USA > New York > Warren County > History of Warren County [N.Y.] with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 25
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Glen. - " Among the ancient landmarks connected with the survey of this tract " (the Kayaderosseras tract), says Dr. Holden in his History of Queens- bury, " were a rock on the west side of the river near the foot of Baker's Falls ; a point near the Big Falls in the town of Luzerne, Warren county ; and a towering pine, whose lofty crest is at all seasons of the year conspicuous from the summit of the Palmertown Mountain, about two miles north from Doe's Corners in the town of Wilton. The swerve of the river out of its general direction from the Queensbury west line to Baker's Falls, left a gore contain- ing upwards of two thousand acres between the north line of the Kayaderos- seras patent and the Hudson River at and below Glens Falls. This tract afterwards became known as the Glen patent ; it was at one time petitioned
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
for, as appears by documents on file in the Secretary of State's office at Albany, by Simon and John Remsen, on the 14th of September, 1769, and an order was issued in council for its conveyance on the 29th of September, 1770. In the mean time, however, other claims were asserted as appears by the follow- ing : -
"' We the undermentioned subscribers do hereby certify that we, being associates in a certain purchase made from the Indians of the Mohawk Castle by John Glen, jr., Philip Van Petten, Simon Schermerhorn, for all the vacant lands lying between Sacondago, Kayaderosseras and the river to the third falls,1 we hereby allow and agree, that John Glen, jr.,2 is to have that part lying near the third falls on Hudson's River, containing about fifteen hundred acres, we hereby allow, and agree with the said John Glen, jr., that he may take out a special patent for the said tract of land.3
"'Seymen Schermerhorn, Philip V. Van Petten,
" ' Cornelius Cuyler, Johannis Schermerhorn,
"' John Cuyler, jr., Ryckart Vanfranken,
"' Cornelius Glen, John Roseboom,
" . Henry Glen,
Chris. Yates, for myself and Jellis Fonda,
"' Abrm. C. Cuyler,
Harms. H. Wendell,
"'Seymon Joh's Veeder,
Aaron Van Petten,
" ‘ Deryk V. franken, Reyier Schermerhorn.'
" This petition was endorsed as having been granted on the request of Peter Remsen, in his own behalf and for Simon and Peter A. Remsen, and was suc- ceeded by the following application : -
"'To the Honorable Cadwallader Colden, esq., lieutenant-governor, and commander-in-chief in and over the province of New York, etc., etc., etc. In council, Humbly showeth That your Petitioner and associates have made a purchase of all the vacant lands lying between the patents of Kayaderosseras, Sacondago, and Hudson's River to the third falls on said river, your petitioners therefore Humbly Pray your Excellency will be pleased to grant them a patent for a small part thereof. Beginning at the third falls on Hudson's River, and so up the river till it joyns the line of Kayaderosseras Patent and so along the line thereof to the third falls aforesaid, being the place of beginning, together with all the islands in the said river opposite. And your Petitioners shall ever pray.
"' JOHN .GLEN, JR.
"' HENRY GLEN.'
1 Baker's Falls on the Hudson River. A long and costly law-snit, in the early part of the century, hinged upon the question whether the third fall on the Hudson River applied to Baker's Falls or the falls at Fort Miller. The question was ultimately decided to apply to the former, an opinion abundantly corroborated by all the earlier maps and surveys.
2 For ancestry, etc., of Glen, see succeeding history of Queensbury and Glens Falls village.
3 This tract had heen petitioned for by John Glen and others as early as May 6th, 1761, thus taking precedence in priority of the Queensbury patent. - Vide Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, P. 303.
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LAND TITLES.
" The Burnham family of Glens Falls have, in their possession, a lease en- grossed on parchment, in which, on the 5th of February, 1772, John Glen conveys to Christopher Yates, the use for one year of part of two islands in the Hudson River and a tract of land on the west side of Hudson River, the same being a part, as the instrument states, of a patent granted to John Glen and Henry Glen. The islands referred to are those lying near the eastern boundary of the town of Queensbury, and elsewhere referred to as owned first by the Jessups and afterwards by Daniel Jones."
Dr. Holden adds the observation that " more space is here devoted to the consideration of the Glen tract than would otherwise be given it, from the fact that the name of Glens Falls is derived from one of the patentees, the circum- stances connected with which have been presented to the public in such dis- torted shape, as to require a new and thorough explanation." This statement gives ample reason for the insertion of the full explanation herein.
Glen. - The records show that there were four patents granted to Jacob Glen on the 6th of March, 1790, for one thousand one hundred acres in the aggregate. These little tracts were just west of Queensbury patent. Two of these tracts are in Queensbury, and two in Luzerne. - Patents Vol. XXII, page 199.
Harris. - On the 22d of April, 1788, there was granted to Joshua Harris four small patents of two hundred acres each, between Queensbury patent and Lake George. These lie in the town of Queensbury. - Patents, Vol. XX, pages 293 to 296.
Harris. - On the border of the county next to Washington are several patents that were granted to Moses Harris, according to the small map of the Lake George tract, through which the county line runs.
Houghton. - A tract around the head of Lake George, and reaching as far south as Queensbury patent, was granted to Robert Harpur, of King's College, New York, and eighty-six others, "Protestants and dutiful subjects of the North of Ireland " for three thousand seven hundred acres, with 31,015 acres lying between Wood Creek and Lake George, together with Long Island in Lake George, on the 22d of May, 1765. In this patent was granted the rights and privileges of a township named Harpurville; precisely as in the case of Queensbury. Why this patent reverted would be of interest to know, as the land that was covered by the patent has been resurveyed in other tracts, and the original boundaries become obsolete. A small part of this original grant, lying around the "garrison grounds " at Caldwell, and reaching south to Queens- bury patent in a very small point, was granted to William Houghton on the 3d of July, 1770, containing two thousand acres. The commencement of this survey is identical with the first and so are several of the courses, and distances. The first grant is in Patents, Vol. XIV, page 78, etc .; and the second M. P., Vol. II, page 479. It lies in the town of Caldwell.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
Hyde Township. - This township was granted to Edward and Ebenezer Jessup and thirty-eight others, with all the rights and privileges of a township, the same as Queensbury. The tract was to contain forty thousand acres, but in reality contains a great deal more, even allowing for the usual five per cent. for highways. Patent dated September 10th, 1774. - Patents, Vol. XVI, page 410, etc. It lies in Warrensburgh and Thurman.
Hitchcock. - Zina Hitchcock and Philip Smith were granted a patent for one thousand and eighty-one acres on the 15th of August, 1795. It lies next north of Wheeler Douglass in Bolton, and is marked "Smith," on Burr's Atlas. - Patents, Vol. XIII, page 407.
Fessups. - Ebenezer Jessup and fourteen associates petitioned for fifteen thousand acres of unoccupied land on the east side of the Hudson River. As they could not find enough to suit them in a body, they were content to take it in several places. The first tract, which is the one lying farthest north was granted on the 20th of May, 1768, and contained seven thousand five hundred and fifty acres, which was to be divided into fifteen equal shares. - Patents, Vol. XIV, page 270 etc.
The second tract was patented on the 21st day of May, 1768, to the same parties, and contained four thousand one hundred acres. It is on this second tract that the village of Luzerne stands. - Patents, Vol. XIV, page 276, etc.
The third tract was located between these two, and only granted to Ebe- nezer and Edward Jessup. It was patented on the 10th of April, 1772, and contained two thousand acres. This patent was bounded on the west by Wat- cock, Quinn and Christie - Patents, Vol. XVI, page 208.
Fones. - John Jones, who is described as "barrack-master," was granted two hundred acres on the west side of Lake George, which embraced the site of the village of Caldwell. The grant was made in June, 1785. This tract was conveyed to Udney Hay, who re-conveyed it to Mr. Caldwell. (See his- tory of the town of Caldwell.)
Kennedy. - Robert Kennedy was granted a patent for two thousand acres, on the west side of Lake George, north of the site of Caldwell village. The date was October Ist, 1774. The original grant is in the Warren county clerk's office.
Kayadcrosseras Patent. - Of this patent Dr. Holden writes as follows in his History of Queensbury : -
" We next come to the consideration of the Kayaderosseras patent, whose north line cuts through the west and southwest portions of the town, and from the beginning has given rise to almost interminable litigation. The early law reports of the century are loaded with these cases, whose various points and issues have hardly yet been completely tested. One of the more recent cases was tried in 1857, being brought by Thomas B. Bennett, who claimed under the Kayaderosseras patent, against Abraham Wing and others, who also claimed
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LAND TITLES.
under the same patent but from a different deed. Bennett's action being founded on a supposition that Wing would claim under the Queensbury pat- ent, he was defeated with costs. It is proper to state however, that there were other points in issue.
"The great Kayaderosseras patent was founded on a grant obtained in 1702 from two Mohawk sachems. named Ter-jen-nin-ho-ge, or Joseph, and De-han-och-rak-has, or Hendrick. The grantees were Robert Livingston and David Schuyler; and the consideration, sundry goods, wares and merchandise. It was soon afterwards alleged that the purchase was fraudulent, the chiefs signing the deed being intoxicated for that purpose, and in no way authorized by their tribe to dispose of the lands embraced in the purchase, and that much more territory was claimed and subsequently granted by patent than was em- braced even by this fraudulent conveyance. For upwards of sixty years, this transaction was a prolific source of anxiety to the Indians, and of reproach and trouble to the whites. At a council held with the lower castle of the Mo- hawks at Albany, Thursday, June 27th, 1754, Lieutenant Governor James De Lancy presiding, the speaker in behalf of the Indians said : -
" ' Brother, we are told a large tract of land has been taken up called Kaya- derosseras, beginning at the half moon, and so along up the Hudson River, to the third fall and thence to the Cacknowaga or Canada Creek which is about four or five miles above the Mohawk, which, upon enquiry among our old men, we can not find was ever sold, and as to the particular persons, many of them live in this town,' but there are so great a number we cannot name them.'
" This purchase was confirmed by letters patent from the crown in 1708 to thirteen patentees and contained by estimation about eight hundred thousand acres lying between the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. A great proportion of the land titles in Saratoga county, as also the western part of Warren county, are predicated upon this grant.2 The points in controversy were amicably settled in 1768, by the recession to the natives of a portion of the disputed territory lying near the Mohawk River,3 and the payment by the proprietors of $5000 for the remainder, extending on the Hudson (with the exception of two small patents previously issued) to the falls at Sandy Hill."
Copy of a description of the Kayaderosseras Patent from the Wing MSS.
"Kayaderosseras alias Queensbury, granted by Queen Anne, the 2d day of November, 1708, beginning at a place in Schenectady River about three miles distant from the southwesterly bounds of Nistigione, the said place being
I Albany, where the council was being held.
2 In one of the road surveys for the town of Queensbury, for 1820, the north boundary of the Kaya- derosseras patent is made the line of a newly relaid road. - Town Records, p. 210.
3 " On the 15th of Jan'y, 1793, the legislature of this State appointed a commission consisting of Egbert Bensen and Peter Curtenius of Dutchess, Samuel Jones of New York, Jesse Woodhull of Or- ange and Cornelius Schoonmaker of Ulster counties, to ascertain and settle the boundaries of the patent of Kayaderosseras and Half Moon."
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
the southwesterly corner of the patent then lately granted to Nanning Har- manse, Peter Fauconier, and others, thence along the said Schenectady River westerly to the southeasterly corner of a patent lately granted to William Ap- ple, thence along the easterly, northerly and westerly lines of the said William Apple's patent down to the above said river, thence to Schenectady bounds, or the southwesterly corner of the said patent on the said river, so along the easterly northerly and westerly bounds thereof down to the said river again, thence along the said river up westerly to the southeasterly bounds of a tract of land then lately granted to Ebenezer Wilson, and John Abeel, and so along the patent round to the southwesterly corner thereof up the said Schenectada river then continuing to run westerly up said Schenectada river to a place or hill called Tweetonondo being five miles distant or thereabouts from the south- westerly corner of the Wilson and Abeel's patent, thence northerly to the northwesternmost head of a creek called Kayaderosseras about fourteen miles more or less, thence eight miles more northerly, then easterly or northeasterly to the third falls on Albany river about twenty miles, more or less thence along the said river down southerly to the northeasterly bounds of Saratoga thence along the said Saratoga northerly, westerly and southerly bounds on the said river, thence to the northeasterly corner of Anthony Van Schaik's lands on the said river, so northerly and westerly along the said Van Schaik's patent to the northeast corner of the above said patent granted to Nanning Harmanse, Peter Fauconier and others thence along the northerly and westerly bounds thereof down to the above said river of Schenectada it being the place where it first began, which said tract of land we have divided into twenty-five allot- ments viz. : Allotment No. 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, are contro- verted, and the remaining allotments, viz. : Allotment No. 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, are not controverted, also the lots No. I and 2, distinguished in the map by the red stain, which together contain 21,350 acres we have set apart for defraying the charges of the partition."
(Not signed.)
Lawrence. - There is quite a tract marked on the map of French Moun- tain tract, as belonging to John Lawrence, but whether it was patented to him or not we did not succeed in finding out. It is in Queensbury.
McCauley. - There is a small patent nearly south of the village of War- rensburgh, and marked Auley on Burr's atlas (which ought to be Hugh Mc- Auley). We failed to find further records of it It lies in the town of Cald- well.
McClay. - There is another small patent marked on the map of Warrens- burgh tract, "D. McClay," of which we have failed to find any record. It lies in the town of Warrensburgh in the extreme southwest corner.
Laws. - A patent of about fifteen hundred and fifty acres lies in the town of Hague, on the lake shore, on which the village of Hague stands, of which we obtained no definite trace.
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LAND TITLES.
Mc Clallen. - A large tract of twenty-two thousand one hundred acres in the north part of Hague, and in the south part of Ticonderoga, was granted to Robert McClallen, James Caldwell and Robert Cochran, and a second tract south of the first, of seventeen thousand six hundred acres, on the 3d of March, 1795. In the description of the boundaries of these two tracts, there is men- tion made of the patents of Samuel Deal, John Stoughton, Jonathan Mathews, John Lee, James Stevenson, Theopilact Bache, George Robinson, James Scott, William Friend, besides several patents that were granted to James Caldwell. - Patents, Vol. XVIII, page 56, etc.
McDonold. - Niel McDonold, with seven others, was granted a patent for sixteen hundred acres on the 28th of March, 1771. It lies next north of Peter Garland and among the names is William Nowland, which may account for the name on the map in Burr's atlas, as Norman. We find no such name in the Indexes. The patent is in the town of Bolton. - Military Patents, Vol. II, page 578.
Mitchell. - Hill Mitchell and fifteen others obtained a patent for eight hun- dred acres next north of David Smith, and twelve others on the 5th of April, 1771. It lies in the extreme north point of Caldwell. - M. P., Vol. II, page 584.
Portcr .- Thomas Porter and twenty-seven others were granted a patent for fifty-six hundred acres lying next north of Niel McDonold, on the north- east branch of the Hudson River (or what is now known as the Schroon branch), on the 8th day of March, 1771. It is in Horicon. - M. P., Vol. II, page 541.
Oglevie. - Alexander Oglevie and others were granted a patent for six hundred acres bounded on the south by John Campbell and west by the river. This patent lies in the town of Bolton. - Military Patents, Vol. II, page 604.
Queensbury. - See later pages.
Quinn. - Edward Quinn and six others obtained a patent for three hun- dred and fifty acres next north of Christie's, bounded on the east by Jessup's third tract. It is in the town of Luzerne. Dated July 18th, 1770. - M. P .. Vol. II, page 262.
Robinson. - George Robinson and others obtained a patent for a narrow strip of land on both sides of Beaver Brook, and north of Ford's patent, in the town of Hague.
Ross. -- James Ross obtained a patent for two thousand acres on the 10th of April, 1775. It lies next north of Goldthwaite's patent in the town of Warrensburgh. - M. P., Vol. III, page 50.
Roberts. - Thomas Roberts and eleven others obtained a grant for six hun- dred acres next north of Thomas Porter, on the 8th of March, 1771. This lies almost all in the town of Horicon. - M. P., Vol. II, page 538.
Rogers. - Platt Rogers obtained a patent for a large tract lying on both
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
sides of Schroon River, as compensation for building roads. This patent, known as the Road patent, is in the towns of Horicon and Chester.
Smith. - David Smith and twelve others obtained a grant for a tract of two thousand six hundred acres, next south of Mitchell's opposite Warrens- burgh village, on the southwest side of the northeast branch of the Hudson River, in Caldwell, on the 5th of April, 1771. - M. P., Vol. II, page 582.
Watcock. - Richard Watcock and six others had a patent of three hundred and fifty acres next south of Quinn, on the east bank of the Hudson River in the present town of Luzerne. - M. P., Vol. II, page 361.
By an examination of a quantity of old maps obtained in various places, for the construction of French's map of the State, we have found names that we do not find on any of the engraved maps. Three little tracts marked E. Dunham, on Tongue Mountain tract ; David McClay, on Warrensburgh tract ; James Rob- ertson, James Mountfort, and William Brown, on the Luzerne tract; Charles Sheriff, James Parkinson, James Panton, and Jesse Chidester, on the north of Hyde township; Andrew Gowdy, F. Turner, James Randell, south of Brant Lake tract. N. Gardinier, just south of Platt Rogers's Road tract, on the same map. On the other hand there are in the Indexes at Albany the names of many persons that are indexed to various parts of this county that it is now impossible to locate.
Large Tracts. - Besides these, and those that we have failed to find the record of, and others where we have found the record and have not found a place on the map in which to locate them, there are several large tracts that were surveyed at a later date, and sold by the State to individuals, and al- though they obtained patents for their purchases, it did not change the name of the tract. Hague tract lies in the west part of Hague, and reaches north into Ticonderoga. Brant Lake tract lies next west of Hague, and covers most of the town of Horicon. South of these lies Northwest Bay tract, in Bolton, and Tongue Mountain tract partly in Bolton and partly in Hague. Warrens- burgh tract lies in the southwest corner of that town, and Luzerne tract is nearly all in the east part of that town. French Mountain tract lies in the northeast point of Queensbury. Totten and Crossfield purchase covers all the northwest corner of the county, all of Johnsburgh and a part of Chester. The rear division of Palmer's purchase lies mostly in Stony Creek, with a small por- tion in Thurman. The twenty-fifth division of the Kayaderosseras lies south of Luzerne tract and Queensbury patent, in the towns of Luzerne and Queens- bury. The rear division of Palmer's purchase was sub-divided by the heirs of Thomas Palmer, Philip Livingstone, Peter Remsen and Dirck Lefferts.
When application was made to the colonial government for a tract of land the signers of the petition usually affirmed that they were true and lawful sub- jects, and desired the land for actual settlement, and it would be a curious question to answer by the historian in how many cases the land was actually
·
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occupied by the petitioners. The small patents were usually granted to the officers, non-commissioned officers and privates of the British army that were garrisoned at Fort George, Fort Edward, Fort Lyman, or Fort William Henry. A glance at the map, and a comparison of the dates of their respective patents, will convince the reader that the county was sparsely settled long before the Revolutionary war, if those only who took patents actually occupied them, yet it is a difficult matter to trace the correct history of occurrences back to that period. There may be a history of any of the great tracts, equal to that avail- able of Queensbury, if we only knew where to find it, but we do not, even if it exists.
Map. - To arrange these patents, grants and large tracts in their proper places in order to project a map of the county is one of those tasks that never has been done and never will be until the Trigonometrical Survey of the State has been completed. The causes that combine to defeat anything like accu- racy are, first, the variation of the magnetic needle by which all these were lo- cated ; second, the errors in chaining over mountains and streams; third, the allowances that surveyors made for rough land and for highways; and, fourth, the laps and gores, or the interference of patent lines and the spaces between patents.
Beside the annual and ever increasing variation of the magnetic needle, the local attractions were very prominent in many portions of this county. This cause alone was sufficient to disarrange any survey made in that manner, but frequently the surveyor, in correcting up his latitude and departure, would rely on his needle and not on the chain, and plot his courses so as to balance, making his distances agree to a single link. Surveyors of the present day know that this is utterly preposterous, and when they have the least suspi- cion, invariably rely on the chain. Frequently in the returns of the surveyor to the land commissioners, he would say in his survey-bill, "as the needle pointed " in some previous year, and particularly when he was following an old line; but when he began to run a new line in the wilderness, he would in- variably run as the needle happened to point at that time. Thus lines that were intended as parallel on the ground, and were so, would have a variation on the map of several degrees.
The difficulties in chaining over mountains, precipices, lakes and chasms, and getting the distances correct, is apparent to any intelligent man; but to make this look particularly absurd, in common chain surveying, we give an in- cident of a State Deputy Surveyor who measured a gore between the Old Mil- itary tract and the Refugee tract, in Clinton county. This strip of land was quite narrow, but very long, reaching from Dannemora to the Canada line. He passed over three mountain chains, two large rivers, several precipices and a chasm three hundred feet deep; and yet his distances invariably balance. Besides this impossible feat, he made the Canada line at right angles to his
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
north and south lines. When absolute accuracy is desired, it is safe to say that no two men can chain a mile and then chain it back again, and find the two measurements agree.
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