Item 79: A Printed Copy, [ca. aft. 1801], of a Letter from Samuel Hodgdon and Edward Tilghman on Behalf of the Committee of Landholders to Ebenezer Bowman (Removed to Black Box #1), 1801 May 18
Item — Box: 12, Folder: 119
Dates
- Created: 1801 May 18
Creator
- Hodgdon, Samuel, 1745-1824 (Person)
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
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Letter
Condition Note:
13 ¾ in. x 10 ¾ in.
Condition Note:
Poor. Vinegar smell with discoloration to the page and minor tearing
Measurements:
{annotation}
May 18. 1801
Letter to Eben Bowman
Title:
Copy of a letter to Ebenezer Bowman, Esuq[ui]r[e] of Wilkesbarre, form Samuel Hodgon and Edward Tilghman, on behalf of the Committee of Landholders, consisting of
Description:
The following printed copy for the Committee of Landholders is of an original letter written by Samuel Hodgdon and Edward Tilgham, addressed to Ebenezer Bowman and dated May 18, 1801. In the letter Tilghman and Hodgdon write on behalf of the committee, including Henry Drinker, James Strawbridge, Thomas Harrison, John Field, William Turnbull, Thomas W. Francia, Samuel M. Fox, and themselves, concerning the proposal that Connecticut claimants may be reinstated on their lands in certain townships while Pennsylvania holders will be compensated for their losses. The men write to contend with this news proposal, stating that though they do not want to reap the outcomes of lands settled and worked by Connecticut settlers, and thus seek to set the sum for which their lands are worth. However, they go further to say that Pennsylvania holders are the true holders of these grants and as such, Connecticut settlers imposing themselves on the tracts or lands should be considered to have gone against the laws in place to settle the land conflict between the two states.
The act addressed is the “act to prevent intrusions of Lands within the Counties of Northampton, Northumberland & Luzerne,” passed 1795 April 11, (item 12.108), which addressed Connecticut claims of trespass on the lands in question, namely Northampton, Northumberland, and Luzerne County. The act stipulates that any person claiming or settling on lands in these counties without a title or grant issued by the Pennsylvania powers is to be found guilty of trespass and tried in state courts. The act fined Connecticut settlers found guilty a sum of $200 with a possible imprisonment up to 12 months. This act was heard and signed by George Latimer, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Robert Hare, the Speaker of the Senate, and Thomas Mifflin, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
This conflicts within the manuscript relate to the Yankee Pennamite Wars, which were a three part conflicts waged between Connecticut and Pennsylvania were an attempt to resolve a dispute over the land in the upper regions of what is now Pennsylvania after King Charles II granted the land twice, once to Connecticut in 1662, and again to William Penn as he founded Pennsylvania in 1681. The states fought over the jurisdiction, which was ultimately decided during the Decree of Trenton, in 1782, where they granted the rights of jurisdiction to Pennsylvania. The years following the resolve of the conflict saw a great deal of attention to instating compromise acts, rightful governing committees, and redistribution of land claims and titles.
Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Transcription:
In pencil:
–10
{annotation on back}
May 18. 1801
Letter to Eben Bowman
Creator
- Hodgdon, Samuel, 1745-1824 (Person)
- Tilghman, Edward, 1750-1815 (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