Minutes of Court of Commissioners appointed to examine the controversy between Connecticut and the Mohegan Indians

Chronological.

The king appointed members of the councils of New York and New Jersey to investigate and settle a land dispute between Connecticut and the Mohegan Indians.

Records of this Court of Commissioners, which sat from May 4 to October 26, 1743 at Greenwhich, Connecticut, include: summaries of each party's arguments and the history of the dispute; copies of relevant records such as land sales by Indians to settlers, acts of the Connecticut General Assembly, and testimony from previous inquires into the same matter; summary lists of documents produced as evidence and read by the Court (e.g. patents, deeds, acts of General Assembly); depositions and testimony by witnesses for both parties; and opinions of the individual commissioners regarding outcome of the dispute. The court concluded by ruling in favor of Connecticut and ordering that the book of proceedings be placed with the Secretary of New York. These records sustained minor burn damage in the 1911 State Capitol fire.

Most, if not all, documents in the series are printed in "Governor and Company of Connecticut, and Moheagan [sic] Indians, by Their Guardians. Certified Copy of Book of Proceedings before Commisisioners of Review MDCCXLII [1743]." London: Printed by W. and J. Richardson, 1769. This work is not available at the New York State Library, but is cited and the title page reproduced in Henry F. DePuy, "A Bibliography of the english Colonial Treaties with the American Indians Including A Synopsis of Each Treaty" (New York: Printed for the Lenox Club, 1917).

Microform is available at the New York State Archives through interlibrary loan.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.