Jay, John (1745-1829) to Thomas Mifflin
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03710 Author/Creator: Jay, John (1745-1829) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Letter signed Date: 6 September 1796 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; 24.5 x 20 cm. Order a Copy
Discusses the issue of Connecticut claimants to the Western Reserve lands taking refuge from Pennsylvania authorities by entering New York State. Expresses his opinion that the states have relations between them far more intimate than those between separate nations. Believes that new laws are necessary to handle the relations and that laws already in place do not properly address the issue of the intruders. Informs that the Attorney General Josiah Ogden Hoffman, will return soon and Jay will turn this problem over to him.
Jay was governor of New York at the time. Mifflin was governor of Pennsylvania. In 1662, Charles II gave the colony of Connecticut tracts of land west of present day Pennsylvania. Connecticut agreed to cede these lands to the Federal government in 1786 but kept a narrow strip along Lake Erie called the Western Reserve. Many Connecticut citizens traveled there and some tried to claim a piece of land in Pennsylvania as part of the reserve but were prevented from doing do by the Pennsylvania authorities. They took refuge in western New York state, which prompted Mifflin's request for action against them.
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