Andrew Friend and the "Negro Mountain" controversy

[afarneth]

Early in 2013 some state legislators in PA re-floated the idea of changing the name of Negro Mountain, which runs from Garrett County north through Somerset County, Part of the ridge is Mount Davis, the highest point in PA.

There are several stories of how it came to be named. One of the stories involves Captain Andrew Friend. The book African Americans in Pennsylvania by Charles L. Blockson, details the Friend version on P. 171. Several other versions of the story appear in different publications.

From the Blockson book:
" A short distance from the small town of Casselman are two mountains, Mt. Davis, the highest point in Pennsylvania, and Negro Mountain, named, according to tradition in honor of a slave. The slave was with captain Andrew Friend's party that came to Somerset County in 1775 to explore the mountain region's rich preserve of deer, elk, wild turkey, panthers, bear and other game. The native Americans who inhabited the area served notice to the white men not to enter the game territory, and they mortally wounded the slave, said to have been of gigantic stature, very strong and armed. [ Other sources give his name as "Nemesis" and alternatively, "Goliath".]

Captain Friend and his party fought their way back to him and though he pleaded for their hasty retreat without him, they stayed until his death and buried him among the roots of a fallen tree. Friend and his party returned safely to Fort Cumberland.

Other versions of the story talk of a slave who died fighting native americans on that mountain in 1756.

[Pat (Friend) Thompson]

Sorry for the delay in this reply. Maybe the best answer to your question about Andrew Friend and Negro Mountain would be; Are there any documents showing Andrew Friend was at any time in this area?
Dr. Peter Craig addressed this in June 2006. I agree with him as the local area (MD) history tells of Capt. Cresap being the man who's slave was killed on the mountain and for which the mountain was name.
From Dr. Peter Craig, June 8, 2005 Dr. Peter S. Craig - Jun 8, 2005 "Andrew Friend of Turkeyfoot The myths surrounding Captain Andrew Friend of Turkeyfoot (Confluence), Pennsylvania seem to have their origin in HISTORY OF BEDFORD AND SOMERSET COUNTIES PENNSYLVANIA WITH GENEALOGICAL AND PERSONAL HISTORY, by E. Howard Blackburn and William H. Welfley (1906), pages 38-44, where Welfley offered the chapter entitled "CAPTAIN ANDREW FRIEND, PIONEER AND INDIAN FIGHTER." www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/4881/miscella.htm See also: www.rootsweb.com/~pasomers/hbs/chapter4.htm "According to the best accounts we have of him," Welfley wrote, his ancestors had settled in the valley of Virginia (Shenandoah), where they owned large estates. They were of English origin. Over the water the family had been of some note, and among them were some who had been prominent both in state and in church. In the civil wars they had adhered to the fortunes of the house of Stuart, and finding themselves of the losing side, some of the family emigrated to Virginia, settling in the Shenandoah valley, where Andrew is supposed to have been born. The family, at one time wealthy, became somewhat reduced in circumstances, left Virginia going into eastern Pennsylvania. But John and Joseph Friend, two brothers, went westward and settled in Colerain township, Cumberland (now Bedford) County, in a beautiful and fertile valley that is encompassed by mountains on three sides, and is to this day known as Friend's Cove." Welfley then surmises, "Andrew Friend and his brother Augustine Friend are supposed to have been sons of one or other of these two brothers." He surmises that these two brothers went from Fort Cumberland to a new frontier at Turkeyfoot. After extolling at length on Andrew Friend's alleged exploits as hunter and Indian fighter, Welfley adds: "The wife of Captain Friend was a sister of Captain Oliver Drake, one of the Jersey pioneers ." He concludes by stating "The writer does not know the precise time of Captain Friend's death. As his name does not appear on the first assessment made after Somerset County was formed in 1795, he may then have been no longer living." Another county (Garrett Co., MD) historian, Charles E. Hoye, writing later in the century, adopted Welfrey's description of Andrew Friend, but substituted a different father (Nicholas Friend) in place of John or Joseph Friend of Friend 's Cove. He also gave Andrew Friend's wife the first name of Josepha. Subsequently, descendants of Andrew Friend of Turkeyfoot now also claim that Oliver and Josepha Drake were the children of John Drake and Ann FitzRandolph of Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey. So far, I have seen no documentation to support the claim that Andrew's wife was named Josepha or was a sister of Oliver Drake. Neither name is found in published Middlesex County records. The will of John Drake of Piscataway, NJ, dated 12 December 1744, named his wife Ann as sole heiress and named no children. (New Jersey Archives, 32:97-98) Further, the evidence indicates that Andrew Friend was married before he went to Turkeyfoot. His eldest son, Charles Friend, became tithable in 1779 and therefore was born by 1758 when Andrew Friend was still living in western Maryland. According to the 19 volumes of Western Maryland Genealogy the surname of Drake did not appear in western Maryland records until 1783, long after Andrew had moved to Pennsylvania. The "historical" accounts of county historians such as Welfley and Hoye become laughable, based on subsequent research into original records, but too often their opinions become accepted as fact. Andrew Friend had three sons and seven daughters, all of whom married and had families. The names of Oliver and Josepha were never used. Perhaps it is time to drop the myth that Andrew Friend's wife was Josepha Drake."

Researcher

Glen Swartz give this timeline for Andrew Friend in the mid 1700's. This is the time given by historians as to when the African American gentleman was killed atop the mountain. In 1755, Andrew Friend was serving in Capt. Moses Chapline's Militia, defending the Antietam Hundred, Frederick Co, MD, and 1757 under Capt. Hager, along with John Friend and Jacob Friend (MGSB 42:3:304). Maybe pin pointing Andrew's whereabouts during this time frame would give us a clearer picture as to where or not he could have ever walked atop Negro Mountain in MD or PA.

[martinabrams]

Hello

I find the above post from Pat Friend Thompson and the letter by Dr Craig very interesting.

Andrew Friend is my 5th gr gf. Probably. Fingers crossed. His daughter Jemima married my 4th gr gf, Thomas Abrams of Turkeyfoot, PA. Thomas Abrams is well documented, altho his marriage to Jemima is not backed by any records or documents. And as mentioned above, my further connection to Josepha Drake is also highly questioned. Much of my family history in the 1700s has been copied over and over without sources or sources like Blackburn and Welfley which many people cannot corroborate.

I have taken several autosomal DNA tests and I have dozens of DNA matches to members of the above Friend and Drake families. Not necessarily from Andrew himself but from his grandfather or other relative or from the Drakes in Piscataway, NJ. Since most of these matches would be 6th cousins or more distant, the matches are typically weak. Usually around 10 centiMorgans, but that is considered enough to be relevant. And after several generations, its possible that my DNA matches are due to some other unknown family connection. The DNA does not substitute for lack of documentation, but my large number of matches to Friend AND Drake DNA does make some of above family relationships plausible.

I would be interested in contacting anyone else with Friend or Drake DNA matches. I am on AncestryDNA, 23andMe, Family Finder and Gedmatch

Martin Abrams
Fremont, CA
[e-mail] (or reply here)

Thank you