Harborcreek Township Thomas Rees and Some Early Settlers

Abstract

Before the American Revolution what was to become the United States was a collection of disparate social entities (colonies). One observer noted: "Fire and water are not more heterogeneous than the different colonies in North America. Nothing can exceed the jealousy . . . which they possess in regard to each other.” The experience of the war, however, and troops from different colonies fighting together for a common cause altered parochial attitudes and allegiances. The men’s exposure to different kinds of people also tended to broaden perspectives. In addition, the goal of independence served as a unifying factor. Out of the revolution there emerged a sense of one political and social organization. This feeling of emerging national identity was expressed by Patrick Henry: "The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian but an American.’’2 When Patrick Henry made this observation at the first Continental Congress, the entity that later became known as the Erie Triangle was not yet a part of Pennsylvania and would not be the valued lake port until 1792.