On the Frontier with Colonel Antes

COLONEL ANTES: This truly remarkable man, who played such an important part in both the early military and civil history of the West Branch of the Susquehanna Valley of PA was born in 1736. He was appointed a justice of the peace; captain of the Eighth Company; commanded a company in Plunkett’s regiment in his unfortunate raid on Wyoming, made captain of the First Company, was captain of a company in the Second Battalion of Associators and in May of 1777, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the Fourth Battalion by the Supreme Executive Council.

On the point of a high bluff, just below the mouth of Antes Creek, Col. Antes built a stockade in 1776 that was frequently occupied by settlers for their safety on the frontier. McMinn enlightens the reader with a valuable history of American Colonial frontier settlements in this true story of a Revolutionary War Pennsylvania militia commander and his pioneer family on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. Chapters contain information on Indian traditions, Indian village life, customs and traits of Indian character sickness, death and treatment on the frontier, home life of the early settlers, early modes of transportation, treaties with the Indians and much, much more. McMinn’s accounts of Indian massacres and the Big Runaway on the Susquehanna’s West Branch are priceless. His discussion of the role of women on the frontier and the culture and character of the Pennsylvania frontier people are stories rarely found in these early histories.

Of note to genealogists is the Antes family history included, covering the migration of the Antes family with fellow Moravians from the Palentine in Germany to Pennsylvania. You truly need to read this remarkable history to know and understand what life was like in the early 18th century Pennsylvania frontier.

Hardback, 514 pp., limited edition of 1,000 copies, over 40+ illustrations, $49.95.