When Pennsylvania Was At War With Connecticut

 

The Yankee Pennamite Wars , 1769-1799

When two states that don't even share a border, fought three wars over control of the area of Wilkes-Barre

The Pennamite Wars, also known as the Yankee-Pennamite Wars, were a series of conflicts between Connecticut settlers (Yankees) and Pennsylvania settlers (Pennamites) over land in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania from 1769 to..  well, some say through 1784, some say through 1799.  The last of the Wars was 1784, but tensions did not fully ease until the Connecticut Yankees were granted titles to their land and made Pennsylvania citizens.

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 The conflict between the “Connecticut Yankees” and the William Penn "Pennamite" colonists was the result of two conflicting charters issued by King Charles II  - giving the land to both groups.  This was  complicated by the fact that in 1754 the English had secretly purchased the land from the Mohawks (the easternmost Iroquois Nation) not from the main inhabitants - the Delawares. 

Pennsylvania sold the tract of land to various settlers, as did Connecticut -  the land had two different sets of legal owners, at the same time. 

Connecticut established a "Susquehanna Company" to survey the land for a new settlement, and when the company arrived, they found that the Pennsylvania settlers, known as the Pennamites, had already established communities there.

Also already in the area were Indians, including Chief Teedyuscung who had settled in Wyoming Valley around 1754.  

The Connecticut settlers [Yankees] began to establish towns such as Wilkes Barre, and built Fort Durkee and Forty Fort along the Susquehanna River. [40 Connecticut Yankees built "Forty Fort"] 

The Pennsylvania settlers [Pennamites] built Fort Wyoming and Fort Ogden.

1771

The two groups fought continuously, but with very little bloodshed.  At first.

On April 19, 1763 Teedyuscung's cabin and the village of Wyolutimunk was burned to the ground by arsonists. Teedyuscung was asleep in his cabin at the time and perished in the blaze. The residents of Wyolutimunk fled and settlers from the Susquehanna Company of Connecticut soon took their place. 

Chief Captain Bull, son of Teedyuscung, blamed the Connecticut settlers [Yankees] for his fathers murder.  He lead a raiding party of Delaware Indians to burn down houses and kill more than two dozen settlers.  

The Yankees blamed the Pennamites for "instigating" this raid, and over the next thirty plus years, the two groups burned down each others homes, evicted one another, and even killed one another.  

There was at this time, no federal government to settle the land dispute, although that was about to change, as the war for Independence from Britain began.

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Just to recap [VERY  roughly]:

Various Indian Tribes are fighting against each other [as they always had]

Some Indians are living among the English settlers.

Some Indians are massacring English settlers

English settlers are fighting each other over land.

Some English settlers are fighting Indians.

And now the English settlers are about to split into two more groups - those who are loyal to Britain [Tories], and those who want to be free and independent [Patriots]. Indian tribes also split loyalties, some fighting with the British, other with the Patriots.

Oh, and Britain sends Hessians [German hired soldiers] to fight too. Some of the Hessians then decided to stay and be Americans

Side Note - History books tell us that the "famed Indian fighter and hero of the colonial wars and the Revolution" was killed in ambush by Indians on April 11, 1779. Years later, documents would prove that Samuel Wallis, land king of Muncy, was a traitor working with Benedict Arnold, and then a case was made that quite possibly, it was Wallis who had Brady killed. With all of this fighting, between so many different factions, it certainly wouldn't be difficult to blame a murder on someone else.

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The Wyoming Massacre, a painting by Alonzo Chappel (1858)

The Battle Of Wyoming took place on July 3rd 1778.  Although this is listed as a  battle between the loyalists and the patriots in the American Revolution, this "attack at Forty Fort was the unleashing of decades-old hatred and built-up resentment " between the Connecticut Yankees and the Pennsylvania Pennamites.

The details of the massacre are too graphic for me to type here.  It was brutal.  I've heard historians speak about this event, and what I remember most is that this was a new style of attack.  Battles were typically more along the line of a big team duel, with specific rules of conduct.  This battle was groundbreaking because the Indians fighting with the British had no compunction to follow the gentlemen's code of war - they were out to win, and were not afraid to use  savage methods to do so. 

In the days that followed, houses and barns throughout the Wyoming Valley were looted and burned. Mills were destroyed and livestock was driven off. The inhabitants of the valley fled, either east through the Great Swamp and the Pocono Mountains to Fort Penn at Stroudsburg or Easton, or by rafting down the Susquehanna to Fort Augusta at Sunbury.

As news of the massacre spread, settlers from all across the frontier, everyone above the West Branch, and all above Nescopeck Falls, began to flee down river, in what would be known as the Great Runaway.  

The massacre at Wyoming, and the stories carried by the survivors, spurred the Great Runaway. 

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-great-runaway.html

The Battle of Wyoming lead to the  massacre at Cherry Valley, which lead to the Sullivan Expedition. 

 General Sullivan's campaign, involved burning all the homes and food of the Indians in the area in an effort to chase them out - following the example set by the Indians, who had used the same tactics on each other, and on the new English settlers.  

Again, all  of this is technically part of the Revolutionary War.  But...  none of it was really, completely,  about Independence from Britain.  It was, for the most part, a land dispute that was occurring at the same time as the split from Britain.   A British officer capitalized on the dispute.

As a result, the patriots were spurred into action, shocked by the brutality at Wyoming, and more determined than ever to win their independence from Britain.  

 All because Connecticut and Pennsylvania were fighting over Wilkes Barre...  Ok, maybe not ALL of it, but you do have to wonder how much of this could have been avoided had the two groups worked out their boundary dispute before they chose sides in the war for independence.

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This map from 1774 shows Pennsylvania and illustrates a little-known land dispute between the Pennsylvania and Connecticut colonies that led to the Pennamite-Yankee wars. The hand-drawn map had belonged to the Independence Seaport Museum, which auctioned it off earlier in December. The Pennamite-Yankee wars took place around Wilkes-Barre in Northeastern Pennsylvania, a city founded by Connecticut settlers seeking to expand that colony's territory campaign not to kill the Indians, but rather to burn their villages and food supplies, to force them out of the area.  [A campaign the Indians had used 

After winning the Revolution, a new government was formed for America.  In 1782,  congress voted to rescind George III's ultimatum  ruling that the  land belonged to  Pennsylvania. This was the only interstate conflict resolved by congress under the Articles of Confederation, which governed the union until the constitution was signed in 1788.

You would think that after going through that gruesome massacre at Wyoming the Yankees and Pennamites would have found a way to live peacefully together. Their numbers were certainly less. But after the Revolutionary War ended, the Yankee Pennamite War continued.

In 1784, the third Yankee-Pennamite war consisted of Pennamites attempting to evict the Yankees after the 1782 ruling by congress.   The end of this war is the date some use as the end of the Pennamite wars.

Eventually the land was made part of Pennsylvania, and the Connecticut Yankees were given land to settle on, but as Pennsylvania residents. As many have said, the conflict just sort of fizzled out by 1799. The last "War" had been in 1784, the conflict had "fizzled out by" 1799 - which is why we have two different dates for the end of the Yankee Pennamite Wars.

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Other Pennsylvania State Land Disputes

Maryland claimed it's northern border extended much further north.  In 1767, the Mason-Dixon Line was surveyed to resolve the dispute.

Virginia claimed the area around Pittsburg until 1780.

Pennsylvania claimed "an enormous piece of New York, extending from Syracuse to Buffalo" into the 1780s.

Pennsylvania controlled Delaware until 1776.

Pennsylvania bought much of Erie County from New York in 1792.

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A Time Line

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• 1768: The Iroquois Confederacy sells land to the Penns that they had previously sold to Connecticut's Susquehanna Company
• 1769: Connecticut settlers establish Wilkes-Barre, and armed Pennamites try to expel them without success
• 1770: Pennamites recapture Fort Durkee and build Fort Wyoming, demolishing Fort Durkee in the process
• 1771 - King George III affirmed Connecticut's Claim
• 1771: Connecticut settlers retake Fort Wyoming, gaining control of the valley
• 1773 - More Connecticut Settlers Came
• 1775: The Second Pennamite War takes place,  Yankees successfully defending their land claims.
• 1778: The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, occurs when British and Indian forces kill 360 settlers at Forty Fort
• 1782 - New American Congress votes to rescind George III's ruling, returning the land to Pennsylvania
• 1784: The Third Pennamite War breaks out after the American Revolutionary War as the Pennamites try to evict the Connecticut Yankees.
• 1788: During ongoing conflict, a group of Yankee ruffians kidnap Pennsylvania official Timothy Pickering and hold him hostage for 19 days
  

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Land Titles

From an address given by Charles Tubbs at the 1895 Lycoming Centennial

 "It  would  seem  at.  this  time  that  the  country  was  ripe for  settlement.  The  forests  had  been  explored,  the  Indians disposed  of.  What  was  the  difficulty  now?  The difficulty  now  was  to  know,  after  the  extinction  of  the Indian  title,  what  white  men  had  the  right  to  govern  the territory  and  dispose  of  the  lands.  No  considerable number  of  intended  settlers  will  remove  into  a  new country  to  build  up  homes,  if  there  is  any  question  as to  the  title  of  the  lands.  In  this  case  there  was  a  controversy.     Two  sets  of  white  men  claimed  the  lands.

 This  controversy  between  these  two  sets  of  men  was  an ancient  one  and  during  a  period  of  forty  years  the  issue was  fought  out  on  the  battle  field,  in  the  courts,  in  the Legislature  and  before  a  commission  appointed  by  Congress. In  the  phrase  of  McMaster — "Heads  were bruised,  bones  broken,  crops  destroyed,  settlements plundered  and  even  lives  lost  and  the  peace  of  the  Susquehanna Valley  was  destroyed  by  a  feud  worthy  of the  middle  ages."

 As  this  controversy  retarded  the  settlement  and  development of  our  section  of  ancient  Lycoming  for  several years,  we  will  briefly  state  the  grounds  of  it:  In 1620  King  James  the  First  of  England  granted  a  charter  to  the  Plymouth  Company  for  the  ruling  and governing  of  New  England  in  America.  This  charter covered  North  America  from  the  fortieth  to  the  forty sixth  degree  of  north  latitude  and  from  the  Atlantic to  the  Pacific  oceans.  The  Plymouth  Company  proceeded to  sub-divide  its  territory.  In  1631  it  granted  a charter  to  the  Connecticut  colony  which  practically covered  the  space  between  the  forty-first  and  forty-second parallels  of  north  latitude  and  extended  west  to  the Pacific  Ocean.  In  its  westward  reach  this  grant  included ancient  Lycoming.  In  1662  King  Charles  the Second  gave  a  new  charter  to  Connecticut,  confirming the  act  of  the  Plymouth  Company.  

Nineteen  years later,  in  1681,  this  same  monarch,  in  the  grant  of  Pennsylvania to  William  Penn,  included  a  portion  of  the same  territory  already  given  to  Connecticut.  It  also contained  our  original  county  of  Lycoming.  The Connecticut  claimants  mapped  out  what  is  now  the  counties  of Tioga,  Potter  and  McKean  as  far  west  as  the  Tuna  Valley, in  connection  with  vast  tracts  of  land  south  of  them, into  townships  five  miles  square,  designated  each  by  a name,  opened  a  land  office  and  offered  them  for  sale  at  a  low  price.  Many  of  these  townships  were  located  and surveyed  by  the  purchasers  and  some  of  them  occupied.

 My  own  ancestors  purchased  land  in  Tioga  County  under a  Connecticut  title.  The  place  where  I  reside was   called  "Exchange" [*Now  known  as  the  pretty  little  village  of  Osceola.]  on  the  Connecticut  map.  The  Connecticut claimants  had  extinguished  the  Indian  title to  these  lands,  as  they  maintained,  by  a  treaty  made with  the  Six  Nations  at  Albany  in  1754.  They  were active  in  selling  their  lands  from  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary war  until  1802.

 At  the  same  time  owners  of  Pennsylvania  titles  were active  in  locating  land  warrants  upon  the  same  lands and  having  their  titles  recorded  in  the  land  office  at Philadelphia.  The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  was, that  Pennsylvania  enacted  a  law,  April  6th,  1802,  of the  most  severe  and  drastic  character  and  enforced  it with  great  rigor.  By  it  she  cut  up  by  the  roots  the  title of  Connecticut  claimants  in  this  section  of  the  state.

 Rev.  David  Craft,  in  discussing  this  subject  in  his history  of  Bradford  County,  says:  "Want  of  support, the  increasing  number  who  were  securing  Pennsylvania titles,  defection  in  their  own  ranks  and  the  growing power  of  the  state,  finally  induced  the  Connecticut claimants  either  to  submit  to  the  laws  regulating  titles or  leave  the  state."  Thus  this  question  was  disposed  of and  out  of  the  way.  During  its  pendency  nearly  all  of the  lands  in  the  counties  formed  from  Lycoming  were purchased  largely  by  Philadelphia  capitalists  and  speculators  from  all  quarters.  Some  of  these  capitalists and  speculators  were:  James  Strawbridge,  William  Bingham,  John  Keating,  Jacob  Ridgway,  Samuel  Fox, James  Trimble,  B.  B.  Cooper,  The  Holland  Company, The  United  States  Land  Company  and  others.     

 Now that  they  owned  these  lands,  and  that  their  titles  were confirmed,  they  wished  to  dispose  of  them  at  a  profit.  They  wished  to  induce  large  and  extensive  settlements.  In  order  to  do  this  it  was  necessary  that  the  Indian trails  through  the  forests,  and  the  paths  of  the  scout, the  hunter  and  the  trapper,  should  be  replaced  by  some sort  of  roads."

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The land had been given the Yankee Connecticut settlers, but it had, in some sort of mapping mistake, also been given to the Pennamites [Pennsylvania residents].  Both groups had a legitimate legal claim, and rather than seek legal recourse  [not an easy thing to do, especially when the two countries involved were at war....  ] to fix the mistake, both groups just fought each other over it, building homes and forts, then burning down the other sides homes and forts and building new homes and forts...   

The land they were fighting over had been purchased from the Indians, but sort of from the wrong Indians [I'm trying to make this less confusing and keep it short - but keep in mind that the Indians had their own territorial disputes, in addition to their dealings and disputes with the new settlers..] so the Iroquois happily joined the fight, on the British side.

This was a Revolutionary War battle, technically, and one of the bloodiest, but it was really more about a long festering argument between the Iroquois & Delawares, the Connecticut Yankees, and the Pennamites,  over the land of the Wyoming Valley.    Everyone was already fighting, and the British used that to their advantage.  

1949 Photo Quiz - Statues In Philadelphia

 

In 1949, The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a page of photos asking "How often have you passed unnoticed these statues of people of glory and achievement?  How many can you identify?"

ANSWERS:

Shikellamy, The White Man's Best Friend Among The Indians

If you stand near Fort Augusta in Sunbury and look across the river, you can see the profile of Shikellamy, carved by nature, into the mountain.  Shikellamy, an Indian chief, was appointed was vital in negotiations between the Indians and the Whites in this area.  He lived in "Shamokin" [Current Day Sunbury] in the 1730s and and 40s, and was buried in the old Indian Burial grounds, across from where his profile can be seen, near the site of what would later become Fort Augusta.

"... we desire to call attention to a singular freak of nature, which may be seen in the rocks of Blue Hill, when viewed from a certain position . Traveling up the river on the Sunbury side, and when at a certain point, the outlines of the face of the old Indian chief can be plainly seen , in profile, on the rocky side of the hill, a short distance above the bridge crossing the West Branch . The position of certain rocks is such that they outline his face, and the features are so clearly defined that they cannot be mistaken . Hea ppears to gaze serenely over a portion of the borough of Northumberland and the majestic hills beyond. That his rugged features should thus be preserved is indeed remarkable, and whilst it can only be regarded as the accidental production of a peculiar com bination of rocks, it must be accepted as a coincident which is as strange as it is suggestive."  - Otzinachson by Meginness, 1889

Although not as clearly defined as it once was, due to time and erosion, the profile is still visible.  In the 1930s men would climb the mountain to trim the trees there, saying that "Shikellamy did not have whiskers"

"Shikellimy, who figured so conspicuously in Indian history from the first appearance of the whites in this valley down to the close of his eventful life, was in some respects one of the most remarkable aborigines of whom we have any account, and it is much regretted that so little of his personal history has been handed down to us. He was an Oneida by birth , and Shikellimy was the name given him by the Shawanese." - Otzinachson by Meginness, pg 125

Erected as a memorial to Shikallamy, also Swataney, "Our Englightener", the representattive of the six nations in this proviince.  First send to Shamokin [Sunbury]  in 1728, appointed viceregent in 1745, 

Died December 8 1748 He was buried near this spot

This diplomat and statesman was a firm friend of the province of Pennsylvania"

Erected by the DAR in 1915, due to the efforts of Amelia Gross, who owned Fort Augusta at the time.

 "I wish I had been invited to attend the unveiling of my great-grandfather's [Shikellamy's] monument in Sunbury next week, but I guess that the world has forgotten Logan...... Next summer, if I live I hope to visit Logan Valley, where my grandfather resided, and view the scenes that my father loved to talk about. I would also like to visit Mrs. Gross, at Fort Augusta, who has done so much to honor Shikellamy's memory. I have lived a long while, but I am not tired of life, and each day seems new and pleasant to me." Statement of Jesse Logan, aged 106 years old and Great Grandson of Chief Shikellamy

The Ancestry, Or Origins, Of Shikellamy

"July 10, 1743 - He was of the Six Nations, or rather a Frenchman born at Montreal, and adopted by the Oneidas after being taken prisoner, but his son tole me that he [the son] was of the Cauyga Nations" - 

The Journal of John Bartram, who accompanied Conrad Weiser and Lewis Evans to Onondaga in 1743.

"When he was spoken to concerning baptism, he said that he had been baptized in infancy.  We were informed afterward that he was born of European parents in French Canada, taken prisoner when a chilce two years old, and brought up among the Indians.  He was so much altered in his way of life that he was hardly distinguished from the savages"

 - Dr Crantz, History Of The Bretheren, 1768

"The Six Nations called him Swatane. He belonged to the tribe of the Bear. When and where he was born is unknown, but it is likely that he first saw the light of day in some part of what is now the State Of New York." -  Otzinachson by Meginness, pg 126

His name is a much corrupted form of the Oneida chieftan title, Ongwaternohiat-he, meaning" It has caused the sky to be light for us".

The other name, Swataney, is a corrupt form of Onkhiswathe-tani - "He causes it to be light for us."

Shikellamy, before moving to Shamokin [Current day Sunbury] Shikellamy lived "one half mile below Milton on the Union County side".  See more here: https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/02/when-shikellamy-lived-half-mile-below.html

The Shikellamy Statue at the Conrad Weiser Homestead

One day Shickellamy said to Conrad Weiser, ‘I have had a dream. I dreamed that Tarachiawagon gave me a new rifle.’ Conrad, who owed much of his success to his strict observance of Indian etiquette (which believed all dreams would eventually come true), is said to have answered the dream with the rifle, and then to have spoken for himself. ‘I, too, have had a dream,’ he said. ‘I dreamed that Shickellamy gave me an island in the Susquehanna,’ and he indicated the Island of Que at the mouth of Penn’s Creek, on the site of what is now the town of Selinsgrove. The old chief, we are told, matched Weiser’s politeness, but, ‘Conrad,’ he said, ‘let us never dream again.’ - An old, oral tradition recorded in, Conrad Weiser, Friend of Colonist and Mohawk (p 52) by Paul A. W. Wallace

What Meginness had to say about the Dream story, From Otzinachson by Meginness, Page 127:

It is not believed that this story ever occurred . It is true, however, that the Isle of Que, on which a part of Selinsgrove now stands, had been owned by the old interpreter , and that it remained for one or two generations in the possession of his descendants ; but there is no proof that his title rested on a mere dream . On the other hand , it is true that Shikellimy had been very poor, so poor that Conrad Weiser interceded for him as an object of charity before the council at Philadelphia .

The following, however, is said to have been true: “ Conrad Weiser once sat residing on a log in his extensive forest land. An Indian came and sat down along him . Conrad moved to one side somewhat; the intruder pressed harder against Again Conrad made more room , but the Indian still moved after him . Then Conrad demanded an explanation of his strange and rude procedure. The Indian answered : “Thus the whites did to the Indians. They lighted unbidden on our lands.  We moved on ; they followed. We still moved and they still followed . We are moving onward now, and they are following after. Conrad , I will not push you off the log entirely . But will your people cease their crowding, ere we roll into the waters ? ' " - Life of Weiser, pages 106 - 7

The Life Of Shikellamy

Shikellamy was trained in war, and for his valor was rewarded by adoption into the Oneida tribe, of which he became Chief.  This was an exceptional distinction for one who was not a member of the tribe, and possibly not a full blooded Indian by birth.

Shikellamy was not present for the treaty with the Five Nations in Philadelphia.  The first conference he took part in was July 4-5 1728 in Philadelphia, but he does not appear to have taken any part in those proceedings. After a  similar conference in October of 1728, the council considered "what present might be proper to be made to Shikellamy of the Five Nations, appointed to reside among the Shawnese who services had been and may yet further be of great advantage to this government."

"At the close of a conference several years later [after 1728], the Governor having represented that Shikellamy was 'a trusty good man and a great lover of the English', commissioned him as a bearer of a present to the Six Nations and a message inviting them to visit Philadelphia. This they accordingly accepted, arriving August 18 1732.

Shikellamy was present on this occasion and he and Conrad Weiser were employed to transact business between the Indians and the Provincial Government.  He [Shikellamy] was a great friend of James Logan, and named one of his sons after this popular provincial officer"

"One of the Chief facts of his life as a viceregent of the Iroquois confederation was his great friendliness to the cause of the Moravian missionaries among the Indians.  All the prominent leaders of the Moravian Church who came to the Susquehanna region visited him at his home at Shamokin [current day Sunbury] and were kindly received.  Count Zinzindorf was among these and none was more favorably impressed with the old Oneida diplomat."

"He was truly an excellent and good man, possessed of many noble qualities of mind that would do honor to many white men, laying claims to refinement and intelligence.  He was possessed of great dignity, sobriety, and prudence, and was particularly noted for his extreme kindness to the inhabitants with whom he came in contact." - The Journal of Count Zinzindorf, 1742

"In the death of Shikellimy the whites lost the best and truest friend they ever had among the Indians in this lovely valley."

 - Meginness, in Otzinachson, 1899

A Profile of Shikellimy

From Otzinachson by Meginness, 1889,  pages 125-128

"The first we hear of him was in 1728 , when he was living on the West Branch. In 1737 he was living in his village, a short distance below Milton , on the west side of the river , the site of which is illustrated on page 62. At that time he appears to have been in the full flush and vigor of manhood. As he possessed an executive mind , and was recognized by his people as a man of much more than ordinary ability , his counsel was eagerly sought by the government of the Six Nations; and as this section of their confederation was somewhat hard to govern, on account of the various tribes inhabiting it , and the conflicting interests which had to be regulated , he was designated at an early period as leading sachem or vicegerent, and invested with more than ordinary authority . As early as 1745 he estalished his seat at Shamokin , as that place was recognized as the central or converging point. On account of his high standing and excellent judgment, his influence was courted by the Provincial authorities. So great was his love for truth and justice that he never violated his word nor condoned a crime. There was scarcely a treaty held for the purchase of lands, from 1728 to 1748,that he did not attend , and his wise counsels aided in amicable solutions of what sometimes threatened to be troublesome questions.

The acquaintance which Zeisberger made with him was care fully followed up by the Brethren and ripened into a friendship which ceased only with the death of the noble old chief. His  numerous trips as guide and interpreter with the Moravians show the great confidence that was reposed in him , and the high esteem in which he was held . He was also the warm friend and confidant of Conrad Weiser , and they were always fast friends. Many anecdotes are related concerning them . 

While on his last visit to Bethlehem , in 1747, he experienced the power of divine grace and made a profession of personal faith . He had been baptized in Canada, by a Jesuit father, many years before. Laying aside a Manitou, the last relic of his idolatry, he took his way rejoicing to his home on the Susquehanna. It was on the occasion of this visit that the Brethren , before his departure, presented him with a new blue cloth waistcoat, and a red one for his grandson. These tokens of love pleased him very much and he felt grateful towards the donors.

In the death of Shikellimy the whites lost the best and truest friend they ever had among the Indians in this lovely valley.

Loskiel, the historian, who knew him well, pays this glowing tribute to his character and worth :“ Being the first magistrate and head chief of all the Iroquois Indians living on the banks of the Susquehanna, as far as Onun daga , he thought it incumbent upon him to be very circumspect in his dealings with the white people. He mistrusted the Brethren at first , but upon discovering their sincerity , becametheir firm and real friend. Being much engaged in political affairs, he had learned the art of concealing his sentiments; and, therefore ,never contradicted those who endeavored to prejudice his mind against the missionaries, though he always suspected their motives. In the last years of his life he became less reserved , and received those Brethren who came to Shamokin into his house. He assisted them in building , and defended them against the insults of the drunken Indians; being himself never addicted to drinking, be cause, as he expressed it, he never wished to become a fool. He had built his house upon pillars for safety , in which he always shut himself up when any drunken frolic was going on in the village.

In this house Bishop Johannes Von Watteville  and his company visited and preached the gospel to him . It was then that the Lord opened his heart. He listened with great attention ; and at last, with tears, respected the doctrine of a crucified Jesus, and received it in faith . During his visit in Bethlehem , a remarkable change took place in his heart which he could not conceal. He found comfort, peace and joy, by faith in his Redeemer, and the brethren considered him as a candidate for baptism ; but hearing at he had already been baptized, by a Roman Catholic priest in Canada, they only endeavored to impress his mind with a proper a of his sacramental ordinance , upon which he destroyed a small idol, which he wore about his neck . After his return to Shamokin , the grace of God bestowed upon him was truly manifest, and his behavior was remarkably peaceable and contented. This state of mind he was taken ill, was attended by Br. David Zeisberger, and in his presence fell happy asleep in the Lord, in 1 assurance of obtaining eternal life through the merits of Jesus Christ."

"Being the first magistrate and head chief of all of the Iroquois Indians living on the banks of the Susquehanna as far as Onodaga, he thought it incumbent upon him to be very circumspect in his dealing with white people.  He assisted the missionaries in building, and defended them against the insults of drunken Indians; being himself never addicted to drinking, because, as he expressed it, he never wished to become a fool" - Loskiel

Shikellamy had built his house upon pillars, for safety, in which he always shut himself up when any drunken frolic was going on in the village.

"Half up these rocks, conspicuous in place

Times had has chisell'd Shikalamys face"

Shikalamy, from Legends Of The Susquehanna & Other Poems, by Truman H. Purdy

SHIKALAMY 

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EXPLANATORY 

The Six Nations of Indians were a confederation of six  powerful tribes, composed of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, and Senecas, to whom were added, in 1712, the Tuscaroras, with the Delawares as a conquered tribe, composed  of the Turkeys, Turtles, Wolfs, and Muncys. They ruled  the country from the St. Lawrence to the Carolinas, and  from the mouth of the Hudson westward beyond the limits 

of Pennsylvania. 

Shikalamy was the head chief, with his residence at Shamokin (now Sunbury), Pennsylvania. He was baptized by a Catholic priest in Canada, but afterwards became a convert under the preaching of Moravian missionaries from Bethlehem, — embracing their creed and faith. He married Nenaoma, 

a beautiful Indian woman, and had one daughter and three sons ; one of whom was Logan, who inherited the noble presence of his father, and whose family was murdered in 

Virginia by whites in 1774. A six years' war followed, at  the close of which he refused to ask for mercy, but made  instead that memorable address, in which he said, — 

" I appeal to any white man to say if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry and he gave him no meat, if ever he came cold and naked and he clothed him not. . . . For my country I rejoice at the beams of peace ; but do not harbor the thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear." 

Shikalamy was a just man, of great ability, a firm friend of the whites, and a constant adviser and promoter of peace. He died at Shamokin, in the full triumphs of Christian faith, in April, 1749, t and was buried with great solemnity in the old Indian burying-ground on the cape, at the east 

side of the junction of the Susquehanna Rivers, lamented by the English king, by provincial governors, and by the people whom he had so long and wisely ruled. War followed his death, and by 1796 the Indian titles were all extinguished, and the Six Nations emigrated to Canada and  the far West. 

This explanatory is followed by more than 20 pages including a poem, and illustrations, about Shikellamy.  See the entire selection here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/02/shikellamy-poem-illustrations-from.html

The Death Of Shikellamy

Shikellamy died on December17, 1748, with his daughter and Rev. David Zeisburger with him when he took his last breath. At the time of his death he was thought to be "65 or 68 years of age, which is quite old for an Indian"

Bishop Zeisberger and Henry Fry made him a coffin, and the Indians painted the body in their gayest colors, bedecked with his choicest ornaments, and placed with him his weapons, according to Indian custom.  Christian rites were then performed by the Bishop, and he was buried in the Indian burying grounds of his people, near the site of old Fort Augusta.

Shikellamy's son Unhappy Jake had been killed in the war with the Catawba in 1743.  Three sons and one daughter remained at the time of Shikellamys death in 1748:

The Daughter was the widow of Cajades, "The Best Hunter Among All Of the Indians" who had died the year before, November 1747.

Taghneghdoarus, or John Shikellamy, "who succeeded his distinguished father in authority but never gained the confidence in which he was helf by the Indians or Whites"

Tahgahjute, or Sauyghotowa, known as James Logan - "the most celebrated of the children of Shikellamy"

John Petty

"He had four sons: 1 , Tachnechtoris , a wide spreading oak , who was also called John, of the tribe of the Turtle ; 2, Arahhot;* 3, Sajechtowa , alias James Logan ; 4 , John Petty , named after a trader. We know that he had one daughter, for the Moravians inform us that she was present when he died. * In 1744 Shikellimy lost a son in the war with the Catawbas. Hewas called “ Unhappy Jake," and his father took his death “ very hard,” according to Weiser ,and the Governor sent him some small presents to " wipe off the old man ' s tears and comfort his heart.”' - Otzinachson by Meginness pg 126

1820 Painting Representing Shikellamy

Statement of Jesse Logan, aged 106 years old and Great Grandson of Chief Shikellamy
Cornplanter Reservation, Penn
October 9, 1915

"I was born on the West Bank of the Allegheny River, in the Cornplanter Reservation, in 1809, the same year as Abraham Lincoln. My father was John Logan, Jr., a Cayuga, the only surviving child of Captain John Logan, the oldest son of Shikellamy. My mother was a daughter of the Seneca Chief Cornplanter. My father after retiring from the war path, settled at Cold Spring, in the Allegheny Reservation, in New York State, where he died in 1844 aged 100 years. Early in life he married Annie, a daughter of Cornplanter, who bore him fine children, three daughters and two sons. The last were names Lyman and Jesse. When my grandfather was old he came to this Reservation, where he lived with my father until his death. To the best of my knowledge, he died in this reservation, and is buried near the grave of Chief Cornplanter. I married Susan, a Seneca maid, and we had one child, James Logan, who died at the age of thirty. He was named for my great-uncle, the immortal Cayuga orator. Physically, my father and my son were small men, much smaller than my grandfather and my great-uncle. I took after my grandfather, as I am of large stature. I remember Cornplanter, my maternal grandfather, very well. He was a large, strong man, not dark in color, and with grey eyes. He was a great man for work. Every morning, winter or summer, rain or shine, at six o'clock he would come out of his house and ring a big dinner bell as a signal for all to get busy. He wore a red cap much the same as the white hunters do now. I remember Philip Tomb, the great elk and panther hunter, who lived a mile up the river. I hunted elk with the famous Jim Jacobs many times. I was taught to hunt by my grandfather, who died in 1820. He was a very old man when I was very young, but I recall what he looked like. I killed hundreds of elk, many bear and deer, and quite a few panthers, the last in 1860. I have always been fond of sports. I walk two miles to town (Corydon) every time there is a baseball game. As a boy I excelled at the Indian games of long ball and snow snake. I love a joke and enjoy a good dinner. I use tobacco and liquor sparingly. I attribute my long life to my love of outdoor exercise and hunting and fishing. In my old age I am well cared for by my Indian friends, but regret that 'my blood flows not in any living person,' to use the language of my great-uncle James. There are many Logans in the Reservations in Pennsylvania and New York; some are descended from my brother and sisters, others adopted the name because of the honor attached to it. I wish I had been invited to attend the unveiling of my great-grandfather's [Shikellamy's] monument in Sunbury next week, but I guess that the world has forgotten Logan. I tried to fight for the white man in the Civil War, but when I got to Harrisburg I was sent back as too old. But I was a dead shot, and can still beat men one-quarter of my age with the gun and bow and arrow. Next summer, if I live I hope to visit Logan Valley, where my grandfather resided, and view the scenes that my father loved to talk about. I would also like to visit Mrs. Gross, at Fort Augusta, who has done so much to honor Shikellamy's memory. I have lived a long while, but I am not tired of life, and each day seems new and pleasant to me."

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For More Local History & Stories from the Susquehanna Valley
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

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A platform was erected on the Fort Augusta side of the river, for viewing the profile of Shikellamy.  For a few years, bands and other entertainment would perform on the platform.

At the mouth of Chillisquaque * Creek there was a small Indian village. Conrad Weiser, as early as 1737,made a journey up the river while en-route for Onondaga. On the 7th of March he writes in his journal:

An old Shawano by name Jenoniawano, took us in his canoe across the creek at Zilly Squache (Chillisquaque). On the 8th we reached the village where Shikelimo lives, who was appointed to be my companion and guide in the journey . He was, however, far from home on a hunt. Weather became bad and the waters high , and no Indian could be induced to seek Shikelimo until the 12th , when two young Indians agreed to go out in search of him . On the 16th they returned with word that Shikelimo would be back next day, which so happened . The Indians were out of provisions at this place . I saw a new blanket given for about one-third of a bushel of Indian corn.

Hon. John Blair Linn, in his Annals of Buffalo Valley, thinks there is no doubt but Shikellimy's village was located on the farm of Hon. George F . Miller, at the mouth of Sinking Run, or Shikellimy's Run, as it was formerly called , at the old ferry, one half mile below Milton, on the Union County side. The Reading Railroad now runs through where it probably stood.  It is abeautiful spot for a village, as it was protected on the north by a range of hills , with the river much narrowed in front, giving easy access to the Northumberland side.

On the other side of the river from Shikellimy's town, and nearly opposite the mouth of Buffalo Creek , on the Nesbit farm ,the early settlers discovered an Indian mound which had been used for burial purposes. It was twenty - five or thirty feet in diameter. When it was opened it was found to have a floor laid with flat stones, on which the bodies of the dead appeared to have been placed in a sitting posture. This was evident from the fact that the skulls all rested on top of the other bones. When the bones were exposed to the air they soon crumbled to dust. The tomb contained no implements of war, but a few rude stone pipes were found. On the summit of this mound an ash tree was growing, when it was opened, — more than fifty years ago , — which was hollow . The concentric circles in the solid part of the trunk showed it to be 70 years of age. The tree was probably much older and had grown on the mound after it was thrown up. When or by what tribe it was built is unknown. But that the

builders belonged to a pre -historic race there is no doubt.

* Corrupted from Chililisuagi, signifying the place of snow birds. - Heckewelder. Scull's map locates an Indian village of the same name at the mouth of the creek . Conrad Weiser says in his journal that when the old Indian ferried him in his canoe across the creek , he gave him some needles and a pair of shoe strings.

* In a letter from Tulpehocken , dated October , 1747, Conrad Weiser thus writes to Richard Peters, Secretary of the Province: “ Imust, at the conclusion of this , recom mend Shikellimy as a proper object of charity . He is extremely poor, in his sickness the horses have eaten his corn ; his clothes he gave to the Indian doctors, to cure him and his family - but all in vain . He has nobody to hunt for him , and I cannot see how the poor old man can live . Hehas been a true servant to the Government, and may, perhaps, still be, if he lives to do well again . As the winter is coming on, I think it would not be amiss to send a few blankets or match coats , and a little powder and lead. If the Government would be pleased to do it, and you could send it soon , I would send my sons with it to Shamokin before the cold weather comes.” This appeal had the desired effect and the following goods were sent in the early part of November of that year: “ Five strowd match coats, at seven pounds; one fourth cask of gunpowder, two pounds, fifteen shillings ; one-half cut bar of lead , one pound; fifteen yards of blue half- thick , two pounds, seven shillings and sixpence ; one dozen best buck hefted knives, nine shillings ; four Duffel match coats, three pounds- amounting to sixteen pounds, eleven shillings and sixpence.” One of these knives, found in his (supposed ) grave, is illustrated on page 59. The fever and ague was the prevailing disease at Shamokin at that time, and it is said by some writers that old Alumoppees , who robbed the Indian treasury and kept drunk for several years, actually shook himself to death . It is also surmised that Shikellimy died of the samedisease.