Original 1827 Martha Wilson Letter | Widow of Ebenezer Wilson (\"Uncle Sam\" Family) | Bushrod Washington, Potts\'s Lessee v. Gilbert, Pennsylvania Land Speculation | Complete Stampless Troy, NY Cover
This exceptional original autograph letter signed by Martha Wilson, dated April 17, 1827, is far more than ordinary family correspondence. Written from Troy, New York, and sent to Jonathan Stevens, Esq., of Standing Stone, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, it combines early American legal history, frontier land speculation, postal history, and the family behind the legendary \"Uncle Sam.\"
The letter remains with its original stampless folded cover, bearing a beautiful red TROY, N.Y. APR 16 circular datestamp, matching PAID handstamp, and the manuscript endorsement \"Forw\'d from Asylum,\" documenting its forwarding through Asylum, Pennsylvania, one of Bradford County\'s earliest settlements and the site of the famous French Azilum colony established for refugees fleeing the French Revolution. The forwarding notation provides a fascinating glimpse into the operation of the early United States postal system, showing the letter\'s journey before reaching Jonathan Stevens at Standing Stone.
Summary
Martha Wilson writes regarding valuable Pennsylvania land holdings, discussing ongoing negotiations, surveys, land patents, title questions, and property values in what was then still the developing northern Pennsylvania frontier.
Among the subjects discussed are:
- Earlier correspondence regarding the proposed land sale.
- Land that had never been patented, requiring purchasers to obtain patents at their own expense.
- A minimum selling price of $2.50 per acre.
- Lands surveyed under special warrants issued to Samuel Pleasants.
- Questions regarding Mr. Lewis and his possible involvement in earlier land litigation.
- Property near Meshoppen.
- The highly valuable offerdle Tract, which Martha believed should sell for at least $1,500 because of the increasing number of settlers occupying the property.
- A direct reference to Judge Washington\'s opinion in the Potts (\"Totts\") lawsuit, demonstrating how a recent federal court decision was actively influencing land values and negotiations.
Rather than being abstract legal discussion, this letter shows how published federal court decisions directly affected real estate transactions on the Pennsylvania frontier.
Bushrod Washington & Potts\'s Lessee v. Gilbert
The \"Totts\" lawsuit referenced in the letter is almost certainly Potts\'s Lessee v. Gilbert, decided in 1819 by Associate Justice Bushrod Washington while sitting on the United States Circuit Court for the District of Pennsylvania and published in 3 Washington\'s Circuit Court Reports 475.
The case concerned competing Pennsylvania land warrants, surveys, patents, and adverse possession, making it one of the important reported federal land cases of the early Republic.
Remarkably, Jonathan Stevens, the recipient of this letter, actually appears in the published case as a deputy surveyor, whose deposition became part of the official court record. Martha\'s letter therefore represents a direct continuation of the same legal issues only eight years after Bushrod Washington\'s opinion was issued.
Martha Wilson
The author, Martha Wilson, was the widow of Ebenezer Wilson (1761–1809), older brother and business partner of Samuel Wilson (1766–1854), the man forever associated with the origin of \"Uncle Sam.\"
Together, Ebenezer and Samuel founded the successful firm E. & S. Wilson in Troy, New York, becoming one of the state\'s largest meat packers. During the War of 1812, the firm supplied beef to the United States Army under government contracts, giving rise to the famous tradition that barrels marked \"U.S.\" referred to Samuel \"Uncle Sam\" Wilson, ultimately becoming America\'s enduring national symbol.
Following Ebenezer\'s death, Martha remained in Troy, where contemporary city directories identify her as \"Widow Martha Wilson, teacher.\" This letter demonstrates that she was also actively managing significant land investments and business affairs.
Jonathan Stevens
The recipient, Jonathan Stevens, Esq., was a respected attorney, land agent, and deputy surveyor in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Stevens represented landowners throughout northern Pennsylvania during the settlement of the region and played a documented role in Potts\'s Lessee v. Gilbert, making this correspondence especially significant to early American legal history.
Samuel Pleasants
The lands discussed had been surveyed under special warrants belonging to Samuel Pleasants, a prominent Philadelphia merchant and land speculator whose holdings helped shape settlement across northern Pennsylvania during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Original Stampless Postal Cover
Included is the original folded cover featuring:
- Red TROY, N.Y. APR 16 circular datestamp.
- Red PAID handstamp.
- Manuscript forwarding endorsement \"Forw\'d from Asylum.\"
- Addressed to Jonathan Stevens, Esq., Standing Stone, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
The forwarding notation records the letter\'s routing through Asylum, Pennsylvania, an early postal and commercial center in Bradford County, adding another desirable layer of postal-history interest.
Condition
Original handwritten letter with matching integral stampless cover. Typical mailing folds, scattered toning, and several edge tears and losses from careful opening, all consistent with a nearly 200-year-old manuscript. The handwriting remains bold, attractive, and highly legible throughout.
An outstanding and thoroughly researched early American manuscript uniting the \"Uncle Sam\" family, Bushrod Washington and early U.S. Supreme Court history, Pennsylvania frontier land speculation, published federal case law, and desirable pre-adhesive postal history into a single remarkable artifact.
Related Items:
1827 Martha Wilson Uncle Sam Family Bushrod Washington Land Letter Stampless
$2370.25
1827/37 bound journal 20 letters Captain David Luce maritime MARTHAS VINEYARD
$400.00
George & Martha Washington Miniature Portraits Mount Vernon Postcard Peale Art
$4.75
