Phelps and Gorham Purchase

2025-10-01T20:14:13Z

2605:59C8:2614:1510:CDBD:D7C9:4533:A404: /* Origins and background */ The text included a link to the 'Five Civilized Nations' of the south-east. The reference should have been to the 'Five Nations' (later six) of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy.

{{Short description|1788 Massachusetts / New York land transfer}}
[[File:Phelps gorham purchase.png|thumb|Map of Phelps and Gorham Purchase 1802–1806]]

The '''Phelps and Gorham Purchase''' was the 1788 sale by the state of [[Massachusetts]] of its [[preemptive right]] to a portion of a large tract of land in western [[New York (state)|New York State]] owned by the [[Seneca Nation of New York|Seneca nation]] of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]] to a syndicate of land developers led by [[Oliver Phelps (politician)|Oliver Phelps]] and [[Nathaniel Gorham]]. The larger tract of land is generally known as the "Genesee tract" and roughly encompasses all that portion of New York State west of [[Seneca Lake (New York)|Seneca Lake]], consisting of about {{convert|6000000|acres|sqkm}}.

According to the [[Treaty of Hartford (1786)]], it was agreed that the Genesee tract was owned by the Senecas, was a part of and under the jurisdiction of New York State, and that [[Massachusetts]] had the preemptive right to purchase the land from the Senecas. In other words, the Senecas could sell the land only to the owner of those preemptive rights (unless those rights were relinquished), and that those rights were owned by Massachusetts.

In 1788, Phelps and Gorham purchased these preemptive rights to the Genesee tract from Massachusetts for about $1,000,000 ([[Pound sterling|£]]300,000), to be paid in three annual installments. Some sources refer to this purchase of preemptive rights as the "Phelps and Gorham purchase". On July 8, 1788, at the [[First Treaty of Buffalo Creek]], Phelps and Gorham petitioned the Senecas to sell them the entire parcel, but the Senecas agreed to sell only the easternmost third of the tract, for $5000 and a perpetual annuity of $500 per year. This portion consisted of about {{convert|2250000|acres|sqkm}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bostonraremaps.com/inventory/phelps-and-gorham-purchase/ |title=Rare 18th-century map of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase |date=8 March 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116181348/https://bostonraremaps.com/inventory/phelps-and-gorham-purchase/ |archive-date=2017-11-16 }}</ref> east of the [[Genesee River]] plus the {{convert|12|mi}} by {{convert|24|mi}} Mill Yard Tract along the river's northwestern bank.

Within a year, monetary values rose and, in combination with poor sales, the syndicate was unable to make the second of three payments for the land west of the Genesee River, forcing them to default on exercising the remainder of the purchase agreement. They were also forced to sell at a discount much of the land they had already bought title to but had not yet re-sold; it was purchased by [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]] of [[Philadelphia]], financier, U.S. [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]], and [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]].

== Origins and background ==
{{main|Sullivan Expedition}}
[[File:General John Sullivan and General James Clinton Plaque Detail.JPG|thumb|[[James Clinton]] and [[John Sullivan (general)|John Sullivan]], leaders of the [[Sullivan Expedition]]]]
Much of the land south of the [[St. Lawrence River]] and [[Lake Ontario]], and west of the [[Hudson River]], had been occupied by the [[Iroquoian]]-speaking Five Nations of the [[Haudenosaunee|Iroquois Confederacy]] before any encounter with Europeans. [[Archaeological]] evidence suggests that Iroquoian peoples lived in the [[Finger Lakes region]] from at least 1000 CE; the nations known to the colonists are believed to have coalesced after that time, and formed their confederacy for internal peace among them.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jennings |first=Francis |author-link=Francis Jennings |title=Empire of Fortune: Crown, Colonies, and Tribes in the Seven Years War in America |publisher=Norton |location=New York |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsBPyRfdHEAC&pg=PA259 |isbn=0-393-30640-2 |page=259 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231121857/https://books.google.com/books?id=VsBPyRfdHEAC&pg=PA259 |archive-date=2016-12-31 }}</ref>

The [[Mohawk nation|Mohawk]] were the easternmost Iroquois tribe, occupying much of the [[Mohawk Valley]] west of [[Albany, New York|Albany]]. The [[Onondaga (tribe)|Onondaga]] and [[Oneida tribe|Oneida]] tribes lived near the eastern edge of this region of land purchases, closer to their namesake lakes, [[Lake Oneida]] and [[Onondaga Lake]]. (Onondaga territory had extended up to Lake Ontario). The [[Cayuga people|Cayuga]] and [[Seneca people|Seneca]] nations lived to the west in the [[Finger Lakes]] region, with the Seneca the westernmost tribe.

Major Iroquois towns in the Finger Lakes region included the Seneca town of [[Geneseo (town), New York|''Gen-nis-he-yo'']] in present-day [[Geneseo, New York|Geneseo]], ''[[Kanadaseaga]]'' near present-day [[Geneva, New York|Geneva]], ''[[Goiogouen]]'' (Cayuga Castle, east of [[Cayuga Lake]]), ''[[Chonodote]]'', Cayuga town in present-day [[Aurora, Cayuga County, New York|Aurora]], and [[Catherine's Town (Seneca town)|Catherine's Town]] near present-day [[Watkins Glen, New York|Watkins Glen]].

The Iroquois nations had earlier formed a decentralized political and diplomatic [[Iroquois|Iroquois Confederacy]]. Allied as one of the most powerful Indian confederacies during colonial times, the Iroquois prevented most European colonization west of the middle of the Mohawk Valley and in the Finger Lakes region for nearly two centuries after first contact.

During the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial era]], some smaller tribes moved into the Finger Lakes region, seeking the protection of the Iroquois. In about 1720, the [[Tuscarora (tribe)|Tuscarora]] tribe arrived, having migrated from the Carolinas after defeat by European colonists and Indian allies. They were also Iroquoian-speaking and were accepted as "cousins", forming the Sixth Nation of the Confederacy.

In 1753 remnants of several Virginia [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] tribes, collectively called the [[Tutelo]]-[[Saponi]], moved to the town of [[Coreorgonel]] at the south end of Cayuga Lake (near present-day Ithaca). They lived there until 1779, when their village was destroyed during the Revolutionary War by allied rebel forces.

The French colonized northern areas, moving in along the St. Lawrence River from early trading posts among [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking tribes on the Atlantic Coast; they founded [[Quebec, Canada|Quebec]] in 1608. When [[Samuel de Champlain]] explored the St. Lawrence River, he claimed the region [[New France|French Canada]] as including Western New York. The French sent traders and missionaries there, but ceded any claim in 1759 during the [[French and Indian War]], the North American front of the [[Seven Years' War]], in which they were defeated by Great Britain.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_TUX698v8KGkC |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_TUX698v8KGkC/page/n258 246] |title=History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps & Gorham's Purchase, and Morris' Reserve |first=Orsamus |last=Turner |year=1852 |publisher=William Alling |location=Rochester, New York }}</ref>

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], four of the six Iroquois nations allied with the British, hoping to push American colonists out of their territory. The Oneida and the Tuscarora became allies of the rebel Americans. Within each tribe, there were often members on either side of the war, as the tribes were highly decentralized. Led by [[Joseph Brant]], a war leader of the Mohawk, numerous Iroquois warriors joined in British attacks against the rebels, particularly in the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys. They attacked and killed settlers, took some women and children as captives, drove off their livestock, and burned their houses and barns.<ref name=sullivan/> The Iroquois resisted colonists encroaching into their territory, which roughly comprised the Allegheny, Genesee, Upper Susquehanna, and Chemung river basins. The Iroquois nations also raided American settlements in [[Western New York]] and along the [[Susquehanna River]].<ref name=sullivan/>

The colonists were angry and hungry for retaliation. In response, on July 31, 1779, [[George Washington]], who was then commanding the [[Continental Army]], ordered Gen. [[James Clinton]] and Gen. [[John Sullivan (general)|John Sullivan]] to march from Pennsylvania near present-day [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]] to the [[Finger Lakes]] area of [[New York (state)|New York]]. The campaign involved mobilizing 6,200 Colonial Army troops, which represented about 25% of the entire rebel army at the time.<ref name=spiegelman>{{cite web|last=Spiegelman|first=Bob|title=Sullican / Clinton Campaign|url=http://www.sullivanclinton.com/|access-date=31 December 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117135122/http://sullivanclinton.com/|archive-date=17 January 2013}}</ref> Their orders were to

<blockquote>destroy all Indian villages and crops belonging to the six nations, to engage the Indian and Tory marauders under Brandt and Butler whenever possible, and to drive them so far west that future raids would be impossible.<ref name=sullivan/></blockquote>

Sullivan led his army on an [[Sullivan Expedition|expedition]] with the goal of subduing the Iroquois in the region. Although they did not kill many Natives, his forces destroyed much of the Iroquois homelands, including 40 villages such as the major Cayuga villages of [[Goiogouen|Cayuga Castle]] and ''[[Chonodote]]'' (Peachtown) and their surrounding fields. In the area from Albany to Niagara, they emptied their winter stores, which included at least 160,000 [[bushel]]s of stored corn along "with a vast quantity of vegetables of every kind".<ref name=spiegelman/> These actions denied both the Iroquois and the British the food needed to sustain their war effort. The formerly self-sufficient Iroquois fled as refugees, gathering at [[Fort Niagara]] to seek food from the British. Weakened by their ordeal and famine, thousands of Iroquois died of starvation and disease. Their warriors no longer were a major factor in the war. The Continental Army took heart from their punishment of the Iroquois on the frontier.<ref name=sullivan/>

During their advance west, Sullivan's army took a route to New York through northeast Pennsylvania. They had to cut a new road through lightly inhabited areas of the [[Pocono Mountains]] (this trail is known today as "Sullivan's Trail"). When the troops returned to Pennsylvania, they told very favorable stories of the region that impressed potential settlers.<ref name=sullivan>{{cite web|title=Gen. Sullivan's 1779 Campaign Against the Iroqouis|url=http://www.joycetice.com/articles/sullcamp.htm|publisher=The Daily and Sunday Review|access-date=31 December 2012|year=2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720093913/http://www.joycetice.com/articles/sullcamp.htm|archive-date=20 July 2012}}</ref>

== Treaty of Hartford ==
{{main|Treaty of Hartford (1786)}}
Following the [[American Revolution]], there were a confusing collection of contradictory royal charters from [[James VI and I|James I]], [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], and [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], mixed with a succession of treaties with the Dutch and with the Indians, which made the legal situation for land sales intractable.<ref name=henry>{{cite web|last=Henry|first=Marian S.|title=The Phelps-Gorham Purchase|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227102401/http://www.americanancestors.org/the-phelps-gorham-purchase/|archive-date=February 27, 2014|url=http://www.americanancestors.org/the-phelps-gorham-purchase/ |date= February 25, 2000|access-date=December 31, 2012}}</ref> Following the war, Great Britain ceded all its claims to the territory, including lands controlled by the Iroquois, who were not consulted.

To stimulate settlement, the federal government planned to release much of these millions of acres of land for sale. Before that could happen, New York and Massachusetts had to settle their competing claims for a region west of New York. (Massachusetts' colonial claim had extended west without end.) The two states signed the [[Treaty of Hartford (1786)|Treaty of Hartford]] in December 1786. With the treaty, Massachusetts ceded its claim to the United States government, and sovereignty and jurisdiction of the region to New York State.

The treaty established Massachusett's [[Pre-emption right|pre-emptive rights]] right to negotiate with the Iroquois nations for their [[Aboriginal title in New York|aboriginal title]] to the land ahead of New York, and also gave the two states the exclusive rights ahead of individuals to buy the land. Anyone else who wanted to purchase title to or ownership of land from the Iroquois was required to first obtain Massachusetts' approval.<ref name=henry/>

After the adoption of the [[United States Constitution]] in 1787, the federal government ratified the states' compact.<ref name="s285">''Seneca Nation'', 162 U.S. at 285</ref> In April 1788, Phelps and Gorham bought the preemptive rights from Massachusetts, but this did not get them the right to develop or re-sell the land. They only obtained exclusive right to negotiate with the Iroquois and obtain clear [[Title (property)|title]] to the land. For this preemptive right, they paid Massachusetts $1,000,000 (£300,000) (about ${{Inflation|US|1|1788|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}})). This was to be paid in three annual installments.<ref name=nyroots/>

By an act of the Massachusetts Legislature approved April 1, 1788,<ref name=resolves/> it was provided that "this Commonwealth doth hereby agree, to grant, sell & convey to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, for a purchase price of $1,000,000, payable in three equal annual installments all the Right, Title & Demand, which the said Commonwealth has in & to the said 'Western Territory' ceded to it by the Treaty of Hartford."<ref name=resolves>{{cite book|title=Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court|year=1893|publisher=Adams & Nourse|location=Boston|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J0axAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA901|pages=900–901|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705093102/http://books.google.com/books?id=J0axAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA901|archive-date=2014-07-05}}</ref> But first Phelps and Gorham had to go up against competing companies and persuade the Iroquois to give up their title to the land.

== Council at Buffalo Creek ==
The New York Genesee Land Company, led by John Livingston, was one of the competitors to acquire title to these lands. He gathered several of the chiefs together at Geneva. To circumvent New York state law that only permitted the state to buy land from the natives, he negotiated a lease{{when|date=July 2025}} for a term of 999 years for all the Iroquois lands of Western New York. This included a down payment of $20,000 and an annual payment of $200 to their heirs. But when New York state learned of his agreement, it advised all parties including the natives that the lease had no standing in either Massachusetts or New York.<ref name=rochesterlib/>

Another competitor was the Niagara Genesee Land Company formed by Colonel [[John Butler (pioneer)|John Butler]], [[Samuel Street]], and other Tory friends of the Iroquois. They tried to persuade the Iroquois to grant them a lease.{{when|date=July 2025}} Some proposed that an independent state be created in western New York.<ref name=rochesterlib/><ref name=robortella>Robortella, John M. [http://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/101_135/131spring2004/131robortella.html Steps West: The Field Notes of Col. Hugh Maxwell's Pre-emption Line Survey in the Phelps and Gorham Purchase] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029103218/http://crookedlakereview.com/articles/101_135/131spring2004/131robortella.html |date=2010-10-29 }}</ref>

Phelps eliminated many of his competitors by persuading them to join his syndicate. Phelps and Gorham retained 82 shares for themselves, sold 15 shares to the Niagara Genesee Land Company, and divided another 23 shares among 21 persons.<ref name=milliken/>

On July 8, 1788, Phelps met with the original Five Nations of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]], including the [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]], [[Oneida people|Oneida]], [[Onondaga people|Onondaga]], [[Cayuga people|Cayuga]], and [[Seneca people|Seneca]] nations, at [[Buffalo River (New York)|Buffalo Creek]]. His goal was to execute a deed or treaty and obtain title to a portion of their land.<ref name="RochesterHistoryPhelps">{{cite journal |last=McKeveley |first=Blake |date=January 1939 |title=Historic Aspects of the Phelps and Gorham Treaty of July 4–8, 1788 |journal=Rochester History |volume=1 |issue=1 |publisher=Rochester Public Library |issn=0035-7413 |url=http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf |access-date=2008-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203025006/http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf |archive-date=2007-12-03 }}</ref> The Oneida were split by internal divisions over whether they should give up their title.<ref name=hauptman>{{cite book |editor-last=Hauptman |editor-first=Laurence M. |title=The Oneida Indian Journey: From New York to Wisconsin, 1784 - 1860|year=1999|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison, Wisconsin|isbn=978-0299161446 |editor2=L. Gordon McLester III}}</ref>

=== Missionary influence ===
Phelps was aided by [[Samuel Kirkland]], a Presbyterian minister and [[missionary]] among the Oneida. Kirkland had been appointed by the state of Massachusetts to oversee the transaction. Kirkland had previously taken part in six prior illegal land treaties made by individual states with the Indians, in violation of federal authority over Indian affairs. Only the US government had the authority to make treaties with the Native American nations.

Kirkland encouraged the Oneida and other Iroquois to sell their land to the whites in part because he was convinced that they "would never become farmers unless forced to by the loss of land for hunting."<ref name=hauptman/> Kirkland also benefitted from the land sales, receiving {{convert|6000|acre|sqkm|adj=on}} around present day [[Utica, New York|Utica]] from New York State and from the Oneida people. Kirkland was determined to build the Hamilton-Oneida Academy and needed financial support from the wealthy land speculators.<ref name=hauptman/> In November 1790, some Iroquois, including [[Cornplanter]], accused Phelps, Kirkland, and the Mohawk chief [[Joseph Brant]] of altering deeds in order to favor Phelps.<ref name=hauptman/>

=== Land ownership ===
The Indians believed they were owners of the land, but Phelps persuaded the Chiefs that, since they had been allies to the defeated British during the Revolutionary War, and since the British had given up the lands in the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|1783 peace treaty]], the tribes could expect to retain only the lands granted by the United States.<ref name=rochesterlib>{{cite web|last=McKelvey|first=Blake|title=Rochester History|url=http://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf|publisher=Rochester Library|access-date=28 December 2012|date=January 1939|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231945/http://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> Phelps and Gorham wanted to buy {{convert|2600000|acre|km2|adj=on}}, but the Iroquois refused to sell it all.

=== Mill Yard Tract ===
Phelps suggested that the Iroquois could use a grist mill to grind their maize which would relieve the women of the grinding work. The Indians asked how much land was needed for a grist mill, and Phelps suggested a huge section of land, {{cvt|185000|acre|km2}}, west of the [[Genesee River]]. west of the Genesee River, much larger than actually required, extending west from the river {{convert|12|miles}}, running south from [[Lake Ontario]] approximately {{convert|24|miles}}, and totaling about {{convert|288|sqmi}}. The section stretches from near the present-day town of [[Avon, New York|Avon]] north to the community of [[Charlotte, Rochester, New York|Charlotte]] at [[Lake Ontario]] and encompasses [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]]. The Iroquois agreed.

After acquiring the parcel, Phelps and Gorham gave {{convert|100|acre|km2 sqmi}} at the high falls of the Genesee River to [[Ebenezer Allen (Vermont politician)|Ebenezer "Indian" Allen]], on the condition that he build the grist mill and sawmill. The grist mill was distant from potential customers—only about 25 families lived on the west bank at the time—and there were no roads going to it from the few nearby farms on the west bank of the river. It never prospered.<ref>{{cite web|last=Merrill|first=Arch|title=Pioneer Profiles|url=http://mcnygenealogy.com/book/pioneer-profiles-3.htm|access-date=28 December 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206020308/http://mcnygenealogy.com/book/pioneer-profiles-3.htm|archive-date=6 February 2011}}</ref> Allen's tract became the nucleus of modern [[Rochester, Monroe County, New York|Rochester, New York]]. The section of land on the west bank of the Genesee River became known as the Mill Yard Tract.<ref name=shilling>{{cite web|last=Shilling|first=Donovan A.|title=Rochester's Romantic Rogue: The Life and Times of Ebenezer Allan|url=http://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/136_167/136summer2005/136shilling.html|publisher=The Crooked Lake Review|access-date=28 December 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722004311/http://crookedlakereview.com/articles/136_167/136summer2005/136shilling.html|archive-date=22 July 2012}}</ref>

=== Purchase agreement ===
In return for title to {{convert|2250000|acres|sqkm}}, Phelps and his company paid the Indians $5,000 cash and promised an annual annuity of $500 to their heirs forever.{{when|date=July 2025}}<ref name=milliken>{{cite book |title=A History of Ontario County, New York and Its People Vol. 1 |last=Milliken |first=Charles F. |year=1911 |publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Co. |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryontario00millgoog/page/n32 15] |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryontario00millgoog |access-date=2008-01-25 }}</ref> The agreement included approximately the eastern third of the territory ceded to Massachusetts by the Treaty of Hartford, from the [[Genesee River]] in the west to the [[Preemption Line]] in the east, which was the boundary that had been set between the lands awarded to Massachusetts and those awarded to New York State by the Treaty of Hartford.

Boundaries established by Phelps' agreement were reaffirmed between the United States and the [[Iroquois|Six Nations]] by Article 3 of the [[Treaty of Canandaigua]] in 1794.<ref>{{cite web|title=1794 Canadaigua Treaty Text|url=http://www.ganondagan.org/1794TreatyText.html|access-date=6 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801043252/http://www.ganondagan.org/1794TreatyText.html|archive-date=1 August 2012}}</ref> The scrip's low value substantially reduced Massachusetts' proceeds from the sale.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=Alfred N.|title=Land Title Origins: A Tale of Force and Fraud|year=2000|publisher=Beard Books|isbn=978-1893122895|pages=568|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzk0kzg9LioC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705092443/http://books.google.com/books?id=tzk0kzg9LioC|archive-date=2014-07-05}}</ref>

=== Area boundaries ===
[[File:WNY5.PNG|thumb|300px|Map showing location of the Triangle Tract, the Morris Reserve, the Mill Yard Tract, and the [[Preemption Line]].]]
After the Revolutionary War ended, the Iroquois chiefs had been assured by the US government in the 1784 [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)|Fort Stanwix treaty]] that their lands would remain theirs unless the Indians made new cessions—as a result of regular councils duly convened and conducted according to tribal custom.<ref name=rochesterlib/> The eastern boundary was defined by a [[Preemption Line]], which was anchored on the south at the 82nd milestone on the New York-Pennsylvania boundary line and on the north by [[Lake Ontario]]. The treaties gave Massachusetts the right to buy from the Native Americans and resell all territory west of the Preemption Line, while New York State retained the right to govern that territory. New York State would add to its territory all land east of the Preemption Line.

The Fort Stanwix Treaty and earlier treaties established the approximate western boundary, but a survey was required to establish the exact line.<ref name=henry/> Phelps believed that the line ran through [[Seneca Lake (New York)|Seneca Lake]] and included the former Cayuga settlement of Kandesaga, present-day [[Geneva, New York]]. He planned to make Geneva the headquarters and location of the land sales office. He hired Col. Hugh Maxwell, a man of high reputation, to perform the survey. During his original survey for Phelps and Gorham, Maxwell was assisted by Augustus Porter and other surveyors.<ref name=nyroots>{{cite book|title=History of Ontario County, New York|last=Aldrich|first=Lewis Cass|editor=George S. Conover|year=1893|publisher=D. Mason & Co.|location=Syracuse, NY|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofontario00aldr|chapter=VIII. The Phelps and Gorham Purchase|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofontario00aldr/page/85 85]–102}} At [[Google Books]].</ref>

Maxwell and his assistants started a preliminary survey on June 13, 1788, from the 82-mile stone on the Pennsylvania Line. The trial survey reached Seneca Lake. The actual survey was started on July 25, 1788,<ref name=auten>{{cite web|title=The Gore|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226224921/http://www.co.seneca.ny.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The-Gore.pdf|archive-date=December 26, 2014|url=http://www.co.seneca.ny.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The-Gore.pdf|first=Betty |last=Auten |publisher=Seneca County|access-date=December 26, 2014}}</ref> and when the surveyors reached the area of Kandesaga, the line was fixed west of Seneca Lake and Kandesaga, which survived as a key town in the region. Oliver Phelps was extremely upset when he learned that the survey did not include Seneca Lake or the Indian village. He wrote a letter to Col. William Walker, the local agent responsible for the survey, and requested that they survey be redone in that area. For unknown reasons, it was not completed.<ref name=nyroots/>

On the west, the survey ran north from the Pennsylvania border to the confluence of [[Canaseraga Creek]] and the Genesee River. The survey line followed the river to a point {{convert|2|mi}} north of [[Avon, New York|Canawagus Village]], and then due west {{convert|12|mi}} distant from the westernmost bend, and then due north to the shore of Lake Ontario. Maxwell divided the land into [[Survey township|ranges]] {{convert|6|mi}} wide from north to south.<ref name=henry/> Maxwell's work later became known as "The First Survey."<ref name=robortella/>

=== Settlers arrive ===
Phelps opened one of the first land sales offices in the U.S. in [[Suffield, Connecticut]],<ref name=suffieldlib>{{cite web|title=Oliver Phelps (1749-1809)|url=http://suffield-library.org/localhistory/phelps.htm|access-date=27 December 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211081435/http://www.suffield-library.org/localhistory/phelps.htm|archive-date=11 February 2012}}</ref> and another in [[Canandaigua, New York|Canandaigua]]. During the next two years, they sold {{convert|500000|acre|km2|adj=on}} at a higher price to a number of buyers. People arrived from New England, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and from across the Atlantic, from England and Scotland. Settlers also included veterans who had fought under General Sullivan.<ref name=robortella/> There was considerable land hunger among people in New England, who had been crowded for some time.

== Financial difficulties ==
Many purchasers were buying land for speculative purposes and quickly resold it. For example, Oliver Phelps sold township 3, range 2, to Prince Bryant of Pennsylvania on September 5, 1789. Prince Bryant sold the land a month later to Elijah Babcock, who in turn sold various parcels to Roger Clark, Samuel Tooker, David Holmes, and William Babcock.<ref name=henry/> The syndicate was able to sell about half of its holdings.

=== Syndicate defaults ===

However, within the year, currency values rose in anticipation of Treasury Secretary [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s plan to nationalize the debts of the states forming the new nation. This raised the value of the consolidated securities Phelps and Gorham had used to buy the land, effectively quadrupling the syndicate's debt<ref name=henry/> and substantially inflating the amount required to purchase title from the Iroquois for the remaining {{convert|1000000|acre|km2|adj=on}}.<ref name=milliken /> The syndicate sold about 50 townships but the purchasers were mainly stockholders who had accepted land in exchange for interest on the loan principal.<ref name=nyroots/> Fewer emigrants bought land than expected, reducing the income expected by the syndicate. Two of the three bonds financing the purchase were canceled, but even when the debt was reduced to $109,333 (£31,000) (about ${{Inflation|US|.109333|1789|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}), the syndicate was unable to make the next payment. In August 1790, the reverses forced Phelps to sell his Suffield home and his interest in the Hartford National Bank and Trust Co. of Connecticut

In early 1791, the syndicate was unable to make the second payment on the preemptive right to the lands west of the Genesee River, comprising some {{convert|3750000|acre|sqkm}}, and these preemptive rights reverted to Massachusetts on March 10, 1791. On March 12, Massachusetts agreed to sell these rights to [[Robert Morris (merchant)|Robert Morris]] for $333,333.33 (about ${{Inflation|US|.33333333|1789|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). Morris was a signatory of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and the [[United States Constitution]], and was the major financier of the [[American Revolution]]. At the time, he was the richest man in America. Morris paid about 11 or 12 cents an acre for the land, or about $9,878 (£24,695) (about ${{Inflation|US|9.878|1789|r=0}} thousand in {{Inflation/year|US}}). The land was conveyed to Morris in five deeds on May 11, 1791. On August 10, 1790, the syndicate sold the remaining lands of the Genesee tract directly to Morris, with the exception of about 47,000 acres retained by Phelps and Gorham. The deed was conveyed on November 18, 1790, and specified that the tract should contain 1 million acres, and any amount over that would require further payment.<ref name=nyroots/>

On September 21, 1791, [[Geneva, New York|Geneva]] was described as "a small, unhealthy village with about 15 houses, all of log construction except three. There are about 20 families."<ref name=nyroots/>

=== Survey inaccuracies ===
When Morris bought the property, issues with the first survey were well known. The purchase deed stated, "A manifest error has been committed in the laying out and dividing the same, so that a new survey must be laid in order to correct the said error."<ref name=rochesterhistory>{{cite web | title= Publications | author=Rochester Historical Society |location=Rochester, N.Y. |year=1892}}</ref> Some accounts from early in the 20th century attribute errors discovered during the second survey to the primitive instruments used by the surveyors, but allegations of fraud were also made. A description of the survey in 1892 cast suspicion on an assistant surveyor named Jenkins, who was supposed to have altered the survey line to favor his employer, Peter Ryckman. He wanted to control the site of present-day [[Geneva, New York|Geneva]].<ref name=nyroots/> Ryckman had previously sought to buy the land directly from the Iroquois, but it was illegal under New York state law for him to buy land from the natives, and his contract was voided by the state. When a new survey was commissioned, Maxwell's survey became known as "The First Survey."<ref name=robortella2>{{cite web|last=Robortella|first=John|title=Why Canandaigua Was Chosen|url=http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/editorial/?p=10674|access-date=3 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130215195102/http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/editorial/?p=10674|archive-date=15 February 2013}}</ref>

Adam Hoops was hired to lead a team of new surveyors, who discovered that Maxwell erred on both the eastern preemption line and the western boundary. Maxwell had located the westernmost boundary of the Millyard Tract in the belief that the Genesee River ran due north. Hoops' team found that Maxwell had made a serious error when he ignored the variance between [[magnetic north]] and [[true north]].<ref name=henry/> A survey team that [[Benjamin Ellicott]] headed found in November–December 1792 that the preemption line ran through Seneca Lake and north along a line to Lake Ontario near the center of Sodus Bay, about four miles west of the line surveyed by Maxwell.<ref name=nyroots/> The line now divides the city of Geneva and the [[Waterloo (town), New York|Town of Waterloo]] in Border City. The old preemption line reached Lake Ontario, three miles west of Sodus Bay. The new line terminated near the center of the head of the bay. The new preemption line traveled in a northeasterly direction from the west end of the southern boundary.<ref name=auten/>

In his new survey, Hoops established that the western boundary of the Mill Yard tract included a [[Gore (surveying)|gore-shaped]] tract of land about {{convert|85896|acre|km2 sqmi}} west of the Genesee River, that should have been retained by the Iroquois. To make it easier, Morris' syndicate returned an equivalent amount of land on the west, a {{convert|87000|acre|km2 sqmi}} parcel known as the Triangle Tract, to the Iroquois. Morris then purchased the rights to the Triangle Tract from the Iroquois; this land became part of the Morris Reserve.<ref name=henry/> The area of land purchased by Morris was fixed at {{convert|1267569|acre|km2 sqmi}}.<ref name=nyroots/> Hoop's corrected survey became known as the "Second Survey" and was accepted by Simeon DeWitt, New York's surveyor-general, in a resolution passed by the state on March 24, 1795.<ref name=nyroots/>

=== London investors purchase land ===
After buying the land from the state of Massachusetts in early 1790, Morris almost immediately resold {{convert|12000000|acre|km2 sqmi}}{{error-small|(Error: Total land in New York State west of the Pre-emption line is only about 6 million acres.)}} through his London agent [[William Temple Franklin]] to [[The Pulteney Association|the Pulteney Associates]], led by Sir William Pulteney. He sold at more than double the price he had paid. Sir [[Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet|William Pulteney]] bought 9/12ths interest, [[William Henry Hornby (1805–1884)|William Hornby]] 2/12ths, and [[Patrick Colquhoun]] 1/12th interest. At the time non-citizens could not legally hold title to land. The buyers sent Charles Williamson from Scotland, and he was naturalized on January 9, 1792, in order to permit him to hold the land in trust for the owners. He relocated to the United States in February 1792 and settled on the tract.<ref name=henry/> Morris conveyed the deed to Williamson on April 11, 1792, and was paid $333,333 (£75,000). The U.S. Congress had passed [[The Coinage Act]] which established the [[U.S. Mint]] and the dollar as its official currency only a week before.<ref name=nyroots/> Morris made a profit of over $160,000 on the transaction.<ref name=rochesterhistory/>

The Pulteney Purchase, or the Genesee Tract, as it was also known, comprised all of the present counties of [[Ontario County, New York|Ontario]], [[Steuben County, New York|Steuben]] and [[Yates County, New York|Yates]], as well as portions of [[Allegany County, New York|Allegany]], [[Livingston County, New York|Livingston]], [[Monroe County, New York|Monroe]], [[Schuyler County, New York|Schuyler]] and [[Wayne County, New York|Wayne]] counties. After Sir William Pulteney's death in 1805, it was known as the Pulteney Estate.

=== Holland Land Purchase ===
Morris sold additional land in December 1792 and in February and July 1793 to the [[Holland Land Company]], an unincorporated syndicate formed by [[Willem Willink]] and thirteen other [[Netherlands|Dutch]] bankers. The bankers hired American trustees in the [[United States]] to take title to the land, because New York state law made it illegal for them to own the property directly. Robert Morris prevailed upon the New York Legislature to repeal that ordinance, which it did shortly thereafter, as it was eager to have the lands developed into settlements.

The investors of the Holland Land Company could in a worst-case scenario resell their property, i.e. the right to purchase aboriginal land. The investors expected a significant profit if they could obtain clear title from the Iroquois and sell unencumbered parcels of land. They organized a council at Big Tree in the summer of 1797. The council was attended by the Iroquois [[sachem]]s, Robert Morris, [[James Wadsworth (of Geneseo)|James Wadsworth]] (who represented the federal government), and [[Joseph Ellicott]], who represented the Holland Land Company. The Europeans and Americans found [[Red Jacket]], chief of the [[Seneca people|Seneca]], very difficult to negotiate with. The Dutch gave presents to the influential [[Matriarchy|women]] of the tribes, and offered generous payments to several other chiefs to influence their cooperation. They offered the Iroquois about 200,000 acres in return as reservations for the tribes. The result was the [[Treaty of Big Tree]].

In 1802, the Holland Land Company opened [[Holland Land Office|its sales office]] in [[Batavia (city), New York|Batavia]], managed by surveyor and agent [[Joseph Ellicott]].<ref name=History>[https://archive.today/20130201132422/http://history.rays-place.com/ny/batavia-ny.htm History of Batavia, New York] from ''Our County and Its People: A Descriptive and Biographical Record of Genesee County, New York (1899)</ref> The office remained open until 1846 when the company was finally dissolved. The Company granted some plots of land to persons with the condition that they establish improvements, such as inns and taverns, to encourage growth. The building that housed the [[Holland Land Office]] still exists; it is operated as a museum dedicated to the Holland Purchase and is designated a [[National Historic Landmark]].

== Morris Reserve ==
Morris kept {{convert|500000|acre|sqkm}} in a {{convert|12|mi|km|adj=mid|-wide}} strip along the east side of the lands acquired from Massachusetts, from the Pennsylvania border to Lake Ontario. This later became known as the Morris Reserve. At the north end of the Morris Reserve, Morris sold a {{convert|87000|acre|km2|adj=on}} triangular-shaped tract to Herman Leroy, William Bayard, and John McEvers. This was nicknamed the Triangle Tract. A {{convert|100000|acre|sqkm|adj=on}} tract due west of the Triangle Tract was sold to the State of [[Connecticut]].

In May 1796, [[John Barker Church]] accepted a mortgage on another 100,000 acres of the Morris Reserve in present-day [[Allegany County, New York|Allegany County]] and [[Genesee County, New York|Genesee County]], against a debt owed to him by Morris.<ref name=NYT-PhilipChurch>{{cite news |title=Philip Church's Career – One of the Most Prominent of Allegany's Early Settlers |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 23, 1895 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15751680/the_new_york_times/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213165411/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15751680/the_new_york_times/ |archive-date=December 13, 2017 }}</ref> After Morris failed to pay the mortgage, Church foreclosed, and Church's son [[Philip Schuyler Church]] acquired the land in May 1800.<ref name=NYT-PhilipChurch/> Philip began the settlement of Allegany and Genesee counties by founding the village of [[Angelica, New York]].<ref name=Minard>{{cite book |last1=Minard |first1=John S. |title=Allegany County and Its People |date=1896 |publisher=W.A. Ferguson & Co. |location=Alfred, NY |page=405 |url=https://archive.org/stream/alleganycountyit00mina#page/404/mode/2up}}</ref>

As noted above, in September 1797 under the Treaty of Big Tree, negotiated and signed at [[Geneseo, New York]], Morris gained the remaining title to all the lands west of the Genesee held by the [[Iroquois]]. Morris paid $100,000 (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US|.1|1797|r=1}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) along with perpetual annuities, among other concessions. He created ten reservations for the Iroquois nations within the purchase; these totalled 200,000 acres (800 km<sup>2</sup>), in comparison to the millions of acres they had ceded. The remainder of the Morris Reserve was quickly subdivided and settled.

== Subdivision into counties of New York ==
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In 1802, the entire Holland Purchase, as well as the 500,000 acre (2,000 km<sup>2</sup>) Morris Reserve immediately to the east, was split off from [[Ontario County, New York|Ontario County]] and organized as [[Genesee County, New York|Genesee County]].

In the ensuing 40 years after Genesee County was formed, it was repeatedly split to form all or parts of the counties of [[Allegany County, New York|Allegany]] (1806), [[Niagara County, New York|Niagara]] (1808), [[Cattaraugus County, New York|Cattaraugus]] (1808), [[Chautauqua County, New York|Chautauqua]] (1808), [[Erie County, New York|Erie]] (1821), [[Monroe County, New York|Monroe]] (1821), [[Livingston County, New York|Livingston]] (1821), [[Orleans County, New York|Orleans]] (1824), and [[Wyoming County, New York|Wyoming]] (1841).

== Legacy ==
Many of the men who were active in these land sales were honored, either by their business associates or by settlers, in the place names of new villages. Many of the original villages have retained their identity as the central district of a larger town:

* [[Busti, New York|Busti]], a town in Chautauqua County, named for agent [[Paolo Busti]]
* [[Cazenovia, New York|Cazenovia]], a town and [[Cazenovia (village), New York|its village]] in Madison County, named for agent [[Theophilus Cazenove]]
* [[Ellicott, New York|Ellicott]], a town in Chautauqua County, named for surveyor [[Joseph Ellicott (surveyor)|Joseph Ellicott]]
* [[Ellicottville, New York|Ellicottville]], a town and [[Ellicottville (village), New York|its village]] in Cattaraugus County, also named for Joseph Ellicott
* [[Franklinville, New York|Franklinville]], a town and [[Franklinville (village), New York|its village]] in Cattaraugus County, named for agent [[William Temple Franklin]], a grandson of [[Benjamin Franklin]]
* [[Gorham, New York|Gorham]], a town in Ontario County, named for [[Nathaniel Gorham]]
* [[Holland, New York|Holland]], a town in Erie County, named for the Holland Purchase or the [[Holland Land Company]]
* [[Le Roy, New York|Leroy, New York]], a town in Genesee County, named for [[Herman Le Roy]], one of the purchasers of the [[Triangle Tract]].
* [[Mount Morris, New York|Mount Morris]], a town and [[Mount Morris (village), New York|its village]] in Livingston County, named for [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]]
* [[Phelps, New York|Phelps]], a town and [[Phelps (village), New York|its village]] in Ontario County, named for [[Oliver Phelps (politician)|Oliver Phelps]]
* [[Williamson, New York|Williamson]], a town in Wayne County, named for Charles Williamson

In contrast, [[Angelica, New York|Angelica]], a town and [[Angelica (village), New York|its village]] in Allegany County, were named by landowner Philip Church for his mother, [[Angelica Schuyler Church]].<ref name=NYT-PhilipChurch/><ref name="Minard"/>

== See also ==
* ''[[Fellows v. Blacksmith]]'', 60 U.S. 366 (1857)
* ''[[New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble]]'', 62 U.S. 366 (1858)
* ''[[Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy]]'', 162 U.S. 283 (1896)

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Hauptman |first=Laurence M. |title=Conspiracy of Interests: Iroquois Dispossession and the Rise of New York State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GEFjmdzKqlgC |year=2001 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |location=Syracuse, N.Y. |isbn=978-0-8156-0712-0}}
* {{cite journal |first=Blake |last=McKelvey |title=Historical Aspects of the Phelps & Gorham Treaty of July 4–8, 1788 |journal=Rochester History |volume=1 |number=1 |page=1 |date=January 1939 |url=http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704193615/http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v1_1939/v1i1.pdf |archive-date=2017-07-04 |access-date=2005-05-14 }}
* {{cite journal |title=Steps West: The Field Notes of Col. Hugh Maxwell's Pre-emption Line Survey in the Phelps and Gorham Purchase |editor-first=John M. |editor-last=Robortella |journal=Crooked Lake Review |date=Spring 2004 |url=http://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/101_135/131spring2004/131robortella.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117003020/http://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/101_135/131spring2004/131robortella.html |archive-date=2017-11-17 }}
* {{cite book |last=Turner |first=Orsamus |title=History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps & Gorham's Purchase, and Morris' Reserve |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_TUX698v8KGkC |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_TUX698v8KGkC/page/n258 246] |year=1852 |publisher=William Alling |location=Rochester, N.Y.}} ([https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_TUX698v8KGkC PDF format])

== External links ==
* Animations of Land Acquisitions ([http://www.sullivanclinton.com/mapset/shell.swf Map Scene 5]) – video for [[Adobe Flash Player]]

{{Robert Morris|state=collapsed}}

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[[Category:Tracts]]
[[Category:Former regions and territories of the United States]]
[[Category:History of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Aboriginal title in New York]]
[[Category:Iroquois]]

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Phelps and Gorham Purchase