Guide to the Dunning McNair and Dunning Robert McNair Papers, 1793-1857 DAR.1943.01

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Dunning McNair and Dunning Robert McNair Papers
Creator
McNair, Dunning
Creator
McNair family
Creator
McNair, Dunning R. (Dunning Robert)
Collection Number
DAR.1943.01
Extent
0.83 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Date
1793-1857
Abstract
The papers of Dunning McNair (1786-1824) and his son Dunning Robert McNair (1805-1860) relate to their involvement in land development and trade in western Pennsylvania. Both men were involved in government related activities; Dunning as a state legislator, while his son, Robert Dunning, ran a postal service under contract to the U.S. government. The papers contain correspondence, ledgers, and land sales agreements, some of which pertain to the Pennsylvania Population Company. Digital reproductions of this collection are available online.
Language
English .
Author
Angela Manella.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of this collection are available online.

Biography

Dunning (Dunnen) McNair was born July 23, 1762 to a Scottish and Irish family in West Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. McNair was an officer in the Pennsylvania state militia. Later as a state legislator in Pennsylvania, he introduced a bill to abolish slavery. In 1788, he settled with his wife, Anne Stewart, near Rippeyville east of Pittsburgh. Dunning and Anne had six children. McNair purchased 266 acres in various lots and built his mansion, Dumpling Hall.

Dunning was an agent of the Pennsylvania Property Company, also called the Pennsylvania Population Company, in both Pittsburgh and the Erie Triangle. The Pennsylvania Population Company was backed by eastern financial interests. From 1792 to 1812, the company purchased frontier lands from the government, leased them to farmers for development, and then resold the lands at a higher price. By 1790, Dunning had drawn the first plan of lots for the proposed settlement of McNairsville around Dumpling Manor. In the mid 1800s, the lands of former Rippeyville and McNairsville grew into Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. The new city was named for the prominent family of John Wilkins.

Dunning McNair's fourth son, Dunning Robert McNair, born ca. 1805, married Catherine Steele and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Dunning Robert was contracted by the U.S. government for the mail service in Kentucky, where he was also a lawyer and county treasurer. He was also involved in the transport of mercantile goods and guns. Later, Dunning Robert and his family relocated to Washington, DC, where he was a pioneer developer of transportation and trade west of the Alleghenies.

Scope and Content Notes

Dunning McNair's papers consist of approximately 450 items of correspondence, legal agreements, accounts and receipts. This collection relates to the rapid expansion of land sale and development in the decade following the Revolutionary War. The papers include manuscript maps of land plots. Although specific geography is not indicated, it is likely that these plots are in or around the modern Wilkinsburg Township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. These manuscripts describe life on the frontier. Dunning was well known in his day, and the collection includes letters from William Wilkins, Ebenezer Denny, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, Henry Marie Brackenridge and Alexander Addison.

Dunning McNair's papers also detail his involvement in the development of western Pennsylvania. The collection includes Dunning's correspondence with the Pennsylvania Population Company from 1796 to 1815. Transportation was another of Dunning's business interests; one letter details a contract with the United States Government to transport munitions and other supplies to Erie in 1801, and another shows that he transported military equipment for General Wilkinson. Some correspondence also relate to early stage coach lines in the region.

Dunning Robert McNair's papers from 1835 to 1840 contain letters, financial statements, bids for carrying mail, and contracts for transporting guns and supplies for the United States Army. Some papers contain information concerning the stage lines in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

Perhaps a dozen sketches of land plots are present. These materials are mostly undated, and therefore cannot be attributed to either father or son. A selection of the correspondence has been transcribed by an unknown researcher.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following three series:

Series I. Dunning McNair, 1793-1824

Series II. Dunning Robert McNair, 1817-1857

Series III. Land Surveys 1798-1815

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Edward S. Fickes in 1943.

Custodial History

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

Dunning McNair and Dunning Robert McNair Papers, 1795-1857, DAR.1943.01, Darlington Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Previous Citation

Dunning McNair and Dunning Robert McNair Papers, 1795-1857, DAR.1943.01, Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Angela Manella in April 2007.

Copyright

No copyright restrictions.

Bibliography

  • Hale, R. Nelson. "The Pennsylvania Population Company" in Pennsylvania History, April 1949.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Pennsylvania Property Company

    Personal Names

    • McNair, Dunning
    • McNair, Dunning R. (Dunning Robert)

    Family Names

    • McNair family

    Genres

    • Legislators

    Other Subjects

    • Military supplies -- Transportation -- History
    • Transportation
    • Firearms -- Transportation -- History
    • Transportation -- Kentucky -- History
    • Transportation -- West Virginia -- History
    • Transportation -- Pennsylvania -- History
    • Real estate development -- Pennsylvania -- History
    • Land use -- Pennsylvania -- History
    • Real estate business -- Pennsylvania -- History

Container List