- unitid
-
{"value"=>"1150034", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"calendar"=>"gregorian", "era"=>"ce", "type"=>"inclusive", "value"=>"1761-1700s"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Series V. Papers relating to the Manor of Rensselaerswyck"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Abraham Yates provided legal assistance to the Van Rensselaers during the 1760s and possibly later. The Patroon at that time was Stephen Van Rensselaer II (1742-1769). After his death the patroonship was administered by Abraham Ten Broeck, the uncle and guardian of the young Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764-1839), and one of the executors of the will.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>Papers relating to the Manor of Rensselaerswyck consist of two unfinished autograph legal memoranda drafted by Yates for the Van Rensselaer patroonship, dating from the 1760s, and several 18th-century copies held by Yates of early Van Rensselaer legal and property records, and Albany government records, in English and Dutch. The papers were donated to the Library in 1917 by Howard Townsend (1858-1935), the son of Justine Van Rensselaer and Howard Townsend, M.D., with one exception. The copy of Minutes from 1638 to 1658, retained in the Lansing donation as an undescribed miscellaneous item, is included here.</p> <p>The two legal memoranda were originally described as one manuscript in two parts, entitled with the endorsement of the undated manuscript. They are now described as two distinct items. The remaining descriptions are based on an early Library inventory of the Townsend donation.</p> <p>The memoranda analyze or present the \"state of the case\" in two unrelated real property lawsuits, concerning early land transactions by the Dutch West India Company, the patroons and other settlers, and Native Americans. Both documents assess the extent to which the Van Rensselaers met conditions for settlement in New Netherland established in the Dutch States General's Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions (1629, printed 1630), often called the \"Articles of Encouragement\" by Yates, and cited with respect to Van Rensselaer rights in the suits. Yates addresses opposing claims and apparent disparities in early deeds, and describes efforts to clarify the boundaries of the Van Rensselaer patent during the transition of the colony from Dutch to English control. For Yates' continued interest in legal aspects of early settlement see his 1771 correspondence with Samuel Jones in the Numbered Letters and Documents series.</p>"}
- bibliography
-
{"id"=>"aspace_d31441786edc9a0c128b211a162e53e1", "value"=>"<p>References to Abraham Yates Jr.'s legal work for Stephen Van Rensselaer II are found in the Stephen Van Rensselaer estate inventory, 1787 (MssCol 3138) published as \"Inventory of the Rensselaerswyck Manuscripts\" Parts I-III in <span class=\"title\">Bulletin of The New York Public Library</span> 28, nos. 5-7 (May-July 1924; separate offprint, 1924). Many of the Manor records listed in the inventory were destroyed in the New York State Library fire of 1911. The two memoranda are cited in footnote 31, Vol. 28, No. 7, page 539, offprint page 46. The <span class=\"title\">Inventory</span> contains a number of items pertaining to the Normans Kill dispute mentioned below.</p>"}