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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Ulmer, George (1756-1825) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.09217 Author/Creator: Ulmer, George (1756-1825) Place Written: Ducktrap, Maine Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 23 February 1789 Pagination: 2 p. ; 30.5 x 17 cm. Order a Copy

Regarding Knox's land holdings in Waldo County, Massachusetts, now Maine. Says that the inhabitants of the lands Knox owns are now much more pleased than last year, that many have paid for their lands, and that others are trying to do so. Ulmer was Knox's representative in this matter. Some however still refuse to pay and are becoming troublesome for Ulmer. Also having some difficulty surveying the lots.

Lincolnville is part of the Waldo Patent, a land grant of the King of England; after the Revolutionary War the Patent is owned by General Henry Knox of Thomaston. Knox’s agent in Lincolnville is George Ulmer, a rich and powerful mill owner at Ducktrap. Ulmer pressures the poverty-stricken settlers to pay Knox for their land, land which many of them think they are entitled to from their military service.

Angry settlers, refusing to pay Knox through Ulmer, sabotage George Ulmer’s property on several occasions by cutting his log booms in Ducktrap and setting his logs adrift all over the Bay.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Ulmer, George, 1756-1825

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