wallenpaupack historical society · wallenpaupack historical society volume 11, issue 13 february...

WALLENPAUPACK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

V o l u m e 1 1 , I s s u e 1 3

FEBRUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER

WALLENPAUPACK HISTORICAL SOCIETY

“ K e e p i n g t h e h i s t o r y o f L a k e W a l l e n p a u p a c k a l i v e a n d a c c e s s i b l e f o r p r e s e n t a n d f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s ”

On February 7 , p lease jo in Wal lenpaupack His tor ica l Socie ty in welcoming author and hi s tor ian J im Remsen for a d i scuss ion on J im’s most recent h i s tor ica l wr i t ing, Embat t l ed Fre edom . This program wi l l take p lace in honor of Black His tory Month. A nat ive o f Waverly, near Scranton, and res ident o f the Phi ladelphia area, author and for mer Phi ladelphia Inquirer edi tor on re l ig ion J im Remsen has researched and wri t ten two recent ly publ i shed works. Released on February 7 , 2017 by Sunbury Press, Embat t l ed Fre edom i s a thoroughly researched work of nonf ic t ion on the l i fe and t imes o f a g roup of remarkable fugi t ive s laves who f led north on the Underground Rai l road and found haven in Waverly, Penn. , in the middle 1800s. The work descr ibes how, despi te loca l skept ic i sm, a number of whi te v i l lager s and far mers protected the runaways wi th jobs, land and other mater ia l support , support ing the se t t lement known unt i l the 1920s as ‘Colored Hi l l ’ . During the Civ i l War, a dozen Afr ican-American men and boys le f t Colored Hi l l to jo in the Union Ar my. J im’s research revealed that not only d id the men f ight , but a l so how their bat t le f ie ld va lor changed whi te at t i tudes about black so ld ier s, even though af ter the Union’s v ic tory, rac ia l res tr ic t ions were present even in benevolent Waverly. J im’s prev ious work, Vis i on s o f Teaoga , publ i shed in 2014, i s a h i s tor ica l novel intended for middle school -aged audiences about Queen Esther, the t rue- l i fe Indian leader who in 1790 retur ns to Teaoga, the s i te o f her bur ned v i l lage, today ca l led Athens, Pennsy lvania . J im has a l so co-authored, wi th Judy Petsonk, T he In t e r mar r ia g e Handbook : A Guide fo r Je ws and Chr i s t i ans , publ i shed in 1988 and avai lable through Har per Col l ins.

U p c o m i n g H i s t o r i c a l P r og r a m s

Feb r u a r y 7 , 1 : 0 0 p. m . ( n o m e e t i n g s c h e d u l e d f o r Feb r u a r y 2 1 ) a t t h e E n v i ro n m e n t a l L e a r n i n g C e n t e r, H a w l ey

E m b a t t l e d F re e d o m b y J i m Re m s e n — i n h o n o r o f B l a c k H i s t o r y M o n t h —

A p r i l 1 8 , 1 : 0 0 p. m . a t t h e E L C, H a w l ey D i g g e r — O — D e l l , T h e Fr i e n d l y U n d e r t a ke r

A Histor y o f Teeters’ Funeral Cha pel and Teeters’ Fur niture The Apri l program wi l l be presented by Richard Teeter, a fourth generat ion owner of northeas ter n Pennsy lvania ’s o ldes t serv ice and reta i l bus iness. The program wi l l feature how the fur ni ture s tore and undertak ing bus iness s tar ted in 1849 — i t s h i s tory to the present era .

The annual January bus iness meet ing was cance l led due to snow fa l l , and has been rescheduled for February 7th. On the agenda are pass ing the 2018 budget and request ing s ign-ups for provid ing re freshments for the 2018 programs.

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Wallenpaupack Historical Society

• OFFICERS

Robert Essex, President Kristen Brown, Vice-President

and Newsletter Editor Jon Tandy, Secretary

Donna Stuccio, Treasurer •

DIRECTORS Arnold T. Anderson

Robert Ammon C. Richard Briden

Rolf Moeller Gertrude Schleiker

Bruce Taylor, Ph.D. R. Anthony Waldron, Esq.

Ann Wiedenman •

103 Manor Woods Court P.O. Box 345

Paupack, PA 18451 ( 570 ) 226 - 8980

WallenpaupackHistorical .org

Januar y business meet ing cancel led, rescheduled for Febr uar y 7th

Kr i s t en Brown/Wal l enpaupack His t o r i ca l Soc i e t y Not e : Many thanks t o J i l l Po r t e r f o r h e r r e f e r en c e s and pho t o s p e r ta in ing t o t h e S l o cum fami l y fo r t h i s a r t i cl e .

Much has been sa id o f Frances S locum, the l i t t le g i rl who was k idnapped by the Delaware at the age of f ive on November 2 , 1778 at her fami ly ’s home in present day Wi lkes -Barre. Frances ’ legacy has l ived on as the s tory of the g irl whose abduct ion resu l ted in a t r iba l l i fe wi th wi th at f i r s t the Delaware and later the Miami , the woman who spoke in the Nat ive American tongue and forgot Eng l i sh , and who at the age of 64 was reuni ted wi th her b ir th fami ly but re fused to leave her Miami t r ibe. Frances was the daughter o f Jonathan Slocum and Ruth née Tripp, Quaker s f rom Warwick , Rhode Is land who migrated to the Wyoming Val ley in the 1770s. Jonathan was a member of the Socie ty o f Fr iends, and upholding non-combatant pr inc ip les, cons idered himsel f f ree f rom the danger o f Indian at tacks. Jonathan’s ances tor Anthony

Slocombe i s noted as one of 46 “ f i r s t and ancient purchaser s” o f Cohannet , later ca l led Taunton, Massachuset t s, in 1637. Because o f the S locum fami ly ’s Quaker be l ie f s, Anthony’s son Gi les S locombe, bor n in Eng land, se t t led in Portsmouth, (Newport County ) Rhode Is land in 1638. Jonathan and hi s wi fe Ruth fo l lowed the ir father s Joseph Slocum and Isaac Tripp, who emigrated f rom Rhode Is land to the Wyoming Val ley in 1768 or 1769. Jonathan and Isaac Tripp were k i l led by the Indians in December 1778. Jonathan and Ruth’s ten chi ldren inc lude Judi th , whose husband Hugh Forsman was one of 15 men to escape s laughter at the Wyoming Massacre in Ju ly 1778; Gi les, who a l so escaped the massacre by swimming to Monockonock Is land in the Susquehanna; Ebenezer, who in 1798 s tar ted the f i r s t g r i s t -mi l l , saw-mi l l and whiskey d i s t i l lery at Deep Hol low, thereaf ter known as S locum Hol low and eventual ly named Scranton, Ebenezer constructed wi th h i s brother Benjamin the f i r s t i ron forge there, he constructed the f i r s t ever f rame

Fr a n c e s S l o c u m , a l s o k n ow n a s M i a m i t r i b e swo m a n

M a c o n a q u a h

Thanks to new and renewing member s

D. J. Roberts Alex and JoAnne Zidock

house in S locum Hol low in 1805, and hi s descendants inc lude the S locum and Porter fami l ies o f Paupack, P ike Co. ; and Frances, who was captured by the Delaware on November 2 , 1778 and whose s tory i s to fo l low. In 1830 Ebenezer ’s son Joseph marr ied Edi lda Bingham of Paupack, P ike County. Edi lda was the daughter o f Rodolphus Bingham and Sarah née Kimble, each of Paupack. Joseph inher i ted and purchased over s ix hundred acres o f land where centra l Scranton i s today, bui ld ing a for tune through the mining of coa l under neath and the bui ld ing of lo t s overtop of h i s land. Joseph’s son Joseph Warren marr ied Hannah Col l ins, and the ir son Joseph Kimble S locum of Scranton marr ied another Paupack res ident , Eunice Pe l le t t Kimble. Joseph and Eunice l ived at Eunice ’s home on Ans ley Road in Paupack. The house became known as the S locum house, and i s today the home of Joseph and Eunice ' s g randson Peter S locum Porter and hi s wi fe J i l l Porter. Eunice Pe l le t t Kimble, wi fe o f Joseph Kimble S locum, was a Paupack nat ive and the daughter o f Andrew Jackson ‘ Jack ’ Kimble and Nancy Genung Kimble née Pel le t t . Jack worked in lumber ing and wheel manufactur ing in Hawley. Jack ’s f i r s t wi fe Helen was Nancy’s o lder s i s ter ; Helen d ied of tuberculos i s in 1866 in Rock Co. , Michigan, where Jack and Helen had re located. Nancy trave led to Michigan to he lp Jack br ing home hi s two-year o ld daughter Addie, who went to l ive at the Pel le t t homestead wi th her aunt Nancy and g randmother on Ans ley Road next door to the future S locum house. Jack and Nancy marr ied in 1867. Their chi ldren cons i s ted of s ix daughter s, Cora Maude who marr ied Wi l l iam Edwin Bi t tenbender, Helen Marr who marr ied Artemus Ward Simons, Eunice Pe l le t t who marr ied Joseph Kimble S locum, Clara Bel le who marr ied James Garf ie ld Ki l lam, Anna Bur n who marr ied Emi l Gumble, but the o ldes t o f the daughter s was Adala ide ‘Addie ’ who marr ied At ley Bingham, and according to Dol ly Gumble Macdonald, the daughter o f Anna Bur n, Addie was “ the same as Nancy’s own daughter s.” Nancy Genung Kimble was the daughter o f Calv in Pe l le t t and Eunice née Kimble. They l ived at the Pe l le t t homestead on Ans ley Road, and af ter Eunice ’s death in 1871, the homestead was so ld to Marcus Napoleon Bonaparte Ki l lam of Paupack in 1873. In 1874 Jack so ld h i s property in Hawley and, a f ter the death of Peter War ner, purchased the house next door to the Pe l le t t homestead. According to Chri s t ine Macdonald Coutt s ’ 1977 hi s tory of the Pe l le t t house, “ the property now known as the S locum house was re fer red to in the h i s tory books as the Peter War ner p lace. Peter War ner was the v i l lage blacksmith and a good man. My mother [Dol ly Gumble Macdonald] can remember the remains o f the blacksmith shop when she was a young chi ld . I t was located on Ans ley Road across f rom the S locum house.” Joseph and Eunice S locum had two daughter s — Kather ine who marr ied Harry Simpson Jr, and Frances who marr ied Dr Richard Porter. Frances and her husband Richard l ived at the S locum house in Paupack. Frances S locum Porter was named af ter her th ird g reat -aunt , Frances S locum, whose s tory captured the hearts and minds of many of her day and the generat ions to come. Severa l parks and monuments have been named in honor of Frances S locum, and these inc lude Frances S locum State Park in Luzer ne County, Pennsy lvania ; the 30 mi le Frances S locum Trai l in Peru, Indiana; Frances S locum State Fores t near Peru, Indiana; and the cemetery where Frances i s bur ied named Frances S locum Cemetery which inc ludes a monument at her g raves i te. After surv iv ing the Bat t le o f Wyoming, Frances ’ father and re lat ives remained in Wyoming because they

The Peter Warner / Joseph Slocum House on Ansley Road, from the col lect ion of Jean Gumble Hansen

Joseph and Eunice Slocum, courtesy of J i l l Porter

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fe l t conf ident that the ir Quaker pac i f i sm would prevent any indiv idual at tack . Frances ’ brother Gi les was enl i s ted in the Cont inenta l Ar my and th i s caused suspic ion among the Delaware, who on November 2 , 1778 approached the cabin of the S locum fami ly, shoot ing Nathan Kings ley, a ne ighbor, and tak ing h i s sca lp. The Delaware found Frances h id ing under the s ta i r s and captured her a long wi th Nathan’s brother. Frances, age f ive, was kept the f i r s t n ight under a rock ledge a long Abraham Creek in what i s today Frances S locum State Park . In 1784 two of Frances ’ o lder brother s t rave led to Niagara to search for Frances. In 1787 they made a jour ney to Ohio. In 1789 there was a gather ing of Indians at Tioga Point (Athens, Pa ) , and they went there wi th the ir mother a l so. Searching s t i l l in 1793, 1797 and 1826 north and westward, the brother s asked about but d id not f ind Frances. In January of 1835 an Indian trader f rom Logansport , Indiana, named Col . George W. Ewing trave led to Deaf Man’s Vi l lage, north of Peru, Indiana, and was hospi tably rece ived at the cabin of Maconaquah (Li t t le Bear ) . Maconaquah was the widow of the Miami chie f, f i r s t named Shepacanah (The Awl , as in the sewing ins trument ) but was later ca l led Kakipshah (Deaf Man) a f ter he los t h i s hear ing. Ewing had been acquainted wi th the chie f. Af ter supper and when the other members o f the household had ret i red, Maconaquah became agi tated and sa id that she had to te l l her s tory, that she was o ld and weak, and could not d ie in peace, nor have peace in the sp ir i t world unt i l she conveyed her s tory. She then to ld Ewing in her Miami tongue that she was a whi te woman who had been carr ied away f rom home by three Delaware Indians when she was a l i t t le chi ld . She had los t her mother tongue, forgot ten her Chri s t ian name, but remembered that her father ’s name was S locum, that he was a Quaker, that he l ived on the banks o f the Susquehanna, not far f rom a for t , and that she had s ibl ings. The Indians had carr ied her pas t the g reat fa l l s , Niagara, and onto the Delaware towns of Ohio, and she was adopted by a Delaware chie f. Sources s tate that Maconaquah was t reated very k indly by her adopted parents, dress ing her in f ine moccas ins and beaded dresses, and ador ning her hair and paint ing her sk in . Some sources a l so s tate that she was eventual ly g iven in marr iage to a Delaware, but th i s marr iage was not a happy one and Maconaquah retur ned to her parents. One day Maconaquah and her parents found a wounded Miami ly ing on the g round, and they took him home and Maconaquah nursed him to heal th , and he became Maconaquah’s husband, later a Miami chie f. Maconaquah did not want Ewing to te l l her s tory — she was a fra id her whi te re lat ives would come and take her away f rom her home and chi ldren, but she was re l ieved that she could now die in peace. Ewing was conf ident that Maconaquah’s re lat ives would not re tr ieve her agains t her wi l l , and he wrote to the postmaster at Lancas ter, Pennsy lvania , a long the Susquehanna River, sugges t ing an inquiry through the newspaper s for a fami ly named Slocum. The postmaster who was propr ie tor o f the Lancaster Inte l l igencer d id not publ i sh the le t ter, but a f ter two year s a new edi tor ar r ived, found the le t ter and publ i shed i t immediate ly. I t appeared in a spec ia l ed i t ion conta in ing temperance documents mai led to c lergymen in August 1837, and was rece ived by Rev. Samuel Bowman, an Episcopal ian minis ter at Wi lkes -Barre. In September 1837, Frances ’ s ibl ings se t out to Indiana, came to Deaf Man’s Vi l lage accompanied by an inter preter, and they recognized Frances by the miss ing f inger nai l on her le f t fore f inger, an in jury she rece ived in Wyoming. Frances, age 64, was asked to re tur n wi th her fami ly, but her reply was, “No, I can not . I have a lways l ived wi th the Indians. The Great Spir i t has a lways a l lowed me to l ive wi th them, and I wish to d ie wi th them.” Frances ’ daughter s added the s tatements, “A deer cannot l ive out o f the fores t ,” and “the f i sh d ies quick ly out o f water.” Frances ’ s ibl ings had been rece ived wi th g reat fanfare, and they remained for three days. In 1846 Frances reques ted that her nephew, Rev. George S locum, come to l ive near her and provide counse l and ass i s tance. The treaty o f 1840 had removed most o f the Miami to the West , but a spec ia l reso lut ion by the U.S. Congress a l lowed Frances and her chi ldren to remain. Frances l ived unt i l March 8 , 1847, and her s tory became legend. George Winter (1809-1876) , bor n in Portsea , Eng land, i s known for h i s many portra i t s o f the Potawatomi and Miami t r ibes -members o f Indiana. Winter t rave led to Logansport , Indiana f rom Eng land in 1837 af ter he lear ned of the U.S. Gover nment ’s p lanned removal o f a l l eas ter n t r ibes to wes t o f the Miss i s s ippi . Winter ’s portra i t s o f Maconaquah and her fami ly are v iewable onl ine, and are the r ights o f Tippecanoe Co. His t . Assoc . Sources : Beer s, J.H. , Commemora t i v e B iog raph i ca l Reco rd o f Nor th eas t e r n Pennsy l van ia , Chicago, 1900; Brown, Nan Coutts, T he L iv ing His t o r y o f t h e Pe l l e t t Hous e , Paupack, 2009; Dunn, Jacob Piat t , Tr ue Ind ian S t o r i e s w i th Glo s sa r y o f Ind iana Ind ian Names , Indianapol i s, 1908; Phelps, Martha Bennet t , Franc e s S l o cum, T he Los t S i s t e r o f Wyoming , Wi lkes -Barre, 1916; S locum, Charles El ihu, A Shor t His t o r y o f t h e S l o cums, S l o cumbs and S l o combs o f Amer i ca , Syracuse, 1882; Tippecanoe County His tor ica l Assoc iat ion, Lafayet te, IN, T he S t o r y o f Maconaqua , t h e Los t S i s t e r o f t h e Wyoming , 1930s (e -archives. l ib.perdue.edu, George Winter Col lect ion) .

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