Francis Wafer of Ireland and the American Frontier

Shows area from the Wabash River on the west to the Scioto River on the east, and from Lake Huron...

Patten, John, 1724 Or. A Map of the western parts of the province of Pennsylvania, Virginia, &c. [?, 1753] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/gm71002323/. (Accessed December 03, 2017.)

My father's ancestor Mary Wafer, born about 1793 in Greenville, South Carolina, descends from the immigrant Francis Wafer of which very little is known. A family story, supposedly told by him to a grandson, recounts that he was born in Ireland, he was a Catholic, and he came to America to earn money as an "Indian trader."  

Recently, I uncovered information that confirms that he was a trader, working for the Ohio Company, with Charles Gist. As background, there is this  summary from Wikipedia: 

In 1750, the Ohio Company hired Christopher Gist, a skillful woodsman and surveyor, to explore the Ohio Valley in order to identify lands for potential settlement. He surveyed by estimating the Kanawhan Region and the Ohio Valley tributaries beginning in 1750, 1751 and 1753. His journals provide valuable insights of the greater Ohio Valley and the Alleghenies. Gist travelled as far west as the Miami Indian village of Pickawillany (near present Piqua, Ohio). Upon the basis of his report, the Ohio Company settled in an area in Western Pennsylvania and present-day West Virginia... 


Receipts involving individuals connected to the Ohio Company prove that Francis Wafer was working in these areas, probably involved with the Indian trade, by 1750.  From the journal of Charles Gist during one of his treks into the Ohio Valley is this passage (refers to George Croghan -  a deputy agent for Indian affairs for Britain):

"...Croghan (who is a mere Idol among his countrymen the Irish traders)..."

Gist Journal p 1-10, Date ca. 1750 Ohio Company Papers, Darlington Digital Library 

University of Pittsburgh

This passage shows that Gist was working with a group of Irish immigrants who were traders. In the book The Ohio Company: Its Inner History by Alfred Proctor James  (University of Pittsburgh Pre, Jun 15, 1959) James implies that Wafer, Croghan and Gist were all with the Shawnee at the mouth of the Scioto River  in September of 1750. 

From the website North Eastern York County History in Preservation Pennsylvania:

"Earliest recorded land deeds show that the property later to become Mount Wolf was first deeded by the proprietaries of the Province of Pennsylvania to James Murray in October 20, 1746. The earliest record shows a deed for 185 acres. Soon afterward Murray sold the land to Frances Wafer who was apparently unable to maintain the land clear of debt....On October 30, 1751, John Dickson purchased the parcel of land at a sheriff's sale..."

York County was formed on August 19, 1749 from Lancaster County. A deed from The York County Archives (Vol. A. page 29) dated April 16, 1752 shows that Francis Wafer's land was sold, through the sheriff, to a John Dixon. This land was actually located in Manchester Township at that time. I thank the Manchester Town Historical Society's Bill Einsig for locating this information for me. 

"In 1763, a party of twenty-three Indian traders from eastern Pennsylvania, under the leadership of Colonel Alexander Lowry, made an expedition into the western country with a long train of pack horses...The object of this expedition was to reopen trade with the Indians of the Ohio Valley." [History of York County Pennsylvania by  George R. Prowell, 1908]

This expedition, led by Col. Alexander Lowrey, included Captain William Trent and George Croghan.  As the party was returning with furs and pelts (valued at 82,000 pounds in New York currency) the party was attacked by Shawnee, Delaware and Huron Indians who took or destroyed their goods. Many of these traders were left ruined and in debt after the raid.  While I have been unable to find verification that Francis Wafer was part of this trading party I believe it could be possible and may explain his relocation to North Carolina. 

Francis Wafer appears again in New Hanover, North Carolina, in a land deed dated 1765. 

Book: 18 pg: 170 Grant no.: 210, 17 Apr 1765    State Archives of North Carolina 

There is no birth record for Francis Wafer - so any date is a guess.  He was living with his father on their farm in Ireland when he took sail to America to make his fortune (or so he had been told) as a trader. My guess is he was no more than 20 at that time.  At this time, I have not found any records placing him in America prior to 1750 nor do I have any records proving where and when he died. In future posts I will discuss the research I began many years ago on the Wafers of Ireland.