Robert Proud’s History of Pennsylvania[841] has long enjoyed a high reputation, but no more so than its merits entitle it to. For years it was the only history of the State. In its preparation the manuscript of Smith’s History was used, and in it extracts are given from pamphlets that have since been printed in full. Nevertheless, there is much in it that cannot be found elsewhere. Passages are quoted from letters of Penn which have never been printed entire, and the notes regarding the early settlers are of especial value. The care taken in the preparation of the book is so evident that its statements can as a rule be accepted. The author, a native of England, was a teacher of the classics in the Friends’ School, Philadelphia.[842]
Professor Ebeling’s volume on Pennsylvania in his Erdbeschreibung und Geschichte von America, Hamburg, 1793-1799, in five volumes, is another valuable contribution. Portions of it, translated by Duponceau, will be found in Hazard’s Register of Pennsylvania, i. 340, 353, 369, 385, 401.
Thomas F. Gordon’s History of Pennsylvania[843] gives the history of the colony down to the Declaration of Independence. That part which treats of the eighteenth century does so more fully than any other work. It has never enjoyed much popularity. Its style is labored. The author was one who thought that “the names of the first settlers are interesting to us only because they were first settlers,” and that nothing could attract the public in men “whose chief, and perhaps sole, merit consisted in the due fulfilment of the duties of private life.” There is a tone of antagonism to Penn in some parts of the book which lacks the spirit of impartiality. It was reviewed by Job R. Tyson. See “Examination of the Various Charges brought by Historians against William Penn,” etc.,—Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, vol. ii. part ii. p. 127.
The second volume of Bowden’s History of Friends in America[844] is the best Quaker history of Pennsylvania that has appeared.
Sherman Day’s Historical Collections (1843) and An Illustrated History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,[845] by William H. Egle, M.D., both give the history of the State down to the time of their respective publications. In them the histories of the counties are treated in separate chapters, general histories of the State being given by way of introductions,—that by Dr. Egle being very full.
The Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania, from its Origin, which is attributed to Franklin, belongs properly to a later period of the history of the province than we are now considering, and, as it was written to serve a political purpose, has but slight historical claims. In it, however, the attempt is made to trace some of the alleged abuses of power back to the foundation of the colony. It was published in London in 1759, and is included by both Duane and Sparks in their editions of Franklin’s writings.
Bancroft’s chapters on the Quakers in the United States and on Pennsylvania are excellent. Grahame’s Colonial History of the United States is less flattering in the estimate given of Penn and his followers, although far from unappreciative of their efforts. Burke’s Account of the European Settlements in America[846] gives nothing that is new in connection with the settlement of Pennsylvania; but the opinions of its distinguished author in regard to William Penn as a legislator will be read with pleasure by Penn’s admirers. The remarks on the settlement of Pennsylvania in Wynne’s General History of the British Empire in America,[847] are copied bodily from Burke; but no quotation marks are given, and nothing indicates their origin. Douglass’s Summary gives nothing on the subject that will not be found in the charter and a few documents of similar character. From William M. Cornell’s History of Pennsylvania, 1876, nothing new will be gathered regarding the settlement of the province. It is a mere compilation, in which Weems’s Life of Penn is quoted as an authority.
Local Histories.—It is only in the history of the counties first settled that information on the period treated of in this chapter can be sought. John F. Watson’s Annals of Philadelphia[848] is one of the chief authorities. The plan of the work is not one that can be approved of at the present day, as sufficient care has not been taken in all cases to follow the original language of documents quoted, or to give references to authorities. Nevertheless, it is doubtful if any work in America has done more to cultivate a taste for historical study. There is a charm about its gossipy pages which has attracted to it thousands of readers, and provoked more serious investigations. It contains much regarding the domestic life of the first settlers and the building of Philadelphia which has been universally accepted, and many traditions gathered from old persons which there is no reason to question. The most important History of Philadelphia is that by Mr. Thompson Westcott, now printing in the columns of the Sunday Despatch. Eight hundred and ten chapters have appeared up to the present time. It is an encyclopædia on the subject. Some of the early chapters treat of the period under review. A History of the Townships of Byberry and Moreland, in Philadelphia County, by Joseph C. Martindale, M.D.,[849] treats largely of the earliest settlers in that section of the State. The present Montgomery County is formed of a portion of the original County of Philadelphia, and the history of some of its sections treats of the settlement of the colony. For such information, see History of Montgomery County, within Schuylkill Valley,[850] by William J. Buck. Mr. Buck prepared also the Historical Introduction to Scott’s Atlas of Montgomery County, Philadelphia, 1877. The History of Delaware County, by George Smith, M.D.,[851] is by far the best county history of Pennsylvania yet published. It is thoroughly trustworthy, and treats fully of the settlement of the county. Extracts from the records of Markham’s court are given in it. Chester and its Vicinity, Delaware County, Pennsylvania,[852] by John Hill Martin, is a meritorious work.
The history of Bucks County has been twice written; first by William J. Buck, in 1855. His investigations were contributed to a county paper, and were subsequently published in a volume of one hundred and eighteen pages, to which was appended a History of the Township of Wrightstown, by Charles W. Smith, M.D., contained in twenty-four pages. A later History of Bucks County,[853] is that by General W. W. H. Davis, an excellent work.
The History of Chester County, Pennsylvania,[854] by J. Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, is a work of merit, being the production of two thorough students, deeply imbued with the love of their subject. The historical and genealogical portions of it are written with care and judgment. It contains extracts from the records of the first courts held in Pennsylvania.