Documents filed with the Court of Common Pleas by municipalities in Lancaster County placing liens on real estate. The overwhelming majority were filed by the City of Lancaster. The next greatest number were filed by the Borough of Columbia. Other liens were filed by the boroughs of Adamstown, Ephrata, New Holland, Quarryville, Strasburg, and Washington. The liens show docket book and page numbers, the name of property owner, and then describe the location and size of the property along with buildings and improvements, the amount of money in question, and the cause for the assessment. These documents were recorded in Municipal Lien Docket Books 2 through 5, and are arranged in the order they appear therein. This leads to an oddity in filing order, in that the last 45 liens in Book 4 fall out of chronological sequence, overlapping and extending slightly beyond the dates of the liens in Book 5. Handwritten, plus a very few typewritten.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection, Title and Object ID, Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Information for each lien has been recorded in an Excel Spreadsheet which is available in the Research Center and the attached PDF.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please request at Reference Desk or Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Copyright
Copies of historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania government records held by LancasterHistory may be published without special permission. There is no fee for publication. Proper credit lines are encouraged in the interest of good documentation.
Credit
Courtesy of Lancaster County Archives and LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Insert 1 Land draft, for land sold by Jacob Eshleman to Levi Pownall. [Should include site of William Parker's house.] 23 March 1803.
Insert 2 Deed. Jacob Eshleman of Strasburg Township to Levi Pownall of Sadsbury Township. 204 acres and the allowance for roads. 2 April 1803. (Original housed in oversized box.)
Admin/Biographical History
The Christiana Resistance, commonly referred to as the "Christiana Riot" occurred in September of 1851 in Christiana, Pennsylvania, a borough in Lancaster County. The events known as the Christiana Resistance include an attack from slaveholders in Maryland on the inhabitants and home of William Parker a free black man living in Christiana, Pennsylvania. The slaveholders crossed the state border, and attempted claim and return the freedom seekers as their property, under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
The violent confrontation resulted in the death of Edward Gorsuch, a slaveholder, and the escape of William Parker to freedom in Canada. Edward's son, Dickinson Gorsuch, was wounded and taken to the farm of Levi Pownall, where the Pownall family nursed him back to health. Historically, this event challenged the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and is considered a precursor to the Civil War.
System of Arrangement
Series 1 Manuscript and Printed Material, 1803-1955
The digital images of the manuscript and printed material are 300 dpi JPGs; the photographs are 600 dpi JPGs.
Object Name
Deed
Draft
Container
Moores Memorial Library Series 1 Folder 1, Insert 1 Land Draft Land draft, for land sold by Jacob Eshleman to Levi Pownall. [Should include site of William Parker's house.] 23 March 1803 Moores Memorial Library Series 1 Folder 1, Insert 2 Deed Deed. Jacob Eshleman of Strasburg Township to Levi Pownall of Sadsbury Township. 204 acres and the allowance for roads. (Original housed in oversized box.) 2 April 1803
Language
English
Object ID
Christiana S01 F01
Location of Originals
Moores Memorial Library
9 West Slokom Avenue
Christiana, PA 17509
chrlib@christianalibrary.org
610-593-6683 or 610-593-6687
Related Item Notes
Christiana Resistance Collection (CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE) https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/1287a022-e430-4f3f-bc97-330571018105
Access Conditions / Restrictions
The attached images have been provided for research. The original items are restricted for preservation purposes.
Copyright
The attached images may be used for research purposes only.
Please contact Moores Memorial Library for a high resolution image and permission to publish:
Moores Memorial Library
9 West Slokom Avenue
Christiana, PA 17509
chrlib@christianalibrary.org
610-593-6683 or 610-593-6687
Credit
Christiana Resistance Collection, Series 1, Folder 1, Moores Memorial Library
Classification
CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
Christiana S01 F01
Description Level
Folder
Custodial History
Moores Memorial Library (Christiana, Pa.) owns some of the most significant manuscript material relating to the Christiana Resistance. The staff of Moores Memorial Library, part of the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster County Historical Society worked together to arrange and preserve the collection and create a finding aid to make the materials accessible to the public.
The collection contains correspondence to and from the Pownall family regarding the incident, notes regarding kidnappings in the area from 1850-1851, photocopied pages of Dickinson Gorsuch's diary, and published accounts. An 1896 photograph shows Peter Woods and Samuel Hopkins, survivors of the riot. There are also photographs of the Christiana Riot House, the Pownall farm, and key figures in the riot and at the Treason Trials of 1851.
The staff of Moores Memorial Library, part of the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster County Historical Society worked together to arrange and preserve the collection and create a finding aid to make the materials accessible to the public. Funds for this project were provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in 2001.
One hardbound volume of what appears to be an index to sheriff's deeds. Lists names of grantor and grantee, book number and page number, location and description of property, date of entry, and name of previous owner. The Partition Docket records the division of land between the listed parties, gives the date, book number and page number, describes some properties and the value, and records the action taken. The Ejectment Docket records give the date and judgments for one case.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection, Title and Object ID, Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please request at Reference Desk or Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Copyright
Copies of historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania government records held by LancasterHistory may be published without special permission. There is no fee for publication. Proper credit lines are encouraged in the interest of good documentation.
Credit
Courtesy of Lancaster County Archives and LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Petitions from landowners to the Court of Common Pleas requesting an order to the sheriff to issue deeds for property purchased at the previous sheriff's land sales. Petitions show names of petitioner, former owner, and former sheriff; signature of petitioner; a brief description of the property; location; purchase price; and date. Most are handwritten on printed forms.
System of Arrangement
Arranged chronologically by year, then alphabetically by purchaser's name.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection, Title and Object ID, Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Petitions to Make Sheriff's Deeds may be searched in the online collection database. https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please request at Reference Desk or Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Copyright
Copies of historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania government records held by LancasterHistory may be published without special permission. There is no fee for publication. Proper credit lines are encouraged in the interest of good documentation.
Credit
Courtesy of Lancaster County Archives and LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Documents detailing the conditions of a sale of real estate or property. Information includes conditions of the sale; who the property belonged to; date of sale; description of the property. Handwritten and handwritten on printed form.
The Lancaster County Archives has the Conditional Sales Dockets 1925-1981.
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection, Title and Object ID, Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The Conditional Sales Papers are in the box with Partition Papers RG 01-00 [0702].
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please request at Reference Desk or Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Copyright
Copies of historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania government records held by LancasterHistory may be published without special permission. There is no fee for publication. Proper credit lines are encouraged in the interest of good documentation.
Credit
Courtesy of Lancaster County Archives and LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Collection consists of just 16 cases. Writs of partitions, summons, and decrees recording the legal division of real estate. Documents show court term and case no.; names of plaintiffs and defendants, interested parties, judge, sheriff, twelve men; description and value of estate; and date filed. Handwritten.
Partition Dockets (1850-1907) are at the Lancaster County Archives.
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection, Title and Object ID, Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please request at Reference Desk or Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Copyright
Copies of historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania government records held by LancasterHistory may be published without special permission. There is no fee for publication. Proper credit lines are encouraged in the interest of good documentation.
Credit
Courtesy of Lancaster County Archives and LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
