The new-comers had to settle in forts, where the young men and maidens had many chances for courtship.

They married early, and were as fruitful as they were hardy.[1] Most of these marriages were civil contracts, but some may have been solemnized by clergymen, for the commonwealth received from the outset occasional visits from ministers.
These ministers belonged to different denominations, but all were sure of a hearing.

The backwoodsmen were forced by their surroundings to exercise a grudging charity towards the various forms of religious belief entertained among themselves--though they hated and despised French and Spanish Catholics.

When off in the wilderness they were obliged to take a man for what he did, not for what he thought.

Of course there were instances to the contrary, and there is an amusing and authentic story of two hunters, living alone and far from any settlement, who quarrelled because one was a Catholic and the other a Protestant.