John Stewart [I00249] and Margaret (McFarland) Stewart [I00261] settled in what was then Wheatfield township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Today it is Buffington Township in Indiana County. Their land was located at the headwaters of Bracken’s Run, about 4 miles north of Bracken’s Mill.

This advertisement appeared in Philadelphia and describes land very near the Stewart homestead in western Pennsylvania. John Stewart acquired his land via a patent from the Commonwealth. It is unclear how this relates to land sold by public auction in Philadelphia.

The lure of large tracts of land in the wilderness was enticing to early settlers. Perhaps it was a similar advertisement that brought them westward.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Source: "To Be Sold," Advertisement, The Freeman's Journal, 13 February 1788, Page 3, Column 3; online archives (Newspapers.com : Downloaded 23 July 2016).