Hamilton County
Land Purchases, Patents and Tracts

Some basic info on some of the Purchases, Patents and Tracts within Hamilton County.

Some background:  A patent or purchase is the term used when the land was given or purchased by one individual or group.  These purchases may have been subdivided into towns, which were either numbered or named or both. Each town was then further divided into lots, which were numbered.  These towns usually have little or no relation to the townships of today.  A tract is a term for land that was subdivided and sold in pieces to various individuals.

Measuring terms for deeds, etc.:

rod = 5.5 yards
chain = 4 rods or 66 feet
furlong = 10 chains, 40 rods or 660 feet  [660 feet squared is 10 acres]

 

Purchase, Patent or Tract name	approx. acres in 1000s	other Patents or Tracts listed being within this one.	location
Amherst Patent	20	-	Lake Pleasant
Arthurboro Patent	47	Bethune Tract Maxwell Tract Tefft Tract Morehouse 8,000 Acre Tract	Morehouse
Benson Tract	62	-	Arietta (small part) Benson
Bergen's Purchase	20	-	Hope Wells
John Brown's Tract	?	-	Inlet Herkimer county
Lawrence Tract	135	-	Arietta Morehouse
Moose River Tract	207	-	Arietta Morehouse Herkimer county
Oxbow Tract	70	-	Arietta Lake Pleasant
Palmer's Purchase	135	Glen and Yates Patent Livingston Patent Lefferts Tract	Hope Wells Saratoga county Warren county
Totten and Crossfield Purchase	1150	Amherst Patent Balfour's Patent Bishop's Patent Campbell's Patent	Essex county Hamilton county Herkimer county Warren county
Vrooman's Patent	14	-	Morehouse

Sources:

1. "History of Hamilton County," by Ted Aber and Stella King, 1965
2. "The Great Forest of the Adirondacks," by Barbara McMartin, North Country Books, Utica, NY, 1994.
3. "Gazetteer of the State of New York," by J. H. French: Published by R. Pearsall Smith, 1860.

Last Updated: Wednesday, 14-May-2008 13:31:51 PDT
Copyright © 2000:  Lisa K. Slaski