The Texture of Contact: European and Indian Settler Communities on the Iroquoian Borderlands, 1720-1780
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2002 The texture of contact: European and Indian settler communities on the Iroquoian borderlands, 1720-1780 David L. Preston College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Preston, David L., "The texture of contact: European and Indian settler communities on the Iroquoian borderlands, 1720-1780" (2002). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623399. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-2kj3-rx94 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]. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. THE TEXTURE OF CONTACT: EUROPEAN AND INDIAN SETTLER COMMUNITIES ON THE IROQUOIAN BORDERLANDS, 1720-1780 A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by David L. Preston 2002 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©Copyright by David L. Preston All Rights Reserved 2002 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. .APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of D o cto r o f Philosophy David L Preston Approved. February 2002 A kZlU. James Axtell Janies P W hittenburi Kris Lane William Pencak Pennsylvania State University ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF MAPS vi ABBREVIATIONS vii ABSTRACT ix INTRODUCTION 2 PARTI LAND 20 CHAPTER I. MOHAWK AND EUROPEAN SETTLER COMMUNITIES 23 IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY, 1700-1755 CHAPTER II: DISPOSSESSING THE INDIANS: 87 PROPRIETORS, SQUATTERS, AND NATIVES IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY, 1730-1755 PART II: WAR AND PEACF. CHAPTER HI: "THE STORM WHICH HAD BEEN SO LONG GATHERING": 128 WARFARE AND VIOLENCE ON THE PENNSYLVANIA FRONTIER, 1755-1763 CHAPTER IV: MAINTAINING PEACE ON THE NEW YORK-IROQUOIS 167 BORDERS DURING THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR ERA PART IIL IMPERIAL CRISIS AND REVOLUTIONARY RESOLUTION CHAPTER V: THE TROJAN HORSE OF EMPIRE 215 EPILOGUE: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ON THE NEW YORK- 271 PENNSYLVANIA-SIX NATIONS BORDERS BIBLIOGRAPHY 295 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My gratitude and respect for the many teachers, colleagues, and friends who have shaped my work is ineffable. These terse acknowledgments cannot begin to do them justice. It is impossible for me to imagine a more perfect advisor and mentor than James Axtell. His encouragement, unfailing support, and example as a teacher and scholar have been inspirational. My committee members and mentors, Jim Whittenburg, Kris Lane, and Bill Pencak, greatly improved the dissertation through their insightful and challenging comments. I also offer my thanks to Carol Sheriff, who taught me so much about frontier and western history, and whose example of a professional historian will always be with me. My studies with Mike McGiffert, Melvin Ely, Dale Hoak, Ed Crapol, Ron Hoffman, and the late John Selby also shaped my interpretations. Many institutions have facilitated my research and writing through generous financial support. The College of William and Mary provided a graduate assistantship, sponsored my forays to archives and conferences, and awarded me three fellowships that enabled me to write the dissertation. In 1999,1 received a Larry Hackman Research Grant from the New York State Archives. Until I met Dr. James Folts at the State Archives, I never fully realized how deeply historians are indebted to archivists. He generously shared his consummate knowledge of colonial sources. I also thank the following staff members of the State Archives, New York State Library, and New York State Museum: Bill Evans, Dick Andress, Bill Gorman, Billie Aul, and Steve Bielinski. A fellowship from the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History enabled me to research in the New-York Historical Society’s rich collections in 2001. I especially thank Alyssa Shirley, Michael Ferrer, and Phil Lauer for diligently tracking down manuscripts for me. The staffs of the Pennsylvania State Archives, Pennsylvania Historical Society, and Earl Gregg Swem Library at William and Mary were also invaluable. Andre Senecal of the University of Vermont graciously shared his expertise on the New France-New England borderlands as we visited sites in Quebec, Vermont, and New York in 2000. I also thank Bob Emerson, Director of Old Fort Niagara, for inviting me to give a public lecture in 2001 and for his family’s hospitality during my visit. Many friends either read and commented on various drafts or made this a better work through our conversations and friendships: Mike Simoncelli, Pat O’Neil, Jody Allen, Jim Piecuch, Bill Carrigan, Emily Blanck, Paul Moyer, Jeff McClurken, Dan Ingram, Sharon Sauder Muhlfeld, Steve Feeley, Todd Pfannestiel, Christina Bames, Sharon Romeo, Carla Messenger, James Baker, Cristine Maglieri, Jared and Susan Williams (who provided a home away from home), and my colleagues in the National Park Service. Finally, I wish to thank my beloved parents and brother, whose selfless love, true character, and quiet encouragement and strength have always sustained me. I dedicate this work to them. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Indian-Colonist Murders and Assaults on the New York- 210 Iroquois Borders, 1756-1772 2. Services Provided to Indians by European Settlers 213 During Conferences and Treaties in Colonial New York 3. Indian-Colonist Murders in Greater Pennsylvania and 263 the Ohio Country, 1760-1774 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF MAPS Map Page 1. Schoharie Mohawk Map, 1734 3 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABBREVIATIONS Bouquet Stevens, Sylvester K, Donald H. Kent and Louis M. Waddell, eds. The Papers Papers of Henry Bouquet. 6 vols. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1951-1994. CE Cadwallader Colden Papers. In Collections of the New-York Historical Society. Vols. 9-10, 50-58, 67-68. New York: New-York Historical Society, 1876-77, 1918-25, 1934-35. DHNY O’Callaghan, E.B., ed. Documentary History of the State of New-York. 4 vols. Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co., 1849-1851. dr c h n y O’Callaghan, E.B. and Berthold Femow, eds. Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York. 14 vols. Albany : Weed, Parsons and Co., 1855. ERNY Hastings, Hugh, ed. Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York. 7 vols. Albany: J.B. Lyon, Co., 1902. HNAI Sturtevant, William C„ ed. Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 15, Northeast. Edited by Bruce G. Trigger. Washington, D C : Smithsonian Institution, 1978. HSP Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. IIDH Jennings, Francis, William N. Fenton, Mary A. Druke, and David R. Miller, eds. Iroquois Indians: A Documentary History of the Diplomacy of the Six Nations and Their League. 50 microfilm reels. Woodbridge, Ct.: Research Publications, 1984. ISM Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. 32 vols. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1915-40. MPCP Hazard, Samuel, ed. Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania. 16 vols. Harrisburg: Theophilus Fenn & Co., 1838-1853; vols. 1-3 reprinted, Philadelphia: Jo. Sevems and Co., 1852. NYCM New York Council Minutes, 1668-1783 (1895), New York State Archives NXCMSS New York Colonial Manuscripts, 1638-1800 (A1894), New York State Archives vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NYHS New-York Historical Society, New York City NYSA New York State Archives, Albany, N Y. NYSL New York State Library, Albany, N.Y. EA Pennsylvania Archives. 9 series, 138 vols. Philadelphia and Harrisburg, 1852-1949. PMHB Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography PSA Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, Pa. SWJE Sullivan, James, et. al., eds. The Papers of Sir William Johnson. 14 vols. Albany: State University of New York, 1921-1963. VMHB Virginia Magazine of History and Biography WMO William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd series WPAHM Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT "The Texture of Contact" is a comparative study of cultural interactions between European and Indian settler communities along the Six Nations’ borders with New York and Pennsylvania from 1720 to 1780. It particularly examines "everyday encounters" between ordinary settlers and Indians—a dimension of colonial