Chapter XII: The Founding of Pennsylvania (3)

LOCAL HISTORIES.—It is only in the history of the counties first settled that information on the period treated of in this chapter can be sought. John F. Watson’s _Annals of Philadelphia_[848] is one of the chief authorities. The plan of the work is not one that can be approved of at the present day, as sufficient care has not been taken in all cases to follow the original language of documents quoted, or to give references to authorities. Nevertheless, it is doubtful if any work in America has done more to cultivate a taste for historical study. There is a charm about its gossipy pages which has attracted to it thousands of readers, and provoked more serious investigations. It contains much regarding the domestic life of the first settlers and the building of Philadelphia which has been universally accepted, and many traditions gathered from old persons which there is no reason to question. The most important History of Philadelphia is that by Mr. Thompson Westcott, now printing in the columns of the _Sunday Despatch_. Eight hundred and ten chapters have appeared up to the present time. It is an encyclopædia on the subject. Some of the early chapters treat of the period under review. _A History of the Townships of Byberry and Moreland, in Philadelphia County_, by Joseph C. Martindale, M.D.,[849] treats largely of the earliest settlers in that section of the State. The present Montgomery County is formed of a portion of the original County of Philadelphia, and the history of some of its sections treats of the settlement of the colony. For such information, see _History of Montgomery County, within Schuylkill Valley_,[850] by William J. Buck. Mr. Buck prepared also the Historical Introduction to Scott’s _Atlas of Montgomery County_, Philadelphia, 1877. The _History of Delaware County_, by George Smith, M.D.,[851] is by far the best county history of Pennsylvania yet published. It is thoroughly trustworthy, and treats fully of the settlement of the county. Extracts from the records of Markham’s court are given in it. _Chester and its Vicinity, Delaware County, Pennsylvania_,[852] by John Hill Martin, is a meritorious work.

The history of Bucks County has been twice written; first by William J. Buck, in 1855. His investigations were contributed to a county paper, and were subsequently published in a volume of one hundred and eighteen pages, to which was appended a _History of the Township of Wrightstown_, by Charles W. Smith, M.D., contained in twenty-four pages. A later _History of Bucks County_,[853] is that by General W. W. H. Davis, an excellent work.

The _History of Chester County, Pennsylvania_,[854] by J. Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, is a work of merit, being the production of two thorough students, deeply imbued with the love of their subject. The historical and genealogical portions of it are written with care and judgment. It contains extracts from the records of the first courts held in Pennsylvania.

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.—Hazard’s _Annals of Pennsylvania_,[855] 1609-1682, _Votes of the Assembly_,[856] vol. i., _Colonial Records_,[857] vol. i., _Pennsylvania Archives_,[858] vol. i., and _Duke of York’s Laws_[859] are the chief collections of documents relating to the constitutional history of the colony. The correspondence which preceded the issuing of the royal charter, together with the Proceedings of the Lords of Trade, etc., is in the _Votes of the Assembly_, vol. i. pp. vii-xiii; the same will be found in chronological order in Hazard’s _Annals_. The royal charter is given in _Votes of Assembly_, vol. i. p. xviii; Hazard’s _Annals_, p. 488; _Colonial Records_, vol. i. (1st ed.) p. ix, (2d ed.) p. 17; Hazard’s _Register_, i. 293. A fac-simile of the engrossed copy at Harrisburg is also given as an Appendix to vol. vii., second series, of _Pennsylvania Archives_, and is in the _Duke of York’s Laws_ in the same form, as well as being printed in that volume on page 81. The paper known as “Certain Conditions or Concessions,” agreed upon in England between the purchasers of land and Penn, July 11, 1681, will be found in Hazard’s _Annals_, p. 516, _Colonial Records_, vol. i. (1st ed.), p. xvii (2d ed.), p. 26, _Votes of Assembly_, vol. i. p. xxiv, and Proud’s _Pennsylvania_, vol. ii. Appendix. Penn’s instructions to his commissioners—Crispin, Bezar, and Allen—are printed in Hazard’s _Annals_, p. 527. The original paper is in the possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. His instructions to his fourth commissioner, William Haige, are in Hazard’s _Annals of Pennsylvania_, p. 637. The Frame of Government and laws agreed upon in England May 5, 1682, were printed at the time. They are also given in Hazard’s _Annals_, p. 558, _Colonial Records_, vol. i. (1st ed.) p. xxi (2d ed.) p. 29, _Votes of the Assembly_, vol. i. p. xxvii, _Duke of York’s Laws_, p. 91, and Proud’s _Pennsylvania_, vol. ii. Appendix. There are a number of rough drafts of the Frame of Government, etc., in the _Penn Papers_ of the Historical Society. One of these is indorsed as the work of Counsellor Bamfield; another bears the name of C. Darnall. Oldmixon says (edition of 1708) that “the Frame” was the work of “Sir William Jones and other famous men of the Long Robe.” Penn’s letter to Henry Sidney (Oct. 13, 1681) shows that Sidney was consulted regarding it; and Chalmers says (on the authority of Markham), that portions of it were formed to suit the Quakers.

The Frame of Government, passed in 1683, will be found in _Votes of the Assembly_, vol. i. part i., Appendix 1, _Colonial Records_, vol. i. (1st ed.) xxxiv, and (2d ed.) p. 42; _Duke of York’s Laws_, p. 155; Proud’s _Pennsylvania_, vol. ii. Appendix 3. There was an edition of it printed in 1689 at Philadelphia, entitled _The Frame of the Government of the Province of Pennsilvania and Territories thereunto annexed in America_, 8º, 16 pp. But one copy of this edition is known to have been preserved,—it is in the Friends’ Library in Philadelphia. It has no titlepage or printer’s name; but there can be no doubt that it is from the press of William Bradford; and it was for printing this that Bradford was summoned before the Council by Governor Blackwell, on the 19th of April, 1689. Sabin gives an edition printed in London in 1691, by Andrew Sowle. Cf. Sabin’s _Dictionary_, no. 59,697; also, _Collection of Charters, etc., relating to Pennsylvania_, Philadelphia (B. Franklin), 1740.

LITERATURE RELATING TO THE LAWS OF THE PROVINCE.—Under this head may be classed various works, the titles of which as a rule indicate their characters, and we note them below.[860]

LANDING OF PENN.—In 1824 a society was formed in Philadelphia for the commemoration of the landing of William Penn. Its first meeting was held November 4, in the house in which he had once lived, in Letitia Court. An address was delivered by Peter S. Duponceau, and the eighteen members of the Society dined together. In selecting the day to be celebrated, the Society was guided by the passage in Penn’s letter to the Lords of Plantation, dated August, 1683, in which he states that he arrived on “the 24th of October last.” Ten days should have been added to this date to correct the error in computing time by the Julian calendar, which was in vogue when Penn landed, and November 3 should have been considered the anniversary. Through an erroneous idea of the way in which such changes should be calculated, eleven days were added, and November 4 was fixed upon. The next year, however, the Society celebrated the 24th of October, and continued to do so until 1836, the last year that we are able to trace the existence of the organization.[861] Subsequent investigations have shown that Penn did not arrive before Newcastle until October 27 (see Newcastle Court Records in Hazard’s _Annals of Pennsylvania_, p. 596), and did not land until the following day.[862] It is probable, therefore, that Penn dated his arrival from the time he came in sight of land or passed the Capes of Delaware. The first evidences we have of his being within the bounds of the present State of Pennsylvania are letters dated Upland, October 29, and this day, allowing ten days for the change of time, bringing it to November 8, is the one that it is customary to celebrate.

Nov. 8, 1851, Edward Armstrong delivered before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, at Chester, an able address, which contains nearly all that is known regarding the landing of Penn. In it will be found the names of his fellow-passengers in the “Welcome;” but a more extended list by the same writer is given in the Appendix to the 2d ed., _Memoirs of Historical Society of Pennsylvania_, vol. i. In 1852 an address was also delivered on the same anniversary before the Historical Society by Robert T. Conrad.

PENN’S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS.—This was the subject of a report made to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by Peter S. Duponceau and J. Francis Fisher. It will be found in _Memoirs of Historical Society_, vol. iii. part ii. p. 141. In it the opinion is expressed that the treaty which tradition says Penn held with the Indians at Shackamaxon was not one for the purchase of land, but was a treaty of amity and friendship, and was held in November, 1682. This report has been followed by historians generally, and has been accepted by nearly all the biographers of Penn. The subject, however, is one that will bear further investigation. The writer of this chapter published in the _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_, vi. 217, an article to show that the treaty which has attracted so much attention was that described in Penn’s _Letter to the Free Society of Traders_, dated August 16, 1683; that it was held on June 23 of that year; that not only “great promises of friendship” passed between Penn and the Indians, but that land was purchased, the records of which are in the Land Office at Harrisburg.[863] In connection with this subject, Mr. John F. Watson’s paper on the “Indian Treaty for Lands now the Site of Philadelphia” (see _Memoirs of Historical Society of Pennsylvania_, vol. iii. part ii. p. 129) should be read, as well as “Memoir of the Locality of the Great Treaty between William Penn and the Indians,” by Roberts Vaux (see Ibid., i. 79; 2d ed., p. 87). The proceedings of the Historical Society upon the occasion of the presentation to it of a belt of wampum by Granville John Penn, which is said to have been given to William Penn by the Indians at the treaty at Shackamaxon,[864] will be found in _Memoirs of Historical Society of Pennsylvania_, vi. 205, with a large colored lithograph of the belt. Cf. _Historical Magazine_, i. 177, and Gay’s _Popular History of the United States_, ii. 498.

PENN-BALTIMORE CONTROVERSY, AND THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY OF PENNSYLVANIA.—In the “Penn Papers” in the Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania there are several volumes of documents bearing upon this subject, being the copies of those used in the suit between Lord Baltimore and John Thomas and Richard Penn, decided in 1750. Interesting papers are in the State Paper Office, London, giving accounts of the meetings between Baltimore and Markham and Penn and Baltimore in 1682 and 1683. Copies are in the Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and will shortly be printed. The following printed volumes and essays treat of the subject:[865]

_The Case of William Penn, Esq., as to the Proprietory Government of Pennsylvania; which, together with Carolina, New York, etc., is intended to be taken away by a bill in Parliament._ (London, 1685.) Folio, 1 leaf. Cf. Sabin’s _Dictionary_, no. 59,686.

_The Case of William Penn, Proprietary and Governor-in-Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania and Territories, against the Lord Baltimore’s Pretentions to a Tract of Land in America, Granted to the said William Penn in the year 1682, by his then Royal Highness James Duke of York, adjoyning to the said Province, commonly called the Territories thereof._ (n. p. 1682 to 1720.) Folio, 1 leaf. Cf. Sabin’s _Dictionary_, no. 59,688.

_The Case of Hannah Penn, the Widow and Executrix of William Penn, Esq., late Proprietor and Governor of Pennsylvania_ (against the pretensions of Lord Sutherland, London, 1720). Folio, 1 leaf. Cf. Sabin’s _Dictionary_, no. 59,672.

_Articles of Agreement made and concluded upon between the Right Honourable the Lord Proprietary of Maryland and the Honourable the Proprietary of Pennsylvania, etc., touching the Limits and Boundaries of the Two Provinces, with the Commission constituting certain Persons to execute the Same._ Philadelphia (B. Franklin), 1733, folio, 19 pp. and map. In the Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Another edition was issued from same press in 1736, with the Report of the Commissioners. Cf. C. R. Hildeburn’s _List of the Issues of the Press in Pennsylvania_, 1685-1759.

_The Case of Messieurs Penn and the People of Pennsilvania, and the three lower Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex on Delaware, in relation to a Series of Injuries and Hostilities made upon them for several Years past by Thomas Cressap and others, by the Direction and Authority of the Deputy-Governor of Maryland_ (London, 1737). Folio, 8 pp. Cf. Sabin’s _Dictionary_, no. 5,985.

_Penn against Lord Baltimore. In Chancery. Copy of Minutes on Hearing, May 15, 1750._ 8º, 15 pp. n. t. p. In the Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

_Breviate in the case of Penn_ vs. _Baltimore_. Cf. also the title, with its two maps, given in Sabin’s _Dictionary_, ix. 34,416.

_Indenture of Agreement, 4th July, 1760, Between Lord Baltimore and Thomas and Richard Penn, Esquires, settling the limits and boundaries of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Three Lower Counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex._ Philadelphia, 1851, folio, 31 pp. and map. Privately printed for Edward D. Ingraham.

“Memoir of the Controversy between Penn and Lord Baltimore.” By James Dunlop (read Nov. 10, 1825), in _Memoirs of Historical Society of Pennsylvania_, i. 161, or 2d ed. p. 163.

_Lecture upon the Controversy between Pennsylvania and Virginia about the Boundary Line._ By Neville B. Craig. Pittsburgh, 1843, 8º. 30 pp.

_Appendix to Case in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Third Circuit, containing the Pea Patch, or Fort Delaware Case._ Reported by John William Wallace. Philadelphia, 1849, 8º, 161 pp. Cf. U. S. Senate, Exec. doc., no. 21, 30th Congress, 1848.

_History of Mason and Dixon’s Line._ Contained in an address delivered by John H. B. Latrobe before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Nov. 8, 1854. Philadelphia, 1855, 8º, 52 pp.

Colonel Graham’s _Report on Mason and Dixon’s Line_. Chicago, 1859, 8º. Cf. Pennsylvania Senate Journal, 1850, ii. 475.

_Mason and Dixon’s Line._ By James Veech, 1857.

One of the original manuscript reports of Mason and Dixon, signed by them, is in the possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

IMMIGRATIONS.—Independent of the Welsh and Germans, no large bodies of emigrants came to Pennsylvania during the first decade of its existence, except from England and some Quakers from Ireland. The prosperity of the new colony attracted settlers from other parts of British America and the West Indies; but nearly all, judging from the religious annals of the community, were either Quakers or in sympathy with them. In studying the Welsh emigration, _John ap Thomas and his Friends: a Contribution to the Early History of Merion, Pa._, by James J. Levick, M.D., should be read; see _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_, iv. 301. It is a history of the first company which came from Wales, in 1682. The _History of Delaware County_ by Dr. George Smith contains much on the subject, with a map of the early settlements; cf. B. H. Smith’s _Atlas of Delaware County, with a History of Land-Titles_, Philadelphia, 1880. The agreement entered into between an emigration party from Wales and the captain of a vessel in 1697-1698 will be found in the _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_, i. 330.

The German or Dutch emigration can be studied in _The Settlement of Germantown, and the Causes which led to it_, by Samuel W. Pennypacker; see _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_, iv. 1. It is a thorough examination of the question, showing how the emigrants came from the neighborhood of Crefeld, a city of the Lower Rhine, near Holland. The several publications we have mentioned printed in Dutch and German must also be consulted._ William Penn’s Travels in Holland and Germany_, by Professor Oswald Seidensticker, already mentioned (see _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_, ii. 237), shows how naturally the event came about. Professor Seidensticker has also contributed “Pastorius und die Grundung von Germantown” to the _Deutsche Pionier_, vol. iii. pp. 8, 56, 78, and “Francis Daniel Pastorius” to the _Penn Monthly_, vol. iii. pp. 1, 51.

SPECIAL SUBJECTS.—There remain a few monographs worthy of mention.

_History of Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations who once inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States_, by the Rev. John Heckewelder, Philadelphia, 1819, 8º. This work was first published as vol. i. of the _Transactions of the Historical and Literary Committee of the American Philosophical Society_. It was reprinted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, with notes by the Rev. William C. Reichel, in 1876, and forms vol. xii. of its _Memoirs_. Opinions regarding this work differ widely. It was favorably reviewed by Nathan Hale in the _North American Review_, ix. 178, and severely criticised by General Lewis Cass in the same publication, xxvi. 366. “A Vindication” of the _History_ by William Rawle will be found in the _Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania_, i. 258; 2d ed. p. 268. There is a portrait of Heckewelder in the American Philosophical Society, and a copy of it in the Historical Society; see _Catalogue of Paintings, etc., belonging to the Historical Society_, no. 85. As a further contribution to the aboriginal history, we may mention _Notes respecting the Indians of Lancaster County, Pa._, by William Parker Foulke; see _Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania_, vol. iv. part ii. p. 189. This treats largely of the Susquehannocks.

_Contributions to the Medical History of Pennsylvania_, by Caspar Morris, M.D.; see _Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania_, i. 337, or 2d ed., p. 347.

_Notices of Negro Slavery as connected with Pennsylvania_, by Edward Bittle; see Ibid., i. 351, or 2d ed., p. 365; cf. also Williams’s _Negro Race in America_.

_Address delivered at the Celebration by the New York Historical Society, May 20, 1863, of the Two Hundredth Birthday of William Bradford, who introduced the Art of Printing into the Middle Colonies, etc._, by John William Wallace. Albany, 1863, 8º, p. 114. Together with the report made by Horatio Gates Jones at the same time. Cf. Thomas I. Wharton’s “Notes on the Provincial Literature of Pennsylvania,” in the _Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania_, i. 99, or 2d ed., p. 107; and J. W. Wallace’s paper on the “Friends’ Press” in _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_, iv. 432. The _Brinley Catalogue_, no. 3,367, gives a considerable enumeration of the issues of Bradford’s press.

“Historical Sketch of the Lower Dublin (or Pennepek) Baptist Church, Philadelphia,” etc., by Horatio Gates Jones, in _Historical Magazine_, August, 1868, p. 76.

“Local Self-Government in Pennsylvania,” by E. R. L. Gould, of Johns Hopkins University, in _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_, vi. 156. It is a comparison of present local administration in Pennsylvania with that under the Duke of York’s government.

MAPS.—_A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia, in the Province of Pennsylvania, in America_, by Thomas Holme, Surveyor-General. Sold by John Thornton in the Minories, and Andrew Sowle in Shoreditch, London. 18½ × 11¾ inches.

The original, of which a reduced heliotype is given in this chapter will be found in Penn’s _Letter to the Free Society of Traders_, printed in 1683, which also contains a description of Philadelphia, in which the map is referred to. In one of the editions of the Letter to the Free Society a list of the lot-owners in Philadelphia is given, with numbers referring to property marked on the map. This is the earliest map of Pennsylvania. All issued previous to it show the country while under a different dominion.

_A Map of the Province of Pennsylvania, containing the three counties of Chester, Philadelphia, and Bucks, as far as yet surveyed and laid out. The divisions or distinctions made by the different coullers respecting the settlements by way of townships._ By Thomas Holme, Surveyor-General. Sold by Robert Green, at the Rose and Crown in Budge Row, and by John Thornton at the Platt in the Minories, London.

This is the most important of all the early maps issued shortly after 1681. It contains the names of many of the early settlers, and shows Penn’s idea of settling the country. In some cases the lots front on a square, which it is presumed was dedicated to public uses. This feature is still noticeable in one or two of the original settlements. It was republished at Philadelphia by Lloyd P. Smith in 1846, and by Charles L. Warner in 1870.

_A Mapp of ye Improved parts of Pennsilvania, in America, Divided into Countyes, Townships, and Lotts. Surveyed by Tho. Holme._ It is dedicated to William Penn by Jno. Harris, who, it is presumed, was the publisher. It measures 16 × 21½ inches, and is a reduction of the larger map by Holme.

A map to illustrate the successive purchases from the Indians was published by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1875. Cf. Egle’s _Pennsylvania_, p. 208.

PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.—[The chief instrumentality in the fostering of historical studies in the State rests with the Pennsylvania Historical Society, which dates from 1824; and in 1826 it printed the first volume of its _Memoirs_, which was, under the editing of Edward Armstrong, reprinted in 1864. The objects of the Society were set forth by William B. Reed in a discourse in 1848; and again at the dedication of its new hall in 1872, Mr. J. W. Wallace delivered an address. Besides its occasional addresses and its Memoirs, and the work it has done in prompting the State to the printing of its documentary history, it has also supported the publication of the _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_.—ED.]