William Pratt family papers

Collection – Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-0072

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The collection of family papers and miscellaneous publications dating between 1801 and 1978, consist primarily of the legal and financial papers and correspondence of Captain William Pratt and his descendants.

Dates

Creation: April 20, 1801-1978

Extent

0.92 Cubic Feet (2 legal archive boxes)

Creator

Pratt, William, 1775-1824 (Person)

Scope and Contents

The William Pratt family papers mainly consist of the legal and financial papers and correspondence of Captain William Pratt and his descendants. The documents date from 1801 to 1978. Some of the early documents, those dating about 1816-1823, are most interesting as they concern the purchase of an eighty acre tract of land near Perrysburg, Ohio, which was settled by William Pratt and his family. They also document Pratt's shipping business, illustrating the use of his schooner, SALLY, for business trips between Perrysburg and Buffalo, New York. The remainder of these early Pratt documents include land agreements and patents, correspondence and business records.

The rest of the collection, dating in a very scattered manner from the 1850s-1970s, continues to document for the most part the financial and legal activities of the descendants of William Pratt. Account ledgers document the farming business and personal correspondence documents the movement of family members away from Perrysburg.

As this collection is relatively small in size and includes a variety of documents, it has been arranged in rough categories of land records, legal documents, correspondence, financial documents and personal files The early documents have been itemized in the box/folder inventory as they provide some of the earliest glimpses into the settlement of Wood County, Ohio.

Biographical / Historical

William Pratt was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts and worked with his father in the shipbuilding business. At the beginning of the War of 1812, William owned a shipyard in Canada and facing possible impressment by the British soldiers, he and his wife Bethiah fled to Rochester, New York, and left the business to be confiscated by the British. He became a captain in the New York Militia and served in the Maumee Valley during the remainder of the War of 1812.

In 1818, Pratt and his family arrived, via Lake Ontario, the Niagara River and Lake Erie, in Orleans (Perrysburg), Ohio. The schooner utilized for this trip, SALLY, was built by Pratt in New York and after the family settled on an eighty acre tract near Perrysburg, he continued to use the vessel for trading between Perrysburg and Buffalo. Pratt also farmed and served as the first Treasurer of Wood County and later as Associate Judge of the Wood County Court of Common Pleas.

William Pratt married Bathia Brown and their family consisted of eight children - Jonas, William, Hiram, Amos, Sarah, James, Benjamin, and Jane. William Pratt died on 3 February 1824 in Perrysburg. His youngest son, Benjamin Foster Pratt (1824-1914), known as Foster, married Susan Perrin (1829-1914) on March 20, 1850. To this couple were born the following children: John F., Ella (Kerr), William, Mary (May), Guy, Clifton, and Benjamin F. John F. Pratt was the father of Fred H. Pratt and grandfather of Douglas Pratt, donors of this collection.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Pratt, Hull Prairie Road, Perrysburg, Ohio donated the William Pratt family papers to the Center for Archival Collections in November 1979. The papers were transferred by Paul Yon, Associate Director and Rebecca Harkema, Graduate Assistant, History Department. Additions to the collection were donated by Mabel Pratt on March 17, 2000, and again by Douglas and Mary Ellen Pratt in August 2001 and May 2005.