Capt. William Conwell

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Husband Capt. William Conwell ¹

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         Father: [Father] Conwell (      -      )
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Wife

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Children

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1 F Ruth Conwell ^{1 2}

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           Born: 1774 - Luzerne Twp, Fayette Co, PA 1
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         Spouse: Abraham Armstrong (      -      ) 2

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General Notes: Husband - Capt. William Conwell

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He and his brother, Jehu Conwell, settled within the limits of Luzerne township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in June, 1767. One James Bredin was in the territory before the Conwells, who upon their arrival found Bredin living in a log cabin upon a tomahawk claim, where he had girdled a few trees, he having come in the previous April. For a small consideration the Conwells purchased Bredin's claim and improvements, and he departed for other scenes. The land thus taken by the Conwells lay in what became the Heistersburg school district, included within the John McMullen farm. The country was at that time infested by natives and wild beasts, but with neither gave the settlers then any trouble, for the former were friendly, and the latter not so much inclined to pursue man as afraid of being themselves pursued. By and by, however, the Indians began to show signs of hostility, and the Conwells thought it advisable to withdraw for a brief season to a more populous locality. Upon return, existence was comparatively quiet and uneventful until 1774, when Indian aggressions set in in earnest. Capt. William Conwell and his brother, Jehu, then bestirred themselves and started the project of building a fort. A site was selected on the Coleman plantation, on the west side of Dunlap's Creek, not much more than half a mile below Merrittstown, on a place later occupied by Harrison Henshaw. There a block-house was hastily constructed, to include within its inclosure the spring near the later location of the Henshaw house. Assisted and directed by the Conwells, the settlers had the fort completed in quick time, and in May, 1794, it was occupied. There appears to be no evidence that the fort was ever attacked, or that the people living in that portion of Luzerne met with serious injury at the hands of the natives, although they were for a time in great terror for fear of Indians. Several children are said to have been born within the fort during 1774. After the autumn of 1774, the clouds of alarm clearing away, block-house life was abandoned, and the peaceful pursuits of the pioneer were pushed forward with renewed vigor.
When the flag of national independence was raised in 1776, William and Jehu Conwell responded to the call, and fought through the Revolution. Happily surviving the struggle they resumed their rural labors, and in good time ended their lives upon the Luzerne lands they had cleared from the wilderness.
With his brother, Jehu, Capt. William, now rests in the old Conwell burying-ground upon the George Conwell farm, where lie also numerous others of the same name.

1 Franklin Ellis, History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: L. H. Everts & Co., 1882), Pg 634.

2 Samuel P. Bates, History of Greene County, Pennsylvania (Chicago, IL: Nelson, Rishforth & Co., 1888), Pg 603.