Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • Arrangement
  • Existence and Location of Copies

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Walking Purchase collection
    Identifier/Call Number: mssWalking
    Physical Description: 4.92 Linear Feet (2 boxes and 1 oversize box)
    Date (inclusive): 1700-1962
    Date (bulk): 1727-1762
    Abstract: A collection of correspondence and documents related to the Walking Purchase and the 1756-1758 Councils of Easton retained by the office of Pennsylvania's governor William Denny.
    Language of Material: Materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

    Conditions Governing Use

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Walking Purchase collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Purchased from Donald A. Heald Rare Books and Fine Art by the Library Collectors' Council, January 18, 2020.

    Biographical / Historical

    The Walking Purchase was an alleged agreement between the Penn family, the original proprietors of the Province of Pennsylvania in the colonial era, and the Lenape Native Americans (also known as the Delaware Indians). In 1737, Thomas and John Penn, Proprietors, presented the Delaware Indians with what they said was the 1686 treaty that entitled them to a tract extending "as far as a man can goe a day and a half." They then hired several men who ran, not walked, for a day and a half along a set course in the Lehigh Valley; this yielded a territory the size of Rhode Island (nearly 1,100 square miles or 1.2 million acres). The Delaware Indians tried to challenge the deal, only to be forced off their ancestral land in 1742. Their land was quickly sold off to settlers who poured into Pennsylvania, netting the Penn family a considerable fortune. Despite several inquiries at the Councils of Easton (1756-1758) as to the legality of the original Walking Purchase treaty it was declared authentic and on June 23, 1762, Chief Teedyuscung signed a statement acknowledging the legality of the Walking Purchase.

    Scope and Contents

    A collection of correspondence, documents, and maps related to the Walking Purchase and the Councils of Easton retained by the office of Pennsylvania's governor William Denny (in office from August 1756 to October 1759). The bulk of the collection consists of the records of the Council of Easton (August 1757) and the inquiry into the legality of the Walking Purchase authorized by Denny. It contains affidavits, sworn testimony, exhibits, memorandum, correspondence, and notes; this material includes original documents dating back to the time of the fraudulent land deal as well as some military correspondence. The collection also includes several documents and letters concerning Native American troubles on the frontier in the 1740s, along with their protests to the Proprietors over rum being sold to their people. Important persons in the collection include, among others, William Allen, Benjamin Chew, George Croghan, William Denny, Benjamin Franklin, James Hamilton, William Markham, Israel Pemberton, Thomas Penn, Richard Peters, Nicholas Scull, Teedyuscung (Delaware Chief), George Thomas, and Conrad Weiser. Almost all of the material in the collection is docketed and bears the initials or signatures of W. H. Rolph, followed by hyphenated numbers. The collection also contains oversize material and a small group of 20th century newspaper clippings about the Walking Purchase and the material in this collection.

    Processing Information

    The collection was processed by Gayle Richardson in 2021. The decision was made to retain the original spelling of place names, as written on the documents, in the titles on the folders and in the finding aid. Also, the documents and letters most often use the term "Indian" to refer to Native Americans. The original terms have been preserved in the titles of the material listed within the collection. The Native American tribes mentioned in the documents include Delaware, Shawnee, Lenape, Mingo, and Six Nations. The tribe names are preserved in item titles below as they appear in the documents; as of 2021, the peoples described refer to themselves as Delaware Tribe of Indians; Shawnee Tribe; Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe of Indians, Stockbridge-Munsee Community; Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma; and The Iroquois Confederacy.

    Arrangement

    Arranged chronologically.

    Existence and Location of Copies

    This collection has been digitized in its entirety and the digital reproductions are available in the Huntington Digital Library 

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Delaware Indians -- History -- 18th century
    Delaware Indians -- Land tenure -- Pennsylvania -- History
    Indian land transfers -- Pennsylvania -- History
    Indians of North America -- Pennsylvania -- History
    Indians of North America -- Pennsylvania -- Government relations
    Quakers -- Pennsylvania -- History -- 18th century
    Pennsylvania -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
    Pennsylvania -- Politics and Government -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
    United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1754-1763
    Clippings (information artifacts) -- United States -- 20th century
    Legal documents -- United States -- 18th century
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 18th century
    Manuscript maps -- United States -- 18th century
    Allen, William, 1704-1780
    Chew, Benjamin, 1722-1810
    Croghan, George, 1720?-1782
    Denny, William, 1718-
    Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790
    Hamilton, James, 1710-1783
    Markham, William, 1635-1704
    Pemberton, Israel, 1715-1779
    Penn, Thomas, 1702-1775
    Peters, Richard, 1704-1776
    Scull, Nicholas, 1686?-1761?
    Tatamy, Moses Tunda, approximately 1690-1760
    Teedyuscung, Delaware chief, 1700-1763
    Thomas, George, 1695?-1774
    Weiser, Conrad, 1696-1760
    Pennsylvania. Militia. Pennsylvania Regiment
    Pennsylvania. Office of Lieutenant Governor