Subseries III:Butler Correspondence, 1770 - 1789
Sub-Series
Dates
- 1770 - 1789
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
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 3: Letter from Zebulon Butler to General Dyer, 1777 June 23.
Item 5: Letter from Zebulon Butler to “The Board of War,” 1778 July 10.
Item 8: Letter from Susannah Green to General Sullivan, 1779 July 9.
Item 13: Letter from Zebulon Butler to “the War Board,” 1780 July 11.
Item 20: Letter from Zebulon Butler to Colonel Antes, 1780 November 25.
Item 23: Letter from Unknown, possibly Zebulon Butler, to “Board of War,” 1781 January 22.
Item 24a: Letter from Zebulon Butler to Major Lawrence, 1781 February 24.
Item 24b: Letter from Zebulon Butler to Captains Schott and Salon, 1781 February 24.
Item 25: Letter from Durkee to Zebulon Butler, 1781 March 25.
Item 27: Letter from John Brittenden to Zebulon Butler, 1781 April 27.
Item 28: Letter from Noah Allen to Zebulon Butler, 1783 February 4.
Item 30: Letter from Zebulon Butler to Colonels Dyer and Root, 1783 October 4.
Subseries III: Butler Correspondence, 1770-1820
Subseries III: Butler Correspondence, 1770-1820 is arranged chronologically and contains letters and various other types of written media all related to the life of soldier and politician Zebulon Butler.
Zebulon Butler was born on the 23rd of January 1731, and was the oldest son of John Butler and Hannah Perkins. Not much seems to be known about his youth outside of how he moved from his hometown of Ipswich, Massachusetts to Lyme, Connetticut when he was around 5 years old. This, alongside what would become Northeast Pennsylvania, would be the areas that became closely associated with his name. Butler is well known for his service in the military during the Revolutionary War, with a very large portion of the items contained within the collection being centered around his time commanding the Wyoming Garrison, which was situated in the area around modern day Forty Fort. Butler is most famous for his part in the Battle of Wyoming, suitably nicknamed the Wyoming Massacre, as while under his command more than 300 men were killed, resulting in a surrender and major loss. We are fortunate to have a letter written by Butler to the Board of War, a committee which oversaw the Continental Army’s administration during the Revolutionary War, which recounts the events that occurred during the battle written only a week after it occured; Item 5: Letter from Zebulon Butler to “The Board of War,” 1778 July 10. Butler was promoted to a colonel in the Continental Army almost a year later, and continued his military career over the course of the Revolutionary War before settling in Wilkes-Barre until his death on July 28, 1795.
Butler played a relatively large role in the infamous Susquehanna Controversy due to his relationship with the Susquehanna Company. There are more items related to Butler which have been separated from this subseries and were put into a separate one due to their relationship to the Susquehanna Controversy; that subseries is titled Subseries II: Susquehanna Controversy, 1770-1801. The Susquehanna Controversy is a term used to describe the conflicts that occurred between the settlers of Connecticut and Pennsylvania from around 1770 until the end of the century, and includes the wars commonly known as the Yankee-Pennamite or the Pennamite-Yankee Wars. The conflict was centered around the land along the North branch of the Susquehanna River during the mid-to-late 18th century. The dispute originally started in 1754 when Connecticut’s Susquehanna Company acquired a substantial amount of land in the region granted by King Charles II that was also promised to Pennsylvania settlers by Governor William Penn. This led to the validity of the company’s purchase coming into question. Connecticut claimed to own an entire third of Pennsylvania. Zebulon Butler became the director of the Susquehanna Company at some date close to 1775, although the exact start and end date seems to be unknown.
Subseries III of the Zebulon Butler collection covers various different subjects regarding the life of Zebulon Butler, however a large focus of this is centered around his time serving in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Through examining this subseries, we are able to roughly trace the path that he and his soldiers took during the Revolutionary War from around the middle of 1778 until the war’s end. The correspondence from this period of time provides crucial insight into some of the battles and struggles that this group of soldiers experienced, whether in relation to the troubles that came with acquiring provisions, or through struggles with the local Narive Americans. The items within our collection that come after this period are in relation to Butler’s role in the Susquehanna Controversy, his relationship to the Susquehanna Company, some legal issues, politics, and some items that surround land ownership.
Throughout this subseries we are able to see interactions between Butler as well as various other prominent figures of the time. A large portion of these individuals are military figures who played a role in the Revolutionary War or politicians from the Pennsylvania or Connecticut area. Some examples of the individuals that can be found within this subseries include: Col. Eleazar Fitch, Samuel Parsons, Major Backus, Eliphalet Dyer, Joseph Varnum, Colonel Nathan Denison, Captain Spaulding, John Durkee, General Hand, Major General Sullivan, Benjamin Harvey, Captain Schott, George Washington, William McClay, Colonel Blain, Capt Selin, and Colonel Antes.
Subseries IV of the Butler collection contains correspondence from Butler’s family members, with a large portion of the correspondence centered around Chester Butler, Zebulon’s grandson from his oldest son, Lord Nelson Butler Sr.. Chester Butler was a rather prevalent political figure in Pennsylvania; becoming a member of the House of Representatives from 1832, and continuing his political career until his death in 1850 through his work in Congress. Gilbert Stuart McClintock, the individual who collected the pieces from this collection is related to Chester, his step-great-grandfather; this gives a possible reason for the focus on Chester as opposed to other Butler family members within this subseries.
Subseries V of the Butler Collection contains very few items, all of which are in relation to John Butler; this is not Zebulon’s father who holds the same name, this is John Butler, loyalist and commander of Butler’s Rangers during the American Revolution. From what we are aware, there is no relation between John and Zebulon genetically, and if there is, it is distant. Ironically, John was the opposing commander of Zebulon during the Battle of Wyoming. The life of John Butler is mainly notable due to his roles in the French and Indian/Revolutionary Wars, however he also is cemented in the history of Ontario Canada as he became a political leader in the area post-Revolutionary War. John also played a role in the settling of Niagara, a location which his family stuck relatively close to.
Zebulon Butler was born on the 23rd of January 1731, and was the oldest son of John Butler and Hannah Perkins. Not much seems to be known about his youth outside of how he moved from his hometown of Ipswich, Massachusetts to Lyme, Connetticut when he was around 5 years old. This, alongside what would become Northeast Pennsylvania, would be the areas that became closely associated with his name. Butler is well known for his service in the military during the Revolutionary War, with a very large portion of the items contained within the collection being centered around his time commanding the Wyoming Garrison, which was situated in the area around modern day Forty Fort. Butler is most famous for his part in the Battle of Wyoming, suitably nicknamed the Wyoming Massacre, as while under his command more than 300 men were killed, resulting in a surrender and major loss. We are fortunate to have a letter written by Butler to the Board of War, a committee which oversaw the Continental Army’s administration during the Revolutionary War, which recounts the events that occurred during the battle written only a week after it occured; Item 5: Letter from Zebulon Butler to “The Board of War,” 1778 July 10. Butler was promoted to a colonel in the Continental Army almost a year later, and continued his military career over the course of the Revolutionary War before settling in Wilkes-Barre until his death on July 28, 1795.
Butler played a relatively large role in the infamous Susquehanna Controversy due to his relationship with the Susquehanna Company. There are more items related to Butler which have been separated from this subseries and were put into a separate one due to their relationship to the Susquehanna Controversy; that subseries is titled Subseries II: Susquehanna Controversy, 1770-1801. The Susquehanna Controversy is a term used to describe the conflicts that occurred between the settlers of Connecticut and Pennsylvania from around 1770 until the end of the century, and includes the wars commonly known as the Yankee-Pennamite or the Pennamite-Yankee Wars. The conflict was centered around the land along the North branch of the Susquehanna River during the mid-to-late 18th century. The dispute originally started in 1754 when Connecticut’s Susquehanna Company acquired a substantial amount of land in the region granted by King Charles II that was also promised to Pennsylvania settlers by Governor William Penn. This led to the validity of the company’s purchase coming into question. Connecticut claimed to own an entire third of Pennsylvania. Zebulon Butler became the director of the Susquehanna Company at some date close to 1775, although the exact start and end date seems to be unknown.
Subseries III of the Zebulon Butler collection covers various different subjects regarding the life of Zebulon Butler, however a large focus of this is centered around his time serving in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Through examining this subseries, we are able to roughly trace the path that he and his soldiers took during the Revolutionary War from around the middle of 1778 until the war’s end. The correspondence from this period of time provides crucial insight into some of the battles and struggles that this group of soldiers experienced, whether in relation to the troubles that came with acquiring provisions, or through struggles with the local Narive Americans. The items within our collection that come after this period are in relation to Butler’s role in the Susquehanna Controversy, his relationship to the Susquehanna Company, some legal issues, politics, and some items that surround land ownership.
Throughout this subseries we are able to see interactions between Butler as well as various other prominent figures of the time. A large portion of these individuals are military figures who played a role in the Revolutionary War or politicians from the Pennsylvania or Connecticut area. Some examples of the individuals that can be found within this subseries include: Col. Eleazar Fitch, Samuel Parsons, Major Backus, Eliphalet Dyer, Joseph Varnum, Colonel Nathan Denison, Captain Spaulding, John Durkee, General Hand, Major General Sullivan, Benjamin Harvey, Captain Schott, George Washington, William McClay, Colonel Blain, Capt Selin, and Colonel Antes.
Subseries IV of the Butler collection contains correspondence from Butler’s family members, with a large portion of the correspondence centered around Chester Butler, Zebulon’s grandson from his oldest son, Lord Nelson Butler Sr.. Chester Butler was a rather prevalent political figure in Pennsylvania; becoming a member of the House of Representatives from 1832, and continuing his political career until his death in 1850 through his work in Congress. Gilbert Stuart McClintock, the individual who collected the pieces from this collection is related to Chester, his step-great-grandfather; this gives a possible reason for the focus on Chester as opposed to other Butler family members within this subseries.
Subseries V of the Butler Collection contains very few items, all of which are in relation to John Butler; this is not Zebulon’s father who holds the same name, this is John Butler, loyalist and commander of Butler’s Rangers during the American Revolution. From what we are aware, there is no relation between John and Zebulon genetically, and if there is, it is distant. Ironically, John was the opposing commander of Zebulon during the Battle of Wyoming. The life of John Butler is mainly notable due to his roles in the French and Indian/Revolutionary Wars, however he also is cemented in the history of Ontario Canada as he became a political leader in the area post-Revolutionary War. John also played a role in the settling of Niagara, a location which his family stuck relatively close to.
Processed By:
Processed and Transcribed by: First round transcriptions done by Christopher Smith, 2021 graduate, 2nd round transcription and description done by Conrad Middleton, Spring 2022, Archives intern, supervised and edited by Suzanna Calev, Archivist, Spring 2022.
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