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Walking Purchase records

 Collection
Identifier: HC.MC-950-175

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a single folder of materials related to the 1737 fraudulent seizure of land in what is now Pennsylvania from the Lenape or Delaware Nation. Included in this collection are accounts submitted by participants Joseph Doan, John Chapman, and Timothy Smith for the trial walk of April 22, 1735, and the September walk; requests for payment of these accounts by the Proprietor of Pennsylvania, Thomas Penn to James Steel, Receiver General of Pennsylvania; and two accounts submitted for payment by Conrad Weiser, an "Indian agent" from New York, for his journey to Wyoming.

Dates

  • 1735-1738

Creator

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Historical Note

The Walking Purchase (August 25, 1737) was a land swindle perpetrated by Pennsylvania authorities on the Lenape or Delaware Nation. The Lenape had been friendly to William Penn when he founded the colony in the previous century. Colonial authorities claimed to have found a lost treaty, dated 1686, ceding a tract of land between the fork of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers that extended as far as a man could walk in one and a half days— about 40 miles. William Penn’s son, Thomas Penn (1702–1775), who was proprietor of Pennsylvania in 1737, hired the three fastest walkers in the colony and offered a large prize to the one who could cover the most land. The winner, running on a carefully cleared path, crossed more than twice the land the Lenape had anticipated, causing them to lose about 1,200 square miles (3,100 square kilometers) of their land. At Thomas Penn’s request, members of the Iroquois Confederacy helped enforce this fraud. In reaction to this and other frauds, the Delaware joined the French during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). In 1758, the northern half of the purchase was relinquished to the Iroquois Confederacy; the Lenape received £400 in compensation for it four years later.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Extent

.01 Linear Feet (1 folder)

Language

English

Overview

This collection consists of materials related to the 1737 fraudulent seizure of land in Pennsylvania from the Lenape or Delaware Nation.

Acquisition

The Walking Purchase records were donated to Special Collections, Haverford College in 1975 by the estate of Albert L. Baily, through Mr. and Mrs. Charels Brown of Westtown School.

Related Materials

HC.MC.1182 Dorothy Merriman Schall papers

Processing Information

Processed by Kara Flynn; completed March, 2016.

Title
Walking Purchase records, 1735-1738
Author
Kara Flynn
Date
March, 2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting reproductions from Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections Library

Contact:
370 Lancaster Ave
Haverford PA 19041 USA US