- An exploration of the earliest settlers of Pennsylvania, their land and lives.
- The history of Penn’s grant of the province and how he sold and settled the land.
- How it was surveyed and laid out.
- The famous maps that Thomas Holme made for Penn, one of the city and one of the surrounding counties.
- Records that help identify the people on the maps.
- Stories about the lives of the people on the maps.
- The people on the maps and the missing people: women, slaves, servants, Germans, Swedes and Welsh.
Early Pennsylvania history
How does one donate to this research?
Thank you for the support. This is a labor of love, done over several years and added to as time permits.
Thank you for this wonderful effort. I know, how apt the term “effort” is, as I have one also, a study on the American Frontier.
Carolyn McDaniel
I was privileged to hear a presentation on this during the Researching Family in Pennsylvania 2020 course sponsored by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The amount of work behind these posts is staggering. Thanks for your generosity in sharing all of this information.
I am researching how land acquired from the Lenape transitioned over to the Holme’s map. What were the treaties made with the Lenape that enabled Penn to offer his land as acceptable ownership.
A good topic for research, Richard. I don’t have a list, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has done this. The best place to look is in the early deed books for Philadelphia County, since the treaties were listed there as land sales. Good luck.
Good Morning. This is fabulous research. Is it possible to get a registration with WordPress to contribute to this effort? I am a local historian living in Montgomery County. PA. Thank you!
Hi Michael,
Thank you for the compliment. The blog is set up so that I am the only one who can edit the page content. However, anyone can make comments and some people have added lengthy comments with good content. What areas are you most interested in?
Sue