Walking Purchase collection

A collection of correspondence, documents, and maps related to the Walking Purchase and the Councils of Easton retained by the office of Pennsylvania's governor William Denny (in office from August 1756 to October 1759). The bulk of the collection consists of the records of the Council of Easton (August 1757) and the inquiry into the legality of the Walking Purchase authorized by Denny. It contains affidavits, sworn testimony, exhibits, memorandum, correspondence, and notes; this material includes original documents dating back to the time of the fraudulent land deal as well as some military correspondence. The collection also includes several documents and letters concerning Native American troubles on the frontier in the 1740s, along with their protests to the Proprietors over rum being sold to their people. Important persons in the collection include, among others, William Allen, Benjamin Chew, George Croghan, William Denny, Benjamin Franklin, James Hamilton, William Markham, Israel Pemberton, Thomas Penn, Richard Peters, Nicholas Scull, Teedyuscung (Delaware Chief), George Thomas, and Conrad Weiser. Almost all of the material in the collection is docketed and bears the initials or signatures of W. H. Rolph, followed by hyphenated numbers. The collection also contains oversize material and a small group of 20th century newspaper clippings about the Walking Purchase and the material in this collection.