George Croghan was a prominent trader, frontiersman, and Indian agent. Born in Ireland around 1718, Croghan emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1741. Within a few years, Croghan became a successful western fur trader and then land speculator. Unlike George Washington and other wealthy colonists, Croghan acquired large tracts of land and often sold them off in small portions rather than accumulating vast landed estates. A quick-witted, and savvy negotiator, Croghan was a brilliant intermediary who fellow frontiersman Christopher Gist once labeled "King of the Traders."1
Beginning in the 1740s, Ohio country was at the center of expansionist ambitions west of the Appalachian Mountains, and Croghan was a central player in those ambitions. Croghan was a part of the first English expedition that descended into Ohio country, eventually rising the to the rank of colonel. In 1753, Washington stayed at his home during the Allegheny Expedition. A key to Croghan's success was establishing trading posts in Native American villages, a method practiced by French traders, rather than wait for Indian customers to come to him, the common British practice. In this time, Croghan also learned at least two Native languages, Delaware and Mohawk, eventually becoming an Onondaga Council sachem. Due to his experience mediating business between the English and various native nations, William Johnson appointed Croghan to Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, a position he held for fifteen years from 1756 until 1771. In this role, he led various negotiations such as with the Iroquois, Shawnee, and Delaware.2
Through his relationships with Native Americans and his familiarity with the western landscape, Croghan became a prominent colonial land speculator. He generally bought large tracts and sold them in smaller portions, seldom holding any tract of land longer than five years. However, by the late 1760s, Croghan was plagued with debt. Many of his private land dealings went unconfirmed and he was forced to watch as settlers encroached lands that he had previously claimed, particularly in the Ohio country.
Croghan resigned from the Indian Affairs Department in 1771. Afterwards, he led a group of speculators that included Benjamin Franklin in an attempt to establish Vandalia, a proposed fourteenth colony along the Ohio River located in the present-day states of West Virginia and Kentucky. The project ultimately failed, increasing Croghan's overall debt.
The relationship between Washington and Croghan reflected their various landed interests to the west. Croghan initially offered to sell land to Washington, but Washington declined as Croghan did not intend to “sell less in a parcel” for this particular sale. Washington did not pursue a partner in purchasing the larger than desired parcel from him.3 Years later, Washington was among those who challenged Croghan's land titles. Washington's agent William Crawford surveyed land on Chartiers Creek that was claimed by Croghan when one of Washington's Indian deeds fell far short of the professed 100,000 acres. More than twenty years later in 1784, and despite presenting a questionable patent, Washington won a court case against Chartiers Creek families who had bought their land from Croghan. Washington's claim to the land was dated July 5, 1775, two years after his land dispute with Croghan began, and was obtained from Lord Dunmore just a few days after Washington had assumed command of the Continental army.
Croghan's believed that the American West held great economic potential for colonists, and made great efforts to ensure access to trade and settlement there. In addition, Washington, Croghan, and other land speculators performed services for settlers similar to those that were eventually performed by states and the federal government after the American Revolution.
Croghan died at his home in Passyunk Township, Pennsylvania, on August 31, 1782. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. In 2008, the Sons of the American Revolution provided his grave with a new marker.
Joshua J. Jeffers, Purdue University, updated by Zoie Horecny 13 March 2025
Notes:
1. "Christopher Gist's First and Second Journals, Sept. 11, 1750-March 29, 1752" George Mercer Papers Relating to the Ohio Company of Virginia, ed. Lois Mulkearn (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1954), 10.
2. “To Benjamin Franklin from Baynton, Wharton & Morgan, 28 August 1766,” Founders Online, National Archives
3. “From George Washington to George Croghan, 21 October 1771,” Founders Online, National Archives.
Bibliography:
Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. New York: Alfred A. Knopf: Random House, 2000.
Cook, Roy Bird. Washington's Western Lands. Strasburg: Va. Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., 1930
Volwiler, Albert T. George Croghan and the Westward Movement, 1741–1782. Cleveland: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1926.
Merrell, James H. Into the American Woods: Negotiators on the Pennsylvania Frontier. New York: Norton, 1999.
Wainwright, Nicholas B. George Croghan: Wilderness Diplomat. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1959.
