Competing Dreams of the Genesee—Part II: Phelps And Gorham Play By The Rules

Before there was Phelps and Gorham, there was only Phelps.

Oliver Phelps came into this world on October 21, 1749 near Poquonock, Hartford County of the Connecticut Colony.²¹ The seventeenth child of Thomas Phelps, Oliver’s father died only three months after his birth, leaving his family destitute. At the young age of seven, Oliver got his first job working at a store in Suffield. Despite his employment, he was able to attain a modest education. By the time he was twenty-one, he had relocated to Granville, Massachusetts, “where he established a prosperous mercantile business and became recognized as one of the leading citizens.”²²

An ardent patriot from the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Phelps was there at Lexington. With his business experience, and not because of any family wealth or ties, he was appointed to the commissary department, where he served until the end of the war.²³

Livingston came from one of New York’s most prominent families. Phelps, on the other hand, rose from far humbler beginnings through trade, logistics, and business. While he may have lacked the connections prior to the Revolution, his reputation and bona fides certainly earned him a seat at the table afterward.

His business brought him into contact with Robert Morris, the head of financial affairs during the Revolution. Phelps met frequently with both Morris and Major Adam Hoops, an acquaintance and aide to General Sullivan during the expedition. It was through these discussions that Phelps confirmed the glowing prospects for Western New York that he had obtained from his New England neighbors’ firsthand reports of what they saw while serving in Sullivan’s campaign.²⁴

Phelps moved quickly after the Treaty of Hartford established the rules for acquiring land in Western New York. He assembled a group interested in joining his effort. These men included Judge James Sullivan, Thomas Skinner, Israel Chapin, William Walker, and “several of his friends in Berkshire.”^25,26

But before Phelps could put together his offer, he discovered someone had already beaten him. It was John Livingston and the Lessees. Remember, they chose a path based on legal creativity. Phelps and the man who soon became his partner relied on legal certainty.

Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham didn’t plan on working together. Gorham, who was more than ten years older than Phelps, had been President of the Continental Congress just when New York and Massachusetts sat down to iron out their differences. He would eventually serve as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, where he would chair the Committee of the Whole.²⁷ You can bet someone with that resume had connections.

Amid his own plans, Phelps learned that Gorham had approached the Massachusetts Legislature about purchasing the preemption rights from the state. Rather than compete, the two decided to merge their efforts. Gorham added Phelps and his associates to his 1787 proposal. The House accepted it, but the Senate failed to concur.²⁸

Phelps later wrote to an associate, “We found such opposition in the Senate, and so many person’s ears and eyes wide open, propagating great stories about the value of those lands, that we thought best to postpone the affair until the next session.”²⁹

Toward the end of 1787, Phelps busied himself calculating the best strategy. By the end of that year, and very early into the next, Livingston felt he had realized his dream. Had Phelps known of the Lessees’ plans and their immediate success in securing leases, he might not have proceeded so meticulously.

The game plan for each side couldn’t be more different. One looked west from Columbia County. The other looked west from Massachusetts. One saw loopholes. The other saw the letter of the law. One relied on the novelty of leases. The other relied on the certainty of a clear purchase.

In January 1788, the lessees had the edge. The leases were signed. Their supporters were energized. Their rivals were scrambling to catch up. The stakes could not have been higher. If Livingston’s leases stood, Phelps and Gorham would see their plans for a future land speculation ruined. Should Phelps and Gorham succeed in obtaining title to the land, Livingston’s leases would collapse.

Both believed they possessed the future. The two roads that opened after Hartford now pointed in opposite directions. The two plans could not coexist. Only one vision would prevail.

And New York itself was about to enter the fight.

The contest for the future of the Genesee Country had moved from theory to action.

The Treaty of Hartford had opened the market. The leases had opened the contest.

The next move belonged to Albany.

²¹ “Phelps, Oliver,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/P000298, [retrieved July 11, 2026].
²² Wandell, Samuel H., “Oliver Phelps,” Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association, Geneva, 1941, Published by the Association, Cooperstown, NY, 1942, p. 277.
²³ Turner, Orsamus, Pioneer History of the Phelps and Gorham’s Purchase and Morris Reserve (Monroe), William Alling, Rochester, 1851, p. 135.
²⁴ Ibid, p. 135.
²⁵ Ibid, p. 136.
²⁶ Chernow, Barbara Ann. “Robert Morris: Genesee Land Speculator.” New York History, Volume 58, Number 2, April 1977, p. 195.
²⁷ “Gorham, Nathaniel,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/G000325, [retrieved July 11, 2026].
²⁸ Turner, p. 136.
²⁹ Ibid.