Storm Stops French Refugees in Settlement Work December 20, 1793

Frenchtown, or Asylum, was the name of a settlement founded in Northumberland County (now Bradford) in 1793, by French refugees as the residence of the doomed Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. But the Terrorists prevented her ever seeing America.

During the French Revolution, when many of the Frenchmen fled from their homes, not a few sought refuge in San Domingo, and those jumped from the frying pan into the fire. The Negro slaves soon heard of the success of the Revolution in France and revolted against their masters. That bloody conflict was termed the “Horrors of San Domingo.” Many of the French exiles came to America and took up their residence in Philadelphia, where they were cordially welcomed.

So great was the number of refugees it was deemed necessary that some provision should be made for their settlement as a colony.

The two most active and influential promoters of the colony scheme were Viscount Louis Marie de Noailles and the Marquis Antoine Omer Talon. The former was a distinguished military officer under Rochambeau in the siege of Yorktown, Va., where he commanded a regiment. He was one of the Commissioners to arrange the articles of capitulation for the surrender of Cornwallis. He was a brother-in-law of Lafayette.

Marquis Talon belonged to one of the most illustrious families of the French magistracy. He was Advocate General when the Revolution broke out. In 1790 he was compromised in the flight of the King, Louis XVII, and was arrested and imprisoned for a time. He fled to Marseilles, where a wine merchant, Bartholomew Laporte, placed him in a large wine cask and carried him aboard a vessel sailing for America.

Laporte sailed with Talon and they became citizens of the United States. The borough of Laporte takes its name from Judge John Laporte, son of the early immigrant.

The refugees organized a company, and M. Charles Felix Beu Boulogne, and Adam Hoopes were delegated to select a site. They 893proceeded to Wilkes-Barre, where they arrived August 27, 1793. Judge Matthais Hollenback accepted their letter of credit from Robert Morris.

They examined several localities, and finally selected the Schufeldt Flats, now called Frenchtown, in the Township of Asylum, nearly opposite Rummerfield station, in Bradford County.

About the middle of November, M. de Noailles, who continued to reside in Philadelphia, visited the place which took the name of Asylum, or “Azilum,” as the French pronounced it. The plan of settlement was determined, and the town surveyed into lots.

The tract consists of 2400 acres and, in addition, the Asylum Company had secured title to a number of tracts of “wild land,” as it was termed, in the present Counties of Bradford, Sullivan, Lycoming and Luzerne, which were sold on liberal terms to actual settlers. The town, as laid out, contained, besides an open square and fine wide streets, 413 house lots of an acre each.

M. Boulogne bent every energy to get the houses ready for the colonists in the early spring, and was favored with mild weather until five days before Christmas, when the weather became stormy. The work, which was suspended December 20, was resumed in the spring. The emigrants then began to arrive. They traveled by land to Catawissa, thence in boats up the river.

The houses were built of hewn logs two stories high, roofed with pine shingles, and all houses had a good cellar. To the native Americans these houses looked like palaces.

The house built by M. Talon was the most pretentious, and is said to be the largest log house ever built in America. It was known as “La Grande Maison,” or the great house. This house stood until 1846, when it was torn down.

M. Talon, who was general manager, planned improvements on a large scale. He built a horsepower grist mill, several stores, a tavern, for which a license was granted in August, 1794, to Mr. Lefevre. A small Catholic chapel was erected, and later a theatre was built. They set up a bakery and built a brewery. A post was established with Philadelphia.

Most of the emigrants had been wealthy, and some of them members of the royal household, entirely ignorant of farming and unused to manual labor, found great difficulty in adapting themselves to their new conditions. Yet they endured their privations with great fortitude.

The continuance of the Asylum settlement was less than ten years, but the Frenchmen set their Pennsylvania neighbors the example of better houses and roads, better gardens and orchards and courteous manners.

Robespierre issued a decree commanding all emigrants to return to France under penalty of having their estates confiscated. When the strong hand of Napoleon assumed power, all Frenchmen were invited 894to return. This was joyous news at Asylum, and they returned to their beloved France as soon as they could dispose of their property, until only two remained.

In 1796 Asylum consisted of about fifty log houses occupied by about forty families. Among the most noted, besides those already mentioned, were M. De Blacons, a member of the French Constituent Assembly from Dauphine; M. Le Montule, a captain of a troop of horse; M. Beaulieu, a captain of infantry in the French service, who served in the Revolution in this country under Potosky; Dr. Buzzard a planter from San Domingo, and M. Dandelot, an officer in the French Infantry.

But perhaps the best known of all, at least in this country, was M. Dupretit-Thouars, or as he was generally called by the Americans, the Admiral. Wrecked while on a voyage in search of La Perouse, he reached Asylum destitute of everything but an unfaltering courage, a genial temper and the chivalrous pride of a Frenchman.

Disdaining to be a pensioner on the bounty of his countrymen he obtained a grant of four hundred acres in the dense wilderness of what is now Sullivan County, and went out literally single-handed, having lost an arm in the French naval service, commenced a clearing, built himself a house, returning to Asylum once a week for necessary food and change of apparel.

He returned to his native country, obtained a position in the navy, saying he had yet another arm to give to France. He was placed in command of the ship Le Tonnant and was killed in the battle of the Nile.

The borough of Dushore, which includes the clearings of this indomitable Frenchman, was named in honor of him this being nearly the Anglicised pronunciation of his name.

During the continuance of the settlement, it was visited by many very distinguished personages who since obtained a world-wide reputation.

Louis Philippe, a future King of France, spent several weeks at Asylum enjoying the hospitality of M. Antoine Talon. In 1795 Talleyrand spent some time there and Count de la Rochefoucauld de Laincourt was several days at Asylum while on his journey through the States in 1795–6. Another notable visitor was Mrs. Blennerhassett the charming woman who figured in Aaron Burr’s conspiracy.

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