the way back to September of 1746, when the Reverend David Brainerd
preached to the Indians of the Great Island.[40] But from that time
until the opening of the West Branch Valley to settlement, following the
first treaty at Fort Stanwix, nothing concerning the area appears on
presbytery records. However, after the treaty one Presbyterian minister,
the Reverend Francis Alison, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of
Philadelphia and vice-provost of the College of Philadelphia, applied
for land above the mouth of Bald Eagle Creek and was granted some 1,500
acres.[41] Alison never came into the region and, in fact, sold his
entire purchase to John Fleming in 1773.[42]
Although Fithian was the first "orderly" preacher assigned to the West
Branch, the Donegal Presbytery had received an application from "setlers
upon the W. Branch of Susquehannah" for ministerial supplies (pastors)
in the middle of April, 1772.[43] Apparently these supplies never
reached north of present-day Lewisburg.
Presbyterianism, then, was the most significant religious influence in
the Fair Play territory. Methodists and Baptists penetrated the region
after the Revolution, but that penetration, although marked by some
conflict, was not vital to the development of a system of values on this
frontier during the period under study.[44] Furthermore, it was not
until well into the nineteenth century that other Protestant sects
established churches in the West Branch Valley.
The extent of that influence and the nature of this frontier faith were
central to the development of Fair Play society. Since there were no
organized churches in the area, the family was the key agency of
religious instruction and service. This fact, combined with the impact
of the Great Awakening, led to the freeing of the individual from the
communal covenant, resulting in a secularization of religion which
culminated in a kind of "predestined freedom."[45] Consequently, the
political implications of American Presbyterianism, which had the
largest church membership in colonial Pennsylvania and the strongest
affiliation on this frontier, were demonstrated in the democratic
radicalism which the frontier spawned. Political maturity, that is to
say, independence, was a logical evolution from religious
emancipation.[46]
In addition to the political implications of Presbyterianism, respect
for education was a significant factor in the value structure of this
frontier. The probate records of this period are filled with examples of
the great desire to see the "children schooled," and specific
educational instructions were often included in the wills.[47] The
Presbyterian emphasis upon an educated ministry suggests that this
reverence for education may also have been an education for reverence.
Morality, education, and political equality and freedom--these were the
basic tenets of this frontier faith.
Despite the high value placed upon education, the educational and
cultural opportunities on this frontier, as on others, were extremely
limited. Aside from home instruction and the occasional visit of an
itinerant pastor, formal education was a luxury which these pioneers
could not yet afford. However, earlier historians of the West Branch
refer to the existence of a "log school" at "Sour's ferry" in 1774.[48]
Instruction in the "three R's," enforced with strict discipline, was
given here a few months out of the year. A Presbyterian preacher who
came into the region and stayed was the first teacher. Educational
opportunity was extremely limited but education was highly respected.
Books, too, were a luxury in the West Branch Valley. Although some of
the wills of Fair Play settlers indicate the importance of books by
mentioning them specifically, there was no common library from which the
settlers could draw. However, Fithian's _Journal_ contains a note that
he "reviewed the 'Squires Library"; so we do know of at least one
library in the territory. Its accessibility for most of these pioneers
is, of course, another question.
Frontier art was mainly functional. Its objects were generally the
furniture, the tools and weapons, and the implements of the household.
Individual expressions of creative talent, these items, whether they
were designs on the rifle stock or styles of tableware, were outlets of
artistic demonstration. Probably the most prized and picturesque of the
frontier folk arts was the making of patchwork quilts.[49] Although we
have found no "Fair Play" pattern, we do know that the women of every
frontier household sewed, and, because of the demand for bed quilts,
every scrap was saved for the quilt-making. Colbert's _Journal_ tells of
his dining at one Richard Manning's "with a number of women who were
quilting."[50] Quilting parties were social events in the lives of these
frontier women, and their _objets d'art_ were fully discussed from
patterns and designs down to the intricate techniques of needlecraft.
Perhaps the patchwork quilt is the enduring legacy of frontier folk art.
The music of the frontier was primarily vocal--the singing of hymns and,
possibly, folk songs. Instrumental music was confined to the fiddle,
which one Fair Play settler felt valuable enough to mention in his
will.[51] The fiddle also provided the musical background for the
rollicking reels and jigs which the Scotch-Irish enjoyed so much.[52]
That it was a hard life is certainly true, but it had its happy moments
and music was the source of much of that happiness.
Medical practices throughout the frontier were primitive, to say the
least, and the West Branch Valley was no exception. A diary of a
minister in the Susquehanna Valley around Lancaster provides specific
examples of the purges, blood-letting, and herb concoctions which the
frontier settler endured in order to survive.[53] In spite of the
liberal use of spirited stimulants, ailing frontiersmen often suffered
violent reactions both from their illnesses and their cures.
Although the Fair Play settlers of the West Branch Valley doubtless had
their own mythology and folklore, most of it was passed on by word of
mouth; as a result, little of record remains. The Revolutionary pension
claims are filled with tales of the courage and patriotism of the
stouthearted men and women of this frontier. A frequent claim is that
the measures taken to defend Fort Augusta, after the Great Runaway,
urged by Fair Play settlers who had fled to that point, saved the
frontier and made independence a reality.
Perhaps the best-known story is that of the "independence elm" on Pine
Creek. However, as a recent writer suggests, the story of the "Pine
Creek Declaration" may refer merely to the reading of a copy of the
national declaration rather than to a separate document drawn up by the
inhabitants of this frontier.[54] Mrs. Hamilton's testimony to the event
notwithstanding, no copy of the declaration has ever been found.
Another tale concerns the frequent reference to the upper Pine Creek
area as "Beulah Land."[55] It seems that a circuit rider singing hymns
approached a camp up Pine Creek in the Black Forest. Later, asked to
sing, he offered the familiar "Beulah Land." Still later, he met with an
accident between Blackwell and Cammal resulting in his death. The
entertained were his mourners. Subsequently, they kept his name alive by
singing the old hymn to such an extent that the name "Beulah Land"
became attached to this region on Pine Creek.
Frontier life afforded little leisure time so that recreation was
generally economically oriented or related to some household task. In
addition, wrestling, foot-racing, jumping, throwing the tomahawk, and
shooting at marks were popular sports.[56] But drinking was probably the
most common frontier recreation. It has been said that the Scotch-Irish
made more whiskey and drank more of it than any other group.[57]
Everyone drank it, even the ministers. In fact, the tavern preceded the
church as a social center in the West Branch Valley.[58] Moderation,
however, was the rule; excessive drinking was frowned upon.[59]
The value system of Fair Play society can be analyzed in terms of the
expressed ideals and beliefs, the conduct, and the material possessions
of the pioneers who settled along the West Branch during this period.
Journalists, diarists, and pension claimants offer recorded evidence of
the ideals and beliefs of these settlers. Their actual behavior gives us
some understanding of conduct as value. And finally, the probate records
of the Northumberland and Lycoming County courts contribute some
documentation concerning the material values of these frontier
inhabitants. The result was a society dedicated to the idea of progress
and oriented to a future of political and social equality and economic
opportunity.
A firm conviction concerning the right of property, that is, the right
of individual private ownership, was developed early in the American
experience in Virginia and Massachusetts and was reinforced by the
experience of successive frontiers, of which the Fair Play territory was
one. This is noted particularly in the pride in individual
"improvements" and the vigorous assertion of property rights before the
Fair Play tribunal and, later, in the regular courts. The large
Scotch-Irish population on this and other frontiers characteristically
asserted this view. Motivated by a spirit of individualism and the
desire for a better way of life, the Fair Play settlers found land
ownership basic to the accomplishment of their desired ends.[60]
In conjunction with the policy of private land ownership, the support of
squatters' rights tended to emphasize the equality of achievement rather
than that of ascription. No man's position was ascribed in the Fair
Play territory--he had to earn it. However, as we noted earlier, the
pioneer farmer had to obtain the approval of his neighbors in order to
settle in the area; but no evidence exists to show that this approval
was in any way dependent upon social class or national origin.
Furthermore, the annual election of the Fair Play men by the settlers,
along with their rotation in office, gave a fair measure of political
equality, which was reflected in the decisions of the tribunal affecting
land claims.
The hospitality of the Fair Play settlers is particularly stressed by
the journalists who traveled in the West Branch Valley.[61] Despite the
limitations of rooms and furnishings, the frontier cabin was ever open
to the weary traveler, and spirited conversation and beverages were
always available to revive him. Good food and fine friends could be
found on the frontier. The frontiersman took great pride in his
hospitality. Dependent upon outside travelers for news, the latest
remedies for ailments, and mail, the inhabitants of the frontier opened
the doors of their cabins and their hearts to visitors. Taken into a
home, the weary traveler often found himself treated to the best in food
and comfort which the limitations of the frontier permitted. Generally
sharing the one-room cabin, like any member of the family, he soon
learned that he was a welcome guest rather than a stranger in their
midst. The loneliness of the frontier stimulated the hospitality of the
frontiersman.
Although no "frontier philosophy," as such, existed, the conduct of its
inhabitants demonstrated their faith, their patriotism, their spirit of
mutual helpfulness, and their temperance. The pioneer was not a
philosopher or a thinker, because the rigorous struggle for survival,
which was his, did not permit the leisure to develop these traits. He
was a doer whose values and beliefs were reflected in his behavior.
The favorable, but not always eager, reception of itinerant pastors, the
religious instruction which took place in the home, and the frequent
references to "the Creator" in the wills testify to the relevance of
faith in influencing the character and behavior of these early
Americans. Faith was not only relevant but also a matter of choice, and
freedom of worship was practiced on this frontier. Here again, the
Scotch-Irish Presbyterian influence may have been significant.[62]
Patriotism, with few exceptions, was characteristic of the frontier. But
loyalty to what? On this frontier it seems to have meant devotion to an
America which developed through New World experience. Like Topsy, "it
jus' growed," and no frontiersman wanted it taken away. The enthusiastic
reception of the Declaration of Independence by the Fair Play settlers
combined with the legend of their own resolutions on the question
indicate this patriotic feeling. Despite their political differences
with the settled areas, the West Branch pioneers were overwhelmingly
loyal to the patriot cause in the American Revolution.[63] Their
loyalty, however, was more to the ideal of freedom, or "liberty" as they
termed it, than to any organization or state. They believed in and
supported the liberty which their own hard work and the circumstances of
the frontier had made possible.
Mutual helpfulness was essential to survival in the wilderness and
valued among its pioneers. Cabin-raisings, cornhuskings, harvesttime,
and quilting parties are just a few examples of this spirit in action.
Individualistic in his approach, the frontier farmer realized the need
for neighborly support and appreciated its offer.
In spite of the availability of a more-than-adequate supply of spirited
liquid refreshment, temperance was both commended and respected on this
Pennsylvania frontier. One historian points out that there was probably
less drunkenness on the frontier than there was in eastern Pennsylvania,
where it was not unusual for young men to get drunk at the taverns or to
drink themselves under the table at weddings or at other social
functions.[64] Drunkards were few and generally despised on the
frontier.[65]
Material values, in a society where possessions, beyond the land itself
and the rude cabin built upon it, are limited, are best gleaned from the
probate records, which listed the prized possessions of this frontier
community. Beds and bedsteads are the items which appear most frequently
in the wills of the Fair Play settlers. Occasionally, the ultimate in
frontier affluence is reached in the form of a "feather Bed."[66] Beds,
or feather beds, and bedsteads were so highly valued as pieces of
furniture that they were often passed on to the daughters, serving as a
substantial part of their dowries.[67] Surprisingly enough, the widow
often received "the room she now sleeps in" or, "her choise of any one
room in the house." This is not so amazing, however, when one realizes
that additional rooms beyond the original one-room cabin quite logically
became highly valued. Pewterware was the silver of the frontier, and, if
the probate records are any indication, there was little of it and no
silver. Aside from references to furniture such as spinning wheels,
bureaus, tables, and chairs, and these not too regularly, it is quite
evident that material possessions were few.
What then was the nature of Fair Play society? The frontier, by its very
nature, had an egalitarian influence which is readily apparent from this
analysis of the "style of life" along the West Branch. A relative
political and social equality existed in this land of economic
opportunity where faith, patriotism, helpfulness, and self-determination
were the outstanding traits. The frontier brought the democratizing role
of achievement to the fore in American life, and the Fair Play settlers
were an excellent example.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _See_ Chart 1 in Chapter Two.
[2] Smith, _Laws_, II, 195.
[3] _Pennsylvania Archives_, Third Series, XIX, 557-805.
[4] For example, in the County Assessments for 1781, _Pennsylvania
Archives_, Third Series, XIX, 468, 484, the individual holdings of
resident property owners range from 50 to 1,500 acres, whereas
non-residents' range from 200 to 13,000. Only six of thirty residents
showed property in excess of 325 acres and four of these had 550 acres
or less. The two large landowners were peripheral Fair Play residents.
Subsequent tax lists indicate that non-residents eventually sold their
property in sections.
[5] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 262.
[6] _Fithian: Journal_ (1775) and _Journal of William Colbert_
(1792-1794). These journals of the first regularly assigned itinerant
pastors, Presbyterian and Methodist, to the West Branch Valley, contain
numerous references concerning the personal character and morality of
the settlers. In the Hamilton Papers of the Wagner Collection of
Revolutionary War pension claimants, p. 11, Mrs. Hamilton writes to the
Honorable George C. Whiting, Commissioner of Pensions, on Dec. 16, 1858:
"I believe they were people of clear sound mind, just, upright, morrall,
religious, and friendly to all. I should say they came nearest to
keeping the commandment, love your nabour as yourself, then any people I
ever lived among."
[7] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 269.
[8] Helen Herritt Russell, "The Documented Story of the Fair Play Men
and Their Government," _The Northumberland County Historical Society
Proceedings and Addresses_, XXII (1958), 16-43. Mrs. Russell, whose
genealogical studies were the basis of Chart 1 in Chapter Two, notes 24
marriages among the 80 names, 9 of which were intermarriages of
different national stocks. Of the 24 marriages, 9 were between
Scotch-Irish couples. Intermarriages produced 5 English-Scotch-Irish
couples, 2 German-Scotch-Irish, 1 Welsh-Scotch-Irish, and 1
German-English. The intermarriages appear to follow the national stock
percentages in the population. This would suggest that the
intermarriages were a matter of choice rather than of necessity.
[9] Dunaway, _The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania_, p. 198.
[10] _Journal of William Colbert_ (1792-1794). This entry for Thursday,
Sept. 5, 1793, is from a typescript belonging to Dr. Charles F.
Berkheimer, of Williamsport. The original is in Chicago at the Garrett
Biblical Seminary.
[11] Here again, Fithian, Colbert, and Mr. Davy all mention the friendly
reception which was theirs on this frontier. Davy, in an entry for Oct.
10, 1794, p. 265, says, "In the Winter Sleighs are in general use on the
Rivers & on Land & it is time of Visiting & Jollity throughout the
Country."
[12] _Journal of William Colbert_, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 1792. Here the
Reverend Colbert refers to the existence of a class in religion among
the group of Presbyterians, although the prospects appear none too
favorable. In fact, he says, "I had no desire to meet the class, so
disordered are they, therefore omitted it." Quarterly meetings of
Methodists were also held in the West Branch Valley, as Colbert notes in
his journal for Saturday, Sept. 15, 1792, and Saturday, Sept. 7, 1793.
In 1792, Colbert remarks that "Our Quarterly Meeting began at Joshua
White's today." The following year he wrote that "brother Paynter and I
have to hold a Quarterly meeting at Ammariah Sutton's at Lycommon." Each
of these instances indicates the presence of some sort of voluntary
religious association. However, it must be recalled that Fithian
mentioned no such classes or meetings extant during his visit in July of
1775.
[13] _Fithian: Journal_, pp. 80-81.
[14] _Journal of William Colbert_, Thursday, Oct. 17, 1793, and
Saturday, Aug. 18, 1792.
[15] _Ibid._, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1793.
[16] Smith, _Laws_, II, 195.
[17] Muncy Historical Society, Wagner Collection, Hamilton Papers, p.
10.
[18] _Ibid._
[19] _See_ the Appearance Dockets Commencing in 1772 for Northumberland
County and 1795 for Lycoming County.
[20] _Journal of William Colbert_, Monday, June 18, 1792.
[21] _Ibid._, Saturday, Aug. 4, 1792: "Calvinist must certainly be the
most damnable doctrine upon the face of the globe." Sunday, July 29,
1792: "Here for telling the people they must live without sin, I so
offended a Presbyterian, that he got up, called his wife and away he
went." Sunday July 22, 1792: "... in the afternoon for the first time
heard a Presbyterian at Pine Creek.... He is an able speaker but could
not, but, Calvinistic like speak against sinless perfection." Monday,
Aug. 20, 1792: "... rode to John Hamilton's in the afternoon. Here the
unhappy souls [Presbyterian Fair Play settlers] that were joined
together in society, I fear are going to ruin." Thursday, Oct. 17, 1793:
"I went to John Hamilton's on the Bald Eagle Creek spoke a few words to
a few people: I do not think that is worth the preachers while to stop
here."
[22] F. B. Everett, "Early Presbyterianism along the West Branch of the
Susquehanna River," _Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society_,
XII (1927), 481. According to the Reverend Mr. Everett, whose article
also appeared in the Montgomery _Mirror_ for Oct. 27, 1926, the
Scotch-Irish, with the Anglicans, were the dogmatists of Pennsylvania.
The Quakers and Pietistic German sects were anti-dogmatic. Dogmatically
adhering to his catechisms, the Scotch-Irishman "resented the aspersions
cast upon dogma and creed." The frontier gave him freedom from the
Quakers who still considered Presbyterians as those "who had burnt a
Quaker in New England from the cart's tail, and had murdered other
Quakers."
[23] "Mr. Davy's Diary," p. 259.
[24] Thomas J. Wertenbaker, _The First Americans, 1607-1690_ (New York,
1927). Wertenbaker's first chapter, "A New World Makes New Men,"
develops this thesis generally for the American colonial experience,
and, as Turner said, those first colonies were the first frontier.
[25] Clark, "Pioneer Life in the New Purchase," pp. 28, 63. Clark notes
that indentured servitude appeared in Muncy, where Samuel Wallis' great
holdings made such service feasible. He also mentions Wallis' ownership
of slaves, verified by the Quarter Session Docket of 1778. Wallis freed
two Negro slaves, Zell and Chloe, posting a L30 bond that they would not
become a charge on the township.
[26] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 262. _See also_ Dunaway, _The
Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania_, pp. 180-200.
[27] These "fringe area" participants in Fair Play society actually
resided, for the most part, in Provincial territory and hence enjoyed
greater stability and more land.
[28] Calhoun, _A Social History of the American Family_, I, 207.
[29] _Ibid._
[30] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 271. Leyburn points out that since
the Scotch-Irish were never a "minority," in the sense that their values
differed radically from the norms of their areas of settlement, they
never suffered the normlessness which Durkheim calls anomie--the absence
of clear standards to follow. As Leyburn states it,
Anomie was an experience unknown to the Scotch-Irishman, for he
moved immediately upon arrival to a region where there was neither a
settlement nor an established culture. He held land, knew
independence, had manifold responsibilities from the very outset. He
spoke the language of his neighbors to the East through whose
communities he had passed on his way to the frontier. Their
institutions and standards differed at only minor points from his
own. The Scotch-Irish were not, in short, a "minority group" and
needed no Immigrant Aid society to tide them over a period of
maladjustment so that they might become assimilated in the American
melting pot.
This, however, is not to suggest that minorities are necessarily anomic.
The Jews, for example, were always a cultural minority in Europe, yet
they adhered intensely to their own cultural norms.
[31] Muncy Historical Society, Wagner Collection, Hamilton Papers, p.
10.
[32] J. E. Wright and Doris S. Corbett, _Pioneer Life in Western
Pennsylvania_ (Pittsburgh, 1940), p. 142.
[33] _Ibid._ The existence of these "praying societies" is further
substantiated in Colbert's _Journal_. During these services, lay persons
gave exhortations or assisted Colbert in some fashion.
[34] _Fithian: Journal_, p. 76.
[35] Robert S. Cocks, _One Hundred and Fifty Years of Evangelism, The
History of Northumberland Presbytery 1811-1961_ (n. p., 1961), p. 2.
[36] _Fithian: Journal_, pp. 80-81.
[37] Joseph Stevens, _History of the Presbytery of Northumberland, from
Its Organization, in 1811, to May 1888_ (Williamsport, 1888), p. 38.
[38] _Ibid._, p. 18.
[39] Cocks, _One Hundred and Fifty Years of Evangelism_, p. 2.
[40] Guy S. Klett, "Scotch-Irish Presbyterian Pioneering Along the
Susquehanna River," _Pennsylvania History_, XX (1953), p. 173.