Merion Mercies Blog

Monday 20 January 2020 | 12:05 pm | digitlchic

The Welsh Tract setting of MERION MERCIES — as described by Proprietor William Penn in this 1684 correspondence, to be surveyed and established as a contiguous 40,000-acre “Barony” along the western bank of the Schuylkill River — holds unique, early distinction:

“Whereas divers considerable persons among ye Welsh Friends have requested me yt all ye Lands Purchased of me by those of North Wales and South Wales, together with ye adjacent counties to ym, as Haverfordshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire, about fourty thousand acres, may be layd out contiguously as one Barony, alledging yt ye number allready come and suddenly to come, are such as will be capable of planting ye same much wthin ye proportion allowed by ye custom of ye country, & so not lye in large and useless vacancies. And because I am Inclined and determined to agree and favour ym wth any reasonable Conveniency & priviledge: I do hereby charge thee & strictly require thee to lay out ye sd tract of Land in as uniform a manner, as conveniently may be, upon ye West side of Skoolkill river, running three miles upon ye same, & two miles backward, & then extend ye parallell wth ye river six miles, and to run westwardly so far as till ye sd quantity of land be Compleately surveyed unto ym.

“Given at Pennsbury, ye 13th 1st mo. 1684.

“— WILL. PENN.

“— To THS. HOLMES, Surveyor General.”

 



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