Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/39

 1868.] The Penn Treaty Ground and a Monument to William Penn. '19 amongst children too young to appear in the directory,] Israel Helm, Lace Andries, and Otto Ernest Cock, which resolved that " Captain Collier and Jus- tice Israel Helm go up from Upland, or Chester, [then the metropolis ( !) ] to Sachamexin, (whereat at present a great number of Simico and other Indians are,) and persuade the Simicos, the Susque- hannas, and these river Indians [i. e., the Delawares] to send each a Sacho- more, or Deputy, to his Honor the Gov- ernor at New York, to confer with him about their demands." — Du Ponceau. Fisher. Long before 1682, in 167*7, and later, a settlement at Shackamaxon had been formed by natives and by some Euro- peans from the colony of West Jersey. — Roberts Vaux. " Shackamaxon was an ancient Indian town. John Kinsey, one of the commis-' sioners sent to organize the government of West Jersey, died there, in 1677, soon after he landed." — Vaux. "In 1678, Lawrence Cock acknowl- edged, in open Court, a deed by which he conveyed to Elizabeth Kinsej' 300 aci'es of land in Shackamaxon." — Du Ponceau. Fisher. This Elizabeth Kinsey was probably the widow of the John j ust mentioned. Judge Peters, whose recollection dated back to 1760, wrote to Roberts Vaux, Esq., that "this Indian settle- ment, then deserted, was familiar to and esteemed by the natives." Extant documents tend forcibly to prove that this was, and had been for generations, the great place of resort for the abor- igines, not only of different tribes, but of different races, thus adding greatly to the importance of the localit}'. At or near it were council-fire and burial- ground, the latter especially holy in In- dian ej'es. It was presumably the sav- ages' treaty-ground, although a little prior to Penn's coming amongst them, their chief village, a very large one, was Cooper's Point, New Jersey, imme- diately opposite, across the river Dela- ware. This adds exceedingly to the sacredness of the spot. THE TREE. In the immemorial times, it had been occupied by a noble grove of ancient lofty trees, prominent among them the stately buttonwood, exceptionally grace- ful in foliage, while picturesque in stem, and the statlier, full-pleached, overarch- ing elm. Probably not the oldest, or the largest, but finest and foremost of these, in Penn's day, was THE GREAT ELM; distinguished among the forest giants, as men are distinguished among their fellows, by proportion, symmetry, and adaptation ; preponderant, as, in all respects, the best. "It stood," says Judge Peters, " upon a high, clean bank, with a fine area around it." Beneath the branches of this tree, gathered, on one side, the Indian Sachems, on the other, William Penn and a few influential friends, there to make "the Treaty, not confirmed with an oath, and never broken." "It stood opposite the house in which President Palmer resided in olden times," namely, the Fairman Mansion,which was constructed in 1702,*. for the use of Thomas Fairman, the Deputy of Thomas Holmes, the Sur- veyor General. It was taken down April 18, 1825. William Penn himself had wanted it. Governor Evans, after his term of office, lived there. Afterwards, Governor Palmer. Subsequently to Palmer, Mr. Thomas Hopkins occupied it for fifty years. In the same letter in which he desired to know whether this mansion could be had, William Penn mentioned he would remain permanently in Pennsylvania if the Assembly of the Province would give him £600 per an- num salary, as Governor. Among the early stated and official appointments for Quaker Meetings was one at Thomas occupied by the mansion. This will account for the ap- parent discrepancy of the date 1702.— Er>.
 * The house probably stood on the ground afterwards