Etting Collection Papers, 1765-1774 | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

Scope and Contents: These transcripts from the Etting Collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania pertain to the affairs of Barnard Gratz (1738-1801) and Michael Gratz  (1740-1811), Philadelphia merchants trading in the West. The papers include correspondence of the merchants, accounts of William Murray, and a journal of George Croghan in 1765. The letters and accounts concern business affairs relating to trade, the shipment and delivery of goods in the Illinois Country, the problems of underhanded methods of competitors (i.e. destruction of goods), and the role of Native Americans in economic affairs. Two of the letters are to a plantation owner from his overseer and mention his experiences as a captive of a Kickapoo tribe. Croghan's journal of a trip through Indian Territory reveals the animosity of the British toward the French and the delicate relationship between European interests and the different Native American nations.