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THE MANOR OF MASKE
( from the Manor of Maske: Its History and Individual Properties, through the Adams County Historical Society)
The Manor of Maske, and the people, who settled and lived there, beginning in the eighteenth century, played a major role in the early development of what is now Adams County. There were strained relationships between the early settlers and the William Penn family, which existed for many years.
One of the largest manors in Pennsylvania was created in, what is now, Adams County. Called the Manor of Maske, it was born in controversy, probably more, than existed in any other similar land arrangement in the province.
In 1734, the Penns took two steps, first, they authorized Samuel Blunston, a Lancaster County surveyor and public official, to issue what were call licenses to persons wishing to take up land west of the Susquehanna River. Most of the Blunston licenses were granted to Scotch-Irish immigrants for tracts in the Cumberland Valley, in what are now called Cumberland and Franklin Counties, along the Conodoquinet, Yellow Breeches, and Conococheague Creeks. A much smaller number were for land in what is now York County along the Codorus and Conewago Creeks.
About twenty licenses were issued, most of them in early 1735, for about 8000 acres of land along the upper reaches of the Conewago Creek, and it’s tributaries, in the northern part of what is now Adams County. Two were issued, both on April 8, 1735, for a total of 600 acres of land among the branches of Marsh Creek.
The Penn’s second step, the representatives of the Indian tribes ceded the River Sasquehanna, and the lands lying on both sides thereof, and the islands therein contained, on October 11, 1736. On October 30, 1736, Thomas Penn began confirming the Pennsylvania rights of some fifty persons to more that 13,000 acres of land in the area between York and Wrightville.
The land within the proprietary estates or manors, could be leased instead of sold. The proprietors had three rules of thumb in establishing manors. (1) The manor should constitute about 10% of a particular area, which was open for settlement. (2) The manors should be laid out on some of the best available land. (3) The manors should be warranted and surveyed either before, or soon after settlement began.
The decision to establish a new manor somewhere west of the Susquehanna River, was consistent with the land policy of the Penns. The Indian claims were settled, the temporary boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, was settled, and the settlers were being attracted to the area by means of regular warrants and surveys. Before Thomas Penn returned to England in 1741, he directed the surveyor general to “survey, or cause to be surveyed, a tract of land on the Branches of Marsh Creek, on the west side of the River Sasquahanna . . .” The name chosen for the tract, was the Manor of Maske.
The residents of the Marsh Creek Settlement (synonymous with the Manor of Maske), who had reacted so strongly and decisively to the attempts to survey the manor were all, or virtual all Scotch-Irish. These people were Scots, whose families, at the invitation of the British government, had lived in Ireland for a century or more. Convinced, that the government had mistreated them, and not kept its promised, many were embittered, and had begun coming to Pennsylvania and Delaware, in the second decade of the eighteenth century. While some of them stayed in the southeastern counties, others headed for what was then, the western frontier. They provided, by far, the largest number of pioneer settlers in what are now Cumberland and Franklin Counties. In the 1740’s, there were many more Scotch-Irish, in what is now Adams County, than any other ethnic group.
The pioneers in the Marsh Creek Settlement, came in to the area in response to what they said, was a governor’s proclamation, calling for the settlements of unimproved lands west off the Susquehanna River. They claimed, that they had been lead to believe, that they were going to be able to secure warrants, surveys, and eventually patent deeds, for their lands on common terms. The appearance of a deputy surveyor, with orders to lay out a 30,000 acre manor, encompassing most or all of the tracts on which they had squatted, convinced them, that they were being deceived once again.
The stand-off, which began in June 1741, continued until April 1765. During that time, the Penns couldn’t get the surveyors to lay out the manor, because of the settler’s threats in the Marsh Creek Settlement. So, no warrants were granted to the settlers, no surveys were done, and no patent deeds were issued. However, the Penns were busy initiating titles for settlers, who lived in the east, north, and west of the manor limits.
The Marsh Creek settlers, became an integral and valued part of the society of York County, which was created in 1749. They were taxed, and each fall, many voted. They supported and founded five churches. They gained an enviable standing in the western part of York County.
Between 1741, and 1765, land changed hands, as many new settlers came, and as many old ones died or moved on. There will probably never be a way to know, who some of the first settlers were.
By the midsixties, Pennsylvania’s political, economic, and social life, was much more developed and complex, than it had been a quarter century before. The Marsh Creek settlers, had demonstrated, that they were fully able and willing, to be a decided asset to the county and province. No one in their right mind, thought any longer of trying to eject some of them. A new governor, John Penn, was faced with the challenge of trying to resolve the standoff, between the proprietors and the land holders in the Manor of Maske. On March 18, 1765, the governor directed, that a list be prepared of the holders of real estate, within what would be the eventual actual limits of the manor. In each case, they were asked to give the month and year of first settlement of the tract. In return, for allowing the surveying of the manor to proceed, the residents on tracts, settled before June 18, 1741, were promised, that they could purchase their land on the common terms. The names on the list, are in fact, those heads of families occupying particular manor tracts in the spring of 1765. In many cases, the first settlers, were one or more previous occupants, whose identities remain unknown. The Manor of Maske was surveyed January 17, to January 30, 1766. The settlers could now pursue in getting their land patents.
On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies, formally declared their independence from England. The political rights and responsibilities of the Penns abruptly ended at that point. The revolutionary legislature, did not deal with the rights and responsibilities of the former proprietors of Pennsylvania, until it passed an act on November 27, 1779. This act allowed the Penns to retain all the “private estates, land and hereditaments”, including their manor, in “remembrance of the enterprising spirit, which distinguished the founder of Pennsylvania”.
By the time the war had ended in 1781, only 6% of the land in the Manor of Maske, was secured by a patent deed. During the next decade or so, only about seven persons successfully perfected their titles. No large number took that step, until the Penns began to press them, and a second stand-off began. Beginning in May of 1793, posters were placed within the boundaries of the manor, for the people to come forward and settle their claims. If with six months, these persons “do not apply to purchase the same, they will be sold to any applicant.” Many, who had a warrant and a survey, but no deed, became quite concerned.
After some litigation with the legislatures, a compromise was worked out on February 4, 1797. The agreement had six major provisions, and it was passed at a public meeting on April 5, 1797, by the residents of the manor. The legislature declared that, “to remove any uneasiness in the minds of the said inhabitants, from an apprehension, that the commonwealth may claim the said land,” as it was surveyed in January, 1766, all of that land “shall be deemed free and clear of any claim by this commonwealth” and shall be vested in the “respective persons thereon settled, their heirs and assigns, forever.”
Even before 1797, major changes had begun to occur in the ethnic composition of the manor, as descendants of many of the Scotch-Irish families, which had first settled there, sold their properties to German farmers and moved away.
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