Captain Wilson having died in 1813, General Lafayette handed the sword to Colonel Samuel Hunter, who turned it over to Judge A. S. Wilson, a son of Captain William Wilson.
The flag has frequently been brought into requisition in patriotic demonstrations in subsequent years. It is still in the possession of descendants[descendants] of Captain Wilson, now residents of Bellefonte.
Duke of York Receives New Patent for His
Grant, June 29, 1674
The English claimed the right to the country upon the South, or Delaware River, because of the fact that John Cabot sailed up and down the Atlantic coast.
Captain Thomas Young and his nephew, Robert Evelin, under a commission from King Charles “to go forth and discover lands in America,” arrived in the South River July 24, 1634. They remained at the mouth of the Schuylkill five days, and made two attempts to pass beyond the falls near Trenton. They built a fort at a place called Eriwoneck, probably the site of Philadelphia.
In 1635 the governor of Virginia sent fifteen armed men, under command of Captain George Holmes, to the South River, and they took possession of Fort Nassau and the contiguous country. The Dutch governor of New Netherland promptly sent a force which recaptured the fort and made prisoners of Holmes and his invaders.
In 1641 New Haven merchants and planters sent George Lamberton and Nathaniel Turner to make land purchases on the South River. They bought from the Indians and built a block house, to which place about sixty persons from Connecticut settled. The venture proved profitable, and soon other colonists arrived, and many houses were built near the mouth of the Schuylkill.
The Swedes and Dutch both protested and in May, 1642, two sloops arrived from Manhattan with instructions to expel the English quietly, if possible, but by force, if necessary. The Dutch were compelled to use force, sent the English prisoners to Manhattan and burned their improvements.