Series IX: Map and Land Deeds, 1737-1966
Series
Dates
- 1737-1966
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
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
Series IX: Map and Land Deeds, 1737-1966
Series IX: Map and Land Deeds, 1737-1966, is arranged in seven subseries: Subseries I: Maps, 1737-1966, Subseries II: Surveys and Grants, 1739-1952, Subseries III: Land Deeds, 1739-1959, Subseries IV: Legal Contracts, 1741-1953, Subseries V: Tax Documents, [ca. 1880s]-1955, Subseries VI: Genealogical Manuscript Concerning Land, 1818-1953, and Subseries VII: Newspaper Clippings, 1954, and includes various types of maps, land surveys, grants, deeds of sale, legal contracts, including a power of attorney form and a last will and testament, genealogical materials, and newspaper articles.
Themes or subjects you will find throughout the series include land purchases, land surveys, field notes, legal recording fees, legal contracts, estate citations, inheritance, power of attorney, land grants, genealogical tracing, family trees, and succession. There are also numerous documents that have been copied or transcribed from original records that pertain to subjects on land research, land rights, rights of title, rights of soil, and endowments.
As the items refer to land purchases, inheritances, titles, and exchange of ownership, we have categorized them by region forest when possible, counties broken down alphabetically by township. However, for the later subseries, such as Genealogical and Tax documents, they have been arranged by family name and chronology.
In Subseries I: Maps, 1737-1966, items include a collection of printed and hand-drawn maps, such as topographic maps, depicting different parts of the United States, but primarily in Pennsylvania: i.e. Bucks, Greene, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Philadelphia, Westmoreland, and York, with townships named including Pittston, Wilkes Barre, Scranton, Jenkins, Marcy, Covington, Yorktown, Ransom, and more. The maps indicate nearby waterways, roads, land tracts, railroad and coal contracts, and other physical features. Some of the maps include notes about the owning family’s inheritances and estates, such as the Chapman and Blanchard families, two names featured prominently in Subseries III: Land Deeds, and Subseries VI: Genealogy Manuscripts.
In Subseries II: Surveys and Grants, 1739-1952, items include surveys, survey returns, and grants written to various parties for lands in various regions. These items usually contain a hand-drawn map of the survey in question, with some legal script attesting to the boundaries of the tract named and the designation of sale to a certain party. Some of these surveys were obtained through a foreclosure by the county, while others are being granted to settle a whole township.
In Subseries III: Land Deeds, 1739-1959, items include a series of original land deeds and photostat or typescript copies of land deeds between various parties in brokerage of land sales. Within these manuscripts, the parties sell off entire tracts of land in different townships throughout Pennsylvania, and one in Ohio, ranging from tens to hundreds of acres of land. These contracts often stipulate that the buying parties are granted the whole of the right to profit and use of the land, excepting those that withhold specific rights to mineral and mining rights on the lands. In other cases, the contracts are selling off certain percentages of the land for the means of building a railroad or special legal precedent for the women’s legal rights in sales of their lands or the law of inheritance and its protections.
In Subseries IV: Legal Contracts, 1741-1953, items include an administrator’s bond, a power of attorney, an estate citation, a last will and testament, and a sheriff sale deed . These contracts focus on the transfer and closing of estates after the deceased party, lands repossessed after a failure to pay taxes, or a legal precedent to avoid taxation or charge on accounts. This subseries is split between the contracts and other manuscripts compiled for land deed research. In the second section, the research compiled in photostats and typescripts, includes a historical survey of land transfers between a family property, the meeting minutes of a resolve to build up the public commons of Wilkes Barre metropolitan areas, and others containing lists of lands occupied in the Wyoming Valley region. These items seem to focus on how land is retained and how it is lost to various legal movements or purchases.
In Subseries V: Tax Documents, [ca. 1880s]-1955, items include, there are various pay assessment notes regarding the Pennsylvania Coal Company, property assessments and taxes, correspondence regarding taxes, as well as photostat copies of records. Among the companies listed, Lehigh Valley Coal and Northern Goal & Iron Company also appear in the manuscripts, along with familial lines seen in other subseries including Sarah Blanchard and Helen Basgier. The majority of these documents depict pay assessments, which can be for many purposes, some include a payout for coal mining taxes and assessment charges, royalties, or reclamation taxes if the ash produced by the companies were to affect neighboring sites.
In Subseries VI: Genealogical Manuscript Concerning Land, 1819-1953, items in the subseries reflect documents regarding land within specific familial lines, namely Chapman, Douglas, and Blanchard. These items include certified and hand written family trees, correspondence and historical research on communal buildings they contributed to in the region, as well as archivists photocopies of referential texts concerning lands in the area, including the 17 townships erected for the Connecticut settlers following the Yankee Pennamite Wars (more information on the conflict can be found in Series V, Subseries II: Susquehanna Claim, 1771 - 1801), and more.
In Subseries VII: Newspaper Clippings, 1945, items include a map of Luzerne County’s election map of 1954 and public response to a developer’s interest in purchasing the public commons in Wilkes Barre.
Condition Note: A majority of the works in this collection are in good condition, however, there are a few items in poor condition. These items are tearing or have faded ink, and should be handled carefully:
15.60 Item 5: Topographic Map of Northern Scranton, [no date] (Oversized, in Map Drawer 2-1-1) 15.61 Item 6: Hand-drawn Map by C[harles] I[saac] A[bel] Champan of “East Side of the Susquehanna River from Cambell’s Ledge to Monocanock Island, [ca. mid-late nineteenth century] (removed to map case #2-1-1) 15.62 Item 7: Photostat of a Map of Exeter, Estate of Sarah Blanchard, Received by [Gilbert Stuart McClintock] from Alice Chapman, [19]49 May 1. (removed to Map Case 2-1-1) 15.67 Item 12: A Warrant Map for the North Eastern Part of Luzerne County, by Unknown, [ca. late nineteenth-early twentieth century] (Removed to Grey Box #4) 15.72 Item 17: A Map of Wilkes-Barre and Surrounding Metropolitan Districts of Luzerne County, Compiled by John Sturdevant, 1942 October (removed to grey print box #4) 15. 76 Item 21: A Lithograph of a Map of Westmoreland, by Wagner & McGuigan, [1754-1799] (Removed to Grey Print Box #4) 15.80. Item 25: A Map by Samuel Lewis, 1795, of the State of Pennsylvania: reduced with permission from Reading Howell's map, [1792] (Removed to Grey Box #4) 15.82 Item 27: Map of Pennsylvania, [John Reid], [1796] (Removed to Grey Box #4) 15.100 Item 45: Two Originals and a Photostat Copy of a Land Deed from John Evans to David Correy, 1819 June 12. (Removed to Grey Print Box #4) 15.105b Item 50b: Hand Written Copy of a Land survey from Sarah Blanchard to the “P[ennsylvania] and N[ew] Y[ork] Canal [and Rail Road Company],” 1867 November 27; recorded 1868 January 23 (Removed to Legal Box #2) 15.114 Item 59: Two Photostat Copies and A Typescript of a Land deed from Jesse Gardner to Jeremiah Blanchard, 1797 March 15 (removed to grey print box #4) 15.138 Item 83: A Land Deed Poll by Jenks and Jonathan Corey to Samuel Cooke, 1777 June 7; Reverse, Property Transfer by John Bailey and Temperance Cook to Putnam Catlin, 1793 Septemeber 12, and a Property Transfer by Putnam Catlin to Christopher Hurlbut, 1793 November 27. (Removed to Legal Box #2) 15.139 Item 84: Land deed for Jefferson Township, Ohio, 1805 August 15-December 3. (Removed to greyprint box #4) 15.140 Item 85: An Administrators Bond by Peter Evans, Register General, with Adam Shove, to Ludwig Poll, administrator to the Mathias Obold estate, 1741 May 5 (removed to Legal Box #2) 15.142 Item 87: An Estate Citation from Jonathan B. Vaughn to John Smith, Peter Winter, and John Blanchard, 1845 June 9 15.160 Item 105: Journal of [Isaac Able Chapman], 1818 May 15 - June 10
Themes or subjects you will find throughout the series include land purchases, land surveys, field notes, legal recording fees, legal contracts, estate citations, inheritance, power of attorney, land grants, genealogical tracing, family trees, and succession. There are also numerous documents that have been copied or transcribed from original records that pertain to subjects on land research, land rights, rights of title, rights of soil, and endowments.
As the items refer to land purchases, inheritances, titles, and exchange of ownership, we have categorized them by region forest when possible, counties broken down alphabetically by township. However, for the later subseries, such as Genealogical and Tax documents, they have been arranged by family name and chronology.
In Subseries I: Maps, 1737-1966, items include a collection of printed and hand-drawn maps, such as topographic maps, depicting different parts of the United States, but primarily in Pennsylvania: i.e. Bucks, Greene, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Philadelphia, Westmoreland, and York, with townships named including Pittston, Wilkes Barre, Scranton, Jenkins, Marcy, Covington, Yorktown, Ransom, and more. The maps indicate nearby waterways, roads, land tracts, railroad and coal contracts, and other physical features. Some of the maps include notes about the owning family’s inheritances and estates, such as the Chapman and Blanchard families, two names featured prominently in Subseries III: Land Deeds, and Subseries VI: Genealogy Manuscripts.
In Subseries II: Surveys and Grants, 1739-1952, items include surveys, survey returns, and grants written to various parties for lands in various regions. These items usually contain a hand-drawn map of the survey in question, with some legal script attesting to the boundaries of the tract named and the designation of sale to a certain party. Some of these surveys were obtained through a foreclosure by the county, while others are being granted to settle a whole township.
In Subseries III: Land Deeds, 1739-1959, items include a series of original land deeds and photostat or typescript copies of land deeds between various parties in brokerage of land sales. Within these manuscripts, the parties sell off entire tracts of land in different townships throughout Pennsylvania, and one in Ohio, ranging from tens to hundreds of acres of land. These contracts often stipulate that the buying parties are granted the whole of the right to profit and use of the land, excepting those that withhold specific rights to mineral and mining rights on the lands. In other cases, the contracts are selling off certain percentages of the land for the means of building a railroad or special legal precedent for the women’s legal rights in sales of their lands or the law of inheritance and its protections.
In Subseries IV: Legal Contracts, 1741-1953, items include an administrator’s bond, a power of attorney, an estate citation, a last will and testament, and a sheriff sale deed . These contracts focus on the transfer and closing of estates after the deceased party, lands repossessed after a failure to pay taxes, or a legal precedent to avoid taxation or charge on accounts. This subseries is split between the contracts and other manuscripts compiled for land deed research. In the second section, the research compiled in photostats and typescripts, includes a historical survey of land transfers between a family property, the meeting minutes of a resolve to build up the public commons of Wilkes Barre metropolitan areas, and others containing lists of lands occupied in the Wyoming Valley region. These items seem to focus on how land is retained and how it is lost to various legal movements or purchases.
In Subseries V: Tax Documents, [ca. 1880s]-1955, items include, there are various pay assessment notes regarding the Pennsylvania Coal Company, property assessments and taxes, correspondence regarding taxes, as well as photostat copies of records. Among the companies listed, Lehigh Valley Coal and Northern Goal & Iron Company also appear in the manuscripts, along with familial lines seen in other subseries including Sarah Blanchard and Helen Basgier. The majority of these documents depict pay assessments, which can be for many purposes, some include a payout for coal mining taxes and assessment charges, royalties, or reclamation taxes if the ash produced by the companies were to affect neighboring sites.
In Subseries VI: Genealogical Manuscript Concerning Land, 1819-1953, items in the subseries reflect documents regarding land within specific familial lines, namely Chapman, Douglas, and Blanchard. These items include certified and hand written family trees, correspondence and historical research on communal buildings they contributed to in the region, as well as archivists photocopies of referential texts concerning lands in the area, including the 17 townships erected for the Connecticut settlers following the Yankee Pennamite Wars (more information on the conflict can be found in Series V, Subseries II: Susquehanna Claim, 1771 - 1801), and more.
In Subseries VII: Newspaper Clippings, 1945, items include a map of Luzerne County’s election map of 1954 and public response to a developer’s interest in purchasing the public commons in Wilkes Barre.
Condition Note: A majority of the works in this collection are in good condition, however, there are a few items in poor condition. These items are tearing or have faded ink, and should be handled carefully:
15.60 Item 5: Topographic Map of Northern Scranton, [no date] (Oversized, in Map Drawer 2-1-1) 15.61 Item 6: Hand-drawn Map by C[harles] I[saac] A[bel] Champan of “East Side of the Susquehanna River from Cambell’s Ledge to Monocanock Island, [ca. mid-late nineteenth century] (removed to map case #2-1-1) 15.62 Item 7: Photostat of a Map of Exeter, Estate of Sarah Blanchard, Received by [Gilbert Stuart McClintock] from Alice Chapman, [19]49 May 1. (removed to Map Case 2-1-1) 15.67 Item 12: A Warrant Map for the North Eastern Part of Luzerne County, by Unknown, [ca. late nineteenth-early twentieth century] (Removed to Grey Box #4) 15.72 Item 17: A Map of Wilkes-Barre and Surrounding Metropolitan Districts of Luzerne County, Compiled by John Sturdevant, 1942 October (removed to grey print box #4) 15. 76 Item 21: A Lithograph of a Map of Westmoreland, by Wagner & McGuigan, [1754-1799] (Removed to Grey Print Box #4) 15.80. Item 25: A Map by Samuel Lewis, 1795, of the State of Pennsylvania: reduced with permission from Reading Howell's map, [1792] (Removed to Grey Box #4) 15.82 Item 27: Map of Pennsylvania, [John Reid], [1796] (Removed to Grey Box #4) 15.100 Item 45: Two Originals and a Photostat Copy of a Land Deed from John Evans to David Correy, 1819 June 12. (Removed to Grey Print Box #4) 15.105b Item 50b: Hand Written Copy of a Land survey from Sarah Blanchard to the “P[ennsylvania] and N[ew] Y[ork] Canal [and Rail Road Company],” 1867 November 27; recorded 1868 January 23 (Removed to Legal Box #2) 15.114 Item 59: Two Photostat Copies and A Typescript of a Land deed from Jesse Gardner to Jeremiah Blanchard, 1797 March 15 (removed to grey print box #4) 15.138 Item 83: A Land Deed Poll by Jenks and Jonathan Corey to Samuel Cooke, 1777 June 7; Reverse, Property Transfer by John Bailey and Temperance Cook to Putnam Catlin, 1793 Septemeber 12, and a Property Transfer by Putnam Catlin to Christopher Hurlbut, 1793 November 27. (Removed to Legal Box #2) 15.139 Item 84: Land deed for Jefferson Township, Ohio, 1805 August 15-December 3. (Removed to greyprint box #4) 15.140 Item 85: An Administrators Bond by Peter Evans, Register General, with Adam Shove, to Ludwig Poll, administrator to the Mathias Obold estate, 1741 May 5 (removed to Legal Box #2) 15.142 Item 87: An Estate Citation from Jonathan B. Vaughn to John Smith, Peter Winter, and John Blanchard, 1845 June 9 15.160 Item 105: Journal of [Isaac Able Chapman], 1818 May 15 - June 10
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu