DOCSLIB.ORG

Iv Minute Book of the Virginia Court Held For

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Iv Minute Book of the Virginia Court Held For IV MINUTE BOOK OF THE VIRGINIA COURT HELD FOR YO.HOGANIA COUNTY FIRST AT AUGUSTA TOWN (NOW WASHING­ TON, PA.), AND AFTERWARDS ON THE ANDREW HEATH FARM NEAR WEST ELIZABETH; 1776-1780. EDITED BY BOYD CRUMRINE. .OF WASHINGTON, PA. [Reprinted from ANNALS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM, Vol. II, pp. 71-400, 190;] Pages 1-70 are not available in this Volume IV. MINUTE BOOK OF THE VIRGINIA COURT HELD FOR YOHOGANIA COUNTY, FIRST AT AUGUSTA TOWN (NOW WASHINGTON, PA.), AND AFTER­ WARDS ON THE ANDREW HEATH FARM NEAR WEST ELIZABETH; 1776-1780. EDITED BY BOYD CRUMRINE, OF WASHINGTON', PA. INTRODUCTORY. The minutes of this court, as well as those of the old Fort Dunmore court printed with an introductory sketch in Vol. I., pp. 505-56S of these Annals, are preserved in several old manuscript volumes of unruled paper, legal-cap size. The entries in these order books were evidently written hastily by the official clerks during the sessions of the court, accounting for the misspelling of many proper names and other words, and for frequent illegibility. They may have been intended to be copied out at length in the more formal records of the court proceedings ; but it is possible that, as the courts themselves as well as the Virginia territorial jurisdictions ceased to exist after the final running of the southern and western boundary lines, no other and more regular transcript of the orders was ever made, and that the records now published are the only ones in existence containing the judicial business of these ancient courts. These records are accurately copied, when at all legible, as spelled and capitalized in the original; even the punctuation is unchanged except now and then when thought to be absolutely necessary for in­ telligibility. For it is believed that when the details of local history are given, for the subsequent use of the general historian, this literal- ness of transcription gives color and strength to local incidents. So when one meets in old records with the name James Swolevan, he is interested in determining that the name must have been that of plain James Sullivan. And shall we say that the name " Worshington " was not " Washington " ? . 71"* 72 ANNALS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM. Attention is called to the efforts made, as disclosed in the proceed­ ings of the Court of Yohogania County now published, to have the oath of allegiance to the State of Virginia administered to all the in­ habitants of the Monongahela and Ohio valleys, within the limits of the actually exercised jurisdiction of Westmoreland County, Pennsyl­ vania.1 Why are the records of these old Virginia courts found in the vaults of the court-house of Washington County, Pennsylvania? A reply to this question may be made as follows : On March i, 1780, just before the final ratification by Pennsyl­ vania and Virginia of the agreement at the Baltimore Conference, on the establishment of the boundary lines between the two states, and whilst all the territory of Washington, Allegheny, Fayette and Greene counties and of that part of Beaver county south of the Ohio River still formed part of Westmoreland County, erected in 1773, the legislature of Pennsylvania, "first of all the states," says III. Bryant's Hist, of U. S., 177, passed an act for the gradual emancipation of all the slaves within its jurisdiction.2 And on March 21, 17S1, Washington County was erected, the first new County out of old Westmoreland. Then on April 13, 17S2, less than two years after the Virginia courts had ceased to be held within the limits of Pennsylvania, and still before the boundary lines had been actually run on the ground, an act was passed by the general assembly of Pennsylvania, entitled " An Act to redress certain grievances within the Counties of Westmoreland and Wash­ ington.'" The preamble to this act recited : " Whereas a number of the inhabitants of Westmoreland and Wash­ ington counties have represented to the General Assembly that they labor under many inconveniences by reason that Before the Boundary was agreed to between the States of Virginia and Pennsylvania, many of the inhabitants aforesaid, conceiving themselves under the jurisdic­ tion of Virginia, which exercised judicial authority over them, had taken and subscribed the oath of Allegiance and Fidelity as prescribed by the laws and the usages of the said State, [and] are considered in many respects as not entitled to all the rights of free citizens of this State ; and but for the reason above mentioned they have had no opportunity •Sec the Order of Court on August 26, 1777, and 9 Henning's Statutes 2S1. 2 See Act of March I, 17S0, II. Carey & Bioren, 246; I. Dall. L., S3S ; I Smith's L., 492. 'This act is not found at length in any of the editions of our Pennsylvania laws, but see it noted as obsolete in I. Dall. L., p. 55. MINUTES OF COURT OF YOHOGANIA COUNTY. 73 of entering or registering their slaves agreeable to the Act of Assembly of this State for the gradual Abolition of slavery ; and that a number of the records and papers containing the proceedings of the late counties of Yohogania, Monongalia and Ohio are now in the hands of the late Clerks, who are not authorized to give exemplied copies thereof: " Then followed enacting sections providing that all the inhabitants of Westmoreland and Washington counties, whose names should be found in the records thereinafter mentioned, having and producing to the clerks of the General Quarter Sessions of the said counties respec­ tively " certified copies or certificates of their having taken the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity to the State of Virginia before the said Bound­ ary was agreed to, shall be and they are hereby declared to be to all in­ tents and purposes free citizens of this state ; " and further providing that all such inhabitants " who were on the 23rd day of Sept., 1780,' possessed of Negro or Mulatto slaves or servants until the age of thirty one years," might register such slaves or servants under said act for the gradual abolition of slavery, " on or before the 1st day of January next; and the said master or masters, owner or owners of such slaves or servants shall be entitled to his or their services as by the said act is directed, and the said slaves and servants shall be entitled to all benefits and immunities in the said act contained and expressed.'' Then followed the final section : "And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the Clerks of the Orphans' Courts, the Registers of the probates of Wills and granting letters of administration, and the Recorders of Deeds, for the respective counties of Westmoreland and Washington aforesaid, shall be authorized and empowered to call on the late clerks of the said counties of Yohogania, Monongalia and Ohio, for all such papers and records in their custody or possession, which relate to or affect the taking of the oath or affirmation of Allegiance, the probates of wills, granting letters of administration, and the Recording of Deeds or other indentures of Bargain and Sale, of any of the inhabitants of the said counties of Westmoreland and Washington, and when they shall receive all or any part of the said papers and records as aforesaid they shall be lodged within their respective offices and become part of the records of said counties; and the said Clerks are hereby required 1 The day of the final ratification by Pennsylvania of the final agreement for the boundary lines ; VIII. Penna. Archives, 570. 74 ANNALS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM. and enjoined on demand as aforesaid to deliver up intire and indefaced all such papers and records as aforesaid, and in case they or either of them shall refuse or neglect to deliver up the papers and records in manner and form aforesaid, they or either of them so neglecting or refusing shall forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred pounds, to be recovered by action of debt in any court of Common Pleas within this Commonwealth, for the use of the same. " Signed by order of the House, " FrecF k A. Muhlenburg, Speaker." Monongalia and Ohio counties, Virginia, did not become extinct, but were pushed out of Pennsylvania by the boundary lines established, and carried their records with them. The records of the courts at Fort Dunmore and for Yohogania County, thus became a part of the official records of Washington County, Pennsylvania. By reference to the record of the formal organization of the old Fort Dunmore court, Vol. I., p. 525 of these Annals, it is seen that that court was constituted under "His Majesties Writ," issued by Lord Dunmore, " for adjoining the County Court of Augusta from the Town of Staunton to Fort Dunmore, and with a new Commission of the Peace," which included George Croghan and fourteen others named after him, all of whom resided in the Monongahela and Ohio valleys, as "Gentlemen, Justices." The creation of that court was by the will of King George as expressed by his colonial representative, Lord Dunmore. But there came a time when His Majesty's writs by whom­ soever issued were inoperative west of the Alleghenies, as well as east of them to the Atlantic; and, as noted briefly on p. 520, Vol. I. of these Annals, the legislature of Virginia, now become an independent commonwealth, in October, 1776, passed An Act for ascertaining the boundary between the County of Augusta and the District of West Augusta, and for dividing the said District into three district Counties.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Divided Frontier: the George Rogers Clark Expedition and Multi- Cultural Interaction
    DIVIDED FRONTIER: THE GEORGE ROGERS CLARK EXPEDITION AND MULTI- CULTURAL INTERACTION by KENNETH B. TITUS B.S., Kansas State University, 2006 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of History College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2009 Approved by: Major Professor Louise Breen Abstract The land west of the Alleghany Mountains and along the Ohio River and Great Lakes was an area of hotly contested land and sovereignty claims during the colonial period, complete with shifting loyalties and highly factionalized alliances. Warfare and diplomacy in the western territories often hinged on the actions of just one man or a small group of people, with consequences that could cause the collapse of entire empires. The long-standing battle for land and power throughout the Ohio Valley has been called the Long War because once conflict began between the French, British, and Indians in 1754, no one power was truly able to claim the land and its people until the British were forced out of their Great Lakes forts in 1815. George Rogers Clark uniquely united these groups for a short moment in history, a feat made all the more impressive when we consider how long the region remained contested ground between empires. These factions united only once prior the era of American control. During the expedition of George Rogers Clark in 1778, backcountry settlers, French habitants, Indian chiefs, and Spanish officials all united during a small window of time to overthrow British control of the Illinois Country. Clark moved freely from the top political circles of Virginia to the remote frontier outposts of the Illinois Country.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Manuscripts
    William Reese Company AMERICANA • RARE BOOKS • LITERATURE AMERICAN ART • PHOTOGRAPHY ______________________________ 409 TEMPLE STREET NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06511 (203) 789-8081 FAX (203) 865-7653 [email protected] Economic Manuscripts Costs of Repairing Albany’s Blockhouse in 1709, Including Rum for the Workers 1. Abeel, Johannes: [MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT, SIGNED BY JOHANNES ABEEL, DETAILING EXPENSES FOR REPAIRS ON THE “OLD BLOCK- HOUSE”]. Albany. 1709. [1]p. Folio. Old fold lines, light soiling and wear. Good. Manuscript document detailing the expenses associated with the repair of the old blockhouse in Albany, signed by Albany official Johannes Abeel. Abeel (1667- 1711) was an Albany native and merchant who held various local offices, including mayor of Albany from 1709 to 1710 – likely the capacity in which he signed off on the present account. Work began and was mostly performed in mid-November, finally finishing in late January. Of the fifteen line items listed, eight are for “1 quart rum” for the laborers (each costing one shilling and three pence), four are for nails, and the other three list the labor of two individual men – Jacob and Cornelius Boogert. Total cost was £9/3/3. $500. A Decade’s Worth of Ships’ Accounts 2. Alexander, Albion D.: [MANUSCRIPT ACCOUNT BOOK BELONG- ING TO CAPTAIN ALBION D. ALEXANDER OF MAINE]. [Maine and elsewhere]. 1849-1860. [25]pp. Folio. Contemporary stiff paper wrappers, lettered on cover. Light soiling to covers; minor soiling internally, but generally quite bright and clean. Very good. An account book kept by Albion D. Alexander (b.1822), a ship captain from Maine, detailing accounts for several ships over a ten year period.
    [Show full text]
  • National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form
    NPS Form 10-900-b OMBMo (Jan. 1987) . s >-:,- « r; ^'rj fT? ! :"v' ; - I: ; i; V/ l£ United States Department of the Interior \^\ National Park Service uu \ :; > National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is for use in documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Type all entries. A. Name of Multiple Property Listing__________________________________________ Vtiiskey Rebellion Resources in Southwestern Pennsylvania________________ B. Associated Historic Contexts____________________________________________ Whiskey Rebellion in Southwestern Pennsylvania_____________________ C. Geographical Data___________________________________________ Southwestern Pennsylvania - Allegheny, Bedford, Fayette, Greene, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland Counties I I See continuation sheet D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR/ftart 60 and tlffevSecreprV |f the Interior's Standards for Planning and Evaluation. DR. BRENT D. GLASS |V/^<AN\ \U V 17^/^7 l/ 7-)//^ r Signature of certifying official Date PA HISTORICAL & MUSEUM COMMISSION State or Federal agency and bureau 1, hereby, certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Re gister as a basis for/evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Washington County, Pennsylvania* All the Territory Now Embraced in Mount Pleasant To
    Mt. Pleasant Twp. (pp. 850-865) History of Washington County, Pennsylvania* All the territory now embraced in Mount Pleasant township was originally comprehended in the townships of Smith, Cecil, Hopewell, and Canton. The erection of Chartiers from Cecil on the 12th of March, 1790, and of Cross Creek from Hopewell in the same year brought a part of this territory in those townships. In January, 1806, a petition of citizens of this section was presented to the grand jury of the Court of Quarter Sessions praying for the erection of a new township. This body passed upon it favorably, and the matter was brought to the notice of the court at the May term, and on the 12th of that month the action of the grand jury was confirmed, and the decree ordered for the erection of a township to be called Mount Pleasant. A slight addition was made to the township form Chartiers in 1831. The territory comprehended in this township has been a different times in the early years included in election districts Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6. It was erected into a separate election district March 28, 1808, but for some reason did not so remain, and continued to be included in districts with other territory till 1838, when it became independent. The names of justices having jurisdiction here prior to that time will be found in the lists of Smith, Cecil, Peters, Chartiers, and Cross Creek townships. Those elected for Mount Pleasant since that time are here given, viz.: James Hughes, April 14, 1840. John Reed, April 14, 1840.
    [Show full text]
  • An Historical Account of the Expedition Against Sandusky Under Col
    NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES i^T'L . TJUiKM JTOUNt.' """!' gun' jw»» I' i»i »i"» yyv 3RI6-. GELT. WILLIAM IRVINE AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT Expedition against Sandusky COL. WILLIAM CRAWFORD IN 1782 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, PERSONAL REMINISCENCES, AND DESCRIPTIONS OF INTERESTING LOCALITIES INCLUDING, ALSO, DETAILS OF THE DISASTROUS RETREAT, THE BARBARITIES OF THE SAVAGES, AND THE AWFUL DEATH OF CRAWFORD BY TORTURE C. W. BUTTERFIELD L'Bfy DOF mtwm &W. CINCINNATI ROBERT CLARKE & CO 1873 1 heeked Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1873, By C. W. BUTTERFIELD, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. ; Prefatory. Crawford's campaign was one of the most notable of the distinct military enterprises of the Western Border War of the Revolution. Nevertheless, it has heretofore found but little space upon the page of American History. This, however, is not surprising, when we consider that its most striking incidents occurred within a brief space of time, and beyond the bounds of western civilization. On account of the paucity of authoritative published statements relating to the expedition, I have been com- pelled, from the commencement, to depend, to a consider- able extent, upon authorities in manuscript. Nor can this be regretted, as it has caused the pushing of investigations, whenever practicable, to fountain sources. I have relied upon traditions, only when better testimony was wanting and not even then, without careful consideration and the closest scrutiny. It is believed, therefore, as much relia- bility has been attained as could well be, concerning events transpiring mostly beyond the extreme western frontier of our country during the turbulent period of its struggle for independence.
    [Show full text]
  • The Records of Deeds for the District of West Augusta, Virginia, for the Court Held Atfort Copied Dunmore ( Pittsburgh, Pa
    Cornell University Library 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. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924017918735 Cornell University Library F 157.W5C95 The Records of deeds for the district of 3 1924 017 918 735 ' ANNALS CARNEGIE MUSEUM Volume I. 1901-1902 7) W. J. HOLLAND, Ph.D., Sc.D., LL.D., Editor J. B. HATCHER, Ph.B., Associate Editor c Published by the Authority of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute CONTENTS. 1 Controversy Between Pennsyl- I, The Boundary 1748-1785. Bv'Boto. ! vania and Virginia; . • 5-5 2 : . 5 4 j Crumrine .... Fort H. '; Minute Book of the Virginia Court Held at Dunmore (Pittsburgh) for the District of West Augusta, 1775-1776 525-568 III. Minute Book of the Virginia Court held for Yohogania County, first at Augusta Town (now Washington, Pa.), and afterwards on the Andrew Heath Farm Crum- near West Elizabeth ; 1776-1780. , By Boyd rinf. 7I-I40 IV- Minute Book of Virginia Court held for Yohogania County, first at Augusta Town (now Washington, Pa.), and afterwards on the Andrew Heath Farm Boyd CRUM- near West Elizabeth ; 1776-1780. By 205-42Q RINE . rl . Held V. I Minute or Order Book of the Virginia Court —""- for Ohio County, Virginia, at Black's Cabin (Now West Liberty, W. Va.), From January 6, 1777, until September 4, 1780, when its Juris- " diction over Any Part of Pennsylvania Had Ceased, with Introduction and Notes. By Boyd _ 8 Crumrine, Esq.
    [Show full text]
  • About the Best Kindof Settlers Inotherwise Serene Southwestern
    Inthe late eighteenth century, deep divisions about the best kindof Bradford's legacy is not spierre of the occasion." The Pitts- government and who DAVIDwellknown today, but during burgh Gazette later claimed that a the Whiskey Insurrection in 1794, "nod" from Bradford could have wouldlead itseparated President George Washington want- meant the destruction ofone's prop- ed Bradford arrested "byHook, or erty. And when he finally fled down settlers inotherwise by Crook."' Pittsburgh author and the Ohio River, militiaofficers mis- serene southwestern attorney HughHenry Brackenridge, takenly thought that they were ex- describing one event of the "rebel- pected to killhim rather than allow Pennsylvania. lion," called Bradford "the Robe- him to escape. 2 Bradford's part in James P. McClure, whose dissertation at the University ofMichigan dealt with Western Pennsylvania history of the late eighteenth century, is senior associate editor withthe Salmon P. Chase Papers, a documentary publication project at the Department of History, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California. Above: 'On the Monongahela,' by William Wall,1860, (original in oil). 72 'Let Us Be Independent* the Whiskey Insurrection was so had Bradford as itsprimary focus. As range of strongly held opinions notorious, according to Bracken- a result, what his case tells us about about them. 11 ridge, that he became identified with the region in 1794 has been ne- The population increase in the a Philistine deity of the Old Testa- glected. years preceding the Whiskey Insur- ment: when the people ofWashing- David Bradford was born in rection brought tensions over the ton County learned that Bradford Maryland about 1760 and probably breaking off of new counties, in- had finally advised submission to moved to Washington County, cluding part of Allegheny, from the government's terms, "The pop- Pennsylvania, about 1781, the year Washington County.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020-10 PGS Newsletter
    OCTOBER 2020 PGS NEWSLETTER VOL LXXIII NO 2 Landslides Ahoy: How Ice Age Stream Pirates Captured St. October 21, 2020 Lawrence River Drainage and Created Virtual Meeting Times Board Meeting 6:00 PM the Mon Valley’s Chaotic Topography Social Gathering 7:00 PM Presentation 7:30 PM Pre-Registration is Required PGS members and guests must RSVP by October 20 to receive the meeting Zoom link. Register here: pittsburghgeologicalsociety.org PDH Certificates are Available Attendees can receive an emailed PDH certificate at their request. Non- PGS members are asked to kindly donate $10 to either the Pittsburgh Geological Society Endowment Fund or the PGS Galey Fund for Students when they request a certificate on the PGS website. Photo courtesy of WVDOH Online Meeting Guidelines All attendees are encouraged to join Dr. Steven Kite the meeting no later than 7:20 PM when announcements will be made. Emeritus Professor PGS requests all attendees to mute their own audio and video during the Department Of Geology And Geography presentation to avoid disruptions and West Virginia University to lower bandwidth. Please RSVP by October 20 to receive the Zoom link. , Speaker Abstract The Lenape people showed profound geological insight in naming the Monongahela, which means “river of falling banks” in their Unami language. The “Mon” drainage basin lies at the north end of the largest area of high landslide incidence in the coterminous United States. The upper basin includes a large part of West Virginia, which may have a higher per capita landslide damage than any other state. FEMA has designated landslides as the Mountain State’s second greatest natural hazard, second only to flooding.
    [Show full text]
  • The Expedition Against Sandusky
    AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE Expedition Against Sandusky UNDER COL. WILLIAM CRAWFORD IN 1782 WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, PERSONAL REMINISCENCES, AND DESCRIPTIONS OF INTERESTING LOCALITIES INCLUDING, ALSO, DETAILS OF THE DISASTROUS RETREAT, THE BARBARITIES OF THE SAVAGES, AND THE AWFUL DEATH OF CRAWFORD BY TORTURE BY C. W. BUTTERFIELD CINCINNATI ROBERT CLARKE & CO 1873 ii ___________________________________________ Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1873, By C. W. BUTTERFIELD, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. ___________________________________________ iii PREFATORY. Crawford’s campaign was one of the most notable of the distinct military enterprises of the Western Border War of the Revolution. Nevertheless, it has heretofore found but little space upon the page of American History. This, however, is not surprising, when we consider that its most striking incidents occurred within a brief space of time, and beyond the bounds of western civilization. On account of the paucity of authoritative published statements relating to the expedition, I have been compelled, from the commencement, to depend, to a considerable extent, upon authorities in manuscript. Nor can this be regretted, as it has caused the pushing of investigations, whenever practicable, to fountain sources. I have relied upon traditions, only when better testimony was wanting; and not even then, without careful consideration and the closest scrutiny. It is believed, therefore, as much reliability has been attained as could well be, concerning events transpiring mostly beyond the extreme western frontier of our country during the turbulent period of its struggle for independence. The melancholy fate of Crawford caused a profound sensation throughout the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine
    THE WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL MAGAZINE Volume 65 January 1982 Number 1 TENANCY AND ASSET-HOLDING IN LATE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Lee Soltow and Kenneth W.Keller studies of early American rural life have turned scholars' Recentattention to the problem of landholding and tenancy in the eighteenth century. In spite of the existence of relatively few useful records, especially outside New England, historians have begun to draw a sketch of landlords and tenants in early America. Records of tenancy in Pennsylvania are quite rare, but fortunately some evidence concerning it has survived for Washington County in the late eighteenth century. Close scrutiny of these records demonstrates that although many of the inhabitants of various Washington County town- ships were—landless in the late eighteenth— century, these persons with- out land many of them tenants possessed modest amounts of other assets and accordingly should not be considered an oppressed class permanently submerged in degraded poverty. Itis the thesis of this article that tenants and landless persons in Washington County possessed enough resources to maintain an adequate, if frugal, style of Professor of economics at Ohio University, Lee Soltow has published Men and Wealth in the United States and has a book forthcoming, The Rise of Mass Literacy and the Common School: A Socio-Economic Study of the United States to 1870. Kenneth W. Keller is associate professor of history at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. He has published articles in the Bulletin of the Missouri Historical Society, Labor History, and, with Pro- fessor Soltow, Pennsylvania History. His monograph, Rural Politics and the Collapse of Pennsylvania Federalism, willbe published in the Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society.—Editor 2 LEE SOLTOW AND KENNETH W.
    [Show full text]
  • Old Westmoreland : a History of Western Pennsylvania During The
    ^^ GENEALOGY COLLECTIQI^ M. I— 974.801 W52h 1441180 LIBRARY Ai I PN rniJNTY PUBLIC j!i|iM|i|iii|H 3 1833 02232 0821 Old Westmoreland A HISTORY OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA DURING THE REVOLUTION. BY Edgar W. Hassler J. R. WEI.DIN & CO. PITTSBURG 1900 Copyright, 1900, by Edgar \Vakefield Hassler. M411S0 PREFACE. This book represents an effort to tell the revolutionary history of the Western Pennsylvania border; to describe the trials, the sacrifices, the errors and the heroisms of the frontiersmen, in their conflicts with tories, British par- tisans and savages, during the years when Washington and his generals were fighting for independence along the Atlantic seaboard. The American Revolution covered many fields of action, and the operations on each con- tributed to the grand result. The men who defended the western border against the savage tribes were doing their work essential to the cause of freedom as well as the ragged Continentals who faced British and Hessian battalions in New York or New Jersey. Naturally the operations in the East, where the main conflict raged and the issue was decided, have received the chief attention of historians ; but the struggles on the west- ern frontier have been unduly neglected. Some attention has been given to the revolutionary history of the New York and Tennessee frontiers, but no book tells, in con- nected form, of the important operations in that great trans- montane region of which Ft. Pitt was the center, during the years from 1775 to 1783. Many volumes of border history have been published but none of them has been devoted to this period.
    [Show full text]
  • SAMUEL VAUGHAN's JOURNAL Or "Minutes Made by S.V., from Stage to Stage, on a Tour to Fort Pitt" Edited by Edwabd G
    SAMUEL VAUGHAN'S JOURNAL or "Minutes Made by S.V., from Stage to Stage, on a Tour to Fort Pitt" Edited by Edwabd G. Williams PART III FROM PITTSBURGH TO FORT CUMBERLAND THENCE TO MOUNT VERNON Introduction vn pursuance otof tkethe travelogue otof tnethe interesting 18tk centurvcentury cosmopolite, Samuel Vaughan, 1 we now see him arrived at the • r»:.n._i Invery doorj of„/ aa._the infantr j. Pittsburgh.1_ Thenni-^ a.1time, JulyT--1_. 1,1 1787,1*7O*7 is:~ only eighteen months after Arthur Lee, of Virginia, declared au- thoritatively that "Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who live in paltry log-houses, and are as dirty as the north of Ireland, or even Scotland The place, / believe, will never be very considerable." 2 Improvements had surely taken place in that brief period of a year and a half, as this journal amply portrays. Thus far Vaughan's course had led at times over Burd's old road, at times over Forbes' military road, briefly over a shorter route, and for long stretches over a road that combined all three. He was traversing the very new Pennsylvania State Road. Many other travelers went the same way, but Vaughan passed by just in the interval between the primitive bridle path, when even pack horse trains were infrequent, and the later period when inns flour- ished and stone-arch bridges spanned the mountain torrents. Log inns were just making their appearance here and there. After all, it was only four years following the end of Revolutionary hostilities.
    [Show full text]