Peter Wraxall
Encyclopedia
Peter Wraxall was a British official in the province of New York
.
Born in Bristol
, England, Wraxall was the son of John Wraxall, a merchant. Peter became a seaman after his family suffered financial hardship. He traveled to the Netherlands and Jamaica before finally settling in New York. In 1746, during King George's War
, he raised a company for the expedition into Canada. The next year, he went back to England on private business.
While in England, Wraxall received two royal commissions in 1750: secretary for the New York government to the Indians and clerk of the common pleas in the county and city of Albany. When he returned to New York, however, he found that the governor had already appointed Harmon Gansevoort to the Albany clerk position. Wraxall attempted through the courts to have his clerk's commission honored, to no avail.
Wraxall did have his commission as New York's secretary of Indian affairs, which proved to be an important position as the French and Indian War
approached. In 1754, Wraxall attended the Albany Congress
, where British officials attempted to improve their relationship with the Iroquois
and recruit native support for the coming conflict. At the same time, Wraxall published An Abridgement of the Records of Indian Affairs: Contained in Four Folio Volumes, Transacted in the Colony of New York, from the Year 1678 to the Year 1751, an important compilation of documents chronicling New York's dealings with Native Americans. Wraxall's work highlighted the incompetence of New York's Indian commissioners at Albany, and suggested that Indian affairs should be centralized under a single official. The Abridgement was sent to officials in Great Britain, and may have influenced the policy changes that followed.
At the Albany Congress, Wraxall met William Johnson
, an influential New York official. In April 1755, Johnson was commissioned as sole British agent to the Iroquois. Wraxall was appointed as Johnson's secretary, a position he held for the remainder of his life. In 1755, Wraxall accompanied Johnson on the Crown Point expedition. Johnson's victory at the Battle of Lake George
on 8 September made him a British hero, but Wraxall, though important, remained obscure.
Wraxall's final years were relatively uneventful. He continued to serve as Johnson's secretary, and attended Indian conferences, but poor health kept him from further military service. In 1756 he married Elizabeth Stillwell. He died three years later in New York City. His replacement as the crown's Indian secretary was Witham Marshe
.
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
.
Born in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England, Wraxall was the son of John Wraxall, a merchant. Peter became a seaman after his family suffered financial hardship. He traveled to the Netherlands and Jamaica before finally settling in New York. In 1746, during King George's War
King George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
, he raised a company for the expedition into Canada. The next year, he went back to England on private business.
While in England, Wraxall received two royal commissions in 1750: secretary for the New York government to the Indians and clerk of the common pleas in the county and city of Albany. When he returned to New York, however, he found that the governor had already appointed Harmon Gansevoort to the Albany clerk position. Wraxall attempted through the courts to have his clerk's commission honored, to no avail.
Wraxall did have his commission as New York's secretary of Indian affairs, which proved to be an important position as the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
approached. In 1754, Wraxall attended the Albany Congress
Albany Congress
The Albany Congress, also known as the Albany Conference and "The Conference of Albany" or "The Conference in Albany", was a meeting of representatives from seven of the thirteen British North American colonies in 1754...
, where British officials attempted to improve their relationship with the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
and recruit native support for the coming conflict. At the same time, Wraxall published An Abridgement of the Records of Indian Affairs: Contained in Four Folio Volumes, Transacted in the Colony of New York, from the Year 1678 to the Year 1751, an important compilation of documents chronicling New York's dealings with Native Americans. Wraxall's work highlighted the incompetence of New York's Indian commissioners at Albany, and suggested that Indian affairs should be centralized under a single official. The Abridgement was sent to officials in Great Britain, and may have influenced the policy changes that followed.
At the Albany Congress, Wraxall met William Johnson
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish official of the British Empire. As a young man, Johnson came to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Admiral Peter Warren, which was located amidst the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League...
, an influential New York official. In April 1755, Johnson was commissioned as sole British agent to the Iroquois. Wraxall was appointed as Johnson's secretary, a position he held for the remainder of his life. In 1755, Wraxall accompanied Johnson on the Crown Point expedition. Johnson's victory at the Battle of Lake George
Battle of Lake George
The Battle of Lake George was fought on 8 September 1755, in the north of the Province of New York. The battle was part of a campaign by the British to expel the French from North America in the French and Indian War....
on 8 September made him a British hero, but Wraxall, though important, remained obscure.
Wraxall's final years were relatively uneventful. He continued to serve as Johnson's secretary, and attended Indian conferences, but poor health kept him from further military service. In 1756 he married Elizabeth Stillwell. He died three years later in New York City. His replacement as the crown's Indian secretary was Witham Marshe
Witham Marshe
Witham Marshe was the representative of the colony of Maryland at the negotiation of the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744. He noted that the Iroquois were heavy drinkers, however they were careful to remain sober while negotiating important treaties....
.