The Ohio Company: Its Inner History

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The Ohio Company: Its Inner History

The Ohio Company, Its Inner History title page.gif

Title page to The Ohio Company: Its Inner History, 1959
Author Alfred P. James
Country United States
Language English
Subject The Ohio Company
Publisher University of Pittsburgh Press
Publication date
 1959
Pages 375
ISBN 978-0-8229-8354-5
OCLC 250855838

The Ohio Company: Its Inner History is a 1959 book by Alfred P. James that chronicles the Ohio Company of Virginia from its informal organization before October 1747 to its terminus no earlier than October 1821.

Ohio Company trading company in North America between 1748-1772

The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country and to trade with the Native Americans. The company had a land grant from Britain and a treaty with Indians, but France also claimed the area, and the conflict helped provoke the outbreak of the French and Indian War.

Contents

Background

Though "many" documents related to the Ohio Company of Virginia burned in fires, such as that at Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1781, and at Richmond, Virginia, in 1865, documents in private ownership, institutional depositories, and those as public record survived, incorporated to works such as Berthold Fernow's 1890 The Ohio Valley in Colonial Days and Kenneth P. Bailey's 1939 The Ohio Company of Virginia. [1] From Christopher Gists Journals with Historical, Geographical and Ethnological Notes and Biographies of his Contemporaries, readers might have implied its author, William Darlington (1782–1863), owned "important" Ohio Company papers. [1] Darlington's descendants donated his library to the University of Pittsburgh in 1918 and his family's estate to the university in 1925. [2] In a joint editorship, Louis Mulkearn reviewed Ohio Company papers from the Darlington estate, while James collected materials from other sources. [3]

Williamsburg, Virginia Independent city in Virginia

Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 14,068. In 2014, the population was estimated to be 14,691. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is bordered by James City County and York County.

Richmond, Virginia Capital of Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Greater Richmond Region. Richmond was incorporated in 1742 and has been an independent city since 1871.

Berthold Fernow was a German-born American historian, author and librarian.

Between 1907–1910, James served as a Rhodes scholar before he graduated with a Bachelor and a Master of Arts from Oxford University in 1910 and 1915, respectively. Prior to his tenure at the University of Pittsburgh (1918–1956), [4] where he received full professorship in 1924, the same year in which he earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago, James instructed history at Ohio Wesleyan University from 1916–1917 and taught at the University of Arkansas from 1917–1918. [5] Prior to publishment of The Ohio Company: Its Inner History, James compiled documents related to John Forbes, published as Writings of General John Forbes, Relating to His Service in North America in 1938, [6] and wrote on the 1758 British capture of Fort Duquesne for its bicentennial in Drums in the Forest. [7]

Rhodes Scholarship an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford

The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford. It was established in 1902, making it the first large-scale programme of international scholarship. The Rhodes Scholarship was founded by English businessman and politician Cecil John Rhodes, to promote unity between English speaking nations and instill a sense of civic-minded leadership and moral fortitude in future leaders irrespective of their chosen career paths. Although initially restricted to male applicants from countries which are today within the Commonwealth, as well as Germany and the United States, today the Scholarship is open to applicants from all backgrounds and from across the globe. Since its creation, controversy has surrounded both its former exclusion of women, and Rhodes' Anglo-supremacist beliefs and legacy of colonialism.

University of Pittsburgh American state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The University of Pittsburgh is a state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded as the Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on the edge of the American frontier. It developed and was renamed as Western University of Pennsylvania by a change to its charter in 1819. After surviving two devastating fires and various relocations within the area, the school moved to its current location in the Oakland neighborhood of the city; it was renamed as the University of Pittsburgh in 1908. Pitt was a private institution until 1966 when it became part of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education.

Doctor of Philosophy Postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities in many countries

A Doctor of Philosophy is the highest university degree that is conferred after a course of study by universities in most English-speaking countries. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. As an earned research degree, those studying for a PhD are usually required to produce original research that expands the boundaries of knowledge, normally in the form of a thesis or dissertation, and defend their work against experts in the field. The completion of a PhD is often a requirement for employment as a university professor, researcher, or scientist in many fields. Individuals who have earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree may, in many jurisdictions, use the title Doctor or, in non-English-speaking countries, variants such as "Dr. phil." with their name, although the proper etiquette associated with this usage may also be subject to the professional ethics of their own scholarly field, culture, or society. Those who teach at universities or work in academic, educational, or research fields are usually addressed by this title "professionally and socially in a salutation or conversation." Alternatively, holders may use post-nominal letters such as "Ph.D.", "PhD", or "DPhil". It is, however, considered incorrect to use both the title and post-nominals at the same time.

Summary

Traits common to human nature, desires for prestige, power, and economic security, though not instinctual, led to the formation of the Ohio Company. [8] Specific to America, Maryland and Virginia families such as the Fairfaxes and Calverts may have provided inspiration for persons who acted in the Company. [9] In what John Robert Seeley calls "The Second Hundred Years" between France and England, which he estimated spanned from 1689 to 1815, international questions arose, such as if seventeenth-century international law gave the discoverer of a river's mouth ownership over the basin drained by it and if Iroquois natives held land titles over the land they controlled, which "gravely affected" its policies and positions. [10] Undeveloped American questions included trade with Indians and territorial conflicts among British colonies, and white westward expansion. [11]

John Robert Seeley British historian

Sir John Robert Seeley, KCMG was an English historian and political essayist. He is most known for his book The Expansion of England (1883), which has continued to influence historical discussions about the British Empire until the 21st century.

River mouth end of a river

A river mouth is the part of a river where the river debouches into another river, a lake, a reservoir, a sea, or an ocean.

Iroquois Northeast Native American confederacy

The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee are a historically powerful northeast Native American confederacy. They were known during the colonial years to the French as the Iroquois League, and later as the Iroquois Confederacy, and to the English as the Five Nations, comprising the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca. After 1722, they accepted the Tuscarora people from the Southeast into their confederacy and became known as the Six Nations.

With the signature of the Treaty of Lancaster on July 2, 1744, the Iroquois renounced their claim to all lands within the Virginia colony and recognized the King of Britain's right to all lands thereto, which dangled a "tempting bait" to politicians and land speculators in Virginia. [12] Though impossible to date, the Ohio Company formed, possibly after years of discussion, before October 20, 1747, the date on which Thomas Lee and eleven others petitioned the Governor and Council of Virginia for a grant of 200,000 acres. [13] The colonial Virginian government, after reception of instructions for petition allocation from London, secured by John Hanbury, the company's unofficial London factor, [14] approved the company's grant on July 12 or 13th, 1749. [15]

Thomas Lee (Virginia colonist) Virginia colonist

Col. Thomas Lee was a leading political figure of colonial Virginia. He was a member of the Lee family, a political dynasty which included many figures from the pre-American Revolutionary War era until the late 20th century. Lee became involved in politics in 1710 and he became the resident manager of the Northern Neck Proprietary for Lady Catherine Fairfax. After his father died, he inherited land in Northumberland and Charles County. Lee later acquired vast holdings in what are now Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Prince William, and Loudoun Counties. These properties were developed as tobacco plantations.

Reception

Clarence E. Carter of The American Historical Review summarized that "James ... centered his interest on the Company's inner history" without "neglecting other aspects", and noted James' work as the first instance to see the Ohio Company as a commercial organization in addition to a land company; [16] similarly, Richard L. Morton of The William and Mary Quarterly stated the book presented a "new light" on the company, "especially on its business transactions". [17]

Due to the book's restricted point of view, John D. Barnhart of The Mississippi Valley Historical Review recommended it be read in tandem with Bailey's The Ohio Company. [18]

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References

  1. 1 2 James 1959, p. vii.
  2. ↑ James 1959, p. viii.
  3. ↑ James 1959, p. ix.
  4. ↑ Gorzalski, Matt; Colligan, Kate (August 2008). "Alfred P. James Papers". University of Pittsburgh.
  5. ↑ "A Guide to the Alfred Proctor James Papers, 1898–1982". Virginia Heritage. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ Ryan, Edward L. (July 1939). "Writings of General John Forbes, Relating to His Service in North America. Compiled and Edited by Alfred Proctor James". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 47 (3): 274–275. JSTOR   4244969.(subscription required)
  7. ↑ Hamilton, Milton W. (July 1959). "Book Reviews: Drums in the Forest". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 83 (3): 346–348.
  8. ↑ James 1959, p. 1.
  9. ↑ James 1959, p. 2.
  10. ↑ James 1959, pp. 2–3.
  11. ↑ James 1959, p. 3.
  12. ↑ James 1959, pp. 7–8.
  13. ↑ James 1959, p. 10.
  14. ↑ James 1959, p. 16.
  15. ↑ James 1959, p. 26.
  16. ↑ Carter, Clarence E. (October 1959). "The Ohio Company: Its Inner History. By Alfred P. James". The American Historical Review. 65 (1): 137–138. doi:10.2307/1846641.(subscription required)
  17. ↑ Morton, Richard L. (July 1960). "The Ohio Company: Its Inner History. By Alfred P. James". The William and Mary Quarterly. 17 (3): 420–421. doi:10.2307/1943463.(subscription required)
  18. ↑ Barnhart, John D. (December 1959). "Book Reviews: The Ohio Company: Its Inner History. By Alfred P. James". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 46 (3): 499–500. doi:10.2307/1892275.(subscription required)

Works cited

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