The Peopling of New Connecticut: From the Land of Steady Habits to the Western Reserve
Richard Buel Jr., editor
A collection of primary source documents offers new insight into the settlement of Connecticut’s Western Reserve in northeastern Ohio
In 1784 Connecticut laid claim to a territory stretching from Pennsylvania’s western border 120 miles along Lake Erie. In 1786 Congress took steps to legitimate this claim, and explicitly recognized it in 1800. The Peopling of New Connecticut presents primary documents that define Connecticut’s complex relationship with this territory, known then as the Western Reserve. Using excerpts from previously published official records, diaries, newspapers, periodical journals, pamphlets, and the occasional book that illustrates the process whereby Connecticut transplanted some of its people to a distant, western land, this publication illuminates not only the experience of the emigrants as they journeyed to Ohio and settled in the Western Reserve but also the effect that the emigrants’ departure had on the society they left behind. The volume comes with an introduction and commentary about the significance of these republished materials. The Peopling of New Connecticutis a vital, enlightening record of this special chapter in Connecticut’s history and provides unique insight into the early westward movement after the Revolutionary War.
“Richard Buel Jr. has compiled an extraordinary collection of letters, diaries, sermons, and newspaper articles written by federalist and republican leaders, ministers, lawyers, women, promoters, and detractors concerning the promise of the state’s Western Reserve. He has given us a superb narrative about a central but neglected aspect of Connecticut’s history.”—Howard R. Lamar, Sterling Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University