The persecution of the Quakers and other religious denominations, during the reign of Charles II, and especially during that of his successor, the intolerance exercised by the Papists over the Protestants of Europe, and the overbearing or persecuting spirit, on religious accounts, in many of the other colonies, as contrasted with the liberality of the Quakers of Pennsylvania, who were disposed to open their arms to all denominations of professing Christians who might be inclined to settle among them, induced the flocking of men by tens, by hundreds, and by thousands, to a place where man pretended not to assume the prerogatives of Deity, nor judge, condemn, and punish in His stead.

SCOTCH IRISH.

Of those who migrated hither from the north of Ireland, the greater number, or their ancestors, had formerly removed from Scotland. But they were treated, after a short residence in Ireland, with much ingratitude and neglect, and hence they sought refuge in America. The Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, in the Province of Ulster, having conspired against the government in the reign of James the First, fled from the kingdom to escape punishment. Some of their accomplices were arrested, condemned and executed, but the two Earls were attainted by a process of outlawry, upon which their vast estates, about five hundred thousand acres of land, escheated to the crown. King James resolved, if possible, to improve a country that was covered by woods, desolated by war, infested by robbers, or inhabited by ignorant adherents to the Romish Church. For this purpose he divided the escheated lands into small tracts, and those he gave to adventurers, who were to settle them within four years, with a certain number of subtenants. According to his advice, the preference was given, in distributing the lands, to adventurers from the west of Scotland. They were Protestants from his own country. They were industrious people, and the passage being very short, they might, with the greater ease, settle the lands according to their contracts. The establishment of prelacy in Scotland, in the year 1637, and afterwards in the year 1661, among people who had adopted the more simple form of Presbyterian worship, became the additional cause of numerous emigrations from that kingdom to the North of Ireland.

The superior knowledge, industry, and temperance of the Scotch farmers, in a short time enabled them to supplant the natives among whom they lived, and six of the northern counties, by the end of the seventeenth century, were chiefly inhabited by the descendants of Scottish emigrants, or the remains of Cromwell's army. That Protestant colony has been the chief support of government against all attempts to establish a Catholic prince, by treason, insurrection, or murder. Those men have been the steady and active supporters of the Hanover succession. Their faithful services, and uniform attachment to government, had placed them in the rank of good and faithful subjects, and their unshaken loyalty had entitled them to confidence and public favour. But they were treated like aliens and strangers, with marks of distrust in their civil capacity, and they were depressed in their religious capacity, by the spirit of intolerance, because they were not of the established church of Ireland. Men who were thus degraded and vexed by incapacities and burdens, migrated in thousands to Pennsylvania, in which they knew the principles of civil and religious liberty had their full operation. Their first settlements were in Bucks county, but chiefly in the territory which, in 1729, was organized into the county of Lancaster. Settlements were made in it about 1717, on Octorara creek, and about the same time, or earlier, in Pequea, and in 1722 in Donegal and Paxton. About 1737, quite a number of these emigrants located themselves in the northwestern part of York county, on the water of Tom's and Marsh creek, (now Adams county.)

ENGLISH.

"In England, ever since the memorable St. Bartholomew's day, all eyes had been anxiously directed to the Trans-Atlantic settlements, notwithstanding they were as yet a wilderness, and while some fled to Holland, a great number, together with many of the ejected ministers, betook themselves to New England, Pennsylvania, and other American plantations. In Scotland, fines, imprisonments, and whippings, were abundant from 1662, when the Act of Conformity was passed, until 1688, when the Act of Toleration gave relief under the Presbyterian Prince of Orange. The Western and Southern counties, which, according to Hume, were the most populous and thriving, were the most obnoxious, and the severity of the persecutions surpassed, in the judgment of Bishop Burnet, the merciless rigours of the Duke of Alva. Many sold their estates and crossed over to the Scots of Ulster, where, for a time, unrestricted liberty was allowed. But the arm of intolerance soon followed them to this retreat, and the hunted-down nonconformists felt that they had no resource short of absolute expatriation. In order that the fury of the prelates might have full sweep, the Presbyterians and their ejected ministers were forbidden to fly into Scotland to avoid it. Of these ejected ministers, both in Scotland and Ireland, Wodrow gives a catalogue amounting to four hundred."'*

CLASSES OF IMMIGRANTS.

In consequence of the persecutions of 1679, 1682 and 1685, crowds of voluntary exiles sought an asylum in East New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Carolina and Maryland.

Prominent among those who fled to this land for conscience's sake, were the Huguenots, or French Protestants. The persecutions to which they were exposed during the reign of Louis XIV, consummated by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in 1685, drove hundreds of thousands of those unhappy people from their native country. Though the frontiers were vigilantly guarded, upwards of five hundred thousand of them made their escape. They fled to Switzerland, Germany, Holland and England, and large numbers of them came to this country, many of whom settled in Pennsylvania, chiefly on Pequea Creek, near Paradise, Lancaster county.

The Welsh, also, from their numbers, deserve particular notice. The principal settlement of them at an early period, was upon the left bank of the Schuylkill. They there occupied three townships, and in a few years their numbers so increased that they obtained three additional townships. Subsequently many of them settled in various parts of the Province. They were characterized by energy, integrity and perseverance. Nor must the German settlers in Pennsylvania, by any means be overlooked in this enumeration. Their immigration commenced as early as 1682 or 1683, and very rapidly increased. The Mennonists or German Baptists, a sect which adhered to the principle of non-resistance, persecuted in Europe, and driven from one country to another, sought the toleration of Penn's colony, and immigrated between the years 1698 and 1717, settling in Lancaster, Berks, and the upper parts of Chester county. The Dunkards, also a non-resistant sect, began to immigrate about the year 1718, and subsequently established a sort of monastery and convent at Ephrata, in Lancaster county. In 1719, Jonathan Dickinson, who held the important offices of Chief Justice of the Province, Speaker of the Assembly, and Member of Council, remarks: "We are daily expecting ships from London which bring over Palatines, in number about six or seven thousand. We had a parcel who came out about five years ago, who purchased land about sixty miles west of Philadelphia, and prove quiet and industrious."

History of the Presbyterian Church in the State of Kentucky, by the Rev. Robert Davidson, D.D.

From 1730 to 1740, about sixty-five vessels, well filled with Germans, arrived at Philadelphia, bringing with them ministers of the Gospel and schoolmasters to instruct their children. A large number of these remained in Philadelphia, others went seventy to eighty miles from that city-some settled in the neighbourhood of Lebanon, others west of the Susquehanna, in York county. From 1740 to 1755, upwards of one hundred vessels arrived, which were filled with emigrants of the same nation, and in some of which, though small, there were between five and six hundred passengers. With regard to the Germans in Pennsylvania, Mr. Andrews, in a letter dated October 14, 1730, says: "There is, besides, in this Province a vast number of Palatines, and they come in still every year. Those that have come of late are mostly Presbyterian, or, as they call themselves, Reformed, the Palatinate being about three-fifths of that sort of people." "There are many Lutherans and some Reformed mixed among them. In other parts of the country, they are chiefly Reformed, so that I suppose the Presbyterian party are as numerous as the Quakers, or near it."

Such, then, were the materials out of which the original population of the Province of Pennsylvania was constituted. As our necessarily brief sketch indicates, they were not homogeneous, but were diversified by their origin, religious principles, habits, and language. Yet notwithstanding these divergences, they were one in spirit, actuated by a common impulse, and controlled by a similar ambition. They were united in devotion to the principles of the Reformation, and in favour of civil and religious liberty. Equality of rights, and the liberty of worship according to the dictates of conscience, were standard principles which had won their steadfast adherence, and which they were not willing any party or power shonld dare to assail. That they were not free from faults, is not to be denied. This was to be expected. The circumstances in which they were thrown together in a new world, the difference of the reigning spirit of the several localities from which they migrated, the influence of early education, the necessity for combating the untried exigencies of pioneer life, and the difficulties always incident to the mutual adjustment of masses of people in a new territory, as well as to the framing of wise and just laws for self-government,—all these considerations made an antecedent probability that the new social and civil systems would not be inaugurated and established without a development of some of the errors and evils which it is so difficult for lapsed human nature to avert or avoid. But, over and above these imperfections, those men had in general, a character challenging our highest admiration, who first took possession of our noble territory, when it was a vast, dense and solitary wilderness the hut of the savage and the dwelling of the beasts of prey-felled its forests, cleared its streams, fenced its plains, decorated its hill-tops with humble yet happy homes, churches and school-houses, framed its salutary legislation, and proclaimed the principles which have made it the abode of civilization and the home of an intelligent, enterprising, moral and religious community. They were, as a body, men of independence and integrity of character, exemplary morals and a deep reverence for the institutions of religion.

CHARACTER OF IMMIGRANTS.

The author of the work already referred to, thus alludes to the three classesthe English, the Scots and Irish, and the Germans, into which the first settlers of Pennsylvania by reason of their diversity were divided, a division which was maintained for some generations, and is not even yet effaced:

The associates and followers of Penn, who were amongst the first to establish the government of the Province, were an honest, intelligent, virtuous, peaceful and benevo

lent population, known in England and the colonies by the name of Friends or Quakers." "The Germans were a hardy, frugal and industrious people, and in many districts have preserved their foreign manners and language. They have established in every part of the State, communities much respected for religious and moral character, many of them emigrated for conscience's sake, and others to improve their condition and circumstances. Their industry and frugality have enabled them to add greatly to their own wealth and resources, whilst they were increasing that of the Province and State. With most of this class, education has been promoted, and their descendants, in acquirements and intelligence, are in advance of their ancestors, and many are amongst the most respectable and useful citizens of the Commonwealth, whilst they have, by branches of their families, contributed greatly to the industrious and useful population of several of the Western States.' "From their conscientious scruples against bearing arms, the Mennonists did not enter the army to fight the battles of the country but when Independence was acknowledged, and a new government organized and established, they were obedient in all things to its requisitions. They have ever been in Pennsylvania a peaceable, industrious and moral community, paying their taxes regularly; avoiding strife, and living in peace with all men with whom they had intercourse. They never allow the poor members of their society to be a public charge, but support them in the society." . . . 'The Scotch and Irish settlers of Pennsylvania are men who laid broad and deep the foundations of a great Province, and who, with a master's hand, erected a structure of government that was stable, capacious and elevated, whose prosperity and greatness command admiration, and which, by public accord, constitutes the great keystone of the political arch of the American Union. The men who were instrumental in this structure of government, with its free institutions of religious and civil liberty, were more than ordinary men, to hold the plough and handle the axe, or ply the shuttle. They had other qualities, we would infer from their works, than enterprise, energy, bravery and patriotism, and they were not surpassed, for lofty virtue and consistent piety."

PENN'S PURCHASE OF LANDS.

Soon after William Penn's arrival in the Province, the date of which has been already noticed, and before his return to England, in 1684, he resolved "to purchase the lands on the Susquehanna from the Five Nations, who pretended a right to them, having conquered the people formerly settled there." For this purpose, being too busy to give his personal attention to the matter, he engaged Governor Dongan, of New York, where the Five Nations chiefly quartered, to buy from them, "all that tract of land lying on both sides of the river Susquehanna, and the lakes adjacent in or near the Province of Pennsylvania." Dongan effected a purchase, and conveyed the property to Penn, January 13th, 1696, "in consideration of one hundred pounds sterling."

How careful the wise Quaker was to have this purchase well confirmed, appears from the following document which stands among the early records of the Province :

"September 13th, 1700, Widagh and Andaggy-junk-quagh, Kings or Sachems of the Susquehannagh Indians, and of the river under that name, and lands lying on both sides thereof. Deed to W. Penn for all the said river Susquehannagh, and all the islands therein, and all the lands situate, lying and being upon both sides of the said river, and next adjoining the same, to the utmost confines of the lands which are, or formerly were, the right of the people or nation called the Susquehannagh Indians, or by what name socver they were called, as fully and amply as we or any of our ancestors have, could,

might or ought to have had, held or enjoyed, and also confirm the bargain and sale of the said lands, made unto Colonel Thomas Dongan, now Earl of Limerick, and formerly Governor of New York, whose deed of sale to said Governor Penn we have seen."

PENN IN COUNCIL WITH THE FIVE NATIONS.

In April, 1701, Penn met in council the chiefs of the Five Nations with those from the Susquehanna and the Potomac, and the Shawnese chiefs, and after going through the solemn forms of Indian diplomacy, covenanted that there should be "forever a firm and lasting peace continued between William Penn, his heirs and successors, and all the English and other Christian inhabitants of the province, and the said kings and chiefs, &c., and that they shall forever hereafter be as one head and one heart, and live in true friendship and amity as one people.' At this treaty, regulations were adopted to govern their trade, and mutual enforcement of penal laws, and former purchases of land were confirmed. Especially was there a necessity for a confirmation of the sale just referred to as having been made in September of the preceding year. The Conestoga Indians, it seems, would not recognize the validity of this sale, believing that the Five Nations had no proper authority to transfer their possessions. In consequence of this difficulty, Penn entered into articles of agreement with the Susquehanna, Potomac and Conestoga Indians, by which they ratified and confirmed both Governor Dongan's deed of 1696, and the deed by Widagh and Andaggy-junk-quagh, of 1700.

In October, 1736, a purchase was made by the Proprietaries, from the Six Nations, calling themselves Aquanuschioni, i. e. the United People, of all the lands west of the Susquehanna" to the setting sun," and south of the Tayamentasachta hills, as the Kittochtinny or Blue Mountain was called by the Six Nations. “Their Sachems or chiefs," says Mr. Rupp,* "were appointed with plenary powers to repair to Philadelphia, and there, among other things, settle and adjust all demands and claims connected with the Susquehanna and the adjoining lands. On their arrival at that city, they renewed old treaties of friendship, and on the 11th of the month just mentioned, made a deed to John Penn, Thomas Penn and Richard Penn, their heirs, successors, and assigns. The deed was signed by twenty-three Indian chiefs of the Onondaga, Seneca, Oneida and Tuscarora nations, and granted to the Penns "all the said river Susquehanna, with the lands lying on both sides thereof, to extend eastward as far as the heads of the branches or springs which run into the said Susquehanna, and all the lands lying on the west side of the said river to the setting sun, and to extend from the mouth of the said river, northward, up the same to the hills or mountains called in the language of said nations Tayamentasachta, and by the Delaware Indians the Kekachtannin hills." In July, 1754, at Albany, the proprietors purchased of the Six Nations all the land within the State, not previously purchased, lying southwest of a line beginning one mile above the mouth of Penn's creek, and running northwest by west "to the western boundary of the State."

EMIGRATION WESTWARD.

As the eastern part of Pennsylvania gradually increased in population, the tide of migration rolled westward. In 1729, the upper parts of Chester county were constituted a separate county called "Lancaster county," which then, and till 1749, embraced York, Cumberland, part of Berks, and all the contiguous counties, as it did also Dauphin till March 4th, 1785. The first permanent and extensive settlement made near the

* History and Topography of Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin, Bedford, Adams and Perry Counties, by I. D. Rupp,to which we here make a general acknowledgment of obligation for assistance in the preparation of this sketch,