Old Rare Map of North American Indian Tribes, 1844: Quaker Meetings, Native Americans

2026-03-26T01:27:14+00:00

Price: 0.00 - 1975.00 (42 variants)

A Map of North America Denoting the Boundaries of the Yearly Meetings of Friends and the Locations of the Various Indian Tribes, created by James Bowden in 1844 and issued in London by the Aborigines’ Committee of the Meeting for Sufferings, marries advocacy with cartographic clarity. Prepared to accompany the Quaker volume Some Account of the Conduct of the Religious Society of Friends…to the Year 1843, it arranges the continent into lucid, color-coded fields: the territorial reach of Quaker Yearly Meetings interlaced with the marked locations of Native nations. Rivers, mountain chains, and coastlines are carefully traced, so that moral argument is grounded in geography. The result is not merely a reference but a carefully argued map, one that shows where communities of conscience and communities under duress coexisted—and collided—across a rapidly changing North America.

Bowden, a committed English Friend, devised a map that reflects the practical, documentary temper of Quaker reform. The Meeting for Sufferings—the London Yearly Meeting’s standing committee—tasked its Aborigines’ Committee with gathering evidence and raising awareness of injustices facing Indigenous peoples. Bowden’s solution is cartographic synthesis: a “moral topography” that overlays ecclesiastical administration and human displacement. The calibrated tints delineating Yearly Meetings speak to Quaker organization and pastoral reach, while the precise labeling of tribal territories supplies a sobering ledger of consequence. Issued in London, the sheet let transatlantic readers situate reports from the field—letters, minutes, and itinerant journals—against the hard facts of mountains crossed, rivers forded, and frontiers pushed.

Nowhere is the map’s evidence more eloquent than in its legend, which enumerates the demographic scars of removal: just 26,796 Native people remaining east of the Mississippi against 77,447 driven westward, including 15,000 Cherokees. That stark arithmetic compresses a decade of federal policy into a single glance, visualizing the aftermath of forced marches and coerced treaties. East of the river, names thin out; westward, they concentrate along the corridor that would soon be known as Indian Territory. By treating population as a cartographic layer, Bowden transforms the page into a ledger of accountability, illuminating how expansionist lines on a surveyor’s map translated into ruptured homelands and reconstituted nations along new, often arid, frontiers.

Geographically, the map is an education in the continent’s structure. The Mississippi cleaves the page, fed by the Ohio and Missouri, while the Appalachians and the Rockies rise as long, stippled spines guiding climate, settlement, and commerce. The Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence, and the Gulf littoral fix trade routes that powered the ascent of cities clearly marked: Philadelphia and New York, Quaker strongholds and mercantile giants; Washington and Richmond, political fulcrums; Charleston, a key Atlantic port; Cincinnati, gateway of the Ohio Valley; St. Louis, keystone of the Mississippi-Missouri confluence; Chicago, the emergent hinge of lake and prairie; and New Orleans, the river’s unrivaled terminus. Across the West, wide spaces then described as scarcely settled are set against a dense eastern seaboard, underscoring the velocity—and imbalance—of nineteenth-century growth.

Equally distinctive is the map’s ecclesiastical geography: boundaries of Yearly Meetings—Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, among others—traced in contrasting hues. These lines reveal a lattice of oversight, worship, and witness, mapping the routes along which ministers traveled, committees corresponded, and relief was organized. In Bowden’s hands, the jurisdictional outlines of Friends become wayfinding for conscience, placing Quaker communities in proximity to Native nations they sought to support and defend. The synthesis endures as a rare mid-century visual record—at once administrative chart, historical testimony, and humanitarian brief—capturing the entwined stories of faith, expansion, and endurance inscribed upon the rivers, plains, and cities of North America.

Cities and towns on this map

Philadelphia, PA (most populous, historical Quaker center)

New York, NY (second most populous)

Chicago, IL

Cincinnati, OH

New Orleans, LA

St. Louis, MO

Charleston, SC

Richmond, VA

Washington, D.C.

Notable Features & Landmarks

Yearly Meeting Boundaries: Differentiated by color-coded lines, outlining the various regional Quaker meetings.

Native American Tribe Locations: Clearly marked, showing displacement due to forced migrations.

Legend: Quantifies the populations and numbers of tribes present on the map.

Topography: Includes detailed terrain features such as mountains and rivers, enhancing geographical understanding.

Geographical Details: Another layer of information provided through notable landmarks and unexplored territories.

Historical and design context

Mapmaker/Publisher: Created by James Bowden in 1844; issued in London by the Aborigines’ Committee of the Meeting for Sufferings.

Purpose: Accompanied the Quaker volume "Some Account of the Conduct of the Religious Society of Friends…to the Year 1843."

Historical Context: Reflects the widespread displacement of Native American tribes, including the stark contrast between populations east and west of the Mississippi River.

Quantification: The legend lists 26,796 Native Americans remaining east of the river compared to 77,447 moved westward, including 15,000 Cherokees.

Design and Style: Uses color-coded boundaries for various Yearly Meetings and tribal territories, enhancing visual differentiation.

Significance: A significant mid-19th-century visual record highlighting the impact of European-American expansion and Quaker efforts in the context of social justice.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.