Repository: Heinz History Center
Title: Putnam Family Papers
Creator: Putnam family
Collection Number: MSS 727
Extent: 1 linear foot (2 boxes)
Date: 1794-1904
Abstract: The Putnam Family Papers are mainly comprised of records documenting the land transactions of the Putnam family. Deeds, examinations of titles, indentures, and other legal documentation record the tracts of land sold or acquired by members of the Putnam family, including Rufus Putnam, David Putnam, Douglas Putnam, and Samuel H. Putnam, Jr.
Language: The material in this collection is in English.
Author: The guide to this collection was written by Sierra Green.
Sponsor: This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
Publisher: Heinz History Center
Address: 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

Rufus Putnam (R.P.) (1738-1824) was born on April 9, 1738, in Sutton, Massachusetts. As a young man, R.P. fought in the French and Indian War and later served in the Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of brigadier general. Following his military service, R.P. became a surveyor and farmer. From his position as a surveyor, R.P. advocated for initiatives to grant tracts of land to veterans of the Revolutionary War. Consequently, together with Benjamin Tupper, Samuel Holden Parsons, and Manasseh Cutler, R.P. founded the Ohio Company of Associates in 1786. The company purchased 1,000,000 acres of land and, together with a group of war veterans, settled the land beginning in 1788. The Ohio Company of Associates is considered to be the first non-American Indian group to settle in the present day state of Ohio. This company established Marietta, Ohio, which was the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory. In addition to his role in the Ohio Company of Associates, R.P. also served as a judge of the Northwest Territory and was the first Surveyor General of the United States, serving from 1796 to 1803.

David Putnam (D.P.) (1769-1856) was the grandson of General Israel Putnam. Although born in Pomfret, Connecticut, D.P. spent most of his life in Marietta, Ohio. After being educated at Yale and trained in law, D.P. joined his relative Rufus Putnam, in Marietta, Ohio. D.P. settled in this town with his wife, Betsey Perkins. As a resident of Marietta, D.P. served as a teacher, postmaster, banker, and lawyer.

Samuel Hildreth Putnam, Jr. (S.H.P.) was the great-grandson of David Putnam. The son of Samuel H. Putnam, Sr. and Abigail Fobes Mixer, (S.H.P.) passed his youth in Marietta, Oh. before relocating to Chicago, Il. According to the records in this collection, S.H.P. was involved in land transactions as early as 1871, the year of the Great Chicago Fire.

Scope and Content Notes

The Putnam Family Papers are mainly comprised of records documenting the land transactions of the Putnam family. Ordered chronologically, those records dating from 1794 to 1815 primarily consist of deeds to tracts of land in Ohio granted by Rufus Putnam's Ohio Company of Associates. In addition, this group of records also relates to the granting of land to David Putnam. The second chronological aggregation of records dating from 1834 to 1841 relates to legal and land transactions concerning Douglas Putnam and the Pickering family. Those records in this collection dating from 1871 to 1889 concern the legal records of land transactions in Cook County, Il. that document the role Samuel H. Putnam, Jr. played in the purchase and sale of land in Cook County, Il. These records include examinations of titles, deeds, and other legal documentation. In addition, this collection also includes a diary dating from 1862 to 1864 written by Rev. J. F. Scurlock, a Methodist minister who served for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Beyond a label located on the inner page of the diary marked with the name "Major Louise Putnam Todd," the relation of this diary to the remainder of the collection is uncertain.

Conditions Governing Access

None.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Mrs. C. Louise Todd in 1948.

Preferred Citation

Putnam Family Papers, 1794-1904, MSS 727, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Sierra Green on 02/15/2012.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Related Materials

The Rufus Putnam Papers and the David Putnam Papers are held at the Marietta College Special Collections in Marietta, Oh.

Subjects

Corporate Names

Ohio Company of Associates (Marietta, Oh.)

Personal Names

Putnam, Rufus (1738-1824)
Putnam, David (1769-1856)
Putnam, Douglas
Putnam, Jr. Samuel H.
Scurlock, Rev. J. F.

Guide to the Putnam Family Papers 1794-1904