Unearthing early Pennsylvania history and land settlement
A historical issue that blends narrative and documentary notes about Dauphin County’s beginnings, colonial land grants, and how disputes over land titles shaped settlement patterns.
In clear, approachable prose, it traces the 1722 creation of the Springetsbury manor and the players who surveyed and managed vast tracts of land. It also covers the 1730s-34 era when Cresap and German settlers moved into Conejohela Valley and Grist Valley, and explains how licenses, emigration, and time-tested frontier dynamics affected who could settle where.
- Learn how colonial land policy and Indian title affected settlement on the west bank of the Susquehanna.
- See how Blunston’s licenses were used to manage rights and protect settlers, and how the Donegal Scotch-Irish helped defend land.
- Read about Mary Washington and the preserved copy of her will, a window into colonial family history.
- Discover genealogical notes and local family histories connected to the broader story of the region.
Ideal for readers of local history and genealogical research who want a compact, documentary snapshot of early Pennsylvania life and its enduring legacies.