[42] Linn, _History of Centre and Clinton Counties_, p. 520.
[43] Klett, "Scotch-Irish Presbyterian Pioneering," p. 175.
[44] _Journal of William Colbert_, Monday, June 18, 1792; and Robert
Berger, "The Story of Baptist Beginnings in Lycoming County," _Now and
Then_, XII (1960), 274-280. According to the Reverend Robert Berger, of
Hughesville, a few Baptist settlers came into Lycoming County from New
Jersey, but were soon driven out by the Indians. Apparently, the
Philadelphia Baptist Association sent missionaries to the area in 1775
and 1778. However, not until the association commissioned Elders Patton,
Clingan, and Vaughn in 1792 did any extensive Baptist preaching take
place in this region. They were sent out for three months on the Juniata
and the West Branch. The Loyalsock Baptist Church, established in 1822,
is the first church.
[45] Dietmar Rothermund, _The Layman's Progress: Religious and Political
Experience in Colonial Pennsylvania 1740-1770_ (Philadelphia, 1961), p.
142. As Rothermund describes it, "The Pilgrim's progress had turned into
the layman's emancipation, and finally into the citizen's revolution"
(p. 137). He calls "the political maturity which followed the era of
religious emancipation ... America's real revolutionary heritage" (p.
138).
[46] _Ibid._, p. 137. It must first be recognized that American
Presbyterianism differed from that of Scotland particularly with regard
to local autonomy. The Presbyterian Church, like the United States under
the Constitution of 1787, was federal in its governmental structure, and
the autonomy of the local religious institutions was later carried into
politics. Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 313, emphasizes the fact that
the Scotch-Irishman's church had accustomed him to belief in government
by the consent of the governed, in representative and republican
institutions. The relationship between the church covenant and the
social compact is quite direct. If men can bind themselves together to
form a church, then it seems quite logical that they can bind themselves
together to form a government. Fair Play democracy was simply political
Presbyterianism. Its impact has been noted by a number of historians.
Dunaway, _The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania_, p. 135, claims
that "The actual means by which Pennsylvania was transformed from a
proprietary province into an American commonwealth was the new political
organization developed by the Scotch-Irish in alliance with the eastern
radical leaders of the continental Revolutionary movement. This
extra-legal organization, consisting of the committee of safety, the
provincial and county committees of correspondence, and the provincial
conventions, supplanted the regular provincial government by absorbing
its functions." Becker, _Beginning of the American People_, p. 180,
calls the Scotch-Irish a people "whose religion confirmed them in a
democratic habit of mind."
[47] Lycoming County Courthouse, Will Book #1, George Quigley's Will, p.
69.
[48] Maynard, _Historical View of Clinton County_, p. 208.
[49] Carrie A. Hall and Rose G. Kretsinger, _The Romance of the
Patchwork Quilt in America_ (New York, 1935), p. 27.
[50] _Journal of William Colbert_, Thursday, Sept. 5, 1793.
[51] Lycoming County Courthouse, Will Book #1, William Chatham's Will,
p. 177. Chatham's bequest is "To Robert Devling My Fidel."
[52] Dunaway, _The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania_, p. 196.
[53] Rev. John Cuthbertson's Diary (1716-1791), microfilm transcript, 2
rolls, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. An
example, found on p. 252, is this "_famous American Receipt for the
Rheumatism_. Take of garlic two cloves, of gum ammoniac, one drachm;
blend them by bruising together. Make them into two or three bolus's
with fair water and swallow one at night and the other in the morning.
Drink strong sassafras tea while using these. It banishes also
contractions of the joints. 100 pounds been given for this."
[54] Rebecca F. Gross, "Postscript to the Week," Lock Haven _Express_,
Aug. 3, 1963, p. 4.
[55] Eugene P. Bertin, "Primary Streams of Lycoming County," _Now and
Then_, VIII (1947), 257-258.
[56] Dunaway, _The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania_, p. 193.
[57] _Ibid._, p. 197.
[58] "Eleanor Coldren's Deposition," pp. 220-222. Mrs. Coldren refers to
a tavern, just west of Chatham's Run, in the spring of 1775. The first
church appeared in 1792.
[59] "Diary of the Unknown Traveler," _Now and Then_, X (1954), 307. The
diarist tells of a tavernkeeper who refused a man a pint of wine because
"he had had enough" (Thursday, July 24, 1794).
[60] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, pp. 148-150. Leyburn suggests, and the
Fair Play settlers demonstrate, that Ulster and America were similar
experiences. He says (p. 148) that the Scotch-Irish "lived on land in
both regions often forcibly taken from the natives. The confiscation
itself was declared legal by the authorities, and the actual settlement
was made in the conviction that the land was now rightfully theirs.
Might makes right--at least in the matter of life and land ownership."
[61] _Fithian: Journal_, the _Journal of William Colbert_, and "Mr.
Davy's Diary" all refer to the hospitality of the people of this
frontier. For example, Fithian speaks of his hosts as "sociable, kind";
while Colbert constantly mentions the "liberty" which he enjoyed in the
various homes which he visited.
[62] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, pp. 146-147. Leyburn suggests that
belief in the superiority of the Presbyterian church to any king
justifies revolt; if one may, others may, leading to anarchy. Thus
freedom of worship for a minority allied itself in America with liberty
of worship for all. The right of revolution, as it was acted upon in
America, was also implied.
[63] Loyalists in the West Branch Valley suffered the usual privations
as this excerpt from the "Diary of the Unknown Traveler," p. 310,
indicates: "_Thursday, July 24, 1794_.... Mr. Witteker and his family
are of the people called Quakers but was turned out of the society
during the time of war for paing the money called substitute [relief
from the draft]* money to the Congress agents. M[r]. W's case is really
hard. He suffered as above by his friends for aiding Congress and his
estate was conviscated [_sic_] by the state for being a loyalist."
[*Phrase bracketed in quotation.]
[64] Dunaway, _The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania_, pp. 197-198.
[65] _Ibid._, p. 198. An example of this attitude is found in this entry
in the "Diary of the Unknown Traveler," p. 310: "This afternoon 24 July
[1794] a person with two horses, one he rode, the other lead, called at
Wittekers for a pint of wine, but on account of him being intoxicated
before Mr. W. told him he had had enough & would not let him have any.
Where could we find so disinterested a tavernkeeper in England? In
England they never refuse as long as they pay, but here the man had the
money ready if they would let him have the wine."
[66] This conclusion was reached after the reading of some three hundred
wills in the probate records of Northumberland and Lycoming counties.
This particular reference is from James Caldwell's will, Nov. 20, 1815,
located in Will Book #1, p. 108, Lycoming County Courthouse.
[67] Clark, "Pioneer Life in the New Purchase," p. 22. Beds and feather
beds seem to have been status symbols of a sort often willed to the wife
or included as a dowry.
CHAPTER SIX
_Leadership and the Problems of the Frontier_
Any analysis of democracy in the Fair Play territory must consider the
question of leadership and the particular problems of that frontier. The
number of leaders and their roles, the marks of leadership, and the
circumstances which brought certain men to the fore must all be
considered. Was there some correlation between property-holdings, or
national origin, and leadership? Were there certain offices conducive to
the exercise of leadership? The subject of leadership entails inquiry
into each of these areas.
Unfortunately, only one biographical study of any Fair Play leader has
ever been attempted, that of Henry Antes.[1] As a result, the patterns
of leadership must be gleaned from court records, tax lists, lists of
public officials, and petitions from the settlers of this frontier.
Consequently, what follows gives us some general understanding of the
nature of leadership but offers little in the way of insight into the
personalities of the leaders.
Using the Curti study as an example, certain objective criteria have
been set up in analyzing leadership in the West Branch Valley.[2]
Obviously, some leaders were more important than others. Their influence
extended beyond the limits of the Fair Play territory. These leaders,
provided that they stood out in respect to at least three of the four
criteria established, have been categorized as regional leaders. These
four criteria have been used in this study to determine regional
leadership: (1) the holding of political office, (2) the ownership of
better-than-average property holdings, (3) the operation of frontier
forts, and (4) the holding of military rank of some significance.[3]
Of these criteria, office holding appears to be the most important.
Thus, regional leaders were generally re-elected to public office, or
held more than one such office. Furthermore, it will be noted that these
offices tended to be with the established governments of the State and
county. Since some leaders never held any political office, another
classification seemed necessary. Consequently, the role of local
leadership was also classified.
The influence of some men seems to have been strictly confined to the
Fair Play territory, either by virtue of their election to some local
office or by their prominence in some other phase of community life. As
a result, local leaders have been considered as (1) those who held at
least two local offices, or (2) those who exercised identifiable
community leadership in a non-political context.
After an extensive examination of the lists of public officials for
Northumberland County, the tax lists for the same period, the records of
the Fair Play men and the Committee of Safety, the accounts of the
frontier forts in the region, and the military records of these
settlers, it becomes evident that only three men can be considered as
regional leaders and not more than seven or eight as local leaders.[4]
Henry Antes, Robert Fleming, and Frederick Antes are the regional
leaders; and Alexander Hamilton, John Fleming, James Crawford, John
Walker, Thomas Hughes, Cookson Long, William Reed, and Samuel Horn are
the local leaders. Obviously, the listings are too limited to offer any
valid quantitative analysis.
Henry Antes is undoubtedly the single most outstanding leader in the
entire Fair Play country. Judge of the Court of Quarter Sessions,
sheriff, justice of the peace, Fair Play spokesman, captain (later
colonel) of Associators and commander of Fort Antes, miller and property
owner, personal friend of John Dickinson and other Provincial leaders,
Henry Antes was the top figure in civic, economic, military, and social
affairs along the West Branch. Influential within and without the Fair
Play territory, Henry Antes was truly the major leader in the valley.
The Antes family had long played a significant role in the history of
the Province of Pennsylvania. As MacMinn relates, Henry's father, Henry,
Sr., had been "associated with the most prominent men of his time in
movements for the public good."[5] A Moravian, the elder Antes had
assisted Count Zinzendorf in his missionary efforts, aided Whitefield in
his philanthropic endeavors, worked with Henry Muhlenberg in educating
the German town community, and served with a marked impartiality as a
justice of the peace.[6] From such stock came the necessary leadership
for the Fair Play settlers of the West Branch frontier.
Born near Pottstown in Montgomery County in 1736, young Henry may have
learned of frontier opportunity from visitors to his father's inn, such
as Zinzendorf and Spangenburg, who had traveled along the West Branch of
the Susquehanna. Consequently, joined by his brother William, he signed
an article of agreement on September 29, 1773, for the purchase of land
in the West Branch Valley.[7] When another brother, Frederick, obtained
property in the area later in that same decade, the Antes brothers,
particularly Henry and Frederick, became the dominant political,
economic, and social influence in the territory. Frederick, however, was
more of an absentee leader since he never actually resided in the Fair
Play territory.
Although the combined holdings of the Antes brothers constituted only a
little less than 700 acres, their gristmill, the first in the region,
became the meeting place for the area settlers, providing a forum for
the usual discussions of politics and prices.[8] From Lycoming Creek on
the east to Pine Creek and the Great Island on the west, the frontier
farmers brought their grain to the Antes mill, on the south side of the
Susquehanna River opposite present Jersey Shore. While the milling went
on, the men analyzed their common problems and debated the future of
this pioneer land. If there was a center for the dissemination of news
in the West Branch Valley, it was the Antes mill and fort, which was
soon constructed on the property. Located in almost the center of the
Fair Play territory (although actually across the river from it), where
men met of necessity, and having had a father who had exerted influence
and exercised leadership in Philadelphia County, the Antes brothers were
well prepared to lead the West Branch pioneers.
With their gristmill giving Henry and Frederick a decided economic edge,
they soon became involved in the politics of the Fair Play territory,
Northumberland County, and the Province of Pennsylvania. Henry became
primarily a local and county leader, while his brother concentrated on
county and Provincial and, later, State affairs. Both served as county
judges--Henry, appointed in 1775, and Frederick, elected in 1784--which
suggests judicial responsibility as the key to assuming major
leadership, since Robert Fleming took Frederick's judicial post when he
resigned to take a seat in the General Assembly.[9]
By the summer of 1775, when Philip Vickers Fithian first included the
West Branch in his itinerary--the valley by then supported some 100
families--Henry Antes had already distinguished himself as a public
servant. He, along with five others, had been commissioned by the county
court to lay out a road from Fort Augusta to the mouth of Bald Eagle
Creek;[10] he had served as a spokesman for the Fair Play men in a land
title dispute;[11] he had been made a justice of the peace;[12] and he
had been appointed as a judge of the Court of Quarter Sessions.[13] This
was to be only the beginning, for in 1775, when the Associators were
organized, Henry Antes was made captain of company eight, embodying the
Nippenose and Pine Creek settlers.[14] But even this is not the complete
picture, for when the settlers returned to the region in the eighties,
following the Great Runaway of 1778, Antes became sheriff, the chief law
enforcement officer of Northumberland County.[15] The popular miller had
become the popular leader, a popularity enhanced by his interpretation
of the sheriff's role, an interpretation which occasionally brought him
into conflict with the State's leaders.[16]
The leadership of the Antes brothers is further accentuated by the
activities of Frederick Antes. Between 1776 and 1784 he was a delegate
to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, justice of the peace,
president judge of the county courts, county treasurer, commissioner of
purchase for Northumberland County, a representative in the General
Assembly, and a colonel of militia.[17] With Henry on the West Branch
and Frederick frequently in Philadelphia, the Antes family had a
constant finger on the pulse of Pennsylvania politics. Official duties,
plus the strategic location of the Antes fort and mill, made Frederick
and Henry Antes the most influential persons in the West Branch Valley
during the operation of the Fair Play system. Eminently qualified by
numerous public responsibilities, the Antes brothers were major leaders
of the Fair Play settlers.
Robert Fleming, the third regional leader in the territory, also served
as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the county, although that
service began in March, 1785, after the Fair Play territory was acquired
by the State of Pennsylvania in the second Stanwix Treaty of 1784.[18]
He became a justice of the peace at the same time.[19] Prior to his
judicial obligations, Fleming had been a member of the county Committee
of Safety, a township overseer, a representative in the General
Assembly, a second lieutenant of Associators, and possibly a Fair Play
man.[20] During the Revolution, he was primarily concerned with the area
around the Great Island, serving at Reed's Fort (present Lock Haven) and
on the Fleming estate, which some referred to as Fort Fleming. Robert
had a brother, John, with whom Fithian stayed during his brief sojourn
in the territory. Their combined holdings, the largest in the vicinity,
ran to almost 3,000 acres, of which 1,250 acres were Robert's.[21]
Certain conclusions can be drawn from these data regarding the regional
leaders of the Fair Play territory. Better than average property
holdings, extensive in the case of Robert Fleming; judicial
responsibility, which was true of all three men; primary authority in
frontier forts (the Antes brothers owned and commanded Antes Fort, and
the Flemings operated their own stockade and commanded Fort Reed); and
military rank ranging from lieutenant of Associators to colonel of
militia: these characteristics signified major leadership in the West
Branch Valley among the Fair Play settlers. Coincidentally, it can be
noted that two of the three regional leaders, having served in the State
legislature, had influence which reached to the State House in
Philadelphia. Obviously, these men were known outside of the limited
environs of the Fair Play territory. In fact, both Henry and Frederick
Antes enjoyed a more than passing acquaintance with Benjamin Franklin
and John Dickinson, two of the giants of this period of Pennsylvania's
history.[22]
A further observation which can be made concerning leadership relates to
the question of national origin. Although the Fair Play territory has
often been referred to as "Scotch-Irish country," the German Antes
brothers performed the outstanding leadership roles on this frontier.
Also, the specific geographic location of our regional leaders provides
a final note of interest. All three of them, Henry and Frederick Antes,
and Robert Fleming, actually resided outside the limits of the Fair Play
territory. They were on the geographic fringe but at the leadership
core. Their close proximity to the Fair Play territory, separated from
it only by the Susquehanna River, in addition to their contacts with and
positions in established government, gave these men an obvious political
eminence. The forts located in both places and the Anteses' gristmill
gave both the Flemings and the Anteses opportunity for leadership.
Local leaders generally lived within the Fair Play territory, had
average property holdings, and served on either the Fair Play tribunal
or the township Committee of Safety. There are, of course, exceptions to
each of these generalizations. The fort operators, Samuel Horn, William
Reed, and John Fleming, resided on the Provincial or State side of the
Susquehanna River. Furthermore, John Fleming was the largest property
owner in the area with some 1,640 acres.[23] And one man, James
Crawford, held the highly respected county office of sheriff.[24]
Three of the local leaders, John Fleming, Alexander Hamilton, and James
Crawford, stand out from the rest, although for different reasons. John
Fleming undoubtedly would have become a major leader had he lived
longer--he died in 1777. His extensive property made his home the usual
stop for itinerant pastors and other travelers in the valley, as
Fithian's _Journal_ attests.[25] It also made him a figure of central
significance in economic affairs. Alexander Hamilton was probably "the"
local leader. A member of the Committee of Safety and presumably a Fair
Play man, he was also the captain of Horn's Fort.[26] He is also the
reputed author of the Pine Creek declaration. James Crawford was more
noted for military exploits than for civic duties. Prior to his military
service, Crawford had represented Northumberland County in the
Constitutional Convention of 1776, which framed the State constitution
and, later, commissioned him as a major in the Twelfth Pennsylvania
Regiment.[27] Deprived of his commission after the Germantown campaign,
Major Crawford returned home and was elected county sheriff, an office
which he held until succeeded by Henry Antes.[28]
Of the other local leaders, Horn and Reed held only lesser township
offices, overseer and supervisor, respectively, in addition to operating
frontier forts.[29] Cookson Long, mentioned as a Fair Play man in 1775
in Eleanor Coldren's deposition, later commanded Fort Reed, for a time,
as a captain of Associators.[30] The final two local leaders, John
Walker and Thomas Hughes, both took turns as Fair Play men and as
members of the local Committee of Safety.[31]
In analyzing the local leadership roles which these various settlers
filled, additional and pertinent conclusions become apparent. In the
first place, the Fair Play men were obviously not the top leaders of the
community. Henry Antes may have served as their spokesman in 1775, and
it is quite possible that Robert Fleming was a member of the tribunal,
but both were more important as county leaders. Secondly, Fair Play men
were members of the Committee of Safety, a fact which suggests that
their efforts may have been coordinated. Finally, returning to the
question of national origin, six of these eight local leaders were
either Scots, Scotch-Irish, or Irish. The other two were Germans. No
Englishman was a leader, either regional or local, in the Fair Play
territory between 1769 and 1784. Perhaps, as Carl Becker suggests, this
was due to the fact that neither the German nor the Scotch-Irish
immigrant held in his breast any sentiment of loyalty to King George, or
much sympathy with the traditions or the leaders of English society.[32]
What were the particular problems of this frontier and how effective
were these leaders in meeting them? The question of defense, including
the daily task of survival in the wilderness, the right of pre-emption,
and the efforts to obtain frontier representation in the assembly: these
were the main problems in this pioneer land along the West Branch of the
Susquehanna. All were not solved during the period under analysis, but
the attempts to solve these and other problems afford us the opportunity
to evaluate the leadership in the Fair Play territory.
Doubtless, the most pressing public need on this frontier was protection
from the marauding Indians who plagued these pioneers throughout the
fifteen years encompassed by this study. Aroused by the British during
the Revolution, the Indians of the Six Nations descended from New York
into the West Branch Valley to harass and, finally, to drive the Fair
Play settlers from their homes. Driven from their homes, the frontiersmen
of the West Branch first gathered in the hastily-constructed and
poorly-manned forts conveniently scattered along the Susquehanna from
Jersey Shore to Lock Haven, but, ultimately, these too had to be
evacuated in the Great Runaway in 1778.