of land. (') He wanted more, and visited the valley of the Schuylkill, in Pennsylvania, to see for himself whether or not the lands there were as fertile and beautiful as reported. He was so well pleased that he resolved to become a citizen of Pennsylvania, and removed to Amity township. It seems conclusive that John did not go with his father, but remained in Freehold, and married there. We shall see him, together with his sons, further on. (*) Mordecai Lincoln became near neighbor to George Boone, who came from England with eleven children. He had such pleasant memories of his old home in the valley of the Exe that he named his 1717. new home Exeter, after the old town whose cathedral bells had charmed him with their music. He found that many of his neighbors were Germans who could not speak the English language. Farther down the valley of the Schuylkill the settlers were mostly from Wales, who gave Welsh names to the towns. In Gwynedd were four brothers-Thomas, Robert, Owen, and Cadwallader Evans. They could trace their ancestral line back to Lludd, King of Britain, who fought the Romans when Julius Cæsar was Emperor of Rome. (") Cadwallader was the youngest of the brothers. He became a preacher after joining the Friends. Before leaving England he married Ellen Morris, of Bryn Gwyn, which means White Hill. They had a beautiful and queenly daughter, Sarah. We need not think it strange that John Hanks, of Whitemarsh, found pleasure in her society and asked her to be his wife. 1711. The autumn leaves were changing, and there was glory on the hills, October 12, 1711, when John Hanks and Sarah Evans stood before the congregation of Friends, in Gwynedd, he promising to love and honor her as a husband, she to be a true and faithful wife. The clerk who recorded the marriage put John down as "yeoman," and Sarah as "spinster." (1) Their home was in Whitemarsh. Children made it musical with their prattleJohn, William, Samuel, Jane, and Elizabeth. The eldest reaches manhood, marries whom we do not know; but he finds a home in Union township, on the west bank of the FREEHOLD MEETING-HOUSE. Schuylkill. His neighbor is John Lincoln, from Freehold. Across the river are the homes of Mordecai Lincoln and George Boone, and that of his son, Squire Boone. Settlers were building their homes in the surrounding country, but there were still vast reaches of forest abounding with game. One of Squire Boone's sons-Daniel-found great pleasure in listening to the singing of the birds, the chattering of squirrels. He loved hunting, and before he was ten years old could bring down a deer when it was upon the run. His parents allowed him to go out alone, for on dark and cloudy days he could keep the points of compass, and was never in danger of being lost. One night he did not return. The second night came, and Daniel was still absent. His father and the neighbors searched the woods, and found that he had built a camp, killed a deer, kindled a fire, and was broiling venison for his dinner. (") A warm friendship sprang up between the Boone, Lincoln, and Hanks families. They were on the frontier; many of the settlers around them could not speak English. It does not appear that Mordecai or John Lincoln ever joined the Friends, and it is not certain that George Boone was a member of the society; but they attended the meetings, and all lived together in brotherly love. Mordecai Lincoln, in his last will and testament, appointed George Boone to assist in settling the estate. He had many hundred acres of land. He bequeathed 1000 acres to be divided between Mordecai, junior, Thomas, and Abraham; 100 to Ann and Sarah, the children of Hannah Salter Lincoln; and 300 acres to John, the eldest son, born in Massachusetts. (") 1759. A fever of unrest was upon the people of Pennsylvania, causing them to move southward, through Maryland, across the Potomac, into the valley of the Shenandoah, and settling upon lands which George Washington had surveyed. John Hanks, junior, and John and Thomas Lincoln sold their farms in Union, made their way across the Potomac River, and settled near Harrisonburg, Va. Squire Boone, with his family, went farther south, and settled at Holman's Ford, on the Yadkin River, not far from Wilkesborough, N. C. It was a memorable year in the history of America; for while these families were seeking new homes, the flag of France was giving place to England's banner at Quebec. The settlers along the frontier who had been disturbed by the Indians could lie down at night and sleep in peace. When John Lincoln's eldest son, Abraham, born in Pennsylvania, became of age, he left the Harrisonburg home to visit his friends, the Boones, in North Carolina, where he made the acquaintance of Mary Shipley, who became his wife. (") He built a cabin, and opened a farm on the banks of the Yadkin. 1769. Daniel Boone knew there was a beautiful country beyond the mountains westward. In 1748 Thomas Walker and three others had discovered a remarkable gateway in the mountains, which they called Cumberland Gap, in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, Prime-minister to King George. They beheld a beautiful region, abounding with game. It is not surprising that Daniel Boone resolved to explore it. With four companions he passed through Cumberland Gap and travelled many miles beyond, finding meadows waving with grass, the haunt of buffalo and deer. He and one of his companions were captured by the Indians, but made their escape. When they returned to their camp the other two men were gone. They never knew what became of them. Boone remained so long that his family became alarmed. His younger brother, accompanied by another man, came in search of him. Daniel, instead of returning, sent him back to tell his friends that he was safe; he was to return with powder and bullets. Three months went by before the younger brother came. Daniel was alone the while. He knew the Indians would be glad to capture him; but he knew their wiles, and eluded them. After being absent nearly a year, he returned to his home. People were crossing the mountains to make their homes in Kentucky. Daniel Boone organized a company of fifty, who made a settle ment at Boonsborough. The Revolutionary War had begun, and 1775. the Indians were being supplied with arms and ammunition by the British at Detroit. The settlers built a fort, which was often beset by the Indians. They captured Jemima Boone, and Elizabeth and Frances Callaway, who were seized while in a canoe on the Kentucky River. The people in the fort heard their cries and started in pursuit of the Indians, |