Letters of James Whitelaw, Philadelphia, New York, and Ryegate, Vermont, 1773–1783

One of the ways that people could minimize the risk of emigrating was to subscribe to an emigration company, in which members each bought shares that entitled them to a certain amount of land in America. Agents were sent to the colonies to scout for good land, and when a tract large enough for all company members was found and purchased, the shareholders could then come to America to settle. If the prospective emigrants could afford the passage to America, this system provided them with their own land, a familiar community, and assistance in getting settled.

James Whitelaw, a 27-year-old surveyor from Lanarkshire, was one of the agents for such an organization founded in Paisley, Scotland, as the Scots American Company of Farmers, or the Inchinnan Company. He and David Allen went to America in 1773 in order to locate and purchase a tract of land that would be suitable for the settlement of all 138 members. They traveled some 2700 miles on horseback before deciding to buy half of the township of Ryegate, New York (now Vermont), from John Witherspoon. Similarly, Barnet, the town directly north of Ryegate, was settled by the United Company of Farmers for the Shires of Perth and Stirling.