This volume includes messages and proclamations of governors of the province, a petition to the King from the province of Georgia [n.d.], the draft of an address of the University of the State of Pennsylvania to George Washington (1781), a letter from Arthur Lee to Alexander Wedderburn (1774), letters of Timothy Matlack to Abiel Holmes (1819), and George Wythe's draft resolutions (1775).

These minutes record the business of, and actions taken by, the Provincial Council.

Much of the material in both volumes is printed in Charter to William Penn, and Laws of the Province of Pennsylvania . . . (Harrisburg, 1879). The first volume, prepared possibly for James Logan, contains copies of Charles II's grant to William Penn of the Lower Counties, 1683, an act of the Privy Council, 1705, the charter of Pennsylvania of 1701, acts of the Assembly, 1682-1719.

This is a volume of extracts from provincial records copied by Thomas Sargeant when Secretary of the Commonwealth. Includes material on Indian affairs and French and Indian wars in Pennsylvania and the New England colonies.

The Great Law, or, The Body of laws of ye province of Pennsilvania territorys thereunto belonging past at an assembly at Chester als Upland the seaventh day of ye 10th month.

Catalogue and Tracts relating to Pennsylvania, 1681-1770, collected by Joshua Francis Fisher (presented to APS in 1839), contains: 1. "Catalogue of Printed Tracts relating to the Political History of . . . Pennsylvania, 1681-1770," with an introduction by Fisher (20 pp.); 2. (Sir William Keith), "The Life and character of a strange `He Monster' lately arrived in London from an English Colony in America, . . .," n.d. The "Monster" is identified as Andrew Hamilton by Walker Lewis, William and Mary Quarterly 38 (1981): 269-294; 3. A modest apology for the eight members. (3 pp.); 4. Petitions of merchants and others to the King for the safety of the Province and against the Quakers, n.d. (4 pp.).

Volume of extracts from provincial records compiled by Thomas Sargeant, and printed in part in Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania 4 (1829), 205 through vol. 6 (1830), 369.

Reports on conferences and treaties with the Indians and miscellaneous Indian affairs in Pennsylvania, with emphasis upon the French and Indian War. Correspondents include: John Armstrong Thomas Barton Edward Braddock Daniel Claus George Croghan James Hamilton James Logan Hugh Mercer Andrew Montour Robert Hunter Morris Robert Orme Ferdinand J. Paris Thomas Penn Horatio Sharpe Joseph Shippen William Shirley John Stanwix Robert Stobo William Trent Conrad Weiser

In the hand of Benjamin Franklin, "from the manuscript. Translated from the High Dutch."

From the Sugar Act of 1764 through the Tea Act of 1773, the British Parliament imposed a variety of taxes upon their American colonies in an effort to raise revenue to offset the enormous debts incurred during the Seven Years' (French and Indian) War. Far more efficiently than raising revenue, these duties raised the indignation of the colonits, contributing more than their share to the alienation that fueled the independence movement The two volumes that comprise the Pennsylvania Stamp Act and Non-Importation Resolutions Collection contain 34 manuscript and printed items relating to the political crisis over taxation on goods imported into the American colonies between 1765 and 1773, with a focus on Philadelphia. The first volume is concerned exclusively with agitation over the Stamp Act of 1765 and its repeal, while the second volume relates more specifically to the Non-Importation agreements of the 1760s, the Townshend Duties, and the Tea Act of 1773. Among these are letters of Governor John Penn, correspondence between the Sons of Liberty at Philadelphia and those of New York, 1766, an address of the committee of Boston merchants to a committee of Philadelphia merchants, 11 August 1768. Among the more dramatic letters are those from John Hughes, the would-be Stamp Officer for Pennsylvania who resigned bis commission in the face of public protest, and a seies of threatening letters addressed to James and Drinker, consignees for the sale of tea in Pennsylvania in 1773.

Three volumes contain letters, laws, charters, reports, proclamations, petitions, and other official and semi-official documents relating principally to early Pennsylvania and New Jersey, signed by or addressed to William Penn, among others. A fourth volume is Penn's cash book, 1699-1703, which records expeditures, payments of quit rents, etc. Tipped in is "Catalogue of Goods left at Pensbury," and of goods left at Philadelphia, 1701.

In the hand of Franklin, "from a manuscript not yet printed."

Copied from a pamphlet in duodecimo printed at Philadelphia and sold by Andrew Bradford, 1725.

Copies by Mrs. Deborah Norris Logan of letters from Logan, while president of the Council, to the Proprietors of Pennsylvania, the Duke of Newcastle, and Ferdinand John Paris, on province business. The letters relate to the choice of Logan's successor, his retirement, crown-proprietor relations, and the Pennsylvania-Maryland boundary.

James Burd (1726-1793) was well-known in colonial Pennsylvania through his role in the French and Indian War, as well as his connections to many of the colony's leading families (most notably the Shippen family). Initially starting out as a merchant in Philadelphia, Burd became increasingly involved with colonial affairs after moving to Lancaster County with his family in 1752. It would be on the frontier where Burd would make his mark first as a soldier, and later as a magistrate. The Burd-Shippen Papers consist mainly of letters and business documents sent to James Burd, with the bulk of the collection relating to the French and Indian War, 1754-1763, in which Burd served as an officer commanding troops at Fort Augusta and elsewhere. The collection reflects all aspects of Burd's life in Pennsylvania as a merchant, soldier, and magistrate; as well as his involvement with the Shippen family professionally and personally. Intermixed with items sent to Burd are receipts to his wife Sarah Shippen Burd, and correspondence between Edward Shippen and James Hamilton regarding land matters and Indian affairs in Lancaster.

This volume describes the boundary dispute between William Penn and Baron Cecil Calvert Baltimore over land in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the counties of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex.

This volume contains approximately 175 letters written by Thomas Penn and Richard Penn on public business. A few are copies of letters by James Hamilton, a member of the Provincial Council and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, and by or to Abraham Taylor.

An early settler and prominent citizen in the Moravian heartland near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Timothy Horsfield was named justice of the peace when Northampton County was formed out of Bucks in 1752, and was one of those given responsibility for the defence of the local white and Christian Indian populations during the French and Indian War. The Horsfield Papers offer a window onto the tumultuous history of northeastern Pennsylvania during the 1750s and 1760s. Comprised largely of correspondence and related documents between Horsfield, William Parsons, and provincial and military authorities, the collection includes important information on the Native tribes' actions (previously described as "Indian assaults") in the region in 1756 and 1757 and the military and diplomatic response of settlers.