Darlington Autograph FilesThe Darlington Autograph Files are a selection of documents created by various historical figures between 1610 and 1914. It consists of documents, some related to one another through specific historical events, while others were collected by the Darlington family for their rarity. The Darlington family were nineteenth and early twentieth century collectors who had an interest in the colonial period, French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, Whiskey Rebellion, and westward expansion particularly in relation to western Pennsylvania. The documents include correspondence, receipts, wills, warrants, depositions, indentures, land surveys, and speeches, among other forms of documentation. Many of the items are from such notable individuals as Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon Bonaparte, William Penn, Robert Fulton, Robert R. Livingston, King George III, and Patrick Henry. Prominent citizens of the Pittsburgh area are also represented in the collection, with letters and other documents from Mary Croghan Schenley, James O’Hara, William Wilkins, and Richard Butler. The collection is arranged in alphabetical order. Digital reproductions of the collection are available electronically by following the respective "Digitized Folder Contents" links within the finding aid.
Council Fires on the Upper Ohio by
Told from the viewpoint of the Indians, this account of Indian-white relations during the second half of the eighteenth century is an exciting addition to the historical literature of Pennsylvania. From the beginning, when the white traders followed the first Shawnee hunters into Pennsylvania, until the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, the region's history was the history of the relationship between the Indians and the whites. For nearly half a century the Indian maintained a precarious hold upon Western Pennsylvania by playing one white faction off against the anther, first the French against the British, then the British against the Americans.
Encyclopedia of the American Revolution by
This new edition is a significant updating of Boatner's Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (CH, Jan'67) and Landmarks of the American Revolution (1973). Now in two volumes, the encyclopedia's 1,700 entries from the original work have been significantly revised by 52 contributors to reflect recent scholarship. New articles include "African Americans in the Revolution" and "Historiography." Entry length ranges from one sentence for topics like "King George's War" and "Spruce Beer" to several pages for "Continental Congress" and "Yorktown, Siege of."
Guns at the Forks by
Guns at the Forks is a special reissue commemorating the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War. In a spirited, intelligent, and informative history, O'Meara tells the story of five successive forts, particularly Fort Duquesne and Fort Pitt, and the dramatic part they played in the war between 1750 and 1760. He describes Washington's capitulation at Fort Necessity, Braddock's defeat at the Monongahela, and Forbes's successful campaign to retake Fort Duquesne. Although most of the action in the book takes place at the strategically important forks of the Ohio, where present-day Pittsburgh stands, O'Meara's narrative relates the two forts to the larger story of the French and Indian War and elucidates their roles in sparking a global conflict that altered the course of world events and decided the fate of empires.
