A Historical Sketch of Indiana County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Historical Sketch of Indiana County Indiana County was named for the native Indians. During historic times the two principal tribes were the Delawares and Shawnees. Being reluctant to give up their lands, the Indians struggled desperately to keep out the tide of European settlers. Perhaps the first white settler to enter Indiana County was James LeTort, an Indian trader, about 1726-27. A place called “Letart’s...
read more

Lehigh County: The Land and Its People

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Lehigh County: The Land and Its People Lehigh County encompasses the western half of the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania. Bounded on the east by the Lehigh River, the main geographical feature of the larger valley, and on the north by the Blue Mountain range, the land is a mosaic of lime­stone plain, sinks and rolling hills. While the southern region of the county lies astride the so-called South Moun­tain and the hills of the...
read more

John Dickinson, Reluctant Revolutionist

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on John Dickinson, Reluctant Revolutionist Students of American history will recognize John Dickinson as the Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress who had the temerity to speak against separation from Great Britain and the obstinacy to refuse to sign the Declaration of Independence. Paradoxically, Dickinson had been an early leader of the patriot cause in Pennsylvania, author of the “Farmers’ Letters”...
read more

Spain’s Diplomats in Philadelphia

Posted by on Nov 28, 2013 in | Comments Off on Spain’s Diplomats in Philadelphia When, on July 2, 1776, the Congress at Philadelphia voted for independence, Spain adopted toward the British Colonies an attitude that could be described today as “recognition of billigerency,” until the Spanish Crown declared war on Great Britain in June, 1779. Although at the beginning of the Revolution there were no formal relations between the two countries, Spain not only...
read more

Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land

Posted by on Nov 27, 2013 in | Comments Off on Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land In the mid-nineteenth century, the Liberty Bell – capped by an eagle from Peale’s Museum – was enshrined in Independence Hall.   Each year thousands of Americans, as well as foreigners, travel to Philadelphia to visit the dozens of historic sites, structures and complexes associated with the nation’s independence. For many, their first stop is a small glass pavil­ion...
read more

Independence Hall, The Birthplace of a Nation

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Independence Hall, The Birthplace of a Nation September 1824 was a busy month for Phila­delphians. The Mar­quis de Lafayette returned to America for the first time since the Revolution­ary War, and it was rumored that the high point of his tra­vels would be a visit to Penn­sylvania’s venerable State House. Naturally, much of the preparation for his visit cen­tered on the old red brick building where the events of the Revolution had...
read more

Howard L. Barnes, Dean of Philadelphia’s Amateur Historians

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Howard L. Barnes, Dean of Philadelphia’s Amateur Historians Howard L. Barnes claims that Frankford is the oldest settlement in Philadelphia. Historians in neighboring Germantown dispute him, contending theirs to be the oldest community in the Quaker city area. How­ ever, no one has proven him wrong – nor can one, especially when he produces the original land deed of his beloved home­town, which dates to 1660. That would make Frankford not only the...
read more

Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor You Can Go Home Again! I so enjoyed the interview with James Michener in your winter 1993 edition (see “You Can Go Home Again: An Interview With James A. Michener” by Michael J. O’Malley III), which gave me a fascinating new insight into the life of this complex and great writer. I had been aware of his intense interest in art and artists, but prior to this interview, I had...
read more

New Sweden and The New World – History Lessons From the Morton Homestead

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on New Sweden and The New World – History Lessons From the Morton Homestead Years before William Penn and his Quaker followers set foot on America’s shores, Swedish settlers had established a settlement along the Delaware River and Bay. On this land, now part of both Pennsylvania and Delaware, stands the Morton Homestead, an emissary from a past, an emissary that tells the story of a powerful Swedish king, a white, sandy shore and primeval forest, peaceful fur...
read more

Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor New World Plaudits! I was captivated by the detailed article entitled “New Sweden and the New World – History Lessons from the Morton Homestead” by Sharon Hernes Silverman in the Winter 1999 edition. It treated one of my primary subjects of interest, John Morton (1725-1777). I have an observation about this founding father. Morton is among several signers of the Declaration of...
read more