace and quiet of a purely 'agricultural community begins to be disturbed. However, this was not much noticeable till after 1840. NAMES ON THE ASSESSMENT LIST IN I83O. Askam, William Askam, William, Jr. Andrew, Jacob Alexander, Silas Apple, William Bennett, Rufus Bennett, Rufus H. Bennett, Nathan Bennett, Thoma^s Bennett, Thomas R. Bennett, Josiah Buskirk, Andrew V. Blackman, Elisha Blackman, Henry Behee, George Bobb, John Brown, William Brown, Thomas Barnes, Joseph Burney, William Bidder, Jacob Carey, Benjamin Carey, Benjamin, Jr. Carey, Elias Carey, Comfort Carey, Benjamin, 3d Crisman, Besherrow Carver, John Col ghlazer , Daniel Caldren, Peter Deterick, Jacob Deterick, Frederick Deterick, George Downer, Robert Dilley, Dayton Dilley, Jesse Dilley, James Dilley, Richard Downing, Bateman Decker, James Davis, Joseph, Jr. Dershammer, Isaac Dershammer, John Espy, John . Frain,. John Frederick, John Frace, Abraham Foust, John Fine, Peter Fisher, Jacob Fisher, Henry . Gledhill, George Garrison, Jacob Garrison, John , Gilbert, Lumen Garringer, Charles Garringer, Daniel Garringer, John George, Henry Hartzell, Jonas Huntington, Samuel Hendershot, John Hoover, Henry Hoover, John Hoover, Michael Herrick, Amds Horton, Miller Honnis, John Hartzell, Joseph Inman, Nathan Inman, John E. Inman, Richard, Jr. Inmdn, John Inman, Isaac Inman, Caleb Inman, Israel Inman, Edward Jones, Asa Jameson, Alexander Jameson, Robert Jameson, Samuel Kreidler, George Kreidler, Daniel Kocher, George Kocher, George, Jr. Knock, Elizabeth , (widow) Kirkendall, Joseph Keizer, Christian Keizer, Valentine Kintner, Jacob Line, Henry Line, John Line, Conrad, 4th Lee, James S. Lee, Washington Lueder, Frederick Lueder, John Lueder, Christian F. Lazarus, George Lazarus, John Learn, Simon Learn, George, Sr. Lutz, John Lutz, Daniel Miller, Jacob Marcy, Ira Minnich, Henry Minnich, Peter Moyer, Valentine Moyer, John Moyer, George Mensch, Peter Mensch, Christian Mensch, John Mill, Solomon Mill, Peter HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 283 Mill, John Morgan, Thomas H.* Marble, Eleazer Merwine, John Nagle, John Nagle, Christian Nagle, Peter Oyerbeck, Jacob B. Pell, Samuel Plumb, Jacob Plumb, Charles Plumb, Simon H. Preston, Darius Preston, Hibbard Preston, Williston Pease, Samuel Pease, Samuel, Jr. Rinehimer, Joseph Rinehimer, Conrad Rummage, Conrad Rummage, Jacob Rummage, Jacob, Jr. Rimer, George Rimer, Jacob Ruggles, Lorenzo Rudolph, Jacob Robins, John Richards, Elijah Rinehard, Henry Rogers, Samuel Rogers, Thomas Ruggles, Ashbel Shafer, Joseph Shafer, Jacob Steele, Joseph Sively, Henry Sively, George Streater, Charles SINGLE FREEMEN. Frederick, Daniel Garringer, Levi Garris, Jacob Inman, David Sterling (widow) Sorber, George Shoemaker, William Sorber, John Shoemaker, Andrew Steele, George P. Stettler, George ■ Saum, John Smiley, Thomas Teal, John Thomas, Rebecca Teeter, William Vandermark, James Wiggins, Silas Wright, Benjamin Willis, Jonathan P. Wade, Nathan Learn, Levi Rummage, John Sterling, Charles Steele, Chester Total, 186. Burrett, Stephen Burney, Henry Carey, John A. Edgerton, Richard Frederick, Isaac Of these only four still live within the boundaries of old Han- over, viz: John A. Carey, at Ashley. Charles Garringer, at Nanticoke. Daniel Frederick, at Newtown, near Ashley. John Sorber, at South District of Hanover (Hogback). Nearly all but these are dead ; many removed to other places before death. About thirty-one, including the above four, have more or less of their descendants here still. A little over half of these are Pennsylvania Dutch. The above is a list of the taxable persons that actually lived in the township, so far as known, when the assessment was made. The township included all the country back of it and Wilkes-Barre, to the Lehigh River, thus including all that are now called Hanover, Wright, Bear Creek, Denison and Foster townships, and White Haven borough. 284 HISTORY OF HANOVER. s 1830. Total valuation . • $70,7?,7 " number dwelling-houses . . .' . . . .125 " " taxable persons 184 " horses 115 oxen 74 " " cows 294 . But little progress has been made during the past ten years. The taxable persons have increased twenty-four in number; dwel- ling-houses only four; oxen increased twenty; cows sixty-four, but horses have actually decreased thirty-six in number. The valu- ation of property has also decreased about ^16,000. The number of inhabitants had increased from '879, in 1820, to 1 173, equal to over 33 per cent. There would be nine and thirty-eight hundredths to each house on an average. The dam in the river at Nanticoke, to feed the canal below on the other side, had just been completed. This made work for the people, although it was not in Hanover, and the building of the canal had put some money in circulation and made a market for some of our produce, and it probably in- creased our population somewhat; yet, if it did, it caused nd houses to be built, and it took away our horses. The old houses were rot- ting down and hardly any new ones were being built — only four in ten years. Horses had decreased about 25 per cent, and oxen even had not taken their place on the farms. The population was now a little more than half of a different people — mostly Pennsylvania Dutch — but they were about as industrious and saving as the Yankees. Perhaps as these were, many of them, new settlers tak- ing the places of the old, they were not as rich — if the word is proper in this case — as the old ones whom they succeeded. 1830. A United States census was taken this year the same as in the preceding ones, except that there was no attempt to show anything but numbers. It says though, that there were six foreigners in the township not naturalized. ■ The total number of inhabitants was 1173. There was no slave this time. The population had- increased 294, equal to about 33 per cent. About this time the fanning mill for cleaning grain from the chaiT was introduced here and superseded the ancient hand fan. This was a great labor-saving improvement. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 285 The canal was now completed from Nanticoke down the river, and produce could be taken down the canal and could be brought up the canal. Up to this time all the produce of the township and of the whole valley of Wyoming had to be taken to market by wagons, to Easton first, and after the canal was finished, up to Mauch Chunk, it was carted there. The productions hauled thus to Mauch Chunk and its vicinity were wheat, rye, potatoes, Indian corn, oats, buckwheat, beans, onions, oil-cake, hay and pork. Probably there were others. Cattle and horses were driven in droves and were perhaps taken farther down than Mauch Chunk or Easton. Communication by passenger or mail was by "stage" in ev^ry direction and through Easton to New York or Philadel- phia. A daily stage ran to those cities from Wilkes-Barre, stop- ping over night at Easton. It took two days, from daylight till dark, in the summer time and with fast driving and without acci- dent to reach either New York or Philadelphia from Wilkes-Barre. The fare was generally ten dollars to New York and nine dollars to Philadelphia, but frequently there was competition or "opposition" and then the price was lowered. , After the canals were completed, "packet-boats" as they were called, ran on the canals and carried passengers and light parcels. This kind of traveling was a great luxury when compared with the lumbering, jolting and rolling stage- coach, and there were arrangements for sleeping and eating on the boat, and thus they could travel night and day; but ease was the great thing welcomed in this method of traveling. Although the canal in 1830 had been finished from below up only to the Nanticoke dam, boats could now be loaded at the bank of the river at Hanover, Plymouth and Wilkes-Barre, and be floated down to and through the feeder lock at the west end of the dam into the canal. All commerce up to this time had been a complete system of barter. There was no common medium of exchange, such as gold, silver or paper in circulation sufficient to meet the needs of the in- habitants. A general system of credits had to be and was estab- lished, and men (and women) had to maintain a character for honesty or they were bad off indeed; for who could carry iron, or tobacco, or wheat, or pork or other produce around to his neighbors to find one that had what he wanted' and would take 286 HISTORY OF HANOVER. these, or some of these, in exchange for it? So every one had to keep account-books and trust and be trusted. An untrustworthy person was very soon known, and after that he found it difificult to get a Hving. Such men were very likely to become hunters, being driven to it to procure food. All dealings were regularly entered on their books of account in which they generally kept both sides — debtor and creditor — because there was imprisonment for debt in those times, and it be- hooved men to know how their accounts stood with their neighbors. These accounts were sometimes balanced or settled every year, but they ran in many cases four, five, and ten years, and in one case on these books, which the writer consulted, the last debit and crejiit is in February and May, 1819, and settled in April, 1846, and the balance paid and receipted on the book after about twenty-seven years. No comments by the writer here. CHAPTER XV, 1830 TO 1840. e. underlies HanoveF township and the boroughs within it, from the Susquehanna River' back nearly to the top of the Little Mountain, a distance of about three miles, making about 1 5 square miles underlaid with coal. The workable beds or seams have an aggregate average thickness of about fifty feet — not less, probably more, made up of separate veins, beds or seams,* from five to nineteen feet each in thickness, and there are four or five other beds not considered workable' that are less than five feet and more than three. We have seen how coal has been sent to market from here in Hanover and. Wyoming Valley from the earliest times almost, but there is no official sta.tement. of it or the amount until 1820. But that coal was sent down the river e\'ery year in arks, for sale for domestic use, veiy soon after the discovery that it could be burnt in a grate in an ordinary wood fire-place, is unquestionable. According to the official statement, the total amount of anthracite coal shipped to market in all Pennsylvania in 1820 was 365 tons and in ten )'ears, from 1820 to 1830, the total amount was 533,194 tons. This was all mined by the Lehigh Coal and Navi- gation Company at their Summit Hill Mines near the Lehigh at Mauch Chunk, except 7000 tons which was mined in 1829 by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company at Carbondale, in Luzerne County then, now Lackawanna. The mining at the Summit Hill Mines in Carbon County had hitherto all been done by removing the dirt and rock from above the coal and thus uncovering it, and then quarrying it out like stofte. About 1829 underground mining was commenced. *These are interchangeable terms — meaning coal stratum, all meaning the same thing. 288 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The amount of coal mined, in Luzerne County in each tenth year after 1829 was: — In 1829 . ■ 7,000 tons. " 1830 43-000 " 1840 148,470 " 1850 827,823 " i860 2,941,817 *" 1870 7,554,900 (Scranton District 6,293,457 " 1880 <^ Wilkes-Barre District 5,708,813 ( Hazleton District 3,656,336 " 1883 in Luzerne County .... • 12,415,605 " " " Lackawanna County 5,495,877 Up to this time Luzerne'included Lackawanna County. Total amount of anthracite coal from all the regions in Penn- sylvania in each tenth year: In 1830 174,743 tons. 1840 841,584 1850 3,287,970 i860 : 8.513,132 1870 ■ 15,274,029 1880 28,621,371 In 1833 the North Branch of the Pennsylvania canal was com- pleted from the mouth of Solomon's Creek to Pittston, and a tow- path from the Nanticoke dam, on the east side of the river, up to the outlet lock of the canal at Solomon's Creek. The river itself was here used in place of a canal between the dam and lock, a dis- tance of about three miles. A few years afterwards a "riprap" wall was built along this part of the river to protect the bank and keep the tow-path up. All the coal mined in Hanover was shipped on this canal until 1846, when the Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad from Wilkes- Barre to White Haven was opened for the shipment of coal, and shipped the same year 5886 tons. The opening of the canal soon made a great change in the living of the people. Luxuries hitherto only attainable at enormous cost, now began to be diffused through this part of the country, and the people could exchange their products for them at a rejison- able rate. When this canal was built the farmers and others ex- *The United States census of 1870 makes the amount mined in Luzerne- County 9,519,298 tons; wages paid out $13,269,206. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 289 pected to ship their produce, as well as the coal, by the canal to a market, but it was soon found that farm and other products were brought here for a market by canal transportation and sold as cheap or cheaper than it could be produced here. Perhaps we did not produce enough for the population under the circumstances. Nanticoke commenced to be a village because there was water- power there, and a grist-mill and other mills were built as soon as possible. These of themselves would cause a cluster of houses to spring up there, and it being a time of danger the farmers would build near each other if they could, for mutual protection. And there was also another reason in the early times — here were falls in the river, and in the season for shad to run up the river this was the special place for their capture. It ;Was the spot where the river broke through the mountain barrier and left the valley with a roar and rush over the falls. Together with these reasons there was another, a very fine body of flats near by on the Hanover side of the river that had been cultivated by the Nanticoke tribe of Indians (and other Indians before them) that had lived here, and from whom the place took its name. Afterwards, coal that was found cropping out of the end of the mountain where the river and creek had cut it down by breaking through, was very valuable. There was a large amount above water .level, it was easy to mine, and was so near the river that it was inexpensive to load into boats or arks. That it was thus mined and floated down the river to a profitable market long before the canal was built, was a matter of course. Nanticoke was indeed favored by its position. The falls made it necessary for raftmen to employ skilled pilots ' to run their rafts down that part of the river. After the dam was built, with its chute at one end for rafts and arks to run through, it still needed experienced pilots acquainted with the chute and Jhe river below to run the rafts and arks down. This was another source of profit to Nanticoke. There was a ferry there from the time of the first settlement of Hanover and Plymouth, and after the canal was built there had to be another ferry — one for the canal. Below Nanticoke the canal was on the west side of the river ; from Solomon's Creek up to Wilkes-Barre and Pittston it was on the east side. 19 290 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The river was used instead of a canal for about three miles from Nanticoke up, as has been told on a previous page, but from the mouth of Solomon's Creek it was the usual ditch up through Wilkes-Barre to Pittston. The canal boats and horses had to cross the river at Nanticoke from the west side to- the east going up, and from the east to the west going down the canal, and the horses had to be ferried over. The loaded boats going down stream, when given a pretty good "send off" at the ferry, a half mile or more above the dam, would run across the river themselves without ahy further help, but in coming up the river they needed help to cross, and a large rope was suspended across, high up above the river with a smaller one suspended therefrom down under it, near enough to the water for the boatmen to take hold of, and by pulling on it. draw themselves and their boats across, where their horses that had been ferried across, were again attached to the tow-line. But all this was after 1830-3. The falls were very dangerous to pass over in boats, and unless they were skillfully steered the boat would be overturned and the occupants drowned. Many persons have been drowned there. After the dam was built, and rafts and arks had to run the chute, the river would frequently be lined six or eight abreast along the east side for miles above the dam waiting, their turn to be run through the chute, one after the other as close as they dared to run^ They were intrusted to skilled hands to run the chute, but notwith- standing their skill and experience accidents ^yere frequent in various ways, but' oftenest by some of the oarsmen being thrown overboard by the violence of the waves, and currents dashing against the oars. There were only two oars to a raft or to an ark, one at the front end and one at the rear. The oars were large, being about thirty feet long, the blade a twelve-foot plank a foot wide, and the handle or sweep a white pine or hemlock tree six, eight or ten, or more inches in diameter. The blade was firmly fixed into the large end of this stick and then the whole nicely balanced on the end of the raft or ark. Frequently there would be two men to each oar. It was considered a very dangerous busi- ness to run this chute, and the pilots had to be pretty well paid. Different kinds of produce were brought down the river on arks for many years — such as salt, plaster (gypsum) for fertilizing the HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 29 1 land, hoop-poles, barrel-staves, spokes, hubs, and other materials for wagons and carriages; and sometimes families "moved" m this way — that is, they rented a place down the river and removed from the old home to the new on a raft or ark, floating down the river to the place where they wished to reside. Traffic in this way by river continued long after 1830, and potatoes and other produce are still brought down the river in the same old way nearly every year. An ark was a mere float, with a flat bottom like a floor, and with the sides and end standing up perpendicularly from the bottom two or three feet high, with timbers strong enough to hold it together for one trip down the river to its destination. Both arks and rafts had a cabin of boards built on them for shelter, resting, cooking, eating and sleeping in, on their way to a market. An ark was not as long as a raft, but they used the same kind of oars on it. A raft might be 160 feet long, but an ark was very seldom more than 80 to 96 feet. There was a forge at Scrabbletown, now Ashley, on Solomon's Creek, six or eight rods below the Back Road, owned by Daniel Kreidler. Iron was not manufactured there. There was no furnace for making iron attached to this forge. It was not run later than 1839, but some ten years afterwards there was a small foundry there for a short time in the, same building. By the side of the Back Road south-west of Kreidler's forge, about thirty rods off^ was a saw-mill. It was run by water from Solomon's Creek, and the tail-race ran along the side of the road outside of the fence to the creek on the upper or south side of the road at Kreidler's. This mill stood where the railroad company's houses now stand on the south side of Main street, in Ashley. It belonged to the Huntingtons in 1830. This mill was not used later than 1839. There were a saw-mill, a tavern, and a house or two up in Solomon's Gap between the mountains. This was known as Inman's "tavern till • 1840, when the railroad was building. Then the Inmans sold out and went West — to Wisconsin. The " Scrabbletown school-house," built of logs, stood on the cross-road a few rods — ten or fifteen — west of the present Lehigh & Susquehanna (or P. & R.) depot at Ashley. The house was still standing and in active use — though becoming dilapidated — in 1848. 292 HISTORY OF HANOVER. It had the usual long, slanting, wide, board desks for the pupils to write on, fastened against the walls on three sides of the room. On the fourth side was the door and the teacher's desk and chair. The seats were the usual ones for schools then — a long plank, or slab, with two holes bored in each end and small saplings cut the proper length for legs, made to fit the holes and driven in. There were two such benches on each of the three sides of the room, a big and a little one, and there was one little one across the room in front of the teacher's desk. There were no backs to these seats. The children were not pampered much in these schools. The teachers had to build their own fires and sweep the school-houses themselves — unless they could get some ■ of the larger girls to sweep for them — and all for sixteen dollars per month and "find themselves," or ten dollars per month and "board round." The writing paper used in schools up to this time, and much of it even up to 1840, was unruled, and a ruler was kept in each school to rule with. The ruling pencil was called a "plummet," and was a thin piece of lead. A black-lead pencil was a luxury that but few could afford. The school-house at Nanticoke, built about 1830, or perhaps a little earlier (on the site of an earlier log one built probably twenty or more years before), was school-house and church together. It was on a side hill, the basement fronting towards the road being the school-room ; on the top of that was a one-story wooden build- ing 24x36 for a church, facing the other way with its front away from the road. This was church and school-house until 1 861-3, when a separate church edifice was built. On November 13, 1833, people were considerably frightened by innumerable "falling stars" seen in the night and early morning. They never had been seen so numerous before, nor anything like it. The whole sky was alight with them, hundreds flashing at the same instant in every direction, with a bright tail behind'each, and each, equally bright and equally long. According to the writer's recollection of them (he was four years old that day) the tails were about the length of four or five diameters of the full moon. In the winter of 1835-6 came the deepest snow any one had ever seen here (about five feet), that covered all the fences. It HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 293 broke in the roofs of many buildings. The following winter there was another very deep snow, though not quite So deep as this. In the summer of 1835 a "tornado" whirled along up the valley near the Back Road from the south-west. It flattened everything to the ground within the limits of its whirl, about ten or twelve rods wide. Trees, fences, buildings, all were torn down, and the materials of fences and buildings all smashed to pieces and destroyed, or carried away by the wind and lost. It kept a straight course until it tore down Mr. McCarragher's barn to the floor. McCarragher's house just barely escaping with only a little tear in the roof Here the tornado changed its course to the north or north-west and passed across the valley just below South Wilkes- Barre, across the river and across Shawnee Mountain and dis- appeared in the north-west.* About the beginning of this period — 1830 — the wooden plow was superseded entirely here by the cast-iron plow. Jethro Wood, inventor of the modern cast-iron plow, was born in White Creek, N. Y., in 1774; patented the plow in 1814. Previously the plow was a block of wood hewed into shape andplated with iron. " No man has benefited the country more than Jethro Wood, and no one has been as inadequately rewarded." — Seward. The blacksmith, who had heretofore made nearly every iron tool, and implement, and thing of iron, began now to have some competition with the iron founder. The blacksmith's trade was not quite as good a one as it had been. Now, 1884, it is almost entirely limited to ironing off wagons and carriages, and shoeing horses. The same thing is happening to most of the other trades — ^they seem to be going out of use, or are being divided into several trades, or are changing into other kinds, and new and heretofore unheard of kinds of business are being carried on. For instance, the weaver of 1884 is not the weaver of 1824, or even 1834, nor is the spinner, nor the hatter, nor the shoemaker,. nor the tanner, nor the tailor, nor the carpenter, nor the mason, nor the farmer, nor the hunter, nor the butcher, nor the saddler, nor the merchant store-keeper, nor the miller, nor the sailor, nor the -traveler, nor the scholar, nor the teacher, nor the cboking, nor the manner of eating. *The writer was within the whirl of this tornado and received a gash on the cheek from a flying window-sash, from which he still bears the scar. 294 HISTORY OF HANOVER. In 1837 a financial and business panic and depression occurred. Bankruptcy seemed to overtake the well-to-do in every direction. Specie payments were suspended by all banks. The currency in use among the people became in most cases valueless. State banks only were then in existence. There had been a United States bank, but it had very recently been suppressed. Money had always been scarce here for some reason, but since the canal had been finished, money, or its representative — bank notes — could be got; but now the holders of bank notes, called "bank bills" and "paper money," were good for nothing. The banks had "bursted" and their paper was valueless. "Shin-plaster" was the name given to the paper in use. All the banks in the State and probably in the United States suspended specie payments, and money was not to be got. It was felt severely in Hanover, but as very little of any kind of business except agriculture was carried on here, and as the people still made their own cloth and leather, their condition was incomparably better than those who depended for a living upon manufactures, mining and commerce. Previous to this panic, routes for railroads had been surveyed and stakes driven in various parts of the township, but nothing was done towards building any until late in this decade. Some time after this panic, but as early as 1839, work was being done in build- ing the Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad from White Haven to Wilkes-Barre, and the township seemed overrun with foreigners. The company paid some of the wages in a kind of " scrip " like a bank bill in appearance, and of the value of $2.00, ;^4.oo, and ;^8.00. The writer never saw any of them of a larger denomination than eight dollars. They were all redeemed in cash. No one ever lost anything by them. In 1834, Jesse Crisman, a native of Hanover, living in the house near the end of the Wilkes-Barre bridge on the Kingston side, loaded a boat in the river with his wife and children, and live stock, and pigeons, and chickens, and started for Illinois. He floated down the river to Nanticoke and there entered the canal. At Hollidays- burg the canal, just completed in 1834, ended, and there was a rail- road to cross the Allegheny Mountains. The manager of the rail- road proposed to Crisman to take his boat out of the canal, put it on a car and take it and all it contained, across the mountain. This HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 295 / / was done, and Crisman's boat rested on the top of the mountain that night like Noah's ark. The next day it was taken down the mountain on the western side and put into the canal there (at Johns- town). It entered the Ohio river at Pittsburg where' it floated down on its way to its destination.* "This was the first boat that ever crossed the Allegheny mountains."t The Allegheny Portage railroad was 39 miles long — from Hol- lidaysburg to Johnstown. There were 10 planes to cross the mountain's elevation, 1398 feet on the eastern side and 1 172 feet on the western side, with one tunnel on the route of about 850 feet in length. The cars were taken up and let down the planes by stationaiy engines situated at the top of the planes. On the levels between them locomotives and horses were used. The cars were arranged to take boats in sections of two, three or four pieces separately. The boats or sections assumed their proper element at Johnstown, and the sections were joined together in the canal. The canal on the west side of the mountain was abandoned in 1863 ; on the east side in 1874. The Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad planes at (Scrabbletown) Ashley were originally intended for the same kind of service as the Allegheny Portage, but the plan was abandoned for some reason and no arrangement was ever made for the purpose. In the early days of the republic an armed militia, organized and drilled, was considered the mainstay and safety of a free gov- ernment by the commonwealth. The constitution provided that the right to carry arms should not be abridged to the citizen. It was further considered the duty of every township to be prepared to perform its share in the defense of the State and the upholding of the laws. Each township had to enroll all its male inhabitants over twenty-one years of age and under forty-five, into a militia company and appear at the place appointed twice a year for company drill. Each man had to provide himself with a gun of some kind and appear on the day appointed or be fined (jgi.oo) for non-attendance, for township drill generally in May, and in June for a " general " training — that was a whole regiment together — with ♦Since writing the above, it has been learned that Crisman never reached his destina- tion, but was robbed and murdered in Pittsburg on his way to Illinois. ■j-Watson's Annals. 296 HISTORY OF HANOVER. their officers, from colonel down to the lieutenants. Any one of the proper age enrolled was fined for not answering to his name at roll-call. The company elected its own officers, a captain and one lieutenant. The officers had to wear a uniform and sword. They might use their own judgment and taste as to these. The Hanover Green — now the Hanover Cemetery — was the place for the meeting and training of the Hanover company, and being a large vacant and grassy common, was frequently chosen for the general training, when there would be a whole regiment there. Sometimes the general training would be on the river com- mon at Wilkes-Barre. The uniformed companies would be at these general trainings as well as the ununiformed militia. Many of our older men now with military titles, received their titles as officers of these militia. These militia organizations gradually fell into disrepute, as they took men's time from sober work and seemed to be useless; they were never called upon for any other service than this of two days each year of poor drilling and marching about a little, together with considerable drunkenness. The act enforcing it was repealed in 1848, though a relic of it remained for some twenty years after- wards in a military tax of fifty cents a year on each person of the proper age — unless he had served seven years in a uniforrned military company or in the army and had an honorable discharge. This tax has now been abolished. In 1838 Samuel Holland bought lands in Hanover for coal mining purposes — the John Bobb, the John Garrison, the Sterling, and the Andrew Shoemaker properties. He paid about twenty-five dollars per acre. This is the first land ever sold or bought for mining purposes in Hanover, unless it be the little pieces of an acre or half acre in the mountains, bought by some farmers, who could not find any coal handy on their own land that could be quarried out by them without greater cost. The Bobbs emigrated to Iowa, the Garrisons to a neighboring township. People were emigrating from the township to the West more rapidly than ever. Indiana had now for some time been receiving most of them. As we come near 1840 Wisconsin becomes the land of promise and the delight of the expectations of the young farmers, who could there get all the land they desired for one dollar and twenty-five HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 29/ cents peT- acre and have no trouble to clear off the woods and brush. It was nearly all prairie land, ready for the plow at oncfe, and said to be as productive as our river flats. All the talk among the farmers seemed to be "the West." Those who had been there and tried it and come back on a visit or to make the final collections on the farm they had sold here, would say to these Hanoverians: — " How foolish you are to stay here and work as hard as you do on. these stony and gravelly hills andthin soil, when you can sell this for enough per acre to buy forty acres for each one of these, and where you can raise 40 bushels of wheat to the acre, and here you can't raise 10. Why not go there?" The reasoning was unanswer- able — and they went. 1840. Total number of taxables on assessment roll . 262 " " " houses -154 " " " horses 193 " " oxen 38 " " cows 287 " valuation ;^6o,4i3 Here it will be seen that the valuation has decreased more than ;^ 1 0,000. The assessment this year seems to be unreliable. Rail- roads were building and mines were being opened or attempts made in various places that failed. This brought in a floating population, that lived here a week or a month and there another. Large boarding shanties were built by the railroad contractors where from twenty-five td fifty or more persons were fed and lodged. This was assessed as a house. This swelled the population but not the assessment and number of taxables on the roll. Money was in circulation now. 1 840^THE UNITED STATES CENSUS. The number of inhabitants of the township this year according to the census was 1938=12^ to a house, on an average. Still the same method of taking the census was pursued as the preceding ones, only changed a little as to age — thus : — Under 10 yrs., 10 to 15, to 20, to 30, to 40, to 50, to 60, to 70, to 80, to 90. Males . . 25s 99 91 364 207 79 29 21 7 3=1 i5S Females . 253 ^ 81 96 132 93 52 32 15 8 6= 768 All other free persons — (colored) IS / Total 1938 19* 298 HISTORY OF HANOVER. an increase over 1830 of 65 per cent. This was the largest popula- tion the township ever had till 1870. Somewhere near four hundred of these may be considered as full grown men, working here only on the railroads newly building, and mines opening. These were the floating population — without families — a very undesirable lot. But the most of them voted. This census report says there were — " Engaged in agriculture in the township now 206 " " mining 53 " " commerce 5 " " manufactures and trade TJ " " learned professions and engineers 3 Revolutionary pensioners i " ' It seems as if 330 at least of these ought to have been assessed. There were at least 330 full grown men here in addition to the usual population. 1840 TO 1850. In 1838 to 1840 Samuel Holland dug a calnal basin at the river near the present Dundee Shaft, built chutes there to load canal boats with coal, built a railroad from the basin to his mines back at the foot of the mountain about three miles distant, and com- menced shipping coal to market by canal down the river. This railroad was furnished with wooden rails, having flat iron on the top of them about two and a half inches wide and a half inch thick. The cars ran by gravity from the mines down to the basin, and were hauled back by horses. There was a store belonging to Holland and Hillman — who were partners for a time — near the basin on the River Road. They shipped about 15,000 tons of coal a year. The mines were on the land that Holland bought of Bobb, and on cither land leased of Col. H. B. Wright, and of Jacob Rummage, and George Kocher, all now deceased. The present Warrior Run Mines are now on the properties of Wright and Rummage. Holland met with financial reverses in 1848, and the mines lay idle till 1865. The railroad and canal basin were abandoned and went to decay and have never been used since. Nothing but lump coal was shipped from these mines — nor from any other for that matter — unless on special order, when a cargo HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 299 would be broken up for stove and grate by hand, and also screened by hand. Such a thing as a breaker was not then known. Mining was pretty much all done above water level where the water could run out of the mine without pumping. But, Holland had a little slope about thirty feet deep worked by horse-power with a "gin," and a little shaft with a wooden pump in it reaching from the surface of the. ground vertically overhead to the foot of the slope underneath, and had the water pumped out there by hand. This little slope was close to where the Nanticoke branch of the L. & S. railroad crosses the Nanticoke Creek, near the foot of the Little Mountain on the Bobb lot. There was a tunnel further back into the Little Mountain on property of George Kocher. Three " drifts " or " gangways," where the Warrior Run Mines are now, were driven in on the coal itself, all above water level so that water drained out by its own gravity. Mining ought to have been cheap under such circumstances, for there was no pumping to be done, no fans to be run for ventilation, no foul air, no choke-damp, no explosive gasses to contend with as we have now. The moment mining began to be done below water level "fire-damp" and "choke-damp" — carbureted hydrogen gas, and carbonic acid gas — began to be met with. In other words, it would seem that when the mine was above water and dry it had no gas ; when below water level and wet it was gassy. In 1843 the Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad was completed from White Haven to Wilkes-Barre, tapping the Wyoming coal fields to help supply the growing New York and Philadelphia markets, together with the intermediate towns, by way of the Lehigh, Delaware, Morris and Raritan canals. The stationary engines at the planes were not run. Light freight and passengers were taken in cars drawn by horses the entire distance between Wilkes-Barre and White Haven. A few cars of coal were hauled up the planes and over to White Haven by horses in 1846, but it was found too expensive and stopped. The railroad was not opened for full traffic till 1847, and then horses were used to haul the cars everywhere on the road except up the planes and where the cars would run by gravity. The cars were taken up and let down the planes by steam engines situated at the top. From Ashley there are three long planes to reach the top of the Big 300 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Mountain. The elevation of the head of the upper plane above the foot of the lower is a little over i,ooo feet. Originally there were "straps" of soft steel attached to a "truck" with which to pull the cars up and let them down. The strap was composed of four separate straps of steel, each about four inches wide and one-eighth of an inch .thick and about thirty feet long, laid side by 5ide parallel to each other and half an inch apart, and the ends riveted on a strong plate of steel. Then another set of four-inch straps were riveted on the same plate and another plate at the other end of them, and so on until the length wanted was reached. There were two sets of these straps to each plane, and two wooden drums about twenty feet in diameter at the head of each plane to wind them up on, and two tracks, but only one set of straps and one track was ever used while those sti-aps were in use on the planes. That was sufficient for all the business they had to do. At the bottom of the plane was a "pit" for the "truck" to run into, to let the cars pass over it in going either on or off the plane. The trucks were made with an arrangement to throw the cars off the track in case the straps broke. About 1850 these straps were dis- carded for wire ropes, and about the same time Or a year before locomotives were put on instead of horses. This was one of the best built and most substantial railroads ever constructed in the United States. Ross, of Wilkes-Barre, owned land on the lower plane some dista:nce above the foot of it. He had a grist-mill there on Solomon's Creek before the railroad was built. When the rail- road commenced carrying coal to market a vein of coal was opened near the mill and coal mined and shipped from chutes standing by the side of the track on the lower plane. Holland and Hillman were the operators in 1847. These mines may have been operated afterwards by some other operator, as Holland failed the next year. Between five and ten thousand tons may have been shipped from here. This coal went by railroad to White Haven, where it was loaded into canal boats. All the other coal shipped by this road at this time was from the Blackman Mines. Col. Lee's Mines at Nanticoke shipped, probably, during this period from 15,000 to 20,000 tons of coal a year. These mines have been continually worked from the opening of the canal, and probably long before that, to the present time. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 3OI The coal from all these and all other mines in these parts went by canal to market, and when the canal was frozen up, as it was in the winter, none could be sent in any way. The above-named were all the mines in Hanover, and probably during .the ten years from 1840 to 1850 there was not an average of more than 40,000 tons of coal shipped per year from all these mines in Hanover. About 1849 or 1850 as much as 100,000 tons were sent. Coal was mined for use by the citizens of Hanover and Wilkes-Barre at Carey's coal bed at Sugar Notch, and at Preston's bed, near Ashley, during this period, of perhaps from 1,000 to 2,000 tons each, per year. The Mexican War came on in 1846 and some of our Hanover "boys" went to Mexico, and some were laid beneath Mexican soil, but' we have no record of the names of the Hanoverians in that war, except John Sliker, killed, Samuel Sliker and David Howard. It was only a small war, and only one company of volunteer soldiers went from Luzerne County. The war lasted two years, and the boys came home in 1848 in a canal boat by way of Pitts- burg, covered with glory. The tariff of 1842 had caused iron works and manufactories to start up in various parts of the country; that had stimulated business of all kinds, and men could get nwney for their work. The tariff bill of 1846, lowering the tariff to a revenue basis, caused most of the new operators in both coal and iron to go into bankruptcy by 1848, although the Mexican War had a tendency, as all wars have, to raise prices for the time being. At all events, our war and our manufacturing and mining enterprises in this case ended at the same time. The rolling-mill at South Wilkes-Barre was built and in operation about five years, when, in 1848, it was sold out by the sheriff for what the materials and machinery would bring, and carried away; and many of the houses that were built there rotted down without tenants. Wyoming Valley sank back again to a purely agricultural region. From this on till the Rebellion of the South dullness prevailed, and for such work as there was, low prices and, generally, pay in store goods. No mining for distant markets was done in Hanover, ex- cept at Nanticoke, until 185 1. In 1840 there were fifty-six log-houses in use, but no new ones were built after this year. 302 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad continued in operation, but as far as its coal carrying was concerned it received none for transportation except about 600 tons per day from the " Blackman Mines," now the Franklin. There was none from Hanover. In 1849 ^^^ fi'St breaker for breaking and preparing coal was erected in Wyoming Valley. This was at the Baltimore Mines in Wilkes-Barre. The Blackman Mines completed one the same year and almost at the same time. Previously the small coal only, as it came out of the mines, was screened into the different sizes. 1850. The assessment books have a total of 270 taxables resi- dent and non-resident. Farms and other property were now owned to a considerable extent by persons who did not reside in the town- ship. The valuation of property had been raised and: — The total valuation was now .^ 1 79.397 " " number of houses (probably 70 were double) 230 horses (and mules) 188 " " " oxen (single) 22 cows 318 1850. United States census. The number of inhabitants in the township at this census was 1,506. There were no railroads build- ing now, and the township had lost more than 400 of the in- habitants it had in 1840. There would be an average of about 6)4 persons to each house. If there were 70 double houses there would be something like 5^ persons to a dwelling. The decrease was over 22 per cent, in ten years. This census was taken under a new law and is much more comprehensive than the old. It gives, the number of native and foreign, white and colored, and the paupers, and criminals, and many other interesting matters. Hanover now had only one colored person in it. Some of these statistics will be compared below. In 1850 there were still in use in the township 39 log-houses. They were constantly rotting down. Some of them were over sixty years old. Act, March 3, 1845. Very material change in rates of postage t)n domestic letters: — Half-ounce any distance up to 300 miles 5 cents. ■ " " " over 300 " ID " Every additional half-ounce or fraction, an additional postage. Act, March 3, 1847. Letters to the Pacific Coast, 40 cents. CHAPTER XVI. 1850 TO i860. (y^ OON after 1850 larger coal companies began to be formed, — , _ ; with larger capital and more experience, and land was bought by them of the farmers for mining purposes. The owners of the back land were glad to sell their comparatively poor land for forty or fifty dollars per acre, and go West and buy land of a much better quality for one dollar and twenty-five cents. Coal land was sold in 1850-1-2-3 for fifty dollars per acre and some for less. Farms were now rented out to tenant farmers on "shares," that is, the tenant gave one-third of the produce of the farm as rent. The soil began at once to deteriorate in quality. The tenant cared little for the farm, and as it took, a great deal of manuring and care to keep the ground rich enough to produce wheat on the back land, they even gave up sowing that grain, and raised only rye, oats, corn and buckwheat. Indeed by 1850 very poor crops of anything were produced. Brush and trees were permitted to grow along, the fences, many fields were permitted to grow altogether wild, and before i860 some became entirely valueless for cultivation, and gave very little return for pasturage. Sheep, if they could have been raised; would have kept down the brush in such fields, but so many of the population of the township were now foreigners working generally at the mines, and each femily having at least one dog, if not two, and three, that it became impossible to keep sheep. The writer knew one dog to kill 117 sheep in one summer, or spring, before it was itself killed, and it went all the way from South Wilkes-Barre into and through Hanover to do it. Numerous coal companies were formed in 1854-5; they bought up tracts of land all over the township, paying part down,, the remainder to be paid on time at interest. Coal shafts were com- menced to be sunk on various tracts to a depth of seventy, eighty 304 HISTORY OF HANOVER. or a hundred feet, engine and shaft houses were built, engines put up, and in a year or so suspended operations. Pay- ments on the lands ceased, and they were sold out by the sheriff. Some never got so far as to sink a shaft of any depth, but Vere sold out before a shaft was commenced. - Some of these small companies were consolidated with others larger, and the land was paid for and thus saved. The financial and business depression and panic of 1857 made an end of this attempt at coal mining, and no further progress was made till after the rebellion of our southern brethren caused a demand for much more coal. At Scrabbletown — Coalville — now Ashley — where the Hartford Breaker stood — built in 1856, burnt down in 1884 — a shaft was sunk in 185 1 and a sm^ll mine opened. In 1856 a large breaker was erected over the old shaft — previously worked out and abandoned — and a slope was sunk at the foot of the mountain on the "Baltimore vein," the largest seam of coal known in Hanover. Here it is nineteen feet thick. At the Baltimore Mines in Wilkes- Barre the same bed was twenty-nine feet, when first opened. There is a tunnel here running into the mountain near the mouth of the slope, cutting the Ross and ,the Red Ash, two large veins back of or "underlying the Baltimore vein. About all the coal has been worked out above water level at this mine, and they have sunk several " lifts " below the old slope bottom, and the mine is now very deep. This is called the Hartford Mine and is the Lehigh and WilkesrBarre No. 6. Since this breaker burned down, another near by, formerly belonging to the New Jersey Coal Co., but now to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre, is used to prepare the coal of this mine, and is called No. 8. The Dundee Shaft was sunk in 1857-8-9 to the greatest depth of any shaft in our coal region, between 800 and 900 feet. Sixteen seams of coal were pierced in sinking the shaft, from one inch, or mere streak, to six feet in thickness, the shaft going no deeper than this last one. No mining has ever been done there, though a good engine house and engine were erected and are there yet. The Dundee is near the old Hanover Basin, on the cross-road leading from the River Road to the Middle Road near the Nanticoke Creek. Nothing has been done at this shaft since 1859. The property belongs now to the D., L. & W. Co. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 3O5 Another shaft was sunk in 1855 some seventy to eighty feet deep on the Lorenzo Ruggles property near the Middle Road at the Hoover Hill school-house. Engine house and engine were erected, and so much done — stopped, abandoned, all in 1855-6. Only one payment out of five had been made on the property, and the sheriff sold it on Ruggles' judgment, who bid it in for his debt. The Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre now owns it. The Buttonwood Shaft was sunk about the same time some ten or fifteen rods north of the old residence of Col. Edward Inman, deceased. A seam of coal was mined here for some time, say four or five years, but there was so much gas in it, that after taking fire a number of times it was at last abandoned in 1866. Ventilating was then done in all mines by a furnace situated near the bottom of the shafts or slopes, and having a large fire at the bottom, with a flue reaching up to the top of the shaft or slope, sometimes far above the top, the heat from the fire passing up the long flue caused a draft of air to pass through the mine. Now and since 1870 furnaces are not used, but a powerful fan is used instead, that will be described further on. The coal mined here for the few years it was in operation, was shipped to market by the canal. The shaft was near Solomon's Creek, which was dammed some eighty rods below, so as to make a canal to the breaker. This short canal led into the North Branch Canal a few rods distant. The property was consolidated with the Wilkes-Barre Coal and Iron Company, and now belongs to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company formed in 1874. A shaft was sunk in 1855 on what was once the Ishmael Bennett then the Sterling, then the Holland property, a short distance below the Sugar Notch Breaker No. 9. Only horse power was used, and it was sunk only about 90 feet, and abandoned. It belongs to the Sugar Notch property of the Lehigh and Wilkes- Barre Co. The Kimberton Company commenced sinking a shaft at Sugar Notch in 1855. It was put down about 160 feetand stopped. The company then sunk a slope near by on lower ground on a seam of coal. It was a good seam but proved to be in only a very small basin turning up again steep to thesurfacenear by, and was nearly " pinched out " before coming out to the top of the ground 20 306 HISTORY OF HANOVER. on that pitch. Being too shallow (some 300 feet deep) for a mine, such as was desired by the company here, it was abandoned, after an engine house and engine had been erected. The property com- ing into the hands of the Wilkes-Barre Coal arid Iron Company, tjie machinery was returned to the shaft, and in 1 864 the shaft was sunk to the depth of 360 feet to an eleven foot seam of coal. Gangways were driven, pumps put in, breaker built, and Sugar Notch No. 9 was put into operation, with a capacity of about 800 tons per day. It belongs to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company. The coal business had greatly increased between 1850 and i860, yet the bright anticipations of Hanover from the attempts made in 1855-6 had not been realized. The Hartford, at Ashley, and the mines at Nanticoke were the only ones worked in the township. Both together they probably shipped about 150,000 tons per year. This is only an estimate and is quite likely to be too high. This would represent an expenditure for mining of about ^105,000 a year or a cost of 70 cents per ton. There are now — 1884 — single breakers in the township that will easily prepare four times that amount in a year. WAGES. In 1848-9 journeymen mechanics, skilled workmen, received wages of one dollar and twenty-five cents per day. From 1850 to 1857 the wages for such workmen was one dollar and fifty cents per day. This higher price was believed to have been caused by the discovery of gold in California and so many persons going there in consequence of it, and many of them coming back soon afterward with money enough to go into business here. Less skilled mechanics received one dollar and a quarter per day. Laborers, that is, unskilled workmen, generally received ninety cents a day, but some received a dollar. During and after the business depression of 1857 — "the panic" — laborers received eighty-five cents in the summer — the shipping season for coal — at the mines, and seventy-five to eighty cents in the winter, and no steady work at that, until the Rebellion broke out. The mines in Hanover and the neighboring coal regions could ship coal only in the summer time while the canals were HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 3O7 open. When they froze up and closed for the winter, the. coal that was mined had to be "stocked" until the opening of navigation in the spring. These were the prices paid for work, and payment had to be taken in trade at the store. Money was not to be had. The only paper currency or bank bills in 1857 were State bank notes, or bills. Before the panic they were nearly all at a discount, deprefciated below their nominal value, outside of their own county. When the panic came many, if not most of these banks went into bankruptcy; all suspended specie payments. The holders ,of the notes or bills, rich or poor, of the bankrupt banks lost it all. These banks were probably insolvent from the beginning, and from the very first issue of their bills were unable to redeem them, and thus the people, in poverty, trouble and distress came to 1 860- —and a great rebellion. .Now it is believed by the writer that it will not be out of place to introduce some extracts from accounts showing the price paid for articles of necessity during the ten years past. Some other things besides the prices will be worthy of notice. Kerosene, or " coal oil " had not yet come into general use. Common whale oil, and lard oil, which was the best, were still used for lamps. A mixture called "burning fluid," was also used, but it was so ex- plosive when not pure, that it was very dangerous to use, though it gave a fine white light and was cleaner and less offensively odorous than anything else. Candles were also used, but none of these things were equal to the kerosene of the present day. The high price of flour in 1855 and 1856 was probably due to the war in the Crimea between Russia on the one side and England and France on the other. The price of these articles was what the consumer had to pay. Extracts from account-books of the time : LIST OF PRICES FROM 18$ I TO I 86o. 1851, Dec. 17 — 50 Bbs buckwheat flour . . at ^2.50 $ 1.25 17— 28 ftis butter " .r8^ 5.25 1852, March 24— >^ ft) tea " .75 .37)^ " Apl. 21 — 4 ft)s coffee — Rio (green) . . " .14 .56 " May 8 — i pair sale boots ..... 3.50 " July 22 — I doz. eggs " ^ .17 .17 Oct. 6 — 4 ft)s butter " '.25 i.oo 308 HISTORY OF HANOVER. 1853, Jan, 18 — ^ gal. burning fluid . . . at ;^Q.8o ;?o.40 " " 18 — 3^ tt)s lard " .15 -57 " March 4 — i quart oil (whale oil) ..." .25 .25 15 — 3 lbs butter " .21 .63 " Apl. 6 — I gal. molasses " .40 .40 " June 18 — I gross matches (144 boxes) . " .50 .50 Sept. 28— I lbs pork (salt) " .11 .11 1854, March 10 — 1 1^ bushels potatoes ..." .87}^ i-3i " . " 10 — I quart vinegar " .06 .06 185s, Apl. 7— 3 lbs butter " .25 .75 23 — I bbl. flour " 12.50 12.50 " " 23 — 10 lbs sugar " .10 i.oo 1856, June 2 — I ton coal delivered . ..." 1.25 1.25 Aug. 5 — loolbs. flour (bbl. ;g8. 50) . . " 4.25 4.25 14 — I lb. candles •. " .16 .16 Dec. 6 — I quart fluid " i.oo .25 1857, March 31 — 4 lbs. sugar " .121^ .50 " Feb. 28 — ^ lb. fine cut chewing tobacco" .40 .20 April 10— 100 lbs. flour ($8) . . . . • " 4.00 4.00 1858, Feb. 10—3 lbs. sugar " .12^ .37>^ " March 5 — i lb. butter " .24 .24 May 0— >^ bbl. flour " 6.50 3.25 ■' Aug. 14 — j4 bu. potatoes " .62 .31 1859, Nov. 5 — 3 lbs. sugar " .I2>^ .37^^ Dec. 23 — 2^ lbs. butter " .23 .63 23 — 2 lbs. coffee (green) . ..." .15 .30 i860, March 14 — ^ bbl. flour " 7.00 3.50 Aug. 22 — 4 lbs. butter " .20 .80 Sept. 7 — 2 cabbages " .08 .16 " " 15 — 25 lbs. sugar. ......" .10 2.50 Oct. 5 — 2 lbs. coffee (green) .' . . . " .17 .34 In this account there is no intention to show any variation in prices, or the same articles would have been named all the way through, if possible. " It is only to show the price of the neces- saries of life at this period, including one of the worst panics and, business depressions we ever had. The wages during this period have been stated on a previous page. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 3O9 During this period there had been two plank school-houses built at Ashley — then called Coalville. Both were crowded with childrpn during the school ferms. They were both arranged with desks against the walls. The yearly term of school was four months in the winter. The Hartford Coal Company had built their breaker in 1856, and many new dwellings had been erected in con- sequence. They shipped their coal by canal at South Wilkes- Barre, and by canal at White Haven on the Lehigh. There was a school-house at Sugar Notch of the old style of internal arrangement, erected of frame in 1840, but still amply sufficient in size for all the children within reach of it. There was a school-house at Buttonwood on the cross-road leading from Ashley to River Road, small, but large enough for all. The same old school-house still stood on the "Green" on the River Road near the Red Tavern, and was used for schools. The same old one at Keithline's was yet in use. All these had desks around the room against the walls in the old style. Each of them was only one story high and had but one room. The same basement school- house was in use in Nanticoke. The Hoover Hill school-house, a frame erected in 1839, had the desks and seats made for only two persons to sit at, and were arranged in columns facing the teacher, the same as is usual now. This was the first of its kind, and it seems strange that this plan was not copied in all the houses built later, but it was not. Probably the reason was that it cost more, and the people were very poor. The land was worn out, at least the back land was ; the most of it belonged to coal companies, or to non-resident owners who held it for a rise in price; no coal mines were being developed except the Hartford and Nanticoke ; the land was rented to tenants only from year to year, and had grown poorer and poorer, and in i860 stagnation seemed to reign over all. Nanticoke produced as -much or more coal than it had ever done at any time before, but had not grown any. The houses were growing old and rotting down. One small school-house was large enough for all their children. Up to about i860 the Methodists had used these school-houses for church purposes and Sunday-schools. The Presbyterians had used them, for the same purpose, but the church on the Green served them for Sunday- schools for the lower end of Hanover. 310 HISTORY OF HANOVER. A small Presbyterian church had been built at Coalville — Ashley — in 1844, and still answered every purpose. In i860 they allowed the Methodists to use it for Sunday-school and church as well as themselves. Behee's Mill had worn out and rotted down, and nothing had been built in its stead. The same old dam across the creek there is kept up for a wagon road, and thus the pond remains — when there is water enough to make a pond of it. It looks very much as it always did. It was a good water power until the streams from the mountain stopped running. They began to dry up many years before any mines were worked at their head waters, so that their disappearance cannot be laid altogether to the mines. In fact now — 1885— within the past year or two there is more water in this pond than for many years before, the mines pumping water enough to keep the pond pretty well up and running over the waste-way at the dam. The water is very sulphury and no fish live in it. Lee's Mill, at Nanticoke, began now to get old, dilapidated and out of date, but it still stood and was used. Ross' Mill, at the falls on Solomon's Creek, at Ashley, or Coal- ville, was abandoned about 1850 as a mill. This mill had been built a short time previous to 1830. — Chapman's History of Wyoming, appendix. Petty's Mill, built about 1840, almost on the ancient site of Mor- gan's Mill, is now the only grist-mill in Hanover township. This is on lot No. I, between the Middle Road and the Back Road. The financial and general business depression of 1857 had come and left the people very poor, and its effects had not passed off in i860. It was difficult to replace anything that was worn out by anything new. Economy had to be practiced or- suffering ensued. It is probable suffering ensued anyway." Probably no log-house had been built later than 1 830. When the bottom logs rotted away and the house began to settle down, it was not long then before the house had to be replaced by a new one of some kind. There were in 1860 only twenty log-houses left standing and in use, and most of these had weather-boards — or siding— on the outside like a frame house, so that they had the appearance of an ordinary frame house. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 3 1 I Several good residences had been built by those who still owned and resided on their lands. These were generally plain in structure and painted white, having fine shade and fruit trees sur- rounding them and an excellent garden attached. On the flats the land was just as productive as ever, but there was very little variety of crops. About 1853 the reaper began to supersede the cradle for harvesting grain. The mowing machine was soon after introduced, together with .the horse rake. Now, there was no tobacco produced, no flax, no sheep (dogs were pro- duced instead); no wool, no honey, no bees-wax, no yarn, no cloth, no pork, no flour, no horses, no cows, no peaches, scarcely any kind of fruit. The different kinds of berries were still produced, and a few small fruits, but peaches would no longer ripen or live in the township. Hardly any apple orchards of grafted fruit had ever been planted, and if they had been the owner or tenant of the place could not now keep the apples from being stolen. So no care was taken of the apple archards and the trees were . suffered to die out and were not replaced by others. No weaving was done now, except, perhaps, that on one loom rag carpet was still woven. It would seem again as though the township had gone backward instead of forward during the past ten years, or even twenty. No game was now to be found in the woods. The wild pigeons seemed to shun us, and as the fish in the river that once went below the dam could never come back again, our river was with- out fish. The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Turnpike Company had been organized and built a road from Wilkes-Barre to Hazleton previous to this period. There had been a road in the same place for many years before, and it was kept in passable order by the townships through which it passed. The part up the mountain, through Solomon's Gap, was in Hanover and was very difficult and ex- pensive to keep in order, and the Turnpike Company found it so too, and in the course of a few years abandoned the whole road. This occurred during the period previous to i860, and the town- ship had to resume charge of it again and keep it in repair. 312 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Gold and silver were the only legal tender, but there were State banks that issued a paper currency, convertible into gold on demand, which passed in the place of money where it was be- lieved to be good. But no currency of any kind, good or bad, circulated very freely here for some reason, and workmen had to take their pay in "trade," that is, goods at a store, or "pay in kind." This of itself alone would indicate hard times, but it had never been otherwise here from the beginning, except from about 1842 to 1848, while the rolling-mill and furnace and nail factory at South Wilkes-Barre were in opecation; and we returned to store trade again from 1848 to 1861. The little start of abortive shaft digging from 1855 to 1857 only made the depression and stagnation seem greater. Hanover was not any worse off than her neighbors, but they started forward sooner afterwards than she did, and have maintained their lead ever since. i860. The assessment rolls for i860 of all things taxable in the township, property, occupations, and persons resident and non- resident: Total valuation ;gi82,i9i Number of taxables 396 There being so many houses now built for two or more families the assessment list does not give the number of residences, but only houses. The number of names is also very unreliable. Some of the names were of persons who had removed to other places years before, and some had been dead for years. The valua- tion is about the only thing that comes near reliability. A hundred names, more or less, of non-residents on the list, or laborers with an occupation valuation of an average of only fifty dollars will make but little difference with the total. In 1850 the number of taxables was 270, in 1 860 the number was 396 — difference of 1 26. i860. The United States census this year gives the township a population of 1,623 — °^^y 'V more than in 1850. Among these 117 men, women and children, where did the assessor find 126 more taxable persons? This census was taken under the law of 1850 and gives very valuable information on a great number of subjects, some of which will be compared hereafter, and it is expected to be found interesting. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 313 Act, March 3, 185 1. Rates of postage after June 30, 185 1 : Half-ounce any distance up to 3,000 miles prepaid .... 3 cents. " " 3,000 " not prepaid . . 5 " For any greater distance double these rates. Act, August 30, 1852. Stamped envelopes and stamps issued by the Postoffice Department. Act, March 3, 1855. Prepaid domestic letters, half-ounce any distance up to 3,000 miles, 3 cents; over 3,000 miles, '10 cents. 20* CHAPTER XVII. i860 TO 1870. f N this period from i860 to 1870 comes the great Rebellion, _^ j and the four years' war to suppress it. At the call of the President of the United States for volunteers to suppress the Rebellion in 1861, the young men of Hanover responded most nobly. Those who enlisted in the beginning for three years generally staid in till the end of the war by re-enlisting in the field at the end of their first term of service. Some came home and enlisted again, but the most of them re-enlisted .in the field, determining to see the end of the Rebellion before they quit. All honor to these veterans. No name is twice entered in the ac- companying list, but instead of that, those who re-enlisted in the field have the abbreviations ''Re. Vet!' on the line opposite their names. Those who came home after their term expired, and after- wards enlisted again, have the abbreviation "Re!' after the name. "Re. Vet!' is understood to mean re-enlisted veteran. All on this' list did their duty nobly, and many testified their de- votion to their country by their deaths in its service, while many others came home bringing with them most honorable wounds, and all these named, that came home at all, came home -with honor- able discharges from the service, and their descendents in the years to come will be proud of their descent from these patriots, as those of the present day are proud to trace their origin from a soldier of the Revolutionary War. No deserter is named on this list, and if there was anyone from Hanover that did desert from the army during the Rebellion, his name will be permitted to go down to oblivion without mention here. The greatest care has been taken to get this list correct. The names were procured and published in the newspapers of Wilkes-Barre by the writer soon after the war ended. He got HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 315 them from the books, papers and enrollment lists of the persons who made the lists for the Provost Marshal's drafts, from the beginning to the end, and it is believed by the writer to be ab- solutely correct — tliough that may be claiming too much. List of the names of Hanover soldiers that served in the •United States volunteer army for any length of time during the Rebellion of 186 1-5, and received an honorable discharge, or was killed, or died in the service: Albert, Sidney,* Re. Vet. 52 Pa. Inf. Airgood, Thomas,* Re. Vet., 52 Pa. Inf Airgood, William,* 112 Pa. Art. Airgood, David M., 18 Pa. Cav. Allen, John C. P., (colored) un- known. Algeier, John, Regt. unknown. Alexander, Eugene N., 41 Pa Inf Alexander, John W., 41 Pa. Inf Beels, William,* Re. Vet., 61 Pa. Inf. Beels, Jameson,* Re. "Vet, 7 Pa. Reserves. Bates, William A., 58 Pa. Inf Boice, Oliver, 203 Pa. Inf Blodget, Henry H.J Blodget, James, 41 Pa. Inf '• Black, James, 18 Pa. Cav. Clark, John, Re. Vet, 81 Pa. Inf Craig, Daniel, 143 Pa. Inf Cyphers, Philip, 9 N. J. Inf Carroll, Patrick, 58 Pa. Inf Colburn, Erastus W., 203 Pa. Inf Cox, Stewart, 143 Pa. Inf Colburn, John W., Re., 3 Pa. Art. Croop, William, 41 Pa. Inf Coyle, John, 41 Pa. Inf Coyle, Michael, 41 Pa. Inf Dunn, Benjamin, Re. Vet 9 Pa. Cav. Duffy, John,* 143 Pa. Inf Dennis, Smith,* 143 Pa. Inf Davis, David,* 143 Pa. Inf Delaney, John, 9 Pa. Cav. Dilley, Avery,! H3 Pa. Inf Dunn, John, 187 Pa. Inf Downing, John, 112 Pa. Art Deterick, George,* 203 Pa. Inf Dougherty, James, 203 Pa. Inf Edwards, Emanuel, 8 U. S. Inf Edgerton, Addison J., 41 Pa. Inf Espy, Theodore, 41 Pa. Inf Espy, Barnet M., 41 Pa. Inf Fritz, Henry, Re. Vet, 9 Pa. Cav. Fritz, Michael,t $2. Pa. Inf Fritz, Charles, 3 Pa. Art Fetherman, Abraham, 143 Pa. Inf. Frederick, Charles D., 41 Pa. Inf Gillman, John,J 52 Pa. Inf Grum, Henry,t 28 Pa., Inf George, Henry,* 143 Pa. Inf Garringer, George, 52 Pa. Inf Greenawalt, Charles, 52 Pa. Inf Greenawalt, George, 52 Pa. Inf Glessner, Philip.f 12 N. Y. Inf Garrison, Ziba, i Pa. Art. Green, Nathaniel, 41 Pa. Inf Green, Samuel, 203 Pa. Inf Gillman, Richard, 178 Pa. Inf Gallagher, John Helms.Frank,* Re.Vet,9Pa.Cav. Hamil, Archibald,* 6 Pa. Cav. Hendershot, Albert,^ 203 Pa. Inf Hoffman, Silas, Re., 203 Pa. Inf Holcomb, Miles W., 30 Pa. Inf Holcomb, Harvey, Jr., unknown. Johnson, Robert H., 178 Pa. Inf Jennings, John,J 58 Pa. Inf 3i6 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Johnson, William, 104 Pa. Inf. Jacques, Henry, 41 Pa. Inf. Keithline, Alexander, Re. Vet., 9 Pa. Cav. Keithline, Peter, Re., 203 Pa. Inf. Keyser, Isaiah,t 6. Pa. Cav. Kleintop, Lewis J.,* 143 Pa. Inf. Killroy, Edward, 41 Pa. Inf Kilmer, John, 41 Pa. Inf . Keyser, Jesse, 41 Pa. Inf Lape, William H., Re. Vet., 9 Pa. Cav. Lape, Andrew,! 9 Pa. Cav. Lutz, John, Re. Vet., 9 Pa. Cav. "Leahr, Charles, 104 Pa. Inf Leahr, Thomas, 143 Pa. Inf. Learch, Daniel, 52 Pa. Inf Lynch, Thomas, 9 Pa. Cav. Lape, Frank, 52 Pa. Inf Leaser, Peter, 132 Pa. Inf Leaser, Christian, 112 Pa. Art. Line, Cornelius V., 41 Pa. Inf Line, Samuel, 41 Pa. Inf Lydon, Charles, 3 Pa. Art. Marcy, Henry B.,t Re. Vet., 1 1 Pa. Cav. Murphy,. Charles,t 52 Pa. Inf Myers, John,* 143 Pa. Inf Myers, Michael, 143 Pa. Inf Minnich, Samu£l, 28 Pa. Inf Marcy, Cyrus A., 20 111. Inf Metcalf, John,* 203 Pa. Inf McClusky, Thomas, 9 Pa. Cav. Miller, Simon, 178 Pa. Inf McGinnis, Michael, 143 Pa. Inf McCormick, Peter, unknown. Mensch, Henry, 41 Pa. Inf Metcalf, Rowland R., 41 Pa. Inf Nyhart, William H., Re. Vet , 50 N. Y. E. Nyhart, John, 203 Pa. Inf Need, William, 81 Pa. Inf Neuhart, John S., 41 Pa, Inf O'Brien, Joseph, 187 Pa. Inf Palmer, Edward G.,t 143 Pa. Inf Puterbaugh, Henry,* 143 Pa. Inf Parsons, Sextus, Re., 203 Pa. Inf Plumb, Henry B., 30 Pa. Inf Paine, William, 52 Pa. Inf Petty, James, 5 2 Pa. Inf Reilley, Cornelius, Re. Vet., 9 Pa. Cav. Reilley, Michael, Re. Vet, Capt. 9 Pa. Cav. Reilley, John, Re. Vet., 9 Pa. Cav. Rimer, Levi,* 143 Pa. Inf Ryan, John,t 9 Pa. Cav. Rasely Charles, Re., 178 Pa. Inf Reister, William, 5 Pa. Art. Rinehimer, John, 2d, 41 Pa. Inf Rinehimer, Daniel, 197 Pa. Inf Stivers, Chester B., Re. Vet., 61 Pa. Inf Seipe, Frederick,! 61 Pa. Inf Saum, John,* 143 Pa. Inf. Schappert, Jacob, 178 Pa. Inf Sims, George W., 41 Pa. Inf Sorber, Andrew, 178 Pa. Inf Shoemaker, Simon, % 9 Pa. Cav. Sims, Robert, 6 Pa. Cav. Stultz, Philip, unknown. Scott, John,| 9 Pa. Cav. Tims, Jacob, 3 Pa. Art. Tierney, James,J 9 Pa. Cav. Van Campen, George, J 52 Pa. Inf Van Campen, Moses, 178 Pa. Inf Williamson, Hugh,t 52 Pa. Inf Wolf, Philip,t 3 Pa. Art. Womelsdorf, Jonathan, 30 Pa. Inf Total in the service 137 *Wounded. fK-iHed. {Died. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 3I7 Now let it be understood that there was a large proportion of foreigners in the township and many of them were not natural- ized, and claimed exemption from military service. It will be seen that as there was one soldier to every 12 inhabitants in i860, the population being 1623, there was probably one out of every ten Americans and citizens, o!d and young, of the township in the army. Ten were killed in battle; eighteen were wounded in battle and Tecovered; eleven died from wounds, exposure, over-exer- tion, hardships, accidents, and from injuries other than those re- ceived in battle; and ninety-six returned unhurt, except that the seeds of disease were implanted in many, and years after their return were developed — and the old soldiers are fast answering to their names at the last roll-call. The first enlisted men were volunteers — "pure and simple" — who offered their services at the call of their government, but in 1862 the government of the State ordered a draft for men for nine months' service. This was a State draft and took place in the fall. Many of the drafted men at once enlisted for three years in the 143d regiment, then in "Camp Luzerne," in Kingston township. The others that were drafted went into the army, and at the end of their term of service were discharged. Many of these afterwards re-enlisted. Afterwards the drafts of mei^i were made by the United States authority, and were for terms of three years, unless sooner dis- charged. The drafts were as follows : ' 1st. State draft, 9 months — made in the fall — 1862. 2d. United States, 3 years — made in the fall — 1863. 3d. United States, 3 years^made in the spring-^1864. 4th. United States, 3 years — made in the fall — 1864. 5th. United States, 3 years — made in the spring — 1865. The war ended at the time this last draft was being made, and the men never went into the service. In 1 862 and also in 1 863 the Confederate army invaded Penn- sylvania and the governor each time called on the men of the State to come and assist in the defense of its soil. In both cases they 3l8 HISTORY OF HANOVER. responded by thousands. In the last case — 1863 — there were many thousands of them. They were uniformed, armed and equipped and served like any other volunteers until discharged. These soldiers on their return home at once resumed the place in civil life which they had left for the service of their country in its time of peril. They may now be found in all the walks of life where the distinction of officer and private does not exist, and as often as any way the private in military life has become the employer and superior in civil life of his late military superior. Many of the talents most useful in the soldier are not so useful in time of peace at home. Many of these old soldiers have emigrated to other places, States and territories, and many of them have died. The living comrades of the dead decorate the graves of their dead with flowers on each recurring 30th of May. What will be done in this respect when their comrades- are all laid to rest? Let us hope their sons will continue to perform this beautiful tribute of respect to the memory of the soldier of the Republic. He was not like the soldier in an ordinary war — one country against another, where defeat does not destroy one's country — for in this case defeat would necessarily have been the destruction of the country. The United States would have ceased to exist. The life or death of our native land as a distinct nation depended upon the result of this war. Who can estimate what we really owe our soldiers in this Rebellion? So many persons leaving their 'work at home for the military service made laborers scarce, and the price of labor, and of course the price of the products of labor in all its branches, rose in conse- quence. The price of animals, produce, manufactures, everything inanimate as well as animate started on a course of inflation in value that seemed ready to swamp the whole country. Gold and silver coin went to a premium in a very short time, and then, of course, ceased to circulate as money. Such banks as we had — State banks — and there were thousands in the country, suspended specie payments, of course. Some "medium of exchange" had to be found. So private persons and municipal and other corporations issued their own notes — "shin-plasters." Postage stamps were largely used and were better than nothing in making change; and then the United States issued-^according, to a law passed for the HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 319 purpose — "U. S. Postal Currency," as it was called; and finally the legal tender act was passed, creating our present United States treasury notes. These treasury notes soon began to depreciate in value, and prices rose on that account. Wages rose in the same or a greater proportion. The various necessities of the government had its effect on coal as much, probably, as on any other production, causing prices to advance to a degree never before thought of, and mijies were opened in new places and on a larger scale than ever before. The price of coal and labor and all kinds of productions went up to figures that seem unreasonable, but when we take into considera^ tion the fact that the_ legal tender note was worth in gold or silver, at one time, only forty cents of less on the dollar, the price of things was not so unreasonable as otherwise they would seem. Now comes again a curious circumstance, that the highest prices of the necessaries of life are reached, as they were in 1812-15, several years after the war has ended. And here may be mentioned another curious circumstance, the complement of the other, that the lowest depression in industry and prices comes some years after the "panic" which causes it. The greatest depreciation of the "Greenback" took place in 1864. A list of prices is here introduced, commencing in 1863 and ending in 1869: — 1863, Oct. 22 — I bbl. flour at ^ 8.50 " Nov. 1864, Jan. " April " May 2 — 6 ft)s. butter 16 — 1 bbl. flour 1 8 — 4 ft)s. butter 2 — 2 Bbs. butter 20 — I bbl. flour 20 — 15 Bbs. sugar 1865. Nov. — % 1866, Oct. bbl. flour ..... — y^ bushel potatoes . . — 4 Bbs. sugar — 3j^ Bbs. cheese .... — 5^ Bbs. butter .... — 9 Bbs. pork ..... — I gal. coal oil (kerosene) — 5 yds. muslin .... — I bbl. flour •30 8.50 •35 .40 9.50 .19 13.00 I.2S .21 •25 •55 .22 1-25 .50 14.50 $ 8.50 1.80 8.50 1.40 .80 9.50 2.85 3-25 .84 .87 3.16 1.98 1.25 2.50 14.50 320 HISTORY OF HANOVER. 1866, Oct. — 2 bushels potatoes at — 10 Bbs. sugar " — 2^ Bbs. cheese " — 2 fts. butter " — I gal. coal oil " -7^ ft)s. pork 1867, Feb. I — I Hb. cheese ... " May. 17— yi bbl. flour . . . " June 4 — % gal. coal oil . . " July 12— >^ "bbl. flour . . . " August 7 — 3 ft)s. sugar . . . " Oct. 19—^ bbl. flour . . . 1868, June I— I bbl. flour .' . . " July 2 — 2 S)s. sugar . . . 1869, March 31 — i bbl. flour . . . 31— I }^ fts. butter . . " Sept. 30 — ^ bushel potatoes 5 1.30 .18 ■25 •SO i.oo .20 ■2'S 17.00 .80 15.50 .16 14.00 14.50 .18 10.50 •52 1.00 i 2.60 1.80 .72 1.00 1.00 i-SS •25 8.50 .40 7-75 .48 7.00 14.50 ■36 10.50 .65 .50 Value of coin in Value of paper Year. paper July 1st. in coin July 1st. 1861 $1 00.0 ^I 00.0 1862 I 15.4 86.6 1863 I 30.5 76.6 1864 2 58.4 31.7 1865 . . . • I 42.0 70.4 1866 151-5 66.0 1867 I 39.4 71-7 1868 1 42.6 ,70.1 1869 ,1 36.0 73.5 1870 I 16.8 85.6 1 87 1 I 12.3 89.0 1872 I 14-3 87.S 1873 I 15.7 86.4 1874 I 09.9 91.0 1875 I 14.8 87.2 1876 I 12.8 895 1877 I 05.5 94.7 1878 I 00.6 99.4 1879 I 00.0 I oo.q Act, March 3, 1863. Rates of postage on domestic letters, half-ounce to any place in the United States, 3 cents. All mail matter to be prepaid. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 321 In 1864 the Warrior Run Mining Company leased the Wright and Rummage properties of Col. Hendrick B. Wright, the owner of both, and built a breaker at the foot of the Little Mountain near the Warrior Path in the Gap. After operating till 1869 they leased their mines to A. J. Davis, who has operated them ever since, increasing their capacity very greatly. The mines produce about five hundred tons per day, or that is the capacity of the mines and breaker. This coal is shipped on the Lehigh Valley railroad that passes near the breaker at the foot of the mountain, and most of the coal goes west. This coal is washed as it passes through the breaker, by water run in on the top of the revolving screens. This running water carries the coal dirt or dust through troughs to the East Branch of the Nanticoke Creek that passes by close to the breaker. This coal dirt is filling up the creek all the way down to Nanticoke; four miles. At this writing the dirt is about eight feet deep at the Middle Road where the creek crosses it, and spreads out over the land on either side, on a level, the creek being about that much above its ancient bed. In 1866 the Sugar Notch Shaft had been sunk and a breaker built and commenced operating. They prepare and ship about eight hundred tons per day by the Lehigh and Susquehanna rail- road. It belongs to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, and is No. 9. The Hartford Mines at Ashley operated during this period. The breaker was enlarged and made higher, and was of the capacity to prepare and ship about twelve hundred tons per day. It belonged to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company, and was No. 6. In January, 1884, it was burned to the ground. They now prepare the coal from this mine at the New Jersey Breaker No. 2, close by, which had previously become their property, and is now called L. & W. No. 8. A company called the New Jersey Coal Company leased the land known as the Knock property, adjoining the Sugar Notch on the east side, built a breaker in 1 866, drove gangways above water level and operated for several years. They sold out to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company and removed their breaker. The coal is now taken out of that property through Sugar Notch Shaft No. 9. They shipped their first coal from No. i in 1866. They built a 21 322 HISTORY OF HANOVER. breaker at Ashley and in 1869 shipped their first coal from this No. 2. This is the breaker now belonging to the Hartford called No. 8. A company called the Germania opened a mine during this period, 1 864, and built a breaker about a half mile east of the Hartford on the same seams of coal. It was on the "back track" of the Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad. After operating a few years they sold out to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company. The coal is now mined through the Hartford Slope and is prepared in their breaker at Ashley. In 1867 Sugar Notch and Warrior Run, two mining villages situated a mile or more apart, the one being at the Sugar Notch Gap in the Little Mountain, and the other at the Warrior Gap further west on the Warrior Path, were organized according to legislative enactment into a borough to be called Sugar Notch. Together they had at that time a little more than five hundred in- habitants. The inhabitants were then, and still are, almost ex- clusively employed at the mines. This borough is wholly within Hanover township and is at this writing divided into two wards or voting districts. Sugar Notch No. 9 is within the borough, but the breaker called No. 10 and the slope are in Hanover township a few rods — three or four — east of the Sugar Notch line, near the old Jacob Garrison house. No. 10 Slope was sunk and breaker built in 1872. The breaker has a capacity of about one thousand tons per day. This is the mine where the roof fell in, in 1879, and inclosed five persons in the mines for about six days, when they were dug out by opening a way in from the out-crop of the vein at the surface of the ground and getting to the men, about 700 feet deep, partly through old worked out chambers. The imprisoned men in the meantime lived on a mule that was closed in with them, which they killed for food. The water in this mine was good to drink, and they did not suffer for food or drink. A small railroad called the Nanticoke railroad was projected and partly built in 186 1-2 when the Rebellion broke out, and it was sus- pended. It started from above Wilkes-Barre two or three miles in a small valley, back near the foot of the mountain above Mill Creek, passed down by the Empire Shaft, the Stanton Shaft, and HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 323 through Ashley to Sugar Notch. In 1865 it was completed to Plumbton near Warrior Run, in 1866 to Wanamie in Newport — a large mine of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company — and a few years afterwards to Nanticoke. It is a branch of the Lehigh . and Susquehanna railroad. The Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad completed in 1866, what they called the " back track " of • their road; from the top of the mountain at Solomon's Gap, (called "Mountain Top," and also ' " Fairview ") by a regular grade around and down the mountain side to Ashley, at the foot of their inclined planes, a distance of thirteen miles. This back track enters Hanover through Solomon's Gap on the east side of the upper plane, and running east soon leaves Hanover and enters Wilkes-Barre township, and going on descending, curves through a notch or gap in the Little Mountain where Laurel Run breaks through, it runs \vest — again entering Hanover — to the foot of the planes at Ashley. Continuing on down towards Wilkes-Barre, not on the old track from the foot of the planes, but making a large curve towards the west, it.strikes the old road at Patty's mill-pond and enters Wilkes-Barre a few rods* beyond the mill. This "back track" was built for the purpose of sending the empty coal cars, and others^ down the mountain with- out having to let them down the planes with the stationary engines ; and also that the passenger and freight cars of the ordinary kind could be taken up and down the mountain in the ordinary way without having these cars built specially to run on the planes. The common passenger and freight cars could not be taken up and over the planes, as they could not pass over the top — to go either up or down. In order to do that the cars must be built specially for the purpose. Thus, in order to run cars of other railroads over their road this back track was necessary. The three planes, ^ach nearly a mile long, and eight or ten miles of other parts of their road are within the ancient boundaries of Hanover township (not Hanover district which reached to White Haven). The Lehigh Valley railroad was built in 1867 from White Haven to Wilkes-Barre. It also enters Hanover (and the Wyom'ing Valley) through Solomon's Gap, but it is on the west side of the upper L. & S. plane and the gap. It skirts along the end of the 324 HISTORY OF HANOVER. mountain from the south to the north side, high up, overlooking the plane, and curves around the end of the mountain through the gap to the north side of the mountain and then rapidly descends by a steep grade towards the west, opening out most magnificent views of the valley, as the cars pass along the mountain side for four or five miles. The road rapidly descends west along the mountain side for abopt six miles where it crosses the Hanover line into Newport township. By this time it has arrived at the bot- tom of the valley, between the Big and the Little Mountains, crossed to the foot of the Little Mountain, still rapidly descending, it skirts the south foot of the Little Mountain about a mile, where it passes Newport station and with a sharp curve to the right through what of old was called "Hell-Gate" Gap, in the Little Mountain, takes a north-east course along the side of the Little Mountain and enters Hanover again, having coursed about two miles in Newport, and in about two miles more it leaves the foot of the mountain at or near the Warrior Run Mines, where it enters the cleared land of the valley at Plumbton — the old Blackman homestead. Continuing its course north-eastwards towards Wilkes-Barre, six miles distant from Plumbton, it runs through Sugar Notch, passes to the left of Ashley about half a mile, without having a station there, it comes to the side of the Lehigh & Susquehanna Railroad at Petty's mill- pond. It leaves Hanover, crossing the line a fe^y rods beyond Petty's Mill, and runs along the side of the Lehigh & Susquehanna to South Wilkes-Barre. This railroad has no planes to ascend and descend the mountain, but the grade up the mountain from Sugar Notch or Plumbton to Fairview at the top is very steep — said to average ninety-six feet to the mile, about the same as the L. & S. back track. From the bot- tom of the very heavy grade on both these roads, to the top of the mountain is about thirteen miles, but across, the shortest distance is about three miles. About twelve miles of the L. V. R. R. is within the ancient boundaries of Hanover township. It has a passenger station at Plumbton called Warrior Run, named after the Warrior Run Mines, a half mile south of it by the wagon road. It has a station at Sugar Notch, and there also is the dispatcher's office for the distribution of coal cars to the several mines, and for the run- HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 325 ning of all trains, for shifting and making up trains to go up the mountain, the shops for repairing injured coal cars, and the men and apparatus for removing wrecks on the road. On this road all along the side of the Big Mountain to the top, the very finest views of Wyoming Valley are to be had. Plymouth or "Shawnee" Mountain lies right opposite across the valley. It seems quite close, but it is six miles off, and between there is seen a most delightful valley, right at our feet — small hills and vales, villages and towns, here and there cleared lands, green fields, and fields of yellow grain, and groves of woods, of all hues and colors in the autumn, and on the further side near the foot of Plymouth Mountain, winds the bright blue and silver Susquehanna River, with its slight fringe of trees along each bank. The buildings are so numerous on both sides of the river from river to mountains, with the exception of the flats, that it seerns almost like a contin- ■ uous village for more than twenty miles up and down the valley; taking into view at one sweep the townships of Newport, Hanover, Plymouth, Kingston, Wilkes-Barre, Plains, Pittston and Exeter, and the city of Wilkes-Barre, the boroughs of Sugar Notch, Nanti- coke, Plymouth, Kingston, Ashley, Parsons, Miner's Mills, Pittston, West Pittston, Edwardsville, Luzerne and Wyoming, and in the dim distance, towns up the Lackawanna, Hyde Park, part of Scranton City, twenty-five miles off. But Wyoming Valley, noted and famous, constitutes the delightful view. During the war of the Rebellion very high prices had been paid for work of all kinds, and to the end of this period skilled workijien received as mechanics from two dollars .and seventy-five cents to three dollars, and unskilled from two to two dollars and fifty cents per day. This is to state the matter in a general way, some received more than that stated above and some received less. Skilled miners would make four, five and six dollars per day, and there would be only two or three lost days in the month, unless they were out on a strike. Prices were slowly tending downward after about three years from the end of the Rebellion, and the work- men were resisting it by constant strikes. They believed they could raise wages higher instead of letting them go lower, if they were only all combined, and would strike long enough and all together. Some of the strikes therefore lasted six months, and of 326 HISTORY OF HANOVER. course the strikers became very much impoverished, as did their employers also, and the merchants who furnished them with pro- visions and clothing. There had been constant strikes during the war, and then pnder the pressure of circumstances they were always successful, and the men believed they could always be suc- cessful just as well after the war had ended as while it was in progress, if they would. This being impossible, much bad blood was engendered among the workmen in consequence. They be- lieved there was too much wealth opposed to them, and that that defeated them, and not that the condition of things had changed and their efforts had become impossible of success. This went on till it culminated in the financial and general business depression of 1873. These strikes here were only the counterpart of strikes else- where. They were all pretty much alike, had the same causes, and the same consequences, and although the- general expansion of business from the constant investment of the profits in business, if there are any profits, will in time cause an overdoing of business in any case, no matter what, until an upheaval, an explosion, as it were, comes, and the overloaded — say stomach — throws it off and a panic follows, and for a time values fade out, and, in reality, cease to exist. These strikes in the coal regions had driven nearly all the smaller companies and individual operators out of the business during and very soon after the war, and they had sold their works to the larger companies. Then they were called monopolies. The laboring men combined against the companies or employers, and the companies or employers consolidated against them. Ea(«h side looked out for its own especial benefit, and perhaps each side tried to. injure its opponents, and they both fell in the dust, as it were, . and some of the working men had to eat "mush and molasses" for some years in consequence of it, and several of the companies and members of individual operators went into bankruptcy. This effect had not, however, come upon either of them yet — during this period — (from .i860 to 1870). The same method of repairing turnpike roads continued as of old. The earth was plowed up at the sides of the roads and scraped or shoveled into the middle to be washed back into the gutters again by the first heavy rain or two. Few, if any new roads HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 32/ were made. The population had grown rapidly ; school-houses had to be built, and they were now of a more improved kind. Desks and seats were built together and made for two pupils Only, and were nicely made and varnished, and arranged facing the teacher. The valuation of property for taxing purposes was high, and the taxes proportionately — about all the law allowed, — longer terms of school were taught, and the salaries of teachers were increased from three to four hundred per cent. Where teachers used to get eighteen to twenty -two dollars per month, before i860, now they received from fifty to eighty, and without any improvement in the teacher. It seemed even as if the higher the salaries of the teachers the poorer the services of the teacher were. The higher the wages, the poorer the work was done, whether among school- teachers or among mechanics and workmen. The same appeared in the coal business — the higher the price of coal the poorer the coal was. In some places near the mines persons not connected with the mines built houses to rent. Rents were Jiigh, and so were taxes and everything else. The necessaries of life and the luxuries all bore the necessary proportion of price to cost of production. Many persons had saved some of their wages and .built houses of ' their own. In such cases they were in general neat frame or plaAk houses, nicely weather-boarded and painted, and fenced around, and generally with good gardens, fruit trees, grape vines, and flowers and a grassy green dooryard. Rooms cheaply but nicely furnished and carpeted, and the place altogether comfortable and tasty; a great contrast to the houses and comforts of sixty and seventy years back. Generally some effort was made towards beauty in architecture on the outside of houses built during this period for the use of the owner, They were all painted. Com- pany houses for miners were usually whitewashed on the outside, but some were painted. All were a great improvement on the old settlers' houses even when they were built of frame work. The end of this period, 1869-70, found many changes. Houses had increased in number amazingly. They were all either of frame or plank. The log-houses of the olden time had nearly dis- appeared, only sixteen being left standing and in use. Houses were now generally painted in colors, and made a neat appearance, 328 HISTORY OF HANOVER. were lathed and plastered inside, and generally with good founda- tion walls and cellars. Mine houses were frequently built of plank put on upright, with "battens" of three inches in width put on over the joints between the planks, and built double. The miners seem to prefer a double house to a single one. These houses were generally plastered, but sometimes were wainscoted up inside with dressed boards tongued and grooved. Good brick chimneys of small size for coal stoves were built, as no wood was used for fuel. Men in large numbers being needed at the large mines now carried on, farm houses and private houses were entirely inadequate in numbers. The proprietors of the mines were forped to "build large numbers of houses. These mine houses were built in rows near together and near the mine, and were very comfortable, but the population being in general on the constant move from mine to mine, nothing could be kept in order about them, no fences could be maintained around the door-yards or houses, no shade or fruit trees, or vines or shrubbery would be allowed to grow. All would be destroyed by. the boys and men, as no one — hardly — ex- pected to remain any length of time iii one place. And when any- thing was destroyed no one could be found to let the owner know who did it. This has continued to be the case with all miners' hbuses, with rare exceptions. The consequence of course was that • this class of people, good and bad, had to, and has to, live in houses with no shade trees, no fruit trees, no shrubbery, no gardens, no fences — nothing but the bare houses — with a few rare exceptions. How different this from the industry, care and economy of the old dwellers here and their descendants? There was not at this time, probably, one acre in a hundred owned and occupied by such persons in Hanover and Sugar Notch. They had sold their land and left the township, and although prosperity reigned as far as plenty, of work and high wages and sure and regular pay was con- cerned, nothing looked like prosperity about the mines, but rather dilapidation, improvidence, waste, poverty and decay. Numbers do. not constitute prosperity. Prosperity comes only to a saving people. A few foreigners came here when Col. Washington Lee and Mr. Holland did mining in a small way in Hanover from 1840 to 1847. One-half of them probably were Irish, the others were HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 329 Welsh, English und German ; the natives were in the majority, but during the period now under consideration — 1860 to 1870 — the foreigners and their families far outnumbered all others. Now they were 'Irish, Welsh, English, German, Scotch, Canadians, French, Polanders and Swedes, but probably nearly one-half of all the foreigners were Irish. The most of these people were very improvident. These were not the kind of people in general to keep houses, outhouses, fenc'es, trees, fruit trees, vines, flowers or anything else in good condition and order for the next tenant to enjoy when they left. The Lee Mines at Nanticoke were purchased of Col. Lee by the Susquehanna Coal Company in 1868, and have been enlarged and increased to a very large mine. Shafts have teen sunk in Newport and new openings made in various directions, together with a large mine owned by them on the west side of the river, in what is called West Nanticoke. They control the canal and ship their coal mostly by that. It has become useless to search the assessment lists for any reliable information as to population, or the number of houses, or of anything except the valuation for taxing purposes. The houses of the miners being nearly all double, and some of them more than double, the assessment would not show the number of dwellings. The total variation in 1870 of Hanover township . . . ^538,086 Number of horses and, mules 192 " " cows . 269 Sugar Notch borough in 1870 122,905 Number of horses and mules 40 " " cows 40 Total valuation . 1^660,991 United States census in 1870. The population of Hanover township and Sugar Notch borough in 1870 was: — Hanover township ' ; . 3,035 Sugar Notch borough . 7^4 Total ..._.. 3.759 Ashley and Nanticoke were not organized as boroughs till after this date. 21* CHAPTER XVIII. 1870 TO 1885. ^•HIS period will include the whole time from 1S70 to the present (J time. The Susquehaijna Coal Company, at Nanticoke, has several openings — shafts and slopes. There are four breakers, three of them only in Nanticoke, the fourth one being across the river in Plymouth township, with an average capacity of preparing over a thousand tons per day each. The coal 'sent by canal goes down the river and can be shipped in summer only. That shipped by railroad has heretofore been shipped by the Nanticoke branch of the Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad to Sugar Notch, where it is switched to the Lehigh Valley railroad and sent east to South Amboy, and along the line of the Pennsylvania railroad. Much. of the Nanticoke coal still goes this way. The Susquehanna Coal Company is understood to belong to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The North and West Branch railroad, a road running up the river from Sunbury, on the east side, through "Honey Pot" by the east end of the Nanticoke dam, through Nanticoke to Wilkes- Barre, along the old canal tow-path from the outlet lock, was com- pleted in 1882, and belongs to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. That railroad will be used to transport the coal towards the South and West. At these mines Polanders and Hungarians especially congregate. Nanticoke borough was incorporated in 1874. It is divided into eight wards, is a busy town, and is growing rapidly, but its business is mining now, and its population are mostly employes of the Susquehanna Coal Company. It includes within its boundaries part of Newport township, but about two-thirds of it is cut from HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 33 I Hanover township. The part taken from Hanover is bounded north-west by the river, south-east by the Nanticoke railroad, south-west by Newport township line, and north-east by the westerly line of the Jameson or Hakes lot in Hanover, No. 22. It contains a number of fine brick buildings, a large brick school building, five churches and four breakers.. There are some fine business blocks here — two newspapers are published, the Sun and the Tribune. The old mill has disappeared. A fine stone bridge has been built across, the Newport Creek near where the old mill stood, but further up the creek than the place of the old bridge, and is large and high so as to reduce the steepness of the " black hill " that used to be there, but is there no more. The ground all around there has been filled in with coal dirt many feet deep, and now the place below the "corners" would hardly be recognized by one acquainted with it only some ten or twelve years ago. Nanticoke has a cemetery within its limits, or perhaps two, a Catholic and a • Protestant. Nanticoke's buildings' are scattered over all the hills around for a mile or more from its "corners," or ancient center. A wooden bridge for wagon and railroad use has been built across the river here, a few rods above the mouth of Nanticoke Creek. It is elevated high above the flats so as to be above the reach of floods, and a wooden trestling, planked like a bridge floor, reaches from the east end of the bridge to the high grounds back across the creek towards Main Street. This creek is sometimes called the East Branch of Nanticoke Creek. Further up the creek it was called Lee's Creek, Miller's Creek, Robins's Creek, Bobb's Creek, Rummage's Creek, and now Warrior Run Creek, but its true name is Nanticoke Creek. The Nanticoke railroad has a small depot close to the place whe-re the old mill stood, but the ground is so filled in that one cannot now distinguish the spot. The backwater in the pool of the creek has been filled in with coal dirt, except room for boats to load at the breakers. The old ferries across the river have, of course, been abandoned since the bridge was built. The North and West Branch railroad runs two trains each way per day of Passenger cars up and down on the east side of the river 332 HISTORY OF HANOVER. from Sunbury to Wilkes-Barre. The stations from Nanticoke to Wilkes-Barre are Butzbach's, Plymouth Ferry, at the Lazarus place, and South Wilkes-Barre. There are three small steamboats running from Wilkes-Barre to Nanticoke, touching at Plymouth and "The Rocks" — now Butz- bach's Landing — two trips each way per day, during the summer time. These boats are quite popular for excursions, and for families to get a little quiet, fresh and cool air in the hot summer months. Sugar Notch borough was named after the notch or gap in the Little Mountain at that place, called Sugar Notch, because in the earlier times maple sugar was made there. There were hard maple trees in the notch and they were almost the only hard maple or sugar maple trees in Wyoming Valley. The Lehigh Valley rail- road passes through the borough from end to end and has two stations within it. On this road there are six passenger trains each way — up and down — per day. The Nanticoke railroad runs through this borough from end to end .with a station at Plumbton called Warrior Run, supposed to be so named because the station on the Lehigh Valley road near by is called by that name. The station at Sugar Notch is called by the name of Sugar Notch. Sugar Notch borough is bounded on the north by a line six hundred feet north of the Nanticoke R. R., east by the cross-road at the old Gar- rison House and the same line continued to the conglomerate rock on the Little Mountain, south by the conglomerate rock to the west line of the Warrior Run land, west by the' line of Warrior Run or Rummage lot to the northern boundary. Sugar Notch, now in 1885, has three mines and breakers within its boundaries — Warrior Run, near Plumbton, Sugar Notch No. 9 at Sugar Notch, and the Hanover Coal Company on the side of the Little Mountain between Warrior Run and Sugar Notch. This last is a slope, and tunnel, and shaft. The breaker was put in operation in 1883, and is of a capacity to prepare about eight hundred tons of coal per day. They ship by the Lehigh and Susquehanna railroad over a siding to the Nanticoke R. R. near the line of land of Preston and the Knock place. A slope was sunk, tunnel driven, breaker and tenant-houses built on the Espy place, and the village called Hanover. It be- HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 333 longed to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company — was operated a short time, but after the strike of 1877 it stood idle, till in 187.8 the breaker was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Nothing has been done there since. A number of very comfort- able dwellings had been built there — some twenty or more — and they stand there yet, mostly inhabited by Hungarians, who work for the company at Sugar Notch. . These workmen are taken every morning and evening up and down, to and from work, by an engine with a car or two attached. The station is called Hanover, on the Nanticoke railroad and the houses being on the North side of the railroad are within the borough of Nanticoke. In 1872 a mine called No. 10, Sugar Notch, of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Company, was opened and operated, with a breaker of the capacity for preparing one thousand tons of coal per day. This mine is a slope on one of the upper veins or beds of coal, and has other veins behind, or underlying it, cut by a tunnel from the foot of the slope inside. It is a large mine, but its capacity might be largely increased. The breaker is in Hanover township close to the easterly line of Sugar Notch. Ashley borough was incorporated in 1870. Its south-westerly line is lot No. 9 of the first division of lots of certified Hanover, and its north-easterly line is lot No. 4 in the same division, both included, bounded south-easterly by the conglomerate rock on top of the Little Mountain, and by the Lehigh Valley railroad on the north- west. It had f everal other local names before it was- called Ashley. The oldest name was Scrabbletown, thpn Peasetown, then Coal- ville, then Nanticoke Junction, and finally Ashley. The Lehigh & Susquehanna shops for repairing engines and building new ones, if necessary, are located here, and the foot of the planes, and the general dispatcher's office for the distribution of cars to the several mines, and the ordering and running of trains, are here. It is a town of considerable importance, had 2798 inhabitants by census of 1880, and has a bank, a fine brick school building, three churches, and it had two coal breakers within its limits, but the Hartford breaker No. 6, was burnt to the ground and utterly destroyed in January, 1 884. Ashley is divided into three wards. It has a cemetery — located in Hanover township on the cross-road north-west of Ashley, 334 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The financial and business depression of 1873 caused much dis- tr,ess about the mines in its final results. Men could not understand that wages had to go down, or else work stop, and in 1875 there was a long strike, with'final submission by the workmen. Wages still went down, and in 1877, there was another long strike — six- months — and much destruction of property throughout the country. This strike was by railroad hands as well as miners and others, and an attempt was made to get up a political organization through these strikes and by the strikers, and for a time they had such a party here. Designing men stepped in and used it for their own purposes and benefit, and were elected to office, but it only lasted long enough to elect them at one election, when the workmen dis- covered the purposes of the leaders, and that ended its power. After this strike ended came a couple of years of only half-time work and less, at the, mines, and the price of coal so low that it was only by the greatest economy and closest care that any of the mines could be kept going at all, and many of them had to sus- pend entirely, and some of the individual operators went into bank- ruptcy. None, however, failed in Hanover. The operators have adopted the method now of suspending work of all the mines for a certain length of time, sometimes for three days a week, sometimes for two weeks in a month, in all the anthracite coal regions, when the market gets overstocked. The wages of the men has been raised and is nearly up to the old prices of about 1873.. Since the resumption of specie payments in 1879, the prospects seem to be growing better in the coal business, and the operators can more nearly estimate what they can do. As this book may come into the hands of some persons who do not live within the coal regions, or of some who were originally from Hanover, but removed from here before any such thing as a breaker was known or any had ever been built, a description of one may be interesting to such a person. We will try to describe one of the least complicated kind. A breaker is made for the purpose of crushing anthracite coal and screening it from dirt, and separat- ing it into the different sizes for use. The first breaker known to have been built in these parts, and they were probably built here as early or nearly so as anywhere, was erected in 1849. It was built at the Baltimore Mine in Wilkes-Barre, and about the same time one HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 335 was built at the Blackman Mines. Screens had been used, run by- steam engines before that a short time, but nothing up to that time had ever been used, run by steam power to break coal. The breaking had always been done by hand, and there was but very little of that done. Now, no coal is used in the East for domestic purposes, except that broken and prepared in a breaker. A COAL BREAKER. A breaker is a building of heavy timbers, from fifty to a hundred feet high, boarded up on the outside like the old-fashioned barn. It is in the form of a cross generally, the wings making it about one hundred feet wide with a length of one hundred and fifty to two hundred or three hundred feet. The Coal is brought to the top of it, either by drawing the mine cars up there on an inclined plane, of by having the opening or mouth of the mine high enough up on a hill to run the cars as they come out of the mine to the top of the breaker on a level, the breaker being of course on ground low enough for the purpose; or in the case of a shaft the shaft- house is high enough to draw the cars at once from the bottom of the shaft to as high a point as the top of the breaker. At the top ,of the breaker is what is called the "dump," or "tip." When the car gets there it is tipped up endwise, and a door in the end of the car opens and the coal slides out into a chute, or a large hopper. Men on a platform beyond and below this chute or hopper lift a gate from time to time, and let the coal slide down the chute to the platform where they are ready with picks to clean it of slate. On the platform the most of the slate is broken off the coal lumps, and then the lumps are shoved into another smaller chute where they slide at once to a hopper situated directly over and close to the rollers — crushers — breakers. These rollers are heavy iron cylinders filled with sharp teeth, rolling or turning towards each other to crush up and break the lumps of coal as they pass down between them. Meantime the coal on its way from the chute or hopper to the platform has passed over a grating of iron bars that directs the larger lumps into a separate chute, but lets t'he small coal and dirt down through between them into another smaller chute. This carries the coal over Still another grating with closer bars that lets the dirt fall through, into a chute which carries it to a "pocket" 336 HISTORY OF HANOVER. where a boy, with a mule and a dirt car, hauls it away, out on the dirt bank; while the coal above, larger and smaller, is conducted by the chute to a large revolving screen, having different sized meshes, in sections, from end to end. The coal enters the screen at an elevated end, and as the screen revolves the coal rolls round till it comes to the mesh in the screen through which it can pass, when it drops through, or if it is too large for any mesh in the screen it goes on to the end perhaps fifteen or eighteen feet, where the coarsest kind that went in drops out. There will be all the sizes from broken, egg, stove, and nut, to chestnut; called also.Nos. i, 2, 3, 4, 5, the number five being chestnut. There are three other sizes sometimes made or secured — lump, as it comes out of the mines, steamboat, a size smaller than lump, but too large for doinestic use in houses, and "pea," a fine coal screened out of the "dust" in some breakers, and sometimes a still smaller size, called "buckwheat" coal. Now as to the lump coal we had brought down to the hopper over the rollers. The rollers are sometimes, about eighteen inches in diameter and from thirty to forty inches in length, and some- times three feet in diameter and four feet long. They are cast whole, cylinder shaped, with heads and sides cast in one piece ; the iron being from two to three and four inches thick, hollow iriside. Holes are bored all around on the convex sides of these cylinders an inch or more in diameter and about five inches or more apart, into which are firmly set steel points three or four inches long taper- ing from two inches square at the base or butt to a sharp point. These rollers or crushers, or breakers, or whatever they may be called — for they go by different names in different places — are keyed and bolted on very heavy shafts or axles. There are two of these rollers, set or laid, side by side in their position in the breaker so placed that the steel points or teeth pass between each other as they revolve, and so that the body of the rollers shall not be nearer than four or five inches, or any distance desired. There is a heavy cog-wheel a little larger than the rollers, on each roller shaft, ar- ranged to fit each other so that when running the two rollers are made to turn together. They lie along side by side and revolve towards each other, apd must be very strong, aS'Whatevi?r gets be- tween them must be crushed suflSciently to pass through. Some- HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 337 times stones and rock get in. They must be crushed just the same as coal, and be picked out by the slate pickers below. There are sometimes two and even three sets of rollers in one breaker, and there may be more. The coal is fed in as fast as it will go through between the rollers. The rollers run with considerable speed, from loo to 150 revolutions per minute. The crushed coal 'passes into a chute under the rollers, and is carried by it — that is, it slides down the chute by its own gravity or weight — to a screen or two screens re- volving like the one above described, and made like it, and goes through them. These chutes are arranged with flat screens or per- forated iron in their bottoms at proper places, so as to let as much dirt or dust out of the coal as possible on its way to the revolving serenes. The revolving screens are intended more to separate the coal into the several sizes, than for separating it from the dust. As the coal falls through the revolving screens it is caught in its different sizes in separate hoppers under the screens and from there slides down, each size in its separate long and narrow and shallow chute to large bins or pockets in the breaker, each size by itself, the pockets so arranged as to run the coal directly into the railroad cars on the track at the bottom of the breaker, by lifting a gate in the pocket. Along those little narrow — 18 inches wide by 4 inches deep — shallow chutes that carry the coal from the screens to the pockets, boys larger and smaller are arranged, picking out the slate . and rock that comes through the screens with the coal. Some breakers are large enough to break and screen and pick eighteen hundred tons a day, and have as many as one hundred and fifty boys picking the slate. These are the " slate pickers " — boys ranging from ten to sixteen years in age, and sometimes old men too decrepit to do harder work. Some breakers have water running over and through the screens all the time they are running to wash the coal, as it frequently comes out of wet -places in the mines and cdal dirt sticks to it. The breaker is a very large and costly structure, and not calcu- lated, from the kind of work it has to do, to last long. By much care and patching and removals of parts it m^y be made to last from twenty to twenty-five years. 22 338 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The coal intended to be sold as "lump coal" and "steamboat coal" is cleaned of slate on the platform below the "dump" or " tip," at the head of the breaker, and pushed into two large chutes that run (one over the other) from there to the ground at the foot of the breaker at the railroad tracks, where by lifting a gate it runs at once into the railroad cars. These chutes are always kept as full as possible, fron\ top to bottom, so as not to break the coal in running down. The pockets will hold from twenty to a hundred tons each, according to size of breaker, and the lump and steam- boat each as much more. The breaker is intended to hold as much as one day's work of the mine, whether it be five hundred or eighteen hundred tons of cleaned coal ready and prepared to load into cars, but unless they are going to stop for some time they never fill the "breaker full. There are differences in breakers as in other buildings. Nearly all breakers have two sets of screens, one to the right and one to the left of the main rollers. Some have another extra screen for the small coal as it comes out of the mine to go through without going to the main screens that are fed from the rollers. And others again have still other screens for special work, such as saving "pea" coal and "buckwheat" coal. There are purposes for which this fine stuff can be used, but it seems as if the possible demand can never, hardly, equal. the possible supply — but no one can tell what may be the demand in the future for pea and buckwheat and still smaller, sizes. The coal business itself must still be considered in its infancy. These breakers cost on an average, as they are now built, big and little, about fifty thousand dollars each. It is considered that the real waste caused by the breaking of the coal and the crushing and wearing' of it into dust by passing through the breaker is about 15- per cent, by the time it gets into the railroad cars. Some breakers crush all the coal that comes out of the mine into the prepared sizes, and no lump or steamboat is made. These large sizes are used for iron making and for fuel ■ for steamboats and steamships, and for locomotive engines. Some locomotives, how- ever, now use pea and buckwheat coal. Pea and buckwheat are ^ used at the mines to raise the steam for their own use. At some mines the dust is used to produce the necessary steam. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 339 It is understood in this mining region that from one-fifth to one-fourth of the material brought out of the mine in its operation, including all the dust or dirt, slate and rock, is thrown upon the dirt bank near the breaker as refuse. The breaker waste, or waste due to the breaker alone, being 15 per cent., the rock, slate and other impurities not due in any wise to the breaker is from 5 to lO per cent. In regions of steeper pitching veins, and of thicker veins, the waste from impurities (everything not caused by the breaker) is greater still. It is safe to say, that on an average, in this region, a breaker that has been in operation ten years will have hundreds of thousands of tons of such waste lying around it, piled up in some cases a hundred feet or more high. In most cases these dirt-banks have taken fire spontaneously, and some of them have been burning for many years. When the coarser materials are burning it lights up the sky, especially if there are any clouds near, and has the red look at night as if there was some very large building on fire. These dirt banks cover many acres of land in the immediate vicinity of each breaker. Strangers passing by on the cars think these banks of dirt or dust and slate are coal .waiting for shipment. There is no coal stored outside of the breakers waiting for a market. That used to be done when canals were the only or principal means of transportation. A COAL MINE. Mining in Hanover is pretty much all done now by two methods, viz : through slopes and shafts. 1st. The slope, which is sunk in the seam or bed itself, down the pitch to the depth desired, and the coal is hoisted through it to the surface. There is a track all the way up the slope, froni bottom to top, and the mine cars are hauled up by steam-power at the top, with a wire rope. There are generally two tracks, and one car comes up as the other goes down. 2d. The shaft, which is sunk vertically through rock and coal, until the bed or seam desired is reached. This also is worked by steam-power and two wire ropes, and the mine cars lifted from bottom to top and let down from top to bottom at the same operation. 340 HISTORY OF HANOVER. When the point desired is reached by the slope or by the shaft two " gangways " are driven, one on each side of the slope or shaft, in the coal, and in the direction the coal runs, and at a declivity that will admit of the water running or draining readily to the outlet, that is, to the slope or shaft, where it is pumped to the surface through large pipes by steam pumps. The usual grade in such gangways is four to six inches in ido feet. The gangways are driven night and day and a track of small T iron is laid in them as they progress for the mine cars to run on. There is a " dog-hole," as it is called, which is another gangway, as it were, smaller than the main one, or real one, parallel and near it, driven in the coal if there is room for it, at the same time with the main gangway, for an air passage. If there is not room for this dog-hole in the coal, then the air passage or airway is made of wood along the lower side of the gangway, and this wooden partition is called a "brattice." It must be understood that in the anthracite coal region all the veins of coal pitch, some four or five degrees and others at all angles up to ninety degrees. " Breasts " are turned or started up from the gangway as soon as and where there is room for one, as the gangway is being driven. The breasts are chambers or spaces in which the coal is mined. These breasts are driven up, a uniform width at right angles with the gangway and directly up the pitch, for, as just mentioned, the beds or veins all pitch more or less, and sometimes they stand up vertical. They ire driven up the pitch to a distance of 80, 90 or 100 yards. A pillar of solid coal is left standing on each side of every breast, all the way up from the gangway, to keep up the roof The breasts vary in width, but are never less than six nor more than twelve yards in width. The solid coal left for pillars is from three to eight yards thick. Many props are also used i-n the breasts to help keep up the roof. Sometimes a hole is cut through from breast to breast near the face of the breasts every few yards as they go up, the lower hole being stopped up with boards when the upper one is made. This hole is made so the air passing may rise to the face of every breast without having to be carried up one side of the breast with a wooden brattice, and down the other side to the gangway and up and down the next one, and so on. Only experience teaches which plan to use. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 341 As the coal is mined out up the breast it is run down a chute ' to the gangway into the cars as they are brought in to be loaded. These cars will generally hold, about two tons of this uncleaned coal. They are all drawn to the foot of the slope or shaft by mules or a little locomotive specially made for the purpose, and they are hoisted from there to the surface by steam machinery. Outside they are sometimes drawn to and from the opening to the breaker by a locomotive engine, but generally this hauling is done by mules. Sometimes it is done by gravity. To ventilate the mine, a fan, run by a separate engine, is located at the surface, and draws the air down through the slope or shaft to the foot, through the dog-hole to the face of the gangway as it is being driven, across it, and across the face of every breast that is being worked, and out at the surface. The fan is a wheel, or has arms or spokes like a water wheel of the old utidershot kind, only they are made of iron and are com- ' paratively slender, and in the place of the buckets of a water wheel, in the fan large sheets of thin boiler iron (or sometimes wood) are fastened across the wheel, set at an angle, for driving or drawing out the air. These wheels of fans are from ten to twenty- two feet in diameter, and from three to six feet wide. The air is drawn from the mine through a wooden tube or pipe five or six or more feet square. The writer calls it a tube or pipe, but it is square and not round. The fan is surrounded by a circular casing of wood, with an opening upwards, so that the revolving fan drives the foul air brought. from the mine directly up into the atmosphere, the square wooden tube from the mine being connected to the casing around the fan at its center or axle. The foul air enters at the center of the wheel or fan and is thrown out at the circum- ference. By mean^ of this fan fresh air is drawn into, around, through and across' the face of every gangway and breast that is being worked in the mine. Some mines in this region are now sunk to a depth of four or five "lifts" of 80, 90 and 100 yards each down in the bed or vein of coal. As they go down deeper it costs more to mine, for it lakes more and stronger machinery to hoist the coal and pump out 342 HISTORY OF HANOVER. , the water and run the fan. Five lifts on a pitch of about 45 degrees will take the bottom or lower gangway down to a depth in the ground from the surface of about 1,000 feet or more. There is no uniform pitch in any of our veins of coal. Sometimes it may be 40, then 50, then back to 30 degrees pitch in the same vein going down. CHAPTER XIX. 1870 TO 1 885 CONTINUED. ^ N 1870 a race-course called Lee Park was made near the -,_J Wilkes-Barre line between the Middle Road and the River Road. There is a. half mile track, a stand and a hotel. It is doubt- ful whether it is of any benefit to anybody unless it be to gamblers and betting men. Many years ago there was a powder-mill on the Middle Road on the Wilkes-Barre line, the works being partly in each township. No powder has been made there for more than twenty-five years. It was driven, when in operation, by the water of Solomon's Creek. A few rods up the creek from where this powder mill stood, there is now- — 1885 — a brewery. The township, and the boroughs within it, continued to prosper from 1870 till 1873, when stagnation overtook them, and no progress was made in business, in property, or in the condition of affairs until 1880. The strike of 1877 put the finishing touch to the want and distress of the inhabitants. The strike lasted six months, and for the next two years many families had, to live on "mush and molasses." No building was done unless where it was absolutely necessary. No new mines were opened, no extension of old ones was made. After 1880, affairs grew slowly better, and in 1882 many new houses were built, and old ones repaired and occupied, because rents could be got sufficient to justify the outlay. New mines were opened and old ones enlarged. House building flourished in 1883, and the railroads were crowded with passengers as never before, and all the appearance of prosperity had come again. In 1878 there were nine- breakers in Hanover, Sugar Notch, Ashley and Nanticoke, within, the old township lines, and only four 344 HISTORY OF HANOVER. of them in operation, and when at work it was only about half time or less. One of these breakers (called the Hanover) was struck by lightning and burned down. In 1883 there were ten breakers, and eight of them at work^sometimes full time and sometimes half time, but wages were high again — compared with what they had been — and half time for part of the year produced no want among the workmen for the necessaries of life. Lands about the mines and their neighborhood for a distance of half a mile or more are generally uncultivated and thrown open to commons, on account of the difficulty of securing any crops, from them, even if the crops grew. Unruly boys and men, and goats, and cattle, and hogs that run at large make it quite impossible to live by the cultivation of the soil in their neighborhood, and so the land lies open and vacant, that once produced good crops. Nearly every family about the mines keeps a dog, and some of them two, and three, and even four large ones, making it entirely impossible for any one to raise sheep within many milts of the mines. Dogs have been known to go many miles away from home alone to kill sheep. There have been no sheep raised in Hanover since about twenty-five years ago — in 1858 or 1859. Goats are kept in large numbers, and make it almost impossible to have any shade or fruit trees, or vines, or shrubs, about the houses, or flowers or even any gardens. They are animals pretty well calculate'd for barbarians, but not at all for civilized com- munities. The destructiveness of these animals is one among the great reasons why everything appears so desolate and uncom- fortable generally about miners' houses. Another reason is the de- sire to have all animals run at large for the benefit of the "poor man." I leave it for others to decide whether it is really to the benefit of the poor man to have these animals run at large. The first telegraph in this part of the State ran through Han- over, but there was no office in Hanover. Until the mines grew large and coal was shipped in large trains from each mine, thene was no telegraph office at the coal mines, but when "through" railroads, and their through trains traversed the township then the telegraph had to be used, and the mines as well as the railroads had them, and now they are very common and very necessary. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 345 The telephone runs everywhere, almost ; to the mine offices, to shops, to lumber yatds, to stores, to doctors' offices, to hotels, and to private houses. The telephone has become almost universal, in the four or five years of its use — now what will it be in forty or fifty? Fourteen log-houses still stand and are in constant use as dwellings. Of course, none of that kind of houses is ever built now. One stone house, built nearly a hundred years ago, is still stand- ing and in use, but it is cracking and giving way a little in places, and it will be down in a few years. It stands on the hill near the Askam postoffice on the Middle Road. There are now five post-offices within the boundaries of Han- over — viz: Sugar Notch, Ashley, Askam, Peely and Nanticoke. No business is carried on in the township and boroughs but the coal business and railroading, and such mercantile business and mechanical trades as are necessary on account of them, and the wants and needs of a mining population. Farming has fallen to a very low condition and but little is done. Garden products of every description are raised mostly on the flats, and these have to be watched, frequently with arms in hand, night and day, to keep off thieves, and the arms sometimes have to be used. The .mines, the railroads, the repair shops and machine shops are the business of the people now. In the whole township and the three boroughs, with a population of more than twelve thousand in 1884, it is doubtful whether there a^-e more than four blacksmith shops not connected with the mines or railroads ; while in the early times it took one blacksmith to every one hundred people, old and young. Things that were formerly made here have ceased to be manufactured and some are no longer made nor used here, or elsewhere. There are no tanneries now, no tool makers, no plow makers, no makers of scythes, sickles, cradles, knives, axes, hoes, harness, saddles, carts, wagons, carriages, brooms, cloth, cheese, soap — ho weaving, no wool, no flax, no honey, no bees-wax, no bees, no cider, no tobacco, no millwrights, no gunsmiths, no wheel- wrights, no makers of wooden-ware. Indeed there is almost nothing made here now, and nothing produced except coal. But of coal the production is very large and overshadows everything else. Millions of dollars are paid or disbursed by the coal and railroad companies here every year. 22* 346 HISTORY OF HANOVER. It seems as if when one enjoys one great and good thing he must forego all others. If we have a great coal business, then we cannot have any other business worth mentioning, at the same time. The business of Hanover was once entirely agricultural, now it is entirely mining. Her future history while her coal lasts will be merely statistical ; of the kind that can be stated in figures — the amount of coal she produces, number of men employed, wages paid, persons injured, lives lost, number of steam engines used, depth of mines, amount of money invested in mines, amount paid out- per year, and so on to the end of the chapter. Her population will not be the owners, to any considerable degree, during that time, and her owners v?ill not be any part of her population — unless a very different condition of things arises from the present. THE UNITED STATES CENSUS OF 1 88O. The population of Hanover and the three boroughs within it, according to the census of 1880, was: — Hanover township 2000 Sugar Notch borough 1580 Ashley borough 2798 Nanticoke borough 3884 1 j^^^^^ .^^ Hanover 2^80 Deduct y^ for Newport 1295 J -' ^ Total 8967 This is an increase in population of 138 per cent, in ten years. As part of Nanticoke borough lies within the township of Newport an estimate of the population there had to be made and deducted. It was estimated at one-third of the inhabitants. A census of the population of Nanticoke having been taken this year, 1884, by themselves, for their own municipal purposes, the number is re- ported to be over 8000. New mines have been opened and breakers .built since 1880, and the population has undoubtedly greatly in- creased — perhaps doubled in that time. The assessment of Hanover .$ 566,742 " Sugar Notch I43.54S " Ashley 242,561 " " " Nanticoke 339,451 1^1,292,299 Deduct y^ of Nanticoke 113,150 Total valuation ;gi, 179,149 HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 347 The assessment of Hanover . . Horses-and mules 148 — -cows 230 " Sugar Notch . " " " 67— " 41 " Ashley ... " " " 86— " 78 " Nanticoke . " " " 228— " jc) The original lines of- the lots of the first division of Hanover on the western side of the township as surveyed in 1802 were run from the river south twenty-two and a half degrees east, by the compass. Now it may seem curious to the general reader — and it is stated here in this way in order to set him thinking — that in 1870 the same lines on the ground ran, south nineteen and a quarter degrees east by the compass. Showing that the compass — the magnetic needle — has varied three degrees and a quarter in sixty- eight years; or else the North Pole has shifted its place that much. At the same rate of variation, continued in the same direction for about four hundred years, these same lines will run north and south by compass — that is, according to the magnetic needle. It may be understood from what has been said in previous pages, that the taxes are very high, and that the reason for it in part is, that the assessments are made by assessors not elected by the owners of the property, or by their friends and neighbors, but persons in general not owners of anything, and not responsible. The local taxes are also levied, collected, and expended, by the same class of persons. It may therefore be surmised that the taxes will be put, as they are where these people rule, to the highest point the law allows, and frequently higher, and that this condition of things is growing more and more oppressive every year. If this only fell upon the companies alone they could easily get it all back out of their w.orkmen, but where a man with his family owns and occupies his house of five rooms, and lot of 50 by 150 feet, worth altogether ^1200 to ^1300, and has to pay taxes amounting to from fifty cents to seventy-five cents-per month for his own dwelling, it seems pretty heavy.' The owners of the property are almost wholly non-resident. No farmer can now own the back land and make a living on it and pay the taxes, insurance, and repairs. There are but few Americans here now, whether natives of the township or new comers. They are not liked by the foreigners. 348 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The foreigners are about the same in nationalities as in 1 870, being EngHsh, Irish, Welsh, German, Swede, Swiss, French, Polanders, Hungarian, Canadian, Scotch. List of taxables have been omitted for some time, as the lists are altogether unreliable — names of persons that have been dead for years and of persons long since removed from the district are found on the lists, and the registries of voters have not escaped the dame frauds. Sometimes as high as twenty-five, and even thirty, per cent, of the names are of persons that do not live here. And this kind of small fraud seems to be growing, and growing for no reason only that the person making the assessment or registry can get more pay. In 1873 the Postal Card Act went into operation. The stamped card is furnished and carried by mail to any place in the United States for one cent. In 1883 the rate of postage on domestic letters of one- half ounce or less was reduced to two cents for any distance in the United States. Postal cards remain one. cent. In 1885 the maximum weight of domestic letters was raised to one ounce for one rate of postage, and all fractions to an additional rate, for any distance in the United States. THE TOWNSHIPS UNDER PENNSYLVANIA LAW. The townships have capacity as, bodies corporate : to sue and be sued; to hold real estate and personal property; to levy such rates and taxes as may be expressly authorized by law. The townships are authorized and required to levy taxes for the con- struction and maintenance of roads and bridges, for' the establish- ment and support of schools, and for the support of the poor ; /. e. the school district and the road district are coincident with the township. Public and private roads are laid out under the super- vision of the County Court, the construction and repair being under the direction and at the expense of the township. The township elects assessors of taxes, supervisors of roads and bridges, over- seers of the poor, directors of schools, treasurer of township funds, town clerk, auditors of township accounts, constables and justices of the peace. HANOVER. TOWNSHIP. 349 Portions of a township or townships may be incorporated as boroughs. They succeed to all the rights and duties of townships unless otherwise provided by their charters, and receive additional privileges corresponding to the greater and more varied necessities of a denser populatipn. The County Courts have power to grant these charters, to authorize and define the duties of the officers, and to divide the boroughs into wards and fix the place of holding the elections. The preparation of county and township tax-rolls is a county function. The' expenses and supervision of general and local elec- tions fall within the sphere of county activity. The above is intended to be a short detail of township organiza- tion and officers since the adoption of the constitution of 1874. LIST OF PRICES 187O TO 1 883. 1870, March i — 4^ lbs. butter . at ^ .45 ^1.91 Apl. 21 — I bbl. flour " 7.00 7.00 " Sept. 23^15 lbs. sugar, w " ,.15 2.25 1871, Jan. . 267—1 lb. butter " .45 ■ .45 " " 26- — 2 lbs. sugar, w " .16 .32 26— >^ bbl. flour '. " 8.50 4.25 1872, Sept. I— J^ bbl. flour "10.50 2.62 " " I — I bushel potatoes " ."jo .70 " " I — 2 lbs. sugar, w " -.12 .24 I— 21^ lbs. butter . " .32 .80 1873, Sept. 30 — 4 lbs. butter " .35 1.40 " " 30 — 20 lbs. sugar, w . " .I2J^ 2.50 " " 30 — i^ bbl. flour "10.00 5.00 " 30^2 bu. potatoes " .75 1.50 1874, Jan. 26 — j^ bbl flour "lO.oo 5.00 " 26 — 2 lbs. butter " 45 -90 " " 26 — 2 lbs. sugar, w " .13 .26 " " 26 — I bushel potatoes ......"' .90 .90 1875, " 26—1 bbl. flour • . " 7.00 7.00 " " 26 — 8 Bbs. sugar, w . " .12)^ i.oo " " 26 — 2 Bbs. butter ...._....." .45 .90 1876, " 25 — 2 Bbs. butter " -35 70 " " 25 — 2 ft)s. sugar, w " .12 .24 3SO HISTORY OF HANOVER. 1876, Jan. " Feb. 1877, Jan. 1878, 1879, Jan. 1880, Jan. 25— X bbl. flour at| 9 — I bushel potatoes 25— >^ bbl. floqr • • ■ 25 — Yi bushel potatoes 25 — 4 Jfes. sugar, w 25 — 3 ibs. butter 26 — 9 Bbs. sugar, w 26 — Yn bbl. flour 26 — 4 bushels potatoes 26 — 2 lbs. coffee (roasted) .... 25 — I bbl. flour 25 — 3 fibs, butter 25 — 10 fibs, sugar, w ...... 25 — I bushel potatoes 26 — 2 bushels potatoes- 26 — I fib. butter 26 — 10 fibs, sugar, w 26 — I bbl. flour 25 — I bushel potatoes , 25 — 2 fibs, butter 25— >^ bbl. flour 25 — 8 fibs, sugar, w 24 — Yr bbl. flour 24 — I bushel potatoes 24 — 3 fibs, butter . 24 — 10 fibs, sugar, w 25— >^ bbl. flour " " 25 — 5 fibs, sugar, w , 25 — 2 lbs. butter " " 25 — I bushel potatoes .... " " 25 — I gal. kerosene (coal oil), 10 and 30 cents. Wages in 1882 and 1883 were considered to be high. Skilled carpenters were paid two dollars and twenty-five and fifty cents per day. Unskilled two dollars and two and a quarter. Miners could make more ; laborers about one dollar and sixty-seven cents to two dollars, but work was not very steady for them. Before the Rebellion a ton of prepared coal at the breaker cost the purchaser one dollar and a quarter; delivered at the house any- !r, Jan. 1882, Jan. 1883, Jan. t$8.oo ;^2.oo " .60 .60 " 9.00 4.50 " 1.60 i8o " .13 •52 " -35 I. OS " .11 ' -99 " 7-50 3-75 " .60 2.40 " .30 .60 " 6.00 6.00 " .22 .66 " .10 1. 00 " .80 .80 " .50 1. 00 " .30 •30 " .11 1. 10 " 8.00 8.00 " .60 .60 " .30 .60 " 7-25 3.63 " .11 .88 " 850 2.13 " 1. 10 1. 10 " -35 1.05 " .11 1. 10 " 7.00 3-So " .10 •SO " -35 .70 " 1. 00 1. 00 HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 351 where within a mile and a half for one dollar and seventy-five cents. A list of the prices from 1869 — after the high war prices had ceased — is introduced here. This is the price of prepared coal delivered at the house of the consumer in the neighborhood. PRICE OF COAL PER TON, DELIVERED. 1869, Dec. 8—1 ton chestnut 1870, Jan. — I (I (( 1871, " — ] ti it " Oct. — " a 1872, Jan. — 1 (( ti " Dec. — ] ti ti 1873, Jan. — it ii - " Nov. — r '' ii 1874, Jan. — r l( it " Dec. ^- r ^' it 187s, Jan. — I " ii " Dec. — I f< ii 1876, Jan. — ti ii " Dec. — f " pea 1877, Jan. — r tt (( " Sept. ^^_ r '' nut 1878, Jan. — r '^ (( " Dec. — r '^ pea 1879, Jan. — r '' chestnut " Dec. — r '' ft 1 880, Jan. — r '' pea " Dec. — r '' a 1 88 1, Jan. — r " chestnut " Dec. ■ — r " a 1882, Jan. — r tt it " Dec. — ti a 1883, Jan. — r " a " Dec. — r '' a 1884, Jan. — if n " Dec. — r *' ii 1885, Jan. — a a " Oct. — ] it a 3-50 4.00 375 4.00 3-50 3-50 3-25 3-25 3-50 3-50 3-25 ■3-25 ,1.50 1,50 3.00 3.00 1.50 2-75 2.50 i-So 1.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50. 2.75 2.75 2.7s 2.75 2.75 2.7s 352 HISTORY OF HANOVER. WAGES PAID TO JOURNEYMEN CARPENTERS SKILLED WORKMEN. ACCOUNT BOOKS OF JARED MARCEY. 1803, Aug. 23 — 1 2 days' work for Hitch- cock at i^i.oo , per day ^12.00 1805, — 3 days' work framing" .86^ " " 2.60 1806, —lYi " " ..." i.oo " " 1.50 1807, — I day's " ..." 1.00 " " 1.00 1808, —I " " to be paid in boards . i.OO 1809, — I day's work, Ezra Teeter ....." i.oo /' " i.oo 1 8 ID, — 4 days' work . . . . " i.oo " " 4.00 1811, —3}i" "■...." 1.23 " " 4.00. 1812, —4}4" " . . . . " 1.25 " " 5.621^' 1813, — I2i% days' work, E. Blackman . . " i.oo '.' " 1325 1 8 14, — 2^ days' work. Wells Bennett ..." i.OO " " 2.75 1815, — I day myself (the Boss) " 1.25 " " 1.25 FROM ACCOUNT BOOKS OF THOMAS QUICK, JOURNEYMAN. 1840, — David Garringer, by the month (with board) $22 and $ 24.00 1 84 1', Oct. 23 — Jesse Downing, by the month (and board) 26.00 1842, April — Isaac Rawn, by the month (without board) 26.00 1843, " 27 — David Garringer, by the month (with board) . 24.00 1844, " — David Garringer, by the month (with. board) 26.00 1845, Sept. 26^David Garringer, 23^ days at ^I.I2^ (without board) 25.58 1846, July 30 — Michael Keely, 20^ days at ^1.25 (without board) . 25.31 1847, March 26 — John Bird, 2 months and 5 days at ^22 (and board) ■. 48.25 HANOVER TQWNSHIP. 353 1848, Nov. 8 — Charles Dun, 472jS^ days at ;^22 per month (and board) 399-8 1 1849, Sept. 20 — Richard Dilley, 117)^ days at ^1.25 per day (without board) 146.87 1850, Nov. — Avery Marcy, 5 days at ^1.25 (without board) '6.25 i85i,May 10— Richard Dilley, 161^ days at gi.25 (without board) 20.62^ MARKET REPORTS FROM THE WILKES-BARRfe "RECORD," MAY I, 1885. WHOLESALE. RETAIL. Butter, fresh roll, per ft) $ 0.25 $ 0.28 Butter, creamery, per ft) .25 .28 Cheese .13 .16 Chickens, dressed, per ft) .16 .20 Eggs, fresh, per dozen .15 .18 Honey I2^@.i4 .16 Turkey, dressed, per ft) .18 .22 Clover,' large, per bush 6.25 6.75 Clover, recleaned 6.75 7.00 Clover, medium, per bush. 6.00 6.50 Timothy, per bush 2.00 2.25 Baled hay 20.00 22.00 Loose hay 20.00 22.00 Straw, rye, per ton 14.00 16.00 Straw, oats, per bundle .08 Sugars, granulated, per ft) .06^ .07 Sugars, standard, per ft) .06 J^ .06^ Sugars, yellow C, per ft) . -05 ^ .06 Molasses, New Orleans, per gal .55 .70 Molasses, West India, per gal .50 .60 Syrup, golden drips, per gal , .60 .73 Coffee, Java, green, per ft). . .20 .25 Coffee, Maricaibo, green, per ft) .15 .18 Coffee, Rio, green, per ft). . . .11 .16 Coffee, Rio, roasted, per ft) .15 .20 Salt, Ashton's, per sack 3.00 3.25 Salt, ground alum, per sack i.oo 1,25 23 354 HISTORY OF HANOVER. , / Salt, Deakin $ 1.50 $ 1.75 Pork, mess, per bbl 15.00 16.00 Bacon, dry, salt -O?^ .09 Bacon, smoked .12 .15 Hams, sugar cured .10 .13 Lard, bulk .09 .10 Shoulders, per ft) -07 }4 09 Mackerel, No. I, per bbl ;g20@38 .20 per ft). Mackerel, No. 2, per bbl I2@i8 .12^ per ft). New Process, per bbl $ 6.25 $ 8.00 Amber, winter, per bbl. 5.50 6.00 Rye flour 3.50 4.40 Corn meal i.io 1.25 Corn meal, bolted, per cwt 1.15 1.40 Cracked corn and chop, per cwt 1.15 1.25 Corn, shelled, per bush .65 .80 Rye, per bush .62 .65 Oats, new, per bush .45 .50 Wheat, red country, per bush .90 i .co LIVE. DRESSED. Prairie steers $ O.05 $ 0.08 Common steers ■04}4 -OJ Sheep .04 -07 j4 Calves .05 J^ .08 Hogs .04 >^ .07 Potatoes, per bush .40 .50 Beans, medium, per bush 1. 50 1.75 Tallow in cakes, per H) .04 .05 J^ Kerosene, per gal .12 to .20 HISTORY OF THE HOUSES. The fate of the old houses that were standing about 1840 or 1850: — In order to tell this story — in a short way — the beginning will be made, first at the old Col. Washington Lee house at the river below Nanticoke, and the next at the old Urquhart house on the other branch of the River Road, or rather on the cross-road near it, but both these houses being nearest to the Newport line on its HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 355 branch. Then we follow the roads to where they meet at the Nan- ticoke Corners, then follow the road to the Wilkes-Barre line. We then take the Middle Road — the nearest house to the New- port line, and follow the road to the Wilkes-Barre line. Then the Back Road is taken and followed up in the same way ; always taking whatever is nearest to either road on the cross- roads as we go along. THE RIVER ROAD. The Col. Washington Lee house at Nanticoke. This house stood on a high bank on the shore of the Susquehanna, having only the river bank and the road between the river and the house- It stood and still stands a few rods west of the mouth of Nanti- coke Creek. This was the home of Captain Andrew Lee, who died here in 1821. The son, Col. Washington Lee, resided here till 1868 when he sold to a coal company. Since that time this has been a tenant-house of the Susquehanna Coal Company. This house is near the Newport line on lot No. i, second division, and is about a half mile above the dam in the river at the old Nanticoke Falls. The road to this house crosses the line into Newport (from Nanti- coke Corne'rs, as it was called in old times to locate the spot) and down the creek towards the river it crossed into Hanover again, and after passing Col. Lee's house thirty or forty rods, it again enters Newport going west. Coming up to the corners of old Nanticoke, the first old house on the right is the Adam Lape house on lot No. 2, second division. This still stands and belongs to the Lapes. On the left all the way to the corner were old houses, dwellings and store-houses that belonged to Col. Lee, now all torn away and replaced by fine brick and frame houses, about 1868, "all on lot No. 2, second division. Henry Rasely owned the house next to the Lape on the right. Rasely removed about 1868. The house ^till stands on lot No. 2, second division. The next house on the right is at the corner. Here was a store building about 1843, then it was a dwelling, but about 1855 it was torn away and Andrew Lee and Lewis C. Paine built a brick store here. The building stands yet and is used for the Susquehanna 356 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Company's store. The company's office is across the street nearly on the site of Stire's store of 1840 or thereabouts; all on lot No. 2, second division. Now to begin on the other branch of the Main Road on the Newport line, or the cross-road on the line. The old Urquhart house still stands and is pretty well preserved but for many years it has been a tenant-house; this is on lot No. 3, second division. On the left coming down the hill towards the corner, is the Henry George house — still occupied by the Georges, on lot No. 3, second division. On the right at the Corners Silas Alexander's store and dwelling stood. The dwelling still stands, but the old store has been torn away and a new one — or two — of brick have been built in its place since 1874. Still on the right the next was Charles S. Keithline's tannery and dwelling. In 1862 Xavier Wernet bought this property of -Keithline, and in 1870 built a large frame hotel here. On the left of Main street here was the " long row:" This was all burned down in 1876, and is now replaced by brick stores and two brick hotels. On the right is the old tavern. This house still stands and is used as a hotel. On the left vi^as an old house lately torn down and is now re- placed by a fine large residence. The next on the right is the old school-house with the little church on the top. This house still stands, but is much dilapitated and not used for any purpose. On the left kre two old farm-houses, and two others built by the Mills heirs for residences about 1843. They sold out and went West, soon afterwards and these have been tenant farm-houses since. Peter Mill's house is on a hillside on the right. This was a beautiful place once. His ,femily still resides here. The Mills were once numerous, but the two children of Peter are the only on* left in Hanover or Nanticoke now; this is on lot 24, first division. All the ground on each side of the two roads that lead from the Col. Lee house, and that from the Urquhart house and nearly up HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 35/ to the Mill house, is covered with streets' and buildings in all directions, that are occupied by a population probably numbering six thousand or more, five thousand of them within the Hanover lines, in 1885. On the right is the Robert Robins house, on lot No. 23, first division. Robins lived there* with a family of many sons and a couple of daughters, from 1837, the sons and daughters gradually marrying and leaving the parental home" until his death in 1856. Afterwards John Robins, the son, lived here, till about 1866 the whole Robins family, except one, went West. Since that it has been a tenant-farm belonging to a coal company. The old Samuel Jameson house is next on the right. Jameson was born here in 1777 and died here in 1843. He had a family of three girls, but they all were afflicted with consumption. One alone married, had two daughters, and died. Both these daughters died young with consumption, one having married before death, Dr. Harry Hakes, but died without issue. Dr. Hakes had a new house built and resided here eight or nine years, when he removed to Wilkes-Barre. The property still belongs to Dr. Hakes, but is rented out to farmers. This is on lot 22, first division. The James S. Lee house is on the left. After Lee's death in 1850, his family being pretty much all married, the farm was soon rented to tenant-farmers. About 1855-6 it was sold to a coal company, and the Lee's have had nothing to do with it since. This is on lots 21 and 20, first division. The Pell house is next on the left. Samuel Pell was probably born here. He lived here until about 1862, when he removed to Wilkes-Barre, where he died in 1873. He had four, children, all girls, all removed from the township and the farm has been let to tena,ht- farmers. This is on lot No. 19, first division. The Charles Streater house, away off to the right a half mile or so on the Hogback. Streater sold it to a Mr. Cox abput 1839 who resided there a few years. This was a most beautiful place, and was specially calculated for a wealthy man's country residence. Cox sold to S. P. Collings who resided here a short time, and re- turned to Wilkes-Barre. Since about 1850 it has been simply a tenant-farm and dwelling, and all its beauty has departed and gone to decay. It belongs to a coal company. This is on lot No. 1 8, 358 HISTORY OF HANOVER. first division. On the River Road, on the left next to Pell's, there was a farm-house for the farmer of the land. That house also stands, or one in the place of it. Here is probably where a block- house stood in ancient times. The Barnet Miller house is next on the left. Many different persons owned or lived here before the writer's recollection. Barnet Miller came and bought it about 1830. About 1853 or 1854 he died leaving numerous sons and daughters, who sold it and all re- moved — mostly to the West. This is on lot No. 17, first division. The Peter Kocher house was on the right. He was a black- smith, and long had a shop by the side of Holland's little railroad (from the mines in the mountain to the canal basin at the river, 2^ miles long) where he died about 1855. The house still stands and is occupied as a tenant-house, and is on lot No. 16, first division. The George Kocher house, on the left. About 1837 or 1838 Kocher, who had lived on the Back Road came here to live. Here he died a very old man about 1850. It has since been a tenant- house, and still stands. It is also on lot No. 16, first division. The Jonathan Robins house to the right on the cross-road. This was built about 1844, but the old house still stood on the opposite side of the road, and was occupied. This was at Pruner's Mill, about 1828-9, ^^^ *^he mill about that time was worn out and went into ruins. Robins sold out about 1856 and went West. This is lot No. 15, first division. The Henry Minnich house was next on the left. This was pur. chased by the father of Henry Minnich about 18 10, who died here. Henry Minnich lived here and reared a large family of boys and girls-, -most of whom went West as soon as they became of age. Henry died in 1845. The heirs sold out and it has been a tenant-farm ever since. This is lot 13 and part of 14 in first division. The Garringer house is next on the right. This was the Hurl- but property. John Garringer bought, it in 18 10, died here in 1836. He reared a large family of boys and girls. His son Charles resided here till 1854. Charles lives in Nanticoke now, a very old man, who also reared a very large family of boys and girls. The most of the Garringers have gone West. This is on lots 1 1 and 12, first division. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 359 The Steele house and ferry is on the left at the river. The first known here was Joseph Steele, who kept the ferry. The house, of course, was not on the River Road, but was down at the river. He died here an old man, leaving a large family who have all gone else- where, mostly West. The house still stands and is used as a tenant- house. This is on lot 28, first division. The " Beckey" Thomas house, on the right. She lived here to be quite old and died about 1852. She bought it in 18 15. It has long since rotted down, though it was used as a tenant-house for about ten years after her death. On lot 28, first division. ■ The Behee house is on the right on the cross-road. This was originally the Delano mill house. Behee bought or traded for it about 1818. Jacob Plumb lived here from about 1826 to 1829, and built a set of carding machines in the mill. The old house was replaced by a new and larger one about 1844. He died in 1846 and the widow lived here till her death, in 1868, but there was no repairing done to the mill and it soon rotted down. John Barney, a son-in-law, resided here with the widow and died here afterwards in 1 88 1 and his wife in 1882. It now belongs to a coal company. This houseand mill was on lot No. 28, first division. The Red Tavern is next on the left. Frederick Crisman built it and died here in 181 5. Then it was kept by his son Abraham, afterwards by Geo. P. Steele, son-in-law of Abraham. It was a house of entertainment (till . within the past four or five years) and was kept by many different landlords. It is on the six-rod road. It belongs to a coal company. The Stephen Burrett house is next on the left, lower side of the cemetery. The original old .house still stands. Stephen Burrett, Sr., and Stephen, Jr., both lived and died here. Stephen, Jr., was a bachelor and died here about 185 1. Jacob Fritz bought the property, resided in it and died about 1870. Reuben Downing then bought it. It now belongs to a coal company. This is on lot No. 8, second division. The Freman Thomas house, on the upper side of the church lot, was on the left. Various persons owned this pretty little cottage before Thomas. He lived there some years and died in 1 847, Col. Wright says. It belonged afterwards to Barnet Miller, 360 HISTORY OF HANOVER. ■then to Reuben Downing. About 1869 Downing had the cottage torn down and a new and larger house built.' It belongs now to a coal company. Downing removed to Wilkes-Barre, in 1 870. On the cross-road leading from "the Green" to the Middle Road, off to the right at or near the foot of the hill, was Jesse Edgerton's house. He died about 1830. His widow remarried and lived here till her death. The house rotted down. The land belongs to a coal company. The Dayton Dilley old house stood on this cross-road. Dilley reared a large family of children here and died about 1855. The land belongs to a coal company. The house rotted down. There was another house here on this cross-road. Valentine Myers lived here and went West about 1838. Afterwards Thomas Smiley, it is believed, lived here, or in one close to it. He went West about 1854. The house still stands; is rented as a tenant- house. The property belongs to a coal company. The Susan Dilley house is next on the left on the River Road. This was a very old house and Susan Dilley lived here and re- mained unmarried; died here in 1879, ^gcd ninety-one years. It belongs to a coal company. Between the church lot (cemetery) and this several house-lots have been sold and houses erected since 1870.' The John Greenawalt house is next on the right. John Greena- walt, a tailor, built this and did business here for nearly forty-five years. The James Dilley house is next on the right. This is on the top of the hill, and one of the finest views in the valley can be had from here. Dilley reared a large family of children here and died in 1 862. It belongs to a coal company, and is a tenant farm-house, the Dilleys having all left the township. The next on the right is the Edward Inman house. Col. Edward Inman died in 1848, a very old man, and afterwards his widowed daughter, Mrs. Lovina Espy, had the old house torn down and a new one built, and resided here till her death, in 1 874. Near this house the Buttonwood Shaft was sunk. The coal company built, in about 1857, a superintendent's house nearly opposite Mrs. Espy's house, and a number of double houses for miners near the foot ot the hill. These are all standing and occupied by tenants. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 36 1 Across the canal from the Col. Ed. Inman house', on the north side of the canal, were some houses besides the lock-house. Richard Gunton long resided here. He now resides in South Wilkes- Barre. Here was a road that ran up north-east to Thomas Lazarus' and from there follows the cross-road south-east to the River Road at the Buttonwood bridge. In ancient times houses wftre built' along this road nearly down to the mouth of Solomon's Creek. In later times a road ran down north-westwardly from Col. Inman's house across the creek at the Buttonwood Shaft, and across the canal at the lock, here intersecting the road north of the old canal, where it ended. There were, and are still, a number of houses here — tenant farm-houses. During the working of the Buttonwood Shaft there was a store here, but that stopped when the shaft did. There is no canal here now. The Lazarus house is off to the left on the cross-road north- west of Solomon's Creek. John Lazarus lived in the house on the north side of Solomon's Creek, west of the cross-road, at Button- wood.' He reared a very large family here, and died in 1879. The house is still occupied by some of his children. This house is on lot No. 6, first division. Thomas Lazarus lived' in the old homestead, on the east side of the cross-road, north of Solomon's Creek at Buttonwood. He also reared a large family of children and still resides here, though in a much newer house than the original homestead. This is on lot No. 5, first division. The Asahel B. Blodgett house, south of Solomon's Creek and east of the cross-road, is on the right. This is a finely situated house, . among trees, on slightly elevated and ascending ground south of Solomon's Creek at Buttonwood. Mr. Blodgett and his wife, Mary Lazarus, still reside here. Tkis is on lot No. 5, first division. The Sively house is next on the right. George Sively died in 1854. Fanny Stewart, his wife, the owner of this land, died here in 1855. They had only two children, Stewart Sivdy, who died unmarried, and Mary F. Sively, who married Benjamin F. Pfouts. Judge Pfouts died and Mrs. Pfouts resides in the old homestead — a beautiful place. . 23* 362 HISTORY OF HANOVER. On the left the next house is the old Isaac Hartzell house. He reared a large family of children here, and died about 1848 or 18^0. The widow still lives, in Wisconsin. The heirs disposed of the property to G. M. Hollenback, and he granted it to Wm. H. Alex- ander. Alexander died about 1864 and left it to his two daughters, • who still own it. The old house still stands, but has been repaired and modernized. The Alexander Jameson house on the left. It is not known that Jameson ever lived here within the recollection of living man, but there was, and still is, here a fine, large tenant farm-house and barn. George Learn resided many years here and died, and his son, George Learn, also resided here many years. He removed some twenty years ago to a farm of his own in Columbia County, Pa. The property belongs to Reuben Downing, and this is a tenant farm-house. A railroad now crosses the road here in place of the canal. Across the railroad on the left, the old farm-house, long a tenant farm-house, grew old and dilapidated and was replaced by a plank house fifteen or more years ago. This was part of the es- tate of Miller Horton; it descended to his heirs and now belongs to Reuben Downing. Here was a nursery for a few years, but it is now only a tenant farm-house. The next is also on the left. This is the old Miller Horton house and stands on the line between Hanover and Wilkes-Barre. After the Hortons it belonged to William H. Alexander. At his death, about 1864, it descended to- his heirs, who still own it. This, of course, was partly on lot No. i, first division. THE MIDDLE ROAD. Commencing on the Newport line going north-east. The Henry Line house. It stood down in the fields to the right. Henry Line reared a large family of children and died here in 1849. His son Henry resided here till about 1865, when the heirs sold the property and it has since been a tenant farm-house. It belongs to a coal company. The John R. Line house. On the left is the house of John R. Line, the only son of Conrad Line. He lived here till aboiit 1865, when he removed to Wilkes-Barre, It belongs to a coal company and is only a tenant-house. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 363 The Espy house. The house of John Espy is next on the right. He died here in 1843, leaving a family of six children. The widow resided here till about 1849. The heirs sold out about 1865 and since then it has been a tenant farm-house. A new house has been built here. On this farm along the Nanticoke branch of the L. & S. railroad at the foot of the mountain stands the village of. some twenty or thirty houses, called Hanover, in Nanticoke Borough. The Keithline house. The next on the left is John Keithline's house, built by him about 1830. He reared a large family of children here, then sold out, and, about 1865, nearly all of them went West. He died in Hanover in 1868. This is a tenant farm- house on lot No. 24, first division. The next house on the left stands back from the Middle Road some rods. This was the residence of James Stewart first, then Marmaduke Pierce, who married his widow; afterwards it belonged to Rpbert Robins, and his son John lived in it for probably twenty years, and brought up a large family of children. It has been a tenant farm-house since about 1865. This is on lot No. 23, first division. The next on the left are the Rinehimer houses. Conrad Rine- himer, the first of the name here, reared a large family and died. His son Peter built a house near by, and Conrad, another son, lived in the homestead. Peter still lives here. Conrad sold to his brother John and went West with his large family about 1853. The old houses have disappeared and new ones replaced them. Several building lots have been sold and houses built on this ground. The next is on the right — Mrs. Ash's house. This has long been the property of John Deets, and a new house replaced the old one many years ago. The next house is also on the right. This is John Sorber's house. He has lived here in it about forty years, brought up a large family of children, and is now a very old man. On the right, on the brow of the hill, stood the old Bobb house. Bobb sold out and the whole family, a large one, went West tp Iowa about 1838. A new part was built to this house about 1840, and is the only part now standing, the old house having rotted down and been torn away within the past twenty 364 HISTORY OF HANOVER. years. It has been a tenant farm-house since about 1840, and for about thirty-five years Daniel Minnich has lived in it. It belongs to a coal company. This is on lot No. 16, first division. Next on the right is the Holcomb house. This was formerly — previous to 1837 — known as the Shafer house. Holcomb owned and lived in it from about 1837 to 1865. }Je sold out and went West. Since then it has been a tenant farm-house, and belongs to a coal company. This is on lot No. 1 5 and part of 14, first division. The next house was on the left. Daniel Minnich built a log- house on his father's land here about 1838. It was abandoned and went to ruin in about twenty years. This was on lot No. 13 first division. On the right, on the cross-road, but a few rods from the Middle Road, was the Askam house. He lived here a long time and reared six children. He sold out to Jacob Shafer, and the old log- house was torn down and about 1850 a frame house was built on the site of the old one. This last has been a tenant-house since about 1855. It belongs to a coal company. The Askams have all- gone away. This is on lot 12, first division. On this same land, on the left of the Middle Road, is the house of Levi L. Nyhart. It was built in 1850, and he has resided here ever since. The stone house on the right comes next. John Nagle had a tannery here, at the foot of the hill, about 1830 to 1835. Joseph Nyhart bought the tannery and carried it *on from 1845 to 1855. R. R. Metcalf has some fine buildings on this tannery property now. There is a postoffice here called Askam. Wm. Rummage owned the stone house. This lot was purchased by J. M. Court- right, house lots were sold and some dozen or more buildings have been erected since 1 870. This is on lot No. 1 1 , first division. On the cross-road towards Behee's Mill were two houses be- longing to Rebecca Thomas. They have long since rotted down. George Shoemaker bought six acres of Rebecca Thomas here about 1838 and built a house that still stands as a tenant-house, Shoe- maker having sold out about 1855 and .gone away from the town- ship. It belongs to a coal company. * HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 365 On the left of the Main Road after passing the old tannery, is the Metcalf house. This seems to have been a tenant-house until about 184S, when Richard Metcalf made it his home and has re- sided there ever since. Soon after coming here to live, he tore down the old house and built a good sized frame house. The land belongs to a coal company. Several building lots were given to Mr. Metcalf's children along the road here, and they have houses erected on them. On the right in a lane out of sight of the main road is the old Rufus Bennett house. Here was brought up a large family of children by Bennett. They are all dispersed, no one knows where. About 1838 O. Collins of Wilkes-Barre, became the owner of the property, and from that time it has been a tenant farm-house, and there is not a Bennett of this family left in the township. The old house stands yet. It belongs to a coal company. The old house next on the left was the Wiggins" house. He was the iron maker at Nanticoke. This house was sold and left by Wiggins about 1834 — never had any tenants afterwards, and rotted down in about ten years. The next was on the left, a tenant-house of John Hoover. Hoover's residence was between the Middle and the Back Road on this same land. Hoover built himself a new house about 1846 near the old one, and died here in 1866. The old and new house both stand, and are rented as tenant farm-houses. They belong to a coal company. North-east of the John Hoover house, and in the same hollow. between the Middle and Back Road stood a house belonging to Michael Hoover. It was old fifty years ago. Michael Hoover's family left it about 1835, and it never had tenants of any ac- count afterwards, and rotted down about 1845. It belonged to V. L. Maxwell for many years. It belongs to a coal company. The house was never rebuilt. On the left, off the main road ten or twenty rods, is the old Edgerton house. This house still stands and is used as a tenant- house. ■ The Edgertons long lived here, either the one or the other of .them. They sold out about 1864, and removed to the West. The property belongs to a coal company. This is No. 11, second division. 366 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The Henry Hoover house was on the right opposite to the Hoover Hill school-house. It rotted down about 1850 and there are no Hoovers left in the township. The land belongs to a coal company. On the left at the foot of the hill an old house stood — a tenant- house till about 1855, when it was torn down and two double miners' tenant-houses were built here. They still stand and are oc- cupied by miners. They belong to a coal company. On the right is the earlier Downing house. This has been a tenant farm-house for more than fifty years. With the rest of the Downing property, it belongs to a coal company. Across the creek and on the left is the Ruggles house. Lorenzo Ruggles reared a large family of children here. He was a black- smith and with his farming and blacksmithing made a comfortable fortune. He sold to a coal company in 1864, and removed to Wilkes-Barre. This has since been a tenant-house. The next on the right is the later Downing house. Here Bate- man 'Downing resided more than forty years, and was a justice of the peace for about the same length of time. He sold to a coal com- pany in 1864, and in his old age removed to the West. This has been a tenant farm-house since 1864-5. The next is on the left, the old Jacob Fisher house. Here was reared another large family of children. On the death of Fisher, his heirs sold the large body of land about 1855, which their father and themselves had accumulated and all emigrated to the West. This has since been a tenant farm-house. It now belongs to a coal company. The next is the Samuel Burrier house on the right. He sold out about 1846 and went West. This has since been a tenant- house. It still stands, and belongs to a coal company. On the right on the cross-road are two or three rather old houses — one was Henry Fisher's, one was Samuel Smiley's and the other owner is not remembered. These are standing yet and are occupied as tenant farm-houses. They belong to a coal company. William Shoemaker had a house where he lived a long time,. off in the fields, east of this cross-road. He removed to a house on the Middle Road about 1848, or perhaps 1850. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 36/ The next is on the- left on the main road — the Simon Rine- himer house. This house first belonged to Joseph George, a tailor. Simon Rinehimer, another tailor, bought it and lived in it until his death in 1858. He left a large family of children, all but one gone West. It is a tenant-house. The next house is on the left. The old house went to decay and the owner, Wm. Shoemaker, tore it away and t>uilt a brick residence in nearly the same place about 1848. Shoemaker soon after sold out and with his whole family went West. This is a ten- ant-house. It belongs to a coal company. The next house is also on the left — the John E. Inman house. Inman reared a large family of children here, and with the whole of them went West about 1855, after selling his land. This has ever since been a tenant farm-house. It belongs to a coal company. The Deerhamer house was next -on the right. They went West many years before the Inmans. It has since been a tenant-house. This is now a Catholic cemetery. The next house is on thfe left in the hollow, and is the Christian Nagle house. Nagle reared a large family of children here and died in 1857. ^^^ heirs sold it out and removed, nearly all of them to the West. It is a tenant-house. It belongs to a coal company. On the hill-top on the left hand side and on the corner of the cross-road from Ashley, " Fritz" Deterick built a brick residence about 1848, and died here. This is a tenant-house. It is on lot No. 5, first division. The next house is on the left, near Solomon's Creek, at the Wilkes-Barre line. This is the Quick house. Thomas, Quick came here about 1810, lived here till he grew old, and died at his son's home in Wilkes-Barre in 1866. This is on lot No. I, first division. The old house is gone and a new one is in its place — a tenant- house. There is a little house belonging to Quick a few rods west of the Quick residence, that was long occupied by Avery Hurlbut, a son- in-law of Quick's. It was a tenant-house. On the right on the cross-road is Petty's Mill, and a house finely situated on a hill, built about 1840 by Philip Abbott. It soon after- wards became the property of Petty, who owned the mill and died here about 1 860. 368 HISTORY OF HANOVER. THE BACK ROAD. • Beginning at the Lueder house. Christian Frederick Lueder built this house and lived here and reared a large family of children, and died in 1832. The house is situated on a corner — the Back Road at this time beginning here at the ■ cross-road that came from the Middle Road to the Lueder house. The Back Road runs from here north-east. Christian F. Lueder, the son, resided here — (all the rest of the family having gone away, the most of them to the West) — and also reared a large family of children, and died here in 1873. It belongs to a coal company and is a ten- ant farm-house. This is on lot No. 22, first division. The next house is on the right. It was the Polly Pell house. She left it about forty-five years ago, and it has since been a ten- ant-house. The old house has been replaced by a plank house within the past ten years. It belongs to a coal company. The next is the George Kocher house on the rfght. This has been only a tenant-house for nearly fifty years. It belongs to a coal company. < Next on the left were some houses built by Holland and Hill- man for miners' houses, while they were mining here from 1840 to 1847. One or two of them are still standing and in use. The n^ct house was to^the left on the cross-road leading to the Middle Road, and was the old George Sorber house. He reared quite a large family of children here; sold it and died about i860. There has been no house there since. The old Back Road made a turn here to the right taking this cross-road up a very steep hill to the top of it, and then turned again to the north-east. Here on the top of the hill on the right of the corner was a house belonging to Jacob Rummage. It was always a tenant-house but rotted down about 1850. This is on lot No. 15, first division. The next was the old Jacob Rummage house on the riglit. He^ reared a family of six children, and died here in 1835. The next was his son's, Jacob Rummage, on the same farm on the left. He had two houses here. He died here in 1858, leaving only three children that grew to maturity and married. They sold the farm and left in i860, and these were only tenant-houses after- HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 369 ward. This is now part of the Warrior Run Mine property. The old houses have been replaced by many miners' houses since 1865. This is the western end of Sugar Notch borough. The next house is on the right. It was the old Mock house, became the property of John Robinson, descended to his daughter, Mrs Hendrick B. Wright. The Wrights leased it to the Warrior Run Mining Company in 1864. The old house was replaced by a plank house about 1859, and has now a large number of miners' houses around it, some of them belonging to private parties, but mostly belonging to the company — A. J. Davis & Co. These and those on the Rummage lot constitute the mining village called Warrior Run. The house next on the right is the Harry Blackman house. It was built about 1830. He had a large family of children and died here in 1843. The widow lived here for many years after. It is now a miner's tenant-house and belongs to a coal company. The next is on the left on the cross-road about forty rods from the Back Road, and was the old EHsha Blackman house. This was about the first house built on or near the Back Road. He died here in 1 845 , after rearing six children, four of whom went West. His daughter, Julia Anna Blackman Plumb, was born here and has always lived here. The old houses have been torn down and re- moved, and a new and more modern one erected on the site of the old. This is the residence of H. B. Plumb and his mother. There have been built on this place since 1867 ninety-six dwellings, thirty-six belong to H. B. Plumb, thirty-two to Robert Baur, of Wilkes-Barre, and the remainder to other private individuals. This place is locally called Plumbtown -and Plumbton. The railroad companies call their depots here Warrior Run. This is on lot No. 12, first division. The next is on the left, the old John Garrison house. He.sold out and removed about 1838, and the house became a tenant-house. The old house was replaced by a new one about 1850. It is a ten- ant-house and belongs to a coal company. The next house is on the right, the Josiah Bennett house. He reared a large family of children here, who all left the paternal 24 2 JO HISTORY OF HANOVER. home as they became of age. He died here in 1857. Since then it has been a tenant-house. It belongs to a coal company. This is on lot No. 29, first division, one of the public lots. The next house was the Bunny or Burney house on the right. It went to decay after Bunny left it, as long ago as 1825. No house was rebuilt there. The property belongs to a coal company. It is on lot No. 14, second division. The next house is on the left. This was the Ishmael Bennett property. He reared a large family, and removed to Ohio about 1 8 16, when a very old man, after selling the property to James Sterling. Sterling died in a few years, and about 1838 the property was sold to Samuel Holland, and since then this has been a tenant- house. It belongs to a coal company. It is lot No. 21, second division. The next house is on the left, the Peggy Sterling house. It stood a few rods north of the Rudolph house. This last was burned previous to 1825. In later times Joseph Rinehimer owned the property, and then John Freed. The next is on the right. This was the Ashbel Ruggles house. He removed to the West in 1843. The property belonged to Josiah Bennett till his death in 1857, then to John Freed. It still stands, the house and surface owned by private parties, near the present school building at Sugar Notch. All the property along the road belonged to a coal company. Their own mine houses are here, and they have sold lots — on the surface only — for building, to many private parties who have built houses on them. This is the upper or eastern end of Sugar Notch borough as far as to the old Garrison cross-road and contains in this part a population of prob- ably 150 people or more. On the right, some twenty rods up in the woods was a house. Wright lived there and probably owned it in 1840. After- wards it belonged to Conrad Line, then to Henry Burney. It went to decay about 1850 and tumbled down. It was never rebuilt. It belongs to a coal company. The next is on the right. This is the Rimer house. Rimer removed to the West about 1843 and it has been a tenant-house ever since. The property belonged to C. B. Fisher for many years, but has belonged to a coal company since 1855. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 37 1 The next house is on the right. It is the old Cornelius Garrison house. After Garrison's death irf 1825, this house belonged to his. daughter Rachel, afterwards, about 1840, married to Wm. Staple- ton. The property was divided into lots by Stapleton and sold, except the small lot on which the old house stood. This he willed ■ ■ * to his niece, the wife of Thomas Roach. The next is on the left at the corner of the Garrison cross-road. This was the Andrew Shoemaker house. He sold out about 1838 and removed. The house still stands, with a plank addition to it, is a tenant-house and belongs to a coal company. On the cross-road to the left some forty or fifty rods was the Jacob Garrison house. He removed to the West in 1842, and the house was a tenant farm-house until about 1856, when the shaft at Sugar Notch was begun. The old house stood and was occupied until within about ten years. It has been replaced by a large double miners' tenant-house. It belongs to a coal company. This is « the extreme eastern end of Sugar Notch borough, as the Jacob Rummage property is the extreme western end of it. On the right, up in the notch of the Little Mountain, was the house of John Robins. He died in 1831. The family soon after left it, and for many years it was a tenant-house. Peter Mensch lived in it. Elias Carey lived in it, and many others. It rotted down about 1855. It belongs to a coal company. The Sugar Notch reservoir is there now. The next is on the left. This was the old Abraham Adams house, afterwards known as the Knock or Kanoch house. Knock died in 1828, and tile vprdperty descended to his' heirs in Germany, his children here having all died before himself The old house and barn were allowed to rot down, a new tenant-house having been built near by. It is owned in Germany and leased to a coal company. The next was on the right. This was the Preston house. Here lived Darius Preston until his death about 1842. His son, Williston Preston, lived here till about 1857, when he removed to Wilkes- Barre. It is now burned down, but it was a tenant-house and belonged to a coal company. The next house was on the left. This was the Saum house and still stands. The heirs of John Saum sold out about 1854 and 372 • HISTORY OF HANOVER. removed to the Weet. Since then this has been a tenant-farm- . house and belongs to a coal con^pany. This is on lot No. lO, first division. The next on the left belonged to Saum and was a tenant-house from the first. It still stands, is occupied and belongs to a coal company. The next was also on the left. This was the Comfort Carey house. He died about 1837, and his son, John Carey, lived in this house after him until about 1843 he sold the place to John Davis, and removed with his whole family to the West. The house was then a tenant-house until it was burned down, about i860. This is the south-western side of Ashley borough, and now has many houses, built since 1870, on both sides of the road and back to the foot of the mountain. Many of- these houses belong to private parties and not to a coal company. This was on lot No. 8, ■ first division. The next is on the left of the above, towards the north-west, in the fields on the same lot, No. 8. It still stands and is occupied as a tenant-house. John Carey lived here before his father Comfort died, then soon afterward he sold it to William Richards. Richards ■sold out and went West. Since then it has been only a tenant- housfe. It belongs to a coal company. The next house is on the right. This was one of three similar houses; the next on the left near Solomon's Creek, and the third one on the road toward the foot of the mountain. They belonged to the Huntingtons, were just alike in build and were all three painted green. This was known afterwards as the "Cook Estate," and is held by a benevolent institution in Philadelphia, by the will of the last of the Cooks, with a provision that it shall never be sold. There are a large number of houses on this property now. It is within Ashley borough. The next house was on the left. It was the old Daniel Kreidler house. It has long been torn down and replaced by a better one by his daughter, Susan M. (Kreidler) Frederick, and her husband, Charles Frederick. Frederick and wife have resided here since 1848. On the right, up the mountain on the Hazleton Road, there was a tavern in the gap at the head of the lower plane. This was the house of Israel Inman. He reared a very large family of HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 373 children here, and sold out and went West about 1840. The house was famous in its time — during the building of the L. & S. rail- road, and during the existence of turnpike travel to the cities by way of Hazleton and Tamaqua, all after 1840. The first old house across the railroad or foot of the plane on the right was Christian Keyser's. He built it and lived there till about 1855, when they went' West. The house belongs to the heirs of Robert H. Johnson. • Johnson lived in it till his death, about ten years ago. The next was on the right of the Main Road where the Hazle- ton Road turns off up the mountain. This was built by Valentine Keyser, the father of the former, on land leased of Joseph Davis. Keyser and his wife both lived and died here in 1847. To the left on the cross-road, the first house was Joseph Barnes'. This house had replaced an older log-house on the same site ab6ut 1823. About 1867, the hill to the south of this house (on the side of which the house stood) was partly cut down or off for the Ashley shops, and the house was soon afterwards torn down to be out of the way. Barnes and his family went West about 1850. This is on lot No. 6, first division. , The next beyond on the same cross-road is John A. Carey's house. He built it about 1835 or 1836, reared a large family of children, and still lives here with his wife. The next also on the cross-road, and on the left across the creek was Isaac Frederick's house. He sold out and went West, about 1855. This has been a tenant-house since. The Lehigh Valley railroad runs almost over it. Beyond the above-mentioned house to the left but back in the fields probably more than forty rods from the cross-road is the old Hannis house. It was built by John Hannis, and he and his wife both died here. The sons and daughters, all grown up and mar- ried, sold out and went West about 1855. The next house on the main road was on the left and was Fritz Dieterick's tavern. He kept the tavern many years and left it about 1847. Then it was a store and dwelling for many years. E. P. Lynch had a store there from 1 847 to 1 849. Lewis Landmesser had a store there in 1855 to 1859, and others afterwards until it was burned down in 1880. 374 HISTORY OF HANOVER. The next was on the left, being the Samuel Pease house. Pease died in 1846, a very old man over 86 years of age. The house stands there yet and has been a tavern since about 1855. The next on the left was a log-house, built about 1838 by Nicholas Landmesser. He went West about 1850, and afterwards the house stood there as a tenant-house, until it was torn down a couple of years ago. The next was on the right, just beyond the road that goes to the Blackman Mines^the Back Road here — stood the house of Daniel Hartzell. This was part of lot No. 3, first division. It stood back a little in the field, but has been moved to the street and re- paired and still stands, now quite a respectable looking house. This was the last house within Ashley borough on this road or street. This street and others parallel, to the right and left and numerous cross streets all the way from Comfort Carey's and further, to Daniel Hartzell's and the line of the lot beyond it, are now quite closely built up with houses — all along the streets and the hills and hollows on either side, and filled with a population of some four thousand now — 1885. The next is nearly opposite the Gilbert house, and is on the left. It is Daniel Frederick's house. Rebuilt it about 1834, and has lived there ever since. It at first stood back some rods from the road, but it has been moved to the road and enlarged and is now a pretty house. The old people lived here in their old age very comfortably. The next house was on the right. This was Luman Gilbert's. It was a log-house and stood till within a few years past. The old people and the young ones went West about i860. It was a ten- ant-house after the Gilberts left. The next house was on the left. This was the cabin of Phebe Williams. She died about 1849 or i^So, and then the log cabin was about ready to fall down from age and decay. It has long ceased to exist. Nearly opposite on the right was the house of William Askam. He left it and went West long ago. As early as 1854, Lewis HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 3/5 Koons owned it. It still stands, and was long a tenant-house, but it is not inhabitable now and is ready to be torn down, to make room for a better one. The next house was Thomas Brown's, on the right. Brown built a house on the Back Road that goes to the Blackman or Franklin Mines, and left this, and soon after sold out, and about 1855 went West with his whole family. Anthony Schappert bought this old house about 1855, and added to and improved it, and lived there till his death in 1872. His son Michael Schappert resides there now. This house adjoins the Wilkes-Barre line, and is on lot No. I, first division. Robert Kilmer had a house and cabinet shop on the left, opposite the Brown house about 1847 or earlier. He sold out and left about 186 1-2. The house and shop were used for the same business for some years after, but the property has long since been cut up into building lots, and the old house and shop are gone. Almost all the land along the Back Road from. Sugar Notch — and below — up to the Wilkes-Barre line belongs to a coal company, but the company has sold off building lots on the surface and now from the lower or south-westerly line of Ashley borough to the north-easterly line of Hanover township is filled with houses, on the hills and hollows on each side, with parallel and cross streets. From the north-eastern line of Ashley to the north-eastern line of Hanover (the Wilkes-Barre line) is called Newtown. This is a thickly populated part of Hanover township, THE AMOUNT OF COAL MINED AND SHIPPED FROM HANOVER AND THE BOROUGHS WITHIN IT IN 188O. The Hartford No. 6 203,675 " Sugar Notch No. 9 ....'.... 129,981 " Sugar Notch No. 10 64,612 " Warrior Run §2,680 • " Nanticoke {on the east side of the river, deducting %for Ne'wport^:222,go7) •' 451.816 Total tons 932,764 376 HISTORY OF HANOVER. 1884. The Hartford No. 8 67,580 " Sugar Notch No. 9 138,271 " Sugar Notch No. 10 "^,315 " Hanover (Maffet's) 93.556 " Warrior Run . . . ' 68,440 " Nanticoke {on the east side of the river, deducting ]A, for Newport=^2>2,g?,-^ 765,966 Total tons . 1,253,128 The pay-rolls of the raih'oads within Hanover's ancient lines — at Sugar Notch and Ashley — in the year 1884, was: — At Sugar Notch — Railroad hands — L. V. R. R. — total . ^206,355.79 " —Repair shop hands— L. V. R. R. . . 17,768.65 " Ashley— Railroad hands— L. & S. R. R— Total . . 66,612.00 " " Repair machine shop and other shops — L. & S. R. R 227,220.01 At Ashley — Planes employes — L. & S. R. R 30,043.46 Total . . ; $547,999.91 In the above statement nothing is deducted for the wages of em- ployes who reside outside the lines of ancient Hanover. Should such . an estimate be desired, it may be stated that perhaps as many as one-third of the employes reside outside Hanover's line. But it is probable that just as many men residing inside these lines work outside of them — thus equalizing the matter. For mining 1,253,128 tons coal, the employes receive . $1,253,128.00 " R9.ilroad and car shop employes 547,999.91 .Total, ;^i, 801, 127.91 Divided among the population of about 12,000, equals about one hundred and fifty dollars each on an average. Elevations above tide on the Lehigh Valley railroad from Wilkes-Barre to White Haven: — Wilkes-Barre (30 feet above Susquehanna River) . . . . . 549 South.Wilkes-Barre 546 Sugar Notch 666 • Warrior Run 716 Newport 1023 Fairview 1673 White Haven , . 1143. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 377 On the Nanticoke branch of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Rail- road from Ashley to Nanticoke : — Ashley . 634 Sugar Notch 659 Hanover 654 Wanamie 644 Nanticoke . 540 Below is a list of German, Dutch and Swiss immigrants to Pennsylvania as given in "Rupp, 30,000 names," and persons bear- ing the same or similar names in Hanover — for only such are in this list — may find their ancestor among them. Doubtless these are the ancestors in most cases of those persons in Hanover having the same names. The dates given refer to their arrival in America. Johannes Asper .... Hans Adam Cresmen . Heinrich Christman . . Charles Christman . . Mathias Christman . . Johories Diterichs ... Hans Georg Dietz . . . Jacob Dieterich .... .Elias Dieterich .... Andreas Gabriel Dieterich Diebolt Dieterich ... Jacob Dieterich .... Christoffel Dieterich . . Michael Friederick . . Jacob Renhart Friederick Josephus Friederick . . Andreas Friederick . . Baltes Gerringer . . . John Georg Gehringer . Job Conrad Georg . . . Michael Georg .... Jacob George Heinrich Hertzell . . . Hans Leonhart Hertzell Jacob Hoover Frans Hoover .... John George Hollenback George Hoover .... Nicholas Keyser . . . Hans Jacob Keyser . . 2i* 1738 I 741 I 741 1765 1763 1731 1738 1738 1744 1752 1752 1752 1765 1752 1752 1753 1765 1728 I75I I7S4 1764 176s 1732 1732 1751 1751 1753 1753 1727 1732 Johonnes Keyser . . Hans Michael Keyser Georg Kochef . . . John Michael Keyser Georg Martin Kreidler Stephen Kreidler . . Philip Jacob Kreidler John Martin Kreidler Christian Miller . . . Christopher Miller Hans Menigh ... Peter Minich .... Lorentz Minich . . . Hans Georg Miinig . Nicholas Mensch . . John Philip Minick . Jacob Nagel Thomas Nagel . . . Michael Neihart . . Conrad Nagel . . . John Wilhelm Nagel . John Friederich Romich John Adam Romich . Christian Romich . . Georg Michael Rommig^ Hans Georg Rommigh Johannes Romig . . Henry Surber . . . Johannes Saum . . . 1734 1734 1737 1741 1753 1753 I7S3 1753 1727 1727 1730 1737 1739 1749 1753 1767 1730 1732 1737 1738 1751 1732 1732 1749 1750 1750 1752 173s 1751 378 HISTORY OF HANOVER. THE NATIONALITIES AND NUMBERS OF THE FOREIGNERS IN LUZERNE COUNTY IN 1880. Brit. Am. Eng. & Wales Irelnnd Ger. Empire France Norway & Sweden All others 335 12,510 13,598 5,806 108 212 1732 POPULATION OF THE TERRITORY INCLUDED IN LUZERNE OF I 786, WITH ■ COLORED, FREE AND SLAVE. • Luzerne Bradford, Susquehanna Wyoming, Lackawanna Col. Colored, from part of Irom part of irom part of from part of Slave. Free. Year. Luzerne and Lackawanna Feb. 21, 1810 Luzernc.Feb. 21, 1810. Luz., April 4 1S80. Luz,, 1878. 1790 4,904 . . . . II 13 1800 12,839 18 78 I8IO 18,109 . . . 99 1820 20,027 11,554 9,960 I 112 1830 27.379 .19,746 16,787 186 1840 44,006 32,769 21,195 I 194 1850 56,072 42,831 28,688 10,655 373 i860 90,244 48,734 36,267 12,540 - 450 1870 160,915 53.204 37,532 14,585 766 IS8O 133,066 58.534 40,350 15,598 89,628 754 CENSUS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND THE UNITED STATES. Pennsylvania 1790 — 1880. 1790 434,373 1800 602,365 1810 . 810,091 1820 1,047,507 1830 1,348,233 1840 1,724,033 1850 2,311,786 i860 2,906,215 1870 3,521,951 1880 4,282,891 U. S. 1790— 1880. 1790 3,929,214 1800 5,308,483 1810 7,239,881 1820 9,633,822 1830 12,866,020 1840 17,069,453 1850 23,191,876 i860 ."' 31,443,331 1870 38,558,371 1880 50,155,783 1880. This includes, civilized Indians in the U. S. 66,407; in Pa. 184 Chinese ^ " " " " 104,643; " " 152 Japanese " " " " 970; " " 4 Colored people " " " " 6,580,793; " " 85,535 HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 379 Population of Hanover township, Sugar Notch, Ashley and Nanticoke boroughs, according to the U. S. census was: — 1790 iSoo iSio 1820 1S30 1S40 1850 i860 1870 1880 Hanover 613 635 789 1173 1938 1505 1620 303S 2000 Sugar Notch (from part of Hanover 1867-S) . . . . . 724 1582 Ashley ( ' " 1870) 2798 Nanticoke ( " " " " and Newport, 1S74) . . 2590 Total 8968 Nanticoke's total population was 3884; allow J^ to be living in that part taken from Newport; deduct }j, leaves 2590, as above, thus showing the population within the ancient boundaries of Hanover to be in 1880, 8,968. Now, in 1884, there is probably over 12,000. In 1870 there were in Hanover — Natives 2078 " 1870 " " " " Foreigners 957 ■■ 1870 " " " Sugar Notch — Natives .-. . . . ._ . 368 " 1870 " " " " " Foreigners 356 The census report of 1880 does not give the numbers of natives and foreigners in the townships and boroughs, but only in county and larger divisions. The proportions will hold about the same in Sugar Notch in 1880 as in 1870; but in the remainder of the town- ship, especially in Nanticoke, the proportions have turned very much in favor of the foreigner. 1870. Luzerne County, (including Lackawanna) natives, 106,227 1870. " " " " foreign, 54,688 Total . 160,915 1880. Luzerne County, natives, 97,349 \ . ,fio7ni 1880. Lackawanna County, " 63,352 J "^^"^'^^' • 1&0.70I 1880. Luzerne County, foreign, 35,716 1,. , 1880. Lackawanna County, " 26,917/'°'^^'^"' ' " "^''^■^3 Total 223,334 1870. United States. . . natives, 32,991,142; foreign, 5,567,229 1880. " " . . " 43,475,840 1870. Pennsylvania . . " 2,976,642 1880. "... " 3,695,062 6,679.943 545.309 587,829 1880. Pa., col'd, 85,535; 1870,65,294; 1860,56,949; 1850,53,626 380 HISTORY OF HANOVER. In Pennsylvania there were in 1880 males over 21 years, 1,094,284 In Luzerne Co. " " " 1880 " " 21 " 32,854 COMPARISON OF CENSUS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 1880. Population — Native 3,695,062, foreign 587,829, total 4,282,891. Native paupers, 6,182 ; 167 in 100,000 natives; i to every 597 natives. Foreign " 3,975; 676" 100,000 foreign, i " " 148 foreign. Nat. in prison, 3,586; 97 " 100,000 natives ;'i " " 1,030 natives. Foreign, in " 1,300; 221 " 1 00,000 foreign, i " " 452 foreign. 1870. Population — Native 2,976,642, foreign 545,309, total 3,521,951. Native paupers, 4,822 ; 161 in 100,000 natives ; i to every 617 natives. F"oreign " 3,974; 728 " 100,000 foreign, i " " 137 foreign. Nat. in prison, 2,532; 85 " 1 00,000 natives ; i " " 1,175 natives. Foreign, in" 699; 128 " 100,000 foreign, i " " 780 foreign. i860. Population — Native 2,475,710, foreign 430,505, total 2,906,215. Native -paupers, 4,495; 181 in 100,000 natives; i to every 550 natives. Foreign " 3,281; 762" 100,000 foreign, i " " 133 foreign. Nat. in prison, 756; 30" 1 00,000 natives ; i " " 5,274natives. Forfeign. in " 405; 94" 1 00,000 foreign, i " " i ,063 foreign. 1850. Population — Native 2,006,207, foreign 303,417, total 2,309,624. Native paupers, 2,654; 132 in 100,000 natives; i to every 755 natives. Foreign " I,IS7; 381 " 100,000 foreign, i " " 262 foreign. ^ Naf. in prison, 296; 14" 100,000 natives ; i " " 6,777 natives. Foreign, in " 115; 37 " 100,000 foreign, i " " 2,586 foreign. 1880. Colored population in Pennsylvania, 85,535. Colored paupers, 572; 668 in loopoo colored; i to every 149 colored. " in prison, 505; 590 " 100,000 " i" " 169 1870. Colored population, 65,294. Colored paupers, 468; 716 in 100,000 colored; i to every i39colored. , " in prison, 444; 680 " 100,000 " l" " 147 1870. Population — Native 2,976,642, foreign 545,309, colored 65,294. Attended school — Natives, 706,716; i to every 4^ natives. " " — Foreigners, 18,288; i " " 29^^ foreigners. " —Colored, 7,880; i " " 8^ colored. HANOVER TOWNSHIP. 38 I i860. Population — Native 2^475,710, foreign 430,505, colored 56,949. Attended school—rNatives, 648,65 i ; i to every 3^^ natives. " " ^Foreigners, 21,310; i " " 20^^^^ foreigners. " — Colored, 7,573) i " " 7^ colored. 1850. Population — Native 2,006,207, foreign 303,417, colored 53,626. Attended school — Natives, 488,823; i to every 4^ natives. " — Foreigners, 15,787; i " "' 193*^ foreigners. — Colored, 6,499; "^ " " ^}i colored. 1880. Population — Native 3,695,062, foreign 587,829, colored 85,535. Natives over 10 yrs. and cannot write, 123,200; i to every 30 nat. Foreign. " 10 " " " " 86,775; i " " 6f for. Colored " 10 " " " " 18,033; i " " 4%!. col. 1870. Population — Native 2,976,642, foreign 545,309, colored 65,294. Natives over 10 yrs. and cannot write, 126,803; i to every 23 5^ nat. Foreign. " 10 " " " " ■ 95,553; i " " 5f fo''- Colored " 10 " " " " 15,893; i " " 4z col. i860. Population — Native 2,475,710, foreign 430,505, colored 56,949. Natives over 20 yrs. and cannot write, 44,930; i to every SSii) "at. Foreign. " 20 " " " " 36,585; i " " i ItV fo""- Colored " 20 " " " " 9>359; i " " ^^a col. 1850. Population — Native 2,006,207, foreign 303,417, colored 53,626. Natives over 20 yrs. and cannot write, 51,283; i to every 39xV "^^t. Foreign. " 20 " " " " 24,989; i " " I2j,'8 for. Colored " 20 " " " " 9,344; i " " 5;>4 col. 1870. LUZERNE COUNTY, POPULATION, 160,915. Population — Native 106,227, foreign 54,688, colored 766. Natives over 10 yrs. and cannot write, 6,197; i to every 1718 nat. Foreign. " 10 " " " " 17.288; i " " 3I fo r. Colored " lO " " " " 260; j •' " 3 col. GLOSSARY. INDIAN NAMES AND THEIR SIGNIFICATION. Makemh-Kitton. Applied to the Delaware ; means strong, rapid. Ske-han-do-wanna. Susquehanna; muddy river or riley river. Sas-que-sah'han-oughs. Indians of the Susquehanna, so called by the Virginia Indians, according to Capt. Smith. Hanna or Hannah. Stream of water. From this come Toby- hanna, Lee-chaw-hanna, Lackwannock, Susquehanna, Tunkhan- nock, Rappahannock, etc. I Lee-chaw or Lechaw. The forks. The Lehigh River is still pro- nounced Lechaw by the Germans. — Chapman. Lechaw-hanna. Meeting of two streams. Hence Lackawanna. Tope-hafina. Alder stream. Hence Tobyhanna. Tonk-hanna. Two small streams falling into another opposite each other. Monongahela. Falling-in-bank-river. Chemung. Big horn ; from a fossil tusk found in the river. Qidnni-teck-ut. Connecticut. The country upon the long river. . Ohio. Beautiful. Niagara. Neck of water. Nis-ki-beck-on. Nescopeck, Neschoppeck. Deep, black water. Mawshapi. Cord or reed stream. Hence Meshoppen. Nazv-paiv-nollend. Place where the messenger was killed. Wap- wallopen. Lackawannock. Lackawanna River; also called Leeha-ugh-hunt. Lee-haw-hanna ; in 1761 Lackawna; in 1762 Lee-ha-wan-nock ; in 177 1 Lam-aw-wa-nak ; in 1772 Lack-o- war-na; Lack-a-war-na ; in 1778 Lack-u-wan-nock, Lack-a- wan-nock and finally Lackawanna. GLOSSARY. 383 Mak-erisk-kis-kon. Mak-erisk-i-ton. Mingo for Delaware River. Lech-a-wach-sein. Lackawaxen. Wash-co-king. Meshoppen; up the Susquehanna. Maugh-wau-wa-tna. Wyoming in the Delaware tongue. Also Wan-L'aiimic , Wkvaiimic, Mch-ivere-zvami, Wiomic, Wioniack, Woyamick, Woyamock, Wyomick\ the name of an Indian town below Wilkes-Barre near the island. Eries, Kickapoos, Shawanese, "Nation du chat" were all one people. Onotidaga. Place of the hill. Indian town near Syracuse, the "great head" or council fire of the Six Nations. Cayjtga. Long lake. The name of a tribe of the Six Nations. Oneida. People of the beacon stone. A tribe of the Six Nations. Seneca. A corrupt Indian pronunciation of the Dutch "sinnibar," , Vermillion, red paint. Mohatvk. Man eSters; raw flesh eaters. Maquos. Name by which the Dutch of New York knew the Mohocks. Mingoes. The name the Six Nations called themselves by. Aqu-nus-chi-o-nis. The united people. The Six Nations. Ak-an-ish-i-on-egy. Country of the Five Nations, or Six Nations. Cannassatego. A chief of the Mingoes or Six Nations. Gi-an-givah-tah. Brant, a chief of the Six Nations — Mohawks. Sgahonto-wano. Mingo name for Wyoming. Gahonto meaning large plains without trees, 7f/fl«^ meaning river. Ojias. Quill, or feather, or pen. The Mingo name of Wm. Penn. Miq2wn. Elder brother. The Delaware name of William Penn. Algonquin. A race of Indians said to differ radically in their language from the Mingoes. The Delawares and Shawanese were called Algonquin. Wyandots. (Hurons of the French.) The Indians of Canada about Hochelega (Montreal) previous to and at the, arrival of the French in Canada. They were utterly defeated by the Mingoes and driven west of Lake Superior among the Sioux. Tuscaroras. A tribe that united with the Mingoes in 1712. Shawanese. An Indian tribe and town in Plymouth. 384 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Nanticoke. An Indian tribe and town on the Susquehanna, eight miles below Wilkes-Barre or Maughwauwama, east side. Waughmes. Plains or flats. Massachusetts. A hill in the form of an arrow head. Blue hills. Kitta-tinnunk. Blue mountains. Shauiokin. Sunbury, down the Susquehanna. Mace-wi-hiliL-sing. Wyalusing as written by Moravian missionaries. Tsche-chshe-qua-u-nink. Sheshequin, so written by the Moravians. Angliqiiago, or Oqt/ago. Windson now. Indian town on the Sus- quehanna. Oicego. Indian town on the Susquehanna. Chenango. (Binghamton.) Indian town up the river in N. Y. Asserrughny. Indian town at the mouth of the Lackawanna. Qiii-ha-loo-sing. ATach-ivi-hi-lu-sing. Wick-a-lou-sin. Wyalusing. CJiokonot. t Coshiitunk. Cochecton, on the Delaware River. Tyogo. Tyaogo. Gate or door in the Delaware language. (Tioga.) Swift current. Ad-jon-qua. Name of the lower portion of the Lackawanna Valley. Woaphollo2{ghpink. Place where white hemp grows. Maiigh Chv.nk. Bear Mountain. Mauch Chunk on Bear Mountain Creek. Oszucgo. Onondaga name of Lake Ontario. Ontario. Indian, from Onontee; "a village on a mountain;" the chief seat of the Onondagas. Canada. A collection of huts ; a town. Chesapeake. Great waters. Mannitta. Manitou. The Great Spirit; God. Sheshequani, or Shesheqiimnnnk. Sheshequin, an Indian town. Capousc, or Capoose. Indian town near Scranton, and Indian chief. Og-ha-gha-disha. A Mingo chief Gach-ga-tvat-a-clii-qua. A Pickaway chief Tadauie. A chief of the Delawares. Lived near Easton. Tadensciind, or Tedeusctuig. Chief or king of the Delawares after Tadame. GLOSSARY. 385 Lcnni Lenapes. The original people. The Delaware Indians, in- cluding the Turtles, the Turkeys and the Wolf or Monsey tribes. Other tribes on the Susquehanna and Delaware were the Canoys, Tuteloes, Chugnues, Unamies, Minnisinks, Mohicans, Nanticokes, Wappingers and Shawanese. Tishekunk. A Delaware chief. Niitimus. A Delaware chief before Tadame's time. Saggenah. The Indian name for the English. Chesakawon. The old home of the Nanticokes in Maryland on Chesapeake Bay. Cheneiik. A place up the Susquehanna (of the Nanticokes). Chemunk. A place up the Susquehanna (of the Nanticokes). Massawaumees. Name given to the Iroquois by the Virginia Indians. Queen Easter, or Estlier. Indian queen living at Sheshequin (Eng- "" lish). • Shikellimns. The Onondaga viceroy over the Susquehanna Indians. Powhatans , Indians of Virginia harassed by the Six Nations. Catawbas. Indians of South Carolina harassed by the Six Nations. Cherokees. Indians of Mississippi- harassed by the Six Nations. Choctaws. Southern Indians constantly harassed by the Six Nations. Creeks. Southern Indians constantly harassed by the Six Nations. Paxinos. Shawanese chief or king, 1754. Squaw. Woman. Wigwam. Indian name for a dwelling, hut or tent. Yokeag. Mohican for parched corn pounded with maple sugar. Nas-unip. Samp; parched corn pounded. Sap-paen. Crushed corn boiled. Name as it sounded to the Dutch of New York in 1670. Suck-o-tash. Indian name for green corn and green beans boiled together, cut off the cob and eaten with the water it is botled in. (A most delicious dish.) 25 386 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Wampimi. A kind of money used among the Indians. It was a kind of bead made of the shells of the great conch, and other shells, curiously wrought and polished, with a hole through. They were of different colors, blue, red, white, black and purple. Six of the white or three of the black and blue passed for a penny. Cal-u-inet. An Indian pipe; the pipe of peace. Tamaqiwn. the beaver stream ; Indian name of the Little Schuyl- kill. Gaiishowehanna. The noisy stream; applied to the Schuylkill. Shokamaxon. Place of eels. Tidpehoccon, Tulpehocken, Tulpewihacki. The land of turtles. GENEALOGICAL TABLES OF OLD HANOVER FAMILIES. THE ANDREW FAMILY. Jacob Andrew, or Andrus, was of German descent; owned the farm and clover-mill on the River Road and Nanticoke Creek, near the present Dundee Shaft, about 1830; married Bridinger. They had: — Catharine Andrew, m. George Deshhammer Peter Andrew, m. Julia Minnich. John Andrew, m. Eliza Garringer. Adam Andrew, • m., went West. Jacob Andrew, m., went West. Mary Andrew, m., went West. THE ALEXANDER FAMILY. Silas Alexander ;1 born in New Jersey in 1799; came here in 1820; kept a store and lived in Nanticoke; married Elizabeth' Smith of New Jersey. They had : — Cyrus Alexander, b. 1822, m. Laura Beam. James Alexander, b. 1825, d. 1850. Mary Ann Alexander, b. 1827, m. L. N. Skinner. Maria Louisa Alexander, b. 1829, m. Joseph Whitmore. John J. Alexander, ^.1831. Durand Charles Alexander, ^.1833, m. Jenny Walton. Eugene N. Alexander, i5. 1835, m. Lydia George. Adrian C. Alexander, b. 1837, m. Kate Edwards. „,,,», J z o f ist,Thos.McNeisch. Phcebe Ann Alexander, b. 1 839, n,. | ^^_: Leisenf ing. Edwin W. Alexander, i5. 1841, m. Agnes Thompkins. 388 HISTORY OF HANOVER. DuRAND Charles Alexander^ {Si/as''-); born in Nanticoke (Hanover) in 1833; married Jenny Walton; lives in Laporte, Indiana. born in Hanover They had: — Eugene Napoleon Alexander^ {Si/as''-); 1835; lives in Hanover; married Lydia George. Willie Silas Alexander. Edith Alexander. • lola Bird Alexander. Adrl^x Carpenter Alexander'^ (5//a.ji); born in Hanover 1837; married Kate Edwards; has always lived in Nanticoke. They had: — •Nelly Alexander. Stephen Alexander. Phoebe Alexander. Edwix Wa^hixgtox Alexander^ (St/as^)\ born in Hanover in 1841 ; has always li\ed in Nanticoke; married Agnes Tompkins. They had: — James Alexander. Elizabeth Alexander. Adrian Alexander. THE ASKAM family. Williaji AsKAii ;i born in England; came to Hanover from Wilkes-Barre about 1820; lived on the Middle Road below, west of the stone house ; married Elsie . They had : — Maria Askam, Caroline Askam, d. 1805, d. 1853, William Askam, i>. about 1807, Katie Askam, John Askam, Thomas Askam, Burton Askam, d. about 18 18, THE BOBB FAMILY. ;;/. Thomas Brown. iji. Christian Saum. i/i. Lydia Learn. ;//. Benjamin Carey. w. Julia Lueder. m. ni. John BobbI was of German descent; came here from Northamp- ton County, Pa., with his family about 1815; lived on the Middle GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 389 Road just below the creek called Nanticoke Creek; the whole family went West in 1S38 or 1839. He had: — Lydia Bobb, m. Robert Downer. " Elizabeth Bobb, vi. Washington Bobb, m. Elizabeth Coates. Miles Bobb, m. John Bobb, in. Susan Bobb, m. Mary Ann Bobb, ;;/. Abi Bobb, ' in. They all went West to Iowa. THE BEHEE FAMILY. George Behee,i, of German descent, came to Newport town- ship from Northampton 'County first, and about 181 8 came to Han- over; owned the mill on the cross-road from Plumbton to the Red Tavern; was born in 1788; died 1846. He had: — George Behee, in. Susan Gruver. Adam Behee, ' in. Mary Ann Patterson. Sally Behee, d. in. John Barney. Betsey Behee, in. Sidney Ide. John Behee, m. Mrs. Fell. Polly Behee, in. Jacob Kline. Ellen Behee, in. James Butler. THE BURRIER FAMILY. Christian Burrier,^ of German descent, came to Hanover from Northampton County with his family about 18 10; lived and died in Hanover; married Maria Nagle; lived on the Middle Road above Bateman Downing's. They had : — Thomas Burrier, b. about 1798, in. Susan Meyers. Sarah Burrier, in. Joseph Kirkendall. Samuel Burrier, m. Mary Edwards. Christian Burrier, in. Courtright. Thomas Burrier^ [Christian^') was born in Northampton County about 1798; came with his father's family; married Susan Myers; is still alive — very old. They had: — 390 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Katy Ann Burner, m. William Rummage. William Burrier, went West. Priscilla Burrier, m. George Kennedy. Sarah Burrier. Susannah Burrier, d. 1885, m. Henry Grass. Samuel Burrier^ {Christiait^) was born in Northampton County, Pa.; came to Hanover about 18 10 with his father's family; married Mary Edwards; removed to Wisconsin about 1846. THE BLODGETT FAMILY. David Blodgett;^ born, married and lived in Massachusetts; died about 1 809. They had : — Asahel Blodp-ett m / 1st, Eunice Corkins, Asahel hSlodgett, m.<^ ^^^ Lucinda Clapp. David Blodgett, ' in. Margaret . Jerusha Blodgett, in. Samuel Ingr;aham'. Sarah Blodgett, in. John Evelith. Experience Blodgett, _ in. Mathews. Asahel Blodgett^ {David^); born in Massachusetts; lived and died there; married 1st Eunice Corkins, 2d Lucinda Clapp. They had : — 1st, Israel P. Blodgett, in. Avis Dodge. " Alonzo C. Blodgett, in. Rosalind Hyde. " David Blodgett, m. Sarah Dickinson. " Asahel B. Blodgett, in. Mary Lazarus. 2d, Eunice Blodgett, ;//. Charles Blair. " Lucinda Blodgett, in. Ward Adams. " Theodore Blodgett, in. Asahel B. Blodgett 3 {Asahel,"^ David^); born in Massachu- setts; came to Hanpver about 1830-32; married Mary Lazarus; lives in Hanover near or at the Buttonwood bridge on the Rivei* Road. They had: — Eunice Blodgett, m. Ziba Gruver. George Blodgett, b. 1835, m. Lucinda Miller. Asa L. Blodgett, b. 1835, in. Rebecca Jenkins. James M. Blodgett, . in. Jane Miller. Thomas P. Blodgett, b. 1843, in. Maggie Y. Ligget. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 39 1 Charles B. Blodgett, m. Elizabeth Learn. Alma Elizabeth Blodgett, m. John Rinehimer. Hiram E. Blodgett, ;«. Jenny Bowman. Ida F. Blodgett, ' m. Janson B. Davenport. Henry H. Blodgett, died in the Army, 1863. THE RUFUS BENNETT FAMILY. RuFUS Bennett^ came here from Connecticut with the family consisting of a mother and grandmother, but the names of the father and grandfather are lost. He was born in 1754; was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; was home on furlough and fought in the Battle of Wyoming, and in the escape or flight two Indians were in close pursuit of him with tomahawk and spear. Richard Inman, who had fallen out on the way to the battle-field, saw the Indians and shot one and the other ran back; lived in Hanover and died in Wilkes-Barre about 1 842 ; he married Martha Bennett, daughter of Ishmael Bennett — no relation to him before. They had: — Sally Bennett, m. Jared Marcy. William Bennett, in., went West. Welles Bennett, m. Jane Fell. Miranda Bennett, m. George Gledhill. e 1 ^ -D . . I 1st, Randall Stivers. Selesta Bennett, m. | ^^_' p^^^^ ^.^^^^ Rockwell Bennett, m. Fisher. Rufus H. Bennett, , in. Harriet Lueder. Ransom Bennett, in. Phoebe Smiley. Elmer Bennett, m. Beck. THE ISHMAEL BENNETT FAMILY. IsHMAEL^ and Thomas Bennett,^ two brothers, came from England to America some time during the reign of Charles II., married, and one of them settled in Rhode Island. A son or grandson of his believed to have been named Ishmael had, among other children, two sons that came in their old age to Wyoming: — fist, . Ishmael Bennett, b. about 1 730, m.< 2d,AbigailBeers,z£/. ( of Philip Weeks. Thomas Bennett, in. Martha Jackson. 392 HISTORY OF HANOVER. ,_ IsHMAEL Bennett^ [Ishmael^) was born in Rhode Island about 1730; moved to Connecticut; came to Wilkes-Barre about 1770 with a family by a first wife; settled in Wilkes-Barre; after the battle of July 3, 1778, retiirned with the expelled inhabitants; mar- ried a second time Abigail Beers, widow of Philip Weeks, who was killed in the massacre at the river's edge; removed to Han- over about 1788; lived on the Back Road about a half mile below the Sugar Notch Mines; removed to Ohio about 18 16; died there, very old. They had: — fist, . 1st, Ishmael Bennett, b. 1761, d. 1859, in. I 2d, Elizabeth Searle ( 3d, AmandaBelcher " Martha Bennett, b. 1763, m. Rufus Bennett. " Thomas Bennett, b. 1765, m. Mary Ann Espy. 2d, Daniel Bennett, b. 1784, m. Sally Adams. " Josiah Bennett, b. 1786, d. 1857, . in. Sally Taylor. " Nathan Bennett, b. 1788, d. 1872, m. Ann Hoover. " Polly Bennett, b. 1789, d. 183.1, m. Lorenzo Ruggles. " Sarah Bennett, <5. 1791, .^. 1881, m. Henry Blackman. Thomas Bennett^ {Ishmael'^) \n3.s born in Rhode Island; came to the Delaware River on his way with his family to settle in Wyoming in 1763; the massacre of that year kept him away till 1769, when he was one of the first forty that came on for settle- ment in Kingston in February; brought his family with him; was in Forty Fort when the battle took place, and when the fort sur- rendered the next day, July 4, 1778; fled with the rest from the valley down the river; returned and was taken prisoner by the Indians with a young son, Andrew, and Lebbeus Hammond, who was one of the two that had escaped from the fatal ring at Queen Esther's Rock on the night of the massacre; two nights after their capture they freed themselves from their bonds, rose upon their captors, slew four out of the six of them, two only escaping, and one of them with a tomahawk sticking in his back; got home three days afterwards with four scalps, five rifles, a silver mounted sword, and several spears, blankets and tomahawks as trophies ; was an old man at this* time; died in Kingston .in . They had: — Solomon Bennett, m. Martha Bennett, b. 1763, d. 1851, tn. Philip Myers. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 393 Andre\^ Bennett, b. 1767, d. m. Abbie Kelly. Polly Bennett, m. Tuttle. Solomon Bennett^ (Thomas,'^ Ishmael^') was born in Rhode Island; came to Forty Fort or Kingston with his father's family; was in the battle of July 3, 1778, and. escaped; married, but his wife and family are unknown; removed to Canada. Andrew Bennett^ {Thomas,'^ Ishmael'^) was born in New York; came to Kingston with his father's family in 1769; was taken prisoner with his father and Hammond; rose upon the Indians in the night, killed them, came home with their arms, etc.; lived in Kingston; married Abbie Kelly; died in Kingston in . They had: — John Bennett, b. d. m. Andrew Bennett, b. 1809, d. 1885, in. George Bennett, m. Elizabeth Bennett, m. IsHMAEL Bennett^ {Ishmael,'^ Ishmael^) was born in Connecti- cut in 1760; came to Wyoming with his father's family about 1770; settled in Wilkes-Barre; married Elizabeth Searle, daughter of Constant Searle, widow of Capt. Dethick Hewitt, for second wife; third wife, Amanda Belcher; lived in Pittston and Lackawanna; died there about 1858, aged 98. They had: — John Bennett, m. Araminta . Raymond Bennett. Thomas Bennett^ {Jshmael,"^ Ishmael'^') was born in Connecti- cut in 1765; came to Wilkes-Barre with his father's family about 1770; came to Hanover with them in 1788; married Mary Ann Espy; lived in Nanticoke, and died there. They had: — Mary Ann Bennett, " m. Alden I. Bennett. Samuel Bennett. ' Josiah Bennett^ {Ishmael,'^ Ishmael'^) was born in Wilkes- Barre in 1786; married Sally Taylor; lived in Hanover on the Back Road on a part of the Town Committee Lot No. 29; died there in 1857. They had: — Angelina Bennett, m. Ashbel Ruggles. T u T 1 13 4.^ .^ / 1st, Hannah Miller. John Taylor Bennett, m. | ^j ' h. Shiner. 25* 394 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Lydia Bennett, m. Robert Smith. Eliza Bennett, m. Solomon Newton. Polly Bennett, m. Abram Smith. Josiah Bennett, ' in. Charlotte Smith. Samuel Bennett, m. Silas W. Bennett, b. 1827, m. Margaret Moisten Nathan Bennett^ (^Ishmacl,'^ Ishmael'^) was born in Hanover in 1788; married Ann Hoover; lived in Wilkes-Barre; died there in 1872. They had: — George W. Bennett, b. i?>\2, d. 1884, ;«. Jane Bevans. Polly Bennett, . m.]ohn.A. Carey. Sarah Bennett, m. Charles Drake. Daniel Bennett, ;«. Emily Kite. Stewart Bennett, b. 1830, d. 1885, m. Sally Ann Lynn. John Taylor Bennett* {Josiah,^ Ishmael,'^ Ishmael'^) was born in Hanover in ; married ist, Hannah Miller, 2d, Henrietta Shiner; lived in Wilkes-Barre; removed to Minnesota in 1859; lives in Dacotah. They had: — Mary Bennett, m. Martha Bennett, m. Kate Bennett, m. Lanfting Rinehimer. Hannah Bennett, m. ■ Robins. George Bennett, tn. Emma Bennett, m. Esther Bennett, m. Fanny Bennett, m. JosiAH Bennett* {Josiah,^ Ishmael,"^ Ishmael^) was born in Hanover in ; married Charlotte.Smith; lived in Wilkes-Barre; died 'there in — — . They had: — Calvin Bennett, m. Ella Bennett, m. Silas W. Bennett* {Josiah,^ Ishniael,"^ IshmaeP-) was born in Hanover in 18^7; married Margaret Moister; lives in Wilkes- Barre, They had: — Monroe Bennett. Margaret Bennett. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 395 George W. Bennett* {Nathan,^ Ishmael,"^ Ishmael'^) was born in Hanover in 1 8 1 2 ; married Jane Bevans ; lived in White Haven and Ashley; died in Ashley in 1884. They had:^ Elizabeth Bennett, in. Dr. Samuel Trimmer. Charles Bennett, ' in. Eddinger. Stewart Bennett, m. Belle Barkman. Mary Bennett, i?i. Thomas Durdan. Emma Bennett, m. Samuel Snyder. George Bennett, in. Frank Bennett, in. Daniel Bennett* [Nathan,^ hhinael,'^ Ishmael'^) was born in Hanover in ; married Emily Kyte; lived in Wilkes-Barre. They had : — •Winfield S. Bennett, m. Hoffman. Frank Bennett, in. Kittle. George W. Bennett, m. Stewart Bennett* (Nathan,^ Ishinael,"^ Ishmael'^\ was born in Hanover in 1830; married Sally Ann Lynn; lived in Wilkes-Barre; died 1885. They had:— Nathan Bennett, m. Eliza Sturdevant. Rufus Bennett, ^.1885. Alexander Bennett. Stewart Bennett. Robert Bennett. Ella Bennett. THE brown family. Alexander Brown ^ was born in Lancaster County, Pa.; emigrated to Kingston, Luzerne County, with his family; married Mary Tyler. They had: — Alexander Brown, — went away. John Brown, — went away. i George Brown, — went away. James Brown, — -went to Wayne County, Pa. William Brown, w. Sarah Lewis. Sarah Brown, m. Gideon Underwood. " Jane Brown, m. Jesse Lee. 396 HISTORY OF HANOVER. William Brown^ [Alexajider'^) was born in Lancaster County;' lived in Kingston, Pa.;- married Sarah Lewis; died young, in Kingston. They had : — ■urn- TD 7 -, » J 00 f 1st, Amanda Dilley Wilham Brown, b. lyg?,' d. 1880, "'• j ^d, Julia Hosier. William Brown* {William,'^ Alexander'^) was born in Kingston, Luzerne County, Pa., in 1797; lived in Hanover and Newport; married Amanda Dilley first, and second Julia Mosier. Th'ey had:— 1st, Stephen Brown, m. Mary Wooley. ,, . , T> f 1st, Samuel Michael ^1™^ 2''°^'"' '"■ i 2d, Abram \\'alton. 2d, Sarah Brown, m. Anson Dunn. " Anderson Brown, m. Melinda Coolbaugh. ■" Hendrick W. Brown, in. Sarah McCrary. " George A. Brown, in. " Lewis. C. Brown, m. Etta Luce. Stephen Brown^ {]VilliLXinf IVil'iam^ Alexander^) was born in Hanover about 1827; married Mary Wooley; lives in Hanover. They had: — Emma Brown, in. George Shafer. Mary Brown, in. Charles Butzbaugh. Amanda Browri, ni. Annie Brown. Jane Brown. Charles Brown. Anderson Brown* {Williain^ William,^ Alexander^) was borft- in Newport; lives in Wilkes-Barre; married Melinda Coolbaugh. They had: — Minne Brown. Eliza Brown. Bertha Brown. Harvey Brown. Frank Brown. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 397 Hendrick W. BROWti* (Wil/iam,^ William^ Alexander^) was born in Newport; lives in Hanover; married Sarah McCrary. They had:— ~ Franklin Brown. Laura Brown. Lewis Brown. Susan Brown. Lewis G. Brown* ( Willianif William^ Alexander'^') was born in Newport; lives in Wisconsin; married Etta Luce. They had: — George Brown. THE BURRITT FAMILY. William Burritt' was born in Wales ; came to Gonnecticut in 1630; died at Stratford in Gonnecticut in 165 1; married . They had: — Stephen Burritt, b. d. 169S, in. Stephen BuRRiTT^ ( fFz7/2«;«^) was born in Stratford; married ; resided in Gonnecticut; died there in 1698. They had : — Peleg Burritt, b. 1679, d. ni. Peleg Burritt' {Stephen^ William^) was born in Stratford, Gon- necticut, in 1679; married ; died there in ■. They had :— r ist.ElizabethBlack- Peleg Burritt, /. 1721, d 1789, m.l ^d.DeborahBeards- t lee. Capt. Peleg Burritt* (Peleg^ Stephen; William}') was born in Stratford, Gonn., in 1721; married ist, Elizabeth Blackleach, 2d, Deborah Beafdslee; removed to Hanover as early as about 1773 or 1774; bought Lot No. 7, first division, of Galeb Spencer in March, 1777; died in Hanover near the Green in 1789. They had: — 1st, Rev. Blackleach Burritt, h. ; lived in Connecticut. " ■ Mabel Burritt, h. ; lived in Gonnecticut. 2d, Gideon Burritt, h. ; died in Hanover, never married. fist, Cyprian Hib- Sarah Burritt, b. 1750, d 1833, m.\ ^^^ ^JjJ^f^^ ^^^_ lenback. 398 HISTORY OF HANOVER. 2d. Stephen Burritt, h. m. Mary Keeler. » HT TD -^4. A I 1st, Peter Hubbell. Mary Burntt, 6. ^«- 1 2d, Capt. Woodruff Stephen Burritt^ {Capi. Peleg^ Peleg^ Stephen^ Williaitf) was born in Connecticut about 1750; came to Hanover about 1773 or 1774; owned the lot No. 8, second division, surrounding the "Green "-and church-yarH; married Mary Keeler; died in Han- over in . They had : — Joel Burritt, h. d. ' m. Ruth Dilley. Stephen Burritt, h. d. about 1850, never married. Polly Burritt, h. m. Jonathan Dilley. Joel Burritt^ {Peleg^ Peleg^ Stephen^ William^) was born in Connecticut; came to Hanover about 1773 or 1774; married Ruth Dilley; removed to other parts. They had: — . Joel Burritt, m. Melissa Burritt, m. Fleet. David Burritt, m. the blackman family. John (?) Blackman* was born in England about 1600; had an elder brother, to whom the family property descended ; emigrated to Massachusetts or Connecticut about 1635 ; married, lived and died there. They had: — John (?) Blackman, m. And other children. John (?) Blackman^ ( r- Blackmail) was born in Connecticut about 1635 ; married, lived and died there, so far as known. They had:— Elisha Blackman, b. about 1687, d. \ about 1768, ]'^' And other children. Elisha Blackman^ (Blackman^ Blackman} the Englishman) was born in Connecticut about 1687; married, lived and diecl about 1768 or 1769 in Lebanon, subsequent to the year 1767. They had:— Elisha Blackman, b. 1717, d. 1804, ;«. Lucy Polly (w. Smith). And other children. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 399 Elisha Blackman* {Elishaf Blackman^ Blackman} the English- man) was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 17x7; married Lucy Polly (the widow Smith); immigrated with his family to Wilkes- Barre early in the spring of 1772 at the age of 55; was in the battle at Nanticoke and defeat of Plunkett in 1775; was in the skirmish with the Indians at Exeter on July ist, 1778; returned to Lebanon, Connecticut, after the battle and massacne of July 3, 1 778 ; returned to Wilkes-Barre in 1 790 ; owned a farm extending both sides of Main street one lot west of Academy street,. Wilkes- Barre ; died there in 1 804. They had : — Elisha Blackman, b. 1 760, d. 1845, m. Anna Hurlbut. Ichabod Blackman, b. 1762, d. 1804, m. Elizabeth Franklin. Eleazer Blackman, b. 1765, d. 1844, m. Clara Hyde. Lucy Blackman, m. John Titus (in Conn). T . -n, , f Darius Spafford Lovma Blackman, in.< /, -n j t 1 --o\ \ (killed July 3, 1778). Elisha Blackman'' {Elisha^ Elishaf Blackman^ BlackmatiF) was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1760; immigrated with his father to Wilkes-Barre in 1772; was in the skirmish at Exeter with his father and brother Ichabod two days before the massacre; was in the battle and massacre of July 3d, 1778, and escaped; fled with his father to the Delaware; came back with Capt. Spalding's com- pany in Augu'st; helped to bury the dead at Wyoming; helped to harvest such crops as could be saved, and in the fall enlisted in the amiy, being then 18 years old, and served till the end of the war; returned to Wilkes-Barre and lived on his father's farm ; married Anna Hurlbut and settled in Hanover in 1791; lived near the Back Road, now Plumbton; died there in 1845, nearly 86 years old; buried with military honors on the "Green." They had: — Henry Blackman, b. 1788, d. 1843, m. Sarah Bennett. Ebenezer Blackman, (J. 1791,^. w. Susan M.Stockbridge Hurlbut Blackman, b. 1794, d. in. Sarah Rollin. Elizabeth Blackman, b. 1799, d. in. Henry Boos. Elisha Blackman, b. i?,oi, d. 1872, in. Amy RolHn. Julia Ann Blackman, b. 1806, in. Charles Plumb. Ichabod Blackman' {Elisha,^ Elisha^ Blackman,^ English Blackman^) was born in Connecticut in 1762; came to Wilkes- 400 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Barre with his father's family in 1772; was in the skirmish at Exeter July i, 1778, together with his father and brother Elisha; fled with his mother, sisters and brother Eleazer on July 4, 1778, through the woods to Stroudsburg and Connecticut; returned to Wilkes-Barre about 1784; in 1786 married Elizabeth Franklin, daughter of Arnold Franklin, who was in the Wyoming Massacre, but escaped;, removed to Bradford County, Pa., in 1786; died there. They had : — Franklin Blackman, b. 1787, d. 1879, pi. Sibyl Beardsley. Elisha Blackman, (5. 1791, in. Mary Melissa Brown, in the army, J •' Elisha Blackman, <5. 1838, m. Mary Ann Spangle. Sylvester Blackman,^. 1842, d. 1863 in the army. Milton Hurlbut Blackman," (5. 1854.' Elisha Blackman* {Ichabod,^ Eliska* Elisha^ Blackman^ Blackman^) was born in Horn Brook, Bradford County, Pa., in 1791; married ist, Polly Searle, 2d, Filena Searle, 3d, Sarah Atherton; lived in Pittston; died there in 1881. Tljey had: — 1st, Fanny Blackman, . in. Dr. Avery Knapp. " Miner S. Blackmail, in. Elizabeth Drake. " Harvey Blackman, in., went West. . 2d, Cornelius Blackman, in. Mary Shannon. " Mary Blackman, m. Emory. " Elizabeth Blackman, m. Healy. 402 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Col. Franklin Blackman" {Ichabod^ Elisha,*^ Elishaf Bl&ck- man^ Blackman}) was born in Sheshequin, Bradford County, Pa., in 1787; married Sibyl Beardsley; lived in Sheshequin; died there in, 1 879. They had: — George W. Blackman, m. Joseph Franklin Blackman, m. Lucy Ann Horton. Betsey Blackman, m. Ferguson. Melinda Blackman, m. Wm. Bullard Horton. Hiram L. Blackman, 5. 18 19, m. Mary Blackman, m. William Shaw. Rev. David Blackman^ {Ichabod^ BUsha^ Elishaf Black- manf Blackman^) was born in Sheshequin, Bradford County, Pa., in 1792; married Lydia Horton; was a Methodist clergyman and resided in many different places and died in Sheshequin. They had; — Milton Blackman, m. Sterling Blackman, m. Elisha Billings Blackman, m. Franklin Blackman, b. 1832, m. Ethleen Gillette. Charles Ichabod Blackman, m. Eliza B. Blackman, m. David S. Blackman. Elisha B. 'R'lkck.ua.'s' {Henry ,^ Elisha,^ Elisha* Elishaf Black- tnanf BldchnanS) was born in Hanover in 1822; married Adelina Bidleman; went West; lived in Missouri; died there. They had: — Sarah Ellen Blackman, b. 1848, in. William H. Blackman, b. 185 1, m. Florence B. Blackman, b. 1855, m. Nelson D. Blackman, b. 1857, m.- \ THE CRISMAN family. Frederick Crisman' (German descent) came to Hanover as early as 1788; built and kept the Red Tavern; diedini8is. They had: — Abram Crisman, in. Beshero Crisman. Rachel Crisman. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 4O3 Betsey Crisman, m. Lazarus Stewart. Charles Crisman. Priscilla Crismarv, iW.LewisMulisonHorton Harriet Crisman. • Jesse Crisman, d. 1834, m. Polly Hartzell. Abram Crisman^ [Frederic]^') kept the Red Tavern; married They had: — John Crisman, m. Warner. Susan Crisman, b. 1807, d. 1847, m. George P. Steele. Katie Crisman, m. John Long. Euphemia Crisman, m. George Kocher. Jesse Crisman^ {Frederick^) was born in Hanover; married Polly Hartzell; removed to Kingston; lived in the house at the west end of the Wilkes- Barre bridge; in 1834 he put his family, live stock and furniture on a sort of an ark in the river there, floated down to the feeder lock at Nanticoke, entered the canal, went down to the Juniata, up that canal to Hollidaysburg, across the Allegheny Mountain on a railroad, without unloading his boat, took the canal on the other side to Pittsburg, intending to have entered the Ohio River there and floated down to Illinois, his destination. He never reached his destination, but was robbed and murdered at Pittsburg. Names of his family not known. THE CAREY FAMILY. Eleazer Carey,' the first of the family known here, came to Wyoming as early as 1769; his family of five sons came with him from Connecticut to New York, and in 1772 came to Wyoming Valley. They had: — T , ^ f was in the Revo- John Carey, m.,i^ tionary Army. •NT ...1. /- I u i. _-o r was in the battle Nathan Carey, ^. about 1758, m.,^ and escaped. • Samuel Carey, (5. about 1760, m. Theressa Gore. .Benjamin Carey, b. 1763, d. 1830, m. Mercy Abbot. Comfort Carey, . m. Hulda Weeks. John Carey^ {Eleazer^) came to Wilkes-Barre with his father's family in 1772; served in the Revolutionary Army; lived after-. 404 HISTORY OF HANOVER. wards at Careytown, named after him, the lower part of Wilkes- Barre on the' River Road. They had : — Hannah Carey, m. Nathan Bardey. Amanda Carey, in. Henry Tillberry. Polly Carey, m. Gore. Benjamin Carey^ {Eleazer^) was born in 1 763 ; came to the valley with his father's family in 1772; was too young to be in the Wy,oming Battle in 1778; settled in Hanover as early as 1795; married Mercy Abbot; lived in Hanover on the Middle Road; died in Hanover in 1830. They had: — Nathan Carey, m. Sally Ann Allen. Nancy Carey, m. Elijah Adams. Rachel Carey, vi. Sira Landing. Elias Carey, m. Lettitia Smiley. Sarah Carey, in. Bateman Downing. Esther Carey, in. Darius Waters. Martha Carey, in. Peter Mensch. Benjamin Carey, in. Jane Smiley. Selesta Carey, m. Harvey Holcomb. John A. Carey, m. Polly Bennett. Comfort Carey^ [E/eazer^) came here with his father's family in 1772, too young for the battle of Wyoming; settled in Hano- ver on the Back Road near Ashley. Married Hulda Weeks. They had: — John Carey, m. Hannah Dickson. Benjamin Carey, in. Katy Askam. Daniel Carey, in. Lovina Dilley. Lucy Carey, in. Erastus Coswell. Lydia Carey, m. Jacob Worthing. Nathan Carey' {Benjamin j' Eleazer^) born in Hanover; mar- ried Sally Ann Allen; went to Wisconsin in 1844. They had: — Elias Carey, in. Sally Ann Patterson. Selesta Carey, m. [ J°hn Sliker, killed ■' I '" Mexican War. David Carey, in. In the West. Waters Carey, ' iu. " " " Nathan Carey, i/i. " " " Byron Carey, ;;/.""" GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 4OS Elias Carey'' {Benjajidtt,^ Eleazer^) born in Hanover about 1795; lived in Wright township at the time of his death; married Lettitia Smiley. They had: — Mercy Ann Carey, ;//. Samuel Coughlin. George Carey, ;//. Mary Ovens. Mary Carey, in. Edward Ovens. Eleazer Carey, ;«. Harriet Shafer. Archibald Carey, in. Elizabeth Shafer. Jane Carey, m. Morris Bush. Benjamin Carey, ni. Eliza Deterick. Thomas Carey, jii. Cronk. Emma Carey, _ ui. Thomas Morrison. Benjamin Carey^ \Benjaviinf Eleazer'^') was born in Hanover; married Jane Smiley, and removed to the West in 1845, (Wiscon- sin.) They had : — Mary Ann Carey, in. in the West. Charles Carey, m. " " " Harriet Carey, in. " Sarah Jane Carey, ;//. " " " John A. Carey' i^Benjamin'^ Eleazer'^') born in Hanover; lives on the Ashley cross-road in Ashley, now called Cemetery street; married Polly Bennett. They had: — Hiram Carey, in. Susan Sigler. Susan Carey, /«. Henry Stein. Sarah Carey, in. Christian Liezer. Jane Carey, in. Charles Lehr. Stewart Carey, m. Mary McCue. John Carey, m. Mary Smith. Nathan Carey, in. John Carey'' i^Conifort^- Eleazer^) born in Hanover; married Hannah Dickson ; lived in the stoop-house, still standing near the Lehigh Valley railroad in the fields near Ashley They went West about 1843. They had: — Daniel Carey, 7«.Elaviah(Clara) Smiley Lucy Carey, »^- George Barns. Ambrose Carey, m. in the West. 406 HISTORY OF HANOVER. THE DOWNING FAMILY. Reuben Downing' was born in Connecticut; came to Wyo- ming in 1770; settled in Wilkes-Barre ; married Hannah Arnold; lived in Wilkes-Barre; died there. They had: — „ „ ' . , JO f Sarah Carey, (of Bateman Downing, ^. 179s, ^. 1879, ?«. | Hanover. Martin Downing, (5, about 1797, af. in. \ plains) Elias Downing, b. about 1799, d. m. Jane Dana. Sarepta Downing, b. d. in. Jonas Hartzell. Ann Downing, b. d. m. George- Carey. Bateman DpWNiNG^ [Reuben^) was born in' Wilkes-Barre in 1795 ; married Sarah Cafey, daughter of Benjamin Carey; removed to Hanover; resided on the Middle Road; removed to Wisconsin in. 1 865; died there in 1879. They had: — • Burton Downing, b. 1815, d. 1841, in. Hannah Kreidler. Lydia Ann Downing, b. 18 17, in. William Nagle. Reuben Downing, b. 1822, m. Nancy Miller. Sarah Downing, b. 1824, m. — - — Wilkeson. And two other children, names not known. Asa Gore,' (Obadiah^ Samuel^ Samuel f yokn^) born in Con- necticut in 1750; came with the family to Wilkes-Barre in 1769; married ; had children; was killed in the rhassacre of 1778; family not afterwards known. George Gore' {Obadtak* Samuel,^ Samuel^ Johrf) was born in Connecticut in 1759; came to Wilkes-Barre with the family in 1769; was slain in the battle and massacre of 1778. Not married. Samuel Gore' (Obadiah^ Samuel f Samuel f JohriF) was born in Connecticut in 1761 ; came to Wilkes-Barre with his father's family in 1769; was in the battle July 3, 1778, and escaped; enlisted in the Revolutionary army and served till the end of the war; mar- ried Sarah Brokaw in 1785; moved to Sheshequin, Pa., with his brother Obadiah in 1783; died there in 1836. Children not known. John Gore* (Obadiah^ Samuel^ Samuel f John^) was bom in Connecticut in 1764; came to Wilkes-Barre with the family in 27 41 8 HISTORY OF HANOVER. 1769; fled with his father and family after the massacre; returned; lived in Kingston; married Elizabeth Ross; died in Kingston in 1837. They had: — ' Asa Gore, b. 1794, d. 1855, ;«. John Gore, b. 1799, d. in. Ruth Searle. Mary Gore, b. 1802, d. 1861, vi. Moses Wood. George Gore, b. 1804, d. 1841, m. Harriet Smith. Sarah Gore, b. 1807, in. John B. Wood. George Gore^ [John^ Obadiah^ Samuel^ Samuel^ JohvF) was born in Kingston, Pa., in 1804; married Harriet Smith; resided in Kingston; died there in 1841. They had: — • William Gore, b. Hettie Gore, b^ in. THE GEORGE FAMILY. Henry George' was born in 1797; came to Hanover (Nanti- coke) when a young man; settled in Nanticoke; married Catharine Kocher; lived in Nanticoke and died there in 1849. They had: — Elizabeth George, in. S. T. Puterbaugh. William George, m. Ann Croop. Hiram George, m. Amanda Gruver. Q,,o-,,i r^^^^.= . f 1st, Daniel Lazarus. Susan George, ^«- { 2d, A. M. Jeffries. John George, m. Serlina Robins. Adelaide George, m. Augusta Nybil. ( 1st, Martha Van- Samuel George, w/.^ dermark. I 2d, Hattie Totten. Josephine George, m. Dr. Wm. G. Robins. Isaiah George, b. 183 1, d. 1875, m. William George^ {Henry^) was born in Hanover; lives in ; married Ann Croop. They had: — Harry George, m. Euphemia Sorber. Edward G. George, m. Lizzie Drumheller. Hylman George, m. Lydia George, in. Eugene N.Alexander Jennie George, m. Samuel L. Lueder. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 4I9 Hiram George^ [Henry^) was born in Hanover; lived and died in Hanover, (Nanticoke) 1883; married Amanda Gruver. They had:— Emma George, m. William George, in. Estella George, m. Kate George, m. Ruff. Adella George, iii. Joanna George, ;//. Orlando George, m. John George^ {Henry^) was born in Hanover (Nanticoke); lives in ; married Serlina Robins. They had: — Wesley George, in. Bird George, • in. George George, in. Samuel George^ (//i?«rj'') was born in Hanover (Nanticoke); lives in Nanticoke; married ist, Martha Vandermark, 2d, Hattie Totten. They had : — ' 1st, Charles- George, in. " Anna George, in. William Shelly. •" Susie George. " Ira George. " Addie George. . 2d, Mary George. " Martha George. " Grover C. George. Isaiah George^ (Henry) was born in Nanticoke in 183 1 ; lived in Wilkes- Barre ;. married ; died in Wilkes-Barre in 1875. They had:— Clara George, >n. Linnie George, m. Mary George. Palmer George. THE GAI^RISON FAMILY. Cornelius Garrison' was born in Alsace, then France, in 1756; came to America as a French soldier in our Revolutionary War; 420 HISTORY OF HANOVER. did not return with the French at the end of the war in 1782; married Mary ; settled in Hanover on the Back Road at Sugar Notch; died in 1825. They had: — EHzabeth Garrison, b. 1782, d. 1827, m. John Saum. John Garrison, m. Catharine Mack. Mary Garrison, m- John Robins. Rachel Garrison, m. William Stapleton. Nancy Garrison. Jacob Garrison, m. Rachel Rimer. James Garrison, m. Mary Wiggins. John Garrison^ (Cornelius^) was born in Hanover about 1784; lived in Hanover and Dorrance; died in Dorrance in 1865; mar- ried Catharine (Kate) Mack. They had: — Cornelius Garrison, in. Rebecca Garrison, m. Henry Burney. Ziba Garrison, in. Jacob Garrison^ {Cornelius') was born in Hanover; married Rachel Rimer; moved to the West in 1842. They had: — William Garrison, m. In the West. George Garrison, b. about 1829, m. " " " Silas Garrison, m. " " " Elizabeth Garrison, m. " " " THE GARRINGER FAMILY. Garringer' lived in Northampton County, Pa.; was killed at the age of 26 years by a horse, leaving a young family. They were : — John Garringer, b. 1785, d. 1836, in. MaryMagdaleneHess Adam Garringer, b. d. m. Daniel Garringer, b. d. m. John Garringer^ ( Garringer^') was born in Northampton County in 1785; came to Hanover in 1810; bought the Hurlbut farm below the Red Tavern on the River Road; married Mary Magdalene Hess; died in 1836. They had: — Charles Garringer, b. 1805, ' m. Elizabeth Lueder. Levi Garringer, b. 1806, m. Katy Reynard. Thomas Garringer, 6. 1807. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 421 Eliza Garringer, b. 1809, d. 1850, Jesse Garringer, b. 181 2, John G. Garringer, b. 18 14. Mary Garringer, b. 18 17, David Garringer, b. 1 8 19. Susan Garringer, b. 1822, Isaac Garringer, b. 1824. Daniel Garringer, b. 1826, d. 1858. Lucinda Garringer, b. 1828, Aaron Garringer^ b. 1830, Charles Garringer' {John,^ m. John Andrew. in. Sarah Croop. m. KHnker. m. John Sutton. m. William King. m. — Garringer^) was born in Northampton County in 1805 ; came to Hanover with his father in 1 8 10; has always lived in Hanover; married Elizabeth Lueder. They had: — William A. Garringer, b. 1828, Edward L. Garringer, b. 1830, Charlotte Garringer, b. 1832, Mary Garringer, b. 1834, Lydia Garringer, b. 1835, Hannah Garringer, b. 1837, Euphemia Garringer, b. 1842, Anderson C. Garringer, b. 1844, Anning M. Garringer,'^. 1847, m. Phcebe Shafer. m. Mary Mensch. m. William Connor. m. George Inman. in. Wm. Deets, died 1 862 in. Xavier Wernet. m. Alfred Fairchild. m. Jane Shafer. m. Sarah Boone. William A. Garringer^ {Charles^ John^ Garringer'-) was born in Hanover in 18.28; married Phcebe Shafer; lives in Lake township, Luzerne County, Pa. They had: — Margaret Garringer, b. in. John Irving. Charles Garringer, b. Henry Garringer, b. Nelson Garringer, b. Samuel Garringer, b. Martha Garringer, b. Emma Garringer, b. Wilson Garringer, b. Amanda Garringer, b. Salida Garringer, b. Irving Garringer, b. 422 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Edward L. Garringer* {Charles? John^ Garringer') was born in Hanover in 1 830; married Mary Mensch, of Hanover; removed to Michigan. They had : — John Garringer, h. EHzabeth Garringer, b. Leonard Garringer, b. Letta Garringer, i. Anderson Garringer^' {Charles f John? Garringer^) was born in Hanover, in 1844; married Jane Shafer; Hves in Nanti- coke. They had: — Dolly Garringer, b. Butler Garringer, b. Charles Garringer, b. Fred Garringer, b. Anning Garringer* {Charles? John? Garringer^) was born in Hanover in 1847; married Sarah Boone; removed to Kansas. They had: — William Garringer. Nettie Garringer. Bruce Garringer. Lloyd Garringer. Jesse Garringer^ {John? Garringer^) wzs born in Hanover in' 1 812; married Catharine Croop; resided in Hanover, and in Wilkes-Barre on the Middle Road near the Hanover line. They had:— Sally Garringer, in. M. B. Houpt. Susan Garringer, in. Charles Sands. George Garringer; served in army, 1863-64-65, 5 2d Pa. Vol. Mary Garringer. Andrew Garringer, m. Alice Honnard. ' Jennie E. Garringer. . _ ,. Harrison Garringer, m. Ella E. Barney, , Franklin D. Garringer, b. 1857, in. Fannie Luedec. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 423 THE HARTZELL FAMILY. Isaac Hartzell^ was born in Northampton County, Pa.; came to Hanover previous to 1810; lived on the River Road above Buttonwood; mar^fied Margaret Hartzell. They had: — Thomas Hartzell, — went West. Polly Hartzell, m. Jesse Crisman. Jonas Hartzell, in. Sarepta Downing. Elizabeth Hartzell, m. Caleb Inman. Susan Hartzell, ni. Abram Fritz. Daniel Hartzell, ^ in. Maria Fellis. THE HI BEARD FAMILY. Robert Hibbard,' the first of the family certainly known in America by name, was born (probably in Beverly, Mass.) in 1647; married Mary ; removed to Windham, Conn.; died there in 17,10. They had: Robert Hibbard, b. 1676, d. in. Mary Read. Joseph Hibbard, b. 1678, d. in. Abigail Hibbard. Nathaniel Hibbard, b. d. m. Sarah Crane. Ebenezer Hibbard, b. d. in. Mary Hibbard, b. d. in. Jonathan Crane. Martha Hibbard, b. d. in. Ephraim Culver. Hannah Hibbard, b. d. in. Sarah Hibbard, b. d. Abigail Hibbard, b. d. ■■ Ebenezer Y\.TSzhss? {Robert'^^ was born in Windham, Conn.,; about 1684; married; died, the place and time uncertain, but believed to have been in Windham County, They had (among other children) : — Ebenezer Hibbard, h. about 17 10, d. in. Hannah Downer. Ebenezer Hibbard' {Ebenezer^ Robert^') was born in Connecti- cut, the date is uncertain, but beheved to be about 17 10, as he came to Wyoming in 1769 an old man with a family of grown-up sons; had married Hannah Downer; died in Hanover in 1779, at Buttonwood. Th^yhad: — . . . Ebenezer Hibbaf-d, ^ about 1740, rf. m. 424 HISTORY OF HANOVER. AKrir uuu A A / Unmarried, died in William Hibbard, i>. | ^^^^ ^bout 1835. Cyprian Hibbard, d. 1752, d. 1778, 7n. Sarah Burrett. 'Ebui^kzer HiBBARB* {Edeneser,^ -Edeneser,^ jRodert^) was born in Connecticut, probably about 1740; came to Wyoming among the first two hundred settlers in 1769 with his father's family, or ahead of them ; settled near the River Road in Hanover on Solomon's Creek about 1772; married; was in the Wyoming Massacre of July 3, 1778, with his two brothers, William and Cyprian, but escaped; died in Hanover subsequent to 1 790. They had: — Naomi Hibbard, d. d. m. Darius Preston. Bathsheba (Brasha) Hibbard, b. d. m. John Hendershot. Calvin Hibbard, b. d. m. Cyprian Hibbard* {Ebenezerf Ebenezer^ Robert^) was born in Connecticut in 1752; came with his father's family to Hanover about 1772; married Sarah Burrett; resided in Hanover adjoining, the "Green" — Cemetery now — on the north-east; was in the Wyoming Massacre July 3, 1778, with his two brothers, Ebenezer and William, and was slain on the river bank in the edge of the water; the two brothers escaped. They had: — Hannah Downer^Hibbard, b. 1778, | ^. j^hn Alexander. . THE HYDE FAMILY. Uncle Hyde' — so-called — was born in New England; immi- grated with his family to Wilkes-Barre before the Wyoming Mas- sacre; was in the fort at Wilkes-Barre at the time of massacre; when the women and children and the old men left the fort for the Delaware River on the 4th of July, 1778 — the day after the massacre — he, with old Elisha Blackman, Sr., were the only persons left in the fort to receive the few returning fugitives that had escaped the massacre ; he came to Hanover to reside previous to 1796; resided on the Middle Road on the farm long known afterwards as Metcalf's; the Askam postoffice is on the opposite side of Bennett's Creek from his house; he died here about 1810 or 1812. His children, so far as known, were: — William Hyde, b- d. m. Catharine Hurlbut. Willis Hyde, b. d. m. Eunice Grist. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. , 425 Clara Hyde, b. d. m. Eleazer Blackman. Hyde, h. d. in. Samuel Phinney. William Hyde^ (Uncle Hyde^) was born in New England; came with the family to Wilkes-Barre, then to Hanover about 1787; mar- ried Catharine Hurlbut; removed, it is thought, to Great Bend about 1806. They had: — '■ Avery Hyde, h. d m. Judith Hyde, h. d m. Lucinda Hyde, h. d. m. Joseph Hyde, h. d. - m. Lydia Hyde, 6. d m. Willis Hyde^ [Uncle Hyde^) was born in New England; came with the family to Wilkes-Barre; removed to Hanover previous to 1799; lived with his father; married Eunice Grist; after his father's death in 18 10-12 he -removed to Mauch Chunk. They had: — John Hyde, b. d. m. Emma Hyde, b. d. m. Filena Hyde, b. d. - m. Willis Hyde, b. d. m. Annis Hyde, b. d. m. And other children before and after leaving Hanover. * THE HtJRLBUT FAMILY. Lieut. Thomas Hurlbut' was born in England about 161 5; immigrated to New England; was lieutenant of the first company that garrisoned the fort of Saybrook, Connecticut, in 1636; was wounded in the Pequot War; was one of the first settlers in Weathersfield; was voted a tract of land in 1671 for his services in the Pequot War ; was a member of the Assembly in Connecticut in 1640; married ; died in Weathersfield about 1672, the exact date uncertain. They had (among others) :— Samuel Hurlbut, b. about 1640, m. Samuel Hurlbut^ {Thomas'-) was supposed to have been born in Saybrook about 1640; married ; died in Weathers- field. They had (among others) :— Stephen Hurlbut, b. about 1670, rn. 27* 426, HISTORY OF HANOVER. Stephen Hurlbut' {Samuel^ Thomas^) was born about 1670; married ; died . They had (among others) : — John Hurlbut, b. about 1700, m. Stoddard. John Hurlbut* (Stephen^ Samuel^ Thomas^) was born in Weathersfield about 1700; removed to Groton, Connecticut; mar- ried Stoddard; died in Groton. They had (among others): — John Hurlbut, b. 1730, d. 1782, m. Abigail Avery. Deacon John Hurlbut* {John,^ Stephen^ Samuel,^ Thomas^), known in history as the " Deacon," was born in Groton, Connecti- cut, in 1730; married Abigail Avery; removed with his family and animals arid loose property for Wyoming in 1778, where (in Han- over) he had bought, the previous year, eight hundred acres of land; did not reach Hanover till 1779 on account of the Wyoming Massacre having taken place when he reached Lackawaxen; set- tled on the north side of the River Road north-east of the creek below the Red Tavern ; the same year he was sent to represent the County of Westmoreland in the Connecticut Assembly; was also Assemblyman in 1780 and 1781; died in Hanover at the Stewart place in Buttonwood in March, 1782; was buried on his own farm north-west of the house, near an orchard he had set out with his own hands. They had: — Christopher Hurlbut, b. 1757, d. 1831, m. Elizabeth Mann. John Hurlbut, b. 1760, d. m. Hannah Millet. • Anna Hurlbut, b. 1762, d. 1828, m. Elisha Blackman. Catharine Hurlbut, b. 1764, d. 1804, m. William Hyde. Naphtali Hurlbut, b. 1767, d. 1844, m. Olive Smith. Lydia Hurlbut, b. 177S, d. m. John Tiffany. Christopher Hurlbut" {Deacon John^ John^ Stephen^ Samuel^ Thomas!'^ was born in -Connecticut in 1757; came to Wyoming in 1770; was a soldier in the Revolutionary War from 1776 to the end; was at Harlem, N. Y., White Plains, N. Y., through New Jersey to Pennsylvania, thence in New Jersey again, in the battles of Trenton and Princeton ; was discharged -at Chatham, N. J.; re- sided in Hanover till 1797; married Ehzabeth Mann; died in Arkport, N. Y., in 1831. They had:— John Hurlbut, 1865; resides in Michigan. They had: — Edward I. Ruggles, .6. 1845, m. Mary H. Hughes. S. Paulina Ruggles, b. 1847, ''"■ Charles H. Jones. Josiah L. Ruggles, b. 185 1, m. Mary Reish. William Z. Ruggles, b. 1855, "'■ Emma Mcjury. Henry H. Ruggles, b. 1859, vi. Lydia H. Carner. George B. Ruggles'' [Ashbelf Alfred^ Ruggles'-') was born in Hanover in 1830; went West with his father in 1843; married Rachel Woodle; lives in Newtonia, Missouri. They had: — W. A. Ruggles, h. 1855', ni. Emma L. Ruggles, b. 1857, m. Eliza Ruggles, b. 1859, in. George H. Ruggles, 6. 1861. Jasper W. Ruggles, b. 1867. Nellie G. Ruggles, b. 1874. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 469 THE ROBERT ROBINS FAMILY. Robert Robins^ was born ia New Jersey in 1777; came .to Hanover; resided at and cleared up a farm near Ashley; returned to New Jersey in 18 17; married Margaret Sharps; returned to Hanover, (Nanticoke) in 1837; died there in 1856. They had: — John Robins, m. Sarah Carter. Cornelius Robins, doctor — unmarried — d. 1855. Elizabeth Robins, m. Philip Hortung. Jonathan Robins, m. Elizabeth Winters. Robert Robins, m. Hellen Houpt. Isaac Robins, ■ in. Margaret Keithline. Jacob Robins m. Maria Line. Tist, Margaret Al- William G. Robins, b. 1825, m.l bertson, ( 2d, JosephineGeorge John Robins^ {Robert^) was born in New Jersey; came to Han- over with his father in 1837; married Sarah Carter; removed to Michigan. They had: — Eliza Ann Robins, m. Henry Line. Robert Robins, m. Dunn. Sarah Robins. - m. Spencer Robins, m. Pringle. Charles Robins, m. Christiann Robins, in. Jonathan Robins^ [Roberf) was born in New Jersey; came to Hanover with his father in 1837; married Elizabeth Winters; lived on the cross-road near Dundee shaft; removed to Michigan. They had:— Mary Robins, m. Cornelius Robins, m. Ann Robins, m. Robert Robins, m. Belle Robins, _ m. Christiann Robins, m. Robert Robins^ {Robert'^) was born in New Jersey; came to Hanover with his father in 1837; married Eleaner Houpt; re- moved to Iowa. They had: — 470. HISTORY OF HANOVER. Ella N. Robins, m. LymanHakesBennett Cornelius Robins, '«■ Linda Robins, in. Isaac Robins^ {Robert^) was born in New Jersey; came to Hanover with his father in 1837; married Margaret Keithline; removed to Illinois. They had: — Edmond Robins, m. Andrew Robins, m. Jacob Robins^ (Robert'^) was born in New Jersey; came to Hanover with his father in 1837; married Maria Line; removed to Kansas. They had: — Samuel Robins, m. Elizabeth Robins, in. Martha Robins, m. Christiann Robins, • in. John Robins^ in. Dr. William G. Robins^ [Robert'^) was born in New Jersey in 1825; came to Hanover with his father in 1837; lives in Nanti- coke; married, 1st, Margaret Albertson, 2d, Josephine George. They had: — 1st, Margaret Robins. 2d, Edwin Robins. " Harry Robins. THE JOHN ROBINS FAMILY. RoBirjs' lived in New Jersey; the place and his name is not known. They had: — John Robins, b. 1785, d. 1831, in. Mary Garrison. Abner Robins, enlisted 181 2, lived on the West Branch. Rebecca Robins, in. Elliot. John Robins^ ( Robins^) was born in New Jersey in 1785 ; came to Hanover a boy of 18 years; married Mary Garrison, of Hanover, who died in 1862; owned the property at Sugar Notch; lived there; died there in 183 1. They had: — Elizabeth Robins, b. 1806, w^ Lewis Whitlock. Mary Robins, b. i8o8, d. 1880. ' GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 471 Cornelius Robins, b. 1810, m. Hannah Wiggins. Abner Robins, b. 1812, i^. 1884, m. Catharine Faustnach. Margaret Robins, b. 18 14, m. Nathan G. Howe. John G. RobinSj b. 1820, d. 1855, no \ children, . J ' James H. Robins, d. 1822, m. Harriet Monega. E.ia, Robin,,*. ,8.6. '».{ S S OvSon. ' Cornelius Robins^ i^John^ Robins^) was born in Hanover in 1 810; resides in Kingston, Luzerne County, Pa.; married Hannah Wiggins, of Hanover. They had: — Mary Robins, in. Abner Robins, lives in Plymouth, m. John Robins, " " Dallas, in. Elias Robins, " " Kingston, m. Hester Robins, " " Scranton, m. Abner Robins^ {Johnf Robins^) was born in Hanover in 181 2; resided in Lewistown; died there about 1884; married Catharine Faustnach. They had: — Elizabeth Robins, ■ m. James Calvin. Jane Robins, ;«. Millicent W. Robins, m. M. W. Printzenhoff. Anna A. Robins. Carter Robins. James H. Robins' {John^ Robins^) was boi;n in Hanover in 1822; lived in Wilkes-Barre; married Harriet Monega. They had:— George Robins, lives in Cleveland, m. Augusta Robins, m. William' A. Robins, gone West. Abi L. Robins, in. Calvin W. Parsons. Walter S. Robins, m. Florence Ida Line. Elias Robins' {John^ Robins^) was born in Hanover in 1826; .resides in Wilkes-Barre; married ist, Mary A. Mill, 2d, Sarah Overton. They had : — 472 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Francis Robins, m. Jesse T. Morgan. Mary Elizabeth Robins. Norman Robins, m. Ellen Learn. THE RINEHIMER FAMILY. Conrad Rinehimer^ was born in Germany;- came to this country from Germany one year and a half old, his parents dying on shipboard; was brought up in Northampton County; married Mary Kocher; came to Hanover in 1805 with his family; settled on the Middle Road— Hog Back; died in Hanover. They had: — George Rinehimer, b. 1791, Betsey Rinehimer, b. 1793, Joseph Rinehimer, b. 179S, Daniel Rinehimer, b. 1797, Conrad Rinehimer, b. Rose Ann Rinehimer, b. d. 'Peter Rinehimer, b. 18 11, Simon Rinehimer, b. 181 8, ^. 1858, John Rinehimer, b. d. 1883, George Rinehimer^ {Conrad^) was born in Northampton County in 1791 ; came to Hanover with his father in 1805 ; lives in Dorrance township ; married Margaret Sims. They had : — Susan Rinehimer, m. Lazarus Lutz. Daniel Rinehimer, m. Polly Miller. Katy Rinehimer, m. Andrew Travly. Mary Rinehimer, m. Adam Halderman. William Rinehimer, m. Hannah Eroh.- Peter Rinehimer, m. Elizabeth Stewart. Henry Rinehimer, m. Miller. Cornelius Rinehimer, m. Cassimer. Joseph Rinehimer^ [Conrad^) was born' in Northampton County, Pa., in 1795; came to Hanover with his father's family in 1805; married Sally Rummage; lived here; died in Planover in 1 847. They had : — Priscilla Rinehimer, m. Solomon Freece. w. Margaret Sims. m. John HofGnan. m. Sally Rummage. in. Anna Sims. m. Hannah Fletcher. m. John Sorber. rist, Sally Ann m. < Graver. ( 2d, Susan Johnson. in. Lovina Kreidler. 1)1. Amelia Washburn. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 473 Mary Rinehimer, w. George Nagle. Susan Rinehimer, vi. Charles A. Zeigler. A. Lanning Rinehimer, b. 1833, m. Kate Bennett. Isaiah Rinehimer, b. 1835, m. Ehzabeth Keithline. Jacob Rinehimer, b. 1837, m. Zebulon Rinehimer, b. 1846, d. \%Z\, m. Daniel Rinehimer^ [Conrad'^) was born in Northampton County in 1797; married Anna Sims; they had children, but many years ago went West to Ohio, and their family is not known. Conrad Rinehimer^ {Conrad^) married Hannah Fletcher; they had a large family in Hanover; all went to Illinois in 1850. They had: — Lydia Ann Rinehimer. Emanuel Rinehimer. Ellen Rinehimer. , Josephine Rinehimer. Peter Rinehimer^ (Ci?7«r<2ar^) was born in Hanover in 1811; married 1st, Sally Ann Graver, 2d, Susan Johnson; still lives in Hanover at Hog Back; has no children. Simon Rinehimer^ [Conrad^) was born in Hanover in 181 8; lived on the Middle Road above Fisher's; died there in 1858; mar- ried Lovina Kreidler. They had: — John Rinehimer, m. Alma E. Blodget. Daniel Rinehimer, m. Martha Bowman. Mary Catharine Rinehimer, m. Alvah Dilley. Sarah Rinehimer. in. Stettler. Thomas Rinehimer, in. Carrie Monia. John Rinehimer^ [Conrad^) was born in Hanover; always lived in Hanover, on the Middle Road; died in 1883; married Amelia Washburn. They had: — Augusta Rinehimer, ui. Evi Martin. Sarah Rinehimer. Ida Rinehimer, m. George Reiswick. 30* 474 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Isaiah Rinehimer' {Joseph^ Conrad'^) was born in Hanover in 183s; always lived in Hanover; has a residence on the Stone House Lot on the Middle Road; married Elizabeth Keithline. They had: — Charles J. Rinehimer, 6. 1858, m. Lovina Craig. George F. Rinehimer, h. i860. Andrew C. Rinehimer, h. 1862. Elmer E. Rinehimer, b. 1864. Mary R. Rinehimer, h. 1867. Martha M. Rinehimer, h. 1874. THE RUMMAGE FAMfLY. Jacob Rummage' was born in 1767; came to Hanover from Northampton County about 1803; bought land on the Back Road (near Blackman's), now the Warrior Run property; brought a young family with him; lived and died in Hanover in 1835. They had:— Conrad Rummage, h. about 1790, ni. Katie Minnich. Jacob Rummage, b. 1792, d. 1858, m. Susan Minnich. John Rummage, h. 1804, m. Polly Hoover. Christine Rummage, in. Jacob Miller. Polly Rummage, m. Jacob Shafer. Sally Rummage, m. Joseph Rinehimer. Conrad Rummage^ {J^acoP) was born in Northampton County about 1790; came to Hanover with his father about 1803; married Katie Minnich; lived and died in Hanover. They had:- — Peter Rummage, 6. 18 14, m. Sally Ruth. n/r -D 7 o_ \ Simon Peter Van- Mary Rummage, (^. 1 87 1, . in.< , , Polly Rummage, m. Peter Bowman. Conrad Rummage, d. m. Kate Saum. Eliza Rummage, m. Mahlon Van Norman Jacob Rummage^ [Jacob'^) was born in Northampton County in 1792; came with his father to Hanover about 1803; lived and died on the homestead in 1858; married Susan Minnich. They had: — William Rummage, b. about 181 8, in. Katie Ann Burrier. Zebulon Rummage, b. 1829, in. Harriet A. Price. Amelia Rummage, m. John Kulp. GENEALOGICAL TABLES. 475 John Rummage^ {Jacob^) was born in Hanover in 1804; married Polly Hoover; removed to Wisconsin in 1845. They had: — William Rummage, b. 1832, m. Belinda Sidmore. Sally Ann Rummage, b. 1833, m. Martin Sidmore. Gabriel Rummage, b. 1838, m. Elizabeth Gulp. Amelia Rummage, b. 1839, d. 1865, m. Michael Doyle. Gatharine J. Rummage, b. 1843, ^'''- Nathan Daniels. Eliza Rummage, b. 1845, m. Henry Willhelmy. Martha Rummage, b. 1848, in. William Greenawalt. William Rummage,^ {Jacob, ^ Jacob^) was born in Hanover about 1818; lives in Ross township, Luzerne County, Pa.; married Katie Ann Burrier. They had: — Cyrus Rummage, b. about 1840, in. Hulda Blakesley. William Lewis Rummage, in. Etta Crockett, Euphemia Rummage, in. Samuel Shultz. Margaret Rummage, . in. Clark pidwards. Susan Rummage, in. James Wagner. Thomas Rummage, . in. Shaw. Zebulon Rummage' {Jacob^ Jacob'^) was born in Wilkes-Barre in 1829; lived in Hanover; removed tt) Dallas township in i860; married Harriet A. Price. They had : — Sarah Elizabeth Rummage, in. Asa Holcomb. William J. Rummage, m. Harriet Sutton. Chester Irvin Rummage, Anna Augusta Rummage. Zebulon Orville Rummage. THE SMILEY FAMILY. Archibald Smiley^ was born in the north of Ireland; emi- grated to America; married; settled in Hanover previous to 1796; was married the second time in 1805 to Sarah Lewis, widow of William Brown; resided in Hanover; died there in 1830. They had:— I St, Lettitia Smiley, b. 1799, m. Elias Carey. " Thomas Smiley, b. 1800, m. Loyina Fisher. " Jane Smiley, b. 1803, m. Benjamin Carey. 2d, Mary Smiley, b. 1806, m. Henry Fisher. 476 HISTORY OF HANOVER. 2d, Samuel Smiley, b. 1810, ^. 1876, m. Susan Fisher. Phebe Smiley, b. 1812, m. Ransom'Bennett. Archibald Smiley, (5. 1814, d. 1880, ;«. Lydia Lueder. Sarah Smiley, b. 1817, Nan ti coke !i89 Ferries at Nanticoke .... 289, 290 Forge at Ashley 291 FalUng stars 293 Floating population 298 Fire-d.amp, choke-damp .... 399 Fan for ventilating mines . . . 341 Future history of Hanover . , . 346 Government, first form of . . . 13 Gnadenhiitten . 45, 46, 50, 51, 64, 66 Grasshopper War 51, 53 INDEX. 491 Grantees, number of 65 Ouns, rifles, flint-locks .... 79 Grand Jurors 86 Graves, two for the slain . . . 112 Gen. Sullivan in Indian country 115 Guarding the mill at Nanticoke 117 Guard-house, the 136 Good Pennsylvanians aroused . 129 Gathering a crojD 129 Green Mountain Boys 131 Grant of Hanover township . 145 German Reformed 155 Great roads laid out .... 157, 159 Growth of a forest 185 Game plentiful .... 187, 195, 232 Girls learn to spin 202 Great floods, height of . 127, 206, 207 Gold, joe. and half-joe 212 Gardens 220 Gypsum, plaster 225 Gourd shells 236 Groves left standing 338 Grindstones made 243 Grist-mills .... 347, 348, 353, 310 Grates for burning coal .... 253 Going West 262 Garret, attic, loft 267 Germans, Aruericans by birth . 281 Game scarce 311 Germania Coal Company . . . 323 Goats, destructiveness of . . . 344 Garden products ....... 346 Glossary of Indian names, 383 to 386 Genealogical tables ■■.... 387 History of Wyoming Valley . • 33 Honors to old warriors .... 55 Hanover settled 70 Hanover block-house 94 Hanover men in massacre . . . 100 Hanover Company's men in battle 100 Hanover men kiUed .... 106, 107 Hanover abandoned 109 Hubley's description of Wyom- ing, 1779 115 Hubley'# journal 115 Hurlbufs journal . . . . . . . 119 Houses and barns swept away . 137 Heaps of ice in Wilkes-Barre . 137 Hay and grain float off .... 127 Humanity outraged 128 Houses burned down ..... 138 Hanover not the most populous 142 Hanover township settlers . 144, 153 History of Hanover, special . . 144 Hollenback's step-daughter . . 144 Had. enough of it, first forty . . 146 Hurrah for King George . ... 147 Houses loop-holed ....•.., 155 Hanover Green 156 Hanover Records, book of. . . 156 Hanover Record saved by Jas. I^asley 163 Hanover men killed in massacre 164 Hanover men escaped 164 HanQver men not in massacre 164, 165 Hanover men in the year 1778, •- . . 164, 165 History of first division lots . . 167 History of second division lots 175 History of third division lots . 177 Herbs, roots, plants, bark . . . 204 Hand carding 308 Hatters 308, 309 Hats, three-cornered ..... 214 Hunting shirt 214 Hurlbut house, site of .... . 207 Horse-shoeing 213 Horned cattle 232 Hand work 22s3 Harvesting crops ' . 234 Hearths 225 Hickory brooms 325, 336 Horn tumblers, goblets .... 326 Hospitality of the people . . . 226 Hives of bees 227, 228 Honey 327, 228, 229 Housing hogs at night .... 282 Hunting 232, 333 Hunting cabin 233 Hanover soldiers of 1813 .... 265 Houses in 1820 described . . . 266 Hanover described. Chapman . 280 Hanover Basin 298 Holland's railroad 298 Hartford Coal Company .... 304 Hanover men in Army of 1861-5 314 to 316 Hartford slope 321 Houses, companies' .... 327, 328 Houses, private 327 Higher pay, poorer work . . . 327 Hanover's futui'e history . . . 346 Houses on River Road . . 355 to 362 Houses on Middle Road . 362 to 368 Houses on Back Road . . 868 to 375 Home-made implements . . . 243 Iroquois 23 Indians, when first known in the East 36 Indian food, how cooked ... 36 Indian thread 37 Indian customs . . ; 37 Indian territory 41 Indians of Pennsylvania ... 41 Indians of New York 42 492 HISTORY OF HANOVEK. Indian purchase, P'enn's ... 43 Indignation of an Indian . . 42, 43 Indians' side of the story ... 55 Indian families removing ... 78 Inhabitants, number in 1774 . . 87 Inhabitants, number in 1776 • • 90 Independence declared .... 93 Indians becoming insolent ... 93 Indians at Magara threatening 98 Indian hatred 108 Indei)endence 131 Imprisoned Yankees, old men . 136 Ice freshet 127, 309, 207 Indignation of the country at £rge 131 Influence on the State govern- ment 131 Indians burned the block-hoose 154 Irish 155 Inhabitants mostly Yankees . 155 Indian and Tory raids . . 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 163 Indian farming implements . . 183 Immigrants' first houses .... 187 Iron and tobacco as cuirency . 216 Iron a substitute for money . . 217 Indian Spring 233 Indian pudding 289 Implements, home-made . . . 243 Industrious people 260, 261 Improvements described . . 269, 270 Iron making 272 Iron plows introduced 293 Inman's Tavern in Solomon's Gap 291 Iron manufactures 301 Illuminators, lights 317 Indians in Pennsylvania in 1880, 378 Indian names and signification, 382, 386 Jackson and Lester killed . . . 114 Jameson, William, kiUed . . . 114 Jameson, John and Chapman kiUed . . . . : 119 Justice of the Peace 125 Justice denied 138 John McDonner sells out . . . 146 Japanese in Penna. in 1880 . . 878 Key Keeper 86 Killed, list of 104, 105 Kindness of people on the Dela- ware 110 Killed and wounded 154 Kinds of tree^ in the woods . . 185 Knee breeches, small clothes . 314 Landing of the Pilgrims . . 11 to 17 Law 80 Leather Sealers °| Listers (Assessors?) 86 Lives lost during the war . • . 121 Lives lost, estimates 121 Letter kept secret 133 Legislative doings 123 Letters to the Assembly .... 128 Legislators hear disagreeable news 128,129 Legislature continues its course 183 Legislature censured by Censors 133 Luzerne County created .... 135 Lands assessed 143 Lackawanna County created . 143 Lazarus Stewart's forty .... 144 List of the first forty 144 Lazarus Young drowned . . . 146 List of first division allotment 151 List of the Associates 151 Lutherans 155 List of second division allotment 158 List of third division allotment 166 Lawsuit, Davenport vs. Coffrin 163 List of names of Hanover men, 164, 165 List of names previous to 1778, 164,165 List of residents not fall . . .' . 165 Leases of public land 166 Lots in first division . . . 167 to 174 Lease to Crisman 166 Lease to Elisha Delano .... 166 Land owned in Germany . . . 178 Leasing the public lots . . . 178, 179 Land cultivated by Indians . . 183 Leather clothiifg.igS, 195, 207, 314, 265 Labor in common 184 Log-houses and barns . 203, 256, 345 Loop-holed houses 303 Lace making taught in school . 304 Laboring women 313 List of taxables of 1796 . . 345, 346 Lawful fences 319 Lumber 323 Looms described 323 Laborers * - • 224 Lime . . 225 Lucifer matches 230 Lights, illuminants 331 Lanips, iron 231 Lard lamps 331 Looks of the Puritans 340 List of productions .... 341, 343 Locomotive 249 Luxuries 363, 288 List of prices 365 Lehigh & Susquehanna R. E. . 294 List of names, assessment 1830 . 382 INDEX. 493 Land bought for mining . . . 296 L. & 8. shipments of coal in 1846 288 Log-houses in 1840 and 1850 . . 301, 302, 310 Lights 307 Land owners 309 List of Hanover soldiers . . . 315 Legal tenders, greenbacks . . . 319 List of prices, 1863 to 1869 . 319, 320 L. & S. back-track 323, 324 L. V. R. R. in Hanover, 323, 324, 325 Lee Park race course 343 Land uncultivated 344 Log-houses 345 Lines of lots varying 347 Letters, weight of, in 1885 ... 348 List of German, Dutch and Swiss 377 Mayflower,- list of immigrants 14 Makeriskiskon 21 Mingoes 21, 23, 57 Mound building 34 Maughwauwama 38, 78 Moravian massacre 46 Moravians 45, 46 Massacres in Northampton Co. 64 MassacresinWyominginl763, 66, 67 Mill Creek . . . . . 66, 67, 68, 70, 79 Mill, the first 79 .Military 79, 83 Massacre of Wyoming .... 100 Monocacy, or Monoconoek Island 103 Militia officers killed Ill Monument . 113 Murders and attacks by Indians 114, 116, 118, 119 Mill in Hanover .... 116, 117, 119 Mill burned at Nanticoke ... 119 Messengers sent after the exiles 129 Men hand-cuffed 131 March to the attack 132 Meeting in Kingston 137 Montgomery and Young . .145, 146 Men dropping out 145 Meeting-house • . . . 156 Moderators 157 Moses' Creek 160 Middle Road laid out 160 Map of certified Hanover . . . 182 Medicinal herbs 205 Making clothing ....... 208 Moccasins 20& Millers 211 Mortar, public 211 Millwrights 211 Mill on the Delaware 211 Mowing 215 Making brick 215 Markets 221 Masons 224 Metheglin 326, 229 Matches 229 Mud roads 236 Mush and milk 239 'Mince pies 239 Mill, first in the Township , . 247 Meals described 238, 239 Mails and mail carrying: . . . 254 Meeting in school-houses . . . 260 Militia . 295 Mexican war . 301 Mining 399, 300 Militia called out by the Gover- nor ■ . . 317, 318 Mine, description of a 839 Manufactures cease 345 Middle Road houses 363 Market prices, 1885, .... 353, 354 Nanticokes 25, 78' Nanticoke Creek 32, 331 Nanticoke Falls 32, 90 Nanticokes visit Gnadenhutten 45 New Gnadenhutten 46 Nazareth 46 Nain 46 Neighbors, white and Indian 53, 54 Names of first 200 settlers . .70, 71 Name of Hanover 72 Newspapers from Hartford . . 9S Number of our men in Massacre 103 Number killed in Massacre . . 103 Number of scalps 109 Nanticoke mill burned .... 119 Northampton County erected . 143 Number of lots in a division . . 148 Number of acres in a lot in each division 148 Number of the Associates . . . 148 ■'■ Nanticoke battle, Plunkett's . . 154 Nanticoke block-house .... 155- New Jersey Dutch 155.- Number of block-houses in Han- over 155 Negro - . . . 165. No Hanover Record previous to 1776 .- . . 156; Names of owners off lots . in second division . 158' Number of residents in 1778 . . 165. Nurseries planted 184 New York currency ...... 316; Names of coins. 215,216 New comers 337 Night work 258 Nanticoke village commenced . 289 494 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Nuts 361, 263 Nanticoke school-house .... 292 Nantlcoke mines 300, 339 New Jersey Coal Company . . 331 Nationalities 329, 848, 378 Nantlcoke Borough 330 Newspapers 331 North pole 347 Nationalities, number in each . 378 Old men imprisoned 126 Orphans bound out 103 Official acts 132 Ownership, a settler's idea of, 140,141 Oxen used for teaming .... 195 Old women doctors 304 Opium, home-made 205 Ovens 225 Ohio, emigration to ... . 237, 240 Official coal statement . . . 287, 288 Owners of Hanover 346 Old houses, history of 354 Phoenicians cast on an island . 9 Puritans 11, 155 Pennsylvania Dutch . . 17, 258, 259 267, 271 Penn's treaties with Indians . 25 Pennsylvania Indians 41 Proprietaries treaties . . 25, 42, 43, 64 Paxinos 45, 46 Penn's charter 62 Pontiac's war 64 Purchase of Wyoming .... 65 Paxton orPaxtang Boys 67, 144, 258 Pennamite and Yankee war . . 68 Pennamite leaders 68 Paths into, the Valley 74 Percussion caps and locks ... 79 Population of Hanover .... 88 Patriotic zeal of the settlers . . 89 People estabhsh a post .... 93 Post rider 93 ' Patriotic Puritans 95 Paupers, how cared for ... . 96 Poor house 97 Pittston fort surrendered - . . 108 Prisoners 109, 114, 119 Poem by Peterkin 113 Peace 121 Petition of the settlers .... 123 Pennsylvania justice .... 123, 134 Protection 124 Pennsylvania's protection . . . 134 Patterson 125 Petition to Congress 126 Patterson enlists troops .... 129 Patterson defies the Govern- ment 139 Patterson burns 23 houses . 129, 130 Protection promised by Arm- strong 130 Patterson defies Sheriff Antis . 130 Pledge of honor, a 130, 131 Patterson's house attacked . . 131 Pennamites evacuate the fort . 133 Patterson's commission annulled 135 Pumpkin flood 135 Pickering sent to Wyoming . . 136 Pickering induces settlers to pe- tition 136 Pickering's efTorts at concilia- tion 13" People divided 137 Pi cliering abducted _- 137 Pennsylvania law in operation 138 Price charged settlers for their , land 139 Pennsylvania legislature . . . 142 Pennamites besieged 147 Pennamites surrender 147 Proprietors' "Eecord" ... 148, 163 Payment, consideration for the land 150 Proprietors 152 Plunkett's Invasion 153 Pennsylvania Dutch 155 People live in block-houses . . 155 Presbyterians . . . : 156 Proprietors' meetings 157 . Proprietors, other than Asso- ciates 158 Post office 169, 234 Public lots 178 Public lot funds disposed of . . 180 Productions of Indian farming 183 Property and labor in common 184 Powder and lead scarce .... 187 Pack-saddle business 187 Preparing wool and flax .... 193 Progenitors of Wyoming Yan- kees 194 Plow, wooden and iron .... 198 Patent wheel head 201 Physicians 204, 205 Pumpldn freshet, flood .... 207 Painting 210 Pubhc mortar pestle 211 Price list 313 Plug tobacco 316 Post and rail 319 Price of lumber 332 Plaster, gypsum 225 Punk, spunk, touchwood . . . 230 Pine knots 231 Postoffice, the first 334 Postoffice, first act creating . 254, 355 Postmaster at Wilkes-Barre . . 254 INDEX. 495 Puritan's appearance, looks . . 340 Productions 240 Postage 255 Pens, quill, steel 259 Preserves 261 Poverty of the people 268 Postal acts 270, 271 Price of iron 273 Penobscot Knob ......... 281 Productions, where marketed . 285 Packet-boats 385 Produce brought down river, 390, 391 Plummet for ruling paper . . . 392 Panic 1837, financial and in- dustrial 294 Portage, Allegheny 2st5 Planes, first coal carried over . 299. Planes, stops described .... 300 Postal changes 303,318,330 Panic of 1857, financial and in- dustrial - . . 306, 310 Prices, 1851 to i860 307, 308 Prices, 1863 to 1869 .319 Postal currency • 319 Prices of labor • . 335 Private houses ........ 337 Population, Hanover and Sugar Notch 1870 329 Postofflce, names of 345 Powder mill : . 348 Postal cards, act 1873 .• ... 348 Price list, 1870 to 1883 349 Price of greenbacks in gold . . 320 Price of gold in greenbacks . 320 Price of coal, 1869 to 1885 . . 350, &51 Prices, market 353 Pay rolls, shops and R. R. in 1884. . . . , 376 Payments to employes in 1884 . 376 Population, township and bor- oughs, 1880 346 Population estimated in 1884 . 376 Population of Hanover, 1790 to 1880 379 Population of Pa., 1790 to 1880 . 378 Population of U. S., 1790 to 1880 378 Population, Luzerne's ancient territory 378 Population at each census . • . 378 Population of Sugar Notch, 1870 tol880 379 Reading people, these were . . 89, 93 Reformadoes, old men 94 Ransom's house in Plymouth . 117 Re-occupy Forty Fort . . .129 Reward oflfered for arrests . . . 133 Return to their farms 133 Record of the Proprietors . 148, 163 Remnant of the Scotch-Irish . Religious people Rosewell Franklin Record lost Record saved Roads six rods wide . . 60, 157, River Road laid out Record saved by James Lasley . Record does not show Pennsyl- vania's tyranny Raid, Indian and Toi-y .... Red Tavern Roads and paths into Wyoming Roofs of first houses Reaping hook Reaping Rails Roads 222, 224, Railroad, first Roadways to Easton Rag carpets Riprap wall along river .... Rafts and arks described .... Railroads, building Railroad, Holland's Railroad, L. & S Reapers, mowers Rebellion of 1861 Railroads, Nanticoke . . . 332, Railroads, L. & S. and L. V., 323, Roads, repairing Rents • Railroads, North & West Branch 330, River Road houses Railroad stations above tide, 376, 155 155 153 156 156 174 159 163 163 163 174 18G 188 308 215 218 236 248 248 258 288 290 297 298 299 311 314 333 324 326 327 331 355 377 Settlement of New England . . 11 Shawanese . . 21, 23, 24, 39, 40, 48, 49, 50, 53 Six Nations 23, 26, 41, 43 Solomon's Creek 32, 72 Susquehanna 33, 39 Succotash 36 Skehandowano 33, 39 Shawanese possess the valley . 45 Scotch-Irish 46, 155 Susquehanna Company .... 63 Surveyors sent to Wyoming . . 65 Stewart's Associates 72 Sympathy of Pennsylvanians . 74 Saw-mill 79 Schools 79, 88, 93 Seven districts 84, 85 Select Men 85 Surveyors of Highways .... 85 Sealers of weights and measures 86 Stocks 87 49^ HISTORY OF HANOVEK. Second Pennamite and Yankee War 89 Scythes for weapons ..... 89 Spanish coins used 91 Salt-peter made 91 Subsidy,a 91 Scouts meet the enemy .... 98 Spalding marches to Wyoming 112 Skirmishes with Indians . . - 117 Settlers petition 123 Settlers to deUver up arms . . 123 Settlers to be expelled by Penn- sylvania 133 Seventeen townships . . . 123, 124 Settlers arrested ..... . . 125 Soldiers quartered on settlers . 126 State protection 126 Sick women thrown out doors . 126 Soldiers execute writs 126 Soldiers execute verbal orders . 126 Soldiers remove fences .... 127 Suffering for food 127, 138 Settlers dragged out of beds . . 128 Settlers cruelly treated by sol- diers .128 Starving women and children driven to the Delaware . . 128 Sheriff of Northumberland . . 129 Settlers come back again . . . 129 Soldier's faith, a 131 Susquehanna Co. reviving . 134, 13.5 State conciliating the Yankees . 135 Settlersto have their lands . 138, 139 Surveying their lands 140 Settlers' idea of ownership . 140, 141 Sum paid for their land .... 141 Susquehanna County erected . 143 Settlement of Hanover .... 144 Susquehanna Company's cor- respondence 145 Six-mile square township . . . 146 Stagard killed 146 Sharp fighting 146 Surveying and mapping land . 147 Surprised by Pennamites ... 147 Sent to jail 147 Susquehanna Company's grant to Stewart 148, 149 Settling right in Hanover . . . 153 Second Pennamite and Yankee War 153 Stewart's block-house . 154, 309, 337 School-houses 156 Second division surveyed ... 157 Six-rod Road to Steele's Ferry 166, 167, 174 Six-rod Roads 174 Second division of lots . . .' . 175 School fund given to the poor- house '°x Stone coal 19^ Spinning wool and flax . . 193, 301 Sheep brought in 1769 19* Spinning wool by hand . . - . 200 Spinning described 200 Spinning-wheel for flax .... 201 Store, first in Hanover .... 303 School teachers, early 203 School books 204 Sickness in new settlements . . 204 Sickle 208 Sldns 209 Shoemakers 209 Shoeing horses 313 Shoe buckles 314 Sheets, pillow eases 214 Settlers' first work 318 Size of farms 2'20 Salt, price of 221 Sheep, number of 223 Stores in Hanover 232, 253 Snows, deep 224, 293 Splint brooms 335, 226 Syrups 327,3-29 Sweetening material .... 227, 229 Spunk, touch-wood 230 Sun-glass 230 Sons like fathers 240 Shoe pegs 243 Starch made 343 Salaratus, substitute for .... 244 Spring house 257 Saw-mills 258 Scotch-Irish Presbyterians . . • 358 School-houses described . . 259, 260 Scrabbletown school-house . .' 259 Sleighriding 261 Spinning-wheels, number . . . 264 Shinplasters 366 Solomon's G(ap planes 379 Stage coaches 385 State ferry 390 Saw-mill at Ashley 291 School-house at Nanticoke . . 292 Shooting stars 392 Slope ,HolIand's 299 Sheep killed by dogs 303 Shafts sunk, stopped . . 303, 304, 305 Sugar Notch Mines . . 305, 331, 322 Store trade 307 State banks 307 Soldiers of Hanover, list of . . 315 Soldiers at home 318 Sugar Notch borough . . . 322, 333 Stnkes 335, 326 Small companies go out of busi- ness 326 INDEX. 497 School-teachers 327 Shrubbery 828 Susquehanna Coal Company . 330 Steamboats 332 Stations, railroad . . .' 332 Strike of 1S75 and 1877 . . . 334, 343 Suspensions of mining .... 334 Sizes of coal 336, 338 Spontaneous combustion . . . 339 Slopes 33» Shafts 339 Stone house 845 Traditions of land west of Africa 9, 10 Tradition 18, 19, 29- Treaties, Penn with Indians . . 25 Tuscarora& 28, 58 to 61 Town, an Indian, or village . . 35 Tedeuscung . . . '89, 45, 56, 64, 66^ 67 Treaties, Proprietaries' . . 42, 43, 64 Tadame, Tatamy, etc., . 46, 48, 55, 57 Tedeuscung slays a chief. . . 64 Town meetings . . . 80, 84, 86, 87, 88, ^, 134, 157 Townships organized as districts 84 Town officers elected ..... 85 Treasurer, Tything Men, etc, . 86 Town sign-post 87 Township town nieeting ... 87 To serve where ordered .... 98 Township forts 94 Tribute to the wives and daughters 97 Town organization kept lEp . . 117 Trenton Judges' letter 122 Tyranny 125, 126 Troops dismissed 129^ The hunt too hot for Patterson . 132 Third Pennamite and Yankee War 133 The Paxton Boys 144 Twenty-eight lots 14g Thirty-one lots in each division 148 Town of Hanover ........ 153 The Stewart place 155 Townshipblock-house ...... 155 Taxes levied 156 Town-meetings .... 134; 157, 174 Trenton Decree 163 Third division allotment . . . 165 Trees, age of 185 Town of Nanticoke .... 173, 181 Third division of lots 177 The public lots : . . 178 Threshing 208, 215 Tanning for half 209 Tow and linen 213 Tobacco 213, 316 Three cocked hats ....... 214 Trespassing animals 218 Tailors work from house to house 219^ Taxables, first list of. . . .245,246' Teaming . . , . ^ 230, 236 Tallow dips .......... 231 Turnpikes 248, 263, 311 Trammels 257 Trade, barter 285 Thickness of coal 287 Trades changing 293 Tornado of 1835 293 Trainipgs 296 Taxes 327 Telegraphs 344 Telephones everywhere .... 345 Taxes too high 347 Townships under Penna. law . 348 Veterans, old 64, 55! Votes of Susquehanna County 49, 50,. 148, 15S Valley of Wyoming described . 196- Values fixed by law ...... 213 Value of a day's work ..... 315 Variety in crops 311 Value of coin in paper ..... 320- Value of paper in coin 320 Ventilation of mines . . . 840, 341 Variation of the needle .... 347 Wigwams 35. Wampum 37" Wyoming ..........._ 38 Walking purchase 43 Warrior Path .... 45, 50, 51, 64, 75, 109, 110, 144, 154, 169, 170 Wequetank 46 Wyalusing 46 Warrior Run Mines . . .51, 169, 170 Whipping-post 87 Wives calling on husbands to come home 98 Westmoreland 83, 84, 88 Wyoming doomed 98 Wyoming Massacre lOO' Wilkes-Barre Company, lower 107, 108.. Wyoming in possession of Indians 109- Wilkes-Barre in 1779 115 What the court decided at Tren- ton 123, 123: Winter work, threshing and flax-breaking ....... 124 Widows and orphans to be turned out 126 Wells fenced up, or off . . . . 138 WUd Yankees 136 498 HISTORY OF HANOVER. Writ from Judge McKean ... 137 Westmoreland's population, 1781 142 Wyoming County erected . . . 143 Wayne County erected .... 143 Welsh 155 Warning for Proprietors' meet- ing 159 Windows and door in first houses 189 Wool and flax prepared for use 192 Wooden dishes, spoons, cups . 193 Wyoming Valley described . . 196 Wool carding by hand • • •. • 199 Wheel head, patent ' . 201 Women reoccupy their houses 205, 206 Winnowing grain 208 Wheelwrights 310 Wooden ware manufactured . 210 Worm fences 218 Weaving 222 White pine irees 223 Weavers 223, 306 Wages 224 Wax, bees' 229, 231 Wolves 232 Wages at different kinds of work 249 Wilkes-Barre postmaster . . . 254 Working during religious services 360 War of 1812 265 Wrongs suffered 268 Writing paper ^ , 293 Wire rope on the planes .... 300 Weaving, none done now ... 311 Warrior Eun Mining Company 331 Workingman's party 334 Waste by coal breaker 339 Wages in 1883-83 350,351 Wages, journeymen carpenters- ^ . . . . ^ 353, 353 Yankees, defeat of . 102 Young boys and old men killed 102 Yankee blood 108 Yankees were now arnied again 139 Yankees turn out Penriamites . 129 Yankees take possession of mill 130 Yankees sent to jail 130 Yankees disarmed through treachery 130 Yankees destroy the fort . . . 133 Yankees capture buckwheat . . 133 Yankees number some 600 men now .135 Yankees 155 Yarn stockings 313 Yankees emigrating 271 Zinzendorf 46, 48 Zinzendorf and rattlesnake . . 49 CHEONOLOGY. 1607 to 1631, 1683 to 1727, to 1768, 1620 to 1768, 1768 to 1802, 1769 to 1885, to 1885, 1769 to 1800, 1800 to 1810, 1810 to 1820, 1830 to 1830, 1830 to 1840, 1840 to 1850, 1850 to 1860, 1860 to 1870, 1870 to 4885, Puritans . '. . 11 to Penna. Dutch 17 to Indians . , Charters . Wyoming . Hanover . Genealogies History 17 18 . 18 to 61 . 62 to 67 . 68 to 143 . 144 to 486 . 387. to 486 . 144 to 355 . 256 to 364 . 365 to 273 . 274 to 286 . 287 to 398 . 398 to 303 . 303 to 313 . 314 to 329 . 830 to 381 GENEALOGICAL INDEX. THE OLD FAMILIES OF HANOVER TO 183O. The Andrew family 387 " Alexander " 387 Askam " 388 •Bobb " 388 Behee " 389 Burrier " 389 Blodgett " 390 Rufus Bennett family . . . 391 Ishmael Bennett " ... 391 Brown family 395 Burritt " 397 Blackm.an Crisman Carey Downing Deteriek DiUey Espy Edgerton Franklin Frederick Fisher Gore George Garrison Garringer Hartzell Hibbard Hyde Hurlbut Hoover Horton Hannis Hendershot Inman Jameson Keyser .398 .402 .403 .406 .407 .408 .410 .411 .412 .413 .415 .415 .418 .419 .420 .428 .433 .424 .425 .428 .430 .433 .433 .434 .437 .438 The EJr^idler family 440 Kocher Keithline Lee Lape Line Learn Lazarus Lueder Learch Mill Minnich Miller Marcy Nagle Pfouts Plumb PeU Preston Pease Quick Buggies Robert Robins family John Robins " 441 443 .444 .445 .447 .449 .449 .451 .452 .453 .453 .456 .457 .459 .460 .461 .464 .465 .465 .466 .467 .469 .470 Rinehimer family 472 Rummage Smiley Sorber Shoemaker Sively Stewart Steele Saum Weeks Wade Wiggins 474 475 477 478 479 479 483 483 484 485 486 V V