WHEREAS THE DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY INCORPORATED BY THE STATE OF OHIO, BY THE NAME OF THE PROPRIETORS OF "THE HALF MILLION ACRES OF LAND, LYING SOUTH OF LAKE ERIE, CALLED SUFFERERS LAND," ASSESSED A TAX OF TWENTY-FIVE CENTS ON THE POUND, OF THE ORIGINAL LOSSES TO BE PAID BY EACH PROPRIETOR, IN PROPORTION TO EACH PERSON'S RESPECTIVE SHARE OR LOSS AS SET IN THE ORIGINAL GRANT - AND WHEREAS THE PROPRIETOR OF THE RIGHT OR LOSS SET IN THE ORIGINAL GRANT TO AND IN THE NAME OF NEHEMIAH PHIPPENY HAS NEGLECTED TO PAY SAID TAX BY THE TIME DIRECTED BY THE VOTE OF SAID DIRECTORS - SO MUCH OF SAID LOSS AS WOULD RAISE THE SUM OF THREE DOLLARS AND FIFTEEN CENTS BEING THE AMOUNT OF SAID TAX DUE ON SAID LOSS, AND THIRTY ONE CENTS BEING THE REASONABLE CHARGES ON SAID SALE [EXCLUSIVE OF THE COST OF THIS DEED] TO LOTHROP LEWIS OF SO FAIRFIELD HE BEING THE HIGHEST BIDDER.| NOW KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, THAT I SAMUEL ROWLAND, COLLECTOR OF SAID TAX IN THE TOWN OF FAIRFIELD, IN AND FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THREE DOLLARS & FOR

[Fairfield County, 1805. Broadsheet, 12-1/2" x 15-1/2". Printed document completed in ink manuscript. Old folds with some repaired splits and one 6" unrepaired split. Some small chips along a few splits with minimal loss. Light tanning, scattered spotting. Good+.

The original grant for this land was to Nehemiah Phippeny, who lost title for nonpayment of taxes. The land was sold to Lothrop Lewis of Fairfield, Connecticut, on May 27, 1805. On the verso are hand written transfers of the same piece of property: from Lothrop Lewis to William Hawley of Woodbury, January 21, 1806; from Hawley to Nehemiah Dibble of Stamford, February 7, 1806; from Dibble to Zalmon & Seymour Wildman of Danbury, October 20, 1806. There is also a voided transaction [crossed out] from Hawley to William Lamson of Waterbury, January 31, 1806.
In 1800, the State of Connecticut granted to her citizens who were sufferers by fire, caused by the British during the Revolutionary War, a half million acres of land, lying within the State of Ohio, which was to be taken off the west part of the "Western Connecticut Reserve," now embraced in the counties of Huron and Erie. By an 1803 Act of Ohio, the sufferers were incorporated as "The proprietors of the half million acres of land, lying south of Lake Erie, called 'Sufferers' Land'." The Act required management of the Company by a Board of Directors. The Board was to locate and survey the granted land, and to partition it among the different claimants. This part of the Western Reserve was inhabited by Indians, who engaged in warfare with the settlers. On July 4, 1805, a treaty between the United States and the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chippewa, Munsee and Delaware, Shawanee and Pattawatamy nations was signed whereby those Indian nations, in consideration of $18,916.68, released their claims to all the lands owned by the company. (Inventory #: 33731)