The Indians of Allentown were of the Delaware Tribe and belonged to the great Lenape
family. They were not as fierce as Indians in the north or west, a factor which made it
easier for the Quakers and Indians to become neighbors. The Quakers purchased land
from the Indians some time in the 1600’s. There were not many Indians left when the white
man settled in and around the Allentown area. They were treated kindly by the white man,
but were not invited to social gatherings because of their “unsociable nature.” If a Chief
was invited to something, it was an exception or for a purpose.
At a meeting in 1695 at
Nottingham Town (now Hamilton Township), it was decided to continue to cultivate the
goodwill of the Indians. The white man’s attempt to Christianize the Indians was
unsuccessful, but in 1746, a missionary from Connecticut named David Brainerd came to
help. By this time, the red man had moved to Crosswicks and further east. Brainerd lived
with the Indians, attended important events and paid off debts.
The Indians claimed to
own land by Cranbury and Brainerd had plans to relocate them there. At this time, a
dispute bordering on anarchy existed among the white settlers. Some whites banded
together to run off some other settlers. They claimed to have the help of 100 Indians if
they needed it. The people of Cranbury got word of this and thought the Indians that
Brainerd was bringing to their area were the fighting Indians. They did not want these
Indians around them so they said that other Indians gave up the land long ago. Brainerd
moved his group of Indians to another place and called it Bethel. A few years later, the
title to this land also was lot; many of the Indians moved back to Crosswicks.
The
Legislature, either from shame at they way the Indians were treated or from fear of their
hostility, selected Commissioner to look into the matter. A meeting between the Indians
and the Commissioners was held at Crosswicks in 1756. The Indians claimed the white
man cheated them, destroyed their deer and took over some land in the vicinity of
Allentown. Another meeting took place in 1758 and a settlement was made. The state
bought 3,000 acres of land in Burlington for the Indians to live on. Some moved there
and some stayed at Crosswicks. The ones that stayed sold their land in 1802 and then
moved. In 1832, the Tribe had been reduced to about 40 people.
But that did not stop
them from fighting for their rights to part of the land. They sent an agent by the name of
Bartholomew S. Calvin to the Legislature. Mr. Calvin told the Legislature that his people
never gave up the rights to hunt or fish on unenclosed land. The Legislature gave him
$2,000 as a token of kindness and Mr. Calvin filed a full relinquishment of the rights of his
Tribe. The last known Indian in this area was called Indian Peter. Around 1775, he moved
from Toms River to Imlaystown. He built a cabin on a pond from which he fished.
During his residence in Imlaystown, his wife died. Indian Peter lived alone there until his
death some years later. An Interesting Fact: The Indians were known by the names of the
streams along which they lived. We have retained this identification to this day, such as in
Crosswicks Indians, Assunpink Indians and Toms River Indians.