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Stumps Run Massacre

UNSOLVED1768Stump's Run, near Middleburg, Snyder County, Pennsylvania2 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

In January 1768, ten Native Americans — four men, three women, and three children — were killed over a two-day period in what is now central Pennsylvania. Contemporary records and later historical scholarship identify German-American settler Frederick Stump and his servant, John Ironcutter, as responsible, but neither man was tried and no court adjudicated guilt.

According to those historical accounts, six victims — four men and two women — were killed near Stump's cabin at the mouth of Middle Creek, close to present-day Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. The remaining woman and three children were killed near Stump's Run at present-day Middleburg.

Authorities took Stump and Ironcutter into custody and jailed them in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on January 23, 1768. Before a trial could be held, an armed mob broke into the jail on January 29 and freed both men. Neither was recaptured, and the case ended without a legal determination of guilt.

Because no trial occurred, accounts of responsibility and the precise sequence of events rest on contemporary records and later historical scholarship rather than a judicial finding.

Key facts

Victims
On file
Date
1768
Location
Stump's Run, near Middleburg, Snyder County, Pennsylvania
Case status
unsolved

Case timeline

No timeline entries are attached yet.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Frederick Stump

    CHARGED

    German-American settler found to be responsible for the killings; imprisoned but freed by a mob before trial and never recaptured

  • John Ironcutter

    CHARGED

    19-year-old servant found to be responsible for the killings alongside Frederick Stump; imprisoned but freed by a mob before trial and never recaptured

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Stump's Run, near Middleburg, Snyder County, Pennsylvania

40.7859, -77.0472

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Historical accounts say that ten Native American men, women, and children were killed near present-day Selinsgrove and Middleburg, Pennsylvania, in January 1768. They identify settler Frederick Stump and his servant John Ironcutter as responsible; the two were jailed but freed by an armed mob before trial and never recaptured, so no court adjudicated guilt.
Where did the massacre happen?
Stump's Run, near Middleburg, Snyder County, Pennsylvania.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: unsolved.
More cases in Pennsylvania

Sources

  1. PRESSThe Frederick Stump Affair, 1768, and Its Challenge to Legal Historians of Early PennsylvaniaPennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies · 2026-07-11
  2. ENCYCLOPEDICStumps Run MassacreWikipedia · 2026-07-10