Border Invasion by Thomas Cresap Ceased After His Arrest, November 23, 1736

There was great conflict between the several Lords Baltimore, Proprietaries of Maryland, and the Penns, Proprietaries of Pennsylvania, over the boundary of their respective provinces, which lasted from the time William Penn first received his grant until the Mason and Dixon boundary line was surveyed in 1763–67.

Conestoga Township, in what is now Lancaster County, was originally organized about 1712. Prior to 1719 it was divided into East and West Conestoga. The western boundaries of the latter were not defined until 1722, when Donegal Township was erected and Chicques Creek was made its eastern boundary. Pequea Township seems to have been to the northeast of Conestoga, with not very well defined boundaries, and was probably erected about the year 1720.

Lord Baltimore selected a pliant and bold adventurer for his agent in this disputed territory named Thomas Cresap, aged twenty-six years, a carpenter by occupation, and in religious faith a Roman Catholic, same as the Calverts of Maryland. He was to go to Conejohela Valley and settle, where he built a cabin and established a ferry, on March 16, 1730, near James Patterson’s land.

In a joint statement made by James Patterson to Justices John Wright and Samuel Blunston they issued a warrant and wrote to Governor Patrick Gordon, October 30, 1732, and said:

“About two years Since, Thomas Cresap, and some other people of Loose Morals and Turbulent Spirits, Came and disturbed the Indians, our friends and Allies, who were peaceably Settled on those lands from when the said Parnel and others had been removed, Burnt their Cabbins, and destroyed their goods, And with much threatening and Ill-usage, drove them away, and by pretending to be under the Maryland government, sought to Evade ours. Thus they proceeded to play booty. Disturbing the Peace of the Government, Carrying people out of the 822Province by Violence, Taking away the guns from our friends, the Indians, Tying and making them Prisoners without any offence given; and threatening all who should Oppose them; And by Underhand and Unfair practices, Endeavoring to Alienate the minds of the Inhabitants of this Province, and Draw them from Obedience to their party. Their Insolence Increasing, they killed the horses of Such of our people whose trade with the Indians made it Necessary to Keep them on that Side of the river, for Carrying their Goods and Skins; assaulted those who were sent to look after them.”

Cresap’s house was a convenient refuge for runaway servants and debtors. Samuel Chance, a runaway debtor of Edward Cartlidge, an Indian trader who lived in the Manor, took up his abode with Cresap and assisted him to row his ferryboat. A son of Cartlidge laid a plan to capture Chance by decoying him to the east side of the river.

Cresap and Chance got into their boat and rowed over to the Blue Rock, where they found Edward Beddock, Rice Morgan, and a Negro servant of Mr. Cartlidge. After being taken into the boat, and rowed out into the stream a few yards, Beddock and Morgan threw Cresap into the river, and took Chance to shore with them. Cresap made his escape to an island nearby, where he remained until after dark, when he was discovered by an Indian and rescued.

Cresap made complaint to the Maryland authorities, and a sharp correspondence between the Governors of the two Provinces resulted.

In the fall of 1733, Cresap came up to Wright’s Ferry and commenced to build boats and erect a house. Wright and Blunston had placed a number of men in the ferryhouse, who sallied forth and took Cresap’s men prisoners.

John Emerson, a lawyer, who lived in Lancaster, was appointed ranger and keeper of the Conestoga Manor. He also owned a ferry at Blue Rock. On January 29, 1734, accompanied by Knowles Daunt and five others, Emerson went down to Cresap’s house to arrest him. Cresap shot Daunt in the leg, from the effects of which he died. They failed to capture Cresap and he afterward made frequent raids into Kreitz Valley with bands of armed men.

In July, 1735, when John Wright was harvesting his grain, Cresap appeared with twenty men, women and lads, armed with guns, swords, pistols, blunderbusses and drums beating.

Wright approached Cresap and demanded the reason of their military display. Cresap replied that they came to fight the Pennsylvanians, drew his sword and aimed his pistol at Wright’s breast, who, by his courage, completely cowed Cresap and captured his wagons. Wright and his men then made a fort of the ferryhouse on the west side of the river.

Cresap reported these doings to Governor Ogle, who ordered out the Maryland militia. Wright learned of this martial movement and engaged Benjamin Chambers to ascertain their designs. Chambers was 823suspected as a spy and arrested, but escaped to Wright’s Ferry and made a full report. He then went to Donegal and collected a number of Scotch-Irish, and marched them to Wright’s Ferry, where they repelled two or three hundred Marylanders, under Colonel Hall.

Cresap built a fort from which bands of armed men went out to raid plantations, destroy houses and take the settlers prisoners to Maryland. Joshua Minshal and John Wright, Jr., were the only two men left in Kreitz’s Valley.

Cresap had surveyed forty tracts of land, which were owned by Germans. This state of affairs became so critical that Provincial Council concluded to have Cresap arrested for the murder of Knowles Daunt.

On November 23, 1736, a warrant was placed in the hands of Sheriff Samuel Smith, who lived at Donegal. He called upon John Kelley, Benjamin Sterratt, Arthur Buchanan, Samuel Scott, David Priest, John Sterratt, John Galbraith, James, John and Alexander Mitchell, James Allison and nineteen others to assist him.

On the night of November 24, 1736, they surrounded Cresap’s house, in which he had a number of armed men, who fired upon Sheriff Smith and his party. Laughlin Malone, of Cresap’s party, was killed, and John Copper, of the Sheriff’s party, was wounded.

Finding that Cresap would not surrender, the Sheriff set his house on fire, when Cresap attempted to escape, but was overpowered and carried in triumph to Philadelphia and placed in prison.

Colonel Hall and Captain Higgenbotham came to Cresap’s fort with 300 men, and at different times marched through the valley in martial array. In January, 1737, a company attacked these Marylanders in Cresap’s fort, but were repulsed with the loss of eight men.

The Governor of Maryland offered £100 reward for the arrest of John Wright, Samuel Blunston, Sheriff Samuel Smith, John Ross, Michael Tanner, Joshua Minshal and Charles Jones. The last three persons were arrested and taken to Annapolis jail.

The Marylanders were finally driven back to their State, and all efforts to colonize that part of Pennsylvania with Marylanders was abandoned in 1738, and the Cresap invasions into Pennsylvania ceased.

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