Series V: Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Wyoming Valley, 1771 - 1841

Series

Staff Only

Dates

1771 - 1841

Creator

Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829. (Person)

Access:

All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.

Extent

From the Collection: 17 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Series V: 1758-1841

Series V: Wilkes-Barre, Wyoming Valley, Luzerne County, 1758-1841, is arranged into two further subseries: Subseries I: General, 1758-1841, and Subseries II: Susquehanna Claim, 1770-1801. Each subseries is arranged in chronological order by date and contains correspondence, memorandums, notices, handwritten lists, reports, official decrees, certificates, court proceedings and legal acts, and booklets concerning the development of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, and the Wyoming Valley in the mid-eighteenth century through the mid-nineteenth century as well as the Pennamite-Yankee wars that occurred towards the latter half of the eighteenth century.

Subseries I: General, 1758-1841

Subseries I: General, 1758-1841, is arranged chronologically and contains manuscripts, notes, lists, notices, meeting minutes, decrees, ledgers, letters, certificates, newspaper clipping, and memorandums written and created by various historical figures who had made significant contributions to the establishment of not only the Wyoming Valley but Luzerne County, Pennsylvania as a whole.

Historical figures included in this general subseries 1 are John Durkee, John Sullivan, Ezekiel Pierce, Nathan Dennison, Zebulon Butler, Obadiah Gore, Johnathan Trumbull, Benjamin Stoddert, Matthias Hollenback, Timothy Pickering, Samuel Kirkland, Thomas Mifflin, Clement Biddle, Louis Marie De Noailles, Antoine Omer Talon, Isaac Dewitt, Le Ray De Chaumont, and Archibald McCall.

This general subseries I encompasses a wide range of events and affairs beginning with the establishment of the Susquehanna Company in the early 1700s ,which laid the foundation of the Wyoming Valley with the help from figures such as Zebulon Butler, Obadiah Gore and Nathan Dennison. Various notices written by these figures are included in this series and highlight their involvement in community interests and the establishment of cities, most notably Wilkes-Barre, and creation of the County’s infrastructure.

The committees at the time also took responsibility in building homes for people who were moving from Connecticut to the Wyoming Valley, managed the settlements along the Susquehanna River, and for a long time decided many legal affairs before a court was formally established. It is important to note that there is a significant amount of notices and letters written by Zebulon Butler included in this subseries, which were deliberately included due to the nature of these letters and notices highlighting his affairs in the Wyoming Valley as both a colonel and member of various civil offices. While these items are located physically within the General subseries from the Wilkes-Barre, Wyoming Valley, Luzerne County series, there are many other manuscripts written by Zebulon Butler found in the Butler Correspondence subseries within the American Figures series. Two other key figures heavily referenced in this series are Matthias Hollenback and Timothy Pickering. Most notably a letter from Matthias Hollenback to Timothy Pickering including a detailed story of Hollenback’s capturing of John Hyde, who had previously broken into Pickering home and captured him during the Yankee-Pennamite Wars. Various other letters and notes written by Matthias Hollenback and received by him, highlights his significance to the history of Luzerne County. From being one of the successful business men of his time, owning several stores along the Susquehanna River while also being a soldier fighting at the Battle of Wyoming, to his involvement in the French Asylum, and ending with his honorable career as a judge this series encompasses it all.

A prominent theme in this subseries is the Battle of Wyoming. The Battle of Wyoming was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. It took place on July 1778 in what is known now as Luzerne County.Along with Zebulon Butler’s involvement in the lead up to the battle, this series also includes documents such as Elisha Blackman’s letter to the publisher of the National Gazette, claiming that their narration of the Battle was incorrect and Eliphalet Follet’s (Jr.) writings to the Wyoming Claim Committee to tell the story of his father who died in battle and of his mothers journey taking care of him and his siblings while grieving the death. This series ends with a Memorandum written by the Ladies of the Monumental Association who were seeking out funds to finish the construction of a monument that would honor those who had fallen during battle. To this day there is a yearly celebration at the monument to honor those individuals who heroically fought to Wyoming Valley. Other themes within this subseries I include the effects of Indian attacks on the Wyoming Valley, affairs regarding Matthias Hollenback’s farm, now known as Kirby Park, military orders, the Sullivan Expedition, affairs involving the French Asylum including figures such as Louis Marie De Noailles, Antoine Omer Talon, and Archibald McCall, and the building of the Centre Turnpike and Eastern and Wilkes Barre turnpike road.

Subseries II: Susquehanna Claim, 1701-1801

Subseries II: Susquehanna Claim, 1770-1801 contains correspondence, legal documents, lists, and booklets, written by various historical figures discussing the conflicts occurring within the Wyoming Valley during the 18th century. These conflicts were known as the Pennamite–Yankee Wars or Yankee–Pennamite Wars, or to be more specific, the First (1769-1770), Second (1775), and Third (1784) Pennamite Wars. These conflicts occurred due to the states of CT and PA both claiming to own the upper third of what is now northeastern Pennsylvania; however there is valid reasoning behind both claims. Connecticut had been granted a land claim to the area in 1662 by King Charles II, and in 1681 King Charles II granted the land again to William Penn on accident due to the local Iroquois reselling the land on account of, as historian Paul B. Moyer states, “ … their decentralized political systems, their own jurisdictional controversies, and their distinctive cultural definitions of property rights.” This subseries covers several different events in relation to the Susquehanna Claim. The bulk of items are from the period of the three Pennamite Wars (1770s- early 1780s), with the remainder of items highlighting the controversy’s legal aftermath (mid 1780s-1790s). This legal aftermath included the proposal, approval, and implementation of several bills which outline Pennsylvania’s ownership of the claim, as well as various other legal acts and decrees such as Item 14.29: “An Act for offering compensation to the Susquehanna claimants of certain Lands within the seventeen Townships in the County of Luzerne and for other purposes therein mentioned”, copied by unknown, no date., which provided financial support to those affected. Historical figures included in this subseries are Elise Dyer, Major John Durkee, Lord Butler, John Butler, Zebulon Butler, Moses Mather, Roger Sherman, Colonel Timothy Pickering, Benjamin Franklin, Jacob Shallus, David Brearley, George Clymer, William Rawle, Tench Coxe, Eleazer McComb, Matthias Hollenback, Samuel Wyllys, and Timothy Pitkin. Many of these individuals were part of the newly formed United States government and their letters provide researchers with a U.S. government officials' perspective on the conflicts through several legal documents relating to land ownership and the troubles between Pennsylvania and Connecticut. However, this subseries does not contain any items which reference the military aspects of this controversy. The items focus more on rising tensions between PA and CT as well as the legal aftermath which followed. The individual who collected these items, Gilbert Stuart McClintock, labeled these items as “The Susquehanna Controversy,” however the Library of Congress refers to the events as “The Susquehanna Claim.” Due to this in combination with the collection’s lack of reference to conflicts, the Wars shall be referred to as the Controversy, while everything else shall be referred to as the Claim. This subseries is deeply tied with Subseries III: Butler Correspondence 1759-1846, as it contains many letters related to Zebulon Butler and his role as the Director of the Susquehanna Company, a Connecticut based company founded in 1753 with the intention of settling what they considered to be their land in the northern portion of Pennsylvania. He was heavily involved in the American Revolution as well one of the bloodiest events in this region’s history: the Wyoming Massacre or Battle of Wyoming. For further information on this individual please reference the previously mentioned Subseries III: Butler Correspondence, 1759-1846. Another heavily referenced key figure within this subseries is Timothy Pickering, the third Secretary of State and Luzerne County resident. Within his correspondence, Pickering handled several legal matters in reference to the controversy. A few examples of topics which are mentioned within this subseries include the sale of land to both Connecticut and Pennsylvania settlers by their respective states, the imprisonment of Major John Durkee, the purchase of the claim from Native Americans, the formation of committees to deal with the claim, various court trials regarding land ownership and compensation for those involved with the controversy, and mostly unfavorable opinions of Connecticut settlers by Pennsylvanians.

Condition Note:

The condition of the items within the collection varies, however due to the age of the documents within the collection, there should be a high level of care taken while handling. The vast majority of the items within this subseries are extremely fragile, as they are quite literally falling apart as tears widen at folds within the paper, which are present in almost every item to some extent. Every item exhibits signs of age, including browning of the paper, tattered edges, and general fragileness, however other items exhibit further or amplified signs of age and or damage including fading ink, stains, and various tears. There are items which have separated into multiple pieces over time, and in many cases the rest of the item is vulnerable to further separation. The items which should be handled with utmost care are: Item 14.7: Letter from Zebulon Butler to George Washington, 1780 April 2. Item 14.30: Letter from Samuel Hodgdon and Edward Tilghman to Ebenezer Bowman, 1801 May 18. Item 14.11: Letter from Roger Sherman to Zebulon Butler, 1784 June 15. Item 24:10: Letter from “Unknown” to “Sir,” 1787 March 9. (from Zebulon Butler Correspondence)

Processed and Transcribed By:

First round transcriptions done by Christopher Smith in Fall 2020-Summer 2021. 2nd round transcription and description done by Conrad Middleton, Spring 2023, Archives intern, supervised and edited by Suzanna Calev, Archivist, Spring 2023.