U.S. Customs Service Selected Documents Relating to French Spoliation Claims

Arranged in two groups: "Miscellaneous certificates of registry, 1784-1802," 51 pp.; "Bonds and oaths of ownership, 1785-1803," 499 pp.

Microfilmed documents contain evidence of the ownership and registry of vessels, most having their home port at New York City or another place in New York or a nearby state. The documents pertain to the New York customs district and include certificates of registry, bills of sale, affidavits of ownership, etc. They provide information about numerous vessels and their owners and masters in the late eighteenth century. The documents were submitted to the U.S. government as evidence of claims arising from loss of vessels or cargoes to privateers acting for the governments of France, Spain, and the Netherlands during the period 1797-1800. Those claims were assumed by the United States government in 1803, under a provision of the treaty by which France sold Louisiana.

Microfilm: 1 roll; 35 mm.

The documents were selected for microfilming from the records of the customs district of New York (National Archives Record Group 36).

This microfilm reel was donated to the New York State Archives by George Damiano, ca. 1994.

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