This copy of John Watson Sr.'s narrative of the 1737 Walking Purchase, written in 1815, was made by Watson's son in 1822. The elder Watson's narrative was printed with corrections and additions by the son in the Pennsylvania Correspondent, Doylestown. The volume includes the younger Watson's report of the recollections of Moses Bartram, his own commentary on the Walking Purchase, and a letter (1822) about this manuscript.

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.

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.

A New Hampshireman and one of the most famous military figures in colonial America, Robert Rogers saw brief service in the militia during King George's War, but found fame as a commander of rangers during the Seven Years War. An efficient leader and crack woodsman, Rogers gained a hard driving reputation in leading his rangers against the Abnaki Indians at St. Francis Quebec, and for service at Quebec, Montreal, Fort Pitt, and Detroit. After voyaging to England in 1765 to advance his career, he was appointed to the command of Fort Michilimackinac at the tip of the southern peninsula of Michigan, but was recalled less than two years later for impropriety and suspected treason. He later offered his services to George Washington before serving in the Loyalist Queen's Rangers. As Commander of Fort Michilimackinac from 1766-1768, Rogers sat at the critical nexus of the British fur trade, the point connecting the vast interior of the western Great Lakes and northern plains to the trading centers at Montreal and elsewhere in the east. His "Estimate of the Fur and Peltry Trade in the District of Michilimackinac, according to the bounds and limits, assign'd to it by the French, when under their government: together with an account of the situation and names of the several out-posts" is, as the title suggests, an overview of this most important area of economic activity. Rogers gave this manuscript to Jonathan Carver (the man he has sent on an expedition to find the Northwest Passage), who relayed it to Thomas Barton of Lancaster, Pa., who, in turn, sent it to the American Philosophical Society. It was received at the APS and referred to the Committee on Trade and Commerce on December 20, 1768.

The first volume is minutes of the commissioners for determining the line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, which was copied by George M. Justine in 1842 from an "authenticated" copy owned by Ferdinand R. Hassler. The second volume contains receipts (62 items) for money spent by the Penn family for the survey.

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.

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.

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

Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, the American Philosophical Society was the first learned society in the United States. For over 250 years, the Society has played an important role in American cultural and intellectual life. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the Society fulfilled the role of a national academy of science, national library and museum, and even patent office. Early members of the Society included Thomas Jefferson, David Rittenhouse, Benjamin Rush, Stephen Peter Du Ponceau, George Washington, and many other figures prominent in American history. The Archives of the American Philosophical Society consists of 192.25 linear feet of material, organized into thirteen record groups dating back to 1743. The Society's archives extensively documents not only the organization's historical development but also its role in American history and the history of science and technology.

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.