Mifflin County PAGenWeb - History Links

I recommend the writings of William Apess because although they are not directly related to Mifflin County history, they are a fascinating perspective of slavery and assimilation, the first and one of the only surviving autobiographical accounts written in English by an American Indian of the time, and also they provide insight into the early formation of the American Methodist Church. - Cynthia Rosenberry

About William Apes / Apess:

Until recently, his works were very difficult to find. Three out of the five known works by William Apess and also a compilation: "On Our Own Ground" can be purchased at Amazon.com if you can't find them at your local library:

A Son of the Forest and Other Writings (autobiography) - 1829

Indian Nullification of the Unconstitutional Laws of Massachusetts, Relative to the Marshpee Tribe: Or, the Pretended Riot Explained - 1835

Eulogy on King Philip (Philip, Sachem of the Wampanoags, d. 1676) - 1836

On Our Own Ground : The Complete Writings of William Apess The increase of the kingdom of Christ (description: sermon on the Indians and the ten lost tribes) - 1831 The experience of five Christian Indians of the Pequod tribe - 1833

Born near Colrain, MA in 1798, died in Boston, MA in 1839, William Apess was a Pequot indian who was abused by his alcoholic grandparents and then sold as an indentured laborer. Later, he was briefly educated; and converted to Christianity. Soon after his conversion he became attracted to the easy structure and non-conformity of the (shunned) new subculture of Methodists. Despite threats and beatings from his benefactor, William Apess bought his freedom, became a Methodist Minister, and preached in the street to mostly Blacks, poor whites, and Indians, eventually becoming famous and even respected despite all obstacles of the era for a person of color. He was outspoken against slavery and oppression at great personal risk, especially when he was arrested as one of the leaders of the Pequot's Mashpee Revolt. He also made waves by denouncing that Jesus and Christianity belonged mainly to the white race. Apess claimed Jesus for the wretched and enslaved stating that Jesus belonged to outcasts more than the white oppressors because not only was Jesus dark-skinned, but he specifically preached to the down-trodden, not the wealthy Philistines, and he criticized the hypocritical behavior of many Christians. This was dangerous and highly radical thinking at the time but was appealing to his congregation since Methodists comprised at the time of mainly the poor and disenfranchised.
Despite the dangerous position he continually put himself in, when he died in 1839, it was due to natural causes and he was the first Indian and the only one for a long time afterwards to be eulogized in the newspapers of the day (not only in one but several).

200 Years of United Methodism: An Illustrated History

Prior to formation of Mifflin/Juniata Counties (transcribed by Tony Rebuck):

Bell's History

Floyd's History

Annals of the Buffalo Valley by John Blair Lynn

Proclamation of Gov. Thomas Against Settlers on Lands in Lancaster, 1742: Lancaster Co, PA

Watson's Annals, Historical Notices of Lancaster, and Lancaster County: Vol II

Bios: Robert Barnhill 1755-1797: Cumberland/Mifflin Cos, PA (some area history at the very bottom)

Juniata Jottings by Michael Millikin - Some Juniata County excerpts from: "History of that part of the Susquehanna and Juniata Valleys, embraced in the counties of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union and Snyder, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" edited by F. Ellis and A. N. Hungerford. Published in 1886 by Everts, Peck and Richards, Philadelphia

PA Historical Highway Markers

A wealth of nearby Franklin Co. History available at: The Valley of the Shadow

(a comparative study of Augusta Co., VA and Franklin Co., PA during the civil war)

Photographs found at Library of Congress

Mifflin County PAGenWeb

Josie Baughman, Mifflin PAGenWeb County Coordinator

This page was last updated 02/17/2008