CHAPTER FIVE

_Fair Play Society_

The society of the Fair Play territory, between the year 1769 and 1784, was indeed simple. There were no towns or population clusters, either in the territory or within a range of some thirty-five or forty miles. Furthermore, as we have already noted, transportation and communication facilities were so limited as to make contact with the "outside world" an exception rather than the rule. As we have also seen, economic functions on this farmers' frontier were not highly specialized. Even the political system, with its tribunal of Fair Play men, operated without the benefit of any formal code.

But it would be easy, from these indications, to magnify the simplicity of the social structure and of social relationships in the West Branch Valley. If we are to consider the development of democracy on this frontier, we must take into account the various national stock groups who settled this area and, in so doing, weigh their relative economic and social status, the amount of intermarriage between them, and the ease and frequency with which they visited each other. These and other social relationships, such as their joint participation in voluntary associations, their prejudices and conflicts, and the assimilation of alien groups, must all be evaluated. The leadership, the existence of social classes, and the family patterns must, of necessity, be a part of our inquiry. And finally, the religious institutions, the educational and cultural opportunities, and the system of values have to be considered in arriving at a judgment regarding the democratic nature of Fair Play society.

Fair Play society was composed of Scotch-Irish (48.75 per cent), English (20 per cent), German (15 per cent), Scots (6.25 per cent), Irish (5 per cent), Welsh (2.5 per cent) and French (2.5 per cent) settlers.[1] Due to the pioneering conditions under which all of these national stock groups developed their "improvements," economic privilege was rather difficult to attain. Furthermore, even after the legislature granted pre-emption in the act of December, 1784, the grants were limited to 300 acres.[2] In consequence of this, massive holdings were impossible to maintain legally, as the customary holdings of two to three hundred acres indicate in the tax lists for the years after 1784.[3] In fact, the tax lists suggest that absentee-owners or persons outside the actual geographic limits of the Fair Play territory who participated with the Fair Play settlers were the only ones to possess 700 to 1,000 acres or more.[4] This fact, combined with the "subsistence farming" which all of the area settlers pursued, suggests a relatively comparable economic status for the members of the Fair Play society. Consequently, social status was not necessarily dependent upon economic status.

Social status on this frontier depended more upon achieved status than ascribed status. This may have been an influence of the Scotch-Irish, who judged, and thus classified, a neighbor by the size and condition of his dwelling, the care of his farm, the work done by the women in the family, his personal characteristics and morality, and his diversions.[5] Journalists, pension claimants, and the operative, although unwritten, code of the Fair Play men all give corroborative evidence in this regard.[6] Of all these criteria, personal character and morality seemed to have been most important. The Scotch-Irish, who, like the people of other national stocks, accepted social classes as the right ordering of society, shifted their emphasis, as a result of the frontier experience, from family heritage to individual achievement.[7]

Intermarriages provide a further key to the social relationships of the Fair Play settlers. If a small sample is any indication, the cases of intermarriages among the various national stock groups were relatively high, with better than one-third of the marriages sampled falling within this classification.[8] The fact that the Scotch-Irish frequently married within their own group was probably due to their being more "available" in terms of numbers. Industry and good character were the prime criteria for selecting a frontier mate, as Dunaway points out.[9]

The ease and frequency of neighborly visits is vividly demonstrated in the characteristically cooperative cabin-raisings, barn-raisings, cornhuskings and similar activities in which joint effort was usual. The women, too, exchanged visits and, on occasion, gathered at one place for quilting or other mutually shared activities.[10] Furthermore, the frontier journalists often noted the fine hospitality and congeniality of their backwoods hosts.[11]

Further evidence of the egalitarian influence of this frontier is found in the joint participation of Fair Play settlers in voluntary associations.[12] This is particularly noticeable in their attendance at outdoor sermons and involvement in the various political activities. At a time when fewer than 100 families lived in the territory, Fithian observed that "There were present about an Hundred & forty" people for a sermon which he gave on the banks of the Susquehanna, opposite the present city of Lock Haven, on Sunday, July 30, 1775.[13] Although William Colbert, a Methodist, later "preached to a large congregation of willing hearers" within the territory, he did not think that it was "worth the preachers while to stop here."[14] This may have been due to the fact that they were mainly Presbyterians. Colbert's reception was apparently fair for he makes a point of saying, "I know not that there is a prejudiced person among them."[15] No regular church was established in this region until 1792, so it appears that the settlers generally participated in group religious activities regardless of the denominational affiliation of the preacher conducting the services. However, as we will point out later, this is not to suggest that there was no friction between denominations.

The political activities of the Fair Play settlers demonstrate the mass participation, at least of the adult males, in this type of voluntary association. The annual elections of the Fair Play men were conducted without discrimination against any of the settlers by reason of religion, national origin, or property. In addition, the decisions of the tribunal were carried out, as Smith reports, "by the whole body, who started up in mass, at the mandate of the court."[16] Special occasions, such as the Pine Creek Declaration of Independence, were also marked by the participation _en masse_ of these West Branch pioneers. Mrs. Hamilton, in her widow's pension application, speaks of "seeing such numbers flocking there" (along the banks of Pine Creek in July of 1776).[17] Apparently, as Mrs. Hamilton says, most of the settlers "had a knolege of what was doing," particularly with regard to political affairs.[18]

These evidences of group participation in religious and political activities should not mislead one into thinking that conflict, legal or otherwise, was alien to the West Branch frontiersmen. The cases brought before the Fair Play "court" and the friction between Methodists and Presbyterians affirm this strife. The first settler in the territory, Cleary Campbell, was an almost constant litigant, both as plaintiff and defendant, in the Northumberland County Court from the time of his arrival in 1769.[19] His name, along with the names of other Fair Play settlers, appeared regularly on the Appearance Dockets of the Northumberland and Lycoming County courts. The cases usually involved land titles and personal obligations or debts.

The religious conflict is clearly seen in the journal of the Reverend William Colbert. An incident which occurred about twenty miles south of the West Branch illustrates this friction:

This is a town [present-day Milton] with three stores, three taverns, two ball allies. Agreeable to its size it appears to be one of the most dissipated places I ever saw. I could not tell how to pass them--I inquired at one of the ball allies if preaching was expected--A religious old Presbyterian standing by where they were playing answered that he did not know. I then asked them that were playing ball, they answered no. I farther asked them if they did not think they would be better employed hearing preaching than playing ball. Their answer was a laugh, that there was time for all things and that they went to preachings on Sundays. I told them they would not be willing to go to judgment from that exercise--they said they ventured that. So after a little conversation with the old man I left them ripening for destruction....[20]

Colbert's journal is filled with snide remarks and caustic comments about Presbyterians in general and Calvinist doctrines in particular.[21] He was especially concerned for the "lost souls" of the Presbyterians of the West Branch Valley. A twentieth-century theologian suggests that Presbyterian dogmatism had driven the Scotch-Irish to the frontier; this same problem complicated their social relationships in the backwoods country.[22]

The process of acculturation of the frontier was marked by the impact of the aborigines upon the new white settlers in terms of the developing style of life in the West Branch Valley. In fact, the culture of the Indian may have affected the white settlers more than theirs affected that of the Indian. For instance, Mr. Davy says that "the Dress & manners of the People more nearly assimilate to those of the Indians than lower down, but the purest English Language is universally spoken."[23]

The West Branch Valley was a new world whose experiences made new men, rather than a transplanted old world with its emphasis on heritage and tradition.[24] However, the English language and Scots Presbyterianism were basic ingredients in the melting pot of this and other frontiers where the American character emerged.

The social class structure of Fair Play society is rather difficult to assess. Extensive land holdings and material possessions were not characteristic of these "squatter" settlements. Consequently, property was not the distinguishing factor in stratifying the social levels of the Fair Play community. Furthermore, there was no slave population or indentured servant class to be confined to the lowest rung of the social ladder. Here, each man either owned his "improvement" or operated under some condition of tenancy. However, both indentured servitude and Negro slavery existed in the "New Purchase" of 1768 in nearby Muncy.[25] Thus, it was a two-class pattern, in the main, which constituted the Fair Play society--landholders and tenants. In addition, though, there was a further delineation within the landholding class on the basis of character and morality. This characteristically Scotch-Irish differentiation may have been due to the predominance of the Ulsterites in the West Branch population.[26] In consideration of this fact, a three-class structure, consisting of an elite, other landholders, and tenants, would best describe the social class system of the Fair Play territory.

The elite of the Fair Play society were generally the political and economic leaders as well. They owned the "forts," operated the gristmills, and held the prominent political positions in the vicinity. Surprisingly enough, though, they frequently resided on the fringe areas of the territory and were thus able to acquire more land.[27] A fuller description of this elite and its leadership is given in the next chapter.

The frontier family was undoubtedly the key social institution in transmitting this new "American" culture to subsequent generations. Regardless of national origin, the families were closely-knit, well-disciplined units, whose members formed rather complete social and economic entities. As we have already noted, the agrarian family had its own division of labor, with each member carrying out his assigned tasks and, at the same time, learning the practices and procedures of the farmers' frontier. It was also the cultural and educational core, in which its members learned their faith, received their education, and acquired the values which would serve them throughout their lives. Family loyalty was a marked characteristic on the frontier and, incidentally, among the Scotch-Irish. The woman's lot was severe but she accepted it with a submissiveness which can still be seen in some backcountry areas of Pennsylvania today.[28] Clannish and dependent upon each other, the frontier family had no use for divorce, which was practically unknown.[29] If the patterns and values of these frontier families tended to approximate those of the Scotch-Irish in particular, and they did, it was because the Scotch-Irish were representative rather than unique.[30]

The church was probably the second most important social institution in developing a system of values and a "style of life" in the Fair Play territory. Here again, the Scotch-Irish with their Presbyterianism provided the most significant influence, and ultimately the first regular church--although Methodists, such as Colbert, found little to favor in Calvinism. Almost without exception, the wills probated in the courts of Northumberland and Lycoming counties between 1772 and 1830 asked for burial "in a decent and Christian like manner," and committed the departed soul to "the Creator." A Christian life and a Christian burial were valued in this frontier society.

Due to the absence of regular churches, religious instruction was primarily carried on by mothers "abel to instruct," as Mrs. Hamilton put it.[31] Prayer, the reading of the Bible, and a rudimentary catechism were all a part of this home worship, conducted by one or both parents. Baptism and other sacraments of the church were provided by itinerant pastors who made their "rounds" through the valley. Presbyterians and, later, Methodists developed the practice of gathering together in their cabins in "praying societies."[32] Originally consisting of neighbor groups, these societies, in time, took in areas consisting of several miles.[33]

Itinerant pastors began to include the Fair Play territory in their travels in the decade of the 1770's. Philip Vickers Fithian learned from his host, Squire Fleming, that he was the first "orderly" preacher in the area.[34] Fithian's visit came about after he obtained an honorable dismissal from the first Philadelphia Presbytery--as no vacancies existed--in order to preach outside its bounds.[35] Although in the territory for only one week in the summer of 1775, Fithian's account of his Sunday sermon on the banks of the Susquehanna clearly describes the nature of wilderness preaching:

At eleven I began Service. We crossed over to the Indian Land, & held Worship on the Bank of the River, opposite to the Great Island, about a Mile & a half below 'Squire Fleming's. There were present about an Hundred & forty; I stood at the Root of a great Tree, & the People sitting in the Bushes, & green Grass round me.

They gave great Attention. I had the Eyes of all upon me. I spoke with some Force, & pretty loud. I recommended to them earnestly the religious Observation of God's Sabbaths, in this remote Place, where they seldom have the Gospel preached--that they should attend with Carefulness & Reverence upon it when it is among them--And that they ought to strive to have it established here.[36]

Fithian's recommendation was not carried out until 1792, when the Pine Creek Church was organized under the historic "independence" elm with Robert Love and a Mr. Culbertson as the first elders.[37] This church, along with the Lycoming Church, which was formed in the eastern part of the former Fair Play territory in October of that same year, was served by the Reverend Isaac Grier, who was called to serve Lycoming Creek, Pine Creek, and the Great Island, and ordained and installed by the Carlisle Presbytery, April 9, 1794.[38] He thus became the first regularly installed pastor in what had been the Fair Play territory.

It was not until 1811 that the Presbyterian General Assembly organized the Northumberland Presbytery, which serves West Branch Valley Presbyterians to this day. In the days of the Fair Play system the area was assigned to Donegal Presbytery, although in 1786 the Carlisle Presbytery was formed out of the western part of Donegal.[39]

Missionary efforts of Presbyterians in the Fair Play territory go all the way back to September of 1746, when the Reverend David Brainerd preached to the Indians of the Great Island.[40] But from that time until the opening of the West Branch Valley to settlement, following the first treaty at Fort Stanwix, nothing concerning the area appears on presbytery records. However, after the treaty one Presbyterian minister, the Reverend Francis Alison, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia and vice-provost of the College of Philadelphia, applied for land above the mouth of Bald Eagle Creek and was granted some 1,500 acres.[41] Alison never came into the region and, in fact, sold his entire purchase to John Fleming in 1773.[42]

Although Fithian was the first "orderly" preacher assigned to the West Branch, the Donegal Presbytery had received an application from "setlers upon the W. Branch of Susquehannah" for ministerial supplies (pastors) in the middle of April, 1772.[43] Apparently these supplies never reached north of present-day Lewisburg.

Presbyterianism, then, was the most significant religious influence in the Fair Play territory. Methodists and Baptists penetrated the region after the Revolution, but that penetration, although marked by some conflict, was not vital to the development of a system of values on this frontier during the period under study.[44] Furthermore, it was not until well into the nineteenth century that other Protestant sects established churches in the West Branch Valley.

The extent of that influence and the nature of this frontier faith were central to the development of Fair Play society. Since there were no organized churches in the area, the family was the key agency of religious instruction and service. This fact, combined with the impact of the Great Awakening, led to the freeing of the individual from the communal covenant, resulting in a secularization of religion which culminated in a kind of "predestined freedom."[45] Consequently, the political implications of American Presbyterianism, which had the largest church membership in colonial Pennsylvania and the strongest affiliation on this frontier, were demonstrated in the democratic radicalism which the frontier spawned. Political maturity, that is to say, independence, was a logical evolution from religious emancipation.[46]

In addition to the political implications of Presbyterianism, respect for education was a significant factor in the value structure of this frontier. The probate records of this period are filled with examples of the great desire to see the "children schooled," and specific educational instructions were often included in the wills.[47] The Presbyterian emphasis upon an educated ministry suggests that this reverence for education may also have been an education for reverence. Morality, education, and political equality and freedom--these were the basic tenets of this frontier faith.

Despite the high value placed upon education, the educational and cultural opportunities on this frontier, as on others, were extremely limited. Aside from home instruction and the occasional visit of an itinerant pastor, formal education was a luxury which these pioneers could not yet afford. However, earlier historians of the West Branch refer to the existence of a "log school" at "Sour's ferry" in 1774.[48] Instruction in the "three R's," enforced with strict discipline, was given here a few months out of the year. A Presbyterian preacher who came into the region and stayed was the first teacher. Educational opportunity was extremely limited but education was highly respected.

Books, too, were a luxury in the West Branch Valley. Although some of the wills of Fair Play settlers indicate the importance of books by mentioning them specifically, there was no common library from which the settlers could draw. However, Fithian's _Journal_ contains a note that he "reviewed the 'Squires Library"; so we do know of at least one library in the territory. Its accessibility for most of these pioneers is, of course, another question.

Frontier art was mainly functional. Its objects were generally the furniture, the tools and weapons, and the implements of the household. Individual expressions of creative talent, these items, whether they were designs on the rifle stock or styles of tableware, were outlets of artistic demonstration. Probably the most prized and picturesque of the frontier folk arts was the making of patchwork quilts.[49] Although we have found no "Fair Play" pattern, we do know that the women of every frontier household sewed, and, because of the demand for bed quilts, every scrap was saved for the quilt-making. Colbert's _Journal_ tells of his dining at one Richard Manning's "with a number of women who were quilting."[50] Quilting parties were social events in the lives of these frontier women, and their _objets d'art_ were fully discussed from patterns and designs down to the intricate techniques of needlecraft. Perhaps the patchwork quilt is the enduring legacy of frontier folk art.

The music of the frontier was primarily vocal--the singing of hymns and, possibly, folk songs. Instrumental music was confined to the fiddle, which one Fair Play settler felt valuable enough to mention in his will.[51] The fiddle also provided the musical background for the rollicking reels and jigs which the Scotch-Irish enjoyed so much.[52] That it was a hard life is certainly true, but it had its happy moments and music was the source of much of that happiness.

Medical practices throughout the frontier were primitive, to say the least, and the West Branch Valley was no exception. A diary of a minister in the Susquehanna Valley around Lancaster provides specific examples of the purges, blood-letting, and herb concoctions which the frontier settler endured in order to survive.[53] In spite of the liberal use of spirited stimulants, ailing frontiersmen often suffered violent reactions both from their illnesses and their cures.

Although the Fair Play settlers of the West Branch Valley doubtless had their own mythology and folklore, most of it was passed on by word of mouth; as a result, little of record remains. The Revolutionary pension claims are filled with tales of the courage and patriotism of the stouthearted men and women of this frontier. A frequent claim is that the measures taken to defend Fort Augusta, after the Great Runaway, urged by Fair Play settlers who had fled to that point, saved the frontier and made independence a reality.

Perhaps the best-known story is that of the "independence elm" on Pine Creek. However, as a recent writer suggests, the story of the "Pine Creek Declaration" may refer merely to the reading of a copy of the national declaration rather than to a separate document drawn up by the inhabitants of this frontier.[54] Mrs. Hamilton's testimony to the event notwithstanding, no copy of the declaration has ever been found.

Another tale concerns the frequent reference to the upper Pine Creek area as "Beulah Land."[55] It seems that a circuit rider singing hymns approached a camp up Pine Creek in the Black Forest. Later, asked to sing, he offered the familiar "Beulah Land." Still later, he met with an accident between Blackwell and Cammal resulting in his death. The entertained were his mourners. Subsequently, they kept his name alive by singing the old hymn to such an extent that the name "Beulah Land" became attached to this region on Pine Creek.

Frontier life afforded little leisure time so that recreation was generally economically oriented or related to some household task. In addition, wrestling, foot-racing, jumping, throwing the tomahawk, and shooting at marks were popular sports.[56] But drinking was probably the most common frontier recreation. It has been said that the Scotch-Irish made more whiskey and drank more of it than any other group.[57] Everyone drank it, even the ministers. In fact, the tavern preceded the church as a social center in the West Branch Valley.[58] Moderation, however, was the rule; excessive drinking was frowned upon.[59]

The value system of Fair Play society can be analyzed in terms of the expressed ideals and beliefs, the conduct, and the material possessions of the pioneers who settled along the West Branch during this period. Journalists, diarists, and pension claimants offer recorded evidence of the ideals and beliefs of these settlers. Their actual behavior gives us some understanding of conduct as value. And finally, the probate records of the Northumberland and Lycoming County courts contribute some documentation concerning the material values of these frontier inhabitants. The result was a society dedicated to the idea of progress and oriented to a future of political and social equality and economic opportunity.

A firm conviction concerning the right of property, that is, the right of individual private ownership, was developed early in the American experience in Virginia and Massachusetts and was reinforced by the experience of successive frontiers, of which the Fair Play territory was one. This is noted particularly in the pride in individual "improvements" and the vigorous assertion of property rights before the Fair Play tribunal and, later, in the regular courts. The large Scotch-Irish population on this and other frontiers characteristically asserted this view. Motivated by a spirit of individualism and the desire for a better way of life, the Fair Play settlers found land ownership basic to the accomplishment of their desired ends.[60]

In conjunction with the policy of private land ownership, the support of squatters' rights tended to emphasize the equality of achievement rather than that of ascription. No man's position was ascribed in the Fair Play territory--he had to earn it. However, as we noted earlier, the pioneer farmer had to obtain the approval of his neighbors in order to settle in the area; but no evidence exists to show that this approval was in any way dependent upon social class or national origin. Furthermore, the annual election of the Fair Play men by the settlers, along with their rotation in office, gave a fair measure of political equality, which was reflected in the decisions of the tribunal affecting land claims.

The hospitality of the Fair Play settlers is particularly stressed by the journalists who traveled in the West Branch Valley.[61] Despite the limitations of rooms and furnishings, the frontier cabin was ever open to the weary traveler, and spirited conversation and beverages were always available to revive him. Good food and fine friends could be found on the frontier. The frontiersman took great pride in his hospitality. Dependent upon outside travelers for news, the latest remedies for ailments, and mail, the inhabitants of the frontier opened the doors of their cabins and their hearts to visitors. Taken into a home, the weary traveler often found himself treated to the best in food and comfort which the limitations of the frontier permitted. Generally sharing the one-room cabin, like any member of the family, he soon learned that he was a welcome guest rather than a stranger in their midst. The loneliness of the frontier stimulated the hospitality of the frontiersman.

Although no "frontier philosophy," as such, existed, the conduct of its inhabitants demonstrated their faith, their patriotism, their spirit of mutual helpfulness, and their temperance. The pioneer was not a philosopher or a thinker, because the rigorous struggle for survival, which was his, did not permit the leisure to develop these traits. He was a doer whose values and beliefs were reflected in his behavior.

The favorable, but not always eager, reception of itinerant pastors, the religious instruction which took place in the home, and the frequent references to "the Creator" in the wills testify to the relevance of faith in influencing the character and behavior of these early Americans. Faith was not only relevant but also a matter of choice, and freedom of worship was practiced on this frontier. Here again, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian influence may have been significant.[62]

Patriotism, with few exceptions, was characteristic of the frontier. But loyalty to what? On this frontier it seems to have meant devotion to an America which developed through New World experience. Like Topsy, "it jus' growed," and no frontiersman wanted it taken away. The enthusiastic reception of the Declaration of Independence by the Fair Play settlers combined with the legend of their own resolutions on the question indicate this patriotic feeling. Despite their political differences with the settled areas, the West Branch pioneers were overwhelmingly loyal to the patriot cause in the American Revolution.[63] Their loyalty, however, was more to the ideal of freedom, or "liberty" as they termed it, than to any organization or state. They believed in and supported the liberty which their own hard work and the circumstances of the frontier had made possible.

Mutual helpfulness was essential to survival in the wilderness and valued among its pioneers. Cabin-raisings, cornhuskings, harvesttime, and quilting parties are just a few examples of this spirit in action. Individualistic in his approach, the frontier farmer realized the need for neighborly support and appreciated its offer.

In spite of the availability of a more-than-adequate supply of spirited liquid refreshment, temperance was both commended and respected on this Pennsylvania frontier. One historian points out that there was probably less drunkenness on the frontier than there was in eastern Pennsylvania, where it was not unusual for young men to get drunk at the taverns or to drink themselves under the table at weddings or at other social functions.[64] Drunkards were few and generally despised on the frontier.[65]

Material values, in a society where possessions, beyond the land itself and the rude cabin built upon it, are limited, are best gleaned from the probate records, which listed the prized possessions of this frontier community. Beds and bedsteads are the items which appear most frequently in the wills of the Fair Play settlers. Occasionally, the ultimate in frontier affluence is reached in the form of a "feather Bed."[66] Beds, or feather beds, and bedsteads were so highly valued as pieces of furniture that they were often passed on to the daughters, serving as a substantial part of their dowries.[67] Surprisingly enough, the widow often received "the room she now sleeps in" or, "her choise of any one room in the house." This is not so amazing, however, when one realizes that additional rooms beyond the original one-room cabin quite logically became highly valued. Pewterware was the silver of the frontier, and, if the probate records are any indication, there was little of it and no silver. Aside from references to furniture such as spinning wheels, bureaus, tables, and chairs, and these not too regularly, it is quite evident that material possessions were few.

What then was the nature of Fair Play society? The frontier, by its very nature, had an egalitarian influence which is readily apparent from this analysis of the "style of life" along the West Branch. A relative political and social equality existed in this land of economic opportunity where faith, patriotism, helpfulness, and self-determination were the outstanding traits. The frontier brought the democratizing role of achievement to the fore in American life, and the Fair Play settlers were an excellent example.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _See_ Chart 1 in Chapter Two.

[2] Smith, _Laws_, II, 195.

[3] _Pennsylvania Archives_, Third Series, XIX, 557-805.

[4] For example, in the County Assessments for 1781, _Pennsylvania Archives_, Third Series, XIX, 468, 484, the individual holdings of resident property owners range from 50 to 1,500 acres, whereas non-residents' range from 200 to 13,000. Only six of thirty residents showed property in excess of 325 acres and four of these had 550 acres or less. The two large landowners were peripheral Fair Play residents. Subsequent tax lists indicate that non-residents eventually sold their property in sections.

[5] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 262.

[6] _Fithian: Journal_ (1775) and _Journal of William Colbert_ (1792-1794). These journals of the first regularly assigned itinerant pastors, Presbyterian and Methodist, to the West Branch Valley, contain numerous references concerning the personal character and morality of the settlers. In the Hamilton Papers of the Wagner Collection of Revolutionary War pension claimants, p. 11, Mrs. Hamilton writes to the Honorable George C. Whiting, Commissioner of Pensions, on Dec. 16, 1858: "I believe they were people of clear sound mind, just, upright, morrall, religious, and friendly to all. I should say they came nearest to keeping the commandment, love your nabour as yourself, then any people I ever lived among."

[7] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 269.

[8] Helen Herritt Russell, "The Documented Story of the Fair Play Men and Their Government," _The Northumberland County Historical Society Proceedings and Addresses_, XXII (1958), 16-43. Mrs. Russell, whose genealogical studies were the basis of Chart 1 in Chapter Two, notes 24 marriages among the 80 names, 9 of which were intermarriages of different national stocks. Of the 24 marriages, 9 were between Scotch-Irish couples. Intermarriages produced 5 English-Scotch-Irish couples, 2 German-Scotch-Irish, 1 Welsh-Scotch-Irish, and 1 German-English. The intermarriages appear to follow the national stock percentages in the population. This would suggest that the intermarriages were a matter of choice rather than of necessity.

[9] Dunaway, _The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania_, p. 198.

[10] _Journal of William Colbert_ (1792-1794). This entry for Thursday, Sept. 5, 1793, is from a typescript belonging to Dr. Charles F. Berkheimer, of Williamsport. The original is in Chicago at the Garrett Biblical Seminary.

[11] Here again, Fithian, Colbert, and Mr. Davy all mention the friendly reception which was theirs on this frontier. Davy, in an entry for Oct. 10, 1794, p. 265, says, "In the Winter Sleighs are in general use on the Rivers & on Land & it is time of Visiting & Jollity throughout the Country."

[12] _Journal of William Colbert_, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 1792. Here the Reverend Colbert refers to the existence of a class in religion among the group of Presbyterians, although the prospects appear none too favorable. In fact, he says, "I had no desire to meet the class, so disordered are they, therefore omitted it." Quarterly meetings of Methodists were also held in the West Branch Valley, as Colbert notes in his journal for Saturday, Sept. 15, 1792, and Saturday, Sept. 7, 1793. In 1792, Colbert remarks that "Our Quarterly Meeting began at Joshua White's today." The following year he wrote that "brother Paynter and I have to hold a Quarterly meeting at Ammariah Sutton's at Lycommon." Each of these instances indicates the presence of some sort of voluntary religious association. However, it must be recalled that Fithian mentioned no such classes or meetings extant during his visit in July of 1775.

[13] _Fithian: Journal_, pp. 80-81.

[14] _Journal of William Colbert_, Thursday, Oct. 17, 1793, and Saturday, Aug. 18, 1792.

[15] _Ibid._, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 1793.

[16] Smith, _Laws_, II, 195.

[17] Muncy Historical Society, Wagner Collection, Hamilton Papers, p. 10.

[18] _Ibid._

[19] _See_ the Appearance Dockets Commencing in 1772 for Northumberland County and 1795 for Lycoming County.

[20] _Journal of William Colbert_, Monday, June 18, 1792.

[21] _Ibid._, Saturday, Aug. 4, 1792: "Calvinist must certainly be the most damnable doctrine upon the face of the globe." Sunday, July 29, 1792: "Here for telling the people they must live without sin, I so offended a Presbyterian, that he got up, called his wife and away he went." Sunday July 22, 1792: "... in the afternoon for the first time heard a Presbyterian at Pine Creek.... He is an able speaker but could not, but, Calvinistic like speak against sinless perfection." Monday, Aug. 20, 1792: "... rode to John Hamilton's in the afternoon. Here the unhappy souls [Presbyterian Fair Play settlers] that were joined together in society, I fear are going to ruin." Thursday, Oct. 17, 1793: "I went to John Hamilton's on the Bald Eagle Creek spoke a few words to a few people: I do not think that is worth the preachers while to stop here."

[22] F. B. Everett, "Early Presbyterianism along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River," _Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society_, XII (1927), 481. According to the Reverend Mr. Everett, whose article also appeared in the Montgomery _Mirror_ for Oct. 27, 1926, the Scotch-Irish, with the Anglicans, were the dogmatists of Pennsylvania. The Quakers and Pietistic German sects were anti-dogmatic. Dogmatically adhering to his catechisms, the Scotch-Irishman "resented the aspersions cast upon dogma and creed." The frontier gave him freedom from the Quakers who still considered Presbyterians as those "who had burnt a Quaker in New England from the cart's tail, and had murdered other Quakers."

[23] "Mr. Davy's Diary," p. 259.

[24] Thomas J. Wertenbaker, _The First Americans, 1607-1690_ (New York, 1927). Wertenbaker's first chapter, "A New World Makes New Men," develops this thesis generally for the American colonial experience, and, as Turner said, those first colonies were the first frontier.

[25] Clark, "Pioneer Life in the New Purchase," pp. 28, 63. Clark notes that indentured servitude appeared in Muncy, where Samuel Wallis' great holdings made such service feasible. He also mentions Wallis' ownership of slaves, verified by the Quarter Session Docket of 1778. Wallis freed two Negro slaves, Zell and Chloe, posting a £30 bond that they would not become a charge on the township.

[26] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 262. _See also_ Dunaway, _The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania_, pp. 180-200.

[27] These "fringe area" participants in Fair Play society actually resided, for the most part, in Provincial territory and hence enjoyed greater stability and more land.

[28] Calhoun, _A Social History of the American Family_, I, 207.

[29] _Ibid._

[30] Leyburn, _The Scotch-Irish_, p. 271. Leyburn points out that since the Scotch-Irish were never a "minority," in the sense that their values differed radically from the norms of their areas of settlement, they never suffered the normlessness which Durkheim calls anomie--the absence of clear standards to follow. As Leyburn states it,

Anomie was an experience unknown to the Scotch-Irishman, for he moved immediately upon arrival to a region where there was neither a settlement nor an established culture. He held land, knew independence, had manifold responsibilities from the very outset. He spoke the language of his neighbors to the East through whose communities he had passed on his way to the frontier. Their institutions and standards differed at only minor points from his own. The Scotch-Irish were not, in short, a "minority group" and needed no Immigrant Aid society to tide them over a period of maladjustment so that they might become assimilated in the American melting pot.

This, however, is not to suggest that minorities are necessarily anomic. The Jews, for example, were always a cultural minority in Europe, yet they adhered intensely to their own cultural norms.

[31] Muncy Historical Society, Wagner Collection, Hamilton Papers, p. 10.

[32] J. E. Wright and Doris S. Corbett, _Pioneer Life in Western Pennsylvania_ (Pittsburgh, 1940), p. 142.

[33] _Ibid._ The existence of these "praying societies" is further substantiated in Colbert's _Journal_. During these services, lay persons gave exhortations or assisted Colbert in some fashion.

[34] _Fithian: Journal_, p. 76.

[35] Robert S. Cocks, _One Hundred and Fifty Years of Evangelism, The History of Northumberland Presbytery 1811-1961_ (n. p., 1961), p. 2.

[36] _Fithian: Journal_, pp. 80-81.

[37] Joseph Stevens, _History of the Presbytery of Northumberland, from Its Organization, in 1811, to May 1888_ (Williamsport, 1888), p. 38.

[38] _Ibid._, p. 18.

[39] Cocks, _One Hundred and Fifty Years of Evangelism_, p. 2.

[40] Guy S. Klett, "Scotch-Irish Presbyterian Pioneering Along the Susquehanna River," _Pennsylvania History_, XX (1953), p. 173.

[41] _Ibid._, p. 174.

[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.