Mrs. Margaret Durham, aged 72, died on September 4 1829. Fifty years earlier, at age 22, she had been scalped by Indians while on her way to Northumberland from Fort Freeland.
" In 1774 he [James Durham] married Margaret McClintock born about 1750 died February 8 1828 In 1778 during the Revolutionary war she was scalped by the Indians but lived to survive the injury about fifty years Her father and brothers Matthew and John McClintock were soldiers in the Revolutionary war and were killed with others of Captain Hawkins Boone's company in going to the relief of Fort Freeland July 28 1779 at McClungs near Milton Pennsylvania "
After the Great Runaway in July of 1778, some families returned to the area for the fall harvest. Men in the Warrior Run Area helped fortify the Freeland farm, turning it into a fort.
That fall a group left Fort Freeland to go to Northumberland. Mrs. McKnight and Mrs. Durham were on horseback, both women carried babies in their arms. Their husbands followed on foot, along with several other men.
Two miles below the mouth of Warrior Run Creek, Indians attacked. As they fired their guns, Mrs. McKnight's horse turned and galloped back towards the fort, so suddenly that her child was jostled from her arms. She caught the the baby by it's foot and they made it safely back to Fort Freeland.
Mrs. Durham's horse was shot out from underneath her. Indians then pounced, first killing her child, and then scalping Mrs. Durham. Two of the sons of Mrs. McKnight, and James Durham, were among the prisoners captured that day. Durham & the McKnight boys were taken to Fort Niagara, where they remained for 5 years, returning at the end of the war in 1783.
The Indians then quickly fled with their prisoners and scalps, as was their habit. Having heard the shots, Alexander Guffy along with Peter & Ellis Williams, rushed to the area. There they found that, amazingly, Mrs. Durham was still alive. She raised her scalped head and asked for water. Guffy ran to fill his hat with water for the woman. The men then bandaged her head the best they could, loaded her in a canoe, and took her 16 miles down river to Dr Plunkett.
Her recovery was long. Several histories report that she had a metal plate inserted in her head. But she went on to have 6 more children, and lived to the age of 72, dying on September 4 1829.
The Durham's are buried at the Warrior Run Church Cemetery.
Several histories give incorrectly give Margaret's maiden name as Wilson. It was McClintock. Her father and brother were killed in the battle of Fort Freeland They were among the men coming to the fort with Captain Boone, and they were killed at McClungs, before they got as far as Fort Freeland.
William McKnight and his wife were also killed as they attempted to make the trip from Fort Freeland. Their son James carried their bodies to the the graveyard at the Chilisquaque church, where he buried them himself.
The following year, at the battle of Fort Freeland, James McKnight was taken prisoner.
"Sometime in the autumn of this year (1778) Mrs. McKnight and Mrs. Margaret Durham, with infants in their arms, started on horseback from Fort Freeland to go to Northumberland. Mrs. Durham's husband and several other men accompanied them on foot. They met with no interruption until they reached a point a short distance below the mouth of Warrior Run, when they were unexpectedly fired upon by a party of Indians lying in concealment. On the discharge of the guns Mrs. McKnight's horse quickly wheeled and galloped back. She came very near losing her child, but caught it by the foot as it was falling and held it firmly dangling by her side until the frightened horse brought her safely back to the fort.
Mrs. Durham was not so fortunate. Her infant was shot dead in her arms and she fell from her horse. An Indian sprang upon her, tore the scalp from her head and left her for dead lying in the road.
Two young men, sons of Mrs. McKnight, ran when the guns were discharged and tried to secrete themselves under the river bank. They were discovered by the enemy, seized and carried into captivity. James Durham, husband of Margaret Durham, was also taken prisoner at the same time and carried to Canada. He was absent until 1783, when he regained his liberty and returned home.
The Indians, according to their habit, quickly fled with their prisoners and scalps. Soon after the firing Alexander Guffy and a companion named Williams came upon the ground. On approaching Mrs. Durham, whom they supposed dead, they were greatly surprised to see her rise up and piteously call for water. With the loss of her scalp she presented a horrible appearance. Guffy at once ran to the river and brought enough water in his hat to quench her burning thirst. They bound up her head as best they could, and as she had received no other injuries, started with her for Sunbury. They reached that place in safety, when Dr. Plunkett dressed her head. It was a long time before her wound healed, but she finally recovered and lived to a ripe age." Otzinachson by Meginness
"Miss Charlotte J Wilson was the daughter of Richard and Mary (Durham) Wilson. Her grandmother, Margaret Durham, was the wife of James Durham. Long years ago, when the great west, where we now live, was the hunting ground of the savages, and the middle states, some yet unsettled, were on the border, the Indians made an irruption into Pennsylvania. The Durhams were living at the forks of the Susquehanna when the settlement was invaded. As soon as 'the news of danger reached the people they hurried off to the fort, the women being sent in advance, and Mrs. Durham with a babe in her arms, while the men delayed a little to look after matters. The latter, when moving toward the same place, were attracted by the frantic demonstrations of the house-dog, and on going to the spot indicated by his intelligent manner they found Mrs. Durham lying in a shocking condition, scalped and tomahawked, apparently beyond all possible hope of recovery, though lingering signs of life might still be discovered. At length, to their surprise she called for water; this was brought in a hat, and from this moment she clung to the last chance for life with such restoring tenacity that her recovery was finally accomplished. To add to her grief, her husband was taken prisoner by the Indians. A silver plate mended her fractured skull, and she lived to become the mother of six children. Mrs. Sproul well remembers her brave grandmother." - History Of Lee County
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The Great Runaway Of 1778
The Central Susquehanna Valley In The Revolutionary War - A Time Line Of Events
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-central-susquehanna-valley-in.html
The Battle of Fort Freeland
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On This Day In Local History - Mrs Margaret Durham, aged 72, died on September 4 1829. Fifty years earlier, at age 22, she had been scalped by Indians while on her way to Northumberland from Fort Freeland.
Although referred to as babies, the child of Mrs Durham may have been nearly 3 years old.
" In 1774 he married Margaret McClintock born about 1750 died February 8 1828 In 1778 during the Revolutionary war she was scalped by the Indians but lived to survive the injury about fifty years Her father and brothers Matthew and John McClintock were soldiers in the Revolutionary war and were killed with others of Captain Hawkins Boone's company in going to the relief of Fort Freeland July 28 1779 at McClungs near Milton Pennsylvania "
Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
James Durham
died
Jan. 24, 1813,
in the 67 year
of his age
---------
Margaret
Consort of
James Durham
died Sept. 4, 1829
in the 74 year
of her age
Burial:
Warrior Run Church Cemetery
Delaware Run
Northumberland County
Pennsylvania, USA
Plot: I-6L
Although referred to as babies, the child of Mrs Durham may have been nearly 3 years old.
" In 1774 he married Margaret McClintock born about 1750 died February 8 1828 In 1778 during the Revolutionary war she was scalped by the Indians but lived to survive the injury about fifty years Her father and brothers Matthew and John McClintock were soldiers in the Revolutionary war and were killed with others of Captain Hawkins Boone's company in going to the relief of Fort Freeland July 28 1779 at McClungs near Milton Pennsylvania "
Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
James Durham
died
Jan. 24, 1813,
in the 67 year
of his age
---------
Margaret
Consort of
James Durham
died Sept. 4, 1829
in the 74 year
of her age
Burial:
Warrior Run Church Cemetery
Delaware Run
Northumberland County
Pennsylvania, USA
Plot: I-6L
PLUNKET, WILLIAM, M.D., frequently called Lord Plunket, was a native of Ireland, born about 1720. Little is accurately known of his early life, saved that he studied medicine, graduating from the university of Dublin, and migrated to America. He first settled at Carlise, where he practiced his profession until probably the breaking out of the French and Indian war, into which service he entered. He was commissioned lieutenant in Capt. John Hambright’s company in Col. William Clapham’s battalion, June 12, 1756. In the Bouquet campaign of 1764 he was surgeon of the Second battalion, commanded by Col. Arthur Clayton, his commission bearing date September 7, 1763. For this service he participated in the Provincial land grants on the West Branch, receiving from the Proprietaries six hundred acres of land in Buffalo Valley. About 1770 he removed to what was subsequently Northumberland county, locating a little above Chillisquaque creek, which he termed "The Soldier’s Retreat," and became possessed of a large estate. He was one of the leaders in the so-called Pennamite war at the outset of the Revolution. A brief account of his expedition to Wyoming is found in "Annals of Buffalo Valley," by Hon. John Blair Linn, pp.87-8. At the beginning of the war for independence he entered heartily into the contest, and was commissioned colonel of the Second battalion of Northumberland county associators in March, 1776, but for some cause or another, possibly at the instigation of his Wyoming enemies, he was arrested as being inimical to the principles of the Revolution. He was afterwards released as nothing treasonable could be proved against him. Sabine, in his "American Loyalists," imputes crimes to Colonel Plunket which he had neither fact or foundation for. At the close of the war he removed to Sunbury, where he died in the early part of May, 1791.
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