Names of Patents or Tracts	Date.	No. of acres.	Names of Original Patentees.
Adgate's Tract,*	1798	re,907	Mathew Adgate
Bayard's Patent,*	1771	50,000	William Bayard, Alexander Ellis, and fifty-three others.
Brown's (John) Tract,*	1792	-	A part of 1,920,000 acres granted to Alexander Macomb,
Burnetsfield Patent,	1725	9,400	Johan Joost Petri, and ninety-three others,
Colden's (C.) Patent,	1738	3,000	Cadwallader Colden the younger, and Coenradt Ryghtmeyer,
Cosby's Manor,*	1734	22,000	Joseph Worrell, William Cosby, and nine others.
Colden's (A.) Patent,	1761	4,000	Alexander Colden, and three others.
Frank (Conrad) & Co's Patent	1765	5,000	Coenradt Frank, and five otehrs,
Fall-Hill Patent,	1752	2,324	Johan Joost and Hendrik Herch[keimer,
Hommedieu's (L) Patent,	1786	4,000	Ezra L'Hommedieu and Nathaniel Platt
Henderson's Patent,*	1739	6,000	James Henderson, and two others,
Hasenclever's Patent,	1769	18,000	Peter Hasenclever, and seventeen others,
Johnson's (Guy) Patent,	1765	2,000	Guy Johnson.  Forfeited by attainder of G. J.
Jerseyfield Patent,*	1770	94,000	Henry Glen, Alexander Ellis, and ninety-two others,
Kass's Patent,	1724	1,100	Johan Jurgh Kass, and his children,
Lindsay's Patent	1730	3,000	John Lindsay and Philip Livingston,
Livingston's Patent,*	1762	20,000	Philip Livingston, and nineteen others.
Lispenard's Patent, *	1770	9,200	Leonard Lispenard and thirteen others,
Lansing's Patent,*	1753	6,000	Jacob and Abraham Lancing, and Jacob Glen,
McComb's Purchase, *	1792	--	Alexander Mcomb,
McNeil's Patent,	1761	4,000	John McNeil, and three others,
Matchin's Patent,*	1786	1,600	Thomas Matchin,
Nobleborough Tract,*	1787	40,960	Arthur Noble,
Moose River Tract,*	--	--	Owned by the state, except 13,080 granted in 1847 to Anson Blake,
Petrie's Purchase,	1740	6,000	John Jost Petrie, and two others,
Royal Grant	--	--	Sir William Johnson
Remsenburgh Patent,*	1787	48,000	Henry Remsen, and three others,
Snell and Timmerman's Patent,	1755	3,600	Jacob Timberman, and Johan Joost Schnell,
Staley's 1st and 2d Tract	1755	34,000	Rudolph Staley, Johan Jost Herchkeimer, Jr., Nicholas Herchkeimer, and fifteen others,
Schuyler's Patent,	1755	43,000	Abraham Lynsen, and twenty-[one others
Totten and Crossfield Patent,*	--	--
Vrooman's Patent,*	1790	9,760	Isaac Vrooman,
"      "	1786	4,000	do
"      "	1790	483	do

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Names of Patents or Tracts	Date.	No. of acres.	Names of Original Patentees.
Van Driesen, Peter,	1737	1,000	Petrus Van Driessen
Van Driesen, John,	1786	428	Johan Van Driessen,
Van Horn's Patent,*	1731	8,000	Abraham Van Horne, and three others,
Vaughn's Patent,	1770	8,000	John Vaughn and seven others,
Watson's James Tract,*	1792	--	A part of Macomb's purchase,
Winne's Patent,	1741	2,000	Peter Winne,
Walton's Patent,	1768	12,000	William Walton, Jr., and eleven others
Young's Patent,*	1752	14,000	Theobald Young, and ten others

     The Indian title to Glen's purchase, was extinguished in 1734.  The whole tract was subdivided into thirty-nine large lots, of unequal quantities.  In 1738 five of these lots were granted to Patrick McClaughry and Andrew McDowell, and eight of these lots were granted to James DeLancey, John Lindsay, and Abraham Glen.  In 1739 three were granted to Lendert Helmer, two to Jacob Glen, three to Archibald Kennedy, three to John Schuyler, Jr., three to Arent Brant, and three to Philip Schuyler.  In 1761 three were granted to Samuel Auchmuty, three to William Mitchell, and three to William Ogilvie.
     The patent for the royal grant was never recorded in this state.  The grant was made by the king in council, and not by the colonial authorities, consequently the date and number of acres can not be given from any entries in the Secretary's office at Albany.
     The Guy Johnson tract was conveyed by Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Jacob G. Klock, and Henry Oathoudt, commissioners of forfeitures of the western district of New York, to Benjamin Tallmadge, major in the army of the United States, June 7th, 1784, and by Tallmadge to Caleb Brewster, July 9th, 1794.

     The above abstract shows that the title to most of the lands in the county, with the exception of those in the extreme northern part, were granted by the crown before the commencement of the revolutionary struggle, and those grants were recognized as valid by the constitution of 1777.  But although declared valid by the fundamental law of the state, this declaration was in effect nothing more than an inhibition upon the legislative power of the state to resume these grants at pleasure.  The state was left free to protect itself against the treasonable acts or hostile aggressions of any of the parties holding under these grants.  This power was exercised by the legislature and carried into effect to some extent in this county, and this makes it expedient to give that subject a little examination.

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     The attainder act of 1779 embraced fifty-nine persons, three of whom were married females, and they were also declared convicted and attainted with their husbands of offenses against the act.  It had been the practice under the colonial government to include females in the grants by the crown, even when the patents were issued to parties for lands not intended for immediate settlement.  At this day a proceeding of this kind against a married lady would seem harsh, discourteous and ungallant.  The particular reasons, if any existed, which induced the legislature to adopt a measure so stringent, is not disclosed in the act, and there were none probably which marked them as special objects for confiscation and banishment, except the fact that they were seized in their own rights of large landed estates within the colony, and their husbands had been prominent and influential partisans in the cause of the crown, and continued their active and devoted adhesion to the king to the date of the act.  It was expedient to disarm such persons of all the powers of mischief which wealth and appliances would bestow, as well as to punish past the future aggressions against the state; and besides, this was but a slight departure from the British maxim that an attaint of blood cut off the inheritance.
     The legislature passed an act on the 12th of May, 1784, directing the speedy sale of confiscated and forfeited estates, requiring the proceeds to be applied to the sinking and discharging the public securities, created for the purpose of carrying on the war.  This was the first step taken to dispose of these estates and the functions of the commissioners ceased in 1788.  The act of 1784, designated the kind of money and certificates or bills of credit issued by the state, which might be received in payment for lands sold; and one class of bills were receivable at the rate of one dollar in silver for every one hundred and twenty nominal dollars of such bills; others at the rate of one dollar in silver for every forty of the nominal dollars specified in the certificates, and a certain class of warrants payable in wheat

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were receiveable at the rate of one silver dollar for every bushel of wheat expressed therein.
     Most of these certificates and bills had not been issued, at the date of the act, over four years, and the commissioners of forfeitures were directed not to receive in the aggregate over five millions of dollars in these bills and certificates for lands sold by them under the act.  A large nominal sum of public debt was by this process extinguished with a small amount of actual cash, or its equivalent.  This was a heavy depreciation of public securities, and was severely felt by the people, who were compelled to take them from the government.  The purchasers of the public domain, however, were in no respect losers by the operation.  Having purchased these securities at the current specie market price, or at the sum fixed by the continental scale of depreciation, they exchanged them in most instances for some of the best lands in the state, at a price per acre a little more than nominal, and thus accumulated large fortunes, which have been or soon will be wasted by their posterity.  These purchasers hazarded nothing; the state warranted the title against all claims, and assumed to pay the debts of any person owning the forfeited estate which existed prior to 9th of July, 1776, and were due to an inhabitant of this state on that day, who had not been attainted or convicted of adhering to the public enemy during the war.
     The commissioners of forfeitures of the western district of the state, sold and deeded between September, 1784 and September, 1788, ninety-three lots in the 1st allotment of the royal grant; ninety-one in the second allotment; one hundred and thirty in the 3d allotment; and one hundred and thirty-seven in the fourth allotment.
     This proceeding on the part of the state was founded on the attainder of Sir John Johnson, by the act of 1779.
     The map made by Lawrence Vrooman, in 1797, shows that Sir William gave by his will to six of his natural children by Molly Brant or Brandt, fifteen thousand acres of this grant, as follows:  To Margaret, 2000 acres; George, 3000;

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Mary, 2000; Susan, 3000; Ann, 3000; Brandt, 1000; and to William, 1000 acres.  The portion of this tract thus devised adjoins the East Canada creek, and is in the prsent towns of Manheim and Salisbury.
     The lots as numbered on the map are, 166 in the 1st allotment; 102 in the second; 136 in the third; and 143 in the fourth.  These are the highest numbers, but in several instances intervening numbers below are not found.
     A specific half of eighteen lots in Jerseyfield patent, was also sold and deeded by the commissioners of forfeitures, within the periods above mentioned.  The original patentees of this large tract were mostly of the Dutch extraction, not German, and residents in Albany, Schenectady and the lower Mohawk valley.  None of these names appear in the attainder act of 1779.  Some party known to be obnoxious to the penalties of the act, must have been proceeded against by indictment for treason against the state, and the lands declared forfeited on inquisition found.  The whole of five lots and a specified half of four others in Livingston's patent was also sold and conveyed by the commissioners.  Peter Du Bois, who was attainted by the act of October 22d, 1779, was one of the patentees of this grant, and the sales probably covered his interest, or what remained of it, in the whole patent.
     One lot, No. 52, Bayard's patent, was also sold by the commissioners, under the attainder of some of the patentees.
     A part of Glen's purchase seems to have been owned by some one obnoxious to the law attainder.  James De Lancey was one of the three joint patentees of several lots in this purchase.  He was attainted by the act of 1779.  Six small lots in that tract were sold and deeded for  1095, New York currency, on the 27th August, 1788, to replenish an exhausted treasury.  James Caldwell purchased five of the lots and Michael Myers one of them.  Johan Jurgh Kast's little patent of eleven hundred acres in Schuyler, contributed five hundred dollars to pay war expenses.  One lot in that patent seems to have been sold to make compensation for treason

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against the state.  Surely none of the descendants of that sturdy old Palatine could have been recreant to his country and a traitor to humanity.
     Two of the Bayards, grantees in the patent of that name, were attainted by the act of 1779, and if they had not then disposed of their interest, the commissioners of forfeitures no doubt gave their attention to a subject of so much importance, and a portion of that patent is held under a title from them.
     Diligent search and examination has been made in the proper quarter to find some evidence of grants under the authority of the state, of the John Joost Herkermer's property, but without success.
    

     Some part of the Herkimer property came into the hands of Alexander Ellice, soon after the revolution.  The precise time has not been ascertained by the writer, nor has he been able to lay his hand upon any papers showing the title to have come from the state.  This, however, must be so, for Mr. Ellice, being a British subject, would not have been allowed to hold forfeited lands except by a grant from the state.
     In respect to that part of the royal grant, devised by Sir William to his Indian children, the sale by the commissioners could not be sustained, and consequently was abandoned in regard to some of them, who had not committed any overt act of treason or offense against the statute.  One of these children, however, did bear arms against the colonies, and may have been proceeded against under the attainder act, by indictment.  The present titles of a portion of the grant are therefore derived from Sir William's will, through his Indian children, but all the remainder, which passed to Sir John Johnson, as heir at law, is held under the state by virtue of his attainder.
     The county covers an area of 1370 square miles, or 887,000 acres, and is bounded on the north by the county of St Lawrence, on the east by the counties of Hamilton, Fulton and Montgomery, on the south by the county of Otsego, and

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on the west by the counties of Oneida and Lewis.  It lies in the central part of the state, between 42 degrees and 50 minutes, and 44 degrees and 5 minutes north latitude, and 1 degree and 43 minutes, and 2 degrees and 14 minutes east longitude from the city of Washington; and is 75 miles long from north to south, and about 26 miles in width from east to west.

RIVERS, STREAMS AND LAKES.

 

 

 

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FACE OF THE COUNTRY.

 

 

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SOIL.

 

 

 

PRODUCTIONS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MINERALS.

 

 

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MANUFACTURES.

 

ROADS, CANALS, TURNPIKES.

 

 

 

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AND MORE COMING LATER.