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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC02437.10236 |
| From Archive Folder | The Henry Knox Papers [0101] July-August 1791 |
| Title | Statement concerning the Scioto Company in Ohio |
| Date | 27 August 1791 |
| Author | Duer, William (1747-1799) |
| Document Type | Government document; Land transaction document |
| Content Description | Discusses the problem with the Scotia company, the uncertainty of the emigrants who thought they had bought land, and the possibility of obtaining actual acreage versus merely a land option. Divided into eleven parts. Sewn binding. |
| Subjects | Boundary or Property Dispute Immigration and Migration Land Transaction Frontiers and Exploration Northwest Territory |
| People | Duer, William (1747-1799) |
| Place written | New York |
| Theme | Government & Politics |
| Sub-collection | The Henry Knox Papers |
| Additional Information | Duer was an American lawyer, developer, and speculator from New York City. He had earlier served in the Continental Congress and the convention that framed the New York Constitution. Duer's inveterate speculating and his mishandling of a joint business endeavor caused him to spend seven years in debtor's prison. The Scioto Company was a French institution which granted worthless deeds in the Ohio Country to French colonists. The Company was organized by Duer and others and had arranged with the Ohio Company for the use of about 4,000,000 acres on which the Ohio Company had secured an option only. The dishonesty of those who conducted the sales in France, the unbusinesslike methods of Barlow, Duer's agent in France, and the failure of Duer and his associates to meet their contract with the Ohio Company, caused the collapse of the Scioto Company early in 1790, and two subsequent attempts to revive it failed. Meanwhile about 150,000 acres (607 km²) had been sold to prospective settlers, companies and individuals in France. On their arrival, the settlers were told that the Scioto Company owned no land. When they arrived they were assured by the agent that the place lay within their purchase. This land, however, fell within the limits of the tract bought outright by the Ohio Company, which sold it to the Scioto Company, and to which it reverted on the failure of the Company to pay. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |