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Summary Information
Title: Ohio Company Papers
Collection Number: DAR.1925.02
Creator: Ohio Company (1747-1779).

Collection Dates: 1736-1813
Extent: 1.5 linear feet (4 boxes)

Language: English

Abstract:
The Ohio Company, founded in 1747, represented the trading and land prospecting interests of a handful of Virginia planters. In 1748, company representative George Mercer secured a land grant from the British Crown for 200,000 acres in the Ohio territory, a colloquial term for what is now modern day West Virginia, much of Ohio, western Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland. The company employed frontiersman Christopher Gist to survey the area of the grant and negotiate a treaty with the Native Americans in the 1750s. Gist embarked on three separate journeys into the Ohio territory in 1750-51, 1751-52, and 1753-54. The Ohio Company’s efforts in the contested region were largely stymied by the outbreak of the French and Indian War, despite its continued existence until its formal dissolution in 1779. Members of the company included Virginians George Mason, brothers Lawrence, Augustine, and George Washington, Virginia colony Governor Robert Dinwiddie, and British merchant John Hanbury. This collection includes manuscript copies of the Case of the Ohio Company, a collection of materials compiled by George Mercer to demonstrate the progress made by the Ohio Company, and a number of debt notes related to the company’s trade in dry goods. The collection documents the involvement of John Mercer, James Mercer, George Mercer, George Mason, George Croghan, Thomas Cresap, Adam Stephen, and William Crawford in the company. Digital reproductions of the collection are available electronically by following the respective "Digitized Folder Contents" links within the finding aid.
Publisher:

ULS Archives Service Center
University of Pittsburgh Library System
7500 Thomas Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA, 15260
412-648-3232
archives-ref@mail.pitt.edu
Date Published:

January 2009
Author:

Finding aid prepared by Kate Colligan, Angela Manella, and Matt Gorzalski.
Revision Description:
November 12, 2009:
Controlled access terms revised (dar)

History

The Ohio Company, founded in 1747, represented the trading and land prospecting interests of a handful of Virginia planters. Thomas Lee was appointed president, Nathaniel Chapman served as treasurer, and John Mercer was both secretary and general counsel. In that year, John Mercer’s son, George Mercer, was appointed the company’s representative in England. In 1748 the British Crown approved a land grant to the company to be administered by the Colony of Virginia. The grant covered the Ohio territory, a colloquial term for what is now modern day West Virginia, much of Ohio, western Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland. Governor Robert Dinwiddie, a member of the company, required that the company develop trade with the Indians, erect forts, and settle one hundred families to secure the grant. The company employed frontiersman Christopher Gist to survey the area of the grant in 1750. Two years later, Iroquois leaders signed a treaty at Loggstown, Pennsylvania, a large Native American settlement on the Ohio River near preswent-day Ambridge, Pa. Gist was the representative of the Ohio Company and Colonel Joshua Fry represented the Colony of Virginia at the negotiations. The Ohio territory was also claimed by the French, who began erecting forts in the Ohio Valley in reaction to the Treaty at Loggstown and other factors. By the beginning of the French and Indian War in 1754, the Ohio Company’s efforts were largely stymied, despite its continued existence until its formal dissolution in 1779. Other members of the company included Virginians George Mason, brothers Lawrence, Augustine, and George Washington, Governor Robert Dinwiddie, and British merchant John Hanbury.

The Ohio Company and Pennsylvania frontier history were of great interest to a handful of late-nineteenth-century American scholars, among them William M. Darlington. According to a letter in the collection case file dated September 1884 and written by William R. Mercer, a descendant of George Mercer, to Lyman C. Draper of the Wisconsin State Historical Society, "...the whole of Capt. Christopher Gists diary in the hand writing of one of the Early members of my family -- was sold some years ago in New York with other valuable papers in relation to the Ohio Company to Mr. William Darlington of Pittsburgh Penn who no doubt still has them, he being as I understand Engaged in writing a history of the Ohio Co." This evidence suggests that the Gist journals in this collection are not the original journals penned by Gist, but represent a copy created by a Mercer relative, who is believed to be John Mercer. Further, writing to a researcher in October 1938, Lois Mulkearn, the Darlington Memorial Librarian, said that "The Darlington Library does not contain any maps or other manuscript material by Christopher Gist, but does hold a manuscript copy of Gist's journals made by one other than Christopher Gist himself. You probably know that the greater part of the records of the Ohio company were destroyed by fire at the time of the Civil War. The remaining volumes are in the Manuscript Department of the Pennsylvania Historical Society at Philadelphia." This supports the collection provenance as described in the Custodial History (see below).

Darlington indeed did compile a history of the Ohio Company in the form of the publication of Christopher Gist's Journals published posthumously in 1893. While Darlington's publication contains Gist's journal entries, the book largely contains Darlington's explanatory notes on the entries, such as where particular camps were located and biographical sketches of important figures from Gist's journals. Multiple editions of Gist's journals have been published, the earliest as an appendix to Thomas Pownall’s 1776 A Topographical Description of North America. In the 1950s, there was a major upsurge of interest in the frontier history of the eastern United States. In the 1940s and 1950s, Lois Mulkearn, the first Darlington Memorial Librarian, took up an extensive study of the Ohio Company papers collected by William Darlington. Mulkearn wrote the George Mercer Papers, the authoritative volume on the Ohio Company Papers, particularly the Case of the Ohio Company compiled by George Mercer.


Collection Scope and Content Notes

According to an article published in PITT: A Quarterly of the University of Pittsburgh (Winter, 1941-42), the "Ohio Company papers in the Darlington Library are a part of the Mercer collection referred to by some historians as 'the lost records of the Ohio Company.'" The collection contains manuscripts used by George Mercer to prepare his Case of the Ohio Company, which documented the Company’s actions in the Ohio territory, and are the highlight of the collection. The Case of the Ohio Company was published by George Mercer in 1769 in pamphlet form, but the manuscript copy of the Case in this collection is distinct from the published version in many respects. For a thorough critique of the difference, see Mulkearn’s George Mercer Papers. The Darlington collection includes the only known manuscript copy of the Case of the Ohio Company. The journals kept by Christopher Gist, recorded during his three scouting missions into the Ohio territory in the 1750s as a field agent of the company, are part of both the published Case reproduced in Mulkearn’s book and the manuscript Case in this collection. The collection includes two different manuscript copies of the Gist journal used by William M. Darlington to publish (posthumously) his 1893 book on the subject. The bound copy contains events from Gist's 1750-51 and 1751-52 journeys. The other copy, comprised of individual manuscript pages, documents entries for the first journey but only a part of the second journey, and is believed to have been copied by a descendant of William R. Mercer.

The collection also includes debt notes and correspondence related to business conducted by the Ohio Company in Virginia, Maryland and western Pennsylvania. The notes include the name and residence of the debtor and the debt holder, the date that the debt was entered into the public record through the county clerk, and the amount. These materials are often annotated to document subsequent legal action, most commonly, the passage of the debt to a third party. In the contents list, accounts indicate an itemized list of goods for which a debt is owed, and a debt or more informal promise to repay simply document an amount. Also present are materials related to various legal cases brought against debtors. Full names are given when present and legible, and bracketed items indicate that the name was difficult to read. The spelling of names is open to interpretation because many of the names are the result of non-standardized spelling. Additionally, page numbers in brackets indicate the location of the transcription in Mulkearn’s George Mercer Papers (example: LM p237 indicates that this document is transcribed on page 237 of Lois Mulkearn’s book.)


Arrangement

  • Series I. Case of the Ohio Company, 1752-1762
  • Series II. John Mercer, James Mercer and George Mercer, 1759-1813
  • Series III. George Mason, 1750-1785
  • Series IV. George Croghan, 1745-1778
  • Series V. Thomas Cresap, 1739-1770
  • Series VI. Adam Stephen, 1751-1791
  • Series VII. William Crawford, 1757-1789
  • Series VIII. General Debt Notes and Correspondence, 1736-1793
  • Series IX. Copies of Papers Relating to The Ohio Land Company of Virginia from the Records of the Board of Trade in London, 1747-1749


Subject Terms

Topics
  • Anglo-French War, 1755-1763
  • Indian traders -- Ohio River Valley
  • Indians of North America -- Ohio River Valley -- Social life and customs
  • Land speculation -- Ohio River Valley
  • Merchants
  • Real estate development -- United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775

Corporate Names
  • Great Britain. Board of Trade.
  • Ohio Company (1747-1779).

Personal Names
  • Craik, James, 1730-1814
  • Crawford, William, 1730-1814
  • Crawford, William, 1732-1782
  • Cresap, Thomas, 1702-1790
  • Croghan, George, 1720-1782
  • Gist, Christopher, d. 1759
  • Gooch, William, Sir, 1681-1751
  • Mason, George, 1725-1792
  • Mercer, George, 1733-1784
  • Mercer, James
  • Mercer, John, 1704-1768
  • Stephen, Adam

Locations
  • Loggstown (Pa.) -- History
  • Maryland, Western
  • Ohio
  • Ohio River Valley -- History -- Sources
  • Pennsylvania, Western
  • West Virginia

Occupations
  • Explorers
  • Surveyors

Genres/Forms
  • Copybooks
  • Correspondence
  • Invoices

Access and Use
Access Restrictions:

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information:

Part of the original donation of William M. Darlington’s family library to the University of Pittsburgh in 1918 and 1925 by his daughters, Edith Darlington Ammon and Mary Carson Darlington.

Alternate Format:

Digital reproductions of the collection are available electronically by following the respective "Digitized Folder Contents" links within the finding aid. Material enclosed in Mylar was not removed from the protective enclosure for scanning because of extreme brittleness of the original material. As a result, digitizing the material in grayscale proved more effective than in color.

Physical Characteristics & Technical Requirements:

Many of the manuscripts in this collection are very fragile and require particular care when handling. Some have been encased in Mylar.

Custodial History:

George Mercer procured the papers of the Ohio Company in 1763 from Charlton Palmer, the company’s solicitor and former agent, in order to prepare his Case of the Ohio Company for publication. Upon George Mercer’s death in 1784, his papers were most likely bequeathed to his brother, James Mercer, who passed them on to his son, Charles Fenton Mercer. Following Charles Fenton Mercer’s death in 1858, the papers remained at "Howard," the Alexandria, Virginia, home he shared with his niece, Judith, and her husband, John Page McGuire.

According to Baldwin's and Mulkearn's "'The Lost Records' of the Ohio Company," "When Alexandria was occupied by Federal troops in 1861, 'Howard' was converted into a temporary hospital. Vandalism was rampant among the soldiers and the personal belongings of the family were destroyed. Trunks containing the records of the Ohio Company were broken open and their contents were thrown upon a campfire. A shoe box full of the records was carried away by a Federal soldier and was sold to a secondhand book dealer in the Mohawk Valley in New York." Indeed a typewritten letter in the collection case file dated October 9, 1884, indicates that the papers were purchased by William M. Darlington in the spring of 1876 from Morven M. Jones in Utica, New York, through an "old book dealer."

William R. Mercer, descendent of George Mercer, contested the ownership of the papers, which eventually ended up in the office of Darlington’s attorney, Frank C. Osborne. Mrs. Osborne forwarded the papers to the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society upon her husband’s death in 1940. The papers were identified by Franklin C. Holbrook, director of the Historical Society, as a part of the materials gifted and bequeathed to the University of Pittsburgh by Edith and Mary Darlington, and subsequently forwarded them to the Darlington Memorial Library.

This collection was located in the Darlington Memorial Library in the University’s Cathedral of Learning until 2007 when it was moved to the ULS Archives Service Center for processing, storage, preservation and service. However, it remains in the custodianship of the ULS Special Collections Department.

Preferred Citation:

Ohio Company Papers, 1736-1813, DAR.1925.02, Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Processing Information:

This collection was processed by Angela Manella and Kate Colligan in December 2007. Revision of the finding aid with the addition of Series IX was completed by Matt Gorzalski in July 2008.

Copyright:

No copyright restrictions.

Related Material:

Archival:

Leland Baldwin Research Files, 1935-1941, DAR.1957.01, Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Darlington Autograph Files, 1610-1914, DAR.1925.07, Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Lois Mulkearn Research Files, 1937-1956, DAR.1981.01, Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Waste Book and Papers of the Fort Pitt Trading Post, 1757-1765, DAR.1925.03, Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Papers of Alfred Proctor James, 1932-1963 (1960-1963), MSS# 149, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania

Published:

Bailey, Kenneth P. The Ohio Company of Virginia and the westward movement, 1748-1792 : a chapter in the history of the colonial frontier. Glendale, California: Arthur H. Clarke Co, 1939.

James, Alfred P. The Ohio Company: Its Inner History. Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1959.

Treaty of Loggstown. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (October 1905): 143-174.

Bibliography:

  • Abbott, Phyllis R. Review of George Mercer Papers Relating to the Ohio Company of Virginia, by Lois Mulkearn. Agricultural History 30, no. 1 (January 1956): 44-45.
  • Bailey, Kenneth. “Christopher Gist and the Trans-Allegheny Frontier: A Phase of Westward Expansion.” The Pacific Historical Review 14, no. 1 (March 1945): 45-56.
  • Baldwin, Leland and Lois Mulkearn. "'The Lost Records' of the Ohio Comapny." PITT: A Quarterly of the University of Pittsburgh. Winter, 1941-42.
  • Darlington, William. Christopher Gist’s Journals. Pittsburgh, Pa.: J. R. Weldin & Co., 1893.
  • Ellis, Thomas H. “The Ohio Company.” William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine no. 1 (October 1896): 129-131.
  • Mulkearn, Lois. George Mercer Papers. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1954.
  • Pownall, Thomas. A Topographical Description of North America. 1776.


Collection Inventory

Series I. Case of the Ohio Company, 1752-1762

Scope and Content Notes:

The Case of the Ohio Company was originally prepared by George Mercer in October 1760 for the Committee of the Ohio Company. The Case was meant to document the company’s activities to demonstrate that it had developed and fortified trading routes in the Ohio territory in compliance with its 1748 land grant. The Case includes the journals of Christopher Gist (1706-1759), an agent of the company hired to explore the Crown’s land grant. In 1750, he explored the Ohio territory from the site of a Lenape (Delaware) village at the headwaters of the Ohio to the confluence of the Miami and Ohio rivers. The Case also includes the negotiations at Loggstown in 1752 between Colonel Joshua Fry representing the Colony of Virginia, Gist as an agent of the Ohio Company, and tribal leaders. The Gist journals and Council at Loggstown documents provide a unique record of early interactions with Native Americans during this period of British expansion that precipitated the French and Indian War. Unbracketed page numbers have been assigned by the archival processor, with the exception of The Appendix to the Case, in which manuscript pages were numbered by the author.

Page numbers in brackets indicate the location of the transcription in Mulkearn’s George Mercer Papers. Oversized items in this series are located in Box 1.

Box 1
Oversize 1-4 Council at Loggstown p 1-4, June 1, 1752
Oversize 5 Council at Loggstown fragments, June 1, 1752
Oversize 6-8 Case of the Ohio Company [LM p 233-237, 243-245], 1754
Oversize 9-18 Case of the Ohio Company [LM p 49-53, 57-73, 75-82, 84, 86-93], 1762
Oversize 19-29 Resolutions of the Ohio Company p 1-6, 8-9, 11-13, 15-19, 1749-1763
Oversize 30-35 Resolutions of the Ohio Company fragment [LM 247, 249, 255, 257, 259, 261, 253, 265, 267,269, 287,288], 1949-1763
Oversize 36-45 Gist Journal p 1-10, ca. 1750
Oversize 46 Gist Journal fragment, ca. 1750
Oversize 47 Gist Journal, bound copy, ca. 1750
Oversize 48-57 Appendix to the Case of the Ohio Company p 1-18, 21-22, 1745-1753
Oversize 58 Appendix to the Case of the Ohio fragment, undated
Oversize 59 Appendix to the Case of the Ohio Company, 1777-1778
Oversize 60 Record of Acreage of land owned by the Ohio Company and others [LM p289-290], 1747-1753
Oversize 61 Acts of the Ohio Company [LM p153-165], April 17, 1759
Oversize 62 Resolution of the Committee of the Ohio Company [LM p296], July 4, 1763
Oversize 63 Boundaries proposed by the Ohio Company [LM p229-232], February 26, 1768
Oversize 64 Ohio Company Orders, 1753-1761
Oversize 65-67 Ohio Company Orders [LM p140-147, 152-153], 1749-1753, 1761

Series II. John Mercer, James Mercer and George Mercer, 1759-1813

Scope and Content Notes:

John Mercer (1704-1768), and his son George Mercer (1733-1784), were both among the founding members of the Ohio Company. John Mercer arrived in Virginia from his native Ireland in 1720 where he worked as a prosecutor and attorney; George Washington was among his clients. George Mercer served in the 1st and 2nd Virginia Regiments, and in the Virginia General Assembly. He was appointed agent of the Ohio Company to represent the organization's interests in England, where he resided until his death.

Materials in this subseries relate to George Mercer’s responsibilities as an agent of the Ohio Company. Included is a circular sent by James Mercer on behalf of his brother, George, who wished some word from the members of the Ohio Company on his action of committing the Ohio Company to the Grand Company. Accompanying the circular are replies from George Mason, James Scott, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Pearson Chapman, and Richard Lee. A 1772 circular informs Mercer that the King approved the grant for the Grand Company to Thomas Walpole and his associates, and conveys that a government should be established in the region. Wadpole’s 1777 account with the Ohio Company is also present.

Correspondence and legal materials document the blended nature of personal and company transactions. A 1759 conveyance by John Mercer and his wife, Ann, transfers ownership of Ohio Company lands in Virginia to George and James Mercer. Conway Richard Debbs’ letter inquires about his father’s share of the Ohio Company.

Page numbers in brackets indicate the location of the transcription in Mulkearn’s George Mercer Papers. Oversized items in this series are located in Box 1.
Oversize 68 John Mercer’s conveyance to George and James Mercer, November 25, 1759
Oversize 69 John Mercer to George Mercer [LM p186-229], January 1768
Oversize 70 John Mercer to George Mercer [LM p221-229], March 3, 1768
Oversize 71 John Mercer to George Mercer [LM p297-310], March 9, 1768
Oversize 72 James Mercer to the Committee of the Ohio Company [LM p321-324], ca. January 21, 1772
Oversize 73 George Mercer to Ohio Co (circular letter) [LM p324-325], 1772
Oversize 74 John Mercer’s Synopsis of Ohio Company Activities [LM p1-7], undated
Oversize 75 John Mercer [to George Mercer] fragment [LM p296], undated

Box 2
Folder 1 James Mercer to the Ohio Company, July 27, 1762
Folder 2 George Mercer’s appointment and instructions, July 4, 1763
Folder 3 Resolution of the Ohio Company to repay George Mercer, July 4, 1763
Folder 4 John Mercer to Charlton Palmer, April 17, 1764
Folder 5 Charlton Palmer to George Mercer [LM p370], December 27, 1769
Folder 6 Conway Richard Debbs to George Mercer [LM p311-312], March 26, 1770
Folder 7 Thomas Ludwell Lee to James Mercer [LM p318], January 13, 1772
Folder 8 Thomas Ludwell Lee to James Mercer, January 19, 1772
Folder 9 Phillip Ludwell Lee to James Mercer [LM p318-319], January 21, 1772
Folder 10 Draft paid to Samuel Wharton by George Mercer [LM p324], August 5, 1772
Folder 11 Samuel Wharton to George Mercer, August 20, 1772
Folder 12 Pearson Chapman to James Mercer, 1772
Folder 13 Thomas Walpole to George Mercer [LM p325], February 1776
Folder 14 George Mercer's Account with Samuel Wharton [LM 326], 1776-1777
Folder 15 Considerations addressed to Governor Levin Winder by John Mercer, March 25, 1813
Folder 16 John Mercer to Governor Faquier, undated
Folder 17 James Mercer to George Mason, Mr. and Mrs. Chapman, Lunsford Lomax and Richard Lee (copy), undated

Series III. George Mason, 1750-1785

Scope and Content Notes:

George Mason (1725-1792) was born to a Virginia planting family. His involvement in colonial politics, as well as his family connections, brought him into contact with other founders of the Ohio Company. As the company’s agent in Virginia, Mason worked with Virginia officials to secure the company’s holdings in the Ohio Company. The materials in this series document various personal debts to the Ohio Company handled by Mason in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the early 1750s.

Peter Tostee’s connection to the Ohio Company is twofold; he held an account with the company through Mason, and was given power of attorney by George Croghan (see the Darlington Autograph Files,dar192507).
Folder 18 David Cragge’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, January 15, 1750
Folder 19 William Richey’s promise to repay the Ohio Company, July 4, 1750
Folder 20 James Findley’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, July 25, 1750
Folder 21 John Cunningham’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, October 28, 1750
Folder 22 Samuel Taylor’s account with the Ohio Company, 1750
Folder 23 Thomas Caton’s account with the Ohio Company, 1750
Folder 24 Peter Tostee’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1750
Folder 25 Thomas Wood’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1750
Folder 26 James Ross’ account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1750
Folder 27 Jeremiah Jack’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1750
Folder 28 Marc McDonough’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1750
Folder 29 Cancellation of Henry Hampton’s debt to the estate of William Mason, 1750
Folder 30 Remembrance William’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1750
Folder 31 Zacheus Ruth’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1750-1751
Folder 32 Providence Mount’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1751
Folder 33 John Adam Long’s debt to George Mason and the Ohio Company, July 6, 1751
Folder 34 Jacob Wolf’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, July 9, 1751
Folder 35 Abraham Tegarden’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, July 17, 1751
Folder 36 John Tucker’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, July 17, 1751
Folder 37 Jasper Sutton’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, July 27, 1751
Folder 38 John and Isaac Pearse’s account with George Mason and the Ohio Company, October 4, 1751
Folder 39 Jacob Hood’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, October 8, 1751
Folder 40 William Patterson’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, October 24, 1751
Folder 41 Jonathan Coburn’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, October 25, 1751
Folder 42 William Castleman’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, October 28, 1751
Folder 43 Frederick Ice’s promise to repay George Mason and the Ohio Company, December 17, 1751
Folder 44 James Martin’s debt to George Mason and the Ohio Company, March 1, 1752
Folder 45 Thomas Rutherford’s debt to George Mason and the Ohio Company, 1752
Folder 46 Thomas Caton’s debt to George Mason, 1752
Folder 47 James Martin to Gabril Jones, June 1, 1753
Folder 48 George Mason and John Mercer’s debt to John Trunk, February 1757
Folder 49 George Mason to Robert Carter, January 23, 1768
Folder 50 Indenture between George Mason and J. McCubbin (2 copies), July 13, 1785
Folder 51 List of jurors, George Mason v. Thomas Caton, undated
Folder 52 Robert Lemen’s debt to George Mason and the Ohio Company, July 6, 1752
Folder 53 George Mason to James Mercer, January 13, 1772
Folder 54 Joseph Gough’s debt to George Mason, undated

Series IV. George Croghan, 1745-1778

Scope and Content Notes:

George Croghan (ca. 1720-1782) was the Ohio Company’s lead trader in Pennsylvania. Born in Ireland, he moved to the colonies in 1741 and traded with the Iroquois, from whom he claimed to have purchased 200,000 acres in 1764. Manuscripts in this series include accounts for household goods, debt notes, and documentation of land sales. Of particular interest are two copies of a 1749 advertisement for a fugitive bonded servant. See the Darlington Autograph Files (dar192507) and the Fort Pitt Wastebook (dar192503) for manuscripts related to Croghan’s trade in the Ohio country.
Folder 55 John Collin’s account with George Croghan, 1745
Folder 56 George Croghan and William Trent’s business account, 1747-1751
Folder 57 George Croghan’s business account, 1748-1749
Folder 58 James Rutlidge’s account with George Croghan, 1749-1750
Folder 59 Thomas Caton vs. George Croghan, 1748-1757
Folder 60 Peter Demoss’ account with William Trent and George Croghan, April 18, 1749
Folder 61 George Johnston’s advertisement for a fugitive bonded servant (2 copies), July 1, 1749
Folder 62 George Johnston to Joseph Cambine, September 21, 1749
Folder 63 Margaret Steedman’s account with George Croghan, 1749
Folder 64 George Croghan to George Johnston, May 9, 1750
Folder 65 George Croghan’s promise to repay Henry [Vanmeter], October 8, 1750
Folder 66 Joseph Chambers vs. George Johnston, 1750
Folder 67 Patrick Reilly’s promise to repay William Trent and George Croghan, 1750
Folder 68 Conrad Brinkner’s promise to repay George Croghan, 1750
Folder 69 Linhard Hellen’s account with James Kelly, July 1750
Folder 70 George Croghan to Gabriel Jones, May 2, 1751
Folder 71 J. Duncan O’Gullion’s debt to William Trent and George Croghan, August 15, 1751
Folder 72 B. Harrison vs. Barnard Dougherty, 1765-1759
Folder 73 Fergeson Croghan’s account with Felix Gilbert, 1766
Folder 74 Francis Sanderson’s account with John Connoley, September 19, 1775
Folder 75 Sale of land by George Croghan to Michael McKewan, February 17, 1778

Series V. Thomas Cresap, 1739-1770

Scope and Content Notes:

Colonel Thomas Cresap (1702-1790) was a landowner and trader who settled in Maryland. In later life, he became embroiled in land disputes along the Pennsylvania border. Cresap traded goods for the Ohio Company, and materials in this series include accounts and debts for dry goods. See the Darlington Autograph Files (dar192507) for an additional manuscript relating to Cresap.

Box 3
Folder 1 Richard Poulson’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1739
Folder 2 Debt’s to Thomas Cresap, 1739-1750
Folder 3 Debt of Daniel Connoly to Isaac Garrison, December 9, 1742
Folder 4 Robert Paul’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1744-1745
Folder 5 Roger Birkham’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1750
Folder 6 Roger Burkham’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1750
Folder 7 William Ross’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1744-1749
Folder 8 Patrick Matthew’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1744-1755
Folder 9 Thomas Cresap’s account with William Ross, 1745-1750
Folder 10 Judgment in Joseph Walker vs Brent Nutthall, June 25, 1745
Folder 11 Job Pearsall’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1746
Folder 12 Noah Hampton’s account with Thomas Cresap, October 1746
Folder 13 Debts witnessed by Thomas Cresap, 1747-1746
Folder 14 William Biggerstaff’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1747-1748
Folder 15 John Large’s promise to repay John Jack, Sept 25, 1748
Folder 16 Robert Bennett’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1748-1749
Folder 17 Jeremiah Been’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1749
Folder 18 Arrest warrant for Thomas Cresap, debtor, May 11, 1750
Folder 19 William Anderson’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1751
Folder 20 Richard Pearis and Thomas Nixon’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1751-1752
Folder 21 Debts to Thomas Cresap, 1754-1760
Folder 22 Debt of BomGardner to Lenox Scott, 1756
Folder 23 Captain McDonald’s account with Thomas Cresap, 1770
Folder 24 Arrest warrant for Bryan Brian, debtor, undated
Folder 25 William Sheppard’s account with Thomas Cresap, March 3, 1745

Series VI. Adam Stephen, 1751-1791

Scope and Content Notes:

Adam Stephen (ca.1721-1791) was born in Scotland, and educated as a surgeon. He served as a physician with the British Navy in Jamaica before traveling to Virginia in 1748 where he worked as a doctor and planter. He temporarily commanded the Virginia militia in the French and Indian War, and attained the rank of brigadier general in the Continental Army before his dismissal in 1777. It is unclear if Stephen was a member or a client of the Ohio Company. The series includes documentation of Adam Stephen’s debts to others and materials related to his work as physician.
Folder 26 Materials related to Adam Stephen’s work as physician, 1751-1752
Folder 27 Adam Stephen’s debt to William Minter, March 27, 1754
Folder 28 G. Fairfax’s account with Gershom Keyes, 1761-1762
Folder 29 Adam Stephen’s debt to John Graham, May 4, 1764
Folder 30 Adam Stephen’s debt to Van Swearingen, October 2, 1764
Folder 31 Adam Stephen’s debt to John Mangy, 1764-1765
Folder 32 Debts witnessed by Adam Stephen, 1764-1766
Folder 33 Adam Stephen’s debt to Joseph Beeler, April 26, 1765
Folder 34 Richard Ragon’s debt to Adam Stephen, 1765
Folder 35 Adam Stephens vs. John Stewart, 1768-1791
Folder 36 Adam Stephens debt to James Wood, September 5, 1769
Folder 37 Agreement between Adam Stephen and C. W. Smith, November 19, 1770
Folder 38 Deposition of Elizabeth Clark, February 25, 1771
Folder 39 Hite vs. Shays, 1771
Folder 40 [Aminadab] Seekright vs. Ferdinand Deadnought, 1771
Folder 41 Related to horses stolen from Adam Stephen, 1771
Folder 42 Adam Stephen vs. Moses Keywood, March 1772
Folder 43 Adam Stephen’s debt to Lewis Neill, December 15, 1772
Folder 44 Adam Stephen and James Kieth’s debt to John Ewing, December 6, 1773
Folder 45 Phillip Pendleton’s debt to Adam Stephens, Nov 10, 1774
Folder 46 Adam Stephen vs. Jas. Keith, 1774
Folder 47 Adam Stephen’s debt to John Shover, July 26, 1786
Folder 48 Joseph Vaneer’s debt to Adam Stephen, November 1791
Folder 49 Adam Stephen’s debt to Alexander Cunningham, undated
Folder 50 John Dougherty’s account with Adam Stephens, undated
Folder 51 Stite vs. Adam Stephens, 1773

Series VII. William Crawford, 1757-1789

Scope and Content Notes:

William Crawford (1732-1782) was a soldier and surveyor who mentored under George Washington. Crawford served on the frontier at Fort Pitt, and later commanded the ill-fated Crawford Expedition into the Ohio territory, after which he was executed following his capture by the Delaware. William and his brother, Valentine Crawford, were members of the Ohio Company.
Folder 52 William Crawford’s debt to Thomas Cresap, June 3, 1757
Folder 53 William Crawford’s debt to John Greenfield, September, 1758
Folder 54 William Crawford’s account with John Dow, 1756-1758
Folder 55 William Crawford’s debt to Nathaniel Thomas, June 26, 1760
Folder 56 William Crawford’s account with John Stanton, January 7, 1762
Folder 57 Valentine Crawford’s debt to David Shepherd, September 9, 1762
Folder 58 William Crawford’s account with John Brigg, November 4, 1771
Folder 59 Memorandum of William Crawford’s debt to the Crown, July 23, 1772
Folder 60 William Crawford’s promise to repay Fielding Lewis, August 27, 1772
Folder 61 George Roote’s account with Dorsey Pentecost, 1779-1780
Folder 62 William Crawford, debt (fragments), December 16, 1789

Series VIII. General Debt Notes and Correspondence, 1736-1793

Scope and Content Notes:

This series contains manuscripts documenting debts peripherally related to the Ohio Company’s trade in goods and role as money lender. Notable persons represented include James Craik (1730-1814), a close friend and personal physician to George Washington, and James Wood (1707-1759), father of James Wood, Jr., Governor of Virginia. Also present are field notes on the Charlottesburg Survey. In one of the few letters in this series, John Stuart mentions uneasiness with the Cherokees to Lord Botetourt, the colonial Governor of Virginia.
Folder 63 Thomas Baleh’s debt to Elizabeth Martin, May 5, 1736
Folder 64 James Routledge’s debt to Robert Wilson, November 17, 1741
Folder 65 John Nelon’s debt to Richard Lowdon (2 copies), July 7, 1742
Folder 66 William Levy and Daniel Neil’s debt to Edward Charlston, July 26, 1743
Folder 67 Daniel Neale’s debt to Edward Charleton, July 29, 1743
Folder 68 Joseph Robin’s debt to Burr Harrison, February 13, 1744
Folder 69 John Smith and Robert Worthington’s debt to Thomas Hunt, March 9, 1744
Folder 70 James Rutledge’s promise to repay William Mitchell, September 7, 1745
Folder 71 Hugh Parker’s debt to Nicholas [Van Imans], October 15, 1745
Folder 72 Arrest warrant for debtor [name illegible], 1745
Folder 73 Patrick Matthew’s debt to Joseph Thompson, October 14, 1746
Folder 74 David Lloyd’s debt to [James] Sheppard, May 22, 1746
Folder 75 Gavin Black’s debt to Jacob [Wiss], September 29, 1746
Folder 76 Payment to Thomas Chester, 1746
Folder 77 John Corry’s debt to James Lemon, 1746
Folder 78 John [Doone’s] debt to William Mattherson, May 11, 1747
Folder 79 William Greene’s debt to Benjamin [Penneya], May 20, 1747
Folder 80 Joseph Carrell’s debt to Hanah Humphrey, March 8, 1748
Folder 81 Archibald Craig and John Hardin’s debt to John Hopes, October 1748
Folder 82 Samuel Walker’s debt to Hugh Parker, 1748-1749
Folder 83 L. Worthington’s debt to Hugh Parker, April 7, 1749
Folder 84 Thomas Caton’s debt to Thomas Walker, Nov. 10, 1755
Folder 85 Thomas Caton’s debt to Peacock Bigger, April 26, 1749

Box 4
Folder 1 Andrew Bowman’s account, 1749
Folder 2 William May’s debt to James [Hude], November 11, 1749
Folder 3 John Moss’s debt to John Woodfin, April 5, 1750
Folder 4 Hugh Parker’s account with the Ohio Company, July 1750
Folder 5 Henry Netherton’s debt to Robert Rae and William Green, August 17, 1750
Folder 6 John Rain’s debt to William Hoge, August 17, 1750
Folder 7 Samuel Flower’s account with James Jones, 1750
Folder 8 Grand jury summons for Andrew Campbell (copy), May 15, 1751
Folder 9 Jeremiah Claud’s account with William Boyle, August 22, 1751
Folder 10 Nicholas Zechan’s debt to Abraham Levar, Jr., October 7, 1751
Folder 11 George [Hoge] and Jospeh Staton’s debt to Roger and Jasper Sutton, May 29, 1752
Folder 12 William Quinton’s debt to Andrew Ross and Well Cunningham, May 30, 1752
Folder 13 Richard Moore’s debt to Francise Hall, June 27, 1752
Folder 14 Thomas Hooper’s debt to Robert and Thomas [Duncors], November 28, 1752
Folder 15 John Huston’s payment to Lawrence Stevens, July 18, 1753
Folder 16 Robert Mossely and Murtah Handley’s debt to Merideth Helm, September 20, 1753
Folder 17 Debt to William Harris, November 19, 1753
Folder 18 Transfer of account from Hugh O’Kelly to Henry VanMetor, February 26, 1754
Folder 19 James Leith’s debt to William Wist, December 14, 1754
Folder 20 James Catlet’s account with Robert Carter, 1754-6
Folder 21 Thomas Hampton’s debt to Allan Macrae, March 15, 1755
Folder 22 Simeon Rice’s debt to Ramsay and Dixon, June 2, 1755
Folder 23 Andrew Crawford and Thomas Spencer’s debt to William Cochran, Jun 19, 1755
Folder 24 William Campbell’s debt to Nicholas Mercer, June 2, 1955
Folder 25 David Gelgood and William Vancee’s debt to Samuel and Andrew Blackburn, August 18, 1755
Folder 26 Robert Mosely’s debt to Gabriel Jones and Lewis Neil, October 6, 1755
Folder 27 Daniel Wilson’s debt to Maxwell Guthrie & Co., 1755
Folder 28 Robert Carter’s account with John Wood, 1756
Folder 29 William Roberts payment to [illegible] Harrison, March 7, 1758
Folder 30 Peter McKeen’s debt to Hester Hollis, April 2, 1759
Folder 31 William Frogg’s debt to Wallon [Cauders], July 23, 1759
Folder 32 Henry Heth’s debt to Andrew [Sukis], September 29, 1759
Folder 33 John [Brickhard’s debt to Peter [Virr], November 9, 1759
Folder 34 Adam Destiny and Jacob Miller’s debt to James Crase, May 16, 1760
Folder 35 John Hardin and James Wood’s debt to [Dansill Prosilly], August 7, 1760
Folder 36 Robert Gain’s account with Cunningham, Stewart & Co., October 1760
Folder 37 John Stewart’s promise to repay Van Swearingen, November 27, 1760
Folder 38 Enoch Nash’s debt to John Wikoff, April 3, 1761
Folder 39 Adam Derting vs. James Creass, June 4, 1761
Folder 40 Davys Colmer’s debt to James Craik, December 3, 1761
Folder 41 William Ramsay vs John Stewart, 1761
Folder 42 Stephen Bowling and William Claiman’s debt to Joseph Pack, 1764
Folder 43 Thomas Caton’s debt to Arthur Charleton, October 21, 1761
Folder 44 G. L. Hockheimer’s debt to Eberhard Daring, February 3, 1762
Folder 45 Simeon Hiett’s debt to William Lochry, June 1, 1762
Folder 46 Stephen Rawling’s promise to repay Richard Pearis, June 12, 1762
Folder 47 Arrest warrant for Elijah Isaacs, August 12, 1762
Folder 48 Samuel Mason and Jonathan Clark’s debt to John Bozworth, September 5, 1762
Folder 49 William Fowler’s account with William Cochran, November 4, 1762
Folder 50 Henry Heinzman’s payment to Mr. Price, November 24, 1762
Folder 51 John Hardin’s account with Greenfield, 1762
Folder 52 Jacob Shife vs. Joseph Shetanawer’s, 1762
Folder 53 Frederick and Mary Hufman’s promise to repay Frederick [Insult], August 29, 1763
Folder 54 Notes on the Charlottesburg Survey [LM p165-166], ca. 1763
Folder 55 John Ord and Thomas Rutherford’s debt to Gabriel Jones, May 8, 1764
Folder 56 Henry Brinker & Co. vs. Benjamin [Grubblate], August 13, 1764
Folder 57 Thomas Benfield’s debt to William and Ramsay Carlyle, August 31, 1764
Folder 58 Lawrence Trapp vs. John Funks, January 4, 1765
Folder 59 Richard Pearin vs. Franci Maginnis, January 22, 1765
Folder 60 Land indenture from Ja. Kieth to Burr Harrison and Angus McDonald, March 5, 1765
Folder 61 John Lehen’s debt to J. Wood, June 2, 1765
Folder 62 Thomas Waddlington’s appointment as attorney for William and Gina Waddlington, August 17, 1767
Folder 63 John Randolph’s promise to repay [Bondom] Fairfax, September 24, 1767
Folder 64 Robert Rutherford’s debt to John Marshall, November 7, 1767
Folder 65 Land indenture from Luke Collins to Joseph Watson, November 8, 1767
Folder 66 Bryan Brown’s debt to Owen Jones, March 5, 1768
Folder 67 McCormack vs. Reagan, 1768
Folder 68 Robert Rutherford’s debt to Andrew Cochran, William Cunningham & Co., 1768
Folder 69 Cornelius Livingston’s debt to David Ker, January 6, 1769
Folder 70 Land indenture from John and Sarah Allan to James Gibson, Mar 11, 1769
Folder 71 John Ord’s debt to Thomas Rutherford, August 1, 1769
Folder 72 Land indenture from Prudence Harbor to Jacob Vandeveer, September 2, 1769
Folder 73 James Walpole’s notes to John Hanbury [LM p371], February 17, 1770
Folder 74 John Stuart to Lord Botetourt, April 27, 1770
Folder 75 John Normster to James Craik, January 12, 1791
Folder 76 John Wormely’s account with James Craik, January 14, 1791
Folder 77 Richard Crunk’s debt to Edward Brown, March 22, 1742
Folder 78 Fragments, undated
Folder 79 Unidentified fragment 1, undated
Folder 80 Unidentified fragments, J. Sullivan’s debt, 1754
Folder 81 Debt to Joseph Hobbs, 1743
Folder 82 Washington letter (copy), 1754
Folder 83 J. Sullivan’s debt to unknown (fragment), 1754
Folder 84 Sam Young, fragments, undated
Folder 85 William Stephen and John Stevenson’s debt to Thomas Connolly, undated
Folder 86 Arrest warrant for James Huston (copy), 1954
Folder 87 William Stephen’s debt to Thomas [Cousey], undated

Series IX. Manuscript Copies of Papers Relating to The Ohio Company of Virginia, 1747-1749

Scope and Content Notes:

This volume contains manuscript copies of correspondence between 1747 and 1749, copied from the Records of the Board of Trade, involving the colonial Governor of Virginia Sir William Gooch, the Board of Trade in London, and others. William Darlington commissioned this copy in January of 1870. The letters in this volume discuss the creation, justification for, and financing of the Ohio Company. They reflect the urgency of the British to colonize the Ohio territory before the French in order to increase trade with American Indians, and to obtain access to valuable natural resources. The majority of the letters are accompanied with a scope note on either the page following the letter or the page directly before the letter, written by the copyist.
Folder 88 Manuscript Copies of Papers Relating to The Ohio Land Company of Virginia, 1747-1749