Records documenting claims and titles to Onondaga County lands

In 1797, as a result of a petition from delegates of a number of Onondaga County towns requesting legislation to settle land title disputes, the Legislature appointed three commissioners (Laws of 1797, Chapter 51) to hear and settle the disputes. In 1801, a Concurrent Resolution passed by the Legislature again directed the Commissioner to settle Onondaga County land disputes. The Commissioners made their final report to the Legislature in 1802.

This series contains minutes and lists of land claimants and patentees compiled by the commissioners in the course of investigation and settling land claims and disputes regarding land in the Military Tract in Onondaga County.

Minutes of the Commissioners from October 3 to November 27, 1801 provide: day and date, names of commissioners present, location (town or city) of disputed land, names of claimants and witnesses, type of evidence presented (eg. Deeds), decision on award of land (sometimes). The list of patentees of military lots includes town, name and military rank or positon, regiment, lot number drawn by the soldier, hundred acre plots sold, to whom sold, fifty-acre plots sold, to whom sold, to whom land awarded, acreage awarded (sometimes). The list of land claimants provides: rank of claimant, by whom claim (claimant" or other name, date, town, lot number, acreage (sometimes).

The records had at one time been bound by the Secretary of state into 17 volumes. Many of the records were destroyed and the surviving records severely burned in the State Capitol fire of 1911. The records were disbound following the fire.

Closed to research due to severe burn damage.