Milford chronicle., 1935-11-01
FERRY ACROSS
NANTICOKE RIVER
[CoaIinaed Lrom ~ PaeeI

lOyttfNNea from rHSt rage
Stein Highway and then to the frs
Inacadam road to the left and an
other turn on the first Stag road {,
the left again, brings the traveller t
the banks Of the Nanticoke and t
the sleepy hamlet Of a dozen houses
Of Woodland and to the ferry.
The ferry is unique not only in iii
appearance but also its method o
operation and is controlled by run
ming on a steel cable across the riv-
er which at this point is about zoe
yards wide with a depth Of from II
20 16 feet, and is driven by small
engine hitched on the side Of the
scow. The ferry boat is 35 feet long
and feet wide and holds two ordi-
nary automobiles comfortably. The
ferry slides into rough slips on each
side aud operates from sunrise to
sunset for all who may wish to use
T.. No charge is made. Should the
engine not be operating. long poles
with slots cut on the ends are used
to clamp over the cable and the fer
Tynan pulls the boat across.
This was the old method Of trans
portation but some time ago an at-
toInoblle engine was placed on the
side in a rough engine house. Out of
the way as it is now located, there
Is considerable traffic and with a
record kept each day the figures are
at hand showing an average of We
hicles crossing Of over thirty per
day throughout the year. In the
month OF September 1882 vehicles
passed across on the ferry with 80
in the highest day. This does not
take any account of the pedestrians
who are brought over by a small
skiff, padded by the ferryman.
Although no charge is at present
made to any one. the law creating
the ferry sets forth that only citi-
zens of Delaware are carried free
and that people from other states
shall be charged whatever was seen
it for their travel over the river. On
the water itself there is an average
CT two boats passing up and down
per day during the entire year, some
seasons seeing considerable boat
traffic as the river is used between
Seaford and Baltimore and az one
time boasted two steamers making
regular trips there. At the present
time the shad season sees many fish
ing boats passing up and down but
the regular trade consists mainly OF
barges carrying coal or merchandise
trading between SeafOrd, Laurel and
the Maryland towns. Crossing to the
East bank, at Woodland or Cannon's
Crossing in the early part of the last
century, was on the Kings Highways
connecting Philadelphia with the
towns Of Maryland and the two Vir-
ginia counties on the Eastern Shore
and within a few miles of JohnsOn's
Crossing now called Reliance, which
was the headquarters of Patty Can
non, a notorious slave dealer Of her
day who died while awaiting exe-i
cution for murder at Georgetown.
Patty lived on tract of land in Del
aware about 100 yards from the
Maryland line where she kept sort
OF public house in which travellers
were often relieved of their valu- /
ables and many rObberies were re- (
ported to have been committed. Near /
by in Maryland and about IS yards
from the Delaware line lived one Joe
johnson who had married Patty's !
daughter. JohnsOn's house became a
famous kidnapper's tavern and was a
large frame building with a steep
roof without dormer windows. In
this attic was a prison about twelve
feet square, the walls of heavy plank
spiked together, with heavy iron sta
pies for shackling the kidnapped ne
grOes with whom Patty and Joe piled
their trade of stealing negroes, both
free and slave, from Delaware and
Maryland and imprisoning them in
this attic until they could sell them
to slave traders from the South.
The tavern where she lived was
The resort of slave traders who
bought the kidnapped negroes from
Patty and Joe, taking them South in
usually from Galestown by
way of the NanticOke River and
Bay. The two houses,
Ine in Delaware and the other in
Maryland were often used by the
lair in escaping officers. moving the I
prisoners from place to place as Oc-
iesion demanded. Not content with I
he profits from the sale of the hui
nan chattels, Patty was rumOred TO
lave done away with some of the
iuyers who came to her place, thus ;
Ieeping the negroes for another sale {
nd also securing the money which I
he trader carried for his purchase.
because the Cannon, Ferry was used J
S a part of the road to the South {
md because it was at that time q :
hriVing port where the negroes {
Ould be quickly moved into Mary
and waters, It was an important a
Ink in the trade and the old ferry at {
hat time was no doubt a money S
laking source when charges could Il
e made TO everyone and as much c
ould be charged as the traffic would Z
ear b
How the State became the owner a
T an operated ferry is both inter- s
sting and unusual and brings into {
le picture the two interesting char s
cters Of Isaac and Jacob Cannon, r
NO brothers who are said to have
ZEN uncles Of the infamous Patty but h
hich relationship is not borne out f
Y the facts now at hand Patty Can II
On whose real name had been Luz il
.etia P. Hanley was from a seafar- pi
& family Of St. John County, Nova Il
Gotta and had been married to Al Il
izo Cannon, Delaware black b
NTH, in visit 70 that country and h