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Joint Committee on Indian Affairs of the Four Yearly Meetings of Genesee, Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG4-046

Scope and Contents

This collection contains papers relating to the joint committee of representatives, including correspondence chiefly concerning the ceding of Seneca lands in New York by treaty under questionable circumstances. Correspondents include Benjamin Ferris (1780-1867).

Dates

  • Creation: 1836-1850

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Friends Historical Library believes all of the items in this collection to be in the Public Domain in the United States, and is not aware of any restrictions on their use. However, the user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status before reproducing. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/.

Biographical / Historical

The Indian Committees of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Genesee Yearly Meetings (Hicksite) united in 1838 to protect the Seneca Indians from the Ogden Land Company, which was trying to buy their land. The Joint Committee was convinced that the Seneca had been bribed to sign the treaty agreeing to cede their New York lands. They gathered evidence and sent it to President Van Buren. However the Senate ratified the treaty by which the Senecas had agreed to sell their land, and the only recourse of the Friends was public opinion. They issued a great many pamphlets setting forth the facts of the case, including a book, "The Case of the Seneca Indians", published in 1840.

In 1842 a conference was held between the Secretary of War, agents of the Ogden Land Company, and a delegation of Friends. As a result, the Ogden Co. agreed to a supplemental treaty giving the Senecas title to reservations at Cattaraugus and Allegheny. In 1846 a small party of Senecas emigrated west. They soon found themselves in need and appealed to their tribe in New York, who in turn appealed to the Friends. In 1848 Joseph Walton and his family went to Cattaraugus to continue the work of the Female Manual Labor School and to get the farm ready to turn over to the Seneca. By 1849 the active work of the Friends with the Senecas ended, and the Joint Committee dissolved in 1850.

The Secretary of the committee was Benjamin Ferris of Philadelphia and the members in 1840 included Philip E. Thomas, William E. Bartlett, Jacob Lafetra and Phineas Janney of Baltimore, Griffith M. Cooper of Genesee, Abraham Bell, Thomas Carpenter, Samuel Smith and Dobel Baker of New York, and William Wharton, Joseph Warner, John H. Bunting and George M. Justice of Philadelphia.

Extent

0.5 linear ft. (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The Indian Committees of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Genesee (Hicksite) united in 1838 to protect the Seneca from the Ogden Land Company which was trying to buy their land. This collection contains papers relating to the joint committee of representatives, including correspondence chiefly concerning the ceding of Seneca lands in New York by treaty under questionable circumstances. Correspondents include Benjamin Ferris (1780-1867).

Arrangement

The collection is organized into 10 series. The series are:

  1. Correspondence
  2. Annual Reports and Extracts from Minutes
  3. List of Indians
  4. Documents on Emigration Question
  5. Memorials of Joint Committee
  6. Memorials of Senecas
  7. Address from Committee to Seneca Chiefs
  8. Legislative Documents
  9. Poster
  10. Clippings

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Physical Location

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donor: Gift

Date: Before 1961

Related Materials

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Hicksite : 1827-1955). Indian Committee (1837-1850) Records (RG 2)

New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Hicksite : 1828-1955). Indian Committee Records (RG 2)

Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite : 1828-1968). Committee on Indian Concerns Records (RG 2)

Title
An Inventory of the Joint Committee on Indian Affairs (Society of Friends : Hicksite) Records, 1836-1850
Author
FHL staff
Date
2000
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English
Sponsor
Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries

Revision Statements

  • 2024: This finding aid was reviewed in order to change or contextualize any outdated, harmful terminology related to Indigenous Peoples, except where it appears in a title, quotation, or subject heading.

Find It at the Library

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