Boundaries
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AMERICAN HISTORY is one of my favorite topics, so researching the material for this book was like going on a treasure hunt. I began my search believing, as most people do, that the Mason-Dixon Line had something to do with the Missouri Compromise and the Civil War. As I dug deeper, my perception changed considerably. I learned that individuals — ordinary folks like you and me — dared to cross many different kinds of boundaries, and in doing so shaped a nation. They prove that one person with a dream can change the world.
People I met during my research journey greatly enriched my story of the line. Todd Babcock steered me toward Moses McClean’s account book in the archives at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. McClean’s lists added depth to the story and gave names to otherwise unknown crewmen. Todd patiently answered questions about surveying, as did Matthew Parbs and Robert Church at the National Museum of Surveying, in Springfield, Illinois. Surveyor and historian Jack Owens shed a clear, much-needed light onto the intricacies of running the Tangent Line and taught me how to use a level and a Gunter’s chain. Edwin Danson’s book Drawing the Line helped me understand the mystery of the Tangent Line. Craig Babcock took time from his busy back-to-college schedule and shared some of his experiences on the line. It’s likely that he has worked harder on the line and touched more of its boundary stones than any kid of his generation. At the American Philosophical Society, in Philadelphia, Roy Goodman kindly steered me through their Mason and Dixon files. Also in Philadelphia, Karie Diethorn took me upstairs at Independence Hall so I could see Dixon’s transit and equal altitude instrument. Deborah Warner, at the Smithsonian Institute, in Washington, D.C., explained how a zenith sector worked; she and Peter Marques, of Tentsmiths, provided me with information about eighteenth-century tents.
The Boundary Commissioners, the Calverts and Penns, and the governors of Pennsylvania and Maryland left a rich trail of documents. Deciding which snippets to include wasn’t easy, because I loved them all. In the end, I chose material that helped me better understand people and their reasons for pushing the boundaries of their world. Prior to researching this book, I thought William Penn was as dry as dust. After reading his writings and the transcript of his trial, I now see him as an earnest man of commitment, integrity, intelligence, honor, and dry wit. Period portraits and sketches put faces to the names of some folks in this book. Frustratingly, there are no images of Mason and Dixon. Before I began my research, in my mind’s eye I pictured them as old. I was startled when I realized that when Dixon began surveying the line, he was the same age my son was when he and I visited the Harlan farm and the Stargazer’s Stone. The ages of the boundary-line crewmen surprised me as well: a few were teenagers, and most were in their twenties or thirties.
At the fork of the Brandywine, Kate Roby graciously spent an afternoon showing my son and me around the Harlan house. She shared many family tales. Sitting in rooms that Mason and Dixon had often occupied, I understood why they kept coming back. Linda Kaat, who lives less than a stone’s throw from Joel Baily’s house, filled me in on the importance of taverns as colonial newsrooms.
Professor Janine Black and students Indiah Fortune, Amanda Veloz, and Matthew McDermott shared their modern-day quest for the location of the Plumstead-Huddle house, in Philadelphia. For them, one question started a journey of many twists, turns, and dead ends. But it was a journey that ultimately ended with the satisfaction of success. I agree with Matthew: you feel a special connection with the people of the past when you hold an old handwritten document. It’s a connection that erases time.
Stars are among the “stars” of this book. Matt Wiesner, at the observatory at Northern Illinois University, showed me a whole new world. Visiting the observatory on nights during different seasons helped me understand how Earth’s daily and annual rotations affect the stars we see. Perhaps most thrilling was watching the 2012 transit of Venus. It was an incredible coincidence that this astronomically rare event should occur while I was researching this book — and that I saw it, just like Mason and Dixon. Thankfully, no French warships sailed across Illinois’s horizons.
Seventeenth-century Maryland comes alive in Historic Saint Mary’s City. I easily imagined Leonard Calvert and the 1634 colonists disembarking from the Ark and Dove. A research trip to London took me to the Tower of London, where William Penn was imprisoned. I stood in the church where he was baptized and walked on the grounds where he played as a boy. Seeing Jeremiah Dixon’s circumferentor and the Shelton clock that Mason and Dixon used for their experiment in John Harlan’s garden helped me better understand how they worked. While being in London was exciting, my journey along part of the West Line was equally so. As my husband and I cleared stinging nettles away from one crown stone, we learned why the plant got its name — and not to touch it again. We walked some of the hilly terrain the crew had traveled — they definitely got their exercise! In one rural wooded area, I was afraid we might see a snake, but white-tailed deer were the only animals we encountered. (Being familiar with that area of Pennsylvania, I just know that Mason and Dixon must have seen at least one rattlesnake.)
I love letting my imagination roam as I meander in places like Saint Mary’s City, the fork of the Brandywine, and Philadelphia. On October 25, 2012, the 226th anniversary of Charles Mason’s death, I wandered among the gravestones in Christ Church Burial Ground. In all these places, a whisper of those who came before us lingers. These years-old whispers always inspire me. A million questions flood my mind. I have a burning desire to learn more. And so begins another adventure.
Although Mason and Dixon initially used a canvas observatory tent, carpenters soon constructed a more substantial wooden one, similar to this reconstruction set up at the Surveyors Rendezvous in August 2013. Instruments would have rested on stable bases constructed inside. The observatory was easily disassembled by removing the wood pegs. Wagons hauled the stacked wall and roof panels.
CHAPTER 1: OLD-WORLD PREJUDICE, NEW-WORLD DREAMS
“evil in religion”: Krugler, p. 28.
“20. and odd Negroes”: Sluiter, pp. 395–398.
“the dear companion and only comfort”: Krugler, p. 70.
“from the middst . . . of them dyed” and “I am determined . . . to deserve it”: Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1636–1667, vol. 3, p. 16.
CHAPTER 2: MARYLAND’S SHORES
“which lieth under . . . New England ends”: Charter of Maryland.
“to preserve unity . . . or in England,” “be done as privately as may be,” and “treate the Protestants . . . Justice will permitt”: Hall, p. 16.
“the most delightfull water I ever saw,” “At our first . . . all the Country,” and “came in a . . . unto them all”: Ibid., p. 40.
“gave leave to . . . where we pleased”: Ibid., p. 41.
“axes, hoes, cloth and hatchets”: Ibid., p. 42.
“The cedar you . . . usefull tymber trees”: Ibid., p. 158.
CHAPTER 3: CONVICTIONS AND CONSCIENCE
“could not contain himself from weeping aloud” and “saw the tears running down his cheeks”: Peare, p. 23.
“Imbroidery and diamonds . . . so much overcome” and “both the King . . . at the window”: Pepys, vol. 2, pp. 82–83.
“He, with certain . . . pray’d amongst themselves”: Penn, vol. 1, p. 1.
“endeavoured by both Words and Blows” and “turn’d him out of Doors”: Ibid., p. 2.
“a great deal . . . will signify little”: Pepys, vol. 5, p. 257.
“Preach and Speak”: Penn, vol. 1, p. 9.
“Because I do not . . . be any Respect,” “Contempt of the Court,” “I desire it . . . should be fined,” “I desire you . . . ground my Indictment,” and “the Common-Law”: Ibid., p. 11.
“The Question is . . . there is no Transgression”: Ibid., p. 12.
“Gentlemen, you shall . . . starve for it,” “should be Free, and not Compelled,” “You are Englishmen . . . away your Right,” and “Nor will we ever do it”: Ibid., p. 15.
CHAPTER 4: THE SEED OF A NATION
“a profitable plantation to the crown”: Soderlund, p. 23.
“to extend Westwards . . . New Castle” and “by a straight . . . Longitude above mentioned”: Pennsylvania Charter.
“the seed of a nation” and “God has given . . . oppress his person”: Soderlund, p. 55.
“So farewell to . . . but remains forever” Ibid., p. 170.
Richard Townsend . . . needs with care: Peare, pp. 245–246.
“about 80 houses . . . above 300 farms settled”: Soderlund, p. 292.
CHAPTER 5: WHOSE LAND?
“strainger in the affaires of the Country,” “the business of the bounds,” “observing our just limitts,” and “Just & friendly”: Calvert Papers, vol. 1, pp. 322–323.
“pay any more taxes . . . law of Maryland”: Soderlund, p. 79.
“But as the Line . . . Southward of them”: Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania, vol. 3, p. 470.
“so long as he behaves . . . Friendship with the Indians”: Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1732–1753, vol. 28, p. 7.
“he lived in the Jurisdiction . . . no right to be there”: Pennsylvania Archives, series 1, vol. 1, p. 398.
“If the Lord Baltimore . . . Apply to the King,” “they have . . . Penn was their King,” “being or pretending to be Inhabitants of Pennsylvania,” “Riotous manner Armed . . . Weapons,” and “Ten pounds Current Money of this our Province”: Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1732–1753, vol. 28, pp. 21–22.
“have offered large . . . house on fire”: Ibid., p. 69.
“came with about twenty . . . Blunderbusses & Drum beating”: Pennsylvania Archives, series 1, vol. 1, p. 465.
“armed with guns, pistols, and swords”: Calvert Papers, microfilm reel 21, no. 319.
“high Crimes & Misdemeanors”: Pennsylvania Archives, series 1, vol. 1, p. 489.
“they would not depart . . . dead or alive”: Calvert Papers, microfilm reel 21, no. 319.
“Quakeing Dogs & Rogues”: Pennsylvania Archives, series 1, vol. 1, p. 505.
“who was very big . . . with the Fright”: Calvert Papers, microfilm reel 21, no. 319.
“This is one of the Prettyest Towns in Maryland”: Pennsylvania Archives, series 1, vol. 1, p. 510.
“the Governors . . . Borders of their respective Provinces”: Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1732–1753, vol. 28, pp. 130–131.
“Nothing is more certain . . . perpetually to quarrell”: Pennsylvania Archives, series 1, vol. 1, p. 483.
“This morning our Workmen . . . enlarge their wages” and “till late at night often to the mid-thigh in water”: Calvert Papers, microfilm reel 22, no. 469.
“I pray to be released . . . Lenth of 80 miles”: Lukens to Peters, June 16, 1762, Chew Family Papers, collection 2050, box 25, folder 64.
“three different offsets of the line”: Lukens to Peters, August 29, 1762, Ibid.
CHAPTER 6: STARS IN THEIR EYES
“We wait for nothing but a fair wind”: Mason and Dixon to Thomas Birch, November 24, 1760, American Philosophical Society, Mason and Dixon Papers, B. M381.
“Our loss amounts to 11 killed . . . her Hull much wounded” and “take up so much time . . . Observations upon the Transit”: Dixon to Birch, January 12, 1761, Ibid.
“easily turned to any part of the heavens”: Mason, C. and J. Dixon, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1761: vol. 52, p. 379.
tarred the top . . . joints with putty: Expense receipt, Charles Mason to Nevil Maskelyne, January 2, 1762, American Philosophical Society, Mason and Dixon Papers, B. M381.
“Persons intirely accomplished & of good character” and “settle & Determine”: Correspondence of Governor Sharpe, vol. 14, p. 106.
CHAPTER 7: SURVEYORS TO THE RESCUE
hired two horses: Cash Paid Out by Mason, Chew Family Papers, collection 2050, box 20, folder 20.
“landing and carriage”: Ibid.
“Danger from the Incursions of the Indians” and “if the Business . . . naturally low and wet”: Pennsylvania Commissioners to Thomas and Richard Penn, December 21, 1763, Chew Family Papers, collection 2050, box 25, folder 18.
“made accessible . . . as soon as possible,” “use their best . . . Penns or Calvert,” and “You are to enter fair minutes . . . which the lines may pass”: Minutes and papers of the Mason and Dixon survey, 1760–1768, vol. 1, December 5, 6, and 9, 1763.
“violent storm”: Mason expense account, December 17, 1763, Chew Family Papers, collection 2050, box 20, folder 20.
“entirely peaceable and . . . as the whites were”: Barber journal.
“inhumanly killed six of the Indians”: Pennsylvania Gazette, January 5, 1764, p. 2.
“Muskets, Tomahawks, & Scalping knives.” Edward Shippen to Joseph Shippen, January 5, 1764, Shippen Papers, file B Sh62.
“Gentleman: I hope . . . and an agreeable companion”: Richard Peters to Mason, January 7, 1764, Mason’s Journal, p. 38.
“put [it] with the rest of our Instruments into the wagons” and “carried on the Springs . . . of a single Horse chair [carriage]”: Mason’s Journal, January 11, 1764, p. 38.
“Finding we were very near . . . Erect the Observatory”: Ibid., January 16, 1764, p. 39.
“I’ve here the pleasure . . . Labourers will then be wanted” and “When I left Philadelphia . . . always be acknowledg’d”: Mason to Richard Peters, January 27, 1764, Chew Papers, collection 2050, box 26, folder 2.
“flying clouds”: Mason’s Journal, March 5, 1764, p. 45.
“The edge of the Sun’s Shadow . . . the best defined I ever saw”: Ibid., March 18, 1764, p. 45.
CHAPTER 8: TACKLING THE IMPOSSIBLE
“visto in the Meridian Southward”: Mason’s Journal, March 19, 1764, p. 45.
“Proved the Meridian and found it very exact” and “Found the chain a little too long. Corrected it”: Ibid., April 5, 1764, p. 47.
“five Laborers in carrying one of the instruments”: Ibid., April 18, 1764, p. 48.
reward for them in the Pennsylvania Gazette: Pennsylvania Gazette, June 16, 1763, p. 3.
“To prove that the Chain Carriers . . . Link of the same”: Mason’s Journal, August 27, 1764, p. 60.
“There is the greatest quantity . . . reach the clouds”: Ibid., September 13, 1764, p. 63.
“it was so near a right angle . . . true tangent Point” and “what we had done . . . stand as finished”: Ibid., November 13, 1764, p. 66.
CHAPTER 9: THE WEST LINE
“What brought me here . . . none alive to tell” and “Strange it was . . . no honor to them!”: Mason’s Journal, January 10, 1765, p. 66.
“one Mr. Crisep . . . with about 55” and “would not surrender . . . lost his life coming out”: Ibid., January 17, 1765, p. 67.
“Met some boys . . . as if all had been well”: Ibid., February 24, 1765, p. 67.
“the Stamp Act . . . First of November next”: Pennsylvania Gazette, June 20, 1765, p. 2.
“which the fatal and never-to-be-forgotten Stamp-Act”: South Carolina Gazetteer; and Country Journal, “City of New York,” December 17, 1765, p. 4.
“not to buy any goods . . . the Stamp Act shall be repealed”: Ibid.
“[As] I was returning . . . Cloud to the Horizon”: Mason’s Journal, May 27, 1765, p. 87.
“in the same manner . . . country is inhabited”: Ibid., June 18, 1765, p. 92.
“one inch and six tenths in Length . . . half an inch thick”: Ibid., August 8, 1765, p. 100.
“the Taking [of] frequent Observations . . . Line by many Miles”: Correspondence of Governor Sharpe, vol. 14, pp. 199–200.
“Immediately there opens a room . . . support nature’s arch),” “On the sidewalls . . . Monuments of a Temple,” “Striking its Visitants . . . numbered as one of them,” “a fine river of water,” and “other rooms, but not so large as the first”: Mason’s Journal, September 22, 1765, p. 111.
; “by its appearance . . . direction of our Line”: Ibid., October 27, 1765, p. 117.
“and left them . . . at Captain Shelby’s”: Ibid., October 26, 1765, p. 115.
the team would need between fifty and sixty crown stones and about two hundred regular mile markers: Correspondence of Governor Sharpe, vol. 14, pp. 216–217.
CHAPTER 10: CONTINUING WEST
“on the whole . . . Cash to proceed with”: Correspondence of Governor Sharpe, vol. 14, p. 298.
“oak and hickory buds just breaking into Leaf”: Mason’s Journal, March 11, 1766, p. 121.
“Boundary between the Natives . . . his Britanic Majesties Collonies,” “the best . . . of North America,” “The Rivers abound . . . quantity almost increditable,” and “From the solitary tops . . . spirit that made them”: Ibid., June 14, 1766, p. 129.
forty-one wagonloads of oats and Indian corn: Pennsylvania Gazette, May 22, 1755, p. 4.
“Our numbers consisted . . . prey to the Enemy”: Washington to Robert Dinwiddie, July 18, 1755, George Washington Papers, Letter book 1.
“dismal inhospitable Place”: Pennsylvania Archives, series 1, vol. 2, 1755, p. 309.
“made through the desert . . . never to return” and “beautifully situated on a rising ground”: Mason’s Journal, June 22, 1766, p. 129.
“measured three leaves . . . 12 inches in breadth”: Ibid., July 6, 1766, p. 130.
“proceed immediately . . . in the [West] Line”: Ibid., October 29, 1766, p. 147.
CHAPTER 11: DANGEROUS TERRITORY
“the limbs of the Trees . . . clear Ice upon them”: Mason’s Journal, January 27, 1767, p. 155.
“all the Chief Sackems and principal Warriors of the Six Nations”: William Johnson Papers, vol. 5, p. 486.
“from their desire . . . for their attendance”: Ibid., vol. 12, pp. 309–310.
“to make the [Indians] a small present . . . for their trouble” and “to use his utmost . . . to return home”: Minutes of the Boundary Commission, June 22, 1767.