Finding Aid Search

Title

Military patents

Series Number

A0447

Summary

This series consists of records of land grants by letters patent for military service. Grants were made to individuals holding land bounty rights originally issued to commissioned officers and private soldiers who served in New York Continental regiments during the Revolutionary War. Series also includes records of land grants to demobilize British officers and private soldiers who had served in America during the Seven Years' War.

Creator

• New York (State). Secretary of State

Title

Letters patent issued to William Basset

Series Number

B1507

Summary

This series consists of letters patent to William Basset for lot 95 in the Township of Homer, Montgomery County. One hundred acres in the southeast corner is reserved to the state, and five of every one hundred acres is to be reserved for highways. The patent was issued with the condition that the settlement is made on the tract within seven years.

Creator

• New York (State). Department of State

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Geographical indexes to patents

Series Number

A3121

Summary

This series contains geographical indexes to lands conveyed by the State of New York by letters patent. Information includes: lot number; acreage; name of patentee; date of patent; and volume and page number reference to the patent in series 12943, Letters Patent.

Creator

• New York (State). Board of Appraisers

Access Restrictions

A3121-15: Microfilm is not available for duplication or interlibrary loan.

Title

List of land patents granted by the state

Series Number

A4007

Summary

This series serves as a record of original grants of state land to private owners, listing persons who received patents for New York State lands. Settlers seeking land grants applied to the governor, who ordered the surveyor general to survey the requested land before approving the grant. Information includes patentee name; number of acres granted; date patent was filed; and location of land, either by lot number or by a description of its geographic location.

Creator

• New York (State). Surveyor General

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Holland Land Company maps, field notes, and deeds

Series Number

A0025

Summary

The series consists of field books, notes, maps, and deeds relating to the Holland Land Company's lands in the western part of New York State. Records include the original field books from the surveys of 1798 and 1799, which provide a systematic survey of the Holland Land Purchase; field notes (journals) of the survey of township lines in various ranges; and original deeds for the lands of the Holland Purchase.

Creator

• New York (State). Department of State

Access Restrictions

Restricted in part due to fragility. Use under supervision of archivist.

Title

Warrants of survey, powers of attorney, Indian deeds, and other records

Series Number

A1885

Summary

This series contains mostly warrants of survey but includes also a few unrelated legal documents. Colonial governors ordered surveys of all lands for which settlers applied for purchase. The warrants are the governor's orders to the surveyor general to carry out the survey. They provide name of governor; name of surveyor general; for whom land is to be surveyed; acreage and location of land; and date of warrant. The records suffered some burn damage in the 1911 State Capitol fire.

Creator

• New York (Colony). Governor

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Index and abstracts of military patents

Series Number

A3123

Summary

This volume contains abstracts of patents for bounty lands granted to Revolutionary War veterans, copies of which are in series A0447, Military Patents. Information includes: date of letters patent; name of patentee; name of township; lot number; acreage and county and town where lot was located ca. 1820. There is an alphabetical name index to patentees and alphabetical index to towns listing all military patents in each town.

Creator

• New York (State). Department of State

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Cockburn field notes, land records, and maps

Series Number

B1773

Summary

This series is comprised of land records (survey notes, copies of deeds, maps, quit claims, and indentures) created or accumulated by William Cockburn, his sons William Jr. and James, and his grandson Walter A. Cockburn, and maintained by the Division of Lands and Forests. The series contains three small bound volumes; miscellaneous survey notes, drawings, and maps arranged by date; and one disbound folio containing miscellaneous large maps.

Creator

• New York (State). Division of Lands and Forests

Access Restrictions

Restricted. Material is fragile. Use under supervision of an archivist.

Title

Secretary of State's letter books

Series Number

A0325

Summary

The letter books consist of handwritten and typewritten copies of outgoing correspondence sent by the New York Secretary of State. The letters deal with various subjects, including the publication and dissemination of state laws; applications for land grants; resolutions of the Commissioners of the Land Office; state censuses of 1835 and 1905; and elections. Many of the letters are partially faded, and are therefore difficult to read.

Creator

• New York (State). Secretary of State

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Land Office outgoing letter books

Series Number

A0324

Summary

This series contains letterpress copies of outgoing correspondence created by the Secretary of State's deputies in the course of managing the state's publicly-owned lands. Correspondence relates to issuing of letters patent; recording and filing of land title documents; and responding to public inquiries regarding titles to real property.

Creator

• New York (State). Secretary of State

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Original minutes

Series Number

A0177

Summary

Described as "Original Minutes" in the 1852 published catalogue of the State Library, these minutes are rough drafts which were then transcribed into Series B1870, Minutes, which remains the official record. The practice of retaining "Original Minutes" was probably discontinued in 1798. This volume was badly burned in the Capitol fire of 1911.

Creator

• New York (State). Commissioners of the Land Office

Access Restrictions

Restricted indefinitely due to extreme burn damage.

Title

Original drafts of letters patent

Series Number

A0179

Summary

This series consists of severely burned fragments of original drafts of letters patent issued by the governor of the province of New York in the name of the king of England. Prior to the New York State Capitol fire of 1911, the series most likely included six volumes of original drafts, arranged in chronological order, including indexes.

Creator

• New York (Colony). Secretary

Access Restrictions

Series is closed to research due to severe burn damage. Researchers should consult Series 12943, Letters Patent, 1664-2010.

Title

Indian deed for lands in Schaghticoke

Series Number

A3302

Summary

This series consists of the deed is for lands in Schaghticoke, which was in Albany County in 1707, but is now in Rensselaer County, New York.

Creator

• New York (State). Department of State

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Lands under water application files

Series Number

B2321

Summary

This series consists of applications for grants to lands under water. Each file typically consists of an application and accompanying map. Information on the application includes applicant name; date; attorney's name; notes related to the final determination of application; date patent was ordered to be issued; patent date; and signature of the attorney.

Creator

• New York (State). Office of General Services. Bureau of Land Management

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Returns of surveys

Series Number

A1886

Summary

Surveys in this series contain description of land; purchaser's name; location of land; and return date. The warrant of survey, giving government authorization for the survey to be done, is sometimes included also. Philip Welles did most of the surveys; a few were done by Robert Fullerton.

Creator

• New York (Colony). Governor

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Warrants to prepare letters patent

Series Number

A1884

Summary

The governor issued these warrants directing the attorney general to prepare letters patent. These patents transferred title to land from the colonial government to private owners whose application to purchase land had been approved following a survey. Each warrant contains governor's name; attorney general's name; size and boundaries of the land to be patented; and date of the warrant. These records sustained moderate to severe burn damage in the 1911 State Capitol fire.

Creator

• New York (Colony). Governor

Access Restrictions

Access to original records is restricted due to burn damage sustained in the 1911 New York State Capitol building fire.

Title

State Engineer and Surveyor land survey maps

Series Number

12405

Summary

This series consists primarily of Lake George survey maps assessing water levels and gauge readings. Also included are three other maps pertaining to land boundaries and ownership that were also filed in the Office of the State Engineer and Surveyor: lots in Macomb's Purchase and Arthursborough Patent, as well as a road patent in Hoffman Township.

Creator

• New York (State). State Engineer and Surveyor

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Abstracts of patents for lands in the military tract, including a copy of the "Balloting Book"

Series Number

A3124

Summary

This geographical register of lots and parts of lots in the Military Tract includes: name of township; lot number; acreage; subdivision; patentee name; patent date; and volume and page references to series 12943. Letters Patent. Also included is a copy of series A0476. The Balloting Book, and Other Documents Relating to Military Lands with handwritten annotations referencing volumes and page numbers of patents in series A0447, Military Patents.

Creator

• New York (State). Department of State

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Commissioners of the Land Office minutes

Series Number

B1870

Summary

The Commissioners of the Land Office were appointed to direct the disposition and granting of unappropriated state lands. This series consists of minutes documenting the approval, rejection, or direction of other actions concerning land grant applications and related land matters.

Creator

• New York (State). Commissioners of the Land Office

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Applications for land grants

Series Number

A0272

Summary

The series consists of applications for grants of unappropriated land by letters patent from New York Colony and State. Along with the applications are related reports, surveys, maps, warrants for surveying lands and drafting of letters patent, objections to title, and letters.

Creator

• New York (State). Secretary of State

Access Restrictions

A0272-19: Map is fragile and should be handled under the supervision of an archivist.