CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE ""'"'^^''y F 167 }/77"^" '-ibrary "'*IIMlBllllWiMiii™M,l'.?i.,SiP«'a»'are : from 3 1924 028 865 olln 406 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://archive.org/cletails/cu31924028865406 A HISTORY STATE OF DELAWARE, |irrf SfttlmpKt tttttil i\t '^xmwi M^m, CONTAINING A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE FIEST DUTCH AND SWEDISH SETTLEMENTS, A DESCRIPTION OF ITS GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. FRANCIS VINCENT, WILMINGTON, DEL. PHILADELPHIA: JOHN CAMPBELL, NO. 740 SANSOM STREET. ''/ 1870. '< I /(, 7 j/77 h-']'h'5^1 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by FRANCIS VINCENT, in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Henby B. Ashmead, Book and Job Printek, 1102 & 1104 Sansom Street, Philadelphia. ADVERTISEMENT. From the smallness of the State of Delaware, both in population and territory, and the few (even of Delawareans) who manifest any interest in its affairs, the author has been compelled to issue this work in numbers of thirty-two pages each, at thirty cents per number, supposing in that manner it would be placed more easily within the reach of a greater number of subscribers. They will be issued about every three weeks, and can be procured either of the author, at Wilmington, Delaware, of Mr. John Campbell, No. 740 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, or of the book- stores in the City of Wilmington. By forwarding the money by mail to the under- signed at Wilmington, Delaware, the numbers will be sent in any direction free of postage. Back numbers win always be furnished. The usual discount made to dealers. As many of the subscribers to the work appended their names about four years ago, expecting to be sup- plied with the History at that time, it may have es- caped the memory of some of them. Should any wish to cancel their subscription from this cause, they will please, by some means, inform the author. Francis Vincent. Wilmington, Del. PREFACE The author has no other apology to make for un- dertaking the present work, than that in the course of two hundred and thirty-eight years, (the period of time that has elapsed since the first settlement was attempted of the territory that now constitutes this State,) no other person has thought proper to write it before him. Delaware has a history that every citi- zen should be proud of. It is many years older than that of her great sister, Pennsylvania. Yet how few Delawareans there are who can tell who settled or governed it, who fought its battles in the Revolution, who passed its laws, what they were, or the circum- stances under which they were enacted, or the social and political changes that have from time to time oc- curred within their State. The want of a relation of these transactions in a book easy of reference, has made this ignorance of our State affairs a general ig- norance. This work is designed to remedy this, and to place it in the power of all Delawareans to obtain a knowledge of the past occurrences of their State, that may desire it. All the author aims at, is to plainly, truthfully, and succinctly, detail what has transpired, VI PKEFACE. or may in any way relate to the history of Delaware, in a manner that may be understood by all. The difficulties of writing a correct History of Dela- ware can hardly be conceived by any who have not undertaken it. In addition to the extreme lack of historical interest in relation to their State manifested by many, even of our best citizens, no care has been taken of our records. In 1722 they were aU de- stroyed by the burning of Major John French's house, at New Castle. In 1777 they were captured and carried to New York by the British after the battle of Brandywine. Many of them were never returned, and what were, were stowed away in an outhouse, and afterwards nearly all bui-nt by a gentleman's servants, (to light fires,) who were ignorant of their value. Others have been lost by the carelessness of our different state and county officers. In moving the Kent county records from the State House in Dover (where many of the officers of Kent county were) to the newly erected county buildings a few years since, a large quantity of valuable matter that would have thrown light on our State history was carted away, and cast out as rubbish. A number of valuable letters and manuscripts belonging to Thomas M. Rodney, Esq., consisting of letters of his great uncle, th« celebrated Caesar Rodney, in relation to the days of the Revolution, were stolen some few years since. Many of our former most distinguished families have now no representative left in the State, and their papers that would have thrown light on our local history are not to be found. The descendants PREFACE. VU of others who reside here have parted with every manu- sci'ipt and letter, having in many cases presented them to New England autograph collectors, amongst whom such things are preserved and valued. No care has ever been taken in our public libraries to preserve any works in relation to this State, and every rare work, not purchasable, the author has been compelled to pro- cure from the libraries of Philadelphia and New York. From this our readers can imagine the difficulties there will be in writing a history of our State ; espe- pecially after its grant by the Duke of York to Wil- liam Penn—a few years after which grant we first had an independent goveniment—and our affairs ceased to be registered anywhere out of our own limits. This State having been first discovered by the Dutch, and the first settlement made by them and the Swedes, its early history must necessarily be found in those languages. These two nations inha- bited the Delaware between them, and struggled for mastery, until finally the former reduced the latter to subjection. The Dutch officials on the Delaware sent a regular account to New York of every matter of in- terest. The New l^'ork officials sent copies of those accounts to Holland. The Swedes on the Delaware sent accounts to Sweden. These several accounts, both Dutch and Swedish, have many of them been preserved either in the original manuscripts, or by re- cord in books, and it is from these records and cotem- porary works, written by Dutch and Swedish authors, that we are enabled to get a minute and circumstan- tial account of our early history. VUl PREFACE. The Dutch records by the liberality of the State of New York have been translated into English, by Broadhead and O'Callighan, and published in thirty large volumes. Among these records are the letters of Hudde and Beekman, both of whom minutely record the occurrences on the Delaware. The corres- pondence of the latter, who was governor of the ter- ritory of the northern side of the Christiana, is espe- cially valuable, containing, as it does, a succinct record of the events in the territory that now comprises this State from 1659 to 1664. The Swedish documents, from which we extract our principal information in relation to Swedish affairs, were furnished by Mr. Russell, our former minister to Sweden, to the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. They were translated and published several years ago in the Register of Pennsylvania. One of the most useful (though also, in some instances, one of the most inac- curate,) of Swedish works is that entitled, "J. Short Description of the Province of New Sweden, hy Tho- mas Campanius, of Holme" printed at Stockholm in the year 1702, under the patronage of Charles the 12th. Delaware, from the time of the subjugation of the Swedes, in 1655 to 1682, (when it was conveyed to Penn,) being but a sub government to New York, her history up to that time, as well under the English as under the Dutch, must be looked for mainly in the records of that State. Nicholas, Lovelace and An- dross, the deputy governors under the Duke of York, (who was the proprietor of this State, and afterwards PKEFACE. IX granted it to Penn,) had regular accounts sent on to them of the atFairs on the Delaware, where they were carefully recorded. Our own records (with the ex- ceptions of a few deeds and wills) do not extend fur- ther back than 1674, when Andross was eovernor. They are contained in three books in the Prothono- tary's olfice at New Castle, and at least one of them is a copy from the records of New York. The author designs that this work shall contain a narrative of Delaware events from its first discovery until the end of the year 1869. The plan of the work will be to give every public event, the essence of all important laws passed, the names of the governors, the legislators, and other important public officers. The different census, and the number of votes cast, and the majorities at the various elections, and the principles and objects of the various political parties that have existed in the State. With this decla- ration of the object of the work, he issues his first volume, which is now written in hopes it will meet the approbation and patronage of the citizens of Dela- ware.