9 1 4 6 GIONAL L BRA S 6 -^ 2 LIBRARY UNIVfRSITV Of CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO . fHE UNIVERSITY LlbKAKY ONiyERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DJEGU ^ JOLLA. CALIFORNIA 7 ,Jii|flf 3 1822 01 2^*^ . Social Sciences & Humanities Library University of California, San Diego Please Note: This item is subject to recall. Date Due NOV ItS'/UUI CI 39 (5/97) UCSD Lib. r LIBRARY UNlVfTtsiiy Of CALIfORNi/ SAN or The Story OF Some French Refugees AND THEIR "AZILUM" 1793-1800 BY Louise Welles Murray Corresponding Secretary Tioga Point Historical Society. ATHENS, PENN'A. "Ye Shapes and Shadows of the I'lisi Rise from your graves. Revisit your familiar haunts nKain, Let us tieliolil your faces, Let us hear the words you uttered." 1903 Copyright 1903 By Tioga Point Historical Society. In tnemoriam, €li2al?ctD £aportc. Only 250 copies of this book have been Printed, of which this is 7iut?iber /•-^/ Preface. The fact that the story of Asylum has been neglected by general American historians should be sufficient reason for having it published in an enduring form. Of late years not a few imperfect and inaccurate accounts have appeared in various magazines and newspapers, and it has seemed that the time has come to gather and publish every bit of the perishing story. The mother of the writer, Elizabeth Laporte, lived with her grandfather, Bartholemew Laporte, for eleven years before his death, and with his wife eighteen years. Not long before her death she requested the writer to take notes from her recollections for the benefit of her children. She also had drawn, from her description, an interior plan of the great house in which she was born, and gave a full description of exterior and surroundings. She requested the writer to record the story of Asylum, and, in loving memory of her fondness for all connected with it, it has been done. The truth of several of her statements hu.s only recently been admitted by those interested in Asylum. But they are here recorded as she had them from Bartholemew La- porte. By careful research for eight years these recollections have been added to, and the writer has become possessed of various records, bits of memoirs, «&c., not hitherto published; of special value being those of John Keating, which reveal various facts not previously known by the students of the his- tory of Asylum. By far the most helpful papers in establishing dates and correcting complicating statements are some receipt- ed accounts signed by some of the most prominent men in the colony. These papers were found in a collection made by the late Edward Merrick, and were presented to the writer by his son, Jackman Herrick. Diligent incjuiry elicits the fact that the French descendants of the prominent founders of Asylum seem never to have heard —5— of it, and we must infer that it was but an episode in the chequered life of an active Frenchman in those stormy Revolu- tionary days. In the case of de Noailles this ignorance of Asy- lum was no doubt due to the fact that he never returned to France, but entered the army in service in the West Indies, where he lost his life. In addition to personal research the writer has had the bene- fit of the work of Rev. David Craft, the first historian of Asy- lum. Thanks are also due to the descendants of Laporte, Homet, Lefevre and d'Autremont, especially Mr. Charles d'Au- tremont, for maps, letters, portraits and genealogical data; to Mr. J. Percy Keating for memoirs and portraits; to Mr. Julius Brown and sister, Mrs. Charlotte Pierce, for drawings and de- scriptions of the great house in which they had lived; to Mr. J. A. Biles, surveyor, for valuable information ; to Mr. Edward Welles for copies of Hollenback letters and helpful assistance; to Mr. Frank R. Welles for researches in Paris libraries; to Mr. John W. Jordan of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; and to B. S. Russell for reminiscences of conversations with Judge Laporte. In research and arrangement the writer has received some as- sistance from her daughters. The original plot of Asylum is now in the possession of Brad- ford County Historical Society, who kindly permitted copy to be made. A copy of this plot, excluding pen-pictures, inscriptions, &c., was made for Judge Laporte about 60 years ago. This was presented to the Tioga Point Historical Society by the late Mrs. Bartholemew Laporte in 1896. Some of the Articles of Agreement are in print and in pos- session of various historical societies. Others are supposed to exist only in the Craft collection of MSS., in Tioga Point Hist. Soc, the originals having been destroyed by fire while in the possession of M. Meylert of Laporte, who was the last pur- chaser of lands of the Asylum Company. We have some pride in the fact that most of the illustrations were made in Wyalusing (to which township Asylum originally belonged), being the work of H. J. Lloyd. The portrait and —6— house of Talou were reproduced by G. W. Leach, artist, of Wilkes-Barre, under the supervision of Mr. Edward Welles. The reproduction of the old map, most difficult of all, is the work of N. F. Walker, G. W. Leach and J. A. Biles. The genealogical part of the volume is entirely due to a suggestion of Rev. H. E. Hayden of Wyoming Hist. Soc, that it would add greatly to its value in the eyes of descendants of the original settlers. Time was short, and the work is imper- fect; but such as various members of families chose to give. The brief biographical sketches have in every instance been submitted to some representative of family for comment and cor- rection. The genealogical tables are arranged according to the system used by Rev. H. E. Hayden, who is well versed in like work. The omissions are through no fault of the writer. While it would be commendable as history, no effort has been made in this work to gather the story of the non-French set- tlers at Asylum, either before or after the existence of "French- town," as Asylum was familiarly called by American settlers in the region. This is intended to be the story of the French and has been impartially and conscientiously compiled, corrected and authenticated. The writer is well aware that some state- ments disagree with all previously published, but hopes for only kindly criticism. L. W. M. February 28, 1903. —7- Contents. PAGE. The Story of Some French Refugees and their "Azilum" 9 Agreement between Sophia de Sibert and Gui de Noailles 41 Extracts from Cbevaiier de Pontgibaud 71 Biographies : Keating 79 d'Autremont 86 Lefevre 98 Laporte 104 Hornet 109 Appendix : Sources of Information 117 Letter B 119 Letter C 121 List of Tasables at Asylum 132 Plan of Association of the Asylum Company 134 Articles of Agreement and Association 142 French Accounts in Possession of the Author 149 ^ The Story of Some French Refugees and their "Azilum." Several years ago as I was wandering about the rooms in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, I was attracted by a small paper bearing tlie name ''Asylum." It read as follows: 1 Share Asylum Co. Jno. Keating Garrett Cottringer Robt. Morris John Nicholson This is to certify that Charles de Cadignan of Philadelphia is entitled to one action or share in the entire property of the Asylum Co., being the equivalent of 200 acres of land, & c. & c. Robt. Morris President 9 day of June 1794. James Duncan Secy. [See note.] This bit of yellowed paper which hangs on the window frame near the old bell, receives only a passing glance from the hundreds who yearly throng Independence Hall. Yet the page of un- written history which it represents is worthy of attention even here, in the birtnplace of our lib- erty and constitution; for the history of this colony of French emigres is closely interwoven with the personal history of men of national in- It has recently been ascertained that this framed certificate is a copy or duplicate of Certificate No. 91, now in the collection of the Historical Soci- ety of Pennsylvania. terest. Men whose names are inseparably con- nected with the old hall, and those early troubled years of the young Republic. Yet not alone to the student of American his- tory do the memories awakened by this bit of paper appeal. The story of tlie colony and the brave men connected with it is as pure a bit of romance as the imagination can desire, hardly to be surpassed by the traditions of their prototypes, those picturesque adventurers who fought for existence in the Canadian wilderness some two centuries before. The settlement of Asylum, whatever its prime motive, was the direct outcome of the French Revolution. Historians have not yet determined exactly when the French Revolution began, but we will date it from July 14, 1789. This Revolution was the explosion resulting fi'om centuries of repression, mismanagement and tyranny. Its four chief causes were: *I. The long-continued and exhausting wars of France, which had piled up a debt of $1,300,- 000,000. II. The fact that the blood tax springing from this war debt, and from the wasteful habits of King and court, fell on the common people, while the wealthy, who owned the land, w^ere almost exempt. III. For 1Y5 years the people had had no voice in the government because no meeting had been held of the States General, the national assembly. * Note from Guizot's History. —10— IV. The final cause was the decay of rehgious belief, and the growth of a vigorous literature proclaiming principles of independence, liberty and equality, principles powerfully enforced by the republican institutions of America as wit- nessed by those Frenchmen who had come hither to join in our war for independence. In the spring of 1789 Louis XVI, King of France, was forced by popular opinion to summon the States General. Old distinctions were done away, the King soon became alarmed at the democratic utterances of the Assembly, and col- lected a body of troops at Versailles. . A rumor spread on July 14th that the commander of the Bastille, the old military fortress and prison in the heart of Paris, had received orders to turn his guns on the city. A frenzied mob rushed to- ward the stronghold crying ''Down with the Bastille." The defenders of the building were captured and brutally murdered, their heads stuck on pikes being carried through the streets by the mob. The building was completely destroyed; tlie news was carried to Versailles; the King, roused from his sleep, said to the messenger: "Why, this is a revolt." " No, sire," was the reply, " it is a Revolution." " With the 14th day of July," said a wise and enlightened witness of the time, "the terror began." The distressed lower classes took the law into their own hands throughout France, the strongest motive being material want. While the multitudes were actually suffering from hunger, news reached —11— Paris that the Kin^j had given a banquet to some army officers at Versailles, and that they had trampled the people's colors under their feet. These tidings inflamed the rabble, and they set out on foot for the palace, and forced the King and his family to go with them to Paris, shout- ing, "We shall not die of hunger now for we have got the baker, and the baker's wife and the baker's little boy." This compulsory journey was named by the mob the "Joyous Entry." From this time, October 6, 1789, the nobility began to leave France in ever-increasing num- bers, although it was not until September, 1792, that wholesale executions were begun. Then men fled for safety, leaving their families, never dreaming that chey, too, would be guillotined (even the children,) because of their rank. Then many found it convenient to provide a permanent refuge beyond the borders of France. As the Revolution progressed, and power passed from one party to another, the bands of fugitiv^es grew larger, and not a few began to look from Europe to the new world. To the more moderate it had many attractions, despite the disadvant- ages which exile in a distant and half-settled country must necessarily offer to men nurtured in one of the most highly civilized cities of Europe, The United States of America was still hardly more than a wilderness; but, with all the crude- ness and isolation, she was already enjoying that liberty for which France was so vainly striving, and for which the passion had been steadily in- —12— creasing in French hearts since the days when Lafayette and other French volunteers had taken part in our country's cause. The hnks which French sympathy and American gratitude had forged between the two countries, facilitated flight across the Atlantic. Even if the official friendship of the two countries was soon to suf- fer a shock in the neutrality act, the individual ties v/ere as strong as ever. Lafayette showed his affection and admiration of the United States by sending the key of the Bastille to Washing- ton, the highest honor which he felt capable of paying him. And, while the United States did not feel bound to maintain friendly lelations with the government that exiled and imprisoned Lafayette, to the men whom it exiled she opened her arms. Lafayette and his countrymen had left friends among the highest circles, official and commercial, of America. Robert Morris, the fa- mous financier of the Revolution; his colleague, Gouverneur Morris; Jefferson, ardent defender of the rights of man; Washington, the visible head of the Republic; all these stood ready to render material aid to those finding the excesses of the Jacobins unendurable. Theie is reason to believe that Gouverneur Morris, Minister to France, lavish of his wealth, and keenly sympa- thetic, facilitated the passage of more than one of these exiles to America, as later he did that of Louis Philippe and his brothers. Certain it is that on tlieir arrival at Philadel- phia, the capital and center of the commercial and political activities of the young Republic, —13— the refugees were warmly received in the circle of friends of Robert Morris. And here were the principal financiers of America: Willing, presi- dent of the first bank of the United States; Bing- ham, whose consulship in the French Indies had established him friend of the French, and Girard, the French merchant and philanthropist, whose advice and assistance were free to all; these men, high in official circles as well as chief representa- tives of American enterprise and commerce, were the promoters and supporters of colonies of French refugees which were soon scattered here and there throughout the country. " November 30, 1792," says Carlyle in his French Revolu- tion, "Smith Gamain comes to Robespierre the leader of the people; hints that he knows a thing or two, that in May last when traitorous correspondence was so brisk, he and the Royal Apprentice (for poor Louis had a turn for blacksmith work), fabricated an iron chest, cunningly inserting the same in the wall of the Royal chamber in the palace, invisible." The panel in the wall was at once searched for, wrenched out, and here are letters enough all treasonable to the people; Talleyrand, Mirabeau, Talon, and many others. It is of Talon only that we wish to speak. Antoine Omer Talon was born in Paris January 20,1Y60. Talon was n o t of noble birth, but of one of the most illustrious families of the French Mag- istracy. He became King's Advocate in 1777, —14— •^^f "^l^l^- [Froni a miniature preseiiteil by himself to .Ii.lin Ki-aiinj:. when only seventeen years old, and Lieu- tenant of the prison of the Chatelet in 1789. He was also a member of the National As- sembly, and was distinguished for his un- alterable defense of the royal prerogative claimed by Louis XVI. Compromised by the flight of the King, he was arrested and impris- oned for a month. Later he was one of tlie most faithful advisers of the King, and with other royalists met frequently at night in the Tuileries. When his letters were found in the iron chest, he was marked at once for the guillotine. He es- caped, however, and fled to the sea coast, it is supposed to Marseilles, where he lay in hiding for several weeks. At thiss time he became acquaint- ed with a young Frenchman, Bartholemew La- porte by name, who had been a prosperous wine merchant at Cadiz, Spain. A decree of the Spanish Government, banishing all French sub- jects and confiscating their property, had left La- porte penniless and anxious to make his way to America, as Talon proposed to do. At last, hav- ing an opportunity to embark in an English mer- chantman at Marseilles, Laporte concealed Talon in a wine cask, carried him on board and stowed the cask in the hold of the vessel, covering it with charcoal. Suspecting that Talon would em- bark, soldiers searched the vessel, but in vain. On reaching England. Talon engaged passage to America for himself and Laporte, who was ever afterward his confidential agent and trusted land steward. Talon evidently arrived in Philadelphia early in 1793, as Keating met him soon after his —15— own arrival on December 24, 1792. *. Ta o n went at once to Vicomte de Noailles, whom he had known in France. // ' / /T •// arrived in m(OVU^ tactics in every regiment in which he served. He organized the regiment of which he became Colonel, and was considered one of the best Colonels of his time when he ob- tained permission to go to America with Lafay- ette, at whose side he shone throughout the con- flict. He returned to Prance full of the liberal ideas and projects of our young Republic. He distinguished himself in the National Assembly of 1789 by claiming the equal adjustment of tax- ation, and was the author of the decree which gave the death blow to the old feudal system. He was made Field Marshal in November, 1791, and commanded under Lafayette. In 1792, dis- couraged by defeat in battle, and seeing ti-eason and desei'tion on every hand in the army and general mismanagement in the government, he became deperate, resigned his position, went to England and thence to America. It is often said that he fell under the ban of Robespierre or the Jacobins (one of the numerous Revolutionary clubs organized to gain the ear of the people). But all French biographies relate it as above. He was obliged to escape hastily, leaving be- hind him his helpless family; not only his wife and two little sons, but his old father, the Mar- echal de Mouchy, and his mother, chief maid of honor to the queen. All perished by the guillo- tine. On reaching Philadelphia, where his old —17— friends proved friends indeed, he was at once welconoed to partnership with Bingham, where Talon found him.* Talon had plenty of means, and with the assistance of de Noailles he was enabled to throw open a great house as an asylum for his helpless and destitute countrymen, in which there was soon gathered a motley crowd. There were members of the National Assembly, anxiously awaiting their families' arrival from Paris; titled officers of the army who had escaped barely with their lives; abbes who had seen their churches burned over their heads, and refugees who had fled with their families from the French colony of San Domingo, where in 1791 slaves, stirred by the news of the revolution in France, had re- volted against their masters and produced one of the most terrible insurrections ever known. The casual acquaintance of Talon and de Noailles soon ripened into the warmest friend- ship; for Talon, practical, experienced and level- headed, was just the man de Noailles needed for his purpose. The two men were soon as deep in plans as they had ever been in Paris. What were these plans ? Strange things, rumor whis- pers, but probably no one will ever know for cer- tain; they were swallowed up like many other affairs in the turmoil of the times. To the world de Noailles gave out that they were planning a colony for the destitute exiles who had flocked to Philadelphia. But if that were their only object * For further information about de Noailles see notes at back of volume. —18— why did they select the remotest and most inac- cessible spot in the wilds of Pennsylvania for their Asylum ? Before Talon's arrival, de Noailles had already considered the purchase of a large tract of land from Robert Morris and John Nicholson, large proprietors in the wild lands of Pennsylvania, Major Adam Hoops, a Revolutionary soldier, was to accompany Charles Bue Boulogne (a French attorney who had been traveling between France and America for the last two years, airanging purchases of land between Morris and various Frenchmen, and of great use as interpreter), on a tour of investigation to the region then known as Northumberland County. Adam Hoops, as Major in Sullivan's army, had made the journey fourteen years before, and was chosen as a guide because Robert Morris placed in him the utmost confidence. These gentlemen carried the follow- ing circular letter from Robert Morris : Philadelphia, August 8th 1793. Sir: Should Mr. Boulogne find it necessary to purchase provisions or other articles in your Neighborhood for the use of himself or his Company, I beg you will assist him therein; or should you supply him yourself and take his drafts on this Place, you may rely that they will be paid; and I will hold myself ac- countable. Any services it may be in your Power to render this Gentleman or his Companions I shall be thankful for, and remain, Sir, Your obedt St To Mr. Dunn at Newtown, Robt. Morris. Messrs. James Tower Jr. & Co., at Northumberland, or to any other person to whom ^Ir. Boulogne, —19— Mr. Adam Hoops and the Gentlemen in their Company may apply; also to Matthias Hollenback Esq., Wilkesbarre. [Endorsement on the back of the Copy]: I do hereby Certify that the within Letter is a true Copy of the Original, which is in my Hands, as witness my Hand, this 27th day of August A. D. 1793. Ch Bue Boulogne. These gentleaien struck across the country from Philadelphia to Northumberland, and thence, following the tortuous course of the Sus- quehanna, they reached Wilkes-Barre, one of the few important settlements. August 27, 1793. Here they made the acquaintance of Matthias Hollenback, proprietor of several trading posts along the river, to whom they delivered the letter of Eobert Morris, v^^hich is still in the possession of Hollenback heirs. Passing up the lovely Susquehanna, then the only highway, the explorers reached a certain land-locked valley on the north branch of the river, now a part of Bradford County, included in the Susquehanna Company's township of Standing Stone. Long before Etieniie Brule, the scout of Chara- plain, had traced out the windings of the Susque- hanna, the Indian, whose chosen waterway it was, had marvelled at a great slab of rock pro- jecting some twenty feet from the surface of the river bed. To Indian and white man, known as the "Standing Stone," it has been a land mark from time immemorial. This stone is 44 ft. high from top to the bed of the river, 16 ft. wide, 4 ft. thick. The lower edge must reach far into the earth to resist, —20— as it has for at least more than a century, the ir- resistible power of freshets. It stands near the right bank of the river, visible from Lehigh Val- ley R. E. between Rummerfield and Hornet's Ferry. Just south of this great stone, in one of the many curves of the river, lies a semicircle of flat, fertile land, shut in on the landward side by the steep heavily-wooded hills which follow the course of the valley. On this promising tract of meadowland, the agents of the French found eight lots of three hundred acres each occupied by Connecticut settlers. According to deed records of Luzerne Co., these eight lots, one of which was a large island, were owned by Robert Cooley's heirs, Charles Townley (two), Robert Alexander, Rob- ert Alexander, Jr., Adelphi Ross, Ebenezer Skin- ner and Justus Gaylord.* They were not how- ever the earliest settlers, as the plain was called "Schufeldt Flats" after a Palatine emigrant Peter Schufeldt, who had come from the Mohawk region with Rudolph Fox (first settler at Towan- da) about 1770. * Note. — According to deed records of Luzerae Co. the following is learned about the transfer of the 8 lots above mentioned : 1. M. HoUenback Adm. to Directors Asylum Co.— 300 acres in Asylum — January 8, 1796. 2 & 3. Chas. Townley to Louis de Noailles Nos. 19 & 30, May 28, 1794. 4. Robert Alexander to Louis de Noailles No. 21, January 11, 1794. 5. Robert Alexander Jr. to Louis de Noailles an island known as Stand- ing Stone Island, January 11, 1794. 6. M. HoUenback to Louis de Noailles lot purchased of Adelphi Ross October 9, 1792. 7. P'or.syth lot sold at Sheriff sale to Roswell Welles, who to Benjamin Stone who to Ebenezer Skinner, June 30, 1793. 8. Lot of Justus Gaylord, Sr. No record of conveyances 7 and 8 to de Noailles. —22— Some of Sullivan's soldiers also had thought the land good, as John, son of Simon Spalding, and Henry Birney had settled here. Mr. Craft says Spalding and Birney came before Revolutionary war. "The locality seemed to Boulogne and Hoops very desirable if both titles could be secured, as it w^as part of the tract claimed by both Connec- ticut and Pennsylvania." Hoops soon returned to Wilkes-Barre to assist in securing title, but Boulogne remained, purchasing early in October a farm on his own account as per following agree- ment (Herrick collection Tioga Point Hist. Soc): This is to certify that it is agreed by these presents between Mr. John Spalding of Sheshequin, Luzerne County of the one part and Mr. Charles Felix Bue Boulogne of Azylum Company aforesaid of the other part, that the said Mr. John Spalding will deliver to the said Mr. Boulogne a good warranted Deed from and against all persons claiming under title of Connecti- cut or Pennsylvania a tract of land containing three hundred and twenty acres of land situated at Standing Stone flats being his actual property, the said Deed to be delivered within three months from this date to the said Mr. Boulogne who on the said delivery shall pay for and in consideration of the said bar- gain to the said Mr. John Spalding the sum of Seven hundred Dollars in the following manner, viz : — 50 Dollars in money or a note of hand pble in 9ber next, 150 D" in his note of hand pble in January 1795 — 200 D" in his note of hand pble in July 1795 & 300 D" also in his note of hand pble in January 1796, the said ])arties binding themselves reciprocally into a penalty of two hundred Dollars to be paid by the failing parties in order to ])ay all damages, in witness whereof we have both set —23— our hand and seals to the present agreement, done at Azylum this 24th day of July 1794. The possession to be given in November next. (Seal.) John Spalding. (Seal.) Ches. g^g Boulogne. Sealed and delivered in presence of us Fromentin. D'Autremont. Matthias Hollenback was engaged to secure Connecticut title, Robert Morris undertaking to secure the Pennsylvania.* Of Morris' methods we are ignorant, but from various records and papers, it is to be inferred that Judge Hollenback had to use not only great taci, but considerable of his own funds. f The prices of the lots is said to have varied from $133 to $800. (Just here it may be of interest to note that in a mention of Asylum in a recently published book in France, the author says the land only cost the company fifteen cents an acre.) In connection with the efforts to secure title the following letter is given entire, and has been well named " the charter of Asylum." (Robert Morris to Matthias Hollenback.) Delaware Works, 30 miles from Phila- delphia, 9 October 1793— Sir: I received your letter of the 14 Septr & also one from Mr. Talon, and forwarded them both to him for his information and consideration. The one addressed to him he has returned with his observations; but that which was directed to me he has *The names of those holding Pennsylvania Patents as discovered by J. A. Biles, are Archibald Stewart, Wm. Nicholson, David Linsay, Robert Stevens and John Bowne. (.Bacom, Bomnier or Bohem, four spelUngs hav- ing been used. ) t See Letter C, Appendix. —24— neglected to send back : so that if I omit to answer any points contained in it, you must excuse me, as I cannot do it from mere memory. Messrs De Noailles & Talon desire to make the purchase of the Eight Lotts or Tracts that compose the Tract of Land call- ed the Standing Stone, & also the Island or Islands which they mentioned to you; but they will have all or none; this they in- sist on as an absolute condition, as you will see by a copy of their observations on nine articles extracted from the contents of your letter to Mr. Talon. They do not object to the prices or terms of payment stated in your letter; but you will perceive by their decision to have all or none, that it will be necessary to make conditional contracts with each of the parties, fixing the terms, & binding them to grant conveyances of their right upon the performance of the conditions by you on your part; but reserving to yourself for a reasonable time to make the bar- gain valid or to annul it. If you can get the whole of them under such covenants, under hand and seals, you can then make the whole valid, & proceed to perform the conditions, & take the conveyances in the name of Mr. Talon ; but should any of the parties refuse to sell, or rise in their demands, so that you cannot comply with them, you can in such case hold the rest in suspense untill Mr. Hoops or you send an express to in- form me of all particulars ; which will give my Friends an op- portunity to consider & determine finally. Mr. Adam Hoops will deliver this letter. He possesses my confidence, and will be glad to render the best assistance or service in his power, upon occasion. He must, however, act under you; for in any other character the Connecticut men would consider him a new purchaser, & rise in their demands. He will go with you, if you choose, or do anything you may desire, to accomplish the object in view. You & he will therefore consult together, as to the best mode of proceeding; and I must observe, that altho Mr. Talon has agreed to the prices & terms demanded by the Connecticut claimants, yet I cannot help thinking them very dear; & more so, as we have been obliged to purchase the Pennsylvania Title, which Mr. Hoops will inform you of. —25— I hold it then as incumbent on you to obtain the Connecti- cut rights upon the cheapest terms that is possible ; and you may with great propriety let them know, if you think it best to do 80, that unless they will be content with reasonable terms, that we will bring ejectments against them; or rather that you will do it, & try the strength of Title : in which case they will get nothing. Whatever you do must be done soon. Winter is approach- inor, and these Gentlemen are extremely anxious to commence the operations necessary to the settlement they intend to make ; but they will not strike a stroke until the whole of the Lotts are secured for them ; «& unless the whole are obtained, they give up the settlement, and will go to some other part of America. I engage to make good the agreements and contracts you may enter into consistently with your letter of the 14th Septr. last to Mr. Talon, & with his observations thereon; a copy of which Mr. Hoops will give to you if desired ; and to enable you to make the payments according to those stipulations, which you may enter into in that respect, I shall also pay the order for a Thousand Dollars already given you on their account. The settlement which these gentlemen meditate at the Stand- ing Stone is of great importance to you; and not only to you, but to all that part of the Country ; therefore you ought for your own interest, & the interest of your country, to exert every nerve to promote it. They will be of great service to you ; and you should render them disinterestedly every service possible. Should they fail of establishing themselves at the Standing Stone, there is another part of Pennsylvania which I should prefer for them ; and if they go there, I will do every thing for them that I possibly can. — I am, Sir, Your obedt.hble. Servt., Matthias HoUenback Esqr., Robt. Morris. Wilkes Barre. Eventually both titles were obtained, though indeed Boulogne began operations at once, as is indicated in a letter written two months after his —26— arrival on the ground. Though he seems to have had some associates, their names are not known to-day. standing Stone, 8ber 19th, 1793. Mr. Mathias Hollenback, Wilkes-Barre Sir : I received by Mr. Town the favor of yours dated 11th instant, and your boat also arrived here few days after; all that was enumerated io your bill hath been delivered, and you are therefore credited on my account of L48.10.2, this Currency ; when you'll send me the price of the ox-cart, cows and hull. I shall do the same. The cows are exceeding poor, and hardly give any milk; but I hope they will come to, and therefore we will see one another on that account ; but I cannot help observing to you that your blacksmith hath not treated us well ; the chains and tools are hardly worth any things; the iron is so bad or so tender that it bend like butter; I wish you mention it to him for the future. The difficulty of having the buildings and great many articles of provisions in proper time hath determined us and the gentle- men in Philadelphia to lessen them, and as Mr. Keating hath told you, the expenses will of course be lessened ; therefore I have not sent you the draft for 3000 Dollars which we spoke of when I was in Wilkesbarre, and one* of the gentlemen who will deliver you this letter is going to Philadelphia; if you are not gone will be very glad of your company; will as well as you see Messrs. Talon & De Noailles in that city and send or bring their answer on things relating to the expences. I will be obliged to you to deliver the other gentleman who is coming back here Directly as much money as you possibly can, or the 1250 Dollars which remain in yonr hands for my draft on Robert Morris Esqi'*^ and you'll take his receipt and charges it to my account. You may also make me debtor for the sum of LI 3. 17. 6, which Mr. Joshua Whitney hath given me for your account, and of * deAutremont. —27- which you'll dispose according to the note herein enclosed, hav- ing credited you here of the same. Esq^'^ Hancock hath not yet concluded his Bargain with Gay- lord & Skinner, you know it is of the greatest importance to have it concluded as well as the one of Ross, otherwise it will stop me here all at once, the gentlemen in Philadelphia being determined to have the whole or none at all, or to reject the whole purchase from Mr. Morris. In your letter you speak to me of having bought from Ross the house and part of the Land, but you don't tell me the quan- tity of Land ; I hope you have concluded the whole, and beg on you to say some thing to me on that account in your Letter and explain it well because according to your answer I shall either go on with the buildings or stop them Directly. I remain with esteem, Yours, Ch^s Bue Boulogne. (Postscript) Sir: In buying from Mr. Ross you must absolutely buy the crop which is in the ground. Everybody here is very sorry you have not done it so for the other purchase, because it keeps us one year entirely without enjoying our property. I have received the cloth that was over Mr. Talon's boat, but you have forgot to send me by your boat the frying pan, salt, axes, (fee, that Mr. Ross hath, return to you; be kind enough also to send by the first opportunity the sack of things belong- ing to Michael — which by mistake I sent or left at your house. The purchase as concluded was of 2400 acres, the noi'thwest corner being the aforementioned " Standing Stone" The title deed reading : ' ' Beginning at a remarkable rock on the western side of the Susquehanna river known as the Standing Stone," and the conveyances being legally executed early in 1794. The whole was so accurately surveyed that ever since surveyors have come there from long distances to get their bearings. —28— The Dame of Asylum, or as the French wrote it *' Az'ilum,''^ was given to the plot. The original map is still in existence, in possession of Bradford Co. Hist. Soc. Having been folded always it be- came so worn that about 1840 Judge Laporte had an accurate copy of plot executed, now in mu- seum of Tioga Point Hist. Soc. at Athens, Pa. The town proper covered 300 acres ; it was laid out in the form of a parallelogram as carefully and daintily as a toy village. Its greatest length was north and south, with a large market square in the center containing two acres. Five streets ran due north and south, crossed by nine running east and west, the middle one much wider than the others (100 ft.), making 413 lots in the town plot of about 1 acre each. (See note.) Toward the hills next to the plot were 17 larger lots num- bered and others not numbered. These were un- cleared, varying in size ; 100,000 acres of wild land were also purchased by subscription on the Loyal Sock Creek, 2500 of which was divided into town shares of 400 acres each. When any part of this wild land was cleared by a subscriber he received nine dollars per acre out of the com- Along the river bank wore built houses for the slaves brought from San DominKo, though one niight juiige from the following appeal that the slaves soon learned they were where they could be their own masters. This is addressed to M. Hollenback: '"Aziiuin 1 April ''.W Sir, I hope you will not take it ill if I address myself to you and claim your assistance. A negro man about twenty j'ear-s of age stoutly built ran away from my house night before last, he can hardly speak a word of English, he took away a new axe a couple of now shirts, several prs of linen and cloth trousers, ^ blankets, and had on a hat with a blue ribbon— he says that he is free though he is boiuid for no loss than fourteen years. I would take it as a great favor sir, if you would be so kind as to have him advertised. I shall give 5 dollars reward and pay all reas- onable cliarges. If in return I could be of any service to you sir please to dispose of your very obedient humble servant LAROUE —29— moil funds. The streets were fifty feet broad and were a marvel to the country round, as later were the roads built to reach the more distant clearings, for the Yankee settler of that era was accustomed to satisfy himself with the natural highway, the river, or with the narrow rough trail cut by Sullivan's army in 1779 ; and the hundreds of dollars spent by the French in build- ing roads was to the Yankee incomprehensible. Equally incomprehensible was the natural French taste for landscape gardening and love of trees, where they did not obscure the view. The French abhorred the Yankee mode of clearing. "You would think," wrote one of them, "that the American had an inborn aversion to trees." And where the forest trees had all been cut down, the French planted Lombardy poplars, weeping willows and various fruit trees to redeem the barren appearance of the town. An Asylum Company was organized April 22, 1794. Mr. Craft says: " Fabulous sums of money were anticipated as the result of this specula- tion." The capital stock was to consist of a mil- lion acres or 5000 shares of 200 acres each. In April, 1795, new articles of association were formed with some prudent changes. But the practical abandonment of the colony, and the fact that the money which was to have been paid in France to Morris' son from Talon's estate was not forthcoming, proved this company also un- successful. In 1801 the company was again re- organized. This last company secured the title to large tracts of land in Sullivan, Lycoming and —30— Luzerne counties and sold to actual settlers. §See note: see also appendix. September 1, 1808, at a meeting of the Board, the trusteeship was conveyed to Archibald Mc- Call, John Ashley, and Thomas Ashley in trust for the use of the Asylum Company. The trust deed conveying lands, tenements, &c., forming the common stock of funds of the said Asylum Company was executed Nov, 3, 1808. As the country was settled many of the company's lands were sold. The residue, ten to twenty thousand acres was sold to Hon. Wm. Jessupof Montrose, March 4, 1843; he subsequently conveyed the same to Michael Meylert of Laporte, the title to some of which is held by the trustees of his es- tate. Among the refugees from San Domingo there was one who was particularly recommended to de Noailles and Talon, doubtless by General Rochambeau. Of noble Irish ancestry, but Fi-ench by adoption, enthusiastic, yet cool headed, able § In the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a Minute Book of the Asylum Co. Though its title is "Minutes of the Association of 1795," the meetings recorded extend only from April 7,1802 to Decem- ber 180-}. With these minutes is a list of receipts for certificates of stock with holders" signatures, like the one at beginning of book. The entries in Minute Book refer chiefly to an exchange of old certifi- cates for new ones. There is also a subscription list with autograph sig- natures. This list contains many names hitiierto unknown in connection with Asylum. There is also in this collection [Philadelphia] a Catalogue of the Lands and Stock of the Asylum Co. offered for sale at the Merchants' Coffee house in pursuance of the 21st Article of Association of the said company, dated 1819. This catalogue gives no date for sale, or terms; smiply lists of tracts and their location; also, unsatisfied warrants, and shares in Easton & AVilkes-Barre Turnpike, and in Susquehanna & Tioga Turn- pike Diligent inquiry at the City Hall, Philadelphia, proves that none of the Articles of Association were ever recorded there. The Hist. Soc. of Penna. does not assume to know, but doubts that any articles were ever record- ed. For all these Articles of Association see Appendix . —31— and tactful, y/O ^^ John Keating yf^^ tjt'^ was just the /y man to be as- (j sociated with them in their enterprise. His admirable business qualities and skill as an interpreter proved invaluable both at the settlement, and in Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia, and he seems to have been continually traveling back and forth, though his memoirs show that he lived at Asylum, and according to tax lists, he at one time owned six houses there. To Bou- logne was entrusted the supervision of workmen in clearing land and erecting houses, though later on Montulle had entire charge of clearing. Build- ing was a most difficult business, with all sup- plies, even lumber, having to be ordered from Wilkes-Barre and pushed up the river in Durham boats, four or five days being required for an or- dinary trip. (See letters in Appendix.) Early in the life of the colony financial troubles began, which may have been magnified by the irritable, querulous disposition of Boulogne, who had charge of ordering supplies and money to pay workmen, and who seems to have had some mis- understanding with Matthias Holleuback at Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Holleuback had trading posts along the river, and Morris and de Noailles had arranged with him to furnish ready money and supplies as needed. But complaints were fre- quent, perhaps because Boulogne's demands for money were unprecedented in the wilderness —32— where farm produce was generally used as specie. However, it was not long before the refugees began to arrive, as October 30, 1793, M. Boulogne wrote to Matthias Hollenback: "M. Dupetithouars with all his hands arrived here yester- day, and also M. Perrault. The last brought me a letter from M. Talon who tells me he expects to be here the 6th or the 8th of next month." In November de Noailles paid a short visit to Asylum to give directions to Boulogne and to arrange business matters with Mr. Hollenback and others. This was his first and only visit to the colony for which he hoped so much. During the rest of its existence he watched over the in- terests in Philadelphia, leaving Talon to be the visible head and guiding genius. During his stay it is supposed the plan of the town was decided on and the name of Asylum chosen. (See letter B. Appendix.) The needs and trials of Boulogne and his asso- ciates are shown in the following letters to Mr. Hollenback: Standing Stone, Xber 9th 1793 Sir: I received your two letters one of the 2d the other of the 5th instant, as also the 11 small tables and 21 window frames from Mess. Kellogg & Delano in your boat, who hath arrived here this morning with the one of Mr Myer, bringing part of the goods of Mr Talon from Catawasay. Mr. Talon arrived here this morning as I was concluding the Bargain with Mr Ross for his Land here. You'll see by the perusal of this agreement that he is to receive from us other- wise by you the sum of fifty three pounds at the time of the signing and acknoweledging the deed ; and in order to enable you to make this payment I send you within this letter two —33— Bank notes each of one hundred Dollars, viz: 100 Dollars United States Bank Nol917 order Wm Wirt, dated 2 Jany, 1792, signed Thos. Willing Presidt & John Kean Cashier: the other of also 100 Dollars same Bank No9 order of G. Aston dated 2d Xber 1791, signed as the above. As those 200 Dollars will be more and above what will be necessary for the payment to be made to Mr Ross if he com- plyes with the conditions of the Bargain, which we hope you'll see fulfilled, I shall be obliged to you to send me by the first opportunity fifty Dollars in cash or in small bills of five Dollars. I am told by Mr Keating you intend to come up here your- self; therefore if you could at the same time bring with you cash or small bills for 1, 2, or 3 hundred Dollars, we should give you in return some bills of one hundred and you would oblige us. Mr Talon desires you would send him as quick as possible the 6 oxen beef he hath engaged from you ; he wishes also you would send the same some unguent for sore legs, & some Peru- vian bark &ca ; and 3 or four franklin stoves with pipes ; if they can be got second hand so much the better. Tell the masons & joiners not to loose a moment in coming up ; don't forget to send some Leather or some shoes. I shall write to you without fault by the Post of next Mon- day. Don't forget to have the titles of Mr Ross well examined be- fore you give anything, and see that he agrees with his broth- er's heirs. I'll be obliged to you to write to me by the first opportunity on account of the 200 Dollars herein enclosed. Standing Stone, Xber 1st 1793. Sir: This particularly is to beg on you to send as quick as pos- sible the window frames, the lime and lead I have ask you; the remainder of the goods which Mr Dupetit Thouars hath left behind, and particularly the nails. If in the boat you could add 5 or 600 feet of good seasoned boards they are very much wanted here, and 50 or 60 pairs of shoes ; our American people here are all without & they would soon be sold. —34— standing Stone, Xber 23d 1793. Sir: The mason Wm Dunmead hath arrived here thursday last 19th instant, Holstead (Halsted?) and the two others masons have also arrived here Saturday 21st instant and are going back this day because the weather does not permit them to work. By the same reason which hinders me from giving 7 dollars to Hatwatter I beg of you to settle with the masons & charge it to our account. I remain, Sir, Yours, Ch Bu6 Boulogne As shown in the letters winter came on before any houses were completed. The arrival of many of the settlers was postponed and those on the ground made the best of the log huts of the Yankee settlers, heating those without chimneys with the Franklin stoves sent from Wilkes-Barre. That must have been a long and dreary winter, supplies were delayed and at one time the pros- pect of a famine must have been serious. But with the coming of spring everything was pushed with greatest rapidity. From the many letters calling for building supplies, one would think there were as many mails a day as now with railroad facilities. Soon the emigres began to ar- rive from Philadelphia, some by the way of Cata- wissa and others doubtless by the way of Beth- lehem and Wilkes-Barre, where they found Matthias HoUenback ever ready to assist them in any way, though he must have been tried by their demands and complaints. Yet they were brave indeed to face the toilsome and tedious journey before them, braver no doubt by reason of the enthusiasm and hopeful anticipations of —35— Talon and Keatin^: who seemed to have travelled back and forth all winter. Who can imagine the thoughts of those aristo- crats on arriving at this primitive settlement in the heart of a wilderness, lonely and inaccessible ! Accustomed to the luxuries of Parisian life, or the tropical luxuriance of the West Indies, fancy the change to rude log houses surrounded by an almost unbroken forest, and every supply of the most ordinary kind to be had only in Wilkes- Barre, Y5 miles away. But here at least they were safe from Robespierre and the guillotine. So the real life began at Asylum. The thirty dwelling houses were not at all palatial nor in- deed such as a Parisian had ever dreamed of ; in fact, simply log houses, hewn logs to be sure, and sometimes shingled over. To the Yankees they seemed palaces with their extravagances in chimneys, doors, staircases, window glass, shut- ters and even piazzas and summer houses ; the latter a necessity for the French, accustomed to the beauties of Versailles and Petit Trianon. Some quaint little shops rose around the square, a small chapel, and, as soon as the necessary buildings were completed, a theatre. In the in- terior the houses had good floors, and as a rule were papered and very presentable, in fact the French people throughout their stay spent more on so-called luxuries than on necessities. A few had furniture and other articles brought from France, jealously hoarded even until to-day. (Some chairs from Talon's house, and a hand- some copper friar are now in the museum at —36— Athens, also a copper candlestick brought over by Lefevre.) Talon, the head of the colony, with his love of order, resolute w^ill and generous hospitality, seemed equal to every emergency. How his heart must have swelled with pleasure as he saw the little community, to which he had given his whole thought and energy for so many months, begin to take on a homelike and industrious air. How he must have rejoiced that through his efforts so many poor fugitives would know again the pleasures of home and the society of fellow countrymen, though their dearest ones were sep- arated from them for a time. And with what joyful anticipations he must have looked forward to the coming of the Queen, for it is generally ac- knowledged that it was for the Royal fugitives that this asylum was planned. It seems, how- ever, that the death of the King must have been known, or that he was never expected, for the houses built for royalty's use were always known as the "Queen's Houses." Besides the house, built by Talon in the town plot and afterward occupied by him, deep in the woods on the Loyal Sock road near West Terry or New Era, was begun a spacious house or two and a large bakery, and other buildings were planned ; these were in charge of Charles Homet and were intended for a hiding place for the Queen. Strange irony of fate, even before they were completed the un- happy Queen had followed her husband to the guillotine ! The suspension of intercourse be- tween France and America, and the arduous —37— journey between the colony and Philadelphia, ac- counts for the long delay in the sad news reach- ing the colony. The house built by Talon was the most pre- tentious in the settlement, and is said to have been the largest log house ever built in America. Elizabeth Laporte said her grand- father always called it "the Queen's House;" but it is generally known as "La Grande Maison," or the great house, and is so called in all laborer's accounts. It was built of hewn logs with a plain sloping roof, shingled. There were no shingles on the sides. It was about 84 feet long and 60 feet wide, two stories high, with a spacious attic. There were four stacks of chimneys and eight fireplaces on each floor. The windows were all square, with no hooded or dormer effects, small square panes of glass. There were heavy, solid wooden shutters on the windows. On each floor was a hall the entire length, from eight to twelve feet wide, with outside door at each end, with three rooms on the side facing the river and four on the other. The four rooms were of equal size. On the river side the middle room was twice the size of the others in length and extend- ed into the hall with double doors set crosswise on each corner, opposite each of which was a broad flight of stairs to the second story. In each end of this room were fireplaces, one much larger than the other. So large indeed that when it was used by the Laportes as a kitchen, oxen drew the back logs right into the room. The mantel was about as high as a man's head. In —38— ■N^ \: r< -^ >-S •1-<1 4 '^ ,^ ' . -.%*L_.. the center of the side -was a double door with the upper half set with small panes of glass. Each side of this door were French windows, very large, opening from the floor nearly to the ceiUng. Plain board ceiling was used instead of plaster for walls, most of the woodwork plain and unpainted, though the lower stairs had newell posts and rails of black walnut. This house was built on lot No 418 and just north of the house now standing, built by Judge Laporte in 1839, now owned by the Hagerman family. It was torn down in 18-16 for fear of fire. Traces of the foundation are still in evidence. In this great house was dispensed the hospitality of the settlement. As long as it stood, the large room was called the French ladies' drawing room ; here doubtless —39— gathered all the famous visitors to the colony. Here perhaps were breathed oaths of loyalty to Louis Philippe, whom they hoped soon to see on the throne ! What brilliant conversation their walls echoed ! Alas, there has come down to us but two amusing little stories of the gatherings here. Though the winters were long and dreary the summer heat was far more fierce than ever known in " Belle Paris." The first time the writer ever heard of Asylum, when a little child she was rid- ing by with Chas. F. Welles of Wyalusing. After pointing out the location and the picnic rock, he added this anecdote told to him by one of the old pioneers. Entering the drawing room (^evidently unannounced) he found the great dames seated around the apartment, all complain- ing bitterly of the intense heat. Skirts were daintily lifted, while slave girls, seated on the floor, industriously plied fans to cool their mis- tresses' ankles ! At another time a great dinner was in progress in this room. Talon's butler, always too fond of the wine which he served, spilled some soup on a guest ; as he had been repeatedly repri- manded for similar offenses, his master's anger knew no bounds. Yet servants were not plenty in Asylum, so Talon called for his faithful friend and land steward, Laporte, and said "Will you serve as butler ? " Laporte protested, but Talon refused to forgive the offender, and the feast went on with the wine merchant serving in Wallois' place. —40— The only other house at all remembered was doubtless that of Boulogne, hastily built for ac- commodation of first comers. It was large, hav- ing twelve equal sized rooms on each floor, with a small fireplace in one corner of each, arranged for by three stacks of chimneys, one to each four rooms. This house, like that of Talon, was torn down. There is in existence an accurate description of another house in the settlement, by careless writ- ers often confounded with that of Talon. AGREEMENT BETWEEN SOPHIA de SIBERT AND GUI de NOAILLES. Made December 23, 1797 — both of Asylum. Miss Sibert had purchased Nos. 416 «fc 417 of the Asylum Company and agrees with Gui de Noailles to convey the same — the property is described as containing the following im- provements: On No. 41G stands a log house 30x18 covered with nailed shingles, the house is divided into 2 lower rooms and 2 in the upper story, the lower ones are papered, on both sides of the house stand two small buildings of the same kind, one is used for a kitchen, the other being papered is commonly called the dining room, both these buildings have good fire places and a half story. Three rooms in the biggest house have fire places, the two side buildings and the other are joined together by a piazza, there is a good cellar under the dining room, the yard is enclosed by a nailed pale fence and there is a good double gate, the garden has a like fence, a constant stream of water runs through it, over the spring a spring house has been erected, it is divided into two rooms one of which is floored, the garden is decorated by a considerable number of fruit trees, young Lombardy poplars and weeping willows, and by a lattice summer house, next to the garden is a nursery of about 900 apples trees, the lower part of the lot forms a piece of meadow of about 8 acres inclosed by a post and rail fence, on —41— the same lot no. 416 stands a horse grist mill, the building is 40x34, part of the lower story is contrived into a stable for the mill horses and a cow stable — part of the upper story is used to keep fodder — the mill is double geered and in complete order being furnished with a pair of good stones, a good bolting cloth and in one corner stands a fire place. Above the mill runs a never failing spring whicn waters a great part of the meadow. On No. 417 stands a good log house 20x18 covered with nailed shingles which is used as a barn but might be in- habited as there are two good grooved floors and a winding staircase. The lower part is under the best fence well cleared, and part of it was put last fall in winter grain, &C (Signed) Witnessed by Peter Regnier Bercy de Seibert Joseph Delaroue (or Delarony) Recorded at Wilkes-Barre, Vol. 5, p 260 of Deeds records Talon devoted much time and attention to the roads, and is said to have spent $3,000 on them in one year. His best work of this sort was the one leading to Laddsburg, still known as the old French road. Doubtless more labor was expended on this because it led to the proposed hiding place for the queen. A wharf was built for loading boats, and a ferry established, as the Sullivan trail (about the only road) was on the opposite side of the river. A horse-power mill was constructed, as the nearest grist mill was at Wilkes-Barre. The nearest post office was at Wilkes-Barre also; therefore the Asylum settlers established a weekly express to Philadelphia by a messenger traveling on horse- back; this was maintained for several years. Talon and de Noailles, finding themselves un- able to provide funds, were released from —42— their contract by Messrs. Morris and Nichol- son; and by the new arran^^ements became partners with them. Talon was then made agent of the company at a given salary of S3. 000, and the continued use of the house already occu- pied by him. This company being also unable to fulfill its engagements, Talon resigned as agent and sold out his share. It seems pitiful that one so ardent and interested, from ignorance of lan- guage, and want of practice in this kind of busi- ness, should thus have been "deprived of the most exquisite happiness an enlightened French- man can enjoy — of becoming the founder of a colony which would have proved as honorable to the name of a Frenchman, as useful to the un- fortunate sufferers whom it would have re- ceived." Judge Stevens, writing to Charles Miner in 1824, said of Talon : " He practically gave soul life and energy to the settlement — with him it rose and continued, and when he withdrew it fell. That is its decline began and has continued to the pres- ent time. He brought large sums of money into the U. S. and was benevolent and liberal in the extreme. Not exactly know- ing the worth of labor he was frequently imposed upon and paid in many instances for jobs five times more than work was worth, but after all he benefitted many of the citizens very much. It is said besides the money expended at Asylum he lost in London $10,000, and in Brussels 46,000 guineas. When he heard of this he called together all his dependants and told them he must abandon the settlement. AVhen he withdrew, they withered like vegetation without nourishment." It accords somewhat with a story told by Bar- tholemew Laporte to his grandchild, that the founders of the colony had left most of their —43— funds in Europe, and that when they sent back for them, all had been confiscated, and so the set- tlement could not be carried on as first planned. It may be interesting to introduce here some brief extracts from journals of John Keating, never before published : " I sailed from Cape Francis at the end of November 1792 on board a brig with M. de Blacon. We got up to Philadel- phia the eve of Christmas which was then kept very strictly. We were received at the widow Papley'p the day after Christ- mas. We soon met with Messrs Talon, Vcte. de Noailles and other emigrants. I landed with less than $300 and knew no one. A plan was soon set on foot for the formation of a set- tlement on the North Branch of the Susquehanna a spot for a town was chosen and the name of Asylum given. Mr. Robert Morris was to give the land, his sou to be paid for it in Europe. Notwithstanding the eagerness with which the plan was adopt- ed and the considerable sums expended the settlement gradual- ly decreased — the great majority of the settlers was not calcu- lated for it. Minute details of it are to be seen in the Duke de Liancourt's travels." (Translated from French.) "A short time after my arrival in America I made the ac- quaintance of M. Talon, a former civil lieutenant in Paris, whom the Revolution had made seek an asylum in the new world ; foreseeing that he might there occupy himself in an agreeable manner, and at the same time useful to his interests. He bought lands, or at least made arrangements to do so, he associated me in his plans without ever having known me, but only on that which he had heard said of me. Without enter- ing into details on this subject, suffice it to say that soon after a company was formed called Asylum after the name that had been given to a locality situated on the east branch of the Susquehanna in Pennsylvania. (I accompanied Talon thither, there we spent much time together;) the business re- quired meanwhile frequent trips to Philadelphia where I made several good acquaintances. The affairs of the Asylum Co. —44— not promising great profits, and the funtls of Talon disappear- ing fast, he resolved to go over to Euro})e to dispose of some lauds of -which the sale had been entrusted to him, and also to straighten out his affairs. Having succeeded in Holland in effecting a purchase of the lands, he came back in July, 1792, ■with power to conclude it, and terminated this affair at the close of the year, and returned again to Europe in the month of February following, i. e. Feb 1797." This last paragraph would indicate that Talon had to do with the syndicate who were back of the so-called " Holland Land Co." Among John Keating's papers is an inter- esting contract drawn January 5, 1797, where- by Talon and one Richard Gernon arrange to purchase 287,482 acres in Lycoming Co. of William Bingham ; evidently a part of the famous Bingham lands. The paper in- dicates Talon's intended departure, John Keat- ing being given power of attorney during his absence. This time he did not return, and soon became again interested in political intrigue. In 1804 he was banished for being implicated in a plot against Napoleon, and was actually impris- oned for three years. This proving too great a mental strain he became insane and died in 1811. A picture of life at Asylum is well drawn by the Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Tiiancourt, a French nobleman who traveled up the Susquehanna in 1795, and published a journal of his travels, which may be found in the library of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and doubtless in some of our large public libraries. After mentioning its situation, and the fact —45— that Taloii and de Noailles soon found they were richer in hopes than in cash, and that they suffer- ed from ignorance of the language, and want of practice in business of this nature, he says: This is a brief sketch of the history of Asylum. There cannot remain a doubt but that this establishment, the plan of which is certainly the work of much deliberation, would have proved more successful had it been formed by degrees and with a sufficient supply of ready money. For notwithstanding the errors committed in the execution of the plan and the adverse incidents it has met with, Asylum has already attained an un- common degree of perfection, considering its infant state. Thirty houses built in this town are inhabited by families from St. Domingo and from France, by French artisans, and even by Americans. Some inns and two shops have been established, the business of which is considerable. Several town shares have been put into very good condition; and the fields and gardens begin to be productive. A considerable quantity of ground has been cleared on the creek Loyalsock, where the company has allotted 25,000 acres of land, in part of a hundred thousiiud acres, which the inhabitants of Asylum have pur- chased by subscription. Similar agricultural operations, which take place in almost every town share, are intended to enliven at once all the diiierent parts of this large tract of land. The town shares consist each of 400 acres from 10 to 20 of which are cleared. The owner can therefore either settle there him- self at the end of the year, or entrust it to a farmer. The clearing of the town shares is, at present, effected by subscrip- tion on this principle : that for every acre that belongs to a subscriber who has cleared 10 acres, five of which only are en- closed with fences, $9 are paid. M. de MontuUe, one of the inhabitants of Asylum, directs this clearing of the ground ; the plan of which he conceived for the welfare of the colony. The sentiments of the colonists are good. Every one follows his business, the cultivator as well as the inn-keeper and trades- man, with as much zeal and exertion as if he had been brought up to it. The soil is tolerably good, the climate healthful. —46— Almost all the ingredieHts of a thriving colony concur in Asy- lum, and afford room to hope that these great natural advan- tages will in time be improved for the benefit and prosperity of the colonists. A new trading company has superceded the former; at least, the firm and management of the company's concerns have been altered. Mr. Robert Morris has entirely left it, and Mr. Nicholson being now the only proprietor, has formed a bank of his million of acres, divided into 5,000 shares containing each 200 acres, the price of which at $3.50 per acre is $500. They bear six per cent interest, which increases in proportion to the state of the land; and at the expiration of 15 years, the period of which the company is to be dissolved, all the benefits and advantages accruing to the bank, are to be di- vided among the holders of the shares. An office has been es- tablished by the latter, for the direction and management of the concerns of the bank. This new company, taught by the errors of the former, will, no doubt, make it their principal business to promote the pros- perity of Asylum, which alone, can, in any considerable man- ner, increase the value of the land. Yet some sacrifices will also be required for that purpose. It will be necessary to con- struct new roads and repair the old ones. Encouragement must also be given to the families, which already inhabit Asylum ; and advantageous offers must be held out to such as may be disposed to settle here. If these things be done, Asylum will soon be peopled. Motives arising from French manners and opinions have hitherto prevented eveu French families from settling here. These are now in great measure removed, and if the company shall proceed with judgment and prudence, as is to be hoped they will, there can hardly remain a doubt but that Asylum will speedily become a place of importance. Its situation on the Sus(juehanna, 200 miles from its source, fits it in a peculiar manner for an emporium of the inland trade. French activity, supported with money, will certainly accel- erate its growth; and this will doubtless in time convince the world that the enterprise and assiduity of Frenchmen are equal- ly conspicuous in prosperous and adverse circumstances. The following families have cither already settled, or intend —47— to settle at Asylum, viz: 1. M. de Blacons, deputy for Dau- phine, in the constituent assembly. Since his quitting France, he has married Madamoiselle de Maulde, late canoness to the chapter of Bonbourg. They keep a haberdasher's shop. Their partner is M. Colin, formerly Abb6 de Sevigng, archdeacon of Tours, and conseiller au grand conseil. 3. M. de Montule, late captain of a troop of horse, married to a lady of St. Do- mingo, who resides at present at Pottsgrove. 3. Madame de Sybert, cousin to M. de Montule and relict of a rich planter of St. Domingo. 4. M. Becdelli^rre, formerly a canon, now a shop-keeper; his partners are the two Messrs. de la Roue, one of whom was formerly a petit gens-d'armes and the other a captain of infantry. The latter has married a sister of Mad- ame Sybert. 5. Mademoiselle de Bercy, who intends to estab- lish an inn on the road from Asylum to Loyalsock, eight miles from the former place, whither she is on the point of removing with her husband, 6. M. Beaulieu, formerly a captain of in- fantry in the French service, who served in America during the late war in the legion of Potosky. He has remained ever since in this country, has married an English Udy and now keeps an inn. 7. M. Buzard, a planter of St. Domingo and physician in that colony, who has settled in Asylum with his wife, daughter and son, and some negroes, the remains of his for- tune. 8. M. de Noailles, a planter of St. Domingo. 9. M. Dandelot of Franchecomte, late an officer of infantry, who left France on account of the Revoluticm and arrived here desti- tute of property, but was kindly received by Mr. Talon, and is now engaged in agricultural pursuits with spirit and success. 10. M. du Petit Thouars, an officer of the navy, who, encour- aged by the constituent assembly and assisted by a subscrip- tion, embarked in an expedition in quest of M. de la Peroufe. He was detained on the coast of Brazil by the governor of the colony, Fernando de Noriguez, and sent with his crew to Por- tugal, where he was very ill-treated by the Portuguese govern- ment, stripped of all his property, and only escaped farther persecution by fleeing to America, where he lives free and hap- py, without pi'operty, yet without want. He is employed in clearing about 200 or 300 acres of land, which have been pre- —48— sented to him. His sociable, mild, yet truly original temper and character, are set off by a noble simplicity of manner. 11. M. Norcs, a young gentleman, who embarked with M. Du Petit Thouars, and escaped with him to this country. He for- merly wore the petit collet (the petit collet or little band was formerly a distinguishing mark of the secular clergy in France), was a pupil of M. de la Chapelle, possessor of a small priory and now earns his subsistence by cultivating the ground. 12. John Keating, an Irishman, and late captain of the regi- ment of AVelsh. At the beginning of the Revolution he was in St. Domingo, where he possessed the confidence of all the parties, but refused the most tempting offers of the commis- sioners of the assembly, though his sentiments were truly Dem- ocratic. It was his choice and determination to retire to Amer- ica without a shilling in his pocket, rather than to acquire power and opulence in St. Domingo by violating his first oath. He is a man of uncommon merit, distinguished abilities, extra- ordinary virtue and invincible disinterestedness. His deport- ment is grave, yet affable. His advice and prudence have proved extremely serviceable to M. Talon in every department of his business. It was he who negotiated the arrangements between Messrs. Morris and Nicholson; and it may be justly said that the confidence, which his uncommon abilities and virture inspire, enables him to adjust matters of dispute with much greater facility than most other persons. ] 3. M. R6naud and family. He is a rich merchant of St. Domingo, who has just arrived with very considerable property, preserved from the wreck of an immense fortune. 14. M. Carles, a priest and canon of Guernsey, who retired to America with a small for- tune and who has now settled at Asylum; he is an industrious and much respected farmer. 15. M. Brevost a citizen of Paris, celebrated for his benevolence ; he was a member of all benevolent societies, treasurer of the philanthropic society, and retired to America with some property, a considerable part of which he expended on a settlement, which he attempted to es- tablish on the banks of the Chenango, but which did not eventually succeed. He now cultivates his lot of ground on the Loyalsock, as if his whole life had been devoted to the —49— same pursuit; and the cheerful serenity of a gentle, candid, philosophical mind still attends him in his laborious retreat. His wife and sister-in-law, who have also settled here, share in his tranquility and his happiness. 16. Madame d'A.utremont, with her three children. She is the widow of a steward (?) of Paris. Two of her sons are grown up ; one Avas a notary and the other a watchmaker; but they have now become hewers of wood and tillers of the ground, and secure by their zeal, spirit, politeness and unblemished character the sympathy and respect of every feeling mind. Some families of artisans are also established at Asylum; and such as conduct themselves properly earn great wages. This cannot be said of the greatest part of them. They are, in general, very indifferent workmen and much addicted to drunk- enness. In time, they will be superseded by more valuable men; and American families of a better description will settle here; for those who reside at present at Asylum are scarcely worth keeping. One of the greatest impediments to the prosperity of this settlement will probably arise from the prejudices of some Frenchmen against the Americans, unless self-interest and rea- son should prove the means of removing them. These are fre- quently manifested with that inconsiderate levity, with which Frenchmen in general decide on things and persons of the greatest moment; some of them vauntingly declare that they will never learn the language of the country, or enter into con- versation with an American. Whether particular facts and occurrences can justify this prejudice in regard to individuals, I will not affirm; but certain it is, that they can never justify it in the latitude of a general opinion. A conduct founded on such prejudices would prove extremely hurtful to the interests of the colony ; the progress of which has been already retard- ed by so many unavoidable obstacles, that there certainly is no occasion to create new ones by purposely exciting the animosi- ty of a people, among whom the colony has been formed, and who, in the judgment of every impartial man, must be con- sidered as in a state of less degeneracy than many European nations. —50— The real farmers who reside at Asylum live, upon the whole, on very good terras with each other; being duly sensible that harmony is requisite, to render their situation comfortable and happy. They possess no considerable property, and their way of life is simple. M. Talon lives in a manner somewhat more splendid, as he is obliged to maintain a number of persons to whom his assistance was indispensable. It is to be wished and hoped that the whole settlement may prove ultimately successful. A more convenient spot might, doubtless, have been chosen. But not to mention that, all ex post facto judgments are unfair, the present situation of the colony appearing so advantageous as to warrant the most san- guine hopes of success. Industrious families, however, without whom no settlement can prosper, must be invited to it; for it must be considered that, however polished its present inhabit- ants may be, the gentlemen cannot so easily dispense with the assistance of the artisan and the husbandman, as these can with that of the gentleman. A speedy adjustment of the present differences between Con- necticut and Pennsylvania, with respect to the estates contigu- ous to the lands of Asylum, would also prove a desirable and fortunate circumstance for this colony. None but persons of indifferent character are willing to settle on ground, the title to which remains a matter of dispute. Even the small number of colonists we found between Wilkes-Barre and Tioga are by no means praiseworthy in their morals ; and they are poor, lazy, drunken, quarrelsome, and extremely negligent in the culture of their lands. The valuable emigrants from New England from the eastern branch of the Susquehanna, who should be encouraged to settle here, will certainly not make their appear- ance, till they can be sure of cultivating their lands without opposition, and of retaining the undisturbed possession of their estates. It is therefore of the greatest importance to the com- pany of Asylum, that this weighty business should be speedily and finally adjusted. When that is accomplished, the company will doubtless embrace the earliest opportunity of advertising the whole million acres; they will endeavor to combine sepa- rate estates with each other, by purchasing the intervening —51— lands, they will make public their right of property, pursue a well concerted general plan, execute it with the requisite care and dispatch, and make the necessary sacrifices. They will per- ceive how advantageous and important it is to place Asylum, as it were, in full activity by constructing the roads already projected and commenced, by establishing a school, by inviting industrious settlers and by endeavoring to meliorate the Ijreeds of horses and cattle ; in short, by encouraging useful establish- ments of every kind. A few hundreds of dollars laid out here properly would produce the most considerable and lasting im- provements. In such cases, however, it is requisite to calculate well, that we may expend judiciously. By prudent and liberal measures, the prosperity of this French colony, and conse- quently of the company, would be essentially insured and pro- moted. And when this settlement shall have once ripened into a flourishing state, it will serve to connect the country, which is already cultivated along the banks of the river, above and below Asylum, and thus prove a source of animation to this interesting part of Pennsylvania. But, unless active and judi- cious measures be pursued. Asylum will inevitably suffer from the partial inconveniences which attend its situation, and from the errors committed in the first formation of this colony ; and instead of attaining to the wished for prosperity, it must, on the contrary, find its decline, if not downfall, in the very na- ture of its establishment. Everything in this settlement, at present, appears in a preca- rious condition. The price of provision depends on a variety of fluctuating circumstances. By the activity and prudence of certain individuals, the town is abundantly supplied with grain and meat, and this honest economy keeps provision at a moder- ate price. But men of a less hbei-al way of thinking have it also in their power to occasion scarcity of the first necessaries of life, and raise their price to a rate beyond all proportion to that of other commodities. The information, which I have been able to collect relative to the state of agriculture, however accu- rate at the present moment, can hardly be thought suificient for the direction of a planter, who should incline to settle here; I shall, however, lay it before my readers such as it is. —52— The land behind the town is tolerably good ; but that on the banks of the river consists of excellent meadows, laid out by families who settled here before the present colonists, produc- ing very good hay, pretty considerable in quantity, and they are capable of still farther improvements. The soil of Loyal- sock is, in general, excellent. Many trees grow there, which evinces its goodness, such as the white Virginian walnut tree, white oak, plane tree, sugar maple and hemlock fir. It is a circumstance worthy of notice, that half way between Loyal- sock and Asylum, common oak, which in the fields about the latter place is found in abundance, becomes at once so scarce that not 200 oak trees grow in the whole district of Loyalsock, which contains 2,500 acres. The price of the company's land is at present $2.50 per acre; very little, however, is sold. That of the town of Asylum fetches little more ; although there is little doubt that the price will raise gradually to 110. The land contiguous to Asylum, which does not belong to the com- pany, being at present in an unsettled state with respect to right of praperty, this circumstance renders it a very undesirable possession for such settlers as do not wish to expose themselves to the danger of subsequent litigations, and consequently to being dispossessed of their purchases. Hitherto the grain ap- pears to have suffered but little from the Hessian fly and from blights. The winter lasts here from four and a half to five months. Agriculture, however, has hitherto advanced so slow- ly that the cattle suffer much during that season for want of fodder. They are for the most part fed with turnips, gourds and straw of Indian corn. Both oxen and cows are of a very indifferent sort, as little attention hus been paid to the breed of cattle brought hither by the settlers. Both seed time and har- vest take place here about a fortnight later than in the vicinity of Philadelphia. The land yields about 15 or 20 bushels of wheat, 60 bushels of Indian corn and three tons of hay per acre. The soil seems naturally better adapted for meadows than for corn land; but from the little trouble attending the driving of the cattle into the forest, the produce in corn is rather appar- ently great than so in fact. In ploughing they generally employ oxen, which, it should be observed, are not subject to any par- —53— ticulur disease. They are at times driven to Philadelphia; and the country people frequently act here with so little judgment, as even to send them 200 miles off, vrhen they might ol)tain much better prices, and even ready money, in the neighbor- hood. The bullocks, which are consumed in Asylum, are gen- erally brought from the back settlements, but it is frequently found necessary to send thither for them. They are generally plentiful; the uncommon duration of the last winter, however, proved so destructive to the cattle that few are now to be seen, and a great scarcity of beef prevails at Asylum as well as in various other parts of America. The grain, which is not consumed in Asylum, finds a market in Wilkes-Barre and is transported thither on the river. In the same manner all kinds of merchandise are conveyed from Phil- adelphia to Asylum. They are carried in wagons as far as Har- risburg, and thence sent in barges up the river. The freight amounts, in the whole, to $3 per cwt. The salt comes from the salt houses at Genesee, on the lake of Ontario. Flax is pro- duced in the country about Asylum ; and the soil is very fit for producing crops of that commodity. Maple sugar is made here in great abundance. Each tree is computed to yield upon an average from two pounds and a half to three a year. Molasses and vinegar are also prepared here. I have seen Messrs. De Vilaine and Dandelot make sugar in this place, which much surpasses any of the same kind that has hitherto come under my observation. A considerable quantity of tar is also made, and sold for $4 per barrel containing 32 gallons. Day laborers are paid at the rate of five shillings a day. M. de Montule em- ploys workmen from the eastern branch of the river to clear his land; to these he pays half a dollar a day, besides allowing them their victuals; the overseer receives a dollar and a third per day; these people turn out to be very good workmen. They are easily procured, when employment is ensured to them for any length of time ; but otherwise it is very difficult to ob- tain them. The manufacture of potashes has also been com- menced at Asylum, and it is in contemplation to attempt the brewing of malt liquor. A corn mill and a saw mill are build- ing on the Loyalsock. —54— The foregoing is a brief sketch of the present state of this in- teresting settlement, which even a twelve months hence will no longer retain its present features. To judge from the actual condition of the probable progress and duration of this infant colony, it must either rise or fall rapidly. It is to be hoped that the want of familiarity to the original in my description, which may be observable next year in the colony, will arise from its rapid progress toward maturity, and this hope is grounded on probable appearances. Tuesday, the 2d of June. On our arrival at Asylum, it was not our intention to have stopped more than four days in that place. But the pleasure of meeting with M. and Madame de Blacons, a desire to obtain a thorough knowledge of the pres- ent state of the colony, as well as of its prospects of future im- provement; and the cordial reception we experienced from all its inhabitants induced us to add four days to our stay, and in the whole we stopped twelve days. On Tuesday, the 2d of June, we at length took our departure. Messrs. de Blacons and DuPetit Thouars joined our caravan ; the latter, who travelled on foot, had set out the preceding evening. The Duke says the little shops flourished " rather to the detriment of those at the nearest settlement, Tioga Point." Religious services were conducted in the log chapel by M. Fromen- tin and M. Carles. Some marriages occurred there. Some one of the emigres brought with them a beautiful illuminated missal which was used in the services. This missal was given to Laporte ; his son Judge Laporte gave it to Father Toner, a priest ministering in Towanda fifty 3''ears ago. Recently when inquiry was made it was learned that Father Toner carried it to Rome and presented it to the Vatican museum. A grist mill run by horse power was built (the first in Bradford County). It is said that one of —55— the ladies gave her silk dress for bolting cloth. In 1794- Louis Lefevre was licensed to keep an inn in Asylum ; in 1Y95 Heraud, the partner of Laporte, obtained a similar license and in 1797 Regnier and Becdelliere. The latter also kept store near where Miller's house now is, and among the earliest recollections of Abraham Vanderpool (born in 1796) was Mr. B's kindness to him in giving him raisins and candy. He says "I thought he was a very fine old man." At a later period John B. Rosett and Jos. Doyle were engaged in mercantile business, removing to Wilkes-Barre in 1804. Louis Lefevre's inn seems to have been on east side of river opposite Frenchtown, or else he had two. Aubrey was a blacksmith, probably a Frenchman. There are no records by which one can determine just how many French people lived at Asylum at its height, and there is no list of names of all settlers. There were a few births of which writer has no record except of John La- porte ; there were also a few deaths and one sui- cide, as related by Yankee settlers. It is not known that there are in existence any letters or papers bearing on Asylum, except those recorded in this volume, at the best all too meagre. Those who returned to France, or some of them, gave ac- counts of the Susquehanna Valley which later attracted thither various French families whose descendants still live in Bradford County ; notably Piollet and Delpeuch. One of the most charming and picturesque characters at the time of the Duke's visit, was —56— '^^^^^oc^ [This authentic portrait was obtained from the Bibliotheque Nationale, Rue de Richelieu, Paris, April, 1903. Aristide Aubert dupetit Thouars, familiarly called O^ V -^^ ^^ -76- @@ -A^ BIOGRAPHIES. ®)(S) r if. , Keating. John Keating came of an Irish family origin- ally of English extraction. Henry, the first of the name in the family record, lived within the so-called English Pale in the Fourteenth century. His descendants were summoned to Parliament as barons of the realm and suffered on account of thar religion first during the reign of Elizabeth, and again at the hands of Cromwell, by whom they were deprived of their possessions. James Keating, a second son in the line of descent, who lived in the Fifteenth Century, was Grand Prior of the Order of Malta and one of the thirteen Brothers of St. George, an English Order of Chiv- alry instituted in aid of the House of York during the wars of the Roses. Geoffrey Keating, who lived in the Sixteenth Century, was the well- known historian of Ireland. Another Geoffrey was captain in the Irish army at the battle of Aughrimand siege of Limerick in 1691, and after the capitulation, crossed to France with his regi- ment, which then took the name of the Queen's Regiment and formed part of the celebrated Irish Brigade, serving under Catinat in Italy in the wars of Louis XIV. He then returned to Ireland whence his son Valentine emigrated to France in 1766 to escape religious persecution. Upon his arrival at St. Germain, letters patent of nobility —79— were granted Valentine by Louis XV. in recog- nition of his rank in Ireland. John, the son of Valentine, and tenth in des- cent from the original Henry, was one of five brothers, four of whom entered the French ser- vice, and were officers in the regiment Walsh- Serrant of the Irish Brigade. The batallion to which John and two of his brothers belonged was sent to Martinique in 1780 under Ct. de Guichen. Thomas, the eldest, took part in three engage- ments with Admiral Rodney, and John, in the capture of Tabago. Thomas subsequently rose to the rank of major-general, commanding an army corps in Belgium, which saw active service under the French Republic. He was imprisoned by Robespierre, and died from the effects of his ill treatment. Both he and his brother William were awarded the cross of St. Louis for meritori- ous services. Thomas was subsequently, in 1792, upon recommendation of King Louis XVI. ad- mitted, in company with other French officers, to the order of the Cincinnati, presumably on account of his participation in the campaign in America. While in Martinique in 1781, John took part in a secret expedition destined, as it was supposed, for the United States, but while on their way up the coast, they were met by a sloop of war sent by Ct. de Grasse to inform them of the surrender of Cornwallis, whereupon the course was changed and the fleet headed for the island of St. Eustacius, which had just been cap- tured by the English from the Dutch. This they stormed with brilliant success, against great —80— odds, capturing the commander and his entire force. The regiment returned to France in 1783, was sent to the island of Mauritius in 1788, and again visiting Martinique on its way home, (where John was presented to the future Empress Josephine) was tinally ordered to San Domingo in 1792, and there John was placed in temporary command. There being then but little prospect of the resto- ration of the Bourbons, he resigned his commis- sion and came to this country, having previously been honoied with the military decoration in recognition of his services. His journal, already quoted, recounts his arrival in Philadelphia with but $280 in his pocket, and provided with two letters, one from the civil government of San Domingo to the French Consul at Philadelphia, and the other from General Rochambeau, then Military Governor of San Domingo, to General Washington. It also relates his subsequent con- nection with Asylum. After the abandonment of that colony he became associated with de Noailles in another land transaction in Tennes- see, and subsequently, through Messrs. Talon and Gernon. in a large purchase of some 300,000 acres of land in northern Pennsylvania, known as the Ceres Company, the management of which on behalf of a syndicate of foreigners devolved upon him and lasted throughout his life. Shortly after dissolving his connection with Asylum he married Eulalia Deschapelles, the daughter of Alexander Britton Deschapelles, a prominent planter from San Domingo, of noble —81 — French lineage, and took up his residence in Wilmington, Delaware. After his wife's death he returned to Philadelphia, where he resided during the balance of his life. He died at the age of ninety-six, being for some time the last sur- vivor of the officers of the French service during the French prerevolutionary period. By the death of his eldest brother, Geoffrey, the title of Baron devolved upon him, though, being then an Amer- ican citizen, he did not, of course, assume it. He was associated with many institutions of philan- thropy and charity in Philadelphia, and as his portrait indicates, was of imposing stature and possessed all the courtly bearing of a French gen- tleman of the old school. He was devoted to his church and to the memories of the monarchy in France. The present head of the family has in his pos- session, besides other interesting relics, portraits of Geoffrey and his wife (a Quin, whose father was the progenitor of the present Earl of Dun ra- ven) clad in gorgeous robes of crimson velvet, the letters patent of nobility granted to Valentine by Louis XVI, the cross of St. Louis awarded to General Thomas Keating, a portrait of Marie An- toinette, said to have been presented to John Keating by the Due de Berry, and a miniature of Talon presented by himself. John's oldest son, John Julius, married Eliza- beth Hopkinson, a grandaughter of Francis Hopkinson, the signer, and died early. His widow subsequently mari'ied William Biddle, brother of Nicholas Biddle, the financier, and —82— lived to an advanced age. She knew all the great statesmen of the ante-war period, visited the White House as the guest of John Quincy Adams, travelled extensively abroad and was possessed of a most interesting personality. Her memoirs would have been most entertainmg. John's second son, William H., was one of Pliil- adelphia's foremost citizens some seventy years ago. While a member of the legal profession he early devoted himself to scientific pursuits. He accompanied Long in his pioneer exploration of the Yellowstone, and wrote the history of the expedition; was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania; was also one of the projectors of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail- road Company, and in company with Frederick Fraley and others, founded the Franklin Insti- tute. His brother and he were members of the State Legislature at the same time, and his activ- ities ex;tended in many and various directions. He married Elizabeth, daughter of J. Eric Boll- man, a man of great prominence in his day, who enjoyed the intimacy of Lafayette and Madame de Stael, and took active part in many popular movements having for their object the extension of the great principles laid down in our Declara- tion of Independence. John Keatiug's grandson, the son of his daughter Eulalia, (who mai-ried her cousin of the name) was the late William V. Keating, M. D., who attained high rank in his profession, and was Surgeon-in-Chief of the Broad and Cherry Street Hospital, Philadelphia, during the war, besides holding many positions —83— of honor and trust. And finally John Keatin^'s great grandson, the late John M. Keating, M. D., who followed in his father's footsteps and enjoy- ed a wide popularity as a physician, was a vol- uminous writer and editor of medical works, which have attained a world-wide circulation. J. P. K. I. John Keating, b. in Ireland, Sept. 20, 1760, d. May 19, 1856; ra. Eulalia Deschapelles. Children: 2 John Julius, b. Sept. 16, 1Y98, d. . . 1824. 3 William H., b. Aug. 11, 1799. 4 Eulalia, b. Sept. 24, 1801, d. . . 1873. II. John^ J., m. 1824 Elizabeth Hopkinson. No children. III. William^ H., m. Elizabeth Bollman. Child: 5 Ellen E., b. .. 1840. IV. Eulaha^, m. Aug. 12, 1818, Jerome Keat- ing (cousin). Children: 6 Amelia b. . . 1820, d. . . 1886. 7 William N.,h. . . 1823, d. . . 1894. 8 Mary, b. . . 1833, d. . . 1864. VI Amelia Keating^, m. 1837 Peter Bauduy, Child: m. Caroline Bankhead. IX. Jerome^ K., b, Children: 10 William K. 11 Elizabeth. 12 Caroline R. 13 Mary. 14 Louis. 15 Jerome. -84- VII. William^ F., m. . . 1851 Susan La Roche. Children: 16 John M, h. . . 1852, d. . . 1893. 17 J. Percy, b. . . 1855, m. . . 1883 Caroline E. Dixon. 18 Eulalia, b. . . 1856. 19 Susan L.,h. .. 1858. 20 Mary, b. . . 1864, m. . . 1898 Mason Lisle. 21 Sophie B., b. . . 1866. XVI. John"^ M.,m. .. 1877 Edith McCall. Children: 22 Edith, b. . . 1878. 23 Elizabeth, b. .. 1880. 24 Margaret, b. .. 1882. 25 Peter McC, b. . . 1884. XVIII. Eulalia^, m. . . 1879 Mason Campbell. Child: 26 Virginia, b. . . 1881, m. . . 1902 John S. New- bold. XIX. Susa7i^ L, m. . . 1884 Lindley Johnson. Children : 27 Lindley, b. . . 1885. 28 Keating, b. .. 1887. 29 Marion, b. . . 1889. 30 Susan, b. . . 1890. VIII. Mary Keating^, m. . . 1852 Jas. M.Will- cox. Children: 31 WiUiam J, b. . . 1856, d. . . 1893. 32 Eulalia^, b. . . 1858, m. . R.W. Lesley, had Eulalia S b. . . 1880. 33 Mary, b. 1860. 34 James M., b. . . 1862, m. . . Louise Lindsley Reed. —85— d'Autremont. Hubert d'Autremont was a Parisian royalist, evidently belonging to a family of importance, as evinced both by his coat of arms and his intimacy with such prominent Frenchmen as Talleyrand; Dupout, a distinguished French writer and states- man, who was one of the commissioners in the Louisiana purchase; and Baron Neville, a bitter royalist. Hubert is said to have been guillotined early in the Revolution. His widow, Marie Jeaned'Ohet, with her three sons, Louis Paul, aet. 22, Alexander Hubert, aet. 16, and Auguste Francois Cecil, aet. 9, left France in 1792, their royalist principles making life un- certain there. In company with the family of her sister Madame Lefevre, and some others, they came to America, and settled on the Chenango on lands previously contracted for in France from William W. Morris, through his agent, Charles F. Bue Boulogne. They arrived evidently in the late summer of 1792, as an act of sale was made out by Boulogne in Philadelphia, Sept. 1792. In October, 1793, the oldest son on his way to Phila- delphia stopped at Asylum, doubtless to see Bou- logne. It was he who carried back to the Che- nango settlement an account of the proposed town that later attracted thither a number of his associates with his mother's family. The power of attorney under which Boulogne acted in making their contracts was lost in Paris, and, having never been recorded, after the death of Morris and Boulogne, the lands were lost, or SOoUAA/ti^ivon/L sold for a trivial sum on account of supposed poor title, though it was finally held good. (See Wen- dall Common Law reports N. Y. p. 82, vol. 7.) A recital of the case, drawn up in French * in 1805 by Louis Paul d'Autremont, then in Paris, is still in existence.* Their situation from the first was not a pleasant one, and it was not long before Mrae. d'Autre- [Original in French ] ♦Recital of the case which is to be begun against William VV. Morris to re- claim 6,000 acres of land or thereabouts situated on the Chenango River, Montgomery Co., New York. M. Charles Felix De Boulogne sold at Paris in 1792 lands under two differ- ent titles. 1st under power of attorney of M. M. Malachi Treat and William M. Mor- ris, proprietors of a certain quantity of lands upon the Chenango River, to Madame d'Autremont & to W. Brevost, 2nd as proprietors of a part of these same lands which he had purchased from said Treat and Morris the 16th of June, 1791 Contract passed before Wagner to M.Duvernet 1600 Notary Tublic at New York Bourneville 800 in presence of James Thompson, Silvestre 1600 Constable. Marguerite 800 At the time of the arrival of a part of the families in Philadelphia in 1792 the act of sale as well as fonde of powvoir of Messrs. Treat & Morris was made by Boulogne to Madame d'Autremont, Lefevre and Brevost before Pet- er Lohra. notary at Philadelphia, in the he^^iiining of September, 1792. As to the articles of sale which regarded y\. Duvernet and others, co- aquerems, it does not appear that they were made before a Notary before the 7th of December, 17!i4, and always before the aforesaid Peter Lohra, Notary at Philadelphia. M. Duvernet declares that the articles were placed in the bank of Philadelphia near the close of 1794. It is probable that this delay took place in order that the stipulation of lands might be made in a lirecise manner, and when the suivey which was made the following year should have been finished. The 2Ith of September, 1792, we find a copy of the articles of sale of 1.5360 acres made to Boulogne by M. M. Morris & Treat, that is to say that M. ."M. Treat and Morris comprehended in a single article of sale not only the 6000 acres of land which they had sold in 1791, but also the 9360 which they had directed Boulogne to sell in France. The articles of Bale realized upon oiu- passage to New York, when we went to take possess- ion of our lands included a definite quittance of the total price of the sale. We ought then to believe ourselves secure from all pursuit grow- ing out of the facts of the first sale to Boulogne. Nevertheless upon the death of the latter, which took place in 1795, or 1796, upon the Susquehanna, M. Morris swore that he had never received anything from the sale of his lands (illegible wordi all the purchasers who had bought by virtue of the powers given by himself and Treat to Boulogne, as well as the purchasers who had bouglit diiTi'tly of T5oulogne. These same purchasers by separat- ing the titles above mentioned, that is to say M. Duvernet | Silvestre Marguerite Bourneville | demand that measures should be taken in order that they may enter into possession of their lauds, which have to 'day a great value, being situated in a rich, healthy and inhabited country. ' d'AUTREMONT. —87— Members of the institute. mont decided to join her countrymen at Asylum, as did the Brevosts and Lefevres. In 1795, when Talleyrand visited Asylum, Louis Paul d'Autremont returned with him to France as his secretary, it is said. d'Autremont remained in France until his death in the forties, with the exception of a visit to America in 1836. He married in Paris and had one child, a daughter. He was a man of consid- erable ability, an ardent speculator in wild lands in America, whither his heart ever turned with as much love and longing for his family, and as much admiration for America (even the wilder- ness) as the French generally had for their own country. His letters to his mother, many of which are still in existence, are marvels of love and veneration, and his solicitude for her welfare and that of his brothers, stands apparently first in his mind. He made repeated efforts to secure for them a comfortable estate, which for some time he also fancied might be an asylum for him- self. The affairs of France led him to American- ize his name into Dauthrimonth, as he writes: " I must tell you that in order to avoid anything disagreeable I pass for a Canadian, here, have been naturalized as an Ameri- can, and have changed a little the architecture of my name." After the true French fashion he tried to ar- range marriages for his brothers, even at such a distance. At one time it was a family going from France to the Chenango lands with whom he hoped Auguste would make an alliance, again a young daughter of Madame Brevost, whom he knew at Ayslum, adding, " If she suits him, and, if on his side he pleases her, I think good mama, the affair had better be terminated. Marriage will do a great deal for Auguste, he is a fine looking boy, young and vivacious, and that is all that is necessary to be a good husband and father.'" A^ain he writes: " The affairs of Europe are becoming such, that if we had the misfortune to be defeated, there would be no other resource than to return again to those vast forests where one hears the Iro- quois." When Talon left Asylum, or a little later Mme. d'Autremont and her two sons returned to the Chenango tract, and lived on Butternut Creek near Pittsfield. Here they lived until 1806, when by the advice, and with the assistance of her son in Paris, she or Alexander purchased land at An- gelica, N. Y., where they lived and died, and where some of their descendants have lived ever since. Previous to this last removal, Alexander, des- perate at their failure to obtain title to Chenango land, followed the treacherous Boulogne to the West Indies, hoping to compel him to make resti- tution. Ill luck, however, pursued him, the ves- sel was shipwrecked, he reached land with diffi- culty, being impeded with the weight of a money belt belonging to a fellow passenger. He then had yellow fever and was very glad to return alive, without even seeing Boulogne. With the advice and constant assistance of Louis Paul, he engaged in farming and became prosperous, as did also his brother Auguste, though Auguste had for awhile a great desire either to return to France or to be a sailor. How- ever, he went to Wilmington and entered into business under the Duponts. He remained in Delaware for several years, removing thence to Hume, N. Y. Both of these men, as well as their mother, desired to return to France as much as Louis Paul did to America. But in time, doubtless influenced by their brothers' letters they resigned themselves to remaining here, though Augusta once paid a visit to his mother country. We re- gret that we cannot give space to all of the fas- cinating letters of Louis Paul, teeming always with good advice to the younger brothers, and sometimes showing an amusing ignorance of Yankee ways. Alexander had no sooner settled permanently than he wished to build a distillery for the manu- facture of whiskey. Louis Paul thought a saw mill, flour mill or the manufacture of saltpeter wiser, and seemed to be somewhat concerned about "wiske" drinking. He writes: "Above all, dear mama, see that Alexander does not make ijse of wiske the first year. I am told that the use of this newly distilled liquor will give one epileptic attacks." Mme. d'Autremont was probably born at Etampe, as the d'Ohet estate is situated there. She possessed a house at Dampiere, which may have been where she resided with her husband. Like a true French woman she was very fond of dress, and, even in her log house in the wilder- ness, she made her toilette several times a day, always donning full dress in the evening. She preserved many interesting letters, papers —90— and some portraits, most of which were destroy- ed by fire only 20 or 30 years ago. There still ex- ist, however, numerous letters from her son and his wife, her father's will, a list of the articles she brought from France, and her carefully itemized personal accounts. Most of these papers are now in the possession of a daughter of Auguste, resid- ing at Hume, N. Y., where he lived and died. Though Louis Paul was a resident of Asylum for but a short time, that he was actively concerned in affairs of the colony is shown by various pa- pers bearing his bold signature. Judge Stevens says : "He could speak the English language, and was amongst the handsomest and most active men of iis time." We regret that his portrait was destroyed and that we can only present those of his brothers. I. Hubert d'Autremont, m. Feb. 3, 1770, Marie Jeane d'Ohet, b. 1745. Children, born in France: 2 Louis Paul, b. Nov. 7, 1770, d. 184- in Paris, no male issue. 3 Alexandre Hubert, b. March 12, 1776, d. April 4, 1857. 4 Auguste Francois Cecil, b. June 7, 1783, d. Jan. 28, 1860. III. Alexander 2 H, m. 1798 Abigail Dodge, dau. Maj. Dodge. Children : 5 Adeline, b. July 12, 1800. 6 Amelia D., b. April 28, 1803, d. Jan. 13, 1876. —91— 7 Louis P., b. Jan. 28, 1805. 8 Victor D., b. Aug. 16, 1807. 9 Caroline, b. Dec. 8, 1809. 10 Ja7iet, b. Nov. 30, 1814. 11 Charles, b. June 26, 1818, d. March 3, 1891. 12 Alexander, b. April 2, 1821. 13 Virginia, b. July 30, 1821. 14 Sophia, b. Aug. 3, 1829, d. Oct. 17, 1894. V. Adeline^ d'Autremont, m. 1826 Ithamar Smith of Lyme, Conn. Children : 15 Janet, b. Feb. 9, 1827. 16 Emily, b. Sept. 15, 1828. 17 Amanda A., b. July 26, 1830. 18 John C, b. Nov. 3, 1833. 19 Alexander D., b. Dec. 25. 1835. 20 Harriet A., b. Jan. 10, 1837. 21 Caroline B., b. Oct. 2, 1839. 22 Abigail D., b. Oct. 4, 1831, m. Jan. 5, 1882, Dr. Randall Eeed. XV. Janef^ Smith, m. Charles Horton. Children. 23 Elizabeth Amelia. 24 Charles Frederick. XVII. Amanda* A. Smith, m. Llewellyn Budd, m. James Lancy. XVIII. John^ C. Smith, m. Rebecca Van Hoasen, no issue ; m. 1860 Emma F. Lock wood. Child: 25 John. XX. Harriet * A. Smith, m. July 15, 1876, Isaac W. Fassett. Child: 28 Frederick, b. Feb. 9, 1879. —92— XXI. Caroline* B. Smith, m. Augustus Bal- thasar. Children: 29 Frederica. 30 Harriet A. 31 Charles A. VI. Amelia^ D. d'Autremont, ra, Hugh Magee. Children : 32 Margaret. 33 John. 34 Henry. 35 Sarah. 36 Amelia. 37 Abigail. 38 Jane. 39 Angelica Church*, m. Daniel Beach. VII. Louis^ P. d'Autremont, m. Oct. 12, 1826, Hannah Magee. Children: 40 Abigail A., b. Dec. 24, 1827, d. 1899. 41 James P., b. Oct. 10, 1830, d. Oct. 1895. 42 Margaret C, b. July 1, 1833. 43 Mary C, b. Aug. 8, 1835. 44 Louis A., b. March 2, 1838. 45 Hannah, b. May 23, 1840, d. July 27, 1842. 46 Victor B., b. April 23, 1843, d. March 9, 1878. 47 Charles J., b. March 28, 1845. 48 Francis, b. Aug. 24, 1849. VIII. Victo?^^ D. d'Autremont, m. Isabella Common. Children : 49 Victor. —93— 50 Sophia. 51 John. 52 Abigail. 53 Belle. IX. Caroline^, m. Charles Brundage. Descendants live near Bath, N, Y. Have no further information. X Janet^ d'Autremont, m. Ephraim Smith. Descendants hve at Wellsville, N. Y. XI. Charles^ d'Autremont, m. 1850 Sarah Colhns, b. Nov. 19, 1822. Children : 54 Charles Jr., b. June 2, 1851, living at Du- luth, Minn. 55 Mary, b. Oct. 16, 1854. XIV. Charles^ d'Autremont, Jr., m. April 21, 1880 at Elmira, Hattie Hart. Children: 56 Antoinette, b. July 10, 1881. 57 Louis Paul, b. Aug. 23, 1883. 58 Charles Maurice, b. Aug. 6, 1887. 59 Hubert Hart, b. Feb. 19, 1889. 60 Marie Genevieve, b. March 9, 1892. XII. Alexander^ d'Autremont, m. Diana Howard. Descendants live near Angelica, N. Y. XIV. Sophia^ C. d'Autremont, m. Feb. 6, 1849, Lucien P. Wetherby. Children: 61 John K., b. May 15, 1851. 62 Harris V., b. Jan. 18, 1857. 63 Clarence L, b. March 17, 1861, d. 1879. IV. Auguste^ Francois Cecil, b. June 7, 1785 in Paris, d. Jan. 28, 1860, m. at Brandywine, —94— Del., July 15, 1816, Sarah A. Stewart, b. Sept. 10, 1794, d. Sept. 4. 1840. Children : 54 Matilda, b. June 1, 1817, d. Dec. 31, 1884. 55 Josephine, b. Jan. 31, 1820, d. May 7, 1901. 56 Augustus Jr., b. Feb. 29, 1822, d. March 29, 1889. 57 Mary H., b. July 27, 1824, d. July 8, 1836. 58 Fancois P., d. Sept. 12, 1847, in Mexico. 59 Caroline E., b. April 27, 1827, d. June 29, 1877. 60 Victorine, b. June 7, 1830, d. July 24, 1836. 61 Evelina E., b. April 17, 1833. 62 Andrine Sarah, ) b. Dec. 16, 1835. 63 Clodine, j d. July 18, 1836. LV. Josephine^, m. Oct. 15, 1846, Harden P. Mather. Children: 64 Charles Augustus, b. Sept. 29, 1847. 66 Walter D., b. Jan. 29, 1851. 66 Iheodore P., b. Aug. 3, 1853. LVI. Augustus^ Jr., m. Feb. 14, 1854, Adeline Mather, m. Jan. 4, 1863, Mary A. Hubbard. Children by Adeline Mather: 67 Frank, b. July 11, 1855, d. March 11, 1873. 68 George W., b. Nov. 3, 1856. 69 Julia E., b. April 3, 1859. 70. Lucian, b. March 12, 1861. Children by Mary A. Hubbard: 71 Addie, b. July 2, 1864, d. Sept. 25, 1889. 72 Carrie, b. July 2, 1870. LIX. Caroline^, m. June 22, 1858, Ralph Tay- lor. —95- Children : 73 Mary A, b. Jan. 29, 18—. H Carrie E., b. Nov. 29, 1862, d. 75 Alfred, b. July 6, 1869. LXII. Andrine^ S., m. April 19, 1869, S. A. Farman. Child: 76 Henry, b. April 26, 1871. LXXIII. Mary * A. Taylor, m. Nov. 10, 1878, Frank Clark. Child: 77 Ada. LXXV. Alfred Taylor, m. Children: 78 79 64 Charles'^ A. Mather, m. Dec. 18, 1882, Car- rie Corbin. Children: 80 Henry. 81 Josephine. LXV. Walter^ D. Mather, m. Nov. 28, 1876, Sarah Moore, d., no children; m. Emma. Children: 82 Charles. 83 Ralph. LXVn. Theodore^ P.Mather, m. Nov. 23, 1879, Mary Beardslee. Children: 84 Charles. 85 Elizabeth. LXVIII. George^ W. d'Autremont, m. 1878, M. Ayers, m. 1894, Jennie Skiff. —96— Child by M. Ayers: 86 Charles, b. Oct. 21, 1880, d. June 19, 1891. Child by J. Skiff : 87 Georgie O., b. Aug. 5, 1900. LXIX Julia E.^ d'Autremont, m. Aug. 31, 18Y8, Will Colburn, ni. Fred Stone. Children by Will Colburn: 88 Gracie, b. Oct. 31, 1879, m. James Wallace. 89 Ray. Child by Fred Stone: 90 Meta V., b. Feb. 14, 1902. LXX. Lucian^ d'Autremont, m. Sept. 4, 1888, Lizzie Clark. Children : 91 Roy A., b. May 24, 1889. 92 Louis F., b. July 22, 1891. 93 Addison M., b. May 4, 1895. 94 Mildred, b. Aug. 31, 1899. LXXII. Carrie*, m. Sept. 4, 1888, George Clark. Child: 95 Henry, b. Feb. 2, 1891. -97— Lefev re. Antoine Bartolemy L Lefevre was born in Paris 1750, His wife was Marie Genevieve d'Ohet, born in 1750, probably at Etampes, a suburb of Paris, as the d'Ohet family still have an estate there. Antoine, or Anthony as he is now known, was an architect in stone and master builder. He was also proprietor of a cafe, to which many prominent royalists resorted in the early days of the French Revolution. He there- fore soon fell under suspicion and thought it wise to leave Prance. In company with Mme. d'Au- tremont, (his wife's sister) John Brevost, M. Du- long and some others in 1792 he sailed from Havre in the ship Hanna, Captain Steborn. He had four children, (disputed) but under regulations then in force he could only take part of his family with him, therefore passports were made out for one son and one daughter. Before the vessel sailed the son died, whereupon the youngest daughter, disguised in her brother's clothing, was passed under his name, and accompanied her father ; the wife and son following them soon. This party settled on the Chenango River at or near Butternuts. But their surroundings were not pleasant, far from supplies and with Indians very near. To fill the measure of their troubles the title by which they held their land proved worth- less. They determined to join their countrymen at Asylum, and removed thither in 1794. M. Le- fevre secured one of the Loyal Sock tracts, just where cannot be ascertained, but his daughter —98— -.^-:-lJ-.vvJxV^.■ " ' t^aHUj^m ' SLjjk , ' ^y whom he had one daughter, Lydia, who married E. T. Fox, of To- wanda. As there are no living descendants of this wife we will not give genealogy. His de- scendants for the most part live in Bradford county. A town nearly opposite the old French- town was long since named for him, '' Hornet's Ferry." 1 Charles Homet, m . . 1793 Maria Theresa Scheilinger, d June 3, 1823. Children: 2 Charles Frederick, b. May 9,1793, d. . .1865. 3 Francis Xavier, b, April 1798, d. Jan. 27, 1890. 4 Harriet Theresa, b. March 2, 1801, d. Oct. 18, 1847. 5 Joseph, b. d. Feb. 26. 1880. II Charles F.2 Homet jr., m. Sept. 24, 1817, Lucy Stevens. Children : 6 Francis, b. July 8, 1820, d. . . 1867. 7 TJieresa, b. July 8, 1822 at Asylum. 8 Jonathan, b. Feb. 16, 1824. 9 Edward, b. May 3, 1826. 10 Milton, b. May 24, 1828, d. . . —HI— 11 Charles S., b. Maj^ 20, 1830, d. . . 1902. 12 Volneij, b. March 20, 1833. 13 Seth, b. March 13, 1836. 14 Josex)liA., b. May 18, 1840. VI Francis, ^ m. . . Mary Gilbert, nu onimren, m. . . Ada Chamberlain. Children : 15 Mary. 16 George S., b. m. 17 Rachel, b. . . m. . . Wells, has 2 daughters. VII Theresa,^ m. Oct. 9, 1848, U. Philemon Stone. 18 Charles R., b. May 27, 1849. 19 Thomas B., b. March 4, 1857, m. Children. 20 Ulysses P., b. Mar, 5, 1856. 21 Lucy, b. Nov. 9, 1865, m. . . Howard. Children: Nettie. Harriet. Genevieve. Jonathan. Theresa, b. x\ug. 9, 1858, d. . . VIII Jonathan,^ ra. Harriet Donley. Children : 22 Lucy. 23 Ada. IX Edward, ^ m. Maria Mingos. Child: 24 Lucy J. X Milton, 3 m. Mary Ann Irvine. Children: 25 Irvine, b . . . d . . . —112— 26 Theresa, b . . . m . . . XI Charles S.,^ m. June 11, 1861, Julia Hor- Children: 27 William H., b. March 22, 1862, married. 28 Eliza H., b. Dec 5, 1865. married. 29 Francis, b. Aug. 27, 1869. XXIX Francis,"^ m. Oct. 8, 1895, Lizzie Mor- row. Children: 30 Beatrice F., b. Oct. 4, 1896. 31 Evelyn F., b. Dec. 3, 1898. 32 Lida H., b. June7, 1901. XII Volney,^ m. April 30, 1861, Emma Ing- ham, b. Nov. 25, 1840, d. Feb. 26, 1893. Child: 33 Jessie, b. April 20, 1863. XIII Seth, 3 m. March 4, 1864, Elizabeth Eilen- berger. Children : 34 Marietta, b. Mar. 5, 1865. 35 Charles, M., b. Oct. 6, 1867. 36 Cora, b. Oct. 21. 1869, d, May 10, 1888. 37 Anna, b. April 16, 1877, d. April 18, 1877. 38 Geraldine M., b. June 29, 1876. XXXIV Marietta,'*' m. June 19, 1890, A. D. Nesbit. XXXV Charles^ M., m. Oct. 28, 1896, Caro- line Chamberlain. Children: 39 Elizabeth, b. May 25, 1897. 40 Marietta, b. Mar. 24, 1900. —113— III Francis^ X. m. June 24, 1828, Lucy Dodge, no issue. IV Harriet^ T., m. Oct. 11, 1822, Simon Stevens. Children : 41 Charles, b. Dec. 8, 1823, d. Dec. 5, 1895. 42 George, b. May 10, 1820, d. Oct. 5, 1897. 44 Harriet, b. April 20, 1825, d. Sept. 6, i860. 43 Ellen, b. May 10, 1830. 45 Mary S., b. Nov. 25, 1841, d. Dec. 25, 1871. XII Charles.^ m. Martha Decker. Children : 46 Beed, b. . . married and has children. 47 Helen, ) , m . Bert Kingsley, has children. tS Ella, ] '^• 49 Charles, b. . . . m. . . Minnie Kingsley, Children: Fred. Frank. XLII George, * m . . . Mary Eyer. Children : 50 Charlotte, b . . . 51 Susie, b . . . m. Chas Mayberry, 1 son Allen. 52 George, b. . . m. Frances Turner. Children: Mary. George. XLIII Ellen, 4 m. Nov. 21, 1849, Wm. R. Storrs, Children: . 53 Harriet, b. Nov. 2, 1850, d. Feb. 2, 1895, m. Oct. 11, 1871, A. L. Thomas. 54 William B., b. Aug. 20, 1856, d. Nov. 19, 1886. —114— 55 Marian E., b. Oct. 6, 1858. 56 Lillian, b. Nov. 1, 1864. XLIV Harriet,* m, M. J. Long, no living issue. XLV Mary^ S., m. Sept. 25, 1870. M. J. Long, Child. 57 Fanny Eleanor, b. Oct. 22, 1871. V Joseph, ^ m. . . Orris Brown. Children: 58 Jewett G. 59 Marion. 60 Lydia. XIV Joseph A., ^ m. .. Adelia Gordon Children: 61 Augusta. 62 Fanny. 63 Edward. 64 Minor. 65 Eleazer. Note — Joseph and family should come after No. 40. LXI Augusta,^ HI. .. Emory Kerrick. Children : 66 Joseph. 67 Helen. XXVH Wm. H^ Homet, m. Oct. 17, 1889, Addie Mitten, b. 1868. Children: Harold Mitten, b. Aug. 1, 1890. Roland Stevens, b. July 16, 1891. Julia Horton, b. Dec. 5, 1892. Edna, b. Dec. 27, 1893. Marion, b. May 8, 1895. —115— James Francis, b. Mar. 2, 1898. Mildred, b. July 14, 1899. Neva, b. June 11, 1900. Dorothy Crawford, b. Dec. 26, 1902. The above genealogy is incomplete and incor- rectly numbered, information came so late and so slowly. -116— APPENDIX. Sources of Information. In print, in possession of Hist. Soc. of Penna., some public libraries, and some private individuals. 1794 Journal of an excursion to the U. S. of America. Mr. Wansey. 1795 Travels through the U. S. of North America. Pub. 1797 in English. Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt. 1800 Travels through the States of North America, p 534. Isaac Weld, jr. 1804 The Trustees, p 35. Alexander Wilson. II. !Wilkes-Barre Gazette. Luzerne Federalist. Washington Internationalist. III. Receipted bills of work done in colony notes, &.c. In possession of Mrs. Louise Welles Murray. IV. Letters to Matthias Hollenback, Boulogne and others. V. Asylum Co. Agreements, Certificate of Stock, Minute Book, Catalogue of Sale in Hist. Soc. Penna. Tioga Point Hist. Soc. VI. County Records of Luzerne and Bradford. Lists of taxables, 1795 to 1801. VII. Family records and traditions of Laporte, Homet, Lefevre, Prevost, d' Autremont, Keating, C. F. Welles, Judge Stevens, Brown, Moody and Biles. VIII. Biographic Universelle. Nouvelle Biographic Geuerale. Soixante Ans de la vie d'un peuple. Biographic de Michaud. —117— IX. Various papers on Asylum written by Rev. David Craft for Bradford County History and Wyoming Hist. Soc, also letters, records, «&c., in "Craft Collection," Tioga Point Hist. Soc. X. "Memoirs of Comte de More" published in U. S. 1898 aa "A French Volunteer of the War of Independence." XI. This is the only bill of goods for Asylum known to be iu ex- istence, original in possession of Hollenback heirs. (A bill of lading for m'' Tallon" M. H.) EfEets delivrge au Charetier Pour Monsieur Tallon 9. Boittes de Vere a Vitre 3. Malles 200. lbs d'Acier 6. Boittes de difierentes Grandeurs 1. do. de Moutarde 1. Bbl. contenant Poids et Mesures 3. Q. *"^ de Cordage 1. Tiercone de Sucre blanc 4. Sacs Caffg 1. Bbl. de Salpgtre 1. do. Amidon 1. do. Epicerie 1. do. The 1. do Quincaillerie 1. do. Vinegre. Les effets charges sur les Wagons de M. Parrish doivent etre rendu a Wilkes Barrg et delivre au Col. Hollinback, qui payera le voiturage a raison de 11 shellings du cent pesant a comte du quel j'ai paye cinquante gourdes* tant pour ces objets que pour ceux chargfe ches M. HoUingsworth et par M. Wright. (The above is undated.) * "Gourde" is the Franco- American name for the colonial dollar in use in West Indies. —118— Translation of bill of lading. Goods delivered to teamster for M. Talon 9 Boxes window glass 2 Trunks 200 lbs of Steel 6 Boxes of different sizes 1 Box ©f Mustard 1 Bbl containing Weijjhts & Measures 2 hundred weight of cordage 1 Tierce of white sugar 4 sacks coffee 1 Bbl saltpetre 1 " starch 1 " groceries 1 " Tea 1 " Hardware 1 *' Vinegar The goods loaded on Mr. Parish's wagons should be for- warded to Wilkes Barre and delivered to Col. Hollinback who will pay the cartage at the rate of 11 shillings per hundred weight, on account of which I have paid fifty "gourdes" more for these things than for those charged to M. Holliugs- worth and by Mr. Wright. LETTER B. (Boulogne to HoUenback, Nov. 15, 1793, by the hand of (Viscount de Noailles.) Standing Stone, 9*^^^' ye ^^^^ 1793 Sir: I do not know if M'' Alexander hath delivered you a Letter which I wrote to you day betore yesterday, 2 hours be- fore the arrival of the Viscount de Noailles: in case you had not received that letter before the arrival of this one I wish you would be kind enough to send me as quick as possible 40 bushels of slack'd lime and some Lead sheet for four roofs win- dows. I want them absolutely to complete the buildings here. If you could also send me few Barrils of salted fish on reason- able terms you would oblige me, and if you cannot in your an- —119— swer pray let me know what is their common weight and price. In the conversation I had here withM'" De Noailles rendering my account, he seemed to me to think I had received from you more than one thousand Dollars, and particularly as if it was the 66 Dollars & f which you deducted from the 400 Dollars you iirst gave me. I suppose it is a mistake in understanding because you may easily recollect the circumstances and if I do myself my account in your Ledger is settled right. I wish you would examine it with the Viscounte de Noailles and AF Keat- ing and write me about it because I am very certain the deduc- tion hath been made. I shall want immediately for the payment of the workmen Labourers and mechanics I have here about two thousand two hundred Dollars, viz. about 1200 by the return of M*" d'Autre- mont who will be at Wilkesbarre as soon as the Viscount de Noailles and the other thousand dollars if I don't draw upon you for the amount in favour of some of the workmen who re- side in your place in about a fortnight or three weeks from this date. In case your business should call you from town, I hope and beg on you that you'll leave a word to M^^ Hollenback or your clerk to give the sum I call for : we are too distant from one an- other to be or have always somebody on the road for a trifle, and I must own it I was really surprised when M'' d'Autremont whom I had sent for 1000 dollars came back with 20, and more so when on your return from Philadelphia you only sent me 200. It now come into my mind that when you said or when M^- de Noailles understood that I had received over than 1000 dol- lars may be you included the amount of the goods which you have sent me; but on the other side I understand that we are to have terms for the payment of the supplies, and keep the ready cash for the payment of the workmen. Therefore I beg on you to clear the matter between M^ de Noailles and you, and have it in such a light that I might know perfectly on what I can depend. I remain with Consideration, Sir, Yours, Ch^s Bug Boulogne. You may deduct on the aforesaid sum the 60 pounds to be paid to Hesse's Kellogg & Delano. C. B. —120— LETTER C. To the President and Managers of the Asylum Company, Gentlemen : I must again repeat my application to you for redress, and shall lay my claim before you. In 1793, at the request of Mr. Robert Morris, I purchased for him and Mr. Talon the Flatts now known by the name of the Asylum Flatts, and gave my nol:es for the balance due the owners of the said lands. In 1794, Messrs. Morris & Nicholson, and associates Messrs. Talon and DeiSToailles formed the Asylum Company: the capi- tal stock consisting in lands purchased or to be purchased. The Asylum Flatts were given in and received by the Board, well informed of the above incumbrances: the changes made in 1795 caus^ed no alteration. In October 1801 new articles were made by divers share- holders, in order to protect and secure their rights; and on that account ))urchased at Marshal's sales all the estate of the said Asylum Company, excepting the proportion of 739 shares. The above-mentioned Notes becoming due, I had to pay them, because the Asylum Company had no other means of procuring money, than by Mr. Morris and Mr. Nicholson, who were successively the Presidents of the Company ; and their diflBculties were too great. Mr. Nicholson had even ceased paying the interest of six per cent payable to the shareholders. — However, in May 1795, being President, he mentioned to me that he, and not j\lr. Morris, would settle my claim against the Company : and on the 25th of the same month, he paid me as part of said claim .f 648. 60 on account of the Company. Owing to his embarassments, and of course to those of the Company on account of their connection, I could get nothing from him, nor from the Company, nor from Mr. Morris; and I was advised to begin a suit. It is evident from the above facts that I have been obliged to pay money for lands which the Asylum Company has held, and has even sold; and that it has been known the said Company from the first that part of their cost was still due me. I have constantly and regularly laid in my claim to the Board —121— and its agents. No change in its constitution can destroy or annul it; the payment of $648.60 shews it to have been ac- knowledged ; the proportion of 739 shares is at least liable to the payment of my claim, if not even the whole property. It could not be the intention of the late purchasers to cancel any bona-fide debt, but to secure their interests without impairing that of others. I have long since rendered the Company my account, with the exception of some costs ; and I do now expect they will do something for me. I have been often and repeatedly told the Company had no funds to pay me or any one; and have waited until I saw and heard of the company's selling large tracts of Land, and receiving sums of money for them. I never should have stood a suit on any of my notes, but was advised to do so by my counsel ; that a third person giving his note was not obliged to pay, as he had received no value for them : but when he saw my notes, he said I would have to pay them, which I did. — And now, gentlemen, all I ask is the money I have advanced with the interest thereon. The loss of my time, as well as my expenses, I will say nothing about. I pray you to do something for me. I am an old man, and can- not travel much longer for myself or any one else; and I have a family depending on me for support. I am. Gentlemen, with due respect, Wilkes Barre, Your very humble servt Aug. 10, 1814. Matthias HoUenback. (Copies of two of the notes referred to in the above letter) (both given to Charles Townley, May 28th 1794) (1) I Promise to pay unto Charles Townley or his order the sum of Nineteen pounds sixteen shillings and 10*^ good and lawful money of Pennsylvania, to be paid by the first day of November next after the date hereof. For the value received —122— in a Tract of land Purchased for Viscount Noailles on Standing Stone flatt. As my Hand and Seal this 28th day of — (May) —A. D. 1794. (Witness ?) Joseph A. Rathbun. (Signature torn off) (Assignment of the above.) I do assigne the within note to Rich^ Townley for his own use. Asylum 1st Octi" 1794. Charles Townley. Note 19.16.10 11. 7 20. 8. 5 (The Second Townley Note.) I promise to pay unto Charles Townley the sum of Fifty Pounds, Good and Lawful Money of Pennsylvania, to be paid by the first day of November which will be in the year A. D. 1795, for the Value Received in a Tract of Land purchased of said Townley for Viscount Noailles on Standing Stone flatts. — As witness my hand and seal This 28^^ ,jay of May, A. D. 1794. For Matthias Hollenback. (SEAL) Ben. Perry. (Receipts and other Memoranda upon the back of Note No. 2.) (1) Received 20th Dec^ 1795 two dollars on the within. Charles Townley, (2) Reed May 23^ 1796 on this note three pounds eight shillings and sixpence. L.3. 8. 6. C. Townley. (3) Rec<^ May 2Qt^ 1797 of the within note three pounds P. C. ( i. e. Pennsylvania Currency) his Robt X Alexander mark (4) Reed Oct. 3ist 1797, of the within note Twenty-one Pound and Sixpence, Pn Cy : By me, John Harvey (5) (In the hand of M. H.) John Alexander says he paid — first three pounds 3. 0. then 55. 9. H 58. 9. 11 the note is 51. IG. 6 —123— (Boulogne to Hollenback, by the hand of Obadiah Gore Esq.) (Nov. 15, 1793) Standing Stone, 'jber 15th 1793. Sir: Esq''^ Gore going to your place on account of Business and having some business with him to settle, I have drawn this day at sight on you & to his order the sum of fifteen dollars which I hope you'll pay on presentation and charge it to the account of, Sir, Yours Ch^s Bue Boulogne (Boulogne to Hollenback, by the hand of Asa Johnson) (Nov. 16, 1793.) Standing Stone, ober ^Qih 1793 Sir: Confirming my two letters of yesterday one carried to you by the Viscount de Noailles the other by Esq^e Gore, I write to you this one to advise you that I have drawn upon you at sight, Dollars 42, order of Asa Johnson ditto 46, do of William Dunmead Total 88 Dollars, to which Draughts I hope you'll give a due acceptance. I suppose the Viscount hath spoke to you relating the frank- lin stove and pipes, which we want here, the weather hinder- ing us from having the chimneys made; therefore I beg you to send them as quick as possible. I remain with esteem, Sir, Yours, Ch^s Boulogne. (Boulogne to Hollenback, by Joseph C. Town, Nov. 32, 1793.) Standing Stone, 9ber 32^ 1793. Sir: I received yesterday by M^ d'Autremont the favour of yours dated 18th instant, as also the four hundred Dollars which you had delivered to him, for which you are credited. And give —124— you by this notice that I have drawn this day ou you at 20 days sight the sum of one hundred and eighty dollars order of Joseph Curtis Town, to which draught I beg you to give a due accept- ance, also credited you of the same. You tell me, sir, in your letter of the 4th instant that you have received my two draughts on Kobt Morris for 2000 Dol- lars cash & moreover from the Viscount de Noailles one thous- and dollars toward my supplies till January, which makes in all three thous^ Dollars deducting what I had received; in your last of the 18th you tell me the 400 Dollars you seud me are all you can spare; that as to the supplies you expect to be paid as I agreed with you for and no otherwise; and you add you have agreed with the Viscount de Noailles to accept my draught on you in the amount of 800 Dollars. I see nothing clear and explicit in those letters, and I should like to know on what I can depend. All I see thro' this, is that if you don't intend to be paid down for our supplies, you ought to have more than 400 Dollars to spare; and if you do intend to be paid for those supplies either beforehand or on the delivery, I wish to know it as quick as possible and as plain also as possible be- cause I shall act accordingly. I believe that I ought to know on what ground I am to stand, particularly having business with so many hands from all quarters for work & being deter- mined to take no engagements that I could not fulfill. I remain, with Consideration, Sir, Yours, Ch^s Bu6 Boulogne. (Boulogne to M. H., Nov. 27, 1793.) Standing Stone, O^^^'r 27^^ 1793. Mathias Hollenback E8q''<^_ Sir: This is to inform you that according to your Letter of the 18th instant I have drawn to-day on you at twenty days sight, order of M^" Elizer Gaylord the of sum twenty-four Dollars to which draught I expect you will give full acceptance & charge to the account of Sir, Yours, Ches Buf. Boulogne. —125— (Boulogne to M. H., arrival of Dupetit Thouars.) Standing Stone, O^er 30th 1793. Sir: M^ Dupetit Thouars with all his hands arrived here yester- day, and also M^- Perrault ; the last brought me a letter from M^ Talon, who tells me he expect to be here the 6th or the 8th of next month. I cannot use the opportunity which I seize to forward you this letter, to send some papers to M"" Talon while he will be in your place, but I shall send an express to-morrow, in order so meet him in time if possible. The boat is starting, therefore I have no time to say anything more but that I remain. Sir, Yours, Ch^s Bue Boulogne. (Boulogne to M. H., by Palmer Shaw, Dec. 3, 1793.) Standing Stone, X^er 3d i793_ Sir: I received by M'" Palmer Shaw your canoe man the two Barils of slacked lime you have sent me, as also the 2 Barils of Nails, one large anvil, 1 bick horn*, 1 stack to make nails, and six bars of Iron which M^ Dupetit Thouars had left behind him. I also received by M^ Town your letter of the 20*^ last, ad- vising me of the arrival here of Esq^^ Ross's Boat, with differ- ent things for the settlement. I remain. Sir, * Beak horn. Yours, Ch^s Boulogne. (Boulogne to Hollenback, Dec. 3, 1793.) Standing Stone, Xber 3d 1793. Sir: This is to inform you that according to you Letter of the Igth of November last I have this day drawn on you at twenty days sight to M^" John Harvey or order the sum of fourty two Dollars which you'll be kind enough to accept and charge to the account of Sir, Yours Ches Bug Boulogne. —126— (Boulogne to HoUenback, Feb. 27, 1794.) February 27*^ 1794. Matbias HoUenback Esq^e Sir: This is to give you advice of my draught for M'" Talon accompt, upon you this day at 10 days sight order of Joel Greener for fifty Dollars to which draught I beg on you to do a good reception : you'll oblige, Sir, Yours, Ches Bu6 Boulogne. (Boulogne to HoUenback, April 30, 1794.) Azylum, April 30^^ 1794. Sir: I Received by Benj. Slocum's boat the boxes Casks &ca mentioned in your last. This one vfill be favoured to you by M'' Dandlau, one of our gentlemen who is kind enough to go to your place to see what can be the reason why Blanchard does not come back with the plough, harrow-teeth chains, &ca. I have heard here he was taken sick. I am sorry of it, but as we want those things immediately on account of sowing, plant- ing »&c^> you'll oblige me very much to have those articles de- livered to him and send them immediately in the canoe Blanch- ard had from us; and as we want also 300 lbs German steel, 600 lbs iron for cart wheels, ^ inches thick & 2 inches wide, if it can be had, otherwise send it as you generally make use of for your wheels; 4 or 5 Bundles of strong nails rods for making nails about 5 inches long, half a gross of H-L inges (hinges) 11 inches, for hanging doors, a gross of H-L 6 inches Inges for hanging windows, a couple of doz. of Latches & Ketches; those Inges, Latches & Ketches of the best quality you have and the neatest: a small baril of 20 penny nails, 1 baril of 10 penny d^o, 1 d*o of 8 penny, 1 small ditto of 6 «& 4 penny, and the same quantity of brads. I shall be obliged to you to deliver to him also those articles immediately, and find him some men to come up the river with the canoe Blanchard went down with, and the one that was left in your care last fall by the Viscount de Noailles. I suppose those 2 canoes will be sufficient to bring the whole, as also 18 spades & 6 shovels, 6 grubbing howes. —127— I have already wrote to you on account of some fat cattle to be sent here. I beg on you also to send with them two good yoke of working oxen, and 6 yoke and bow for them and others. Pray loose no time in sending a wagon to M'" Heller to have the remainder of the goods that are there, for we are in the greatest want; and if possible keep your boat ready to have them as well as other wagons that I am informed are coming, as quick as possible ; and be kind enough to see if they are in good order. I don't expect I shall make use of the money which IVF Keat- ing & M^ Talon writes me to take from you, amounting to 300 Dollars, other ways than for the payment of the draft al- ready given upon you, and a bill I have given M*" Town, which amount to 133 Dollars, and which he hath remitted to M^ But- ler ; or for the payment of small matters which the Bearer may want in his journey. I remain with esteem. Yours, Ch'^s Boulogne. Please to send some body with the bearer at (to) Blanchard's house in order to know exactly what are the things that were to be delivered to him. Send me also one doz. small cast iron pots, 1 gridiron 6 kettle and 2 good Bushels, stamped. The men that are to come with the canoes will find themselves in provisions & liquors. (Outside address.) Math^ Hollenback Esqre Wilkesbarre : in his absence to hi® Lady or their clerk. Favoured by Mr Dandlau. (May 30, 1794) (John MontuUg to Matthias Hollenback) Sir: When I was last at Wilkesbarre I left a horse at M^" Amos Fell's: the horse has partly lost his sight but is as good a horse as possible for the Waggon or Plough. I will take it as very kind if you will take it from M^" Fell, who wrote me the other day, and sell it to very best ad- vantage. The horse is young and would recommend it to you for your own use; whether you do it or sell it to any —128— body else I will thank you to pay AF Shaw or order what re- mains of an execution obtained against me in spite cf all jus- tice. The ballance is seven pounds five shillings and sixpence. I will take it as very kind, and will remain with all esteem, Sir, 30th May 1794 Your very ob* serv^ Col. Hollenback. J. Montull6 (same to same Julv 13, 1794 ?) Sir: I can hardly take up the pen, being extremely reduced by several fits of fever and ague: however, I exhert myself to write a few words, to beg you, sir, to deal for the horse as you would for yourself; tho' he has lost his sight I take it to be low at seven pound ten ; but I repeat again that I agree to any bargain you'll make about it, and that I wish you to sell it soon, as I never intended that you should advance the money, or at least for a very short while. I think I am pretty safe with regard to the execution. I remain, sir, with esteem. Asylum, 13th July (1794 ? ) Your h^Jle Servant, Matthias Hollenback. J. Montull6 (Boulogne to Hollenback, Aug. '94) Sir: Please pay to M^' B. Slocum the sum of twelve Dollars one shilling and threepence, in full payment of the carriage of 23 hundred weight and 3 quarters of goods by him brought to Asylum and sent by you, which sum hath been forgotten by you in your last account current. Wilkesbarre August 8th 1794. Math. Hollenback Ches Boulogne Esq^"^ Wilkesbarre. for the Asylum Company. (Endorsed) Received August 8th 1794 of Matthias Hollenback The within sum confitte. L4.il.3 Benjamin Slocum. (J. ]Montull6 to M. Hollenback, Sept, 25th, 1794) Sir: The following articles I beg you will be so kind as to se- cure in your store, to be forwarded to Asylum to i\Ir. Keating —129— by the first opportunity. As I intend to move up very soon with part of my family, I should like to know if the water will allow to go up in a small boot, and whether such thing might be procured at Wilkesbarre. In case the water being too low for boats, would it be a matter of possibility to hire a canoe to carry one ton. I shall take it as a great kindness, Sir, if you will take the trouble to give me such information, and likewise if horses fetch a good price in your place ; as when I move up I shall have two capital horses to spare. I remain with all esteem, Sir Col. Hollenback. Your very ob* Serv* Pottsgrove, 25th 7bre, 1794. J. Montulle. The load consists of three chests covered with leather and skin, two chests of plain wood, one large bundle containing beddings, Nos. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17; six articles and one large copper kettle. (John Montuile to M. Hollenback, Nov. 26, 1784) Sir: I expect that before long M'' Heller will forward you some goods marked Sibert No 1 — 2 — «&c, «&c., and likewise some marked MT, and numbered. I beg you will be so kind as to use the first opportunity to send them up to Asilura. You will be pleased to let me know what may (be) the expense of the carriage and storage ( — ) I will make immediate remit- tance. M^s Sibert and M^^ La Roue beg to be both remembered to M^^s Hollenback. Please to receive my grateful thanks for your kindness to us during our stay at Wilkesbarre, and believe me with all esteem. Sir, Your very o^t h^le gerv^ Asilum, 26, 9b. 1794. J. Montulle (J. MontuUg to Mrs. Matthias Hollenback, undated; probably in March or April 1795) Madam : This moment comes to my knowledge that M^^ Sibert, who chiefly owns the goods deposited in your store room, had in date of the 8^^ of March writtea to M^" Blanchard to take up the said goods. M^ Colin has done the same; therefore it is —130— not in my power to disappoint him. This is a circumstance un- known to me till this moment. I beg you will order the whole to be delivered to Mr. Blanchard ; tho' it seems that your boat will be the first ready ; but according to the above meutioned letter I should certainly be blamed. I have the honour to be, with great esteem, Madam, Your very ob^ Serv* J. Montull6 (J. Montullg to Matthias Ilollenback) Asylum April 29th 1796. Sir: I never was so surprised and disappointed as when I heard three days previous to the favour of yours, that M'" Nich- olson had not paid part of a pretty large sum of money he was to lodge in M^ de Mahy's hands en my account. I have written about it by this post. I beg it as a great favour that you would wait for an answer, which I shall com- municate to you : if not satisfactory I will make provisions otherwise to take up my note. I remain, with high esteem, Sir, Yours, J. MontuUe —131- List of Taxables at Asylum. Wyalusing Assessment 1796, earliest known list ( Craft ) with spelling used by assessor Brunert, Peter Buzard, Laurence Brovost, John Bigdelier, John Beloughne Chas ( Wysock's roll ) Colony, Mansey Demene, Francis Dandilott, Henry Dutremont, Widowe Fromenta, Elijah Keeton, John Lafaber. Bartholemew Laporte, Bartholemew La Roue, Caz'a Lefeber, Lewis Montale, John Noailles, Guy Obray, George Reo, Francis Sebart, Sophia Talon, Omer 1799 Blacons, Laucretius Buzzard, Larence Becdeliver, John Calling, Mansey Demene, Francis Keating 6 houses Larou, Casimfere Lefaver, Antony Lefaver, Lewis Laroue, Jas. Laporte, B Noailles, Guy Hornet, Charles —132— Rosset, John Regniei, Peter Bedeliver, John Desmesne, Francis Laport Larou, Carisime Lefebe, Ant. Laroue, Jos. Hornet, Charles Rosset. John Bedelevere, John Brevost, John Buzzard, Law Collein, De Noailles, Louis Demene, Fr. Hornet Laporte Laroue, C. Lefeber, L. Lefeber, A. Laroue, Jos. Regnier, P. Rosset, Mer. 1800 1801 store & house Gristmill House & distillery 1802 1000 acres unimproved land Bigdelaver, John Brevost, John Buzard, Laurance Asylum Co. Collins, Mansey Demene, Frances Homet, Charles Leport, Bartholemew Lefever, Anthony Lefever, Lewis Obrey, George Regnea, Peter These assessments are recorded as in Wyalusing twp. —133— Plan of Association of the Asylum Company, AS ESTABLISHED APRIL 22, 1794— Improved April 27, 1795. Articles of agreement made and entered into this 22nd day of April, 1794, by and between Robert Morris, Esq. of the City of Phila. and Senator from the State of Pa. in the Senate of the U. S. on behalf of himself and others his associates of the one part and John Nicholson Esqr. of said city, Comptroller Gen- eral of the State of Pa. on behalf of himself & others his as- sociates of the other part: Witnesseth — that the said parties have entered into an association or company, for the purpose of settling & improving one or more tracts of country within the state of Pa., having already acquired the titles to a number of valuable tracts of land, situated in Luzerne, Northumberland & Northampton Counties, which they are ready to dispose of to actual settlers and to such others as will send settlers upon the lands they purchase. And in order to insure the best and most faithful management of the affairs of this Company for the benefit not only of said parties, but also of all who may eventually become interested therein, the following articles are agreed to & adopted viz : — 1. This association shall be styled the Asylum Company. 2. The capital stock of this Co. shall consist of lands, some of which are already purchased, & others are to be purchased, within the state of Pa. to the extent of 1,000,000 Acres there- about. 3. The said capital stock in lands shall be represented by so may shares or actions, of 200 acres each, as will amount to the quantity of land actually and bona fide the property of the company. 4. The affairs and business of this Company shall be con- ducted by a Board of Managers, to be elected annually by the holders of shares or actions, each share entitling the holder to a vote to be given personally or by proxy duly authorized. 5. The Board of Managers shall consist of a President & 4 —134— members to be chosen from amongst the share holders of whom the President and 2 members shall be a quorum competent to transact business. 5. The said board shall have authority to employ a secre- tary & treasurer if necessary. 7. The said Board of Managers shall be authorized to em- ploy one or more agent or agents, & one or more surveyor or surveyors to be stationed at the most convenient place, for the sale & survey of lauds to be bought & sold by the company. 9. The Board of Managers shall have power to purchase for & on acc't of the Co. any lands in Pa. particularly those lying in the tract of district of county above described, (provided al- ways that the quantity belonging to Co. shall not exceed 1,000,- 000 acres) on the lo^^est price and the best terms they can ob- tain them, consistently with the real interests of the Co. 9. The title to all such lands shall be vested in the Presi- dent of the Board of Managers for the use of the Co., who shall execute a declaration of trust to be deposited in the Bank of the U. S., subject only to the occasional calls of the Board of Managers duly met to transact business, for the pur- pose of making additions thereto, as purchases are made, & in order to show the same to share-holders or purchasers when re- quired. 10. The Board of Managers shall have authority to sell or contract, either by themselves or by means of their agents, for the sale of any lands or lots belonging to the company with such purchasers as shall agree to become settlers or shall engage to place settlers on the lauds or lots they purchase. The price to the first purchases, or those who purchase within one year, shall not be less than $3 per acre nor shall more than acres be sold to any one person. The purchasers may have credit for 5 yrs, paying interest to commence the 3rd year at the rate of 6 per ct. per annum on the amounts for which they take credit. Purchasers paying ready money shall have a discount of 2 yrs on the amount they pay & also a discount of interest for the unexpired time of 2 yrs if they make payments after the pur- chase and previous to the expiration of 2 yrs. 11. The President for the time being, shall in presence of the Board of Managers, execute all deeds of conveyance to —135— the purchasers of which proper record shall be kept by the Secretary in a book to be opened by him for the purpose, which book shall be produced at every meeting of the board. 13. The board or their agents may covenant to make title to the purchasers when the payments are completed, or title may be granted immediately & mortgage taken to secure the payment of the bonds. DUTIES OF SECRETARY. 13. The Secretarjr shall attend every meeting of the Board of Managers, he shall keep regular minutes of their proceed- ings, he shall summon such meetings when directed by the President or upon application of any two or more members of the Board or upon application of 20 share-holders, by sending a notice in writing to the President and each member, mention- ing the time and place of such meeting. 14. Vacancies which may happen in the Board of Managers by death, resignation or removal to a distance of any member or members may be supplied by an election of the board for the remainder of the year, until the next general election by the share-holders. 15. The Board of Managers shall have power to make use of the Bank of the U. S. instead of a treasurer, if they find upon experiment that they can make it answer the purpose ; if not, they may choose a treasurer who shall be paid for his services, & give security for the faithful discharge of his trust. He shall deposit all the monies of the Co. in the bank for the use of the Co. which shall only be drawn out at such times & in such sums as the Board of Managers may direct ; and he shall safely keep all notes bonds & mortgages & other obligations of the Co. He shall collect all monies for the same as they be- come due & place the sums he so collects in the bank in man- ner aforesaid. 16. The Board of Managers shall cause h set of books to be opened & kept (by the treasurer if they shall choose one, or by the Secretary if they have no Treasurer) wherein shall be regu- larly entered a proper account of all the purchases, of all the sales, of all monies received and paid, of all notes bonds & mortgages & specialties of every sort & kind, & of all expendi- —136— turcs, & these acc'ts shall be so settled & adjusted, and an ab- stract thereof shall together with the said books, be laid before the shareholders at every annual meeting to be held for the purpose of electing the Board of Managers, & at every such meeting the Board of Managers shall give a full & fair acc't of tjieir proceedings & of the actual state of the Go's affairs en- trusted to them. 17. The Board of Managers shall i)rovide an office in the city of Philadelphia wherein to hold their meetings, & the Secretary shall attend on such days in each week and hours in those days, as the Board may direct, for the purpose of laying before any shareholder that may desire it, the book of minutes the book of acc'ts, & to give such other information respecting the estate and affairs of the Co. as will convey a true idea of the actual situation. HOAV TRANSFERS ARE TO BE MADE. 18. The certificate for shares or actions shall be transfer- able at the pleasure of the holder, but the transfers must be made by the holder in person, or by his atty, at the office of the Board of Managers in presence of the Secretary who shall keep a record of all such transfers in a book to be kept for that purpose, which transfer shall be signed by the person so transferring, who shall also deliver up the old certificate & new ones shall be issued to the same am't to the transfere. 19. The Board of Managers shall employ all monies rec'd in the purchase of lands or in paying for what they have until their contracts & engagements shall be performed and fulfilled; after which they shall declare & pay such dividends every year, or oftener if sums are rec'd to make it worth while to the stock holders as will absorb the am't of their receipts to the time of such declaration. 20. The Board of Managers shall cause a statement of the Co's. purchases & sales to be made out & printed every six mos. which shall show the quantity of land purchased to that time, & the prices pd for the same also the quantity sold to that time and the prices obtained, so that a fair esti- mate can be made of what remains, and of the rising value thereof; one copy of the said statement shall be regularly trans- —137— 9 mitted to each share holder agreeably to the address which he shall leave at the Go's office. 21. This Co. shall exist for 15 yrs, and at the eud of that time, all remaining lands, bonds, notes, debts & other property of the Co. shall be sold for cash only, at public aucticni under the direction of the Board of Managers the premises being first ad- vertised for 6 consecutive months in the public newspapers of most note in Pa, & such other of the states as the Board shall think necessary, fixing the time and place of holding said sale. 22. Within 60 days after such sale, the whole acc'ts of said Co. shall be made up & closed & the whole balance shall be equally divided amongst the number of shares, &such dividend shall then be payable to every share holder upon demand at the bank of the U. S. or such other bank as the Board may then appoint & announce in the newspapers. Here follows the usual covenants each party binding him- self in the sum of $1,000,000 to faithfully carry out these arti- cles and they are signed by the parties — Robert Morris & John Nicholson, in presence of John Keating, & Garrett Cottringer April 22 1794. Feb 21, 1795 it was resolved to pay a dividend of 6 per ct per annum on each action estimated at $500. & in case suffi- cient monies were not received to make these payments, the board was to borrow enough to enable them to make the payt. New Articles, Whereas April 22 1794 certain articles of April 25. 1795. agreement containing a plan of association or Co. styled the Asylum Co. were entered into between Robt. Morris & John Nicholson in behalf of himself & others his associates of the other part, as by reference thereunto may more fully and at large appear. any shall repre- sent & entitle the holder to that portion of interest in the same that such share bears to the whole number issued, so that in case all the said 739 shares shall be exchanged then the whole number under the same shall be 2000 shares & each share rep- resent & entitle the holder to a 2000th part of the whole capi- tal stock of the Association. Article IV. That the legal title to the lands of this Associa- tion shall be vested as heretofore in 2 or more trustees, who shall hold the same ia joint tenancy, in trust to convey the same to purchasers and others, agreeably to the articles & in case of the death, resignation or removal of them, or either of them, to a greater distance than 10 miles from the city of Phila. the B(>ard of Managers shall supply the place of such Trustee or Trustees by appointing another or others «fc such conveyances shall be made as shall vest the titles in the new Trustee or Trustees, in the same manner as they were in the former & so on toties quoties. Article V. All the concerns and interests of this Association shall be conducted & managed by five persons to be annually chosen by and from among the shareholders, who shall form a Board of ^Managers. The said Board shall elect one of their number President. The President & 1 manager or 3 managers in the absence of the President shall constitute a quorum to transact all business except th( sale or purchase of any property —143— of, or for this Association which shall require the consent of 4 of the Board. Article VI. The managers shall be chosen by the share hold- ers in person or by proxy annually on the 2nd Monday in Jan. at the Go's office. The election shall commence at the hour of 10 A. M. & public notice thereof shall be given at least 15 days before the election — the number of votes to vehich each share holder shall be entitled at every election shall be according to the number of shares he shall hold in the proportions following that is to say For 1 share and not more than 2 — 1 vote For every 2 shares above 2 & not exceeding 10 — 1 vote " " 4 " " 10 " " 30—1 " " " 6 " " 30 " " 60—1 " " " 8 " " 60 " " 100—1 " " " 10 " " 100 " " ...1 " But no share holder shall be entitled to more than 30 votes & no share shall confer the right of suffrage unless held three calendar months before the election. For the remainder of the present year and until the next election William Cramond, John Ashley, Louis de Noailles, John Travis & James Gibson shall be & they are hereby appointed managers of this Associa- tion. Article VII. The Board of Managers shall have power to settle and improve, to sell & dispose of the land, property and stock of this Association, in such manner & upon such terms as they shall from time to time think proper, & where any clairiis of title by others may interfere with those of this Association they may compound, compromise & settle the same by relinquishing the claims of the Association or other- wise & direct such instruments to be executed by the trustees as may be necessrry to carry such settlement into complete ef- fect (The Board of Managers fix rates and receive shares in pay- ment) & the said Board of Managers shall generally have power to do & perform all such acts & things & employ such persons as may be needful & necessary for carrying into effect the de- signs of this Association. Article VIII. The Board of Managers shall for the purposes aforesaid, have power from time to time to raise such sums of —144— money as they may judge necessary by equal rates, or assess- ment on the shares, and the sura so from time to time rated on each share, shall be published in one or more daily papers in the City of Philadelphia for thirty days, to give the share- holders notice thereof. And all shares on which such assessments shall remain unpaid six months from the expiration of the said thirty days, shall be thereby forfeited, and so much thereof (but not less than one share) as shall be necessary to pay such assessments and charges, shall be sold for the benefit of the as- sociation and if purchased by the Managers shall be held in trust for the Association, in the manner mentioned in the last article. Article IX. The Board of Managers shall appoint a Secretary at such salary as they may fix, & also such Agents Surveyors & other officers & at such compensations as they from time to time shall fix and determine. Article X. The Secretary shall attend the meetings of the Board of Managers, he shall keep regular minutes of their pro- ceedings; he shall summon such meetings when so directed by the President, or upon application of any two or more members of the Board, or upon application in writing of any five persons holding more than twenty shares, by sending a notice in writ- ing to the President and each member, mentioning the time and place of such meeting. Article XI. The Board of Managers shall cause a set of books to be opened and kept by the Secretary wherein shall be regu- larly entered a proper account of all the purchases, of all sales, of all monies received and paid, all notes, bonds, mort- gages and specialties, or notes of every sort and kinu, and of all expenditures; and these accounts shall be so settled and ad- justed as that an abstract thereof shall together with the said books, be laid before the shareholders at every annual meeting to be held for the purpose of electing managers ; and at every such meeting, the Board of Managers shall give a full and fair account of their proceedings and of the actual state of the Company's estate and of the affairs entrusted to them. Article XII. The Board of Managers shall provide an olHcc in the city of Phila. where their meetings shall be held, & the Secretary shall attend on such days in each week & hours of —145— those days as the Board may direct for the purpose of laying before aay shareholder who may desire it, the book of minutes, the books of accounts & to give such other information respect- ing the estate & affairs of the Co. as will convey a true idea of their actual situation. Article XIII. The compensations of the managers shall be fixed by the shareholders at an annual meeting and when once fixed shall so remain until altered at a subsequent annual meet- ing such compensation, however, in no case shall exceed five hundred dollars per annum for each manager. Article XIV. Vacancies which may happen in the Board of Managers by death resignation or removal, of one or more mem- bers to a greater distance than ten miles from the City of Phil- adelphia may be supplied by an election of the Board for the remainder of the time for which the former manager was elected. Article XV. All the monies of the Association shall be de- posited as received in one or all of the Banks in the city of Philadelphia, to the credit of the Association and shall be drawn therefrom only by checks, signed by the Secretary and countersigned by two of the managers. Article XVI. The certificate for shares shall be transferable at the pleasure of the holders, the transfer must be made in per- son or by an attorney in the presence of the Secretary in a book to be kept for that purpose to be signed by the person trans- ferring & a memorandum thereof indorsed & signed by the Secretary on the certificate. In case of lost certificates of shares, the Board shall prescribe the mode by which the same may be renewed. Article XVII. All monies rec'd from sales or otherwise which shall remain after deducting the necessary charges and ex- penses & reserving what may in the opinion of the Managers be necessary for the current expenditures & incidental charges shall be divided equally among the shareholders of which the Managers shall give public notice. Article XVIII. Every holder of one or more shares, by trans- fer or exchange of the shares of the old Co. shall thereby be- come a party to these Articles as fully to all intents & pur- —146— poses whatever, as if such holder had actually signed & sealed these presents, & cease to be so when he parts with his share or shares. Article XIX. The trustees for the time being shall upon re- ceiving a request in writing signed by the Board of Managers & attested by the Secretary convey such real estate or prop- erty vested in them as may be mentioned in such request & in manner as therein desired. Article XX. The capital stock of this Association consists of all the land conveyed under the former articles, at that time supposed to consist of a million acres, for the whole of which warrants have been obtained from the state. As the whole of this amount may not be obtained from the interfering claims of others, the managers may, if they think it advantageous to the Co. purchase lands to supply any deficiency in this quantity, provided such purchases in addition to the quantity ascertained to belong to the Association shall not exceed 1.000.000 of acres. Article XXI. This Association shall continue for 15 years & at the end of that time all remaining land, bonds, notes, debts & other property of the Association shall be sold for cash of approved notes, not exceeding 90 days at public auction under the direction of the Board of Managers the premises being first advertised for 6 succeeding months in one or more newspapers of Phila., N. Y. & Baltimore, fixing the time & place for hold- ing the said sale. Article XXII. Within 6 months after such sale all the ac- counts of the said Association shall be made out & closed, & the whole balance shall be equally divided among the number of shares, & such dividend shall then be payable to every share holder upon demand, at the Bank of the U. S. or such other Bank as the said Board may then appoint & announce in the newspapers. —147— In witness whereof the parties to these presents have inter- changably set their hands and affixed their seals the day & year first above written. Sealed & delivered in William Cramond (L. S.) presence of Louis de Noailles (L. S.) John Markoe < Abraham Dubois (L. S.) William Nicholson Robert Porter (L. S.) Archibald McCall (L. S.) James Gibson (L. S.) William Cramond (L. S.) John Ashley (L. S.) On the 26th day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & one, before me Edward Shippen Esq Chief Justice of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania per- sonally appeared William Cramond, Louis deNoailles, Abraham Dubois, Robert Porter, Archibald McCall, James Gibson & John Ashel, in the above written articles of agreement & Asso- ciation named, and in all due form of law acknowledged the same to be their and each of ther act and Deed and desired that it may be recorded as such. Witness my hand and seal the day & year aforesaid. Edward Shippen (L. S.) -148- French Accounts in Possession of Author, Dates covering year 1794 and a few in 1795, most of them written iu French; 26 in all; for exam pies see among illustrations one signed by Louis Paul d'Autremont and one signed by Talon. Eight signed by Dupetithouars, being certifi- cates of work done at the big house, inside and out; building of shops for Charles, Picard and Aubrey; fitting up " the priest's " house; cleaning cellar of Nores' house; Blanchard's account for mason work, or assisting mason "Donmead'' in- cluding " one-third of a day hunting slate stones for Beaulieu's chimney;" account of kettles bought of Enoch Skeer for potash making; one agreeing to pay for a canoe which he had bor- rowed and "which has been taken away from our landing.'' Six signed by Talon, including account of Joseph Town, carpenter, for building barn for Talon; same for work on Beaulieu's house, and barn; work on "la grande maison '' (see illustra- tion) account of shop keepers and servants. An order on Mr. Hoops to pay M. Montulle for planks for " la grange, and other houses belong- ing to the company." —149— Joseph Lowry gives an order on Dupetithouars calling him "Captain Petetiox." Three receipts of Brevost for money received from "Asylum Company," seventy dollars of which was for clearing land sold him by the company. Two receipts for money paid by Adam Hoops to Louis Paul d'Autremont and one to Alexander d'Autremont. Receipted account of Wallois, very evidently the butler whom Talon dismissed. Several receipts for money paid by company, signed Lefebvre, one to M. Chedricoorte. Two signed by Beaulieu, accounts with Hoops. One signed by Aubrey, giving power of attor- ney to Talon to close up his accounts, as he was evidently leaving Asylum. —150— ses bullt< A DO-, -„ ablted by the French, lo A. J". Biles ; g French, afterward J. Biles ; ;. Hornet ■ I Frei Hornet, DOW slandiDK ; J) French, near C Stevens' barn ; at Laporte ; ( Freuch still house ; u Aubrey's smith shop ; ..ma*..;,.,. . c ; ;__ ...:..^ dat« Of settlement up ndlcstei ap by le / old French "it'» Papulation than is known in any such rad L„- 4 1 .V, . »t,,o „ L J ' . . ■"'"•"" "' "•'"' I'l'^ "t iiic i^ouiiiij, juBse cemeteries bandoned about 1812 ; « abandoned about 1630 ; ,J Gordon loniilyplot; « Laporte, first used . „ . , - - a Talon ; b probably Boulogne ; c Sihert, described "■;'■' ■■ ■■■■■"».„„., J !• ranch, afterward Miller; J: French, afterward R, B. Kerrick ; ( Cottineau ; ncli near Bacon s house; r House now stnndinK built by Judge Laporte 1839, now Hagerman, risible from u^^location of Kerrick s famous camp, 1900 ; all origmal streets now used as roads arl marked on map with arrows, r. present day. nine cemeteries have been established witbin original plot of Asylum, most of them afterwards abandoned '"•"■ part of the country. These cemeteries a-" '*"'■""*"'' — .-_ '^- . -■'.. cl Schufeldt. afterward Frensh ; French, afterward Morev : ri Fr r, close to site of house of Talon ; ? Wheeler ; / French, afterward )C SOlJIHf HfJ R( (,||JNAL LIBRARY f AGILITY !|i|f!'i||f'if"||'''ifif'lf'if|illl AA (j(j(j