Lewis B. Woodruff Map of the United States, 1820

The Historical Society recently purchased the papers of New York City banker and businessman Samuel Flewwelling (1774 or 5-1849) primarily relating to property held by his wife, Julia Elvira Canfield Flewwelling (1791-1868), and him in the Western Reserve, later Ohio. Following Samuel’s death, the properties were managed by William Mackay (1795-1873), a New York City businessman and the husband of Caroline Emma Canfield Mackay. The collections includes indentures, agreements, leases, deeds, statements and accounts, and correspondence.The papers are arranged chronologically in one series and consist mostly of documents concerning the conveyance land in the Western Reserve. The earliest document outlines the partitioning of land Judson Canfield and others purchased from the Connecticut Land Co. in 1799. Flewwelling acquired land from Canfield as early as 1815. Some of the later sales were among members of Flewwelling’s family, including his father-in-law Judson Canfield, his brother-in-law Henry J. Canfield, and his brother- and sister-in-law Frederick Augustus Tallmadge and Elizabeth Canfield Tallmadge. Flewwelling provided mortgages to some of the purchasers of land, and the agreements contained in the papers spell out the payment terms. The finding aid, completed by Leith Johnson, is already available online.
Johnson also completed the finding aid for a related collection, the papers of Judson Canfield. The collection consists primarily of legal documents, including agreements, deeds, executions, receipts, statements, and correspondence. The papers also include a small collection of correspondence and writings relating to Walter Ferriss, whose daughter married Canfield’s son.
The study of Connecticut’s participation in settling the Western Reserve lands will certainly be enriched by access to these collections.