Historic find
Local man on e-Bay discovers 1788 edition newspaper featuring letterBy Sam Shawver, sshawver@mariettatimes.com
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In Gen. Putnam's own words
Following is a portion of a transcript of Gen. Rufus Putnam's letter (original typos included) published in the Dec. 18, 1788, issue of the Boston Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser:
Late Accounts from the OHIO.
Extract of s letter from General Rufus Putnam, at the Ohio, to a Gentleman at Worcester, dated at Marietta, October 22, 1788.
"Dear Sir,
"In my letter of May last, I gave you a short description of this part of the country, with the situation of the land designed for laying out the city, then Adelphi, now Marietta, the city ground in that letter, was described as bounding southeasterly by a creek; that plan was afterwards altered, and the city ground extended across that creek and some interval or bottom land to the bank of the Ohio River. This measure made way for laying each house lot 90 feet in front, by 180 in depth, agreeably to the vote of the Company at Boston, in November last, so that the city ground now borders southerly, one mile on the Ohio, and westerly, one mile one hundred and twenty perches on the Muskingum. A very good bridge is built over the above-mentioned creek twenty-five feet high, ninety feet long, and twenty-four feet wide, covered with hewn plank four inches thick. Three other bridges, also have been built over creeks of less note running through the town, so that an easy communication is had with every part.
"It was the 7th of April when I arrived at Muskingum with Col. Sproat, Mr. Matthews (two of the surveyors) and a number of people in the Company's employ, with two volunteer adventures, amounting in all to forty-eight persons: Col. Meigs and Mr. Tupper joined us a few days after. We landed and pitched our camp on the eastern side of the Muskingum the same day, which was an entire wilderness, all the cutting, &c. made by the troops of the garrison being on the other side that river..."
Source: Transcript courtesy of Marty Seufer.
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» Complete TranscriptOn Dec. 18, 1788, a letter from Gen. Rufus Putnam "to a Gentleman at Worcester, (Mass.)" appeared in Boston's Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, describing the progress of Putnam and his party from the Ohio Company as they laid out plans for the city of Marietta.
More than two centuries later, Marty Seufer, a Williamstown councilman and Wood County administrator, purchased an original copy of that paper through an eBay auction.
"I'm basically just an amateur, but I often check online for items related to local history," Seufer said on Tuesday.
"I was really freaked out; this isn't something you get every day. And I was more amazed that a paper that was read by people 221 years ago had survived all that time," he said.
Seufer said the document is Putnam's firsthand account describing the landing party that arrived here in April 1788, marking the founding of Marietta.
"He describes developing lots for the settlement and talks about the different crops they planted that first year and how well they grew," Seufer said. "Then he describes the fort being built, what it's going to be like and how many people could live there."
Last week, Seufer and his brother, Mike, showed the newspaper to Bill Reynolds with the Campus Martius and Ohio River Museums.
"He has a really great treasure of local history," Reynolds said. "The letter basically is telling about how things were going here in the first year of the settlement.
"Putnam once wrote Gen. George Washington a similar letter, describing the town as 'a most beautiful pile of buildings,'" Reynolds added.
Putnam's intent in writing such letters was to promote the sale of land acquired by the Ohio Company, Reynolds said.
"The effort was a stock venture and the company had borrowed a ton of money from the government, so they needed investors," he said. "But after a couple of years, the Indian wars started and it became almost impossible to sell the land to anyone."
Seufer agreed.
"You have to wonder if there wasn't this fear due to the Indian presence," he said. "But (Putnam's letter) seems to say, 'Come on, it's OK.'"
Reynolds said he was glad that Seufer had obtained the document, although Reynolds himself had also placed a bid for the same paper on eBay.
"The condition of the paper is absolutely perfect," he said. "Clearly there were several people interested in the document, in addition to myself."
Reynolds said the museum staff is happy to help people identify historical artifacts they may have.
"Once in a while, people will bring something in or they'll ask us how to preserve an item," he said. "We're here to help if we can."
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armybrat
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10-14-09 3:32 PM
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If the owner of this letter doesn't want to donate the letter to the museum, maybe it would be a good idea for them to copy the letter and send the copy to the museum. Either way, it would be an interesting article to read.
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FlnowwasOh
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10-14-09 3:27 PM
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How incredible!! Such a lucky find..
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CHAsMOM
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10-14-09 1:15 PM
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How much did the gentleman pay for it on E-bay?
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Buckyes1
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10-14-09 12:24 PM
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That should be donated to the museum.
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PWC032096
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10-14-09 9:23 AM
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Truly amazing.
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Roscoe
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10-14-09 9:19 AM
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Cool story.
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