[INDIAN TREATY, EASTON CONFERENCE, 1758]. CROGHAN, George (d.1782), Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Document signed ("Geo. Croghan," recto and verso), also signed by CONRAD WEISER (1696-1760), "Provincial Interpreter for Pennsylvania," Henry Montour "commonly called Andrew Montour, the King's Interpreter," AND BY TWENTY-ONE CHIEFTAINS OR SACHEMS of various Eastern tribes, including Thomas King, "an Oneida Chief who spoke at this treaty in behalf of the five Younger Nations," Segosadon or Tagatshata, "a Seneca Chief or Sachem," and Tokahoya "a Cayuga Chief or Sachem" (several additional Sachems have signed additional endorsements on the verso); most of the Indian signatories have used personal marks or totems alongside small red wax seals, the Oneida Tokahoya has added a large drawing of a peace pipe surrounding his name; by this treaty, the Minisinks and Pomptons formally relinquish all claims to the lands constituting the northern portion of the province of New Jersey, in exchange for 1000 Spanish pieces of eight (£375). Signed at Easton, Pennsylvania, 23 October 1758 (additional signatures and endorsements on verso dated 28 October 1758).Large folio (29½ x 27½ in.), ON FINE PARCHMENT, top edge neatly cut in a scalloped pattern, very minor discoloration at center fold, otherwise in excellent condition. Incorporating a carefully drawn map of New Jersey (5½ in. in height), in ink and red-brown watercolor, on which are labelled "The Tract released by the Minisinks" (comprising most of the northern third of the state), and "The Tract released by the Delawares" (comprising the southern two-thirds of the state), with major landmarks including Cape May, Sandy Hook, Paoqualin Mountain and Alamalunk Falls identified.AN IMPORTANT INDIAN TREATY FROM THE FAMOUS EASTON CONFERENCE, 1758, BY WHICH THE NATIVE TRIBES RELINQUISH ALL CLAIM TO THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS IN THE ROYAL COLONY OF NEW JERSEYAn exceptionally attractive document, recording a highly important treaty signed at the great Easton, Pennsylvania Conference of October 1758. This very significant convocation, organized by Croghan, Deputy Superintendant of Indian Affairs, was attended by some 507 Indian Chiefs and elders representing some 15 different woodland tribes. Several treaties were signed at this legendary Conference, including an agreement under which the colony of Pennsylvania returned to the Native American tribes certain lands ceded to them at a previous Conference. At this conference, French influence over the western tribes was significantly weakened, and "at Easton Indian attention was finally gripped by England's promise, approved and confirmed by the English ministry, that the territory west of the [Allegheny] mountains would be thereafter...reserved for Indian use and occupancy and that any former land claims held by any American province were by the same token annulled" (D. Van Every, Forth to the Wilderness: The First American Frontier, 1754-1774,, p. 95)Easton, at the forks of the Delaware River, had become a preferred site for treaty conferences between agents and officials of the British crown, officials of the middle colonies and Chieftains representing the Eastern woodland tribes (similarly, conferences with the more northerly tribes were usually held at Albany or Johnson Hall on the Mohawk River). In August, in response to increasing depredations against New Jersey settlers, particularly in the sparsely settled northwestern portion of the colony, Lt. Governor Francis Bernard addressed a formal message to the Minisink Tribe, and to Teedyuscung, a Delaware Sachem who had assumed a prominent role in recent negotiations with the colonists. In his letter, Bernard deplored "invasions lately made, on the inhabitants of this colony, and much bloodshed by Indians, suppos'd to be those of the Minisink or Pompton, who have resided within this colony" and authorized Teedyuscung to ask the Minisink and Pompton "to desist from hostilities" and to attend the Easton Conference, where "they shall be received in a most friendly manner, and every endeavor shall be used to establish and confirm a friendship between the subjects of our Great King George...and them..." (De Puy 43). Teedyuscung successfully induced representatives of the two tribes to attend the Easton conference at which the present treaty was arranged. The full proceedings of this historic conference were published the same year by Franklin in Philadelphia and by James Parker at Woodbridge, New Jersey (see Evans 8157 & 8377; H.F. Du Puy, Bibliography of the English Colonial Treaties, pp.44 & 45; Siebert Sale 531 & 532). Franklin's edition lists the tribes in attendance: Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, Tuscaroras, Tuteloes, Nanticokes and Conoys, Chugnuts, Delawares, Unamies, Mohicans, and "Minisinks and Wapingers or Pumptons." The Minisink (Minsi or Munsee) and Pompton were powerful sub-tribes of the Delaware or Lenni-Lenape who had been the original owners of the entire territory of present-day New Jersey; the Minisink and Pomptons controlled the section of New Jersey extending from the Raritan River north, as shown on the map.George Croghan, principal organizer of the Easton Conference, is a frontier figure of considerable interest. Born in Ireland, he became the best-known trader on the Pennsylvania frontier, spoke several Indian tongues, and, accepted as a trusted friend of the Indians, he had been made an honorary member of the Supreme Council of the Onandagas in 1746. As a part of England's new effort to combat the pervasive French influence over the Ohio Valley tribes, Croghan had held conferences the previous year in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York. From January to June 1758 he commanded Iroquois detachments guarding the troubled New York borders, then was in charge of Iroquois warriors attached to Abercrombie's Ticonderoga campaign and then joined British General Forbes to aid in preparations for the campaign against Fort Duquesne (Fort Pitt). But "his indispensable service to Forbes was his management of the great Easton conference in October..." (Van Avery, p.95).The great Easton Conference opened on October 11 and reached a climax on October 20. "From the beginning," a recent commentator observes, "the gathering had been a large and confused one, fraught with tension and conflict." The number of tribes in attendance was exceptional, featuring powerful delegations of the western Delawares, a large group of eastern Delawares under Teeduscung and an enormous contingent of Iroquois: "Each of the Six Nations had sent official representatives, and the Onondaga Council had encouraged many of the small nations that lived under its protection--Nanticokes, Tuteloes, Chugnuts, Minisinks, Mahicans, and Wappingers--to send observers..." The Onandaga, "had sent no fewer than three powerful chiefs--the great Oneida orator Thomas King, the Seneca Sachem Tagshata and the Mohawk chief Nichas...(F. Anderson, Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, pp.275-276). The conference was formally concluded on October 25 and 26, with feasting and the presentation of symbolic gifts. "It had been the most important Indian conference in Pennsylvania's history, and its significance was by no means limited to the restoration of peace with the Ohio tribes..." The peace established here facilitated Forbes's later success in driving the French from Fort Dusuqesne, which was a major turning point in the Seven Years' War. On the political and military background, see Anderson, Chapter 28; on Croghan and his unique contribution see Van Avery, pp.58-112.Provenance: After the deed was recorded by provincial secretaries in Perth Amboy and Burlington (as attested by signed endorsements on the verso), this copy of the deed would have been returned to the signers, perhaps Croghan, perhaps the Minisink tribes -- Philip D. Sang (sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 26 April 1978, lot 127).

[INDIAN TREATY, EASTON CONFERENCE, 1758]. CROGHAN, George (d.1782), Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Document signed ("Geo. Croghan," recto and verso), also signed by CONRAD WEISER (1696-1760), "Provincial Interpreter for Pennsylvania," Henry Montour "commonly called Andrew Montour, the King's Interpreter," AND BY TWENTY-ONE CHIEFTAINS OR SACHEMS of various Eastern tribes, including Thomas King, "an Oneida Chief who spoke at this treaty in behalf of the five Younger Nations," Segosadon or Tagatshata, "a Seneca Chief or Sachem," and Tokahoya "a Cayuga Chief or Sachem" (several additional Sachems have signed additional endorsements on the verso); most of the Indian signatories have used personal marks or totems alongside small red wax seals, the Oneida Tokahoya has added a large drawing of a peace pipe surrounding his name; by this treaty, the Minisinks and Pomptons formally relinquish all claims to the lands constituting the northern portion of the province of New Jersey, in exchange for 1000 Spanish pieces of eight (£375). Signed at Easton, Pennsylvania, 23 October 1758 (additional signatures and endorsements on verso dated 28 October 1758). Large folio (29½ x 27½ in.), ON FINE PARCHMENT, top edge neatly cut in a scalloped pattern, very minor discoloration at center fold, otherwise in excellent condition. Incorporating a carefully drawn map of New Jersey (5½ in. in height), in ink and red-brown watercolor, on which are labelled "The Tract released by the Minisinks" (comprising most of the northern third of the state), and "The Tract released by the Delawares" (comprising the southern two-thirds of the state), with major landmarks including Cape May, Sandy Hook, Paoqualin Mountain and Alamalunk Falls identified. AN IMPORTANT INDIAN TREATY FROM THE FAMOUS EASTON CONFERENCE, 1758, BY WHICH THE NATIVE TRIBES RELINQUISH ALL CLAIM TO THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS IN THE ROYAL COLONY OF NEW JERSEY An exceptionally attractive document, recording a highly important treaty signed at the great Easton, Pennsylvania Conference of October 1758. This very significant convocation, organized by Croghan, Deputy Superintendant of Indian Affairs, was attended by some 507 Indian Chiefs and elders representing some 15 different woodland tribes. Several treaties were signed at this legendary Conference, including an agreement under which the colony of Pennsylvania returned to the Native American tribes certain lands ceded to them at a previous Conference. At this conference, French influence over the western tribes was significantly weakened, and "at Easton Indian attention was finally gripped by England's promise, approved and confirmed by the English ministry, that the territory west of the [Allegheny] mountains would be thereafter...reserved for Indian use and occupancy and that any former land claims held by any American province were by the same token annulled" (D. Van Every, Forth to the Wilderness: The First American Frontier, 1754-1774,, p. 95) Easton, at the forks of the Delaware River, had become a preferred site for treaty conferences between agents and officials of the British crown, officials of the middle colonies and Chieftains representing the Eastern woodland tribes (similarly, conferences with the more northerly tribes were usually held at Albany or Johnson Hall on the Mohawk River). In August, in response to increasing depredations against New Jersey settlers, particularly in the sparsely settled northwestern portion of the colony, Lt. Governor Francis Bernard addressed a formal message to the Minisink Tribe, and to Teedyuscung, a Delaware Sachem who had assumed a prominent role in recent negotiations with the colonists. In his letter, Bernard deplored "invasions lately made, on the inhabitants of this colony, and much bloodshed by Indians, suppos'd to be those of the Minisink or Pompton, who have resided within this colony" and authorized Teedyuscung to ask the Minisink and Pompton "to desist from hostilities" and to attend the Easton Conference, where "they shall be received in a most friendly manner, and every endeavor shall be used to establish and confirm a friendship between the subjects of our Great King George...and them..." (De Puy 43). Teedyuscung successfully induced representatives of the two tribes to attend the Easton conference at which the present treaty was arranged. The full proceedings of this historic conference were published the same year by Franklin in Philadelphia and by James Parker at Woodbridge, New Jersey (see Evans 8157 & 8377; H.F. Du Puy, Bibliography of the English Colonial Treaties, pp.44 & 45; Siebert Sale 531 & 532). Franklin's edition lists the tribes in attendance: Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, Tuscaroras, Tuteloes, Nanticokes and Conoys, Chugnuts, Delawares, Unamies, Mohicans, and "Minisinks and Wapingers or Pumptons." The Minisink (Minsi or Munsee) and Pompton were powerful sub-tribes of the Delaware or Lenni-Lenape who had been the original owners of the entire territory of present-day New Jersey; the Minisink and Pomptons controlled the section of New Jersey extending from the Raritan River north, as shown on the map. George Croghan, principal organizer of the Easton Conference, is a frontier figure of considerable interest. Born in Ireland, he became the best-known trader on the Pennsylvania frontier, spoke several Indian tongues, and, accepted as a trusted friend of the Indians, he had been made an honorary member of the Supreme Council of the Onandagas in 1746. As a part of England's new effort to combat the pervasive French influence over the Ohio Valley tribes, Croghan had held conferences the previous year in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York. From January to June 1758 he commanded Iroquois detachments guarding the troubled New York borders, then was in charge of Iroquois warriors attached to Abercrombie's Ticonderoga campaign and then joined British General Forbes to aid in preparations for the campaign against Fort Duquesne (Fort Pitt). But "his indispensable service to Forbes was his management of the great Easton conference in October..." (Van Avery, p.95). The great Easton Conference opened on October 11 and reached a climax on October 20. "From the beginning," a recent commentator observes, "the gathering had been a large and confused one, fraught with tension and conflict." The number of tribes in attendance was exceptional, featuring powerful delegations of the western Delawares, a large group of eastern Delawares under Teeduscung and an enormous contingent of Iroquois: "Each of the Six Nations had sent official representatives, and the Onondaga Council had encouraged many of the small nations that lived under its protection--Nanticokes, Tuteloes, Chugnuts, Minisinks, Mahicans, and Wappingers--to send observers..." The Onandaga, "had sent no fewer than three powerful chiefs--the great Oneida orator Thomas King, the Seneca Sachem Tagshata and the Mohawk chief Nichas...(F. Anderson, Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, pp.275-276). The conference was formally concluded on October 25 and 26, with feasting and the presentation of symbolic gifts. "It had been the most important Indian conference in Pennsylvania's history, and its significance was by no means limited to the restoration of peace with the Ohio tribes..." The peace established here facilitated Forbes's later success in driving the French from Fort Dusuqesne, which was a major turning point in the Seven Years' War. On the political and military background, see Anderson, Chapter 28; on Croghan and his unique contribution see Van Avery, pp.58-112. Provenance: After the deed was recorded by provincial secretaries in Perth Amboy and Burlington (as attested by signed endorsements on the verso), this copy of the deed would have been returned to the signers, perhaps Croghan, perhaps the Minisink tribes -- Philip D. Sang (sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 26 April 1978, lot 127).

Details

[INDIAN TREATY, EASTON CONFERENCE, 1758]. CROGHAN, George (d.1782), Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Document signed ("Geo. Croghan," recto and verso), also signed by CONRAD WEISER (1696-1760), "Provincial Interpreter for Pennsylvania," Henry Montour "commonly called Andrew Montour, the King's Interpreter," AND BY TWENTY-ONE CHIEFTAINS OR SACHEMS of various Eastern tribes, including Thomas King, "an Oneida Chief who spoke at this treaty in behalf of the five Younger Nations," Segosadon or Tagatshata, "a Seneca Chief or Sachem," and Tokahoya "a Cayuga Chief or Sachem" (several additional Sachems have signed additional endorsements on the verso); most of the Indian signatories have used personal marks or totems alongside small red wax seals, the Oneida Tokahoya has added a large drawing of a peace pipe surrounding his name; by this treaty, the Minisinks and Pomptons formally relinquish all claims to the lands constituting the northern portion of the province of New Jersey, in exchange for 1000 Spanish pieces of eight (£375). Signed at Easton, Pennsylvania, 23 October 1758 (additional signatures and endorsements on verso dated 28 October 1758).

Large folio (29½ x 27½ in.), ON FINE PARCHMENT, top edge neatly cut in a scalloped pattern, very minor discoloration at center fold, otherwise in excellent condition. Incorporating a carefully drawn map of New Jersey (5½ in. in height), in ink and red-brown watercolor, on which are labelled "The Tract released by the Minisinks" (comprising most of the northern third of the state), and "The Tract released by the Delawares" (comprising the southern two-thirds of the state), with major landmarks including Cape May, Sandy Hook, Paoqualin Mountain and Alamalunk Falls identified.

AN IMPORTANT INDIAN TREATY FROM THE FAMOUS EASTON CONFERENCE, 1758, BY WHICH THE NATIVE TRIBES RELINQUISH ALL CLAIM TO THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS IN THE ROYAL COLONY OF NEW JERSEY

An exceptionally attractive document, recording a highly important treaty signed at the great Easton, Pennsylvania Conference of October 1758. This very significant convocation, organized by Croghan, Deputy Superintendant of Indian Affairs, was attended by some 507 Indian Chiefs and elders representing some 15 different woodland tribes. Several treaties were signed at this legendary Conference, including an agreement under which the colony of Pennsylvania returned to the Native American tribes certain lands ceded to them at a previous Conference. At this conference, French influence over the western tribes was significantly weakened, and "at Easton Indian attention was finally gripped by England's promise, approved and confirmed by the English ministry, that the territory west of the [Allegheny] mountains would be thereafter...reserved for Indian use and occupancy and that any former land claims held by any American province were by the same token annulled" (D. Van Every, Forth to the Wilderness: The First American Frontier, 1754-1774,, p. 95)

Easton, at the forks of the Delaware River, had become a preferred site for treaty conferences between agents and officials of the British crown, officials of the middle colonies and Chieftains representing the Eastern woodland tribes (similarly, conferences with the more northerly tribes were usually held at Albany or Johnson Hall on the Mohawk River). In August, in response to increasing depredations against New Jersey settlers, particularly in the sparsely settled northwestern portion of the colony, Lt. Governor Francis Bernard addressed a formal message to the Minisink Tribe, and to Teedyuscung, a Delaware Sachem who had assumed a prominent role in recent negotiations with the colonists. In his letter, Bernard deplored "invasions lately made, on the inhabitants of this colony, and much bloodshed by Indians, suppos'd to be those of the Minisink or Pompton, who have resided within this colony" and authorized Teedyuscung to ask the Minisink and Pompton "to desist from hostilities" and to attend the Easton Conference, where "they shall be received in a most friendly manner, and every endeavor shall be used to establish and confirm a friendship between the subjects of our Great King George...and them..." (De Puy 43). Teedyuscung successfully induced representatives of the two tribes to attend the Easton conference at which the present treaty was arranged. The full proceedings of this historic conference were published the same year by Franklin in Philadelphia and by James Parker at Woodbridge, New Jersey (see Evans 8157 & 8377; H.F. Du Puy, Bibliography of the English Colonial Treaties, pp.44 & 45; Siebert Sale 531 & 532). Franklin's edition lists the tribes in attendance: Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, Tuscaroras, Tuteloes, Nanticokes and Conoys, Chugnuts, Delawares, Unamies, Mohicans, and "Minisinks and Wapingers or Pumptons." The Minisink (Minsi or Munsee) and Pompton were powerful sub-tribes of the Delaware or Lenni-Lenape who had been the original owners of the entire territory of present-day New Jersey; the Minisink and Pomptons controlled the section of New Jersey extending from the Raritan River north, as shown on the map.

George Croghan, principal organizer of the Easton Conference, is a frontier figure of considerable interest. Born in Ireland, he became the best-known trader on the Pennsylvania frontier, spoke several Indian tongues, and, accepted as a trusted friend of the Indians, he had been made an honorary member of the Supreme Council of the Onandagas in 1746. As a part of England's new effort to combat the pervasive French influence over the Ohio Valley tribes, Croghan had held conferences the previous year in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York. From January to June 1758 he commanded Iroquois detachments guarding the troubled New York borders, then was in charge of Iroquois warriors attached to Abercrombie's Ticonderoga campaign and then joined British General Forbes to aid in preparations for the campaign against Fort Duquesne (Fort Pitt). But "his indispensable service to Forbes was his management of the great Easton conference in October..." (Van Avery, p.95).

The great Easton Conference opened on October 11 and reached a climax on October 20. "From the beginning," a recent commentator observes, "the gathering had been a large and confused one, fraught with tension and conflict." The number of tribes in attendance was exceptional, featuring powerful delegations of the western Delawares, a large group of eastern Delawares under Teeduscung and an enormous contingent of Iroquois: "Each of the Six Nations had sent official representatives, and the Onondaga Council had encouraged many of the small nations that lived under its protection--Nanticokes, Tuteloes, Chugnuts, Minisinks, Mahicans, and Wappingers--to send observers..." The Onandaga, "had sent no fewer than three powerful chiefs--the great Oneida orator Thomas King, the Seneca Sachem Tagshata and the Mohawk chief Nichas...(F. Anderson, Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, pp.275-276). The conference was formally concluded on October 25 and 26, with feasting and the presentation of symbolic gifts. "It had been the most important Indian conference in Pennsylvania's history, and its significance was by no means limited to the restoration of peace with the Ohio tribes..." The peace established here facilitated Forbes's later success in driving the French from Fort Dusuqesne, which was a major turning point in the Seven Years' War. On the political and military background, see Anderson, Chapter 28; on Croghan and his unique contribution see Van Avery, pp.58-112.

Provenance: After the deed was recorded by provincial secretaries in Perth Amboy and Burlington (as attested by signed endorsements on the verso), this copy of the deed would have been returned to the signers, perhaps Croghan, perhaps the Minisink tribes -- Philip D. Sang (sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 26 April 1978, lot 127).

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