THE FOUNDING OF PENNSYLVANIA.
BY FREDERICK D. STONE,
_Librarian of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania._
THE founding of Pennsylvania was one of the immediate results of
Penn’s connection with West Jersey; but the causes which led to the
settlement of both colonies can be clearly traced to the rise of the
religious denomination of which he was a distinguished member. This
occurred in one of the most exciting periods of English history. The
Long Parliament was in session. Events were directly leading to the
execution of the King. All vestiges of the Church of Rome had been
well-nigh swept away in a country in which that Church had once held
undisputed sway, and its successor was faring but little better with
the armies of the Commonwealth. The conflict between Presbyterians and
Churchmen,—in the efforts of the former to change the Established
Church, and of the latter to maintain their position,—was scarcely
more bitter in spirit than the temper with which the Independents
denounced all connection between Church and State. Other dissenting
congregations at the same time availed themselves of a season of
unprecedented religious liberty to express their views, and religious
discussions became the daily talk of the people.
It was under these circumstances that the ministry of George Fox began.
Born in the year 1624, a native of Leicestershire, he was from his
youth noted for “a gravity and stayedness of mind and spirit not usual
in children.” As he approached manhood, he became troubled about the
condition of his soul, and passed through an experience similar to that
which tried his contemporary, John Bunyan, when he imagined that he had
sinned against the Holy Ghost. His friends had advised him to marry or
to join the army; but his immediate recourse was rather to spiritual
counsel. He naturally sought this from the clergymen of the Established
Church, in which he had been bred; but they failed to satisfy his mind.
[Illustration: GEORGE FOX.
[This follows Holmes’s engraving of the portrait of Fox, by Honthorst,
in 1654, when Fox was in his thirtieth year. This Dutch painter, if
Gerard Honthorst, was born in Utrecht in 1592, was at one time in
England, and died in 1660; if his brother William, he died in 1683,
aged 73. The original canvas was recently offered for sale in England.
A view of Swarthmore Hall, where Fox lived, is in Gay’s _Popular
History of the United States_, ii. 173.—ED.]]
The first whom he consulted repeated to his servants what George had
said, until the young man was distressed to find that his troubles were
the subjects of jests with the milk-maids. Another told him to sing
psalms and smoke a pipe. A third flew into a violent passion because,
as the talk turned upon the birth of Christ, Fox inadvertently placed
his foot upon the flower-bed. A fourth bled and physicked him. Such
consolations, presented while he was earnestly seeking to comprehend
the greatest question of life, disgusted him. He then turned for
comfort to the Dissenters; but they, as he tells us, were unable to
fathom his condition. From this time he avoided professors and teachers
of all kinds. He read the Scriptures diligently, and strove, by the
use of the faculties which God had given him, to understand their true
meaning. He was not a man of learning, and was obliged to settle all
questions as they arose by such reasonings as he could bring to bear
upon them. The anguish which he experienced was terrible, and at times
he was tempted to despair; but his strong mind held him to the truth,
and his wonderfully clear perception of right and wrong led him step by
step towards the goal of his desires. By degrees the ideas which had
been taught him in childhood were put aside. It became evident to him
that it was not necessary for a man to be bred at Oxford or Cambridge
to become a minister of Christ; and he felt as never before the meaning
of the words, “God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” To one of
his understanding such convictions seemed as revelations from Heaven.
That all men are capable of receiving the same Light to guide them,
and that all who would follow this Light would be guided to the same
end, became his belief; and to preach this faith constituted his
mission. He also felt that they who were guided by this Inner Light
should be known by the simplicity of their speech and manners; that as
the temples of the Lord were the hearts of his people, the ceremonies
of the prevailing modes of worship were empty forms; that tithes for
the support of a ministry, and taxes for the promotion of war and like
measures, should not be paid by persons who could not approve of the
purposes for which they were collected; and that the taking of an oath,
even to add weight to testimony, was contrary to the teachings of the
Scriptures.
These, in brief, were the views of the people called Quakers. That
a movement so purely spiritual in its aims should have exercised a
political influence seems remarkable. But the principles upon which
the movement was founded claimed for the mind a perfect freedom; they
counted as nought the privileges of rank, and demanded an entire
separation of Church and State.
The first followers of George Fox were from the neighborhood of his own
home; but his views soon spread among the yeomanry of the adjoining
counties. His theology may have been crude, his grammar faulty, and his
appearance ludicrous; yet there was a personal magnetism about the man
which drew to him disciples from all classes.
Nothing could check the energy with which he labored, or silence the
voice which is yet spoken of as that of a prophet. In his enthusiasm
the people seemed to him like “fallow ground,” and the priests but
“lumps of clay,” unable to furnish the seed for a harvest. Jeered at
and beaten by cruel mobs, reviled as a fanatic and denounced as an
impostor, he travelled from place to place, sometimes to be driven
forth to sleep under haystacks, and at other times to be imprisoned as
a disturber of the peace. But through all trials his faith remained
unshaken, and he denounced what he believed to be the falsehoods of the
times, until, as he says, the priests fled when they heard that “the
man in leathern breeches is come.”
In 1654, but ten years after George Fox had begun to preach, his
followers were to be found in most parts of England, Ireland, and
Scotland. Notwithstanding the persecutions with which an avowal
of Quakerism was met, they adhered to their convictions with a
steadfastness equal to that of their leader. Imprisonment, starvation,
and the lash, as the penalties of their religion, had no fears for
them. Their estates were wasted for tithes and taxes which they felt
it wrong to pay. Their meetings were dispersed by armed men, and all
laws that could be so construed were interpreted against them. All such
persecution, however, was of no avail. “They were a people who could
not be won with either gifts, honors, offices, or place.” Nor is it
surprising that their desire to share equally such sufferings in the
cause of truth should have touched the heart of one educated in the
severe school of the Commonwealth. When Fox lay in Lanceston jail, one
of his people called upon Cromwell and asked to be imprisoned in his
stead. “Which of you,” said Cromwell, turning to his Council, “would do
so much for me if I were in the same condition?”
Satisfied in their hearts with the strength which their faith gave
them, the Quakers could not rest until they had carried the glad
tidings to others. In 1655, Fox tells us, “many went beyond the sea,
where truth also sprung up, and in 1656 it broke forth in America and
many other places.”
It has ever been one of the cardinal principles of the followers of
Fox to obey the laws under which they live, when doing so does not
interfere with their consciences. When this last is the case, their
convictions impel them to treat the oppressive measures as nullities,
not even so far recognizing the existence of such statutes as to cover
their violation of them with a shadow of secrecy. It was against what
Fox considered ecclesiastical tyranny that the weight of his ministry
was directed. Those who lived under church government he believed to be
in as utter spiritual darkness as it is the custom of Christendom to
regard the other three-fourths of mankind; and it was with a feeling
akin to that which will to-day prompt a missionary to carry the Bible
to the wildest tribes of Africa, that the Quakers of 1656 came to the
Puritan commonwealths of America.
The record of the first landing of the Quakers in this country belongs
to another chapter,[775] and the historians of New England must tell
the sad story, which began in 1656, of the intrusive daring for
conviction’s sake which characterized the conduct of these humble
preachers. In June, 1657, six of a party of eight Quakers who had
been sent back to England the year previous, re-embarked for America.
They were accompanied by five others, and on October 1 five of them
landed at New Amsterdam. The rest remained on the vessel, and on the 3d
instant arrived at Rhode Island. It was chiefly through the labors of
this little band that the doctrines of the Quakers were spread through
the British colonies of North America.
It was in 1661 that the first Yearly Meeting of Friends in America
was established in Rhode Island, and in 1672 the government of the
colony was in their hands. The Dutch of New Amsterdam did not hold as
broad views of religious liberty as were entertained by their kinsfolk
in Holland; but while the Quakers were severely dealt with in that
city, on Long Island they were allowed to live in comparative peace.
In Maryland the treatment of the Friends, severe at times, grew more
and more tolerant, and when Fox visited them in 1672 he found many to
welcome him; and probably the first letter from a Meeting in England
to one in America was directed to that of Maryland. In Virginia
the Episcopalians were less liberal than their neighbors in other
provinces. The intolerance with which Dissenters were met drove many
beyond her borders, and thus it was that some Friends gathered in the
Carolinas.
The outbreak of the Fifth Monarchy men in 1660, immediately after the
restoration of Charles II., dispelled any hopes which the Quakers
might have gathered from that monarch’s proclamation at Breda, since
they were suspected of being connected with that party. It is at this
time that we find the first evidence that Fox and his followers wished
to obtain a spot in America which they could call their own; and the
desire was obviously the result of the troubles which they encountered,
both in England and America. Before this was accomplished, however, the
Quakers experienced many trials. In 1661 Parliament passed an Act for
their punishment, denouncing them as a mischievous and dangerous people.
In 1672 Charles II. issued his second declaration regarding liberty of
conscience, and comparative quiet was for a few years enjoyed by his
Dissenting subjects. In 1673 Parliament censured the declaration of the
King as an undue use of the prerogative. The sufferings of the Quakers
were then renewed. It is unnecessary to repeat in detail the penalties
inflicted under the various Acts of Parliament. Fox was repeatedly
imprisoned, and many of his followers died in confinement from ill
usage. In 1675 West Jersey was offered for sale. The advantages its
possession would afford were at once appreciated by the men of broad
views who had obtained control of the Quaker affairs. Fox favored the
scheme. Some of his followers felt that to emigrate was to fly from
persecution and to desert a cause; but Fox, with more wisdom, had as
early as 1660 proposed the purchase of a tract of land in America.
Between 1656 and 1675 he and his devoted followers were from time to
time braving all kinds of danger in the propagation of their faith
throughout the English colonies in America. Their wanderings often
brought them into contact with the Indians, and this almost always led
to the friendliest of relations.[776]
William Penn possessed more influence with the ruling class of England
than did any other of the followers of Fox. His joining the Friends in
1668 is a memorable event in the history of their Society. The son of
Admiral Sir William Penn, the conqueror of Jamaica, and of his wife
Margaret, daughter of John Jasper, of Amsterdam, he was born in London
Oct. 14, 1644, the year in which Fox began to preach to his neighbors
in Leicestershire. The Admiral was active in bringing about the
restoration of the Stuarts, and this, together with his naval services,
gave him an influence at Court which would have enabled him to advance
the interests of his son.
[Illustration
[There are papers on the portraits of Penn in _Scribner’s Monthly_,
xii. 1, by F. M. Etting, and in the _Mag. of Amer. Hist._, October,
1882. Cf. also _Penn. Mag. of Hist._ vol. vi. pp. 174, 252. The above
cut represents him at twenty-two. It follows a large private steel
plate, engraved by S. A. Schoff, of Boston, with the aid of a crayon
reduction by William Hunt, and represents an original likeness painted
in oils in 1666 by an unknown artist, possibly Sir Peter Lely. It was
one of two preserved at Stoke Poges for a long time, and this one was
given in 1833 by Penn’s grandson, Granville Penn, to the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania. (_Catalogue of Paintings, etc., belonging to
the Historical Society_, 1872, no. 50.) There are other engravings
of it in the _Pennsylvania Magazine of History_, i. 361; in Janney’s
_Life of Penn_; in Stoughton’s _William Penn_; and in Watson’s _Annals
of Philadelphia_. A portrait by Francis Place, representing Penn at
fifty-two, is engraved from the National Museum copy of the original
in Gay’s _Popular History of the United States_, ii. 487. It was
discovered in England in 1874, and its story is told in Mr. Etting’s
paper. There is another engraving of it in Egle’s _Pennsylvania_.
Maria Webb’s _Penns and Peningtons_ (1867) gives an account of a
recently discovered crayon likeness. (Cf. _Catalogue of Paintings,
etc., belonging to the Historical Society_, 1872, p. 27.) A steel
engraving was issued in Germany some years since, purporting to be from
a portrait by Kneller,—which is quite possible,—and this engraving
is reproduced a little larger than the German one in the _Mag. of
Amer. Hist._, October, 1882. The likeness best known is probably the
one introduced by West in his well-known picture of the making of the
Treaty. In this, West, who never saw Penn, seemingly followed one of
the medallions or busts made by Sylvanus Bevan, a contemporary of Penn,
who had a natural skill in cutting likenesses in ivory. One of these
medallions is given in Smith and Watson’s _American Historical and
Literary Curiosities_, i. pl. xv., and in the _Mag. of Amer. Hist._,
October, 1882. Bevan’s bust was also the original of the head of the
statue, with a broad-brim hat, which has stood in the grounds of the
Pennsylvania Hospital since John Penn, son of the Proprietary, bought
it from the estate of Lord Le Despenser at High Wycombe, and gave it to
the hospital. The same head was again used as the model of the wooden
bust which was in the Loganian Library, but was destroyed by fire in
1831. Proud’s _History of Pennsylvania_ (1797) gives an engraving of
it; and the likeness in Clarkson’s _Life of Penn_ is also credited to
one of Bevan’s busts. Inman’s picture, which appears in Janney’s _Penn_
and in Armor’s _Governors of Pennsylvania_, is to be traced to the same
source, as also is the engraving in the _Encyclopædia Londiniensis_.
Penn is buried in the graveyard at Jordan’s, twenty miles or so from
London; and the story of an unsuccessful effort by the State of
Pennsylvania to secure his remains, encased in a leaden casket, is told
in _The Remains of William Penn_, by George L. Harrison, privately
printed, Philadelphia, 1882, where is a view of the grave and an
account of the neighborhood. There is a picture of the grave in the
Pennsylvania Historical Society. Cf. _Catalogue of Paintings, etc.,
belonging to the Historical Society_ (1872), no. 151; and Mrs. S. C.
Halls article in _National Magazine_, viii. 109; and _Mag. of Amer.
Hist._, October, 1882, p. 661.—ED.]]
But while a student at Oxford, the young Penn chanced to hear the
preaching of Thomas Loe, a Quaker, and so impressed was he by it that
he ceased to attend the religious services of his College. For this he
was expelled from the University. His father, after a brief impulse
of anger which this disgrace caused, sent him to Paris, and in that
gay capital the impressions made by the Quaker preacher were nearly
effaced. From Paris he went to Saumur and became a pupil of Moses
Amyrault, a learned professor of the French Reformed Church. At the
conclusion of his studies he travelled in France and Italy, and in
1664 returned to England,—a fashionable gentleman, with an “affected
manner of speech and gait.” The dreadful scenes which occurred the
next year in London during the Plague again turned his thoughts from
worldly affairs. To overcome this seriousness his father sent him to
Ireland. While there, an insurrection broke out among the soldiers at
Carrickfergus Castle, and he served as a volunteer under Lord Arran
in its suppression. The Viceroy of Ireland was willing to reward this
service by giving him a military command, but Admiral Penn refused
his consent. It was at this time that the accompanying portrait was
painted. While in Ireland, Penn again came under the influence of the
preaching of Loe, and in his heart became a Quaker. He was shortly
afterwards arrested with others at a Quaker meeting. His conduct
alienated his father from him, but a reconciliation followed when the
Admiral learned how sincere the young Quaker was in his views.
Penn wrote industriously in the cause, and endeavored by personal
solicitation at Court to obtain for the Quakers more liberal treatment.
Imprisoned in the Tower for heresy, he passed his time in writing _No
Cross, No Crown_. Released through his father’s influence with the
Duke of York, he was soon again arrested under the Conventicle Act for
having spoken at a Quaker meeting, and his trial for this offence is a
celebrated one in the annals of English law.
In September, 1670, his father died, leaving him an ample fortune,
besides large claims on the Government. But the temptations of wealth
had no influence on Penn. He continued to defend the faith he had
embraced, and in the latter part of the year was again in Newgate.
There he wrote _The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience debated_.
Had his services to humanity been no greater than those rendered by
the pen, they would have secured for him a lasting remembrance; but
the experience he gained in defending the principles of the Friends
was fitting him for higher responsibilities. His mind, which was
naturally bright, had been improved by study. In such rough schools
of statesmanship as the Old Bailey, Newgate, and the Tower, he
imbibed broad and liberal views of what was necessary for the welfare
of mankind, which in the end prompted him to attempt a practical
interpretation of the philosophy of More and Harrington. His interest
in West Jersey[777] led him to make extensive investments in the
enterprise; but notwithstanding the zeal and energy with which it was
pushed, the result was far from satisfactory. The disputes between
Fenwick and the creditors of Byllynge, and the transfer by the
former of a large portion of his interest to Eldridge and Warner in
security for a debt, left a cloud upon the title of land purchased
there, and naturally deterred people from emigrating. False reports
detrimental to the colony were also circulated in England, while the
claim of Byllynge, that his parting with an interest in the soil
did not affect his right to govern, and the continued assumption of
authority by Andros over East Jersey and the ports on the Delaware,
added to the feeling of dissatisfaction. This is clearly shown in a
pamphlet published in 1681, the preface of which says it was put forth
“to contradict the Disingenuous and False Reports of some men who
have made it their business to speak unjustly of New Jersey and our
Proceedings therein: As though the Methods of Settlement were confused
and Uncertain, no man Knowing his own Land, and several such idle Lying
Stories.”[778]
It was in this condition of affairs that Penn conceived the idea of
obtaining a grant of land in America in settlement of a debt of £16,000
due the estate of his father from the Crown. We have no evidence
showing when this thought first took form in his mind, but his words
and actions prove that it was not prompted in order to better his
worldly condition. Certain it is that the eyes of the Friends had long
been turned to what is now Pennsylvania as a spot upon which they might
find a refuge from persecution. In 1660, when George Fox first thought
of a Quaker settlement in America, he wrote on this subject to Josiah
Coale, who was then with the Susquehanna Indians north of Maryland. The
reply from Maryland is dated “eleventh month, 1660,” and reads,—
“DEAR GEORGE,—As concerning Friends buying a piece of Land of the
Susquehanna Indians, I have spoken of it to them, and told them what
thou said concerning it; but their answer was that there is no land
that is habitable or fit for situation beyond Baltimore’s liberty till
they come to or near the Susquehanna’s fort.”
In 1681 Penn, in writing about his province, said: “This I can say,
that I had an opening of joy as to these parts in the year 1661 at
Oxford twenty years since.” The interest which centred in West Jersey
caused the scheme to slumber, until revived by Penn in 1680.
The petition to the King was presented about the 1st of June, 1680. It
asked for a tract of land “lying North of Maryland, on the East bounded
with Delaware River, on the West limited as Maryland is, and Northward
to extend as far as plantable, which is altogether Indian.” This,
“his Maj^{ty} being graciously disposed to gratify,” was referred to
the Lords of Trade and Plantations, and if it should meet with their
approval, they were to consider “such restrictions, limitations, and
other Clauses as were fitting to be inserted in the Grant.”
The proceedings which followed prevented the issue of the charter for
some time. “A caution was used,” says Chalmers, “in proportion to
the inattention with which former patents had been given, almost to
every petitioner. Twenty years had now taught circumspection, and the
recent refractoriness of Massachusetts had impressed the ministers
with a proper sense of danger, at least of inconvenience.” The agents
of the Duke of York and of Lord Baltimore were consulted about the
proposed boundaries, and the opinions of Chief-Justice North and the
Attorney-General were taken on the same subjects, as well as on the
powers that were to be conferred. The charter as granted gave to
Penn and his successors all the territory between the fortieth and
forty-second degrees of latitude, extending through five degrees of
longitude west from the Delaware River, with the exception of that
part which would fall within a circle drawn twelve miles around New
Castle, the northern segment of which was to form the boundary between
Penn’s province and the Duke of York’s colonies of Delaware. It was
supposed that such a circle would be intersected on the west by the
fortieth degree of latitude, the proposed boundary between Pennsylvania
and Maryland. This erroneous opinion was the cause of a prolonged
litigation. The allegiance of the Proprietary and of the inhabitants
was reserved to the Crown. The right to govern was vested in Penn.
He could appoint officers, and with the consent of the people make
such laws as were necessary; but to insure their unison with those of
England they were to be submitted to the Crown within five years for
approval. He could raise troops for the defence of his province, and
collect taxes and duties; but the latter were to be in addition to
those ordered by Parliament. He could pardon all crimes except treason
and wilful murder, and grant reprieves in such cases until the pleasure
of the King should be known. The Bishop of London had the power to
appoint a chaplain on the petition of twenty of the inhabitants, and
an agent was to reside near the Court to explain any misdemeanor that
might be committed.
The charter was signed March 4, 1681, and on the next day Penn wrote to
Robert Turner,—
“After many waitings, watchings, solicitings, and disputes in
Council, this day my country was confirmed to me under the Great
Seal of England, with large powers and privileges, by the name of
Pennsilvania, a name the King would have given in honor of my father.
I chose New Wales, being as this a pretty hilly country, ... for I
feared lest it should be looked as a vanity in me and not as a respect
in the King, as it truly was, to my father, whom he often mentions
with praise. Thou mayst communicate my graunt to friends, and expect
shortly my proposals; ‘tis a clear and just thing; and my God, that
has given it me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless
and make it the seed of a nation. I shall have a tender care to the
government, that it will be well laid at first.”
On the 2d of April a royal proclamation, addressed to those who were
already settled within the province, informed them of the granting
of the patent, and its character. Six days afterwards Penn prepared
a letter to be read to the settlers by his representative, couched
in language of friendship and affection. He told them frankly that
government was a business he had never undertaken, but that it was his
wish to do it uprightly. You are “at the mercy of no governor,” he
said, “who comes to make his fortune great; you shall be governed by
laws of your own making, and live a free and, if you will, a sober and
industrious people.” On the same day he gave to his kinsman, William
Markham, whom he had selected to be his deputy-governor, and who was to
precede him to Pennsylvania, instructions regarding the first business
to be transacted. Two days afterwards he furnished him with his
commission and more explicit directions, and Markham shortly afterwards
sailed for America, and probably landed in Boston, where his commission
is recorded. By the 15th of June he had reached New York, and
Brockholls on the 21st issued an order addressed to the civil officers
within the limits of Pennsylvania, yielding to Markham his authority as
the representative of the Duke of York. Markham carried letters from
the King and from Penn to Lord Baltimore. The former recommended “the
infant colony and its leader to his friendly aid.” He also required
the patentee of Maryland “to make a true division of the two provinces
according to the boundaries and degrees expressed in their patents.”
The letter of Penn authorized Markham to settle the boundaries. Markham
met Lord Baltimore in August, 1681, and while at his house was taken so
ill that nothing was decided upon.
Soon after the confirmation of his charter, Penn issued a pamphlet,
in which the essential parts of that instrument were given, together
with an account of the country and the views he entertained for its
government. The conditions on which he proposed to dispose of land
were, a share of five thousand acres free from any Indian incumbrance
for £100, and one shilling English quit-rent for one hundred acres,
the quit-rent not to begin until after 1684. Those who hired were to
pay one penny per acre for lots not exceeding two hundred acres. Fifty
acres per head were allowed to the masters of servants, and the same
quantity was given to every servant when his time should expire. A plan
for building cities was also suggested, in which all should receive
lots in proportion to their investments.
The unselfishness and purity of Penn’s motives, and the religious
feelings with which he was inspired, are evident from his letters. On
the 12th of April, 1681, he wrote to three of his friends,—
“Having published a paper with relation to my province in America
(at least what I thought advisable to publish), I here inclose one
that you may know and inform others of it. I have been these thirteen
years the servant of truth and Friends, and for my testimony sake
lost much, not only the greatness and preferments of this world, but
£16,000 of my estate, that had I not been what I am I had long ago
obtained. But I murmur not; the Lord is good to me, and the interest
his truth has given me with his people may more than repair it;
for many are drawn forth to be concerned with me: and perhaps this
way of satisfaction has more the hand of God in it than a downright
payment.... For the matter of liberty and privilege, I propose that
which is extraordinary, and to leave myself and successors no power of
doing mischief,—that the will of one man may not hinder the good of
an whole country. But to publish those things now and here, as matters
stand, would not be wise, and I was advised to reserve that until I
came there.”
To another he wrote,—
“And because I have been somewhat exercised at times about the
nature and end of government among men, it is reasonable to expect
that I should endeavor to establish a just and righteous one in this
province, that others may take example by it,—truly this my heart
desires. For the nations want a precedent.... I do, therefore, desire
the Lord’s wisdom to guide me, and those that may be concerned with
me, that we may do the thing that is truly wise and just.”
And again,—
“For my country, I eyed the Lord in obtaining it, and more was I drawn
inward to look to him, and to owe it to his hand and power than to any
other way. I have so obtained it, and desire to keep it that I may
not be unworthy of his love, but do that which may answer his kind
Providence and serve his truth and people, that an example may be set
up to the nations. There may be room there, though not here, for such
an holy experiment.”
The scheme grew apace, and, as Penn says, “many were drawn forth to be
concerned with him.” His prominence as a Quaker attracted the attention
of Quakers in all quarters. He had travelled in their service in Wales,
and from thence some of the first settlers came. Two visits to Holland
and Germany had made him known to the Mennonites and like religious
bodies there. His pamphlet was reprinted at Amsterdam, and the seed
sown soon brought forth abundantly. By July 11, 1681, matters had so
far progressed that it was necessary to form a definite agreement
between Penn and the purchasers, and a paper known as “Certain
Conditions or Concessions” was executed.
By this time also (July, 1681) troubles with Lord Baltimore were
anticipated in England, and some of the adventurers were deterred from
purchasing. Penn at once began negotiations for the acquirement of the
Duke of York’s interests on the Delaware. Meanwhile, in the face of all
these rumors, Penn refused to part with any of his rights, except on
the terms and in the spirit which he had announced. Six thousand pounds
were offered for a monopoly of the Indian trade, but he declined it; “I
would not,” are his words, “so defile what came to me clean.”
William Crispin, John Bezar, and Nathaniel Allen were commissioned by
Penn (Sept. 30, 1681) to assist Markham. They were to select a site for
a town, and superintend its laying out. William Haige was subsequently
added to the number. By them he sent to the Indians a letter of an
affectionate character, and another to be read to the Swedes by their
ministers.
The first commissioners probably sailed on the “John Sarah,” which
cleared for Pennsylvania in October. She is supposed to have been the
first vessel to arrive there after Penn received his grant.
On August 24, 1682, Penn acquired from the Duke of York the town of New
Castle and the country twelve miles around it, and the same day the
Duke conveyed to him the territory lying south of New Castle, reserving
for himself one half the rents. The first of these gifts professed to
have been made on account of the Duke’s respect for the memory of Sir
William Penn. A deed was also obtained from the Duke (August 20) for
any right he might have to Pennsylvania as a part of New Netherland.
Having completed his business in England, Penn prepared to sail
for America. On the 4th of August, from his home at Worminghurst,
he addressed to his wife and children a letter of singular beauty,
manliness, and affection. It is evident from it that he appreciated
the dangers before him, as well as the responsibilities which he
had assumed. To his wife, who was the daughter of Sir William
Springett, he wrote: “Remember thy mother’s example when thy father’s
public-spiritedness had worsted his estate, which is my case.” To his
children, fearing he would see them no more, he said: “And as for you
who are likely to be concerned in the government of Pennsylvania and my
parts of East Jersey, especially the first, I do charge you before the
Lord God and His holy angels, that you be lowly, diligent, and tender,
fearing God, loving the people, and hating covetousness.” To both, in
closing, he wrote: “So farewell to my thrice-dearly beloved wife and
children. Yours as God pleaseth, in that which no waters can quench, no
time forget, nor distance wear away.”
On the 30th of August he wrote to all faithful friends in England,
and the next day there “sailed out of the Downs three ships bound for
Pennsylvania, on board of which was Mr. Pen, with a great many Quakers
who go to settle there.” Such was the announcement in the _London
Gazette_ of September 4, of the departure of those who were to found
one of the most prosperous of the British colonies in America.
With the exception of a narrow strip of land along the Delaware, on
which were scattered a few Swedish hamlets, the tract covered by the
royal grant to Penn was a wilderness. It contained, exclusive of
Indians, about five hundred souls. The settlements extended from the
southern limits of the province for a few miles above the mouth of the
Schuylkill, and then there was nothing until Crewcorne was reached,
opposite the Falls of Delaware. None of these settlements rose to the
dignity of a village, unless it was Upland, at which place the Court
was held. The territory acquired from the Duke of York contained about
the same number of persons as did Pennsylvania. Many, however, who
lived in either section were Swedes or Finns. A few Dutch had settled
among them, and some Quaker families had crossed from New Jersey and
taken up land.
Penn found the Swedes “a strong, industrious people,” who knew little
beside the rudiments of agriculture, and cared not to cultivate beyond
their needs.[779] The fertile country in which they dwelt yielded
adequate supply with moderate labor, and to the English settlers it
appeared to be a paradise. The reports which Penn’s people sent home
encouraged others to come, and although their accounts were highly
colored, none of the new-comers seem to have been disappointed. The
first descriptions we have of the country after it became Pennsylvania
are in the letters of Markham. To his wife he wrote, Dec. 7, 1681,—
“It is a very fine Country, if it were not so overgrown with Woods,
and very Healthy. Here people live to be above one hundred years of
Age. Provisions of all sorts are indifferent plentiful, _Venison_
especially; I have seen four _Bucks_ bought for less than 5_s._ The
Indians kill them only for their Skins, and if the Christians will not
buy the Flesh they let it hang and rot on a Tree. In the Winter there
is mighty plenty of Wild Fowl of all sorts. Partridges I am cloyed
with; we catch them by hundreds at a time. In the fall of the leaf, or
after Harvest, here are abundance of wild Turkeys, which are mighty
easie to be Shot; Duck, Mallard, Geese, and Swans in abundance, wild;
Fish are in great plenty. In short, if a Country Life be liked by any,
it might be here.”
Markham, after his arrival, had taken such steps as were necessary
to establish the authority of Penn. On the 3d of August nine of the
residents, selected by him, took the oath to act as his council. A
court was held at Upland September 13, the last court held there
under the authority of the Duke of York having adjourned until that
time. By Penn’s instructions, all was to be done “according to the
good laws of England. But the new court during the first year of
its existence failed to comply with these laws in a very essential
particular,—persons were put upon trial without the intervention of
a grand jury. No provision was made under the Duke’s laws for the
safeguard of the citizen, and the new justices acted for a time in
accordance with former usage. A petit jury, so rare under the former
court, now participated in every trial where facts were in dispute.
In criminal cases the old practice was adhered to, of making the
prosecutor plaintiff.”[780]
During 1681 at least two vessels arrived with settlers. Of the
commissioners who were sent out in October to assist Markham,
Crispin died at Barbadoes. April 23, 1682, Thomas Holme, bearing a
commission of surveyor-general, sailed from England, and arrived about
June. Already the site for Philadelphia had been selected, as James
Claypoole, who was in England, wrote, July 14, that he “had one hundred
acres where our capital city is to be, upon the river near Schuylkill.”
July 15, 1682, Markham purchased from the Indians a tract of land on
the Delaware below the Falls.
The first Welsh emigrants arrived on the 13th of August, 1682. They
were Quakers from Merionethshire who had felt the hand of persecution.
They had bought from Penn in England five thousand acres of unsurveyed
land, and had been promised by him the reservation of a large tract
exclusively for Welsh settlers, to the end that they might preserve
the customs of their native land, decide all debates “in a Gospel
order,” and not entangle themselves “with laws in an unknown tongue.”
At Philadelphia they found a crowd of people endeavoring to have
their farms surveyed, for although the site of the city was chosen,
the town lots were not laid out. In a few days the Welshmen had the
first part surveyed of what became known as the Welsh Barony. It lay
on the west side of the Schuylkill, north of Philadelphia. The warrant
for surveying the entire tract, which contained forty thousand acres,
was not issued until 1684. Special privileges appear to have been
accorded to these settlers. Township officers were not chosen for their
districts until 1690, and their Friends’ Meetings exercised authority
in civil affairs. From these facts it is possible that the intention
was to protect the Welsh in the rights of local self-government by
erecting the tract into a manor. By a clause in the royal charter, Penn
could erect “manors, to have and to hold a court baron, with all things
whatsoever to a court baron do belong.” To a company known as the “Free
Society of Traders” he had (March 20, 1682) granted these extraordinary
privileges, empowering them to hold courts of sessions and jail
deliveries, to constitute a court-leet, and to appoint certain civil
officers for their territory. This was known as the Manor of Frank. To
Nicholas More, the president of the Company, the Manor of Moreland was
granted, with like privileges; but neither More nor the Company seem
to have exercised their rights as rulers. Whatever special rights the
Welshmen had, were reserved until 1690, when regular township officers
were appointed. Goshen, Uwchlan, Tredyffren, Whiteland, Newtown,
Haverford, Radnor, and Merion,—the names these ancient Britons gave to
their townships—show what parts of the present counties of Delaware,
Chester, and Montgomery the Welsh tract covered. Some of these people
settled in Philadelphia and Bucks County. They were chiefly Quakers,
although Baptists were found among them.
The ship which bore Penn to America was the “Welcome.” The small-pox
made its appearance among the passengers when they had been out a short
time, and nearly one-third of them died. Two vessels which left England
after Penn had sailed, arrived before him; but at last, after a trying
voyage of nearly two months, the “Welcome” came within the Capes of
Delaware. Penn dated his arrival from the 24th of October, 1682, but
it was not until the 27th that the vessel lay opposite New Castle. The
next day he exhibited his deeds from the Duke of York, and took formal
possession of the town and surrounding country. He received a pledge of
submission from the inhabitants, issued commissions to six justices of
the peace, and empowered Markham to receive in his name possession of
the country below, which was done on November 7. The 29th of October
(O. S.) found him within the bounds of Pennsylvania, at the Swedish
village of Upland, the name of which, tradition says, he then changed
to Chester. From this point notices were sent out for the holding
of a court at New Castle on the 2d of November. At this meeting the
inhabitants of the counties of Delaware were told that their rights and
privileges should be the same as those of the citizens of Pennsylvania,
and that an assembly would be held as soon as convenient.
[Illustration: LETITIA COTTAGE.
A city residence for Penn was begun by his commissioners before he
arrived. Parts of it were prepared in England. A portion of it still
stands on the west side of Letitia Street, south of Market. The
above cut is a fac-simile of the view given in Watson’s _Annals of
Philadelphia_ (1845), p. 158. Cf. Gay’s _Popular History of the United
States_, ii. 492.]
The attention which Penn gave to the constitution of his province
was a duty which had for him a particular interest. His thoughts had
necessarily dwelt much on the subject, and his experience had made him
acquainted with the principles of law and the abuses of government. The
drafts of this paper which have been preserved show how deeply it was
considered. Henry Sidney, Sir William Jones, and Counsellor Bamfield
were consulted, and portions of it were framed in accordance with the
wishes of the Quakers. In the Introduction to this remarkable paper,
the ingenuousness of its author is clearly discernible. Recognizing
the necessity of government, and tracing it to a divine origin, Penn
continues,—
“For particular frames and models, it will become me to say little,
and comparatively I will say nothing. My reasons are, first, that the
age is too nice and difficult for it, there being nothing the wits of
men are more busy and divided upon.... Men side with their passions
against their reason, and their sinister interests have so strong a
bias upon their minds, that they lean to them against the good of the
things they know.
“I do not find a model in the world that time, place, and some
singular emergencies have not necessarily altered, nor is it easy to
frame a civil government that shall serve all places alike. I know
what is said by the several admirers of monarchy, aristocracy, and
democracy, which are the rule of one, a few, and many, and are the
three common ideas of government when men discourse on that subject.
But I choose to solve the controversy with this small distinction,
and it belongs to all three,—any government is free to the people
under it (whatever be the frame) where the laws rule and the people
are a party to those laws; and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy,
or confusion.... Liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience
without liberty is slavery.”
[Illustration: SEAL AND AND SIGNATURES TO THE FRAME OF GOVERNMENT.
[This is reduced from the fac-simile in Smith and Watson’s _American
Historical and Literary Curiosities_, pl. lvii.; and another reduction
will be found in _Mag. of Amer. Hist._, October, 1882; cf. Lossing’s
_Fieldbook of the Revolution_, ii. 256.—ED.]]
The good men of a nation, he argues, should make and keep its
government, and laws should bind those who make laws necessary.
As wisdom and virtue are qualities that descend not with worldly
inheritances, care should be taken for the virtuous education of youth.
The Frame of Government which followed these remarks was signed by
Penn on the 25th of April, 1682. By this Act the government was vested
in the governor and freemen, in the form of a provincial council and
an assembly. The provincial council was to consist of seventy-two
members. The first election of councilmen was to be held on the 20th of
February, 1682-83, and they were to meet on the 10th of the following
month. One-third of the number were to retire each year when their
successors were chosen. An elaborate scheme was devised for forming the
council into committees to attend to various duties.
The assembly for the first year was to consist of all the freemen of
the province, and after that two hundred were to be annually chosen.
They were to meet on April 20; the governor was to preside over the
council. Laws were to originate with the latter, and the chief duty of
the assembly was to approve such legislation. The governor and council
were to see the laws executed, inspect the treasury, determine the
situation of cities and ports, and provide for public schools.
On May 5 forty laws were agreed upon by the purchasers in England as
freemen of the province. By these all Christians, with the exception
of bound servants and convicts, who should take up land or pay taxes
were declared freemen. The merits of this proposed form, which was to
be submitted for approval to the first legislative body assembling in
Pennsylvania, have been widely debated. Professor Ebeling says it “was
at first too highly praised, and afterwards too lightly depreciated.”
It was without doubt too elaborate in some of its details, and the
number proposed for the council and assembly were out of all proportion
to the wants of a new country.
Shortly after his arrival, Penn found circumstances to require that
the laws should be put in force with as little delay as possible. He
therefore decided to call an assembly before the time provided, and
extended to the inhabitants of the Delaware counties the right to
participate in it. Writs were issued to the sheriffs of those parts
to hold elections on the 20th of November for the choice of delegates
to meet at Chester on the 4th of December, and the inhabitants of
Pennsylvania were notified to attend.
The Assembly met at the appointed time. Upon petition from the lower
counties, an Act uniting them with Pennsylvania was passed, and at
the request of the Swedes a bill of naturalization became a law.
Penn submitted to the House the Frame of Government and the code of
laws agreed upon in England, together with a new series which he had
prepared. In doing this he acted without the advice of a provincial
council. The laws agreed upon in England, “more fully worded,” were
passed, together with such others as were thought to be necessary, and
the Assembly adjourned for twenty-one days. The members, however, do
not appear to have met again.
In January Penn issued writs for an election, to be held on the 20th
of February, of seventy-two members of the provincial council, and
gave notice that an assembly would be held as provided in the Frame
of Government. This was not strictly in accord with that document, as
it provided that the seventy-two councilmen should be chosen from the
province of Pennsylvania, and Penn made the passage apply equally to
the Delaware counties, over which he had had no jurisdiction at the
time the Frame was signed.
Before the election took place, it was discovered that the number
proposed for the council was much larger than could be selected, and
that a general gathering of the inhabitants would not furnish such
an assembly as the organization of the government demanded. On the
suggestion of Penn twelve persons, therefore, were elected from each
of the six counties; and through their respective sheriffs the freemen
petitioned the Governor that as the number of the people was yet small,
and but few were acquainted with public business, those chosen should
be accepted to represent them in both council and assembly,—three in
the former, and nine in the latter. The Council met at the appointed
time, the petitions of the freemen were duly presented by the sheriffs,
and the prayers granted by the Governor. It was then moved by one of
the members that, as the charter granted by the Governor had again
fallen into his hands by the negligence of the freemen to fulfil their
part, he should be asked that the alterations which had been made
should not affect their chartered rights. The Governor answered that
“they might amend, alter, or add for the Public good, and he was ready
to settle such foundations as might be for their happiness and the good
of their Posterities.” Those selected for the Assembly then withdrew,
and, although the time for them to meet had not arrived (March 12),
chose Thomas Wynne their Speaker, and proceeded to business. During
the session an “Act of Settlement,” reciting the circumstances which
made these changes necessary, and reducing the number of members of the
Provincial Council and Assembly, was passed by the House, having been
proposed by the Governor and Council. By the Frame of Government first
agreed upon, Penn had surrendered his right to have an overruling voice
in the government, reserving for himself or representative a triple
vote in the Council. Fearing that his charter might be invalidated by
some action of the majority of the Council and Assembly, he now asked
that the veto power should be restored to him, which was accordingly
done. The right to appoint officers, which by the first Frame had
been vested in the Governor and Council, was given to Penn for life.
Other laws necessary for good government were enacted, and to the
whole the Frame of Government was appended, with modifications and
such alterations as made it applicable to the Delaware counties. On
April 2, in the presence of the Council, Assembly, and some of the
citizens of Philadelphia, Penn signed and sealed this new charter,
solemnly assuring them that it was “solely by him intended for the good
and benefit of the freemen of the province, and prosecuted with much
earnestness in his spirit towards God at the time of its composure.” It
was received by the Speaker of the Assembly on behalf of the freemen;
and in their name that officer thanked the Governor for his great
kindness in granting them a charter “of more than was expected liberty.”
[Illustration]
All that had been irregularly done was thus in a manner legalized; but
the matter was not allowed to pass unquestioned. Nicholas More was
reprimanded by the Council for having spoken imprudently regarding the
course which had been taken, and for saying that hundreds in England
and their children after them would curse them for what they had done.
Under the constitution and laws thus formed, the government was
administered until 1696. The chief features of local government which
had existed under the Duke of York were lost sight of in the new order
of affairs, the authority being vested in the provincial or county
officers in place of those of the township. True to the doctrines
which they had preached, and to the demands which they had made of
others, the Quakers accorded to all a perfect liberty of conscience,
intending, however, “that looseness, irreligion, and Atheism” should
not creep in under pretence of conscience. The observance of the
Sabbath was provided for. On that day people were to “abstain from
their usual and common toil and labor, ... that they may better dispose
themselves to read the Scriptures of truth at home, or frequent such
meetings of religious worship abroad as may best suit their respective
persuasions.” Profanity, drunkenness, health-drinking, duelling,
stage-plays, masques, revels, bull-baiting, cock-fighting, cards, dice,
and lotteries were all prohibited. Clamorous scolding and railing were
finable offences. The property of thieves was liable for fourfold the
value of what they had taken; and if they should have no estates,
they were to labor in prison until the person they had injured was
satisfied. A humane treatment of prisoners was insured. The poor were
under the protection of the county courts. Peacemakers were chosen in
the several counties to decide differences of a minor character. Malt
liquors were not to be sold at above two pennies sterling for a full
Winchester quart. The court records were to be kept in plain English
characters, and laws were to be taught in the schools.
“All judicial power, after Penn’s arrival, was vested in certain
courts, the judges of which were appointed by the Proprietary,
presiding in the Provincial Council.[781]
“The practice in these courts was simple but regular. In criminal
cases an indictment was regularly drawn up, and a trial by jury
followed. In civil cases the complications of common-law pleading
were disregarded. The filing of a simple statement and answer put
each cause at issue, and upon the trial the rules of evidence were
not observed. Juries were not always empanelled, the parties being
frequently content to leave the decision of their causes to the Court.
In equity proceedings the practice was substantially that in vogue
in the Court of Chancery, simplified to suit the requirements of the
province.
“Large judicial powers were also vested in the Provincial Council,—a
state of things not infrequently observed in the early stages of a
country’s growth, before the executive and judicial functions of
government have been clearly defined. Prior to the establishment of
the Provincial Court, all cases of great importance, whether civil or
criminal, were tried before the Council. The principal trials thus
conducted were those of Pickering for coining, and of Margaret Mattson
for witchcraft. The latter terminated in a verdict of ‘guilty of
having the common fame of being a witch, but not guilty in manner and
form as she stands indicted.’ This is the only regular prosecution for
witchcraft which is found in the annals of Pennsylvania. Prior to the
establishment of the Provincial Court, the Council also entertained
appeals in certain cases from the inferior courts. Subsequent to 1684,
however, the extent of its judicial power was limited to admiralty
cases, to the administration of decedents’ estates, which, although
more properly the business of the Orphans’ Courts, was often neglected
by those tribunals, and to the general superintendence and control of
the various courts, so as to insure justice to the suitors.[782]
“The legal knowledge among the early settlers was scanty. The
religious tenets of the Society of Friends rendered them very
averse to lawyers, and distrustful of them. There was, therefore,
comparatively little demand for skilled advocates or trained judges.
John Moore and David Lloyd were almost the only professional lawyers
of the seventeenth century. Nicholas More, Abraham Man, John White,
Charles Pickering, Samuel Hersent, Patrick Robinson, and Samuel
Jennings, with some others, however, practised in the courts with
some success; but by insensible degrees, as population increased and
the commercial interests of the community grew more extensive and
complicated, a trained Bar came into existence.”[783]
Markham not having agreed with Baltimore, 1681, regarding the
boundaries of Pennsylvania and Maryland, the two met again in September
of the following year at Upland, and Penn visited the latter at West
River, Dec. 13, 1682. In May, 1683, Penn again met Lord Baltimore at
New Castle, on the same business, but nothing was decided upon. This
dispute was a consequence of the lack of geographical information
at the time their grants were made. Baltimore’s patent was for the
unoccupied land between the Potomac and the fortieth degree of
latitude, bounded on the east by Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean,
with the exception of that part of the Delaware peninsula which was
south of a direct line drawn from Watkin’s Point on the Chesapeake to
the sea. The southern boundary of Penn’s province was the fortieth
degree and a circle of twelve miles around New Castle. When both
patents were issued, it was supposed that the fortieth degree would
fall near the head of Delaware Bay; but it was afterward found to be so
far to the northward as to cross the Delaware River at the mouth of the
Schuylkill. If the letter of the Maryland charter was to interpret its
meaning, Penn would be deprived of considerable river frontage, which
it was clearly the intention of the Lords of Trade to grant him; and
he insisted that the boundary-line should be where it was _supposed_
the fortieth degree would be found. This was resisted by Baltimore, who
claimed ownership also to that part of the peninsula on the Delaware
which Penn had received from the Duke of York. To enforce his claims,
Baltimore sent to the Lords of Plantation a statement of what had taken
place between Penn and himself. He also ran a line in his own interest
between the provinces, and offered to persons who would take up land
in the Delaware counties under his authority more advantageous terms
than Penn gave. In 1684 Baltimore sent Colonel Talbot into the disputed
territory to demand it in his name, and then sailed for England to look
after his interests in that quarter.
Penn, when he learned all that had been done, wrote to the Lords of
Trade, giving his version of the transaction; but before long he found
the business would require his presence in England. Having empowered
his Council to act in his absence, he sailed August, 1684.
The Lords of Trade rendered a decision Nov. 7, 1685, which secured to
Penn the portion claimed by him of the Delaware peninsula, but which
left undefined the southern boundary of Pennsylvania. The Maryland
boundary was finally settled in 1760, upon an agreement which had
been entered into in 1732 between the heirs of Lord Baltimore and
those of Penn.[784] By this a line was to be drawn westward from Cape
Henlopen[785] to a point half way between the bays of Delaware and
Chesapeake. From thence it was to run northward so as to touch the most
western portion of a circle of twelve miles radius around New Castle,
and continue in a due northerly course until it should reach the same
latitude as fifteen English statute miles directly south of the most
southern part of Philadelphia. From the point thus gained the line was
to extend due west. These lines were surveyed by Charles Mason and
Jeremiah Dixon. They commenced their work in 1763 and suspended it in
1767, when they had reached a point two hundred and forty-four miles
from the Delaware River.
[Illustration]
The Indians who inhabited Pennsylvania were of the tribe of the Lenni
Lenape. Some of them retained the noble characteristics of their
race, but the majority of them, through their intercourse with the
Dutch, the Swedes, and the English, had become thoroughly intemperate.
Penn desired that his dealings with them should be so just as to
preserve the confidence which Fox and Coale had inspired. Besides the
letter written by his commissioners, he had sent to them messages
of friendship through Holme and others. In all the agreements he
had entered into with purchasers, the interests of the Indians had
been protected; and he was far in advance of his time in hoping to
establish relations with them by which all differences between the
white men and the red should be settled by a tribunal wherein both
should be represented. The possibility of their civilization under such
circumstances was not absent from his mind, and in his first contract
with purchasers he stipulated that the Indians should have “the same
liberties to improve their grounds and provide for the sustenance of
their families as the planters.” Following the just precedent which had
been laid down by settlers in many parts of the country, and the advice
of the Bishop of London, he would allow no land to be occupied until
the Indian title had been extinguished. To obtain the land which was
required by the emigrants, a meeting with the principal Indian chiefs
was held at Shackamaxon June 23, 1683. The territory then purchased was
considerable; but what was of equal importance to the welfare of the
infant colony was the friendship then established with the aborigines.
Poetry, Art, and Oratory have pictured this scene with the elevating
thoughts which belong to each; but no more graphic representation of it
has been made than that which is suggested by the simple language of
Penn used in describing it. “When the purchase was agreed,” he writes,
“great promises passed between us of kindness and good neighborhood,
and that the Indians and English must live in love as long as the sun
gave light. Which done, another made a speech to the Indians in the
name of all the Sachamakers, or kings: first, to tell them what was
done; next, to charge and command them to love the Christians, and
particularly live in peace with me, and the people under my government;
that many governors had been in the river, but that no governor had
come himself to live and stay here before; and having now such an
one that had treated them well, they should never do him or his any
wrong,—at every sentence of which they shouted and said _amen_ in
their way.”[786]
“On the 6th of October, 1683, there arrived in Philadelphia, from
Crefeld and its neighborhood, a little colony of Germans. They were
thirteen men with their families, in all thirty-three persons, and
they constituted the advance-guard of that immense emigration which,
confined at first to Pennsylvania, has since been spread over the
whole country. They were Mennonites, some of whom soon after, if not
before, their arrival, became identified with the Quakers. Most of
them were linen-weavers.
Among the first to purchase lands upon the organization of the
province were several Crefeld merchants, headed by Jacob Telner,
who secured fifteen thousand acres. The purchasers also included
a number of distinguished persons in Holland and Germany, whose
purchase amounted to twenty-five thousand acres, which became vested
in the Frankfort Land Company, founded in 1686. The eleven members
of this latter Company were chiefly Pietists and people of learning
and influence, among whom was the celebrated Johanna Eleanora von
Merlau. Their original purpose was to come to Pennsylvania themselves;
but this plan was abandoned by all except Francis Daniel Pastorius,
a young lawyer, son of a judge at Windsheim, skilled in the Greek,
Latin, German, French, Dutch, English, and Italian languages, and
carefully trained in all the learning of the day. On the 24th of
October, 1683, Pastorius, as the agent for the Crefeld and Frankfort
purchasers, began the location of Germantown. Other settlers soon
followed, and among them, in 1685, were several families from the
village of Krisheim, near Worms, where more than twenty years before
the Quakers had made some converts among the Mennonites, and had
established a meeting. In 1688 Gerhard Hendricks, Dirck op den Graeff,
Francis Daniel Pastorius, and Abraham op den Graeff sent to the
Friends’ Meeting a written protest against the buying and selling
of slaves. It was the first public effort made in this direction in
America, and is the subject of Whittier’s poem, _The Pennsylvania
Pilgrim_.”[787]
The progress made in the settlement of the Province between 1681 and
1689 was remarkable, and was largely owing to Penn’s energy. On the
29th of December, 1682, he wrote from Chester: “I am very well, ...
yet busy enough, having much to do to please all.... I am casting the
country into townships.” On the 5th of the next month he wrote: “I
am day and night spending my life, my time, my money, and am not a
sixpence enriched by this greatness.... Had I sought greatness, I had
stayed at home.” The English were the most numerous among the settlers;
but in 1685, when the population numbered seven thousand two hundred,
in which French, Dutch, Germans, Swedes, Finns, and Scotch-Irish were
represented, Penn did not estimate his countrymen at above one half of
the whole.