Summary Information
Draper Manuscripts: Pittsburgh and Northwest Virginia Papers
1768-1854
Draper Mss NN
2.0 cubic feet (10 volumes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Copies and original papers dealing with the military commanders, popular heroes, and events in the Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania region, created by or about leaders Daniel Brodhead, William Irvine, Edward Hand, William Harrod, John McCulloch (Jr. and Sr.), Samuel Brady, Hugh Brady, David Williamson, Benjamin Biggs, John Redd, and Nathan Reid.
Descriptions of the volumes are copied from the Guide to the Draper Manuscripts / by Josephine Harper. Out of date and offensive language may be present. This collection is also available as a microfilm publication. Forms part of the Lyman Copeland Draper Manuscripts. The fifty series included in the Draper Manuscripts have been cataloged individually. See the Draper Manuscripts Overview, and the Guide to the Draper Manuscripts / by Josephine Harper (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1983) for further information. There is a restriction on use to this material; see the Administrative/Restriction
Information portion of this finding aid for details.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-draper0nn ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Scope and Content Note
Included are correspondence, anecdotes, reminiscences, biographical and genealogical information, and military records, mostly of the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment, consisting of pension statements, orderly books, muster rolls, and payrolls.
The topics discussed by the early pioneers deal with Indian relations, battles, experiences in captivity, and expeditions; the Revolutionary War; Dunmore's expedition; the War of 1812; border warfare; the Moravian campaign; descriptions of Indian customs; and briefer allusions to other frontier events, places, and persons.
Administrative/Restriction Information
PHOTOCOPY RESTRICTION: Photocopying originals is not permitted; researchers may copy from the microfilm available in the Library.
Contents List
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Draper Mss NN
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Series: 1 NN (Volume 1)A volume containing three groups of transcripts made by Draper in 1851: 1) Extracts copied from records in the office of the Pennsylvania secretary of state in Harrisburg. As all were later published in Pennsylvania Archives, First series, the copies are of interest only as an indication of Draper's choice of materials. 2) Selections from a letter book, 1779-1781, of Daniel Brodhead, the original of which was owned in 1851 by R.M. Crain of Harrisburg. This is not a duplicate of Volume 3 H, but the contents supplemented that volume. 3) Copies of correspondence of William Irvine with two Europeans who had served in the Revolution. In 1851 the originals were owned by the Irvine family. A few extracts from letters, 1783-1789, written by Antoine Felix Wuibert, who had served in the Engineering Corps at Fort Pitt, relate primarily to his health and to his divorce. More extensive and informative are the letters, 1779-1804, exchanged between Irvine and Baron Gustavus Henri de Rosenthal, an Estonian nobleman known in America as John Rose. Rosenthal had left Russia after participation in a fatal duel, arrived in Baltimore in 1776, studied surgery, and then joined the Pennsylvania troops. He was made a staff officer at Fort Pitt by Irvine in 1781. After the Revolution he was pardoned by the emperor and returned to his family estate, where he died in 1830. The Irvine-Rosenthal correspondence contains reports and recollections of the military service they had shared; the letters are accompanied by papers pertaining to Rosenthal's claims for compensation for his Pennsylvania war services.
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Series: 2 NN (Volume 2)
: The orderly book of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, 1778-1783, copied by Draper in 1851 from the original then owned by Dr. William A. Irvine, grandson of General Irvine. It contains orders of three commanders at Fort Pitt: Lachlan McIntosh (1778-1779); Daniel Brodhead (1779-1781); and William Irvine (1781-1783). Also included are orders covering the regiment's march from Lancaster to Fort Pitt (1778) and on the expedition (1778) to found Fort Laurens on the Tuscarawas River in Ohio. The transcript was indexed by Draper. The entries for 1778-1780 were published by Louise Phelps Kellogg in Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison, 1916) and Frontier Retreat on the Upper Ohio, 1779-1781 (Madison, 1917).
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Series: 3 NN (Volume 3)
: Papers, 1768-1784, of Edward Hand mainly during his service at Fort Pitt and at Albany, selected and copied by Draper in 1852 from originals then in possession of Hand's daughter Mrs. Dorothy Brien and granddaughter Mrs. Sarah B. Rogers. As these originals were later acquired by the New York Public Library, this volume of copies is of interest primarily as an illustration of Draper's research method.
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Series: 4 NN (Volume 4)Original papers of five frontier soldiers: 1) William Harrod papers, 1760-1806 (4 NN 1-85). Born on the Pennsylvania frontier, William (1737-1801) was the elder brother of James Harrod, founder of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. William's papers include an assortment of letters, accounts, muster rolls and payrolls, certificates of service, and other military records, most of which relate to his service as commissary during Dunmore's War in 1774 and as militia captain for western Augusta County in 1776-1777. Other papers include commissions as captain under David Shepherd and George Rogers Clark (1778-1779), land warrants and land claim records, two letters written to his wife in 1780 during a hazardous trip to Kentucky, and copies of Virginia legislative papers. Among the latter are a proposed scheme for a new western government (1786), petitions (1777) from frontier inhabitants requesting militia protection, and a printed letter (1806) on Kentucky legislative actions. Numbered among Harrod's correspondents were Robert Beall, Collin Campbell, John Canon, Abel Kennon, Angus McDonald, Edward McLaughlin, Zackwell Morgan, and Dorsey Pentecost. 2) John McCulloch, Sr. (died before 1780) and John McCulloch, Jr. papers, 1748-1810 (4 NN 86-112). The McCullochs were members of a well known frontier family, who settled in what is now Ohio County, West Virginia. Among their business and military papers are the will (1748) of Samuel McCulloch of New Jersey, father of John, Sr.; commissions to John, Sr. as captain (1763) and major (1766) of the Hampshire County militia signed by Governor Francis Fauquier of Virginia; the commission (1792) of John, Jr. as captain of volunteer rangers signed by Governor Henry Lee; muster roll of scouts (1793); and a letter (1793) to Governor Lee by McCulloch. A printed circular letter (1810) by Matthew Lyons, a Kentucky congressman, was addressed to his constituents. Among signers of letters and documents were Joseph Biggs, John Campbell, John Crow, William Crow, Abraham Hite, Gabriel Jones, James McMechen, David Shepherd, Garret Van Meter, Jacob Wetzel, and Silas Zane. 3)Samuel Brady papers, 1779-1794 (4 NN 113-120). Receipts, accounts, bills of sale, land entries, his commission (1779) in the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, subscriptions for a spy company called the “Sandusky Spies” (1792), and a letter (1795) from his brother John Brady compose this small group of papers of the noted scout, Samuel Brady (1756-1800), about whom Draper collected extensive data in Series E. 4) Hugh Brady papers, 1793-1795. Brady (1768-1851), a Pennsylvanian, entered the United States Army in 1792 and served as an officer under command of Anthony Wayne. A letter from Wayne and a military return signed by Brady in 1793 and an order and a personal letter both from William Preston to Brady in 1795 constitute the major items in this small sample of Brady's military records. 5) David Williamson papers, four documents of scattered dates, 1790-1808. Although Williamson (d. 1814) has achieved notoriety as leader of the expedition which massacred the peaceful Moravian Indians in 1782, he was popular among his contemporaries as a military officer and longtime sheriff of Washington County, Pennsylvania. These papers concern only miscellaneous business matters; one bears Williamson's signature.
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Series: 5 NN (Volume 5)Benjamin Biggs papers, mainly 1773-1820. A native of Maryland, Biggs (1754-1823) moved to the Short Creek area north of Wheeling about 1773 or 1774. After serving under John Gibson in Dunmore's War, Biggs entered the Continental Army at the outbreak of the Revolution, and by 1879 was a captain of Virginia troops stationed at Fort Pitt. He also served at Fort Henry, Fort McIntosh, and Fort Laurens where he was again with Gibson. After the Revolution Biggs settled at West Liberty (now in West Virginia) and remained active in the Virginia militia, first as a colonel and after 1793 as brigadier general. A few documents pertain to his early land claims and to his military service during the Revolutionary period, but the bulk of his correspondence and related papers concern his career from 1789 through the War of 1812. Some letters do discuss social, political, and diplomatic matters. Benjamin's brother William wrote of his captivity among the Indians and of conditions in the Illinois settlements (1789). Congressman Joseph Neville of Virginia wrote (1794) from Philadelphia about congressional activities, policy toward England, and taxation problems. Other topics on which there are comments include the Whiskey Rebellion (1794) and other evidence of unrest and dissatisfaction on the western frontier in the 1790s, the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions and Federalist politics (1799), the election of Ebenezer Zane and Benjamin Biggs to the Virginia House of Delegates (1799), the Burr conspiracy (1806), and the threat of war with England (1807). There are proclamations and signed letters and commissions from several Virginia governors and lieutenant governors: Robert Brooke, William H. Cabell, Henry Lee, John Page, J. Pendleton, Beverley Randolph, John Tyler, and James Wood. Among other correspondents were Henry Bedinger, David Bradley, John Brown, Samuel Coleman, William Croghan, Henry Dearborn, P[hilip] Doddridge, Dudley Evans, John Evans, Jr., John Finley, John Gibson, John Harrison, William W. Hening, George Jackson, Henry Jolly, William Lowther, Duncan McArthur, William McMahon, James Marshal, Daniel Morgan, Thomas Parker, John Stagg, Jr., John Sutherland, Van Swearingen, William Wilson, and Archibald Woods. Among the many other signers of documents were Hezekiah Bukey, John Campbell, Moses Chapline, George Cox, James Downing, Thomas Edgington, George McCulloch, Isaac Miller, Joseph Ogle, David Shepherd, and Ebenezer Zane.
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Series: 6 NN (Volume 6)Draper's correspondence, 1845-1850, with several antiquarians and historians-John Lynn Crawford, Joseph Doddridge, S.P. Hildreth, and Robert Orr, Jr.-with small collections of papers which they had gathered during their own earlier research on border warfare in the Fort Pitt and Wheeling area. This volume includes: letters and notes, 1831-1838, by Henry Jolly giving his recollections of the Yellow Creek massacre (1774), the Moravian campaign (1782), Indian attacks on the families of Peter Anderson, David Jolly, Nathan Parr, Thomas Simms (Sims, Symms), and George Turk, and other topics; the unfinished narrative by John Crawford (1772-1831) of Green County, Pennsylvania, which includes genealogical data on the Crawford family and an account of Indian depredations and the Tories in western Pennsylvania from 1770 to 1777; an incomplete narrative by John Stuart (1749-1823) on his participation in military affairs in western Virginia and Pennsylvania from Dunmore's War to 1780 (Other narratives by Stuart are in 1 ZZ and 2 ZZ); a description of Indian attacks in 1782 in the vicinity of Jacob Rice's fort in Washington County, Pennsylvania, from Jacob Leffler. Letters and interview notes from Robert Orr, Jr. (1786-1876) are accompanied by copies of statements by his father and some of the latter's associates-Alexander Guthrie, Mathew Jack, Ezekiel Lewis, Samuel Murphy, John Sloan, and Robert Walker-all of which pertain to the senior Orr's life, especially his service in 1781 under Archibald Lochry. Scattered through the volume are also numerous or extensive references to Samuel Brady, Joseph Brant, George Rogers Clark, Simon Girty and other members of the Girty family, and the Wetzel family, as well as descriptions of Indian customs and briefer allusions to dozens of other frontier events, places, and persons, both Indian and white, in the period from 1755 to 1795.
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Series: 7 NN (Volume 7)
: Draper correspondence, 1844-1852. Within the letters are biographical accounts about Francis Dunlevy (1762-1839), Revolutionary soldier, pioneer Virginia and Ohio schoolmaster, surveyor in the Illinois country along the Mississippi River, circuit judge in Ohio, and legislator in the old Northwest Territory, written by his son Arthur H. Dunlevy; George S. McKiernan's discussion of the Mingo chief Logan, Michael Cresap, the Yellow Creek massacre, and Thomas Jefferson's treatment of Logan and Cresap in Notes on Virginia; and data on the Bradys and their associates in the Wheeling region during the Revolutionary era provided by Brady friends and descendants.
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Series: 8 NN (Volume 8)
: Draper correspondence, 1845-1854, chiefly with former western Pennsylvania pioneers and their descendants. Many letters contain recollections or narratives of Indian attacks and of experiences in captivity of several Pennsylvania families or individuals between 1775 and 1795: Charles Clifford and Peter McHard; George and Elizabeth Foulks; Peter Henry and his sister Margaret; Simeon Hoover; Charles Mitchel's family; Andrew Sharp's family; Samuel Sloan and his children John and Nancy; Lawrence Van Buskirk's family; James Whitaker; and inhabitants of Richard Wallace's fort. Also found is an account of the rescue from torture of captive George Woods by the Delaware Indian known as Captain Jacobs. Notable biographical information is given on several other men: William Amberson, Alexander Guthrie, John (“Jack”) Guthrie, Elias Hughes, Samuel Laughlin, James Paull, John Wallace, and James Wilson. Scattered throughout the volume are references to Samuel Brady and to the Brady, Wetzel, and Zane families.
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Series: 9 NN (Volume 9)Mainly Draper notes and correspondence, 1845-1852. Several letters from Narcissa Doddridge discuss sources used by her father and the possible republication of his book, Notes on the Settlements and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania (1824). Other correspondence Draper received from contemporary annalists and editors-James W. Biddle, W. DeHass, and Elisha Whittlesey-and from descendants of frontier men and women. Among the persons, families, and events discussed are the Indian attack (1777) at Grave Creek near Wheeling; Absolom Baird; Stephen Bayard; Daniel Boone; Samuel Brady and the Brady family; Henry and Robert Brenton (Brinton); George Rogers Clark; Freeland's Fort and the Niles family; John Gibson; Simon Girty and the Girty family; John Jolly; Archibald Lochry; Andrew Poe and the Poe family; David Rodgers; Andrew Sharp; Lewis Tucker; William Tucker; Nathaniel Vernon and his son Frederick; Lewis Wetzel and the Wetzel family; and James Wilson. There are biographical memoranda by Draper about Lewis Bonnett, John Grise, Rachael Johnson, David Shepherd, and David Williamson. Two original early manuscripts are found: a fragment of the “Brady Family Record” listing births of Samuel Brady (1756-1800) and his brothers and sisters; and one letter (1806) by John Gibson concerning the Biddle family. Copied for Draper were a few extracts from the journal of Ebenezer Denny, written during a council with the Delaware, Shawnee, and Wyandot representatives at Fort Finney, Ohio, in January, 1786.
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Series: 10 NN (Volume 10)A volume containing two major segments: 1) John Redd papers. Redd (1755-1850), born in Orange County, Virginia, moved in 1774 to Henry County, where he was living when Draper learned of him. In the Revolution he served under Brice Martin and Nathanael Greene and later had two terms in the Virginia legislature (1795-1796, 1798-1799). Redd's detailed reminiscences, recorded as replies to Draper's questionnaires in 1848-1849, have become known as the “Redd narrative.” In his account he discussed the settlement of Powell's Valley and the Cherokee campaign in 1776 as well as many other frontier incidents in which he had participated. His personal recollections of Daniel Boone, William Campbell, William Christian, George Rogers Clark, Benjamin Cleveland, Mordecai Hord (Hoard), Joseph Martin, John Montgomery, Thomas Walker, and members of such families as the Bledsoes, Callaways, and Shelbys show his wide acquaintance with border leaders and settlers. Some portions of Redd's answers were dictated to or copied by a member of his family, but other parts are in Redd's own handwriting. Accompanying the letters exchanged between Draper and Redd are copies of his pension applications. After Draper's death sections of Redd's recollections or “narrative” were printed (but with some errors, omissions, or variations) in Publications of the Southern Historical Association, VII (1903) and in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, VI and VII (1898-1900). 2) Nathan Reid papers. Of Irish parentage, Reid (1753-1830) was born in Virginia, and in 1774 joined an older brother in the Indian trade on the Holston River. Two years later he went with John Floyd to Kentucky and was in Boonesborough during the troubled summer of 1776. Later he served in the Continental Army in engagements at Brandywine and Stony Point. After the Revolution he settled permanently in southwestern Virginia. In 1849 Reid's son, also named Nathan, compiled a biographical narrative about his father for Draper; in it were incorporated copies of some of the elder Reid's letters and papers as well as transcripts of oral recollections recorded before his death. Included are many anecdotes about Boone, the Callaways, Clark, Floyd, and their contemporaries. Also given to Draper was the surviving fragment of reminiscences by Floyd as recorded by a brother of the younger Nathan Reid; these few pages describe Floyd's capture by the British while he was on a slave trading voyage in the West Indies during the Revolution and his subsequent trial in England and escape to France. Separating the Redd and Reid sections of the volume is Draper's manuscript copy of an obituary (1832) of Thomas Sumter from the American Annual Register.
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