Native Americans and Quakers, 1791-1815

Rachel Coope (1771-1807) was a Quaker who became a teacher among the Seneca of the Allegheny region in New York State in 1805 until her death in 1807. One of two manuscript compilations of her letters and journal by her father, Jonathan Sharpless.

Report of the committee designated to prepare various articles to be presented as gifts to the Indian Nations meeting General Wayne to negotiate a treaty.

This journal is an account of William Hartshorne's journey to attend treaty negotiations between the government and Indians held at Sandusky, Ohio. He was part of a delegation of Friends appointed by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, a group which included Quaker minister, William Savery, who also kept a journal of the trip. Hartshorne kept a daily account of his impressions of his encounters with Indians, government representatives, and the treaty situation.

Halliday Jackson wrote this brief description of the culture and customs of the Seneca Indians after his travels in 1800. This volume begins with a few extracts from speeches by Chief Cornplanter and George Washington, which Jackson uses to demonstrate that the United States is obliged to protect Indians and their lands.

Letter from representatives of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting providing an account of Treaty negotiations at Canandaigua.

A letter from Tobias Lear, Secretary to the President of the United States, to the Quakers, in reply to their letter concerning the Cherokees.

Jonathan Thomas documented several interactions between Indians and members of a Friends committee on Indian affairs in "His Book, 1798." Thomas used the minutes from the councils between Friends and Indians to document these interactions. He listed the members of various expeditions to visit the Indians, as well as the groups these Friends were visiting. Thomas was principally interested in providing an accurate account of interaction between Native Americans and Friends committee members.

Invoice of goods sent by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to treaty negotiations as a gift for the Indian Nations to be delivered by General Wayne.

James Cooper documented his 62-day journey through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York in his journal titled "Journal of a Visit to the Seneca Indians, 1796." Cooper and his fellow Friends -- John Peirce, Joseph Sansom, Isaiah Rowland, Enoch Walker, and Henry Simmons -- left on May 30, 1797 for the Oneida reservation. Their goal was to meet with various Native American groups and establish agricultural programs. After passing through New Jersey and up the Hudson River to Schenectady, they followed the Mohawk River to the Stockbridge, Brothertown, Tuscarora and Oneida Villages. After meeting with the members of the various groups at the Oneida reservation, the party made their way further west to the Onondagas and Cayuga settlements. Their journey home took them through central New York and Pennsylvania through Bath and Painted Post, New York as well as Muncy, Catawissa, and Reading Pennsylvania. Cooper arrived home in Woodbury, New Jersey, on July 30, 1796.