School history of Pennsylvania, from the earliest settlements to the present time

Preface

It is both interesting and instructive to study the history of our ancestors; to understand by what toils, through what difficulties, over what obstacles they, from a feeble colony planted in an unexplored wilderness, struggled up to a position of wealth and power; in what manner they constructed this Commonwealth, which, with its public works, its manufactories, its churches, its noble charities, its common school system, its enterprise and wealth, unexcelled in any other State, is transmitted to this generation. This book was written to place concisely and clearly before every youth and citizen an account of the growth of the population, the development of the resources, and the upbuilding of the institutions that give character and stability to the State. Though nothing that is essential is omitted, much that is interesting is necessarily excluded in order to bring the work within the limits of a practical schoolbook. A few incidents illustrative of some general movement or popular sentiment are cited; these are in no case selected with a view to attract local attention, but always as examples of what was wide-spread and characteristic.

(iii)

iv PREFACE.

The questions at the foot of the pages are not designed to aid the pupil in guessing at answers, but to guide the teacher, who will readily multiply them to meet the wants of his class and to give local interest to the subject treated in each chapter. Frequent reference to a map of the State, and the explanation of national epochs and general movements, will contribute much valuable information and give additional interest to the study of these chapters ; for the author, presupposing a knowledge of geography in his readers, has given no space to descriptions w^hich properly belong to other works.

The tables in the Appendix are for general reference. They epitomize the history of the State.

J. R. S.

Philadelphia, September 12, 1868.

Contents

CHAPTEK I.

PAGE

Early Settlements on the Delaware 9

Appendix

Table I. — Counties in Pennsylvania 315

II. — Table of the Governors of the Colonies on the Delaware, of the Province and of the State 317

III. — Table of the Principal Officers of the United States from Pennsylvania, since the Adoption of the Constitution 319

TV. — Universities and Colleges in Pennsylvania 321

V. — Statement of the number of troops furnished by

Pennsylvania during the Eebellion 322

VI. — Eailroads in Pennsylvania 324

VII. — Canals in Pennsylvania 326

VIII. — A Chronological Table of Important Events in the History of Pennsylvania, from the Discovery of the Delaware in 1609 until 1868 327

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAPTER I. Early Settlements on the Delaware

ENNSYLYANIA is bounded on the east by New York, New Jersey, and Delaware ; on the west by West Vh'- ginia, Ohio, and Lake Erie ; on the north by New York and Lake Erie; and on the south by Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia. The greatest length of the State is 302 miles 104 perches; and greatest breadth 175 miles and 192 perches. The average length is 280-39 miles; and the general breadth is 158*05

miles; giving an area of nearly 4^,000 square miles.

2. This territory, at the time of the discovery of America by

Columbus, was inhabited by Indians, who were divided into

Chapter I. — 1. Bound Pennsylvania ; state its dimensions. 2. Who were the first inhabitants of this territory ? What were the tribes called ?

distinct tribes, spoke different dialects of a common language, and lived principally by hunting and fishing. Those who dwelt in the country between the Delaware river and the Blue Mountains, were the least warlike of all the tribes, and were called Delaware Indians by the first white settlers ; by that name they have ever since been known. The Monseys, or Wolf tribes, inhabited the mountainous country along the Susquehanna. The tribes of the Six Nations inhabited the northern border of the State, from the Delaware to Lake Erie, and were called Mingoes by the natives, and Iroquois by the French.

3. The Indians of the Six Nations were a brave and powerful people. By an early alliance with the Dutch settlers on the Hudson river, they procured for themselves arms and munitions of war. These superior advantages enabled them to repel invasion, and, in aggressive war, to reduce the neighboring tribes to a state of vassalage. The Delawares and some of the tribes in the interior of the territory — w^hich afterward became the State of Pennsylvania — were under the power of the Mingoes, to whom they paid tribute at the time the first white people from Europe visited this country. In all treaties, therefore, made with the early settlers by the tribes in this territory, it was necessary to obtain the consent of the Council of the Six Nations.

4. The shores of the Delaware were first visited by European mariners in 1609, when Captain Henry Hudson, sailing on an exploring expedition to America under the patronage of the Dutch East India Company, touched at the mouth of the bay, but, finding shoal water, withdrew ; and sailing northward, entered the mouth of the great river which is

3. "What was the character of the Six Nations ?

4. When did white men first visit the Delaware ? What European

EARLY SETTLEMENTS ON THE DELAWARE. U

now called Hudson, in honor of the discoverer. Hudson's men established a trading-post on Manhattan Island, which they maintained until 1621; it was then transferred to the West India Company of the United Netherlands, a corporation formed in Holland to monopolize trade in America, In 1623 this company took possession of the whole country discovered by Captain Hudson, which included all the territory lying between Delaware bay, called South River, and the Hudson, called North River. The possessions of the company were named the "New Netherlands."

5. A colony arrived in 1623, built New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, and sent Captain Cornelius Jacobus May, with a party of adventurers, to the " South" River, under instructions to form a settlement and to explore the country on the borders of the river. The commander of this expedition sailed into the Delaware, gave his own name to Cape May, and the southern cape he called Cornelius; which name it bore until the arrival of the Swedes, when it was named Cape Henlopen. He erected Fort Nassau near where Gloucester, New Jersey, now stands, a few miles below Philadelphia, which was the first settlement made by Europeans on the shores of the Delaware. This fort was afterward abandoned, and in 1631 Captain David Pieterscn De Yries arrived in the bay with two ships and about thirty colonists. He was associated with wealthy Dutch patrons in the enterprise of establishing in America plantations for the cultivation of tobacco and grain, and prosecuting the whale and seal fishnation established the first settlement on Manhattan Island ? "Where is Manhattan Island ? What company was then formed in HoUand, and for what purpose ?

5. When and by whom were the first attempts made to plant a settlement on the Delaware ?

eries in and near the Delaware bay. He built Fort Oplandt near where Lewistown, Delaware, now stands, and extended around it his little settlement of Swanendael.

0. De Yries returned to Holland, and upon revisiting the place of his colony a year later, found the fields of the plantation strewed with the bones of his countrymen. The founder of the settlement afterward learned from the natives that the commander of the post had elevated upon a pillar a piece of tin, on which was emblazoned the arms of Holland. An Indian, covetous of the glittering shield, stole it to make a tobacco-box. The Dutch officer took offense, made it the cause of a quarrel with the Indians, which ended in the butchery of the whole colou}^ while at work in the fields. De Yries, learning the melancholy story, made peace with the Indians ; after which he sailed up the bay to Fort Nassau, which he also found deserted; he then returned, and left the Delaware in discouragment.

*r. The success of the Dutch in the colony at New Amsterdam stimulated the authorities of the Swedish Government to attempt to plant a colony in America. Accordingly they sent two vessels with colonists, provisions, merchandise for traffic, and ammunition for defense, which arrived in the Delaware from Gottcnburg in 1638; a permanent settlement was established, and the foundation of the communities of the States of Delaware and Pennsylvania was laid in the unbroken forest.

8. The expedition was commanded by Captain Peter

6. What happened to De Yries' colony?

7. By whom and when was the first colony permanently established on the east bank of the Delaware ?

8. Where did the Swedes first settle ? What did these pioneers bring with them ? When and where was the first church built?

EARLY SETTLEMENTS ON THE DELAWARE. 13

Minuit, formerly Governor of New Amsterdam. The company of adventurers landed upon th.e southern cape of the Delaware, which they called Henlopen ; they were so charmed with the appearance of the country that they named it Paradise. A settlement was established near the mouth of Brandywine creek. Others were located near Chester and Darby creeks; and, in 1642, Governor Printz took possession of Tinicum Island, built his mansion there, and made it the seat of government for the colony. A town called Upland was subsequently laid out on Chester creek. These were the pioneer settlements — the small beginnings from which this great State has grown. These Swedish settlers brought with them their religion and their clergymen ; and among their earliest labors was the erection of a place of worship. In 1646 a comfortable wooden church was erected near the governor's mansion on Tinicum Island, which was consecrated to the worship of God by the chaplain, Eev. John Campanius Holm. This was the first church edifice built within the boundaries of Pennsylvania. 9. Emigrants continued to arrive from Sweden, and the settlement extended northward along the banks of the Delaware, until little hamlets occupied the most favorable sites as far north as where the city of Philadelphia now stands. These settlements were usually defended by small forts or strong log-houses, constructed of hard wood, for protection against the Indians. The sturdy pioneers who first settled the southeastern portion of this State, however, were devout Christians, and relied not so much on log-houses and forts of wood and earth, as on the Providence of God, to save them from destruction in a wilderness inhabited by wild beasts and uncivilized men.

9. How were the settlers protected ? "What was their character ?

10. From the beginning Captain Minuit had cultivated peace with the natives, and had been successful in establishing friendly relations with the neighboring tribes. This eminently wise and Christian policy w^as scrupulously maintained and judiciously extended both by the governors who succeeded Minuit, and by all the people, who valued peace and quiet more than unlawful gain.

11. By instructions from the Swedish Government to Colonel John Printz, appointed governor in 1G42, the right of soil was acknowledged to be in the aborigines, and he was directed to confirm the contracts made by Captain Minuit for the lands on the Delaware from Cape Henlopen to the falls of the river, extending inland as far as the necessities of the settlers should require; to refrain from every species of injury to the natives, and to cultivate their favor by a just and reciprocal commerce; supplying them with articles suitable for their wants, and to employ all friendly means to civilize and win them to the Christian faith.

12. Colonel Printz honestly obeyed his instructions, which were also faithfully observed by his successors, and thus hostilities between the settlers and the Indians were entirely avoided. It is remarkable that during the whole period of the Swedish dominion on the Delaware there is no evidence that a single human being lost his life in strife, either between the Swedes and their European neighbors, or between them and the Indians. The conduct of the Swedish colonists was in strict keeping with the requirements of

10. How did Captain Minuit treat the Indians ?

11. What did the Swedish government instruct the governors to do?

12. How were these instructions obeyed? What was the result of this treatment?

EARLY SETTLEMENTS ON THE DELAWARE. 15

truth and justice, and of a wise and enlightened policy. Their honesty, kindness, and friendly deportment won the confidence of the Indians, and in this happy state the colonists found a rich reward for their noble behavior toward the uncivilized natives. Instead of a life of terror and alarm, of war and all its horrors, the honest Swede could pursue his daily labor in peace, and after the toils of the day lie down to rest in quietness, fearless of a midnight attack, the tomahawk and scalping knife.

13. The Dutch from New Amsterdam, who had settled on the northeast side of the Delaware, and the Swedes on the southwest side, were frequently involved in disputes about their claims to the country, and finally resorted to open war. Peter Stuyvesant, governor of New Amsterdam, in 1655 came up the Delaware with seven ships and about six hundred men, captured all the Swedish forts, and assumed jurisdiption of the colony. The liberty and property of private citizens were respected, and the Swedes being offered honorable terms, remained on their lands and were protected in their rights. Thus the colony remained Swedish, though it was governed by the Dutch. The ministers of religion and the school teachers came from Sweden; Swedish manners and language prevailed, and were in common use for many years.

14. In 1656 the Swedish ship Mercurius arrived with colonists. Peace had not yet been fully established with the Dutch, and hence the enemy endeavored to prevent the ship from passing up the bay ; but the Indians, who had always

13. What disputes arose, and when and how was the government on the Delaware changed?

14. What incident shows the friendship of the Indians for the Swedes? Who were on the Mercurius ?

been friendly to the Swedes, interfered in behalf of the colonists, and the vessel was permitted to sail up the river. In this ship were some af the first settlers of Philadelphia.

15. The Dutch and the Swedes continued to occupy the country on the Delaware for nine years; the Dutch being the rulers and the Swedes giving character and prosperity to the country.

16. In 1664 the English conquered the whole country of New Netherland, and Sir Robert Carr sailed up the Delaware and took possession of the fort at New Castle. In 1672 the country was retaken by the Dutch, who held it two years, when upon the restoration of peace between Holland and England it was restored to English rule.

IT. In 1610 Lord De la War (Delaware), an English nobleman, sailing to Virginia, discovered the mouth of the bay which Hudson had visited the year before, and gave to it his own name. The Dutch called it the South River, and the Swedes the New Swedeland River, but when the country came into the possession of the English, the bay and the river were named Delaware.

15. What was the state of things after the conquest by the Dutch?

16. When and how was the government again changed?

17. What circumstance gave Delaware river its name? What other names had been applied to it ?

WILLIAM PENN. 17

POIITKAIT OK WILLIAM PENN.

CHAPTER II. William Penn

1. The Kew Netherlands, including the country on both sides of the Delaware, wer^ conveyed by the King of England to the Duke of York; and. in 1681, a charter was given to William Penn for that part of the territory which afterward became Pennsylvania and Delaware.

2. William Penn was the son of Sir William Penn, a distinguished admiral in the English navy, who had won high reputation in constant and active service by defending the honor of the kingdom in many engagements on the high seas. William was born on the 14th of October, 1644, in London. He was reared and educated in court society, and at an early age gave proof of the possession of those superior qualities of heart and intellect, for which in after-life he became justly celebrated.

3. It was the desire of his father that he should enter

Chapter II. — 1. How were the lands on the Delaware disposed of by the King of England ?

2. Who was William Penn ?

3. What did his father wish him to become? Why did he not enter the army?

2* the army, though later, and after he had espoused the doctrines of the Quakers, the old admiral refused to allow a commission to be issued to him, but preferred that the young man should go to Ireland, to manage the estates of the family near Cork, where be proved himself an exact and faithful man of business.

4. While a student at Oxford, William Penn had been deeply affected by the preaching of Thomas Loe, and soon after his arrival in Ireland, he learned that his old friend was to preach at the ''Friends' meeting" in Cork, and resolved to hear him. The preacher discoursed of true faith which overcomes the world. Penn's conscience was smitten, and his principles fixed in the doctrines with which he was ever afterward identified. Persecution followed rapidly upon profession. He with other Friends was arrested and sent to prison; but was unconditionally released upon his own application to the Lord President of Munster.

5. The rumor rapidly spread throughout the kingdom that "young Penn had become a Quaker, "and his father summoned him to England. The admiral endeavored to overcome the resolution of his son; failing to persuade him, he exiled him from home. During the period of this banishment he was supported by an allowance secretly conveyed to him by his mother. Soon thereafter he was arrested on a charge of heresy, because of sentiments which he had published in a pamphlet in a controversy with a Presbyterian clergyman. He was confined in prison nine months. While in prison he wrote another pamphlet explanatory of the first, and in a short time after that was released; his father's influence

4. What religious belief did he espouse ? What followed ? 6. How was William Penn treated?

WILLIAM PENN. 19

with the Duke of York having enlisted that nobleman in his cause.

6. The most noteworthy result of this imprisotiment was the reconciliation of the father, who was moved to high respect for a son so self-sacrificing in manfully contending for principles. The young man was again sent to Ireland to superintend the family estates; but returning to England in 16*70, was arrested and thrown into prison. The influence of his father, however, soon procured his release. In 1612 he married Gulielma Maria Springett, and ten years later sailed to America, the proprietor of a province bearing his own name.

*t. He remained in Pennsylvania two years, laboring diligently to found a government whereof the cardinal princi-. pies were liberty of conscience and equality of rights. How well he succeeded in securing these great privileges to his people, the history of his province and of the commonwealth subsequently erected thereon will amply show. His first wife having died, he married Hannah Callowhill, in 1696. He revisited America in 1699, intending to make his permanent home in Pennsylvania; but, receiving information that an attempt was being made in England to interfere with his government, he embarked, in It 01, and hastened to the court of Charles II. to defend his chartered rights. In It 12 three successive strokes of apoplexy so seriously impaired his memory and understanding, that he was thereafter unable to attend to public business. He died at Rushcomb, Buckinghamshire, England, on the 30th of July, 1718, at the age of seventy-four years.

6. What reconciled Admiral Penn to his son ? "When and whom did William Penn marry? When did he visit Pennsylvania?

7. How long did Penn remain in Pennsylvania? What were the cardinal principles of his government? When did he revisit his colony ? Why did he return to England ? When did he die ?

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

LA^1'I^^I uF l-r.iN> Al viir-ol^K.

CHAPTER III. The Province of Pennsylvania founded

1, When Admiral Penn died he left to his son William a claim against the English Government for the sum of sixteen thousand pounds, partly for money advanced and partly for services rendered. In 1680 William Penn petitioned King Charles 11. for a grant, in payment of this sum, of a tract of land in America lying west of the Delaware river.

2. The Province of Maryland had been successfull}^ founded in the year 1634, and was, therefore, at the date of Penn's petition, 46 years old. On the northern boundary of the tract asked for by Penn was the Province of New York. It was proper, therefore, that Lord Baltimore, proprietor of Maryland, and the Duke of York, proprietor of New York and Delaware, should be consulted before the lands lying between their possessions were conveyed to Penn.

Chapter III. — 1. Why was the territory on the" Delaware given to Penn ?

2. Whose possessions bounded this territory?

PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA FOUNDED. 21

3. The petition was referred to the '' Committee of the Privy Council for the Affairs of Trade and Plantations." Notices were sent to the agents of Lord Baltimore and the Duke of York, in order that they might report whether the proposed grant would be an infringement on their rights. The agents for the proprietors of Maryland and New York wrote letters to the committee, in which they defined the extent and boundaries of their respective grants.

4. The claim to the territory, now the State of Delaware, was purchased from the Duke of York by Penn, and the limits set to Maryland on the north were allowed. Thus all points, as to boundary, having been satisfactorily adjusted, the patent for the grant was drawn up with scrupulous care, so as to define exactly the rights conveyed to the new proprietor, and to express fully the powers reserved to the Crown and to Parliament; and on the 4th of March, 1681, it received the signature of the king.

5. The articles of the grant were written in Old English style, on strong parchment, each line underscored with red ink, and the borders elaborately decorated with heraldic devices. This document is still preserved, and is hung up in the Executive Chamber at Harrisburg.*

* The territory conveyed to Penn was "bounded on the east by Delaware river from twelve miles distance northward of New Castle towne, unto the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude; the said land to extend westward five degrees in longitude, to be computed from the said eastern bounds, and the said land to be bounded on the north by the beginning of the three and fortieth degree of north latitude, and on the south by a circle drawn at twelve miles

3. Why were Lord Baltimore and the Duke of York consulted?

4. How did Penn gain possession of the territory now the State of Delaware ? When was the charter of Pennsylvania signed?

5. How were the articles written and what was done with them?

6. The boundaries of the lands named in the charter, were intended to be substantially what those of the State now are. The province was named by King Charles II., who called it Pennsylvania, in honor of Admiral Penn, the distinguished father of the new proprietor. Within a month after the date of the charter, the king issued a proclamation setting forth the terms of the grant made to Penn, and re quiring all persons settled in the Province to yield obedience to him as absolute proprietor and governor.

T. On the 10th of April, Penn appointed his cousin, William Markham, deputy governor of the Province. He wrote a letter to the people residing in the territory described in his charter, v/hich, together with the king's proclamation, he sent to America by Markham, who arrived in New York on the 21st of June. He there procured from the commander and the council a letter addressed to "the several people, justices of the peace, magistrates, and other oflQcers inhabiting within the bounds and limits" of the territory included in the grant, notifying them of the change that had been made in their government. Within a few days after receiving this letter, Markham arrived in the Province of Pennsylvania, and at once assumed the administration of public affairs.

8. A report of the transactions in England, whereby a new province had been created, had reached America before the

distance from New Castle, northward and westward, unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of north Latitude, and then by a straight line westward to the limits of longitude above mentioned."

6. What were intended to be the boundaries of the Province? Who named the Province? What did the king command the people to do? Who lived in the Province at this time?

7. Who did William Penn appoint governor? What did he send over with Markham? When did Governor Markham arrive in Pennsylvania ?

8. Did the people on the Delaware know beforehand that their

PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA FOUNDED. 23

arrival of Markham ; almost immediately the Quakers, who had many years before settled in western New Jersey, began to move to the west bank of the Delaware, so as to be under the government of Penn, whom they had already learned to regard as a wise ruler and a just man. A few families of these people had settled near Upland as early as 1675, and now persuaded their friends to seek homes on the rich lands of that neighborhood.

9. Penn published in England a short description of the Province, together with some valuable information and suggestions to persons who might be disposed to become colonists under his government. This document, and the liberal provisions contained in the Royal Charter, attracted public attention, and directed the minds of many religious sects throughout England and the Continent of Europe to the goodly land beyond the Delaware. The Quakers were especially joyful over the prospect opened to them by the founding of a great province under one of their own sect as governor and proprietor. •

10. While the public mind in Europe was thus directed to Pennsylvania, Governor Markham was administering the affairs on the Delaware very much after the systems in use before his arrival. Sudden and great changes were unnecessary, and the new governor was not disposed to show his authority by the introduction of new forms.

11. The instructions issued to Markham directed him to call country had been ceded to Penn? What did the Quakers in New Jersey do?

9. What did Penn do in England? What effect had these publications ?

10. How did Governor Markham administer the government? Did he make any sudden changes ?

11.- What was Governor Markham instructed to do?

a council, consisting of nine citizens of the Province ; to read the king's proclamation and Penn's letter to the people ; to settle boundary lines ; to survey and rent, or sell lands ; to establish courts ; appoint sheriffs and trustees of the peace ; and to administer generally the affairs of government.

12. In his letter to the people, Penn said:

"I hope you will not be troubled at your change, and the king's choice, for you are now fixed at the mercy of no governor that comes to make his fortune great ; you shall be governed by laws of ijour own making, and live a free, and if you will, a sober and industrious people. I shall not usurp the right of any, or oppress his person. God has furnished me with a better resolution, and has given me his grace to keep it. In short, whatever sober and free men can reasonably desire for the security and improvement of their own happiness, I shall heartily comply with, and in five months resolve, if it please God, to see you."

13. The first court held in the Province under Penn's charter convened at Upland, on the 13th of September, the same day to which the old court under the former governor had adjourned- The second session was held on the 8th of November, when Markham presided in person. One of the first acts of this tribunal was the prohibition of the sale of intoxicating liquors to the Indians.

14. During the year 1681, three ships, carrying emigrants, sailed from England for Pennsylvania. One of these vessels, the "Bristol Factor," arrived in the Delaware on the 11th of December; the "Sarah and John" arrived earlier, but no

12. "What did Penn say in his letter to the people?

13. When and where did the first court, under Penn's charter, assemble? What was one of its first acts?

14. How many emigrant ships came to the Province in J.681? What were their names ?

PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA FOUNDED. 25

re^corcl of the day is preseryed; the other ship, called the "Amity," reached the Province in the spring of 1682.

15. Three commissioners, appointed by Penn, came in these ships. They were instructed to prepare the Province for the reception of colonies of emigrants. They were to survey the land, to sound the river, and examine the ground, so as to find the most favorable location for a great commercial and manufacturing city, which Penn had promised to lay out and establish for his people. Should the building of the city be begun before his arrival, he directed the commissioners to have the people place their houses in the middle of the plots, "that there may be ground on each side for gardens, or orchards, or fields, that it may be a green country town, which will never be burnt and always wholesome."