The Material World, Memory, and the Making of William Penn's Pennsylvania, 1681--1726
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2011 Building and Planting: The Material World, Memory, and the Making of William Penn's Pennsylvania, 1681--1726 Catharine Christie Dann Roeber College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Roeber, Catharine Christie Dann, "Building and Planting: The Material World, Memory, and the Making of William Penn's Pennsylvania, 1681--1726" (2011). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623350. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-824s-w281 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Building and Planting: The Material World, Memory, and the Making of William Penn's Pennsylvania, 1681-1726 Catharine Christie Dann Roeber Oxford, Pennsylvania Bachelor of Arts, The College of William and Mary, 1998 Master of Arts, Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, University of Delaware, 2000 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History The College of William and Mary August, 2011 Copyright © 2011 Catharine Dann Roeber All rights reserved APPROVAL PAGE This Dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ac#t~Catharine ~t-r'~~ Christie Dann Roeber ~----- Committee Chair Dr. James P. Whittenburg JJepartment of History, The College of William and Mary C?~ Department of American Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ABSTRACT PAGE The process of creating the colony of Pennsylvania began with the granting of a charter by King Charles II to William Penn in 1681. However the formation of Pennsylvania was not limited to the words of this or other official documents. Many people formed the province through both everyday actions and extraordinary events. And importantly, people involved in the Pennsyvlania project employed both material "toolkits" and language about the material world to stake a place for the new territory within the Americas, Britain, and the world in the seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. This dissertation examines how William Penn and his contemporaries used the material world and language about it to promote the province of Pennsylvania. In particular, Penn's use of the built environment and landscapes, foods and other natural resources, and maps and natural philosophy are examined as case studies for the intersection betweeen material life and ideology in forming a new geographic and political entity. Previous scholarship has often examined William Penn through the lens of politics and religion, resulting in a view of the founder as removed from material interests. But examination fo Penn's own words and documents relating to his life suggests that he not only held a deep interest and involvement with material concerns, he viewed management of the material world as central to his religious, political, and social goals for the province of Pennsylvania and more broadly in his life. In part, scholarship on the material world of William Penn and early Pennsylvania has been obscured by the fact that almost immediately following the death of Penn, people created a stereotyped figure of him representing idealistic polititical, social, and religious goals (although this was defined in many different ways and used to promote a host of competing causes). Even later imagery depicting Penn promotes this cartoon-like image rather than the complex and often controversial figure he was in reality. In addition, emphasis on scholarship after the mid eighteenth century with particular focus on the American Revolution obscures a critical interpretation of the earliest period of settlement in Pennsylvania. The process of remembering William Penn and early Pennsylvania (or forgetting that history) continues today through management of historic and cultural resources, as well as physical remembrances in the form of public monuments, parks, and visual representations. Creating and remembering Pennsylvania and its founders has always been, and continues to be a series of negotiations through words, images, and the material world. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Dedication n Acknowledgements m List of Figures v1 Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Chapter 2. Taking the Keys: Improvement Strategies in Pennsylvania 36 Chapter 3. "Fruits roots come and flesh:" Natural Resources and 79 Improvement in Pennsylvania Chapter 4. "tis of mighty moment": 136 Geographic Representation in Early Pennsylvania Chapter 5. Remembering William Penn and Pennsylvania 186 Figures 220 Appendix: Timeline 293 Bibliography 296 Vita 316 1 To my Grandma, Gloria Melville Sparrow, and the memory of my other grandparents, Irving Thompson Sparrow, C. Marshall Dann, and Catharine Christie Dann, for providing a wealth of inspiration. 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people deserve a world of thanks for assisting in the creation of this dissertation. First, a thank you to my late Dann grandparents for a wonderful trip to England and France with my cousin when I was 10 years old. I am sure that our afternoon visit to Jordan's Meeting House, where I saw William Penn's grave made a lasting impression on me and created an interest in Penn that never diminished. Later, as a high-schooler, I spent a wonderful spring break as a house guest to Marion Carson in Philadelphia, where I spent days exploring the city under her tutelage and becoming enamored of the City of Brotherly Love. A walking tour of Philadelphia, led by Dr. Bernard Herman during the Summer Institute of the Winterthur Program sealed my fate and created an unquenched thirst for knowledge about seventeenth and early-eighteenth century Philadelphia that resulted in a masters thesis topic, continues in this dissertation, and will endure in future scholarship. I have not only found inspiration from those notable experiences, but from numerous individuals and institutions. My friends have always encouraged and supported me, even as they asked "So when will you finally be done?" A special thanks goes to my dear friend and honorary sister Sara Camille Bonisteel for many years of laughter and fun and my ol' pal, fellow budding intellectual, and partner in culinary adventures, Hanna Rachel Raskin for her infectious spirit for life. My graduate school friends, especially, Amy Marks Delaney from Winterthur and Emily Moore, Buddy Paulett, Bridget Reddick and John Weber from William and Mary all have a wonderful combination of intellectual vibrancy and personal pizzazz that I so admire. The University of Delaware dissertation group gang, especially Anna, Zara, Eric, and Coleen provided much-needed comradery and creative feedback over tea. Closer to home, the Garcia-Allens, Lawlers, Bensens, and Netizels provide sustaining friendship. Throughout my many years of schooling, many teachers have guided me and inspired me. During my undergraduate years at William and Mary, Professor Norman Barka offered me amazing opportunities to work on colonial archaeological sites in the Caribbean and trusted me to organize his lab. Marley Brown and the staff at the Department of Archaeological research also allowed me to immerse myself in the wonderful world of artifacts. Carol Sheriff and Chandos Brown encouraged my "traditional history" leanings with interest piquing courses. The Winterthur program opened my eyes to the benefits of cross disciplinary work and Dr. Bernard Herman and Dr. Martin Bruckner, in particular, served as exemplary models for how to accomplish this work to best effect. Dr. Anne Verplanck kindly took the time to read and provide valuable comments on early chapters. 111 During my second round at William and Mary, Professor Sheriff again provided rigorous training in historical scholarship and writing along with my other professors, notably James Axtell, Kris Lane, Lisa Meyer, Scott Nelson, and Cindy Hahamovitch, and Marley Brown. My biggest thank you goes to Professor James P. Whittenburg for supporting my interests and acting as a model for teaching and mentoring students. I admire him personally and professionally and appreciate his teaching, advising, and guidance more than I could ever express in words. Dr./Mrs. Carolyn Whittenburg and the National Institute for American History and Democracy deserve thanks for providing teaching opportunities and gainful employment for many summers. Additionally, the Department of Archaeological Research at Colonial Williamsburg and the Lyon G. Tyler Department of History at the College of William and Mary both provided generous research fellowships, stipends, research and travel funding. Additional financial support for putting bread on the table and a roof over my head has come through work for institutions and organizations such as the American Antiquarian Society, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and most importantly, Winterthur Museum. The Gest Fellowship at Haverford College Quaker Collections and a Library Company/Historical Society of Pennsylvania research fellowship provided not only financial assistance but exposure to wonderful collections that I draw on