RICHARD PETERS'(C. 1704-1776): PROVINCIAL' SECRETARY of PENNSYLVANIA by Joseph Harrison Fairbanks, Jr. . a Dissertation Submitte
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Richard Peters (c. 1704-1776): Provincial Secretary of Pennsylvania Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Fairbanks, Joseph Harrison, 1931- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 06/10/2021 11:18:32 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/565257 RICHARD PETERS'(c. 1704-1776): PROVINCIAL' SECRETARY OF PENNSYLVANIA by Joseph Harrison Fairbanks, Jr. A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 7 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Joseph Harrison Fairbanks, Jr._____________ entitled RICHARD PETERS (c. 1704-1776): PROVINCIAL SECRETARY OF PENNSYLVANIA be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of _______ DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY _______________________ .ssertation Director Date After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:* / y./?73- f 5_S This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. © 1972 JOSEPH HARRISON FAIRBANKS, JR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ill ) ■ ... To my Mother and Father iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebted to a number of people who aided me in the preparation of this dissertation. I wish to thank Dr. Jack D. Marietta, my director, whose unfailing good humor and keen critical eye contributed greatly to this project. I owe special thanks to another member of my doctoral committee, Dr. Herman E. Bateman, who has been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration throughout my graduate career. I also wish to express my gratitude to Drs. Roger L. Nichols, Richard A. Cosgrove, and Walter W. Davis, all of whom contributed considerable time and effort in my behalf.' My research for this dissertation was aided immeasurably by the generous Pre-Doctoral Dissertation ; Fellowship awarded me by The University of Arizona. In addition, I owe thanks to the friendly and efficient staffs at The University of Arizona Library, The University of Pennsylvania Library, The Historical Society of Pennsyl vania, The American Philosophical Society, and the Library of Congress. Finally, I wish most of all to thank my family. The patience and understanding shown by my wife and daughters not only made this project possible, but worthwhile. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ■ ^^33 ST 33^^CT - e ® ®-'o ® ® e o . o ' ® o o e o o e o o- o o © © V r 3- 3 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION © © © © ■© © 1 II© RICHARD PETERS „ © ©' -. © ©' .......... 10 III® . APPRENTICESHIP ©.©©.„©. ©©..©.. © 37 IV® PROPRIETARY SECRETARY © . © ©©...©. 61 V© PROVINCIAL SECRETARY , © . © © © © . © © © .©. © © . 79 VI© INDIAN AGENT © „ © .; © . © © © © © . © © © ©• © 107 VII. THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 130 VIII. GOVERNOR WILLIAM DENNY ..©.©©.©©.„. 160 IX© THE EASTON CONFERENCE OF 1758 „....©©.. 189 X© WAR SECRETARY © © © © © © © © . 210 XI© RETURN TO THE CLERGY © © © © © © © © © © © © © 234 REFERENCES © © © © © © ©■ © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 2 54 vi ABSTRACT Richard Peters was one of the most versatile and influential men in provincial Pennsylvania in the middle of the eighteenth century. An Anglican priest, he fled from England to Pennsylvania in 1735 to escape an inadvertent bigamous marriage. After a brief and unsuccessful stint as a clergyman in Philadelphia, in 1737 he accepted appointment as Proprietary Secretary of Pennsylvania, a post offered to him by his friend, Proprietor Thomas Penn. In this posi tion, which he held until 1760, he managed the Penn family's land holdings in Pennsylvania and. New Jersey, supervised the provincial Land Office, and directed the leasing of Pro prietary lands. Moreover, he represented the Penns on three separate occasions as a commissioner for running the dis puted boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Peters served the Proprietary family in other ways. He was their chief adviser and primary source of information about provincial affairs. After Thomas Penn left the colony in 1741, the Proprietors managed their huge holdings in North America through a variety of officials and agents. From 1741 to 1763, Peters was their most trusted agent in Pennsylvania. Lacking him, or an equally reliable official, probably Penn would have been forced to live in Pennsylvania in order to administer his family's affairs. vii In 1743, Governor George Thomas appointed Peters to his second important office in Pennsylvania. In his new post, as Provincial Secretary and Clerk of the Provincial Council, Peters participated in Council meetings, served as the Governor's secretary, and became more directly involved in the political struggles that divided the Proprietors' representatives' and the Provincial Assembly, dominated by the Quaker Party. Peters became a "member" of the informal group known,as the Proprietary party, but, particularly after 1748, did not play a leading role in this group, nor did he endorse all of its political goals. Rather, he attempted to mediate between the divisive political factions in the province, and arranged some significant compromises. A further aspect of Peters' career in Pennsylvania public life was his supervision of Indian diplomacy. Tutored by James Logan, Conrad Weiser, and George Croghan, he attended many of the more important Indian conferences held in North America during this period. These meetings included the Lancaster Conferences of 1748 and 1762, the Albany Congress of 1754, and the Easton Conferences of 1756, 1757, and 1758. He managed both Proprietary and provincial Indian affairs, and supervised the purchase of several huge tracts of Indian land for the Penn family^ After 1748, when Governor James Hamilton appointed Peters to the Provincial ■Council, the Secretary frequently represented thi-s body in official negotiations with the Six Nations and other tribes. ■ ' ■ ' ■ ix The climax of Peters' public career occurred during the French and Indian War. Because of the lack of ability of two of the Penns' deputy-Governors, in particular the erratic William Denny (1756-1759), Peters assumed many of the duties performed normally by the chief executive of the province, and helped to stabilize' the faction-torn govern ment of Pennsylvania. When Denny sold, out to the Provincial Assembly and passed a large body of legislation in violation of his instructions from the Proprietors, Peters, held the . government together and prevented the coalition of the Governor and Assembly from destroying the Penns' influence in the province. Later, Peters' evidence against Denny enabled Thomas Penn to secure the disallowance by the Privy Council of most of the Governor's legislation. In 1760, Peters began to resign his various secular appointments, and in 1763 he resumed his former career in the clergy as the rector of Christ Church and St. Peter's Church, Phila delphia. He died on July 10, 1776. A. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In 1825, The Reverend Richard Peters' nephew wrote that "to give an account of his [uncle's] transactions whilst he held [his] Offices; would be .to give the History of Pennsylvania during that period." Even after making allowances for familial pride,, when Peters! life is examined, this evaluation proves essentially correct. For twenty-five years, from 1737 to 1763, Peters was one of the most influential figures in Pennsylvania, holding during that period the positions of Proprietary Secretary, . Provincial Secretary, and Clerk and member of the Provincial Council. Moreover, he served the province as its chief negotiator with the Indians during much of this time, which encompassed the French and Indian War. These multiple offices placed manifold responsibilities in Peters' hands, and there were few significant events that took place in Pennsylvania during that time in which he did not take part^ Peters' influence extended beyond Pennsylvania, because he was the principal advisor and major source of information on provincial affairs for the Proprietary family. The Penns made many of their decisions based upon Peters' counsel and information. Moreover, occasionally ■ 1 ; ' ■ ■ - 2 Penn transmitted his Secretary's information and suggestions to such high officials as Prime Minister William Pitt, and Lord Halifax, the President of the Board of Trade. If, as has been said, a man's status can be deter mined by the company he keeps, Peters