The Fair Play Settlers of the West Branch Valley, 1769-1784: A Study of Frontier EthnographyWolf, George D.
History
The Fair Play Settlers of the West Branch Valley, 1769-1784: A Study of Frontier Ethnography
Wolf, George D.
Frontier and pioneer life -- Pennsylvania; Lycoming County (Pa.) -- History
Scotch-Irish English German Scots Irish Welsh French Other
=========================================================================
Conti-
nental
United
States 5.9 60.1 8.6 8.1 3.6 0 2.3 10.6
Penn-
sylva-
nia 11.0 35.3 33.3 8.6 3.5 0 1.8 6.5
Fair
Play
Terri-
tory 48.75 20 15 6.25 5 2.5 2.5 0
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From this comparison it can readily be seen that the national origins of
the Fair Play settlers in no way conform to either the national pattern
or the State pattern of just a few years later. Although this limited
frontier area can be recognized as having its own individual ratio of
component stocks, it is representative rather than unique in its culture
and values. The reaction of those of other national stocks to the
frontier experience buttresses the conclusion that their values were
influenced more by the frontier than by national origin. It is this
common reaction to the problems of the frontier which gives rise to the
conclusion that this West Branch Valley environment was characterized by
and that its inhabitants held values which Turner evaluated as
democratic. The nature of those democratic values is, however, dealt
with in greater detail in subsequent chapters.
The American sources of emigration form the next question to be
considered in examining the origins of the Fair Play settlers. Lacking
adequate statistical data for a complete picture of migration in terms
of percentages, the following chart indicates only the probable origins
of the three most numerous national stock groupings in the Fair Play
territory:
CHART 3
American Sources of Emigration[6]
National Percentage of
Stock Population American Source of Emigration
===============================================================
Scotch-Irish 48.75 Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin,
Lancaster counties
English 20 New Jersey, New York, southeastern
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and
Bucks counties)
German 15 Chester, Lancaster, Philadelphia,
and York counties
Total 83.75
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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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