Proprietors of Montauk collection
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Abstract
The Proprietors of Montauk collection spans the years 1699 to 1886 and is housed in three manuscript boxes and one oversize box. Included in the collection are minutes, account books, bylaws, receipts, land conveyances, land deeds, and other documents relating to land ownership and land rights in Montauk, Long Island, N.Y. Montauk, N.Y. is an unincorporated, census-designated area located in Suffolk County, Long Island and it is the easternmost census-designated place in New York state. In the late 17th century, the Montauketts and the early English settlers, or, the Proprietors of Montauk, engaged in a series of land conveyances in which the proprietors of Montauk paid the Montauketts for land. Hand written documents were drawn up to record the exchanges between the Montauketts and the proprietors of Montauk.
Historical note
In 1614, Dutch explorer Adriaen Block first encountered the Montauketts, one of the Algonquian-speaking groups who inhabited the area now known as Montauk, Long Island, N.Y. Not long after the "discovery" of Montauk by Block, Dutch and English settlers began to move there to farm, fish, and raise cattle. In the late 17th century, the Montauketts and the early English settlers, or, the Proprietors of Montauk, engaged in a series of land conveyances in which the proprietors of Montauk paid the Montauketts for land. Hand written documents were drawn up to record the exchanges between the Montauketts and the proprietors of Montauk.
In 1879, Arthur W. Benson (d. 1889) bought 10,000 acres of land in Montauk for $151,000. Benson, a businessman and land owner, was a founding owner of the Brooklyn Gas Light Company (1823) and was one of the original investors in the Brooklyn Bridge. He also owned farmland in what is now the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn that he divided into lots and sold individually.
Montauk, N.Y. is an unincorporated, census-designated area located in Suffolk County, Long Island and it is the easternmost census-designated place in New York state. The incorporated town of East Hampton, N.Y., located within Montauk, holds the designation of the easternmost town in New York State.
Sources:
- Ross, Peter, and William S. Pelletreau. A History of Long Island: From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. New York: The Lewis Pub. Co., 1903.
Scope and Contents note
The Proprietors of Montauk collection spans the years 1699 to 1886 and is housed in three manuscript boxes and one oversize box. Included in the collection are minutes, account books, bylaws, receipts, land conveyances, land deeds, and other documents relating to land ownership and land rights in Montauk, Long Island, N.Y.
Box 1 contains: Supreme Court records, 1852 to 1886; Indian land receipts, 1699 to 1773; Arthur Benson papers, 1882 to 1885; land conveyances, 1739, 1871-1883; common pasture lists, 1803 to 1820; fatting field lists, 1775 to 1830; and the book in which the Indian receipts were found (Sundry Rhymes From the Days of Our Grandmother).
Box 2 contains: one volume of the proprietors of Montauk bylaws, 1871 (includes a list of 1875 to 1879 meetings and lists monetary amounts); and two volumes of trustees of Montauk minutes, 1851 to 1870 and 1870 to 1881 (includes three loose items, 1879, regarding an act to prevent spread of infection in cattle in New York, Richmond, Kings, Queens, and Westchester Counties, and the quarantine of cattle in Montauk under the provisions of that act).
Box 3 contains: one volume of the proprietors of Montauk minutes, 1857 to 1879 (includes loose items such as notes, notices, and a partial draft bylaw revision, all circa 1879); and two volumes of the proprietors of Montauk account books for the years 1811 to 1836, 1837 to 1852 (includes six loose receipts), and 1852 to 1880;
Box 4 (oversize) contains: one volume of the proprietors of Montauk account book, 1837 to 1852 (includes six loose receipts); and photocopies of Indian land deeds 1655 to 1794 (with transcriptions).
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Material in this collection is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Proprietors of Montauk collection, ARC.066, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mary Benson and Mrs. Thyrza Benson Flagg, 1918.
Custodial History note
On February 18, 1880, the Trustees of the Town of East Hampton passed a resolution at their town meeting authorizing Joseph S. Osborne, Town Clerk, to transfer to the then Proprietor of Montauk, Arthur W. Benson, the materials in this collection. On February 21, 1891, Osborne filed a reciept with the Town of East Hampton signed by Benson in which he acknowledged taking the deeds in to his custody. Benson died in 1889, and the materials in the collection were passed on to his heirs. In 1918 Mary Benson and Thyrza Benson Flagg, grand daughters of Arthur Benson, donated the deeds to the Long Island Historical Society, now named the Brooklyn Historical Society.
Physical Access Restrictions
A portion of the materials in this collection, Indian land deeds 1655-1794, are stored off-site and are not currently available for researchers to use. Reproductions and transcriptions of these materials are available for research use.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
Existence and Location of Copies
The documents in this collection have been scanned and are available to view digitally in the library.
About this Guide
Processing Information note
Minimally processed to the collection level.
This collection combines three accessions: 1974.046, 1974.047, and 1974.048.
Processing Information
The items in this collection were scanned and digital files stored on CDs. The files were then transferred to Brooklyn Historical Society's digital assets server.
