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Description

Connecticut Lands Settlement in the Wyoming Valley

Manuscript survey map drawn by Jonathan Stevens delineating lands on the Susquehanna River in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, which had for over 50 years been the subject matter of dispute between settlers from Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and which led to  the two Pennamite Wars.

The lands illustrated on the map would appear to correspond with the area west of the Susquehanna River, including Martin Creek, Moneypenny Creek and Thurston Hollow, including parts of Eaton Township and Northmoreland Township.

The note on the verso indicates that the surveyed land was owned by the Bank of North America. The Bank of North America was a private bank first adopted on May 26, 1781, by the Continental Congress, and opened in Philadelphia on January 7, 1782 and became the Nation's first de facto central bank When shares in the bank were sold to the public, the Bank of North America became the country's first initial public offering. In 1787, it was re-chartered in Pennsylvania. In the first decade of the 19th Century, the Bank of North America was a thriving entity, with loan activities expanded to the western frontier, including the Wyoming Valley.

The lines shaded with green represent six tracts of Land Situate partly in the Township of Northmoreland one of the Seventeen Township in Luzerne County .  To the Alphabetical letters are placed the names of Original Warranties with the Quantity of Acres Contained in each of the Several tracts

Which have been Resurveyed betwix the first & 11th June Instant. Also the line of the said Township and the lines of Several of the Connecticut Claimants ??? so far as the Interf??? with the said six tracts have bee ascertained by atual Survey all the above mentioned lines Shaded with green have been & Marked  & the Corners describe in the Draught have all been found & are the Original Corners.

Surveyed and Examined by 

Jonathan Stevens

A second section reads:

The lines Shaded with red represent the Western Boundaries of the Tonwship of Northmorland.  the lines in Yellow the Connecticut Claims.   against the Numbers are placed the Claimant Name or Names so far as they have been ascertained.

The Claimaint names include:

  • A.  6.  Abraham Singer
  • B.  5  Philip Stine
  • F.  4  Frances Doering
  • C. 3  John MIlbeck
  • D. 2   Robert Husk
  • E .1  John Comer

Susquehanna Company

The Susquehanna Company was a land company formed 1753 in Connecticut for the purpose of developing the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. A tract of land was purchased from the Native Americans in 1754, and preparations were made for development. The company sought to raise support in England and Eliphalet Dyer was sent in an unsuccessful attempt to secure confirmation of the land grant. Colonization from Connecticut was first attempted in 1762–63.

The Wyoming Valley had been part of the land granted under the Connecticut Charter by King Charles II of England in 1662 to Connecticut for new settlements. On December 28, 1768, the Susquehanna Company in a meeting at Hartford, Connecticut made arrangements for the settling the Wyoming Valley lands. Plans were made to divide the territory into five townships, each five miles square. Each township would provide enough land for forty settlers and their families. These five townships were later named Plymouth, Kingston, Hanover, Wilkes-Barre, and Pittston.

When the settlers arrived in Plymouth, they found the land occupied by other settlers from the colony of Pennsylvania. It seemed that King Charles II had granted charters to both Connecticut and Pennsylvania at different times. The King knew very little about America and maps were very poor at that time. Both groups claimed the land. The Connecticut Charter was granted first in 1662, while the Pennsylvania Charter was not granted until 1681. Fighting soon broke out.

There were two Yankee-Pennamite Wars with the Revolutionary War in between. During the first Yankee-Pennamite War, two forts were built by the Yankees, one called Fort Durkee, located on the bank of the Susquehanna River close to the site of Wilkes University today and the other in Kingston, called Forty Fort. It was given this name because the first forty settlers that came from Connecticut built it. The Pennamite's took shelter in a fort located in Wilkes-Barre near the site of General Hospital today. After the major Battle of Nanticoke in 1775 the Connecticut settlers were able to hold and stay in charge of the valley.

After the Revolutionary War, settlers once again moved back to Wyoming Valley. The thirteen colonies were now thirteen states. Both Pennsylvania and Connecticut claimed ownership of the Wyoming Valley. Congress was asked to decide on the legal owner. A court was appointed to decide the case and after forty days, it was decided that Wyoming Valley belonged to Pennsylvania.

The decision did not settle who was to have ownership of the farms and homes in the Wyoming Valley The Pennsylvania government set up a commission and decided that the Connecticut people should give up their claim to the land and move to western Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania sent Justice Alexander Patterson with a band of Rangers to take charge. Patterson and his men were very unjust and took the belongings of some settlers and sent many valley people to jail. Eleven from Plymouth were arrested during one of Patterson's raids on the town. In 1784, his small army drove the settlers out of the valley by force. Without any food or extra clothing, they were forced to walk to the Delaware River. Hunger and hardship took the lives of some people.

The Pennsylvania government stepped in and sent Colonel John Armstrong to arrest Patterson and restore order. His first step was to disarm everyone including Patterson and his Rangers. As soon as the weapons were turned in, Armstrong arrested forty-six of the Yankee men, but nothing was done to Patterson. Open war broke out and Connecticut and Vermont sent troops to help the Connecticut settlers. John Franklin began to organize the Yankee men into an army. Armstrong and his men were driven out of the valley and Franklin burned Fort Wyoming.

By 1794, all of the fighting was over and Wyoming Valley became part of Luzerne County. The settlers became law-abiding citizens once again and the Yankees from Connecticut were assured that their claim to the land would be honored. 

Condition Description
Hand drawn survey map.