From time immemorial, down to a few years after the close of the Revolution, the title of lands in this section of the state was shared in doubtful supremacy by savages and other denizens of the forests. At the earliest period of authentic history the Iroquois confederacy, and the Oneida nation in particular, were acknowledged to be the owners of the greater portion of our territory; which, according to Gautinonty, a chief of the Oswegatchie tribe, extended as far north as a line running from the mouth of French Creek to Split Rock, on Lake Champlain; while the Oswegatchies claimed the land north, as far down the St. Lawrence as Cat Island (Louisville), where a monument had been erected by Sir John Johnson. (Special message of Gov. Lewis, Assembly Journal, 1804-05, p. 49.) The Oneidas, according to a map and survey by Arent Marselis, at the request of John Duncan, reversed, and continued from the Canada Creek, till it comes to a certain mountain called Esoiade, or the Ice mountain, that Canada Creek, opposite to the old Fort Hendrick, heads; from thence running westerly to an old fort which stood on the creek, called Weteringhra Guentere, and which empties into the River St. Lawrence, about 12 miles below Carleton, or Buck Island, and which fort the Oneidas took from their enemies a long time ago; from thence running southerly to a rift upon the Onondaga River called Ogoutenagea, or Aguegonteneayea (a place remarkable for eels) about five miles from where the river empties out of the Oneyda Lake.” (The original survey bill and map are filed in the state engineer’s office.)

Marselis was doubtless the first surveyor in the county, and there is preserved a traverse of Hungry Bay made by him, in September, 1789, which began “at a monument, or red painted post, set up by the Indians, as a division line between Onendago and Oneida nation”; from which it would seem that the former claimed some right on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. To extinguish these claims a treaty was held at Fort Stanwix, October 22, 1784, with the Six Nations, by which all the country east of a line drawn from Johnson’s landing place on Lake Ontario, and keeping four miles east of the carrying-path between that lake and Lake Erie, to the mouth of Tehoseroron, or Buffalo Creek, and thence south to the north line of Pennsylvania, and down the Ohio, was ceded to the United States. The Oneida were represented at this treaty by two chiefs. This tribe, by a definite treaty held in September, 1788 conveyed the greater part of their lands to the state, by an instrument, the original of which is preserved in the secretary’s office; it is on a sheet of parchment about two feet square, with 35 seals of the parties, and appended to it is a string of wampum, made of six rows of cylindrical white and blue beads, strung upon deer skin cords. This belt is about two inches wide and nearly two feet long. To this treaty, or deed, was attached the names of the following Indians, those marked with a & being women: Odaghseghte, Kanaghweaga, Peter Utsiquette, Toyohagweanda, Shonoughlego, alias Anthony, Thaghniyongo, Tekeandyhkon, Olsetogou, Oneyanha, alias Beech Tree, Thaghtaghguisea, Gaghsaweda, Thouweaghshale, Ojistalale, alias Hanquarry, Thaghneghtolis, alias Hendrck, Kanaghsalilgh, Thaghsweangalolis, alias Paulus, Agwelentongwas, alias Domine Peter, Kahiektotan, Teyoughnihalk, Konwagalot*, Jonegh Flishea, alieas Daniel, Alawistonis, alias Blacksmith, Sagoyontha, Kaskonghguea, Kanawgalet*, Thaniyeandagayon, Keanyoko, alias David, Hannah Sodolk*, Hononwayele*. The commissioners authorized to treat with the Indians, and whose names were also attached to the document, in addition to that of Governor George Clinton, were Richard Varisk, Peter Gansevoort, Jr., William Floyd, Samuel Jones, Ezra L. Hommedieu, and Egbert Benson.

At a treaty held at Kon-on-daigua, N. Y., November 11, 1794, the United States confirmed this treaty with the Oneidas.

The office of land commissioners was created in 1786, and they were clothed with discretionary powers in selling the unappropriated lands of the state. The manner in which they exercised this trust has been made the subject of severe censure. June 22, 1791, Alexander Macomb, of New York city, acting as land agent of a company said to consist of himself, Daniel McCormick, and William Constable, all of New York, applied for the purchase of a tract of land since known as Macomb’s Purchase, (Full details of this purchase, with a copy of his applications, may be found in Hough’s History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 252, et seq.) embracing the greater part of Franklin, the whole of St. Lawrence, excepting the “ten towns” and Massena, the whole of Jefferson (excepting Penet’s Square and Tibbets’s Point), the whole of Lewis, and a part of Oswego counties. This proposition included the islands in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, fronting the tract, and excepted five per cent. for roads, and all lakes of a greater area than 1,000 acres. The proposed price was eight pence per acre. One-sixth part was payable in one year, and the residue in five equal annual installments. If one-sixth were secured by satisfactory bonds, and paid, and another sixth in like manner secured, Macomb was to receive a patent for a sixth part, in a square, in one of the corners of the tract, and the same rule was to be observed throughout, until the whole was paid. Carleton or Buck Island and the Long Sault Island were expressly reserved to the state. This proposition was accepted, and the surveyor-general was directed to survey the tract at the expense of Macomb. January 10, 1792, he reported that the conditions had been complied with, and on that day a patent (Secretary Office Patents, b. 23, p. 160) was issued to Macomb, for 1,920,000 acres, reserving 800 acres to be located by the surveyor-general. (This was selected at Tibbets’s Point, in Cape Vincent, at the outlet of the lake, which was patented to Capt. John Tibbets, of Troy, and never formed a part of Macomb’s Purchase. It embraced but 600 acres, as surveyed by John Campbell in the fall of 1799.) This included the whole of the tract not in the present counties of Franklin and St. Lawrence, an uncertaincy (sic) existing in relation to the islands in the St. Lawrence; these were patented after the national boundary had been determined, and to other parties. The reservation stipulated to Penet was confirmed by the following proceedings of the land commissioners: --

“At a meeting of the commissioners of the land office of the state of New York, held at the secretary’s office in the city of New York, on Saturday, the 8th day of August, 1789. Present, His Excellency, George Clinton, Esq., governor; Lewis A. Scott, Esq., secretary; Richard Varick, Esq., attorney-general; and Gerardus Bancker, treasurer.

“Resolved, That the survey-general be directed to lay out for Peter Penet, at his expense, the lands ceded by the Oneida Nation to the people of this state, by their deed of cession dated the 22d day of September last, lying to the northward of Oneida Lake, a tract of 10 miles square, wherever he shall elect the same, and further, that he lay out for John Francis Pearche, and at his expense, a tract of land stipulated by the said deed of cession to be granted to him,” etc., referring to a tract two miles square in Oneida County. (Land Office Minutes, Vol. II., p. 56)

On the 19th of November, 1789, the following action was taken: --

“The surveyor-general, agreeable to an order of this board, of the 8th of August last, having made a return of survey of Peter Penet, of a tract of 10 miles square, as elected by John Duncan, his agent, (of the lands ceded by the Oneida Nation of Indians to the people of this state by their deed of cession, dated the 22d day of September, 1788,) lying to the northward of Oneida Lake, as by the said return of survey filed in the secretary’s office will more fully appear. And the said John Duncan, having, as agent aforesaid, made application to the board for letters patent for the same,

“Resolved, Therefore, that the secretary do prepare letters patent to the said Peter Penet, for the said tract of 10 miles square, accordingly, and lay them before the board for their approbation.” (Land Office Minutes, Vol. II., p. 80.)

Peter Penet, by an instrument dated January 23, 1789, (Sec. office deeds, 22, . 277) made John Duncan his attorney, and the latter received, November 19, 1789, a patent (Sec. office patents, 21, p. 407) for a tract 10 miles square, which, on the 13th of July, 1790, he conveyed (Not recorded) for the nominal sum of five shillings to James Watson and James Greenleaf, of New York. February 26, 1795, Watson released (Sec. office deeds, 38, p. 407) to Greenleaf his half of the tract for 1,000 £ the latter having, September 4, 1797, conveyed by deed the 64,000 acres to Simon Desjardines (Ibid., 38, p. 344) for 19,400.

Desjardines conveyed to Nicholas Olive, of New York, January 29, 1796, (Ibid., 352) and the latter to Herman Le Roy, William Bayard, and James McEvers 44,000 acres of this tract, (Jeff. Co. deeds, rec. Dec. 14, 1824) in trust as joint tenants for certain heirs, of whom Mallet Prevost was entitled to 8,000 acres; John Lewis Grenus to 12,000 acres; Henry Finguerlin, Jr., 8,000 acres. At the time of this conveyance Olive held these lands in trust, and 16,000 acres in his own right. A deed of partition between the proprietors was executed May 17, 1802, (Jeff. Co. deeds, rec. Dec. 14, 1824) according to a division by ballot, as follows: N. Olive, 16,000; J. L. Grenus, 1,200; H. Finguerlin, Jr., 8,000; A. M. Prevost, 8,000 acres, making 44,000 acres, which, with 8,000 to Louis Le Guen, and 12,000 to John Wilkes previously conveyed to Olive, (Olive conveyed, Oct. 15, 1800, 8,000 acres to Henry Cheriot (sed. deeds, 38, p. 347), made 64,000 on the whole tract. After the deed of partition, and on the 11th of June, 1802, the proprietors released to one another the quantity allotted to each, as follows: John Wilkes and Louis Le Guen, to Le Roy, Bayard, and McEvers, of 44,000 acres; L. B. & M. and Louis Le Guen, to John Wilkes, of 12,000; and L. B. & M. and J. Wilkes, to Le Guen, of 8,000 acres. (Jeff. Co. deeds, rec. June 18, 1825.

Nicholas Olive, in his will, made his wife and Henry Cheriot his executors, and his widow afterwards married Simon Louis Pierre, Marquis de Cubieres, of Paris, who with his wife did, May 9, 1818, appoint L. B. & M. to convey to Prevost, Grenus, and Finguerlin their several shares. The latter, May 20, 1817,* (Jeff. deeds, N., 477) directed L. B. & M. to convey to Joseph Russell and John La Farge. Le Roy and Bayard deeded to John, Henry, and Edmund Wilkes 16,000 acres, September 23, 1818, and the latter to John La Farge, April 14, 1823, (Ibid. deeds, rec. June 23, 1821) having received May 9, 1818, from the Marquis de Cubieres and wife a power of attorney (Ibid., rec. Oct. 23, 1818) for the purpose. Le Roy and Bayard conveyed 12,000 acres, November 23, 1818, and to Russell and La Farge 8,000 acres, September 23, 1818. (Ibid., rec. Oct. 5, 1819)Joseph Russell released his half of these 8,000 acres December 12, 1818 (Ibid., rec. Oct. 5, 1819) John Wilkes to Charles Wilkes, January 1, 1818 (Jeff. Co., rec. June 18, 1825) By these conveyances Mr. La Farge became the owner of the greater part of Penet’s Square; but he allowed the lands to be sold for taxes, and his claims were subsequently confirmed by a comptroller’s deed from William L. Marcy, May 13, 1828.

On November 23, 1819, Francis Depau bought 15 lots (21 to 25, 41 to 45, 56 to 60) for $12,000, (Jeff. Co. deeds, N., 605) excepting parts sold to Samuel Ruggles. In our account of Orleans will be given a detail of the irregularities growing out of occupation without title, and the conflicting claims which continued many years and produced much difficulty.

The first direct measure taken for the actual settlement of the section of the state embraced in Jefferson County was in 1792. August 31 William Constable, then in Europe, executed a deed to Peter Chassanis, of Paris, for 630,000 acres south of great lot No. 4, which now constitutes a part of Jefferson and Lewis Counties. A tract in Leyden, previously conveyed to Patrick Colquhoun and William Inman, was excepted. Chassanis acted as the “agent for the associated purchasers of land in Montgomery County,” and the lands were to be by him held in trust for the use of the said William Constable, and disposed of by sections of 100 acres each, at the rate of eight livres Tournois (Equal to $1.50) per acre; in which said conveyance it is declared that the said Chassanis should account for the proceeds of the sales to Constable, according to the terms of an agreement between them, excepting one-tenth thereof. The state reservation for roads, etc., were stipulated. A deed for 625,000 acres having been made from Constable to Chassanis, and delivered as an escrow to Rene Lambot, to take effect on the payment of 52,000 £, it was agreed that the price for this land should be one shilling per acre. Constable bound himself to procure a perfect title to be authenticated and deposited with the Consul General of France, in Philadelphia; and Chassanis agreed that the moneys received by Lambot should be remitted to Ransom, Moreland, and Hammersley, in London, as received, subject to Constable’s order, on presenting the certificate of Charles Texier, consul, of his having procured a clear title. If the sales shall not have amounted to 62,750 £ the balance should be paid in six, nine, and twelve months, in bills upon London. Constable granted, for one month, the right of preemption to tract No. 4, at the rate of one shilling sterling, payable in three, six, and nine months from the date of the deed, as above. The plan of association contemplated by this company is minutely set forth in an extensive document, (For the full text of this document see Hough’s Hist. of Jeff. Co., p. 45) the execution of which was probably prevented by the French revolution which soon followed.

The agreement of Constable and Chassanis, of August 31, 1792, was canceled, and the tract reconveyed March 25, 1793, in consequence of the amount falling short, upon survey, far beyond the expectation of all parties. On April 12, 1793, Constable conveyed 210,000 acres, by deed, for 25,000 £, to Chassanis, (Oneida deeds, 3, 56) since known as the Chassanis Tract, Castorland, or The French Company’s Land, bounded north by No. 4 of Macomb’s Purchase, south and west by Black River, and east by a line running north, nine miles, from a point near the High Falls, and thence northeasterly on such a course as might include 210,000 acres.

April 11, 1797, Chassanis appointed Rodolph Tillier his attorney “to direct and administer the properties and affairs concerning Castorland, “et., and in case of his death Nicholas Olive was to succeed him. February 18, 1797, a new agreement was made between Constable and Tillier, conveying the Castorland tract to Chassanis, after the survey of William Cockburn & Son, of Poughkeepsie, in 1799, and giving with greater detail the bounds of the tract. The former conveyances made the north and east bank of the river the boundary, but in this the center of the channel was agreed upon. On March 6, 1800, Constable deeded to Chassanis, for one dollar, a tract of 30,000 acres in the eastern corner of tract No. 4, which was afterwards subdivided into 27 lots and conveyed to James Le Ray. Cockburn’s survey divided the purchase into six very unequal tracts, formed by the intersection of the principal lines and the river. The tract was subdivided by Charles C. Brodhead and assistants, in 1794. In dividing the tract the line running north from High Falls was assumed as the cardinal line, from which ranges were counted east and west. An east and west line, crossing the other nine miles from the falls, was fixed as a second cardinal, from which ranges were reckoned north and south. The ranges extended from 19 east, 51 west, 27 north, and about 9 south; and the lots included 450 acres each, except those on the margin. These were again subdivided into nine square lots of 50 acres each, which were numbered from 1 to 4,828. This sytem of numbering has since been observed in designating the location of lands.

The south line of tract No. 4 was run by John Campbell and others, in August, 1794. At a very early period a settlement was begun by Tillier and others near the High Falls, east of the river, and several families were settled. Several extensive sales were made by Chassanis and Tillier to Frenchmen of the better class, who had held property and titles in France before the revolution. Desjardines & Co. bought 3,002 acres on Point Peninsula; Odier & Bousquet, 1,500 acres on Pillar Point; Nicholas Olive (December 17, 1807), a tract of 4,050 acres north of Black River and Bay; Henry Boutin, 1,000 acres around the present village of Carthage; C. C. Brodhead, 400 acres in the present town of Wilna; and others. Among these was a conveyance dated March 31, 1801, of 1,817 half acres in scattered lots to 20 or 30 French people, many of them widows of persons who had acquired an interest in the New York Company. May 1, 1798, James Le Ray purchased 10,000 acres in Castorland, and February 15, 1801, all his lands not previously sold. Chassanis, in his early sales, had reserved about 600 acres (R. 26, W. 24, and 25 N.) between the present villages of Brownville and Dexter, for the city of Basle.

March 27, 1800, Tillier was succeeded in the agency by Gouverneur Morris, who appointed Richard Coxe, November 13, 1801, his attorney. February 5, 1802, Chassanis executed a trust conveyance for $1 to James D. Le Ray of 220,500 acres as surveyed by William Cockburn & Son, and by other instruments for nominal sums. (Oneida deeds, 9, 517 to 525). The lands were mostly sold to actual settlers by Mr. Le Ray, as agent or principal. David B. Ogden, G. Morris, (Jeff. R., 253), and many others were at an early period concerned in these titles.

Macomb’s tract No. 4, was surveyed by C. C. Brodhead, in 1796, as assisted by Jonas Smith, Timothy Wheelers, Joshua Northrop, Elias Marvin, John Young, Isaac Le Fever, Jacob Chambers, Elijah Black, Samuel Tupper, Eliakim Hammond, and Abraham B. Smede, each with a few men as assistants, and the whole having a general camp or rendezvous at Hungry Bay, on the north side of Pillar Point, at a place called Peck’s Cover, near where the Chassanis line crosses the bay. The early settlers here found huts standing, and the remains of an old oven were visible for many years thereafter. The journals of these surveyors show that they suffered much from sickness. Some of their supplies were derived from Canada, but the most from the Mohawk settlements. A few troops were stationed on Carleton Island, and thither some of their sick were sent. This tract, excepting the east corner conveyed to Chassanis, was divided into 1,000 lots of 440 acres each (excepting those around the border), which were numbered continuously. Evert Van Allen had been employed, in 1795, in surveying the boundaries of tract No. 4.

A proposition was entertained from Lord Poultney, in 1792, for the purchase of a million of acres of Black River land, at a quarter of a dollar per acre, of which 5,000 £ were to be paid down, 20,000 £ in one, and the same in two years, and the remainder as soon as the surveys were made. Constable was to guaranty against claims from the native Indians, and all other parties, and to give immediate possession. The location was to be determined by Col. William Stephens Smith, of New York. This bargain failed, and Poultney afterwards became largely concerned in lands in the Genesee country. October 3, 1792, Jane, the wife of A. Macomb, released her right to the lands previously conveyed. On April 12, 1793, Constable sold in London, with the consent of Chassanis, who had previously held a preemption claim, to Charles Michael De Wolf, of the city of Antwerp, tract No. 4, for 300,000 florins, money of exchange, (Equal to $125,356) and in June following, of the same year, De Wolf succeeded in negotiating his purchase at a great advance, viz., for 680,000 florins, to a company of large and small capitalists, of the city of Antwerp, who subscribed to the stock in shares of 1,000 florins each, and organized under the name of the Antwerp Company. The stock was divided into 680 shares. Like most other operations of foreigners in a distant country this company eventually proved unsuccessful, and a loss to the stockholders. Gouverneur Morris became their first agent in America, and on January 2, 1800, a deed of half the tract, or 220,000 acres, (Oneida Office Deeds, 7, p. 612) passed to him from Constable, on account of the company, for $48,889, and on the day following the other half, of equal extent, for $46,315.12 to James Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont. Tract No. 4 was formed by Van Allen’s survey to contain 450,000 acres, including the state reservations. A former deed from Constable to De Wolf was canceled upon the new one being made.

The division line between Morris’s and LeRay’s conveyances commenced at the northeast corner of Penet’s Square, and run on a line, parallel with the county line, to the south line of No. 4. Morris took all northeast of this, and LeRay the remainder. August 15, 1802, a new division line was agreed upon, commencing near the southeast corner of Penet’s Square, running thence to the south corner of lot 512, thence to the west corner of the present corner of Antwerp, and along the southwest line of that town to the south corner of lot 337, and thence to the south line of No. 4. A tract of 30,000 acres in the east corner of No. 4 was not included in these conveyances, having been sold to Chassanis. In 1809 Morris retired from the business, his expenses and commissions absorbing 26,840 acres of land. December 23, 1804, he had sold for $62,000, to Lewis R. Morris, 49,280 acres in the present town of Antwerp. (Jefferson deeds, C., p. 63) Mr. Morris subsequently conveyed 41 lots to Silvius Hoard in the western part of Antwerp, (Jefferson deeds, L., 153) adjoining Theresa, and since known as the Cooper tract. Abraham Cooper, from Trenton, N. Y., became interested in this tract in 1817. (Ibid, L., 68) The remainder of Antwerp, excepting three ranges of lots on the southeast side, was purchased of Morris by David Parish, in 1808. The tract amounted to 29,033 acres, and was settled under agents of the Parish estate. Moss Kent succeeded as agent of the Antwerp Company, and June 15, 1809, the remainder of their unsold lands, 143,440 acres, were conveyed to him. He was soon succeeded by Mr. Le Ray, and September 17, 1810, the company sold to him for 145,000 florins, money of exchange, all their interests in lands in America. The lands with Moss Kent were reconveyed to Le Ray, June 24, 1817, (Jeff. deeds, rec. Aug. 13, 1817) except 3,250 acres sold to William H. Harrison and T. L. Ogden, in Lewis County, December 16, 1811.

Mr. Le Ray is said to have been the owner of 126 shares in the Antwerp Company, and G. Morris of 26. The former having acquired a title to No. 4, and the Chassanis tract, removed to Le Raysville, where he opened a land office and proceeded to sell land to actual settlers, to a very large extent. He also effected with several Europeans sales of considerable tracts, among which were to Louis Augustin De Caulincourt, duc de Vincence, October 8, 1805, a tract of 4,840 acres near Millen’s Bay, being 11 lots which were conveyed January 28, 1835, to Peter Francis Real, known as Count Real, chief of police under Napoleon; to Emanuel Count De Grouchy, to General Desfurneaux, and to others, considerable tracts. Several citizens of New York became afterwards concerned in these tract, on their own account, or as agents, and extensive conveyances were made; but as many of these were trusts not expressed, and referred to considerations not explained in the instruments of conveyance, or on record, an intelligent history of them cannot be at this time obtained, with sufficient conciseness for publication, should they be deemed of sufficient general interest. Among the lands conveyed were the following: --

To William and Gerardus Post, June 3, 1825, for $17,000, 11,800 acres (with 3,503 acres excepted) in the present towns of Wilna and Diana; 6,500 acres were conveyed by one, and the executors of the other of these, to T. S. Hammond, of Carthage, October 2, 1837, by two deeds, for $18,000. To Herman Le Roy and William Bayard, for $50,000, February 9, 1820, the interest of J. De Ray in numerous contracts to settlers on great tract No. 4. To Francis Depau for $23,280 and $15,000 by two conveyances, a large tract in Alexandria, adjoining St. Lawrence County. To Cornelia Juhel, October 9, 1821, numerous lots, and to many others.

In 1818 Joseph Bonaparte, who in the United States assumed the title of Count de Survilliers, (This personage, who held successively the thrones of Naples and Spain, was born in the island of Corsica, in 1768, being the next older brother to Napoleon I. His residence in this country was as an exile, and he returned to Europe as soon as political events permitted.) was induced to enter into a bargain with Le Ray, by which he agreed to receive in trust, with a warranty, the conveyance of 150,000 acres of land, including 74,624 acres of the Antwerp Company lands, to be taken in the most remote and unsettled portions, and at the same time Mr. Le Ray received certain diamonds and real estate, the whole rated at $120,000, and to be refunded in 1830, unless he should agree to accept before that time the title of a part of these lands. A trust deed, with covenant and warranty, was accordingly passed, December 21, 1818, to Peter S. Deuponceau, the confidential agent of the Count, for 150,260 acres, with the exception of such tracts not exceeding 32,260 acres, as might have been conveyed or contracted to actual settlers. This deed included the greater part of Diana, two tiers of lots from the southeast side of Antwerp, the whole of Wilna and Philadelphia, a small piece south of Black River, where it makes a node across the Chassanis line into No. 4, a tract of four lots wide and seven long from Le Ray, and nine lots from the easterly range in Theresa. It was recorded with a defeasance appended, in which it is declared a security for $120,000 as above stated, and it provided for an auction sale of lands to meet this obligation. (Lewis County records)

Diamonds having fallen to half their former price the fact was made the subject of complaint; and in 1820 the Count agreed to accept 26,840 acres for the nominal sum of $40,260. These lands lay in the most remote portion of No. 4, and Mr. Le Ray, in a letter to one of the Antwerp Company, dated April 9, 1821, complimented the Count upon his taste in selecting a “tract abounding in picturesque landscapes, whose remote and extensive forests, affording retreat to game, would enable him to establish a great hunting ground; qualities of soil and fitness for settlers were only secondary considerations. * * * He regrets, notwithstanding, that thus far he has not been able to find among the 26,000 acres of land, a plateau of 200 acres of land to build his house upon, but he intends keeping up his researches this summer.” The Count subsequently commenced an establishment near the present village of Alpina in Diana, where a small clearing was made, but this was soon abandoned.

October 29, 1823, Le Ray conveyed to William H. Harrison, in trust for the Antwerp Company, for $50,000, to ranges of lots in Antwerp, next to Lewis County, subject to the mortgage of Deuponceau, with a large amount of lands in Lewis County. Meanwhile an act was procured, November 27, 1824, allowing Charles Joseph Xavier Knyff, Charles Joseph Geelhand Delafaille, Jean Joseph Reinier Osy, Pierre Joseph De Caters, and Jean Joseph Pinson, as trustees of the Antwerp Company, to take and hold lands, and to them Harrison conveyed the above tracts. Duponceau and Bonaparte subsequently released a large tract and took a title of 81,180 acres. The history of these transactions may be traced in the recorded conveyances. James Le Ray, December 31, 1823, conveyed to his son Vincent all his lands in Jefferson County, and by a similar conveyance his lands in Lewis County for the benefit of his creditors.

July 16, 1825, Duponceau executed to Joseph Bonaparte (who, by an act of March 31, 1825, had been empowered to hold lands) a deed of all the rights he had acquired in the above conveyances. Bonaparte, by an instrument, dated July 14, 1832, made Joseph Raphineau his attorney to deed lands contracted by Joseph Boyer, his land agent. In June, 1835, he sold to John La Farge, for $80,000, all the interest of Count Survilliers in land in this and Lewis counties.

In October, 1824, the Antwerp Company appointed J. N. Rottiers their agent to receive and convey lands, and he was directed, by parties interested in claims, to commence a prosecution against Le Ray, which was done. The extreme depression in the price of land and the total stop of sales which followed the completion of the Erie Canal, and the opening of the Western states to emigration, operated disastrously to all parties who had based their plans upon expectation of receipts from land sales; and notwithstanding the estates of Mr. Le Ray were both extensive and valuable, he could not at that time encounter the combination of circumstances which bore so heavily upon all land-holders throughout the northern counties, and he found himself compelled to apply for the benefit of the insolvent act, and to surrender his estates to his son, in trust for his creditors. As a justification of his course he published, for distribution among his foreign creditors, a statement in which he vindicated in a satisfactory manner the course he had adopted, and set forth the kind and quantity of property at his disposal to meet his liabilities. He had at that time the following lands in this state: in Franklin County, 30,758 acres, valued at $22,5000; in St. Lawrence County, 73,947 acres, valued at $106,000; in Jefferson County, 143,500 acres, valued at $574,000; in Lewis County, 100,000 acres, valued at $133,000.

Of his Jefferson lands one eighth were subject to contracts to settlers, upon which were three grist-mills, three saw-mills, and various clearings, with buildings. At Le Raysville were a grist-mill, storehouses, etc., valued at $26,000, and in Pennsylvania, Otsego County, and in France other properties of large amounts. In closing up his business a large amount of land was confirmed to Vincent Le Ray, and the settlement of affairs was so managed as to satisfy in full the claims of American creditors.

A considerable amount of the Antwerp Company’s lands, remaining in scattered parcels, was sold in 1828 by the agent to John La Farge, but this sale was subsequently set aside by the Court of Chancery, and February 15, 1836, 24,230 acres, being most of the remaining lands of the company, and situated in Theresa, Antwerp, Alexandria, and Orleans, were sold to Samuel Stocking, of Utica, and Norris M. Woodruff, of Watertown, for $1 per acre. William H. Harrison acted in the latter sale as the agent of the company.

Mr. La Farge, July 28, 1846, sold to Charles L. Faverger, for $48,513, a tract embracing the two eastern ranges of lots in Antwerp, and 122 lots in Diana, excepting parts previously conveyed, amounting to 48,513 acres. William Constable, December 18, 1792, conveyed to Samuel Ward, for 100,000 £, 1,280,000 acres, it being the whole of Macomb’s Purchase in Nos. 5 and 6, out of which was excepted 25,000 acres sold to William Inman. Samuel Ward, December 20, 1792, conveyed to Thomas Boylston (of Boston), for 20,000 £ a tract commencing at the extreme southern angle of Lewis County as now bounded, running thence to the mouth of Salmon River, and along the lake to Black River, and up that stream to the north bounds of the present town of Leyden, and thence to the place of beginning. The course of Black River was then supposed to be nearly direct from the High Falls to the lake, and this tract was believed to contain about 400,000 acres, but when surveyed around by William Cockburn & Son, in 1794, it was found to include 817,155 acres! Ward also sold 210,000 acres to John Julius Angerstein, a wealthy merchant of London, which the latter afterwards sold to Gov. John Brown, of Providence, R. I., and which has been commonly called Brown’s tract, and is yet mostly a wilderness. He also sold 50,000 acres and 25,000 acres to William Inman, who afterwards figured largely in the titles of Lewis County; with the exception of the 685,000 acres thus conveyed to Boyleston, Angerstein, and Inman he reconveyed, February 27, 1793, the remainder to Constable.

On May 21, 1794, Boylston gave a deed of trust of 11 townships to George Lee, George Irving, and Thomas Latham, assignees of Lane, Son & Fraser of London, and they conveyed them to John Johnson Phyn, of that place (June 2, 1794), in whom, by sundry conveyances and assurances in the law, the title became vested. April 10, 1795, Phyn appointed William Constable his attorney to sell and convey any or all of the Boylston tract, who accordingly sold, July 15, 1795, (at $1 per acre, one-quarter paid down and the balance in five installments, with mortgage,) to Nicholas Low, William Henderson, Richard Harrison, and Josiah Ogden Hoffman, a tract of 300,000 acres, since known as the Black River tract. This purchase comprised Hounsfield, Watertown, Rutland, Champion, Denmark, Henderson, Adams, Rodman, Pinckney, Harrisburg, and Lowville. April 1, 1796, Phyn confirmed this title. The tract was found by measurement to contain 290,376 acres, to make up which deficiency Constable, in 1796, conveyed town No. 2 (Worth), excepting 948 acres in the southeast corner, which he reserved for himself. On the last mentioned date Phyn conveyed to Constable 401,000 acres, being the remainder of the Boylston tract. The present town of Lorraine is in this conveyance.

William Constable gave his brother James a power of attorney to sell lands March 16, 1798, and, to secure the confidence of the Europeans, and others, in the validity of his title, he procured from Alexander Hamilton, Richard Harrison, J. O. Hoffman (attorney-general of the state), Daniel McKinnen, and other eminent lawyers a certificate that they had examined his conveyances and believed them perfect.

March 22, 1797, Constable conveyed to Marvel Ellis, of Troy, the town of Ellisburgh, in accordance with an agreement dated April 11, 1796, except 3,000 acres, conveyed March 17, 1797, to Robert Brown and Thomas Eddy, in the corner of the town. This town was long without a resident agent, and from being settled by squatters it acquired the name of No God. In June, 1804, Brown and Eddy sold half of this tract to General Scriba, and the latter to William Bell. The remainder was exchanged for a farm in New Jersey by Lord Bollingbroke. Ellis’s purchase, according to Medad Mitchell’s survey of August, 1795, was 51,834 acres. A part of No. 10 (Sandy Creek) was conveyed November 16, 1796, to Mrs. H. M. Colden, for the Earl of Selkirk. Ellis, on the day of his purchase, mortgaged it for the payment, and in 1801 he became insolvent. In January, 1802, Constable filed a bill in chancery, against Ellis and his creditors, to foreclose to equity of redemption. May 22, 1803, William Constable died, and his executors, James Constable, John McVickar, and Hezekiah B. Pierrepont, were advised that the title was perfected by the answer to the bill in chancery, but, to put all questions forever at rest, they deemed it advisable to proceed to foreclose. It was accordingly advertised and sold under the direction of Thomas Cooper, master in chancery, at the Tontine Coffee House, New York, March 1, 1804, to Daniel McCormick. On March 2 the executors of Constable conveyed the town to McCormick, and on the 3d the latter reconveyed to the executors. On April 26, 1819, a deed of release from the heirs of William Constable was executed to H. B. Pierrepont, from whom the title of the unsold portions passed to his son, William C. Pierrepont, who in like manner acquired the title of Lorraine from Constable.

The 11 towns were divided by ballot between the company, August 5, 1796, Harrison and Hoffman receiving numbers 1, 4, 5, 8, and 10, or Hounsfield, Champion, Denmark, Rodman, and Harrisburg, and 1,283 acres of Constable’s, No. 2 (Worth), which had been added to make up the amount purchased, and was used in “making change”; Low received 2, 7, and 11, or Watertown, Adams, and Lowville, with 1,576 acres of the present town of Worth; and Henderson 3, 6, and 9, or Rutland, Henderson, and Pinckney, with 649 acres in Worth.

These proprietors disposed of their towns as follows: No. 1 was sold, the north half to Henry Champion and Lemuel Storrs, June 30, 1797, and the south part (15,913 acres) to Peter Kemble and Ezra Hounsfield, for $4,000, March 10, 1801, who sold to actual settlers through the agency of Elisha Camp. The sales of the north part will be given in our account of that town. Nos. 2, 7, and 11 were sold by S. Stow, M. S. Miller, and I. W. Bostwick, of Lowville, agents for Low. No. 3 was first partly conveyed to actual settlers by Asher Miller and Abel French, when the remaining interest of Henderson was conveyed to Dr. Isaac Bronson, of Greenfield, Conn.; who gave its agency to his brother, Ethel Bronson, with whom it continued till death, when it was transferred to George White, who completed the settlements with settlers. No. 4 was sold to Champion and Storrs (with the north half of 1), and by N. Hubbard and A. Lathrop, agents, it was sold to settlers. No. 6 began to settle under the same agent as No. 3. In 1806 Jesse Hopkins was appointed agent, and continued about 15 years. Certain lots, amount to 5,716 acres, were sold to Isaac Bronson, June 10, 1807, for $10,003.44, and settled by the agents of the latter. No. 8 was settled for the proprietors by I. W. Bostwick, agent at Lowville. Harrison and Hoffman continued tenants in common of 5, 8, and 10, until May 1, 1805. In July, 1809, an instrument was executed securing certain interests of Hoffman to Thomas L. Ogden, and Abijah Hammond, and on January 5, 1810, Hoffman conveyed to Harrison his interest in these towns.

The greater part of township 2 (Worth) fell to the share of Harrison and Hoffman. It was laid out by Medad Mitchell in 1795; and December 23, 1797, these proprietors made a partition, and Harrison conveyed the north half to Hoffman, who, July 16, 1798, made a conveyance to Daniel McCormick and Charles Smith, in trust, to sell and convey and to keep the money until certain debts were paid. Several subsequent transfers were made, which are not deemed of sufficient public interest to trace. The title to the south part remained with Harrison many years.

The boundaries of the Eleven Towns were surveyed by Benjamin Wright, in April and May, 1796, and the notes from his field book, (See Hough’s History of Jefferson County, p. 64) formed the first accurate data possessed in relation to the country south of Black River.

All the islands in the state, between a line drawn at right angles to the river, from the village of Morristown, and a meridian drawn through the western point of Grindstone Island, to Elisha Camp, February 15, 1823. These islands contained 15,402.9 acres, of which Grindstone Island contained 5,291, Wells or Wellesley Island, 8,068, and Indian Hut Island 369 acres, with several smaller ones without names. Patents were also issued to Camp on the same day to Stony Island, 1,536 acres; Calf Island, 34.8 acres; Little Galloe Island, 48.8 acres; the most of Galloe Island, 2,216.2 acres; and Willow Island, half an acre. A patent to the United States, for 30.75 and five acres on Galloe Island, was used December 11, 1819, and to Melanchthon T. Woolsey, November 3, 1823, for Gull Island, 6.5 acres, and Snake Island, 1.4 acres. Cherry Island, in Chaumont Bay, 108.4 acres; Grenadier Island, 1,290 acres; and Fox Island, 257.5 acres, were patented to Hezekiah B. Pierrepont and others October 1, 1824, Five hundred acres on the western part of Carleton Island were patented to Charles Smyth, October 2, 1828. A partition deed was executed between Pierrepont, and Joshua Waddington and Thomas L. Ogden, November 10, 1824, by which the former received Grenadier and Cherry islands. They were sold February 19, 1825, for $7,000, to William and Gerardus Post, of New York. These islands had been occupied many years by squatters, who with great reluctance yielded possession. The jurisdiction of a part of Galloe Island was ceded by the legislature to the United States for a lighthouse, by an act of April 21, 1818; that of Tibbets Point (about three acres), January 25, 1827; that of Horse Island, April 26, 1831; and a part of Carleton Island, June 21, 1853. In these cessions the state retains concurrent civil and criminal jurisdiction.