About This Collection
Transcripts and translations of important historical documents prepared by writers employed by the Works Progress Administration relating to the Frontier Forts and Trails Survey. Information provided is title of document, source from which transcribed, date and author of the original document, project work number, and the transcription or translation of the text. Among the transcripts and translations are the writings of Abiel Holmes, Andrew Ellicott, The American Gazetteer by Jedidiah Morse (1804), American State Papers on Military Affairs (1823-1829), and the British Museum's Series 21631-21660 "Additional Manuscripts" containing the papers of Henry Bouquet (1756-1765). Also present are transcripts of the Samuel Haldimand Papers at the Library of Congress (1757-1765), the Oil City Oil Exchange Correspondence at Drake Well Museum (1876-1898) and the Townsend Collection of the Seneca Oil Company (1858-1882), Erie County historical papers (undated), and records of the Harmony Society (1798-1893). Finally, there are transcripts relating to the Cornplanter tract and other Indian records (1745-1905), Sir William Johnson's Papers at the New York Historical Society (1758-1762), and the Journal of Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt who visited the French Asylum colony in 1799. Microfilm roll 1131 covers the journal of Joseph Gaspard Chaussegras de Lery, 1754-1755, and provides a window on French activities in northwestern Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. Chaussegros de Lery accompanied the Baron de Longueuil's expedition from Canada to Fort Assumption, sketching the route from Niagara Falls to the Mississippi River. His father, Gaspard Chaussegros de Lery, was the chief engineer of French Canada from 1716 and built Fort Niagara in 1726 and 1727. The younger Joseph Gaspard Chaussegros de Lery was commissioned an assistant engineer on January 1, 1739 and the map based on his survey was the first reasonably accurate map of the Ohio valley. The translation by Quebec Archivist W. Pierre-Georges Roy was made from the printed version that appeared in Repport de l'archaviste de le Province de Quebec pour 1928-1929. This collection is part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission which was created in 1945. Disclaimer: Not all records in this collection are digitized. Visit the PA State Archives to see the rest of the collection. The Pennsylvania State Archives provides digital access to a wide variety of historical documents, some of which may be considered offensive by current standards. The Archives does not endorse views expressed in these historical collections, but presents these collections to aid in scholarly research.
