CHAPTER XXVI. CARLISLE, EARLY INCIDENTS, &c. Courts removed from Shippensburg; excitement occasioned: Firs county officers: Extracts from the Court Records, from the Commissioners' books, &c.: Carlisle laid out: O'Neal's letter: Indian treaty at Carlisle, 1753: Governor Morris at Carlisle, 1755: Braddock's letter and Governor's answer: Citizens of Carlisle alarmed: Indian treaty held here, 1756: Coi. Burd, Commissary Young, Col. Armstrong's letter, &c., extracts from their letters: Corporation of Philadelphia confers honors of distinction upon Col. Armstrong: Cherokee Warriors here, 1757: Col. John Stanwix encamps here: Indian John, alias Doctor John, killed: Citizens terror stricken: Armstrong's, Penn's letters, &c.: Bouquet returns captives: Affecting incident, Dec. 1764: Frederick Stump and John Ironcutter, rescued from jail, 1768: Attempt to rescue Col. James Smith, 1769: Boston Port Bill meeting, 1774: Promptness of the citizens in emergenies: Marsh Miasmata: Riotous gatherings in 1787: Washington and other distinguished officers at Carlisle, 1794: Reception of Washington, &c.: Volunteer companies of 1812. After the county had been erected, John Porter, Esq., was appointed Sheriff, and Hermanus Alricks, Esq. Clerk of the Peace; and the following persons as Justices of the Common Pleas of the county, by a commission bearing date March 10, 1749-50-Samuel Smith, William Maxwell, Geo. Croghan, Robert Dunning, Mathew Dill, Benjamin Chambers, William Trout, Hermanus Alricks, John Miller, Robert Chambers, John Finley, and Thomas Wilson. The court of Common Please and the criminal court were first held at Shippensburg, the oldest town, except York, west of the Susquehanna, within the Province of Pennsylvania. In 1751, after Carlisle had been laid out, they were removed to Carlisle, and at first held in a temporary log building, standing on the north east corner of the centre square. The Orphans' Court during 1750 to '55 was not fixed to any certain place, "but seems to have followed the persons of the judges-it was held at Shippensburg, Carlisle, and several other places. June 12, 1751, at Peterstown (Peters township, now in Franklin township)—January 4th, 1752, in Antrim township (Franklin county)-March 5, 1755, at William Anderson's; afterwards regularly at Carlisle. The removal of the court of Common Pleas, (or the county seat) from Shippensburg to Carlisle produced quite an excitement among the inhabitants of the western part of the county, and drew forth much complaint; especially from those of the Conecocheague and Falling Spring Settlements. Their complaints are set forth in the following petition presented to the Assembly in 1751: A petition from the commissioners and assessors of Cumberland county, in the behalf, and at the desire of the far greater part of the inhabitants of the said county, was presented to the house setting forth that a majority of the trustees, in pursnance of the act of Assembly, whereby that county was erected had made a return to the Governor of a plan at a branch of the Conecocheague creek, about eighteen miles from Shippensburg, by the Great Road to Virginia, praying a location for a court house and prison there, and withal submitting Shippensburg to the Governor's choice, which they were fully persuaded would have quieted the whole country, although it be north east of the centre: yet it has pleased the Governor, to remove their courts of justice of Le Tort's Spring, a place almost at one end of the county, there it seems intending the location of a court house and prison, to the great grief and damage of the far greater part of the county, and by means whereof the end of their being erected into a county can never be obtained; which was principally to free them from the very grievous fatigue and expence occasioned by their great distance from Lancaster; from which they hoped to be eased, but instead of ease their yoke is likely to be heavier, for being but few in number, it will be very expensive for them to erect and maintain a new county, especially if they are laid under such disadvantages as will ensue upon the placing of the county town at Le Tort's Spring, for it will always impoverish them to carry and expend their public money at the extremity of the county, where it will never circulate back again; it will also occasion great oppression to the poor to pay the costs of law suits by reason of far travel, as well as much prevent their annual elections, the poorer sort not being able to attend; that these difficulties will be much increased to those who may settle over the North mountain, in the Cove, or the Path Valley, when these lands shall be purchased; that it does not appear to them, that it will be to the proprietor's advantage, or the prosperity of the town of Carlisle, for it will necessitate the back inhabitants to traffic in Maryland to the damage of this province; and that they can easily make it appear, that no good wagon road can be had over the North mountain, until they go beyond Shippensburg up the valley, where wagons have already passed over without any cost or trouble in clearing roads, and which is withal the nighest way to Allegheny; that though they have made frequent supplications to the Governor on this head to no purpose, yet being still in hopes of relief, they had thought it best to defer building a prison, for want of which, escapes are made both by felons and debtors, to the great danger of the county. They therefore pray that this house would take their grievance into consideration, and grant such relief as to them shall seem most meet.-Votes Assem. iv. 190, 191. "Several citizens of the eastward of the county, on the other hand, denied, in a written communication to the Assembly, that no good road could be made over the mountain from Shippensburg downward, for that they had, in company with Daniel Williams, their representative, viewed and considered the Gap called Stevens', and were satisfied that as the whole ascent was but sixty or seventy pershes, by traversing it once or twice, ordinary wagons might have an easy passage over it. "The Governor, on his part, directed his Secretary to say to the Assembly that he never saw any paper from the Cumberland Trustees, such as referred to by the petitioners, and therefore admires at the boldness of the petitioners who must have asserted that part upon hearsay. Here this controversy tripartite seems to have terminated, and the courts remained at Le Tort's Spring, whither the Governor had removed them."-Charter, &c., of Carlisle. The following is a literal copy of the first record in the Court of Quarter Sessions: At a Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace held at Shippensburg for the County of Cumberland the twentyfourth day of July in the twenty-fourth year of the Reign of his Majesty King George the Second Annoq. Dom. 1750. Before Samuel Smith Esquire and his Bretheren Keepers of the Peace of our said Lord the King and his Justices assign'd to hear and determine divers Felonies, Trespasses, &c. The Sheriff returns the writ of Venire to him directed with the Panel thereto annexed and thereupon the following persons sworn on the Grand Jury, viz William Magaw, John Potter, John Mitchell, John Davison, Ezekiel Dunning, John Holiday, James Lindsay, Adam Hoops, John Forsyth, Thomas Brown, John Reynolds, Robert Harris, Thomas Urie, Charles Murray, Robert Meek. Dominus Rex VS Bridget Hagen Sur Indictmt. for Larceny, not guilty & now ye deft ret her pl and submits to ye Ct. And thereupon it is considered by the Court and adjudged that ye sd Bridget Hagen restore the sum of Six pounds seventeen shillings & sixpence lawful money of Penna unto Jacob Long ye owner and make fine to ye Governor in ye like sum and pay ye costs of prosecution & receive fifteen lashes on her bare back at ye Public Whipping post & stand committed till ye fine & fees are paid. The town of Carlisle was laid out, in pursuance of letters of instruction, and by the direction of the Proprietaries, a re-survey of the town and lands adjacent was made by Colonel Armstrong, in 1762. When the town was first located, it extended no further than the present North, South, East and West streets. All the surrounding country now within the borough limits was purchased back by Mr. Cookson from the settlers, for the Proprietaries, and was designed as commons. Subsequently, however, principally in the years 1798, 1799, and 1800, the "additional lots" and "out lots" were laid out and sold to the citizens, but not without the remonstrance of a number of the inhabitants, who held a town meeting on the subject, and declared that the original lots had been purchased from the Proprietaries upon a condition verbally expressed, that the Proprietaries' lands adjoining the town should remain for |