Item 62: A Copy by Zebulon Butler, 1790 March 17, of a Letter from David Brearley to Timothy Pickering (Removed to Legal Box #2), 1790 March 4
Item — Box: 12, Folder: 102
Dates
- Created: 1790 March 4
Creator
- Butler, Zebulon, 1731-1795 (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
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Letter
Condition Note:
Fair. Paper shows signs of age.
Measurements:
12 ¾ in. x 7 ¾ in.
Description:
The following item depicts a copy by Zebulon Butler, dated March 17, 1790, of an original letter written by David Brearly, dated March 4, 1790. In the original letter, Brearley writes to Pickering to address a letter that has seemingly been misplaced. Brearley mentions that the letter is very important concerning the Connecticut Pennsylvania settler relations in the Wyoming Valley, as it states the importance of preserving the possessions and peace of the Connecticut settlers who have settled the region and fought for their land and possessions. It also contains a premise to compensate Pennsylvania settlers who hold titles to the occupied lands, ensuring amicable relationships between the two are maintained. According to Brearley, choosing to remove the Connecticut settlers without proper address of their possessions would lead to an inevitable civil war.
These conflicts are taking place during the Yankee Pennamite Wars, particularly the Third Yankee Pennamite War in 1784. The Yankee Pennamite Wars were a three part war between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, as they attempted to resolve a dispute over the land in the upper regions of what is now Pennsylvania. King Charles II granted the land twice, once to Connecticut in 1662, and again to William Penn as he founded Pennsylvania in 1681. The Third Yankee Pennamite War was a military conflict following the Decree of Trenton decision to grant Pennsylvania ownership to the lands after decades of conflict between Connecticut and Pennsylvania. While the Decree of Trenton gave Pennsylvania the right to soil, it did not however give them the right to title. Yet, under the command of the Pennsylvania Assembly and Patterson, Pennsylvania would forcibly remove “one-hundred and fifty” Connecticut families from their homes. They forced the families to “find their way through the wilderness of the Lackawaxen to the Delaware Valley, a distance of about eighty miles,” without supplies or clothing to sustain them (Gnichtel, The Trenton Decree of 1782). The violence and brutality levied by Patterson’s troops was so severe that it drew attention from neighboring states, and condemnation on the governing bodies of Pennsylvania. That critique ultimately led the Pennsylvania Assembly to remove Patterson from his position within the valley around July 1784, replacing him with colonel John Armstrong.
Following the resolution of these conflicts, there were many petitions made by the Connecticut settlers for reinstatement to their previous titles and possessions. The letter seems to be addressing the attempts made to avoid these troubles.
Location:
Trenton, NJ
Transcription:
Trenton 4.th March 1790
Dear Sir
My first Letter to Colonel Nelson by some
means miscarried- however I have not got his
Answer, which is, that he has not got a Coppy (sic)
of the letter which is wanted I am apprehensive
that it is not to be found.
We had very strong reasons for
writing the letter to the President of Pennsylvania
We were fully acquainted with the Peculiar
circumstances of the New England settlers. We
knew that many of them had honestly paid for
their possessions- that they verily believed the
title under which they claimed to be perfectly
good- that they had cleared built upon and
Improved the Land that in doing this they
had encountered many Dangers and suffered
Innumerable hardships and beyond all these
things, and what cannot be estimated, many of
their nearest connections had Spilt their Blood
in Defense of their possessions. Thus circumstanced
it was manifest that they had become enthusiasts
for the Land- that the reasoning of Legislatures
and statesmen could have but Little weight with
them. that if the state should attempt to Dispossess
them. they would become disperate (sic) [desperate] and a Civil War
would be the consequence. On the contrary if
the State should Quiet them in their possessions
that the State could compensate those who held
the Pennsylvania title by giving them an
equivalent in Lands or money at a less expense
Back: than that of Dispossessing the New England Settlers. That therefore, the Interest the Humanity and the policy of the state, would lead them to a debt the measures that we recommended. The letter bore no official authority, we Subscribed it as private Citizens, Nevertheless we did conceive that it would have Some weight as it must be apparent that our means of Information had been better than those of any other persons, who were Disinterested A true Coppy (sic) of the } I am With great respect Original taken at } Dear sir Philadelphia } your Obt. [obedient] Humble Serv[an]t. March 17.th 1790. David Brearley By Z. Butler
Coppy (sic) of a Letter from Judge Brearley to Tim[itho]y Pickering esq[ui]r[e]. Dated Trenton March 4.th 1790. Wyoming Dispute
Back: than that of Dispossessing the New England Settlers. That therefore, the Interest the Humanity and the policy of the state, would lead them to a debt the measures that we recommended. The letter bore no official authority, we Subscribed it as private Citizens, Nevertheless we did conceive that it would have Some weight as it must be apparent that our means of Information had been better than those of any other persons, who were Disinterested A true Coppy (sic) of the } I am With great respect Original taken at } Dear sir Philadelphia } your Obt. [obedient] Humble Serv[an]t. March 17.th 1790. David Brearley By Z. Butler
Coppy (sic) of a Letter from Judge Brearley to Tim[itho]y Pickering esq[ui]r[e]. Dated Trenton March 4.th 1790. Wyoming Dispute
Creator
- Butler, Zebulon, 1731-1795 (Person)
- Brearley, David, 1745-1790 (Person)
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