(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
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Peter Wraxall was born about 1720, in Bristol, England, the son of John Wraxall, a resident of Bristol in England, and belonged to a family which appears to have enjoyed good social and political connections. Coming of age in a once-substantial business family that had fallen on hard times, Peter left home to seek his fortune.
In 1745, he was identified as a mariner and was on his way to Virginia on the ship David.
Prior to that, he may have spent time in Holland and also in Jamaica. In 1746, he was on Long Island where he was raising a company to serve in an expedition against Canada.
In 1747 he went to England on personal business and did not return to New York until May 1752. While in England he secured the King's appointment to the offices of secretary and agent for Indian affairs in New York, and town clerk, clerk of the peace, and clerk of the common pleas in the county and city of Albany, the commissions being dated November 15, 1750. Shortly after returning to New York, he entered upon his duties as secretary for Indian affairs, but in the meantime, Governor Clinton had appointed another person to the offices of town clerk, etc. , and he never assumed the duties of this position. As secretary for Indian affairs, Wraxall attended councils and kept a record of proceedings. In 1754 he was chosen secretary to the Albany Congress, which probably brought him prominently to the attention of William Johnson. Shortly before the Congress, he had forwarded to Lord Halifax "An Abridgment of the Records of Indian Affairs transacted in the Colony of New York from the year 1678 to the year 1751". This compilation, including his own comments, was an arraignment of the Albany fur traders and of the Albany commissioners in charge of Indian affairs, whom he accused of playing into the hands of the French. There is reason to think that this document was influential in helping to secure for Johnson his subsequent appointment as superintendent of Indian affairs. Early in 1755, Johnson secured permission from General Braddock to attach Wraxall to himself in his capacity as secretary for Indian affairs. Wraxall accompanied Johnson on his Crown Point expedition and was present at the battle of Lake George, September 8, 1755. Wraxall had in the meantime been commissioned captain in the New York forces and on this expedition served Johnson not only as secretary but also as aide-de-camp and judge advocate, being entrusted by his superior with various important administrative and political matters. He subsequently saw little active military service, but he continued to serve Johnson as secretary until his own death. Johnson valued his services in the field of Indian affairs very highly, observing that he had "a peculiar Turn that way. " In the winter of 1755-1756, he prepared a memorandum entitled "Some Thoughts upon the British Indian Interest in North America, more particularly as it relates to the Northern Confederacy commonly called the Six Nations" (Documents, post, VII, 15-31), which has been characterized as "unquestionably the ablest and best paper on the Indian question written during this earlier period. "
Peter Wraxall died on July 10, 1759, in New York City and was buried in the cemetery of Trinity Church.
The eminent secretary for Indian affairs, Peter Wraxall made an important contribution to the formulation and implementation of British Indian policy during a critical period in the eighteenth century. His "Abridgement" and "Thoughts" influenced the course of British Indian policy and Indian-white relations for several decades.
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
On December 9, 1756, Peter Wraxall married Elizabeth Stillwell.
