W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1999 Wild Yankees: Settlement, conflict, and localism along Pennsylvania's northeast frontier, 1760-1820 Paul Benjamin Moyer College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Moyer, Paul Benjamin, "Wild Yankees: Settlement, conflict, and localism along ennsylvP ania's northeast frontier, 1760-1820" (1999). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623949. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-mpyc-bz95 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6n x gn black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMf Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. WILD YANKEES: SETTLEMENT, CONFLICT, & LOCALISM ALONG PENNSYLVANIA'S NORTHEAST FRONTIER, 1760-1820 A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College ofWilliam and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Paul Benjamin Moyer 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9942556 Copyright 1999 by Moyer, Paul Benjamin All rights reserved. UMI Microfonn 9942556 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microfonn edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright ~ 1999 by Paul Benjamin Moyer All rights reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation in submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Author James Axtell ~~~0~AiaJ\)(aylor Dept. ofHistory, Univ. ofCalifornia, Davis 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This work is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Paul Jacob Potteiger Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v LIST OF MAPS V1 ABSTRACT Vll INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER I. A CONTESTED HINTERLAND ll CHAPTER II. PENNAMITES & YANKEES 50 CHAPTER III. MAD BOYS & HALF-SHARE MEN 89 CHAPTER IV. DOCTORS, PHYSIC, & PILLS 130 CHAPTER V. PENNSYLVANIA'S YANKEE lNV ASION 165 CHAPTER VI. WILD YANKEES 203 CHAPTER VII. THE POLITICS OF ACCOMMODATION 241 CHAPTER VIII. FEDERALISTS, FREEMASONS, & METHODISTS 272 EPILOGUE: THE FATE OF BACKCOUNTRY LOCALISM 303 BffiLlOGRAPHY 309 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A number of people accompanied me on my journey into the early American backcountry. Some only traveled with me for a short stint, others stuck by me for the long haul. My companions made every attempt to show me a clear path and gently nudged me back on course when I lost my way. But no matter how great or small their contribution, I gratefully extend my appreciation to all those who helped me to complete this dissertation. First and foremost I would like to thank James Whittenburg, not only for his efforts as my dissertation director, but also for the support and guidance he has offered me throughout my graduate career. The other members of my dissertation committee also deserve recognition. Leisa Meyer's insightful comments helped me to develop and effectively express my ideas. Likewise, Alan Taylor advanced my work by making available to me his own considerable knowledge of the revolutionary frontier. Indeed, Alan Taylor's book, Liberty Men and Great Proprietors, was in many ways the inspiration for my own explorations into the backcountry. Moreover, the comments of James Axtell and John Selby were a great help to me in the final stages of the writing process. Finally, I would like to thank Carol Sheriff for encouraging me to pursue this topic when my dissertation was in its youth as a research project for her seminar on American history. While researching my dissertation I benefited from the knowledge and generosity of a number of archivists and librarians. The staff of the Earl Gregg Swem Library, especially the interlibrary loan department, facilitated my search for sources relative to Pennsylvania's northeast frontier. Likewise, the staff of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, and the Tioga Point Museum were attentive to my queries concerning their collections and greatly expedited my research. I would also like to thank the Historical Society of Connecticut and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for making microfilm copies of their collections available to me. Finally, much of the research I conducted would not have been possible without the financial support I received from the College of William and Mary. I also owe a word of thanks to friends and family. I could not have come this far in my education without my parents' unfailing encouragement. Their support has been, and continues to be, a source of strength. Carrie Ablinger deserves recognition for the technical assistance she offered me in creating the maps that accompany this project and in printing out the final copies of my dissertation. Finally, I owe an unpayable debt to my wife, Christine. Her faith in me and her willingness to share the first years of our marriage with my dissertation enabled me to make this work what it is. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF MAPS Map Following Page 1. Pennsylvania's Northeast Frontier. 2 2. The Connecticut Claim. 16 3. The Wyoming Valley. 25 4. The Heartland of Yankee Resistance, 1790-1810. 191 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Pennsylvania's northeast frontier--a region embraced by the upper reaches of the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers--was the scene of a bitter and, at times, bloody backwoods dispute. Here Yankees (settlers and speculators holding deeds from Connecticut land companies) fought Pennamites (settlers and landlords who claimed land under Pennsylvania) for land and authority. This contest began in the 1760s and lasted till the first decades of the nineteenth century and, for a time, pitted Connecticut against Pennsylvania in a bitter jurisdictional conflict. This study focuses on the dispute after the revolutionary war when the federal government awarded the contested territory to Pennsylvania and when Connecticut claimants, who became known as Wild Yankees, violently resisted the imposition of Pennsylvania's authority and soil rights. Northeast Pennsylvania's frontier disturbances were not unique but tbrmed part of a much broader wave of agrarian unrest. From Maine to the Carolinas, America's revolutionary frontier was the scene of a struggle over property and power fought between Indians, settlers, land speculators, and government authorities. Historians who examine contention between the latter three groups have argued that competing interpretations of the Revolution, competition over land, class tensions, and deeper cultural struggles between backcountry and frontcountry shaped frontier discord. This study explores agrarian unrest in northeast Pennsylvania and adds to existing backcountry scholarship by demonstrating that the revolutionary frontier was not only the scene of a battle over